Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire sitting on
rolls of blankets facing each other. One had his right arm in a sling
and the other the left, but the chessmen rested on a board between them
and they were playing intently. They stopped a moment or two to give
Harry a glad welcome. Then he let the flap drop back.

"They began at daylight," said St. Clair.

"Where's Happy?"

"He's in the wagon, too. He's lying on some blankets behind them."

"Not hurt badly?"

"He was nipped in the shoulder, but it doesn't amount to anything.
What he wanted was sleep and he's getting it. He told me not to wake
him up again for a month."

"Well, Arthur, we lost."

"Yes, and I don't know just how it happened."

"But we're here, ready to fight them again whenever they come."

"So we are, Harry, and if they ever reach Richmond it will be many a
long day before they do it."

"I say so, too."

The great train toiled on through the mud, and the Army of Northern
Virginia continued its slow march southward.

Appendix: Transcription notes:

This etext was transcribed from a volume of the 15th printing

The following modifications were applied while transcribing the
printed book to e-text:

chapter 1
- page 3, para 4, added a missing open-quote
- page 8, para 3, deleted a misplaced comma
- page 13, Langdon and Dalton are having a conversation, but para 4
incorrectly stated "said St. Clair". It is clear that this should
be changed to "said Dalton", because Langdon replies to "George" in
his next sentence.
- page 20, para 7, the troop is specified here as "six hundred" men,
but is subsequently repeatedly specified as two hundred - changed
this reference from "six" to "two"

chapter 2
- page 25, para 8, Sherburne incorrectly called Harry "Dick" - changed
to "Harry"
- page 36, para 7, fixed typo "ghose"

chapter 3
- page 49, para 3, fixed typo "Jackkson"
- page 53, para 3, fixed typo "lud"

chapter 5
- page 105, para 3, Dalton incorrectly called Harry "Dick" - changed
to "Harry"
- page 109, para 6, changed "Its" to "It's"
- page 120, para 5, added a missing open-quote
- page 121, para 1, fixed typo ("plan" changed to "plain")
- page 121, para 1, fixed typo "cannister"

chapter 6
- page 143, para 5, changed an erroneous period to a comma

chaper 7
- page 153, para 3, changed "And" to "and"
- page 181, para 2, fixed typo "Longea