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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/3653-h.zip b/3653-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3536984 --- /dev/null +++ b/3653-h.zip diff --git a/3653-h/3653-h.htm b/3653-h/3653-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c8a4ecc --- /dev/null +++ b/3653-h/3653-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14171 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of The Guns of Bull Run, by Joseph A. Altsheler +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Guns of Bull Run, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +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 Guns of Bull Run + A Story of the Civil War's Eve + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + +Posting Date: April 25, 2009 [EBook #3653] +Release Date: January, 2003 +First Posted: July 3, 2001 +Last Updated: January 28, 2004 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUNS OF BULL RUN *** + + + + +Produced by Ken Reeder. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN +</H1> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +A STORY OF THE CIVIL WAR'S EVE +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +by +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER +</H2> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4> +THE CIVIL WAR SERIES +</H4> + +<BR> + +<H4> + VOLUMES IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES<BR> +</H4> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + THE GUNS OF BULL RUN.<BR> + THE GUNS OF SHILOH.<BR> + THE SCOUTS OF STONEWALL.<BR> + THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM.<BR> + THE STAR OF GETTYSBURG.<BR> + THE ROCK OF CHICKAMAUGA.<BR> + THE SHADES OF THE WILDERNESS.<BR> + THE TREE OF APPOMATTOX.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> + PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES<BR> +</H4> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + HARRY KENTON, A Lad Who Fights on the Southern Side.<BR> + DICK MASON, Cousin of Harry Kenton, Who Fights on the Northern Side.<BR> + COLONEL GEORGE KENTON, Father of Harry Kenton.<BR> + MRS. MASON, Mother of Dick Mason.<BR> + JULIANA, Mrs. Mason's Devoted Colored Servant.<BR> + COLONEL ARTHUR WINCHESTER, Dick Mason's Regimental Commander.<BR> + COLONEL LEONIDAS TALBOT, Commander of the Invincibles, a Southern Regiment.<BR> + LIEUTENANT COLONEL HECTOR ST. HILAIRE, Second in Command of the Invincibles.<BR> + ALAN HERTFORD, A Northern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + PHILIP SHERBURNE, A Southern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + WILLIAM J. SHEPARD, A Northern Spy.<BR> + DANIEL WHITLEY, A Northern Sergeant and Veteran of the Plains.<BR> + GEORGE WARNER, A Vermont Youth Who Loves Mathematics.<BR> + FRANK PENNINGTON, A Nebraska Youth, Friend of Dick Mason.<BR> + ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, A Native of Charleston, Friend of Harry Kenton.<BR> + TOM LANGDON, Friend of Harry Kenton.<BR> + GEORGE DALTON, Friend of Harry Kenton.<BR> + BILL SKELLY, Mountaineer and Guerrilla.<BR> + TOM SLADE, A Guerrilla Chief.<BR> + SAM JARVIS, The Singing Mountaineer.<BR> + IKE SIMMONS, Jarvis' Nephew.<BR> + AUNT "SUSE," A Centenarian and Prophetess.<BR> + BILL PETTY, A Mountaineer and Guide.<BR> + JULIEN DE LANGEAIS, A Musician and Soldier from Louisiana.<BR> + JOHN CARRINGTON, Famous Northern Artillery Officer.<BR> + DR. RUSSELL, Principal of the Pendleton School.<BR> + ARTHUR TRAVERS, A Lawyer.<BR> + JAMES BERTRAND, A Messenger from the South.<BR> + JOHN NEWCOMB, A Pennsylvania Colonel.<BR> + JOHN MARKHAM, A Northern Officer.<BR> + JOHN WATSON, A Northern Contractor.<BR> + WILLIAM CURTIS, A Southern Merchant and Blockade Runner.<BR> + MRS. CURTIS, Wife of William Curtis.<BR> + HENRIETTA CARDEN, A Seamstress in Richmond.<BR> + DICK JONES, A North Carolina Mountaineer.<BR> + VICTOR WOODVILLE, A Young Mississippi Officer.<BR> + JOHN WOODVILLE, Father of Victor Woodville.<BR> + CHARLES WOODVILLE, Uncle of Victor Woodville.<BR> + COLONEL BEDFORD, A Northern Officer.<BR> + CHARLES GORDON, A Southern Staff Officer.<BR> + JOHN LANHAM, An Editor.<BR> + JUDGE KENDRICK, A Lawyer.<BR> + MR. CULVER, A State Senator.<BR> + MR. BRACKEN, A Tobacco Grower.<BR> + ARTHUR WHITRIDGE, A State Senator.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> + HISTORICAL CHARACTERS<BR> +</H4> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States.<BR> + JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Southern Confederacy.<BR> + JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, Member of the Confederate Cabinet.<BR> + U. S. GRANT, Northern Commander.<BR> + ROBERT E. LEE, Southern Commander.<BR> + STONEWALL JACKSON, Southern General.<BR> + PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, Northern General.<BR> + GEORGE H. THOMAS, "The Rock of Chickamauga."<BR> + ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON, Southern General.<BR> + A. P. HILL, Southern General.<BR> + W. S. HANCOCK, Northern General.<BR> + GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Northern General.<BR> + AMBROSE E. BURNSIDE, Northern General.<BR> + TURNER ASHBY, Southern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + J. E. B. STUART, Southern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + JOSEPH HOOKER, Northern General.<BR> + RICHARD S. EWELL, Southern General.<BR> + JUBAL EARLY, Southern General.<BR> + WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS, Northern General.<BR> + SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, Southern General.<BR> + LEONIDAS POLK, Southern General and Bishop.<BR> + BRAXTON BRAGG, Southern General.<BR> + NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST, Southern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + JOHN MORGAN, Southern Cavalry Leader.<BR> + GEORGE J. MEADE, Northern General.<BR> + DON CARLOS BUELL, Northern General.<BR> + W. T. SHERMAN, Northern General.<BR> + JAMES LONGSTREET, Southern General.<BR> + P. G. T. BEAUREGARD, Southern General.<BR> + WILLIAM L. YANCEY, Alabama Orator.<BR> + JAMES A. GARFIELD, Northern General, afterwards President of the United States.<BR> +<BR> + And many others<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H4> + IMPORTANT BATTLES DESCRIBED IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES<BR> +</H4> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + BULL RUN<BR> + KERNSTOWN<BR> + CROSS KEYS<BR> + WINCHESTER<BR> + PORT REPUBLIC<BR> + THE SEVEN DAYS<BR> + MILL SPRING<BR> + FORT DONELSON<BR> + SHILOH<BR> + PERRYVILLE<BR> + STONE RIVER<BR> + THE SECOND MANASSAS<BR> + ANTIETAM<BR> + FREDERICKSBURG<BR> + CHANCELLORSVILLE<BR> + GETTYSBURG<BR> + CHAMPION HILL<BR> + VICKSBURG<BR> + CHICKAMAUGA<BR> + MISSIONARY RIDGE<BR> + THE WILDERNESS<BR> + SPOTTSYLVANIA<BR> + COLD HARBOR<BR> + FISHER'S HILL<BR> + CEDAR CREEK<BR> + APPOMATTOX<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">NEWS FROM CHARLESTON</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">A COURIER TO THE SOUTH</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">THE HEART OF REBELLION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE FIRST CAPITAL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE NEW PRESIDENT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">SUMTER</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE HOMECOMING</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE FIGHT FOR A STATE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">THE RIVER JOURNEY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">OVER THE MOUNTAINS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">IN VIRGINIA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE SEEKER FOR HELP</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">IN WASHINGTON</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">BATTLE'S EVE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">BULL RUN</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN +</H1> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +NEWS FROM CHARLESTON +</H3> + +<P> +It would soon be Christmas and Harry Kenton, at his desk in the +Pendleton Academy, saw the snow falling heavily outside. The school +stood on the skirt of the town, and the forest came down to the edge of +the playing field. The great trees, oak and ash and elm, were clothed +in white, and they stood out a vast and glittering tracery against the +somber sky. +</P> + +<P> +The desk was of the old kind, intended for two, and Harry's comrade in +it was his cousin, Dick Mason, of his own years and size. They would +graduate in June, and both were large and powerful for their age. +There was a strong family resemblance and yet a difference. Harry's +face was the more sensitive and at times the blood leaped like +quicksilver in his veins. Dick's features indicated a quieter and more +stubborn temper. They were equal favorites with teachers and pupils. +</P> + +<P> +Dick's eyes followed Harry's, and he, too, looked at the falling snow +and the white forest. Both were thinking of Christmas and the holiday +season so near at hand. It was a rich section of Kentucky, and they +were the sons of prosperous parents. The snow was fitting at such a +time, and many joyous hours would be passed before they returned to +school. +</P> + +<P> +The clouds darkened and the snow fell faster. A wind rose and drove it +against the panes. The boys heard the blast roaring outside and the +comfort of the warm room was heightened by the contrast. Harry's eyes +turned reluctantly back to his Tacitus and the customs and manners of +the ancient Germans. The curriculum of the Pendleton Academy was simple, +like most others at that time. After the primary grades it consisted +chiefly of the classics and mathematics. Harry led in the classics and +Dick in the mathematics. +</P> + +<P> +Bob Turner, the free colored man, who was janitor of the academy, +brought in the morning mail, a dozen letters and three or four +newspapers, gave it to Dr. Russell and withdrew on silent feet. +</P> + +<P> +The Doctor was principal of Pendleton Academy, and he always presided +over the room in which sat the larger boys, nearly fifty in number. +His desk and chair were on a low dais and he sat facing the pupils. +He was a large man, with a ruddy face, and thick hair as white as the +snow that was falling outside. He had been a teacher fifty years, +and three generations in Pendleton owed to him most of the learning that +is obtained from books. He opened his letters one by one, and read +them slowly. +</P> + +<P> +Harry moved far away into the German forest with old Tacitus. He was +proud of his Latin and he did not mean to lose his place as first in the +class. The other boys also were absorbed in their books. It was seldom +that all were studious at the same time, but this was one of the rare +moments. There was no shuffling of feet, and fifty heads were bent over +their desks. +</P> + +<P> +It was a full half hour before Harry looked up from his Tacitus. +His first glance was at the window. The snow was driving hard, and the +forest had become a white blur. He looked next at the Doctor and he saw +that the ruddy face had turned white. The old man was gazing intently +at an open letter in his hand. Two or three others had fallen to the +floor. He read the letter again, folded it carefully, and put it in his +pocket. Then he broke the wrapper on one of the newspapers and rapidly +read its columns. The whiteness of his face deepened into pallor. +</P> + +<P> +The slight tearing sound caused most of the boys to look up, and they +noticed the change in the principal's face. They had never seen him +look like that before. It was as if he had received some sudden and +deadly stroke. Yet he sat stiffly upright and there was no sound in the +room but the rustling of the newspaper as he turned its pages. +</P> + +<P> +Harry became conscious of some strange and subtle influence that had +crept into the very air, and his pulse began to leap. The others felt +it, too. There was a tense feeling in the room and they became so still +that the soft beat of the snow on the windows could be heard. +</P> + +<P> +Not a single eye was turned to a book now. All were intent upon the +Doctor, who still read the newspaper, his face without a trace of color, +and his strong white hands trembling. He folded the paper presently, +but still held it in his hand. As he looked up, he became conscious of +the silence in the room, and of the concentrated gaze of fifty pairs +of eyes bent upon him. A little color returned to his cheeks, and his +hands ceased to tremble. He stood up, took the letter from his pocket, +and opened it again. +</P> + +<P> +Dr. Russell was a striking figure, belonging to a classic type found +at its best in the border states. A tall man, he held himself erect, +despite his years, and the color continued to flow back into the face, +which was shaped in a fine strong mold. +</P> + +<P> +"Boys," he said, in a firm, full voice, although it showed emotion, +"I have received news which I must announce to you. As I tell it, +I beg that you will restrain yourselves, and make little comment here. +Its character is such that you are not likely ever to hear anything of +more importance." +</P> + +<P> +No one spoke, but a thrill of excitement ran through the room. Harry +became conscious that the strange and subtle influence had increased. +The pulses in both temples were beating hard. He and Dick leaned +forward, their elbows upon the desk, their lips parted a little in +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"You know," continued Dr. Russell in the full voice that trembled +slightly, "of the troubles that have arisen between the states, North +and South, troubles that the best Americans, with our own great Henry +Clay at the head, have striven to avert. You know of the election of +Lincoln, and how this beloved state of ours, seeking peace, voted for +neither Lincoln nor Breckinridge, both of whom are its sons." +</P> + +<P> +The trembling of his voice increased and he paused again. It was +obvious that he was stirred by deep emotion and it communicated itself +to the boys. Harry was conscious that the thrill, longer and stronger +than before, ran again through the room. +</P> + +<P> +"I have just received a letter from an old friend in Charleston," +continued Dr. Russell in a shaking voice, "and he tells me that on the +twentieth, three days ago, the state of South Carolina seceded from the +Union. He also sends me copies of two of the Charleston newspapers of +the day following. In both of these papers all despatches from the +other states are put under the head, 'Foreign News.' With the +Abolitionists of New England pouring abuse upon all who do not agree +with them, and the hot heads of South Carolina rushing into violence, +God alone knows what will happen to this distracted country that all +of us love so well." +</P> + +<P> +He turned anew to his correspondence. But Harry saw that he was +trembling all over. An excited murmur arose. The boys began to talk +about the news, and the principal, his thoughts far away, did not call +them to order. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose since South Carolina has gone out that other southern states +will do the same," said Harry to his cousin, "and that two republics +will stand where but one stood before." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know that the second result will follow the first," replied +Dick Mason. +</P> + +<P> +Harry glanced at him. He was conscious of a certain cold tenacity in +Dick's voice. He felt that a veil of antagonism had suddenly been drawn +between these two who were the sons of sisters and who had been close +comrades all their lives. His heart swelled suddenly. As if by +inspiration, he saw ahead long and terrible years. He said no more, +but gazed again at the pages of his Tacitus, although the letters only +swam before his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The great buzz subsided at last, although there was not one among the +boys who was not still thinking of the secession of South Carolina. +They had shared in the excitement of the previous year. A few had +studied the causes, but most were swayed by propinquity and kinship, +which with youth are more potent factors than logic. +</P> + +<P> +The afternoon passed slowly. Dr. Russell, who always heard the +recitations of the seniors in Latin, did not call the class. Harry was +so much absorbed in other thoughts that he did not notice the fact. +Outside, the clouds still gathered and the soft beat of the snow on the +window panes never ceased. The hour of dismissal came at last and the +older boys, putting on their overcoats, went silently out. Harry did +not dream that he had passed the doors of Pendleton Academy for the +last time, as a student. +</P> + +<P> +While the seniors were quiet, there was no lack of noise from the +younger lads. Snowballs flew and the ends of red comforters, dancing +in the wind, touched the white world with glowing bits of color. Harry +looked at them with a sort of pity. The magnified emotions of youth had +suddenly made him feel very old and very responsible. When a snowball +struck him under the ear he paid no attention to it, a mark of great +abstraction in him. +</P> + +<P> +He and his cousin walked gravely on, and left the shouting crowd behind +them. Three or four hundred yards further, they came upon the main +street of Pendleton, a town of fifteen hundred people, important in +its section as a market, and as a financial and political center. It +had two banks as solid as stone, and it was the proud boast of its +inhabitants that, excepting Louisville and Lexington, its bar was of +unequalled talent in the state. Other towns made the same claim, +but no matter. Pendleton knew that they were wrong. Lawyers stood +very high, especially when they were fluent speakers. +</P> + +<P> +It was a singular fact that the two boys, usually full of talk, after +the manner of youth, did not speak until they came to the parting of +their ways. Then Harry, the more emotional of the two, and conscious +that the veil of antagonism was still between them, thrust out his hand +suddenly and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Whatever happens, Dick, you and I must not quarrel over it. Let's +pledge our word here and now that, being of the same blood and having +grown up together, we will always be friends." +</P> + +<P> +The color in the cheeks of the other boy deepened. A slight moisture +appeared in his eyes. He was, on the whole, more reserved than Harry, +but he, too, was stirred. He took the outstretched hand and gave it a +strong clasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Always, Harry," he replied. "We don't think alike, maybe, about the +things that are coming, but you and I can't quarrel." +</P> + +<P> +He released the hand quickly, because he hated any show of emotion, +and hurried down a side street to his home. Harry walked on into the +heart of the town, as he lived farther away on the other side. He soon +had plenty of evidence that the news of South Carolina's secession had +preceded him here. There had been no such stir in Pendleton since they +heard of Buena Vista, where fifty of her sons fought and half of them +fell. +</P> + +<P> +Despite the snow, the streets about the central square were full of +people. Many of the men were reading newspapers. It was fifteen miles +to the nearest railroad station, and the mail had come in at noon, +bringing the first printed accounts of South Carolina's action. In this +border state, which was a divided house from first to last, men still +guarded their speech. They had grown up together, and they were all of +blood kin, near or remote. +</P> + +<P> +"What will it mean?" said Harry to old Judge Kendrick. +</P> + +<P> +"War, perhaps, my son," replied the old man sadly. "The violence of New +England in speech and the violence of South Carolina in action may start +a flood. But Kentucky must keep out of it. I shall raise my voice +against the fury of both factions, and thank God, our people have never +refused to hear me." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke in a somewhat rhetorical fashion, natural to time and place, +but he was in great earnest. Harry went on, and entered the office of +the Pendleton News, the little weekly newspaper which dispensed the news, +mostly personal, within a radius of fifty miles. He knew that the News +would appear on the following day, and he was anxious to learn what +Mr. Gardner, the editor, a friend of his, would have to say in his +columns. +</P> + +<P> +He walked up the dusty stairway and entered the room, where the +editor sat amid piles of newspapers. Mr. Gardner was a youngish man, +high-colored and with longish hair. He was absorbed so deeply in a copy +of the Louisville Journal that he did not hear Harry's step or notice +his coming until the boy stood beside him. Then he looked up and said +dryly: +</P> + +<P> +"Too many sparks make a blaze at last. If people keep on quarreling +there's bound to be a fight some time or other. I suppose you've heard +that South Carolina has seceded." +</P> + +<P> +"Dr. Russell announced it at the school. Are you telling, Mr. Gardner, +what the News will have to say about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mind," replied the editor, who was fond of Harry, and who liked +his alert mind. "If it comes to a breach, I'm going with my people. +It's hard to tell what's right or wrong, but my ancestors belonged to +the South and so do I." +</P> + +<P> +"That's just the way I feel!" exclaimed Harry vehemently. +</P> + +<P> +The editor smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"But I don't intend to say so in the News tomorrow," he continued. +"I shall try to pour oil upon the waters, although I won't be able to +hide my Southern leanings. The Colonel, your father, Harry, will not +seek to conceal his." +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Harry. "He will not. What was that?" +</P> + +<P> +The sound of a shot came from the street. The two ran hurriedly down +the stairway. Three men were holding a fourth who struggled with them +violently. One had wrenched from his hand a pistol still smoking at the +muzzle. About twenty feet away was another man standing between two who +held him tightly, although he made no effort to release himself. +</P> + +<P> +Harry looked at the two captives. They made a striking contrast. +The one who fought was of powerful build, and dressed roughly. His +whole appearance indicated the primitive human being, and Harry knew +immediately that he was one of the mountaineers who came long distances +to trade or carouse in Pendleton. +</P> + +<P> +The man who faced the mountaineer, standing quietly between those who +held him, was young and slender, though tall. His longish black hair +was brushed carefully. The natural dead whiteness of his face was +accentuated by his black mustache, which turned up at the ends like +that of a duelist. He was dressed in black broadcloth, the long coat +buttoned closely about his body, but revealing a full and ruffled +shirt bosom as white as snow. His face expressed no emotion, but the +mountaineer cursed violently. +</P> + +<P> +"I can read the story at once," said the editor, shrugging his +shoulders. "I know the mountaineer. He's Bill Skelly, a rough man, +prone to reach for the trigger, especially when he's full of bad whiskey +as he is now, and the other, Arthur Travers, is no stranger to you. +Skelly is for the abolition of slavery. All the mountaineers are. +Maybe it's because they have no slaves themselves and hate the more +prosperous and more civilized lowlanders who do have them. Harry, +my boy, as you grow older you'll find that reason and logic seldom +control men's lives." +</P> + +<P> +"Skelly was excited over the news from South Carolina," said Harry, +continuing the story, which he, too, had read, as an Indian reads a +trail, "and he began to drink. He met Travers and cursed the +slave-holders. Travers replied with a sneer, which the mountaineer +could not understand, except that it hurt. Skelly snatched out his +pistol and fired wildly. Travers drew his and would have fired, +although not so wildly, but friends seized him. Meanwhile, others +overpowered Skelly and Travers is not excited at all, although he +watches every movement of his enemy, while seeming to be indifferent." +</P> + +<P> +"You read truly, Harry," said Gardner. "It was a fortunate thing for +Skelly that he was overpowered. Somehow, those two men facing each +other seem, in a way, to typify conditions in this part of the country +at least." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was now watching Travers, who always aroused his interest. +A lawyer, twenty-seven or eight years of age, he had little practice, +and seemed to wish little. He had a wonderful reputation for dexterity +with cards and the pistol. A native of Pendleton, he was the son of +parents from one of the Gulf States, and Harry could never quite feel +that he was one of their own Kentucky blood and breed. +</P> + +<P> +"You can release me," said Travers quietly to the young men who stood on +either side of him holding his arms. "I think the time has come to hunt +bigger game than a fool there like Skelly. He is safe from me." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke with a supercilious scorn which impressed Harry, but which +he did not wholly admire. Travers seemed to him to have the quiet +deadliness of the cobra. There was something about him that repelled. +The men released him. He straightened his long black coat, smoothed the +full ruffles of his shirt and walked away, as if nothing had happened. +</P> + +<P> +Skelly ceased to struggle. The aspect of the crowd, which was largely +hostile, sobered him. Steve Allison, the town constable, appeared and, +putting his hand heavily upon the mountaineer's shoulder, said: +</P> + +<P> +"You come with me, Skelly." +</P> + +<P> +But old Judge Kendrick intervened. +</P> + +<P> +"Let him go, Steve," he said. "Send him back to the mountains." +</P> + +<P> +"But he tried to kill a man, Judge." +</P> + +<P> +"I know, but extraordinary times demand extraordinary methods. A great +and troubled period has come into all our lives. Maybe we're about to +face some terrible crisis. Isn't that so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must not hurry it or make it worse by sudden action. If Skelly +is punished, the mountaineers will say it is political. I appeal to you, +Dr. Russell, to sustain me." +</P> + +<P> +The white head of the principal showed above the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"Judge Kendrick is right," he said. "Skelly must be permitted to go. +His action, in fact, was due to the strained conditions that have long +prevailed among us, and was precipitated by the alarming message that +has come today. For the sake of peace, we must let him go." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, then," said Allison, "but he goes without his pistol." +</P> + +<P> +Skelly was put upon his mountain pony, and he rode willingly away amid +the snow and the coming dusk, carrying, despite his release, a bitter +heart into the mountains, and a tale that would inflame the jealousy +with which upland regarded lowland. +</P> + +<P> +The crowd dispersed. Gardner returned to his office, and Harry went +home. He lived in the best house in or about Pendleton and his father +was its wealthiest citizen. George Kenton, having inherited much land +in Kentucky, and two or three plantations further south had added to +his property by good management. A strong supporter of slavery, actual +contact with the institution on a large scale in the Gulf States had not +pleased him, and he had sold his property there, reinvesting the money +in his native and, as he believed, more solid state. His title of +colonel was real. A graduate of West Point, he had fought bravely with +Scott in all the battles in the Valley of Mexico, but now retired and a +widower, he lived in Pendleton with Harry, his only child. +</P> + +<P> +Harry approached the house slowly. He knew that his father was a +man of strong temper and he wondered how he would take the news from +Charleston. All the associations of Colonel Kenton were with the +extreme Southern wing, and his influence upon his son was powerful. +</P> + +<P> +But the Pendleton home, standing just beyond the town, gave forth +only brightness and welcome. The house itself, large and low, built +massively of red brick, stood on the crest of a gentle slope in two +acres of ground. The clipped cones of pine trees adorned the slopes, +and made parallel rows along the brick walk, leading to the white +portico that formed the entrance to the house. Light shone from a +half dozen windows. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed fine and glowing to Harry. His father loved his home, and so +did he. The twilight had now darkened into night and the snow still +drove, but the house stood solid and square to wind and winter, and the +flame from its windows made broad bands of red and gold across the snow. +Harry went briskly up the walk and then stood for a few moments in the +portico, shaking the snow off his overcoat and looking back at the town, +which lay in a warm cluster in the hollow below. Many lights twinkled +there, and it occurred to Harry that they would twinkle later than usual +that night. +</P> + +<P> +He opened the door, hung his hat and overcoat in the hall, and entered +the large apartment which his father and he habitually used as a reading +and sitting room. It was more than twenty feet square, with a lofty +ceiling. A home-made carpet, thick, closely woven, and rich in colors +covered the floor. Around the walls were cases containing books, +mostly in rich bindings and nearly all English classics. American work +was scarcely represented at all. The books read most often by Colonel +Kenton were the novels of Walter Scott, whom he preferred greatly to +Dickens. Scott always wrote about gentlemen. A great fire of hickory +logs blazed on the wide hearth. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton was alone in the room. He stood at the edge of the +hearth, with his back to the fire and his hands crossed behind him. +His tanned face was slightly pale, and Harry saw that he had been +subjected to great nervous excitement, which had not yet wholly abated. +</P> + +<P> +The colonel was a tall man, broad of chest, but lean and muscular. +He regarded his son attentively, and his eyes seemed to ask a question. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Harry, although his father had not spoken a word. "I've +heard of it, and I've already seen one of its results." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" asked Colonel Kenton quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"As I came through town Bill Skelly, a mountaineer, shot at Arthur +Travers. It came out of hot words over the news from Charleston. +Nobody was hurt, and they've sent Skelly on his pony toward his +mountains." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton's face clouded. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry," he said. "I fear that Travers will be much too free with +stinging remarks. It's a time when men should control their tongues. +Do you be careful with yours. You're a youth in years, but you're a man +in size, and you should be a man in thought, too. You and I have been +close together, and I have trusted you, even when you were a little boy." +</P> + +<P> +"It's so, father," replied Harry, with affection and gratitude. +</P> + +<P> +"And I'm going to trust you yet further. It may be that I shall give +you a task requiring great skill and energy." +</P> + +<P> +The colonel looked closely at his son, and he gave silent approval to +the tall, well-knit form, and the alert, eager face. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll have supper presently," he said, "and then we will talk with +visitors. Some you know and some you don't. One of them, who has come +far, is already in the house." +</P> + +<P> +Harry's eyes showed surprise, but he knew better than to ask questions. +The colonel had carried his military training into private life. +</P> + +<P> +"He is a distant relative of ours, very distant, but a relative still," +continued Colonel Kenton. "You will meet him at supper. Be ready in a +half hour." +</P> + +<P> +The dinner of city life was still called supper in the South, and +Harry hastened to his room to prepare. His heart began to throb with +excitement. Now they were to have visitors at night and a mysterious +stranger was there. He felt dimly the advance of great events. +</P> + +<P> +Harry Kenton was a normal and healthy boy, but the discussions, the +debates, and the passions sweeping over the Union throughout the year +had sifted into Pendleton also. The news today had merely struck fire +to tinder prepared already, and, infused with the spirit of youth, +he felt much excitement but no depression. Making a careful toilet +he descended to the drawing room a little before the regular time. +Although he was early, his father was there before him, standing in his +customary attitude with his back to the hearth, and his hands clasped +behind him. +</P> + +<P> +"Our guest will be down in a few minutes," said Colonel Kenton. "He +comes from Charleston and his name is Raymond Louis Bertrand. I will +explain how he is related to us." +</P> + +<P> +He gave a chain of cousins extending on either side from the Kenton +family and the Bertrand family until they joined in the middle. It was +a slender tie of kinship, but it sufficed in the South. As he finished, +Bertrand himself came in, and was introduced formally to his Kentucky +cousin. Harry would have taken him for a Frenchman, and he was, in very +truth, largely of French blood. His black eyes and hair, his swarthy +complexion, gleaming white teeth and quick, volatile manner showed a +descendant of France who had come from the ancient soil by way of Hayti, +and the great negro rebellion to the coast of South Carolina. He seemed +strange and foreign to Harry, and yet he liked him. +</P> + +<P> +"And this is my young cousin, the one who is likely to be so zealous for +our cause," he said, smiling at Harry with flashing black eyes. "You +are a stalwart lad. They grow bigger and stronger here than on our warm +Carolina coast." +</P> + +<P> +"Raymond arrived only three hours ago," said Colonel Kenton in +explanation. "He came directly from Charleston, leaving only three +hours after the resolution in favor of secession was adopted." +</P> + +<P> +"And a rough journey it was," said Bertrand vivaciously. "I was +rattled and shaken by the trains, and I made some of the connections by +horseback over the wild hills. Then it was a long ride through the snow +to your hospitable home here, my good cousin, Colonel Kenton. But I had +minute directions, and no one noticed the stranger who came so quietly +around the town, and then entered your house." +</P> + +<P> +Harry said nothing but watched him intently. Bertrand spoke with a +rapid lightness and grace and an abundance of gesture, to which he was +not used in Kentucky. He ate plentifully, and, although his manners +were delicate, Harry felt to an increasing degree his foreign aspect and +spirit. He did not wonder at it when he learned later that Bertrand, +besides being chiefly of French blood, had also been educated in Paris. +</P> + +<P> +"Was there much enthusiasm in South Carolina when the state seceded, +Raymond?" asked Colonel Kenton. +</P> + +<P> +"I saw the greatest joy and confidence everywhere," he replied, the +color flaming through his olive face. "The whole state is ablaze. +Charleston is the heart and soul of our new alliance. Rhett and Yancey +of Alabama, and the great orators make the souls of men leap. Ah, sir, +if you could only have been in Charleston in the course of recent +months! If you could have heard the speakers! If you could have +seen how the great and righteous Calhoun's influence lives after him! +And then the writers! That able newspaper, the Mercury, has thundered +daily for our cause. Simms, the novelist, and Timrod and Hayne, the +poets have written for it. Let the cities of the North boast of their +size and wealth, but they cannot match Charleston in culture and spirit +and vivacity!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw that Bertrand felt and believed every word he said, and his +enthusiasm was communicated to the colonel, whose face flushed, and to +Harry, too, whose own heart was beating faster. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a great deed!" exclaimed Colonel Kenton. "South Carolina has +always dared to speak her mind, but here in Kentucky some of the cold +North's blood flows in our veins and we pause to calculate and consider. +We must hasten events. Now, Raymond, we will go into the library. +Our friends will be here in a half hour. Harry, you are to stay with +us. I told you that you are to be trusted." +</P> + +<P> +They left the table, and went into the great room where the fire had +been built anew and was casting a ruddy welcome through the windows. +The two men sat down before the blaze and each fell silent, engrossed in +his thoughts. Harry felt a pleased excitement. Here was a great and +mysterious affair, but he was going to have admittance to the heart +of it. He walked to the window, lifted the curtain and looked out. +A slender erect figure was already coming up the walk, and he recognized +Travers. +</P> + +<P> +Travers knocked at the door and was received cordially. Colonel Kenton +introduced Bertrand, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"The messenger from the South." +</P> + +<P> +Travers shook hands and nodded also to signify that he understood. +Then came Culver, the state senator from the district, a man of middle +years, bulky, smooth shaven, and oratorical. He was followed soon by +Bracken, a tobacco farmer on a great scale, Judge Kendrick, Reid and +Wayne, both lawyers, and several others, all of wealth or of influence +in that region. Besides Harry, there were ten in the room. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe that we are all here now," said Colonel Kenton. "I keep my +son with us because, for reasons that I will explain later, I shall +nominate him for the task that is needed." +</P> + +<P> +"We do not question your judgment, colonel," said Senator Culver. +"He is a strong and likely lad. But I suggest that we go at once to +business. Mr. Bertrand, you will inform us what further steps are to be +taken by South Carolina and her neighboring states. South Carolina may +set an example, but if the others do not follow, she will merely be a +sacrifice." +</P> + +<P> +Bertrand smiled. His smile always lighted up his olive face in a +wonderful way. It was a smile, too, of supreme confidence. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not fear," he said. "Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana +are ready. We have word from them all. It is only a matter of a few +days until every state in the lower south goes out, but we want also and +we need greatly those on the border, famous states like your Kentucky +and Virginia. Do you not see how you are threatened? With the triumph +of the rail-splitter, Lincoln, the seat of power is transferred to the +North. It is not alone a question of slavery. The balance of the +Union is destroyed. The South loses leadership. Her population is not +increasing rapidly, and hereafter she will merely hold the stirrup while +the North sits in the saddle." +</P> + +<P> +A murmur arose from the men. More than one clenched his hands, until +the nails pressed into the flesh. Harry, still standing by the window, +felt the influence of the South Carolinian's words more deeply perhaps +than any other. The North appeared to him cold, jealous, and vengeful. +</P> + +<P> +"You are right about Kentucky and Virginia," said Senator Culver. +"The secession of two such strong states would strike terror in the +North. It would influence the outside world, and we would be in a far +better position for war, if it should come. Governor Magoffin will have +to call a special session of the legislature, and I think there will +be enough of us in both Senate and House to take Kentucky out." +</P> + +<P> +Bertrand's dark face glowed. +</P> + +<P> +"You must do it! You must do it!" he exclaimed. "And if you do our +cause is won!" +</P> + +<P> +There was a thoughtful silence, broken at last by Colonel Kenton, +who turned an inquiring eye upon Bertrand. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish to ask you about the Knights of the Golden Circle," he said. +"I hear that they are making great headway in the Gulf States." +</P> + +<P> +Raymond hesitated a moment. It seemed that he, too, felt for the first +time a difference between himself and these men about him who were so +much less demonstrative than he. But he recovered his poise quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"I speak to you frankly," he replied. "When our new confederation is +formed, it is likely to expand. A hostile union will lie across our +northern border, but to the south the way is open. There is our field. +Spain grows weak and the great island of Cuba will fall from her grasp. +Mexico is torn by one civil war after another. It is a grand country, +and it would prosper mightily in strong hands. Beyond lie the unstable +states of Central America, also awaiting good rulers." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton frowned and the lawyers looked doubtful. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't say that I like your prospect," the colonel said. "It seems to +me that your knights of the Golden Circle meditate a great slave empire +which will eat its way even into South America. Slavery is not wholly +popular here. Henry Clay long ago wished it to be abolished, and his is +a mighty name among us. It would be best to say little in Kentucky of +the Knights of the Golden Circle. Our climate is a little too cold for +such a project." +</P> + +<P> +Bertrand bit his lip. Swift and volatile, he showed disappointment, but, +still swift and volatile, he recovered quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no doubt that you are right, Colonel Kenton," he said, in the +tone of one who conforms gracefully, "and I shall be careful when I go +to Frankfort with Senator Culver to say nothing about it." +</P> + +<P> +But Harry, who watched him all the time, read tenacity and purpose in +his eyes. This man would not relinquish his great southern dream, +a dream of vast dominion, and he had a powerful society behind him. +</P> + +<P> +"What news, then, will you send to Charleston?" asked Bertrand at +length. "Will you tell her that Kentucky, the state of great names, +will stand beside her?" +</P> + +<P> +"Such a message shall be carried to her," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking for them all, "and I propose that my son Harry be the +messenger. These are troubled times, gentlemen, and full of peril. +We dare not trust to the mails, and a lad, carrying letters, would +arouse the least suspicion. He is strong and resourceful. I, his +father, should know best and I am willing to devote him to the cause." +</P> + +<P> +Harry started when he heard the words of his father, and his heart gave +a great leap of mingled surprise and joy. Such a journey, such an +enterprise, made an instant appeal to his impulsive and daring spirit. +But he did not speak, waiting upon the words of his elders. All of them +looked at him, and it seemed to Harry that they were measuring him, +both body and mind. +</P> + +<P> +"I have known your boy since his birth," said Senator Culver, "and he +is all that you say. There is none stronger and better. The choice is +good." +</P> + +<P> +"Good! Aye, good indeed!" said the impetuous Bertrand. "How they will +welcome him in Charleston!" +</P> + +<P> +"Then, gentlemen," said Colonel Kenton, very soberly, "you are all +agreed that my son shall carry to South Carolina the message that +Kentucky will follow her out of the Union?" +</P> + +<P> +"We are," they said, all together. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad and proud to go," said Harry, speaking for the first +time. +</P> + +<P> +"I knew it without asking you," said Colonel Kenton. "I suggest to you, +friends, that he start before dawn, and that he go to Winton instead +of the nearest station. We wish to avoid observation and suspicion. +The fewer questions he has to answer, the better it will be for all of +us." +</P> + +<P> +They agreed with him again, and, in order that he might be fresh and +strong for his journey, Harry was sent to his bedroom. Everything +would be made ready for him, and Colonel Kenton would call him at the +appointed hour. As he withdrew he bade them in turn good night, and +they returned his courtesy gravely. +</P> + +<P> +It was one thing to go to his room, but it was another to sleep. +He undressed and sat on the edge of the bed. Only when he was alone did +he realize the tremendous change that had come into his life. Nor into +his life alone, but into the lives of all he knew, and of millions more. +</P> + +<P> +It had ceased snowing and the wind was still. The earth was clothed +in deep and quiet white, and the pines stood up, rows of white cones, +silvered by the moonlight. Nothing moved out there. No sound came. +He felt awed by the world of night, and the mysterious future which must +be full of strange and great events. +</P> + +<P> +He lay down between the covers and, although sleep was long in coming, +it came at last and it was without dreams. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A COURIER TO THE SOUTH +</H3> + +<P> +Harry was awakened by his father shaking his shoulder. It was yet dark +outside, but a small lamp burned on his table. +</P> + +<P> +"It is time for you to go, Harry," said Colonel Kenton, somewhat +unsteadily. "Your horse, bridle and saddle on, is waiting. Your +breakfast has been cooked for you, and everything else is ready." +</P> + +<P> +Harry dressed rapidly in his heaviest and warmest clothing. He and his +father ate breakfast by lamplight, and when he finished it was not yet +dawn. Then the Colonel himself brought him his overcoat, comforter, +overshoes, and fur cap. +</P> + +<P> +"The saddlebags are already on your horse," he said, "and they are +filled with the things you will need. In this pocket-book you will +find five hundred dollars, and here is, also, an order on a bank in +Charleston for more. See that you keep both money and order safely. +I trust to you to spend the money in the proper manner." +</P> + +<P> +Harry put both in an inside pocket of his waistcoat, and then his father +handed him a heavy sealed letter. +</P> + +<P> +"This you must guard with your life," he said. "It is not addressed +to anybody, but you can give it to Senator Yancey, who is probably +in Charleston, or Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, or General +Beauregard, who, I understand, is coming to command the troops there, +and whom I knew in former days, or to General Ripley. It contains +Kentucky's promise to South Carolina, and it is signed by many of us. +And now, Harry, let prudence watch over action. It is no common errand +upon which you ride." +</P> + +<P> +The colonel walked with him to the gate where the horse stood. Harry +did not know who had brought the animal there, but he believed that his +father had done so with his own hand. The boy sprang into the saddle, +Colonel Kenton gave him a strong grasp of the hand, undertook to say +something but, as he did so, the words choked in his throat, and he +walked hastily toward the house. +</P> + +<P> +Harry spoke to his horse, but a hundred yards away, before he came to +the first curve in the road, he stopped and looked back. Colonel Kenton +was standing in the doorway, his figure made bright in the moonlight. +Harry waved his hand and a hand was waved in return. Tears arose to his +own eyes, but he was youth in the saddle, with the world before him, +and the mist was gone quickly. +</P> + +<P> +The snow was six or eight inches deep, and lay unbroken in the road. +But the horse was powerful, shod carefully for snow and ice, and Harry +had been almost from infancy an expert rider. His spirits rose. +He had no fear of the stillness and the dark. But one could scarcely +call it the dark, since brilliant stars rode high in a bright blue +heaven, and the forest on either side of him was a vast and intricate +tracery of white touched with silver. +</P> + +<P> +He examined his saddle bags, and found in them a silver-mounted pistol +and cartridges which he transferred to his belt. The line of the +mountains lay near the road, and he remembered Bill Skelly and those +like him. The weapon gave him new strength. Skelly and his comrades +might come on any pretext they chose. +</P> + +<P> +The road lay straight toward the south, edged on either side by forest. +Now and then he passed a silent farm house, set back among the trees, +and once a dog barked, but there was no sound, save the tread of the +horse's feet in the snow, and his occasional puff when he blew the steam +from his nostrils. Harry did not feel the cold. The heavy overcoat +protected his body, and the strong action of the heart, pouring the +blood in a full tide through his veins, kept him warm. +</P> + +<P> +The east whitened. Dawn came. Thin spires of smoke began to rise from +distant houses in the woods or fields. Harry was already many miles +from Pendleton, and then something rose in his throat again. He +remembered his father standing in the portico, and, strangely enough, +the Tacitus lying in his locked desk at the academy. But he crushed +it down. His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, +an emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. +</P> + +<P> +The station at Winton was a full twenty miles from Pendleton and, +with such heavy snow, Harry did not expect to arrive until late in the +afternoon. Nor would there be any need for him to get there earlier, +as no train for Nashville reached that place until half past six in the +evening. His horse showed no signs of weariness, but he checked his +speed, and went on at an easy walk. +</P> + +<P> +The road curved nearer to a line of blue hills, which sloped gradually +upward for scores of miles, until they became mountains. All were +clothed with forest, and every tree was heavy with snow. A line between +the trees showed where a path turned off from the main road and entered +the hills. As Harry approached it, he heard the crunching of horses' +hoofs in the snow. A warning instinct caused him to urge his own horse +forward, just as four riders came into view. +</P> + +<P> +He saw that the men in the saddles, who were forty or fifty yards away, +were mountaineers, like Skelly. They wore fur caps; heavy blanket +shawls were drooped about their shoulders and every one carried a rifle. +As soon as they saw the boy they shouted to him to halt. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's alert senses took alarm. They must have gained some knowledge +of his errand and its nature. Perhaps word had been sent from Pendleton +by those who were arraying themselves on the other side that he be +intercepted. When they cried to him to stop, he struck his horse +sharply, shouted to him, and bent far over against his neck. Colonel +Kenton had chosen well. The horse responded instantly. He seemed to +gather his whole powerful frame compactly together, and shot forward. +The nearest mountaineer fired, but the bullet merely whistled where the +horse and rider had been, and sent snow flying from the bushes on the +other side of the road. A second rifle cracked but it, too, missed the +flying target, and the mountaineers, turning into the main road, gave +pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt a cold shiver along his spine when the leading man pulled +trigger. It was the first time in his life that any one had ever fired +upon him, and the shiver returned with the second shot. And since they +had missed, confidence came. He knew that they could not overtake him, +and they would not dare to pursue him long. He glanced back. They +were a full hundred yards in the rear, riding all four abreast. He +remembered his own pistol, and, drawing it from his belt, he sent a +bullet toward the pursuit. It was too long a range for serious work, +but he intended it as a warning that he, too, was armed and would fight. +</P> + +<P> +The road still ran through the forest with the hills close on the left. +Up went the sun, casting a golden glory over the white earth. Harry +beheld afar only a single spire of smoke. The houses were few in that +region, and he might go four or five miles without seeing a single human +being, save those who pursued. But he was not afraid. His confidence +lay chiefly in the powerful animal that he rode, and he saw the distance +between him and the four men lengthen from a hundred to two hundred +yards. One of them fired another shot at him, but it only shook the +snow from a tree fifteen feet away. He could not keep from sending back +a taunting cry. +</P> + +<P> +On went the sun up the curve of the heavens, and the brilliant light +grew. The forest thinned away. The line of hills retreated, and before +him lay fields, extending to both right and left. The eye ranged over +a great distance and he counted the smoke of five farm houses. He +believed that the men would not pursue him into the open country, +but he urged his horse to greater speed, and did not turn in his saddle +for a quarter of an hour. When he finally looked back the mountaineers +were gone. He could see clearly a half-mile, and he knew now that his +surmise had come true. They dared to pursue only in the forest, and +having failed, they would withdraw into the hills. +</P> + +<P> +He drew his horse down to a walk, patted his shoulder, and spoke to him +words of approval. He was not sorry now that he had passed through the +adventure. It would harden him to risks and dangers to come. He made +up his mind, also, to say nothing about it. He could send a warning +back from Winton, but the men in Pendleton knew how to protect +themselves, and the message might fall into wrong hands. +</P> + +<P> +His journey continued in such peace that it was hard to believe men had +fired upon him, and in the middle of the afternoon he reached Winton. +He left his horse, saddle and bridle at a livery stable, stating that +they would be called for by Colonel Kenton, who was known throughout the +region, and sought food at the crude little wooden hotel. He was glad +that he saw no one whom he knew, because, after the fashion of the +country, they would ask him many questions, and he felt relief, too, +when the train arrived. +</P> + +<P> +Dark had already come when Harry entered the car. There were no coaches +for sleepers, and he must make himself comfortable as best he could on +the red plush seat, sprinkled thickly with ashes and cinders from the +engine. Fortunately, he had the seat alone, although there were many +people in the car. +</P> + +<P> +The train, pouring out a huge volume of black smoke, pulled out of the +station with a great clatter that never ceased. Now Harry felt an ebb +of the spirits and melancholy. He was leaving behind Pendleton and all +that he had known. In the day the excitement, the cold air, and the +free world about him had kept him up. Now the swaying and jarring +of the train, crude like most others in that early time of railways, +gave him a sense of illness. The window at his elbow rattled +incessantly, and the ashes and cinders sifted in, blackening his face +and hands. Three or four smoking lamps, hung from the ceiling, lighted +the car dimly, and disclosed but partly the faces of the people around +him. Some were asleep already. Others ate their suppers from baskets. +Harry felt of his pockets at intervals to see that his money and letters +were safe, and he kept his saddle bags closely on the seat beside him. +</P> + +<P> +The nausea created by the motion of the train passed away soon. He put +his face against the dusty window pane and tried to see the country. +But he could catch only glimpses of snowy woods and fields, and, once +or twice, flashes of water as they crossed rivers. The effort yielded +little, and he turned his attention to the people. He noted only one +who differed in aspect from the ordinary country passenger. +</P> + +<P> +A man of middle years sat rigidly erect at the far end of the car. +He wore a black hat, broad of brim, and all his clothing was black and +precise. His face was shaven smoothly, save for a long gray mustache +with an upward curve. While the people about him talked in a +miscellaneous fashion, he did not join them, and his manner did not +invite approach even in those easy times. +</P> + +<P> +Harry was interested greatly. The stranger presently opened a valise, +took out some food and ate delicately. Then he drew a small silver +cup from the same valise, filled it at the drinking stand, drank and +returned it to the valise. Without a crumb having fallen on clothing +or floor, he resumed his seat and gazed straight before him. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's interest in the stranger increased. He had a fine face, cut +clearly, and of a somewhat severe and melancholy cast. Always he gazed +straight before him, and his mind seemed to be far from the people in +the car. It was obvious that he was not the ordinary traveler, and the +boy spent some time in trying to guess his identity. Then he gave it up, +because he was growing sleepy. +</P> + +<P> +Excitement and the long physical strain were now telling upon Harry. +He leaned his head against the corner of the seat and the wall, drew his +overcoat as a blanket about his body and shoulders, and let his eyelids +droop. The dim train grew dimmer, and he slept. +</P> + +<P> +The train was due at Nashville between midnight and morning, and Harry +was awakened by the conductor a half hour before he reached the city. +He shook himself, put on his overcoat that he had used as a blanket, +and tried to look through the window. He saw only darkness rushing past, +but he knew that he had left Kentucky behind, and it seemed to him that +he had come into an alien land, a land of future friends, no doubt, +but as yet, the land of the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +All the people in the train were awakening, and were gathering their +baggage sleepily about them. But the stranger, who drank from the +silver cup, seemed not to have been asleep at all. He still sat rigidly +erect, and his melancholy look had not abated. His valise lay on the +seat beside him. Harry noticed that it was large and strong, with metal +clasps at the corners. +</P> + +<P> +The engine was whistling already for Nashville, and Harry threw his +saddle bags over his arm. He was fully awake now, alert and eager. +This town of Nashville was full of promise. It had been the home of +the great Andrew Jackson, and it was one of the important cities of the +South, where cities were measured by influence rather than population, +because all, except New Orleans, were small. +</P> + +<P> +As the train slowed down, Harry arose and stood in the aisle. The +stranger also stood up, and Harry noticed that his bearing was military. +He looked around, his eyes met Harry's—perhaps he had been observing +him in the night—and he smiled. It was a rare, illuminating smile that +made him wonderfully attractive, and Harry smiled back. He did not know +it, but he was growing lonely, with the loneliness of youth, and he +wanted a friend. +</P> + +<P> +"You are stopping in Nashville?" said the man with the friendliness of +the time. +</P> + +<P> +"For a day only. I am then going further south." +</P> + +<P> +Harry had answered without hesitation. He did not believe it possible +that this man could be planning anything against him or his errand. +The tall stranger looked upon him with approval. +</P> + +<P> +"I noticed you in the train last night when you slept," he said, +speaking in the soft, musical accents of the seaboard South. "Your +sleep was very deep, almost like collapse. You showed that you had +been through great physical and mental strain, and even before you +fell asleep your anxious look indicated that you rode on an errand +of importance." +</P> + +<P> +Harry gazed at him in surprise, mingled with a little alarm. The +strange man laughed musically and with satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"I am neither a detective nor a conspirator," he said. "These are times +when men travel upon anxious journeys. I go upon one myself, but since +we are in Tennessee, well south of the Mason and Dixon line, I make no +secret of it. I am Leonidas Talbot, of South Carolina, until a week ago +a colonel in the American army, but now bound for my home in Charleston. +You boarded this train at a station in Kentucky, either the nearest or +among the nearest to Pendleton. A resemblance, real or fancied, has +caused me to notice you closely." +</P> + +<P> +The man was looking at him with frank blue eyes set well apart, and +Harry saw no need of concealing his identity. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton—though people generally call me +Harry—and I live at Pendleton in Kentucky," he replied. +</P> + +<P> +Now the smile of Leonidas Talbot, late colonel U. S. A., became rarely +sweet. +</P> + +<P> +"I should have guessed it," he said. "The place where you joined us and +the strong resemblance should have made me know. You must be the son of +Colonel George Kenton." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Then, young sir, let me shake your hand." +</P> + +<P> +His manner seemed so warm and natural that Harry held out his hand, +and Colonel Talbot gave it a strong clasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Your father and I have served together," he said. "We were in the +same class at West Point, and we fought in the same command against the +Indians on the plains. I saw him again at Cerro Gordo, and we were side +by side at Contreras, Molino del Rey, and the storming of Chapultepec. +He left the service some time after we came back from Mexico, but I +remained in it, until—recent events. It is fitting that I should meet +his son here, when we go upon errands which are, perhaps, similar in +nature. I infer that your destination is Charleston!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Harry impulsively, and he was not sorry that he had obeyed +the impulse. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we shall go together," said Colonel Talbot. "I take it that many +other people are now on their way to this same city of Charleston, +which since the secession of South Carolina has become the most famous +in the Union." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad if you will take me with you," said Harry. "I know +little of Charleston and the lower South, and I need company." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will go to a hotel," said Colonel Talbot. "On a journey like +this two together are better than one alone. I know Nashville fairly +well, and while it is of the undoubted South, it will be best for us, +while we are here, to keep quiet tongues in our heads. We cannot get a +train out of the city until the afternoon." +</P> + +<P> +They were now in the station and everybody was going out. It was not +much past midnight, and a cold wind blowing across the hills and the +Cumberland River made Harry shiver in his overcoat. Once more he was +glad of his new comradeship with a man so much his superior in years and +worldly wisdom. +</P> + +<P> +Snow lay on the ground, but not so deep as in Kentucky. Houses, mostly +of wood, and low, showed dimly through the dusk. No carriages met the +train, and the people were melting away already to their destinations. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll lead the way," said Colonel Talbot. "I know the best hotel, +and for travelers who need rest the best is always none too good." +</P> + +<P> +He led briskly through the silent and lonely streets, until they came +to a large brick building with several lights shining from the wide and +open door. They entered the lobby of the hotel, one carrying his saddle +bags, the other his valise, and registered in the book that the sleepy +clerk shoved toward them. Several loungers still sat in cane-bottomed +chairs along the wall, and they cast curious glances at Harry and the +colonel. +</P> + +<P> +The hotel was crowded, the clerk said. People had been crowding into +town in the last few days, as there was a great stir in the country +owing to the news from Charleston. He could give them only one room, +but it had two beds. +</P> + +<P> +"It will do," said the colonel, in his soft but positive voice. "My +young friend and I have been traveling hard and we need rest." +</P> + +<P> +Harry would have preferred a room alone, but his trust in Colonel Talbot +had already become absolute. This man must be what he claimed to be. +There was no trace of deceit about him. His heart had never before +warmed so much to a stranger. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot closed and locked the door of their room. It was a large +bare apartment with two windows overlooking the town, and two small beds +against opposite walls. The colonel put his valise at the foot of one +bed, and walked to the window. The night had lightened somewhat and he +saw the roofs of buildings, the dim line of the yellow river, and the +dusky haze of hills beyond. He turned his head and looked steadily in +the direction in which lay Charleston. A look of ineffable sadness +overspread his face. +</P> + +<P> +The light on the table was none too bright, but Harry saw Colonel +Talbot's melancholy eyes, and he could not refrain from asking: +</P> + +<P> +"What's the trouble, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +The South Carolinian turned from the window, sat down on the edge of the +bed and smiled. It was an illuminating smile, almost the smile of youth. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid that everything's the matter, Harry, boy," he said. "South +Carolina, the state that I love even more than the Union to which it +belongs, or belonged, has gone out, and, Harry, because I'm a son of +South Carolina I must go with it—and I don't want to go. But I've been +a soldier all my life. I know little of politics. I have grown up with +the feeling that I must stay with my people through all things. I must +be kin by blood to half the white people in Charleston. How could I +desert them?" +</P> + +<P> +"You couldn't," said Harry emphatically. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled. It is possible that, at the moment, +he wished for the sanguine decision of youth, which could choose a side +and find only wrong in the other. +</P> + +<P> +"In my heart," he continued, "I do not wish to see the Union broken up, +although the violence of New England orators and the raid of John Brown +has appalled me. But, Harry, pay good heed to me when I say it is not a +mere matter of going out of the Union. It may not be possible for South +Carolina and the states that follow her to stay out." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't understand you," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"It means war! It means war, as surely as the rising of the sun in the +morning. Many think that it does not; that the new republic will be +formed in peace, but I know better. A great and terrible war is coming. +Many of our colored people in Charleston and along the Carolina coast +came by the way of the West Indies. They have strange superstitions. +They believe that some of their number have the gift of second sight. +In my childhood I knew two old women who claimed the power, and they +gave apparent proofs that were extraordinary. I feel just now as if I +had the gift myself, and I tell you, Harry, although you can see only a +dark horizon from the window, I see one that is blood red all the way +to the zenith. Alas, our poor country!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry stared at him in amazement. The colonel, although he had called +his name, seemed to have forgotten his presence. A vivid and powerful +imagination had carried him not only from the room, but far into the +future. He recovered himself with an abrupt little shrug of the +shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"I am too old a man to be talking such foolishness to a boy," he said, +briskly. "To bed, Harry! To bed! Your sleep on the train was brief +and you need more! So do I!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry undressed quickly, and put himself under the covers, and the +colonel also retired, although somewhat more leisurely. The boy could +not sleep for some time. One vision was present in his mind, that of +Charleston, the famous city to which they were going. The effect of +Colonel Talbot's ominous words had worn off. He would soon see the city +which had been so long a leader in Southern thought and action, and he +would see, too, the men who had so boldly taken matters in their own +hands. He admired their courage and daring. +</P> + +<P> +It was late when Harry awoke, and the colonel was already up and +dressed. But the man waited quietly until the boy was dressed also, +and they went down to breakfast together. Despite the lateness of +the hour the dining-room was still crowded, and the room buzzed with +animated talk. Harry knew very well that Charleston was the absorbing +topic, just as it had been the one great thought in his own mind. +The people about him seemed to be wholly of Southern sympathies, and +he knew very well that Tennessee, although she might take her own time +about it, would follow South Carolina out of the Union. +</P> + +<P> +They found two vacant seats at a table, where three men already sat. +One was a member of the Legislature, who talked somewhat loudly; the +second was a country merchant of middle age, and the third was a young +man of twenty-five, who had very little to say. The legislator, whose +name was Ramsay, soon learned Colonel Talbot's identity, and he would +have proclaimed it to everybody about him, had not the colonel begged +him not to do so. +</P> + +<P> +"But you will at least permit me to shake your hand, Colonel Talbot," +he said. "One who can give up his commission in the army and come back +to us as you have done is the kind of man we need." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot gave a reluctant hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I am proud to have felt the grasp of one who will win many honors in +the coming war," said Ramsay. +</P> + +<P> +"Or more likely fill a grave," said Colonel Talbot, dryly. +</P> + +<P> +The silent young man across the table looked at the South Carolinian +with interest, and Harry in his turn examined this stranger. He was +built well, shaven smoothly, and did not look like a Tennesseean. +His thin lips, often pressed closely together, seemed to indicate a +capacity for silence, but when he saw Harry looking at him he smiled +and said: +</P> + +<P> +"I gather from your conversation that you are going to Charleston. +All southern roads seem to lead to that town, and I, too, am going +there. My name is Shepard, William J. Shepard, of St. Louis." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot turned a measuring look upon him. It was so intent and +comprehensive that the young man flushed slightly, and moved a little in +his seat. +</P> + +<P> +"So you are from St. Louis?" said the colonel. "That is a great city, +and you must know something about the feeling there. Can you tell me +whether Missouri will go out?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot," replied Shepard. "No man can. But many of us are at work." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think?" persisted Colonel Talbot. +</P> + +<P> +"I am hoping. Missouri is really a Southern state, the daughter of +Kentucky, and she ought to join her Southern sisters. As the others +go out one by one, I think she will follow. The North will not fight, +and we will form a peaceful Southern republic." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Leonidas Talbot of South Carolina swept him once more with that +intent and comprehensive gaze. +</P> + +<P> +"The North will fight," he said. "As I told my young friend here last +night, a great and terrible war is coming." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think so?" asked Shepard, and it seemed to Harry that his tone +had become one of overwhelming interest. "Then Charleston, as its +center and origin, ought to be ready. How are they prepared there for +defense?" +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot's eyes never left Shepard's face and a faint pink tint +appeared again in the young man's cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"There are the forts—Sumter, Moultrie, Johnson and Pinckney," replied +the South Carolinian, "and I heard to-day that they are building +earthworks, also. All are helping and it is said that Toutant +Beauregard is going there to take command." +</P> + +<P> +"A good officer," said Shepard, musingly. "I believe you said you were +leaving for Charleston this afternoon?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I did not say when," replied Colonel Talbot, somewhat sharply. +"It is possible that Harry and I may linger a while in Nashville. +They do not need us yet in Charleston, although their tempers are pretty +warm. There has been so much fiery talk, cumulative for so many years, +that they regard northern men with extremely hostile eyes. It would not +take much to cause trouble." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot continued to gaze steadily at Shepard, but the Missourian +looked down into his plate. It seemed to Harry that there was some sort +of play between them, or rather a thread of suspicion, a fine thread +in truth, but strong enough to sustain something. He could see, too, +that Colonel Talbot was giving Shepard a warning, a warning, veiled and +vague, but nevertheless a warning. But the boy liked Shepard. His face +seemed to him frank and honest, and he would have trusted him. +</P> + +<P> +They rose presently and went into the lobby, where the colonel evaded +Shepard, as the place was now crowded. More news had come from +Charleston and evidently it was to their liking. There was a great +amount of talk. Many of the older men sprinkled their words with +expressive oaths. The oaths came so naturally that it seemed to be a +habit with them. They chewed tobacco freely, and now and then their +white shirt fronts were stained with it. All those who seemed to be of +prominence wore long black coats, waistcoats cut low, and trousers of +a lighter color. +</P> + +<P> +Near the wall stood a man of heavy build with a great shaggy head and +thick black hair all over his face. He was dressed in a suit of rough +gray jeans, with his trousers stuffed into high boots. He carried in +his right hand a short, thick riding whip, with which he occasionally +switched the tops of his own boots. +</P> + +<P> +Harry spoke to him civilly, after the custom of the time and place. +He took him for a mountaineer, and he judged by the heavy whip he +carried, that he was a horse or cattle trader. +</P> + +<P> +"They talk of Charleston," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, they talk an' talk," said the man, biting his words, "an' they do +nothin'." +</P> + +<P> +"You think they ought to take Tennessee out right away?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I'm ag'in it. I don't want to bust up this here Union. But I +reckon Tennessee is goin' out, an' most all the other Southern states +will go out, too. I 'low the South will get whipped like all tarnation, +but if she does I'm a Southerner myself, an' I'll have to git whipped +along with her. But talkin' don't do no good fur nobody. If the South +goes out, it's hittin' that'll count, an' them that hits fastest, +hardest, truest an' longest will win." +</P> + +<P> +The man was rough in appearance and illiterate in speech, but his +manner impressed Harry in an extraordinary manner. It was direct and +wonderfully convincing. The boy recognized at once a mind that would +steer straight through things toward its goal. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Harry Kenton," he said politely. "I'm from Kentucky, +and my father used to be a colonel in the army." +</P> + +<P> +"Mine," said the mountaineer, "is Nat Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest +for full and long. I'm a trader in live stock, an' I thought I'd look +in here at Nashville an' see what the smart folks was doin'. I'd tell +'em not to let Tennessee go out of the Union, but they wouldn't pay any +'tention to a hoss-tradin' mountaineer, who his neighbors say can't +write his name." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Forrest," said Harry, "but I'm afraid we're +on different sides of the question." +</P> + +<P> +"Mebbe we are 'til things come to a head," said the mountaineer, +laughing, "but, as I said, if Tennessee goes out, I reckon I'll go with +her. It's hard to go ag'in your own gang. Leastways, 't ain't in me +to do it. Now I've had enough of this gab, an' I'm goin' to skip out. +Good-bye, young feller. I wish you well." +</P> + +<P> +Bringing his whip once more, and sharply this time, across the tops of +his own boots, he strode out of the hotel. His walk was like his talk, +straight and decisive. Harry saw Shepard in the lobby making friends, +but, imitating his older comrade, he avoided him, and late that +afternoon Colonel Talbot and he left for Charleston. