"
"Did he do anything more?"
"Yes, General. He sent a duplicate of the dispatch by an aide whom he
said he could trust. In an hour the second man came back with the same
big lump on his head and with the same story. He had been ambushed at
the crossing of a ravine full of small cedars, and the highwayman was
undoubtedly the same, too, a big, powerful fellow, as bold as you please."
Harry's pulse throbbed hard for a few moments, when he first heard
mention of the man. The description, not only physical, but of manner
and action as well, answered perfectly. He had not the slightest doubt
that it was Shepard.
"A daring deed," said General Lee. "We must see that it is not repeated."
"But that wasn't all of the tale, sir. While the second man was sitting
on the bank, nursing his broken head, the Yankee Dick Turpin read the
dispatch and saw that it was a duplicate of the first. He became red-hot
with wrath, and talked furiously about the extra and unnecessary work
that General Early was forcing upon him. He ended by cramming the
dispatch into the man's hands, directing him to take it back, and to tell
General Early to stop his foolishness. The aide was a bit dazed from the
blow he received and he delivered that message word for word.
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