The question was hard.  It did not seem relevant.  I knew not how to answer.  I was silent.

“I asked why you did not start yesterday?”

“Start where, General?”

“For this army.  Did you not know on yesterday that Lee was moving?  If you intended to be of service to us, why did you delay?”

Here was an opening.

“Circumstances were such that I could not leave yesterday, General; besides, it was only last night that I became convinced of the nature of General Lee’s movement.”  I was hoping that I could give the Doctor some signal before he should speak—­before he should recognize me.  I was determined to prevent his exposing me, no matter at what personal risk.

“And how did you become convinced?” asked the general.

“It was the universal opinion of the men that convinced me, General.  But that was only additional to the circumstances of position and direction of march.”

“The men?  What do the men know of such things?”

“The men I speak of, General, were all familiar with the country, from having marched over it many times.  They were in the August campaign of last year; they said that the present movement could mean nothing except a repetition of General Jackson’s flank march of last year.”

The general looked exceedingly grave.  His eyes were always upon me.  The officers were very silent—­motionless, except for glances one at another.

“Were you in Lee’s campaigns last year?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Were you under Jackson or Longstreet?”

“I was in Jackson’s corps, General.”

“Did you make the march under him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this march of Ewell and Hill seems similar to your march of last year?”

“General, last year, on August 24th, I rejoined General Jackson’s corps at the very place where I left Hill’s corps this morning.  On August 25th last year General Jackson crossed the Hedgeman River on his flank march.  Hill’s corps this morning began to move toward the crossing of the river.”

“Have you seen General Lee in the last few days?”

“No, sir; but I have seen men who said they saw him.”

“Do you know him when you see him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you seen General Hill in the last few days?”

“Yes, sir—­many times.”

“Have you seen General Ewell?”

“I would not know General Ewell, sir.”

“How, then, do you know that his corps is up the river?”

“His entire corps passed ours, sir, marching to our right.”

“When?”

“Yesterday, General.”

“You are sure it was Ewell’s whole corps?”

“It was a great column of infantry and nineteen batteries; it took many hours to march by us.  Many of the men in the different brigades told us they were of Ewell’s corps.  None of us doubted it, General.”

The questions of the general continued.  I thought that they were for the purpose of testing me; their forms were various, without change of substance.