THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM

A STORY OF THE NATION'S CRISIS

By Joseph A. Altsheler

FOREWORD

"The Sword of Antietam" tells a complete story, but it is one inthe chain of Civil War romances, begun in "The Guns of Bull Run" andcontinued through "The Guns of Shiloh" and "The Scouts of Stonewall. "The young Northern hero, Dick Mason, and his friends are in theforefront of the tale. 

THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

 VOLUMES IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

 THE GUNS OF BULL RUN. THE GUNS OF SHILOH. THE SCOUTS OF STONEWALL. THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM. THE STAR OF GETTYSBURG. THE ROCK OF CHICKAMAUGA. THE SHADES OF THE WILDERNESS. THE TREE OF APPOMATTOX. 

 PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

 HARRY KENTON, A Lad Who Fights on the Southern Side. DICK MASON, Cousin of Harry Kenton, Who Fights on the Northern Side. COLONEL GEORGE KENTON, Father of Harry Kenton. MRS. MASON, Mother of Dick Mason. JULIANA, Mrs. Mason's Devoted Colored Servant. COLONEL ARTHUR WINCHESTER, Dick Mason's Regimental Commander. COLONEL LEONIDAS TALBOT, Commander of the Invincibles, a Southern Regiment. LIEUTENANT COLONEL HECTOR ST. HILAIRE, Second in Command of the Invincibles. ALAN HERTFORD, A Northern Cavalry Leader. PHILIP SHERBURNE, A Southern Cavalry Leader. WILLIAM J. SHEPARD, A Northern Spy. DANIEL WHITLEY, A Northern Sergeant and Veteran of the Plains. GEORGE WARNER, A Vermont Youth Who Loves Mathematics. FRANK PENNINGTON, A Nebraska Youth, Friend of Dick Mason. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, A Native of Charleston, Friend of Harry Kenton. TOM LANGDON, Friend of Harry Kenton. GEORGE DALTON, Friend of Harry Kenton. BILL SKELLY, Mountaineer and Guerrilla. TOM SLADE, A Guerrilla Chief. SAM JARVIS, The Singing Mountaineer. IKE SIMMONS, Jarvis' Nephew. AUNT "SUSE, " A Centenarian and Prophetess. BILL PETTY, A Mountaineer and Guide. JULIEN DE LANGEAIS, A Musician and Soldier from Louisiana. JOHN CARRINGTON, Famous Northern Artillery Officer. DR. RUSSELL, Principal of the Pendleton School. ARTHUR TRAVERS, A Lawyer. JAMES BERTRAND, A Messenger from the South. JOHN NEWCOMB, A Pennsylvania Colonel. JOHN MARKHAM, A Northern Officer. JOHN WATSON, A Northern Contractor. WILLIAM CURTIS, A Southern Merchant and Blockade Runner. MRS. CURTIS, Wife of William Curtis. HENRIETTA GARDEN, A Seamstress in Richmond. DICK JONES, A North Carolina Mountaineer. VICTOR WOODVILLE, A Young Mississippi Officer. JOHN WOODVILLE, Father of Victor Woodville. CHARLES WOODVILLE, Uncle of Victor Woodville. COLONEL BEDFORD, A Northern Officer. CHARLES GORDON, A Southern Staff Officer. JOHN LANHAM, An Editor. JUDGE KENDRICK, A Lawyer. MR. CULVER, A State Senator. MR. BRACKEN, A Tobacco Grower. ARTHUR WHITRIDGE, A State Senator. 

 HISTORICAL CHARACTERS

 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States. JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Southern Confederacy. JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, Member of the Confederate Cabinet. U. S. GRANT, Northern Commander. ROBERT B. LEE, Southern Commander. STONEWALL JACKSON, Southern General. PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, Northern General. GEORGE H. THOMAS, "The Rock of Chickamauga. " ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON, Southern General. A. P. HILL, Southern General. W. S. HANCOCK, Northern General. GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Northern General. AMBROSE B. BURNSIDE, Northern General. TURNER ASHBY, Southern Cavalry Leader. J. E. B. STUART, Southern Cavalry Leader. JOSEPH HOOKER, Northern General. RICHARD S. EWELL, Southern General. JUBAL EARLY, Southern General. WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS, Northern General. SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, Southern General. LEONIDAS POLK, Southern General and Bishop. BRAXTON BRAGG, Southern General. NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST, Southern Cavalry Leader. JOHN MORGAN, Southern Cavalry Leader. GEORGE J. MEADE, Northern General. DON CARLOS BUELL, Northern General. W. T. SHERMAN, Northern General. JAMES LONGSTREET, Southern General. P. G. T. BEAUREGARD, Southern General. WILLIAM L. YANCEY, Alabama Orator. JAMES A. GARFIELD, Northern General, afterwards President of the United States. 

 And many others

 IMPORTANT BATTLES DESCRIBED IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

 BULL RUN KERNSTOWN CROSS KEYS WINCHESTER PORT REPUBLIC THE SEVEN DAYS MILL SPRING FORT DONELSON SHILOH PERRYVILLE STONE RIVER THE SECOND MANASSAS ANTIETAM FREDERICKSBURG CHANCELLORSVILLE GETTYSBURG CHAMPION HILL VICKSBURG CHICKAMAUGA MISSIONARY RIDGE THE WILDERNESS SPOTTSYLVANIA COLD HARBOR FISHER'S HILL CEDAR CREEK APPOMATTOX

CONTENTS

 I. CEDAR MOUNTAIN

 II. AT THE CAPITAL

 III. BESIDE THE RIVER

 IV. SPRINGING THE TRAP

 V. THE SECOND MANASSAS

 VI. THE MOURNFUL FOREST

 VII. ORDERS NO. 191

 VIII. THE DUEL IN THE PASS

 IX. ACROSS THE STREAM

 X. ANTIETAM

 XI. A FAMILY AFFAIR

 XII. THROUGH THE BLUEGRASS

 XIII. PERRYVILLE

 XIV. SEEKING BRAGG

 XV. STONE RIVER

THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM

CHAPTER I. CEDAR MOUNTAIN

The first youth rode to the crest of the hill, and, still sitting on hishorse, examined the country in the south with minute care through a pairof powerful glasses. The other two dismounted and waited patiently. Allthree were thin and their faces were darkened by sun and wind. But theywere strong alike of body and soul. Beneath the faded blue uniformsbrave hearts beat and powerful muscles responded at once to everycommand of the will. 

"What do you see, Dick?" asked Warner, who leaned easily against hishorse, with one arm over the pommel of his saddle. 

"Hills, valleys, mountains, the August heat shimmering over all, but nohuman being. "

"A fine country, " said young Pennington, "and I like to look at it, butjust now my Nebraska prairie would be better for us. We could at leastsee the advance of Stonewall Jackson before he was right on top of us. "

Dick took another long look, searching every point in the half circleof the south with his glasses. Although burned by summer the countrywas beautiful, and neither heat nor cold could take away itspicturesqueness. He saw valleys in which the grass grew thick andstrong, clusters of hills dotted with trees, and then the blue loom ofmountains clothed heavily with foliage. Over everything bent a dazzlingsky of blue and gold. 

The light was so intense that with his glasses he could pick outindividual trees and rocks on the far slopes. He saw an occasional roof, but nowhere did he see man. He knew the reason, but he had become soused to his trade that at the moment, he felt no sadness. All thisregion had been swept by great armies. Here the tide of battle inthe mightiest of all wars had rolled back and forth, and here it wasdestined to surge again in a volume increasing always. 

"I don't find anything, " repeated Dick, "but three pairs of eyes arebetter than none. George, you take the glasses and see what you can seeand Frank will follow. "

He dismounted and stood holding the reins of his horse while the youngVermonter looked. He noticed that the mathematical turn of Warner'smind showed in every emergency. He swept the glasses back and forth ina regular curve, not looking here and now there, but taking his time andmissing nothing. It occurred to Dick that he was a type of his region, slow but thorough, and sure to win after defeat. 

"What's the result of your examination?" asked Dick as Warner passed theglasses in turn to Pennington. 

"Let x equal what I saw, which is nothing. Let y equal the result Idraw, which is nothing. Hence we have x + y which still equals nothing. "

Pennington was swifter in his examination. The blood in his veins floweda little faster than Warner's. 

"I find nothing but land and water, " he said without waiting to beasked, "and I'm disappointed. I had a hope, Dick, that I'd see StonewallJackson himself riding along a slope. "

"Even if you saw him, how would you know it was Stonewall?"

"I hadn't thought of that. We've heard so much of him that it justseemed to me I'd know him anywhere. "

"Same here, " said Warner. "Remember all the tales we've heard about hiswhiskers, his old slouch hat and his sorrel horse. "

"I'd like to see him myself, " confessed Dick. "From all we hear he'sthe man who kept McClellan from taking Richmond. He certainly playedhob with the plans of our generals. You know, I've got a cousin, HarryKenton, with him. I had a letter from him a week ago--passing throughthe lines, and coming in a round-about way. Writes as if he thoughtStonewall Jackson was a demigod. Says we'd better quit and go home, aswe haven't any earthly chance to win this war. "

"He fights best who wins last, " said Warner. "I'm thinking I won't seethe green hills of Vermont for a long time yet, because I mean to paya visit to Richmond first. Have you got your cousin's letter with you, Dick?"

"No, I destroyed it. I didn't want it bobbing up some time or other tocause either of us trouble. A man I know at home says he's kept out of alot of trouble by 'never writin' nothin' to nobody. ' And if you do writea letter the next best thing is to burn it as quick as you can. "

"If my eyes tell the truth, and they do, " said Pennington, "here comesa short, thick man riding a long, thick horse and he--the man, not thehorse--bears a startling resemblance to our friend, ally, guide andsometime mentor, Sergeant Daniel Whitley. "

"Yes, it's the sergeant, " said Dick, looking down into the valley, "andI'm glad he's joining us. Do you know, boys, I often think these veteransergeants know more than some of our generals. "

"It's not an opinion. It's a fact, " said Warner. "Hi, there, sergeant!Here are your friends! Come up and make the same empty report that we'vegot ready for the colonel. "

Sergeant Daniel Whitley looked at the three lads, and his facebrightened. He had a good intellect under his thatch of hair, and a warmheart within his strong body. The boys, although lieutenants, and heonly a sergeant in the ranks, treated him usually as an equal and oftenas a superior. 

Colonel Winchester's regiment and the remains of Colonel Newcomb'sPennsylvanians had been sent east after the defeat of the Union army atthe Seven Days, and were now with Pope's Army of Virginia, which was tohold the valley and also protect Washington. Grant's success atShiloh had been offset by McClellan's failure before Richmond, and thePresident and his Cabinet at Washington were filled with justifiablealarm. Pope was a western man, a Kentuckian, and he had insisted uponhaving some of the western troops with him. 

The sergeant rode his horse slowly up the slope, and joined the ladsover whom he watched like a father. 

"And what have the hundred eyes of Argus beheld?" asked Warner. 

"Argus?" said the sergeant. "I don't know any such man. Name soundsqueer, too. "

"He belongs to a distant and mythical past, sergeant, but he'd be mightyuseful if we had him here. If even a single one of his hundred eyes wereto light on Stonewall Jackson, it would be a great service. "

The sergeant shook his head and looked reprovingly at Warner. 

"It ain't no time for jokin', " he said. 

"I was never further from it. It seems to me that we need a lot ofArguses more than anything else. This is the enemy's country, and wehear that Stonewall Jackson is advancing. Advancing where, from what andwhen? There is no Argus to tell. The country supports a fairly numerouspopulation, but it hasn't a single kind or informing word for us. IsStonewall Jackson going to drop from the sky, which rumor says is hisfavorite method of approach?"

"He's usin' the solid ground this time, anyway, " said Sergeant DanielWhitley. "I've been eight miles farther south, an' if I didn't seecavalry comin' along the skirt of a ridge, then my eyes ain't anyfriends of mine. Then I came through a little place of not more'n fivehouses. No men there, just women an' children, but when I looked back Isaw them women an' children, too, grinnin' at me. That means somethin', as shore as we're livin' an' breathin'. I'm bettin' that we new fellowsfrom the west will get acquainted with Stonewall Jackson inside oftwenty-four hours. "

"You don't mean that? It's not possible!" exclaimed Dick, startled. "Why, when we last heard of Jackson he was so far south we can't expecthim in a week!"

"You've heard that they call his men the foot cavalry, " said thesergeant gravely, "an' I reckon from all I've learned since I come eastthat they've won the name fair an' true. See them woods off to the souththere. See the black line they make ag'inst the sky. I know, the sameas if I had seen him, that Stonewall Jackson is down in them forests, comin' an' comin' fast. "

The sergeant's tone was ominous, and Dick felt a tingling at the rootsof his hair. The western troops were eager to meet this new Southernphenomenon who had suddenly shot like a burning star across the sky, butfor the first time there was apprehension in his soul. He had seen butlittle of the new general, Pope, but he had read his proclamations andhe had thought them bombastic. He talked lightly of the enemy and of thegrand deeds that he was going to do. Who was Pope to sweep away such menas Lee and Jackson with mere words!

Dick longed for Grant, the stern, unyielding, unbeatable Grant whom hehad known at Shiloh. In the west the Union troops had felt the stronghand over them, and confidence had flowed into them, but here they werein doubt. They felt that the powerful and directing mind was absent. 

Silence fell upon them all for a little space, while the four gazedintently into the south, strange fears assailing everyone. Dick neverdoubted that the Union would win. He never doubted it then and he neverdoubted it afterward, through all the vast hecatomb when the flag of theUnion fell more than once in terrible defeat. 

But their ignorance was mystifying and oppressive. They saw before themthe beautiful country, the hills and valleys, the forest and the blueloom of the mountains, so much that appealed to the eye, and yet thehorizon, looking so peaceful in the distance, was barbed with spears. Jackson was there! The sergeant's theory had become conviction withthem. Distance had been nothing to him. He was at hand with a greatforce, and Lee with another army might fall at any time upon theirflank, while McClellan was isolated and left useless, far away. 

Dick's heart missed a beat or two, as he saw the sinister picture thathe had created in his own mind. Highly imaginative, he had leaped to theconclusion that Lee and Jackson meant to trap the Union army, the hammerbeating it out on the anvil. He raised the glasses to his eyes, surveyedthe forests in the South once more, and then his heart missed anotherbeat. 

He had caught the flash of steel, the sun's rays falling across abayonet or a polished rifle barrel. And then as he looked he saw theflash again and again. He handed the glasses to Warner and said quietly:

"George, I see troops on the edge of that far hill to the south and theeast. Can't you see them, too?"

"Yes, I can make them out clearly now, as they pass across a bit of openland. They're Confederate cavalry, two hundred at least, I should say. "

Dick learned long afterward that it was the troop of Sherburne, but, forthe present, the name of Sherburne was unknown to him. He merely feltthat this was the vanguard of Jackson riding forward to set the trap. The men were now so near that they could be seen with the naked eye, andthe sergeant said tersely:

"At last we've seen what we were afraid we would see. "

"And look to the left also, " said Warner, who still held the glasses. "There's a troop of horse coming up another road, too. By George, they're advancing at a trot! We'd better clear out or we may be enclosedbetween the two horns of their cavalry. "

"We'll go back to our force at Cedar Run, " said Harry, "and report whatwe've seen. As you say, George, there's no time to waste. "

The four mounted and rode fast, the dust of the road flying in a cloudbehind their horses' heels. Dick felt that they had fulfilled theirerrand, but he had his doubts how their news would be received. TheNorthern generals in the east did not seem to him to equal those of thewest in keenness and resolution, while the case was reversed so far asthe Southern generals were concerned. 

But fast as they went the Southern cavalry was coming with equal speed. They continually saw the flash of arms in both east and west. The forcein the west was the nearer of the two. Not only was Sherburne there, butHarry Kenton was with him, and besides their own natural zeal they hadall the eagerness and daring infused into them by the great spirit andbrilliant successes of Jackson. 

"They won't be able to enclose us between the two horns of theirhorsemen, " said Sergeant Whitley, whose face was very grave, "and thebattle won't be to-morrow or the next day. "

"Why not? I thought Jackson was swift, " said Warner. 

"Cause it will be fought to-day. I thought Jackson was swift, too, buthe's swifter than I thought. Them feet cavalry of his don't have tochange their name. Look into the road comin' up that narrow valley. "

The eyes of the three boys followed his pointing finger, and they nowsaw masses of infantry, men in gray pressing forward at full speed. Theysaw also batteries of cannon, and Dick almost fancied he could hear therumble of their wheels. 

"Looks as if the sergeant was right, " said Pennington. "StonewallJackson is here. "

They increased their speed to a gallop, making directly for Cedar Run, acold, clear little stream coming out of the hills. It was now about themiddle of the morning and the day was burning hot and breathless. Their hearts began to pound with excitement, and their breath was drawnpainfully through throats lined with dust. 

A long ridge covered with forest rose on one side of them and now theysaw the flash of many bayonets and rifle barrels along its lowest slope. Another heavy column of infantry was advancing, and presently they heardthe far note of trumpets calling to one another. 

"Their whole army is in touch, " said the sergeant. "The trumpets showit. Often on the plains, when we had to divide our little force intodetachments, they'd have bugle talk with one another. We must go fasterif we can. "

They got another ounce of strength out of their horses, and now theysaw Union cavalry in front. In a minute or two they were among the bluehorsemen, giving the hasty news of Jackson's advance. Other scouts andstaff officers arrived a little later with like messages, and not longafterward they heard shots behind them telling them that the hostilepickets were in touch. 

They watered their horses in Cedar Run, crossed it and rejoined theirown regiment under Colonel Arthur Winchester. The colonel was thin, bronzed and strong, and he, too, like the other new men from the West, was eager for battle with the redoubtable Jackson. 

"What have you seen, Dick?" he exclaimed. "Is it a mere scouting forceof cavalry, or is Jackson really at hand?"

"I think it's Jackson himself. We saw heavy columns coming up. They werepressing forward, too, as if they meant to brush aside whatever got intheir way. "

"Then we'll show them!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester. "We've only seventhousand men here on Cedar Run, but Banks, who is in immediate command, has been stung deeply by his defeats at the hands of Jackson, and hemeans a fight to the last ditch. So does everybody else. "

Dick, at that moment, the thrill of the gallop gone, was not sosanguine. The great weight of Jackson's name hung over him like asinister menace, and the Union troops on Cedar Run were but seventhousand. The famous Confederate leader must have at least three timesthat number. Were the Union forces, separated into several armies, tobe beaten again in detail? Pope himself should be present with at leastfifty thousand men. 

Their horses had been given to an orderly and Dick threw himself uponthe turf to rest a little. All along the creek the Union army, includinghis own regiment, was forming in line of battle but his colonel hadnot yet called upon him for any duty. Warner and Pennington were alsoresting from their long and exciting ride, but the sergeant, who seemednever to know fatigue, was already at work with his men. 

"Listen to those skirmishers, " said Dick. "It sounds like the popping ofcorn at home on winter evenings, when I was a little boy. "

"But a lot more deadly, " said Pennington. "I wouldn't like to be askirmisher. I don't mind firing into the smoke and the crowd, but I'dhate to sit down behind a stump or in the grass and pick out the spot ona man that I meant for my bullet to hit. "

"You won't have to do any such work, Frank, " said Warner. "Hark to it!The sergeant was right. We're going to have a battle to-day and a bigone. The popping of your corn, Dick, has become an unbroken sound. "

Dick, from the crest of the hillock on which they lay, gazed overthe heads of the men in blue. The skirmishers were showing a hideousactivity. A continuous line of light ran along the front of both armies, and behind the flash of the Southern firing he saw heavy masses ofinfantry emerging from the woods. A deep thrill ran through him. Jackson, the famous, the redoubtable, the unbeatable, was at hand withhis army. Would he remain unbeaten? Dick said to himself, in unspokenwords, over and over again, "No! No! No! No!" He and his comrades hadbeen victors in the west. They must not fail here. 

Colonel Winchester now called to them, and mounting their horses theygathered around him to await his orders. These officers, though mereboys, learned fast. Dick knew enough already of war to see that theywere in a strong position. Before them flowed the creek. On their flankand partly in their front was a great field of Indian corn. A quarterof a mile away was a lofty ridge on which were posted Union guns withgunners who knew so well how to use them. To right and left ran the longfiles of infantry, their faces white but resolute. 

"I think, " said Dick to Warner, "that if Jackson passes over this placehe will at least know that we've been here. "

"Yes, he'll know it, and besides he'll make quite a halt before passing. At least, that's my way of thinking. "

There was a sudden dying of the rifle fire. The Union skirmisherswere driven in, and they fell back on the main body which was silent, awaiting the attack. Dick was no longer compelled to use the glasses. He saw with unaided eye the great Southern columns marching forward withthe utmost confidence, heavy batteries advancing between the regiments, ready at command to sweep the Northern ranks with shot and shell. 

Dick shivered a little. He could not help it. They were face to facewith Jackson, and he was all that the heralds of fame had promised. He had eye enough to see that the Southern force was much greater thantheir own, and, led by such a man, how could they fail to win anothertriumph? He looked around upon the army in blue, but he did not seeany sign of fear. Both the beaten and the unbeaten were ready for a newbattle. 

There was a mighty crash from the hill and the Northern batteries poureda stream of metal into the advancing ranks of their foe. 

The Confederate advance staggered, but, recovering itself, came onagain. A tremendous cheer burst from the ranks of the lads in blue. Stonewall Jackson with all his skill and fame was before them, but theymeant to stop him. Numbers were against them, and Banks, their leader, had been defeated already by Jackson, but they meant to stop him, nevertheless. 

The Southern guns replied. Posted along the slopes of SlaughterMountain, sinister of name, they sent a sheet of death upon the Unionranks. But the regiments, the new and the old, stood firm. Those thathad been beaten before by Jackson were resolved not to be beaten againby him, and the new regiments from the west, one or two of which hadbeen at Shiloh, were resolved never to be beaten at all. 

"The lads are steady, " said Colonel Winchester. "It's a fine sign. I'venews, too, that two thousand men have come up. We shall now have ninethousand with which to withstand the attack, and I don't believe theycan drive us away. Oh, why isn't Pope himself here with his whole army?Then we could wipe Jackson off the face of the earth!"

But Pope was not there. The commander of a huge force, the man ofboastful words who was to do such great things, the man who sent suchgrandiloquent dispatches from "Headquarters in the Saddle, " to theanxious Lincoln at Washington, had strung his numerous forces along indetachments, just as the others had done before him, and the boomingof Jackson's cannon attacking the Northern vanguard with his whole armycould not reach ears so far away. 

The fire now became heavy along the whole Union front. All the batterieson both sides were coming into action, and the earth trembled with therolling crash. The smoke rose and hung in clouds over the hills, thevalley and the cornfield. The hot air, surcharged with dust, smoke andburned gunpowder, was painful and rasping to the throat. The frightfulscreaming of the shells filled the air, and then came the hissing of thebullets like a storm of sleet. 

Colonel Winchester and his staff dismounted, giving their horses to anorderly who led them to the rear. Horses would not be needed for thepresent, at least, and they had learned to avoid needless risk. 

The attack was coming closer, and the bullets as they swept throughtheir ranks found many victims. Colonel Winchester ordered his regimentto kneel and open fire, being held hitherto in reserve. Dick snatched upa rifle from a soldier who had fallen almost beside him, and he saw thatWarner and Pennington had equipped themselves in like fashion. 

A strong gust of wind lifted the smoke before them a little. Dick sawmany splashes of water on the surface of the creek where bullets struck, and there were many tiny spurts of dust in the road, where other bulletsfell. Then he saw beyond the dark masses of the Southern infantry. Itseemed to him that they were strangely close. He believed that he couldsee their tanned faces, one by one, and their vengeful eyes, but it wasonly fancy. 

The next instant the signal was given, and the regiment fired as one. There was a long flash of fire, a tremendous roaring in Dick's ears, then for an instant or two a vast cloud of smoke hid the advancing graymass. When it was lifted a moment later the men in gray were advancingno longer. Their ranks were shattered and broken, the ground was coveredwith the fallen and the others were reeling back. 

"We win! We win!" shouted Pennington, wild with enthusiasm. 

"For the present, at least, " said Warner, a deep flush blazing in eithercheek. 

There was no return fire just then from that point, and the smoke lifteda little more. Above the crash of the battle which raged fiercely oneither flank, they heard the notes of a trumpet rising, loud, clear, anddistinct from all other sounds. Dick knew that it was a rallying call, and then he heard Pennington utter a wild shout. 

"I see him! I see him!" he cried. "It's old Stonewall himself! There onthe hillock, on the little horse!"

The vision was but for an instant. Dick gazed with all his eyes, and hesaw several hundred yards away a thickset man on a sorrel horse. He wasbearded and he stooped a little, seeming to bend an intense gaze uponthe Northern lines. 

There was no time for anyone to fire, because in a few seconds thesmoke came back, a huge, impenetrable curtain, and hid the man and thehillock. But Dick had not the slightest doubt that it was the greatSouthern leader, and he was right. It was Stonewall Jackson on thehillock, rallying his men, and Dick's own cousin, Harry Kenton, rode byhis side. 

They reloaded, but a staff officer galloped up and delivered a writtenorder to Colonel Winchester. The whole regiment left the line, anotherless seasoned taking its place, and they marched off to one flank, wherea field of wheat lately cut, and a wood on the extreme end, lay beforethem. Behind them they heard the battle swelling anew, but Dick knewthat a new force of the foe was coming here, and he felt proud that hisown regiment had been moved to meet an attack which would certainly bemade with the greatest violence. 

"Who are those men down in the wheat-field?" asked Pennington. 

"Our own skirmishers, " replied Warner. "See them running forward, hidingbehind the shocks of straw and firing!"

The riflemen were busy. They fired from the shelter of every straw stackin the field, and they stung the new Southern advance, which was alreadyshowing its front. Southern guns now began to search the wheat field. A shell struck squarely in the center of one of the shocks behind whichthree Northern skirmishers were kneeling. Dick saw the straw fly intothe air as if picked up by a whirlwind. When it settled back it layin scattered masses and three dark figures lay with it, motionless andsilent. He shuddered and looked away. 

The edge of the wood was now lined with Southern infantry, and on theirright flank was a numerous body of cavalry. Officers were waving theirswords aloft, leading the men in person to the charge. 

"The attack will be heavy here, " said Colonel Winchester. "Ah, there areour guns firing over our heads. We need 'em. "

The Southern cannon were more numerous, but the Northern guns, postedwell on the hill, refused to be silenced. Some of them were dismountedand the gunners about them were killed, but the others, served withspeed and valor, sprayed the whole Southern front with a deadly showerof steel. 

It was this welcome metal that Dick and his comrades heard over theirheads, and then the trumpets rang a shrill note of defiance along thewhole line. Banks, remembering his bitter defeats and resolved uponvictory now, was not awaiting the attack. He would make it himself. 

The whole wing lifted itself up and rushed through the wheat field, firing as they charged. The cannon were pushed forward and poured involleys as fast as the gunners could load and discharge them. Dickfelt the ground reeling beneath his feet, but he knew that they wereadvancing and that the enemy was giving way again. Stonewall Jackson andhis generals felt a certain hardening of the Northern resistance thatday. The recruits in blue were becoming trained now. They did not breakin a panic, although their lines were raked through and through by theSouthern shells. New men stepped in the place of the fallen, and thelines, filled up, came on again. 

The Northern wing charging through the wheat field continued to bearback the enemy. Jackson was not yet able to stop the fierce masses inblue. A formidable body of men issuing from the Northern side of thewood charged with the bayonet, pushing the charge home with a courageand a recklessness of death that the war had not yet seen surpassed. TheSouthern rifles and cannon raked them, but they never stopped, burstinglike a tornado upon their foe. 

One of Jackson's Virginia regiments gave way and then another. The menin blue from the wood and Colonel Winchester's regiment joined, theirshouts rising above the smoke while they steadily pushed the enemybefore them. 

Dick as he shouted with the rest felt a wild exultation. They wereshowing Jackson what they could do! They were proving to him that hecould not win always. His joy was warranted. No such confusion had everbefore existed in Jackson's army. The Northern charge was driven like awedge of steel into its ranks. 

Jackson had able generals, valiant lieutenants, with him, Ewell andEarly, and A. P. Hill and Winder, and they strove together to stopthe retreat. The valiant Winder was mortally wounded and died upon thefield, and Jackson, with his wonderful ability to see what was happeningand his equal power of decision, swiftly withdrew that wing of his army, also carrying with it every gun. 

A great shout of triumph rose from the men in blue as they saw theSouthern retreat. 

"We win! We win!" cried Pennington again. 

"Yes, we win!" shouted Warner, usually so cool. 

And it did seem even to older men that the triumph was complete. Theblue and the gray were face to face in the smoke, but the gray weredriven back by the fierce and irresistible charge, and, as their flightbecame swifter, the shells and grape from the Northern batteries plungedand tore through their ranks. Nothing stopped the blue wave. It rolledon and on, sweeping a mass of fugitives before it, and engulfing others. 

Dick had no ordered knowledge of the charge. He was a part of it, and hesaw only straight in front of him, but he was conscious that all aroundhim there was a fiery red mist, and a confused and terrible noise ofshouting and firing. But they were winning! They were beating StonewallJackson himself. His pulses throbbed so hard that he thought hisarteries would burst, and his lips were dry and blackened from smoke, burned gunpowder and his own hot breath issuing like steam between them. 

Then came a halt so sudden and terrible that it shook Dick as if byphysical contact. He looked around in wonder. The charge was spent, notfrom its lack of strength but because they had struck an obstacle. Theyhad reckoned ill, because they had not reckoned upon all the resourcesof Stonewall Jackson's mind. He had stemmed the rout in person and nowhe was pushing forward the Stonewall Brigade, five regiments, whichalways had but two alternatives, to conquer or to die. Hill and Ewellwith fresh troops were coming up also on his flanks, and now the blueand the gray, face to face again, closed in mortal combat. 

"We've stopped! We've stopped! Do you hear it, we've stopped!" exclaimedPennington, his face a ghastly reek of dust and perspiration, his eyesshowing amazement and wonder how the halt could have happened. Dickshared in the terrible surprise. The fire in front of him deepenedsuddenly. Men were struck down all about him. Heavy masses of troops ingray showed through the smoke. The Stonewall Brigade was charging, andregiments were charging with it on either side. 

The column in blue was struck in front and on either flank. It not onlyceased its victorious advance, but it began to give ground. The mencould not help it, despite their most desperate efforts. It seemed toDick that the earth slipped under their feet. A tremendous excitementseized him at the thought of victory lost just when it seemed won. Heran up and down the lines, shouting to the men to stand firm. He sawthat the senior officers were doing the same, but there was littleorder or method in his own movements. It was the excitement and bitterhumiliation that drove him on. 

He stumbled in the smoke against Sergeant Whitley. The sergeant'sforehead had been creased by a bullet, but so much dust and burnedgunpowder had gathered upon it that it was as black as the face of ablack man. 

"Are we to lose after all?" exclaimed Dick. 

It seemed strange to him, even at that moment, that he should hearhis own voice amid such a roar of cannon and rifles. But it was anundernote, and he heard with equal ease the sergeant's reply:

"It ain't decided yet, Mr. Mason, but we've got to fight as we neverfought before. "

The Union men, both those who had faced Jackson before and those whowere now meeting him for the first time, fought with unsurpassed valor, but, unequal in numbers, they saw the victory wrenched from their grasp. Jackson now had his forces in the hollow of his hand. He saw everythingthat was passing, and with the mind of a master he read the meaning ofit. He strengthened his own weak points and increased the attack uponthose of the North. 

Dick remained beside the sergeant. He had lost sight of ColonelWinchester, Warner and Pennington in the smoke and the dreadfulconfusion, but he saw well enough that his fears were coming true. 

The attack in front increased in violence, and the Northern army wasalso attacked with fiery energy on both flanks. The men had the actualphysical feeling that they were enclosed in the jaws of a vise, and, forced to abandon all hope of victory, they fought now to escape. Twosmall squadrons of cavalry, scarce two hundred in number, sent forwardfrom a wood, charged the whole Southern army under a storm of cannon andrifle fire. They equalled the ride of the Six Hundred at Balaklava, butwith no poet to celebrate it, it remained like so many other charges inthis war, an obscure and forgotten incident. 

Dick saw the charge of the horsemen, and the return of the few. Thenhe lost hope. Above the roar of the battle the rebel yell continuallyswelled afresh. The setting sun, no longer golden but red, cast asinister light over the trampled wheat field, the slopes and the woodstorn by cannon balls. The dead and the wounded lay in thousands, andBanks, brave and tenacious, but with bitter despair in his heart, wasseeking to drag the remains of his army from that merciless vise whichcontinued to close down harder and harder. 

Dick's excitement and tension seemed to abate. He had been keyed to sohigh a pitch that his pulses grew gentler through very lack of force, and with the relaxation came a clearer view. He saw the sinking redsun through the banks of smoke, and in fancy he already felt the cooldarkness upon his face after the hot and terrible August day. He knewthat night might save them, and he prayed deeply and fervently for itsswift coming. 

He and the sergeant came suddenly to Colonel Winchester, whose hat hadbeen shot from his head, but who was otherwise unharmed. Warner andPennington were near, Warner slightly wounded but apparently unaware ofthe fact. The colonel, by shout and by gesture, was gathering around himthe remains of his regiment. Other regiments on either side were tryingto do the same, and eventually they formed a compact mass which, drivingwith all its force back toward its old position, reached the hills andthe woods just as the jaws of Stonewall Jackson's vise shut down, butnot upon the main body. 

Victory, won for a little while, had been lost. Night protected theirretreat, and they fought with a valor that made Jackson and all hisgenerals cautious. But this knowledge was little compensation to theNorthern troops. They knew that behind them was a great army, that Popemight have been present with fifty thousand men, sufficient to overwhelmJackson. Instead of the odds being more than two to one in their favor, they had been two to one against them. 

It was a sullen army that lay in the woods in the first hour or two ofthe night, gasping for breath. These men had boasted that they werea match for those of Jackson, and they were, if they could only havetraded generals. Dick and his comrades from the west began to share inthe awe that the name of Stonewall Jackson inspired. 

"He comes up to his advertisements. There ain't no doubt of it, " saidSergeant Whitley. "I never saw anybody fight better than our men did, an' that charge of the little troop of cavalry was never beat anywherein the world. But here we are licked, and thirty or forty thousand menof ours not many miles away!"

He spoke the last words with a bitterness that Dick had never heard inhis voice before. 

"It's simple, " said Warner, who was binding up his little wound with hisown hand. "It's just a question in mathematics. I see now how StonewallJackson won so many triumphs in the Valley of Virginia. Give Jackson, say, fifteen thousand men. We have fifty thousand, but we divide theminto five armies of ten thousand apiece. Jackson fights them in detail, which is five battles, of course. His fifteen thousand defeat the tenthousand every time. Hence Jackson with fifteen thousand men has beatenour side. It's simple but painful. In time our leaders will learn. "

"After we're all killed, " said Pennington sadly. 

"And the country is ripped apart so that it will take half a century toput the pieces back together again and put 'em back right, " said Dick, with equal sadness. 

"Never mind, " said Sergeant Whitley with returning cheerfulness. "Othercountries have survived great wars and so will ours. "

Some food was obtained for the exhausted men and they ate it nervously, paying little attention to the crackling fire of the skirmishers whichwas still going on in the darkness along their front. Dick saw the pinkflashes along the edges of the woods and the wheat field, but his mind, deadened for the time, took no further impressions. Skirmishers wereunpleasant people, anyway. Let them fight down there. It did not matterwhat they might do to one another. A minute or two later he was ashamedof such thoughts. 

Colonel Winchester, who had been to see General Banks, returnedpresently and told them that they would march again in half an hour. 

"General Banks, " he said with bitter irony, "is afraid that a powerfulforce of the rebels will gain his rear and that we shall be surrounded. He ought to know. He has had enough dealings with Jackson. Outmaneuveredand outflanked again! Why can't we learn something?"

But he said this to the young officers only. He forced a cheerfulnessof tone when he spoke to the men, and they dragged themselves wearilyto their feet in order to begin the retreat. But though the muscleswere tired the spirit was not unwilling. All the omens were sinister, pointing to the need of withdrawal. The vicious skirmishers were stillbusy and a crackling fire came from many points in the woods. Theoccasional rolling thunder of a cannon deepened the somberness of thescene. 

All the officers of the regiment had lost their horses and they walkednow with the men. A full moon threw a silvery light over the marchingtroops, who strode on in silence, the wounded suppressing their groans. A full moon cast a silvery light over the pallid faces. 

"Do you know where we are going?" Dick asked of the Vermonter. 

"I heard that we're bound for a place called Culpeper Court House, six or seven miles away. I suppose we'll get there in the morning, ifStonewall Jackson doesn't insist on another interview with us. "

"There's enough time in the day for fighting, " said Pennington, "withoutborrowing of the night. Hear that big gun over there on our right! Whydo they want to be firing cannon balls at such a time?"

They trudged gloomily on, following other regiments ghostly in themoonlight, and followed by others as ghostly. But the sinister omens, the flash of rifle firing and the far boom of a cannon, were always ontheir flanks. The impression of Jackson's skill and power which Dick hadgained so quickly was deepening already. He did not have the slightestdoubt now that the Southern leader was pressing forward through thewoods to cut them off. As the sergeant had said truly, he came up tohis advertisements and more. Dick shivered and it was a shiver ofapprehension for the army, and not for himself. 

In accordance with human nature he and the boy officers who were hisgood comrades talked together, but their sentences were short andbroken. 

"Marching toward a court house, " said Pennington. "What'll we do when weget there? Lawyers won't help us. "

"Not so much marching toward a court house as marching away fromJackson, " said the Vermonter. 

"We'll march back again, " said Dick hopefully. 

"But when?" said Pennington. "Look through the trees there on our right. Aren't those rebel troops?"

Dick's startled gaze beheld a long line of horsemen in gray on theirflank and only a few hundred yards away. 

CHAPTER II. AT THE CAPITAL

The Southern cavalry was seen almost at the same time by many men in theregiments, and nervous and hasty, as was natural at such a time, theyopened a scattering fire. The horsemen did not return the fire, butseemed to melt away in the darkness. 

But the shrewdest of the officers, among whom was Colonel Winchester, took alarm at this sudden appearance and disappearance. Dick would havedivined from their manner, even without their talk, that they believedJackson was at hand. Action followed quickly. The army stopped andbegan to seek a strong position in the wood. Cannon were drawn up, theirmouths turned to the side on which the horsemen had appeared, and theworn regiments assumed the attitude of defense. Dick's heart throbbedwith pride when he saw that they were as ready as ever to fight, although they had suffered great losses and the bitterest ofdisappointments. 

"What I said I've got to say over again, " said Pennington ruefully: "thenight's no time for fighting. It's heathenish in Stonewall Jackson tofollow us, and annoy us in such a way. "

"Such a way! Such a way!" said Dick impatiently. "We've got to learn tofight as he does. Good God, Frank, think of all the sacrifices we aremaking to save our Union, the great republic! Think how the hateful oldmonarchies will sneer and rejoice if we fall, and here in the East ourgenerals just throw our men away! They divide and scatter our armies insuch a manner that we simply ask to be beaten. "

"Sh! sh!" said Warner, as he listened to the violent outbreak, sounusual on the part of the reserved and self-contained lad. "Here cometwo generals. "

"Two too many, " muttered Dick. A moment or two later he was ashamed ofhimself, not because of what he had said, but because he had said it. Then Warner seized him by the arm and pointed. 

"A new general, bigger than all the rest, has come, " he said, "andalthough I've never seen him before I know with mathematical certaintythat it's General John Pope, commander-in-chief of the Army ofVirginia. "

Both Dick and Pennington knew instinctively that Warner was right. General Pope, a strongly built man in early middle years, surrounded bya brilliant staff, rode into a little glade in the midst of the troops, and summoned to him the leading officers who had taken part in thebattle. 

Dick and his two comrades stood on one side, but they could not keepfrom hearing what was said and done. In truth they did not seek toavoid hearing, nor did many of the young privates who stood near and whoconsidered themselves quite as good as their officers. 

Pope, florid and full-faced, was in a fine humor. He complimented theofficers on their valor, spoke as if they had won a victory--which wouldhave been a fact had others done their duty--and talked slightingly ofJackson. The men of the west would show this man his match in the art ofwar. 

Dick listened to it all with bitterness in his heart. He had no doubtthat Pope was brave, and he could see that he was confident. Yet it tooksomething more than confidence to defeat an able enemy. What had becomeof those gray horsemen in the bush? They had appeared once and theycould appear again. He had believed that Jackson himself was at hand, and he still believed it. His eyes shifted from Pope to the dark woods, which, with their thick foliage, turned back the moonlight. 

"George, " he whispered to Warner, "do you think you can see anythingamong those trees?"

"I can make out dimly one or two figures, which no doubt are our scouts. Ah-h!"

The long "Ah-h!" was drawn by a flash and the report of a rifle. Asecond and a third report came, and then the crash of a heavy fire. Thescouts and sentinels came running in, reporting that a great force withbatteries, presumably the whole army of Jackson, was at hand. 

A deep murmur ran through the Union army, but there was no confusion. The long hours of fighting had habituated them to danger. They werealso too tired to become excited, and in addition, they were of as sternstuff at night as they had been in the morning. They were ready to fightagain. 

Formidable columns of troops appeared through the woods, their bayonetsglistening in the moonlight. The heavy rifle fire began once more, although it was nearly midnight, and then came the deep thunder ofcannon, sending round shot and shells among the Union troops. But themen in blue, harried beyond endurance, fought back fiercely. They sharedthe feelings of Pennington. They felt that they had been persecuted, that this thing had grown inhuman, and they used rifles and cannon withastonishing vigor and energy. 

Two heavy Union batteries replied to the Southern cannon, raking thewoods with shell, round shot and grape, and Dick concluded that in theface of so much resolution Jackson would not press an attack at night, when every kind of disaster might happen in the darkness. His ownregiment had lain down among the leaves, and the men were firing at theflashes on their right. Dick looked for General Pope and his brilliantstaff, but he did not see them. 

"Gone to bring up the reserves, " whispered Warner, who saw Dick'sinquiring look. 

But the Vermonter's slur was not wholly true. Pope was on his way to hismain force, doubtless not really believing that Jackson himself wasat hand. But the little army that he left behind fighting with renewedenergy and valor broke away from the Southern grasp and continued itsmarch toward that court house, in which the boys could see no merit. Jackson himself, knowing what great numbers were ahead, was content toswing away and seek for prey elsewhere. 

They emerged from the wood toward morning and saw ahead of them greatmasses of troops in blue. They would have shouted with joy, but theywere too tired. Besides, nearly two thousand of their men were killed orwounded, and they had no victory to celebrate. 

Dick ate breakfast with his comrades. The Northern armies nearly alwayshad an abundance of provisions, and now they were served in plenty. Forthe moment, the physical overcame the mental in Dick. It was enough toeat and to rest and to feel secure. Thousands of friendly faces werearound them, and they would not have to fight in either day or dark fortheir lives. Their bones ceased to ache, and the good food and the goodcoffee began to rebuild the worn tissues. What did the rest matter?

After breakfast these men who had marched and fought for nearly twentyhours were told to sleep. Only one command was needed. It was August, and the dry grass and the soft earth were good enough for anybody. Thethree lads, each with an arm under his head, slept side by side. At noonthey were still sleeping, and Colonel Winchester, as he was passing, looked at the three, but longest at Dick. His gaze was half affection, half protection, but it was not the boy alone whom he saw. He saw alsohis fair-haired young mother in that little town on the other side ofthe mountains. 

While Dick still slept, the minds of men were at work. Pope's army, hitherto separated, was now called together by a battle. Troops fromevery direction were pouring upon the common center. The little armywhich had fought so gallantly the day before now amounted to onlyone-fourth of the whole. McDowell, Sigel and many other generals joinedPope, who, with the strange faculty of always seeing his enemy toosmall, while McClellan always saw him too large, began to feed upon hisown sanguine anticipations, and to regard as won the great victory thathe intended to win. He sent telegrams to Washington announcing that histriumph at Cedar Run was only the first of a series that his army wouldsoon achieve. 

It was late in the afternoon when Dick awoke, and he was amazed to seethat the sun was far down the western sky. But he rubbed his eyes and, remembering, knew that he had slept at least ten hours. He looked downat the relaxed figures of Warner and Pennington on either side of him. They still slumbered soundly, but he decided that they had slept longenough. 

"Here, you, " he exclaimed, seizing Warner by the collar and dragging himto a sitting position, "look at the sun! Do you realize that you've losta day out of your bright young life?"

Then he seized Pennington by the collar also and dragged him up. BothWarner and Pennington yawned prodigiously. 

"If I've lost a day, and it would seem that I have, then I'm glad ofit, " replied Warner. "I could afford to lose several in such a pleasantmanner. I suppose a lot of Stonewall Jackson's men were shooting at mewhile I slept, but I was lucky and didn't know about it. "

"You talk too long, " said Pennington. "That comes of your having taughtschool. You could talk all day to boys younger than yourself, and theywere afraid to answer back. "

"Shut up, both of you, " said Dick. "Here comes the sergeant, and I thinkfrom his look he has something to say worth hearing. "

Sergeant Whitley had cleansed the blood and dust from his face, anda handkerchief tied neatly around his head covered up the smallwound there. He looked trim and entirely restored, both mentally andphysically. 

"Well, sergeant, " said Dick ingratiatingly, "if any thing has happenedin this army you're sure to know of it. We'd have known it ourselves, but we had an important engagement with Morpheus, a world away, and wehad to keep it. Now what is the news?"

"I don't know who Morpheus is, " replied the sergeant, laughing, "butI'd guess from your looks that he is another name for sleep. There is nonews of anything big happenin'. We've got a great army here, and Jacksonremains near our battlefield of yesterday. I should say that we numberat least fifty thousand men, or about twice the rebels. "

"Then why don't we march against 'em at once?"

The sergeant shrugged his shoulders. It was not for him to tell whygenerals did not do things. 

"I think, " he said, "that we're likely to stay here a day or two. "

"Which means, " said Dick, his alert mind interpreting at once, "thatour generals don't know what to do. Why is it that they always seemparalyzed when they get in front of Stonewall Jackson? He's only a manlike the rest of them!"

He spoke with perfect freedom in the presence of Sergeant Whitley, knowing that he would repeat nothing. 

"A man, yes, " said Warner, in his precise manner, "but not exactly likethe others. He seems to have more of the lightning flash about him. Whata pity such a leader should be on the wrong side! Perhaps we'll have hisequal in time. "

"Is Jackson's army just sitting still?" asked Dick. 

"So far as scouts can gather, an' I've been one of them, " repliedSergeant Whitley, "it seems to be just campin'. But I wish I knew whichway it was goin' to jump. I don't trust Jackson when he seems to benappin'. "

But the good sergeant's doubts were to remain for two days at least. Thetwo armies sat still, only two miles apart, and sentinels, as was commonthroughout the great war, became friendly with one another. Often theymet in the woods and exchanged news and abundant criticism of generals. At last there was a truce to bury the dead who still lay upon thesanguinary field of Cedar Run. 

Dick was in charge of one of these burial parties, and toward the closeof the day he saw a familiar figure, also in command of a burial party, although it was in a gray uniform. His heart began to thump, andhe uttered a cry of joy. The unexpected, but not the unnatural, hadhappened. 

"Oh, Harry! Harry!" he shouted. 

The strong young figure in the uniform of a lieutenant in the Southernarmy turned in surprise at the sound of a familiar voice, and stood, staring. 

"Dick! Dick Mason!" he cried. Then the two sprang forward and graspedthe hands of each other. There was no display of emotion--they were ofthe stern American stock, taught not to show its feelings--but theireyes showed their gladness. 

"Harry, " said Dick, "I knew that you had been with Jackson, but I had noway of knowing until a moment ago that you were yet alive. "

"Nor I you, Dick. I thought you were in the west. "

"I was, but after Shiloh, some of us came east to help. It seemed afterthe Seven Days that we were needed more here than in the west. "

"You never said truer words, Dick. They'll need you and many morethousands like you. Why, Dick, we're not led here by a man, we're ledby a thunderbolt. I'm on his staff, I see him every day. He talks tome, and I talk to him. I tell you, Dick, it's a wonderful thing to servesuch a genius. You can't beat him! His kind appears only a few times inthe ages. He always knows what's to be done and he does it. Even if yourgenerals knew what ought to be done, most likely they'd do somethingelse. "

Harry's face glowed with enthusiasm as he spoke of his hero, and Dick, looking at him, shook his head sadly. 

"I'm afraid that what you say is true for the present at least, Harry, "he said. "You beat us now here in the east, but don't forget that we'rewinning in the west. And don't forget that here in the east even, youcan never wear us out. We'll be coming, always coming. "

"All right, old Sober Sides, we won't quarrel about it. We'll let timesettle it. Here come some friends of mine whom I want you to know. Curious that you should meet them at such a time. "

Two other young lieutenants in gray uniforms at the head of burialparties came near in the course of their work, and Harry called to them. 

"Tom! Arthur! A moment, please! This is my cousin, Dick Mason, a Yankee, though I think he's honest in his folly. Dick, this is Arthur St. Clair, and this is Tom Langdon, both friends of mine from South Carolina. "

They shook hands warmly. There was no animosity between them. Dickliked the looks and manners of Harry's friends. He could have been theirfriend, too. 

"Harry has talked about you often, " said Happy Tom Langdon. "Says you'rea great scholar, and a good fellow, all right every way, except thecrack in your head that makes you a Yankee. I hope you won't get hurt inthis unpleasantness, and when our victorious army comes into Washingtonwe'll take good care of you and release you soon. "

Dick smiled. He liked this youth who could keep up the spirit of funamong such scenes. 

"Don't you pay any attention to Langdon, Mr. Mason, " said St. Clair. "Ifhe'd only fight as well and fast as he talks there'd be no need for therest of us. "

"You know you couldn't win the war without me, " said Langdon. 

They talked a little more together, then trumpets blew, the work wasdone and they must withdraw to their own armies. They had been engagedin a grewsome task, but Dick was glad to the bottom of his heart to havebeen sent upon it. He had learned that Harry still lived, and he had methim. He did not understand until then how dear his cousin was to him. They were more like brothers than cousins. It was like the affectiontheir great-grandfathers, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, had felt for eachother, although those famous heroes of the border had always foughtside by side, while their descendants were compelled to face each otheracross a gulf. 

They shook hands and withdrew slowly. At the edge of the field, Dickturned to wave another farewell, and he found that Harry, actuatedby the same motive at the same time, had also turned to make a likegesture. Each waved twice, instead of once, and then they disappearedamong the woods. Dick returned to Colonel Winchester. 

