which made him look yet taller, while his face was long,
melancholy, and wrinkled deeply. His collar had wilted with the heat and
the tails of his long black coat flapped about his legs.

The general was clothed in a brilliant uniform. He was short and stocky
and his head scarcely passed the President's shoulder. He was redolent
of youth and self confidence. It showed in his quick, eager gestures and
his emphatic manner. He attracted the two boys, but the sergeant shook
his head somewhat solemnly.

"They say Scott was too old," he said, "and now they've gone to the
other end of it. McClellan's too young to handle the great armies that
are going into the field. I'm afraid he won't be a match for them old
veterans like Johnston and Lee."

"Napoleon became famous all over the world when he was only twenty-six,"
said Warner.

"That's so," retorted Whitley, "but I never heard of any other Napoleon.
The breed began and quit with him."

But the soldiers crowding the capital had full confidence in "Little
Mac," as they had already begun to call him. Those off duty followed and
cheered him and the President, until they entered the White House and
disappeared within its doors. Dick and his friends were in the crowd
that followed, although they did not join in the cheers, not because
they lacked faith, but because all three were thoughtful. Dick had
soon discovered that Whitley, despite his lack of education, was an
exceedingly observant man, with a clear and reasoning mind.

"It was a pair worth seeing," said the sergeant, as they turned away,
"but I looked a lot more at Old Abe than I did at 'Little Mac.' Did you
ever think, boys, what it is to have a big war on your hands, with all
sorts of men tellin' you all sorts of things an' tryin' to pull you in
all sorts of directions?"

"I had not thought of it before, but I will think of it now," said
Warner. "In any event, we are quite sure that the President has a great
task before him. We hear that the South will soon have a quarter of a
million troops in the field. Her position on the defensive is perhaps
worth as many more men to her. Hence let x equal her troops, let y equal
her defensive, and we have x plus y, which is equal to half a million
men, the number we must have before we can meet the South on equal
terms."

"An' to conquer her completely we'll need nigh on to a million." said
the sergeant.

Shrewd and penetrating as was Sergeant Whitley he did not dream tha