shared the opinion of his chief. And when the lad looked up at the great
coils and ridges he felt that, in truth, they might go too far. If the
Northern men were veterans, so were the Southern, and neither had taken
much change of the other at Shiloh, Perryville and Stone River.

The Winchester regiment was thrown forward as the vanguard of the
infantry, and the face of the colonel grew more serious than ever,
when the best scouts rode in with reports that the Southern retreat was
now very slow. There was news, too, that Slade had a new band much
larger than before, and they formed a rear guard of skirmishers which
made every moment of a Northern scout's life a moment of danger. The
Winchester regiment itself was often fired upon from ambush, and there
were vacant places in the ranks.

Dick did not know whether it was his own intuition or the influence that
flowed from the opinions of Thomas and Winchester, but much of his high
exultation was abated. He regarded the lofty ridges and the deep gaps
with apprehension. It was a difficult country and the Southern leaders
must know that the Northern army was extended over a long line, with
Thomas holding the left.

His premonitions had ample cause. Bragg as he fell back slowly had
gathered new forces. Rosecrans did not yet know it, but the army before
him was the most powerful that the South ever assembled in the West.
Polk and Cleburne and Breckinridge and Forrest and Fighting Joe Wheeler
and a whole long roll of famous Southern generals were there. Nor had
the vigilant eyes of the Confederacy in the East failed to note the
situation.

Just as the armies were coming into touch a division of the Army of