The Shades of the Wilderness: A Story of Lee's Great Stand

by Joseph A. Altsheler

  CHAPTER XII

  IN WINTER QUARTERS

  Harry was sent a few days later with dispatches from the president toGeneral Lee, who was still in his camp beside the Opequan. Dalton washeld in the capital for further messages, but Harry was not sorry tomake the journey alone. The stay in Richmond had been very pleasant.The spirits of youth, confined, had overflowed, but he was beginning tofeel a reaction. One must return soon to the battlefield. This wasmerely a lull in the storm which would sweep with greater fury thanever. The North, encouraged by Gettysburg and Vicksburg, was gatheringvast masses which would soon be hurled upon the South, and Harry knewhow thin the lines there were becoming.

  He thought, too, of Shepard, who was the latest to score in their duel,and he believed that this man had already sent to the Northern leadersinformation beyond value. Harry felt that he must strive in somemanner to make the score even.

  It was late in the summer when he rejoined the Army of NorthernVirginia and delivered the letters to the commander-in-chief, who satin the shade of a large tree. Harry observed him closely. He seemed alittle grayer than before the Battle of Gettysburg, but his manner wasas confident as ever. He filled to both eye and mind the measure of agreat general. After asking Harry many questions he dismissed him for awhile, to play, so he said.

  The young Kentuckian at once, and, as a matter of course, sought theInvincibles. St. Clair and Langdon hailed him with shouts of joy, butto his great surprise, Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-ColonelHector St. Hilaire were not playing chess.

  "We were getting on with the game last night, Harry," explained ColonelTalbot, "but we came to a point where we were about to develop heatover a projected move. Then, in order to avoid such a lamentableoccurrence, we decided to postpone further play until to-night. But wefind you looking uncommonly well, Harry. The flesh pots of Egypt haveagreed with you."

  "I had a good time in Richmond, sir, a fine one," replied Harry. "Thepeople there have certainly been kind to me, as they are to all theofficers of the Army of Northern Virginia."

  "What have you done with the grave Dalton, who was your comrade on yourjourney to the capital?"

  "They've kept him there for the present. They think he's strongerproof against the luxuries and temptations of a city than I am."

  "Youth is youth, and I'm glad that you've had this little fling, Harry.Perhaps you'll have another, as I think you'll be sent back to Richmondvery soon."

  "What has been going on here, Colonel?"

  "Very little. Nothing, in fact, of any importance. When we crossedthe swollen Potomac, although threatened by an enemy superior to us innumbers, I felt that we would not be pushed. General Meade has beendeliberate, extremely deliberate in his offensive movements. Up Norththey call Gettysburg a great victory, but we're resting here calmly andpeacefully. Hector and I and our young friends have found rural peaceand ease among these Virginia hills and valleys. You, of course, foundRichmond very gay and bright?"

  "Very gay and bright, Colonel, and full of handsome ladies."

  Colonel Talbot sighed and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire sighedalso.

  "Hector and I should have been there," said Colonel Talbot. "Althoughwe've never married, we have a tremendous admiration for the ladies,and in our best uniforms we're not wholly unpopular among them, eh,Hector?"

  "Not by any means, Leonidas. We're not as young as Harry here, but Iknow that you're a fine figure of a man, and you know that I am.Moreover, our experience of the dangerous sex is so much greater thanthat of mere boys like Harry and Arthur and Tom here, that we know howto make ourselves much more welcome. You talk to them about frivolousthings, mere chit chat, while we explain grave and important matters tothem."

  "Are you sure, sir," asked St. Clair, "that the ladies don't reallyprefer chit chat?"

  "I was not speaking of little girls. I was alluding to those ornamentsof their sex who have arrived at years of discretion. Ah, if Leonidasand I were only a while in Richmond! It would be the next best thingto being in Charleston."

  "Maybe the Invincibles will be sent there for a while."

  "Perhaps. I don't foresee any great activity here in the autumn. Howdo they regard the Army of Northern Virginia in Richmond now, Harry?"

  "With supreme confidence."

  The talk soon drifted to the people whom Harry had met at the capital,and then he told of his adventure with Shepard, the spy.

  "He seems to be a most daring man," said Talbot; "not a mere ordinaryspy, but a man of a higher type. I think he's likely to do us greatharm. But the woman, Miss Carden, was surely kind to you. If shehadn't found you wandering around in the rain you'd have doubtlessdropped down and died. God bless the ladies."

  "And so say we all of us," said Harry.

