fraid of my trying to escape."

"No, sah, dat not possible nohow; we know dat bery well. Dat's why we no
trouble to look after you. But as de sargeant say watch, of course we
must watch. We bery pleased to see you kill dat white officer. Dat
officer bery hard man and all de men hate him, and when you knock him
down we should like to hab given cheer. We all sorry for you; still you
see, sah, we must keep watch. If you were to get away, dar no saying
what dey do to us."

"That's all right," Vincent said; "I don't blame you at all. As you say,
that was a very bad fellow. I had quarreled with him before, because he
treated his slaves so badly."

CHAPTER XIX.

FREE!

It was not until late in the afternoon that a white officer entered, and
ordered the soldiers to conduct the prisoner to the general's tent.

"What is your name, sir, and who are you?" the general asked as he was
brought in. "I hear that you were denounced by Lieutenant Jackson as
being a spy, and that he addressed you as Vincent Wingfield. What have
you got to say to the charge?"

"My name is Vincent Wingfield, sir," Vincent replied quietly. "I am upon
the staff of General Wade Hampton, and in pursuance of my duty I came
here to learn what I could of your movements and intentions."

The general was silent for a moment.

"Then, sir, as you are an officer, you must be well aware of the
consequence of being discovered in disguise here. I regret that there is
no course open to me but to order you to be shot as a spy to-morrow
morning."

One of the officers who were standing by the general here whispered to
him.

"Ah, yes! I remember," he said. "Are you the same officer, sir, who
escaped from Elmira?"

"I am, sir," Vincent replied; "and at the same time aided in the escape
of the man who denounced me to-day, and who then did his best to have me
arrested by sending an anonymous letter stating the disguise in which I
was making my way through the country. I was not surprised to find that
he had carried his treachery further, and was now fighting against the
men whom he had formerly served."

"He deserved the fate that has befallen him," the general said. "Still
this does not alter your position. I regret that I must order my
sentence to be carried out."

"I do not blame you, sir. I knew the risks I ran when I accepted the
mission. My only regret is that I failed in supplying my general with
the information he required."

The general then t