"While we were under the flag of truce I met my cousin, Harry Kenton, "he said. 

"One of the lucky fortunes of war. "

"Yes, sir, I was very glad to see him. I did not know how glad I wasuntil I came away. He says that we can never beat Jackson, that nothingbut death can ever stop him. "

"Youth often deceives itself, nor is age any exception. Never lose hope, Dick. "

"I don't mean to do so, sir. "

The next morning, when Dick was with one of the outposts, a man ofpowerful build, wonderfully quick and alert in his movements, appeared. His coming was so quick and silent that he seemed to rise from theearth, and Dick was startled. The man's face was uncommon. His featureswere of great strength, the eyes being singularly vivid and penetrating. He was in civilian's dress, but he promptly showed a pass from GeneralPope, and Dick volunteered to take him to headquarters, where he said hewished to go. 

Dick became conscious as they walked along that the man was examininghim minutely with those searching eyes of his which seemed to look onethrough and through. 

"You are Lieutenant Richard Mason, " said the stranger presently, "andyou have a cousin, Harry Kenton, also a lieutenant, but in the army ofStonewall Jackson. "

Dick stared at him in amazement. 

"Everything you say is true, " he said, "but how did you know it?"

"It's my business to know. Knowledge is my sole pursuit in this greatwar, and a most engrossing and dangerous task I find it. Yet, I wouldnot leave it. My name is Shepard, and I am a spy. You needn't shrink. I'm not ashamed of my occupation. Why should I be? I don't kill. I don'tcommit any violence. I'm a guide and educator. I and my kind are theeyes of an army. We show the generals where the enemy is, and wetell them his plans. An able and daring spy is worth more than manya general. Besides, he takes the risk of execution, and he can win noglory, for he must always remain obscure, if not wholly unknown. Which, then, makes the greater sacrifice for his country, the spy or thegeneral?"

"You give me a new point of view. I had not thought before how spiesrisked so much for so little reward. "

Shepard smiled. He saw that in spite of his logic Dick yet retainedthat slight feeling of aversion. The boy left him, when they arrived atheadquarters, but the news that Shepard brought was soon known to thewhole army. 

Jackson had left his camp. He was gone again, disappeared into theether. "Retreated" was the word that Pope at once seized upon, and hesent forth happy bulletins. Shepard and other scouts and spies reporteda day or two later that Jackson's army was on the Rapidan, one of thenumerous Virginia rivers. Then Dick accompanied Colonel Winchester, whowas sent by rail to Washington with dispatches. 

He did not find in the capital the optimism that reigned in the mind ofPope. McClellan was withdrawing his army from Virginia, but the eyes ofthe nation were turned toward Pope. Many who had taken deep thought ofthe times and of men, were more alarmed about Pope than he was abouthimself. They did not like those jubilant dispatches from "Headquartersin the Saddle. " There was ominous news that Lee himself was marchingnorth, and that he and Jackson would soon be together. Anxious eyesscanned the hills about Washington. The enemy had been very near oncebefore, and he might soon be near again. 

Dick had an hour of leisure, and he wandered into an old hotel, at whichmany great men had lived. They would point to Henry Clay's famous chairin the lobby, and the whole place was thick with memories of Webster, Calhoun and others who had seemed almost demigods to their owngeneration. 

But a different crowd was there now. They were mostly paunchy men whotalked of contracts and profits. One, to whom the others paid deference, was fat, heavy and of middle age, with a fat, heavy face and pouchesunder his eyes. His small eyes were set close together, but theysparkled with shrewdness and cunning. 

The big man presently noticed the lad who was sitting quietly in oneof the chairs against the wall. Dick's was an alien presence there, anddoubtless this fact had attracted his attention. 

"Good day to you, " said the stranger in a bluff, deep voice. "I takeit from your uniform, your tan and your thinness that you've come fromactive service. "

"In both the west and the east, " replied Dick politely. "I was atShiloh, but soon afterward I was transferred with my regiment to theeast. "

"Ah, then, of course, you know what is going on in Virginia?"

"No more than the general public does. I was at Cedar Run, which both weand the rebels claim as a victory. "

The man instantly showed a great increase of interest. 

"Were you?" he said. "My own information says that Banks and Pope weresurprised by Jackson and that the rebel general has merely drawn off tomake a bigger jump. Did you get that impression?"

"Will you tell me why you ask me these questions?" said Dick in the samepolite tone. 

"Because I've a big stake in the results out there. My name is JohnWatson, and I'm supplying vast quantities of shoes and clothing to ourtroops. "

Dick turned up the sole of one of his shoes and picked thoughtfully at ahole half way through the sole. Little pieces of paper came out. 

"I bought these, Mr. Watson, from a sutler in General Pope's army, " hesaid. "I wonder if they came from you?"

A deeper tint flushed the contractor's cheeks, but in a moment he threwoff anger. 

"A good joke, " he said jovially. "I see that you're ready of wit, despite your youth. No, those are not my shoes. I know dishonest men aremaking great sums out of supplies that are defective or short. A greatwar gives such people many opportunities, but I scorn them. I'll notdeny that I seek a fair profit, but my chief object is to serve mycountry. Do you ever reflect, my young friend, that the men who clotheand feed an army have almost as much to do with winning the victory asthe men who fight?"

"I've thought of it, " said Dick, wondering what the contractor had inmind. 

"What regiment do you belong to, if I may ask? My motive in asking thesequestions is wholly good. "

"One commanded by Colonel Winchester, recently sent from the west. We'vebeen in only one battle in the east, that fought at Cedar Run againstJackson. "

Watson again looked at Dick intently. The boy felt that he was beingmeasured and weighed by a man of uncommon perceptions. Whatever might behis moral quality there could be no question of his ability. 

"I am, as I told you before, " said Watson, "a servant of my country. Aman who feeds and clothes the soldiers well is a patriot, while he whofeeds and clothes them badly is a mere money grubber. "

He paused, as if he expected Dick to say something, but the boy wassilent and he went on:

"It is to the interest of the country that it be served well in alldepartments, particularly in the tremendous crisis that we now face. Yetthe best patriot cannot always get a chance to serve. He needsfriends at court, as they say. Now this colonel of yours, ColonelWinchester--I've observed both him and you, although I approached youas if I'd never heard of either of you before--is a man of character andinfluence. Certain words from him at the right time would be of greatvalue, nor would his favorite aide suffer through bringing the matter tohis attention. "

Dick saw clearly now, but he was not impulsive. Experience was teachinghim, while yet a boy, to speak softly. 

"The young aide of whom you speak, " he said, "would never think ofmentioning such a matter to the colonel, of whom you also speak, andeven if he should, the colonel wouldn't listen to him for a moment. "

Watson shrugged his shoulders slightly, but made no other gesture ofdispleasure. 

"Doubtless you are well informed about this aide and this colonel, " hesaid, "but it's a pity. If more food is thrown to the sparrows than theycan eat, is it any harm for other birds to eat the remainder?"

"I scarcely regard it as a study in ornithology. "

"Ornithology? That's a big word, but I suppose it will serve. We'lldrop the matter, and if at any time my words here should be quoted I'llpromptly deny them. It's a bad thing for a boy to have his statementsdisputed by a man of years who can command wealth and other powerfulinfluences. Unless he had witnesses nobody would believe the boy. I tellyou this, my lad, partly for your own good, because I'm inclined to likeyou. "

Dick stared. There was nothing insulting in the man's tone. He seemedto be thoroughly in earnest. Perhaps he regarded his point of view asright, and Dick, a boy of thought and resource, saw that it was notworth while to make a quarrel. But he resolved to remember Watson, feeling that the course of events might bring them together again. 

"I suppose it's as you say, " he said. "You're a man of affairs and youought to know. "

Watson smiled at him. Dick felt that the contractor had been tellingthe truth when he said that he was inclined to like him. Perhaps he washonest and supplied good materials, when others supplied bad. 

"You will shake hands with me, Mr. Mason, " he said. "You think thatI will be hostile to you, but maybe some day I can prove myself yourfriend. Young soldiers often need friends. "

His eyes twinkled and his smile widened. In spite of his appearance andhis proposition, something winning had suddenly appeared in the mannerof this man. Dick found himself shaking hands with him. 

"Good-bye, Mr. Mason, " said Watson. "It may be that we shall meet on thefield, although I shall not be within range of the guns. "

He left the lobby of the hotel, and Dick was rather puzzled. It washis first thought to tell Colonel Winchester about him, but he finallydecided that Watson's own advice to him to keep silent was best. He andColonel Winchester took the train from Washington the next day, and onthe day after were with Pope's army on the Rapidan. 

Dick detected at once a feeling of excitement or tension in this army, at least among the young officers with whom he associated most. Theyfelt that a storm of some kind was gathering, either in front or ontheir flank. McClellan's army was now on the transports, leaving behindthe Virginia that he had failed to conquer, and Pope's, with a newcommander, was not yet in shape. The moment was propitious for Lee andJackson to strike, and the elusive Jackson was lost again. 

"Our scouts discover nothing, " said Warner to Dick. "The country ischockfull of hostility to us. Not a soul will tell us a word. We have tosee a thing with our own eyes before we know it's there, but the people, the little children even, take news to the rebels. A veil is hung beforeus, but there is none before them. "

"There is one man who is sure to find out about Jackson. "

"Who?"

Dick's only answer was a shake of the head. But he was thinking ofShepard. He did not see him about the camp, and he had no doubt that hewas gone on another of his dangerous missions. Meanwhile newspapers fromNew York and other great cities reflected the doubts of the North. Theyspoke of Pope's grandiloquent dispatches, and they wondered what hadbecome of Lee and Jackson. 

Dick, an intense patriot, passed many bitter moments. He, like others, felt that the hand upon the reins was not sure. Instead of finding theenemy and assailing him with all their strength, they were waiting indoubt and alarm to fend off a stroke that would come from some unknownpoint out of the dark. 

The army now lay in one of the finest parts of Virginia, a region ofpicturesque mountains, wide and fertile valleys, and of many clearcreeks and rivers coming down from the peaks and ridges. To one side laya great forest, known as the Wilderness, destined, with the country nearit, to become the greatest battlefield of the world. Here, the terriblebattles of the Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and others less sanguinary, but greatstruggles, nevertheless, were to be fought. 

But these were yet in the future, and Dick, much as his eyes had beenopened, did not yet dream how tremendous the epic combat was to be. Heonly knew that to-day it was the middle of August, the valleys were veryhot, but it was shady and cool on the hills and mountains. He knew, too, that he was young, and that pessimism and gloom could not abide longwith him. 

He and Warner and Pennington had good horses, in place of those thatthey had lost at Cedar Run, and often they rode to the front to seewhat might be seen of the enemy, which at present was nothing. Theirbattlefield at Cedar Run had been reoccupied by Northern troops and Popewas now confirmed in his belief that his men had won a victory there. And this victory was to be merely a prelude to another and far greaterone. 

As they rode here and there in search of the enemy, Dick came uponfamiliar ground. Once more he saw the field of Manassas which had beenlost so hardly the year before. He remembered every hill and brook andcurve of the little river, because they had been etched into his brainwith steel and fire. How could anyone forget that day?

"Looks as if we might fight our battle of last year over again, but on amuch bigger scale, " he said to Warner. 

"Here or hereabouts, " said the Vermonter, "and I think we ought to win. They've got the better generals, but we've got more men. Besides, ourtroops are becoming experienced and they've shown their mettle. Dick, here's a farmer gathering corn. Let's ask him some questions, but I'llwager you a hundred to one before we begin that he knows absolutelynothing about the rebel army. In fact, I doubt that he will know of itsexistence. "

"I won't take your bet, " said Dick. 

They called to the man, a typical Virginia farmer in his shirt sleeves, tall and spare, short whiskers growing under his chin. There was notmuch difference between him and his brother farmer in New England. 

"Good-day, " said Warner. 

"Good-day. "

"You seem to be working hard. "

"I've need to do it. Farm hands are scarce these days. "

"Farming is hard work. "

"Yes; but it's a lot safer than some other kinds men are doin'nowadays. "

"True, no doubt, but have you seen anything of the army?"

"What army?"

"The one under Lee and Jackson, the rebel army. "

"I ain't heard of no rebel army, mister. I don't know of any such peopleas rebels. "

"You call it the Confederate army. Can you tell us anything about theConfederate army?"

"What Confederate army, mister? I heard last month when I went in to thecourt house that there was more than one of them. "

"I mean the one under Lee and Jackson. "

"That's cur'us. A man come ridin' 'long here three or four weeks ago. Mebbe he was a lightnin' rod agent an' mebbe he had patent medicines tosell, he didn't say, but he did tell me that General Jackson was in oneplace an General Lee was in another. Now which army do you mean?"

"That was nearly a month ago. They are together now. "

"Then, mister, if you know so much more about it than I do, what are youaskin' me questions for?"

"But I want to know about Lee and Jackson. Have you seen them?"

"Lord bless you, mister, them big generals don't come visitin' the likeso' me. You kin see my house over thar among the trees. You kin search itif you want to, but you won't find nothin'. "

"I don't want to search your house. You can't hide a great army in ahouse. I want to know if you've seen the Southern Army. I want to knowif you've heard anything about it. "

"I ain't seed it. My sight's none too good, mister. Sometimes theblazin' sun gits in my eyes and kinder blinds me for a long time. Then, too, I'm bad of hearin'; but I'm a powerful good sleeper. When I sleep Idon't hear nothin', of course, an' nothin' wakes me up. I just sleep on, sometimes dreamin' beautiful dreams. A million men wouldn't wake me, an'mebbe a dozen armies or so have passed in the night while I was sleepin'so good. I'd tell you anything I know, but them that knows nothin' hasnothin' to tell. "

Warner's temper, although he had always practiced self-control, hadbegun to rise, but he checked it, seeing that it would be a mere foolishdisplay of weakness in the face of the blank wall that confronted him. 

"My friend, " he said with gravity, "I judge from the extreme ignoranceyou display concerning great affairs that you sleep a large part of thetime. "

"Mebbe so, an' mebbe not. I most gen'ally sleep when I'm sleepy. I'veheard tell there was a big war goin' on in these parts, but this is myland, an' I'm goin' to stay on it. "

"A good farmer, if not a good patriot. Good day. "

"Good day. "

They rode on and, in spite of themselves, laughed. 

"I'm willing to wager that he knows a lot about Lee and Jackson, " saidWarner, "but the days of the rack and the thumbscrew passed long ago, and there is no way to make him tell. "

"No, " said Dick, "but we ought to find out for ourselves. "

Nevertheless, they discovered nothing. They saw no trace of a Southernsoldier, nor did they hear news of any, and toward nightfall they rodeback toward the army, much disappointed. The sunset was of uncommonbeauty. The hot day was growing cool. Pleasant shadows were creepingup in the east. In the west a round mountain shouldered its black bulkagainst the sky. Dick looked at it vaguely. He had heard it calledClark's Mountain, and it was about seven miles away from the Union armywhich lay behind the Rapidan River. 

Dick liked mountains, and the peak looked beautiful against the red andyellow bars of the western horizon. 

"Have you ever been over there?" he said to Pennington and Warner. 

"No; but a lot of our scouts have, " replied Pennington. "It's just amountain and nothing more. Funny how all those peaks and ridges cropup suddenly around here out of what seems meant to have been a levelcountry. "

"I like it better because it isn't level, " said Dick. "I'm afraid Georgeand I wouldn't care much for your prairie country which just rolls onforever, almost without trees and clear running streams. "

"You would care for it, " said Pennington stoutly. "You'd miss at firstthe clear rivers and creeks, but then the spell of it would take hold ofyou. The air you breathe isn't like the air you breathe anywhere else. "

"We've got some air of our own in Vermont that we could brag about, ifwe wanted to, " said Warner, defiantly. 

"It's good, but not as good as ours. And then the vast distances, thegreat spaces take hold of you. And there's the sky so high and so clear. When you come away from the great plains you feel cooped up anywhereelse. "

Pennington spoke with enthusiasm, his nostrils dilating and his eyesflashing. Dick was impressed. 

"When the war's over I'm going out there to see your plains, " he said. 

"Then you're coming to see me!" exclaimed Pennington, with all theimpulsive warmth of youth. "And George here is coming with you. I won'tshow you any mountains like the one over there, but boys, west of thePlatte River, when I was with my father and some other men I watched forthree days a buffalo herd passing. The herd was going north and allthe time it stretched so far from east to west that it sank under eachhorizon. There must have been millions of them. Don't you think that wassomething worth seeing?"

"We're surely coming, " said Dick, "and you be equally sure to have yourbuffalo herd ready for us when we come. "

"It'll be there. "

"Meanwhile, here we are at the Rapidan, " said the practical Warner, "andbeyond it is our army. Look at that long line of fires, boys. Aren'tthey cheering? A fine big army like ours ought to beat off anything. Wealmost held our own with Jackson himself at Cedar Run, and he had two toone. "

"We will win! We're bound to win!" said Dick, with sudden access ofhope. "We'll crush Lee and Jackson, and next summer you and I, George, will be out on the western plains with Frank, watching the buffalomillions go thundering by!"

They forded the Rapidan and rejoined their regiment with nothing totell. But it was cheerful about the fires. Optimism reigned once more inthe Army of Virginia. McClellan had sent word to Pope that he would haveplenty of soldiers to face the attack that now seemed to be threatenedby the South. Brigades from the Army of the Potomac would make the Armyof Virginia invincible. 

Dick having nothing particular to do, sat late with his comrades beforeone of the finest of the fires, and he read only cheerful omens in theflames. It was a beautiful night. The moon seemed large and near, andthe sky was full of dancing stars. In the clear night Dick saw the blackbulk of Clark's Mountain off there against the horizon, but he could notsee what was behind it. 

CHAPTER III. BESIDE THE RIVER

Dick was on duty early in the morning when he saw a horseman coming ata gallop toward the Rapidan. The man was in civilian clothing, but hisfigure seemed familiar. The boy raised his glasses, and he saw at oncethat it was Shepard. He saw, too, that he was urging his horse to itsutmost speed. 

The boy's heart suddenly began to throb, and there was a cold, pricklingsensation at the roots of his hair. Shepard had made an extraordinaryimpression upon him and he did not believe that the man would be comingat such a pace unless he came with great news. 

He saw Shepard stop, give the pass word to the pickets, then gallop on, ford the river and come straight toward the heart of the army. Dick ranforward and met him. 

"What is it?" he cried. 

"General Pope's tent! Where it is! I can't wait a minute. "

Dick pointed toward a big marquee, standing in an open space, andShepard leaping from his horse and abandoning it entirely, ran towardthe marquee. A word or two to the sentinels, and he disappeared inside. 

Dick, devoured with curiosity and anxiety, went to Colonel Winchesterwith the story of what he had seen. 

"I know of Shepard, " said the colonel. "He is the best and most daringspy in the whole service of the North. I think you're right in inferringthat he rides so fast for good cause. "

Shepard remained with the commander-in-chief a quarter of an hour. Whenhe came forth from the tent he regained his horse and rode away withouta word, going in the direction of Clark's Mountain. But his news wasquickly known, because it was of a kind that could not be concealed. Pennington came running with it to the regiment, his face flushed andhis eyes big. 

"Look! Look at the mountain!" he exclaimed. 

"I see it, " said Warner. "I saw it there yesterday, too, in exactly thesame place. "

"So did I, but there's something behind it. Lee and Jackson are therewith sixty or eighty thousand men! The whole Southern army is only sixor seven miles away. "

Even Warner's face changed. 

"How do you know this?" he asked. 

"A spy has seen their army. They say he is a man whose reports are neverfalse. At any rate orders have already been issued for us to retreatand I hear that we're going back until we reach the Rappahannock, behindwhich we will camp. "

Dick knew very well now that it was Shepard who brought the news, andPennington's report about the retreat was also soon verified. Thewhole army was soon in motion and a feeling of depression replacedthe optimism of the night before. The advance had been turned into aretreat. Were they to go back and forth in this manner forever? ButColonel Winchester spoke hopefully to his young aides and said that theretreat was right. 

"We're drawing out of a trap, " he said, "and time is always on our side. The South to win has to hit hard and fast, and in this case the Army ofthe Potomac and the Army of Virginia may join before Lee and Jackson cancome up. "

The lads tried to reconcile themselves, but nevertheless they did notlike retreat. Dick with his powerful glasses often looked back towardthe dark bulk of Clark's Mountain. He saw nothing there, nor anything inthe low country between, save the rear ranks of the Union army marchingon. 

But Shepard had been right. Lee and Jackson, advancing silently and withevery avenue of news guarded, were there behind the mountain with sixtythousand men, flushed with victories, and putting a supreme faith intheir great commanders who so well deserved their trust. The men ofthe valley and the Seven Days, wholly confident, asked only to be ledagainst Pope and his army, and most of them expected a battle that veryday, while the Northern commander was slipping from the well-laid trap. 

Pope's judgment in this case was good and fortune, too, favored him. Before the last of his men had left the Rapidan Lee himself, with hisstaff officers, climbed to the summit of Clark's Mountain. They werearmed with the best of glasses, but drifting fogs coming down fromthe north spread along the whole side of the mountain and hung like acurtain between it and the retreating army. None of their glasses couldpierce the veil, and it was not until nearly night that rising windscaught the fog and took it away. Then Lee and his generals saw a vastcloud of dust in the northwest and they knew that under it marchedPope's retreating army. 

The Southern army was at once ordered forward in pursuit and in thenight the vanguard, wading the Rapidan, followed eagerly. Dick and hiscomrades did not know then that they were followed so closely, butthey were destined to know it before morning. The regiment of ColonelWinchester, one of the best and bravest in the whole service, formed apart of the rearguard, and Dick, Warner and Pennington rode with theirchief. 

The country was broken and they crossed small streams. Sometimes theywere in open fields, and again they passed through long stretches offorest. There was a strong force of cavalry with the regiment, and thebeat of the horses' hoofs made a steady rolling sound which was notunpleasant. 

But Dick found the night full of sinister omens. They had left theRapidan in such haste that there was still a certain confusion ofimpressions. The gigantic scale of everything took hold of him. Onehundred and fifty thousand men, or near it, were marching northward intwo armies which could not be many miles apart. The darkness and thefeeling of tragedy soon to come oppressed him. 

He listened eagerly for the sounds of pursuit, but the long hours passedand he heard nothing. The rear guard did not talk. The men wasted nostrength that way, but marched stolidly on in the moonlight. Midnightpassed and after a while it grew darker. Colonel Winchester and hisyoung officers rode at the very rear, and Pennington suddenly held uphis hand. 

"What is it?" asked Colonel Winchester. 

"Somebody following us, sir. I was trained out on the plains to takenotice of such things. May I get down and put my ear to the ground? Imay look ridiculous, sir, but I can make sure. "

"Certainly. Go ahead. "

Pennington sprang down and put his ear to the road. He did not listenlong, but when he stood up again he said:

"Horsemen are coming. I can't tell how many, but several hundreds atleast. "

"As we're the very last of our own army, they must be Southern cavalry, "said Colonel Winchester. "If they want to attack, I dare say our boysare willing. "

Very soon they heard clearly the gallop of the cavalry, and the menheard it also. They looked up and turned their faces toward those whomust be foes. Despite the dimness Dick saw their eyes brighten. ColonelWinchester had judged rightly. The boys were willing. 

The rear guard turned back and waited, and in a few minutes the Southernhorsemen came in sight, opening fire at once. Their infantry, too, soonappeared in the woods and fields and the dark hours before the dawn werefilled with the crackle of small arms. 

Dick kept close to Colonel Winchester who anxiously watched the pursuit, throwing his own regiment across the road, and keeping up a heavy fireon the enemy. The Union loss was not great as most of the firing in thedusk, of necessity, was at random, and Dick heard bullets whistling allabout him. Some times the bark flew from trees and now and then therewas a rain of twigs, shorn from the branches by the showers of missiles. 

It was arduous work. The men were worn by the darkness, the uncertaintyand the incessant pursuit. The Northern rear guard presented a strongfront, retreating slowly with its face to the enemy, and alwaysdisputing the road. Dick meanwhile could hear through the crash ofthe firing the deep rumble of Pope's great army with its artillery andthousands of wagons continually marching toward the Rappahannock. Hismind became absorbed in a vital question. Would Lee and Jackson come upbefore they could reach the bigger river? Would a battle be forced thenext day while the Union army was in retreat? He confided his anxietiesto Warner who rode by his side. 

"I take it that it's only a vanguard that's pursuing us, " said theVermonter. "If they were in great force they'd have been pushing harderand harder. We must have got a good start before Lee and Jackson foundus out. We know our Jackson, Dick, and he'd have been right on top of uswithout delay. "

"That's right, George. It must be their cavalry mostly. I suppose JebStuart is there leading them. At any rate we'll soon know better what'sdoing. Look there toward the east. Don't you see a ray of light behindthat hill?"

"I see it, Dick. "

"Is it the first ray of the morning, or is it just a low star?"

"It's the dawn, Dick, and mighty glad I am to see it. Look how fast itcomes!"

The sun shot up, over the hill. The sky turning to silver soon gave wayto gold, and the clear August light poured in a flood over the rollingcountry. 

Dick saw ahead of him a vast cloud of dust extending miles from eastto west, marking where the army of Pope pushed on its retreat to theRappahannock. There was no need to search for the Northern force. Thenewest recruit would know that it was here. 

The Southern vanguard was behind them and not many hundred yards away. Dick distinctly saw the cavalry, riding along the road, and hundredsof skirmishers pushing through the woods and fields. He judged thatthe force did not number many thousands and that it could not think ofassailing the whole Union army. But with the coming of day the vigor ofthe attack increased. The skirmishers fired from the shelter of everytree stump, fence or hillock and the bullets pattered about Dick and hiscomrades. 

The Union rear guard maintained its answering fire, but as it wasretreating it was at a disadvantage. The regiments began to suffer. Manymen were wounded. The fire became most galling. A sudden charge by therearguard was ordered and it was made with spirit. The Southern van wasdriven back, but when the retreat was resumed the skirmishers and thecavalry came forward again, always firing at their retreating foe. 

"I judge that it's going to be a very hot morning, " said ColonelWinchester, wiping away a few drops of blood, where a bullet had barelytouched his face. "I think the wind of that bullet hurt me more than itskiss. There will be no great battle to-day. We can see now that theyare not yet in strong enough force, but we'll never know a minute's restuntil we're behind the Rappahannock. Oh, Dick, if McClellan's armywere only here also! This business of retreating is as bitter as deathitself!"

Dick saw the pain on his colonel's face and it was reflected on his own. 

"I feel it, sir, in the same way. Our men are just as eager as theJohnnies to fight and they are as brave and tenacious. What do you thinkwill happen, sir?"

"We'll reach the Rappahannock and take refuge behind it. We command therailroad bridge there, and can cross and destroy it afterward. But theriver is broad and deep with high banks and the army of the enemy cannotpossibly force the passage in any way while we defend it. "

"And after that, sir?"

"God alone knows. Look out, Dick, those men are aiming at us!"

Colonel Winchester seized the bridle of Dick's horse and pulled himviolently to one side, pulling his own horse in the same directionin the same manner. The bullets of half a dozen Southern skirmishers, standing under the boughs of a beech tree less than two hundred yardsaway, hissed angrily by them. 

"A close call, " said the colonel. "There, they've been scattered by ourown riflemen and one of them remains to pay the toll. "

The reply of the Northern skirmishers had been quick, and the grayfigure lying prone by the trunk of the tree told Dick that the colonelhad been right. He was shaken by a momentary shudder, but he could notlong remember one among so many. They rode on, leaving the prone figureout of sight, and the Southern cavalry and skirmishers pressed forwardafresh. 

Many of the Union men had food in their saddle bags, and supplies weresent back for those who did not have it. Colonel Winchester who wasnow thoroughly cool, advised his officers to eat, even if they felt nohunger. 

"I'm hungry enough, " said Pennington to Dick. "Out on the plains, wherethe air is so fresh and so full of life I was always hungry, and Isuppose I brought my appetite here with me. Dick, I've opened a can ofcove oysters, and that's a great deal for a fellow on horseback todo. Here, take your share, and they'll help out that dry bread you'remunching. "

Dick accepted with thanks. He learned that he, too, could eat with agood appetite while bullets were knocking up dust only twenty yardsaway. Meanwhile there was a steady flash of firing from every wood andcornfield behind them. 

As he ate he watched and he saw an amazing panorama. Miles in frontthe great cloud of dust, cutting across from horizon to horizon swelledslowly on toward the Rappahannock. Behind them rode the Southern cavalryand masses of infantry were pressing forward, too. Far off on eitherflank rolled the pleasant country, its beauty heightened by the loom ofblue mountains. 

Colonel Winchester had predicted truly. The fighting between theNorthern rearguard, and the Southern vanguard never ceased. Every momentthe bullets were whistling, and occasionally a cannon lent its deep roarto the crackling fire of the rifles. Daring detachments of the Southerncavalry often galloped up and charged lagging regiments. And they weredriven off with equal courage and daring. 

The three boys took especial notice of those cavalry bands and beganto believe at last that they could identify the very men in them. Dicklooked for his cousin, Harry Kenton. He was sure that he would be therein the front--but he did not see him. Instead he saw after a while anextraordinary figure on a large black horse, a large man in magnificentuniform, with a great plume in his hat. He was nearer to them than anyother Southern horseman, and he seemed to be indifferent to danger. 

"Look! look! There's Jeb Stuart!" exclaimed Dick. He had heard somuch about the famous Stuart and his gorgeous uniform that he knew himinstinctively, and, Warner and Pennington, as their eyes followed hispointing finger felt the same conviction. 

Three of the Northern riflemen fired at once at the conspicuous target, and Dick breathed a little sigh of relief when all their bullets missed. Then the brilliant figure turned to one side and was lost in the smoke. 

"Well, " said Pennington. "We've seen Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuartboth in battle against us. I wonder who will come next. "

"Lee is due, " said Warner, "but I doubt whether his men will let himexpose himself in such a way. We'll have to slip under cover to get achance of seeing him. "

The hours went on, and the fight between rear guard and vanguard neverceased. That column of dust miles long was at the same distance infront, continuing in its slow course for the river, but the foes incontact were having plenty of dust showers of their own. Dick's throatand mouth burned with the dust and heat of the pitiless August day, andhis bones ached with the tension and the long hours in the saddle. Buthis spirit was high. They were holding off the Southern cavalry and hefelt that they would continue to do so. 

About noon he ate more cold food, and then rode on, while the sun blazedand blazed and the dust whirled in clouds like the "dust devils" of thedesert, continually spitting forth bullets instead of sand. Late inthe afternoon he heard the sound of many trumpets, and saw the Southerncavalry getting together in a great mass. A warning ran instantlyamong the Union troops and the horsemen in blue and one or two infantryregiments drew closer together. 

"They're going to charge in force, " said Colonel Winchester to Dick. "See, our rearguard has lost touch with our main army, leaving a sideopening between. They see this chance and intend to make the most ofit. "

"But our men are willing and anxious to meet them, " said Dick. "You cansee it in their faces. "

He had made no mistake, as the fire in their rear deepened, and theysaw the gathering squadrons of gray cavalry, a fierce anger seized theretreating Union rearguard. Those wasps had been buzzing and stingingthem all day long and they had had enough of it. They could fight, andthey would, if their officers would let them. Now it seemed that theofficers were willing. 

A deep and menacing mutter of satisfaction ran along the whole line. They would show the Southerners what kind of men they were. ColonelWinchester drew his infantry regiment into a small wood which at thatpoint skirted the road. 

"There is no doubt that we've found it at the right time, " said Warner. 

Both knew that the forest would protect the infantry from the fiercecharges of the Southern cavalry, while proving no obstacle to theNorthern defense. His own cavalry was gathering in the road ready tomeet Jeb Stuart and his squadrons. 

The three boys sat on their horses within the covering of the trees, and watched eagerly, while the hostile forces massed for battle. TheSouthern cavalry was supported by infantry also on its flanks, and onceagain Dick caught sight of Jeb Stuart with his floating plume. But thattime he was too far away for any of the Northern riflemen to reach himwith a bullet, and as before he disappeared quickly in the clouds ofdust and smoke which never ceased to float over both forces. 

"Look out! The charge!" suddenly exclaimed Colonel Winchester. 

They heard the thunder of the galloping horses, and also the flash ofmany rifles and carbines. Cavalry met cavalry but the men in gray reeledback, and as they retreated the Northern infantry in the wood sent adeadly fire into the flank of the attacking force. The Southern infantryreplied, and a fierce battle raged along the road and through the woods. Dick heard once more the rattling of bullets on bark, and felt the twigsfalling upon his face as they were shorn off by the missiles. 

"We hold the road and we'll hold it for a while, " exclaimed ColonelWinchester, exultation showing in his tone. 

"Why can't we hold it all the time?" Dick could not refrain from asking. 

"Because we are retreating and the Southerners are continually comingup, while our army wishes to go away. "

Dick glanced through the trees and saw that great clouds of dust stillwere rolling toward the northwest. It must be almost at the Rappahannocknow, and he began to appreciate what this desperate combat in the woodsmeant. They were holding back the Southern army, while their men couldcross the river and reform behind it. 

The battle swayed back and forth, and it was most desperate betweenthe cavalry. The bugles again and again called the gray horsemen to thecharge, and although the blue infantry supported their own horsemen witha heavy rifle fire, and held the wood undaunted, the Northern rearguard was forced to give way at last before the pressure of numbers andattacks that would not cease. 

Their own bugles sounded the retreat and they began to retire slowly. 

"Do we run again?" exclaimed Pennington, a tear ploughing its waythrough the smoky grime on his cheek. 

"No, we don't run, " replied Warner calmly, "We're forced back, and therebels will claim a victory but we haven't fought for nothing. Lee andJackson will never get up in time to attack our army before it's overthe river. "

The regiment began its slow retreat. It had not suffered much, owing tothe shelter of the forest, and, full of courage and resolution, it was aformidable support on the flank of the slowly retreating cavalry. 

The evening was now at hand. The sun was setting once more over theVirginia hills destined to be scarred so deeply by battle, but attackand defense went on. As night came the thudding of cannon added to thetumult, and then the three boys saw the Rappahannock, a deep and widestream flowing between high banks crested with timber. Ahead of themPope's army was crossing on the bridge and in boats, and massesof infantry supported by heavy batteries had turned to protect thecrossing. The Southern vanguard could not assail such a powerfulforce, and before the night was over the whole Union army passed to theNorthern side of the Rappahannock. 

Dick felt a mixture of chagrin and satisfaction as he crossed the river, chagrin that this great army should draw back, as McClellan's had beenforced to draw back at the Seven Days, and satisfaction that they weresafe for the time being and could prepare for a new start. 

But the feeling of exultation soon passed and gave way wholly tochagrin. They were retreating before an army not exceeding their own, in numbers, perhaps less. They had another great force, the Army of thePotomac, which should have been there, and then they could have badedefiance to Lee and Jackson. The North with its great numbers, its finecourage and its splendid patriotism should never be retreating. He feltonce more as thousands of others felt that the hand on the reins wasneither strong nor sure, and that the great trouble lay there. Theyought not to be hiding behind a river. Lee and Jackson did not do it. Dick remembered that grim commander in the West, the silent Grant, andhe did not believe he would be retreating. 

Long after darkness came the firing continued between skirmishers acrossthe stream, but finally it, too, waned and Dick was permitted to throwhimself upon the ground and sleep with the sleeping thousands. Warnerand Pennington slept near him and not far away was the brave sergeant. Even he was overpowered by fatigue and he slept like one dead, neverstirring. 

Dick was awakened next morning by the booming of cannon. He had becomeso much used to such sounds that he would have slept on had not thecrashes been so irregular. He stood up, rubbed his eyes and then lookedin the direction whence came the cannonade. He saw from the crest of ahill great numbers of Confederate troops on the other side of the river, the August sun glittering over thousands of bayonets and rifle barrels, and along the somber batteries of great guns. The firing, so far as hecould determine, was merely to feel out or annoy the Northern army. 

It was a strange sight to Dick, one that is not looked upon often, twogreat armies gazing across a river at each other, and, sure to meet, sooner or later, in mortal combat. It was thrilling, awe-inspiring, butit made his heart miss a beat or two at the thought of the wounds anddeath to come, all the more terrible because those who fought togetherwere of the same blood, and the same nation. 

Warner and Pennington joined him on the height where he stood, and theysaw that in the early hours before dawn the Northern generals had notbeen idle. The whole army of Pope was massed along the left bank ofthe river and every high point was crowned with heavy batteries ofartillery. There had been a long drought, and at some points theRappahannock could be forded, but not in the face of such a defence asthe North here offered. 

Colonel Winchester himself came a moment or two later and joined them asthey gazed at the two armies and the river between. Both he and the boysused their glasses and they distinctly saw the Southern masses. 

"Will they try to cross, sir?" asked Dick of the colonel. 

"I don't think so, but if they do we ought to beat them back. Meanwhile, Dick, my boy, every day's delay is a fresh card in our hand. McClellanis landing his army at Aquia Creek, whence it can march in two days toa junction with us, when we would become overwhelming and irresistible. But I wish it didn't take so long to disembark an army!"

The note of anxiety in his voice did not escape Dick. "You wish then tobe sure of the junction between our two armies before Lee and Jacksonstrike?"

"Yes, Dick. That is what is on my mind. The retreat of this army, although it may have caused us chagrin, was most opportune. It gaveus two chances, when we had but one before. But, Dick, I'm afraid. Iwouldn't say this to anybody but you and you must not repeat me. I wishI could divine what is in the mind of those two men, Lee and Jackson. They surely have a plan of some kind, but what is it?"

"Have we any definite news from the other side, sir?"

"Shepard came in this morning. But little ever escapes him, and he saysthat the whole Southern army is up. All their best leaders are there. Lee and Jackson and Longstreet and the Hills and Early and Lawton andthe others. He says that they are all flushed with confidence in theirown courage and fighting powers and the ability of their leaders. Oh, if only the Army of the Potomac would come! If we could only stave offbattle long enough for it to reach us!"

"Don't you think we could do it, sir? Couldn't General Pope retreat onWashington then, and, as they continued to follow us, we could turn andspring on them with both armies. "

But Colonel Winchester shook his head. 

"It would never do, " he said. "All Europe, eager to see the Unionsplit, would then help the Confederacy in every possible manner. The oldmonarchies would say that despite our superior numbers we're not able tomaintain ourselves outside the defenses of Washington. And these thingswould injure us in ways that we cannot afford. Remember, Dick, my boy, that this republic is the hope of the world, and that we must save it. "

"It will be done, sir, " said Dick, almost in the tone of a youngprophet. "I know the spirit of the men. No matter how many defeats areinflicted upon us by our own brethren we'll triumph in the end. "

"It's my own feeling, Dick. It cannot, it must not be any other way!"

Dick remained upborne by a confidence in the future rather than in thepresent, and throughout the morning he remained with his comrades, underarms, but doing little, save to hear the fitful firing which ran alonga front of several miles. But later in the day a heavy crash came from aford further up the stream. 

Under cover of a great artillery fire Stuart's cavalry dashed into theford, and drove off the infantry and a battery posted to defend it. Thenthey triumphantly placed heavy lines of pickets about the ford on theUnion side. 

It was more than the Union lads could stand. A heavy mass of infantry, Colonel Winchester's regiment in the very front of it, marched forwardto drive back these impertinent horsemen. They charged with so muchimpetuosity that Stuart's cavalry abandoned such dangerous ground. Allthe pickets were drawn in and they retreated in haste across the stream, the water foaming up in spurts about them beneath the pursuing bullets. 

Then came a silence and a great looking back and forth. The threateningarmies stared at each other across the water, but throughout theafternoon they lay idle. The pitiless August sun burned on and the dustthat had been trodden up by the scores of thousands hung in clouds low, but almost motionless. 

Dick went down into a little creek, emptying into the Rappahannock, andbathed his face and hands. Hundreds of others were doing the same. Thewater brought a great relief. Then he went back to Colonel Winchesterand his comrades, and waited patiently with them until evening. 

He remembered Colonel Winchester's words earlier in the day, and, as thedarkness came, he began to wonder what Lee and Jackson were thinking. Hebelieved that two such redoubtable commanders must have formed a plan bythis time, and, perhaps in the end, it would be worth a hundred thousandmen to know it. But he could only stare into the darkness and guess andguess. And one guess was as good as another. 

The night seemed portentous to him. It was full of sinister omens. Hestrove to pierce the darkness on the other shore with his eyes, and seewhat was going on there, but he distinguished only a black backgroundand the dim light of fires. 

Dick was not wrong. The Confederate commanders did have a plan and theomens which seemed sinister to him were sinister in fact. Jackson withhis forces was marching up his side of the Rappahannock and the greatbrain under the old slouch hat was working hard. 

When Lee and Jackson found that the Union army on the Rapidanhad slipped away from them they felt that they had wasted a greatopportunity to strike the retreating force before it reached theRappahannock, and that, as they followed, the situation of theConfederacy would become most critical. They would leave McClellan andthe Army of the Potomac nearer to Richmond, their own capital, than theywere. Nevertheless Lee, full of daring despite his years, followed, andthe dangers were growing thicker every hour around Pope. 

Dick, with his regiment, moved the next morning up the river. The enemywas in plain view beyond the stream, and Shepard and the other spiesreported that the Southern army showed no signs of retiring. But Shepardhad said also that he would not be able to cross the river again. Thehostile scouts and sharpshooters had become too vigilant. Yet he wassure that Lee and Jackson would attempt to force a passage higher up, where the drought had made good fords. 

"It's well that we're showing vigilance, " said Colonel Winchester toDick. He had fallen into the habit of talking much and confidentially tothe boy, because he liked and trusted him, and for another reason whichto Dick was yet in the background. 

"Do you feel sure that the rebels will attempt the crossing?" askedDick. 

"Beyond a doubt. They have every reason to strike before the Army of thePotomac can come. Besides, it is in accord with the character of theirgenerals. Both Lee and Jackson are always for the swift offensive, andEarly, Longstreet and the Hills are the same way. Hear that boomingahead! They're attacking one of the fords now!"

At a ford a mile above and also at another a mile or two further on, theSouthern troops had begun a heavy fire, and gathered in strong masseswere threatening every moment to attempt the passage. But the Unionguns posted on hills made a vigorous reply and the time passed in heavycannonades. Colonel Winchester, his brows knitted and anxious, watchedthe fire of the cannon. He confided at last to his favorite aide hisbelief that what lay behind the cannonade was more important than thecannonade itself. 

"It must be a feint or a blind, " he said. "They fire a great deal, but they don't make any dash for the stream. Now, the rebels haven'tammunition to waste. "

"Then what do you think they're up to, sir?"

"They must be sending a heavy force higher up the river to cross wherethere is no resistance. And we must meet them there, with my regimentonly, if we can obtain no other men. "

The colonel obtained leave to go up the Rappahannock until nightfall, but only his own regiment, now reduced to less than four hundred men, was allotted to him. In truth his division commander thought his purposeuseless, but yielded to the insistence of Winchester who was known tobe an officer of great merit. It seemed to the Union generals that theymust defend the fords where the Southern army lay massed before them. 

Dick learned that there was a little place called Sulphur Springs somemiles ahead, and that the river there was spanned by a bridge whichthe Union cavalry had wrecked the day before. He divined at once thatColonel Winchester had that ford in mind, and he was glad to be with himon the march to it. 

They left behind them the sound of the cannonade which they learnedafterward was being carried on by Longstreet, and followed the course ofthe stream as fast as they could over the hills and through the woods. But with so many obstacles they made slow progress, and, in the closeheat, the men soon grew breathless. It was also late in the afternoonand Dick was quite sure that they would not reach Sulphur Springs beforenightfall. 

"I've felt exactly this same air on the great plains, " said Pennington, as they stopped on the crest of a hill for the troops to rest a little. "It's heavy and close as if it were being all crowded together. It makesyour lungs work twice as hard as usual, and it's also a sign. "

"Tell your sign, old weather sharp, " said Warner. 

"It's simple enough. The sign may not be so strong here, but it appliesjust as it does on the great plains. It means that a storm is coming. Anybody could tell that. Look there, in the southwest. See that cloudedging itself over the horizon. Things will turn loose to-night. Don'tyou say the same, sergeant? You've been out in my country. "

Sergeant Whitley was standing near them regarding the cloud attentively. 

"Yes, Mr. Pennington, " he replied. "I was out there a long time and I'drather be there now fighting the Indians, instead of fighting our ownpeople, although no other choice was left me. I've seen some terriblehurricanes on the plains, winds that would cut the earth as if it wasdone with a ploughshare, and these armies are going to be rained onmighty hard to-night. "

Dick smiled a little at the sergeant's solemn tone, and formal words, but he saw that he was very much in earnest. Nor was he one to underrateweather effects upon movements in war. 

"What will it mean to the two armies, sergeant?" he asked. 

"Depends upon what happens before she busts. If a rebel force is thenacross it's bad for us, but if it ain't the more water between us an'them the better. This, I take it, is the end of the drought, and a floodwill come tumbling down from the mountains. "

The sun now darkened and the clouds gathered heavily on the Westernhorizon. Colonel Winchester's anxiety increased fast. It became evidentthat the regiment could not reach Sulphur Springs until far intothe night, and, still full of alarms, he resolved to take a smalldetachment, chiefly of his staff, and ride forward at the utmost speed. 

He chose about twenty men, including Dick, Warner, Pennington, SergeantWhitley, and another veteran who were mounted on the horses of juniorofficers left behind, and pressed forward with speed. A West Virginiannamed Shattuck knew something of the country, and led them. 

"What is this place, Sulphur Springs?" asked Colonel Winchester ofShattuck. 

"Some big sulphur springs spout out of the bank and run down to theriver. They are fine and healthy to drink an' there's a lot of cottagesbuilt up by people who come there to stay a while. But I guess thempeople have gone away. It ain't no place for health just at this time. "

"That's a certainty, " said Colonel Winchester. 

"An' then there's the bridge, which, as we know, the cavalry has brokedown. "

"Fortunately. But can't we go a little faster, boys?"

There was a well defined road and Shattuck now led them at a gallop. As they approached the springs they checked their speed, owing to theincreasing darkness. But Dick's good ears soon told him that somethingwas happening at the springs. He heard faintly the sound of voices, andthe clank and rattle which many men with weapons cannot keep from makingnow and then. 

"I'm afraid, sir, " he said to Colonel Winchester, "that they're alreadyacross. "

The little troop stopped at the command of its leader and all listenedintently. It was very dark now and the wood was moaning, but the columnsof air came directly from the wood, bearing clearly upon their crest thenoises made by regiments. 

"You're right, Dick, " said Colonel Winchester, bitter mortificationshowing in his tone. "They're there, and they're on our side of theriver. Oh, we might have known it! They say that Stonewall Jacksonnever sleeps, and they make no mistake, when they call his infantry footcavalry!"

Dick was silent. He shared his leader's intense disappointment, but heknew that it was not for him to speak at this moment. 

"Mr. Shattuck, " said Colonel Winchester, "how near do you think we canapproach without being seen?"

"I know a neck of woods leading within a hundred yards of the cottages. If we was to leave our horses here with a couple of men we could slipdown among the trees and bushes, and there ain't one chance in ten thatwe'd be seen on so dark a night. "

"Then you lead us. Pawley, you and Woodfall hold the horses. Now followsoftly, lads! All of you have hunted the 'coon and 'possum at night, andyou should know how to step without making noise. "

Shattuck advanced with certainty, and the others, true to theirtraining, came behind him in single file, and without noise. But as theyadvanced the sounds of an army ahead of them increased, and when theyreached the edge of the covert they saw a great Confederate divisionon their side of the stream, in full possession of the cottages andoccupying all the ground about them. Many men were at work, restoringthe wrecked bridge, but the others were eating their suppers or were atrest. 

"There must be seven or eight thousand men here, " said Dick, who did notmiss the full significance of the fact. 

"So it seems, " said Warner, "and I'm afraid it bodes ill for GeneralPope. "

CHAPTER IV. SPRINGING THE TRAP

Lying close in the bushes the little party watched the Southernersmaking themselves ready for the night. The cottages were prepared forthe higher officers, but the men stacked arms in the open ground allabout. As well as they could judge by the light of the low fires, soldiers were still crossing the river to strengthen the force alreadyon the Union side. 

Colonel Winchester suppressed a groan. Dick noticed that his face waspallid in the uncertain shadows, and he understood the agony of spiritthat the brave man must suffer when he saw that they had been outflankedby their enemy. 

Sergeant Whitley, moving forward a little, touched the colonel on thearm. 

"All the clouds that we saw a little further back, " he said, "havegathered together, an' the storm is about to bust. See, sir, how fastthe Johnnies are spreadin' their tents an' runnin' to shelter. "

"It's so, sergeant, " said Colonel Winchester. "I was so much absorbed inwatching those men that I thank you for reminding me. We've seen enoughanyway and we'd better get back as fast as we can. "

They hurried through the trees and bushes toward their horses, takingno particular pains now to deaden their footsteps, since the Southernersthemselves were making a good deal of noise as they took refuge. 

But the storm was upon them before they could reach their horses. Thelast star was gone and the somber clouds covered the whole heavens. Thewind ceased to moan and the air was heavy with apprehension. Deep andsullen thunder began to mutter on the southwestern horizon. Then camea mighty crash and a great blaze of lightning seemed to cleave the skystraight down the center. 

The lightning and thunder made Dick jump, and for a few moments hewas blinded by the electric glare. He heard a heavy sound of somethingfalling, and exclaimed:

"Are any of you hurt?"

"No, " said Warner, who alone heard him, "but we're scared half todeath. When a drought breaks up I wish it wouldn't break up with such aterrible fuss. Listen to that thunder again, won't you!"

There was another terrible crash of thunder and the whole sky blazedwith lightning. Despite himself Dick shrank again. The first bolt hadstruck a tree which had fallen within thirty feet of them, but thesecond left this bit of the woods unscathed. 

A third and a fourth bolt struck somewhere, and then came the rush androar of the rain, driven on by a fierce wind out of the southwest. Theclose, dense heat was swept away, and the first blasts of the rain wereas cold as ice. The little party was drenched in an instant, and everyone was shivering through and through with combined wet and cold. 

The cessation of the lightning was succeeded by pitchy darkness, and theroaring of the wind and rain was so great that they called loudly to oneanother lest they lose touch in the blackness. Dick heard Warner on hisright, and he followed the sound of his voice. But before he went muchfurther his foot struck a trailing vine, and he fell so hard, his headstriking the trunk of a tree, that he lay unconscious. 