  He returned to Richmond in a few days, bearing more dispatches, and tohis great delight all that was left of the Invincibles arrived a weeklater to recuperate and see a little of the world. St. Clair and HappyTom plunged at once and with all the ardor of youth into the gayetiesof social life, and the two colonels followed them at a more dignifiedbut none the less earnest pace. All four appeared in fine newuniforms, for which they had saved their money, and they wereconspicuous upon every occasion.

  Harry was again at the Curtis house, and although it was not a greatball this time the assemblage was numerous, including all his friends.The two colonels had become especial favorites everywhere, and theywere telling stories of the old South, which Harry had divined waspassing; passing whether the South won or not.

  Although there had been much light talk through the evening and anabundance of real gayety, nearly every member of the company,nevertheless, had serious moments. The news from Tennessee and Georgiawas heavy with import. It was vague in some particulars, but it wasdefinite enough in others to tell that the armies of Rosecrans andBragg were approaching each other. All eyes turned to the West. Agreat battle could not be long delayed, and a powerful division of theArmy of Northern Virginia under Longstreet had been sent to help Bragg.

  Harry found himself late at night once more in that very room in whichthe map had disappeared so mysteriously. The two colonels, St. Clairand Langdon, and one or two others had drifted in, and the older menwere smoking. Inevitably they talked of the battle which they foresawwith such certainty, and Harry's anxiety about it was increased,because he knew his father would be there on one side, and the cousin,for whom he cared so much, would be on the other.

  "If only General Lee were in command there," said Colonel Talbot, "wemight reckon upon a great and decisive victory."

  "But Bragg is a good general," said Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire.

  "It's not enough to be merely a good general. He must have the soul offire that Lee has, and that Jackson had. Bragg is the SouthernMcClellan. He is brave enough personally, but he always overrates thestrength of the enemy, and, if he is victorious on the field, he doesnot reap the fruits of victory."

  "Where were the armies when we last heard from them?" asked a captain.

  "Bragg was turning north to attack Rosecrans, who stood somewherebetween him and Chattanooga."

  "I'm glad that it's Rosecrans and not Grant who commands the Northernarmy there," said Harry.

  "Why?" asked Colonel Talbot.

  "I've studied the manner in which he took Vicksburg, and I've heardabout him from my father, and others. He won't be whipped. He isn'tlike the other Northern generals. He hangs on, whatever happens. Iheard some one quoting him as saying that no matter how badly his armywas suffering in battle, the army of the other fellow might besuffering worse. It seems to me that a general who is able to thinkthat way is very dangerous."

  "And so he is, Harry," said Colonel Talbot. "I, too, am glad that it'sRosecrans and not Grant. If there's any news of a battle, we're not ina bad place to hear it. It's said that Mr. Curtis always knows as soonas our government what's happened."

  The talk drifted on to another subject and then a hum came from thelarg
er room. A murmur only, but it struck such an intense and earnestnote that Harry was convinced.

  "It's news of battle! I know it!" he exclaimed.

  They sprang to their feet and hurried into the ballroom. WilliamCurtis, his habitual calm broken, was standing upon a chair and all thepeople had gathered in front of him. A piece of paper, evidently atelegram, was clutched in his hand.

  "Friends," he said in a strained, but exultant voice, "a great battlehas been fought near Chattanooga on a little river called theChickamauga, and we have won a magnificent victory."

  A mighty cheer came from the crowd.

  "The army of Rosecrans, attacked with sudden and invincible force byBragg, has been shattered and driven into Chattanooga."

  Another cheer burst forth.

  "No part of the Union army was able to hold fast, save one wing underThomas."

  A third mighty cheer arose, but this time Harry did not join in it. Hefelt a sudden sinking of the heart at the words, "save one wing underThomas." Then the victory was not complete. It could be complete onlywhen the whole Union army was driven from the field. As long as Thomasstood, there was a flaw in the triumph. He had heard many times ofthis man, Thomas. He had Grant's qualities. He was at his best inapparent defeat.

  "Is there anything else, Mr. Curtis?" asked Colonel Talbot.

  "That is all my agent sends me concerning its results, but he says thatit lasted two days, and that it was fierce and bloody beyond allcomparison with anything that has happened in the West. He estimatedthat the combined losses are between thirty and forty thousand men."

  A heavy silence fell upon them all. The victory was great, but theprice for it was great, too. Yet exultation could not be subdued long.They were soon smiling over it, and congratulating one another. ButHarry was still unable to share wholly in the joy of victory.

