"The Southern leaders did their best, but they could not move the state."
"And you wish, then, to serve at the front?" continued the President.
"If I may," returned Harry. "In South Carolina I was with Colonel
Leonidas Talbot. I have had a letter from him here, and, if it is your
pleasure and that of General Beauregard, I shall be glad to join his
command."
General Beauregard laughed a little.
"You do well," he said. "I have known Colonel Talbot a long time, and,
although he may be slow in choosing he is bound to be in the very thick
of events when he does choose. Colonel Talbot is at the front, and
you'll probably find him closer than any other officer to the Yankee
army. We need everybody whom we can get, especially lads of spirit
and fire like you. You shall be a second lieutenant in his command.
A train will leave here in four hours. Be ready. It will take you part
of the way and you will march on for the rest."
Mr. Benjamin did not speak throughout the interview, but he watched
Harry closely. Neither did he speak when he left, but he offered him a
limp hand. The boy's view of Richmond was in truth brief, as before
night he saw its spires and roofs fading behind him.
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