THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
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THE BLUE AND THE GRAY— AFLOAT 
 
 Two colors cloth Emblematic Dies Illustrated 
 Price per volume $1.50 
 
 TAKEN BY THE ENEMY 
 WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES 
 ON THE BLOCKADE 
 STAND BY THE UNION 
 FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT 
 A VICTORIOUS UNION 
 
 THE BLUE AND THE GRAY— ON LAND 
 
 Two colors cloth Emblematic Dies Illustrated 
 Price per volume $1.50 
 
 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 IN THE SADDLE 
 
 A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN 
 
 ON THE STAFF 
 
 AT THE FRONT 
 
 AN UNDIVIDED UNION 
 
 # * # Any Volume Sold Separately # # # 
 
 LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 
 BOSTON 
 
Cj-c^ . 5"- ^^<ju^ , 5 
 
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'The Overseer elevated his rifle." Page 2 
 
 74. 
 
The Bhie and the Gray 
 Ai'my Series 
 
 Brother against Brother 
 
 OR 
 
 THE WAR ON THE BORDER 
 
 OLIVER OPTIC 
 
 AUTHOR OF "the ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" " YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD, FIRST 
 AND SECOND SERIES " " BOAT-CLUB STORIES '' ■• THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES " 
 
 "the on\vai;d and upward series" "the vvoodville stories" 
 
 "the starry flag series" " the yacht-club series" "the 
 
 lake shore series " " the riverdale stories " " the all- 
 
 over-the-world library" "the blue and the gray 
 
 NAVY series" "the BOAT-BUILDER SERIES " ETC. 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 
 
Copyright, 1894, by Lke and Suepaud 
 
 Jll Rights Reserved 
 
 Brother against Brother 
 
 Electeotyi'inq by C. J. Peteks & Son, Boston, U.S.A. 
 Pbesswoek uy S. J. Pakkhill & Co. 
 
TO 
 
 GEORGE W. WHITE, Esquire 
 
 ONE OF TWO WHO HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME TO 
 ME AS KEAL SONS 
 
 2CJ)ts ISooft 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY AND GRATEFULLY 
 DEDICATED 
 
 602661 
 
PREFACE 
 
 " Brother Against Brother " is the first of 
 "The Blue and the Gray Army Series," whicli 
 will include six volumes, though the number is 
 contingent upon the longevity of one, still hale 
 and hearty, who has passed by a couple of years 
 the Scriptural limit of " threescore years and 
 ten " allotted to human life. In completing the 
 first six books of " The Blue and the Gray Series," 
 the author realized that the scenes and events of 
 all these stories related to life in the navy, which 
 gallantly performed its full share in maintaining 
 the integrity of the Union. The six books of 
 " The Army and Navy Series," begun in the heat 
 of the struggle thirty years ago, were equally 
 divided between the two arms of the service ; and 
 it has been suggested that the equilibrium should 
 be continued in the later volumes. 
 
 In the preface of " A Victorious Union," the 
 consummation of the terrible strife which the 
 
 7 
 
8 PREFACE 
 
 navy had reached in that volume, the author 
 announced his intention to make a beginning of 
 the books which are to form the army division of 
 the series. Soon after he had returned from his 
 sixteenth voyage across the Atlantic, he found 
 himself in excellent condition to resume the pleas- 
 urable occupation in which he has been engaged 
 for forty years in this particular field. It seems 
 to him very much like embarking in a new enter- 
 prise, though his work consists of an attempt to 
 enliven and diversify the scenes and incidents of 
 an old story which has passed into history, and is 
 forever embalmed as the record of a heroic people, 
 faithfully and bravely represented on hundreds of 
 gory battle-fields, and on the decks of the national 
 navy. 
 
 The story opens in one of the Border States, 
 where two Northern families had settled only a 
 few years before the exciting questions which 
 immediately preceded organized hostilities were 
 under discussion. Considerable portions of the 
 State in which they were located were in a condi- 
 tion of violent agitation, and outrages involving 
 wounds and death were perpetrated. The head 
 of one of these two families was a man of stern 
 
PREFACE 9 
 
 integrity,, earnestly loyal to the Union and the 
 government which was forced into a deadly strife 
 for its very existence. That of the other, influ- 
 enced quite as much by property considerations as 
 by fixed principles, becomes a Secessionist, fuMy 
 as earnest as, and far more demonstrative than, his 
 brother on the other side. 
 
 In each of these families are two sons, just com- 
 ing to the military age, who are not quite so prom- 
 inent in the present volume as they will be in 
 those which follow it. " Riverlawn," the planta- 
 tion which came into the possession of the loyal 
 one by the will of his eldest brother, became the 
 scene of very exciting events, in which his two 
 sons took an active part. The writer has indus- 
 triously examined the authorities covering this 
 section of the country, including State reports, 
 and believes he has not exaggerated the truths of 
 history. As in preceding volumes relating to the 
 war, he does not intend to give a connected narra- 
 tive of the events that transpired in the locality 
 he has chosen, though some of them are introduced 
 and illustrated in the story. 
 
 The State itself, as evidenced by the votes of its 
 Legislature and by the enlistments in the Union 
 
10 PREFACE 
 
 army, was loyal, if not from the beginning, from 
 the time when it obtained its bearings. As in 
 other Southern States, the secession element was 
 more noisy and demonstrative than the loyal por- 
 tion of the community, and thus obtained at first 
 an apparent advantage. Tlie present volume is 
 largely taken up with the conflict for supremacy 
 between these hostile elements. The loyal father 
 and his two sons are active in these scenes ; and 
 the taking possession of a quantity of military sup- 
 jjlies by them precipitates actual warfare, and the 
 question as to whether or not a company of cavalry 
 could be recruited at Riverlawn had to be settled 
 by what amounted to a I'eal battle. 
 
 To the multitude of his young friends now in 
 their teens, and to the greater multitude now 
 grown gray, who have encouraged his efforts dur- 
 ing the last foi'ty years, the author renewedly 
 acknowledges his manifold obligations for their 
 kindness, and wishes them all healtli, happiness, 
 and all the prosperity they can bear. 
 
 William T. Adams. 
 
 DORCHESTEK, JULY 4, 1894. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Troublesome Times ix Kentucky .... 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Something About the Lyox Family ... 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 A Northern Family in Kentucky .... 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Arrival and "Welcome at Riverlawn . . 54 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Distress of Mrs. Titus Lyon .... 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Night Adventure on the Creek ... 78 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 A Stormy Interview on the Bridge . . . 90 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 An Overwhelming Argument 102 
 
 11 
 
12 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 A Most Unreasonable Brother .... 114 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Sink-Cavern near Bar Creek . . . 126 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Aroused to the Solemn Duty of the Hour . . 138 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Night Expedition in the Magnolia . . 150 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 At the Head Waters of Bar Creek . . . 162 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Transportation of the Arms .... 174 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Establishment of Fort Bedford . . . 186 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Union Meeting at Big Bend .... 198 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Ejection of the Noisy Ruffians . . . 210 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Demand of Captain Titus Lyon . . . 222 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Conference in Fort Bedford .... 234 
 
CONTENTS 13 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Approach of the Ruffian Forces . , . 246 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Beginning of Hostilities 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The First Shot from Fort Bedford . . . 270 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Party attacked in the Cross-Cut . . 282 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 The Encounter with the Ruffians . . . 294 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 The Gratitude of Two Fair Maidens . . . 306 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 The Skirmish on the New Road .... 318 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 An Unexplained Gathering on the Road . . 330 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 The Result op the Flank Movement . . . 342 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 The Humiliating Retreat of the Ruffians . 354 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Levi Bedford and his Prisoner .... 366 
 
14 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Dr. Falkirk visits Riverlawn .... 378 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 The Arrival of the Recruiting Officer . . 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 One Against Three on the Road .... 403 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 The Fire that was started at Riverlawn . 415 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 A Battle in Prospect on the Creek . . . 427 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 The Second Battle of Riveklawn ... 438 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 121 
 
 "The ovbrsbbr elhvated his rifle" Froktispiece 
 
 "Then tou mean I am drunk" 
 
 "He grappled with the fellow" .... 
 "i had to be careful not to hit the lady " 
 "It won't go off again until you load it" 
 "Stop, Boy! shouted the man" .... 
 
 . 212 
 
 . 299 
 
 . 372 
 
 . 413 
 
 'Tn^ 30TS CLIMBED A BIG TREE TO OBTAIN A BETTER VIEW " 431 
 
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER, 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 TROUBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 
 
 " Neutrality ! There is no such thing as 
 neutrality in the present situation, my son ! " pro- 
 tested Noah Lyon to the stout boy of sixteen who 
 stood in front of him on the bridge over Bar 
 Creek, in the State of Kentucky. " He that is 
 not for the Union is against it. No man can 
 serve two masters, Dexter." 
 
 "That is just what I was saying to Sandy," 
 replied the boy, whom everybody but his father 
 and mother called " Deck." 
 
 " Your Cousin Alexander takes after his father, 
 who is my own brother; but I must say I am 
 ashamed of him, for he is a rank Secessionist," 
 continued Noah Lyon, fixing his gaze on the 
 planks of the bridge, and looking as grieved as 
 
 17 
 
18 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 though one of his own blood had turned against 
 him. " He was born and brought up in New 
 Hampshire, where about all the people believe in 
 the Union as they do in their own mothers, and a 
 traitor would be ridden on a rail out of almost any 
 town within its borders." 
 
 " Well, it isn't so down here in the State of 
 Kentucky, father," answered Deck. 
 
 " Kentucky was the second new State to be ad- 
 mitted to the Union of the original thirteen, and 
 there are plenty of people now within her borders 
 who protest that it will be the last to leave it," 
 replied the father, as he took a crumpled news- 
 paper from his pocket. " Here's a little piece 
 from a Clarke County paper which is just the 
 opinion o£ a majority of the people of Kentucky. 
 Read it out loud, Dexter," added jNIr. Lyon, as he 
 handed the paper to his son, and pointed out the 
 article. 
 
 The young man took the paper, and read in a 
 loud voice, as though he wished even the fishes in 
 the creek to hear it, and to desire them to refuse 
 to be food for Secessionists : "Any attempt on the 
 part of the government of this State, or any one 
 else, to put Kentucky out of the Union by force, 
 
TROUBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 19 
 
 or using force to compel Union men in finy man- 
 ner to submit to an ordinance of secession, or any 
 pretended resolution 'or decree arising from such 
 secession, is an act of treason against the State of 
 Kentucky. It is therefore lawful to resist an^r^ 
 such ordinance." 
 
 " That's the doctrine ! " exclaimed Mr. Lyons, 
 clapping his hands with a ringing sound to 
 emphasize his opinion. " Those are my senti- 
 ments exactly, and they are political gospel to 
 me ; and I should be ashamed of any son of mine 
 who did not stand by the Union, whether he lived 
 in New Hampshire or Kentucky." 
 
 " You can count me in for the Union every 
 time, father," said Deck, who had read all the 
 newspapers, those from the Noi-th and of the State 
 in wliich he resided, as well as the history of Ken- 
 tucky and the current exciting documents that 
 were floating about the country, including the 
 long and illogical letter of the State's senator who 
 immediately became a Confederate brigadier. 
 
 " I haven't heard your Cousin Artie, who is just 
 your age, and old enough to do something on his 
 own account, say nuicli about the troubles of the 
 times," added Mr. Lyon, bestowing an inquiring 
 
20 . BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 look upon his son. " I have seen Sandy Lyon 
 talking to him a good deal lately, and I hope he is 
 not leading him astiay." 
 
 " No danger of that ; for Artie is as stiff as a 
 cart-stake for the Union, and Sandy can't pour any 
 Secession molasses down his back," replied Deck. 
 
 " I am glad to liear it. I heaid some one say 
 that Sandy had joined, or was going to join, the 
 Plome Guards." 
 
 " He asked me to join them, and wanted me to 
 go down to Bowling Green with him in the boat. 
 He had already put his name down as a member 
 of a company ; but of course I wouldn't go." 
 
 " The Home Guards thrive very well in Bar 
 Creek ; and I noticed that all who joined them are 
 Secessionists, or have a leaning that way," added 
 the father. " The avowed purpose of these organi- 
 zations is to preserve the neutrality of the State ; 
 but that is only another name for treason ; and 
 when affairs have progressed a little farther, the 
 Home Guards will wheel into the ranks of the 
 Confederate army. President .Lincoln made a very 
 guarded and non-committal reply to the Govern- 
 or's letter on neutrality ; but it is as plain as the 
 nose on a toper's face that he don't believe in it." 
 
TROTTBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 21 
 
 " I think it is best to be on one side or the 
 other." 
 
 " Isn't Sandy trying to rope Artie into the 
 Home Guards, Dexter ? " asked Mr. Lyon with 
 an anxious look on his face. 
 
 " Of course he is, as he has tried to get me to 
 join." 
 
 " Artie is a quiet sort of a boy, and don't say 
 much ; but it is plain that he keeps up a tremen- 
 dous thinking all the time, though I have not been 
 able to make out what it is all about." 
 
 "He is considering just what all the rest of us 
 are thinking about ; but I am satisfied that he has 
 come out just where all the rest of us at River- 
 lawn have arrived, father. He and I have talked 
 a great deal about the war ; and Artie is all right 
 now, though he may have had some doubts about 
 where he belonged a few months ago." 
 
 " But Sandy was over here no longer ago than 
 yesterday, and he was talking for over an hour 
 with Artie on this bridge where we are now," 
 said Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " The}^ were talking about the Union meeting 
 to be held to-morrow night at the schoolhouse by 
 the Big Bend," added Deck. 
 
22 BKOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " What interest has Sandy in that meeting ? 
 He does not train in that company." 
 
 " He advised Artie not to go to the meeting, 
 for it was gotten up by traitors to their State." 
 
 "That's a Secessionist phrase which he bor- 
 rowed from some Confederate orator, or at Bow- 
 ling Green, where he spends too much of his time ; 
 and his father had better be teaching him how 
 to lay bricks and mix mortar." 
 
 " But Uncle Titus is over there half his time," 
 suggested Deck. 
 
 " He had better be attending to his business ; 
 for the people over at the village say they will 
 have to get another mason to settle there, for your 
 uncle Titus don't work half his time, and the 
 people can't get their jobs done. Tliere is a new 
 house over there waiting for him to build the 
 chimney." 
 
 " Why don't you talk to him, father ? " asked 
 Deck very seriously. 
 
 " Talk to him, Dexter ! " exclaimed Mr. Lyon. 
 " You might as well set your dog to barking at 
 the rapids in the river. For some reason Titus 
 seems to be rather set against me since we settled 
 in Barcreek. We used to be on the best of terms 
 
TROUBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 23 
 
 in New Hanij)shire, for I always lent liim money 
 when he was hard pressed. I don't know what 
 has come over him since we came to Kentucky. " 
 
 " I do," added Deck, looking earnestly into his 
 father's face. 
 
 " Well, what is it, I should like to know ? I 
 have always done everything I could since I came 
 here for him." 
 
 " Sandy told me something about it one day, 
 and seemed to have a good deal of feeling about 
 it. He says you wronged Uncle Titus out of five 
 thousand dollars," said Deck, wondering if his 
 father had ever heard the charge before. 
 
 " I know what Sandy meant. Of course Titus 
 must have been in the habit of talking about this 
 matter in his family, or Sandy would not have 
 known anything about it," replied Mr. Lyon, 
 evidently very much annoyed at the revelation 
 of his son. 
 
 "I did not know what Sandy meant, and I 
 thought I had better not ask him ; for of course 
 I knew there was not a particle of truth in the 
 charge," added Deck, surprised to find that his 
 father knew something about the accusation. 
 
 "I don't talk with my children about trouble- 
 
24 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 some family matters, Dexter, and your Uncle Titus 
 ought not to do so. " I shall only say that there 
 is not the slightest grain of reason or justice in 
 the charge against me ; and Titus knows it as 
 well as I do. If anybody has wronged him, it was 
 your deceased Uncle Duncan. Let the matter 
 drop tliere, at least for the present. Why does 
 Sandy wish to prevent Artie from attending the 
 Union meeting to-morrow night ? " 
 
 " He said it was likely to be broken up by the 
 Home Guards." 
 
 " Then he probably knows something about a 
 plot to interfere with the gathering. I rode up to 
 the village this morning, and I was quite sur- 
 prised to find that several whom I knew to be 
 loyal men did not intend to be present. When 
 I urged them to be there, they hinted' that there 
 would be trouble at the schoolhouse." 
 
 At this moment a bell was rung at the side-door 
 of the mansion, about ten rods from the bridge 
 where the father and son had been discussing the 
 situation. It crossed the creek a quarter of a 
 mile from the river, which has a course of three 
 hundred miles through the State, and is navigable 
 from the Ohio two-thirds of its length during the 
 
TEOIJBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 25 
 
 season of high water. The mansion was the resi- 
 dence of Noah Lyon ; and after the green field, 
 ornamented with stately trees, which extended 
 from the house to the river, it had taken the name 
 of " Riverlawn " in the time of the former pjo- 
 prietor. The plantation extended along the creek 
 more than half a mile, including over five hundred 
 acres of the richest land in the State. 
 
 Above the bridge was a little village of negro 
 houses, so neat and substantial that they deserved 
 a better name than " huts," generally given to the 
 dwellings of the slaves of a plantation. Each had 
 its little garden, fenced off and well cared for. It 
 was evident that the occupants of these cottages 
 were subjected to few if any of the hardships of 
 their condition. Many of them were just return- 
 ing from the hemp fields and the horse pastures of 
 the estate ; and they seemed to be happy and con- 
 tented, with no care for the troubles that were 
 then agitating the State. 
 
 The bell had been rung at the side-door of the 
 mansion by a black woman, very neatly dressed. 
 Back of the dwelling was the kitchen in a separate 
 building, according to the custom at the South. 
 Mr. Lyon, though he was the present proprietor 
 
26 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 of this extensive estate, was dressed in very plain 
 clothes, and had none of the air of a Kentuelcy 
 gentleman. Deck was clothed in the same man- 
 ner ; but both of them looked very neat and very 
 respectable in spite of their plain clothes. 
 
 They came from the bridge at the sound of the 
 bell. On the left of the entrance was the dining- 
 room, a large apartment, with the table set for 
 dinner in the middle of it. Two young octoroon 
 girls were standing by the chairs to wait upon 
 the family, which consisted of six persons. 
 
 " You have been shopping this forenoon, haven't 
 you, Ruth? " asked Mr. Lyon, addressing his wife, 
 Avho was seated at one end of the table while he 
 was at the other. 
 
 "I did not do much shopping; but I called 
 upon Amelia, and found her very much troubled," 
 replied Mrs. Lyon, alluding to the wife of Titus 
 Lyon. 
 
 "I should think she might be troubled," replied 
 Mr. Lyon. " She does not take any part in poli- 
 tics ; but one of her brothers is a captain in a New 
 Hampshire regiment, and another is a major, and 
 all her family are loyal to the backbone. She has 
 not said much of anything, but I know she does 
 
TROUBLESOME TIMES IN KENTUCKY 27 
 
 not approve the attitude of her husband and her 
 two sons. The hist time I saw her, she was afraid 
 they would enlist in the Confederate army. Titus 
 won't hear a word of objection from her." 
 
 "She told me an astonishing piece of news this 
 forenoon," continued Mrs. Lyon. 
 
 " I shall not be much astonished at anything 
 Titus does," added the husband. " But what has 
 he done now ? Has he enlisted in the Confederate 
 army?" 
 
 " Not yet ; but Amelia says he has been offered 
 the command of a company of Home Guards if he 
 will pay for the arms and uniform of it. He agreed 
 to do so, and has already paid over the money, five 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 "Is it possible ! " exclaimed Mr. Lyon; and the 
 two boys dropped their knives and forks in their 
 astonishment. " I did not think he would go as 
 far as that. He could not be a ranker Secessionist 
 if he had lived all his life in South Carolina, in- 
 stead of nine or ten years in Kentucky." 
 
 " This happened a month ago, and Amelia says 
 the arms are hidden someAvhere on the river." 
 
 " Does she know where ? " 
 
 "She did not tell me where if she knew. 
 
28 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 More than this, she says he is drinking too much 
 whiskey, and that the Secessionists have made a 
 iool of him. She is afraid he will throw away all 
 his property." 
 
 " I have noticed several times that he has been 
 drinking too much, though he was not exactly 
 intoxicated." 
 
 " Oh ! Amelia said he meant to make you pay 
 for the arms and uniforms," said Mrs. Lyon, with 
 some excitement in her manner. " He insists that 
 you owe him five thousand dollars." 
 
 " If I did, he gives me a good excuse for not 
 paying it ; but I do not owe him a nickel. Home 
 Guards and Confederates here are all the same ; 
 and no money of mine shall go for arming either of 
 them." 
 
 " Titus's wife says you are denounced as an abo- 
 litionist, Noah, and they will drive you out of the 
 county soon," added Mrs. Lyon. 
 
 "When they are ready to begin, I shall be 
 there," replied Mr. Lyon with a smile. 
 
 The dinner was finished, and the family sepa- 
 rated, Deck and his father returning to the bridge, 
 followed by Artie. 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 29 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 
 
 The grand mansion and the extensive domain 
 of Riverlawn had been occupied by the Lyon 
 family hardly more than a year when the politi- 
 cal excitement in Kentucky began to manifest 
 itself, though not so violently as in some of the 
 more southern States. Abraham Lincoln had been 
 elected President of the United States, and south 
 of Mason and Dixon's line he was regarded as a 
 sectional president whose term of office would be 
 a menace and an absolute peril to the institution 
 of slavery. Senator Crittenden of Kentucky pro- 
 posed certain amendments to the Constitution to 
 restore the Missouri Compromise, by which slavery 
 should be confined to specified limits, and Con- 
 gress prevented from interfering with the labor- 
 system of the South. 
 
 Before Christmas in 1860, South Carolina had 
 unanimously passed its Ordinance of Secession, the 
 intelligence of which was received with enthusi- 
 
30 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 asm by the Gulf States, all of which soon followed 
 her example. The more conservative States held 
 back, and all but the four on the border seceded 
 in one form or another after some delay. 
 
 In Kentucky the wealthy planters and slave- 
 holders, with many prominent exceptions, were 
 inclined to share the lot of the seceding- States : 
 but the majority of the people still clung to the 
 Union. Both sides of the exciting question were 
 largely represented, and the contest between them 
 was violent and bitter. For a time the specious 
 compromise of neutrality was regarded as the 
 panacea for the troubles of the State by the less 
 violent of the people on both sides. Home Guards 
 were enlisted and organized to protect the territory 
 from invasion by either the Federal or the Con- 
 federate forces. 
 
 The occupation of Columbus and Hickman on 
 the Mississippi River by Southern troops, imme- 
 diately followed by the taking of Paducah by 
 General Grant with two regiments of Union sol- 
 diers from Cairo, practically dissolved the illusion 
 of neutrality. The government at Washington 
 never recoo-nized this makeshift of those who 
 loved the Union, but desired to protect slavery. 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 31 
 
 It was honestly and sincerely cherished by good 
 men of both parties, who desired to preserve the 
 Union and save the State from the horrors of 
 civil war. 
 
 The government did not regard tlie seceded 
 States as so many independent sovereignties, as 
 the Secessionists claimed that they were, but as 
 part and parcel of a union of States forming one 
 consolidated nation, with no provision in its Con- 
 stitution for a separation of any kind, or for the 
 withdrawal of one or more of the individual mem- 
 bers of the Union. The States which had pre- 
 tended to dissolve their connection with the other 
 members of the compact were considered as re- 
 fractory members of the Union, in a state of 
 insurrection against the sovereign authority of the 
 nation, who were to be reduced to obedience and 
 subjection by force of arms ; for they had appealed 
 to the logic of bayonets and cannon-balls in carry- 
 ing out their disruption. 
 
 With the duty of putting down the insurrection 
 and subduing the refractory elements in the 
 South on its hands, the government could not 
 respect or even tolerate a neutrality which placed 
 the State of Kentucky, four hundred miles in 
 
32 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 extent from east to west, between the loyal and 
 the disloyal sections of its domain. If for no 
 other purpose, armies of Federal troops must cross 
 the country south of the Ohio in order to reach 
 the seat of the Rebellion. 
 
 The Home Guards were powerless to prevent 
 the passage of the loyal armies through the State ; 
 and any attempt to do so would have been to figlit 
 the battle of the Confederate armies, and would 
 have at once robbed neutrality of its transparent 
 mask. A portion of these military bodies were 
 doubtless honest in their intentions. Those who 
 were not for the Union in this connection were 
 practically against it. Later in the course of 
 events, the Home Guards were incorporated in the 
 armies of the Rebellion ; and no doubt these organ- 
 izations were used to a considerable extent to 
 recruit the forces of the enemy. 
 
 For a period of several months the State was not 
 in actual possession of either party in the conflict. 
 One was struggling within its territory to keep 
 it in the Union, and the other to force it into 
 the Southern Confederacy. Irresponsible persons 
 formed what they called a " Provisional Council," 
 elected a governor, and sent delegates to the 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 33 
 
 Confederate Congress, who were admitted to seats 
 in that body. 
 
 During this chaotic state of affairs, Kentuckians 
 were joining both armies, though the great body 
 of them enlisted in the forces of the Union. At 
 the close of 1861 it was estimated that Kentucky 
 had twenty-six thousand men, cavalry and infantry, 
 enrolled to fight the battles of the loyal nation, 
 including those who had joined the regiments of 
 other States. 
 
 Deeds of violence were not uncommon in many 
 parts of the State, growing out of the excited 
 state of feeling. Confederate emissaries were 
 busy in the territory, and armed bodies of them 
 foraged for provisions and fodder in the southern 
 portions. Unpopular men were hunted down and 
 shot or hanged, and the reign of disorder pre- 
 vailed. Such was the condition of Kentucky 
 soon after the Lyon family took possession of 
 Riverlawn ; and some account of its several mem- 
 bers becomes necessary. 
 
 The first of the name in America had been 
 one of the earliest English settlers in Massachu- 
 setts ; but one of his descendants, more than a 
 hundred years later, had moved to the colony 
 
/ 
 
 34 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 of New Hampshire. Early in the present cen- 
 tury, one of his grandchildren was a farmer in 
 Derry, in that State. This particular Lyon had 
 four sons, two of whom have already been men- 
 tioned in this story. 
 
 Duncan Lyon was the eldest of them, and 
 seems to have been the most enterprising of 
 the four; for he emigrated to Kentucky, and 
 purchased the extensive tract of land which now 
 formed the estate of Riverlawn. He became a 
 planter in due time from his small beginnings, 
 raising hemp, tobacco, and horses, without neg- 
 lecting the productions necessary for the support 
 of his household. He was very prosperous in 
 his undertakings ; and being a man of good sense 
 and excellent judgment, he became a person of 
 some distinction in his county. He was known 
 as " Colonel Duncan Lyon," though he never 
 held any military position ; but his title clung 
 to him, and even his brothers in New Hampshire 
 always spoke of him as the " colonel." 
 
 He never married ; but he made a modest for- 
 tune of one hundred thousand dollars, including 
 the value of his estate, though not including the 
 value of about fifty negroes, men, women, and 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 35 
 
 children, which for some reason he never dis- 
 closed, he did not put into the inventory that 
 accompanied his will. 
 
 The colonel's estate was on Bar Creek, at its 
 junction with Green River. One mile from Rirer- 
 lawn was the village of Barcreek, a place with 
 three churches, several stores, a blacksmith's and 
 a wheelwright's shop, with a carpenter and a 
 mason. It supplied the needs of the country in 
 a circuit of eight or ten miles. In fact, it was a 
 sort of market town. 
 
 There was not a great deal of building done 
 i)! this region ; but the mason residing there had 
 made a comfortable living, jobbing and erecting 
 an occasional chimney, till he died in 1852. The 
 colonel notified his brother, Titus Lyon, who was 
 a mason in Derry, that there was an opening for 
 one of his trade in Barcreek, but he could not 
 advise him to move there. 
 
 Titus was not a prosperous man ; for he was 
 rather lazy, and greatly lacking in enterprise. 
 The colonel did not believe he would do any 
 better in a new home than in the old one, and 
 he bluntly wiote to him to this effect. The 
 planter had a suspicion that his brother drank 
 
86 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 too much whiskey, for he could not account for 
 his poverty in any other way ; but he had no 
 evidence on the point. Titus decided to move 
 to Kentucky ; and he did so, though he had to 
 borrow the money of his brother Noah to enable 
 him to reach his new home. 
 
 Business in his trade happened to be usually 
 good after his arrival, and for several years he 
 did tolerably well. Then he desired to buy a 
 house and some land which were for sale in Bar- 
 creek. The colonel loaned him five thousand 
 dollars for this purpose, and to pay off his note 
 to Noah, mortgaging the estate he had purchased 
 as security. 
 
 From this time Titus did not do as well as 
 before. He seemed to regard himself as a landed 
 proprietor, and the equal of the planters of Ken- 
 tucky. He neglected his work, feeling rather 
 above it, negroes doing most of the jobs in his 
 line. He employed a couple of them, but they 
 did not earn their wages. The colonel had to 
 help him out several times. 
 
 As a planter in good standing among his neigh- 
 bors in the county, Colonel Lyon, who was not 
 a profound thinker, fell in with the views and 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYOK FAMILY 37 
 
 opinions of those in his grade of society. He 
 was not a strong pro-slavery man, but he owned 
 lialf a hundred negroes, who had been necessary 
 to enable him to carry on his planting operations ; 
 but he treated them as well as though he had 
 paid them wages. 
 
 He was not inclined to make any issue with his 
 neighbors on the labor question, though some of 
 them thought he was not entirely reliable on this 
 subject. He attended to his business, and did not 
 vex his spirit over extraneous matters. When the 
 protection of the South against the aggressions of 
 the North in connection with slavery was agitated, 
 he followed his Kentucky leaders. 
 
 On the question of any interference on the part 
 of Congress or the people of the free States he had 
 very decided opinions. H he had ever intended 
 to manumit his negroes, as had been hinted in the 
 county, no one could object to his position after 
 the subject began to be agitated in the State. 
 After eight years' residence in Barcreek, his 
 brother Titus was a more thorough-going pro- 
 slavery man than the planter ; in fact, he had had 
 a strong tendency in that direction when he lived 
 in Derry. 
 
38 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Titus's wife was not a happy woman in her do- 
 mestic relations. She was better educated than 
 her husband, and emphatically more sensible ; and 
 she could not help seeing that Titus was fritter- 
 ing away his opportunities, drinking too much 
 whiskey, and associating with reckless and un- 
 principled characters. Their two sons, Alexander 
 and Orlando, were following in the footsteps of 
 their father. Even the three daughters had im- 
 bibed strange notions from their associates, and 
 belonged on the Secession side of the house. 
 
 Colonel Lyon was not permitted to witness the 
 wild disorder which pervaded the State after the 
 election of the Republican President ; for he died 
 suddenly in a fit of apoplexy, after he had eaten 
 his Christmas dinner, in 1858, He was only fifty 
 years old, and perhaps if he had taken more exer- 
 cise and been more prudent in his eating and 
 drinking, he might have taken part in the stormy 
 events of the later period. 
 
 Colonel Cosgrove, a prominent lawyer residing 
 at the county seat, and an intimate friend of the 
 deceased, was present at the funeral. Titus took 
 charge of the affairs of the mansion, and the law- 
 yer intimated to him that he should be present at 
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILY 39 . 
 
 Riverlawn the next morning to cany out the 
 wishes and intentions of his departed friend. 
 
 Titus did not understand this notice, and sup- 
 posed that the duty of settling the estate of his 
 brother rested entirely upon him. Colonel Cos- 
 grove came as he had promised, with a will inliis 
 hands, of which he had been the custodian. He 
 proceeded to read it without any ceremony, Titus 
 being the only other person present. 
 
 The deceased valued his property at one hun- 
 dred -thousand dollars, Riverlawn being placed 
 at twenty-five thousand, the rest being in cash, 
 stocks, and other securities. The estate, including 
 the negroes, everything in the house or connected 
 with the place, and ten thousand dollars, half cash 
 and half stocks, were given to Noah Lyon. The 
 document explained that he gave the money and 
 stocks to Noah, because he had supported and 
 brought up the two children of his deceased 
 brother Cyrus. 
 
 To his brother Titus he gave twenty-five thou- 
 sand dollars, including the mortgage note he held 
 against him, half the balance in cash, and half in 
 stocks and bonds. To his brother Noah, in trust 
 for the two children of his brother Cyrus, de- 
 
40 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ceased, twenty-five thousand dollars, to be paid 
 over to them when they were of age. Colonel 
 Cosgrove said the deceased had apportioned the 
 stocks as they were to be given to the legatees, 
 and the money was in the county bank. He 
 would come to Barcreek in about a week to pay 
 over the cash, and deliver the stocks to Titus. 
 
 The lawyer was appointed executor of the es- 
 tate, and he would hold the property given to 
 Noah Lyon until he came to receive it, or made 
 other arrangements in regard to it. Then he 
 showed a letter, with a great seal upon it, which 
 he had been directed to deliver to Noah in person. 
 Titus wanted to know what the letter was about ; 
 but if the lawyer knew its contents, he avoided 
 making any revelation. 
 
 It was evident to Colonel Cosgrove that Titus 
 was dissatisfied with the will, for a heavy frown 
 had rested on his brow since the reading of the 
 first item of the instrument ; but he said nothing, 
 and very abruptly left the legal gentleman. 
 
A NOETHEllN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 41 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A NORTHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 
 
 Titus's eldest daughter, Mildred, had written 
 to her Uncle Noah in New Hampshire the par- 
 ticulars of the death of his brother after the fact 
 had been telegraphed to him by Colonel Cosgrove. 
 The letter was hardly more than an announce- 
 ment of the decease of her Kentucky uncle, and 
 the date of the funeral. It was not possible for 
 Noah to reach Barcfeek in season to be present 
 at the last rites ; but he wrote to Titus without 
 delay. 
 
 A few days after the telegram a letter from Col- 
 onel Cosgrove, the executor, came to Noah Lyon, 
 containing a copy of the will of his brother. The 
 lawyer, who had been the intimate friend and con- 
 fidant of Colonel Lyon, wrote with entire freedom 
 to the distant brother. He stated that his deceased 
 friend had little confidence in Titus, and in Bar- 
 creek he was not considered as an entirely reliable 
 man. 
 
42 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The most important item in the letter was that 
 Colonel Lyon had passed a whole day with him 
 only a week before his death, talking most of the 
 time about his estate. He had lived at Riverlawn 
 twenty-five years, had developed the place from a 
 wilderness, and was very much attached to it. In 
 his will he had left it to Noah, and he desired that 
 he should move to Kentucky and take possession 
 of the estate. 
 
 It required a week of consideration in the com- 
 fortable home of the Derry farmer, in which the 
 children, their own and the adopted ones, took part, 
 before a conclusion could be reached; but it was a 
 compliance with the request of Colonel Lyon. 
 Within a year before his death the planter had 
 spent a month with the New Hampshire farmer, 
 during which he had told him all about his estate 
 and his surroundings at Barcreek. They had not 
 met before since the elder brother first went to 
 Kentucky; and the Kentuckian formed a very high 
 opinion of his New England brother, which was 
 quite in contrast with his estimate of Titus, who 
 had been his neighbor for six years. 
 
 The colonel's will was dated within two months 
 of this visit, and doubtless he was thinking of 
 
A NORTHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 43 
 
 his last testament when he went to New Hamp- 
 shire. As soon as it was settled that the family 
 should make their home in Kentucky, Noah wrote 
 a long letter to his only surviving brother, an- 
 nouncing his intention to leave Barcreek as soon 
 as he could settle up his business in Deny. He 
 expressed himself with all brotherly kindness, and 
 was glad that they were again to live near each 
 other. 
 
 Titus did not even reply to this letter, though 
 his wife wrote to Mrs. Noah, expressing the pleas- 
 ure she felt that they were again to be neighbors. 
 It was about two months after the death of Colonel 
 Lyon that Noah and his familj^ arrived at Bowling 
 Green, the county town, which was the nearest 
 railroad station to Barcreek, fifteen miles distant. 
 Noah Lyon had kept up his correspondence with 
 the executor of his brother, and Colonel Cosgrove 
 was at the station when the family arrived. Titus 
 was not there, and he did not manifest much inter- 
 est in the coming of his only remaining brother. 
 
 The distinguished lawyer extended a hearty wel- 
 come to the family, and invited them all to dinner 
 at his mansion. He wondered that Titus or some 
 member of his family was not there to greet the 
 
44 BROTHER AGAIKST BROTHER 
 
 new-comers ; but he said little about him, though 
 enough to show that he had not a very exalted 
 opinion of him. 
 
 " You will find the mansion of your late brother 
 in perfect order, Mr. Lyon," said Colonel Cosgrove, 
 as they rose from the dinner-table. " I was over 
 there yesterday, and satisfied myself that every 
 thing was in condition for your reception. The 
 furniture remains just as it was in the time of 
 Colonel Lyon." 
 
 " You have been very kind, Colonel Cosgrove, 
 and I am very grateful to j^ou for all the attention 
 you have given to my brother's affairs and to me," 
 replied Noah, taking the hand of the hospitable 
 executor. " Does my brother Titus live near 
 Riverlawn? " 
 
 "About a mile from it, in the village of Bar- 
 creek," answered the lawyer. " Your brother, the 
 colonel, had several boats ; and when fie went to 
 the village in the open season he usually made 
 the trip by the river, rowed by half a dozen of 
 his boys." 
 
 "I was not aware that he had any boys," added 
 Noah. 
 
 " His hands, his negroes ; and he always called 
 
A NOllTHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 45 
 
 them bo3^s. He was the best friend they ever had," 
 the colonel explained. " That reminds me that I 
 have a letter whicli your late brother required me 
 to deliver personally into j^our hands ; " and the 
 lawyer went to his office for it. 
 
 He returned in a few minutes, and gave the let- 
 ter, which was heavily sealed with wax, to the new 
 owner of Riverlawn. He had mentioned this epis- 
 tle in one of his letters to the new proprietor, and 
 Noah wondered as he looked upon its elaborate 
 seals what could be the subject of the communica- 
 tion. The colonel was speaking of the boys, which 
 reminded him of the letter ; and he suspected that 
 it had some connection with the negroes. He put 
 it in his pocket very carefully, and then looked at 
 his watch. 
 
 "How far is it from this town to Barcreek?" 
 he asked, still holding the watch in his hand. 
 
 " Fifteen miles ; and as the roads are not in the 
 best condition at this season of the year, it will 
 take about two hours and a half to make the trip," 
 replied the lawyer. " But it is only two o'clock, 
 and you have plenty of time." 
 
 " But I must look up a conveyance," suggested 
 the new proprietor of Riverlawn. 
 
46 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " A conveyance is all ready for you, Mr. Lyon," 
 added the colonel. " I directed Mr. Bedford to 
 come over for you and your family, and he has 
 been here since nine o'clock this morning. He 
 came with the road-wagon, which will comfortably 
 accommodate your whole family; and one of tlie 
 boys came over with another \^•agon to tote your 
 baggage over." 
 
 " You have been very tlioughtful and consider- 
 ate, Colonel Cosgrove, and I am under very great 
 obligations to you," said Noah. 
 
 " Don't mention it, Mr. Lj'on. I should be 
 happy to have you spend the night with me, for 
 we have still a great deal to talk about," answered 
 the executor. 
 
 " My family, as well as myself, are naturally 
 quite impatient to see our new home," suggested 
 the New Hampshire farmer. " Fifteen miles is 
 not a very long distance even in New England, 
 and I hope we shall meet often." 
 
 " I shall visit Riverlawn often until you are well 
 settled in your new home. I have a plantation 
 myself on the road to Barcreek, and about half 
 way there, which I visit two or tliree times a week ; 
 and I shall be glad to give you all the information 
 
A NOETHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 47 
 
 you need in regard to your surroundings, or in re- 
 lation to the management of your estate. You 
 will see me occasionally at Riverlawn, and I shall 
 hope to meet you and your family here, or at my 
 estate, which is called Belgrade." 
 
 " Thank 3'ou, Colonel ; I am sure we shall be 
 good friends in spite of my antecedents as a 
 Northern farmer, for I am not a bigot or a fa- 
 natic." 
 
 " I have no doubt we shall be good friends and 
 good neighbors," said the Kentuckian, as he took 
 the hand of his new client, and struck the bell on 
 the table. " Now I will send for Mr. Bedford, 
 who has been the overseer or manager of your 
 brother for the last ten years. As the colonel was, 
 he is a bachelor of fifty, and has been one of the 
 family at Riverlawn. He is a thoroughly reliable 
 man, and one of the late colonel's best friends." 
 
 A servant was sent for the overseer, and pres- 
 ently he appeared. He was a rather stout man, 
 and his round face seemed to be overflowing with 
 pleasantry and good-nature. He was duly pre- 
 sented to all the six members of the family, and 
 heartily shook the hand of each of them. He did 
 not at all answer to the description of plantation 
 
48 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 overseers which Noah Lyon had obtained from the 
 books he had read, depicting the horrors of slavery. 
 In spite of his occupation he took a fancy to him 
 at first sight ; and all the family were pleased with 
 him. 
 
 The manager, as Noah preferred to call him, was 
 Levi Bedford. He had never been very successful 
 in the management of his own affairs ; but he was 
 a man after Colonel Lyon's own heart, and in his 
 will he had given him five thousand dollars, which 
 was one of the grievances Titus had against the 
 testament. One of the virtues of Levi, as his late 
 employer always called him, was his extreme fond- 
 ness for horses, with his skill in raising and man- 
 aging them ; for this had been an important branch 
 of the planter's business. 
 
 " I have started Pink over to the place with all 
 your baggage. Major Lyon, and I am ready to 
 leave with the family when you say the word," 
 said Mr. Bedford, after they had conversed a few 
 minutes. 
 
 "• I am not a major, Mr. Bedford," replied Noah ; 
 and all the family laughed when they heard the 
 military title applied to him. 
 
 " Your brother was not exactly a colonel ; but 
 
A NORTH ERK FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 49 
 
 that is a fashion we have down here of expressing 
 our respect for a man by giving him rank in the 
 military," laughed the manager. " But I want 
 you to call me ' Levi,' as your brother did, and as 
 Colonel Cosgrove does when there is no company 
 present." 
 
 " Very well, Levi ; I intend to conform to the 
 customs of the country. We are all ready to leave 
 at once," added Noah. 
 
 " My team will be at the door in four minutes 
 and three-quarters, Major Lyon," answered the 
 manager as he left the room. 
 
 " Call it five, Levi," added the colonel. 
 
 " Less than that, Colonel," replied Levi as he 
 closed the door. 
 
 " I would give that man double the wages I pay 
 my present overseer if I could have him at Bel- 
 grade ; and I should make money by the change," 
 said the host, as he went to the window of the 
 drawing-room, to which the party had retired from 
 the dining-room. " The only fault he has is that 
 he is too gentle and indulgent to the negroes. 
 The neighbors say he is spoiling the niggers all 
 over two counties. But I reckon the colonel was 
 more to blauie for that, if anybody was to blame, 
 
60 BKOTHER AGAINST BKOTHER 
 
 for he had a soft heart. I never saw two men less 
 alike than your two Kentucky brothers," contin- 
 ued Colonel Cosgrove, as Noah joined him at the 
 window. "There is your team, and Levi hasn't 
 been gone quite five minutes." 
 
 " Four horses ! " exclaimed Noah. 
 
 "Levi likes a good team and enough of it," 
 added the lawyer. 
 
 " And I never saw four liandsomer horses in all 
 my life," added the new owner of Riverlawn, as 
 he gazed with admiration on tlie magnificent ani- 
 mals ; and all the family hastened to the windows 
 to see the turnout. 
 
 " You will find at least thirty more of them 
 when you get to Riverlawn." 
 
 The road-wagon was a covered vehicle with 
 four seats, large enough for a dozen passengers. 
 It was neatly painted and upholstered, and the 
 harnesses on the horses were elegant enough for a 
 city turnout. The whole family promptly realized 
 that they were entering upon a style to which they 
 had never been accustomed. B at Noah Lyon had 
 suddenly become a rich man. 
 
 The colonel gallantly assisted the ladies to their 
 seats. The horses danced and pranced ; but they 
 
A NORTHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 51 
 
 were so well trained that they did not offer to 
 start till Levi drew up his four reins and gave 
 them the word to go. Hasty adieux weie spoken, 
 and the horses went off, gently at first, but soon 
 put in a lively pace. 
 
 Noah and his wife took the back seat, Dorcas 
 and Hope took the next one, for all of them had 
 been handed to these places b}' the colonel ; Dex- 
 ter installed himself at the side of Levi, and Arte- 
 mas had a seat all to himself behind them. All 
 was new and strange to them, and they observed 
 the buildings in the town till they passed out of 
 the village. Then the scenery was quite different 
 from that of their former home. 
 
 Onl}' two of the four children were those of 
 Noah and his wife. Dexter was his son, and was 
 sixteen years old at this time, while his sister 
 Hope was thirteen. Both of them had received a 
 high-school education in part, and they were both 
 very bright scholars. People in Derry called Deck 
 an " old head," which meant that his judgment 
 and knowledge had ripened beyond his years. 
 Without being a " goody," he was a good bo}-, 
 with high aims and noble impulses. 
 
 Ten years before, Cyrus Lyon, one of the four 
 
52 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 brothers of w horn Colonel Duncan was the eldest, 
 was a resident of Hillsburg in the State of Vermont, 
 where he had settled on a valley farm, which he 
 had hired with the intention of buying it when he 
 was able to do so. He was married in Deny, and 
 had two children, with whom he moved to his 
 new home. He lived in an old house, between 
 which and the public road flowed a small river, 
 nearly dry most of the year, but exceedingly tur- 
 bulent in the spring when the snow melted on the 
 mountains. 
 
 A freshet came, and the house was surrounded 
 by water. The bridge over the stream was raised, 
 and Cyrus went out to secure it. His wife fol- 
 lowed to assist him, and while both of them were 
 on it, a rush of waters came which tore the struc- 
 ture into fragments, and both of them were swept 
 away by the mad torrent. They were drowned in 
 spite of the efforts of the neighbors to rescue them. 
 But they saved the two children who remained in 
 the house. 
 
 Noah had taken these two children and brought 
 them up as his own, for the father did not leave 
 property enough to pay his debts. Artemas was 
 fifteen and Dorcas was seventeen. The colonel 
 
A NORTHERN FAMILY IN KENTUCKY 53 
 
 paid for their support for ten years, and left each 
 a handsome legacy, in trust with Noah. 
 
 In two hours from the county town, Levi Bed- 
 ford reined in his four horses at the front door of 
 the Riverlawn mansion. 
 
54 BllOTHER AGAliNST BliOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE ARRIVAL AND AYELCOME AT RIVERLAWN" 
 
 It was about live o'clock in tlie afternoon when 
 the road-wagon drew up in front of the mansion at 
 Riverlawn. Less than a week before the Northern 
 famil}^ had left the deep snows and tlie icy cold of 
 New Hampshire, and the air of the Southern clime 
 was comparatively mild and soft. The magnolias 
 were as green as in summer ; certain flowers had 
 pushed their w'ay out of the ground, and blos- 
 somed in the garden. 
 
 The young people in the wagon had been de- 
 lighted with the ride, the air was so mild, and 
 everything was so new and strange. They had 
 struck the river road leading from the estate to 
 the village, and the rest of the way was along Bar 
 Creek to the bridge which crossed it to the man- 
 sion. They had passed Pink, the old negro who 
 came with the baggage, at Belgrade, where he had 
 stopped to water his two horses. Levi Bedford 
 had talked all the wa^^ pointing out every object 
 
THE ARllIVAL AT RIVERLAWN 55 
 
 of interest to the new-comers, telling stories, re- 
 peating all the old jokes of the locality, which 
 were quite new to his audience. 
 
 As the manager wheeled his horses from the 
 creek road upon the bridge, he cracked his whip, 
 which seemed to be the signal for the four spirited 
 horses to dance and prance, in order to make a 
 proper display as they reached the end of their 
 journey. Gathered in the walks in front of the 
 house were all the servants of the mansion, and all 
 the field-hands belonging to the place, to welcome 
 the family. 
 
 There were just fifty-one of them, Levi said, and 
 they all broke out in a yell, which was intended 
 for a cheer, as the magnificent animals danced up 
 to the front door. It was a cordial welcome, and 
 the " people " put their whole souls into it. Noah 
 Lyon took off his Derby hat and waved it to the 
 crowd ; Deck and Artie followed his example, all 
 of them bowing ; while Mrs. Lyon and the girls 
 flaunted their handkerchiefs vigorously to the 
 assembled population of the plantation. 
 
 Most of them were somewhat shy at first, though 
 they intended to give a proper welcDme to the 
 family of the new proprietor, and tliey were rather 
 
56 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 restrained in their demonstration ; but as soon as 
 the party waved their hats and handkerchiefs, with 
 pleasant smiles on their faces, all of them shouted, 
 " Glad to see you ! " their enthusiasm being limited 
 only by the vigor of their voices and the strength 
 of their lungs. 
 
 The Lyons were intensely amused at the ear- 
 nestness of the demonstration, and they laughed 
 heartily. They retained their seats in the wagon 
 after it stopped, more interested in the gathering 
 around them than in anything else for the time. 
 The crowd closed up around the vehicle in order 
 to obtain a nearer view of their new masters and 
 mistresses. They had known and loved as a pa- 
 triarch the colonel, for he had alwa3's been kind 
 and indulgent to them. Unfortunately they also 
 knew Titus Lyon, by reputation if not personally, 
 and for a month they had been wondering whether 
 the new propi'ietor was like the colonel or his 
 Kentucky brother. 
 
 The " people " were of all ages, from the bald- 
 headed old negro with a flaxen fringe around his 
 rear head on a level with his ears, down to the 
 infant in arms, whose toothless grin contrasted with 
 the ivory display of its mother. They were of all 
 
THE ARRIVAL AT RIVEKLAWN 57 
 
 the hues of the colored race, fvoin the ebony face 
 whereon charcoal could make no mark to the light 
 saffron tint of the octoroon. 
 
 There was a plentiful sprinkling of " mammies " 
 and "uncles" among them, for all the older ones 
 are called by these names. But the great body 61 
 them were young or middle-aged men and women, 
 able-bodied and fit for regular work. Noah Lyon 
 and his wife were particularly struck with the 
 appearance of two girls sixteen to eighteen years 
 old, who were nearly as white as their own chil- 
 dren. They were neatly and modestly dressed, 
 and both of them had very pretty faces. They 
 were employed in the house as waiters at the 
 table, and in other general work. 
 
 "Glad to see you, mars'r!" shouted a score of 
 the tribe in unison. " Glad to see you, missus ! " 
 " Gib you welcome to Barcreek, mars'r and mis- 
 sus ! " " Glad to see de young mars'rs and mis- 
 susses ! " 
 
 Levi, with a very broad and cheerful smile 
 upon his round face, descended from the wagon 
 with the reins in his hand, which he handed to 
 a mulatto whom he called Frank, who had been 
 the colonel's coachman. He proceeded to assist 
 
58 BKOTHEU AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Mrs. Lyon to alight, and her husband followed 
 her without any of the assistance tendered to 
 him, for he was only forty years old, and almost 
 as nimble as he had ever been. The manager 
 handed the girls to the ground as politely as 
 though he had served his time as a dancing- 
 master, and the young ladies smiled upon him 
 as sweetly as though he had been a younger 
 beau. 
 
 " This is Diana, Mrs. Lyon, the cook and house- 
 keeper," said Levi, taking a yellow woman of fifty 
 by the arm, and presenting her to the new lady 
 of the house. 
 
 "Diana, missus, and not Dinah," added the 
 housekeeper, as the lady took her hand. 
 
 " I will alwaj^s call you Diana, and never 
 Dinah," replied Mrs. Lyon. "' I have no doubt 
 we shall be good friends, though I am not used 
 to your ways in Kentucky." 
 
 "This girl is Sylvie," said Diana, diawing the 
 elder of the two octoroons into the presence of 
 the lady ; and her color was light enough to 
 make her blushes transparent. "This is Julie," 
 she added, bringing the other of the pretty pair 
 to the front. " Both of them wait on the table, 
 
THE ARRIVAL AT RIVERLAWN 59 
 
 and 'tend on missus. Both of tliem come from 
 New Orleans when they were little girls, and 
 both of them speak French like a pair of mock- 
 ing-birds." 
 
 " I am very happy to see you, girls, and I think 
 we shall get along very well together, for I have 
 never been used to having any one to wait on 
 me," said the lady, as she took each of them by 
 the hand ; and they were so pretty that she was 
 disposed to kiss them. 
 
 The rest of the family were presented in like 
 manner to the house servants, and Levi intro- 
 duced them to the rest of the people in a mass. 
 The Lyons all felt that they had suddenly be- 
 come lions, at least so far as Riverlawn was 
 concerned. Noah had been a prosperous farmer 
 in New Hampshire, engaged in some outside 
 operation in wliich he had been successful; but 
 even in haying-time he had never had more than 
 three hired men. This avalanche of half a hun- 
 dred servants suddenly attached to him was a 
 new and novel experience ; and the situation was 
 just as strange to his wife and the young 
 people. 
 
 Aunty Diana conducted the family into the 
 
60 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 house with many bows and flourishes, followed 
 by the pretty octoroons, and ushered them into 
 the drawing-room, which had seldom been used 
 when the colonel was alive; for he was as simple 
 in his manners as Noah, though he felt obliged 
 to keep up the style of the mansion. 
 
 " Help you take your things off, missus ? " said 
 Diana to Mrs. Lyon, while Sylvie and Julie 
 tendered their services to Dorcas and Hope. 
 
 " We should like to go to our rooms, Diana," 
 replied the lady. "I suppose they are all ready 
 for us." 
 
 " All ready, missus." * 
 
 " Of course you can take your choice of the 
 rooms, Mrs. Lyon," interposed Levi, who had 
 come into th.e house as soon as he had sent the 
 people to their cottages. " There are eight rooms 
 on the second floor, besides two company cham- 
 bers ; and I suppose Diana has already picked out 
 one for the owner and his wife." 
 
 " You can take just wliat room you like, mis- 
 sus, but I picked out the colonel's chamber for 
 mars'r and missus, 'cause it is the biggest, has 
 a dressing-room and four great closets. I think 
 that one suit missus best," added Diana. 
 
THE AIIIIIVAL AT RIVERLAWN 61 
 
 " We will all go up-stairs and look at the 
 rooms," replied Mrs. Lyon. 
 
 She concluded to take the colonel's room, to 
 which Noah assented ; and it was a palatial apai't- 
 ment to both of them. The girls were next pro- 
 vided with rooms, and the two octoroons \veie 
 unremitting in their attentions to them. Though 
 they knew that these girls were slaves, they 
 treated them like sisters, and before the day was 
 over they were fast friends; for both of them were 
 utterly devoid of any Southern prejudices against 
 those who were so nearly of their own color. 
 They were disposed to treat all the servants 
 kindly, but they had not the same feeling towards 
 those of ebony hue. 
 
 The same sentiment prevailed through the 
 family ; and as a rule it pervaded most of the 
 enlightened families of the South. The girls as 
 well as the mother — and Dorcas and Artie looked 
 upon and called Mrs. Lyon by this endearing 
 name — had been accustomed to wait upon them- 
 selves, and they found it rather difficult to econo- 
 mize the willing hands of Sylvie and Julie. But 
 when Pink arrived with the trunks and other 
 baggage, the field-hands " toted " them to the 
 
62 BIlOTHEll AGAINST BIlOTHER 
 
 proper chambers, and the aid of the servants was 
 very welcome, for both of them were tired after 
 the long journey they had made. 
 
 As the great clock in the spacious hall below 
 struck six, the family were summoned to supper. 
 Levi acted as master of ceremonies, for Diana Avas 
 busy in the kitchen, with lier two assistants ; but 
 he seemed to have some doubts about seating 
 himself at his employer's table, tliough he had 
 always had a place there in the colonel's time. 
 
 " Sit here, if you please, Levi, and always con- 
 sider yourself as one of the family,'' said Noah, 
 after he had asked Deck to take the second seat 
 on the right, giving the manager the first, which 
 is the seat of honor ; and the question of Levi's 
 position at Riverlawn was settled once for all. 
 
 " Thank you. Major Lyon," replied he, as he 
 took the place assigned to him. " I always sat at 
 the table with Colonel Lyon, even when he had 
 guests ; but it isn't always the rule with planters 
 to have the overseer at his table, and I am much 
 obliged to you for your consideration." 
 
 "Wiien I had two or three hired men on my 
 farm, they always came to the table \\ ith me, and 
 would liave thought they were abused if they luid 
 
THE ARRIVAL AT RIVERLAWN 6-9 
 
 been placed at a se2:»arate board," laughed the 
 embiyo planter. " But they were the ' mud-sills ' 
 of the North, you know." 
 
 " I was raised in Tennessee, Major, and was 
 tolerably well educated. I was in business for 
 myself in Shelby ville, the capital of our county, 
 which was named for one of my ancestors. But I 
 did not succeed, for the place was not big enough. 
 I bought some nice horses of Colonel Lyon, and 
 for some reason he took a fancy to me." 
 
 " I don't think that was very strange," added 
 Noah. 
 
 "When I failed, he wanted me to come and 
 manage this place for him ; and I have been here 
 ever since. He paid me well, and I have always 
 done the best I could for him. He was a good 
 man ; and it looks to me just as though his suc- 
 cessor was as good a man as he was." 
 
 " Thank you, Levi ; I believe we shall be 
 friends." 
 
 " Betwixt you and me, Major," continued the 
 manager in a low tone, " when the colonel's health 
 began to be rather shaky, though I had no idea he 
 was so near his end, I had a mortal dread that a 
 certain other man jvould come into possession of 
 
64 Brother against brother 
 
 this place. Excuse me for saying that, but I 
 
 fOiihln't help it. Since I met you this noon, 
 
 ' j )!•, I have been lifted up to the seventh 
 
 .ven." 
 
 Noah did not deem it wise to make any reply to 
 this remark then; but he intended to inquiie more 
 particularly in regard to his Kentucky brother 
 when he had an opportunity ; and it appeared that 
 the manager had some very pronounced opinions 
 in regard to Titus. He changed the subject, and 
 continued to eat his supper. 
 
 The meal was elaborate enongh for a family 
 feast. After the fiied ham and bacon, tlie fiied 
 chicken, with baked potatoes and the nicest white 
 cornbread the family had ever eaten, came hot 
 biscuits, waffles, and griddle-cakes, and cake of 
 several kinds, which were fully a})proved by Mrs. 
 Lyon. Diana came in before tiie party rose from 
 the table, and the praises bestowed upon her 
 handiwork in the kitchen would have made her 
 blush if she had been as light-colored as the two 
 girls that waited upon the table. 
 
 When Noah Lyon went to his room after sup- 
 per, and was alone there, he took from his pocket 
 the letter from his deceased brother which Colonel 
 
THE ARRIVAL AT RIVERLAWN 65 
 
 Cosgrove had given him. It was with no little 
 emoticai that he broke the cumbrous seals. It 
 looked very much like a mystery to him, for the 
 estate had been duly divided in the will. 
 
 It was a very kindly and brotherly letter for the 
 first page. Then the colonel stated that Noahliad 
 by the time he received the letter discovered that 
 the value of the fifty-one negroes on the estate 
 had not been included in his valuation of the prop- 
 erty. They were worth at least twenty-five thou- 
 sand dollars. They had been given to him Avith 
 the plantation, but he enjoined it upon him on no 
 account to sell one of them. 
 
