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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army
+by Oliver Optic
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army
+       A Story of the Great Rebellion
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: January 4, 2005 [EBook #14595]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SOLDIER BOY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bill Tozier, Barbara Tozier and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE SOLDIER BOY
+
+OR
+
+TOM SOMERS IN THE ARMY
+
+A Story of the Great Rebellion
+
+
+BY
+
+
+OLIVER OPTIC
+
+
+
+AUTHOR OF "RICH AND HUMBLE," "ALL ABOARD," "LITTLE BY LITTLE," ETC., ETC.
+
+
+NEW YORK
+HURST & COMPANY
+PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+William Lee, Esq.
+
+THIS BOOK
+
+IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
+
+BY HIS FRIEND
+
+WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This volume is not altogether a military romance, though it contains the
+adventures of one of those noble-hearted and patriotic young men who went
+forth from homes of plenty and happiness to fight the battles of our
+imperilled country. The incidents of the story may be stirring and
+exciting; yet they are not only within the bounds of probability, but have
+been more than paralleled in the experience of hundreds of the gallant
+soldiers of the loyal army.
+
+The work is not intended to approach the dignity of a history, though the
+writer has carefully consulted the "authorities," both loyal and rebel,
+and has taken down the living words of enthusiastic participants in the
+stirring scenes described in this volume. He has not attempted to give a
+full picture of any battle, or other army operation, but simply of those
+movements in which the hero took a part. The book is a narrative of
+personal adventure, delineating the birth and growth of a pure patriotism
+in the soul of the hero, and describing the perils and privations, the
+battles and marches which he shared with thousands of brave men in the
+army of the Potomac.
+
+The author has endeavored to paint a picture of the true soldier, one who
+loves his country, and fights for her because he loves her; but, at the
+same time, one who is true to himself and his God, while he is faithful to
+his patriotic impulses.
+
+The work has been a pleasure to me in its preparation, and I hope it will
+not disappoint the reasonable expectation of those partial friends whose
+smile is my joy, whose frown is my grief. But, more than all, I trust this
+humble volume will have some small influence in kindling and cherishing
+that genuine patriotism which must ever be the salvation of our land, the
+foundation of our national prosperity and happiness.
+
+WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+
+DORCHESTER, Feb. 22, 1864.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+  CHAPTER
+
+       I. The Battle of Pinchbrook
+      II. The Somers Family
+     III. Taming a Traitor
+      IV. The Committee come out, and Tom goes in
+       V. The Attic Chamber
+      VI. The Way is Prepared
+     VII. A Midnight Adventure
+    VIII. Signing the Papers
+      IX. The Departure
+       X. Company K
+      XI. In Washington
+     XII. On to Richmond
+    XIII. The Battle of Bull Run
+     XIV. After the Battle
+      XV. Tom a Prisoner
+     XVI. A Perplexing Question
+    XVII. Dinner and Danger
+   XVIII. The Rebel Soldier
+     XIX. Through the Gap
+      XX. Down the Shenandoah
+     XXI. The Problem of Rations
+    XXII. The Picket Guard
+   XXIII. The End of the Voyage
+    XXIV. Budd's Ferry
+     XXV. In the Hospital
+    XXVI. Tom is Sentimental
+   XXVII. The Confederate Deserter
+  XXVIII. On the Peninsula
+    XXIX. The Battle of Williamsburg
+     XXX. More of the Battle
+    XXXI. Glory and Victory
+   XXXII. "Honorable Mention"
+  XXXIII. Lieutenant Somers and Others
+
+
+
+
+THE SOLDIER BOY;
+
+OR,
+
+TOM SOMERS IN THE ARMY.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE BATTLE OF PINCHBROOK.
+
+
+"Fort Sumter has surrendered, mother!" shouted Thomas Somers, as he rushed
+into the room where his mother was quietly reading her Bible.
+
+It was Sunday, and the exciting news had been circulated about the usually
+quiet village of Pinchbrook Harbor. Men's lips were compressed, and their
+teeth shut tight together. They were indignant, for traitors had fired
+upon the flag of the United States. Men, women, and children were roused
+by the indignity offered to the national emblem. The cannon balls that
+struck the walls of Sumter seemed at the same time to strike the souls of
+the whole population of the North, and never was there such a great
+awakening since the Pilgrim Fathers first planted their feet upon the rock
+of Plymouth.
+
+"Fort Sumter has surrendered!" shouted the indignant young patriot again,
+as his mother looked up from the blessed volume.
+
+"You don't say so!" exclaimed Mrs. Somers, as she closed the Bible, and
+removed her spectacles.
+
+"Yes, mother. The infernal rebels hammered away at the fort for two days,
+and at last we had to give in."
+
+"There'll be terrible times afore long," replied the old lady, shaking her
+head with prophetic earnestness.
+
+"The President has called for seventy-five thousand volunteers, and I tell
+you there'll be music before long!" continued the youth, so excited that
+he paced the room with rapid strides.
+
+"What's the matter, Thomas?" asked a feeble old gentleman, entering the
+room at this moment.
+
+"Fort Sumter has surrendered, gran'ther," repeated Thomas, at the top of
+his lungs, for the aged man was quite deaf; "and the President has called
+for seventy-five thousand men to go down and fight the traitors."
+
+"Sho!" exclaimed the old man, halting, and gazing with earnestness into
+the face of the boy.
+
+"It's a fact, gran'ther."
+
+"Well, I'm too old to go," muttered gran'ther Greene; "but I wa'n't
+older'n you are when I shouldered my firelock in 1812. I'm too old and
+stiff to go now."
+
+"How old were you, gran'ther, when you went to the war?" asked Thomas,
+with more moderation than he had exhibited before.
+
+"Only sixteen, Thomas; but I was as tall as I am now," replied the
+patriarch, dropping slowly and cautiously into the old-fashioned high-back
+chair, by the side of the cooking stove.
+
+"Well, I'm sixteen, and I mean to go."
+
+"You, Thomas! You are crazy! You shan't do any thing of the kind,"
+interposed Mrs. Somers. "There's men enough to go to the war, without such
+boys as you are."
+
+"You ain't quite stout enough to make a soldier, Thomas. You ain't so big
+as I was, when I went off to York state," added gran'ther Greene.
+
+"I should like to go any how," said Thomas, as he seated himself in a
+corner of the room, and began to think thoughts big enough for a
+full-grown man.
+
+"Fort Sumter has surrendered," shouted John Somers, rushing into the house
+as much excited as his brother had been.
+
+"We've heard all about it, John," replied his mother.
+
+"The President has called for seventy-five thousand men, and in my opinion
+the rebels will get an awful licking before they are a fortnight older. I
+should like to go and help do it."
+
+The exciting news was discussed among the members of the Somers family, as
+it was in thousands of other families, on that eventful Sunday. Thomas and
+John could think of nothing, speak of nothing, but Fort Sumter, and the
+terrible castigation which the rebels would receive from the insulted and
+outraged North. They were loyal even to enthusiasm; and when they retired
+to their chamber at night, they ventured to express to each other their
+desire to join the great army which was to avenge the insult offered to
+the flag of the Union.
+
+They were twin brothers, sixteen years of age; but they both thought they
+were old enough and strong enough to be soldiers. Their mother, however,
+had promptly disapproved of such suggestions, and they had not deemed it
+prudent to discuss the idea in her presence.
+
+On Monday, the excitement instead of subsiding, was fanned to a fever
+heat; Pinchbrook Harbor was in a glow of patriotism. Men neglected their
+usual occupations, and talked of the affairs of the nation. Every person
+who could procure a flag hung it out at his window, or hoisted it in his
+yard, or on his house. The governor had called out a portion of the state
+militia, and already the tramp of armed men was heard in the neighboring
+city of Boston.
+
+Thomas Somers was employed in a store in the village, and during the
+forenoon he mechanically performed the duties of his position; but he
+could think of nothing but the exciting topic of the day. His blood was
+boiling with indignation against those who had trailed our hallowed flag
+in the dust. He wanted to do something to redeem the honor of his
+country--something to wipe out the traitors who had dared to conspire
+against her peace. On his way home to dinner, he met Fred Pemberton, who
+lived only a short distance from his own house.
+
+"What do you think now, Fred?" said Thomas.
+
+"What do I think? I think just as I always did--the North is wrong, and
+the South is right," replied Fred.
+
+"Who fired upon Fort Sumter? That's the question," said Thomas, his eyes
+flashing with indignation.
+
+"Why didn't they give up the fort, then?"
+
+"Give up the fort! Shall the United States cave in before the little State
+of South Carolina. Not by a two chalks!"
+
+"I think the North has been teasing and vexing the South till the
+Southerns can't stand it any longer. There'll be war now."
+
+"I hope there will! By gracious, I hope so!"
+
+"I hope the South will beat!"
+
+"Do you? Do you, Fred Pemberton?" demanded Tom, so excited he could not
+stand still.
+
+"Yes, I do. The South has the rights of it. If we had let their niggers
+alone, there wouldn't have been any trouble."
+
+"You are as blind as a bat, Fred. Don't you see this isn't a quarrel
+between the North and the South, but between the government and the
+rebels?"
+
+"I don't see it. If the North had let the South alone, there wouldn't have
+been any fuss. I hope the North will get whipped, and I know she will."
+
+"Fred, you are a traitor to your country!"
+
+"No, I'm not!"
+
+"Yes, you are; and if I had my way, I'd ride you on a rail out of town."
+
+"No, you wouldn't."
+
+"Yes, I would. I always thought you were a decent fellow; but you are a
+dirty, low-lived traitor."
+
+"Better be careful what you say, Tom Somers!" retorted the young
+secessionist, angrily.
+
+"A fellow that won't stand by his country ain't fit to live. You are an
+out-and-out traitor."
+
+"Don't call me that again, Tom Somers," replied Fred, doubling up his
+fist.
+
+"I say you are a traitor."
+
+"Take that, then."
+
+Tom did take it, and it was a pretty hard blow on the side of his head.
+Perhaps it was fortunate for our young patriot that an opportunity was
+thus afforded him to evaporate some of his enthusiasm in the cause of his
+country, for there is no knowing what might have been the consequence if
+it had remained longer pent up in his soul. Of course, he struck back; and
+a contest, on a small scale, between the loyalty of the North and the
+treason of the South commenced. How long it might have continued, or what
+might have been the result, cannot now be considered; for the approach of
+a chaise interrupted the battle, and the forces of secession were
+reënforced by a full-grown man.
+
+The gentleman stepped out of his chaise with his whip in his hand, and
+proceeded to lay it about the legs and body of the representative of the
+Union side. This was more than Tom Somers could stand, and he retreated in
+good order from the spot, till he had placed himself out of the reach of
+the whip.
+
+"What do you mean, you young scoundrel?" demanded the gentleman who had
+interfered.
+
+Tom looked at him, and discovered that it was Squire Pemberton, the father
+of his late opponent.
+
+"He hit me first," said Tom.
+
+"He called me a traitor," added Fred. "I won't be called a traitor by him,
+or any other fellow."
+
+"What do you mean by calling my son a traitor, you villain?"
+
+"I meant just what I said. He is a traitor. He said he hoped the South
+would beat."
+
+"Suppose he did. I hope so too," added Squire Pemberton.
+
+The squire thought, evidently, that this ought to settle the question. If
+he hoped so, that was enough.
+
+"Then you are a traitor, too. That's all I've got to say," replied Tom,
+boldly.
+
+"You scoundrel! How dare you use such a word to me!" roared the squire, as
+he moved towards the blunt-spoken little patriot.
+
+For strategic reasons, Tom deemed it prudent to fall back; but as he did
+so, he picked up a couple of good-sized stones.
+
+"I said you were a traitor, and I say so again," said Tom.
+
+"Two can play at that game," added Fred, as he picked up a stone and threw
+it at Tom.
+
+The Union force returned the fire with the most determined energy, until
+one of the missiles struck the horse attached to the chaise. The animal,
+evidently having no sympathy with either party in this miniature contest,
+and without considering how much damage he might do the rebel cause,
+started off at a furious pace when the stone struck him. He dashed down
+the hill at a fearful rate, and bounded away over the plain that led to
+the Harbor.
+
+Squire Pemberton and his son had more interest in the fate of the runaway
+horse than they had in the issue of the contest, and both started at the
+top of their speed in pursuit. But they might as well have chased a flash
+of lightning, or a locomotive going at the rate of fifty miles an hour.
+
+Tom Somers came down from the bank which he had ascended to secure a good
+position. He had done rather more than he intended to do; but on the whole
+he did not much regret it. He watched the course of the spirited animal,
+as he dashed madly on to destruction. The career of the horse was short;
+for in the act of turning a corner, half a mile from the spot where Tom
+stood, he upset the chaise, and was himself thrown down, and, being
+entangled in the harness, was unable to rise before a stout man had him by
+the head.
+
+"I wish that chaise had been the southern confederacy," said Tom to
+himself, philosophically, when he saw the catastrophe in the distance.
+"Well, it served you right, old Secesh; and I'll bet there ain't many
+folks in Pinchbrook Harbor that will be willing to comfort the mourners."
+
+With this consoling assurance, Tom continued on his way home. At dinner,
+he gave the family a faithful account of the transaction.
+
+"You didn't do right, Thomas," said his mother.
+
+"He hit me first."
+
+"You called him a traitor."
+
+"He is a traitor, and so is his father."
+
+"I declare, the boys are as full of fight as an egg is of meat," added
+gran'ther Greene.
+
+"You haven't seen the last of it yet, Thomas," said the prudent mother.
+
+"No matter, Tom; I'll stand by you," added John.
+
+After dinner, the two boys walked down to the Harbor together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE SOMERS FAMILY.
+
+
+The town of Pinchbrook is not a great distance from Boston, with which it
+is connected by railroad. If any of our young readers are of a
+geographical turn of mind, and are disposed to ascertain the exact
+locality of the place, we will save them any unnecessary trouble, for it
+is not laid down on any map with which we are familiar. We live in times
+of war, and probably our young friends have already learned the meaning of
+"military necessity." Our story is essentially a military story, and there
+are certain military secrets connected with it which might be traced out
+if we should inform our inquisitive readers exactly where Pinchbrook is
+situated.
+
+Squire Pemberton, we doubt not, is very anxious to find out certain
+persons connected with some irregular proceedings in and around his house
+on the evening of Monday, April 16th. Fidelity to the truth of history
+compels us to narrate these proceedings in our humble volume; but we
+should exceedingly regret thereby to get any of our friends into a scrape
+by informing the squire that they were active participants in the scenes
+of that eventful night, or to say any thing which would enable him, a
+lawyer, to trace out the authors of the mischief through these pages.
+Therefore we cannot say where Pinchbrook is, or even give a hint which
+would enable our readers to fix definitely its locality.
+
+Pinchbrook is a town of about three thousand inhabitants, engaged, as the
+school books would say, in agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and the
+fisheries, which, rendered into still plainer English, means that some of
+the people are farmers; that wooden pails, mackerel kegs, boots and shoes,
+are made; that the inhabitants buy groceries, and sell fish, kegs, pails,
+and similar wares; and that there are about twenty vessels owned in the
+place, the principal part of which are fishermen.
+
+We have not the agricultural and commercial statistics of the place at
+hand; but the larger territorial part of the town was devoted to the
+farming interest, and was rather sparsely populated, while the principal
+village, called Pinchbrook Harbor, was more densely peopled, contained two
+stores, four churches, one wharf, a blacksmith shop, and several shoe and
+bucket manufactories.
+
+We are willing to acknowledge that Pinchbrook is rather a singular name.
+The antiquarians have not yet had an opportunity to determine its origin;
+but our private opinion is that the word is a corruption of _Punch_-brook.
+Perhaps, at some remote period in the history of the town, before the Sons
+of Temperance obtained a foothold in the place, a villainous mixture,
+known to topers under the general appellation of "punch," may have been
+largely consumed by the Pinchbrookers. Though not a very aged person
+ourself, we have heard allusions to festive occasions where,
+metaphorically, the punch was said to "flow in streams." Possibly, from
+"streams" came "brooks,"--hence, "Punchbrook,"--which, under the strange
+mutations of time, has become "Pinchbrook." But we are not learned in
+these matters, and we hope that nothing we have said will bias the minds
+of antiquarians, and prevent them from devoting that attention to the
+origin of the word which its importance demands.
+
+The Somers family, which we have already partially introduced, occupied a
+small cottage not quite a mile from Pinchbrook Harbor. Captain Somers, the
+head of the family, had been, and was still, for aught his wife and
+children knew, master of the schooner Gazelle. To purchase this vessel, he
+had heavily mortgaged his house and lands in Pinchbrook to Squire
+Pemberton. But his voyages had not been uniformly successful, though the
+captain believed that his earthly possessions, after discharging all his
+liabilities, would amount to about five thousand dollars.
+
+The mortgage note would become due in June, and Captain Somers had been
+making a strong effort to realize upon his property, so as to enable him
+to pay off the obligation at maturity. Captain Somers had a brother who
+was familiarly known in the family as uncle Wyman. He had spent his life,
+from the age of eighteen, in the South, and at the time of which we write,
+he was a merchant in Norfolk.
+
+Captain Somers and his brother had been interested together in certain
+mercantile transactions, and uncle Wyman being the business man, had the
+proceeds of these ventures in his own hands.
+
+On the 10th of April, only two days before the bombardment of Fort Sumter,
+Captain Somers had sailed in the Gazelle, with an assorted cargo, for
+Norfolk. Before leaving home he had assured his wife that he should not
+return without effecting a settlement with Wyman, who had postponed it so
+many times, that the honest sailor began to fear his brother did not mean
+to deal justly with him. Nothing had been heard of the Gazelle since her
+departure from Boston.
+
+Uncle Wyman was known to be a northern man with southern principles, while
+his brother, though not in the habit of saying much about politics, was
+fully committed on the side of the government, and was willing to sustain
+the President in the use of all the coercion that might be necessary to
+enforce obedience to the laws. The threatening aspect of affairs at the
+South had made Captain Somers more than ever anxious to have his accounts
+adjusted, as all his earthly possessions, except the schooner, were in the
+hands of his brother; and the fact that uncle Wyman was so strong an
+advocate of Southern rights, had caused him to make the declaration that
+he would not return without a settlement.
+
+The financial affairs of the Somers family, therefore, were not in a very
+prosperous condition, and the solvency of the house depended entirely upon
+the adjustment with uncle Wyman. The mortgage note which Squire Pemberton
+held would be due in June, and as the creditor was not an indulgent man,
+there was a prospect that even the little cottage and the little farm
+might be wrested from them.
+
+The family at home consisted of Mrs. Somers and three children. The two
+oldest daughters were married to two honest, hard-working fishermen at the
+Harbor. Thomas and John were twins, sixteen years of age. The former had a
+place in one of the stores at the village, and the latter occasionally
+went a fishing trip with his brothers-in-law. Both of the boys had been
+brought up to work, and there was need enough now that they should
+contribute what they could to the support of the family. The youngest
+child, Jane, was but eleven years of age, and went to school. Mrs.
+Somers's brother, a feeble old man, a soldier in the war of 1812, and a
+pensioner of the government, had been a member of the family for twenty
+years; and was familiarly known in town as "Gran'ther Green."
+
+Having thus made our readers acquainted with Pinchbrook and the Somers
+family, we are prepared to continue our story.
+
+Thomas and John walked down to the Harbor together after dinner. The
+latter had listened with interest and approbation to his brother's account
+of the "Battle of Pinchbrook," as he facetiously called it; and perhaps he
+thought Thomas might need his assistance before he reached the store, for
+Fred and his father would not probably be willing to let the matter rest
+where they had left it.
+
+We are sorry not to be able to approve all the acts of the hero of this
+volume; but John, without asking our opinion, fully indorsed the action of
+his brother.
+
+"Fred is a traitor, and so is his father," said he, as they passed out at
+the front gate of the little cottage.
+
+"That's so, Jack; and it made my blood boil to hear them talk," replied
+Thomas. "And I couldn't help calling things by their right names."
+
+"Bully for you, Tom!" added John, as he turned round, and glanced at the
+house to assure himself they were out of the hearing of their mother.
+"Between you and me, Tom, there will be music in Pinchbrook to-night."
+
+He lowered his voice, and spoke in tones big with mystery and heavy with
+importance.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Thomas, his interest excited by the words
+and manner of his brother.
+
+"There is fun ahead."
+
+"Tell me what it's all about."
+
+"You won't say a word--will you?"
+
+"Of course I won't."
+
+"Not to mother, I mean, most of all."
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Squire Pemberton has been talking too loud for his own good."
+
+"I know that; he was in the store this forenoon, and Jeff Davis himself is
+no bigger traitor than he is."
+
+"Some of the people are going to make him a call to-night."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"What do you suppose? Can't you see through a millstone, Tom, when there
+is a hole in it?"
+
+"I don't know what you mean."
+
+"You can come with us if you like, and then you will know all about it,"
+added John, mysteriously.
+
+"But what are you going to do?"
+
+"We are going to make him hoist the American flag on his house, or hang it
+out of his window."
+
+"Well, suppose he won't."
+
+"Then we'll hang him where the flag ought to be. We'll pull the house down
+over his head."
+
+"I'm with you, Jack," replied Thomas, with enthusiasm.
+
+"We won't have a traitor in Pinchbrook. If we can't cure him, we'll ride
+him on a rail out of the town."
+
+"I don't know as you and I ought to get into this scrape," added Thomas,
+thoughtfully.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"You know the squire has a mortgage on our house, and he may get ugly."
+
+"Let him, if he likes. I'm not going to tolerate a traitor because he has
+a mortgage on my father's house. Besides, that is a fair business
+transaction; the squire gets his interest."
+
+"Mother is afraid of him, as she is of the evil spirit."
+
+"Women are always timid," said John, sagely.
+
+"By George! there comes the very man himself!" exclaimed Thomas, as he
+discovered a horse and chaise slowly approaching.
+
+"So it is; that old chaise looks rather the worse for the wear. It looks
+as though it had been through the wars."
+
+The vehicle did bear very evident marks of hard usage. One of the shafts
+was broken, the dasher wrenched off, and the top stove in. The horse was
+covered with mud, and limped badly from the effects of his fall. The
+broken shaft and the harness were now plentifully adorned with ropes and
+old straps. In fact, the catastrophe had utterly ruined all claim which
+the chaise ever might have had to be considered a "hahnsome kerridge."
+
+"There'll be fun nearer home, I reckon," said John, as he obtained his
+first view of the sour visage of the squire.
+
+"Can't help it," added Thomas.
+
+"Keep a stiff upper lip, Tom."
+
+"I intend to do so."
+
+"Don't say a word about to-night, Tom."
+
+"Of course not."
+
+When the chaise had approached near enough to enable the squire to
+recognize the author of his misfortunes, he stopped the horse, and got out
+of the vehicle, with the whip in his hand.
+
+"Now, you young scoundrel, I will teach you to insult me and my son, and
+destroy my property. Stay in the chaise, Fred, and hold the horse," he
+added to his son.
+
+But there was not much need of holding the horse now, for he was too lame
+to run fast or far. Thomas and John came to a halt; and if the squire had
+been a prudent man, he might have seen by the flash of their eyes, that he
+was about to engage in an unsafe operation.
+
+"I am going to horsewhip you within an inch of your life, you villain,
+you!" roared the squire, brandishing the whip.
+
+"No, you are not," replied Thomas, coolly.
+
+"If you drop the weight of that lash on my brother, I'll smash your head,"
+added John.
+
+The squire paused, and glanced at the wiry form of the young sailor.
+Better thoughts, or at least wiser ones, came to his aid.
+
+"I can bring you to your senses in another way," said he, dropping his
+whip, and getting into the chaise again. "You will hear from me before the
+week is out."
+
+"Let him go; don't say a word, Tom," added John.
+
+"He will prosecute me, I suppose he means by that."
+
+"Let him prosecute and be hanged! I'll bet by to-morrow morning he will
+think better of it. At any rate, he will find out what the people of
+Pinchbrook think of him."
+
+The boys resumed their walk, and soon reached the store, where they found
+the group of idlers, that always frequent shops in the country, busily
+engaged in discussing the affair in which Thomas had been the principal
+actor. As the boys entered, the hero of the Pinchbrook Battle was saluted
+with a volley of applause, and his conduct fully approved and commended,
+for a copperhead in that day was an abomination to the people.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+TAMING A TRAITOR.
+
+
+With the exception of Squire Pemberton, Pinchbrook was a thoroughly loyal
+town; and the people felt that it was a scandal and a disgrace to have
+even a single traitor within its border. The squire took no pains to
+conceal his treasonable sentiments, though the whole town was in a blaze
+of patriotic excitement. On the contrary, he had gone out of his way, and
+taken a great deal of pains, to condemn the government and the people of
+the North.
+
+Squire Pemberton was a wealthy man, and he had always been a person of
+great influence in the place. He had occupied all the principal official
+positions in town and county. He had come to regard himself, as his
+townsmen were for the most part willing to regard him, as the social and
+political oracle of the place. What he thought in town meeting was
+generally the sense of his fellow-citizens, and when he expressed himself
+in words, his word was law.
+
+When, on Sunday morning, with Fort Sumter in ruins, with the national flag
+trodden under the feet of traitors, with the government insulted and
+threatened, Squire Pemberton ventured to speak in tones of condemnation of
+the free North, the people of Pinchbrook listened coldly, at first, to the
+sayings of their oracle; and when he began to abuse the loyal spirit of
+the North, some ventured to dissent from him. The oracle was not in the
+habit of having men dissent, and it made him angry. His treason became
+more treasonable, his condemnation more bitter. Plain, honest men, to
+whatever party they might have belonged, were disgusted with the great man
+of Pinchbrook; and some of them ventured to express their disapprobation
+of his course in very decided terms. Some were disposed to be indulgent
+because the Squire had a sister in Georgia who had married a planter. But
+there was not found a single person, outside of his own family, who was
+mean enough to uphold him in his treacherous denunciation of the
+government.
+
+The squire was too self-sufficient and opinionated to be influenced by the
+advice of friends or the warning of those who had suddenly become his
+enemies. He had so often carried the town to his own views, that, perhaps,
+he expected to manufacture a public sentiment in Pinchbrook that would
+place the town on the side of the rebels. All day Sunday, and all day
+Monday, he rode about the Harbor preaching treason. He tried to convince
+the people that the South had all the right, and the North all the wrong;
+but he had never found them so obstinate and incredulous before.
+
+Towards night one of the ministers ventured to suggest to him that he was
+sowing the wind, and would reap the whirlwind. The good man even hinted
+that he had roused a storm of indignation in the town which he might find
+it difficult to allay.
+
+The squire laughed at the minister, and told him he was not afraid of any
+thing. He intended to speak his honest sentiments, as every citizen had a
+right to do; and he would like to see any man, or any body of men, who
+would dare to meddle with him.
+
+"I am afraid you will see them, Squire Pemberton," added the minister.
+
+"Let them come where they please and when they please."
+
+"What will you do? What is your single arm against scores of strong men?"
+
+"Nothing, perhaps, but I don't fear them. I am true to my convictions; why
+need I fear?"
+
+"I think your convictions, as you call them, are deluding you. Do you
+think Benedict Arnold's convictions, if he had any, would have saved his
+neck from the halter?"
+
+"Do you mean to compare me to Benedict Arnold, sir?"
+
+"I came to you, as a friend, to warn you of impending danger; and, as your
+friend, I am compelled to say that I don't see much difference between
+your position and that of Benedict Arnold."
+
+"Do you mean to insult me?"
+
+"Not at all, sir. I was only expressing my honest conviction. Instead of
+placing yourself on the side of your government, on the side of law and
+order, you are going about Pinchbrook Harbor denouncing the legitimate
+government of your country, and pleading the cause of rebels and
+traitors."
+
+"Am I not at liberty to say what I please of the government?"
+
+"In ordinary times, you are. Just now, the country is in a state of war,
+and he who is not for the flag is against it. You may criticize the
+government as its friend, but not as its foe. When armed men conspire
+against the peace of the land, he who pleads their cause is a
+traitor--nay, sir, don't be angry; these are my convictions."
+
+"Political parsons have been the ruin of the country," sneered the squire.
+"That is my conviction."
+
+"Squire Pemberton, I beg you not to be rash. If you must cherish these
+pernicious views, I entreat you, keep them to yourself. You may think what
+you please, but the utterance of treason makes a traitor."
+
+"I shall proclaim my views from the housetop," replied the squire,
+angrily, as he abruptly turned away from the minister.
+
+The squire continued obdurate to the last. Neither the persuasions of his
+friends nor the threats of his enemies had any effect in silencing his
+tongue; and as late as sundown on that day of the Great Awakening he was
+pouring treachery and treason into the ears of a neighbor who happened to
+pass his house. Half an hour later in the day, there was a great gathering
+of men and boys at the bridge on the outskirts of the village. They were
+singing Hail Columbia and the Star-spangled Banner. Thomas and John Somers
+were there.
+
+Presently the assemblage began to move up the road which led to Squire
+Pemberton's house, singing patriotic songs as they marched. It was a
+multitude of persons for Pinchbrook; and no doubt the obnoxious oracle
+thought so when he saw the sea of heads that surrounded his dwelling. If
+this was a mob, it was certainly a very orderly mob, for the crowd thus
+far had done nothing worse than to sing the national airs.
+
+The arrangements had all been made before the multitude started from the
+place of rendezvous. Three gentlemen, the principal of whom was Captain
+Barney, had been appointed a committee to wait upon the squire, and
+politely request him to display the American flag on his premises.
+
+In the road, in front of the house, a large fire had been kindled, which
+threw a broad, bright glare on the house and the surrounding grounds. It
+was as light as day in the vicinity when the committee walked up to the
+front door of the house and rang the bell. The squire answered the summons
+himself.
+
+"Squire Pemberton," said Captain Barney, "your fellow-citizens, about two
+hundred in number, have called upon you with a simple and reasonable
+request."
+
+"What is it?" demanded the squire.
+
+"That you hoist the Stars and Stripes on your house."
+
+"I won't do it!" roared the victim, as he slammed the door in the faces of
+the committee.
+
+"That is insolence," said Captain Barney, quietly. "We will go in."
+
+The captain led the way; but the door had been locked upon them. The
+shoulders of three stout men pressed against it, and the bolt yielded.
+
+"What do you mean, you villains?" thundered the squire, as he confronted
+the committee in the entry.
+
+"You were so impolite as to close the door in our faces before we had
+finished our story," replied the immovable old sea captain.
+
+"How dare you break in my door?" growled the squire.
+
+"We shall do worse than that, squire, if you don't treat us respectfully."
+
+"A man's house is his castle," added the squire, a little more moderately.
+
+"That's very good law, but there isn't a house in Pinchbrook that is big
+enough or strong enough to shield a traitor from the indignation of his
+fellow-citizens. We do not purpose to harm you or your property, if you
+behave like a reasonable man."
+
+"You shall suffer for this outrage," gasped the squire, whose rage was
+increased by the cool and civil manner of Captain Barney.
+
+"When you closed the door in my face, I had intimated that your
+fellow-citizens wish you to display the national flag."
+
+"I refuse to do it, sir."
+
+"Consider, squire, what you say. The people have made up their minds not
+to tolerate a traitor within the corporate limits of the town of
+Pinchbrook."
+
+"I am no traitor."
+
+"That is precisely what we wish you to demonstrate to your fellow-citizens
+assembled outside to witness an exhibition of your patriotism."
+
+"I will not do it on compulsion."
+
+"Then, sir, we shall be obliged to resort to disagreeable measures."
+
+"What do you mean by that, sir?" asked the squire, who was evidently
+alarmed by the threat. "Do you mean to proceed to violence?"
+
+"We do, Squire Pemberton," answered Captain Barney, decidedly.
+
+"O my country!" sighed the victim, "has it come to this? The laws will no
+longer protect her citizens."
+
+"That's very fine, sir. Do you expect the laws to protect you while you
+are aiding and abetting those who are trying to destroy them? Is there any
+law to protect a traitor in his treason? But we waste time, Squire
+Pemberton. Will you display the American flag?"
+
+"Suppose I refuse?"
+
+"We will pull your house down over your head. We will give you a coat of
+tar and feathers, and remove you beyond the limits of the town. If you
+ever come back, we will hang you to the nearest tree."
+
+"Good Heaven! Is it possible that my fellow-citizens are
+assassins--incendiaries!"
+
+"Your answer, squire."
+
+"For mercy's sake, husband, do what they ask," interposed his wife, who
+had been an anxious listener in the adjoining room.
+
+"I must do it," groaned the squire, speaking the truth almost for the
+first time in forty-eight hours. "Alas! where is our boasted liberty of
+speech!"
+
+"Fudge! squire," replied Captain Barney, contemptuously. "If your friend
+Jeff Davis should come to Massachusetts to-morrow, to preach a crusade
+against the North, and to raise an army to destroy the free institutions
+of the country, I suppose you think it would be an outrage upon free
+speech to put him down. We don't think so. Up with the flag, squire."
+
+"Fred, you may hang the flag out at the front window up stairs," said the
+squire to his son.
+
+"All right, squire. Now a few words more, and we bid you good night. You
+may _think_ what you please, but if you utter another word of treason in
+Pinchbrook during the term of your natural life, the party outside will
+carry out the rest of the programme."
+
+By this time Fred Pemberton had fastened the flag to one of his mother's
+clothes poles, and suspended it out of the window over the porch. It was
+hailed with three tremendous cheers by the multitude who were in waiting
+to discipline the squire, and exorcise the evil spirit of treason and
+secession.
+
+The work of the evening was finished, not wholly to the satisfaction,
+perhaps, of a portion of the younger members of the assemblage, who would
+gladly have joined in the work of pillage and destruction, but much to the
+gratification of the older and steadier portion of the crowd, who were
+averse to violent proceedings.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE COMMITTEE COME OUT, AND TOM GOES IN.
+
+
+While the committee which the loyal citizens of Pinchbrook had appointed
+to conduct their case with Squire Pemberton were in the house, engaged in
+bringing the traitor to terms, the younger members of the assemblage were
+very impatient to know how matters were progressing. Thomas Somers was
+particularly anxious to have the affair brought to a crisis. In vain he
+and a few other of the young loyalists attempted to obtain a view of the
+interior of the house, where the exciting interview was in progress.
+
+Captain Barney, on shore as well as at sea, was a thorough disciplinarian.
+Of course, he was aware that his proceedings were technically illegal;
+that in forcing himself into the house of the squire he was breaking the
+law of the land; but it seemed to him to be one of those cases where
+prompt action was necessary, and the law was too tardy to be of any
+service. He was, however, determined that the business should be done with
+as little violence as possible, and he had instructed the citizens at the
+bridge to do no needless injury to the property or the feelings of the
+squire or his family.
+
+When he entered the house, he had stationed three men at the door to
+prevent any of the people from following him. He had also directed them
+not to enter the yard or grounds of the house until he gave the signal.
+These directions proved a great hardship to the boys in the crowd, and
+they were completely disgusted when they saw the flag thrown loose from
+the front window.
+
+The mansion of Squire Pemberton was an old-fashioned dwelling, about a
+hundred feet from the road. In front of it was a green lawn, adorned with
+several large buttonwood trees. There was no fence to enclose what was
+called the front yard. The crowd was assembled on this lawn, and agreeably
+to the directions of the leader, or chairman of the committee, none of
+them passed into the yard in the rear and at the end of the house, which
+was separated from the lawn by a picket fence.
+
+Boys are instinctively curious to know what is going on, and the "living
+room" of the squire, in which the exciting conversation was taking place,
+was in the rear of the house. The windows on the front were dark and
+uncommunicative. The boys were restless and impatient; if there was to be
+any fun, they wanted to see it. Thomas was as impatient as his fellows,
+and being more enterprising than the others, he determined, while obeying
+the instructions of Captain Barney in the spirit, to disobey them in the
+letter.
+
+He had been a sufferer to the extent of two great wales on the calves of
+his legs by the treason of the squire, and no doubt he thought he ought to
+be regarded as an exception to those who were called on to observe the
+instructions of the chairman of the committee. Leaving the group of
+inquiring minds near the front door of the house, he walked down the
+driveway till he came to a rail fence, through which he crawled, and
+entered the field adjoining the garden of the squire. His fellow-citizens,
+men and boys, were too intently watching the house to heed him, and no one
+noticed his enterprising movement.
+
+From the field, he entered the garden, and made his way to the rear of the
+house. But even here, he was doomed to disappointment, for Mrs. Pemberton
+had drawn her curtains. Our hero was not, however, to be utterly defeated,
+and as the curtains had not been fitted by an accomplished upholsterer,
+there were openings on either side, through which he might command a full
+view of the interior of the room.
+
+Thomas proceeded slowly and cautiously to obtain a position which would
+enable him to gratify his curiosity, and witness the humiliation of the
+haughty squire. Beneath the window which, he had chosen to look through,
+there was a cellar door, from which a pile of seaweed, placed upon it to
+keep the frost out of the cellar, had just been removed. The adventurous
+inquirer crept up the slippery boards, and gained the coveted position. He
+could not only see the committee and the squire, but he could hear all
+they said. He was perfectly delighted with the manner in which the captain
+put the question to the squire; and when the latter ordered Fred to hang
+out the flag, he was a little disposed to imitate the masculine occupants
+of the hen-house, a short distance from his perch; but Tom, as we have
+before intimated, had a very tolerable idea of the principles of strategy,
+and had the self-possession to hold his tongue, and permit the triumphant
+scene within to pass without a crow or a cheer.
+
+The battle had been fought and the victory won; and though Tom felt that
+he was one of the victors, he deemed it prudent, for strategical reasons,
+to commence a retreat. The cellar doors, as we have before hinted, were
+very slippery, having been thoroughly soaked with moisture while covered
+with the seaweed. When the hero of this unauthorized reconnoissance
+wheeled about to commence his retreat, his feet incontinently slipped up
+upon the inclined surface of the doors, and he came down heavily upon the
+rotten boards. This, in itself, would have been but an inconsiderable
+disaster, and he might still have withdrawn from the inconvenient
+locality, if circumstances had not conspired against him, as circumstances
+sometimes will, when they ought to be conciliatory and accommodating. The
+force with which Tom fell upon the decayed boards was too much for them,
+and the unlucky adventurer became another victim to the treachery of
+rotten wood, which has hurled so many thousands from time into eternity.
+
+But Tom was not hurled so far as that on the present occasion, though for
+all practical purposes, for the succeeding half hour, he might as well
+have been a hundred fathoms under water, or beneath the wreck of a
+twenty-ton locomotive at the bottom of the river. That cellar door was a
+bad place to fall through, which may be accounted for on the supposition
+that it was not made to fall through. In his downward progress, Tom had
+unluckily struck his head against the side of the house; and when he
+landed at the bottom of the stairs, he was utterly oblivious to all
+distinctions between treason and loyalty. Tom was not killed, I need not
+inform the ingenious reader, or this would otherwise have been the last
+chapter of the story; but the poor fellow did not know whether he was dead
+or alive.
+
+In fact, he had not sense enough left to consider the question at all; for
+there he lay, in the gloom of the traitor's dark cellar, silent and
+motionless--a solemn warning to all our young readers of the folly and
+wickedness of indulging an illegal and sinful curiosity. It may seem cruel
+and inhuman in us to forsake poor Tom in this sad plight; but we must,
+nevertheless, go up stairs, in order that the sufferer may be duly and
+properly relieved in due and proper season.
+
+When the committee of three, appointed by the indignant loyalists of
+Pinchbrook, had completed their mission in the house of the squire, like
+sensible men they proposed to leave; and they so expressed themselves,
+through their spokesman, to the unwilling host. They put their hats on,
+and moved into the front entry, whither they were followed by the
+discomfited traitor. They had scarcely left the room before a tremendous
+crash greeted the ears of that portion of the family which remained in the
+apartment. This was the precise moment at which poor Tom Somers found
+himself on the bottom of the cellar; or, to be entirely accurate, when he
+lost himself on the bottom of the cellar.
+
+Mrs. Pemberton heard the crash, and she very naturally concluded that the
+hour of retribution had actually come; that the terrible mob had commenced
+the work of destruction. To her "fear-amazed" mind it seemed as though the
+whole side of the house had fallen in, and, for a moment, she confidently
+expected the chimneys would presently go by the board, and the roof come
+thundering down upon the devoted heads of her outraged family. Perhaps, at
+that terrible moment, she wished her husband had been like other women's
+husbands, a true and loyal man, cheering the old flag, and hurling
+harmless anathemas at the graceless rebels.
+
+But the chimney did not go by the board, nor the roof come thundering down
+upon her head. There was not even a sound of destruction to be heard, and
+the sides of the house seemed to be firm and decided in their intention to
+maintain their perpendicular position. A few minutes later, when the
+committee announced to the multitude the success of their undertaking, and
+Fred had displayed the flag from the window, peal upon peal of stunning
+huzzas saluted her ears, and the awful peril of the preceding moments
+appeared to be averted. The squire, having closed and barricaded the
+broken door as well as he could, returned to the room, with curses deep
+and bitter upon his lips. He was not in the habit of swearing, but the
+magnitude of the occasion seemed to justify the innovation, and he swore
+hugely, roundly, awfully. He paced the room, ground his teeth, and stamped
+upon the floor.
+
+"Father, did you hear that terrible racket just now?" asked Mrs.
+Pemberton. "I thought the side of the house had fallen in."
+
+"What racket?" demanded the squire, pausing in his excited walk.
+
+"I am sure they have broken something."
+
+"It sounded as though it was down cellar," added Susan, the daughter.
+
+"What was it?" asked the father.
+
+"I don't know. It sounded like breaking boards. Do go down cellar, and
+find out what it was."
+
+"The scoundrels!" roared the squire, as he rushed up and down the room
+again with the fury of a madman. "I'll teach them to break into my house!"
+
+"Be calm, father," interposed Mrs. Pemberton, who, like most New England
+mothers, called her husband by the title which belonged exclusively to the
+children.
+
+"Calm? How can I be calm? Don't you hear the ruffians shout and yell?"
+
+"They are only cheering the flag."
+
+The squire muttered a malediction upon the flag, which would probably have
+procured for him a coat of tar and feathers, if the mob had heard it. Mrs.
+Pemberton was silent, for she had never seen her husband so moved before.
+She permitted him to pace the room in his frenzy till his anger had, in
+some measure, subsided.
+
+"I wish you would go down cellar and find out what that noise was," said
+Mrs. Pemberton, as soon as she dared to speak again. "Perhaps some of them
+are down there now. Who knows but they will set the house afire."
+
+Squire Pemberton was startled by this suggestion, and, seizing the lamp,
+he rushed down cellar to prevent so dire a calamity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE ATTIC CHAMBER.
+
+
+Squire Pemberton rushed down cellar. He was very much excited, and forgot
+that he had been troubled with the rheumatism during the preceding winter.
