there was a thick black stain around his mouth. The
hand in which he had held his ramrod was of a dark rust colour, as if the
stain of the battle had seared into the skin. A smell of hot powder still
hung about his clothes.

The mountaineer left the shadow of the fence corner and slowly dragged
himself into the little glow, where he sat puffing at his corncob pipe. He
gave an easy, sociable nod and stared silently at the embers.

"Was it just what you imagined it would be?" went on Dan, curiously.

Pinetop took his pipe from his mouth and nodded again. "Wall, 'twas and
'twan't," he answered pleasantly.

"I must say it made me sick," admitted Dan, leaning his head in his hand.
"I've always been a fool about the smell of blood; and it made me downright
sick."

"Wall, I ain't got much of a stomach for a fight myself," returned Pinetop,
reflectively. "You see I ain't never fought anythin' bigger'n a skunk until
to-day; and when I stood out thar with them bullets sizzlin' like fryin'
pans round my head, I kind of says to myself: 'Look here, what's all this
fuss about anyhow? If these here folks have come arter the niggers, let 'em
take 'em off and welcome.' I ain't never owned a nigger in my life, and,
what's more, I ain't never seen one that's worth owning. 'Let 'em take 'em
and welcome,' that's what I said. Bless your life, as I stood out thar I
didn't see how I was goin' to fire my musket, till all of a jiffy a thought
jest jumped into my head and sent me bangin' down that hill. 'Them folks
have set thar feet on ole Virginny,' was what I thought 'They've set thar
feet on ole Virginny, and they've got to take 'em off damn quick!'"

His teeth closed over his pipe as if it were a cartridge; then, after a
silent moment, he opened his mouth and spoke again.

"What I can't make out for the life of me," he said, "is how those boys
from the other states gave thar licks so sharp. If I'd been born across the
line in Tennessee, I wouldn't have fired my musket off to-day. They wan't
a-settin' thar feet on Tennessee. But ole Virginny--wall, I've got a
powerful fancy for ole Virginny, and they ain't goin' to project with her
dust, if I can stand between." He turned away, and, emptying his pipe,
rolled over upon the ground.

Dan lay down upon the blanket, and, with his hand upon his knapsack, gazed
at the small red ember burning amid the ashes. When the last spark faded
into blackness it was as if his thoughts went groping for a