 In the letter he found another as carefully 
 sealed as the one that enclosed it, directed to his 
 successor, with the direction : " Not to be opened 
 till five years from the date of my death. Duncan 
 Lyon." 
 
 The letter evidently related to the slaves on the 
 plantation ; but the mystery in regard to them 
 was still unsolved. 
 
66 BROTHER AGAlJSfST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE DISTRESS OF MRS. TITUS LYOX 
 
 In the rear of the drawing-ioom was the library. 
 It contained about five hundred bound volumes, 
 and more than this number of pamphlets and doc- 
 uments, which had accumulated in a quarter of a 
 century. It contained a large desk and a safe, 
 and the apartment was an office rather than a 
 library, though the owner of Riverlawn had 
 largely improved his education by reading in his 
 abundant leisure. The shelves were piled high 
 with newspapers and magazines, wliich appeared 
 to have been the staple of his intellectual food. 
 
 Levi had given the key of the safe to the new 
 proprietor ; and after Noah had read and reread 
 tlie open letter, and pondered its contents, he 
 carried the one which was not to be opened for 
 five years to the library, and deposited it in the 
 safe with tlie explanatory epistle which left the 
 whole subject a mystery. What was eventually 
 to become of the negroes was not indicated, but 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MUS. TITUS LVOX 67 
 
 he was enjoined not to sell one of them on any 
 account. 
 
 " Though opposed to the extension of slavery, 
 Noah Lyon did not believe that Congress had any 
 constitutional right to meddle with the system as 
 it existed in the States. He had never been 
 bronght into contact with slavery, and did not 
 howl when his brother became a slaveholder. 
 Like the majority of the peo[)le of the North, he 
 was instinctively, as it were, opposed to human 
 bondagfe : but he had never been considered a 
 fanatic oi- an abolitionist by his friends and neigh- 
 bors. He simply refrained from meddling with 
 the subject. 
 
 The fifty-one negroes on the estate had been 
 willed to him, and he was as much a slaveholder 
 as his brother had been. The injunction not to 
 sell one of them was needless in its application to 
 him, for he would as readily have thought of 
 selling one of his own children as any human 
 being. 
 
 It would require a bulky volume to detail the 
 experience of Noah Lyon and his family during 
 the years that followed his arrival at Barcreek. 
 He was an intelligent man, richly endowed with 
 
68 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 saving common-sense, and soon made himself 
 familiar with all the affairs of the plantation. He 
 made the acquaintance of the servants, which was 
 no small matter in itself, for he ascertained the 
 history, disposition, and character of all of them. 
 
 He found that his brother had not over-esti- 
 mated the worth of Levi Bedford, who soon 
 became a great favorite with all the family. The 
 new proprietor found no occasion to change the 
 conduct of affairs in the management of the place, 
 even if he had felt that he was competent to 
 improve the methods and system of his late 
 brother. Everything went on as before. Levi 
 made the crops of hemp, tobacco, corn, and vege- 
 tables, and raised horses, marketing everything to 
 be sold. He consulted his emploj^er, but he had 
 little to say. 
 
 The family became acquainted with their neigh- 
 bors within a circuit of ten miles, and in spite of 
 their origin they were kindly and hospitably 
 received by the best families. 
 
 At the end of a year the Lyons had practically 
 become Kentuckians. In the following year came 
 the great political campaign which resulted in the 
 election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MRS. TITUS LYON" 69 
 
 Ominous growls had been heard from the South, 
 and even in the border State of Kentucky. Noah 
 regarded the situation with no little anxiety ; but 
 he continued to attend to his own affairs, and it 
 was not till the bombardment of Fort Sumter that 
 he began to take an active part in the agitation 
 which was shaking the entire nation. 
 
 Titus Lyon was one of the most stormy and ag- 
 gressive of the Southern sympathizers. Even neu- 
 trality was a compromise with him. When Noah's 
 family took possession of Riverlawn, he did not 
 call at the mansion for several days, though his 
 wife and Mabel, his eldest daughter, had spent the 
 day after their arrival with them. Though Titus 
 said nothing at first, or for months to come, it was 
 very evident to Noah that he was intensely dissat- 
 isfied with the distribution the colonel had made 
 of his property. 
 
 The state of affairs in Barcreek has been shown 
 in the conversation between the planter and his 
 son on the bridge. This seemed to be a favorite 
 resort for conferences, and they returned to it 
 after dinner. On one side of it was a seat which 
 had been put up there years before ; for it was 
 shaded by a magnificent tree which grew by the 
 
70 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 side of the creek road, and the bridge was the cool- 
 est phice on the estate in a hot day. 
 
 " Of course you heard what your mother said 
 about her visit to Titus's house to-day, Dexter," 
 said the father, as he seated himself on the bench. 
 
 " I could not well help hearing it," replied Deck. 
 
 "If there is anything in this world I abominate, 
 it is a family quarrel," continued Noah, fixing his 
 gaze upon the dark waters of the creek. " Your 
 uncle seems to be disposed to be at variance with 
 me, though I am sure I have done nothing of wliich 
 he can reasonably complain. He is down upon 
 every Union man in the county. I should say 
 that Barcreek was about equally divided between 
 the two parties. But he does not talk politics to 
 me, as he does to every other man in the place." 
 
 " I don't know what he means when he says you 
 owe him five tliousand dollars, for I thought the 
 boot was on the other leg," said Deck, looking into 
 the troubled face of his father. 
 
 " He owes me several hundred dollars I lent him 
 before he sold his railroad stock. He is able to 
 pay me now, for he has turned his securities into 
 money, and he seems to be flinging it away as 
 fast as he can. He must be worth twenty-five 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MRS. TITUS LYON 71 
 
 thousand dollars, including his house and land; 
 but I don't know how much of it he has thrown 
 away." 
 
 " If he has spent five thousand dollars for arms, 
 ammunition, and uniforms, he must have made a 
 big hole in it," suggested Deck. " He keeps three 
 horses when he has no use for more than one." 
 
 " He never had a tenth part as much money be- 
 fore in liis life, and he does not know how to use 
 it. He will be the captain of a Home Guard as 
 soon as he can enlist the men, and the people on 
 his side of the question at the village have begun 
 to call him ' Captain Lyon,' or ' Captain Titus.' " 
 
 "Sandy told me that he, his father, and Orly 
 had been drilling for three months with an old sol- 
 dier who was in tlie Mexican War," added Deck. 
 " There comes Artie in one of the boats." 
 
 " Where is he ofoingn?" asked Noah. 
 
 o o 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know : iVrtie don't always tell 
 where he is going," answered Deck. 
 
 His cousin, whom he regarded and treated as 
 his brother, was pulling a very handsome keel boat 
 leisurely up the creek. The colonel appeared to 
 have had some aquatic tastes, for at a kind of pier 
 half-way between the bridge and the river were a 
 
72 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 sailboat and two row-boats, all of which were kept 
 in excellent condition. In places the river was 
 wide enough to allow the use of a boat with a sail, 
 and the colonel had had some skill in managing 
 one ; but neither Noah nor his boys could handle 
 such a craft, and it was never used. 
 
 The creek extended back some ten miles tlirongh 
 a flat, swampy region, and Deck and Artie had 
 explored it almost to its source in some low hills 
 not a dozen miles from the Mammoth Cave. Like 
 most boys, they were fond of boats, and nothing but 
 the forbidding command of the planter prevented 
 them from experimenting with the Magnolia, as 
 the sailboat was called by the colonel. 
 
 If the boys had explored Bar Creek to its source, 
 they would have discovered that it came out of 
 the numerous "sinks " to be found in this portion 
 of the country, and streams flowed in subterra- 
 nean channels which honeycombed the earth at a 
 greater or less depth below the surface. 
 
 "What are you up to. Deck?" shouted Artie, 
 as he approached the bridge. 
 
 " Nothing particular," replied the one on the 
 bridge. " Where are you going ? " 
 
 " Up the creek," answered Artie very indefi- 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MIIS. TITUS LYON 73 
 
 nitely. " Can't you go with me ? It is easier for 
 two to row this boat than for one." 
 
 " I don't want to go now," returned Deck, who 
 was too mucli interested in tlie conversation with 
 his father to leave him. 
 
 " You may go with him if you want to, Dexter," 
 interposed Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " I don't care about going now, father. Do you 
 suppose Uncle Titus has really bought the arms 
 and things as mother says? " asked Deck. 
 
 " Your aunt is very much worried about the 
 actions of your uncle. I suppose he told her what 
 he had done, for she would not make up such a 
 story out of whole cloth. Besides, it seems to be 
 in keeping with a dozen other things he has done ; 
 and he is certainly doing all he can to raise a 
 company in Barcreek," replied Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " Isn't it strange that he never says anything 
 to you about politics, especially such as we are 
 having now ? " asked the son. 
 
 " I don't see him very often ; he is at Bowling 
 Green half the time. Besides, he and I never 
 agreed on politics. By the great George Wash- 
 ington, there he is now I " exclaimed Noah Lyon, 
 springing up from his seat on the bench. 
 
74 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Titus Lyon was seated with his wife in a stjlish 
 buggy. He stopped his horse on the bridge when 
 he came opposite to his brother, and passing the 
 reins to Mrs Lyon he descended to the planks. 
 His wife drove on, and stopped at the front door 
 of the mansion. Frank the coaclinian ran with 
 all his might from the stable to take charge of the 
 team, and the lady went into the house. 
 
 "How do you do, Titus?" said Noah, extend- 
 ing his hand to his brother. 
 
 " I think it is about time for me to have some 
 talk with you, Noah," replied Titus, ignoring the 
 offered hand, and bestowing a frowning look upon 
 Deck. " Send that boy away." 
 
 " Dexter knows all about my affairs, and I don't 
 have many secrets from him," replied Noah very 
 mildly, and somewhat nettled to have his son 
 treated in that rude manner. 
 
 " I came over here on purpose to talk with you ; 
 and what I have to say is between you and me — 
 for the present. If you don't wish to talk with 
 nie on these terms, that's the end on't," added 
 Titus, rising from the seat he had taken. 
 
 "I will go with Artie, father," interposed Deck, 
 who did not wish to prevent an interview between 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MRS. TITUS LYON 76 
 
 the brothers, though he thought his uncle behaved 
 like a Hottentot. 
 
 '' Very well, Dexter ; but you needn't go if you 
 don't want to," said his father, who evidently did 
 not believe that tlie proposed interview with Titus 
 would be conducted on a peace basis. 
 
 " I think I will go," added Deck, wlio hailed 
 Artie from the bridge, and then hastened to a 
 plank where he could get into the boat. 
 
 For a reason whicli he would not have explained 
 if he had been interrogated by his father, or by. 
 any other person except Deck, Artie was very 
 desirous to have his cousin go with him; in fact, 
 he was thinking of postponing his excursion, what- 
 ever its object, till his cousin could accompany 
 him, when the hail came to him from the bridge. 
 He pulled up to the plank, the outer end of which 
 was supported by stakes driven into the bottom of 
 the stream, with a cross-piece above the water. 
 It had been built for the convenience of those 
 taking one of the boats near the mansion. Deck 
 took an oar, and they pulled together up the creek. 
 
 Mrs. Titus Lyon was cordially welcomed at the 
 door of the house by Mrs. Noah, wlio had seen her 
 coming from the window. The lady from the 
 
76 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 village was in a high state of perturbation, and 
 her eyes looked as though she had been weeping. 
 
 " I have had an awful time since you called 
 upon me this morning," said she, wiping her eyes 
 with her handkerchief. "• I don't know what we 
 are coming to at our house. For the first time in 
 my life my husband struck me after we got up 
 from dinner, and then hurried me down here A^ith 
 hardly time to change my clothes ! " 
 
 "Struck you, Amelia!" exclaimed Mrs. Noah 
 with an expression of horror. 
 
 " Perhaps it was all my own fault," groaned 
 the poor woman. 
 
 " No fault could justify your husband in strik- 
 ing you. But what was it for? " inquired Mrs. 
 Noah, overflowing with sympathy for her sister- 
 in-law. 
 
 " You remember that story about the arms and 
 equipments I told you this morning? Well, it 
 seems that my son Orly was listening at the half- 
 open door when I supposed that no one but myself 
 was in the house, for the girls had all gone off to 
 the store. He heard the whole of it, and told his 
 father when he came in to dinner," gasped the 
 abused lady in short sentences. 
 
THE DISTRESS OF MRS. TITUS LYON 77 
 
 " He struck yovi for telling me, did he ? " de- 
 manded Mrs. Noah indignantly. " 1 should like 
 to give him a piece of my mind ! " 
 
 "Don't you say a word to him about it, for 
 that would only make it all the worse for me. 
 Titus says there is no truth at all in the story. 
 He has bought no arms. I misunderstood him; he 
 was telling about a committee in Logan County 
 that had bought the arms and ammunition for a 
 company. It is all a mistake ; and if you have 
 told any of your family, do take it all back, and 
 say there is not a word of truth in the story." 
 
 Mrs. Titus could see from the window that the 
 two brothers were having a stormy interview on 
 the bridge ; but she stayed till long after dark, and 
 had recovered her self-possession before she left. 
 Noah had no supper till she had gone, and the 
 boys had not yet returned. 
 
78 BROTHER AGAINST BilOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE NIGHT ADVE^iTUllE ON THE CREEK 
 
 If Deck Lyon had particularly noted the actions 
 of his cousin in the boat he would have noticed 
 that he was less decided in his movements than 
 usual. He stopped rowing .several times in the 
 ten minutes or more that elapsed after he had 
 invited Deck to go with him ; and one who had 
 been near enough to study his expression would 
 have understood that he had a purpose before him 
 which he was not prepared to execute under 
 present circumstances. 
 
 He had listened with the closest attention to 
 Mrs. Lvon's report of her visit at the house* of 
 Titus, and he was in a reveiy after dinner as he 
 observed Noah and his son walking to the bridge. 
 He waited till he had seen them seated on the 
 bench, and then he walked slowly to the boat 
 pier. He was disappointed when his cousin re- 
 fused to go with him ; l)ut he was not inclined to 
 persuade him to leave his father, for he concluded 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CREEK 79 
 
 that something of importance was under discus- 
 sion between them. 
 
 He was relieved, and all his vigor and animation 
 came back to liim as he pulled to the house land- 
 ing. Artie was more inclined than Deck to keep 
 within his own shell ; but it was not for the want of 
 native energy, and both of the boys were disposed 
 to do whatever they had in hand with all their 
 might. He brought the boat up abreast of the 
 pier, and Deck stepped into the bow without any 
 further invitation. He took one of the light pine 
 oars from his cousin. 
 
 "If you don't object, Deck, I would like to pull 
 the forward oar," said Artie, as his companion 
 was seating himself. 
 
 "It is all the same to me which oar I take," 
 replied Deck, as he changed his place. 
 
 " I want to talk with 3-ou, and I can do it better 
 when you are in front of me," added Artie, as he 
 shoved the boat out into the stream. 
 
 "Where are you going? You seem to have 
 something in your liead besides bones," said Deck 
 curiously. 
 
 " Besides the bones I've got a big notion in my 
 head." 
 
80 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Is it a Yankee or a Kentucky notion, Artie? " 
 
 " I picked it up here, and it is Kentuckish. 
 But I don't want to say anything now ; for I'm 
 afraid some one might hear me, more particuhxrly 
 Uncle Titus," repUed the bow oarsman as he took 
 the stroke from his cousin. "I wonder what 
 brought him over here, for he don't come to River- 
 lawn much oftener than he goes to church." 
 
 " He acts like a regular Hottentot just out of 
 the woods ; and if there are any bears in Ken- 
 tucky they would behave like gentlemen compared 
 with Uncle Titus," added Deck, who proceeded to 
 describe the manner of the visitor on the bridge 
 when the two brothers met. 
 
 " Uncle Titus has got something besides bones 
 in his head this afternoon, and when he started to 
 come over here he meant business," suggested 
 Artie. " Something is in the wind." 
 
 " I wanted to stay and hear what was said, but 
 Uncle Titus drove me off as he would have kicked 
 a snake into the creek. He was as grouty and as 
 savage as a she-lion that had lost all her cubs." 
 
 " Did he say anything about that story your 
 mother told at dinner? " asked Arty. 
 
 " Not a Avord ; he drove me off as though I had 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTUKE ON THE CREEK 81 
 
 been a cur dog before lie said a word about any- 
 thing else," replied Deck, who could not easily 
 forget the brutal manner of his uncle. " But you 
 have not told me yet where you are going, Artie. 
 You haven't any fishlines or bait, and I suppose 
 you are not going a-fishing." 
 
 " Not up the creek, for the river suits me better 
 for that business; but I'm going a-fishing for 
 something that won't swim in the water," replied 
 the undemonstrative boy. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " demanded 
 Deck ; and his interest in the subject caused him 
 to cease rowing, and Artie pulled the boat round 
 so that it was headed to the shore. 
 
 "Pull away. Deck! What are you about? We 
 don't want to stop here," said Artie with more 
 than his usual vigor. 
 
 " I am about nothing ; but when I talk with you 
 I like to look you in the face, for that sometimes 
 tells the story better than your words," replied 
 Deck, as he gave way again with his oar. " As I 
 said before, you have got something besides bones 
 in your head, and I am in a hurry to know what it 
 is all about. You can't talk it into me through 
 the back of my head." 
 
82 BllOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "- But we don't want to stop here, Richard 
 CoBur de Lyon ! ' ' protested Artie, rather velie- 
 mently for him. " Don't you see that we are still 
 in sight of the bridge, and I would not have 
 Uncle Titus see what we are about for all the 
 world, with Venus and Mars thrown in. Besides, 
 we have a long pull before us, and we have no 
 time to spare." 
 
 " But I want to know what it is all about," 
 Deck objected. " I am not going into any con- 
 spiracy with my eyes blinded." 
 
 " Pull away. Deck ! I don't want that Secesher 
 to see us stopping here. We shall come to the 
 bend in live minutes ; and then if you want to stop 
 and talk I will agree to it, though we haven't 
 any time to waste," suggested Artie as a com- 
 promise. 
 
 " One would think you were going to set the 
 river on fire by your talk," replied Deck, pro- 
 foundly mystified by the words, and more by the 
 manner of his companion. 
 
 " We may set the creek on fire before we get 
 througli with this job," continued Artie, deepen- 
 ing the mystery every minute. " There's Levi 
 Bedford," he added, as the manager, riding on a 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTUllE ON THE CREEK 83 
 
 rather wild colt, in the road leading to the fields, 
 came abreast of the boat. 
 
 He was too far off to talk to the boys ; but he 
 waved his hat to them, and the boatmen returned 
 the salute, as he continued on his way. 
 
 " I wonder AA-liere Levi stands in the row tliat is 
 brewing all over the country," said Deck. "I 
 don't hear him say anything of any consequence, 
 though he may have talked to father. He did not 
 come from New England, and I don't know 
 whether he is a Secesher or not ; and it looks as 
 though he did not mean anybody should know." 
 
 " He don't belong to the Home Guards any 
 way," added Artie. " He is a Tennesseean, and it 
 would not be strange if he had some Secesh no- 
 tions." 
 
 " I don't believe he is going back on father," 
 replied Deck, when the manager had disappeared 
 and the boat had readied the bend. " Here we 
 are ; we can't see the bridge now, and the bridge 
 can't see us." 
 
 " We will stop if you say so ; but Ave may not 
 get back to the house before to-morrow morning if 
 we spend much time here," said Artie, as he rested 
 on his oar, and seemed to be very unwilling to use 
 any of the time in mere talk. 
 
84 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " If the time is so short, why didn't you start 
 out this morning? and why didn't you let me know 
 sooner that you were going to set the creek on 
 fire ? We might have brought our dinners with 
 us, as we did when we went to school in Derry, 
 and made a day of it," argued Deck. 
 
 " Things were not ready this morning, and I 
 started just as soon as I saw the star in the east," 
 replied Artie. 
 
 " You don't generally wait for the grass to grow 
 under your feet when the lightning strikes near 
 you." 
 
 " The lightning struck while we were at dinner," 
 added Artie quietly. 
 
 " But I think we can fix things so that we can 
 talk and keep moving at the same time," sug- 
 gested Deck, as he rose from his seat with his oar 
 in his hand, and stepped over his thwart to the 
 aftermost one. 
 
 He seated himself on this thwart, facing the bow. 
 The boys were not skilled boatmen, though they 
 had practised rowing a good deal on the river and 
 creek, and they had not trimmed the light craft to 
 the best advantage for ease and speed, for it was 
 down too much by the head. Deck asked his 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CREEK 85 
 
 cousin to move one seat farther aft, and he com- 
 plied readily, in spite of the fact that he was the 
 moi-e skilled of the two in rowing. In the small- 
 est of the three boats at the lower pier he had 
 often made long trips alone up the creek, besides 
 those when his cousin was his companion. 
 
 " That lifts the bow higher out of the water," 
 said Artie as he took his place. 
 
 " So much the better," replied Deck, proceeding 
 to give philosophical and scientific reasons to ex- 
 plain what experienced boatman know by instinct, 
 as it were. " Now take the stroke from me, and 
 don't pull any faster than I do." 
 
 Placing himself in an angular position on the 
 thwart, with his right hand hold of the seat, he 
 began to row with his left. While pulling alone 
 in the canoe, as the negro rowers called the small- 
 est craft, he had been inclined to protest against 
 the accepted custom of going backwards in row- 
 ing ; and he would gladly have adopted the 
 mechanical contrivance in use on some of the 
 Northern waters which enabled the boatmen to 
 pull while facing the bow. He wanted to see 
 where he was going without turning around, and 
 he had practised rowing in this position. 
 
86 BKOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Deck was heavier and stronger than his cousin, 
 though hardly as agile. Artie took the stroke from 
 him, and it was quite as quick as he cared to row 
 on a long pull. They kept good time, and the 
 boat went along as rapidly as before. 
 
 "Now light your match, and start the fire, Artie. 
 We shall lose no time by this arrangement, and we 
 shall get back to the house befoi-e morning." 
 
 " Perhaps, after you understand the nature of 
 the enterprise, you will not be willing to go with 
 me," added Artie, looking earnestly into the face 
 of his cousin. 
 
 " I can tell better about that after I know what 
 it is," returned Deck, reciprocating the earnest 
 gaze of the other. " But it is you who are wasting 
 the time now. Why don't you come to the point 
 without going around all the buildings on the 
 plantation ? " 
 
 " You heard the story mother told about the 
 arms and ammunition Uncle Titus had bouglit for 
 the Home Guards in order to make himself the 
 captain of the company? " 
 
 " Of course I heard it," and Deck was unwilling 
 to say another word to increase the preliminaiies 
 to the revelation. 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CREEK 87 
 
 "Did you believe it?" 
 
 "I did." 
 
 " Then you are satisfied that Uncle Titus has 
 a lot of arms hid away somewhere in this region ? " 
 persisted Artie. 
 
 "I had my doubts, and I spoke to father nhout 
 it on the bridge just before you came along in the 
 boat. He thought that his brother was just crazy 
 enough to do such a thing ; but he thought whis- 
 key had a good deal to do with the matter, espe- 
 cially in permitting him to tell his wife about it. 
 Of course Sandy and Orly are mixed up in this 
 business. But this is an old story by this time, 
 Artie, and you have not told me yet Avhat you are 
 driving at," said Deck impatiently. 
 
 " We are going to look for the arms and am- 
 munition, Deck ! " exclaimed the originator of the 
 enterprise. " Is that talking plainl}^ enough ? " 
 
 " To look for the arms and ammunition ! " almost 
 shouted the after oarsman, ceasing to use his oar in 
 the astonishment of the moment. 
 
 " You insisted on my telling you all at once, 
 and I have done so ; you have stopped rowing." 
 
 " What you said was enough to throw a fellow 
 off his base. Do you mean that you are going on 
 
80 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 a wild-goose chase all over the State of Kentucky 
 to look for what may be a mere notion, conjured 
 up by an overdose of whiskey?" demanded Deck, 
 still resting on his oar. 
 
 " Don't get excited, Coeur de Lyon ; cold steel 
 cuts best," said Artie. 
 
 " And that's the reason father i:)uts his razor 
 into hot water when he is shaving." 
 
 " I don't think anybody is right down sure of 
 anything in this world," continue'd the leader of 
 the enterprise. " I think I am as sure as any fel- 
 low can be in this State of Kentucky, where no 
 man or boy can tell which end he stands on, that I 
 know where Uncle Titus's arms and ammunition 
 are hidden." 
 
 " You know ! " ejaculated Deck. 
 
 "I think I know." 
 
 " What are you doing up the creek, then ? 
 Didn't Aunt Amelia say that the arms were con- 
 cealed near the river ? " asked Deck, hardly able 
 to breathe in his excitement. 
 
 " I think I know where they are hidden better 
 than she did. If Uncle Titus told his wife that 
 they were hidden on the river, — and that is just 
 what aunt said, — her husband intended to cheat 
 
THE NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CREEK 89 
 
 her," said Artie very confidently. " I should say 
 that a dozen glasses of whiskey would not have 
 made Uncle Titus fool enough to tell anybody 
 where the arms were concealed, not even his wife ; 
 and they don't seem to be a very loving couple 
 since they came to Kentucky." 
 
 " That's so," added Deck. 
 
 " Do you remember that time about a fortnight 
 ago when father spoke to me about being out so 
 late one night, Deck ? " 
 
 " I remember it ; it was on the bridge." 
 
 " That night I found out something I could 
 not explain, but I can now, after what I heard at 
 dinner to-day. But we have eight or ten miles 
 to pull if we ai'e going to find the arms to-day, 
 and we must be moving," added Artie. 
 
 Deck rowed again, and they proceeded up the 
 creek, Artie telling his night adventure by the 
 way. 
 
90 BEOTHEE, AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE 
 
 Probably Noah Lyon had never felt anything 
 like the emotion of anger in his being against his 
 brother until they met that day on the bridge. 
 As one and another had said several times, no 
 two men of the same blood and lineage could 
 have been more differently constituted. Noah 
 had been a diligent student as a boy, and a con- 
 stant reader in his maturity ; while Titus had 
 been the black sheep of the family, had neg- 
 lected his studies in his youth, and did not even 
 read a newspaper in his manhood, unless for a 
 special purpose. 
 
 Titus could read and write, and knew enough 
 of arithmetic to enable him to keep the accounts 
 of his business. Whatever he learned after he 
 left school he gathered from the speech of people; 
 and as his associates were not of the intelligent 
 class in his native town any more than they were 
 in his new home, his education was very limited. 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE 91 
 
 and his moral aims, if he could be said to have 
 any, were not elevated enough to keep him very 
 far within the limits of the law, which were his 
 principal tests between right and wrong. 
 
 Before he was twenty-one he obtained a posi- 
 tion to drive a stage on a twenty-mile route, so 
 that he spent every other night at a tavern ; and 
 this did not improve his manners or his morals. 
 As a boy he had become disgusted with farm- 
 ing, and had learned the trade of a mason, work- 
 ing at it three years. Like his elder brother, 
 he was a horse fancier, and was a skilful driver. 
 An accident to the old stage-driver placed him 
 on the box, and when the place became perma- 
 nent he was only twenty years old. 
 
 With so little intellectual and moral founda- 
 tion as he had laid for his future character, it 
 was a misfortune for him that he was then a 
 "sfood-lookincr fellow." He boarded at the tav- 
 ern, and paid only two dollars a week in con- 
 sideration of his position, for it was believed that 
 he had some influence with his passengers. He 
 was well supplied with money for one of his age 
 in the country, and lie spent all he had. 
 
 He was an agile dancer, which, with his good 
 
92 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 looks, made him popular in the town, especially 
 with the girls. Amelia Lenox was a pretty girl. 
 She had a fancy for the handsome stage-driver ; 
 and, in spite of the earnest objections of her 
 father and mother, she accepted him as her hus- 
 band, and they were manied. Titus took a cot- 
 tage near the tavern, and for a year, with the 
 help of his and her father, they got along very 
 well. 
 
 All of a sudden a railroad shot throug-h the 
 town, and the business of the place was gone in 
 the twinkling of an eye. The wages of Titus 
 stopped, and he had a wife and child to support. 
 He went to his father for advice. The mason, 
 who had done a good business in the town and 
 its vicinity, had grown old. Hopestill Lyon, the 
 grandfather of the boys, was his best friend, and 
 bought out his business for Titus. 
 
 For several years he worked well, made some 
 money, and paid his grandfather for the invest- 
 ment made on his behalf. But he did not like 
 the business. Unlike his brothers, he seemed to 
 believe that fate, destiny, circumstances, or some 
 other indefinable power that regulates the worldly 
 condition of mortals, had misused and abused him ; 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BllIDGE 93 
 
 for he ouofht to have been "born with a silver 
 spoon in his mouth," with wealth at his command, 
 so that he could live in luxury without work. 
 
 When he built chimneys, plastered rooms, or 
 jobbed in filthy drains and smutty fireplaces, he 
 labored with an active protest against his occ+ipa- 
 tion in his soul, which extended down to his hands 
 and feet, shutting out ambition, and making him 
 lazy. He was always on the lookout for some 
 other occupation, or for some change which would 
 put more money in his pocket. He did a vast deal 
 of grumbling and growling at his lot, occasionally 
 taking home with him a gallon jug of New England 
 rum, which did not improve his condition. He 
 was not a drunkard, but he was unconsciously 
 falling into a bad habit. 
 
 His wife was an intelligent woman, and was a 
 good helpmate ; but it did not require a prophetic 
 vision to read the future, near or distant, of Titus 
 Lyon. It was said by some of the old people in 
 the town that he "took after" his grandmother, 
 who had been a stylish woman in her younger days, 
 though the solid character of Hopestill Lyon had 
 controlled her inclinations so that she made him a 
 good wife. 
 
94 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Mrs. Lyon reasoned kindly with Titus ; but be- 
 fore she left her Northern home she had lost what- 
 ever influence she had ever exercised over him. 
 He was eager to settle in Kentucky when the 
 colonel's letter announcing an opening for him 
 came, and she was utterly oi:)posed to the plan. It 
 was at least a change, and he was determined to 
 make it, in spite of the fact that his brother could 
 not advise him to do so ; and the result proved the 
 solidity of the colonel's judgment. 
 
 For seven years Titus fawned upon his wealthy 
 brother. He was as obsequious in his presence as 
 one of the field-hands of Riverlawn ; but the col- 
 onel did not believe in him as he did in Noah, es- 
 pecially after his long visit to the latter. When 
 the health of the j)lanter began to be slightly im- 
 paired a couple of j^ears before his death, Titus was 
 sordid enough to think of what would become of 
 his plantation, which seemed like a mine of wealth 
 to him, at the decease of the owner. 
 
 He had talked planting, hemp, and horses to the 
 colonel, and did all he could to impress him with 
 the belief that he was competent to manage the 
 plantation. It was his nature to believe in what 
 he desired, and he was satisfied that Riverlawn 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE 95 
 
 would be bequeathed to him, as it ought to be. 
 The reading of the will was a shock to him. The 
 giving of ten thousand dollars more than his fair 
 share to Noah, who lived far away, and had never 
 even seen the plantation, in consideration for bring- 
 ing up the two orphans of his brother, excited his 
 wrath. 
 
 He regarded this gift as an absolute wrong to 
 him, while he was compelled to pay the note out of 
 his own share. He went home from Riverlawn 
 that day choking down his anger ; but he was furi- 
 ous in the presence of liis wife, though she did all 
 she could to console him. She pointed out the 
 fact that he now owned his place clear of any debt, 
 and had twenty thousand dollars in cash, stocks, 
 and bonds ; but he was not satisfied. He wanted 
 Riverlawn, where he could live in style, with an 
 abundant income without work. 
 
 As he brooded over his fancied wrong, it came 
 to his mind that the colonel's mite-mortem inven- 
 tory had not included the value of the negroes on 
 the plantation. He hastened over to see Colonel 
 Cosgrove, the executor. He exhibited a copy of 
 the will, and Titus studied over it for half a day. 
 Nothing was said about the slaves. Then he went 
 
96 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 to another lawyer with whom he had had some po- 
 litical dealings ; but this gentleman assured him 
 that he had no remedy ; the colonel had an un- 
 doubted right to dispose of his property as he 
 pleased, even if he had given the whole of it to 
 Noah. He had bequeathed the plantation, the 
 mansion, with all that was in or on them, or apper- 
 taining to them ; and this included the negroes. 
 
 For nearly two years Titus had nursed his wrath, 
 and was earnest in his belief that Noah ought to 
 right the wrong the colonel had done him. Yet 
 he had never had the courage to make this claim 
 upon his brother, or even to mention to him the 
 five thousand dollars which he insisted belonged to 
 him. The law could do nothing for him, his own 
 lawyer told him. Noah was his brother, now his 
 only brother; and it was his duty, according to 
 every principle of right and justice, to pay over to 
 him half of the legacy of ten thousand dollars, and 
 of the twenty-five thousand dollars which was a 
 low valuation of the negro property. 
 
 The quantity of Kentucky whiskey which Titus 
 consumed magnified his wrongs and made him 
 more unreasonable than his natural discontent 
 would have made him. When he learned from 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE 97 
 
 his younger son what his wife had told Mrs. 
 Noah, he was more furious than he had ever been 
 known to be before, and he descended to the bru- 
 tality of striking her. He had taken more than 
 his habitual potion of whiskey, and it made him 
 ugly. His wife wept bitterly over the abuse, she 
 had been subjected to, both the words and the 
 blow, and she had fled to her bedroom. 
 
 She was a high-spirited woman, and it seemed 
 to her that the end of all things had come, at least 
 so far as her domestic happiness was concerned. 
 Her father was a well-to-do farmer ; and neither he 
 nor her brothers would permit her to be abused 
 by any one, not even by her husband. A sudden 
 and violent resolution came to her to return to 
 her father's house. While she was thinking- of 
 this remedy and of the parting with her children, 
 Titus rushed into the room. She must undo the 
 mischief she had done, and he would drive her to 
 Riverlawn for that purpose. He told her what to 
 say, and she promised to say it; for she felt that 
 she had been indiscreet in what she had said. 
 
 During the drive her husband had continued to 
 abuse her with his unruly tongue, and she had 
 wept all the way. They found Noah and Deck 
 on the bridge, and Titus decided to pour out 
 
98 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 his grievances to liis brother; for his drams had 
 brought his courage up to the point where he felt 
 like doing it. He was not intoxicated, but he had 
 drunk enough to make him ugly. He descended 
 from the vehicle, and Mrs. Titus drove over to 
 the mansion. 
 
 Dexter was sent away as before related, and the 
 father was somewhat moved b}^ the rudeness with 
 which the boy had been treated. He was a mild- 
 spoken man ; and though he was quiet in his 
 manner, he had more real grit in his composition 
 than Titus. 
 
 " You seem to be excited, Titus," said Noah, as 
 he seated himself, on the bench from which lie had 
 just risen. 
 
 " I have good reason to be excited," growled 
 the angry man. " My wife has acted like a fool 
 and a traitor to me ! '' 
 
 " I am sorry for that, Brother Titus ; but I hope 
 you don't hold me responsible for her conduct,"- 
 said Noah in gentle and conciliatoiy tones. 
 
 " Not exactly ; but you are responsible for 
 enough v/ithout that, and I have made up my 
 mind that it is time for you and me to have a 
 reckoning, for you don't do by me as a brother 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE 99 
 
 should ; and if father was living to-day he would 
 be ashamed of 3'ou," returned the mason, with all 
 the emphasis of a bad cause. 
 
 " I was not aware that I had been wanting in 
 anything one brother ought to do for another. 
 But we had better consider a subject of such 
 importance when you are cooler than you seem 
 to be Just now, Titus. Your present complaint 
 appears to be against Amelia, and not against me. 
 What has she done ? I have always looked upon 
 her as a very good woman and good wife." 
 
 " You don't know her as well as I do. I don't 
 know what bad advice Ruth has given her, or 
 what influence she has over Meely, but she made 
 her tell a ridiculous story about some arms and 
 ammunition," said Titus in a milder manner; for 
 he seemed to be intent upon counteracting the 
 effect of her action. " I s'pose Ruth repeated to 
 you the story Meely told." 
 
 " She said you had given five thousand dollars 
 for the purchase of arms, ammunition, and uni- 
 forms for a company. of Home Guards, of which 
 you were to be the captain." 
 
 "•I'll bet that wa'n't all she told you," added 
 Titus. -■. - . 
 
100 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " That was the substance of it." 
 
 " I suppose most folks in Barcreek know all 
 that." 
 
 " I never knew it till to-day." 
 
 " You don't go about among folks in this county 
 as I do." 
 
 " I don't associate much with Secessionists and 
 Home Guards." 
 
 " I do ! But that is my business, and I have a 
 good right to give my money where it will do the 
 most good ; and I shall do so whether you like ik 
 or not," fumed Titus. 
 
 " I don't dispute your right ; though I am sur- 
 prised that a man brought up in the State of 
 New Hampshire should become a Secessionist 
 when more than half the people of Kentucky are 
 in favor of the Union," added Noah. 
 
 " 'Tain't so ! I never was a Black Republican, 
 as you were, and I don't begin on't now. If you 
 .want to steal the niggers, I don't help you do it ! 
 But Meely told your wife something more ; " and 
 Titus looked anxiously into the face of his brother, 
 as if to read the extent of the mischief which had 
 been done. 
 
 " I believe Ruth did tell me that the arms and 
 
A STORMY INTERVIEW ON THE BRIDGE lOl 
 
 mmiitions had already been purchased, and were 
 hidden somewhere on the river," added Noah. 
 '' But I did not pay much attention to this part of 
 the story. The material part of it was that you 
 had given so much money to assist in making war 
 in the State." 
 
 " I give the money to keep the war out of Ken- 
 tucky, and maintain the neutrality of the State," 
 argued Titus. 
 
 " We had better not talk politics, brother, and I 
 will not give my views of neutrality." 
 
 " The story my wife told about the arms was all 
 a lie ! " exclaimed the visitor with an oath which 
 shocked the owner of the plantation. " No arms 
 are hid on the river, or anywhere else. Meely 
 understood what I said with her elbows ; and she 
 has come down now to take it all back." 
 
 "• Very well ; I don't care anything about the 
 arms, though I should be sorry to have them go 
 into the hands of the Secessionists or the Home 
 Guards, for they are all in the same boat." 
 
 At this moment Levi Bedford rode over the 
 bridge on the colt, and Titus was silent. 
 
102 BKOTHEll AGAINST BKOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AN OVERWHELMING ARGUMENT 
 
 Levi Bedford had not come to the bridge to 
 interfere with the conversation or to listen to 
 what was said ; bat as he was returning from the 
 distant fields of the plantation by the creek road, 
 he could not help seeing that a stormy interview 
 was in progress on the bridge. He believed that 
 he understood Titus Lyon better than Noah did. 
 He considered him capable of violence to his 
 brother when under the influence of liquor, and he 
 deemed it prudent for him to be within call if he 
 was needed. 
 
 Noah would have scouted the idea of Titus rais- 
 ing his hand against him, even when he had been 
 drinking ; for in former years they had always 
 lived together on the best of terms. Levi had 
 seen more of the mason within a few years than 
 Noah. While the colonel lay unburied in the 
 mansion, he had spent most of the time at River- 
 lawn, and to some extent had assumed the conti'ol 
 of the plantation. 
 
AN OVERWHELMING ARGUMENT 103 
 
 The manager had not required the negroes to 
 do anything but necessary work during the sad 
 interval ; but Titus had interfered, and sent the 
 fiekl-hands to their usual occupation. He had 
 " bossed " Levi himself as though he were only 
 a servant, and even meddled with the affairs of 
 Diana in the house. The manager could not 
 resent tliis interference at such a time, and he 
 could not help seeing that Titus was taking more 
 whiskey than usual ; for he had even ordered 
 Diana to bring out the choice stores of this article 
 which the colonel had kept for liis friends rather 
 than for his own use. 
 
 He talked to Levi just as though the plantation 
 would soon come into his hands, and had made 
 himself as unnecessarily offensive to the overseer 
 and all the petted servants as possible. It would 
 not be overstating the truth to say that he was 
 thoroughly hated at Riverlawn. Levi had packed 
 his trunk in readiness to leave as soon as the 
 tyrant took possession of the place ; and even 
 some of the people were thinking of making their 
 way to the free State of Ohio. 
 
 Levi bowed and smiled as he passed the planter, 
 but he only reined in his fiery steed, and did not 
 
104 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 stop. He did not even look at Titus, much less 
 salute him, for he despised him ; and pleasant as 
 he was to all on the place, including the people, 
 he was an honest man, and appeared to be just 
 what he was. He rode over in the direction of 
 the river, and when he reached a thicket of trees 
 and bushes he stopped the colt and tied him to a 
 tree. He remained there where he could see the 
 bridge without being seen by those upon it. 
 
 " I wonder that you keep that fellow on the 
 place," said Titus, as Levi rode off. " In my 
 opinion, and I have seen more of him than you 
 have, Noah, he is a rascal ; " and the last remark 
 was seasoned with an oath. 
 
 " I think he is a very useful man, and my 
 family are already very much attached to him ; for 
 he is always good-natured, and kind and obliging 
 to everybody," replied the planter. 
 
 " Tliere ain't no accounting for tastes, as my 
 wife says ; but if I had this place that cuss would 
 get kicked out before he had a chance to breathe 
 twice more," said Titus with a look of disgust 
 which caused him to twist his mouth and nose into 
 such a snarl that Mrs. Titus would hardly have 
 known him. 
 
AN OVERWHELxMING ARGUMENT 105 
 
 Levi had not told his employer in what manner 
 the would-be owner of the plantation had con- 
 ducted himself on the place after the death of the 
 colonel; and Noah could not understand why Ids 
 brother had such an antipathy to so genial a man 
 as the manager, viewed from his own and his 
 family's standpoint. 
 
 " I take Levi as I find him, and I have been very 
 much pleased with him," added Noah. 
 
 " But I did not come over here to talk about that 
 dirty shote," continued Titus, suddenly bracing 
 himself up to attack the subject of the grievances 
 which had gnawed like a live snake at his vitals 
 for nearly two years. " In the fust place, I want 
 you to understand, Noah Lyon, that there ain't 
 a word of truth in the story Meely told this noon 
 in your house." 
 
 " All right. Brother Titus," replied Noah. " I 
 haven't looked for the arms and ammunition, and 
 I know nothing about them." 
 
 "Do you believe what I say, Noah? " demanded 
 Titus with a savage frown. 
 
 " I have no reason to doubt your statement." 
 
 " If you and your family want to make trouble 
 over that statement, I s'pose you can do so. You 
 'n' I don't agree on politics." 
 
106 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " We are not disposed to make trouble. If 
 there should be any difficulty it will come from 
 your side of the house, Titus." 
 
 " You are an abolitionist, and folks on the right 
 side in this county have found it out. They 
 don't believe in no Lincoln sliriekers, and the 
 Union's already busted," said the Secessionist 
 brother with a good deal of vim ; and in this, as 
 in other matters, he believed the popular senti- 
 ment was on the side he wished it to be. 
 
 " I voted for Lincoln, and I believe in the 
 Union," added Noah quietly. 
 
 " Yes ; and there is five hundi-ed men in this 
 county that would like to drive you out of the 
 State, and burn your house over your head ! " ex- 
 claimed Titus, becoming not a little excited. " I 
 believe they'd done it before this time if I hadn't 
 stood in their way." 
 
 " Then I am very much obliged to you for 
 your friendly influence. I was not aware that I 
 had been in any peril before," returned Noah with 
 a smile, which was suggestive of a doubt in his 
 mind. '' Do you think I am in any danger from 
 such an outrage as you suggest? " 
 
 " I know you are ! " Titus belched out with 
 
AN OVERWHELMING ARGUMENT 107 
 
 something like fury in his manner. " If it hadn't 
 been for me they'd done it before now. You 
 haven't been a bit keerf ul in your doings. You've 
 got u^ a Union meeting at the Big Bend school- 
 house for to-morrow night ; and if you go on with 
 it, I'm almost sure you will get cleaned out ; -and 
 the folks on the right side may come over here, 
 after they have shut your moutlis at the Bend, 
 and see whether your house will burn or not. I 
 have done all I could to keep our folks quiet, and 
 advised them not to meddle with the meeting at 
 the schoolhouse ; but if you keep on the way 
 you're going, I won't be responsible for what 
 happens." 
 
 " Though I came from the North since you did, 
 all the people I meet seem to be very friendly to 
 me," answered Noah, the smile still playing upon 
 his lips ; a satirical smile which indicated that he 
 did not believe more than a very small fraction of 
 what his brother had been saying. 
 
 He had no doubt that the gang with whom 
 Titus and his sons associated would do all and 
 even more than he prophesied ; but they did not 
 form the public sentiment of the county. 
 
 " You don't meet all nor a tenth part of the 
 
108 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 people, and you don't know what is running in 
 their heads," protested the Secessionist. " You 
 and your two boys keep on howling for the Union 
 when the people round here are all dead set agin 
 it. What can you expect ? Seven States is out 
 of the Union, and that busts the whole thing." 
 
 " I don't think a majority of the people about 
 here are of your way of thinking, Brother Titus ; 
 but if I am in danger of mob violence, as you say 
 I am, my house is my castle ; I shall defend it as 
 long as there is anything left of me," added Noah, 
 the same smile resting on his lips as he uttered 
 his strong words. 
 
 " Defend your house ! " said Titus with a bitter 
 sneer. " You hadn't better do anything of the sort. 
 If 3^ou show fight, the crowd will hang you to one 
 of them big trees. You ain't reasonable, Noah. 
 Do you cal'late on fighting the whole county? " 
 
 " We differ considerably in regard to the state 
 of feeling in this county. We are between two 
 fires, and I think we had better not say anything 
 more on that subject." 
 
 " That's so ; but one fire is an alfired sight hotter 
 than t'other ; and that's the one that will burn up 
 that big house of yourn." 
 
AN OVERWHELMING ARGUMENT 109 
 
 " I shall defend my house, and I think I shall be 
 able to hold my own. But I am not an abolition- 
 ist any more than you are, Brother Titus," mildly 
 suggested Noah. 
 
 " You shriek for the Union, and it's all the same 
 thing among honest folks down here," retorted 
 the Secessionist. 
 
 " I hold about fifty slaves, and I had an idea 
 that this made me a slaveholder," said Noah 
 lightly. 
 
 " Don't you own 'em ? " demanded Titus vio- 
 lently; for this subject touched upon one of his 
 grievances. " I have done everything I could to 
 save you from any hard usage on the part of our 
 folks in spite of the way you've used me." 
 
 " I ani not aware that I have used you badly. 
 Brother Titus." 
 
 " You call me brother ; but judging from your 
 actions you ain't no brother of mine." 
 
 "I should like to have you tell me in what 
 manner I have wronged you, Titus. I hear from 
 others that I owe you five thousand dollars ; but I 
 am not aware that I owe you a nickel," replied 
 the planter, who had by this time come to the 
 conclusiou that the quarrel his brother insisted 
 
110 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 upon fomenting might as well be brought to a 
 head then as at any other time. 
 
 Titus was silent for a moment, and resumed his 
 seat on the bench, from which he had risen a dozen 
 times in his excitement as the interview proceeded. 
 He looked as though he was gathering up his 
 thoughts in order to present his argument, as he 
 evidently intended it should be, in the most forci- 
 ble manner. 
 
 " If a man has two brothei-s, and one of them 
 goes back on liim, is that any reason why the other 
 should go back on him?" asked the dissatisfied 
 one with more coolness and dignity than he had 
 before exhibited. 
 
 Mrs. Amelia, years before, had tried to reform 
 his language, picked up in the taverns and among 
 coarse associates, and she had succeeded to some 
 extent. He could talk with a fair degree of cor- 
 rectness ; but he had two methods of expression, 
 one of which he called his " Sunday lingo," used 
 on state occasions, and his ordinarj^ speech at home 
 and among his chosen associates, enlarged by the 
 addition of some Southern words and phrases. 
 He began his argument in his best style, though 
 he had never been able to banish his use of the 
 milder slang. 
 
AN OVEKWHELMING ARGUMENT 111 
 
 "Decidedly not," replied Noah very promptly. 
 " On the contrary, he ought to stand by the 
 brother if he has been wronged." 
 
 " That is just exactly what you have not done, 
 Noah Lyon!" exclaimed Titus, springing from 
 his seat again. " And Nathan said unto David, 
 * Thou art the man ! ' " 
 
 " Which means that I am the man," answered 
 Noah, his smile becoming almost a laugh. " I 
 didn't know, Brother Titus, that I was the David, 
 and I must ask you to explain." 
 
 " Dunk went back on me," continued the mal- 
 content, recalling the name by which the colonel 
 was known on the farm in his boyhood. 
 
 "I was not aware tliat Dunk did any such a 
 thing. I suppose you mean in his will." 
 
 " That is just what I mean ! " stormed Titus. 
 " He gave you ten thousand dollars more than he 
 gave me ; and that was not fair or right." 
 
 '' But the will explains why he did so." 
 
 " On account of fetching up them two children ! 
 I wouldn't have brought in any bill for taking care 
 of my dead brother's children. I ain't one of 
 them sort!" protested Titus. 
 
 " But you refused to take one of them into your 
 
112 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 family when I proposed it to you," suggested 
 Noah very gently. 
 
 " Because my wife was sick at the time," said 
 Titus, wincing at the remark. 
 
 "• You did not offer to take one of them after- 
 wards. But I did not bring iii any bill; I never 
 even mentioned the matter to the colonel when I 
 wrote to him. I boarded, clothed, and schooled 
 them for ten years, and paid all their doctor's 
 bills." 
 
 " But Dunk gave you ten thousand dollars for 
 it ; and it wasn't right. He spent a month with 
 you in Derry not long before he died, and you 
 smoothed his fur in the right way," snarled Titus. 
 
 " But the children were not mentioned. I am 
 sure it cost me a thousand dollars a year to take 
 care of the children ; but I did not complain, 
 and never asked you or Dunk to pay a cent of the 
 cost. The colonel made his will to suit himself; 
 and he never spoke or wrote of the matter to me." 
 
 "•You got on the right side of him, and he 
 cheated me out of what rightfully belonged to me. 
 I ain't talking about law, but about right. Half 
 of that ten thousand belongs to me, and you are 
 keeping me out of it." 
 
AN OVERWHELMIlsG ARGUMENT 113 
 
 " It was right for you and Dunk to pay as much 
 for supporting the orphans as I did. Then you 
 and he owed nie two-thirds of the sum bequeathed 
 to me. At compound interest that would amount 
 to more than I receive under the will. I will 
 figure it up when I have time, and of course if 
 you owe me anything on this account, you will 
 pay me." 
 
 This argument completely overwhelmed Titus ; 
 but Levi had concluded there would be no vio- 
 lence, and dashed over the bridge on his fiery 
 colt. 
 
114 BROTHER AGAINST RROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A MOST UNREASONABLE BROTHER 
 
 Titus Lyon dropped into his seat once more 
 when Levi approached. He scowled at the man- 
 ager as he swept by with a bow to his employer. 
 He had been talking very loud about what was 
 fair and riglit, and he could not deny that the 
 expense of supporting the orphans ought to be 
 divided among the three brothers. According to 
 Noah's calculation, the boot had been transfeiTcd 
 to the other leg, and he owed his brother some- 
 thinof on this account if the matter was to be 
 equitably adjusted. 
 
 Titus could not gainsay the position of the 
 planter, and he tried to choke down his wrath; 
 and just then he would have vented it upon the 
 innocent overseer if he had not flown like the 
 wind across the bridge, making the planks dance a 
 hornpipe under the feet of his steed. As the mal- 
 content was silent for the want of an argument 
 with which to combat that of his brother, Noah 
 
A MOST UNREASONABLE BROTHER 115 
 
 went over the subject, and clinched the nail he 
 had driven in before. 
 
 " I'll look the thing over again when I go home, 
 for I want to be fair and right in everything I do," 
 said Titus, after he had sought in vain for an 
 argument with which he could upset the theory 
 of Noah. " I only claimed that you owed me 
 half of the ten thousand ; I didn't ask for the 
 whole on't." 
 
 " You never asked for even half of it before ; 
 you only told others that I owed you that sura," 
 replied Noah. 
 
 "Well, I believed it." 
 
 " In that case neither you nor the colonel would 
 pav anything towards the support of the children 
 for ten years, for the law would divide the prop- 
 erty equally between us," replied Noah. " I can't 
 tell exactly how the matter stands till I figure it 
 up ; but I think you will owe me something if we 
 settle it on the basis you suggest." 
 
 " I guess we'd better drop the subject till we 
 have both looked it over agin," added Titus, 
 utterly disgusted with the result of the argument. 
 '•' I don't say that Dunk hadn't a right to dispose 
 of his property as he pleased; but jest s'pose'n he 
 
116 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 had left it all to me and gi'n jou nothin' — would 
 that been right? " 
 
 " If he had had any reason for doing so, it 
 would have been his right to do so ; but I should 
 say I should not be in condition to be an impartial 
 judge in the matter," said Noah with a smile. 
 
 " Did he have any reason for treating me any 
 wus than he did you ? " asked Titus sharply, as 
 he sprang to his feet again. " Dunk wa'n't no 
 abolitionist, and went with tlie folks round here 
 on politics. He 'n' I agreed, and never had no 
 dispute on these things." 
 
 " I don't think the colonel did treat you any 
 worse than he did me. He chose to pay for sup- 
 porting the orphans, though I never asked him to 
 do so, or hinted at any such thing. We have 
 talked that over, and nothing more need be said 
 about it now. I have indicated how that thing 
 might be fairly settled, and we will let it rest 
 there." 
 
 " But I still say Dunk used me wus 'n he did 
 you ; and as a brother you are in duty bound to 
 set me right, as you said one of the same blood 
 should do." 
 
 " I don't understand you, Brother Titus ; for I 
 
A MOST UNREASONABLE BROTHER 117 
 
 am not aware that the colonel treated nie any bet- 
 ter in his will than he did you," replied Noah, won- 
 dering what further complaint his brother could 
 make. 
 
 "Didn't he give five thousand dollars to that 
 cuss that just rid over the bridge ? " demanded 
 Titus with a sort of triumphant tone and manner, 
 as though he had the planter where no argument 
 could avail him. " That was just the same as tak- 
 ing twenty-five hundred dollars out of my pocket, 
 as well as out of yours." 
 
 " But you don't bear in mind, my dear brother, 
 that the colonel was disposing of his own property, 
 and not yours or mine," said Noah with a pro- 
 nounced laugh at the absurdity of the other's posi- 
 tion, 
 
 " Don't go to dearin' me, Noah ; it will be time 
 enough for that sort of thing when you've done me 
 justice," snarled Titus. 
 
 " When I've done you justice ! " exclaimed the 
 planter, rising from his seat again to vent his 
 mirth. "I must do you justice because your 
 brother and mine gave Levi Bedford five thousand 
 dollars ! Must I pay you twenty-five hundred 
 dollars on this account ? " 
 
118 BUOTHEU AGAiKST BltOTHEK 
 
 "I didn't say so." 
 
 " But you implied it ; for you were trying to 
 prove that the colonel used me better than he did 
 you It seems to me that you ought to make your 
 claim on Levi, if anybody," 
 
 " You git ahead faster'n I do. I only meant to 
 say that Dunk didn't use me right when he gave 
 his money to this mean whelp ; but he treated you 
 as bad as he did me, Noah." 
 
 " I have no complaint whatever to make, and I 
 am glad the colonel remembered Levi handsomely; 
 he deserved it, for he had always been a useful 
 and faithful overseer," added Noah ver}' decidedly. 
 
 "Let that rest," said Titus when he found that 
 he made no headway in the direction he had 
 chosen. " I s'pose you won't agree with me, but 
 I say Dunk ought to have left this place to me in- 
 stid of you. I was his oldest brother, and I have 
 lived here eight years, and know all about the 
 plantation, while you never saw it till after Dunk 
 was dead." 
 
 " I am inclined to think the colonel knew what 
 he was about, and he made his will to suit him- 
 self," answered Noah. 
 
 " I should think he made it to suit you. Of 
 
A MOST UNREASONABLE BROTHER 119 
 
 course I know it's law, but it wa'n't right," 
 growled Titus. 
 
 " If you think it was not right, why don't you 
 contest the will, and have it set aside ? " 
 
 " Don't I say it was law ; and I suppose it can't 
 be helped now," and the injured man tried tcf put 
 on an air of resignation. " But I ain't done." 
 
 " I should say you had said enough ; for there 
 seems to' be no foundation for any of your com- 
 plaints. I think the colonel meant to be fair and 
 just, and make an equal distribution of his prop- 
 erty between you and me. Taking out fifteen 
 thousand dollars he gave to charity and his 
 friends " — 
 
 "That was giving away what belonged to you 
 and me," interposed the objector. 
 
 " You are as unreasonable as a pig in a cornfield. 
 Brother Titus ! " exclaimed Noah, whose abundant 
 patience was on the verge of exhaustion. "Dun- 
 can was giving away his own property, and not 
 yours or mine, as you appear to think he was, 
 especially yours ; for T believe he did just right. 
 Taking out the fifteen thousand and the ten he 
 paid for the support of the orphans. — which I sup- 
 pose you mean to have settled up in another way. 
 
120 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 — there was seventy-five thousand dollars left, 
 which he divided equally among his brothers and 
 the representatives of the one who died over ten 
 years ago. That is according to the valuation an- 
 nexed to the will." 
 
 " It's mighty strange, Noah, that you can't see 
 nothin' when it's p'inted out to you,'" stormed 
 Titus, his wrath rising to the boiling point at his 
 repeated defeats ; for, " though vanquished, he 
 could argue still." 
 
 " I don't believe at all in your pointing. Brother 
 Titus." 
 
 " You talk about that valuation ; but it was a 
 fraud, and it was meant to cheat me out of eight 
 or ten thousand dollars ! " roared the malcontent, 
 gesticulating violently. " It ought to been thirty 
 thousand dollars more'n 'twas ! I say it out loud; 
 and I know what I'm talkin' about ! " 
 
 "I don't think you do, Brother Titus. I think 
 you had better stop drinking whiske}^ for a week, 
 and then we can talk this subject over more satis- 
 factorily." 
 
 " Do you mean to accuse me of bein' drunk, 
 Noah Lyon ? " demanded Titus, shaking his fist 
 in the face of his brother; and at this moment 
 
'Then you mean I am drunk." Page 121 
 
A MOST UNEEASOKABLE BROTHER 121 
 
 that colt was dashinsf over the bridofe at a dead 
 run, with Levi on his back. 
 
 " I don't think you are drunk, Brother Titus, 
 as tipplers understand the word, but you are 
 under the influence of liquor, and it affects your 
 judgment," replied Noah as gently as though he 
 had been speaking in a prayer-meeting. 
 
 "Then you mean that I am drunk ! " 
 
 Both of his fists were clinched, and he was 
 shaking one in the face of the planter, when the 
 bay colt dashed in between them, Noah falling 
 back before the menacing demonstration of Titus. 
 Levi had dismounted at the end of the bridge, and 
 seated himself in the arbor where he could still 
 see the two men. When Titus shook his fist in 
 the face of the planter, he leaped upon the colt as 
 though he had been fifty pounds lighter, and 
 galloped to the scene of the wordy contest. 
 
 " What do you want here ? " demanded the vis- 
 itor, with a very unnecessary expletive. 
 
 " What is it, Levi ? " asked Noah. 
 
 "I didn't know but you might want me," re- 
 plied the manager; but the demonstrative person 
 was his employer's brother, and he refrained from 
 using the strong language that came to his 
 tongue's end. 
 
