other side was the nearest way to the quarters, but for the moment was
the most exposed course; to follow the hedge to the bottom of the field
and the boundary fence and then cross at right angles, in its shadow,
would be safer, but they would lose valuable time. Believing that Cato's
vengeful assailant was still hovering near with his comrades, Courtland
cast a quick glance down the shadowy line of Osage hedge beside them.
Suddenly Cato grasped his arm and pointed in the same direction, where
the boundary fence he had noticed--a barrier of rough palings--crossed
the field. With the moon low on the other side of it, it was a mere
black silhouette, broken only by bright silver openings and gaps along
its surface that indicated the moonlit field beyond. At first Courtland
saw nothing else. Then he was struck by the fact that these openings
became successively and regularly eclipsed, as with the passing of some
opaque object behind them. It was a file of men on the other side of
the fence, keeping in its shelter as they crossed the field towards his
house. Roughly calculating from the passing obscurations, there must
have been twelve or fifteen in all.

He could no longer doubt their combined intentions, nor hesitate how to
meet them. He must at once make for the quarters with Cato, even if he
had to cross that open field before them. He knew that they would avoid
injuring him personally, in the fear of possible Federal and political
complications, and he resolved to use that fear to insure Cato's safety.
Placing his hands on the negro's shoulders, he shoved him forwards,
falling into a "lock step" so close behind him that it became impossible
for the most expert marksman to fire at one without imperiling the
other's life. When half way across the field he noticed that the shadows
seen through the openings of the fence had paused. The ambushed men
had evidently seen the double apparition, understood it, and, as he
expected, dared not fire. He reached the other side with Cato in safety,