The cold rain drove so fiercely on the fallen boy's face and body thathe revived in two or three minutes, and stood up. He clapped his hand tothe left side of his head, and felt there a big bump and a sharp ache. His weapons were still in his belt and he knew that his injuries werenot serious, but he heard nothing save the drive and roar of the windand rain. There was no calling of voices and no beat of footsteps. 

He divined at once that his comrades, wholly unaware of his fall, whenno one could either see or hear it, had gone on without missing him. They might also mount their horses and gallop away wholly ignorant thathe was not among them. 

Although he was a little dazed, Dick had a good idea of direction andhe plunged through the mud which was now growing deep toward the littleravine in which they had hitched their horses. All were gone, includinghis own mount, and he had no doubt that the horse had broken or slippedthe bridle in the darkness and followed the others. 

He stood a while behind the trunk of a great tree, trying to shelterhimself a little from the rain, and listened. But he could hear neitherhis friends leaving nor any foes approaching. The storm was of uncommonfury. He had never seen one fiercer, and knowing that he had little todread from the Southerners while it raged he knew also that he must makehis way on foot, and as best he could, to his own people. 

Making a calculation of the direction and remembering that one mightwander in a curve in the darkness, he set off down the stream. He meantto keep close to the banks of the Rappahannock, and if he persisted hewould surely come in time to Pope's army. The rain did not abate. Botharmies were flooded that night, but they could find some measure ofprotection. To the scouts and skirmishers and to Dick, wandering throughthe forest, nature was an unmitigated foe. 

But nothing could stop the boy. He was resolved to get back to the armywith the news that a heavy Southern force was across the Rappahannock. Others might get there first with the fact, but one never knew. Ahundred might fall by the wayside, leaving it to him alone to bear themessage. 

He stumbled on. He was able to keep his cartridges dry in his pouch, butthat was all. His wet, cold clothes flapped around him and he shiveredto the bone. He could see only the loom of the black forest before him, and sometimes he slipped to the waist in swollen brooks. Then the windshifted and drove the sheets of rain, sprinkled with hail, directly inhis face. He was compelled to stop a while and take refuge behind a bigoak. While he shivered in the shelter of the tree the only things thathe thought of spontaneously were dry clothes, hot food, a fire and awarm bed. The Union and its fate, gigantic as they were, slipped awayfrom his mind, and it took an effort of the will to bring them back. 

But his will made the effort, and recalling his mission he struggledon again. He had the river on his right, and it now became an unfailingguide. It had probably been raining much earlier in the mountains alongthe headwaters and the flood was already pouring down. The river swishedhigh against its banks and once or twice, when he caught dim glimpsesof it through the trees, he saw a yellow torrent bearing much brushwoodupon its bosom. 

He had very little idea of his progress. It was impossible to judge ofpace under such circumstances. The army might be ten miles further onor it might be only two. Then he found himself sliding down a muddy andslippery bank. He grasped at weeds and bushes, but they slipped throughhis hands. Then he shot into a creek, swollen by the flood, and wentover his head. 

He came up, gasping, struck out and reached the further shore. Here hefound bushes more friendly than the others and pulled himself upon thebank. But he had lost everything. His belt had broken in his struggles, and pistols, small sword and ammunition were gone. He would be helplessagainst an enemy. Then he laughed at the idea. Surely enemies would notbe in search of him at such a time and such a place. 

Nevertheless when he saw an open space in front of him he paused atits edge. He could see well enough here to notice a file of dim figuresriding slowly by. At first his heart leaped up with the belief that theywere Colonel Winchester and his own people, but they were going in thewrong direction, and then he was able to discern the bedraggled andfaded Confederate gray. 

The horsemen were about fifty in number and most of them rode with thereins hanging loose on their horses' necks. They were wrapped in cloaks, but cloaks and uniforms alike were sodden. A stream of water ran fromevery stirrup to the ground. 

Dick looked at them attentively. Near the head of the column but onone side rode a soldierly figure, apparently that of a young man oftwenty-three or four. Just behind came three youths, and Dick's heartfairly leaped when he saw the last of the three. He could not mistakethe figure, and a turning of the head caused him to catch a faintglimpse of the face. Then he knew beyond all shadow of doubt. It wasHarry and he surmised that the other two were his comrades, St. Clairand Langdon, whom he had met when they were burying the dead. 

Dick was so sodden and cold and wretched that he was tempted to call outto them--the sight of Harry was like a light in the darkness--but thetemptation was gone in an instant. His way lay in another direction. What they wished he did not wish, and while they fought for the triumphof the South it was his business to endure and struggle on that he mightdo his own little part for the Union. 

But despite the storm and his sufferings, he drew courage from natureitself. While a portion of the Southern army was across it must be aminor portion, and certainly the major part could not span such a floodand attack. The storm and time allied were now fighting for Pope. 

He wandered away a little into the open fields in order to find easiergoing, but he came back presently to the forest lining the bank of theriver, for fear he should lose his direction. The yellow torrent of theRappahannock was now his only sure guide and he stuck to it. He wonderedwhy the rain and wind did not die down. It was not usual for a storm sofurious to last so long, but he could not see any abatement of either. 

He became conscious after a while of a growing weakness, but he hadrecalled all the powers of his will and it was triumphant over his body. He trudged on on feet that were unconscious of sensation, and his faceas if the flesh were paralyzed no longer felt the beat of the rain. 

A mile or two further and in the swish of the storm he heard hoofbeatsagain. Looking forth from the bushes he saw another line of horsemen, but now they were going in the direction of Pope's army. Dick recognizedthese figures. Shapeless as he might appear on his horse that wasColonel Winchester, and there were the broad shoulders of SergeantWhitley and the figures of the others. 

He rushed through the dripping forest and shouted in a tone thatcould be heard above the shriek of wind and rain. Colonel Winchesterrecognized the voice, but the light was so dim that he did not recognizehim from whom it came. Certainly the figure that emerged from the forestdid not look human. 

"Colonel, " cried Dick, "it is I, Richard Mason, whom you left behind!"

"So it is, " said Sergeant Whitley, keener of eye than the others. 

The whole troop set up a shout as Dick came forward, taking off hisdripping cap. 

"Why, Dick, it is you!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester in a tone ofimmeasurable relief. "We missed you and your horse and hoped that youwere somewhere ahead. Your horse must have broken loose in the storm. But here, you look as if you were nearly dead! Jump up behind me!"

Dick made an effort, but his strength failed and he slipped back tothe ground. He had not realized that he was walking on his spirit andcourage and that his strength was gone, so powerful had been the buffetsof the wind and rain. 

The colonel reached down, gave him a hand and a strong pull, and witha second effort Dick landed astride the horse behind the rider. ThenColonel Winchester gave the word and the sodden file wound on again. 

"Dick, " said the colonel, looking back over his shoulder, "you come asnear being a wreck as anything that I've seen in a long time. It's luckywe found you. "

"It is, sir, and I not only look like a wreck but I feel like one. ButI had made up my mind to reach General Pope's camp, with the news of theConfederates crossing, and I think I'd have done it. "

"I know you would. But what a night! What a night! Not many men can beabroad at such a time. We have seen nothing. "

"But I have, sir. "

"You have! What did you see?"

"A mile or two back I passed a line of Southern horsemen, just as wetand bedraggled as ours. "

"Might they not have been our own men? It would be hard to tell blue andgray apart on such a night. "

"One could make such a mistake, but in this case it was not possible. I saw my own cousin, Harry Kenton, riding with them. I recognized themperfectly. "

"Then that settles it. The Confederate scouts and cavalry are abroadto-night also, and on our side of the river. But they must be few whodare to ride in such a storm. "

"That's surely true, sir. "

But both Dick and his commanding officer were mistaken. They stillunderrated the daring and resolution of the Confederate leaders, the extraordinary group of men who were the very bloom and flower ofVirginia's military glory, the equal of whom--two at least being in thevery first rank in the world's history--no other country with so small apopulation has produced in so short a time. 

Earlier in the day Stuart, full of enterprise, and almost insensible tofatigue, had crossed the Rappahannock much higher up and at the headof a formidable body of his horsemen, unseen by scouts and spies, wasriding around the Union right. They galloped into Warrenton where thepeople, red hot as usual for the South, crowded around them cheering andlaughing and many of the women crying with joy. It was like Jackson andStuart to drop from the clouds this way and to tell them, although theland had been occupied by the enemy, that their brave soldiers wouldcome in time. 

News, where a Northern force could not have obtained a word, was pouredout for the South. They told Stuart that none of the Northern cavalrywas about, and that Pope's vast supply train was gathered at a littlepoint only ten miles to the southeast. Stuart shook his plumed headuntil his long golden hair flew about his neck. Then he laughed aloudand calling to his equally fiery young officers, told them of the greatspoil that waited upon quickness and daring. 

The whole force galloped away for the supply train, but before itreached it the storm fell in all its violence upon Stuart and his men. Despite rain and darkness Stuart pushed on. He said afterward that itwas the darkest night he had ever seen. A captured negro guided them onthe final stage of the gallop and just when Dick was riding back tocamp behind Colonel Winchester, Stuart fell like a thunderbolt upon thesupply train and its guard. 

Stuart could not drive wholly away the Northern guard, which thoughsurprised, fought with great courage, but he burned the supply train, then galloped off with prisoners, and Pope's own uniform, horses, treasure chest and dispatch book. He found in the dispatch book minuteinformation about the movements of all the Union troops, and Pope'sbelief that he ought to retreat from the river on Washington. Doubtlessthe Confederate horseman shook his head again and again and laughedaloud, when he put this book, more precious than jewels, inside his goldbraided tunic, to be taken to Lee and Jackson. 

But these things were all hidden from the little group of weary menwho rode into Pope's camp. Colonel Winchester carried the news of thecrossing--Early had made it--to the commander, and the rest sought thebest shelter to be found. Dick was lucky enough to be taken into a tentthat was thoroughly dry, and the sergeant who had followed him managedto obtain a supply of dry clothing which would be ready for him when heawoke. 

Dick did not revive as usual. He threw all of his clothing aside andwater flew where it fell, put on dry undergarments and crept betweenwarm blankets. Nevertheless he still felt cold, and he was amazed at hisown lack of interest in everything. He might have perished out there inthe stream, but what did it matter? He would probably be killed in somebattle anyway. Besides, their information about the crossing of therebels was of no importance either. The rebels might stay on their sideof the Rappahannock, or they might go back. It was all the same eitherway. All things seemed, for the moment, useless to him. 

He began to shiver, but after a while he became so hot that he wanted tothrow off all the cover. But he retained enough knowledge and willnot to do so, and he sank soon into a feverish doze from which he wasawakened by the light of a lantern shining in his face. 

He saw Colonel Winchester and another man, a stranger, who held a smallleather case in his hand. But Dick was in such a dull and apatheticstate that he had no curiosity about them and he shut his eyes to keepout the light of the lantern. 

"What is it, doctor?" he heard Colonel Winchester asking. 

"Chill and a little fever, brought on by exposure and exhaustion. Buthe's a hardy youth. Look what a chest and shoulders! With the aid ofthese little white pills of mine he'll be all right in the morning. Colonel, Napoleon said that an army fights on its stomach, which Isuppose is true, but in our heavily watered and but partly settledcountry, it must fight sometimes on a stomach charged with quinine. "

"I was afraid it might be worse. A dose or two then will bring himaround?"

"Wish I could be so sure of a quick cure in every case. Here, my lad, take two of these. A big start is often a good one. "

Dick raised his head obediently and took the two quinine pills. Soon hesank into a condition which was as near stupor as sleep. But before hepassed into unconsciousness he heard the doctor say:

"Wake him soon enough in the morning, Colonel, to take two more. What awonderful thing for our armies that we can get all the quinine we want!The rebel supply, I know, is exhausted. With General Quinine on our sidewe're bound to win. "

"But that isn't the only reason, doctor. Now--" Their voices trailedaway as Dick sank into oblivion. He had a dim memory of being awakenedthe next morning and of swallowing two more pills, but in a minute ortwo he sank back into a sleep which was neither feverish nor troubled. When he awoke the dark had come a second time. The fever was whollygone, and his head had ceased to ache. 

Dick felt weak, but angry at himself for having broken down at sucha time, he sat up and began to put on the dry uniform that lay in thetent. Then he was astonished to find how great his weakness really was, but he persevered, and as he slipped on the tunic Warner came into thetent. 

"You've been asleep a long time, " he said, looking at Dick critically. 

"I know it. I suppose I slept all through the night as well as the day. "

"And the great battle was fought without you. "

Dick started, and looked at his comrade, but Warner's eyes weretwinkling. 

"There's been no battle, and you know it, " Dick said. 

"No, there hasn't been any; there won't be any for several days atleast. That whopping big rain last night did us a service after all. Itwas Early who crossed the river, and now he is in a way cut off from therest of the Southern army. We hear that he'll go back to the other side. But Stuart has curved about us, raided our supply train and destroyedit. And he's done more than that. He's captured General Pope's importantpapers. "

"What does it mean for us?"

"A delay, but I don't know anything more. I suppose that whatever isgoing to happen will happen in its own good time. You feel like a managain, don't you Dick? And you can have the consolation of knowing thatnothing has happened all day long when you slept. "

Dick finished his dressing, rejoined his regiment and ate supper withthe other officers around a fine camp fire. He found that he had a goodappetite, and as he ate strength flowed rapidly back into his veins. Hegathered from the talk of the older officers that they were still hopingfor a junction with McClellan before Lee and Jackson could attack. Theyexpected at the very least to have one hundred and fifty thousand men inline, most of them veterans. 

But Dick saw Shepard again that evening. He had come from a long journeyand he reported great activity in the Southern camp. When Dick saidthat Lee and Jackson would have to fight both Pope and McClellan the spymerely replied:

"Yes, if Pope and McClellan hurry. "

But Dick learned that night that Pope was not discouraged. He had anarmy full of fighting power, and eager to meet its enemy. He began thenext day to move up the river in order that he might face Lee's wholeforce as it attempted to cross at the upper fords. Their spiritsincreased as they learned that Early, through fear of being cut off, wasgoing back to join the main Southern army. 

The ground had now dried up after the great storm, but the refreshedearth took on a greener tinge, and the air was full of sparkle and life. Dick had not seen such elasticity among the troops in a long time. Asthey marched they spoke confidently of victory. One regiment took up asong which had appeared in print just after the fall of Sumter:

 "Men of the North and West, Wake in your might. Prepare as the rebels have done For the fight. You cannot shrink from the test; Rise! Men of the North and West. "

Another regiment took up the song, and soon many thousands were singingit; those who did not know the words following the others. Dick felthis heart beat and his courage mount high, as he sang with Warner andPennington the last verse:

 "Not with words; they laugh them to scorn, And tears they despise. But with swords in your hands And death in your eyes! Strike home! Leave to God all the rest; Strike! Men of the North and West!"

The song sung by so many men rolled off across the fields, and the woodsand the hills gave back the echo. 

"We will strike home!" exclaimed Dick, putting great emphasis on the"will. " "Our time for victory is at hand. "

"The other side may think they're striking home; too, " said Warner, speaking according to the directness of his dry mathematical mind. "ThenI suppose it will be a case of victory for the one that strikes theharder for home. "

"That's a fine old mind of yours. Don't you ever feel any enthusiasm?"

"I do, when the figures warrant it. But I must reckon everything withcare before I permit myself to feel joy. "

"I'm glad I'm not like you, Mr. Arithmetic, Mr. Algebra, Mr. Geometryand Mr. Trigonometry. "

"You mustn't make fun of such serious matters, Dick. It would be a noblething to be the greatest professor of mathematics in the world. "

"Of course, George, but we wouldn't need him at this minute. But herewe are back at those cottages in which I saw the Southern officerssheltering themselves. Well, they're ours again and I take it as a goodomen. "

"Yes, here we rest, as the French general said, but I don't know that Icare about resting much more. I've had about all I want of it. "

Nevertheless they spent the day quietly at the Sulphur Springs, and laydown in peace that night. But the storm cloud, the blackest storm cloudof the whole war so far, was gathering. 

Lee, knowing the danger of the junction between Pope and McClellan hadresolved to hazard all on a single stroke. He would divide his army. Jackson, so well called "the striking arm, " would pass far aroundthrough the maze of hills and mountains and fall like a thunderboltupon Pope's flank. At the sound of his guns Lee himself would attack infront. 

As Dick and his young comrades lay down to sleep this march, thegreatest of Stonewall Jackson's famous turning movements, had begunalready. Jackson was on his horse, Little Sorrel, his old slouch hatdrawn down over his eyes, his head bent forward a little, and the greatbrain thinking, always thinking. His face was turned to the North. 

Just a little behind Jackson rode one of his most trusted aides, HarryKenton, a mere youth in years, but already a veteran in service. Notfar away was the gallant young Sherburne at the head of his troop ofcavalry, and in the first brigade was the regiment of the Invinciblesled by Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant Colonel Hector St. Hilaire. Never had the two colonels seemed more prim and precise, andnot even in youth had the fire of battle ever burned more brightly intheir bosoms. 

Jackson meant to pass around his enemy's right, crossing the Bull RunMountain at Thoroughfare Gap, then strike the railway in Pope's rear. Longstreet, one of the heaviest hitters of the South, meanwhile wasto worry Pope incessantly along the line of the Rappahannock, and whenJackson attacked they were to drive him toward the northeast and awayfrom McClellan. 

The hot August night was one of the most momentous in American history, and the next few days were to see the Union in greater danger than ithas ever stood either before or since. Perhaps it was not given to theactors in the drama to know it then, but the retrospect shows it now. The North had not attained its full fighting strength, and the genius ofthe two great Southern commanders was at the zenith, while behind themstood a group of generals, full of talent and fearless of death. 

Jackson had been directly before Sulphur Springs where Dick lay with thedivision to which he belonged. But Jackson, under cover of the darkness, had slipped away and the division of Longstreet had taken its place soquietly that the Union scouts and spies, including Shepard himself, didnot know the difference. 

Jackson's army marched swiftly and silently, while that of Pope slept. The plan of Lee was complicated and delicate to the last degree, butJackson, the mainspring in this organism, never doubted that he couldcarry it out. His division soon left the rest of the army far behind, asthey marched steadily on over the hills, the fate of the nation almostin the hollow of their hands. 

The foot cavalry of Jackson were proud of their ability that night. Theycarried only three days' rations, expecting to feed off the enemy atthe end of that time. Near midnight they lay down and slept a while, but long before dawn they were in line again marching over the hills andacross the mountains. There were skirmishers in advance on either side, but they met no Union scouts. The march of Jackson's great fightingcolumn was still unseen and unsuspected. A single Union scout or amessage carried by a woman or child might destroy the whole plan, as agrain of dust stops all the wheels and levers of a watch, but neitherthe scout, the woman nor the child appeared. 

Toward dawn the marching Southerners heard far behind them the thunderof guns along the Rappahannock. They knew that Longstreet had openedwith his batteries across the river, and that those of Pope werereplying. The men looked at one another. There was a deep feeling ofexcitement and suspense among them. They did not know what all thismarching meant, but they had learned to trust the man who led them. Hehad led them only to victory, and they did not doubt that he was doingso again. 

The march never paused for an instant. On they went, and the sound ofthe great guns behind them grew fainter and fainter until it faded away. Where were they going? Was it a raid on Washington? Were they to hurlthemselves upon Pope's rear, or was there some new army that they wereto destroy?

Up swept the sun and the coolness left by the storm disappeared. TheAugust day began to blaze again with fierce burning heat, but there wasno complaint among Jackson's men. They knew now that they were on one ofhis great turning movements, on a far greater scale than any hitherto, and full of confidence, they followed in the wake of Little Sorrel. 

In the daylight now Jackson had scouts and skirmishers far in front andon either flank. They were to blaze the way for the army and they madea far out-flung line, through which no hostile scout could pass andsee the marching army within. At the close of the day they were stillmarching, and when the sun was setting Jackson stood by the dustyroadside and watched his men as they passed. For the first time in thatlong march they broke through restraint and thundering cheers sweptalong the whole line as they took off their caps to the man whom theydeemed at once their friend and a very god of war. The stern Jacksongiving way so seldom to emotion was heard to say to himself:

"Who can fail to win battles with such men as these?"

Jackson's column did not stop until midnight. They had been more thantwenty-four hours on the march, and they had not seen a hostile soldier. Harry Kenton himself did not know where they were going. But he lay downand gratefully, like the others, took the rest that was allowed to him. But a few hours only and they were marching again under a starry sky. Morning showed the forest lining the slopes of the mountains and thenall the men seemed to realize suddenly which way they were going. 

This was the road that led to Pope. It was not Washington, orWinchester, or some unknown army, but their foe on the Rappahannock thatthey were going to strike. A deep murmur of joy ran through the ranks, and the men who had now been marching thirty hours, with but littlerest, suddenly increased their speed. Knowledge had brought them newstrength. 

They entered the forest and passed into Thoroughfare Gap, which leadsthrough Bull Run Mountain. The files narrowed now and stretched out in alonger line. This was a deep gorge, pines and bushes lining the summitsand crests. The confined air here was closer and hotter than ever, butthe men pressed on with undiminished speed. 

Harry Kenton felt a certain awe as he rode behind Jackson, and lookedup at the lofty cliffs that enclosed them. The pines along the summit oneither side were like long, green ribbons, and he half feared to seemen in blue appear there and open fire on those in the gorge below. Butreason told him that there was no such danger. No Northern force couldbe on Bull Run Mountain. 

Harry had not asked a question during all that march. He had notknown where they were going, but like all the soldiers he had supremeconfidence in Jackson. He might be going to any of a number of places, but the place to which he was going was sure to be the right place. Now as he rode in the pass he knew that they were bound for the rear ofPope's army. Well, that would be bad for Pope! Harry had no doubt of it. 

They passed out of the gap, leaving the mountain behind them, and swepton through two little villages, and over the famous plateau of ManassasJunction which many of them had seen before in the fire and smoke of thewar's first terrible day. Here were the fields and hills over whichthey had fought and won the victory. Harry recognized at once the placeswhich had been burned so vividly into his memory, and he considered it agood omen. 

Not so far away was Washington, and so strongly was Harry's imaginationimpressed that he believed he could have seen through powerful glassesand from the crest of some tall hill that they passed, the dome of theCapitol shining in the August sun. He wondered why there was no attack, nor even any alarm. The cloud of dust that so many thousands of marchingmen made could be seen for miles. He did not know that Sherburne and thefastest of the rough riders were now far in front, seizing every Unionscout or sentinel, and enabling Jackson's army to march on its greatturning movement wholly unknown to any officer or soldier of the North. Soon he would stand squarely between Pope and Washington. 

Before noon, Stuart and his wild horsemen joined them and their spiritssurged yet higher. All through the afternoon the march continued, andat night Jackson fell upon Pope's vast store of supplies, surprising androuting the guard. Taking what he could use he set fire to the rest andthe vast conflagration filled the sky. 

Night came with Jackson standing directly in the rear of Pope. The traphad been shut down, and it was to be seen whether Pope was strong enoughto break from it. 

CHAPTER V. THE SECOND MANASSAS

The sunbeams seemed fairly to dance over the dusty earth. The dust wasnot only over the earth, but over everything, men, animals, wagons andtents. Dick Mason who had struggled so hard through a storm but a fewnights ago now longed for another like it. Anything to get away fromthis blinding blaze. 

But he soon forgot heat and dust. He was conscious of a great quiverand thrill running through the whole army. Something was happening. Something had happened, but nobody knew what. Warner and Pennington feltthe same quiver and thrill, because they looked at him as if in inquiry. Colonel Winchester showed it, too. He said nothing, but gazed uneasilytoward the Northern horizon. Dick found himself looking that way also. Along the Rappahannock there was but little firing now, and he began toforget the river which had loomed so large in the affairs of the armies. Perhaps the importance of the Rappahannock had passed. 

It was said that Pope himself with his staff had ridden away towardWashington, but Dick did not know. Far off toward the capital hesaw dust clouds, but he concluded that they must be made by marchingreinforcements. 

The long hot hours dragged and then came a messenger. It was Shepard whohad reported to headquarters and who afterwards came over to the shadeof a tree where Colonel Winchester and his little staff were gathered. He was on the verge of exhaustion. He was black under the eyes and theveins of his neck were distended. Dust covered him from head to foot. He threw himself on the ground and drank deeply from a canteen of coolwater that Dick handed to him. All saw that Shepard, the spy, the manwhose life was a continual danger, who had never before shown emotion, was in a state of excitement, and if they waited a little he would speakof his own accord. 

Shepard took the canteen from his lips, drew several long deep breathsof relief and said:

"Do you know what I have seen?"

"I don't, but I infer from your manner, Shepard, that it must be ofgreat importance, " said Colonel Winchester. 

"I've seen Stonewall Jackson at the head of half of Lee's army behindus! Standing between us and Washington!"

"What! Impossible! How could he get there?"

"It's possible, because it's been done--I've seen the rebel army behindus. In these civilian clothes of mine, I've been in their ranks, andI've talked with their men. While they were amusing us here on theRappahannock with their cannon, Jackson with the best of the armycrossed the river higher up, passed through Thoroughfare Gap, marchingtwo or three days before a soul of ours knew it, and then struck ourgreat camp at Bristoe Station. "

"Shepard, you must be sunstruck!"

"My mind was never clearer. What I saw at close range General Popehimself saw at long range. He and his staff and a detachment came nearenough to see the looting and burning of all our stores--I don't supposeso many were ever gathered together before. But I was right there. Youought to have seen the sight, Colonel, when those ragged rebels whohad been living on green corn burst into our camp. I've heard about theGoths and Vandals coming down on Rome and it must have been somethinglike it. They ate as I never saw anybody eat before, and then throwingaway their rags they put on our new uniforms which were stored there inthousands. At least half the rebel army must now be wearing the Unionblue. And the way they danced about and sang was enough to make a loyalman's heart sick. "

"You told all this to General Pope?"

"I did, sir, but I could not make him believe the half of it. He insiststhat it can only be a raiding detachment, that it is impossible for agreat army to have come to such a place. But, sir, I was among them. Iknow Stonewall Jackson, and I saw him with my own eyes. He was thereat the head of thirty thousand men, and we've already lost stores worthmillions and millions. Jeb Stuart was there, too. I saw him. And I sawMunford, who leads Jackson's cavalry since the death of Turner Ashby. Oh, they'll find out soon enough that it's Jackson. We're trapped, sir!I tell you we're trapped, and our own commander-in-chief won't believeit. Good God, Colonel, the trap has shut down on us and if we get out ofit we've got to be up and doing! This is no time for waiting!"

Colonel Winchester saw from the rapidity and emphasis with which Shepardspoke that his excitement had increased, but knowing the man's greatdevotion to the Union he had no rebuke for his plain speech. 

"You have done splendid work, Mr. Shepard, " he said, "and thecommander-in-chief will recognize what great risks you have run forthe cause. I've no doubt that the accuracy of your reports will soon beproved. "

Colonel Winchester in truth believed every word that Shepard had said, sinister though they were. He said that Jackson was behind them, thathe had done the great destruction at Bristoe Station and he had not theslightest doubt that Jackson was there. 

Shepard flushing a little with gratification at Colonel Winchester'spraise quickly recovered his customary self possession. Once more he wasthe iron-willed, self-contained man who daily dared everything for thecause he served. 

"Thank you, Colonel, " he said, "I've got to go out and get a little foodnow. All I say will be proved soon enough. "

The three boys, like Colonel Winchester, did not doubt the truth ofShepard's news, and they looked northeast for the dust clouds whichshould mark the approach of Jackson. 

"We've been outmaneuvered, " said Warner to Dick, "but it's no reason whywe should be outfought. "

"No, George, it isn't. We've eighty thousand men as brave as any in theworld, and, from what we hear they haven't as many. We ought to smashtheir old trap all to pieces. "

"If our generals will only give us a chance. "

Shepard's prediction that his news would soon prove true was verifiedalmost at once. General Pope himself returned to his army and dispatchafter dispatch arrived stating that Jackson and his whole force had beenat Bristoe Station while the Union stores were burning. 

"Now is our chance, " said Dick to his comrades, "why doesn't the generalmove on Jackson at once, and destroy him before Lee can come to hishelp?"

"I'm praying for it, " said Warner. 

"From what I hear it's going to be done, " said Pennington. 

Their hopes came true. Pope at once took the bold course, and marched onJackson, but the elusive Stonewall was gone. They tramped about inthe heat and dust in search of him. One portion of the army includingColonel Winchester's regiment turned off in the afternoon toward a placeof a few houses called Warrenton. It lay over toward the Gap throughwhich Jackson had gone and while the division ten thousand strong didnot expect to find anything there it was nevertheless ordered to look. 

Dick rode by the side of his colonel ready for any command, but themystery, and uncertainty had begun to weigh upon him again. It seemedwhen they had the first news that Jackson was behind them, that they hada splendid opportunity to turn upon him and annihilate him before Leecould come. But he was gone. They had looked upon the smoldering ruinsof their great supply camp, but they had found there no trace of aConfederate soldier. Was Harry Kenton right, when he told them theycould not beat Jackson? He asked himself angrily why the man would notstay and fight. He believed, too, that he must be off there somewhere tothe right, and he listened eagerly but vainly for the distant throb ofguns in the east. 

A cloud of dust hovered over the ten thousand as they marched on in theblazing sunshine. The country was well peopled, but all the inhabitantshad disappeared save a few, and from not one of these could they obtaina scrap of information. 

Dick noticed through the dusty veil a heavy wood on their left extendingfor a long distance. Then as in a flash, he saw that the whole forestwas filled with troops, and he saw also two batteries galloping from ittoward the crest of a ridge. It occurred to him instantly that here wasthe army of Jackson, and others who saw had the same instinctive belief. 

There was a flash and roar from the batteries. Shot and shell cutthrough the clouds of dust and among the ranks of the men in blue. Nowcame from the forest a vast shout, the defiant rebel yell and nobody inthe column doubted that Jackson was there. He had swung away toward theGap, where Lee could come to him more readily, and he would fight thewhole Union army until Lee came up. 

As the roar of the first discharge from the batteries was dying swarmsof skirmishers sprang up from ambush and poured a storm of bullets uponthe Union front and flanks. A cry as of anguish arose from the columnand it reeled back, but the men, many of them hardy young farmers fromthe West, men of staunch stuff, were eager to get at the enemy and theterrible surprise could not daunt them. Uttering a tremendous shout theycharged directly upon the Southern force. 

It was a case largely of vanguards, the main forces not yet having comeup, but the two detachments charged into each other with a courage andfierceness that was astounding. In a minute the woods and fields werefilled with fire and smoke, and hissing shells and bullets. Men fell byhundreds, but neither side yielded. The South could not drive away theNorth and the North could not hurl back the South. 

The field of battle became a terrible and deadly vortex. The fire of theopposing lines blazed in the faces of each other. Often they wereonly three or four score yards apart. Ewell, Jackson's ablest and mosttrusted lieutenant, fell wounded almost to death, and lay long upon thefield. Other Southern generals fell also, and despite their superiornumbers they could not drive back the North. 

Dick never had much recollection of the combat, save a reek of fireand smoke in which men fought. He saw Colonel Winchester's horsepitch forward on his head and springing from his own he pulled thehalf-stunned colonel to his feet. Both leaped aside just in time toavoid Dick's own falling horse, which had been slain by a shell. Thenthe colonel ran up and down the lines of his men, waving his sword andencouraging them to stand fast. 

The Southern lines spread out and endeavored to overlap the Union men, but they were held back by a deep railroad cut and masses of felledtimber. The combat redoubled in fury. Cannon and rifles together madea continuous roar. Both sides seemed to have gone mad with the rage ofbattle. 

The Southern generals astonished at such a resistance by a smallerforce, ordered up more men and cannon. The Union troops were slowlypushed back by the weight of numbers, but then the night, the comingof which neither had noticed, swept down suddenly upon them, leavingfifteen hundred men, nearly a third of those engaged, fallen upon thesmall area within which the two vanguards had fought. 

But the Union men did not retreat far. Practically, they were holdingtheir ground, when the darkness put an end to the battle, and they werefull of elation at having fought a draw with superior numbers of theformidable Jackson. Dick, although exultant, was so much exhausted thathe threw himself upon the ground and panted for breath. When he was ableto rise he looked for Warner and Pennington and found them uninjured. So was Sergeant Whitley, but the sergeant, contrary to his custom, wasgloomy. 

"What's the matter, sergeant?" exclaimed Dick in surprise. "Didn't wegive 'em a great fight?"

"Splendid, Mr. Mason, I don't believe that troops ever fought betterthan ours did. But we're not many here. Where's all the rest of ourarmy? Scattered, while I'm certain that Jackson with twenty-five orthirty thousand men is in front of us, with more coming. We'll fallback. We'll have to do it before morning. "

The sergeant on this occasion had the power of divination. An hourafter midnight the whole force which had fought with so much heroismwas withdrawn. It was a strange night to the whole Union army, full ofsinister omens. 

Pope, in his quest for Jackson, had heard about sunset the booming ofguns in the west, but he could not believe that the Southern generalwas there. Many of his dispatches had been captured by the hard-ridingcavalry of Stuart. His own division commanders had lost touch with him. It was not possible for him to know what to do until morning, and noone could tell him. Meanwhile Longstreet was advancing in the darknessthrough the Gap to reinforce Jackson. 

Dick had found another horse belonging to a slain owner, and, in thedarkness, his heart full of bitterness, he rode back beside ColonelWinchester toward Manassas. Could they never win a big victory in theeast? The men were brave and tenacious. They had proved it over and overagain, but they were always mismanaged. It seemed to him that they werenever sent to the right place at the right time. 

Nevertheless, many of the Northern generals, able and patriotic, achieved great deeds before the dawn of that momentous morning. Messengers were riding in the darkness in a zealous attempt to gatherthe forces together. There was yet abundant hope that they could crushJackson before Lee came, and in the darkness brigade after brigademarched toward Warrenton. 

Dick, after tasting all the bitterness of retreat, felt his hopes riseagain. They had not really been beaten. They had fought a superior forceof Jackson's own men to a standstill. He could never forget that. Hecherished it and rolled it under his tongue. It was an omen of what wasto come. If they could only get leaders of the first rank they wouldsoon end the war. 

He found himself laughing aloud in the anticipation of what Pope's Armyof Virginia would do in the coming day to the rebels. It might evenhappen that McClellan with the Army of the Potomac would also come uponthe field. And then! Lee and Jackson thought they had Pope in a trap!Pope and McClellan would have them between the hammer and the anvil, andthey would be pounded to pieces!

"Here, stop that foolishness, Dick! Quit, I say, quit it at once!"

It was Warner who was speaking, and he gripped Dick's arm hard, while hepeered anxiously into his face. 

"What's the matter with you?" he continued. "What do you find to laughat? Besides, I don't like the way you laugh. "

Dick shook himself, and then rubbed his hand across his brow. 

"Thanks, George, " he said. "I'm glad you called me back to myself. I wasthinking what would happen to the enemy if McClellan and the Army of thePotomac came up also, and I was laughing over it. "

"Well, the next time, don't you laugh at a thing until it happens. Youmay have to take your laugh back. "

Dick shook himself again, and the nervous excitement passed. 

"You always give good advice, George, " he said. "Do you know where weare?"

"I couldn't name the place, but we're not so far from Warrenton that wecan't get back there in a short time and tackle Jackson again. Dick, seeall those moving lights to right and left of us. They're the brigadescoming up in the night. Isn't it a weird and tremendous scene? You and Iand Pennington will see this night over and over again, many and many atime. "

"It's so, George, " said Dick, "I feel the truth of what you say allthrough me. Listen to the rumble of the cannon wheels! I hear 'em onboth sides of us, and behind us, and I've no doubt, too, that it's goingon before us, where the Southerners are massing their batteries. How thelights move! It's the field of Manassas again, and we're going to winthis time!"

All of Dick's senses were excited once more, and everything he saw wasvivid and highly colored. Warner, cool of blood as he habitually was, had no words of rebuke for him now, because he, too, was affected in thesame way. The fields and plains of Manassas were alive not alone withmarching armies, but the ghosts of those who had fallen there the yearbefore rose and walked again. 

Despite the darkness everything swelled into life again for Dick. Offthere was the little river of Manassas, Young's Branch, the railwaystation, and the Henry House, around which the battle had raged sofiercely. They would have won the victory then if it had not been forStonewall Jackson. If he had not been there the war would have beenended on that sanguinary summer day. 

But Jackson was in front of them now, and they had him fast. Lee andJackson had thought to trap Pope, but Jackson himself was in thetrap, and they would destroy him utterly. His admiration for the greatSouthern general had changed for the time into consuming rage. They mustoverwhelm him, annihilate him, sweep him from the face of the earth. 

They mounted again and moved back, but did not go far. 

"Get down, Dick, " said Colonel Winchester. "Here's food for us, and hotcoffee. I don't remember myself how long we've been in the saddle andhow long we've been without food, but we mustn't go into battle untilwe've eaten. "

Dick was the last of the officers to dismount. He, too, did not rememberhow long they had been in the saddle. He could not say at that moment, whether it had been one night or two. He ate and drank mechanically, buthungrily--the Union army nearly always had plenty of stores--and then hefelt better and stronger. 

A faint bluish tint was appearing under the gray horizon in the east. Dick felt the touch of a light wind on his forehead. The dawn wascoming. 

Yes, the dawn was coming, but it was coming heavy with sinister omensand the frown of battle. Before the bluish tint in the east had turnedto silver Dick heard the faint and far thudding of great guns, andcloser a heavy regular beat which he knew was the gallop of cavalry. Surely the North could not fail now. Fierce anger against those whowould break up the Union surged up in him again. 

The gray came at last, driving the bluish tint away, and the sun rosehot and bright over the field of Manassas which already had beenstained with the blood of one fierce battle. But now the armies were fargreater. Nearly a hundred and fifty thousand men were gathering for thecombat, and Dick was still hoping that McClellan would come with seventyor eighty thousand more. But within the Confederate lines, where theymust always win and never lose, because losing meant to lose all therewas a stern determination to shatter Pope and his superior numbersbefore McClellan could come. Never had the genius and resolution of thetwo great Southern leaders burned more brightly. 

As the brazen sun swung slowly up Dick felt that the intense nervousexcitement he had felt the night before was seizing him again. Theofficers of the regiment remained on foot. Colonel Winchester had senttheir horses away to some cavalrymen who had lost their own. He and hisstaff and other officers, dismounted, could lead the men better intobattle. 

And that it was battle, great and bloody, the youngest of them all couldsee. Never had an August day been brighter and hotter. Every objectseemed to swell into new size in the vivid and burning sunlight. Plainbefore them lay Jackson's army. Two of his regiments were between themand a turnpike that Dick remembered well. Off to the left ran the darkmasses in gray, until they ended against a thick wood. In the center wasa huge battery, and Dick from his position could see the mouths of thecannon waiting for them. 

But he also saw the great line of the Northern Army. It was both deeperand longer than that of the South, and he knew that the men were full ofresolve and courage. 

"How many have we got here?" Dick heard himself asking Warner. 

"Forty or fifty thousand, I suppose, " he heard Warner replying, "andbefore night there will be eighty thousand. Our line is two miles longnow. We ought to wrap around Jackson and crush him to death. Listen tothe bugles! What a mellow note! And how they draw men on to death! Andlisten to the throbbing of the big cannon, too!"

Warner's face was flushed. He had become excited, as the two armiesstood there, and looked at each other a moment or two like prizefighters in the ring before closing in battle. Then they heard the orderto charge and far up and down the line their own cannon opened with acrash so great that Dick and his comrades could not hear one anothertalking. 

Then they charged. The whole army lifted itself up and rushed at theenemy, animated by patriotism, the fire of battle and the desire forrevenge. Among the officers were Milroy and Schenck and others who hadbeen beaten by Jackson in the valley. There, too, was the brigadeof Germans whom Jackson had beaten at Cross Keyes. Many of them wereveterans of the sternest discipline known in Europe and they longedfiercely for revenge. And there were more Germans, too, underSchurz--hired Germans, fighting nearly a hundred years before to preventthe Union--and free Germans now fighting to save it. 

Driven forward thus by all the motives that sway men in battle, theUnion army rushed upon Jackson. Confident from many victories andtrusting absolutely in their leader the Southern defense received themighty charge without flinching. The wood now swarmed with riflemenand they filled the air with their bullets, so many of them that theirpassage was like the continual rush of a hurricane. Along the whole linecame the same metallic scream, and the great battery in the center was avolcano, pouring forth a fiery hurricane of shot and shell. 

Dick felt their front lines being shorn. Although he was untouched itwas an actual physical sensation. He could see but little save thatfearful blaze in their faces, and the cries of the wounded and dyingwere drowned by the awful roar of so many cannon and rifles. 

The cloud of dust and smoke had become immense and overwhelming in aninstant, but it was pierced always in front by the blaze of fire, andby its flaming light Dick saw the long lines of the Southern men, theirfaces gray and fixed, as he knew those of his own comrades were. 

But the charge, brave, even reckless, failed. The brigades broke in vainon Jackson's iron front. Riddled by the fire of the great battery and ofthe riflemen they could not go on and live. The Germans had longed forrevenge, but they did not get it. The South Carolinians fell upon themat the edge of the wood and hurled them back. They rallied, and chargedagain, but again they were handled terribly, and were forced back by thecharging masses of the Southerners. 

Dick had been at Shiloh. He had seen the men of the west in a greatbattle, and now he saw the men of the east in a battle yet greater. There it had been largely in the forest, here it was mostly in the open, yet he saw but little more. One of the extraordinary features of thisbattle was dust. Trampled up from the dry fields by fighting men inscores of thousands it rose in vast floating clouds that permeatedeverything. It was even more persistent than the smoke. It cloggedDick's throat. It stung and burnt him like powder. Often it filled hiseyes so completely that for a moment or two he could not see the blazeof the cannon and rifle fire, almost in his face. 

But as they fell back he felt again that sensation of actual physicalpain, although he was still untouched. Added to it was an intense mentalanguish. They were failing! They had been driven back! They had notcrushed Jackson! He forgot all about Colonel Winchester, and hiscomrades Warner and Pennington. He forgot all about his own danger inthis terrible reversal of his hopes, and he began to shout angrily atthe men to stand. He did not know by and by that no sound came from hismouth, that words could not come from a throat so choked with dust andburned gunpowder. 

But the charge was made again. The thudding great guns now told all theNorthern divisions where Jackson was. The eighty thousand men of Popewere crowding forward to attack him, and the batteries were gallopingover the plateau to add to the volume of shot and shell that was pouredupon the Southern ranks. 

Dick was quite unconscious of the passage of time. Hope had sprung anewin his breast. He heard a report that ten thousand fresh troops underKearney had arrived and were attacking the Southerners in the wood. He knew by the immense volume of fire coming from that point that thereport was true, and he heard that McDowell, too, would soon be at handwith nearly thirty thousand men. 

Then he saw Colonel Winchester, his face a mass of grime and hisclothing flecked with blood. But he did not seem to have suffered anywound and he was calmly rallying his men. 

"It's hot!" Dick shouted, why he knew not. 

"Yes, my boy, and it will soon be hotter! Look at the new brigadescoming into battle! See them on both right and left! We'll crush Jacksonyet!"

It was now mid-morning, and neither Colonel Winchester nor any other ofthe Northern officers facing the Southern force knew that Lee and theother Southern army was at hand. The front ranks of Longstreet werealready in battle, and the most difficult and dangerous of all tasks wasaccomplished. Two armies coming from points widely divergent, but actingin concert had joined upon the field of battle at the very moment whenthe junction meant the most. Lee had come, but McClellan and the Army ofthe Potomac were far away. 

Dick heard the trumpets calling again, and once more they charged, hurling heavy masses now upon the wood, which was held by the Southerngeneral, A. P. Hill. Rifle fire gave way to bayonet charges by eitherside, and after swaying back and forth the Union men held the wood fora while, but at last they were driven out to stay, and as they retreatedcannon and rifles decimated their ranks. 

The regiment had suffered so terribly that after its retreat it wascompelled to lie down a while and rest. Dick gasped for breath, but hewas not as much excited as he had been earlier in the day. Perhaps onecan become hardened to anything. Although he and his immediate comradeswere resting he could see no diminution of the battle. 

As far to left and right as the eye reached, cannon and rifles blazedand thundered. In front of their own exhausted regiment hundreds ofsharpshooters, creeping forward, were now pouring a deadly fire amongthe Southern troops who held the wood. They were men of the west andnorthwest, accustomed all their lives to the use of firearms, and if aConfederate officer in the forest showed himself for a moment it was atthe risk of his life. Captains and lieutenants fell fast beneath the aimof the sharpshooters. 

The burning sun was at the zenith, pouring fiery rays upon the vastconflict which raged along a front of two miles. Pope himself was nowupon the field and his troops were pouring from every point to his aid. So deadly was the fire of the sharpshooters that they regained the wood, driving out the Southerners who had exhausted their cartridges. Hill'sdivision of the Confederates was almost cut to pieces by the cannonand rifles, and the Southern leaders from their posts on the hills sawbrigades and regiments continually coming to the help of the North. 

Dick saw or rather felt the fortunes of the North rising again, and ashis regiment stood up for action once more he began to shout with theothers in triumph. The roar of the battle grew so steady that the voicesof men became audible and articulate beneath it. 

"They shut their trap down upon us, but we're breaking that trap all topieces, " he heard Pennington say. 

"Looks as if we might win a victory, " said the cooler Warner. 

Then he heard no more, as they were once again upon the enemy whoreceived them almost hand to hand, and the battle swelled anew. It wasnow long past noon, and in that prodigious canopy of dust and fire andsmoke it seemed for a while that the Union army in truth had shatteredthe trap. The men in gray were borne back by the courage and weight oftheir opponents. Hooker, Kearney, Reynolds and all the gallant generalsof the North continually urged on their troops. Confidence in victory atlast passed through all the army, and incited it to greater efforts. 

But Jackson was undaunted. Never was he cooler. Never did his geniusshine more brilliantly. Never did any man in all the fury and turmoilof battle, amid a thousand conflicting reports and appalling confusion, have a keener perception, a greater power to sum up what was actuallypassing, and a better knowledge of what to do. 

Lee was a mile away, standing on a wooded hill, the bearded Longstreetby his side, watching the battle in his immediate front, whereaccumulating masses under Pope's own eye were gathering. On the otherflank where Jackson stood and the conflict was heaviest he trusted allto his great lieutenant and not in vain. 

Jackson had formed his plan. There came for a few moments a lull in thebattle which had now lasted nine hours, and then gathering a powerfulreserve he sent them charging through the wood with the bayonet. Dicksaw the massive line of glittering steel coming on at the doublequick and he felt his regiment giving back. The men could not help it. Physically exhausted and with ammunition running low they slowly yieldedthe wood. Many of the youths wept with rage, but although they had lostthousands in five desperate charges they were compelled to see all fivefail. 

Dick, aghast, gazed at Warner through the smoke. 

"It's true!" gasped Warner, "we didn't break the trap, Dick. But maybethey'll succeed off there to the left! Our own commander is there, andthey say that Lee himself has come to the help of Jackson!"

They had been driven back at all points and their own battle was dying, but off to the left it thundered a while longer, and then as nightsuddenly rushed over the field it, too, sank, leaving the hostile forceson that wing also still face to face, but with the North pushed back. 

The coming of night was as sudden to Dick as if it had been the abruptdropping of a great dark blanket. In the fury of conflict he had notnoticed the gathering shadows in the west. The dimness around him, ifhe had taken time to think about it, he would have ascribed to the vastcolumns of dust that eddied and surged about. 

Again it was the dust that he felt and remembered. The surging back andforth of seven score thousand men, the tread of horses and the wheelsof hundreds of cannon raised it in such quantities that it covered theforest and the armies with a vast whitish curtain. Even in the darknessit showed dim and ghastly like a funeral veil. 

Out of that fatal forest came a dreadful moaning. Dick did not knowwhether it was the wind among the leaves or the dying. Once more theghosts of the year before walked the fatal field, but the ghosts of thisyear would be a far greater company. They had not broken the trap andDick knew that the battle was far from over. 

It would be renewed in the morning with greater fierceness than ever, but he was grateful for the present darkness and rest. He and hiscomrades had thrown themselves upon the ground, and they felt as if theycould never move again. Their bones did not ache. They merely felt deadwithin them. 

Dick was roused after a long time. The camp cooks were bringing foodand coffee. He saw a figure lying at his feet as still as death, and heshoved it with his foot. 

"Get up, Frank, " he said. "You're not dead. "

"No, I'm not, but I'm as good as dead. You just let me finish dying inpeace. "

Dick shoved him again and Pennington sat up. When he saw the food andcoffee he suddenly remembered to be hungry. Warner was already eatingand drinking. Off to the left they still heard cannon and rifles, although the sound was sinking. Occasionally flashes from the mouths ofthe great guns illumined the darkness. 

Dick did not know what time it was. He had no idea how long he hadbeen lying upon the ground panting, the air surcharged with menace andsuspense. The vast clouds of dust, impregnated with burned gunpowderstill floated about, and it scorched his mouth and throat as he breathedit. 

The boys, after eating and drinking lay down again. They still heard thefiring of pickets, but it was no more than the buzzing of bees to them, and after a while they fell into the sleep of nervous and physicalexhaustion. But while many of the soldiers slept all of the generalswere awake. 

It was a singular fact but in the night that divided the great battleof the Second Manassas into two days both sides were full of confidence. Jackson's men, who had borne the brunt of the first day, rested upontheir arms and awaited the dawn with implicit confidence in theirleader. On the other flank Lee and Longstreet were massing their men fora fresh attack. 

The losses within the Union lines were replaced by reinforcements. Poperode among them, sanguine, full of hope, telegraphing to Washington thatthe enemy had lost two to his one, and that Lee was retreating towardthe mountains. 

Dick slept uneasily through the night, and rose to another hot Augustsun. Then the two armies looked at each other and it seemed that eachwas waiting for the other to begin, as the morning hours dragged on andonly the skirmishers were busy. During this comparative peace, the heavyclouds of dust were not floating about, and Dick whose body had come tolife again walked back and forth with his colonel, gazing through theirglasses at the enemy. He scarcely noticed it, but Colonel Winchester'smanner toward him had become paternal. The boy merely ascribed it to thefriendly feeling an officer would feel for a faithful aide, but he knewthat he had in his colonel one to whom he could speak both as a friendand a protector. Walking together they talked freely of the enemy whostood before them in such an imposing array. 

"Colonel, " said Dick, "do you think General Pope is correct in statingthat one wing of the Southern army is already retreating throughThoroughfare Gap?"

"I don't, Dick. I don't think it is even remotely probable. I'm quitesure, too, that we have the whole Confederate army in front of us. We'llhave to beat both Lee and Jackson, if we can. "

"Where do you think the main attack will be?"

