d
self-possessed. His first impulse was to charge the approaching enemy;
and he would have done so if the Confederates had not halted, and given
him time to look over his surroundings.

As he took in the situation, he was perfectly satisfied that he could
easily defeat the enemy, and the only fear he had was that the
detachment would escape. His force was now nearly double that of the
Confederates in numbers, and would be more than that if he called in
the guard of his prisoners.

"Do you know that force, Win?" he asked as the guide rode up to him.

"I do. They wear the blue and the gray, and they are Tennessee
cavalry," replied Milton. "Fronklyn was right."

Deck had a field-glass slung over his shoulder, and he directed it to a
point beyond the enemy; for he wished to ascertain if Tom Belthorpe's
platoon was in pursuit; but the road was too crooked to enable him to
see any distance, for it was bordered in places by walnut forests.

"I don't quite understand this thing," said Deck, musing, as he
strained his vision to discover another force at the north. "Captain
Gordon was with the detachment that went to Breedings; and if he
defeated the Confederates, as he must have done, I don't see how he
happened to permit them to escape, for he had better horses than the
men in front of us ride, and the captain and Lieutenant Belthorpe are
wide-awake officers."

"But both of them are strangers in these counties, while the
Tennesseeans are probably well acquainted with the country. Zollicoffer
has to feed his army on the supplies gathered from the region around
him, and his foragers have learned the geography of this part of the
State. At any rate, his officers can obtain plenty of guides," replied
Milton; "and this one had a better knowledge of the roads and the paths
across the country."

Fearful that the Confederate commander would avail himself of his
knowledge, and thus elude him, Deck sent Life with ten men into the
field on the left, and Fronklyn with the same number into that on the
right. The enemy did not seem to like this movement, though it weakened
the force in front of him about one-half. The officer arranged his men
so that they extended entirely across the road, and then in a voice
that might have been heard half a mile, he ordered a charge.

CHAPTER VI

A SMART SKIRMISH IN THE ROAD

The Confederate troopers set up a yell loud and fierce enough to
intimidate all the old ladies in the State if