firing behind him had died completely, and there was no sound but the
rustle of dry leaves in the light wind, nothing to tell that there had
been sharp fighting along the creek, and that men lay dead in the forest.
The moon and the stars clothed everything in a whitish light, that seemed
surcharged with a powerful essence, and this essence was danger.

The spirit of the great forest ranger descended upon him once more,
and he read the omens, all of which were sinister. He foresaw terrible
campaigns, mighty battles in the forest, and a roll of the dead so long
that it seemed to stretch away into infinity.

Then he shook himself violently, cast off the spell, and rode rapidly
back with his report. Lee had risen and was standing under a tree.
He was fully dressed and his uniform was trim and unwrinkled. Harry
thought anew as he rode up, what a magnificent figure he was. He was
the only great man he ever saw who really looked his greatness. Nothing
could stir that calm. Nothing could break down that loftiness of manner.
Harry was destined to feel then, as he felt many times afterward, that
without him the South had never a chance. And the choking came in his
throat again, as he thought of him who was gone, of him who had been the
right arm of victory, the hammer of Thor.

But he hid all these feelings as he quickly dismounted and saluted the
commander-in-chief.

"What have you seen, Lieutenant Kenton?" asked Lee.

"A considerable detachment of the enemy tried to force the passage of
the creek in our right rear. They were met by Captain Sherburne's troop
dismounted, and three companies of infantry, and were driven back after a
sharp fight."

"Very good. Captain Sherburne is an alert officer."

He turned away, and Harry, giving his horse to an orderly, again resumed
his old position under a tree, out of hearing of the generals, but in
sight. Dalton was not there, but he knew that skirmishing had occurred
in other directions, and doubtless the Virginian had been sent on an
errand like his own.

He had a sense of rest and realization as he leaned back against the
tree. But it was mental tension, not physical, for which relief came,
and Shepard, much more than the battle at the creek, was in his thoughts.

The strong personality of the spy and his seeming omniscience oppressed
him again. Apparently he was able to go anywhere, and nothing could be
hidden from him. He might be somewhere in the circling shado