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HEART OF REBELLION +</H3> + +<P> +Harry, with his friend Colonel Leonidas Talbot, approached Charleston +on Christmas morning. It was a most momentous day to him. As he came +nearer, the place looked greater and greater. He had read much about +it in the books in his father's house—old tales of the Revolution and +stories of its famous families—and now its name was in the mouths of +all men. +</P> + +<P> +He had felt a change in his own Kentucky atmosphere at Nashville, +but it had become complete when he drew near to Charleston. It was a +different world, different alike in appearance and in thought. The +contrast made the thrill all the keener and longer. Colonel Talbot, +also, was swayed by emotion, but his was that of one who was coming home. +</P> + +<P> +"I was born here, and I passed my boyhood here," he said. "I could not +keep from loving it if I would, and I would not if I could. Look how +the cold North melts away. See the great magnolias, the live oaks, +and the masses of shrubbery! Harry, I promise you that you shall have +a good time in this Charleston of ours." +</P> + +<P> +They had left the railroad some distance back, and had come in by stage. +The day was warm and pleasant. Two odors, one of flowers and foliage, +and the other of the salt sea, reached Harry. He found both good. +He felt for the thousandth time of his pocket-book and papers to see that +they were safe, and he was glad that he had come, glad that he had been +chosen for such an important errand. +</P> + +<P> +The colonel asked the driver to stop the stage at a cross road, and he +pointed out to Harry a low, white house with green blinds, standing on a +knoll among magnificent live oaks. +</P> + +<P> +"That is my house, Harry," he said, "and this is Christmas Day. Come +and spend it with me there." +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt to the full the kindness of Colonel Leonidas Talbot, for whom +he had formed a strong affection. The colonel seemed to him so simple, +so honest and, in a way, so unworldly, that he had won his heart almost +at once. But he felt that he should decline, as his message must be +delivered as soon as he arrived in Charleston. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you are right," said the colonel, when the boy had explained +why he could not accept. "You take your letters to the gentlemen who +are going to make the war, and then you and I and others like us, +ranging from your age to mine, will have to fight it." +</P> + +<P> +But Harry was not to be discouraged. He could not see things in a gray +light on that brilliant Christmas morning. Here was Charleston before +him and in a few hours he would be in the thick of great events. +A thrill of keen anticipation ran through all his veins. The colonel +and he stood by the roadside while the obliging driver waited. He +offered his hand, saying good-bye. +</P> + +<P> +"It's only for a day," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, as he gave the +hand a strong clasp. "I shall be in Charleston tomorrow, and I shall +certainly see you." +</P> + +<P> +Harry sprang back to his place and the stage rolled joyously into +Charleston. Harry saw at once that the city was even more crowded than +Nashville had been. Its population had increased greatly in a few weeks, +and he could feel the quiver of excitement in the air. Citizen soldiers +were drilling in open places, and other men were throwing up earthworks. +</P> + +<P> +He left the stage and carried over his arm his baggage, which still +consisted only of a pair of saddle bags. He walked to an old-fashioned +hotel which Colonel Talbot had selected for him as quiet and good, +and as he went he looked at everything with a keen and eager interest. +The deep, mellow chiming of bells, from one point and then from another, +came to his ears. He knew that they were the bells of St. Philip's and +St. Michael's, and he looked up in admiration at their lofty spires. +He had often heard, in far Kentucky, of these famous churches and their +silver chimes. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Harry that the tension and excitement of the people in the +streets were of a rather pleasant kind. They had done a great deed, and, +keyed to a high pitch by their orators and newspapers, they did not fear +the consequences. The crowd seemed foreign to him in many aspects, +Gallic rather than American, but very likeable. +</P> + +<P> +He reached his hotel, a brick building behind a high iron fence, kept by +a woman of olive complexion, middle years, and pleasant manners, Madame +Josephine Delaunay. She looked at him at first with a little doubt, +because it was a time in Charleston when one must inspect strangers, +but when he mentioned Colonel Leonidas Talbot she broke into a series of +smiles. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, the good colonel!" she exclaimed. "We were children at school +together, but since he became a soldier he has gone far from here. +And has he returned to fight for his great mother, South Carolina?" +</P> + +<P> +"He has come back. He has resigned from the army, and he is here to do +South Carolina's bidding." +</P> + +<P> +"It is like him," said Madame Delaunay. "Ah, that Leonidas, he has a +great soul!" +</P> + +<P> +"I travelled with him from Nashville to Charleston," said Harry, "and I +learned to like and admire him." +</P> + +<P> +He had established himself at once in the good graces of Madame Delaunay +and she gave him a fine room overlooking a garden, which in season +was filled with roses and oranges. Even now, pleasant aromatic odors +came to him through the open window. He had been scarcely an hour in +Charleston but he liked it already. The old city breathed with an ease +and grace to which he was unused. The best name that he knew for it was +fragrance. +</P> + +<P> +He had a suit of fresh clothing in his saddle bags, and he arrayed +himself with the utmost neatness and care. He felt that he must do so. +He could not present himself in rough guise to a people who had every +right to be fastidious. He would also obtain further clothing out of +the abundant store of money, as his father had wished him to make a good +appearance and associate with the best. +</P> + +<P> +He descended, and found Madame Delaunay in the garden, where she gave +him welcome, with grave courtesy. She seemed to him in manner and +bearing a woman of wealth and position, and not the keeper of an inn, +doing most of the work with her own hands. He learned later that the +two could go together in Charleston, and he learned also, that she was +the grand-daughter of a great Haytian sugar planter, who had fled from +the island, leaving everything to the followers of Toussaint l'Ouverture, +glad to reach the shores of South Carolina in safety. +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay looked with admiration at the young Kentuckian, so tall +and powerful for his age. To her, Kentucky was a part of the cold North. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you tell me where I am likely to find Senator Yancey?" asked Harry. +"I have letters which I must deliver to him, and I have heard that he is +in Charleston." +</P> + +<P> +"There is to be a meeting of the leaders this afternoon in St. Anthony's +Hall in Broad street. You will surely find him there, but you must have +your luncheon first. I think you must have travelled far." +</P> + +<P> +"From Kentucky," replied Harry, and then he added impulsively: "I've +come to join your people, Madame Delaunay. South Carolina has many and +powerful friends in the Upper South." +</P> + +<P> +"She will need them," said Madame Delaunay, but with no tone of +apprehension. "This, however, is a city that has withstood much fire +and blood and it can withstand much more. Now I'll leave you here +in the garden. Come to luncheon at one, and you shall meet my other +guests." +</P> + +<P> +Harry sat down on a little wooden bench beneath a magnolia. Here in the +garden the odor of grass and foliage was keen, and thrillingly sweet. +This was the South, the real South, and its warm passions leaped up in +his blood. Much of the talk that he had been hearing recently from +those older than he passed through his mind. The Southern states did +have a right to go if they chose, and they were being attacked because +their prominence aroused jealousy. Slavery was a side issue, a mere +pretext. If it were not convenient to hand, some other excuse would be +used. Here in Charleston, the first home of secession, among people who +were charming in manner and kind, the feeling was very strong upon him. +</P> + +<P> +He left the house after luncheon, and, following Madame Delaunay's +instructions, came very quickly to St. Andrew's hall in Broad street, +where five days before, the Legislature of South Carolina, after +adjourning from Columbia, had passed the ordinance of secession. +</P> + +<P> +Two soldiers in the Palmetto uniform were on guard, but they quickly let +him pass when he showed his letters to Senator Yancey. Inside, a young +man, a boy, in fact, not more than a year older than himself, met him. +He was slender, dark and tall, dressed precisely, and his manner had +that easy grace which, as Harry had noticed already, seemed to be the +characteristic of Charleston. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Arthur St. Clair," he said, "and I'm a sort of improvised +secretary for our leaders who are in council here." +</P> + +<P> +"Mine," said Harry, "is Henry Kenton. I'm a son of Colonel George +Kenton, of Kentucky, late a colonel in the United States Army, and I've +come with important messages from him, Senator Culver and other Southern +leaders in Kentucky." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you will be truly welcome. Wait a moment and I'll see if they are +ready to receive you." +</P> + +<P> +He returned almost instantly, and asked Harry to go in with him. +They entered a large room, with a dais at the center of the far wall, +and a number of heavy gilt chairs covered with velvet ranged on either +side of it. Over the dais hung a large portrait of Queen Victoria as a +girl in her coronation robes. A Scotch society had occupied this room, +but the people of Charleston had always taken part in their festivities. +In those very velvet chairs the chaperons had sat while the dancing had +gone on in the hall. Then the leaders of secession had occupied them, +when they put through their measure, and now they were sitting there +again, deliberating. +</P> + +<P> +A man of middle years and of quick, eager countenance arose when young +St. Clair came in with Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Yancey," said St. Clair, "this is Henry Kenton, the son of Colonel +George Kenton, who has come from Kentucky with important letters." +</P> + +<P> +Yancey gave him his hand and a welcome, and Harry looked with intense +interest at the famous Alabama orator, who, with Slidell, of South +Carolina, and Toombs of Georgia, had matched the New England leaders in +vehemence and denunciation. Mr. Slidell, an older man, was present and +so was Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell, who had presided when secession was +carried. There were more present, some prominent, others destined to +become so, and Harry was introduced to them one by one. +</P> + +<P> +He gave his letters to Yancey and retired with young St. Clair to the +other end of the room, while the leaders read what had been written from +Kentucky. Harry was learning to become a good observer, and he watched +them closely as they read. He saw a look of pleasure come on the face +of every one, and presently Yancey beckoned to him. +</P> + +<P> +"These are fine assurances," said the orator, "and they have been +brought by the worthy son of a worthy father. Colonel Kenton, Senator +Culver and others, have no doubt that Kentucky will go out with us. +Now you are a boy, but boys sometimes see and hear more than men, +and you are old enough to think; that is, to think in the real sense. +Tell us, what is your own opinion?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry flushed, and paused in embarrassment. +</P> + +<P> +"Go on," said Mr. Yancey, persuasively. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know much," said Harry slowly, wishing not to speak, but +feeling that he was compelled by Mr. Yancey to do so, "but as far as I +have seen, Kentucky is sorely divided. The people on the other side +are perhaps not as strong and influential as ours, but they are more +numerous." +</P> + +<P> +A shade passed over the face of Yancey, but he quickly recovered his +good humor. +</P> + +<P> +"You have done right to tell us the truth as you see it," he said, +"but we need Kentucky badly. We must have the state and we will get it. +Did you hear anything before you left, of one Raymond Bertrand, a South +Carolinian?" +</P> + +<P> +"He was at my father's house before I came away. I think it was his +intention to go from there to Frankfort with some of our own people, +and assist in taking out the state." +</P> + +<P> +Yancey smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"Faithful to his errand," he said. "Raymond Bertrand is a good lad. +He has visions, perhaps, but they are great ones, and he foresees a +mighty republic for us extending far south of our present border. +But now that you have accomplished your task, what do you mean to do, +Mr. Kenton?" +</P> + +<P> +"I want to stay here," replied Harry eagerly. "This is the head and +center of all things. I think my father would wish me to do so. +I'll enlist with the South Carolina troops and wait for what happens." +</P> + +<P> +"Even if what happens should be war?" +</P> + +<P> +"Most of all if it should be war. Then I shall be one of those who will +be needed most." +</P> + +<P> +"A right and proper spirit," said Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell. "When we +can command such enthusiasm we are unconquerable. Now, we'll not keep +you longer, Mr. Kenton. This is Christmas Day, and one as young as you +are is entitled to a share of the hilarity. Look after him, St. Clair." +</P> + +<P> +Harry went out with young St. Clair, whom he was now calling by his +first name, Arthur. He, too, was staying with Madame Delaunay, who was +a distant relative. +</P> + +<P> +Harry ate Christmas dinner that evening with twenty people, many of +types new to him. It made a deep impression upon him then, and one yet +greater afterward, because he beheld the spirit of the Old South in its +inmost shrine, Charleston. It seemed to him in later days that he had +looked upon it as it passed. +</P> + +<P> +They sat in a great dining-room upon a floor level with the ground. +The magnolias and live oaks and the shrubs in the garden moved in the +gentle wind. Fresh crisp air came through the windows, opened partly, +and brought with it, as Harry thought, an aroma of flowers blooming in +the farther south. He sat with young St. Clair—the two were already +old friends—and Madame Delaunay was at the head of the table, looking +more like a great lady who was entertaining her friends than the keeper +of an inn. +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay wore a flowing white dress that draped itself in folds, +and a lace scarf was thrown about her shoulders. Her heavy hair, +intensely black, was bound with a gold fillet, after a fashion that +has returned a half century later. A single diamond sparkled upon her +finger. She seemed to Harry foreign, handsome, and very distinguished. +</P> + +<P> +About half the people in the room were of French blood, most of whom +Harry surmised were descendants of people who had fled from Hayti or +Santo Domingo. One, Hector St. Hilaire, almost sixty, but a major in +the militia of South Carolina, soon proved that the boy's surmise was +right. Lemonade and a mild drink called claret-sanger was served to +the boys, but the real claret was served to the major, as to the other +elders, and the mellowness of Christmas pervaded his spirit. He drank a +toast to Madame Delaunay, and the others drank it with him, standing. +Madame Delaunay responded prettily, and, in a few words, she asked +protection and good fortune for this South Carolina which they all loved, +and which had been a refuge to the ancestors of so many of them. +As she sat down she looked up at the wall and Harry's glance followed +hers. It was a long dining-room, and he saw there great portraits in +massive gilt frames. They were of people French in look, handsome, +and dressed with great care and elaboration. The men were in gay coats +and knee breeches, silk stockings and buckled shoes. Small swords were +at their sides. The women were even more gorgeous in velvet or heavy +satin, with their hair drawn high upon their heads and powdered. +One had a beauty patch upon her cheek. +</P> + +<P> +Major St. Hilaire saw Harry's look as it sped along the wall. He smiled +a little sadly and then, a little cheerfully: +</P> + +<P> +"Those are the ancestors of Madame Delaunay," he said, "and some, +I may mention in passing, are my own, also. Our gracious hostess and +myself are more or less distantly related—less, I fear—but I boast of +it, nevertheless, on every possible occasion. They were great people in +a great island, once the richest colony of France, the richest colony +in all the world. All those people whom you see upon the walls were +educated in Paris or other cities of France, and they returned to a life +upon the magnificent plantations of Hayti. What has become of that +brightness and glory? Gone like snow under a summer sun. 'Tis +nothing but the flower of fancy now. The free black savage has made a +wilderness of Hayti, and our enemies in the North would make the same +of South Carolina." +</P> + +<P> +A murmur of applause ran around the table. Major St. Hilaire had spoken +with rhetorical effect and a certain undoubted pathos. Every face +flushed, and Harry saw the tears glistening in the eyes of Madame +Delaunay who, despite her fifty years, looked very handsome indeed in +her white dress, with the glittering gold fillet about her great masses +of hair. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was stirred powerfully. His sensitive spirit responded at +once to the fervid atmosphere about him, to the color, the glow, the +intensity of a South far warmer than the one he had known. Their +passions were his passions, and having seen the black and savage Hayti +of which Major St. Hilaire had drawn such a vivid picture, he shuddered +lest South Carolina and other states, too, should fall in the same way +to destruction. +</P> + +<P> +"It can never happen!" he exclaimed, carried away by impulse. "Kentucky +and Virginia and the big states of the Upper South will stand beside her +and fight with her!" +</P> + +<P> +The murmur of applause ran around the table again, and Harry, blushing, +made himself as small as he could in his chair. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't regret a good impulse. Mr. Kenton," said a neighbor, a young +man named James McDonald—Harry had noticed that Scotch names seemed to +be as numerous as French in South Carolina—"the words that all of us +believe to be true leaped from your heart." +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not speak again, unless he was addressed directly, but he +listened closely, while the others talked of the great crisis that was +so obviously approaching. His interest did not make him neglect the +dinner, as he was a strong and hearty youth. There were sweets for +which he did not care much, many vegetables, a great turkey, and venison +for which he did care, finishing with an ice and coffee that seemed to +him very black and bitter. +</P> + +<P> +It was past eight o'clock when they rose and any lingering doubts that +Harry may have felt were swept away. He was heart and soul with the +South Carolinians. Those people in the far north seemed very cold and +hard to him. They could not possibly understand. One must be here +among the South Carolinians themselves to see and to know. +</P> + +<P> +Harry went to his room, after a polite good-night to all the others. +He was not used to long and heavy dinners, and he felt the wish to rest +and take the measure of his situation. He threw back the green blinds +and opened the window a little. Once more the easy wind brought him +that odor of the far south, whether reality or fancy he could not say. +But he turned to another window and looked toward the north. Away from +the others and away from a subtle persuasiveness that had been in the +air, some of his doubts returned. It would not all be so easy. What +were they doing in the far states beyond the Ohio? +</P> + +<P> +He heard footsteps in the hail and a voice that seemed familiar. +He had left his door partly open, and, when he turned, he caught a +glimpse of a face that he knew. It was young Shepard, whom he and Major +Talbot had met in Nashville. Shepard saw Harry also, and saluted him +cheerfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I've just arrived," he said, "and through letters from friends in +St. Louis, members of one of the old French families there, I've been +lucky enough to secure a room at Madame Delaunay's inn." +</P> + +<P> +"Fortune has been with us both," said Harry, somewhat doubtfully, +but not knowing what else to say. +</P> + +<P> +"It certainly has," said Shepard, with easy good humor. "I'll see you +again in the morning and we'll talk of what we've been through, both of +us." +</P> + +<P> +He walked briskly on and Harry heard his firm step ringing on the floor. +The boy retired to his own room again and locked the door. He had liked +Shepard from the first. He had seemed to him frank and open and no +one could deny his right to come to Charleston if he pleased. And yet +Colonel Talbot, a man of a delicate and sensitive mind, which quickly +registered true impressions, had distrusted him. He had even given +Harry a vague warning, which he felt that he could not ignore. He made +up his mind that he would not see Shepard in the morning. He would make +it a point to rise so early that he could avoid him. +</P> + +<P> +His conclusion formed, he slept soundly until the first sunlight poured +in at the window that he had left open. Then, remembering that he +intended to avoid Shepard, he jumped out of bed, dressed quickly and +went down to breakfast, which he had been told he could get as early +as he pleased. +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay was already there, still looking smooth and fresh in +the morning air. But St. Clair was the only guest who was as early as +Harry. Both greeted him pleasantly and hoped that he had slept well. +Their courtesy, although Harry had no doubt of its warmth, was slightly +more ornate and formal than that to which he had been used at home. +He recognized here an older society, one very ancient for the New World. +</P> + +<P> +The breakfast was also different from the solid one that he always ate +at home. It consisted of fruits, eggs, bread and coffee. There was no +meat. But he fared very well, nevertheless. St. Clair, he now learned, +was a bank clerk, but after office hours he was drilling steadily in one +of the Charleston companies. +</P> + +<P> +"If you enlist, come with me," he said to Harry. "I can get you a place +on the staff, and that will suit you." +</P> + +<P> +Harry accepted his offer gladly, although he felt that he could not take +up his new duties for a few days. Matters of money and other things +were to be arranged. +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said St. Clair. "Take your time. I don't think there's +any need to hurry." +</P> + +<P> +Harry left Madame Delaunay's house immediately after breakfast, still +firm in his purpose to avoid Shepard, and went to the bank, on which +he held drafts properly attested. Not knowing what the future held, +and inspired perhaps by some counsel of caution, he drew half of it +in gold, intending to keep it about his person, risking the chance of +robbery. Then he went toward the bay, anxious to see the sea and those +famous forts, Sumter, Moultrie and the others, of which he had heard +so much. +</P> + +<P> +It was a fine, crisp morning, one to make the heart of youth leap, +and he soon noticed that nearly the whole population of the city was +going with him toward the harbor. St. Clair, who had departed for his +bank, overtook him, and it was evident to Harry that his friend was not +thinking much now of banks. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Arthur?" asked Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"They stole a march on us yesterday," replied St. Clair. "See that dark +and grim mass rising up sixty feet or more near the center of the harbor, +the one with the Stars and Stripes flying so defiantly over it? That's +Fort Sumter. Yesterday, while we were enjoying our Christmas dinner and +talking of the things that we would do, Major Anderson, who commanded +the United States garrison in Fort Moultrie, quietly moved it over to +Sumter, which is far stronger. The wives and children of the soldiers +and officers have been landed in the city with the request that we +send them to their homes in the states, which, of course, we will do. +But Major Anderson, who holds the fort in the name of the United States, +refuses to give it up to South Carolina, which claims it." +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt an extraordinary thrill, a thrill that was, in many ways, +most painful. Talk was one thing, action was another. Here stood South +Carolina and the Union face to face, looking at each other through the +muzzles of cannon. Sumter had one hundred and forty guns, most of which +commanded the city, and the people of Charleston had thrown up great +earthworks, mounting many cannon. +</P> + +<P> +Boy as he was, Harry was old enough to see that here were all the +elements of a great conflagration. It merely remained for somebody to +touch fire to the tow. He was not one to sentimentalize, but the sight +of the defiant flag, the most beautiful in all the world, stirred him in +every fiber. It was the flag under which both his father and Colonel +Talbot had fought. +</P> + +<P> +"It has to be, Harry," said St. Clair, who was watching him closely. +"If it comes to a crisis we must fire upon it. If we don't, the South +will be enslaved and black ignorance and savagery will be enthroned upon +our necks." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose so," said Harry. "But look how the people gather!" +</P> + +<P> +The Battery and all the harbor were now lined with the men, women and +children of Charleston. Harry saw soldiers moving about Sumter, but no +demonstration of any kind occurred there. He had not thought hitherto +about the garrison of the forts in Charleston harbor. He recognized for +the first time that they might not share the opinions of Charleston, +and this name of Anderson was full of significance for him. Major +Anderson was a Kentuckian. He had heard his father speak of him; they +had served together, but it was now evident to Harry that Anderson would +not go with South Carolina. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll see a small boat coming soon from Sumter," said St. Clair. +"Some of our people have gone over there to confer with Major Anderson +and demand that he give up the fort." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe he'll do it," said Harry impulsively. Some one touched +him upon the shoulder, and turning quickly he saw Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He shook the colonel's hand with vigor, and introduced him to +young St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"I have just come into the city," said the colonel, "and I heard only +a few minutes ago that Major Anderson had removed his garrison from +Moultrie to Sumter." +</P> + +<P> +"It is true," said St. Clair. "He is defiant. He says that he will +hold the fort for the Union." +</P> + +<P> +"I had hoped that he would give up," said Colonel Talbot. "It might +help the way to a composition." +</P> + +<P> +He pulled his long mustache and looked somberly at the flag. The wind +had risen a little, and it whipped about the staff. Its fluttering +motions seemed to Harry more significant than ever of defiance. He +understood the melancholy ring in Colonel Talbot's voice. He, too, +like the boy's father, had fought under that flag, the same flag that +had led him up the flame-swept slopes of Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec. +</P> + +<P> +"Here they come," exclaimed St. Clair, "and I know already the answer +that they bring!" +</P> + +<P> +The small boat that he had predicted put out from Sumter and quickly +landed at the Battery. It contained three commissioners, prominent men +of Charleston who had been sent to treat with Major Anderson, and his +answer was quickly known to all the crowd. Sumter was the property +of the United States, not of South Carolina, and he would hold it for +the Union. At that moment the wind strengthened, and the flag stood +straight out over the lofty walls of Sumter. +</P> + +<P> +"I knew it would be so," said Colonel Talbot, with a sigh. "Anderson is +that kind of a man. Come, boys, we will go back into the city. I am to +help in building the fortifications, and as I am about to make a tour of +inspection I will take you with me." +</P> + +<P> +Harry found that, although secession was only a few days old, the work +of offense and defense was already far advanced. The planters were +pouring into Charleston, bringing their slaves with them, and white +and black labored together at the earthworks. Rich men, who had never +soiled their hands with toil before now, wielded pick and spade by the +side of their black slaves. And it was rumored that Toutant Beauregard, +a great engineer officer, now commander at the West Point Military +Academy, would speedily resign, and come south to take command of the +forces in Charleston. +</P> + +<P> +Strong works were going up along the mainland. The South Carolina +forces had also seized Sullivan's Island, Morris Island, and James +Island and were mounting guns upon them all. Circling batteries would +soon threaten Sumter, and, however defiantly the flag there might snap +in the breeze, it must come down. +</P> + +<P> +As they were leaving the last of the batteries Harry noticed the broad, +strong back and erect figure of a young man who stood with his hands in +his pockets. He knew by his rigid attitude that he was looking intently +at the battery and he knew, moreover, that it was Shepard. He wished +to avoid him, and he wished also that his companion would not see him. +He started to draw Colonel Talbot away, but it was too late. Shepard +turned at that moment, and the colonel caught sight of his face. +</P> + +<P> +"That man here among our batteries!" he exclaimed in a menacing tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Come away, colonel!" said Harry hastily. "We don't know anything +against him!" +</P> + +<P> +But Shepard himself acted first. He came forward quickly, his hand +extended, and his eyes expressing pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +"I missed you this morning, Mr. Kenton," he said. "You were too early +for me, but we meet, nevertheless, in a place of the greatest interest. +And here is Colonel Talbot, too!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry took the outstretched hand—he could not keep from liking +Shepard—but Colonel Talbot, by turning slightly, avoided it without +giving the appearance of brusqueness. His courtesy, concerning which +the South Carolinians of his type were so particular, would not fail him, +and, while he avoided the hand, he promptly introduced Shepard and +St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"I did not expect to find events so far advanced in Charleston," said +Shepard. "With the Federal garrison concentrated in Sumter and the +batteries going up everywhere, matters begin to look dangerous." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose that you have made a careful examination of all the +batteries," said Colonel Talbot dryly. +</P> + +<P> +"Casual, not careful," returned Shepard, in his usual cheerful tones. +"It is impossible, at such a time, to keep from looking at Sumter, +the batteries and all the other preparations. We would not be human if +we didn't do it, and I've seen enough to know that the Yankees will have +a hot welcome if they undertake to interfere with Charleston." +</P> + +<P> +"You see truly," said Colonel Talbot, with some emphasis. +</P> + +<P> +"A happy chance has put me at the same place as Mr. Kenton," continued +Shepard easily. "I have letters which admitted me to the inn of Madame +Delaunay, and I met him there last night. We are likely to see much of +each other." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Leonidas Talbot raised his eyebrows. When they walked a little +further he excused himself, saying that he was going to meet a committee +of defense at St. Andrew's Hall, and Harry and Arthur, after talking a +little longer with Shepard, left him near one of the batteries. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm going to my bank," said St. Clair. "I'm already long overdue, +but it will be forgiven at such a time as this. And I must say, Harry, +that Colonel Talbot does not seem to like your acquaintance, Mr. Shepard." +</P> + +<P> +"It is true, he doesn't, although I don't know just why," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +He saw Shepard at a distance three more times in the course of the day, +but he sedulously avoided a meeting. He noticed that Shepard was always +near the batteries and earthworks, but hundreds of others were near them, +too. He did not return to Madame Delaunay's until evening, when it +was time for dinner, where he found all the guests gathered, with the +addition of Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay assigned the new man to a seat near the foot of the +table and the talk ran on much as it had done at the Christmas dinner, +Major St. Hilaire leading, which Harry surmised was his custom. Shepard, +who had been introduced to the others by Madame Delaunay, did not have +much to say, nor did the South Carolinians warm to him as they had to +Harry. A slight air of constraint appeared and Harry was glad when +the dinner was over. Then he and St. Clair slipped away and spent the +evening roaming about the city, looking at the old historic places, +the fine churches, the homes of the wealthy and again at the earthworks +and the harbor forts. The last thing Harry saw as he turned back toward +Madame Delaunay's was that defiant flag of the Union, still waving above +the dark and looming mass of old Sumter. +</P> + +<P> +He was unlocking the door to his room when Shepard came briskly down the +hall, carrying his candle in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to tell you good-bye, Mr. Kenton," he said, "I thought we were +to be together here at the inn for some time, but it is not to be so." +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened?" +</P> + +<P> +"It appears that my room had been engaged already by another man, +beginning tomorrow morning. I was not informed of it when I came here, +but Madame Delaunay has recalled the fact and I cannot doubt the word +of a Charleston lady. It appears also that no other room is vacant, +owing to the great number of people who have come into the city in the +last week or two. So, I go." +</P> + +<P> +He did not seem at all discouraged, his tone being as cheerful as ever, +and he held out his hand. Harry liked this man, although it seemed that +others did not, and when he released the hand he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Take good care of yourself, Mr. Shepard. As I see it, the people of +Charleston are not taking to you, and we do not know what is going to +happen." +</P> + +<P> +"Both statements are true," said Shepard with a laugh as he vanished +down the hail. Nothing yet had been able to disturb his poise. +</P> + +<P> +Harry went into his own room, and, throwing open his front window to let +in fresh air, he heard the hum of voices. He looked down into a piazza +and he saw two figures there, a man and a woman. They were Colonel +Talbot and Madame Delaunay. He closed the blind promptly, feeling that +unconsciously he had touched upon something hallowed, the thread of +an old romance, a thread which, though slender, was nevertheless yet +strong. Nor did he doubt that the suggestion of Colonel Leonidas Talbot +had caused the speedy withdrawal of Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +Several more days passed. Harry found that he was taken into the city's +heart, and its spell was very strong upon him. He knew that much of his +welcome was due to the powerful influence of Colonel Leonidas Talbot and +to the warm friendship of Arthur St. Clair, who apparently was related +to everybody. A letter came from his father, to whom he had written at +once of his purpose, giving his approval, and sending him more money. +Colonel Kenton wrote that he would come South himself, but he was needed +in Kentucky, where a powerful faction was opposing their plans. He said +that Harry's cousin, Dick Mason, had joined the home guards, raised in +the interests of the old Union, and was drilling zealously. +</P> + +<P> +The letter made the boy very thoughtful. The news about his cousin +opened his eyes. The line of cleavage between North and South was +widening into a gulf. But his spirits rose when he enlisted in the +Palmetto Guards, and began to see active service. His quickness and +zeal caused him to be used as a messenger, and he was continually +passing back and forth among the Confederate leaders in Charleston. +He also came into contact with the Union officers in Fort Sumter. +</P> + +<P> +The relations of the town and the garrison were yet on a friendly basis. +Men were allowed to come ashore and to buy fresh meat, vegetables, +and other provisions. Strict orders kept anyone from offering violence +or insult to them. Harry saw Anderson once, but he did not give him his +name, deeming it best, because of the stand that he had taken, that no +talk should pass between them. +</P> + +<P> +He picked up a copy of the Mercury one morning and saw that a steamer, +the Star of the West, was on its way to Charleston from a northern +port with supplies for the garrison in Fort Sumter. He read the brief +account, threw down the paper and rushed out for his friend, St. Clair. +He knew that the coming of this vessel would fire the Charleston heart, +and he was eager to be upon the scene. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FIRST CAPITAL +</H3> + +<P> +Harry and Arthur stood two days later upon the sea wall of Charleston. +Sumter rose up black and menacing in the clear wintry air. The muzzles +of the cannon seemed to point into the very heart of the city, and over +it, as ever, flew the defiant flag, the red and blue burning in vivid +colors in the thin January sunshine. The heart of Charleston, that most +intense of all Southern cities, had given forth a great throb. The Star +of the West was coming from the North with provisions for the garrison +of beleaguered Sumter. They would see her hull on the horizon in +another hour. +</P> + +<P> +Both Harry and Arthur were trembling with excitement. They were not on +duty themselves, but they knew that all the South Carolina earthworks +and batteries were manned. What would happen? It still seemed almost +incredible to Harry that the people of the Union—at least of the Union +that was—should fire upon one another, and his pulse beat hard and +strong, while he waited with his comrade. +</P> + +<P> +As they stood there gazing out to sea, looking for the black speck +that should mark the first smoke of the Star of the West, Harry became +conscious that another man was standing almost at his elbow. He glanced +up and saw Shepard, who nodded to him. +</P> + +<P> +"I did not know that I was standing by you until I had been here some +time," said Shepard, as if he sought to indicate that he had not been +seeking Harry and his comrade. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you had left Charleston," said Harry, who had not seen him +for a week. +</P> + +<P> +"Not at such a time," said Shepard, quietly. "So much of overwhelming +interest is happening here that nobody who is alive can go away." +</P> + +<P> +He put a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes and scanned the sea's rim. +He looked a long time, and then his face showed excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"It comes! It comes!" he exclaimed, more to himself than to Harry and +Arthur. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it the steamer? Is it the Star of the West?" exclaimed Harry +forgetting all doubts of Shepard in the thrill of the moment. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the Star of the West! It can be no other!" replied Shepard. +"It can be no other! Take the glasses and see for yourself!" +</P> + +<P> +When Harry looked he saw, where sea and sky joined, a black dot that +gradually lengthened out into a small plume. It was not possible to +recognize any ship at that distance, but he felt instinctively that it +was the Star of the West. He passed the glasses to Arthur, who also +took a look, and then drew a deep breath. Harry handed the glasses back +to Shepard, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"I see the ship, and I've no doubt that it's the Star of the West. +Do you know anything about this vessel, Mr. Shepard?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've heard that she's only a small steamer, totally unfitted for +offense or defense." +</P> + +<P> +"If the batteries fire upon her she's bound to go back." +</P> + +<P> +"You put it right." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, in effect, this is a test, and it rests with us whether or not to +fire the first shot." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you're right again." +</P> + +<P> +Others also saw the growing black plume of smoke rising from the +steamer's funnel, and a deep thrilling murmur ran through the crowd +gathered on the sea walls. To many the vessel, steaming toward the +harbor, was foreign, carrying a foreign flag, but to many others it +was not and could never be so. +</P> + +<P> +Shepard passed the glasses to the boy again, and he looked a second time +at the ship, which was now taking shape and rising fast upon the water. +Then he examined the walls of Sumter and saw men in blue moving there. +They, too, were watching the coming steamer with the deepest anxiety. +</P> + +<P> +Arthur took his second look also, and Shepard watched through the +glasses a little longer. Then he put them in the case which he hung +over his shoulder. Glasses were no longer needed. They could now see +with the naked eye what was about to happen—if anything happened at all. +</P> + +<P> +"It will soon be decided," said Shepard, and Harry noticed that his +voice trembled. "If the Star of the West comes without interference up +to the walls of Sumter there will be no war. The minds of men on both +sides will cool. But if she is stopped, then—" +</P> + +<P> +He broke off. Something seemed to choke in his throat. Harry and +Arthur remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +The ship rose higher and higher. Behind her hung the long black trail +of her smoke. Soon, she would be in the range of the batteries. +A deep shuddering sigh ran through the crowd, and then came moments of +intense, painful silence. The little blue figures lining the walls of +Sumter were motionless. The sea moved slowly and sleepily, its waters +drenched in wintry sunshine. +</P> + +<P> +On came the Star of the West, straight toward the harbor mouth. +</P> + +<P> +"They will not fire! They dare not!" cried Shepard in a tense, strained +whisper. +</P> + +<P> +As the last word left his lips there was a heavy crash. A tongue of +fire leaped from one of the batteries, followed by a gush of smoke, +and a round shot whistled over the Star of the West. A tremendous shout +came from the crowd, then it was silent, while that tongue of flame +leaped a second time from the mouth of a cannon. Harry saw the water +spring up, a spire of white foam, near the steamer, and a moment later +a third shot clipped the water close by. He did not know whether the +gunners were firing directly at the vessel or merely meant to warn her +that she came nearer at her peril, but in any event, the effect was +the same. South Carolina with her cannon was warning a foreign ship, +the ship of an enemy, to keep away. +</P> + +<P> +The Star of the West slowed down and stopped. Then another shout, +more tremendous than ever, a shout of triumph, came from the crowd, +but Harry felt a chill strike to his heart. Young St. Clair, too, +was silent and Harry saw a shadow on his face. He looked for Shepard, +but he was gone and the boy had not heard him go. +</P> + +<P> +"It is all over," said St. Clair, with the certainty of prophecy. +"The cannon have spoken and it is war. Why, where is Shepard?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. He seems to have slipped away after the first two or +three shots." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose he considered the two or three enough. Look, Harry! The +ship is turning! The cannon have driven her off!" +</P> + +<P> +He was right. The Star of the West, a small steamer, unable to face +heavy guns, had curved about and was making for the open sea. There was +another tremendous shout from the crowd, and then silence. Smoke from +the cannon drifted lazily over the town, and, caught by a contrary +breeze, was blown out over the sea in the track of the retreating +steamer, where it met the black trail left by that vessel's own funnel. +The crowd, not cheering much now, but talking in rather subdued tones, +dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt the chill down his spine again. These were great matters. +He had looked upon no light event in the harbor of Charleston that day. +He and Arthur lingered on the wall, watching that trailing black dot on +the horizon, until it died away and was gone forever. The blue figures +on the walls of Sumter had disappeared within, and the fortress stood up, +grim and silent. Beyond lay the blue sea, shimmering and peaceful in +the wintry sunshine. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose there is nothing to do but go back to Madame Delaunay's," +said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing now," replied St. Clair, "but I fancy that later on we'll have +all we can do." +</P> + +<P> +"If not more." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, if not more." +</P> + +<P> +Both boys were very grave and thoughtful as they walked to Madame +Delaunay's most excellent inn. They realized that as yet South Carolina +stood alone, but in the evening their spirits took a leap. News came +that Mississippi also had gone out. Then other planting states followed +fast. Florida was but a day behind Mississippi, Alabama went out the +next day after Florida, Georgia eight days later, and Louisiana a +week after Georgia. Exultation rose high in Charleston. All the Gulf +and South Atlantic States were now sure, but the great border states +still hung fire. There was a clamor for Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland +and Missouri, and, though the promises from them came thick and fast, +they did not go out. But the fiery energy of Charleston and the lower +South was moving forward over all obstacles. Already arrangements had +been made for a great convention at Montgomery in Alabama, and a new +government would be formed differing but little from that of the old +Union. +</P> + +<P> +Now Harry began to hear much of a man, of whom he had heard his father +speak, but who had slipped entirely from his mind. It was Jefferson +Davis, a native of Kentucky like Abraham Lincoln. He had been a brave +and gallant soldier at Buena Vista. It was said that he had saved the +day against the overwhelming odds of Santa Anna. He had been Secretary +of War in the old Union, now dissolved forever, according to the +Charleston talk. Other names, too, began to grow familiar in Harry's +ears. Much was said about the bluff Bob Toombs of Georgia, who feared +no man and who would call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker +Hill monument. And there was little weazened Stephens, also of Georgia, +a great intellect in a shrunken frame, and Benjamin of the oldest race, +who had inherited the wisdom of ages. There would be no lack of numbers +and courage and penetration when the great gathering met at Montgomery. +</P> + +<P> +These were busy and on the whole happy days for Harry and St. Clair. +Harry drilled with his comrade in the Palmetto Guards now, and, in due +time, they were going to Montgomery to assist at the inauguration of the +new president, whoever he might be. No vessel had come in place of the +Star of the West. The North seemed supine, and Sumter, grim and dark +though she might be, was alone. The flag of the Stars and Stripes still +floated above it. Everywhere else the Palmetto flag waved defiance. +But there was still no passage of arms between Sumter and its hostile +neighbors. Small boats passed between the fort and the city, carrying +provisions to the garrison, and also the news. The Charlestonians told +Major Anderson of the states that went out, one by one, and the brave +Kentuckian, eating his heart out, looked vainly toward the open sea for +the help that never came. +</P> + +<P> +Exultation still rose in Charleston. The ball was rolling finely. +It was even gathering more speed and force than the most sanguine had +expected. Every day brought the news of some new accession to the cause, +some new triumph. The Alabama militia had seized the forts, Morgan and +Gaines; Georgia had occupied Pulaski and Jackson; North Carolina troops +had taken possession of the arsenal at Fayetteville, and those of +Florida on the same day had taken the one at Chattahoochee. Everywhere +the South was accumulating arms, ammunition and supplies for use—if +they should be needed. The leaders had good cause for rejoicing. +They were disappointed in nothing, save that northern tier of border +states which still hesitated or refused. +</P> + +<P> +Harry in these days wondered that so little seemed to happen in the +North. His strong connections and his own good manners had made him a +favorite in Charleston. He went everywhere, perhaps most often to the +office of the Mercury, controlled by the powerful Rhett family, among +the most fiery of the Southern leaders. Exchanges still came there from +the northern cities, but he read little in them about preparations for +war. Many attacked Buchanan, the present President, for weakness, +and few expected anything better from the uncouth western figure, +Lincoln, who would soon succeed him. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the Confederate convention at Montgomery was acting. In those +days apathy and delay seemed to be characteristic of the North, courage +and energy of the South. The new government was being formed with speed +and decision. Jefferson Davis, it was said, would be President, and +Stephens of Georgia would be Vice-President. +</P> + +<P> +The time for departure to Montgomery drew near. Harry and Arthur were +in fine gray uniforms as members of the Palmetto Guards. Arthur, light, +volatile, was full of pleased excitement. Harry also felt the thrill +of curiosity and anticipation, but he had been in Charleston nearly six +weeks now, and while six weeks are short, they had been long enough +in such a tense time to make vital changes in his character. He was +growing older fast. He was more of a man, and he weighed and measured +things more. He recognized that Charleston, while the second city of +the South in size and the first in leadership, was only Charleston, +after all, far inferior in weight and numbers to the great cities of +the North. Often he looked toward the North over the vast, intervening +space and tried to reckon what forces lay there. +</P> + +<P> +The evening before their departure they sat on the wide piazza that +swept along the entire front of the inn of Madame Delaunay. Colonel +Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire sat with them. They, too, +were going to Montgomery. Mid-February had passed, and the day had been +one of unusual warmth for that time of the year, like a day in full +spring. The wind from the south was keen with the odor of fresh foliage +and of roses, and of faint far perfumes, unknown but thrilling. A sky +of molten silver clothed city, bay, and forts in enchantment. Nothing +seemed further away than war, yet they had to walk but a little distance +to see the defiant flag over Sumter, and the hostile Palmetto flags +waving not far away. +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay appeared in the doorway. She was dressed as usual in +white and her shining black hair was bound with the slender gold fillet. +</P> + +<P> +"We are going away tomorrow, Madame," said Colonel Talbot, "and I know +that we cannot find in Montgomery any such pleasant entertainment as my +young friends have enjoyed here." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was confirmed in his belief that the thread of an old romance +still formed a firm tie between them. +</P> + +<P> +"But you will come back," said Madame Delaunay. "You will come back +very soon. Surely, they will not try to keep us from going our ways in +peace." +</P> + +<P> +A sudden thrill of passion and feeling had appeared in her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"That no one can tell, Julie," said Colonel Talbot very gravely—it +was the first time that Harry had ever heard him call her by her first +name—"but it seems to me that I should tell what I think. A Union such +as ours has been formed amid so much suffering and hardship, courage and +danger, that it is not to be broken in a day. We may come back soon +from Montgomery, Julie, but I see war, a great and terrible war, a war, +by the side of which those we have had, will dwindle to mere skirmishes. +I shut my eyes, but it makes no difference. I see it close at hand, +just the same." +</P> + +<P> +Madame Delaunay sighed. +</P> + +<P> +"And you, Major St. Hilaire?" she said. +</P> + +<P> +"There may be a great war, Madame Delaunay," he said, "I fear that +Colonel Talbot is right, but we shall win it." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot said nothing more, nor did Madame Delaunay. Presently +she went back into the house. After a long silence the colonel said: +</P> + +<P> +"If I were not sure that our friend Shepard had left Charleston long +since, I should say that the figure now passing in the street is his." +</P> + +<P> +A small lawn filled with shrubbery stretched before the house, but from +the piazza they could see into the street. Harry, too, caught a glimpse +of a passing figure, and like the colonel he was sure that it was +Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +"It is certainly he!" he exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"After him!" cried Colonel Talbot, instantly all action. "As sure as we +live that man is a spy, drawing maps of our fortifications, and I should +have warned the Government before." +</P> + +<P> +The four sprang from the piazza and ran into the street. Harry, +although he had originally felt no desire to seize Shepard, was carried +along by the impetus. It was the first man-hunt in which he had ever +shared, and soon he caught the thrill from the others. The colonel, +no doubt, was right. Shepard was a spy and should be taken. He ran +as fast as any of them. +</P> + +<P> +Shepard, if Shepard it was, heard the swift footsteps behind him, +glanced back and then ran. +</P> + +<P> +"After him!" cried Major St. Hilaire, his volatile blood leaping high. +"His flight shows that he's a spy!" +</P> + +<P> +But the fugitive was a man of strength and resource. He ran swiftly +into a cross street, and when they followed him there he leaped over +the low fence of a lawn, surrounding a great house, darted into the +shrubbery, and the four, although they were joined by others, brought +by the alarm, sought for him in vain. +</P> + +<P> +"After all, I'm not sorry he got away," said Colonel Talbot, as they +walked back to Madame Delaunay's. "There is no war, and hence, in a +military sense, there can be no spies. I doubt whether we should have +known what to do with him had we caught him, but I am certain that he +has complete maps of all our defenses." +</P> + +<P> +Harry, with Arthur and many others whom he knew, started the next day +for Montgomery. Jefferson Davis had already been chosen President, +and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President, and Davis was on his way +from his Mississippi home to the same town to be inaugurated. In the +excitement over the great event, so near at hand, Harry forgot all about +Shepard and his doubts. He bade a regretful farewell to Charleston, +which had taken him to its heart, and turned his face to this new place, +much smaller, and, as yet, without fame. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, Arthur, and their older friends began the momentous journey +across the land of King Cotton, passing through the very heart of the +lower South, as they went from Charleston to Montgomery. Davis and +Stephens would be inaugurated on the 17th of that month, which was +February. But the Palmetto Guards would arrive at Montgomery before +Davis himself, who had left his home and who would cross Mississippi, +Alabama, and a corner of Georgia before he reached the new capital to +receive the chief honor. +</P> + +<P> +Trains were slow and halting, and Harry had ample opportunity to see +the land and the people who crowded to the stations to bring news or to +hear it. He crossed a low, rolling country with many rivers, great and +small. He saw large houses, with white-pillared porticos, sitting back +among the trees, and swarms of negro cabins. Much of the region was yet +dead and brown from the touch of winter, but in the valleys the green +was appearing. Spring was in the air, and the spirits of the Palmetto +Guards, nearly all of whom were very young, were rising with it. +</P> + +<P> +The train drew into Montgomery, the little city that stood on the high +banks of the Alabama River. Here they were in the very heart of the +new Confederacy, and Harry and Arthur were eager to see the many famous +Southern men who were gathered there to welcome the new President. +Jefferson Davis was expected on the morrow, and would be inaugurated on +the day following. They heard that his coming was already a triumphal +progress. Vast crowds held his train at many points, merely to see him +and listen to a few words. Generally he spoke in the careful, measured +manner that was natural to him, but it was said that in Opelika, in +Alabama, he had delivered a warning to the North, telling the Northern +states that they would interfere with the Southern at their peril. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and Arthur, despite their eagerness to see the town and the great +men, were compelled to wait. The Palmetto Guards went into camp on the +outskirts, and their commander, Colonel Leonidas Talbot, late of the +United States Army, was very strict in discipline. His second in +command, Major Hector St. Hilaire, was no whit inferior to him in +sternness. Harry had expected that this old descendant of Huguenots, +reared in the soft air of Charleston, would be lax, or at least easy +of temper, but whatever of military rigor Colonel Talbot forgot, +Major St. Hilaire remembered. +</P> + +<P> +The guards were about three hundred in number, and their camp was +pitched on a hill, a half mile from the town. The night, after a +beautiful day, turned raw and chill, warning that early spring, even +in those southern latitudes, was more of a promise than a performance. +But the young troops built several great fires and those who were not +on guard basked before the glow. +</P> + +<P> +Harry had helped to gather the wood, most of which was furnished by the +people living near, and his task was ended. Now he sat on his blanket +with his back against a log and, with a great feeling of comfort, +saw the flames leap up and grow. The cooks were at work, and there +was an abundance of food. They had brought much themselves, and the +enthusiastic neighbors doubled and tripled their supplies. The pleasant +aroma of bacon and ham frying over the coals and of boiling coffee +arose. He was weary from the long journey and the work that he had done, +and he was hungry, too, but he was willing to wait. +</P> + +<P> +All the troops were South Carolinians except Harry and perhaps a dozen +others. They were a pleasant lot, quick of temper, perhaps, but he +liked them. Their prevailing note was high spirits, and the most +cheerful of all was a tall youth named Tom Langdon, whose father owned +one of the smaller of the sea islands off the South Carolina coast. +He was quite sanguine that everything would go exactly as they wished. +The Yankees would not fight, but, if by any chance they did fight, +they would get a most terrible thrashing. Tom, with a tin cup full of +coffee in one hand and a tin plate containing ham and bread in the other, +sat down by the side of Harry and leaned back against the log also. +Harry had never seen a picture of more supreme content than his face +showed. +</P> + +<P> +"In thirty-six hours we'll have a new President, do you appreciate that +fact, Harry Kenton?" asked young Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"I do," replied Harry, "and it makes me think pretty hard." +</P> + +<P> +"What's the use of worrying? Why, it's just the biggest picnic that +I ever took part in, and if the Yankees object to our setting up for +ourselves I fancy we'll have to go up there and teach 'em to mind their +own business. I wouldn't object, Harry, to a march at somebody else's +expense to New York and Philadelphia and Boston. I suppose those cities +are worth seeing." +</P> + +<P> +Harry laughed. Langdon's good spirits were contagious even to a nature +much more serious. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't look on it as a picnic altogether," he said. "The Yankees will +fight very hard, but we live on the land almost wholly, and the grass +keeps on growing, whether there's war or not. Besides, we're an outdoor +people, good horsemen, hunters, and marksmen. These things ought to +help us." +</P> + +<P> +"They will and we'll help ourselves most," said Langdon gaily. "I'm +going to be either a general or a great politician, Harry. If it's a +long war, I'll come out a general; if it's a short one, I mean to enter +public life afterward and be a great orator. Did you ever hear me speak, +Harry?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, thank Heaven," replied Harry fervently. "Don't you think that +South Carolina has enough orators now? What on earth do all your people +find to talk about?" +</P> + +<P> +Langdon laughed with the utmost good nature. +</P> + +<P> +"We fire the human heart," he replied. "'Words, words, empty words,' it +is not so. Words in themselves are often deeds, because the deeds start +from them or are caused by them. The world has been run with words. +All great actions result from them. Now, if we should have a big war, +it would be said long afterward that it was caused by words, words +spoken at Charleston and Boston, though, of course, the things they say +at Boston are wrong, while those said at Charleston are right." +</P> + +<P> +Harry laughed in his turn. +</P> + +<P> +"It's quite certain," he said, "that you'll have no lack of words +yourself. I imagine that the sign over your future office will read, +'Thomas Langdon, wholesale dealer in words. Any amount of any quality +supplied on demand.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Not a bad idea," said Langdon. "You mean that as satire, but I'll +do it. It's no small accomplishment to be a good dictionary. But my +thoughts turn back to war. You think I never look beyond today, but I +believe the North will come up against us. And you'll have to go into +it with all your might, Harry. You are of fighting stock. Your father +was in the thick of it in Mexico. Remember the lines: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "We were not many, we who stood<BR> + Before the iron sleet that day;<BR> + Yet many a gallant spirit would<BR> + Give half his years if he but could<BR> + Have been with us at Monterey."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"I remember them," said Harry, much stirred. "I have heard my father +quote them. He was at Monterey and he says that the Mexicans fought +well. I was at Frankfort, the capital of our state, myself with him, +when they unveiled the monument to our Kentucky dead and I heard them +read O'Hara's poem which he wrote for that day. I tell you, Langdon, +it makes my blood jump every time I hear it." +</P> + +<P> +He recited in a sort of low chant: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "The neighing troop, the flashing blade,<BR> + The bugle's stirring blast,<BR> + The charge, the dreadful cannonade,<BR> + The din and shout are past.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Nor war's wild note, nor glory's peal<BR> + Shall fill with fierce delight<BR> + Those breasts that never more may feel<BR> + The rapture of the fight."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +They were very young and, in some respects, it was a sentimental time, +much given to poetry. As the darkness closed in and the lights of the +little city could be seen no longer, their thoughts took a more solemn +turn. Perhaps it would be fairer to call them emotions or feelings +rather than thoughts. In the day all had been talk and lightness, +but in the night omens and presages came. Langdon was the first to +rouse himself. He could not be solemn longer than three minutes. +</P> + +<P> +"It's certain that the President is coming tomorrow, Harry, isn't it?" +he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Beyond a doubt. He is so near now that they fix the exact hour, +and the Guards are among those to receive him." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what he looks like. They say he is a very great man." +</P> + +<P> +They were interrupted by St. Clair, who threw himself down on a blanket +beside them. +</P> + +<P> +"That's the third cup of coffee you're taking, Tom," he said to Langdon. +"Here, give it to me. I've had none." +</P> + +<P> +Langdon obeyed and St. Clair drank thirstily. Then he took from the +inside pocket of his coat a newspaper which he unfolded deliberately. +</P> + +<P> +"This came from Montgomery," he said. "I heard you two quoting poetry, +and I thought I'd come over and read some to you. What do you think of +this? It was written by a fellow in Boston named Holmes and published +when he heard that South Carolina had seceded. He calls it: 'Brother +Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Read it!" exclaimed the others. +</P> + +<P> +"Here goes: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "She has gone—she has left us in passion and pride,<BR> + Our stormy-browed sister so long at our side!<BR> + She has torn her own star from our firmament's glow,<BR> + And turned on her brother the face of a foe.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun,<BR> + We can never forget that our hearts have been one,<BR> + Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's name<BR> + From the fountain of blood with the fingers of flame."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +St. Clair read well in a full, round voice, and when he stopped with the +second verse Harry said: +</P> + +<P> +"It sounds well. I like particularly that expression, 'the fingers of +flame.' After all, there's some grief in parting company, breaking up +the family, so to speak." +</P> + +<P> +"But he's wrong when he says we left in passion and pride," exclaimed +Langdon. "In pride, yes, but not in passion. We may be children of +the sun, too, but I've felt some mighty cold winds sweeping down from +the Carolina hills, cold enough to make fur-lined overcoats welcome. +But we'll forget about cold winds and everything else unpleasant, +before such a jolly fire as this." +</P> + +<P> +They finished an abundant supper, and soon relapsed into silence. +The flames threw out such a generous heat that they were content to rest +their backs against the log, and gaze sleepily into the coals. Beyond +the fire, in the shadow, they saw the sentinels walking up and down. +Harry felt for the first time that he was really within the iron bands +of military discipline. He might choose to leave the camp and go into +Montgomery, but he would choose and nothing more. He could not go. +Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire were friends, +but they were masters also, and he was recognizing sooner than some of +the youths around him that it was not merely play and spectacle that +awaited them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE NEW PRESIDENT +</H3> + +<P> +Their great day came. Clear sunlight shone over the town, the hills and +the brown waters of the Alabama. It was a peculiarly Southern country, +different, Harry thought, from his own Kentucky, more enthusiastic, +perhaps, and less prone to count the cost. The people had come not only +on the railroad, but they were arriving now from far places in wagons +and on horseback. Men of distinction, almost universally, wore black +clothes, the coats very long, black slouch hats, wide of brim, and white +shirts with glistening or heavily ruffled fronts. There were also many +black people in a state of pleasurable excitement, although the war—if +one should come—would be over them. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and his two young friends were anxious to visit Montgomery and +take a good look at the town, but they did not ask for leave, as Colonel +Talbot had already sternly refused all such applications. The military +law continued to lie heavily upon them, and, soon after they finished +a solid breakfast with appetites sharpened by the open air, they were +ordered to fall into line. Arrayed in their fine new uniforms, to which +the last touch of neatness had been added, they marched away to the +town. They might see it as a company, but not as individuals. +</P> + +<P> +They walked with even step along the grassy slopes, their fine +appearance drawing attention and shouts of approval from the dense +masses of people of all ages and all conditions of life who were +gathering. Harry, a cadet with a small sword by his side, felt his +heart swell as he trod the young turf, and heard the shouting and +applause. The South Carolinians were the finest body of men present, +and they were conscious of it. Eyes always to the front, they marched +straight on, apparently hearing nothing, but really hearing everything. +</P> + +<P> +They reached the houses presently and Harry saw the dome of the capitol +on its high hill rising before them, but a moment or two later the +Guards, with the Palmetto flag waving proudly in front, wheeled and +marched toward the railroad station. There they halted in close ranks +and stood at attention. Although the young soldiers remained immovable, +there was not a heart in the company that did not throb with excitement. +Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire were a little in advance, erect and +commanding figures. +</P> + +<P> +Other troops, volunteer companies, were present and they spread to right +and left of the South Carolinians. Behind and everywhere except in the +cleared space before them gathered the people, a vast mass through which +ran the hum and murmur of expectancy. Overhead, the sun leaped out and +shone for a while with great brilliancy. "A good omen," many said. +And to Harry it all seemed good, too. The excitement, the enthusiasm +were contagious. If any prophet of evil was present he had nothing to +say. +</P> + +<P> +A jet of smoke standing black against the golden air appeared above a +hill, and then came the rumble of a train. It was that which bore the +President elect, coming fast, and a sudden great shout went up from the +multitude, followed by silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of so +many. Harry's heart leaped again, but his will kept his body immovable. +</P> + +<P> +The rumble became a roar, and the jet of smoke turned to a cloud. +Then the train drew into the station and stopped. The people began a +continuous shout, bands played fiercely, and a tall, thin man of middle +years, dressed in black broadcloth, descended from a coach. All the +soldiers saluted, the bands played more fiercely than ever, and the +shouting of the crowd swelled in volume. +</P> + +<P> +It was the first time that Harry had ever seen Jefferson Davis, and the +face, so unlike that which he expected, impressed him. He saw a cold, +gray, silent man with lips pressed tightly together. He did not behold +here the Southern fire and passion of which he was hearing so much talk, +but rather the reserve and icy resolve of the far North. Harry at first +felt a slight chill, but it soon passed. It was better at such a time +to have a leader of restraint and dignity than the homely joker, Lincoln, +of whom such strange tales came. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Davis lifted his black hat to the shouting crowd, and bowed again +and again. But he did not smile. His face remained throughout set in +the same stern mold. As the troops closed up, he entered the carriage +waiting for him, and drove slowly toward the heart of the city, the +multitude following and breaking at intervals into shouts and cheers. +</P> + +<P> +The Palmetto Guards marched on the right of the carriage, and Harry +was able to watch the President-elect all the time. The face held his +attention. Its sternness did not relax. It was the face of a man who +had seen the world, and who believed in the rule of strength. +</P> + +<P> +The procession led on to a hotel, a large building with a great portico +in front. Here it stopped, the bands ceased to play, Mr. Davis +descended from the carriage and entered the portico, where a group of +men famous in the South stood, ready to welcome him. The troops drew up +close to the portico, and back of them, every open space was black with +people. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, in the very front rank, saw and heard it all. Mr. Davis stopped +as soon as he reached the portico, and Yancey, the famous orator of +Alabama, to whom Harry had delivered his letters in Charleston, stepped +forward, and, in behalf of the people of the South, made a speech of +welcome in a clear, resonant, and emphatic tone. The applause compelled +him to stop at times, but throughout, Mr. Davis stood rigid and +unsmiling. His countenance expressed none of his thoughts, whatever +they may have been. Harry's eyes never wandered from his face, except +to glance now and then at the weazened, shrunken, little man who stood +near him, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, who would take the oath of +office as Vice-President of the new Confederacy. He had been present +throughout the convention as a delegate from Georgia, and men talked of +the mighty mind imprisoned in the weak and dwarfed body. +</P> + +<P> +Harry thrilled more than once as the new President spoke on in calm, +measured tones. He was glad to be present at the occurrence of great +events, and he was glad to witness this gathering of the mighty. +The tide of youth flowed high in him, and he believed himself fortunate +to have been at Charleston when the cannon met the Star of the West, +and yet more fortunate to be now at Montgomery, when the head of the +new nation was taking up his duties. +</P> + +<P> +His gaze wandered for the first time from the men in the portico to the +crowd without that rimmed them around. His eyes, without any particular +purpose, passed from face to face in the front ranks, and then stopped, +arrested by a countenance that he had little expected to see. It was +the shadow, Shepard, standing there, and listening, and looking as +intently as Harry himself. It was not an evil face, cut clearly and +eager, but Harry was sorry that he had come. If Colonel Talbot's +beliefs about him were true, this was a bad place for Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +But his eyes went back to the new President and the men on the portico +before him. The first scene in the first act of a great drama, a mighty +tragedy, had begun, and every detail was of absorbing interest to him. +Shepard was forgotten in an instant. +</P> + +<P> +Harry noticed that Mr. Davis never mentioned slavery, a subject which +was uppermost in the minds of all, North and South, but he alluded to +the possibility of war, and thought the new republic ought to have an +army and navy. The concluding paragraph of his speech, delivered in +measured but feeling tones, seemed very solemn and serious to Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"It is joyous in the midst of perilous times," he said, "to look around +upon a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve +animates and actuates the whole; where the sacrifices to be made are not +weighed in the balance against honor and right and liberty and equality. +Obstacles may retard, but they cannot long prevent the progress of a +movement sanctified in justice and sustained by a virtuous people. +Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us +in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which by his blessing they +were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity. +With the continuance of his favor ever gratefully acknowledged we may +look hopefully forward to success, to peace and to prosperity." +</P> + +<P> +The final words were received with a mighty cheer which rose and swelled +thrice, and again. Jefferson Davis stood calmly through it all, his +face expressing no emotion. The thin lips were pressed together +tightly. The points of his high collar touched his thick, close beard. +He wore a heavy black bow tie and his coat had broad braided lapels. +His hair was thick and slightly long, and his face, though thin, was +full of vitality. It seemed to Harry that the grave, slightly narrowed +eyes emitted at this moment a single flash of triumph or at least of +fervor. