party that the rebel manager and myself should have
an extra share of the spoils if the plan should be a success. By the law
of compensation, or of force, he and I now had the lion's share of the
disappointment.

With the sentinel a party to our escape and one of us as well, the thing
had seemed so easy that, speaking for myself at least, we had in
imagination seen ourselves, with bulging pockets, at home with our loved
ones.

Our feelings can better be imagined than described.

It was always one of the mysteries of life to me how any prisoner could
deliberately betray his comrades, and almost as much of a mystery how
schemes of escape became known to others.

CHAPTER XXIII.

TO CAMP FORD AND JOY.

While we were in Shreveport my regiment was exchanged, and marched
through on its way home. I tried very hard to be allowed to go with
them, but Captain Burchard, who was in charge, refused to allow it. I
had quite a row with him after pleadings and diplomacy had failed, but
nothing did any good. It was decided that I must go back to Tyler on
account of my two attempts to escape.

Shortly after this bitter disappointment the stockade got too full, and
a lot of us were sent to Tyler under a heavy guard, Captain Rummel being
left behind on account of sickness. These guards had special orders to
shoot me if I tried to escape, evidently the result of my row with
Captain Burchard. This fact was told to me by one of the guards, but I
joked about it and professed not to believe it.

One of the guards was a boy, who seemed more inclined to general
conversation than the rest. He walked and talked with me a good deal. In
one of our talks he mentioned that he was from "Kasseder," in Davis
county. As I knew several people in the place, having stopped there on
my former return to Tyler, I at once surprised him by airing my
knowledge. As I desired to amuse myself by quizzing him, I was
mysterious and non-committal. He was puzzled considerably, and went off
and told his captain.

The officer rode up to my side a little later and entered into a
conversation. I treated him the same as I had treated the boy, and when
he left me he was almost overpowered with curiosity.

I now discovered that one of the guards was the man whom I had met with
a wagon when we crossed the Sulphur Fork of Red River. We talked
together, but he did not recognize me. At first I claimed to have seen
him before, but he thought not. After bothering