140 Sallie Russell 



friends, one of whom had been reported in the returns 

 of battle as ' missing.' 



A week passed over the heads of the two friends 

 hidden in the woods of Tennessee. It was a week 

 spent in the effort to recover strength. Fortunately, 

 the army wagon furnished all the requirements of 

 food and shelter, and the ingenuity of the two friends 

 put it to a good use. Then came the march toward 

 home. It was a weary march, but a hopeful one. 

 Sallie seemed to understand what it meant. She too 

 had been captured, had passed through cruel hard- 

 ships, and longed for home. One day, while fol- 

 lowing an obscure trail that skirted the base of the 

 mountains, the quick -ears of the filly detected com- 

 ing footsteps. So great was the sympathy between 

 the friends that Ashley at once knew something was 

 approaching, although his duller senses had not de- 

 tected it. He quietly withdrew to the woods, where 

 the thickness of the leaves would conceal him. 

 Sallie stood immovable. There was no need to hold 

 her nostrils ; she would not whinny or make the 

 slightest noise, no matter what might appear. At 



