Their new captors proved to belong to the band through whose hands they had passed, as already described, and after another examination, in which their pockets were again turned inside out, they were allowed to proceed. As they rode on Jack suggested a new idea for their actions the next time they were stopped, as he was fearful they might encounter somebody from “Forsyth way,” and thus it would be discovered that they were not telling the truth.

“I tell you what,” said Jack, “the next time they stop us, if they don't come on us too suddenly, I 'll play crazy.”

“How 'll you do it?” Harry asked.

“Why, I 'll act crazy or idiotic enough, and you can say you're my brother taking me home. We live somewhere in the western part of Missouri, and have been away from home a long time; or perhaps you can locate us in Kansas, near Fort Scott.

“All right,” responded Harry, “we 'll try it on and see how it works.”

They did n't have any occasion for trying it that day, as they encountered no other roving bands. They stopped at two or three houses along the road, partly to ask the way and partly to keep up their assumed characters by asking if anything had been seen of some Home Guards with two horses, one a dark gray with a short tail and one ear notched, and the other a roan that carried his head very high and had a white patch on the side of his nose. The white horse was called Ironsides, Harry explained, and the roan one Tatters. The people were evidently suspicious of strangers, and did not welcome them with a show of delight, but they gave them the directions they wanted about the roads. They were careful not to ask for Fort Scott, or any other place in Kansas, but confined their inquiries within the boundaries of Missouri. Night overtook them at a deserted house, and they at first thought they would sleep there, but after some deliberation concluded it would not be altogether safe. By good luck they found concealed among the trees a small haystack, which not only gave them a sleeping-place, but all the feed they wanted for their horses. They made a supper from their bread and bacon, and then picketed their animals securely, and while one of them watched the other slept. They feared to be surprised during the night or early morning by the owner of the haystack, or some one who knew of its existence, and they naturally wished to have time to get away if possible, by discovering the approach of strangers.

They were not disturbed, and in good time in the morning they took to the road again in the direction of Fort Scott. The direct route would have carried them through Granby and Carthage, but they prudently avoided both these places by taking roads that led around them.

About ten in the forenoon they came to a house where there were signs of habitation, and Harry suggested that it would be a good place for Jack to experiment in “playing crazy.” So they rode up to the house and were met by an old man and two or three women, who came to the door as they were seen approaching.

Jack sprang from his horse and rushed at the man as though he were an old and intimate friend. The man drew back in alarm.

“Don't mind him,” said Harry. “He's crazy, and thinks every old man he sees is his father who died ten years ago.”

“How de do, father?” said Jack, taking the cue from Harry; “so glad to see you, father, after all this time. Where've you been so long?”

The man thought it best to humor the boy, and said he had n't been far away; only down to the next town.

“He's my brother,” said Harry, “and the doctors say the only thing to cure him is to take him home. We've been down South, in Arkansas, and we're going home to Bourbon county, Kansas, where mother lives.”

“Say, father, I'm real hungry, and thought you'd have breakfast ready,” said Jack. “You know, you've always had breakfast ready long before this time.”

There was method in Jack's madness that might have roused suspicion, but the very boldness of the suggestion was calculated to disarm it.

“That's the first sensible thing he's said to-day,” remarked Harry; “for I'm sure the poor boy must be hungry, as he has n't eaten anything since yesterday. The doctor told me he'd come to his senses some time when he wanted anything real bad.”

The women had crowded around the group and were joined by half-a-dozen tow-headed children, that one after another put in an appearance from inner rooms or the rear of the house. Great sympathy was shown for the poor crazy boy, and a breakfast of corn-bread and bacon, the best that could be offered, and very acceptable it was, was set before them.

Jack, while they were preparing breakfast, had gone about the house criticising everything and commenting freely on the appearance of its occupants. He was shrewd enough to make his comments of a flattering character; he praised the beauty of the unkempt children; thought one of the women looked like the governor's wife at Little Rock, and was sure she was his sister. When she denied the relationship Jack assumed anger, and Harry whispered to her that she had better humor him, as she certainly did resemble the governor's wife enough to put the idea in the boy's head.

