A veil is
hung before us, but there is none before them."
"There is one man who is sure to find out about Jackson."
"Who?"
Dick's only answer was a shake of the head. But he was thinking of
Shepard. He did not see him about the camp, and he had no doubt that
he was gone on another of his dangerous missions. Meanwhile newspapers
from New York and other great cities reflected the doubts of the North.
They spoke of Pope's grandiloquent dispatches, and they wondered what had
become of Lee and Jackson.
Dick, an intense patriot, passed many bitter moments. He, like others,
felt that the hand upon the reins was not sure. Instead of finding the
enemy and assailing him with all their strength, they were waiting in
doubt and alarm to fend off a stroke that would come from some unknown
point out of the dark.
The army now lay in one of the finest parts of Virginia, a region of
picturesque mountains, wide and fertile valleys, and of many clear creeks
and rivers coming down from the peaks and ridges. To one side lay a
great forest, known as the Wilderness, destined, with the country near it,
to become the greatest battlefield of the world.
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