In the present volume this battalion enters upon active service. The same characters are presented in the uniform of cavalrymen, mounted on the fine equine stock of the plantation. Noah Lyon, the head of the family, obtains an actual military title, instead of the merely complimentary one given to him by his friends and neighbors. His two sons, Deck and Artie, appear in the front rank in the operations in which the squadron is engaged, though both of them enter the service as privates. The young men are of the loftiest moral character, actuated by the purest and most devoted patriotism. They are of good physique, in vigorous health, and do not seem to know the meaning of the word fear. If their individual exploits seem to any to be extravagant, they have been more than paralleled on the battle-field in hundreds of instances. Both of them are exceedingly fond of their steeds; and Deck, in the months devoted to drill, makes no insignificant figure as a horse-trainer. His steed, one of the blood stock of his deceased uncle, is so intelligent and so apt a scholar, that he enables his rider to achieve some rather wonderful feats in action. He is modest, and, when praised for his deeds, attributes them to "Ceph." This young soldier wins and obtains a promotion which will supply the title for the next volume. In contrast with the progressive fortunes of the loyal brother and his two sons, the disloyal one, who had become, through the influence of his money rather than his ability, the leader of the "ruffians," is again introduced, with his two boys, who follow in the footsteps of their father till they become disgusted with their lot. The operations of the loyal battalion of cavalry are confined to the protection of the bridges on the railroads, and to repressing "partisan" onslaughts and outrages upon towns and villages largely inhabited by citizens who are faithful to the national government. But the officers and privates are faithful where loyalty meant vastly more than in the North; and their zeal and earnestness in the discharge of their duty left a stirring record behind them wherever they went. WILLIAM T. ADAMS. DORCHESTER, Dec. 12, 1894. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGE COLLECTING A BILL BY FORCE OF ARMS 15 CHAPTER II. REVELATIONS OF A YOUNG GUARDSMAN 27 CHAPTER III. SOMETHING ABOUT THE LYON FAMILIES 39 CHAPTER IV. THE DAY'S MARCH OF THE SQUADRON 52 CHAPTER V. THE LEADER OF THE SCOUTING-PARTY 64 CHAPTER VI. A VERY OBSTINATE PRISONER CAPTURED 76 CHAPTER VII. PREPARING FOR ACTIVE OPERATIONS 88 CHAPTER VIII. THE ACTION BY THE RAILROAD BRIDGE 100 CHAPTER IX. AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE ENEMY'S SCOUTS 112 CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE BEGUN AT THE CROSS-ROADS 124