break our oaths or change our purposes."

"It's true, Dick," said Harry, "we can't do either. We'd like to
oblige you Yankees, but we must make those triumphal parades through
Philadelphia and New York."

"I should have known that I couldn't reason with you Johnny Rebs,"
said Dick, smiling, "but I hope that none of you will get killed, and
here and now I make you a promise."

"What is it, Dick?" asked Harry.

"When you suffer your final defeat, and all of you become my prisoners,
I'll treat you well. I'll turn you loose in a Blue-grass pasture,
and you can roam as you please within its limits."

"Thank you," said Happy Tom, "but I'm no Nebuchadnezzar. I can't live on
grass. If I become a prisoner at any time I demand the very best of food,
especially as you Yankees already have more than your share."

"There go the trumpets recalling us," said St. Clair. "The men have
finished the gruesome task. I want you to know, Mr. Mason, that we bear
you no animosity, and we're quite sure that you bear us none."

He extended his hand and Dick's met it in a warm grasp. Langdon also
shook hands with him, and as his eyes twinkled he said:

"Don't fail to notice my haughty bearing when I march at the head of a
triumphal troop down Broadway!"