as resumed the skirmishers and the
cavalry came forward again, always firing at their retreating foe.

"I judge that it's going to be a very hot morning," said Colonel
Winchester, wiping away a few drops of blood, where a bullet had barely
touched his face. "I think the wind of that bullet hurt me more than its
kiss. There will be no great battle to-day. We can see now that they
are not yet in strong enough force, but we'll never know a minute's rest
until we're behind the Rappahannock. Oh, Dick, if McClellan's army
were only here also! This business of retreating is as bitter as death
itself!"

Dick saw the pain on his colonel's face and it was reflected on his own.

"I feel it, sir, in the same way. Our men are just as eager as the
Johnnies to fight and they are as brave and tenacious. What do you think
will happen, sir?"

"We'll reach the Rappahannock and take refuge behind it. We command the
railroad bridge there, and can cross and destroy it afterward. But the
river is broad and deep with high banks and the army of the enemy cannot
possibly force the passage in any way while we defend it."

"And after that, sir?"

"God alone knows. Look out, Dick, those men are aiming at us!"

Colonel Winchester seized the bridle of Dick's horse and pulled him
violently to one side, pulling his own horse in the same direction
in the same manner. The bullets of half a dozen Southern skirmishers,
standing under the boughs of a beech tree less than two hundred yards
away, hissed angrily by them.

"A close call," said the colonel. "There, they've been scattered by our
own riflemen and one of them remains to pay the toll."

The reply of the Northern skirmishers had been quick, and the gray
figure lying prone by the trunk of the tree told Dick that the colonel
had been right. He was shaken by a momentary shudder, but he could not
long remember one among so many. They rode on, leaving the prone figure
out of sight, and the Southern cavalry and skirmishers pressed forward
afresh.

Many of the Union men had food in their saddle bags, and supplies were
sent back for those who did not have it. Colonel Winchester who was
now thoroughly cool, advised his officers to eat, even if they felt no
hunger.

"I'm hungry enough," said Pennington to Dick. "Out on the plains, where
the air is so fresh and so full of life I was always hungry, and I
suppose I brought my appetite here with me. Dick, I've opened a can of
cove oysters, and that's