lyhomy," shouted
back the prisoners as they were marched away under guard.

"It certainly does look like we're to have a bigger scrimmage than we
had at Stone River," said Si, as he and Shorty were once more alone.
"Our army is much larger, and it's all been gathered right around here.
There's bin great rivers of men pouring through all these gaps for days,
and we've talked with fellers from every division and brigade in the
army. There's entirely too many men around here for the country to
hold. Something's got to bust soon, and when it does bust there'll be an
explosion like that you read about."

"Well, let her bust," answered Shorty. "The sooner the better. I want
to see it right off. It's got to come before the war kin end, and for my
part I don't want to march a step further to find it. They can't nohow
git up a worse time than we had at Stone River, and we managed to live
through that; so that I guess we kin pull through another. If we don't,
this 's just as good a place to go to Heaven from as we kin find, and
we'll save a whole lot o' worry by finishin' up now."

"Well," said Si, "let's git back to the regiment as soon's possible.
THe battle may begin at any minute, and we musn't be away. We'd never
forgive ourselves as long's we'd live if we wasn't with the boys when
they line up under the colors for the great tussle."

"Getting to the regiment" was tedious and hard. Shorty was still very
weak from his tobacco experiment, and Si had worked almost to exhaustion
in helping his sore-footed squad along. These were as eager to get back
to the regiment in time for the fight, and Si had not the heart to leave
any one of them behind. The roads were filled with teams being pushed
forward with ammunition and rations, and every road and path crowded
with men hurrying to the "front." They were on the distant flank of
their corps when they started out in the morning, and did not succeed in
reaching the rear of their own division until nightfall. Though worn out
by the day's painful tramping and winding around through the baffling
paths between regiments, brigades and divisions, sometimes halting and
some times moving off suddenly and unexpectedly, they nerved themselves
for one more effort to reach the 200th Ind. before they lay down for the
night. But the night was far harder than the day. The whole country was
full of campfires, around which were men' cooking their supper, standing
in groups, pipe in mouth, anxiously