he was, in the colors of both armies,
his inclination was to be true to both. There were generally tears in
his mother's eyes, when she saw that two of the corn-stalk soldiers, the
tallest and straightest of them all, representing John and Thomas, were
always left standing, even after the most furious of contests, in which
all the others had fallen.

Harry had left off playing quite early, on the afternoon of which I
write, and had joined his mother on the veranda. They had not been long
together when something unusual attracted their attention.

A short distance down the railroad a body of cavalrymen had dismounted,
and soon they were as busy as ants, tearing up the track. One squad
preceded the others and loosened the rails by drawing the spikes; then
came another squad that placed the ties in great heaps; after this came
a third that kindled fires beneath them. The ties were rotten and dry,
and, in a very few moments, there were scores of bright, hot fires. Soon
the rails were at a red heat near the center, the ends being
comparatively cool. While in this state a number of men would take the
rails and bend them around telegraph poles or any solid objects that
were near. The soldiers twisted the rails into fantastic shapes; and
when they were through with their work of destruction, they seemed
perfectly satisfied that none of the old material could be used in
reconstructing the road. Harry and his mother had observed the
operations of these men with much interest for some time, when suddenly
they saw one of them mount his horse, and ride toward the house.

"He is a rebel!" exclaimed Harry, who stood watching the approaching
horseman.

"Surely you are mistaken, Harry. There can be no Confederates here,"
said Mrs. Magill, "the Federals are too near."

While yet the soldier was some distance from the house, the boy's face
lighted up with joy, as he exclaimed:

"Oh, mother, I do believe it's John!"

"John? Where is he?" asked his mother, running to where the boy stood.

"Why, there, on the horse! He's coming home! He's coming home!" And thus
exclaiming, Harry danced around the veranda like an Indian lad in a
first war-dance. Then he ran to meet his brother in gray. Mrs. Magill
was thrilled with sensations of joy and fear: joy, because she was
about to see again her eldest son, after a painful separation of two
years; fear, because of the nearness of the Federals. When within a
short distance of his brother, Harr