" he said. "It cannot possibly be any
other! That way of opening with a battery on one flank, then on the
other, and then with a third midway between was always his, and the
accuracy of aim is his, too! Heavens, what an artillery officer!
I doubt whether there is such another in either army, or in the world!
And he is better, too, than ever!"

He caught Harry looking at him in wonder, and he smiled once more.

"A friend of mine commands the Northern artillery," he said. "I have
not seen him, of course, but he is making all the signs and using all
the passwords. We are exactly the same age, and we were chums at West
Point. We were together in the Indian wars, and together in all the
battles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It's John Carrington,
and he's from New York! He's perfectly wonderful with the guns!
Lord, lad, look how he lives up to his reputation! Not a shot misses!
He must have been training those gunners for months! Thunder, but that
was magnificent!"

A huge shell struck squarely in the center of the earthwork, burst with
a terrible crash, and sent steel splinters and fragments flying in every
direction. A rain of dirt followed the rain of steel, and, when the
colonel wiped the last mote from his eye, he said triumphantly and
joyously:

"It's Carrington! Not a shadow of doubt can be left! Only such gunners
as those he trains can plump shells squarely among us at that range!
Oh, I tell you, Harry, he's a marvel. Has the wonderful mathematical
and engineering eye!"

The eyes of Colonel Leonidas Talbot beamed with admiration of his old
comrade, mingled with a strong affection. Nevertheless, he did not
relax his vigilance and caution for an instant. He made the circuit of
the fort and saw that everything was ready. The Southern riflemen lined
every earthwork, and the guns had been wheeled into the best positions,
with the gunners ready. Then he returned to his old place.

"The charge will come soon, Lieutenant Kenton," he said to Harry.
"Their cannonade serves a double purpose. It keeps us busy dodging ball
and shell, and it creates a bank of smoke through which their infantry
can advance almost to the fort and yet remain hidden. See how the
smoke covers the whole side of the mountain. Oh, Carrington is doing
splendidly! I have never known him to do better!"

Harry wished that Carrington would not do quite so well. He was tired
of crouching in a ditch. He was growing somewhat