s glad that the triumph there had gone to
Thomas, whom he always held in the greatest respect and admiration.

He often saw Grant in those days, a silent, resolute man, thinner than of
old and stooped a little with care and responsibility. Dick, like the
others, felt with all the power of conviction that Grant would never go
back, and Shepard, who had entered Petersburg twice at the imminent risk
of his life, assured him that Lee's force was wearing away. There was
left only a fraction of the great Army of Northern Virginia that had
fought so brilliantly at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and
on many another battlefield.

"Only we who are here and who can see with our own eyes know what is
about to happen," said the spy. "Even our own Northern states, so long
deluded by false hopes, can't yet believe, but we know."

"Did you hear anything of the Invincibles when you were in Petersburg?"
asked Dick.

"I heard of them, and I also saw them, although they did not know I was
near. I suppose Harry Kenton could scarcely have contained himself had
he known it was my sister who filched that map from the Curtis house in
Richmond and that it was to me she gave it."

"But he was all right? He escaped unhurt from the Valley?"

"Yes, or if he took a hurt it was but a slight one, from which he soon
recovered. He and his comrades, Dalton, St. Clair and Langdon, and the
two Colonels, Talbot and St. Hilaire, are back with Lee, and they've
organized another regiment called the Invincibles, which Talbot and
St. Hilaire lead, although your cousin and Dalton are on Lee's staff
again."

"I suppose we'll come face to face again, and this time at the very last,"
said Dick. "I hope they'll be reasonable about it, and won't insist on
fighting until they're all killed. Have you heard anything of those two
robbers and murderers, Slade and Skelly?"

"Not a thing. But I didn't expect it. They'd never leave the mountains.
Instead they'll go farther into 'em."

That night many messengers rode with dispatches, and the lines of the
Northern army were tightened. Dick saw all the signs that portended
a great movement, signs with which he had long since grown familiar.
The big batteries were pushed forward, and heavy masses of infantry were
moved closer to the Confederate trenches. He felt quite sure that the
final grapple was at hand.

CHAPTER XVI

THE CLOSING DAYS

Within the Southern lines and just beyond t