It was none too soon.

A long blue line, bristling with cannon on either flank, appeared across the fields.

It was Burnside with the bulk of the Northern army moving down upon them.

Harry was standing beside Colonel Talbot, ready to carry his orders, and he heard the veteran say, between his teeth: "The Yankees have fooled us, and this is the great battle at last." The two forces looked at each other for a few moments.

Elsewhere great guns and rifles were already at work, but the sounds came distantly.
On the hill and in the fields there was silence, save for the steady tramp of the advancing Northern troops.