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LINCOLN THE UNKNOWN • 227The end was drawing near now. It came three days later.Booth had not gotten far. He had ferried across <strong>the</strong> Rappahannockat Port Royal, in <strong>the</strong> company of three Confederatecavalrymen returning from <strong>the</strong> war, had ridden one of <strong>the</strong>irhorses three miles far<strong>the</strong>r South, and, with <strong>the</strong>ir help, had <strong>the</strong>npalmed himseif off on a farmer, saying that his name was Boydand that he had been wounded in Lee's army near Richmond.And so for <strong>the</strong> next two days, Booth stayed at <strong>the</strong> Garrettfarm-house, sunning himself on <strong>the</strong> lawn, suffering from hiswound, consulting an old map, studying a route to <strong>the</strong> RioGrande, and making notes of <strong>the</strong> road to Mexico.The first evening he was <strong>the</strong>re, while he sat at <strong>the</strong> suppertable, Garrett's young daughter began babbling about <strong>the</strong> newsof <strong>the</strong> assassination, which she had just heard through a neighbor.She talked on and on, wondering who had done it and howmuch <strong>the</strong> assassin had been paid for it."In my opinion," Booth suddenly remarked, "he wasn't paida cent, but did it for <strong>the</strong> sake of notoriety."The next afternoon, April 25, Booth and Herold werestretched out under <strong>the</strong> locust trees in <strong>the</strong> Garrett yard, whensuddenly Major Ruggles, one of <strong>the</strong> Confederate cavalrymenwho had helped <strong>the</strong>m across <strong>the</strong> Rappahannock, dashed up andshouted: "The Yanks are crossing <strong>the</strong> river. Take care of yourself."They scurried away to <strong>the</strong> woods, but when darkness fell<strong>the</strong>y stole back to <strong>the</strong> house.To Garrett, that looked suspicious. He wanted to get rid ofhis mysterious "guests" at once. Was it because he suspectedthat <strong>the</strong>y might have shot <strong>Lincoln</strong>? No, he never even thoughtof that. He imagined <strong>the</strong>y were horse-thieves. When <strong>the</strong>y said at<strong>the</strong> supper table that <strong>the</strong>y wanted to buy two horses, his suspicionsgrew, and when bedtime came, and <strong>the</strong> fugitives, thinkingof <strong>the</strong>ir safety, refused to go upstairs and insisted on sleepingunder <strong>the</strong> porch or in <strong>the</strong> barn—<strong>the</strong>n all doubt was removed.Garrett was positive now that <strong>the</strong>y were horse-thieves. Sohe put <strong>the</strong>m in an old tobacco warehouse that was being used<strong>the</strong>n for storing hay and furniture— put <strong>the</strong>m in and locked<strong>the</strong>m in with a padlock. And finally, as a double precaution, <strong>the</strong>old farmer sent his two sons, William and Henry, tiptoeing outin <strong>the</strong> darkness with blankets, to spend <strong>the</strong> night in an adjoiningcorn-crib, where <strong>the</strong>y could watch and see that no horseswere whisked away during <strong>the</strong> night.