The afternoon that had now come was as brilliant as the morning.

A great sun blazed down from a sky of cloudless blue, deepening and intensifying the green of the forest, the red uniforms of the British and the blue uniforms of the Virginians.

Robert again admired the sight.

The army marched as if on parade, and it presented a splendid spectacle.
The head of the column entered the shallows, and soon the long line was passing the river.

Robert had a lingering belief that the bullets would rain upon them in the water, but nothing stirred in the forest beyond.