d him that the penalty now fixed by the authorities in the
Councils of the Knights for disclosing any of their secrets was death,
which might be inflicted by any of the Order ascertaining the fact so
that no doubt could exist as to the guilt of the person who had played
traitor to them.

"This, I could see, alarmed Dent and made him cautious and hesitating at
times when we would give expression to our utter abhorrence of the
use of such villainous means as seemed to be in contemplation by our
enemies. We constantly assured the old man, however, that he need have
no fears of any of us, which, of course, he had not; yet he was somewhat
timid. He could not tell which way Harris started from their meeting,
nor how he was traveling. This ended his recollection of Harris's
statement. We then got Dent again to repeat the signs, grips, passwords
and instructions to Gen. Anderson and Capt. Jackson, as well as to
Henry, and so they found themselves well posted. Then, thanking Dent and
encouraging him to persevere in his discoveries, we allowed him to go
and make his arrangements with David's widow about matters at the farm
and then return home.

"The next day I wrote to the President, giving him the history of
matters as detailed to us by Joseph Dent; also, the plan we had laid
out for the future. In a few days I received a note from Washington,
unsigned, merely saying, 'the plan is approved.' I knew from whom the
note came, and was well satisfied to have the plans carried out.

"The next day we received a letter from Peter, informing us that he was
well, and that the Army of the Center was in camp and were expecting a
long rest after the two great battles. This delighted my wife, as she
felt that while they were not moving, her boys were safe. By this time
all necessary arrangements had been made for Jackson's departure, and
after bidding his mother and the rest of us good-by he left for New
York; from there he expected to sail for Europe. On arriving at New
York he called upon Mc-Masterson and B. Wudd, and made satisfactory
statements to them as to the reasons for not going to Canada. After
obtaining letters of introduction to Jacob Thomlinson they proceeded to
discuss the situation, and from them he learned that preparations, such
as had been detailed to us by Dent, were evidently being made for
great damage to towns, cities, and property generally. He also obtained
letters from McMasterson to some important persons in Londo