hrough St. Louis without being put in
jail, and where did you pick him up, captain?" were the questions Dick
asked when he recovered from his surprise. "Lyon is between us and St.
Louis, but we manage to get our mail pretty regularly--Heard about Bull
Run? Wasn't that a victory though? Fifteen thousand against thirty-five
thousand! When we were at school, captain--"

"Where's the regiment?" interrupted the latter. "I am ordered to report
to the colonel at once."

"Over there," replied Dick, sweeping his right arm around the horizon so
as to include the whole camp on that side of the street. "Come on, and I
will show you the way. When we were at school the Union boys made sport
of us rebels because we shouted ourselves hoarse over the victory in
Charleston Harbor, and declared that we ought to be ashamed of ourselves
for it. Five thousand men against fifty-one was not a thing to be proud
of. But they couldn't say that now if they were here. We won a fair
fight on the field of Bull Run, although the enemy outnumbered us more
than two to one. I say we are going to repeat the good work right here
in Missouri."

"Are you Confederate?" inquired Rodney.

"Not much. I'm State Rights. That's me."

"And you'll not be ordered out of your State?"

"I may be ordered but I won't go. That's me. Seen Jeff Thompson's last
proclamation? In it he calls Lyon's Dutchmen Hessians and Tories, and
says our first hard work must be to drive them from the State. After
that has been done, then we'll decide whether or not we want to join the
Confederacy."

"If the Governor of Louisiana had talked that way I would not be here
now," said Rodney. "He tried to swear us into the Confederate service
against our will, and that broke up the company. I have as much to tell
you as you have to tell me, and I propose that we postpone our talking
until we can sit down somewhere and have it out with no fear of
interruption. Do you suppose I can get into your company?"

"I suppose you can," replied Dick, with a laugh. "When the captain sees
your writing he will make you orderly so quick you will never know it."

"Then he'll never see any of my writing," said Rodney, earnestly. "If
you so much as hint to him that I know a pen-point from a pen-holder,
I'll never forgive you. Captain Hubbard's men wanted to make me company
clerk, but I couldn't see the beauty of it, and so they elected me
sergeant. But I don't want any office now. I want to remain a privat