d Fessenden
Junction had been ordered. He was terribly afraid of the consequences to
Jack should he accept Broom's defiance and meet him that night, and he
did not know whether Durland and Dick Crawford would share his views. So
he hoped that the work in the scout car would distract Jack's mind and
lead him to forget his promise to Broom to see what the Scout-Master and
his assistant thought of the plan.

As the car made its swift way along the roads towards Fessenden
Junction, the sound of firing constantly came to them.

"I thought Jim Burroughs said the fighting had been stopped," said Tom
Binns.

"The main bodies were stopped, but that doesn't mean the whole fight is
over," explained Jack. "Bean's brigade, you see, probably hasn't been in
action at all yet. His troops were not among those sent to Tryon Creek,
and he has to cover the roads leading in this direction. It's just
because General Harkness is afraid that some of the Blue troops may have
been detached to make a raid by a roundabout route that we are coming
over here."

"Suppose we ran into them, Jack? Would we be able to get word back in
time to be of any use?"

"Why not? This is our own country. We have the telegraph and the
telephone wires, and the railroad is within a mile of General Harkness's
quarters at Tryon Creek. All he needs to do is to pack troops aboard the
trains he undoubtedly has waiting there and send them on to Fessenden
Junction. We have the same advantage here that the enemy had when they
held Hardport. Then we had to move our troops entirely on foot while
they could use the railroad, and move ten miles to our one. Now that
position is reversed--as long as we hold the key of the railroad
situation, Fessenden Junction."

The road to Fessenden Junction was perfectly clear. They rolled into the
busy railroad centre without having seen a sign of troops of either
army. A single company was stationed at the depot in Fessenden Junction,
impatient at the duty that held it there while the other companies of
the same regiment were at the front, getting a chance to take part in
all the thrilling moves of the war game.

Jack told the officers all he knew as they crowded around his car while
he stopped to replenish his stock of gasoline. There was little in his
narrative that had not come to them already over the wires, but they
were interested in him and in the scouting car.

"We've heard all about you," said a lieutenant. "You've certainly