tarted up some dogs in the
neighborhood, we found a fence which crossed the bayou. I shall never
forget the sight of Miller and Rummel "cooning" that fence.

The moon shone down through the gathering clouds with a dim light, and
when we reached the fence we could see that it was built clear across
the water in our front; so I mounted it at once and was soon on the
other side. My companions had a discussion as to who should go first,
both hanging back, for the fence looked frail and the top rails were
sharp. When I got over and turned around to look, Rummel was just making
a start.

The fence had not been used as a bridge, and some of the rails were
rotten, while most were slippery.

I had had some vexatious experiences myself in crossing, and I was in a
position to enjoy keenly the sight of the others going through the same
experiences; so I stood in the moonlight, encouraging my friends and
laughing heartily as a slip on a broken rail caused suppressed comments
or grotesque contortions on the part of the fence-riders. They finally
got across, and we soon found the main road, but our troubles were not
yet ended, for the soil was "gumbo" of the meanest kind, and we soon had
to camp and rest up, while to add to our cheer and comfort it began to
rain.

We spent the balance of the night in the rain and "gumbo," praying for
daylight and sunshine.

CHAPTER XVIII.

EXPERIENCES.

The next morning we started on our way and had a routine march for
several days, with no incidents worth mentioning until we began to meet
a stray soldier now and then. Our growing confidence in ourselves made
it easy for us to tell a satisfactory story in each case, and we learned
from these men that we were approaching Washington, where Magruder had
his headquarters.

From some negroes we got a full description of the town and a complete
line of directions as to what course to pursue in order to avoid
undesirable observation.

We had to be very careful, but boldness was an essential part of the
policy of being careful, and we walked through the outskirts of the town
as if we owned it, avoiding the traveled streets, but being as free and
as easy as possible.

It was impossible for Miller to be free and easy at any time in anything
partaking of deception, as he was too conscious and conscientious. No
amount of successful evasion of difficulties could make him forget for a
moment that we were escaped prisoners and should be locked