CHAPTER XIII
THE SEEKER FOR HELP
Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and four other officerswere in a deep alcove that had been dug just under the highest earthwork,where they were not likely to be interrupted in their deliberations byany fragment of an exploding shell. The only light was that of thestars and the early moon which had now come out, but it was sufficientto show faces oppressed by the utmost anxiety. Three other men also hadbeen summoned to the council.
"We have chosen you six for an important errand," said Colonel Talbot,"but you are to go upon it singly, and not collectively. As you see,we are besieged here by a greatly superior force. Its assault has beenrepulsed, but it will not go away. It will bombard us incessantly, and,since we are not strong enough to break through their lines and havelimited supplies of food and water, we must fall in a day or two,unless we get help. We want you to make your way over the hills tonightto General Beauregard's army and bring aid. Even should five becaptured or slain the sixth may get through. Lieutenant Kenton, youwill go first. You will recall that the horses of the officers wereleft on the crest of the mountain with a small guard. They may be thereyet, and if you can secure a mount, so much the better. But the momentyou leave this fort you must rely absolutely upon your own skill andjudgment."
Harry bowed. It was a great trust and he felt elation because he hadbeen chosen first. He was again a courier, and he would do his best.
"I should advise you not to take either a rifle or a sword," saidColonel Talbot, "as they will be in the way of speed. But you'd betterhave two pistols. Now, go! I send you upon a dangerous errand, but Ihope that the son of George Kenton, my old friend, will succeed. Hark!There is Carrington again! How strangely this war arrays comradesagainst one another!"
A shell burst almost at the center of the fort, and, for a few moments,the air was full of earth and flying fragments of steel. But in anotherminute Harry made his preparations, dropped over the rear earthwork andcrouched for a little while against it. Before him stretched an openspace of several hundred yards and here he felt was his greatest danger.The Northern sharpshooters might be lurking at the edge of the forest,and he ran great danger of being picked off as he fled. He looked uphopefully at the skies and saw a few clouds, but they did not promisemuch. Starshine and moonshine together gave enough light for a goodsharpshooter.
Bending until he was half stooped, he took his chance and ran across theclearing. His flesh quivered, fearing the sudden impact of a bulletupon it, but no crack of a rifle came and he darted into the protectingshades of the forest. He lay a few minutes among the trees, until hislungs filled with fresh air. Then he rose and advanced cautiously upthe slope, which lay to the south of the fort. The besieging force wasmassed on the northern side of the fort, but it was probable that theyhad outposts here also, to guard against such errands as the one uponwhich Harry himself was bent.
Yet he felt sure of getting through. One youth in a forest was hardto find. The clouds at which he had looked so hopefully were reallygrowing a little heavier now. It would take good eyes to find him andswift feet to catch him. He paused again halfway up the slope, and sawa flash of flame from the Northern forest. Then came the thunderousroar of one of Carrington's guns, all the louder in the still night,and he saw the shell burst just over the fort.
He knew that these guns would play all night on the Southern recruits,allowing them but little rest and sleep and shaking their nerves stillfurther.
But he must not pause for the guns. A hundred yards further and he sankquietly into a clump of bushes. Voices had warned him and he lay quitestill while a Northern officer and twenty soldiers passed. They were sonear that he heard them talking and they spoke of the recapture of thefort within two days at least. When they were lost among the trees herose and advanced more rapidly than before.
He met no interruption until he reached the crest of the mountain,when he ran almost into the arms of a sentinel. The man in the darknessdid not see the color of his uniform and hailed him for news.
"Nothing," replied Harry hastily, as he darted away. "I carry a messagefrom our commander to a detachment stationed further on!"
But the sentinel, catching sight of his uniform, and exclaiming: "AJohnny Reb!" threw up his rifle and fired. Luckily for Harry it wassuch a hurried shot that the bullet only made his flesh creep, andpassed on, cutting the twigs. Then Harry lifted himself up and ran.Lifting himself up describes it truly. He had all the motives which canmake a boy run, pressing danger, love of life, devotion to his cause,and a burning desire to do his errand. Hence he lifted his feet,spurned the earth behind him and fled down the slope at amazing speed.Several more shots were fired, but the bullets flew at random and didnot come near him.
