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When the officer saw that the boys did not obey his request he gave an order to his own men, and one of the soldiers dismounted and took Sidney’s horse by the bit, motioning to the boy to get off.

“I tell you what, Ray,” said Sidney, “he’s going to seize our horses for the Government to use in the army. See, some of those loose horses have saddles, they’ve taken them away from somebody else.”

“He’s not going to have my horse.” And Raymond dug his heels into the horse and struck him with the end of the reins. The spirited animal leaped forward and dashed to one side of the road to pass the little group of mounted men and their herd of horses. The officer gave a sharp order and the men whipped out their pistols. Sidney, when he saw the threatening movement, shouted to his brother,—

“.”

Raymond either did not hear or did not care, for he struck his horse another blow and dashed past the obstructing group. Just as he reached the clear road beyond, the officer gave another sharp order and the soldiers fired a volley, all together.