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Davis was sworn in and Mr. Stephens after him, and when the shouting +and applause sank for the last time, the great men withdrew into the +hotel, and the troops marched away. The head of the new republic had +been duly installed, and the separation from the old Union was complete. +The enthusiasm was tremendous, but Harry, like many others, had an +underlying and faint but persistent feeling of sadness that came from +the breaking of old ties. Nor had any news come telling that Kentucky +was about to join her sister states of the South. +</P> + +<P> +The Palmetto Guards marched back to their old camp, and Harry, Langdon, +and St. Clair obtained leave of absence to visit the town. Youth had +reasserted itself and Harry was again all excitement and elation. +It seemed to him at the moment that he was a boy no longer. The Tacitus +lying peacefully in his desk was forgotten. He was a man in a man's +great world, doing a man's great work. +</P> + +<P> +But both he and his comrades had all the curiosity and zest of boys as +they walked about the little city in the twilight, looking at everything +of interest, visiting the Capitol, and then coming back to the Exchange +Hotel, which sheltered for a night so many of their great men. +</P> + +<P> +They stayed a while in the lobby of the hotel, which was packed so +densely that Harry could scarcely breathe. Most of the men were of the +tall, thin but extremely muscular type, either clean shaven or with +short beards trimmed closely, and no mustaches. Black was the +predominant color in clothing, and they talked with soft, drawling +voices. But their talk was sanguine. Most of them asked what the North +would do, but they believed that whatever she did do the South would go +on her way. The smoke from the pipes and cigars grew thicker, and Harry, +leaving his comrades in the crowd, walked out upon the portico. +</P> + +<P> +The crisp, fresh air of the February night came like a heavenly tonic. +He remained there a little while, breathing it in, expanding his lungs, +and rejoicing. Then he walked over to the exact spot upon which +Jefferson Davis had stood, when he delivered his speech of acceptance. +He was so full of the scene that he shut his eyes and beheld it again. +He tried to imagine the feelings of a man at such a moment, knowing +himself the chosen of millions, and feeling that all eyes were upon him. +Truly it would be enough to make the dullest heart leap. +</P> + +<P> +He opened his eyes, and although he stood in darkness on the portico, +he saw a dusky figure at the far edge of it, standing between two +pillars, and looking in at one of the windows. The man, whoever he was, +seemed to be intently watching those inside, and Harry saw at once that +it was not a look of mere curiosity. It was the gaze of one who wished +to understand as well as to know. He moved a little nearer. The figure +dropped lightly to the ground and moved swiftly away. Then he saw that +it was Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +The boy's feelings toward Shepard had been friendly, but now he felt a +sudden rush of hostility. All that Colonel Talbot had hinted about him +was true. He was there, spying upon the Confederacy, seeking its inmost +secrets, in order that he might report them to its enemies. Harry was +armed. He and all his comrades carried new pistols at their belts, +and driven by impulse he, too, dropped from the portico and followed +Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +He saw the dusky figure ahead of him still going swiftly, but with his +hand on the pistol he followed at greater speed. A minute later Shepard +turned into a small side street, and Harry followed him there. It was +not much more than an alley, dark, silent, and deserted. Montgomery +was a small town, in which people retired early after the custom of the +times, and tonight, the collapse after so much excitement seemed to have +sent them sooner than usual into their homes. It was evident that the +matter would lie without interference between Shepard and himself. +</P> + +<P> +Shepard went swiftly on and came soon to the outskirts of the town. +He did not look back and Harry wondered whether he knew that he was +pursued. The boy thought once or twice of using his pistol, but could +not bring himself to do it. There was really no war, merely a bristling +of hostile forces, and he could not fire upon anybody, especially upon +one who had done him no harm. +</P> + +<P> +Shepard led on, passed through a group of negro cabins, crossed an old +cotton field, and entered a grove, with his pursuer not fifty yards +behind. The grove was lighted well by the moon, and Harry dashed +forward, pistol in hand, resolved at last to call a halt upon the +fugitive. A laugh and the blue barrel of a levelled pistol met him. +Shepard was sitting upon a fallen log facing him. The moon poured a +mass of molten silver directly upon him, showing a face of unusual +strength and power, set now with stern resolution. Harry's hand was +upon the butt of his own pistol, but he knew that it was useless to +raise it. Shepard held him at his mercy. +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down, Mr. Kenton," said Shepard. "Here's another log, where you +can face me. You feel chagrin, but you need not. I knew that you +were following me, and hence I was able to take you by surprise. Now, +tell me, what do you want?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry took the offered log. He was naturally a lad of great courage and +resolution, and now his presence of mind returned. He looked calmly at +Shepard, who lowered his own pistol. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not exactly sure what I want," he replied with a little laugh, +"but whatever it is, I know now that I'm not going to get it. I've +walked into a trap. I believed that you were a spy, and it seemed to +me that I ought to seize you. Am I right?" +</P> + +<P> +Shepard laughed also. +</P> + +<P> +"That's a frank question and you shall have a frank reply," he said. +"The suspicions of your friend, Colonel Talbot, were correct. Yes, +I am a spy, if one can be a spy when there is no war. I am willing to +tell you, however, that Shepard is my right name, and I am willing to +tell you also, that you and your Charleston friends little foresee the +magnitude of the business upon which you have started. I don't believe +there is any enmity between you and me and I can tell the thoughts that +I have." +</P> + +<P> +"Since you offered me no harm when you had the chance," said Harry, +"I give my word that I will seek to offer none myself. Go ahead, +I think you have more to say and I want to listen." +</P> + +<P> +Shepard thrust his pistol in his belt and his face relaxed somewhat. +As they faced each other on the logs they were not more than ten feet +part and the moon poured a shower of silver rays upon both. Although +Shepard was a few years the older, the faces showed a likeness, +the same clearness of vision and strength of chin. +</P> + +<P> +"I liked you, Harry Kenton, the first time I met you," said Shepard, +"and I like you yet. When I saw that you were following me, I led you +here in order to say some things to you. You are seeing me now probably +for the last time. My spying is over for a long while, at least. +A mile further on, a horse, saddled and bridled, is waiting for me. +I shall ride all the remainder of the night, board a train in the +morning, and, passing through Memphis and Louisville, I shall be in the +North in forty-eight hours." +</P> + +<P> +"And what then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I shall tell to those who ought to know what I have seen in Charleston +and Montgomery. I have seen the gathering of forces in the South, +and I know the spirit that animates your people, but listen to me, +Harry Kenton, do you think that a Union such as ours, formed as ours was, +can be broken up in a moment, as you would smash a china plate? The +forces on the other side are sluggish, but they are mighty. I foresee +war, terrible war, crowded with mighty battles. Now, I'm going to offer +you my hand and you are going to take it. Don't think any the less of +me because I've been playing the spy. You may be one yourself before +the year is out." +</P> + +<P> +His manner was winning, and Harry took the offered hand. What right +had he to judge? Each to his own opinion. Despite himself, he liked +Shepard again. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad I've known you, but at the same time I'm glad you're leaving," +he said. +</P> + +<P> +Shepard gave the boy's hand a hearty grasp, which was returned in kind. +Then he turned and disappeared in the forest. Harry walked slowly +back to Montgomery. Shepard had given him deep cause for thought. He +approached the Exchange Hotel, thinking that he would find his friends +there and return with them to the camp. But it was later than he had +supposed. As he drew near he saw that nearly all the lights were out +in the hotel, and the building was silent. +</P> + +<P> +He was sure that St. Clair and Langdon had already gone to the camp, +and he was about to turn away when he saw a window in the hotel thrown +up and a man appear standing full length in the opening. +</P> + +<P> +It was Jefferson Davis. The same flood of moonlight that had poured +upon Shepard illuminated his face also. But it was not the face of a +triumphant man. It was stern, sad, even gloomy. The thin lips were +pressed together more tightly than ever, and the somber eyes looked +out over the city, but evidently saw nothing there. Harry felt +instinctively that his thoughts were like those of Shepard. He, too, +foresaw a great and terrible war, and, so foreseeing, knew that this +was no time to rejoice and glorify. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, held by the strong spell of time and place, watched him a full +half hour. It was certain now that Jefferson Davis was thinking, +not looking at anything, because his head never moved, and his eyes were +always turned in the same direction—Harry noticed at last that the +direction was the North. +</P> + +<P> +The new President stepped back, closed the window and no light came from +his room. Harry hurried to the camp, where, as he had surmised, he +found St. Clair and Langdon. He gave some excuse for his delay, and +telling nothing of Shepard, wrapped himself in his blankets. Exhausted +by the stirring events of the day and night he fell asleep at once. +</P> + +<P> +Three days later they were on their way back to Charleston. They heard +that the inauguration of the new President had not been well received by +the doubtful states. Even the border slave states were afraid the lower +South had been a little too hasty. But among the youths of the Palmetto +Guards there was neither apprehension nor depression. They had been +present at the christening of the new nation, and now they were going +back to their own Charleston. +</P> + +<P> +"Everything is for the best," said young Langdon, whose unfailing +spirits bubbled to the brim, "we'll have down here the tightest and +finest republic the world ever heard of. New Orleans will be the +biggest city, but our own Charleston will always be the leader, its +center of thought." +</P> + +<P> +"What you need, Tom," said Harry, "is a center of thought yourself. +Don't be so terribly sanguine and you may save yourself some smashes." +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't gain anything even then," replied Langdon joyously. "I'll +have such a happy time before the smash comes that I can afford to pay +for it. I'm the kind that enjoys life. It's a pleasure to me just to +breathe." +</P> + +<P> +"I believe it is," said Harry, looking at him with admiration. "I think +I'll call you Happy Tom." +</P> + +<P> +"I take the name with pleasure," said Langdon. "It's a compliment to be +called Happy Tom. Happy I was born and happy I am. I'm so happy I must +sing: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Ol Dan Tucker was a mighty fine man,<BR> + He washed his face in the frying pan,<BR> + He combed his hair with a wagon wheel<BR> + And died with a toothache in his heel."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"That's a great poem," said a long North Carolina youth named Ransome, +"but I've got something that beats it all holler. 'Ole Dan Tucker' is +nothing to 'Aunt Dinah's Tribberlations.'" +</P> + +<P> +"How does it go?" asked St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"It's powerful pathetic, telling a tale of disaster and pain. The first +verse will do, and here it is: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Ole Aunt Dinah, she got drunk,<BR> + Felled in a fire and kicked up a chunk,<BR> + Red-hot coal popped in her shoe,<BR> + Lord a-mighty! how de water flew!"<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"We've had French and Italian opera in Charleston," said St. Clair, +"and I've heard both in New Orleans, too, but nothing quite so moving +as the troubles of Ole Dan Tucker and Ole Aunt Dinah." +</P> + +<P> +They sang other songs and the Guards, who filled two coaches of a train, +joined in a great swinging chorus which thundered above the rattle of +the engine and the cars, so noisy in those days. Often they sang negro +melodies with a plaintive lilt. The slave had given his music to his +master. Harry joined with all the zest of an enthusiastic nature. +The effect of Shepard's words and of the still, solemn face of +Jefferson Davis, framed in the open window, was wholly gone. +</P> + +<P> +Spring was now advancing. All the land was green. The trees were in +fresh leaf, and when they stopped at the little stations in the woods, +they could hear the birds singing in the deep forest. And as they sped +across the open they heard the negroes singing, too, in their deep +mellow voices in the fields. Then came the delicate flavor of flowers +and Harry knew that they were approaching Charleston. In another hour +they were in the city which was, as yet, the heart and soul of the +Confederacy. +</P> + +<P> +Charleston, with its steepled churches, its quaint houses, and its +masses of foliage, much of it in full flower, seemed more attractive +than ever to Harry. The city preserved its gay and light tone. It was +crowded with people. All the rich planters were there. Society had +never been more brilliant than during those tense weeks on the eve +of men knew not what. But the Charlestonians were sure of one fact, +the most important of all, that everything was going well. Texas had +joined the great group of the South, and while the border states still +hung back, they would surely join. +</P> + +<P> +Harry found that the batteries and earthworks had increased in size and +number, forming a formidable circle about the black mass of Sumter, +above which the defiant flag still swung in the wind. The guards were +distributed among the batteries, but St. Clair, Langdon, and Harry +remained together. Toutant Beauregard, after having resigned the +command at West Point, as the Southern leaders had expected, came +to Charleston and took supreme command there. Harry saw him as he +inspected the batteries, a small, dark man, French in look, as he was +French in descent, full of nervous energy and vitality. He spoke +approving words of all that had been done, and Harry, St. Clair and Tom, +glowed with enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you that everything would come just right!" exclaimed +Happy Tom. "We're the boys to do things. I heard today that they were +preparing a big fleet in the North to relieve Sumter, but no matter how +big it is, it won't be able to get into Charleston harbor. Will it, +old fellow?" +</P> + +<P> +He addressed his remarks to one of the great guns, and he patted the +long, polished barrel. Harry agreed with him that Charleston harbor +could be held inviolate. He did not believe that ships would have much +chance against heavy cannon in earthworks. +</P> + +<P> +He was back in Charleston several days before he had a chance to go to +Madame Delaunay's. She was unfeignedly glad to see him, but Harry saw +that she had lost some of her bright spirits. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel Talbot tells me," she said, "that mighty forces are gathering, +and I am afraid, I am afraid for all the thousands of gallant boys like +you, Harry." +</P> + +<P> +But Harry had little fear for himself. Why should he, when the Southern +cause was moving forward so smoothly? They heard a day or two later +that the rail-splitter, Lincoln, had been duly inaugurated President of +what remained of the old Union, although he had gone to Washington at +an unexpected hour, and partly in disguise. On the same day the +Confederacy adopted the famous flag of the Stars and Bars, and Harry and +his friends were soon singing in unison and with fiery enthusiasm: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Hurrah! Hurrah! for Southern rights, hurrah!<BR> + Hurrah for the bonnie blue flag that bears a single star!"<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The spring deepened and with it the tension and excitement. The warm +winds from the South blew over Charleston, eternally keen with the odor +of rose and orange blossom. The bay moved gently, a molten mass now +blue, now green. The blue figures could be seen now and then on the +black walls of Sumter, but the fortress was silent, although the muzzles +of its guns always threatened. +</P> + +<P> +Harry received several letters from his father. The latest stated that +he might want him to return, but he was not needed yet. The state had +proved more stubborn than he and his friends had expected. A powerful +Union element had been disclosed, and there would be an obstinate fight +at Frankfort over the question of going out. He would let him know when +to come. +</P> + +<P> +Harry was perhaps less surprised than his father over the conflict of +opinion in Kentucky, but his thoughts soon slipped from it, returning to +his absorption in the great and thrilling drama in Charleston, which was +passing before his eyes, and of which he was a part. +</P> + +<P> +April came, and the glory of the spring deepened. The winds blowing +from the soft shores of the Gulf grew heavier with the odors of blossom +and flower. But Charleston thrilled continually with excitement. +Fort after fort was seized by the Southerners, almost without opposition +and wholly without the shedding of blood. It seemed that the stars in +their courses fought for the South, or at least it seemed so to the +youthful Harry and his comrades. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you everything would come as we wished it?" said the +sanguine Langdon. "Abe Lincoln may be the best rail-splitter that ever +was, but I fancy he isn't such a terrible fighter." +</P> + +<P> +"Let's wait and see," said Harry, with the impression of Shepard's +warning words still strong upon him. +</P> + +<P> +His caution was not in vain. That day the rulers of Charleston received +a message from Abraham Lincoln that Sumter would be revictualled, +whether Charleston consented or not. The news was spread instantly +through the city and fire sprang up in the South Carolina heart. +The population, increased far beyond its normal numbers by the influx +from the country, talked of nothing else. Beauregard was everywhere +giving quick, nervous orders, and always strengthening the already +powerful batteries that threatened Sumter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SUMTER +</H3> + +<P> +Harry saw an increase of energy after the arrival of Beauregard. +There were fresh rumors about the great fleet the North was going to +send down for the relief of Sumter. Major Anderson, the commander in +the fort, steadily refused all demands for surrender. It was said +freely that the Northern States did not intend to let their Southern +sisters go in peace. The Mercury, with all the power and fire of the +Rhett family behind it, thundered continually for action. Sumter with +its guns menacing the city should not be allowed to remain under the +hostile flag. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Harry afterward that he was in a sort of fever, not a fever +that parched and burned, but a fever that made his pulse leap faster, +and his heart long for the thrill of conflict. Often he sat with +St. Clair and Langdon on their earthworks, and looked at Sumter. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder when the word will come for us to turn these big guns loose?" +Langdon said one day, as he looked at the cannon. "Seems to me we ought +to take Sumter before that fleet comes." +</P> + +<P> +"But wouldn't it be better for them to make the first hostile movement, +Happy?" asked Harry. "Then we'd put them in the wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"What difference does it make if we should happen to fight them, anyhow? +The question who began it we'd settle afterwards on victorious fields. +Oh, we're bound to win, Harry! We can't help it. If there's any war, +I expect inside of a year to sleep with my boots on in the President's +bed in the White House, and then I'd go on to Philadelphia and New York +and Boston and show myself as a fair specimen of the unconquerable +Southern soldier." +</P> + +<P> +"Happy," said Harry, in a rebuking tone, "you're the most terrific +chatterer I ever heard. Before you've done anything whatever, you talk +about having done it all." +</P> + +<P> +"And they call us Charlestonians fiery boasters," said St. Clair. +"Why, there's nobody in all Charleston who's half a match for this sea +islander, Happy Tom Langdon." +</P> + +<P> +Charleston received Lincoln's threat and gave it back. Many were glad +that he had made the issue. The enthusiasm swelled yet further, when +they heard that the Confederate envoys at Washington, treating for a +peaceful separation, had left the capital at once when Lincoln had sent +his message that Sumter would be relieved. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks more like war now," said Langdon, with satisfaction, "and I +may make my victorious march into the North after all." +</P> + +<P> +Harry said nothing. As events marched forward on swift foot, he felt +more intensely their gravity. For every month that had passed since he +put the Tacitus in his desk at Pendleton Academy, the boy had grown a +year in mind and thought. So, that rumor about the relieving fleet had +come true and they might look for it in Charleston in two or three days. +</P> + +<P> +Harry had his place in one of the batteries nearest Sumter, and he often +went with Colonel Talbot on tours of inspection and once or twice he was +in General Beauregard's own party. The fact that his father had been +a graduate of West Point and for years an officer, was of the greatest +service to him. In the little army of the United States before the +Civil War, the officers constituted a family. Everybody knew who +everybody else was, and those of the same age had been at West Point +together. General Beauregard and Colonel Kenton had met often, and the +Southern commander became very partial to the Colonel's son. +</P> + +<P> +Harry was present when Beauregard, some of his more important officers +and the civil authorities of Charleston, conferred after Lincoln's +warning message came. +</P> + +<P> +"If Lincoln's fleet tries to force the harbor," said Rhett, "we must +fire upon it. Sumter should be ours, and if Lincoln succeeds in +revictualling the fort it will be a great blow to our prestige. +It will hurt the whole South. What do you think, General?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think as you do, Mr. Rhett," replied Toutant Beauregard. "But have +no fear, gentlemen. No fleet that Lincoln may send can reach Sumter. +Our batteries are able to blow out of the water every vessel that flies +the Northern flag." +</P> + +<P> +"We must reduce Sumter itself before the fleet comes," said Jamison, +of Barnwell. +</P> + +<P> +Beauregard smiled slightly. +</P> + +<P> +"We can do that, too," he said, "and I am glad to see that you gentlemen +are for action. The fleet, I am accurately informed, consists of the +warship Baltic, three sloops of war and two tenders. The Baltic, +with Fox, the assistant secretary of the Northern Navy, on board, +left New York two days ago. The other vessels started earlier, and we +may expect the whole fleet in a day." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Rhett, "we must send to Sumter another and a final demand +for its surrender." +</P> + +<P> +They were all agreed, and Beauregard chose his messengers, putting Harry +among the number. Hoisting a white flag, they entered a large boat and +were rowed by powerful oarsmen toward Sumter. Harry, looking back, +saw the whole front of the harbor lined with people. Even at the +distance it looked like a holiday crowd. He saw hundreds of women and +girls in white and pink dresses, and there were roses of the same colors +in hats and bonnets. Great parasols of every shade threw back the +brilliant sunlight. It was still a holiday spectacle, a pageant, +and many of the light hearts along the sea wall could not realize that +it might yet be something far more. +</P> + +<P> +Anderson, the commander of Sumter, appeared upon the esplanade to +meet the boat coming with the white flag. Harry watched him closely. +He saw a face worn, but set hard and firm, and a figure upright and +steady. The Southerners tied their boat to the wall and climbed upon +the esplanade. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want, gentlemen?" asked Anderson. +</P> + +<P> +"We have come with our final demand for your surrender," replied the +chief Southern officer. "If you do not yield we fire upon you." +</P> + +<P> +Anderson shrugged his shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"I hear that a fleet from New York is coming to my relief." +</P> + +<P> +"It will never be able to force a passage into the harbor." +</P> + +<P> +"That may or may not be, but in any event, gentlemen, I tell you that +the flag will not come down. If you fire, we fire back." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke with no quiver in his voice, although his supply of ammunition +was low, and the fort had a food supply for only four days. +</P> + +<P> +"Then it is scarcely worth while for us to talk longer." +</P> + +<P> +"No, it would be a waste of time by both of us." The Southerners turned +back to their boat. Harry was the last and Anderson said to him in a +low tone: +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry to see your father's son here." +</P> + +<P> +"I am where he would wish me to be," replied the boy stiffly. +</P> + +<P> +"Even so, I hope you will come to no harm," said Anderson in a generous +tone. +</P> + +<P> +After such a noble rejoinder Harry's heart softened instantly, and he +returned the wish. Then he followed the others into the boat, and they +pulled back to the mainland. +</P> + +<P> +The crowd surmised from the quick return of the boat the nature of the +answer that it brought. It seemed to feel one gigantic throb of passion, +and perhaps of relief also, that the issue was made after so many weeks +of waiting. Yet the holiday aspect disappeared, as if a cloud had +passed suddenly before the sun. +</P> + +<P> +Harry noted the shadow even before he landed. The people had become +silent, and faces that had laughed turned grave. As they set foot upon +the mainland, they told their news freely, and then the crowd dispersed +almost in silence. It was the first time that Harry had seen Charleston, +gay and light of heart, in the shadow, but he was sure that it could not +last long. His errand over, he returned to his own battery and told +Langdon and St. Clair of everything that had happened. +</P> + +<P> +"It's all for the best," said Langdon cheerfully. "Sumter will be ours +in another day." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait and see, Happy," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, old Wait-and-See, I will," returned Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +Harry tried to suppress, or at least conceal his intense excitement. +The whole city was in the same state. The batteries were filled with +men of wealth and position, serving as mere volunteer privates. The +wives and daughters of many of them were at the Charleston Hotel or the +Mills House, or at such inns as that kept by Madame Delaunay. Governor +Pickens and his wife were at the Charleston Hotel, and with them were +chief officers of the city and state. Nearly everybody knew that +something was going to happen, but few knew when it would happen. +</P> + +<P> +Harry noticed a tightening of discipline at their battery. The orders +were sharp and they had to be obeyed. Nothing was wasted in politeness. +Visitors were no longer allowed to gratify curiosity. Women and girls +in their white or pink dresses were not permitted to come near and smile +at their husbands or brothers or sweethearts in the trenches. The +ammunition was stacked neatly behind the guns, and every man was +compelled to be ready at an instant's notice. +</P> + +<P> +"Looks like business," Langdon whispered joyfully to his comrades. +"I'm hoping that fleet will come just as soon as it can." +</P> + +<P> +"Happy, you sanguinary wretch," Harry whispered back, "I'm thinking the +fleet will come soon enough for you and all the rest of us." +</P> + +<P> +The afternoon faded. The sun sank in the hills behind them, and dusk +came over city and harbor. But Harry, from the battery, could still see +the black bulk of Sumter, and above it the gleaming red and blue of a +flag. +</P> + +<P> +Coffee and food were served to his comrades and himself in the battery, +and then they remained by their guns waiting. The night deepened. +Harry could yet see the flash of waters and the dim bulk of Sumter, +but the flag itself was no longer visible. No sound came from the city. +The silence there seemed singular and heavy. +</P> + +<P> +The boy felt the night and the waiting. Even Happy Tom ceased to be +light and frivolous. The three had nothing to do and they sat together, +always looking toward the sea where the smoke of the relieving fleet +might appear. Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire +passed together on a tour of inspection. They gave approving looks to +the three trim youths, with the frank open faces, but said nothing and +went on. Harry heard their footsteps for a moment or two, and then the +oppressive silence came again. +</P> + +<P> +The same stillness endured for a long time, so long that the three began +to believe nothing would happen. Despite himself, Harry began to nod +and he was forced to bring himself back to earth with a jerk. Then he +stretched a little and peered over the earthwork. It was brighter now. +A fine moon rode high, and the sea was dusted with starshine. The bulk +of Sumter, black no longer, was coated with silver. +</P> + +<P> +"Looks peaceful enough," whispered Langdon. "The ships have heard that +you and St. Clair and I are here waiting for them and have turned back." +</P> + +<P> +Harry made no answer. This waiting in the silence and the night made +his blood quiver just a little. He was about to turn back when he saw a +sudden flash of fire from another point further up. It was followed by +a heavy crash that echoed and re-echoed over the still sea and city. +Harry's heart leaped, but his body stiffened to attention. Tom and +St. Clair by his side pressed against the earthwork. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" they whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"The moonlight is good," replied Harry, "but I don't see any ship. +It must be a signal of some kind." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" said Langdon, "there it goes again!" +</P> + +<P> +Another cannon thundered, and the echoes, as before, came back from sea +and shore, followed, as the echoes died, by that strange, heavy silence. +But, straining their eyes to the utmost, the three boys could see +nothing on the sea. It swayed gently like a vast mass of molten silver +in the starshine, and lapped softly against the shore. The report of a +third heavy gun came, and then the reports of several more. After that +the silence was complete. It had seemed to Harry, his brain surcharged +with excitement, like the tolling of great bells. Langdon and St. Clair +whispered together, but he said nothing. +</P> + +<P> +It was permitted to the three to lie down in their blankets in the +earthwork and sleep, but they did not think of trying it. They wished +to know the meaning of those cannon shots and they waited, tense with +excitement. It was nearly midnight when Colonel Leonidas Talbot came. +</P> + +<P> +"We have learned that the Northern vessels will appear before Charleston +tomorrow," he said, "and the shots were a signal to all our people to be +ready. The attack on Sumter will begin in the morning. Now you three +boys must go to sleep. We shall need tomorrow soldiers who are fresh +and strong, not those who are worn and weak from loss of sleep." +</P> + +<P> +They tried it and found it easier now because they knew the mystery of +the shots. Harry became conscious that the night was crisp and cold, +and, wrapped in his blanket, he lay with his back against an inner wall +of the earthwork. The blood, the result of his tension and excitement, +pounded in his ears for some time, but, at last, his pulses became quiet, +and his heavy eyes closed. +</P> + +<P> +He was awakened at the first shoot of dawn by Colonel Leonidas Talbot. +</P> + +<P> +"Up, boys!" he said, "snatch a bite of food and a drink of coffee, +and make yourselves as neat as possible. General Beauregard is coming +to this very battery." +</P> + +<P> +His voice was quick and sharp, and the boys obeyed with the lightning +speed of youth. It was a pale dawn. Gray clouds drifted along the +sea's far rim, and a sharp wind came out of the Northwest. Heavy waves +rolled into the mouths of the narrow and difficult passes that led into +the bay. +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord Himself fights for us," Harry heard Colonel Leonidas Talbot +murmur. "No ships on such a sea would dare the passes in the face of +our guns." +</P> + +<P> +The pale light widened. Sumter was black and threatening again, +and the flag waved there before it. +</P> + +<P> +General Beauregard, his staff and a body of civilians arrived, and +almost overflowed the battery. Harry noticed among the civilians an +old man, seventy-five at least, with long hair, snow white. Despite +his years, his face was as keen and eager as that of any boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is he?" Harry whispered to St. Clair, who knew everybody. +</P> + +<P> +"His name's Ruffin, but he's not a South Carolinian. He's a Virginian, +but he has come to join us, and he's heart and soul with us. He's ready +to fight at the drop of a hat." +</P> + +<P> +Harry—their battery stood on Coming's Point—glanced toward the city +and uttered a low cry of surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Look!" he said to his friends, "all Charleston is here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and a lot more of South Carolina, too," said St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +The people, learning the meaning of those signal guns in the night, +were packed in every open space, and the very roofs were black with +them. Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, +but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. Harry knew +that every heart in the fifty thousand beat, like his own, with strained +expectancy. +</P> + +<P> +A great gun in the battery was trained upon Sumter, and the gunner stood +ready at the lanyard, but the old man with the long white hair and the +keen, eager face, stepping forward, begged General Beauregard to allow +him the honor of firing the first shot. The General consented at once, +and the old man pulled the lanyard. +</P> + +<P> +There was a terrific crash that almost deafened Harry, a gush of flame, +followed by smoke, and a shell, screaming in a curve, dropped upon +Sumter. For a few moments no one spoke, and Harry could hear the blood +pounding in his ears. In a sudden flash of insight he saw a long and +terrible road that they must tread. But neither he nor any other +present realized to the full what had happened. The first real shot in +the mightiest war of history had been fired, and the years of promises, +kept or broken, of mutual jealousies and mutual abuse had ended at the +cannon's mouth. +</P> + +<P> +The silence was broken by a shout like the roar of a storm, that came +from the people in the town. A puff of smoke rose from Sumter and the +fort sent its answering shot, but it struck no enemy and again the shout +came from the town, now a cry of derision. +</P> + +<P> +Then all the batteries in the wide curve about Sumter leaped into fiery +life. Cannon after cannon poured shot and shell against the black +walls. The fort was ringed with fire. It seemed to Harry that the +earth rocked. He tried to speak to his comrades, but he could not hear +his own voice. He thought he was about to be deafened for his whole +life, but Langdon handed him pieces of cotton which he quickly stuffed +in his ears. Langdon and St. Clair had already taken the precaution. +Happy Tom had proved himself the most forethoughtful of them all. +And yet Langdon, careless and easy, was aflame with the fire of battle. +It seemed to Harry that he thought little of consequences. +</P> + +<P> +"Listen to it!" he shouted in excited tones to Harry and St. Clair. +"Hark to the thudding of the great guns! It's war, the greatest of all +games!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt an intense excitement also. These were his people. He was +of their bone and sinew, and he was with them, heart and soul. He +did his part at the guns, and, although his excitement grew, he said +nothing. He saw that the return fire from the fort was far inferior +to that of the South Carolinians, and that it was doing no damage. +</P> + +<P> +"Using their light guns only," he heard Colonel Talbot say during a +momentary lull. "They must be short of ammunition." +</P> + +<P> +The morning wore slowly on. From every battery along the mainland and +on the islands, the storm of projectiles yet beat upon Sumter, and, +at intervals, the fort replied, still using the light guns. Once Harry +heard the whistle of a shell over his head, and he ducked automatically, +while the others laughed. Another time, a solid shot sent the dirt +flying in all their faces, stinging like driven sand, but that was the +nearest any missile ever came to them. +</P> + +<P> +Beauregard, after a while, gave an order for the firing to cease, +and the city and harbor rose again, clear and distinct, in the pale +sunlight. The great crowd of people was still there, all watching and +waiting, The fort was battered and torn, but above it still hung the +defiant flag, and there was no offer of surrender. +</P> + +<P> +"Look! Look!" Langdon cried suddenly, reckless of all discipline, +as he pointed a forefinger toward the sea. +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw a column of smoke rising, and defining itself clearly against +the pale blue sky. +</P> + +<P> +"The Yankee fleet!" cried one of the officers, as he put his glasses to +his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +General Beauregard, General Ripley, and officers in every other battery, +also were watching that new column of smoke through glasses. The dark +spire in truth rose from the Baltic, the chief ship of the Union, +having on board the energetic Fox himself, and two hundred soldiers. +But chance and the elements seemed to have conspired against the +secretary. One of his strongest ships had gone to the relief of another +fort further south, others had been scattered by a storm, and the Baltic +had only two sister vessels as she approached, over a rolling gray sea, +the fiery volcano that was once the peaceful harbor of Charleston. +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw the first column of smoke increase to three, and they knew +then that the number of the Union vessels was far less than had been +expected. +</P> + +<P> +"Will they undertake to force the harbor and reach Sumter?" he asked of +Colonel Talbot, who was then in the battery. +</P> + +<P> +"If they do," replied the Colonel, "it will be a case of the most +reckless folly. They would be sunk in short order, as they come right +into the teeth of our guns. The sea itself, is against them. The waves +are rolling worse than ever." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot knew what he was saying. Vainly the men in Sumter looked +for relief by sea. They, too, had seen the three ships off the harbor, +and they knew whence they came and for what purpose. But they had +reached the end of their journey, and had fallen short with the object +of it in sight. They were compelled to swing back and forth, while +they watched the circle of batteries pour a continuous fire upon the +crumbling fort. +</P> + +<P> +After the Southern officers had taken a long look at the Union ships, +and had seen that they could do nothing, the fire on Sumter was renewed +with increased volume. It lasted all through the day and the vast crowd +of spectators did not diminish in numbers. Many of the wealthier were +in carriages. If one went away for food or refreshment another took his +place. +</P> + +<P> +When the wind at times lifted the smoke, Harry saw that the wooden +buildings standing on the esplanade of the fort were burning fiercely, +set on fire by the bursting shells. The iron cisterns, too, although he +did not know it until later, were smashed, and columns of smoke from the +flaming buildings were pouring into the fort, threatening its defenders +with destruction. +</P> + +<P> +Night came on, and most of the people, lining the harbor, were compelled +to go to their homes, but the fire of the Southern batteries continued, +always converging upon the scarred and blackened walls of Sumter, +from which came an occasional shot in return. Harry had now grown used +to this incessant, rolling crash. He could hear his comrades speak, +their voices coming in an under note, and now and then they discussed +the result. They agreed that Sumter was bound to fall. The Union fleet +could bring it no relief, and such a continuous rain of balls and shells +must eventually pound it to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +They ate and drank after dark. They had food in abundance and +delicacies of many kinds from which to choose. Charleston poured forth +its plenty for its heroes, and in those days of fresh young enthusiasm +there was no lack of anything. +</P> + +<P> +"The Yankees hold out well," said Langdon, "but I'm willing to bet a +hundred to one that nobody sleeps in that fort tonight. You can't see +the smoke of the ships any more. I suppose that for safety in the night +they've had to go further out to sea. I'm glad I'm not on one of them, +rolling and tumbling in those high waves. Well, everything is for the +best, and if Sumter doesn't fall into our laps tonight she'll fall +tomorrow, and if she doesn't fall tomorrow she'll fall the next day. +What do you say to that, old Wait-and-See?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait and see," replied Harry so naturally that the others laughed. +</P> + +<P> +The bombardment went on all through the night. Harry continually +breathed smoke and the odor of burned gunpowder, which seemed to keep +his nerves keyed to a great pitch, and to maintain the heat of his +blood. Yet, after a while, he lay down, when his turn at the guns +ceased, and slept through sheer exhaustion. His eyes closed to the +thunder of cannon and they awoke at dawn to the same heavy thudding. +</P> + +<P> +The fire had not ceased at any time in the course of the night, and +Sumter looked like a ruin, but the flag still floated over it. +St. Clair and Langdon were awakened a few minutes later, and they +also stood up, rubbed their eyes, stared at the fort and listened +to the firing. Harry laughed at their appearance. +</P> + +<P> +"You fellows are certainly grimy," he said. "You look as if you hadn't +seen water for a month." +</P> + +<P> +"We can't see ourselves, old Wait-and-See," retorted Langdon, "but I +guess we're beauties alongside of you. If I didn't have the honor of +your acquaintance, I wouldn't know whether you came from the Indian +Territory, Ashantee or the Cannibal Islands." +</P> + +<P> +"And the music goes merrily on," said St. Clair. "I went to sleep with +the cannon firing, and I wake up with them still at it. I suppose a +fellow will get used to it after a while." +</P> + +<P> +"You can get used to anything," said an officer who heard them. "Now, +you boys eat your breakfasts. Your turn at the guns will come again +soon." +</P> + +<P> +They took breakfast willingly, although they found a strong flavor of +smoke, sand, and burned gunpowder in everything they ate and drank. +Then they went to their guns, but, when a few more shots were fired, +a trumpet blew a signal, and it was echoed from battery to battery. +Every cannon ceased, and, in the silence and under the lifting smoke, +Harry saw a white flag going up on the fort. +</P> + +<P> +Sumter was about to yield. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HOMECOMING +</H3> + +<P> +A great and exultant cheer went up from the massed thousands in +Charleston. A smile passed over Beauregard's swarthy face and he showed +his white teeth. Colonel Leonidas Talbot regarded the white flag with +feelings in which triumph and sadness were mingled strangely. But +the emotions of Harry and his comrades were, for the moment, those of +victory only. +</P> + +<P> +Boats put out both from the fort and the shore. Discipline was relaxed +now, and Harry, St. Clair and Langdon went outside the battery. A light +breeze had sprung up, and it was very grateful to Harry, who for hours +had breathed the heavy odors of smoke and burned gunpowder. The smoke +itself, which had formed a vast cloud over harbor, forts and city, +was now drifting out to sea, leaving all things etched sharply in the +dazzling sunlight of a Southern spring day. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, old Wait-and-See, you have waited, and you have seen," said +Langdon to Harry. "That white flag and those boats going out mean that +Sumter is ours. Everything is for the best and we win everywhere and +all the time." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was silent. He was watching the boats. But the negotiations were +soon completed. Sumter, a mass of ruins, was given up, and the Star and +Bars, taking the place of the Stars and Stripes, gaily snapped defiance +to the whole North. "It begins to look well there," said Beauregard, +gazing proudly at the new flag. +</P> + +<P> +All the amenities were preserved between the captured garrison and their +captors. Anderson was sent to the Baltic, which still hovered outside, +and the Union vessels disappeared on their way back to the North. +Peace, but now the peace of triumph, settled again over Charleston, +and throughout the South went the joyous tidings that Sumter had been +taken. The great state of Virginia, Mother of Presidents, went out of +the Union at last, and North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed +her, but Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri still hung in the balance. +</P> + +<P> +Lincoln had called for volunteers to put down a rebellion, but Harry +heard everywhere in Charleston that the Confederacy was now secure. +The Southerners were rising by the thousands to defend it. The women, +too, were full of zeal and enthusiasm and they urged the men to go to +the front. With the full consent of the lower South the capital was to +be moved from Montgomery to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, on the +very border of the Confederacy, to look defiantly, as it were, across +at Washington over a space which was to become the vast battlefield of +America, although few then dreamed it. The progress of President Davis +to the new capital, set in the very face of the foe, was to be one huge +triumph of faith and loyalty. +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard nothing in Charleston but joyful news. There was not a +single note of gloom. Europe, which must have its cotton, would favor +the success of the South. Women who had never worked before, sewed +night and day on clothing for the soldiers. Men gave freely and without +asking to the new government. An extraordinary wave of emotion swept +over the South, carrying everybody with it. Charleston shouted anew as +the newspapers announced the news of distinguished officers who had gone +out with the Southern States. There were the two Johnstons, the one of +Virginia and the other of Kentucky; Lee, Bragg, of Buena Vista fame; +Longstreet, and many others, some already celebrated in the Mexican War, +and others with a greater fame yet to make. +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard it all and it was transfused into his own blood. Now a +letter came from his father. That obstinate faction in Kentucky still +held the state to the Union. Since Sumter had fallen and Charleston was +safe, he wished his son to rejoin him in Pendleton, whence they would +proceed together to Frankfort, and help the Southern party. His +personal account of the glowing deed that had been done in Charleston +harbor would help. He was sure that his old friend, General Beauregard, +would release him for this important duty. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's heart and judgment alike responded to the call. He took the +letter to General Beauregard, finding him at the Charleston Hotel with +Governor Pickens and officers of his staff, and stood aside while the +general read it. Beauregard at once wrote an order. +</P> + +<P> +"This is your discharge from the Palmetto Guards," he said. "Colonel +Kenton writes wisely. We need Kentucky and I understand that a very +little more may bring the state to us. Go with your father. I +understand that you have been a brave young soldier here and may you +do as well up there." +</P> + +<P> +Harry, feeling pride but not showing it, saluted and left the room, +going at once to Madame Delaunay's, where he had left his baggage. +He intended to leave early in the morning, but first he sought his +friends and told them good-bye. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't forget that we're going to have a great war," said Colonel +Leonidas Talbot, "and the first battle line will be far north of +Charleston. I shall look for you there." +</P> + +<P> +"God bless you, my boy," said Major Hector St. Hilaire. "May you come +back some day to this beautiful Charleston of ours, and find it more +beautiful than ever." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll meet you at Richmond later on," said Arthur St. Clair, "and then +we'll serve together again." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll join you at the White House in Washington," said Tom Langdon, +"and I'll give you the next best bed to sleep in with your boots on." +</P> + +<P> +Harry gave his farewells with deep and genuine regret. Whether their +manner was grave or frivolous, he knew that these were good friends +of his, and he sincerely hoped that he would meet them again. Madame +Delaunay spoke to him almost as if he had been a son of hers, and there +was dew in his eyes, because he could never forget her kindness to the +lad who had been a stranger. +</P> + +<P> +He resumed his civilian clothing and put his gray uniform, fine and new, +of which he was so proud, in his saddle bags. Kentucky had declared +herself neutral ground, warning the armies of both North and South to +keep off her sacred soil, and he did not wish to invite undue attention. +He intended, moreover, to leave the train when he neared Pendleton, +at the same little station at which he had taken it when he started +south. +</P> + +<P> +It was a different Harry who started home late in April. Four months +had made great changes. He bore himself more like a man. His manner +was much more considered and grave. He had seen great things and he had +done his share of them. He gazed upon a world full of responsibilities +and perils. +</P> + +<P> +But he looked back at Charleston the gay, the volatile and the beautiful, +with real affection. It was almost buried now in flowers and foliage. +Spring was at the full, every breeze was sharply sweet with grassy +flavors. The very triumph and joy of living penetrated his soul. +Youth swept aside the terrors of war. He was going home after victory. +He soon left Charleston out of sight. A last roof or steeple glittered +for a moment in the sun and then was gone. Before him lay the uplands +and the ridges, and in another day he would be in another land. +</P> + +<P> +He crossed the low mountains, passed through Nashville again, although +he did not stop there, his train making immediate connection, and once +more and with a thrill, entered his own state. He learned from casual +talk on the trains that affairs in Kentucky were very hot. The special +session of the Legislature, called by Governor Magoffin, was to meet at +Frankfort early in May. The women of the state had already prepared an +appeal to the Legislature to save them from the horrors of civil war. +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw that he had not left active life behind him when he came away +from Charleston. The feeling of strife had spread over a vast area. +The atmosphere of Kentucky, like that of South Carolina, was surcharged +with intensity and passion, but it had a difference. All the winds +blew in the same direction in South Carolina and they sang one song of +triumph, but in Kentucky they were variable and conflicting, and their +voices were many. +</P> + +<P> +He felt the difference as soon as he reached the hills of his native +state. People were cooler here and they were more prone to look at +the two sides of a question. The air, too, was unlike that of South +Carolina. There was a sharper tang to it. It whipped his blood as it +blew down from the slopes and crests. +</P> + +<P> +It was afternoon when he reached the little station of Winton and left +the train, a tall, sturdy boy, the superior of many a man in size, +strength and agility. His saddle bags over his arm, he went at once +to the liveryman with whom he had left his horse on his journey to +Charleston, and asked for another, his best, for the return ride to +Pendleton. The liveryman stared at him a moment or two and then burst +into an exclamation of surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it's Harry Kenton!" he said. "Harry, you've changed a lot in so +short a time! You were at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, they tell me! +It's made a mighty stir in these parts! There were never before such +times in old Kentucky! Yes, Harry, I'll give you the best horse I've +got, there ain't one more powerful in the state, but pushin' as hard as +you will you can't reach Pendleton before dark, an' you look out." +</P> + +<P> +"Look out for what?" +</P> + +<P> +"Bill Skelly an' his gang. Them mountaineers are up. They say they're +goin' to beat the rich men of the lowlands an' keep Kentucky in the +Union, but between you an' me, Harry, it's the hate they feel for +them that think harder an' work harder an' make more than themselves. +Bill Skelly is the worst man in the mountains an' he has gathered about +him a big gang of toughs. They're carin' mighty little about the Union +or the freedom of the slaves, but they expect to make a lot out of this +for themselves. Now I tell you again, Harry, to look out as you go +through the dark to Pendleton. The country is mighty troubled." +</P> + +<P> +"I will," replied Harry, with vivid recollection of his ride from +Pendleton to Winton. "I am armed, Mr. Collins, and I have seen war. +I served in one of the batteries that reduced Fort Sumter." +</P> + +<P> +He did not say the last as a boast, but merely as an assurance to the +liveryman, who he saw was anxious on his account. +</P> + +<P> +"If you've got pistols, just you think once before you shoot," said +Collins. "Things are shorely mighty troubled in these parts an' they're +goin' to be worse." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you heard anything of my father? Is he at Pendleton?" +</P> + +<P> +"He was two days ago. He'd been up to Louisville where the Southern +leaders had a meetin', but couldn't make things go as they wanted 'em +to go, an' so he come back to Pendleton. People are tellin' that he's +goin' to Frankfort soon." +</P> + +<P> +Harry thanked him, threw his saddle bags across the horse, a powerful +bay, and, giving a final wave of his hand to the sympathetic liveryman, +rode away. He had little fear. He carried a pair of heavy +double-barreled pistols in holsters, and a smaller weapon in his pocket. +The horse, as he soon saw, was of uncommon power and spirit and he +snapped his fingers at Skelly and his gang. +</P> + +<P> +He rode first at a long, easy walk, knowing too well to push hard at +the beginning, and the afternoon passed without anything worthy of his +notice save the loneliness of the road. In the two hours before sundown +he met less than half a dozen persons. All were men, and with a mere +nod they went on quickly, regarding him with suspicion. This was not +the fashion of a year ago, when they exchanged a friendly word or two, +but Harry knew its cause. Now nobody could trust anybody else. +</P> + +<P> +The setting sun was uncommonly red, tinting all the forest with a fiery +glow and Harry looked apprehensively at the line of blue hills now on +his right, whence danger had come before. But he saw nothing that moved +there. No signal lights twinkled. The intervening space was a mass of +heavy green foliage, which the eye, now that the twilight was at hand, +could penetrate only a few score yards. A northeast wind off the +distant mountain tops was cold and sharp, and Harry, who wore no +overcoat, shivered a little. +</P> + +<P> +Young though he was, he remembered the liveryman's caution, and he +watched the forest on either side, as well as he could. But he depended +more upon his keenness of ear. He did not believe the stirring of any +large force in the thickets could pass him unheard, and, having nursed +the strength of his great horse, he felt that he could leave almost any +pursuit far behind. +</P> + +<P> +The twilight sank into a dark and heavy night. The moon and stars lay +behind drifting clouds and, now and then, came a swish of cold rain. +Harry was not able to see more than a few yards to right or left, +when the road ran through the woods, as it did most of the time, and +not much further when fields chanced to lie on either side. +</P> + +<P> +He was within a mile of Pendleton, and his heart began to throb, not +with thoughts of Skelly, but because he would soon be in his old home +again. Ten or fifteen minutes more, and he would see the solid red +brick house rising among the clipped pines. But as he passed the +junction of a small road coming down from the hills, his attentive ear +gave warning. He heard the sound of hoofs and many of them. He drew +in for a moment under the boughs and listened. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's instinct warned him against the troop of men that he heard. +Collins, the liveryman, had told him that the country was full of +trouble. This region was neither North nor South. It was debatable +land, of which raiding bands would take full advantage, and, despite the +risk, he wished to know what was on foot. He was almost invisible under +the boughs of a great oak which hung over the road, and the horse, +after so many miles of hard riding, was willing enough to stand still. +The rain swished in his face and the leaves gave forth a chilly rustle, +but he held himself firmly to his task. +</P> + +<P> +The hoofbeats came nearer and then ceased. The horsemen stopped at +the point, where the narrower road merged into the larger and, as they +were clear of the foliage, Harry caught a view of them. There was no +moonlight, but his eyes had grown so well used to the darkness that he +was able to recognize Skelly, who was in advance, an old army rifle +across his saddle bow. Behind him were at least fifty men, and Harry +knew they were all mountaineers. They rode the scrubby mountain horses, +more like ponies, and every man carried a rifle. +</P> + +<P> +Harry divined instantly that they had come down from the hills to make a +raid upon the Confederate stronghold, Pendleton. War was on, and here +was their chance to take revenge upon the more civilized people of the +lowlands. Skelly was giving his final orders and Harry could hear him. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll leave the main road, pull down the fences an' ride across the +fields," he said. "We'll first take the house of that rebel and traitor, +Colonel Kenton. It'll be helpin' the cause if we burn it clean down to +the ground. If anybody tries to stop you, shoot. Then we'll go on to +the others." +</P> + +<P> +A growl of approval came from the men, and some shook their rifles as a +sign of what they would do. Harry knew them. Mostly moonshiners and +fugitives from justice, they cared far more for revenge and spoil than +for the Union. He shuddered as he heard their talk. His own home was +to be their first point of attack, and those who resisted were to be +shot down. +</P> + +<P> +He waited to hear no more, but, keeping in the shadow of the boughs and +riding at first in a walk, he went on toward Pendleton. He was sure +that Skelly's men had not heard his hoofbeats, as there was no sound of +pursuit, and, three or four hundred yards further, he changed from a +walk to a gallop. Careless of the dark and of all risks of the road, +he drove the horse faster and faster. He was on familiar ground. +He knew every hill and dip, almost every tree, but he did not pause to +notice anything. +</P> + +<P> +Soon he saw a light, then a dark outline, and his heart throbbed +greatly. It was his father's house, standing among the clipped pines, +and he was in time! Now his horse's feet thundered on the brief stretch +of road that was left, and in another minute he was at the gate opening +on the lawn. A man, rifle in hand, stood on the front steps, and +demanded to know who had come. +</P> + +<P> +"It is I, Harry, father!" cried Harry. "Skelly and his crowd are only a +mile behind me, coming to destroy the place!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard his father mutter, "Thank God!" which he knew was for his +coming. Then he quickly led the horse inside the gate, turned him loose +and ran forward. Colonel Kenton was already coming to meet him and the +hands of father and son met in a strong and affectionate clasp. +</P> + +<P> +"We will have to get out and go into the town," said Harry. "You and I +alone can't hold them off. Skelly has at least fifty men. I saw them +in the road." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not afraid since you've got safely through," replied Colonel +Kenton. "We had a hint that Skelly was coming. That's why you see +me with this rifle. I'd have sent you a telegram to stop at Winton, +but couldn't reach you in time. Come into the house. Some friends of +ours are here, ready to help us hold it against anybody and everybody +that Skelly may bring." +</P> + +<P> +Harry, with his saddle bags and holsters over his arm, entered the front +hall with his father, who closed the door behind him. A single lamp +burned in the hall, but fifteen men, all armed with rifles, stood there. +He saw among them Steve Allison, the constable, Bracken the farmer, +Senator Culver, and even old Judge Kendrick. Most of them, besides the +rifles, carried pistols, and the party, though small, was resolute and +grim. They greeted Harry with warmth, but said few words. +</P> + +<P> +"We've food and hot coffee here," said Colonel Kenton. "After your long +ride, Harry, you'd better eat." +</P> + +<P> +"A cup of coffee will do," replied the boy. "But let me have a rifle. +Skelly and his men will be here in ten minutes." +</P> + +<P> +Old Judge Kendrick smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"You can't complain, colonel," he said, "that your son has not inherited +your temperament." +</P> + +<P> +A rifle, loaded and ready, was handed to Harry, and, at the same time he +drank a cup of hot coffee, brought by a trembling black boy. Allison +meanwhile had opened the door a little and was listening. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't hear 'em yet," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll approach cautiously," said Colonel Kenton. "I think they're +likely to leave their horses at the edge of the wood and enter the lawn +on foot. We'll put out the light and go outside." +</P> + +<P> +"Good tactics," said Culver, as he promptly blew out the single light. +Then all went upon the great front portico, where they stood for a few +moments waiting. They could neither see nor hear anything hostile. +Drifting clouds still hid the moon and stars, and a swish of light, +cold rain came now and then. +</P> + +<P> +There were piazzas on both sides of the house, and a porch in the rear. +Colonel Kenton disposed his men deftly in order to meet the foe at any +point. The stone pillars would afford protection for the riflemen. +He, his son and old Judge Kendrick, held the portico in front. +</P> + +<P> +Harry crouched behind a pillar, his fingers on the trigger of a rifle, +and his holster containing the big double-barreled pistols lying at his +feet. Impressionable, and with a horror of injustice, his heart was +filled with rage. It was merely a band of outlaws who were coming to +plunder and destroy his beautiful home and to kill any who resisted. +He had respected those who held Sumter so long, but these fought only +for their own hand. +</P> + +<P> +A slight sound came from the road, a little distance to the south. +He waited until it was repeated and then he was sure. +</P> + +<P> +"They're out there," he whispered to his father at the next pillar. +</P> + +<P> +"I heard them," replied the colonel. "They'll come upon the lawn, +hiding behind the pines, and hoping to surprise the house. I fancy the +surprise will be theirs, not ours. When you shoot, Harry, shoot to kill, +or they will surely kill us. Keep as much as you can behind the pillar, +and don't get excited." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton was quite calm. The old soldier had returned to his +work. Wary and prepared, he was not loath to meet the enemy. Harry, +keeping his father's orders well in mind, crouched a little lower and +waited. Presently he heard a slight rustling, and he knew that Skelly's +men were among the dwarf pines on the lawn. The rustling continued and +came nearer. Harry glanced at his father, who was behind a pillar not +ten feet away. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you, and what do you want?" called Colonel Kenton into the +darkness. +</P> + +<P> +There was no answer and the rustling ceased. Harry heard nothing but +the gentle fall of the rain. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak up!" called the colonel once more. "Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +The answer came. Forty or fifty rifles cracked among the pines. +Harry saw little flashes of fire, and he heard bullets hiss so +venomously that a chill ran along his spine. There was a patter of lead +on every side of the house, but most of the shots came from the front +lawn. It was well that the colonel, Harry and the judge, were sheltered +by the big pillars, or two or three shots out of so many would have +found a mark. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's rage, which had cooled somewhat while he was waiting, returned. +He began to peer around the edge of the pillar, and seek a target, +but the colonel whispered to him to hold his fire. +</P> + +<P> +"Getting no reply, they'll creep a little closer presently and fire a +second volley," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Harry pressed closer to the pillar, kneeling low, as he had learned +already that nine out of ten men fire too high in battle. He heard once +more the rustling among the pines, and he knew that Skelly's men were +advancing. Doubtless they believed that the defenders had fled within +the house at the first volley. +</P> + +<P> +He heard suddenly the clicking of gun locks, and the rifles crashed +together again, but now the fire was given at much closer range. +Harry saw a dusky figure beside a pine not thirty feet away, and he +instantly pulled trigger upon it. His father's own rifle cracked at the +same time, and two cries of pain came from the lawn. The boy, hot with +the fire of battle, snatched the pistols out of the holsters and sent +in four more shots. +</P> + +<P> +Rapid reports from the other side of the house showed that the defenders +there were also repelling attacks. +</P> + +<P> +But Skelly's men, finding that they could not rush the house, kept up +a siege from the ambush of the pines. Bullets rattled like hailstones +against the thick brick walls of the house, and several times the +smashing of glass told that windows had been shot in. Harry's blood now +grew feverishly hot and his anger mounted with it. It was intolerable +that these outlaws should attack people in their own homes. Lying +almost flat on the floor of the portico he reloaded his rifle and +pistols. As he raised his head to seek a new shot, a bullet tipped his +ear, burning it like a streak of fire, and flattened against the wall +behind him. He fired instantly at the base of the flash and a cry of +pain showed that the bullet had struck a human target. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, in his excitement, raised himself a little for another shot, +and a second bullet cut dangerously near. A warning command came from +his father, veteran warrior of the plains, to keep down, and he obeyed +promptly. Then followed a period of long and intensely anxious waiting. +Harry thought that if the night would only lighten they could get a +clean sweep of the lawn and drive away the mountaineers, but it grew +darker instead and the wind rose. He heard the boughs of the clipped +pines rustle as they were whipped together, and the cold drops lashed +him in the face. He had become soaking wet, lying on the floor of the +portico, but he did not notice it. +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw far to his left a single dim light in the dip beyond the +forest, and he knew that it shone through a window in one of the houses +of Pendleton. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed amazing that so bitter a combat should be going on here, +while the people slept peacefully in the town below. But there was not +one chance in a thousand that they would hear of the battle on such a +night. Then an idea came to him, and creeping to his father he made his +proposition. Colonel Kenton opposed it vigorously, but Harry insisted. +He knew every inch of the grounds. Why should he not? He had played +over them all his life, and he could be in the fields and away in less +than two minutes. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton finally consulted Judge Kendrick, and the judge agreed +with Harry. Besieged by so many, they needed help and the boy was the +one to bring it. Then Colonel Kenton consented that Harry should go, +but pressed his hand and told him to be very careful. +</P> + +<P> +The boy went back into the house, passing through the dark rooms to the +rear. As he went, he heard the sound of sobbing. It was the colored +servants crying with terror. He found the constable and Senator Culver +on watch on the back porch and whispered to them his errand. +</P> + +<P> +"For God's sake, be careful, Harry," the Senator whispered back. +"Bad blood is boiling now. Some of Skelly's men have been hit hard, +and if they caught you they'd shoot you without mercy." +</P> + +<P> +"But they won't catch me," replied the boy with confidence. Thinking +it would be in the way in his rapid flight, he gave his rifle to the +senator, and taking the heavy pistols from the holsters, thrust them in +the pockets of his coat. Then he dropped lightly from the porch and +lay for a few moments in the darkness and on the wet ground, absolutely +still. +</P> + +<P> +A strange thrill ran through Harry Kenton when his body touched the +damp earth. The contact seemed to bring to him strength and courage. +Doubts fled away. He would succeed in the trial. He could not possibly +fail. His great-grandfather, Henry Ware, had been a renowned borderer +and Indian fighter, one of the most famous in all the annals of Kentucky, +gifted with almost preternatural power, surpassing the Indians +themselves in the lore and craft of forest and trail. It was said too, +that the girl, Lucy Upton, who became Henry Ware's wife and who was +Harry's great-grandmother, had received this same gift of forest +divination. His own first name had been given to him in honor of that +redoubtable great-grandfather. +</P> + +<P> +Now all the instincts of Harry's famous ancestors became intensely alive +in him. The blood of those who had been compelled for so many years to +watch and fight poured in a full tide through his veins. His bearing +became sharper, his eyes saw through the darkness like those of a cat, +and a certain sixth sense, hitherto a dormant instinct which would warn +of danger, came suddenly to life. +</P> + +<P> +Two parallel rows of honeysuckle bushes ran back some distance to a +vegetable garden. He reckoned that the mountaineers would be hiding +behind these, and therefore he turned away to the right, where dwarf +pines, clipped into cones, grew as on the front lawn. The grass, +helped by a wet spring, had grown already to a height of several inches, +and Harry was surprised at the ease with which he drew his body through +it. Every inch of garment upon him was soaked with rain, but he took no +thought of the fact. He felt a certain fierce joy in the wildness of +night and storm, and he was ready to defy any number of mountaineers. +</P> + +<P> +The sixth and new sense suddenly gave warning and he lay flat in the +wet grass just under one of the pines. Then he saw three men rise from +their shelter behind a honeysuckle bush, walk forward, and stand in a +group talking about ten feet behind him. Although they were not visible +from the house he saw them clearly enough. One of them was Skelly +himself, and all three were of villainous face. Straining his ear he +could hear what they said and now he was very glad indeed that he had +come. +</P> + +<P> +It was the plan of Skelly to wait in silence and patience a long time. +The defenders would conclude that he and his men had gone away, and then +the mountaineers could either rush the house or set it on fire. If the +final resort was fire, they could easily shoot Colonel Kenton and his +friends as they ran out. It was Skelly who spoke of this hideous plan, +laughing as he spoke, and Harry's hand went instinctively toward the +butt of one of the pistols. But his will made him draw it away again, +and, motionless in the grass, lying flat upon his face, he continued to +listen. +</P> + +<P> +Skelly's plan was accepted and they moved away to tell the others. +Harry rose a little, and crept rapidly through the grass toward the +vegetable garden. +</P> + +<P> +Again he was surprised at his own skill. Acute of ear as he had become +he could scarcely hear the brushing of the grass as he passed. As he +approached the garden he saw two more men, rifles in hand, walking about, +but paying little heed to them he kept on until he lay against the fence +enclosing the garden. +</P> + +<P> +It was a fence of palings, spiked at the top, and climbing it was a +problem. Studying the question for a moment or two he decided that it +was too dangerous to be risked, and moving cautiously along he began +to feel of the palings. At last he came to one that was loose, and he +pulled it entirely free at the bottom. Then he slipped through and into +the garden. Here were long rows of grapevines, fastened on sticks, and, +for a few moments, he lay flat behind one of the rows. He knew that he +was not yet entirely safe, as the mountaineers were keen of eye and ear, +and an outer guard of skirmishers might be lying in the garden itself. +But he was now even keener of eye and hearing than they, and he could +detect nothing living near him. The house also, and all about it, +was silent. Evidently Skelly's men had settled down to a long siege, +and Harry rejoiced in the amount of time they gave him. +</P> + +<P> +He rose to his feet, but, stooped to only half his height, he ran +swiftly behind the row of grapevines to the far end of the garden, +leaped over the fence and continued his rapid flight toward Pendleton, +where the single light still burned. He surmised that his father had +received the warning too late to gather more than a few friends, and +that the rest of the town was yet in deep ignorance. +</P> + +<P> +The first house he reached, the one in which the light burned, was that +of Gardner, the editor, and he beat heavily upon the door. Gardner +himself opened it, and he started back in astonishment at the wild +figure covered with mud, a heavy pistol clutched in the right hand. +</P> + +<P> +"In Heaven's name, who are you?" