Dick stepped forward at once and he held himself firmly, as he felt the
eyes of the six generals bent upon him. He was conscious even at the
moment that chance had given him a great opportunity. He was there to
see, while the military genius of the South planned in the shadow of a
dark ravine a blow which the six intended to be crushing.
"Where was the prisoner taken?" said Johnston to Colonel Kenton.
"Sergeant Robertson and three other men of my command seized him as he
was about to enter the Northern lines. He was coming from the direction
of Buell, where it is likely that he had gone to take a dispatch."
"Did you find any answer upon him."
"My men searched him carefully, sir, but found nothing."
"He is in the uniform of a staff officer. Have you found to what
regiment in the Union army he belongs?"
"He is on the staff of Colonel Arthur Winchester, who commands one of
the Kentucky regiments. I have also to tell you, sir, that his name is
Richard Mason, and that he is my nephew."
"Ah," said General Johnston, "it is one of the misfortunes of civil war
that so many of us fight against our own relatives. For those who live
in the border states yours is the common lot."
But Dick was conscious that the six generals were gazing at him with
renewed interest.
"Your surmise about his having been to Buell is no doubt correct,"
said Beauregard quickly and nervously. "You left General Buell this
morning, did you not, Mr.
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