"Isn't, eh? I tell you my legs are coming unjointed at the knees, and I'll soon be going on the stumps." "Yer not used to this," said Corporal Grimm. "I tell ye, when ye get used to it, this is nuthin'. Why, when I was with General Preston, we traveled so fur and so long in the quicksand, and our legs became so loose at the knees, that we had to run straps under the soles of our boots and strap our legs tight to our bodies, or we would have lost 'em sure." "Well, I shall have to go to strapping mine soon, I am certain," said the young soldier with an incredulous smile. "Them was awful times when I was out with General Preston!" said the corporal, shaking his head in sad reminiscence. Abner Tompkins was with this train, but having sprained his ankle, he was unable to ride his horse, and had been placed in a wagon. All day long it had rumbled and jolted over the hills of Southern Virginia, and he was tired, sick, and faint with the constant motion. He leaned against the side of the wagon and gazed out from under the cover. He saw a long line of slow-moving, muddy wagons, and to the right a long line of infantry, some of the men wet and weary as they were singing. Passing one part of the line, he heard a not unmusical voice caroling: "Oh, that darling little girl, that pretty little girl, The girl I left behind me." Further a chorus of voices joined in: "All the world is cold and dreary Everywhere I roam." These suddenly hushed, when the song was completed, and one poor boy, determined to rouse the drooping spirits of his comrades, was heard trying to sing "Annie Laurie." This was soon interrupted by some wild fellow, who broke out with: "Raccoon up a gum-stump, opposum up a holler"-- Next came "Rally round the flag, boys," roared out by half a hundred throats, and all the popular songs of the day were sung as solos, duets or choruses--all, except "Dixie," for this was not a "Dixie" crowd. "Poor fellows!" sighed Abner, as he lay back on his couch in the wagon. "Enjoy your jokes and songs if you can; it is small comfort that awaits you. Your only beds will be wet earth to-night, your only covering the lowering clouds of heaven." Night was fast approaching, and the division commander sent men ahead to determine a suitable location for encampment. A field, with wood and water close by, was selected, and the soldiers soon spread over it. Camp-fires gleamed bright in the darkness, pickets were stationed and guards thrown around the camp. Abner, who was unable to walk without the aid of a crutch, gave his instructions for the night and then returned to the wagon, where he was to sleep. It was not an ambulance wagon, but simply a baggage-wagon, with a couch arranged within for the captain.