Dick's pulse began to beat hard, and he strained his eyes through the
darkness, but he could not yet see the enemy. He saw instead little
jets of fire like red dots appearing on the horizon, and then the sound
of the rifles came again. Warner was with him and both stood by the
side of Major Hertford, ready to receive and deliver his orders.
Dick now heard besides the firing in front the confused murmur and
moving of the Union army.
Few of these troops had been in battle before--the same could be said
of the soldiers on the other side--and this attack in the half-light
troubled them. They wished to see the men who were going to shoot at
them, in order that they might have a fair target in return. Fighting
in the night was scarcely fair. One never knew what to do. But Thomas,
the future "Rock of Chickamauga," was already showing himself a tower of
strength. He reassured his nervous troops, he borrowed Dick and Warner
and sent them along the line with messages from himself that they had
nothing to do but stand firm and the victory was theirs.
Meanwhile the line of red dots in front was lengthening. It stretched
farther to left and right than Dick could see, and was rapidly coming
nearer. Already the sentinels and skirmishers were waging a sharp
conflict, and the shouts of the combatants increased in volume. Then
the cold sun swung clear of the earth, and its wintry beams lighted up
both forest and open.
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