I counted twenty men in the party, but could distinguish nothing as to uniform or equipment.

We waited motionless until the last straggler had disappeared.

By this time we were well behind the Confederate lines, with troops probably on either side, for this gash in the surface had both narrowed and veered sharply to the east.

It still remained sufficiently deep to conceal our movements, and, as we had circled the picket lines, we could proceed with greater confidence.

We were beyond the vigilance of sentinels, and could be discovered now only through some accidental encounter.