+When he opened the cellar door, he was considerably relieved to find that
+no brilliant light saluted his expectant gaze. It was as cold and dark in
+the cellar as it had been when he sorted over the last of his Warren
+Russets, a few days before.
+
+It was certain, therefore, that the house was not on fire; and,
+invigorated by this thought, he descended the stairs. A strong current of
+fresh, cold air extinguished the light he carried. As this was contrary to
+his usual experience when he went down cellar in the evening after an
+apple or a mug of cider, it assured him that there was a screw loose
+somewhere. Returning to the room above, he procured a lantern, and
+proceeded to the cellar again to renew his investigations.
+
+The squire felt the cold blast of the April air, and immediately made his
+way to the cellar door, holding the lantern up as high as his head, to
+ascertain the nature of the mischief which the fanatical abolitionists had
+perpetrated. He saw that the cellar door was broken through. The rotten
+boards lay upon the steps, and with another malediction upon the mob, he
+placed the lantern upon a barrel, and proceeded to repair the damage. As
+he stepped forward, he stumbled against the body of the enterprising hero
+of this volume, who lay as calm and still as a sleeping child.
+
+The squire started back, not a little alarmed at the sight of the
+motionless body. He felt as though a terrible retribution had fallen upon
+somebody, who had been killed in the act of attempting to destroy his
+property. Seizing his lantern, he retreated to the cellar stairs by which
+he had descended, and stood there for a moment, his tongue paralyzed, and
+his knees smiting each other, in the agony of terror.
+
+We do not know what he was afraid of, but we suppose that instinctive
+dread which some people manifest in the presence of death, had completely
+overcome him. Certainly there was nothing to be afraid of, for a dead man
+is not half so likely to do a person an injury as a living one. But in a
+few minutes Squire Pemberton in some measure recovered his
+self-possession.
+
+"There is a dead man down here!" he called up the staircase, in quaking
+tones.
+
+"Mercy on us!" exclaimed Mrs. Pemberton. "Who is he?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the squire.
+
+"Look and see who it is, father," added Mrs. Pemberton. "Perhaps he isn't
+dead."
+
+"Stone dead," persisted the squire. "He fell into the cellar and broke his
+neck."
+
+"Go and see who it is--will you?"
+
+"Well, you come down and hold the light," said the squire, who was not
+quite willing to say that he was scared out of his wits.
+
+Mrs. Pemberton descended the stairs, followed by Susan and Fred, who had
+just returned from the front window, where he had exhibited the flag,
+which the crowd outside were still cheering.
+
+"Who can it be?" continued the old lady, as she slowly and cautiously
+walked forward to the scene of the catastrophe.
+
+"I don't know," replied the squire, in whom the presence of his family had
+spurred up a semblance of courage; for if a man ever is brave, it is in
+the presence of his wife and children. "If it is one of the ruffians who
+came here to destroy my house, I am glad he has lost his life in the
+attempt. It is a righteous retribution upon him for his wickedness."
+
+Mrs. Pemberton took the lantern, and the squire, still excited and
+terrified, bent over the prostrate form of the young marauder. The victim
+lay upon his face, and the squire had to turn him over to obtain a view of
+his countenance.
+
+"I declare it is one of the Somers boys!" exclaimed Mrs. Pemberton, as her
+husband brought the face of Thomas to her view.
+
+"The young villain!" ejaculated the squire. "It is lucky he was killed, or
+the house would have been in flames before this time. He is a desperate
+young scoundrel."
+
+"But he isn't dead, father!" said Mrs. Pemberton, as she knelt upon the
+cold ground, and felt the pulse of the insensible boy. "He is only
+stunned."
+
+"I am sorry for it. If it had killed him, it would have served him right,"
+added the squire, who had suddenly become as bold as a lion--as bold as
+two lions.
+
+"Come, father, let's carry him up stairs, and put him to bed."
+
+"Do you think I am going to do anything for this young scoundrel!"
+exclaimed the squire, indignantly. "Why, he stoned Fred and me to-day, and
+stoned the horse, and made him run away and break the chaise all to
+pieces."
+
+"But we mustn't leave him here in this situation. He may die."
+
+"Let him die."
+
+"But what will folks say?"
+
+The more humane wife evidently understood the weak point of the squire,
+for nothing but slavery and the Southern Confederacy could have induced
+him to set at defiance the public sentiment of Pinchbrook.
+
+"Well, carry him up stairs then; but he never will get out of my house
+till he has been severely punished for his crimes."
+
+The squire and Fred took hold of the senseless form of poor Tom, and
+carried it up stairs, where it was placed upon the sofa in the sitting
+room. Mrs. Pemberton had the reputation of being "an excellent hand in
+sickness," and she immediately applied herself to the duty of restoring
+the sufferer to consciousness.
+
+"Don't you think you had better go after the doctor, father?" asked the
+good woman. "Some of his bones may be broken, or he may be injured
+inwardly."
+
+"I shall not go for any doctor," snarled the squire. "Do you think I will
+trust myself out doors while that howling mob is hanging round the house?"
+
+"Fred can go," suggested Susan.
+
+"He can, but he shall not," growled the squire, throwing himself into his
+arm chair in the corner, with an appearance of indifference and unconcern,
+which were far from representing the actual state of his mind.
+
+Mrs. Pemberton said no more, but she and Susan went to work upon the
+sufferer with camphor and hartshorn in good earnest, and in a short time
+they had the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes. They continued the
+treatment for some time longer, with the most satisfactory result, till
+Tom astonished them by jumping off the sofa, and standing up in the middle
+of the room. He rubbed his forehead, hunched up his left shoulder, and
+felt of his shins.
+
+"Are you hurt, Thomas?" asked Mrs. Pemberton, with more of tenderness in
+her tones than the squire deemed proper for the occasion.
+
+"No, marm, I guess not," replied Tom. "My shoulder feels a little stiff,
+and I think I barked one of my shins; but I shall be as good as new by
+to-morrow."
+
+But there was an ugly bump on the side of his head, which he had not yet
+discovered, but which Susan pointed out to him. He acknowledged the bump,
+but declared it was only a little sore and would be all right by the next
+day.
+
+"I feel pretty well," continued Tom, "and I guess I'll go home now."
+
+"I think you won't, young man," interposed Squire Pemberton.
+
+Tom looked at him, and for the first time since he had come to himself, he
+remembered in what manner he had received his injuries. He immediately
+came to the conclusion that he had got into a bad scrape. He was in the
+house of, and in the presence of, his great enemy. The events of the day
+passed in rapid succession through his mind, and he could not help
+thinking that he was destined to be the first victim in Pinchbrook to the
+war spirit which had just been awakened all over the country.
+
+The squire thought he would not go home, which was as much as to say he
+would not let him go home. Tom's wits were a little confused, after the
+hard knock he had received upon the head, and all he could do was to stand
+and look at the oracle of Pinchbrook, and wait for further developments.
+
+"Young man," said the squire, sternly, and in tones that were intended to
+make a deep impression upon the mind of the young man, "your time has
+come."
+
+The squire paused, and looked at the culprit to ascertain the effect of
+the startling announcement; but Tom seemed to be perfectly cool, and was
+not annihilated by the suggestive remark of the great man of Pinchbrook.
+
+"You have become a midnight marauder," added the squire, poetically.
+
+"It isn't seven o'clock yet," said Tom pointing to the great wooden clock
+in the corner of the room.
+
+"You joined a mob to pillage and destroy the property of a peaceable
+citizen. You broke in--"
+
+"No, sir; the cellar door broke in," interposed the culprit.
+
+"You broke into my house to set it afire!" continued the squire, in a
+rage.
+
+"No, sir, I did not. I only went round there to see the fun," replied Tom,
+pointing to the rear of the house; "and the cellar door broke down and let
+me in. I did not mean to do you or your house any harm; and I didn't do
+any, except breaking the cellar door, and I will have that mended."
+
+"Don't tell me, you young villain! You meant to burn my house."
+
+"No, I didn't mean any thing of the kind," replied Tom, stoutly. "I was
+going off when the door broke down. The boards were rotten, and I should
+think a man like you ought to have better cellar doors than those are."
+
+The squire didn't relish this criticism, especially from the source whence
+it came. There was a want of humility on the part of the culprit which the
+magnate of Pinchbrook thought would be exceedingly becoming in a young man
+in his situation. The absence of it made him more angry than before. He
+stormed and hurled denunciations at the offender; he rehearsed the
+mischief he had done during the day, and alluded in strong terms to that
+which he intended to perpetrate in the "dead watches of the night"--which
+was the poetical rendering of half-past six in the evening; for the squire
+was fond of effective phrases.
+
+Tom ventured to hint that a man who would not stand by his country when
+her flag was insulted and "trailed in the dust"--Tom had read the daily
+papers--ought to be brought to his senses by such expedients as his
+fellow-citizens might suggest. Of course this remark only increased the
+squire's wrath, and he proceeded to pronounce sentence upon the unlucky
+youth, which was that he should be taken to the finished room in the
+attic, and confined there under bolts and bars till the inquisitor should
+further declare and execute his intentions.
+
+Mrs. Pemberton and Susan remonstrated against this sentence, prudently
+suggesting the consequences which might result from detaining the boy. But
+the squire declared he should not go till he had at least horsewhipped
+him; and if there was any justice left in the land, he would send him to
+the county jail in the morning.
+
+Tom wanted to resist the execution of his sentence, but he was still weak
+from the effects of his fall, and he could not expect to vanquish both the
+squire and his son; so, with an earnest protest, he permitted himself to
+be led to the attic chamber. The squire thrust him into the room, and
+after carefully securing the door, left our hero to meditate upon the
+reverse of fortune which had overtaken him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE WAY IS PREPARED.
+
+
+"Where do you suppose Thomas is?" said Mrs. Somers, as she glanced at the
+clock, which indicated half-past nine.
+
+"I don't know," replied John. "He can't be a great ways off. I saw him in
+front of the squire's house when the committee went in."
+
+"The boy's gone down to the Harbor again with the rest of the folks,
+talking about the war," added gran'ther Greene, as he rose from his chair,
+and hobbled into his chamber adjoining the kitchen.
+
+At ten o'clock, the mother began to be a little uneasy; and at eleven,
+even John had some fears that all was not well with his brother. Neither
+of them was able to suggest anything that could possibly have happened to
+the absentee. There had been no battle fought, and so nobody could have
+been killed. There had been no violence used in the transactions of the
+evening further than breaking in the front door of Squire Pemberton, so
+that it was not easy to believe that any accident had happened to him.
+
+John had given a glowing account of the proceedings at the house of the
+squire and the family had been much interested and excited by the stirring
+narrative. His mother was perfectly satisfied, as no one had been injured,
+and hoped the great man of Pinchbrook would be brought to his senses. All
+these topics had been fully discussed during the evening. John had
+informed his mother that Captain Benson, who had formerly commanded the
+Pinchbrook Riflemen, intended to raise a company for the war. He mentioned
+the names of half a dozen young men who had expressed their desire to
+join. The family had suggested that this and that man would go, and thus
+the long evening passed away.
+
+"I don't see what has become of Thomas," said Mrs. Somers, when the clock
+struck eleven, as she rose from her chair and looked out of the window.
+
+"Well, I don't see, either," replied John. "I don't believe there is
+anything going on at this time of night."
+
+"I hope nothing has happened to him," continued the anxious mother, as she
+went to the door and looked out, hoping, perhaps, to discover him in the
+gloom of the night, or to hear his familiar step.
+
+"What could have happened to him?" asked John, who did not believe his
+brother was fool enough to fall overboard, or permit any serious accident
+to happen to him.
+
+"I don't know. I can't see what has got the boy. He always comes home
+before nine o'clock. Have you heard him say anything that will give you an
+idea where he is?"
+
+"He hasn't said anything to me."
+
+"Try, and see if you can't think of something," persisted the anxious
+mother.
+
+"He hasn't talked of anything but the war since yesterday morning."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"I don't know, now," answered John, musing. "He said he should like to
+join the army, and go down and fight the rebels."
+
+Mrs. Somers had heard as much from him, but she had given no particular
+attention to his remarks on this subject, for they seemed wild and
+visionary. John's words, under the present circumstances, appeared to be
+full of importance; and taking her stocking, she seated herself before the
+stove, and resumed her knitting. She was silent now, for her heart was
+heavy with the premonitions of impending trouble.
+
+"I will take a walk down to the Harbor, mother, and see if I can find
+anything of him. There may be something going on there that I don't know
+about. He may be at the store, talking about the war with Captain Barney
+and the rest of the folks."
+
+Mrs. Somers offered no objection to this plan, and John put on his cap,
+and left the house. The poor mother brooded upon her trouble for another
+hour, and with every new moment, the trouble seemed more real. The clock
+struck twelve before John returned; and more than once during his absence,
+as she plied her needles, she had wiped away a tear that hung among the
+furrows of her care-worn cheek. She had been thinking of her husband, as
+well as of her son. He was, or soon would be, in the midst of the
+traitors, and she trembled for him. Uncle Wyman was a secessionist; and,
+beyond this, she had not much confidence in his integrity, and if Captain
+Somers came home at all, his property would all be swept away, and he
+would be a beggar.
+
+The events of that day were not calculated to conciliate Squire Pemberton
+towards them, and the farm and the cottage would pass away from them. All
+these things had been considered and reconsidered by the devoted mother.
+Poverty and want seemed to stare her in the face; and to add to all these
+troubles, Thomas did not come home, and, as fond mothers will, she
+anticipated the worst.
+
+John entered the kitchen, and carelessly flung his cap upon the table.
+Mrs. Somers looked at him, and waited patiently to hear any intelligence
+he might bring. But John threw himself into a chair, looking more gloomy
+than before he left the house. He did not speak, and therefore he had no
+good news to tell.
+
+"You didn't see anything of him--did you?" asked Mrs. Somers; but it was a
+useless question, for she had already interpreted the meaning of his
+downcast looks.
+
+"No, mother; there isn't a man, woman, or child stirring in the village;
+and I didn't see a light in a single house."
+
+"What do you suppose can have become of him?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know. Tom is old enough and smart enough to take care of
+himself."
+
+"It's very strange."
+
+"So it is. I haven't any idea what has become of him."
+
+"Did you look around Squire Pemberton's house, where he was seen last?"
+
+"I looked about on both sides of the road, going and coming from the
+Harbor. I whistled all the way, and if he had been any where round, he
+would have whistled back, as he always does."
+
+"What do you _suppose_ has become of him?" demanded the poor mother,
+worried beyond expression at the mysterious disappearance of her son.
+
+"I can't tell, mother."
+
+"Don't you think we had better call up the neighbors, and have something
+done about it?"
+
+"I don't know," replied John, hardly less anxious than his mother.
+
+"I don't suppose they would be able to find him if we did," added Mrs.
+Somers, wiping away the tears from her face.
+
+"I can't think anything has happened to him, mother. If he had been on the
+water, or anything of that kind, I should feel worse about it."
+
+"If I only knew where he was, I shouldn't feel so bad about it," said she;
+and her position, certainly, was a reasonable one.
+
+"What's the matter, sister?" called gran'ther Greene, from his chamber.
+"Hasn't that boy got home yet?"
+
+"No, he hasn't come yet, and I am worried to death about him," replied
+Mrs. Somers, opening the door of her brother's room.
+
+"What o'clock is it?"
+
+"After twelve. Thomas never stayed out so late in his life before. What do
+you suppose has become of him?"
+
+"Law sake! I haven't the leastest idea," answered the old man. "Thomas is
+a smart boy, and knows enough to keep out of trouble."
+
+"That's what I say," added John, who had unlimited confidence in his
+brother's ability to take care of himself.
+
+"I'll tell you what _I_ think, John," said Mrs. Somers, throwing herself
+into her chair with an air of desperation.
+
+But she did not tell John what she thought: on the contrary, she sat
+rocking herself in silence, as though her thought was too big and too
+momentous for utterance.
+
+"Well, what do you think, mother?" asked John, when he had waited a
+reasonable time for her to express her opinion on the exciting topic.
+
+Mrs. Somers rocked herself more violently than before, and made no reply.
+
+"What were you going to say?"
+
+"I think the boy has gone off to Boston, and gone into the army," replied
+she, desperately, as though she had fully made up her mind to commit
+herself to this belief.
+
+"Do you think so, mother?"
+
+"I feel almost sure of it."
+
+"I don't think so, mother. Tom wouldn't have gone off without saying
+something to me about it."
+
+"If he wouldn't say it to me, he wouldn't be likely to say it to you,
+John. It don't look a bit like Thomas to go off and leave his mother in
+this way," moaned the poor woman, wiping away a deluge of tears that now
+poured from her eyes.
+
+"I don't believe he has done any such thing, mother," protested John.
+
+"I feel almost certain about it, now. If the boy wanted to go, and
+couldn't stay at home, he ought to have told me so."
+
+"He did say he wanted to go."
+
+"I didn't think he really meant it. I want my boys to love their country,
+and be ready to fight for it. Much as I should hate to part with them, if
+they are needed, they may go; but I don't like to have them run away and
+leave me in this mean way. I shouldn't feel half so bad if I knew Thomas
+was in the army now, as I do to think he ran away from home, just as
+though he had done some mean thing. I am willing he should go, and he
+wouldn't be a son of mine if he wasn't ready to go and fight for his
+country, and die for her too, if there was any need of it. I didn't think
+Thomas would serve me in this way."
+
+"I don't believe he has."
+
+"I know he's gone. I like his spunk, but if he had only come to me and
+said he _must_ go, I wouldn't have said a word; but to go off without
+bidding us good by--it's too bad, and I didn't think Thomas would do such
+a thing."
+
+Mrs. Somers rose from her chair, and paced the room in the highest state
+of agitation and excitement. The rockers were not adequate to the duty
+required of them, and nothing less than the whole floor of the kitchen was
+sufficient for the proper venting of her emotion.
+
+"Do you mean to say, mother, that you would have given him leave to go,
+even if he had teased you for a month?" asked John.
+
+"Certainly I should," replied his mother, stopping short in the middle of
+the floor. "I'm ready and willing to have my boys fight for their country,
+but I don't want them to sneak off as though they had been robbing a
+hen-roost, and without even saying good by to me."
+
+"If Tom were here, do you mean to say you would let him go?" demanded
+John, earnestly.
+
+"Certainly I do; I mean so. But I don't think there is any need of boys
+like him going, when there are men enough to do the fighting."
+
+"You told Tom he shouldn't go."
+
+"Well, I didn't think he really meant it. If he had--What's that, John?"
+asked she, suddenly, as a noise at the window attracted her attention.
+
+"Only the cat, mother."
+
+"If Thomas or you had asked me in earnest, and there was need of your
+going, I wouldn't have kept either of you at home. I would go to the
+poorhouse first. My father and my brother both fought for their country,
+and my sons shall when their country wants them."
+
+"Then you are willing Tom should go?"
+
+"I am, but not to have him sneak off like a sheep-stealer."
+
+"Three cheers for you, mother!" shouted Thomas, as he threw up the window
+at which he had been standing for some ten minutes listening to this
+interesting conversation.
+
+"Where have you been, Thomas?" exclaimed the delighted mother.
+
+"Open the door, Jack, and let me in, and I will tell you all about it,"
+replied the absentee.
+
+"Come in; the door isn't locked," said John.
+
+He came in; and what he had to tell will interest the reader as well as
+his mother and his brother.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.
+
+
+Tom Somers was an enterprising young man, as our readers have already
+discovered; and when the door of the finished room in the attic of Squire
+Pemberton's house was fastened upon him, he was not at all disposed to
+submit to the fate which appeared to be in store for him. The idea of
+becoming a victim to the squire's malice was not to be entertained, and he
+threw himself upon the bed to devise some means by which he might make his
+escape.
+
+The prospect was not encouraging, for there was only one window in the
+chamber, and the distance to the ground was suggestive of broken limbs, if
+not of a broken neck. Tom had read the Life of Baron Trenck, and of
+Stephen Burroughs, but the experience of neither of these worthies seemed
+to be available on the present occasion.
+
+As the family had not yet retired, it would not be safe to commence
+operations for some hours. The stale, commonplace method of tying the
+sheets and blankets together, and thus forming a rope by which he could
+descend to the ground, occurred to him; but he had not much confidence in
+the project. He lay quietly on the bed till he heard the clocks on the
+churches at the Harbor strike twelve. It was time then, if ever, for the
+family to be asleep, and he decided to attempt an escape by another means
+which had been suggested to him. If it failed, he could then resort to the
+old-fashioned way of going down on the rope made of sheets and blankets.
+
+The apartment in which Tom was confined was not what people in the country
+call an "upright chamber." The sides of the room were about four feet in
+height; and a section of the apartment would have formed one half of an
+irregular octagon. In each side of the chamber there was a small door,
+opening into the space near the eaves of the house, which was used to
+store old trunks, old boxes, the disused spinning-wheel, and other lumber
+of this description. Tom had been in the attic before, and he remembered
+these doors, through one of which he now proposed to make his escape.
+
+When the clock struck twelve, he cautiously rose from the bed, and pulled
+off his boots, which a proper respect for his host or the bed had not
+prompted him to do before. The house was old, and the floors had a
+tendency to creak beneath his tread. With the utmost care, he crawled on
+his hands and knees to one of the doors of the lumber hole, which he
+succeeded in opening without much noise.
+
+Making his way in among the old boxes, trunks, and spinning-wheels, he was
+fully embarked in his difficult venture. The dust which he stirred up in
+his progress produced an almost irresistible desire to sneeze, which Lord
+Dundreary might have been happy to indulge, but which might have been
+fatal to the execution of Tom Somers's purpose. He rubbed his nose, and
+held his handkerchief over the intractable member, and succeeded in
+overcoming its dangerous tendency. His movements were necessarily very
+slow, for he was in constant dread lest some antiquated relic of the past
+should tumble over, and thus disturb the slumbers of the family who
+occupied the chambers below.
+
+But in spite of the perils and difficulties that environed his path, there
+was something exciting and exhilarating in the undertaking. It was a real
+adventure, and, as such, Tom enjoyed it. As he worked his way through the
+labyrinth of antiquities, he could not but picture to himself the surprise
+and chagrin of Squire Pemberton, when he should come up to the attic
+chamber to wreak his vengeance upon him. He could see the magnate of
+Pinchbrook start, compress his lips and clinch his fists, when he found
+the bird had flown.
+
+"Better not crow till I get out of the woods," said he to himself, while
+his imagination was still busy upon the agreeable picture.
+
+After a series of trials and difficulties which our space does not permit
+us to describe in full, Tom emerged from the repository of antiquities,
+and stood in the open space in front of the finished chamber. With one
+boot in each hand, he felt his way to the stairs, and descended to the
+entry over the front door. All obstacles now seemed to be overcome, for he
+had nothing to do but go down stairs and walk out.
+
+It often happens, amid the uncertainties of this unstable world, that we
+encounter the greatest trials and difficulties precisely where we expect
+to find none. As Tom walked along the entry, with one hand on the rail
+that protected the staircase to guide him, he struck his foot against the
+pole upon which Fred Pemberton had suspended the flag out of the window.
+It was very careless of the squire, when he took the flag in, to leave the
+stick in that unsafe position, for one of his own family might have
+stumbled against it, and broken a leg or an arm, or possibly a neck; and
+if it might have been a "cause of offence" to one of the Pembertons, it
+certainly laid a grievous burden upon the shoulders of poor Tom Somers.
+
+When the pole fell, it made a tremendous racket, as all poles will when
+they fall just at the moment when they ought to stand up, and be decent
+and orderly. This catastrophe had the effect to quicken the steps of the
+young man. He reached the stairs, and had commenced a rapid descent, when
+the door of the squire's room, which was on the lower floor, opened, and
+Tom found himself flanked in that direction.
+
+"Who's there? What's that?" demanded the squire, in hurried, nervous
+tones.
+
+Tom was so impolite as to make no reply to these pressing interrogatories,
+but quickly retreated in the direction from which he had come.
+
+"Wife, light the lamp, quick," said the squire, in the hall below.
+
+Just then a door opened on the other side of the entry where Tom stood,
+and he caught a faint glimpse of a figure robed in white. Though it was
+the solemn hour of midnight, and Tom, I am sorry to say, had read the
+Three Spaniards, and Mysteries of Udolpho, he rejected the suggestion that
+the "sheeted form" might be a ghost.
+
+"Who's there?" called the squire again.
+
+A romantic little scream from the figure in white assured Tom that Miss
+Susan was the enemy immediately on his front. Then he caught the glimmer
+of the light below, which Mrs. Pemberton had procured, and the race seemed
+to be up. Concealment was no longer practicable, and he seized upon the
+happy suggestion that the window opening upon the portico over the front
+door was available as a means of egress.
+
+Springing to the window, he raised it with a prompt and vigorous hand, and
+before the squire could ascend the stairs, he was upon the roof of the
+portico. Throwing his boots down, he grasped the gutter, and "hung off."
+He was now on _terra firma_, and all his trials appeared to have reached a
+happy termination; but here again he was doomed to disappointment.
+
+"Bow, wow, wow-er, woo, row!" barked and growled the squire's big bull
+dog, when he came to realize that some unusual occurrences were
+transpiring.
+
+The animal was a savage brute, and was kept chained in the barn during the
+day, and turned loose when the squire made his last visit to the cattle
+about nine in the evening. Tom was thoroughly alarmed when this new enemy
+confronted him; but fortunately he had the self-possession to stand his
+ground, and not attempt to run away, otherwise the dog would probably have
+torn him in pieces.
+
+"Come here, Tige! Poor fellow! Come here! He's a good fellow! Don't you
+know me, Tige?" said Tom, whose only hope seemed to be in conciliation and
+compromise.
+
+If Tige knew him, he appeared to be very unwilling to acknowledge the
+acquaintance under the present suspicious circumstances, and at this
+unseemly hour. The brute barked, snarled, howled, and growled, and
+manifested as strong an indisposition to compromise as a South Carolina
+fire-eater. He placed himself in front of the hero of the night's
+adventure, as resolute and as intractable as though he had known all the
+facts in the case, and intended to carry out to the letter the wishes of
+his master.
+
+Tom slowly retreated towards the garden fence, the dog still following him
+up. He had tried coaxing and conciliation, and they had failed. As he
+cautiously backed from the house, his feet struck against a heavy cart
+stake, which seemed to suggest his next resort. He was well aware that any
+quick movement on his part would cause the dog to spring upon him. Placing
+his toe under the stake, he raised it with his foot, till he could reach
+it with his hand, keeping his gaze fixed upon the eyes of the dog, which
+glared like fiery orbs in the gloom of the hour.
+
+Tige saw the stick, and he appeared to have a wholesome respect for it--a
+sentiment inspired by sundry beatings, intended to cure a love of mutton
+on the hoof, or beef on the shelf. The brute retreated a few paces; but at
+this moment Squire Pemberton appeared at the front door, with a lantern in
+his hand. He understood the "situation" at a glance.
+
+"Take him, Tige! Stu' boy!" shouted the squire.
+
+The dog snarled an encouraging reply to this suggestion, and moved up
+towards the fugitive. Tom's courage was equal to the occasion, and he
+levelled a blow at the head of the bull dog, which, if it had hit him
+fairly, must have smashed in his skull. As it was, the blow was a heavy
+one, and Tige retreated; but the shouts of the squire rallied him, and he
+rushed forward to the onslaught again.
+
+Tom, as we have before had occasion to suggest, was a master of strategy,
+and instead of another stroke at the head of his savage foe, with only one
+chance in ten of hitting the mark he commenced swinging it vigorously to
+the right and left, as a mower does his scythe. His object was to hit the
+legs of the dog--a plan which was not entirely original with him, for he
+had seen it adopted with signal success by a fisherman at the Harbor. The
+consequence of this change of tactics was soon apparent, for Tige got a
+rap on the fore leg, which caused him to yelp with pain, and retire from
+the field. While the dog moved off in good order in one direction, Tom
+effected an equally admirable retreat in the other direction.
+
+On reaching the road, he pulled on his boots, which he had picked up after
+the discomfiture of his canine antagonist. Squire Pemberton still stood at
+the door trying to bring Tige to a sense of his duty in the trying
+emergency; but the brute had more regard for his own shins than he had for
+the mandate of his master, and the victor was permitted to bear away his
+laurels without further opposition.
+
+When he reached his father's house, supposing the front door was locked,
+he went to the kitchen window, where he had heard the patriotic remarks of
+his mother. Tom told his story in substance as we have related it.
+
+"Do you mean what you have said, mother?" inquired he, when he had
+finished his narrative.
+
+Mrs. Somers bit her lip in silence for a moment.
+
+"Certainly I do, Thomas," said she, desperately.
+
+It was half-past one when the boys retired, but it was another hour before
+Tom's excited brain would permit him to sleep. His head was full of a big
+thought.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+SIGNING THE PAPERS.
+
+
+Thomas went to sleep at last, and, worn out by the fatigue and excitement
+of the day, he slept long and soundly. His mother did not call him till
+eight o'clock, and it was nine before he reached the store of his
+employer, where the recital of the adventure of the preceding night proved
+to be a sufficient excuse for his non-appearance at the usual hour.
+
+In the course of the week Captain Benson had procured the necessary
+authority to raise a company for three years or for the war. When he
+exhibited his papers, he found twenty persons ready to put down their
+names. A recruiting office was opened at the store, and every day added to
+the list of brave and self-denying men who were ready to go forward and
+fight the battles of liberty and union. The excitement in Pinchbrook was
+fanned by the news which each day brought of the zeal and madness of the
+traitors.
+
+Thomas had made up his mind, even before his mother had been surprised
+into giving her consent, that he should go to the war. At the first
+opportunity, therefore, he wrote his name upon the paper, very much to the
+astonishment of Captain Benson and his employer.
+
+"How old are you, Tom?" asked the captain.
+
+"I'm in my seventeenth year," replied the soldier boy.
+
+"You are not old enough."
+
+"I'm three months older than Sam Thompson; and you didn't even ask him how
+old he was."
+
+"He is larger and heavier than you are!"
+
+"I can't help that. I'm older than he is, and I think I can do as much in
+the way of fighting as he can."
+
+"I don't doubt that," added the captain, laughing. "Your affair with
+Squire Pemberton shows that you have pluck enough for anything. I should
+be very glad to have you go; but what does your father say?"
+
+"He hasn't said anything. He isn't at home. He went away before Sumter was
+fired upon by the rebels."
+
+"True--I remember. What does your mother say?"
+
+"O, she is willing."
+
+"Are you sure, Tom?"
+
+"Of course, I am. Suppose you write something by which she can give her
+consent, and she will sign it."
+
+Captain Benson drew up the document, and when Tom went home to dinner, he
+presented it to his mother for her signature.
+
+"I hope you won't back out, mother," said he, as she put on her
+spectacles, and proceeded to ascertain the contents of the document.
+
+"Back out of what, Thomas?"
+
+"I've signed the muster roll, and I belong to Captain Benson's company
+now."
+
+"You!" exclaimed Mrs. Somers, lowering the paper, and gazing earnestly
+into the face of the young man, to discover whether he was in earnest.
+
+"Yes, mother; you said you were willing, and I have signed the papers; but
+Captain Benson wants your consent in writing, so that there shall be no
+mistake about it."
+
+The mother read the paper in silence and sadness, for the thought of
+having her noble boy exposed to the perils of the camp and the march, the
+skirmish and the battle, was terrible, and nothing but the most exalted
+patriotism could induce a mother to give a son to his country.
+
+"I don't want to sign this paper, Thomas," said she, when she had finished
+reading it.
+
+"Have you forgot what you said the other night, mother?"
+
+"No, I haven't forgot it, and I feel now just as I did then. If there is
+any real need of your going, I am willing you should go."
+
+"Need? Of course there is need of soldiers. The President wasn't joking
+when he called for seventy-five thousand men."
+
+"But there are enough to go without you."
+
+"That's just what everybody might say, and then there wouldn't be anybody
+to go."
+
+"But you are young, and not very strong."
+
+"I'm old enough, and strong enough. When I can get a day to myself, I
+don't think it's any great hardship to carry father's heavy fowling-piece
+from sunrise to sunset; and I guess I can stand it to carry a musket as
+long as any of them."
+
+"You are only a boy."
+
+"I shall be a man soon enough."
+
+"When you have gone, John will want to go too."
+
+"No, mother, I don't want to go into the army," said John, with a sly wink
+at his brother. "I shall never be a soldier if I can help it."
+
+"What am I going to do, if you all go off and leave me?" added Mrs.
+Somers, trying hard to keep down a tear which was struggling for birth in
+her fountain of sorrows.
+
+"I don't think you will want for anything, mother. I'm sure I wouldn't
+leave you, if I thought you would. I don't get but two dollars and a half
+a week in the store, and I shall have eleven dollars a month in the army,
+and it won't cost me any thing for board or clothes. I will send every
+dollar I get home to you."
+
+"You are a good boy, Thomas," replied Mrs. Somers, unable any longer to
+restrain the tear.
+
+"I know you and John both will do every thing you can for me. If your
+father was only at home, I should feel different about it."
+
+"He would believe in my fighting for my country, if he were here."
+
+"I know he would," said Mrs. Somers, as she took the pen which Thomas
+handed her, and seated herself at the table. "If you are determined to go,
+I suppose you will go, whether I am willing or not."
+
+"No, mother, I will not," added Thomas, decidedly. "I shouldn't have
+signed the muster roll if you hadn't said you were willing. And if you say
+now that you won't consent, I will take my name off the paper."
+
+"But you want to go--don't you?"
+
+"I do; there's no mistake about that: but I won't go if you are not
+willing."
+
+Mrs. Somers wrote her name upon the paper. It was a slow and difficult
+operation to her, and during the time she was thus occupied, the rest of
+the family watched her in silent anxiety. Perhaps, if she had not
+committed herself on the eventful night when she fully believed that
+Thomas had run away and joined the army, she might have offered more and
+stronger objections than she now urged. But there was a vein of patriotism
+in her nature, which she had inherited from her father, who had fought at
+Bunker Hill, Brandywine, and Germantown, and which had been exemplified in
+the life of her brother; and this, more than any other consideration,
+induced her to sign the paper.
+
+Thousands of loving and devoted mothers have given their sons to their
+country in the same holy enthusiasm that inspired her. She was not a
+solitary instance of this noble sacrifice, and if both her sons had been
+men, instead of boys, she would not have interposed a single objection to
+their departure upon a mission so glorious as that to which Thomas had now
+devoted himself.
+
+"There's my name, Thomas," said his mother, as she took off her
+spectacles. "I've done it, and you have my free consent. You've always
+been a good boy, and I hope you will always be a good soldier."
+
+"I shall always try to do my duty, mother; and if ever I turn my back to a
+rebel, I hope you'll disown me."
+
+"Good, Tom!" exclaimed John, who had been deeply interested in the event
+of the hour.
+
+"Well, Thomas, I'd rather face two rebels than that bull dog you fit with
+t'other night," added gran'ther Greene. "You are as bold as a lion,
+Thomas."
+
+"Do you think I can stand it, gran'ther?" added Tom, with a smile.
+
+"Stand it? Well, Thomas, it's a hard life to be a soldier, and I know
+something about it. When we marched from--"
+
+"Dinner's ready," interposed Mrs. Somers, for gran'ther Greene had marched
+that march so many times that every member of the family knew it by heart.
+
+"There's one good thing about it, Tom," said John: "you have got a
+first-rate captain."
+
+"I'm thankful you are going with Captain Benson, for if there ever was a
+Christian in Pinchbrook, he is the man," added Mrs. Somers.
+
+"And all the company will be your own friends and neighbors," said
+gran'ther Greene; "and that's something, I can tell you. I know something
+about this business. When we marched from--"
+
+"Have some more beans, brother?" asked Mrs. Somers. "You will be among
+your friends, Thomas, as gran'ther says."
+
+"That's a great thing, I can tell you," added the veteran. "Soldiers
+should stick together like brothers, and feel that they are fighting for
+each other, as well as for the country. Then, when you're sick, you want
+friends. When we marched from Sackett's Harbor, there was a young
+feller--"
+
+"Have some more tea, brother?"
+
+"Part of a cup, Nancy," replied the old man, who never took offence even
+when the choicest stories of his military experience were nipped in the
+bud.
+
+After dinner, Thomas hastened back to the store. That day seemed to him
+like an epoch in his existence, as indeed it was. He felt that he belonged
+to his country now, and that the honor of that old flag, which had been
+insulted by traitors, was committed to his keeping. He was taking up the
+work where his grandfather had left it. He was going forth to fight for
+his country, and the thought inspired him with a noble and generous
+enthusiasm, before which all the aspirations of his youth vanished.
+
+As he passed the house of Squire Pemberton, he bestowed a pitying
+reflection upon the old traitor; but his mind was so full of the great
+event which was dawning upon him, that he did not even think of the
+exciting incidents which had occurred there. He had neither seen nor heard
+any thing of the squire since he had escaped from the attic chamber.
+
+Just beyond the squire's house he met Captain Barney, who was riding up to
+the town hall.
+
+"What's this I hear of you, Tom?" demanded the captain, as he reined in
+his horse. "They say you have joined the company."
+
+"Yes, sir. I have."
+
+"Bravo! my boy. Good on your head! You ought to go out as a brigadier
+general. What does your mother say?"
+
+"I have her written consent in my pocket."
+
+"All right. God bless you, my boy!" said the old salt, as he started his
+horse.
+
+"Thank you, sir. There's only one thing that troubles me."
+
+"Eh? What's that, my boy?" demanded Captain Barney as he reined up the
+horse again.
+
+"I suppose you have heard of my scrape at Squire Pemberton's the other
+night."
+
+"Yes; and shiver my timbers if I didn't want to keelhaul the old traitor
+when I heard of it."
+
+"I don't care anything about the scrape, sir; only I'm afraid the squire
+will bother my mother when I'm gone," said Thomas, with some diffidence.
+
+"If he does, he'll settle the matter with Jack Barney," replied the
+captain, decidedly.
+
+"My father may never come back, you know, and if he does he will be a
+beggar. He owes the squire a note, which will be due in June."
+
+"I'll pay it myself!" roared Captain Barney. "Go and fight for your
+country, Tom, like a man. I'll call and see your mother once a week, or
+every day in the week, if you say so. She shall not want for any thing as
+long as I have a shot in the locker."
+
+"Thank you, Captain Barney; thank you, sir."
+
+"I'll take care of your mother, my lad, and I'll take care of the squire.
+He shall not foreclose that mortgage, Tom. Don't bother your head about
+any of those things. You're a good boy, Tom, and I'll keep every thing all
+right at home."
+
+"Thank you, sir," repeated the soldier boy, as Captain Barney started his
+horse again.
+
+The captain was a retired shipmaster, of ample means, and Tom knew that he
+was not only able, but willing, to do all he had promised. His heart was
+lighter; a load had been removed from his mind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE DEPARTURE.
+
+
+At the time of which we write, recruiting officers were not very
+particular in regard to the age of those whom they received into the
+volunteer army. If the young man seemed to have the requisite physical
+qualifications, it was of little consequence what his age was; and Tom
+Somers was tall enough and stout enough to make a very good soldier.
+
+Captain Benson examined the certificate brought to him by the young
+recruit, not, however, because it was deemed a necessary legal form, but
+because he was acquainted with his father and mother, and would not
+willingly have done any thing to displease them. The matter, therefore,
+was disposed of to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned, and Tom
+actually commenced his career as a soldier boy. He immediately resigned
+his situation in the store, for the company now numbered forty men, not
+half a dozen of whom had any knowledge whatever of military drill.
+
+As the volunteers of the Pinchbrook company could ill afford to lose the
+time devoted to drill before they should be mustered into the service of
+the United States, the town voted to pay each man fifteen dollars a month
+for three months. This generous and patriotic action of the town rejoiced
+the heart of Tom Somers, for his mother actually needed the pittance he
+had earned at the store. Mrs. Somers had heard nothing from her husband;
+but the destruction of the Gosport Navy Yard, and the seizure of several
+northern vessels in the harbor of Norfolk, left her little to hope for in
+that direction. Suddenly an impregnable wall seemed to rise up between the
+North and the South, and she not only feared that Captain Somers had lost
+all his worldly possessions, but that he would hardly be able to escape
+himself from the fiery furnace of secession and treason.
+
+To her, therefore, the future looked dark and forbidding. She foresaw that
+she and her family would be subjected to the pressure of want, or at least
+be dependent upon the kindness of friends for support. She had freely
+stated her fears to her children, and fully exhibited the insufficiency of
+the family resources. The vote of the town was a perfect godsend to Tom,
+and a fat legacy from a rich relative would not have kindled a stronger
+feeling of gratitude in his soul.
+
+For the next five weeks, Tom was employed forenoon, afternoon, and
+evening, in the drill, and he soon made himself proficient. The company
+was recruited nearly up to its maximum number, and was then attached to
+the --th regiment, which had just been formed and ordered to Fort Warren.
+
+On the 27th day of May, the company, escorted by the patriotic citizens of
+Pinchbrook, marched to Boston, and Tom took a sorrowful farewell of his
+mother, his brother and sisters, and a score of anxious friends.
+
+"Now don't let the rebels hit you in the backbone, Thomas," said gran'ther
+Green, as he shook the hand of the soldier boy.
+
+"No, gran'ther; if I can't fight, I won't run away," replied Tom.
+
+"You've got good blood in your veins, my boy: don't disgrace it. I don't
+know as you'll ever see me again, but God bless you, Thomas;" and the old
+man turned away to hide the tears which began to course down his wrinkled
+cheek.
+
+"Be a good boy, Thomas," added his mother.
+
+"I will, mother."
+
+"And remember what I've been telling you. I'm not half so much afraid of
+your being killed by a bullet, as I am of your being ruined by bad men."
+
+"You needn't fear any thing of that kind, mother."
+
+"I shall pray that you may be saved from your friends as well as from your
+enemies. We shall see you again before you go off, I hope."
+
+"Yes, mother; we shall not be sent south yet."
+
+"Don't forget to read your Testament, Thomas," said Mrs. Somers.
+
+"I won't, mother," replied the soldier boy, as he again shook hands with
+all the members of the family, kissed his mother and his sisters, and
+hitching up his knapsack, took his place in the ranks.
+
+His heart seemed to be clear up in his throat. During the tender scene he
+had just passed through, he had manfully resisted his inclination to weep,
+but he could no longer restrain the tears. Suddenly they came like a flood
+bursting the gates that confined it, and he choked and sobbed like a
+little girl. He leaned upon his musket, covering his face with his arm.
+
+"It's a hard case," said private Hapgood, who stood next to him in the
+ranks.
+
+"I didn't think it would take me down like this," sobbed Tom.
