"At Taytay."
"Then we might as well turn back, for there are no rebels in sight on this trail," continued Ben; and soon the detachment turned about and marched back to the village. The native woman and her child went along, but disappeared as soon as the first of the huts of the settlement came into sight.
At Taytay Ben found not only his own battalion, but also some of the Western volunteers and a small detachment of regulars. The first battalion had taken possession of a large storehouse, and were making themselves as comfortable as circumstances permitted, which was not saying much, since the village had been thoroughly looted by the rebels ere leaving it, and so far no American supplies had come up. Some of the boys of Ben's company had caught a little pig, which the company's butcher had slaughtered, and the cooks were now trying to roast the porker over a fire built outside the storehouse.
"Captain Russell!" exclaimed Major Morris, as he strode up and put out his hand. "Then the Tagals didn't get you, after all?"
"They did, though; but I got away, major." And Ben told his story in detail, to which not only the major but also a number of others listened with interest.