"On Jackson, who is still in front of us. But we have waited a longtime. It must be full noon now. "

"It is past noon, sir, but I hear the trumpets, calling up our men. "

"They are calling to us, too. "

The regiment shifted a little to the right, where a great column wasforming for a direct attack upon the Confederate lines. Twenty thousandmen stood in a vast line and forty thousand were behind them to march insupport. 

Dick had thought that he would be insensible to emotions, but his heartbegan to throb again. The spectacle thrilled and awed him--the greatarmy marching to the attack and the resolute army awaiting it. Soon heheard behind him the firing of the artillery which sent shot and shellover their heads at the enemy. A dozen cannon came into action, thentwenty, fifty, a hundred and more, and the earth trembled with themighty concussion. 

Dick felt the surge of triumph. They had yet met no answering fire. Perhaps General Pope and not Colonel Winchester had been right afterall, and the Confederates were crushed. Awaiting them was only a rearguard which would flee at the first flash of the bayonets in the wood. 

The great line marched steadily onward, and the cannon thundered androared over the heads of the men raking the wood with steel. Stillno reply. Surely the sixty thousand Union men would now march overeverything. They were driving in the swarms of skirmishers. Dick couldsee them retreating everywhere, in the wood over the hills and along anembankment. 

Warner was on his right and Pennington on his left. Dick glanced at themand he saw the belief in speedy victory expressed on the faces of both. It seemed to him, too, that nothing could now stop the massivecolumns that Pope was sending forward against the thinned ranks of theConfederates. 

They were much nearer and he saw gray lines along an embankment and ina wood. Then above the crash and thunder of their covering artillery heheard another sound. It was the Southern bugles calling with a piercingnote to their own men just as the Northern trumpets had called. 

Dick saw a great gray multitude suddenly pour forward. It looked to himin the blur and the smoke like an avalanche, and in truth it was a humanavalanche, a far greater force of the South than they expected tomeet there. Directly in front of the Union column stood the StonewallBrigade, and all the chosen veterans of Stonewall Jackson's army. 

"It's a fight, face to face, " Dick heard Colonel Winchester say. 

Then he saw a Union officer, whose name he did not know suddenly gallopout in front of the division, wave his saber over his head and shoutthe charge. A tremendous rolling cry came from the blue ranks and Dickphysically felt the whole division leap forward and rush at the enemy. 

Dick saw the officer who had made himself the leader of the chargegallop straight at a breastwork that the Southerners had built, reachand stand, horse and rider, a moment at the top, then both fall ina limp heap. The next instant the officer, not dead but wounded, wasdragged a prisoner behind the embankment by generous foes who hadrefused to shoot at him until compelled to do so. 

The Union men, with a roar, followed their champion, and Dick felt avery storm burst upon them. The Southerners had thrown up earthworks atmidnight and thousands of riflemen lying behind them sent in a fire atshort range that caused the first Union line to go down like fallinggrain. Cannon from the wood and elsewhere raked them through andthrough. 

It was a vortex of fire and death. The Confederates themselves werelosing heavily, but taught by the stern Jackson and knowing that his eyewas upon them they refused to yield. The Northern charge broke on theirfront, but the men did not retreat far. The shrill trumpet called themback to the charge, and once more the blue masses hurled themselves uponthe barrier of fire and steel, to break again, and to come yet a thirdtime at the trumpet's call. Often the combatants were within ten yardsof one another, but strive as they would the Union columns could notbreak through the Confederate defense. 

Elsewhere the men of Hill and Longstreet showed a sternness and valorequal to that of Jackson's. Their ranks held firm everywhere, and now, as the long afternoon drew on, the eye of Lee, watching every risingand falling wave of the battle, saw his chance. He drew his batteriestogether in great masses and as the last charge broke on Jackson's linesthe trumpets sounded the charge for the Southern troops who hitherto hadstood on the defensive. 

Dick heard a tremendous shout, the great rebel yell, that he had heardso often before, and that he was destined to hear so often again. Through the clouds of smoke and dust he saw the long lines of Southernbayonets advancing swiftly. His regiment, which had already lost morethan half its numbers, was borne back by an appalling weight. 

Then hope deserted the boy for the first time. The Union was not to besaved here on this field. It was instead another lost Manassas, but fargreater than the first. The genius of Lee and Jackson which bore upthe Confederacy was triumphing once again. Dick shut his teeth in grimdespair. He heard the triumphant shouts of the advancing enemy, and hesaw that not only his own regiment, but the whole Northern line, wasbeing driven back, slowly it is true, but they were going. 

Now at the critical moment, Lee was hurling forward every man and gun. Although his army was inferior in numbers he was always superior at thepoint of contact, and his exultant veterans pressed harder and harderupon their weakening foes. Only the artillery behind them now protectedDick and his comrades. But the Confederates still came with a rush. 

Jackson was leading on his own men who had stood so long on thedefensive. The retreating Union line was broken, guns were lost, andthere was a vast turmoil and confusion. Yet out of it some order finallyemerged, and although the Union army was now driven back at every pointit inflicted heavy losses upon its foe, and under the lead of bravecommanders great masses gathered upon the famous Henry Hill, resolved, although they could not prevent defeat, to save the army fromdestruction. 

Night was coming down for the second time upon the field of battle, lostto the North, although the North was ready to fight again. 

Lee and Jackson looked upon the heavy Union masses gathered at the HenryHill, and then looking at the coming darkness they stopped the attack. Night heavier than usual came down over the field, covering withits friendly veil those who had lost and those who had won, and thetwenty-five thousand who had fallen. 

CHAPTER VI. THE MOURNFUL FOREST

As the night settled down, heavy and dark, and the sounds of firingdied away along the great line, Dick again sank to the ground exhausted. Although the battle itself had ceased, it seemed to him that the drumsof his ears still reproduced its thunder and roar, or at least the echoof it was left upon the brain. 

He lay upon the dry grass, and although the night was again hot andbreathless, surcharged with smoke and dust and fire, he felt achill that went to the bone, and he trembled all over. Then a coldperspiration broke out upon him. It was the collapse after two days oftremendous exertion, excitement and anxiety. He did not move for eightor ten minutes, blind to everything that was going on about him, andthen through the darkness he saw Colonel Winchester standing by andlooking down at him. 

"Are you all right, Dick, my boy?" the colonel asked. 

"Yes, sir, " replied Dick, as his pride made him drag himself to hisfeet. "I'm not wounded at all. I was just clean played out. "

"You're lucky to get off so well, " said the colonel, smiling sadly. "We've lost many thousands and we've lost the battle, too. The killed orwounded in my regiment number more than two-thirds. "

"Have you seen anything of Warner and Pennington, sir? I lost sight ofthem in that last terrible attack. "

"Pennington is here. He has had a bullet through the fleshy part of hisleft arm, but he's so healthy it won't take him long to get well. I'msorry to say that Warner is missing. "

"Missing, sir? You don't say that George has been killed?"

"I don't say it. I'm hoping instead that he's been captured. "

Dick knew what the colonel meant. In Colonel Winchester's opinion onlytwo things, death or capture, could keep Warner from being with them. 

"Maybe he will come in yet, " he said. "We were mixed up a good deal whenthe darkness fell, and he may have trouble in finding our position. "

"That's true. There are not so many of us left, and we do not cover anygreat area of ground. Lie still, Dick, and take a little rest. Wedon't know what's going to happen in the night. We may have to do morefighting yet, despite the darkness. "

The colonel's figure disappeared in the shadow, and Dick, following hisadvice, lay quiet. All around him were other forms stretched upon theearth, motionless. But Dick knew they were not dead, merely sleeping. His own nervous system was being restored by youth and the habitof courage. Yet he felt a personal grief, and it grew stronger withreturning physical strength. Warner, his comrade, knitted to him by tiesof hardship and danger, was missing, dead no doubt in the battle. Forthe moment he forgot about the defeat. All his thoughts were for thebrave youth who lay out there somewhere, stretched on the dusty field. 

Dick strained his eyes into the darkness, as if by straining he mightsee where Warner lay. He saw, indeed, dim fires here and there along along line, marking where the Confederates now stood, or rather lay. Thena bitter pang came. It was ground upon which the Union army had stood inthe morning. 

The rifle fire, which had died down, began again in a fitful way. Faroff, skirmishers, not satisfied with the slaughter of the day, wereseeing what harm they could do in the dark. Somewhere the plumed andunresting Stuart was charging with his horsemen, driving back someportion of the Union army that the Confederate forces might be on theirflank in the morning. 

But Dick, as he lay quietly and felt his strength, mental and physical, returning, was taking a resolution. Down there in front of them and inthe darkness was the wood upon which they had made five great assaults, all to fail. In front of that mournful forest, and within its edge, morethan ten thousand men had fallen. He had no doubt that Warner was amongthem. 

His sense of direction was good, and, as his blurred faculties regainedtheir normal keenness, he could mark the exact line by which theyhad advanced, and the exact line by which they had retreated. Warnerunquestionably lay near the edge of the wood and he must seek him. Wereit the other way, Warner would do the same. 

Dick stood up. He was no longer dizzy, and every muscle felt steady andstrong. He did not know what had become of Colonel Winchester, and hiscomrades still lay upon the ground in a deep stupor. 

It could not be a night of order and precision, with every man numberedand in his place, as if they were going to begin a battle instead ofjust having finished one, and Dick, leaving his comrades, walked calmlytoward the wood. He passed one sentinel, but a few words satisfied him, and he continued to advance. Far to right and left he still heard thesound of firing and saw the flash of guns, but these facts did notdisturb him. In front of him lay darkness and silence, with the horizonbounded by that saddest of all woods where the heaped dead lay. 

Dick looked back toward the Henry Hill, on the slopes of which were thefragments of his own regiment. Lights were moving there, but they wereso dim they showed nothing. Then he turned his face toward the enemy'sposition and did not look back again. 

The character of the night was changing. It had come on dark and heavy. Hot and breathless like the one before, he had taken no notice of thechange save for the increased darkness. Now he felt a sudden damp touchon his face, as if a wet finger had been laid there. The faintest ofwinds had blown for a moment or two, and when Dick looked up, he sawthat the sky was covered with black clouds. The saddest of woods hadmoved far away, but by some sort of optical illusion he could yet seeit. 

Save for the distant flash of random firing, the darkness was intense. Every star was gone, and Dick moved without any guide. But he needednone. His course was fixed. He could not miss the mournful wood hangingthere like a pall on the horizon. 

His feet struck against something. It was a man, but he was past allfeeling, and Dick went on, striking by and by against many more. It wasimpossible at the moment to see Warner's face, but he began to feelof the figures with his hands. There was none so long and slender asWarner's, and he continued his search, moving steadily toward the wood. 

He saw presently a lantern moving over the field, and he walked towardit. Three men were with the lantern, and the one who carried it held itup as he approached. The beams fell directly upon Dick, revealing hispale face and torn and dusty uniform. 

"What do you want, Yank?" called the man. 

"I'm looking for a friend of mine who must have fallen somewhere nearhere. "

The man laughed, but it was not a laugh of joy or irony. It was a laughof pity and sadness. 

"You've shorely got a big look comin', " he said. "They're scattered allaround here, coverin' acres an' acres, just like dead leaves shook bya storm from the trees. But j'in us, Yank. You can't do nothin' in thedarkness all by yourself. We're Johnny Rebs, good and true, and I maybe shootin' straight at you to-morrow mornin', but I reckon I've gotnothin' ag'in you now. We're lookin' for a brother o' mine. "

Dick joined them, and the four, the three in gray and the one in blue, moved on. A friendly current had passed between him and them, and therewould be no thought of hostility until the morning, when it would comeagain. It was often so in this war, when men of the same blood met inthe night between battles. 

"What sort of a fellow is it that you're lookin' for?" asked the manwith the lantern. 

"About my age. Very tall and thin. You could mark him by his height. "

"It takes different kinds of people to make the world. My brother ain'tlike him a-tall. Sam's short, an' thick as a buffalo. Weighs two twentywith no fat on him. What crowd do you belong to, youngster?"

"The division on our right. We attacked the wood there. "

"Well, you're a bully boy. Give me your hand, if you are a Yank. Youshorely came right up there and looked us in the eyes. How often did youcharge us?"

"Five times, I think. But I may be mistaken. You know it wasn't a daywhen a fellow could be very particular about his count. "

"Guess you're right there. I made it five. What do you say, Jim?"

"Five she was. "

"That settles it. Jim kin always count up to five an' never make amistake. What you fellers goin' to do in the mornin'?"

"I don't know. "

"Pope ain't asked you yet what to do. Well, Bobby Lee and Old Stonewallain't been lookin' for me either to get my advice, but, Yank, youfellers do just what I tell you. "

"What's that?"

"Pack up your clothes before daylight, say good-bye, and go backto Washington. You needn't think you kin ever lick Marse Bobby an'Stonewall Jackson. "

"But what if we do think it? We've got a big army back there yet, andmore are always coming to us. We'll beat you yet. "

"There seems to be a pow'ful wide difference in our opinions, an'I can't persuade you an' you can't persuade me. We'll just let thequestion rip. I'm glad, after all, Yank, it's so dark. I don't want tosee ten thousand dead men stretched out in rows. "

"We're going to get a wettin', " said the man to Jim. "The air'salready damp on my face. Thar, do you hear that thunder growlin' in thesouthwest? Tremenjously like cannon far away, but it's thunder all thesame. "

"What do we care 'bout a wettin', Jim? Fur the last few days this youngYank here an' his comrades have shot at me 'bout a million cannon ballsan' shells, an' more 'n a hundred million rifle bullets. Leastways Ifelt as if they was all aimed at me, which is just as bad. After bein'drenched fur two days with a storm of steel an' lead an' fire, what doyou think I care for a summer shower of rain, just drops of rain?"

"But I don't like to get wet after havin' fit so hard. It's unhealthy, likely to give me a cold. "

"Never min' 'bout ketchin' cold. You're goin' to get wet, shore. Thunder, but I thought fur a second that was the flash of a hullbattery aimed at me. Fellers, if you wasn't with me I'd be plumb scared, prowlin' 'roun' here in a big storm on the biggest graveyard in theworld. Keep close, Yank, we don't want to lose you in the dark. "

A tremendous flash of lightning had cut the sky down the middle, as ifit intended to divide the world in two halves, but after its passage thedarkness closed in thicker and heavier than ever. The sinister sound ofthunder muttering on the horizon now went on without ceasing. 

Dick was awed. Like many another his brain exposed to such tremendouspressure for two or three days, was not quite normal. It was quicklyheated and excited by fancies, and time and place alone were enough toweigh down even the coolest and most seasoned. He pressed close to hisConfederate friends, whose names he never knew, and who never knew his, and they, feeling the same influence, never for an instant left the manwho held the lantern. 

The muttering thunder now came closer and broke in terrible crashes. Thelightning flashed again and again so vividly that Dick, with involuntarymotion, threw up his hands to shelter his eyes. But he could see beforehim the mournful forest, where so many good men had fallen, and, turnedred in the gleam of the lightning, it was more terrifying than it hadbeen in the mere black of the night. The wind, too, was now blowing, and the forest gave forth what Dick's ears turned into a long despairingwail. 

"She's about to bust, " said the lantern bearer, looking up at themenacing sky. "Jim, you'll have to take your wettin' as it comes. "

A moment later the storm burst in fact. The rain rushed down on them, soaking them through in an instant, but Dick, so far from caring, likedit. It cooled his heated body and brain, and he knew that it was morelikely to help than hurt the wounded who yet lay on the ground. 

The lightning ceased before the sweep of the rain, but the lantern waswell protected by its glass cover, and they still searched. The lanternbearer suddenly uttered a low cry. 

"Boys!" he said, "Here's Sam!"

A thick and uncommonly powerful man lay doubled up against a bush. Hisface was white. Dick saw that blood had just been washed from it bythe rain. But he could see no rising and falling of the chest, and heconcluded that he was dead. 

"Take the lantern, Jim, " said the leader. Then he knelt down and put hisfinger on his brother's wrist. 

"He ain't dead, " he said at last. "His pulse is beatin' an' he'll cometo soon. The rain helped him. Whar was he hit? By gum, here it is! Abullet has ploughed all along the side of his head, runnin' 'roun' hisskull. Here, you Yank, did you think you could kill Sam by shootin' himin the head with a bullet? We've stood him up in front of our lines, andlet you fellows break fifty pound shells on his head. You never done himno harm, 'cept once when two solid shot struck him at the same time an'he had a headache nigh until sundown. Besides havin' natural thicknessof the skull Sam trained his head by buttin' with the black boys when hewas young. "

Dick saw that the man really felt deep emotion and was chattering, partly to hide it. He was glad that they had found his brother, andhe helped them to lift him. Then they rubbed Sam's wrists and poured astimulant down his throat. In a few minutes he stood alone on his feet, yawned mightily, and by the light of the dim lantern gazed at them in asort of stupid wonder. 

"What's happened?" he asked. 

"What's happened?" replied his brother. "You was always late with thenews, Sam. Of course you've been takin' a nap, but a lot has happened. We met the Yankees an' we've been fightin' 'em for two days. Tremenjousbig battle, an' we've whipped 'em. 'Scuse me, Yank, I forgot you waswith us. Well, nigh onto a million have been killed, which ought to beenough for anybody. I love my country, but I don't care to love anotherat such a price. But resumin' 'bout you pussonally, Sam, you stoppedso many shells an' solid shot with that thick head of yourn that theconcussion at last put you to sleep, an' we've found you so we kin takeyou in out of the wet an' let you sleep in a dry place. Kin you walk?"

Sam made an effort, but staggered badly. 

"Jim, you an' Dave take him by each shoulder an' walk him back to camp, "said the lantern bearer. "You jest keep straight ahead an' you'll buttinto Marse Bob or old Stonewall, one or the other. "

"You lead the way with the lantern. "

"Never you mind about me or the lantern. "

"What you goin' to do?"

"Me? I'm goin' to keep this lantern an' help Yank here find his friend. Ain't he done stuck with us till we found Sam, an' I reckon I'll stickwith him till he gits the boy he's lookin for, dead or alive. Now, youkeep Sam straight, and walk him back to camp. He ain't hurt. Why, thatbullet didn't dent his skull. It said to itself when it came smack upagainst the bone: 'This is too tough for me, I guess I'll go 'roun'. 'An' it did go 'roun'. You can see whar it come out of the flesh onthe other side. Why, by the time Sam was fourteen years old we quitsplittin' old boards with an axe or a hatchet. We jest let Sam set on alog an' we split 'em over his head. Everybody was suited. Sam could makehimself pow'ful useful without havin' to work. "

Nevertheless, the lantern bearer gave his brother the tenderest care, and watched him until he and the men on either side of him were lost inthe darkness as they walked toward the Southern camp. 

"I jest had to come an' find old Sam, dead or alive, " he said. "Now, which way, Yank, do you think this friend of yours is layin'?"

"But you're comin' with us, " repeated Jim. 

"No, I'm not. Didn't Yank here help us find Sam? An' are we to let theYanks give us lessons in manners? I reckon not. 'Sides, he's only a boy, an' I'm goin' to see him through. "

"I thank you, " said Dick, much moved. 

"Don't thank me too much, 'cause while I'm walkin' 'roun' with youfriendly like to-night I may shoot you to-morrow. "

"I thank you, all the same, " said Dick, his gratitude in nowisediminished. 

"Them that will stir no more are layin' mighty thick 'roun' here, butwe ought to find your friend pretty soon. By gum, how it rains! W'all, it'll wash away some big stains, that wouldn't look nice in the mornin'. Say, sonny, what started this rumpus, anyway?"

"I don't know. "

"An' I don't, either, so I guess it's hoss an' hoss with you an' me. But, sonny, I'll bet you a cracker ag'in a barrel of beef that none ofthem that did start the rumpus are a-layin' on this field to-night. Whatkind of lookin' feller did you say your young friend was?"

"Very tall, very thin, and about my age or perhaps a year or two older. "

"Take a good look, an' see if this ain't him. "

He held up the lantern and the beams fell upon a long figure halfraised upon an elbow. The figure was turned toward the light and staredunknowing at Dick and the Southerner. There was a great clot of bloodupon his right breast and shoulder, but it was Warner. Dick swallowedhard. 

"Yes, " he said, "it's my comrade, but he's hurt badly. "

"So bad that he don't know you or anybody else. He's clean out of hishead. "

They leaned over him, and Dick called:

"George! George! It's Dick Mason, your comrade, come to help you back tocamp!"

But Warner merely stared with feverish, unseeing eyes. 

"He's out of his head, as I told you, an' he's like to be for manyhours, " said the lantern bearer. "It's a shore thing that I won't shoothim to-morrow, nor he won't shoot me. "

He leaned over Warner and carefully examined the wound. 

"He's lucky, after all, " he said, "the bullet went in just under theright shoulder, but it curved, as bullets have a way of doin' sometimes, an' has come out on the side. There ain't no lead in him now, which isgood. He was pow'ful lucky, too, in not bein' hit in the head, 'cause heain't got no such skull as Sam has, not within a mile of it. His skullwouldn't have turned no bullet. He has lost a power of blood, but if youkin get him back to camp, an' use the med'cines which you Yanks have insuch lots an' which we haven't, he may get well. "

"That's good advice, " said Dick. "Help me up with him. "

"Take him on your back. That's the best way to carry a sick man. "

He set down his lantern, took up Warner bodily and put him on Dick'sback. 

"I guess you can carry him all right, " he said. "I'd light you with thelantern a piece of the way, but I've been out here long enough. MarseBob an' old Stonewall will get tired waitin' fur me to tell 'em how toend this war in a month. "

Dick, holding Warner in place with one hand, held out the other, andsaid:

"You're a white man, through and through, Johnny Reb. Shake!"

"So are you, Yank. There's nothin' wrong with you 'cept that youhappened to get on the wrong side, an' I don't hold that ag'in you. Iguess it was an innercent mistake. "

"Good-bye. "

"Good-bye. Keep straight ahead an' you'll strike that camp of yourn thatwe're goin' to take in the mornin'. Gosh, how it rains!"

Dick retained his idea of direction, and he walked straight through thedarkness toward the Northern camp. George was a heavy load, but he didnot struggle. His head sank down against his comrade's and Dick feltthat it was burning with fever. 

"Good old George, " he murmured to himself rather than to his comrade, "I'll save you. "

Excitement and resolve had given him a strength twice the normal, astrength that would last the fifteen or twenty minutes needed until thistask was finished. Despite the darkness and the driving rain, he couldnow see the lights in his own camp, and bending forward a little tosupport the dead weight on his back, he walked in a straight coursetoward them. 

"Halt! Who are you?"

The form of a sentinel, rifle raised, rose up before him in the darknessand the rain. 

"Lieutenant Richard Mason of Colonel Winchester's regiment, bringing inLieutenant George Warner of the same regiment, who is badly wounded. "

The sentinel lowered his rifle and looked at them sympathetically. 

"Hangs like he's dead, but he ain't, " he said. "You'll find a sort ofhospital over thar in the big tents among them trees. "

Dick found the improvised hospital, and put George down on a rude cot, within the shelter of one of the tents. 

"He's my friend, " he said to a young doctor, "and I wish you'd savehim. "

"There are hundreds of others who have friends also, but I'll do mybest. Shot just under the right shoulder, but the bullet, luckily, hasturned and gone out. It's loss of blood that hurt him most. You soldierskill more men than we doctors can save. I'm bound to say that. But yourfriend won't die. I'll see to it. "

"Thank you, " said Dick. He saw that the doctor was kind-hearted, and amarvel of endurance and industry. He could not ask for more at such atime, and he went out of the tent, leaving George to his care. 

It was still raining, but the soldiers managed to keep many firesgoing, despite it, and Dick passed between them as he sought ColonelWinchester, and the fragments of his regiment. He found the colonelwrapped in a greatcoat, leaning against a tree under a few feet ofcanvas supported on sticks. Pennington, sound asleep, sat on a root ofthe same tree, also under the canvas, but with the rain beating on hisleft arm and shoulder. 

Colonel Winchester looked inquiringly at Dick, but said nothing. 

"I've been away without leave, sir, " said Dick, "but I think I havesufficient excuse. "

"What is it?"

"I've brought in Warner. "

"Ah! Is he dead?"

"No, sir. He's had a bullet through him and he's feverish andunconscious, but the doctor says that with care he'll get well. "

"Where did you find him?"

"Over there by the edge of the wood, sir, within what is now theConfederate lines. "

"A credit to your courage and to your heart. Sit down here. There's alittle more shelter under the canvas, and go to sleep. You're too muchhardened now to be hurt seriously by wet clothes. "

Dick sat down with his back against the tree, and, despite his soakedcondition, slept as soundly as Pennington. When he awoke in the morningthe hot sun was shining again, and his clothes soon dried on him. Hefelt a little stiffness and awkwardness at first, but in a few minutesit passed away. Then breakfast restored his strength, and he lookedcuriously about him. 

Around him was the Northern army, and before him was the vastbattlefield, now occupied by the foe. He heard sounds of distant rifleshots, indicating that the skirmishers were still restless, but it wasno more now than the buzzing of flies. Pennington, coming back from thehospital, hailed him. 

"George has come to, " he said. "Great deed of yours last night, Dick. Wish I'd done it myself. They let old George talk just a little, buthe's his real old Vermont self again. Says chances were ninety-nine anda half per cent that he would die there on the battlefield, but that thehalf per cent, which was yourself, won. Fancy being only half of oneper cent, and doing a thing like that. No, you can't see him. Only onevisitor was allowed, and that's me. His fever is leaving him, and heswallowed a little soup. Now, he's going to sleep. "

Dick felt very grateful. Pennington had been up some time, and as theysat down in the sun he gave Dick the news. 

"It was a bad night, " he said. "After you staggered in with George, the rebels, in spite of the rain, harassed us. I was waked up aftermidnight, and the colonel began to believe that we would have to fightagain before morning, though the need didn't come, so far as we wereconcerned. But we were terribly worried on the flanks. They say it wasStuart and his cavalry who were bothering us. "

"What's the outlook for to-day?"

"I don't know. I hear that General Pope has sent a dispatch sayingthat the enemy is badly whipped, and that we'll hold our own here. Butbetween you and me, Dick, I don't believe it. We've been driven out ofall our positions, so we can hardly call it a victory for our side. "

"But we may hold on where we are and win a victory yet. McClellanand the Army of the Potomac may come. Anyway, we can get bigreinforcements. "

Pennington clasped his arms over his knees and sang:

 "The race is not to him that's got The longest legs to run, Nor the battle to those people That shoot the biggest gun. "

"Where did you get that song?" asked Dick. "I'll allow, under thecircumstances, that there seems to be some sense in it. "

"A Texan that we captured last night sang it to us. He was a funny kindof fellow. Didn't seem to be worried a bit because he was taken. Saidif his own people didn't retake him that he'd escape in a week, anyhow. Likely enough he will, too. But he was good company, and he sang us thatsong. Impudent, wasn't he?"

"But true so far, at least in the east. I fancy from what you say, Frank, that we'll be here a day longer anyhow. I hope so, I want torest. "

"So do I. I won't fight to-day, unless I'm ordered to do it. But I'mthinking with you, Dick, that we'll retreat. We were outmaneuvered byLee and Jackson. That circuit of Jackson's through Thoroughfare Gap andthe attack from the rear undid us. It comes of being kept in the dark bythe enemy, instead of your keeping him in the dark. We never knew wherethe blow was going to fall, and when it fell a lot of us weren't there. But, Dick, old boy, we're going to win, in the end, aren't we, in spiteof Lee, in spite of Jackson, and in spite of everybody and everything?"

"As surely as the rising and setting of the sun, Frank. "

Although Dick had little to do that day, events were occurring. It wasin the minds of Lee and Jackson that they might yet destroy the armywhich they had already defeated, and heavy divisions of the Southernarmy were moving. Dick heard about night that Jackson had marched tenmiles, through fields deep in mud, and meant to fall on Pope's flank orrear again. Stuart and his unresting cavalry were also on their rightflank and in the rear, doing damage everywhere. Longstreet had senta brigade across Bull Run, and at many points the enemy was pressingcloser. 

The next morning, Pope, alarmed by all the sinister movements on hisflanks and in his rear, gathered up his army and retreated. It was fulltime or the vise would have shut down on him again. Late that day thedivision under Kearney came into contact with Jackson's flanking forcein the forest. A short but fierce battle ensued, fought in the nightand amid new torrents of driving rain. General Kearney was killed by askirmisher, but the night and the rain grew so dense, and they werein such a tangle of thickets and forests that both sides drew off, andPope's army passed on. 

Dick was not in this battle, but he heard it's crash and roar above thesweep of the storm. He and the balance of the regiment were helping toguard the long train of the wounded. Now and then, he leaned from hishorse and looked at Warner who lay in one of the covered wagons. 

"I'm getting along all right, Dick, old man, " said Warner. "What's allthat firing off toward the woods?"

"A battle, but it won't stop us. We retreated in time. "

"And we've been defeated. Well, we can stand it. It takes a good nationto stand big defeats. You know I taught school once, Dick, and I learnedthat the biggest nation the world has ever known was the one thatsuffered the biggest defeats. Look at the terrible knocks the Romansgot! Why the Gauls nearly ate 'em alive two or three times, and foryears Hannibal whipped 'em every time he could get at 'em. But theyended by whipping everybody who had whipped them. They whipped the wholeworld, and they kept it whipped until they played out from old age. "

Dick laughed cheerily. 

"Now, you shut up, George, " he said. "You've talked too much. What'sthe use of going back as far as the old Romans for comfort. We can winwithout having to copy a lot of old timers. "

He dropped the flap of canvas and rode on listening to the sounds of thecombat. A powerful figure stepped out of the bushes and stood besidehis horse. It was Sergeant Whitley, who had passed through the battlewithout a scratch. 

"What has happened, Sergeant?" asked Dick, as he sat in the rain andlistened to the dying fire. 

"There has been a fight, and both are quitting because they can't seeenough to carry it on any longer. But General Kearney has been killed. "

The retreat continued until they reached the Potomac and were in thegreat fortifications before Washington. Then Pope resigned, and the starof McClellan rose again. The command of the armies about Washingtonwas entrusted to him, and the North gathered itself anew for the mightystruggle. 

CHAPTER VII. ORDERS NO. 191

When the Union army, defeated at the Second Manassas fell back onWashington, Dick was detached for a few days from the regiment byColonel Winchester, partly that he might have a day or two of leave, andpartly that he might watch over Warner, who was making good progress. 

Warner was in a wagon that contained half a dozen other wounded men, orrather boys, and they were all silent like stoics as they passed overthe bridge to a hospital in Washington. His side and shoulder painedhim, and he had recurrent periods of fever, but he was making fineprogress. 

Dick found his comrade on a small cot among dozens of others in a greatroom. But George's cot was near a window and the pleasant sunshinepoured in. It was now the opening of September, and the hot days werepassing. There was a new sparkle and crispness in the air, and Warner, wounded as he was, felt it. 

"We're back in the capital to enjoy ourselves a while, " he saidlightly to Dick, "and I'm glad to see that the weather will be fine forsight-seeing. "

"Yes, here we are, " said Dick. "The Johnnies beat us this time. Theydidn't outfight us, but they had the best generals. As soon as you'rewell, George, we'll start out again and lick 'em. "

"I'm glad you told 'em to wait for me, Dick. That's what you ought todo. I hear that McClellan is at the head of things again. "

"Yes, the Army of the Potomac is to the front once more, and it'staken over the Army of Virginia. We hear that Pope is going out to thenorthwest to fight Indians. "

"McClellan is not likely to be trapped as Pope was, but he's sotremendously cautious that he'll never trap anything himself. Now, whichkind of a general would you choose, Dick?"

"As between those two I'll take McClellan. The soldiers at least likehim and believe in him. And George, our man in the east hasn't come yet. The generals we've had don't hammer. They don't concentrate, rush rightin and rain blows on the enemy. "

"Do you think you know the right man, Dick?"

"I'm making a guess. It's Grant. We saw him at Donelson and Shiloh. Surprised at both places, he won anyhow. He wouldn't be beat. That's thekind of man we want here in the east. "

"You may be right, Dick, but the politicians in this part of the countryall run him down. Halleck has been transferred to Washington as a sortof general commander and adviser to the President, and they say hedoesn't like Grant. "

Further talk was cut short by a young army surgeon, and Dick leftGeorge, saying that he would come back the next day. The streets ofWashington were full of sunshine, but not of hope and cheerfulness. The most terrible suspense reigned there. Never before or since wasWashington in such alarm. A hostile and victorious army was within aday's march. Pope almost to the last had talked of victory. Then came atelegram, asking if the capital could be defended in case his army wasdestroyed. Next came the army preceded by thousands of stragglers andheralds of disaster. 

The people were dropped from the golden clouds of hope to the hard earthof despair. They strained their eyes toward Manassas, where the flag ofthe Union had twice gone down in disaster. It was said, and therewas ample cause for the saying of it, that Lee and Jackson with theirvictorious veterans would appear any moment before the capital. There were rumors that the government was packing up in order to fleenorthward to Philadelphia or even New York. 

But Dick believed none of these rumors. In fact, he was not greatlyalarmed by any of them. He was sure that McClellan, although withoutgenius, would restore the stamina of the troops, if indeed it were everlost, which he doubted very much. He had seen how splendidly they foughtat the Second Manassas, and he knew that there was no panic among them. Moreover, the North was an inexhaustible storehouse of men and material, and whenever one soldier fell two grew in his place. 

So he strode through the crowded streets, calm of face and manner, andtook his way once more to the hotel, where he had sat and listened tothe talk before the Second Manassas. The lobby was packed with men, andthere was but one topic, the military situation. Would Lee and Jacksonadvance, hot upon the heels of their victory? Would Washington fall?Would McClellan be able to save them? Why weren't the generals of theNorth as good as those of the South?

Dick listened to the talk which was for all who might choose to hear. Hedid not assume any superior frame of mind, merely because he had foughtin many battles and these men had fought in none. He retained thenatural modesty of youth, and knowing that one who looked on mightsometimes be a better judge of what was happening than the one who tookpart, he weighed carefully what they said. 

He was in a comfortable chair by the wall, and while he sat there aheavy man of middle age, whom he remembered well, approached and stoodbefore him, regarding him with a keen and measuring eye. 

"Good morning, Mr. Watson, " said Dick politely. 

"Ah, it is you, Lieutenant Mason!" said the contractor. "I thought so, but I was not sure, as you are thinner than you were when I last sawyou. I'll just take this seat beside you. "

A man in the next chair had moved and the contractor dropped into it. Then he crossed his legs, and smoothed the upper knee with a strong, fathand. 

"You've had quite a trip since I last saw you, Mr. Mason, " he said. 

"We didn't go so terribly far. "

"It's not length that makes a trip. It's what you see and what happens. "

"I saw a lot, and a hundred times more than what I saw happened. "

The contractor took two fine cigars from his vest pocket and handed oneto Dick. 

"No, thank you, " said the boy, "I've never learned to smoke. "

"I suppose that's because you come from Kentucky, where they raise somuch tobacco. When you see a thing so thick around you, you don't carefor it. Well, we'll talk while I light mine and puff it. And so, youngman, you ran against Lee and Jackson!"

"We did, or they ran against us, which comes to the same thing. "

"And got well thrashed. There's no denying it. "

"I'm not trying to do so. "

"That's right. I thought from the first that you were a young man ofsense. I'm glad to see that you didn't get yourself killed. "

"A great many good men did. "

"That's so, and a great many more will go the same way. You just listento me. I don't wear any uniform, but I've got eyes to see and ears tohear. I suppose that more monumental foolishness has been hidden undercocked hats and gold lace than under anything else, since the worldbegan. Easy now, I don't say that fools are not more numerous outsidearmies than in them--there are more people outside--but the mistakes ofgenerals are more costly. "

"I suppose our generals are doing the best they can. You will let mespeak plainly, will you, Mr. Watson?"

"Of course, young man. Go ahead. "

"Perhaps you feel badly over a disaster of your own. I saw the smokingfires at Bristoe Station. The rebels burned there several milliondollars worth of stores belonging to us. Maybe a large part of them wereyour own goods. "

The contractor rubbed his huge knee with one hand, took his cigar outof his mouth with the other hand, blew several rings of fine blue smokefrom his nose, and watched them break against the ceiling. 

"Young man, " he said, "you're a good guesser, but you don't guess all. More than a million dollars worth of material that I supplied wasburned or looted at Bristoe Station. But it had all been paid for by aperfectly solvent Union government. So, if I were to consider it fromthe purely material standpoint, which you imagine to be the only one Ihave, I should rejoice over the raids of the rebels because they maketrade for contractors. I'm a patriot, even if I do not fight at thefront. Besides my feelings have been hurt. "

"In what way?"

The contractor drew from his pocket a coarse brown envelope, and he tookfrom the envelope a letter, written on paper equally coarse and brown. 

"I received this letter last night, " he said. "It was addressed simply'John Watson, Washington, D. C. , ' and the post office people gave it tome at once. It came from somebody within the Confederate lines. You knowhow the Northern and Southern pickets exchange tobacco, newspapers andsuch things, when they're not fighting. I suppose the letter was passedon to me in that way. Listen. "

"John Watson, Washington, D. C. 

"My dear sir: I have never met you, but certain circumstances have mademe acquainted with your name. Believing therefore that you are a manof judgment and fairness I feel justified in making to you a complaintwhich I am sure you will agree with me is well-founded. At a littleplace called Bristoe Station I recently obtained a fine, blue uniform, the tint of which wind and rain will soon turn to our own excellentConfederate gray. I found your own name as maker stamped upon the neckband of both coat and vest. 

"I ought to say however that after I had worn the coat only twice theseams ripped across both shoulders, I admit that the fit was a littletight, but work well done would not yield so quickly. I also pickedout a pair of beautiful shoes, bearing your name stamped upon them. Theleather cracked after the first day's use, and good leather will nevercrack so soon. 

"Now, my dear Mr. Watson, I feel that you have treated me unfairly. Iwill not use any harsher word. We do not expect you to supply us withgoods of this quality, and we certainly look for something better fromyou next time. 

 "Your obedient servant, ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, Lieutenant 'The Invincibles, ' C. S. A. "

"Now, did you ever hear of another piece of impudence like that?" saidWatson. "It has its humorous side, I admit, and you're justified inlaughing, but it's impudence all the same. "

"Yes, it is impudence, and do you know, Mr. Watson, I've met the writerof that letter. He is a South Carolinian, and from his standpoint hehas a real grievance. I never knew anybody else as particular about hisclothes, and it seems that the uniform and shoes you furnished him arenot all right. He's a gentleman and he wouldn't lie. I met him atCedar Run, when the burying parties were going over the field. He wasintroduced to me by my cousin, Harry Kenton, who is on the other side. Harry wouldn't associate with any fellow who isn't all right. "

"All the same, if I ever catch that young jackanapes of a St. Clair--it's an easy name to remember--I'll strip my uniform off him andturn him loose for his own comrades to laugh at. "

"But we won't catch either him or his comrades for a long time. "

"That's so, but in the end we'll catch 'em. Now, Mr. Mason, you don'tagree with me about many things, but you're only a boy and you'll knowbetter later on. Anyway, I like you, and if you need help at any timeand can reach me, come. "

"I'll do so, and I thank you now, " said Dick, who saw that thecontractor's tone was sincere. 

"That's right, good-bye. I see a senator whom I need. "

They shook hands and Watson hurried away with great lightness andagility for so large a man. 

Dick stayed two days longer in Washington, visiting Warner twice a dayand seeing with gladness his rapid improvement. When he was with him thelast time, and told him he was going to join the Army of the Potomac, Warner said:

"Dick, old man, I haven't spoken before of the way you brought me infrom that last battlefield. Pennington has told me about it--but if Ididn't it was not because I wasn't grateful. Up in Vermont we're notmuch on words--our training I suppose, though I don't say it is the besttraining. It's quite sure that I'd have died if you hadn't found me. "

"Why, George, I looked for you as a matter of course. You'd have doneexactly the same for me. "

"That's just it, but I didn't get the chance. Now, Dick, there's goingto be another big battle before long, and I shall be up in time forit. You'll be there, too. Couldn't you get yourself shot late in theafternoon, lie on the ground, feverish and delirious until far in thenight, when I'd come for you. Then I could pay you back. "

Dick laughed. He knew that at the bottom of Warner's jest lay a resolveto match the score, whenever the chance should come. 

"Good-bye, George, " he said. "I'll look for you in two weeks. "

"Make it only ten days. McClellan will need me by that time. "

But it seemed to Dick that McClellan would need him and every other manat once. Lee was marching. Passing by the capital he had advancedinto Maryland, a Southern state, but one that had never seceded. TheSoutherners expected to find many reinforcements here among theirkindred. The regiments in gray, flushed with victory, advanced singing:

 "The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland! His torch is at thy temple door, Maryland! Avenge the patriotic gore That flecked the streets of Baltimore And be the battle queen of yore, Maryland, my Maryland!"

Dick knew that the South expected much of Maryland. Her people wereSoutherners. Their valor in the Revolution was unsurpassed. People stilltalked of the Maryland line and its great deeds. Many of the Marylandershad already come to Lee and Jackson, and now that the Southern army, ledby its famous leaders and crowned with victories, was on their soil, itwas expected that they would pour forward in thousands, relieved fromthe fear of Northern armies. 

Alarm, deep and intense, spread all through the North. McClellan, asusual, doubled Lee's numbers but he organized with all speed to meethim. Dick heard that Lee was already at Frederick, giving his troopsa few days' repose before meeting any enemy who might come. The utmostconfidence reigned in the South. 

McClellan marched, but he advanced slowly. The old mystery anduncertainty about the Southern army returned. It suddenly disappearedfrom Frederick, and McClellan became extremely cautious. He had nearlya hundred thousand men, veterans now, but he believed that Lee had twohundred thousand. 

Colonel Winchester again complained bitterly to Dick, who was a comradeas well as an aide. 

"What we need, " he said, "is a general who doesn't see double, and wehaven't got him yet. We must spend less time counting the rebels andmore hammering them. "

"A civilian in Washington told me that, " said Dick. "I believed thenthat he was right, and I believe it yet. If General Grant were here he'dattack instead of waiting to be attacked. "

But the Army of the Potomac continued to march forward in a slow andhesitating fashion. Dick, despite his impatience, appreciated theposition of General McClellan. No one in the Union army or in theNorth knew the plans of Lee and Jackson. Lee had not even consulted thePresident of the Confederacy but had merely notified him that he wasgoing into Maryland. 

Now Lee and Jackson had melted away again in the mist that so oftenoverhung their movements. McClellan could not be absolutely sure theyintended an important invasion of Maryland. They might be planning tofall upon the capital from another direction. The Union commander mustprotect Washington and at the same time look for his enemy. 

The army marched near the Potomac, and Dick, as he rode with hisregiment, saw McClellan several times. It had not been many months sincehe took his great army by sea for what seemed to be the certain captureof Richmond, but McClellan, although a very young man for so high aposition, had already changed much. His face was thinner, and it seemedto Dick that he had lost something of his confident look. The awfulSeven Days and his bitter disappointment had left their imprint. Nevertheless he was trim, neat and upright, and always wore a splendiduniform. An unfailing favorite with the soldiers, they cheered him as hepassed, and he would raise his hat, a flush of pride showing through thetan of his cheeks. 

"If a general, after being defeated, can still retain the confidenceof his army he must have great qualities of some kind, " said Dick toColonel Winchester. 

"That's true, Dick. McClellan lost at the Seven Days, and he has justtaken over an army that was trapped and beaten under Pope, but beholdthe spirits of the men, although the Second Manassas is only a few daysaway. McClellan looks after the private soldier, and if he could onlylook after an army in the way that he organizes it this war would soonbe over. "

Dick noticed that the colonel put emphasis on the "if" and his heartsank a little. But it soon rose again. The Army of the Potomac was nowa veteran body. It had been tested in the fire of defeat, and it hademerged stronger and braver than ever. 

But Dick did not like the mystery about Lee and Jackson. They had anextraordinary ability to drop out of sight, to draw a veil before themso completely that no Union scout or skirmisher could penetrate it. Andthese disappearances were always full of sinister omens, portending aterrible attack from an unknown quarter. But when Dick looked upon thegreat and brave Army of the Potomac, nearly a hundred thousand strong, his apprehensions disappeared. The Army of the Potomac could not bebeaten, and since Lee and Jackson were venturing so far from their base, they might be destroyed. He confided his faith to Pennington who rodebeside him. 

"I tell you, Frank, old man, " he said, "the Southern army may never getback into Virginia. "

"Not if we light a prairie fire behind it and set another in front. Thenwe'll have 'em trapped same as they trapped us at Manassas. Wouldn'tit be funny if we'd turn their own trick on 'em, and end the war rightaway?"

"It would be more than funny. It would be grand, superb, splendid, magnificent. But I wish old George was here. Why did he want to get inthe way of that bullet? I hate to think of ending the war without him. "

"Maybe he'll get up in time yet, Dick. I saw him a few hours beforewe started. The doctors said that youth, clean blood and clean livingcounted for a lot--I guess George would put it at ninety per cent, andthat his wound, the bullet having gone through, would heal at a recordrate. "

"Then we'll see him soon. When he's strong enough to ride a horse, nothing can hold him back. "

"That's so. I see houses ahead. What place is it, Dick?"

"It must be Frederick. We had reports that the Johnnies were about here, but they must have vanished, since no bullets meet us. The colonel islooking through his glasses, and, as he does not check his horse, it isevident that the enemy is not there. "

"But maybe he has been there, and if he has we'll just take his place. I like the looks of these Maryland towns, Frank, and they're not sohostile to us. "

Colonel Winchester's skeleton regiment, now not amounting to more thanthree hundred men, was in the vanguard and it rode forward rapidly. Thepeople received them without either enthusiasm or marked hostility. Yetthe Union vanguard obtained news. Lee had been there with his army, buthe had gone away! Where! They could not say. The Southern officershad been silent and the soldiers had not known. None of the people ofFrederick had been allowed to follow. A cloud of cavalry covered theSouthern movements. 

"Not so definite after all, " said Dick. "We know that the Southern armyhas been here, but we don't know where it has gone. "

"At any rate, " said Pennington, "we're on the trail, and we're boundto find it sooner or later. I learned from the hunters in Nebraska thatwhen you strike the trail of a buffalo herd, all you had to do was tokeep on and you'd strike the herd itself. "

It was not yet noon and McClellan's army began to go into camp atFrederick. Dick and Pennington got a chance to stroll about a little, and they picked up much gossip. Young women, with strong Southernproclivities, looked with frowning eyes upon their blue uniforms, butthe frank and pleasant smiles of the two lads disarmed them. Older womenof the same proclivities did not melt so easily, but continued to regardthem with a hard and burning gaze. 

But there were men strongly for the Union, and the two friendly ladspicked up many details from them. They showed them a grove in which Lee, Jackson, Longstreet and D. H. Hill had all been camped at once. Peoplehad gone there daily for a glimpse of these famous men. 

They also showed the boys the very spot where Stonewall Jackson hadcome near to making an ignominious end of his great career. His faithfulhorse, Little Sorrel, had been worn out by incessant marchings and mustrest for a while. The people gave him a splendid horse, but one that hadnot been broken well. The first time he mounted it a band happenedto begin playing, the horse sprang wildly, the saddle girth broke andJackson was thrown heavily to the ground. 

"You'd better believe there was excitement then, " said the narrator, a clerk in one of the stores. "Everybody ran forward to pick up thegeneral. He had been thrown so hard that he was stunned and had bigbruises. That horse did him more damage than all the armies of theNorth have done. I can tell you there was alarm for a while among theJohnnies, but they say he was all over it before he left. "

They wandered back toward their own command and the obliging guidepointed out to them a house which the Confederate generals had madetheir headquarters. They saw Colonel Winchester entering it, andthanking the clerk, followed him. 

Union officers were already in the house looking with curiosity at thechairs and tables that Jackson and Lee and Longstreet had occupied. Dickcaught sight of a small package lying on one of the tables, but anotherman picked it up first. As he did so he looked at Dick and said intriumph:

"Three good cigars that the rebels have left behind. Have one, Mason?"

"Thanks, but I don't smoke. "

"All right, I'll find someone else who does. "

He pulled off a piece of paper wrapped around them, threw it on thefloor and put the cigars in his pocket. Dick was about to turn away whenhe happened to glance at the wrapping lying on the floor. 

His eyes were caught by the words written in large letters:

 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF NORTH--

Something seemed to shoot through his brain. It was like a flash ofwarning or command and he obeyed at once. He picked up the paper andsmoothed it out in his hand. The full line read like the headline in anewspaper:

 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. September 9, 1862. 

Then with eyes bulging in his head he read:

 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. September 9, 1862. Special Orders, No. 191. 

The army will resume its march tomorrow, taking the Hagerstown road. General Jackson's command will form the advance, and after passingMiddletown with such portions as he may select, take their route towardSharpsburg, cross the Potomac at the most convenient point and by Fridaymorning take possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, capture suchof them as may be at Martinsburg, and intercept such as may attempt toescape from Harper's Ferry. 

General Longstreet's command will pursue the main road as far asBoonsborough, where it will halt with the reserve supply and baggagetrain of the army. 

General McLaws with his own division and that of General R. H. Andersonwill follow General Longstreet. On reaching Middletown will take theroute to Harper's Ferry, and by Friday morning possess himself of theMaryland Heights and endeavor to capture the enemy at Harper's Ferry andvicinity. 

Dick stopped a moment and gasped. 

"Come on, " called the man with the cigars, "there is nothing more to beseen here. "

"Wait a moment, " said Dick. 

Perhaps it was his duty to rush at once with it to a superior officer, but the spell was too strong. He read on:

General Walker with his division, after accomplishing the object onwhich he is now engaged, will cross the Potomac at Cheek's Ford, ascendits right bank to Lovettsville, take possession of Sundown Heights, ifpracticable, by Friday morning, Key's Grove on his left, and the roadbetween the end of the mountains and the Potomac on his right. Hewill, as far as practicable, co-operate with General McLaws and GeneralJackson, and intercept the retreat of the enemy. 

General D. H. Hill's division will form the rear-guard of the army, pursuing the road taken by the main body. The reserve artillery, ordinance and supply trains, etc. , will precede General Hill. 

Dick gasped and he heard someone calling again to him to come, but heread on:

General Stuart will detach a squadron of cavalry to accompany thecommands of Generals Longstreet, Jackson and McLaws, and with the mainbody of the cavalry will cover the route of the army, bringing up allthe stragglers that may have been left behind. 

The commands of General Jackson, McLaws and Walker, after accomplishingthe objects for which they have been detached, will join the main bodyof the army at Boonsborough or Hagerstown. 

