herefore, lost no time in pushing forward, and was
soon rewarded with a view of the object of his pursuit. Some two or
three miles distant, where an opening through the forest first gave him
a sight of the mass of highland, he could indistinctly discern the array
of the adverse army perched on the very summit of the hill.

The mountain consists of an elongated ridge, rising out of the bosom of
an uneven country, to the height of perhaps five hundred feet, and
presenting a level line of summit or crest, from which the earth slopes
down, at its southward termination and on each side, by an easy descent;
whilst northward, it is detached from highlands of inferior elevation by
a rugged valley--thus giving it the character of an insulated
promontory, not exceeding half a mile in length. At the period to which
our story refers, it was covered, except in a few patches of barren
field or broken ground, with a growth of heavy timber, which was so far
free from underwood as in no great degree to embarrass the passage of
horsemen; and through this growth the eye might distinguish, at a
considerable distance, the occasional masses of grey rock that were
scattered in huge boulders over its summit and sides.

The adjacent region, lying south from the mountain, was partially
cleared and in cultivation, presenting a limited range of open ground,
over which the march of Campbell might have been revealed in frequent
glimpses to the British partisan, for some three or four miles. We may
suppose, therefore, that the two antagonists watched each other, during
the advance of the approaching army across this district, with emotions
of various and deep interest. Campbell drew at length into a ravine
which, bounded by low and short hills, and shaded by detached portions
of the forest, partly concealed his troops from the view of the enemy,
who was now not more than half a mile distant. The gorge of this dell or
narrow valley opened immediately towards the southern termination of the
mountain; and the column halted a short distance within, where a bare
knoll, or round, low hill, crowned with rock, jutted abruptly over the
road, and constituted the only impediment that prevented each party from
inspecting the array of his opponent.

It was an hour after noon, and the present halt was improved by the men
in making ready for battle. Meanwhile, the chief officers met together
in front, and employed their time in surveying the localities of the
gro