That night the four lost ones encamped in the woods close to the road. A haversack filled with two days’ rations had been picked up, and although the eatables were stale, the quartet fell to with avidity and did not allow a mouthful to escape them. The march forward was resumed before the sun came up and at nine o’clock the pickets of the Union army on guard near the railroad at Savage Station were encountered. Nobody had the password, but their story was soon told and they hurried to the rear. The battles so far upon the withdrawal to the James River had not been particularly severe upon the Goreville Volunteers. Out of a total of seventy men, eight had been killed and twelve wounded. To be sure, many had been “scratched,” but in the grimness of war such trifles do not count. Louis did not run across his command until the next day, for now the fighting was general along the whole line, the Union troops protecting not only their own retreat, but also the passage of the vast stores moving from White House across the peninsula to the James River. Finding him unemployed, he was asked to act as an orderly, and mounting a stray horse, he carried several orders from one part of the field to another for those in charge of the baggage train. Thus the day slipped by in work that was hard but not particularly dangerous. “Louis!” cried Harry, when at last the Goreville boys were found. “By jinks! I ’most feel like hugging you! I thought you were dead sure!” “I’m a long way from that,” laughed the youth. “But I’ve had a rough experience, nevertheless.” And he told his friend of all he had gone through. There was no time to say much, for the regiment had been ordered to the rear, to protect the baggage wagons. Louis and Harry were both afraid they would not have much to do, but in this they were greatly mistaken. The train was attacked by a large company of Confederate cavalry, and a hot skirmish kept up until long after nightfall. And so the days slipped by until the great body of the army of the Potomac reached Malvern Hill. Hotly pursued by the Confederates, General McClellan here took a stand, resulting in the greatest battle of the peninsula campaign, and one that Louis and Andy will not forget if they each live to be a hundred years old. CHAPTER XXXII MALVERN HILL--CONCLUSION Malvern Hill was a small elevation, not over sixty feet high at its topmost point, on the north bank of the James River. The plateau above was nearly large enough for the entire army, and the approach from the north was rather abrupt, while on the south it was protected by Western River and heavy timber and brush. The Army of the Potomac took its final stand around this hill in a huge semi-circle, the right and the left resting upon the river, where the gunboats could offer a good support. Back of the Hill was Harrison Landing, which was to be the last stopping place for the great army.