"Good-by, warm food," wailed Shadrack, for they were passing the Widow
Fry's. "Hot coffee, a plate full of stew, bread...."

"Don't talk about it," begged Tom.

"Fried eggs and ham," continued Shadrack.

"We'll put you down and feed you mud, if you say another word. Won't we,
Wilson!"

"If we don't starve to death first," Wilson replied.

"Good-by, food," Shadrack wailed again. He picked up a stick from the
roadside and commenced to gnaw it; then, surprised because the others were
not eating, he broke the stick in three parts, and said: "Do have some of
the nice tender steak, Mr. Burns and Mr. Wilson." They threw the sticks at
him. He ran ahead of them. They finished the bombardment with hunks of mud,
and chased after him, slipping and splashing along the road.

Andrews had dismounted, and they saw him leave the road, leading his horse.
They followed, and found him standing at the horse's head, waiting for
them.

"How did you fare, men?" he asked. After they had told him of their
adventures, he continued: "This rain is bad. I'm afraid of it. If it keeps
up, General Mitchel will be delayed one day, perhaps two days. It will be
impossible for him to reach Huntsville in time--impossible."

He appeared to be thinking aloud, rather than talking to them. His head was