  "Why this gloom in your face, when all the rest of us are so happy?"asked St. Clair.

  "My father was there. He may have fallen. How do I know?"

  "That's not it. He always comes through. What's the real cause? Outwith it!"

  "You know that part of the dispatch saying, 'No part of the Union armywas able to hold fast save one wing under Thomas.' How about thatwing! You heard, too, what the colonel said about General Bragg. Healways overestimates the strength of the enemy, and while he may win avictory he will not reap the fruits of it. That wing under Thomasstill may be standing there, protecting all the rest of the Union army."

  "Come now, old Sober Face! This isn't like you. We've won a grandvictory! We've more than paid them back for their Gettysburg."

  Harry rejoiced then with the others, but at times the thought came tohim that Thomas with one wing might yet be standing between Bragg andcomplete victory. When he and Dalton went back home--they were againwith the Lanhams--they found the whole population of Richmond ablazewith triumph. The Yankee army in the West had been routed. Not onlywas Chickamauga an offset for Gettysburg, but for Vicksburg as well,and once more the fortunes of the South were rising toward the zenith.

  Dalton had returned from the army a little later this time than Harry,but he had joined him at the Lanhams', and he too showed gravity amidthe almost universal rejoicing.

  "I see that you're afraid the next news won't be so complete, Harry,"he said.

  "That's it, George. We don't really know much, except that Thomas washolding his ground. Oh, if only Stonewall Jackson were there!Remember how he came down on them at the Second Manassas and atChancellorsville! Thomas would be swept off his feet and as Rosecransretreated into Chattanooga our army would pour right on his heels!"

  They waited eagerly the next day and the next for news, and whileRichmond was still filled with rejoicings over Chickamauga, Harry sawthat his fears were justified. Thomas stood till the end. Bragg hadnot followed Rosecrans into Chattanooga. The South had won a greatbattle, but not a decisive victory. The commanding general had notreaped all the rewards that were his for the taking. Bragg hadjustified in every way Colonel Talbot's estimate of him.

  And yet Richmond, like the rest of the South, felt the great uplift ofChickamauga, the most gigantic battle of the West. It told South aswell as North that the war was far from over. The South could nolonger invade the North, nor could the North invade the South at will.Even on the northernmost border of the rebelling section the Army ofNorthern Virginia under its matchless leader, rested in its camp,challenging and defiant.

  Harry was glad to return with his friends to the army. His briefperiod of festival was over, and his fears for his father had beenrelieved by a letter, stating that he had received no serious harm inthe great and terrible battle of Chickamauga.

  After the failure of the armies of Lee and Meade to bring about adecisive battle at Mine Run, the Army of Northern Virginia establishedits autumn and winter headquarters on a jutting spur of the great rangecalled Clarke's Mountain, Orange Court House lying only a few miles tothe west. The huge camp was made in a wide-open space, surrounded bydense masses of pines and cedars. Tents were pitched securely, and,feeling that they were to stay here a long time many of the soldiersbuilt rude log cabins.

  General Lee himself continued to use his tent, which stood in thecenter of the camp, the streets of tents and cabins radiating from itlike the spokes of a wheel. Close about Lee's own tent were othersoccupied by Colonel Taylor, his adjutant general, Colonel Peyton,Colonel Marshall, and other and younger officers, including Harry andDalton. A little distance down one of the main avenues, which theywere pleased to call Victory Street, the Invincibles were encamped, andHarry saw them almost every day.

  The troops were well fed now, and the brooks provided an abundance ofclear water. The days were still warm, but the evenings were cold,and, inhaling the healing odors of the pines and cedars, woundedsoldiers returned rapidly to health.

  It was a wonderful interval for Harry and his friends associated withhim so closely. Save for the presence of armies, it seemed at timesthat there was no war. Deep peace prevailed along the Rapidan and theslopes of the mountain. It was the longest period of rest that he andhis comrades were to know in the course of the mighty struggle. Theaction of the war was now chiefly in the Southwest, where Grant, takingthe place of Rosecrans, was seeking to recover all that was lost atChickamauga.

  Harry had another letter from his father, telling him that his own hadbeen received, and giving personal details of the titanic struggle onthe Chickamauga. He did not speak out directly, but Harry saw in hiswords the vain regret that the great opportunity won at Chickamauga atsuch a terrible price had not been used. In his belief the wholeFederal army might have been destroyed, and the star of the South wouldhave risen again to the zenith.