Jack insisted that the governor's wife was the charmingest lady in Arkansas, and as Harry echoed the sentiment he found it was not received unkindly. Instead of eating their corn-bread dry they had molasses on it, a small jug of that precious article being brought out from some place of concealment by the woman who resembled the heroine of the gubernatorial mansion of the capital of Arkansas.

The boys could not pay for their breakfast, as they had nothing to pay with. At a signal from Harry, Jack assumed an air of somnolence, while the sane brother told the news from Arkansas and answered all questions about the Yankee soldiers down near the frontier. He explained that he had no difficulty in coming right through the Yankee lines, as they took pity on his poor crazy brother, but they would not let them stop anywhere in the camp nor look around to see what they had there.

Soon after they had finished breakfast they continued their journey, accepting with many thanks a goodly parcel of the bacon and bread which had been left over from the meal and would form an excellent supper. Until long after they were out of sight of the house Jack continued to wear the idiotic expression of countenance by which he had so successfully carried out his deception.

“I was half ashamed of myself, in fact a good deal more than half,” said he, “when I found how kindly they treated us. They took pity on me and gave us a good breakfast, which we sadly needed, and they could n't have been more sympathetic if we'd been of their own kith and kin.”

“And to think I flattered that woman into believing she looked like the wife of the governor of Arkansas, whom I've never seen, and don't know how she looks. Well, anyway, she had a good, pleasant face, and if the governor's wife has as kind a heart His Excellency may be proud of her.”

“We 'll get even with them and make a return for their kindness one of these days,” said Harry; “and perhaps we 'll do it very soon. But it will never do to let them know how they were imposed upon, as it would be a reflection on their discernment.”

Nothing of consequence happened to the youths until late in the afternoon, when they were suddenly confronted by ten or twelve rough-looking fellows, armed with shotguns and squirrel-rifles, after the usual style of the scouting parties they had already seen. But if there was any difference between this party and its predecessors, it was in favor of the earlier ones, as the crowd they were now facing seemed to be decidedly a worse lot. With their weapons aimed at the heads of the youths they ordered them down from their horses, threatening to shoot them if they did n't get down at once.

“Now I'll do the crazy, idiotic trick,” whispered Jack.

Harry got down from his horse, but Jack sat still and stared vacantly and with open mouth at the rangers.

“Get off that horse!” said one of the men, “and be quick about it.”

“Don't mind him!” exclaimed Harry; “he's my crazy brother, and I'm taking him home. He don't know what he's doing.”

This seemed to amuse the strangers, and they drew down their weapons and waited to see what the lunatic would do next.

Jack continued to hold his mouth open and look as foolish as possible. He stared at the strangers for two or three minutes, shifting his gaze from one to another. Finally, pointing to one of the men, he said:

“That's General Price; I know 'tis.”

The men laughed heartily at this suggestion, and not the mildest of the laughers was the individual who had been thus designated. It is not always that the victim of a joke can enjoy it as well as do those about him.

The newly-commissioned “general” was mounted on a fine horse (which was not branded with his initials), and suddenly Jack took a fancy to the animal and proposed a trade. The general declined, and Jack insisted. To prove his earnestness he descended from his own steed and tried to pull the general down from the horse that he coveted; but it is fair to presume that he did not pull very hard, as the general retained his place.

All this time the men laughed heartily at the antics of the supposed lunatic, and they continued to laugh when Jack asked one of them to shoot the general because he would n't swap horses. As the man would n't comply with his wish, Jack begged for a gun, that he might do the shooting himself, and when that was refused he threatened to find somebody who would lend him a cannon, or a whole dozen of them, and he would come around and shoot everybody that tried to stop him.

Harry begged the men not to oppose Jack, as it only made him worse. Then Jack proposed to go along with them, so that he could get the general's horse whenever he got off; a suggestion that did not meet with approval. But Jack insisted to such an extent that the general lost his temper, and began to swear roundly at both the youths, till he was stopped by the one who appeared to be the leader.

Jack's ruse worked to a charm, as the rangers were now quite as desirous of getting rid of the boys as they had previously been to make their acquaintance. They assisted Harry to get Jack on his horse again, and told him they would stay where they were till the youths were out of sight. Harry mounted once more, and with considerable apparent difficulty persuaded Jack to accompany him. He only succeeded in doing so by exacting a promise from “General Price” that he would follow them at once and trade horses when they went into camp that evening.

