ome!"

Down the road was pouring a mass of fugitives, and they brought with
them news that did not suffer in the telling, either in magnitude or
color. Stonewall Jackson and the bulk of the rebel army had suddenly
fallen on their wing, they said, and he and his men were hard upon their
heels. Hooker passed in a moment from the certainty of victory to the
certainty that his army must fight for its very existence. Yet he and
his generals showed presence of mind and great courage in the crisis,
bringing forward troops rapidly and, above all, massing the superb
artillery.

Harry Kenton, his horse shot under him, again was in the front line of
the Southern troops that followed the mass of fugitives down the road
toward the Chancellor House. In the mad rush he lost sight of Jackson
for the time, and found himself mingled with the Invincibles. Both the
colonels were bleeding from slight wounds, but with fire equal to that
of any youth they were still at the head of their troops, leading them
straight toward the Union center.

Harry only had time to glance at his friends and receive their glances
in return, and then he found Jackson again. Catching one of the
riderless horses, so numerous, he sprang upon him and rode close behind
his general, where Dalton, a slight bullet wound in the arm, had been
able to remain through all the confusion.

Now the Southern troops were crashing through the woods and bearing
down upon the Chancellor House. The blaze of the cannon and rifles lit
up the early night, and the crash and tumult around the place became
indescribable. Many a Northern officer thought that all was lost,
but the trained artillerymen of the North never flinched. Occupying
an eminence, battery after battery was wheeled into line, until fifty
cannon manned by the best gunners in the world were pouring an awful
fire upon the Southern front. Jackson's men were compelled to stop,
and elsewhere the Southern line was halted also by the density of the
thickets.

Yet it was but a lull. It was far into the night. Nevertheless,
Jackson meant to push the battle. He rode among his troops and
encouraged them for another effort. Everywhere he was received with
tremendous cheers, and the men were willing and eager to push on the
attack. Lee, his chief, meanwhile was closing in with the smaller
force. The whole line was reformed. Jackson cried to Hill and Lane
and other generals to push on. The whole army was in line