Heinze gave a shout of indignant laughter, and Aiken glared at me as
though he thought I had flown suddenly mad, but Laguerre only frowned
and waved his hand impatiently.

"You are bold, sir," he said, grimly; "I trust you can explain
yourself."

I pointed from the basin in which we stood, to the thickly wooded
hills around us.

"This camp has the advantage of water and grass," I said. I spoke
formally, as though I were really making a report. "Those are its only
advantages. Captain Heinze has pitched it in a hollow. In case of an
attack, he has given the advantage of position to the enemy. Fifty men
could conceal themselves on those ridges and fire upon you as
effectively as though they had you at the bottom of a well. There are
no pickets out, except along the trail, which is the one approach the
enemy would not take. So far as this position counts, then," I summed
up, "the camp is an invitation to a massacre."

I did not dare look at the General, but I pointed at the guns at his
side. "Your two field-pieces are in their covers, and the covers are
strapped on them. It would take three minutes to get them into action.
Instead of being here in front of the tent, they should be up there on
those two highest points. There are no racks for the men's rifles or
ammunition belts. The rifles are lying on the ground and scattered
everywhere--in case of an attack the men would not know where to lay
their hands on them. It takes only two forked sticks and a ridge-pole
with nicks in it, to make an excellent gun-rack, but there is none of
any sort. As for the sanitary arrangements of the camp, they are