he explained their nature; and she, seeing his pleasure, was willing to
play upon it. So talking, they walked farther and farther from the house
and were joined presently by the cheerful Talbot.

"It's good of you to let us see you, Miss Harley," he said. "We are
grateful to your brother for getting wounded so that you had to come and
nurse him; but we are ungrateful because he stays hurt so long that you
can't leave him oftener."

Talbot dispensed a spontaneous gaiety. It was his boast that he could
fall in love with every pretty girl whom he saw without committing
himself to any. "That is, boys," he said, "I can hover on the brink
without ever falling over, and it is the most delightful sensation to
know that you are always in danger and that you will always escape it.
You are a hero without the risk."

He led them away from more sober thoughts, talking much of Richmond and
the life there.

They went back presently to the house and met Mrs. Markham at the door
just as she was leaving.

"The Colonel is so much better," she said sweetly to Miss Harley. "I
think that he enjoys the visits of friends."

"I do not doubt it," replied the girl coldly, and she went into the
room.

CHAPTER XVI

THE GREAT REVIVAL

Two men sat early the next morning in a tent with a pot of coffee and a
breakfast of strips of bacon between them. One was elderly, calm and
grave, and his face was known well to the army; the other was youngish,
slight, dark and also calm, and the soldiers were not familiar with his
face. They were General Lee and Mr. Sefton.

The Secretary had arrived from Richmond just before the dawn with
messages of importance, and none could tell them with more easy grace
than he. He was quite unembarrassed now as he sat in the presence of the
great General, announcing the wishes of the Government--wishes which
lost no weight in the telling, and whether he was speaking or not he
watched the man before him with a stealthy gaze that nothing escaped.

"The wishes of the Cabinet are clear, General Lee," he said, "and I have
been chosen to deliver them to you orally, lest written orders by any
chance should fall into the hands of the enemy."

"And those wishes are?"

"That the war be carried back into the enemy's own country. It is better
that he should feel its ills more heavily than we. You will recall,
General, how terror spread through the North when you invaded
Pennsylvania. Ah, if it had not been for G