Harry did not stop until he was two or three miles from the fort,when he knew that he was safe from anything but a chance meeting withthe Northern troops. Then he lay down under a big tree and panted.But his breathing soon became easy, and, rising, he examined the region.He always had a good idea of locality, and soon he found the road bywhich the Invincibles had come. No one could mistake the tracks made bythe cannon wheels. He would retrace his steps on that road as fast ashe could. He saw that it was useless now to look for the men with thehorses. Fear of capture had compelled them to move long since, and asearch would merely waste time.
He tightened his belt, squared his shoulders, and bending a littleforward, ran at a long, easy gait along the trail. He was a strong andenduring youth, trained to the woods and hills, and, with occasionalstops for rest, he knew that he could continue until he reached thecamp at Manassas. He wondered if the others had got through. He hopedthey had, but he was still anxious to be the first who should reachBeauregard, an ambition not unworthy on the part of youth.
He stopped after midnight for a longer rest than usual. Colonel Talbot,at the last moment, had made him take a small knapsack with some foodin it, and now he was grateful for his commander's foresight. He ate,drank from a tiny brook that he heard trickling among the trees, andfelt as if he had been made anew. He wisely protracted this stop tohalf an hour and then he went forward at an increased gait.
His flight, save for short rests, continued without interruption untilmorning. Always he looked about for a horse, intending in such anemergency to take a horse by force and gallop to Beauregard. But thecountry was populated very thinly and he saw none. He must continueto rely upon his own good lungs, strong muscles, and dauntless spirit.
Dawn came, bathing the hills in gray light and unveiling the green ofthe valleys below. Then the sun showed an edge of red fire in the east,and the full day was at hand. Harry saw below him many horsemen insmooth array. They seemed to have just started, as a huge campfire alittle further up the valley was still burning.
To the weary and anxious boy it seemed a most gallant command, freshas the dawn, splendid horses, splendid men, overflowing with life andstrength and spirits. His eyes traveled to one who was a little inadvance of all the others, and rested there. The figure that held hisgaze was scarcely modern, it was more like that of a knight of oldromance.
He saw a young man, tall, and built very powerfully, riding upon animmense black horse. His hair and beard were long and thick, of agolden brown that looked like pure flowing gold in the brilliant rays ofthe young sun. His coat had two rows of shining brass buttons down thefront, and was sewn thickly with gold braid. Heavy gold braid coveredthe seams of his trousers and a great sash of yellow silk was tiedaround his waist. Spurs of gold gleamed in the sun. Long yellow glovescovered his hands. His hat was of the finest felt, the brim pinned backwith a golden star, while a black ostrich plume waved over the crown.
Harry gazed at this singular and striking figure with wonder. He hadseen in the pictures knights of old France wearing such a garb as this,and yet it did not seem so strange here. These were strange times.Everything was out of the normal, and the brilliant colors which wouldhave seemed so dandyish to
him at other times appealed to him now.
He suddenly recalled that these men were in gray uniforms, and he, too,wore a gray uniform. They were his own people, cavalry of the Southernarmy. Recovering his presence of mind, he ran forward, shouting andwaving his hands. The leader was the first to notice him and gave theorder to halt. The whole command stopped with beautiful precision,the ranks remaining even. Then the leader, looking more than ever likea mediaeval knight, rode slowly forward on his great black horse to meetthe youth who was running to meet him.
When Harry came near he saw that the man was young, under thirty.He gazed steadily at the boy out of deep blue eyes, and his hair andbeard rippled like molten gold under the light breeze.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton, and I am a lieutenant in the regimentof the Invincibles, commanded by Colonel Leonidas Talbot! We were sentto take a fort on the other side of the mountain and took it, but theregiment is besieged there by a much larger Northern force, and I camethrough in the night for help."
The man stroked his golden beard and a light leaped up in his eye.Any dandyish or foppish quality that he might have seemed to havedisappeared at once, and Harry saw only the soldier.
"Ah, I have heard of this expedition," he said, "and so the Invinciblesare in a trap. We had started on another errand, but we will go to therelief of Colonel Talbot. My name is Stuart, lad, J. E. B. Stuart,and this is my command."
It was Harry's first meeting with the famous Jeb Stuart, the mostpicturesque of all the Southern cavalry leaders, although not superiorto the illiterate man of genius, Forrest. Stuart inspired supremeconfidence in him. His manner, the very brilliancy of his clothes,seemed to say that here was one who would dare anything.
