222 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIRDS. 
" I tell you, my good fellows, the old man will be sound 
asleep — yes, dead asleep — for I knoAv him of old ! How he 
sleeps ! Why, you might fire a pistol in his ear when he 
once gets at it, and he would never hear it." 
A low, broad-shouldered fellow with wiry muscular frame, 
a throat hairy as a grizzly bear's with a black tangled shag 
upon liis head, mean, narrow wrinkled forehead, and thick, 
inky brows that sat above his vulture beak, and shaded a 
pair of small black eyes, the cunning and remorseless feroc- 
ity of the expression of which I never saw surpassed in man 
or beast — now turned upon me with a sharp suspicious look, 
as if he questioned my meaning in this last speech, but the 
expression of maudlin jollity into which my features had 
fallen, seemed to satisfy him. 
The Yankee now too came to my rescue, and produced a 
diversion of attention also from my friend and myself, by 
obstreperous displays of the convivial spirit which were alto- 
gether too unmistakable for even lingering suspicion. 
The bottle was once miore passed to him, but when they 
did me the honor to pay me the same favor, after pretending 
to drink again, I insisted that they should also drink with 
us, "in compliment," not as a pledge of hospitality, which 
appeal as I knew among men of loyalty, however rude, 
would have been considered sacred, but among such as those 
into whose power we seemed to have fallen, would only have 
been regarded as indicating suspicion on my part. 
They all made a noisy parade of their readiness to drink 
with the " gentleman," but each one of them, as he received 
the bottle, turned his back upon us while he drank, or, as I 
was convinced, pretended to drink. 
The fellows continued to grow very familiar and obstrep- 
erous, especially when the Yankee, in an astonishingly short 
time, began to give satisfactory indication of having got his 
full " dose." His eyelids became exceedingly heavy, while 
his gait wavered, and his tongue stuttered. 
Now the revel ran high apparently, although he was the 