+
+"Don't blubber, Tom. Let's go off game," added Ben Lethbridge, who stood
+on the other side of him.
+
+"I can't help it, Ben."
+
+"Yes, you can--dry up! Soldiers don't cry, Tom."
+
+"Yes, they do, my boy," said Hapgood, who was a little old man, nearly ten
+years beyond the period of exemption from military duty. "I don't blame
+Tom for crying, and, in my opinion, he'll fight all the better for it."
+
+"Perhaps he will, old un; but I don't think much of a soldier that
+blubbers like a baby. I hope he won't run away when he sees the rebels
+coming," sneered Ben.
+
+"If he does, he'll have a chance to see how thick the heels of your boots
+are," answered the old man.
+
+"What do you mean by that, old un?" demanded Ben.
+
+"Attention--company! Shoulder--arms! Forward--march!" said the captain;
+and the discussion was prevented from proceeding any further.
+
+The band, which was at the head of the citizens' column, struck up an
+inspiring march, and Tom dried his tears. The escort moved off, followed
+by the company. They passed the little cottage of Captain Somers, and Tom
+saw the whole family except John, who was in the escort, standing at the
+front gate. The old soldier swung his hat, Tom's sisters and his mother
+waved their handkerchiefs; but when they saw the soldier boy, they had to
+use them for another purpose. Tom felt another upward pressure in the
+region of the throat; but this time he choked down his rising emotions,
+and saved himself from the ridicule of his more callous companion on the
+left.
+
+In violation of military discipline, he turned his head to take one last,
+fond look at the home he was leaving behind. It might be the last time he
+should ever gaze on that loved spot, now a thousand times more dear than
+ever before. Never had he realized the meaning of home; never before had
+he felt how closely his heart's tendrils were entwined about that hallowed
+place. Again, in spite of his firmness and fortitude, and in spite of the
+sneers of Ben Lethbridge, he felt the hot tears sliding down his cheek.
+
+When he reached the brow of the hill which would soon hide the little
+cottage from his view, perhaps forever, he gazed behind him again, to take
+his last look at the familiar spot. His mother and sister still stood at
+the front gate watching the receding column in which the son and the
+brother was marching away to peril and perhaps death.
+
+"God bless my mother! God bless them all!" were the involuntary
+ejaculations of the soldier boy, as he turned away from the hallowed
+scene.
+
+But the memory of that blessed place, sanctified by the presence of those
+loving and devoted ones, was shrined in the temple of his heart, ever to
+go with him in camp and march, in the perils of battle and siege, to keep
+him true to his God, true to himself, and true to those whom he had left
+behind him. That last look at home and those that make it home, like the
+last fond gaze we bestow on the loved and the lost, was treasured up in
+the garner of the heart's choicest memories, to be recalled in the solemn
+stillness of the midnight vigil, amid the horrors of the battle-field when
+the angry strife of arms had ceased, and in the gloom of the soldier's
+sick bed when no mother's hand was near to lave the fevered brow.
+
+The moment when he obtained his last view of the home of his childhood
+seemed like the most eventful period of his existence. His heart grew big
+in his bosom, and yet not big enough to contain all he felt. He wept
+again, and his tears seemed to come from deeper down than his eyes. He did
+not hear the inspiring strains of the band, or the cheers that greeted the
+company as they went forth to do and die for their country's imperilled
+cause.
+
+"Blubbering again, Tom?" sneered Ben Lethbridge. "I thought you was more
+of a man than that, Tom Somers."
+
+"I can't help it, Ben," replied Tom, vainly struggling to subdue his
+emotions.
+
+"Better go back, then. We don't want a great baby in the ranks."
+
+"It's nateral, Ben," said old Hapgood. "He'll get over it when he sees the
+rebels."
+
+"Don't believe he will. I didn't think you were such a great calf, Tom."
+
+"Shet up, now, Ben," interposed Hapgood. "I'll bet my life he'll stand
+fire as well as you will. I've been about in the world some, and I reckon
+I've as good an idee of this business as you have. Tom's got a heart under
+his ribs."
+
+"I'll bet he runs away at the first fire."
+
+"I'll bet he won't."
+
+"I know I won't!" exclaimed Tom, with energy, as he drew his coat sleeve
+across his eyes.
+
+"It isn't the cock that crows the loudest that will fight the best," added
+the old man. "I'll bet Tom will be able to tell you the latest news from
+the front, where the battle's the hottest. I fit my way up to the city of
+Mexico long er old Scott, and I've heard boys crow afore today."
+
+"Look here, old un! If you mean to call me a coward, why don't you say so,
+right up and down?" growled Ben.
+
+"Time'll tell, my boy. You don't know what gunpowder smells like yet. If
+you'd been with the fust Pennsylvany, where I was, you'd a-known sunthin
+about war. Now, shet up, Ben; and don't you worry Tom any more."
+
+But Tom was no longer in a condition to be worried. Though still sad at
+the thought of the home and friends he had left behind, he had reduced his
+emotions to proper subjection, and before the column reached Boston, he
+had even regained his wonted cheerfulness. The procession halted upon the
+wharf, where the company was to embark on a steamer for Fort Warren. As
+the boat which was to convey them to the fort had not yet arrived, the men
+were permitted to mingle with their friends on the wharf, and, of course,
+Tom immediately sought out his brother. He found him engaged in a spirited
+conversation with Captain Benson.
+
+"What is it, Jack?" asked the soldier boy.
+
+"I want to join this company, and the captain won't let me," replied John.
+
+"You, Jack!"
+
+"Yes, I."
+
+"Did mother say so?"
+
+"No, but she won't care."
+
+"Did you ask her?"
+
+"No; I didn't think of going till after I started from home."
+
+"Don't think of it, Jack. It would be an awful blow to mother to have both
+of us go."
+
+For half an hour Tom argued the matter with John; but the military
+enthusiasm of the latter had been so aroused by the march and its
+attendant circumstances, that he could not restrain his inclination.
+
+"If I don't join this company, I shall some other," said John.
+
+"I shall have to go home again, if you do; for I won't have mother left
+alone. We haven't been mustered in yet. Besides, I thought you wanted to
+go into the navy."
+
+"I do; but I'm bound to go somehow," replied John.
+
+But what neither Tom nor Captain Benson could do, was accomplished by
+Captain Barney, who declared John should go home with him if he had to
+take him by the collar. The ardent young patriot yielded as gracefully as
+he could to this persuasion.
+
+The steamer having arrived, the soldiers shook hands with their friends
+again, went on board, and, amid the hearty cheers of the citizens of
+Pinchbrook, were borne down the bay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+COMPANY K.
+
+
+Tom Somers felt that he was now a soldier indeed. While the company
+remained in Pinchbrook, he had slept every night in his own bed, and taken
+his meals in the kitchen of the little cottage. He fully realized that he
+had bade a long farewell to all the comforts and luxuries of home. That
+day, for the first time, he was to partake of soldiers' fare, and that
+night, for the first time, he was to sleep upon a soldier's bed. These
+thoughts did not make him repine, for before he signed the muster roll, he
+had carefully considered, with the best information he could obtain, what
+hardships and privations he would be called to endure. He had made up his
+mind to bear all things without a murmur for the blessed land of his
+birth, which now called upon her sons to defend her from the parricidal
+blow of the traitor.
+
+Tom had not only made up his mind to bear all these things, but to bear
+them patiently and cheerfully. He had a little theory of his own, that
+rather more than half of the discomforts of this mortal life exist only in
+the imagination. If he only _thought_ that every thing was all right, it
+went a great way towards making it all right--a very comforting and
+satisfactory philosophy, which reduced the thermometer from ninety down to
+seventy degrees on a hot day in summer, and raised it from ten to forty
+degrees on a cold day in winter; which filled his stomach when it was
+empty, alleviated the toothache or the headache, and changed snarling
+babies into new-fledged angels. I commend Tom's philosophy to the
+attention and imitation of all my young friends, assured that nothing will
+keep them so happy and comfortable as a cheerful and contented
+disposition.
+
+"Tom Somers," said a voice near him, cutting short the consoling
+meditation in which he was engaged.
+
+His name was pronounced in a low and cautious tone, but the voice sounded
+familiar to him, and he turned to ascertain who had addressed him. He did
+not discover any person who appeared to be the owner of the voice, and was
+leaving the position he had taken on the forward deck of the steamer, when
+his name was repeated, in the same low and cautious tone.
+
+"Who is it? Where are you?" said Tom, looking all about him, among the
+groups of soldiers who were gathered on various parts of the deck,
+discussing the present and the future.
+
+"Here, Tom," replied the voice, which sounded more familiar every time he
+heard it.
+
+He turned his eye in the direction from which the sound proceeded, and
+there, coiled up behind a heap of barrels and boxes, and concealed by a
+sail-cloth which had been thrown over the goods to protect them from an
+expected shower, he discovered Fred Pemberton.
+
+"What in the name of creation are you doing there, Fred?" exclaimed Tom,
+laughing at the ludicrous attitude of the embryo secessionist.
+
+"Hush! Don't say a word, Tom. Sit down here where I can talk with you,"
+added Fred.
+
+"What are you doing here?"
+
+"I'll tell if you will keep quiet a moment. Is the company full?"
+
+"What company?"
+
+"Captain Benson's, of course."
+
+"No."
+
+"I want to join."
+
+"You!" ejaculated Tom.
+
+"Come, come, Tom, no blackguarding now. You and I used to be good
+friends."
+
+"I've nothing against you, Fred--that is, if you're not a traitor."
+
+"I want to join the company."
+
+"Is your father willing?"
+
+"Of course he isn't; but that needn't make any difference."
+
+"But you don't believe in our cause, Fred. We don't want a traitor in the
+ranks."
+
+"Hang the cause! I want to go with the company."
+
+"Hang the cause? Well, I reckon that's a good recommendation."
+
+"I'm all right on that."
+
+"Are you willing to take the oath of allegiance, and swear to sustain the
+flag of your country?"
+
+"Of course I am. I only followed the old man's lead; but I have got enough
+of it. Do you think Captain Benson will take me into the company?"
+
+"Perhaps he will."
+
+"Ask him--will you? You needn't say I'm here, you know."
+
+"But what will your father say?"
+
+"I don't care what he says."
+
+Tom thought, if Fred didn't care, he needn't, and going aft, he found the
+captain, and proposed to him the question.
+
+"Take him--yes. We'll teach him loyalty and patriotism, and before his
+time is out, we will make him an abolitionist," replied Captain Benson.
+"What will his father say?"
+
+"His father doesn't know anything about it. Fred ran away, and followed
+the company into the city."
+
+"Squire Pemberton is a traitor, and I believe the army will be the best
+school in the world for his son," added the captain. "It will be better
+for him to be with us than to be at home. If it was the son of any other
+man in Pinchbrook, I wouldn't take him without the consent of his father;
+as it is, I feel perfectly justified in accepting him."
+
+Tom hastened to the forward deck to report the success of his mission. The
+result was, that Fred came out of his hiding-place, and exhibited himself
+to the astonished members of the Pinchbrook company. When he announced his
+intention to go to the war, and, with a pardonable flourish, his desire to
+serve his country, he was saluted with a volley of cheers. Captain Benson
+soon appeared on the forward deck, and the name of the new recruit was
+placed on the enlistment paper.
+
+Fred was seventeen years of age, and was taller and stouter than Tom
+Somers. No questions were asked in regard to his age or his physical
+ability to endure the hardships of a campaign.
+
+The steamer arrived at Fort Warren, and the company landed. After waiting
+a short time on the wharf, the color company of the --th regiment, to
+which they were attached, came down and escorted them to the parade ground
+within the fort. It was a desolate and gloomy-looking place to Tom, who
+had always lived among green fields, and the beautiful surroundings of a
+New England rural district.
+
+If the fort itself looked dreary, how much more so were the casemates in
+which the company was quartered! But Tom's philosophy was proof against
+the unpleasant impression, and his joke was as loud and hearty as that of
+any of his companions. The men were divided off into messes, and they had
+an abundance of work to do in bringing up the company's luggage, and
+making their new habitation as comfortable and pleasant as the
+circumstances would permit.
+
+The next day the Pinchbrook boys were designated as Company K, and placed
+in the regimental line. The limits of this volume do not permit me to
+detail the every-day life of the soldier boy while at Fort Warren, however
+interesting and instructive it might be to our friends. A large portion of
+the forenoon was devoted to squad and company drill, and of the afternoon
+to battalion drill. The colonel, though a very diminutive man in stature,
+was an enthusiast in military matters, and had the reputation of being one
+of the most thorough and skilful officers in the state. Tom Somers, who,
+since he joined the company, had felt ashamed of himself because he was no
+bigger, became quite reconciled to his low corporeal estate when he found
+that the colonel of the regiment was no taller and no heavier than
+himself. And when he heard the high praise bestowed upon the colonel's
+military skill and martial energy, he came to the conclusion that it does
+not require a big man to make a good soldier. With a feeling of
+satisfaction he recalled the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte, when he
+commanded the army of Italy, was scarcely a bigger man than the colonel or
+himself.
+
+The colonel was a strict disciplinarian, and he soon diffused his energy
+throughout the regiment. It made rapid progress in its military education.
+Tom was deeply interested in the details of his new profession, and used
+his best endeavors to do his duty promptly and faithfully. This was not
+the case with all the boys in the company from Pinchbrook, and I am sorry
+to say that some of them, including the brave and chivalric Ben
+Lethbridge, had to sit upon the stool of repentance in the guard room on
+several occasions.
+
+Fred Pemberton was clothed in the uniform of the United States volunteers,
+and we must do him the justice to say that he performed his duty to the
+entire satisfaction of his officers. Fred was a good fellow, and barring
+his treason, which he had derived from his father, was highly esteemed by
+those who knew him. The only stain that had ever rested upon his character
+was removed, and he and Tom were as good friends as ever they had been.
+His motive in joining the army, however, could not be applauded. He
+thought all his friends were going off to the South upon a kind of frolic,
+spiced with a little of peril and hardship to make it the more exciting,
+and he did not like the idea of being left behind. To the sentiment of
+patriotism, as developed in the soul of Tom Somers and many of his
+companions, he was an entire stranger. He was going to the war to
+participate in the adventures of the --th regiment, rather than to fight
+for the flag which had been insulted and dishonored by treason.
+
+Every day the steamers brought crowds of visitors to the fort to see their
+friends in the regiments quartered there, or to witness the drills and
+parades which were constantly succeeding each other. Among them came many
+of the people of Pinchbrook, and Tom was delighted by a visit from his
+whole family. His mother found him so comfortable and contented that she
+returned with half the heavy burden on her soul removed.
+
+While the Pinchbrook boys were generally rejoiced to see their friends
+from home, there was one in the company who was in constant dread lest he
+should recognize a too familiar face in the crowds which the steamers
+daily poured into the fort. Fred Pemberton did not wish to see his nearest
+friends; but after he had been in the company some ten days, just as the
+boys had been dismissed from the forenoon drill, he discovered at a
+distance the patriarchal form of his father.
+
+"My pipe's out, Tom," said Fred, as he rushed into the casemate where a
+group of his companions were resting from the fatigues of the morning.
+
+"What's the matter now, Fred?"
+
+"The old man has just come into the fort."
+
+"Has he?"
+
+"Yes--what shall I do?"
+
+"Keep a stiff upper lip, Fred, and we will put you through all right,"
+said Sergeant Porter.
+
+"What shall I do?" demanded Fred, who, whatever his views in regard to the
+justice or injustice of coercion, did not wish to be taken from the
+company.
+
+"Come with me," said the sergeant, as he led the way into an adjoining
+casemate. "No; nobody else will come," added he, motioning back other
+members of the mess who was disposed to follow.
+
+In the casemate to which Sergeant Porter conducted Fred, there was a pile
+of boxes, in which the muskets of one of the regiments had been packed.
+The fugitive from his father's anxious search was directed to get into one
+of these boxes, from which the sergeant removed the gun rests. He obeyed;
+his confederate put on the lid so as to permit him to receive a plentiful
+supply of air, and other boxes were placed upon that containing the
+runaway.
+
+Squire Pemberton presented himself before Captain Benson, and demanded his
+son. Fred was sent for, but could not be found. Sergeant Porter kept out
+of the way, and not another man in the company knew anything about him.
+The boys were very willing to assist the indignant father in his search,
+but all their efforts were unavailing. The squire examined every casemate,
+and every nook and corner upon the island, but without effect.
+
+"I want my son, sir," said the squire, angrily, to the captain. "I require
+you to produce him."
+
+"I don't know where he is," replied Captain Benson.
+
+"You have concealed him, sir."
+
+"I have not."
+
+The squire appealed to the colonel, but obtained no satisfaction, and was
+obliged to leave without accomplishing his purpose. As soon as he had
+gone, Fred appeared, and the boys laughed for a week over the affair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+IN WASHINGTON.
+
+
+On the 17th of June, the regiment left Port Warren, and after being
+conveyed by steamer to Boston, marched to Camp Cameron. Here the "little
+colonel" displayed his energy and military skill to much greater advantage
+than when within the narrow confines of the fort. The men were not only
+carefully and persistently drilled, but they were educated, as far as the
+circumstances would permit, for the arduous duties of a campaign.
+
+Tom Somers had already begun to feel a soldier's pride in his new
+situation; and though he found that being a soldier boy was not always the
+easiest and the pleasantest thing in the world, he bore his trials with
+philosophical patience and fortitude, and made the most of whatever joys
+the circumstances placed within his reach.
+
+Others grumbled, but he did not. He declared that he had enlisted for the
+war, and meant to take things as they came. It was not exactly agreeable
+to stand on guard for two hours, on a cold, rainy night; but grumbling
+would not make it any the more agreeable, and only made the grumbler
+discontented and unhappy. It did not look like "the pomp and circumstance
+of war," and no doubt most of the boys in the Pinchbrook company would
+have been better satisfied in their own houses in "the village by the
+sea." But most of these men had left their happy homes under the
+inspiration of the highest and truest motives. They were going forth to
+fight the battles of their imperilled country, and this reflection filled
+them with a heroism which the petty trials and discomforts of the camp
+could not impair.
+
+While the regiment was at Camp Cameron, the state colors and a standard,
+procured by the liberality of its friends, were presented; and the
+patriotic speeches delivered on this occasion made a deep impression upon
+the mind and heart of the soldier boy. To him they were real--perhaps more
+real than to those who uttered the burning words. He was in a situation to
+feel the full force of the great sacrifice which the soldier makes for his
+country. He devoted himself, heart and soul, to the cause; and what was
+but an idle sentiment in the mind of the flowery speech-makers, was truth
+and soberness to him who was to meet the foe at the cannon's mouth and at
+the bayonet's point.
+
+"We are off on the 29th," said old Hapgood, one evening, as he entered the
+barrack where Tom was writing a letter to his mother.
+
+"Good! I am glad to hear it. I was just telling my mother that I hoped we
+should not have to stay much longer in this place," replied Tom.
+
+"I think we are having an easy time of it here," added the veteran. "When
+you find out what hunger and fatigue mean, you will learn to be contented
+with such a place as this."
+
+"I'm contented enough; but I want to get into the field, and have
+something done."
+
+"Time enough, my boy. I used to feel just so, Tom, when I went to Mexico;
+but after a while I got so I didn't care what we did or where we went."
+
+Tom added a postscript to his letter, informing his mother of the time
+fixed for the departure of the regiment. The intelligence in this instance
+proved to be correct, for on the appointed day the little colonel marched
+his command into the city, where it was duly embarked on the cars for New
+York. It was a day of excitement, for the streets of the city were
+thronged with people, whose cheers and applause were the benison with
+which the regiment went forth to do and to die for the nation. Tom was
+delighted with this warm reception, but more by meeting his mother and his
+brother and sisters at the station. It was a joyous and yet a sad
+meeting. Mrs. Somers wept; and what mother would not weep to see her son
+go forth to encounter the perils of the battle-field, and the greater
+perils of the camp?
+
+It was a sad parting; and many a mother's heart was torn with anguish on
+that day, when she pressed her noble boy to her bosom, for the last time,
+as she gave him to his country. Cold, stern men, who had never wept
+before, wept then--the flesh that was in their stony hearts yielded its
+unwilling tribute to nature and affection.
+
+"All aboard!" shouted the officers, when the train was ready to depart.
+
+"God bless you, my boy!" sobbed Mrs. Somers, as she kissed her son. "Be
+good and true, and don't forget to read your Testament."
+
+"Good by, mother," was all that Tom could say, as he grasped his musket,
+which John had been holding for him, and rushed into the car.
+
+The train moved off amid the cheers of the thousands who had gathered to
+witness their departure. At this moment, more than ever before, the
+soldier boy realized what he had done when he entered the service. He
+listened to the shouts of the multitude, but he was sad and silent. He
+sank into his seat, and gave himself up to the anguish of the hour. On and
+on dashed the train, and his thoughts still dwelt upon the home and the
+mother he had left behind him.
+
+Our readers can better imagine than we can describe the feelings of the
+soldier boy during that long night. The regiment arrived in New York at
+half-past ten in the forenoon of the following day, and was escorted up
+Broadway by the Sons of Massachusetts. At the Park, it was warmly welcomed
+by the President of the Sons, and as the little colonel was a better
+soldier than a speech-maker, the response was made by the surgeon. By this
+time, Tom was able to enter into the spirit of the occasion, and the
+flattering ovation bestowed upon the regiment was a source of personal
+pride and satisfaction. The little colonel's command was declared to be
+the best drilled and most soldierly body of men which had yet departed for
+the battle-fields of the republic.
+
+The great city was full of wonders to the soldier boy, and during the few
+hours he remained there, he was in a constant whirl of excitement. If the
+mission before him had been less grand and sublime, he could have wished
+to spend a few days in exploring the wonders of the great metropolis; but
+the stupendous events that loomed up in the future, prophetic even to the
+inexperienced eye of youth, engrossed all his thoughts. He partook of the
+bountiful collation in the Park, and was content to march on to scenes
+more thrilling and exciting than the tumult of the busy city.
+
+The regiment took a steamer, at half-past four for Elizabethport, and
+thence proceeded by railroad to Washington, by the way of Harrisburg. Some
+portions of the journey were performed under the most trying
+circumstances. The men were crowded, like sheep, into unsuitable cars, so
+that not only were they subjected to many needless discomforts, but their
+very lives were endangered. On the way, two men were crowded out of a car,
+and, for a time, were supposed to have been killed.
+
+On the 2d of July, they arrived at Washington, and Tom had an opportunity
+to see the "city of magnificent distances," of which he had heard so much.
+The regiment marched from the station, through Pennsylvania Avenue, to
+their camp ground in the rear of the White House. They were received with
+enthusiasm by the people, but the miserable uniforms with which they had
+been supplied, now faded and dilapidated, with the finishing touch of
+destruction given to them by the perilous journey they had made, gave the
+politicians their first lesson on the worthlessness of "shoddy."
+
+The regiment entered the grounds of the White House, and as it passed up
+the avenue, President Lincoln appeared in front of his mansion. The boys
+greeted him with a volley of stunning cheers, which the President
+acknowledged by a series of bows, which were not half so ungraceful as one
+might have expected after reading the descriptions of him contained in the
+newspapers.
+
+To Tom Somers the President was a great institution, and he could scarcely
+believe that he was looking upon the chief magistrate of this great
+nation. He was filled with boyish wonder and astonishment; but, after all,
+he was forced to admit that the President, though a tall specimen of
+humanity, looked very much like the rest of mankind--to borrow a phrase
+from one of his illustrious predecessors.
+
+Tom was too tired to wonder long at the grandeur of the Capitol, and the
+simple magnificence of the President. The tents were pitched, and the
+weary men were allowed a season of rest. In a couple of days, however, our
+soldier boy was "as good as new."
+
+"Come, Tom, it is about time for you too see something of the city," said
+Ben Lethbridge, one afternoon, after the regiment had become fairly
+settled in its new quarters.
+
+"I should like to take a tramp. There are lots of congressmen here, and I
+should like to know what they look like," replied Tom. "I haven't been
+outside the lines since we came here."
+
+"I have; and I'm going again! Fred and I mean to have a good time to-day.
+Will you go?"
+
+"Have you got a pass?"
+
+"A pass! What a stupid! What do you want of a pass? You can't get one.
+They won't give any."
+
+"Then we can't go, of course."
+
+"Bah! What a great calf you are! Don't you want to cry again?"
+
+"Ben, you needn't say cry to me again as long as you live," added Tom. "If
+you do, I'll give you something to cry for."
+
+Tom did not like the style of remark which the other had adopted. He was
+angry, and, as he spoke, his fist involuntarily clinched, and his eye
+looked fierce and determined.
+
+"Come, come, Tom; don't bristle up so. If you are a man, just show that
+you are, and come along with us."
+
+"I say, Ben, I want to know who's a baby or a calf, you or I, before we
+go, I won't stand any more of your lip."
+
+"Will you go with us?" demanded Ben, who was rather disposed to dodge the
+issue.
+
+"What do you mean by calling me a calf and a baby? And this isn't the
+first time you've done it."
+
+"Don't you know that every man in the regiment has been all over the city,
+and without any pass? When I ask you to go, you begin to talk about a
+pass."
+
+"I choose to obey orders," replied Tom.
+
+"O, you daresn't go with us."
+
+"Come along!" said Tom, who had not yet learned to bear the taunts of his
+companion.
+
+"Get your pail."
+
+Tom got his pail, and was immediately joined by Fred and Ben, each of whom
+was also supplied with a pail. There was no water to be had within the
+camp ground, and the men were obliged to bring it in pails from the
+hydrants in the street. A pail, therefore, was quite as good as a written
+document to enable them to pass the guard.
+
+The party thus provided had no difficulty in passing the sentinels. At a
+convenient place outside the line, they concealed the pails, and, for
+three hours, roamed at will over the city.
+
+"Now, Tom, you wanted to see the congressmen?" said Ben, after they had
+"done" the city pretty thoroughly.
+
+"Yes, but I have seen them at the Capitol."
+
+"But don't you want to get nearer to them, and hear them talk?"
+
+"Well, I should like to."
+
+"Come with us, then."
+
+Ben led the way down the avenue, and entered a building not far from the
+railroad station. After passing through a long, narrow entry, they
+ascended a flight of stairs, at the head of which the conductor gave two
+raps. The door was opened by a negro, and they were invited to enter. At a
+table in the middle of the room was seated a foppish-looking man who held
+in his hand a silver box. As he turned it, Tom saw that it contained a
+pack of cards.
+
+"Where are your congressmen?" asked the soldier boy, whose eyes had been
+opened by the appearance of the cards.
+
+"They will be here pretty soon," replied Ben.
+
+The foppish man looked at his watch, and declared they would come in the
+course of five or ten minutes. He then took the cards out of the box, and,
+after shuffling them, returned them to their place. Fred placed a
+"quarter" on the table; the gambler put another by its side, and drew out
+a card from the silver case. Tom did not understand the game; but his
+companion put the quarters in his pocket.
+
+"See that, Tom!" said he. "Got any money?"
+
+"If I have I shall keep it."
+
+"Put down a quarter, and make another."
+
+"No, sir! I'm no gambler!" replied Tom, with emphasis.
+
+"Quite respectable, I assure you," added the blackleg at the table.
+
+"I'm going," said Tom, decidedly.
+
+"Baby!" sneered Ben. "Afraid to play!"
+
+"I _won't_ play! I'm going."
+
+The negro opened the door, and he passed out. Contrary to his expectation,
+he was followed by Fred and Ben.
+
+"Baby is afraid of cards!" sneered Ben, as they passed through the long
+entry.
+
+"Afraid of cards, but not afraid of you," replied Tom, as he planted a
+heavy blow between the eyes of his companion.
+
+Ben Lethbridge returned the blow, and it cost him another, and there was a
+prospect of quite a lively skirmish in the entry; but Fred Pemberton
+interposed his good offices, and effected a compromise, which, like most
+of the political compromises, was only the postponement of the conflict.
+
+"I told you not to call me 'baby,' again," said Tom, as they passed out of
+the building. "I will convince you before I am done that I'm not a baby."
+
+Ben found it convenient to offer no reply to this plain statement of
+facts, and the three soldiers made their way back to the camp, and, having
+obtained their pails and filled them with water at the hydrants, they
+passed the guard without a question.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+ON TO RICHMOND.
+
+
+It so happened that Ben Lethbridge, probably satisfied that it was not the
+fist of a baby which had partially blackened both of his eyes, and
+produced a heavy pain under his left ear, did not demand the satisfaction
+which was needed to heal his wounded honor. The matter was duly discussed
+in the tent of Tom's mess; but our soldier boy, while he professed to be
+entirely satisfied, was willing to meet Ben at such time and place as he
+desired, and finish up the affair.
+
+The other party was magnanimous, and declared that he too was satisfied;
+and old Hapgood thought they had better proceed no further with the
+affair, for both of them might be arrested for disorderly conduct.
+
+"I am satisfied, Ben; but if you ever call me a baby or a calf again, it
+will all have to be settled over again," said Tom, as he laid aside his
+musket, which he had been cleaning during the conversation.
+
+"I don't want to quarrel with you, Tom," replied Ben, "but I wish you
+would be a little more like the rest of the fellows."
+
+"What do you mean by that? I am like the rest of the fellows."
+
+"You wouldn't play cards."
+
+"Yes, I will play cards, but I won't gamble; and there isn't many fellows
+in the company that will."
+
+"That's so," added Hapgood. "I know all about that business. When I went
+to Mexico, I lost my money as fast as I got it, playing cards. Don't
+gamble, boys."
+
+"I won't, for one," said Tom, with emphasis.
+
+"Are you going to set up for a soldier-saint, too?" sneered Ben, turning
+to the old man.
+
+"I'm no saint, but I've larned better than to gamble."
+
+"I think you'd better stop drinking too," added Ben.
+
+"Come, Ben, you are meaner than dirt," said Tom, indignantly.
+
+Old Hapgood was a confirmed toper. The people in Pinchbrook said he was a
+good man, but, they used to add, with a shrug of the shoulders, "pity he
+drinks." It was a sad pity, but he seemed to have no power over his
+appetite. The allusion of Ben to his besetting sin was cruel and
+mortifying, for the old man had certainly tried to reform, and since the
+regiment left Boston, he had not tasted the intoxicating cup. He had
+declared before the mess that he had stopped drinking; so his resolution
+was known to all his companions, though none of them had much confidence
+in his ability to carry it out.
+
+"I didn't speak to you, Tom Somers," said Ben, sharply.
+
+"You said a mean thing in my presence."
+
+"By and by we shall be having a prayer meeting in our tent every night."
+
+"If you are invited I hope you will come," added Tom, "for if prayers will
+do any body any good, they won't hurt you."
+
+"If you will take care of yourself, and let me alone, it's all I ask of
+you."
+
+"I'm agreed."
+
+This was about the last of the skirmishing between Tom and Ben. The latter
+was a little disposed to be bully; and from the time the company left
+Pinchbrook, he had been in the habit of calling Tom a baby, and other
+opprobrious terms, till the subject of his sneers could endure them no
+longer. Tom had come to the conclusion that he could obtain respectful
+treatment only by the course he had adopted. Perhaps, if he had possessed
+the requisite patience, he might have attained the same result by a less
+repulsive and more noble policy.
+
+The regiment remained in Washington about a fortnight. The capital was no
+longer considered to be in danger. A large body of troops had been massed
+in and around the city, and the rebels' boast that they would soon capture
+Washington was no longer heeded. Fear and anxiety had given place to hope
+and expectation. "On to Richmond!" was the cry sounded by the newspapers,
+and repeated by the people. The army of newly-fledged soldiers was burning
+with eagerness to be led against the rebels. "On to Richmond!" shouted
+citizens and soldiers, statesmen and politicians. Some cursed and some
+deprecated the cautious slowness of the old general who had never been
+defeated.
+
+"On to Richmond!" cried the boys in Tom's regiment, and none more
+earnestly than he.
+
+"Don't hurry old Scott. He knows what he is about. I know something about
+this business, for I've seen old Scott where the bullets flew thicker'n
+snow flakes at Christmas," was the oft-repeated reply of Hapgood, the
+veteran of Company K.
+
+The movement which had been so long desired and expected was made at last,
+and the regiment struck its tents, and proceeded over Long Bridge into
+Virginia. The first camp was at Shuter's Hill, near Alexandria.
+
+"Now we are in for it," said Tom Somers, when the mess gathered in their
+tent after the camp was formed. "I hope we shall not remain here long."
+
+"Don't be in a hurry, my brave boy," said old Hapgood. "We may stop here a
+month."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"Don't hope anything about it, Tom. Take things as they come."
+
+But the impatience of the soldier boy was soon relieved; for at daylight
+on the morning of the 16th of July, the regiment was routed out, the tents
+were struck, and at nine o'clock they took up the line of march to the
+southward. It was "on to Richmond," in earnest, now, and merrily marched
+the men, who little knew what trials and sufferings, what scenes of blood
+and death, lay in their path.
+
+The little colonel's command had been put in Franklin's brigade, which
+formed a part of Heintzelman's division; but little did Tom or his
+fellow-soldiers know of anything but their own regiment. The "sacred soil"
+of Virginia seemed to be covered with Federal soldiers, and whichever way
+he turned, columns of troops might be seen, all obedient to the one grand
+impulse of the loyal nation--"On to Richmond."
+
+The great wagons, gun carriages, and caissons rolling slowly along, the
+rattling drums, with here and there the inspiring strains of a band, the
+general officers, with their staffs, were full of interest and excitement
+to the soldier boy; and though the business before him was stern and
+terrible, yet it seemed like some great pageant, moving grandly along to
+celebrate, rather than win, a glorious triumph.
+
+The novelty of the movement, however, soon wore away, and it required only
+a few hours to convince the inexperienced soldiers in our regiment that it
+was no idle pageant in which they were engaged. The short intervals of
+rest which were occasionally allowed were moments to be appreciated. All
+day long they toiled upon their weary way, praying for the night to come,
+with its coveted hours of repose. The night did come, but it brought no
+rest to the weary and footsore soldiers.
+
+Tom was terribly fatigued. His knapsack, which had been light upon his
+buoyant frame in the morning, now seemed to weigh two hundred pounds,
+while his musket had grown proportionally heavy. Hour after hour, in the
+darkness of that gloomy night, he trudged on, keeping his place in the
+ranks with a resolution which neither the long hours nor the weary miles
+could break down.
+
+"I can't stand this much longer," whined Ben Lethbridge. "I shall drop
+pretty soon, and die by the roadside."
+
+"No, you won't," added Hapgood. "Stick to it a little while longer; never
+say die."
+
+"I can't stand it."
+
+"Yes, you can. Only think you can, and you can," added the veteran.
+
+"What do they think we are made of? We can't march all day and all night.
+I wish I was at home."
+
+"I wish I hadn't come," said Fred Pemberton.
+
+"Cheer up! cheer up, boys. Stick to it a little longer," said the veteran.
+
+It was three o'clock the next morning before they were permitted to halt,
+when the boys rolled themselves up in their blankets, and dropped upon the
+ground. It was positive enjoyment to Tom, and he felt happy; for rest was
+happiness when the body was all worn out. A thought of the cottage and of
+his mother crossed his mind, and he dropped asleep to dream of the joys of
+home.
+
+Short and sweet was that blessed time of rest; for at four o'clock, after
+only one brief hour of repose, the regiment was turned out again, and
+resumed its weary march to the southward. But that short interval of rest
+was a fountain of strength to Tom, and without a murmur he took his place
+by the side of his grumbling companions. Ben and Fred were disgusted with
+the army, and wanted to go back; but that was impossible.
+
+Again, for weary hours, they toiled upon the march. They passed Fairfax,
+and encamped near the railroad station, where a full night's rest was
+allowed them. By the advice of Hapgood, Tom went to a brook, and washed
+his aching feet in cold water. The veteran campaigner gave him other
+useful hints, which were of great service to him. That night he had as
+good reason to bless the memory of the man who invented sleep as ever
+Sancho Panza had, and every hour was fully improved.
+
+At six o'clock, the next morning, the regiment marched again. Tom's legs
+were stiff, but he felt so much better than on the preceding day, that he
+began to think that he could stand any thing. In the early part of the
+afternoon his ears were saluted by a new sound--one which enabled him more
+fully than before to realize the nature of the mission upon which he had
+been sent. It was the roar of cannon. On that day was fought the battle of
+Blackburn's Ford; and when the regiment reached its halting-place at
+Centreville, the story of the fight was told by enthusiastic lips.
+Massachusetts men had stood firm and resolute before the artillery and
+musketry of the rebels, and every man who heard the story was proud that
+he hailed from the Old Bay State, and panted for the time when he might
+show himself worthy of his origin, and true to the traditions of the past.
+
+The regiment lay in camp the two following days, and the men had an
+opportunity to recover in some measure from the fatigues of their first
+severe march. Visions of glory and victory were beginning to dawn upon
+them. They had listened to the cannon of the enemy, and they knew that the
+rebels were not many miles distant in front of them. A few days, perhaps a
+few hours, would elapse before the terrible conflict would commence. Some
+of those manly forms must soon sleep in the soldier's grave; some of those
+beating hearts must soon cease to beat forever; but still the brave and
+the true longed for the hour that would enable them to "strike home" for
+the nation's salvation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
+
+
+"Tumble out! Tumble out!" shouted the sergeant, who was in the mess with
+the soldiers we have introduced. "Reveille! Don't you hear it?"
+
+"But it isn't morning," growled Ben Lethbridge.
+
+"I haven't been asleep more than an hour or two," snarled Fred Pemberton.
+
+"Shut up your heads, and turn out!" said the sergeant.
+
+It was the morning of the eventful twenty-first of July, and it was only
+two o'clock when the regiment was roused from its slumbers; but there was
+no great hardship in this fact, for most of the men had been sleeping the
+greater portion of the time during the preceding two days. Tom Somers was
+ready to take his place in the line in a few moments.
+
+"Come, fellows, hurry up," said he to his tardy companions. "The time has
+come, and, I tell you, there'll be music before many hours."
+
+"Where are we going, Tom? Have you any idea?" asked Fred.
+
+"Going down to Manassas Junction, I suppose. That's where the rebels are."
+
+"Do you suppose we shall get into a fight?" asked Ben.
+
+"I don't know; I hope so."
+
+"So do I," returned Ben, faintly; "but I don't like to be broke of my rest
+in this way."
+
+Tom, full of excited anticipations in regard to the events of the day,
+laughed heartily at this reply, and left the tent. The regiment was formed
+in line, but there were two vacancies in the section to which he belonged.
+Fred and Ben had answered to their names at roll call. On some pretence
+they had asked permission to leave the line for a few moments, and that
+was the last that had been seen of them.
+
+"Where do you suppose they are?" said Tom to Hapgood.
+
+"I don't know. I hain't got much confidence in Ben's pluck, and I
+shouldn't wonder if he had run away."
+
+"But that is desertion."
+
+"That's just what you may call it; and I've seen men shot for it."
+
+The regiment remained in line several hours before the order came to move.
+At daylight, while the men were still standing in the road, four soldiers,
+attended by a staff officer, conducted the two missing men of Company K
+into the presence of the regiment.
+
+"These men say they belong to your regiment," said the officer, saluting
+the little colonel.
+
+Captain Benson immediately claimed them, and Fred and Ben were ordered
+into the ranks.
+
+"Cowards--are you?" said the captain. "You shall take your places in the
+ranks, and at the right time we will settle this case."
+
+"I enlisted without my father's consent, and you can't hold me if I don't
+choose to stay," replied Fred Pemberton.
+
+"Next time you must ask your father before you come. It is too late to
+repent now."
+
+"I'm going home."
+
+"No, you're not. Sergeant, if either of those men attempt to leave the
+ranks again, shoot them!" said the captain.
+
+Fred and Ben took their places in the ranks amid the laughter and jeers of
+the company.
+
+"Who's the baby now?" said Bob Dornton.
+
+"You have disgraced the company," added old Hapgood. "I didn't think you
+would run away before the battle commenced."
+
+"I shall keep both eyes on you, my boys, and if you skulk again, I'll obey
+orders--by the Lord Harry, I will!" said the sergeant, as he glanced at
+the lock of his musket. "Company K isn't going to be laughed at for your
+cowardice."
+
+At six o'clock the order came for the brigade to march. It now consisted
+of only three regiments, for the time of one, composed of three months'
+men, had expired while at Centreville; and though requested and importuned
+to remain a few days longer, they basely withdrew, even while they were on
+the very verge of the battlefield. This regiment left, and carried with it
+the scorn and contempt of the loyal and true men, who were as ready to
+fight the battles of their country on one day as on another.
+
+The men knew they were going to battle now, for the enemy was only a few
+miles distant. The soldier boy's heart was full of hope. He knew not what
+a battle was; he could form no adequate conception of the terrible scene
+which was soon to open upon his view. He prayed and trusted that he might
+be able to do his duty with courage and fidelity. To say that he had no
+doubts and fears would be to say that he was not human.
+
+As the brigade toiled slowly along, he tried to picture the scene which
+was before him, and thus make himself familiar with its terrors before he
+was actually called to confront them. He endeavored to imagine the sounds
+of screaming shells and whistling bullets, that the reality, when it came,
+might not appall him. He thought of his companions dropping dead around
+him, of his friends mangled by bayonets and cannon shot; he painted the
+most terrible picture of a battle which his imagination could conjure up,
+hoping in this manner to be prepared for the worst.
+
+The day was hot, and the sun poured down his scorching rays upon the
+devoted soldiers as they pursued their weary march. They were fatigued by
+continued exertion, and some of the weary ones, when the sun approached
+the meridian, began to hope the great battle would not take place on that
+day. Tom Somers, nearly worn out by the tedious march, and half famished
+after the scanty breakfast of hard bread he had eaten before daylight,
+began to feel that he was in no condition to face the storm of bullets
+which he had been imagining.
+
+No orders came to halt at noon, though the crowded roads several times
+secured them a welcome rest: but on marched the weary soldiers, till the
+roar of cannon broke upon their ears; and as they moved farther on, the
+rattling volleys of musketry were heard, denoting that the battle had
+already commenced. These notes of strife were full of inspiration to the
+loyal and patriotic in the columns. A new life was breathed into them.
+They were enthusiastic in the good cause, and their souls immediately
+became so big that what had been body before seemed to become spirit now.
+They forgot their empty stomachs and their weary limbs. The music of
+battle, wild and terrible as it was to these untutored soldiers, charmed
+away the weariness of the body, and, to the quickstep of thundering cannon
+and crashing musketry, they pressed on with elastic tread to the horrors
+before them.
+
+Tom felt that he had suddenly and miraculously been made over anew. He
+could not explain the reason, but his legs had ceased to ache, his feet to
+be sore, and his musket and his knapsack were deprived of their
+superfluous weight.
+
+"God be with me in this battle!" he exclaimed to himself a dozen times.
