"Study this map carefully, men, for I want you to be sure of the road you're to take. You will have to go back about four miles—two of it off this trail. You'll find a little telegraph station there. I want you to deliver, for transmission, this message to Colonel North, at Fort Clowdry."
"Yes, sir," Hal answered. "Shall we wait for the answer?"
"No; the answer will not be due until to-morrow. As soon as you have turned over your message, retrace your way to this point. B Company will have gone ahead. But a little way above here the trail broadens, and you'll find a house now and then. You can inquire for news of which way we've gone. You'll have to find us as best you can. And Overton!"
"Yes, sir."
"Remember that these are sham manœuvres, and that C Company stands for the enemy."
"Yes, sir."
"Either or both of you might be captured by a detachment from C Company."
"We'll do our level best to prevent that, sir," Hal promised, and Noll nodded with emphasis.
"Even worse than your own capture would be the capture of this message," Captain Cortland added impressively. "This message, in effect, is my attempt to communicate with my base of supplies, represented by Fort Clowdry. If you fail to put the message through, and C Company captures it, then Captain Freeman and his men have scored heavily against us."
"Is it proper for me to ask, sir, whether Captain Freeman knows that you are trying to send this message?"