s. The captain of the blacks looks back very
mad at the cavalry. Here was my opportunity, now or never. Uncle negro
looked on, not seeming to care for the cavalry, captain, or for me.
I took up my gun very gently and cocked it. I had the gentleman.
I had made up my mind if he advanced one step further, that he was a dead
man. When he turned to look again, it was a look of surprise. His face
was as red as a scalded beet, but in a moment was as white as a sheet.
He was afraid to turn his head to give a command. The cavalry motioned
their hands at me, as much as to say, "Run, Johnny, run." The captain of
the blacks fell upon his face, and I broke and ran like a quarter-horse.
I never saw or heard any more of the captain of the blacks or his guard
afterward.

"LOOK OUT, BOYS."

One night, five of us scouts, I thought all strangers to me, put up at an
old gentleman's house. I took him for a Catholic priest. His head was
shaved and he had on a loose gown like a lady's dress, and a large cord
and tassel tied around his waist, from which dangled a large bunch of
keys. He treated us very kindly and hospitably, so far as words and
politeness went, but we had to eat our own rations and sleep on our own
blankets.

At bedtime, he invited us to sleep in a shed in front of his double log
cabin. We all went in, lay down, and slept. A little while before day,
the old priest came in and woke us up, and said he thought he saw in the
moonlight a detachment of cavalry coming down the road from toward the
Rebel lines. One of our party jumped up and said there was a company of
cavalry coming that way, and then all four broke toward the old priest's
room. I jumped up, put on one boot, and holding the other in my hand,
I stepped out in the yard, with my hat and coat off--both being left in
the room. A Yankee captain stepped up to me and said, "Are you No. 200?"
I answered very huskily, "No, sir, I am not." He then went on in the
house, and on looking at the fence, I saw there was at least two hundred
Yankee cavalry right at me. I did not know what to do. My hat, coat,
gun, cartridge-box, and knapsack were all in the room. I was afraid to
stay there, and I was afraid to give the alarm. I soon saw almost every
one of the Yankees dismount, and then I determined to give the alarm and
run. I hallooed out as loud as I could, "Look out, boys," and broke and
run. I had to jump over a garden picket fence, and as I lit on the o