"Yes, General."
"Glorious victory! glorious victory! the first real victory we have gained. Did you bring full dispatches with you?"
"Yes, General; I have voluminous dispatches for General Buell. I was so eager to see you I stopped before delivering them."
"Ah, my boy, I believe you do think something of bluff old Nelson after all, even if he has a devil of a temper," and the general kindly patted the boy on the head.
Fred's eyes filled with tears. "You know, General," he said, brokenly, "that you took me in, when my father cast me out."
"For the good of the country, my boy, for the good of the country," said the general brusquely. "But, come, Fred, I will ride over to General Buell's headquarters with you. I would like to see General Thomas' full report of the battle."
They found General Buell in the highest of spirits, and Fred was given a warm welcome. He looked over General Thomas' report, and his whole face beamed with satisfaction. He asked Fred a multitude of questions, and was surprised at the knowledge of military affairs which he showed in his answers.
"I think, General," said General Buell, turning to Nelson, after he had dismissed Fred, "that you have not overestimated the abilities of your protégé. In a private note General Thomas speaks in the highest terms of him. I shall do what you asked."
"Thank you, General," said Nelson. "Somehow I have taken wonderfully to the boy."
What it was General Buell was to do for Fred, that individual was in ignorance.