"Colonel Kenton went out last night with Forrest's cavalry. He will not
be a prisoner."
"I am glad of that," said the boy.
And he was truly glad. He knew that it would hurt Colonel Kenton's
pride terribly to become a prisoner, and although they were now on
opposite sides, he loved and respected his uncle.
The negotiations were completed and before night the garrison of
Donelson, all except three thousand who had escaped in the night with
Floyd and Pillow and Forrest, laid down their arms. The answer to
Bull Run was complete. Fifteen thousand men, sixty-five cannon, and
seventeen thousand rifles and muskets were surrendered to General Grant.
The bulldog in the silent westerner had triumphed. With only a last
chance left to him he had turned defeat into complete victory, and had
dealt a stunning blow to the Southern Confederacy, which was never able
like the North to fill up its depleted ranks with fresh men.
Time alone could reveal to many the deadly nature of this blow, but Dick,
who had foresight and imagination, understood it now at least in part.
As he saw the hungry Southern boys sharing the food of their late
enemies his mind traveled over the long Southern line. Thomas had
beaten it in Eastern Kentucky, Grant had dealt it a far more crushing
blow here in Western Kentucky, but Albert Sidney Johnston, the most
formidable foe of all, yet remained in the center. He was a veteran
general with a great reputation.
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