As he said, so it was; he hustled everything before him, permitting meto keep my horse and allowing Whistling Jim to go along. "Good-by,mother," he said; "I'm sorry to leave you in such a place as this. Isuppose you are waiting for Major Whiskers." He laughed gayly as hesaid this, and his mother slapped him playfully as she kissed him.
He invited me to ride with him at the head of his little squad oftroops, saying that when a colonel started out to command a corporal'sguard he assuredly needed assistance. He was perhaps thirty years old,but he had a tremendous fund of animal spirits, so that he had all theways of a gay youth of twenty. He paid no more attention to the man whohad been knocked about by Whistling Jim than if he had been a log ofwood, and yet he was very tender-hearted. Whatever was in the line ofwar appealed to his professional instincts. War was his trade, and heseemed to love it; and he had a great relish for the bustle and stirthat are incident thereto.
His sister rode in the top-buggy in which I had first seen her, and shemight have been the commander of the men, judging from the way she gaveinstructions. She seemed to know all the roads, for she went aheadwithout the slightest hesitation. She was driving a good horse, too;his trot was sufficient to keep our horses in a canter; and whenever heheard us coming up behind him he would whisk the buggy away as if hescorned company. Perhaps this was due to the little lady who wasdriving him.
I had no grudge against her, heaven knows, but somehow I resented mypresent plight, for which I thought she was responsible. She had givenme fair warning, but she should have known that it was my purpose tocarry out the orders of General Forrest; and if I was to be warned atall she should have told me the precise nature of the danger. In thatcase, I could not only have escaped, but I could have been instrumentalin the capture of her brother and his whole party. Perhaps she knewthis--and perhaps this was why she would give me no definiteinformation.
But if she knew at all she must have known everything; her brother musthave come in response to a summons from her or her mother. In any caseI had been tricked--I had been made a fool of--and after what I haddone for her, I felt that I had a right to feel aggrieved. ColonelRyder observed my sullenness and commented on it.
"Don't be down-hearted, my boy. It is the fortune of war; there is notelling when it may turn its sunny side to you. In your place I shouldwhistle and sing and make the best of it. Still, I know how you feel,and I sympathize with you."
"I should not have gone to that house last night," he went on, "but Iknew that my mother was there, and I had received information that oneof our scouts by the name of Leroy was in great danger of capture. WhatI did discover was that Miss Ryder had been captured." He laughed as hesaid this, and gave me a peculiar look.
"As to Leroy," I asked, "was he at that house? I am very muchinterested in knowing, for General Forrest detailed me to capture him."
"Under the circumstances, you acquitted yourself wonderfully well, andGeneral Forrest has no right to be displeased with you," remarkedColonel Ryder.
"But you have not answered my question," I said.
"In the nature of things," he replied, enigmatically, "I prefer not totell you. Of one thing you may be sure--Leroy is not likely to botherthe rebels for some time to come. I think you have put him out ofbusiness, as the boys say."
"Then Leroy must be the name of the man that tried to capture me at thetavern. It was the negro that put him out of business."
"But Leroy is a very dear friend of mine," laughed the Colonel, "andyou may be sure I should not have left him there. You observed, ofcourse, that I was very attentive to the man your negro had whipped."He was still laughing, and I could not imagine for the life of me whyhe was tickled.