They sat erect in their saddles and the last button on their uniforms was in place.

Their polished spurs gleamed in the wintry sun.
They set off at a gallop, Harry riding by the side of Captain Sherburne.
Blood again mounted high with the rapid motion and the sense of action.
Soon they left the army behind, and, as the road was narrow and shrouded in forest, they could see nothing of it.

Its disappearance was as complete as if it had been swallowed up in a wilderness.
They rode straight toward Bath, but after two or three miles they slackened speed.

Harry had told Sherburne of the presence of Shepard the night before, and the captain knew that they must be cautious.
Another mile, and at a signal from the captain the whole troop stopped.
They heard hoofbeats on the road ahead of them, and the sound was coming in their direction.
"A strong force," said Captain Sherburne.
"Probably larger than ours, if the hoofbeats mean anything," said Harry.
"And Yankees, of course.

Here they are!" A strong detachment of cavalry suddenly rounded a curve in the road and swept into full view.