rivets on the other side of the Rappahannock.

The Confederate cannon still fired the signals of alarm at regular
intervals, but the night and the fog always closed in again quickly over
the flash that the discharge had made. After a while a murmur came from
the long Southern line along the heights and on the ridges. Horses
stirred here and there, cannon, moved to new positions, made sighing
sounds as their wheels sank in the mud; sabres and bayonets clanked,
thousands of men whispered to one another. All these varying sounds
united into one great soft voice which was like the murmur of a wind
through the summer night.

Toward five o'clock in the morning, when the darkness had not diminished
a whit, a messenger from General Lee rode up with a note for General
Jackson. It merely stated that all was ready and to hold the positions
that he had taken up the night before. Jackson wrote a brief reply by
the light of a lantern that an orderly held, and the messenger galloped
away with it. It was the only incident that had occurred in a long time.

"They're not using many lights on the other side of the river," said
Harry, although he noted an occasional flame in the darkness. "Of
course, they want to hide their bridge building, but you'd think they'd
have fires burning elsewhere."

"They've learned the value of caution," said Dalton. "I'm bound to say
they're going about the first part of their work with skill."

He spoke with the calm superiority of a young Officer.

Harry took out his own watch, and by holding it close to his eyes was