With this understanding they rode off, and as they went over the crest of the ridge Harry peered over his shoulder and had the satisfaction of seeing their late acquaintances riding the other way along the road at a smart pace. They were greatly relieved when they saw the last of the jayhawkers, and devoutly hoped they would not encounter them again.

To make sure of being out of their reach, they rode at a good speed for two hours and more. The sun was about setting when they came to a vacant house. While they were looking through it and its outbuildings, in search of feed for their steeds, and possibly for something they could put into their own mouths, a squad of horsemen dashed up to the door, and they found themselves prisoners once more.

Things were getting lively, but they felt easy this time, as they saw that the uniform of their captors was the union blue. The squad was quickly followed by another and then by another, until not less than fifty mounted men were assembled. They were under the command of a captain, who proceeded to interrogate the young prisoners.

Harry was inclined to be suspicious, as he had been told that a band of thieves wearing the federal uniform was scouring the country and committing atrocities such as the worst of the secession bands had rarely been accused of. So he answered by telling the old story of having come from the neighborhood of Forsyth, and being in pursuit of some horse-thieves. He again described the missing horses, and asked if the depredating Home Guards had been seen by the captain or his men.

His course was a prudent one, as we can easily see. In case his captors were really union cavalrymen he knew that no harm was likely to come to Jack or himself. He was ready to declare who and what they were as soon as he was satisfied of the genuineness of the apparent unionists; but, if on the other hand, they should prove to be the band of murderers of which he had heard, the fate of both the youths would have been sealed, and their lives forfeited if they had avowed their real characters.

Harry and Jack endured very well the searching investigation of the captain; stuck to the original story and did not reveal their true characters, and were finally turned over to the care of the guard, who treated them kindly, though without giving them the least chance for getting away. This was an indication in the right direction, and Harry proceeded to follow it up.

Finding that the sentinel who had them in charge was inclined to be talkative, he engaged him in conversation, and soon learned enough to convince him that he was among friends. Then he asked to be taken before the captain again, as he had something to say that he had hitherto concealed.

His request was conveyed to the captain, and he soon followed the request. When he came into the officer's presence, the latter impatiently said:

“Well, young fellow, what is it now?”

“I want to say,” responded Harry, “that we haven't told you the truth.”

“That's nothing surprising,” was the reply; “very few people tell it nowadays in this part of the country.”

“We've told you we were secesh,” explained Harry, “and we're nothing of the sort.”

“That's too thin,” exclaimed the captain; “if you think you're going to play union on me you're mistaken.”

He looked the youth straight in the eye as he said this. Harry met his glance firmly, and after a moment's pause answered:

“We don't propose to play anything on you now, since we're satisfied you're union soldiers. We were afraid you might be guerrillas in disguise, and so told the horse-stealing story that we'd made up for our protection.”

“Well, what are you, anyway, and where are you going?”

“We're from General Curtis's army, and are going to Fort Scott as soon as we can get there.”

Instantly the captain's manner changed. He arose from his seat and said he thought they were the very boys he wanted to find.

“Anyway,” he continued, “we 'll accommodate you by taking you to Fort Scott. If you've told the truth it will be all right, and if you've lied and are the secesh you first made yourselves out to be you 'll have a taste of the guard-house that 'll cure you of a habit of wandering from the truth.”

Then the captain gave orders that the youths should be carefully looked after and not have a chance of escaping, but at the same time they should be permitted to ride their own horses and have every privilege consistent with being carefully guarded. “They are probably all right, but they may be all wrong, and so we won't take any chances on them,” the captain remarked to his lieutenant, as the youths disappeared in charge of their guard.

Bright and early the next morning the whole party was on the road toward Fort Scott, where they arrived safely, but not without a slight brush with a small band of guerrillas whom they encountered about a mile from their camping place. A few shots were exchanged, but at such long range that it is doubtful if anybody was hurt. Certainly nobody was injured on the union side, though several bullets whistled very near.

The party which captured our young friends had been sent from Fort Scott for the double purpose of looking for messengers from General Curtis, and also to ascertain the whereabouts of any guerrilla bands that might be infesting the country. Having no proof of their character, the captain was naturally disinclined to believe their second story. He had supposed they were lying when they were first brought before him, and, therefore, was not inclined to accept without a great deal of reserve the subsequent explanation.

