Dick was so strong and his blood was so pure that he felt his wounds but
little now. The cuts and bruises were healing fast and he ate with a
keen appetite. He heard then of the signs that Whitley had seen.
He had found two broad trails, one three miles from the house, and the
other about four miles. Each indicated the passage of several hundred
men, but he had no way of knowing whether they belonged to the same
force. They were bound to be Confederate cavalry as Colonel Winchester's
regiment was known to be the only Union force in that section.

Dick knew their position to be dangerous. Colonel Winchester had done
his duty in discovering that Forrest and Wheeler were raiding through
Mississippi, and that a heavy force was gathering in the rear of Grant,
who intended the siege of Vicksburg. It behooved him now to reach Grant
as soon as he could with his news.

Refreshed and watchful, the regiment rode away from Bellevue. Dick
looked back at the broad roof and the great piazzas, and then he thought
of young Woodville with a certain sympathy. They had fought a good fight
against each other, and he hoped they would meet after the war and be
friends.

It was about an hour after sunrise, and the day was bright and warm.
The beads of water that stood on every leaf and blade of grass were
drying fast, and the air, despite its warmth, was pure and bracing.
Dick, as he looked at the eight hundred men, tanned, experienced and
thoroughly armed, under capable leaders, felt that they were a match for
any roving Southern force.

"Just let Forrest come on," he said. "I know that the Colonel is aching
to get back at him for that surprise in Tennessee, and I believe we could