"No, sir! No, sir! There certainly would not have been any war. The trouble was that Boston thought she not only could attend to her own business, but that she could direct the business of all the rest of us. It's a great thing, my son, for a man or for a city to be able to mind its own business. That's what I say; the cocksureness of the Yanks is so great that they think they can tell all the rest of the world how to act." Noel was listening only in part to the words of the leader of the little band, from which already wild thoughts of escaping had presented themselves. As neither of the young soldiers had been asked to give up his gun, there were thoughts in Noel's mind of suddenly darting to one side of the road and trying to flee before the men were aware of his attempt. But the folly of such an effort was so marked that Noel abandoned every such suggestion. "You'll come with us," said the young officer at last, his voice still not unfriendly. Under other circumstances Noel knew that he would have been strongly attracted to the young officer, whom Long John had called "Massa Little Ben Fowler." That officer now turned to three of his men, and in a voice so low that Noel was unable to hear what was said gave them instructions as to what was to be done with the prisoners. Then, turning once more to the young soldiers, the leader said, "We'll have to have yo' guns, Yanks. Yo' all are our prisoners, yo' know, and I cannot permit yo' to retain yo' weapons. Yo' 'll follow these men," he added, indicating the three who had been detailed for the duty, "and they'll take yo' where yo' all will be safe for the night, anyway. The rest of us will stay right yere by the corduroy road and see if we can't catch some more Yanks in our trap." Without a word Noel and Dennis, obediently giving up their rifles, turned and followed the men who had been detailed to conduct them to what the young officer had described as a "place of safety." CHAPTER VIII UNDER GUARD Directly back to the road over which the young soldiers had come their conductors led the way. Both Noel and Dennis were silent, and the disappointment which had seized upon the young Irishman was so manifest that even in the dim light Noel was aware of the depression of his comrade. Deprived of their weapons and conducted by three armed men, there was no chance likely to be given for escape, although wild thoughts of trying to break away were still in the mind of each of the prisoners. Not a word was spoken by their guard until about a quarter of a mile had been covered, when one of the Confederates halting, said to the boys, "We'll turn in here."