+"God give me strength and courage!"
+
+Animated by his trust in Him who will always sustain those who confide in
+him, the soldier boy pressed on, determined not to disgrace the name he
+bore. The terrible sounds became more and more distinct as the regiment
+advanced, and in about two hours after the battle had opened, the brigade
+arrived at the field of operations. One regiment was immediately detached
+and sent off in one direction, while the other two were ordered to support
+a battery on a hill, from which it was belching forth a furious storm of
+shells upon the rebels.
+
+The little colonel's sword gleamed in the air, as he gave the order to
+march on the double-quick to the position assigned to him.
+
+"Now, Tom, steady, and think of nothing but God and your country," said
+old Hapgood, as the regiment commenced its rapid march. "I know something
+about this business, and I can tell you we shall have hot work before we
+get through with it."
+
+"Where are the rebels? I don't see any," asked Tom, who found that his
+ideas of the manner in which a battle is fought were very much at fault.
+
+"You will see them very soon. They are in their breastworks. There! Look
+down there!" exclaimed the veteran as the regiment reached a spot which
+commanded a full view of the battle.
+
+Tom looked upon the fearful scene. The roar of the artillery and the crash
+of the small arms were absolutely stunning. He saw men fall, and lie
+motionless on the ground, where they were trampled upon by the horses, and
+crushed beneath the wheels of cannon and caisson. But the cry was, that
+the army of the Union had won the field, and it inspired him with new zeal
+and new courage.
+
+Scarcely had the remnant of the brigade reached the right of the battery,
+before they were ordered to charge down the valley, by Colonel Franklin,
+the acting brigadier. They were executing the command with a dash and
+vigor that would have been creditable to veterans, when they were ordered
+to cross the ravine, and support the Eire Zouaves. The movement was made,
+and Tom soon found himself in the thickest of the fight. Shot and shell
+were flying in every direction, and the bullets hissed like hailstones
+around him.
+
+In spite of all his preparations for this awful scene, his heart rose up
+into his throat. His eyes were blinded by the volumes of rolling smoke,
+and his mind confused by the rapid succession of incidents that were
+transpiring around him. The pictures he had painted were sunlight and
+golden compared with the dread reality. Dead and dying men strewed the
+ground in every direction. Wounded horses were careering on a mad course
+of destruction, trampling the wounded and the dead beneath their feet. The
+hoarse shouts of the officers were heard above the roar of battle. The
+scene mocked all the attempts which the soldier boy had made to imagine
+its horrors.
+
+In front of the regiment were the famous Eire Zouaves, no longer guided
+and controlled by the master genius of Ellsworth. They fought like tigers,
+furiously, madly; but all discipline had ceased among them, and they
+rushed wildly to the right and the left, totally heedless of their
+officers. They fought like demons, and as Tom saw them shoot down, hew
+down, or bayonet the hapless rebels who came within their reach, it seemed
+to him as though they had lost their humanity, and been transformed into
+fiends.
+
+As soon as the regiment reached its position, the order was given to fire.
+Tom found this a happy relief; and when he had discharged his musket a few
+times, all thoughts of the horrors of the scene forsook him. He no longer
+saw the dead and the dying; he no longer heard the appalling roar of
+battle. He had become a part of the scene, instead of an idle spectator.
+He was sending the bolt of death into the midst of the enemies of his
+country.
+
+"Bravo! Good boy, Tom," said old Hapgood, who seemed to be as much at ease
+as when he had counselled patience and resignation in the quiet of the
+tent. "Don't fire too high, Tom."
+
+"I've got the idea," replied the soldier boy. "I begin to feel quite at
+home."
+
+"O, you'll do; and I knew you would from the first."
+
+The shouts of victory which had sounded over the field were full of
+inspiration to the men; but at the moment when the laurels seemed to be
+resting securely upon our banners, the rebel line moved forward with
+irresistible fury. Tom, at one instant, as he cast his eye along the line,
+found himself flanked on either side by his comrades; at the next there
+was a wild, indescribable tramp and roar, and he found himself alone. The
+regiment was scattered in every direction, and he did not see a single man
+whom he knew. There was a moving mass of Federal soldiers all around him.
+The Zouaves had been forced back, and the cry of victory had given place
+to the ominous sounds which betokened a defeat, if not a rout.
+
+The rebels had been reënforced, and had hurled their fresh legions upon
+our exhausted troops, who could no longer roll back the masses that
+crowded upon them. The day was lost.
+
+Tom, bewildered by this sudden and disastrous result, moved back with the
+crowds around him. Men had ceased to be brave and firm; they were fleeing
+in mortal terror before the victorious battalions that surged against
+them.
+
+"It's all up with us, my lad," said a panting Zouave. "Run for your life.
+Come along with me."
+
+Tom followed the Zouave towards the woods, the storm of bullets still
+raining destruction around them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+AFTER THE BATTLE.
+
+
+Tom Somers floated with the tide of humanity that was setting away from
+the scene of disaster and defeat. The panic that prevailed was even more
+fearful than the battle, for wounded and dying men were mercilessly
+trodden down by the feet of the horses, and run over by the wheels of the
+cannon and the baggage wagons. Though the battle was ended, the rebels
+still poured storms of shot and shell into the retreating, panic-stricken
+host.
+
+Tom did not know where to go, for there were panic and death on all sides
+of him. The soldiers were flying in every direction, some of them into the
+very arms of their remorseless enemies. But the woods seemed to promise
+the most secure retreat from the fury of the Black Horse Cavalry, which
+was now sweeping over the battle-field. The Zouave ran in this direction,
+and our soldier boy followed him. Now that the excitement of the conflict
+was over, the enthusiasm which had buoyed him up began to subside. The day
+was lost; all hopes of glory had fled; and a total defeat and rout were
+not calculated to add much strength to his over-tasked limbs.
+
+He was nearly used up, and it was hard work to run--very hard work; and
+nothing but the instinct of self-preservation enabled him to keep the tall
+and wiry form of the Zouave in sight. They reached the ravine, where the
+water was about three feet deep. The shot, and shell, and bullets still
+fell in showers around them, and occasionally one of the luckless
+fugitives was struck down. They crossed the stream, and continued on their
+flight. An officer on horseback dashed by them, and bade them run with all
+their might, or they would be taken.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, get me some water!" said a rebel, who was wounded in
+the leg, to a Zouave, who passed near him.
+
+"You are a rebel, but I will do that for you," replied the Zouave; and he
+gave him a canteen filled with water.
+
+The rebel drank a long, deep draught, and then levelled his musket at the
+head of his Samaritan enemy and fired. This transaction had occupied but a
+moment, and Tom saw the whole. His blood froze with horror at the
+unparalleled atrocity of the act. The Zouave, whom Tom had followed,
+uttered a terrible oath, and snatching the musket from the hands of the
+soldier boy, he rushed upon the soulless miscreant, and transfixed him
+upon the bayonet. Uttering fierce curses all the time, he plunged the
+bayonet again and again into the vitals of the rebel, till life was
+extinct.
+
+"Boy, I used to be human once," said the Zouave, when he had executed this
+summary justice upon the rebel; "but I'm not human now. I'm all devil."
+
+"What a wretch that rebel was!" exclaimed Tom, who seemed to breathe freer
+now that retribution had overtaken the viper.
+
+"A wretch! Haven't you got any bigger word than that, boy? He was a fiend!
+But we mustn't stop here."
+
+"I thought the rebels were human."
+
+"Human? That isn't the first time to-day I've seen such a thing as that
+done. Come along, my boy; come along."
+
+Tom followed the Zouave again; but he was too much exhausted to run any
+farther. Even the terrors of the Black Horse Cavalry could not inspire him
+with strength and courage to continue his flight at any swifter pace than
+a walk.
+
+"I can go no farther," said he, at last.
+
+"Yes, you can; pull up! pull up! You will be taken if you stop here."
+
+"I can't help it. I can go no farther. I am used up."
+
+"Pull up, pull up, my boy!"
+
+"I can't."
+
+"But I don't want to leave you here. They'll murder you--cut your throat,
+like a dog."
+
+"I will hide myself in the bushes till I get a little more strength."
+
+"Try it a little longer. You are too good a fellow to be butchered like a
+calf," added the generous Zouave.
+
+But it was no use to plead with him, for exhausted nature refused to
+support him, and he dropped upon the ground like a log.
+
+"Poor fellow! I would carry you in my arms if I could."
+
+"Save yourself if you can," replied Tom, faintly.
+
+The kind-hearted fireman was sorry to leave him, but he knew that one who
+wore his uniform could expect no mercy from the rebels. They had been too
+terrible upon the battle-field to receive any consideration from those
+whom they had so severely punished. He was, therefore, unwilling to trust
+himself to the tender mercies of the cavalry, who were sweeping the fields
+to pick up prisoners; and after asking Tom's name and regiment, he
+reluctantly left him.
+
+Tom had eaten nothing since daylight in the morning, which, added to the
+long march, and the intense excitement of his first battle-field, had
+apparently reduced him to the last extremity. Then, for the first time, he
+realized what it was to be a soldier. Then he thought of his happy
+home--of his devoted mother. What must she not suffer when the telegraph
+should flash over the wires the intelligence of the terrible disaster
+which had overtaken the Union army! It would be many days, if not weeks or
+months, before she could know whether he was dead or alive. What anguish
+must she not endure!
+
+He had but a moment for thoughts like these before he heard the sweep of
+the rebel cavalry, as they dashed down the road through the woods. He must
+not remain where he was, or the record of his earthly career would soon be
+closed. On his hands and knees he crawled away from the road, and rolled
+himself up behind a rotten log, just in season to escape the observation
+of the cavalrymen as they rode by the spot.
+
+Here and there in the woods were the extended forms of Federals and
+rebels, who had dragged their wounded bodies away from the scene of mortal
+strife to breathe their last in this holy sanctuary of nature, or to
+escape from the death-dealing shot, and the mangling wheels that rumbled
+over the dead and the dying. Close by the soldier boy's retreat lay one
+who was moaning piteously for water. Tom had filled his canteen at a brook
+on the way, and he crawled up to the sufferer to lave his dying thirst. On
+reaching the wounded man, he found that he was a rebel, and the fate of
+the Zouave who had done a similar kindness only a short time before
+presented itself to his mind.
+
+"Water! Water! For the love of God, give me a drop of water," moaned the
+dying soldier.
+
+Tom thought of the Zouave again, and had almost steeled his heart against
+the piteous cry. He turned away.
+
+"Water! Water! If you are a Christian give me some water," groaned the
+sufferer.
+
+Our soldier boy could no longer resist the appeal. He felt that he could
+not be loved on earth or forgiven in heaven if he denied the petition of
+the dying rebel; but before he granted it, he assured himself that the
+sufferer had no dangerous weapon in his possession. The man was deadly
+pale; one of his arms hung useless by his side; and he was covered with
+blood. He was a terrible-looking object, and Tom felt sick and faint as he
+gazed upon him.
+
+Placing his canteen at the lips of the poor wretch, he bade him drink. His
+frame quivered as he clutched the canteen with his remaining hand. The
+death damp was on his forehead; but his eye lighted up with new lustre as
+he drank the grateful beverage.
+
+"God bless you! God bless you!" exclaimed he as he removed the canteen
+from his lips. "You are a Yankee," he added, as he fixed his glazing eyes
+upon Tom's uniform. "Are you wounded?"
+
+"No; I am worn out. I have eaten nothing since daylight, and not much
+then. I am used up."
+
+"Put your hand in my haversack. There is something there," gasped the
+dying man.
+
+Tom bent over him to comply with the invitation; but, with a thrill of
+horror, he started back, as he listened to the death-rattle in the throat
+of the rebel, and saw his eyes fixed and lustreless in death. It was an
+awful scene to the inexperienced youth. Though he had seen hundreds fall
+in the battle of that day, death had not seemed so ghastly and horrible to
+him as now, when he stood face to face with the grim monster. For a few
+moments he forgot his own toil-worn limbs, his craving hunger, and his
+aching head.
+
+He gazed upon the silent form before him, which had ceased to suffer, and
+he felt thankful that he had been able to mitigate even a single pang of
+the dying rebel. But not long could he gaze, awe-struck, at the ghastly
+spectacle before him, for he had a life to save. The words of the
+sufferer--his last words--offering him the contents of his haversack
+recurred to him; but Tom's sensibilities recoiled at the thought of eating
+bread taken from the body of a dead man, and he turned away.
+
+"Why shouldn't I take it?" said he to himself. "It may save my life. With
+rest and food, I may escape. Pooh! I'll not be a fool!"
+
+Bending over the dead man, he resolutely cut the haversack from his body,
+and then returned to the log whose friendly shelter had screened him from
+the eyes of the rebel horsemen. Seating himself upon the ground, he
+commenced exploring the haversack. It contained two "ash-cakes," a slice
+of bacon, and a small bottle. Tom's eyes glowed with delight as he gazed
+upon this rich feast, and, without waiting to say grace or consider the
+circumstances under which he obtained the materials for his feast, he
+began to eat. Ash-cake was a new institution to him. It was an Indian cake
+baked in the ashes, probably at the camp-fires of the rebels at Manassas.
+It tasted very much like his mother's johnny-cake, only he missed the
+fresh butter with which he had been wont to cover the article at home.
+
+The soldier boy ate the bacon, and ate both of the cakes, though each of
+the latter was about the size of a saucer. It was a large meal, even for a
+growing boy; but every mouthful seemed to put a new sinew into his frame.
+While he was eating, he drew the cork from the bottle. It contained
+whiskey. Tom had heard that there was virtue in whiskey; that it was
+invigorating to a tired man, and he was tempted, under these extremely
+trying circumstances, to experiment upon the beverage. He would certainly
+have been excusable if he had done so; but our hero had a kind of horror
+of the article, which would not let him even taste it. He was afraid that
+he should acquire a habit which would go with him through life, and make
+him what Hapgood and others whom he knew were--a torment to themselves,
+and a nuisance to their fellow-beings. Putting the cork in the bottle, he
+threw it upon the ground.
+
+With his renewed strength came renewed hope; but he did not deem it
+prudent to wander about the woods at present: therefore he threw himself
+on the ground under the protecting log to obtain the repose he so much
+needed.
+
+He thought of home, and wondered whether he should ever see the cottage of
+his parents again; and while he was thinking, overcome by the excitement
+and fatigue of the day, he dropped asleep. It was strange that he could do
+so, consciously environed by so many perils; but he had in a measure
+become callous to danger, and he slept long and deep.
+
+When he awoke, it was dark and silent around him. The roar of battle had
+ceased, and the calm of death seemed to have settled upon the scene of
+strife. Tom's bones still ached; but he was wonderfully refreshed by the
+nap he had taken. He had no idea of the time, and could not tell whether
+he had slept one hour or six. He was strong enough to walk now, and the
+first consideration was to escape from the vicinity of the rebel camps;
+but he had no conception of where he was, or what direction would lead him
+to the Federal lines.
+
+A kind Providence had watched over him thus far; had spared his life in
+the fury of battle; had fed him in the wilderness, like Elijah of old; and
+restored his wasted strength. He could only trust to Providence for
+guidance, and, using his best judgment in choosing the direction, he
+entered upon the difficult task of finding his way out of the woods. He
+had walked an hour or more, when, suddenly, three men sprung up in the
+path before him.
+
+"Halt! Who comes there?" demanded one of them.
+
+"Friend!" replied Tom; though he had a great many doubts in regard to the
+truth of his assertion.
+
+"Advance, friend, and give the countersign!"
+
+But the soldier boy had no countersign to give. He had fallen upon a rebel
+picket post, and was made a prisoner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+TOM A PRISONER.
+
+
+Tom could not exactly understand how he happened to be made a prisoner. He
+had certainly moved with extreme caution, and he wondered that he had not
+received some intimation of the presence of the enemy before it was too
+late to retreat. But, as we have before hinted, Tom was a philosopher; and
+he did not despair even under the present reverse of circumstances, though
+he was greatly disconcerted.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded one of the rebel soldiers, when they had duly
+possessed his body, which, however, was not a very chivalrous adventure,
+for the prisoner was unarmed, his gun having been thrown away by the
+friendly Zouave, after he had so terribly avenged his murdered companion.
+
+"I'm a soldier," replied Tom, greatly perplexed by the trials of his
+difficult situation.
+
+As yet he did not know whether he had fallen into the hands of friend or
+foe, for the night was cloudy and dark, and he could not see what uniform
+the pickets wore.
+
+"What do you belong to?" demanded the spokesman of the picket trio.
+
+"I belong to the army," answered Tom, with admirable simplicity.
+
+Our soldier boy, as the reader already knows, had been well "brought up."
+He had been taught to tell the truth at all times; and he did so on the
+present occasion, very much to the confusion, no doubt, of the rebel
+soldiers, who had not been brought up under the droppings of the sanctuary
+in a New England village.
+
+"B'long to the army--do you?" repeated Secesh, who must have thought Tom a
+very candid person.
+
+"Yes, sir, I belong to the army," added the prisoner.
+
+"I s'pose you won't mind telling us what army you belong to, 'cause it
+mought make a difference in our calculations," added the spokesman.
+
+Tom did not know but that it might make some difference in his
+calculations, and for this reason he was exceedingly unwilling to commit
+himself before he ascertained upon which side his questioners belonged.
+
+"Can you tell me where I am?" asked Tom, resolved to use a little strategy
+in obtaining the desired information.
+
+"May be I can," replied the picket.
+
+"Will you do so?"
+
+"Sartin, stranger--you are in the woods," added Secesh; whereat his
+companions indulged in a wholesome chuckle, which assured Tom that they
+were human, and his hopes rose accordingly.
+
+"Thank you," replied Tom, with infinite good nature.
+
+"You say you belong to the army, and I say you are in the woods," said the
+soldier, repeating the double postulate, so that the essence of the joke
+should by no possibility fail to penetrate the cerebellum of his auditor.
+
+Tom was perfectly willing to acknowledge that he was in the woods, both
+actually and metaphorically, and he was very much disturbed to know how he
+should get out of the woods--a problem which has puzzled wiser heads than
+his, even in less perplexing emergencies. He was fearful that, if he
+declared himself to be a Union soldier, he should share the fate of others
+whom he had seen coolly bayoneted on that eventful day.
+
+"Now, stranger, s'pose you tell me what army you b'long to; then I can
+tell you where you are," continued the soldier.
+
+"What do you belong to?" asked Tom, though he did not put the question
+very confidently.
+
+"I belong to the army;" and the two other pickets honored the reply with
+another chuckle. "You can't fool old Alabammy."
+
+There was no further need of fooling "Old Alabammy," for the worthy old
+gentleman, symbolically represented by the rebel soldier, had kindly done
+it himself; and Tom then realized that he was in the hands of the enemy.
+It is true, the balance of the picket trio laughed heartily at the
+unfortunate slip of the tongue made by their companion, but Tom was in no
+condition to relish the joke, or he might perhaps have insinuated himself
+into the good graces of the jolly Secesh by repeating Pat's mysterious
+problem--"Tell me how many cheeses there are in the bag, and I'll give ye
+the whole five;" for, though this is an old joke in the civilized parts of
+the world, it is not at all probable that it had been perpetrated in the
+benighted regions of Secessia.
+
+The announcement of the fact that he was in the hands of the foe, as we
+have before intimated, left Tom in no condition to give or take a joke.
+His heart was suddenly deprived of some portion of its ordinary gravity,
+and rose up to the vicinity of his throat. He drew sundry deep and long
+breaths, indicative of his alarm; for though Tom was a brave boy,--as
+these pages have already demonstrated,--he had a terrible idea of the
+tender mercies of the rebels. His first impulse was to break away from his
+captors, and run the risk of being overtaken by a trio of musket balls;
+for death from the quick action of a bullet seemed preferable to the fate
+which his fears conjured up if he should be taken by the bloodthirsty
+rebels. But the chances were too decidedly against him, and he reluctantly
+brought his mind to the condition of philosophical submission.
+
+"Well, stranger, which army do you b'long to?" said the spokesman of the
+picket trio, when he had fully recovered his self-possession.
+
+"I belong to the United States army," replied Tom, desperately.
+
+"That means the Yankee army, I s'pose."
+
+"Yes, sir; you call it by that name."
+
+"Then you are my prisoner."
+
+"I surrender because I can't help myself."
+
+"Hev you nary toothpick or bone-cracker in your pockets?"
+
+"Any what?" replied Tom, whose dictionary seemed to be at fault.
+
+"Nary pistol, knife, or any thing of that sort?"
+
+"Nothing but my jackknife."
+
+"Any plunder?"
+
+"We piled up our knapsacks and haversacks before we went into the fight.
+Here is my canteen half full of water; I gave the other half to one of
+your soldiers, when he was dying of his wounds."
+
+"Did ye?"
+
+"Now will you be kind enough to tell me where I am?"
+
+"You are inside the lines of our army, about three miles below
+Centreville," replied one of the pickets.
+
+"What time is it?"
+
+"Nigh upon nine o'clock, I should say. One of you fellers must take this
+prisoner to headquarters," he continued, speaking to his companions.
+
+Tom was very agreeably surprised to find that his captors did not propose
+to hang, shoot, or bayonet him; and the Southern Confederacy rose a few
+degrees in his estimation. Certainly the men who had taken him were not
+fiends, and he began to hope that his situation as a prisoner would not be
+so terrible as his fancy had pictured it.
+
+One of the men was deputed to conduct him to the officer of the guard; and
+he walked along by the side of the soldier through the woods, in the
+direction from which he had just come.
+
+"Can you tell me how the battle went at last?" asked Tom, as they pursued
+their way through the forest.
+
+"We whipped you all to pieces. Your army hasn't done running yet. We shall
+take Washington to-morrow, and Jeff Davis will be in the White House
+before the week is out."
+
+"Have you taken many prisoners?" asked Tom, who could not dispute the
+position of the rebel soldier.
+
+"About fifty thousand, I b'lieve," replied Secesh, with refreshing
+confidence.
+
+Tom indulged in a low whistle, but his companion could not tell whether it
+was an expression of regret or incredulity. If they had stood on an
+equality, Tom would probably have suggested that the figures should be
+interpreted "over the left"--an idiosyncrasy in language which he had
+imported from Pinchbrook, but which may not be wholly unintelligible to
+our young readers.
+
+From his conductor he obtained some particulars of the battle and its
+result, which were afterwards more fully set forth in General Beauregard's
+official report, and which would have read better on the pages of Sinbad
+the Sailor than in the folios of a military despatch. But the Secesh
+soldier's "facts and figures" were comforting to Tom, who still had a
+stronger interest in the condition of the good cause, after the heavy blow
+it had received, than he had in his own individual welfare. Like too heavy
+a dose of poison, the magnitude of the stories refuted and defeated them.
+The soldier boy listened in respectful silence, but he was utterly
+incredulous. It was even possible that the Union army had won a victory,
+after all, though he was not very sanguine on this point.
+
+He was ultimately conducted to the headquarters of the regiment to which
+his captors belonged, and then turned into a lot with about twenty others,
+who were strongly guarded. Tom joined his companions in misery, most of
+whom, worn out by the fatigues of the day, were sleeping soundly upon the
+ground. Only two or three of them were awake; but these were strangers to
+him, and he was unable to obtain any information from them concerning any
+of his friends in the regiment.
+
+It began to rain shortly after Tom joined his fellow-prisoners; but there
+was no shelter for them. They had neither blankets nor great coats, yet
+this did not seem to disturb them. Our soldier boy threw himself upon the
+ground, but the nap he had taken under the side of the log set his eyes
+wide open for a time. He could only think of home, his mother and sisters,
+and John, by this time snugly coiled away in the bed where he had been
+wont to dream of the glories of war. He had cast his fears to the winds
+when he found that his captors did not intend to butcher him, and he could
+not help thinking that his situation might have been worse.
+
+Those with whom he had spoken told him they had eaten nothing since
+morning; and in this respect he was far better off than his companions
+were. The only thing that troubled him was the thought of the anguish
+which his mother must suffer, when she heard of the battle. When the
+regiment should be gathered together again, he would be reported as
+"missing," and this would be a terrible word to her, for it meant killed,
+wounded, or a prisoner. If he could only assure her that he still lived
+and was uninjured, he would have been happy--happy in spite of the
+drenching rain--happy in spite of the prospective dungeon, and the
+hardships to which he might be subjected. He felt that he had faithfully
+performed his duty. When he began to be drowsy, he settled himself in the
+most comfortable place he could find on the ground, and thanked God that
+he had been spared his life through the perils of that awful day, and more
+fervently that he had been enabled to do his duty like a good soldier; and
+then, with the Giver of all Good, the Fountain of all Mercy, in his heart,
+he fell asleep.
+
+He slept several hours, and waked up to find himself as thoroughly soaked
+as though he had just come out of the river. There was no help for it, and
+it was no use to grumble. After walking to and fro for half an hour, he
+lay down again, and, between sleeping and waking, finished the night;
+uncomfortably, it is true, and yet without any positive suffering. There
+were hundreds, if not thousands, who were enduring the agony of fearful
+wounds through that long night; who were lying alone and uncared for where
+they had fallen in the deadly strife; who were dying every hour, away from
+their homes and friends, and with no kind hand to minister to their
+necessities, with no sweet voice of a loved one to smooth their passage
+down to the dark, cold grave.
+
+Tom thought of these, for he had seen them in his path, and he felt that
+he had no cause to complain--that he ought to be cheerful and happy. At
+the dawn of the day he and his fellow-prisoners were marched to Sudley
+Church, where they were to be confined until they could be sent to
+Richmond. Here Tom found a captain belonging to his regiment; but neither
+could give any information to the other in regard to their friends.
+
+"I shall not stay here long," said the captain, in a whisper, when they
+had become better acquainted. "I intend to leave to-night."
+
+"Can't I go with you?" asked Tom.
+
+"You can go, but we had better not go together."
+
+Tom thought for a while, and determined upon an attempt to escape. During
+the day, he carefully examined the premises, and decided upon his mode of
+operations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+A PERPLEXING QUESTION.
+
+
+Tom Somers, who had had some experience, in a small way, in the kind of
+business now before him, was filled with hope when he had adopted his
+plan. He was a resolute and energetic young man, and to resolve upon any
+thing was almost equivalent to doing it. There were a great many
+difficulties in the way of success, it is true; but, nothing daunted by
+these, he determined to persevere. The church in which the prisoners were
+confined was carefully guarded on the exterior, and the sentinels carried
+loaded muskets in their hands--so that the affair before him was more
+hazardous and trying than that of escaping from the attic chamber of
+Squire Pemberton's house in Pinchbrook.
+
+If he succeeded in making his way out of the church and eluding the guard
+which surrounded it, even then his trials would only have commenced; for
+there were many miles of hostile country between him and Washington,
+whither he supposed the Federal army had been driven. The captain who
+intended to escape at the same time gave him some information which would
+be of service to him in finding his way to the Potomac. He charged him
+particularly to follow the railroad, which would conduct him to
+Alexandria, in the vicinity of which he would probably find the regiment.
+
+At dark the prisoners disposed of themselves as well as they could for the
+night. Tom saw the captain go through all the forms of preparing for a
+comfortable lodging, and he did the same himself. For hours he lay
+ruminating upon his purpose. When it was midnight, he thought it was time
+for him to commence the enterprise. He worked himself along on the floor
+till he reached the principal entrance. The door was open, as it had been
+all day, to enable the guards to obtain an occasional view of the
+prisoners.
+
+The sentinels were evidently in no condition to discharge their duties
+with fidelity, for they had been marching and fighting for two or three
+days, and were nearly exhausted. Leaning against the door, Tom discovered
+a musket, which the careless guard had left there. On the floor in the
+entry lay two rebel soldiers. They had stretched themselves across the
+threshold of the door, so that no one could pass in or out of the church
+without stepping over them.
+
+Tom carefully rose from his recumbent posture, and took possession of the
+musket. Then, with the utmost prudence, he stepped over the bodies of the
+sleeping soldiers; but with all his circumspection, he could not prevent
+one of his shoes from squeaking a little, and it required only a particle
+of noise to rouse the guard.
+
+"Who goes there?" demanded one of them, springing to his feet.
+
+"Is this the way you do your duty?" replied Tom, as sternly as though he
+had been a brigadier general.
+
+"Who are you?" said the soldier, apparently impressed by the words and the
+tones of him who reproved his neglect.
+
+"Who am I, you sleepy scum! I'll let you know who I am in about ten
+minutes," added Tom, as he passed out at the front door of the church.
+
+"Give me back my gun--won't you?" pleaded the confused sentinel.
+
+"I'll give it back to you at the court-martial which will sit on your case
+to-morrow."
+
+"Who goes there?" challenged one of the sentinels on the outside.
+
+"Who goes there!" added Tom, in a sneering tone. "Have you waked up? Where
+were you five minutes ago, when I passed this post? There won't be a
+prisoner left here by morning. The long roll wouldn't wake up such a
+stupid set of fellows."
+
+"Stop, sir!" said the astonished sentinel. "You can't pass this line."
+
+"Can't I, you stupid fool? I have passed it while you were asleep."
+
+"I haven't been asleep."
+
+"Where have you been, then?" demanded Tom with terrible energy.
+
+"Been here, sir."
+
+"I'll court-martial the whole of you!"
+
+"Stop, sir, or I'll fire at you!" added the soldier, as Tom moved on.
+
+"Fire at me! Fire, if you dare, and I'll rid the army of one unfaithful
+man on the spot!" said the soldier boy, as he raised the musket to his
+shoulder.
+
+"Don't fire, you fool!" interposed one of the men whom Tom had roused from
+his slumbers in the entry. "Don't you see he is an officer?"
+
+"I'll teach you how to perform your duty!" added Tom, as he walked away.
+
+The soldier, governed by the advice of his companion, offered no further
+objection to the departure of Tom; and he moved off as coolly as though he
+had just been regularly relieved from guard duty. He had walked but a
+short distance before he discovered the camp of a regiment or brigade,
+which, of course, it was necessary for him to avoid. Leaving the road, he
+jumped over the fence into a field--his first object being to place a
+respectful distance between himself and the enemy.
+
+The scene through which he had just passed, though he had preserved the
+appearance of coolness and self-possession, had been exceedingly trying to
+his nerves; and when the moment of pressing danger had passed, he found
+his heart up in his throat, and his strength almost wasted by the
+excitement. He felt as one feels when he has just escaped a peril which
+menaced him with instant death. It was singular that the soldier had not
+fired, but the fact that he did not convinced Tom that there is an amazing
+power in impudence.
+
+For half an hour, he pursued his way with haste and diligence, but without
+knowing where he was going--whether he was moving toward Richmond or
+Washington. As the musket which he had taken from the church was not only
+an encumbrance, but might betray him, he threw it away, though, thinking
+some means of defence might be useful, he retained the bayonet, and thrust
+it in his belt. Thus relieved of his burden, he walked till he came to a
+road. As there was no appearance of an enemy in any direction, he followed
+this road for some time, and finally it brought him to the object of his
+search--the railroad.
+
+But then came up the most perplexing question he had yet been called upon
+to decide. To that railroad, as to all others, there were, unfortunately,
+two ends--one of which lay within the Federal lines, and the other within
+the rebel lines. If Tom had been an astronomer, which he was not, the
+night was too cloudy to enable him to consult the stars; besides, some
+railroads are so abominably crooked that the heavenly orbs would hardly
+have been safe pilots. He did not know which was north, nor which was
+south, and to go the wrong way would be to jump out of the frying pan into
+the fire.
+
+Tom sat down by the side of the road, and tried to settle the difficult
+question; but the more he thought, the more perplexed he became--which
+shows the folly of attempting to reason when there are no premises to
+reason from. He was, no doubt, an excellent logician; but bricks cannot be
+made without straw.
+
+"Which way shall I go?" said Tom to himself, as he stood up and peered
+first one way and then the other through the gloom of the night.
+
+But he could not see Washington in one direction, nor Richmond in the
+other, and he had not a single landmark to guide him in coming to a
+decision.
+
+"I'll toss up!" exclaimed he, desperately, as he took off his cap and
+threw it up into the air. "Right side up, this way--wrong side, that way;
+and may the fates or the angels turn it in the proper way."
+
+He stooped down to pick up the cap, and ascertain which way it had come
+down. It came down right side up, and Tom immediately started off in the
+direction indicated. Although he had no confidence in the arbitrament of
+the cap, he felt relieved to find the question disposed of even in this
+doubtful manner.
+
+He kept both eyes wide open as he advanced, for if he had taken the wrong
+way a few miles of travel would bring him to the main camp of the rebels
+in the vicinity of Manassas Junction. He pursued his lonely journey for
+some time without impediment, and without discovering any camp, either
+large or small. He gathered new confidence as he proceeded. After he had
+walked two or three hours upon the railroad, he thought it was about time
+for Fairfax station to heave in sight, if he had chosen the right way--or
+for the rebel camps to appear if he had chosen the wrong way. With the
+first place he was familiar, as his regiment had encamped a short distance
+from it.
+
+He was sorely perplexed by the non-appearance of either of these expected
+points. The country began to look wilder and less familiar as he
+proceeded. The region before him looked rugged and mountainous, and the
+dark outlines of several lofty peaks touched the sky in front of him. But
+with the feeling that every step he advanced placed a wider space between
+him and his captors at Sudley church, he continued on his way till the
+gray streaks of daylight appeared behind him.
+
+This phenomenon promised to afford him a gleam of intelligence upon which
+to found a correct solution of his course. Tom knew that, in the ordinary
+course of events, the sun ought to rise in the east and set in the west.
+If he was going to the north, the sun would rise on his right hand--if to
+the south, on his left hand. The streaks of light grew more and more
+distinct, and the clouds having rolled away, he satisfied himself where
+the sun would appear. Contrary to both wings of his theory, the place was
+neither on his right nor his left, for it was exactly behind him. But his
+position might be upon a bend of the railroad whose direction did not
+correspond with the general course of the road. For half an hour longer,
+therefore, he pursued his way, carefully noting every curve, until he was
+fully convinced that his course was nearer west than north. The sun rose
+precisely as had been laid down in the programme, and precisely where he
+expected it would rise.
+
+It was clear enough that he was not moving to the south; and, satisfied
+that he was in no danger of stumbling upon Richmond, his courage
+increased, and he plodded on till he discovered a small village--or what
+would be called such in Virginia--though it contained only a few houses.
+As he still wore the uniform of the United States army, he did not deem it
+prudent to pass through this village; besides, he was terribly perplexed
+to know what station it could be, and what had become of Fairfax. Though
+he must have passed through the country before, it did not look natural to
+him.
+
+Leaving the railroad, he took to the fields, intending to pass round the
+village, or conceal himself in the woods till he could go through it in
+safety. After walking diligently for so many hours, Tom was reminded that
+he had a stomach. His rations on the preceding day had not been very
+bountiful, and he was positively hungry. The organ which had reminded him
+of its existence was beginning to be imperative in its demands, and a new
+problem was presented for solution--one which had not before received the
+attention which it deserved.
+
+In the fields and forest he found a few berries; but all he could find
+made but a slight impression upon the neglected organ. If Tom was a
+philosopher, in his humble way, he was reasonable enough to admit that a
+man could not live without eating. At this point, therefore, the question
+of rations became a serious and solemn problem; and the longer it remained
+unsolved the more difficult and harassing it became.
+
+After he had rested all the forenoon in a secluded spot, without
+interruption from man or beast, he decided to settle this question of
+rations once for all. If impudence had enabled him to pass a line of rebel
+sentries, it ought to furnish him with a dinner. Leaving his hiding place,
+he walked till he discovered a small house, at which he determined to
+apply for something to eat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+DINNER AND DANGER.
+
+
+The house at which Tom applied for food evidently did not belong to one of
+the "first families," or, if it did, the owner's fortunes had become sadly
+dilapidated. It was built of rough boards, with a huge stone chimney,
+which was erected on the outside of the structure. The humblest fisherman
+in Pinchbrook Harbor would have thought himself poorly accommodated in
+such a rough and rickety mansion.
+
+If Tom's case had not been growing desperate, he would not have run the
+risk of showing himself to any person on the "sacred soil" who was "to the
+manor born;" but his stomach was becoming more and more imperative in its
+demands, and he knocked at the front door with many misgivings, especially
+as his exchequer contained less than a dollar of clear cash.
+
+The inmates were either very deaf or very much indisposed to see visitors;
+and Tom, after he had knocked three times, began to think he had not run
+any great risk in coming to this house. As nobody replied to his summons,
+he took the liberty to open the door and enter. The establishment was even
+more primitive in its interior than its exterior, and the soldier boy
+could not help contrasting it with the neat houses of the poor in his
+native town.
+
+The front door opened into a large room without the formality of an entry
+or hall. In one corner of the apartment stood a bed. At one side was a
+large fireplace, in which half a dozen sticks of green wood were hissing
+and sizzling in a vain attempt to make the contents of an iron pot, which
+hung over them, reach the boiling point. No person was to be seen or heard
+on the premises, though the fire and the pot were suggestive of humanity
+at no great distance from the spot.
+
+A door on the back side of the room was open, and Tom looked out in search
+of the occupants of the house. In the garden he discovered the whole
+family, consisting of a man and his wife, a girl of twelve, and a boy of
+ten. The man was digging in the garden, and the rest of the troupe seemed
+to be superintending the operation. The head of the family was altogether
+the most interesting person to Tom, for he must either shake hands or
+fight with him. He did not look like a giant in intellect, and he
+certainly was not a giant in stature. With the bayonet still in his belt,
+Tom was not afraid of him.
+
+"How are you, people?" said Tom, as he walked towards the family, who with
+one accord suspended all operations, and gave their whole attention to the
+stranger.
+
+"How are ye, yourself?" replied the man, rather gruffly.
+
+"Do you keep a hotel?" demanded Tom, who concealed the anxiety of his
+heart under a broad grin.
+
+"I reckon I don't. What do you want here?"
+
+"I want something to eat," replied Tom, proceeding to business with
+commendable straight-forwardness.
+
+"We hain't got nothin' here," said the man, sourly. "That ain't what ye
+come fur, nuther."
+
+"Must have something to eat. I'm not very particular, but I must have
+something."
+
+"You can't hev it 'bout yere, no how. That ain't what ye come fur,
+nuther."
+
+"If you know what I came for better than I do, suppose you tell me what it
+is," added Tom, who was a little mystified by the manner of the man.
+
+"You air one of them soger fellers, and you want me to 'list; but I tell
+yer, ye can't do nothin' of the sort. I'll be dog derned if I'll go."
+
+"I don't want you to go," protested Tom. "I'm half starved and all I want
+is something to eat."
+
+"Yer don't reelly mean so."
+
+"Yes, I do."
+
+"Where d'yer come from?"
+
+"From down below here. Have you seen any soldiers pass through this
+place?"
+
+"I reckon I hev; but they hain't seen me; and I reckon they won't see me
+very soon;" and the man chuckled at his own cleverness in keeping clear of
+recruiting officers.
+
+"I don't want you, and if you will give me something to eat, you will get
+rid of me very quick."
+
+"Betsey, you kin feed the feller, if yer like, and I'll go over and see
+whar the hogs is."
+
+The man dropped his shovel, and began to move off towards the woods,
+probably to see whether Tom would attempt to detain him. At the same time
+"Betsey" led the way into the house, and the visitor paid no further
+attention to the master.
+
+"We hain't got much to eat in the house," said the woman, as they entered
+the room. "There's some biled pork and pertaters in the pot, and we've got
+some bread, sech as 'tis."
+
+"It will do me very well. I'm hungry, and can eat any thing," replied Tom.
+
+The woman placed a tin plate on the table, and dished up the contents of
+the kettle on the fire. She added some cold hoe cake to the dinner, and
+Tom thought it was a feast fit for a king. He took a seat at the table,
+and made himself entirely at home. The food was coarse, but it was good,
+and the hungry soldier boy did ample justice to the viands. The boy and
+girl who had followed him into the house, stood, one on each side of him,
+watching him in speechless astonishment.
+
+"Where did yer come from?" asked the woman, when Tom had about half
+finished his dinner.
+
+"From down below," replied Tom, rather indefinitely.
+
+"Don't b'long in these yere parts, I reckon?"
+
+"No, marm."
+
+"Where are ye gwine?"
+
+"Going to join my regiment."
+
+"Where is yer rigiment?"
+
+"That's more than I know, marm."
+
+"How long yer been travelling?" persisted the woman, who was perhaps
+afraid that the guest would eat up the whole of the family's dinner, if
+she did not make some kind of a feint to attract his attention.
+
+"Only a few days, marm."
+
+"Kin yer till me what all thet noise was about day 'fore yesterday?"
+
+"Yes, marm; it was a big battle."
+
+"Gracious me! Yer don't say so! Whar was it?"
+
+"Down below Centreville."
+
+"Which beat?"
+
+"The Confederates drove the Yankees off the field," answered Tom,
+suspending business long enough to glance at the woman, and see how the
+intelligence was received.
+
+"Yer don't! Then they won't want my old man."
+
+Tom was unable to determine whether his hostess was Union or "Secesh" from
+her words or her looks. He could not inform her whether they would want
+her old man or not. When he had eaten all he could, he proposed like an
+honest youth to pay for what he had eaten; but Betsey had the true idea of
+southern hospitality, and refused to receive money for the food eaten
+beneath her roof. She had a loaf of coarse bread, however, in which she
+permitted Tom to invest the sum of six cents.
+
+"I am very much obliged to you, marm; and I shall be glad to do as much
+for you, any time," said Tom, as he went towards the front door.
+
+As he was about to open it, his ears were startled by an imperative knock
+on the outside. He stepped back to one of the two windows on the front of
+the house, where he discovered an officer and two "grayback" soldiers. The
+ghost of his grandmother would not have been half so appalling a sight,
+and he retreated to the back door with a very undignified haste.
+
+"Gracious me!" exclaimed the lady of the house. "Who kin thet be?"
+
+"An officer and two soldiers," replied Tom, hastily.
+
+"Then they are arter my old man!" said she, dropping into the only chair
+the room contained.
+
+"Don't say I'm here, marm, and I'll help your husband, if they catch him.
+Tell them he has gone off to be absent a week."
+
+"He'd be absent more'n thet if he knowed them fellers was arter him."
+
+The woman moved towards the front door, and Tom through the back door; but
+as he was about to pass into the garden, he caught a glimpse of one of the
+graybacks in the rear of the house. For a moment his case seemed to be
+hopeless; but he retreated into the room again, just as the woman opened
+the front door to admit the officer. He could not escape from the house,
+and his only resource was to secure a hiding place within its walls. There
+were only two which seemed to be available; one of these was the bed, and
+the other the chimney. If any search was made, of course the soldiers
+would explore the bed first; and the chimney seemed the most practicable.