"We have some extra horses," said Stuart, "you shall mount one and guideus."
"The country is very difficult for cavalry," said Harry. "The slopesare steep and are wooded heavily."
"For ordinary cavalry, yes," replied Stuart, proudly, "but thesehorsemen of mine can go anywhere. But we will not rely upon cavalryalone. I will send two men at full speed to the main army for infantryreinforcements. Meanwhile, we will hurry forward."
Mounted on a good horse, Harry felt like a new being, and his spiritsrose rapidly as the whole troop set off at a swift pace. He rode by theside of Stuart, who asked him many questions. Harry saw that he was notonly brilliant and dashing, but thorough. He was planning to relieveColonel Talbot, but he had no intention of dashing into a trap.
Soon they were deep in the hills and here they picked up a weary youth,dodging about among the trees. It was St. Clair. He had run thegauntlet, but he had been pursued so hotly that he had been forced tolie hidden in the forest a long time. He had made his uniform look asspruce as possible and he held himself with dignity when the horsemenapproached, but he could not conceal the fact that he was exhausted.
"I congratulate you, Harry," he said, when he also was astride a horse."It is likely that you are the only one who has got through so far.I'm quite sure that Langdon was driven back, and I don't know what hasbecome of the others. But it was great luck to find such a command asthis."
He looked somewhat enviously at Jeb Stuart's magnificent raiment,and again pulled and brushed at his own.
"You cannot expect to equal it," said Harry, smiling.
"Not unless my opportunities improve greatly. I must say, also, thatthe colors are a little too bright for me, although they suit him.Everything must be in harmony, Harry, and it is certainly true of Stuartand his uniform that they are in perfect accord. Good clothes, Harry,give one courage and backbone."
Stuart and his men continued to advance rapidly, although they were nowdeep in the hills, and Harry realized to the full that it was a splendidcommand, splendid men and splendid horses, led by a cavalryman ofgenius. Stuart neglected no precaution. He sent scouts ahead and threwout flankers. When they reached the forest the ranks opened out, and,without losing touch, a thousand men rode among the trees as easily asthey had ridden in the open fields.
They reached the crest of the last slope and Stuart, sitting his horsewith Harry and St. Clair on either side, looked through his glasses atthe valley below.
"Our people still hold it," he said. "I can see their gray uniforms andI have no doubt the besiegers are still in the forest. Yes, there'stheir signal!"
The heavy report of a cannon shot rolled up the valley and Harry saw ashell burst over the fort. Carrington was still at work, playing uponthe nerves of the defenders.
"While we have ridden through the forest," said Stuart, "a cavalrycharge here is not possible. We must dismount, leaving one man in everyten to hold the horses, signal to Colonel Talbot that help has come,and then attack on foot."
A bugler advanced on horseback at Stuart's command, blew a long andthrilling call, and then another man beside him broke out an immenseConfederate flag.
"They see us in the fort and recognize us," said Stuart. "Hark to thecheer!"
The faint sound of many voices in unison came up from the valley,and Harry knew it to be the Invincibles expressing joy that help hadcome. The fort then opened with its own guns, and Stuart's dismountedhorsemen, who were armed with carbines, advanced through the forest,using the trees for shelter, and attacking the Northern force on theflank. They and the Invincibles together were not strong enough todrive off the enemy, but the heavy skirmishing lasted until the middleof the afternoon, when a whole brigade of infantry came up from the mainarmy. Then the Northern troops retreated slowly and defiantly, carryingwith them all their wounded and every gun.
"I've got to take my hat off to the mill hands and mechanics," saidSt. Clair. "I think, Harry, that if it hadn't been for your skilland luck in getting through we would soon have been living our livesaccording to their will."
Colonel Talbot congratulated Harry, but his words were few.
"Lad," he said, "you have done well."
Then he and Stuart consulted. Harry, meanwhile, found Langdon, who hadbeen driven back, as St Clair had suspected. He had also sustained aslight wound in the arm, but he was rejoicing over their final success.
"Everything happens for the best," he said. "You might have been drivenback, Harry, as I was. You might not have met Stuart. This littlewound in my arm might have been a big one in my heart. But none ofthose things happened. Here I am almost unhurt, and here we arevictorious."
