"No, it's all right for me to tell you." Bert put his hand into his knapsack which lay beside his bed and pulled forth a map. "Look here." Tom moved up beside him and they spread the map out on their knees. "There's a town called Corinth." Tom pointed with a brown forefinger. "Beauregard is there. And here is Atlanta, which is Beauregard's base of supplies. Here is Murfreesboro where we're camped. If Beauregard's supplies were cut off between Atlanta and Chattanooga, what would happen to Beauregard?" "He'd been in for trouble," answered Tom. "And Chattanooga...?" "Chattanooga would be flying Mitchel's flag." Tom's eyes brightened, and he turned so that he could look squarely at his cousin. "But, Bert, how were you going to do it?" Bert smiled wanly, and left Tom in suspense a moment before he answered. Then he glanced balefully at his ankle. "Some of us were going into the South, and ... well, we were simply going to do it." "The railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga?" asked Tom. "You've guessed it, but, on your life, don't breathe a word of it." Tom's eyes opened wide. "Never! And aren't they going to do it now! Just because you're ankle is broken?" "They'll do it, all right," answered Bert. "I'm not that important. There's only one man who is so important that they have to have him." "And who's that?" "The leader--the man who planned it. He knows the country." Bert folded the map and put it back in his knapsack. "I'm sorry about your ankle," Tom said weakly. "With a chance like that!" He whistled, and leaned back, with his hands clasped around a knee, gazing steadfastly at the roof of the tent. Bert rested his chin in his hands and sat silently, looking at him. Tom's eyes narrowed and his fingers tightened until they were white. "Bert...." he began, then stopped. "Yes?" Their eyes met. Tom leaned forward and clutched his cousin's arm. "Do you think, Bert, that Captain Moffat would let me go in your place?" "I don't know," answered Bert. "But we can ask. Asking won't do any harm." "Will you ask him? Will you really?" "Do you want to go? Without knowing any more about it than that?" "More than anything else in the world. Do you think he will let me go, Bert? Tell him that I'm not afraid--that I can be trusted to carry out orders. You know I can do it, don't you, Bert?" "Yes, I know you can do it. And I thought that you'd probably want to do it. That's why I disobeyed orders and told you. I wanted to give you the chance to volunteer." "I wonder if the Captain'll just laugh and say that I'm a raw recruit."