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know me, Mr. Gardner? I'm Harry Kenton, come back from +Charleston! Bill Skelly and fifty of his men have ridden down from the +mountains and are besieging us in our house, intending to rob and kill! +The constable is there and so are Judge Kendrick, Senator Culver, +and a few others, but we need help and I've come for it!" +</P> + +<P> +He spoke in such a rapid, tense manner that every word carried +conviction. +</P> + +<P> +"Excuse me for not knowing you, Harry," Gardner said, "but you're +calling at a rather unusual time in a rather unusual manner, and you +have the most thorough mask of mud I ever saw on anybody. Wait a minute +and I'll be with you." +</P> + +<P> +He returned in half the time, and the two of them soon had the town up +and stirring. Pendleton was largely Southern in sympathy, and even +those who held other views did not wholly relish an attack upon one of +its prominent men by a band of unclassified mountaineers. Lights sprang +up all over the town. Men poured from the houses and there was no house +then that did not contain at least one rifle. +</P> + +<P> +In a half hour sixty or seventy men, well armed with rifles and pistols, +were on their way to Colonel Kenton's house. Only a few drops of rain +were falling now, and the thin edge of the moon appeared between clouds. +There was a little light. The relieving party advanced swiftly and +without noise. They were all accustomed to outdoor life and the use of +weapons, and they needed few commands. Gardner came nearer than anyone +else to being the leader, although Harry kept by his side. +</P> + +<P> +They went on Harry's own trail, passing through the garden and hurrying +toward the house. Three or four dim figures fled before them, running +between the rows of vines. The Pendleton men fired at them, and then +raised a great shout, as they rushed for the lawn. The mountaineers +took to instant flight, making for the woods, where they had left their +horses. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton and his friends came from the house, shaking hands +joyfully with their deliverers. Lanterns were produced, and they +searched the lawn. Three men lay stiff and cold behind the dwarf pines. +Harry shuddered. He was seeing for the first time the terrible fruits +of civil war. It was not merely the pitched battles of armies, but +often neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes the cloak of North or +South would be used as a disguise for the basest of motives. +</P> + +<P> +They also found two sanguinary trails leading to the wood in which the +mountaineers had hitched their horses, indicating that the defenders of +the Kenton house had shot well. But by the next morning Skelly's men +had made good their flight far into the hills where no one could follow +them. They sent no request for their own dead who were buried by the +Pendleton people. +</P> + +<P> +But the town raised a home guard to defend itself against raiders of any +kind, and Colonel Kenton and Harry promptly made ready for their journey +to Frankfort, where the choice of the state must soon be made, and +whither Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, had gone already. +Colonel Kenton feared no charge because of the fight with Skelly's men. +He was but defending his own home and here, as in the motherland, +a man's house was his castle. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FIGHT FOR A STATE +</H3> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton and Harry avoided Louisville, which was now in the hands +of Northern sympathizers, and, travelling partly by rail and partly by +stage, reached Frankfort early in May to attend the special session of +the Legislature called by Governor Magoffin. Although the skirmishing +had taken place already along the edge of highland and lowland, the +state still sought to maintain its position of neutrality. There was +war within its borders, and yet no war. In feeling, it was Southern, +and yet its judgment was with the Union. Thousands of ardent young men +had drifted southward to join the armies forming there, and thousands of +others, equally ardent, had turned northward to join forces that would +oppose those below. Harry, young as he was, recognized that his own +state would be more fiercely divided than any other by the great strife. +</P> + +<P> +But Federal and Confederate alike preserved the semblance of peace as +they gathered at Frankfort for the political struggle over the state. +Colonel Kenton and his son took the train at a point about forty miles +from the capital, and they found it crowded with public men going +from Louisville to Frankfort. It was the oldest railroad west of the +Alleghanies, and among the first ever built. The coaches swung around +curves, and dust and particles flew in at the windows, but the speed was +a relief after the crawling of the stage and Harry stretched himself +luxuriously on the plush seat. +</P> + +<P> +A tall man in civilian attire, holding himself very stiffly, despite the +swinging and swaying of the train, rose from his seat, and came forward +to greet Colonel Kenton. +</P> + +<P> +"George," he said, his voice quivering slightly, "you and I have fought +together in many battles in Mexico and the West, but it is likely now +that we shall fight other battles on this own soil of ours against each +other. But, George, let us be friends always, and let us pledge it here +and now." +</P> + +<P> +The words might have seemed a little dramatic elsewhere, but not so +under the circumstances of time and place. Colonel Kenton's quick +response came from the depths of a generous soul. +</P> + +<P> +"John," he said as their two hands met in the grip of brothers of the +camp and field, "you and I may be on opposing sides, but we can never be +enemies. John, this is my son, Harry. Harry, this is Major John Warren +of Mason County and the regular army of the United States; he does not +think as we do, but even at West Point he was a stubborn idiot. He and +I were continually arguing, and he would never admit that he was always +wrong. I never knew him to be right in anything except mathematics, +and then he was never wrong." +</P> + +<P> +Major Warren smiled and sat down by his old comrade. +</P> + +<P> +"You've a fine boy there, George," he said, "and I suppose he probably +takes his opinions from his father, which is a great mistake. I think +if I were to talk to him I could show him his, or rather your, error." +</P> + +<P> +"Not by your system of mathematical reasoning, John. Your method is +well enough for the building of a fortress or calculating the range of +a gun. But it won't do for the actions of men. You allow nothing for +feeling, sentiment, association, propinquity, heredity, climate and, +and—" +</P> + +<P> +"Get a dictionary or a book of synonyms, George." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I should. I understand how we happen to differ. But I can't +explain it well. Well, maybe it will all blow over. The worries of +today are often the jokes of tomorrow." +</P> + +<P> +Major Warren shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"It may blow over," he said, "but it will be a mighty wind; it will blow +a long time, and many things for which you and I care, George, will be +blown away by it. When that great and terrible wind stops blowing, +our country will be changed forever." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be so downcast, John, you are not dead yet," said Colonel Kenton, +clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You've often seen big clouds go +by without either wind or rain." +</P> + +<P> +"How about that attack upon your house and you and your friends? +The clouds had something in them then." +</P> + +<P> +"Merely mountain outlaws taking advantage of unsettled conditions." +</P> + +<P> +Harry had listened closely and he knew that his father was only giving +voice to his hopes, not to his beliefs. But as they ceased to talk of +the great question, his attention wandered to the country through which +they were passing. Spring was now deep and green in Kentucky. They +were running through a land of deep, rich soil, with an outcrop of +white limestone showing here and there above the heavy green grass. A +peaceful country and prosperous. It seemed impossible that it should +be torn by war, by war between those who lived upon it. +</P> + +<P> +Then the train left the grass lands, cut through a narrow but rough +range of hills, entered a gorge and stopped in Frankfort, the little +capital, beside the deep and blue Kentucky. +</P> + +<P> +Frankfort had only a few thousand inhabitants, but Harry found here much +of the feeling that he had seen in Nashville and Charleston, with an +important difference. There it was all Southern, or nearly so, but here +North struggled with South on terms that certainly were not worse than +equal. +</P> + +<P> +Although the place was crowded, he and his father were lucky enough to +secure a room at the chief hotel, which was also the only one of any +importance. The hotel itself swarmed with the opposing factions. +Senator Culver and Judge Kendrick had a room together across the hall +from theirs, and next to them four red hot sympathizers with the Union +slept on cots in one apartment. Further down the hall Harvey Whitridge, +a state senator, huge of stature, much whiskered, and the proud +possessor of a voice that could be heard nearly a mile, occupied a room +with Samuel Fowler, a tall, thin, quiet member of the Lower House. +The two were staunch Unionists. +</P> + +<P> +Everybody knew everybody else in this dissevered gathering. Nearly +everybody was kin by blood to everybody else. In a state affected +little by immigration families were more or less related. If there was +to be a war it would be, so far as they were concerned, a war of cousins +against cousins. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton and Harry had scarcely bathed their faces and set their +clothing to rights, when there was a sharp knock at the door and the +Colonel admitted Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, dark of +complexion, volatile and wonderfully neat in apparel. He seemed at once +to Harry to be a messenger from that Charleston which he had liked, +and in the life of which he had had a share. Bertrand shook hands with +both with great enthusiasm, but his eyes sparkled when he spoke to Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"And you were there when they fired on Sumter!" he exclaimed. "And you +had a part in it! What a glorious day! What a glorious deed! And I +had to be here in your cold state, trying to make these descendants of +stubborn Scotch and English see the right, and follow gladly in the path +of our beautiful star, South Carolina!" +</P> + +<P> +"How goes the cause here, Bertrand?" asked Colonel Kenton, breaking in +on his prose epic. +</P> + +<P> +Bertrand shrugged his shoulders and his face expressed discontent. +</P> + +<P> +"Not well," he replied, "not as well as I had hoped. There is still +something in the name of the Union that stirs the hearts of the +Kentuckians. They hesitate. I have worked, I have talked, I have used +all the arguments of our illustrious President, Mr. Davis, and of the +other great men who have charge of Southern fortunes, and they still +hesitate. Their blood is not hot enough. They do not have the vision. +They lack the fire and splendor of the South Carolinians!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt a little heat, but Colonel Kenton was not disturbed at all by +the criticism. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you are right, Bertrand," he said thoughtfully. "We +Kentuckians have the reputation of being very quick on the trigger, +but we are conservative in big things. This is going to be a great war, +a mighty great war, and I suppose our people feel like taking a good +long look, and then another, equally as long, before they leap." +</P> + +<P> +Bertrand, hot-blooded and impatient, bit his lip. +</P> + +<P> +"It will not do! It will not do!" he exclaimed. "We must have this +state. Virginia has gone out! Kentucky is her daughter! Then why does +not she do the same?" +</P> + +<P> +"You must give us time, Bertrand," said Colonel Kenton, still speaking +slowly and thoughtfully. "We are not starting upon any summer holiday, +and I can understand how the people here feel. I'm going with my people +and I'm going to fire on the old flag, under which I've fought so often, +but you needn't think it comes so easy. This thing of choosing between +the sections is the hardest task that was ever set for a man." +</P> + +<P> +Harry had never heard his father speak with more solemnity. Bertrand +was silent, overawed by the older man, but to the boy the words were +extremely impressive. His youthful temperament was sensitive to +atmosphere. In Charleston he shared the fire, zeal and enthusiasm of +an impressionable people. They saw only one side and, for a while, he +saw only one side, too. Here in Frankfort the atmosphere was changed. +They saw two sides and he saw two sides with them. +</P> + +<P> +"But you need have no fear about us, Bertrand," continued Colonel +Kenton. "My heart is with the South, and so is my boy's. I thought +that Kentucky would go out of the Union without a fight, but since there +is to be a struggle we'll go through with it, and win it. Don't be +afraid, the state will be with you yet." +</P> + +<P> +They talked a little longer and then Bertrand left. Harry politely held +the door open for him, and, as he went down the hall, he saw him pass +Whitridge and Fowler. Contrary to the custom which still preserved the +amenities they did not speak. Bertrand gave them a look of defiance. +It seemed to Harry that he wanted to speak, but he pressed his lips +firmly together, and, looking straight ahead of him, walked to the +stairway, down which he disappeared. As Harry still stood in the open +doorway, Whitridge and Fowler approached. +</P> + +<P> +"Can we come in?" Whitridge asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Harvey," said Colonel Kenton over the boy's shoulder. "Both of +you are welcome here at any time." +</P> + +<P> +The two men entered and Harry gave them chairs. Whitridge's creaked +beneath him with his mighty weight. +</P> + +<P> +"George," said the Senator pointedly but without animosity, "you and +I have known each other a good many years, and we are eighth or tenth +cousins, which counts for something in this state. Now, you have come +here to Frankfort to pull Kentucky out of the Union, and I've come to +pull so hard against you that you can't. You know it and I know it. +All's square and above board, but why do you bring here that South +Carolina Frenchman to meddle in the affairs of the good old state of +Kentucky? Is it any business of his or of the other people down there? +Can't we decide it ourselves? We're a big family here in Kentucky, +and we oughtn't to bring strangers into the family council, even if +we do have a disagreement. Besides, he represents the Knights of the +Golden Circle, and what they are planning is plumb foolishness. Even if +you are bound to go out and split up the Union, I'd think you wouldn't +have anything to do with the wholesale grabbing of Spanish-speaking +territories to the southward." +</P> + +<P> +"There's a lot in what you say, Harvey," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking with the utmost good humor, "but I didn't bring Bertrand here; +he came of his own accord. Besides, while I'm strong for the South, +I think this Knights of the Golden Circle business is bad, just as you +do." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you've got that much sense left, George," said Whitridge. +"You army men never do know much about politics. It's easy to pull the +wool over your eyes." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you and Fowler come here for that purpose?" asked the colonel, +smiling. +</P> + +<P> +It was the preliminary to a long argument carried on without temper. +Harry listened attentively, but as soon as it was over and Whitridge and +Fowler had gone, he tumbled into his bed and went to sleep. +</P> + +<P> +He rose early the next morning, before his father in fact, as he was +eager to see more of Frankfort, ate a solid breakfast almost alone, +and went into the streets, where the first person he met was his own +cousin and schoolmate, Dick Mason. The two boys started, looked first +at each other with hostile glances, which changed the next instant to +looks of pleasure and welcome, and then shook hands with power and +heartiness. They could not be enemies. They were boys together again. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Dick," exclaimed Harry, "I thought you had gone east to save the +Union." +</P> + +<P> +"So I have," replied Dick Mason, "but not as far east as you thought. +We've got a big camp down in Garrard County, where the forces of the +Kentuckians who favor the Union are gathering. General Nelson commands +us. I suppose you've heard that you rebels are gathering on the other +side of Frankfort in Owen County under Humphrey Marshall?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Yank, I've heard it," replied Harry. "Now, what are you doing in +Frankfort? What business have you got here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Since you ask me a plain question I'll give you a plain answer," +replied Dick. "I'm here to scotch you rebels. You don't think you +can run away with a state like this, do you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know yet," replied Harry, "but we're going to try. Say, Dick, +let's not talk about such things any more for a while. I want to see +this town and we can take a look at it together." +</P> + +<P> +"The plan suits me," said Dick promptly. "Come on. I've been here two +days and I guess I can be guide." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll take in the Capitol first," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +Dick led the way and Harry approached with awe and some curiosity the +old building which was famous to him. Erected far back, when the state +was in its infancy, it still served well its purpose. He and Dick +walked together upon the lawns among the trees, but, as soon as the +doors were open, they went inside and entered with respect the room +in which the great men of their state, the Clays, the Marshalls, the +Breckinridges, the Crittendens, the Hardins, and so many others had +begun their careers. They were great men not to Kentucky alone, but to +the nation as well, and the hearts of the two boys throbbed with pride. +They sat down in two of the desks where the members were to meet the +next day and fight over the question whether Kentucky was Northern or +Southern. +</P> + +<P> +It was very early. Besides themselves there was nobody about but the +caretaker. They were sitting in the House and the room was still warmed +in winter by great stoves, but they were not needed now, as the windows +were open and the fresh breeze of a grass-scented May morning blew in +and tumbled the hair of the two youths of the same blood who sat side by +side, close friends of their school days again, but who would soon be +facing each other across red fields. +</P> + +<P> +The wind which blew so pleasantly on Harry's forehead reminded him of +that other wind which had blown so often upon his face at Charleston. +But it was not heavy and languorous here. It did not have the lazy +perfumes of the breezes that floated up from the warm shores of the +Gulf. It was sharp and penetrating. It whipped the blood like the +touch of frost. It stirred to action. His cousin's emotions were +evidently much like his own. +</P> + +<P> +"Harry," said Dick, "I never thought that Kentucky would be fighting +against Kentucky, that Pendleton would be fighting against Pendleton." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was about to reply when his attention was attracted by a heavy +footstep. A third person had entered the chamber of the House, and he +stood for a while in the aisle, looking curiously about him. Harry saw +the man before the stranger saw him and with an instinctive shudder +he recognized Bill Skelly. There he stood, huge, black, hairy, and +lowering, two heavy pistols shown openly in his belt. +</P> + +<P> +The boys were sitting low in the desks and it was a little while before +Skelly noticed them. His attitude was that of triumph, that of one who +expects great spoils, like that of a buccaneer who finds his profit in +troubled times, preying upon friend and foe alike. Presently he caught +sight of the two boys. But his gaze fastened on Harry, and a savage +glint appeared in his eyes. Then he strode down the wide aisle and +stood near them. But he looked at Harry alone. +</P> + +<P> +"You are Colonel Kenton's son?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I am," replied Harry, meeting his fierce stare boldly, "the same whom +you tried to murder on the way to Winton, the same who helped to hold +our house against you and your gang of assassins." +</P> + +<P> +Skelly's dark face grew darker as the black blood leaped to his very +eyes. But he choked down his passion. The mountaineer was not lacking +in cunning. +</P> + +<P> +"Your father and his friends killed some of my men," he said. "I ain't +here now to argy with you about the rights an' wrongs of it, but I want +to tell you that all the people of the mountains are up for the Union. +With them from the lowlands that are the same way, we'll chase you +rebels, Jeff Davis and all, clean into the Gulf of Mexico." +</P> + +<P> +Harry deliberately turned his head away, and stared out of a window +at the green of lawns and trees. Skelly filled him with abhorrence. +He felt as if he were in the presence of a creeping panther, and he +would have nothing more to say to him. Skelly looked at him for a few +minutes longer, drew himself together in the manner of a savage wild +beast about to spring, but relaxed the next moment, laughed softly, +and strode out of the chamber. +</P> + +<P> +"That's one of your men," said Harry. "I hope you're proud of him." +</P> + +<P> +"All the mountain people are for us," replied Dick judicially, "and we +can't help it if some of the rascals are on our side. You're likely to +have men just as bad on yours. I heard about the attack he made upon +Uncle George's house, but it was war, I suppose, and this which we have +here in Frankfort is only an armed truce. You can't do anything." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose not. Do you know how long he has been here?" +</P> + +<P> +"He arrived at Camp Dick Robinson only two or three days ago, and I +suppose he has taken the first chance to come in and have a look at the +capital." +</P> + +<P> +"With the idea of looting it later on." +</P> + +<P> +Dick laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be bitter, Harry," he said. "It's going to be a fair fight." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I hope so, here in this little town as well as on the greater +field of the country. Are you staying long in Frankfort, Dick?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only today. I'm going back tomorrow to Camp Dick Robinson." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, don't you make friends with that fellow Skelly, even if he is on +the same side you are." +</P> + +<P> +"I won't, Harry, have no fear of that." +</P> + +<P> +The two went together to the hotel, and found Colonel Kenton at +breakfast. He welcomed his nephew with great affection, and made him +sit by him until he had finished his breakfast. While he was drinking +his coffee Harry told him of Skelly's presence. The Colonel frowned, +but merely uttered three words about him. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll watch him," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Then the three went out and saw the little town grow into life and +seethe with the heat of the spirit. Although actual skirmishing had +taken place already in the state there was no violence here, except of +speech. All the members of the House and Senate were gathered, and +so far as Harry could observe the Southerners were in the majority. +Others thought so, too. Bertrand was sanguine. His eyes burned with +the fire of enthusiasm, lighting up his olive face. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll win. We'll surely win!" he said. "This state which we need so +much will be out of the Union inside of two weeks." +</P> + +<P> +But Senator Culver was more guarded in his opinion, or at least in the +expression of it. +</P> + +<P> +"It's going to be a mighty hot fight," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and Dick together watched the convening of the Legislature, +having chosen seats in the upper lobby of the House. Harry looked for +Skelly, but not seeing him he inferred that the mountaineer's leave of +absence was short and that he had gone back to camp. +</P> + +<P> +Dick himself left the next morning for Camp Dick Robinson, and Harry +shook his hand over and over again as he departed. The feeling between +the cousins was strong and it had been renewed by their meeting under +such circumstances. +</P> + +<P> +"I may go east," said Dick, as he mounted his horse. "The big things +are going to happen there first." +</P> + +<P> +Harry watched him as he rode away and he wondered when they would meet +again. Like Colonel Leonidas Talbot he felt now that this was going to +be a great war, wide in its sweep. +</P> + +<P> +Harry returned to his hotel, very thoughtful. The second parting with +his cousin, who had been his playmate all his life, was painful, and +he realized that while he was wondering when and where they would meet +again it might never occur at all. He found his father and his friends +holding a close conference in his room at the hotel. Senator Culver, +Mr. Bracken, Gardner, the editor, and others yet higher in the councils +of the Confederacy, were there. Bertrand sat in a corner, saying little, +but watching everything with ardent, burning eyes. +</P> + +<P> +Letters had come from the chief Southern leaders. There was one from +Jefferson Davis, himself, another from the astute Benjamin, another from +Toombs, bold and brusque as befitted his temperament, and yet more from +Stephens and Slidell and Yancey and others. Colonel Kenton read them +one by one to the twenty men who were crowded into the room. They were +appealing, insistent, urgent. Their tone might vary, but the tenor was +the same. They must take Kentucky out of the Union and take her out at +once. In the West the line of attack upon the South would lead through +Kentucky. But if the state threw in her fortunes with the South, +the advance of Lincoln's troops would be blocked. The force of example +would be immense, and a hundred thousand valiant Kentuckians could +easily turn the scale in favor of the Confederacy. +</P> + +<P> +Harry listened to them a long time, but growing tired at last, went out +again into the fresh air. Young though he was, he realized that it was +one thing for the Southern leaders to ask, but it was another thing +for the Kentuckians to deliver. He saw all about him the signs of a +powerful opposition, and he saw, too, that these forces, scattered at +first, were consolidating fast, presenting a formidable front. +</P> + +<P> +The struggle began and it was waged for days in the picturesque old +Capitol. There was no violence, but feeling deepened. Men put +restraint upon their words, but their hearts behind them were full of +bitterness, bitterness on one side because the Northern sympathizers +were so stubborn, and bitterness on the other, because the Southern +sympathizers showed the same stubbornness. Friends of a lifetime used +but cold words to each other and saw widening between then, a gulf which +none could cross. Supporters of either cause poured into the little +capital. Tremendous pressure was brought to bear upon House and Senate. +Members were compelled to strive with every kind of emotion or appeal, +love of the Union, cool judgment in the midst of alarms, state +patriotism, kinship, and all the conflicting ties which pull at those +who stand upon the border line on the eve of a great civil war. And +yet they could come to no decision. Day after day they fought back and +forth over points of order and resolutions and the result was always +the same. North and South were locked fast within the two rooms of one +little Capitol. +</P> + +<P> +They were rimmed around meanwhile by a fiery horizon that steadily came +closer and closer. The guns reducing Sumter had been a sufficient +signal. North and South were sharply arrayed against each other. +The Southern volunteers, full of ardor and fire, continued to pour to +their standards. The North, larger and heavier, moved more slowly, +but it moved. The whole land swayed under an intense agitation. +The news of skirmishes along the border came, magnified and colored +in the telling. Men's minds were inflamed more every day. +</P> + +<P> +When Harry had been in Frankfort about a week he received a letter from +St. Clair, written from Richmond, urging him, if he could, to get an +assignment to the East, and to come to that city, which was to be the +permanent capital of the South. +</P> + +<P> +"We are here," he said, "looking the enemy in the face. Langdon and I +are in the same company and I see Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire +every day. We are going to the front soon, and before the summer is out +there will be a big battle followed by our taking of Washington." +</P> + +<P> +"But you must come, Harry, to Richmond and join us before we march. +This is a fine town and all the celebrities are crowding in. You never +saw such confidence and enthusiasm. Virginia was slow in joining us, +but, since she has joined, she is with us heart and soul. Troops are +pouring in all the time. Cannon and wagons loaded with ammunition and +supplies are hurrying to the front. The Yankees are not threatening +Richmond; we are threatening Washington. Be sure and get yourself +transferred to the East, Harry, where the great things are going to +happen. Friends are waiting for you here. Colonel Talbot and Major +St. Hilaire have a lot of power and they will use it for you." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was walking on the hills that look down on the Capitol, when he +read the letter and its warm words made his pulses leap with pleasure. +He felt now the pull of opposing magnets. He wanted to remain in +Frankfort with his father and see the issue, and he also wanted to join +those South Carolina comrades of his in the East, where the battle +fronts now lowered so ominously. +</P> + +<P> +He thought long over the letter, and, at last sat down by the monument +to the Kentucky volunteers who fell at the battle of Buena Vista. +The pull of the East was gradually growing the stronger. He did not +see what he could do at Frankfort, and he wanted to be off there on the +Virginia fields where the bayonets would soon meet. +</P> + +<P> +The curious feeling that war could not come here in his own land +persisted in Harry. It was late in the afternoon with the lower tip of +the sun just hid behind the far hills and the landscape that he looked +upon was soft and beautiful. The green of spring was deep and tender. +Everything rough or ugly was smoothed away by the first mellow touch +of the advancing twilight. The hills were clothed in the same robe of +green that lay over the valleys, and through the center of the circle +flowed the deep Kentucky, serene and blue. +</P> + +<P> +While Harry's thoughts at that moment were on war, he really had no +feeling against anybody. It was all general and impersonal. There +is something pure and noble about a boy who comes out of a good home, +something lofty to which the man later looks back with pride, not +because the boy was wise or powerful, but because his heart was good. +</P> + +<P> +The twilight slowly darkened over green fields and blue river. But the +noble stone, with its sculptured lines, by the side of which Harry sat, +seemed to grow whiter, despite the veil of dusk that was drooping softly +over it. The houses in the town below began to sink out of sight and +lights appeared in their place. +</P> + +<P> +Night came and found the boy still at his place. He could see only the +tint of the blue river now, and the far hills were lost in the darkness. +The chill of evening was coming on, and rising, he shook himself a +little. Then he followed a path down the steep hill and along the edge +of the river. But he paused, standing by the side of a great oak that +grew at the Water's margin, and looked up the Kentucky. +</P> + +<P> +Harry could see from the point where he stood no sign of human life. +He heard only the murmur of deep waters as they flowed slowly and +peacefully by. The spirit of his great ancestor, the famous Henry Ware, +who had been the sword of the border, was strong upon him. The Kentucky +was to him the most romantic of all rivers, clustered thick with the +facts and legends of the great days, when the first of the pioneers +came and built homes along its banks. It flowed out of mountains still +mysterious, and, for a few moments, Harry's thoughts floated from the +strife of the present to a time far back when the slightest noise in the +canebrake might mean to the hunter the coming of his quarry. +</P> + +<P> +A faint musical sound, not more than the sigh of a stray breeze, came +from a point far up the stream. He listened and the sound pleased him. +The lone, weird note was in full accord with the night and his mood, +and presently he knew it. It was some mountaineer on a raft singing a +plaintive song of his own distant hills. Huge rafts launched on the +headwaters of the stream in the mountains in the eastern part of the +state came in great numbers down the river, but oftenest at this time of +the year. Some stopped at Frankfort, and others went into the Ohio for +the cities down that stream. +</P> + +<P> +Harry waited, while the song grew a little in volume, and, penned now +between high banks, gave back soft echoes. But the raft came very +slowly, only as fast as the current of the river. He thought he would +see a light as the men usually cooked and slept in a rude little hut +built in the center of the raft. But all was yet in darkness. +</P> + +<P> +The singer, however rude and unlettered a mountaineer he may have been, +had a voice and ear, and Harry still listened with the keenest pleasure +to the melodious note that came floating down the river. The spell was +upon him. His imagination became so vivid that it was not a mountaineer +singing. He had gone back into another century. It was one of the +great borderers, perhaps Boone himself, who was paddling his canoe upon +the stream, the name of which was danger. And Kenton, and Logan and +Harrod and the others were abroad in the woods. +</P> + +<P> +He was engrossed so deeply that he did not hear a heavy step behind him, +nor did he see a huge bewhiskered figure in the path, holding a clubbed +rifle. Yet he turned. It was perhaps the instinct inherited from his +great ancestor, who was said to have had a sixth sense. Whatever it may +have been, he faced suddenly about, and saw Bill Skelly aiming at him +a blow with the clubbed rifle, which would at once crush his skull and +send his body into the deep stream. +</P> + +<P> +The same inherited instinct made him leap within the swing of the rifle +and clutch at the mountaineer's throat. The heavy butt swished through +the air, and the very force of the blow jerked the weapon from Skelly's +hands. The next instant he was struggling for his life. Harry was a +powerful youth, much stronger than many men, and, at that instant, +the spirit and strength of his great ancestor were pouring into his +veins. The treacherous attempt upon his life filled him with rage. +He was, in very truth, the forest runner of the earlier century, and he +strove with all his great might to slay his enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Skelly, six feet two inches tall and two hundred pounds of muscle and +sinew, struck the boy fiercely on the side of the head, but the terrible +grasp was still at his throat. He was the larger and the stronger, +but the sudden leap upon him gave his younger and smaller antagonist an +advantage. He had a pistol in his belt, but with that throttling grip +upon his throat he forgot it. The hunter had suddenly become the +hunted. Filled with rage and venom he had expected an easy triumph, and, +instead, he was now fighting for his life. +</P> + +<P> +Skelly struck again and again at the boy, but Harry, with instinctive +wisdom, pressed his head close to the man's chin, and Skelly's blows +at such short range lacked force behind them. All the while Harry's +youthful but powerful arms were pouring strength into the hands that +grasped the man's throat. The mountaineer choked and gasped, and, +changing his aim from the head, struck Harry again and again in the +chest. Then he remembered to draw his pistol, but Harry, raising his +knee, struck him violently on the wrist. The pistol dropped to the +ground, and Skelly, in the fierce struggle, was unable to regain it. +</P> + +<P> +Neither had uttered a cry. There was not a single shout for help. +Skelly would not want to call attention, and Harry recalled afterward +that in the tremendous tension of the moment the thought of it never +occurred to him. He continued to press savagely upon Skelly's throat, +while the mountaineer rained blows upon his chest, blows that would +have killed him had Skelly been able to get full purchase for his arms. +He heard the heavy gasping breath of the man, and he saw the dark, +hideous face close to his own. It was so hairy that it was like the +face of some huge anthropoid, with the lips wrinkled back from strong +and cruel white teeth. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Harry in very truth that he was fighting a great wild +beast. His own breath came in short gasps, and at every expansion of +the lungs a fierce pain shot through his whole body. A bloody foam rose +to his lips. The savage pounding upon his chest was telling. He still +retained his grasp upon Skelly's throat, where his fingers were sunk +into the flesh, but it was only the grimmest kind of resolution that +enabled him to hold on. +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw the fierce light in Skelly's eye turn to joy. The man foresaw +his triumph, and he began to curse low, but fast and with savage +unction. Harry felt himself weakening, and he made another mighty +effort to retain his hold, but the fingers still slipped, and, as Skelly +struck him harder than ever in the chest, they flew loose entirely. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that if Skelly had room for the full play of his arm that he +would be knocked senseless at the next blow, and to ward it off he +seized the man by his huge chest, tripping at the same time with all his +might. The two fell, rolled over in their struggling, and then Harry +felt himself dropping from a height. The next moment the deep waters of +the Kentucky closed over the two, still locked fast in a deadly combat, +and the waves circled away in diminishing height from the spot where +they had sunk. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE RIVER JOURNEY +</H3> + +<P> +"Best pour a little of this down his throat. It'll cut an' burn, +but if there's a spark o' life left in him it'll set it to blazin'." +</P> + +<P> +Harry became conscious of the "cutting" and "burning," and, struggling +weakly, he sat up. +</P> + +<P> +"That's better," continued the deep, masculine voice. "You've been +layin' on your face, lettin' the Kentucky River run out of your mouth, +while we was poundin' you on the back to increase the speed o' the +current. It's all out o' you now, an' you're goin' to keep your young +life." +</P> + +<P> +The man who spoke was standing almost over Harry, holding a flask in one +hand and a lantern in the other. He was obviously a mountaineer, tall, +with powerful chest and shoulders, and a short red beard. Near him +stood a stalwart boy about Harry's own age. They were in the middle of +a raft which had been pulled to the south side of the Kentucky and then +tied to the shore. +</P> + +<P> +Harry started to speak, but the words stopped at his lips. His weakness +was still great. +</P> + +<P> +"Wa'al," said the man, whimsically. "What was it? Sooicide? Or did +you fall in the river, bein' awkward? Or was you tryin' to swim the +stream, believin' it was fun to do it? What do you think, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +"It wasn't no sooicide," replied the youth whom he had called Ike. +"Boys don't kill theirse'ves. An' it wasn't no awkwardness, 'cause he +don't look like the awkward kind. An' I guess he wasn't tryin' to swim +the Kentucky, else he would have took off his clothes." +</P> + +<P> +"Which cuts out all three o' my guesses, leavin' me nothin' to go on. +Now, I ain't in the habit of pickin' floatin' an' unconscious boys out +o' the middle o' the river, an' that leaves me in unpleasant doubt, +me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind." +</P> + +<P> +"It was murder," said Harry, at last finding strength to speak. +</P> + +<P> +"Murder!" exclaimed the man and boy together. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, murder, that is, an attempt at it. A man set upon me to kill me, +and in the struggle we fell in the river, which, with your help, saved +my life. Look here!" +</P> + +<P> +He tore open his coat and shirt, revealing his chest, which looked like +pounded beef. +</P> + +<P> +"Somebody has shorely been gettin' in good hard licks on you," said the +man sympathetically, "an' I reckon you're tellin' nothin' but the truth, +these bein' such times as this country never heard of before. My name's +Sam Jarvis, an' I came with this raft from the mountains. This lunkhead +here is my nephew, Ike Simmons. We was driftin' along into Frankfort as +peaceful as you please, an' a singin' with joy 'cause our work was about +over. I hears a splash an' says I to Ike, 'What's that?' Says he to me, +'I dunno.' Says I to Ike ag'in, 'Was it a big fish?' Says he to me +ag'in, 'I dunno.' He's gittin' a repytation for bein' real smart +'cause he's always sayin, 'I dunno,' an' he's never wrong. Then I sees +somethin' with hair on top of it floatin' on the water. Says I, 'Is +that a man's head?' Says he, 'I dunno.' But he reaches away out from +the raft, grabs you with one hand by them brown locks o' yours, an' +hauls you in. I guess you owe your life all right enough to this +lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, the son o' my sister Jane." +</P> + +<P> +Ike grinned sympathetically. +</P> + +<P> +"Ain't it time to offer him some dry clothes, Uncle Sam?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Past time, I reckon," replied Jarvis, "but I forgot it askin' questions, +me havin' such an inquirin' turn o' mind." +</P> + +<P> +Harry rose, with the help of a strong and friendly hand that Jarvis lent +him. His chest felt dreadfully sore. Every breath pained him, and all +the strength seemed to have gone from his body. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what became o' the other feller," said Jarvis. "Guess he +must have swum out all by hisself." +</P> + +<P> +"He undoubtedly did so," replied Harry. "He wasn't hurt, and I fancy +that he's some distance from Frankfort by this time. My name is Kenton, +Harry Kenton, and I'm the son of Colonel George Kenton, who is here in +Frankfort helping to push the ordinance of secession. You've saved my +life and he'd repay you." +</P> + +<P> +"We don't need no money," said Jarvis shortly. "Me an' Ike here will +have a lot of money when we sell this raft, and we don't lack for +nothin'." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't mean money," said Harry, understanding their pride and +independence. "I meant in some other ways, including gratitude. +I've been fished out of a river, and a fisherman is entitled to the +value of his catch, isn't he?" +</P> + +<P> +"We'll talk about that later on, but me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' +mind, I'm wonderin' what your father will say about you when he sees +you. I guess I better doctor you up a little before you leave the raft." +</P> + +<P> +Ike returned from the tiny cabin with an extra suit of clothes of his +own, made of the roughest kind of gray jeans, home knit yarn socks and +a pair of heavy brogan shoes. A second trip brought underclothing of +the same rough quality, but Harry changed into them gladly. Jarvis +meanwhile produced a bottle filled with a brown liquid. +</P> + +<P> +"You may think this is hoss liniment," he said, "an' p'r'aps it has been +used for them purposes, but it's better fur men than animiles. Ole +Aunt Suse, who is 'nigh to a hundred, got it from the Injuns an' it's +warranted to kill or cure. It'll sting at first, but just you stan' it, +an' afore long it will do you a power o' good." +</P> + +<P> +Harry refused to wince while the mountaineer kneaded his bruised chest +with the liquid ointment. The burning presently gave way to a soothing +sensation. +</P> + +<P> +Harry noticed that neither Jarvis nor Ike asked him the name of his +opponent nor anything at all about the struggle or its cause. They +treated it as his own private affair, of which he could speak or not as +he chose. He had noticed this quality before in mountaineers. They +were among the most inquisitive of people, but an innate delicacy would +suppress questions which an ordinary man would not hesitate to ask. +</P> + +<P> +"Button up your shirt an' coat," said Jarvis at last, "an' you'll find +your chest well in a day or two. Your bein' so healthy helps you a lot. +Feelin' better already, boy? Don't 'pear as if you was tearin' out a +lung or two every time you drawed breath?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm almost well," said Harry gratefully, "and, Mr. Jarvis, I'd like to +leave my wet clothes here to dry while I'm gone. I'll be back in the +morning with my father." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Samuel Jarvis, "but I wish you'd come bright an' +early. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, ain't used to great cities, +an' me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind we'll be anxious to see all +that's to be seed in Frankfort." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you fear," replied Harry, full of gratitude, "I'll be back soon +in the morning." +</P> + +<P> +"But don't furgit one thing," continued Jarvis. "I hear there's a +mighty howdy-do here about the state goin' out o' the Union or stayin' +in it. The mountains are jest hummin' with talk about the question, +but don't make me take any part in it. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, +my nephew, are here jest to sell logs, not to decide the fate o' states." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll remember that, too," said Harry, as he shook hands warmly with +both of them, left the raft, climbed the bank and entered Frankfort. +</P> + +<P> +The little town had few lights in those days and the boy moved along in +the dusk, until he came near the Capitol. There he saw the flame of +lamps shining from several windows, and he knew that men were still at +work, striving to draw a state into the arms of the North or the South. +He paused a few minutes at the corner of the lawn and drew many long, +deep breaths. The soreness was almost gone from his chest. The oil +with which Samuel Jarvis had kneaded his bruises was certainly wonderful, +and he hoped that "Aunt Suse," who got it from the Indians, would fill +out her second hundred years. +</P> + +<P> +He reached the hotel without meeting any one whom he knew, and went up +the stairway to his room, where he found his father writing at a small +desk. Colonel Kenton glanced at him, and noticed at once his change of +costume. +</P> + +<P> +"What does that clothing mean, Harry?" he asked. "It's jeans, and it +doesn't fit." +</P> + +<P> +"I know it's jeans, and I know it doesn't fit, but I was mighty glad to +get it, as everything else I had on was soaked with water." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows. +</P> + +<P> +"I was hunting the bottom of the Kentucky River," continued Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Fall in?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, thrown in." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows higher than ever. +</P> + +<P> +Harry sat down and told him the whole story, Colonel Kenton listening +intently and rarely interrupting. +</P> + +<P> +"It was great good fortune that the men on the raft came just at the +right time," he said, when Harry had finished. "There are bad +mountaineers and good mountaineers—Jarvis and his nephew represent one +type and Skelly the other. Skelly hates us because we drove back his +band when they attacked our house. In peaceful times we could have him +hunted out and punished, but we cannot follow him into his mountains +now. We shall be compelled to let this pass for the present, but as +your life would not be safe here you must leave Frankfort, Harry." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't go back to Pendleton," said the boy, "and stay there, doing +nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"I had no such purpose. I know that you are bound to be in active life, +and I was already meditating a longer journey for you. Listen clearly +to me, Harry. The fight here is about over, and we are going to fail. +It is by the narrowest of margins, but still we will fail. We who are +for the South know it with certainty. Kentucky will refuse to go out +of the Union, and it is a great blow to us. I shall have to go back to +Pendleton for a week or two and then I will take a command. But since +you are bent upon service in the field, I want you to go to the East." +</P> + +<P> +Harry's face flushed with pleasure. It was his dearest wish. Colonel +Kenton, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes, smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"I fancied that you would be quite willing to go," he said. "I had a +letter this morning from a man who likes you well, Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He is at Richmond and he says that President Davis, his cabinet, +and all the equipment of a capital will arrive there about the last of +the month. The enemy is massing before Washington and also toward the +West in the Maryland and Virginia mountains. A great battle is sure +to be fought in the summer and he wants you on his staff. General +Beauregard, whom you knew at Charleston, is to be in supreme command. +Can you leave here in a day or two for Richmond?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry's eyes were sparkling, and the flush was still in his face. +</P> + +<P> +"I could go in an hour," he replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Such an abrupt departure as that is not needed. Moreover the choice +of a route is of great importance and requires thought. If you were to +take one of the steamers up the Ohio, say to Wheeling, in West Virginia, +you would almost surely fall into the hands of the Northern troops. +The North also controls about all the railway connections there are +between Kentucky and Virginia." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I must ride across the mountains." +</P> + +<P> +"These new friends of yours who saved you from the river, are they going +to stay long in Frankfort?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not more than a day or two, I think. I gathered from what Jarvis said +that they were not willing to remain long where trouble was thick." +</P> + +<P> +"How are their sympathies placed in this great division of our people?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I inferred," he replied, "from what Jarvis said that they intend to +keep the peace. He intimated to me that the silence of the mountains +was more welcome to him than the cause of either North or South." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton smiled again. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he is wiser than the rest of us," he said, "but in any event, +I think he is our man. He will sell his logs and pull back up the +Kentucky in a small boat. I gather from what you say that he came +down the most southerly fork of the Kentucky, which, in a general way, +is the route you wish to take. You can go with him and his nephew until +they reach their home in the mountains. Then you must take a horse, +strike south into the old Wilderness Road, cross the ranges into +Virginia and reach Richmond. Are you willing?" +</P> + +<P> +He spoke as father to son, and also as man to man. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm more than willing," replied Harry. "I don't think we could choose +a better way. Jarvis and his nephew, I know, will be as true as steel, +and I'd like that journey in the boat." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it's settled, provided Jarvis and his nephew are willing. We'll +see them before breakfast in the morning, and now I think you'd better +go to sleep. A boy who was fished out of the Kentucky only an hour or +two ago needs rest." +</P> + +<P> +Harry promptly went to bed, but sleep was long in coming. Their mission +to Frankfort had failed, and action awaited his young footsteps. +Virginia, the mother state of his own, was a mighty name to him, and men +already believed the great war would be decided there. The mountains, +too, with their wild forests and streams beckoned to him. The old, +inherited blood within him made the great pulses leap. But he slept at +last and dreamed of far-off things. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and his father rose at the first silver shoot of dawn, and went +quickly through the deserted street to a quiet cove in the Kentucky, +where Samuel Jarvis had anchored his raft. It was a crisp morning, +with a tang in the air that made life feel good. A thin curl of smoke +was rising from the raft, showing that the man and his nephew were +already up, and cooking in the little hut on the raft. +</P> + +<P> +Harry stepped upon the logs and his father followed him. Jarvis was +just pouring coffee from a tin pot into a tin cup, and Ike was turning +over some strips of bacon in an iron skillet on an iron stove. Both of +them, watchful like all mountaineers, had heard the visitors coming, +but they did not look up until they were on the raft. +</P> + +<P> +"Mornin'," called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look, Ike, it's the big fish that +we hooked out of the river last night, an' he's got company." +</P> + +<P> +"I want to thank you for saving my son's life," said the Colonel. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon, then, that you're Colonel George Kenton," said Jarvis. +"Wa'al, you don't owe us no thanks. I'm of an inquirin' turn of mind, +an' whenever I see a man or boy floatin' along in the river I always +fish him out, just to see who an' what he is. My curiosity is pow'ful +strong, colonel, an' it leads me to do a lot o' things that I wouldn't +do if it wasn't fur it. Set an' take a bite with us. This air is +nippin' an' it makes my teeth tremenjous sharp." +</P> + +<P> +"We're with you," said the colonel, who was adaptable, and who saw at +once that Jarvis was a man of high character. "It's cool on the river +and that coffee will warm one up mighty well." +</P> + +<P> +"It's fine coffee," said Jarvis proudly. "Aunt Suse taught me how to +make it. She learned, when you didn't git coffee often, an' you had to +make the most of it when you did git it." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is Aunt Suse?" +</P> + +<P> +"Aunt Susan, or Suse as we call her fur short, is back at home in the +hills. She's a good hundred, colonel, an' two or three yars more to +boot, I reckon, but as spry as a kitten. Full o' tales o' the early +days an' the wild beasts an' the Injuns. She says you couldn't make up +any story of them times that ain't beat by the truth. When she come up +the Wilderness Road from Virginia in the Revolution she was already a +young woman. She's knowed Dan'l Boone and Simon Kenton an' all them +gran' old fellers. A tremenjous interestin' old lady is my Aunt Suse, +colonel." +</P> + +<P> +"I've no doubt of it, Mr. Jarvis." said Colonel Kenton, "but I don't +think I can wait a second longer for a cup of that coffee of yours. +It smells so good that if you don't give it to me I'll have to take it +from you." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis grinned cheerfully. Harry saw that his father had already made a +skillful appeal to the mountaineer's pride. +</P> + +<P> +"Ike, you lunkhead," he said to his nephew, "I told the colonel to set, +but we did'nt give him anythin' to set on. Pull up them blocks o' wood +fur him an' his son. Now you'll take breakfast with us, won't you, +colonel? The bacon an' the corn cakes are ready, too." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course we will," said the colonel, "and gladly, too. It makes me +young again to eat this way in the fresh air of a cool morning." +</P> + +<P> +Samuel Jarvis shone as a host. The breakfast was served on a smooth +stump put on board for that purpose. The coffee was admirable, and the +bacon and thin corn cakes were cooked beautifully. Good butter was +spread over the corn cakes, and Harry and his father were surprised +at the number they ate. Ike, addressed by his uncle variously and +collectively as "lunkhead," "nephew," and "Ike," served. He rarely +spoke, but always grinned. Harry found later that while he had little +use for his vocal organs he invariably enjoyed life. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel," said Jarvis, at about the tenth corn cake, "be you fellers +down here a-goin' to fight?" +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose we are, Mr. Jarvis!" +</P> + +<P> +"An' is your son thar goin' right into the middle of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't keep him from it, Mr. Jarvis, but he isn't going to stay here +in Kentucky. Other plans have been made for him. When are you going +back up the Kentucky, Mr. Jarvis?" +</P> + +<P> +"This raft was bargained fur before it started. All I've got to do is +to turn it over to its new owners today, go to the bank an' get the +money. Then me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, both bein' of an +inquirin' mind, want to do some sight-seein', but I reckon we'll start +back in about two days in the boat that you see tied to the stern of the +raft." +</P> + +<P> +"Would you take a passenger in the boat? It's a large one." +</P> + +<P> +Samuel Jarvis pursed his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"Depends on who it is," he replied. "It takes a lot o' time, goin' up +stream, to get back to our start, an' a cantankerous passenger in as +narrow a place as a rowboat would make it mighty onpleasant for me an' +this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Wouldn't it, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +Ike grinned and nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"The passenger that I'm speaking of wouldn't be a passenger altogether," +said Colonel Kenton. "He'd like to be one of the crew also, and I don't +think he'd make trouble. Anyway, he's got a claim on you already. +Having fished him out of the river, where he was unconscious, it's your +duty to take care of him for a while. It's my son Harry, who wants to +get across the mountains to Virginia, and we'll be greatly obliged to +you if you'll take him." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Kenton had a most winning manner. He already liked Jarvis, +and Jarvis liked him. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon your son is all right," said Jarvis, "an' if he gits +cantankerous we kin just pitch him overboard into the Kentucky. But I +can't undertake sich a contract without consultin' my junior partner, +this lunkhead, my nephew, Ike Simmons. Ike, are you willin' to take +Colonel Kenton's son back with us? Ef you're willin' say 'Yes,' ef +you ain't willin' say 'No.'" +</P> + +<P> +Ike said nothing, but grinned and nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"The resolution is passed an' Harry Kenton is accepted," said Jarvis. +"We start day after tomorrow mornin', early." +</P> + +<P> +Breakfast was finished and Colonel Kenton rose and thanked them. +He still said nothing about pay. But after he and Harry had entered +the town, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"You couldn't have better friends, Harry. Both the man and boy are as +true as steel, and, as they have no intention of taking part in the war, +they will just suit you as traveling companions." +</P> + +<P> +They spent the larger part of that day in buying the boy's equipment, +doing it as quietly as possible, as the colonel wished his son to depart +without attracting any notice. In such times as those secrecy was much +to be desired. A rifle, pistols, plenty of ammunition, an extra suit of +clothes, a pair of blankets, and a good supply of money were all that he +took. One small package which contained a hundred dollars in gold coins +he put in an inside pocket of his waistcoat. +</P> + +<P> +"You are to give that to Jarvis just after you start," said the colonel. +"We cannot pay him directly for saving you, because he will not take it, +but you can insist that this is for your passage." +</P> + +<P> +They were all at the cove before dawn on the appointed morning. Colonel +Kenton was to say Harry's good-bye for him to his friends. The whole +departure had been arranged with so much skill that they alone knew +of it. The boat was strong, shaped well, and had two pairs of oars. +A heavy canvas sheet could be erected as a kind of awning or tent in the +rear, in case of rain. They carried plenty of food, and Jarvis said +that in addition they were more than likely to pick up a deer or two on +the way. Both he and Ike carried long-barreled rifles. +</P> + +<P> +The three stepped into the boat. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, Harry," said the colonel, reaching down a strong hand that +trembled. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, father," said Harry, returning the clasp with another strong +hand that trembled also. +</P> + +<P> +People in that region were not demonstrative. Family affection was +strong, but they were reared on the old, stern Puritan plan, and the +handshake and the brief words were all. Then Jarvis and his silent +nephew bent to the oars and the boat shot up the deep channel of the +Kentucky. +</P> + +<P> +Harry looked back, and in the dusk saw his father still standing at the +edge of the cove. He waved a hand and the colonel waved back. Then +they disappeared around a curve of the hills, and the first light of +dawn began to drift over the Kentucky. +</P> + +<P> +Harry was silent for a long time. He was becoming used to sudden and +hard traveling and danger, but the second parting with his father moved +him deeply. Since he had been twelve or thirteen years of age, they +had been not only father and son, but comrades, and, in the intimate +association, he had acquired more of a man's mind than was usual in +one of his years. He felt now, since he was going to the east and the +colonel was remaining in the west, that the parting was likely to be +long—perhaps forever. +</P> + +<P> +It was no morbid feeling. It was the consciousness that a great and +terrible war was at hand. Although but a youth, he had been in the +forefront of things. He had been at Montgomery and Sumter, and he had +seen the fire and zeal of the South. He had been at Frankfort, too, +and he had seen how the gathering force of the massive North had refused +to be moved. His father and his friends, with all their skill and force, +strengthened by the power of kinship and sentiment, had been unable to +take Kentucky out of the Union. +</P> + +<P> +Harry was so thoroughly absorbed in these thoughts that he did not +realize how very long he remained silent. He was sitting in the stern +of the boat, with a face naturally joyous, heavily overcast. Jarvis +and Ike were rowing and with innate delicacy they did not disturb him. +They, too, said nothing. But they were powerful oarsmen, and they sent +the heavy skiff shooting up the stream. The Kentucky, a deep river at +any time, was high from the spring floods, and the current offered but +little resistance. The man of mighty sinews and the boy of sinews +almost as mighty, pulled a long and regular stroke, without any +quickening of the breath. +</P> + +<P> +The dawn deepened into the full morning. The silver of the river became +blue, with a filmy gold mist spread over it by the rising sun. High +banks crested with green enclosed them on either side, and beyond lay +higher hills, their slopes and summits all living green. The singing +of birds came from the bushes on the banks, and a sudden flash of flame +told where a scarlet tanager had crossed. +</P> + +<P> +The last house of Frankfort dropped behind them, and soon the boat +was shooting along the deep channel cut by the Kentucky through the +Bluegrass, then the richest and most beautiful region of the west, +abounding in famous men and in the height of its glory. It had never +looked more splendid. The grass was deeply luxuriant and young flowers +bloomed at the water's edge. The fields were divided by neat stone +fences and far off Harry saw men working on the slopes. +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis and Ike were still silent. The man glanced at Harry and saw that +he had not yet come from his absorption, but Samuel Jarvis was a joyous +soul. He was forty years old, and he had lived forty happy years. +The money for his lumber was in his pocket, he did not know ache or pain, +and he was going back to his home in an inmost recess of the mountains, +from which high point he could view the civil war passing around him +and far below. He could restrain himself no longer, and lifting up his +voice he sang. +</P> + +<P> +But the song, like nearly all songs the mountaineers sing, had a +melancholy note. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita,<BR> + Be my own fair bride."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +He sang, and the wailing note, confined between the high walls of the +stream, took on a great increase in volume and power. Jarvis had one +of those uncommon voices sometimes found among the unlearned, a deep, +full tenor without a harsh note. When he sang he put his whole heart +into the words, and the effect was often wonderful. Harry roused +himself suddenly. He was hearing the same song that he had heard the +night he went into the river locked fast in Skelly's arms. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita."<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +rang the tenor note, rising and falling and dying away in wailing echoes, +as the boat sped on. Then Harry resolutely turned his face to the +future. The will has a powerful effect over the young, and when he made +the effort to throw off sadness it fell easily from him. All at once he +was embarked with good comrades upon a journey of tremendous interest. +Jarvis noticed the change upon his face, but said nothing. He pulled +with a long, slow stroke, suited to the solemn refrain of Juanita, +which he continued to pour forth with his soul in every word. +</P> + +<P> +They went on, deeper into the Bluegrass. The blue sky above them was +now dappled with golden clouds, and the air grew warmer, but Jarvis and +his nephew showed no signs of weariness. When Harry judged that the +right time had come he asked to relieve Ike at the oar. Ike looked +at Jarvis and Jarvis nodded to Ike. Then Ike nodded to Harry, which +indicated consent. +</P> + +<P> +But Harry, before taking the oar, drew a small package from his pocket +and handed it to Jarvis. +</P> + +<P> +"My father asked me to give you this," he said, "as a remembrance and +also as some small recompense for the trouble that I will cause you on +this trip." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis took it, and heard the heavy coins clink together. +</P> + +<P> +"I know without openin' it that this is money," he said, "but bein' of +an inquirin' turn o' mind I reckon I've got to look into it an' count +it." +</P> + +<P> +He did so deliberately, coin by coin, and his eyes opened a little at +the size of the sum. +</P> + +<P> +"It's too much," he said. "Besides you take your turn at the oars." +</P> + +<P> +"It's partly as a souvenir," said Harry, "and it would hurt my father +very much if you did not take it. Besides, I should have to leave the +boat the first time it tied up, if you refuse." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis looked humorously at him. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe you are a stubborn sort of feller," he said, "but somehow +I've took a kind o' likin' to you. I s'pose it's because I fished you +out o' the river. You always think that the fish you ketch yourself are +the best. Do you reckon that's the reason why we like him, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +Ike nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"Then, bein' as we don't want to lose your company, an' seein' that you +mean what you say, we'll keep the gold, though half of it must go to +that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it's settled," said Harry, "and we'll never say another word about +it. You agree to that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied Jarvis, and Ike nodded. +</P> + +<P> +Harry took his place at the oar. Although he was not as skillful as Ike, +he did well, and the boat sped on upon the deep bosom of the Kentucky. +The work was good for Harry. It made his blood flow once more in a full +tide and he felt a distinct elation. +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis began singing again. He changed from Juanita to "Poor Nelly +Gray": +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "And poor Nelly Gray, she is up in Heaven, they say,<BR> + And I shall never see my darling any more."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Harry found his oar swinging to the tune as Ike's had swung to that of +Juanita, and he did not feel fatigue. They met few people upon the +river. Once a raft passed them, but Jarvis, looking at it keenly, +said that it had come down from one of the northern forks of the +Kentucky and not from his part of the country. They saw skiffs two or +three times, but did not stop to exchange words with their occupants, +continuing steadily into the heart of the Bluegrass. +</P> + +<P> +They relieved one another throughout the day and at night, tired but +cheerful, drew up their boat at a point, where there was a narrow +stretch of grass between the water and the cliff, with a rope ferry +three or four hundred yards farther on. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll tie up the boat here, cook supper and sleep on dry ground," +said Jarvis. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OVER THE MOUNTAINS +</H3> + +<P> +The boat was secured firmly among the bushes, and finding an abundance +of fallen wood along the beach, they pulled it into a heap and kindled a +fire. The night, as usual, was cool, but the pleasant flames dispelled +the chill, and the cove was very snug and comfortable after a day of +hard and continuous work. Jarvis and Ike did the cooking, at which they +were adepts. +</P> + +<P> +"After pullin' a boat ten or twelve hours there's nothin' like somethin' +warm inside you to make you feel good," said Jarvis. "Ike, you lunkhead, +hurry up with that coffee pot. Me an' Harry can't wait more'n a minute +longer." +</P> + +<P> +Ike grinned and hurried. A fine bed of coals had now formed, and in a +few minutes a great pot of coffee was boiling and throwing out savory +odors. Jarvis took a small flat skillet from the boat and fried the +corn cakes. Harry fried bacon and strips of dried beef in another. +The homely task in good company was most grateful to him. His face +reflected his pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +"Providin' it don't rain on you, campin' out is stimulatin' to the body +an' soul," said Jarvis. "You don't know what a genuine appetite is +until you live under the blue sky by day, and a starry sky by night. +Harry, you'll find three tin plates in the locker in the boat. Fetch +'em." +</P> + +<P> +Harry abandoned his skillet for a moment, and brought the plates. +Ike, the coffee now being about ready, produced three tin cups, and with +these simple preparations they began their supper. The flames went +down and the fire became a great bed of coals, glowing in the darkness, +and making a circle of light, the edges of which touched the boat. +Harry found that Jarvis was telling the truth. The long work and the +cool night air, without a roof above him, gave him a hunger, the like of +which he had not known for a long time. He ate cake after cake of the +corn bread and piece after piece of the meat. Jarvis and Ike kept him +full company. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you it was fine?" said Jarvis, stretching his long length +and sighing with content. "I feel so good that I'm near bustin' into +song." +</P> + +<P> +"Then bust," said Harry. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Soft, o'er the fountain, lingering falls the southern moon,<BR> + Far o'er the mountain breaks the day too soon.<BR> + In thy dark eyes' splendor, where the warm light loves to dwell,<BR> + Weary looks yet tender, speak their fond farewell.<BR> + 'Nita, Juanita! Ask thy soul if we should part,<BR> + 'Nita, Juanita! Lean thou on my heart."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The notes of the old melody swelled, and, as before, the deep channel +of the river gave them back again in faint and dying echoes. Time and +place and the voice of Jarvis, with its haunting quality, threw a spell +over Harry. The present rolled away. He was back in the romantic old +past, of which he had read so much, with Boone and Kenton and Harrod and +the other great forest rangers. +</P> + +<P> +The darkness sank down, deeper and heavier. The stars came out +presently and twinkled in the blue. Yet it was still dim in the gorge, +save where the glowing bed of coals cast a circle of light. The +Kentucky, showing a faint tinge of blue, flowed with a soft murmur. +Harry and Ike were lying on the grass, propped each on one elbow, +while Jarvis, sitting with his back against a small tree, was still +singing: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "When in thy dreaming, moons like these shall shine again<BR> + And daylight beaming prove thy dreams are vain,<BR> + Wilt thou not, relenting, for thy absent lover sigh?<BR> + In thy heart consenting to a prayer gone by,<BR> + 'Nita, Juanita, let me linger by thy side;<BR> + 'Nita, Juanita, be thou my own fair bride."