"So it would," said Harry to himself. "But Pleasanton won't get this
dispatch. Providence has not deserted me yet; and it's true that fortune
favors the brave. I'm John Haskell of the Fifth Pennsylvania and I can
prove it."
He had put the canteen over his shoulder and the name upon it was a
powerful witness in his favor. The dispatch itself was another, and his
faded uniform told nothing.
Harry had passed through so much that a reckless spirit was growing upon
him, and he had succeeded in so much that he believed he would continue
to succeed. Regretfully he threw the shotgun away, as it would not
appear natural for a messenger to carry it and a rifle too.
He went forward boldly now, and, when an hour later he saw a detachment
of Union cavalry in a road, he took no measures to avoid them. Instead
he went directly toward the horsemen and hailed them in a loud voice.
They stopped and their leader, a captain, looked inquiringly at Harry,
who was approaching rapidly.
Harry held up both hands as a sign that he was a friend, and called in a
loud voice:
"I want a horse! And at once, if you please, sir!"
He had noticed that three led horses with empty saddles, probably the
result of a brush with the enemy, and he meant to be astride one of them
within a few minutes.
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