"Undoubtedly, Leonidas. They have shown folly, wasting the lives of such brave men in small efforts one after another. They will try something else."
"I see a great many boats against the bank on their side of the river. I fancy they will use them in their next attempt, whatever it may be."
"I agree with you. Good morning, Lieutenant Kenton. A mighty and appalling sight."
"Truly it is, sir," said Harry, saluting the two officers.
"The Yankees will force the passage," said Colonel Talbot. "Our artillery is not strong enough to reply to their covering cannonade. We are glad to see you safe and whole, Harry. You'll find your friends lying in that ravine just behind us."
It was a rather deep ravine, and when Harry looked over its edge, St. Clair and Langdon greeted him gladly.
"Come down, Harry," said Langdon, "and be joyful. This gully is pretty well dried out and you can rest. We've got a West Point fellow here and he's humming one of his old songs to about the biggest chorus a song ever had. Captain Swayne, Lieutenant Kenton, once of the Invincibles, but now of General Jackson's personal staff. Swayne's from Tennessee, Harry, and you two are well met. Swayne belongs to a regiment a few yards beyond the gully. He was at the Seven Days and the Second Manassas. We three thought we won those battles ourselves, but it seems that Swayne was at both all the time, helping us. Take off your cap, Harry, and thank the gentleman."
Swayne, a slender, fair man, not over twenty-three, smiled and extended a hearty hand, which Harry received with equal heartiness. The smile turned into a slight twinkle.
"I've been glad to meet your friends here, Mr. Kenton," he said, "but the meeting has brought a disappointment with it."
"How's that?"