+
+There was no time for consideration, for the woman had already opened the
+door, and was answering the questions of the Confederate officer; so Tom
+sprang into the fireplace, and, by the aid of the projecting stones,
+climbed up to a secure position. The chimney was large enough to
+accommodate half a dozen boys of Tom's size. The fire had gone out, and
+though the stones were rather warm in the fireplace, he was not
+uncomfortable.
+
+The fears of the lady of the house proved to be well grounded this time,
+for the party had actually come in search of her "old man;" and what was
+more, the officer announced his intention not to leave without him.
+
+"He's gone away fur a week, and he won't be hum before the fust of August,
+no how," said the woman resolutely, and adopting Tom's suggestion to the
+letter.
+
+"All nonsense, woman! He is about here, somewhere, and we will find him."
+
+"You may, if you kin."
+
+The officer then went out at the back door, as Tom judged by his
+footsteps, and the woman asked one of the children what had become of the
+other soldier man. The boy said he was up chimney. She then told them not
+to tell the officer where he was.
+
+"What shell I do?" said she, placing herself before the fireplace.
+
+"Don't be alarmed. He will keep out of their way," replied Tom.
+
+"But the officer man said he was gwine to stay 'bout yere till he gits
+hum," moaned the poor woman.
+
+"He will not do any such thing. Your husband has the woods before him, and
+he won't let them catch him."
+
+"Deary me! I'm 'feared they will."
+
+"Where are they now?"
+
+"They're gone out to look for him."
+
+The officer and his men returned in a few moments, having satisfied
+themselves that the proprietor of the place was not on the premises.
+
+"Now we'll search the house," said the officer; and Tom heard them walking
+about in the room.
+
+Of course the militia man could not be found, and the officer used some
+very unbecoming language to express his disapprobation of the skulker, as
+he called him.
+
+"Woman, if you don't tell me where your husband is, I'll have you
+arrested," said he, angrily.
+
+"I don't know myself. He's gone off over the mountains to git some things.
+Thet's all I know about it, and if yer want to arrest me, yer kin."
+
+But the officer concluded that she would be a poor substitute for an able
+bodied man, and he compromised the matter by leaving one of the privates,
+instructing him not to let the woman or the children leave the house, and
+to remain till the skulker returned.
+
+This was not very pleasant information for Tom who perceived that he was
+likely to be shut up in the chimney for the rest of the day, and perhaps
+be smoked or roasted out at supper time. Climbing up to the top of his
+prison house, he looked over, and saw the officer and one private
+disappear in the woods which lay between the house and the railroad.
+Looking over the other way, he saw the coveted recruit approaching the
+house from beyond the garden.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE REBEL SOLDIER.
+
+
+Tom Somers was not very well satisfied with his situation, for the soldier
+who had been left in possession of the house was armed with a musket, and
+the prospect of escaping before night was not very flattering. The
+patriarch of the family, who had such a horror of recruiting officers, was
+approaching, and in a few moments there would be an exciting scene in the
+vicinity.
+
+Independent of his promise made to the woman to help her husband, if she
+would not betray him, Tom deemed it his duty to prevent the so-called
+Confederate States of America from obtaining even a single additional
+recruit for the armies of rebellion and treason. Without having any
+personal feeling in the matter, therefore, he was disposed to do all he
+could to assist his host in "avoiding the draft." What would have been
+treason in New England was loyalty in Virginia.
+
+The unfortunate subject of the Virginia militia law was unconsciously
+approaching the trap which had been set for him. He had, no doubt, come to
+the conclusion, by this time, that the hungry soldier boy was not a
+recruiting officer, or even the corporal of a guard sent to apprehend him,
+and he was returning with confidence to partake of his noonday meal. Tom,
+from his perch at the top of the chimney, watched him as he ambled along
+over the rough path with his eyes fixed upon the ground. There was
+something rather exciting in the situation of affairs, and he soon found
+himself deeply interested in the issue.
+
+The unhappy citizen owing service to the Confederate States climbed over
+the zigzag fence that enclosed his garden, and continued to approach the
+rude dwelling which the law had defined to be his castle. Tom did not dare
+to speak in tones loud enough to be heard by the innocent victim of the
+officer's conspiracy, for they would have betrayed his presence to the
+enemy. Sitting upon the top stones of the chimney, he gesticulated
+violently, hoping to attract his attention; but the man did not look up,
+and consequently could not see the signals.
+
+He had approached within ten rods of the back door of the house, when Tom,
+fearing his footsteps might attract the attention of the soldier, ventured
+to give a low whistle. As this was not heeded, he repeated the signal when
+the man was within two or three rods of the house; but even this was not
+noticed, and throwing his head forward, so that the sound of his voice
+should not descend the chimney, he spoke.
+
+"Halloo!" said he.
+
+The man suddenly stopped, and looked up. Tom made signals with his hands
+for him to leave; but this mute language appeared not to be intelligible
+to him.
+
+"Consarn yer picter, what are yer doin' up thar?" said the proprietor of
+the castle, in tones which seemed to Tom as loud as the roar of the cannon
+at Bull Run.
+
+"Hush! Hush!" replied Tom, gesticulating with all his might, and using all
+his ingenuity to invent signs that would convey to the militiaman the idea
+that he was in imminent danger.
+
+"You be scotched!" snarled the man. "What are yer doin'? What ails yer?"
+
+"They are after you!" added Tom, in a hoarse whisper.
+
+The fellow most provokingly refused to hear him, and Tom thought his skull
+was amazingly thick, and his perceptions amazingly blunt.
+
+"Now you come down from thar," said he, as he picked up a couple of
+stones. "You act like a monkey, and I s'pose yer be one. Now make tracks
+down that chimley."
+
+But instead of doing this, Tom retreated into his shell, as a snail does
+when the moment of peril arrives. The soldier in the house was not deaf;
+and if he had been, he could hardly have helped hearing the stentorian
+tones of his victim. Instead of going out the back door, like a sensible
+man, he passed out at the front door, and in a moment more Tom heard his
+voice just beneath him.
+
+"Halt!" shouted the soldier, as he brought his musket to his shoulder.
+"Your name is Joe Burnap."
+
+"That's my name, but I don't want nothin' o' you," replied the embarrassed
+militiaman, as he dropped the stones with which he had intended to assault
+Tom's citadel.
+
+"I want something of you," replied the soldier. "You must go with me.
+Advance, and give yourself up."
+
+"What fur?" asked poor Joe.
+
+"We want you for the army. You are an enrolled militiaman. You must go
+with me."
+
+"Ill be dog derned if I do," answered Joe Burnap, desperately.
+
+"If you attempt to run away, I'll shoot you. You shall go with me, dead or
+alive, and hang me if I care much which."
+
+Joe evidently did care. He did not want to go with the soldier; his
+southern blood had not been fired by the wrongs of his country; and he was
+equally averse to being shot in cold blood by this minion of the
+Confederacy. His position was exceedingly embarrassing, for he could
+neither run, fight, nor compromise. While matters were in this interesting
+and critical condition, Tom ventured to raise his head over the top of the
+chimney to obtain a better view of the belligerents. Joe stood where he
+had last seen him, and the soldier was standing within three feet of the
+foot of the chimney.
+
+"What ye going to do, Joe Burnap?" demanded the latter, after waiting a
+reasonable time for the other to make up his mind.
+
+"What am I gwine to do?" repeated Joe, vacantly, as he glanced to the
+right and the left, apparently in the hope of obtaining some suggestion
+that would enable him to decide the momentous question.
+
+"You needn't look round, Joe; you've got to come or be shot. Just take
+your choice between the two, and don't waste my time."
+
+"I s'pose I can't help myself," replied Joe. "I'll tell ye what I'll do. I
+want to fix up things about hum a little, and I'll jine ye down to the Gap
+to-morrow."
+
+"No you don't, Joe Burnap!" said the soldier, shaking his head.
+
+"Then I'll jine ye to-night," suggested the strategist.
+
+"My orders are not to return without you, and I shall obey them."
+
+Mrs. Burnap, who had followed the soldier out of the house, stood behind
+him wringing her hands in an agony of grief. She protested with all a
+woman's eloquence against the proceedings of the soldier; but her tears
+and her homely rhetoric were equally unavailing. While the parties were
+confronting each other, the soldier dropped his piece, and listened to the
+arguments of Joe and his wife. When he turned for a moment to listen to
+the appeals of the woman, her husband improved the opportunity to commence
+a retreat. He moved off steadily for a few paces, when the enemy
+discovered the retrograde march, and again brought the gun to his
+shoulder.
+
+"None of that, Joe," said the soldier, sternly. "Now march back again, or
+I'll shoot you;" and Tom heard the click of the hammer as he cocked the
+piece. "I've fooled long enough with you, and we'll end this business
+here. Come here, at once, or I'll put a bullet through your head."
+
+"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! For mercy's sake don't shoot," cried Mrs.
+Burnap.
+
+"I'll give him one minute to obey the order; if he don't do it then, I'll
+fire. That's all I've got to say."
+
+Tom saw by the soldier's manner that he intended to execute his threat. He
+saw him brace up his nerves, and otherwise prepare himself for the bloody
+deed. But Tom did not think that Joe had the stubbornness or the courage,
+whichever it might be called, to run the risk of dodging the bullet. He
+foresaw, too, that, if Joe gave himself up, his hiding place would be
+exposed, and the soldier would have two prisoners to conduct back to his
+officer, instead of one. It was therefore high time for him to do
+something for his own protection, if not for that of his host.
+
+The necessity of defending himself, or of doing something to cover his
+retreat in an emergency, had been anticipated by Tom, and he had made such
+preparations as the circumstances would admit. His first suggestion was to
+dart his bayonet down at the rebel soldier, as he had seen the fishermen
+of Pinchbrook harpoon a horse mackerel; but the chances of hitting the
+mark were too uncertain to permit him to risk the loss of his only weapon,
+and he rejected the plan. He adopted the method, however, in a modified,
+form, deciding to use the material of which the chimney was constructed,
+instead of the bayonet. The stones being laid in clay instead of mortar,
+were easily detached from the structure, and he had one in his hands ready
+for operations.
+
+"Come here, Joe Burnap, or you are a dead man," repeated the soldier, who
+evidently had some scruples about depriving the infant Confederacy of an
+able-bodied recruit.
+
+Tom Somers, being unembarrassed by any such scruples, lifted himself up
+from his hiding place, and hurled the stone upon the soldier, fully
+expecting to hit him on the head, and dash out his brains. The best laid
+calculations often miscarry, and Tom's did in part, for the missile,
+instead of striking the soldier upon the head, hit him on the right arm.
+The musket was discharged, either by the blow or by the act of its owner,
+and fell out of his hands upon the ground.
+
+Now, a stone as big as a man's head, does not fall from the height of
+fifteen feet upon any vulnerable part of the human frame without
+inflicting some injury; and in strict conformity with this doctrine of
+probabilities, the stone which Tom hurled down upon the rebel, and which
+struck him upon the right arm, entirely disabled that useful member. The
+hero of this achievement was satisfied with the result, though it had not
+realized his anticipations. Concluding that the time had arrived for an
+effective charge, he leaped out of the chimney upon the roof of the house,
+descended to the eaves, and then jumped down upon the ground.
+
+The soldier, in panic and pain, had not yet recovered from the surprise
+occasioned by this sudden and unexpected onslaught. Tom rushed up to him,
+and secured the musket before he had time to regain his self-possession.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded the soldier, holding up the injured arm with his
+left hand.
+
+"Your most obedient servant," replied Tom, facetiously, as he placed
+himself in the attitude of "charge bayonets." "Have you any dangerous
+weapons about your person?"
+
+"Yes, I have," replied the soldier, resolutely, as he retreated a few
+steps, and attempted to thrust his left hand into the breast pocket of his
+coat.
+
+"Hands down!" exclaimed Tom, pricking his arm with the bayonet attached to
+the musket. "Here, Joe Burnap!"
+
+"What d' yer want?" replied the proprietor of the house, who was as
+completely "demoralized" by the scene as the rebel soldier himself.
+
+"Put your hand into this man's pocket, and take out his pistol. If he
+resists, I'll punch him with this," added Tom, demonstrating the movement
+by a few vigorous thrusts with the bayonet.
+
+With some hesitation Joe took a revolver from the pocket of the soldier,
+and handed it to Tom.
+
+"Examine all his pockets. Take out everything he has in them," added Tom,
+cocking the revolver, and pointing it at the head of the prisoner.
+
+Joe took from the pockets of the rebel a quantity of pistol cartridges, a
+knife, some letters, and a wallet.
+
+"Who's this fur?" asked Joe, as he proceeded to open the wallet, and take
+therefrom a roll of Confederate "shin-plasters."
+
+"Give it back to him."
+
+"But this is money."
+
+"Money!" sneered Tom. "A northern beggar wouldn't thank you for all he
+could carry of it. Give it back to him, and every thing else except the
+cartridges."
+
+Joe reluctantly restored the wallet, the letters, and the knife, to the
+pockets from which he had taken them. Tom then directed him to secure the
+cartridge box of the soldier.
+
+"You are my prisoner," said Tom; "but I believe in treating prisoners
+well. You may go into the house, and if your arm is much hurt, Mrs. Burnap
+may do what she can to help you."
+
+The prisoner sullenly attended the woman into the house, and Tom followed
+as far as the front door.
+
+"Now, what am I gwine to do?" said Joe. "You've got me into a right smart
+scrape."
+
+"I thought I had got you out of one," replied Tom. "Do you intend to
+remain here?"
+
+"Sartin not, now. I must clear."
+
+"So must I; and we have no time to spare. Get what you can to eat, and
+come along."
+
+In ten minutes more, Tom and Joe Burnap were travelling towards the
+mountains.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THROUGH THE GAP.
+
+
+Joe Burnap was perfectly familiar with the country, and Tom readily
+accepted him as a guide; and, as they had a common object in view, neither
+had good cause for mistrusting the other. They walked, without stopping to
+rest, till the sun set behind the mountains towards which they were
+travelling.
+
+"I reckon we needn't hurry now," said Joe, as he seated himself on a rock.
+
+"I don't think there is any danger of their catching us," replied Tom, as
+he seated himself beside his fellow-traveller. "Can you tell me where we
+are?"
+
+"I reckon I can. There ain't a foot of land in these yere parts that I
+hain't had my foot on. I've toted plunder of all sorts through these woods
+more'n ten thousand times."
+
+"Well, where are we?" asked Tom, whose doubts in regard to the locality
+had not yet been solved.
+
+In the pressure of more exciting matters, he had not attempted to explain
+why he did not come to Fairfax station while following the railroad.
+
+"If we keep on a little while longer, I reckon we shall come to
+Thoroughfare Gap," answered Joe.
+
+"But where do you live? What town is your house in?" asked Tom, who had
+never heard of Thoroughfare Gap before.
+
+"Haymarket is the nearest town to my house."
+
+"What railroad is that over there?" asked Tom, who was no nearer the
+solution of the question than he had been in the beginning.
+
+"That's the Manassas Gap Railroad, I reckon," replied Joe, who seemed to
+be astonished at the ignorance of his companion.
+
+"Just so," added Tom, who now, for the first time, comprehended where he
+was.
+
+When he left Sudley church, he walked at random till he came to the
+railroad; but he had struck the Manassas Gap Railroad instead of the main
+line, and it had led him away from the great body of the rebels, though it
+also conducted him away from Washington, where he desired to go. He was
+perplexed at the discovery, and at once began to debate the question
+whether it was advisable for him to proceed any farther in this direction.
+
+"I suppose you are a Union man--ain't you?" said Tom, after he had
+considered his situation for some time.
+
+Instead of answering this question, Joe Burnap raised his eyes from the
+ground, and fixed his gaze intently upon Tom. He stared at him for a
+moment in doubt and silence, and then resumed his former attitude.
+
+"You don't want to fight for the south," added Tom; "so I suppose you
+don't believe in the Southern Confederacy."
+
+"I don't want to fight for nuther of 'em," replied Joe, after a moment of
+further consideration. "If they'll only let me alone, I don't keer which
+beats."
+
+His position was certainly an independent one, and he appeared to be
+entirely impartial. The newspapers on either side would not have disturbed
+him. Patriotism--love of country--had not found a resting place in his
+soul. Tom had not, from the beginning, entertained a very high respect for
+the man; but now he despised him, and thought that a rebel was a gentleman
+compared with such a character. How a man could live in the United States,
+and not feel an interest in the stirring events which were transpiring
+around him, was beyond his comprehension. In one word, he so thoroughly
+despised Joe Burnap, that he resolved, at the first convenient
+opportunity, to get rid of him, for he did not feel safe in the company of
+such a person.
+
+"Now which side do you fight fur?" asked Joe, after a long period of
+silence.
+
+"For the Union side," replied Tom, promptly.
+
+"What are yer doin' here, then?"
+
+"I was in the battle below, and was taken prisoner, got away, and I want
+to get to Washington."
+
+"I reckon this ain't the way to git thar," added Joe.
+
+"I doubt whether I can get there any other way."
+
+Just then, Tom would have given all the money he had in the world, and all
+that the government owed him, for a good map of Virginia--or even for a
+knowledge of geography which would have enabled him to find his way by the
+safest route to Washington. But he had been a diligent scholar in school,
+and had faithfully improved the limited opportunities which had been
+afforded him. His mind could recall the map of Virginia which he had
+studied in school, but the picture was too faint to be of much practical
+benefit to him.
+
+He had treasured up some information, derived from the newspapers, in
+regard to the Manassas Gap Railroad. He knew that it passed through the
+Blue Ridge, at the western base of which flowed the Shenandoah River: this
+emptied into the Potomac, which would certainly conduct him to Washington.
+In following these two rivers, he should have to describe nearly a circle,
+which was not an encouraging fact to a boy on foot, with no resources, and
+in an enemy's country.
+
+If he returned by the way he came, the country was filled with rebel
+soldiers, and he could hardly expect to pass through their lines without
+being captured. Difficult and dangerous as the route by the Shenandoah
+appeared, he decided to adopt it.
+
+Joe Burnap proposed that they should have supper and opened the bag which
+he had filled with such eatables as he could hastily procure on leaving
+home. They ate a hearty meal, and then resumed their walk for another
+hour.
+
+"I reckon we'd better stop here," said Joe. "The Gap's only half a mile
+from here, and it's too arly in the night to go through thar yet. Thar's
+too many soldiers goin' that way."
+
+"What time will you go through?" asked Tom.
+
+"Not afore midnight."
+
+"Then I'll turn in and take a nap. I didn't sleep any last night."
+
+"I'm agreed," replied Joe, who seemed to be indifferent to every thing
+while he could keep out of the rebel army.
+
+Tom coiled up his body in the softest place he could find, and went to
+sleep. Exhausted by fatigue and the want of rest, he did not wake for many
+hours. He came to his senses with a start, and jumped upon his feet. For a
+moment, he could not think where he was; but then came the recollection
+that he was in the country of his enemies--a wanderer and a fugitive.
+
+He looked about him in search of his travelling companion; but the fact
+that he could not see him in the night was no argument that he was not
+near him. He supposed Joe had chosen a place to sleep in the vicinity, and
+thinking he might not wake in season to pass through the Gap before
+daylight, he commenced a search for him. He beat about the place for half
+an hour, calling his companion by name; but he could not see him, and no
+sound responded to the call but the echoes of his own voice.
+
+The independent Virginia farmer had anticipated Tom's intention to part
+company with him, and, by this time, perhaps, had passed through the Gap.
+The soldier boy was not quite ready to dispense with the services of his
+guide, inasmuch as he did not even know where the Gap was, or in what
+direction he must travel to reach it. While he was debating his prospects,
+an enterprising rooster, in the distance, sounded his morning call. This
+assured him that he must be near some travelled road, and, taking the
+direction from the fowl, he resumed his journey.
+
+A short walk brought him out of the woods, and, in the gray light of the
+dawn, he discovered a house. As he did not care to make any new
+acquaintances, he avoided the house, and continued his travels till he
+arrived at a road. As it was too early in the morning for people to be
+stirring, he ventured to follow the highway, and soon perceived an opening
+in the mountains, which he doubted not was the Gap.
+
+At sunrise he arrived at another house, which suddenly came into view as
+he rounded a bend in the road. Near it were several negroes engaged in
+various occupations. As he passed the house, the negroes all suspended
+operations, and stared at him till he was out of sight. He soon reached
+the Gap; but he had advanced only a short distance before he discovered a
+battery of light artillery stationed on a kind of bluff, and whose guns
+commanded the approaches in every direction.
+
+Deeming it prudent to reconnoitre before he proceeded any farther, he also
+ascertained that the Gap was picketed by rebel infantry. Of course it was
+impossible to pass through under these circumstances, and he again took to
+the woods. The scanty supply of food which he had purchased from Mrs.
+Burnap was now produced, and he made an economical breakfast. Finding a
+secluded place, he stretched himself upon the ground, and went to sleep.
+Though he slept till the sun had passed the meridian, the day was a very
+long one.
+
+When it was fairly dark, he resolved to attempt the passage of the Gap,
+for he was so tired of inaction that peril and hardship seemed preferable
+to doing nothing. Returning to the road, he pursued his way with due
+diligence through the narrowing defile of the mountains, till he suddenly
+came upon a sentinel, who challenged him. Before he started from his
+hiding place, Tom had carefully loaded the revolver which he had taken
+from the rebel soldier; and, as he walked along, he carried the weapon in
+his hand, ready for any emergency that might require its use.
+
+The guard questioned him, and Tom replied that he had fought in the battle
+down below, and had a furlough to go home and see his father, who was very
+sick.
+
+"Where's your furlough?" demanded the soldier.
+
+"In my pocket."
+
+"Let me see it."
+
+"Here it is," replied Tom, producing an old letter which he happened to
+have in his pocket.
+
+The sentinel took the paper, unfolded it, and turned it over two or three
+times. It was too dark for him to read it if he had been able to do so,
+for all the rebel soldiers are not gifted in this way.
+
+"I reckon this won't do," he added, after patiently considering the
+matter. "Just you tote this paper up to the corporal thar, and if he says
+it's all right, you kin go on."
+
+"But I can't stop to do all that. Here's my pass, and I want to go on. My
+father may die before I get home."
+
+"What regiment do you b'long to?" asked the guard, who evidently did not
+wish to disoblige a fellow-soldier unnecessarily.
+
+"The Second Virginia," replied Tom, at a venture.
+
+"Where does your father live?" continued the sentinel.
+
+"Just beyond the Gap, if he's living at all."
+
+"What town?"
+
+Tom was nonplussed, for he did not know the name of a single place on the
+route before him; and, of course, he did not dare to answer the question.
+
+"About five or six miles from here," he answered.
+
+"Is it Salem or White Plains?" demanded the soldier, whose cunning was
+inferior to his honesty.
+
+"White Plains," added Tom, promptly accepting the suggestion.
+
+"What's the matter with your father?"
+
+"I don't know; he was taken suddenly."
+
+"Pears like your uniform ain't exactly our sort," added the soldier.
+
+"Mine was all used up, and I got one on the battle-field."
+
+"I wouldn't do that. It's mean to rob a dead man of his clothes."
+
+"Couldn't help it--I was almost naked," replied Tom, who perfectly agreed
+with the rebel on this point.
+
+"You kin go on, Old Virginny," said the soldier, whose kindly sympathy for
+Tom and his sick father was highly commendable.
+
+The soldier boy thanked the sentinel for his permission, of which he
+immediately availed himself. Tom did not yet realize the force of the
+maxim that "all is fair in war," and his conscience gave a momentary
+twinge as he thought of the deception he had practised upon the honest and
+kind-hearted rebel. He was very thankful that he had not been compelled to
+put a bullet through his head; but perhaps he was more thankful that the
+man had not been obliged to do him a similar favor.
+
+The fugitive walked, with an occasional rest, till daylight the next
+morning. He went through three or four small villages. After passing
+through the Gap, he had taken the railroad, as less likely to lead him
+through the more thickly settled parts of the country. Before him the
+mountains of the Blue Ridge rose like an impassable wall, and when the day
+dawned he was approaching Manassas Gap. He had walked twenty-five miles
+during the night, and prudence, as well as fatigue, required him to seek a
+place of rest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+DOWN THE SHENANDOAH.
+
+
+In that wild mountain region, Tom had no difficulty in finding a secluded
+spot, where there was no probability that he would be molested. He had
+been in a state of constant excitement during the night, for the country
+was full of soldiers. The mountaineers of Virginia were rushing to the
+standard of rebellion. They were a wild, rude set of men, and they made
+the night hideous with their debauchery. Tom succeeded in keeping out of
+the way of the straggling parties which were roaming here and there; but
+he was filled with dread and anxiety lest he should, at the next moment,
+stumble upon a camp, or a squad of these marauders.
+
+The nook in the mountains which he had chosen as his resting place was a
+cleft in the rocks, concealed by the overhanging branches of trees. Here
+he made his bed, as the sun rose, and, worn out with fatigue and anxiety,
+he dropped asleep.
+
+When he awoke, the sun was near the meridian. He rose and walked out a
+short distance from his lodging place, and listened for any sounds which
+might indicate the presence of an enemy. All was still; silence deep and
+profound reigned through the solitudes of the mountains. Tom returned to
+his place of concealment, and after eating the remainder of the food he
+had brought with him, he stretched himself upon the ground, and went to
+sleep again. He had nothing else to do, and he needed all the rest he
+could obtain. It was fortunate for him that he had self-possession enough
+to sleep--to banish his nervous doubts and fears, and thus secure the
+repose which was indispensable to the success of his arduous enterprise.
+
+It was after sundown when he finished his second nap. He had slept nearly
+all day,--at least ten hours,--and he was entirely refreshed and restored.
+He was rather stiff in some of his limbs when he got up; but he knew this
+would wear off after a little exercise. He had no supper with which to
+brace himself for the night's work; so he took a drink from the mountain
+stream, and made his way back to the railroad. But it was too early then
+to commence the passage of the Gap, and he sat for a couple of hours by
+the side of the road, before he ventured to resume his journey.
+
+While he was passing through the narrow gorge in the mountains, he met
+several persons, on foot and on horseback; but as he was armed with a
+pistol, he did not turn out for them; but when a party of soldiers
+approached, he sought a hiding place by the side of the road until they
+were out of hearing. When he had passed through the Gap, he came to a road
+crossing the track, and after debating the question thoroughly, he decided
+to abandon the railroad, and pursued his course by the common highway
+towards the North.
+
+Continuing his journey diligently for a time longer, he came to another
+road, branching off to the left from the one he had chosen, which required
+further consideration. But his conclusion was satisfactory, and he
+continued on the same road, which soon brought him to a more thickly
+settled country than that through which he had been travelling.
+
+By this time Tom's stomach began to be rebellious again, and the question
+of rations began to assume a serious aspect. He was not suffering for
+food, but it was so much more comfortable to travel upon a full stomach
+than an empty one, that he could not pass a dwelling house without
+thinking of the contents of the cellar and closets. It was perfectly
+proper to forage on the enemy; but he could not eat raw chicken and geese,
+or the problem of rations would have been effectually settled by a
+demonstration on the hen-coops of the Shenandoah valley.
+
+He came to a halt before a large mansion, which had the appearance of
+belonging to a wealthy person. Its larder and kitchen cupboards, he
+doubted not, were plentifully supplied with the luxuries of the season;
+and Tom thought he might as well obtain his provisions now, as wait till
+he was driven to desperation by hunger. He entered the front gate of the
+great house, and stepped upon the veranda in front of it. The windows
+reached down to the floor. He tried one of them, and found that it was not
+fastened. He carefully raised the sash and entered.
+
+Tom was determined to put himself upon his impudence on the present
+occasion; but he satisfied himself that his revolver was in condition for
+instant use before he proceeded any farther. Passing from the front room
+to an apartment in the rear, he found a lamp and matches, and concluded
+that he would have some light on the subject, which was duly obtained.
+Leaving this room, he entered another, which proved to be the kitchen. A
+patient search revealed to him the lurking place of a cold roast chicken,
+some fried bacon, bread, and crackers.
+
+Placing these things on the table, he seated himself to partake of the
+feast which the forethought of the occupants had provided for him. Tom
+began to be entirely at home, for having thrown himself on his impudence
+now; he did not permit any doubts or fears to disturb him; but the handle
+of his pistol protruded from between the buttons of his coat. He ate till
+he had satisfied himself, when he happened to think that the coffee pot he
+had seen in the closet might contain some cold coffee; and he brought it
+out. He was not disappointed, and even found sugar and milk. He poured out
+a bowl of the beverage, and, having prepared it to his taste, was about to
+conclude the feast in this genteel style, when he heard footsteps in the
+adjoining entry.
+
+Tom determined not to be cheated out of his coffee, and instead of putting
+himself in a flurry, he took the bowl in one hand and the pistol in the
+other. The door opened, and a negro timidly entered the room.
+
+"Well, sar!" said the servant, as he edged along the side of the room.
+"Hem! Well, sar!"
+
+Tom took no notice of him, but continued to drink his coffee as coolly as
+though he had been in his mother's cottage at Pinchbrook.
+
+"Hem! Well, sar!" repeated the negro, who evidently wished to have the
+interloper take some notice of him.
+
+But the soldier boy refused to descend from his dignity or his impudence.
+He finished the bowl of coffee as deliberately as though the darkey had
+been somewhere else.
+
+"Well, sar! Who's you, sar?"
+
+"Eh, Blackee?"
+
+"Who's you, sar?"
+
+"Good chicken! Good bread! Good bacon!" added Tom. "Are the folks at home,
+Blackee?"
+
+"No, sar; nobody but de women folks, sar. Who's you, sar?"
+
+"It don't make much difference who I am. Where's your master?"
+
+"Gone to Richmond, sar. He's member ob Congress."
+
+"Then he's in poor business, Blackee," said Tom, as he took out his
+handkerchief, and proceeded to transfer the remnants of his supper to its
+capacious folds.
+
+"Better luff dem tings alone, sar."
+
+But Tom refused to "luff dem alone," and when he had placed them on the
+handkerchief, he made a bundle of them.
+
+"Golly, sar! I'll tell my missus what's gwine on down here," added the
+servant, as he moved towards the door.
+
+"See here, Blackee," interposed Tom, pointing his pistol at the negro; "if
+you move, I'll put one of these balls through your skull."
+
+"De Lud sabe us, massa! Don't shoot dis nigger, massa."
+
+"Hold your tongue then, and mind what I say."
+
+"Yes, massa," whined the darkey, in the most abject tones.
+
+"Now come with me, Blackee, and if you open your mouth, one of these pills
+shall go down your throat."
+
+Tom flourished his pistol before the negro, and led the way to the window
+by which he had entered the house. Passing out upon the veranda, he
+cautiously conducted the terrified servant to the road; and when they had
+gone a short distance, he halted.
+
+"Now, Blackee, what town is this?" demanded Tom.
+
+"Leeds Manor, sar," replied the trembling negro.
+
+"How far is it to the Shenandoah River?"
+
+"Only two or tree miles, massa. Now let dis chile go home again."
+
+"Not yet."
+
+"Hab mercy on dis nigger dis time, and sabe him."
+
+"I won't hurt you, if you behave yourself."
+
+Tom questioned him for some time in regard to the river, and the towns
+upon its banks; and when he had obtained all the information in regard to
+the valley which the servant possessed, he resumed his journey, driving
+the negro before him.
+
+"Spare dis chile, massa, for de sake ob de wife and chil'n," pleaded the
+unwilling guide.
+
+"I tell you I won't hurt you if you behave yourself," replied Tom. "You'll
+have the whole place down upon me in half an hour, if I let you go now."
+
+"No, massa; dis nigger won't say one word 'bout you, nor de tings you took
+from de house--not one word, massa. Spare dis chile, and luff him go
+home."
+
+But Tom compelled him to walk before him till they came to the river. The
+place was called Seaburn's Ford.
+
+"Now, Blackee, if anybody wants me, tell them I've gone to Winchester,"
+said Tom, when he had ordered his escort to halt.
+
+"No, massa, I won't say one word," replied the servant.
+
+"If you do, I'll shoot you the very next time I see you--depend upon that.
+You can go now."
+
+The negro was not slow to avail himself of this privilege, and ran off,
+evidently expecting a bullet from the revolver would overtake him before
+he had gone far, for he glanced fearfully over his shoulder, begging his
+captor not to shoot him.
+
+Tom stood upon the bank of the Shenandoah. The negro had told him that he
+was about thirty miles from Harper's Ferry, which he knew was in
+possession of General Patterson's forces. Attached to a tree on the shore
+was a small flat-bottomed boat, which attracted the attention of the
+soldier boy. Tom was accustomed to boats, and the sight of this one
+suggested a change of programme, for it would be much easier to float down
+the stream, than to walk the thirty miles. This was a point which needed
+no argument; and unfastening the painter of the boat, he jumped in, and
+pushed off. Seating himself in the stern, with the paddle in his hand, he
+kept her head with the current, and swept down the rapid stream like a
+dreamy youth just starting upon the voyage of life.
+
+Like the pilgrim on the sea of time, Tom was not familiar with the
+navigation of the Shenandoah, and he had neither chart nor compass to
+assist him. The current was very swift, and once in a while the bateau
+bumped upon a concealed rock, or bar of sand. Fortunately no serious
+accident occurred to him, though he found that the labor of managing the
+boat was scarcely less than that of walking.
+
+There was one consolation about it; he was in no danger of missing the
+road, and he was not bothered by Confederate soldiers or inquisitive
+civilians. His light bark rushed on its way down the stream, without
+attracting the notice of any of the inhabitants, if any were abroad at
+that unseemly hour of the night. The difficulties of the navigation were
+overcome with more or less labor, and when the day dawned, Tom made up his
+mind that he had done a good night's work; and choosing a secluded nook by
+the side of the river, he hauled up his boat, intending to wait for the
+return of darkness.
+
+The place he had chosen appeared to be far from any habitation, and he ate
+his breakfast in a very hopeful frame of mind. Though he was not very
+tired or very sleepy, yet for the want of something better to do, he felt
+compelled to go to sleep, hoping, as on the previous day, to dispose of
+the weary hours in this agreeable manner. His pastime, however, was soon
+interrupted by loud shouts and the tramp of men, not far from the spot
+where he lay. A hurried examination of the surroundings assured him that
+he had chosen a resting place near one of the fords of the river, over
+which a rebel regiment was then passing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE PROBLEM OF RATIONS.
+
+
+The ford over which the rebel regiment was passing was only a few rods
+distant from the place where Tom had concealed himself and his boat. When
+he discovered the soldiers, he was thrilled with terror; and, fully
+believing that his hour had come, he dropped upon the ground, to wait, in
+trembling anxiety, the passage of the troops. It was a regiment of
+Virginia mountaineers, clothed in the most fantastic style with
+hunting-shirts and coon-skin caps. They yelled and howled like so many
+wildcats.
+
+From his hiding place on the bank of the stream, he obtained a good view
+of the men, as they waded across the river. He was fearful that some of
+them might stray from the ranks, and stumble upon his place of refuge; but
+a kind Providence put it into their heads to mind their own business, and
+Tom gathered hope as the yells of the mountaineers grew indistinct in the
+distance.
+
+"This is no place for me," said Tom to himself, when the sounds had died
+away in the direction of the Blue Ridge. "A whole army of them may camp
+near that ford, and drive me out of my hiding place."
+
+Jumping into the bateau again, he waited till he was satisfied no carriage
+or body of troops was in the vicinity; and then plying the paddle with the
+utmost vigor, he passed the ford. But then he found that the public
+highway ran along the banks of the river, which exposed him to increased
+risk of being seen. A couple of vehicles passed along the road while he
+was in this exposed situation; but as the occupants of them seemed to take
+no notice of him, he congratulated himself upon his escape, for presently
+the boat was beneath the shadows of the great trees. Finding a suitable
+place, he again hauled up, and concealed himself and the bateau.
+
+As all danger seemed to have passed, Tom composed his nerves, ate his
+dinner, and went to sleep as usual; but his rest was not so tranquil as he
+had enjoyed in the solitudes of the mountains. Visions of rebel soldiers
+haunted his dreams, and more than once he started up, and gazed wildly
+around him; but these were only visions, and there was something more real
+to disturb his slumbers.
+
+"Hi! Who are you?" exclaimed a wildcat soldier, who had penetrated the
+thicket without disturbing the sleeper.
+
+Tom started up, and sprang to his feet. One of the tall mountaineers, whom
+he had seen crossing the ford, stood before him; and the reality was even
+more appalling than the vision.
+
+"Who mought you be?" demanded the tall soldier, with a good-natured grin
+upon his greasy face.
+
+"Faith! I believe I've been asleep!" said Tom, rubbing his eyes, and
+looking as innocent as a young lamb.
+
+"You may bet your life on thet, my boy," replied the rebel, laughing. "Hi!
+Jarvey!" added he, apparently addressing a companion at no great distance
+from the spot.
+
+Heavy footsteps announced the approach of Jarvey, who soon joined them. He
+was not less than six feet three inches in height, and, with two such
+customers as these, Tom had no hope except in successful strategy. He had
+no doubt they had obtained information of him from the persons in the
+vehicles, and had come to secure him. He fully expected to be marched off
+to the rebel regiment, which could not be far off.
+
+"Who is he, Sid?" asked Jarvey, when he reached the spot.
+
+"Dunno. Say, who are ye, stranger?"
+
+"Who am I? Tom Somers, of course. Do you belong to that regiment that
+stopped over yonder last night?" asked Tom, with a proper degree of
+enthusiasm. "Don't you know me?"
+
+"Well, we don't."
+
+"Didn't you see me over there? That's a bully regiment of yours. I'd like
+to join it."
+
+"Would you, though, sonny?" said Sid, laughing till his mouth opened wide
+enough for a railroad train to pass in.
+
+"Wouldn't I, though!" replied Tom. "If there's any big fighting done, I'll
+bet your boys do it."
+
+"Bet your life on thet," added Jarvey. "But why don't you jine a
+regiment?"
+
+"Don't want to join any regiment that comes along. I want to go into a
+fighting regiment, like yours."
+
+"Well, sonny, you ain't big enough to jine ours," said Sid, as he
+compassionately eyed the young man's diminutive proportions.
+
+"The old man wouldn't let me go in when I wanted to, and I'm bound not to
+go in any of your fancy regiments. I want to fight when I go."
+
+"You'll do, sonny. Now, what ye doing here?"
+
+"I came out a-fishing, but I got tired, and went to sleep."
+
+"Where's your fish-line?"
+
+"In the boat."
+
+"What ye got in that handkerchief?"
+
+"My dinner," replied Tom. "Won't you take a bite?"
+
+"What ye got?"
+
+"A piece of cold chicken and some bread."
+
+"We don't mind it now, sonny. Hev you seen any men with this gear on in
+these yere parts?" asked Jarvey, as he pointed to his uniform.
+
+"Yes, _sir_," replied Tom, vigorously.
+
+"Whar d'ye see 'em, sonny?"
+
+"They crossed the ford, just above, only a little while ago."
+
+"How many?"
+
+"Two," replied Tom, with promptness.
+
+"Where's the other?" asked Jarvey, turning to his companion.
+
+"He's in these yere woods, somewhar. We'll fotch 'em before night. You say
+the two men crossed the ford--did ye, sonny?"
+
+"Yes, half an hour ago. What is the matter with them?"
+
+"They're mean trash, and want to run off. Now, sonny, 'spose you put us
+over the river in your boat."
+
+"Yes, _sir_!" replied Tom, readily.
+
+The two wildcats got into the bateau, nearly swamping it by their great
+weight, and Tom soon landed them on the other side of the river.
+
+"Thank'e, sonny," said Jarvey, as they jumped on shore. "If you were only
+four foot higher, we'd like to take you into our regiment. You'll make a
+right smart chance of a soldier one of these yere days. Good by, sonny."
+
+"Good by," answered Tom, as he drew a long breath, indicative of his
+satisfaction at being so well rid of his passengers.
+
+He had fully persuaded himself that he should be carried off a prisoner to
+this wildcat regiment, and he could hardly believe his senses when he
+found himself again safely floating down the rapid tide of the Shenandoah.
+His impudence and his self-possession had saved him; but it was a mystery
+to him that his uniform, or the absence of his fish-line, or the answers
+he gave, had not betrayed him. The mountaineers had probably not yet seen
+a United States uniform, or they would, at least, have questioned him
+about his dress.
+
+Tom ran down the river a short distance farther before he ventured to stop
+again, for he could not hope to meet with many rebel soldiers who were so
+innocent and inexperienced as these wildcats of the mountains had been.
+When the darkness favored his movements, he again embarked upon his
+voyage. Twice during the night his boat got aground, and once he was
+pitched into the river by striking upon a rock; but he escaped these and
+other perils of the navigation with nothing worse than a thorough ducking,
+which was by no means a new experience to the soldier boy. In the morning,
+well satisfied with his night's work, he laid up for the day in the safest
+place he could find.
+
+On the second day of his voyage down the river, the old problem of rations
+again presented itself for consideration, for the ham and chicken he had
+procured at Leed's Manor were all gone. There were plenty of houses on the
+banks of the river, but Tom had hoped to complete his cruise without the
+necessity of again exposing himself to the peril of being captured while
+foraging for the commissary department. But the question was as imperative
+as it had been several times before, and twelve hours fasting gave him
+only a faint hint of what his necessities might compel him to endure in
+twenty-four or forty-eight hours. He did not consider it wise to postpone
+the settlement of the problem till he was actually suffering for the want
+of food.
+
+On the third night of his voyage, therefore, he hauled up the bateau at a
+convenient place, and started off upon a foraging expedition, intending to
+visit some farmer's kitchen, and help himself, as he had done on a former
+occasion. Of course, Tom had no idea where he was; but he hoped and
+believed that he should soon reach Harper's Ferry.
+
+After making his way through the woods for half a mile, he came to a
+public road, which he followed till it brought him to a house. It was
+evidently the abode of a thrifty farmer, for near it were half a dozen
+negro houses. As the dwelling had no long windows in front, Tom was
+obliged to approach the place by a flank and rear movement; but the back
+door was locked. He tried the windows, and they were fastened. While he
+was reconnoitring the premises, he heard heavy footsteps within. Returning
+to the door, he knocked vigorously for admission.
+
+"Who's thar?" said a man, as he threw the door wide open.
+
+"A stranger, who wants something to eat," replied Tom, boldly.
+
+"Who are ye?"
+
+"My name is Tom Somers," added the soldier boy, as he stepped into the
+house. "Can you tell me whether the Seventh Georgia Regiment is down this
+way?"
+
+"I reckon 'tis; least wise I don't know. There's three rigiments about
+five mile below yere."
+
+"I was told my regiment was down this way, and I'm trying to find it. I'm
+half starved. Will you give me something to eat?"
+
+"Sartin, stranger; I'll do thet."