122 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I don't want you for anything just now, 
 Levi," replied the planter, sorry that there should 
 have been a witness to the stormy interview with 
 his brother; and he wondered if he had not been 
 too plain-spoken, mild and dignified as he had been. 
 
 " What do you mean, you scoundrel, by stickin' 
 your nose in where you're not wanted?" demanded 
 Titus savagely, as he shook his fist, relieved from 
 duty before the planter, in the direction of the 
 overseer. 
 
 Levi wheeled his horse so that he crowded the 
 angry man out of his place, and made him spring 
 to keep out of the way of the fiery animal ; but 
 he made no re])ly to tlie abuse cast upon him. 
 Noah nodded his head in the direction of the 
 mansion, and the manager rode off, though it 
 was evident to his employer that he was itching 
 to lay hands on the turbulent visitor. 
 
 " I hate that villain ! " gasped Titus. 
 
 " And he despises you as tlioroughly as you 
 hate him ; so there is no love lost. But I think 
 you had better conduct yourself a little more 
 peaceably, Titus ; for I do not like to have the 
 people on the plantation see that there is any 
 difficulty between us, for we are brothers, I wish 
 
A MOST UNREASONABLE BROTHER 123 
 
 you to remember. Perhaps we had better drop 
 the subject where it is, for it is ahnost supper- 
 time," said Noah with the most conciliatory tone 
 and manner. 
 
 "Not jest yet," returned Titus warmly. "I said 
 that valuation was a fraud, meant to cheat me out 
 of my rightful due ; and you told me I was drunk, 
 which ain't no kind of an argument." 
 
 "I did not say that exactly; but if it was an 
 argument for anything, it was that we should talk 
 this matter over some time when you had not 
 drunk anything." 
 
 "I drink something every day; and I have a 
 perfect right to do so." 
 
 "I don't dispute it." 
 
 "Dunk gave you all the niggers, and did not 
 put them in the valuation. Wasn't that cheat- 
 ing me out of my share of the thirty thousand 
 they would bring even in these shaky times ? " 
 
 "I don't think it was. I repeat that the colonel 
 had a perfect right, just as good a right as you 
 have to drink whiskey, though I don't do so, to 
 dispose of his property as he pleased," added 
 Noah, looking down at the planks of the bridge, 
 and remaining for a minute in deep thought. 
 
124 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " That ain't no argument ! " blustered Titus. 
 "The law gives a man's property to his brothers 
 and sisters when he leaves no parents or children ; 
 and every honest and just man does the same 
 thing." 
 
 "I did not mean to say anj-thing to anybody 
 about the servants on the place ; but I feel obliged 
 to speak to you about them so far as to tell the 
 facts relating to them,"' said Noah when he had 
 come to this conclusion. 
 
 "I cal'late you better speak out if you've got 
 anything to say, or else pay me over fifteen thou- 
 sand dollars for my share in the value of them 
 niggers," replied Titus with a triumphant air, 
 for he believed he had gained a poiut. 
 
 " When I was at Colonel Cosgrove's house on 
 the day of our ariival, he handed me a letter, 
 heavily sealed with red wax, from our deceased 
 brother. This letter contained another. I have 
 both of these letters in the safe in the library. 
 Now, if you will go to the house with me, I will 
 show you both of these letters," continued the 
 planter, disregarding the tone and manner of his 
 irate brother. 
 
 Titus was curious to know what the colonel 
 
A MOST UNREASONABLE 13UOTHEU 125 
 
 had to say in defence of his conduct, and he as- 
 sented to the visit to the library. Noali produced 
 the two letters, handing the opened one to his 
 brother, and showing the heavily sealed one to 
 him but not permitting it to pass out of his hands. 
 The malcontent read the opened one. 
 
 " Not to sell one of the niggers for five years ! " 
 he exclaimed when he had finished it. ''That is 
 another outrage ! And you are not to open that 
 other letter for the same time. Give it to me, 
 Noah, and I will open it now ! " 
 
 " It shall not be opened till the five years have 
 expired," answered the planter firmly, as lie re- 
 turned both of the epistles to the safe and locked 
 the door of it. 
 
 Titus was more violent than ever, for he had 
 been defeated in his last and most pi-omising 
 stronghold, as he regarded it. He stormed like 
 a madman, and kept it up for nearly an hour. 
 He made so much noise that Mrs. Noah knocked 
 at the door to learn what was the matter. At the 
 same time she called them to supper ; but Titus 
 was so angry that he ru&lied out of tlie house, 
 called for his team, and left with his wife at once. 
 
126 BUOTHEK AGAINST BKOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SINK-CAVERN NEAR BAR CREEK 
 
 The supper at the mansioji had waited till it 
 was quite daik; and it was evident to Mrs. Noah 
 that the brotliers were engaged in important busi- 
 ness, for they had been talking on the bridge all 
 the afternoon, and Titus spoke so loud in the 
 library that he could be heard all over the house, 
 though he could not be understood. Something 
 very exciting was passing between them ; Mrs. 
 Noah thought it was politics, but Mrs. Titus 
 thought it was about '^ that story " she had re- 
 peated. 
 
 As the angry brother passed the door of the 
 sitting-room he called his wife out, and bolted 
 from the house. Noali followed, and rang the 
 stable bell. Frank brought the team to the door ; 
 Titus pushed his suffering wife into it, and drove 
 off without the formality of saying good-night. 
 The planter ate his supper, and was as pleasant 
 as usual, saying nothing of the business which 
 had brought Titus to Riverlawn. 
 
THE SINK-CAVEHN NEAR BAR CREEK 127 
 
 " It seems that story about the arms and am- 
 munition has no truth at all in it," said Mrs. Noah. 
 
 " So Titus says," replied the husband. 
 
 " Meely was terribly excited about it, and said 
 she ought not to have said a word about it. She 
 begged me not to let any one in the house say any- 
 thing about it to any one. Her husband abused 
 her, and even struck her, for what she had done." 
 
 " I did not know but he would strike me this 
 afternoon. I suppose the boys have had their 
 supper," added Noah, looking over the table to 
 their vacant places. 
 
 " No, they have not ; I haven't seen anything 
 of them since they went from dinner," answered 
 Mrs. Lyon. " I wonder where they are ? " 
 
 " They went up the creek together in one of 
 the boats just after Titus came, and I haven't seen 
 or heard anything of them since," said Noah. " I 
 don't think they were going a-fishing. They have 
 been gone about seven hours now, and it is time 
 they were at home. Did you see anything of 
 them, Levi?" 
 
 " I saw them rowing up the creek when I was 
 riding up to the hill pasture ; but I haven't seen 
 them since," replied the overseer. 
 
128 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "I hope nothing has happened to them," con- 
 tinued Mrs. Lyon, looking quite anxious. " Per- 
 haps the boat has been upset." 
 
 " I don't believe it did ; but if it went over, 
 both of the boys can swim like ducks," replied 
 the planter. 
 
 The conversation in regard to the absentees was 
 continued till the meal was finished, and all the 
 party were very much ti'oubled. Levi volunteered 
 to ride up the creek road and look for them ; and 
 just as he was going to the stable, the absentees 
 came into tlie house. 
 
 " Where in the world have you been, boys ? " 
 demanded Mrs. Lj^^on, delighted to find they were 
 safe. 
 
 " We have been exploring the creek, and we 
 have been a good ways up, as far as the rocky 
 hills," replied Deck, as he seated liimself at the 
 table ; and Diana went for the waffies she had 
 kept hot for them. 
 
 "Did you catch any fish? " asked Levi. 
 
 " Not a fish ; we did not put a line into the 
 water." 
 
 They had no narrative to relate, or if they had 
 they did not relate it, though they were ques- 
 
THE SINK-CAVERN NEAll BAR CREEK 129 
 
 tioned for some time, and they told what they 
 had seen, or a portion of it. 
 
 " While you are here, boys, I want to tell you 
 that your Aunt Amelia has been at the house all 
 the afternoon," said Mrs. Lyon. " She came to 
 take back that story she told me this morning in 
 her own house about the arms and ammunition. 
 She misunderstood your uncle, and there is not a 
 word of truth in it. So you will understand, all 
 of you, that not a word is to be said about it out 
 of the house." 
 
 " Not a word of truth in it ! " exclaimed Deck ; 
 and Artie drojjped his hot waffle in astonishment, 
 or under the influence of some other emotion. 
 
 " Your aunt says there are no arms liidden on 
 the river, or anywhere else. You mustn'-t say a 
 word about the matter, and I liave cautioned all 
 in the house not to whisper a sound of it," added 
 Mrs. Lyon. 
 
 Deck looked at Artie, and Artie looked at Deck. 
 A significant smile passed between them, but they 
 said notliing. As soon as they had finished their 
 supper they followed the planter into his library, 
 which had been lighted before. It \A'as an impor- 
 tant conference which followed there, and it must 
 
130 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 be left in progress in order to return to the boat in 
 which the boys were pursuing their adventure on 
 the creek. 
 
 Artie had the floor on the boat, and he had just 
 recalled tlie time when Koah had spoken to him 
 about being out so late the night before. Deck 
 remembered it very well, and also that his cousin 
 had evaded an adequate explanation of his absence 
 from the house when he ought to have been in 
 bed. 
 
 " You never explained why you were out so late 
 that night," said he. 
 
 " I wanted to look into the matter a little more 
 before I said anything, for I didn't care to make a 
 fool of myself," replied Artie. 
 
 " You have a habit of keeping your mouth shut 
 pretty tight," said Deck with a smile. 
 
 " I don't believe in talking too much about 
 things you don't understand, and I meant to have 
 looked into the matter before this time, but some- 
 how I haven't had the chance to do so," replied 
 Artie, still pulling his oar. "I'm going to tell 
 you about my night adventure now, and you can 
 judge for yourself ^yhether we are going on a wild- 
 goose chase up the creek." 
 
THE SINK-CAVEKN NEAR BAU CHEEK 131 
 
 " All right ; and I will keep my oar moiing all 
 the time, so that we shall be getting ahead while I 
 listen," replied Deck. 
 
 "I was in the canoe, and I had gone farther up 
 the creek than I had ever been before," Artie be- 
 gan. "You have been up the road that leads to 
 Dripping Spring and the Mammouth Cave. It 
 crosses the railroad about five miles before you 
 get to the spring, and the creek flows within a 
 quarter of a mile of this place." 
 
 " I remember the place very well ; for Levi 
 stopped his team there to let the girls get out and 
 pick some flowers. I could see the creek from 
 this spot," added Deck. 
 
 " Then you know the place. I had been up the 
 creek three or four miles farther, and I was on my 
 way home. I had been ashore just abreast of 
 Dripping Spring, and I got interested in looking 
 over a sink, — I believe that is what they call 
 these holes in the ground down here, — and the 
 sun went down before I thought how late it was 
 getting. But I found the hole led into a cave; 
 but it was too dark for me to explore it. I made 
 a note of it, to bring a lantern up and survey the 
 cavern when I had plenty of time to do so." 
 
132 BltOTHEE AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " That will be a good job for both of us some 
 time," suggested Deck. 
 
 " I couldn't tell how far I was from home, but I 
 knew it was a long distance, and I made tracks 
 for the canoe as soon as I saw that it was getting 
 daik. I hurried up till my arms ached so that I 
 had to stop and rest. I made up my mind that I 
 must take it moderately or I never sliould get home. 
 
 " While I was resting I saw three lights off to 
 the south of me, and then I knew I was near that 
 road. I could make out about half a dozen men 
 or boys there, and I watched them for some time. 
 I concluded that they were up to some mischief, 
 and in my interest I forgot how late it was get- 
 ting. I was possessed to know what iniquity was 
 going on there> and I hauled the canoe up to the 
 shore and made the painter fast to a bush. I 
 landed, and made my way as near to the road as 
 I dared to go. The ground was low, and covered 
 with clumps of bushes, so I had no difficulty in 
 hiding myself till I was within twenty feet of the 
 party. 
 
 "I could hear every word they said; and the 
 man who was bossing the job, whatever it was, 
 satisfied me that he was Uncle Titus." 
 
THE SINK-CAVERN NEAR BAR CREEK 133 
 
 *' Uncle Titus I " exclaimed Deck, ceasing to 
 row in his astonishment. 
 
 " Not the least doubt of it ; and more than this, 
 I soon recognized the tones of Sand}- and Orly ; 
 but I don't know who the other three were." 
 
 "But what were they doing?" asked Declc, ab- 
 sorbed in tlie narrative. 
 
 " You have stopped rowing, Deck, and we shall 
 never get there at this rate." 
 
 The stroke oarsman turned his body so that he 
 could change hands at the handle of the oar, and 
 then resumed pulling. 
 
 " Well, this was an adventure ; but you didn't 
 tell me what they were doing," added Deck. 
 
 " I will tell you all about it, but don't stop row- 
 ing, or we shall not get home before midnight, and 
 father will give us a lecture for being out late at 
 night. The men were' handling a lot of boxes. 
 Some of them were long enough to hold coffins, 
 and I wondered if they hadn't been killing Union 
 men, and were getting rid of the bodies. Then 
 they brought out a lot of hay poles or hand- 
 barrows from the two big wagons in the road. I 
 saw them put one of the boxes on the poles or 
 barrow, and move towards the creek. I thought 
 
134 BilOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 it was about time for me to be leaving, for I be- 
 lieved they would kill me if they caught me." 
 
 '^ They wouldn't have let you off with a whole 
 skin, anyhow," said Deck. " Do you suppose the 
 boxes contained bodies, Artie ? " 
 
 "■ Hold on till I come to it, and I will tell you 
 all about it," replied tlie narrator rather im- 
 patiently. " I wasn't safe where I was, and I 
 crept back to the creek between the clumps of 
 bushes without making a bit of noise on the soft 
 ground. The box the first couple carried was 
 heavy and the bushes were in their way, so that 
 they could not get along very fast. As soon as I 
 was out of hearing of the party, I ran with all my 
 might." 
 
 " I don't blame you for being in a hurry, for if 
 Uncle Titus had got hold of you he would have 
 made you see more stars then were in the sky just 
 then. I wonder if they had been killing Union 
 men. The Seceshers -have done that thing in this 
 State. A Union man was murdered in his own 
 house not far from here." 
 
 " Dry up, Deck, or I shall never get through 
 with my story ! " exclaimed Artie, who did not 
 relish these repeated interruptions. 
 
THE SINK-CAVERX NEAR BAR CREEK 135 
 
 " Go on, Artie ; I won't say another word," 
 Deck promptly promised. 
 
 " I reached the creek, and cast oif the canoe. I 
 crossed over to the other side, and pulled down 
 stream ; for I knew that the two with the hox 
 could not be near the shore. I kejjt on towards 
 home, but I was careful not to make any noise 
 with my oars. Just below I saw a big flatboat, 
 like the gundalow they used to have on the river 
 to carry hay from the meadows. I drove the 
 canoe into some bushes, and waited. The two 
 men brought that long box to the shore, and 
 loaded it into the flatboat, which was bisf enousfh 
 to carry six cords of wood. 
 
 " The next load was brought by four men ; and 
 I could see by the way they handled it tliat it 
 was very heav}^ I stopped till they had brought 
 down tAvo more boxes, and then I thouglit it was 
 time for me to l)e going. When the party had all 
 left the sliore I rowed along by the bushes that 
 overhang the creek till I got round the bend. I 
 didn't wait to see any more, but rowed as fast as 
 I could ; and when I got to the pier I was so tired 
 I could hardly stand up. That is the end of the 
 story, Deck, and you know as much about the 
 
136 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 affair as I do ; and I will answer all of your ques- 
 tions as well as I can." 
 
 "You did not find out anything for certain?" 
 added the listener, disappointed because his cousin 
 had not ascertained what was in the boxes. 
 
 " I did not ; but I have been able to guess at 
 some things ; and that is the privilege of a New 
 England Yankee." 
 
 " Well, what do you guess was in those 
 boxes ? " 
 
 " I didn't guess on that question at the time of 
 it; but I was satisfied that they concealed some 
 sort of iniquity." 
 
 " What do you suppose they were putting them 
 in the boat for ? ' ' 
 
 " Not to take them down the river, for they 
 would have carried them to some place on its 
 banks if they had wanted to do that. Tliey 
 wanted to take them up the creek, and this was 
 the nearest point to it." 
 
 " What did they want to do with the boxes ? 
 Oh, I know ! They were going to sink the bodies 
 in the creek ! " exclaimed Deck. 
 
 "That woQld have been a good enough guess a 
 fortnight ago ; but it isn't wortli shucks now. I 
 
THE SINK-CAVERN NEAR BAR CREEK 137 
 
 told you before that I could explain things better 
 this afternoon than I could when I saw what the 
 men were doing." 
 
 "How is that?" asked Deck with his mouth 
 half open. 
 
 " The moment mother told that story from A'unt 
 Amelia, I knew what was in the boxes ; and they 
 did not contain bodies, either." 
 
 " Oh, I see ! They contained the arms- and 
 ammunition." 
 
 " A blind man could see that." 
 
 " Well, that was an adventure. You mean that 
 they were going to put them in the cavern by the 
 sink?" 
 
 " Precisely that, and nothing less ; and now we 
 are going up to the sink to see for ourselves what 
 is in the boxes," replied Artie. 
 
 They had a long pull before them ; but they 
 reached the place by five o'clock, and explored the 
 cavern. They found the boxes and two cannons 
 with their carriages. They could not open the 
 boxes for the want of any tools ; but the labels as- 
 sured them they contained muskets and revolvers. 
 They hastened down the creek ; but it was eight 
 o'clock when they reached the mansion. 
 
138 BEOTHEE AGAINST BEOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 AROUSED TO THE SOLEMN DUTY OF THE HOUR 
 
 It was more than two hours after supper-time 
 when Deck and Artie arrived. They were very 
 tired and very hungry after their long pull U}) the 
 creek ; but they felt better after they had taken 
 a hearty supper. Deck sought the first opportu- 
 nity to detail tlie operations of the afternoon to 
 his father. 
 
 " Your Uncle Titus has been here this afternoon, 
 and I have had a long talk with him on the bridge ; 
 but his first business here was to disclaim any 
 knowledge of the arms and ammunition concealed 
 on the river," said Mr. Lyon, before the boys had 
 an opportunity to open with the story of their ad- 
 venture. " He says your Aunt Amelia understood 
 him with lier elbows, and it was a ridiculous story 
 she told your mother without a word of truth in it." 
 
 " Without a word of truth in it," repeated Deck, 
 who was more inclined than Artie to do the talk- 
 ing, though the latter was fluent enough of speecli 
 when the occasion required it. 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 139 
 
 The boys looked at each other; and they did 
 something more than smile this time, for they 
 laughed out loud. In view of the revelation they 
 had to make, the affair became more exciting ; but 
 after the discovery they had made, they did not 
 wonder that Titus had been so earnest in liis pur- 
 pose to contradict the statement their aunt had 
 made. 
 
 "' What are you laughing at, boys ? "' interposed 
 their father. " This is a serious matter as your 
 uncle looks upon it; and I suppose such a rumor 
 circulated about the county might get him and his 
 sons into trouble. The Unionists regard the Home 
 Guards as precisely the same as Secessionists, and 
 believe that they are armed, so far as they are 
 armed, to help along the cause of the South." 
 
 "I should say that Uncle Titus might be a 
 little shaken up about the story Aunt Amelia re- 
 lated," added Artie with a significant look at his 
 cousin. 
 
 " I don't know but the Union people would mob 
 him if they believed he had obtained arms for any 
 Home Guards, especially for such ruffians as they 
 say he has been gathering together for his com- 
 pany," said Mr. Lj^on. " I have cautioned all who 
 
140 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 heard the story not to mention or hint at it in the 
 strongest manner; for of course I don't want to get 
 yonr uncle into trouble by rej)eating a false rumor." 
 
 "Suppose he gets himself into trouble?" sug- 
 gested Deck. " He is an out-and-out Secesher, 
 and he don't make aryy bones of saying so out 
 loud. Sandy thinks they will break up the Union 
 meeting at the schoolhouse to-morrow night." 
 
 " Titus says he has done his best to prevent any- 
 thing of the kind being done," replied Mr. Lyon. 
 " He thinks I should be mobbed and this house 
 burned over our heads if he did not use his influ- 
 ence to prevent it. But your uncle believes what 
 he wants to believe, and is certain a vast majoiity 
 of the people of the county are Secessionists. I 
 am very well satisfied that they are at least about 
 equally divided. At any rate, the Secessionists 
 are doing their best to overawe the Union people, 
 and they might succeed to some extent if they 
 could arm the villains they have enrolled." 
 
 " Then it is better not to let them be aimed," 
 suggested Deck, with a glance at his cousin. 
 
 " The story your mother told at dinner made it 
 look as though they were to be provided with 
 weapons and ammunition at once ; but the state- 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 141 
 
 ment is not true, and we appear to be safe for the 
 present," said Mr. Lyon. " But where have you 
 been all the afternoon, boys ? " 
 
 " Deck will tell tlie story, father," replied Artie. 
 
 " You led off in this business, Artie, and I think 
 you had better tell it," said Deck, though he was 
 ready enough to relate the adventure. 
 
 " We will both tell it, then," added Artie. " I 
 will begin and go as far as where you joined me 
 this afternoon at the bridge, and you shall tell the 
 rest of it." 
 
 " All right ; fire away, Artie." 
 
 In accordance with this arrangement, the boys 
 minutely narrated the events of the afternoon, 
 to the great astonishment and indignation of Mr. 
 Lyon. He occasionally interrupted his son to ask 
 questions in regard to the boxes they had exam- , 
 ined in the cavern. The boys described the cases, 
 with the marks upon them, and the listener had no 
 doubt they contained arms and ammunition. The 
 two carriages for the field-pieces were the only por- 
 tion of the warlike material not contained in boxes ; 
 and tliese were almost evidence enough to deter- 
 mine the character of the rest of the goods. 
 
 " Were the boxes all of the same kind ? " asked 
 
142 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 the father, deeply interested, and not a little dis- 
 turbed by the revelation of the evening. 
 
 " They wei'e not the same," re|)lied Deck, taking 
 a paper from his pocket, on which he had wiitten 
 down a list of the cases. " The lid of one of tlie 
 two in which the cannon were boxed lip had been 
 split off in part, so that we could see what was in 
 it. Twelve cases were labelled ' Breech-loading 
 Rifles,' and the rest of the lot were marked with 
 the kind of ammunition they contained. The 
 smallest of them had cannon-balls and grape in 
 them." 
 
 " There isn't any doubt about the matter now," 
 replied Mr. Lyon. " This means war ; and I have 
 no doubt they are to be used in this county by your 
 ancle's cut-throats ; for that is what tliey are accord- 
 ing to what Colonel Cosgrove said to me the other 
 day. This is bad business," and the planter gazed 
 at the floor, his wrinkled brow indicating the deep 
 thought in which he was engaged. 
 
 '*• Sandy says the company of Home Guards is 
 about full, and I suppose they will not leave the 
 arms and ammunition in the cavern for any great 
 length of time," suggested Deck. 
 
 "Something must be done," said Mr. Lyon. 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 143 
 
 " If that company get these weapons they will 
 terrorize the whole county. There are some very 
 strong Unionists in this vicinity. Colonel Cos- 
 grove told me they had threatened to burn his 
 house, though he is a very conservative man. He 
 was in favor of neutrality ; but he admits that-the 
 Home Guards in this county are about all Seces- 
 sionists. Your Uncle Titus saj's I am looked upon 
 as an abolitionist, and if it had not been for him 
 they would have ' cleaned me out,' as he called it, 
 before this time. It is time something was done," 
 and the planter relapsed into a re very again. 
 
 The boys were silent. Fort Sumter had been 
 bombarded, and its heroic garrison had marched 
 out with the honors of war. The country was in 
 a state of war. The call of the President for sev- 
 enty-five thousand men had been made. Northern 
 soldiers were marching South for the protection of 
 Washington. Flags were flying, drums were beat- 
 ing, trumpets were blaring, and troops were organ- 
 izing all over the loyal nation. 
 
 In Kentucky men were enlisting in both armies, 
 though the majority of them clung to the flag of 
 the Union, inspired by the traditions of the State. 
 But large portions of it were subjected to a reign 
 
144 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 of terror. One party was struggling to carry the 
 State out of the Union, and the other to keep it in 
 the Union. The county in which Noah Lyon and 
 his family were located was even more shaken by 
 these discordant elements than most of the others ; 
 for it was not more than thirty miles from the 
 southern boundary of the State. 
 
 " It almost breaks my heart to have my only liv- 
 ing brother associated with, and even leading, these 
 conspirators against the Union," Mr. Lyon resumed, 
 as he wiped some tears from his eyes. " But when 
 it comes to the defence of the old flag under which 
 we have become the most enlightened and prosper- 
 ous nation in the world, no true man can favor 
 even his brother when he plots to ruin it. Some- 
 thing must be done ! " he repeated with energy as 
 he rose to his feet, and emphasized his remark with 
 a vigorous stamp of his foot. 
 
 "What shall be done, father?" asked Deck, 
 awed by the manner and the tears of his father ; 
 and he had never been so moved before in his life. 
 
 " Wq must defend the old flag, my boys ! We 
 must rally with those who are marching to the 
 defence of the Union ! The time for talking has 
 gone by, and the time for action has come. I have 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 145 
 
 not passed the military age, and I shall not shii-k 
 the plain duty of the citizen, which is to become a 
 soldier," replied Mr. Lyon impressively. 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you shall join the 
 army, father? " asked Deck. 
 
 " Certainly ; what else can I do at a tim» like 
 this ? " replied the father. " And that is not all, 
 my son ; you and Artemas are now sixteen years 
 old, nearly seventeen. You are both stout boys ; 
 and not only the sire, but the sons, must shoulder 
 the musket and march to the battle-field." 
 
 " I am ready for one ! " exclaimed Deck with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 " I am ready for the other ! " added Artie quite 
 as earnestly. 
 
 " For some time I have seen that this was what 
 we must come to ; but I have put off saying 
 anything about it, for it is a solemn and even an 
 awful thing to engage in the strife of civil war, 
 brother against brother, the son against his father, 
 and the father against his son." 
 
 " In our own family, we shall all be on the same 
 side," added Deck. 
 
 " But your uncle and his two sons will be with 
 the enemies of the Union. It is not of our choos- 
 
146 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ing, and God will be with us while we do our duty 
 to our country," said the patriot father, as he 
 solemnly lifted his eyes upward. " Now, my sons, 
 for you both call me father, and I have always 
 tried to be tlie same to both of you " — 
 
 " And you always have been ! And Aunt Ruth 
 has been a mother to me and my sister Dorcas ! " 
 interposed Artie, as he wiped the tears from his 
 eyes. " I shall never again call either of you 
 anything but father or mother. I am ready to 
 enlist whenever you say the word, father." 
 
 " You are honest and true, and that is the kind 
 of man you will make, my son ; and I can say the 
 same of Dexter. You will both make good soldiers." 
 
 Both the father and the sons shed tears as they 
 realized, as they never had before, the solemn duty 
 which the peril of the Union imposed upon them ; 
 and they were inspired to do that duty to the last 
 drop of their life-blood. 
 
 " There, boys ! I did not intend to make a 
 scene like this ; but the finding of the arms and 
 ammunition convinces me that your Uncle Titus 
 and his villanous associates mean to make war 
 upon loyal men in this county. When you join 
 the ranks of the Union army, you will fuid them 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 147 
 
 all in the columns of the enemy. You have done 
 good service to our cause in the discovery and 
 ferreting out of this conspiracy against the true 
 men of this locality." 
 
 " It was all hy accident that I found out about 
 it," added Artie modestly. 
 
 " I hope you will forgive me for scolding at you 
 for being out so late that night," said Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " You didn't scold me ; you only gave me some 
 good advice, and I hope I shall always remember 
 it. But I did not know tlien what I had dis- 
 covered, or where they were storing the arms." 
 
 " You did exceedingly well, whether you knew 
 what you were doing or not. Now it is driven 
 into my very soul that I ought not to let the 
 enemy profit by obtaining those arms. I have 
 made up my mind that it would l)e treason, or 
 next door to it, for me to let Titus and his gang 
 have all these weapons ; and witli the blessing of 
 God they never shall have them ! " 
 
 " That is the talk, father ! " exclaimed Deck. 
 
 " So say we all of us ! " Artie chimed in. 
 " But wliat can Ave do ?" 
 
 " Before the light of to-morrow morning breaks 
 upon Eiverlawn, we must move all those boxes to 
 
148 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 the plantation," replied Mr. Lyon ; and he pro- 
 ceeded to discuss the means by which this purpose 
 could be accomplished. 
 
 " We have teams enough to haul the whole of 
 them over here at one load," sai4 Deck, boiling 
 over with enthusiasm. 
 
 "Keep cool, my son, for we must be very pru- 
 dent in our movements. Do you know what 
 became of the flatboat with which the conspirators 
 moved the cases up to the cavern?" 
 
 " Artie thought of that ; and we found the gun- 
 dalow in a little inlet at the mouth of a brook, 
 covered up with bushes." 
 
 " Then we may use that," replied the planter. 
 " But I am in doubt about one thing which may 
 bother us." 
 
 " What's that, father ? " asked Deck, who could 
 not think of any impediment to the carrying out 
 of the plan announced by his father. 
 
 " I don't know that we can depend upon every 
 person about the plantation. A single one opposed 
 to our scheme could ruin it. He might go to the 
 village and tell Titus, or some of his fellow-con- 
 spirators, what we were about, and interfere with 
 us before we got back." 
 
AROUSED TO THE DUTY OF THE HOUR 149 
 
 " No one here would do such a thing," pro- 
 tested Deck. " All the servants believe in you." 
 
 " I was thinking of Levi Bedford." 
 
 " Levi ! " exclaimed both of the loyal boys 
 together. 
 
 " I have never spoken a word to him "about 
 politics, or he to me. Absolutely all I know 
 about him is that he is a Tennesseean. But we 
 must settle this point on the instant ; you may go 
 and find him. Dexter, and ask him to come into 
 the library." 
 
 Deck left the room. He found the overseer in 
 the sitting-room with the family, and he returned 
 with him a minute later. 
 
150 BROTHEK AGAINST BKOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 
 
 Levi Bedford walked into tlie library not a 
 little excited with curiosity; for Titus Lyon had 
 spent the whole afternoon on the bridge with the 
 planter, who had been closeted with the two boys 
 for some time. It was evident to him that some- 
 thing unusual had occurred. Noah was seated in 
 a great arm-chair which usually faced his desk, but 
 he had turned it around. The overseer walked 
 up to this chair, and planted himself in front of it 
 with a respectful look of inquiry on his round face. 
 
 " I am in doubt, Levi, and I have sent for you," 
 Mr. Lyon began. " As you are aware, I have 
 never talked politics with you, and have not 
 known to which party you belong." 
 
 "I don't belong to any party," replied Levi 
 with a very broad smile on his face. " My party 
 is the plantation and the family. I look out for 
 them, and I don't bother my head much about 
 anything else." 
 
NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 151 
 
 " I suppose you have relatives in Tennessee ? " 
 suggested the planter. 
 
 " Second or third cousins very likely ; but I 
 don't know anything about them, and I don't lie 
 awake nights thinking of them. My father died 
 before I was twentj^-one ; I had no sisters, and my 
 only brother went to California twenty years ago, 
 and I havea't heard from him in ten years." 
 
 " I don't mean to meddle with your affairs, 
 Levi, but the time has come when every man 
 must declare himself." 
 
 " I should think it had, Mr. Lyon ; and this 
 afternoon I thouQ-ht I was jjoinor to have a chance 
 to strike for your side of the house. I was ready 
 to do it, for two or three times I thought you 
 were in peril. I don't know what 3'ou were talk- 
 ing about, only it was something very stirring," 
 replied Levi with his usual smile. 
 
 " I don't think I was in any danger, but I am 
 very much obliged to you for looking out for me. 
 Now things have come to such a pass that I must 
 put a direct question to you : Are you a Union 
 man or a Secessionist ? " 
 
 " I am a Union man now from the crown of my 
 foot to the sole of my head," laughed Levi. 
 
152 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " But it wouldn't be anything more than honest 
 and square, Major Lyon, for me to say that I 
 haven't been so many months. Colonel Lyon was 
 a Union man ; but he didn't have it half as bad as 
 you have it. Some of his neighbors thought he 
 was too tender with his people; but he and Colonel 
 Cosgrove were pretty well matched on politics." 
 
 " He is a strong Union man, though he is in 
 favor of neutrality if it can be carried out, which 
 is utterly impossible," added the planter. 
 
 " About the only thing in the row that set me 
 to thinking and made me mad was that such a set 
 of reckless scallawags have run the machine on 
 the other side. There is hardly a man of any 
 standing among them. I know that your brother, 
 who is nothing but a Northern doughface, is one 
 of the principal leaders among them, and " — 
 
 "•We haven't any time to talk about this matter 
 now, Levi," interposed Noah Lyon, looking at his 
 watch. " I see that you are all right, for you are 
 a Union man, and you do not approve the course 
 of the violent party in this county, and the time 
 has come for the boys and me to do something." 
 
 The planter proceeded in rather hurried speech 
 to state the situation, and to describe the dis- 
 
NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 153 
 
 CO very the boys had made that afternoon. The 
 overseer evidently had a very strong desire to ex- 
 press his mind in regard to Titus Lyon ; but with 
 great effort he restrained himself, and listened 
 almost in silence to the narrative of the sjieaker. 
 
 " I am with you in this matter, Major Lyon'^ on 
 its merits, though I like to be on your side ; but 
 these ruffians wlio are trying to make civil war in 
 the State of Kentucky must be checked," he re- 
 plied, when the planter had hurried through his 
 statement. " I am sorry that brother of yours 
 used any of the money the colonel left him to buy 
 arms and ammunition to help drag the State out 
 of the Union. I will work day and night to 
 euchre him and the rest of them." 
 
 " You are just the right man in the right place, 
 Levi Bedford ! " exclaimed Mr. Lyon. " We have 
 no time now to decide what Ave will do with these 
 warlike implements, only to get possession of 
 them. It is quarter-past nine now, and I have my 
 plan for the beginning. While we are carrying it 
 out we can settle what is to be done with the arms." 
 
 " I know just where that sink-hole and cavern 
 are, and all we have to do to get there is to follow 
 the creek," added the manager. 
 
154 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " The flatboat is near the place, and we can 
 move the boxes in that, as the conspirators con- 
 veyed them from the road," replied Mr. Lyon. 
 " But there are only four of us, two men and two 
 boys. The cannons must weigli six or seven 
 hundred pounds apiece, and we shall want more 
 help." 
 
 " Well, we have help enough, and we can take 
 a dozen of the people with us, if we want as many 
 as that;" added Levi. " I know something about 
 these things, for when I kept stable in my State I 
 used to belong to an artiller}^ company." 
 
 " Can the negroes be trusted ? We must keep 
 OUT operations a profound secret." 
 
 " In this business you can trust them a great 
 deal farther than you can a white man," said the 
 overseer, as he took a piece of paper from the desk 
 and wrote down the names of some of the hands. 
 " How many do you want. Major Lyon ? " 
 
 " Half a dozen ; we can't accommodate more 
 than that. Put in the boatmen, for there is a deal 
 of boating to be done." 
 
 Levi revised his list and then handed it to the 
 planter. 
 
 " General, Dummj^, Rosebud, Woolly, Mose, 
 
NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 155 
 
 Faraway," Mr. Lyon read from tlie list. " I 
 should say you had picked out just the men we 
 need. They are all used to the boats, and they 
 are amonsf the touohest and strongest hands on 
 the place. You must put them under oath, if 
 need be, to be as secret as death itself. I will 
 leave all that to you. Now, have them at the 
 lower boat pier just as soon as possible, and we 
 will be there." 
 
 "I will 'have them there in fifteen minutes," re- 
 plied Levi, as he hastened to execute his mission. 
 
 " Now, boys, go to the pier, and get tlie Mag- 
 nolia in condition to go up the creek," continued 
 Mr. Lyon. 
 
 "The Magnolia!" exclaimed Deck. "Why, 
 she " — 
 
 " We have no time to argue any question. Dex- 
 ter," interposed the father. " Take your over- 
 coats ; and you ai*e to be as secret as the rest of us. 
 Ask your mother to come into the library, but 
 don't stop to talk, my son." 
 
 The boys left the room, and Mrs. Lyon immedi- 
 ately presented herself in the library. 
 
 " What in the world is going on here to-night, 
 Noah? " asked the good woman. " Ever since the 
 
156 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 boys came in you have been closeted in here as if 
 you were planning something." 
 
 " So we are, Ruth, for the boys made a great 
 discovery on their trip uj) the creek," answered 
 the planter hurriedly. " That story about the 
 arms and ammunition which Titus and Amelia 
 came down here to disclaim and deny was all as 
 true as gospel, for the boys have found them." 
 
 In five minutes more Mr. Lyon told his wife all 
 that it was necessary for her to know, and charged 
 her to be secret and silent. She seemed to be 
 alarmed; but he assured her that there was no 
 danger in the enterprise in which they were to en- 
 gage. It was absolutely necessary that the arms 
 and munitions should be removed beyond the reach 
 of the conspirators. He asked her to bring him 
 three lanterns without letting any one see them, 
 which she did at once. With these in his hands, 
 the planter left the house without going into the 
 sitting-room. 
 
 Deck and Artie reached the boat-pier without 
 speaking a word, and they ran half the way. The 
 Magnolia was moored out in the creek; and taking 
 the canoe, which was used as her tender when the 
 sailboat was in service, as it had not been since 
 
NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 157 
 
 the death of the colonel, she was towed alongside 
 the pier. They went to work baling her out, of 
 which she was in great need, though she had been 
 well cared for in her idleness by the boatmen of 
 the place. 
 
 The Magnolia had not been built for a sailboat. 
 She was long and narrow for her length, about 
 thirty feet, and was provided with rowlocks for 
 six oars. Before they had finished baling her 
 out the General and Dummy reached the wharf. 
 They were great strapping negroes, fully six feet 
 tall, and the weight of each could not have been 
 much below two hundred pounds, though they 
 were not of aldermanic build. 
 
 When they saw what the boys were doing, — 
 for Levi had not given them even a hint as to the 
 nature of the service in which they were to be 
 employed, — they seized the buckets, and soon 
 cleared the well of water. Levi was the next to 
 put in an appearance, just as Deck was telling 
 the two men to take the mast out of her, an order 
 which the manager countermanded. 
 
 " We may want the mast and sail," interposed 
 Levi ; " for the wind is fresh from tiie south-west 
 to-night, and I don't believe in doing any more 
 work with the oars than is necessary." 
 
158 BROTHER AGAI^'ST BROTHER 
 
 " But we have no boatman, and none of us 
 know how to manage the sail," argued Deck. " It 
 would be a bad time to get upset, and we have no 
 time to indulge in fooling, Levi." 
 
 '' The mast and sail are not in the way in the 
 boat. I am no boatman, and I never tried to 
 handle the Magnolia, for the colonel was the only 
 person on the place who ever learned tlie trick of 
 doing that ; but I often sailed in her up and down 
 the river, and I used to think I could do it if I 
 tried," replied the manager, as the other four 
 negroes came upon the pier. 
 
 " Oh, well, if you can handle her with a sail, that's 
 another thing," answered Deck, yielding the point. 
 
 " Here, Rosebud, unlock the boathouse, and 
 bring out six oars, the biggest ones, and all the 
 boathooks you can find," said Levi, as he looked 
 the boat over. 
 
 No one said a word about the mission upon 
 Avhich they were to embark, leaving the planter to 
 do all the talking when he came. General and 
 Dummy were the biggest of the six men who had 
 been selected ; but the other four were stalwart 
 fellows. Their names were rather odd, the family 
 thought when they first heard them ; but not one 
 
NIGHT EXPEDITION IN THE MAGNOLIA 159 
 
 of them bore tlie one his mother had given him in 
 his babyhood, for the colonel had rechristened the 
 whole of them on the plantation to suit his own 
 fancy. 
 
 Some circumstance, or something in their ap- 
 pearance, had doubtless suggested the names ; hut 
 after they were given they clung to their owners 
 as though they had been recorded in a church. 
 The General was a quick-witted fellow, which in- 
 clined him to take the lead when anything was to 
 be done. Woolly had a tremendous mop of hair 
 on his head. Dummy was a preacher in the 
 shanty which served as a church at the Big Bend ; 
 and perhaps because he was always studying his 
 sermons, he never spoke a word unless the occasion 
 required it ; but Levi, who had heard him preach, 
 said he could talk fast enough in his pulpit, and 
 delivered a more sensible sermon than some white 
 clergymen to whom he had listened. 
 
 Rosebud, like the overseer, always had a smile 
 on his face, and could hardly do or say anything 
 without laughing. Mose did not swear profanely, 
 but " by Moses ; " and everything was as true, as 
 high, as big, as handsome, as " Moses in de bul- 
 rushes." " Faraway " had been a pet word with 
 
160 BEOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 the one to whom the planter had given this name. 
 They were all reliable servants, and were devoted 
 to their past and present masters. No king, prince, 
 or potentate had ever been as big a man in their 
 estimation as the colonel ; and they had trans- 
 ferred this homage to the "major," as they were 
 inclined to call Mr. Lyon after they heard the 
 overseer u'se this title. 
 
 Levi placed the men in the boat, each with his 
 oar, and then headed it up the creek. The boys 
 took their places in the stern-sheets, and the over- 
 seer handled the tiller lines. These arrangements 
 were no sooner completed than the planter ap- 
 peared, and took his place with the boys. The 
 rowers were sitting with the oars upright ; for the 
 General, who was the stroke oarsman, had learned 
 either from pictures in the illustrated papers their 
 former master used to give the hands when he had 
 done with them, or from some person more experi- 
 enced than himself, some of the forms used in 
 boating. 
 
 " Drop your oars ! " said Levi, and they all fell 
 into the water together. 
 
 "Ought to say 'let fall,' Mars'r Levi," added 
 General. 
 
NIGHT EXtEDItlOIsr IN THE MAGNOLIA 161 
 
 "No talk, General. Now gather up, and pull 
 away!" continued Levi. 
 
 General would have given him the proper form, 
 " Give way ! " but Levi was not in the humor to 
 be instructed, and the rower said no more. The 
 men pulled their oars with a will, and the imple- 
 ments bent under their vigorous stroke. The 
 planter had run all the way from the mansion, 
 and was out of breath, so he was silent for a time. 
 
162 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAR CREEK 
 
 It was quite dark when the Magnolia went out 
 from the pier, though it was a starlight night. 
 The crew pulled very well, for the colonel had 
 taken no little pride in the appearance of his boat 
 on the river. Before his health was impaired he 
 occasionally went to the county town by water ; 
 for it was on a branch of the river, and was full 
 thirty miles distant by the winding streams. 
 
 The crew were powerful men, and had had 
 plenty of practice in former years. But the pres- 
 ent planter preferred the vehicles, drawn by fine 
 horses, and the boys used the smaller boats, so the 
 Magnolia had not been manned under the new 
 order of things. Under the vigorous stroke of 
 the negroes she soon passed under the bridge, and 
 headed up the creek. 
 
 " We are fairly started, and this boat seems to 
 be making at least five miles an hour," said the 
 planter, when he had fully recovered his breath. 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAU CREEK 163 
 
 " More than that, I should say, Major Lyon. I 
 don't believe the hands can keep up this gait all 
 the way ; but we shall get to the sink about mid- 
 night," replied Levi. 
 
 " I don't know that there is anything to appre- 
 hend in the way of danger," added Mr. Lyon. 
 
 "■ I don't know whether there is or not ; but 1 
 put my revolver and a box of cartridges into my 
 pocket." 
 
 "I never owned a pistol of any kind, and have 
 hardly fired a gun since I was a boy ; but in the 
 storeroom out of the library I found some very 
 nice weapons, — a double-barrelled rifle and a fowl- 
 ing-piece." 
 
 " The colonel had two revolvers ; and thev 
 must be somewhere about the library. A fe;^ 
 years ago some horse-thieves were in this vicinity, 
 and we kept a watch on the place every night for 
 a couple of weeks," said Levi. 
 
 " If Uncle Titus put five thousand dollars into 
 these guns and pistols, I should think he would be 
 apt to keep a watch over them," suggested Deck. 
 
 " A watch would not amount to anything unless 
 he put as many as half a dozen men on it," an- 
 swered Levi. " But I tliink he depends upon the 
 
164 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 secrecy of his movements and the safety of the 
 cavern for the security of the arms. He put 
 the things away in the night, and I don't believe 
 anybody ever goes over the spring road in the 
 darkness. If he put a watch anywhere he would 
 station it on that road at the place where they 
 shifted the boxes from the wagon to the flatboat. 
 But I reckon we can take care of the watch if 
 there is any there." 
 
 " But the road is about a quarter of a mile from 
 the creek," said Deck. 
 
 " All of that ; and we may pass the place with- 
 out much of any noise, and no one on the road 
 would be likely to hear us," replied Levi. 
 
 " I don't think the watch, if there is one, will 
 give us any trouble, for if they hear us, we can 
 keep out of their way ; and I don't think they 
 would have any boat in the creek," added the 
 planter. " Your revolver will keep them at a 
 proper distance when we reach the cavern." 
 
 " I found a shingling hatchet in the boathouse, 
 and I brought that along with me," said Artie. 
 
 "Are you going to fight with that?" asked 
 Deck. 
 
 " Not exactly that ; but we couldn't open one 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OP BAR CREEK 165 
 
 of the boxes this afternoon for the want of a tool, 
 and we can do so with this hatchet ; then we shall 
 have all the muskets, revolvei-s, and cartridges we 
 can use," replied Artie. 
 
 " That is a good scheme, my boy," added Levi 
 approvingly. "But I don't believe we shallliave 
 to do any fighting. If the conspirators have set a 
 watch, it must be in the road ; and I reckon we 
 shall clean out the cavern before they can get there." 
 
 "We won't fight any battles before we get 
 there," interposed the planter. " We have always 
 been peaceable people, but I suppose we must get 
 used to fighting, for we are going to have a terri- 
 ble war : and I don't believe in Mr. Seward's pre- 
 diction that it will all be over in a hundred days. 
 I am ready to become a soldier, Levi, and so are 
 the boys, in defence of the Union." 
 
 " I suppose I ought to do the same," added the 
 overseer ; " but I had not thought of it." 
 
 " You are fifty years old, and you will not be 
 called upon to go into the army, Levi," replied 
 Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " But I am ready to do my share of the fight- 
 in o- ; and if I am over fiftv, I reckon I am as 
 tough and hearty as any of them that will shoulder 
 
166 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 a musket," said the overseer; and those near him 
 could hear his chuckle, though they could not see 
 his smile. 
 
 " I hope you will not go to the war, my friend," 
 continued Mr. Lyon in a very serious tone. " I 
 am only forty-two, and I believe it is not only my 
 duty to send my boys into the army, but to go 
 myself. I liave thouglit a great deal of this sub- 
 ject within the last month, though I haven't said 
 much. I believe a man's first duty is to his 
 family, and I should hate to go off into the army, 
 and leave my wife and the girls here ; for I believe 
 whoever stays in Barcreek will see some fighting 
 here." 
 
 "And see some before a great while," added 
 Levi. " Everything is boiling round here, and it 
 will boil over before long. These Secession ruf- 
 fians are not going to keep the peace much longer. 
 They are itching to begin the work of diiving the 
 Union men into their cub pasture." 
 
 " That is my own opinion ; and that is my 
 only dread in joining the army. But I have com- 
 forted myself with the belief that Levi Bedford 
 was over fifty, and he would remain on the planta- 
 tion and take care of my family." 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAR CREEK 167 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you, Major Lyon, 
 for the confidence you put in me, and I can assure 
 you it shall not be abused," returned the manager, 
 with more gravity in his tone and manner than 
 usual. " If by staying here I can keep three 
 good Union soldiers in the field, perhaps that will 
 be doing my fair share of the work." 
 
 " We will talk this matter at another time, Levi ; 
 and I will only say I could not have found a man 
 more to my mind to take charge of the plantation 
 and the women-folks if I had hunted for him all 
 over the nation." 
 
 " That's handsome, Major ; and you may wager 
 your life and all you have in the world that I will 
 never go back on you or your family," protested 
 the overseer warmly. 
 
 " We understand each other perfectly, Levi. 
 But there is a more pi"essing question than that 
 before the house just now," said Mr. Lyon, as he 
 took Levi's offered hand; and gave it an earnest 
 grasp. " What are we to do Avith all these arms 
 and ammunition Avhen we get them down to 
 Riverlawn ? " 
 
 " I haven't had much time to think of that ; but 
 I had an idea come across my head as I was run- 
 
168 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ning from the house down to the boat-pier. I 
 passed by the ice-house, and it jumped into my 
 noddle that it would make a good arsenal ; but I 
 haven't worked up the idea yet," replied the 
 manager. 
 
 " That is a happy thought ! " exclaimed the 
 planter. " It never occurred to me. It is in just 
 the right place ; for my brother has given me warn- 
 ing that I was in danger of being mobbed as an 
 abolitionist, and that nothing but his influence has 
 prevented it from being done before." 
 
 " It is hard work for me to believe that dough- 
 face is a brother of yours and the late colonel ; but 
 if he dared to show his face in it, he would be the 
 first man to get up such a demo.istration. Excuse 
 me, Major, if I am talking too plainly," said Levi, 
 who had little patience with, or toleration for, 
 Titus Lyon. "He may send his company of 
 Home Guards over to clean out the mansion, but 
 he won't come himself, for he is a poison snake." 
 
 " Perhaps you know my brother as he has de- 
 veloped himself in this locality better than I do, 
 though he has even shown his fangs, under a 
 mask, to me ; but I shall keep the peace with 
 him," replied Mr. Lyon very sadly. 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAR CREEK 169 
 
 "If he attempts anything of that sort, or any 
 other border-ruffians do, I believe we can make 
 them wish they had stayed at home," said Levi 
 stoutly. 
 
 " We can make the ice-house into a fortress for 
 the protection of the mansion," continued the 
 planter. " It is near the creek, and commands 
 the bridge and the road leading to it, which is the 
 only practicable approach to the mansion. The 
 swamp half a mile back of the house lies between 
 the spring road and the creek, and extends all the 
 way to the hills, not less than ten miles by water ; 
 and no body of men can get through that way." 
 
 Though he had had no military experience, 
 Noah Lyon talked like an army engineer. He 
 was a man of very decided general ability, and he 
 readily comprehended the situation so far as his 
 plantation was concerned. The ice-house was 
 about twenty-five feet square. It was built of 
 stone under the direction of Colonel Lyon, who 
 had his own views, though they were not always 
 scientific. To preserve the ice, Avhicli did not con- 
 sist of great solid blocks as in New Hampshire, he 
 believed that thick walls were necessary, and he 
 had put two feet of solid masonry into them. The 
 
170 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ice was generally not more than two inches thick in 
 this latitude, though an exceptionally haid winter 
 sometimes made it four. It was packed in solid, 
 and then permitted to freeze by leaving the door 
 and two windows open during the freezing weather. 
 
 " Stop rowing," said Levi, when they came to a 
 bend five miles above the bridge. " Now rest 
 yourselves for five minutes, boys." 
 
 "Don't need no rest, mars'r," said General, as 
 he drew his arm over his forehead, from which the 
 perspiration was dropping on the handle of his oar. 
 "We done pulled dis boat twenty mile widout 
 stoppin' once." 
 
 " A little rest will do you no harm, for you will 
 be kept at work till morning," replied Levi. 
 
 " Whar we gwine, mars'r? " asked General. 
 
 " About five miles farther," replied the overseer 
 evasively. " Have you brought your jackets or 
 coats with you, boys ? " 
 
 They had brought them. Levi had read of 
 muffled oars, and he ordered each of the rowers 
 to wind the garment not in use around the loom 
 of his oar Avhere it rested in the rowlock. They 
 obeyed in silence, and no one asked any question; 
 for this reason they would have made good sailors, 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAR CREEK 171 
 
 for they must obey without askiug the reasou for 
 the coramaud. They had beeu well trained by tlie 
 overseer. 
 
 " Now, uot one of you must speak a loud word, 
 or make any noise," continued Levi, when he had 
 seen that the oare were all properl}^ muffled. "You 
 must excuse me, Major, if I request all in this part 
 of the boat to keep still also ; for we are coming to 
 the nearest point to the spring road. If there is 
 any one on watch there, we will fool him if we 
 can." 
 
 " All right, Levi ; we will keep as still as mice 
 in a pantry." 
 
 "Pull away again, boys," he added, to the dis- 
 gust of General, who wanted him to give his orders 
 in " ship-shop " fashion. 
 
 The negroes obeyed the command just as well 
 as though it had been " ship-shop ; " and tlie Mag- 
 nolia went ahead with renewed speed after the 
 rest. A little later the overseer ordered tliem to 
 pull more slowly and with less noise, for the oars 
 could be heard in spite of the muffling. Bat they 
 could not be heard at half the distance to the 
 spring road, and no challenge came to them from 
 that or anv other direction. 
 
172 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 '• Now you may put your muscle into your oars, 
 boys," said the overseer when the boat came to a 
 bend which had carried it away farther from the 
 road. 
 
 The men bent to their oars again, and the Mag- 
 nolia flew over the dark water. Dark as it was, 
 the pilot had no difficulty in keeping the boat in 
 the middle of the creek. At the end of about an 
 hour from the resting-place, Levi ordered the men 
 to pull slowly again, for the boat was approaching 
 its destination. The planter lighted a match and 
 looked at his watch. 
 
 "Hold on, here, boys!" called the overseer. 
 "We have gone too far, for here is the mouth of the 
 brook, and I reckon the flatboat is under that heap 
 of stuff ; " and he pointed to a mound of branches 
 by the shore of the inlet. " I reckon we want the 
 lanterns now. Major Lyon. Did you light one of 
 them ? " 
 
 " No ; I only looked at my watch. We are in 
 good time, for it wants a quarter of twelve," 
 replied the planter. " Get out the lanterns, boys, 
 and we will light them." 
 
 Levi worked the boat into the little inlet, and 
 alongside of the mound. The flatboat was found 
 
AT THE HEAD WATERS OF BAR CREEK 173 
 
 under it, precisely as Artie had described it in the 
 library. Four of the hands were sent to the top 
 of it, and ordered to clear away the branches, 
 which they did by throwing them on shore and 
 into the water. The gundalow was baled out, 
 and then its painter was made fast to the sfern 
 of the Magnolia. Deck and Artie were sent 
 ashore with one of the lanterns, and directed 
 to find the sink. 
 
 The Magnolia towed the flatboat down the 
 creek till Deck hailed her from the landing-place 
 where they had gone ashore in the afternoon. 
 By a little after midnight the gundalow was 
 moored at a convenient point for loading it. 
 
174 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE ARMS 
 
 The three lanterns were lighted, and Levi 
 Bedford lost not a moment in making tlie prep- 
 arations for loading the boxes into the fiatboat. 
 The sink-liole was a tunnel in the gi'ound, at the 
 bottom of which could be heard the gurgling of 
 waters. The overseer said the brook which flowed 
 into the creek where they had found the gunda- 
 low had its source in this place, though it made 
 a considerable circuit before it reached its outlet. 
 
 On the side of the inverted cone nearest to the 
 creek there was an opening which led into the 
 cavern, the bottom of which was at least twenty 
 feet above the water, whose ripple they could hear. 
 The descent was gradual, both in the tunnel and 
 in the cavern ; and with lanterns in their hands 
 Deck and Artie led the way down, for the}' had 
 made themselves familiar with the subterranean 
 chamber in the afternoon, and it was years since 
 Levi had been there. 
 
THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE ARMS 175 
 
 Mr. Lyon followed his son, while the overseer, 
 with a coil of small line on his arm, which he 
 had taken from the boathouse, brought up the 
 rear. The party were taking a survey of the 
 entrance in order to determine the best way to 
 move the cases. It looked as though the water 
 had flowed through the cavern at some remote 
 period of time, probably rising from the sink-hole 
 below, for the limestone at the floor was worn 
 tolerably smooth. Doubtless the extinct stream 
 had found a new outlet, lowering the level of the 
 water so that it had ceased to flow through the 
 cave. 
 
 The boxes were piled up just as they had been 
 found in the afternoon. The roof of the cavern 
 was very irregular, and in some places it was not 
 more than five feet above the floor, ^hile in others 
 it was from eight to ten. The arms were depos- 
 ited in a recess about twenty feet from the en- 
 trance. When the boys visited the sink-hole they 
 had found the opening of the cave partly filled up 
 with branches of trees and other rubbish ; but they 
 had removed these obstructions, which formed only 
 a very weak attempt to conceal the depository of 
 the arms. 
 
176 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Levi studied the interior of the cavern and the 
 situation of the cases, attended by the planter. 
 The lanterns were sufficient to light it so that 
 they had no difficulty in seeing to work. The 
 apartment began to wind about just below them, 
 and all was gloom and darkness in that direction. 
 
 " It is about twenty feet to the opening," said 
 Levi, as he measured the distance with his eye. 
 "The roof is not more than five feet high half the 
 way ; and, if their skulls are not harder than the 
 limestone. General and Dummy will be likely to 
 stave a hole in them." 
 
 " The rest of the hands are not so tall," sug- 
 gested Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " I brought this rope with me without knowing 
 that it would be of any use to us ; but I find that 
 it is just the thing we want," continued the over- 
 seer as he uncoiled the line. "Now, boys, all we 
 will ask you to do is to hold the lanterns ; but 
 you must not go to sleep and let them fall on 
 the stone floor." 
 
 " No danger of that," laughed Deck. " But we 
 can work in the low place without smashing our 
 heads." 
 
 " I am glad there is no hard work for you, boys, 
 
THE TRANSPORTATION OP THE ARMS 177 
 
 for you must be tired after pulling a boat twenty 
 miles this afternoon," added Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " I am not very tired, and I can do my share of 
 the work," replied Artie. 
 
 " So can I," added Deck. 
 
 " But you can do the most good by holding the 
 lights," replied Levi. " One of you stand down 
 here ; and the other, with two of the lanterns, 
 near the opening." 
 
 The boys followed this direction, Deck placing 
 himself at the entrance, where he could light a part 
 of the cavern and the tunnel. The overseer un- 
 coiled his rope, and with the help of the planter 
 lifted one of tlie boxes down to the floor. He 
 then made fast the rope to it with a slip-noose, the 
 knot on the under side, so as to carry the case over 
 any obstructions. 
 
 Walking up to the entrance, uncoiling the line 
 as he proceeded, he passed out of the cavern into 
 the tunnel. Calling General and Dummy from 
 the place where they had been told to wait, he sta- 
 tioned them near the door, and then carried the 
 line, which was not less than seventy-five feet in 
 length, to the shore of the creek. 
 
 " Now, Rosebud, and the rest of you, take hold 
 
178 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 of this rope, and when the word comes up to you 
 from General, haul up the box which is made fast 
 to the other end of it," continued Levi. " As 
 soon as you get it up here, unhitch the line, and 
 throw tlie end down to General. As soon as you 
 have done that, load the case into the boat, then 
 haul up another, and do the same thing over 
 again." 
 
 " Gunnymunks! " exclaimed the laughing negro. 
 " Whar all de boxes come from ? " 
 
 " None of your business, Kosebud ; mind your 
 work, and don't ask questions," returned the 
 manager, as he descended to the entrance to the 
 cavern. 
 
 " Wat we gwine to do, Mars'r Bedford ? " asked 
 General. 
 
 " You are going to pull and haul ; and you can 
 begin now," replied Levi. " Take hold of that 
 line, and draw that box up here. Pull steady, so 
 as not to break it." 
 
