It was full
time or the vise would have shut down on him again. Late that day the
division under Kearney came into contact with Jackson's flanking force in
the forest. A short but fierce battle ensued, fought in the night and
amid new torrents of driving rain. General Kearney was killed by a
skirmisher, but the night and the rain grew so dense, and they were in
such a tangle of thickets and forests that both sides drew off, and
Pope's army passed on.
Dick was not in this battle, but he heard it's crash and roar above the
sweep of the storm. He and the balance of the regiment were helping to
guard the long train of the wounded. Now and then, he leaned from his
horse and looked at Warner who lay in one of the covered wagons.
"I'm getting along all right, Dick, old man," said Warner. "What's all
that firing off toward the woods?"
"A battle, but it won't stop us. We retreated in time."
"And we've been defeated. Well, we can stand it. It takes a good nation
to stand big defeats. You know I taught school once, Dick, and I learned
that the biggest nation the world has ever known was the one that
suffered the biggest defeats.
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