He confessed to having become somewhat alarmed at this; but when, a moment later, another individual of the party, mistaking him for the mill owner, offered sympathies in view of the fact, as he alleged, that the party had drank the creek in two, at a point a few miles nearer its source, his courage failed him, and here his narrative suddenly breaks off. This witness was sharply cross-questioned by the attorneys, who had by this time volunteered on both sides of the controversy, but could not be prevailed on to amend or otherwise detract from the material allegations set forth in his examination. Neither would he add anything thereto--a healthy sign which the defence did not fail to appropriate and magnify. One other witness remained to be examined, and while his testimony possessed that trait which shone so conspicuously in the allegations of all those who had preceded him, viz., a tendency to found his own airy fabric on the spot he had rendered untenable for that of his predecessor, it was in the main reliable; and if, as was urged against it, its facts were produced at a late hour, it was altogether attributable to the witness's modesty, and the fact--which was now elicited for the first time--that, notwithstanding he had been standing on his head (metaphorically) for the opportunity, and his well-known dexterity in wielding syntactical figures of speech, he had been unable to explode his items fast enough to anticipate those who had occupied the time. This boy, Dick Shuttail (white), age not known to self or parents, had obtained a view of the Kluxes from the airy depths of the family rag-box, situated in the rear garret, and he was, therefore, able to speak with emphasis on certain points which had been barely touched upon by less-favored observers. He testified that the raiders were mounted on elephants or camels; could not distinguish certainly, but his bias led him to say the former, and that these beasts were branded on the side with three corn-droppers (K. K. K.), or, more probably (as suggested by a hearer), one corn-dropper three times. The raiders were veritable spooks, as, in the place where eyes, mouth, and nose should have been roundly visible, the crows had supped, and instead of hair, they were driven to a subterfuge which closely resembled an inferior article of mosquito bar, worn, however, _a la pompadour_. Their saddle-bags, loaded, most probably, with munitions of war, were borne in front of them, and their uniforms were ornamented not with buttons, but spangles of bright hue and extraordinary size. He was going on to relate that the horses they rode were neither black nor white, but br----, when he was interrupted by hisses from his audience,--a circumstance which either aided memory, or sharpened his introspective organs, for almost immediately afterwards he hung his head, and, covering by this movement a very sour expression of countenance, retired from view.