could be put to such good use. Look,
you can see lights on the ridge now."

They saw lights, evidently those of powerful lanterns swung to and fro,
but they did not understand them, nor did they care much.

"Signals are just trifles to me now," said Happy Tom. "What do I care
for lights moving on a mountain four or five miles away, when for a
month, day and night without stopping, a million Yankees have been
shooting rifle bullets at me, and a thousand of the biggest cannon ever
cast have been pouring round shot, long shot, shell, grape, canister and
a hundred other kinds of missiles that I can't name upon this innocent
and unoffending head of mine."

"They'll be on us tomorrow, Happy," said St. Clair, more gravely. "This
picnic of ours can't last more than a day."

"I think so, too," said Harry. "So long, boys, I've got to join Captain
Sherburne. The general has detached me for service with him under Ashby,
and you know that when you are with them, something is going to happen."

Harry slept well that night, partly in a camp and partly in a saddle,
and he found himself the next day with Ashby and Sherburne near a little
town called Harrisonburg. They were on a long hill in thick forest, and
the scouts reported that the enemy was coming. The Northern armies were
uniting now and they were coming up the valley, expecting to crush all
opposition.

"Take your glasses, Harry," said Sherburne, "and you'll see a strong
force crossing the fields, but it's not strong enough. We've a splendid
position here in the forest and you just watch. Ah, here come your
friends, the Invincibles. See, Ashby is forming them in the center,
while we, of the horse, take the flanks."

The men in blue, catching sight of the Confederate uniforms in the wood,
charged with a shout, but they did not know the strength of the force
before them. The Invincibles poured in a deadly fire at close range, and
then Ashby's cavalry with a yell charged on either flank. The Northern
troops, taken by surprise, gave way, and the Southern force followed,
firing continuously.

They came within a half mile of Harrisonburg, and the main Northern army
of Fremont was at hand. The general who had pursued so long, saw his
men retreating, and, filled with chagrin and anger, he hurried forward
heavier forces of both cavalry and infantry. Other troops came to the
relief of Ashby also, and Harry saw what he thought would be only a
heavy skirmish grow into a hot battle