for he was going away bright and early on the following
morning. Mr. Gray looked very sober and thoughtful when he heard these
words.

"I'd rather you would stay at home," said he.

"And I would much prefer to stay, but I will not go into the service of
the Confederacy. This State is an independent Commonwealth now, and is
entitled to, and has a right to demand the best service I can give her;
but who cares for the Confederacy? I think less of it than I did this
morning, for one of its officers tried to rope us in without our
consent."

That was Rodney's first experience with the duplicity and utter lack of
fair dealing that characterized all the actions of the Confederate
authorities, but it was by no means the last. We shall speak of this
again when we see him coming down the Arkansas River, bound for the Army
of the Center, a Confederate soldier in spite of himself.

Having given his comrades plenty of time to vote upon the last
proposition submitted to them that they should offer themselves as a
company to the Confederate States Rodney got upon his horse again and
rode back to see if they had determined upon any particular course of
action, but from all he could learn the matter was far from being
settled. Some wanted to do one thing and some were in favor of doing
another; but finding at last that they could not agree, they began
drawing away by twos and threes, and finally Rodney Gray was left alone
with the commissioned officers.

"I am at my wit's end," declared Captain Hubbard, whose face wore a most
dejected look. "We don't want to remain at home, and neither do we
desire to put ourselves under the control of such a man as General
Lacey; but there's nothing else we can do, unless we go up to Missouri.
Were you really in earnest when you said you intended to start oft
tomorrow?" he added, addressing himself to Rodney. "Your decision was
made on the spur of the moment, wasn't it?"

"Well, no. I made up my mind some time ago that there was going to be a
hitch of some sort in our arrangements, and laid my plans accordingly."

"How are you going to work it to reach Price's army?" inquired
Lieutenant Percy. "Don't you know that there have been rioting and
bloodshed in St. Louis, and that the Dutchmen have got control of the
city?"

"Of course; but that's all over now. I shall telegraph to Dick Graham's
father that I am coming, and trust to luck when I reach St. Louis.
Perhaps he can make it convenient to m