All along the creek the Union army, including his own regiment, was forming in line of battle but his colonel had not yet called upon him for any duty.

Warner and Pennington were also resting from their long and exciting ride, but the sergeant, who seemed never to know fatigue, was already at work with his men.
"Listen to those skirmishers," said Dick.

"It sounds like the popping of corn at home on winter evenings, when I was a little boy." "But a lot more deadly," said Pennington.

"I wouldn't like to be a skirmisher.

I don't mind firing into the smoke and the crowd, but I'd hate to sit down behind a stump or in the grass and pick out the spot on a man that I meant for my bullet to hit." "You won't have to do any such work, Frank," said Warner.