Each regiment on the march will habitually carry its axes in theregimental ordnance wagons, for use of the men at their encampments, toprocure wood, etc. R. H. CHILTON, Assistant Adjutant General. 

Dick clutched the paper in his hands and for the moment his throatseemed to contract so tightly that he could not breathe. Then he felt aburst of wild joy. 

One of the most extraordinary incidents in the whole history of war hadoccurred. He knew in an instant that this was Lee's general ordersto his army, and that at such a time nothing could be more important. Evidently copies of it had been sent to all his division commanders, andthis one by some singular chance either had not reached its destination, or had been tossed carelessly aside after reading. Found by those whoneeded it most wrapped around three cigars! It was a miracle! Nothingshort of it! How could the Union army be defeated after such an omen?

It was the copy intended for the Southern general, D. H. Hill--he deniedthat he ever received it--but it did not matter to Dick then for whom itwas intended. He saw at once all the possibilities. Lee and Jackson haddivided their army again. Emboldened by the splendid success of theirdaring maneuver at Manassas they were going to repeat it. 

He looked again at the date on the order. September 9th! And this wasthe 13th! Jackson was to march on the 10th. He had been gone three dayswith the half, perhaps, of Lee's army, and Lee himself must be somewherenear at hand. The Union scouts could quickly find him and the ninetythousand veterans of the Army of the Potomac could crush him to powderin a day. What a chance! No, it was not a chance. It was a miracle. Thekey had been put in McClellan's hand and it would take but one turn ofhis wrist to unlock the door upon dazzling success. 

Dick saw the war finished in a month. Lee could not have more thantwenty or twenty-five thousand men with him, and Jackson was three orfour days' march away. He clutched the order in his hand and ran towardColonel Winchester. 

"Here, take it, sir! Take it!" he exclaimed. 

"Take what?"

"Look! Look! See what it is!"

Colonel Winchester took one glance at it, and then he, too, becameexcited. He hurried with it to General McClellan, and that day thecommander-in-chief telegraphed to the anxious President at Washington:

"I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in my own trap, if my men are equal to the emergency. "

The shrewd Lincoln took notice of the qualifying clause, "if my men areequal to the emergency, " and sighed a little. Already this general, so bold in design and so great in preparation was making excuses forpossible failure in action--if he failed his men and not he would be toblame. 

CHAPTER VIII. THE DUEL IN THE PASS

Dick carried the news to Pennington who danced with delight. 

"We've got 'em! we've got 'em!" he cried over and over again. 

"So we have, " said Dick, "we'll be marching in a half hour and then thetrap will shut down so tight on Robert Lee that he'll never raise thelid again. "

It was nearly noon, and they expected every moment the order to start, but it did not come. Dick began to be tormented by an astonishedimpatience, and he saw that Colonel Winchester suffered in the same way. The army showed no signs of moving. Was it possible that McClellan wouldnot advance at once on Lee, whom the scouts had now located definitely?The hot afternoon hours grew long as they passed one by one, and many abrave man ate his heart out with anger at the delay. Dick saw SergeantWhitley walking up and down, and he was eager to hear his opinion. 

"What is it, sergeant?" he asked. "Why do we sit here, twiddling ourthumbs when there is an army waiting to be taken by us?"

"You're a commissioned officer, sir, and I'm only a private. "

"Never mind about that. You're a veteran of many years and many fights, and I know but little. Why do we sit still in the dust and fail to takethe great prize that's offered to us?"

"The men of an army, sir, do the fighting, but its generals are itsbrains. It is for the brains to judge, to see and to command. Thegenerals cannot win without the men, and the men cannot win without thegenerals. Now, in this case, sir, you can see--"

He stopped and shrugged his shoulders, as if it were not for him to sayany more. 

"I see, " said Dick bitterly. "You needn't say it, sergeant, but I'll sayit for you. General McClellan has been overcome by caution again, and hesees two Johnnies where but one stands. "

Sergeant Whitley shrugged his shoulders again, but said nothing. Dickwas about to turn away, when he saw a tall, thin figure approaching. 

"Mr. Warner, " said Sergeant Whitley. 

"So it is, " exclaimed Dick. "It's really good old George come to helpus!"

He rushed forward and shook hands with Warner who although thin and palewas as cool and apparently almost as strong as ever. 

"Here I am, Dick, " he said, "and the great battle hasn't been fought. I knew they couldn't fight it without me. The hospital at Washingtondismissed me in disgrace because I got well so fast. 'What's the use, 'said one of the doctors, 'in getting up and running away to the army toget killed? You could die much more comfortably here in bed. ' 'Not atall, ' I replied. 'I don't get killed when I'm with the army. I merelyget nearly killed. Then I lie unconscious on the field, in the rain, until some good friend comes along, takes me away on his back and putsme in a warm bed. It's a lot safer than staying in your hospital all thetime. '"

"Oh, shut up, George! Come and see the boys. They'll be glad to knowyou're back--what's left of 'em. "

Warner's welcome was in truth warm. He seemed more phlegmatic than ever, but he opened his eyes wide when they told him of the dispatch that hadbeen lost and found. 

"General McClellan must have been waiting for me, " he said. "Tell himI've come. "

But General McClellan did not yet move. The last long hour of the daypassed. The sun set in red and gold behind the western mountains, andthe Army of the Potomac still rested in its camp, although privates evenknew that precious hours were being lost, and that booming cannon mightalready be telling the defenders of Harper's Ferry that Jackson was athand. 

Nor were they far wrong. While McClellan lingered on through the night, never moving from his camp, Jackson and his generals were pushingforward with fiery energy and at dawn the next day had surroundedHarper's Ferry and its doomed garrison of more than twelve thousand men. 

But these were things that Dick could not guess that night. One smalldetachment had been sent ahead by McClellan, chiefly for scoutingpurposes, and in the darkness the boy who had gone a little distanceforward with Colonel Winchester heard the booming of cannon. It was afaint sound but unmistakable, and Dick glanced at his chief. 

"That detachment has come into contact with the rebels somewhere therein the mountains, " he said, "and the ridges and valleys are bringing usthe echoes. Oh, why in Heaven's name are we delayed here through all theprecious moments! Every hour's delay will cost the lives of ten thousandgood men!"

And it is likely that in the end Colonel Winchester's reckoning wastoo moderate. He and Dick gazed long in the direction in which Harper'sFerry lay, and they listened, too, to the faint mutter of the guns amongthe hills. Before dawn, scouts came in, saying that there had been hardfighting off toward Harper's Ferry, and that Lee with the other divisionof the Southern army was retreating into a peninsula formed by thejunction of the river Antietam with the Potomac, where he would awaitthe coming of Jackson, after taking Harper's Ferry. 

"Jackson hasn't taken Harper's Ferry yet, " said Dick, when he heard thenews. "Many of Banks' veterans of the valley are there, and, our meninstead of being crushed by defeat, are always improved by it. "

"Still, I wish we'd march, " said Warner. "I didn't come here merely togo into camp. I might as well have stayed in the hospital. "

Nevertheless they moved at daylight. McClellan had made up his mindat last, and the army advanced joyfully to shut down the trap on Lee. Dick's spirits rose with the sun and the advance of the troops. They haddelayed, but they would get Lee yet. There was nothing to tell them thatHarper's Ferry had fallen, and Jackson's force must still be detainedthere far away. They ought to strike Lee on the morrow and destroyhim, and then they would destroy Jackson. Oh, Lee and Jackson had beenreckless generals to venture beyond the seceding states!

They marched fast now, and the fiery Hooker soon to be called FightingJoe led the advance. He was eager to get at Lee, who some said did notnow have more than twenty thousand men with him, although McClellaninsisted on doubling or tripling his numbers and those of Jackson. Scouts and skirmishers came in fast now. Yes, Lee was between theAntietam and the Potomac and they ought to strike him on the morrow. Thespirits of the Army of the Potomac continually rose. 

Dick remained in a joyous mood. He had been greatly uplifted bythe return of his comrade, Warner, for whom he had formed a strongattachment, and he could not keep down the thought that they would nowbe able to trap Lee and end the war. The terrible field of the SecondManassas was behind him and forgotten for the time. They rode now to anew battle and to victory. 

Another great cloud of dust like that at Manassas rolled slowly ontoward the little river or creek of Antietam, but the heat was not sogreat now. A pleasant breeze blew from the distant western mountains andcooled the faces of the soldiers. The country through which they werepassing was old for America. They saw a carefully cultivated soil, goodroads and stone bridges. 

None of the lads and young men around Colonel Winchester rejoiced morethan Warner. Released from the hospital and with his tried comrades oncemore he felt as if he were the dead come back. He was in time, too, forthe great battle which was to end the war. The cool wind that blew uponhis face tingled with life and made his pulses leap. Beneath the graniteof his nature and a phlegmatic exterior, he concealed a warm heart thatalways beat steadfastly for his friends and his country. 

"Dick, " he said, "have they heard anything directly from Harper'sFerry?"

"Not a word, at least none that I've heard about, but it's quite surethat Jackson hasn't taken the place yet. Why should he? We have theretwelve or thirteen thousand good men, most of whom have proven theirworth in the valley. Why, they ought to beat him off entirely. "

"And while they're doing that we ought to be taking Mr. Lee and a lot ofwell-known Confederate gentlemen. I've made a close calculation, Dick, and I figure that the chances are at least eighty per cent in favor ofour taking or destroying Lee's army. "

"I wish we had started sooner, " said Pennington. "We've lost a wholeday, one of the most precious days the world has ever known. "

"You're right, Frank, and I've allowed that fact to figure importantlyin my reckoning. If it were not for the lost day I'd figure our chanceof making the finishing stroke at ninety-five per cent. But boys, it'sglorious to be back with you. Once, I thought when we were marching backand forth so much that if I could only lie down and rest for a week ortwo I'd be the happiest fellow on earth. But it became awful as I laythere, day after day. I had suddenly left the world. All the greatevents were going on without me. North or South might win, while I laystretched on a hospital bed. It was beyond endurance. If I hadn't gotwell so fast that they could let me go, I'd have climbed out of thewindow with what strength I had, and have made for the army anyhow. Didyou ever feel a finer wind than this? What a beautiful country! It mustbe the most magnificent in the world!"

Dick and Pennington laughed. Old George was growing gushy. But theyunderstood that he saw with the eyes of the released prisoner. 

"It is beautiful, " said Dick, "and it's a pity that it should be rippedup by war. Listen, boys, there's the call that's growing mighty familiarto us all!"

Far in front behind the hills they heard the low grumbling of cannon. And further away to the west they heard the same sinister mutter. TheConfederates were scattered widely, and the fateful Orders No. 191 mightcause their total destruction, but they were on guard, nevertheless. Jackson, foreseeing the possible advance of McClellan, had sent backHill with a division to help Lee, and to delay the Northern army untilhe himself should come with all his force. 

In this desperate crisis of the Confederacy, more desperate than any ofthe Southern generals yet realized, the brain under the old slouch hatnever worked with more precision, clearness and brilliancy. He would notonly do his own task, but he would help his chief while doing it. WhenMcClellan began his march after a delay of a day he was nearer to Leethan Jackson was and every chance was his, save those that lightningperception and unyielding courage win. 

The lads heard the mutter of the cannon grow louder, and rise to adistant thunder. Far ahead of them, where high hills thick with forestrose, they saw smoke and flashes of fire. A young Maryland cavalryofficer, riding near, explained to them that the point from which thecannonade came was a gap in South Mountain, although it was as yetinvisible, owing to the forest. 

"We heard that Lee's army was much further away, " said Warner to Dick. "What can it mean? What force is there fighting our vanguard?"

It was Shepard, the spy, who brought them the facts. He had alreadyreported to General McClellan, when he approached Colonel Winchester. His face was worn and drawn, and he was black under the eyes. Hisclothes were covered with dust. His body was weary almost unto death, but his eyes burned with the fire of an undying spirit. 

"I've been all the night and all this morning in the mountains andhills, " he said. "Harper's Ferry is not yet taken, but I think it willfall. But Hill, McLaws and Longstreet are all in this pass or the otherwhich leads through the mountain. They mean to hold us as long as theycan, and then hang on to the flank of our army. "

He passed on and the little regiment advanced more rapidly. Dick sawColonel Winchester's eyes sparkling and he knew he was anxious to be inthe thick of it. Other and heavier forces were deploying upon the samepoint, but Winchester's regiment led. 

As they approached a deadly fire swept the plain and the hills. Riflebullets crashed among them and shell and shrapnel came whining andshrieking. Once more the Winchester regiment, as it had come to becalled, was smitten with a bitter and deadly hail. Men fell all aroundDick but the survivors pressed on, still leading the way for the heavybrigades which they heard thundering behind them. 

The mouth of the pass poured forth fire and missiles like a volcano, butDick heard Colonel Winchester still shouting to his men to come on, andhe charged with the rest. The fire became so hot that the vanguardcould not live in it without shelter, and the colonel, shouting to theofficers to dismount, ordered them all to take cover behind trees androcks. 

Dick who had been carried a little ahead of the rest, sprang down, stillholding his horse, and made for a great rock which he saw on one sidejust within the mouth of the pass. His frightened horse reared andjerked so violently that he tore the bridle from the lad's hand and ranaway. 

Dick stood for a moment, scarcely knowing what to do, and then, as ahalf dozen bullets whistled by his head, urging him to do something, hefinished his dash for the rock, throwing himself down behind it just asa half a dozen more bullets striking on the stone told him that he haddone the right thing in the very nick of time. 

He carried with him a light rifle of a fine improved make, a number ofwhich had been captured at the Second Manassas, and which some of theyounger officers had been allowed to take. He did not drop it in hisrush for the rock, holding on to it mechanically. 

He lay for at least a minute or two flat upon the ground behind thegreat stone, while the perspiration rolled from his face and his hairprickled at the roots. He could never learn to be unconcerned when adozen or fifteen riflemen were shooting at him. 

When he raised his head a little he saw that the Winchester regiment hadfallen back, and that, in truth, the entire advance had stopped until itcould make an attack in full force upon the enemy. 

Dick recognized with a certain grim humor that he was isolated. He wasjust a little Federal island in a Confederate sea. Up the gap he sawcannon and masses of gray infantry. Gathered on a comparatively levelspot was a troop of cavalry. He saw all the signs of a desperatedefense, and, while he watched, the great guns of the South began tofire again, their missiles flying far over his head toward the Northernarmy. 

Dick was puzzled, but for the present he did not feel great alarm abouthimself. He lay almost midway between the hostile forces, but it waslikely that they would take no notice of him. 

With a judgment born of a clear mind, he lay quite still, while thehostile forces massed themselves for attack and defense. Each wasfeeling out the other with cannon, but every missile passed well overhis head, and he did not take the trouble to bow to them as they sailedon their errands. Yet he lay close behind that splendid and friendlyrock. 

He knew that the Southerners would have sharpshooters and skirmishersahead of their main force. They would lie behind stones, trees and brushand at any moment one of them might pick him off. The Confederate forceseemed to incline to the side of the valley, opposite the slope on whichhe lay, and he was hopeful that the fact would keep him hidden until themasses of his own people could charge into the gap. 

It was painful work to flatten his body out behind a stone and liethere. No trees or bushes grew near enough to give him shade, and theafternoon sun began to send down upon him direct rays that burned. Hewondered how long it would be until the Union brigades came. It seemedto him that they were doing a tremendous amount of waiting. Nothing wasto be gained by this long range cannon fire. They must charge home withthe bayonet. 

He raised himself a little in order that he might peep over the stoneand see if the charge were coming, and then with a little cry he droppedback, a fine gray powder stinging his face. A rifle had been firedacross the valley and a bullet chipping the top of the rock shelteringDick warned him that he was not the only sharpshooter who lay in anambush. 

Peeping again from the side of the rock, he saw curls of blue smokerising from a point behind a stone just like his own on the other sideof the valley. It was enough to tell him that a Southern sharpshooterlay there and had marked him for prey. 

Dick's anger rose. Why should anyone seek his life, trying to pick himoff as if he were a beast of prey? He had been keeping quiet, disturbingnobody, merely seeking a chance to escape, when this ruthless rebel hadseen him. He became in his turn hot and fiercely ready to give bulletfor bullet. Smoke floating through the pass and the flash of the cannon, made him more eager to hit the sharpshooter who was seeking so hard tohit him. 

Watching intently he caught a glimpse of a gray cap showing above therock across the valley, and, raising his light rifle, he fired, quick asa flash. The return shot came at once, and chipped the rock as before, but he dropped back unhurt, and peeping from the side he could seenothing. He might or might not have slain his enemy. The gray cap was nolonger visible, and he watched to see if it would reappear. 

He heard the sound of a great cannonade before the mouth of the pass, and he saw his own people advancing in force, their lines extending farto the left and right, with several batteries showing at intervals. Thencame the rebel yell from the pass and as the Union lines advanced theSoutherners poured upon them a vast concentrated fire. 

Dick, watching through the smoke and forgetful of his enemy across thevalley, saw the Union charge rolled back. But he also saw the men outof range gathering themselves for a new attack. Within the passpreparations were going on to repel it a second time. Then he glancedtoward the opposite rock and dropped down just in time. He had seen arifle barrel protruding above it, and a second later the bullet whistledwhere his head had been. 

He grew angrier than ever. He had left that sharpshooter alone for atleast ten minutes, while he watched charge and repulse, and he expectedto be treated with the same consideration. He would pay him for suchferocity, and seeing an edge of gray shoulder, he fired. 

No sign came from the rock, and Dick was quite sure that he had missed. The blood mounted to his head and surcharged his brain. A thousandlittle pulses that he had never heard of before began to beat in hishead, and he was devoured by a consuming anger. He vowed to get thatfellow yet. 

Lying flat upon his stomach he drew himself around the edge of the rockand watched. There was a great deal of covering smoke from the artilleryin the pass now, and he believed that it would serve his purpose. 

But when he got a little distance away from the rock the bank of smokelifted suddenly, and it was only by quickly flattening himselfdown behind a little ridge of stone that he saved his life. Thesharpshooter's bullet passed so close to his head that Dick felt as ifhe had received a complete hair cut, all in a flash. 

He fairly sprang back to the cover of his rock. What a fine rockthat was! How big and thick! And it was so protective! In a spirit ofdefiance he fired at the top of the other stone and saw the gray dustshoot up from it. Quick came the answering shot, and a little piece ofhis coat flew with it. That was certainly a great sharpshooter acrossthe valley! Dick gave him full credit for his skill. 

Then he heard the rolling of drums and the mellow call of trumpets infront of the pass. Taking care to keep well under cover he looked back. The Union army was advancing in great force now, its front tipped with along line of bayonets and the mouths of fifty cannon turned to the pass. In front of them swarmed the skirmishers, eager, active fellows leapingfrom rock to rock and from tree to tree. 

Dick foresaw that the second charge would not fail. Its numbers were sogreat that it would at least enter the pass and hold the mouth of it. Already a mighty cannonade was pouring a storm of death over the headsof the skirmishers toward the defenders, and the brigades came onsteadily and splendidly to the continued rolling of the drums. 

Dick rose up again, watching now for his enemy who, he knew, could notremain much longer behind the rock, as he would soon be within range ofthe Northern skirmishers advancing on that side. 

He fancied that he could hear the massive tread of the thousands comingtoward the pass, and the roll of the drums, distinct amid the roar ofthe cannon, told him that his comrades would soon be at hand, drivingeverything before them. But his eyes were for that big rock on the otherside of the valley. Now was his time for revenge upon the sharpshooterwho had sought his life with such savage persistence. The Northernskirmishers were drawing nearer and the fellow must flee or die. 

Suddenly the sharpshooter sprang from the rock, and up flew Dick's rifleas he drew a bead straight upon his heart. Then he dropped the weaponwith a cry of horror. Across the valley and through the smoke herecognized Harry Kenton, and Harry Kenton looking toward his enemyrecognized him also. 

Each threw up his hand in a gesture of friendliness and farewell--theroar of the battle was so loud now that no voice could have been heardat the distance--and then they disappeared in the smoke, each returningto his own, each heart thrilling with a great joy, because its owner hadalways missed the sharpshooter behind the stone. 

The impression of that vivid encounter in the pass was dimmed for awhile for Dick by the fierceness of the fighting that followed. Thedefense had the advantage of the narrow pass and the rocky slopes, and numbers could not be put to the most account. Nevertheless, theConfederates were pressed back along the gap, and when night came theUnion army was in full possession of its summit. 

But at the other gap the North had not achieved equal success. Longstreet, marching thirteen miles that day, had come upon the field intime, and when darkness fell the Southern troops still held their groundthere. But later in the night Hill and Longstreet, through fear of beingcut off, abandoned their positions and marched to join Lee. 

Dick and his comrades who did not lie down until after midnight hadcome, felt that a great success had been gained. McClellan had been slowto march, but, now that he was marching, he was sweeping the enemy outof his way. 

The whole Army of the Potomac felt that it was winning and McClellanhimself was exultant. Early the next morning he reported to his superiorat Washington that the enemy was fleeing in panic and that General Leeadmitted that he had been "shockingly whipped. "

Full of confidence, the army advanced to destroy Lee, who lay betweenthe peninsula of the Antietam and the Potomac, but just about thetime McClellan was writing his dispatch, the white flag was hoisted atHarper's Ferry, the whole garrison surrendered, and messengers were ontheir way to Lee with the news that Stonewall Jackson was coming. 

CHAPTER IX. ACROSS THE STREAM

Dick and his comrades had not heard of the taking of Harper's Ferry andthey were full of enthusiasm that brilliant morning in mid-September. McClellan, if slow to move, nevertheless had shown vigor in action, and the sanguine youths could not doubt that they had driven Lee into acorner. The Confederates, after the fierce fighting of the day before, had abandoned both gaps, and the way at last lay clear before the Armyof the Potomac. 

Dick was mounted again. In fact his horse, after pulling the reins fromhis hands and fleeing from the Confederate fire, had been retaken bya member of his own regiment and returned to him. It was another goodomen. The lost had been found again and defeat would become victory. 

But Dick said nothing to anybody of his duel with Harry Kenton. Heshuddered even now when he recalled it. And yet there had been no guiltin either. Neither had known that the other lay behind the stone, but happy chance had made all their bullets go astray. Again he wasthankful. 

"How did you stand that fighting yesterday afternoon, George?" Dickasked of Warner. 

"First rate. The open air agreed with me, and as no bullet sought me outI felt benefited. I didn't get away from that hospital too soon. How faraway is this Antietam River, behind which they say Lee lies?"

"It's only eight miles from the gap, " said Pennington, who had beenmaking inquiries, "and as we have come three miles it must be only fivemiles away. "

"Correct, " said Warner, who was in an uncommonly fine humor. "Yourmathematical power grows every day, Frank. Let x equal the wholedistance from the gap to the Antietam, which is eight miles, let y equalthe distance which we have come which is three miles, then x minus yequals the distance left, which is five miles. Wonderful! wonderful!You'll soon have a great head on you, Frank. "

"If some rebel cannoneer doesn't shoot it off in the coming battle. ByGeorge, we're driving their skirmishers before us! They don't seem tomake any stand at all!"

The vanguard certainly met with no very formidable resistance as itadvanced over the rolling country. The sound of firing was continuous, but it came from small squads here and there, and after firing a fewvolleys the men in gray invariably withdrew. 

Yet the Northern advance was slow. Colonel Winchester became intenselyimpatient again. 

"Why don't we hurry!" he exclaimed. "Of all things in the world the onethat we need most is haste. With Jackson tied up before Harper's Ferry, Lee's defeat is sure, unless he retreats across the Potomac, and thatwould be equivalent to a defeat. Good Heavens, why don't we push on?"

He had not yet heard of the fall of Harper's Ferry, and that Jacksonwith picked brigades was already on the way to join Lee. Had he knownthese two vital facts his anger would have burned to a white heat. Surely no day lost was ever lost at a greater cost than the oneMcClellan lost after the finding of Orders No. 191. 

"Do you know anything about the Antietam, colonel?" asked Dick. 

"It's a narrow stream, but deep, and crossed by several stone bridges. It will be hard to force a crossing here, but further up it can be donewith ease since we outnumber Lee so much that we can overlap him by far. I have my information from Shepard, and he makes no mistakes. There isa church, too, on the upper part of the peninsula, a little churchbelonging to an order called the Dunkards. "

"Ah, " murmured Dick, "the little church of Shiloh!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"There was a little church at Shiloh, too. The battle raged all aroundit more than once. We lost it at first, but in the end we won. It'sanother good omen. We're bound to achieve a great victory, colonel. "

"I hope and believe so. We've the materials with which to do it. Butwe've got to push and push hard. "

The colonel raised his glasses and took a long look in front. Dick alsohad a pair and he, too, examined the country before them. It was a fine, rolling region and all the forest was gone, except clumps of trees hereand there. The whole country would have been heavy with forest had itnot been for the tramp of war. 

It was now nearly noon and the sunlight was brilliant and intense. Theglasses carried far. Dick saw a line of trees which he surmised markedthe course of the Antietam, and he saw small detachments of cavalrywhich he knew were watching the advance of the Army of the Potomac. Their purpose convinced him that Lee had not retreated across thePotomac, but that he would fight and surely lose. Dick now believed thatso many good omens could not fail. 

A horseman galloped toward them. It was Shepard again, dustier thanever, his face pale from weariness. 

"What is it, Mr. Shepard?" asked Colonel Winchester. 

"I've just reported to General McClellan that our whole command atHarper's Ferry, thirteen thousand strong, surrendered early this morningand that Jackson with picked men has already started to join Lee!"

"My God! My God!" cried the colonel. "Oh, that lost day! We ought tohave fought yesterday and destroyed Lee, while Harper's Ferry was stillholding out! What a day! What a day! Nothing can ever pay us back forthe losing of it!"

Dick, too, felt a sinking of the heart, but despair was not written onhis face as it was on that of his colonel. Jackson might come, but itwould only be with a part of his force, that which marched the swiftest, and the victory of the Army of the Potomac would be all the grander. Themore enemies crushed the better it would be for the Union. 

"Why, colonel!" he exclaimed, "we can beat them anyhow!"

"That's so, my lad, so we can! And so we will! It was childish of me totalk as I did. Here, Johnson, blow your best on that trumpet. I want ourregiment to be the first to reach the Antietam. "

Johnson blew a long and mellow tune and the Winchester regiment swungforward at a more rapid gait. The weather, after a day or two ofcoolness, had grown intensely hot again, and the noon sun poured downupon them sheaves of fiery rays. Dick looked back, and he saw once morethat vast billowing cloud of dust made by the marching army. But infront he saw only quiet and peace, save for a few distant horsemen whoseemed to be riding at random. 

"There's a little town called Sharpsburg in the peninsula formed bythe Potomac and the Antietam, " said Shepard, who stayed with them, hisimmediate work done, "and the Potomac being very low, owing to thedry season, there is one ford by which Lee can cross and go back toVirginia. But he isn't going to cross without a battle, that's sure. The rebels are flushed with victory, they think they have the greatestleaders ever born and they believe, despite the disparity of numbers, that they can beat us. "

"And I believe they can't, " said Dick. 

"If it were not for that lost day we'd have 'em beaten now, " saidShepard, "and we'd be marching against Jackson. "

The regiment in its swift advance now came nearer to the Antietam, thenarrow but deep creek between its high banks. One or two shots from thefar side warned them to come more slowly, and Colonel Winchester drewhis men up on a knoll, waiting for the rest of the army to advance. 

Dick put his glasses to his eyes, and slowly swept a wide curve on thepeninsula of Antietam. Great armies drawn up for battle were a spectaclethat no boy could ever view calmly, and his heart beat so hard that itcaused him actual physical pain. 

He saw through the powerful glasses the walls of the little village ofSharpsburg, and to the north a roof which he believed was that of theDunkard Church, of which Shepard spoke. But his eyes came back fromthe church and rested on the country around Sharpsburg. The Confederatemasses were there and he clearly saw the batteries posted along theAntietam. Beyond the peninsula he caught glimpses of the broad Potomac. 

There lay Lee before them again, and now was the time to destroy hisarmy. Jackson, even with his vanguard, could not arrive before night, and the main force certainly could not come from Harper's Ferry beforethe morrow. Here was a full half day for the Army of the Potomac, enoughin which to destroy a divided portion of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

But Colonel Winchester raged again and again in vain. There was noattack. Brigade after brigade in blue came up and sat down before theAntietam. The cannon exchanged salutes across the little river, butno harm was done, and the great masses of McClellan faced the wholepeninsula, within which lay Lee with half of his army. The Winchesterregiment was moved far to the north, where its officers hopefullybelieved that the first attack would be made. Here they extendedbeyond Lee's line, and it would be easy to cross the Antietam and hurlthemselves upon his flank. 

Despite the delay, Dick and his comrades, thrilled at the great andterrible panorama spread before them. The mid-September day had becomeas hot as those of August had been. The late afternoon sun was brazen, and immense clouds of dust drifted about. But they did not hide the viewof the armies, arrayed for battle, and with only a narrow river between. 

Dick, through his own glasses saw Confederate officers watching themalso. He tried to imagine that this was Lee and that Longstreet, andthat one of the Hills, and the one who wore a gorgeous uniform mustsurely be Stuart. Why should they be allowed to ride about so calmly?His heart fairly ached for the attack. McClellan said that fiftythousand men were there, and that Jackson was coming with fifty thousandmore, but Shepard, who always knew, said that they did not number morethan twenty thousand. What a chance! What a chance! He almost repeatedColonel Winchester's words, but he was only a young staff officer and itwas not for him to complain. If he said anything at all he would have tosay it in a guarded manner and to his best friends. 

The Winchester regiment went into camp in a pleasant grove at thenorthern end of the Union line. Dick and his two young comrades had nofault to find with their quarters. They had dry grass, warm air and theopen sky. A more comfortable summer home for a night could not be asked. And there was plenty of food, too. The Army of the Potomac never lackedit. The coffee was already boiling in the pots, and beef and pork werefrying in the skillets. Heavenly aromas arose. 

Dick and his comrades ate and drank, and then lay down in the grove. Ifthey must rest they would rest well. Now and then they heard the boomingof guns, and just before dark there had been a short artillery duelacross the Antietam, but now the night was quiet, save for the murmurand movement of a great army. Through the darkness came the sound ofmany voices and the clank of moving wheels. 

Dick asked permission for his two comrades and himself to go down nearthe river and obtained it. 

"But don't get shot, " cautioned Colonel Winchester. "The Confederateriflemen will certainly be on watch on the other side of the stream. "

Dick promised and the three went forward very carefully among somebushes. They were led on by curiosity and they did not believe that theywould be in any great danger. The singular friendliness which alwaysmarked the pickets of the hostile armies in the Civil War would prevail. 

It was several hundred yards down to the Antietam, and luckily theribbon of bushes held out. But when they were half way to the stream athick, dark figure rose up before them. Dick, in an instant, recognizedSergeant Whitley. 

"We want to get a nearer view of the enemy, " said the boy. 

"I'll go with you, " said the sergeant. "I'm on what may be calledscouting duty. Besides, I've a couple of friends down there by theriver, but on the other side. "

"Friends on the other side of the Antietam. What do you mean, sergeant?"

"I was scouting along there and I came across 'em. Only one in fact isan old acquaintance, an' he's just introduced me to the other. "

"That's cryptic. "

"I don't rightly know what 'cryptic' means, but I guess I don't makemyself understood well. In my campaign on the plains against the IndiansI had a comrade named Bill Brayton. A Tennesseean, Bill was an' a finefeller, too. Him an' me have bunked together many a time an' we've dugout of the snow together, too, after the blizzards was over. But whenwe saw the war comin' up, Bill had fool notions. Said he didn't knowanything 'bout the right an' wrong of it, guessed there was some of eachon each side, but whichever way his state would flop, he'd flop. Well, we waited. Tennessee flopped right out of the Union an' Bill floppedwith it. 

"I felt powerful sorry when Bill told me good-bye, and so did he. Iain't seen or heard of him since 'till to-night, when I was cruisin'down there by the side of the river in the dark an' keepin' under coverof the bushes. Had no intention of shootin' anybody. Just wanted to takea look. I saw on the other side a dim figure walkin' up an' down, rifleon shoulder. Thought I noticed something familiar about it, an' thelonger I watched the shorer I was. 

"At last I crept right to the edge of the bank an' layin' down lest somefool who didn't know the manners of our war take a pot shot at me, Icalled out, 'Bill Brayton, you thick-headed rebel, are you well an'doin' well?'

"You ought to have seen him jump. He stopped walkin', dropped his riflein the hollow of his arm, looked the way my voice come and called out, likewise in a loud voice: 'Who's callin' me a thick-headed rebel? Is itsome blue-backed Yankee? You know we see nothin' of you but your backs. Come out in the light, an' I'll let some sense into you with a bullet. '

"'Oh, no I won't, ' says I, still layin' close, an' not mindin' his taunt'bout seein' our backs only. 'You couldn't hit me if I stood up an'marked the place on my chest. Nothin' will save you but them days on theplain in the blizzards when you was more useful with a shovel than youare with a rifle, 'cause to-morrow at sunrise we're goin' to cross thislittle river and tie all you fellows hand an' foot an' take you away asprisoners to Washington. '

"That made him mighty mad, but the part 'bout the blizzards on theplains set him to thinkin', too. 'Who in thunderation are you?' sez he. 'You're Bill Brayton, of Tennessee, fightin' in the rebel army, whenyou ought to know better, ' says I. 'Now, who in thunderation am I?''Sufferin' Moses!' says he, 'that voice grows more like his every timehe speaks. It can't be that empty-headed galoot, Dan Whitley, who neverknew nothin' 'bout the rights an' wrongs of the war, an' had to go offwith the Yanks!'

"'It's him an' nobody else, ' says I, as I rose right up an' stood thereon the bank, 'an' mighty glad am I to see you Bill, an' to know thatyour fool head ain't knocked off by a cannon ball. ' He shorely jumpedup an' down with pleasure an' he called back: 'The good Lord certainlywatches over them that ain't got any sense. Dan, you flat-headed, hump-backed, round-shouldered, thin-chested, knock-kneed, club-footedson of a gun, I was never so glad to see anybody before in my life. '

"His eyes were shinin' with delight an' I know mine was, too. Reunionsof old friends who for all each know have been dead a year or two, cleanblowed to pieces by shells, or shot through by a hundred rifle bulletsare powerful affectin'. He come down to the edge of the river an' heshot questions across to me, an' I shot questions at him, an' I feltas if a brother had riz from the dead. An' as we can't shake hands wereaches out the muzzles of our guns and shakes them towards each otherin the most friendly way. Then another picket comes up, fellow by nameof Henderson, from Mississippi. Bill introduces him to his good old pal, an' we three have a friendly talk. Guess they're down there yet, if youwant to see 'em. I liked that fellow, Henderson, too, though he was apowerful boaster. "

"All right, " said Dick. "Lead on, but don't get us shot. "

They went cautiously through the bushes to the bank of the river, andthen the sergeant blew softly between his fingers. Two figures at onceappeared on the other side, and Sergeant Whitley and the boys rose up. 

"Mr. Brayton and Mr. Henderson, " said the sergeant politely, "I want tointroduce my friends, Lieutenant Mason, Lieutenant Warner and LieutenantPennington. "

"Movin' in mighty good comp'ny, though young, Dan, " said Brayton, whowas about Whitley's age and build. 

"They're officers, an' they're young, as you say, " said Whitley, "butthey're good ones. "

"Them's the kind we eat alive, when we ain't got anything else to eat, "said the Mississippian, a very tall, sallow and youngish man. "We'renever too strong on rations, and when I eat prisoners I like 'em undertwenty the best. They ain't had time to get tough. I speak right now forthat yellow-haired one in the middle. "

"You can't swallow me, " said Pennington, good naturedly. "I'll just turnmyself crossways and stick in your throat. "

"What are you fellows after around here, anyway?" continued theMississippian. "The weather's hot an' we all want to go in swimmin'to-morrow, bein' as we have two rivers handy. Shore as you live if youget to botherin' us we'll hurt you. "

"You won't hurt us, " said Dick, "because to-morrow we're going tosurround you and drive you into a coop. "

"Drive us in a coop. See here, Yank, you're gettin' excited. Do you knowhow many men we have here waitin' for you? Of course you don't. Why, it's four hundred thousand, ain't it, Bill?"

"No, it's just two hundred thousand. I don't believe in lyin' fureffect, Jim. "

"I ain't lyin'. There's two hundred thousand men. Then there's BobbyLee. That's a hundred thousand more, which makes three hundred thousand. Then there's Stonewall Jackson, who's another hundred thousand, whichbrings the figures up to exactly what I said, four hundred thousand. Now, ain't I right, Bill?"

"You shorely are, Jim. I was a fool for countin' the way I did. Will youoverlook it this time?"

"Wa'al, I will this time, but be shore you don't do it ag'in. Now, seehere, you Yanks: we like you well enough. You're friends of Bill, whois a friend of me. Just you take my advice an' go home. Start to-nightwhile the weather is warm, an' the roads are good. If you're afraid ofour chasin' you we'll give you a runnin' start of a hunderd miles. "

"Wa'al now, that's right kind of you, " said Whitley. "I for one mighttake your advice, but I was froze up so much in them wild mountains an'plains of the northwest that I like to go south when the winter's comin'on. It's hot now, all right, but in two months the chilly blasts will beseekin' my marrow. "

"I was speakin' for your own good, " said the Mississippian gravely. "Anyway, you won't be troubled by the cold weather 'cause if you don'tgo back into the no'th where you belong, we'll be takin' you a prisonerway down south, where you don't belong. But you could have a good timethere. We won't treat you bad. There's fine huntin' for b'ars in thecanebrake an' the rivers an' bayous are full of fish. Your captivitywon't be downright painful on you. "

"Glad to get your welcome, Mr. Henderson, " said Whitley, "'cause we'veheard a lot 'bout the hospitality of Mississippi, an' we're shorelygoin' to stretch it. I'm comin', an' I'm bringin' a couple of hundredthousand fellers 'bout my size with me. Funny thing, we'll all wear bluecoats just alike. Think you'd find room for us?"

"Plenty of it. What was it the feller said--we welcome you with bloodyhands to hospitable graves--but we ain't feelin' that way to-night. Gota plug of terbacker?"

The sergeant took out a square of tobacco, cut it in exact halves withhis pocket knife, and tossed one-half across the Antietam, where it wasdeftly caught by the Mississippian. 

"Thanks mightily, " said Henderson. "Mr. Commissary Banks used to supplyus with good things, then it was Mr. Commissary Pope, and now I reckonit'll be Mr. Commissary McClellan. Say, how many fellers have you gotover thar, anyway?"

"When I counted 'em last night, " replied the sergeant calmly, "there wasfive hundred and twelve thousand two hundred and fifty-three infantry, sixty-four thousand two hundred and nineteen cavalry an' three thousandone hundred and seventy-five cannon, but I reckon we'll receivereinforcements of three hundred thousand before mornin'. "

"Then we'll have more prisoners than I thought. Are you shore them threehundred thousand reinforcements will get up in time?"

"Quite shore. I've sent 'em word to hurry. "

"Then we'll have to take them, too. "

"Time you fellers quit your talkin', " said Brayton, "a major or acolonel may come strollin' 'long here any minute, an' they don't likefor us fellers to be too friendly. Dan, I'm powerful glad to see youag'in, an' I hope you won't get killed. I've a feelin' that you an'me will be ridin' over the plains once more some day, an' we won't befightin' each other. We'll be fightin' Sioux an' Cheyennes an' all thatred lot, just as we did in the old days. Here's a good-bye. "

He thrust out the muzzle of his gun, an' Whitley thrust out his. Thenthey shook them at each other in friendly salute, and the little groupmoved away from the river bank. 

"I'm glad I've seen Bill again, " said the sergeant. "Fine feller an'that Mississippian with him was quaint like. Mighty big bragger. "

"You did some bragging yourself, sergeant, " said Dick. 

"So I did, but it was in answer to Henderson. I'm glad we had thatlittle talk across the river. It was a friendly thing to do, before wefall to slaughterin' one another. "

They rejoined Colonel Winchester, and Dick worked through a part of thenight carrying orders and other messages. A great movement was goingon. Fresh troops were continually coming up, but there was little noisebeyond the Antietam, although he saw the light of many fires. 

He slept after midnight and awoke at dawn, expecting to go at once intobattle. Some of the troops were moved about and Colonel Winchester beganto rage again. 

"Good God! can it be possible!" he exclaimed, "that another day will belost? Is General McClellan instead of General Lee waiting for Jackson tocome? With the enemy safely within the trap, we refuse to shut it downupon him!"

He said these things only within the hearing of Dick, who he knew wouldnever repeat them. But he was not the only one to complain. Men higherin rank than he, generals, spoke their discontent openly. Why wouldnot McClellan attack? He had claimed that the rebels had two hundredthousand men at the Seven Days, when it was well known that half thatfigure or less was their true number. Why should he persist in seeingthe enemy double, and even if Lee did have fifty thousand men on theother side of the Antietam, instead of the twenty thousand the scoutsassigned to him, the Army of the Potomac could defeat him before Jacksoncame up. 

But McClellan was overcome by caution. In spite of everything he doubledor tripled the numbers of the enemy. Personally brave beyond dispute, hefeared for his army. The position of the enemy on the peninsula seemedto have changed somewhat through the night. He believed that thebatteries had been moved about, and he telegraphed to Washington thathe must find out exactly the disposition of Lee's forces and where thefords were. 

Meanwhile the long, hot hours dragged on. The dust trodden up by so manymarching feet was terrible. It hung in clouds and added a sting to theburning heat. Dick was wild with impatience, but he knew that it was notworth while to say anything. He, Warner and Pennington, for the lack ofsomething else to do, lay on the dry grass, whispering and watching aswell as they could what was going on in Sharpsburg. 

Meanwhile Sharpsburg itself seemed a monument to peace. It was deep indust and the sun blazed on the roofs. Staff officers rode up, and whenthey dismounted they lazily led their horses to the best shade thatcould be found. Within a residence Lee sat in close conference with hislieutenants, Stonewall Jackson and Longstreet. Now and then, they lookedat the reports of brigade commanders and sometimes they studied the mapsof Maryland and Virginia. Lee was calm and confident. The odds againsthim--and he knew what they were--apparently mattered nothing. 

He knew the strength and spirit of his army and to what a pitch it waskeyed by victory. Moreover, he knew McClellan, whom he had met at theSeven Days, and he believed, in truth he felt positive that McClellanwould delay long enough for the remainder of Jackson's troops to comeup. Upon this belief he staked the future of the Confederacy in thebattle to be fought there between the Potomac and the Antietam. Histroops were worn by battles and tremendous marches. Jackson's men inthree days had marched sixty miles, and had fought a battle at Harper'sFerry within that time, also, taking more than thirteen thousandprisoners. Never before had the foot cavalry marched so hard. 

The men in gray, ragged and many of them barefooted, slept in the woodsabout Sharpsburg all through the hot hours of the day. Their officershad told them that the drums and bugles would call them when needed, andthey sank quietly into the deepest of slumbers. From where they lay RedHill, a spur of a mountain, separated them from the Union army. It wasonly those like Dick and his comrades who mounted elevations and whohad powerful field glasses who could see into Sharpsburg. The main Unionforce saw only the top of a church spire or two in the village. But eachfelt fully the presence of the other and knew that the battle could notbe delayed long. 

Dick, in his anxiety and excitement, fell asleep. The heat and thewaiting seemed to overpower him. He did not know how long he had slept, but he was awakened by the sharp call of a trumpet, and when he sprangto his feet Warner told him it was about four o'clock. 

"What's up?" he cried, as he wiped the haze of heat and dust from hiseyes. 

"We're about to march, " replied Warner, "but as it's so late in theday I don't think it can be a general attack. Still, I know that ourdivision is going to cross the Antietam. Up here the stream is narrowerthan it is down below, and the banks are not so high. Look, the colonelis beckoning to us! Here we go!"

They sprang upon their horses, and a great corps advanced toward theAntietam, far above the town of Sharpsburg. The sun had declined in theWest, and a breeze, bringing a little coolness, had begun to blow. Theydid not see much preparation for defense beyond the river, but asthey advanced some cannon in the woods opened there. The Union cannonreplied, and then the brigades in blue moved forward swiftly. 

The officers and the cavalry galloped their horses into the little riverand Dick felt a fierce joy as the water was dashed into his face. Thiswas action, movement, the attack that had been delayed so long butwhich was not yet too late. He thought nothing of the shells hissing andshrieking over his head, and he shouted with the others in exultation asthey passed the fords of the Antietam and set foot on the peninsula. Thecannon dashed after them through the stream and up the bank. 

A heavy rifle fire from the woods met them, but the triumphant divisionpressed on. They were held back at the edge of the woods by cannonaiding the rifles, and for some time a battle swayed back and forth, but the Confederate resistance ceased suddenly. Infantry and batteriesdisappeared in woods or beyond a ridge, and then Dick noticed thatnight was coming. The sun was already hidden by the lofty slopes of thewestern mountains, and there would be no battle that day. In anotherhalf hour full darkness would be upon them. 

But Dick felt that something had been achieved. A powerful Union forcewas now beyond the Antietam, with its feet rooted firmly in the soilof the peninsula. It looked directly south at the Confederate army andthere was no barrier between. Lee would have to face at once, Hooker onthe north and McClellan on the east across the Antietam. The Union armyhad been numerous enough to outflank him. 

Dick was quite sure of success now. They had lost two of the mostprecious of all days instead of one, but they had closed the gap on thenorth, through which Lee's army might march in an attempt to escape. Itwas likely, too, that the last of Jackson's men would come that way andthe Union force would cut them off from Lee. Two entire army corps werenow beyond the Antietam, and they should be able to do anything. 

The Winchester regiment lay in deep woods, and the great divisionalthough it had rested nearly all the day was quiet in the night. Butsome ardent souls could not rest. A group of officers, including ColonelWinchester and the three young members of his staff, walked forwardthrough the woods, taking the chance of stray shots from sentinels orskirmishers. But they knew that this risk was not great. 

They passed near a mill, its wheels and saws silent now, and presentlyas the moon rose they saw the square white walls of a building shiningin its light. 

"The Dunkard church, " said one of the officers. "I think we'd better notgo any closer. The Johnnies must be lying thick close at hand. "

"The dim light off to the right must be made by their fires, " saidColonel Winchester. "I wish I knew what troops they are. Jackson'sperhaps. It's a rough country, and all these forests and ridges andhills will help the defense. I understand that the farms in here aresurrounded by stone fences and that, too, will help the Johnnies. "

"But we'll get 'em, " said another confidently. "The battle can't be putoff any longer, and we're bound to smash 'em in the morning. "

They remained in the darkness for a while, trying to see what waspassing toward the Southern lines, but they could see little. Therewas some rifle firing after a while, and the occasional deep note of acannon, mostly at random and the little group walked back. 

"I'm going to sleep, Dick, " said Warner. "I've just remembered thatI'm an invalid and that if I overtask myself it will be a bad thing forMcClellan to-morrow. The colonel doesn't want us any longer, and so heregoes. "

"I follow, " said Pennington. "The dry earth is good enough for me. May Istay on top of it for the next half century. "

Warner and Pennington slept quickly, but Dick lay awake a long time, listening to the stray rifle shots and the distant boom of a cannon atfar intervals. After a while, he looked at his watch and saw that it wasmidnight. It was more than an hour later when slumber overtook him, and while he and his comrades lay there the last of Jackson's men werecoming with the help that Lee needed so sorely. 

Two divisions which had been left at Harper's Ferry started at midnightjust as Dick was looking at his watch and at dawn they were almost tothe Potomac. On their flank was a cavalry brigade and A. P. Hill washurrying with another of infantry. Messenger after messenger from themcame to Lee that on the fateful day they with their fourteen thousandbayonets would be in line when they were needed most. 

Few of those who fought for the Lost Cause ever cherished anything morevividly than those hours between midnight and the next noon when theymarched at the double quick across hill and valley and forest to therelief of their great commander. There was little need for the officersto urge them on, and at sunrise the rolling of the cannon was calling tothem to come faster, always faster. 

CHAPTER X. ANTIETAM

Dick arose at the first flash of dawn. All the men of the Winchesterregiment were on their feet. The officers had sent their horses to therear, knowing that they would be worse than useless among the rocks andin the forest in front of them. 

A mist arising from the two rivers floated over everything, but Dickknew that the battle was at hand. The Northern trumpets were calling, and in the haze in front of them the Southern trumpets were calling, too. 

The fog lifted, and then Dick saw the Confederate lines stretchedthrough forest, rock and ploughed ground. Near the front was a railfence with lines of skirmishers crouching behind it. As the last bit ofmist rolled away the fence became a twisted line of flame. The fire ofthe Southern skirmishers crashed in the Union ranks, and the Northernskirmishers, pressing in on the right replied with a fire equally swiftand deadly. Then came the roar of the Southern cannon, well aimed andtearing gaps in the Union lines. 

"Its time to charge!" exclaimed Pennington. "It scares me, standingstill under the enemy's fire, but I forget about it when I'm rushingforward. "

The Winchester regiment did not move for the present, although thebattle thickened and deepened about it. The fire of the Confederatecannon was heavy and terrible, yet the Union masses on either wing hadbegun to press forward. Hooker hurled in two divisions, one under Meade, and one under Doubleday, and another came up behind to support them. The western men were here and remembering how they had been decimated atManassas, they fought for revenge as well as patriotism. 

At last the Winchester regiment in the center moved forward also. Theystruck heavy ploughed land, and as they struggled through it they met adevastating fire. It seemed to Dick that the last of the little regimentwas about to be blown away, but as he looked through the fire and smokehe saw Warner and Pennington still by his side, and the colonel a littleahead, waving his sword and shouting orders that could not be heard. 

Dick saw shining far before him the white walls of the Dunkard church, and he was seized with a frantic desire to reach it. It seemed to him ifthey could get there that the victory would be won. Yet they made littleprogress. The cannon facing them fairly spouted fire, and thousands ofexpert riflemen in front of them lying behind ridges and among rocksand bushes sent shower after shower of leaden balls that swept away thefront ranks of the charging Union lines. The shell and the shrapnel andthe grape and the round shot made a great noise, but the little bulletscoming in swarms like bees were the true messengers of death. 

Jackson and four thousand of his veterans formed the thin line betweenthe Dunkard church and the Antietam. They were ragged and worn by war, but they were the children of victory, led by a man of genius, and theyfelt equal to any task. Near Jackson stood his favorite young aide, Harry Kenton, and on the other side was the thin regiment of theInvincibles, led by Colonel Leonidas Talbot, and Lieutenant-ColonelHector St. Hilaire. 

