I had some difficulty in convincing the farmer that I was
a true man and no spy; having once realized the fact, he showed himself
not less hospitable than his fellows. I was not surprised to find my men
gone; with all his good-will to the cause, their host had not dared to
entertain such suspicious strangers longer than twenty-four hours: keen
eyes and ready tongues were rife all around, and we had proof already,
in poor George Hoyle's case, how quickly and sternly the charge of
"harboring disaffected persons" could be acted upon: he had sent the men
to separate secluded farm-houses, whence they could be summoned at a few
hours' warning. He strongly advised me to wait elsewhere till the horse
ferry was reestablished, of which he promised to give me the very
earliest intelligence: so I at once determined to take the Hagerstown
stage to Frederick next morning (the house stood not many yards from the
main road), and the rail from thence back to Baltimore, leaving men and
horses in their present quarters. It was evident that the honest
Irishman spoke (he was an emigrant of twenty years' standing) thus in
perfect sincerity, from no lack of hospitality, though in poor mood for
conviviality. I did strive hard, all that evening, to meet his simple,
social overtures half-way, simply that I might not appear ungracious or
ungrateful.
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