re the same shelters ingeniously constructed of brush and
logs and a picket line for horses and mules. This hole must harbor a
high percentage of deserters from both armies.

"Only four of us," Kirby remarked. "'Course I know we're the tall men of
the army, but ain't this runnin' the odds a mite high?"

Croff chuckled. "He's got a point there, Sarge."

"Seein' as how what happened back there on the road could be pinned on
us, we have to do something," Drew returned. This whole section of
country would boil over when those bodies were discovered. "And we ain't
the only ones. Any of our boys comin' through here on furlough are like
to be jumped for it if the Yankees catch them."

"That's the truth if you ever spoke it, Sarge. I can see some hangin's
comin' out of that ambush."

"Theah's still twenty hombres down theah, an' four of us. We can pick
off a few from up heah, but they ain't gonna wait around to git sniped.
So, how we gonna spread ourselves--?"

Kirby's was the unanswerable question. They had trailed the fugitives
from the ambush back to this tangled wilderness with infinite caution,
bypassing two sentries so well posted and concealed they had been forced
to judge that the motley collection of guerrillas were as experienced at
this trade as the scouts. There was no time to try to round up any other
bands of homing Confederates or prowling scouts, even if they knew where
they could be located. This was really a Yankee problem partly as well.

Because of that murderous ambush, the local Union commander should be
out for blood. But how could they get into enemy hands the information
about this rats' nest?

"We can't take 'em ourselves, and we've no time to round up any of the
boys who might be passin' through."

"So we jus' leave heah an' forgit it?" Webb demanded.

"There's another way--risky, but it might work. Take the Yankees off our
trail and put them to doing something for us...."

"Sic 'em in heah, eh?" Kirby was watching Drew with dancing eyes. "How?"

"Yeah, how? Ride up to their camp an' say, 'We know wheah at theah's
some bushwhackers, come'n see'?" Webb asked scornfully. "After this
mornin' they won't even listen to a truce flag, I'm thinkin'."

Croff nodded. "That's right."

"Supposin' those sentries we passed back there were knocked out and two
of us took their places and the other two then laid a trail leadin'
here?"

"Showin' themselves for bait, plainlike?" Kirby asked.

"If we h