He tried to imagine the feelings of a man at such a moment, knowing
himself the chosen of millions, and feeling that all eyes were upon him.
Truly it would be enough to make the dullest heart leap.

He opened his eyes, and although he stood in darkness on the portico,
he saw a dusky figure at the far edge of it, standing between two
pillars, and looking in at one of the windows. The man, whoever he was,
seemed to be intently watching those inside, and Harry saw at once that
it was not a look of mere curiosity. It was the gaze of one who wished
to understand as well as to know. He moved a little nearer. The figure
dropped lightly to the ground and moved swiftly away. Then he saw that
it was Shepard.

The boy's feelings toward Shepard had been friendly, but now he felt a
sudden rush of hostility. All that Colonel Talbot had hinted about him
was true. He was there, spying upon the Confederacy, seeking its inmost
secrets, in order that he might report them to its enemies. Harry was
armed. He and all his comrades carried new pistols at their belts,
and driven by impulse he, too, dropped from the portico and followed
Shepard.

He saw the dusky figure ahead of him still going swiftly, but with his
hand on the pistol he followed at greater speed. A minute later Shepard
turned into a small side street, and Harry followed him there. It was
not much more than an alley, dark, silent, and deserted. Montgomery
was a small town, in which people retired early after the custom of the
times, and tonight, the collapse after so much excitement seemed to have
sent them sooner than usual into their homes. It was evident that the
matter would lie without interference between Shepard and himself.