you?"

"No, sir, I'm not a good boy, I'm bad. I'm a very bad boy, indeed."

The horseman laughed. "I don't mistrust but you're good enough."

"Oh, no. I'm not good. I'm wicked! I'm noisy! I make my ma's head ache
every day! I usen't to be so wicked when I was a little shaver. I used
to be a shaver, did you know that? But now I'm a boy. That's because I'm
eight. I'm a boy and I'm wicked. I'm awful wicked, and I'm getting
worse. I whistle. Did you think I could whistle? Well, I can.... There!
did you hear that? It's wicked to whistle in the house--to whistle
loud--in the house--it's sinful. Sometimes I whistle in the
house--sometimes." He grew still and fell to thinking of his mother, and
how her cheek would redden with something she called sorrow at his
shameless companioning with the wearer of a blue uniform. But he
continued to like his new friend; he was so companionably "low flung."

"Do you know Jeff-Jack?" he asked. But the Captain had not the honor.

"Well, he captures things. He's brave. He's dreadful brave."

"No! Aw! you just want to scare me!"

"So is Major Garnet. Did you ever see Major Garnet? Well, if you see him
you mustn't make him mad. I'd be afraid for you to make him mad."

"Why, how's that?"

"I dunno," said Johnnie, very abstractedly.

As they went various questions came up, and by and by John discoursed on
the natural badness of "black folks"--especially the yellow
variety--with imperfections of reasoning almost as droll as the soft
dragging of his vowels. Time passed so pleasantly that when they came
into the turnpike and saw his father coming across the battle-field with
two other horsemen, his good spirits hardly had room to rise any higher.
They rather fell. The Judge had again chanced upon the company of Major
Garnet and Jeff-Jack Ravenel, and it disturbed John perceptibly for
three such men to find him riding behind a Yankee.

It was a double surprise for him to see, first, with what courtesy they
treated the blue-coat, and then how soon they bade him good-day. The
Federal had smilingly shown a flask.

"You wouldn't fire on a flag of truce, would you?"

"I never drink," said Garnet.

"And I always take too much," responded Jeff-Jack.

* * * * *

I think we have spoken of John's slumbers being dreamless. A child can
afford to sleep without dreaming, he has plenty of dreams without
sleeping. No need to tell what days, weeks, months, of sunlit,
fo