n a suit of new, dark
brown homespun wool, over a pink calico shirt and white cuffs and
collar, he presented the best possible picture of spruce gentility that
the times would justify. "'What day of the month,' did you ask? _I_'ll
never tell you, but I know it's Friday."

"Then it's the eighteenth," said Mary.

They met an old negro driving three yoke of oxen attached to a single
empty cart.

"Uncle," said the spy, "I don't reckon the boss will mind our sort o'
ridin' straight thoo his grove, will he?"

"Not 'tall, boss; on'y dess be so kyine an' shet de gates behine you,
sah."

They passed those gates and many another, shutting them faithfully, and
journeying on through miles of fragrant lane and fields of young cotton
and corn, and stretches of wood where the squirrel scampered before them
and reaches of fallow grounds still wet with dew, and patches of sedge,
and old fields grown up with thickets of young trees; now pushing their
horses to a rapid gallop, where they were confident of escaping notice,
and now ambling leisurely, where the eyes of men afield, or of women at
home, followed them with rustic scrutiny; or some straggling
Confederate soldier on foot or in the saddle met them in the way.

"How far must we go before we can stop?" asked Mary.

"Jess as far's the critters'll take us without showin' distress."

"South is out that way, isn't it?" she asked again, pointing off to the
left.

"Look here," said the spy, with a look that was humorous, but not only
humorous.

"What?"

"Two or three times last night, and now ag'in, you gimme a sort o'
sneakin' notion you don't trust me," said he.

"Oh!" exclaimed she, "I do! Only I'm so anxious to be going south."

"Jess so," said the man. "Well, we're goin' sort o' due west right now.
You see we dassent take this railroad anywheres about here,"--they were
even then crossing the track of the Mobile and Ohio Railway--"because
that's jess where they _sho_ to be on the lookout fur us. And I can't
take you straight south on the dirt roads, because I don't know the
country down that way. But this way I know it like your hand knows the
way to your mouth, as the felleh says. Learned it most all sence the war
broke out, too. And so the whole thing is we got to jess keep straight
across the country here till we strike the Mississippi Central."

"What time will that be?"

"Time! You don't mean time o' day, do you?" he asked.

"Yes," said Mary, smiling.

"Why