w. The army of
the Potomac, after Antietam, which overthrew the first Confederate
aggressive campaign at the East, was retreating into its Southern
stronghold, as was the army of the West after Bragg's abandonment of
Mumfordsville, and the rebel retirement had given the provost-marshals
in Kentucky full sway. Two hundred Southern sympathizers, under arrest,
had been sent into exile north of the Ohio, and large sums of money
were levied for guerilla outrages here and there--a heavy sum falling
on Major Buford for a vicious murder done in his neighborhood by Daws
Dillon and his band on the night of the capture of Daniel Dean and
Rebel Jerry. The Major paid the levy with the first mortgage he had
ever given in his life, and straightway Jerome Conners, who had been
dealing in mules and other Government supplies, took an attitude that
was little short of insolence toward his old master, whose farm was
passing into the overseer's clutches at last. Only two nights before,
another band of guerillas had burned a farm-house, killed a Unionist,
and fled to the hills before the incoming Yankees, and the Kentucky
Commandant had sworn vengeance after the old Mosaic way on victims
already within his power.

That night Chad and Harry were summoned before General Ward. They found
him seated with his chin in his hand, looking out the window at the
moonlit campus. Without moving, he held out a dirty piece of paper to
Chad.

"Read that," he said.

"YOU HAVE KETCHED TWO OF MY MEN AND I HEAR AS HOW YOU MEAN TO HANG 'EM.
IF YOU HANG THEM TWO MEN, I'M A-GOIN' TO HANG EVERY MAN OF YOURS I CAN
GIT MY HANDS ON.

"DAWS DILLON--Captain."

Chad gave a low laugh and Harry smiled, but the General kept grave.

"You know, of course, that your brother belongs to Morgan's command?"

"I do, sir," said Harry, wonderingly.

"Do you know that his companion--the man Dillon--Jerry Dillon--does?"

"I do not, sir."

"They were captured by a squad that was fighting Daws Dillon. This
Jerry Dillon has the same name and you found the two together at
General Dean's."

"But they had both just left General Morgan's command," said Harry,
indignantly.

"That may be true, but this Daws Dillon has sent a similar message to
the Commandant, and he has just been in here again and committed two
wanton outrages night before last. The Commandant is enraged and has
issued orders for stern retaliation."

"It's a trick of Daws Dillon," said Chad, hotly, "an infam