 The two powerful negroes manned the rope, and 
 dragged the case up to the opening without any 
 difficulty, and without doing it any great injury. 
 It was placed so that it could be readily hauled 
 out of the sink. 
 
THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE ARMS 179 
 
 *' Above there ! " called the overseer. " Now 
 haul steady on the rope ! Ease it out of the ojjen- 
 ing, General." 
 
 The two big men crowded it around the corner, 
 and then it went up to the ground above without 
 any obstruction or delay. The line was detached 
 from the box, and thrown down to the entrance. 
 General passing it down to the pile of boxes. 
 Another had been prepared for the rope, and the 
 planter made fast to it. Levi had gone up to 
 superintend the loading of the box, and arranged 
 a couple of planks he found in the boat, so that 
 this part of the work could be conveniently done. 
 He made Rosebud the '' boss " for the time being, 
 and then went down into the cavern to assist his 
 employer. 
 
 " It won't take long to do the job at this rate," 
 said Mr. Lyon when the overseer joined him. 
 " Your plan of doing the work makes an easy 
 thing of it." 
 
 " I could not tell how it was to be done till I 
 saw the situation of things here ; but we shall be 
 back to Riverlawn before daylight," replied Levi, 
 as they lifted down the third of the boxes. 
 
 When the method of moving the cases to the 
 
180 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 boat had been adopted, and had been found to work 
 so well, the task was practically accomplished. 
 The ease and celerity with which they mounted 
 to the upper regions astonished and delighted the 
 planter and the boys, and they were filled with 
 admiration at the skill displayed by Levi Bedford 
 in the management of the business. He was ac- 
 customed to working the hands, and knew what 
 each of them was good for ; and no other person 
 could have done so well. 
 
 The work proceeded with increased rapidity as 
 the men became iised to the operations. In less 
 than an hour all but the two cases containing the 
 cannon, which Levi said were twelve-pounders, 
 had been removed. The " Seceshers " had evi- 
 dently had a great deal of difficulty in handling 
 them ; for they had stove one of the cases in 
 pieces, and the other was hardly in condition to 
 hold the heavy piece. Levi made his rope fast to 
 the cascabel, or but-end of the gun, and the word 
 was passed for the men above to come down to the 
 entrance. 
 
 The six negroes made easy work of hauling it 
 up to the opening, while the overseer and the 
 planter directed it with levers, split from the 
 
THE TKANSPORTATION OF THE ARMS I8l 
 
 broken case, so as to prevent it from receiving 
 any injury. The six men were then sent above 
 the tunnel, and the gun was drawn up. Loading 
 it into the boat was a more difficult matter ; and 
 the planter and the overseer were considering 
 how it was to be done, when General interrupted 
 them. 
 
 " Go 'way dar, niggers ! " exclaimed General, 
 waving his hand for the others to get out of the 
 way. " Cotch hold ob de end ob de shooter. 
 Dummy, and we uns will tote it in de boat! " 
 
 Tlie big preacher seized the end of the piece at 
 the vent end, and General did the same with the 
 muzzle. They lifted the gun from the ground, 
 though with a strain which brought out some 
 grunts from them, and slowly marched to the boat 
 with their burden. Levi ordered two more of the 
 men to take hold with them, at the trunnions, 
 and sent the other two into the boat, who assisted 
 as they could obtain a hold on the load. It was 
 safely deposited in the bottom of the craft. 
 
 The overseer opened the other case with the 
 hatchet Artie had brought, and broke up the 
 boards of which it was constructed. It was put 
 into the boat in the same manner as the other. 
 
182 BEOTHEU AGAIJSST BKOTHER 
 
 The water was deep enough in the creek for the 
 boat, and Levi gave his attention next to the trim- 
 ming of the craft, while lie sent some of the hands 
 to bring up the pieces of board left in the cavern ; 
 but the cargo needed but little adjusting, and the 
 party were ready to return to Riverlawn. 
 
 " When your precious brother visits that cavern 
 next time, he will be likely to wonder what has 
 become of his arms and ammunition," said Levi, 
 wiping the perspiration from his brow. " Now, 
 boys, go down into that hole again, and see that 
 we have left nothing there, for I don't want Cap- 
 tain Titus to find anything to let him know who 
 has done this job for him." 
 
 While they were gone upon this mission, the 
 overseer placed the Magnolia ahead of the flat^ 
 boat, in readiness to tow it down the creek. The 
 boys returned, and the hatchet was the only thing 
 which- had been left. To their astonishment they 
 found that Levi had shaken out the sail of the 
 Magnolia, and they had their doubts about his 
 ability to manage it. 
 
 "I hope you won't tip the sailboat over, Levi," 
 said Deck, as he stepped on board of her, followed 
 by Artie. 
 
THE TRANSPORTATWN OF THE ARMS 183 
 
 " If I do I shall not spill you out, either of you ; 
 for I want you to take charge of the flatboat, Avith 
 two of the hands," replied the overseer. " I shall 
 keep four men in the Magnolia to row, and I 
 think the sail will help us along a good 'deal." 
 
 " I should like to change that plan a little, 
 Levi," interposed Mr. Lyon. "■ The boys and 
 myself can take care of the flatboat, and you can 
 have all the men at the oars." 
 
 " Just as you say, Major Lyon, and perhaps 
 that will be the best scheme. I was thinking that 
 you and the boys might sleep part of the way 
 down," answered the overseer. " Tiie wind is 
 blowing pretty hard from the south-west, and I 
 reckon we shall get some rain before a great many 
 hours. The sail ought to help us a big piece." 
 
 The planter and the boj^s armed themselves with 
 the long oars of the flatboat, which had been 
 driven into tlie muddy bottom of the creek to 
 hold her in place at the landing, and they were 
 ready to keep her off the shore in going around a 
 sharp bend. Mr. Lyon placed his between the 
 pins in the stern to steer with. 
 
 With their oars in hand the six rowers were in 
 their places, and Levi gave the word to shove off. 
 
184 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 When the men had pulled a short distance, the 
 skipper, a position which the overseer had as- 
 sumed, hauled in the sheet, and made it fast at the 
 cleat for the purpose. The sail filled with a ven- 
 geance as a sharp flaw struck it, and the Magnolia 
 forged ahead with a dart, dragging her tow after 
 her. As the creek widened the sail strained, and 
 the Magnolia seemed to be struggling to get away 
 from the gundalow astern of her. 
 
 As she proceeded on her course down the stream, 
 «he increased her speed, and appeared to make 
 nothing of hauling the tow after her. The motion 
 produced by the sail bothered the rowers, who 
 were not used to this situation. Some of them 
 " caught crabs," and the oars of all of them were 
 lifted and thrown back by the water that rushed 
 past th^m. They made such bad work of it that 
 Levi ordered them to unship their oars. 
 
 The Magnolia was making something like six 
 miles an hour, and would have made ten without 
 the tow. He steered her so that she carried the 
 gundalow safely around the bends of the stream ; 
 and the planter had little to do, the boys nothing. 
 Deck and Artie stretched themselves on the boxes, 
 and were soon fast asleep ; for they were worn out 
 
THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE ARMS 185 
 
 with the exertion and excitement of the day and 
 night. 
 
 The bends in the stream near the spring road 
 perplexed the skipper at first ; but his excellent 
 common-sense helped him out, and he hauled in 
 his sheet so as to bring the boat up closer to the 
 wind. Above the most troublesome bend at this 
 point, the general course of the creek was west 
 north-west. He let off the sheet, and the Mag- 
 nolia flew faster than ever. 
 
 When he came to the bridge by the mansion, he 
 waked the negroes, who had all fallen asleep, to 
 take down the mast, so that he could pass under it, 
 for he had already lowered the sail. He ran the 
 boat close to the bank off the ice-house, and the 
 negroes secured it and the gundalow. 
 
 " Dexter, Artemas ! " shouted the planter. 
 " Wake up ! The cruise is ended." 
 
186 BfiOTHER AGAINST BKOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT BEDFORD 
 
 The two young voyagers of the night sprang 
 to their feet on the pile of cases which filled 
 the body of the gundalow, and looked about 
 them. It was still dark, and they could not 
 make out anything when just roused from their 
 slumber. 
 
 " What are we stopping here for, father ? Has 
 anything broken?" asked Deck, discovering Mr. 
 Lyon near him. 
 
 " Nothing but your slumbers, my son," replied 
 the planter. " Haven't you got your eyes open 
 yet? Can't you see that you have got home?" 
 
 " I believe I have been asleep," added Artie, 
 rubbing his eyes. 
 
 " I know you have, my boy ; for I spread your 
 overcoats over you both before we reached the big 
 bend, and I know you were sleeping as soundly as 
 a [lair of babies then. You must have slept an 
 hour and a half," the father explained. " I am 
 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT BEDFORD 187 
 
 %'lad you had some sleep, for we have more work 
 <;o do before we can go to bed." 
 
 " I can see the bridge now," added Deck. 
 
 " And there is the liouse," said Artie. 
 
 The negroes were all wide awake by this time, 
 and Levi had gone to the mansion for the key to 
 the ice-house. Mr. Lyon lighted all of the lanterns, 
 and sent the boys to the stone building with them, 
 followinp- himself soon after. The overseer came 
 with the key, and it was opened with some diffi- 
 culty. The ice with which it had been filled in 
 the winter had been exhausted, and it contained 
 nothing but rubbish. The hands were called, and 
 the interior was soon cleaned out. 
 
 Though Levi had not closed his eyes during the 
 night, and had been busy all the time, he was wide 
 awake, and proceeded to drive things as he had 
 done at the cavern. It was decided to move the 
 cannons first, after a broad gang plank had been 
 made of the material in the boat. A heavy cart- 
 stake was procured, which was thrust into the first 
 of the pieces, with room enough for three of the 
 hands to get liold of it. Another was placed 
 under the cascabel, which was supported by Gen- 
 eral and Dummy, with Rosebud at the jaws. 
 
188 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The gun was easily handled with this force, and 
 the men walked briskly to the new arsenal. Three 
 wheelbarrows were brought from the tool-house by 
 the planter and the boys while Levi was superin- 
 tending the removal of the cannons. Three 
 wheelers were selected by the overseer, two 
 placed in the gundalow to load the barrows, and 
 one at the ice-house. In less than an hour, and 
 when the daylight was appearing in the east, the 
 job was finished. 
 
 " Now, bo3's, you can sleep all the rest of the 
 day," said Mr. Lj'ons, and Levi sent the hands to 
 their quarters. 
 
 " We haven't seen any men on the watch," said 
 Levi, while he was placing some boards over the 
 windows of the building, "but there msiy have 
 been some on the lookout for all that." 
 
 " If they were in the road near the big bend, 
 where you thought they would be, if anywhere, 
 they could not have walked to the cavern in time 
 to find us there, for we made quick work of load- 
 ing the boat," added the planter. 
 
 " If there were any men there, they may have 
 observed us ; but they could not get round here to 
 see what was done with the cases if they did," 
 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FOKT BEDFORD 189 
 
 replied Levi. " They may possibly have recog- 
 nized the Magnolia ; and that is the only clew they 
 could have obtained of the operations in this 
 affair." 
 
 "It is time to go to bed, and I am inclined to 
 think we shall do some sleeping to-day," added 
 the planter, as he led the way to the mansion. 
 
 Levi was not willing to leave anything to 
 chance ; and before he went to his room in the 
 house he had called up two of the servants and 
 established a patrol along the bank of the creek 
 from the bridge to the boat-house, with orders to 
 call him if any persons were seen prowling about 
 the vicinity. 
 
 All the opei-ations of the night had been con- 
 ducted with the most prudent regard to secrecy. 
 Doubtless Levi Bedford knew more about the 
 residents of the county than Noah Lyon, and prob- 
 ably more about Titus as he was and had been 
 during the last few years. The disappearance of 
 the arms and ammunition would make a tremen- 
 dous sensation among the Southern sympathizers, 
 though most of them were not yet aware of the 
 existence of such a store of munitions in the 
 vicinity ; for the knowledge of them had probably 
 
190 BROTHER AGAINST BKOTHER 
 
 been contined to the members of Titus's company 
 of Home Guards. Even if the wrath and excite- 
 ment occasioned by the loss of the war material 
 was limited to these ruffians, there were enough of 
 tliem to do avast amount of mischief in the county. 
 
 The interview on the bridge with his brother 
 had opened wide the eyes of Noah ; but he had 
 always lived in a peaceful community, and his 
 overseer understood the situation better than he 
 did. Levi had taken every precaution against the 
 possible assaults of the '-' bushwackers," as he 
 called the gang with whom the Northern >' dough- 
 face " had cast his lot at the bi-eaking out of the 
 troubles in the State. Tlie boys slept soundly till 
 nearly noon, and the planter till the middle of the 
 forenoon ; but Levi appeared as usual at breakfast, 
 having slept but about three hours. 
 
 Mr. Lyon had told his wife something about the 
 events of the night, and assured her that the arms 
 were safe in the ice-house, and nothing was said 
 at the table about the proceedings of tlie party, 
 though Levi was as good-natured as usual, and 
 talked about other things. As soon as he had 
 finished liis mornino- meal with a most excellent 
 appetite, he hastened to the ice-house with the 
 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT BEDFORD 191 
 
 key in his liand. Tlie field-hands had gone to 
 their work, and all was quiet about the place. 
 
 The ice-house was near the creek, about half- 
 way between the bridge and the boat-house, close 
 to the stream. The door of it faced the water, 
 and there was a small square window in either 
 end. Levi walked around the building two or 
 three times, closely examining the structure. 
 Then he stopped at the door and cast his eyes 
 all around him, especially at the lay of the land 
 on the other side of the creek. He was not a 
 military engineer any more than his employer; 
 but he was a man of ideas, and he was evidently 
 preparing for events in the future which he fore- 
 saw, and which the disturbed condition of the 
 State rendered more than possible. 
 
 When he had completed his survey he unlocked 
 the door of tlie building. The cases were all 
 just as they had been piled up in the early morn- 
 ing. He bestowed only a glance at them, and 
 then began a study of the two windows, from 
 which he removed the boards that prevented 
 any one from seeing what the building contained. 
 Then he gave his attention to the doors, which 
 were double, the thickness of the wall apart. He 
 
192 BROTH Ell AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 was evidently making a plan in his mind for 
 some alterations to the structure ; but he was 
 alone, and of course he said nothing. 
 
 He appeared to have reached his conclusion. 
 Closing and locking the outer door, he walked 
 over to' the boat-house, at the pier of which the 
 Magnolia had been secured by the boatmen as 
 soon as the work of the night was completed. 
 Here again he stopped and made a surve}^ of the 
 neighboring swamp, which separated the lawn 
 fi'om the bank of the Green. Then he went 
 over to the bank of the river, and followed it 
 down stream. 
 
 At this point a bend of the river above forced 
 the water of the stream over near the opposite 
 shore, while half-way across from the bank on 
 which he stood, the waters from the river and the 
 creek had washed in the mud so that it formed 
 a bar on a bed of rocks, and the descent liere 
 [)roduced the rapids. The water for half a mile 
 was considerably troubled when the streams were 
 full, while it was deep enough on the other side 
 to ])ermit the passage of the steamboats that plied 
 on the river. 
 
 Levi continued his walk in the road, with Green 
 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OP EORT BEDFORD 19S 
 
 River on one side and on the other the swamp 
 which bordered the creek to a point near its source. 
 The swamp was impassable on foot or by boat. It 
 was better than a wall in the rear of the mansion, 
 and the marauders of Titus Lyon could not ap- 
 proach from that direction. Farther along was a 
 broad lagoon or pond, connected by a wide and 
 sluofsfish inlet with Bar Creek. This could be 
 crossed with a boat ; but the approach to it from 
 the spring road over the low ground was difficult 
 and dangerous. 
 
 The overseer knew the whole region very well; 
 but when he had viewed it again in the light of 
 impending contingencies, he seemed to be entirely 
 satisfied with the situation, for his chronic smile 
 was on his round face, though no one was there to 
 see it. He went to the shop, which formed part 
 of the carriage-house, and began a survey of the 
 lumber on hand thei'e. A couple of three-inch oak 
 planks were pulled out from the pile. He meas- 
 ured and marked them with a piece of chalk, and 
 then left the shop. 
 
 Among the plantation hands were carpenters, 
 masons, painters, and other mechanics, more or 
 less skilful, though none of them had regularly 
 
l94 BROTHER AGAINST^ BROTHER 
 
 learned a trade. Some of them had become quite 
 expert in the use of tools, and could do a very 
 respectable job, especially the carpenters. Levi 
 was himself a " jack-of-all-trades," and he had 
 trained some of them to the best of his ability. 
 
 When he came out of the shop he sent Frank 
 the coachman to call the three carpenters, who 
 worked in the field most of the time. The colonel 
 had given these men names to suit himself, and 
 they were proud of their cognomens. "Shavings " 
 was the most skilful of them, and was the "boss " 
 at any job to be done. "Gouge" and " Bitts " 
 were only fair workmen, but they did very well 
 under the direction of their foreman. 
 
 When they came, Levi ordered Shavings to 
 make two doors of the three-inch planks, and de- 
 scribed what he Avanted very minutely. At the 
 same time the two door-frames were ordered, and 
 the mechanics went to work with a will, and with- 
 out asking to what use the doors were to be applied. 
 
 By this time the planter came out from his late 
 breakfast, and the overseer reported to him what 
 he had been doing the last three hours. They 
 visited the shop where the negro mechanics were 
 sawing out the planks for the doors, and then 
 
THE ESTABLISHMKNT OF FOIIT BEDFORD 195 
 
 went to the stables, where Frank remained on 
 duty all the time when not out with one of the 
 teams ; and then one of the grooms took his place. 
 
 " How many horses are there on the place now, 
 Frank ? " asked the planter. 
 
 " Thirty-five in all, Major," answered the coach- 
 man. 
 
 " Are they all fit for service ? " inquired the 
 owner. 
 
 " No, sir ; six of them are breeding mares, and 
 nine are colts, two and three years old. We have 
 fifteen horses and mares four years old and more, 
 for sale, and I reckoned you would sell them about 
 this time." 
 
 " That's all, Frank," added the planter as he 
 left the stable. 
 
 "I don't know what you are driving at, Major 
 Lyon, but we have twenty-seven horses over three 
 years old, and fit for service, though the three 
 year olds are rather young yet for hard work," said 
 Levi, as they walked towards the ice-house. 
 
 " I have held my tongue about as long as neces- 
 sary ; but now all these sores in the State seem to 
 be coming to a head, and I will tell you, between 
 ourselves, that I have an idea of raising a comj^any 
 
196 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 of Union cavalry to offset the Home Guards of 
 this county," replied Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " That's a glorious idea ! " exclaimed Levi with 
 tremendous enthusiasm. " I wish I was ten years 
 younger, and weighed thirty pounds less, for I 
 should like to swing a sabre in that company." 
 
 "But you are to look out for the plantation and 
 take care of my family while I am away, Levi. 
 You can ride a colt better than any of us ; but 
 your work is here, and you may be called upon to 
 do as much fighting as any of us," said Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " I will do my duty wherever you put me, 
 Major ; but I should rather enjoy a whack at those 
 border ruffians who are making the whole county 
 hot with outrages. Last night they burned out a 
 Union man two miles above the village." 
 
 " The time for action is close at hand," added 
 Mr. Lyon, as they came to the ice-house. " There 
 have been talk and threats enough. My brother 
 has told me that I am liable to be hung on one of 
 the big trees after a mob has burned the house ; 
 but I think we are ready for such a gathering as 
 he suggests. We may hear something about it to- 
 night in the meeting at the Big Bend school- 
 house." 
 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT BEDFORD 197 
 
 " I have looked the ice-house over this morn- 
 ing, and I have made up my mind vt^hat ought 
 to be done," said Levi ; and he proceeded to state 
 his plan for turning the stone structure into a 
 sort of fort. "_ I have ordered the doors already, 
 and if you say the word. Major, I will make 
 three or four embrasures in the walls for the 
 two field-pieces; and we must have a magazine 
 for the ammunition." 
 
 " I approve your plan ; go ahead and do the 
 work as you think best. You can use all the 
 hands you need; and from this moment the ice- 
 house will be known as Fort Bedford," replied 
 Mr. Lyons. 
 
 " Thank you. Major, and I will endeavor to 
 make the fortress worthy of a better name," re- 
 turned Levi, as he hastened to the stable to send 
 for the men he wanted. 
 
198 BROTHEB AGAINST BEOTHEH 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 
 
 In the afternoon Levi Bedford had half the 
 hands on the plantation at work in and about 
 the ice-house. Embrasures, or port-holes, were 
 opened in the thick walls, one at each end and 
 one on each side of the door, at the proper height 
 for the twelve-pounders, which were mounted on 
 the carriages, in order that everything should 
 be correctly adjusted. Then the door which 
 opened on the side next to the creek was filled 
 up with stones taken from the quarry in the 
 only hill on the plantation, so that it was as 
 thick and as solid as the rest of the walls. Then 
 a new door was made on the opposite side. 
 
 By sundown the carpenter had completed and 
 hung the double doors ; and they were secured 
 with the heavy locks the colonel had purchased 
 in the days of the horse-thieves. All this work 
 was not completed when night came, and four 
 trusty men were selected to jjatrol the creek fr6m 
 
THE UNION MKETING AT BIG BEND 199 
 
 the bridge down to the boat-pier, two serving till 
 midnight, and the other two till morning. 
 
 " I think we shall be in condition to stand a 
 siege by to-morrow night," said the overseer, as 
 he accompanied the planter and the boys to Fort 
 Bedford, on the way to the schoolliouse at Big 
 Bend. 
 
 " It looks so now," replied Mr* Lyon as he 
 went into the building. " You have made re- 
 markable progress for one day. But I want to 
 open one of these boxes." 
 
 "Which one, Major?" asked Levi. 
 
 " The one which contains revolvers and car- 
 tridges, for some of the smaller ones are labelled 
 with the names of these articles. I hardly expect 
 any trouble at the meeting to-night ; but I think 
 it is best to be prepared for the worst. I have 
 brought one of the colonel's pistols with me ; but 
 I want to put the boys in condition to defend 
 themselves," added the planter. 
 
 " I think Ave can make good use of them, for 
 we have had some experience with such tools," 
 said Deck, who did not appear to be at all affected 
 by the serious nature of the preparations the}'^ 
 w»^e making. 
 
200 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Where have you had any such experience, 
 Dexter?" inquired his father. 
 
 " Tom Bartlett and Ben Mason had revolvers 
 at the time of the housebreaking scare in Derry, 
 and Artie and I used to fire at a mark with them 
 in the hill pasture," replied the enthusiastic boy. 
 " Artie used to beat us all, and often put the 
 ball through the centre of the target." 
 
 " Sometimes," suggested the other. 
 
 " Then you are both ahead of me, for I never 
 fired a revolver or a pistol of any kind, though 
 I used to go hunting with a fowling-piece when I 
 was a boy," added Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " Then I think you had better practise a little, 
 Major," said Levi, as he pulled out one of the 
 smaller boxes from the top of the pile of cases. 
 " This contains what you want, I reckon." 
 
 Deck brought the hatchet, and the case was 
 opened. Most of the weapons were navy re- 
 volvers, wrapped in oiled paper to save them 
 from rust. They were closely packed in the 
 case, the spare space being filled in with pack- 
 ages of cartridges. They opened another box, 
 and found half a dozen of smaller size, with the 
 proper ammunition. The overseer selected t^^o 
 
THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 201 
 
 of them, handing one to each of the boys, with 
 a box of cartridges. 
 
 " I should like to try this little persuader," said 
 Deck, as he openecj the box of ammunition, and 
 proceeded to load the pistol. 
 
 Artie followed his example ; and, setting up the 
 cover of the case by the creek, they blazed away 
 at it till the chambers of the revolvers were 
 empty. They fired in turn, and the position of 
 each bullet-hole was noted. Artie kept up his old 
 reputation, for he hit near the centre of the board 
 three times out of six. Deck fired the best shot, 
 but his others were more scattering. They hit 
 the board every time, and Levi said they " would 
 do." 
 
 Then Mr. Lyon tried his hand with the revolver 
 he had brought from the mansion ; but his aim 
 was less accurate than that of the boys. He put 
 four of his six balls into the board, three of them 
 outside of the punctures made by Deck and Artie. 
 
 " You will improve with more experience. 
 Major ; but I reckon you could hit a bushwhacker 
 if he wasn't more than ten feet from you ; and 
 these tools generally come into use at short range. 
 How were you going up to Big Bend, Major ? " 
 
202 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I thought we should walk," replied the 
 planter ; and he reloaded his revolver, as both of 
 the boys had done by this time. "It is not more 
 than three-quarters of a mile." 
 
 " I think you had better go in the Magnolia, 
 with the crew that pulled us last night," sug- 
 gested Levi. " If there should be any row at the 
 schoolhouse, those boys will stand by you as long 
 as there is anything left of you." 
 
 " I don't look for any row, Levi, but I suppose 
 it is always best to be prepared for the worst," 
 replied the planter. " You may send for the 
 crew." 
 
 One of the watchmen happened to be near at 
 the time, and he was despatched for the boatmen 
 who had formed the regular crew of the Magnolia 
 in the time of the deceased planter. 
 
 " I suppose, if there should be any trouble at 
 the schoolhouse, and I should be protected by my 
 negroes, it would tend to aggravate the cliarge 
 against me of being an abolitionist ; and that 
 seems to be about the worst thing that can be said 
 against a man in -this county." 
 
 "But only among the border ruffians," the 
 overseer amended the statement. '' The man that 
 
THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 203 
 
 owns fifty niggers cannot decently be accused of 
 being an abolitionist. 1 advise yon to go in the 
 boat because the schoolhouse is right on the very 
 bank of the river. The back windows over the 
 platform look out upon the water. If the bush- 
 whackers come down upon you, and things go 
 against you, it will be easy to get out by one of 
 these windows. A good general always keeps the 
 line of retreat open behind him when he goes into 
 battle ; and you had better have the Magnolia 
 under one of these windows." 
 
 " Why, Levi, you talk as though you were 
 about sure an attempt would be made to break up 
 the meeting," replied Mr. Lj^on. 
 
 " To tell you the truth, I do feel almost sure of 
 it," returned the overseer. "■ Captain Titus, as 
 they call him up in the village so as not to mix 
 him up with Major Noah Lyon, Avas about mad 
 enough yesterday to do something desperate. 
 You say he has threatened you, and " — 
 
 " I did not say that, Levi," interposed the 
 planter. " Don't make my brother out any worse 
 than he is, for conscience' sake." 
 
 " What did he say, then ? " 
 
 " He told me the people on his side of the ques- 
 
204 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 tion would have mobbed me before this time if he 
 had not prevented them from doing so." 
 
 " That's about the same thing. I don't like to 
 say anything against your brother, Major, but I 
 don't look on Captain Titus as a square man. He 
 wants to keep his own head covered up because 
 you are his brother ; but I believe on my con- 
 science that he would like to see your place 
 burned to the ground, and it wouldn't break his 
 heart to see you hanging by the neck to one of the 
 big trees." 
 
 Mr. Lyon realized that the overseer understood 
 the character of Titus better than he had sup- 
 posed. His brother was terribly disappointed be- 
 cause the colonel had not left Riverlawn to him ; 
 and he had charged the deceased with unfaiiness 
 and injustice in making his will. He was com- 
 pelled to believe the claim of Titus that he bad 
 prevented the ruffians from destroying his prop- 
 erty was a pretence, and nothing more. His 
 brother was not only disappointed but revengeful. 
 
 " It is generally understood about here that you 
 called this Union .xieeting," continued Levi. 
 
 " I suggested it, for we ought to know who's 
 who ; and it remains to be seen how many will 
 
THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 205 
 
 have the pluck to attend the meeting. Titus be- 
 lieves that a large majority of tlie people in these 
 parts are of his way of thinking, wliile I believe 
 that they are about two to one the other way, 
 though most of them are afraid to do or say much, 
 and I want to bring them out if possible." 
 
 " You are right as to numbers, Major ; and when 
 a man is afraid that his house will be burned down 
 over his head, or that he will get a bullet through 
 his brains while he sits at his window, I don't 
 much wonder that he is not inclined to speak out 
 loud, and these bushwhackers have had it all their 
 own way. I hope you will be able to bring out 
 the prudent and timid ones." 
 
 " I talked the meeting over with others, and 
 Colonel Cosgrove promised to come up and help 
 us out with a speech. We all agreed that it was 
 time to make a demonstration in favor of the 
 Union," replied the planter as the boat's crew 
 appeared on the ground. 
 
 " I should like to go with you. Major, but I 
 don't think it is safe to leave the place alone," 
 said the overseer. " Whether the ruffians had a 
 watch on the spring road last night or not, I don't 
 know. We haven't heard anything of them dur- 
 
206 BKOTHEll AGAINST BUOTHER 
 
 ing the day ; but I should be willing to wager a 
 pair of my old shoes they have found out by this 
 time that the arms and ammunition placed in the 
 cavern have taken to themselves wings, like other 
 riches, and flow^n away. If I am not much mis- 
 taken, Captain Titus finds himself some thousands 
 poorer to-day than he was a week ago." 
 
 " Do you believe they have discovered the loss 
 so soon ? " 
 
 " I haven't much doubt of it. Captain Titus 
 keeps three horses, and it was easy enougli for him 
 to send one of his boys over to the cavern to see 
 that the arms were all right. He has missed them 
 by this time; and if we do our duty they won't 
 shoot any bullets into the heads and hearts of the 
 Union army. Of course Captain Titus and his 
 gang are boiling over with wrath. You won't see 
 him at the meeting, perhaps ; but there will be 
 enough, there to make a noise, if nothing more. I 
 have been thinking of these things to-day, and that 
 is the reason Avhy I thought it best to take j^roper 
 precautions." 
 
 " I am glad you have spoken out, Levi, for you 
 have generally been very reticent," replied Mr. 
 Lyon, as he led the way to the boat-pier, where the 
 crew had manned the boat. 
 
THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 207 
 
 "'I couldn't say much while I believed your 
 brother was at the bottom of most of the mischief," 
 pleaded Levi. 
 
 The planter and the boys seated themselves in 
 the stern sheets of the Magnolia. Deck took the 
 tiller lines with the consent of his father, and Gen- 
 eral was permitted to get under way as he pleased, 
 giving all the orders in detail. None of the crew 
 asked any questions, and in a short time Deck 
 brought the boat up under one of the windows of 
 the schoolhouse. Mr. Lyon charged General to 
 keep the Magnolia just where they had placed her, 
 and not to make any noise at all. 
 
 The building was already partly filled, and more 
 were constantly arriving. Before the appointed 
 time Colonel Cosgrove descended from his wagon 
 at the door, and the planter welcomed him. At 
 the hour named, Squire Truman, a young legal 
 gentleman from a Northern county, who had settled 
 in the village, called the meeting to order. It was 
 said that he liad not a very flourishing practice, 
 but he was legarded as a young man of more tlian 
 average ability. He had the credit of being a 
 ready and able speaker ; and Mr. Lyon had invited 
 him to open the assemblage with a statement of the 
 
208 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 situation in the county, especially in the vicinity 
 of Barcreek. 
 
 He was a decided and outspoken Union man. 
 He began very moderately ; but in a few minutes 
 he became more earnest, and soon rose to the height 
 of eloquence. He was warmly applauded by the 
 audience, though there were some tokens of disap- 
 probation, evidently proceeding fiom some of the 
 individuals whom Levi called " bushwhackers." 
 Titus Lyon was not there, but some of his repre- 
 sentatives had already manifested themselves. The 
 discordant elements soon became more demonstra- 
 tive as the speaker waxed eloquent. They made 
 noise enough to disturb the equanimity of Squire 
 Truman ; and he switched off from his line of re- 
 mark, and proceeded to dress down the malcontents 
 in the most vigorous language. 
 
 " I beg leave to inform those who are struggling 
 to create a disturbance, that this is a Union meet- 
 ing, called as such, and as such only," said the 
 orator, shaking with indignation. " It was called 
 for Union men only ! It is a gathering of those 
 who are loyal to the government at Washington, 
 and not to decide between secession and fidelity 
 to the old flasr. Those who are not Union men 
 
THE UNION MEETING AT BIG BEND 209 
 
 are respectfully requested to retire from the 
 meeting." 
 
 This request brought forth a torrent of yells 
 from the ruffians, though there were apparently 
 not more than a dozen of them. Squire Truman 
 was defiant, and his handsome face looked as 
 noble as that of a Roman senator. 
 
 " Has the time come when free speech in behalf 
 of this glorious Union is to be put down?" And 
 then the ruffians howled again. " Has it come to 
 this in the State of Kentucky, the second to be ad- 
 mitted into the Union? and, with the help of God 
 and all honest men, she shall be the last to leave 
 it ! Are we men to be badgered and silenced by 
 half a score of blackguards and ruffians ? I am 
 one of half a dozen to put them out of the hall." 
 
 About a dozen rose from their seats, headed by 
 Noah Lyon, and moved down the aisles of the 
 schoolroom. 
 
210 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 
 
 The planter of Riveiiawn was not a fighting 
 character ; he had alvvaj^s been one of the most 
 peaceful of men. He had never raised a hand 
 against one of his fellow-beings, aiid it required the 
 stimulus of an occasion like the present to rouse 
 a belligerent feeling in him, if the groundwork of 
 any such emotion existed in his nature. It was 
 hardly that, but rather a sense of his solemn duty, 
 which he was called upon to perform, as a sur- 
 geon is required to amputate a limb to save life ; 
 and he was impelled to save the life of the 
 Union. 
 
 Noah Lyon was not physically a large man, but 
 one who weighed a hundred and a half; yet his 
 frame was well knit, firmly compacted, and inured 
 by hard labor from his boyhood. As he rose to 
 his feet and marched down the middle aisle of the 
 schoolroom, his face exhibited more strength than 
 his form; for all the determination of his nature 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 211 
 
 was concentrated in his eyes and the muscles of 
 his countenance. 
 
 The fervid speech of the young orator had 
 brought him to liis bearings. Deck and Artie 
 had been similaily affected ; and with their.fists 
 clinched they followed the planter. Squire Tru- 
 man leaped from the platform into the midst of 
 them, as the dozen others sprang to their feet, 
 some with their eyes flashing with indignation, 
 and all of them with a fixed purpose not to submit 
 to the outrage in which the ruffians were engaged. 
 
 When Mr. Lyon had proceeded as far as the 
 middle of the room, one of the disturl:)ers of the 
 peace, wliom the planter had spotted, rose to his 
 feet and confronted him in the aisle. It Avas Buck 
 Lagger, a pedler, who was one of the most viru- 
 lent of tlie Secessionists, and who aspired to be a 
 leader among the turbulent spirits of tlie county. 
 
 "What are you go'n' to do about it? " demanded 
 he savagely. 
 
 " Are you a Union man ? " asked Mr. Lyon 
 with quiet determination. 
 
 "No, I'm not!" yelled the ruffian, who had the 
 reputation in Barcreek of being a brute of the 
 lowest order, with a whole volley of oaths. 
 
212 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Then you were not invited here, and you will 
 leave I " said the planter. 
 
 " This buildin' is public, and I have as much 
 right here as you have ! " answered Buck Lagger, 
 with a coarse guffaw. 
 
 Noah Lyon did not wait for anything more, 
 but grappled with the fellow as an eagle swoops 
 down on his prey. Buck tried to get his light 
 hand into his breast pocket, evidently to obtain a 
 weapon of some kind; but his assailant understood 
 his purpose, and crowded him over backwards 
 upon one of the desks, choking him so hard that 
 he soon lost all his pluck. 
 
 Colonel Cosgrove was close behind Mr. Lyon, 
 and seized upon the boon companion of the pedler. 
 He was an excellent specimen of a Kentucky 
 gentleman, stalwart in form and determined in 
 purpose. He bore his man down as the leader 
 had done. The other ruffians rushed to the as- 
 sistance of their leaders, and the melSe became 
 general. 
 
 There did not appear to be more than half a 
 dozen active ruffians in the room ; at least not 
 more who were resolute enough to take part in 
 these stormy proceedings. Mr. Lyon had choked 
 
'He grappled with the fellow." Page 212. 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 213 
 
 SO much of the energy out of Buck Laggar that he 
 had ceased to feel for his weapon, and the planter 
 took him by the collar of the coat with both hands, 
 and dragged him to the door, where he pitched 
 him on the ground all in a heap. 
 
 Colonel Cosgrove followed him with his man ; 
 and then came the orator with a fellow nearly 
 twice his size, with whom he was having a hard 
 tussle, when Deck leaped upon the back of this 
 victim, and drawing his arms tightly under his 
 throat, brought him to the floor, and then rolled 
 him out at the door. The other Union men in 
 the audience had tackled the remaining rufhans 
 when they went to the assistance of those of their 
 number who had been attacked, and hustled them 
 out of the apartment. 
 
 " That will do for the present," said Squire 
 Truman, as the resolute Unionists completed their 
 active work, and stopped to catch their breath. 
 
 " I think we had better station a guard at the 
 door, and challenge every man who wants to come 
 in," ' suggested Mr. Lyon. 
 
 " That's a good idea, for it is the evident inten- 
 tion of the blackguards to break up the meeting ; 
 and I should be ashamed to have such a thing 
 
214 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 done, — a Union meeting dispersed by force in the 
 State of Kentucky ! "added the young lawj^er. 
 
 "•Precisely so!" exclaimed Colonel Cosgrove. 
 " I will offer my services as one of the guard," 
 
 " Good ! " shouted Colonel Belthoipe, a big 
 Kentuckian whose plantation was near that of 
 Major Lyon, " I will be another." 
 
 "Here are two more ! " cried Deck Lyon, as he 
 and Artie presented themselves. 
 
 " Lively boys," laughed Colonel Cosgrove. 
 " Both of them took a hand in the skirmish we 
 have had, and they will do very well for this 
 duty." 
 
 The Union men in the assembly applauded " 
 warmly, and the young orator led the way back to 
 the seats, mounting the platfoim himself. He 
 resumed his speech with an allusion to the event 
 which had just transpired, and loused his audience 
 to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by his fiery 
 eloquence. He spoke half an hour, and concluded 
 by nominating Major Noah Lyon as the presiding 
 officer of the evening; and the selection was 
 heartily indorsed by the meeting. 
 
 Before he could reach the platform, a dozen 
 men appeared at the door. The volunteer com- 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 215 
 
 mittee on admissions retired to the lobby so that 
 they need not distnrb the proceedings. Colonel 
 Cosgrove took Artie by the arm, while Colonel 
 Belthorpe did the same with Deck, each at one 
 side of the door. 
 
 " Are you a Union man ? " demanded Deck in 
 a loud voice, for he felt that he must do or say 
 something, boiling over with enthusiasm for the 
 cause as he was ; and perhaps the fact that he had 
 a loaded revolver in his pocket was an inciting 
 influence with him. 
 
 " I am ! " exclaimed the person addressed, with 
 emphasis. 
 
 " Pass in," replied Deck. 
 
 " Put the same question, Artie," added Colonel 
 Cosgrove, amused at the earnestness of Deck. 
 
 Artie put the question with less pomposity than 
 his cousin, and the answer was the same. The 
 brace of colonels then took part in the challenging, 
 and the dozen applicants were promptly admitted. 
 One of the colonels then suggested to the other 
 that the boys could remain in the lobby while they 
 stood inside the door. 
 
 Noah Lyon had presided on several occasions in 
 town meetings, and his modesty had been so far 
 
216 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 overcome that he could face an audience, especi- 
 ally in such a cause as the present. He was 
 received with applause and cheers, and proceeded 
 to make a speech in his usual quiet way. He said 
 he could not make such a speech as the eloquent 
 gentleman from Barcreek village had done ; but he 
 was a Union man in ever}^ fibre of his being, 
 whether he was in New Hampshire or Kentucky. 
 
 This statement was received with tremendous 
 applause. He proceeded to say that he was a 
 peaceable man, and was in favor of peaceable 
 measures ; but he did not intend to be overridden 
 and trodden down by the Secession element, 
 which he believed was in a large minority in the 
 State. He was ready to talk as long as talking 
 did any good ; but when he had talked enough he 
 was ready to fight. 
 
 This was the popular sentiment in the meeting, 
 and a tumult of applause followed, ending in nine 
 rousing cheers. He was ready to shoulder a mus- 
 ket in any Kentucky regiment, and he was glad 
 that some liad already been organized. He had 
 twenty-seven horses he would give " without 
 money and without price," to the cause of the 
 Union, with which to start a cavalry company ; 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 217 
 
 and " I think I can find arms for the men," he 
 added. 
 
 This offer was greeted with yells of approval, 
 and it was some time before he could say anything 
 more. 
 
 " I will also contribute twenty horses," shouted 
 Colonel Cosgrove. 
 
 "I will give the next twenty," Colonel Bel- 
 thorpe cried out. 
 
 The clapping of hands and the cheering were 
 renewed with more vigor than ever, if possible ; 
 and others offered to contribute from one to five 
 each, till over a hundred horses were pledged for 
 the company. In the midst of this enthusiasm 
 the voice of Deck was heard in the lobby. 
 
 " Are you a Union man, sir ? " he demanded in 
 a voice loud enough to be heard in a momentary 
 lull of the enthusiasm. 
 
 " No, I am not ! " replied the applicant, with a 
 volley of expletives. 
 
 " Then you can't go in," answered Deck. 
 
 " Who says I can't ? " asked the intruder in 
 fierce tones. 
 
 " This is a Union meeting, and none but Union 
 men are admitted," replied Deck, loud enough to 
 
218 BKOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 be heard on the platform ; for the meeting had 
 become silent, and all were turning around to see 
 the door. 
 
 " Do you see that ? " demanded the ruffian, as 
 he drew a bowie-knife from his pocket, and threw 
 it open with a jerk. 
 
 Deck had put his right hand on his hip pocket, 
 which contained his revolver ; and, the moment he 
 saw the knife, he drew it, and pointed it at the 
 part where the intruder carried what brains he had. 
 
 " And do you see that ? " called the plucky boy. 
 
 " And that ? " added Artie on the other side of 
 the door. 
 
 " Take yourself off ! " shouted Deck furiously, 
 as he retreated a pace, to keep out of the reach of 
 the wicked-looking blade of the knife. 
 
 " Isn't this a free building ? " asked the ruffian, 
 as he looked from one revolver to the other. 
 
 "Free to Union men to-night," answered Deck. 
 
 By this time half a dozen men from the interior 
 were approaching the door, and the ruffian sud- 
 denly decamped. Deck followed him to the door, 
 and saw the man disappear in the grove on the 
 other side of the road. Then he heard a voice 
 among the trees ; and it Avas evident to him that 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISY RUFFIANS 219 
 
 there were more ruffians, perhaps biding their 
 time to make an attack upon the Unionists when 
 they went to their homes. 
 
 " Three cheers for the boys ! " shouted one of 
 the men who had come to the door, and observed 
 the retreat of the ruffian.. 
 
 They were lustily given, and then Deck an- 
 nounced to the meeting that there were more men 
 in the grove, for some one had hailed the ruffian 
 that had just left the door. 
 
 " No matter for them," said the chairman. " Let 
 us go on with this meeting, and when they come 
 in, if they do so, we will take care of them. The 
 boys will keep watch, and let us know if they 
 approach the schoolhouse." 
 
 A committee of three were appointed to attend 
 to the enrolment of the company of cavalry. The 
 two colonels and the major by courtesy were ap- 
 pointed on this committee. Then Colonel Cos- 
 grove was called upon to make the speech he had 
 promised. He was not so eloquent as his profes- 
 sional brother from the village ; but he was more 
 solid, and was as vigorously applauded as the 
 other speakers had been. 
 
 He said there had been a sort of reign of terror 
 
220 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 in the county, and it was because the Unionists 
 had been less demonstrative than the Secessionists, 
 and for that reason he believed in the present 
 meeting. He was disposed to be peaceable, but he 
 was ready to fight for the Union. He proceeded 
 at considerable length. He was in favor of hav- 
 ing it understood in the county that there were 
 plenty of Unionists within its borders, and that 
 they were not to be frowned or bullied down by 
 the ruffians of the other side. 
 
 This remark seemed to be the sense of the as- 
 sembly, which had now increased in numbers to 
 over a hundred, and the applause was decided. 
 
 While the colonel from the county town was 
 speaking. Deck and Artie had been over to the 
 other side of the road, and penetrated the gi-ove 
 for a short distance. Probably those who had 
 been ejected from the meeting were there ; but the 
 boys crept near enough to make out that there 
 were not less tlian fifty men there, and possibly 
 double that number. 
 
 As they retired from the gi-ove they found that 
 a single man was following them. They retreated 
 to the lobby of the schoolhoiise, with their revol- 
 vers in their hands. They had hardly resumed 
 
THE EJECTION OF THE NOISV KUFEIANS 221 
 
 their stations at the door when the man presented 
 himself before them. To the astonishment of his 
 two nephews this person proved to be Titus Lyon. 
 
 " Are you a Union man ? " demanded Deck. 
 
 " I am not," replied Titus. 
 
 " Then you can't go into this meeting," added 
 Deck, as firmly as he had spoken at any time 
 before. 
 
 The applicant could not fail to see that both of 
 the boys had weapons in their hands. He looked 
 earnest and determined, but he did not appear to 
 be even angry. He halted and fixed his gaze 
 upon the floor, apparently in deep thought. 
 
222 BKOTHER AGAINST BllOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 
 
 Revolvers are dangerous weapons ; and Deck 
 and Artie bad used them enough in sport to re- 
 alize this truth. They had not yet become accus- 
 tomed to seeing bullets fired into the bodies of 
 human beings ; to the sight of strong men falling 
 with a death-Mound in the head or heart, which 
 was afterwards almost an every-day spectacle in 
 the battles of the Great Rebellion. 
 
 They had been brought up where human life 
 was held to be more sacred than in the locality to 
 which they had been transplanted ; and if they had 
 thought of discharging their wea})ons into the vital 
 parts of even the ruffians who menaced the Union 
 meeting with violence, they were certainly not 
 ready to begin with one of their own flesh and 
 blood, though Titus Lyon had proved himself to 
 be one of the most virulent enemies of the public 
 peace. 
 
 "1 have no weapons, as you have, boys, and I 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 223 
 
 have something to say to this meeting," said Titus, 
 after he had meditated for two or three minutes. 
 " I want to go in ; but I shall not stop there many 
 minutes." 
 
 " We can't let you in, Uncle Titus," replied 
 Deck decidedly ; " that's the order of the meeting." 
 
 " But I'm going in if I'm shot for it," continued 
 the aiDplicant for admission very quietly, but with 
 none of the bluster which had become almost a 
 second nature to him. 
 
 Perhaps the interest he felt in the mission which 
 brought him to the schoolhouse had induced him 
 to refrain from his usual potations, for he appeared 
 to be perfectly sober. He used none of the in- 
 temperate language which was generally on his 
 tongue, so that the boys were not roused to indigna- 
 tion, even if they were tempted to use their weap- 
 ons; but both of them placed themselves in the 
 doorway as though they intended to dispute his 
 passage into the room. 
 
 The meeting was proceeding with its business, 
 though the orators had finished their speeches. A 
 Union farmer was telling about one of his neigh- 
 bors who had been threatened by the ruffians, as 
 the Secessionists had come to be generally called 
 
224 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 by this time. He was quite earnest in his plea 
 that something should be done to protect men who 
 stood by the government. 
 
 The two colonels were interested, and they had 
 moved forward where they could hear the farmer, 
 who spoke in a low tone ; and no one inside was 
 aware of what was transpiring in the lobby, so that 
 the boys were practically alone. 
 
 " We can't let you in, Uncle Titus, and we 
 don't want to shoot you," interposed Artie. "I 
 will call Colonel Cosgrove, and you can make 
 your request to him ; " and he went to the place 
 where the colonel was standing. 
 
 " But I am going in," persisted Titus Lyon, at- 
 tempting to push Deck aside. 
 
 " You can't go in ! " said Deck, as he crowded 
 his uncle back from the entrance. " Wait a mo- 
 ment, and you can tell Colonel Cosgrove what you 
 want!" 
 
 " I don't want anything of Colonel Cosgrove ; 
 he is worse than your father," replied the appli- 
 cant. 
 
 " Good-evening, Mr. Lyon," said the Kentuck- 
 ian, presenting himself at the door at this moment. 
 
 " I have something to say to this meeting. Col- 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 225 
 
 onel, which it is important for the meeting to 
 hear," added Titus. 
 
 " Come right in and say it, Mr. Lyon," replied 
 the colonel, to the astonishment of the young guar- 
 dians of the portal. 
 
 He was as polite as a Kentucky gentleman gen- 
 erally is ; and he took the arm of the applicant, and 
 marched with him to the space behind the desks, 
 where he halted till the former had finished his 
 remarks. Noah Lyon was taken "• all back " by 
 the appearance of his brother escorted by the most 
 influential Kentuckian in the county. The entire 
 audience turned and stared at the unexpected 
 guest. 
 
 " Mr. Chairman, I have the honor to present 
 Captain Titus Lyon of Barcreek to the meeting," 
 said the colonel. " He claims to have something 
 of importance to communicate. He is not a Union 
 mail, as is well known, but I trust no objection will 
 be made to hearing him." 
 
 " 1 am not a Union man, as Colonel Cosgrove 
 says," Titus began. " When I came to this State, 
 I became a Kentuckian, and I go with the people 
 of this section of the country. But I did not come 
 here to talk politics. There is two sides to the 
 
226 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 question before tlie country, and each on 'em has 
 its riglits. I belong to the party that is tryin' to 
 keep the peace in the State if we have to fight for 
 it. As we had a perfect right to do, we bought 
 about three thousand dollars worth of arms and 
 ammernition to protect ourselves agin them that is 
 tryin' to force the State into a war of subjergation 
 agin our own flesh and blood. 
 
 -' Them arms and annnernition has been stole," 
 continued Titus, waxing indignant in spite of his 
 effort to keep cool, and relapsing into his every- 
 day speech. " I believe it was done by what you 
 call Union men, and I cal'late I know jest who done 
 it ; and I cal'late, Mr. Chairman, you know jest as 
 well or better'n I do who done it." 
 
 " Who was it ? " demanded a person in the au- 
 dience. 
 
 " I h'ain't got nothin' to say here about that," 
 answered Captain Titus. " But if theiii arms and 
 ammernition ain't given up right off, here and now, 
 on the spot, or some plan agreed on for doin' so 
 afore to-morrer noon, tlie blood will run in the low 
 places round here, and the clouds in the sky will 
 give back the light from the fires that is burnin' 
 down some of the nicest houses in these parts. I 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 227 
 
 hain't got notliin' more to say ; but if any one 
 wants to see me about settlin' up this matter, I 
 can be found near the road in front of the school- 
 house." 
 
 " But this is war, Captain Lyon," suggested Col- 
 onel Belthorpe. 
 
 '' I know 'tis ; and that's jest what I mean. We 
 want the Union thieves to give up the property 
 they stole ; and that's all we ask now," replied 
 Titus, whose wrath was beginning to be stirred to 
 the boiling point. 
 
 " We are ready to meet you on that ground ! " 
 shouted Squire Truman, springing to his feet; for 
 he knew that Captain Titus was the ringleader of 
 the ruffians in the vicinity, and his threat roused 
 him to a fiery indignation. "I know nothing 
 about the arms and ammunition : but whoever took 
 possession of them has done a noble and patriotic 
 deed, and, Mr. Chairman, I move you that a vote 
 of thanks be tendei'ed to them for it." 
 
 This motion was hailed with thunders of ap- 
 plause ; and when the presiding officer put it to 
 the meeting, it was carried unanimously, and no 
 one wished to delay it by making a speech. 
 -- Squire Truman then made another speech, in 
 
228 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 which he pictured the result of permitting the 
 arms to get into the hands of the ruffians for 
 whose use they were evidently intended ; and he 
 magnified the prudence and forethought of the 
 unknown persons who had taken the responsibil- 
 ity of such a forward step. This speech was re- 
 ceived with cheers, in which the throats of the 
 audience seemed to be strained to their utmost 
 tension. 
 
 " Captain Lyon," said Colonel Cosgrove, when 
 the tumult had subsided in a measure, " no formal 
 answer seems to be necessary to your demand. 
 The action of this meeting and tlie spirit with 
 which it has been received are a sufficient reply. 
 Personally, I can only say I heartily rejoice that 
 the arms and ammunition have been turned aside 
 from the purpose for which they were intended, 
 and we will take care that they are not used 
 against the government of the United States. We 
 are loyal citizens, and we shall do our duty to the 
 glorious flag under which we live. Have you any 
 further communication to make to this meeting. 
 Captain Lyon ? " 
 
 " No, I haven't ; I've said my say, and fire 
 and blood is the next thing," replied Titus, as 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 229 
 
 he rushed out of the schooh-oom, furious with 
 passion. 
 
 The business of the meeting was completed ; 
 but the boys informed the two colonels that the 
 road was full of men. Then several of the Union- 
 ists drew revolvers from their pockets ; for they 
 had full}^ expected that the meeting would be 
 disturbed, and that it would end in a fight. They 
 had come prepared to defend themselves. The 
 situation was discussed, but no one was inclined 
 to avoid the issue. If there was to be a fight, it 
 would be no new thinof in the State. 
 
 Colonel Belthorpe, whose title was not one of 
 mere courtesy, for he had served in the regular 
 army in his younger days, and won his later spurs 
 in the militia, advised tliat a procession be formed, 
 with the armed men on the right, while the others 
 were told to obtain clubs, or anything they could 
 lay their hands upon. But before the column was 
 formed Buck Lagger appeared at the door. 
 
 " We want Major Lyon and his two cubs ! " 
 shouted the ruffian, who appeared to be the right- 
 hand man of Captain Titus. 
 
 The ruffians had held a meeting in the grove, 
 privately notified by this Buck, — for Titus had 
 
230 BROTHER AGAIXST BROTHER 
 
 not been inclined to show his hand, — and a dele- 
 gation had been sent to try the temper of the as- 
 semblage in the schoolhouse. They had been 
 defeated and ejected. It was plain by this time 
 that the cavern had been visited and the loss of 
 the munitions discovered. 
 
 The speech of Captain Titus indicated that he 
 knew who had taken possession of the property, 
 though Noah Lyon could not conjecture who had 
 given the information. He was inclined to be- 
 lieve that his brother had jumped to his conclu- 
 sion, though spies about the plantation might have 
 obtained some clew to the night visit to the sink- 
 hole of the Magnolia. The flatboat had been 
 loaded with rocks and sunk in the deepest water 
 of the river, so that it need not betray the planter 
 and his people. 
 
 " We want Major Lyon and his cubs ! " repeated 
 Buck Lagger, in a voice loud enough to be heard 
 all over the building. " We don't mean to meddle 
 with nobody else, and all the rest o' you uns can 
 go home without no trouble. Hand over Major 
 Lyon and his cubs so we can get the property he 
 stole, and we won't make no fuss." 
 
 " We shall not hand him over, but we will pro- 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 231 
 
 tect him to the last drop of our blood ! " yelled 
 Squire Truman, hoarse with the strain upon his 
 voice. " Turn the ruffian out ! " • 
 
 But it was not necessary to turn him out, for he 
 fled as soon as he had executed his mission. 
 There was no great commotion outside, though 
 the mob could be seen through the open door. 
 The demand of Buck indicated the principal ob- 
 ject of the ruffians, and the purpose for which 
 they had assembled in the grove. 
 
 " My friends, I am grateful for your support 
 and promise of protection to me and my boys," 
 said Noah Lyon, who had descended from the 
 platform to the floor, where the boys had joined 
 him. " It appears from what the messenger of 
 the ruffians has said that I am the sole object 
 of their vengeance. I have the means here of 
 taking good care of myself and my boys, and 1 
 need not involve you all in a fight to protect me." 
 
 To a few of the prominent men near him he 
 stated in a low tone, so that he need not be heard 
 by any ruffian lingering near the door, that his 
 boat was under the south window, and he could 
 escape without confronting the mob in the road. 
 This course would save a fight, and the planter's 
 
232 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 friends decided to adopt it. The door was closed, 
 and the boys passed out of the window first. Tliey 
 ordered tlie crew to be silent, and after Noah Lyon 
 had shaken hands with the principal men, he fol- 
 lowed them. The Magnolia was shoved out into 
 the river. Deck headed it across the stream, so as 
 to keep the schoolhouse between it and the ruf- 
 fians. 
 
 Under the lead of Colonel Belthorpe, with his 
 revolver ready for use, the Union men marched 
 out of the building, forming four deep when they 
 reached the foot of the steps. The ruffians had 
 placed themselves so that the column passed 
 through them, and they all scrutinized the faces 
 by the liglit of a fire they had kindled at the side 
 of the road. They did not see the victims for 
 whom they were looking, and when the last of 
 the procession had passed them they set up a 
 furious howl. 
 
 ", We have been fooled ! " shouted Buck Lagger, 
 as he started after the column. "Where is Major 
 Lyon ? " he demanded. 
 
 " He is not here," replied some one in the ranks. 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 "I don't know; " and he told the truth, for he 
 
THE DEMAND OF CAPTAIN TITUS LYON 233 
 
 had not heard the planter's statement about the 
 boat, and had not been near the window. 
 
 " Where is Major Lyon? " demanded Buck Lag- 
 ger when he reached the head of the procession, 
 
 " He came in his boat, and he has returi^ed by 
 it," replied Colonel Belthor23e, with something like 
 a chuckle at the discomfiture of the ruffian. 
 
 " This is treachery ! " howled Buck. " You were 
 to give him up to us." 
 
 " No, we were not," returned the doughty col- 
 onel. " Didn't you hear us say we would protect 
 him to the last drop of our blood ? " 
 
 " We will soon find him and his cubs ! " growled 
 the present leader, as he fell back into the grove, 
 followed by the rest of the mob. 
 
 The Magnolia reached the boat-pier, and Levi 
 Bedford was there to welcome the party. 
 
234 BllOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE CONFERENCE IN FORT BEDFORD 
 
 The two windows in the rear of the school- 
 house had been wide open all the evening, and 
 the negroes of the boat's crew could not help 
 hearing the excited sj)eeches, and the thunders 
 of applause in the meeting of the Unionists ; but 
 not one of them spoke a word about them to the 
 planter and the boys. They pulled with all their 
 miglit, and made a quick run to the boat-pier. 
 
 The first thing that attracted the attention of 
 Major Lyon — we may as well call him so, as 
 most of the people of Barcreek did — was the 
 lights in Fort Bedford. Through the embrasures 
 which had been made in the front and ends of 
 the building it could be seen that the interior of 
 the buildinof was brilliantly illuminated. 
 
 " You have come back safe and sound, Major," 
 said Levi, as he took the painter of the Magnolia. 
 
 " By the skin of our teeth we have," rej)lied the 
 planter. 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FOKT BEDFORD 235 
 
 "Then you have had trouble over there?" asked 
 the overseer. 
 
 " Yes ; some of the ruffians tried to break up 
 the meeting, and we put them out without any 
 ceremony." 
 
 " Good ! " exclaimed Levi heartily. " I feel as 
 though I were an inch taller. I was afraid our 
 friends would let the ruffians bully you." 
 
 " Buck Lagger and about half a dozen others 
 took places in the schoolhouse, and began to 3'ell 
 while Squire Truman was making his speech. 
 He is a very smart young man, an eloquent orator, 
 and full of vim. When lie proposed to put the 
 disturbers out, we went in wdtli him and did it. 
 The boys faced the music, and stood up to it like 
 veteran policemen," said Major Lyon. 
 
