Half an hour later Watson and Macgreggor, thoroughly tired out, were sound asleep, in one of the small rooms in the second-story of the house. George, however, lay tossing from side to side on a bed in the adjoining room, directly over the kitchen, with Waggie curled up on the floor close by. The more he thought of the strange behavior of Hare the more uneasy he became. Why had the farmer regarded him and his two companions with such a suspicious glance? Then George suddenly recollected where he had seen that face before. Yes! There could be no mistake. While he, Macgreggor and Watson were dining that day at the village tavern in Jasper, Hare was loitering on the porch of the place. But what of that? The three pretended Kentuckians had told their usual story, and professed their love for the Confederacy, and no one there had seemed to doubt their truthfulness for a moment. In vain the boy tried to fall asleep. At last, hearing voices in the kitchen, he rose quietly from his bed, stole out of his room, and stealthily walked to the little hallway that led to the kitchen stairway. At the head of the staircase he halted. It was clear that Farmer Hare was saying something emphatic, while his wife was entering a feeble protest. An intuition told the listener that his own party was the subject of discussion. Slowly, cautiously, he crept down the stairway, until he almost touched the closed door which led from it to the kitchen. "I tell you, woman," Hare was saying, "these three fellows are spies of some sort, and the sooner we have them under arrest the better." "I can't believe it," murmured the wife. "I don't care whether you believe it or not," rejoined the husband, in a harsh tone. "Don't I tell you that when these two men, and the boy, were at the tavern in Jasper to-day, one of the men was recognized by John Henderson. Henderson is a spy in the service of General Beauregard, and was in the camp of General Mitchell only a few days ago, disguised as a trader. There he saw this fellow--the one with the brown beard--and he swears there's no mistake. But he didn't tell us in time--the three disappeared. No; there's mischief of some sort brewing here, and I intend to stop it, if my name's Hare. We don't want any spies around here." "Spies!" exclaimed the woman. "Then if they are caught within our lines they will be shot!" It seemed as if she shuddered as she spoke. "Or hanged," added the farmer, with an unpleasant laugh.