No effort had been used to make prisoners of any of the Texans, for the captain had his hands full. He was satisfied that Major Lyon expected warm work where he was, for he would not have sent for the additional force otherwise. The rest of the company with which he had been engaged might be at no great distance from him, and doubtless this was the force the first company was expected to encounter. "Here is the letter, Deck, in which I have given a hasty statement of the action," said Captain Truman, as he handed him the paper, which could hardly be called a letter. "I believe we have met a portion of the enemy he expected to engage; and probably he is not in a hurry, for we have heard no firing at the south of us." "We are all ready to go; but Artie has a wound in his arm which troubles him, and there is no surgeon with the first company," interposed Deck. "Farnwright!" shouted the captain, as he saw that he had just finished his attention to one patient and was hastening to another. The surgeon came promptly at his call, and proceeded to dress the arm of the wounded soldier without his dismounting from his horse. "I wish I had no worse cases than that, my boy," said the doctor. "I am sorry you have, sir," replied Artie. "You will be all right in a few days, my young friend; and I learn that you have both fought like Trojans, though I believe Artie did not try to leap his horse over any Texan's head," added Dr. Farnwright, with a look of admiration at Deck, who appeared to have won the laurel of the day on the field. "Neither did I, Doctor. If any one tried to do a big thing, it was Ceph," protested the hero. "Ceph? Who is he?" "My horse;" and Deck hastily gave his version of the daring deed, as it appeared to be to those who had observed it. But the dressing of the wound was finished, and the young soldiers started on their return to the camp of the first company. The excitement of the morning had subsided, and they began to feel the wear and tear to which they had been subjected. "We don't get such a morning's work as this every day in the week," said Artie as they crossed the east road. "But I imagine we shall get some worse days than this has been," added Deck. "We haven't seen the end of this day yet, and we may be in another fight before noon. I suppose these Texan troopers have been sent over here to destroy the bridges on the railroad extending to Louisville." "It isn't a great while since the Confederates were trying to keep the road open," added Artie. "The situation has changed since that, and we are farther along into the war. Then they wanted to keep this road open, so that they could bring provisions down for the use of the armies of the enemy. Now they want to destroy them, to prevent the United States Government from sending troops for the invasion of the Southern States," replied Deck.