henandoah, already swollen by the heavy
rains. The engineers rapidly and dexterously made a bridge of the
pontoon boats, and the ten thousand thundered over in safety.

The next night they were at a little place called Lacy's Springs, sixty
miles from Winchester, a wonderful march for two days, considering the
heavy rains and deep mud, and they had not yet encountered an enemy.
How different it would have been in Stonewall Jackson's time! Then,
not a mile of the road would have been safe for them. It was ample
proof of the extremities to which the Confederacy was reduced. Lee, at
Petersburg, could not reinforce Early, and Early, at Staunton, could not
reinforce Lee!

They intended to move on the next day, and they heard that night that
Rosser, a brave Confederate general, had gathered a small Confederate
force and was hastening forward to burn all the bridges over the middle
fork of the Shenandoah, in order that he might impede Sheridan's
progress. Then it was the call of the trumpet and boots and saddles
early in the morning in order that they might beat Rosser to the bridges.

"I hope for their own sake that they won't try to fight us," said Dick.

"I'm with you on that," said Pennington. "They can't be more than a few
hundreds, and it would take thousands, even with a river to help, to stop
an army like ours."

It was not raining now and the roads growing dryer thundered with the
hoofs of ten thousand horses. The Winchesters had an honored place in
the van, and, as they approached the middle fork of the Shenandoah,
the three young captains raised themselves in their saddles to see if the
bridge yet stood. It was there, but on the other side of the stream a
small body of cavalrymen in gray were galloping forward, and some had
already dismounted for the attempt to destroy it. The arrival of the
two forces was almost simultaneous, but the Union army, overwhelming in
numbers, exulting in victory, swept forward to the call of the trumpets.

"They're not more than five or six hundred over there," said Warner,
"too few to put up a fight against us. I feel sorry for 'em, and wish
they'd go away."

The Southerners nevertheless were sweeping the narrow bridge with a heavy
rifle fire, and Sheridan drew back his men for a few minutes. Then
followed a series of mighty splashes, as two West Virginia regiments sent
their horses into the river, swam it, and, as they emerged dripping on
the farther shore, charged th