nd only five or six of the officers,
the most important, were left. Their talk had grown more eager, and on
the center of the table around which they sat lay a large piece of white
canvas upon which they were drawing a map expressing their collective
opinion. Every detail was agreed upon, after much discussion, and Harry,
as much interested as they, began to watch, while the lines grew upon the
canvas. He ventured no opinion, being so much younger than the others.

"We don't know, of course, exactly what General Lee will do," said a
colonel, "but we do know that he's always dangerous. He invariably acts
on the offensive, even if he's retreating. I should think that he'd
strike Meade about here."

"Not there, but not far from it," said the general. "Make a dot at that
point, Bathurst, and make another dot here about twenty miles to the east,
which represents my opinion."

Bathurst made the dots and the men, wholly absorbed, bent lower over
their plans, which were growing almost unconsciously into a map, and a
good one too. Harry was as much interested as they, and he still kept
himself in the background, owing to his youth and minor rank.

The door to the room was open a little and the music, a waltz, came in
a soft ripple from the drawing room. It was rhythmic and languorous,
and Harry's feet would have moved to its tune at any other time, but he
was too deeply absorbed in the conjectures and certainties that they were
drawing with their pencils on the white canvas.

Many of the details, he knew, were absolutely true, and others he was
quite sure must be true, because these were men of high rank who carried
in their minds the military secrets of the Confederacy.

"I think we're pretty well agreed on the general nature of the plan,"
said Bathurst. "We differ only in details."

"That's so," said the general, "but we're lingering too long here.
God knows that we see little enough of our women folks, and, when we have
the chance to see them, and feel the touch of their hands, we waste our
time like a lot of fools making military guesses. If I'm not too old
to dance to the tune of the shells I'm not too old to dance to the tune
of the fiddle and the bow. That's a glorious air floating in from the
ballroom. I think I can show some of these youngsters like Kenton here
how to shake a foot."

"After you, General," laughed Bathurst. "We know your capacity on both
the field and the floor, and how you respond t