went
the spies and scouts.

CHAPTER XIV

THE GHOSTLY RIDE

Harry and Dalton kept close together during the long hours of the ghostly
ride. Just ahead of them were Taylor and Marshall and Peyton, and in
front Lee rode in silence. Now and then they passed regiments, and at
other times they would halt and let regiments pass them. Then the troops,
seeing the man sitting on the white horse, would start to cheer, but
always their officers promptly subdued it, and they marched on feeling
more confident than ever that their general was leading them to victory.

Many hours passed and still the army marched through the forests.
The trees, however, were dwindling in size and even in the night they
saw that the earth was growing red and sterile. Dense thickets grew
everywhere, and the marching became more difficult. Harry felt a sudden
thrill of awe.

"George," he whispered, "do you know the country into which we're riding?"

"I think I do, Harry. It's the Wilderness."

"It can't be anything else, George, because I see the ghosts."

"What are you talking about, Harry? What ghosts?"

"The thousands and thousands who have fallen in that waste. Why the
Wilderness is so full of dead men that they must walk at night to give
one another room. I only hope that the ghost of Old Jack will ride
before us and show us the way."

"I almost feel like that, too," admitted Dalton, who, however, was of a
less imaginative mind than Harry. "As sure as I'm sitting in the saddle
we're bound for the Wilderness. Now, what is the day going to give us?"

"Marching mostly, I think, and with the next noon will come battle.
Grant doesn't hesitate and hold back. We know that, George."

"No, it's not his character."

Morning came and found them still in the forests, seeking the deep
thickets of the Wilderness, and Grant, warned by his scouts and spies,
and most earnestly by one whose skill, daring and judgment were unequaled,
turned from his chosen line of march to meet his enemy. Once more Lee
had selected the field of battle, where his inferiority in numbers would
not count so much against him.

It was nearly morning when the march ceased, and officers and troops,
save those on guard, lay down in the forest for rest. Harry, a seasoned
veteran, could sleep under any conditions and with a blanket over him and
a saddle for a pillow closed his eyes almost immediately. Lee and his
older aides, Taylor and Peyton and Marshall