'bout that thar region. Like as not
you'll be walkin' right straight into an ambush, an' that'll be the end
of you an' them Pennsylvanians."

"You're a cheerful prophet, Red Blaze."

"I meant if you didn't take care of yourselves an' keep a good lookout,
which I know, of course, that you're goin' to do. I was jest statin'
the other side of the proposition, tellin' what would happen to keerless
people, but Colonel Newcomb an' Major Hertford ain't keerless people.
Good-bye, Mr. Mason. Mebbe I'll see you ag'in before this war is over."

"Good-bye, Red Blaze. I truly hope so."

The train was moving now and with a last powerful grasp of a friendly
hand Dick went into the coach. It was the first in the train. Colonel
Newcomb and Major Hertford sat near the head of it, and Warner was just
sitting down not far behind them. Dick took the other half of the seat
with the young Vermonter, who said, speaking in a whimsical tone:

"You fill me with envy, Dick. Why wasn't it my luck to go with you,
Sergeant Whitley, and the man they call Red Blaze on that errand and
help bring back with you the message of President Lincoln? But I heard
what our red friend said to you at the car-step. There's a powerful lot
in knowing the way, knowing where you're going, and what's along every
inch of the road. My arithmetic tells me that it is often fifty per cent
of marching and fighting."

"I think you are right," said Dick.

A little later he was sound asleep in his seat, and at the command of
Colonel Newcomb he was not disturbed. His had been a task, taxing to the
utmost both body and mind, and, despite his youth and strength, it would
take nature some time to replace what had been worn away.

He slept on while the boys in the train talked and laughed. Stern
discipline was not yet enforced in either army, nor did Colonel Newcomb
consider it necessary here. These lads, so lately from the schools
and farms, had won a victory and they had received the thanks of the
President. They had a right to talk about it among themselves and a
little vocal enthusiasm now might build up courage and spirit for a
greater crisis later.

The colonel, moreover, gave glances of approval and sympathy to his
gallant young aide, who in the seat next to the window with his head
against the wall slept so soundly. All the afternoon Dick slept on, his
breathing regular and steady. The train rattled and rumbled through the
high mountains, and on the upper levels the