leaving the Colonel seated alone on a log by his camp-fire.
He sat without moving, hardly stirring until the lieutenant returned
from his round. A minute later the men were called from the guns and made
to fall into line. They were silent, tremulous with suppressed excitement;
the most sun-burned and weather-stained of them a little pale; the meanest,
raggedest, and most insignificant not unimpressive in the deep
and solemn silence with which they stood, their eyes fastened on the Colonel,
waiting for him to speak. He stepped out in front of them, slowly ran his eye
along the irregular line, up and down, taking in every man in his glance,
resting on some longer than on others, the older men, then dropped them
to the ground, and then suddenly, as if with an effort, began to speak.
His voice had a somewhat metallic sound, as if it were restrained;
but it was otherwise the ordinary tone of command. It was not much
that he said: simply that it had become his duty to acquaint them
with the information which he had received: that General Lee had surrendered
two days before at Appomattox Court-House, yielding to overwhelming numbers;
that this afternoon when he had first heard the report he had questioned
its truth, but that it had been confirmed by one of their own men,
and no longer admitted of doubt; that the rest of their own force,
it was learned, had been captured, or had disbanded, and the enemy
was now on both sides of the mountain; that a demand had been made on him
that morning to surrender too; but that he had orders which he felt held good
until they were countermanded, and he had declined. Later intelligence
satisfied him that to attempt to hold out further would be useless,
and would involve needless waste of life; he had determined, therefore,
not to attempt to hold their position longer; but to lead them out,
if possible, so as to avoid being made prisoners and enable them
to reach home sooner and aid their families. His orders were
not to let his guns fall into the enemy's hands, and he should take
the only step possible to prevent it. In fifty minutes he should