"I have thought of that, and made up my mind to convert all the
property I have here into gold at once, which will give me between
sixty and seventy thousand dollars, and as fast as I make any of the
bonds from contracts, I will sell them for whatever gold they will
bring."

"That's a capital idea, my dear follow," said Bell, rising from his
chair and slapping Awtry on the shoulder; "I think I shall follow your
plan."

The cigars having been brought in, after a few minutes of unimportant
conversation, Charles Bell left his friend, with the arrangement to
meet at the Varieties theatre in the evening, and Horace Awtry,
divesting himself of his clothing, retired to sleep until the evening
should come.




CHAPTER FOURTH.

A POLITIC STROKE--THE TELEGRAPHIC DISPATCH.


June and half of July had sped swiftly away. The great battle, which
everybody daily expected, had been fought, and the Yankee army
ignominiously defeated. As every one of our readers are well
acquainted with this battle, I shall not go into any details; enough;
as history will tell, to know that it resulted in a glorious victory