  Here Harry sighed and remembered his own forebodings. Oh, if only aStonewall Jackson had been there! His mighty sweep would have drivenThomas and the rest in a wild rout. A tear rose in his eye as heremembered his lost hero. He sincerely believed then and always thatthe Confederacy would have won had he not fallen on that fatal eveningat Chancellorsville. It was an emotion with him, a permanent emotionwith which logic could not interfere.

  Harry was conscious, too, that the long quiet on the Eastern front wasbut a lull. There was nothing to signify peace in it. If the Northhad ever felt despair about the war Gettysburg and Vicksburg hadremoved every trace of it. He knew that beyond the blue ranges ofmountains, both to east and west, vast preparations were going forward.The North, the region of great population, of illimitable resources, offree access to the sea, and of mechanical genius that had counted forso much in arming her soldiers, was gathering herself for a supremeeffort. The great defeats of the war's first period were to beignored, and her armies were to come again, more numerous, betterequipped and perhaps better commanded than ever.

  Nevertheless, his mind was still the mind of youth, and he could notdwell continuously upon this prospect. The camp in the hills waspleasant. The heats had passed, and autumn in the full richness of itscoloring had co
me. The forests blazed in all the brilliancy of red andyellow and brown. The whole landscape had the color and intensity thatonly a North American autumn can know, and the October air had thefreshness and vitality sufficient to make an old man young.

  The great army of youth--it was composed chiefly of boys, like the oneopposing it--enjoyed itself during these comparatively idle months. Thesoldiers played rural games, marbles even, pitching the horseshoe,wrestling, jumping and running. It was to Harry like Hannibal inwinter quarters at Capua, without the Capua. There was certainly noluxury here. While food was more abundant than for a long time, it wasof the simplest. Instead of dissipation there was a great religiousrevival. Ministers of different creeds, but united in a common object,appeared in the camp, and preached with power and energy. The Southwas emotional then and perhaps the war had made it more so. Theministers secured thousands of converts. All day long the preachingand singing could be heard through the groves of pine and cedar, andHarry knew that when the time for battle came they would fight all thebetter because of it. Yielding to the enemy was no part of theChristianity that these ministers preached.

  Harry also saw the growth of the hero-worship accorded to his greatcommander. He did not believe that any other general, except perhapsNapoleon in his earlier career, had ever received such trust andadmiration. Many soldiers who had felt his guiding hand in battle nowsaw him for the first time. He had an appearance and manner to inspirerespect, and, back of that, was something much greater, a firmconviction in the minds of all that he had illimitable patience, awillingness to accept responsibility, and a military genius that hadnever been surpassed. Such was the attitude of the Southern peopletoward their great leader then, and, to an even greater degree now,when his figure, like that of Lincoln, instead of becoming smallergrows larger as it recedes into the past.

  Harry often rode with him. He seemed to have an especial liking forthe very young members of his staff, or for old private soldiers,bearded and gray like himself, whom he knew by name. Far in October herode down toward the Rapidan where Stuart was encamped, taking with himonly Harry and Dalton. He was mounted on his great white war horse,Traveller, which the soldiers knew from afar. Cheering arose, but whenhe raised his hand in a deprecating way the soldiers, obedient to hiswish, ceased, and they heard only the murmur of many voices, as theywent on. The general made the lads ride, one on his right and theother on his left hand, and brilliant October coloring and crisp airseemed to put him in a mood that was far from war.

  "I pine for Arlington," he said at length to Harry, "that ancestralhome of mine that is held by the enemy. I should like to see theripening of the crops there. We Virginians of the old stock hold tothe land, and you Kentuckians, who are really of the same race, hold toit, too."

  "It is true, sir," said Harry. "My father loves the land. After hisretirement from the army, following the Mexican war, he worked harderupon our place in Kentucky than any slave or hired man. He was goingto free his slaves, but I suppose, sir, that the war has made him feeldifferent about it."

  "Yes, we're often willing to do things by our own free will, but notunder compulsion. The great Washington himself wrote of the evils ofslave labor. The 'old fields' scattered all over Virginia show what ithas done for this noble commonwealth."

  Harry remembered quite well similar "old fields" in Kentucky. Slaveswere far less numerous there than in Virginia, and he was old enough tohave observed that, in addition to the wrong of slavery, they were aliability rather than an asset. But he too felt anew the instinctiverebellion against being compelled to do what he would perhaps do anyhow.