Around the church itself were the Texans under Hood, stalwart, sunburnedmen who could ride like Comanches, some of whom when lads had beenpresent at San Jacinto, when the Texans struck with such terrible mightand success for liberty. 

"Are we winning? Tell me, that we are winning!" shouted Dick in Warner'sear. 

"We're not winning, but we will! Confound that fog! It's coming upagain!" Warner shouted back. 

The heavy fog from the Potomac and the Antietam which the early andburning sunrise had driven away was drifting back, thickened by thesmoke from the cannon and rifles. The gray lines in front disappearedand the church was hidden. Yet the Northern artillery continued to poura terrible fire through the smoke toward the point where the Confederateinfantry had been posted. 

Dick heard at the same time a tremendous roar on the left, and he knewthat the Union batteries beyond the Antietam had opened a flanking fireon the Southern army. He breathed a sigh of triumph. McClellan, whocould organize and prepare so well, was aroused at last to such a pointthat he could concentrate his full strength in battle itself, and pushhome with all his might until able to snatch the reward, victory. Asthe lad heard the supporting guns across the Antietam, he suddenly foundhimself shouting with all his might. His voice could not be heard in theuproar, but he saw that the lips of those about him were moving in likemanner. 

The two corps on the peninsula had a good leader that morning. Hooker, fiery, impetuous, scorning death, continually led his men to the attack. The gaps in their ranks were closed up, and on they went, infantry, cavalry and artillery. The fog blew away again and they beheld once morethe gray lines of the Southerners, and the white wooden walls of thechurch. 

So fierce and overwhelming was the Northern rush that all of Jackson'smen and the Texans were borne back, and were driven from the ridgesand out of the woods. Exultant, the men in blue followed, their roar oftriumph swelling above the thunder of the battle. 

"Victory!" cried Dick, but Warner shouted:

"Look out!"

The keen eyes of the young Vermonter had seen masses of infantry andcavalry on their flank. Hooker, fierce and impetuous, had gone toofar, and now the Southern trumpets sang the charge. Stuart, fiery anddauntless, his saber flashing, led his charging horsemen, and Hill threwhis infantry upon the Northern flank. 

It seemed to Dick that he was in a huge volcano of fire and smoke. Men who, in their calm moments, did not hate one another, glared intohostile eyes. There was often actual physical contact, and the flashfrom the cannon and rifles blazed in Dick's face. The Southernersin front who had been driven back returned, and as Stuart and Hillcontinued to beat hard upon their flanks, the troops of Hooker werecompelled to retreat. Once more the white church faded in the mists andsmoke. 

But Hooker and his generals rallied their men and advanced anew. Theground around the Dunkard church became one of the most sanguinaryplaces in all America. One side advanced and then the other, andthey continually reeled to and fro. Even the young soldiers knew theimmensity of the stake. This was the open ground, elsewhere the Antietamseparated the fighting armies. But victory here would decide the wholebattle, and the war, too. The Northern troops fought for a triumph thatwould end all, and the Southern troops for salvation. 

So close and obstinate was the conflict that colonels and generalsthemselves were in the thick of it. Starke and Lawton of the South wereboth killed. Mansfield, who led one of the Northern army corps fell deadin the very front line, and the valiant Hooker, caught in the arms ofhis soldiers, was borne away so severely wounded that he could no longergive orders. 

Scarcely any generals were left on either side, but the colonels andthe majors and the captains still led the men into the thick of theconflict. Dick felt a terrible constriction. It was as if some one werechoking him with powerful hands, and he strove for breath. He knew thatthe masses pressed upon their flank by Stuart and Hill, were riddlingthem through and through. 

The Union men were giving ground, slowly, it is true, and leaving heapsof dead and wounded behind them, but nobody could stand the terriblerifle fire that was raking them at short range from side to side, andthey were no longer able to advance. Now Dick heard once more thatterrible and triumphant rebel yell, and it seemed to him that they wereabout to be destroyed utterly, when shell and shot began to shriek andwhistle over their heads. The woods behind them were alive with theblaze of fire, and the great Union batteries were driving back thetriumphant and cheering Confederates. 

The Union generals on the other side of the Antietam saw the fate thatwas about to overtake Hooker's valiant men, and Sumner, with anotherarmy corps, had crossed the river to the rescue, coming just in time. They moved up to Hooker's men and the united masses returned to thecharge. 

The battle grew more desperate with the arrival of fresh troops. Againit was charge and repulse, charge and repulse, and the continuousswaying to and fro by two combatants, each resolved to win. There werethe Union men who had forced the passes through the mountains to reachthis field, and they were struggling to follow up those successes bya victory far greater, and there were the Confederates resolved uponanother glorious success. 

The fire became so tremendous that the men could no longer hear orders. Here was a field of ripe corn, the stems and blades higher than a man'shead, forty acres or so, nearly a quarter of a mile each way, but thecorn soon ceased to hide the combatants from one another. The fire fromthe cannon and rifles came in such close sheets that scarcely a stalkstood upright in that whole field. 

Long this mighty conflict swayed back and forth. Dick had seen nothinglike it before, not even at the Second Manassas. It was almost hand tohand. Cannons were lost and retaken by each side. Stuart, finding theground too rough for his cavalry, dismounted them and put them atthe guns. Jackson, with an eye that missed nothing, called up Early'sbrigade and hurled it into the battle. The North replied with freshtroops, and the combat was as much in doubt as ever. Every brigadecommander on the Southern side had been killed or wounded. Nearly allthe colonels had fallen, but Jackson's men still fought with a fire andspirit that only such a leader as he could inspire. 

It seemed to Dick that the whole world was on fire with the flash ofcannon and rifles. The roar and crash came from not only in front andaround him, but far down the side, where the main army of McClellan wasadvancing directly upon the Antietam, and the stone bridges which theConfederates had not found time to tear down. 

There stood Lee, supremely confident that if his lieutenant, Jackson, could not hold the Northern opening into the peninsula nobody could. His men, who knew the desperate nature of the crisis, said that they hadnever seen him more confident than he was that day. 

On the ridge just south of the village was a huge limestone bowlder, and Lee, field glasses in hand, stood on it. He listened a while to thegrowing thunder of the battle in the north--the Dunkard church, aroundwhich Jackson and Hooker were fighting so desperately, was a mileaway--but he soon turned his attention to the blue masses across theAntietam. 

The Southern commander faced the Antietam with the hard-hittingLongstreet on his right, his left being composed of the forces ofJackson, already in furious conflict. Nothing escaped him. As helistened to the thunder of the dreadful battle in the north, he neverceased to watch the great army in front of him on the other side of thelittle river. 

While Hooker and his men were fighting with such desperate courage, whydid not McClellan and the main body of the Union army move forward tothe attack? Doubtless Lee asked himself this question, and doubtlessalso he had gauged accurately the mind of the Union leader, who alwayssaw two or even three enemies where but one stood. Relying so stronglyupon his judgment he dared to strip himself yet further and send moremen to Jackson. A messenger brought him news that more of Jackson's menhad come to his aid and that he was now holding the whole line againstthe attacks of Meade and Hooker and all the rest. 

Lee nodded and turned his glasses again toward the long blue line acrossthe Antietam. McClellan himself was there, standing on a hill and alsowatching. Around him was a great division under the command of Burnside, and his time to win victory had come. He sent the order to Burnside tomove forward and force the Antietam. It is said that at this moment Leehad only five thousand men with him, all the rest having been sent toJackson, and, if so, time itself fought against the Union, as it was afull two hours before Burnside carried out his order and moved forwardon the Antietam. 

But Dick, on the north, did not know that it was as yet only cannonfire, and not the charge of troops to the south and west. In truth, heknew little of his own part of the battle. Once he was knocked down, butit was only the wind from a cannon ball, and when he sprang to his feetand drew a few long breaths he was as well as ever. 

From muttered talk around him, talk that he could hear under the thunderof the battle, he learned that Sumner, who had come with the greatreinforcement, was now leading the battle, with Hooker wounded andMansfield dying. 

Sumner, as brave and daring as any, had gathered twenty thousand men, and they were advancing in splendid order over the wreck of the dead andthe dying, apparently an irresistible force. 

Jackson, standing at the edge of a wood, saw the magnificent advance, and while the officers around him despaired, he did not think ofawaiting the Northern attack, but prepared instead for an attack of hisown. There was word that McLaws and the Harper's Ferry men had come. Jackson galloped to meet them, formed them quickly with his own, andthen the Southern drums rolled out the charge. The weary veterans, gathering themselves anew for another burst of strength, fell with alltheir might on the Northern flank. 

Dick felt the force of that charge. Men seemed to be driven in upon him. He was hurled down, how he knew not, but he sprang up again, and then hesaw that their advance was stopped. Long lines of bayonets advanced uponthem, and a terrible artillery fire crashed through and through theirranks. Two or three thousand men in blue fell in a moment or so. Fortunein an instant had made a terrible change of front. 

Dick shouted aloud in despair as the brigades steadily gave back. Thegreat Union batteries were firing over their heads again, but even theycould not arrest the Southern advance. Their regiments were coming nowacross the shorn cornfield. Dick saw the galloping horses drawing theirbatteries up closer and around the flanks. And the rebel yell of victorywhich he had heard too often was now swelling from thousands of throats, as the fierce sons of the South rushed upon their foe. 

But the North refused to abandon the battle here. These were splendidtroops, so tenacious and so much bent upon victory that they scarcelyneeded leaders. Sedgwick, another of their gallant generals, fell andwas carried off the field, wounded severely. Richardson, yet another, was killed a little later, but heavy reinforcements arrived, and theSoutherners were driven back in their turn. 

These were picked troops who met here, veterans almost all of them, andneither would yield. The superior weight and range of the Northern gunsgave them an advantage in artillery, and it was used to the utmost. Dickdid not see how men could live under such a horrible fire, but therewere the gray lines replying, and wherever they yielded, yielding butlittle. 

Noon came and then one o'clock. They had been fighting since dawn, anda combat so impetuous and terrible could not be maintained forever, particularly when the awful demon of war was eating up men so fast. Manyof the regiments on either side had lost more than half their number andwould lose more. They were human beings, and even the unwounded began tocollapse from mere physical exhaustion. Some dropped to the ground fromsheer inability to stand, and as they lay there, they heard to the southand west the rolling thunder that told of Burnside's belated advanceupon the Antietam. 

Down where Lee stood watching, the battle blazed up with extraordinaryrapidity. The men who had been held in leash so long by McClellan wereanxious to get at the foe. Burnside's brigades charged directly for oneof the stone bridges, and Lee, watching from his bowlder, hurried theSouthern troops forward to meet them. Again the Northern artilleryproved its worth. The great batteries sent a hurricane of death over theheads of the men in blue and toward the town of Sharpsburg. Despite allthe valor of the Southern veterans, the heavy masses of the Union menforced their way across the bridge to the peninsula. Lee's batteries andinfantry regiments could not hold them. 

It seemed now that Lee's own force was to be destroyed and thatvictory was won, but fortune had in store yet another of thosedazzling recoveries for the South. At the very moment when Lee seemedoverwhelmed, A. P. Hill, as valiant and vigorous as the other Hill, arrived with the last of the Harper's Ferry veterans, having marchedseventeen miles, almost on a dead run. They crossed the Potomac at aford below the mouth of the Antietam, then crossed the Antietam on thelowest bridge back into the peninsula, and without waiting for ordersrushed upon the Northern flank. 

The attack was so sudden and fierce that Burnside's entire divisionreeled back. Here, as in the north, the face of the battle had beenchanged in an instant. Not only could Colonel Winchester mourn overthose lost two days, but he could mourn over every lost half hour inthem. Had Hill come a half hour later Lee's whole center would have beenswept away. 

Lee and his great lieutenants, Jackson and Longstreet, were stillconfident. Despite the disparity in numbers they had beaten back everyattack. 

A. P. Hill was a man who corresponded in fire and impetuosity to Hooker. The number of his veterans was not so great, but their rush was sofierce, and they struck at such a critical time that the Northernbrigades were unable to hold the ground they had gained. More troopsfrom the dying battle on the north came to Lee's aid, and every attemptof McClellan to take Sharpsburg failed. 

Dick, fighting with his comrades on the north, knew little of what waspassing on the peninsula in the south, but he became conscious after awhile that the appalling fury of the battle around him was diminishing. He had not seen such a desperate hand-to-hand battle at either Shiloh orthe Second Manassas, and they were terrible enough. But he felt as theConfederates themselves had felt, that the Southern army was fightingfor existence. 

But as the day waned, Dick believed that they would never be able tocrush Jackson. The Union troops always returned to the attack, but themen in gray never failed to meet it, and actual physical exhaustionoverwhelmed the combatants. Pennington went down, and Dick dragged himto his feet, fearing that he was wounded mortally, but found that hiscomrade had merely dropped through weakness. 

The long day of heat and strife neared its close. Neither Northerntenacity nor Southern fire could win, and the sun began to droop overthe field piled so thickly with bodies. As the twilight crept up thebattle sank in all parts of the peninsula. McClellan, who had lost thosetwo most precious days, and who had finally failed to make use of allhis numbers at the same time, now, great in preparation, as usual, madeready for the emergency of the morrow. 

All the powerful and improved artillery which McClellan had in suchabundance was brought up. The mathematical minds and the workshops ofthe North bore full fruit upon this sanguinary field of Antietam. Theshattered divisions of Hooker, with which Dick and his comrades lay, were sheltered behind a great line of artillery. No less than thirtyrifled guns of the latest and finest make were massed in one battery tocommand the road by which the South might attack. 

To the south the Northern artillery was equally strong, and beyond theAntietam also it was massed in battery after battery to protect its men. 

But the coming twilight found both sides too exhausted to move. Thesun was setting upon the fiercest single day's fighting ever seen inAmerica. Nearly twenty-five thousand dead or wounded lay upon the field. More than one fourth of the Southern army was killed or wounded, yet itwas in Lee's mind to attack on the morrow. 

After night had come the weary Southern generals--those leftalive--reported to Lee as he sat on his horse in the road. The shadowsgathered on his face, as they told of their awful losses, and of thelong list of high officers killed or wounded. Jackson was among thelast, and he was gloomy. The man who had always insisted upon battle didnot insist upon it now. Hood reported that his Texans, who had fought sovaliantly for the Dunkard church, were almost destroyed. 

The scene in the darkness with the awful battlefield around them was onewhich not even the greatest of painters could have reproduced. When thelast general had told his tale of slaughter and destruction, they satfor a while in silence. They realized the smallness of their army, andthe immense extent of their losses. The light wind that had sprungup swept over the dead faces of thousands of the bravest men in theSouthern army. They had held their ground, but on the morrow McClellancould bring into line three to one and an artillery far superior alikein quality, weight and numbers to theirs. 

The strange, intense silence lasted. Every eye was upon Lee. When thegenerals were making their reports he had shown more emotion than theyhad ever seen on his face before. Now he was quiet, but he drew hislips close together, his eyes shone with blue fire, and rising in hisstirrups he said:

"We will not cross the Potomac to-night, gentlemen. "

Then while they still waited in silence, he said:

"Go to your commands! Reform and strengthen your lines. Collect all yourstragglers. Bring up every man who is in the rear. If McClellan wants abattle again in the morning, he shall have it. Now go!"

Not a general said a word in objection, in fact, they did not speakat all, but rode slowly away, every one to his command. Yet they were, without exception, against the decision of their great leader. 

Even Stonewall Jackson did not want a second battle. He had shownthrough the doubtful conflict a most extraordinary calmness. While thecombat in the north, where he commanded, was at its height, he had saton Little Sorrel, now happily restored to him, eating from time totime a peach that he took from his pocket. Nothing had escaped hisobservation; he watched every movement, and noticed every rise and fallin the tide of success. His silence now indicated that he concurred withthe others in his belief that the remains of the Confederate armyshould withdraw across the Potomac, but his manner indicated completeacquiescence in the decision of his leader. 

But in the north of the peninsula the remnants of either side had scarcea thought to bestow upon victory or defeat. It was a question that didnot concern them for the present, so utter was their exhaustion. Asnight came and the battle ceased they dropped where they were and sankinto sleep or a stupor that was deeper than sleep. 

But Dick this time did neither. His nervous system had been strained soseverely that it was impossible for him to keep still. He had found thatall of his friends had received wounds, although they were too slightto put them out of action. But the Winchester regiment had sufferedterribly again. It did not have a hundred men left fit for service, and even at that it had got off better than some others. In one of theVirginia regiments under Longstreet only fourteen men had been leftunhurt. 

Dick stood beside his colonel--Warner and Pennington were lying in astupor--and he was appalled. The battle had been fought within a narrowarea, and the tremendous destruction was visible in the moonlight, heaped up everywhere. Colonel Winchester was as much shaken as he, andthe two, the man and the boy, walked toward the picket line, drawn by asort of hideous fascination, as they looked upon the area of conflict. 

The dead lay in windrows between the two armies which were waiting tofight on the dawn. Dick and the colonel walked toward the field wherethe corn had been waving high that morning, and where it was now mownby cannon and rifles to the last stalk. In the edge of the wood the boypaused and grasping the man suddenly by the arm pulled him back. 

"Look! Look!" he exclaimed in a sharp whisper. "The Confederateskirmishers! The woods are full of them! They are making ready for anight attack!" Both he and Colonel Winchester sprang back behind a bigtree, sheltering themselves from a possible shot. But no sound came, not even that of men creeping forward through the undergrowth. All theyheard was the moaning of the wind through the foliage. They waited, andthen the two looked at each other. The true reason for the extraordinarysilence had occurred to both at the same instant, and they stepped fromthe shelter of the tree. 

Awed and appalled, the man and the boy gazed at the silent forms whichlay row on row in the woods and in the shorn cornfield. It seemed as ifthey slept, but Dick knew that all were dead. He and Colonel Winchestergazed again at each other and shuddering turned away lest they disturbthe sleep of the dead. 

When they returned to a position behind the guns they heard otherscoming in with equally terrible tales. A sunken lane that ran betweenthe hostile lines was filled to the brim with dead. Boys, yet intheir teens, with nerves completely shattered for the time, chatteredhysterically of what they had seen. The Antietam was still running red. Both Lee and Stonewall Jackson had been killed and the whole Confederatearmy would be taken in the morning. Some said, on the other hand, thatthe Southerners still had a hundred thousand men, and that McClellanwould certainly be beaten the next day, if he did not retreat in time. 

None of the talk, either of victory or defeat, made any impression uponDick. His senses were too much dulled by all through which he had gone. Words no longer meant anything. Although the night was warm he began toshiver, as if he were seized with a chill. 

"Lie down, Dick, " said Colonel Winchester, who noticed him. "I don'tthink you can stand it any longer. Here, under this tree will do. "

Dick threw himself down and Colonel Winchester, finding a blanket, spread it over him. Then the boy closed his eyes, and, for a while, phase after phase of the terrible conflict passed before him. He couldsee the white wall of the Dunkard church, the Bloody Lane, and mostghastly of all, those dead men in rows lying on their arms, likeregiments asleep, but his nerves grew quiet at last, and after midnighthe slept. 

Dawn came and found the two armies ready. Dick and the sad remnantof the Winchester regiment rose to their feet. Although food had beenprepared for them very few in all these brigades had touched a bite thenight before, sinking into sleep or stupor before it could be brought tothem. But now they ate hungrily while they watched for their foes, theskirmishers of either army already being massed in front to be ready forany movement by the other. 

As on the morning before, a mist arose from the Potomac and theAntietam. The sun, bright and hot, soon dispersed it. But there was nomovement by either army. Dick did not hear the sound of a single shot. Warner and Pennington, recovered from their stupor, stood beside himgazing southward toward the rocks and ridges, where the Confederate armylay. 

"I'm thinking, " said Warner, "that they're just as much exhausted as weare. We're waiting for an attack, and they're waiting for the same. Theodds are at least ninety per cent in favor of my theory. Their lossesare something awful, and I don't think they can do anything against us. Look how our batteries are massed for them. "

Dick was watching through his glasses, and even with their aid hecould see no movement within the Southern lines. Hours passed and stillneither army stirred. McClellan counted his tremendous losses, and he, too, preferred to await attack rather than offer it. His old obsessionthat his enemy was double his real strength seized him, and he was notwilling to risk his army in a second rush upon Lee. 

While Dick and his comrades were waiting through the long morning hours, Lee and Jackson and his other lieutenants were deciding whether or notthey should make an attack of their own. But when they studied withtheir glasses the Northern lines and the great batteries, they decidedthat it would be better not to try it. 

When noon came and still no shot had been fired, Colonel Winchestershook his head. 

"We might yet destroy the Southern army, " he said to Dick, "but I'mconvinced that General McClellan will not move it. "

The hot afternoon passed, and then the night came with the sound ofrumbling wheels and marching men. Dick surmised that Lee was leaving thepeninsula, and, crossing the Potomac in to Virginia, and that thereforetactical victory would rest with the Northern side. The noises continuedall night long, but McClellan made no advance, nor did he do so the nextday, while the whole Confederate army was crossing the Potomac, untilnearly night. 

But the Winchester regiment and several more of the same skeletoncharacter, pushing forward a little on the morning of that day, foundthat the last Confederate soldier was gone from Sharpsburg. ColonelWinchester and other officers were eager for the Army of the Potomac toattack the Army of Northern Virginia, while it dragged itself across thewide and dangerous ford. 

But McClellan delayed again, and it was sunset when Dick saw the firstsign of action. A strong division with cannon crossed the river andattacked the batteries which were covering the Southern rearguard. Fourguns and prisoners were taken, but when Lee heard of it he sent backJackson, who beat off all pursuit. 

Dick and his comrades did not see this last fight, which was the dyingecho of Antietam. They felt that they had defeated the enemy's purpose, but they did not rejoice over any victory. The sword of Antietam hadturned back Lee and Jackson for a time and perhaps had saved the Union, but Dick was gloomy and depressed that so little had been won when theyseemed to hold so much in the hollow of their hands. 

This feeling spread through the whole army, and the privates, even, talked of it openly. Nobody could forget those precious two days lostbefore the battle. Orders No. 191 had put all the cards in their hands, but the commander had not played them. 

"I feel that we've really failed, " said Warner, as they sat beside acamp fire. "The Southerners certainly fought like demons, but we oughtto have been there long before Jackson came, and we ought to havewhipped them, even after Jackson did come. "

"But we didn't, " said Pennington, "and so we've got the job to do allover again. You know, George, we're bound to win. "

"Of course, Frank; but while we're doing it the country is being rippedto pieces. I'll never quit mourning over that lost chance at Antietam. "

"At any rate we came off better than at the Second Manassas, " said Dick. "What's ahead of us now?"

"I don't know, " replied Warner. "I saw Shepard yesterday, and he saysthat the Southerners are recuperating in Virginia. We need restorativesourselves, and I don't suppose we'll have any important movements alongthis line for a while. "

"But there'll be big fighting somewhere, " said Dick. 

CHAPTER XI. A FAMILY AFFAIR

Two days after the battle of Antietam, Dick went with Colonel Winchesterto Washington on official duty. His nerves, shaken so severely by thatawful battle, were not yet fully restored and he was glad of the littlerespite, and change of scene. The sights of the city and the talk of menwere a restorative to him. 

The capital was undoubtedly gay. The deep depression and fear thathad hung over it a few weeks ago were gone. Men had believed after theSecond Manassas that Lee might take Washington and this fear was notdecreased when he passed into Maryland on what seemed to be an invasion. Many had begun to believe that he was invincible, that every Northerncommander whoever he might be, would be beaten by him, but Antietam, although there were bitter complaints that Lee might have been destroyedinstead of merely being checked, had changed a sky of steel into a skyof blue. 

Washington was not only gay, it was brilliant. Life flowed fast and itwas astonishingly vivid. A restless society, always seeking somethingnew flitted from house to house. Dick, young and impressionable, wouldhave been glad to share a little in it, but his time was too short. Hewent once with Colonel Winchester to the theatre, and the boy who hadthrice seen a hundred and fifty thousand men in deadly action hungbreathless over the mimic struggles of a few men and women on a paintedstage. 

The second day after his arrival he received a letter from his motherthat had been awaiting him there. It had come by the way of Louisvillethrough the Northern lines, and it was long and full of news. Pendleton, she said, was a sad town in these days. All of the older boys andyoung men had gone away to the armies, and many of them had been killedalready, or had died in hospitals. Here she gave names and Dick's heartgrew heavy, because in this fatal list were old friends of his. 

It was not alone the boys and young men who had gone, wrote Mrs. Mason, but the middle-aged men, too. Dr. Russell had kept the Pendleton Academyopen, but he had no pupil over sixteen years of age. There were notrustees, because they had all gone to the war. Senator Culver had beenkilled in the fighting in Tennessee, but she heard that Colonel Kentonwas alive and well and with Bragg's army. 

The affairs of the Union, she continued, were not going well inTennessee and Kentucky. The terrible Confederate cavalryman Forrest hadsuddenly raided Murfreesborough in Tennessee, where Union regiments werestationed, and had destroyed or captured them all. Throughout the westthe Southerners were raising their heads again. General Bragg, it wassaid, was advancing with a strong army, and was already farther norththan the army of General Buell, which was in Tennessee. It was said thatLouisville, one of the largest and richest of the border cities, wouldsurely fall into the hands of the South. 

Dick read the letter with changing and strong emotions. Amid theterrible struggles in the east, the west was almost blotted out ofhis mind. The Second Manassas and Antietam had great power to absorbattention wholly upon themselves. He had wholly forgotten for the timeabout Pendleton, the people whom he knew, and even his mother. Nowthey returned with increased strength. His memory was flooded withrecollections of the little town, every house and face of which he knew. 

And so the Confederates were coming north again with a great army. Shiloh had been far from crushing them in the west. The letter hadbeen written before the Second Manassas, and that and Lee's great fightagainst odds at Antietam would certainly arouse in them the wish forlike achievements. He inferred that since the armies in the east wereexhausted, the great field for action would be for a while, in the west, and he was seized with an intense longing for that region which was hisown. 

It was not coincidence, but the need for men that made Dick's wish cometrue almost at once. A few hours after he received his letter ColonelWinchester found him sitting in the lobby of the hotel in which Dick hadtwice talked with the contractor. But the boy was alone this time, andas Colonel Winchester sat down beside him he said:

"Dick, the capital has received alarming news from Kentucky. Buoyedup by their successes in the east the Confederacy is going to make aneffort to secure that state. Bragg with a powerful force is already onhis way toward Louisville, and we fear that he has slipped away fromBuell. "

"So I've heard. I found here a letter from my mother, and she told meall the reports from that section. "

"And is Mrs. Mason well? She has not been troubled by guerillas, or inany other way?"

"Not at all. Mother's health is always good, and she has not beenmolested. "

"Dick, it's possible that we may see Kentucky again soon. "

"Can that be true, and how is it so, sir?"

"The administration is greatly alarmed about Kentucky and the west. Thismovement of Bragg's army is formidable, and it would be a great blow forus if he took Louisville. Dispatches have been sent east for help. Myregiment and several others that really belong in the west have beenasked for, and we are to start in three days. Dick, do you know how manymen of the Winchester regiment are left? We shall be able to start withonly one hundred and five men, and when we attacked at Donelson we werea thousand strong. "

"And the end of the war, sir, seems as far off as ever. "

"So it does, Dick, but we'll go, and we'll do our best. Starting fromWashington we can reach Louisville in two days by train. Bragg, nomatter what progress he may make across the state, cannot be there then. If any big battle is to be fought we're likely to be in it. "

The scanty remainder of the regiment was brought to Washington and twodays later they were in Louisville, which they found full of alarm. The famous Southern partisan leader, John Morgan, had been roamingeverywhere over the state, capturing towns, taking prisoners andthrowing all the Union communications into confusion by means of falsedispatches. 

People told with mingled amusement and apprehension of Morgan'stelegrapher, Ellsworth, who cut the wires, attached his own instrument, and replied to the Union messages and sent answers as his generalpleased. It was said that Bragg was already approaching Munfordvillewhere there was a Northern fort and garrison. And it was said that Buellon another line was endeavoring to march past Bragg and get between himand Louisville. 

But Dick found that the western states across the Ohio were respondingas usual. Hardy volunteers from the prairies and plains were pouringinto Louisville. While Dick waited there the news came that Bragghad captured the entire Northern garrison of four thousand men atMunfordville, the crossing of Green River, and was continuing his steadyadvance. 

But there was yet hope that the rapid march of Buell and the gatheringforce at Louisville would cause Bragg to turn aside. 

At last the welcome news came. Bragg had suddenly turned to the east, and then Buell arrived in Louisville. With his own force, the armyalready gathered there and a division sent by Grant from his station atCorinth, in Mississippi, he was at the head of a hundred thousand men, and Bragg could not muster more than half as many. 

So rapid had been the passage of events that Dick found himself a memberof Buell's reorganized army, and ready to march, only thirteen daysafter the sun set on the bloody field of Antietam, seven hundred milesaway. Bragg, they said, was at Lexington, in the heart of the state, andthe Union army was in motion to punish him for his temerity in venturingout of the far south. 

Dick felt a great elation as he rode once more over the soil of hisnative state. He beheld again many of the officers whom he had seen atDonelson, and also he spoke to General Buell, who although as taciturnand somber as ever, remembered him. 

Warner and Pennington were by his side, the colonel rode before, and theWinchester regiment marched behind. Volunteers from Kentucky and otherstates had raised it to about three hundred men, and the new ladslistened with amazement, while the unbearded veterans told them ofShiloh, the Second Manassas and Antietam. 

"Good country, this of yours, Dick, " said Warner, as they rode throughthe rich lands east of Louisville. "Worth saving. I'm glad the doctorordered me west for my health. "

"He didn't order you west for your health, " said Pennington. "He orderedyou west to get killed for your country. "

"Well, at any rate, I'm here, and as I said, this looks like a landworth saving. "

"It's still finer when you get eastward into the Bluegrass, " said Dick, "but it isn't showing at its best. I never before saw the ground lookingso burnt and parched. They say it's the dryest summer known since thecountry was settled eighty or ninety years ago. "

Dick hoped that their line of march would take them near Pendleton, andas it soon dropped southward he saw that his hope had come true. Theywould pass within twenty miles of his mother's home, and at Dick'surgent and repeated request, Colonel Winchester strained a point andallowed him to go. He was permitted to select a horse of unusual powerand speed, and he departed just before sundown. 

"Remember that you're to rejoin us to-morrow, " said Colonel Winchester. "Beware of guerillas. I hope you'll find your mother well. "

"I feel sure of it, and I shall tell her how very kind and helpfulyou've been to me, sir. "

"Thank you, Dick. "

Dick, in his haste to be off did not notice that the colonel's voicequivered and that his face flushed as he uttered the emphatic "thankyou. " A few minutes later he was riding swiftly southward over a roadthat he knew well. His start was made at six o'clock and he was surethat by ten o'clock he would be in Pendleton. 

The road was deserted. This was a well-peopled country, and he saw manyhouses, but nearly always the doors and shutters of the windows wereclosed. The men were away, and the women and children were shutting outthe bands that robbed in the name of either army. 

The night came down, and Dick still sped southward with no one appearingto stop him. He did not know just where the Southern army lay, but hedid not believe that he would come in contact with any of its flankers. His horse was so good and true, that earlier than he had hoped, he wasapproaching Pendleton. The moon was up now, and every foot of the groundwas familiar. He crossed brooks in which he and Harry Kenton and otherboys of his age had waded--but he had never seen them so low before--andhe marked the tree in which he had shot his first squirrel. 

It had not been so many months since he had been in Pendleton, andyet it seemed years and years. Three great battles in which seventy oreighty thousand men had fallen were enough to make anybody older. 

Dick paused on the crest of a little hill and looked toward the placewhere his mother's house stood. He had come just in this way in thewinter, and he looked forward to another meeting as happy. The moonlightwas very clear now and he saw no smoke rising from the chimneys, butthis was summer, and of course they would not have a fire burning atsuch an hour. 

He rode on a little further and paused again at the crest of anotherhill. His view of Pendleton here was still better. He could see moreroofs, and walls, but he noticed that no smoke rose from any house. Pendleton lay very still in its hollow. On the far side he saw the whitewalls of Colonel Kenton's house shining in the moonlight. Somethingleaped in his brain. He seemed to have been looking upon such whitewalls only yesterday, white walls that stood out in a fiery haze, whitewalls that he could never forget though he lived to be a hundred. 

Then he remembered. The white walls were those of the Dunkard church atAntietam, around which the blue and the gray had piled their bodies inmasses. The vast battlefield ranged past him like a moving panorama, andthen he was merely looking at Pendleton lying there below, so still. 

Dick was sensitive and his affections were strong. He loved his motherwith a remarkable devotion, and his friends were for all time. Highlyimaginative, he felt a powerful stirring of the heart, at his secondreturn to Pendleton since his departure for the war. Yet he was chilledsomewhat by the strange silence hanging over the little town that heloved so well. It was night, it was true, but not even a dog barked athis coming, and there was not the faintest trail of smoke across thesky. A brilliant moon shone, and white stars unnumbered glittered anddanced, yet they showed no movement of man in the town below. 

He shook off the feeling, believing that it was merely a sensitivenessborn of time and place, and rode straight for his mother's house. Thenhe dismounted, tied his horse to one of the pines, and ran up the walkto the front door, where he knocked softly at first, and then moreloudly. 

No answer came and Dick's heart sank within him like a plummet in apool. He went to the edge of the walk, gathered up some gravel and threwit against a window in his mother's room on the second floor. That wouldarouse her, because he knew that she slept lightly in these times, whenher son was off to the wars. But the window was not raised, and he couldhear no sound of movement in the room. 

Alarmed, he went back to the front door, and he noticed that while thedoor was locked the keyhole was empty. Then his mother was gone away. The sign was almost infallible. Had any one been at home the key wouldhave been on the inside. 

His heart grew lighter. There had been no violence. No roving band hadcome there to plunder. He whistled and shouted through the keyhole, although he did not want anyone who might possibly be passing inthe road to hear him, as this town was almost wholly Southern in itssympathies. 

There was still no answer, and leading his horse behind one of the pinetrees on the lawn, where it would not be observed, he went to the rearof the house, and taking a stick pried open a kitchen window. He hadlearned this trick when he was a young boy, and climbing lightly insidehe closed the window behind him and fastened the catch. 

He knew of course every hall and room of the house, but the moment heentered it he felt that it was deserted. The air was close and heavy, showing that no fresh breeze had blown through it for days. It wasimpossible that his mother or the faithful colored woman could havelived there so long a time with closed doors and shuttered windows. 

When he passed into the main part of his home, and touched a dooror chair, a fine dust grated slightly under his fingers. Here wasconfirmation, if further confirmation was needed. Dust on chairsand tables and sofas in the house in which his mother was present. Impossible! Such a thing could not occur with her there. It was not thewhite dust of the road or fields, but the black dust that gathers inclosed chambers. 

He went up to his mother's room, and, opening one of the shutters a fewinches, let in a little light. It was in perfect order. Everythingwas in its place. Upon the dresser was a little vase containing someshrivelled flowers. The water in the vase had dried up days ago, and theflowers had dried up with it. 

In this room and in all the others everything was arranged with orderand method, as if one were going away for a long time. Dick drew a chairnear the window, that he had opened slightly, and sat down. Much ofhis fear for his mother disappeared. It was obvious that she and herfaithful attendant, Juliana, had gone, probably to be out of the trackof the armies or to escape plundering bands like Skelly's. 

He wondered where she had gone, whether northward or southward. Therewere many places that would gladly receive her. Nearly all the people inthis part of the state were more or less related, and with them the tieof kinship was strong. It was probable that she would go north, or east. She might have gone to Lexington, or Winchester, or Richmond, or even inthe hills to Somerset. 

Well, he could not solve it. He was deeply disappointed because he hadnot found her there, but he was relieved from his first fear that theguerillas had come. He closed and fastened the window again, and thenwalked all through the house once more. His eyes had now grown so usedto the darkness that he could see everything dimly. He went into his ownroom. A picture of himself that used to hang on the wall now stood onthe dresser. He knew very well why, and he knew, too, that his motheroften passed hours in that room. 

Below stairs everything was neatness and in order. He went into theparlor, of which he had stood in so much awe, when he was a littlechild. The floor was covered with an imported carpet, mingled brown andred. A great Bible lay upon a small marble-topped table in the centerof the room. Two larger tables stood against the wall. Upon them layvolumes of the English classics, and a cluster of wax flowers under aglass cover, that had seemed wonderful to Dick in his childhood. 

But the room awed him no more, and he turned at once to the greatsquares of light that faced each other from wall to wall. 

A famous portrait painter had arisen at Lexington when the canebrakewas scarcely yet cleared away from the heart of Kentucky. His workwas astonishing to have come out of a country yet a wilderness, and acentury later he is ranked among the great painters. But it is said thatthe best work he ever did is the pair of portraits that face each otherin the Mason home, and the other pair, the exact duplicates that faceeach other in the same manner in the Kenton house. 

Dick opened a shutter entirely, and the light of the white moon, whitelike marble, streamed in. The sudden inpouring illuminated the room sovividly that Dick's heart missed a beat. It seemed, for a minute, thatthe two men in the portraits were stepping from the wall. Then his heartbeat steadily again and the color returned to his face. They had alwaysbeen there, those two portraits. Men had never lived more intensely thanthey, and the artist, at the instant his genius was burning brightest, had caught them in the moment of extraordinary concentration. Theirsouls had looked through their eyes and his own soul looking through hishad met theirs. 

Dick gazed at one and then at the other. There was his greatgrandfather, Paul Cotter, a man of vision and inspiration, the greatestscholar the west had ever produced, and there facing him was his comradeof a long life-time, Henry Ware, the famous borderer, afterward thegreat governor of the state. They had been painted in hunting suits ofdeerskin, with the fringed borders and beaded moccasins, and raccoonskin caps. 

These were men, Dick's great grandfather and Harry's. An immense pridethat he was the great-grandson of one of them suddenly swelled up in hisbosom, and he was proud, too, that the descendants of the borderers, andof the earlier borderers in the east, should show the same spirit andstamina. No one could look upon the fields of Shiloh, and Manassas andAntietam and say that any braver men ever lived. 

He drew his chair into the middle of the room and sat and looked at thema long time. His steady gazing and his own imaginative brain, keyed tothe point of excitement, brought back into the portraits that singularquality of intense life. Had they moved he would not have beensurprised, and the eyes certainly looked down at him in full and amplerecognition. 

What did they say? He gazed straight into the eyes of one and thenstraight into the eyes of the other, and over and over again. But theexpression there was Delphic. He must choose for himself, as they hadchosen for themselves, and remembering that he was lingering, when heshould not linger, he closed and fastened the window, slipped out at thekitchen window and returned to his horse. 

He remounted in the road and rode a few paces nearer to Pendleton, whichstill lay silent in the white moonlight. He had no doubt now that manyof the people had fled like his mother. Most of the houses must beclosed and shuttered like hers. That was why the town was so silent. He would have been glad to see Dr. Russell and old Judge Kendrick andothers again, but it would have been risky to go into the center of theplace, and it would have been a breach, too, of the faith that ColonelWinchester had put in him. 

He crushed the wish and turned away. Then he saw the white walls ofColonel Kenton's house shining upon a hill among the pines beyond thetown. He was quite sure that it would be deserted, and there was noharm in passing it. He knew it as well as his own home. He and Harry hadplayed in every part of it, and it was, in truth, a second home to him. 

He rode slowly along the road which led to the quiet house. ColonelKenton had all the instincts so strong in the Kentuckians and Virginiansof his type. A portion of his wealth had been devoted to decoration andbeauty. The white, sanded road led upward through a great park, splendidwith oak and beech and maple, and elms of great size. Nearer the househe came to the cedars and clipped pines, like those surrounding hismother's own home. 

He opened the iron gate that led to the house, and tied his horseinside. Here was the same desolation and silence that he had beheld athis own home. The grass on the lawn, although withered and dry from theintense drought that had prevailed in Kentucky that summer, was long andshowed signs of neglect. The great stone pillars of the portico, fromthe shelter of which Harry and his father and their friends had foughtSkelly and his mountaineers, were stained, and around their bases weredirty from the sand and earth blown against them. The lawn and even theportico were littered with autumn leaves. 

Dick felt the chill settling down on him again. War, not war witharmies, but war in its results, had swept over his uncle's home as trulyas it had swept over his mother's. There was no sign of a human being. Doubtless the colored servants had fled to the Union armies, and to thefreedom which they as yet knew so little how to use. He felt a suddenaccess of anger against them, because they had deserted a master so kindand just, forgetting, for the moment that he was fighting to free themfrom that very master. 

All the windows were dark, but he walked upon the portico and the dryautumn leaves rustled under his feet. He would have turned away, buthe noticed that the front door stood ajar six or eight inches. The factamazed him. If a servant was about, he would not leave it open, and ifrobbers were in the house, they would close it in order not to attractattention. It was a great door of massive and magnificent oak, highlypolished, with heavy bands of glittering bronze running across it. Butit was so lightly poised on its hinges, that, despite its great weight, a child could have swung it back and forth with his little finger. Henry Ware, who built the house after his term as governor was over, wasalways proud of this door. 

Dick ran his hand along one of the polished bronze bars as he had oftendone when he was a boy, enjoying the cool touch of the metal. Thenhe put his thumb against the edge of the door, and pushed it a littlefurther open. Something was wrong here, and he meant to see what it was. He had no scruples about entering. He did not consider himself in theleast an intruder. This was his uncle's house, and his uncle and hiscousin were far away. 

The door made no sound as it swung back, and soundless, too, was Dick ashe stepped within. It was dark in the big hall, but as he stood there, listening, he became conscious of a light. It proceeded from one of therooms opening into the hall on the right, and a door nearly closed onlyallowed a narrow band of it to fall upon the hall floor. 

Dick, believing now that a robber had indeed come, drew a pistol fromhis pocket, stepped lightly across the hall and looked in at the door. 

He checked a cry, and it was his first thought to go away as quietly ashe had come. He had seen a man in the uniform of a Confederate colonel, sitting in a chair, and staring out at one of the little side windowswhich Dick could not see from the front, and which was now open. It washis own uncle, Colonel George Kenton, C. S. A. , his gold braided cap onthe window sill, and his sword in its scabbard lying across his knees. 

But Dick changed his mind. His uncle was a colonel on one side, and hewas a lieutenant on the other, and from one point of view it was almosthigh treason for them to meet there and talk quietly together, but fromanother it was the most natural thing in the world, commanded alike byduty and affection. 

He pushed open the door a little further and stepped inside. 

"Uncle George, " he said. 

Colonel Kenton sprang to his feet, and his sword clattered upon thefloor. 

"Good God!" he cried. "You, Dick! Here! To-night!"

"Yes, Uncle George, it's no other. "

"And I suppose you have Yankees without to take me. "

"Those are hard words, sir, and you don't mean them. I'm all alone, justas you were. I galloped south, sir, to see my mother, whom I found gone, where, I don't know, and then I couldn't resist the temptation to comeby here and see your house and Harry's, which, as you know, sir, hasbeen almost a home to me, too. "

"Thank God you came, Dick, " said the colonel putting his arms aroundDick's shoulders, and giving him an affectionate hug. "You were right. Idid not mean what I said. There is only one other in the world whom I'drather see than you. Dick, I didn't know whether you were dead or alive, until I saw your face there in the doorway. "

It was obvious to Dick that his uncle's emotions were deeply stirred. He felt the strong hands upon his shoulders trembling, but the veteransoldier soon steadied his nerves, and asked Dick to sit down in a chairwhich he drew close beside his own at the window. 

"I thank God again that the notion took you to come by the house, " hesaid. "It's pleasant and cool here at the window, isn't it, Dick, boy?"

Dick knew that he was thinking nothing about the window and the pleasantcoolness of the night. He knew equally well the question that wastrembling on his lips but which he could not muster the courage to ask. But he had one of his own to ask first. 

"My mother?" he asked. "Do you know where she has gone?"

"Yes, Dick, I came here in secret, but I've seen two men, Judge Kendrickand Dr. Russell. The armies are passing so close to this place, and theguerillas from the mountains have become so troublesome, that she hasgone to Danville to stay a while with her relatives. Nearly everybodyelse has gone, too. That's why the town is so silent. There were notmany left anyway, except old people and children. But, Dick, I haveridden as far as you have to-night, and I came to ask a question whichI thought Judge Kendrick or Dr. Russell might answer--news of those wholeave a town often comes back to it--but neither of them could tellme what I wanted to hear. Dick, I have not heard a word of Harry sincespring. His army has fought since then two great battles and manysmaller ones! It was for this, to get some word of him, that I riskedeverything in leaving our army to come to Pendleton!"

He turned upon Dick a face distorted with pain and anxiety, and the boyquickly said:

"Uncle George, I have every reason to believe that Harry is alive andwell. "

"What do you know? What have you heard about him?"

"I have not merely heard. I have seen him and talked with him. It wasafter the Second Manassas, when we were both with burial parties, andmet on the field. I was at Antietam, and he, of course, was there, too, as he is with Stonewall Jackson. I did not see him in that battle, but Ilearned from a prisoner who knew him that he had escaped unwounded, andhad gone with Lee's army into Virginia. "

"I thank God once more, Dick, that you were moved to come by my house. To know that both Harry and you are alive and well is joy enough for oneman. "

"But it is likely, sir, that we'll soon meet in battle, " said Dick. 

"So it would seem. "

And that was all that either said about his army. There was no attemptto obtain information by direct or indirect methods. This was a familymeeting. 

"You have a horse, of course, " said Colonel Kenton. 

"Yes, sir. He is on the lawn, tied to your fence. His hoofs may now bein a flower bed. "

"It doesn't matter, Dick. People are not thinking much of flower bedsnowadays. My own horse is further down the lawn between the pines, andas he is an impatient beast it is probable that he has already dug up asquare yard or two of turf with his hoofs. How did you get in, Dick?"

"You forgot about the front door, sir, and left it open six or seveninches. I thought some plunderer was within and entered, to find you. "

"I must have been watched over to-night when forgetfulness was rewardedso well. Dick, we've found out what we came for and neither shouldlinger here. Do you need anything?"

"Nothing at all, sir. "

"Then we'll go. "

Colonel Kenton carefully closed and fastened the window and door againand the two mounted their horses, which they led into the road. 

"Dick, " said the colonel, "you and I are on opposing sides, but we cannever be enemies. "

Then, after a strong handclasp, they rode away by different roads, eachriding with a lighter heart. 

CHAPTER XII. THROUGH THE BLUEGRASS

Dick's horse had had a good rest, and he was fighting for his headbefore they were clear of the outskirts of Pendleton. When the roademerged once more into the deep woods the boy gave him the rein. It waswell past midnight now, and he wished to reach the army before dawn. 

Soon the great horse was galloping, and Dick felt exhilaration as thecool air of early October rushed past. The heat in both east and westhad been so long and intense, that year, that the coming of autumn wasfull of tonic. Yet the uncommon dryness, the least rainy summer andautumn in two generations, still prevailed. The hoofs of Dick's horseleft a cloud of dust behind him. The leaves of the trees were fallingalready, rustling dryly as they fell. Brooks that were old friends ofhis and that he had never known to go dry before were merely chains ofyellow pools in a shallow bed. 

He watered his horse at one or two of the creeks that still flowed ingood volume, and then went on again, sometimes at a gallop. He passedbut one horseman, a farmer who evidently had taken an unusually earlystart for a mill, as a sack of corn lay across his saddle behind him. Dick nodded but the farmer stared open-mouthed at the youth in the blueuniform who flew past him. 

Dick never looked back and by dawn he was with the army. He foundColonel Winchester taking breakfast under the thin shade of an oak, andjoined him. 

"What did you find, Dick?" asked the colonel, striving to hide the noteof anxiety in his voice. 

"I found all right at the house, but I did not see mother. "

"What had become of her?"

"I learned from a friend that in order to be out of the path of the armyor of prowling bands she had gone to relatives of ours in Danville. ThenI came away. "

"She did well, " said Colonel Winchester. "The rebels are concentratingabout Lexington, but the battle, I think, will take place far south ofthat city. "

Before the day was old they heard news that changed their opinionfor the time at least. A scout brought news that a division of theConfederate army was much nearer than Lexington; in fact, that it wasat Frankfort, the capital of the state. And the news was heightened ininterest by the statement that the division was there to assist in theinauguration of a Confederate government of the state, so little ofwhich the Confederate army held. 

Colonel Winchester at once applied to General Buell for permission fora few officers like himself, natives of Kentucky and familiar with theregion, to ride forward and see what the enemy was really doing. Dickwas present at the interview and it was characteristic. 

"If you leave, what of your regiment, Colonel Winchester?" said GeneralBuell. 

"I shall certainly rejoin it in time for battle. "

"Suppose the enemy should prevent you?"

"He cannot do so. "

"I remember you at Shiloh. You did good work there. "

"Thank you, sir. "

"And this lad, Lieutenant Mason, he has also done well. But he isyoung. "

"I can vouch for him, sir. "

"Then take twenty of your bravest and most intelligent men and ridetoward Frankfort. It may be that we shall have to take a part in thisinauguration, which I hear is scheduled for to-morrow. "

"It may be so, sir, " said Colonel Winchester, returning General Buell'sgrim smile. Then he and Dick saluted and withdrew. 

But it did not take the colonel long to make his preparations. Among histwenty men all were natives of Kentucky except Warner, Penningtonand Sergeant Whitley. Two were from Frankfort itself, and they wereconfident that they could approach through the hills with comparativesecurity, the little capital nestling in its little valley. 

They rode rapidly and by nightfall drew near to the rough Benson Hills, which suddenly shooting up in a beautiful rolling country, hem in thecapital. Although it was now the third day of October the littleparty marked anew the extreme dryness and the shrunken condition ofeverything. It was all the more remarkable as no region in the world isbetter watered than Kentucky, with many great rivers, more small ones, and innumerable creeks and brooks. There are few points in the statewhere a man can be more than a mile from running water. 

The dryness impressed Dick. They had dust here, as they had had it inVirginia, but there it was trampled up by great armies. Here it wasraised by their own little party, and as the October winds swept acrossthe dry fields it filled their eyes with particles. Yet it was one ofthe finest regions of the world, underlaid with vitalizing limestone, a land where the grass grows thick and long and does not die even inwinter. 

"If one were superstitious, " said Dick, "he could think it was apunishment sent upon us all for fighting so much, and for killing somany men about questions that lots of us don't understand, and that atleast could have been settled in some other way. "

"It's easy enough to imagine it so, " said Warner in his precise way, "but after all, despite the reasons against it, here we are fighting andkilling one another with a persistence that has never been surpassed. It's a perfectly simple question in mathematics. Let x equal the angerof the South, let y equal the anger of the North, let 10 equal thepercentage of reason, 100, of course, being the whole, then you have x +y + 10 equalling 100. The anger of the two sections is consequently x +y, equalling 100 - 10, or 90. When anger constitutes 90 per cent. , whatchance has reason, which is only 10 per cent. , or one-ninth of anger?"

