ow," replied Harry, "nor does anybody else save one.
It's all hid under General Jackson's hat."

"I guess it's Staunton," said Langdon. "That's a fine town, as good as
Winchester. I've got kinsfolk there. I came up once from South Carolina
and made them a visit."

But it was not Staunton, although Staunton, hearing of the march, had
been joyfully expecting Jackson's men. The fine morning came, warm and
brilliant with sunshine, raising the spirits of the troops. The roads
began to dry out fast and marching would be much easier. But Jackson,
leading somberly on Little Sorrel, turned his back on Staunton.

The Virginians stared in amazement when the heads of columns turned
away from that trim and hospitable little city, which they knew was so
fervently attached to their cause. Before them rose the long line of the
Blue Ridge and they were marching straight toward it.

They marched a while in silence, and then a groan ran through the ranks.
It was such a compound of dismay and grief that it made Harry shiver.
The Virginians were leaving their beloved and beautiful valley, leaving
it all to the invader, leaving the pretty little places, Winchester and
Staunton and Harrisonburg and Strasburg and Front Royal, and all the
towns and villages in which their families and relatives lived. Every
one of the Virginians had blood kin everywhere through the valley.

The men began to whisper to one another, but the order of silence was
passed sternly along the line. They marched on, sullen and gloomy,
but after a while their natural courage and their confidence in their
commander returned. Their spirits did not desert them, even when they
left the valley behind them and began to climb the Blue Ridge.

Up, up, they went through dense forests. Harry remembered their ascent
of the Massanuttons, but the snows were gone now. They pressed on until
they reached the crest of the ridges and there the whole army paused,
high up in the air, while they looked with eager interest at the rolling
Virginia country stretching toward the east until it sank under the
horizon.

Harry saw smoke that marked the passing of trains, and he believed
that they were now on their way to Richmond to help defend the capital
against McClellan. He glanced at Jackson, but the commander was as
tight-lipped as ever. Whatever was under that hat remained the secret of
its owner.

They descended the mountains and came to a railway station, where many
cars were waitin