protected himself once more with his full guard, while he regained his
balance and strength.

"Am I a firebug?" asked Woodville tauntingly.

Dick considered. This youth interested him. There was no denying that
Woodville had great cause for anger, when he found his father's house
occupied by a regiment of the enemy. He considered it defilement.
The right or wrong of the war had nothing to do with it. It was to him
a matter of emotion.

"I'll take back the epithet 'firebug,'" he said, "but I must stick to my
purpose of carrying you to Colonel Winchester."

"Always provided you can: Look out for yourself."

The Mississippian, who was wonderfully agile, suddenly danced in--on his
toes it seemed to Dick--and landed savagely on his opponent's left ear.
Then he was away so quickly and lightly that Dick's return merely cut the
air.

The Kentuckian felt the blood dripping from another point. His ear,
moreover, was very sore and began to swell rapidly. One less enduring
would have given up, but he had a splendid frame, toughened by incessant
hardship. And, above all, enclosed within that frame was a lion heart.
He shook his head slightly, because a buzzing was going on there, but in
a moment or two it stopped.

"Are you satisfied?" asked young Woodville.