on."

He sent the order, fierce and sharp, along the line, for every one to
keep under cover, and there was ample proof soon that he knew his man.
The Northern infantry had retired and the smoke in front was beginning
to lift, when the figure of a tall man in blue appeared on a hillock at
the edge of the forest. Harry, who had snatched up a rifle, levelled it
instantly and took aim. But before his finger could pull the trigger
Colonel Talbot knocked it down again.

"My God!" he exclaimed. "I was barely in time to save him! It was
Carrington himself!"

"But he is our enemy! Our powerful enemy!"

"Our enemy! Our official enemy, yes! But my friend! My life-long
friend! We were boys together at West Point! We slept under the same
blanket on the icy plateaux of Mexico. No, Harry, I could not let you
or any other slay him!"

The figure disappeared from the hillock and the next moment the great
guns opened again from the forest. The orders of Colonel Talbot had
not been given a moment too soon. Huge shells and balls raked the fort
once more and the defenders crouched lower than ever in the trenches.
Harry surmised that the new cannonade was intended mainly to prevent
a possible return attack by the Southern troops, but they were too
cautious to venture from their earthworks. The Invincibles had grown
many years older in a few hours.

When it became evident that no sally would be made from the fort,
the fire of the cannon in front ceased, and the smoke lifted, disclosing
a field black with the slain. Harry looked, shuddered and refused to
look again. But Colonel Talbot examined field and forest long and
anxiously through his glasses.

"They are there yet, and they will remain," he announced at last.
"We have beaten back the assault. They may hold us here until a great
army comes, and with heavy loss to them, but we are yet besieged.
Carrington will not let us rest. He will send a shell to some part
of this fort every three or four minutes. You will see."

They heard a roar and hiss a minute later, and a shell burst inside the
walls. Through all the afternoon Carrington played upon the shaken
nerves of the Invincibles. It seemed that he could make his shells hit
wherever he wished. If a recruit left a trench it was only to make a
rush for another. If their nerves settled down for a moment, that
solemn boom from the forest and the shriek of the shell made them jump
again.

"Wonderful! Wonderful