"Yes, come out; the fight is all over."

"No, vos it?" and he flung open the lower half of the door. "Veil, I
vos not sorry. Have ve vipped dem already?"

"Yes, it's all done with. Take your men out of there, and go into camp
somewhere in the yard. Seek out our wounded and attend to them as soon
as possible. Are your men hungry?"

"Veil, maybe dey vos not quite full, but dere is a ham in der bantry
dot vould pe bretty good mit der stomach."

"Take it along with you; only hurry up, and attend at once to what I
have told you."

I watched closely until they had all passed out, and then turned to the
highly amused Federal lieutenant.

"You surely have a character in that fellow," he said good-humoredly,
"and I can bear witness he is a fighter when the time comes."

I left them, remembering then my own need. By using the back stairway I
avoided unpleasant contact with the traces of conflict yet visible at
the front of the house, and finally discovered a bathroom which
afforded facilities for cleansing my flesh wounds and making my general
appearance more presentable. I found I could do little to improve the
condition of my clothing, but after making such changes for the better
as were possible, soaking the clotted blood from out my hair, and
washing the powder stains from my face, I felt I should no longer prove
an object of aversion even to the critical eyes of the women, who would