, and although
the present weapon was not of the latest pattern, it could shoot
straight, and Deck's aim was as correct as the shooting qualities of the
firearm. The crack of the pistol had hardly died away than Messinger
gave a yell and began to dance around in awful anguish, the bullet
having taken off the thumb and first finger of his left hand and cut a
path over two of his ribs.

Seeing his companion struck, Chador came to a sudden halt; and when
Deck prepared to fire again, the cavalryman lost no time in seeking the
shelter of a slight rise of ground in the centre of the stubble field.
He threw himself flat, and then Messinger did the same.

"I wonder where Tom is?" asked Chador, as he looked ahead, to see that
Deck had turned once more and was speeding toward the woods.

"I don't know," groaned the leader of the Confederates. "Oh, my hand! I
must go back to the house and have it attended to." And he started back,
having, for the time being, lost all interest in going after the
escaping prisoner.

Unwilling to make the pursuit alone, especially in the face of what had
occurred, Chador concluded to fill in his time hunting up Derwiddie. At
the fork in the road he found the man lying where he had fallen, the
blood covering his forehead and one cheek.

"By gum! he's knocked out sure!" exclaimed Chador; and, getting down, he
placed his hand to Derwiddie's heart. Of course it beat as strongly as
ever, and, learning this, Chador ran for some water. As soon as the
water was being used, Derwiddie began to groan and opened his eyes.

"Where--where is he?" he moaned.

"He got away," answered Chador. "How did it happen?"

"Don't ask me," moaned Derwiddie. "Oh, the villain! Where is Messinger?
Why don't you stop him?"

"Messinger is shot in the hand, and the fellow skipped for the wood. I
see he took your pistol."

"That's so." Derwiddie gave another groan. "Carry me to the house, will
you, Bob? Oh, what an upsetting all around!"

Chador took up the man supposed to be "knocked out," and soon had him
comfortable on a lounge in the sitting room of the farmhouse. In the
meantime, Messinger was having two women folks care for his injured
hand. When he felt better, Derwiddie told a long story of Deck's attack
on him. "He was as strong as an ox, I couldn't do anything with him," he
said; and he likewise declared himself altogether too weak to take part
in any pursuit, so Chador was despatched to give the alarm to any