tell you he must not go!"

He almost pushed back the boy who was eager for the task, rode out
of the wood which was on the slope of the hill away from the point of
attack, and gained the fringe of timber along the creek. It was about
fifty yards from cover to cover, but he believed he had not been seen,
as neither shout nor shot followed him.

Yet the Union pickets could not be far away. He had seen enough to know
that the besiegers were disciplined men led by able officers and they
would certainly make a cordon about the whole Southern position.

He rode his horse into a dense clump of trees and paused to listen.
He heard nothing but the faint murmur of the creek, and the occasional
rustle of dry branches as puffs of wind passed. He dismounted for the
sake of caution and silence as far as possible, and led his horse down
the fringe of trees, always keeping well under cover.

Another hundred yards and he stopped again to listen. All those old
inherited instincts and senses leaped into life. He was, for the moment,
the pioneer lad, seeking to detect the ambush of his foe. Now, his acute
ears caught the hostile sound. It was low, merely the footsteps of a
man, steadily walking back and forth.

Harry peeped from his covert and saw a Union sentinel not far away,
pacing his beat, rifle on shoulder, the point of the bayonet tipped with
silver flame from the moon. And he saw further on another sentinel, and
then another, all silent and watchful. He knew that the circle about the
defense was complete.

He could have escaped easily through the line, had he been willing to
leave his horse, and for a few moments he was sorely tempted to do so,
but he recalled that time was more precious than jewels. If he ever got
beyond the line of pickets he must go and go fast.

He was three or four hundred yards from the village and no one had
yet observed him, but he did not believe that he could go much farther
undetected. Some one was bound to hear the heavy footsteps of the horse.

The creek shallowed presently and the banks became very low. Then Harry
decided suddenly upon his course. He would put everything to the touch
and win or lose in one wild dash. Springing upon the back of his horse,
he raked him with the spur and put him straight at the creek. The
startled animal was across in two jumps, and then Harry sent him racing
across the fields. He heard two or three shouts and several shots, but
fortunately none touched him or h