I like the looks of these Maryland towns, Frank, and they're not so
hostile to us."
Colonel Winchester's skeleton regiment, now not amounting to more than
three hundred men, was in the vanguard and it rode forward rapidly.
The people received them without either enthusiasm or marked hostility.
Yet the Union vanguard obtained news. Lee had been there with his army,
but he had gone away! Where! They could not say. The Southern officers
had been silent and the soldiers had not known. None of the people of
Frederick had been allowed to follow. A cloud of cavalry covered the
Southern movements.
"Not so definite after all," said Dick. "We know that the Southern army
has been here, but we don't know where it has gone."
"At any rate," said Pennington, "we're on the trail, and we're bound to
find it sooner or later. I learned from the hunters in Nebraska that
when you strike the trail of a buffalo herd, all you had to do was to
keep on and you'd strike the herd itself."
It was not yet noon and McClellan's army began to go into camp at
Frederick. Dick and Pennington got a chance to stroll about a little,
and they picked up much gossip.
Pages:
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223