vement to
cross Bull Run, and yet no attempt was made.

Colonel Talbot came repeatedly along the line of the Invincibles,
and Harry saw that he was growing uneasy. Such a great volume of fire,
without any effort to take advantage of it, made the veteran suspicious.
He knew that those old comrades of his on the other side of Bull Run
would not waste their metal in a mere cannonade and long range rifle
fire. There must be something behind it. Presently, with the consent
of the commander, he drew the Invincibles back from the river, where
they were permitted to cease firing, and to rest for a while on their
arms.

But as they drew long breaths and tried to clear the smoke from their
throats, a rumor ran down the lines. The attack at the bridge was but a
feint. Only a minor portion of the hostile army was there. The greater
mass had gone on and had already crossed the river in face of the
weak left flank of the Southern army. Beauregard had been outwitted.
The Yankees were now in great force on his own side of Bull Run, and it
would be a pitched battle, face to face.

The whole line of the Invincibles quivered with excitement, and then
Harry saw that the rumor was true, or that their commander at least
believed it to be so. The firing stopped entirely and the bugles blew
the retreat. All the brigades gathered themselves up and, wild with
anger and chagrin, slowly withdrew.

"Why are we retreating?" exclaimed Langdon, angrily. "Not a Yankee set
his foot on the bridge! We're not whipped!"

"No," said Harry, "we're not whipped, but if we don't retreat we will
be. If fifteen or twenty thousand Yankees struck us on the flank while
those fellows are still in front everything would go."

These were young troops, who considered a retreat equivalent to a
beating, and fierce murmurs ran along the line. But the officers paid
no attention, marching them steadily on, while the artillery rumbled
by their side. Both to right and left they heard the sound of firing,
and they saw the smoke floating against both horizons, but they paid
little attention to it. They were wondering what was in store for them.

"Cheer up, you lads!" cried Colonel Talbot. "You'll get all the
fighting you can stand, and it won't be long in coming, either."

They marched only half an hour and then the troops were drawn up on a
hill, where the officers rapidly formed them into position. It was none
too soon. A long blue line, bristling wit