But all doubt was cleared up when the scouting party reached Fort Scott and handed its captives over to the commandant of the post. Colonel Hinton, the officer who then held that position, questioned the youths briefly and learned when and how they were sent away. When satisfied on this point he asked for their dispatches.

“We have n't any,” Harry answered. Then he told the circumstances attending their departure.

“But I'm sure you have brought them, as General Curtis was to send a messenger about this time, and that was one of the objects for which I sent out the scouting party.”

Harry repeated his assurance that they had brought no dispatches; then the colonel laughed and called his adjutant, and the latter, at the colonel's suggestion, proceeded to rip off some of the patches on the butternut garments of the boys. The first and second of the patches revealed nothing, but the third yielded a letter written on thin paper, and inclosed in oiled silk. Another patch brought forth another letter, and by the time the garments had been restored to their original unpatched condition, no less than three dispatches had been brought to light.

Harry and Jack stood speechless with astonishment. Here they had been carrying dispatches without knowing it; the mystery of their having nothing further to do than report to the commander of the post was explained.

“This is nothing new,” said the colonel, as he silently regarded the youths. “It is n't the first time a man has served as messenger without being aware of it; but your case is n't equal to that of a man in Kentucky that I heard of not long ago. He was a rebel spy, who passed frequently inside our lines. One of our spies who was with the rebel army used to conceal dispatches in the lining of this man's overcoat whenever he saw indications that he was about to go away, and when he got into our lines an officer who knew his real character used to get possession of the papers, the efficient carrier being entirely ignorant of the fact that he was thus being used. He was allowed to come and go, as his services to the Union were much greater than to the Confederacy, though he was no friend of ours.”

The colonel then gave orders that the boys should be well fed and cared for, and told them they could rest a day before setting out on their return. “And when you go back,” said the colonel, “you will not run as much risk as you have just been through.”

They had their day's rest as proposed, and on the second morning after their arrival at Fort Scott they started on the return journey. Colonel Hinton assigned a company of cavalry to accompany them, and kept good his promise that they should not run the same risk as in their trip upward from the army.

Harry and Jack were not forgetful of the family who fed and cared for them on the occasion when the latter “played crazy.” A well-wrapped package containing a pound of tea, and another of coffee, was fastened behind Harry's saddle, and while on the way Harry told the captain of the escort all about their adventure. At Harry's suggestion the boys did not show themselves at the house, as he did not wish the people to know that they had been deceived as to their character. The escort divided a little while before reaching the house, and while one squad went there and delivered the parcel, which was supposed to have been sent by the boys, the other went by at a trot, the youths riding so that they were screened by some of the men.

The boys were of service to the escort in showing the way to the haystack which they discovered in the forest, as already mentioned. When they reached it they had a skirmish with a party of guerrillas who had already found it, and were camping there comfortably with their saddles stripped from their horses, and evidently under the belief that nobody but themselves knew where it was. Our men had the guerrillas at a disadvantage, and the fight resulted badly for the rebels; two of them were killed and three wounded, while on our side only one man was hurt, and he but slightly. Ten horses were captured and taken away in triumph; some of the guerrillas escaped with their steeds, while the rest fled on foot. A sharp watch was kept through the night lest they should return and renew the fight, but they did not put in an appearance.

Just as they were starting the next morning Harry called attention to a cloud of dust in the road they intended following, and it was immediately surmised that an enemy was in the neighborhood. Very quickly the order to mount was given and the column moved in the direction of the suspicious dust. Hardly had they reached the road before a crowd of horsemen was seen approaching, and then both sides made ready for a fight.

There was a good deal of maneuvering for the advantage, and both parties advanced with great caution. A few shots were exchanged at long distances, where they could not possibly do any harm, but simply on the Chinese principle of letting the other side know that warm work could be expected. As the columns drew closer together the strangers were found to be dressed in blue, and as they made a similar discovery concerning our own party the shooting ceased. A flag of truce was then sent forward, accompanied by Harry, to meet a similar flag from the other side. The flags met half-way between the lines, and it was quickly ascertained that the supposed enemy was a scouting party sent out by General Curtis. Harry recognized the bearers of the flag, and there was a vigorous hand-shaking followed by a signal for both sides to put off the idea of fighting for the present unless they could find somebody else to fight with.