"No chance at all, " replied Dick. "That has already been proved withoutthe aid of algebra. Here is a man in a cornfield signaling to us. Iwonder what he wants?"

As Dick spoke, Colonel Winchester, who had already noticed the man, gavean order to stop. The stranger, bent and knotted by hard work on thefarm, hurried toward them. He leaned against the fence a moment, gaspingfor breath, and then said:

"You're Union men, ain't you? It's no disguise?"

"Yes, " replied Colonel Winchester, "we're Union men, and it's nodisguise that we're wearing, Malachi White. I've seen you several timesin Frankfort, selling hay. "

The farmer, who had climbed upon the fence and who was sitting on thetop rail, hands on his knees, stared at him open-mouthed. 

"You've got my name right. Malachi White it is, " he said, "suah enough, but I don't know yours. 'Pears to me, however, that they's somethin'familiar about you. Mebbe it's the way you throw back your shoulders an'look a fellow squah in the eyes. "

Colonel Winchester smiled. No man is insensible to a compliment which isobviously spontaneous. 

"I spent a night once at your house, Mr. White, " he said. "I was goingto Frankfort on horseback. I was overtaken at dusk by a storm and Ireached your place just in time. I remember that I slept on a mightysoft feather bed, and ate a splendid breakfast in the morning. "

Malachi White was not insensible to compliments either. He smiled, andthe smile which merely showed his middle front teeth at first, graduallybroadened until it showed all of them. Then it rippled and stretched inlittle waves, until it stopped somewhere near his ears. Dick regardedhim with delight. It was the broadest and finest smile that he had seenin many a long month. 

"Now I know you, " said Malachi White, looking intently at the colonel. "I ain't as strong on faces as some people, though I reckon I'm rightstrong on 'em, too, but I'm pow'ful strong on recollectin' hear'in', that is, the voice and the trick of it. It was fo' yea's ago when youstopped at my house. You had a curious trick of pronouncin' r's whenthey wasn't no r's. You'd say door, an' hour, when ev'body knowed it wasdoah, an' houah, but I don't hold it ag'in you fo' not knowin' how topronounce them wo'ds. Yoh name is Ahthuh Winchestuh. "

"As right as right can be, " said Colonel Winchester, reaching over andgiving him a hearty hand. "I'm a colonel in the Union army now, andthese are my officers and men. What was it you wanted to tell us?"

"Not to ride on fuhthah. It ain't mo' than fifteen miles to Frankfort. The place is plum full of the Johnnies. I seed 'em thah myself. Ki'bySmith, an' a sma't gen'ral he is, too, is thah, an' so's Bragg, who Idon't know much 'bout. They's as thick as black be'ies in a patch, an'they's all gettin ready fo' a gran' ma'ch an' display to-mo'ow whenthey sweah in the new Southe'n gove'nuh, Mistah Hawes. They've got outscouts, too, colonel, an' if you go on you'll run right squah into 'eman' be took, which I allow you don't want to happen, nohow. "

"No, Malachi, I don't, nor do any of us, but we're going on and we don'tmean to be taken. Most of the men know this country well. Two of them, in fact, were born in Frankfort. "

"Then mebbe you kin look out fo' yo'selves, bein' as you areKentuckians. I'm mighty strong fo' the Union myself, but a lot of themofficers that came down from the no'th 'pear to tu'n into pow'ful foolswhen they git away from home, knowin' nothin' 'bout the country, an'not willin' to lea'n. Always walkin' into traps. I guess they've nevahmissed a single trap the rebels have planted. Sometimes I've been somad 'bout it that I've felt like quittin' bein' a Yank an' tu'nin' to aJohnny. But somehow I've nevah been able to make up my mind to go ag'inmy principles. Is Gen'ral Grant leadin' you?"

"No, General Buell. "

"I'm so'y of that. Gen'ral Buell, f'om all I heah, is a good fightah, but slow. Liable to git thar, an' hit like all ta'nation, when it's alittle mite too late. He's one of ouah own Kentuckians, an' I won't sayanything ag'in him; not a wo'd, colonel, don't think that, but I've beenpow'ful took with this fellow Grant. I ain't any sojah, myself, but Ilike the tales I heah 'bout him. When a fellow hits him he hits backha'dah, then the fellow comes back with anothah ha'dah still, an' thenGrant up an' hits him a wallop that you heah a mile, an' so on an' soon. "

"You're right, Malachi. I was with him at Donelson and Shiloh and that'sthe way he did. "

"I reckon it's the right way. Is it true, colonel, that he taps theba'el?"

"Taps the barrel? What do you mean, Malachi?"

White put his hands hollowed out like a scoop to his mouth and turned uphis face. 

"I see, " said Colonel Winchester, "and I'm glad to say no, Malachi. Ifhe takes anything he takes water just like the rest of us. "

"Pow'ful glad to heah it, but it ain't easy to get too much good watahthis yeah. Nevah knowed such a dry season befoah, an' I was fifty-twoyeahs old, three weeks an' one day ago yestuhday. "

"Thank you, Malachi, for your warning. We'll be doubly careful, becauseof it, and I hope after this war is over to share your fine hospitalityonce more. "

"You'll sho'ly be welcome an' ev'y man an' boy with you will be welcome, too. Fuhthah on, 'bout foah hund'ed yahds, you'll come to a path leadin'into the woods. You take that path, colonel. It'll be sundown soon, an'you follow it th'ough the night. "

The two men shook hands again, and then the soldiers rode on at a brisktrot. Malachi White sat on the fence, looking at them from under thebrim of his old straw hat, until they came to the path that he hadindicated and disappeared in the woods. Then he sighed and walked backslowly to his house in the cornfield. Malachi White had no education, but he had much judgment and he was a philosopher. 

But Dick and the others rode on through the forest, penetrating into thehigh and rough hills which were sparsely inhabited. The nights, as itwas now October, were cool, despite the heat and dust of the day, andthey rode in a grateful silence. It was more than an hour after darkwhen Powell, one of the Frankforters, spoke:

"We can hit the old town by midnight easy enough, " he said. "Unlessthey've stretched pretty wide lines of pickets I can lead you, sir, within four hundred yards of Frankfort, where you can stay under coveryourself and look right down into it. I guess by this good moonlight Icould point out old Bragg himself, if he should be up and walking aroundthe streets. "

"That suits us, Powell, " said Colonel Winchester. "You and May lead theway. "

May was the other Frankforter and they took the task eagerly. They wereabout to look down upon home after an absence of more than a year, ayear that was more than a normal ten. They were both young, not overtwenty, and after a while they turned out of the path and led into thedeep woods. 

"It's open forest through here, no underbrush, colonel, " said Powell, "and it makes easy riding. Besides, about a mile on there's a creekrunning down to the Kentucky that will have deep water in it, no matterhow dry the season has been. Tom May and I have swum in it many a time, and I reckon our horses need water, colonel. "

"So they do, and so do we. We'll stop a bit at this creek of yours, Powell. "

The creek was all that the two Frankfort lads had claimed for it. It wastwo feet deep, clear, cold and swift, shadowed by great primeval trees. Men and horses drank eagerly, and at last Colonel Winchester, feelingthat there was neither danger nor the need of hurry, permitted themto undress and take a quick bath, which was a heavenly relief andstimulant, allowing them to get clear of the dust and dirt of the day. 

"It's a beauty of a creek, " said Powell to Dick. "About a half milefurther down the stream is a tremendous tree on which is cut with apenknife, 'Dan'l Boone killed a bar here, June 26, 1781. ' I found itmyself, and I cut away enough of the bark growth with a penknife for itto show clearly. I imagine the great Daniel and Simon Kenton and Harrodand the rest killed lots of bears in these hills. "

"I'd go and see that inscription in the morning, " said Dick, "if Ididn't have a bit of war on my hands. "

"Maybe you'll have a chance later on. But I'm feeling bully afterthis cold bath. Dick, I came into the creek weighing two hundred andtwenty-five pounds, one hundred and fifty pounds of human being andseventy-five pounds of dust and dirt. I'm back to one hundred and fiftynow. Besides, I was fifty years old when I entered the stream, and I'vereturned to twenty. "

"That just about describes me, too, but the colonel is whistling for usto come. Rush your jacket on and jump for your horse. "

They had stayed about a half-hour at the creek, and about two o'clock inthe morning Powell and May led them through a dense wood to the edge ofa high hill. 

"There's Frankfort below you, " said May in a voice that trembled. 

The night was brilliant, almost like day, and they saw the little cityclustered along the banks of the Kentucky which flowed, a dark ribbon ofblue. Their powerful glasses brought out everything distinctly. They sawthe old state house, its trees, and in the open spaces, tents standingby the dozens and scores. It was the division of Kirby Smith thatoccupied the town, and Bragg himself had made a triumphant entry. Dickwondered which house sheltered him. It was undoubtedly that of someprominent citizen, proud of the honor. 

"Isn't it the snuggest and sweetest little place you ever saw?" saidMay. "Lend me your glasses a minute, please, Dick. "

Dick handed them to him, and May took a long look, Dick noticed thatthe glasses remained directed toward a house among some trees near theriver. 

"You're looking at your home, are you not?" he asked. 

"I surely am. It's that cottage among the oaks. It's bigger than itlooks from here. Front porch and back porch, too. You go from the backporch straight down to the river. I've swum across the Kentucky thereat night many and many a time. My father and mother are sure to be therenow, staying inside with the doors closed, because they're red hot forthe Union. Farther up the street, the low red brick house with the ironfence around the yard is Jim Powell's home. You don't mind letting Jimhave a look through the glasses, do you?"

"Of course not. "

The glasses were handed in turn to Powell, who, as May had done, tooka long, long look. He made no comment, when he gave the glasses back toDick, merely saying: "Thank you. " But Dick knew that Powell was deeplymoved. 

"It may be, lads, " said Colonel Winchester, "that you will be ableto enter your homes by the front doors in a day or two. Evidently theSoutherners intend to make it a big day to-morrow when they inaugurateHawes, their governor. "

"A governor who's a governor only when he is surrounded by an army, won't be much of a governor, " said Pennington. "This state refused tosecede, and I guess that stands. "

"Beyond a doubt it does, " said Colonel Winchester, "but they've madegreat preparations, nevertheless. There are Confederate flags on theCapitol and the buildings back of it, and I see scaffolding for seatsoutside. Are there other places from which we can get good looks, lads?"

"Plenty of them, " May and Powell responded together, and they led themfrom hill to hill, all covered with dense forest. Several times they sawSouthern sentinels on the slopes near the edge of the woods, but May andPowell knew the ground so thoroughly that they were always able to keepthe little troop under cover without interfering with their own scoutingoperations. 

Buell had given final instructions to the colonel to come back with allthe information possible, and, led by his capable guides, the colonelused his opportunities to the utmost. He made a half circle aboutFrankfort, going to the river, and then back again. With the aid ofthe glasses and the brilliancy of the night he was able to see that thedivision of Kirby Smith was not strong enough to hold the town underany circumstances, if the main Union army under Buell came up, and thecolonel was resolved that it should come. 

It was a singular coincidence that the Southerners were making amilitary occupation of Frankfort with a Union army only a day's marchaway. The colonel found a certain grim irony in it as he took his lastlook and turned away to join Buell. 

A half mile into the forest and they heard the crashing of hoofs in thebrushwood. Colonel Winchester drew up his little troop abruptly as aband of men in gray emerged into an open space. 

"Confederate cavalry!" exclaimed Dick. 

"Yes, " said the colonel. 

But the gray troopers were not much more numerous than the blue. Evidently they were a scouting party, too, and for a few minutes theystared at each other across a space of a couple of hundred yards or so. Both parties fired a few random rifle shots, more from a sense of dutythan a desire to harm. Then they fell away, as if by mutual consent, thegray riding toward Frankfort and the blue toward the Union army. 

"Was it a misfortune to meet them?" asked Dick. 

"I don't think so, " replied Colonel Winchester. "They had probably foundout already that our army was near. Of course they had out scouts. KirbySmith, I know, is an alert man, and anyway, the march of an army aslarge as ours could not be hidden. "

It was dawn again when the colonel's little party reached the Unioncamp, and when he made his report the heavy columns advanced at once. But the alarm had already spread about at Frankfort. The morning therelooked upon a scene even more lively than the one that had occurredin Buell's camp. The scouts brought in the news that the Union army ingreat force was at hand. They had met some of their cavalry patrols inthe night, on the very edge of the city. Resistance to the great Unionforce was out of the question, because Bragg had committed the errorthat the Union generals had been committing so often in the east. He hadbeen dividing and scattering his forces so much that he could not nowconcentrate them and fight at the point where they were needed most. 

The division of the Southern army that occupied Frankfort hastilygathered up its arms and supplies and departed, taking with it thegovernor who was never inaugurated, and soon afterward the Union menmarched in. Both May and Powell had the satisfaction of entering theirhomes by the front doors, and seeing the parents who did not know untilthen whether they were dead or alive. 

Dick had a few hours' leave and he walked about the town. He had madefriends when he was there in the course of that memorable struggle oversecession, and he saw again all of them who had not gone to the war. 

Harry and his father were much present in his mind then, because he hadrecently seen Colonel Kenton, and because the year before, all three ofthem had talked together in these very places. 

But he could not dwell too much in the past. He was too young for it, and the bustle of war was too great. It was said that Bragg's forceshad turned toward the southeast, but were still divided. It was reportedthat the Bishop-General, Polk, had been ordered to attack the Northernforce in or near Frankfort, but the attack did not come. ColonelWinchester said it was because Polk recognized the superior strengthof his enemy, and was waiting until he could co-operate with Bragg andHardee. 

But whatever it was Dick soon found himself leaving Frankfort andmarching into the heart of the Bluegrass. He began to have the feeling, or rather instinct warned him, that battle was near. Yet he did notfear for the Northern army as he had feared in Virginia and Maryland. He never felt that such men as Lee and Jackson were before them. He feltinstead that the Southern commanders were doubtful and hesitating. Theynow had there no such leaders as Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell atShiloh when victory was in Southern hands and before it had time to slipfrom their grasp. 

So the army dropped slowly down eastward and southward through theBluegrass. May and Powell had obtained but a brief glimpse of theirhome town, before they were on their way again with a purpose which hadlittle to do with such peaceful things as home. 

Dick saw with dismay that the concentric march of the armies wasbringing them toward the very region into which his mother had fled forrefuge. She was at Danville, which is in the county of Boyle, and heheard now that the Confederate army, or at least a large division ofit, was gathering at a group of splendid springs near a village calledPerryville in the same county. But second thought told him that shewould be safe yet in Danville, as he began to feel sure now that themeeting of the armies would be at Perryville. 

Dick's certainty grew out of the fact that the great springs were aboutPerryville. The extraordinary drouth and the remarkable phenomenon ofbrooks drying up in Kentucky had continued. Water, cool and fresh formany thousands of men, was wanted or typhoid would come. 

This need of vast quantities of water fresh and cool from the earth, wasobvious to everybody, and the men marched gladly toward the springs. The march would serve two purposes: it would quench their thirst, and itwould bring on the battle they wanted to clear Kentucky of the enemy. 

"Fine country, this of yours, Dick, " said Warner as they rode sideby side. "I don't think I ever saw dust of a higher quality. It siftsthrough everything, fills your eyes, nose and mouth and then goes downunder your collar and gives you a neat and continuous dust bath. "

"You mustn't judge us by this phenomenon, " said Dick. "It has nothappened before since the white man came, and it won't happen again in ahundred years. "

"You may speak with certainty of the past, Dickie, my lad, but I don'tthink we can tell much about the next century. I'll grant the fact, however, that fifty or a hundred thousand men marching through a drycountry anywhere are likely to raise a lot of dust. Still, Dickie, myboy, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but if I live through this, asI mean to do, I intend to call it the Dusty Campaign. "

"Call it what you like if in the end you call it victory. "

"The dust doesn't hurt me, " said Pennington. "I've seen it as dry asa bone on the plains with great clouds of it rolling away behind thebuffalo herds. There's nothing the matter with dust. Country dust is oneof the cleanest things in the world. "

"That's so, " said Warner, "but it tickles and makes you hot. I shouldsay that despite its cleanly qualities, of which you speak, Frank, myfriend, its power to annoy is unsurpassed. Remember that bath we took inthe creek the night we went to Frankfort. Did you ever before see suchcool running water, and Dickie, old boy, remember how much there was ofit! It was just as deep and cool and fine after we left it. "

"George, " said Dick, as he wiped his dusty face, "if you say anythingmore about the creek and its cool water this army will lose a capablelieutenant, and it will lose him mighty soon. It will be necessary, too, to bury him very far from his home in Vermont. "

"Keep cool, Dickie boy, and let who will be dusty. Brooks may fail oncein a hundred years in Kentucky, but they haven't failed in a thousand inVermont. You need not remind me that the white man has been there onlytwo or three hundred years. My information comes straight from avery old Indian chief who was the depository of tribal recollectionsabsolutely unassailable. The streams even in midsummer come down as fulland cold as ever from the mountains. "

"We'll have water and plenty of it in a day or two. The scouts say thatthe Confederate force at the springs is not strong enough to withstandus. "

"But General Buell, not knowing exactly what General Bragg intendswith his divided force, has divided his own in order to meet him at allpoints. "

"Has he done that?" exclaimed Dick aghast. Like other young officers hefelt perfectly competent to criticize anybody. 

"He has, and it seems to me that when the enemy divided was the time forus to unite or remain united. Then we could scoop him up in detail. Why, Dick, with an army of sixty thousand men or so, made of such material asours has shown itself to be, we could surely beat any Southern force inKentucky!"

"Especially as we have no Lees and Stonewall Jacksons to fight. "

"Maybe General Buell has divided his force in order to obtain plenty ofwater, " said Pennington. "We fellows ought to be fair to him. "

"Perhaps you're right, " said Warner, "and you're right when you say weought to be fair to him. I know it will be a great relief to GeneralBuell to find that we three are supporting his management of this army. Shall I go and tell him, Frank?"

"Not now, but you can a little later on. Suppose you wait until a day ortwo after the battle which we all believe is coming. "

The three boys were really in high spirits. Little troubled them but thedryness and the dust. They had tasted so much of defeat and drawn battlein the east that they had an actual physical sense of better things inthe west. The horizons were wider, the mountains were lower, and therewas not so much enveloping forest. They did not have the stranglingsensation, mental only, which came from the fear that hostile armieswould suddenly rush from the woods and fall upon their flank. 

Besides, there was Shiloh. After all, they had won Shiloh, and thecoming of this very Buell who led them now had enabled them to win it. And Shiloh was the only great battle that they had yet really won. 

They camped that night in the dry fields. The Winchester regiment was apart of the division under McCook, while Buell with the rest of the armywas some miles away. It was still warm, although October was now sevendays old, and Dick had never before heard the grass and leaves rustleso dryly under the wind. Off in the direction of Perryville they sawthe dim gleam of red, and they knew it came from the camp-fires of theSouthern army. Buell had in his detached divisions sixty thousandmen, most of them veterans and Dick believed that if they were broughttogether victory was absolutely sure on the morrow. 

The troops around the Winchester regiment were lads from Ohio, and theyaffiliated readily. Most of the new men were in these Ohio regiments, and Dick, Warner and Frank felt themselves ancient veterans who couldtalk to the recruits and give them good advice. And the recruits tookit in the proper spirit. They looked up with admiration to those who hadbeen at Shiloh, and the Second Manassas and Antietam. 

Dick thought their spirit remarkable. They were not daunted at all bythe great failures in the east. They did not discount the valor of theSouthern troops, but they asked to be led against them. 

"Come over here, " said one of the Ohio boys to Dick. "Ahead of us andon the side there's rough ground with thick woods and deep ravines. I'llshow you something just at the edge of the woods. Bring your friendswith you. "

The twilight had already turned to night and Dick, calling Warner andPennington, went with his new friend. There, flowing from under a greatstone, shaded by a huge oak, was a tiny stream of pure cold water acouple of inches deep but seven or eight inches broad. Under the stonea beautiful basin a foot and a half across and about as deep had beenchiselled out. 

"A lot of us found it here, " said the Ohio boy, "and we found, too, atin cup chained to a staple driven into the stone. See, it's here still. We haven't broken the chain. I suppose it belongs to some farmer closeby. The boys brought other tin cups and we drank so fast that the brookitself became dry. The water never got any further than the pool. Isuppose it's just started again. Drink. "

The boys drank deeply and gratefully. No such refreshing stream had everflowed down their throats before. 

"Ohio, " said Dick, "you're a lovely, dirty angel. "

"I guess I am, " said Ohio, "'cause I found the spring. It turned me froman old man back to a boy again. Cold as ice, ain't it? I can tell youwhy. This spring starts right at the North Pole, right under the poleitself, dives away down into the earth, comes under Bering Sea and thenunder British America, and then under the lakes, and then under Ohio, and then under a part of Kentucky, and then comes out here especially tooblige us, this being a dry season. "

"I believe every word you say, Ohio, " said Warner, "since yourstatements are proved by the quality of the water. I could easilydemonstrate it as a mathematical proposition. "

"Don't you pay any attention to him, Ohio, " said Dick. "He's fromVermont, and he's so full of big words that he's bound to get rid ofsome of them. "

"I'm not doubting you, Vermont, " said Ohio. "As you believe every word Isaid, I believe every word you said. "

"There's nothing extraordinary about them things, " said another Ohioboy belonging to a different brigade, who was sitting near. "Do you knowthat we swallowed a whole river coming down here? We began swallowing itwhen we crossed the Ohio, just like a big snake swallowing a snake notquite so big, taking down his head first, then keeping on swallowinghim until the last tip of his tail disappeared inside. It was a good bigstream when we started, water up to our knees, but we formed across itin a line five hundred men deep and then began to drink as we marchedforward. Of course, a lot of water got past the first four hundred linesor so, but the five hundredth always swallowed up the last drop. "

"We marched against that stream for something like a hundred and fiftymiles. No water ever got past us. We left a perfectly dry bed behind. Up in the northern part of the state not a drop of water came down theriver in a month. We followed it, or at least a lot of us did, cleanto its source in some hills a piece back of us. We drank it dry up to aplace like this, only bigger, and do you know, a fellow of our companynamed Jim Lambert was following it up under the rocks, and we had topull him out by the feet to keep him from being suffocated. That wasfour days ago, and we had a field telegram yesterday from a place nearthe Ohio, saying that a full head of water had come down the riveragain, three feet deep from bank to bank and running as if there hadbeen a cloudburst in the hills. Mighty glad they were to see it, too. "

There was a silence, but at length a solemn youth sitting near said invery serious tones:

"I've thought over that story very thoroughly, and I believe it's alie. "

"Vermont, " said the first Ohio lad, "don't you have faith in my friend'snarrative?"

"I believe every word of it, " said Warner warmly. "Our friend here, whoI see can see, despite the dim light, has a countenance which one couldjustly say indicates a doubtful and disputatious nature, wishes todiscredit it because he has not heard of such a thing before. Now, Iask you, gentlemen, intelligent and fair-minded as I know you are, wherewould we be, where would civilization be if we assumed the attitude ofour friend here. If a thing is ever seen at all somebody sees it first, else it would never be seen. _Quod erat demonstrandum_. You rememberyour schooldays, of course. I thank you for your applause, gentlemen, but I'm not through yet. We have passed the question of things seen, and we now come to the question of things done, which is perhaps moreimportant. It is obvious even to the doubtful or carping mind that ifa new thing is done it is done by somebody first. Others will do itafterward, but there must and always will be a first. 

"Nobody ever swallowed a river before, beginning at its mouth andswallowing it clean down to its source, but a division of gallant youngtroops from Ohio have done so. They are the first, and they must andalways will be the first. Doubtless, other rivers will be swallowedlater on. As the population increases, larger rivers will be swallowed, but the credit for initiating the first and greatest pure-water drinkingmovement in the history of the world will always belong to a brave armydivision from the state of Ohio. "

A roar of applause burst forth, and Warner, standing up, bowedgracefully with his hand upon his heart. Then came a dead silence, asa hand fell upon the Vermonter's shoulder. Warner looked around andhis jaw fell. General McCook, who commanded this part of the army, wasstanding beside him. 

"Excuse me, sir, I--" began Warner. 

"Never mind, " said the general. "I had come for a drink of water, andhearing your debate I stopped for a few moments behind a tree to listen. I don't know your name, young gentleman. "

"Warner, sir, George Warner, first lieutenant in the regiment of ColonelWinchester. "

"I merely wished to say, Lieutenant Warner, that I listened to yourspeech from the first word to the last, and I found it very cogent andpowerful. As you say, things must have beginnings. If there is nofirst, there can be no second or third. I am entirely convinced by yourargument that our army swallowed a river as it marched southward. In fact, I have often felt so thirsty that I felt as if I could haveswallowed it myself all alone. "

There was another roar of applause, and as a dozen cups filled withwater were pushed at the general, he drank deeply and often, and thenretired amid further applause. 

"They'll fight well for him, to-morrow, " said Dick. 

"No doubt of it, " said Warner. 

They went into the edge of the wood and sought sleep and rest. But therewas much merry chatter first among these lads, for many of whom deathhad already spread its somber wings. 

CHAPTER XIII. PERRYVILLE

Dick slept very well that night. The water from the little spring, gushing out from under the rock, had refreshed him greatly. He wouldhave rejoiced in another bath, such as one as they had luxuriated inthat night before Frankfort, but it was a thing not be dreamed of now, and making the best of things as they were, he had gone to sleep amonghis comrades. 

The dryness of the ground had at least one advantage. They had not coldsand rheumatism to fear, and, with warm earth beneath them and fresh airabove, they slept more soundly than if they had been in their own beds. But while they were sleeping the wary Sergeant Whitley was slippingforward among the woods and ravines. He had received permission fromColonel Winchester, confirmed by a higher officer, to go on a scout, andhe meant to use his opportunity. He had made many a scouting trip onthe plains, where there was less cover than here, and there torture anddeath were certain if captured, but here it would only be imprisonmentamong men who were in no sense his personal enemies, and who would notill-treat him. So the sergeant took plenty of chances. 

He passed the Union pickets, entered a ravine which led up between twohills and followed it for some distance. In a cross ravine he found alittle stream of water, flowing down from some high, rocky ground above, and, at one point, he came to a pool several yards across and three orfour feet deep. It was cool and fresh, and the sergeant could not resistthe temptation to slip off his clothes and dive into it once or twice. He slipped his clothes on again, the whole not consuming more than fiveminutes, and then went on much better equipped for war than he had beenfive minutes before. 

Then he descended the hills and came down into a valley crossed by acreek, which in ordinary times had plenty of water, but which was nowreduced to a few muddy pools. The Southern pickets did not reach so far, and save for the two tiny streams in the hills this was all the waterthat the Northern army could reach. Farther down, its muddy and detachedstream lay within the Confederate lines. 

Crossing the creek's bed the sergeant ascended a wooded ridge, and nowhe proceeded with extreme caution. He had learned that beyond this ridgewas another creek containing much more water than the first. Upon itsbanks at the crossing of the road stood the village of Perryville, andthere, according to his best information and belief, lay the Southernarmy. But he meant to see with his own eyes and hear with his own ears, and thus return to McCook's force with absolute certainty. 

The sergeant, as he had expected, found cover more plentiful than it wason the plains, but he never stalked an Indian camp with more caution. Heknew that the most of the Southern scouts and skirmishers were as waryas the Indians that once hunted in these woods, and that, unless he usedextreme care, he was not likely to get past them. 

He came at last to a point where he lay down flat on his stomach andwormed himself along, keeping in the thickest shadow of woods andbushes. The night was bright, and although his own body was blended withthe ground, he could see well about him. The sergeant was a very patientman. Life as a lumberman and then as a soldier on the plains had taughthim to look where he was crawling. He spent a full hour worming himselfup to the crest of that ridge and a little way down on the other side. In the course of the last fifteen minutes he passed directly between twoalert and vigilant Southern pickets. They looked his way several times, but the sergeant was so much in harmony with the color scheme of theearth on which he crept, that no blame lay upon them for not seeing him. 

The sergeant was already hearing with his own ears. He heard thesepickets and others talking in low voices of the Northern army and oftheir own. They knew that Buell's great force was approaching fromdifferent points and that a battle was expected on the morrow. He knewthis already, but he wanted to know how much of the Confederate army layin Perryville, and he intended to see with his own eyes. 

Having passed the first line of pickets the sergeant advanced morerapidly, although he still kept well under cover. Advancing thus hereached the bed of the creek and hid himself against the bank, allowinghis body to drop down in the water, in order that he might feel theglorious cool thrill again, and also that he might be hidden to theneck. His rifle and ammunition he laid at the edge of the bank withinreach. Situated thus comfortably, he used his excellent eyes withexcellent results. He could see Perryville on his left, and also a greatcamp on some heights that ran along the creek. There were plenty oflights in this camp, and, despite the lateness of the hour, officerswere passing about. 

It was obvious to the sergeant that many thousands of soldiers were onthose heights, and now he wanted to hear again with his own ears. He didnot dare go any nearer, and the water in the creek was growing cold tohis body. But his patience was great, and still he waited, only his headshowing above the water, and it hidden in the black gloom of the bank'sshadows. 

His reward came by-and-by. A number of cavalrymen led their horses downto the creek to drink, and while the horses drank and then blew thewater away from their noses, the men talked at some length, enabling thesergeant to pick up important scraps of information. 

He learned that the heights were occupied by Hardee with two divisions. It was the same Hardee, the famous tactician who had been one of theSouthern generals at Shiloh. Polk was expected, but he had not yet comeup. Bragg, too, would be there. 

The brave sergeant's heart thumped as he listened. He gathered thatPolk, perhaps, could not arrive before noon, and here was a brilliantchance to destroy a large part of the Southern army early in themorning. 

He waited until all the cavalrymen had gone away with their horses, andthen he crawled cautiously out of the stream. His limbs were cold andstiff, but his enforced exercise in crawling soon brought back theirflexibility. He passed between the pickets again, and, when he wassafely beyond their hearing, he rose and stretched himself again andagain. 

The sergeant greatly preferred walking to crawling. Primitive men mighthave crawled, but to do so made the modern man's knees uncommonly sore. So he continued to stretch, to inhale great draughts of air, and to feelproudly that he was a man who walked upright and not a bear or a pigcreeping on four legs through the bushes. 

He reached his own army not long afterward, and, walking among thethousands of sleeping forms, reached the tree under which ColonelWinchester slept. 

"Colonel, " he said gently. 

The colonel awoke instantly and sat up. Despite the dusk he recognizedWhitley at once. 

"Well, sergeant?" he said. 

"I've been clean over the ridge to the rebel camp. I reached the nextcreek and lay on the heights just beyond it. I've seen with my owneyes and I've heard with my own ears. They've only two divisions there, though they're expectin' Polk to come up in the mornin' an' Bragg, too. Colonel, I'm a good reckoner, as I've seen lots of war, and they ain'tgot more `n fifteen thousand men there on the creek, while if we get allour divisions together we can hit `em with nigh on to sixty thousand. For God's sake, Colonel, can't we do it?"

"We ought to, and if I can do anything, we will. Sergeant, you've done agreat service at a great risk, and all of us owe you thanks. I shall seeGeneral McCook at once. "

The sergeant, forgetting that he was wet to the skin, stretched himselfin the dry grass near Dick and his comrades, and soon fell fast asleep, while his clothes dried upon him. But Colonel Winchester went to GeneralMcCook's tent and insisted upon awakening him. The general received himeagerly and listened with close attention. 

"This man Whitley is trustworthy?" he said. 

"Absolutely. He has had years of experience on the plains, fightingSioux, Cheyennes and other Indians, and he has been with me through mostof the war so far. There is probably no more skillful scout, and nonewith a clearer head and better judgment in either army. "

"Then, Colonel, we owe him thanks, and you thanks for letting him go. We'll certainly bring on a battle to-morrow, and we ought to have allour army present. I shall send a messenger at once to General Buell withyour news. Messengers shall also go to Crittenden, Rousseau, and theother generals. But you recognize, of course, that General Buell isthe commander-in-chief, and that it is for him to make the finalarrangements. "

"I do, sir, " said the colonel, as he saluted and retired. He went backto the point where his own little regiment lay. He knew every man andboy in it, and he had known them all in the beginning, when they weremany times more. But few of the splendid regiment with which he hadstarted south a year and a half before remained. He looked at Dick andWarner and Pennington and the sergeant and wondered if they would bepresent to answer to the roll the next night, or if he himself would bethere?

The colonel cherished no illusions. He was not sanguine that the wholeUnion army would come up, and even if it came, and if victory should bewon it would be dark and bloody. He knew how the Southerners fought, andhere more so than anywhere else, it would be brother against brother. This state was divided more than any other, and, however the battlewent, kindred would meet kindred. Colonel Kenton, Dick's uncle, a manwhom he liked and admired, was undoubtedly across those ridges, and theymight meet face to face in the coming battle. 

It was far into the morning now and the colonel did not sleep again. Hesaw the messengers leaving the tent of General McCook, and he knew thatthe commander of the division was active. Just what success he wouldhave would remain for the morrow to say. The colonel saw the dawn come. The dry fields and forests reddened with the rising sun, and then thearmy rose up from its sleep. The cooks had already prepared coffee andfood. 

"Show me the enemy, " said Pennington fiercely, "and as soon as I finishthis cup of coffee, I'll go over and give him the thrashing he needs. "

"He's just across those ridges, sir, and on the banks of the far creek, "said Sergeant Whitley. 

"How do you know?"

"I made a call on him last night. "

"You did? And what did he say?"

"I didn't send in my card. I just took a look at his front door and cameaway. He's at home, waiting and willing to give us a fight. "

"Well, it's a fine day for a battle anyway. Look what a splendid sun isrising! And you can see the soft haze of fall over the hills and woods. "

"It's not as fine a fall as usual in Kentucky, " said Dick, in anapologetic tone to Warner and Pennington. "It's been so dry that theleaves are falling too early, and the reds, the yellows and the brownsare not so bright. "

"Never mind, Dickie, boy, " said Warner consolingly. "We'll see it in abetter year, because Pennington and I are both coming back to spendsix months with you when this war is over. I've already accepted theinvitation. So get ready for us, Dick. "

"It's an understood thing now, " said Dick sincerely. "There go thetrumpets, and they mean for us to get in line. "

A large portion of the division was already on the way, having startedat five o'clock, and the little Winchester regiment was soon marching, too. The day was again hot. October, even, did not seem able to breakthat singular heat, and the dust was soon billowing about them incolumns, stinging and burning them. The sergeant the night before hadtaken a short cut through the hills, but the brigades, needing widespaces, marched along the roads and through the fields. A portion oftheir own army was hidden from them by ridges and forest, and Dick didnot know whether Buell with the other half of the army had come up. 

After a long and exhausting march they stopped, and the Winchesterregiment and the Ohio lads concluded that they had been wrong afterall. No battle would be fought that day. They were willing now, too, topostpone it, as they were almost exhausted by heat and thirst, and thatstinging, burning dust was maddening. A portion of their line restedon the first creek, and they drank eagerly of the muddy water. Dick sawbefore him fields in which the corn stood thick and heavy. The fieldswere divided by hedges which cut off the view somewhat and which thesergeant said would furnish great ambush for sharpshooters. 

The men were now allowed to lie down, but most of them were stillpanting with the heat. The three boys on horseback rode with ColonelWinchester to the crest of a low hill, just beyond the first creek. Fromthat point they clearly saw the enemy gathered in battle array along thesecond stream. Dick, with his glasses, saw the batteries, and could evenmark the sun-browned faces of the men. 

"Has General Buell come?" he asked Colonel Winchester. 

"He has not. Not half of our army is here. "

The answer was made with emphasis and chagrin. There was a report thatBuell did not intend to attack until the following day, when he wouldhave his numbers well in hand. 

"Under the circumstances, " said the colonel, "we have to wait. Betterget off your horses, boys, and hunt the shade. "

They rode back and obeyed. It was now getting well along into theafternoon. Thousands of soldiers lay on the grass in the shadiest placesthey could find. Many were asleep. Overhead the sun burned and burned ina sky of absolute blazing white. 

A cannon boomed suddenly and then another. The artillery of the twoarmies watching one another had opened at long range, but the fire wasso distant that it did no harm. Dick and his comrades watched the shellsin their flight, noting the trails of white smoke they left behind, andthen the showers of earth that flew up when they burst. It was rather apleasant occupation to watch them. In a way it broke the monotony of along summer day. 

They did not know that Polk, the bishop-general, was arriving at thatmoment in the Southern camp with five thousand men. Bragg had come, too, but he left the command to Polk, who outranked Hardee, and the threetogether listened to the long-range cannonade, while they also examinedwith powerful glasses the Union army which was now mostly lying on theground. 

Dick himself felt a strong temptation to sleep. The march through theheat that morning had been dusty and tiresome, and the warm wind thatblew over him made his eyelids very heavy. The cannonade itself wasconducive to slumber. The guns were fired at regular intervals, whichcreated a sort of rhythm. The shells with their trailing white smokeceased to interest him, and his eyelids grew heavier. It was now about2:30 o'clock and as his eyes were about to close a sudden shout made himopen them wide and then spring to his feet. 

"Look out! Look out!" cried Sergeant Whitley, "The Johnnies are coming!"

The Union forces in an instant were in line, rifles ready and eager. The gray masses were already charging across the fields and hills, whiletheir cannon made a sudden and rapid increase in the volume of fire. Their batteries were coming nearer, too, and the shells hithertoharmless were now shrieking and hissing among their ranks, killing andwounding. 

Dick looked around him. The members of the slim Winchester regiment wereall veterans; but thousands of the Ohio lads were recruits who had neverseen battle before. Now shell and shot were teaching them the terriblerealities. He saw many a face grow pale, as his own had often grownpale, in the first minutes of battle, but he did not see any one flinch. 

The Northern cannon posted in the intervals and along the edges ofthe woods opened with a mighty crash, and as the enemy came nearer theriflemen began to send a hail of bullets. But the charge did not break. It was led by Buckner, taken at Donelson, but now exchanged, and some ofthe best troops of the South followed him. 

"Steady! Steady!" shouted Colonel Winchester. The ranks were so closethat he and all of his staff, having no room for their horses, haddismounted, and they stood now in the front rank, encouraging the men tomeet the charge. But the rush of the Southern veterans was so suddenand fierce that despite every effort of valor the division gave way, suffering frightful losses. 

Two of the Union generals seeking to hold their men were killed. Eachside rushed forward reinforcements. A stream of Confederates issued froma wood and flung themselves upon the Union flank. Dick was dazed withthe suddenness and ferocity with which the two armies had closed inmortal combat. He could see but little. He was half blinded by thesmoke, the flash of rifles and cannon and the dust. Officers andmen were falling all around him. The numbers were not so great asat Antietam, but it seemed to him that within the contracted area ofPerryville the fight was even more fierce and deadly than it had been onthat famous Maryland field. 

But he was conscious of one thing. They were being borne back. Tears ofrage ran down his face. Was it always to be this way? Were their numbersnever to be of any avail? He heard some one shout for Buell, and heheard some one else shout in reply that he was far away, as he had beenat Shiloh. 

It was true. The wind blowing away from him, Buell had not yet hearda sound from the raging battle, which for its numbers and the time itlasted, was probably the fiercest ever fought on the American continent. The larger Union force, divided by ridges and thick woods from thefield, had not heard the fire of a single cannon, and did not know thattwo armies were engaged in deadly combat so near. 

Dick kept close to Colonel Winchester and Warner and Pennington wereby his side. The sergeant was also near. There was no chance to giveor send orders, and the officers, snatching up the rifles of the fallensoldiers, fought almost as privates. The Winchester regiment performedprodigies of valor on that day, and the Ohio lads strove desperately forevery inch of ground. 

It seemed to Dick once that they would hold fast, when he heard in fronta tremendous cry of: "On, my boys!" As the smoke lifted a little he sawthat it was Colonel Kenton leading his own trained and veteran regiment. Colonel Winchester and Colonel Kenton, in fact, had met face to face, but the Southern regiment was the more numerous and the stronger. Winchester's men were gradually borne back and the colonel gasped toDick:

"Didn't I see your uncle leading on his regiment?"

"Yes, it was he. It was his regiment that struck us, but he's hidden nowby the smoke. "

The Southern rush did not cease. McCook's whole division, between theshallow creeks was driven back, sustaining frightful losses, and itwould have been destroyed, but the artillery of Sheridan on the flanksuddenly opened upon the Southern victors. The Southerners whirled andcharged Sheridan, but his defense was so strong, and so powerful was hisartillery that they were compelled to recoil every time with shatteredranks. 

The decimated Ohio regiments beyond the creek were gathering themselvesanew for the battle, and so were the men of Colonel Winchester, nowreduced to half their numbers again. Then a great shout arose. A freshbrigade had come up to their relief, and aided by these new men theymade good the ground upon which they stood. 

Another shout arose, telling that Buell was coming, and, two hours afterthe combat had opened, he arrived with more troops. But night was now athand, and the sun set over a draw like that at Antietam. Forty thousandmen had fought a battle only about three hours long, and eight thousandof them lay dead or wounded upon the sanguinary field. One half theUnion army never reached the field in time to fight. 

As both sides drew off in the darkness, Dick shouted in triumph, thinking they had won a victory. A bullet fired by some retiringSouthern skirmisher glanced along his head. There was a sudden flash offire before him and then darkness. His body fell on a little slope androlled among some bushes. 

The close hot night came down upon the field, and the battle, the mostsanguinary ever fought on Kentucky soil, had closed. Like so many otherterrible struggles of the Civil War, it had been doubtful, or almost, so far as the fighting was concerned. The Northern left wing had beendriven back, but the Northern right wing had held firm against everyattack of the enemy. 

Pennington, when he lay panting on the ground with the remnant of theWinchesters, knew little about the result of the combat. He knew thattheir own division had suffered terribly. The Ohio recruits had been cutalmost to pieces, and the Winchester regiment had been reduced by halfagain. He was so tired that he did not believe he could stir for a longtime. He felt no wound, but every bone ached from weariness, and histhroat and mouth seemed to burn with smoke and dust. 

Pennington did not see either Dick or Warner, but as soon as he got alittle strength into his limbs he would look for them. No doubt theywere safe. A special providence always watched over those fellows. Itwas true that Warner had been wounded at the Second Manassas, but ahidden power had guided Dick to him, and he got well so fast that he wasable to fight soon afterward at Antietam. 

Pennington lay still, and he heard all around him the deep breathing ofmen who, like himself, were so worn that they could scarcely move. Thefield in front of him darkened greatly, but he saw lights moving there, and he knew that they belonged to little parties from either armylooking for the wounded. He began to wonder which side had won thebattle. 

"Ohio, " he said to one of the Ohio lads who lay near, "did we lick theJohnnies, or did the Johnnies lick us?"

"Blessed if I know, and I don't care much, either. Four fellows that Iused to play with at school were killed right beside me. It was my firstbattle, and, Oh, I tell you, it was awful!"

He gulped suddenly and began to cry. Pennington, who was no older thanhe, patted him soothingly on the shoulder. 

"I know that you were the bravest of the brave, because I saw you, " hesaid. 

"I don't know about that, but I do know that I can never get used tokilling men and seeing them killed. "

Pennington was surprised that Dick and Warner had not appeared. Theywould certainly rejoin their own regiment, and he began to feel uneasy. The last shot had been fired, the night was darkening fast and amournful wind blew over the battlefield. But up and down the lines theywere lighting the cooking fires. 

Pennington rose to his feet. He saw Colonel Winchester, standing alittle distance away, and he was about to ask him for leave to look forhis comrades, when he was startled by the appearance of a woman, a womanof thirty-eight or nine, tall, slender, dressed well, and as Penningtonplainly saw, very beautiful. But now she was dusty, her face was pale, and her eyes shone with a terrible anxiety. Women were often seen in thecamps at the very verge or close of battle, saying good-bye or lookingfor the lost, but she was unusual. 

The soldiers stood aside for her respectfully, and she looked about, until her gaze fell upon the colonel. Then she ran to him, seized him bythe arm, and exclaimed:

"Colonel Winchester! Colonel Winchester!"

"Good heavens, Mrs. Mason! You! How did you come?"

"I was at Danville, not so far from here. Of course I knew that thearmies were about to meet for battle! And it was only two days ago thatI heard the Winchester regiment had come west to join General Buell'sarmy. "

A stalwart and powerful colored woman emerged from the darkness and puther arm around Mrs. Mason's waist. 

"Don't you get too much excited, chile, " she said soothingly. 

Juliana stood beside her mistress, a very tower of defense, glaring atthe soldiers about them as if she would resent their curiosity. 

"I thought I would come and try to see Dick, " continued Mrs. Mason. "Myrelatives sought to persuade me not to do it. They were right, I know, but I wanted to come so badly that I had to do it. We slipped awayyesterday, Juliana and I. We stayed at a farmhouse last night, and thismorning we rode through the woods. We expected to be in the camp thisafternoon, but as we were coming to the edge of the forest we heard thecannon and then the rifles. Through three or four dreadful hours, whilewe shook there in the woods, we listened to a roar and thunder that Iwould have thought impossible. "

"The battle was very fierce and terrible, " said Colonel Winchester. 

"I don't think it could have been more so. We saw a part of it, butonly a confused and awful sweep of smoke and flame. And now, ColonelWinchester, where is my boy, Dick?"

Colonel Winchester's face turned deadly pale, and she noticed it atonce. Her own turned to the same pallor, but she did not shriek orfaint. 

"You do not know that he is killed?" she said in a low, distinct tonethat was appalling to the other. 

"I missed him only a little while ago, " said Colonel Winchester, "andI've been looking for him. But I'm sure he is not dead. He can't be!"

"No, he can't be! I can't think it!" she said, and she looked at thecolonel appealingly. 

"If you please, sir, " said Pennington, "Lieutenant Warner is missingalso. I think we'll find them together. You remember what happened atthe Second Manassas. "

"Yes, Frank, I do remember it, and your supposition may be right. "

He asked a lantern from one of the men, and whispered to Penningtonto come. But Mrs. Mason and Juliana had been standing at strainedattention, and Mrs. Mason inferred at once what was about to be done. 

"You mean to look for him on the field, " she said. "We will go withyou. "

Colonel Winchester opened his lips to protest, but shut them again insilence. 

"It is right that you should come, " he said a moment later, "but youwill see terrible things. "

"I am ready. "

She seemed all the more admirable and wonderful to Colonel Winchester, because she did not weep or faint. The deathly pallor on her faceremained, but she held herself firmly erect beside the gigantic coloredwoman. 

"Come with me, Pennington, " said Colonel Winchester, "and you, too, Sergeant Whitley. "

The two men and the boy led the way upon the field, and the two womencame close behind. They soon entered upon the area of conflict. Thecolonel had said that it would be terrible, but Mrs. Mason scarcelydreamed of the reality. It was one vast scene of frightful destruction, of torn and trampled earth and of dead men lying in all directions. Theblack of her faithful servant's face turned to an ashen gray, and shetrembled more than her mistress. 

Colonel Winchester had a very clear idea of the line along which hisregiment had advanced and retreated, and he followed it. But the lanterndid not enable them to see far. As happened so often after the greatbattles of the Civil War, the signs began to portend rain. The longdrouth would be broken, but whether by natural change or so much firingColonel Winchester did not know. Despite the lateness of the season dimlightning was seen on the horizon. The great heat was broken by a coolwind that began to blow from the northwest. 

The five advanced in silence, the two men and the boy still leading andthe two women following close behind. Colonel Winchester's heart beganto sink yet farther. He had not felt much hope at first, and now he feltscarcely any at all. A few moments later, however, the sergeant suddenlyheld up his hand. 

"What is it?" asked the colonel. 

"I think I hear somebody calling. "

"Like as not. Plenty of wounded men may be calling in delirium. "

"But, colonel, I've been on battlefields before, and this sounds likethe voice of some one calling for help. "

"Which way do you think it is?"

"To the left and not far off. It's a weak voice. "

"We'll turn and follow it. Don't say anything to the others yet. "

They curved and walked on, the colonel swinging his lantern from side toside, and now all of them heard the voice distinctly. 

"What is that?" exclaimed Mrs. Mason, speaking for the first time sincethey had come upon the field of conflict. 

"Some one shouting for help, " replied Colonel Winchester. "One could notneglect him at such a time. "

"No, that is so. "

"It's the voice of Lieutenant Warner, colonel, " whispered the sergeant. 

Colonel Winchester nodded. "Say nothing as yet, " he whispered. 

They walked a dozen steps farther and the colonel, swinging high thelantern, disclosed Warner sitting on the trunk of a tree that had beencut through by cannon balls. Warner, as well as they could see, was notwounded, but he seemed to be suffering from an overpowering weakness. The colonel, the sergeant and the boy alike dreaded to see what laybeyond the log, but the two women did not know Warner or that hispresence portended anything. 

The Vermonter saw them coming, and raised his hand in a proper saluteto his superior officer. Then as they came nearer, and he saw the whitewoman who came with them, he lifted his head, tried to straighten hisuniform a little with his left hand, and said as he bowed:

"I think this must be Mrs. Mason, Dick's mother. "

"It is, " said Colonel Winchester, and then they waited a moment or twoin an awful silence. 

"I don't rise because there is something heavy lying in my lap whichkeeps me from it, " said Warner very quietly, but with deep feeling. "After the Second Manassas, where I was badly wounded and left on theground for dead, a boy named Dick Mason hunted over the field, foundme and brought me in. I felt grateful about it and told him that if hehappened to get hit in the same way I'd find him and bring him in as hehad brought me. 

"I didn't think the chance would come so soon. Curious how things happenas you don't think they're going to happen, and don't happen as youthink they're going to happen, and here the whole thing comes out inonly a few weeks. We were driven back and I missed Dick as the battleclosed. Of course I came to hunt for him, and I found him. Easy, Mrs. Mason, don't get excited now. Yes, you can have his head in your ownlap, but it must be moved gently. That's where he's hurt. Don't tremble, ma'am. He isn't going to die, not by a long shot. The bullet meant tokill him, but finding his head too hard, it turned away, and went outthrough his hair. He won't have any scar, either, because it's all underthe thickest part of his hair. 

