course, but not now. You look as though you would fight too, but not
with a woman." She stopped with an odd little shrug of the shoulders.
"What do you expect me to do--sit here all night?"

I looked about into the darkness, suddenly recalled to the absurdity of
our situation by this question. The stars were glittering overhead,
yielding a dim light, yet nothing around us afforded any guess as to
where we were. The pony stood with drooping head, his flanks still
heaving from his late run. To the right the ground appeared open and
level, a cultivated field, while upon the other side was a sharp rise of
land covered with brush. It was a lonely, silent spot, and my eyes
turned back inquiringly to my companion.

"Why, no," I replied rather foolishly. "But I confess I am all at sea
just now; where are we?"

It seemed very easy for her to laugh, and evidently my confession was
amusing.

"You must pardon me," she excused herself, "but I thought you were a
scout."

"I am," vexed at her propensity to poke fun. "I have been detailed for
that service for more than two years. Moreover, I was a good enough
scout to pass within the lines of your army to-night, and to travel the
whole length of your camp--"

"And then get lost an hour later," she interrupted archly. "Tell me, do
you know the points of the compass?"