He was a strong and enduring youth, trained to the woods and hills, and, with occasional stops for rest, he knew that he could continue until he reached the camp at Manassas.

He wondered if the others had got through.

He hoped they had, but he was still anxious to be the first who should reach Beauregard, an ambition not unworthy on the part of youth.
He stopped after midnight for a longer rest than usual.

Colonel Talbot, at the last moment, had made him take a small knapsack with some food in it, and now he was grateful for his commander's foresight.

He ate, drank from a tiny brook that he heard trickling among the trees, and felt as if he had been made anew.