"Victorious, perhaps, but without spoils," said St. Clair. "We've gotthis fort, but we know it will take a big force to keep it. I don'tlike the way these mill hands and mechanics fight. They hang on toolong. After we drove them out of the fort they ought to have retreatedup the valley and left us in peace. If they act this way when they'reraw, what'll they do when they are seasoned?"
After the conference with Colonel Talbot, Stuart and his cavalry pursuedthe Northern force up the valley, not for attack, but for observation.Stuart came back at nightfall and reported that their retreat wascovered by the heavy guns, and, if they were attacked with much success,it must be done by at least five thousand men.
"Carrington again," said Colonel Talbot, smiling and rubbing his hands."You and your horsemen, Stuart, could never get a chance at the Northernrecruits, unless you rode first over Carrington's guns. From whateverpoint you approached their muzzles would be sure to face you."
"The colonel is undoubtedly right about his friend Carrington," saidSt. Clair to Harry and Langdon. "I guess those guns scared us morethan anything else."
Stuart and his command left them about midnight. A brilliant moon and amyriad of stars made the night so bright that Harry saw for a long timethe splendid man on the splendid horse, leading his men to some newtask. Then he lay down and slept heavily until dawn. They remained inthe fort two days longer, and then came an order from Beauregard forthem to abandon it, and rejoin the main army. The shifting of forceshad now made the place useless to either side, and the Invincibles andtheir new comrades gladly marched back over
the mountain and into thelowlands.
Harry found a letter from his father awaiting him. Colonel Kenton wasnow in Tennessee, where he had been joined by a large number of recruitsfrom Kentucky. He would have preferred to have his son with him,but he was far from sure of his own movements. The regiment might yetbe sent to the east. There was great uncertainty about the westerncommanders, and the Confederate resistance there had not solidified asit had in the east.
Harry expected prompt action on the Virginia field, but it did not come.The two armies lay facing each other for many days. June deepened andthe days grew hot. Off in the mountains to the west there were manyskirmishes, with success divided about equally. So far as Harry couldtell, these encounters meant nothing. Their own battle at the fortmeant nothing, either. The fort was now useless, and the two sidesfaced each other as before. Some of the Invincibles, however, weregone forever. Harry missed young comrades whom he had learned to like.But in the great stir of war, when one day in its effects counted as ten,their memories faded fast. It was impossible, when a boy was a memberof a great army facing another great army, to remember the fallen long.Although the long summer days passed without more fighting, there wassomething to do every hour. New troops were arriving almost daily andthey must be broken in. Intrenchments were dug and abandoned for newintrenchments elsewhere, which were abandoned in their turn forintrenchments yet newer. They moved to successive camps, but meanwhilethey became physically tougher and more enduring.
The life in the open air agreed with Harry wonderfully. He had alreadylearned from Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire how totake care of himself, and he and St. Clair and Langdon suffered fromnone of the diseases to which young soldiers are so susceptible.But the long delays and uncertainties preyed upon them, although theymade no complaint except among themselves, and then they showed ironyrather than irritation.
"Sleeping out here under the trees is good," said Langdon, "but it isn'tlike sleeping in the White House at Washington, which, as I told youbefore, I've chosen as my boarding house for the coming autumn."
"There may be a delay in your plans, Tom," said Harry. "I'd make themflexible if I were you."
"I intend to carry 'em out sooner or later. What's that you're reading,Arthur?"
"A New York newspaper. I won't let you see it, Tom, but I'll readportions of it to you. I'll have to expurgate it or you'd have a rushof blood to the head, you're so excitable. It makes a lot of fun of us.Tells that old joke, 'hay foot, straw foot,' when we drill. Says theYankees now have three hundred thousand men under the best of commanders,and that the Yankee fleet will soon close up all our ports. Says a beltof steel will be stretched about us."
"Then," said Langdon, "just as soon as they get that belt of steelstretched we'll break it in two in a half dozen places. But go on withthose feats of fancy that you're reading from that paper."
"Makes fun of our government. Says McDowell will be in Richmond in amonth."
"Just the time that Tom gives himself to get into Washington,"interrupted Harry. "But go on."
"Makes fun of our army, too, especially of us South Carolinians.Says we've brought servants along to spread tents for us, load our gunsfor us, and take care of us generally. Says that even in war we won'twork."
