Tom Strong, Lincoln's Scout

Him?-A Fugitive Slave Guides Him-Buying a Bo

hide as near at hand as might be. In other words, he thought, quite correctly, that the best thing to do is exactly what your enemy does not expect you to do. He picked out a big oak tree quite close to the track, its top a mass of thick-set leaves such as a Southern April brings to a Southern oak. He climbed it, nestled into a sheltered crotch high above the ground, and waited. He did not have to wait long. He could still hear the noise of his comrades plunging through the woods when the Confederate engine drew up beneath his feet. Before it stopped, the armed men who clustered thick upon locomotive and tender were on the ground

his captor, cheerily

in' to Kingdom Cum, blast him!" He lifted his fist to strike the he

nto the tender. Do it now and do it quick." Sulkily the brute obeyed. "Lift him in," went on the officer to the man who was sup

aid. "You've been chasing brave me

a gallant f

r seen b

y's "Lays of Ancient Rome." The boy had stood beside his mother's kne

oing. He had rustled the leaves about him. A tin

said a soldier, pointing straight at the

-he knew the fate the prisoners faced-and partly because of his admiration for "the gallant feat of arms." Be

unt just now. Get ahead. We'll send an alarm fr

hue-and-cry would sweep the country. Everybody would be on the lookout for stray Yankees. And as everybody would think the estrays were all going North, Tom decided to go South. He slid down the tree, looked

owed fields to the little river. A dusty road, with few marks of travel, meandered beside the stream. He was evidently near no main highway. Not far away a planter's home, with a stately portico, gleamed in the sunlight through its screen of trees. In the distance lay a little village. There was food in both places and he must have food. To which should he go? It was decided fo

n me, Massa. I'll be your slabe, Massa. Jes' take me with you. Please don't tel

our name?"

is, M

id you c

sa." He pointed to t

are you do

was not far away. He made up his mind to try for freedom. His master kept dogs to track runaways, but no dog can track a scent in running water. It was not probable his flight would be discovered until after nightfall. So he had stolen to his hiding-place in the afternoon, intendin

to live on the jour

ith a chuckle, "and I'se got a-plenty to eat to

mething to

nt bloodhound's bay scared Morris so much that his white teeth clattered like castanets. Once the "too-whit-too" of a nearby owl sent Tom into an ecstasy of terror. He fairly clung to Morris, who, just ahead of him, was guiding his steps through the shallow water. When he found he had been scared by an owl, he was so ashamed that he forced himself to be braver thereafter. At last they reached their first goal, the larger r

dey'll s'picion us. Lemme untie it. Den dey'll t'ink it's cum loose and floated away. 'N

omed boat. They got into it, pushed off, and floated down the current without a sound. Morris steered with an oar at the ste

y had pushed of

is boat wor

ars fer a new one jest li

ld be no sound of clinking gold as he walked. He figured that the three oars and the sorry fishing tackle could not be worth more than the boat was, so he took out two coins and put them in a battered old pan that lay beside the stump to which the boat was tied. There the "cracker"-another name for the "poor white"-would be sure to see them in the morning. As a matter of fact he did. And they were worth so much m

id the boat in the tall reeds that fringed the mouth of a tiny creek and they themselves crept a few yards into the forest, ate very much le