es. They seemed to be at a loss in the dark
and silent wilderness which was absolute confirmation to Harry that they
were city dwellers.

Two officers, captains or majors, stopped within twenty feet of the
crouching scouts, and gazed for a long time through the Gap toward the
west into the valley, at the northern end of which Jackson and his army
lay.

"I tell you, Curtis," one of them said at last, "that if we get through
the Gap to-morrow and Fremont and the others also come up, Jackson can't
possibly get away. We'll have him and his whole force in a trap and with
three or four to one in our favor, it will be all over."

"It's true, if it comes out as you say, Penfield," said the other, "but
there are several 'ifs,' and as we have reason to know, it's hard to put
your hand on Jackson. Why, when we thought he was lost in the mountains
he came out of them like an avalanche, and some of our best troops were
buried under that avalanche."

"You're too much of a pessimist, Curtis. We've learned a lot in the last
few days. As sure as you and I stand here the fox will be trapped. Why,
he's trapped already. We'll be through the Gap here with ten thousand
men in the morning, squarely in Jackson's rear. To-morrow we'll have
fifty or sixty thousand good troops between him and Richmond and
Johnston. His army will be taken or destroyed, and the Confederacy will
be split asunder. McClellan will be in Richmond with an overwhelming
force, and within a month the war will be practically over."

"There's no doubt of that, if we catch Jackson, and it certainly looks
as if the trap were closing down upon him. In defeating Banks and then
following him to the Potomac he has ruined himself and his cause."

Harry felt a deadly fear gripping at his heart. What these men were
saying was probably true. Every fact supported their claim. The tough
and enduring North, ready to sustain any number of defeats and yet win,
was pouring forward her troops with a devotion that would have wrung
tears from a stone. And she was destined to do it again and again
through dark and weary years.

The two men walked further away, still talking, but Harry and Dalton
could no longer hear what they were saying. The rockets soared again
in the pass, and were answered in the east, but now nearer, and the two
knew that it was not worth while to linger any longer. They knew the
vital fact that ten thousand men were advancing through the pass, and
that all the rest