when he was awakened shortly
before dawn, he found that his strength and elasticity had returned.
He and Dalton went down to the spring again, drank many times, and then
ate breakfast with the older members of the staff, a breakfast that
differed very little from that of the common soldiers.

Then a day or two of waiting, and watching, and of confused but terrible
fighting ensued. The forests were again set on fire by the bursting
shells and they were not able to rescue many of the wounded from the
flames. Vast clouds again floated over the whole region, drawing a veil
of dusk between the soldiers and the sun. But neither army was willing
to attack the other in full force.

Grant commanding all the armies of the East was moving meanwhile.
A powerful cavalry division, he heard, had got behind Beauregard, who was
to protect Richmond, and was tearing up an important railway line used
by the Confederacy. The daring Sheridan with another great division of
cavalry had gone around Lee's left and was wrecking another railway,
and with it the rations and medical supplies so necessary to the
Confederates. Grant, recognizing his antagonist's skill and courage and
knowing that to succeed he must destroy the main Southern army, resolved
to attack again with his whole force.

The day had been comparatively quiet and the Army of Northern Virginia
had devoted nearly the whole time to fortifying with earthworks and
breastworks of logs. The young aides, as they rode on their missions,
could easily see the Northern lines through their glasses. Harry's heart
sank as he observed their extent. The Southern army was sadly reduced
in numbers, and Grant could get reinforcement continually.

But such is the saving grace of human nature that even in these moments
of suspense, with one terrible battle just over and another about to
begin, soldiers of the Blue and Gray would speak to one another in
friendly fashion in the bushes or across the Po. It was on the banks of
this narrow river that Harry at last saw Shepard once more. He happened
to be on foot that time, the slope being too densely wooded for his horse,
and Shepard hailed him from the other side.

"Good day, Mr. Kenton. Don't fire! I want to talk," he said, holding up
both hands as a sign of peace.

"A curious place for talking," Harry could not keep from saying.

"So it is, but we're not observed here. It was almost inevitable while
the armies remained face to face th