dozen negroes,
with fishing-rods on their shoulders.

"Going a-fishing?" asked Deck, as he reined in his steed.

"Yes, sar. De sodjers done took all de meat in de country, and all de
corn. Niggers can't git not'in t'eat 'cept out ob de creeks," replied
the foremost of the party, who was a light mulatto.

"Who lives in the house a mile or two down the stream?" continued Deck.

"Cun'l Bickford."

"Oh, yes; he is a Union man," added Deck.

"No, sar!" exclaimed the mulatto vigorously. "Cun'l ob a Tennessee
regiment. Whar you git his coach hosses?"

"I'll tell you about that next summer; but we only borrowed them for a
couple of days. He is badly wounded I heard."

"Yes, sar; fotched home on a stretcher from Monticello, whar he com'd
wid de army."

"Why didn't he come down to Newberry along with the army?" asked Life,
who knew precisely where he was when Monticello was mentioned.

"De army don't come dis way, dey foller de road by de Souf Forks."

"Where do they go then?"

"Dunno, Mars'r; dey don't tell whar de go," replied the mulatto,
shaking his head.

This man seemed to be intelligent, and know more about the region than
most of the negroes. Deck bade them good-by, and resumed his march.

"I dunno's we need go any furder," said Life, after they had gone a few
rods.

"I hope we shall be able to obtain more reliable information than from
the reports of these darkeys," replied Deck, who was in favor of doing
the work thoroughly.

"Jest as you say, Lieutenant; but if they had come down this way we'd
'a' seen some stragglers," answered the Kentuckian. "I reckon I know
just whar they are gwine, 'cause I've been over the road myself.
They'll foller the South Fork, and strike Jamestown, Fentress County,
and from there make for Gainsborough, where they can git steamboats to
tote them to Nashville."

"There is a village ahead," said Deck.

"That is Newberry" (as it was then called).

They went into the place, and found a grocery store and post-office.
They halted near it, and spent some time in a consultation. At
Jamestown they could determine with certainty where the army was going.
It was a little over twenty miles, while the road the army had taken
was quite thirty, though the roads were better by the latter route.
Deck promptly decided to proceed to Jamestown. They deemed it
advisable to avoid the towns, especially Albany, the capital of the
county; and it seemed to be necessary to provide themselves