"He rode forward, sir," the man replied. "There was a little firing
afterward, but it was a long way to the front."

"It was against orders and against sense for Dunning to do that,"
said the officer, obviously vexed. "Why did he ride forward?"

"Don't know, sir; he seemed mighty restless. Guess he was skeered."

When this remarkable reasoner and his companion had been absorbed
into the expeditionary force, it resumed its advance. Conversation
was forbidden; arms and accouterments were denied the right to
rattle. The horses' tramping was all that could be heard and the
movement was slow in order to have as little as possible of that.
It was after midnight and pretty dark, although there was a bit of
moon somewhere behind the masses of cloud.

Two or three miles along, the head of the column approached a dense
forest of cedars bordering the road on both sides. The major
commanded a halt by merely halting, and, evidently himself a bit
"skeered," rode on alone to reconnoiter. He was followed, however,
by his adjutant and three troopers, who remained a little distance
behind and, unseen by him, saw all that occurred.

After riding about a hundred yards toward the forest, the major
suddenly and sharply reined in his horse and sat motionless in the
saddle. Near the side of the road, in a little open space and
hardly ten paces away, stood the figure of a man, dimly visible and
as motionless as he. The major's first feeling was that of
satisfaction in having left his cavalcade behind; if this were an