“'They have gone into the country some twenty miles, to Collins Grove. There is to be a political meeting there to-morrow, and they expect, as they told us, that Thomas A. Strider, of Indianapolis, and Dan Bowen, also of Indiana, were to be there, and through one of them they thought they could obtain aid; that while in prison they had been initiated into a society called the “Knights of the Golden Circle,” which was a secession organization, intended as an auxiliary force to the rebel army; that Dan Bowen was one of their main men, and so called “Agitator”; that Thomas A. Strider was Chief Counselor to the organization in Indiana; was to be in Washington most of the time to “watch things” and to defend them at all times when any of their order should be arrested or in any danger.' “Peter and I went out to the barn and talked the matter over, and thought that in such a case as this we would be justified in resorting to any means or strategy to discover this secret organization and ascertain the designs of its members. We concluded to get Joseph Dent, who was an old soldier, and very bright, with an excellent memory, to join it and find out all that he could about the organization. Agreeing to this, Peter hobbled back on his crutches. He being a soldier made the proposition to Dent, which he readily acceded to, saying: “'I had thought of that myself, but feared that you might take me to be too intimate with these people. I call them Secessionists and rebels. I think, that if you agree, I will go down to this meeting to-morrow, and when I come back will come to Allentown, as they might keep a watch on me here.'