attack drove back Sheridan and his men,
but, when the battle closed, and Lee resumed his march, Sheridan was at
his heels as before, seeking to pull him down, and refusing to be driven
off.

Grant also dispatched Custer in a cavalry raid far around Lee, and the
daring young leader not only seized the last wagon train that could
possibly reach the Confederate commander, but also captured twenty-five
of his guns that had been sent on ahead. Dick knew now that the end,
protracted as it had been by desperate courage, was almost at hand,
and that not even a miracle could prevent it.

The column with which he rode was almost continually in sight of the Army
of Northern Virginia, and the field guns never ceased to pour shot and
shell upon it. The sight was tragic to the last degree, as the worn men
in gray retreated sullenly along the muddy roads, in rags, blackened
with mire, stained with wounds, their horses falling dead of exhaustion,
while the pursuing artillery cut down their ranks. Then the news of
Custer's exploit came to Grant and Sheridan, and the circle of steel,
now complete, closed in on the doomed army.

It was the seventh of April when the Winchester men rested their weary
horses, not far from the headquarters of General Grant, and also gave
their own aching bones and muscles a chance to recover their strength.
Dick, after his food and coffee, watched the general, who was walking
back and forth before his tent.

"He looks expectant," said Dick.

"He has the right to look so," said Warner. "He may have news of
earth-shaking importance."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that he sent a messenger to Lee this morning, asking him to
surrender in order to stop the further effusion of blood."

"I wish Lee would accept. The end is inevitable."

"Remember that they don't see with our eyes."

"I know it, George, but the war ought to stop. The Confederacy is gone
forever."

"We shall see what we shall see."

They didn't see, but they heard, which was the same thing. To the polite
request of Grant, Lee sent the polite reply that his means of resistance
were not yet exhausted, and the Union leader took another hitch in the
steel girdle. The second morning afterward, Lee made a desperate effort
to break through at Appomattox Court House, but crushing numbers drove
him back, and when the short fierce combat ceased, the Army of Northern
Virginia had fired its last shot.

The Winchester men had borne a gallan