+
+The man, who was evidently the proprietor of the house, brought up the
+remnant of a boiled ham, a loaf of white bread, some butter, and a pitcher
+of milk. Tom ate till he was satisfied. The farmer, in deference to his
+amazing appetite probably, suspended his questions till the guest began to
+show some signs of satiety, when he pressed him again as vigorously as
+though he had been born and brought up among the hills of New England.
+
+"Where d'ye come from?" said he.
+
+"From Manassas. I lost my regiment in the fight; and the next day I heard
+they had been toted over this way, and I put after them right smart,"
+answered Tom, adopting as much of the Georgia vernacular as his knowledge
+would permit.
+
+"Walk all the way?"
+
+"No; I came in the keers most of the way."
+
+"But you don't wear our colors," added the farmer, glancing at Tom's
+clothes.
+
+"My clothes were all worn out, and I helped myself to the best suit I
+could find on the field."
+
+"What regiment did ye say ye b'longed to?" queried the man, eying the
+uniform again.
+
+"To the Seventh Georgia. Perhaps you can tell me where I shall find it."
+
+"I can't; but I reckon there's somebody here that can. I'll call him."
+
+Tom was not at all particular about obtaining this information. There was
+evidently some military man in the house, who would expose him if he
+remained any longer.
+
+"Who is it, father?" asked a person who had probably heard a part of the
+conversation we have narrated; for the voice proceeded from a bed-room
+adjoining the apartment in which Tom had eaten his supper.
+
+"A soldier b'longing to the Seventh Georgia," answered the farmer. "That's
+my son; he's a captain in the cavalry, and he'll know all about it. He can
+tell you where yer regiment is," added he, turning to Tom, who was edging
+towards the door.
+
+"I'm very much obliged to you for my supper," said the fugitive,
+nervously. "I reckon I'll be moving along."
+
+"Wait half a second, and my son will tell you just where to find your
+regiment."
+
+"The Seventh Georgia?" said the captain of cavalry, entering the room at
+this moment with nothing but his pants on. "There's no such regiment up
+here, and hasn't been. I reckon you're a deserter."
+
+"No, _sir!_ I scorn the charge," replied Tom, with becoming indignation.
+"I never desert my colors."
+
+"I suppose not," added the officer, glancing at his uniform; "but your
+colors desert you."
+
+Tom failed to appreciate the wit of the reply, and backed off towards the
+door, with one hand upon the stock of his revolver.
+
+"Hold on to him, father; don't let him go," said the officer, as he rushed
+back into his chamber, evidently for his pistols or his sabre.
+
+"Hands off, or you are a dead man;" cried Tom, as he pointed his revolver
+at the head of the farmer.
+
+In another instant, the captain of cavalry reappeared with a pistol in
+each hand. A stunning report resounded through the house, and Tom heard a
+bullet whistle by his head.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE PICKET GUARD.
+
+
+It was sufficiently obvious to Tom that, on the present occasion, the
+suspicions of his host were awakened. It is possible that, if he had
+depended upon his impudence, he might have succeeded in deceiving the
+Confederate officer; but his evident intention to retire from the contest
+before an investigation could be had, proved him, in the estimation of the
+captain, to be either a spy or a deserter, and shooting him was preferable
+to losing him.
+
+The officer fired quick, and with little attention to the important matter
+of a steady aim; and Tom had to thank his stars for the hasty shot, for,
+though it went within a few inches of his head, "a miss was as good as a
+mile," and the brains of our hero remained intact and complete. But he was
+not willing to be the subject of any further experiments of this
+description, and without waiting further to express his gratitude to the
+host for the bountiful supper he had eaten, he threw open the door, and
+dashed off at the top of his speed.
+
+The revolver he carried was a very good implement with which to bully a
+negro, or an unarmed farmer; but Tom had more confidence in his legs than
+in his skill as a marksman, and before the captain could transfer the
+second pistol from his left to his right hand, he had passed out of the
+house, and was concealed from his pursuers by the gloom of the night. He
+felt that he had had a narrow escape, and he was not disposed to trifle
+with destiny by loitering in the vicinity of the house.
+
+He had not proceeded far before he heard a hue and cry behind him; and if
+the captain of cavalry had not stopped to put on his boots, it is more
+than possible that our humble volume might have contained a chapter or two
+upon prison life in Richmond. Undoubtedly it was quite proper for the
+officer to put on his boots before he went out; a decent regard for his
+individual sanitary condition, and a reasonable horror of ague and
+rheumatism, would have induced him to do it, even at the risk of losing a
+Federal prisoner, or a rebel deserter, as the case might be. At any rate,
+if Tom had known the cause of the delay, he would freely have forgiven him
+for wasting his time in healthful precautions.
+
+The fugitive retraced his steps to the river by the same route he had
+taken in approaching the hospitable roof of the farmer. As nearly as he
+could judge by the sounds that reached him from the distance, the officer
+and his father were gathering up a force to hunt down the fugitive. Tom
+jumped into the bateau, and pushed off. Keeping under the shadow of the
+bank of the river, he plied his paddle vigorously, and by the time his
+pursuers arrived at the river, he was a couple of miles from the spot. He
+could hear a shout occasionally in the deep silence of the night, but with
+the distance between him and the enemy, he felt entirely secure. The
+danger had passed, and he floated leisurely on his voyage, buoyant as his
+light bark, and hopeful as the dream of youth.
+
+Hour after hour, in the gloom of the solemn night, he was borne by the
+swift tide towards the lines of the loyal army. The day was dawning, and
+he was on the lookout for a suitable place to conceal himself, until the
+friendly shades of night should again favor his movements. After the
+experience of the former night near the ford, he was very cautious in the
+selection of a hiding place. It is not always safe to be fastidious; for
+while Tom was rejecting one location, and waiting for another to appear,
+the river bore him into a tract of very open country, which was less
+favorable than that through which he had just been passing.
+
+The prospect began to make him nervous; and while he was bitterly
+regretting that he had not moored the boat before, he was startled to hear
+a sharp, commanding voice on the bank at his left.
+
+"Who comes there? Halt!"
+
+Tom looked up, and discovered a grayback, standing on the shore, very
+deliberately pointing his musket at him.
+
+"Who comes there?" demanded the picket; for at this point were stationed
+the outposts of the rebel force in the Shenandoah valley.
+
+"Friend!" replied Tom.
+
+"Halt, then!"
+
+"I would, if I could," answered Tom, as hastily as possible.
+
+"Halt, or I'll fire!"
+
+"I tell you I can't halt," replied Tom, using his paddle vigorously, as
+though he was trying to urge the bateau to the shore. "Don't fire! For
+mercy's sake, don't fire."
+
+Tom appeared to be intensely frightened at the situation in which he was
+placed, and redoubled his efforts apparently to gain the bank of the
+stream; but the more he seemed to paddle one way, the more the boat went
+the other way. However much Tom appeared to be terrified by the peril that
+menaced him, it must be confessed that he was not wholly unmoved.
+
+"Stop your boat, quick!" said the soldier, who had partially dropped his
+musket from its menacing position.
+
+"I can't stop it," responded Tom, apparently in an agony of terror. "I
+would go ashore if I could."
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+"The water runs so swift, I can't stop her; been trying this two hours."
+
+"You will be inside the Yankee lines in half an hour if you don't fetch
+to," shouted the picket.
+
+"Gracious!" exclaimed Tom, redoubling his efforts.
+
+But it was useless to struggle with the furious current, and Tom threw
+himself into the bottom of the boat, as if in utter desperation. If
+Niagara Falls, with their thundering roar and fearful abyss, had been
+before him, his agony could not have been more intense, as judged from the
+shore.
+
+By this time, the sentinel on the bank had been joined by his two
+companions, and the three men forming the picket post stood gazing at him,
+as he abandoned himself to the awful fate of being captured by the
+blood-thirsty Yankees, to whose lines the relentless current of the
+Shenandoah was bearing him.
+
+When Tom was first challenged by the grayback, the boat had been some
+twenty rods above him; and it had now passed the spot where he stood, but
+the rebels were still near enough to converse with him. Tom heard one of
+them ask another who he was. Of course neither of them knew who he was, or
+where he came from.
+
+"Try again!" shouted one of the pickets. "The Yankees will have you in a
+few minutes."
+
+Tom did make another ineffectual effort to check the progress of the
+bateau, and again abandoned the attempt in despair. The rebels followed
+him on the bank, encouraging him with words of cheer, and with dire
+prophecies of his fate if he fell into the hands of the cruel Yankees.
+
+"Can't you help me?" pleaded Tom, in accents of despair. "Throw me a rope!
+Do something for me."
+
+Now, this was a suggestion that had not before occurred to the picket
+guard, and Tom would have been infinitely wiser if he had not put the idea
+of assisting him into their dull brains; for it is not at all probable
+that they would have thought of such a thing themselves, for the south,
+especially the poor white trash, are not largely endowed with inventive
+genius.
+
+"Save me! Save me!" cried Tom, as he saw the rebels engaged in a hasty
+consultation, the result of which was, that two of them started off upon
+the run in a direction at right angles with the stream.
+
+"Try again! Stick to it!" shouted the picket left on the shore.
+
+"I can't do any more; I'm all tired out," replied Tom, throwing himself
+for the fourth time in the bottom of the boat, the very picture of
+despair.
+
+The picture was very much exaggerated and over-drawn; but as long as the
+bullet from the rebel's musket did not come his way, Tom was satisfied
+with his acting, and hopeful for the future. The man on the shore, full of
+sympathy for the distressed and exhausted voyager, walked and ran so as to
+keep up with the refractory barge, which seemed to be spitefully hurling
+its agonized passenger into the Federal lines, where death and dungeons
+lurked at every corner.
+
+While this exciting drama was in progress, the stream bore Tom to a sharp
+bend in the river, where the current set in close to the shore. His
+attentive guardian on the bank ran ahead, and stationed himself at this
+point, ready to afford any assistance to the disconsolate navigator which
+the circumstances might permit.
+
+"Now's your chance!" shouted he. "Gosh all whittaker! put in now, and do
+your pootiest!"
+
+Tom adopted this friendly advice, and "put in" with all his might; but the
+more he "put in," the more he put out--from the shore, whither the
+inauspicious eddies were sweeping him. If Tom had not been born in
+Pinchbrook, and had a home by the sea, where boating is an appreciated
+accomplishment, he would probably have been borne into the arms of the
+expectant rebel, or received in his vitals the ounce of cold lead which
+that gentleman's musket contained. As it was, he had the skill to do what
+he seemed not to be doing. Mr. Johnny Reb evidently did not suspect that
+Tom was "playing 'possum," as the Tennessee sharpshooters would have
+expressed it. The voyager's efforts appeared to be made in good faith; and
+certainly he applied himself with a degree of zeal and energy which ought
+to have overcome the inertia of a small gunboat.
+
+The bateau approached the point not more than a rod from the waiting arms
+of the sympathizing grayback. As it passed, he waded a short distance into
+the water, and stretched forth his musket to the unhappy voyager. Tom
+threw down his paddle, and sprang with desperate energy to obtain a hold
+upon the gun. He even succeeded in grasping the end of the bayonet. For a
+moment he pulled so hard that it was doubtful whether the bateau would be
+hauled ashore, or Secesh drawn into the deep water.
+
+"Hold on tight, my boy! Pull for your life!" shouted the soldier, highly
+excited by the probable success of his philanthropic efforts.
+
+"Save me! Save me!" groaned Tom, as he tugged, or seemed to do so, at the
+bayonet.
+
+Then, while the united exertions of the saver and the saved, in
+anticipation, were on the very point of being successful, the polished
+steel of the bayonet unaccountably slipped through the fingers of Tom, and
+the bateau was borne off towards the opposite shore.
+
+"Save me! Save me," cried Tom again, in tones more piteous than ever.
+
+"What d'ye let go fur?" said the grayback, indignantly, as his musket,
+which he had held by the tip end of the stock, dropped into the water,
+when Tom let go of the bayonet.
+
+The soldier indulged in a volley of peculiarly southern oaths, with which
+we cannot disfigure our page, even in deference to the necessity of
+painting a correct picture of the scene we have described. Tom had a vein
+of humor in his composition, which has already displayed itself in some of
+the rough experiences of his career; and when he saw the rebel soldier
+deprived of all power to make war upon him, either offensive or defensive,
+he could not resist the temptation to celebrate the signal strategical
+victory he had obtained over the picket guard. This triumphal
+demonstration was not very dignified, nor, under the circumstances, very
+prudent or sensible. It consisted in placing the thumb of his right hand
+upon the end of his nose, while he wiggled the four remaining digital
+appendages of the same member in the most aggravating manner, whistling
+Yankee Doodle as an accompaniment to the movement.
+
+If Secesh did not understand the case before, he did now; and fishing up
+his musket, he emptied the water out of the barrel, and attempted to fire
+it. Luckily for Tom, the gun would not go off, and he swept on his way
+jubilant and joyous.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE END OF THE VOYAGE.
+
+
+Tom Somers's voyage down the Shenandoah was, in many respects, a type of
+human life. He experienced the various reverses, the trials and hardships,
+which attend all sojourners here below. He triumphed over all obstacles,
+and when he had completely outwitted the grayback who had labored so
+diligently to save him from his impending fate, he was at the zenith of
+prosperity. He had vanquished the last impediment, and the lines of the
+Union army--the haven of peace to him--were only a short distance from the
+scene of his victory.
+
+Prosperity makes men arrogant and reckless, and I am sorry to say that it
+had the same effect upon Tom Somers. If he had been content modestly to
+enjoy the victory he had achieved, it would have been wiser and safer for
+him; but when Fortune was kind to him, he mocked her, and she turned
+against him.
+
+When he had passed out of the reach of the rebel soldier, whose musket had
+been rendered useless for the time being, Tom believed that he was safe,
+and that he had fairly escaped from the last peril that menaced him on the
+voyage. But he was mistaken; for as the current swept the bateau around
+the bend of the river, he discovered, to his astonishment and chagrin, the
+two secesh soldiers, who had left the picket post some time before,
+standing at convenient distances from each other and from the shore, in
+the water, ready to rescue him from the fate before him. The place they
+had chosen was evidently a ford of the river, where they intended to check
+the boat in its mad career down the stream. They were painfully persistent
+in their kind intentions to save him from the horrible Yankees, and Tom
+wished they had been less humane and less enthusiastic in his cause.
+
+As soon as Tom perceived this trap, he regretted his imprudence in
+betraying himself to the soldier from whom he had just escaped. His sorrow
+was not diminished, when, a few minutes later, he heard the shouts of the
+third soldier, who, by hard running across the fields, had reached the
+ford before him.
+
+"Shoot him! Shoot him! He's a Yankee!" bellowed the grayback on the shore.
+
+Tom was appalled at these words, and wondered how the soldier could have
+found out that he was a Yankee; but when he recalled the fact that he had
+entertained him with Yankee Doodle at their last meeting, the mystery
+became less formidable.
+
+"Shoot him! He's a Yankee!" shouted Secesh on the bank of the stream.
+
+"We've left our guns on shore," replied Secesh in the water.
+
+"I'm very much obliged to you for that," said Tom to himself, as he
+grasped his paddle, and set the boat over towards the right bank of the
+river.
+
+No doubt the rebels in the water, when they saw with what facility the
+boatman moved the bateau in the swift tide, as compared with his futile
+efforts farther up the stream, were fully satisfied of the truth of their
+companion's assertion. Tom decided to run the gauntlet between the right
+bank and the soldier nearest to that shore. He paddled the bateau with all
+his vigor, until he had obtained the desired position.
+
+The graybacks in the water, realizing that they were engaged on an errand
+of peace and humanity, had left their muskets on shore. They were,
+therefore, comparatively harmless; but the one on shore had reached the
+ford, and picking up one of the muskets of his companions, without threat
+or warning, fired. It was lucky for Tom that he was not a Tennessee
+sharpshooter, nor a Texas ranger, for the shot passed harmlessly over him.
+The soldier dropped the gun, and picked up the other, which he instantly
+discharged, and with better aim than before, for the ball struck the
+bateau, though not within four feet of where Tom stood.
+
+"Don't waste your powder, if you can't shoot better than that," shouted
+one of the soldiers in the water. "You'll hit us next."
+
+"Stop him, then! Stop him!" replied the grayback on the shore. "Kill him
+if you can."
+
+Tom was paddling with all his might to pass the ford before the soldier
+nearest to him should reach a position in which he could intercept the
+boat. The rebel was an enterprising fellow, and the soldier boy's chances
+were growing amazingly small. Secesh had actually reached a place where he
+could make a dash at the boat. There he stood with a long bowie-knife
+between his teeth, and with both hands outstretched, ready to seize upon
+the unfortunate bark. He looked grim and ferocious, and Tom saw that he
+was thoroughly in earnest.
+
+It was a trying situation for a boy of Tom's years, and he would fain have
+dodged the issue. That bowie-knife had a wicked look, though it was mild
+and tame compared with the savage eye of the rebel who held it. As it was
+a case of life and death, the fugitive braced himself up to meet the
+shock. Taking his position in the stern of the boat, he held the paddle in
+his left hand, while his right firmly grasped his revolver. It was either
+"kill or be killed," and Tom was not so sentimental as to choose the
+latter rather than the former, especially as his intended victim was a
+secessionist and a rebel.
+
+"Keep off, or you are a dead man," shouted Tom, as he flourished his
+pistol so that his assailant could obtain a fair view of its calibre, and
+in the hope that the fellow would be willing to adopt a politician's
+expedient, and compromise the matter by retiring out of range.
+
+"Tew kin play at that game. This yere tooth-pick will wipe you out,"
+coolly replied the fellow, as he made a spring at the boat.
+
+"Stand off!" screamed Tom, as he raised the pistol, and fired.
+
+It was a short range, and Tom would have been inexcusable if he had missed
+his aim. The rebel struck his chest with his right hand, and the bowie
+knife dropped from his teeth; but with his left hand he had grasped the
+gunwale of the boat, and as he sunk down in the shallow water, he pulled
+the bateau over on one side till the water poured in, and threatened to
+swamp her. Fortunately the wounded man relaxed his hold, the boat righted,
+and Tom commenced paddling again with all his strength and skill.
+
+The other soldier in the water, as soon as he discovered where Tom
+intended to pass, hastened over to assist his associate. The shouts of
+their companion on shore had fully fired their southern hearts, and both
+of them were ten times as zealous to kill or capture a Yankee, as they had
+been to save a Virginian. When the wounded man clutched the boat, the
+other was not more than ten feet from him, but farther down the stream.
+His associate fell, and he sprang forward to engage in the affray.
+
+"Stand off, or you are a dead man!" yelled Tom, with emphasis, as he plied
+his paddle with renewed energy, for he saw that the man could not reach
+him.
+
+The bateau passed them both, and Tom began to breathe easier. The second
+rebel, finding he could not capture or kill the detested Yankee, went to
+the assistance of his companion. The soldier boy suspended his exertions,
+for the danger seemed to be over, and gazed with interest upon the scene
+which was transpiring in the water just above him. He was anxious to know
+whether he had killed the rebel or not. There was something awful in the
+circumstances, for the soldier boy's sensibilities were too acute to
+permit him to take a human life, though it was that of an enemy, without
+producing a deep impression upon his mind. Perhaps, in the great battle in
+which he had been a participant, he had killed several rebels; if he had
+done so, he had not seen them fall. This was the first man he had
+consciously killed or wounded, and the fact was solemn, if not appalling,
+to the young soldier.
+
+As the rebel raised his companion from the water he seemed to be dead, and
+Tom was forced to the conclusion that he had killed him. He had done the
+deed in self-defence, and in the strict line of duty. He could not be
+blamed even by his enemies for the act. He felt no exultation, and hoped
+from the bottom of his heart that the man was prepared to meet his Maker,
+into whose presence he had been so suddenly summoned.
+
+Tom had heard the boys in Pinchbrook talk lightly about killing rebels,
+and he had talked so himself; but the reality was not so pleasant as it
+had seemed at a distance. He was sorry for the poor fellow, and wished he
+had not been obliged to kill him. It was terrible to him, even in battle,
+to take a human life, to slay a being created in the image of God, and for
+whom Christ lived and died.
+
+While he was indulging in these sad reflections, he heard a bullet whistle
+near his head. The Secesh soldier on the shore had loaded up his
+companions' muskets, and was doing his best to bring down the lucky
+fugitive. His last shot was not a bad one, and Tom could not help
+thinking, if the grayback should hit him, that he would not waste any fine
+feelings over him. He did not like the sound of those whizzing bullets,
+and as he had never boasted of his courage, he did not scorn to adopt
+precautionary measures. The water was three inches deep in the bottom of
+the bateau; but Tom deemed it prudent to lie down there until the current
+should bear him out of the reach of the rebel bullets.
+
+He maintained this recumbent posture for half an hour or more, listening
+to the balls that frequently whistled over his head. Once he ventured to
+raise his head, and discovered, not one man, but a dozen, on the shore,
+which accounted for the rapid firing he heard. When he looked up again,
+his bateau had passed round a bend, and he was no longer exposed to the
+fire of the enemy.
+
+From his heart Tom thanked God for his escape. He was religiously grateful
+for the aid which Providence had rendered him, and when he thought how
+near he had stood to the brink of destruction, he realized how narrow the
+span between the Here and the Hereafter. And the moral of his reflections
+was, that if he stood so near to the open gate of death, he ought always
+to live wisely and well, and ever be prepared to pass the portals which
+separate time from eternity.
+
+Tom's thoughts were sad and heavy. He could not banish from his mind the
+face of the rebel, as he raised his hand to his breast, where he had
+received his mortal wound. That countenance, full of hate and revenge,
+haunted him for weeks afterwards, in the solitude of his tent, and on his
+midnight vigils as a sentinel.
+
+As he sat in the boat, thinking of the events of the morning, and
+listening to the mournful rippling of the waters, which, to his subdued
+soul, sounded like the requiem of his victim, he was challenged from the
+shore again.
+
+"Who comes there!"
+
+Tom jumped up, and saw a sentinel on the bank pointing his gun at him. He
+surveyed the form with anxious interest; but this time he had nothing to
+fear, for the soldier wore the blue uniform of the United States army.
+
+"Friend," replied he, as he grasped his paddle.
+
+"Come ashore, or I'll put a bullet through you," added the sentinel.
+
+"Don't do it!" said Tom, with energy. "Can't you see the colors I wear."
+
+"Come ashore, then."
+
+"I will."
+
+The soldier boy worked his paddle with vigor and skill, and it was
+astonishing to observe with what better success than when invited to land
+by the grayback up the river. The guard assisted him in landing and
+securing his boat.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded he, as he gazed at Tom's wet and soiled garments.
+
+"I was taken prisoner at Bull Run, and came back on my own hook."
+
+"Perhaps you were, but you can't pass these lines," said the soldier.
+
+Tom was sent to the Federal camp, and passed from one officer to another,
+till he was finally introduced to General Banks, at Harper's Ferry. He was
+questioned in regard to his own adventures, the country he had passed
+through, and the troops of the enemy he had seen. When, to use his own
+expression, he had been "pumped dry," he was permitted to rest a few days,
+and then forwarded to his regiment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+BUDD'S FERRY.
+
+
+Though Tom Somers had been absent from the regiment only a fortnight, it
+seemed to him as though a year had elapsed since the day of the battle
+when he had stood shoulder to shoulder with his townsmen and friends. He
+had been ordered to report to the provost marshal at Washington, where he
+learned that his regiment was at Bladensburg, about six miles from the
+city. Being provided with the necessary pass and "transportation," he soon
+reached the camp.
+
+"Tom Somers! Tom Somers!" shouted several of his comrades, as soon as they
+recognized him.
+
+"Three cheers for Tom Somers!" shouted Bob Dornton.
+
+The soldier boy was a favorite in the company, and his return was
+sufficient to justify such a proceeding. The cheers, therefore, were given
+with tremendous enthusiasm.
+
+"Tom, I'm glad to see you!" said old Hapgood, with extended hand, while
+his eyes filled with tears. "I was afeared we should never see you again."
+
+The fugitive shook hands with every member of the company who was present.
+His reception was in the highest degree gratifying to him, and he was
+determined always to merit the good will of his companions in arms.
+
+"Now, fellows, tell us what the news is," said Tom, as he seated himself
+on a camp stool before the tent of his mess.
+
+"There are letters for you, Tom, in the hands of the orderly," added one
+of his friends. "I suppose you have got a bigger story to tell than any of
+us, but you shall have a chance to read your letters first."
+
+These precious missives from the loved ones at home were given to him, and
+the soldier boy opened them with fear and trembling, lest he should find
+in them some bad news; but his mother and all the family were well. One of
+them was written since the battle, and it was evidently penned with deep
+solicitude for his fate, of which nothing had been heard.
+
+Hapgood, who sat by him while he read his letters, assured him that his
+mother must know, by this time, that he was not killed, for all the men
+had written to their friends since the battle. The captain who had escaped
+from Sudley church had reported him alive and well, but he had no
+information in regard to his escape.
+
+"We are all well, and every thing goes on about the same as usual in
+Pinchbrook," wrote one of his older sisters. "John is so bent upon going
+to sea in the navy, that it is as much as mother can do to keep him at
+home. He says the country wants him, and he wants to go; and what's more,
+he must go. We haven't heard a word from father since he left home; but
+Captain Barney read in the paper that his vessel had been sunk in the
+harbor of Norfolk to block up the channel. We can only hope that he is
+safe, and pray that God will have him in his holy keeping.
+
+"Squire Pemberton was dreadful mad because his son went into the army. He
+don't say a word about politics now."
+
+In a letter from John, he learned that Captain Barney had advanced the
+money to pay the interest on the note, and that Squire Pemberton had not
+said a word about foreclosing the mortgage. His brother added that he was
+determined to go into the navy, even if he had to run away. He could get
+good wages, and he thought it was a pity that he should not do his share
+towards supporting the family.
+
+Tom finished his letters, and was rejoiced to find that his friends at
+home were all well and happy; and in a few days more, a letter from him
+would gladden their hearts with the intelligence of his safe return to the
+regiment.
+
+"All well--ain't they?" asked Hapgood, as Tom folded up the letters and
+put them in his pocket; and the veteran could not fail to see, from the
+happy expression of his countenance, that their contents were
+satisfactory.
+
+"All well," replied Tom. "Where is Fred Pemberton? I haven't seen him
+yet."
+
+"In the hospital: he's sick, or thinks he is," answered Hapgood. "Ben
+Lethbridge is in the guard house. He attempted to run away while we were
+coming over from Shuter's Hill."
+
+"Who were killed, and who were wounded? I haven't heard a word about the
+affair, you know," asked Tom.
+
+"Sergeant Bradford was wounded and taken prisoner. Sergeant Brown was hit
+by a shell, but not hurt much. The second lieutenant was wounded in the
+foot, and--"
+
+A loud laugh from the men interrupted the statement.
+
+"What are you laughing at?" demanded Tom.
+
+"He resigned," added Bob Dornton, chuckling.
+
+"You said he was wounded?"
+
+"I didn't say so; the lieutenant said so himself, and hobbled about with a
+big cane for a week; but as soon as his resignation was accepted, he threw
+away his stick, and walked as well as ever he could."
+
+The boys all laughed heartily, and seemed to enjoy the joke prodigiously.
+Tom thought it was a remarkable cure, though the remedy was one which no
+decent man would be willing to adopt.
+
+"How's Captain Benson?"
+
+"He's better; he felt awful bad because he wasn't in that battle. The
+colonel has gone home, sick. He has more pluck than body. He was
+sun-struck, and dropped off his horse, like a dead man, on the field. It's
+a great pity he hasn't twice or three times as much body; if he had, he'd
+make a first-rate officer."
+
+It was now Tom's turn to relate his adventures; and he modestly told his
+story. His auditors were deeply interested in his narrative, and when he
+had finished, it was unanimously voted that Tom was a "trump;" which I
+suppose means nothing more than that he was a smart fellow--a position
+which no one who has read his adventures will be disposed to controvert.
+
+A long period of comparative inactivity for the regiment followed the
+battle of Bull Run. General McClellan had been called from the scene of
+his brilliant operations in Western Virginia, to command the army of the
+Potomac, and he was engaged in the arduous task of organizing the vast
+body of loyal troops that rushed forward to sustain the government in this
+dark hour of peril.
+
+While at Bladensburg the --th regiment with three others were formed into
+a brigade, the command of which was given to Hooker--a name then unknown
+beyond the circle of his own friends.
+
+About the first of November the brigade was sent to Budd's Ferry, thirty
+miles below Washington, on the Potomac, to watch the rebels in that
+vicinity. The enemy had, by this time, closed the river against the
+passage of vessels to the capital, by erecting batteries at various
+places, the principal of which were at Evansport, Shipping Point, and
+Cockpit Point. Budd's Ferry was a position in the vicinity of these works,
+and the brigade was employed in picketing the river, to prevent the enemy
+on the other side from approaching, and also to arrest the operations of
+the viler traitors on this side, who were attempting to send supplies to
+the rebels.
+
+It was not a very exciting life to which the boys of our regiment were
+introduced on their arrival at Budd's Ferry, though the rebel batteries at
+Shipping Point made a great deal of noise and smoke at times. As the
+season advanced the weather began to grow colder, and the soldiers were
+called to a new experience in military life; but as they were gradually
+inured to the diminishing temperature, the hardship was less severe than
+those who gather around their northern fireside may be disposed to
+imagine. Tom continued to be a philosopher, which was better than an extra
+blanket; and he got along very well.
+
+It was a dark, cold, and windy night, in December, when Tom found himself
+doing picket duty near the mouth of Chickamoxon Creek. Nobody supposed
+that any rebel sympathizer would be mad enough to attempt the passage of
+the river on such a night as that, for the Potomac looked alive with the
+angry waves that beat upon its broad bosom. Hapgood and Fred Pemberton
+were with him, and the party did the best they could to keep themselves
+comfortable, and at the same time discharge the duty assigned to them.
+
+"Here, lads," said old Hapgood, who, closely muffled in his great-coat,
+was walking up and down the bank of the creek to keep the blood warm in
+his veins.
+
+"What is it, Hapgood?" demanded Fred, who was coiled up on the lee side of
+a tree, to protect him from the cold blast that swept down the creek.
+
+"Hush!" said Hapgood. "Don't make a noise; there's a boat coming. Down!
+down! Don't let them see you."
+
+Tom and Fred crawled upon the ground to the verge of the creek, and placed
+themselves by the side of the veteran.
+
+"I don't see any boat," said Tom.
+
+"I can see her plain enough, with my old eyes. Look up the creek."
+
+"Ay, ay! I see her."
+
+"So do I," added Fred. "What shall we do?"
+
+"Stop her, of course." replied Tom.
+
+"That's easy enough said, but not so easily done. We had better send word
+up to the battery, and let them open upon her," suggested Fred.
+
+"Open upon the man in the moon!" replied Tom, contemptuously. "Don't you
+see she is under sail, and driving down like sixty? We must board her!"
+
+Tom spoke in an emphatic whisper, and pointed to a small boat, which lay
+upon the shore. The craft approaching was a small schooner apparently
+about five tons burden. The secessionists of Baltimore or elsewhere had
+chosen this dark and tempestuous night to send over a mail and such
+supplies as could not be obtained, for love or money, on the other side of
+the Potomac. Of course, they expected to run the risk of a few shots from
+the Union pickets on the river; but on such a night, and in such a sea,
+there was very little danger of their hitting the mark.
+
+Up the creek the water was comparatively smooth; but the little schooner
+was driving furiously down the stream, with the wind on her quarter, and
+the chances of making a safe and profitable run to the rebel line, those
+on board, no doubt, believed were all in their favor.
+
+"We have no time to lose," said Hapgood, with energy, as he pushed off the
+boat, which lay upon the beach. "Tumble in lively, and be sure your guns
+are in good order."
+
+"Mine is all right," added Tom, as he examined the cap on his musket, and
+then jumped into the boat.
+
+"So is mine," said Fred; "but I don't much like this business. Do you
+know how many men there are in the schooner?"
+
+"Don't know, and don't care," replied Tom.
+
+"Of course they are armed. They have revolvers, I'll bet my month's pay."
+
+"If you don't want to go, stay on shore," answered Hapgood, petulantly.
+"But don't make a noise about it."
+
+"Of course I'll go, but I think we are getting into a bad scrape."
+
+Tom and Hapgood held a hurried consultation, which ended in the former's
+taking a position in the bow of the boat, while the other two took their
+places at the oars. The muskets were laid across the thwarts, and the
+rowers pulled out to the middle of the creek, just in season to intercept
+the schooner. Of course they were seen by the men on board of her, who
+attempted to avoid them.
+
+"Hallo!" said Tom, in a kind of confidential tone. "On board the schooner
+there! Are you going over?"
+
+"Yes. What do you want?" answered one of the men on board the vessel.
+
+"We want to get over, and are afraid to go in this boat. Won't you take us
+over?"
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"Friends. We've got a mail bag."
+
+"Where did you get it?"
+
+"In Washington."
+
+By this time, the schooner had luffed up into the wind, and Tom directed
+his companions to pull again. In a moment the boat was alongside the
+schooner, and the soldier boy was about to jump upon her half-deck, when
+the rebel crew, very naturally, ordered him to wait till they had
+satisfied themselves in regard to his secession proclivities.
+
+There were five men in the schooner, all of whom were seated near the
+stern. Tom did not heed the protest of the traitors, but sprang on board
+the schooner, followed by his companions.
+
+"Now, tell us who you are before you come any farther," said one of the
+men.
+
+"Massachusetts soldiers! Surrender, or you are a dead man," replied Tom,
+pointing his gun.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+IN THE HOSPITAL.
+
+
+The night was very dark, so that the rebels in the boat could not
+distinguish the uniform of those who had applied for a passage on the
+schooner. Perhaps Tom Somers's experience in the Blue Ridge and on the
+Shenandoah had improved his strategic ability, so that his words and his
+manner seemed plausible. But as strategy and cunning always owe their
+success to the comparative stupidity of the victims, Tom and his
+companions gained the half-deck of the schooner more by the palpable
+blundering of her crew than through the brilliancy of their own scheme.
+
+Tom did not stop, in the midst of the exciting enterprise, to determine
+the particular reason of his success, as we, his humble biographer, have
+done. He was on the enemy's ground, and confronting the enemy's forces,
+and logic was as much out of place as rebellion in a free republican
+country. He was closely followed by Hapgood, and at a later period by Fred
+Pemberton. The nerves of the latter were not remarkably steady, and as he
+stepped on board the schooner, he neglected to take the painter with him;
+and the consequence was, that the boat went adrift. It is good generalship
+to keep the line of retreat open; and Fred's neglect had deprived them of
+all means of retiring from the scene of action. The only alternative was
+to fight their way through, and find safety in success.
+
+To Tom's reply, that the party were Massachusetts soldiers, the rebel who
+had acted as spokesman for the crew, uttered a volley of oaths, expressive
+of his indignation and disgust at the sudden check which had been given to
+their prosperous voyage.
+
+"Surrender!" repeated Tom, in energetic tones.
+
+Two of the rebels at the stern discharged their pistols in answer to the
+summons--a piece of impudence which our Massachusetts soldiers could not
+tolerate; and they returned the fire. The secessionists evidently carried
+revolvers; and a turn of the barrel enabled them to fire a second volley,
+which the soldiers were unable to do, for they had no time to load their
+guns.
+
+"O!" groaned Fred, as he sunk down upon the half-deck. "I'm hit."
+
+"We can't stand this, Hapgood," said Tom, fiercely, as he leaped into the
+midst of the party in the standing room. "Let's give them the bayonet."
+
+"Give it to 'em, Tom!" replied the veteran, as he placed himself by the
+side of his young companion.
+
+"Will you surrender?" demanded Tom, as he thrust vigorously with his
+bayonet.
+
+"We surrender," replied one of the men; but it was not the one who had
+spoken before, for he had dropped off his seat upon the bottom of the
+boat.
+
+"Give up your pistols, then," added Hapgood. "You look out for the boat,
+Tom, and I will take care of these fellows."
+
+Tom sprang to the position which had been occupied by the spokesman of the
+party, and grasping the foresheet and the tiller of the boat, he soon
+brought her up to the wind. Seating himself in the stern, he assumed the
+management of the schooner, while Hapgood busied himself in taking the
+pistols from the hands of the rebels, and exploring their pockets, in
+search of other dangerous weapons.
+
+"How are you, Fred?" shouted Tom, when the pressing business of the moment
+had been disposed of. "Are you much hurt?"
+
+"I'm afraid my time's most up," replied he, faintly.
+
+"Where are you hit?"
+
+"In the face; the ball went through my head, I suppose," he added, in
+tones that were hardly audible, in the warring of the December blast.
+
+"Keep up a good heart, Fred, and we will soon be ashore. Have you got an
+easy place?"
+
+"No, the water dashes over me."
+
+"Can't you move him aft, Hapgood?"
+
+"Pretty soon; when I get these fellows fixed," replied the veteran, who
+had cut the rope nearest to his hands, and was securing the arms of the
+prisoners behind them.
+
+"There is no fear of them now. We have got two revolvers apiece, and we can
+have it all our own way, if they show fight."
+
+But Hapgood had bound the rebels by this time, and with tender care he
+lifted his wounded companion down into the standing room, and made him as
+comfortable as the circumstances would permit.
+
+"Now, where are we, Hapgood?" asked Tom, who had been vainly peering ahead
+to discover some familiar object by which to steer. I can't see the first
+thing."
+
+"I don't know where we are," replied Hapgood. "I never was much of a
+sailor, and I leave the navigating all to you."
+
+"I can navigate well enough, if I knew where we were," added Tom, who had
+thus far been utterly unable to ascertain the "ship's position."
+
+During the brief struggle for the possession of the schooner, she had
+drifted some distance, which had caused the new commander to lose his
+bearings. The shore they had just left had disappeared, as though it had
+been swallowed up by an earthquake. No lights were allowed on shore, where
+they could be seen from the river, for they afforded so many targets to
+the artillerymen in the rebel batteries. The more Tom tried to discover a
+familiar object to steer by, the more it seemed as though the land and
+everything else had been cut adrift, and emigrated to foreign parts. Those
+who have been in a boat in a very dark night, or in a dense fog, will be
+able to appreciate the bewilderment of the skipper of the captured
+schooner.
+
+"Look out, Tom, that you don't run us into some of those rebel batteries,"
+said Hapgood, after he had watched the rapid progress of the boat for a
+few moments. "A shot from a thirty-two pounder would be a pill we couldn't
+swallow."
+
+"No danger of that, Hapgood," answered Tom, confidently.
+
+"I don't know about that, my boy," answered the veteran, in a tone heavy
+with dire anxiety.
+
+"I know it. The schooner was running with the wind on her starboard
+quarter when we boarded her. We are now close-hauled, and of course we
+can't make the shore on the other side while we are on this tack."
+
+Well, I don't know much about it, Tom, but if you say its all right, I'm
+satisfied; that' all. I'd trust you just as far as I would General
+McClennon, and you know we all b'lieve in him."
+
+"What are you going to do with us?" asked one of the rebels, who began to
+exhibit some interest in the fate of the schooner.
+
+"I suppose you will find good quarters in Fort McHenry," replied Tom.
+"Where do you belong?"
+
+"In Baltimore."
+
+"What are you doing here, then?"
+
+"We go in for the South."
+
+"Go in, then!" added Tom, laughing.
+
+"You'll fetch up where all the rest of 'em do," said Hapgood.
+
+"How's that fellow that was hit?" asked Tom, pointing to the rebel who lay
+in the middle of the standing room.
+
+"I guess it's all right with him," replied Hapgood, bending over the
+silent form. "No; he isn't dead."
+
+"I have it!" shouted Tom, suddenly crowding the helm hard-a-lee.
+
+"What, Tom?"
+
+"I see where we are. We are running up the river. I see the land on the
+weather bow."
+
+The schooner was put about, and after running with the wind amidships for
+ten or fifteen minutes, Tom discovered the outline of Mrs. Budd's house,
+which was directly under the guns of the Union battery.
+
+"Stand by the fore halliards, Hapgood," said Tom, as the boat came about
+again. "Let go!"
+
+The foresail came down, and Tom sprang upon the pier, as the schooner came
+up under its lee. In a moment the boat was made fast. By this time the
+pickets appeared.
+
+"Who comes there?" demanded the soldier.
+
+"Friends!" replied Tom.
+
+"Advance, friend, and give the countersign."
+
+"Little Mac," whispered the soldier boy in the ear of the sentinel.
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"Co. K." answered Tom.
+
+"What's the row? The long roll was beat just now, and the whole regiment
+is in line. What was that firing?"
+
+"We have captured this boat, and five prisoners, one of them wounded, if
+not dead."
+
+"Bully for you," replied the picket.
+
+They were soon joined by a squad of men, and Fred Pemberton and the
+wounded rebel were conveyed to the hospital, while the four prisoners were
+conducted to a secure place. Hapgood and Tom then hastened to the parade,
+where the regiment was drawn up, and reported the events which had just
+transpired. It was unanimously voted by officers and privates that the
+picket guard had done "a big thing," and they were warmly and generously
+commended for their skill and bravery.
+
+Hapgood and Tom requested permission to go to the hospital and see their
+companion. They found that the surgeon had already dressed his wound.
+
+"Will he die?" asked Tom, full of solicitude for his friend.
+
+"Die! no; it's a mere scratch. The ball ploughed into his cheek a little
+way," replied the surgeon. "It isn't a bad wound. He was more scared than
+hurt."
+
+"I am glad it is no worse," said Captain Benson, who, with fatherly
+solicitude for his men, had come to the hospital as soon as the company
+was dismissed. "But what ails you, Tom? You look pale."
+
+"Nothing, captain."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+"I don't think I am badly hurt. I believe one of those pistol balls grazed
+my side; but I hardly felt it."
+
+"Let me see," said the surgeon.
+
+The doctor opened Tom's coat, and his gray shirt was found to be saturated
+with blood.
+
+"That's a worse wound than Pemberton's. Didn't you know it, Tom?"
+
+"Well, of course I knew it; but I didn't think it was any thing," replied
+Tom, apologetically. "I knew it wouldn't do to drop down, or we should all
+be in Dixie in half an hour."
+
+"You are my man for the present," said the doctor, as he proceeded to a
+further examination of the wound.
+
+Tom was hit in the side by one of the pistol bullets. As I have not the
+surgeon's report of the case, I cannot give a minute description of it;
+but he comforted Hapgood and the captain with the assurance that, though
+severe, it was not a dangerous wound.
+
+"Tom Somers, there's a sergeant's warrant in Company K for one of you
+three men," said Captain Benson, when the patient was comfortably settled
+upon his camp bed. "The colonel told me to give him the name of the most
+deserving man in my company."