"Of course his eyes are closed, ma'am. He hasn't come around yet, buthe's coming fast. Don't cry on his face, ma'am. Boys never like to havetheir faces cried on. I'd have brought him in myself, but I found Iwas too weak to carry him. It's been too short a time since the SecondManassas for me to have got back all my strength. So I just bound up hishead, held it in my lap, and yelled for help. Along came a rebel party, bearing two wounded, and they looked at me. 'You're about pumped out, 'said one of them, 'but we'll take your friend in for you. ' 'No, youwon't, ' I said. 'Why not?' said they. 'Because you're no accountJohnnies, ' I said, 'while my wounded friend and I are high-toned Yanks. ''I beg your pardon, ' said the Johnny, who was one of the most politefellows I ever saw, 'I didn't see your uniform clearly by this dimlight, but the parties looking for the wounded are mostly going in, andyou're likely to be left here with your friend, who needs attention. Better come along with us and be prisoners and give him a chance to getwell. '

"Now, that was white, real white, but I thanked him and said that assoon as General Buell heard that the best two soldiers in his whole armywere here resting, he'd come with his finest ambulance for us, drivinghis horses himself. They said then they didn't suppose they were neededand went on. But do you know, ma'am, every one of those Johnnies, as hepassed poor old unconscious Dick with his head in my lap, took off hishat. "

"It was a fine thing for them to do, " said Colonel Winchester, and thenhe whispered: "I'm glad you talked that way, Warner. It helps. You see, she's feeling more cheerful already. "

"Yes, and you see old Dick's opening his eyes. Isn't it strange thatthe first thing he should see when he opens them here on the battlefieldshould be his mother?"

"A strange and happy circumstance, " said Colonel Winchester. 

Dick opened his eyes. 

"Mother!" he exclaimed. 

Her arms were already around him. 

CHAPTER XIV. SEEKING BRAGG

They took Dick to the house of his relatives, the Careys, in Danville, and in a few days he learned the sequel of that sudden and terriblestorm of death at Perryville. Buell had gathered all his forces inthe night, and in the morning had intended to attack again, but theConfederate army was gone, carrying with it vast stores of supplies thatit had gathered on the way. 

The rains, too, had come. They had begun the morning after the battle, and they poured for days. In the southeast, among the mountains towardwhich Bragg had turned the head of his army, the roads were quagmires. Nevertheless he had toiled on and was passing through Cumberland Gap. Buell had gone in the other direction toward the southwest, and thencame the news that he was relieved of his command, and that Rosecranswould take his place. 

Dick felt the call of the trumpet. He knew that his comrades were nowdown there in Tennessee with the army under Rosecrans, and he felt thathe must join them. His mother begged him to stay. He had done enough forhis country. He had fought in great battles, and he had narrowly escapeda mortal wound. He should come home, and stay safely at Pendleton untilthe war was over. 

But Dick, though grieving with her, felt that he must go. He would staywith the army until the end, and he departed for Lexington, where hetook the train for Louisville. Thence he went southward directly byrail to Bowling Green, where the Northern army was encamped, withlines stretching as far south as Nashville, and where he received theheartiest of greetings from his comrades. 

"I knew you'd come, " said Warner. "Perhaps a man with a mother likeyours ought to stay at home, and again he ought to come. So there youare, and here you are!"

Dick was familiar with the country about Bowling Green. It was a partof the state in which he had relatives, and he had visited it more thanonce. He also saw the camps left by Buckner's men nearly a year ago, when they were marching southward to be taken by Grant at Donelson. Since he had come back to this region it seemed to him that they werealways fighting their battles over again. Grant and Rosecrans had foughta terrible but victorious battle at Corinth in Mississippi, and nowRosecrans had come north while Grant remained in the further south. Hewas sorry it was not Grant who commanded on that line. He would havebeen glad to be under his command again, to feel that strong and surehand on the reins once more. 

Dick stayed a while in Bowling Green, and he saw all his relatives inthe little city. They were mostly on the other side, but they could notresist an ingenuous youth like Dick, and he passed some pleasant hourswith them. For his sake they also made Warner and Pennington welcome, but they freely predicted a great disaster for the North. Bragg wouldcome out of East Tennessee with his veterans, and they would giveRosecrans the defeat that he deserved. The boys held good naturedarguments with them on this point, but all finally agreed to leave it tothe decision of the war itself. 

The great dryness had now passed so completely that it seemed impossiblesuch a thing ever could have been. The rains had been heavy and almostcontinuous, and the earth soaked in water. But despite chill winds andchill rains rumors of Southern activity came to them, and in thelast month of the year Rosecrans gathered his forces at Nashville inTennessee. 

Dick and his comrades enjoyed a few bright days here. The city wascrowded with an army and those who supply it and live by it, and it wasa center of vivid activity. Dick had letters from his mother and healso heard in a roundabout way that Colonel Kenton had gone through thebattle of Perryville uninjured and was now with Bragg at Chattanooga. 

But the boys soon heard that despite the winter there was great activityin the Southern camp. Undismayed by their loss of Kentucky, the Southerngenerals meant to fight Rosecrans in Tennessee. The Confederacy hadnot been cheered by Lee's withdrawal at Antietam and Bragg's retreat atPerryville, and meant to strike a heavy blow for new prestige. The wholeConfederate army, they soon heard, had moved forward to Murfreesborough, where it was waiting, while Forrest and Morgan, the famous cavalryleaders, were off on great raids. 

It was this absence of Forrest and Morgan with the best of the cavalrythat put it into the mind of Rosecrans to attack at once. The thousandsof lads in the army who were celebrating Christmas received that nightthe news that they were to march in the morning. 

"I've fought three great battles this year, " said Warner, "and I don'tthink they ought to ask any more of me. "

"Be comforted, " said Dick. "We start to-morrow, the 26th, which leavesfive days of the year, and I don't think we can arrange a battle in thattime. You'll not have to whip Bragg before the New Year, George. "

"Well, I'm glad of it. You can have too many battles in one year. Ididn't get rest enough after my wound at the Second Manassas before Ihad to go in and save our army at Antietam, and then it was but a littletime before we fought at Perryville. That wasn't as big a battle as someof the others, but Dick, for those mad three hours it seemed that allthe demons of death were turned loose. "

"It certainly looked like it, George, you stiff old Vermonter, and Idon't forget that you came to save me. "

"Shut up about that, or I'll hit you over the head with the butt of mypistol. I merely paid back, though I only paid about half of what Iwas owing to you. The chance luckily came sooner than I had hoped. But, Dick, what a morning to follow Christmas. "

A chilly rain was pouring down. A cold fog was rising from theCumberland, wrapping the town in mists. It was certainly a dreary timein which to march to battle, and the young soldiers rising in the gloomof the dawn and starting amid such weather were depressed. 

"Pennington, " said Warner, "will you help me in a request to ourKentucky friend to join us in three cheers for the Sunny South, the edgeof which he has the good fortune to inhabit? I haven't seen the real sunfor about a month, and I suppose that's why they call it sunny, and I'minformed that this big river, the Cumberland, often freezes over, whichI suppose is the reason why they call it Southern. I hear, too, thatpeople often freeze to death in North Georgia, which is further souththan this. After this bit of business is over I'm going to forbid wintercampaigns in the south. "

"It does get mighty cold, " said Dick. "You see we're not really asouthern people. We just lie south of the northern states and inKentucky, at least, we have a lot of cold weather. Why, I've seen ittwenty-three degrees below zero in the southern part of the state, andit certainly can get cold in Tennessee, too. "

"I believe I'd rather have it than this awful rain, " said Pennington. "Idon't seem to get used to these cold soakings. "

"Good-bye, Nashville, " said Dick, turning about. "I don't know whenwe will have to come back, and if we do I don't know what will havehappened before then. Good-bye, Nashville. I regret your roofs and yoursolid walls, and your dry tents and floors. "

"But we're going forth to fight. Don't forget that, Dick. Remember howin Virginia we pined for battle, and the use of our superior numbers. Anyhow Rosecrans is going out to look for the enemy, but all the same, and between you and me, Dick, I wish it was Grant who was leading us. Isaw a copy of the New York Times a while back, and some lines in it arehaunting me. Here they are:

 "Back from the trebly crimsoned field Terrible woods are thunder-tost: Full of the wrath that will not yield, Full of revenge for battles lost: Hark to their echo as it crost The capital making faces wan: End this murderous holocaust; Abraham Lincoln give us a man. "

"Sounds good, " said Dick, "and, George, you and Frank and I know thatwhat we want is a man. We've lost big battles, because we didn't have abig man, who could see at once and think like lightning, to lead us. Butwe'll get him sooner or later! We'll get him. Did any other troops everbear up like ours under defeats and drawn battles? Listen to 'em now!"

Slow and deep and sung by many thousand men rose the rolling chorus:

 "The army is gathering from near and from far; The trumpet is sounding the call for the war; Old Rosey's our leader, he's gallant and strong; We'll gird on our armor and be marching along. "

"Now, " cried Warner, "all together. " And the thundering chorus rose:

 "Marching, we are marching along, Gird on the armor and be marching along; Old Rosey's our leader, he's gallant and strong; For God and our country we are marching along. "

As the mighty chorus, sung by fifty thousand men, rose and throbbedthrough the cold and rain, Dick felt his own heart throbbing in unison. Rosecrans might or might not be a great general, but he certainlywas not permitting the enemy to rest easy in winter quarters atMurfreesborough. Dick had no doubt that they were about to meet the foeof Perryville face to face again. 

The enemies were largely the same as those of other battles in the west. The Northern army advanced in three divisions toward Murfreesborough. McCook, whose division contained the Winchester regiment, was in thecenter, General Thomas led the right wing on the Franklin road, andGeneral Crittenden led the left wing. Bragg who was before them hadnearly the same generals as at Shiloh, Hardee, Breckinridge, and theothers. 

Dick knew that the advance of the Northern army would be seen at once. This was the country of the enemy. The forces of the Union held onlythe ground on which they were camped. Thousands of hostile eyes werewatching Rosecrans, and, even if Bragg himself were lax, any movementby the army from Nashville would be reported at once to the army inMurfreesborough. But they had a vigilant foe, they knew, and theyexpected to encounter his pickets soon. 

"They're probably watching us now through the fog and rain, " saidColonel Winchester to Dick as they left the last house of Nashvillebehind. "They know every inch of these hills and valleys. "

It was not a great distance to Murfreesborough, but they found themarching slow. The feet of the horses sank deep in the mud and thecannon and wagons were almost mired. But despite mud and rain and cold, the army pressed bravely on. They were the same lads and their like whohad marched forward so hopefully to Donelson and Shiloh. Through therain and the soughing of wheels in the mud rolled their battle songs, sung with all the spirit and fire of youth. 

Colonel Winchester and all the officers helped with the cannon andwagons and soon they were covered with mud. The Winchester regimentwas in the lead, and Sergeant Whitley suddenly pointing with a thickforefinger, said:

"There are the Johnnies! Their pickets are waiting for us!"

Dick saw through the mist and rain a considerable body of men down theroad, most of them on horseback. He knew at once that they were Southernpickets, and the eager lads around him, seeing them, knew it, too. Not waiting for command they set up a shout and charged down the road. Rifles instantly flashed through the rain and a sharp fire met them. Menfell, but others pressed on with all the more zeal, seeing just beyondthe Southern pickets the roofs of a little town. Cannon shot alsowhizzed among them, indicating that the Southern pickets were in strongforce. 

But the Northern troops, full of vigor and zeal, swept back the picketsand charged directly upon a larger force in the town beyond. A shortand fierce battle for the possession of the village ensued, but this wasonly a Southern outpost, and it was not strong enough to withstand therush of the Ohio men and Winchester's regiment. Fighting at every stepthey retreated through the village and into the forest beyond, leavingone of their cannon in the hands of the Union troops. 

"An omen of victory, " exclaimed Dick, when he saw the captured cannon. 

"Careful, Dick! Careful!" said Warner. "Remember that you're not strongon omens. You're always seeing sure signs of success just before we gointo a big battle. "

"If Dick sees visions, and they're visions of the right kind, then he'sright, " said Pennington. "I'd a good deal rather go into battle withDick by my side singing a song of victory, than croaking of defeat. "

"That's good as a general proposition, " said Warner, "but I was merelycautioning him not to be too enthusiastic. What kind of a country, Dick, is this into which we are going?"

"Hilly, lots of forests, particularly of cedar, and brooks, creeks andrivers. Murfreesborough itself is right on Lytle's Creek. Bragg willmeet us at the line of Stone River. "

"Maybe they'll retreat and go eastward to Chattanooga, " said Pennington. 

"I think we'd better dismiss that 'maybe, '" said Dick. "You haven'theard of the rebels running away from battles, have you?"

"What I've generally seen, in the beginning at least, " said Warner, "isthe rebels running toward us, jumping out of the woods and yelling likeIndians. I have seldom found it a pleasant sight. I'm glad, too, Dick, that Stonewall Jackson isn't here. Do you see that big cedar forest overthere on the hillside? Suppose he should come rushing out of it withtwenty or twenty-five thousand men. "

"Stop, " said Pennington. "You give me the shivers, talking aboutStonewall Jackson swooping down on us with an army corps, when happilyhe's four or five hundred miles away. I'm seeing enough unfriendlyfaces as it is. Look how the people in this village are glaring at us. Fellows, I've decided after due consideration that they don't love ushere in Tennessee. If you were to ask me I'd say that blue was not theirfavorite color. "

"At any rate we don't stay long. Good-bye, friends, good-bye, " saidWarner, waving his hand toward two or three men who stood in the door ofan old blacksmith shop. 

"You laugh, young feller, " said a gnarled and knotted old man pasteighty, "an' mebbe it's as well for you to laugh while you have the timeto do it in. Mebbe you'll never come back from Stone River, an' ifyou do, an' if you win everywhere, remember that we, too, will yet wineverywhere. "

"What do you mean by that?"

"All the Yankees, whether they win or not, will have to go back north, except them that are dead, an' we'll be here right on top of the lan', livin' on it, an' runnin' it, same as we've always done. "

"I hadn't thought of that, " said Warner soberly. 

"There's a power of things the young don't think of, " said the ancientman. "Mebbe the South can be whipped, but she can't be moved. She'llalways be here. People hev made a war. I don't know who started it. Ireckon there's been some powerful mean an' hot talk on both sides. Iknowed great men that seed this very thing comin' long ago an' triedto stop it. I went over in Kentucky more than once an' heard Henry Clayspeak. I don't believe there was ever another such a talker as he was. He had sense an' knowledge as well as voice. He done his best to smoothover this quarrel between North and South that others was eggin' on allthe time, but he couldn't, and I reckon when Henry Clay, the greatestman God ever made, failed, it wasn't worth while for anybody elseto try. Ride on, young fellers, an' get yourselves killed. You ain'ttwenty, an' I'm over eighty, but I guess I'll be lookin' at the greentrees when you're under the ground. Ride on in the rain an' the cold, an' I'll go inside the shop an' warm myself by the forge fire. "

The three boys rode on in sober silence. The words of the ancientphilosopher were soaking in with the rain. 

"Suppose we don't come back from Stone River, " said Pennington. 

"We take our chances, of course, " said Dick. 

"And suppose what he said about the South should prove true, " saidWarner, thoughtfully. "One part of it, at least, is bound to come true. That phrase of his sticks in my mind: 'Mebbe the South can be whipped, but she can't be moved. ' The Southern states, as he says, will be herejust the same after the war is over, no matter who wins. "

But such thoughts as these could not endure long in minds so young. Theypassed through the village and soon were in the forests of red cedar. The rain ceased, but in its place came a thick and heavy fog. The mudgrew deeper than ever. Progress became very slow. It was difficultin the great foggy veil for the regiments to keep in touch with oneanother, and occasional shots in front warned them that the enemy wasactive and watchful. The division barely crept along. 

Dick and his comrades were mounted again, and they kept close to ColonelWinchester, who, however, had few orders to send. The command of thecorps rested with General McCook, and it behooved him as any privatecould see, to exercise the utmost caution. They were strangers in theland and the Confederates were not. 

Dick had thought that morning that they would get into touch with heavyforces of the enemy before night, but the fog and the mud rendered theiradvance so slow that at sunset they went into camp in a vast forest ofred cedar, still a good distance from Stone River. The fog had liftedsomewhat, but the night was heavy, damp and dark. There was an abundanceof fallen wood, and the veterans soon built long rows of fires whichcontributed wonderfully to their cheerfulness. 

"There's nothing like a fine fire on a cold, dark night, " said SergeantWhitley, holding his hands over the flames. "Out on the plains whenthere was only a hundred or so of us, an' nothin' on any side fivehundred miles away 'xcept hostile Indians, an' a blizzard whistlin' an'roarin', with the mercury thirty degrees below zero, it was glorious tohave a big fire lighted in a hollow or a dip an' bend over the coals, until the warmth went right through you. "

"It was the power of contrast, " said Warner sagely. "The real comfortfrom the fire was fifty per cent and the howling of the icy gale, inwhich you might have frozen to death, but didn't, was fifty per centmore. That's why I'm feeling so good now, although I'd say that thosered cedars and their dark background are none too cheerful. "

"I've got two good blankets, " said Pennington, who was returning from atrip further down the line, "and I'm going to sleep. Haven't you fellowslearned that all your foolish talking before a battle never changesthe result? I can tell you this. Our three divisions that are marchingtoward Murfreesborough are in touch. We've put out swarms of scouts andthey all tell us so. They know exactly where the enemy is, too, and he'stoo far away to surprise us to-night. So it's sleep, my boys, sleep. Sleep will recover for you so much strength that it will be much harderfor you to get killed on the morrow. "

Dick had dried himself very thoroughly before one of the fires, andwrapping himself in his two blankets he slept soundly and heavily. Therewas fog again the next morning, but they reached a little villagecalled Triune and all through the day they heard the sounds of scatteredfiring. One of the scouts told Colonel Winchester that the wholeSouthern army would be concentrated the next day on the line of StoneRiver, but that it would be inferior to the Union army in numbers by tenthousand men. Bragg's force, however, had the advantage of experience, being composed almost wholly of veterans. 

It was on the afternoon of this day that Dick came into personal contactwith General Thomas again. He had been sent through the cedar forestwith dispatches to him from General McCook, and after the general hadread them he glanced at the messenger. 

"You reached General Buell safely with my letter, Lieutenant Mason, " hesaid, "and I'm very glad to see you here with us again. "

"Thank you, sir, " said Dick, feeling an immense pride because this man, whom he admired so much, remembered him. 

"It was a difficult duty and you did it well. I found that you gotthrough safely. I made inquiries about you and I traced you as far asShiloh, but I could get no further. "

"I was at Shiloh, " said Dick proudly. "I was captured just before itbegan, but I escaped while it was at its height and fought until theclose. "

"And after that?"

"My regiment was sent east, sir. I went with it through the SecondManassas and Antietam. Then we came back west to help General Buell. Iwas at Perryville and was wounded there, but I soon got well. "

"Perryville was a terrible battle. It was short, but it is incrediblewith what fury the troops fought. We should do better here. "

Dick saw that the last sentence which was spoken in a low tone was notaddressed to him. It was merely a murmured expression of the general'sown thoughts, and he remained silent. 

"You can go now, Lieutenant Mason, " said General Thomas, after a fewmoments, "and let us together wish for the best. "

"Thank you, sir, " said Dick, highly flattered again. Then he saluted andretired. 

He rode back somewhat slowly through the cedars, but he kept a wary eye. The enemy's cavalry was daring, and he might be rushed by them at anytime or be ambushed by sharpshooters on foot. His watch for the enemyalso enabled him to examine the country closely. He saw many hills andhollows covered mostly with forests, with the red cedar and its darkgreen boughs predominating. He also saw the flash of many waters, and, where the roads cut through the soil, a deep red clay was exposed toview. He knew that it would be difficult for the armies to get intoline for battle, because of the heavy, sticky nature of the ground, uponwhich so much rain had fallen. 

He made his way safely back to the camp of his corps, although he sawhostile cavalry galloping in the valleys in the direction of StoneRiver, and all through the afternoon he heard the crackle of rifle shotsin the same direction. The skirmishers were continually in touch andthey were busy. 

The corps moved up a little, but Dick thought it likely that there wouldbe no battle the next day either. Rosecrans could not afford to attackuntil his full force, with all its artillery, was up, and marching wasslow and exhausting in the sea of sticky mud. 

Dick was right. The Northern army was practically united the next day, but so great was the exhaustion of the troops that Rosecrans did notdeem it wise yet to attack his foe. He was fully aware of the qualityof the Southern soldiers. He remembered how they had turned suddenlyat Perryville and with inferior numbers had fought a draw. Now on thedefensive, and in such a deep and sticky soil, they would have a greatadvantage and his generals agreed with him in waiting. 

Dick spent much of this day in riding with Colonel Winchester alongtheir lines. There was some talk about Bragg retreating, but the boy, a veteran in everything but years, knew the ominous signs. Bragg had nonotion of retreating. 

In the night that followed Colonel Winchester himself and some of hisyoung officers, accompanied by the brave and skillful Sergeant Whitley, scouted toward Stone River. In the darkness and with great care, inorder to avoid any sound of splashing, they waded a deep creek and cameout upon a plateau, rolling slightly in character, and with a deep claysoil, very muddy from the heavy rains. A part of the plateau was clearedof forest, but here and there were groves, chiefly of the red cedar, and thickets, some of them so dense that a man would have difficulty inforcing his way through. 

Colonel Winchester and his little group paused at the edge of the creek, and then dived promptly into a thicket. They saw further up the plateaumany fires and the figures of men walking before them and they sawnearer by sentinels marching back and forth. They were even able to makeout cannon in batteries, and they knew that it was not worth while to goany further. The Confederate army was there, and they would merely walkdirectly into its arms. 

They returned with even greater caution than they had come, but the nextday the whole division crossed the creek at another point, and as itcautiously felt its way forward it encountered another formidable bodyof Southern pickets hidden in the woods. There was sharp firing for aquarter of an hour, and many of the Ohio men fell, but the pickets werefinally swept back, and at sunset the half circle that Rosecrans hadintended to form for the attack upon the Southern army was complete. 

All the movements and delays brought them up to the night before thelast day in the year. The Winchester regiment with the Ohio division layin a region of little hills and rocks, covered with forest, with whichits officers and men were not familiar. On the other hand the Southernarmy would know every inch of it, and the inhabitants were ready andeager to give it information. 

Dick could not keep from regarding the dark forests with apprehension. He had seen the Northern generals lose so much through ignorance of theground and uncertain movements that he feared for them again. He soonlearned that Rosecrans himself shared this fear. He had come to thedivision and recommended its closer concentration. 

But the young Ohio troops were not afraid. They said that if they wereattacked they would hold their ground long enough for the rest of theNorthern army to beat the Southern, and McCook himself was confident. 

Meanwhile, Bragg, after delaying, had suddenly decided to make theattack himself, and throughout the day he had been gathering his wholearmy for the spring. All his generals, Hardee, Breckinridge, Polk, Cleburne and the rest were in position and the cavalry was led byWheeler, a youthful rough rider, destined to become famous as FightingJoe Wheeler. 

Each general was ready to attack in the morning, but neither knew thewillingness of the other. Yet everybody was aware that a great battlewas soon to come. They had felt it in both armies, and for two or threedays the firing of the skirmishers had been almost continuous. Scoutskept each side well informed. 

Dick, Warner and Pennington, before they lay down in their blankets, listened to the faint reports of rifles. They could see little owingto the deep woods in which they lay, but the sound of the shots cameclearly. 

"A part of our army is to cross the fords of Stone River in the morningby daylight or before, " said Warner, "and we're to surprise the enemyand rush him. I wonder if we'll do it. "

"We will not, " said Pennington with emphasis. "We may beat the enemy, but we will not surprise him. We never do. Why should we surprise him?He is here in his own country. If the whole Southern army were soundasleep, a thousand of the natives would wake up their generals and tellthem that the Yankee army was advancing. "

"Their sentinels are watching, anyhow, " said Dick, "but I imagine thatwe'd gain something if the first rush was ours and not theirs. "

"We'll hope for the best, " said Warner, "I wonder whose time this willbe to get wounded. It was mine at Antietam, yours, Dick, at Perryville, and only you are left Pennington, so it's bound to be you. "

"No, it won't be me, " said Pennington stoutly. "I've been wounded in twoor three battles already, not bad wounds, just scratches and bruises, but as there were so many of 'em you can lump 'em together, and make onebig wound. That lets me out. "

The Winchester regiment lay in the very thickest of the forest and inorder not to indicate to the enemy their precise position no fires werelighted. The earth was still soaked deep with the heavy rains and theirfeet sank at every step. But they did not make many steps. They hadlearned enough to lie quiet, seek what rest and sleep they could find, and await the dawn. 

CHAPTER XV. STONE RIVER

Dick awoke at sunrise of the last day of the year, and Warner andPennington were up a moment later. There was no fog. The sun hung a low, red ball in the steel blue sky of winter. No fires had been lighted, cold food being served. 

He heard far off to right a steady tattoo like the rapid beat of manysmall drums. A quiver ran through the lads who were now gathering in thewood and at its edge. But Dick knew that the fire was distant. The otherwing had opened the battle, and it might be a long time before their owndivision was drawn into the conflict. 

He stood there as the sound grew louder, a continuous crash of rifles, accompanied by the heavy boom of cannon, and far off he saw a greatcloud of smoke gathering over the forest. But no shouting reached hisears, nor could he see the men in combat. Colonel Winchester, who wasstanding beside him, shrugged his shoulders. 

"They're engaged heavily, or they will be very soon, " he said. 

"And it looks as if we'd have to wait, " said Dick. 

"Things point that way. The general thinks so, too. It seems that Bragghas moved his forces in the night, and that the portion of the enemy infront of us is some distance off. "

Dick soon confided this news to Warner and Pennington, who lookeddiscontented. 

"If we've got to fight, I'd rather do it now and get it over, " saidPennington. "If I'm going to be killed the difference between morningand afternoon won't matter, but if I'm not going to be killed it'll beworth a lot to get this weight off my mind. "

"And if we're far away from the enemy it's easy enough for us to go upclose to him, " said Warner. "I take it that we're not here to keep outof his way, and, if our brethren are pounding now, oughtn't we to go inand help them pound? Remember how we divided our strength at Antietam. "

Dick shrugged his shoulders. His feelings were too bitter for him tomake a reply save to say: "I don't know anything about it. "

Meanwhile the distant combat roared and deepened. It was obvious thata great battle was going on, but the division lay quiet obeying itsorders. The sun rose higher in the cold, steely blue heavens and thenDick, who was watching a forest opposite them, uttered a loud cry. Hehad seen many bayonets flashing among the leafless trees. 

The cry was taken up by others who saw also, and suddenly a longSouthern line, less than half a mile away, emerged into the open andadvanced upon them in silence, but with resolution, a bristling andterrific front of steel. After all their watching and waiting theNorthern division had been surprised. Many of the officers and soldiers, too, were in tents that had been set against the cold and damp. Thehorses that drew the artillery were being taken to water. 

It was an awful moment and Dick's heart missed more than one beat, butin that crisis the American, often impatient of discipline, showed hispower of initiative and his resolute courage. While that bristlingfront of steel came on the soldiers formed themselves into line withoutwaiting for the commands of the officers. The artillerymen rushed totheir guns. 

"Kneel, men! Kneel!" shouted Colonel Winchester to his own regiment. Heand all his officers were on foot, their horses having been left in therear the night before. 

His men threw themselves down at his command, and, all along theNorthern line formed so hastily, the rifles began to crackle, sendingforth a sheet of fire and bullets. 

The Northern cannon, handled as always with skill and courage, wereat work now, too, and their shells and shot lashed the Southern ranksthrough and through. But Dick saw no pause in the advance of the men ingray. They did not even falter. Without a particle of shelter they cameon through the rain of death, their ranks closing up over the slain, their front line always presenting that bristling line of steel. 

It seemed to Dick now that the points of the bayonets shone almost inhis face, gleaming through the smoke that hung between them and the foe, a gap that continually grew narrower as the Southern line never ceasedto come. 

"Stand firm, lads; steady for God's sake, steady!" shouted ColonelWinchester, and then Dick heard no single voice, because the roar of thebattle broke over them like the sudden rush of a storm. He was consciousonly that the tips of the bayonets had reached them, and behind them hesaw the eyes in the brown faces gleaming. 

Then he did not even see the brown faces, because there was such a stormof fire and smoke pouring forth bullets like hail, and the tumultof shouts and of the crash of cannon and rifles was so awful that itblended into one general sound like the roaring of the infernal regions. 

Dick felt himself borne back. It seemed to him that their line hadcracked like a bow bent too much. It was not anything that he saw but asense of the general result, and he was right. The Northern line whichhad not found time to form properly, was hurled back. Neither cannon norrifles could stop the three Southern brigades which were charging them. 

The South struck like a tornado, and despite a resistance made with allthe fury and rage of despair, the Northern division was driven from itsposition, and its line broken in many places. A Northern general wastaken prisoner. The guns which could not be carried, because the horseswere gone, were taken by the triumphant Southerners, and over all theroar and tumult of the frightful battle Dick heard that piercing andtriumphant rebel yell, poured forth by thousands of throats and swellingover everything, in a fierce, dominant note. 

Dick bumped against Warner as they were borne back in the smoke. He sawthe Vermonter's blackened lips move, and his own moved in the same way, but neither heard what the other said. Nevertheless Dick read the wordsin his comrade's eyes, and they said:

"Surprised again, Dick! Good God, surprised!"

Yet the young troops fought with a courage worthy of the toughestveterans. They gave ground, because the rush against them wasoverpowering, but they maintained a terrible fire which strewed theearth in front of them with dead and wounded. 

"Behind those trees! Behind those trees!" suddenly called ColonelWinchester as they continued their sullen and fighting retreat, and heand the remnants of his regiment darted into a little wood just in time. There was a sudden rush of hoofbeats on their flank, and a cloud ofSouthern cavalry swept down, shearing away the entire side of theNorthern division as if it had been cleft with the slash of a mightysword. Besides the fallen a thousand prisoners and seven cannon fellinto the hands of the cavalrymen, who rushed on in search of freshtriumphs. 

Dick shuddered with horror, but he saw that all his own immediatefriends were safe in the wood. A swarm of fugitives poured in afterthem, and then came colonels and generals making desperate efforts toreform their line of battle. But the Southern brigades gave them nochance. Their leaders continually urged on the pursuit. The brokenregiments fell back still loading and firing, and they would soon be onthe banks of the creek again. 

After a time that seemed almost infinite, Dick heard the roar of shellsover their heads. In their retreat the regiments had come upon anotherNorthern division which opposed a strong resistance to the Southernadvance. Winchester's men welcomed their friends joyfully. But the freshtroops could not stop the advance. The fire of the Southern cannon andrifles was so deadly that nearly all the Northern artillerymen werekilled around their guns. 

The North again gave ground, seeking point after point for freshresistance. They rallied strongly around a building used as a hospital, and filled it with riflemen. But they were driven from that, too, although they inflicted terrible losses on their enemy. 

"We've got to stop this backward slide somewhere, " gasped Pennington. 

"Yes, but where?" cried Dick. 

Whether Warner made any reply he did not know, because he lost him thenin the flame and the smoke. An instant or two later the charging swarmsof infantry and cavalry drove them into one of the woods of red cedars, where they lay shattered and gasping. The smoke lifted a little, andDick saw the field which he already regarded as lost. Then there was arenewed burst of firing and cheering, as a regiment of veteran regularsgalloped into the open space and drove off the Southern cavalry whichwas just about to seize the ammunition wagons and more cannon. 

Encouraged by the charge of the regulars, the men in the cedar woodrose and began to reform for battle. Now chance, or rather watchfulness, interposed to save Dick and his comrades from destruction. Rosecrans, atanother point, confident that McCook could hold out against all attacks, listened with amazement to the roar of battle coming nearer and nearer. His officers called his attention to the fact that save at the openingthere was no cannon fire. All that approaching crash was made by rifles. They judged from it that their cannon had been taken, but they did notknow that the rush of the Southern troops had been so fast that theirown batteries were not able to keep up. 

Rosecrans read the signs with them and his alarm was great andjustified. Then a dispatch came from McCook telling him that his rightwing was routed and he took an instant resolve. 

Many regiments were marching to another point in the line, and thecommander at once changed their course. He meant to save his right wing, but at the same moment a tremendous attack was begun upon the center ofhis army. He struck his horse smartly and galloped straight toward therolling flame. 

Dick and his friends, driven from the defense around the hospital, losttouch with the rest of the troops. Colonel Winchester held together whatwas left of his regiment, and presently they found themselves in thewoods with the troops of the young officer, Sheridan, who had saved thebattle of Perryville. Here they took their stand, and when Dick sawthe quick and warlike glance of Sheridan that embraced everything hebelieved they were not going to retreat. 

He heard cheers all around him, men shouting to one another to standfirm. They refused to take alarm from the fugitives pouring back uponthem, and sent volley after volley into the advancing gray lines. Theartillery, too, handled with splendid skill and daring, poured a stormalong the whole gray front. The combat deepened to an almost incredibledegree. The cannon were compelled to cease firing because the menwere now face to face. Regiments lost half their numbers and more, butSheridan still held his ground and the South still attacked. 

Dick began to shout with joy. He saw that the indomitable stand ofSheridan was saving the whole Northern army from rout. The South mustcontinually turn aside troops to attack Sheridan, and they dared notadvance too far leaving him unbeaten in their rear. Rosecrans in thecenter was urging his troops to a great resistance and the battle flamedhigh there. It now thundered along the whole front. Nearly every man andcannon were in action. 

Dick was glad that chance had thrown his regiment with Sheridan, when hesaw the splendid resistance made by the young general. Sheridan massedall his guns at the vital point and backed them up with riflemen. Nothing broke through his line. Nothing was able to move him. 

"He'll have to retreat later on, " Colonel Winchester shouted in Dick'sear, "because our lines are giving way elsewhere, but his courage andthat of his men has saved us from an awful defeat. "

The battle in front of Sheridan increased in violence. The Confederateswere continually pouring fresh troops upon him, and it became apparentthat even he, with all his courage and quickness of eye at the vitalmoment, could not withstand all day long the fierce attacks that werebeing made upon him. The Southern fire from cannon and rifles grew moreterrible. Sheridan had three brigades and the commanders of all three ofthem were killed. The Confederate attack had been repulsed three times, but it was coming again, stronger and fiercer than ever. 

Dick, aghast, gazed at Colonel Winchester and somehow through thethunder of the battle he heard the colonel's reply:

"Yes, we'll have to give up this position, but we have saved so muchtime that the army itself is saved. Rosecrans is forming a new linebehind us. "

Rosecrans, no genius, but a brave and resolute fighter, had indeedbrought up fresh troops and made a new line. Sheridan, having thatgreatest of all gifts of the general, the eye to see amid the terribletumult of battle the time to do a thing, and the courage to do it then, sounded the trumpet. Nearly all his wagons had been captured by theSouthern cavalry, and his ammunition was beginning to fail. Around himlay two thousand of his best men, dead or wounded. Rosecrans and thefresh troops were appearing just in time. 

Yet the retreat of Sheridan was made with the greatest difficulty. Apart of his troops were cut off and captured. Others drove back theConfederate flankers with a bayonet charge, and then the remnantretreated, the new lines opening to let them through. Dick, as he passedthrough the gap, saw that he was among countrymen. That is, a Kentuckyregiment, fighting for the Union was standing as a shield to let hiscomrades and himself through, and the people of the state were relatedso closely that in the flare of the battle he saw among these new men atleast a half dozen faces that he knew. 

It was this Kentucky regiment, led by its colonel, Shepherd, thatnow formed itself in the very apex of the battle. The remains of theWinchester regiment, forming behind it, saw a terrible sight. Some ofthe regiments crushed earlier in the action had entirely disbanded. Thewoods and the bushes were filled with fugitives, soldiers seeking therear. Vast clouds of smoke drifted everywhere, the air was filled withthe odors of exploded gunpowder, cannon were piled in inextricable heapsin the road, and horses, killed by shells or bullets, lay on the guns orbetween the wheels. 

Dick had never beheld a more terrible sight. Their army was defeatedso far, the dead and the wounded were heaped everywhere, terrifiedfugitives were pouring to the rear, and the enemy, wild with triumph, and shouting his terrible battle yell, was coming on with an onset thatseemed invincible. 

Colonel Winchester darted among the fugitives and with stinging wordsand the flat of his sword beat many of them back into line. Dick, Warner, Pennington and other young officers did likewise. More Kentuckytroops bringing artillery came up and joined those who were standing sosternly. It became obvious to all that they must hold the ground here orthe battle indeed was lost once and for all. 

Thomas, the silent and resolute Virginian, had arrived also, and hadjoined Rosecrans. Dick observed them both. Rosecrans, tremendouslyexcited, and reckless of death from the flying shells and bullets, galloped from point to point, urging on his soldiers, telling them todie rather than yield. Thomas, cool, and showing no trace of excitementalso directed the troops. Both by their courage and resolution inspiredthe men. The beaten became the unbeaten. Dick felt rather than saw thestiffening of the lines, and the return of a great courage. 

The new line of battle was formed directly under the fire of avictorious and charging enemy. Three batteries were gathered on a heightoverlooking a railroad cut, where they could sweep the front of the foe. 

Just as they were in battle order Dick saw the faces of the Southernerscoming through the woods, led by Hardee in person. Then he saw, too, the value of presence of mind and of a courage that would not yield. The three batteries planted by the Kentuckian, Rousseau, on the railwayembankment suddenly opened a terrible enfilading fire upon the Southernadvance. The Kentucky regiment standing so firmly in the breach alsoopened with every rifle firing directly into the ranks of their brotherKentuckians, who were advancing in the vanguard of the South. Here againpeople of the same state and even of the same county fought one another. 

The Confederates pursuing a defeated and apparently disorganized enemywere astounded by such a sudden and fierce fire. One of their generalswas killed almost instantly, and a part of their line was hurled backwith great violence. Thomas pushed forward with a portion of the troops, and after a desperate assault the Southern line reeled and then stoppedin the wood. Courage and presence of mind had saved a battle for thetime being, at least. 

At that point the combat sank for a while, and Dick, unwounded butexhausted, dropped upon the ground. Around him lay his friends, andthey, too, were unwounded. It was with a sort of grim humor that heremembered a conversation they had held before the battle. 

"Well, Frank, " he said, "you've escaped. "

"So far only, " said Warner. "The hurricane has softened down a lot here, but not everywhere else. Listen!"

He pointed through the woods toward the left where another battle wasswelling with a mighty uproar. Bragg having driven in the Union rightwas now seeking to shatter the Union left, but at this point there wasa Northern commander, Hazen, who was no less indomitable than Sheridan. Sheltering themselves along the railway embankment his men, alwaysencouraged by their commander, and his officers, resisted every effortto drive them back. Noon came and found them still holding tenaciouslyto their positions. For a while now the whole battle sank through sheerexhaustion on both sides. Each commander reformed his line, disentangledhis guns, brought forward fresh ammunition and prepared for the greatcombat which he knew was coming. Bragg, as he noticed the advance of theshort winter day, resolved upon the utmost effort to crush his enemy. Victory had seemed wholly in his grasp in the morning, but he hadbeen checked at the last moment. He would make good the defeat in theafternoon. 

The armies had disentangled themselves from the woods and bushes. Theywere now in the open and face to face on a long line. The Winchesterregiment had risen to its feet again, and stood directly behind andalmost mingled with the Kentucky regiment that had saved it. 

"They're coming!" exclaimed Warner in quick, excited tones. "Look, thereon the flank!"

It was the division of Cleburne, in the hottest of the battle allthrough the morning advancing to a fresh attack upon the Union lines, but it was received with such a powerful fire that it was driven back indisorder into some woods. 

Dick, however, did not have a chance to see this as the Southerners, reinforced by fresh troops from Breckinridge's division, were chargingin the center with great violence. So terrible was the fire thatreceived them that some of the regiments lost half their numbers infive minutes. Yet the remainder, upheld by their cannon, returned afire almost as deadly. Rosecrans, absolutely fearless, stood in the veryfront where the danger was greatest. A cannon ball blew off the headof his chief of staff who stood by his side. "Many a brave fellow mustfall!" cried Rosecrans, a devoted Catholic. "Cross yourselves, and firelow and fast!"

Many a brave fellow did fall, but his men fired low and fast, and, whilethe Southern troops charged again and again to the very mouths of thecannon they were unable to break down the last desperate stand of theNorthern army. They had driven it back, but they had not driven itback far enough. Then the sun set as it had set so often before on anundecisive battle, terrible in its long list of the slain, but leavingeverything to be fought over again. 

"They didn't beat us, " said Dick as the firing ceased. 

"No, " said Colonel Winchester, "nor have we won a victory, but we'resaved. Thank God for the night!"

"They'll attack again to-morrow, sir, " said Sergeant Whitley. 

"Undoubtedly so, " said Colonel Winchester, who felt at this moment notas if he were speaking as colonel to sergeant, but as man to man, "and Ihope that our artillery will be ready again. It is what has saved us. Wehave always been superior in that arm. "

The colonel had spoken the truth, and the fact was also recognized byRosecrans, Thomas and the other generals. While they rectifiedtheir lines in the darkness, the great batteries were posted in goodpositions, and fresh gunners took the place of those who had beenkilled. Both Rosecrans and Thomas were made of stern stuff. Afraid of noenemy, and, despite their great losses of the day and the fact thatthey had been driven back, they would be ready to fight on the morrow. Sheridan, Crittenden, McCook, Van Cleve and the others were equallyready. 

Food was brought from the rear and the exhausted combatants sank down torest. Dick was in such an apathy from sheer overtasking of the body andspirit that he did not think of anything. He lay like an animal that hasescaped from a long chase. Silence had settled down with the darknessand the Confederate army had become invisible. 

Dick revived later. He talked more freely with those about him, and hegathered from the gossip which travels fast, much of what had happened. The Union army, so confident in the morning, was in a dangerous positionat night. Nearly thirty of its guns were taken. Three thousand unwoundedand many wounded men were prisoners in the hands of the South. Armsand ammunition by the wholesale had been captured. The Southern cavalryunder Fighting Joe Wheeler had gone behind Rosecrans' whole army andhad cut his communications with his base at Nashville, at the same timeraiding his wagon trains. Another body of cavalry under Wharton hadtaken all the wagons of McCook's corps, and still a third under Pegramhad captured many prisoners on the Nashville road in the rear of theNorthern army. 

Dick became aware of a great, an intense anxiety among the leaders. Thearmy was isolated. The raiding Southern cavalry kept it from receivingfresh supplies of either food or ammunition, unless it retreated. 

"We're stripped of everything but our arms, " said Warner. 

"Then we've really lost nothing, " said the valiant Pennington, "becausewith our arms we'll recover everything. "

They had a commander of like spirit. At that moment Rosecrans, gatheringhis generals in a tent pitched hastily for him, was saying to them, "Gentlemen, we will conquer or die here. " Short and strong, but everyword meant. There was no need to say more. The generals animated by thesame spirit went forth to their commands, and first among them was thegrim and silent Thomas, who had the bulldog grip of Grant. Perhaps itwas this indomitable tenacity and resolution that made the Northerngenerals so much more successful in the west than they were in the eastduring the early years of the war. 

But there was exultation in the Confederate camp. Bragg and Polk andHardee and Breckinridge and the others felt now that Rosecrans wouldretreat in the night after losing so many men and one-third of hisartillery. Great then was their astonishment when the rising sun of NewYear's day showed him sitting there, grimly waiting, with his back toStone River, a formidable foe despite his losses. Above all the Southerngenerals saw the heavily massed artillery, which they had such goodreason to fear. 

Dick, who had slept soundly through the night, was up like all theothers at dawn and he beheld the Southern army before them, yet notmoving, as if uncertain what to do. He felt again that thrill of courageand resolution, and, born of it, was the belief that despite the firstday's defeat the chances were yet even. These western youths were of atough and enduring stock, as he had seen at Shiloh and Perryville, andthe battle was not always to him who won the first day. A long timepassed and there was no firing. 

"Not so eager to rush us as they were, " said Warner. "It's amathematical certainty that an army that's not running away is notwhipped, and that certainty is patent to our Southern friends also. Butto descend from mathematics to poetry, a great poet says that he whoruns away will live to fight another day. I will transpose and otherwisechange that, making it to read: He who does not run away may make theother fellow unable to fight another day. "

"You talk too much like a schoolmaster, George, " said Pennington. 

"The most important business of a school teacher is to teach the youngidea how to shoot, and lately I've had ample chances to give suchinstruction. "

It was not that they were frivolous, but like most other lads in thearmy, they had grown into the habit of teasing one another, which wasoften a relief to teaser as well as teased. 

"I think, sir, " said Dick to Colonel Winchester, "that some of ourtroops are moving. "

He was looking through his glasses toward the left, where he saw astrong Union force, with banners waving, advancing toward Bragg's right. 

"Ah, that is well done!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester. "If our menbreak through there we'll cut Bragg off from Murfreesborough and hisammunition and supplies. "

They did not break through, but they maintained a long and vigorousbattle, while the centers and other wings of the two armies did notstir. But it became evident to Dick later in the afternoon that a mightymovement was about to begin. His glasses told him so, and the thrill ofexpectation confirmed it. 

Bragg was preparing to hurl his full strength upon Rosecrans. Breckinridge, who would have been the President of the United States, had not the Democrats divided, was to lead it. This division of fivebrigades had formed under cover of a wood. On its flank was a batteryof ten guns and two thousand of the fierce riders of the South underWharton and Pegram. Dick felt instinctively that Colonel Kenton with hisregiment was there in the very thick of it. 

Dick's regiment with Negley's strong Kentucky brigade, which had stoppedthe panic and rout the day before, had now recrossed Stone River andwere posted strongly behind it. Ahead of them were two small brigadeswith some cannon, and Rosecrans himself was with this force just asBreckinridge's powerful division emerged into the open and began itsadvance upon the Union lines. 

"Now, lads, stand firm!" exclaimed Colonel Winchester. "This is thecrisis. "

The colonel had measured the situation with a cool eye and brain. Heknew that the regiments on the other side of the river were worn downby the day's fighting and would not stand long. But he believed that theKentuckians around him, and the men from beyond the Ohio would not yieldan inch. They were largely Kentuckians also coming against them. 

The rolling fire burst from the Southern front, and the cannon on theirflanks crashed heavily. Then their infantry came forward fast, and witha wild shout and rush the two thousand cavalry on their flanks charged. As Colonel Winchester had expected, the two weak brigades, althoughRosecrans in person was among them, gave way, retreated rapidly to thelittle river and crossed it. 

The Confederates came on in swift pursuit, but Negley's Kentuckiansand the other Union men, standing fast, received them with a tremendousvolley. It was at short range, and their bullets crashed throughthe crowded Southern ranks. The Winchesters were on the flank of thedefenders, where they could get a better view, and although they alsowere firing as fast as they could reload and pull the trigger, they sawthe great column pause and then reel. 

Rosecrans, who had fallen back with the retreating brigades, instantlynoted the opportunity. Here, a general who received too little rewardfrom the nation, and to whom popular esteem did not pay enough tribute, rushed two brigades across Stone River and hurled them with all theirweight upon the Southern flank. Sixty cannon posted on the hillocks justbehind the river poured an awful fire upon the Southern column. The firefrom front and flank was so tremendous that the Southerners, veterans asthey were, gave way. The men who had held victory in their hands felt itslipping from their grasp. 

"They waver! They retreat!" shouted Colonel Winchester. "Up, boys, andat 'em!"

The whole Union force, led by its heroic generals, rushed forward, crossed the river and joined in the charge. The two thousand Southerncavalry were driven off by a fire that no horsemen could withstand. Thedivision of Breckinridge, although fighting with furious courage, was gradually driven back, and the day closed with the Union army inpossession of most of the territory it had lost the day before. 

As they lay that night in the damp woods, Dick and his comrades, allof whom had been fortunate enough to escape this time without injury, discussed the battle. For a while they claimed that it was a victory, but they finally agreed that it was a draw. The losses were enormous. Each side had lost about one third of its force. 

Rosecrans, raging like a wounded lion, talked of attacking again, butthe rains had been so heavy, the roads were so soft and deep in mud thatthe cannon and the wagons could not be pushed forward. 

Bragg retreated four days later from Murfreesborough, and Dick and hiscomrades therefore claimed a victory, but as the winter was now shuttingdown cold and hard, Rosecrans remained on the line of Murfreesboroughand Nashville. 

The Winchester regiment was sent back to Nashville to recuperate andseek recruits for its ranks. Dick and Warner and Pennington felt thattheir army had done well in the west, but their hopes for the Union wereclouded by the news from the east. Lee and Jackson had triumphed again. Burnside, in midwinter, had hurled the gallant Army of the Potomac invain against the heights of Fredericksburg, and twelve thousand men hadfallen for nothing. 

"We need a man, a man in the east, even more than in the west, " saidWarner. 

"He'll come. I'm sure he'll come, " said Dick. 

Appendix: Transcription notes:

This ebook was transcribed from a volume of the 16th printing

Despite the fact that this is a fictional work, I myself find itinappropriate that our fictional hero, Dick Mason, is credited withdiscovering the "lost" copy of Lee's General Order No. 191. In fact, Sergeant Bloss and Corporal Mitchell, of the 27th Indiana Infantry, found the envelope containing the order, along with the three cigars, ina field of clover on the morning of 09/13/1862. 

The following modifications were applied while transcribing the printedbook to ebook:

 Chapter 2 Page 31, para 4, add missing close-quotes Page 51, para 3, add missing comma Page 51, para 6, fix typo ("Pennigton") Page 52, para 7, add missing open-quotes

 Chapter 3 Page 68, para 4, changed "it" to "its"

 Chapter 4 Page 83, para 3, added a missing comma (In these books, I am often tempted to add/move/remove commas, but I generally avoid doing so. In this case, an additional comma was sorely needed. )

 Chapter 5 Page 105, para 3, add missing open-quotes Page 107, para 2, add missing open-quotes Page 118, para 5, changed "he know not" to "he knew not"

 Chapter 6 Page 142, para 11, add missing open-quotes

 Chapter 7 Page 157, para 2, add missing open-quotes

 Chapter 9 Page 191, para 6, add missing comma Page 196, para 2 and 3, fix closing quotation marks Page 197, para 1, add missing close-quote

 Chapter 10 Page 210, para 1, fix typo ("Pennigton")

 Chapter 13 Page 276, para 1, change "a" to "as" Page 281, para 2, add missing close-quotes Page 283, para 8, change "in" to "is" Page 288, para 4, fix typo ("seeemd") Page 293, para 4, add missing close-quotes Page 297, para 2, closing double-quote should be single-quote

 Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII:

 - The word "marquee" in chapter 3 was presented in the printed book with an accented "e"

I did not change:

 - Inconsistent spelling/presentation in the printed book: "rearguard" and "rear guard", "guerrilla" and "guerilla", "round-about" and "roundabout", "to-morrow" and "tomorrow"

 - "bowlder" in chapter 10