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The song ceased and the murmur of the river came more clearly. Harry +was drawn deeper and deeper into the old dim past. Lying there in the +gorge, with only the river to be seen, the wilderness came back, and the +whole land was clothed with the mighty forests. He brought himself back +with an effort, when he saw Jarvis looking at him and smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"'Tain't so bad down here on a spring night, is it, Harry?" he said. +"Always purvidin', as I said, that it don't rain." +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get that song, Sam?" asked Harry—they had already fallen +into the easy habit of calling one another by their first names. +</P> + +<P> +"From a travelin' feller that wandered up into our mount'ins. He could +play it an' sing it most beautiful, an' I took to it right off. It +grips you about the heart some way or other, an' it sounds best when you +are out at night on a river like this. Harry, I know that you're goin' +through our mountins to git to Richmond an' the war. Me an' that +lunkhead Ike, my nephew, hev took a likin' to you. Now, what do you +want to git your head shot off fur? S'pose you stop up in the hills +with us. The huntin's good thar, an' so's the fishin'." +</P> + +<P> +Harry shook his head, but he was very grateful. +</P> + +<P> +"It's good of you to ask me," he said, "but I'm bound to go on." +</P> + +<P> +"Wa'al, if you're boun' to do it I reckon you jest have to, but we're +leavin' the invite open. Ef you change your mind on the trip all you've +got to do is to say so, an' we'll take you in, ain't that so, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +Ike grinned and nodded. His uncle looked at him admiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ike's a lunkhead," he said, "but he's great to travel with. You kin +jest talk an' talk an' he never puts in, but agrees with all you say. +Now, fellers, we'll put out the fire an' roll in our blankets. I guess +we don't need to keep any watch here." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was soon in a dreamless sleep, but his momentary reversion to +the wilderness awoke him after a while. He sat up in his blankets and +looked around. A mere mass of black coals showed where the fire had +been, and two long dark objects looking like logs in the dim light were +his comrades. +</P> + +<P> +He cast the blankets aside entirely and walked a little distance up the +stream. The instinct that had awakened him was right. He heard voices +and saw a light. Then he remembered the rope ferry and he had no doubt +that some one was crossing, although it was midnight and past. He went +back and touched Jarvis lightly on the shoulder. The mountaineer awoke +instantly and sat up, all his faculties alert. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" he asked in a whisper. +</P> + +<P> +"People crossing the river at the ferry above," Harry whispered back. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we'll go and see who they are. Like as not they're soldiers in +this war that people seem bound to fight, when they could have a lot +more fun at home. Jest let Ike sleep on. He's my sister's son, but I +don't b'lieve anybody would ever think of kidnappin' him." +</P> + +<P> +The two went silently among the bushes toward the ferry which crossed +the river at a point where the hills on either side dipped low. As they +drew near, they heard many voices and the lights increased to a dozen. +Jarvis's belief that it was no party of ordinary travelers seemed +correct. +</P> + +<P> +"Let's go a little nearer. The bushes will still hide us," whispered +the mountaineer to the boy. "They ain't no enemies o' ours, but I guess +we'd better keep out o' their business, though my inquirin' turn o' mind +makes me anxious to see just who they are." +</P> + +<P> +They walked to the end of the stretch of bushes, and, while yet in +shelter, could see clearly all that was going on, especially as there +was no effort at concealment on the part of those who were crossing the +stream. They numbered at least two hundred men, and all had arms and +horses, although they were dismounted now, and the horses, accompanied +by small guards, were being carried over the river first. Evidently the +men understood their work, as it was being done rapidly and without much +noise. +</P> + +<P> +Harry's attention was soon concentrated on three men who stood near the +edge of the bushes, not more than thirty feet away. They wore slouch +hats and were wrapped in heavy, dark cloaks. They stood with their +backs to him, and although they seemed to be taking no part in the +management of the crossing, they watched everything intently. Two of +them were very tall, but the third was shorter and slender. +</P> + +<P> +The moon brightened presently, and some movement at the ferry caused +the three men to turn. Harry started and checked an exclamation at his +lips. But the watchful mountaineer had noted his surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess you know 'em, Harry," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied the boy. "See the one in the center with the drooping +mustaches and the splendid figure. People have called him the +handsomest man in the United States. He was a guest at my father's +house last year when he was running for the presidency. It is the man +who received more popular votes than Lincoln, but fewer in the Electoral +College." +</P> + +<P> +"Breckinridge?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, John C. Breckinridge." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, he's younger than I expected. He don't look more'n forty." +</P> + +<P> +"Just about forty, I should say. The other tall man is named Morgan, +John H. Morgan. I saw him in Lexington once. He's a great horseman. +The third, the slender man who looks as if he were all fire, is named +Duke, Basil Duke. I think that he and Morgan are related. I fancy they +are going south, or maybe to Virginia." +</P> + +<P> +"Harry, these are your people." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Sam, they are my people." +</P> + +<P> +The mountaineer glanced at the tall youth who had found so warm a place +in his heart, and hesitated, but only for a moment. Then he spoke in a +decided whisper. +</P> + +<P> +"Since they are your people an' are goin' on the same business that you +are, though mebbe not by the same road, now is your time to join 'em, +'stead o' workin' your way 'cross the hills with two ignorant +mountaineers like me an' that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Sam. I'll confess to you that it's a temptation, but it's likely +that they're not going where I mean to go, and where I should go. +I'm going to keep on with you unless you and Ike throw me out of the +boat." +</P> + +<P> +"Well spoke, boy," said Jarvis. +</P> + +<P> +He did not tell Harry that Colonel Kenton had asked him to watch over +his son until he should leave him in the mountains, and that he had +given him his sacred promise. He understood what a powerful pull the +sight of Breckinridge, Morgan and Duke had given to Harry, and he knew +that if the boy were resolved to go with them he could not stop him. +</P> + +<P> +All the horses were now across. The three leaders took their places in +the boat, reached the farther shore and the whole company rode away in +the darkness. Despite his resolution Harry felt a pang when the last +figure disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +"Our curiosity bein' gratified, I think we'd better go back to sleep," +said Jarvis. +</P> + +<P> + "The anchor's weighed, farewell, farewell!"<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"We're seein' 'em goin' south, Harry. I dream ahead sometimes, an' I +dream with my eyes open. I've seen the horsemen ridin' in the night, +an' I see 'em by the thousands ridin' over a hundred battle fields, +their horses' hoofs treadin' on dead men." +</P> + +<P> +"Those are good men, brave and generous." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I don't mean them in partickler. Not for a minute. I mean a whole +nation, strugglin' an' strugglin' an' swayin' an' swayin'. I see things +that people neither North nor South ain't dreamed of yet. But sho! +What am I runnin' on this way fur? That lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, +ain't such a lunkhead as he looks. Them that say nothin' ain't never +got nothin' to take back, an' don't never make fools o' theirselves. +It's time we was back in our blankets sleepin' sound, 'cause we've got +another long day o' hard rowin' before us." +</P> + +<P> +Ike had not awakened and Jarvis and Harry were soon asleep again. +But they were up at dawn, and, after a brief breakfast, resumed their +journey on the river, going at a good pace toward the southeast. +They were hailed two or three times from the bank by armed men, whether +of the North or South Harry could not tell, but when they revealed +themselves as mere mountaineers on their way back, having sold a raft, +they were permitted to continue. After the last such stop Jarvis +remarked rather grimly: +</P> + +<P> +"They don't know that there are three good rifles in this boat, backed +by five or six pistols, an' that at least two of us, meanin' me and Ike, +are 'bout the best shots that ever come out o' the mountains." +</P> + +<P> +But his good nature soon returned. He was not a man who could retain +anger long, and before night he was singing again. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "As I strayed from my cot at the close of the day<BR> + To muse on the beauties of June,<BR> + 'Neath a jessamine shade I espied a fair maid<BR> + And she sadly complained to the moon."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"But it's not June, Sam," said Harry, "and there is no moon." +</P> + +<P> +"No, but June's comin' next month, an' the moon's comin' tonight; that +is, if them clouds straight ahead don't conclude to j'in an' make a +fuss." +</P> + +<P> +The clouds did join, and they made quite a "fuss," pouring out a great +quantity of rain, which a rising wind whipped about sharply. But Jarvis +first steered the boat under the edge of a high bank, where it was +protected partly, and they stretched the strong canvas before the first +drops of rain fell. It was sufficient to keep the three and all their +supplies dry, and Harry watched the storm beat. +</P> + +<P> +Sullen thunder rolled up from the southwest, and the skies were cut +down the center by burning strokes of lightning. The wind whipped the +surface of the river into white foamy waves. But Harry heard and beheld +it all with a certain pleasure. It was good to see the storm seek them, +and yet not find them—behind their canvas cover. He remained close in +his place and stared out at the foaming surface of the water. Back went +his thoughts again to the far-off troubled time, when the hunter in the +vast wilderness depended for his life on the quickness of eye and ear. +He had read so much of Boone and Kenton and Harrod, and his own great +ancestor, and the impression was so vivid, that the vision was +translated into fact. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm feelin' your feelin's too," said Jarvis, who, glancing at him, +had read his mind with almost uncanny intuition. "Times like these, +the Injuns an' the wild animals all come back, an' I've felt 'em still +stronger way up in the mountains, where nothin' of the old days is gone +'cept the Injuns. Ike, I guess it's cold grub for us tonight. We can't +cook anythin' in all this rain. Reach into that locker an' bring out +the meat an' bread. This ain't so bad, after all. We're snug an' dry, +an' we've got plenty to eat, so let the storm howl: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "They bore him away when the day had fled,<BR> + And the storm was rolling high,<BR> + And they laid him down in his lonely bed,<BR> + By the light of an angry sky,<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "The lightning flashed and the wild sea lashed<BR> + The shore with its foaming wave,<BR> + And the thunder passed on the rushing blast<BR> + As it howled o'er the rover's grave."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +The full tenor rose and swelled above the sweep of wind and rain, +and the man's soul was in the words he sang. A great voice with the +accompaniment of storm, the water before them, the lightning blazing at +intervals, and the thunder rolling in a sublime refrain, moved Harry to +his inmost soul. The song ceased, but its echo was long in dying on the +river. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you pick up that, too, from a wandering fiddler?" asked Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't know where I got it. I s'pose I found scraps here an' thar, +but I like to sing it when the night is behavin' jest as it's doin' now. +I ain't ever seen the sea, Harry, but it must be a mighty sight, +particklarly when the wind's makin' the high waves run." +</P> + +<P> +"Very likely you'd be seasick if you were on it then. I like it best +when the waves are not running." +</P> + +<P> +The thunder and lightning ceased after a while, but the rain came with +a steady, driving rush. The night had now settled down thick and dark, +and, as the banks on either side of the river were very high, Harry felt +as if they were in a black canyon. He could see but dimly the surface +of the river. All else was lost in the heavy gloom. But the boat had +been built so well and the canvas cover was so taut and tight that not +a drop entered. His sense of comfort increased, and the regular, even, +musical thresh of the rain promoted sleep. +</P> + +<P> +"We won't be waked up tonight by people crossin' the river, that's +shore," said Jarvis, "'cause thar ain't no crossin' fur miles, an' if +there was a crossin' people wouldn't use that crossin' nohow on a night +like this. So, boys, jest wrap your blankets about yourselves an' go +to sleep, an' if you don't hurry I'll beat you to that happy land." +</P> + +<P> +The three were off to the realms of slumber within ten minutes, running +a race about equal. The rain poured all through the night, but they +did not awake until the young sun sent the first beams of day into the +gorge. Then Jarvis sat up. He had the faculty of awakening all at once, +and he began to furl the canvas awning that had served them so well. +The noise awoke the boys who also sat up. +</P> + +<P> +"Get to work, you sleepy heads!" called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look what a +fine world it is! Here's the river all washed clean, an' the land all +washed clean, too! Stir yourselves, we're goin' to have hot food an' +coffee here on the boat. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "I'm dreaming now of Hallie, sweet Hallie,<BR> + For the thought of her is one that never dies.<BR> + She's sleeping in the valley<BR> + And the mocking bird is singing where she lies.<BR> + Listen to the mocking bird, singing o'er her grave.<BR> + Listen to the mocking bird, singing where the weeping willows wave."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"You sing melancholy songs for one who is as cheerful as you are, Sam," +said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"That's so. I like the weepy ones best. But they don't really make me +feel sad, Harry. They jest fill me with a kind o' longin' to reach out +an' grab somethin' that always floats jest before my hands. A sort o' +pleasant sadness I'd call it. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Ah, well I yet remember<BR> + When we gathered in the cotton side by side;<BR> + 'Twas in the mild September<BR> + And the mocking bird was singing far and wide.<BR> + Oh, listen to the mocking bird<BR> + Still singing o'er her grave.<BR> + Oh, listen to the mocking bird<BR> + Still singing where the weeping willows wave."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"Now that ain't what you'd call a right merry song, but I never felt +better in my life than I did when I was singin' it. Here you are, +breakfast all ready! We'll eat, drink an' away. I'm anxious to see +our mountains ag'in." +</P> + +<P> +The boat soon reached a point where lower banks ran for some time, and, +from the center of the stream, they saw the noble country outspread +before them, a vast mass of shimmering green. The rain had ceased +entirely, but the whole earth was sweet and clean from its great bath. +Leaves and grass had taken on a deeper tint, and the crisp air was keen +with blooming odors. +</P> + +<P> +Although they soon had a considerable current to fight, they made good +headway against it. Harry's practice with the oar was giving his +muscles the same quality like steel wire which those of Jarvis and Ike +had. So they went on for that day and others and drew near to the +hills. The eyes of Jarvis kindled when he saw the first line of dark +green slopes massing themselves against the eastern horizon. +</P> + +<P> +"The Bluegrass is mighty fine, an' so is the Pennyroyal," he said, +"an' I ain't got nothin' ag'in em. I admit their claims before they +make 'em, but my true love, it's the mountains an' my mountain home. +Mebbe some night, Harry, when we tie up to the bank, we'll see a deer +comin' down to drink. What do you say to that?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry's eyes kindled, too. +</P> + +<P> +"I say that I want the first shot." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"True sperrit," he said. "Nobody will set up a claim ag'inst you, +less it's that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Are you willin' to let him +have it, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +Ike grinned and nodded. +</P> + +<P> +The Kentucky narrowed and the current grew yet stronger. But changing +oftener at the oars they still made good headway. The ranges, dark +green on the lower slopes, but blue on the higher ridges beyond them, +slowly came nearer. Late in the afternoon they entered the hills, +and when night came they had left the lowlands several miles behind. +They tied up to a great beech growing almost at the water's edge, +and made their camp on the ground. Harry's deer did not come that night, +but it did on the following one. Then Jarvis and he after supper went +about a mile up the stream, stalking the best drinking places, and they +saw a fine buck come gingerly to the river. Harry was lucky enough to +bring him down with the first shot, an achievement that filled him with +pride, and Jarvis soon skinned and dressed the animal, adding him to +their larder. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't shoot deer, 'cept when I need 'em to eat," said Jarvis, "an' we +do need this one. We'll broil strips of him over the coals in the +mornin'. Don't your mouth water, Harry?" +</P> + +<P> +"It does." +</P> + +<P> +The strips proved the next day to be all that Jarvis had promised, +and they continued their journey with renewed elasticity, fair weather +keeping them company. Deeper and deeper they went into the mountains. +The region had all the aspects of a complete wilderness. Now and then +they saw smoke, which Jarvis said was rising from the chimneys of log +cabins, and once or twice they saw cabins themselves in sheltered nooks, +but nobody hailed them. The news of the war had spread here, of course, +but Harry surmised that it had made the mountaineers cautious, +suppressing their natural curiosity. He did not object at all to their +reticence, as it made traveling easier for him. +</P> + +<P> +They were now rowing along a southerly fork of the Kentucky. Another +deer had been killed, falling this time to the rifle of Jarvis, and one +night they shot two wild turkeys. Jarvis and his nephew would arrive +home full handed in every respect, and his great tenor boomed out +joyously over the stream, speeding away in echoes among the lofty peaks +and ridges that had now turned from hills into real mountains. They +towered far above the stream, and everywhere there were masses of the +deepest and densest green. The primeval forest clothed the whole earth, +and the war to which Harry was going seemed a faint and far thing. +</P> + +<P> +Traveling now became slow, because they always had a strong current to +fight. Harry, at times when the country was not too rough, left the +boat and walked along the bank. He could go thus for miles without +feeling any weariness. Naturally very strong, he did not realize how +much his work at the oar was increasing his power. The thin vital air +of the mountains flowed through his lungs, and when Jarvis sang, as he +did so often, he felt that he could lift up his feet and march as if to +the beat of a drum. +</P> + +<P> +They left the fork of the Kentucky at last and rowed up one of the deep +and narrow mountain creeks. Peaks towered all about them, a half mile +over their heads, covered from base to crest with unbroken forest. +Sometimes the creek flowed between cliffs, and again it opened out into +narrow valleys. In a two days' journey up its course they passed only +two cabins. +</P> + +<P> +"In ordinary water we'd have stopped thar," said Jarvis at the second +cabin. "I know the man who lives in it an' he's to be trusted. We'd +have left the boat an' the things with him, an' we'd have walked the +rest of the way, but the creek is so high now that we kin make at least +twenty miles more an' tie up at Bill Rudd's place. Thar's no goin' +further on the water, 'cause the creek takes a fall of fifteen feet thar, +an' this boat is too heavy to be carried around it." +</P> + +<P> +They reached Rudd's place about dark. He was a hospitable mountaineer, +with a double-roomed log cabin, a wife and two small children. He +volunteered gladly to take care of the boat and its belongings, while +Jarvis and the boys went on the next day to Jarvis's home about ten +miles away. +</P> + +<P> +Rudd and his wife were full of questions. They were eager to hear of +the great world which was represented to them by Frankfort, and of the +war in the lowlands concerning which they had heard vaguely. Rudd had +been to Frankfort once and felt himself a traveler and man of the world. +He and his wife knew Jarvis and Ike well, and they glanced rather +curiously at Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"He's goin' across the mountains an' down into Virginia on some business +of his own which I ain't inquired into much," said Jarvis. +</P> + +<P> +Harry slept in a house that night for the first time in days, and he did +not like it. He awoke once with a feeling as if walls were pressing +down upon him, and he could not breathe. He arose, opened the door, +and stood by it for a few minutes, while the fresh air poured in. +Jarvis awoke and chuckled. +</P> + +<P> +"I know what's the matter with you, Harry," he said. "After you've +lived out of doors a long time you feel penned up in houses. If it +wasn't for rain an' snow I'd do without roofs 'cept in winter. Leave +the door wide open, an' we'll both sleep better. Nothin', of course, +would wake that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. I guess you might fight the +whole of Buena Vista right over his head, an' if it was his sleepin' +time he'd sleep right on." +</P> + +<P> +They left the next morning, taking with them all of Harry's baggage. +Jarvis' boat would remain in the creek at this point, and he and Ike +would return in due time for their own possessions. They followed a +footpath now, but the walk was nothing to them. It was in truth a +relief after so much traveling in the boat. +</P> + +<P> +"My legs are long an' they need straightenin'," said Jarvis. "The ten +miles before us will jest about take out the kinks." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis was a bachelor, his house being kept by his widowed sister, +Ike's mother, and old Aunt Suse. Now, as they swung along in Indian +file at a swift and easy gait, his joyous spirits bubbled forth anew. +Lifting up his voice he sang with such tremendous volume that every +peak and ridge gave back an individual echo: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "I live for the good of my nation,<BR> + And my suns are all growing low,<BR> + But I hope that the next generation<BR> + Will resemble old Rosin, the beau.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "I've traveled this country all o'er,<BR> + And now to the next I will go,<BR> + For I know that good quarters await me<BR> + To welcome old Rosin, the beau."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you don't know how you got that song, either," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"No, it just wandered in an' I've picked it up in parts, here an' thar. +See that clump o' laurel 'cross the valley thar, Harry? I killed a +black bear in it once, the biggest seen in these parts in our times, +an' I kin point you at least five spots in which I've killed deer. +You kin trap lots of small game all through here in the winter, an' the +furs bring good prices. Oh, the mountains ain't so bad. Look! See the +smoke over that low ridge, the thin black line ag'in the sky. It comes +from the house o' Samuel Jarvis, Esquire, an' it ain't no bad place, +either, a double log house, with a downstairs an' upstairs, an' a frame +kitchen behin'. It's fine to see it ag'in, ain't it, Ike?" +</P> + +<P> +Ike smiled and nodded. +</P> + +<P> +In another half hour they crossed the low ridge and swung down into a +beautiful little valley, a mile long and a quarter of a mile broad that +opened out before them. The smoke still rose from the house, which they +now saw clearly, standing among its trees. A brook glinting with gold +in the sunshine flowed down the middle of the valley. A luscious +greenness covered the whole valley floor. No snugger nook could be +found in the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +"As fine as pie!" exclaimed Jarvis exultantly. "Everythin's straight +an' right. Ike, I think I see Jane, your mother, standin' in the porch. +I'll just give her a signal." +</P> + +<P> +He lifted up his voice and sang "Home, Sweet Home," with tremendous +volume. He was heard, as Harry saw a sunbonnet waved vigorously on +the porch. The travelers descended rapidly, crossed the brook, and +approached the house. A strong woman of middle years shouted joyously +and came forward to meet them, leaving a little weazened figure crouched +in a chair on the porch. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Simmons embraced her brother and son with enthusiasm, and gave a +hearty welcome to Harry, whom Jarvis introduced in the most glowing +words. Then the three walked to the porch and the bent little figure in +the chair. As they went up the steps together old Aunt Suse suddenly +straightened up and stood erect. A pair of extraordinary black eyes +were blazing from her ancient, wrinkled face. Her hand rose in a kind +of military salute, and looking straight at Harry she exclaimed in a +high-pitched but strong voice: +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, welcome, governor, to our house! It is a long time since I've +seen you, but I knew that you would come again!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, what's the matter, Aunt Suse?" asked Jarvis anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"It is he! The governor! Governor Ware!" she exclaimed. "He, who was +the great defender of the frontier against the Indians! But he looks +like a boy again! Yet I would have known him anywhere!" +</P> + +<P> +The blazing eyes and tense voice of the old woman held Harry. She +pointed with a withered forefinger which she held aloft and he felt as +if an electric current were passing from it to him. A chill ran down +his back and the hair lifted a little on his head. Jarvis and his +nephew stood staring. +</P> + +<P> +"Walk in, governor," she said. "This house is honored by your coming." +</P> + +<P> +Then, and all in a flash, Harry understood. The mind of the old woman +dreaming in the sun had returned to the far past, and she was seeing +again with the eyes of her girlhood. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not Henry Ware, Aunt Susan," he said, "but I'm proud to say that +I'm his great-grandson. My name is Kenton, Harry Kenton." +</P> + +<P> +The wrinkled forefinger sank, but the light in her eyes did not die. +</P> + +<P> +"Henry Ware, Harry Kenton!" she murmured. "The same blood, and the +spirit is the same. It does not matter. Come into our house and rest +after your long journey." +</P> + +<P> +Still erect, she stood on one side and pointed to the open door. +Jarvis laughed, but it was a laugh of relief rather than amusement. +</P> + +<P> +"She shorely took you, Harry, for your great-grandfather, Henry Ware, +the mighty woodsman and Injun fighter that later on became governor +of the state. I guess you look as he did when he was near your age. +I've heard her tell tales about him by the mile. Aunt Suse, you know, +is more'n a hundred, an' she's got the double gift o' lookin' forrard +an' back'ard. Come on in, Harry, this house will belong to you now, +an' ef at times she thinks you're the great governor, or the boy that +Governor Ware was before he was governor, jest let her think it." +</P> + +<P> +With the wrinkled forefinger still pointing a welcome toward the open +door Harry went into the house. He spent two days in the hospitable +home of Samuel Jarvis. He would have limited the time to a single day, +because Richmond was calling to him very strongly now, but it was +necessary to buy a good horse for the journey by land, and Jarvis would +not let him start until he had the pick of the region. +</P> + +<P> +The first evening after their arrival they sat on the porch of the +mountain home. Ike's mother was with them, but old Aunt Suse had +already gone to bed. Throughout the day she had called Harry sometimes +by his own name and sometimes "governor," and she had shown a wonderful +pride whenever he ran to help her, as he often did. +</P> + +<P> +The twilight was gone some time. The bright stars had sprung out in +groups, and a noble moon was shining. A fine, misty, silver light, +like gauze, hung over the valley, tinting the high green heads of the +near and friendly mountains, and giving a wonderful look of softness and +freshness to this safe nook among the peaks and ridges. Harry did not +wonder that Jarvis and Ike loved it. +</P> + +<P> +"Aunt Suse give me a big turn when she took you fur the governor," +said Jarvis to Harry, "but it ain't so wonderful after all. Often she +sees the things of them early times a heap brighter an' clearer than she +sees the things of today. As I told you, she knowed Boone an' Kenton +an' Logan an' Henry Ware an' all them gran' hunters an' fighters. +She was in Lexin'ton nigh on to eighty years ago, when she saw Dan'l +Boone an' the rest that lived through our awful defeat at the Blue Licks +come back. It was not long after that her fam'ly came back into the +mountains. Her dad 'lowed that people would soon be too thick 'roun' +him down in that fine country, but they'd never crowd nobody up here an' +they ain't done it neither." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you ever hear her tell of Henry Ware's great friend, Paul Cotter?" +asked Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Shorely; lots of times. She knowed Paul Cotter well. He wuzn't as +tall an' strong as Henry Ware, but he was great in his way, too. +It was him that started the big university at Lexin'ton, an' that become +the greatest scholar this state ever knowed. I've heard that he learned +to speak eight languages. Do you reckon it was true, Harry? Do you +reckon that any man that ever lived could talk eight different ways?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was certainly true. The great Dr. Cotter—and 'Dr.' in his case +didn't mean a physician, it meant an M. A. and a Ph. D. and all sorts of +learned things—could not only speak eight languages, but he knew also +so many other things that I've heard he could forget more in a day and +not miss it than the ordinary man would learn in a lifetime." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis whistled. +</P> + +<P> +"He wuz shorely a big scholar," he said, "but it agrees exactly with +what old Aunt Suse says. Paul Cotter was always huntin' fur books, +an' books wuz mighty sca'ce in the Kentucky woods then." +</P> + +<P> +"Henry Ware and Paul Cotter always lived near each other," resumed Harry, +"and in two cases their grandchildren intermarried. A boy of my own age +named Dick Mason, who is the great-grandson of Paul Cotter, is also my +first cousin." +</P> + +<P> +"Now that's interestin' an' me bein' of an inquirin' min', I'd like to +ask you where this Dick Mason is." +</P> + +<P> +Harry waved his hand toward the north. +</P> + +<P> +"Up there somewhere," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"You mean that he's gone with the North, took one side while you've took +the other?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that's it. We couldn't see alike, but we think as much as ever of +each other. I met him in Frankfort, where he had come from the Northern +camp in Garrard County, but I think he left for the East before I did. +The Northern forces hold the railways leading out of Kentucky and he's +probably in Washington now." +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis lighted his pipe and puffed a while in silence. At length he +drew the stem from his mouth, blew a ring of smoke upward and said in a +tone of conviction: +</P> + +<P> +"It does beat the Dutch how things come about!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry looked questioningly at him. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean your arrivin' here, bein' who you are, an' your meetin' old Aunt +Suse, bein' who she is, an' that cousin of yours, Dick Mason, didn't you +say was his name, bein' who he is, goin' off to the North." +</P> + +<P> +They sat on the porch later than the custom of the mountaineers, and the +beauty of the place deepened. The moon poured a vast flood of misty, +silver light over the little valley, hemmed in by its high mountains, +and Harry was so affected by the silence and peace that he had no +feeling of anger toward anybody, not even toward Bill Skelly, who had +tried to kill him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IN VIRGINIA +</H3> + +<P> +Harry left the valley with the keenest feeling of regret, realizing at +the parting how strong a friendship he had formed with this family. +But he felt that he could not delay any longer. Affairs must be moving +now in the great world in the east, and he wished to be at the heart of +them. He had a strong, sure-footed horse, and he had supplies and an +extra suit of clothes in his saddle bags. The rifle across his back +would attract no attention, as all the men in the mountains carried +rifles. +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis had instructed Harry carefully about the road or path, and as +the boy was already an experienced traveler with an excellent sense of +direction, there was no danger of his getting lost in the wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +Jarvis, Ike, and Mrs. Simmons gave him farewells which were full of +feeling. Aunt Suse had come down the brick walk, tap-tapping with her +cane, as Harry stood at the gate ready to mount his horse. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, Aunt Susan," he said. "I came a stranger, but this house has +been made a home to me." +</P> + +<P> +She peered up at him, and Harry saw that once more her old eyes were +flaming with the light he had seen there when he arrived. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, governor," she said, holding out a wrinkled and trembling +hand. "I am proud that our house has sheltered you, but it is not for +the last time. You will come again, and you will be thin and pale and +in rags, and you will fall at the door. I see you coming with these two +eyes of mine." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, Aunt Suse," exclaimed Mrs. Simmons. "It is not Governor Ware, +it is his great-grandson, and you mustn't send him away tellin' of +terrible things that will happen to him." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not afraid," said Harry, "and I hope that I'll see Aunt Susan and +all of you again." +</P> + +<P> +He lifted her hand and kissed it in the old-fashioned manner. +</P> + +<P> +She smiled and he heard her murmur: +</P> + +<P> +"It is the great governor's way. He kissed my hand like that once +before, when I went to Frankfort on the lumber raft." +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, Harry," repeated Jarvis. "If you're bound to fight I reckon +that's jest what you're bound to do, an' it ain't no good for me to say +anythin'. Be shore you follow the trail jest as I laid it out to you +an' in two days you'll strike the Wilderness Road. After that it's +easy." +</P> + +<P> +When Harry rode away something rose in his throat and choked him for a +moment. He knew that he would never again find more kindly people than +these simple mountaineers. Then in vivid phrases he heard once more the +old woman's prophecy: "You will come again, and you will be thin and +pale and in rags, and you will fall at the door." For a moment it +shadowed the sunlight. Then he laughed at himself. No one could see +into the future. +</P> + +<P> +He was now across the valley and his path led along the base of the +mountain. He looked back and saw the four standing on the porch, Jarvis, +Ike, Mrs. Simmons, and old Aunt Suse. He waved his hand to them and +all four waved back. A singular thrill ran through him. Could it be +possible that he would come again, and in the manner that the old woman +had predicted? +</P> + +<P> +The path, in another minute, curved around the mountain, and the valley +was shut from view. Nor, as he rode on, did he catch another glimpse of +it. One might roam the mountains for months and never see the home of +Samuel Jarvis. +</P> + +<P> +The two days passed without event. The weather remained fair, and no +one interfered with him. He slept the first night at a log cabin that +Jarvis had named, having reached it in due time, and the second day he +reached, also in due time, the old Wilderness Road. +</P> + +<P> +Thence the boy advanced by easy stages into Virginia until he reached a +railroad, where he sold his horse and took a train for Richmond, having +come in a few days out of the cool, peaceful atmosphere of the mountains +into another, which was surcharged everywhere with the fiery breath of +war. +</P> + +<P> +Harry realized as he approached the capital the deep intensity of +feeling in everybody. The Virginians were less volatile than the South +Carolinians, and they had long refused to go out, but now that they were +out they were pouring into the Southern army, and they were animated by +an extraordinary zeal. He began to hear new or unfamiliar names, Early, +and Ewell, and Jackson, and Lee, and Johnston, and Hill, and Stuart, +and Ashby, names that he would never forget, but names that as yet meant +little to him. +</P> + +<P> +He had letters from his father and he expected to find his friends of +Charleston in Richmond or at the front. General Beauregard, whom he +knew, would be in command of the army threatening Washington, and he +would not go into a camp of strangers. +</P> + +<P> +It was now early in June, and the country was at its best. On both +sides of the railway spread the fair Virginia fields, and the earth, +save where the ploughed lands stretched, was in its deepest tints of +green. Harry, thrusting his head from the window, looked eagerly ahead +at the city rising on its hills. Then a shade smaller than Charleston, +it, too, was a famous place in the South, and it was full of great +associations. Harry, like all the educated boys of the South, honored +and admired its public men. They were mighty names to him. He was +about to tread streets that had been trod by the famous Jefferson, +by Madison, Monroe, Randolph of Roanoke, and many others. The shades +of the great Virginians rose in a host before him. +</P> + +<P> +He arrived about noon, and, as he carried no baggage except his saddle +bags and weapons, he was quickly within the city, his papers being in +perfect order. He ate dinner, as the noonday meal was then called, +and decided to seek General Beauregard at once, having learned from an +officer on the train that he was in the city. It was said that he was +at the residence of President Davis, called the White House, after that +other and more famous one at Washington, in which the lank, awkward man, +Abraham Lincoln, now lived. +</P> + +<P> +But Harry paused frequently on the way, as there was nothing to hurry +him, and there was much to be seen. If Charleston had been crowded, +Richmond was more so. Like all capitals on the verge of a great war, +but as yet untouched by its destructive breath, it throbbed with life. +The streets swarmed with people, young officers and soldiers in their +uniforms, civilians of all kinds, and many pretty girls in white or +light dresses, often with flowers in their hair or on their breasts. +Light-heartedness and gaiety seemed predominant. +</P> + +<P> +Harry stopped a while to look at the ancient and noble state house, +now the home also of the Confederate Congress, standing in Capitol +Square, and the spire of the Bell Tower, on Shockoe Hill. He saw +important looking men coming in or going out of the square, but he did +not linger long, intending to see the sights another time. +</P> + +<P> +He was informed at the "White House" that General Beauregard was there, +and sending in his card he was admitted promptly. Beauregard was +sitting with President Davis and Secretary Benjamin in a room furnished +plainly, and the general in his quick, nervous manner rose and greeted +him warmly. +</P> + +<P> +"You did good service with us at Charleston," he said, "and we welcome +you here. We have already heard from your father, who was a comrade in +war of both President Davis and myself." +</P> + +<P> +"He wrote us that you were coming across the mountains from Frankfort," +said Mr. Davis. +</P> + +<P> +Harry thought that the President already looked worn and anxious. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir," replied the boy, "I came chiefly by the river and the +Wilderness Road." +</P> + +<P> +"Your father writes that they worked hard at Frankfort, but that they +failed to take Kentucky out," continued the head of the Confederacy. +</P> + +<P> +"The Southern leaders did their best, but they could not move the state." +</P> + +<P> +"And you wish, then, to serve at the front?" continued the President. +</P> + +<P> +"If I may," returned Harry. "In South Carolina I was with Colonel +Leonidas Talbot. I have had a letter from him here, and, if it is your +pleasure and that of General Beauregard, I shall be glad to join his +command." +</P> + +<P> +General Beauregard laughed a little. +</P> + +<P> +"You do well," he said. "I have known Colonel Talbot a long time, and, +although he may be slow in choosing he is bound to be in the very thick +of events when he does choose. Colonel Talbot is at the front, and +you'll probably find him closer than any other officer to the Yankee +army. We need everybody whom we can get, especially lads of spirit +and fire like you. You shall be a second lieutenant in his command. +A train will leave here in four hours. Be ready. It will take you part +of the way and you will march on for the rest." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Benjamin did not speak throughout the interview, but he watched +Harry closely. Neither did he speak when he left, but he offered him a +limp hand. The boy's view of Richmond was in truth brief, as before +night he saw its spires and roofs fading behind him. The train was +wholly military. There were four coaches filled with officers and +troops, and two more coaches behind them loaded with ammunition. +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard from some of the officers that the army was gathered at a +place called Manassas Junction, where Beauregard had taken command on +June 1st, and to which he would quickly return. But Harry did not know +any of these officers and he felt a little lonely. He slept after a +while in the car seat, awakened at times by the jolting or stopping of +the train, and arrived some time the next day in a country of green +hills and red clay roads, muddy from heavy rains. +</P> + +<P> +They left the train, marched over the hills along one of the muddy roads, +and presently saw a vast array of tents, fires, and earthworks, +stretching to the horizon. Harry's heart leaped again. This was the +great army of the South. Here were regiments and regiments, thousands +and thousands of men and here he would find his friends, Colonel Talbot +and Major St. Hilaire, and St. Clair and Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +The whole scene was inspiring in the extreme to the heart of youth. +Far to the right he saw cavalry galloping back and forth, and to the +left he saw infantry drilling. From somewhere in front came the strains +of a regimental band playing: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "The hour was sad, I left the maid,<BR> + A lingering farewell taking,<BR> + Her sighs and tears my steps delayed,<BR> + I thought her heart was breaking.<BR> + In hurried words her name I blessed,<BR> + I breathed the vows that bind me<BR> + And to my heart in anguish pressed<BR> + The girl I left behind me."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +It was a favorite air of the Southern bands, and, much as it stirred +Harry now, he was destined to hear it again in moments far more +thrilling. He presented his order from General Beauregard to a sentinel, +who passed him to an officer, who in turn told him to go about a quarter +of a mile westward, where he would find the regiment of Colonel Talbot +quartered. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a mixed regiment," he said, "made up of Virginians, South +Carolinians, North Carolinians, and a few Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, +but it's already one of the best in the service. Colonel Talbot and his +second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, have been thrashing +it into shape in great fashion. They're mostly boys and already they +call themselves 'The Invincibles.' You can see the tents of their +commanding officers over there by that little creek." +</P> + +<P> +Harry's eyes followed the pointing finger, and again his heart leaped. +His friends were there, the two colonels for whom he had such a strong +affection, and the two lads of his own age. Theirs looked like a good +camp, too. It was arranged neatly, and by its side flowed the clear, +cool waters of Young's Branch, a tributary of the little Manassas River. +He walked briskly, crossed the brook, stepping from stone to stone, +and entered the grounds of the Invincibles. A tall youth rushed forward, +seized his hand and shook it violently, meanwhile uttering cries of +welcome in an unbroken stream. +</P> + +<P> +"By all the powers, it's our own Harry!" he exclaimed, "the new Harry +of the West, whom we were afraid we should never see again. Everything +is for the best, but we hardly hoped for this! How did you get here, +Harry? And you didn't bring Kentucky rushing to our side, after all! +Well, I knew it wasn't your fault, old horse! Ho, St. Clair, come and +see who's here!" +</P> + +<P> +St. Clair, who had been lying in the grass behind a tent, appeared and +greeted Harry joyfully. But while Langdon was just the same he had +changed in appearance. He was thinner and graver, and his intellectual +face bore the stamp of rapid maturity. +</P> + +<P> +"It's like greeting one of our very own, Harry," he said. "You were +with us in Charleston at the great beginning. We were afraid you would +have to stay in the west." +</P> + +<P> +"The big things will begin here," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"There can be no doubt of it. Do you know, Harry, that we are less than +thirty miles from Washington! If there were any hill high enough around +here we could see the white dome of the Capitol which we hope to take +before the summer is over. But we'll take you to the Colonel and Major +Hector St. Hilaire, that was, but Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire +that is." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot was sitting at a small table in a tent, the sides of +which had been raised all around, leaving only a canvas roof. +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire sat opposite him across the table, +and they were studying intently a small map of a region that was soon to +be sown deep with history. They looked up when Harry came with his two +friends, and gave him the welcome that he knew he would always receive +from them. +</P> + +<P> +"I've had a letter from your father," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, +"and I've been expecting you. You are to be a lieutenant on my staff, +and the quartermaster will sell you a new uniform as glossy and fine as +those of which St. Clair and Langdon are so proud." +</P> + +<P> +He asked him a few more questions about Kentucky and his journey over +the mountains, and then, telling St. Clair and Langdon to take care of +him, he and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire went back to the study of +their map. Harry noted that both were tanned deeply and that their +faces were very serious. +</P> + +<P> +"Come along, Harry," said Langdon. "Let the colonel and the major bear +all the troubles. For us everything is for the best. We've got you on +our hands and we're going to treat you right. See that deep pool in the +brook, where the big oak throws its shade over the water? It's partly +natural and it's partly dammed, but it's our swimming hole. You are +covered with dust and dirt. Pull off your clothes and jump in there. +We'll protect you from ribald attention. There are other swimming holes +along here, but this swimming hole belongs to the Invincibles, and we +always make good our rights." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was more than willing. In three minutes he jumped into the deep, +cool water, swimming, diving, and shaking himself like a big dog. +He had enjoyed no such luxury in many days, and he felt as if he were +being re-created. Langdon and St. Clair sat on the bank and gave him +instructions. +</P> + +<P> +"Now jump out," Langdon said at the end of five minutes. "You needn't +think because you've just come and are in a way a guest, that you can +keep this swimming hole all to yourself. A lot more of the Invincibles +need bathing and here come some for their chance." +</P> + +<P> +Harry came out reluctantly, and in a few minutes they were on the way +to the quartermaster, where the needed uniform, one that appealed +gloriously to his eye, was bought. St. Clair was quiet, but Langdon +talked enough for all three. +</P> + +<P> +"The Yankee vanguard is only a few miles away," he said. "You don't +have to go far before you see their tents, though I ought to say that +each side has another army westward in the mountains. There's been a +lot of fighting already, though not much of it here. The first shots on +Virginia soil were fired on our front the day General Beauregard arrived +to take command of our forces." +</P> + +<P> +"How about those troops in the hills?" asked Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"They've been up and doing. A young Yankee general named McClellan has +shown a lot of activity. He has beat us in some skirmishes and he has +organized troops as far west as the Ohio. Then he and his generals met +our general, Garnett, at Rich Mountain. It was the biggest affair of +the war so far, and Garnett was killed. Then a curious fellow of ours +named Jackson, and Stuart, a cavalry officer, lost a little battle at a +place called Falling Waters." +</P> + +<P> +"Has the luck been against us all along the line?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all! A cock-eyed Massachusetts politician, one Ben Butler, +a fellow of energy though, broke into the Yorktown country, but Magruder +thrashed him at Big Bethel. All those things, though, Harry, are just +whiffs of rain before the big storm. We're threatening Washington +here with our main army, and here is where they will have to meet us. +Lincoln has put General Scott, a Virginian, too, in command of the +Northern armies, but as he's so old, somebody else will be the real +commander." +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt himself a genuine soldier in his new uniform, and he soon +learned his new duties, which, for the present, would not be many. +The two armies, although practically face to face, refused to move. +On either side the officers of the old regular force were seeking to +beat the raw recruits into shape, and the rival commanders also waited, +each for the other to make the first movement. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and St. Clair were sent that night far toward the front with a +small detachment to patrol some hill country. They marched in the +moonlight, keeping among the trees, and listening for any sounds that +might be hostile. +</P> + +<P> +"It's not likely though that we'll be molested," said St. Clair. +"The men on both sides don't yet realize fully that they are here to +shoot at one another. This is our place, along a little brook, another +tributary of the Manassas." +</P> + +<P> +They stopped in a grove and disposed the men, twenty in number, along +a line of several hundred yards, with instructions not to fire unless +they knew positively what they were shooting at. Harry and St. Clair +remained near the middle of the line, at the edge of the brook, where +they sat down on the bank. The country was open in front of them, +and Harry saw a distant light. +</P> + +<P> +"What's that?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"The campfire of a Yankee outpost. I told you they were very near." +</P> + +<P> +"And that, I suppose, is one of their bugles." +</P> + +<P> +A faint but musical note was brought to them by the light wind blowing +in their faces. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what it is. It may be the signal of some movement, but they +can't attempt anything serious without showing themselves. Our +sentinels are posted along here for miles." +</P> + +<P> +The sound of the bugle continued faint and far away. It had a certain +weird effect in the night and the loneliness. Harry wished to know who +they were at that far campfire. His own cousin, Dick Mason, might be +there. +</P> + +<P> +"Although we're arrayed for war," said St. Clair, "the sentinels are +often friendly. They even exchange plugs of tobacco and news. The +officers have not been able to stop it wholly. Our sentinels tell +theirs that we'll be in Washington in a month, and theirs tell ours +that they've already engaged rooms in the Richmond hotels for July." +</P> + +<P> +"When two prophets disagree both can't be right," said Harry. "How far +away would you say that light is, Arthur?" +</P> + +<P> +"About a mile and a half. Let's scout a little in that direction. +There are no commands against it. Enterprise is encouraged." +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I'd like," said Harry, who was eager for action. +</P> + +<P> +Leaving their own men under the command of a reliable sergeant named +Carrick, the two youths crossed the brook and advanced over a fairly +level stretch of country toward the fire. Small clusters of trees were +scattered here and there, and beyond them was a field of young corn. +The two paused in one of the little groves about a hundred yards from +their own outposts and looked back. They saw only the dark line of +the trees, and behind them, wavering lights which they knew were the +campfires of their own army. But the lights at the distance were very +small, mere pin points. +</P> + +<P> +"They look more like lanterns carried by 'coon and 'possum hunters than +the campfires of an army," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you'd hardly think they mark the presence of twenty or thirty +thousand men," said St. Clair. "Here we are at the cornfield. The +plants are not high, but they throw enough shadow to hide us." +</P> + +<P> +They climbed a rail fence, and advanced down the corn rows. The moon +was good and there was a plentiful supply of stars, enabling them to see +some distance. To their right on a hill was a white Colonial house, +with all its windows dark. +</P> + +<P> +"That house would be in a bad place if a battle comes off here, as seems +likely," said St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"And those who own it are wise in having gone away," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not so sure that they've gone. People hate to give up their homes +even in the face of death. Around here they generally stay and put out +the lights at dark." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, here we are at the end of the cornfield, and the light is not +more than four or five hundred yards away. I think I can see the +shadows of human figures against the flames. Come, let's climb the +fence and go down through this skirt of bushes." +</P> + +<P> +The suggestion appealed to the daring and curiosity of both, and in a +few minutes they were within two hundred yards of the Northern camp. +But they lay very close in the undergrowth. They saw a big fire and +Harry judged that four or five hundred men were scattered about. +Many were asleep on the grass, but others sat up talking. The +appearance of all was so extraordinary that Harry gazed in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +It was not the faces or forms of the men, but their dress that was so +peculiar. They were arrayed in huge blouses and vast baggy trousers +of a blazing red, fastened at the knee and revealing stockings of a +brilliant hue below. Little tasselled caps were perched on the sides of +their heads. Harry remembering his geography and the descriptions of +nations would have taken them for a gathering of Turkish women, if their +masculine faces had been hidden. +</P> + +<P> +"What under the moon are those?" he whispered. "They do look curious," +replied St. Clair. "They call them Zouaves, and I think they're from +New York. It's a copy of a French military costume which, unless I'm +mistaken, France uses in Algeria." +</P> + +<P> +"They'd certainly make a magnificent target on the battlefield. A +Kentucky or Tennessee rifleman who'd miss such a target would die of +shame." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe. But listen, they're singing! What do you think of that for a +military tune?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard for the first time in his life an extraordinary, choppy air, +a rapid beat that rose and fell abruptly, sending a powerful thrill +through his heart as he lay there in the bushes. The words were nothing, +almost without meaning, but the tune itself was full of compelling +power. It set the feet marching toward triumphant battle. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "In Dixie's land I'll take my stand,<BR> + Cinnamon seed and sandy bottom,<BR> + Look away! Look away!<BR> + Down South in Dixie!"<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Three or four hundred voices took up the famous battle song, as +thrilling and martial as the Marseillaise, then fresh and unhackneyed, +and they sang it with enthusiasm and fire, officers joining with the +men. It was a singular fact that Harry should first hear Northern +troops singing the song which was destined to become the great battle +tune of the South. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" whispered Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"It's called Dixie. They say it was written by a man in New York for a +negro minstrel show. I suppose they sing it in anticipation, meaning +that they will soon be in the heart of Dixie, which is the South, +our South." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think those baggy red legs will ever march far into our South," +whispered Harry defiantly. +</P> + +<P> +"It is to be seen. Between you and me, Harry, I'm convinced there is no +triumphant progress ahead for either North or South. Ah, another force +is coming and it's cavalry! Don't you hear the hoof-beats, Harry?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard them distinctly and he and his comrade lay more closely than +ever in the bushes, because the horsemen, a numerous body, as the heavy +tread indicated, were passing very near. The two lads presently saw +them riding four abreast toward the campfire, and Harry surmised that +they had been scouting in strong force toward the Southern front. +They were large men, deep with tan and riding easily. Harry judged +their number at two hundred, and the tail of the company would pass +alarmingly near the bushes in which his comrade and he lay. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you think we'd better creep back?" he whispered to St. Clair. +"Some of them taking a short cut may ride right upon us." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it's time to make ourselves scarce." +</P> + +<P> +They turned back, going as rapidly as they dared, but that which Harry +had feared came to pass. The rear files of the horsemen, evidently +intending to go to the other side of the camp, rode through the low +bushes. Four of them passed so near the boys that they caught in the +moonlight a glimpse of the two stooping figures. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is there? Halt!" sharply cried one of them, an officer. +But St. Clair cried also: +</P> + +<P> +"Run, Harry! Run for your life, and keep to the bushes!" +</P> + +<P> +The two dashed at utmost speed down the strip of bushes and they heard +the thunder of horses' hoofs in the open on either flank. A half dozen +shots were fired and the bullets cut leaves and twigs about them. +They heard the Northern men shouting: "Spies! Spies! After them! +Seize them!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry in the moment of extreme danger retained his presence of mind: "To +the cornfield, Arthur!" he cried to his comrade. "The fence is staked +and ridered, and their horses can't jump it. If they stop to pull it +down they will give us time to get away!" +</P> + +<P> +"Good plan!" returned St. Clair. "But we'd better bend down as we run. +Those bullets make my flesh creep!" +</P> + +<P> +A fresh volley was sent into the bushes, but owing to the wise +precaution of bending low, the bullets went over their heads, although +Harry felt his hair rising up to meet them. In two or three minutes +they were at the fence, and they went over it almost like birds. +Harry heard two bullets hit the rails as they leaped—they were in +view then for a moment—but they merely increased his speed, as he and +St. Clair darted side by side through the corn, bending low again. +</P> + +<P> +They heard the horsemen talking and swearing at the barrier, and then +they heard the beat of hoofs again. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll divide and send a force around the field each way!" said +St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"And some of them will dismount and pursue us through it on foot!" +</P> + +<P> +"We can distance anybody on foot. Harry, when I heard those bullets +whistling about me I felt as if I could outrun a horse, or a giraffe, +or an antelope, or anything on earth! And thunder, Harry, I feel the +same way now!" +</P> + +<P> +Bullets fired from the fence made the ploughed land fly not far from +them, and they lengthened their stride. Harry afterward said that +he did not remember stepping on that cornfield more than twice. +Fortunately for them the field, while not very wide, extended far to +right and left, and the pursuing horsemen were compelled to make a +great circuit. +</P> + +<P> +Before the thudding hoofs came near they were over the fence again, and, +still with wonderful powers of flight, were scudding across the country +toward their own lines. They came to one of the clusters of trees and +dashing into it lay close, their hearts pounding. Looking back they +dimly saw the horsemen, riding at random, evidently at a loss. +</P> + +<P> +"That was certainly close," gasped St. Clair. "I'm not going on any +more scouts unless I'm ordered to do so." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor I," said Harry. "I've got enough for one night at least. I +suppose I'll never forget those men with the red bags in place of +breeches, and that tune, 'Dixie.' As soon as I get my breath back I'm +going to make a bee line for our own army." +</P> + +<P> +"And when you make your bee line another just as fast and straight will +run beside it." +</P> + +<P> +They rested five minutes and then fled for the brook and their own +little detachment behind it. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT +</H3> + +<P> +Before they reached the brook they hailed Sergeant Carrick lest they +should be fired upon as enemies, and when his answer came they dropped +into a walk, still panting and wiping the perspiration from damp +foreheads. They bathed their faces freely in the brook, and sat down on +the bank to rest. The sergeant, a regular and a veteran of many border +campaigns against the Indians, regarded them benevolently. +</P> + +<P> +"I heard firing in front," he said, "and I thought you might be +concerned in it. If it hadn't been for my orders I'd have come forward +with some of the men." +</P> + +<P> +"Sergeant," said St. Clair, "if you were in the west again, and you were +all alone in the hills or on the plains and a band of yelling Sioux +or Blackfeet were to set after you with fell designs upon your scalp, +what would you do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd run, sir, with all my might. I'd run faster than I ever ran +before. I'd run so fast, sir, that my feet wouldn't touch the ground +more than once every forty yards. It would be the wisest thing one +could do under the circumstances, the only thing, in fact." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad to hear you say so, Sergeant Carrick, because you are a man of +experience and magnificent sense. What you say proves that Harry and I +are full of wisdom. They weren't Sioux or Blackfeet back there and I +don't suppose they'd have scalped us, but they were Yankees and their +intentions weren't exactly peaceful. So we took your advice before you +gave it. If you'll examine the earth out there tomorrow you'll find our +footprints only five times to the mile." +</P> + +<P> +Far to the right and left other scattering shots had been fired, where +skirmishers in the night came in touch with one another. Hence the +adventure of Harry and St. Clair attracted but little attention. +Shots at long range were fired nearly every night, and sometimes it was +difficult to keep the raw recruits from pulling trigger merely for the +pleasure of hearing the report. +</P> + +<P> +But when Harry and St. Clair related the incident the next morning to +Colonel Talbot, he spoke with gravity. +</P> + +<P> +"There are many young men of birth and family in our army," he said, +"and they must learn that war is a serious business. It is more than +that; it is a deadly business, the most deadly business of all. If the +Yankees had caught you two, it would have served you right." +</P> + +<P> +"They scared us badly enough as it was, sir," said St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled slightly. +</P> + +<P> +"That part of it at least will do you good," he said. "You young men +don't know what war is, and you are growing fat and saucy in a pleasant +country in June. But there is something ahead that will take a little +of the starch out of you and teach you sense. No, you needn't look +inquiringly at me, because I'm not going to tell you what it is, but go +get some sleep, which you will need badly, and be ready at four o'clock +this afternoon, because the Invincibles march then and you march with +them." +</P> + +<P> +Harry and St. Clair saluted and retired. They knew that it was not +worth while to ask Colonel Talbot any questions. Since he had met him +again in Virginia, Harry had recognized a difference in this South +Carolina colonel. The kindliness was still there, but there was a new +sternness also. The friend was being merged into the commander. +</P> + +<P> +They chose a tent in order to shut out the noise and make sleep possible, +but on their way to it they were waylaid by Langdon, who had heard +something of their adventure the night before, and who felt chagrin +because he had lacked a part in it. +</P> + +<P> +"Although everything generally happens for the best, there is a slip +sometimes," he said, "and I want to be in on the next move, whatever it +is. There is a rumor that the Invincibles are to march. You have been +before the colonel, and you ought to know. Is it true?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is," replied Harry, "but that's all we do know. He was pretty sharp +with us, Tom, and among our three selves, we are not going to get any +favors from Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector +St. Hilaire because we're friends of theirs and would be likely to +meet in the same drawing-rooms, if there were no war." +</P> + +<P> +Harry and St. Clair slept well, despite the noises of a camp, but they +were ready at the appointed time, very precise in their new uniforms. +Langdon was with them and the three were eager for the movement, the +nature of which officers alone seemed to know. +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles were an infantry regiment and the three youths, like the +men, were on foot. They filed off to the left behind the front line of +the Southern army, and marched steadily westward, inclining slightly to +the north. Many of the men, or rather boys, not yet fast in the bonds +of discipline, began to talk, and guess together about their errand. +But Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire rode along the +line and sternly commanded silence, once or twice making the menace of +the sword. The lads scarcely understood it, but they were awed into +silence. Then there was no noise but the rattle of their weapons and +the steady tread of eight hundred men. +</P> + +<P> +The young troops had been kept in splendid condition, drilling steadily, +and they marched well. They passed to the extreme western end of the +Confederate camp, and continued into the hills. The sun had passed +its zenith when they started and a pleasant, cool breeze blew from the +slopes of the western mountains. The sun set late, but the twilight +began to fall at last, and they saw about them many places suitable for +a camp and supper. But Colonel Talbot, who was now at the head of the +line, rode on and gave no sign. +</P> + +<P> +"If I were riding a bay horse fifteen hands high I could go on, too, +forever," whispered Langdon to Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Remember your belief that everything happens for the best and just keep +on marching." +</P> + +<P> +The twilight retreated before the dark, but the regiment continued. +Harry saw a dusky colonel on a dusky horse at the head of the line, +and nearer by was Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also riding, silent +and stern. The Invincibles were weary. It was now nine o'clock, +and they had marched many hours without a rest, but they did not dare to +murmur, at least not loud enough to be heard by Colonel Leonidas Talbot +and his lieutenant-colonel, Hector St. Hilaire. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if this is going on all night," whispered Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"Very likely," returned Harry, "but remember that everything is for the +best." +</P> + +<P> +Langdon gave him a reproachful look, but trudged sturdily on. They +halted about an hour later, but only for fifteen or twenty minutes. +They had now come into much rougher country, steep, with high hills +and populated thinly. Westward, the mountains seemed very near in the +clear moonlight. No explanation was given to the Invincibles, but the +officers rode among the groups and made a careful inspection of arms +and equipment. Then the word to march once more was given. +</P> + +<P> +They did not stop, except for short rests, until about three o'clock in +the morning, when they came to the crest of a high ridge, covered with +dense forest, but without undergrowth. Then the officers dismounted, +and the word was passed to the men that they would remain there until +dawn, but before they lay down on the ground Colonel Talbot told them +what was expected of them, which was much. +</P> + +<P> +"A strong Northern force is encamped on the slope beyond," he said. +"It is in a position from which the left flank of our main army can be +threatened. Our enemies there are fortified with earthworks and they +have cannon. If they hold the place they are likely to increase heavily +in numbers. It is our business to drive them out." +</P> + +<P> +The colonel told some of the officers within Harry's hearing that they +could attack before dawn, but night assaults, unless with veteran troops, +generally defeated themselves through confusion and uncertainty. +Nevertheless, he hoped to surprise the Northern soldiers over their +coffee. For that reason the men were compelled to lie down in their +blankets in the dark. Not a single light was permitted, but they were +allowed to eat some cold food, which they brought in their knapsacks. +</P> + +<P> +Although it was June, the night was chill on the high hills, and Harry +and his two friends, after their duties were done, wrapped their +blankets closely around themselves as they sat on the ground, with their +backs against a big tree. The physical relaxation after such hard +marching and the sharp wind of the night made Harry shiver, despite his +blanket. St. Clair and Langdon shivered, too. They did not know that +part of it was that three-o'clock-in-the-morning feeling. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, sensitive, keenly alive to impressions, was oppressed by a +certain heavy and uncanny feeling. They were going into battle in the +morning—and with men whom he did not hate. The attacks on the Star of +the West and Sumter had been bombardments, distant affairs, where he +did not see the face of his enemy, but here it would be another matter. +The real shock of battle would come, and the eyes of men seeking to kill +would look into the eyes of others who also sought to kill. +</P> + +<P> +He and St. Clair were not sleepy, as they had slept through most of the +day, but Langdon was already nodding. Most of the soldiers also had +fallen asleep through exhaustion, and Harry saw them in the dusk lying +in long rows. The faint moon throwing a ghostly light over so many +motionless forms made the whole scene weird and unreal to Harry. +He shook himself to cast off the spell, and, closing his eyes, sought +sleep. +</P> + +<P> +But sleep would not come and the obstinate lids lifted again. It had +turned a little darker and the motionless forms at the far end of the +line were hidden. But those nearer were so still that they seemed to +have been put there to stay forever. St. Clair had yielded at last to +weariness and with his back against the tree slept by Harry's side. +</P> + +<P> +He saw four figures moving up and down like ghosts through the shadows. +They were Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, and two +captains watching their men, seeing that silence and caution were +preserved. Harry knew that sentinels were posted further down the ridge, +but he could not see them from where he lay. Although it was a long +time, the forest and human figures wavered at last, and he dozed for a +while. But he soon awoke and saw a faint tint of gray low down in the +east, the first timid herald of dawn. +</P> + +<P> +The young soldiers were awakened. They started to rise with a +cheerful exchange of chatter, but were sternly commanded to silence. +Nevertheless, they talked in whispers and told one another how they +would wipe the Yankees off the face of the earth. Workers from the +shops in the big cities of the North could not stand before them, +the open air sons of the South. They stretched their long limbs, +felt their big muscles, and wondered why they were not led forward at +once. +</P> + +<P> +But before they marched they were ordered to take food from their +knapsacks and eat. Five minutes at most were allowed, and there was to +be no nonsense, no loud talking. Some who had come north with negro +servants stared at these officers who dared to talk to them as if they +were slaves. But the words of anger stopped at their lips. They would +take their revenge instead on the Yankees. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and his two friends had fitted themselves already into military +discipline and military ways. They ate, not because they were hungry, +but because they knew it was a necessity. Meanwhile, the faint gray +band in the east was broadening. The note of a bugle, distant, mellow, +and musical, came from a point down the slope. +</P> + +<P> +"The Yankee fort," said Langdon. "They're waking up, too. But I'm +looking for the best, boys, and inside of two hours that Yankee fort +will be a Confederate fort." +</P> + +<P> +The note of the bugle seemed to decide the Southern officers. The men +were ordered to see to their arms and march. The officers dismounted as +the way would be rough and left their horses behind. The troops formed +into several columns and four light guns went down the slope with them. +Scouts who had been out in the night came back and reported that the +fort, consisting wholly of earthworks, had a garrison of a thousand men +with eight guns. They were New York and New England troops and they did +not suspect the presence of an enemy. They were just lighting their +breakfast fires. +</P> + +<P> +The Southern columns moved forward in quiet, still hidden by the forest, +which also yet hid the Northern fort. Harry's heart began to beat +heavily, but he forced himself to preserve the appearance of calmness. +Pride stiffened his will and backbone. He was a veteran. He had been +at Sumter. He had seen the great bombardment, and he had taken a part +in it. He must show these raw men how a soldier bore himself in battle, +and, moreover, he was an officer whose business it was to lead. +</P> + +<P> +The deep forest endured as they advanced in a diagonal line down the +slope. The great civil war of North America was fought mostly in the +forest, and often the men were not aware of the presence of one another +until they came face to face. +</P> + +<P> +They were almost at the bottom where the valley opened out in grass land, +and were turning northward when Harry saw two figures ahead of them +among the trees. They were men in blue uniforms with rifles in their +hands, and they were staring in surprise at the advancing columns in +gray. But their surprise lasted only a moment. Then they lifted their +rifles, fired straight at the Invincibles, and with warning shouts +darted among the trees toward their own troops. