attention. The river flowed a deep and somber stream, and all the hills
about were yet white with snow. At that time, colored too, as it was
by his feelings, it was the most sinister landscape that Harry had ever
looked upon. Black winter and red war, neither of which spared, were
allied against man.

But his pulses began to leap when they saw coils of black smoke blown
a little to one side by the wind. He knew that the smoke came from
gunboats. They must be endeavoring to land troops, and Stuart was no
man to allow a detached force to pass the Rappahannock and appear in
their rear.

As the cavalry burst into a gallop from the snowy forest Harry saw that
he was right. A fleet of gunboats was gathered in the stream and on
the far shore they were embarking troops. But his quick eye caught a
horseman on their own side of the river who was galloping away. He was
already too distant for a rifle shot, but Harry instinctively knew that
it was Shepard. He had seen the man under such extraordinarily vivid
circumstances that the set of his figure was familiar.

Nor was he surprised to behold Shepard now. He merely wondered that
he had not seen him earlier, so great was his activity and daring, and
he had no doubt that he had brought the gunboats and the Union troops
warning that Stuart was coming. He was sure of it the moment the
cavalry emerged from the woods, because one of the gunboats instantly
turned loose with two heavy guns which sent shells whistling and
screaming over their heads. Had they been a little better aimed they
would have done much destruction, and Harry saw at once that they were
going to have an ugly time with these saucy little demons of the water.