His plan apparently succeeded perfectly ; the Americans were not in any way disturbed until the enemy supposed they had entirely surrounded their intended victims. The Colonel himself was oblivious of all outside events, for never had the beautiful widow been more engaging, and never had he remained at her house so late. But all evenings however enchanting, must come to an end, and this one was no exception ; so finally he bade his fair friend adieu and started for his camp. Just as he was departing reluctantly, looking back as he went to see her waving a final farewell with her handkerchief, he heard a shot quickly followed by a scattering volley. Forgetting instantly his romance, he rushed rapidly to where his

Ubc

Encounter

between

Colonel

Oi8t

and tbe

IRosaliets

Ube **1Klcutral Ground"

"Cbc

Encounter

Lictwccn

Colonel

ffiiBt

an^ tbc

IRo^eaUsts

men were quartered ; there he found everything in the direst confusion. Barring his weakness for the widow, the Colonel was a good soldier and soon restored a semblance of order even in the face of the enemy. He took in the situation at a glance and resolved to fight his way to the main army northward. It is very doubtful if he would have been able to do this, however, had it not been for the fact that one of the enemy's commands had lost its way and thereby left a passage open for him, which he was not slow to use. He therefore reached his friends, not indeed without fighting, but with the loss of only about one third of his command. How his affairs prospered with the widow after this interruption we know not ; but let us hope that if he again ventured in that quarter, he did not involve his entire command in this sort of a conquest.