"That's a Secessionist phrase which he borrowed from some Confederate orator, or at Bowling Green, where he spends too much of his time; and his father had better be teaching him how to lay bricks and mix mortar." "But Uncle Titus is over there half his time," suggested Deck. "He had better be attending to his business; for the people over at the village say they will have to get another mason to settle there, for your Uncle Titus don't work half his time, and the people can't get their jobs done. There is a new house over there waiting for him to build the chimney." "Why don't you talk to him, father?" asked Deck very seriously. "Talk to him, Dexter!" exclaimed Mr. Lyon. "You might as well set your dog to barking at the rapids in the river. For some reason Titus seems to be rather set against me since we settled in Barcreek. We used to be on the best of terms in New Hampshire, for I always lent him money when he was hard pressed. I don't know what has come over him since we came to Kentucky." "I do," added Deck, looking earnestly into his father's face. "Well, what is it, I should like to know? I have always done everything I could since I came here for him." "Sandy told me something about it one day, and seemed to have a good deal of feeling about it. He says you wronged Uncle Titus out of five thousand dollars," said Deck, wondering if his father had ever heard the charge before. "I know what Sandy meant. Of course Titus must have been in the habit of talking about this matter in his family, or Sandy would not have known anything about it," replied Mr. Lyon, evidently very much annoyed at the revelation of his son. "I did not know what Sandy meant, and I thought I had better not ask him; for of course I knew there was not a particle of truth in the charge," added Deck, surprised to find that his father knew something about the accusation. "I don't talk with my children about troublesome family matters, Dexter, and your Uncle Titus ought not to do so. I shall only say that there is not the slightest grain of reason or justice in the charge against me; and Titus knows it as well as I do. If anybody has wronged him, it was your deceased Uncle Duncan. Let the matter drop there, at least for the present. Why does Sandy wish to prevent Artie from attending the Union meeting to-morrow night?" "He said it was likely to be broken up by the Home Guards." "Then he probably knows something about a plot to interfere with the gathering. I rode up to the village this morning, and I was quite surprised to find that several whom I knew to be loyal men did not intend to be present. When I urged them to be there, they hinted that there would be trouble at the schoolhouse."