Despite the dimness Dick saw their eyes brighten. Colonel
Winchester had judged rightly. The boys were willing.
The rear guard turned back and waited, and in a few minutes the Southern
horsemen came in sight, opening fire at once. Their infantry, too,
soon appeared in the woods and fields and the dark hours before the dawn
were filled with the crackle of small arms.
Dick kept close to Colonel Winchester who anxiously watched the pursuit,
throwing his own regiment across the road, and keeping up a heavy fire
on the enemy. The Union loss was not great as most of the firing in the
dusk, of necessity, was at random, and Dick heard bullets whistling all
about him. Some times the bark flew from trees and now and then there
was a rain of twigs, shorn from the branches by the showers of missiles.
It was arduous work. The men were worn by the darkness, the uncertainty
and the incessant pursuit. The Northern rear guard presented a strong
front, retreating slowly with its face to the enemy, and always disputing
the road. Dick meanwhile could hear through the crash of the firing the
deep rumble of Pope's great army with its artillery and thousands of
wagons continually marching toward the Rappahannock.
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