llon, and the postmaster don't talk
quite as much nor as loudly as they did before Hanson and Gray left so
suddenly, and when I ask father what he thinks of it, he shakes his head
and looks troubled; and that's all I can get out of him. They are
frightened, the whole gang of them; and to my mind we would all be safer
if that Gray family was burned out and driven from the country. They
know everything that is said about them, and it beats me where they get
the news. The settlement is full of traitors, and probably I meet and
speak to some of them every day."

While Allison was talking to himself in this strain his nag brought him
to a cross-road, and almost to the side of another horseman who, like
himself, was riding in the direction of Nashville. The two pulled their
collars down from their faces, raised their hats, and looked at each
other; and then Allison was surprised to find that he was in the company
of Lon Beardsley, the privateersman and blockade runner. There had been
a time when he would not have noticed the man any further than to give
him a slight nod or a civil word or two, for he was the son of a wealthy
planter, and thought himself better than one who had often been seen
working in the field with his negroes. There used to be a wide gulf
between such people in the South. For example, N. B. Forrest was not
recognized socially while he was a civilian and made the most of his
money by buying and selling men and women whose skins were darker than
his own, but _General_ Forrest, the man who massacred Union soldiers at
Fort Pillow and took their commander, Major Bradford, into the woods and
shot him after he had surrendered himself a prisoner of war, was held in
high esteem. To Allison's mind, Captain Beardsley, who had smelled
Yankee powder and run two cargoes of contraband goods safely through the
blockade, was more worthy of respect than Lon Beardsley the smuggler,
and he was willing to gain his good-will now if he could, for he
believed the captain had it in his power to punish Marcy Gray--the boy
who had dared to taunt Allison with being a coward because he did not
shoulder a musket and go into the army.

"Why, captain, I thought you were miles away and making money hand over
fist by running the blockade," said Allison, with an awkward flourish
which was intended for a military salute. "I hope when you go out again
you will be sure and take that so-called pilot of yours with you, for we
don't want him ha