as you will stay," said Pomp.
"I shall miss you--even Cudjo will hate to see you go."

Penn thanked him, fully appreciating their kindness; but his heart was
yearning for other things.

Day after day he lingered still, however. The difficulties in the way of
escape thickened, instead of diminishing. In February, as I have said,
the people had voted against secession. Not content with this, the
governor called an extra session of the legislature, which proceeded to
carry the state out of the Union by fraud. On the sixth of May an
ordinance of separation was passed, to be submitted to the vote of the
people on the eighth of June. But without waiting for the will of the
people to be made manifest, the authors of this treason went on to act
precisely as if the state had seceded. A league was formed with the
confederate states, the control of all the troops raised in Tennessee
was given to Davis, and troops from the cotton states were rushed in to
make good the work thus begun. The June election, which took place under
this reign of terror, resulted as was to have been expected. Rebel
soldiers guarded the polls. Few dared to vote openly the Union ticket;
while those who deposited a close ticket were "spotted." Thus timid men
were frightened from the ballot-box; while soldiers from the cotton
states voted in their places. Then, as it was charged, there were the
grossest frauds in counting the votes. And so Tennessee "seceded."

The state authorities had also achieved a politic stroke by disarming
the people. Every owner of a gun was compelled to deliver it up, or pay
a heavy fine. The arms thus secured went to equip the troops raised for
the Confederacy; while the Union cause was left crippled and
defenceless. Many firelocks were of course kept concealed: some were
taken to pieces, and the pieces scattered,--the barrel here, the stock
there, and the lock in still another place,--to come together again only
at the will of the owner: but, as a general thing, the loyalists could
not be said to have arms. It was in those times that the precaution of
Stackridge and his fellow-patriots was justified. The secrecy with which
they had conducted their night-meetings and drills, though seemingly
unnecessary at first, saved them from much inconvenience when the full
tide of persecution set in. They were suspected indeed, and it was
believed they had arms; but they still met in safety, and the place
where their arms were deposited rema