 " Good, boys ! I knew you would do it," added 
 Levi. 
 
 " But why is the fort lighted up so late in the 
 evening, Levi ? " asked the planter. 
 
 " I have had a dozen hands at work there, all 
 the carpenters and masons included, and we have 
 the building about ready for business," replied the 
 overseer. " The fact of it is, I am taking a more 
 serious view of the state of things than you 
 
236 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 appear to be doing, and I thought I would have 
 things ready for whatever comes, and as soon as it 
 comes." 
 
 " I am glad you have done so ; and I should 
 have worked with you if I had not had to attend 
 the meeting," added the major. " The situation 
 looks decidedly serious to-night, and my eyes have 
 been opened wide enough to see it." 
 
 The boatmen had been ordered by the planter 
 to take all the boats out of the water; and while 
 they were doing so the major informed the over- 
 seer more fully in regard to the meeting, especially 
 of the demand for the restoration of the military 
 supplies, and that he and the boys should be given 
 up to the mob. 
 
 " I didn't think Captain Titus would show him- 
 self in the meeting," said Levi, as they walked up 
 to the fort. "That Buck Lagger is one of the 
 biggest villains that goes unhung ; and hanging 
 would do him good. I should say that tlie ball 
 had opened." 
 
 The hands in the old ice-house were all hard at 
 work, and it at once appeared to the planter that 
 a great deal of labor had been done in the build- 
 ing during his absence. The cases had all been 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FOIIT BEDFORD 237 
 
 opened, the arms had been removed from them, 
 and arranged conveniently about the interior. 
 The two twelve-pounders had been mounted on 
 their carriages, and the pieces were pointed out at 
 the two front embrasures, from which they could 
 be readily removed to those at the ends of the 
 structure. 
 
 Two large chandeliers of three burners each had 
 been removed from the drawing-room of the man- 
 sion, and were suspended from the roof ; but these 
 were for temporary use while the work was in 
 progress. The ammunition had been arranged 
 for the present in the boxes outside of the build- 
 ing. 
 
 Major Lyon and the boys had hardly taken a 
 hasty survey of the premises in their changed 
 aspect before the noise of carriage wheels was 
 heard on the road leading from the bridge to the 
 fort by the side of the creek. The vehicle was 
 drawn by two horses, and was approaching at a 
 rapid rate. 
 
 "Who can that be?" asked Levi with a troubled 
 expression on his round face. 
 
 "It may be my brother coming to demand the 
 arms," replied Noah Lyon, as he took one of the 
 
238 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 muskets from the wall. " Probably he has a load 
 of Ills supporters with him if it is he." 
 
 " I think we are all ready for them," added the 
 overseer; and he took a gun, and handed one to 
 each of the boys. " I think we had better go out 
 and meet them, for we don't care to have them see 
 what we have been doing here ; " and he led the 
 way hastily up the road. 
 
 His employer and the boys followed him, and 
 soon confronted the occupants of the wagon. 
 
 " Halt ! " called Levi in a very decided tone, as 
 he placed himself in front of the team ; and the 
 driver reined in his horses. " What is your busi- 
 ness here ? " 
 
 " Good-evening, Levi," came from the party in 
 the wagon ; and the challenger promptly recog- 
 nized the voice of Colonel Cosgrove. "I wish to 
 see Major Lyon at once." 
 
 " Here I am. Colonel ; but I did not expect to 
 see you again so soon," replied the planter, hasten- 
 ing to the carriage. " But drive on, and we will 
 see you at Fort Bedford." 
 
 " Fort Bedford ! " exclaimed the Kentuckian : 
 and he told his coachman to drive on. 
 ■ "This is Fort Bedford yo4.i see ahead of- yoa; it 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FORT BEDFORD 239 
 
 is named after Levi, for he originated the idea. 
 To what am I indebted for this unexpected visit 
 to Riverlawn? " answered the planter. 
 
 " To the fact that we consider you in great 
 danger, Major, and we thought you would be in 
 pressing need of assistance from your friends even 
 this very night." 
 
 " We are here to stand by you, Major," said one 
 on the back seat of the wagon, who proved to be 
 Colonel Belthorpe. 
 
 " And to show that we can fight as well as 
 talk," added Squire Truman, who was seated at 
 his side. 
 
 " I am very grateful to you for coming to my 
 assistance, for you have all proved this evening 
 that talking is not your only strength," said the 
 planter, as he walked along at the side of the 
 wagon. 
 
 " I see you are all armed and ready for busi- 
 ness," continued Colonel Cosg-rove. 
 
 "When I heard the sound of your vehicle on 
 the bridge, I suspected that it might be my de- 
 luded brother and his supporters coming over here 
 to execute the threat he made at the meetino-." 
 
 " No ; after we got away from the ruffians, we 
 
240 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 talked the matter over," replied Colonel Cosgrove. 
 " Buck Lagger demanded that the major and his 
 cubs should be given up to them when they did 
 not find you and the boys in the column. Then 
 they swore that they would have you. I talked 
 over the situation with our friends here, and we 
 concluded that the ruffians would be over here be- 
 fore morning to capture their victims, and burn 
 your mansion. We decided to come here for this 
 reason, — to warn you of your danger, and help 
 you- beat them off if they came." 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you ; but you will 
 find everything in readiness for their reception," 
 replied Major Lyon, as they reached the fort. 
 
 " You are liglited up here as though you were 
 going to have a ball instead of a figlit," suggested 
 Colonel Belthorpe. 
 
 " There are plenty of balls in the fort, but 
 they are all twelve-pounders," returned the major 
 as the party alighted. " Levi has been at work 
 here while we were at the meeting, and he will 
 explain everything to you better than I can." 
 
 The trio of visitors entered the building, and 
 were astonished at the nature and extent of the 
 preparations to defend the mansion and its occu- 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FORT BEDFORD 241 
 
 pants from a hostile demonstration. Levi stated 
 what he had done, and pointed out everything 
 in detail. 
 
 "You think the ruffians are coming over here 
 to-night, do you. Colonel Cosgrove ? " asked the 
 planter. 
 
 " I think they are on their way here now," 
 replied the Kentuckian. 
 
 "Is there any other way they can get to your 
 house than over that bridge ? " asked Colonel 
 Belthorpe, who was the only military man in the 
 party who had seen real service, though Levi 
 had been in the militia. 
 
 "There is no other way," replied Levi, when 
 his employer nodded to him. "No mob could 
 get through the swamp back of the mansion in 
 the daytime, to say nothing of doing it in the 
 night. The bridge is the only approach; and, if 
 worse comes to worst, we can cut that away." 
 
 " You are in a very strong position, and I 
 don't believe it will be necessary to cut away the 
 bridge," added the military gentleman. "They 
 can only cross the creek in boats." 
 
 " Our boats are all taken out of the water." 
 
 " With those twelve-pounders you can beat off 
 
242 BltOTHER AGAINST BKOTHEK 
 
 a regiment. You have everything for the defence 
 except soldiers," added the authority of the 
 party. 
 
 " Perhaps we can find them when they are 
 needed," said Major Lyon. 
 
 The lawyer understood, but the planter did not. 
 It was a delicate subject, ami it could not be 
 considered in that presence. The former realized 
 this fact, and suggested that something ought 
 to be done to give them notice of the coming 
 of the hostile ruffians. 
 
 "That's so," added Colonel Belthorpe. "I 
 think you had better station the two boys, who 
 have proved that they have pluck enough for 
 any duty, where they can give us early notice 
 of the approach of the enemy." 
 
 "We shall want the boys here, and a couple 
 of negroes will do for that duty just as well," 
 replied Levi. 
 
 '"•AH right," answered the military gentleman, 
 who made no objection to the employment of 
 the servants for tliis duty. " Give each of them 
 a revolver, and tell them to fire three shots if any 
 force approaches. 
 
 Rosebud and Mose were detailed for service 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FORT BEDFORD 243 
 
 at the bridge ; and perhaps this was the first time 
 that negroes had ever been armed on the planta- 
 tion. They were proud of the position assigned 
 to them, and departed on the run, promising to 
 be as faithful as white men could be. 
 
 " Where are you going to find your soldiers 
 when you want them, Major Lyon ? "' inquired 
 Colonel Belthorpe. '' You hinted that you knew 
 where to look for them." 
 
 " I think we had better not discuss that subject 
 just now," interposed the lawyer, as he looked 
 around him at the negroes, who had finished all 
 the work given them to do, and were listening 
 with their ears wide open to all that was said. 
 
 Levi solved the difficulty by sending all the 
 negroes out of the building, and directing them 
 to patrol the bank of the creek as far as the swamp. 
 
 " On the question of enlisting negroes in the 
 army, eitlier as regulars or volunteers, I have not 
 yet come to a decision," said Major Lyon. "But 
 in defence of my property and the protection of 
 ray family I should have no objection to using all 
 my hands who were willing to be so employed." 
 . " Arm your negroes ! " exclaimed Colonel Bel- 
 tliorpe. . 
 
244 BUOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "Not to fight tlie battles of the nation, but 
 to protect ni}^ wife and children and my prop- 
 erty," answered the Riverlawn planter. " We 
 can muster but four wliite men, and two of them 
 are boys. If a mob of fifty or a hundred or five 
 hundred ruffians come over here to liang me and 
 burn my house, shall I let them do so rather than 
 employ the willing hands of men with black 
 faces to defend myself?" demanded Noah Lyon, 
 earnestly enough to mount almost to the height 
 of eloquence. 
 
 "■ By the great Jehoshaphat, I believe jon are 
 right!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe, with a 
 stamp of his foot. "I did not look at it in that 
 way. But making soldiers of the niggers is 
 another thing, and I'm not ready for that." 
 
 " We are all agreed so far as the situation on 
 this place is concerned. If there were any State 
 or national force at hand to call upon for pro- 
 tection against these reckless ruffians, I should 
 invoke its aid ; but there is none, and we must 
 protect ourselves," added Colonel Cosgrove. "I 
 heartily approve of Major Lyon's purpose to use 
 his negroes to defend himself and his property." 
 
 " Then it is high time to get them in training 
 
THE CONFERENCE IN FORT BEDFORD 2^1:5 
 
 for this service," said the major with energy. 
 " Levi, call in the hands you just sent away." 
 
 Two of them came back without any callino-, 
 for they burst into the fort in a state of high 
 excitement. 
 
 " Well, Bitts, what's the matter now ? " asked 
 Levi very calmly. 
 
 " Gouge and me done went down to de rapids, 
 whar we kin see de bridge ober de riber, and dar's 
 more'n two tousand men coniin' ober it ! " gasped 
 Bitts. 
 
 "■ Call it fifty or a hundred, Bitts. But no 
 matter, boy ; call in all the hands except the two 
 on the creek bridge." 
 
 Both of the negroes rushed off on their mission. 
 
246 BitOTHEit AGAiJSaT liilUTHEii 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE APPROACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 
 
 If the negroes asked no questions, most of them 
 were intelligent enough to interpret the prepara- 
 tions which had been made at Fort Bedford. The 
 six boatmen who had remained half the night in 
 the rear of the schoolhouse had had time enousfh 
 to do some talking among the hands, though they 
 had come in contact only with those who had 
 been at woi'k on the fort. 
 
 These men had listened to the tumult in the 
 building and in the road, and through the open 
 window near the boat had come to their ears the 
 demand of Titus Lyon when admitted, and the 
 reply of the meeting. They knew that Colonel 
 Cosgrove, Colonel Belthorpe, and Squire Truman 
 had taken an active part in the meeting, and they 
 could understand for what purpose they had come 
 to Riverlawn so late in the night. 
 
 The people on this plantation were doubtless 
 better informed and more intelligent tlian upon 
 
THE APPIIOACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 247 
 
 most of the estates in this portion of the South, 
 for they had always been treated with what other 
 planters regarded as imprudent indulgence. In 
 the time of Colonel Lyon, slavery had been a pa- 
 triarchal institution, and the negroes regarded 
 him as a father, guide, and friend rather than as a 
 taskmaster. 
 
 Many of them had learned to read, and even 
 carried their education several points farther. 
 The planter had given them his illustrated papers, 
 and others fell into their hands. Tlieir useful- 
 ness increased with their intelligence; and to 
 oblige his neighbors the colonel had occasionally 
 sent his carpenters and masons to do jobs for 
 them. 
 
 The more intelligent of them had kept their 
 eyes and ears open to learn the " signs of the 
 times " during the ti'oubles which agitated the 
 State ; and there were those among them who 
 were well informed in matters which were gener- 
 ally believed to be above their comprehension. 
 They went about among the people of other 
 plantations, and when tliey obtained any news in 
 regard to the movements of either party, it was 
 circulated amongr the whole of them.. 
 
248 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Neither Noah Lyon nor Levi Bedford ever said 
 anything about politics or the struggle between 
 the contending parties for the mastery of the 
 State ; but the silence of the peo})le indicated that 
 they understood the situation. Though they were 
 treated with what was considered extreme indul- 
 gence, and were entirely devoted to the planter 
 and his family, the instinct of freedom doubtless 
 existed in all of them. 
 
 In a short time about a dozen of the negroes 
 had come to the fort in obedience to the order of 
 the overseer. Half of them were mechanics who 
 had been at work during the evening. They were 
 collected in the building, and the white men* 
 present proceeded to interrogate them in regard to 
 their qualifications. 
 
 "What is your name?" asked Colonel Belthorpe 
 of the leader of the boat-crew. 
 
 " General, sar," replied he. 
 
 " You are a big fellow ; did you ever fire a 
 gun?" asked the planter. 
 
 " Yes, sar ; Gunnel Lyon done send me often to 
 shoot some ducks for de dinner." 
 
 " Are you a good shot ? " 
 
 " De boys say I am," answered General mod- 
 
THE APPItOACH OF THE IIUFFIAN FORCES 249 
 
 estly. " I done bring down tree quails out'n five 
 on de wing, mars'r." 
 
 " Did you ever fire a rifle ? " 
 
 " Yes, sar ; Christmas time niars'r cunnel lend 
 us his two rifles to shoot at a mark for a prize ob 
 half a dollar; dis nigger won de prize," replied 
 General, with a magnificent exhibition of ivory. 
 
 "Are you willing to fight for your master?" 
 demanded Colonel Belthorpe sharply, as though 
 he expected a negative response to the question. 
 
 " Yes, sar ! " answered General with more 
 energy than he had spoken before. " Ready to be 
 killed for Mars'r Lyon ; an' so's all de boys on de 
 place." 
 
 " You will do," added the planter, as he handed 
 him a breech-loader and a small package of ammu- 
 nition. " Do you know how to use this piece? " 
 
 " Yes, sar ; seen 'em before," replied the boat- 
 man, as he took the weapon and retired. 
 
 With the boys there were seven white men 
 present, and each one of them had examined a 
 servant in regard to his qualifications. The ques- 
 tions were similar, though not the same as those 
 put by Colonel Belthorpe ; and it appeared that 
 all of them were more or less familiar with the 
 
250 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 use of firearms, for they were the best informed 
 and most reliable hands on the estate. They were 
 all provided with breech-loaders and cartridges. 
 General and Dummy were sent with weapons to 
 Rosebud and Mose at the bridge, and ordered to 
 remain there ; but they were not to fire upon the 
 ruffians. 
 
 "Now we have a force of twenty-two men," 
 said Colonel Belthorpe. "I don't know about 
 these recruits with black faces, and I have my 
 doubts about making soldiei"S of them. Fall in, 
 and we will march up to the bridge." 
 
 All the white men were armed with revolvers as 
 well as rifles. The men did not " fall in " in the 
 military sense of the term, but simply followed 
 their leader, as the experienced soldier, who had 
 rendered most of his active service in fighting the 
 Indians, was tacitly recognized to be. 
 
 "Don't you think we had better put out the 
 lights in the fort. Colonel Belthorpe ? " asked 
 Levi. 
 
 " By no means. T have had fighting enough 
 with cut-throat Indians to satisf}^ my tastes in 
 that direction, and I" am not anxious for any more 
 of it," replied the planter. " Let the building 
 
THE APPROACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 251 
 
 remain lighted, and it will assure the ruffians that 
 you are awake over here. If they will about 
 wheel and go off, that will suit me better than a 
 fiorht with them." 
 
 "Just my sentiments, Colonel," added Major 
 Lyon. 
 
 "The creek is about fifty feet wide by the 
 bridge," said Colonel Cosgrove. " It widens at 
 its mouth to about a hundred. Is there any way 
 by which the ruffians can get over at your boat- 
 pier?" 
 
 " Without a boat there is no way to get across," 
 replied Levi. " They must come across the bridge 
 if they come at all." 
 
 " There they come ! " exclaimed Major Lyon, as 
 he pointed to the cross-roads where the creek road 
 branched off from the others. 
 
 " They have provided themselves with lanterns 
 and torches," said Levi. " We can see just what 
 they are about." 
 
 As they came opposite the boat-pier the ruffians 
 halted. They were not marching in any kind of 
 order, but all of them were straggling along as 
 though the Home Guard to which they belonged 
 had not yet done any drilling. 
 
252 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "• What have they stopped there for, Colonel 
 Belthorpe ? " asked Major Lyon. 
 
 " They can see your fort by this time, and the 
 lights have attracted their attention," replied the 
 military gentleman. " They can see that you are 
 ready for them, and perhaps they will not deem it 
 advisable to come any farther." 
 
 " I hope they will not," added the owner of 
 Riverlawn. 
 
 The aggressive force remained a long time at 
 this spot. In the stillness of the night the 
 sounds which came up the creek indicated that a 
 dispute was in progress in the ranks of tlie enemy. 
 It looked as though the ruffians were divided 
 among themselves in regard to the prudence of 
 advancing any farther. If Titus Lyon was there, 
 he could readil}^ see that the stone ice-house had 
 undergone some change. The brilliant light 
 within it flashed out through the open door in 
 the rear, and through the three embrasures in 
 sight. 
 
 "Major Lyon, do those rascals know that you 
 took possession of the military stores, or do they 
 only guess at it? " asked Colonel Cosgrove. 
 
 " They know the arms they stored in a sink-hole 
 
THE APPROACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 253 
 
 cavern are gone, and they appeared at the meeting 
 to know that I liad caused their removal ; but I 
 have no idea how or where they obtained their in- 
 formation," replied the planter; and while they 
 were waiting the approach of the ruffians, he gave 
 a full account of the discovery and removal of the 
 ammunition. 
 
 "They don't know that three extra white men 
 are with you, and I don't think they would believe 
 you would arm your servants, or that they would 
 be good for anything if you did so," added Colonel 
 Belthorpe. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to 
 return to the fort and send a twelve-pound shot 
 over the heads of that crowd." 
 
 " It would let them know that we have the can- 
 non, if nothing more," said Colonel Cosgrove. 
 
 " You are a lawyer, Colonel ; can't Captain Titus 
 recover these arms by process of law ? " inquired 
 the other colonel. 
 
 "There is no law in this part of the State at the 
 present time. Men have been murdered within a 
 few miles of this spot, and no notice has been taken 
 of the fact. Those arms were brought here for the 
 use of the Home Guards, which is the same as say- 
 ing that they are for the use of the Secessionists. 
 
254 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The law won't touch the arms," replied the legal 
 gentleman very deliberately. 
 
 " They have settled their dispute, whatever it 
 was, and the ruffians are moving again," said Levi. 
 " It is too late to send a twelve-pound shot over 
 their heads, and if there is to be any fight, it will 
 be at the bridge." 
 
 " You are right," leplied Colonel Belthorpe, af- 
 ter a long look at the enemy ; for as the road where 
 they were was parallel to his line of vision, it was 
 difficult to determine -whether they were moving 
 or not. " Let them come ; and while they are 
 doing so we will have a little drill of the forces." 
 
 He formed the six white men in one line, and 
 the fifteen negroes in another, though some of the 
 latter were only a shade or two darker than the 
 former. Levi Bedfoid soon proved that he was 
 familiar with tlie manual, and he was sent to drill 
 the dark section of the army. But the exercise 
 was confined to loading and firing. The men were 
 drawn up in line across the bridge, and instructed 
 as far as "shoulder arms," and then tiie drill officer 
 explained how they were to conduct themselves. 
 
 "• The ruffians are getting pretty near, Colonel," 
 suggested Major Lyon. 
 
THE APPROACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 255 
 
 "We are all ready for them," replied he. 
 
 The men were then placed at "Order arms," and 
 permitted to watch the approach of the enemy. 
 Their torches, which had probably been made in a 
 birch grove on the other side of the river, and must 
 have been occasionally renewed with material 
 brought for the purpose, blazed brightly, and 
 lighted up the road, so that they could be plainly 
 seen. 
 
 "There are at least a hundred of them," said the 
 officer in command. 
 
 " And some of them have muskets," added Col- 
 onel Cosgrove. 
 
 "It looks as though some one or more of us 
 might be shot," continued Major Lyon. "If there 
 is any man here, black or white, who wants to 
 leave and find a safer place than this may be in a 
 few minutes, he is at liberty to do so. I don't 
 want any man to render unwilling service on my 
 account; and you can make peace with that gang 
 by giving me and my boys up to them." 
 
 " Never ! Never ! Never ! " yelled every one of 
 the servants. 
 
 " Mars'r Lyon foreber ! " shouted General. 
 
 " Glory to God ! We all die for Mars'r Lyon ! " 
 cried Dummy the preacher. 
 
256 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "Now all hands give three cheers!" interposed 
 Colonel Belthorpe ; and they were given as vigor- 
 ously as on the deck of a man-of-war. " Tiiat will 
 convince the enemy that we are wide awake, and 
 don't mean to run away." 
 
 "I reckon that squad is just a little astonished 
 about this time," said Levi. 
 
 For this reason, or some other, the enemy 
 suddenly made a halt, and the tumult of many 
 voices came up the road. If Captain Titus was in 
 command of the enemy, his force was not reduced 
 to'anything like discipline. From the sounds there 
 appeared to be many commanders, each of whom 
 wanted to have his own way. The defenders of 
 the mansion waited full a quarter of an hour be- 
 fore the tumult subsided, indicating that some 
 point had been carried, though enough of the 
 shouts of the stormy rufifians indicated that they 
 weie in favor of going ahead and making the at- 
 tack. It was plain to the listeners that some of 
 the gang had cooler heads, and knew what prudence 
 meant. 
 
 Presently four men were seen marching up the 
 road towards the bridge, the two at the flanks 
 carrying flaming torches, as if to illuminate a white 
 
THE APPROACH OF THE RUFFIAN FORCES 257 
 
 flag borne on a pole, which had possibly cost some 
 member of the troop his white shirt. The two in 
 the middle were evidently the officers, or ambassa- 
 dors, of the ruffians. They came up to their end 
 of the bridge, and halted there. 
 
258 BROTHER AGAINST BKOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 
 
 The representatives of the ruffians had halted 
 about fifty feet from the line of the defenders of 
 Riverlawn, and they could be distinctly seen. It 
 was Buck Lagger who flaunted the fliig of truce, 
 and by his side stood Titus Lyon. The other two 
 were simply torch-bearers. There the party stood, 
 and there they seemed to be inclined to stand for 
 an indefinite period of time. They could see the 
 line of the defenders extended across the bridge, 
 and the torches lent enough of their light to the 
 scene to enable Captain Titus to discover that the 
 men were all provided with muskets, though they 
 probably could not make out the character of the 
 weapons. 
 
 " This is all nonsense ! " exclaimed Colonel Bel- 
 thorpe, apparentl}^ disgusted with this peaceable 
 display on the part of the enemy. 
 
 " Captain Titus wishes only to repeat the de- 
 mand for the return of the arms," added Col- 
 
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 259 
 
 onel Cosgrove. " But we can't spare them just 
 yet." 
 
 " That is their ostensible purpose, but the real 
 one is to see whether or not we are in condition to 
 receive them," suggested Major Lyon. 
 
 " But I am not inclined to wait all night merely 
 to be looked at," continued the commander of the 
 forces impatiently. 
 
 " I think you had better speak to them, for they 
 can hear you well enough at this distance," said 
 Major Lyon. 
 
 " I am more inclined to march over the bridge 
 and drive them away than to parley all night 
 with them about nothing," replied Colonel Bel- 
 thorpe. " In military matters I believe in vigorous 
 action." 
 
 " According to the customs of civilized warfare 
 we should respect a fliig of truce, though we be- 
 lieve it is only an expedient to gain time," added 
 Colonel Cosgrove. 
 
 "What do you want?" demanded the com- 
 mander, adopting the suggestion of the planter of 
 Riverlawn. 
 
 " We want to settle this business, and I want to 
 see Major Lyon," replied Captain Titus. 
 
260 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Come to the middle of the bridge, and he will 
 meet you," shouted the officer in command. 
 
 Titus advanced with his three supporters, 
 marching very slowly. 
 
 " I suppose I must see him," said Major Lyon, 
 who would evidently have been glad to be spared 
 the intervie\Y. 
 
 " Three of us will go with you, and make an 
 even thing of it," added Colonel Belthorpe, as 
 Noah Lyon stepped forward to discharge his dis- 
 agreeable duty. 
 
 The commander placed Colonel Cosgrove on one 
 side of him and Squire Truman on the other, tak- 
 ing position in front of them himself. He saw the 
 planter of the estate did not like to meet his 
 brother. 
 
 " Major Lyon, I think you had better let me do 
 the talking, for the situation must be very annoy- 
 ing to you," suggested the leader. 
 
 " I shall be very glad to have you do so, Col- 
 onel," answered the planter. " I am extremely 
 sorry that my own brother is the leader of the ruf- 
 fians, and I did not expect to see him engaged in 
 such a work. He warned me yesterday that my 
 place might be burned, and that I might be hung 
 
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 261 
 
 to one of the big trees, though he had prevented 
 such an outrage so far." 
 
 " I suppose the loss of the military stores has 
 roused him to the highest pitch of wrath, which 
 he manifested in his visit to the meeting. But if 
 he can proceed so far as to bring a horde of ruf- 
 fians to burn your house and hang you to a tree, 
 you can't do less than defend yourself, even if he 
 is your own brother," said the lawyer. 
 
 " I do not shrink from my duty," added Noah 
 Lyon. 
 
 " March ! " exclaimed the leader, as he advanced 
 to the middle of the bridge, where the party from 
 the other side had halted by this time. 
 
 Captain Titus was evidently surprised to find 
 his brother supported by two of the most distin- 
 guished men of the county, to say nothing of the 
 eloquent village lawyer. He could not help see- 
 ing that there was law enough on the other side, 
 and that they knew what they were doing. 
 
 " What is your business here ? " demanded Col- 
 onel Belthorpe in a very stern tone. 
 
 " I stated my position in the nieet'n' you held 
 to-night, and you heard what I had to say," Cap- 
 tain Titus began. 
 
262 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " We all heard you ; and it is not necessary to 
 repeat it," replied the commander. "What is 
 your business here at this time of night?" 
 
 " We came here for the arms and ammunition 
 that was stole from us last night. They were my 
 property till they were given out to the company," 
 Captain Titus explained. 
 
 "What company? Do you mean the ruffians 
 you have led over here? They are a horde of law- 
 less men. You have no authority to raise a com- 
 pany, and it does not appear in what service they 
 are to be employed. They have made war upon 
 the peaceable people of this county, as they did 
 this evening at the schoolhouse." 
 
 " We hain't made war on nobody ! " protested 
 Titus, warming up to the occasion. 
 
 "You sent some of your force into the school- 
 room to break up a Union meeting ; and that was 
 making war upon the people there assembled. 
 The man at your side with the white flag was one 
 that I assisted in putting out. We knew the arms 
 were for the use of these ruffians in terrorizing the 
 whole country," said Colonel Belthorpe in the most 
 emphatic speech; and he used the "we" to shift 
 the responsibility from the shoulders of Major 
 
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 263 
 
 Lyon to those of himself and associates. "Cap- 
 tain Titus Lyon, you and your gang have been 
 bullying and persecuting the Union citizens of 
 this vicinity long enough ; and from this time 
 they intend to defend themselves in earnest. You 
 have made war on them, and the arms and ammu- 
 nition were simply the spoils of war." 
 
 "I come over here to talk with my brother, 
 and not with you," Titus objected, upset by the 
 logic and by the announcement of the intentions 
 of the Unionists. 
 
 "Colonel Belthorpe represents me, as he does 
 all the rest of us," interposed Major Lyon. " You 
 threatened me yesterday to your heart's content. 
 Brother Titus, to burn my house and hang me to 
 a big tree ; and I don't care to hear anything more 
 of it." 
 
 "I have said all it is necessary to say," resumed 
 the commander; "and we decline to hear anything 
 more from you. We shall defend Major Lyon and 
 his plantation from all enemies who may appear. 
 The conference is ended." 
 
 " Defend him with niggers ! " shouted Buck 
 Lagger. " Are we white men to stand up and 
 fight niggers in this war, as you call it? It is 
 
264 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 an outrage, and we won't stand it ! We will hang 
 every nigger we catch with arms in his possession ! " 
 
 " Then a white ruffian will hang to the next 
 tree ! It will take two to play at that game," 
 responded the commander vigorously. " When 
 about a hundred ruffians, composed mostly of 
 white trash, come over here to burn Major Lyon's 
 mansion and hang him to a big tree, he is quite 
 justified in calling in his servants to defend his 
 property and himself." 
 
 The colonel had his doubts about the propriety 
 of arming the negroes, and he wished to be under- 
 stood even by the enemy ; and he certainly made 
 a plain case of it. 
 
 " We have had enough of your gabble ! " con- 
 tinued the leader. " We decline any further com- 
 munication with you under a flag of truce or 
 otherwise. If you and your ruffians don't retire 
 from this vicinity within five minutes, we shall 
 open fire upon you ! About face, march ! " 
 
 The three men behind the colonel turned about, 
 and deliberately marched back to the end of the 
 bridge nearest to the mansion. The party of the 
 flag hesitated a few moments, and then returned 
 to the main body of the ruffians. At the end of 
 
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 265 
 
 the bridge the Riveriawn phmter found his wife 
 and the two giris. From the windows of the 
 mansion they had seen the blazing torches of 
 the ruffians, and the party who had marched from 
 the fort to oppose them. 
 
 They found Deck and Artie in the ranks drawn 
 up on the bridge ; and they had explained the sit- 
 uation, including a brief account of the tumult at 
 the meeting. Mrs. Lyon and her daughters were 
 much alarmed for the safety of the male members 
 of the family ; but Levi succeeded in quieting 
 them, so that they were quite calm when the major 
 returned. 
 
 " We have been terribly frightened, Noah," said 
 Mrs. Lyon. " When you and the boys did not 
 come home from the meeting, I was afraid some- 
 thing had happened to you." 
 
 The two colonels and the village lawyer saluted 
 the ladies, and assured them that there was no 
 danger, and that they were amply able to defend 
 the place from the assault of a thousand men. 
 
 " Now go home, Ruth, and go to bed," added 
 Noah. " We will join you as soon as we have 
 driven off these ruffians, and it won't take long to 
 do it." 
 
266 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 She accepted this advice, though she still ap- 
 peared to have her doubts, and went back to the 
 mansion. What she had seen looked like war to 
 her ; and though she had freely consented that her 
 husband and the two boys should join the army 
 of the Union^ she and the girls had some of a wo- 
 man's timidity in the face of the awful calamities 
 of actual war. 
 
 "What are they about now?" asked Colonel 
 Belthorpe, as his friends took their places in the 
 ranks. 
 
 " They have sent a dozen men or more down the 
 bank of the creek, and they are out of sight now," 
 replied Levi. 
 
 ^ They are looking for a chance to get across 
 the stream," added the commander. " They had 
 better stay where they are if they don't inteJid to 
 go home. Is there any boat on that side of the 
 river? " 
 
 " No boat of any kind ; but there is a lot of logs 
 on the shore, about half-way to the river, and they 
 might build a raft of them. I did not think of 
 those logs before, or I should have rolled them 
 into the creek," replied the overseer. 
 
 " It will be the worse for them if they attempt to 
 
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES 267 
 
 cross. Some one said you had served in an artil- 
 lery company in Tennessee, Mr. Bedford; is that 
 so ? " inquired the commander. 
 
 " That is so, Colonel ; and I know how to handle 
 a twelve-pounder," replied Levi. 
 
 " How many men wdll it take to manage one of 
 the guns in the fort? " 
 
 "If you will give me the two boys, I can send a 
 shot across the creek every five minutes, and in 
 less time when we get a little used to the piece." 
 
 " Then talce the boys, if Major Lyon does not 
 object, and go to the fort." 
 
 " Of course I don't object. Colonel," added the 
 father. 
 
 " We don't want to kill any of the ruffians if we 
 can help it ; but I am decidedly in favor of driving 
 them away. I saw plenty of broken lumber about 
 the fort; and I think you had better kindle a big 
 fire on the shore of the creek, so that you can see 
 over on the other side. If they attempt to build a 
 raft, give them a shot; but not otberwise," said 
 Colonel Belthorpe, still straining his eyes to ascer- 
 tain in the darkness what the squad were doing on 
 the bank of the creek. 
 
 " Shall vou i-emain here. Colonel ? " asked Levi. 
 
268 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Not at all ; we shall march over the bridge. 
 This is a neighborhood war, and I believe in carry- 
 ing it on upon peace principles as far as possible, 
 and the first shot must come from the other side," 
 replied the plantej- from outside. 
 
 Levi departed for Fort Bedford, attended by- 
 Deck and Artie. The commander then arranged 
 his men in ranks by fours, and taught them how 
 to come in line again, using some technical terms 
 which the negroes did not understand ; but he suc- 
 ceeded in getting them to peiform the manoeuvre 
 quite clumsily. They marched over the bridge by 
 fours. The enemy still occupied the position where 
 thc}^ had first halted, and the colonel continued the 
 march till the force was within hail of the enemy. 
 
 Some of the ruffians had muskets ; and whether 
 in obedience to the oixlers of their leaders or not, 
 three random shots were fired. This was enough 
 to satisfy the conscience of Colonel Belthorpe, and 
 he gave the command to halt, and the men came 
 into line again across the road. 
 
 "Ready!" he shouted; and the men all brought 
 themselves into position as the}^ had before been 
 instructed. " Aim ! " 
 
 These orders and the movements of the men 
 
THE BEGINNING OP HOSTILITIES 269 
 
 appeared to produce a decided sensation in the 
 rabble in front of them ; for they were simply a 
 crowd, not formed in any order. Some of them 
 took to their heels, and were seen running down 
 the road at a breakneck speed. 
 
 " Fire ! " added the commander. 
 
 A terrible yell came back as the men fired their 
 rifles. That volley was enough for them, and 
 they bolted before the smoke of the powder had 
 blown aside. Two men were seen lying on the 
 ground, killed or wounded, and the ruffians 
 were too much shaken to give them any atten- 
 tion. Half-way to the river they halted again, as 
 did the pursuing force. The enemy scattered at 
 this point ; but in a few moments the whizzing of 
 bullets was heard over their heads by the defenders 
 of the plantation. 
 
270 BUOTHEK AGAINST BUOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE FIRST SHOT FllOM FORT BEDFORD 
 
 Levi Bedford had made all possible haste to 
 reach the fort, and the boj^s had not lingered far 
 behind him, tliough they could not help giving 
 some of their attention to the enemy on the other 
 side of the creek. The ruffians remained at tlie 
 position they had taken ; and certainly they had 
 made no progress in tlie accomplishment of the 
 purpose wliicli had brought them to tlie vicinity of 
 Riverlawn. Probably if the darkness liad not con- 
 cealed the artillery party, those with guns would 
 have fired at them. 
 
 "Now, boys, the first order of Colonel Belthorpe 
 was to build a fire, and we will attend to that," 
 said the overseer, as he led the way to the rear of 
 the stone building. 
 
 " Of course I obey orders," added Artie, " but 
 I don't believe much in the fire. As soon as it 
 blazes up it will give the ruffians light enough to 
 see us. Some of them have guns, and they will 
 fire at us then." 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 271 
 
 " What do you suppose these stone walls are 
 for, Artie ? " asked Levi with his usual smile. 
 
 "They were put up to keep the ice cool origi- 
 nally," replied Artie. 
 
 " Then they ought to keep us cool," said the 
 overseer. " When the man with a big mouth 
 opened it, the dentist told him he had opened it 
 wide enough, for he proposed to stand outside. 
 But we don't propose to stand outside, but inside, 
 as soon as we have lighted the fire." 
 
 " But we have to see what the ruffians are about 
 on the other side of the ci'eek; for you are not to 
 fire a shot unless they attempt to build a raft," 
 sufforested Artie. 
 
 " We can look througli the port-holes, can't 
 we ? " asked Deck. " If they build a raft they 
 will make a fire the first thing they do, and we 
 can see what they are doing." 
 
 " We shall find a way to ascertain what they are 
 doing," added Levi, as he led the way to obtain 
 more armfuls of the broken boards ; and they were 
 the remains of the cases in which the arms and 
 ammunition had been packed. 
 
 The wood was piled up a couple of rods from 
 the fort, thougli a little at one side, so as not to 
 
272 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 obstruct the view of the party. Only a portion of 
 the fuel was used, and the rest saved to replenish 
 the fire. The match was applied, and in a short 
 time the blaze mounted above the pile, and lighted 
 the surrounding region. 
 
 "Now, boys, if you feel as though you might 
 get a bullet through your heads, you can go into 
 the fort, and you will be safe there," said Levi. 
 
 "Are you not going in, Levi?" 
 
 " I am when the occasion requires ; but I want 
 to see what they are about over there," replied the 
 overseer. 
 
 As he was in no haste to put the stone walls be- 
 tween himself and a possible shot, tlie pride of the 
 boys would not permit them to do so, and it be- 
 came a sort of contention to see who would be the 
 first to seek shelter. 
 
 " The Seceshers are firing at our people ! " ex- 
 claimed Deck, quite excited as he realized that 
 hostilities had actually begun. 
 
 " The ruffians -are firing, each on his own hook, 
 for there is no order among them," added Levi, as 
 he heard several shots. 
 
 The plantation force could now be just seen, 
 marching down the road, by the light of the ene- 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 273 
 
 my's torches. The random shots from the ruffians 
 were continued, and it was evident that each man 
 was his own commander. 
 
 " Colonel Belthorpe will not stand that sort of 
 thing for any great length of time," Levi re- 
 marked, as his eyes and ears gave him further in- 
 formation in regard to the situation on the other 
 side. 
 
 "They say chance shots sometimes do the most 
 mischief, or I have read it in some story," said 
 Deck. " I hope one of them will not hit father." 
 
 " Of course any one of us is liable to be hit 
 while this game is going on. Perhaps you had bet- 
 ter go into the fort, for this fire will soon attract 
 the enemy's attention," suggested the overseer. 
 
 " When you get ready to go in we will go in 
 with you," replied Artie. 
 
 " There is no need of exposing all three of us 
 to the chances of a shot." 
 
 " Then one of us boys will stay out, for you are 
 nearly twice as big as either one of us, and there- 
 fore twice as likely to get hit," laughed Deck. 
 
 "There ! " exclaimed Levi, without noticing the 
 remark, " now there will be music in the air ! " 
 
 " What is it? I don't hear anything," added Deck. 
 
274 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "Don't you see that the colonel has halted his 
 force ? Now they have formed a line across the 
 road," continued the overseer, as he closely 
 watched the movements on the other side of the 
 creek. 
 
 The fort party were silent with expectation and 
 anxiety, and then they heard the orders of the 
 commander, which ended in a volley from the fif- 
 teen breech-loaders. The birch torches still lighted 
 up the ground, and the observers saw two men 
 fall. This discharge produced a panic in tlie rab- 
 ble, and they fled from the road to the shelter of 
 a grove that lay beyond. From the fort it could 
 be seen that a few of the ruffians, with guns in 
 their hands, had taken refuge behind the trunks of 
 the large trees, where they were reloading their 
 pieces. 
 
 "That's Indian fighting," said Levi. "Our 
 men, from their position, can't see these skulkers, 
 who will have a good chance to pick off some of 
 them at their leisure. We must attend to this 
 matter." ' 
 
 The overseer elevated his rifle, and took deliber- 
 ate aim at one of the ruffians behind a big tree, 
 and fired. He saw his man fall. Deck and Artie 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 275 
 
 follo\yed his example, though they could not. see 
 any single individuals at whom they might direct 
 their aim. They all continued to fire till the 
 chambers of their weapons were empty. 
 
 "I don't believe we hit anybody with thos« last 
 shots ; for as soon as my man dropped and the 
 others could see where the shot came from, they 
 ran away or moved to the other side of the tree," 
 said Levi, as he carefully observed the situation. 
 
 The retreat of the main body of the ruffians, 
 taking the torches with them, left the scene in 
 darkness. The number and direction of the last 
 discharo-es assured those who had sought the shel- 
 ter of the trees that they were flanked. Nothing 
 could be seen in the gloom of the grove ; and, as 
 no more shots came from that quarter, it was sup- 
 posed that the skulkers had retreated to the main 
 bod}'. 
 
 " There's a light down the creek, Levi ! " ex- 
 claimed Deck, as a blaze flashed up at a point 
 nearly opposite the boat-pier. 
 
 " That's where the logs lay," added the over- 
 seer. " The squad that was sent down the bank 
 of the stream has got to work at last." 
 
 " Perhaps they have been at work for the last 
 
276 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 half hour," suggested Artie. " They didn't need 
 any light to enable them to roll the logs into the 
 creek and build a raft." 
 
 " Quite right, my boy ; you have hit the nail on 
 the head. By the light of the fire I can now see 
 the raft, though they haven't finished it," replied 
 Levi. 
 
 " Hadn't we better fire at them ? " asked Deck. 
 
 " You might as well fire at the moon, my boys," 
 returned the overseer. "You haven't had much 
 practice with these breech-loaders, and you couldn't 
 hit anything at the distance they are from us." 
 
 " But where is our army ? " asked Artie rather 
 facetiously. 
 
 " Colonel Belthorpe don't seem to be following 
 up the enemy," replied Levi. " Perhaps, as the 
 ruffians are retreating, he is satisfied to let them 
 go home and dream over their work of this even- 
 ing. The torches of the main body of the enemy 
 seem to be going out, and very likely their stock 
 of birch bark is all gone. They are about half- 
 way between our force and the raft." 
 
 " They are within rifle-shot of us, anyhow," 
 suggested Deck. " We might give them a little 
 more waking up." 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 277 
 
 " Don't be too enthusiastic, Mr. Lyon. We 
 don't want to kill any more of them than is ab- 
 solutely necessary," said the overseer rather more 
 seriously than usual. " They have the raft in the 
 water, and we will go in the fort and see what can 
 be done for them." 
 
 Neither of the boys knew anything about artil- 
 lery tactics, or of the process of loading a field- 
 piece, and Levi proceeded to instruct them. 
 
 The creek bent a little to the south as it ap- 
 proached the river, and the chief gunner directed 
 one of the pieces at the western embrasure, so that 
 it covered the fire built near the logs. The inside 
 of the opening was bevelled, so that he could 
 bring the cannon to bear upon the objective point. 
 It was then drawn in, and the charge, with a solid 
 shot, was rammed home by the boys. 
 
 The cannon was run out again at the em- 
 brasure, and Levi pointed it, mindful of the in- 
 structions of the colonel commanding, so that tlie 
 missile would go over the men at work on the 
 raft. 
 
 " Now you may go outside, and see what you 
 can see," continued Levi. " I don't mean to hit 
 the men there, or even the raft ; but I want you to 
 
278 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 notice what effect the shot produces upon the ruf- 
 fians at the work." 
 
 "All right, Levi ; sing out when you are going 
 to pull the lock-string," replied Deck as he fol- 
 lowed Artie out of the fort. 
 
 " Ready ! Fire ! " shouted the overseer when 
 time enough for them to take a position had 
 elapsed. 
 
 The discharge of the cannon gave forth a tre- 
 mendous report, and the boj-s heard the whizzing 
 of the shot as it flew like a flash through the air. 
 The retreating army of the ruffians suddenly 
 halted without any orders from Captain Titus or 
 any one else as the echo of the report struck u^jon 
 their ears. Doubtless they were astonished ; but 
 they were in darkness, for the last of the torches 
 had gone out, and it could only be seen that they 
 had halted as abruptly as though the shot from 
 the piece had mowed its way through the mob. 
 
 The shot, as intended, passed over the heads of 
 the men at work on the raft, and struck into a 
 tree on tlie other side of the road, causing a heavy 
 branch to fall to the ground. The raft-builders 
 suddenly took to their heels, and disappeared in 
 the grove. 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 279 
 
 " Did it hit anything, boys ? " asked Levi, 
 cominor out of the fort. 
 
 " Nothing but a big tree beyond the road, and a 
 large branch fell to the ground," replied Deck. 
 
 " I had an idea that you had been fooling us at 
 first, Levi," added Artie, "and had fired at the 
 main body, for they stopped as short as though 
 the cannon ball had gone through the crowd. All 
 the men at work on the raft knocked off instantly, 
 and ran away as though the shot were chasing 
 them." 
 
 " I reckon we needn't fire another shot, for the 
 ruffians won't go near that raft again," added 
 Levi. " I fired over their heads, as I told you I 
 should, and nobody was hurt by that shot. I 
 dropped one man behind that tree, and that is all 
 the miscliief I have done." 
 
 " Are you sorry for that one ? " asked Deck. 
 
 " I am sorry for him, but not tliat I hit him, for 
 he might have killed two or three of our people 
 from his hiding-place behind the tree. I don't be- 
 lieve in killing anybody as long as it can possibly 
 be avoided; but the ruffians began the shooting, 
 and they are responsible for the consequences. At 
 least half a dozen Union men have been killed in 
 
280 BEOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 this county by those ruffians, or those like them ; 
 and your father might have been swinging fi-om a 
 big tree by this time if we hadn't taken the bull 
 by the horns. No, I am not sorry for anything I 
 have done ! " 
 
 " And the house would have been burnt down, 
 and mother and the girls subjected to the insults 
 of these miscreants," added Artie ; and all three 
 of them were much moved as they contemplated 
 the possibilities before them. 
 
 " Can you see anything of our people over 
 there, Deck ? " asked Levi. 
 
 " Not a thing ; it is too dark." 
 
 " I don't believe there will be anything more to 
 do at the fort to-night, though the affair may not 
 be over yet," continued Levi, after he had anx- 
 iously peered through the gloom to discover the 
 rest of the defenders of Riverlawn. " I want you, 
 Deck, to go up to the bridge, and down the creek 
 road, and ascertain what our people are doing. 
 You may report to Colonel Belthorpe that we 
 have driven off the builders of the raft, and that 
 the main body of the ruffians have fallen back 
 from the road into the grove." 
 
 " All right, Levi," replied Deck, who was very 
 
THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD 281 
 
 glad to be appointed to such a mission ; and, with 
 his breech-loader on his shoulder, he marched in 
 the direction indicated at a lively pace, though he 
 was so tired and sleepy that it required a deter- 
 mined effort to enable him to keep on his feet, for 
 it was now two o'clock in the morning. 
 
 When he reached the bridge he found there, to 
 his intense astonishment, a dozen horses, some of 
 them with saddles and bridles on, and others with 
 bridles, and blankets in place of saddles. They 
 were in charge of Frank the coachman, with 
 Woolly and Mose to assist him. 
 
282 BROTHER AGAI2SST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE PARTY ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 
 
 Deck Lyon could not imagine any possible use 
 that could be made of the horses in charge of 
 the boys, and it was not probable that those in 
 care of them could afford him any information 
 on the subject. It was evident that some new 
 movement was contemplated, and it looked as 
 though the commander of the forces intended to 
 chase the ruffians with mounted men. 
 
 " Where is my father, Frank ? " asked Deck. 
 
 " He's down the road with the rest of them ; but 
 I reckon they are all marching back to the bridge," 
 replied the coachman. 
 
 " What are you going to do with all these 
 horses?" asked Deck, as he began to move on. 
 
 " Dunno, Mars'r Deck, what they are for ; but 
 Mai's'r Lyon sent us for them." 
 
 Frank knew nothing about the use to which 
 the horses were to be put, and Deck continued on 
 his way over the bridge. The fire from the blazing 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 283 
 
 boards in front of Fort Bedford sent some of the 
 light across the creek ; but it did not reveal the 
 presence of the defenders of the plantation, and 
 tlie messenger could not see anything of the force. 
 It could not be far away, and he continued to ad- 
 vance. 
 
 Just beyond the bridge he met a wagon coming 
 towards him. When it came near enough for him 
 to see it in the gloom, he found that it belonged 
 to the plantation. Three men sat on the front seat, 
 and were chattering at a lively rate as they drew 
 near. 
 
 " Who is driving that team ? " demanded Deck. 
 
 " Me, Mars'r Deck," replied the man who held 
 the reins. 
 
 " Who's me ? " 
 
 " Clinker, sar, wid Bitts and Filly," replied the 
 driver, who was the blacksmith of the estate. 
 
 " Wliat are you doing with the wagon over 
 here ? " 
 
 " Cart'n' off de wounded, mars'r." 
 
 " How many have you ? " 
 
 " On'y two, sar." 
 
 These were the ruffians, doubtless, who had 
 fallen when the volley was fired at the beginning 
 of the affair. 
 
284 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " You haven't got them all, then," added Deck. 
 " There is another opposite the fort, near a big 
 tree, who was hit by Levi, firing from the other 
 side of the creek." 
 
 " We go for him when we done unload dese 
 we got," said Clinker. 
 
 " Can you tell me where my father and the rest 
 of them are?" inquired Deck, who could see 
 nothing of the main body. 
 
 " In de grove, Mars'r Deck. Wen de ruff'ns 
 done runned off dat way Mars'r Belt'orpe lead de 
 sodjers arter 'em." 
 
 Deck was afraid he might not find his father 
 before morning if they pursued the retreating ruf- 
 fians in that direction ; for they would have to 
 follow the river, when they reached it, about ten 
 miles before they could come to a bridge by which 
 they could cross. But he had a mission, and he 
 bravely fought against the fatigue and sleepiness 
 that beset him, and struck into the grove by a 
 road some distance below the bridge over the 
 creek. 
 
 He had not gone twent}'- rods in the gloom of 
 the wood before he heard the sound of voices and 
 the tramp of footsteps ahead of him, and he was 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 285 
 
 confident the force was returning to the planta- 
 tion. He soon confronted the little column, and 
 placed himself by the side of the commander, who 
 was leading the way. 
 
 " Levi sent me over to report what we 4iave 
 been doing," said he. 
 
 " I heard the report of one of your guns, and I 
 concluded that you had work on your hands," 
 replied Colonel Belthorpe, without slacking his 
 speed or halting to listen to the report. 
 
 " Not much work, Colonel. The ruffians were 
 building a raft at the pile of logs, and we fired 
 over their heads, as ordered. The big branch of a 
 tree came down, and all the men on the raft and 
 near them ran into the woods. The road is all 
 clear of them, and they are not going home by the 
 Rapids Bridge." 
 
 " No, the villains ! " exclaimed the commander. 
 " They have other business on their hands. I am 
 afraid we have been too tender with them." 
 
 " One thing more, Colonel, and I have done," 
 continued Deck. " When the ruffians retreated 
 before your fire, those who had guns stationed 
 themselves behind the trees and began to fire at 
 you. Then we three opened upon them with the 
 
286 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 rifles, and when Levi fired a man dropped. After 
 that we saw nothing more of them." 
 
 " All right, my boy," added the colonel, hurry- 
 ing his march. " I thought the villains were only 
 making a detour, intending to reach the Rapids 
 Bridge ; but I find they are marching in the direc- 
 tion of my plantation." 
 
 Colonel Cosgrove and Major Lyon had been 
 called forward to listen to the report of Deck, and 
 it was decided that, so far as Riverlawn was con- 
 cerned, the battle had been fought and won, inas- 
 much as tlie enemy had been driven away. By 
 the time the report was finished and the result 
 announced, the force had reached the bridge. 
 
 "Where are you going now, Clinker?" asked 
 Major Lyon, when the wagon returned from tlie hos- 
 pital, as the small building set apart for the sick 
 of the plantation hands was called, and appeared 
 on the bridge. 
 
 " Mars'r Deck done tell me a man dropped 
 behind a tree down de creek, and I'm gwilie for 
 him," replied the blacksmith. 
 
 "• Go over and sfet the small wag'on for that : we 
 want this one," added the planter. 
 
 "Where are you going, father?" asked Deck, 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 287 
 
 who saw that some expedition was in prepara- 
 tion. 
 
 " We are satisfied that the ruffians are going 
 over to Colonel Belthorpe's plantation, to do there 
 what they intended to do here, and we mean to 
 get there before they do," replied Major Lyon. 
 " We believe that everything here is safe for the 
 present." 
 
 The party crossed the bridge and came to the 
 saddle horses. By this time all the men on the 
 plantation who had not before been called for duty 
 had assembled by the horses, and the four white 
 men mounted at once. The breech-loaders were 
 provided with straps, and had been suspended 
 at the backs of those who used them. Eieht 
 of the men who had already seen service were 
 mounted and seven more were put into the 
 wagon, provided with weapons which had been 
 sent for. 
 
 " Filly ! " called Major Lyon, addressing a 
 mulatto who had the reputation of being a very 
 intelligent fellow, " you will go to the fort and 
 tell Levi we are going over to Lyndhall, for we 
 are sure the ruffians mean to burn the house. 
 Take the rest of the hands here with you, and tell 
 
288 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 him to keep a close watch over the place. I shall 
 take Dexter with me." 
 
 The rest of the party had already ridden off at 
 full gallop, fearful that they might be too late to 
 protect the colonel's property. 
 
 " But I have no horse, father," said Deck, who 
 had heard the planter tell Filly that he should 
 take him with him. 
 
 " You will go in the wagon," replied his father. 
 " I see that you are gaping, and you must be very 
 tired. Get in ; the body is filled with hay, and it 
 will give you a chance to get rested." 
 
 Deck did not like the arrangement very well, 
 tired as he was, but he obeyed the order. The 
 negroes made way for him, and fixed him a nice 
 place to lie down in the wagon. He dropped 
 asleep almost instantly, for he had been up all the 
 night before, and had worked hard and been in- 
 tensely excited since he left his bed just before 
 noon. 
 
 Major Lyon had his late brother's favorite ani- 
 mal, a blood horse that had won a small fortune 
 for his master in the races, and he soon overtook 
 the advance of the party. The wagon could not 
 keep up with him, and was soon left far behind. 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 289 
 
 Near the east end of the Rapids Bridge over the 
 river was a locality called the " Cross Roads," 
 where four highways came together. At this 
 point the one from the county town passing 
 throuo-h Barcreek village crossed the stream. 
 Another road branclied off here, leading up the 
 creek, from which the private way over the bridge 
 led to Major Lyon's mansion. It continued half a 
 mile farther up the creek, and then turned to the 
 north-east. This was called the "New Road," 
 and upon it, three miles from the creek bridge, 
 was the plantation of Colonel Belthorpe. 
 
 From the Cross Roads also extended what was 
 called the " Old Road," which was laid out nearer 
 to the great river ; and six miles distant by the la- 
 ter-built highway the two came together, though 
 it was over eight by the older one. About half 
 a mile of the new road was on the bank of Bar 
 Creek, and upon it had transpired most of the 
 events related. 
 
 The rul^ans had been driven down this road 
 towards Rapids Bridge. They had taken to the 
 woods between the two highways; and by sending 
 out the village lawyer to reconnoitre, Colonel Bel- 
 thorpe had discovered that the enemy were march- 
 
290 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ing, not to the bridge, but up the old road, which 
 would take them, after a three miles' walk, to a 
 point near his plantation, where they could easily 
 cross to the new road. The distance by the new 
 road was a mile less than by the other, and the 
 fleet horses would carry the party to Lyndhall in 
 abundant season to confront the marauders. 
 
 " I don't believe the villains can get there be- 
 fore we do," said Colonel Belthorpe, as Major 
 Lyon galloped his horse to his side. " If I liad 
 anticipated the events of to-night, I should have 
 been prej^ared for them. My overseer is not a 
 Union man, and I am afraid he will not do his 
 duty. My place is not so well situated for a de- 
 fence as yours. Major." 
 
 " I believe we have force enough to drive the 
 ruffians again, for they don't like the smell of gun- 
 powder any better than other bullies," replied the 
 Riverlawn planter. 
 
 "• My son Tom is at home, and my nephew, 
 Major Gadbur}^, is visiting at Lyndhall. But all 
 of them, including my two daughters, have gone 
 to a party at Rock Lodge. I suppose you know 
 the place, ISIajor?" 
 
 " Not by that name." 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT 291 
 
 " It is over on tlie old road, close b}^ Rock 
 Hill, from which it takes its name. You must 
 have met Captain Carms." 
 
 " I have met him, and we have cajled upon him, 
 but I never heard the name of his place befojfe." 
 
 '" Just at the foot of Rock Hill there is a cart- 
 path connecting the two roads, and the ruffians 
 may come through by that passage, though it is 
 very rough. Most of our stone comes from the 
 quarry there, and the teams make bad work with 
 the roads." 
 
 "The enemy can't be a great way behind us by 
 this time," suggested Major Lyon. 
 
 " We haven't Avasted any time, and it is some 
 distance they had to travel round by the Cross 
 Roads," replied the colonel, as he urged his steed 
 to greater speed. 
 
 Though the road was anything but a smooth 
 one. Deck Lyon slept like a log on the hay. His 
 dusky companions did not speak a loud word for 
 fear of waking him. Nearly half an hour after 
 the horsemen had passed it, the Avagon was ap- 
 proaching the cross-cut between the two roads at 
 Hock Hill. Clinker the blacksmith, who had been 
 excused from ambnlance duty and another put in 
 •his place, was driving the horses. - 
 
292 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Cristof US ! Wat's dat ? " he exclaimed, as two 
 very distinct female screams struck his ears, and 
 he set his team into a dead run. 
 
 " 'Pears like it's women screeching," replied 
 Mose, who was by his side on the front seat. 
 " Dar's trouble dar ! " 
 
 " I reckon de screeches comed out'n de cross- 
 cut," added Clinker. 
 
 The screams were repeated several times, and as 
 the wagon passed the hill the sounds of an en- 
 counter were heard. It was evident that a fight of 
 some kind was in progress, and the men in the 
 wagon unslung their breech-loaders ready for ac- 
 tion ; for they came to the conclusion at once that 
 the ruffians were at the bottom of it. No shots 
 were heard, and it did not appear that the maraud- 
 ers were armed. 
 
 "I reckon we mus' woke Mars'r Deck," said 
 Clinker, as he reined in his horses at the cross-cut. 
 
 One of the men at his side shook the tired boy, 
 and he sprang to his feet; for doubtless he was 
 dreaming of the events of the night. Clinker ex- 
 plained the situation in as few words as his vocab- 
 ulary would permit. Deck seized his musket and 
 leaped from the wagon, followed by all but the 
 
ATTACKED IN THE CROSS-CUT . 293 
 
 driver, who drove the horses to a tree and fastened 
 them there. 
 
 Deck ran with all his might into the passage, 
 and presently came to a road wagon which had 
 been "held up" by a gang of the ruffians... He 
 ordered his six followers to have their arms ready, 
 but not to fire till he gave them the word. With 
 his revolver in his hand, which was a more conven- 
 ient weapon than the gun, he rushed into the 
 midst of the fight. The party attacked were the 
 nephew and son of Colonel Belthorpe, with his 
 two daughters, who had been to the party at Rock 
 Lodge. 
 
294 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RUFFIANS 
 
 Deck Lyon rushed furiously down the lane 
 which connected the two roads at this point. It 
 was dark, and it was in vain that he tried to under- 
 stand the situation from anything- he could see. 
 He was sure that the main body of the ruffians 
 were not in the cross-cut, for there was not room 
 enough for them. Pie had to depend chiefly upon- 
 his ears for information, for the trees on one side 
 of the passage obscured his way. 
 
