It leads you to the Potomac, an' I reckon from now on you'll have to take care of yourselves." Lankford melted away in the darkness as he rode back up the gorge, and the troop went on at a good pace across a country, half field, half forest.

They came to a road which was smooth and hard, and increased their speed.

They soon reached a region which several of their horsemen knew, and, as the night lightened a little, they rode fast toward the Potomac.
Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was not much past midnight.
They would have ample opportunity for observation before morning.
A half hour later they discerned dim lights ahead and they knew that the Potomac could not be far away.
They drew to one side in a bit of forest, and Sherburne again detached himself, Harry and eight others from the troop, which he left as before under the command of Marlowe.
"Wait here in the wood for us," he said to his second in command.
"We should be back by dawn.

Of course, if any force of the enemy threatens you, you'll have to do what seems best, and we'll ride back to General Jackson alone." The ten went on a bit farther, using extreme care lest they run into a Northern picket.

Fortunately the fringe of wood, in which they found shelter, continued to a point near the river, and as they went forward quietly they saw many lights.