Northern scouts. Thus Lee was still able
to veil his movements in mystery, and the anxious Hooker finally sent
forward a great force to find and engage Stuart's cavalry. Stuart,
now acting as a rear guard, was overtaken near the famous old
battlefield of Manassas. For a long time he fought greatly superior
numbers and held them fast until nightfall, when the Northern force,
fearing some trap, fell back.

Harry had been sent back with two other staff officers, and from a
distance he heard the crash and saw the flame of the battle. But he
had no part in it, merely reporting the result late in the night to his
general, who speedily pressed on, disregarding what might occur on his
flanks or in his rear, sure that his lieutenants could attend to all
dangers there.

The days were full of excitement for Harry. While he remained near Lee,
the far-flung cavalry continually brought in exciting reports. As Harry
saw it, the North was having a taste of what she had inflicted on the
South. The news of Milroy's destruction, startling enough in itself,
had been magnified as it spread on the wings of rumor. The same rumor
enlarged Lee's army and increased the speed of his advance.

Sherburne, recovered from his slight wound, was the most frequent
bringer of news. There was not one among all Stuart's officers more
daring than he, and he was in his element now, as they rode northward
into the enemy's country. He told how the troopers had followed
Milroy's fugitives so closely that they barely escaped across the
Potomac, and then how the Unionists of Maryland had fled before the
gray horsemen.

Sherburne did not exaggerate. Hitherto the war had never really touched
the soil of any of the free states, but now it became apparent that
Pennsylvania, the second state of the Union in population, would be
invaded. Excitement seized Harrisburg, its capital, which Lee's
army might reach at any time. People poured over the bridges of the
Susquehanna and thousands of men labored night and day to fortify the
city.

Jenkins, a Southern cavalry leader, was the first to enter Pennsylvania,
his men riding into the village of Greencastle, and proceeding thence to
Chambersburg. While the telegraph all over the North told the story of
his coming, and many thought that Lee's whole army was at hand, Jenkins
turned back. His was merely a small vanguard, and Lee had not yet drawn
together his whole army into a compact body.

The advance o