"Then the blow from the pistol didn't do him any serious damage?"
"I reckon he knew he got it, for his head is tied up, and he tried to make the soldiers think he was so near dead he couldn't be moved."
The arrival of the officer of the guard put an end to the conversation, and after stating the purpose of his visit, Enoch was escorted to where the two generals lay on the ground as Seth had described.
By them his message was received far differently than it had been by Lee.
"You may assure his excellency that we will be on the alert," Maxwell replied promptly, and Dickinson said, in a tone of approbation:
"This begins to look like business. We can now have some idea of General Washington's intentions."
Then both arose to their feet to carry out the order given, and Enoch was left to his own devices.
Not only Jacob and Seth, but Greene the spy, met the young aid just as he had mounted his horse preparatory to returning, and Enoch was plied with questions as to the whereabouts and disposition of the main army.
General Dickinson, who was standing near by, gave orders for a certain number of men to move nearer the British lines, and Greene said in a matter-of-fact tone as he heard it:
"I reckon that's owing to the word you brought, lad. It means business, and no mistake. Lee will have to show his cloven foot if he succeeds in preventing an engagement during the next twenty-four hours."