"They're right, so far as Tom is concerned," said Harry. "We're goingto give him a watch as the laziest man among the Invincibles."
"It's not laziness, it's wisdom," said Langdon. "What's the use ofworking when you don't have to, especially in a June as hot as this oneis? I conserve my energy. Besides, I'm going to take care of myselfin ways that you fellows don't know anything about. Watch me."
He took his clasp-knife and dug a little hole in the ground. Then herepeated over it solemnly and slowly:
"God made man and man made money; God made the bee and the bee made honey; God made Satan and Satan made sin; God made a little hole to put the devil in."
"What do you mean by that, Tom?" asked Harry. "I learned it from somefellows over in a Maryland company. It's a charm that the children inthat state have to ward off evil. I've a great belief in the instinctsof children, and I'm protecting myself against cannon and rifles in thebattle that's bound to come. Say, you fellows do it, too. I'm notsuperstitious, I wouldn't dream of depending on such things, but anyway,a charm don't hurt. Now go ahead; just to oblige me."
Harry and St. Clair dug their holes and repeated the lines. Langdonsighed with relief.
"It won't do any harm and it may do some good," he said.
They were interrupted by an orderly who summoned Harry to ColonelTalbot's tent. The colonel had complimented the boy on his energyand courage in bringing Stuart to his relief, when he was besiegedin the fort, and he had also received the official thanks of GeneralBeauregard. Proud of his success, he was anxious for some new dutyof an active nature, and he hoped that it was at hand. Langdon andSt. Clair looked at him enviously.
"He ought to have sent for us, too," said Langdon. "Colonel Talbot hastoo high an opinion of you, Harry."
"I've been lucky," said Harry, as he walked lightly away. He found thatColonel Talbot was not alone in his tent. General Beauregard was therealso. "You have proved yourself, Lieutenant Kenton," said GeneralBeauregard in flattering and persuasive tones. "You did well in the farsouth and you performed a great service when you took relief to ColonelTalbot. For that reason we have chosen you for a duty yet more arduous."
Beauregard paused as if he were weighing the effect of his words uponHarry. He had a singular charm of manner when he willed and now he usedit all. Colonel Talbot looked keenly at the boy.
"You have shown coolness and judgment," continued Beauregard, "and theyare invaluable qualities for such a task as the one we wish you toperform."
"I shall do my best, whatever it is," said Harry, proudly.
"You know that we have spent the month of June here, waiting," continuedGeneral Beauregard in those soft, persuasive tones, "and that thefighting, what there is of it, has been going on in the mountains to thewest. But this state of affairs cannot endure much longer. We havereason to believe that the Northern advance in great force will soonbe made, but we wish to know, meanwhile, what is going on behind theirlines, what forces are coming down from Washington, what is the state oftheir defenses, and any other information that you may obtain. If youcan get through their lines you can bring us news which may have vitalresults."
He paused and looked thoughtfully at the boy. His manner was that ofone conferring a great honor, and the impression upon Harry was strong.But he remembered. This was the duty of a spy, or something like it.He recalled Shepard and the risk he ran. Spies die ingloriously.Yet he might do a great service. Beauregard read his mind.
"We ask you to be a scout, not a spy," he said. "You may ride in yourown uniform, and, if you are taken, you will merely be a prisoner ofwar."
Harry's last doubt disappeared.
"I will do my best, sir," he said.
"No one can do more," said Beauregard.
"When do you wish me to start?"
"As soon as you can get ready. How long will that be? Your horse willbe provided for you."
"In a half hour."
"Good," said Beauregard. "Now, I will leave you with Colonel Talbot,who will give you a few parting instructions."
He left the tent, but, as he went, gave Harry a strong clasp of the hand.
"Now, my boy," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, when they were alone in thetent, "I've but little more to say to you. It is an arduous task thatyou've undertaken, and one full of danger. You must temper couragewith caution. You will be of no use to our cause unless you come back.And, Harry, you are your father's son; I want to see you come back foryour own sake, too. Good-bye, your horse will be waiting."
Harry quickly made ready. St. Clair and Langdon, burning with curiosity,besieged him with questions, but he merely replied that he was riding onan errand for Colonel Talbot. He did
not know when he would come back,but if it should be a long time they must not forget him.
"A long time?" said St. Clair. "A long time, Harry, means that you'vegot a dangerous mission. We'll wish you safely through it, old fellow."
