"I wonder what the old chap would say if he knew I was about," thought Archie--"I, who gave him that wound. I'd be booked for Shreveport, certain." He was interrupted in his meditations by the movements of the officers, who arose and approached the door, bringing their chairs with them. The storm had ceased, and as there was no longer any necessity of remaining in the house, the rebels were, no doubt, moving to cooler quarters. Archie at once thought of retreating; but the thought had scarcely passed through his mind, when the door opened, the rebels walked out on the portico, and seating themselves in their chairs, deposited their feet on the railing; while the young officer stretched himself out behind the bush, heartily wishing that he could sink into the ground out of sight. "A very warm evening, colonel," said one of the rebels, fanning himself with his hat. "Very," answered the guerrilla chief, gently moving his wounded arm, little dreaming that the one who gave him that wound was at that very moment lying behind the bushes into which he had just thrown the stump of his cigar. "It's very warm. I wish I had that rascally Yank that shot me," he added, "this wound is very painful." Archie upon hearing this was almost afraid that the beating of his heart, which thumped against his ribs with a noise that frightened him, would certainly reveal to the rebels the fact that the "rascally Yank" was then in their immediate vicinity. "But, if our plans work," continued the colonel, "in less than a week from this time they will all be on the way to Shreveport." "May I ask, colonel," said the one who had not yet spoken, "how soon those boats will be ready?" "Major Jackson reports that they will be finished by to-morrow night, and it will take all of one day to run them down the creek to the river." "Then by Thursday evening," said the one who had first spoken, "we may be ready to make the attempt." "Yes, if the night is favorable." "But, colonel, all these gun-boats are supplied with hot water, and that, you know, is the worst kind of an enemy to fight. Men will run from that who wouldn't flinch before cold steel." "Oh, we must take the Yanks by surprise, of course. The boats will hold fifty men each, and we must drop down the river so that we will land one on each side of the vessel. If the night is dark--and we shall not make the attempt unless it is--we can get within pistol-shot of her before we are discovered, and by the time their men get fairly out of bed she's ours. Hark! what noise was that?" The rebels listened for a moment, and one of them replied: "I didn't hear any thing." "Well, _I_ did," returned the colonel, "and it sounded very much like some one shouting for help. I'm certain I heard it."