 The first sound that attracted his attention as he 
 advanced, above the general din, was a half-sup- 
 pressed scream quite near him. The lane was so 
 rough that he was obliged to move moi-e slowly 
 than when he had left the wagon, and he halted 
 when he heard the cry. A moment later he dis- 
 covered a man bearing a form in his arms, whose 
 cries he was evidently trying to suppress with one 
 of his hands placed over her mouth. 
 
 An opening in the grove enabled him to see so 
 
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE IIUFEIANS 295 
 
 much, and to note the position of the ruffian. 
 With his revolver in his hand he rushed forward ; 
 and, finding himself behind the assailant of the fe- 
 male, he threw himself upon him, and grasped 
 him by the throat with both hands. He had.done 
 some of this kind of work at the schoolhouse 
 in the evening, and the experience was useful to 
 him. 
 
 He compelled the villain to release his hold upon 
 his prisoner in order to defend himself. Deck 
 wrenched and twisted him in an effort to throw 
 him down, but his arms were not strong enough to 
 accomplish his purpose, and he called upon Mose 
 to assist him. The faithful servant was close by 
 him; and perhaps he was desirous of striking a lit- 
 eral blow in defence of his young master, for he 
 delivered one squarely on the head of the ruffian 
 which knocked him six feet from the spot. 
 
 At this moment, and just as the ca[)tor of the 
 lady went over backwards into a hole b}^ the side 
 of the cart-path, a bright light was flashed upon 
 the scene, and Deck could see where he was and 
 where the ruffian he had encountered was. When 
 Clinker had secured the horses at the end of the 
 lane, he realized the necessity of more light on the 
 
296 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 subject before the party; for though he heard much 
 he saw little. 
 
 Taking a quantity of the hay from the wagon, 
 he hastened to the scene of the conflict just as 
 Deck had closed with the ruffian who was bearing 
 the lady away. Putting it on the ground, he 
 lighted it with a match, and then heaped on sticks 
 and bits of board and plank scattered about by 
 those who had loaded stone in the passage. The 
 blaze revealed the entire situation to Deck and his 
 companions, and it made a weird picture. 
 
 "Good, Clinker! " shouted Deck, as he saw the 
 blacksmith standing with his musket in his hand, 
 busy doing what he had undertaken. " Keep the 
 fire up ! " 
 
 The ruffian whom Mose, who was not much in- 
 ferior to General and Dummy in bulk and strength, 
 had knocked both literally and slangily " in a liole," 
 lay perfectly still. Some five rods ahead of him 
 Deck discovered a road M^agon in the lane. Two 
 horses were harnessed to it, and at the head of 
 each of them was a ruffian, doing his best to re- 
 strain the spirited animals, frightened by the cries 
 and the movements of the assailants. Behind the 
 wagon were two white men engaged in a terrible 
 
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE HUFFIANS 297 
 
 struggle with half a dozen of the soldiers of the 
 ruffian army. They were getting the worst of it, 
 though they fought with desperate energy. 
 
 From their appearance and the fact that they 
 were defending themselves, it was plain enough to 
 Deck that they were in charge of the two females. 
 They were unarmed, though one of them had pro- 
 cured a piece of board, and was doing good service 
 with it. Just beyond the scene of the fight stood 
 Buck Lagger, holding a female by the arm. She 
 evidently realized that resistance was useless, and 
 she had ceased to struggle or scream. 
 
 " Now follow me, boys ! " shouted Deck. " You 
 had better walk over to the fire, miss," he added 
 to the young lady redeemed from the hands of 
 the ruffian. Clinker will see that no harm comes 
 to you." 
 
 The six men who had followed the young man 
 in advance of them, marched close to him, with 
 their muskets in readiness for use. Deck could 
 not order them to fire, for they were as likely to 
 hit friends as enemies ; but he rushed to the scene 
 of the conflict, where the two white men had just 
 been forced back by the marauders. 
 
 " Both fall back this way, gentlemen ! " called 
 the young leader. 
 
298 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Major Gadbiiry and Tom Belthorpe, as the 
 colonel had given the names of those who at- 
 tended his two daughters to the party, could not 
 help realizing that assistance was at hand, tliough 
 they saw only a stout boy and half a dozen 
 negroes, and they promptly detached themselves 
 from their assailants, and retreated behind the 
 wagon. 
 
 " Now fire at them, one at a time ! " sliouted 
 Deck, when it was safe to do so. 
 
 Mose was nearest to him, and instantly dis- 
 charged his musket at the foremost assailants of 
 the gentlemen. One of them dropped to the 
 ground. The ruffians had not bargained for this 
 sort of discipline, and they fled on the instant ; for 
 they had heard Deck's order, and saw that there 
 were more bullets where the first one came from. 
 They ran into the woods, and disappeared behind 
 tlie trunks of the great trees. 
 
 " Don't fire again, but follow me ! " said Deck, 
 as he started at his best speed towards the spot 
 where Buck Lagger stood witli his prisoner. 
 
 This ruffian perceived the defeat of his party, 
 and he attempted to force the lady in the direc- 
 tion taken by his infamous comrades. He led the 
 
"I HAD TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO HIT THE LADY." Page 299. 
 
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RUFFIANS 299 
 
 way, dragging his prisoner after him ; but she 
 resisted now, hanging back so that he could not 
 move at anything more than a snail's pace. She 
 screamed again, and Major Gadbury and Tom 
 Belthorpe started to assist her. 
 
 Deck had accomplished half the distance to the 
 ruffian when he saw that the strength of the lady 
 was failing her, and Buck was advancing more 
 rapidly. He raised his revolver, and, aiming the 
 weapon with all possible care, he fired. Clinker 
 had kept the fire blazing freely, and he had plenty 
 of light. The ruffian released his hold upon his 
 prisoner, and swung his right hand over to his left 
 shoulder. Deck believed his bullet had struck him 
 there, though he continued his retreat to the wood. 
 
 "I am sorry you • didn't kill him!" exclaimed 
 one of the two gentlemen, as they halted at Deck's 
 side. 
 
 " I had to be careful not to hit the lady," replied 
 Deck. "But we have driven them off. "Now, 
 boys, in line ! " shouted the young leader to his 
 men. " Face the woods ! " 
 
 The six men came into line very promptly, 
 though the movement would hardly have been 
 satisfactory to a drill officer. 
 
300 BROTHEPw AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Ready I " he continued. "Aim ! Fire ! " 
 
 That was about the extent of tlie recruits' 
 knowledge of the drill ; but they fired their wea- 
 pons, and each of them sent two more shots af- 
 ter the first as the command was given. One of 
 the gentlemen suggested that none of the ruffians 
 were hit by the volley, and Deck explained that 
 the last discharges were for their moral effect, 
 though not in these words. 
 
 " I don't know you, sir, but we are under ten 
 thousand obligations to you for this timely assist- 
 ance," said the gentleman who remained with 
 Deck, for the other had hastened to the lady Buck 
 had abandoned. 
 
 "My name is Dexter Lj'on," rej)lied the young 
 defender. " What is yours ? " 
 
 " Tom Belthorpe," returned the other, who ap- 
 peared to be something over twenty years of age. 
 " We have been to a party with the girls at Rock 
 Lodge, and were on our way home." 
 
 " Then you are the son of Colonel Belthorpe. 
 Who is the other gentleman ? " 
 
 " That is Major Gadbury, who is spending a 
 week at my father's plantation," replied Tom, 
 rubbing his head and some of his limbs, for he 
 
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RUFFIANS 301 
 
 was rather the worse for the wear in his conflict 
 with the ruffians, as the other gentleman con- 
 ducted the terrified lady to tlie spot. 
 
 " I never was so frightened in all my life," 
 gasped the lady, as they stopped in front of Deck. 
 
 " It is all over now, and I would not mind any 
 more about it," added the Major cheerfully, 
 though he was considerably battered after the 
 fight through wdiich he had passed. 
 
 " This is Mr. Dexter Lyon, Major, the son 
 of our neighbor," said Tom, presenting the leader 
 of the colored battalion, though Deck was some- 
 what abashed at the formality, and to hear himself 
 " mistered " was a new experience to him. 
 
 " I am glad to know you. Captain Lyon," re- 
 plied the Major, grasping his hand and wringing 
 it till the boy winced. "You have rendered us 
 noble and brave service, and we shall all be grate- 
 ful to you as long as we live. This is Miss 
 Margie Belthorpe." 
 
 " I am delighted to see you, Mr. Lyon ! " ex- 
 claimed the young lady, who was only nineteen 
 years old, as she sprang to the hero of the night, 
 grasped his hand, and then kissed him as though 
 he had been a baby. 
 
302 BEOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Deck was seventeen years old, and lather large 
 of his age, as well as somewhat forward for his 
 years ; and he felt as though he had tumbled into 
 a sugar-bowl at that moment. The blaze of 
 Clinker's fire lighted up his blushing face, and 
 possibly he was sorry there were no more ruffians 
 at hand for him to shoot if such was to be his 
 reward. He forgot that he was tired and sleepy 
 in the pleasurable excitement which followed the 
 encounter. 
 
 "•If you please, we will go over to the fire 
 where the other lady is waiting for you," said 
 he, as he started for the point indicated. "Fall 
 in behind and follow us, boys," he added to the 
 recruits. 
 
 "• I have never happened to meet any negroes 
 in arms before," said Tom Belthorpe, as he walked 
 along with Deck. " But they seem to be ready 
 for business." 
 
 "They are indeed; and these boys are as brave 
 as any white men could be," added Deck, loud 
 enough for the subject of his remark to hear it. 
 
 The two ruffians who had been left at the heads 
 of the horses had fled into the woods as soon as 
 they saw that the assault was repulsed, and the 
 
THE EKCOUNTEIl WITH THE RUFFIANS 303 
 
 animals had become restive. Clinker had rushed 
 over to secuie them, and he had quieted them 
 down so they were quite reasonable by this time. 
 The young lady committed to his charge had 
 followed him. 
 
 " This is my sister, Miss Kate Belthorpe," said 
 Margie, when the party reached the spot. 
 
 ^ Oh, I am so glad you came when you did, 
 Mr. " 
 
 " Dexter Lyon," added Tom. 
 
 " Mr. Lyon ; and you were as brave as a lion ! " 
 exclaimed Kate, as she took the hand of Deck; 
 and either because she had witnessed the recep- 
 tion her sister had given the hero, or as an in- 
 spiration of her own, she promptly kissed him 
 on both cheeks, and Deck felt as though he had 
 fallen into a barrel of sugar. " You grappled 
 with that villain just as though you had been as 
 big as he was, and held on to him till one of 
 your boys knocked him into the hole with his 
 fist. You are a brave fellow, and I shall remem- 
 ber you as long as I live." 
 
 "And 'none but the brave deserve the fair,'" 
 added Major Gadbury. 
 
 " How did you happen to get into this scrape, 
 Mr. Belthorpe ? " asked Deck. 
 
304 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " We were all invited to a party at Rock Lodge, 
 and we went. The governor couldn't go, for he 
 insisted upon attending a Union meeting at the 
 Big Bend schoolhouse," replied Tom. " But he 
 promised to call for us on his way home, for 
 he drove us to the Lodge himself. Most of the 
 guests left by midnight, but father did not conie, 
 and we could not walk home. But at three 
 o'clock Captain Carms volunteered to send us 
 home when we became impatient." 
 
 " My father and I went to that meeting, and 
 so did some of these ruflfians that committed this 
 outrage," added Deck. 
 
 "• But these scoundrels are not Union men," 
 objected Tom. 
 
 " But some of them were there, all the same, 
 and some of them got put out. But it is a long 
 story, and we had better be moving before we 
 tell it." 
 
 The ladies agreed to this last proposition, for 
 they were in evening dresses, and the chill air 
 of the night made them shiver. The driver of 
 Captain Carms's wagon had come out of the 
 quarry, whither he liad retreated, as soon as the 
 danger was passed, and his team was ready to 
 
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RUFFIANS 805 
 
 proceed. Deck sent Clinker for his wagon, and 
 he drew it up at the end of the cross-cut. 
 
 The ladies were assisted to their seats again, 
 while the two gentlemen took the seat in front of 
 them. Miss Kate insisted that Deck should ride 
 with them, for she wanted to hear the story about 
 the meeting. More than this, she insisted that he 
 should sit on the back seat between her sister and 
 herself. Margie did not object, and the major and 
 Tom only laughed. Deck had his doubts about 
 his ability to tell his story in the midst of such 
 delightful surroundings. 
 
 The team started, and at the corner Deck 
 directed Clinker to follow closely after him. But 
 his story was interesting and exciting, and he did 
 not suffer from cold or embarrassment during his 
 recital. When he had disposed of the Union 
 meeting, he described the battle fought at River- 
 lawn, and the preparations which had been made 
 for the onslaught, including the discovery and 
 removal of the arms and ammunition. He had 
 hardly finished before the wagon stopped at the 
 plantation of Colonel Belthorpe. 
 
806 BROTHEK AGAINST EKOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 
 
 The mansion house of Colonel Belthorpe was 
 quite near the road. The force under his com- 
 mand must have arrived some time before, for 
 several of the windows were lishted. The four 
 white men were not to be seen, but the eight boys 
 who had been mounted stood near the house, 
 apparently waiting for orders. 
 
 Though the encounter of the wagon party with 
 the ruffians has required a considerable time for 
 its recital, they had not been detained over half 
 an hour, if as long as that ; but no one took 
 account of time in the exciting- event of the nipht. 
 The ladies were handed out of the wagon, and 
 Deck perceived that Major Gadbury was yevy 
 attentive to Miss Margie, while he waited upon ' 
 Miss Kate, the younger, and, in his judgment, 
 the prettier of the two daughters of the colonel. 
 
 When the hero of the occasion had attended the 
 young lady to the door of tlie house, he excused 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 307 
 
 himself, and hastened to the mounted men who 
 stood in front of the mansion. They were aston- 
 ished at the arrival of two wagons instead of one, 
 and were discussing the matter among tliemselves. 
 
 " Where is Colonel Belthorpe, General ? " in- 
 quired Deck, after he had saluted thfe boys in his 
 usual familiar manner ; for he had none of the 
 haughtiness of those who were "to the manner 
 born." 
 
 " Don't know, Mars'r Deck ; he and the oder 
 gen'lemen done went- ober dat way," replied 
 General. "• De ole road's ober dat way, and I 
 'spect dey went to look out for de ruffi'iis." 
 
 " They won't be here for half an hour or more," 
 added Deck, as Captain Carms's man drove up to 
 the party with the wagon. 
 
 "You done see 'em on de road, mars'r Deck? " 
 
 "I have seen some of them. General." 
 
 " Dey was ober on de ole road, mars'r, I 
 t'ought." 
 
 But Deck did not stop to give them any in- 
 formation, for both wagons had stopped near the 
 pai'ty. The driver from Rock Lodge had run 
 away as soon as his vehicle was beset by the 
 ruffians ; yet he could tell his portion of the story, 
 
308 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 while those from Riverlawn could relate the rest 
 of it. The hero went into the mansion, and a 
 mulatto in a white jacket, who was gaping with all 
 his might, showed him to the sitting-room, where 
 he found the wagon party. There was no Mrs. 
 Belthorpe, for she had passed away years before. 
 
 " I was afraid j^ou had run away and left us, 
 Mr. Lyon," said Miss Kate, rushing up to him as 
 he entered. 
 
 " Please don't ' mister' me," replied Deck, laugh- 
 ing. " It makes me feel just as though I was a 
 dude." 
 
 "Well, you are not a dude," added the fair 
 daughter of the planter, as indignantly as though 
 some person besides herself had called him by the 
 opprobrious name. 
 
 " And I don't run away, either." 
 
 "That's so!" exclaimed Major Gadbury with 
 decided emphasis. " But I really wonder that 
 you did not run away instead of pitching into that 
 scoundrel who was carrying off Miss Kate." 
 
 " I couldn't have done that if I had tried 
 while the lady seemed to be in such a dangerous 
 situation," answered Deck, as he seated himself as 
 near Miss Kate as he could find a place. "But 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 309 
 
 I have been talking nij^self all tlie time since we 
 started from the cross-cut, and I don't know yet 
 how you happened to get into this scrape." 
 
 " We don't know much more about it than you 
 do; Mr. " 
 
 "Deck," interposed the hero. 
 
 " Deck, if you insist upon it, Mr. Lyon," laughed 
 the major. " We left Rock Lodge, and Tom told 
 the driver to go by that cross road. It was a 
 terribly rough passage we had of it, and I think 
 we went over rocks a foot high." 
 
 "As I told you in my account of the troubles 
 of the night, the ruffians, after they had been driven 
 off from Riverlawn, took the old road, and Squire 
 Truman found that they were going to this man- 
 sion," said Deck. "Didn't you see anything of 
 them before you turned into the cut-off? " 
 
 " We neither saw nor heard anything." 
 
 " The main body of the ruffians could not have 
 been very far down the road. I don't see how 
 Buck Dagger happened to be where he was with 
 the rest of his gang," added Deck. 
 
 " He appears to have had six men with him 
 as nearly as I can make it out," said Tom Bel- 
 thorpe. 
 
310 BUOTHEU AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I don't know what he was doing there, but 
 I can guess," contmued Deck. 
 
 " But which was the fellow 3'ou call Buck Lag- 
 ger ? " asked the major. 
 
 '' He was the one who captured Miss Margie, 
 and whom I wounded with the shot from my re- 
 volver," replied Deck. '' I am sorry to say that 
 my Uncle Titus is a Northern doughface, and is 
 the leader of these ruffians. He bought the arms 
 and ammunition of which we took possession at 
 the sink-hole. 1 believe he hates my father on 
 'account of his Unionism and his taking of the 
 arms worse than any man who is not liis brother." 
 
 '' I have heard something about him since I have 
 been at Lyndhall," said Major Gadbury. 
 
 "Buck Lagger is his lieutenant and supporter, 
 and I have no doubt Captain Titus sent him to 
 the schoolhouse to disturb the meeting. He car- 
 ried the flag of truce to-night at the bridge over 
 the creek when his leader demanded the return of 
 the arms," Deck explained. " Though I don't 
 know any more about it than you do, I have no 
 doubt Captain Titus sent this scalliwag ahead of 
 the main body to see tliat all was clear." 
 
 " As scouts," suggested the major. 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 311 
 
 " Yes, sir ; as scouts. As the ruffians had been 
 severely punished in the fight from the bridge, and 
 by the shots from Fort Bedford, tliey were likely 
 to be more cautious than they had been before. 
 They were whipped out at every approach to 
 Riverlawn. Captain Titus may have found out 
 that Colonel Belthorpe was on the way to his 
 plantation to protect it with force enough to do 
 his ruffians a good deal of mischief. I think Buck 
 Lao-o-er was sent out to obtain information." 
 
 " That is a reasonable supposition," the major 
 acquiesced. 
 
 " Of course he could not expect to find the 
 colonel and his force on the old road, and he was 
 going by the cross-cut to the new road, which 
 passes by the bridge over Bar Creek," Deck pro- 
 ceeded, perhaps feeling that he had an inspiration 
 of wisdom as well as of heroism. " Wiien he came 
 to the cross-cut he must have seen that the Lodge 
 was lighted." 
 
 " What you say reminds me that our party stood 
 for some time on the portico talking with Captain 
 Carms and his family about an excursion up the 
 river which Tom suggested as we came out of 
 the house. The wagon was standing before t!ie 
 door waiting for us." 
 
312 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I haven't any doubt Buck was near enough 
 to hear what you said," interposed Deck. " Prob- 
 ably he had sent his scouts up the cross-cut, and 
 wanted to see why the mansion was lighted up at 
 three o'clock in the morning. He understood 
 that those who were to go in the wagon belonged 
 to Colonel Belthorpe's family." 
 
 " The house is close by the road, and he could 
 easily have seen who we were," said Tom. 
 
 " He had been on the creek biidge when the 
 colonel talked with Captain Titus, and he saw 
 that he was in command of the forces there. Very 
 likely he knew it was he who gave the order to 
 fire upon his party below the bridge. He must 
 have been as hard down on your father as he was 
 on mine, Mr. Belthorpe. When he saw your two 
 sisters ready to get into the wagon, he had some 
 trick in his head to obtain a hold upon your father. 
 The two ladies were to be hostages in the hands 
 of the ruffians for the conduct of your father." 
 
 " I think you have solved the problem, Deck, 
 and only your bravery and skill saved the girls," 
 said Major Gadbury. 
 
 " My father would have burned his buildings 
 himself to recover my sisters, for no man was ever 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 313 
 
 more devoted to his children than lie is," added 
 Tom. '• If Buck had carried off the girls he 
 would have had a tremendous hold on him." 
 
 "I suppose the villain would have confined us 
 in some hovel, under guard of these miscreants, 
 while he negotiated with my father with all the 
 odds in his favor," Miss Margie commented. 
 " Perhaps that was his way to have the arms 
 returned to Captain Titus." 
 
 " You have saved us ! " cried the younger and 
 more im[)ulsive Miss Kate, as she rushed forward 
 to grasp the hand of Deck ; and perhaps she would 
 have kissed him again if Colonel Belthorpe had 
 not entered the apartment at this moment, and she 
 retreated to the chair she had before occupied. 
 
 " I see you have arrived," said the devoted 
 father. " I have been worrying about you the 
 last hour ; but I concluded Captain Carms would 
 send you home. I left my wagon at the stable of 
 a friend near the school house, and I have been so 
 busy all night that I have hardly thought of you, 
 for I knew that you would be safe at Captain 
 Carms's." 
 
 " But we haven't been safe, papa," said Miss 
 Kate, rushing into her father's arms. 
 
314 BKOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "Why, what has been the trouble, Kate?" asked 
 the colonel, with his arms around the beautiful girl. 
 
 Before she could answer, Colonel Cosgrove, fol- 
 lowed by Major Lyon and Squire Truman, entered 
 the room. 
 
 "It seems that a fight has already come off in 
 the cross-cut," said Colonel Cosgrove, with some 
 excitement in his manner. " Major Lyon's man 
 tells us you had a stormy time in the road. Deck. 
 We did not wait to hear the particulars." 
 
 Colonel Belthorpe presented his guest and the 
 members of his family to the party. Major Gad- 
 bury stated what had happened to them in the 
 cross-cut, and then asked Deck to describe the 
 fight. But Deck, who was not a bully or a blus- 
 terer, and was well ballasted with innate modesty 
 in spite of the great amount of talking he had 
 done, declined to do so, and the guest of the man- 
 sion described the fight with the marauders, giving 
 the young hero at least all the credit that was due 
 to him. 
 
 Deck blushed up to the eyes at the praise be- 
 stowed upon him, and was rather sorry he had not 
 told the story, for he could have spared himself 
 the crimson on his cheeks. 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 815 
 
 " It is all true, every word of it, papa ! " ex- 
 claimed Miss Kate. 
 
 " Deck, I am your debtor for life ! " exclaimed 
 Colonel Belthorpe, detaching himself from the 
 twining arms of his daughter, and rushing to the 
 hero of the night with both hands extended. 
 "You are a noble and brave fellow. Deck, and 
 you will make your mark in the world ! " And 
 he pressed both the hands of the boy. 
 
 " Upon my word, I think he has made his mark 
 already ! " added Major Gadbury. " At any rate, 
 he made it on the shoulder of Buck Lagger." 
 
 " My son, you have done well," said Major 
 Lyon very quietly, as he took the boy's hand. 
 " I am glad I brought you with me." 
 
 " But, father, I was beaten by the ruffian who 
 was holding Miss Kate ; he was too much for me, 
 and he would have shaken me ofT if Mose had not 
 come up and given the fellow a sledge-hammer 
 blow with his fist which knocked him into a hole," 
 Deck explained. 
 
 " Where is Mose ? " demanded the father of the 
 girl, as he took a gold piece of money from his 
 pocket. " Send for him, and let " — 
 
 " Excuse me, Colonel," interposed Major Lyon, 
 
316 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 placing his hand on his arm. " I see what you 
 mean, and I must beg you not to reward him, 
 for Mose did no more than every one of the faith- 
 ful boys would have done if he had had the oppor- 
 tunity, though all of them have not so hard a fist 
 as he." 
 
 " Just as 3^ou say, Major ; but I feel grateful to 
 Mose, as I do to Deck, for the hard hit lie made 
 for the safety of my daughter," replied the planter 
 of Lyndhall. " We shall talk of this affair for the 
 next week ; but just now perhaps we ought to 
 attend to the duty of the present moment. I 
 sent the mounted men from Riverlawn down tlie 
 old road for a mile to reconnoitre, and those who 
 came in the wagon over to the new road to notify 
 us of the approach of the enemy. We went over 
 there on our arrival to arrange a plan for the 
 defence of the place." 
 
 " After hearing what transpired at the cross-cut, 
 I doubt Avhether Captain Titus will march his army 
 up here," suggested Major Lyon. 
 
 " I think he will," added Colonel Cosgrove, 
 " He is the maddest man I ever met in my life, 
 and he is determined to recover the arms." 
 
 " But the — I mean Captain Titus will try to 
 
THE GRATITUDE OF TWO FAIR MAIDENS 
 
 317 
 
 gain his point by some infamous trickery such as 
 his lieutenant attempted at the cross road," said 
 Major Gadbury, who was on the verge of calling 
 him by some harsh epithet. 
 
 " Your mansion is safe for the present, Colonel 
 Belthorpe," said Major Lyon, rising from the seat 
 he had taken. " We might as well fight the battle, 
 if there is to be one, on the road near your house. 
 I suggest that we send our whole force down the 
 new road, and drive the ruffians across the river." 
 
 Before the others could express an opinion on 
 this policy, the mulatto in a white jacket an- 
 nounced that the horsemen were at the door, and 
 wanted to see " de ossifer." 
 
318 BROTHEK AGAINST BliOTHEK 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW KOAD 
 
 The officer whom the riders wished to see was 
 evidently Colonel Belthorpe, as he had been in 
 command from the beginning. He hastened to 
 the hall, and found General there, who was raiher 
 more excited than usual, simply because he had 
 something to communicate. In about every as- 
 semblage of men, white or black, there is generally 
 one who naturally becomes the leader, though there 
 may be a number of others who think they could 
 do better. General was this single man, and had 
 thus won his name. 
 
 " What is the matter, General ? " asked the Col- 
 onel, as he confronted the bulky form of the black 
 leader. 
 
 "Not'in' de matter, Mars'r Cunnel, but de rebels 
 is on de road, comin' dis way," replied the self-ap- 
 pointed captain of cavaby. 
 
 " How far off are they ? " asked the commander. 
 
 " About a mile, mars'r ; but I reckon some ob 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 319 
 
 'em done went home, for dar isn't more'n half as 
 many as we done see near de creek bridge." 
 
 " I should think they might have got enough of 
 it by this time," replied the colonel. " What do 
 you want now, Sam ? " he said, turning to the mu- 
 latto in a white jacket, who appeared to be the 
 man-servant of the house. 
 
 " Another man here wants to see you, mars'r," 
 replied Sam, as he presented Mose, who had just 
 come to the front door, where a servant does not 
 usually come in the South. " He's a footman, an' 
 not a hossman, mars'r." 
 
 " What is your name, my boy ? " asked the 
 colonel, turning to the new-comer. 
 
 " Mose is w'at dey all calls me, sar, but my 
 truly name is 'Zekel. De ruffins is stopped half a 
 mile from whar we com'd out on de ole road, 
 mars'r," replied Mose, clinging to his old hat, 
 which he pressed to his chest, as he bowed low, 
 trying to be as respectful and deferential as possi- 
 ble. 
 
 " Did you go near them, Mose ? " asked the com- 
 mander. 
 
 " Not berry near, mars'r ; but dey done make a 
 fire, so we see 'em plain nuff." 
 
320 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " The main body of the ruffians cannot very 
 Well be on both roads," said the colonel. 
 
 "• No, sar ; but I reck'n Cap'n Titus done dewide 
 his army, and he's gwine to take de place on de 
 front and on de back," suggested Mose. 
 
 " Quite right, my boy ; you have a head on 3'our 
 shoulders, and we shall not soon forget the hit you 
 gave the fellow that was carrying off my daugh- 
 ter," added the colonel, surveying the leader of the 
 foot party, as he proved to be. " How far off is 
 this party at the fire ? " 
 
 " About half a mile, mars'r. I reckon de fire is 
 a signal to dem as is on de new road," replied 
 Mose, bowing low and hugging his old hat again. 
 
 " All right, my boys ; now return to your men, 
 and we will be with you soon," said the com- 
 mander as he returned to the party in the sitting- 
 room. 
 
 All the party in the apartment fixed their gaze 
 earnestly on Colonel Belthorpe as he entered, and 
 there- was an expression of fear and anxiety on the 
 fair faces of the two daughters. By this time 
 they all understood the situation perfectly. A 
 gang of ruffians were approaching the mansion 
 to revenge their defeat at Riverlawn upon the 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 321 
 
 owner of this plantation, for he had been the cliief 
 man of the defence. It was evident that the com- 
 mander had been put in possession of additional 
 information in regard to the enemy. 
 
 He lost no time, but proceeded to state the facts 
 which had just been reported to him by the scouts 
 he had sent out. It was plain to all the defenders 
 that another battle, if such a name could be prop- 
 erly applied to the skirmish near the creek bridge, 
 was imminent. 
 
 "I think we are ready for the enemy," said 
 Major Lyon ; " and- it will not be a difficult matter 
 to drive the ruffians off. But I am not a military 
 man, and we leave the defence entirely in your 
 hands, Colonel Belthorpe." 
 
 " As I have said before, my place is not as favor- 
 able for a defence as yours is. Major Lyon," re- 
 plied the conmiander. " We have no stream or 
 swamp to cover our position, and we must act on 
 open ground. Now, what force can we take into 
 the field?" 
 
 " We have all that we had at the bridge," re- 
 plied Squire Truman. 
 
 " Including' Dexter, we have five white men 
 here," added Major Lyon. " Eight of my boys 
 
322 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 are mounted, and seven came over in the wagon, 
 and all of these are armed with breech-loaders, so 
 that they can lire seven shots ajjiece. That makes 
 twenty." 
 
 "And here we add to our number," said Colonel 
 Cosgrove, glancing at Major Gadbury and Tom 
 Belthorpe. 
 
 "Certainly; we expect to take part in any figlit 
 that is to come off," added the major. 
 
 " We have three repeating rifles in the house, 
 two double-barrelled bucking guns, and four re- 
 volvers. We laid in a stock of arms when the 
 horse-stealers were at work in this county," said 
 the commander. " But I have never put arms in 
 the hands of my negroes." 
 
 " I never did till to-night, and I found that all 
 mine were as willing to fight as to work for me," 
 the major explained. "You have an overseer, of 
 course." 
 
 "I have; but I have my doubts about him. 
 Tilford is rather a brutal fellow, and I believe he 
 is a Secessionist at heart, though he has never 
 said anything to commit himself. The worst thing 
 I know about him is that he associates witli Buck 
 Lagger." 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 323 
 
 " Make him face the music, governor," added 
 Tom. " If he is not willing to stand by you at 
 such a time as this, he ought to be fired off the 
 place." 
 
 Sam was sent for the overseer. Everybody 
 about the mansion had been roused from his slum- 
 bers, and Tilford had been sulking about the 
 space in front of the house, evidently disgusted to 
 see the nesrroes from Riverlawn mounted on fine 
 horses with breech-loaders slung at their backs. 
 He obeyed the order of his employer, and stalked 
 into the sitting-room with a defiant expression on 
 his face. 
 
 " Tilford, something like a hundred rulBans are 
 coming up the two roads for the purpose of burn- 
 ing my mansion and hanging me to the nearest 
 tree," Colonel Belthorpe began in a mild tone. 
 "With the aid of my friends here, I intend to 
 defend myself, my family, and my property." 
 
 " Are them niggers with guns strapped on their 
 backs your friends ? " demanded the overseer, with 
 a cynical smile on his ill-favored face. 
 
 " They are brave men, who have this night de- 
 fended their master from an attack of the repro- 
 bates who are marching upon my place ; and I 
 
32-4 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 honor them for their bravery and fidelity, for not 
 one of tliem has flinched ! " returned the colonel 
 vigorously. "I want to know now upon whom I 
 can depend to defend me from the violence of 
 these villains who are coming down upon me." 
 
 " I reckon you can depend upon your niggers, 
 but you can't depend on me ! " replied the over- 
 seer, edging towards the door. " You have fetched 
 all this on yourself by turning abolitionist ! " 
 
 " If assisting my neighbor and friend to defend 
 himself and his family from the attacks of a pack 
 of ruffians is being an abolitionist, then I am one 
 with all my mind, heart, and soul ! " replied the 
 planter with a vehemence that brought down 
 the applause of his associates, even including the 
 ladies. 
 
 " Them gentlemen you call ruffi'ns is my 
 friends, Colonel Belthorpe, and I don't never go 
 back on my friends, not unless they turn aboli- 
 tionists, and I ain't go'n' to fight ag'in 'em," 
 added Tilford, working nearer to the door. " I 
 reckon my time's about done on this place." 
 
 " Quite done ! " said the colonel, taking a 
 revolver from his pocket. 
 
 " Go and join your friends ! I will order every 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 325 
 
 man with a gun to shoot you if you are seen 
 about the place in five minutes ! " 
 
 The overseer did not like the looks of the revol- 
 ver in the hands of his employer, and he fled from 
 the house. The commander had sent all the 
 Riverlawn force back to the two roads to observe 
 the movements of the ruffians, or he would have 
 given the faithless fellow an escort from the vicin- 
 ity of the mansion. 
 
 " The boys will all stand by joxi, mars'r," said 
 Sam in the white jacket as the colonel followed 
 the renegade to the front door. 
 
 " Then call two of them " — 
 
 " They're all right here, mars'r," interposed 
 the servant. 
 
 The commander sent two of them to follow 
 Tilford. He found, somewhat to his astonish- 
 ment, that all the servants on the place, even to 
 the old men, had armed themselves with clubs, 
 pitchforks, shovels, or whatever they could lay 
 their hands upon, ready to defend their master, 
 who had always been kinder to them than the 
 overseer. Besides, the armed negroes from River- 
 lawn had remained some little time on the premises, 
 and had very fully informed them in regard to the 
 
326 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 events of the night, including the capture of tlie 
 two daughters of their master, which had roused 
 them to the highest pitch of indignation, for they 
 looked upon Margie and Kate as a pair of angels, 
 and wondered they had no wings. 
 
 When Colonel Belthorpe returned to the sitting- 
 room, he found that Tom had collected all the 
 arms and ammunition in the mansion, taking a 
 repeating rifle for himself, and giving another to 
 the guest of the house. Each of them took a 
 revolver, and they were loading these weapons 
 for immediate use. The rest of the arms were 
 given to a few of the most trusty of the servants. 
 
 The commander led the way to the large court- 
 yard in front of the mansion, where he divided the 
 force into two parties, one to meet the enemy on 
 each of the two roads. Before this could be done, 
 the scouts on the new road returned, with the two 
 Lyndhall boys who had followed Tilford. They 
 had passed him through the ranks of the mounted 
 men when they were in sight of the ruffians, and 
 some of them had stoned him as a farewell salute. 
 
 The commander made Major Lyon the officer of 
 the old road force. He objected, and suggested 
 Major Gadbury for the position ; but it was found 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 327 
 
 that the visitor held his title only by courtesy, 
 and was not a military man, and then the River- 
 lawn planter accepted the position. Tom Bel- 
 thorpe. Squire Truman, Deck, and four of the 
 eight mounted men, with about twenty of the 
 Lyndhall boys, were placed under his command. 
 
 The commander had endeavored to make a fair 
 division of the force, and Colonel Cosgrove, Major 
 Gad bury, four Riverlawn horsemen, and a score of 
 his own people composed his own force. The 
 ruffians were within, fifty rods of the mansion on 
 the new road, and the division for this service 
 marched at once. The cavalry were sent out 
 ahead, with orders not to fire unless the ruftians 
 opened upon them. 
 
 General was at the head of the horsemen, and 
 he galloped his horse up to the front of the ruf- 
 fians. He and his men had loosened the slings of 
 their weapons, and brought them in front of them, 
 so that they were ready for immediate use. The 
 ruffians had halted as soon as they discovered the 
 riders in front of them. Then they built a fire, 
 and as soon as its light shone upon them, General 
 discovered a flag of truce. 
 
 The leader ventured to approach a little nearer 
 
328 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 to the enemy, when he was saluted with a volley 
 of oaths, and some one of them, not Captain Titus, 
 demanded where his master was. 
 
 " Ober on de ole road," replied General, almost 
 as savagely as he had been addressed. 
 
 " Do you know what this flag means, you nig- 
 ger?" interrogated the speaker with an oath. 
 
 " Yes, sar ! Mars'r Belthorpe won't hab no more 
 ob dat nonsense," answered General. 
 
 " Tell him I want to see him under a flag of 
 truce ! " shouted the one who appeared to be in 
 command. 
 
 The horseman was afraid of making some mis- 
 take, and he sent one of his boys back to the com- 
 mander with this message. Colonel Belthorpe 
 had sent Sam back for his saddle horse, and pres- 
 ently he galloped to the front. 
 
 " Take in your flag of truce, or I will fire upon 
 it I " shouted the colonel. " No more fooling ! I 
 don't parley with ruflians ! " 
 
 The flag immediately disappeared. By the light 
 of the fire it could be seen that about half a dozen 
 men at the front of the column were armed with 
 muskets, which, with or without a command from 
 the officer, they brought to their shoulders and 
 
THE SKIRMISH ON THE NEW ROAD 329 
 
 fired. Colonel Belthorpe put his hand on his left 
 arm, as though a ball had struck him there. 
 
 " Now, my boys, fire at them at will, just as you 
 please," continued the commander, as he began to 
 blaze away with his heavy revolver. 
 
 The four mounted men began to use their re- 
 peaters ; but their horses were restive, and they 
 could not fire at the best advantage, though sev- 
 eral of the ruffians were seen to fall, while the 
 main body of them fled into the adjoining fields. 
 
330 BUOTHER AGAINST BKOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING ON THE ROAD 
 
 The ruffians were a mere mob, entirely devoid 
 of any semblance of discipline ; and it was again 
 made manifest that they could not stand up against 
 a continuous fire such as the mounted boys and 
 those on foot were beginning to pour into them, 
 scattered though it was at first by the restiveness 
 of the untrained horses. Titus Lyon was not a 
 military man, and lie did not appear to appreciate 
 the advantage of order in the handling of his force. 
 
 It is true that the negroes tliat confronted him 
 were not organized to any adequate extent for 
 military purposes, though the little training 
 Colonel Belthorpe had given them on the bridge 
 had been of very great service to them. It was 
 absolutely astonisliing to the commander tluit the 
 boys did not drojJ their weapons and run when 
 the random shots from the enemy were discharged 
 at them ; for this idea was in accordance with his 
 estimate of nesfro character. 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING 331 
 
 It was a new revelation to him, the manner in 
 which the men conducted themselves under fire, 
 hurried as they had been, without any training, 
 into the ranks ; and the same number of white 
 men of average ability could hardly have done bet- 
 ter under similar circumstances. But the negro 
 was strong in his affections, and the feeling that 
 they were fighting for the family who had used 
 them kindly, and treated them with more consid- 
 eration than they had been in the habit of receiv- 
 ing, even under the mild sway of Colonel Lyon, 
 was the stimulus that strengthened their souls and 
 nerved their arms. 
 
 The " people " of Lyndhall were inspired by the 
 example of those from Riverlawn, and tliey were 
 filled with admiration when they saw those of 
 their own kind bearing arms, some of them well 
 mounted, and learned that they had actually done 
 duty during the night as soldiers. General, Dum- 
 my, and Mose had talked to them, and roused 
 their spirit of emulation. Besides, they had been 
 moved by the same devotion to the members of 
 the planter's family; and their indignation at the 
 conduct of the overseer, who had been tlieir tyrant, 
 had done not a little to develop their belligerent 
 feelings. 
 
332 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The ruffians had taken to their heels, and tied 
 into the open country between the old and the new 
 road. There were some trees upon the tract, and 
 the fugitives proceeded to utilize them as far as 
 they were available to shelter them from the balls 
 of the horsemen. At this point the negroes of 
 Lyndhall, unexpectedly to their owner, manifested 
 their presence in a very decided manner. The 
 sight of the four stout boys on the horses, undis- 
 mayed by the random shots which had been fired 
 at them, had a tremendous influence upon them, 
 and they became exceedingly excited, not to say 
 crazed ; and, without any orders from the com- 
 mander, they ruslied into the fields after the 
 ruffians. 
 
 Doubtless they would have obeyed from instinct 
 the order to return if the colonel had given it ; but 
 he allowed them to have their own way. With 
 the various weapons with which they had armed 
 themselves, they fell upon the helpless fugitives, 
 pounded, punched, and hammered them till they 
 begged for mercy. They, in turn, were confronted 
 by an infuriated mob. Those who were able to do 
 so fled with all the speed they could command to- 
 wards the old road, which was nearly a mile dis- 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING 333 
 
 tant at this point. Not a few of them had been 
 so beaten that they could not run, and they 
 dropped upon the ground. The victors were not 
 cruel, and they did not meddle with those who no 
 longer made any resistance. 
 
 The Lyndhall boys had gone into the fight with 
 no leader of their own number; but as soon as they 
 left the road one developed himself in the person 
 of the preacher of the plantation, a white-haired 
 negro of over seventy years of age, whom the 
 family called " Uncle Dave." He had always 
 been a mild, gentle, and very religious man, 
 and he was always treated with respect. 
 
 Uncle Dave seemed to become a giant in 
 strength, his voice that of a stentor, and his 
 manner fierce, as soon as his flock went into 
 action. He called upon his people not to kill 
 the ruffians, for their souls were black with un- 
 repented sins ; and when one of the marauders 
 sunk to the earth, he commanded them not to 
 touch him again. The fleeing ruffians were in- 
 debted to him for their lives, while he ordered 
 his flock to punish them severely as they de- 
 served. 
 
 Colonel Belthorpe regarded this man with won- 
 
334 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 der ; for lie had always been as gentle as a lamb, 
 obedient in all things, and anxious to minister 
 to the peoj)le in sickness and death. Now he 
 seemed to be the most terrible fighting character 
 he had ever met. He saw his volunteers, as he 
 called them, chase the ruffians till they disap- 
 peared in the distance and the darkness. The 
 mounted men had ceased firing, for there was no 
 enemy near, and they were fearful of hitting those 
 who were fighting on their own side. 
 
 " We have made a clean sweep here," said the 
 commander, as Colonel Cosgrove and Major Gad- 
 bury joined him in the road ; for they liad been 
 in the fields south of the road, eno-agfed in a flank 
 movement. 
 
 " It has been an easy victory," replied the gen- 
 tleman from the county town. "• But they were 
 nothing but a mob; and your boys seem to be 
 lunatics. They are likely to kill the whole of 
 them before they get tln-ough." 
 
 •' They will not kill one of them unless it is 
 by accident, for I heard Uncle Dave order them 
 as they took to the fields not to do so ; and I 
 notice that when a man dro2)S on tlie ground they 
 let him alone," added the Lyndhall planter. 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHEIIING 385 
 
 " We have no thing more to do here, unless we 
 go down the road and pick up the wounded, for I 
 see half a dozen of them in front of us, though 
 they are all sitting up and looking about them, 
 so that none of them have been killed," said Major 
 Gadbury. 
 
 " Our occupation here appears to be gone," con- 
 tinued Colonel Belthorpe, as he looked over the 
 fields from which the combatants had disappeared, 
 with the exception of those who were unable to 
 run away. '* Majoi- Lyon over on the old road 
 may not have been as fortunate as we have been, 
 and we must go over and re-enforce him. Gen- 
 eral!" 
 
 "Here, sar ! " replied tliat worthy. 
 
 " We are going over to the old road to help out 
 Major Lyon. You will leave two of your men 
 here, one mounted, and the other on foot, to watch 
 the enemy ; the others will go with me," added 
 the planter. 
 
 " Yes, sar," answered General, as he detailed 
 the two scouts. " I reckon we done finished 'era 
 ober here, Mars'r Gunnel." 
 
 " No doubt of it, General ; and I hope Major 
 Lyon has done as well over on the old road." 
 
336 BKOTHKR AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The commander started off at a gallop, and the 
 mounted men closely followed him. They passed 
 through the deserted courtyard of the mansion, 
 where the planter was accosted by his two 
 daughters, who had been observing the move- 
 ments of the combatants from the elevated ve- 
 randa of the house. 
 
 "Where are you going now, papa?" asked Miss 
 Kate. 
 
 " We have driven off the ruffians from this side, 
 and we are going over to assist Major Lyon," re- 
 plied the colonel. " Sam, you will remain here, 
 and look out for the house," he added to the man 
 with the white jacket, to whom this duty had been 
 before assigned, and then rode on towards the old 
 road. 
 
 " Don't shoot. Colonel Belthorpe ! " called a 
 voice from behind the stable, as the horsemen 
 advanced, and a man came out into the roadway. 
 
 It was Tilford, the overseer, who had retreated 
 from the mansion, and joined the ruffians, whom 
 he called his friends. At the first discharge of 
 the mounted men which followed the revolver 
 practice of the commander, he had been hit in 
 the thigh with a bullet; and at the general stam- 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING 337 
 
 pede of the enemy he had made his way into the 
 field. Realizing that there was no safety for him 
 among "his friends," he had limped all the way 
 back to the mansion. 
 
 His wound was not a bad one, though it was 
 painful, and partially disabled him. As he had 
 detached himself from the ruffians there was no 
 one to dispute his passage, and he had reached 
 the stable, behind which he had concealed himself 
 when he heard the approach of the horsemen. 
 But, dark as it was, the colonel perceived and 
 recognized him. 
 
 " What are you doing here, Tilford? " demanded 
 the commander. 
 
 " I am wounded and in great pain," replied the 
 overseer in weak and submissive tones. 
 
 " Then why don't you join your friends ? " 
 asked the colonel. 
 
 " I made a mistake to-night, and I did not know 
 who my friends were," pleaded the wounded man. 
 
 " Sam ! " shouted the planter to the house ser- 
 vant, who had followed the party nearly to the 
 stable ; and the boy immediately presented him- 
 self before his master. " Take the overseer to his 
 room, and do what you can for him." 
 
338 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Thank you, Colonel ! " exclaimed Tilfoixl ; and 
 his wound seemed to have made another man of 
 him. 
 
 Sam took the sufferer by the arm, wondering at 
 the magnanimity of his master, who had ordered 
 all the people to shoot him if he was seen again on 
 the premises, and conducted him towards the 
 mansion, where he had a chamber back of the 
 dining-room. As he led him up the steps, Margie 
 and Kate came to him ; and they proved to be as 
 forgiving as their father, for they did everything 
 they could to make him comfortable. One of the 
 old " aunties," skilled in nursing, was sent to him, 
 and his wound was dressed. 
 
 The mounted men, led by the commander, gal- 
 loped over to the old road, which was deserted at 
 the place where they came out. On a slight ele- 
 vation in the highway a great fire was blazing 
 brilliantly, and near it was an assemblage of 
 people, the nature of which the commander could 
 not make out. 
 
 " I don't understand that gathering," said he, as 
 Major Gadbury rode up to his side. 
 
 " It looks as though the enemy were using the 
 flag of truce ruse over here," replied the major. 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING 339 
 
 " I don't believe INIajor Lyon would fool with 
 them. They are marauders and disturbers of the 
 peace, and I think he is as disposed to deal sum- 
 marily with them as I am," added the commander. 
 " But we will ride up to the place, and we shall 
 soon know what is going on." 
 
 " Who are these men coming into the road just 
 ahead of us ? " asked Major Gadbury, pointing to 
 three men who were making their M^ay through 
 the field to the road. Tlie fire on the hill don't 
 give quite light enough to enable me to make 
 them out ; but I suppose they are ruffians Avho 
 have made their way from the new road." 
 
 " I don't know what they are, but we will go 
 and see ; " and they rode forward about a dozen 
 rods to the point where the men were emerging 
 from the field. " Who goes there ? " demanded 
 Colonel Belthorpe. 
 
 "Is that you, Mars'r Gunnel?" asked one of 
 them. 
 
 " Uncle Dave ! " exclaimed the planter. 
 
 "That's the parson," added Colonel Cosgrove. 
 
 "What are you doing over here, Uncle?" asked 
 the commander. 
 
 " We done have nothin' more to do over yon- 
 
340 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 der," replied the preacher. " The boys are all 
 movin' over this way." 
 
 " But where are the ruffians that retreated from 
 the new road ? " 
 
 " The boys fell upon 'em and drove 'em over to 
 the west, sar," the parson explained. " We don't 
 kill any of 'em ; but we bang 'em so they hold 
 still on the ground. We think they was comin' 
 over here to help the ruffians on this side, and we 
 come over to 'tend to 'em." 
 
 "All right, venerable Uncle," laughed the 
 colonel. " But can you tell me what is going on 
 upon the hill yonder? " 
 
 " I don't know, Mars'r Gunnel. I don't see 'em 
 till now." 
 
 Uncle Dave had a pitchfork in his hand, and 
 it was plain enough just now that he was of the 
 church militant, for he was in fighting condition. 
 It was said that he could read and write ; but from 
 motives of policy he never allowed a white man to 
 see him do either. He was a sensible old man in 
 spite of his condition, and was employed about 
 the stable and carriage-house, and was favored by 
 his master and all the family. He had learned to 
 speak without using the negro dialect, though his 
 
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING 341 
 
 sentences were not rhetorical models, and from 
 the force of habit he retained some of the old 
 forms to avoid the imputation of "-putting on airs." 
 
 " There seems to be no fighting- going on up 
 there," said the commander after he had studied 
 the situation some time, though he could not 
 understand it. " If the ruffians are moving over 
 here, as Uncle Dave says, we shall be needed in 
 that quarter." 
 
 " I don't think so, Mars'r Gunnel, for we maul 
 the ruffians so that they won't want to figlit no 
 more for two weeks and a half," added the 
 preacher, who heard the remark. 
 
 " You may stay here, and if your flock come to 
 this road, send them up to the hill where we are 
 going," ordered the commander, as he dashed off, 
 followed by the other horsemen. 
 
 The gathering on the hill was not a parley 
 under a flag of truce, as Colonel Belthorpe feared 
 it might be ; but to explain its nature it will be 
 necessary to go back to the time when Major 
 Lyon, followed by his command, had marched 
 over to the old road. 
 
342 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE RESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 
 
 Even the title of major which had been thrust 
 upon him could not make the planter of River- 
 lawn feel like a military commander as he led his 
 battalion of foot and mounted volunteers to the 
 old road, which might prove to be a battle-field. 
 His force consisted of only four white men,- — him- 
 self, his son, Tom Belthorpe, and Squire Truman. 
 Deck had been provided with a saddle horse fiom 
 the stable of the Lj-ndhall planter, so that all of 
 them were well mounted. 
 
 Four of tlie mounted boys from Riverlawn, four 
 of them on foot, and about twenty of the colonel's 
 ablest hands formed the rest of his force. The 
 latter were as emulous to fight the battle of their 
 master as those who had been sent to the new 
 road. Major Lyon's boys had already been under 
 fire, and they Avere exceedingly proud of the ex- 
 perience. They talked rather large, perha2:)s, to 
 the Lyndhall volunteers, and told them they must 
 
THE EESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 343 
 
 stand up to it when tlie enemy fired, and must not 
 run away though they were sure they would be 
 shot. They were earnestly counselled not " to 
 disgrace the race." 
 
 At that time a negro soldier was unknown, and 
 most white men, especially at the South, would as 
 soon have thought of arming and drilling a lot of 
 baboons and monkeys ; and even those in Bar- 
 creek who were willing to accept their services 
 in defence of their families and their property had 
 never dreamed of such a thing as making soldiers 
 of the negroes. Their steadiness under fire, though 
 they had been subjected to only a discharge of 
 random shots, filled the slaveholders present with 
 astonishment, if not with admiration. 
 
 When the force reached the old road, there was 
 nothing to be seen of the ruffians, for it was quite 
 dark, and they were beyond the hill, which ob- 
 structed their view. But the scouts had reported 
 them as approaching, and the major in command 
 was not inclined to await their coming. He gave 
 the order to marcli ; but they had gone only a few 
 rods before the column was seen at the top of the 
 lull. A halt was called in order to enable the 
 prudent commander to prepare a plan for the 
 assault. 
 
344 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The advance of the force was evidently per- 
 ceived by the ruffians, for they also halted, and in 
 a few moments more a great fire was blazing up at 
 the side of the road. On the march so far, Tom 
 and Deck had done a good deal of talking to- 
 gether. Since his brave and determined defence 
 of Miss Kate in the cross-cut, and his strategy in 
 disposing of Buck Lagger, Tom had a very high 
 respect and regard for Deck. 
 
 "My father isn't much of a soldier, any more 
 than the rest of us," said Deck, as the major g ive 
 the order to halt. " If we fire at those scalliwags, 
 they will scatter and run away, as they did at the 
 creek bridge, and be all ready to burn a house or 
 run off with a girl as soon as they get the chance. 
 I believe we ought to punish them so that they 
 will remember it till to-morrow or next day." 
 
 " Just my idea," replied Tom. " These niggers 
 stand up to the fight like white men. I believed 
 they would all run away at the first shot from 
 an enemy." 
 
 " Not one of them flinched on the bridge or in 
 the road when the ruffians fired into them, my 
 father says, for I was not there then ; I was in the 
 artillery service just at that time." 
 
THE RESULT OF THE FLAKK MOVEMENT 345 
 
 " In the artillery service ! " exclaimed Tom, 
 laughing at the magnificent speech of his com- 
 panion in arms. 
 
 " Exactly so ; you have heard the story of the 
 capture of the arms at the sink-hole ; the cannon 
 are mounted in the ice-house. If you see oiie of 
 our darkeys flinch when the firing begins, I wish 
 you would let me know, and we will cut down his 
 hominy ration," rattled Deck, as enthusiastic as 
 though he had slept all night instead of half an 
 hour. " But I have got an idea." 
 
 " You seem to have one in tow all the time." 
 
 " I want you to mention it to my father if you 
 believe in it, and he will think more of it than if 
 I put it forward." 
 
 " Your father seems to think a good deal of 
 what you say and do." 
 
 " He will think I am too old for my years ; but 
 he is the best father I ever had, and I want him to 
 come out of this scrape with flying colors." 
 
 " But what is your idea. Deck ? " asked Tom 
 curiously. 
 
 " I think my father is waked up to the bottom 
 of his boots; he won't fool with any flags of truce, 
 and he will order us all to fire as soon as the time 
 
346 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 comes, though his own brother is in the gang 
 ahead of us, or in the one over on the other 
 road." 
 
 " I am sure he won't wince." 
 
 " And the moment we fire, the ruffians will all 
 run away, which the darkeys won't do. That is 
 just what I have seen them do twice to-niglit. I 
 wonder what they came over here for if they 
 didn't mean to fight." 
 
 " They came over here to burn your father's 
 house and that of mine ; but I reckon they didn't 
 expect to get the reception Major Lyon had pre- 
 pared for them." 
 
 " They will run away, Tom," repeated Deck ; 
 "and that is just what I don't want them to be 
 allowed to do." 
 
 "Not if we can prevent it; for I believe that 
 hanging would do good to some of them." 
 
 " We can prevent it if my father will adopt your 
 suggestion," added Deck. 
 
 " My suggestion ! I haven't got any suggestion, 
 and .1 don't know what you are talking about. 
 Deck," replied Tom, puzzled with the remark. 
 " All the way I can see to manage this affair is to 
 rush at the ruffians and drive them off." 
 
THE RESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 347 
 
 " We don't want to drive them off till we have 
 given them a little wholesome discipline. I sup- 
 pose you know what a flank movement is, fellow- 
 soldier ? " 
 
 " I have an idea what it is." 
 
 " We used to practise it when we were snowball- 
 ing on sides away up in the glorious State of New 
 Hampshire, if we got a chance to do it." 
 
 "We don't practise snowballing much down here, 
 and I never was engaged in a flank movement at a 
 snowball match. But I have an idea that it is 
 getting around the enemy, whether in a battle or a 
 game, and taking them on the side or in the rear." 
 
 " You could not have stated it any better if you 
 had been studying the art of war or the science of 
 snowballing all your lifetime," added Deck. 
 
 " Be a little more serious, Mr. Lyon, and I shall 
 understand you better," said Tom, looking very 
 grave himself. 
 
 " I will be as serious as the parson at a funeral, 
 Mr. Belthorpe. We have plenty of men to flank 
 them handsomely; for it don't take a great crowd 
 with seven-shooters in their hands to hold that 
 gang where they are." 
 
 " I see what you mean now." 
 
348 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " What kind of ground is it over on the left of 
 this road, Tom ? " 
 
 " It is one of our best fields." 
 
 " Can horses travel on it ? " 
 
 " Just as well as on this road." 
 
 " Then your suggestion to the commander-in- 
 chief of the forces is that he send a detachment of 
 six men, mounted and armed with repeating rifles, 
 through the field on the left, with orders to fire on 
 the ruffians when the fight opens," continued Deck 
 earnestly. 
 
 " It is a brilliant idea, and I will do it at once," 
 replied Tom. 
 
 " Hold on a minute, and suggest that the de- 
 tachment be under the command of Captain Tom 
 Belthorpe," added Deck. 
 
 " I shall amend that by substituting the name 
 of Captain Deck Lyon," replied Tom, as he 
 started ahead to overtake the commander. 
 
 " Don't do that ! " shouted Deck.. 
 
 Everything seemed to be at a standstill ; but 
 the blazing fire revealed a flag of truce flying in 
 front of the enemy. Tom delivered his sugges- 
 tion to Major Lyon without mentioning the fact 
 that it came from his son ; and the conmiander 
 
THE RESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 349 
 
 promptly approved it. He believed that there 
 must surely be fighting this time, and that if the 
 defenders, as he called them, were defeated, 
 Colonel Belthorpe's mansion would soon be in 
 flames, and perhaps his lovely daughters would 
 fall into the hands of the vicious wretches compos- 
 ing: the mob. 
 
 " How many men do you need? " 
 "The four mounted men from your place. 
 Deck, and myself," replied the bearer of the 
 suggestion. 
 
 " Very well, I give you the order to that effect ; 
 but don't you think some older person than Dex- 
 ter had better be in command? " 
 
 " Decidedly not. Major ! " answered Tom with 
 emphasis. " I believe Deck is the smartest fellow 
 in the crowd, except yourself." 
 
 "All right ; have your own way, then," replied 
 the commander. "But can you tell me the 
 nature of the land on the right hand side of the 
 road? " 
 
 " The creek runs from above the mansion in 
 that direction to the river, and it is swampy on 
 both sides of it," replied Tom, as he hurried away 
 to rejoin Deck. 
 
350 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 During the absence of Tom Belthorpe, the 
 young hero had been carefully studying the posi- 
 tion of the enemy and the surroundings. He 
 could see the brook, or creek as such streams are 
 called in that region, by the light of the fire on 
 the hill, hardly deserving that a})pellation, for it 
 was only a very slight elevation. The bushes 
 were like those he had seen near the sj)ring road, 
 and several pools or ponds reflected the light of 
 the fire. He was satisfied that the ruffians could 
 not retreat in that direction. 
 
