Captain Gordon began a vigorous pursuit of the retreating enemy; but they had the start of him by at least a mile, for he had met with some obstructions in reaching the road after his men had delivered their fire. Both the pursuers and the pursued disappeared behind the hill, and there was nothing more that the second company could do. The major had looked over those left upon the field, to ascertain if the captain was among them; but he was not. "Captain Dingfield was a bold and reckless officer; and, as he rode at the head of his troop, I wonder that he is not lying here with the others who dropped from their horses," said Major Lyon, as he surveyed what had not yet ceased to be a sad sight. "He was exceedingly fortunate to escape, though he may have carried off with him half-a-dozen bullets in his body," replied Captain Truman. "Either he had no idea of how many men we have, or he intended to make only a demonstration against us, to enable the force he had sent to the bridge to finish their work," added the major. "The explosion seems to have been the signal for him to advance; and I am inclined to believe he intended only to prevent me from using my force to interfere with the work of those he had sent for the destruction of the bridge. Fortunately that matter had been attended to, and Belthorpe has men enough to overcome that sent by the hill road." "I should say that Dingfield had been thoroughly and completely routed," replied Captain Truman with more enthusiasm than the major could feel; for the latter realized that the bridge had narrowly escaped destruction in the very face of his squadron, and under their very eyes. "I don't know yet," he returned. "We can tell better about that when we have ascertained the condition of the bridge." "We can still see it, and it does not appear to have suffered any very serious injury." "March your company back to the cross-roads, Captain Truman. We shall soon learn what more we have to do. The bridge does not appear to have suffered much, as you suggest," added the commander as he rode down the hill, with Artie at his side. "What do you suppose has become of Deck, father?" asked the young man; and there was a look of great anxiety on his face. "I don't know, and I cannot conjecture," replied the father with a blank look at the inquirer. "I saw him lower the flag as I had ordered him to do. It did not occur to me that there could be any movement in progress there then. For the next hour or more I had enough to think of near the cross-roads, and I don't know that I looked at the bridge once in that time; certainly not with the expectation of seeing anything there." "I can't understand it at all, father," added Artie; and he looked as though the tears might easily come into his eyes, for they had been together from their childhood, and had always been greatly devoted to each other.