arply:

"Hands up or I shoot!"

The German straightened himself and, holding his hands aloft, said:

"You would not kill me in the shelter uf mein own house?"

"Well, that depends on the amount of English you know. It seems to me,
Herr Schneider, that you learned our language very suddenly."

"I vas a man who learns very fast when it vas necessary. Mein brain
vorks in a manner most vonderful ven I looks down the barrel of a big
pistol."

"This pistol is a marvelous stimulant to a good education."

"How did you know mein name vas Schneider?"

"Intuition, Herr Schneider! Intuition! We Southern people have
wonderful intuitive faculties."

"Vell, it vas not Schneider. My name vas Jacob Onderdonk."

Harry laughed and Dalton reddened.

"The joke is on me, Mr. Onderdonk," said Dalton. "But we're here on a
serious errand. Where is General Meade?"

"I haf not had my regular letter from General Meade this morning.
Vilhelmina, you are sure ve haf noddings from General Meade?"

"Noddings, Jacob," she said.

Dalton flushed again and muttered under his breath.

"We want to know," he said sharply, "if you have seen the Army of the
Potomac or heard anything of it."

A look of deep sadness passed over the face of Jacob Onderdonk.

"I haf one great veakness," he said, "one dot makes my life most bitter.
I haf de poorest memory in de vorld. Somedimes I forget de face of mein
own Vilhelmina. Maybe de Army uf de Potomac, a hundred thousand men,
pass right before my door yesterday. Maybe, as der vedder vas hot,
that efery one uf dem hundred thousand men came right into der house
und take a cool drink out uf der water bucket. But I cannot remember.
Alas, my poor memory!"

"Then maybe Wilhelmina remembers."

"Sh! do not speak uf dot poor voman. I do not let her go out uf der
house dese days, as she may not be able to find der vay back in again."

"We'd better go, George," said Harry. "I think we only waste time
asking questions of such a forgetful family."

"It iss so," said Onderdonk; "but, young Mister Rebels, I remember one
thing."

"And what is that?" asked Dalton.

"It vas a piece of advice dot I ought to gif you. You tell dot General
Lee to turn his horse's head and ride back to der South. You are good
young rebels. I can see it by your faces. Ride back to der South,
I tell you again. We are too many for you up here. Der field uf
corn iss so thick und so long dot you cannot cut your way thr