On their arrival in camp Harry and Jack reported immediately to General Vandever, and then to General Curtis, to whom they delivered the dispatches they had brought from Fort Scott. The general questioned them closely in regard to their experiences, and laughed heartily when he heard of Jack's exploit in playing crazy. He thought it an admirable ruse, but said it could not be tried on very often, as it was sure to leak out. Then he praised the boys for the admirable manner in which they had performed their difficult task, and said he might have occasion to call on them again.

“I'm not at all sure,” said Harry, as soon as the boys were by themselves once more, “I'm not sure that I'm in a hurry to go on another scouting expedition; are you?”

“As to that,” answered Jack, “I'd like a little rest and a chance to think it over. But after I've rested I shall be ready to try it on once more, but not through the same country.”

“I don't suppose General Curtis would send us that way again,” was the reply, “as he would know that it would be doubly dangerous for us, since we've been seen with the cavalry and would be known to be on the union side. We could n't make anybody believe our story about hunting for stolen horses from Forsyth way.”

On the day of their return to camp orders were issued for the army to be ready to move on the following morning. The boys wondered if the advance upon Little Rock was about to commence, and also whether the dispatches they brought had anything to do with the orders to march.

But the development of events did not indicate that they were going in the direction of the Arkansas capital, nor yet to Fort Scott or anywhere near it. The army moved to Forsyth, in Taney county, Missouri, on the banks of the White river, and nearly due east from Keitsville, where the camp had been. For some part of the way the principal road follows the bank of the river and gives pretty glimpses of the wooded valley and the meandering stream. Like most of the southwestern rivers, the White has a very tortuous course, and consequently the road rather touched upon than followed the stream; to have done the latter would make it needlessly long.

There was no enemy of consequence along the line of march, and therefore no opposition was expected or offered. Here and there half-a-dozen horsemen were seen, but they were not considered worthy of attention. Forsyth was occupied until the army received a supply of stores and ammunition, which was sent from Springfield by a somewhat difficult road through the Ozark mountains.

Our young friends went with dispatches to the post commander at Springfield, but as the road was well guarded and no rebels or guerrillas were supposed to be in the neighborhood, they did not consider the journey of any serious moment, and did not disguise themselves. The distance is about fifty miles, and they took a part of two days for the ride, spending the night at Ozark, which is about half-way between the opposite ends of the route. There was so much up and down hill to the road that they did not find it an easy one to travel in a hurry, and besides, they were carrying out the orders of the general in spending the night at Ozark, where there was temporarily a garrison of fifteen or twenty men.

“It is a very pretty mountain country,” said Harry afterwards, when speaking of the journey, “and I wished I could make sketches of some of the landscapes along the road. In some places you look down a long distance in the valleys, and in others you are completely shut in and wonder how you will ever get out of there. An interesting feature of the country is the large springs that abound all through it; they are like the great springs we saw at Cross Hollows in Arkansas, and doubtless have the same sort of origin. There is one spring near the village of Ozark which forms the head of a good-sized brook, just as does the spring at the head of Sugar Creek.”

At Springfield they found very little change in the state of affairs since they passed through the town on their way to Sugar Creek and Pea Ridge. The garrison had thrown up earthworks to protect themselves in case of an attack by the rebels, as it was thought possible that a column of cavalry, or possibly some marauding expeditious like those of Quantrell and Todd, might take a notion to pay a brief visit to the place, and the commandant did n't propose to be caught napping. The supplies for General Curtis were being pushed forward as fast as possible, but the bad condition of the roads and the scarcity of draft animals greatly hindered the work. Mules and horses were in great demand, and considering the great numbers of these animals that had been completely worn out and used up in the arduous service of transportation in the southwest, the great wonder is that supplies could be sent forward at all.

They remained two days in Springfield and then started on their return to Forsyth. Not dreaming of any danger, they did not deem it worth their while to so time the journey as to spend the night under the protection of the guard at Ozark; instead of doing so, they passed through that town and lodged in a house several miles beyond, where they had an exciting adventure, as the sequel will show.