tly:

"I think I may tell you, young sir, that I am satisfied with the
result."

The audacity of the youthful trooper could not carry him further. He
caught threatening looks from the officers and slipped away in the
darkness. Silence fell anew around the fire, and Jackson still stood,
gazing into the coals. Soon, he turned abruptly, strode away into the
darkness, but came back after a while, lay down on the fence rails and
slept soundly.

Harry put four or five rails side by side to protect his body from the
cold ground, lay down upon them and threw a cloak over himself. Now he
relaxed or rather collapsed completely. The tension that had kept him
up so long was gone, and he felt that he could not have risen from the
rails had he wished. He saw wavering fires and dusky figures beside
them, but sleep came in a few minutes to soothe and heal.

Bye and bye all the army, save the sentinels, slept and the victorious
Northern army only two or three miles away also slept, feeling that it
had done enough for one day.

Shields that night was sending messages to the North announcing his
victory, but he was cherishing no illusions. He told how fierce had
been the attack, and with what difficulty it had been beaten off, and in
Washington, reading well between the lines they felt that another attack
and yet others might come from the same source.

Harry sleeping on his bed of fence rails did not dream of the
extraordinary things that the little army of Jackson, beaten at
Kernstown was yet to do. McClellan was just ready to start his great
army by sea for the attack on Richmond, when suddenly the forgotten
or negligible Jackson sprang out of the dark and fixed himself on his
flank.

The capital, despite victory, was filled with alarm and the President
shared it. The veteran Shields knew this man who had led the attack,
and he did not seek to hide the danger. The figure of Stonewall Jackson,
gigantic and menacing, showed suddenly through the mists. If McClellan
went on to Richmond with the full Northern strength he might launch
himself on Washington.

The great scheme of invasion was put out of joint. Shields, although
victorious for the time, could not believe that Jackson would attack
with so small an army unless he expected reinforcements, and he sent
swift expresses to bring back a division of 8,000 men which was
marching to cover Washington. Banks, his superior officer, on the way to
Washington, too, heard the news at