  General Lee talked more of the land and Harry and Dalton listenedrespectfully. Harry saw that his commander's heart turned stronglytoward it. He knew that Jefferson had dreamed of the United States asan agricultural community, having no part in the quarrels of othernations, but he knew that it was only a dream. The South, the sectionthat had followed Jefferson's dream, was now at a great disadvantage.It had no ships, and it did not have the mills to equip it for thegreat war it was waging. He realized more keenly than ever theone-sided nature of the South's development.

  The general turned his horse toward the banks of the Rapidan, and aresplendent figure came forward to meet him. It was that incarnationof youth and fantastic knighthood, Jeb Stuart, who had just returnedfrom a ride toward the north. He wore a new and brilliant uniform andthe usual broad yellow sash about his waist. His tunic wasembroidered, too, and his epaulets were heavy with gold. The thickgold braid about his hat was tied in a gorgeous loop in front. Hishands were encased in long gloves of the finest buckskin, and he tappedthe high yellow tops of his riding boots with a little whip.

  Harry always felt that Stuart did not really belong to the present. Hisplace was with the medieval knights who loved gorgeous armor, whofought by day for the love of it and who sat in the evening on thecastle steps with fair ladies for the love of it, and who in the darklistened to the troubadours below, also for the love of it. A greatcavalry leader, he shone at his brightest in the chase, and, when therewas no fighting to be done, his were the spirits of a boy, and he wasas quick for a prank as any lad under his own command.

  But Stuart, although he had joked with Jackson, never took anyliberties with Lee. He instantly swept the ground with his plumed hatand said in his most respectful manner:

  "General, will you honor us by dining with us? We've just returnedfrom a long ride northward and we've made some captures."

  Lee caught a twinkle in his eye, and he smiled.

  "I see no prisoners, General Stuart," he replied, "and I take it thatyour captures do not mean human beings."

  "No, sir, there are other things just now more valuable to us thanprisoners. We raided a little Yankee outpost. Nobody was hurt, but,sir, we've captured some provisions, the like of which the Army ofNorthern Virginia has not tasted in a long time. Would you mind comingwith me and taking a look? And bring Kenton and Dalton with you, ifyou don't mind, sir."

  "This indeed sounds tempting," said the commander-in-chief of the Armyof Northern Virginia. "I accept your invitation, General Stuart, inbehalf of myself and my two young aides."

  He dismounted, giving the reins of Traveller to an orderly, and walkedtoward Stuart's tent, which was pitched near the river. The "captures"were heaped in a grassy place.

  "Here, sir," said General Stuart, "are twenty dozen boxes of the finestFrench sardines. I haven't tasted sardines in a year and I love them."

  "I've always liked them," said General Lee.

  "And here, sir, are several cases of Yorkshire ham, brought all the wayacross the sea--and for us. It isn't as good as our Virginia ham,which is growing scarce, but we'll like it. And cove oysters, casesand cases of 'em. I like 'em almost as well as sardines."

  "Most excellent."

  "And real old New England pies, baked, I suppose, in Washington. Wecan warm 'em over."

  "I see that you have the fire ready."

  "And jars of preserves, a half-dozen kinds at least, and all of 'emlook as if two likely youngsters like Kenton and Dalton would beanxious to get at 'em."

  "You judge us rightly, General," said Harry. "We'll show no mercy tosuch prisoners as we have here."

  "You wouldn't be boys and you wouldn't be human if you did," rejoinedStuart, "would they, General?"

  "They would not," replied Lee. "One of the principal recollections ofmy boyhood is that I was always hungry. Our regular three meals a daywere not enough for us, however much we ate at one time. Virginia,like your own Kentucky, Harry, is full of forage, and we moved ingroups. Now, didn't you find a lot of food in the woods and fields?"

  "Oh, yes, sir," rejoined Harry with animation. "I was hungry all thetime, too. An hour after breakfast I was hungry again, and an hourafter dinner, which we had in the middle of the day, I was hungry oncemore."

  "But you knew where to go for supplies."

  "Yes, sir; we had berries, strawberries, blackberries, raspber
ries,gooseberries, dewberries, cherries, all of them growing wild althoughsome of them started tame. And then we could forage for pears,peaches, plums, damsons, all kinds of apples, paw paws, and then laterfor the nuts, hickory nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazel nuts,chinquapins, and a lot more. We could have almost lived in the woodsand fields from early spring until late fall."

