or two shots into the rebel picket and then
retire."

Hapgood reluctantly obeyed the order; though he felt as though he was
signing the death-warrant of his young friend by doing so. The bullets
began to fly; but the sergeant took care to keep his men out of sight as
they retreated. The enemy followed; for they always chase a retiring foe,
and run from an advancing one. They reached the bog in which Somers was
concealed, where one of the three fell before a ball which the lieutenant
was sure had been directed by the practiced eye of the veteran sergeant.
The other two swore at the calamity, and vowed vengeance on the Yankee
who had done the deed.

Hapgood continued to retire, and led his foe to the very verge of the
woods. In the meantime, the lieutenant emerged from his hiding-place. The
first object that attracted his attention was the ghastly face of the
dead rebel. The sight of him was not pleasant, but it was suggestive;
and, without the loss of a moment, he dragged the body into the grass,
and hastily removed the uniform from it. It was a loathsome task; but the
necessity of the moment seemed to justify the act. Taking off his own
uniform, he put on that of the dead rebel, who was fortunately about his
own size. Rolling up his own clothing in as small a bundle as possible,
he concealed it in the bog, at some distance from the place where the
picket had fallen. Dragging the corpse to a quagmire, he sunk it beneath
the muddy waters, and it passed from his view. After taking the
precaution to straighten up the long grass, which might have betrayed his
movements, he advanced towards the rebel lines.

Lieutenant Somers felt that he was now actually embarked in his perilous
venture. He was within the enemy's line, and in disguise. If discovered,
he would be liable to the penalty of being a spy. But inasmuch as he did
not intend to be discovered, he did not think it necessary to expend his
nervous energy in a discussion of this question. Success was a duty to
him; and he spent no time in considering the dark side of the picture.

He was excited, and he knew that he was excited. He knew that coolness
and impudence were the essential elements of success in such an
adventure; and when he had followed the woods nearly to the top of the
hill, he sat down to recover his self-possession, and compose his nerves
to their natural quietude. It was not a very easy matter. He had already
arranged his plan of future operations, an