A rebel Major came along and dismounted, and sat down as if to rest, holding his horse by the halter. It was soon evident, from his numerous inquiries, that rest was not so much of an object as contraband information. His horse was a nice one, and was equipped with a fine saddle and bridle, and across his saddle was a portmanteau. A soldier of the 30th Illinois Regiment came to my quarters, and requested me to go out and see the Major and converse with him. He also told me that the Major was trying to get information from the soldiers that he had no business with, and that if I would succeed in holding his attention, the boys would play some kind of a caper upon him for his improper inquisitiveness. I went out, and found him engaged in trying to find out the strength of General Grant's army. As I came up I squatted right down in front of him, and commenced to ask him questions about how he liked the siege, etc.; then, fixing my eyes on his, I gave him a severe rebuke for participating in such an unjust cause, and tried to show him its utter hopelessness. I then spoke of the blessings of peace, prosperity, and happiness, as they had existed under our Government before the war, and then contrasted that state of affairs with the existing state of affairs in the rebellious States, and concluded by telling him that any man who had been guilty of raising his hand against the best Government that ever existed, ought to be satisfied with the experience that he had had, and heartily ashamed of himself. As I began to talk, the soldiers began to gather in a crowd around us. I suspected that some of them would cut the halter-strap and lead the horse off into the woods, before the crowd would open sufficiently for the Major to see which way it went. Whenever the Major showed any inclination to look behind him, I would become emphatic in my expressions and gesticulations, and look so earnestly at him that I kept his attention riveted upon me. While I was talking, the portmanteau was opened, and a beautiful silver-mounted ten-shooting revolver taken out and carried off. When I had finished, the crowd dispersed, and the Major prepared to leave. In doing so, he discovered that his revolver was gone. He told me about it and described the revolver, and said that it must have been taken while I had been talking with him. He went to Brigadier-General Force, commanding the brigade, and complained that, while he was resting, somebody stole his revolver. The General immediately issued an order requiring all the company commanders in the brigade to search the men of their commands at once for the revolver, but it was without success. The Major told the General that one of the men standing by was called by the name of Bunker; consequently, I was sent for. "Do you know who got this man's revolver?" inquired the General of me, as I went in. "No, sir. I did not see his revolver, and did not know that he had one until he told me that some one had stolen it."