  "We did the same in Virginia," said the commander-in-chief. "I'veoften thought that our forest Indians did not develop a highercivilization, because it was so easy for them to live, save in thedepths of a hard winter. They had most of the berries and fruits andnuts that we white boys had. The woods were full of game, and thelakes and rivers full of fish. They were not driven by the hardnecessity that creates civilization."

  "Dinner is ready, sir," announced General Stuart, who had beendirecting the orderlies. "I can offer you and the others nothing butboxes and kegs to sit on, but I can assure you that this Northern food,some of which comes in cans, is excellent."

  The two lads and General Stuart fell to work with energy. General Leeate more sparingly. Stuart was a boy himself, talking much and runningover with fun.

  "Have you heard what happened to General Early, sir?" he asked thecommander-in-chief.

  "Not yet."

  "But you will, sir, to-morrow. Early will be slow in sending you thatdispatch. He hasn't had time to write it yet. He's not throughswearing."

  "General Early is a valiant and able man, but I disapprove of hisswearing."

  "Why, sir, 'Old Jube' can't help it. It's a part of his breathing, andman cannot live without breath. He sent one of his best aides with adispatch to General Hill, who is posted some distance away. Passingthrough a thick cedar wood the aide was suddenly set upon by a genuinestage villain, large, dark and powerful, who clubbed him over the headwith the butt of a pistol, and then departed with his dispatch."

  "And what happened then?"

  "The aide returned to General Early with his story, but without hisdispatch. The general believed his account, of course, but he calledhim names for allowing himself to be surprised and overcome by a singleYankee. He cursed until the air for fifty yards about him smelledstrongly of sulphur and brimstone."

  "Did he do anything more?"

  "Yes, General. He sent a duplicate of the dispatch by an aide whom hesaid he could trust. In an hour the second man came back with the samebig lump on his head and with the same story. He had been ambushed atthe crossing of a ravine full of small cedars, and the highwayman wasundoubtedly the same, too, a big, powerful fellow, as bold as youplease."

  Harry's pulse throbbed hard for a few moments, when he first heardmention of the man. The description, not only physical, but of mannerand action as well, answered perfectly. He had not the slightest doubtthat it was Shepard.

  "A daring deed," said General Lee. "We must see that it is notrepeated."

  "But that wasn't all of the tale, sir. While the second man wassitting on the bank, nursing his broken head, the Yankee Dick Turpinread the dispatch and saw that it was a duplicate of the first. Hebecame red-hot with wrath, and talked furiously about the extra andunnecessary work that General Early was forcing upon him. He ended bycramming the dispatch into the man's hands, directing him to take itback, and to tell General Early to stop his foolishness. The aide wasa bit dazed from the blow he received and he delivered that messageword for word. Why, sir, General Early exploded. People who haveheard him swear for years and who know what an artist he is inswearing, heard him then utter swear words that they had never heardbefore, words invented on the spur of the moment, and in the heat ofpassion, words full of pith and meaning."

  "And that was all, I suppose?"

  "Not by any means, sir. General Early picked two sharpshooters andsent them with another copy of the dispatch. They passed the place ofthe first hold-up, and next the ravine without seeing anybody. But asthey were riding some distance further on both of their horses werekilled by shots from a small clump of pines. Before they could regaintheir feet Dick Turpin came out and covered them with his rifle--itseems that he had one of those new repeating weapons.

  "The men saw that his eye was so keen and his hand so steady that theydid not dare to move a hand to a pistol. Then as he looked down thesights of his rifle he lectured them. He told them they were foolishto come that way, when the two who came before them had found out thatit was a closed road. He said that real soldiers learned byexperience, and would not try again to do what they had learned to beimpossible.

  "Then he said that after all they were not to blame, as they had beensent by General Early, and he made one of them who had the stub of apencil write on the back of the dispatch these words: 'General JubalEarly, C. S. A.: This has ceased to be a joke. After your first manwas stopped, it was not necessary to do anything more. I have thedispatch. Why insist on sending duplicate after duplicate?' And thetwo had to walk all the way back to General Early with that note,because they didn't dare make away with the dispatch.

  "I have a certain respect for that man's skill and daring, but GeneralEarly had a series of spells. He retired to his tent and if thereports are not exaggerated, a continuous muttering like low thundercame from the tent, and all the cloth of it turned blue from thelightnings imprisoned inside."

  General Lee himself smiled.

  "It was certainly annoying," he said. "I hope the dispatch was not ofimportance."

  "It contained nothing that will help the Yankees, but it shows that theenemy has some spies--or at least one spy--who are Napoleons at theirtrade."