The boy picked up his rifle and ammunition and began to fire whenever he saw the flash of an opposing weapon.

But the fire of both Confederate columns ceased in a minute or two, and not a shot nor the sound of a single order came out of the darkness.

But Dick with his ear to the soft earth, could hear the crush of hoofs in the mud, and with a peculiar ability to discern whence sound came he knew that the force on the left and rear was crossing the railroad track in order to join their comrades on the north.

He whispered his knowledge to Whitley, who whispered back: "It's the natural thing for them to do.

They could not afford to fight on in the darkness with two separate forces.