 Before Tom joined him the flag of truce with 
 four men began to advance towards Major Lyon's 
 force. The commander's " infantry," consisting 
 of four Riverlawn negroes, were drawn up in 
 front. The twenty Lyndhall hands, miscellane- 
 ously armed with clubs and such implements as 
 they had been able to obtain, had also been formed 
 across the road ; and they were as eager to " pitch 
 into" the marauders as their fellows on the new 
 road had been ; but the commander restrained 
 them. 
 
 " Here you are. Captain Lyon, and my mission 
 has been a success," said Tom, as he rode up to 
 the '"' cavalry " posted in the rear, where that arm 
 
THE RESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 351 
 
 is not usually placed. " You are to command the 
 flanking party, and Squire Truman is requested to 
 join the commander at the front." 
 
 The lawyer, who had not been informed of the 
 intended movement, immediately hastened to the 
 front. Tom reported what had passed between 
 the major and- himself, and a few minutes later 
 the squire was seen riding towards the hill. He 
 had been directed by the major to inform the 
 ruffians that no flag of truce would be respected, 
 and that he would open fire very soon. 
 
 Deck objected to taking command of the cav- 
 alry ; but Tom insisted, for he really believed his 
 companion was better qualified for the position 
 than himself, and the young man finally yielded 
 the point. Captain Lyon, as he had been called 
 more than once during the night, proceeded to 
 address the four cavalrymen, informing them 
 what was to be done, and what was expected of 
 them. 
 
 He did not put on any airs, though he could 
 hardly help "feeling his oats; " but he was too 
 much absorbed in the success of his enterprise to 
 think much of his personal self. There were no 
 fences at the side of the road ; and, giving the com- 
 
352 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 mand to march, he started liis spirited horse, and 
 dashed at full gallop into the field, with Tom at 
 his side, and the four riders from Riverlawn in 
 rank behind them. 
 
 Deck passed beyond the range of the firelight, so 
 that the enemy could not see his force, and in less 
 than ten minutes they were abreast of them. By 
 this time the message of the major had been de- 
 livered by the squire ; and the result was a mani- 
 festation on the part of the ruffians. Those who 
 were armed with muskets or other firearms aj)- 
 peared to have been placed in front, and they 
 delivered what was intended for a volley, though 
 it was a very shaky one. 
 
 As the cavalry were passing over a knoll. Deck 
 saw that his father was marching his force up the 
 road ; for the combatants were too far apart to do 
 each other much mischief by their fire. The 
 enemy kept up a desultory discharge of their 
 guns, but they were evidently not repeating-rifles. 
 When he had reduced the distance by one-lialf 
 between them, lie ordered a halt. At this point 
 he unslung his breech-loader, as the squire had 
 done before, and ordered the front rank to fire. 
 
 But Deck did not halt ; on the contrary, he 
 
THE RESULT OF THE FLANK MOVEMENT 353 
 
 uio-ed his liorse forward at a more rapid rate, and 
 was closely followed by his command. The in- 
 fantry in the road continued to fire at will after 
 the first volley, and it was evident to Captain 
 Lyon that the enemy were breaking under this 
 hot work. Those in the rear had already taken to 
 their heels ; but the cavalry dashed in ahead of 
 them, and the young commander drew up his 
 little force in front of them. As soon as he had 
 given the order to halt, and the six men in line 
 faced the enemy, he gave the command to fire in 
 detail. In the case of Major Lyon and his son, 
 both officers did duty as privates as well as com- 
 manders. The retreat was instantly cliecked ; 
 and this was the situation when Colonel Bel- 
 thorpe appeared upon the field. 
 
354 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE HUMILIATING RETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 
 
 The situation on the rising ground was a puzzle 
 to Colonel Belthorpe and his companions. They 
 could plainly see the little force of Captain Deck 
 in the rear of the enemy, and realized that it pre- 
 vented the ruffians from running away, as they 
 had done on the new road. The commander was 
 inclined to laugh ; for taking into account the 
 fury with which the mob had followed up their 
 purpose, it was rather ludicrous to see them 
 penned in, as it were, on the hill. 
 
 As it was the policy of Major Lyon and his son 
 to kill or wound as few as possible of the ruffians, 
 the firing had entirely ceased -on the part of the 
 defenders, though an occasional shot came from 
 the unorganized mob. The negroes from the new 
 road were coming in all the time ; but Uncle Dave 
 had been studying the situation as well as his 
 master, and his flock obeyed him as implicitly as 
 thev did the colonel himselt 
 
EETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 355 
 
 The preacher saw that the enemy were sur- 
 rounded so far as the old road was concerned, and 
 could not retreat in the direction of the creek. 
 The field by which Captain Deck had reached his 
 present position was still open to them, and with- 
 out orders or suggestions from any one he pro- 
 ceeded to occupy it with the few of his people 
 who had come with him. He intercepted the 
 others as they approached, and led them to a point 
 where they could fall upon the ruffians if they 
 attempted to escape in that direction. 
 
 The firing had ceased, and Captain Titus Lyon 
 could not help seeing the movement of the negroes 
 under the lead of Uncle Dave. Probabl}^ a few of 
 the refugees from the skirmish on the new road 
 succeeded in reaching the hill where his advance 
 had been checked, and had informed him of the 
 disaster to his other division. Even the desultory 
 firing of his men was discontinued very soon when 
 they saw that they were hemmed in on all sides, 
 and that they were at the mercy of the victors. 
 
 " Well, Major Lyon, you seem to have brought 
 everything to a standstill on this portion of tlie 
 field," said Colonel Belthorpe as he rode up to the 
 planter from Riverlawn after he had taken a full 
 
356 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 view of the situation. " I see that you have made 
 a flank movement, and placed a portion of your 
 force in the rear of the enemy." 
 
 " My son is in command of that detachment, 
 and the movement was made at his suggestion," 
 replied the major, who could not help laughing in 
 sympathy with the colonel. " The movement was 
 made at his suggestion, and I think there is a 
 great deal more military in Dexter's composition 
 than in mine." 
 
 " Captain Deck has skill as well as pluck, and 
 he has put the enemy in a tight place," added the 
 commander-in-chief. " There they are like a flock 
 of sheep in a pen, and they cannot get out. "What 
 are you going to do next, Major Lyon ? " 
 
 " That is for you to say, for you command all 
 the forces," answered the major. 
 
 " You have brought this sore to a head, my 
 friend, and probably you can suggest in what man- 
 ner the wound may be healed," returned the col- 
 onel, still laughing ; for to a military man like him 
 the whole affair appeared to be rather in the nature 
 of a farce. " You have proved to be an able com- 
 mander, and I need your advice." 
 
 " You seem to look very lightly upon the whole 
 
RETREAT OF THE KUFFIANS 357 
 
 matter, Colonel Belthorpe," said the major, who 
 could not understand why his superior officer in- 
 dulged in his continued laugh. 
 
 '• Not at all, my dear sir ; I have looked upon it, 
 up to the present stage of affairs, as a very serious 
 matter ; and I am confident that both your maTision 
 and mine would have been in ashes befol-e this 
 time if we had not taken the bull by the horns as 
 we did." 
 
 " You appear to be amused." 
 
 " I am amused at the present situation ; and 
 perhaps the victory we have achieved puts me in 
 condition to be amused. My property and my 
 daughters have been saved, and we have the ruf- 
 fians pinched up in a tight place. I think you 
 have as much reason to rejoice as I have, Major 
 Lyon." 
 
 " Certainly I have ; but, not being a military 
 man, it looks more serious to me than to you. I 
 thought you were inclined to make fun of the 
 whole affair." 
 
 " Not at all. For a civilian you have done won- 
 ders. As we have won Ave can afford to laugh. 
 But it is about daylight now, and this operation 
 must be finished. What is your counsel. Major?" 
 
858 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I think we had better get a little nearer to the 
 enemy," replied the major. "I see a good many 
 of your people in the field on our left." 
 
 " From mild, peaceable, and even timid people, 
 they suddenly became as brave as lions, and as 
 ferocious as fiends, and they have severely pun- 
 ished the ruffians who fled in this direction. I 
 never supposed there was anything like fight in 
 them before." 
 
 " If you are ready we will advance. Colonel," 
 added Major Lj'on, as he gave the order to march. 
 
 The commander took his place by the side of the 
 planter of Riverlawn, and the column moved up 
 the declivity. The fire was still burning brightl}^ 
 and lighted up the whole of the surrounding re- 
 gion. It was evidently replenished with fuel fre- 
 quently, in order to enable the entrapped foe to 
 observe the movements of the visitors. The ap- 
 proach of the forces appeared to cause a decided 
 sensation in the ranks of the ruffians, and presently 
 a white flag \\'as displayed in front of them. 
 
 " Captain Titus seems to have a passion for 
 white flags," said the colonel. " He tried that 
 dodge for the second time over on the new road." 
 
 "And for the third time on this road," added 
 
RETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 359 
 
 the major. " But there appears to be some reason 
 for showing it this time." 
 
 The major did not give an order to halt this 
 time ; but the force marched to a point ^yithin 
 twent3^-five feet of the front rank of the ruffians, 
 if there coukl be said to be anything like a 'rank 
 in the mob. Then the command to halt was 
 given. 
 
 " I shall leave you to do all the talking, Colonel 
 Belthorpe," said the major, as he backed his hoi'se 
 so as to leave the commander alone at the front. 
 
 " I am quite willing to do the talking, but I may 
 need your advice," replied the colonel. 
 
 The planter of Riverlawn could distinctly make 
 out his brother at this distance, and he was glad 
 that he had not been shot dead, or apparently 
 wounded. Two men came from the direction of 
 the fire, bearing lighted torches, and placed them- 
 selves one on each side of Captain Titus and an- 
 other person at his side, who carried the white flag. 
 
 " Do you know that man with the flag. Squire 
 Truman ? " asked Major Lyon, as he observed the 
 proceedings on the other side. 
 
 " I ought to know him, for I prosecuted him 
 for an assault not long ago," replied the lawyer. 
 
360 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " That is Swin Pickford, a bully and a ruffian of 
 the vilest sort." 
 
 " My brother is not very particular in the selec- 
 tion of his associates,"' added Noah Lyon very 
 sadly. 
 
 Captain Titus advanced with the flag and the 
 torches at a stately pace, as though he were the 
 victor instead of the vanquished in the several 
 conflicts of the night, and halted in the middle of 
 the space between the contestants. 
 
 " I desire to meet Noah Lyon," said he. 
 
 " I decline to meet him," called the owner of the 
 name. 
 
 " He declines to meet you on the present occa- 
 sion," replied the commander sternly. " This is 
 not exactly a fraternal meeting, and there is only 
 one question which is in order: Do you sur- 
 render ? " 
 
 "Surrender? No! not as long as there is a 
 breath left in my body ! " replied the leader of the 
 ruffians, as fiercely as though he expected to have 
 all his own way in spite of his disastrous defeat. 
 
 " What do you want, then ? " demanded the 
 colonel. 
 
 " I want justice ! " stormed Captain Titus. 
 
RETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 861 
 
 " If you got it you would be swinging to one of 
 these trees ; and that is where you would be if 
 you were not the brother of Major Lyon." 
 
 " Major Lyon, as you call him, is a thief and a 
 robber! " yelled Titus. "The very guns and can- 
 non you have turned against us to-night were 
 stolen from me by him ! " 
 
 " At a meeting of the Union men of this vicin- 
 ity last night, a vote of thanks was passed to 
 Major Lyon for taking possession of the arms and 
 ammunition found in a cavern ; and we all stand 
 by that vote," replied the colonel with dignity. 
 
 " What do we care for the vote of a set of 
 traitors to the State ! " 
 
 " This is not the time or the place to discuss the 
 subject. I desire only to know what you and your 
 mob are going to do about it." 
 
 " We are going to have justice if there is any 
 such thing left in the State." 
 
 "It is your next move. Captain Titus." 
 
 " I wish to be fair and reasonable," continued 
 Titus, moderating his speech and manner. " I 
 have done my best to keep the gentlemen with me 
 from doing violence to them that stole our prop- 
 erty, and " — 
 
362 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " And for that reason you became their leader 
 and captain-general in an attempt to burn your 
 brother's liouse and mine ! " interjected the colonel. 
 
 "No matter what we came out foi-; I have a 
 plan to state that will settle the difficulty," Titus 
 proceeded, struggling to keep cool. 
 
 " State your j^lan, and be quick about it!" 
 
 "If the stolen arms and things are returned to 
 us at once, we will go to our several homes and 
 let the matter end here," said Titus. 
 
 "That's enough ! " exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe 
 indignantly. " Have you come over here under a 
 flag of truce to say that?" 
 
 " That is what I come here for ; and I insist 
 on't that the things be given up ! " replied Titus, 
 waxing wrathful. 
 
 " Now you can retire with your flag of truce." 
 
 " I won't do no such thing ! " 
 
 " If you won't I shall be obliged to open fire 
 upon you and j^our mob; and you will be the first 
 to fall," added the commander quietly. 
 
 "Do you mean to murder us?" demanded 
 Titus, aghast at the determined policy of the 
 commander. " You have hemmed us in so that 
 we can't get out, and now you mean to fire on us ! 
 
RETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 363 
 
 I cal'late you've got a bone to pick with your 
 feller-citizens for armin' niorgers." 
 
 " I can pick it without any help from you. 
 Now, do you surrender, or shall I order my men 
 to fire?" demanded the colonel so sternly that 
 Titus was silenced. "I give you five minutes to 
 consider my offer." 
 
 "I don't want to be shot like a mule with a 
 broken leg," said Swin Pickford, loud enough to 
 be heard in the front rank. 
 
 "Can't we make terms?" asked Titus, who 
 was terribly alarmed. 
 
 " No terms with It mob," replied the colonel. 
 
 Half a dozen of the ruffians came forward to 
 their leader, <and it was evident that they were 
 quite as much frightened as he was himself. 
 Enough was heard from those in the front rank 
 of the defenders to assure them they pleaded for 
 surrender. Some of them farther back even 
 shouted, " We surrender ! " 
 
 " I s'pose we can't do nothin' but surrender or 
 be sliot," resumed Titus. 
 
 " That's all ; and you may thank your stars 
 that some of you are not swinging by the neck 
 from the trees at the side of the road." 
 
364 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Then we surrender, for we can't do nothin' 
 else," said Captain Titus. " But I want to tell 
 you, Colonel Belthoi'pe and Noah Lyon, that you 
 haven't seen the end of this thing yet. If the 
 whole country don't howl ag'in you within twenty- 
 four hours, I lose my guess." 
 
 " You had better fall back on your ruffians and 
 guess again," added the colonel, as he placed him- 
 self at the side of Major Lyon. 
 
 " What does the surrender amount to, Col- 
 onel ? " asked the planter of Rivei-lawn. 
 
 "It really amounts to nothing but a way to get 
 rid of these fellows. We h^ve had enough of 
 them for to-night," replied the commander. "Cap- 
 tain Gadbury, will you ride around through the 
 fields to Captain Deck, and ask him to let the 
 mob move down the road toward the bridge ? If 
 any of them have guns, take them from them." 
 
 Captain Gadbury started on his mission. Four 
 mounted negroes were sent after him to assist in 
 disarming those who had weapons if needed. In 
 a short time the captain and his followers arrived 
 at their destination, as could be seen from the 
 position of the main body. It was light enough 
 by this time to see the force there place them- 
 selves on each side of the road. 
 
RETREAT OF THE RUFFIANS 365 
 
 Then the commander ordered his men to march, 
 shouting to the mob to do the same. The ruffians 
 began their humiliating retreat, and the defenders 
 followed them as far as the bridge. The planters 
 and their attendants then returned to their homes. 
 
366 BKOTHER AGAINST BllOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 LEVI BEDFORD AND HIS PRISONER 
 
 Colonel Cosgrove and Squire Truman re- 
 turned to Riverlawn with Major Lyon and his 
 son. Colonel Belthorpe and Tom renewed their 
 expressions of gratitude to Deck for the important 
 service he had rendered to the family in the pro- 
 tection of Margie and Kate, and insisted that he 
 should visit Lyndhall as soon as possible. They 
 parted at the cross roads, and both parties re- 
 ceived a warm welcome at their homes. 
 
 Levi Bedford and Artie Lyon had remained on 
 watch in the fort, while a sufficient number of the 
 hands patrolled the bridge and the creek ; but the 
 ruffians had found enough to do in the direction 
 they had gone, and there was no alarm during 
 the rest of the night. The major took his guests 
 to the mansion, while Deck related to Levi and 
 Artie the events of the visit to Lyndhall. 
 
 "Captain Titus and the mob have really been 
 thoroughly whipped out of their boots," said the 
 
LEVI BEDFORD AND HIS PRISONER 367 
 
 overseer, when Deck had finished his narrative. 
 " But, as the leader of the ruffians said, we 
 haven't seen the end of this thing yet." 
 
 " Do you think they will make another attack 
 upon Riverlawn, Levi ? " asked Deck with a long 
 gape. 
 
 "I don't reckon they will try it in the same 
 way they did before ; at least not till they are 
 fully provided with arras and ammunition," re- 
 plied Levi. " That attempt to capture the two 
 daughters of Colonel Belthorpe looks like one of 
 Buck Lagger's schemes. If he had obtained pos- 
 session of the two girls, very likely he would have 
 confined them in one of the caverns like the one 
 where they put the arms, with a guard over them." 
 
 " That would have been awful," added Artie. 
 
 " I reckon they didn't mean to hurt the girls, 
 and wouldn't if they had got possession of them," 
 continued Levi. "But you can see for yourselves, 
 boys, that they would have had the key to the 
 fortress in their own hands if they had obtained 
 the girls." 
 
 " That's so ! " exclaimed Deck, who had seen 
 the point before without any help from the over- 
 seer. 
 
368 BROTHER AGAlNvST BROTHER 
 
 '• I don't see what good the girls could have 
 done them," said Artie, who had been asleep most 
 of the time during the absence of the planter and 
 his son. 
 
 " It is as plain as the nose on a monkey's face," 
 added Deck. " With tlie two girls as prisoners. 
 Captain Titus would have demanded the return of 
 the arms and ammunition of Colonel Belthorpe." 
 
 " I see ! " exclaimed Artie, as the object of the 
 capture dawned upon him. " But the colonel did 
 not have the arms, and he could not have given 
 them up." 
 
 " But father would have made common cause 
 with him, and he could not well have helped 
 giving up the arms to get back his neighbor's 
 daughters," Deck explained. 
 
 " But I wonder they didn't try to take our girls," 
 suggested Artie. 
 
 " That is what they may try to do next ; and I 
 shall advise your mother not to permit Miss Dor- 
 cas or Miss Hope to go outside of the plantation 
 unless they are well guarded," added Levi. " If 
 Captain Titus could get away with your two sis- 
 ters, and hide them, he could have things all his 
 own way with your father." 
 
LEVI BEDFORD AND HIS PRISONER 369 
 
 " We must keep a sharp lookout for the girls," 
 said Artie. 
 
 " Buck Lagger, with his gang, must have gone 
 ahead of the main body of the ruffians," continued 
 the overseer thoughtfully, " or he could not have 
 been in the cross-cut. He must have known about 
 the party, and that the colonel's daugliters were 
 there." 
 
 " Where does this Buck live ? " asked Deck. 
 
 " He has a shanty on the road to the village, 
 just above the schoolhouse. He is a pedler when 
 he does anything like work, and I suppose he 
 knows about every family in the county," replied 
 Levi. '' He could easily have found out all about 
 the party, and who were to be there." 
 
 " There is the breakfast-bell," said Deck, who was 
 quite prepared by his night's work for the summons. 
 
 At the table the story of the night's adventures 
 was repeated for the information of Mrs. Lyons 
 and her daughters, and they wanted to hug Deck ; 
 first, because he had been so brave and vigorous in 
 the rescue of Margie and Kate Belthorpe, and 
 second, because he had not been killed or severely 
 wounded in the encounter of which he had been 
 the hero. 
 
370 BKOTHER AGAINST BllOTHER 
 
 After the meal Major Lyon and his two guests 
 retired to the library, while the boys went to bed. 
 Before the former separated, they had arranged a 
 plan for the enlistment of a company of cavalry 
 which had been discussed at the meetingf the even- 
 ing before. But all concerned were tired out 
 after the labors of the night. Colonel Cosgrove 
 was sent to the place where he had left his team, 
 and Squire Truman was driven to the village bv 
 Levi, who had chosen this duty liimself, in order 
 to " see what was going on," as he expressed it. 
 
 The ruffians who had formed the mob had been 
 gathered from the I'egion around Barcreek, and 
 not a few of them lived in the village. There ap- 
 peared to be no excitement there, and the overseer 
 started for home. On his way he had to pass the 
 shanty of Buck Lagger, where he lived alone 
 when he was at home, which was not much of the 
 time. His worldly wealth, consisting of his stock 
 of miscellaneous goods, was contained in a couple 
 of tin trunks, with which he tramped all over the 
 county. 
 
 As Levi drove by the liovel a bullet whistled 
 past his head ; and, removing his soft hat, he found 
 that the missile had passed through it, and within 
 
EVI BEDFORD AND HIS PIIISONER 371 
 
 a couple of inches of the top of his head. It re- 
 quired no reasoning to convince him that Buck 
 Lagger had fired the shot whicli had narrowly 
 failed to send him to his long home. This par- 
 ticular kind of outrage was not an uncommon oc- 
 currence in Kentucky during the exciting period 
 which followed the bombardment of Fort Sumter. 
 Not a few who had enlisted in the armies of the 
 Union were killed in this cowardl}- manner. 
 
 Levi Bedford reined in his horses, and then 
 secured them to a tree. He was not a man to per- 
 mit such a dastardly deed to remain unpunished a 
 moment longer than was necessary. The ruffian, 
 who had appeared to be the lieutenant of Captain 
 Titus the night before, could not be far off. Pass- 
 ing to the rear of the shanty, Levi discovered him 
 running for the woods a short distance from the 
 road. In his hand he carried an old flint-lock mus- 
 ket, from which he had doubtless fired the shot 
 intended to deprive Major L3^on of the services of 
 his valuable overseer. 
 
 Buck turned to look at his pursuer, though he 
 hardly abated his speed in doing so. His left arm 
 was hung in a sling, the material of which looked 
 as though it might have been a part of the flag of 
 
372 BROTHER AGAINST BIIOTHER 
 
 truce displayed on the creek bridge the night be- 
 fore. Levi had the heavy revolver with which he 
 had armed himself still in his pocket ; and it had 
 even occurred to him that he might have occasion 
 to use it before he returned from his present visit 
 to the village. 
 
 Though he was a heavy man, Levi was agile in 
 his movements, and the ruffian could not help see- 
 ing that his pursuer was gaining upon him. Before 
 he reached the woods, he realized that he had no 
 chance to escape, and he halted. Elevating his 
 gun, he took aim at the overseer. But Levi knew 
 that the weapon could not be loaded, for he had 
 fired its only charge at him, and had not had time 
 to reload it. . 
 
 " It won't go off again till you load it," said the 
 overseer, as he rushed up to him, and wrenched 
 the musket from his hand, thinking he might try 
 to use it as a club. " It's no fault of yours, ex- 
 cept in your aim, that you are not a murderer, 
 Buck Lagger ! " 
 
 " I'm only sorry I missed my aim," replied 
 Buck. " You have a revolver in your hand, and 
 you can shoot me as soon as you please." 
 
 " Shooting is too good for a ruffian like you. If 
 
,^ '7% - ^ ( 
 
 Ah 
 
LEVI BEDFOED AND HIS PIUSONER 373 
 
 I had a rope I would hang you to one of the 
 beams of your own shanty," replied Levi, as he 
 grasped the ruffian by the collar of his coat. 
 
 " Oh, ril lend you a rope if you will come to 
 the house," replied the obliging ruiiian. '' But 
 hold your hand ! Y ou hurt me I You can see fpr 
 yourself that I am wounded. One of Lyon's cubs 
 put a ball through my shoulder last niglit." 
 
 " It's a pity he did not put it through your 
 brains, if you've got anything of that sort in the 
 top of your head," added Levi, as he proceeded 
 to lead his prisoner to his wagon. 
 
 " You hurt me, Bedford ! " pleaded Buck. " If 
 you want to hang me, I'll help you do the job in 
 proper fashion; but you needn't torture me before 
 you do it. When we lynch a fellow we don't do 
 that." 
 
 Levi released his hold upon the prisoner. 
 
 " My aim is better than yours ; walk to my 
 wagon, and if you attempt to run away, I won't 
 kill you, but I will put two or three balls through 
 your legs, so that it won't be convenient for you 
 to run," said he, as he drove the villain before 
 him towards the road. 
 
 " What are you go'n' to do with me, Bedford?" 
 asked Buck. 
 
374 BUOTHEii AGAlis^ST BltOTHEK 
 
 '* That's my business," replied Levi. 
 
 ''Well, I think it rayther consarns me too." 
 
 " If you live long enough you vi^ill find out in 
 time. Now get into the wagon." 
 
 " Are you go'n' to take me down to Lyon's 
 place ? " asked Buck, looking his captor in the 
 face as they stopped at the side of the vehicle. 
 
 " Get in quick, or I may hurt 3'ou again ! " said 
 Levi impatiently. "• You won't get killed by a ball 
 from my shooter, but you may have another wound." 
 
 Probably the ruffian preferred shooting to hang- 
 ing, and the remark of the overseer did not please 
 him. If he had told his whole story, he would 
 have said that he had been unable to sleep on 
 account of the wound in his shoulder, and for that 
 reason he had been up early enough to see Levi 
 drive past his shanty with Squire Truman. The 
 suffering made him angry, stimulated his desire 
 for revenge ; and he had tried to put the overseer 
 out of the way. 
 
 He pretended to be more afraid of wounds than 
 of death ; and with the assistance of Levi he 
 climbed into the wagon, taking his place on the 
 front seat as directed. His captor put the gun he 
 had brought with him into the wagon, and then 
 
LEVI BEDFORD AND HIS PRISONER 375 
 
 seated himself beside his prisoner. The spirited 
 horses went off at a lively pace, and Buck im- 
 mediately complained that the motion increased 
 his pain. 
 
 " That wasn't a bad scheme of yours to get 
 possession of Colonel Belthorpe's girls, Buck. 
 You meant to trade them off for the arms, I sup- 
 pose," said Levi, as he reduced the pace of his 
 horses to a walk; for he desired, if he could, to 
 obtain some information from his prisoner. 
 
 "That was just it, Bedford; and if that cub of 
 Lyon's hadn't interfered, we should have had the 
 arms before this time," replied Buck, with both a 
 chuckle and a groan. 
 
 " Why didn't you try it on Major Lyon's girls 
 first, for that would have brought the matter 
 nearer home? " 
 
 " That's just what we meant to do." replied 
 Buck, with refreshing confidence in his custodian. 
 " That was my plan ; bnt Cap'n Titus was obsti- 
 nate, and wouldn't hear to me. He ain't much of 
 a cap'n; and I'd had the arms and tlie rest o' the 
 things if he had left it to me." 
 
 "• What was your plan, Buck ? " asked Levi 
 quietly. 
 
376 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " That's tellin' ; we may try it on some other 
 time, if I live long enough. Our folks are fightin' 
 this thing on principle, and we ain't go'n' to see 
 the good old State of Kaintuck turned over to the 
 Abolitionists." 
 
 " What do you mean by Abolitionists, Buck ? " 
 
 " Such fellers as Lyon, Cosgrove, Belthorpe." 
 
 " They are all slaveholders." 
 
 " They're all Lincolnites, and gave arms to 
 their niggers to shoot down white Kaintuckians 
 last night," replied Buck bitteiiy. 
 
 "Only when a mob of ruffians came down upon 
 them to burn their property and carry off their 
 daughters!" added Levi. "They are Union men, 
 and they will stand by the old flag as long as there 
 is anything left of them." 
 
 " The Union's busted ! " 
 
 "Not much ! Why don't you enlist in the Con- 
 federate army, and carry out your piinciples? 
 You are a cowardly ruffian, Buck ! " 
 
 " We can do more good to the cause by stoppin' 
 here, Bedford ; and when I git command of that 
 Home Guard, as I shall afore long, I'll clean out 
 the Abolitionists in less'n a week," said Buck 
 boastfully. 
 
LEVI BEDFORD AND HIS PRISONER 377 
 
 "If you live long enough," suggested Levi. 
 
 "If I don't I'm williu' to be a martyr to the 
 good cause ! " protested the reprobate. 
 
 As before suspected by Levi and his employer, 
 "that Home Guard" was composed of the rufifians 
 who had been the assailants the night before. 
 Levi drove to the fort, where a guard of a dozen 
 negroes, under the command of Geneial, had been 
 placed over the arms and ammunition. The pris- 
 oner was taken from the wagon, and permitted to 
 lie on one of the beds which had been brought 
 from the mansion the night before for the use of 
 the defenders of the plantation. General and his 
 men were charged to shoot the captive if he 
 attempted to escape. 
 
378 BROTHEK AGAINST BKOTHEE, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 DR. FALKIRK VISITS EIVERLAWF 
 
 Levi Bedford, in spite of his threats to hang 
 his prisoner, was a kind-hearted man, and he did 
 what he could for the comfort of Buck Lagger. 
 He had often been called upon to prescribe for the 
 sick or injured among the hands on the plantation. 
 He examined the wound of the ruffian ; but it was 
 beyond his skill, and he did not attem^Jt to treat 
 the patient. 
 
 During the absence of the expedition for the 
 defence of Lyndhall he had done what he could 
 for those who had been wounded on the creek 
 road ; but he was not an expert in the treatment 
 of gunshot wounds. There was little he could do 
 for them ; and early in the morning he had sent 
 Frank to procure the attendance of Dr. Falkirk, 
 who resided near the village. He had been called 
 to a case on a plantation several miles from Bar- 
 creek. He had not returned when Levi went to 
 his bed. 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS RIVERLAWN 379 
 
 Major Lyon and the boys had taken to their 
 beds as soon as tlie guests departed, and the over- 
 seer was in condition to follow their example. 
 The premises were well guarded along the creek, 
 and two men with breech-loaders in their hands 
 were in charge of the wounded prisoner. lu- the 
 mansion Mrs. Lyon and her daughters, who had 
 been up most of the night, for they could not 
 sleep while the major and his sons were in danger, 
 had gone to bed to obtain needed rest. 
 
 Even the hands who had been on service the 
 whole or a part of the eventful night were asleep, 
 and the guard at Fort Bedford had been relieved. 
 Levi slept soundly on the bed he had taken within 
 the works, in spite of the groans mingled with 
 curses of the wounded ruffian. There was no 
 white person awake on the plantation to wonder 
 what was to be the outcome of the events of the 
 night. Doubtless Colonel Cosgrove and Squire 
 Truman were also sleeping off the fatigues of the 
 night. The aggressive ruffians had fled to their 
 several homes, defeated, exhausted, and disgusted 
 with the result of their labors in the cause of 
 Secession. There was a calm after the storm. 
 
 Dr. Falkirk appeared about the middle of the 
 
380 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 forenoon. He was of Scotch descent; but his 
 father had settled in New Orleans, and the son 
 became as violent a " fire-eater " as though he had 
 been the possessor of half a thousand slaves. He 
 had made a fortune in the practice of his profes- 
 sion, and had purchased a plantation in Kentucky, 
 on the outskirts of Barcreek, where he intended to 
 end his days in peace and quiet. But some of his 
 investments had been unfortunate, and he had 
 been compelled to resume practice. 
 
 His skill as a physician and surgeon had 
 brought to him an abundant practice, though his 
 patients were widely scattered, and he was obliged 
 to pass much of his time in his gig. When the 
 troubles of the nation began, he developed into a 
 Secessionist of the most ultra stripe. He was a 
 highly educated man and a fluent speaker in 
 public and private. In the Lyceum of the village 
 he and Squire Truman were often pitted against 
 each other, and one was quite as outspoken as 
 the other. 
 
 But Dr. Falkirk was faithful to his patients, 
 poor or rich, and without regard to their creed or 
 politics. Though his fortune had been impaired, 
 he was still in comfortable circumstances, and 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS UIVERLAWN 381 
 
 never refused to visit any sick person to whom he 
 was called, with no regard to color or the expecta- 
 tion of payment for his services. In fact, he was 
 the beau-ideal of a good physician, and held the 
 honor of his profession above every other con- 
 sideration. 
 
 The men on patrol at the bridge conducted the 
 doctor to the fort as soon as he appeared, in obedi- 
 ence to the orders of the overseer. When he 
 reached Fort Bedford he manifested no little 
 astonishment at the appearance of the old ice- 
 liouse, with its four embrasures, through which 
 the twelve-pounders could be seen. The negroes 
 with breech-loaders in their hands were a disgust- 
 ing exhibition to him, and he turned up his nose, 
 though he made no remark. 
 
 The sentinel at the door politely ushered him 
 into the presence of his patient. Without asking 
 any questions in regard to the manner in which 
 the sufferer had received his wound, Dr. Falkirk 
 proceeded to examine him. Buck Lagger was 
 still in great pain, and had kept up a continual 
 gioaning all the forenoon. The doctor immedi- 
 ately gave him a couple of little pills, intended to 
 ease the pain. The skilful surgeon discovered 
 
382 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 that a bullet was embedded in the shoulder, and 
 he took from the handbag- the instruments for its 
 extraction. 
 
 Then he called upon a couple of the guards to 
 assist him. There were but two sentinels in 
 charge of the fort, who were faithfully marching 
 up and down outside the door. But they paid no 
 attention to the call of the doctor. Each of them 
 seemed to be impressed with the idea that the pro- 
 tection of the plantation and the lives of all tlae 
 family depended upon him, and that it would be 
 treason for them to leave their posts. 
 
 " Can't you hear me, you black rascals ? " de- 
 manded the surgeon in a loud tone. " Come 
 here, one of you ! " 
 
 "• Can't leabe de post, Mars'r Doctor," replied 
 one of the men. 
 
 Probably there was no enemy within a mile of 
 the fort ; but they had been told that they were 
 not to leave their places for anythhig, and they 
 were disposed literally to obey their orders. But 
 the angry tones of the surgeon had awakened Levi 
 Bedford, who was sleeping at one end of the fort. 
 He sprang to his feet, and discovered the doctor at 
 the couch of his patient. 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS RIVERLAWN 883 
 
 " Good-morning, Doctor Falkirk," said he. " I 
 did not know you were here." 
 
 " I knew I was here, and I ordered those black 
 scoundrels to assist me, and they refused to do 
 so," replied the doctor angrily. 
 
 " They only obey their orders, but they raither 
 overdo it. I will assist you. Doctor," added Levi. 
 
 " Orders I " exclaimed the professional gentle- 
 man contemptuously. " One would think this 
 was a regular garrison." 
 
 " That is about what it is," replied the over- 
 seer. 
 
 " Humbug ! " said the surgeon, as he turned to 
 his patient. 
 
 Levi called in one of the sentinels, and the bed 
 of the wounded man was drawn out before the 
 door where the light was best, and the doctor pro- 
 ceeded with his work. The morphine pills he had 
 given the patient appeared to have relieved his 
 pain. The operator probed for the ball, and soon 
 found it. Then he dressed the wound with as 
 much care as though the sufferer had been a Ken- 
 tucky colonel. He had hardly completed his 
 office before Buck dropped asleep under the influ- 
 ence of the powerful medicine he had taken. The 
 
384 BIIOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 bed was moved back without waking bim, and Dr. 
 Falkirk passed out of the fort, followed by the 
 overseer. 
 
 " Keep the man quiet for a week, and give him 
 anything he wants to eat," said he, as lie looked 
 about him at the warlike preparations which had 
 been finished the day before. 
 
 "• We have three more wounded men in the hos- 
 pital who need a surgeon," added Levi. 
 
 " What are those nio-jrers doingr over on the 
 other side of tlie creek?" asked the surgeon, 
 whose gaze had wandered to the gi-ove at the side 
 of the road. Some of the hands had been directed 
 to bury the man wlio had fallen behind the tree 
 where he had taken refuge from the shots of tlie 
 defenders of the plantation. 
 
 He had been seen in the act of levelling his 
 gun at the advancing column, and Levi had 
 brouoht him down before he could discharge his 
 weapon. 
 
 "■ They are burying a man that fell in the skir- 
 mish last night," Levi rej^lied to the question of 
 the doctor. 
 
 " What skirmish? " inquired Dr. Falkirk, with 
 evident astonishment. 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS RIVERLAWlJ 885 
 
 " You don't appear to have heard the news, Doc- 
 tor," replied the overseer. 
 
 " What news ? I was called to General Long- 
 man's plantation last evening ; I spent the night 
 there, and did not get home till half-past eight this 
 morning." 
 
 As briefly as possible Levi gave the details of 
 the events of the preceding night, beginning with 
 the meeting at Big Bend, and ending with the 
 final defeat and surrender of the ruffians. 
 
 "• An Abolition row ! " said the doctor con- 
 temptuously. 
 
 " Not exactly, Dr. Falkirk ; it was a Secession 
 row ! " added Levi with energy. 
 
 " Brought about by the insane wrangling of the 
 traitors to the State of Kentucky ! " snapped the 
 surgeon. 
 
 " The traitors to the State of Kentucky are lo3'al 
 to the government of the United States and the 
 Union," protested the overseer. 
 
 " Tliere is no longer any United States, and the 
 Union has ceased to exist ! The men who are 
 making all this trouble in Kentucky are those who 
 are trying to make war u})on the Southern Con- 
 federacy, to subdue and enslave a dozen sovereign 
 States ! " argued the doctor, almost furiously. 
 
886 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I reckon it's no use for you and me to argue 
 this question, for we don't live in the same world 
 on that subject," said the overseer, with a smile on 
 his round face. "■ But Kentucky is for the Union 
 by a large majority, and what you call sovereign 
 States are in rebellion against the lawful authori- 
 ties of the nation, and the insurrection will be put 
 down just as sure as fate." 
 
 " This used to be a free country, though it isn't 
 so now ; but every man can have his own opinion 
 as long as he is willing to be responsible for it." 
 
 "It isn't exactly a free country as long as the 
 loyal citizens of this county cannot hold a meeting 
 without being attacked by the ruffians of Seces- 
 sion, as was the case at Big Bend last night. Then 
 the same villains came over here in a mob of a 
 hundred to burn Major Lyon's house, and capture 
 his daughters, as they tried to do with Colonel 
 Belthorpe's girls. They did not succeed, and 
 some of them were shot down in the attempt. 
 The right to commit such outrages as these is 
 what you call free ; but we at Riverlawn don't 
 understand it in just that way." 
 
 " But, according to your own statement, Mr. 
 Bedford, your people had stolen the aims intended 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS RIVERLAWX 387 
 
 for the company of the Home Guards whom 
 Captain Titus L3'on has enlisted," returned the 
 doctor. 
 
 " We took possession of the arms and ammuni- 
 tion, including the two guns at those embrasures, to 
 prevent these ruffians from using them against the 
 loyal citizens of the county in carrying out their 
 ideas of freedom," said Levi stoutly. " Do you 
 believe these ruffians, tlie offscourings of the 
 county, ought to be permitted to burn, ravage, 
 and destroy the homes of some of tlie most re- 
 spectable people in this vicinity, Dr. Falkirk? " 
 
 " But your people were the aggressors, and I 
 think they were justified in trying to recover the 
 property that had been stolen from them." 
 
 " The ruffians issued their threats to burn the 
 mansion of Major Lyon before the arms entered 
 into the question." 
 
 The discussion might have continued all day, if 
 Sam, Colonel Belthorpe's house servant, had not 
 ridden up at this moment. 
 
 " I come for the doctor, sar," said the man. 
 
 "Who is sick at Lyndhall, Sam?" asked Levi 
 with much interest. 
 
 " Nobody sick, Mars'r Bedford ; but Mars'r Til- 
 
388 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ford's very bad with his wound, and. Mars'r Gunnel 
 send me for the doctor," replied the servant. 
 
 " Is this another of your victims, Mr. Bedford? " 
 asked the doctor with a heavy sneer. 
 
 " It is Colonel Belthorpe's overseer. He refused 
 to assist in protecting the family from the ruihans, 
 and left the mansion. It seems that he was shot 
 in attempting to join your army, doctor." 
 
 " He's a brave fellow ! I will go and see him." 
 
 " But he deserted your army of ruffians, and 
 crawled back to the house, where the girls nursed 
 him and cared for him. Now the colonel sends for 
 you to patch him up, the ingrate ! " 
 
 " True to his principles against his employer ! " 
 
 The doctor was conducted to the hospital, where 
 he did his duty faithfully to those who had been 
 wounded, though Levi reminded him that they 
 belonged to " his army." None of them were in a 
 bad Avay, and the surgeon said they would be all 
 right in a few days. 
 
 All was quiet again at Riverlawn, and the 
 sleepers used most of the day in their beds. On 
 the following morning, after the whole evening 
 had been used in discussing the events of the pre- 
 ceding night, everything went along as usual on 
 
DR. FALKIRK VISITS RIVERLAWN 389 
 
 the plantation. No more ruffians appeared on the 
 other side of the creek, though Major Lyon and 
 the boys remained on duty at the fort. 
 
 "What is to be the end of all these disturb- 
 ances, Noah?" asked Mrs. Lyon, as the family 
 seated themselves at the breakfast-table the second 
 morning after the battle, as they had come to call 
 the events of that stormy night. 
 
 " I think we all understand what is before us. 
 We are to have war, and I don't believe it will 
 end in a hundred days, as the statesman at Wash- 
 ington says," replied Major Lyon ; and even some 
 of his family had learned to apply this title to 
 him. " Within a few days we shall begin to form 
 a company of cavalry. I am still of military age, 
 and the boys are old enough to take part in the 
 struggle before us. But Levi will remain on the 
 plantation ; and as the hands have proved that they 
 can stand up under fire, he will have the means of 
 protecting you, Ruth." 
 
 " Of course we shall be sorry to have you go, 
 bat I agree with you, Noah, that your country has 
 a claim upon you which you cannot shirk," re- 
 plied Mrs. Lyon, struggling to repress a tear. 
 "Buck Lagger asked me this morning if I 
 
390 BHOTHEK AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 thought he was well enough to be hung," said 
 Levi, perhaps to break off the conversation in that 
 line. 
 
 "■Do you think of hanging him, Levi?" in- 
 quired the planter. 
 
 " That is what I promised him ; but T leave that 
 matter to you, Major Lyon. He is a murderer at 
 heart, and the bullet from his gun passed within 
 two inches of the top of my head." 
 
 " I should not like to have him hung at River- 
 lawn," added the planter. " I will talk witli him, 
 and see what can be done; but there is no law in 
 this part of the country just now." 
 
 The family were to dine that day at Lyndhall 
 at one o'clock, so that none of them need be 
 absent after dark. Major Lyon left the house, 
 and was directing his steps towards Fort Bedford 
 for an interview, when he saw Captain Titus Lyon 
 driving over the bridge. He did not care to meet 
 him, but he could hardly avoid doing so, and he 
 stopped in front of the flower-garden. Titus fas- 
 tened his horse to a post, and approached his 
 brother. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 
 
 Noah Lyon was not glad to see his brother ; 
 but this was a new experience to him, for he had 
 always had a fraternal feeling for him, and had 
 done everything in his power for him when he 
 needed assistance. He was willing to believe that 
 Titus was sincere in his political convictions, 
 though it was impossible for him to understand 
 how he could be a traitor to the Union. 
 
 At the Nortl\ both of the great parties were 
 united in support of the government, and at his 
 former home Titus would have been almost alone 
 if he had clung to the opinions which now actu- 
 ated him ; for " copperheads " were rare serpents 
 there. Noah's brother would hardly have been 
 one amid the surroundings of his former home. 
 It was evident that Kentucky whiskey and a feel- 
 ing of revenge, born of his disappointment over 
 the provisions of Duncan's will, had done more 
 to make him a Secessionist than the workings of 
 his own reason. 
 
392 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " I have come to see you once more, Noah," 
 Titus began quite mildly for him, though it was 
 plain to his brother that he was primed with his 
 favorite. beverage as usual. 
 
 He was not intoxicated in any reasonable sense 
 of the word; and he had plainly resolved to 
 make the- interview a peaceable one. Donbtless 
 he had a point to carry, but within a few days 
 he had probably learned more about the charac- 
 ter of his brother than he had ever known be- 
 fore. Noah could not say that he was glad to 
 see him, for even a " society lie " was rej)ulsive 
 to him. 
 
 " I hope we shall be peaceable and pleasant this 
 time, even if we cannot agree in everything," he 
 replied very gently and with a smile upon his 
 honest face. 
 
 " That's just what I want, Noah ; and I have 
 always tried to make things peaceable between 
 us," added Titus. 
 
 Noah wondered if he believed what he uttered, 
 after coming with a mob to his plantation to burn 
 and ravage his property ; but whatever doubts he 
 had, he kept them to himself, for he knew that the 
 thought which was uppermost in his mind, if ex- 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 393 
 
 pressed, would only irritate liis brother, and pro- 
 voke him to wrath. 
 
 "I trust you will continue to do so," was his 
 next remark, though he thought that even this 
 was admitting too much. 
 
 " There is a question between u^, Noah," contin- 
 ued Titus, struggling to retain his quiet demeanor 
 as he approached the point of difference between 
 them. " I won't say a word about the way I have 
 been used up to three days ago, for I want to be 
 on kind of brotherly terms with you, if we don't 
 agree on politics." 
 
 '^ I assuredly desire to be on brotherly terms 
 with you, and it shall not be any fault of mine 
 that we are not brothers in spirit as well as in 
 fact," replied Noah, who became slightly hopeful 
 of Titus, for he had not recently heard him speak 
 so many friendly words. 
 
 " There is only one question between us now, 
 and we might just as well come right down to 
 business at once," said Titus, very nervous in his 
 manner, as though his hope of accomplishing any- 
 thing with the stern patriot his brother had proved 
 to be was only slight. " Of course you know that 
 I mean about the arms." 
 
394 buotheu against brother 
 
 " I understand you, Brother Titus," replied Noah, 
 exceedingly unwilling to fan the fire that was 
 smouldering in the breast of the leader of the ruf- 
 fians. 
 
 " It seems to me that there ought to be no trouble 
 between two brothers like you and me about set- 
 tling a question of this kind," continued Titus, still 
 toying with the subject. " Of course you must 
 admit that the arms did not belong to you." 
 
 " No more than Fort Sumter and a dozen other 
 places built and maintained by the Union belonged 
 to the insurgents Avho have taken possession of 
 them," answered Noah very quietly. 
 
 " That's another matter," returned the captain, 
 evidently thrown off his base by this home argu- 
 ment. 
 
 " It is precisely the same thing to my mind." 
 
 " Do you call stealing my property the same 
 thing as a nation taking possession of forts and 
 such things within its own territory, Noah Lyon ? " 
 
 " Precisely the same thing, though on a smaller 
 scale." 
 
 " I used to think you had lots of logic in your 
 head, Noah ; but I believe you hain't got none 
 on't left," retorted Titus, relapsing into what he 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 395 
 
 called his -^ week-day speech." '' I was in hopes 
 you had come to suntliin' like reason, and would 
 be ready to give up the property you stole." 
 
 " I shall be quite ready to give it up when the 
 insurrectionists give up the property they stole." 
 
 " The two things ain't no more like than a' nig- 
 ger is like a white man," protested Titus, the bad 
 blood, mingled with whiskey, in his veins begin- 
 ning to boil. 
 
 " I think we had better not discuss this question 
 any more. Brother Titus. It only stirs up bad 
 blood, and does not accomplish anything," sug- 
 gested Noah. 
 
 " I s'pose I'm to understand from what you say 
 that you don't mean to give up the arms you stole 
 from me," said Titus, doubling his fist, and hold- 
 insT it near the face of his brother. 
 
 " I do not consider that I have any right to de- 
 liver the arms to you ; for I understand that they 
 were to be used to arm what you call the Home 
 Guards, or, in other words, the ruffians who came 
 over here to burn my house and lay waste my 
 property. I shall not give up the arms to you, or 
 to any other person representing the enemies of 
 the Union. The insurrectionists have set the ex- 
 
396 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 ample of stealing arms, as you call it, and forts, 
 and public buildings by wholesale ; and the Seces- 
 sionists of Kentucky are robbing the Union men 
 of their arms. I hold that tlie precedent has been 
 well established by those on your side of the ques- 
 tion." 
 
 " I don't care for your precedents, and I wish 
 my brother would deal with the one question be- 
 tween us." 
 
 " I am entirely willing to do so, Brother Titus. 
 You wish me to furnish the brands with which you 
 can burn my house and those of my neighbors." 
 
 " What sort of bosh is that ? " demanded Titus, 
 who did not see the point. 
 
 " If I should return to you the military supplies 
 in my possession, they would be used to arm the 
 horde of ruffians you marched over here to burn 
 my property the other night." 
 
 " They would be used to arm my company of 
 the Home Guards ; and they are regular uiider the 
 call of the Governor of Kentucky." 
 
 " The Legislature of the State repudiate him, 
 and the people are enlisting the troops he refused 
 to furnish." 
 
 " The Legislature is a fraud, and don't rightly 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 397 
 
 represent the will of the people. I came over here 
 with the Home Guard and other friends of the 
 cause to get the arms. You turned our own 
 weapons against us, and without arms we could 
 do nothing against armed niggers." 
 
 " I have put my place in a condition to be' de- 
 fended, and I have called upon the United States 
 government to send a body of troops here to pro- 
 tect the Union people from the outrages of your 
 people." 
 
 " They will have a hot time of it when they get 
 here," replied Titus with a sneer. 
 
 " In the meantime we shall defend ourselves. 
 We have been attacked " — 
 
 " You have not been attacked ! " protested the 
 captain. " We came over here to demand the 
 arms. We put up a flag of truce, and wanted to 
 talk with you ; but you drove us off, and fired 
 upon us," answered Titus. 
 
 " Your people began the attack at the school- 
 house." 
 
 " 'Tain't so ! Some of our men went to the 
 meeting, and you fell upon 'em there." 
 
 " They had no business there, for the call was 
 addressed to the Union men of the county. They 
 
398 BROTHER AGAINST BUUTHEli 
 
 disturbed the meeting, and we put them out. 
 Then your company gathered in the woods, de- 
 manding ' Lyon and his cubs.' My friends stood 
 by me, and the meeting shouldered all the resj)on- 
 sibility in regard to the arms. We agreed to get 
 up a company of cavalry for the United States." 
 
 " And you mean to arm 'em with the things you 
 stole from me ! " almost gasped Captain Titus. 
 
 "When a proper officer comes here he will give 
 you a receipt for the property." 
 
 " Which would not be worth the paper it is 
 written on to me ! " 
 
 " Not unless you could show that you were a 
 Union man." 
 
 '• My men are bent on gettin' them arms, and 
 they will have them ! " 
 
 " They will have to fight for them," added 
 Noah quietly. 
 
 Perhaps the interview would have become still 
 more stormy if Levi Bedford had not approached 
 with a gentleman wearing the uniform of a cav- 
 alry officer. Captain Titus did not like the looks 
 of him, and, judging that Noah had proceeded 
 farther than he had suspected in providing for the 
 23rotection of the loyal people of the county,, he 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 399 
 
 beat a hasty retreat ; and he drove across the 
 bridsfe at a rate so furious as to indicate his state 
 of mind. 
 
 " Major Lyon, this is Lieutenant Gordon, of the 
 United States Volunteer Service," said Levi, as he 
 approached with the visitor. 
 
 " I am very glad to see you, Lieutenant Gor- 
 don," added the planter, extending his hand to the 
 ofhcer. 
 
 " I am rejoiced to meet you, Major Lyon ; and I 
 am glad to find that you are a military man," 
 replied Lieutenant Gordon. 
 
 " But I am not a military man, and was never 
 even a private in a military company," replied the 
 major, laughing at the natural mistake of his 
 guest. " I protested against answering to my 
 title till I found it was useless to do so." 
 
 " If you are not a major now, perhaps you will 
 be one very soon. I am sent here by Major-Gen- 
 eral Buell, in reply to your letter to him," added 
 the officer, producing a document which authorized 
 him to enlist, enroll, and muster in a company of 
 cavalry. 
 
 " You are the very man I wished most to see," 
 said the planter, after he had glanced at the paper. 
 
400 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " Come to the house, if you please, and we ^A'ill 
 consider the object of your visit." 
 
 " I had some trouble in getting here ; for our 
 information is that General Buckner, with a con- 
 siderable force of the enemy, is moving towards 
 Bowling Green, probably with the intention of 
 occupying it, and I did not deem it wise to go 
 there, as I had been directed to do." 
 
 " What you say is news to us," replied the 
 major, as he conducted the officer into the house. 
 " Have you been to breakfast, Lieuteiiant ? " 
 
 " I have not, sir. I left the train last nigfht at 
 Dripping Spring, which the}^ told me was the last 
 station before coming- to Bowling Green. I found 
 a place to sleep, and a stable for my horse, which I 
 brought down in a baggage car, I started out 
 early this morning to find Riverlawn, and here I 
 am." 
 
 The lieutenant was shown to one of the guest 
 chambers of the mansion, and the planter ordered 
 breakfast for him, instructing Aunty Diana to pro- 
 vide the best the house afforded. The officer 
 wanted his saddle-bags, which had gone to the 
 stable with his horse,, and they were carried up 
 for him. Before the morning meal was ready he 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITING OFFICER 40l 
 
 came down, and was presented to Mrs. Lyon and 
 her daughters. 
 
 After he had washed and dressed himself, he 
 proved to be what the girls declared was a hand- 
 some man. He was not more than twenty-five 
 years old, and had a decidedly military air. and 
 manner. He made himself very agreeable to the 
 ladies ; and Dorcas, who was a full-grown woman 
 in stature, wondered if he was to remain long at 
 Riverlawn. 
 
 " You are on the very ragged edge of the Re- 
 bellion, Major Lyon," said the visitor, as he seated 
 himself at the table. " I should say you were not 
 more than fifteen miles from Bowling Green." 
 
 " I suppose you are acquainted with the country 
 about here, Lieutenant ? " added the planter. 
 
 "Not at all, Major; I was born and always 
 lived in the State of Ohio ; and I have never been 
 in this direction farther than Lexington. But I 
 know that Bowling Green is near the junction of 
 two railroads into Tennessee and the South ; and 
 the Confederates can't help seeing tliat it is an im- 
 portant point for them to possess and hold. There 
 will be some fighting in this quarter before long." 
 
 " There has been a skirmish or two. The Home 
 
402 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Guards are making some trouble in this vicinity, 
 and I have put my place in a condition to be de- 
 fended from their assaults," added Major Lyon. 
 
 He proceeded to describe the affair at the bridge 
 and on the two roads, in which the officer was 
 much interested. He was particularly delighted 
 with the capture of the arms and ammunition. 
 The planter then conducted him to Fort Bedford. 
 
ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE KOAD 40B 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE ROAD 
 
 Lieutenant Gordon looked about him with 
 something like amazement as he entered the fort. 
 Levi Bedford and the hojB had arranged the arms 
 in racks made by the carpenters. The two Napo- 
 leons, as the twelve-pounders are sometimes called, 
 were pointed out at the embrasures, and the aspect 
 of the place was decidedly warlike. Buck Lagger 
 had been removed to the hospital, where he found 
 three of his comrades of the Home Guards, two 
 others having been sent to their homes. 
 
 " These are my sons. Lieutenant," said Major 
 Lyon, introducing each of them by name. " They 
 are stout boys, very nearly eighteen years old, and 
 are good riders. They will be the first recruits to 
 put their names on your paper after mine when 
 you enter upon the work of your mission." 
 
 " They are the kind of recruits T like to add to 
 our forces, for the}^ are not only stout, but intelli- 
 gent," replied the officer, as he took from his 
 
404 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 breast pocket the printed form of document for 
 the enlistment of soldiers. " Where did you get 
 the name of this fort, Major Lyon ? " 
 
 " From my overseer, the first man you met on 
 my premises. He was formerly connected with 
 an artillery company in Tennessee ; but he is a 
 Union man to the core," replied the planter, who 
 proceeded to give Levi the excellent character he 
 deserved. 
 
 "Then he will be our fourth recruit?" sug. 
 gested the lieutenant. 
 
 " No, sir ; he is about fifty years old, and he is 
 to take charge of my plantation in my absence. 
 But I think there are over a hundred men in this 
 vicinity who are ready to put their names down on 
 your paper. The horses are all ready for them, 
 for they were pledged in the Union meeting of 
 which I told you." 
 
 "We shall not need the horses at first," added 
 the lieutenant. 
 
 " Not need the horses, sir ! " exclaimed Deck, 
 who was listening with all his ears to the conver- 
 sation. " How are we going to get up a company 
 of cavalry without horses ? " 
 
 " The company will be first drilled like infantry, 
 
ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE ROAD 405 
 
 and the exercises with horses come in Liter," 
 replied the officer with a smile at the eagerness 
 of the boy ; and Artie was just as enthusiastic, 
 though he said very little. 
 
 " Both of them will make good soldiers, sir, 
 for they have been under fire in a small way," 
 added the father. 
 
 " I should say that you have little need of 
 soldiers for the protection of your place. Major 
 Lyon," added the officer, as he looked at the can- 
 non and the breech-loaders arranged around the 
 interior of the fort. " Are these the arms you 
 . captured in the cavern ? " 
 
 " The same, sir ; and they have already enabled 
 us to defend ourselves from the mob that came 
 over here to burn my house." 
 
 " These muskets must have cost a round sum 
 of money, for they are of the best quality, and 
 have tlie latest improvements. Unfortunately 
 they are not adapted to the use of cavalry, and 
 we shall need carbines." 
 
 " Well, it is something to keep them out of the 
 hands of the enemy," replied Major Lyon. " I 
 suppose we are ready to make a beginning in the 
 business before us. Lieutenant Gordon. What is 
 the first thing to be done ? " 
 
406 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " The first thing is to enlist the men," replied 
 the officer, as he took from his pocket a handbill, 
 printed for use in some other locality. " We must 
 post bills like this one all about tliis vicinity." 
 
 " We can't get them printed short of Bowling 
 Green," said Major Lyon, after he had read the 
 placard. " And the Home Guards will pull them 
 down as fast as we can put them up." 
 
 " But some of them will be seen, and the news 
 that a recruiting office has been established here 
 will soon circulate. You are between two fires 
 here, and your foes will talk about it even more 
 than your friends. We must have the handbills 
 at any rate." 
 
 " Very well. Artie, this will be a mission for 
 you." 
 
 " I am ready and willing to do anything I can," 
 replied the quiet boy ; and in half an hour he was 
 mounted on a fleet horse on his way to a printing- 
 office. 
 
 " I suppose the village of which you speak 
 would be the best place to establish the recruiting 
 office," suggested Lieutenant Gordon, as soon as 
 Artie had gone to the stable for a horse. 
 
 " I am afraid not," replied the planter. " I fear 
 
ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE ROAD 407 
 
 the ruffians who abound m tliat vicinity would 
 mob you. Why not establish the office here, ' 
 where we shall be able to protect you?" 
 
 " It seems to be too far from any centre of popu- 
 lation," said the officer. 
 
 " All the better for that ; for in the village they 
 would not only mob you, but the ruffians would 
 intimidate those who were willing to enlist. 
 People in this vicinity don't mind going two or 
 three miles when business calls them," continued 
 the planter. 
 
 "I shall adopt your suggestion. Major Lyon," 
 returned the recruiting officer, as he proceeded 
 to alter the handbill to suit the locality. " I sup- 
 pose everybody in this neighborhood will know 
 where to find Riverlawn." 
 
 " Everybody in the county," replied the major, 
 as Artie dashed up to the door of the fort, where 
 the officer gave him his instructions, and the 
 planter supplied him with money to pay the 
 bill. 
 