+
+"Give it to Tom," said Hapgood, promptly. "He led off in this matter, and
+ef't hadn't been for him, we should all have been on t'other side of the
+river, and p'raps on t'other side of Jordan, afore this time. And then, to
+think that the poor fellow stood by, and handled the boat like a
+commodore, when the life-blood was runnin' out of him all the time! It
+belongs to Tom."
+
+"Give it to Tom," added Fred, who lay near the patient.
+
+"No, Captain Benson," interposed Tom, faintly. "Hapgood is an old soldier,
+and deserves it more than I do. Give it to him, and I shall be better
+satisfied than if you give it to me."
+
+"Tom Somers!" exclaimed old Hapgood, a flood of tears sliding down his
+furrowed cheeks, "I won't stand nothin' of the sort! I'd jump into the
+river and drownd myself before I'd take it, after what you've done."
+
+"You are both worthy of it," added Captain Benson.
+
+"Please give it to Hapgood," pleaded Tom. "He first proposed going out
+after the little schooner."
+
+"Give it to Tom, cap'n. It'll help heal his wound," said Hapgood.
+
+"No; it would do me more good to have you receive it," protested Tom.
+
+"Well, here, I can't have this battle fought in the hospital," interposed
+the surgeon. "They are good friends, captain, and whichever one you give
+it to, the other will be suited. You had better settle the case at
+head-quarters."
+
+"If you please, Captain Benson, I would like to have Hapgood stay with me
+to-night, if he can be spared."
+
+The veteran was promptly detailed for hospital duty, and the captain
+returned to his quarters to decide the momentous question in regard to the
+sergeant's warrant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+TOM IS SENTIMENTAL.
+
+
+The little schooner which the picket guard had captured was loaded with
+valuable supplies for the rebels, which of course were confiscated without
+ceremony. The mail bag which was on board contained a great many letters
+from traitors in Baltimore, some of whom were exposed by the capture of
+their treasonable correspondence.
+
+Tom's wound proved to be more serious than even the surgeon had
+anticipated; but the best care which it was possible to give in a military
+hospital was bestowed upon him. Old Hapgood, in recognition of his
+services on that eventful night, was permitted to be near the patient as
+much as the interests of the service would permit; and the old man was
+happy when seated by the rude couch of the soldier boy, ministering to his
+necessities, or cheering him with bright hopes of the future. A strong
+friendship had grown up between them, for Tom's kind heart and brave
+conduct produced a deep impression upon the old man.
+
+"Here, Tom," said Captain Benson, as he approached the sufferer, a few
+days after he entered the hospital, and laid a paper upon the bed. "Here's
+a prescription which the colonel says you must take."
+
+"What is it?" asked Tom, with a faint smile.
+
+"A sergeant's warrant."
+
+"Glory, glory, hallelujah, as we go marching on!" exclaimed old Hapgood,
+jumping up like a youth of sixteen, and swinging his cap above his head.
+
+"Shut up, there!" shouted the hospital steward. "Don't you know any better
+than to make such a racket in this place?"
+
+"I beg pardon, Jameson. I forgot where I was," apologized the veteran.
+"The news was so good I couldn't help it. Our Tom is a sergeant now!"
+
+"Not yet, Hapgood," replied Tom, feebly. "I can't accept it, Captain
+Benson; it belongs to Hapgood, sir, and I shall feel a great deal better
+if you put his name in place of mine."
+
+"Don't do it, cap'n!" interposed the old man, vehemently. "Tom shall be a
+brigadier general if the war lasts one year more. I should feel like a
+whipped kitten if that warrant was altered."
+
+"The matter has been fully and fairly considered at head-quarters, and
+there is no such thing as altering the decision now; so, Tom, you can put
+the stripes on your arm just as soon as you please."
+
+Hapgood insisted, the surgeon insisted, and the captain insisted; and Tom
+was too sick to hold way with them in an argument, and his name was placed
+upon the roster of the company as a sergeant. He was proud of the
+distinction which had been conferred upon him, though he thought Hapgood,
+as an older and abler soldier, was better entitled to the honor than
+himself.
+
+It was six weeks before Tom was able to enter upon the actual enjoyment of
+the well-merited promotion which he had won by his gallantry; but when he
+appeared before the company with the chevron of the sergeant upon his arm,
+he was lustily cheered by his comrades, and it was evident that the
+appointment was a very popular one. Not even the grumblers, of whom there
+is a full quota in every regiment, deemed it prudent to growl at the
+decision of the officers. If any one ventured to suggest that he was too
+young to be placed over older and stronger men, his friends replied, that
+men in the army were measured by bravery and skill, not by years.
+
+If my young readers wish to know why Tom's appointment was so well
+received by his companions in arms, I can only reply, that he had not only
+been brave and cheerful in the midst of peril and hardship, but he was
+kind and obliging to his comrades. He had always been willing to help
+those that needed help, to sympathize with those in trouble, and generally
+to do all he could to render those around him happy.
+
+Above all these considerations, Tom was a young man of high principle. He
+had obeyed his mother's parting injunction, often repeated in the letters
+which came to him from home, and had faithfully "read his Testament."
+Without being a hypocrite or a canting saint, Tom carried about with him
+the true elements of Christian character.
+
+Tom had fought a greater battle than that in which he had been engaged at
+Bull Run a hundred times, in resisting the temptations which beset him
+from within and without. True to God and true to himself, he had won the
+victory. Though his lot was cast in the midst of men who swore, gambled,
+and drank liquor, he had shunned these vices, and loved the sinner while
+he hated the sin. Such a person could not fail to win the respect of his
+companions. Though he had been jeered at and insulted for being sober,
+honest, and pious, he had fought down and lived down all these vilifiers,
+and won their esteem.
+
+It must be acknowledged that Tom's piety was of the robust type. He would
+not allow any man to insult him; and after the chastisement he had given
+Ben Lethbridge, not even those who were strong enough to whip him were
+disposed to trespass upon his rights and dignity. Perhaps Tom's creed
+needed a little revising; but he lived under martial law, which does not
+take cognizance of insults and revilings. He was willing to be smitten on
+the one cheek, and on the other also, for the good of his country, or even
+his friends, but not to be wantonly insulted.
+
+The influence of Tom's principles was not confined to himself, for "a
+little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." This was particularly true of
+Hapgood, who, more through Tom's preaching and practice than from any
+strength in his own character, had steadily maintained his purpose to
+abstain from intoxicating drinks, though occasional opportunities were
+presented for the indulgence of his darling vice. Tom and he read the
+Testament and other good books which were sent to the regiment, and both
+profited by them.
+
+When the soldier boy was discharged from the hospital, the surgeon gave
+him a pair of woolen socks, from a case of them which had been sent by the
+friends of the soldier in Boston and its vicinity. He was very much in
+need of them, and from the depths of his heart he blessed the ladies who
+had done this good work. He unrolled the socks, and proceeded to pull one
+of them on. It was as good a fit as though his mother had knit it on
+purpose for him.
+
+"God bless the lady that knit these socks!" exclaimed Tom, as he began to
+draw on the other.
+
+"Amen!" replied Hapgood, who was watching the operation in full sympathy
+with his protege.
+
+"Eh! what's this?" added Tom, for his foot had met with an obstruction in
+its passage down the leg.
+
+He pulled off the sock, and thrusting his hand into it, took therefrom a
+letter enclosed in an envelope.
+
+"See that, uncle?" said he, exhibiting the prize.
+
+"What is it, Tom? Open it quick," replied Hapgood.
+
+The soldier boy broke the envelope, and took from it a note enclosing a
+photograph. Tom looked at the picture with a feeling of pleasure, which
+would have caused the original of the miniature, the author of the note,
+and the author of the socks, to blush up to her eyes if she had beheld the
+expression of admiration which glowed upon the handsome, manly face of the
+young sergeant.
+
+"By all that's lovely, isn't she a beauty!" exclaimed Tom, rapturously, as
+he glanced from the picture to Hapgood, who was looking over his shoulder.
+
+"She's hahnsome, and no mistake," replied the veteran, with a grim smile.
+
+"Well, she is!" added Tom, whose eyes were riveted to the photograph.
+
+"Well, why don't you read the letter, Tom?" demanded the old soldier,
+after the young man had gazed with blushing cheek upon the sweet face of
+the author of his socks for full five minutes.
+
+"I guess I will," said Tom; but he did not; for the picture seemed to be
+glory and beauty enough to satisfy him for the present.
+
+"Read the letter, Tom!" shouted the veteran, after he had waited as long
+as the nature of the case seemed to require.
+
+The soldier boy carefully placed the photograph in the envelope, and
+unfolded the letter. It was written in a beautiful hand, which looked as
+soft and delicate as the fair fingers which had penned the lines. He
+glanced at it as a whole, admired the penmanship, and the fairy-like
+symmetry that make up the _tout-ensemble_ of the page, and was about to
+dissolve into another rhapsody, when Hapgood, who was not half so
+sentimental as the sergeant, became impatient to know the contents of the
+missive. Tom read it aloud to the stoical veteran; and though we cannot
+clothe its sweet words in the fairy chirography which transported our
+hero, and made the letter a dream of bliss to him, we shall venture to
+present it to our curious readers, stiffened and hardened into the dull,
+cold forms of the printer's art.
+
+    No.----, RUTLAND STREET, BOSTON, _Nov._ 5, 1861.
+
+    MY DEAR SOLDIER:--
+
+    This is the first pair of socks I ever knit; and I send them to
+    you with my blessing upon the brave defenders of my country. I
+    hope they will keep your feet warm, and thus keep your heart warm
+    towards God and our blessed land.
+
+    Grandma says I am a silly girl, and I suppose I am; but if you
+    feel half as much interest in me as I do in the person who will
+    wear the first pair of socks I ever knit, you will wish to know
+    how I look; therefore I send you my photograph.
+
+    I very much desire to know whether my work has done any good;
+    whether my socks are ever worn in a battle; and most of all, I
+    desire to know how the noble fellow looks that wears them.
+    Therefore I beg you to answer my letter, and also to send me your
+    photograph, if you can conveniently.
+
+    Now, my dear soldier, be brave and true, and, above all, do not
+    run away from the rebels with my socks on your feet. You may
+    retreat when your officers order you to retire; but if you are a
+    coward, and find yourself compelled to run away, please pull them
+    off before you do so, for I should die with mortification if I
+    thought I had knit a pair of socks for a Union soldier to run away
+    in.
+
+    Truly yours, for our flag and our country.
+
+    LILIAN ASHFORD.
+
+"Well, if that gal ain't a trump, then there ain't no snakes in Virginny!"
+exclaimed Hapgood. "She's got the true grit, and no mistake."
+
+"That's so," replied the recipient of the gift, thoughtfully, as he bent
+down, and began to pull off the sock which encased his left foot.
+
+"What are you doing?" demanded Hapgood, surprised at this new movement of
+his companion.
+
+"I can't wear these socks yet, uncle," replied he.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+Don't she say she wants them worn in a battle?"
+
+"Tom, you are a little fool!" added the veteran, petulantly. "Are you
+going with cold feet just to please a silly gal, whose head is as full of
+moonshine as an egg is of meat. Put on the socks, and keep your feet warm.
+If you don't, I'll write to her, and tell what a fool you are."
+
+Tom did put them on, but he could not help feeling that uncle Hapgood, as
+he was familiarly called in the camp, did not understand and appreciate
+his sentiments. The socks seemed to be too precious to be worn in the
+vulgar mud of Maryland. To him there was something ethereal about them,
+and it looked a little like profanation to put any thing emanating from
+the fairy fingers of the original of that photograph, and the author of
+that letter, upon his feet.
+
+"Now you act like a sensible fellow, as you are, Tom," said Hapgood, as
+the sergeant put on his army brogans.
+
+"Well, uncle, one thing is certain: I never will run away from the rebels
+with these socks on," added Tom, with a rich glow of enthusiasm.
+
+"If Gen'l McClennon don't stir his stumps pretty soon, you'll wear 'em out
+afore you git a chance to run away."
+
+Tom, almost for the first time since he had been in the army, wanted to be
+alone. With those socks on, it seemed just as though he was walking the
+streets of the New Jerusalem, with heaven and stacks of silver-fringed and
+golden-tinged clouds beneath his feet, buried up to the eyes in floods of
+liquid moonshine.
+
+If "grandma" really thought that Lilian Ashford was a silly girl, and if
+Lilian really supposed so herself, it must be added, in justification of
+her conduct, that she had given the soldier boy a new incentive to do his
+duty nobly, and kindled in his soul a holy aspiration to serve God and his
+country with renewed zeal and fidelity.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE CONFEDERATE DESERTER.
+
+
+While Tom was in the hospital, he received a letter from his sister,
+informing him that his brother John had actually entered the navy, and
+with his mother's consent. The news from home was so favorable, that the
+soldier boy was pleased to hear that Jack had realized his darling wish,
+and that he was now in his element.
+
+Intelligence from home, accompanied with letters, papers, books, comforts,
+and luxuries of various kinds, reached him every two or three weeks; and
+when the news went back that Tom had been made a sergeant for gallant
+conduct, there was a great sensation in Pinchbrook. The letters which
+reached him after the receipt of this gratifying announcement contained
+all the gossip of the place in regard to the important event. Of course,
+Tom was delighted by these letters, and was more than ever determined to
+be diligent and faithful in the discharge of his duties, and never to
+disgrace the name he bore. He was confident his friends would never have
+occasion to blush for his conduct--including the original of the
+photograph, the author of the letter and of the socks.
+
+Tom recovered from the effects of his wound, as we have before intimated,
+and took his place in the regimental line as a sergeant. January and
+February passed away without any very stirring events; but in the month of
+March came indications of activity. The rebels began to draw in their
+lines, by abandoning various points, till the nation was startled by the
+evacuation of their strongly fortified position at Manassas, and the forts
+in front of Budd's Ferry were suddenly left for the occupation of the
+Federal troops.
+
+Hooker's men crossed the Potomac, and Tom was once more on the sacred soil
+of Virginia. Skirmishers were sent out in various directions, and though a
+deserted camp, which had been hastily abandoned, was found, there were no
+rebels to be seen. The Union boys were not disposed to leave their
+investigations at this interesting point, and they pursued their way still
+farther into the country. Somehow or other, Tom and his party did not
+receive the order to return, and the enterprising young hero continued his
+march in search of further adventures. It was altogether too tame for him
+and the congenial spirits in his section to retire without seeing a live
+rebel or two; and I am not sure, if their desire had not been gratified,
+that they would not have penetrated to Fredericksburg, and captured that
+citadel of rebellion in advance to General Augur, who visited the place in
+April.
+
+As it was, they stumbled upon the pickets of a rebel force, and as soon as
+their uniform was identified they had the honor of being fired upon,
+though none of them had the honor of being killed in the midst of their
+virtual disobedience of orders. But their appearance created a panic among
+the Confederates, who had no means of knowing that they were not the
+pioneers of a whole division of Union troops, for General McClellan had
+removed the spell which bound the loyal army to its camps, and corps,
+divisions, and brigades were pushing forward into the dominion of the
+traitors.
+
+The alarm was given, and Tom saw that he was rushing into a bad scrape;
+and as prudence is as much a requisite of the good soldier as bravery, he
+ordered his men to fall back. Rebels are very much like ill-natured curs,
+ever ready to pursue a retreating foe, or run away from an advancing one.
+The Confederates chased them, and as the legs of the former seemed to be
+in remarkably good condition, the sergeant came to the conclusion that it
+would not be safe to run too fast.
+
+"Halt!" shouted he; and the men promptly obeyed the order.
+
+They discharged their muskets, and then made a demonstration towards the
+enemy, who, obeying their instinct, ran away as fast as their legs would
+carry them. Taking advantage of this movement on their part, Tom again
+ordered a retreat.
+
+"They are after us again," said Hapgood. "I hope there ain't no cavalry
+within hearing. If there is, we may take a journey to Richmond."
+
+"They have stopped to load their guns," replied Tom. "We will use our legs
+now."
+
+"See that, Tom!" said Hapgood, suddenly.
+
+"What?"
+
+"There's one of them rushing towards us all alone."
+
+"He has thrown up his gun. The others are yelling to him to come back.
+What does that mean?"
+
+"He is a deserter; he wants to get away from them. There he comes."
+
+"Yes, and there comes the rest of them--the whole rebel army--more than a
+million of them," said Fred Pemberton. "It's time for us to be going."
+
+"See! They are firing at him. Forward!" added Tom, leading the way.
+
+The party rushed forward, for a short distance; but the dozen rebels had
+been reënforced, and it was madness to rush into the very teeth of danger.
+Tom ordered his men to halt and fire at will. The deserter, probably
+finding that he was between two fires, turned aside from the direct course
+he was pursuing, and sought shelter in the woods. The sergeant then
+directed his men to retire, for whether the retreat of the runaway rebel
+was covered or not, it was no longer safe to remain.
+
+Fortunately the Confederates were more in doubt than the Unionists; and
+perhaps expecting to fall upon a larger body of the latter, they abandoned
+the pursuit, and returned to their posts. Nothing was seen of the deserter
+for some time, and Tom concluded that he had lost his way in the woods, or
+had missed the direction taken by the Federal scouts.
+
+"He was a plucky fellow, any how," said one of the men, "to attempt to run
+away in the very face of his companions."
+
+"Well, he timed it well, for he started just when their guns were all
+empty," added another.
+
+"I'm not sorry he missed us," continued Hapgood. "I don't like a desarter,
+no how. It goes right agin my grain."
+
+"But he was running from the wrong to the right side," replied Tom.
+
+"I don't keer if he was. Them colors on t'other side were his'n. He chose
+'em for himself, and it's mean to run away from 'em. If a man's go'n to be
+a rebel, let him be one, and stick to it."
+
+"You don't know any thing about it, uncle. Thousands of men have been
+forced into the rebel army, and I don't blame them for getting out of it
+the best way they can. I should do so."
+
+"That may be. Tom; that may be," added the veteran, taking off his cap and
+rubbing his bald head, as though a new idea had penetrated it. "I didn't
+think of that."
+
+"He's a brave man, whoever he is, and whatever he is."
+
+"He must want to get away from 'em pretty bad, or he wouldn't have run
+that risk. I shouldn't wonder if they hit him."
+
+"Perhaps he is wounded, and gone into the woods there to die," suggested
+Tom.
+
+"Halloo!" shouted some one in the rear of them.
+
+"There's your man," said Hapgood.
+
+"Halloo!" cried the same voice.
+
+"Halloo, yourself!" shouted Hapgood in reply to the hail.
+
+The party halted, and after waiting a few moments, the rebel deserter came
+in sight. He was apparently a man of fifty; and no mendicant of St. Giles,
+who followed begging as a profession, could have given himself a more
+wretched and squalid appearance, if he had devoted a lifetime to the study
+of making himself look miserable. He wore a long black and gray beard,
+uncut and unkempt, and snarled, tangled, and knotted into the most
+fantastic forms. His gray uniform, plentifully bedaubed with Virginia mud,
+was torn in a hundred places, and hung in tatters upon his emaciated
+frame. On his head was an old felt hat, in a terribly dilapidated
+condition. He wore one boot and one shoe, which he had probably taken from
+the common sewer of Richmond, or some other southern city; they were
+ripped to such an extent that the "uppers" went flipperty-flap as he
+walked, and had the general appearance of the open mouth of the mythic
+dragon, with five bare toes in each to represent teeth.
+
+As he approached, the unthinking soldiers of the party indulged in screams
+of laughter at the uncouth appearance of the whilom rebel; and certainly
+the character in tableau or farce need not have spoken, to convulse any
+audience that ever assembled in Christendom. Rip Van Winkle, with the
+devastations and dilapidations of five-and-twenty years hanging about him,
+did not present a more forlorn appearance than did this representative of
+the Confederate army.
+
+"What are you laughing at?" demanded the deserter, not at all delighted
+with this reception.
+
+"I say, old fellow, how long since you escaped from the rag-bag?" jeered
+one of the men.
+
+"What's the price of boots in Richmond now?" asked another.
+
+"Who's your barber?"
+
+"Silence, men!" interposed Tom, sternly, for he could not permit his boys
+to make fun of the wretchedness of any human being.
+
+"We'll sell you out for paper stock," said Ben Lethbridge, who had just
+returned from three months' service in the Rip-Raps for desertion.
+
+"Shut up, Ben!" added Tom.
+
+"Dry up, all of you!" said Corporal Snyder.
+
+"Who and what are you?" asked Tom, of the deserter.
+
+"I'm a Union man!" replied the stranger with emphasis; "and I didn't
+expect to be treated in this way after all I've suffered."
+
+"They thought you were a rebel. You wear the colors of the rebel army,"
+answered the sergeant, willing to explain the rudeness of his men.
+
+"Well, I suppose I do look rather the worse for the wear," added the
+grayback, glancing down at the tattered uniform he wore. "I joined the
+rebel army, after I had tried every way in the world to get out of this
+infernal country; but I never fired a gun at a Union man. Seems to me,
+sergeant, I've seen you before somewhere. What's your name? Where did you
+come from?"
+
+"Pinchbrook, Massachusetts; and most of us hail from the same place."
+
+"Creation!" exclaimed the deserter. "You don't say so!"
+
+"Your voice sounds familiar to me," added Tom; and for some reason his
+chest was heaving violently beneath his suddenly accelerated respiration.
+
+As he spoke, he walked towards the dilapidated rebel, who had not ventured
+to come within twenty feet of the party.
+
+"Did you say Pinchbrook?" demanded the stranger, who began to display a
+great deal of emotion.
+
+"Pinchbrook, sir," added Tom; and so intensely was he excited, that the
+words were gasped from his lips.
+
+"What's your name?"
+
+"Thomas Somers," replied the sergeant.
+
+"Tom!" screamed the deserter, rushing forward.
+
+"Father!" cried Tom, as he grasped the hand of the phantom Confederate.
+
+The soldiers of the party were transfixed with astonishment at this
+unexpected scene, and they stood like statues gazing at the meeting of
+father and son, till the final development of their relationship, when the
+muscles of their faces relaxed, and the expression of wonder gave place to
+joyous sympathy.
+
+"Captain Somers, of Pinchbrook!" shouted old Hapgood; and the men joined
+with him in a roar of intense satisfaction, that made the woods ring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+ON THE PENINSULA.
+
+
+The scene between Captain Somers and his son was very affecting and very
+exciting; and if the soldiers had all been uncles and first cousins of the
+parties, they could not have manifested more interest on the joyous
+occasion. The father wept, and the son wept; for each, amid the terrible
+experience of these troublous times, had hardly expected to meet the
+other.
+
+For several minutes they held each other by the hand, laughing and weeping
+alternately, and neither being able to express the intense emotions which
+agitated him. The men shouted and laughed in full sympathy with the
+reunited sire and son.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, Tom," said Captain Somers, as he wiped away the
+tears that were sliding down upon his grizzly beard. "I haven't cried
+before for thirty years; I'm ashamed of it, Tom, but I can't help it."
+
+"I didn't expect to find you here, father, and clothed in the rebel
+uniform; but I'm glad to see you in any uniform," replied the soldier boy.
+
+"So you're in the army, Tom," continued the father, gazing with
+satisfaction at the neat appearance of the sergeant.
+
+"Yes, sir; I enlisted within a fortnight after we heard that the traitors
+had bombarded Fort Sumter."
+
+"I see you've got three stripes on your arm."
+
+"Yes, Cap'n Somers," said Hapgood; "Tom was made a sergeant for gallant
+conduct on the river in December; and he deserved his promotion too."
+
+"I'm glad to see you with that uniform on your back, Tom; and glad to hear
+that you have behaved well."
+
+"I was in the battle of Bull Run, father, and was taken prisoner, but I
+got away."
+
+"Well, Tom, we'll hear about that bimeby," said the old man, stopping and
+looking nervously into the face of his son. "I want to ask a great many
+questions, Tom, but I hardly dare to do it. You know I haven't heard a
+word from home since I left, and it's almost a year now."
+
+"You needn't be afraid, father; the folks are all well. I have got a heap
+of letters at the camp, and you shall read them all as soon as we get
+there."
+
+"Is your mother well, Tom?"
+
+"First rate."
+
+"And John?"
+
+"Yes, sir; but he's gone into the navy. He was bound to be in the fight
+any how."
+
+"John's a chip of the old block. He wanted to snuff the salt water afore
+he was a week old. John's a good sailor, and he ought to have a good lay
+wherever he goes," added the father.
+
+Captain Somers and Tom sat upon the ground for half an hour, until the
+fugitive from the rebel army was in some degree rested after the hard run
+he had had through the woods. The soldiers gathered around them, as much
+interested as though they had been members of the Somers family. Tom's
+father had a multitude of questions to ask about Pinchbrook and its
+people, all of which were answered to his satisfaction.
+
+The sergeant thought it was time for the party to move on, and his father
+declared that he was able to walk any distance which would bring him
+nearer to the home of his wife and children. The order was given, and the
+little band resumed its march.
+
+"How have you been all this time, father?" asked Tom, as he walked along
+by the side of Captain Somers.
+
+"I've been pretty fairly most of the time. I'm tough and hardy, or I
+should have been dead afore this time. We've been half starved and half
+frozen in the camp; but I managed to live through it, hoping and expecting
+to get away from those rascally rebels."
+
+"Where have you been all the time?" asked Tom. "Have you been in the rebel
+army long?"
+
+"About four months; but I may as well begin at the beginning, and tell you
+the whole story," added the captain. "I got to Norfolk all right, and was
+there when the news came up that the rebels had taken Sumter. Every body
+was mad, and I was as mad as the rest of them, though not exactly in the
+same way. I let on a little with my tongue, and came pretty near being
+tarred and feathered, and I think I should have been, if your uncle Wyman
+hadn't interfered."
+
+"Did he settle with you, father?"
+
+"After a while he did. He had some fifteen thousand dollars in New York,
+which had just been sent over from England, and as he was secesh, he was
+terribly afeard the Lincoln government would confiscate it; so he settled
+with me, and gave me a power of attorney to draw his money, pay myself,
+and take care of what was over. I've got the papers safe in my waistbands
+now."
+
+"Good! Glory, hallelujah!" shouted Tom. "We can pay off old Pemberton now,
+for it goes against my grain to owe a dollar to a traitor. But if uncle
+Wyman is a rebel, and I suppose he is, I hope the government will
+confiscate what's over after you have paid yourself."
+
+"Well, I don't know. We will see about that bimeby. He used me fair, and I
+don't wish him any harm; but I hate his principles. Well, just then, Tom,
+when I had got my accounts squared, the rascals took my vessel, and sunk
+it in the channel to keep the Union fleet out. My pipe was out then, and I
+couldn't do any thing more. I hung round the city of Norfolk till I saw
+there was no chance to get out in that direction; and then I left. I was
+up near Bull Run--the rebels call it Manassas--when the battle was fought;
+but our folks got licked so badly, that it was no use to try to get
+through there.
+
+"I tried half a dozen times to crawl through, and had nearly starved to
+death in the woods; but some rebel cavalry pickets spied me out, called me
+a traitor, and sent me back. My money was all gone by this time, and I
+went over to Norfolk again. Your uncle Wyman told me I had better keep
+quiet where I was, for just as sure as his name was Somers, the North
+would all fall to pieces in less than six months. He expected the rebel
+army would be in New York afore long, and I should be a great deal better
+off where I was. He tried to get a pass to send me through the rebel
+lines, but he couldn't do it.
+
+"Things went on in this way till your uncle Wyman went to Charleston on
+business, and I haven't seen him from that day to this. The rebels tried
+to make me go into their navy, but I wouldn't do it, of course; but when I
+couldn't do any other way, I went into the army, hoping I should be sent
+to the front, and find a chance to get away. I've been watching ever
+since, but I never happened to get within twenty miles of the Union
+pickets before. But here I am, and I'm perfectly satisfied with the past,
+though I've suffered a good deal in one way and another."
+
+By the time Captain Somers had finished his narrative, the party arrived
+at the camp. Tom was reprimanded very gently for detaching himself from
+the main body of the regiment; but when he reported the events of his
+excursion, as he had safely returned with his command, nothing more was
+said about his adventure.
+
+At the camp the Union refugee was provided with comfortable clothing; his
+hair and beard were trimmed down to decent proportions, and he was
+otherwise purged of the barbarisms of the rebel camp. But even then he did
+not look like the stout, hearty, healthy Captain Somers who sailed from
+Boston in the Gazelle nearly a year before. He was haggard and emaciated
+from anxiety and semi-starvation.
+
+Captain Somers was warmly welcomed by the members of Company K, who came
+from Pinchbrook; and when his physical wants had been satisfied, he was
+sent to General Hooker, to communicate to him such intelligence as he
+possessed in regard to the position and numbers of the rebel army. He
+remained at the camp but two days, at the end of which time he was sent to
+Washington, and from there hastened to his home in Pinchbrook. A letter
+from Tom, announcing the joyful intelligence of his return, had preceded
+him.
+
+In ten days after parting with his father, the sergeant received a full
+and glowing account of the reception of Captain Somers, who became quite a
+lion in Pinchbrook for the time being. He received his money as he passed
+through New York, though not without the aid of a government order which
+he had procured in Washington, and only the amount that was actually due
+to him, for uncle Wyman's funds were then in process of being confiscated.
+
+The only drawback upon his father's happiness was the absence of John, who
+had been drafted into a vessel bound to the South. He had not seen him for
+a year, and another year would probably elapse before he could expect to
+realize this pleasure. But the captain's patriotism had been intensified a
+hundred fold by his bitter experience in Virginia; and while his twin sons
+were gallantly serving their country in the army and the navy, he was
+willing to sacrifice the yearnings of his paternal heart, and he hoped and
+prayed that they might do their duty faithfully.
+
+Tom's regiment remained on the Potomac but a short time after the event we
+have related. Sharper and sterner experience was before these tried
+soldiers, and the first indications of active service were greeted with
+joyous enthusiasm. Suddenly the camp was broken up, and the order to march
+given. The men wondered and speculated upon their destination, and though
+the prophets of the regiments gave them certain information in regard to
+the direction they were to take, most of them were incredulous. One
+declared they were going to Richmond by the way of Fredericksburg;
+another, by the way of Manassas; and a third was positive, from hints he
+had seen in the newspapers, that they were going down the valley of the
+Shenandoah, to take the capital of Rebeldom on the flank and rear.
+
+While the prophets and wise men were speculating, the regiment marched on;
+and to the astonishment of all, and to the utter confusion of the seers,
+they were embarked in a transport--the steamer Napoleon--bound no one knew
+where. One regiment and half of another belonging to the brigade were
+huddled on board of this one steamer. Every foot of standing room was
+occupied, and, of course, the boys were not very comfortably quartered;
+but, as Tom expressed it, there was music ahead, and the brave hearts on
+board were ready to stand any thing if they could only get a fight out of
+the rebels. The mortification of their defeat at Bull Run still hung
+heavily on their spirits, and they were panting for an opportunity to
+retaliate upon the foe, and win the laurels they had lost upon that
+disastrous field.
+
+The prophets, though their failure to foretell the coming event had cast
+them into disgrace, were still ready to volunteer an opinion. They
+declared that the transports were bound to North Carolina, to follow up
+Burnside's successes; but most of the men were content to wait till the
+future should develop itself.
+
+The troops were eager for active duty, and if they could get into the
+field and strike a heavy blow at the rebellion, they did not care where it
+was. They had unbounded confidence in the young general who was to
+organize victory for them, and they were willing to obey orders, and leave
+every thing to him.
+
+It "thundered all around" them. Roanoke, Pea Ridge, Newbern, Winchester,
+Donelson, were a succession of Union victories, which inspired them with
+zeal and courage to endure all hardships, and face any peril which might
+be in their path.
+
+The transport descended the Potomac, and came to anchor in the bay, where
+they lay one day; the steamer then continued on her course, and landed her
+troops in Cheseman's Creek, an indentation of the peninsula between the
+York and James Rivers. After lying in camp a few days, they marched again,
+and Tom learned that the regiment was before Yorktown, which had been
+strongly fortified by the rebels to resist the advance of the Union army.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG.
+
+
+What the army of the Potomac achieved and suffered before Yorktown, we
+must leave for the historian. Our soldier boy was only one hero among
+thousands who toiled in the soft mud of the early spring, who watched and
+waited for the tremendous events which have now passed into history, and
+whose actors will be honored and remembered by future generations.
+
+Tom Somers bore his full share of the trials and hardships of that
+eventful period; and when McClellan's scientific engineering had driven
+the rebels from their strong works without a struggle to retain them, he
+moved forward with the gallant army. "On to Richmond!" again sounded along
+the lines, and the soldiers toiled through mud and mire, hoping and
+expecting to strike the final blow that would crush out the rebellion.
+
+Yorktown was evacuated. The rebels were fleeing from their frowning
+batteries, and the order came for Hooker's division to join in the
+pursuit. At noon the brigade--now under command of General Grover
+commenced its forward movement.
+
+"Rather rough," said Hapgood, as the regiment struggled on through the
+mire. "Rather soft, I think," replied Tom, laughing.
+
+"I hope we haven't got to march far through this mud," added Ben
+Lethbridge.
+
+"That will depend upon how soon we come up with the rebels. If it rests
+with Hooker, I tell you he will get a fight out of the rebs, if such a
+thing is possible."
+
+After the regiment had marched five or six miles, the order came to halt;
+and the intelligence passed along the column that the cavalry had come up
+with the enemy, and were waiting the arrival of an infantry force to
+assist in the attack.
+
+"Good!" shouted Tom. "We shall have a battle before night."
+
+"Perhaps not," added Hapgood. "It takes the cat a good while to catch the
+mouse, even after she smells the critter."
+
+"Why don't we march? What are we stopping here for?" said Tom,
+impatiently.
+
+"They say Smith's division has got in ahead of us. Keep cool, Tom; never
+be in a hurry for a battle. Some of us that stand here now won't be alive
+in twenty-four hours from now; for I don't believe the rebs are going to
+let us have it all our own way," said the veteran.
+
+"Nor I," added Fred Pemberton. "I shall be killed in this fight."
+
+"How do you know, Fred?" demanded Hapgood, sternly.
+
+"Of course I don't know, but I feel it in my bones that I shall fall in
+the first battle."
+
+"Your bones ain't no guide at all. I know something about this business,
+and I've seen croakers afore to-day. Don't talk about being killed, or
+even hit. Be ready to die, do your duty like a soldier, and leave all the
+rest to your Maker," said the veteran, solemnly.
+
+"I don't have any such feeling as that. I know I shan't be killed,"
+laughed Ben. "The bullet hasn't been cast yet that will stop my wind."
+
+"Perhaps it has, my boy. It may be in some rebel soldier's cartridge box
+over yonder, even now. I tell you, boys, you don't know any thing about
+it. Just afore we went in at Cerry Gordy, a feller by my side said the
+same thing you did, Ben; and he was the first man that went down. I tried
+to pick him up, and do something for him, but he was stone dead. I tell
+you, Ben, you don't know any thing about it. Leave it all to the
+Almighty."
+
+"Pooh, uncle!" sneered Ben, trying to laugh down the solemn words of the
+old man. "Don't you think we'd better have a prayer meetin' before we go
+in?"
+
+"I think we should fight the better for it, for he who trusts in God don't
+fear death."
+
+But it was evident that the words of Hapgood, especially the incident of
+Cerro Gordo, had made a deep impression upon the mind of the thoughtless
+young man. Though the division did not move for three hours, he was very
+silent and sober. He seemed to feel that he had been tempting Providence
+by his bold speech, and even expressed his regret to Tom for what he had
+said.
+
+It was dark when the order to march was given. The night was exceedingly
+gloomy, and the rain poured down upon the devoted army, as it moved
+forward to do its great work. Hour after hour, in the deep darkness and
+the pouring rain, the men struggled through the mire, expecting every
+moment to be hurled upon the rebel battalions, or to meet the impetuous
+onset of the foe.
+
+Between ten and eleven, when the men were nearly worn out by the
+exhausting labors of the march, they were ordered to halt in the road, and
+bivouac for the rest of the night. What a time and what a place for
+repose! They could only wrap themselves up in their wet blankets, and
+stretch themselves upon the ground, soaked with water, and with the rain
+still pouring down upon them. But they slept, and enjoyed their rest, for
+Nature was imperative in her demands.
+
+At daylight the march was resumed; for the intrepid Hooker, ever faithful
+to the trust confided to him, was wholly in earnest. At half-past five the
+column was halted in the woods. The rebel works before Williamsburg were
+in sight, and General Hooker rode to the front to examine the position of
+the enemy.
+
+In front of the rebel batteries, and on each side of the roads, the trees
+had been felled, in order to give the guns in the field works full play
+upon an approaching force.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted some of the boys on the right of the column. "Our
+brigade is to commence the attack."
+
+"How do you know?" growled Hapgood, who did not think a soldier ought to
+know any thing about the plan of the battle.
+
+"We are ordered to move," replied Tom. "I suppose that's all they know
+about it."
+
+The prophets on the right were correct this time, for the regiment was
+soon sent to the right of the road, and ordered to deploy as skirmishers.
+A battery was thrown forward in front of the felled timber; but before a
+gun could be fired, two officers and two privates were seen to fall before
+the unerring aim of the rebel sharpshooters, occupying the rifle pits
+which dotted the cleared land in front of the forts.
+
+"That's a hot place," said Ben Lethbridge.
+
+"We shall all see hot work before the sun goes down to-night," replied
+Tom. "But let us stand up to it like men."
+
+"That's the talk, Tom!" exclaimed Hapgood.
+
+"Have you got those socks on, my boy?"
+
+"I have, uncle; and I have the letter and the photograph in my pocket."
+
+"Good, Tom! After this day's work is over, you can write the lady a
+letter, and tell her that her socks have been in a battle."
+
+"And that I didn't run away in them."
+
+The roar of the guns in Fort Magruder interrupted the conversation. The
+gunners of the battery in front of them had been driven from their pieces;
+but it was almost instantly manned by volunteers, and a destructive fire
+poured into the works. Other batteries were brought up, and the fort was
+soon silenced. The roar of battle sounded all along the line; the thunder
+of cannon and the crash of musketry reverberated through the woods and
+over the plain, assuring the impatient troops that they were engaged in no
+trivial affair; that they were fighting a great battle, of which thousands
+yet unborn would read upon the pages of history.
+
+Our regiment closed up its lines, and the gallant colonel gave the order
+to move forward in the direction of the field works. On, on, steadily and
+firmly marched the men of Massachusetts, through ditch and swamp, through
+mud and mire, loading, firing, and charging, as the enemy presented
+opportunity. The hot work of the day had commenced; for, from every bush,
+tree, and covert, which could conceal a man, the rebels poured a deadly
+fire into the ranks of the advancing Federals.
+
+Tom stood as firm as a rock. The doubts and fears which beset him in his
+first battle had no existence on this day. So thoroughly had he schooled
+his mind to the fearful ordeal of carnage, that he felt quite at home. He
+was cool and determined, and continually encouraged those around him by
+his cheering words as well as by his example.
+
+"Ben is down!" exclaimed Hapgood.
+
+"Poor fellow!" replied Tom, without taking his eye off the foe in front.
+
+"There goes Bob Dornton!" added Hapgood.
+
+"Stand up to it, my men!" said Tom, firmly, for he had no time then to
+think of the fallen.
+
+"Forward!" shouted the impetuous colonel, who, if he had never been
+popular with the men before, was rapidly establishing himself in their
+good graces by his unflinching heroism. "Forward! double quick! march!"
+
+And on dashed the gallant regiment, mounting the enemy's lofty works, and
+driving the foe before them like sheep, at the point of the bayonet. This
+was the first experience of this exciting description which Tom had seen,
+and he entered into the spirit of it with a hearty zeal.
+
+"Halt!" was the order, as a regiment filed out in front of them, with a
+flag of truce flying on its front. "Steady--don't fire," repeated several
+officers along the line.
+
+"What regiment are you?" shouted a person, as the flag came within
+speaking distance.
+
+"What are you?" demanded an officer of the storming party.
+
+"We're the Alabama eighth!"
+
+"We are the Massachusetts --th," replied our men.
+
+"Then you are the villains we want!" returned the rebel, plentifully
+interlarding the sentence with oaths.
+
+The flag of truce dropped, and the dastardly foe poured in a volley of
+musketry, before which a dozen of our brave boys fell, either killed or
+wounded.
+
+"Fire!" yelled the colonel; and the order was obeyed with a will. "Charge
+bayonets! Forward--double quick--march!"
+
+The men, burning with indignation at the treachery of the rebel horde,
+sprang forward to wreak their righteous vengeance upon the cowardly
+traitors. So impetuous was the charge, that the rebel regiment broke, and
+sought safety in flight.
+
+"Down with them!" hoarsely screamed Tom, as the line swayed forward, and
+pursued the panic-stricken foe into the woods on the left. The even line
+was broken, and the boys scattered to do their work to the best advantage.
+
+Tom's legs seemed to be in excellent condition, notwithstanding the
+toilsome marches of the last twenty-four hours; and he dashed forward into
+the woods followed by only a dozen choice spirits, whose enthusiasm was
+equal to his own. A squad of flying rebels in front of them was the object
+of their present anxiety, and they soon distanced their companions.
+
+The rebels, seeing by how small a force they were pursued, rallied and
+formed line again.
+
+"Give it to them!" cried Tom, as he led his little force upon the rebels.
+
+"Hold on, Tom!" said Hapgood; "we have gone far enough. There's a rebel
+regiment forming behind us."
+
+"Can't help it," said Tom, as he rushed forward, with the veteran by his
+side. "Give it to them!"
+
+Tom and his men threw themselves upon the rebel squad, and a sharp fight
+ensued, in which the parties fought with bayonets, clubbed muskets, and
+even with the death grip upon each other's throats. The traitors could not
+stand it, and fled again.
+
+The sergeant glanced behind him, and saw the rebel regiment formed ready
+to charge upon his own. He was cut off from his friends, with the enemy on
+his front and rear. Three of his men had fallen in the sharp encounter
+with the rebels, and most of them were wounded or bruised, and all of them
+out of breath. To add to the peril of the situation, the squad they had
+been pursuing were rallying and being reënforced by their fugitive
+companions.
+
+"Bad, Tom, bad," said Hapgood, who was puffing and blowing like a
+porpoise, as he ominously shook his head.
+
+"Follow me!" said Tom, confidently, as he led the way in a direction at
+right angles with the advance of the party.
+
+Our regiment had reformed again, and soon gave that in front of them
+enough to do. The rebels in their rear caused the sergeant's squad no
+little annoyance; but they continued on their course, loading and firing
+as they retreated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+MORE OF THE BATTLE.
+
+
+While Tom and his little command were working their way back to the Union
+lines, followed up by the disorganized band of rebels, a series of most
+unearthly yells swept over the field, for they had emerged from the woods.
