The mud in places in the road was thrown up in lumps by the hoofs of his horse as he thundered on his way. As yet the animal was not displaying any marked signs of distress, and in the hope of wearing out his pursuers, Noel still kept him at his full speed. The splotches of mud and the heat of the warm September day soon made the appearance of the young rider as distressing as that of the animal upon which he was mounted. The great black flanks of the latter were now reeking with sweat and discolored by the red-brown mud of the road. As far as Noel himself was concerned, his most intimate friend might have had difficulty in recognizing, in the perspiring, dirt-covered young soldier the Noel Curtis whom they had known. Streams of perspiration had poured down his face and left furrows in the coating of Maryland mud and dirt. The exertion was telling upon the rider as well as upon the horse, and he was well aware that such violent efforts could not long be continued. Glancing once more anxiously behind him, Noel was unable to see his pursuers. He was aware, however, that it was only the bend in the road that hid them from his sight and that not yet was he freed from his peril. Slackening the pace at which he was riding, the young soldier removed his coat and folding it placed it in front of him on the pommel. The relief was instant and again speaking encouragingly to his horse, which now was breathing loudly, he continued his flight. It became manifest in a brief time that the pursuit was still maintained, although the distance between the young soldier and the two Confederates comparatively was unchanged. Why they should continue to follow him became increasingly a perplexing problem. There were no prospects of his being overtaken, and now that five or six miles must have been covered in his flight Noel was unable to understand why the men did not turn back and join their comrades. He himself was not of sufficient value to warrant their severe labors. Of that fact he was well assured. Why, then, did they still follow him? The mystery was unsolved, but there was no delay on the part of the young soldier to meditate long upon possible explanations. The fact remained that he was in a country with which he was unfamiliar, mounted upon the back of a horse with whose ways he was unacquainted, although he was aware of his many excellent points, and was being pursued relentlessly by two men who doggedly held to their task. Suddenly Noel, as he emerged from a small body of woods, beheld a group of men directly in the road before him and not distant more than fifty yards. Glancing keenly at the bank he saw that the men were repairing a bridge over a little stream. A second look convinced him that the men were all clad in the uniform of the Confederate soldiers.