d, George, and sound will carry very far in this
silence just before the dawn. I thought I heard a faint sound like the
clank of a cannon."

"I think I hear it, too," said Warner, "and here is the dawn closer at
hand than we thought. Look at those cold rays over there, behind that
hill in the east. They are the vanguard of the sun."

"So they are. And this is the vanguard of the Southern army!"

He spoke the last words quickly and with excitement.

In front of them down the road they heard the crackle of a dozen rifle
shots. The Southern advance undoubtedly had come into contact with
the Union sentinels and skirmishers. After the first shots there was a
moment's breathless silence, and then came a scattered and rapid fire,
as if at least a hundred rifles were at work.

Dick's pulse began to beat hard, and he strained his eyes through the
darkness, but he could not yet see the enemy. He saw instead little jets
of fire like red dots appearing on the horizon, and then the sound of
the rifles came again. Warner was with him and both stood by the side of
Major Hertford, ready to receive and deliver his orders. Dick now heard
besides the firing in front the confused murmur and moving of the Union
army.

Few of these troops had been in battle before--the same could be said
of the soldiers on the other side--and this attack in the half-light
troubled them. They wished to see the men who were going to shoot at
them, in order that they might have a fair target in return. Fighting in
the night was scarcely fair. One never knew what to do. But Thomas, the
future "Rock of Chickamauga," was already showing himself a tower of
strength. He reassured his nervous troops, he borrowed Dick and Warner
and sent them along the line with messages from himself that they had
nothing to do but stand firm and the victory was theirs.

Meanwhile the line of red dots in front was lengthening. It stretched
farther to left and right than Dick could see, and was rapidly coming
nearer. Already the sentinels and skirmishers were waging a sharp
conflict, and the shouts of the combatants increased in volume. Then the
cold sun swung clear of the earth, and its wintry beams lighted up both
forest and open. The whole Southern army appeared, advancing in masses,
and Dick, who was now with Major Hertford again, saw the pale rays
falling on rifles and bayonets, and the faces of his own countrymen as
they marched upon the Union camp.

"There's danger for