St. Hilaire, "but remember that this superiority applies only to
military rank. I assert now, with all respect to your feelings, that
in regard to chess it does not exist, never has and never will."

"Opinions, Hector, are--opinions. Time alone decides whether they
are or are not facts. But our corps is to fall back, you say, Harry?
What does it signify?"

"I think, Colonel, that it means a great battle very soon. It is
apparent that General Lee thinks so, or he would not be concentrating
his troops so swiftly. The Army of the Potomac is somewhere on our
flank, and we shall have to deal with it."

"So be it. The Invincibles are few but ready."

Harry rode rapidly back to Lee with the return message from Ewell,
and found him going into camp on the eve of the last day of June.
The weather was hot and scarcely any tents were set, nearly everybody
preferring the open air. Harry delivered his message, and General Lee
said to him, with his characteristic kindness:

"You'd better go to sleep as soon as you can, because I shall want you
to go on another errand in the morning to a place called Gettysburg."

Gettysburg! Gettysburg! He had never heard the name before and it
had absolutely no significance to him now. But he saluted, withdrew,
procured his blankets and joined Dalton.

"The General tells me, George, that I'm to go to Gettysburg," he said.
"What's Gettysburg, and why does he want me to go there?"