yes
glisten again, but he was not sure.
The crash of the battle increased fast. The Southern troops had no
artillery, but as the Northern charge came nearer the crest their
bullets ceased to fly over the heads of their enemies, but struck now in
the ranks. The ridges were enveloped in fire and smoke. A fresh Southern
regiment was thrown in and the valiant Northern charge broke. The brave
men of Ohio and West Virginia, although they fought desperately and
encouraged one another to stand fast, were forced slowly back down the
slope.
Harry and a half dozen others beside him heard Jackson say, apparently
to himself, "The battle will soon be over." Harry knew instinctively
that it was true. He had got into the habit of believing every thing
Jackson said. The end came in fifteen minutes more, and with it came the
night.
The soldiers in their ardor had not noticed that the long shadows were
creeping over the mountains. The sun had already sunk in a blood-red
blur behind the ridges, and as the men in blue slowly yielded the last
slope darkness which was already heavy in the defiles and ravines swept
down over the valley.
Jackson had won, but his men had suffered heavily and moreover he had
stood on the defense. He could not descend into the valley in the face
of the Northern resistance which was sure to be fierce and enduring.
The Northern cannon were beginning to send curving shells again over the
cliffs, sinister warnings of what the Virginians might expect if they
came down to attack. Harry and the other staff officers peering over the
crest saw many fires burning along the banks of the river. Milroy seemed
to be still bidding Jackson defiance.
Harry saw no preparations for a return assault. Jackson was inspecting
the ground, but his men were going over the field gathering up the
wounded and burying the dead. The Georgians had suffered terribly--most
of all--for their rash bravery, and the whole army was subdued. There
was less of exuberant youth, and more of grim and silent resolve.
Harry worked far into the night carrying orders here and there. The
moon came out and clothed the strange and weird battlefield in a robe of
silver. The heavens were sown with starshine, but it all seemed mystic
and unreal to the excited nerves of the boy. The mountains rose to two,
three times their real height, and the valley in which the Northern
fires burned became a mighty chasm.
It was one o'clock in the morning before Jack
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