And so, he stepped out swiftly and faced the enemy.
"Hah!" shouted Dudley, looking up at the sound of branches crackling underfoot.

"A Johnnie Reb, eh--walking right into camp! That's right, Harry, keep him covered." He looked Cary over from head to foot with a sneer at his tattered uniform.
"Well, sir," he asked, "who are you ?" "A Confederate officer," was the quiet reply, "acting as escort for this child.

We are on our way to Richmond." Cary's hand went into the breast of his coat and he drew out a folded paper.
"Here is my authority for entering your lines--a pass signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Morrison." At the sound of the name Corporal Dudley started and quickly took the paper.

But before he opened it he gave Cary a keen look which, to the Confederate officer, did not bode well for the prospect of immediate release.

It seemed as if the man's sharp wits had suddenly seized on something which he could profitably turn to his own account.
With his back turned on Cary and Virgie the Corporal unfolded the pass and studied it carefully, while the troopers gathered behind him and tried to read its contents over his shoulder.
"Pwhat does it say ?" asked the young Irishman, Harry O'Connell, who had covered Cary with his carbine.