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward, lads!" shouted Colonel Talbot. "We're within four hundred +yards of the fort, and we must rush it! Officers, to your places!" +</P> + +<P> +Their own bugle sang stirring music, and the men gathered themselves for +the forward rush. Up shot the sun, casting a sharp, vivid light over +the slopes and valley. The soldiers, feeling that victory was just +ahead, advanced with so much speed that the officers began to check them +a little, fearing that the Invincibles would be thrown into confusion. +</P> + +<P> +The forest ended. Before them lay a slope, from which the bushes had +been cut away and beyond were trenches, and walls of fresh earth, +from which the mouths of cannon protruded. Soldiers in blue, sentinels +and seekers of wood for the fires, were hurrying into the earthworks, +on the crests of which stood men, dressed in the uniforms of officers. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward, my lads!" shouted Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who was near the +front rank, brandishing his sword until the light glittered along its +sharp blade. "Into the fort! Into the fort!" +</P> + +<P> +The sun, rising higher, flooded the slopes, the valley, and the fort +with brilliant beams. Everything seemed to Harry's excited mind to +stand out gigantic and magnified. Black specks began to dance in +myriads before his eyes. He heard beside him the sharp, panting breath +of his comrades, and the beat of many feet as they rushed on. +</P> + +<P> +He saw the Northern officers on the earthwork disappear, dropping down +behind, and the young Southern soldiers raised a great shout of triumph +which, as it sank on its dying note, was merged into a tremendous crash. +The whole fort seemed to Harry to blaze with red fire, as the heavy guns +were fired straight into the faces of the Invincibles. The roar of +the cannon was so near that Harry, for an instant, was deafened by the +crash. Then he heard groans and cries and saw men falling around him. +</P> + +<P> +In another moment came the swish of rifle bullets, and the ranks of +the Invincibles were cut and torn with lead. The young recruits were +receiving their baptism of fire and it was accompanied by many wounds +and death. +</P> + +<P> +The earthworks in front were hidden for a little while by drifting smoke, +but the Invincibles, mad with pain and rage, rushed through it. They +were anxious to get at those who were stinging them so terribly, and +fortunately for them the defenders did not have time to pour in another +volley. Harry saw Colonel Talbot still in front, waving his sword, +and near him Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also with an uplifted sword, +which he pointed straight toward the earthwork. +</P> + +<P> +"On, lads, on!" shouted the colonel. "It is nothing! Another moment +and the fort is ours!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry heard the hissing of heavy missiles above him. The light guns of +the Invincibles had unlimbered on the slope, and fired once over their +heads into the fort. But they did not dare to fire again, as the next +instant the recruits, dripping red, but still wild with rage, were at +the earthworks, and driven on with rage climbed them and fired at the +huddled mass they saw below. +</P> + +<P> +Harry stumbled as he went down into the fort, but quickly recovered +himself and leaped to his feet again. He saw through the flame and +smoke faces much like his own, the faces of youth, startled and aghast, +scarcely yet comprehending that this was war and that war meant pain and +death. The Invincibles, despite the single close volley that had been +poured into them, had the advantage of surprise and their officers were +men of skill and experience. They had left a long red trail of the +fallen as they entered the fort, but after their own single volley they +pressed hard with the bayonet. Little as was their military knowledge, +those against them had less, and they also had less experience of the +woods and hills. +</P> + +<P> +As the Invincibles hurled themselves upon them the defenders slowly gave +way and were driven out of the fort. But they carried two of their +cannon with them, and when they reached the wood opened a heavy fire +upon the pursuing Southern troops, which made the youngsters shiver and +reel back. +</P> + +<P> +"They, too, have some regular officers," said Colonel Talbot to +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "It's a safe wager that several of +our old comrades of Mexico are there." +</P> + +<P> +Thus did West Pointers speak with respect of their fellow West Pointers. +</P> + +<P> +Exulting in their capture of the fort and still driven by rage, the +Invincibles attempted to rush the enemy, but they were met by such a +deadly fire that many fell, and their officers drew them back to the +shelter of the captured earthworks, where they were joined by their own +light guns that had been hurried down the slope. Another volley was +fired at them, when they went over the earthen walls, and Harry, as he +threw himself upon the ground, heard the ferocious whine of the bullets +over his head, a sound to which he would grow used through years +terribly long. +</P> + +<P> +Harry rose to his feet and began to feel of himself to see if he were +wounded. So great had been the tension and so rapid their movements +that he had not been conscious of any physical feeling. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Harry?" asked a voice by his side. +</P> + +<P> +He saw Langdon with a broad red stripe down his cheek. The stripe was +of such even width that it seemed to have been painted there, and Harry +stared at it in a sort of fascination. +</P> + +<P> +"I know I'm not beautiful, Harry," said Langdon, "neither am I killed or +mortally wounded. But my feelings are hurt. That bullet, fired by some +mill hand who probably never pulled a trigger before, just grazed the +top of my head, but it has pumped enough out of my veins to irrigate my +face with a beautiful scarlet flow." +</P> + +<P> +"The mill hands may never have pulled trigger before," said Harry, +"but it looks as if they were learning how fast enough. Down, Tom!" +</P> + +<P> +Again the smoke and fire burst from the forest, and the bullets whined +in hundreds over their heads. Two heavier crashes showed that the +cannon were also coming into play, and one shell striking within the +fort, exploded, wounding a half dozen men. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose that everything happens for the best," said Langdon, "but +having got into the fort, it looks as if we couldn't get out again. +With the help of the earthwork I can hide from the bullets, but how are +you to dodge a shell which can come in a curve over the highest kind of +a wall, drop right in the middle of the crowd, burst, and send pieces +in a hundred directions?" +</P> + +<P> +"You can't," said St. Clair, who appeared suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +He was covered with dirt and his fine new uniform was torn. +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened to you?" asked Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"I've just had practical proof that it's hard to dodge a bursting shell," +replied St. Clair calmly. "I'm in luck that no part of the shell itself +hit me, but it sent the dirt flying against me so hard that it stung, +and I think that some pieces of gravel have played havoc with my coat +and trousers." +</P> + +<P> +"Hark! there go our cannon!" exclaimed Harry. "We'll drive them out of +those woods." +</P> + +<P> +"None too soon for me," said St. Clair, looking ruefully at his torn +uniform. "I'd take it as a politeness on their part if they used +bullets only and not shells." +</P> + +<P> +They had not yet come down to the stern discipline of war, but their +talk was stopped speedily by the senior officers, who put them to work +arranging the young recruits along the earthworks, whence they could +reply with comparative safety to the fire from the wood. But Harry +noted that the raking fire of their own cannon had been effective. +The Northern troops had retreated to a more distant point in the forest, +where they were beyond the range of rifles, but it seemed that they had +no intention of going any further, as from time to time a shell from +their cannon still curved and fell in the fort or near it. The Southern +guns, including those that had been captured, replied, but, of necessity, +shot and shell were sent at random into the forest which now hid the +whole Northern force. +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to me," said St. Clair to Harry, "that while we have taken the +fort we have merely made an exchange. Instead of being besiegers we +have turned ourselves into the besieged." +</P> + +<P> +"And while I'm expecting everything to turn out for the best," said +Langdon, "I don't know that we've made anything at all by the exchange. +We're in the fort, but the mechanics and mill hands are on the slope in +a good position to pepper us." +</P> + +<P> +"Or to wait for reinforcements," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"I hadn't thought of that," said St. Clair. "They may send up into the +mountains and bring four or five times our numbers. Patterson's army +must be somewhere near." +</P> + +<P> +"But we'll hope that they won't," said Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +The Northern troops ceased their fire presently, but the officers, +examining the woods with their glasses, said they were still there. +Then came the grim task of burying the dead, which was done inside the +earthworks. Nearly two score of the Invincibles had fallen to rise no +more, and about a hundred were wounded. It was no small loss even for +a veteran force, and Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire +looked grave. Many of the recruits had turned white, and they had +strange, sinking sensations. +</P> + +<P> +There was little laughter or display of triumph inside the earthworks, +nor was there any increase of cheer when the recruits saw the senior +officers draw aside and engage in anxious talk. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm thinking that idea of yours, Harry, about Yankee reinforcements, +must have occurred to Colonel Talbot also," said Langdon. "It seems +that we have nothing else to fear. The Yankees that we drove out are +not strong enough to come back and drive us out. So they must be +looking for a heavy force from Patterson's army." +</P> + +<P> +The conference of the officers was quickly over, and then the men +were put to work building higher the walls of earth and deepening the +ditches. Many picks and spades had been captured in the fort, and +others used bayonets. All, besides the guard, toiled hard two or three +hours without interruption. +</P> + +<P> +It was now noon, and food was served. An abundance of water in barrels +had been found in the fort and the men drank it eagerly as the sun was +warm and the work with spade and shovel made them very thirsty. The +three boys, despite their rank, had been taking turns with the men and +they leaned wearily against the earthwork. +</P> + +<P> +The clatter of tools had ceased. The men ate and drank in silence. +No sound came from the Northern troops in the wood. A heavy, ominous +silence brooded over the little valley which had seen so much battle and +passion. Harry felt relaxed and for the moment nerveless. His eyes +wandered to the new earth, beneath which the dead lay, and he shivered. +The wounded were lying patiently on their blankets and those of their +comrades and they did not complain. The surgeons had done their best +for them and the more skillful among the soldiers had helped. +</P> + +<P> +The silence was very heavy upon Harry's nerves. Overhead great birds +hovered on black wings, and when he saw them he shuddered. St. Clair +saw them, too. +</P> + +<P> +"No pleasant sight," he said. "I feel stronger since I've had food and +water, Harry, but I'm thinking that we're going to be besieged in this +fort, and we're not overburdened with supplies. I wonder what the +colonel will do." +</P> + +<P> +"He'll try to hold it," said Langdon. "He was sent here for that +purpose, and we all know what the colonel is." +</P> + +<P> +"He will certainly stay," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +After a good rest they resumed work with pick, shovel, and bayonet, +throwing the earthworks higher and ever higher. It was clear to the +three lads that Colonel Talbot expected a heavy attack. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we have underrated our mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair, in his precise, dandyish way. "They may not ride as well +or shoot as well as we do, but they seem to be in no hurry about going +back to their factories." +</P> + +<P> +Harry glanced at him. St. Clair was always extremely particular about +his dress. It was a matter to which he gave time and thought freely. +Now, despite all his digging, he was again trim, immaculate, and showed +no signs of perspiration. He would have died rather than betray +nervousness or excitement. +</P> + +<P> +"I've no doubt that we've underrated them," said Harry. "Just as the +people up North have underrated us. Colonel Talbot told me long ago +that this was going to be a terribly big war, and now I know he was +right." +</P> + +<P> +A long time passed without any demonstration on the part of the enemy. +The sun reached the zenith and blazed redly upon the men in the fort. +Harry looked longingly at the dark green woods. He remembered cool +brooks, swelling into deep pools here and there in just such woods as +these, in which he used to bathe when he was a little boy. An intense +wish to swim again in the cool waters seized him. He believed it was +so intense because those beautiful woods there on the slope, where the +running water must be, were filled with the Northern riflemen. +</P> + +<P> +Three scouts, sent out by Colonel Talbot, returned with reports that +justified his suspicions. A heavy force, evidently from Patterson's +army operating in the hills and mountains, was marching down the valley +to join those who had been driven from the fort. The junction would be +formed within an hour. Harry was present when the report was made and +he understood its significance. He rejoiced that the walls of earth had +been thrown so much higher and that the trenches had been dug so much +deeper. +</P> + +<P> +In the middle of the afternoon, when the cool shade was beginning to +fall on the eastern forest, they noticed a movement in the woods. +They saw the swaying of bushes and the officers, who had glasses, +caught glimpses of the men moving in the undergrowth. Then came a +mighty crash and the shells from a battery of great guns sang in the air +and burst about them. It was well for the Invincibles that they had +dug their trenches deep, as two of the shells burst inside the fort. +Harry was with Colonel Talbot, now acting as an aide, and he heard the +leader's quiet comment: +</P> + +<P> +"The reinforcements have brought more big guns. They will deliver a +heavy cannonade and then under cover of the smoke they will charge. +Lieutenant Kenton, tell our gunners that it is my positive orders that +they are not to fire a single shot until I give the word. The Yankees +can see us, but we cannot see them, and we'll save our ammunition for +their charge. Keep well down in the trench, Lieutenant Kenton!" +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles hugged their shelter gladly enough while the fire from +the great guns continued. A second battery opened from a point further +down the slope, and the fort was swept by a cross-fire of ball and +shell. Yet the loss of life was small. The trenches were so deep +and so well constructed that only chance pieces of shell struck human +targets. +</P> + +<P> +Harry remained with Colonel Talbot, ready to carry any order that he +might give. The colonel peered over the earthwork at intervals and +searched the woods closely with a powerful pair of glasses. His face +was very grave, but Harry presently saw him smile a little. He wondered, +but he had learned enough of discipline now not to ask questions of his +commanding officer. At length he heard the colonel mutter: +</P> + +<P> +"It is Carrington! It surely must be Carrington!" A third battery now +opened at a point almost midway between the other two, and the smile of +the colonel came again, but now it lingered longer. +</P> + +<P> +"It is bound to be Carrington!" he said. "It cannot possibly be any +other! That way of opening with a battery on one flank, then on the +other, and then with a third midway between was always his, and the +accuracy of aim is his, too! Heavens, what an artillery officer! +I doubt whether there is such another in either army, or in the world! +And he is better, too, than ever!" +</P> + +<P> +He caught Harry looking at him in wonder, and he smiled once more. +</P> + +<P> +"A friend of mine commands the Northern artillery," he said. "I have +not seen him, of course, but he is making all the signs and using all +the passwords. We are exactly the same age, and we were chums at West +Point. We were together in the Indian wars, and together in all the +battles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It's John Carrington, +and he's from New York! He's perfectly wonderful with the guns! +Lord, lad, look how he lives up to his reputation! Not a shot misses! +He must have been training those gunners for months! Thunder, but that +was magnificent!" +</P> + +<P> +A huge shell struck squarely in the center of the earthwork, burst with +a terrible crash, and sent steel splinters and fragments flying in every +direction. A rain of dirt followed the rain of steel, and, when the +colonel wiped the last mote from his eye, he said triumphantly and +joyously: +</P> + +<P> +"It's Carrington! Not a shadow of doubt can be left! Only such gunners +as those he trains can plump shells squarely among us at that range! +Oh, I tell you, Harry, he's a marvel. Has the wonderful mathematical +and engineering eye!" +</P> + +<P> +The eyes of Colonel Leonidas Talbot beamed with admiration of his old +comrade, mingled with a strong affection. Nevertheless, he did not +relax his vigilance and caution for an instant. He made the circuit of +the fort and saw that everything was ready. The Southern riflemen lined +every earthwork, and the guns had been wheeled into the best positions, +with the gunners ready. Then he returned to his old place. +</P> + +<P> +"The charge will come soon, Lieutenant Kenton," he said to Harry. +"Their cannonade serves a double purpose. It keeps us busy dodging ball +and shell, and it creates a bank of smoke through which their infantry +can advance almost to the fort and yet remain hidden. See how the +smoke covers the whole side of the mountain. Oh, Carrington is doing +splendidly! I have never known him to do better!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry wished that Carrington would not do quite so well. He was tired +of crouching in a ditch. He was growing somewhat used to the hideous +howling of the shells, but it was still unsafe anywhere except in the +trenches. It seemed to him, too, that the cannon fire was increasing +in volume. The slopes and the valley gave back a continuous crash of +rolling thunder. Heavier and heavier grew the bank of smoke over and +against the forest. It was impossible to see what was going on there, +but Harry had no doubt that the Northern regiments were massing +themselves for the attack. +</P> + +<P> +The youth remained with Colonel Talbot, being held by the latter to +carry orders when needed to other points in the fort. St. Clair and +Langdon were kept near for a similar use and they were crouching in the +same trench. +</P> + +<P> +"If everything happens for the best it's time it was happening," said +Langdon in an impatient whisper. "These shells and cannon balls flying +over me make my head ache and scare me to death besides. If the Yankees +don't hurry up and charge, they'll find me dead, killed by the collapse +of worn-out nerves." +</P> + +<P> +"I intend to be ready when they come," said St. Clair. "I've made every +preparation that I can call to mind." +</P> + +<P> +"Which means that your coat must be setting just right and that your +collar isn't ruffled," rejoined Langdon. "Yes, Arthur, you are ready +now. You are certainly the neatest and best dressed man in the +regiment. If the Yankees take us they can't say that they captured a +slovenly prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said St. Clair, smiling, "let them come on." +</P> + +<P> +"Their cannon fire is sinking!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot. "In a minute +it will cease and then will come the charge! 'Tis Carrington's way, +and a good way! Hark! Listen to it! The signal! Ready, men! Ready! +Here they come!" +</P> + +<P> +The great cannonade ceased so abruptly that for a few moments the +stillness was more awful than the thunder of the guns had been. The +recruits could hear the great pulses in their temples throbbing. +Then the silence was pierced by the shrill notes of a brazen bugle, +steadily rising higher and always calling insistently to the men to +come. Then they heard the heavy thud of many men advancing with +swiftness and regularity. +</P> + +<P> +The Southern troops were at the earthworks in double rows, and the +gunners were at the guns, all eager, all watching intently for what +might come out of the smoke. But the rising breeze suddenly caught the +great bank of mists and vapors and whirled the whole aside. Then Harry +saw. He saw a long line of men, their front bristling with the blue +steel of bayonets, and behind them other lines and yet other lines. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Harry that the points of the bayonets were almost in his +face, and then, at the shouted command, the whole earthwork burst into a +blaze. The cannon and hundreds of rifles sent their deadly volleys into +the blue masses at short range. The fort had turned into a volcano, +pouring forth a rain of fire and deadly missiles. The front line of +the Northern force was shot away, but the next line took its place and +rushed at the fort with those behind pressing close after them. The +defenders loaded and fired as fast as they could and the high walls +of earth helped them. The loose dirt gave away as the Northern men +attempted to climb them, and dirt and men fell together back to the +bottom. The Northern gunners in the rear of the attack could not fire +for fear of hitting their own troops, but the Southern cannon at the +embrasures had a clear target. Shot and shell crashed into the Northern +ranks, and the deadly hail of bullets beat upon them without ceasing. +But still they came. +</P> + +<P> +"The mechanics and mill hands are as good as anybody, it appears!" +shouted St. Clair in Harry's ear, and Harry nodded. +</P> + +<P> +But the defenses of the fort were too strong. The charge, driven home +with reckless courage, beat in vain upon those high earthen walls, +behind which the defenders, standing upon narrow platforms, sent showers +of bullets into ranks so close that few could miss. The assailants +broke at last and once more the shrill notes of the brazen bugle pierced +the air. But instead of saying come, it said: "Fall back! Fall back!" +and the great clouds of smoke that had protected the Northern advance +now covered the Northern retreat. +</P> + +<P> +The firing had been so rapid and so heavy that the whole field in front +of the fort was covered with smoke, through which they caught only the +gleam of bayonets and glimpses of battle flags. But they knew that the +Northern troops were retiring, carrying with them their wounded, but +leaving the dead behind. Harry, excited and eager, was about to leap +upon the crest of the earthwork, but Colonel Talbot sharply ordered him +down. +</P> + +<P> +"You'd be killed inside of a minute!" he cried. "Carrington is out +there with the guns! As soon as their troops are far enough back he'll +open on us with the cannon, and he'll rake this fort like a hurricane +beating upon a forest. Only the earthworks will protect us from certain +destruction." +</P> + +<P> +He sent the order, fierce and sharp, along the line, for every one to +keep under cover, and there was ample proof soon that he knew his man. +The Northern infantry had retired and the smoke in front was beginning +to lift, when the figure of a tall man in blue appeared on a hillock at +the edge of the forest. Harry, who had snatched up a rifle, levelled it +instantly and took aim. But before his finger could pull the trigger +Colonel Talbot knocked it down again. +</P> + +<P> +"My God!" he exclaimed. "I was barely in time to save him! It was +Carrington himself!" +</P> + +<P> +"But he is our enemy! Our powerful enemy!" +</P> + +<P> +"Our enemy! Our official enemy, yes! But my friend! My life-long +friend! We were boys together at West Point! We slept under the same +blanket on the icy plateaux of Mexico. No, Harry, I could not let you +or any other slay him!" +</P> + +<P> +The figure disappeared from the hillock and the next moment the great +guns opened again from the forest. The orders of Colonel Talbot had +not been given a moment too soon. Huge shells and balls raked the fort +once more and the defenders crouched lower than ever in the trenches. +Harry surmised that the new cannonade was intended mainly to prevent +a possible return attack by the Southern troops, but they were too +cautious to venture from their earthworks. The Invincibles had grown +many years older in a few hours. +</P> + +<P> +When it became evident that no sally would be made from the fort, +the fire of the cannon in front ceased, and the smoke lifted, disclosing +a field black with the slain. Harry looked, shuddered and refused to +look again. But Colonel Talbot examined field and forest long and +anxiously through his glasses. +</P> + +<P> +"They are there yet, and they will remain," he announced at last. +"We have beaten back the assault. They may hold us here until a great +army comes, and with heavy loss to them, but we are yet besieged. +Carrington will not let us rest. He will send a shell to some part +of this fort every three or four minutes. You will see." +</P> + +<P> +They heard a roar and hiss a minute later, and a shell burst inside the +walls. Through all the afternoon Carrington played upon the shaken +nerves of the Invincibles. It seemed that he could make his shells hit +wherever he wished. If a recruit left a trench it was only to make a +rush for another. If their nerves settled down for a moment, that +solemn boom from the forest and the shriek of the shell made them jump +again. +</P> + +<P> +"Wonderful! Wonderful!" murmured Colonel Talbot, "but terribly trying +to new men! Carrington certainly grows better with the years." +</P> + +<P> +Harry tried to compose himself and rest, as he lay in the trench with +St. Clair and Langdon. They had had their battle face to face and all +three of them were terribly shaken, but they recovered themselves at +last, despite the shells which burst at short but irregular intervals +inside the fort. Thus the last hours of the afternoon waned, and as the +twilight came, they went more freely about the fort. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot called a conference of the senior officers in a corner +of the enclosure well under the shelter of the earthen walls, and after +some minutes of anxious talking they sent for the three youths. Harry, +St. Clair and Langdon responded with alacrity, sure that something of +the utmost importance was afoot. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SEEKER FOR HELP +</H3> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and four other officers +were in a deep alcove that had been dug just under the highest earthwork, +where they were not likely to be interrupted in their deliberations by +any fragment of an exploding shell. The only light was that of the +stars and the early moon which had now come out, but it was sufficient +to show faces oppressed by the utmost anxiety. Three other men also had +been summoned to the council. +</P> + +<P> +"We have chosen you six for an important errand," said Colonel Talbot, +"but you are to go upon it singly, and not collectively. As you see, +we are besieged here by a greatly superior force. Its assault has been +repulsed, but it will not go away. It will bombard us incessantly, and, +since we are not strong enough to break through their lines and have +limited supplies of food and water, we must fall in a day or two, +unless we get help. We want you to make your way over the hills tonight +to General Beauregard's army and bring aid. Even should five be +captured or slain the sixth may get through. Lieutenant Kenton, you +will go first. You will recall that the horses of the officers were +left on the crest of the mountain with a small guard. They may be there +yet, and if you can secure a mount, so much the better. But the moment +you leave this fort you must rely absolutely upon your own skill and +judgment." +</P> + +<P> +Harry bowed. It was a great trust and he felt elation because he had +been chosen first. He was again a courier, and he would do his best. +</P> + +<P> +"I should advise you not to take either a rifle or a sword," said +Colonel Talbot, "as they will be in the way of speed. But you'd better +have two pistols. Now, go! I send you upon a dangerous errand, but I +hope that the son of George Kenton, my old friend, will succeed. Hark! +There is Carrington again! How strangely this war arrays comrades +against one another!" +</P> + +<P> +A shell burst almost at the center of the fort, and, for a few moments, +the air was full of earth and flying fragments of steel. But in another +minute Harry made his preparations, dropped over the rear earthwork and +crouched for a little while against it. Before him stretched an open +space of several hundred yards and here he felt was his greatest danger. +The Northern sharpshooters might be lurking at the edge of the forest, +and he ran great danger of being picked off as he fled. He looked up +hopefully at the skies and saw a few clouds, but they did not promise +much. Starshine and moonshine together gave enough light for a good +sharpshooter. +</P> + +<P> +Bending until he was half stooped, he took his chance and ran across the +clearing. His flesh quivered, fearing the sudden impact of a bullet +upon it, but no crack of a rifle came and he darted into the protecting +shades of the forest. He lay a few minutes among the trees, until his +lungs filled with fresh air. Then he rose and advanced cautiously up +the slope, which lay to the south of the fort. The besieging force was +massed on the northern side of the fort, but it was probable that they +had outposts here also, to guard against such errands as the one upon +which Harry himself was bent. +</P> + +<P> +Yet he felt sure of getting through. One youth in a forest was hard +to find. The clouds at which he had looked so hopefully were really +growing a little heavier now. It would take good eyes to find him and +swift feet to catch him. He paused again halfway up the slope, and saw +a flash of flame from the Northern forest. Then came the thunderous +roar of one of Carrington's guns, all the louder in the still night, +and he saw the shell burst just over the fort. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that these guns would play all night on the Southern recruits, +allowing them but little rest and sleep and shaking their nerves still +further. +</P> + +<P> +But he must not pause for the guns. A hundred yards further and he sank +quietly into a clump of bushes. Voices had warned him and he lay quite +still while a Northern officer and twenty soldiers passed. They were so +near that he heard them talking and they spoke of the recapture of the +fort within two days at least. When they were lost among the trees he +rose and advanced more rapidly than before. +</P> + +<P> +He met no interruption until he reached the crest of the mountain, +when he ran almost into the arms of a sentinel. The man in the darkness +did not see the color of his uniform and hailed him for news. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing," replied Harry hastily, as he darted away. "I carry a message +from our commander to a detachment stationed further on!" +</P> + +<P> +But the sentinel, catching sight of his uniform, and exclaiming: "A +Johnny Reb!" threw up his rifle and fired. Luckily for Harry it was +such a hurried shot that the bullet only made his flesh creep, and +passed on, cutting the twigs. Then Harry lifted himself up and ran. +Lifting himself up describes it truly. He had all the motives which can +make a boy run, pressing danger, love of life, devotion to his cause, +and a burning desire to do his errand. Hence he lifted his feet, +spurned the earth behind him and fled down the slope at amazing speed. +Several more shots were fired, but the bullets flew at random and did +not come near him. +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not stop until he was two or three miles from the fort, +when he knew that he was safe from anything but a chance meeting with +the Northern troops. Then he lay down under a big tree and panted. +But his breathing soon became easy, and, rising, he examined the region. +He always had a good idea of locality, and soon he found the road by +which the Invincibles had come. No one could mistake the tracks made by +the cannon wheels. He would retrace his steps on that road as fast as +he could. He saw that it was useless now to look for the men with the +horses. Fear of capture had compelled them to move long since, and a +search would merely waste time. +</P> + +<P> +He tightened his belt, squared his shoulders, and bending a little +forward, ran at a long, easy gait along the trail. He was a strong and +enduring youth, trained to the woods and hills, and, with occasional +stops for rest, he knew that he could continue until he reached the +camp at Manassas. He wondered if the others had got through. He hoped +they had, but he was still anxious to be the first who should reach +Beauregard, an ambition not unworthy on the part of youth. +</P> + +<P> +He stopped after midnight for a longer rest than usual. Colonel Talbot, +at the last moment, had made him take a small knapsack with some food +in it, and now he was grateful for his commander's foresight. He ate, +drank from a tiny brook that he heard trickling among the trees, and +felt as if he had been made anew. He wisely protracted this stop to +half an hour and then he went forward at an increased gait. +</P> + +<P> +His flight, save for short rests, continued without interruption until +morning. Always he looked about for a horse, intending in such an +emergency to take a horse by force and gallop to Beauregard. But the +country was populated very thinly and he saw none. He must continue +to rely upon his own good lungs, strong muscles, and dauntless spirit. +</P> + +<P> +Dawn came, bathing the hills in gray light and unveiling the green of +the valleys below. Then the sun showed an edge of red fire in the east, +and the full day was at hand. Harry saw below him many horsemen in +smooth array. They seemed to have just started, as a huge campfire a +little further up the valley was still burning. +</P> + +<P> +To the weary and anxious boy it seemed a most gallant command, fresh +as the dawn, splendid horses, splendid men, overflowing with life and +strength and spirits. His eyes traveled to one who was a little in +advance of all the others, and rested there. The figure that held his +gaze was scarcely modern, it was more like that of a knight of old +romance. +</P> + +<P> +He saw a young man, tall, and built very powerfully, riding upon an +immense black horse. His hair and beard were long and thick, of a +golden brown that looked like pure flowing gold in the brilliant rays of +the young sun. His coat had two rows of shining brass buttons down the +front, and was sewn thickly with gold braid. Heavy gold braid covered +the seams of his trousers and a great sash of yellow silk was tied +around his waist. Spurs of gold gleamed in the sun. Long yellow gloves +covered his hands. His hat was of the finest felt, the brim pinned back +with a golden star, while a black ostrich plume waved over the crown. +</P> + +<P> +Harry gazed at this singular and striking figure with wonder. He had +seen in the pictures knights of old France wearing such a garb as this, +and yet it did not seem so strange here. These were strange times. +Everything was out of the normal, and the brilliant colors which would +have seemed so dandyish to him at other times appealed to him now. +</P> + +<P> +He suddenly recalled that these men were in gray uniforms, and he, too, +wore a gray uniform. They were his own people, cavalry of the Southern +army. Recovering his presence of mind, he ran forward, shouting and +waving his hands. The leader was the first to notice him and gave the +order to halt. The whole command stopped with beautiful precision, +the ranks remaining even. Then the leader, looking more than ever like +a mediaeval knight, rode slowly forward on his great black horse to meet +the youth who was running to meet him. +</P> + +<P> +When Harry came near he saw that the man was young, under thirty. +He gazed steadily at the boy out of deep blue eyes, and his hair and +beard rippled like molten gold under the light breeze. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton, and I am a lieutenant in the regiment +of the Invincibles, commanded by Colonel Leonidas Talbot! We were sent +to take a fort on the other side of the mountain and took it, but the +regiment is besieged there by a much larger Northern force, and I came +through in the night for help." +</P> + +<P> +The man stroked his golden beard and a light leaped up in his eye. +Any dandyish or foppish quality that he might have seemed to have +disappeared at once, and Harry saw only the soldier. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, I have heard of this expedition," he said, "and so the Invincibles +are in a trap. We had started on another errand, but we will go to the +relief of Colonel Talbot. My name is Stuart, lad, J. E. B. Stuart, +and this is my command." +</P> + +<P> +It was Harry's first meeting with the famous Jeb Stuart, the most +picturesque of all the Southern cavalry leaders, although not superior +to the illiterate man of genius, Forrest. Stuart inspired supreme +confidence in him. His manner, the very brilliancy of his clothes, +seemed to say that here was one who would dare anything. +</P> + +<P> +"We have some extra horses," said Stuart, "you shall mount one and guide +us." +</P> + +<P> +"The country is very difficult for cavalry," said Harry. "The slopes +are steep and are wooded heavily." +</P> + +<P> +"For ordinary cavalry, yes," replied Stuart, proudly, "but these +horsemen of mine can go anywhere. But we will not rely upon cavalry +alone. I will send two men at full speed to the main army for infantry +reinforcements. Meanwhile, we will hurry forward." +</P> + +<P> +Mounted on a good horse, Harry felt like a new being, and his spirits +rose rapidly as the whole troop set off at a swift pace. He rode by the +side of Stuart, who asked him many questions. Harry saw that he was not +only brilliant and dashing, but thorough. He was planning to relieve +Colonel Talbot, but he had no intention of dashing into a trap. +</P> + +<P> +Soon they were deep in the hills and here they picked up a weary youth, +dodging about among the trees. It was St. Clair. He had run the +gauntlet, but he had been pursued so hotly that he had been forced to +lie hidden in the forest a long time. He had made his uniform look as +spruce as possible and he held himself with dignity when the horsemen +approached, but he could not conceal the fact that he was exhausted. +</P> + +<P> +"I congratulate you, Harry," he said, when he also was astride a horse. +"It is likely that you are the only one who has got through so far. +I'm quite sure that Langdon was driven back, and I don't know what has +become of the others. But it was great luck to find such a command as +this." +</P> + +<P> +He looked somewhat enviously at Jeb Stuart's magnificent raiment, +and again pulled and brushed at his own. +</P> + +<P> +"You cannot expect to equal it," said Harry, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Not unless my opportunities improve greatly. I must say, also, that +the colors are a little too bright for me, although they suit him. +Everything must be in harmony, Harry, and it is certainly true of Stuart +and his uniform that they are in perfect accord. Good clothes, Harry, +give one courage and backbone." +</P> + +<P> +Stuart and his men continued to advance rapidly, although they were now +deep in the hills, and Harry realized to the full that it was a splendid +command, splendid men and splendid horses, led by a cavalryman of +genius. Stuart neglected no precaution. He sent scouts ahead and threw +out flankers. When they reached the forest the ranks opened out, and, +without losing touch, a thousand men rode among the trees as easily as +they had ridden in the open fields. +</P> + +<P> +They reached the crest of the last slope and Stuart, sitting his horse +with Harry and St. Clair on either side, looked through his glasses at +the valley below. +</P> + +<P> +"Our people still hold it," he said. "I can see their gray uniforms and +I have no doubt the besiegers are still in the forest. Yes, there's +their signal!" +</P> + +<P> +The heavy report of a cannon shot rolled up the valley and Harry saw a +shell burst over the fort. Carrington was still at work, playing upon +the nerves of the defenders. +</P> + +<P> +"While we have ridden through the forest," said Stuart, "a cavalry +charge here is not possible. We must dismount, leaving one man in every +ten to hold the horses, signal to Colonel Talbot that help has come, +and then attack on foot." +</P> + +<P> +A bugler advanced on horseback at Stuart's command, blew a long and +thrilling call, and then another man beside him broke out an immense +Confederate flag. +</P> + +<P> +"They see us in the fort and recognize us," said Stuart. "Hark to the +cheer!" +</P> + +<P> +The faint sound of many voices in unison came up from the valley, +and Harry knew it to be the Invincibles expressing joy that help had +come. The fort then opened with its own guns, and Stuart's dismounted +horsemen, who were armed with carbines, advanced through the forest, +using the trees for shelter, and attacking the Northern force on the +flank. They and the Invincibles together were not strong enough to +drive off the enemy, but the heavy skirmishing lasted until the middle +of the afternoon, when a whole brigade of infantry came up from the main +army. Then the Northern troops retreated slowly and defiantly, carrying +with them all their wounded and every gun. +</P> + +<P> +"I've got to take my hat off to the mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair. "I think, Harry, that if it hadn't been for your skill +and luck in getting through we would soon have been living our lives +according to their will." +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot congratulated Harry, but his words were few. +</P> + +<P> +"Lad," he said, "you have done well." +</P> + +<P> +Then he and Stuart consulted. Harry, meanwhile, found Langdon, who had +been driven back, as St Clair had suspected. He had also sustained a +slight wound in the arm, but he was rejoicing over their final success. +</P> + +<P> +"Everything happens for the best," he said. "You might have been driven +back, Harry, as I was. You might not have met Stuart. This little +wound in my arm might have been a big one in my heart. But none of +those things happened. Here I am almost unhurt, and here we are +victorious." +</P> + +<P> +"Victorious, perhaps, but without spoils," said St. Clair. "We've got +this fort, but we know it will take a big force to keep it. I don't +like the way these mill hands and mechanics fight. They hang on too +long. After we drove them out of the fort they ought to have retreated +up the valley and left us in peace. If they act this way when they're +raw, what'll they do when they are seasoned?" +</P> + +<P> +After the conference with Colonel Talbot, Stuart and his cavalry pursued +the Northern force up the valley, not for attack, but for observation. +Stuart came back at nightfall and reported that their retreat was +covered by the heavy guns, and, if they were attacked with much success, +it must be done by at least five thousand men. +</P> + +<P> +"Carrington again," said Colonel Talbot, smiling and rubbing his hands. +"You and your horsemen, Stuart, could never get a chance at the Northern +recruits, unless you rode first over Carrington's guns. From whatever +point you approached their muzzles would be sure to face you." +</P> + +<P> +"The colonel is undoubtedly right about his friend Carrington," said +St. Clair to Harry and Langdon. "I guess those guns scared us more +than anything else." +</P> + +<P> +Stuart and his command left them about midnight. A brilliant moon and a +myriad of stars made the night so bright that Harry saw for a long time +the splendid man on the splendid horse, leading his men to some new +task. Then he lay down and slept heavily until dawn. They remained in +the fort two days longer, and then came an order from Beauregard for +them to abandon it, and rejoin the main army. The shifting of forces +had now made the place useless to either side, and the Invincibles and +their new comrades gladly marched back over the mountain and into the +lowlands. +</P> + +<P> +Harry found a letter from his father awaiting him. Colonel Kenton was +now in Tennessee, where he had been joined by a large number of recruits +from Kentucky. He would have preferred to have his son with him, +but he was far from sure of his own movements. The regiment might yet +be sent to the east. There was great uncertainty about the western +commanders, and the Confederate resistance there had not solidified as +it had in the east. +</P> + +<P> +Harry expected prompt action on the Virginia field, but it did not come. +The two armies lay facing each other for many days. June deepened and +the days grew hot. Off in the mountains to the west there were many +skirmishes, with success divided about equally. So far as Harry could +tell, these encounters meant nothing. Their own battle at the fort +meant nothing, either. The fort was now useless, and the two sides +faced each other as before. Some of the Invincibles, however, were +gone forever. Harry missed young comrades whom he had learned to like. +But in the great stir of war, when one day in its effects counted as ten, +their memories faded fast. It was impossible, when a boy was a member +of a great army facing another great army, to remember the fallen long. +Although the long summer days passed without more fighting, there was +something to do every hour. New troops were arriving almost daily and +they must be broken in. Intrenchments were dug and abandoned for new +intrenchments elsewhere, which were abandoned in their turn for +intrenchments yet newer. They moved to successive camps, but meanwhile +they became physically tougher and more enduring. +</P> + +<P> +The life in the open air agreed with Harry wonderfully. He had already +learned from Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire how to +take care of himself, and he and St. Clair and Langdon suffered from +none of the diseases to which young soldiers are so susceptible. +But the long delays and uncertainties preyed upon them, although they +made no complaint except among themselves, and then they showed irony +rather than irritation. +</P> + +<P> +"Sleeping out here under the trees is good," said Langdon, "but it isn't +like sleeping in the White House at Washington, which, as I told you +before, I've chosen as my boarding house for the coming autumn." +</P> + +<P> +"There may be a delay in your plans, Tom," said Harry. "I'd make them +flexible if I were you." +</P> + +<P> +"I intend to carry 'em out sooner or later. What's that you're reading, +Arthur?" +</P> + +<P> +"A New York newspaper. I won't let you see it, Tom, but I'll read +portions of it to you. I'll have to expurgate it or you'd have a rush +of blood to the head, you're so excitable. It makes a lot of fun of us. +Tells that old joke, 'hay foot, straw foot,' when we drill. Says the +Yankees now have three hundred thousand men under the best of commanders, +and that the Yankee fleet will soon close up all our ports. Says a belt +of steel will be stretched about us." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Langdon, "just as soon as they get that belt of steel +stretched we'll break it in two in a half dozen places. But go on with +those feats of fancy that you're reading from that paper." +</P> + +<P> +"Makes fun of our government. Says McDowell will be in Richmond in a +month." +</P> + +<P> +"Just the time that Tom gives himself to get into Washington," +interrupted Harry. "But go on." +</P> + +<P> +"Makes fun of our army, too, especially of us South Carolinians. +Says we've brought servants along to spread tents for us, load our guns +for us, and take care of us generally. Says that even in war we won't +work." +</P> + +<P> +"They're right, so far as Tom is concerned," said Harry. "We're going +to give him a watch as the laziest man among the Invincibles." +</P> + +<P> +"It's not laziness, it's wisdom," said Langdon. "What's the use of +working when you don't have to, especially in a June as hot as this one +is? I conserve my energy. Besides, I'm going to take care of myself +in ways that you fellows don't know anything about. Watch me." +</P> + +<P> +He took his clasp-knife and dug a little hole in the ground. Then he +repeated over it solemnly and slowly: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "God made man and man made money;<BR> + God made the bee and the bee made honey;<BR> + God made Satan and Satan made sin;<BR> + God made a little hole to put the devil in."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by that, Tom?" asked Harry. "I learned it from some +fellows over in a Maryland company. It's a charm that the children in +that state have to ward off evil. I've a great belief in the instincts +of children, and I'm protecting myself against cannon and rifles in the +battle that's bound to come. Say, you fellows do it, too. I'm not +superstitious, I wouldn't dream of depending on such things, but anyway, +a charm don't hurt. Now go ahead; just to oblige me." +</P> + +<P> +Harry and St. Clair dug their holes and repeated the lines. Langdon +sighed with relief. +</P> + +<P> +"It won't do any harm and it may do some good," he said. +</P> + +<P> +They were interrupted by an orderly who summoned Harry to Colonel +Talbot's tent. The colonel had complimented the boy on his energy +and courage in bringing Stuart to his relief, when he was besieged +in the fort, and he had also received the official thanks of General +Beauregard. Proud of his success, he was anxious for some new duty +of an active nature, and he hoped that it was at hand. Langdon and +St. Clair looked at him enviously. +</P> + +<P> +"He ought to have sent for us, too," said Langdon. "Colonel Talbot has +too high an opinion of you, Harry." +</P> + +<P> +"I've been lucky," said Harry, as he walked lightly away. He found that +Colonel Talbot was not alone in his tent. General Beauregard was there +also. "You have proved yourself, Lieutenant Kenton," said General +Beauregard in flattering and persuasive tones. "You did well in the far +south and you performed a great service when you took relief to Colonel +Talbot. For that reason we have chosen you for a duty yet more arduous." +</P> + +<P> +Beauregard paused as if he were weighing the effect of his words upon +Harry. He had a singular charm of manner when he willed and now he used +it all. Colonel Talbot looked keenly at the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"You have shown coolness and judgment," continued Beauregard, "and they +are invaluable qualities for such a task as the one we wish you to +perform." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall do my best, whatever it is," said Harry, proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"You know that we have spent the month of June here, waiting," continued +General Beauregard in those soft, persuasive tones, "and that the +fighting, what there is of it, has been going on in the mountains to the +west. But this state of affairs cannot endure much longer. We have +reason to believe that the Northern advance in great force will soon +be made, but we wish to know, meanwhile, what is going on behind their +lines, what forces are coming down from Washington, what is the state of +their defenses, and any other information that you may obtain. If you +can get through their lines you can bring us news which may have vital +results." +</P> + +<P> +He paused and looked thoughtfully at the boy. His manner was that of +one conferring a great honor, and the impression upon Harry was strong. +But he remembered. This was the duty of a spy, or something like it. +He recalled Shepard and the risk he ran. Spies die ingloriously. +Yet he might do a great service. Beauregard read his mind. +</P> + +<P> +"We ask you to be a scout, not a spy," he said. "You may ride in your +own uniform, and, if you are taken, you will merely be a prisoner of +war." +</P> + +<P> +Harry's last doubt disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +"I will do my best, sir," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"No one can do more," said Beauregard. +</P> + +<P> +"When do you wish me to start?" +</P> + +<P> +"As soon as you can get ready. How long will that be? Your horse will +be provided for you." +</P> + +<P> +"In a half hour." +</P> + +<P> +"Good," said Beauregard. "Now, I will leave you with Colonel Talbot, +who will give you a few parting instructions." +</P> + +<P> +He left the tent, but, as he went, gave Harry a strong clasp of the hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, my boy," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, when they were alone in the +tent, "I've but little more to say to you. It is an arduous task that +you've undertaken, and one full of danger. You must temper courage +with caution. You will be of no use to our cause unless you come back. +And, Harry, you are your father's son; I want to see you come back for +your own sake, too. Good-bye, your horse will be waiting." +</P> + +<P> +Harry quickly made ready. St. Clair and Langdon, burning with curiosity, +besieged him with questions, but he merely replied that he was riding on +an errand for Colonel Talbot. He did not know when he would come back, +but if it should be a long time they must not forget him. +</P> + +<P> +"A long time?" said St. Clair. "A long time, Harry, means that you've +got a dangerous mission. We'll wish you safely through it, old fellow." +</P> + +<P> +"And don't forget the charm!" exclaimed Langdon. "Of course I don't +believe in such foolishness, I wouldn't think of it for a minute, but, +anyway, they don't do any harm. Good-bye and God bless you, Harry." +</P> + +<P> +"The same from me, Harry," said St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +The strong grip of their hands still thrilled his blood as he rode away. +His pass carried him through the Southern lines, and then he went toward +the northwest, intending to pass through the hills, and reach the rear +of the Northern force. He carried no rifle, and his gray uniform, +somewhat faded now, would not attract distant attention. Still, he did +not care to be observed even by non-combatants, and he turned his horse +into the first stretch of forest that he could reach. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, being young, felt the full importance of his errand, but it was +vague in its nature. He was to follow his own judgment and discover +what was going on between the Northern army and Washington, no very +great distance. When he was well hidden within the forest he stopped +and considered. He might meet Federal scouts on errands like his own, +but the horse they had given him was a powerful animal, and he had +good weapons in his belt. It was Virginia soil, too, and the people, +generally, were in sympathy with the South. He relied upon this fact +more than upon any other. +</P> + +<P> +The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest of +a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin for +profitable cultivation. Yet the growth of trees and bushes was heavy, +and Harry decided to keep in the middle of it, as long as it continued +northward in the direction in which he was going. He found a narrow +path among the trees, and with his hand on a pistol butt he rode +along it. +</P> + +<P> +He expected to meet some one, but evidently the war had driven away all +who used the path, and he continued in a welcome silence and desolation. +Coming from an army where he always heard many sounds, this silence +impressed him at last. Here in the woods there was a singular peace. +The June sun had been hot that year in Virginia, but in the sheltered +places the leaves were not burned. A moist, fresh greenness enclosed +him and presently he heard the trickle of running water. +</P> + +<P> +He came to a little brook, not more than a foot wide and only two or +three inches deep, but running joyfully over its pebbly bottom. Both +Harry and his horse drank of the water, which was cold, and then they +went with the stream, which followed the slow downward slope of the hill +toward the north. After a mile, he turned to the edge of the forest and +looked over the valley. He caught his breath at the great panorama of +green hills and of armies upon them that was spread out before him. +Down there under the southern horizon were the long lines of his own +people, and toward Washington, but much nearer to him, were the lines +of a detachment of the Northern army. Between, he caught the flash of +water from Bull Run, Young's Branch and the lesser streams. Behind the +Northern force the sun glinted on a long line of bayonets and he knew +that it was made by a regiment marching to join the others. The +spectacle, with all the somber aspects of war, softened by the distance, +was inspiring. Harry drew a long breath and then another. It was in +truth more like a spectacle than war's actuality. He counted five +colonial houses, white and pillared, standing among green trees and +shrubbery. Smoke was rising from their chimneys, as if the people who +lived in them were going about their peaceful occupations. +</P> + +<P> +He turned back into the forest, and rode until he came to its end, +two or three miles further on. Here the brook darted down through +pasture land to merge its waters finally into those of Bull Run. +Harry left it regretfully. It had been a good comrade with its pleasant +chatter over the pebbles. +</P> + +<P> +Two miles of open country lay before him, and beyond was another cloak +of trees. He decided to ride for the forest, and remain there until +dark. He would not then be more than fifteen miles from Washington, +and he could make the remaining distance under the cover of darkness. +He followed a narrow road between two fields, in one of which he saw a +farmer ploughing, an old man, gnarled and knotty, whose mind seemed bent +wholly upon his work. He was ploughing young corn, and although he +could not keep from seeing Harry, he took no apparent notice of him. +</P> + +<P> +The boy rode on, but the picture of the grim old man ploughing between +the two armies lingered with him. The fence enclosing the two fields +was high, staked, and ridered, and presently he was glad of it. He +beheld on a hill to his right, about a half mile away, four horsemen, +and the color of their uniforms was blue. He bent low over his horse +that they might not see him, and rode on, the pulses in his temples +beating heavily. He was glad that gray was not an assertive color, +and he was glad that his own gray had been faded by the hot June sun. +</P> + +<P> +Half way to the protecting wood he saw one of the men on the hill, +undoubtedly an officer, put glasses to his eyes. Harry was sure at +first that he had been discovered, but the man turned the glasses on +Beauregard's camp, and the boy rode on unnoticed, praying that the +same luck would attend him in the other half of the distance. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IN WASHINGTON +</H3> + +<P> +A quarter of a mile from the forest, the wood ascended considerably, +throwing him into relief. He felt some shivers here, as he did not know +who might be watching him. Field glasses were ugly things when a man +was trying to hide. He glanced at the little group that he had seen +on the hill, and he noticed now that the officer with the glasses was +looking at him. But Harry was a long distance away, and he had the +courage and prudence of mind to keep from falling into a panic. He did +not believe that they could tell the color of his uniform at that range, +but if he whipped his horse into a gallop, pursuit would certainly come +from somewhere. +</P> + +<P> +He rode slowly on, letting his figure sway negligently, and he did not +look back again at the group on the hill, where the officer was watching +him. But he looked from side to side, fearing that horsemen in blue +might appear galloping across the fields. It was a supreme test of +nerve and will. More than once he felt an almost irresistible +temptation to lash his horse and gallop for the wood as hard as he +could. That wood seemed wonderfully deep and dark, fit to hide any +fugitive. But it had acquired an extraordinary habit of moving further +and further away. He had to exert his will so hard that his hand fairly +trembled on his bridle rein. Yet he remained master of himself, and +went on sitting the saddle in the slouchy attitude that he had adopted +when he knew himself to be observed. +</P> + +<P> +The wood was only three or four hundred yards away, when far to his left +he saw several horsemen appear on a slope, and he was quite sure that +their uniforms were blue. The distance to the wood was now so short +that the temptation to gallop was powerful, but he still resisted. +Pride, too, helped him and he did not increase the pace of his horse a +particle. He saw the dark, cool shadow very near now, and he thought he +heard one of the new horsemen on his left shout to him. But he would +not look around. Preserving appearances to the last, he rode into the +forest, and its heavy shadows enveloped him. +</P> + +<P> +He stopped a moment under the trees and wiped the perspiration from his +forehead. He was also seized with a violent fit of trembling, but it +was over in a half minute, and then turning his horse from the path he +rode into the densest part of the forest. +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt an immense relief. He knew that he might be followed, +but he did not consider it probable. It was more than likely that he +passed for some countryman riding homeward. Martial law had not yet +covered all the hills with a network of iron rules. So he rode on +boldly, and he noticed with satisfaction that the forest seemed to be +extensive and dense. Night, heavy with clouds, was coming, too, and +soon he would be so well hidden that only chance would enable an enemy +to find him. +</P> + +<P> +In a half hour he stopped and took his bearings as best he could. +It seemed to be a wild bit of country. He judged that it was ground +cropped too much in early times, and left to grow into wilderness again. +He was not likely to find anything in it save a hut or two of charcoal +burners. It was a lonely region, very desolate now, with the night +birds calling. The clouds grew heavier and he would have been glad of +shelter, but he put down the wish, recalling to himself with a sort of +fierceness that he was a soldier and must scorn such things. Moreover, +it behooved him to make most of his journey in the night, and this +forest, which ran almost to Washington, seemed to be provided for his +approach. +</P> + +<P> +He had fixed the direction of Washington firmly in his mind, and having +a good idea of location, he kept his horse going at a good walk toward +his destination. As his eyes, naturally strong, grew used to the forest, +and his horse was sure of foot, they were able to go through the bushes +without much trouble. He stopped at intervals to listen for a possible +enemy—or friend—but heard nothing except the ordinary sounds of the +forest. +</P> + +<P> +By and by a wind rose and blew all the clouds away. A shining moon and +a multitude of brilliant stars sprang out. Just then Harry came to a +hillock, clear of trees, with the ground dipping down beyond. He rode +to the highest point of the hillock and looked toward the east into a +vast open world, lighted by the moon and stars. Off there just under +the horizon he caught a gleam of white and he knew instinctively what +it was. It was the dome of the Capitol in that city which was now the +capital of the North alone. It was miles away, but he saw it and his +heart thrilled. He forgot, for the moment, that by his own choice it +was no longer his own. +</P> + +<P> +Harry sat on his horse and looked a long time at that far white glow, +deep down under the horizon. There was the capital of his own country, +the real capital. Somehow he could not divest himself of that idea, +and he looked until mists and vapors began to float up from the lowlands, +and the white gleam was lost behind them. Then he rode on slowly and +thoughtfully, trying to think of a plan that would bring rich rewards +for the cause for which he was going to fight. +</P> + +<P> +He had discovered something already. He had seen the bayonets of a +regiment marching to join the Northern army, and he had no doubt that he +would see others. Perhaps they would consider themselves strong enough +in a day or two to attack. It was for him to learn. He was back in the +forest and he now turned his course more toward the east. By dawn he +would be well in the rear of the Northern army, and he must judge then +how to act. +</P> + +<P> +But all his calculations were upset by a very simple thing, one of +Nature's commonest occurrences—rain. The heavy clouds that had +gathered early in the night were gone away merely for a time. Now they +came back in battalions, heavier and more numerous than ever. The +shining moon and the brilliant stars were blotted out as if they had +never been. A strong wind moaned and a cold rain came pouring into +his face. The blanket that he carried on his saddle, and which he +now wrapped around him, could not protect him. The fierce rain drove +through it and he was soaked and shivering. The darkness, too, was so +great that he could see only a few yards before him, and he let the +horse take his course. +</P> + +<P> +Harry thought grimly that he was indeed well hidden in the forest. +He was so well hidden that he was lost even to himself. In all that +darkness and rain he could not retain the sense of direction, and he had +no idea where he was. He rambled about for hours, now and then trying +to find shelter behind massive tree trunks, and, after every failure, +going on in the direction in which he thought Washington lay. His +shivering became so strong that he was afraid it would turn into a real +chill, and he resolved to seek a roof, if the forest should hold such a +thing. +</P> + +<P> +It was nearly dawn when he saw dimly the outlines of a cabin standing +in a tiny clearing. He believed it to be the hut of a charcoal burner, +and he was resolved to take any risk for the sake of its roof. He +dismounted and beat heavily upon the door with the butt of a pistol. +The answer was so long in coming that he began to believe the hut was +empty, which would serve his purpose best of all, but at last a voice, +thick with sleep, called: "Who's there?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm lost and I need shelter," Harry replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute," returned the voice. +</P> + +<P> +Harry, despite the beat of the rain, heard a shuffling inside, and then, +through a crack in the door, he saw a light spring up. He hoped the +owner of the voice would hurry. The rain seemed to be beating harder +than ever upon him and the cold was in his bones. Then the door was +thrown back suddenly and an uncommonly sharp voice shouted: +</P> + +<P> +"Drop the reins! Throw up your hands an' walk in, where I kin see what +you are!" +</P> + +<P> +Harry found himself looking into the muzzle of an old-fashioned +long-barreled rifle. But the hammer was cocked, and it was held by a +pair of large, calloused, and steady hands, belonging to a tall, thin +man with powerful shoulders and a bearded face. +</P> + +<P> +There was no help for it. The boy dropped the reins, raised his hands +over his head and walked into the hut, where the rain at least did not +reach him. It was a rude place of a single room, with a fire-place at +one end, a bed in a corner, a small pine table on which a candle burned, +and clothing and dried herbs hanging from hooks on the wall. The man +wore only a shirt and trousers, and he looked unkempt and wild, but he +was a resolute figure. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand over thar, close to the light, whar I kin see you," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Harry moved over, and the muzzle of the rifle followed him. The man +could look down the sights of his rifle and at the same time examine his +visitor, which he did with thoroughness. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, then, Johnny Reb," he said, "what are you doin' here this time o' +night an' in such weather as this, wakin' honest citizens out o' their +beds?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing but stand before the muzzle of your rifle." +</P> + +<P> +The man grinned. The answer seemed to appeal to him, and he lowered the +weapon, although he did not relax his watchfulness. +</P> + +<P> +"I got the drop on you, Johnny Reb; you're boun' to admit that," he +said. "You didn't ketch Seth Perkins nappin'." +</P> + +<P> +"I admit it. But why do you call me Johnny Reb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because that's what you are. You can't tell much about the color of +a man's coat after it's been through sech a big rain, but I know yourn +is gray. I ain't takin' no part in this war. They've got to fight it +as best they kin without me. I'm jest an innercent charcoal burner, +'bout the most innercent that ever lived, I guess, but atween you an' me, +Johnny Reb, my feelin's lean the way my state, Old Virginny, leans, +that is, to the South, which I reckon is lucky fur you." +</P> + +<P> +Harry saw that the man had blue eyes and he saw, too, that they were +twinkling. He knew with infallible instinct that he was honest and +truthful. +</P> + +<P> +"It's true," he said. "I'm a Southern soldier, and I'm in your hands." +</P> + +<P> +"I see that you trust me, an' I think I kin trust you. Jest you wait +'til I put that hoss o' yourn in the lean-to behind the cabin." +</P> + +<P> +He darted out of the door and returned in a minute shaking the water +from his body. +</P> + +<P> +"That hoss feels better already," he said, "an' you will, too, soon. +Now, I shet this door, then I kindle up the fire ag'in, then you take +off your clothes an' put them an' yo'self afore the blaze. In time you +an' your clothes are all dry." +</P> + +<P> +The man's manner was all kindness, and the poor little cabin had become +a palace. He blew at the coals, threw on dry pine knots, and in a few +minutes the flames roared up the chimney. +</P> + +<P> +Harry took off his wet clothing, hung it on two cane chairs before the +fire and then proceeded to roast himself. Warmth poured back into his +body and the cold left his bones. Despite his remonstrances, Perkins +took a pot out of his cupboard and made coffee. Harry drank two cups of +it, and he knew now that the danger of chill, to be followed by fever, +was gone. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Perkins," he said at length, "you are an angel." +</P> + +<P> +Perkins laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Mebbe I air," he said, "but I 'low I don't look like one. Guess ef I +went up an' tried to j'in the real angels Gabriel would say, 'Go back, +Seth Perkins, an' improve yo'self fur four or five thousand years afore +you try to keep comp'ny like ours.' But now, Johnny Reb, sence you're +feelin' a heap better you might tell what you wuz tryin' to do, prowlin' +roun' in these woods at sech a time." +</P> + +<P> +"I meant to go behind the Yankee army, see what reinforcements were +coming up, find out their plans, if I could, and report to our general." +</P> + +<P> +Perkins whistled softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Say," he said, "you look like a boy o' sense. What are you wastin' +your time in little things fur? Couldn't you find somethin' bigger an' +a heap more dangerous that would stir you up an' give you action?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I was set to do this task, Mr. Perkins," he said, "and I mean to do it." +</P> + +<P> +"That shows good sperrit, but ef I wuz set to do it I wouldn't. Do you +know whar you are an' what's around you, Johnny Reb?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't." +</P> + +<P> +"Wa'al, you're right inside o' the Union lines. The armies o' Patterson +an' McDowell hem in all this forest, an' I reckon mebbe it wuz a good +thing fur you that the storm came up an' you got past in it. Wuz you +expectin', Johnny Reb, to ride right into the Yankee pickets with that +Confedrit uniform on?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know exactly what I intended to do. I meant to see in the +morning. I didn't know I was so far inside their lines." +</P> + +<P> +"You know it now, an' if you're boun' to do what you say you're settin' +out to do, then you've got to change clothes. Here, I'll take these an' +hide 'em." +</P> + +<P> +He snatched Harry's uniform from the chair, ran up a ladder into a +little room under the eaves, and returned with some rough garments under +his arm. +</P> + +<P> +"These are my Sunday clothes," he said. "You're pow'ful big fur your +years, an' they'll come purty nigh fittin' you. Leastways, they'll fit +well enough fur sech times ez these. Now you wear 'em, ef you put any +value on your life." +</P> + +<P> +Harry hesitated. He wished to go as a scout, and not as a spy. Clothes +could not change a man, but they could change his standing. Yet the +words of Perkins were obviously true. But he would not go back. +He must do his task. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take your clothes on one condition, Mr. Perkins," he said, "you +must let me pay for them." +</P> + +<P> +"Will it make you feel better to do so?" +</P> + +<P> +"A great deal better." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, then." +</P> + +<P> +Harry took from his saddle bags the purse which he had removed from his +coat pocket when he undressed, and handed a ten dollar gold piece to the +charcoal burner. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" asked the charcoal burner. +</P> + +<P> +"A gold eagle, ten dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"I've heard of 'em, but it's the first I've ever seed. I'm bound to say +I regard that shinin' coin with a pow'ful sight o' respeck. But if I +take it I'm makin' three dollars. Them clothes o' mine jest cost seven +dollars an' I've wore 'em four times." +</P> + +<P> +"Count the three dollars in for shelter and gratitude and remember, +you've made your promise." +</P> + +<P> +Perkins took the coin, bit it, pitched it up two or three times, +catching it as it fell, and then put it upon the hearth, where the +blaze could gleam upon it. +</P> + +<P> +"It's shorely a shiner," he said, "an' bein' that it's the first I've +ever had, I reckon I'll take good care of it. Wait a minute." +</P> + +<P> +He picked up the coin again, ran up the ladder into the dark eaves of +the house, and came back without it. