Dick remembered the slim figure of a girl,
and it occurred to him suddenly that this was she whom he had seen in
the dusk of the room behind her grandmother. He wondered why she was
riding so fast, alone and in the winter night, and then he admitted
with a thrill of admiration that he had never seen any one ride better.
The hoof beats rose, died away and then horse and girl were gone in the
darkness. Dick climbed down from the fence and shook himself. Was it
real or merely fancy, the product of a brain excited by so much siege
and battle?
He picked up a big dead bough in the wood, dragged it back to the camp
and threw it on one of the fires.
"What are you looking so grave about, Dick?" asked Warner.
"When I went across that stretch of woods I saw something that I didn't
expect to see."
"What was it?"
"A girl on a big horse. They came and they went so fast that I just got
a glimpse of them."
"A girl alone, galloping on a horse on a wintry night like this through
a region infested by hostile armies! Why Dick, you're seeing shadows!
Better sit down and have a cup of this good hot coffee."
But Dick shook his head. He knew now that he had seen reality, and he
reported it to Colonel Winchester.
"Are you sure it was the girl you saw at the big house?" asked Colonel
Winchester. "It might have been some farmer's wife galloping home from
an errand late in the evening."
"It was the girl. I am sure of it," said Dick confidently.
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