"And don't forget the charm!" exclaimed Langdon. "Of course I don'tbelieve in such foolishness, I wouldn't think of it for a minute, but,anyway, they don't do any harm. Good-bye and God bless you, Harry."
"The same from me, Harry," said St. Clair.
The strong grip of their hands still thrilled his blood as he rode away.His pass carried him through the Southern lines, and then he went towardthe northwest, intending to pass through the hills, and reach the rearof the Northern force. He carried no rifle, and his gray uniform,somewhat faded now, would not attract distant attention. Still, he didnot care to be observed even by non-combatants, and he turned his horseinto the first stretch of forest that he could reach.
Harry, being young, felt the full importance of his errand, but it wasvague in its nature. He was to follow his own judgment and discoverwhat was going on between the Northern army and Washington, no verygreat distance. When he was well hidden within the forest he stoppedand considered. He might meet Federal scouts on errands like his own,but the horse they had given him was a powerful animal, and he hadgood weapons in his belt. It was Virginia soil, too, and the people,generally, were in sympathy with the South. He relied upon this factmore than upon any other.
The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest ofa hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin forprofitable cultivation. Yet the growth of trees and bushes was heavy,and Harry decided to keep in the middle of it, as long as it continuednorthward in the direction in which he was going. He found a narrowpath among the trees, and with his hand on a pistol butt he rodealong it.
He expected to meet some one, but evidently the war had driven away allwho used the path, and he continued in a welcome silence and desolation.Coming from an army where he always heard many sounds, this silenceimpressed him at last. Here in the woods there was a singular peace.The June sun had been hot that year in Virginia, but in the shelteredplaces the leaves were not burned. A moist, fresh greenness enclosedhim and presently he heard the trickle of running water.
He came to a little brook, not more than a foot wide and only two orthree inches deep, but running joyfully over its pebbly bottom. BothHarry and his horse drank of the water, which was cold, and then theywent with the stream, which followed the slow downward slope of the hilltoward the north. After a mile, he turned to the edge of the forest andlooked over the valley. He caught his breath at the great panorama ofgreen hills and of armies upon them that was spread out before him.Down there under the southern horizon were the long lines of his ownpeople, and toward Washington, but much nearer to him, were the linesof a detachment of the Northern army. Between, he caught the flash ofwater from Bull Run, Young's Branch and the lesser streams. Behind theNorthern force the sun glinted on a long line of bayonets and he knewthat it was made by a regiment marching to join the others. Thespectacle, with all the somber aspects of war, softened by the distance,was inspiring. Harry drew a long breath and then another. It was intruth more like a spectacle than war's actuality. He counted fivecolonial houses, white and pillared, standing among green trees andshrubbery. Smoke was rising from their chimneys, as if the people wholived in them were going about their peaceful occupations.
He turned back into the forest, and rode until he came to its end,two or three miles further on. Here the brook darted down throughpasture land to merge its waters finally into those of Bull Run.Harry left it regretfully. It had been a good comrade with its pleasantchatter over the pebbles.
Two miles of open country lay before him, and beyond was another cloakof trees. He decided to ride for the forest, and remain there untildark. He would not then be more than fifteen miles from Washington,and he could make the remaining distance under the cover of darkness.He followed a narrow road between two fields, in one of which he saw afarmer ploughing, an old man, gnarled and knotty, whose mind seemed bentwholly upon his work. He was ploughing young corn, and although hecould not keep from seeing Harry, he took no apparent notice of him.
The boy rode on, but the picture of the grim old man ploughing betweenthe two armies lingered with him. The fence enclosing the two fieldswas high, staked, and ridered, and presently he was glad of it. Hebeheld on a hill to his right, about a half mile away, four horsemen,and the color of their uniforms was blue. He bent low over his horsethat they might not see him, and rode on, the pulses in his templesbeating heavily. He was glad that gray was not an assertive color,and he was glad that his own gray had been faded by the hot June sun.
Half way to the protecting wood he saw one of the men on the hill,undoubtedly an officer, put glasses to his eyes. Harry was sure atfirst that he had been discovered, but the man turned the glasses onBeauregard's camp, and the boy rode on unnoticed, praying that thesame luck would attend him in the other half of the distance.
The Guns of Bull Run: A Story of the Civil War's Eve Page 14