+It was the rallying cry of the Confederate regiment which had formed in
+their rear. They were charging upon the Massachusetts --th; but they might
+as well have charged upon the Rock of Gibraltar, for presently Tom was
+delighted to see them retiring before the tremendous onslaught of his
+friends.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted he, forgetting the foe in his rear, and pressing forward
+to that on his front, at the same time changing his course so as to
+approach the right wing of the rebel regiment.
+
+"Don't be rash, Tom," said the old soldier, who never permitted the
+sergeant to leave his side.
+
+"Follow me, boys!" roared Tom, breathless with excitement, as he started
+off on the double quick towards the breaking lines of the enemy.
+
+"Here we are!" replied the gallant fellows behind him, pushing forward
+with a zeal equal to that of their leader, from whom they derived their
+inspiration. "Go in, sergeant, and we'll stand by you."
+
+But the bold soldier boy had discretion as well as gallantry; and he saw
+that if he threw his little force upon the rebel line, the whole party
+would be instantly annihilated. A covert of bushes fortunately lay on the
+right flank of the retreating regiment, and Tom ordered his men to conceal
+themselves behind it, until a favorable moment should arrive to take their
+places in the lines.
+
+The men were glad enough to obtain a breathing spell; but, at such a
+tremendous moment as that, idleness would have been treason, for such a
+glorious opportunity to strike a heavy blow had not before occurred.
+
+"Load up, and fire at will," said Tom, as he charged his musket. "Don't
+throw your lead away either."
+
+"We are a dead shot here if we are any where," added Hapgood, as he and
+the rest of the party hastily loaded their muskets.
+
+Pop went Tom's piece first, and over went the rebel at the extreme right
+of the rebel regiment. There was no such thing as missing the mark, for
+they were on the flank of the Confederate line, which the united efforts
+of the officers could hardly preserve. The men in the covert fired when
+they were ready; and as they carefully observed the injunction of Tom not
+to waste their lead, every shot told upon the rebels.
+
+The Confederate officers glanced nervously at the clump of bushes, which
+glowed with flashes of fire as the sergeant's little command poured in
+their volleys; but they were too closely pressed by the Federals in front
+to attempt to dislodge them. The rebel privates were not long in
+ascertaining what was so clear to their officers--that they were flanked,
+and were being shot down like sheep, from a quarter where they could not
+defend themselves. They had been slowly and doggedly retiring before the
+advancing Federals, disputing every inch of ground; but when they realized
+that the bolts of death were dropping among them from another direction,
+they could no longer endure that awful suspense which takes possession of
+the minds of men when they are suspended, as it were, between life and
+death.
+
+Tom saw them waver, and he knew what it meant. The rebel line was just
+abreast of him, and he had seen at least a score of men fall before the
+deadly fire of his party.
+
+"Give it to them, boys! They shake!" shouted Tom, as he delivered his fire
+again. "Pour in as fast as you can, but don't waste your powder."
+
+The men redoubled their exertions, and the rapidity of their fire was
+sensibly increased. The effect was soon perceptible in the rebel ranks;
+for the right of the line, probably supposing a company, if not a whole
+regiment, of sharp-shooters was concealed in the covert, suddenly broke
+and fled with the utmost precipitation, in spite of the gallant efforts of
+their officers to rally them.
+
+The Federal regiment instantly took advantage of this partial panic, and
+charged furiously upon the rebel line. A desperate hand-to-hand encounter
+ensued, during which Tom and his companions emerged from their
+concealment, and ran along the rear of the victorious line. They soon
+satisfied themselves of what they had before believed--that the regiment
+was their own; and they lost no time in finding the company to which they
+belonged. They joined in the pursuit, which soon ended in the utter rout
+of the rebel force.
+
+The position of the enemy's lines did not permit them to follow the
+advantage to any great extent, and the order was soon given to fall back.
+At this juncture the regiment, which had been constantly engaged for
+several hours, was relieved; and not too early in the day, for the men
+were completely exhausted by the furious onslaughts they had made.
+
+"Who were those men in the bushes on the flank of the rebel regiment?"
+demanded the colonel, as he reined up his jaded horse in front of Company
+K.
+
+"Sergeant Somers and others," replied Captain Benson.
+
+"Somers again!" exclaimed the colonel.
+
+"Yes, sir. They pursued the regiment into the woods--the one that showed
+the flag of truce--till they were separated from the rest of us."
+"Forward, Sergeant Somers," added the colonel.
+
+Tom modestly stepped forward, and he would have blushed if his face had
+not been so reddened by his previous exertions as to leave no room for a
+deepening of its tint.
+
+"You did a big thing, Sergeant Somers. You broke that rebel line by your
+steady fire. Sergeant Somers, I thank you and the men you commanded for
+your good service."
+
+Tom bowed, and the regiment cheered. It was the proudest moment of his
+life to be thanked on the field, while the guns were roaring and the
+musketry rattling, for the good service he had rendered. It would form an
+excellent paragraph for his letter to Lilian Ashford, especially as he had
+more than once, in the perils of that exciting hour, thought of the socks
+he wore, and of the letter and the photograph which nestled in his breast
+pocket, and upon which his quick throbbing heart was beating the notes of
+glory and victory.
+
+"We gave you up for lost," said Captain Benson, as Tom returned to the
+line.
+
+"We are safe, thank God!" replied Tom, "though three of our number fell in
+the woods, or on the field where we were chased by the rebels."
+
+"Sergeant Somers saved us," added uncle Hapgood. "If he hadn't been as
+cool as cowcumber, and as stiff as the mainmast of a frigate, we should
+have been taken, every one of us."
+
+"Bravo, Tom!" said the captain.
+
+"The men stood by me like heroes, or it would have been all up with the
+whole of us. They are good fellows, and they deserve as much credit as I
+do."
+
+The battle continued to rage with increasing fury, till the roar, and the
+crash, and the sweep of armed legions beggared description. Regiments and
+brigades advanced and fell back with the varying fortunes of the day, but
+as yet there was nothing to indicate the final result.
+
+When the men of our regiment had recovered their breath, an order came for
+them to proceed to the left. On their arrival at the position assigned to
+them, they were immediately led to the front, where the batteries which
+had been pouring a hot fire into the enemy were in imminent danger of
+being surrounded. Indeed, the swoop of the rebel infantry upon the guns
+had already been made, and the cannoneers had been driven from their
+stations. With the colonel on the right, and the adjutant in command on
+the left, the regiment charged upon the foe, as it had twice before
+charged on that eventful day, with an enthusiasm bordering upon fury.
+
+The rebels had even spiked one of the guns, and they maintained their
+position with an obstinacy which promised the annihilation of one or the
+other of the contending forces. A desperate strife ensued, in which the
+least perceptible advantage was gained by the Federals. But if they could
+do no more, they held the enemy in check, till the gunners could charge
+their pieces with grape and canister, which they poured into the rebels
+with the most deadly effect.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Tom, as the rebels quaked before the withering storm of
+shot belched forth by the guns of the battery. "They shake! Give it to
+them!"
+
+"Steady, my men! steady," said Captain Benson. "The ammunition of the
+battery is expended," he added, as the cannon ceased their work of
+destruction. "We must hold these pieces, and every man must do his duty."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" replied Tom, vigorously, and the cry was repeated through
+the company.
+
+As soon as the guns were thus rendered useless, the enemy swept down upon
+the supports again, intent upon capturing the pieces. They advanced with
+that terrific yell which is enough of itself to frighten a nervous man,
+and with an impetuosity which nothing human could resist. Our regiment
+recoiled under the shock; but it was forced back by the sheer stress of
+numbers.
+
+"Rally men! Rally, my brave fellows!" shouted the adjutant, in command of
+the left wing.
+
+"Stand stiff! Roll them back!" roared the colonel.
+
+"Steady, men!" added Captain Benson.
+
+"Now, give it to them!" screamed Tom, as he plunged his bayonet into the
+vitals of the rebel in front of him, and pushed forward into the very
+midst of the foe.
+
+The sergeant seemed suddenly to be endowed with the strength of a giant,
+and he held his own till Hapgood sprang to his assistance. The rest of the
+line, inspired by this daring conduct, rushed forward, and fell upon the
+foe with a fury that could not be resisted.
+
+"Bravo! Bravo, Tom!" shouted the captain. "Go in, boys!" roared the
+lieutenant.
+
+And the boys "went in," and forced back the rebel line, and held the guns
+until another battery with a supply of ammunition arrived upon the ground
+to relieve them. The enemy was again repulsed, and the guns were saved by
+the unflinching heroism of our gallant Massachusetts regiment--another
+paragraph for the letter to Lilian Ashford.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+GLORY AND VICTORY.
+
+
+The battle now raged more fiercely than ever, and hotter and hotter became
+the fire on every side. The shouts of the enemy indicated the arrival of
+reënforcements. "Johnston!" "Long-street!" resounded over the field, and
+roused the rebels to renewed activity. More certainly was the increase of
+the enemy's force determined by the gradual falling back of the brigade at
+the left of the road; but the men fought with desperate courage, and
+yielded not a foot of ground without enriching it with their best blood.
+
+There were no signs of reënforcements for over exhausted troops, though a
+whole corps was within hearing of the booming guns that were slaughtering
+our outnumbered and exhausted brigades. On the field the aspect began to
+be dark and unpromising, and Tom prayed with all his soul that he might be
+spared the pain of beholding another defeat, another rout.
+
+Our regiment was ordered to the support of the yielding brigade on the
+left. The woods were full of rebels, and the issue of the conflict in this
+part of the field was almost hopeless. The enemy seemed to be inspired by
+the slight advantage they had gained, and their yells were fiercer and
+more diabolical than ever, as they gathered themselves up for a desperate
+onslaught.
+
+The Federal brigade was overmatched, and the result seemed to waver upon a
+balance; then the equilibrium was slightly disturbed, and the Union force
+fell back a little, but only a little, and doggedly resisted the advance
+of the foe. It needed but little to restore the equilibrium, and our
+regiment, after struggling through the mud with all attainable speed,
+arrived upon the spot when the prospect was so gloomy for the loyal cause.
+
+The men were almost exhausted by the tremendous strain which had all day
+long been imposed upon their nervous systems, and by the physical exertion
+required of them. But the battle was going against the North, and they
+were ready again to make a desperate effort to redeem the field.
+
+"One more of your Massachusetts charges, colonel," said General Hooker, as
+the weary soldiers moved up to the endangered position.
+
+"You shall have it, general. My men are always ready, though they are
+nearly used up."
+
+"Hancock and Kearney are close by, and if we can hold out a few minutes
+longer, all will be well with us."
+
+"We'll drive them back, general!" shouted the colonel.
+
+"Go in, then!" added the gallant Hooker, waving his sword to encourage the
+soldiers. "Forward! You have no time to lose!"
+
+The fiery colonel briefly stated to the regiment the nature of the work
+before them, admonished the men to do as they had done all day, and
+Massachusetts would be proud of them. A ringing cheer was the reply to the
+stirring words of the colonel, and the orders were given for the advance.
+
+On went the brave fellows like a wall of iron, and precipitated themselves
+upon the rebels, buoyant with hope as they followed up their temporary
+advantage. The point of attack was all in their favor, and their
+exhilarating shouts as they sprang upon the foe kindled up the expiring
+enthusiasm of the yielding brigade to whose assistance they had come. The
+shock was terrible--more fearful and destructive than any which our boys
+had before experienced.
+
+"Steady, my men!" shouted Captain Benson.
+
+"Give it to them!" roared Tom, maddened to desperation by the awful strife
+around him, and by seeing so many of our men fall by his side.
+
+"Stand up to it!" shouted the excited colonel. "They run!"
+
+At this moment an inequality of the ground beneath the men of Company K
+placed them in a bad position, and the rebels in front of them, taking
+advantage of the circumstance, pressed forward, and actually broke through
+the line, trampling some of our soldiers beneath their feet, and
+transfixing them with their bayonets.
+
+A terrible scene ensued at this gap in the ranks, for the whole rebel
+regiment began to press into the weak place. The breach was made by the
+side of our sergeant, so that he was not borne down by the pressure of the
+rebel battalion.
+
+"Close up!" yelled Tom. "Close up! Hail, Columbia! and give it to them!"
+
+Drawing a revolver which he had been permitted to retain after the capture
+of the contraband craft on the Potomac, he discharged its six barrels into
+the foremost of the assailants; and Hapgood and Fred Pemberton, who were
+armed in like manner from the same source, imitated the example of the
+sergeant.
+
+"Now give them the bayonet, boys!" screamed Tom, hoarsely, as he plunged
+into the midst of the rebels.
+
+The men on the other side of the gap pushed forward with equal energy, and
+the ranks closed up again over a pile of dead and wounded rebels, and
+Federals, who had fallen in that sharp encounter.
+
+"Bravo!" shouted General Hooker, whose attention had been drawn to the
+break in the line. "Bravo, sergeant! You shall have a commission! Forward,
+my brave boys! Massachusetts sees you!"
+
+"Up and at them," cried Tom, as the rebels began to yield and break before
+the tremendous charge of our regiment.
+
+The young sergeant's throat was raw with the shouting he had done, and his
+limbs were beginning to yield to the fatigues of the day; but the words of
+the commander of the division made him over new again, and his husky voice
+still rang along the line, full of new courage and new energy to his
+exhausted comrades. The rebels were driven back for the time, and fled
+before the iron masses that crowded upon them.
+
+The regiment was recalled, and the weary troops, now almost decimated by
+the slaughter which had taken place in their ranks, were permitted to
+breathe once more.
+
+"This is awful," said the veteran of Company K, panting from the violence
+of his exertions. "I never saw any thing like this before."
+
+"Nor I," replied Tom, dropping upon the ground with exhaustion.
+
+"I know something about this business. I thought Cerry Gordy was
+consid'able of a battle, but 'twas nothin' like this."
+
+"It's awful," sighed Tom, as he thought of the good fellows he had seen
+fall upon the field.
+
+"Heaps of our boys have gone down!"
+
+"Attention--battalion!" came ringing with startling effect along the line,
+in the familiar tones of the intrepid colonel.
+
+"If we win the day, we can afford to lose many. Victory or death!" shouted
+Tom, as he sprang to his feet, in obedience to the command. "More work for
+us!"
+
+"How do you feel, Tom?" demanded the veteran, as they sprang into the
+line.
+
+"All right," replied Tom, with a forced buoyancy of spirits.
+
+"Are you sure, my boy?" continued the veteran, gazing with deep anxiety
+into the face of the sergeant.
+
+"I'm first rate, uncle. I think I can stand it as long as any body else."
+
+"You have done wonders to-day, Tom. I'm proud of you, but I'm afeared you
+are doing too much. If you are used up, it wouldn't be any disgrace for
+you to go to the rear. After what you've done, nobody will say a word.
+Don't kill yourself, Tom, but go to the rear."
+
+"I go to the rear!" exclaimed Tom, with indignation.
+
+"If you are disabled, I mean, of course," apologized the veteran.
+
+"I'm not disabled. If I go to the rear with these socks on, it won't be
+till after the breath has left my body."
+
+"Socks!" replied Hapgood, with a sneer. "I'm afeared that gal will be the
+death of you."
+
+"I don't sulk in these socks," replied Tom, with a faint smile, as the
+regiment moved off on the double quick to some new position of peril.
+
+"The rebels are flanking us!" shouted an officer in another command, as
+our regiment hurried forward to the endangered point.
+
+"That's what we are wanted for," said Hapgood.
+
+The enemy had nearly accomplished their purpose when our gallant colonel
+and his jaded force reached the left of the line, and in a few moments
+more would have poured a flanking fire into our devoted battalions, which
+were struggling with terrible energy to roll back the pressure in front of
+them.
+
+The colonel had his men well in hand, and he manoeuvred them with
+consummate skill, so as to bring them advantageously to the work they were
+to perform. The regiment was hurled against the head of the flanking
+column, and the boys rushed forward with that dash and spirit which had
+characterized their conduct half a score of times before in various parts
+of the field.
+
+Tom's muscles had become loose and soft after the long continued strain
+upon them, and if his soul had not been ten times as big as his body, he
+must have sunk under the exhaustion of the day. Another desperate
+onslaught was required of the men of our regiment, and commanding all his
+energies, Tom braced himself up once more for the fearful struggle.
+
+"How do you feel now, Tom?" demanded the anxious veteran, as he bit off
+the cartridge, and rammed it home.
+
+"First rate, uncle!" replied Tom, as the regiment poured a withering
+volley into the rebel line.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, Tom, don't kill yourself," added the old man, as they
+loaded up again. "Your knees shake under you now."
+
+"Do you think I'm afraid, uncle?" demanded the sergeant with a grim smile.
+
+"No, no, Tom; of course I don't think any thing of the kind. I'm afeared
+you'll bust a blood-vessel, or something of that sort."
+
+"If I do, I'll let you know, uncle."
+
+"Charge bayonets! Double quick--march!" rang along the line.
+
+"Have at them!" cried Tom, who was always the first to catch the orders of
+the commanding officer. "Down with them! Give 'em Yankee Doodle, Hail,
+Columbia, and the Red, White, and Blue."
+
+The advancing column, shaken by the furious fire of our regiment, recoiled
+before the shock. Slowly the foe fell back, leaving heaps of their slain
+upon the hotly-contested ground. Our boys halted, and poured in another
+destructive volley.
+
+The Confederate officers rallied their men, and, maddened by the check
+they had received, drove them forward to recover the lost ground.
+
+"Once more, boys! Give it to 'em again," cried Tom, as the order to
+advance was repeated.
+
+His words were only representations of his actions; for, as he spoke, he
+rushed on a little in front of his comrades, who, however, pressed forward
+to keep up with him. He did not exceed the orders of his superior, but he
+was one of the promptest to obey them. On dashed the regiment, and again
+the rebel line recoiled, and soon broke in spite of the admirable efforts
+of their officers to keep them steady.
+
+"Kearney! Kearney! Kearney is here!" shouted the weary heroes in various
+parts of the field.
+
+"Down with them!" roared Tom, as the inspiring words rang in his ears.
+"Down with them! Kearney has come, and the day is ours!"
+
+He had scarcely uttered the words, and sprung forward, before he was seen
+to drop upon the ground, several paces in front of the line, though the
+undaunted old Hapgood was close by his side. The enemy had fled; the
+danger of being flanked was averted; and when Kearney's men dashed on the
+field, the sad-hearted veteran, assisted by Fred Pemberton, bore the
+silent form of the gallant sergeant to the rear.
+
+Kearney and Hancock rushed gallantly to the rescue of the exhausted
+troops, and Hooker's division was ordered to the rear to act as a reserve.
+The strife raged with unabated fury as those who had borne the brunt of
+the battle slowly fell back to give place to the fresh legions.
+
+Poor Tom was tenderly carried by the wiry veteran and his friends to the
+surgeon's quarters in the rear. There were tears in the eyes of the old
+man as he laid the silent form of his _protégé_ upon the wet ground. There
+he sat by his charge, sorrowful beyond expression, till tremendous shouts
+rent the air. Tom opened his eyes.
+
+"Glory and Victory!" shouted he, in husky tones, as he sprang to his feet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+HONORABLE MENTION.
+
+
+The surgeon examined Tom's wound, and found that he had been struck by a
+bullet over the left temple. The flesh was torn off, and if the skull was
+not fractured, it had received a tremendous hard shock. It was probably
+done at the instant when he turned to rally the men of Company K, and the
+ball glanced under the visor of his cap, close enough to scrape upon his
+skull, but far enough off to save his brains. Half an inch closer, and the
+bullet would have wound up Tom's earthly career.
+
+The shock had stunned him, and he had dropped like a dead man, while the
+profusion of blood that came from the wound covered his face, and his
+friends could not tell whether he was killed or not. He was a pitiable
+object as he lay on the ground by the surgeon's quarters; but the veteran
+soon assured himself that his young charge was not dead.
+
+Hapgood washed the gore from his face, and did what he could in his
+unscientific manner; and probably the cold water had a salutary effect
+upon the patient, for when Hancock and Kearney had completed their work,
+and the cry of victory rang over the bloody field, he was sufficiently
+revived to hear the inspiring tones of triumph. Leaping to his feet, faint
+and sick as he was, he took up the cry, and shouted in unison with the
+victors upon the field.
+
+But he had scarcely uttered the notes of glory and victory before his
+strength deserted him, and he would have dropped upon the ground if he had
+not been caught by Hapgood. He groaned heavily as he sank into the arms of
+his friend, and yielded to the faintness and exhaustion of the moment.
+
+The surgeon said the wound was not a very bad one, but that the patient
+was completely worn out by the excessive fatigues of march and battle. In
+due time he was conveyed to the college building in Williamsburg, where
+hundreds of his companions in arms were suffering and dying of their
+wounds. He received every attention which the circumstances would permit.
+Hapgood, by sundry vigorous applications at headquarters, was, in
+consideration of his own and his _protégé's_ good conduct on the battle
+field, permitted to remain with the patient over night.
+
+The sergeant's skull, as we have before intimated, was not very badly
+damaged, as physical injuries were measured after the bloody battle of
+that day. But his wound was not the only detriment he had experienced in
+the trying ordeal of that terrible day. His constitution had not yet been
+fully developed; his muscles were not hardened, and the fatigues of battle
+and march had a more serious effect upon him than the ounce of lead which
+had struck him on the forehead.
+
+The surgeon understood his case perfectly, and after dressing his wound,
+he administered some simple restoratives, and ordered the patient to go to
+sleep. On the night of the 3d of May, he had been on guard duty; on that
+of the 4th, he had obtained but three hours' sleep; and thus deprived of
+the rest which a growing boy needs, he had passed through the fearful
+scenes of the battle, in which his energies, mental and physical, had been
+tasked to their utmost. He was completely worn out, and in spite of the
+surroundings of the hospital, he went to sleep, obeying to the letter the
+orders of the surgeon.
+
+After twelve hours of almost uninterrupted slumber, Tom's condition was
+very materially improved, and when the doctor went his morning round, our
+sergeant buoyantly proposed to join his regiment forthwith.
+
+"Not yet, my boy," said the surgeon, kindly. "I shall not permit you to do
+duty for at least thirty days to come," he added, as he felt the patient's
+pulse.
+
+"I feel pretty well, sir," replied Tom.
+
+"No, you don't. Your regiment will remain here, I learn, for a few days,
+and you must keep quiet, or you will have a fever."
+
+"I don't feel sick, and my head doesn't pain me a bit."
+
+"That may be, but you are not fit for duty. You did too much yesterday.
+They say you behaved like a hero, on the field."
+
+"I tried to do my duty," replied Tom, his pale cheek suffused with a
+blush.
+
+"Boys like you can't stand much of such work as that. We must fix you up
+for the next battle; and you shall go into Richmond with the rest of the
+boys."
+
+"Must I stay in here all the time?"
+
+"No, you may go where you please. I will give you a certificate which will
+keep you safe from harm. You can walk about, and visit your regiment if
+you wish."
+
+"Thank you, doctor."
+
+Hapgood had been compelled to leave the hospital before his patient waked,
+and Tom had not yet learned any thing in regard to the casualties of the
+battle. Armed with the surgeon's certificate, he left the hospital, and
+walked to the place where the steward told him he would find his regiment.
+Somewhat to his astonishment he found that he was very weak; and before he
+had accomplished half the distance to the camp, he came to the conclusion
+that he was in no condition to carry a knapsack and a musket on a long
+march. But after resting himself for a short time, he succeeded in
+reaching his friends.
+
+He was warmly received by his companions, and the veteran of the company
+had nearly hugged him in his joy and admiration.
+
+"Honorable mention, Tom," said Hapgood. "You will be promoted as true as
+you live."
+
+"O, I guess not," replied Tom, modestly. "I didn't do any more than any
+body else. At any rate, you were close by my side, uncle."
+
+"Yes, but I followed, and you led. The commander of the division says you
+shall be a lieutenant. He said so on the field, and the colonel said so
+to-day."
+
+"I don't think I deserve it."
+
+"I do; and if you don't get a commission, then there ain't no justice left
+in the land. I tell you, Tom, you shall be a brigadier if the war lasts
+only one year more."
+
+"O, nonsense, uncle!"
+
+"Well, if you ain't, you ought to be."
+
+"I'm lucky to get out alive. Whom have we lost, uncle?"
+
+"A good many fine fellows." replied Hapgood, shaking his head, sadly.
+
+"Poor Ben dropped early in the day."
+
+"Yes, I was afraid he'd got most to the end of his chapter afore we went
+in. Poor fellow! I'm sorry for him, and sorry for his folks."
+
+"Fred Pemberton said he should be killed, and Ben said he should not, you
+remember."
+
+"Yes, and that shows how little we know about these things."
+
+"Bob Dornton was killed, too."
+
+"No, he's badly hurt, but the surgeon thinks he will git over it. The
+cap'n was slightly wounded." And Hapgood mentioned the names of those in
+the company who had been killed or wounded, or were missing.
+
+"It was an awful day," sighed Tom, when the old man had finished the list.
+"There will be sad hearts in Pinchbrook when the news gets there."
+
+"So there will, Tom; but we gained the day. We did something handsome for
+'Old Glory,' and I s'pose it's all right."
+
+"I would rather have been killed than lost the battle."
+
+"So would I; and betwixt you and me, Tom, you didn't come very fur from
+losing your number in the mess," added the veteran, as he thrust his
+little fingers into a bullet hole in the breast of Tom's coat. "That was
+rather a close shave."
+
+"I felt that one, but I hadn't time to think about it then, for it was
+just as we were repelling that flank movement," replied Tom, as he
+unbuttoned his coat, and thrust his hand into his breast pocket. "Do you
+suppose she will give me another?" he added, as he drew forth the envelope
+which contained the letter and the photograph of the author of his socks.
+
+A minie ball had found its way through the envelope, grinding a furrow
+through the picture, transversely, carrying away the chin and throat of
+the young lady. The letter was mangled and minced up beyond restoration.
+Tom had discovered the catastrophe when he waked up in the hospital, for
+his last thought at night, and his first in the morning, had been the
+beautiful Lilian Ashford. He was sad when he first beheld the wreck; but
+when he thought what a glorious assurance this would be of his conduct on
+the field, he was pleased with the idea; and while in his heart he thanked
+the rebel marksman for not putting the bullet any nearer to the vital
+organ beneath the envelope, he was not ungrateful for the splendid
+testimonial he had given him of his position during the battle.
+
+"Of course she'll give you another. Won't she be proud of that picture
+when she gets it back?"
+
+"If I had been a coward, I couldn't have run away with those socks on my
+feet."
+
+Tom remained with the regiment several hours, and then, in obedience to
+the surgeon's orders, returned to the hospital, where he wrote a letter to
+his father, containing a short account of the battle, and another to
+Lilian Ashford, setting forth the accident which had happened to the
+picture, and begging her to send him another.
+
+I am afraid in this last letter Tom indulged in some moonshiny nonsense;
+but we are willing to excuse him for saying that the thought of the
+beautiful original of the photograph and the beautiful author of his socks
+had inspired him with courage on the battle field, and enabled him
+faithfully to perform his duty, to the honor and glory of the flag beneath
+whose starry folds he had fought, bled, and conquered, and so forth. It
+would not be unnatural in a young man of eighteen to express as much as
+this, and, we are not sure that he said any more.
+
+The next day Tom was down with a slow fever, induced by fatigue and
+over-exertion. He lay upon his cot for a fortnight, before he was able to
+go out again; but he was frequently visited by Hapgood and other friends
+in the regiment. About the middle of the month, the brigade moved on, and
+Tom was sad at the thought of lying idle, while the glorious work of the
+army was waiting for true and tried men.
+
+Tom received "honorable mention" in the report of the colonel, and his
+recommendation, supported by that of the general of the division, brought
+to the hospital his commission as second lieutenant.
+
+"Here's medicine for you," said the chaplain, as he handed the patient a
+ponderous envelope.
+
+"What is it, sir?"
+
+"I don't know, but it has an official look."
+
+The sergeant opened it, and read the commission, duly signed by the
+governor of Massachusetts, and countersigned and sealed in proper form.
+Tom was astounded at the purport of the document. He could hardly believe
+his senses; but it read all right, and dated from the day of the battle in
+which he had distinguished himself. This was glory enough, and it took Tom
+forty-eight hours thoroughly to digest the contents of the envelope.
+
+_Lieutenant Somers_! The words had a queer sound, and he could not realize
+that he was a commissioned officer. But he came to a better understanding
+of the subject the next day, when a letter from Lilian Ashford was placed
+in his hands. It was actually addressed to "Lieutenant Thomas Somers." She
+had read of his gallant conduct and of his promotion on the battle field
+in the newspapers. She sent him two photographs of herself, and a sweet
+little letter, begging him to return the photograph which had been damaged
+by a rebel bullet.
+
+Of course Tom complied with this natural request; but, as the surgeon
+thought his patient would improve faster at home than in the hospital, he
+had procured a furlough of thirty days for him, and the lieutenant decided
+to present the photograph in person.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+LIEUTENANT SOMERS AND OTHERS.
+
+
+Tom Somers had been absent from home nearly a year; and much as his heart
+was in the work of putting down the rebellion, he was delighted with the
+thought of visiting, even for a brief period, the loved ones who thought
+of and prayed for him in the little cottage in Pinchbrook. I am not quite
+sure that the well-merited promotion he had just received did not have
+some influence upon him, for it would not have been unnatural for a young
+man of eighteen, who had won his shoulder-straps by hard fighting on a
+bloody field, to feel some pride in the laurels he had earned. Not that
+Tom was proud or vain; but he was moved by a lofty and noble ambition. It
+is quite likely he wondered what the people of Pinchbrook would say when
+he appeared there with the straps upon his shoulders.
+
+Of course he thought what his father would say, what his mother would say,
+and he could see the wrinkled face of gran'ther Greene expand into a
+genial smile of commendation. It is quite possible that he had even more
+interest in his reception at No ---- Rutland Street, when he should
+present himself to the author and finisher of those marvellous socks,
+which had wielded such an immense influence upon their wearer in camp and
+on the field. Perhaps it was a weakness on the part of the soldier boy,
+but we are compelled to record the fact that he had faithfully conned his
+speech for that interesting occasion. He had supposed every thing she
+would say, and carefully prepared a suitable reply to each remark, adorned
+with all the graces of rhetoric within his reach.
+
+With the furlough in his pocket, Tom obtained his order for
+transportation, and with a light heart, full of pleasant anticipations,
+started for home. As he was still dressed in the faded and shattered
+uniform of a non-commissioned officer, he did not attract any particular
+notice on the way. He was enabled to pass through Baltimore, Philadelphia,
+and New York, without being bored by a public reception, which some less
+deserving heroes have not been permitted to escape. But the people did not
+understand that Tom had a second lieutenant's commission in his pocket,
+and he was too modest to proclaim the fact, which may be the reason why he
+was suffered to pass through these great emporiums of trade without an
+escort, or other demonstration of respect and admiration.
+
+Tom's heart jumped with strange emotions when he arrived at Boston,
+perhaps because he was within a few miles of home; possibly because he was
+in the city that contained Lilian Ashford, for boys will be silly in spite
+of all the exertions of parents, guardians, and teachers, to make them
+sober and sensible. Such absurdities as "the air she breathes," and other
+rhapsodies of that sort, may have flitted through his mind; but we are
+positive that Tom did not give voice to any such nonsense, for every body
+in the city was a total stranger to him, so far as he knew. Besides, Tom
+had no notion of appearing before the original of the photograph in the
+rusty uniform he wore; and as he had to wait an hour for the Pinchbrook
+train, he hastened to a tailor's to order a suit of clothes which would be
+appropriate to his new dignity.
+
+He ordered them, was duly measured and had given the tailor his promise to
+call for the garments at the expiration of five days, when the man of
+shears disturbed the serene current of his meditations by suggesting that
+the lieutenant should pay one half of the price of the suit in advance.
+
+"It is a custom we adopt in all our dealings with strangers," politely
+added the tailor.
+
+"But I don't propose to take the uniform away until it is paid for," said
+Tom, blushing with mortification; for it so happened that he had not money
+enough to meet the demand of the tailor.
+
+"Certainly not," blandly replied Shears; "but we cannot make up the goods
+with the risk of not disposing of them. They may not fit the next man who
+wants such a suit."
+
+"I have not the money, sir;" and Tom felt that the confession was an awful
+sacrifice of dignity on the part of an officer in the army of the Potomac,
+who had fought gallantly for his country on the bloody fields of
+Williamsburg and Bull Run.
+
+"I am very sorry, sir. I should be happy to make up the goods, but you
+will see that our rule is a reasonable one."
+
+Tom wanted to tell him that this lack of confidence was not a suitable
+return of a stay-at-home for the peril and privation he had endured for
+him; but he left in disgust, hardly replying to the flattering request of
+the tailor that he would call again. With his pride touched, he walked
+down to the railroad station to await the departure of the train. He had
+hardly entered the building before he discovered the familiar form of
+Captain Barney, to whom he hastened to present himself.
+
+"Why, Tom, my hearty!" roared the old sea captain, as he grasped and wrung
+his hand. "I'm glad to see you. Shiver my mainmast, but you've grown a
+foot since you went away. But you don't look well, Tom."
+
+"I'm not very well, sir; but I'm improving very rapidly."
+
+"How's your wound?"
+
+"O, that's almost well."
+
+"Sit down, Tom. I want to talk with you," said Captain Barney, as he led
+the soldier boy to a seat.
+
+In half an hour Tom had told all he knew about the battle of Williamsburg,
+and the old sailor had communicated all the news from Pinchbrook.
+
+"Tom, you're a lieutenant now, but you haven't got on your uniform,"
+continued Captain Barney.
+
+"No, sir," replied Tom, laughing. "I went into a store to order one, and
+they wouldn't trust me."
+
+"Wouldn't trust _you_, Tom!" exclaimed the captain. "Show me the place,
+and I'll smash in their deadlights."
+
+"I don't know as I blame them. I was a stranger to them."
+
+"But, Tom, you mustn't go home without a uniform. Come with me, and you
+shall be fitted out at once. I'm proud of you, Tom. You are one of my
+boys, and I want you to go into Pinchbrook all taut and trim, with your
+colors flying."
+
+"We haven't time now; the train leaves in a few moments."
+
+"There will be another in an hour. The folks are all well, and don't know
+you're coming; so they can afford to wait."
+
+Tom consented, and Captain Barney conducted him to several stores before
+he could find a ready-made uniform that would fit him; but at last they
+found one which had been made to order for an officer who was too sick to
+use it at present. It was an excellent fit, and the young lieutenant was
+soon arrayed in the garments, with the symbolic straps on his shoulder.
+
+"Bravo, Tom! You look like a new man. There isn't a better looking officer
+in the service."
+
+Very likely the subject of this remark thought so too, as he surveyed
+himself in the full-length mirror. The old uniform, with two bullet-holes
+in the breast of the coat, was done up in a bundle and sent to the express
+office, to be forwarded to Pinchbrook. Captain Barney then walked with him
+to a military furnishing store, where a cap, sword, belt, and sash, were
+purchased. For some reason which he did not explain, the captain retained
+the sword himself, but Tom was duly invested with the other accoutrements.
+
+Our hero felt "pretty good," as he walked down to the station with his
+friend; but he looked splendidly in his new outfit, and we are willing to
+excuse certain impressible young ladies, who cast an admiring glance at
+him as he passed down the street. It was not Tom's fault that he was a
+handsome young man; and he was not responsible for the conduct of those
+who chose to look at him.
+
+With a heart beating with wild emotion, Tom stepped out of the cars at
+Pinchbrook. Here he was compelled to undergo the penalty of greatness. His
+friends cheered him, and shook his hand till his arm ached.
+
+Captain Barney's wagon was at the station, and before going to his own
+home, he drove Tom to the little cottage of his father. I cannot describe
+the emotions of the returned soldier when the horse stopped at the garden
+gate. Leaping from the vehicle, he rushed into the house, and bolted into
+the kitchen, even before the family had seen the horse at the front gate.
+
+"How d'ye do, mother?" cried Tom, as he threw himself pell-mell into the
+arms of Mrs. Somers.
+
+"Why, Tom!" almost screamed she, as she returned his embrace. "How _do_
+you do?"
+
+"Pretty well, mother. How do you do, father?"
+
+"Glad to see you," replied Captain Somers, as he seized his son's hand.
+
+"Bless my soul, Tom!" squeaked gran'ther Greene, shaking in every fibre of
+his frame from the combined influence of rhapsody and rheumatism.
+
+Tom threw both arms around Jenny's neck, and kissed her half a dozen times
+with a concussion like that of a battery of light artillery.
+
+"Why, Tom! I never thought nothin' of seein' you!" exclaimed Mrs. Somers.
+"I thought you was sick in the hospital."
+
+"I am better now, and home for thirty days."
+
+"And got your new rig on," added his father.
+
+"Captain Barney wouldn't let me come home without my shoulder-straps. I
+met him in the city. He paid the bills."
+
+"I'll make it all right with him."
+
+"I'll pay for it by and by. You know I have over a hundred dollars a month
+now."
+
+"Gracious me!" ejaculated Mrs. Somers, as she gazed with admiration upon
+the new and elegant uniform which covered the fine form of her darling
+boy.
+
+Presently Captain Barney came into the house, and for two hours Tom fought
+his battles over again, to the great satisfaction of his partial auditors.
+The day passed off amid the mutual rejoicings of the parties; and the
+pleasure of the occasion was only marred by the thought, on the mother's
+part, that her son must soon return to the scene of strife.
+
+The soldier boy--we beg his pardon; Lieutenant Somers--hardly went out of
+the house until after dinner on the following day, when he took a walk
+down to the harbor, where he was warmly greeted by all his friends. Even
+Squire Pemberton seemed kindly disposed towards him, and asked him many
+questions in regard to Fred. Before he went home, he was not a little
+startled to receive an invitation to meet some of his friends in the town
+hall in the evening, which it was impossible for him to decline.
+
+At the appointed hour, he appeared at the hall, which was filled with
+people. The lieutenant did not know what to make of it, and trembled
+before his friends as he had never done before the enemies of his country.
+He was cheered lustily by the men, and the women waved their
+handkerchiefs, as though he had been a general of division. But his
+confusion reached the climax when Captain Barney led him upon the
+platform, and Mr. Boltwood, a young lawyer resident in Pinchbrook,
+proceeded to address him in highly complimentary terms, reviewing his
+career at Bull Run, on the Shenandoah, on the Potomac, to its culmination
+at Williamsburg, and concluded by presenting him the sword which the
+captain had purchased, in behalf of his friends and admirers in his native
+town.
+
+Fortunately for Tom, the speech was long, as he was enabled in some
+measure to recover his self-possession. In trembling tones he thanked the
+donors for their gift, and promised to use it in defence of his country as
+long as a drop of blood was left in his veins--highly poetical, but it
+required strong terms to express our hero's enthusiasm--whereat the men
+and boys applauded most vehemently, and the ladies flourished their
+cambrics with the most commendable zeal. Tom bowed--bowed again--and kept
+bowing, just as he had seen General McClellan bow when he was cheered by
+the troops. As the people would not stop applauding, Tom, his face all
+aglow with joy and confusion, descended from the platform, and took his
+seat by the side of his mother.
+
+The magnates of Pinchbrook then made speeches--except Squire
+Pemberton--about the war, patriotism, gunpowder, and eleven-inch shot and
+shells. Every body thought it was "a big thing," and went home to talk
+about it for the next week. Tom's father, and mother, and sister, and
+gran'ther Greene, said ever so many pretty things, and every body was as
+happy as happy could be, except that John was not at home to share in the
+festivities. Letters occasionally came from the sailor boy, and they went
+to him from the soldier boy.
+
+Mrs. Somers was not a little surprised, the next day, to hear her son
+announce his intention to take the first train for the city; but Tom could
+not postpone his visit to No ---- Rutland Street any longer, for he was
+afraid his uniform would lose its gloss, and the shoulder-straps their
+dazzling brilliancy.
+
+Tom's courage had nearly forsaken him when he desperately rang the bell at
+the home of Lilian Ashford; and he almost hoped the servant would inform
+him that she was not at home. Lilian was at home, and quaking like a
+condemned criminal before the gallows, he was ushered into the presence of
+the author of his socks.
+
+Stammering out his name he drew from his pocket the battered photograph
+and the shattered letter, and proceeded at once to business. Lilian
+Ashford blushed, and Tom blushed--that is to say, they both blushed. When
+he had presented his relics, he ventured to look in her face. The living
+Lilian was even more beautiful than the Lilian of the photograph.
+
+"Dear me! So you are the soldier that wore the socks I knit," said Lilian;
+and our hero thought it was the sweetest voice he ever heard.
+
+"I am, Miss Ashford, and I did not run away in them either."
+
+"I'm glad you did not," added she, with a musical laugh, which made Tom
+think of the melody of the spheres, or some such nonsense.
+
+"I have to thank you for my promotion," said Tom, boldly.
+
+"Thank me!" exclaimed she, her fair blue eyes dilating with astonishment.
+
+"The socks inspired me with courage and fortitude," replied Tom, in exact
+accordance with the programme he had laid down for the occasion. "I am
+sure the thought of her who knit them, the beautiful letter, and the more
+beautiful photograph, enabled me to do that which won my promotion."
+
+"Well, I declare!" shouted Lilian, in a kind of silvery scream.
+
+Bravo, Tom! you are getting along swimmingly. And he said sundry other
+smart things which we have not room to record. He stayed half an hour, and
+Lilian begged him to call again, and see her grandmother, who was out of
+town that day. Of course he promised to come, promised to bring his
+photograph, promised to write to her when he returned to the army--and I
+don't know what he did not promise, and I hardly think he knew himself.
+
+But the brief dream ended, and Tom went home to Pinchbrook, after he had
+sat for his picture. The careless fellow left Lilian's photograph on the
+table in his chamber a few days after, and his mother wanted to know whose
+it was; and the whole story came out, and Tom was laughed at, and Jenny
+made fun of him, and Captain Barney told him he was a match for the finest
+girl in the country. The lieutenant blushed like a boy, but rather enjoyed
+the whole thing.
+
+A sad day came at last, and Tom went back to the army. He went full of
+hope, and the blessing of the loved ones went with him. He was received
+with enthusiasm by his old companions in arms, and Hapgood--then a
+sergeant--still declared that he would be a brigadier in due time,--or, if
+he was not, he ought to be. His subsequent career, if not always as
+fortunate as that portion which we have recorded, was unstained by
+cowardice or vice.
+
+
+
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Reasons why you should obtain a Catalogue of our Publications
+
+
+1. You will possess a comprehensive and classified list of all the best
+standard books published, at prices less than offered by others.
+
+2. You will find listed in our catalogue books on every topic: Poetry,
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