I kept awake. Only once did I see anything alarming. A single horseman came down the road at a leisurely trot, and passed on, his sabre rattling by his side. When the sound of the horse's hoofs had died away, I aroused Nick, and we continued west up the road. At last Nick stopped. "What's the matter now, Nick?" I whispered. "We's mos' up on dem pickets ag'in," he said. "Again? Have we gone wrong?" "We ain't gone wrong--but we's mos' up on dem pickets ag'in," he repeated. "Where are we?" "We's gittin' mos' to Worrick; ef we gits up to de place, den w'at you gwine to do?" "I want to stay there till daylight, so that I can see them and know how many they are." "Den w'at you gwine to do?" "Then I want to follow their line as near as I can, going toward Yorktown." "Den all I got to say is dat hit's mighty cole to be a-layin' out in de woods widout no fiah en' widout no kiver en' widout noth'n' to eat." "That's true, Nick; do you know of any place where we could get an hour or two of sleep without freezing?" "Dat's des' w'at I was a-gwine to say; fo' God it was; ef dat's w'at you gwine to do; come on." He led the way again, going to the left. We passed through woods, then a field, and came to a farmhouse, "Hold on. Nick," said I; "it won't do to go up to that house." "Dey ain't nobody dah," said Nick; "all done runned off to Richmon' er summers." The fences were gone, and a general air of desolation marked the place. Nick went into an outhouse--a stable with a loft--- and climbed up into the loft. I climbed up after him. There was a little loose hay in the loft; we speedily stretched ourselves. I made Nick promise to be awake before sunrise, for I feared the place would be visited by the rebels. X THE LINE OF THE WARWICK "Thus are poor servitors, While others sleep upon their quiet beds, Constrained to watch in darkness, rain, and cold." --Shakespeare. When I lay down I was warm from walking, and went to sleep quickly. When I awoke I was cold; in fact, the cold woke me. I crept to the door of the stable and looked out; at my left the sky was reddening. I aroused Nick, who might have slept on for hours had he been alone. The sun would soon warm us; but what were we to do for food? Useless to search the house or kitchen or garden; everything was bare. I asked Nick if he could manage in any way to get something to eat. He could not; we must starve unless accident should throw food in our way. A flock of wild geese, going north, passed high. "Dey'll go a long ways to-day," said Nick; "ain't got to stop to take on no wood nor no water."