his danger.

From the gentleman who resided in the nearby house he secured a skiff
which had been kept secreted from the lynx-eyed Federals. In this Calhoun
proposed to float down to Nashville.

Night came dark and cloudy. It was just such a night as Calhoun wished.
Clad in a suit of citizen's clothes, and with muffled oars, he bade his
comrades a cheerful good night, and pushed out into the river, and in a
moment the darkness had swallowed him up. He floated down as noiselessly
as a drifting stick.

In an hour's time the lights of Nashville came in view; the dangers of his
trip had just commenced. He knew that the banks of the river would not
only be strongly patrolled, but the lights from the shore and from the
steamers moored at the wharfs shone across the stream in places, making it
impossible for an object the size of his boat to pass without being
noticed.

But Calhoun was prepared for just such an emergency. He was a capital
swimmer, and had no fears of the water. He had weighted his skiff with
stones, bored a hole in the bottom, and filled it with a plug which could
easily be removed. When he had drifted as far as he dared, he removed the
plug. The skiff gradually filled and at last sank. If any person had
looked after it disappeared, all he would have seen would have been the
small branch of a tree, covered with leaves, floating down with the
current.

When Calhoun was well down abreast of the city, and coming to a place
where shadows covered the river, he turned toward the bank. Fortunately he
landed near a dark alley which led down to the water. Listening intently,
he heard nothing, and making his way up the alley, he soon came to a
street. A violent storm came on, which was of advantage to him, for if he
met any one, it would account for his dripping clothes. It also had the
effect of driving the patrol guards into shelter.

Calhoun was no stranger in the city. He had visited it frequently when a
boy, for he had an uncle residing there, now a colonel in the Confederate
army. But his family still resided in the old home, and he knew that there
he would find a haven of safety. Carefully making his way, and dodging the
few guards that he met, he soon reached the house. The yard was inclosed
with a high iron fence, the pickets provided with sharp points. But
Calhoun had been in the army too long to be baffled by any such obstacle.
He mounted the fence with but little trouble and dropped down into the
yar