An hour after midnight all were awakened and they rode away. The next
day they reached the Potomac near Williamsport, where their pontoon
bridge had been destroyed, and looked upon the wide stream of the Potomac,
far too deep for fording.
"If General Lee is attacked on the banks of this river by greatly
superior forces," said Sherburne, "he'll have no time to build bridges.
If we didn't happen to be victorious our forces would have to scatter
into the mountains, where they could be hunted down, man by man."
"But such a thing as that is unthinkable, sir," said Harry. "We may not
win always, but here in the East we never lose. Remember Antietam and
the river at our back."
"Right you are, Harry," said Sherburne more cheerfully. "The general
will get us out of this, and here is where we must cross. The river may
run down enough in two or three days to permit of fording. God grant
that it will!"
"And so say I!" repeated Harry with emphasis.
"I mean to hold this place for our army," continued Sherburne.
"A reserved seat, so to speak."
"Yes, that's it. We must keep the country cleared until our main
force comes up. It shouldn't be difficult. I haven't heard of any
considerable body of Union troops between us and the river.
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