l Grant was going down the river to see Commodore
Foote. The brave leader of the fleet had been wounded severely in the
last fight with the fort, and the general wished to confer with him
about the plan of operations. But Dick heard only vaguely. The statement
made no impression upon him at that time. Yet he was conscious that
the feeling of uneasiness still pervaded the officers. He noticed it
in Colonel Winchester's tone, and he noticed it, too, in the voices of
Colonel Newcomb and Major Hertford, who came presently to confer with
Winchester.

But the boy fell into his doze again, while they were talking. Warner
and Pennington, who had done less arduous duties, were sound asleep near
him, the low flames now and then throwing a red light on their tanned
faces. It seemed to him that it was about half way between midnight and
morning, and the hum and murmur had sunk to a mere minor note. But his
sleepy eyes still saw the dim forms of men passing about, and then he
fell into his uneasy doze again.

When he awoke once more it was misty and dark, but he felt that the dawn
was near. In the east a faint tint of silver showed through the clouds
and vapors. Heavy banks of fog were rising from the Cumberland and the
flooded marshes. The earth began to soften as if unlocking from the hard
frost of the night.

Colonel Winchester stood near him and his position showed that he was
intensely awake. He was bent slightly forward, and every nerve and
muscle was strained as if he were eager to see and hear something which
he knew was there, but which he could not yet either see or hear.

Dick threw off his blanket and sprang to his feet. At the same moment
Colonel Winchester motioned him to awaken Warner and Pennington, which
he did at once in speed and silence. That tint of silver, the lining of
the fogs and vapors, shone more clearly through, and spread across the
East. Dick knew now that the dawn was at hand.

The loud but mellow notes of a trumpet came from a distant point toward
Donelson, and then others to right and left joined and sang the same
mellow song. But it lasted only for a minute. Then it was lost in the
rapid crackle of rifles, which spread like a running fire along a
front of miles. The sun in the east swung clear of the earth, its beams
shooting a way through fogs and vapors. The dawn had come and the attack
had come with it.

The Southerners, ready at last, were rushing from their fort and works,
and, with all