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, Johnny Reb," he said, "put on my clothes and see how you feel." +</P> + +<P> +Harry donned the uncouth garb, which fitted fairly well after he had +rolled up the trousers a little. +</P> + +<P> +"You'd pass for a farmer," said Perkins. "I fed your hoss when I put +him up, an' as soon as the rain's over you kin start ag'in, a sight +safer than you wuz when you wore that uniform. Ef you come back this +way ag'in I'll give it to you. Now, you'd better take a nap. I'll call +you when the rain stops." +</P> + +<P> +Harry felt that he had indeed fallen into the hands of a friend, and +stretching himself on a pallet which the charcoal burner spread in front +of the fire, he soon fell asleep. He awoke when Perkins shook his +shoulder and found that it was dawn. +</P> + +<P> +"The rain's stopped, day's come an' I guess you'd better be goin'" +said the man. "I've got breakfast ready for you, an' I hope, boy, +that you'll get through with a whole skin. I said that both sides would +have to fight this war without my help, but I don't mind givin' a boy +a hand when he needs it." +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not say much, but he was deeply grateful. After breakfast he +mounted his horse, received careful directions from Perkins and rode +toward Washington. The whole forest was fresh and green after its heavy +bath, and birds, rejoicing in the morning, sang in every bush. Harry's +elation returned. Clothes impart a certain quality, and, dressed in +a charcoal burner's Sunday best, he began to bear himself like one. +He rode in a slouchy manner, and he transferred the pistols from his +belt to the large inside pockets of his new coat. As he passed in an +hour from the forest into a rolling open country, he saw that Perkins +had advised him wisely. Dressed in the Confederate uniform he would +certainly have had trouble before he made the first mile. +</P> + +<P> +He saw the camps of troops both to right and left and he knew that these +were the flank of the Northern army. Then from the crest of another +hill he caught his second view of Washington. The gleam from the dome +of the Capitol was much more vivid now, and he saw other white buildings +amid the foliage. Since he had become technically a spy through the +mere force of circumstances, Harry took a daring resolve. He would +enter Washington itself. They were all one people, Yanks and Johnny +Rebs, and no one could possibly know that he was from the Southern army. +Only one question bothered him. He did not know what to do with the +horse. +</P> + +<P> +But he rode briskly ahead, trusting that the problem of the horse would +solve itself, and, as he turned a field, several men in blue uniforms +rode forward and ordered him to halt. Harry obeyed promptly. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going?" asked the leading man, a minor officer. +</P> + +<P> +"To Washin'ton," replied the boy in the uncouth language that he thought +fitted his role. +</P> + +<P> +"And what are you going to Washington for?" +</P> + +<P> +"To sell this hoss," replied Harry, on the impulse of the moment. +"I raised him myself, but he's too fine fur me to ride, specially when +hosses are bringin' sech good prices." +</P> + +<P> +"He is a fine animal," said the officer, looking at him longingly. +"Do you want to sell him now?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he replied. "I'm goin' to make one o' them big bugs in Washin'ton +pay fur him an' pay fur him good." +</P> + +<P> +The officer laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"You're not such a simpleton as you look," he said. "You're right. +They'll pay you more for him in the capital than I could. Ride on. +They may pass you over Long Bridge or they may not. That part of it +is not my business." +</P> + +<P> +Harry went forward at a trot, glad enough to leave such dangerous +company behind. But he saw that he was now in the very thick of mighty +risks. He would encounter a menace at every turn. Had he realized +fully the character of his undertaking when he was in the charcoal +burner's hut he would have hesitated long. Now, there was nothing to +do but go ahead and take his fate, whatever it might be. +</P> + +<P> +Yet his tale of wishing to sell a horse served him well. After a few +questions, it passed him by a half dozen interruptions, and he became so +bold that he stopped and bought food for his noon-day meal at a little +wayside tavern kept by a woman. Three or four countrymen were lounging +about and all of them were gossips. But Harry found it worth while to +listen to their gossip. It was their business to carry vegetables and +other provisions into Washington for sale and they picked up much news. +They said that the Northern government was pushing all its troops to the +front. All the politicians and writers in Washington were clamoring for +a battle. One blow and "Jeff Davis and Secession" would be smashed to +atoms. Harry's young blood flamed at the contemptuous words, but he +could not afford to show any resentment. Yet this was valuable +information. He could confirm Beauregard's belief that an attack would +soon be made in great force. +</P> + +<P> +When Harry left them he turned again to the left, as he saw a stretch of +country rolling and apparently wooded lying in that direction. Once, +when a young boy, he had come to Washington with his father for a stay +of several weeks, and he had a fair acquaintance with the region about +the capital. He knew that forested hills lay ahead of him and beyond +them the Potomac. +</P> + +<P> +In another hour he was in the hills, which he found without people. +Through every opening in the leaves he saw Washington and he could also +discern long lines of redoubts on the Virginia side of the river. +</P> + +<P> +Late in the afternoon he came to a small, abandoned log cabin. He +inferred that its owner had moved away because of the war. As nearly as +he could judge it had not been occupied for several weeks. Back of it +was a small meadow enclosed with a rail fence, but everything else was +deep woods. He turned his horse into the meadow and left his saddle, +bridle and saddle blanket in the house. He might not find anything when +he returned, but he must take the risk. +</P> + +<P> +Then he set off at a brisk pace through the woods, which opened out a +little after dusk, and disclosed a great pillared white house, with +surrounding outbuildings. He knew at once that this was Arlington, +the home of one of the Southern generals, Lee, of whom he had heard his +father speak well. +</P> + +<P> +But he also saw, despite the dusk, blue uniforms and the gleam of +bayonets. And as he looked he saw, too, earthworks and the signs that +many men were present. He lay long among the bushes until the night +thickened and darkened and he resolved to inspect the earthworks +thoroughly. No very strict watch seemed to be kept, and, in truth, +it did not seem to be needed here so near to Washington, and so far +away from the Southern army. +</P> + +<P> +Before ten o'clock everything settled into quiet, and he cautiously +climbed a great beech which was in full and deep foliage. The boughs +were so many and the leaves so dense that one standing directly under +him could not have seen him. But he went up as far as he could go, and, +crouched there, made a comprehensive survey. +</P> + +<P> +It was a fine moonlight night and he saw the earthworks stretching for a +long distance, thorough and impregnable to anything except a great army. +Beyond that was a silver band which was the Potomac, and beyond the +river were the clustered roofs which were Washington. But he turned his +eyes back to the earthworks, and he tried to fasten firmly in his mind +their number and location. This, too, would be important news, most +welcome to Beauregard. +</P> + +<P> +The boy's elation grew. They had given him a delicate and dangerous +task, but he was doing it. He had overcome every obstacle so far, +and he would overcome them to the end. He was bound to enter that +Washington which, in the distance, seemed to lie in such a close cluster. +</P> + +<P> +He felt that he had lingered long enough at Arlington, and, descending, +he made a great curve around the earthworks, coming to the river north +of Arlington. His next problem was the passage of the Potomac. He did +not dare to try Long Bridge, which he knew would be guarded strictly, +but he thought he might find some boatman who would take him over. +As the capital was so crowded, the farmers were continually crossing +with loads of provisions, and now that an uncommonly hot July had come +the night would be a favorite time for the passage. +</P> + +<P> +A search up and down the bank brought its reward. A Virginian, who said +his name was Grimes, had a heavy boat filled with vegetables, and Harry +was welcome as a helper. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a dollar for you," said Grimes, who did not trouble to ask the boy +his name, "an' here are your oars." +</P> + +<P> +The two, pulling strongly, shot the boat out into the stream, and then +rowed in a diagonal line for the city, which rose up brilliant and great +in the moonlight. Other boats were in the river, but they paid no +attention to the barge, loaded with produce, and rowed by two innocent +countrymen. They soon reached the Washington shore, and Grimes handed +Harry a silver dollar. +</P> + +<P> +"You're a strong young fellow," he said, "an' I guess you've earned the +money. My farm is only four miles up the river an' thar's goin' to be a +big market for all I kin raise. I need a good han' to help me work it. +How'd you like to come with me an' take a good job, while them that +don't know no better go ahead an' do the fightin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you for your offer," replied Harry, "but I've got business to +attend to in Washington." +</P> + +<P> +He slipped the dollar into his pocket, because he had earned it honestly, +and entered Washington, just as the rising sun began to gild domes and +roofs. Coming from the boat, his appearance aroused no suspicion. +People were pouring into Washington then as they were pouring into the +Confederate capital at Richmond. One dressed as he, and looking as he, +could enter or depart almost as he pleased, despite the ring of +fortifications. +</P> + +<P> +Up went the sun, and the full day came, extremely hot and clear. +Harry turned into a little restaurant, and spent half of his well-earned +dollar for breakfast. Neither proprietor nor waiter gave him more +than a casual glance. Evidently they were used to serving countrymen. +Harry, feeling refreshed and strong again, paid for his food and went +outside. +</P> + +<P> +The streets were thronged. He had expected nothing else, but there was +a great air of excitement and expectancy as if something important were +going to happen. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" asked Harry of a man beside him. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know what day this is?" asked the man. +</P> + +<P> +"I've forgot," replied the boy in the slouchy speech and intonation of +the hills. "I jest came in with dad this mornin', bringin' a wagon load +of fresh vegetables." +</P> + +<P> +"You look as foolish as you talk," said the man scornfully. "This +is the Fourth of July, and the special session of Congress called by +President Lincoln is to meet this morning and decide how to give the +rebels the thrashing they need." +</P> + +<P> +"I did hear somethin' about that," replied Harry, "but workin' in the +field I furgot all about it. I 'low I'll stroll that way." +</P> + +<P> +He drifted on with the crowd toward the Capitol, which rose nobler and +more imposing than ever, a great marble building, gleaming white in the +sunshine. Harry's heart throbbed. He could not yet dissociate himself +from the idea that he, as one of the nation, was a part owner of the +Capitol. But, forgetting all danger, he persisted in his errand. +A great event was about to occur, and he intended to see it. +</P> + +<P> +There were soldiers everywhere. The streets blazed with uniforms, +but the people were allowed to gather about the Capitol and many also +entered. A friendly sentinel passed Harry, who stood for a few moments +in the rotunda. He was careful to keep near other spectators, in order +that he might not attract attention to himself. +</P> + +<P> +All things that he saw cut sharply into his sensitive and eager mind. +It was in truth an extraordinary situation for one who had come as he +had come, and he waited, calm of face, but with every pulse beating. +The comments of the other spectators told him who the famous men were +as they entered. Here were Cameron and Wade of the lowering brows. +There passed Taney, the venerable Chief Justice, and then dry and quiet +Hamlin, the Vice-President, on his way to preside over the Senate, +went by. A tall and magnificent figure in a general's uniform next +attracted Harry's attention. He was an old man, but he held himself +very erect and his head was crowned with splendid snowy hair. +</P> + +<P> +"Old Fuss and Feathers," said a man near Harry, and the boy knew that +this was General Scott, the Virginian, who had led the famous and +victorious march into the City of Mexico, and who was now in name, +but in name only, commander of the Northern army. His father had served +under him in those memorable battles and Harry looked at him with a +certain veneration, as the old man passed on and disappeared in another +room. Then came more, some famous and others destined to be so. +</P> + +<P> +The atmosphere of the great building was surcharged. Harry and his +comrades had heard that the North was discouraged, that the people +would not fight, that they would "let the erring sisters go in peace." +It did not seem so to him here. The talk was all of war and of invading +the South, and he seemed to feel a tenacious spirit behind it. +</P> + +<P> +He managed to secure entrance to the lobbies of both Senate and House, +and he listened for a while to the debates. He discovered the same +spirit there. He felt that he had a right to report not only on the +forts of Washington and the movements of brigades, but also on the +temper in the North. Resolution and tenacity, he now saw, were worth +as much as cannon balls. +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not leave the Capitol until the middle of the afternoon, +when he drifted back to the restaurant at which he had obtained his +breakfast, where he spent the other half of the dollar for luncheon. +Then he resolved to escape from Washington that night. He had picked up +by casual talk and observation together a fair knowledge of Washington's +defenses. Above all he had learned that the North was pouring troops in +an unbroken stream into the capital, and that the great advance on the +line of Bull Run would take place very soon. He could scarcely expect +to achieve more; he had already surpassed his hopes, and it was surely +time to go. +</P> + +<P> +He left the restaurant. The streets were still crowded, and he saw +standing at the nearest corner a figure that seemed familiar. He took a +long look, and then he was shaken with alarm. It was Shepard. He had +seen him under such tense conditions that he could never forget the man. +The turn of his shoulders, the movement of his head—all were familiar. +And Harry had a great respect for the keenness and intelligence of +Shepard. He could not forget how Shepard had talked to him that night +in Montgomery. There was something uncanny about the man, and he had a +sudden conviction that Shepard had seen him long since and was watching +him. He thrust his hands into his capacious pockets. The pistols were +still there, and he resolved that he would use them if need be. +</P> + +<P> +He went at first toward the Potomac, and he did not look back for a +long time, rambling about the streets in a manner apparently aimless. +Now and then a quiver ran down his back, and he knew it was due to the +mental fear that Shepard was pursuing. When he did look back at last he +did not see him, and he felt immediate elation. It would not be long +now until dark, and then he would make his escape across the river. +</P> + +<P> +Time was slow, but it could not keep darkness back forever, and, as soon +as it had come fully, he turned toward the north. Southern troops would +not be looked for there, and egress would be easier in that direction. +He passed on without interruption and soon was in the suburbs, which +were then so shabby. Then he looked back, and cold fear plucked at the +roots of his hair. A man was following him, and he could tell even in +the dim light that it was Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +A shudder shook him now. A rope was the fate for a spy. But he +recovered himself and walked on faster than ever. The cabins thinned +away, and he saw before him bushes. His keen hearing brought to him +the soft sound of the pursuing footsteps. Now he took his resolution. +There were few games at which two could not play. +</P> + +<P> +He passed between two bushes, came around and returned to the open. +But he returned with one of the pistols cocked and levelled, his finger +on the trigger. Shepard, pursuing swiftly, walked almost against the +muzzle, and Harry laughed softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Mr. Shepard," he said, "you've followed me well, but as I've no +mind to be hung for a spy or anything else, I must ask you to go back." +</P> + +<P> +"You have the advantage at present, it is true," said Shepard, "but what +makes you think I was going to shoot at you or have you seized?" +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it what one would naturally expect?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes—perhaps. But I could have given the alarm while you were still in +the city. I speak the truth when I say I do not know just what I had +in mind. But at all events the tables are turned. You hold me at the +pistol's muzzle and I admit it." +</P> + +<P> +He smiled and the boy could not keep from liking him. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Shepard," said Harry, "what you told me at Montgomery was true. +We of the South did not realize the numbers, power and spirit of the +North. I know now the truth of what you told me, but, on the other hand, +you of the North do not realize the fire, courage and devotion of the +South." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand it, but I'm afraid that not many of our people do so. +Suppose we call it quits once more. Let this be Montgomery over again. +You do not want to shoot me here any more than I wanted to shoot you +down there." +</P> + +<P> +"I admit that also," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you are safe from me, if I'm safe from you." +</P> + +<P> +"Agreed," said Harry, as he lowered the weapon. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye," said Shepard. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye." +</P> + +<P> +But they did not offer to shake hands. Each turned his back on the +other, and, when Harry stopped in the bushes, he saw only the dim +outlines of Washington. At midnight he found a colored man who, for pay, +rowed him across the Potomac. At dawn he found his horse peacefully +grazing in the meadow, and at the next dawn he was once more within the +southern lines. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BATTLE'S EVE +</H3> + +<P> +Harry found little change in the Southern army, except that more troops +had come up from Richmond. It still rested upon Bull Run. The country +here was old, having been cropped for many generations, the soil mostly +clay and cut in deep ruts. There were many ravines and water courses, +and hillocks were numerous. Colonel Talbot had told Harry a month +before that it was not a bad place for a battle ground, and he +remembered it now as he came back to it. He had not taken the time +to return to the charcoal burner's hut for his uniform, and, when he +approached his own lines he still wore the Sunday best of Perkins. +</P> + +<P> +The sentinel who hailed him first doubted his claim that he was a member +of the Invincibles, but he insisted so urgently, and called all its +officers by name so readily that he was passed on. He dismounted, +gave his horse to an orderly, and walked toward a clump of trees where +he saw Colonel Talbot writing at a small table in the open. The colonel, +engrossed in his work, did not look up, as the boy's footsteps made +little sound on the turf. When Harry stood before him he saluted and +said: +</P> + +<P> +"I have returned to make my report, Colonel Talbot." +</P> + +<P> +The colonel looked up, uttered a cry of pleasure and seized Harry by +both hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank God, you've come back, my boy!" he said. "I hesitated to send +your father's son on such an errand, but I thought that you would +succeed. You have seen the enemy's forces?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've been in Washington, itself," said Harry, some pride showing in his +voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we'll go at once to General Beauregard. He is in his tent now, +conferring with some of his chief officers." +</P> + +<P> +A great marquee stood in the shade of a grove, only two or three hundred +yards away. Its sides were open, as the heat was great, and Harry saw +the commander-in-chief within, talking earnestly with men in the uniform +of generals. Longstreet, Early, Hill and others were there. Harry was +somewhat abashed, but he had the moral support of Colonel Talbot, and, +after the first few moments of embarrassment, he told his story in a +direct and incisive manner. The officers listened with attention. +</P> + +<P> +"It confirms the other reports," said Beauregard. +</P> + +<P> +"It goes further," said Longstreet. "Our young friend here is obviously +a lad of intelligence and discernment and what he saw in Washington +shows that the North is resolved to crush us. The battle that we are +going to fight will not be the last battle by any means." +</P> + +<P> +"Each side is too sanguine," said Hill. +</P> + +<P> +"You have done well, Lieutenant Kenton," said Beauregard, "and now you +can rejoin your regiment. You are to receive a promotion of one grade." +</P> + +<P> +Harry was glad to leave the marquee and hurry toward the camp of the +Invincibles. The first of his friends whom he saw was Happy Tom Langdon, +bathing his face in a little stream that flowed into Young's Branch. +He walked up and smote him joyously on the back. Langdon sprang to his +feet in anger and exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"Hey, you fellow, what do you mean by that?" +</P> + +<P> +He saw before him a tall, gawky youth in ill-fitting clothes, his face a +mask of dust. But this same dusty youth grinned and replied: +</P> + +<P> +"I hit you once, and if you don't speak to me more politely I'll hit you +twice." +</P> + +<P> +Langdon stared. Then recognition came. +</P> + +<P> +"Harry Kenton, by all that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "And so you've +come back! I was afraid you never would! What have you been doing, +Harry?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've been pretty busy. I drove in the right wing of the Yankee army, +put to flight a couple of brigades in their center, then I went on to +Washington and had a talk with Lincoln. I told him the North would have +me to reckon with if he kept on with this war, but he said he believed +he'd go ahead anyhow. I even mentioned your name to him, but the menace +did no good." +</P> + +<P> +Langdon called to St. Clair and soon Harry was surrounded by friends who +gave him the warmest of greetings and who insisted upon the tale of his +adventures, a part of which he was free to tell. Then a new uniform was +brought to him, and, after a long and refreshing bath in a deep pool of +the stream, he put it on. He felt now as if he had been entirely made +over, and, as he strolled back to camp, a tall, thin man, black of hair +and pallid of face, hailed him. +</P> + +<P> +Harry took two glances before he recognized Arthur Travers in the +Southern uniform. Then he grasped his hand eagerly and asked him when +he had come. +</P> + +<P> +"Only two days ago," replied Travers. "I'm in another regiment farther +along Bull Run. I merely came over here to tell you that your father +was well when I last heard from him. He is with the Western forces that +are to be under Albert Sidney Johnston." +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not care greatly for Travers, but it was pleasant to see +anybody from the old home, and they talked some time. But Harry did +not see him again soon, as the bonds of discipline were now tightened. +Regiments were kept in ranks and the men were not permitted to wander +from their places. Northern bands were continually in their front, +and it was reported daily that the great army at Washington was about +to move. +</P> + +<P> +Yet the days passed, and no important event occurred. July advanced. +The heat became more intense. The fields were bare, the vegetation +trodden out by armies, and, when the wind rose, clouds of dust beat upon +them. It was lucky for them that the country was cut by so many streams. +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles were moved about several times, but they stopped at +last at a little plateau where a branch railroad joined the main stem, +giving to the place the name Manassas Junction. Bull Run was near, +flowing between high banks, but with crossings at two fords and two +bridges. Beauregard had thrown up earthworks at the station, and strong +batteries were hidden in the foliage at the fords. The Southern army, +weary of waiting, was eager for battle. The Northern people, also weary +of waiting, demanded that their own troops advance. +</P> + +<P> +As Harry sat with his friends one hot night the word was passed that the +Northern army was coming at last. The Southern scouts had reported that +McDowell's whole force was already on the march and was drawing near. +It would attempt the passage of Bull Run. A murmur ran through the camp +of the Invincibles, but there was little talk. They had already tasted +of battle at the fort in the valley, and it was not a thing to be taken +lightly. +</P> + +<P> +Harry resolved that he would sleep if he could, but there was no rest +for the Invincibles just then. An order came from Beauregard, and, +with Colonel Talbot at their head, they took up their arms, marching to +one of the fords of Bull Run, where they lay down among trees near a +battery. They were forbidden to talk, but they whispered, nevertheless. +The ford before them was Blackburn's, and the heavy attack of the +Northern army would be made there in the morning. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and the Invincibles were at the very edge of the river. They had +been under heavy fire before, but, nevertheless, everything they now saw +or heard played upon their nerves. The murmur of the little river was +multiplied thrice. Every time a bayonet or a saber rattled it smote +with sharpness upon the ear. The neigh of a horse became a fierce, +lingering note, and out of the darkness that covered the rolling country +in front of them came many sounds, but few of which were real. +</P> + +<P> +For a long time there was movement on their own side of the stream. +Troops were continually coming up in the night and taking position. +It required no acute mind to perceive that the Southern commander +expected the main attack to be made here, and was massing his troops in +force to receive it. Except at the ford itself the banks of the river +were high, but those on the Northern side were higher. A skirt of +forest lined the Southern bank, and Harry saw Longstreet and his men +march into it, and lie there on their arms. Nearer to him among the +trees were the powerful batteries of artillery. Beauregard himself had +come and he now had with him seven brigades eager for the attack. +</P> + +<P> +The night was hot and windless, save at distant intervals, when a slight +breeze blew from the North. Then it brought dust with it, and Harry +believed that it came from the dry soil, trod to powder by the marching +feet of a great army, and the wheels of many cannon. +</P> + +<P> +Comparative silence came after a while on his own side of the river. +There was no sharp sound, only a low and almost continuous murmur made +by the whispering, and restless movements which so many thousands of men +could not avoid. But the sound was so steady that they heard above it +the croak of frogs at the edge of the stream, and then another sound +which Harry at first did not understand. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" he whispered to St. Clair, who lay a little higher than he. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a lot of our men crossing the ford. Raise up and you can see them +walking in the water. I take it that the general is going to put a +force in the bushes and trees on the other bank to sting the Northern +army good and hard before it pushes home the main attack." +</P> + +<P> +Standing up Harry saw men wading Bull Run in a long file, every one +carrying a rifle on his shoulder. In the hot dim night they looked +like lines of Indians advancing through the water to choose an ambush. +They were crossing for half an hour, and then they melted away. He +could not see one of the figures again, nor did any sound come from them, +but he knew that the riflemen lay there in the bushes, and that many a +man would fall before they waded Bull Run again. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think the attack is really coming this time?" whispered Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel sure of it," replied Harry. "All the scouts have said so and +you may laugh at me, Tom, but I tell you that when the wind blows our +way I feel the dust raised by thirty thousand men marching toward us." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not laughing at you, Harry. Sometimes that instinct of yours tells +when things are coming long before you can see or hear 'em. But while +I'm no such wonder myself I can hear those bullfrogs croaking down there +at the edge of the water. Think of their cheek, calmly singing their +night songs between two armies of twenty or thirty thousand men each, +who are going to fight tomorrow." +</P> + +<P> +"But it's not their fight," said St. Clair, "and maybe they are croaking +for a lot of us." +</P> + +<P> +"Shut up, you bird of ill omen, you raven, you," said Happy Tom. +"Everything is going to happen for the best, we are going to win the +victory, and we three are going to come out of the battle all right." +</P> + +<P> +St. Clair did not answer him. His was a serious nature and he foresaw a +great struggle which would waver long in doubt. Harry had lain down on +his blanket and was seeking sleep again. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop talking," he said to the other two. "We've got to go to sleep if +it's only for the sake of our nerves. We must be fresh and steady when +we go into the battle in the morning." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you are right," said Happy Tom, "but I find this overtaking +slumber a long chase. Maybe you can form a habit of sleeping well +before big battles, but I haven't had the chance to do so yet." +</P> + +<P> +Harry did fall asleep after a while, but he awoke before dawn to find +that there was already bustle and movement in the army about him. +Fires were lighted further back, and an early but plentiful breakfast +was cooked. All were up and ready when the sun rose over the Virginia +fields. +</P> + +<P> +"Another hot day," said Happy Tom. "See, the sun is as red as fire! +And look how it burns on the water there." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, hot it will be," Harry said to himself. They had eaten their +breakfast and lay once more among the trees. Harry searched with his +eyes the bushes and thickets on the other side for their riflemen, +but most of them were still invisible in the day. Then the Southern +brigades were ordered to lie down, but after they lay there some time +Harry felt that the film of dust on the edge of the wind was growing +stronger, and presently they saw a great cloud of it rising above hills +and trees and moving toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"They're coming," said St. Clair. "In less than a half hour they'll be +at the ford." +</P> + +<P> +"But I doubt if they know what is waiting for them," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +The cloud of dust rapidly came nearer, and now they heard the beat of +horses' feet and the clank of artillery. Harry began to breathe hard, +and he and the other young officers walked up and down the lines of +their company. All the Invincibles clearly saw that great plume of dust, +and heard the ominous sounds that came with it. It was very near now, +but suddenly the fringe of forest on the far side of the river burst +into flame. The hidden riflemen had opened fire and were burning the +front of the advancing army. +</P> + +<P> +But the Northern men came steadily on, rousing the riflemen out of the +bushes, and then they appeared among the trees on the north side of Bull +Run—a New York brigade led by Tyler. The moment their faces showed +there was a tremendous discharge from the Southern batteries masked in +the wood. The crash was appalling, and Harry shut his eyes for a moment, +in horror, as he saw the entire front rank of the Northern force go +down. Then the Southern sharpshooters in hundreds, who lined the +water's edge, opened with the rifle, and a storm of lead crashed into +the ranks of the hapless New Yorkers. +</P> + +<P> +"Up, Invincibles!" cried Colonel Talbot, and they began to fire, and +load, and fire again into the attacking force which had walked into what +was almost an ambush. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll never reach the ford!" shouted Happy Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Never!" Harry shouted back. +</P> + +<P> +The Southern generals, already trained in battles, pushed their +advantages. A great force of Southern sharpshooters crossed the river +and took the Northern brigade in flank. The New Yorkers, unable to +stand the tremendous artillery and rifle fire in their front, and the +new rifle fire on their side also, broke and retreated. But another +brigade came up to their relief and they advanced again, sending a +heavy return fire from their rifles, while the artillery on their flank +replied to that of the South. +</P> + +<P> +The combat now became fierce. The Invincibles in the very thick of it +advanced to the water's edge, and fired as fast as they could load and +reload. Huge volumes of smoke gathered over both sides of Bull Run, +and men fell fast. There was also a rain of twigs and boughs as +the bullets and shells cut them through, and the dense, heated air, +shot through with smoke, burned the throats of blue and gray. +</P> + +<P> +But the South had the advantage of position and numbers. Moreover, +those riflemen on the flanks of the Northern troops burned them +terribly and they were weary, too, with long marching in dust and heat. +As the artillery and rifle fire converged upon them and became heavier +and heavier they were forced to give way. They yielded ground slowly, +until they were beyond range of the cannon, and then, brushing off the +fierce swarm of sharpshooters on their flank, they retreated all the +way back to the village, whence they had come. +</P> + +<P> +The firing on the Southern side of Bull Run ceased suddenly, and the +smoke began to drift away. The Invincibles, save those who had fallen +to stay, stood up and shouted. They had won the greatest victory in the +world, and they flung taunts in the direction of the retreating foe. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop that!" shouted Colonel Talbot, striding up and down the line. +"This is only a beginning. Wait until we have a real battle." +</P> + +<P> +"This has happened for the best," said Happy Tom, "but I'd like to know +what the colonel calls a real battle. The fire was so loud I couldn't +hear myself speak, and I know at least a million men were engaged. +Arthur, how can you be cool enough to bathe your face in that water?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's to make it cool," replied St. Clair, who had stooped over Bull Run, +and was laving his face. "I feel that dust and burned gunpowder are +thick all over me." +</P> + +<P> +He stood up, his face now clean, and began to arrange his uniform. +Then he carefully dusted his coat and trousers. +</P> + +<P> +"Hope you are all ready for another battle, Arthur," said Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," replied St. Clair laughing. "That will do me for quite a +while." +</P> + +<P> +St. Clair had his wish. The enemy seemed to have enough for the time. +The hot, breathless day passed without any further advance. Now and +then they heard the Northern bugles, and the scouts reported that the +foe was still gathering heavily not far away, but the Invincibles, +from their camp, saw nothing. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose the colonel was right," said Happy Tom, "and this must have +been a sort of prologue. But if the prologue was so hot what's the play +going to be?" +</P> + +<P> +"Something hotter," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +"A vague but true answer," said Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +Yet the delay was long. They lay all that day and all that night along +the banks of Bull Run, and a hundred conflicting reports ran up and down +their ranks. The Northern army would retreat, it would attack within a +few hours; the Southern army would retreat, it would hold its present +position; both sides would receive reinforcements, neither would receive +any fresh troops. Every statement was immediately denied. +</P> + +<P> +"I refuse to believe anything until it happens," said Harry, when night +came. "I'm getting hardened to this sort of thing, and as soon as my +time off duty comes I'm going to sleep." +</P> + +<P> +Sleep he did in the shot-torn woods, and it was the heavy sleep of +exhaustion. Nerves did not trouble him, as he slept without dreams and +rose to another windless, burning day. The hours dragged on again, +but in the night there was a tremendous shouting. Johnston, with eight +thousand men, had slipped away from Patterson in the mountains, and the +infantry had come by train directly to the plateau of Manassas, where +they were now leaving the cars and taking their place in the line of +battle. The artillery and cavalry were coming on behind over the +dirt road. The Southern generals were already showing the energy and +decision for which they were so remarkable in the first years of the +war. Johnston was the senior, but since Beauregard had made the +battlefield, he left him in command. +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles were moved off to the left along Bull Run, and were +posted in front of a stone bridge, where other troops gathered, until +twelve or thirteen thousand men were there. But Harry and his comrades +were nearest to the bridge, and it seemed to him that the situation was +almost exactly as it had been three nights before. Again they faced +Bull Run and again they expected an attack in the morning. There was +no change save the difference between a ford and a bridge. But the +Invincibles, hardened by the three days of skirmishing and waiting, +took things more easily now. +</P> + +<P> +They lay in the woods near the steep banks, and the batteries commanded +the entrance to the bridge. The night was once more hot and windless +and they were so quiet that they could hear the murmur of the waters. +Far across Bull Run they saw dim lights moving, and they knew that they +were those of the Northern army. +</P> + +<P> +"I think things have changed a lot in the last three days," said Harry. +"Then the Yankees didn't know much about us. They charged almost +blindfolded into our ambush. Now we don't know much about them. +We don't know by any means where the attack is coming. It is they who +are keeping us guessing." +</P> + +<P> +"But there are only two fords and two bridges across Bull Run," said +Langdon, "and they have got to choose one out of the lot." +</P> + +<P> +"Which means that we've got to accumulate our forces at some one of four +places, one guess out of four." +</P> + +<P> +Harry did not speak at all in a tone of discouragement, but his +intelligent mind saw that the Northern leaders had profited by their +mistakes and that the Southern general did not really know where the +great impact would come. The Northern scouts and skirmishers swarmed on +the other side of Bull Run, and even in the darkness this cloud of wasps +was so dense that Beauregard's own scouts could not get beyond them and +tell what the greater mass behind was doing. Harry was summoned at +midnight by Colonel Talbot. Behind a clump of trees some distance back +of the bridge, Beauregard, Johnston, Evans, who was in direct command at +the ford, Early, and several other important officers were in anxious +consultation. Colonel Talbot told Harry that he would be wanted +presently as a messenger, and he stood on one side while the others +talked. It was then that he first heard Jubal Early swear with a +richness, a spontaneity and an unction that raised it almost to the +dignity of a rite. +</P> + +<P> +Harry gathered that they could not agree as to the point at which the +Northern attack would be delivered, but the balance of opinion inclined +to the bridge, before which the command of Evans was encamped. Hence he +was sent farther down the stream, with a message for a North Carolina +regiment to move up and join Evans. +</P> + +<P> +The regiment lay about a mile away, but Harry walked almost the whole +distance among sleeping men. They lay on the grass by thousands, +and exhausted by the movement and marching of recent days they slept +heavily. In the moonlight they looked as if they were dead. It was so +quiet now that some night birds in the trees uttered strange moaning +cries. But far across Bull Run lights still moved and Harry had no +doubt that the great battle, delayed so long, was really coming in the +morning. +</P> + +<P> +The North Carolina regiment rose sleepily and marched with him to the +bridge, where it was incorporated into the force of Evans. Beauregard, +Johnston and Early had gone to other points, and Harry knew that +they were still anxious and of divided opinions. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, to whom he had to report, and who moved +their own regiment down near Evans, did not conceal the fact from him. +</P> + +<P> +"Harry," said the colonel, "we're all sure that we'll have to fight on +the morrow, and it looks as if the battle would come in the greatest +weight here at the bridge, but the Invincibles must be prepared for +anything. You lads are fit and trim, and I hope that all of you will +do your duty tomorrow. Remember that we have brave foes before us, and +I know most of their officers. All who are of our age have been the +comrades of Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and myself." +</P> + +<P> +"It is true, and it is a melancholy phase of this war," said Hector +St. Hilaire. +</P> + +<P> +They walked away together and Harry rejoined those of his own age near +the banks of Bull Run. But Langdon and St. Clair were sound asleep on +their blankets, and so were all the rest of the Invincibles, save those +who had been posted as sentinels. But Harry did not sleep that night. +It was past midnight now, but he was never more awake in his life, +and he felt that he must watch until day. +</P> + +<P> +He had no duties to do, and he sat down with his back to a tree and +waited. Far in his front, three or four miles, perhaps, he thought he +saw lights signaling to each other, but he had no idea what they meant, +and he watched them merely with an idle curiosity. Once he thought he +heard the distant call of a trumpet, but he was not sure. Woods and +fields were flooded with the brightness of moon and stars, but if +anything was passing on the other side of Bull Run, it was too well +hidden for him to see it. His senses were soothed and he sank into a +state of peace and rest. In reality it was a physical relaxation coming +after so much tension and activity, and the bodily ease became mental +also. +</P> + +<P> +Resting thus, motionless against the trunk of the tree, time passed +easily for him. The warm air of the night blew now and then against his +face and only soothed him to deeper rest. The last light far across +Bull Run went out and the darker hours came. Nothing stirred now in the +woods until the hot dawn came again, and the brazen sun leaped up in the +sky. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BULL RUN +</H3> + +<P> +Harry rose to his feet and shook St. Clair and Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"Up, boys!" he said. "The enemy will soon be here. I can see their +bayonets glittering on the hills." +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles sprang to their feet almost as one man, and soon all the +troops of Evans were up and humming like bees. Food and coffee were +served to them hastily, but, before the last cup was thrown down, +a heavy crash came from one of the hills beyond Bull Run, and a shell, +screaming over their heads, burst beyond them. It was quickly followed +by another, and then the round shot and shells came in dozens from +batteries which had been posted well in the night. +</P> + +<P> +The Southern batteries replied with all their might and the riflemen +supported them, sending the bullets in sheets across Bull Run. The +battle flamed in fifteen minutes into extraordinary violence. Harry had +never before heard such a continuous and terrific thunder. It seemed +that the drums of his ears would be smashed in, but over his head he +heard the continuous hissing and whirring of steel and lead. The +Northern riflemen were at work, too, and it was fortunate for the +Invincibles that they were able to lie down, as they poured their fire +into the bushes and woods on the opposite bank. +</P> + +<P> +The volume of smoke was so great that they could no longer see the +position of the enemy, but Harry believed that so much metal must do +great damage. Although he was a lieutenant he had snatched up a rifle +dropped by some fallen soldier, and he loaded and fired it so often that +the barrel grew hot to his hand. Lying so near the river, most of the +hostile fire went over the heads of the Invincibles, but now and then a +shell or a cluster of bullets struck among them, and Harry heard groans. +But he quickly forgot these sounds as he watched the clouds of smoke and +the blaze of fire on the other side of Bull Run. +</P> + +<P> +"They are not trying to force the passage of the bridge! Everything is +for the best!" shouted Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"No, they dare not," shouted St. Clair in reply. "No column could live +on that bridge in face of our fire." +</P> + +<P> +It seemed strange to Harry that the Northern troops made no attempt to +cross. Why did all this tremendous fire go on so long, and yet not a +foe set foot upon the bridge? It seemed to him that it had endured for +hours. The sun was rising higher and higher and the day was growing +hotter and hotter. It lay with the North to make the first movement to +cross Bull Run, and yet no attempt was made. +</P> + +<P> +Colonel Talbot came repeatedly along the line of the Invincibles, +and Harry saw that he was growing uneasy. Such a great volume of fire, +without any effort to take advantage of it, made the veteran suspicious. +He knew that those old comrades of his on the other side of Bull Run +would not waste their metal in a mere cannonade and long range rifle +fire. There must be something behind it. Presently, with the consent +of the commander, he drew the Invincibles back from the river, where +they were permitted to cease firing, and to rest for a while on their +arms. +</P> + +<P> +But as they drew long breaths and tried to clear the smoke from their +throats, a rumor ran down the lines. The attack at the bridge was but a +feint. Only a minor portion of the hostile army was there. The greater +mass had gone on and had already crossed the river in face of the +weak left flank of the Southern army. Beauregard had been outwitted. +The Yankees were now in great force on his own side of Bull Run, and it +would be a pitched battle, face to face. +</P> + +<P> +The whole line of the Invincibles quivered with excitement, and then +Harry saw that the rumor was true, or that their commander at least +believed it to be so. The firing stopped entirely and the bugles blew +the retreat. All the brigades gathered themselves up and, wild with +anger and chagrin, slowly withdrew. +</P> + +<P> +"Why are we retreating?" exclaimed Langdon, angrily. "Not a Yankee set +his foot on the bridge! We're not whipped!" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Harry, "we're not whipped, but if we don't retreat we will +be. If fifteen or twenty thousand Yankees struck us on the flank while +those fellows are still in front everything would go." +</P> + +<P> +These were young troops, who considered a retreat equivalent to a +beating, and fierce murmurs ran along the line. But the officers paid +no attention, marching them steadily on, while the artillery rumbled +by their side. Both to right and left they heard the sound of firing, +and they saw the smoke floating against both horizons, but they paid +little attention to it. They were wondering what was in store for them. +</P> + +<P> +"Cheer up, you lads!" cried Colonel Talbot. "You'll get all the +fighting you can stand, and it won't be long in coming, either." +</P> + +<P> +They marched only half an hour and then the troops were drawn up on a +hill, where the officers rapidly formed them into position. It was none +too soon. A long blue line, bristling with cannon on either flank, +appeared across the fields. It was Burnside with the bulk of the +Northern army moving down upon them. Harry was standing beside Colonel +Talbot, ready to carry his orders, and he heard the veteran say, between +his teeth: +</P> + +<P> +"The Yankees have fooled us, and this is the great battle at last." +</P> + +<P> +The two forces looked at each other for a few moments. Elsewhere great +guns and rifles were already at work, but the sounds came distantly. +On the hill and in the fields there was silence, save for the steady +tramp of the advancing Northern troops. Then from the rear of the +marching lines suddenly came a burst of martial music. The Northern +bands, by a queer inversion, were playing Dixie: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "In Dixie's land<BR> + I'll take my stand,<BR> + To live and die for Dixie.<BR> + Look away! Look away!<BR> + Down South in Dixie."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Harry's feet beat to the tune, the wild and thrilling air played for the +first time to troops going into battle. +</P> + +<P> +"We must answer that," he said to St. Clair. +</P> + +<P> +"Here comes the answer," said St. Clair, and the Southern bands began +to play "The Girl I Left Behind Me." The music entered Harry's veins. +He could not look without a quiver upon the great mass of men bearing +down upon them, but the strains of fife and drum put courage in him and +told him to stand fast. He saw the face of Colonel Talbot grow darker +and darker, and he had enough experience himself to know that the odds +were heavily against them. +</P> + +<P> +The intense burning sun poured down a flood of light, lighting up the +opposing ranks of blue and gray, and gleaming along swords and bayonets. +Nearer and nearer came the piercing notes of Dixie. +</P> + +<P> +"They march well," murmured Colonel Talbot, "and they will fight well, +too." +</P> + +<P> +He did not know that McDowell himself, the Northern commander, was +now before them, driving on his men, but he did know that the courage +and skill of his old comrades were for the present in the ascendant. +Burnside was at the head of the division and it seemed long enough to +wrap the whole Southern command in its folds and crush it. +</P> + +<P> +Scattered rifle shots were heard on either flank, and the young +Invincibles began to breathe heavily. Millions of black specks danced +before them in the hot sunshine, and their nervous ears magnified every +sound tenfold. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish that tune the Yankees are playing was ours," said Tom Langdon. +"I think I could fight battles by it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we'll have to capture it," said Harry. +</P> + +<P> +Now the time for talking ceased. The rifle fire on the flanks was +rising to a steady rattle, and then came the heavy boom of the cannon +on either side. Once more the air was filled with the shriek of shells +and the whistling of rifle bullets. Men were falling fast, and through +the rising clouds of smoke Harry saw the blue lines still coming on. +It seemed to him that they would be overwhelmed, trampled under foot, +routed, but he heard Colonel Talbot shouting: +</P> + +<P> +"Steady, Invincibles! Steady!" +</P> + +<P> +And Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, walking up and down the lines, +also uttered the same shout. But the blue line never ceased coming. +Harry could see the faces dark with sweat and dust and powder still +pressing on. It was well for the Southerners that nearly all of them +had been trained in the use of the rifle, and it was well for them, too, +that most of their officers were men of skill and experience. Recruits, +they stood fast nevertheless and their rifles sent the bullets in an +unceasing bitter hail straight into the advancing ranks of blue. +There was no sound from the bands now. If they were playing somewhere +in the rear no one heard. The fire of the cannon and rifles was a +steady roll, louder than thunder and more awful. +</P> + +<P> +The Northern troops hesitated at last in face of such a resolute stand +and such accurate firing. Then they retreated a little and a shout of +triumph came from the Southern lines, but the respite was only for a +moment. The men in blue came on again, walking over their dead and past +their wounded. +</P> + +<P> +"If they keep pressing in, and it looks as if they would, they will +crush us," murmured Colonel Talbot, but he did not let the Invincibles +hear him say it. He encouraged them with voice and example, and they +bent forward somewhat to meet the second charge of the Northern army, +which was now coming. The smoke lifted a little and Harry saw the green +fields and the white house of the Widow Henry standing almost in the +middle of the battlefield, but unharmed. Then his eyes came back to the +hostile line, which, torn by shot and shell, had closed up, nevertheless, +and was advancing again in overwhelming force. +</P> + +<P> +Harry now had a sudden horrible fear that they would be trodden under +foot. He looked at St. Clair and saw that his face was ghastly. +Langdon had long since ceased to smile or utter words of happy +philosophy. +</P> + +<P> +"Open up and let the guns through!" some one suddenly cried, and a wild +cheer of relief burst from the Invincibles as they made a path. The +valiant Bee and Bartow, rushing to the sound of the great firing, +had come with nearly three thousand men and a whole battery. Never +were men more welcome. They formed instantly along the Southern front, +and the battery opened at once with all its guns, while the three +thousand men sent a new fire into the Northern ranks. Yet the Northern +charge still came. McDowell, Burnside, and the others were pressing it +home, seeking to drive the Southern army from its hill, while they were +yet able to bring forces largely superior to bear upon it. +</P> + +<P> +The thunder and crash of the terrible conflict rolled over all the +hills and fields for miles. It told the other forces of either army +that here was the center of the battle, and here was its crisis. +The sounds reached an extraordinary young-old man, bearded and awkward, +often laughed at, but never to be laughed at again, one of the most +wonderful soldiers the world has ever produced, and instantly gathering +up his troops he rushed them toward the very heart of the combat. +Stonewall Jackson was about to receive his famous nickname. +</P> + +<P> +Jackson's burning eyes swept proudly over the ranks of his tall +Virginians, who mourned every second they lost from the battle. An +officer retreating with his battery glanced at him, opened his mouth to +speak, but closed it again without saying a word, and infused with new +hope, turned his guns afresh toward the enemy. Already men were feeling +the magnetic current of energy and resolution that flowed from Jackson +like water from a fountain. +</P> + +<P> +A message from Colonel Talbot, which he was to deliver to Jackson +himself, sent Harry to the rear. He rode a borrowed horse and he +galloped rapidly until he saw a long line of men marching forward at +a swift but steady pace. At their head rode a man on a sorrel horse. +His shoulders were stooped a little, and he leaned forward in the saddle, +gazing intently at the vast bank of smoke and flame before him. Harry +noticed that the hands upon the bridle reins did not twitch nor did the +horseman seem at all excited. Only his burning eyes showed that every +faculty was concentrated upon the task. Harry was conscious even then +that he was in the presence of General Jackson. +</P> + +<P> +The boy delivered his message. Jackson received it without comment, +never taking his eyes from the battle, which was now raging so fiercely +in front of them. Behind came his great brigade of Virginians, the +smoke and flame of the battle entering their blood and making their +hearts pound fast as they moved forward with increasing speed. +</P> + +<P> +Harry rode back with the young officers of his staff, and now they +saw men dash out of the smoke and run toward them. They cried that +everything was lost. The lip of Jackson curled in contempt. The long +line of his Virginians stopped the fugitives and drove them back to the +battle. It was evident to Harry, young as he was, that Jackson would +be just in time. +</P> + +<P> +Then they saw a battery galloping from that bank of smoke and flame, and, +its officer swearing violently, exclaimed that he had been left without +support. The stern face and somber eyes of Jackson were turned upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"Unlimber your guns at once," he said. "Here is your support." +</P> + +<P> +Then the valiant Bee himself came, covered with dust, his clothes torn +by bullets, his horse in a white lather. He, too, turned to that stern +brown figure, as unflinching as death itself, and he cried that the +enemy in overwhelming numbers were beating them back. +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Jackson, "we'll close up and give them the bayonet." +</P> + +<P> +His teeth shut down like a vise. Again the electric current leaped +forth and sparkled through the veins of Bee, who turned and rode back +into the Southern throng, the Virginians following swiftly. Then +Jackson looked over the field with the eye and mind of genius, the eye +that is able to see and the mind that is able to understand amid all +the thunder and confusion and excitement of battle. +</P> + +<P> +He saw a stretch of pines on the edge of the hill near the Henry house. +He quickly marched his troops among the trees, covering their front with +six cannon, while the great horseman, Stuart, plumed and eager, formed +his cavalry upon the left. Harry felt instinctively that the battle +was about to be restored for the time at least, and he turned back to +Colonel Talbot and the Invincibles. A shell burst near him. A piece +struck his horse in the chest, and Harry felt the animal quiver under +him. Then the horse uttered a terrible neighing cry, but Harry, alert +and agile, sprang clear, and ran back to his own command. +</P> + +<P> +On the other side of Bull Run was the Northern command of Tyler, which +had been rebuffed so fiercely three days before. It, too, heard the +roar and crash of the battle, and sought a way across Bull Run, but for +a time could find none. An officer named Sherman, also destined for a +mighty fame, saw a Confederate trooper riding across the river further +down, and instantly the whole command charged at the ford. It was +defended by only two hundred Southern skirmishers whom they brushed out +of the way. They were across in a few minutes, and then they advanced +on a run to swell McDowell's army. The forces on both sides were +increasing and the battle was rising rapidly in volume. But in the face +of repeated and furious attacks the Southern troops held fast to the +little plateau. Young's Branch flowed on one side of it and protected +them in a measure; but only the indomitable spirit of Jackson and Evans, +of Bee and Bartow, and others kept them in line against those charges +which threatened to shiver them to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +"Look!" cried Bee to some of his men who were wavering. "Look at +Jackson, standing there like a stone wall!" +</P> + +<P> +The men ceased to waver and settled themselves anew for a fresh attack. +</P> + +<P> +But in spite of everything the Northern army was gaining ground. +Sherman at the very head of the fresh forces that had crossed Bull Run +hurled himself upon the Southern army, his main attack falling directly +upon the Invincibles. The young recruits reeled, but Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire still ran up and down the lines begging +them to stand. They took fresh breath and planted their feet deep once +more. Harry raised his rifle and took aim at a flitting figure in the +smoke. Then he dropped the muzzle. Either it was reality or a powerful +trick of the fancy. It was his own cousin, Dick Mason, but the smoke +closed in again, and he did not see the face. +</P> + +<P> +The rush of Sherman was met and repelled. Tie drew back only to come +again, and along the whole line the battle closed in once more, fiercer +and more deadly than ever. Upon all the combatants beat the fierce sun +of July, and clouds of dust rose to mingle with the smoke of cannon and +rifles. +</P> + +<P> +The advantage now lay distinctly with the Northern army, won by its +clever passage of Bull Run and surprise. But the courage and tenacity +of the Southern troops averted defeat and rout in detail. Jackson, +in his strong position near the Henry house, in the cellars of which +women were hiding, refused to give an inch of ground. Beauregard, +called by the cannon, arrived upon the field only an hour before noon, +meeting on the way many fugitives, whom he and his officers drove +back into the battle. Hampton's South Carolina Legion, which reached +Richmond only that morning, came by train and landed directly upon the +battlefield about noon. In five minutes it was in the thick of the +battle, and it alone stemmed a terrific rush of Sherman, when all others +gave way. +</P> + +<P> +Noon had passed and the heart of McDowell swelled with exultation. +The Northern troops were still gaining ground, and at many points the +Southern line was crushed. Some of the recruits in gray, their nerves +shaken horribly, were beginning to run. But fresh troops coming up +met them and turned them back to the field. Beauregard and Johnston, +the two senior generals, both experienced and calm, were reforming their +ranks, seizing new and strong positions, and hurrying up every portion +of their force. Johnston himself, after the first rally, hurried back +for fresh regiments, while Jackson's men not only held their ground but +began to drive the Northern troops before them. +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles had fallen back somewhat, leaving many dead behind them. +Many more were wounded. Harry had received two bullets through his +clothing, and St. Clair was nicked on the wrist. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire were still unharmed, but a deep gloom had +settled over the Invincibles. They had not been beaten, but certainly +they were not winning. Their ranks were seamed and rent. From the +place where they now stood they could see the place where they formerly +stood, but Northern troops occupied it now. Tears ran down the faces +of some of the youngest, streaking the dust and powder into hideous, +grinning masks. +</P> + +<P> +Harry threw himself upon the ground and lay there for a few moments, +panting. He choked with heat and thirst, and his heart seemed to have +swollen so much within him that it would be a relief to have it burst. +His eyes burned with the dust and smoke, and all about him was a fearful +reek. He could see from where he lay most of the battlefield. He saw +the Northern batteries fire, move forward, and then fire again. He saw +the Northern infantry creeping up, ever creeping, and far behind he +beheld the flags of fresh regiments coming to their aid. The tears +sprang to his eyes. It seemed in very truth that all was lost. In +another part of the field the men in blue had seized the Robinson house, +and from points near it their artillery was searching the Southern +ranks. A sudden grim humor seized the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Tom," he shouted to Langdon, "what was that you said about sleeping in +the White House at Washington with your boots on?" +</P> + +<P> +"I said it," Langdon shouted back, "but I guess it's all off! For God's +sake, Harry, give me a drink of water! I'll give anybody a million +dollars and a half dozen states for a single drink!" +</P> + +<P> +A soldier handed him a canteen, and he drank from it. The water was +warm, but it was nectar, and when he handed it back, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know you and you don't know me, but if I could I'd give you a +whole lake in return for this. Harry, what are our chances?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. We've lost one battle, but we may have time to win +another. Jackson and those Virginians of his seem able to stand +anything. Up, boys, the battle is on us again!" +</P> + +<P> +The charge swept almost to their feet, but it was driven back, and then +came a momentary lull, not a cessation of the battle, but merely a +sinking, as if the combatants were gathering themselves afresh for a new +and greater effort. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the fierce +July sun was at its zenith, pouring its burning rays upon both armies, +alike upon the living and upon the dead who were now so numerous. +</P> + +<P> +The lull was most welcome to the men in gray. Some fresh regiments sent +by Johnston had come already, and they hoped for more, but whether they +came or not, the army must stand. The brigades were massed heavily +around the Henry house with that of Jackson standing stern and +indomitable, the strongest wall against the foe. His fame and his +spirit were spreading fast over the field. +</P> + +<P> +The lull was brief, the whole Northern army, its lines reformed, swept +forward in a half curve, and the Southern army sent forth a stream of +shells and bullets to meet it. The brigades of Jackson and Sherman, +indomitable foes, met face to face and swept back and forth over the +ground, which was littered with their fallen. Everywhere the battle +assumed a closer and fiercer phase. Hampton, who had come just in time +with his guns, went down wounded badly. Beauregard himself was wounded +slightly, and so was Jackson, hit in the hand. Many distinguished +officers were killed. +</P> + +<P> +The whole Northern army was driven back four times, and it came a fifth +time to be repulsed once more. In the very height of the struggle Harry +caught a glimpse in front of them of a long horizontal line of red, +like a gleaming ribbon. +</P> + +<P> +"It's those Zouaves!" cried Langdon. "Shoot their pants!" +</P> + +<P> +He did not mean it as a jest. The words just jumped out, and true to +their meaning the Invincibles fired straight at that long line of red, +and then reloading fired again. The Zouaves were cut to pieces, the +field was strewed with their brilliant uniforms. A few officers tried +to bring on the scattered remnants, but two regiments of regulars, +sweeping in between and bearing down on the Invincibles, saved them from +extermination. +</P> + +<P> +The Invincibles would have suffered the fate they had dealt out to the +Zouaves, but fresh regiments came to their help and the regulars were +driven back. Sherman and Jackson were still fighting face to face, +and Sherman was unable to advance. Howard hurled a fresh force on the +men in gray. Bee and Bartow, who had done such great deeds earlier +in the day, were both killed. A Northern force under Heintzelman, +converging for a flank attack, was set upon and routed by the +Southerners, who put them all to flight, captured three guns and took +the Robinson house. +</P> + +<P> +Fortune, nevertheless, still seemed to favor the North. The Southerners +had barely held their positions around the Henry house. Most of their +cannon were dismounted. Hundreds had dropped from exhaustion. Some had +died from heat and excessive exertion. The mortality among the officers +was frightful. There were few hopeful hearts in the Southern army. +</P> + +<P> +It was now three o'clock in the afternoon and Beauregard, through his +glasses, saw a great column of dust rising above the tops of the trees. +His experience told him that it must be made by marching troops, but +what troops were they, Northern or Southern? In an agony of suspense +he appealed to the generals around him, but they could tell nothing. +He sent off aides at a gallop to see, but meanwhile he and his generals +could only wait, while the column of dust grew broader and broader and +higher and higher. His heart sank like a plummet in a pool. The cloud +was on the Federal flank and everything indicated that it was the army +of Patterson, marching from the Valley of Virginia. +</P> + +<P> +Harry and his comrades had also seen the dust, and they regarded it +anxiously. They knew as well as any general present that their fate lay +within that cloud. +</P> + +<P> +"It's coming fast, and it's growing faster," said Harry. "I've got so +used to the roar of this battle that it seems to me alien sounds are +detached from it, and are heard easily. I can hear the rumble of cannon +wheels in that cloud." +</P> + +<P> +"Then tell us, Harry," said Langdon, "is it a Northern rumble or a +Southern rumble that you hear?" +</P> + +<P> +Harry laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll admit it's a good deal of a fancy," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Arthur St. Clair suddenly leaped high in the air, and uttered at the +very top of his voice the wild note of the famous rebel yell. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at the flags aloft in that cloud of dust! It's the Star and Bars! +God bless the Bonnie Blue Flag! They are our own men coming, and coming +in time!" +</P> + +<P> +Now the battle flags appeared clearly through the dust, and the great +rebel yell, swelling and triumphant, swept the whole Southern line. +It was the remainder of Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah. It had +slipped away from Patterson, and all through the burning day it had been +marching steadily toward the battlefield, drummed on by the thudding +guns. Johnston, the silent and alert, was himself with them now, +and aflame with zeal they were advancing on the run straight for the +heart of the Northern army. +</P> + +<P> +Kirby Smith, one of Harry's own Kentucky generals, was in the very van +of the relieving force. A man after Stonewall Jackson's own soul, +he rushed forward with the leading regiments and they hurled themselves +bodily upon the Northern flank. +</P> + +<P> +The impact was terrible. Smith fell wounded, but his men rushed on and +the men behind also threw themselves into the battle. Almost at the +same instant Jubal Early, who had made a circuit with a strong force, +hurled it upon the side of the Northern army. The brave troops in blue +were exhausted by so many hours of fierce fighting and fierce heat. +Their whole line broke and began to fall back. The Southern generals +around the Henry house saw it and exulted. Swift orders were sent and +the bugles blew the charge for the men who had stood so many long and +bitter hours on the defense. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, Invincibles, now!" cried Colonel Leonidas Talbot. "Charge home, +just once, my boys, and the victory is ours!" +</P> + +<P> +Covered with dust and grime, worn and bleeding with many wounds, but +every heart beating triumphantly, what was left of the Invincibles rose +up and followed their leader. Harry was conscious of a flame almost +in his face and of whirling clouds of smoke and dust. Then the entire +Southern army burst upon the confused Northern force and shattered it +so completely that it fell to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +The bravest battle ever fought by men, who, with few exceptions, had not +smelled the powder of war before, was lost and won. +</P> + +<P> +As the Southern cannon and rifles beat upon them, the Northern army, +save for the regulars and the cavalry, dissolved. The generals could +not stem the flood. They rushed forward in confused masses, seeking +only to save themselves. Whole regiments dashed into the fords of Bull +Run and emerged dripping on the other side. A bridge was covered with +spectators come out from Washington to see the victory, many of them +bringing with them baskets of lunch. Some were Members of Congress, +but all joined in the panic and flight, carrying to the capital many +untrue stories of disaster. +</P> + +<P> +A huge mass of fleeing men emerged upon the Warrenton turnpike, throwing +away their weapons and ammunition that they might run the faster. +It was panic pure and simple, but panic for the day only. For hours +they had fought as bravely as the veterans of twenty battles, but now, +with weakened nerves, they thought that an overwhelming force was upon +them. Every shell that the Southern guns sent among them urged them to +greater speed. The cavalry and little force of regulars covered the +rear, and with firm and unbroken ranks retreated slowly, ready to face +the enemy if he tried pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +But the men in gray made no real pursuit. They were so worn that they +could not follow, and they yet scarcely believed in the magnitude of +their own victory, snatched from the very jaws of defeat. Twenty-eight +Northern cannon and ten flags were in their hands, but thousands of dead +and wounded lay upon the field, and night was at hand again, close and +hot. +</P> + +<P> +Harry turned back to the little plateau where those that were left of +the Invincibles were already kindling their cooking fires. He looked +for his two comrades and recognized them both under their masks of dust +and powder. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you hurt, Tom?" he said to Langdon. +</P> + +<P> +"No, and I'm going to sleep in the White House at Washington after all." +</P> + +<P> +"And you, Arthur?" +</P> + +<P> +"There's a red line across my wrist, where a bullet passed, but it's +nothing. Listen, what do you think of that, boys?" +</P> + +<P> +A Southern band had gathered in the edge of the wood and was playing +a wild thrilling air, the words of which meant nothing, but the tune +everything: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "In Dixie's land<BR> + I'll take my stand,<BR> + To live and die for Dixie.<BR> + Look away! Look away!<BR> + Look away down South in Dixie."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +"So we have taken their tune from them and made it ours!" St. Clair +exclaimed jubilantly. "After all, it really belonged to us! We'll play +it through the streets of Washington." +</P> + +<P> +But Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who stood close by, raised his hand +warningly. +</P> + +<P> +"Boys," he said, "this is only the beginning." