"Slade!" said Dick.

"Yes, you seem to have heard of him?"

"So I have, and I've seen him, also. I heard, too, that he was up here
making things unhappy for our side. He was in Vicksburg, although you
may not have heard of him there, but he got out before the surrender.
A cunning fellow. A sort of land pirate."

"He's all of that. Since we've been coming through the mountains he and
his band have picked off a lot of our men. Those signals must mean that
they're preparing for another raid. I shouldn't like to be a half-mile
from our lines to-night."

"Why can't we smoke him out, Ohio?"

"Because when we're half way up the slope he and his men are gone on the
other side. Besides, they can rake us with bullets from ambush, while
we're climbing up the ridge. And when we get there, they're gone.
It's these mountains that give the irregulars their chance. See, two
lights are winking at each other now!"

"How far apart would you say they are, Ohio?"

"A mile, maybe, but one is much higher than the other up the mountain.
The lower light, doubtless, is signaling information about us to the
higher. I see your colonel and our colonel talking together. Maybe
we're going to set a trap. It would be a good thing if we could clean
out those fellows."