"Gone?"

"Yes, sir."  It was Halleck who had awakened him.  "It was no camp, sir... just the fires.  Turp could tell better than me, but I'd say they left two or three men behind to keep the fires going and show some movement about.  Then they just slipped away."

"Thank you, Halleck.  Is Chancel back?"

"No, sir, and it's coming on for day.  I am worried, sir, him being a foreigner, and all."
"Private Halleck, at least thirty per cent of this command is foreign, as you put it.  And some of our best men are among them."

When he was gone, Devereaux considered the possibilities for a few moments, then he lay down, pulled his blankets around him, and fell promptly to sleep.  A good soldier eats when there is food, never stands when he can sit, and never stays awake when he can sleep... as long as it doesn't interfere with his duty.

He was awakened by the smell of wood burning, and saw Turpenning squatted beside a fire he had recently kindled.  The coffeepot was on a rock in the center of the flames.

"Mornin', suh.  I been out for a look-see."

"Yes?"

"No camp... just a blind.  They pulled out fast.  This here was to hold you whilst they got away.  And they're onto somethin', suh.  They found some sign, but noways enough."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, suh, those boys are mighty handy, but they sure ain't found any kind of a trail.  The way the scoutin' the country, they ain't rightly sure what happened.  Whatever they found, they lost.  That Lieutenant Brian, suh, he's a cagey one."

"How many men do they have?"

"Nigh onto forty.  That's a sort of guess, but I figured by the rifle stacks an' the length of the picket line for their horses."

"You found their camp, then?"

"Yes, suh.  They built up those fires, an' then they pulled their freight.  They went on about four, five mile up the country and made a dark camp.  They hadn't been gone no more'n thuty minutes when I come upon it."

"Is Chancel back?"

"No, suh.  Not hide nor hair."

"Thank you, Turpenning.  I'll have that coffee now."

He would gain on them during the day.  The fact that they had to find a trail would restrict their movements.  This they would understand as well as he, and they would know he would catch up... hence an ambush.

It was the logical step.  They could not escape him and find the fugitives, too, so they would attempt an ambush to inflict casualties and make him more cautious.

As he was finishing his breakfast, Chancel appeared.

"Fill your cup, Chancel, and sit down," he said. "I'll have your report."