The Vermonter and the Nebraskan hurried away and Colonel Winchester, taking Dick by the arm, walked with him beyond the circle of firelight.
“Dick,” he said gently, “they asked me to choose the one in my command whom I thought most fit for this duty to be done, and I've selected you, although I'm sending you into a great peril.”
Dick flushed with pride at the trust. Youth blinded him at present to its perils.
“Thank you, sir,” he said simply.
“You will recall Major Hertford, who was with us in Kentucky before the Shiloh days?”
“I could not forget him, sir. One of our most gallant officers.”
“You speak truly. He is one of our bravest, and also one of our ablest. I speak of him as Major Hertford, but he has lately been promoted to the rank of colonel, and he is operating toward the East with a large body of cavalry, partly in conjunction with Grierson, who saved us at the ford.”
“And you want me to reach him, sir!”
“You've divined it. He is near Jackson, the capital of this state, and, incidentally, you're to discover as much as you can about Jackson and the Confederate dispositions in that direction. We wish Hertford to join General Grant's advance, which will presently move toward Jackson, and we rely upon you to find him.”
“I'll do it, if he's to be found at all,” said Dick fervently.