pulled out the sodden remains of the food Andrews had given him, gave the
bread to the horse and ate the meat. Then, leading the horse, he walked
along the road. He had passed Coal Mines shortly after midnight, but
without coming upon Brown. Probably, he thought, Brown and his companion
had found a house or barn in which they were spending the night, which
meant that he was ahead of them and would be in Chattanooga when they
arrived.

A half-hour later he tried to remount, but the horse was too exhausted to
bear his weight. They rested for a few minutes and then walked for another
half-hour. Several times the horse stumbled. When they stopped to rest
again, the horse braced his legs as though it took all his strength to
stand. His head was hanging, and his eyes were dull.

"Poor fellow," Tom repeated. "It's cruel to make you do this, but I can't
leave you here." If he had to abandon the animal, he wanted to leave him
where there was some chance of finding food. Here there was nothing.

They pressed on again, walking for a few minutes, then resting. It was
nearly seven o'clock when they came to a big house, standing several
hundred yards from the road. Tom turned up the driveway. Presently the odor
of frying bacon came to his nostrils, and he felt faint and dizzy.

"Lan' sakes alive," exclaimed the negro woman who came to the door. "Lan'
sakes, have you all been out in this rain storm. Jasper!"

"Yas'm," came the answer. A little negro boy appeared from around his
mother's skirts.

"Take this gentleman's horse 'round to de stable. Come right in, sir."