 » I think I had better take one of those revol- 
 vers in my pocket," suggested Artie. " If I get 
 into any trouble it may be of use to me." 
 
 " Do you expect to get into any trouble, my 
 
408 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 boy ? " asked the major, anxiously gazing into the 
 messenger's face. 
 
 " I don't expect any trouble, but something 
 may happen." 
 
 " Perhaps I had better send half a dozen of the 
 boys with you," suggested his father. 
 
 " The boys ? " queried the lieutenant, wonder- 
 ing where they were to come from, as he had seen 
 only two of them. 
 
 " I mean the negroes who defended the place 
 the other night," added the planter. " They have 
 learned to handle the breech-loaders, and they 
 would fight for my boys as long as there was any- 
 thing left of them." 
 
 " I dare say they would," replied the officer with 
 a significant smile. " But if you send six negroes 
 armed with breech-loaders to Bowling Green, you 
 may be sure there will be a row." 
 
 " Just my sentiments," added Levi Bedford. 
 "I don't think Artie will have any trouble if he 
 goes alone." 
 
 " Very well, let him go alone ; but I am confi- 
 dent half a dozen of the boys would make it hot for 
 any band that attempted to molest him," said the 
 major; and the messenger departed on his mission. 
 
ONE AGAINST THKEE ON THE ROAD 409 
 
 "Have you an American flag, Major Lyon?" 
 asked the lieutenant when he had gone. 
 
 " Two of them, for my brother always cele- 
 brated the Fourth of July." 
 
 " We always hoist one on a recruiting office." 
 
 Under the direction of Levi a flagstaff was 
 erected in front of the fort, and before dinner- 
 time the Star Sjjangled Banner was spread to the 
 breeze. Major Lyon took off his hat and bowed to 
 it as soon as it was shaken out to the bi'eeze ; and 
 cheers were heard from the negroes in the fleld 
 beyond the stables. 
 
 "If you had set that flag over your oflice in the 
 village, it would have been hauled down and 
 trampled under foot inside of an hour," said the 
 planter. 
 
 " Are the people of this vicinity so disloyal as 
 that?" asked Lieutenant Gordon, astonished at 
 the remark. " I supposed the Unionists were in 
 the majority here." 
 
 " So they are ; but they are not half so demon- 
 strative as the other side." 
 
 The bell rang at the door of the mansion for 
 dinner; and while the family were attending to 
 this midday duty, Artie was entering the county 
 
410 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 town. He had taken bis dinner with him, and 
 had eaten it as he approached his destination. 
 There were two printing-offices in the place, and 
 he called at the first one he saw. 
 
 " What's this ? ' Union Cavalry ! ' " demanded 
 the printer, as he read the head-line in displayed 
 type. 
 
 '' What will you charge for printing two hun- 
 dred copies of that bill, and doing it while I 
 wait? " asked Artie. 
 
 " ' Riverlawn ! ' " added the man, as he con- 
 tinued to. read the placard. " Who are you, 
 boy?" 
 
 " My name is Artemas Lj^on, and my father 
 lives at Riverlawn," replied Artie. 
 
 " Well, Artemas Lyon, I would not print that 
 bill if your father M^ould give me a hundred 
 dollars a letter for doing it ! " stormed the printer, 
 as he tossed the copy back to the messenger with 
 as much indignation in his manner as in his 
 speech. 
 
 " All right, sir ; if you don't want to do the 
 job you needn't ! " replied Artie, as he returned 
 the bill to his pocket and moved to the door. 
 
 " Stop a minute, boy ! So you are recruiting at 
 
ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE ROAD 411 
 
 Riverlawn for the Abolition army?" called the 
 printer, who was perhaps a member of the Home 
 Guards. " I want to know something about that 
 business." 
 
 " If you want to enlist in the Union army, you 
 can do so at Riverlawn. I am in a hurry, and I 
 can't stop to answer any questions," replied Artie, 
 as he bolted out at the door. 
 
 " What are you doing here, Artie Lyon ? " 
 called a voice from the other side of the street as 
 he was unhitching his horse. 
 
 It was Colonel Cosgrove, though his house was 
 some distance farther up the street. The lawyer 
 came over to him, and he explained the object of 
 his visit to the county town. 
 
 " You ought to have come to me at once, 
 Artie," said the colonel, as the messenger showed 
 him the handbill. " That printer runs a Secession 
 paper, and he would lose all his subscribers if it 
 was known that he printed a placard like this. 
 Come with me, and I will get the work done for 
 you." 
 
 Artie followed him to the office of a Union 
 paper, and it looked as thougli. it was in a more 
 prosperous condition than the other. The printer 
 
412 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 readily undertook the work, and promised to have 
 it done by three o'clock in the afternoon. The 
 messenger was invited to the mansion of Colonel 
 Cosgrove, where he dined with the family. 
 
 " I signed the letter to General Buell with your 
 father, asking him to send a recruiting ofhcer to 
 this locality," said the colonel, as he conducted 
 his guest to the library. " I am very glad he has 
 come. I should have been in favor of establishing 
 his office in this place if it were not a current re- 
 port that the town is to be occupied by the Con- 
 federates within a short time." 
 
 " Father thought Riverlawn would be a better 
 place than Barcreek village for it," added Artie. 
 
 " I think he is right." 
 
 The messenger was called upon to tell the news 
 of his vicinity, and he mentioned all that had 
 occurred since the fight, including the attempt to 
 murder Levi Bedford, and the capture of Buck 
 Lagger. At three o'clock Artie went to the 
 printing-office, and found the handbills all ready 
 for him. He paid the bill, and went back to the 
 colonel's house for his horse, which had been as 
 well cared for as his rider. He was advised to 
 hurry out of the town, and he galloped his horse 
 
'Stop, buy !' shouted thk man." Tage 413. 
 
ONE AGAINST THREE ON THE ROAD 413 
 
 for the first mile till he reached the open country. 
 Half a mile ahead of him was a wood. 
 
 The young horseman had reduced his speed to 
 a moderate gait before he reached this grove ; but 
 he had not gone far before three men stepped out 
 of the bushes and stood in front of him in the 
 road. They had flint-lock guns in their hands, 
 and it looked as though they were there for a 
 purpose. 
 
 " Stop, boy ! " shouted the man who stood in the 
 middle of the road, with one on each side of him. 
 
 "What do you want of me?" demanded Artie, 
 with his right hand on the handle of his revolver. 
 
 " I want them handbills you just got printed," 
 replied the spokesman. " We ain't go'n' to have 
 no Abolition troops enlisted round here. And 
 that ain't all nuther; we're gwine to clean out 
 that Major Lyon that sent you over here." 
 
 " Hand over the papers and we won't hurt 
 you," added another of the trio. 
 
 " I shall not give them up ! " replied Artie as 
 decidedly as though he had the new company of 
 cavalry behind him. "Get out of the road, or I 
 will ride over you ! " 
 
 " You won't give em' up, won't yer? " returned 
 
414 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 the man in the middle, as he brought his old gui. 
 to his shoulder. 
 
 " No ! " yelled the messenger, as he fired his 
 revolver at the spokesman. 
 
 At the same moment he drove his heels into the 
 flanks of his spirited steed, giving him the rein as 
 he did so. The horse darted ahead like a shot 
 from a gun, and choosing his way between the 
 men, he knocked two of them over, and galloped 
 on his way. The sudden movement of the animal 
 had prevented the men from bringing their guns 
 to bear upon him. The man on his feet fired, and 
 the rider heard a ball whistle near him. In a 
 minute he was out of the range of such weapons, 
 and reached Riverlawn in season for supper. 
 
 He delivered the bills to the lieutenant, and 
 told his story. The next morning the early risers 
 saw these placards posted all over Barcreek vil- 
 lage, and along the roads for five miles in all 
 directions. 
 
THE FUIE AT KIVEJRLAWN 415 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 THE FIRE THAT WAS STARTED AT EIVERLAWN 
 
 Levi and Deck were the bill-stickers, and the 
 night was chosen as the time to post them, in order 
 that the paste might be well dried and hardened 
 before they were seen. They had taken a wagon, 
 and with the coachman for driver they had gone 
 their round after people generally were asleep. 
 Wherever a flat surface could be found by the 
 light of a lantern, on barns, fences, rocks, and 
 shops, a placard was posted. 
 
 It would take the ruffian brigade a long time to 
 pull them all down, after the paste was dry ; and 
 the very wrath of these men would assist in adver- 
 tising the recruiting office at Riverlawn. The 
 fact that the papers were ready for signature could 
 hardly fail to be known all over the vicinity early 
 in the morning, and all over the county in a day 
 or two. The information was already circulating 
 in Bowling Green ; for the editor of The Planter^ 
 at whose office Artie had applied to have the bills 
 
416 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 printed, had made it known soon enough to enable 
 the three ruffians to make an attempt to suppress 
 the placards. 
 
 The Kentuckian was the loyal paper, and 
 would doubtless make at least an item of the fact 
 that the ]-ecruiting office had been established. 
 Possibly the other journal would make a- " das- 
 tardly outrage " of the shot which Artie had fired 
 at the three ruffians who beset him on' the road. 
 There was no doubt in the minds of the active 
 men at Riverlawn that the recruiting office would 
 be known to the fullest extent even the day after 
 the bills were posted ; for even the women would 
 gossip about it as the}'' went from house to house, 
 and the loafers in the " corner grocery " would 
 have an exciting theme for discussion. 
 
 The people had been terrorized by the ruffians, 
 who had banded together as Home Guards in this 
 locality ; and they had made noise enough to cre- 
 ate the belief among the less demonstrative citi- 
 zens that the Secessionists were in a majority. 
 But Squire Truman had punctured this bubble by 
 an actual canvass of the inhabitants, and proved, 
 as did the vote of the Legislature, that loyalty was 
 the predominant sentiment. 
 
THE FIRE AT RIVERLAWN 417 
 
 When Artie Lyon returned from his mission to 
 the county town with the bundle of placards in 
 his possession, there was so much excitement at 
 Fort Bedford that he said nothing about his 
 adventure on the road. Lieutenant Gordon had 
 counselled the sending away of the four wounded 
 ruffians, who had been carefully nursed and fed at 
 the hospital. They were all recovering from their 
 injuries, and all of them walked about the prem- 
 ises during a portion of the day. 
 
 " We don't want a lot of spies and enemies in 
 our midst, for they will report everything that is 
 done to their friends who have been permitted to 
 visit them," he reasoned with the planter, and the 
 major agreed with him ; and this was the work 
 which was in progress when Artie arrived. 
 
 Deck had made a hero of himself at the cross- 
 cut, and his brother was not inclined to wear a 
 wreath of laurel for the little exploit on the road. 
 Fie slept upon it, and the next morning he felt 
 that it was his duty to inform his father of the 
 occurrence, as one of the indications of public sen- 
 timent in tlie county. The ruffians evidently 
 intended that the Union army should not be re- 
 cruited in the county. 
 
418 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Major Lyon praised him for his spirited con- 
 duct, and the lieutenant made him blush with his 
 commendation. But the incident was discussed 
 more as an exponent of the temj^er of the rufhans 
 than as an exhibition of pluck and courage on tlie 
 part of the boy. 
 
 " You were right in calling these fellows the 
 ruffians, Major Lyon," said the recruiting officer. 
 " I have no doubt there are many respectable 
 Secessionists in this part of the State, but I am 
 confident they do not associate with such fellows 
 as you have had to deal with." 
 
 " Such men are simply in favor of neutrality, 
 which I look upon as a fraud and a humbug," 
 replied the planter. "They are gentlemen in the 
 truest sense of the word, and I am only sorry they 
 are on the wrong side of the question." 
 
 The American flag was flying on the newly 
 erected staff, and during the forenoon the carj)en- 
 ters were busy preparing the fort for the new use 
 to which it was to be devoted. A skylight was 
 put in the roof to afford better light, a desk was 
 brought from the library, and enclosed in rails for 
 the officer. Dr. Farnwright, who lived at Browns- 
 ville, was appointed medical examiner, and the 
 office was all ready for business by noon. 
 
THE FIRE AT RIVERLAWN 419 
 
 Before that time a dozen men had piesented 
 themselves for enlistment, and had signed tlie roll. 
 A camp for the volunteers was to be established 
 in the vicinity as soon as practicable. Tlie lieu- 
 tenant had sent off a requisition for uniforms, arms, 
 provisions, and such other supplies as would be 
 needed. At dinner all were in excellent spirits, 
 and the location of the camp was discussed, 
 and was decided after considerable disagreement. 
 When the party returned to the fort they found 
 half a dozen men waiting for the officer. While 
 he was questioning them, a tremendous outcry 
 came from the direction of the mansion. 
 
 " Fire ! fire ! " screamed the two girls, assisted 
 by all the females in the house. 
 
 The planter, Levi, and the boys ran with all 
 their might to the point from which tlie alarm 
 came. Before they reached it a considerable 
 cloud of smoke rose from the rear of the building, 
 indicating the locality of the fire. 
 
 " The house is on fire ! " screamed Dorcas. 
 
 Major Lyon ran into the house ; but Levi, as 
 soon as he saw the smoke, rushed around the 
 mansion, followed by the two boys. In the rear 
 of the building was an ell, to which a one-story 
 
420 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 structure had been added as a storeroom. The 
 flames rose from this part of the house. Against 
 it was heaped up a pile of dry wood and other 
 combustibles, and it was instantly apparent to the 
 overseer that the fire Avas the work of an incen- 
 diary. No time was to be lost, for the flames 
 were rapidly gathering headway, and in a few 
 minutes the whole mansion would be on fire. 
 
 The hands began to appear on the spot, and 
 Levi sent the first one to the stable for pitchforks ; 
 but he did not wait for them, and began to draw 
 away the combustibles with such sticks as he 
 could obtain. The boys followed his example, 
 and the dry wood, blazing against the side of the 
 storeroom, was soon removed from its dangerous 
 proximity to the building. The work was effec- 
 tively completed with the pitchforks as soon as 
 they came. 
 
 " There are three men running away towards 
 the swamp ! " shouted Deck. 
 
 " I see them ! " added Artie. 
 
 "Put the fire out first, and we will attend to 
 them afterwards ! " said Levi. " Keep an eje on 
 them while you work, and see where they go." 
 
 The burning brands were removed from the 
 
THE FIRE AT RIVERLAWN 421 
 
 house, but the flames were already communicated 
 to the building. Mrs. Lyon had not gone out at 
 the front door with the girls, but had rushed to 
 the storeroom, where she was soon joined by her 
 husband. All the buckets in the house were 
 brought into use, including half a dozen leather 
 ones that hung in the main hall, and all the 
 women were carrying water to the exposed point. 
 The fire had not yet come through the side of the 
 building, and the buckets were passed out the 
 window to the overseer. 
 
 In a few moments the fire was thoroughly 
 drowned out, and everybody breathed more freely. 
 The lieutenant and the recruits had followed the 
 others, and assisted in putting out the fire. Deck 
 and Artie turned their attention to the three men 
 they had seen, and had started in pursuit of them ; 
 but Levi called them back. Then he sent to the 
 fort for several revolvers, not doubting that the 
 men who were engaged in this desperate venture 
 were armed. 
 
 But he did not wait for them, and told Artie to 
 bring them to him as soon as the messenger re- 
 turned. Gordon and Deck went with him. The 
 great river was directly in the rear of the mansion, 
 
422 BKOTHEU AGAINST BKOTHEU 
 
 with the road to tlie county town on its shore. 
 The swamp between the hxwn and the road was a 
 quagmire of mud, which was impassable for man or 
 beast. The green from which the estate had been 
 named was high ground, and bordered on the river, 
 with the swamp between them. 
 
 " I suppose this fire is the work of the ruffians," 
 said the lieutenant when the party had reached the 
 highest ground in the rear of the house. 
 
 " No doubt of that ; but it is a mystery to me 
 how any of them got this side of the house with- 
 out being seen," replied Levi. 
 
 " But there is the road I came over yesterday 
 morning," suggested the officer. 
 
 " And you can see that low place this side of it, 
 where the ruffians could neither walk nor swim. 
 There is a pond farther along, with a stream 
 from it that flows into Bar Creek," the overseer 
 explained. 
 
 While they were on this high land, surveying 
 the surroundinof region, Artie broug^ht them the 
 weapons which had been sent for, and informed 
 Levi that his father and the recruits w^ere follow- 
 ing the creek, looking for the incendiaries. 
 
 " I should say they came across the river above 
 
THE FIRE AT RIVEllLAWN 423 
 
 the bridge," said the lieutenant, pointing in that 
 direction. 
 
 " But the rapids run close to the shore, and they 
 would not find very good boating right there," 
 replied the overseer with a smile. "However, we 
 will go over to the river, and beat the edge of the 
 swamp to the pond." 
 
 They went to the river ; but nothing like a boat 
 could be seen on the shore. Then they followed 
 the swamp till they heard a shot ahead of them. 
 
 " That makes it look as though Major Lyon had 
 fallen upon them," said Levi, as he quickened his 
 pace. "There is another and another ; " and two 
 shots followed the first one. 
 
 The party broke into a run, and soon came in 
 sight of the pond. On its waters was a flatboat, or 
 bateau, in which three men were paddling with all 
 tlieir might towards the shore near the road to 
 Bowling Green. The planter had fired three shots 
 at them ; but they were too far off for the range of 
 the revolver. 
 
 " Out of the reach of the revolver ; and he had 
 better have brought one of the breech-loaders," 
 said the lieutenant. "It looks to me just as 
 though they had a first-rate chance to escape." 
 
424 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 " We are not euchred yet," replied Levi, as he 
 ran with all his might in the direction of the pond, 
 but to a point much nearer the load. " I have 
 often thought of this place since the troubles here 
 began. The high ground extends very nearly to 
 the road, over which a bridge goes over a small 
 creek, flowing into the pond. I have crossed this 
 place on a plank to the road." 
 
 " Then we are all right." 
 
 " We are if I can find the plank. One of the 
 cows got mired here, and it was brought over to 
 use in getting her out. There it is ! " exclaimed 
 the overseer, rushing to the spot where it lay. 
 
 It was carried to the swamp ; and though it was 
 too short to bridge the dangerous place, it assisted, 
 with the help of two long leaps, in carrying them 
 over. It was now seen that the ruffians had a 
 wagon, with which they had probably brought the 
 boat to the pond. The party reached the road 
 just as the incendiaries leaped from the bateau. 
 Levi fired the six shots of his weapon at them, and 
 the others followed his example; but the enemy 
 were too far off, and not one of them appeared to 
 be hit. 
 
 The moment they reached the shore they ran 
 
THE FIRE AT RIVERLAWN 425 
 
 for the road, and struck it at a considerable distance 
 from the pursuers. The ruffians did not wait to 
 recover the team, but bolted with all their might 
 towards Bowling Green. It seemed useless to 
 pursue them ; for they had an advantage of a hun- 
 dred rods, and the overseer was too fat to compete 
 in speed with them. 
 
 The wagon was only a haycart, drawn by two 
 mules ; and the incendiaries could easily outrun 
 them if they were used for the pursuit. The pur- 
 pose of the villains had been defeated, and Levi 
 was disposed to be satisfied with this result. The 
 bateau was taken from the water, and loaded 
 upon the wagon. Major Lyon and the recruits 
 started back to the mansion as soon as the ruffians 
 had effected their escape. 
 
 The party seated themselves in the boat, and the 
 mules were started for a new home. When they 
 reached the bridge over the upper part of the 
 rapids, they were not a little surprised, not to say 
 startled, to see a crowd of men marching over in 
 the direction of Riverlawn. They were not ex- 
 actly a mob, for the head of the column was in 
 regular ranks, and the men were armed with 
 muskets. 
 
426 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 "What does that mean, Mr. Bedford ?" asked 
 the lieutenant. 
 
 " The placards we posted last night have waked 
 up the ruffians, and they are coming over here on 
 the same mission as the three we have driven off 
 to Bowling Green," replied Levi, as he whipped 
 up the mules. " They are the ruffians without a 
 doubt, and we are going to have music of some 
 sort before the sun goes down to-night." 
 
 The information was cariied to Major Lyon, 
 who had reached the fort in advance of them. 
 Tlie ruffians had doubtless made up their minds 
 that a company of cavalry should not be enlisted 
 at Riverlawn, as advertised, and it was evident 
 enough to all that there was to be a fight before 
 this question could be settled. 
 
A BATTLE IN PROSPECT ON THE CREEK 427 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 A BATTLE IN PROSPECT ON THE CREEK • 
 
 So far as the overseer and the boys had been 
 able to observe the crowd on Rapids Bridge, they 
 were in much better condition for an assault than 
 when they came before. The right of the line 
 was formed in ranks, all they could see of the as- 
 sailants, for they had just begun to cross the river. 
 They were armed with muskets, or something that 
 looked like such weapons. 
 
 Levi drove directly to the fort, where Major 
 Lyon was telling those who had not gone with 
 him the result of the visit to the pond. There 
 were only six recruits present, though a dozen had 
 before been enlisted. These were all young men, 
 generally the sons of the farmers of the vicinity, 
 and doubtless adopted the political sentiments of 
 their fathers. They were of a better class than 
 the ruffians morally. 
 
 " I did not expect to be besieged so soon, Major 
 Lyon," said Lieutenant Gordon with a pleasant 
 
428 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 laugh, though he had never been in anything but 
 a skirmish so far. 
 
 " We shall hardly be besieged, Lieutenant, for I 
 think it will be a fight as soon as they get near 
 enough to begin it," replied the planter, who was 
 seated on a log, resting himself after the hard 
 tramp he had had after the incendiaiies. " But 
 the enemy seem to be better prepared for business 
 than they were when they came before, for you say 
 that all 3^ou could see were armed with muskets." 
 
 " I could not see at the distance they were from 
 us how well they were armed," added the officer. 
 
 " About every family in these parts has one or 
 more persons who do something at hunting in the 
 woods and swamps, and I reckon it would be hard 
 to find a house without a fowling-piece or an old 
 king's arm in it," said Levi. 
 
 " They have all got guns of some sort," inter- 
 posed Simeon Enbank, one of the recruits. " They 
 have been drilling all the time for the last two 
 days in one of Dr. Falkirk's fields." 
 
 " I went over to look at them this morning, and 
 the sio^ht of them made me so mad that I came 
 right over here and enlisted," added Robert 
 Yowell. 
 
A BATTLE IN PROSPECT ON THE CREEK 429 
 
 "' Good for you, Yowell ! " exclaimed the officer. 
 " Could you see what sort of guns they had ? " 
 
 " I went in and looked at them ; for they were 
 not using them when I was there. They were in 
 line, sort of taking steps, as they do in a dancing- 
 school," answered the recruit. -^ 
 
 " But the arms ? " 
 
 " They were all sorts and kinds, mostly fowling- 
 pieces and old flint-locks that miglit have been 
 used in the Revolutionary War." 
 
 " But we are losing time," said Major Lyon im- 
 patiently. " If they had reached the bridge when 
 you saw them, they will be here very soon." 
 
 "We don't lose time while we are looking up 
 the condition of the enemy. I believe you are all 
 ready for an attack, and we can do nothing till 
 they reach the other side of the creek. But we 
 can talk while we work," replied the officer. " I 
 suppose these recruits will assist us in the defence 
 of the place ? " 
 
 The six men all volunteered to perform the ser- 
 vice required. 
 
 " There are a dozen more men over in the 
 grove," said Ben Decker ; " for I had a talk with 
 them as I came along from the old road. They 
 
430 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 said they expected to stay here all day, and they 
 brought their dinners with them." 
 
 This was good news, and Deck was sent over 
 after them. Major Lyon went to the desk, and 
 wrote a brief note to Colonel Belthorpe. He had 
 already ordered all the horses that could be sad- 
 dled, and Frank was sent to deliver the message 
 the planter had written to Lyndhall. Decker was 
 provided with a steed for his mission, and a wagon 
 was sent for the men a little later. 
 
 The negroes who had been slightly drilled in 
 the use of the arms were ordered to report at the 
 fort, and all the hands on the place were sum- 
 moned from the fields, and held in readiness for 
 anything required of them. The six recruits were 
 drilled for a little while in the use of the breech- 
 loaders. At the same time Levi did what he could 
 to instruct the negroes, though nothing like a 
 military organization could be attempted in the 
 brief space of time available for the purpose. 
 
 The twelve-pounders were loaded with canis- 
 ter this time ; and Levi, with four of the hands, 
 was placed in charge of the fort. Deck and Artie 
 Lyon were sent down the creek to report the ap- 
 proach of the enemy, and found they had halted 
 
=^u£L„^'^^^>:^.i^.-.^-^^-^-.- 
 
 "The boys climbed a big tree to obtain a better view." 
 Page 431. 
 
A BATTLE IX PROSPECT ON THE CREEK 431 
 
 at the cross roads, evidently to prepare for the at- 
 tack. The boys climbed a big tree to obtain a 
 better view of the proceedings of the ruffians, as 
 the}^ still called them, though they had reduced 
 themselves to something like an organization. 
 
 " There are a lot of wagons on the bridge," said 
 Deck, who was the first to discover them. " What 
 do you suppose that means ? " 
 
 " There are three mule teams," added Artie, 
 who had taken a higher place in the tree than his 
 brother. " I see now ; the wagons are loaded 
 with boats." 
 
 " That means that they intend to cross the 
 creek," replied Deck. " They ought to know this 
 at the fort at once ; and if you will study up the 
 thing while I am gone, Artie, I will run up and 
 carry the information." 
 
 " That is a good scheme ; go ahead with it as 
 quick as you can." 
 
 Deck descended the tree with a haste which 
 threatened tlie safety of the bones of his body, 
 and ran with all the speed he could command to 
 Fort Bedford. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordon was drilling the eighteen re- 
 cruits, the number from the grove on the other 
 
432 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 side of the creek having arrived, and Levi was 
 training the negroes in the rear of the fort. All 
 the men had been supplied with muskets and 
 rounds of anmiunition. No attention was o^iven 
 to facing, wheeling, or marching ; for the use of 
 the weapon was more important than any other 
 detail in the brief space of time available. 
 
 Deck repoited to his father, who was observing 
 the drill of the Africans, and in the hearing of 
 Levi. It was not a mere accident that Squire 
 Truman was seen approaching the fort from the 
 bridge ; for he had observed the movement among 
 the ruffians in the village, and had seen that the 
 column was moving by a roundabout road in the 
 direction of the Rapids Bridge. He had no horse, 
 but he had started at once on foot for Riverlawn, 
 to apprise the planter of the danger that menaced 
 him. 
 
 "It is time to do something," said the major, 
 after he had welcomed the young lawyer. " The 
 ruffians have a wagon-train loaded with boats in 
 their rear, as my son has just informed me. We 
 will adjourn to the fort and call in the lieutenant." 
 
 The information was imparted to the officer, and 
 he joined the others in the fort. 
 
A bIttle in prospect on the cheek 433 
 
 " They intend to make it easy work for us to 
 repel them," said the lieutenant with a smile. 
 
 " You are the only military man among us just 
 now, Lieutenant, and I place you in command of 
 all the forces," added Major Lyon. "Levi had 
 some experience in the artillery many years ago." 
 
 " I don't aspire to any command," added the 
 overseer. " I will obey orders as a private ; and 
 that is all I ever was in the artillery. " 
 
 "But I shall do something better for you," re- 
 plied Captain Gordon, as they began to call him 
 from this time. " You are a good soldier, Mr. 
 Bedford, and I shall make an officer of you at 
 once. You will limber up your two guns, and 
 haul them down to the boathouse. Have you any 
 gunners? " 
 
 " Plenty of them, Captain ; for I have trained 
 enough of the hands to handle a full battery," an- 
 swered Levi. 
 
 The planter had ordered both horses and wagons 
 to be assembled in the rear of Fort Bedford, in 
 readiness for any emergency. A pair of horses 
 were promptly harnessed to each gun by the en- 
 thusiastic negroes whom the overseer had trained 
 for battery service, aud the artillery was soon on 
 
434 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 its way to the anticipated field of action. A sup- 
 ply of ammunition was sent down by a wagon. 
 
 The major and the squire mounted a couple of 
 steeds, and rode to the front of the fort, a horse 
 having been sent for the use of the new com- 
 mander. The recruits were standing in line, 
 leaning on their weapons ; but they seemed to 
 be engaged in a lively conversation. As the 
 lieutenant aj)proached, Jim Keene, one of the re- 
 cruits, stepped forward with an awkward attempt 
 to be polite, and addressed the oflticer : — 
 
 " Captain Gordon, we are not going into the 
 army with niggers," said he in a very decided 
 tone. " We ain't going to drop down to the level 
 of niggers, and we want to take our names off that 
 paper." 
 
 " Not a single negro has been enlisted, and will 
 not be," replied Captain Gordon. 
 
 "■ But there is a squad of niggers marching down 
 to the creek witli muskets in tlieir liands," added 
 Keene, pointing to the detachment that followed 
 the guns, with Levi at their head, mounted on his 
 favorite colt. 
 
 " If we had a sufficient force of white men here, 
 we should not call in the negroes as fighting men," 
 
A BATTLE IN PROSPECT ON THE CREEK 435 
 
 interposed Major Lyon. " That Home Guard that 
 has just crossed the bridge over the river consists 
 of over a hundred men, and this time they are 
 armed with guns. We can muster only twenty- 
 four white men at present to beat them off. The 
 otlier night we called upon the hands to help de- 
 fend tlie place because no others were to be had; 
 and to some extent the same is true to-day. My 
 house has been set on fire, and that mob are com- 
 ing to burn my buildings and capture my wife 
 and daughters. If the white man Avon't fight 
 for me, the negro will ! " 
 
 " That alters the case," replied Keene. " We 
 didn't understand it before, and we will figlit for 
 you, one and all ; " and all the other recruits 
 shouted tlieir acquiescence with one voice. 
 
 " No negroes will be enlisted for the army, for 
 there are no orders to that effect," added Captain 
 Gordon. 
 
 "That's enough I " exclaimed Enbank. "We 
 will stand by Major Lyon as long as there is a 
 Secesher in sight." 
 
 " And you will find the negroes as stiff under 
 fire as any white man ought to be," said Major 
 Lyon, as he galloped doAvn to the boathouse, fol- 
 lowed by Squire Truman. 
 
436 BEOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 Artie, up in the tree, had kept his eyes wide open, 
 but there was nothing more to be seen. Deck re- 
 turned to him, and took his place near hiin. The 
 enemy was still halted at the cross roads. The 
 wagon-train had come up with the main body, and 
 stopped in the road at the side of tlie creek. Who- 
 ever directed the movements of the column had 
 evidently blundered, for the assailants did not ap- 
 pear to know what to do next. 
 
 " There is only one boat on each wagon, which 
 is drawn by two mules," said Artie in the tree. 
 
 " They must have expected to get the boats into 
 the water before they were discovered," added 
 Deck. " Perhaps they would have done so if we 
 had not happened to see them crossing the bridge 
 when we were coming up after the hunt for the 
 firebugs." 
 
 "There. comes our artillery," continued Artie, 
 as Levi's section of a battery galloped down the 
 descent from the fort. 
 
 At this moment a bullet from the enemy struck 
 a branch of the tree just above Artie's head. The 
 bo3^s had been discovered ; and some one, with a 
 better weapon than most of those with which the 
 guards were armed, had fired upon them. 
 
A BATTLE IN PROSPECT UN THE CREEK 437 
 
 " Get behind the trunk, Artie ! " shouted Deck, 
 a position he had secured before. " Now use your 
 musket, my boy ! " 
 
 They were near enough at their lofty position 
 to make out individuals at the cross roads, which 
 were distant hardly more than double the width 
 of the creek. Deck had seen one man, who wore 
 a semi-uniform, that took a very active part in the 
 movement. Having assured himself that this per- 
 son was not his uncle, the enterprising young sol- 
 dier took careful aim at him, and fired. Artie 
 discharged his piece a moment later. 
 
 "I hit the man in uniform ! " exclaimed Deck, 
 with no little exultation. " A man is tying up 
 one of his arras." 
 
 Major Lyon heard the shot, and shouted to the 
 boys to come to the boathouse ; and they obeyed 
 the order, keeping the trunks of the trees be- 
 tween themselves and the enemy as far as possi- 
 ble. They were no longer needed in the tree, for 
 the ruffian band could be plainly seen from the 
 boathouse, which was at a safe distance from the 
 enemy. 
 
438 BEOTHEK AGAINST BllOTHER 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF EIVERLAWN 
 
 The enemy did nothing, and seemed to be still 
 in a state of confusion and uncertainty as to what 
 tliey should do. The new commander of their 
 forces was certainly even more stupid than Cap- 
 tain Titus had been. As Deck had suggested, he 
 had expected to surprise the defenders at River- 
 lawn, so far, at least, as to get their boats into the 
 water before they discovered that they were at- 
 tacked. 
 
 " If they had any plan of attack it is a failure," 
 said Captain Gordon, as he and the planter were 
 seated on their horses watching the enemy from 
 the front of the boathouse. " One of the re- 
 cruits informs me that they have a leader in the 
 person of a captain from the Confederate army in 
 Tennessee, who was either sent for by Captain 
 Titus, or was despatched by General Buckner to 
 organize recruits for the Southern army." 
 
 "I should say that his first business would be 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF RIVERLAWN 439 
 
 to prevent reciuiting for the Union forces," re- 
 plied Major Lyon. 
 
 " Whatever he is, he has made a mess of it," 
 added Captain Gordon. 
 
 " But what did he expect to do ? " asked the 
 planter. 
 
 " Of course he expected to put his pontoons 
 into the water, and send over a force of from 
 thirty to fifty men before they were discovered. 
 If he had done that, they could have acted as 
 sliarpshooters from behind the trees on this side. 
 They are just out of range of our muskets now, 
 though the twelve-pounders would catch them 
 with a single shot of canister." 
 
 " But I don't wish to have any more of them 
 killed and wounded than is absolutely necessary," 
 said the planter. 
 
 " You desire to carry on the war on peace 
 principles," answered the captain with a smile. 
 " You don't seem to understand that the war has 
 actually begun, and the more damage we can do 
 the enemy, the better it will be for us." 
 
 " You are in command, and I shall not interfere 
 with your operations," said Major Lyon, as he rode 
 off to the point where Levi was training his gunners. 
 
440 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 The recruits in front of the boathouse were im- 
 patient for something to be done. Tliey were 
 from the country around the village of Barcreek. 
 The frequent outrages against Union men and 
 families had kindled a feeling of hatred in them, 
 and they were anxious to retaliate. The influ- 
 ence of certain men like Colonel Cosgi'ove and 
 Colonel Belthorpe had created more Union senti- 
 ment than prevailed in many of the Southern 
 counties of the State, and the loyal men had been 
 terrorized from the first indications of trouble. 
 
 " Why don't we fire at them. Captain ? " de- 
 manded Enbank. 
 
 " Why don't you fire at the moon ? Because 
 you are too far off, and nothing is to be gained by 
 it," replied the commander. " I am waiting for 
 the eneni}^ to make a movement of some kind ; 
 and as soon as they do so, you shall have enough 
 of it, I will warrant you." 
 
 " They are doing something now ! " exclaimed 
 Sam Drye. 
 
 "The mule-teams are in motion!" exclaimed 
 Major Lyon, returning to the front of the build- 
 ing. 
 
 " I see they are," replied Captain Gordon ; 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF RIVEIILAWN 441 
 
 " and there is a movement up the new road, as 
 you call it." 
 
 " What does that mean ? " 
 
 "Probably it is intended to cover the launching 
 of the boats. I think the reprobates are in earnest 
 this time," added the commander. 
 
 About fifty men started up the new road, and 
 immediately broke into a run. The territory be- 
 tween the new and the old road was covered with 
 trees of large growth, though rather too sparsely 
 to be a wood, but was rather a grove. For about 
 twent}" rods above the cross roads the trees had 
 been cut off, and it was a stump field. -As soon as 
 the detachment reached the grove they scattered 
 and took refuge behind the trunks of the big 
 trees. 
 
 " That is the idea, is it? " said Captain Gordon. 
 " They intend to pick us off from their covert. 
 We must do the same thing. Scatter, my men ; 
 and fire at will as you see a head." 
 
 The recruits obeyed the order, and were shel- 
 tered behind the big trees by the time the enemy 
 reached the positions they had chosen. A desul- 
 tory firing was begun on both sides of the creek. 
 The commander and the major were on horseback. 
 
442 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 and they could not protect themselves as the 
 recruits did, and they rode to tlie rear of the boat- 
 house. They found that Levi" had organized a 
 shovel brigade there. The Magnolia had been 
 taken out of the water to prevent it from being 
 captured by the marauders, and had been placed 
 behind the boathouse. 
 
 Levi had moved the craft about twenty feet 
 from the building, and had propped it up, with 
 the keel nearest to the creek. This was as far as 
 he had proceeded when the officer presented him- 
 self on the ground. Twenty negroes, armed with 
 shovels, which had before been brought down in 
 the wagon, were standing ready for orders. 
 
 " What in the world are you doing now, Levi?" 
 asked the planter, when he saw what had been 
 done. 
 
 " I am throwing up a breastwork, so that my 
 men can Avork the guns Avithout being shot down 
 by the enemy on the other side of the creek," 
 replied the overseer. 
 
 " A capital idea ! " exclaimed Captain Gordon. 
 
 " But you are putting it behind the boathouse, 
 man!" shouted the major, who thought he had 
 detected Levi in an egregious blunder. 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF RIVERLAWN 443 
 
 " These negroes are worth from five hundred to 
 a thousand dollars apiece if you want to sell 
 them, and not many of them would be left if I 
 should set them to digging in the open," replied 
 Levi, laughing at his own argument. " Those 
 ruffians could pick them off at their leisure, and 
 we might as well not have any artillery if the 
 cannoneers are to be shot down as fast as they 
 show themselves. I will warrant that fellow in 
 command on the other side has picked out his best 
 riflemen for duty in the grove." 
 
 " The negroes are not for sale," replied the 
 planter. " I should as soon think of selling one 
 of my sons as one of them. But the boathouse is 
 between you and the enemy, Levi." 
 
 " How long do you think it will take me with 
 the force at liand to move the boathouse out of the 
 way. Major Lyon ? " demanded the overseer with 
 a very broad smile. 
 
 " I indorse Mr. Bedford's work," added Captain 
 Gordon, who had turned to observe the operation 
 of the enemy at the cross roads. " They are not 
 making a good job of their work." 
 
 As soon as the recruits had been ordered to the 
 trees, and before the detachment sent to the grove 
 
444 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 had obtained their positions, Deck and Artie had 
 obeyed the commander's order in hot haste. They 
 had chosen a couple of trees on the very verge of 
 the quagmire which hiy between the lawn and the 
 road to the south ; and when the ruffians attempted 
 to move the mules, both of them opened fire upon 
 the animals. 
 
 Both of the boys were good shots, and they hit 
 the mark every time. The mule, though one of 
 the most useful beasts in the world, is very uncer- 
 'tain at times. The testimony of soldiers is to the 
 effect that mules object to being under fire. The 
 two boys were near enough to each other to talk 
 together, and they had agreed to fire into different 
 teams, and they had wounded one in each of them. 
 The two that had been hit not only made a dis- 
 turbance, braying furiously, but they communi- 
 cated the scare to the others. Tlie mule drivers 
 could do nothing with them, and in a minute or 
 two the whole of them were all snarled up, and 
 the men were obliged to unhitch them from the 
 wagons and lead them away. 
 
 The animals were so terrified that they bolted 
 up the new road in spite of the drivers, and turned 
 in at the bridge, which seemed to promise them 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF RIVERLAWN 445 
 
 a place of security, just as Colonel Belthorpe and 
 his party galloped up to it. The mules were per- 
 mitted to take the lead. Major Gadbury and Tom 
 were with the planter of Lyndhall. Major Lyon 
 saw them, and, by a roundabout course, joined 
 them in season to prevent them from coming 
 within range of the sharpshooters in the grove. 
 
 It did not take the planter of Riverlawn long to 
 explain the situation ; and he was informed that 
 twenty Lyndhall negroes, under the lead of Uncle 
 David, in wagons, were on their way to the seat 
 of danger. The horses were left in charge of the 
 servants, and the party made their way to the 
 fort, where they armed themselves with breech- 
 loaders, and took places behind the trees with 
 the recruits. 
 
 At the cross roads the enemy were attempting 
 to get the boats to the creek by hauling the wagons 
 by man-power. It was a long pull for them, but 
 they succeeded at the end of a couple of hours. 
 The party in the grove and the one on the lawn 
 were careful about showing themselves, and the 
 firing was continued on both sides without pro- 
 ducing any decided result. But by this time Levi 
 had completed his breastwork. Rather to make 
 
446 jiKOTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 a smoke than for any other purpose, both of tlie 
 twelve-pounders were discharged, aimed into the 
 grove. 
 
 While the smoke hung about the boathouse, for 
 one of the pieces had been fired on each side of it, 
 all hands seized hold of the building, lifted it from 
 its foundations, and bore it some distance towards 
 the mansion. The cannon were then drawn into 
 the hastily constructed fort, loaded with round 
 shot this time, and were ready for use. The 
 cracking of the rifles in the grove had been quite 
 lively during this operation, and two of the 
 negroes w^ere wounded. 
 
 By this time the first of the boats had been filled 
 with men, who were paddling it M'itli all their 
 might to a clump of bushes near the trees where 
 Deck and Artie were sheltered. Both of them 
 fired into tlie crowd in the boat. But it was 
 hardly under way before Levi had brought one of 
 his guns to bear upon it. He was very careful 
 in pointing the piece, and the solid shot struck 
 the craft squarely on its bow, knocknig the thing 
 all to pieces. The black gunners cheered, and 
 were almost mad with enthusiasm. 
 
 Another of the boats which had just been 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OP RIVERLAWN 447 
 
 launched had to be used to pick up the men 
 from the first. They were taken to the shore. 
 Then some sort of a contention seemed to be 
 stirred up among tlie party, the nature of which 
 could be easily understood, for it was almost sure 
 death to embark in the boats. In the mean time 
 the shots from the recruits and others behind the 
 trees were picking them off, and the dispute ended 
 in the whole of them taking to their heels and 
 fleeing towards the bridge. 
 
 The fire from the grove seemed to be suspended 
 at the same time ; for the sharpshooters could not 
 help seeing that the plan of attack, whatever it 
 was, had failed. Colonel Belthorpe and Major 
 Lyon came out from behind their trees. Captain 
 Gordon, who was a cavalry ofificer, thought it was 
 time for his arm of the service to come into action 
 to harass the retreat of the enemy, if nothing 
 more, and he called in all the recruits from their 
 covert, and ordered as many men as could be 
 mounted to rally at the bridge. 
 
 Twenty-four mounted men, including those 
 from Lyndhall, were mustered, each with a breech- 
 loader, in the absence of sabres and carbines. 
 Captain Gordon led them down the new road to 
 
448 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 the grove. The force occupying it had fled to the 
 old road, and were hurrying to the Eaj)ids Bridge. 
 Among the trees they found two men killed and 
 three badly wounded. Each of them had a lifle 
 on the ground near him, and they were weapons of 
 excellent quality. 
 
 The cavalry party followed the fugitives to the 
 bridge, and at the intercession of Major Lyon 
 they were permitted to escape ; for he was confi- 
 dent they would not make another attack upon 
 Riverlawn, at least not till they had an organized 
 regiment for the purpose. 
 
 While they were upon the ground, Tom Bel- 
 thorpe and Major Gadbury signed the enlistment 
 pa[)ers, as Deck and Artie had done before, and 
 the Lyndhall party A^-ent home. The recruits 
 Were dismissed for a week, and ordered to report 
 at Riverlawn at the end of tliat time. 
 
 The second battle had been fought and won, 
 and there was no present danger of another attack, 
 though patrols were kept along the creek till the 
 camp was formed the following week. The two 
 attacks upon Riverlawn was the current topic of 
 conversation all over the county for the next 
 week ; and so far from damaging the Union cause, 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF lUVERLAWN 449 
 
 it stimulated the recruiting, and at the end of tlie 
 week Lieutenant Gordon liad the names of a full 
 company on his roll. He had I'eported his success, 
 and had received orders to enlist another company. 
 
 The government supplied everything that was 
 required, including sabres, carbines, uniforms, 
 ammunition, and lumber for barracks. Steam- 
 boats from Evansville came up the river loaded 
 with supplies ; and as the water was high from 
 unusual rains, they landed their cargoes at the 
 boathouse pier, enlarged for the pui-pose. Each 
 boat was provided with a guard, for they were 
 occasionally fired upon from the shore. Another 
 officer and several non-commissioned officers were 
 sent to the camp. 
 
 Barracks and stables were built, and the drill 
 was kept up very diligently. Riverlawn was no 
 longer between two fires, for they Avere now all 
 on one side. Before, the fight had been a sort of 
 neighborhood quarrel ; but now it had become a 
 national affair. The outrages upon Union men 
 ceased in that locality, though they still occurred 
 in other parts of the State. At the end of a month 
 two companies of cavalry had been enlisted, form- 
 ing a squadron, if another could be raised. 
 
450 BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER 
 
 About this time the Home Guard, under com- 
 mand of Captain Titus Lyon, marched to Bowling 
 Green for the purpose of joining the Confederate 
 army that was expected tliere. They went with 
 such arms as they had used in the second battle of 
 Riverlawn, and without uniforms. They had a 
 hard time of it ; for they had no supplies, and suf- 
 fered from hunger and cold in the cool nights. 
 Titus's two sons, Sandy and Orly, were enrolled 
 in the company ; but both of them deserted, 
 though they had not been mustered in, and went 
 back to their mother, where they could at least 
 get enough to eat. Tlie captain could not go 
 home, for it required his presence and all his skill 
 and energy to keep his recrmits from abandoning 
 the company. 
 
 Noah Lyon saw nothing more of his brother 
 after his visit to Riverlawn when the lieutenant 
 arrived. After he had gone to the South, his wife 
 and daughters called M.t the mansion, and declared 
 that they were lef^. without money or means of 
 support, except so iiw as they could obtain it from 
 the little farm. 
 
 Deck and Artie Lyon, whose career as soldiers 
 is to appear in these volumes, now appeared wear- 
 
THE SECOND BATTLE OF RIVERLAWaST 451 
 
 ing the uniform of cavalrymen, with sabres clinlv- 
 ing at their sides. They have been under fire, 
 though not in a pitched battle. They are frequent 
 visitors on Sundays at Lyndhall, and Kate Bel- 
 thorpe has what her father called " a violent 
 admiration for Captain Deck," as he still insists 
 upon styling him, assured that, if he is not of that 
 rank now, he will be in due time. The next vol- 
 ume will present the two boys and others engaged 
 in actual warfare ; and what they did will be 
 found in "• In the Saddle." 
 
OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS 
 
 All-Over-the- World Library, ByOuvEROFnc. First Series. 
 Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. A Missing million; or, The Adventures of Louis Belgradb. 
 
 3. A Millionaire at Sixteen ; or. The Cruise of the " Guardian 
 
 Mother." 
 \i. A Yomig Knight Errant; OR, Cruising in the West Indies. 
 
 4. Strange Sights Abroad; or, Adventures in European Waters. 
 
 No author has come before the public during- the present generation who 
 has achieved a larger and more deserving popularity among young people than 
 " Oliver Optic." His stories have been very numerous, But they have been 
 «nifonnly excellent in moral tone and literary quality. As indicated in the 
 g-eneral title, it is the author's intention to conduct the readers of this enter- 
 taining series " around the world." As a means to this end, the hero of the 
 Story "purchases a steamer which he names the " Guardian Mother," and 
 with a number of guests she proceeds on her voyage. — Christian Work, N. Y. 
 
 AJl-Over-the- World Library. By Oliver Optic. Second 
 
 Series. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. American Boys Afloat; or. Cruising in the Orient. 
 
 9« The Toung iVavigators ; or. The Foreign Cruise of tri 
 
 " Maud." 
 3. Up and Down the Nile ; or. Young Adventurers in Africa. 
 4,. Asiatic Breezes ; or. Students on the Wing. 
 
 The interest in these stories is continuous, and there is a great variety ol 
 exciting incident woven into the solid information which the book imparts so 
 generously and without the slightest suspicion of dryness. Manly boys 
 will welcome this voliune as cordially as they did its predecessors. — . Boston 
 Gazette. 
 
 Ml-Over-the- World Library, By Ouver Optic. Third Se- 
 ries. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. Across India ; or. Live Boys in the Far East. 
 
 S. Half Round the World ; or, Among the Uncivilized. 
 
 3. Four Young Explorers; or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics, 
 
 4. Pacific Shores ; or, Adventures in Eastern Seas. 
 
 Amid such new and varied surroundings it would be surprising indeed if the 
 atlthor, with his faculty of making even the commonplace attractive, did not 
 tell an intensely interesting story of adventure, as well as give much informa- 
 tion in regard to the distant countries through which our friends pass, and 
 the strange peoples with whom they are brought in contact. This book, and 
 indeed the whole series, is admirably adapted to reading aloud in the family 
 circle, each volume containing matter which will interest all the members o« 
 tbe isuaily. — Boston Budget. 
 
 \(£ AND SHEPARO, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATAL06UE FREE. 
 
OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS 
 
 The Blue and the Gray— Afloat. By Oliver Optic. Sis 
 
 volumes. Illustrated. Beautiful binding in blue and gray 
 with emblematic dies. Cloth. Any volume sold separately 
 trice per volume, $1.50. 
 
 1. Taken by the Enemy. 4. Stand by the Union. 
 
 3. AVithin the Enemy's Lines. 5. Eiffhtlnff for the Right. 
 
 3. Ol the Blockade. 6. A Victorious Umou. 
 
 !5:f»e Blue and the Gray — on Liand. 
 
 1. Brother a$:ainst Brother. 4. On the Staff. 
 
 3. In the Saddle. 5. At tiie Front. 
 
 3. A Lieutenant at Eighteen^ 6. An Undivided Union. 
 
 ••There never has been a more interesting writer in the field of juveniia 
 literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his well-known pseudotiym, is 
 known and admired by every boy and girl in the country, and by tho jsanJs 
 who have long- since passed the boundaries of youth, yet who remember wilh 
 pleasure the genial, interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct, and 
 entertain their youiiccer years. 'The Blue and the Gray' is a title that is sut. 
 ficiently indicative of the nature and spirit of the latest series, while thj name 
 of Olive n Optic is suiiicicnt warrant of the absorbing- stvle of narrative. This 
 series is as bright and entertaining as any work that M Adams has yet pu' 
 forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that has borne his name. It would 
 not be fair to the prospective reader to deprive him of the zest which comes 
 from the unexpected by entering into a sj'nopsis of the story. A word, how- 
 ever, should be said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding-, 
 which makes it a most attractive volume." — Boston Budget. 
 
 Woodville Stories. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. Illus- 
 trated. Any volume sold separately. Price pe volume, $1.25. 
 1. Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant. 
 5}. In School and Out; or, The CoNquEsr of Richard Grant. 
 
 3. Watch and Wait; or. The Young Fugitives. 
 
 4. Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. 
 
 5. Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant among the Indians 
 
 6. Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake CnAMPLAiit. 
 "Though -we are not so young as we once -were, -we relished these stories 
 
 almost as much as the boys and girls for whom they were written. They we^'S 
 really refreshing, even to us. There is much in them which is calculated ia 
 inspire a generous, healthy ambition, and to make distasteful all reading tead-* 
 ing to stimulate base desires." — Fitchburg Reveille, 
 
 Xhs, Starry Flag" Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
 Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
 $1.25. 
 
 1. The Starry Flag; or, The Voung Fisherman of Capk Ann. 
 /£. Breaking Away; or. The Fortunes of a Student. 
 
 3. Seek and Find; or. The Adventures of a Smart Boy. 
 
 4. Freaks of Fortune; or, Half round the World. 
 e. Make or "Break; or, The Rich Man's Daughter. 
 6. Down the Biver; or, Buck Bradford and the Tyrants. 
 • Mr. Adams, the celebrated and popular writer, familiarly known as Olive:* 
 
 Optic, seems to have .inexhaustible funds for weaving together the virtu'-f of 
 life; and, notwithstanding he has written scores of books, the same freshness 
 and novelty run through them all. Some people think the sensational element 
 predominates. Perhaps it does. But a book fbr young people needs this, and 
 SO long as good sentiments are inculcated such books ought to be read." 
 
 LEE AND 8HLPARD. BOSTON, SEND TiiElfi COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREL 
 
OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS 
 
 Army and 'Navy Stories. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. 
 
 Illusfated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume. 
 
 $1.2,. 
 1. The 8rtvdier Boy; or, To\r Somers in the Army. 
 3, The SaUor Boy; ok, Jack Somers in the Navy. 
 
 3. riie Yoxing Lieutenant; or, Adventures of an Army Officer, 
 
 4. The Yankee Middy; or. Adventures of a Navy Officer. 
 
 5. Fighting Joe; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. 
 
 6. Brave Old Salt; or, Life on the Quarter Deck. 
 
 "This series of six volumes recounts the adventures of two brothers, Tom 
 and J;i:k Somerr, one in the army, the other in the navv, in the g^rcat Civil War. 
 The romantic n.irratives of the fortunes and exploits of the brothers are thrill- 
 ing in the extreme. Historical accuracy in the recital of the srreat events of 
 that period is strictly followed, and the result is, not only a library of entertain- 
 ing: volumes, but also the best history of the Civil War for young people ever 
 v.-ritten." 
 
 Suut Builders Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
 
 Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
 
 $1.25. 
 1. All Adrift; or, The Goldwi^g Club. 
 B. SnujT Harbor; or. The Champi-ain Mechanics. 
 
 3, Square and Compasses; or, Building the Housb. 
 
 4. Stem to Stern; or, Building the Boat. 
 6. All Taut; or, Rigging the Boat. 
 
 6. Ready About; or. Sailing the Boat. 
 
 •' The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of boat building-, 
 boat rigging, boat managing, and practical hints to make the ownership of a 
 boat pay. A great deal of useful information is given in this Boat Builders 
 Series, and in •"ach book a very interesting story is interwoven with the infor- 
 mation. Every reader will be interested at once in Dory, the hero of ' All 
 Adrift,' and one of the characters retained in the subsequent volumes of the 
 series. His friends will not want to lose sit;ht of him, and every boy who 
 makes his acquaintance in ' All Adrift' will become his friend." 
 
 Iviverdale Story Books. By Oliver Optic. Twelve vol- 
 umes. Illustrated. Illuminated covers. Price : cloth, per 
 set, $3.60; per volume, 30 cents; paper, per set, $2.00. 
 
 1. Little Merchant. 7. Proud and Lazy. 
 
 3. Young Voyagers. 8. Careless Kate. 
 
 3. Cliristmas Gift. 9. Robinson Crusoe, Jr. 
 
 4. Dolly and I. lO. The l»icnic Party. 
 
 5. Uncle Ben. 11. The Gold Thimble. 
 
 6. Birthday Party. 12. The Do-Somethings. 
 
 Ki\erdale Story Books. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. 
 
 Illustrated. Fancy cloth and colors. Price per volume, 30 
 
 cents. 
 1.0 Little Merchant. 4. Careless Kate. 
 
 ■3, Proud and Lazy. 5. Dolly and I. 
 
 S. Young Voyagers. G. Robinson Crusoe, Jr. 
 
 Pl«>ra LiCe Library. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. Illus- 
 trated. Fancy cloth and colors. Price per volume, 30 
 tents. 
 
 1. The Picnic Party. 4. Christmas Gift. 
 
 2. The Gold Thimble. 5. Uncle Ben. 
 
 3. The Do- Somethings. 6. Birthday Party. 
 
 These are bright short stories for younger children who are unable to com 
 prehend the Starry !• lag Series or the Army and Navy Series. But they 
 all display the author's talent for pleasing and interesting the little folks. They 
 are all fresh and original, preaching no sermons, but inculcating good lessons. 
 
 lEE AND SHEPARD. BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FRPF 
 
OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS 
 
 The Great "Western Series. By Oliver Optic. In six rol- 
 
 umes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separatelj. Price per 
 volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. Going: West; or. The Perils of a Poor Boy. 
 
 8. Out West; or. Roughing it on the Great Lakes. 
 
 3. Lake Breezes; or, The Cruise of the Sylvania. 
 
 4. Going: Soutli; or, Yachting on the Atlantic Coast. 
 6. Down Soutli; or, Yacht Adventures in Florida. 
 
 6- Up the River; or. Yachting on the Mississippi. 
 
 "This is the latest series of books issued by this popular -writer, and deal r 
 with life on the Great Lakes, for which a careful study was made by the author 
 in a summer tour of the immense water sources of America. The story, which 
 carries the same hero through the six books of the series, is always entertain- 
 ing:, novel scenes and varied incidents givina: a constantly changing- yet always 
 attractive aspect to the narrative. Oliver Optic has -written nothing better." 
 
 The Yacht Chib Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
 Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
 $1.25. 
 lo liittle Bobtail; or. The Wreck of the Penobscot, 
 
 2. The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat Builders. 
 
 3. Money-Maker; or. The Victory of the Basilisk. 
 
 4. The Coming: Wave; or, The Treasure of High Rock* 
 6. The Dorcas Club; or. Our Girls Afloat. 
 
 6. Ocean Born; or, The Cruise of the Clubs. 
 
 "The series has this peculiarity, that all of its constituent volumes are Inde. 
 pendent of one another, and therefore each story is complete in itself. Oliver 
 Optic is, perhaps, the favorite author of the boys and girls of this country^ and 
 he seems destined to enjoy an endless popularity. He deserves his success, 
 for he makes very interesting stories, and inculcates none but the best senti- 
 ments, and the 'Yacht Club' is no exceptioa to this rule."— iV«f Haven 
 journal and Courier, 
 
 Onward and Upward Series. By Oliver Optic. In six 
 
 volumes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price 
 
 per volume, $1.25. 
 1. Field and Forest; or, The Fortunes of a Farmer. 
 8. Plane and Plank; or. The Mishaps of a Mechanic. 
 
 3. Desk and Debit; or. The Catastrophes of a Clerk. 
 
 4. Cringfle and Crosstree; or. The Sea Swashes of a Satlor. 
 
 5. Bivouac and Battle; or, The Struggles of a Soldier. 
 
 6. Sea and Shore; or. The Tramps of a Traveller. 
 
 "Paul Farringford, the hero of these tales, is, like most of this author's 
 
 ' heroes, a young man of high spirit, and of high aims and correct principles, 
 
 appearing in the different volumes as a farmer, a captain, a bookkeeper, a 
 
 soldier, a sailor, and a traveller. In all of them the hero meets with very 
 
 exciting adventures, told in the graphic style for which the author is famous." 
 
 The Liake Shore Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
 Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
 
 $1.25. 
 lo Through by Daylig:ht; or, The Young Engineer of the Laki 
 
 Shore Railroad. 
 8. Iiig;htning: Express; or. The Rival Academies, 
 
 3. On Time; or, The Young Captain of the Ucayga Steamer. 
 
 4. Switch Off; OR, The War of the Students. 
 6. Brake tip; or. The Young Peacemakers. 
 
 6. Bear and Forbear; or, The Young Skipper of Lake Ucayga. 
 
 " Oliver Optic is one of the most fascinating writers for youth, and -withal 
 one of the best to be found in this or any past age. Troops of young people 
 hang over his vivid pages ; and not one o f them ever learned to be mean, ignoble, 
 cowardly, selfish, or to yield to any vice from anything they ever read frcm his 
 fea,"--ProvnitMce Presr, 
 
 lEE AND SHEPARD. BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FRE». 
 
RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY Of 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL 
 
 Wilmer 
 7