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<HR> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<PRE> +Appendix: Transcription notes: + +This etext was transcribed from a volume printed in April, 1964 +(Twenty-eighth Printing) + + +The following modifications were applied while transcribing the +printed book to e-text: + + chapter 1: + - Fixed typo ("hestitated"), page 22, para 2 + - Fixed typo (changed "this father" to "his father"), page 23, + first line of para 5 + + chapter 2: + - Changed "t" to upper-case in sentence "to bed!" on page 40, para 3 + + chapter 3: + - Removed an extraneous quotation mark on page 62, at the end of para 4 + - Fixed typo ("extaordinary"), page 63, para 2 + - Fixed typo ("fews"), page 65, para 5 + + chapter 4: + - Fixed typo ("feeliing"), page 81, para 6 + + chapter 6: + - Added a missing comma on page 111, third sentence + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 119, para 7 + + chapter 9: + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 187, para 3 + + chapter 10: + - Page 197, second para: replaced a comma with a period preceding "Yet" + (However, It is unclear whether the author intended a period, or + whether instead the "yet" should be lower case - either would serve + equally well.) + - Fixed typo (changed "achievment" to "achievement"), page 208, para 8 + + chapter 11: + - Fixed typo ("thy're") on page 234, para 4 + + chapter 12: + - Page 241, para 1: changed "four o'clock this morning" to "four + o'clock this afternoon" - the content of this page and the following + pages clearly indicates that the march started in mid-day, + not before dawn + + chapter 13: + - Fixed typo ("persausive") on page 282, para 4 + - Fixed typo ("aand") on page 284, para 4 + + chapter 14: + - Fixed typo (changed "hid" to "hide"), page 289, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("batallions"), page 292, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("aand"), page 293, para 5 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 7 on page 295 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 8 on page 296 + - Fixed typo ("paseed"), page 299, para 1 + + chapter 16: + - Removed a duplicate "to" on page 330, para 3 + + Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII: + + - The printed book presented the names of newspapers and ships + in italics, but italics are not available in plain ASCII + + Chapter 1, page 9: Pendleton News, News, Louisville Journal, News + page 10: News + Chapter 3, page 71: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 4, everywhere: Star of the West + Chapter 5, page 96: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 6 and 7: Baltic + Chapter 12: Star of the West + + - The word "marquee" in chapter 15 was presented in the printed + book with an accented "e" + + +I did not modify: + + - The following sentence in chapter 1 does not seem quite right, + but I am not sure how to change it, if I would change it: + + George Kenton, having inherited much land in Kentucky, and two or + three plantations further south had added to his property by good + management. + + - There are a number of instances where the use of the comma in the + printed book seems to me inappropriate, mainly in terms of commas + inserted where I would not insert them, and also sometimes commas + lacking where I would provide them. However, I have adhered to + the punctuation as printed (except for obvious printing errors, + which are noted above). + + For example: + + His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, an + emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. + + Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, + but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. + + The sea itself, is against them. + + Two heavier crashes showed that the cannon were also coming into + play, and one shell striking within the fort, exploded, wounding + a half dozen men. + + The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest + of a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin + for profitable cultivation. + + - Each section of verse is formatted to appear similar to its + presentation in the printed book. Consequently: some verse is + indented more than others, some is left-aligned, some is + staggered on the left margin, some is center-aligned. + + - The author sometimes uses a technique whereby a paragraph introducing + a quotation ends with a colon, with the quotation following as the + next paragraph. +</PRE> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Guns of Bull Run, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUNS OF BULL RUN *** + +***** This file should be named 3653-h.htm or 3653-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/5/3653/ + +Produced by Ken Reeder. 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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 Guns of Bull Run + A Story of the Civil War's Eve + +Author: Joseph A. Altsheler + +Posting Date: April 25, 2009 [EBook #3653] +Release Date: January, 2003 +First Posted: July 3, 2001 +Last Updated: January 28, 2004 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUNS OF BULL RUN *** + + + + +Produced by Ken Reeder. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + + + +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN + +A STORY OF THE CIVIL WAR'S EVE + + +by + +JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + + + +THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + + VOLUMES IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + THE GUNS OF BULL RUN. + THE GUNS OF SHILOH. + THE SCOUTS OF STONEWALL. + THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM. + THE STAR OF GETTYSBURG. + THE ROCK OF CHICKAMAUGA. + THE SHADES OF THE WILDERNESS. + THE TREE OF APPOMATTOX. + + + PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + HARRY KENTON, A Lad Who Fights on the Southern Side. + DICK MASON, Cousin of Harry Kenton, Who Fights on the Northern Side. + COLONEL GEORGE KENTON, Father of Harry Kenton. + MRS. MASON, Mother of Dick Mason. + JULIANA, Mrs. Mason's Devoted Colored Servant. + COLONEL ARTHUR WINCHESTER, Dick Mason's Regimental Commander. + COLONEL LEONIDAS TALBOT, Commander of the Invincibles, + a Southern Regiment. + LIEUTENANT COLONEL HECTOR ST. HILAIRE, Second in Command of the + Invincibles. + ALAN HERTFORD, A Northern Cavalry Leader. + PHILIP SHERBURNE, A Southern Cavalry Leader. + WILLIAM J. SHEPARD, A Northern Spy. + DANIEL WHITLEY, A Northern Sergeant and Veteran of the Plains. + GEORGE WARNER, A Vermont Youth Who Loves Mathematics. + FRANK PENNINGTON, A Nebraska Youth, Friend of Dick Mason. + ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, A Native of Charleston, Friend of Harry Kenton. + TOM LANGDON, Friend of Harry Kenton. + GEORGE DALTON, Friend of Harry Kenton. + BILL SKELLY, Mountaineer and Guerrilla. + TOM SLADE, A Guerrilla Chief. + SAM JARVIS, The Singing Mountaineer. + IKE SIMMONS, Jarvis' Nephew. + AUNT "SUSE," A Centenarian and Prophetess. + BILL PETTY, A Mountaineer and Guide. + JULIEN DE LANGEAIS, A Musician and Soldier from Louisiana. + JOHN CARRINGTON, Famous Northern Artillery Officer. + DR. RUSSELL, Principal of the Pendleton School. + ARTHUR TRAVERS, A Lawyer. + JAMES BERTRAND, A Messenger from the South. + JOHN NEWCOMB, A Pennsylvania Colonel. + JOHN MARKHAM, A Northern Officer. + JOHN WATSON, A Northern Contractor. + WILLIAM CURTIS, A Southern Merchant and Blockade Runner. + MRS. CURTIS, Wife of William Curtis. + HENRIETTA CARDEN, A Seamstress in Richmond. + DICK JONES, A North Carolina Mountaineer. + VICTOR WOODVILLE, A Young Mississippi Officer. + JOHN WOODVILLE, Father of Victor Woodville. + CHARLES WOODVILLE, Uncle of Victor Woodville. + COLONEL BEDFORD, A Northern Officer. + CHARLES GORDON, A Southern Staff Officer. + JOHN LANHAM, An Editor. + JUDGE KENDRICK, A Lawyer. + MR. CULVER, A State Senator. + MR. BRACKEN, A Tobacco Grower. + ARTHUR WHITRIDGE, A State Senator. + + + HISTORICAL CHARACTERS + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States. + JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Southern Confederacy. + JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, Member of the Confederate Cabinet. + U. S. GRANT, Northern Commander. + ROBERT E. LEE, Southern Commander. + STONEWALL JACKSON, Southern General. + PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, Northern General. + GEORGE H. THOMAS, "The Rock of Chickamauga." + ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON, Southern General. + A. P. HILL, Southern General. + W. S. HANCOCK, Northern General. + GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Northern General. + AMBROSE E. BURNSIDE, Northern General. + TURNER ASHBY, Southern Cavalry Leader. + J. E. B. STUART, Southern Cavalry Leader. + JOSEPH HOOKER, Northern General. + RICHARD S. EWELL, Southern General. + JUBAL EARLY, Southern General. + WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS, Northern General. + SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, Southern General. + LEONIDAS POLK, Southern General and Bishop. + BRAXTON BRAGG, Southern General. + NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST, Southern Cavalry Leader. + JOHN MORGAN, Southern Cavalry Leader. + GEORGE J. MEADE, Northern General. + DON CARLOS BUELL, Northern General. + W. T. SHERMAN, Northern General. + JAMES LONGSTREET, Southern General. + P. G. T. BEAUREGARD, Southern General. + WILLIAM L. YANCEY, Alabama Orator. + JAMES A. GARFIELD, Northern General, afterwards President of + the United States. + + And many others + + + IMPORTANT BATTLES DESCRIBED IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + BULL RUN + KERNSTOWN + CROSS KEYS + WINCHESTER + PORT REPUBLIC + THE SEVEN DAYS + MILL SPRING + FORT DONELSON + SHILOH + PERRYVILLE + STONE RIVER + THE SECOND MANASSAS + ANTIETAM + FREDERICKSBURG + CHANCELLORSVILLE + GETTYSBURG + CHAMPION HILL + VICKSBURG + CHICKAMAUGA + MISSIONARY RIDGE + THE WILDERNESS + SPOTTSYLVANIA + COLD HARBOR + FISHER'S HILL + CEDAR CREEK + APPOMATTOX + + + +CONTENTS + + I. NEWS FROM CHARLESTON + II. A COURIER TO THE SOUTH + III. THE HEART OF REBELLION + IV. THE FIRST CAPITAL + V. THE NEW PRESIDENT + VI. SUMTER + VII. THE HOMECOMING + VIII. THE FIGHT FOR A STATE + IX. THE RIVER JOURNEY + X. OVER THE MOUNTAINS + XI. IN VIRGINIA + XII. THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT + XIII. THE SEEKER FOR HELP + XIV. IN WASHINGTON + XV. BATTLE'S EVE + XVI. BULL RUN + + + + +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +NEWS FROM CHARLESTON + + +It would soon be Christmas and Harry Kenton, at his desk in the +Pendleton Academy, saw the snow falling heavily outside. The school +stood on the skirt of the town, and the forest came down to the edge of +the playing field. The great trees, oak and ash and elm, were clothed +in white, and they stood out a vast and glittering tracery against the +somber sky. + +The desk was of the old kind, intended for two, and Harry's comrade in +it was his cousin, Dick Mason, of his own years and size. They would +graduate in June, and both were large and powerful for their age. +There was a strong family resemblance and yet a difference. Harry's +face was the more sensitive and at times the blood leaped like +quicksilver in his veins. Dick's features indicated a quieter and more +stubborn temper. They were equal favorites with teachers and pupils. + +Dick's eyes followed Harry's, and he, too, looked at the falling snow +and the white forest. Both were thinking of Christmas and the holiday +season so near at hand. It was a rich section of Kentucky, and they +were the sons of prosperous parents. The snow was fitting at such a +time, and many joyous hours would be passed before they returned to +school. + +The clouds darkened and the snow fell faster. A wind rose and drove it +against the panes. The boys heard the blast roaring outside and the +comfort of the warm room was heightened by the contrast. Harry's eyes +turned reluctantly back to his Tacitus and the customs and manners of +the ancient Germans. The curriculum of the Pendleton Academy was simple, +like most others at that time. After the primary grades it consisted +chiefly of the classics and mathematics. Harry led in the classics and +Dick in the mathematics. + +Bob Turner, the free colored man, who was janitor of the academy, +brought in the morning mail, a dozen letters and three or four +newspapers, gave it to Dr. Russell and withdrew on silent feet. + +The Doctor was principal of Pendleton Academy, and he always presided +over the room in which sat the larger boys, nearly fifty in number. +His desk and chair were on a low dais and he sat facing the pupils. +He was a large man, with a ruddy face, and thick hair as white as the +snow that was falling outside. He had been a teacher fifty years, +and three generations in Pendleton owed to him most of the learning that +is obtained from books. He opened his letters one by one, and read +them slowly. + +Harry moved far away into the German forest with old Tacitus. He was +proud of his Latin and he did not mean to lose his place as first in the +class. The other boys also were absorbed in their books. It was seldom +that all were studious at the same time, but this was one of the rare +moments. There was no shuffling of feet, and fifty heads were bent over +their desks. + +It was a full half hour before Harry looked up from his Tacitus. +His first glance was at the window. The snow was driving hard, and the +forest had become a white blur. He looked next at the Doctor and he saw +that the ruddy face had turned white. The old man was gazing intently +at an open letter in his hand. Two or three others had fallen to the +floor. He read the letter again, folded it carefully, and put it in his +pocket. Then he broke the wrapper on one of the newspapers and rapidly +read its columns. The whiteness of his face deepened into pallor. + +The slight tearing sound caused most of the boys to look up, and they +noticed the change in the principal's face. They had never seen him +look like that before. It was as if he had received some sudden and +deadly stroke. Yet he sat stiffly upright and there was no sound in the +room but the rustling of the newspaper as he turned its pages. + +Harry became conscious of some strange and subtle influence that had +crept into the very air, and his pulse began to leap. The others felt +it, too. There was a tense feeling in the room and they became so still +that the soft beat of the snow on the windows could be heard. + +Not a single eye was turned to a book now. All were intent upon the +Doctor, who still read the newspaper, his face without a trace of color, +and his strong white hands trembling. He folded the paper presently, +but still held it in his hand. As he looked up, he became conscious of +the silence in the room, and of the concentrated gaze of fifty pairs +of eyes bent upon him. A little color returned to his cheeks, and his +hands ceased to tremble. He stood up, took the letter from his pocket, +and opened it again. + +Dr. Russell was a striking figure, belonging to a classic type found +at its best in the border states. A tall man, he held himself erect, +despite his years, and the color continued to flow back into the face, +which was shaped in a fine strong mold. + +"Boys," he said, in a firm, full voice, although it showed emotion, +"I have received news which I must announce to you. As I tell it, +I beg that you will restrain yourselves, and make little comment here. +Its character is such that you are not likely ever to hear anything of +more importance." + +No one spoke, but a thrill of excitement ran through the room. Harry +became conscious that the strange and subtle influence had increased. +The pulses in both temples were beating hard. He and Dick leaned +forward, their elbows upon the desk, their lips parted a little in +attention. + +"You know," continued Dr. Russell in the full voice that trembled +slightly, "of the troubles that have arisen between the states, North +and South, troubles that the best Americans, with our own great Henry +Clay at the head, have striven to avert. You know of the election of +Lincoln, and how this beloved state of ours, seeking peace, voted for +neither Lincoln nor Breckinridge, both of whom are its sons." + +The trembling of his voice increased and he paused again. It was +obvious that he was stirred by deep emotion and it communicated itself +to the boys. Harry was conscious that the thrill, longer and stronger +than before, ran again through the room. + +"I have just received a letter from an old friend in Charleston," +continued Dr. Russell in a shaking voice, "and he tells me that on the +twentieth, three days ago, the state of South Carolina seceded from the +Union. He also sends me copies of two of the Charleston newspapers of +the day following. In both of these papers all despatches from the +other states are put under the head, 'Foreign News.' With the +Abolitionists of New England pouring abuse upon all who do not agree +with them, and the hot heads of South Carolina rushing into violence, +God alone knows what will happen to this distracted country that all +of us love so well." + +He turned anew to his correspondence. But Harry saw that he was +trembling all over. An excited murmur arose. The boys began to talk +about the news, and the principal, his thoughts far away, did not call +them to order. + +"I suppose since South Carolina has gone out that other southern states +will do the same," said Harry to his cousin, "and that two republics +will stand where but one stood before." + +"I don't know that the second result will follow the first," replied +Dick Mason. + +Harry glanced at him. He was conscious of a certain cold tenacity in +Dick's voice. He felt that a veil of antagonism had suddenly been drawn +between these two who were the sons of sisters and who had been close +comrades all their lives. His heart swelled suddenly. As if by +inspiration, he saw ahead long and terrible years. He said no more, +but gazed again at the pages of his Tacitus, although the letters only +swam before his eyes. + +The great buzz subsided at last, although there was not one among the +boys who was not still thinking of the secession of South Carolina. +They had shared in the excitement of the previous year. A few had +studied the causes, but most were swayed by propinquity and kinship, +which with youth are more potent factors than logic. + +The afternoon passed slowly. Dr. Russell, who always heard the +recitations of the seniors in Latin, did not call the class. Harry was +so much absorbed in other thoughts that he did not notice the fact. +Outside, the clouds still gathered and the soft beat of the snow on the +window panes never ceased. The hour of dismissal came at last and the +older boys, putting on their overcoats, went silently out. Harry did +not dream that he had passed the doors of Pendleton Academy for the +last time, as a student. + +While the seniors were quiet, there was no lack of noise from the +younger lads. Snowballs flew and the ends of red comforters, dancing +in the wind, touched the white world with glowing bits of color. Harry +looked at them with a sort of pity. The magnified emotions of youth had +suddenly made him feel very old and very responsible. When a snowball +struck him under the ear he paid no attention to it, a mark of great +abstraction in him. + +He and his cousin walked gravely on, and left the shouting crowd behind +them. Three or four hundred yards further, they came upon the main +street of Pendleton, a town of fifteen hundred people, important in +its section as a market, and as a financial and political center. It +had two banks as solid as stone, and it was the proud boast of its +inhabitants that, excepting Louisville and Lexington, its bar was of +unequalled talent in the state. Other towns made the same claim, +but no matter. Pendleton knew that they were wrong. Lawyers stood +very high, especially when they were fluent speakers. + +It was a singular fact that the two boys, usually full of talk, after +the manner of youth, did not speak until they came to the parting of +their ways. Then Harry, the more emotional of the two, and conscious +that the veil of antagonism was still between them, thrust out his hand +suddenly and said: + +"Whatever happens, Dick, you and I must not quarrel over it. Let's +pledge our word here and now that, being of the same blood and having +grown up together, we will always be friends." + +The color in the cheeks of the other boy deepened. A slight moisture +appeared in his eyes. He was, on the whole, more reserved than Harry, +but he, too, was stirred. He took the outstretched hand and gave it a +strong clasp. + +"Always, Harry," he replied. "We don't think alike, maybe, about the +things that are coming, but you and I can't quarrel." + +He released the hand quickly, because he hated any show of emotion, +and hurried down a side street to his home. Harry walked on into the +heart of the town, as he lived farther away on the other side. He soon +had plenty of evidence that the news of South Carolina's secession had +preceded him here. There had been no such stir in Pendleton since they +heard of Buena Vista, where fifty of her sons fought and half of them +fell. + +Despite the snow, the streets about the central square were full of +people. Many of the men were reading newspapers. It was fifteen miles +to the nearest railroad station, and the mail had come in at noon, +bringing the first printed accounts of South Carolina's action. In this +border state, which was a divided house from first to last, men still +guarded their speech. They had grown up together, and they were all of +blood kin, near or remote. + +"What will it mean?" said Harry to old Judge Kendrick. + +"War, perhaps, my son," replied the old man sadly. "The violence of New +England in speech and the violence of South Carolina in action may start +a flood. But Kentucky must keep out of it. I shall raise my voice +against the fury of both factions, and thank God, our people have never +refused to hear me." + +He spoke in a somewhat rhetorical fashion, natural to time and place, +but he was in great earnest. Harry went on, and entered the office of +the Pendleton News, the little weekly newspaper which dispensed the news, +mostly personal, within a radius of fifty miles. He knew that the News +would appear on the following day, and he was anxious to learn what +Mr. Gardner, the editor, a friend of his, would have to say in his +columns. + +He walked up the dusty stairway and entered the room, where the +editor sat amid piles of newspapers. Mr. Gardner was a youngish man, +high-colored and with longish hair. He was absorbed so deeply in a copy +of the Louisville Journal that he did not hear Harry's step or notice +his coming until the boy stood beside him. Then he looked up and said +dryly: + +"Too many sparks make a blaze at last. If people keep on quarreling +there's bound to be a fight some time or other. I suppose you've heard +that South Carolina has seceded." + +"Dr. Russell announced it at the school. Are you telling, Mr. Gardner, +what the News will have to say about it?" + +"I don't mind," replied the editor, who was fond of Harry, and who liked +his alert mind. "If it comes to a breach, I'm going with my people. +It's hard to tell what's right or wrong, but my ancestors belonged to +the South and so do I." + +"That's just the way I feel!" exclaimed Harry vehemently. + +The editor smiled. + +"But I don't intend to say so in the News tomorrow," he continued. +"I shall try to pour oil upon the waters, although I won't be able to +hide my Southern leanings. The Colonel, your father, Harry, will not +seek to conceal his." + +"No," said Harry. "He will not. What was that?" + +The sound of a shot came from the street. The two ran hurriedly down +the stairway. Three men were holding a fourth who struggled with them +violently. One had wrenched from his hand a pistol still smoking at the +muzzle. About twenty feet away was another man standing between two who +held him tightly, although he made no effort to release himself. + +Harry looked at the two captives. They made a striking contrast. +The one who fought was of powerful build, and dressed roughly. His +whole appearance indicated the primitive human being, and Harry knew +immediately that he was one of the mountaineers who came long distances +to trade or carouse in Pendleton. + +The man who faced the mountaineer, standing quietly between those who +held him, was young and slender, though tall. His longish black hair +was brushed carefully. The natural dead whiteness of his face was +accentuated by his black mustache, which turned up at the ends like +that of a duelist. He was dressed in black broadcloth, the long coat +buttoned closely about his body, but revealing a full and ruffled +shirt bosom as white as snow. His face expressed no emotion, but the +mountaineer cursed violently. + +"I can read the story at once," said the editor, shrugging his +shoulders. "I know the mountaineer. He's Bill Skelly, a rough man, +prone to reach for the trigger, especially when he's full of bad whiskey +as he is now, and the other, Arthur Travers, is no stranger to you. +Skelly is for the abolition of slavery. All the mountaineers are. +Maybe it's because they have no slaves themselves and hate the more +prosperous and more civilized lowlanders who do have them. Harry, +my boy, as you grow older you'll find that reason and logic seldom +control men's lives." + +"Skelly was excited over the news from South Carolina," said Harry, +continuing the story, which he, too, had read, as an Indian reads a +trail, "and he began to drink. He met Travers and cursed the +slave-holders. Travers replied with a sneer, which the mountaineer +could not understand, except that it hurt. Skelly snatched out his +pistol and fired wildly. Travers drew his and would have fired, +although not so wildly, but friends seized him. Meanwhile, others +overpowered Skelly and Travers is not excited at all, although he +watches every movement of his enemy, while seeming to be indifferent." + +"You read truly, Harry," said Gardner. "It was a fortunate thing for +Skelly that he was overpowered. Somehow, those two men facing each +other seem, in a way, to typify conditions in this part of the country +at least." + +Harry was now watching Travers, who always aroused his interest. +A lawyer, twenty-seven or eight years of age, he had little practice, +and seemed to wish little. He had a wonderful reputation for dexterity +with cards and the pistol. A native of Pendleton, he was the son of +parents from one of the Gulf States, and Harry could never quite feel +that he was one of their own Kentucky blood and breed. + +"You can release me," said Travers quietly to the young men who stood on +either side of him holding his arms. "I think the time has come to hunt +bigger game than a fool there like Skelly. He is safe from me." + +He spoke with a supercilious scorn which impressed Harry, but which +he did not wholly admire. Travers seemed to him to have the quiet +deadliness of the cobra. There was something about him that repelled. +The men released him. He straightened his long black coat, smoothed the +full ruffles of his shirt and walked away, as if nothing had happened. + +Skelly ceased to struggle. The aspect of the crowd, which was largely +hostile, sobered him. Steve Allison, the town constable, appeared and, +putting his hand heavily upon the mountaineer's shoulder, said: + +"You come with me, Skelly." + +But old Judge Kendrick intervened. + +"Let him go, Steve," he said. "Send him back to the mountains." + +"But he tried to kill a man, Judge." + +"I know, but extraordinary times demand extraordinary methods. A great +and troubled period has come into all our lives. Maybe we're about to +face some terrible crisis. Isn't that so?" + +"Yes," replied the crowd. + +"Then we must not hurry it or make it worse by sudden action. If Skelly +is punished, the mountaineers will say it is political. I appeal to you, +Dr. Russell, to sustain me." + +The white head of the principal showed above the crowd. + +"Judge Kendrick is right," he said. "Skelly must be permitted to go. +His action, in fact, was due to the strained conditions that have long +prevailed among us, and was precipitated by the alarming message that +has come today. For the sake of peace, we must let him go." + +"All right, then," said Allison, "but he goes without his pistol." + +Skelly was put upon his mountain pony, and he rode willingly away amid +the snow and the coming dusk, carrying, despite his release, a bitter +heart into the mountains, and a tale that would inflame the jealousy +with which upland regarded lowland. + +The crowd dispersed. Gardner returned to his office, and Harry went +home. He lived in the best house in or about Pendleton and his father +was its wealthiest citizen. George Kenton, having inherited much land +in Kentucky, and two or three plantations further south had added to +his property by good management. A strong supporter of slavery, actual +contact with the institution on a large scale in the Gulf States had not +pleased him, and he had sold his property there, reinvesting the money +in his native and, as he believed, more solid state. His title of +colonel was real. A graduate of West Point, he had fought bravely with +Scott in all the battles in the Valley of Mexico, but now retired and a +widower, he lived in Pendleton with Harry, his only child. + +Harry approached the house slowly. He knew that his father was a +man of strong temper and he wondered how he would take the news from +Charleston. All the associations of Colonel Kenton were with the +extreme Southern wing, and his influence upon his son was powerful. + +But the Pendleton home, standing just beyond the town, gave forth +only brightness and welcome. The house itself, large and low, built +massively of red brick, stood on the crest of a gentle slope in two +acres of ground. The clipped cones of pine trees adorned the slopes, +and made parallel rows along the brick walk, leading to the white +portico that formed the entrance to the house. Light shone from a +half dozen windows. + +It seemed fine and glowing to Harry. His father loved his home, and so +did he. The twilight had now darkened into night and the snow still +drove, but the house stood solid and square to wind and winter, and the +flame from its windows made broad bands of red and gold across the snow. +Harry went briskly up the walk and then stood for a few moments in the +portico, shaking the snow off his overcoat and looking back at the town, +which lay in a warm cluster in the hollow below. Many lights twinkled +there, and it occurred to Harry that they would twinkle later than usual +that night. + +He opened the door, hung his hat and overcoat in the hall, and entered +the large apartment which his father and he habitually used as a reading +and sitting room. It was more than twenty feet square, with a lofty +ceiling. A home-made carpet, thick, closely woven, and rich in colors +covered the floor. Around the walls were cases containing books, +mostly in rich bindings and nearly all English classics. American work +was scarcely represented at all. The books read most often by Colonel +Kenton were the novels of Walter Scott, whom he preferred greatly to +Dickens. Scott always wrote about gentlemen. A great fire of hickory +logs blazed on the wide hearth. + +Colonel Kenton was alone in the room. He stood at the edge of the +hearth, with his back to the fire and his hands crossed behind him. +His tanned face was slightly pale, and Harry saw that he had been +subjected to great nervous excitement, which had not yet wholly abated. + +The colonel was a tall man, broad of chest, but lean and muscular. +He regarded his son attentively, and his eyes seemed to ask a question. + +"Yes," said Harry, although his father had not spoken a word. "I've +heard of it, and I've already seen one of its results." + +"What is that?" asked Colonel Kenton quickly. + +"As I came through town Bill Skelly, a mountaineer, shot at Arthur +Travers. It came out of hot words over the news from Charleston. +Nobody was hurt, and they've sent Skelly on his pony toward his +mountains." + +Colonel Kenton's face clouded. + +"I'm sorry," he said. "I fear that Travers will be much too free with +stinging remarks. It's a time when men should control their tongues. +Do you be careful with yours. You're a youth in years, but you're a man +in size, and you should be a man in thought, too. You and I have been +close together, and I have trusted you, even when you were a little boy." + +"It's so, father," replied Harry, with affection and gratitude. + +"And I'm going to trust you yet further. It may be that I shall give +you a task requiring great skill and energy." + +The colonel looked closely at his son, and he gave silent approval to +the tall, well-knit form, and the alert, eager face. + +"We'll have supper presently," he said, "and then we will talk with +visitors. Some you know and some you don't. One of them, who has come +far, is already in the house." + +Harry's eyes showed surprise, but he knew better than to ask questions. +The colonel had carried his military training into private life. + +"He is a distant relative of ours, very distant, but a relative still," +continued Colonel Kenton. "You will meet him at supper. Be ready in a +half hour." + +The dinner of city life was still called supper in the South, and +Harry hastened to his room to prepare. His heart began to throb with +excitement. Now they were to have visitors at night and a mysterious +stranger was there. He felt dimly the advance of great events. + +Harry Kenton was a normal and healthy boy, but the discussions, the +debates, and the passions sweeping over the Union throughout the year +had sifted into Pendleton also. The news today had merely struck fire +to tinder prepared already, and, infused with the spirit of youth, +he felt much excitement but no depression. Making a careful toilet +he descended to the drawing room a little before the regular time. +Although he was early, his father was there before him, standing in his +customary attitude with his back to the hearth, and his hands clasped +behind him. + +"Our guest will be down in a few minutes," said Colonel Kenton. "He +comes from Charleston and his name is Raymond Louis Bertrand. I will +explain how he is related to us." + +He gave a chain of cousins extending on either side from the Kenton +family and the Bertrand family until they joined in the middle. It was +a slender tie of kinship, but it sufficed in the South. As he finished, +Bertrand himself came in, and was introduced formally to his Kentucky +cousin. Harry would have taken him for a Frenchman, and he was, in very +truth, largely of French blood. His black eyes and hair, his swarthy +complexion, gleaming white teeth and quick, volatile manner showed a +descendant of France who had come from the ancient soil by way of Hayti, +and the great negro rebellion to the coast of South Carolina. He seemed +strange and foreign to Harry, and yet he liked him. + +"And this is my young cousin, the one who is likely to be so zealous for +our cause," he said, smiling at Harry with flashing black eyes. "You +are a stalwart lad. They grow bigger and stronger here than on our warm +Carolina coast." + +"Raymond arrived only three hours ago," said Colonel Kenton in +explanation. "He came directly from Charleston, leaving only three +hours after the resolution in favor of secession was adopted." + +"And a rough journey it was," said Bertrand vivaciously. "I was +rattled and shaken by the trains, and I made some of the connections by +horseback over the wild hills. Then it was a long ride through the snow +to your hospitable home here, my good cousin, Colonel Kenton. But I had +minute directions, and no one noticed the stranger who came so quietly +around the town, and then entered your house." + +Harry said nothing but watched him intently. Bertrand spoke with a +rapid lightness and grace and an abundance of gesture, to which he was +not used in Kentucky. He ate plentifully, and, although his manners +were delicate, Harry felt to an increasing degree his foreign aspect and +spirit. He did not wonder at it when he learned later that Bertrand, +besides being chiefly of French blood, had also been educated in Paris. + +"Was there much enthusiasm in South Carolina when the state seceded, +Raymond?" asked Colonel Kenton. + +"I saw the greatest joy and confidence everywhere," he replied, the +color flaming through his olive face. "The whole state is ablaze. +Charleston is the heart and soul of our new alliance. Rhett and Yancey +of Alabama, and the great orators make the souls of men leap. Ah, sir, +if you could only have been in Charleston in the course of recent +months! If you could have heard the speakers! If you could have +seen how the great and righteous Calhoun's influence lives after him! +And then the writers! That able newspaper, the Mercury, has thundered +daily for our cause. Simms, the novelist, and Timrod and Hayne, the +poets have written for it. Let the cities of the North boast of their +size and wealth, but they cannot match Charleston in culture and spirit +and vivacity!" + +Harry saw that Bertrand felt and believed every word he said, and his +enthusiasm was communicated to the colonel, whose face flushed, and to +Harry, too, whose own heart was beating faster. + +"It was a great deed!" exclaimed Colonel Kenton. "South Carolina has +always dared to speak her mind, but here in Kentucky some of the cold +North's blood flows in our veins and we pause to calculate and consider. +We must hasten events. Now, Raymond, we will go into the library. +Our friends will be here in a half hour. Harry, you are to stay with +us. I told you that you are to be trusted." + +They left the table, and went into the great room where the fire had +been built anew and was casting a ruddy welcome through the windows. +The two men sat down before the blaze and each fell silent, engrossed in +his thoughts. Harry felt a pleased excitement. Here was a great and +mysterious affair, but he was going to have admittance to the heart +of it. He walked to the window, lifted the curtain and looked out. +A slender erect figure was already coming up the walk, and he recognized +Travers. + +Travers knocked at the door and was received cordially. Colonel Kenton +introduced Bertrand, saying: + +"The messenger from the South." + +Travers shook hands and nodded also to signify that he understood. +Then came Culver, the state senator from the district, a man of middle +years, bulky, smooth shaven, and oratorical. He was followed soon by +Bracken, a tobacco farmer on a great scale, Judge Kendrick, Reid and +Wayne, both lawyers, and several others, all of wealth or of influence +in that region. Besides Harry, there were ten in the room. + +"I believe that we are all here now," said Colonel Kenton. "I keep my +son with us because, for reasons that I will explain later, I shall +nominate him for the task that is needed." + +"We do not question your judgment, colonel," said Senator Culver. +"He is a strong and likely lad. But I suggest that we go at once to +business. Mr. Bertrand, you will inform us what further steps are to be +taken by South Carolina and her neighboring states. South Carolina may +set an example, but if the others do not follow, she will merely be a +sacrifice." + +Bertrand smiled. His smile always lighted up his olive face in a +wonderful way. It was a smile, too, of supreme confidence. + +"Do not fear," he said. "Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana +are ready. We have word from them all. It is only a matter of a few +days until every state in the lower south goes out, but we want also and +we need greatly those on the border, famous states like your Kentucky +and Virginia. Do you not see how you are threatened? With the triumph +of the rail-splitter, Lincoln, the seat of power is transferred to the +North. It is not alone a question of slavery. The balance of the +Union is destroyed. The South loses leadership. Her population is not +increasing rapidly, and hereafter she will merely hold the stirrup while +the North sits in the saddle." + +A murmur arose from the men. More than one clenched his hands, until +the nails pressed into the flesh. Harry, still standing by the window, +felt the influence of the South Carolinian's words more deeply perhaps +than any other. The North appeared to him cold, jealous, and vengeful. + +"You are right about Kentucky and Virginia," said Senator Culver. +"The secession of two such strong states would strike terror in the +North. It would influence the outside world, and we would be in a far +better position for war, if it should come. Governor Magoffin will have +to call a special session of the legislature, and I think there will +be enough of us in both Senate and House to take Kentucky out." + +Bertrand's dark face glowed. + +"You must do it! You must do it!" he exclaimed. "And if you do our +cause is won!" + +There was a thoughtful silence, broken at last by Colonel Kenton, +who turned an inquiring eye upon Bertrand. + +"I wish to ask you about the Knights of the Golden Circle," he said. +"I hear that they are making great headway in the Gulf States." + +Raymond hesitated a moment. It seemed that he, too, felt for the first +time a difference between himself and these men about him who were so +much less demonstrative than he. But he recovered his poise quickly. + +"I speak to you frankly," he replied. "When our new confederation is +formed, it is likely to expand. A hostile union will lie across our +northern border, but to the south the way is open. There is our field. +Spain grows weak and the great island of Cuba will fall from her grasp. +Mexico is torn by one civil war after another. It is a grand country, +and it would prosper mightily in strong hands. Beyond lie the unstable +states of Central America, also awaiting good rulers." + +Colonel Kenton frowned and the lawyers looked doubtful. + +"I can't say that I like your prospect," the colonel said. "It seems to +me that your knights of the Golden Circle meditate a great slave empire +which will eat its way even into South America. Slavery is not wholly +popular here. Henry Clay long ago wished it to be abolished, and his is +a mighty name among us. It would be best to say little in Kentucky of +the Knights of the Golden Circle. Our climate is a little too cold for +such a project." + +Bertrand bit his lip. Swift and volatile, he showed disappointment, but, +still swift and volatile, he recovered quickly. + +"I have no doubt that you are right, Colonel Kenton," he said, in the +tone of one who conforms gracefully, "and I shall be careful when I go +to Frankfort with Senator Culver to say nothing about it." + +But Harry, who watched him all the time, read tenacity and purpose in +his eyes. This man would not relinquish his great southern dream, +a dream of vast dominion, and he had a powerful society behind him. + +"What news, then, will you send to Charleston?" asked Bertrand at +length. "Will you tell her that Kentucky, the state of great names, +will stand beside her?" + +"Such a message shall be carried to her," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking for them all, "and I propose that my son Harry be the +messenger. These are troubled times, gentlemen, and full of peril. +We dare not trust to the mails, and a lad, carrying letters, would +arouse the least suspicion. He is strong and resourceful. I, his +father, should know best and I am willing to devote him to the cause." + +Harry started when he heard the words of his father, and his heart gave +a great leap of mingled surprise and joy. Such a journey, such an +enterprise, made an instant appeal to his impulsive and daring spirit. +But he did not speak, waiting upon the words of his elders. All of them +looked at him, and it seemed to Harry that they were measuring him, +both body and mind. + +"I have known your boy since his birth," said Senator Culver, "and he +is all that you say. There is none stronger and better. The choice is +good." + +"Good! Aye, good indeed!" said the impetuous Bertrand. "How they will +welcome him in Charleston!" + +"Then, gentlemen," said Colonel Kenton, very soberly, "you are all +agreed that my son shall carry to South Carolina the message that +Kentucky will follow her out of the Union?" + +"We are," they said, all together. + +"I shall be glad and proud to go," said Harry, speaking for the first +time. + +"I knew it without asking you," said Colonel Kenton. "I suggest to you, +friends, that he start before dawn, and that he go to Winton instead +of the nearest station. We wish to avoid observation and suspicion. +The fewer questions he has to answer, the better it will be for all of +us." + +They agreed with him again, and, in order that he might be fresh and +strong for his journey, Harry was sent to his bedroom. Everything +would be made ready for him, and Colonel Kenton would call him at the +appointed hour. As he withdrew he bade them in turn good night, and +they returned his courtesy gravely. + +It was one thing to go to his room, but it was another to sleep. +He undressed and sat on the edge of the bed. Only when he was alone did +he realize the tremendous change that had come into his life. Nor into +his life alone, but into the lives of all he knew, and of millions more. + +It had ceased snowing and the wind was still. The earth was clothed +in deep and quiet white, and the pines stood up, rows of white cones, +silvered by the moonlight. Nothing moved out there. No sound came. +He felt awed by the world of night, and the mysterious future which must +be full of strange and great events. + +He lay down between the covers and, although sleep was long in coming, +it came at last and it was without dreams. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A COURIER TO THE SOUTH + + +Harry was awakened by his father shaking his shoulder. It was yet dark +outside, but a small lamp burned on his table. + +"It is time for you to go, Harry," said Colonel Kenton, somewhat +unsteadily. "Your horse, bridle and saddle on, is waiting. Your +breakfast has been cooked for you, and everything else is ready." + +Harry dressed rapidly in his heaviest and warmest clothing. He and his +father ate breakfast by lamplight, and when he finished it was not yet +dawn. Then the Colonel himself brought him his overcoat, comforter, +overshoes, and fur cap. + +"The saddlebags are already on your horse," he said, "and they are +filled with the things you will need. In this pocket-book you will +find five hundred dollars, and here is, also, an order on a bank in +Charleston for more. See that you keep both money and order safely. +I trust to you to spend the money in the proper manner." + +Harry put both in an inside pocket of his waistcoat, and then his father +handed him a heavy sealed letter. + +"This you must guard with your life," he said. "It is not addressed +to anybody, but you can give it to Senator Yancey, who is probably +in Charleston, or Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, or General +Beauregard, who, I understand, is coming to command the troops there, +and whom I knew in former days, or to General Ripley. It contains +Kentucky's promise to South Carolina, and it is signed by many of us. +And now, Harry, let prudence watch over action. It is no common errand +upon which you ride." + +The colonel walked with him to the gate where the horse stood. Harry +did not know who had brought the animal there, but he believed that his +father had done so with his own hand. The boy sprang into the saddle, +Colonel Kenton gave him a strong grasp of the hand, undertook to say +something but, as he did so, the words choked in his throat, and he +walked hastily toward the house. + +Harry spoke to his horse, but a hundred yards away, before he came to +the first curve in the road, he stopped and looked back. Colonel Kenton +was standing in the doorway, his figure made bright in the moonlight. +Harry waved his hand and a hand was waved in return. Tears arose to his +own eyes, but he was youth in the saddle, with the world before him, +and the mist was gone quickly. + +The snow was six or eight inches deep, and lay unbroken in the road. +But the horse was powerful, shod carefully for snow and ice, and Harry +had been almost from infancy an expert rider. His spirits rose. +He had no fear of the stillness and the dark. But one could scarcely +call it the dark, since brilliant stars rode high in a bright blue +heaven, and the forest on either side of him was a vast and intricate +tracery of white touched with silver. + +He examined his saddle bags, and found in them a silver-mounted pistol +and cartridges which he transferred to his belt. The line of the +mountains lay near the road, and he remembered Bill Skelly and those +like him. The weapon gave him new strength. Skelly and his comrades +might come on any pretext they chose. + +The road lay straight toward the south, edged on either side by forest. +Now and then he passed a silent farm house, set back among the trees, +and once a dog barked, but there was no sound, save the tread of the +horse's feet in the snow, and his occasional puff when he blew the steam +from his nostrils. Harry did not feel the cold. The heavy overcoat +protected his body, and the strong action of the heart, pouring the +blood in a full tide through his veins, kept him warm. + +The east whitened. Dawn came. Thin spires of smoke began to rise from +distant houses in the woods or fields. Harry was already many miles +from Pendleton, and then something rose in his throat again. He +remembered his father standing in the portico, and, strangely enough, +the Tacitus lying in his locked desk at the academy. But he crushed +it down. His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, +an emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. + +The station at Winton was a full twenty miles from Pendleton and, +with such heavy snow, Harry did not expect to arrive until late in the +afternoon. Nor would there be any need for him to get there earlier, +as no train for Nashville reached that place until half past six in the +evening. His horse showed no signs of weariness, but he checked his +speed, and went on at an easy walk. + +The road curved nearer to a line of blue hills, which sloped gradually +upward for scores of miles, until they became mountains. All were +clothed with forest, and every tree was heavy with snow. A line between +the trees showed where a path turned off from the main road and entered +the hills. As Harry approached it, he heard the crunching of horses' +hoofs in the snow. A warning instinct caused him to urge his own horse +forward, just as four riders came into view. + +He saw that the men in the saddles, who were forty or fifty yards away, +were mountaineers, like Skelly. They wore fur caps; heavy blanket +shawls were drooped about their shoulders and every one carried a rifle. +As soon as they saw the boy they shouted to him to halt. + +Harry's alert senses took alarm. They must have gained some knowledge +of his errand and its nature. Perhaps word had been sent from Pendleton +by those who were arraying themselves on the other side that he be +intercepted. When they cried to him to stop, he struck his horse +sharply, shouted to him, and bent far over against his neck. Colonel +Kenton had chosen well. The horse responded instantly. He seemed to +gather his whole powerful frame compactly together, and shot forward. +The nearest mountaineer fired, but the bullet merely whistled where the +horse and rider had been, and sent snow flying from the bushes on the +other side of the road. A second rifle cracked but it, too, missed the +flying target, and the mountaineers, turning into the main road, gave +pursuit. + +Harry felt a cold shiver along his spine when the leading man pulled +trigger. It was the first time in his life that any one had ever fired +upon him, and the shiver returned with the second shot. And since they +had missed, confidence came. He knew that they could not overtake him, +and they would not dare to pursue him long. He glanced back. They +were a full hundred yards in the rear, riding all four abreast. He +remembered his own pistol, and, drawing it from his belt, he sent a +bullet toward the pursuit. It was too long a range for serious work, +but he intended it as a warning that he, too, was armed and would fight. + +The road still ran through the forest with the hills close on the left. +Up went the sun, casting a golden glory over the white earth. Harry +beheld afar only a single spire of smoke. The houses were few in that +region, and he might go four or five miles without seeing a single human +being, save those who pursued. But he was not afraid. His confidence +lay chiefly in the powerful animal that he rode, and he saw the distance +between him and the four men lengthen from a hundred to two hundred +yards. One of them fired another shot at him, but it only shook the +snow from a tree fifteen feet away. He could not keep from sending back +a taunting cry. + +On went the sun up the curve of the heavens, and the brilliant light +grew. The forest thinned away. The line of hills retreated, and before +him lay fields, extending to both right and left. The eye ranged over +a great distance and he counted the smoke of five farm houses. He +believed that the men would not pursue him into the open country, +but he urged his horse to greater speed, and did not turn in his saddle +for a quarter of an hour. When he finally looked back the mountaineers +were gone. He could see clearly a half-mile, and he knew now that his +surmise had come true. They dared to pursue only in the forest, and +having failed, they would withdraw into the hills. + +He drew his horse down to a walk, patted his shoulder, and spoke to him +words of approval. He was not sorry now that he had passed through the +adventure. It would harden him to risks and dangers to come. He made +up his mind, also, to say nothing about it. He could send a warning +back from Winton, but the men in Pendleton knew how to protect +themselves, and the message might fall into wrong hands. + +His journey continued in such peace that it was hard to believe men had +fired upon him, and in the middle of the afternoon he reached Winton. +He left his horse, saddle and bridle at a livery stable, stating that +they would be called for by Colonel Kenton, who was known throughout the +region, and sought food at the crude little wooden hotel. He was glad +that he saw no one whom he knew, because, after the fashion of the +country, they would ask him many questions, and he felt relief, too, +when the train arrived. + +Dark had already come when Harry entered the car. There were no coaches +for sleepers, and he must make himself comfortable as best he could on +the red plush seat, sprinkled thickly with ashes and cinders from the +engine. Fortunately, he had the seat alone, although there were many +people in the car. + +The train, pouring out a huge volume of black smoke, pulled out of the +station with a great clatter that never ceased. Now Harry felt an ebb +of the spirits and melancholy. He was leaving behind Pendleton and all +that he had known. In the day the excitement, the cold air, and the +free world about him had kept him up. Now the swaying and jarring +of the train, crude like most others in that early time of railways, +gave him a sense of illness. The window at his elbow rattled +incessantly, and the ashes and cinders sifted in, blackening his face +and hands. Three or four smoking lamps, hung from the ceiling, lighted +the car dimly, and disclosed but partly the faces of the people around +him. Some were asleep already. Others ate their suppers from baskets. +Harry felt of his pockets at intervals to see that his money and letters +were safe, and he kept his saddle bags closely on the seat beside him. + +The nausea created by the motion of the train passed away soon. He put +his face against the dusty window pane and tried to see the country. +But he could catch only glimpses of snowy woods and fields, and, once +or twice, flashes of water as they crossed rivers. The effort yielded +little, and he turned his attention to the people. He noted only one +who differed in aspect from the ordinary country passenger. + +A man of middle years sat rigidly erect at the far end of the car. +He wore a black hat, broad of brim, and all his clothing was black and +precise. His face was shaven smoothly, save for a long gray mustache +with an upward curve. While the people about him talked in a +miscellaneous fashion, he did not join them, and his manner did not +invite approach even in those easy times. + +Harry was interested greatly. The stranger presently opened a valise, +took out some food and ate delicately. Then he drew a small silver +cup from the same valise, filled it at the drinking stand, drank and +returned it to the valise. Without a crumb having fallen on clothing +or floor, he resumed his seat and gazed straight before him. + +Harry's interest in the stranger increased. He had a fine face, cut +clearly, and of a somewhat severe and melancholy cast. Always he gazed +straight before him, and his mind seemed to be far from the people in +the car. It was obvious that he was not the ordinary traveler, and the +boy spent some time in trying to guess his identity. Then he gave it up, +because he was growing sleepy. + +Excitement and the long physical strain were now telling upon Harry. +He leaned his head against the corner of the seat and the wall, drew his +overcoat as a blanket about his body and shoulders, and let his eyelids +droop. The dim train grew dimmer, and he slept. + +The train was due at Nashville between midnight and morning, and Harry +was awakened by the conductor a half hour before he reached the city. +He shook himself, put on his overcoat that he had used as a blanket, +and tried to look through the window. He saw only darkness rushing past, +but he knew that he had left Kentucky behind, and it seemed to him that +he had come into an alien land, a land of future friends, no doubt, +but as yet, the land of the stranger. + +All the people in the train were awakening, and were gathering their +baggage sleepily about them. But the stranger, who drank from the +silver cup, seemed not to have been asleep at all. He still sat rigidly +erect, and his melancholy look had not abated. His valise lay on the +seat beside him. Harry noticed that it was large and strong, with metal +clasps at the corners. + +The engine was whistling already for Nashville, and Harry threw his +saddle bags over his arm. He was fully awake now, alert and eager. +This town of Nashville was full of promise. It had been the home of +the great Andrew Jackson, and it was one of the important cities of the +South, where cities were measured by influence rather than population, +because all, except New Orleans, were small. + +As the train slowed down, Harry arose and stood in the aisle. The +stranger also stood up, and Harry noticed that his bearing was military. +He looked around, his eyes met Harry's--perhaps he had been observing +him in the night--and he smiled. It was a rare, illuminating smile that +made him wonderfully attractive, and Harry smiled back. He did not know +it, but he was growing lonely, with the loneliness of youth, and he +wanted a friend. + +"You are stopping in Nashville?" said the man with the friendliness of +the time. + +"For a day only. I am then going further south." + +Harry had answered without hesitation. He did not believe it possible +that this man could be planning anything against him or his errand. +The tall stranger looked upon him with approval. + +"I noticed you in the train last night when you slept," he said, +speaking in the soft, musical accents of the seaboard South. "Your +sleep was very deep, almost like collapse. You showed that you had +been through great physical and mental strain, and even before you +fell asleep your anxious look indicated that you rode on an errand +of importance." + +Harry gazed at him in surprise, mingled with a little alarm. The +strange man laughed musically and with satisfaction. + +"I am neither a detective nor a conspirator," he said. "These are times +when men travel upon anxious journeys. I go upon one myself, but since +we are in Tennessee, well south of the Mason and Dixon line, I make no +secret of it. I am Leonidas Talbot, of South Carolina, until a week ago +a colonel in the American army, but now bound for my home in Charleston. +You boarded this train at a station in Kentucky, either the nearest or +among the nearest to Pendleton. A resemblance, real or fancied, has +caused me to notice you closely." + +The man was looking at him with frank blue eyes set well apart, and +Harry saw no need of concealing his identity. + +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton--though people generally call me +Harry--and I live at Pendleton in Kentucky," he replied. + +Now the smile of Leonidas Talbot, late colonel U. S. A., became rarely +sweet. + +"I should have guessed it," he said. "The place where you joined us and +the strong resemblance should have made me know. You must be the son of +Colonel George Kenton." + +"Yes," said Harry. + +"Then, young sir, let me shake your hand." + +His manner seemed so warm and natural that Harry held out his hand, +and Colonel Talbot gave it a strong clasp. + +"Your father and I have served together," he said. "We were in the +same class at West Point, and we fought in the same command against the +Indians on the plains. I saw him again at Cerro Gordo, and we were side +by side at Contreras, Molino del Rey, and the storming of Chapultepec. +He left the service some time after we came back from Mexico, but I +remained in it, until--recent events. It is fitting that I should meet +his son here, when we go upon errands which are, perhaps, similar in +nature. I infer that your destination is Charleston!" + +"Yes," said Harry impulsively, and he was not sorry that he had obeyed +the impulse. + +"Then we shall go together," said Colonel Talbot. "I take it that many +other people are now on their way to this same city of Charleston, +which since the secession of South Carolina has become the most famous +in the Union." + +"I shall be glad if you will take me with you," said Harry. "I know +little of Charleston and the lower South, and I need company." + +"Then we will go to a hotel," said Colonel Talbot. "On a journey like +this two together are better than one alone. I know Nashville fairly +well, and while it is of the undoubted South, it will be best for us, +while we are here, to keep quiet tongues in our heads. We cannot get a +train out of the city until the afternoon." + +They were now in the station and everybody was going out. It was not +much past midnight, and a cold wind blowing across the hills and the +Cumberland River made Harry shiver in his overcoat. Once more he was +glad of his new comradeship with a man so much his superior in years and +worldly wisdom. + +Snow lay on the ground, but not so deep as in Kentucky. Houses, mostly +of wood, and low, showed dimly through the dusk. No carriages met the +train, and the people were melting away already to their destinations. + +"I'll lead the way," said Colonel Talbot. "I know the best hotel, +and for travelers who need rest the best is always none too good." + +He led briskly through the silent and lonely streets, until they came +to a large brick building with several lights shining from the wide and +open door. They entered the lobby of the hotel, one carrying his saddle +bags, the other his valise, and registered in the book that the sleepy +clerk shoved toward them. Several loungers still sat in cane-bottomed +chairs along the wall, and they cast curious glances at Harry and the +colonel. + +The hotel was crowded, the clerk said. People had been crowding into +town in the last few days, as there was a great stir in the country +owing to the news from Charleston. He could give them only one room, +but it had two beds. + +"It will do," said the colonel, in his soft but positive voice. "My +young friend and I have been traveling hard and we need rest." + +Harry would have preferred a room alone, but his trust in Colonel Talbot +had already become absolute. This man must be what he claimed to be. +There was no trace of deceit about him. His heart had never before +warmed so much to a stranger. + +Colonel Talbot closed and locked the door of their room. It was a large +bare apartment with two windows overlooking the town, and two small beds +against opposite walls. The colonel put his valise at the foot of one +bed, and walked to the window. The night had lightened somewhat and he +saw the roofs of buildings, the dim line of the yellow river, and the +dusky haze of hills beyond. He turned his head and looked steadily in +the direction in which lay Charleston. A look of ineffable sadness +overspread his face. + +The light on the table was none too bright, but Harry saw Colonel +Talbot's melancholy eyes, and he could not refrain from asking: + +"What's the trouble, colonel?" + +The South Carolinian turned from the window, sat down on the edge of the +bed and smiled. It was an illuminating smile, almost the smile of youth. + +"I'm afraid that everything's the matter, Harry, boy," he said. "South +Carolina, the state that I love even more than the Union to which it +belongs, or belonged, has gone out, and, Harry, because I'm a son of +South Carolina I must go with it--and I don't want to go. But I've been +a soldier all my life. I know little of politics. I have grown up with +the feeling that I must stay with my people through all things. I must +be kin by blood to half the white people in Charleston. How could I +desert them?" + +"You couldn't," said Harry emphatically. + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled. It is possible that, at the moment, +he wished for the sanguine decision of youth, which could choose a side +and find only wrong in the other. + +"In my heart," he continued, "I do not wish to see the Union broken up, +although the violence of New England orators and the raid of John Brown +has appalled me. But, Harry, pay good heed to me when I say it is not a +mere matter of going out of the Union. It may not be possible for South +Carolina and the states that follow her to stay out." + +"I don't understand you," said the boy. + +"It means war! It means war, as surely as the rising of the sun in the +morning. Many think that it does not; that the new republic will be +formed in peace, but I know better. A great and terrible war is coming. +Many of our colored people in Charleston and along the Carolina coast +came by the way of the West Indies. They have strange superstitions. +They believe that some of their number have the gift of second sight. +In my childhood I knew two old women who claimed the power, and they +gave apparent proofs that were extraordinary. I feel just now as if I +had the gift myself, and I tell you, Harry, although you can see only a +dark horizon from the window, I see one that is blood red all the way +to the zenith. Alas, our poor country!" + +Harry stared at him in amazement. The colonel, although he had called +his name, seemed to have forgotten his presence. A vivid and powerful +imagination had carried him not only from the room, but far into the +future. He recovered himself with an abrupt little shrug of the +shoulders. + +"I am too old a man to be talking such foolishness to a boy," he said, +briskly. "To bed, Harry! To bed! Your sleep on the train was brief +and you need more! So do I!" + +Harry undressed quickly, and put himself under the covers, and the +colonel also retired, although somewhat more leisurely. The boy could +not sleep for some time. One vision was present in his mind, that of +Charleston, the famous city to which they were going. The effect of +Colonel Talbot's ominous words had worn off. He would soon see the city +which had been so long a leader in Southern thought and action, and he +would see, too, the men who had so boldly taken matters in their own +hands. He admired their courage and daring. + +It was late when Harry awoke, and the colonel was already up and +dressed. But the man waited quietly until the boy was dressed also, +and they went down to breakfast together. Despite the lateness of +the hour the dining-room was still crowded, and the room buzzed with +animated talk. Harry knew very well that Charleston was the absorbing +topic, just as it had been the one great thought in his own mind. +The people about him seemed to be wholly of Southern sympathies, and +he knew very well that Tennessee, although she might take her own time +about it, would follow South Carolina out of the Union. + +They found two vacant seats at a table, where three men already sat. +One was a member of the Legislature, who talked somewhat loudly; the +second was a country merchant of middle age, and the third was a young +man of twenty-five, who had very little to say. The legislator, whose +name was Ramsay, soon learned Colonel Talbot's identity, and he would +have proclaimed it to everybody about him, had not the colonel begged +him not to do so. + +"But you will at least permit me to shake your hand, Colonel Talbot," +he said. "One who can give up his commission in the army and come back +to us as you have done is the kind of man we need." + +Colonel Talbot gave a reluctant hand. + +"I am proud to have felt the grasp of one who will win many honors in +the coming war," said Ramsay. + +"Or more likely fill a grave," said Colonel Talbot, dryly. + +The silent young man across the table looked at the South Carolinian +with interest, and Harry in his turn examined this stranger. He was +built well, shaven smoothly, and did not look like a Tennesseean. +His thin lips, often pressed closely together, seemed to indicate a +capacity for silence, but when he saw Harry looking at him he smiled +and said: + +"I gather from your conversation that you are going to Charleston. +All southern roads seem to lead to that town, and I, too, am going +there. My name is Shepard, William J. Shepard, of St. Louis." + +Colonel Talbot turned a measuring look upon him. It was so intent and +comprehensive that the young man flushed slightly, and moved a little in +his seat. + +"So you are from St. Louis?" said the colonel. "That is a great city, +and you must know something about the feeling there. Can you tell me +whether Missouri will go out?" + +"I cannot," replied Shepard. "No man can. But many of us are at work." + +"What do you think?" persisted Colonel Talbot. + +"I am hoping. Missouri is really a Southern state, the daughter of +Kentucky, and she ought to join her Southern sisters. As the others +go out one by one, I think she will follow. The North will not fight, +and we will form a peaceful Southern republic." + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot of South Carolina swept him once more with that +intent and comprehensive gaze. + +"The North will fight," he said. "As I told my young friend here last +night, a great and terrible war is coming." + +"Do you think so?" asked Shepard, and it seemed to Harry that his tone +had become one of overwhelming interest. "Then Charleston, as its +center and origin, ought to be ready. How are they prepared there for +defense?" + +Colonel Talbot's eyes never left Shepard's face and a faint pink tint +appeared again in the young man's cheeks. + +"There are the forts--Sumter, Moultrie, Johnson and Pinckney," replied +the South Carolinian, "and I heard to-day that they are building +earthworks, also. All are helping and it is said that Toutant +Beauregard is going there to take command." + +"A good officer," said Shepard, musingly. "I believe you said you were +leaving for Charleston this afternoon?" + +"No, I did not say when," replied Colonel Talbot, somewhat sharply. +"It is possible that Harry and I may linger a while in Nashville. +They do not need us yet in Charleston, although their tempers are pretty +warm. There has been so much fiery talk, cumulative for so many years, +that they regard northern men with extremely hostile eyes. It would not +take much to cause trouble." + +Colonel Talbot continued to gaze steadily at Shepard, but the Missourian +looked down into his plate. It seemed to Harry that there was some sort +of play between them, or rather a thread of suspicion, a fine thread +in truth, but strong enough to sustain something. He could see, too, +that Colonel Talbot was giving Shepard a warning, a warning, veiled and +vague, but nevertheless a warning. But the boy liked Shepard. His face +seemed to him frank and honest, and he would have trusted him. + +They rose presently and went into the lobby, where the colonel evaded +Shepard, as the place was now crowded. More news had come from +Charleston and evidently it was to their liking. There was a great +amount of talk. Many of the older men sprinkled their words with +expressive oaths. The oaths came so naturally that it seemed to be a +habit with them. They chewed tobacco freely, and now and then their +white shirt fronts were stained with it. All those who seemed to be of +prominence wore long black coats, waistcoats cut low, and trousers of +a lighter color. + +Near the wall stood a man of heavy build with a great shaggy head and +thick black hair all over his face. He was dressed in a suit of rough +gray jeans, with his trousers stuffed into high boots. He carried in +his right hand a short, thick riding whip, with which he occasionally +switched the tops of his own boots. + +Harry spoke to him civilly, after the custom of the time and place. +He took him for a mountaineer, and he judged by the heavy whip he +carried, that he was a horse or cattle trader. + +"They talk of Charleston," said Harry. + +"Yes, they talk an' talk," said the man, biting his words, "an' they do +nothin'." + +"You think they ought to take Tennessee out right away?" + +"No, I'm ag'in it. I don't want to bust up this here Union. But I +reckon Tennessee is goin' out, an' most all the other Southern states +will go out, too. I 'low the South will get whipped like all tarnation, +but if she does I'm a Southerner myself, an' I'll have to git whipped +along with her. But talkin' don't do no good fur nobody. If the South +goes out, it's hittin' that'll count, an' them that hits fastest, +hardest, truest an' longest will win." + +The man was rough in appearance and illiterate in speech, but his +manner impressed Harry in an extraordinary manner. It was direct and +wonderfully convincing. The boy recognized at once a mind that would +steer straight through things toward its goal. + +"My name is Harry Kenton," he said politely. "I'm from Kentucky, +and my father used to be a colonel in the army." + +"Mine," said the mountaineer, "is Nat Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest +for full and long. I'm a trader in live stock, an' I thought I'd look +in here at Nashville an' see what the smart folks was doin'. I'd tell +'em not to let Tennessee go out of the Union, but they wouldn't pay any +'tention to a hoss-tradin' mountaineer, who his neighbors say can't +write his name." + +"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Forrest," said Harry, "but I'm afraid we're +on different sides of the question." + +"Mebbe we are 'til things come to a head," said the mountaineer, +laughing, "but, as I said, if Tennessee goes out, I reckon I'll go with +her. It's hard to go ag'in your own gang. Leastways, 't ain't in me +to do it. Now I've had enough of this gab, an' I'm goin' to skip out. +Good-bye, young feller. I wish you well." + +Bringing his whip once more, and sharply this time, across the tops of +his own boots, he strode out of the hotel. His walk was like his talk, +straight and decisive. Harry saw Shepard in the lobby making friends, +but, imitating his older comrade, he avoided him, and late that +afternoon Colonel Talbot and he left for Charleston. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE HEART OF REBELLION + + +Harry, with his friend Colonel Leonidas Talbot, approached Charleston +on Christmas morning. It was a most momentous day to him. As he came +nearer, the place looked greater and greater. He had read much about +it in the books in his father's house--old tales of the Revolution and +stories of its famous families--and now its name was in the mouths of +all men. + +He had felt a change in his own Kentucky atmosphere at Nashville, +but it had become complete when he drew near to Charleston. It was a +different world, different alike in appearance and in thought. The +contrast made the thrill all the keener and longer. Colonel Talbot, +also, was swayed by emotion, but his was that of one who was coming home. + +"I was born here, and I passed my boyhood here," he said. "I could not +keep from loving it if I would, and I would not if I could. Look how +the cold North melts away. See the great magnolias, the live oaks, +and the masses of shrubbery! Harry, I promise you that you shall have +a good time in this Charleston of ours." + +They had left the railroad some distance back, and had come in by stage. +The day was warm and pleasant. Two odors, one of flowers and foliage, +and the other of the salt sea, reached Harry. He found both good. +He felt for the thousandth time of his pocket-book and papers to see that +they were safe, and he was glad that he had come, glad that he had been +chosen for such an important errand. + +The colonel asked the driver to stop the stage at a cross road, and he +pointed out to Harry a low, white house with green blinds, standing on a +knoll among magnificent live oaks. + +"That is my house, Harry," he said, "and this is Christmas Day. Come +and spend it with me there." + +Harry felt to the full the kindness of Colonel Leonidas Talbot, for whom +he had formed a strong affection. The colonel seemed to him so simple, +so honest and, in a way, so unworldly, that he had won his heart almost +at once. But he felt that he should decline, as his message must be +delivered as soon as he arrived in Charleston. + +"I suppose you are right," said the colonel, when the boy had explained +why he could not accept. "You take your letters to the gentlemen who +are going to make the war, and then you and I and others like us, +ranging from your age to mine, will have to fight it." + +But Harry was not to be discouraged. He could not see things in a gray +light on that brilliant Christmas morning. Here was Charleston before +him and in a few hours he would be in the thick of great events. +A thrill of keen anticipation ran through all his veins. The colonel +and he stood by the roadside while the obliging driver waited. He +offered his hand, saying good-bye. + +"It's only for a day," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, as he gave the +hand a strong clasp. "I shall be in Charleston tomorrow, and I shall +certainly see you." + +Harry sprang back to his place and the stage rolled joyously into +Charleston. Harry saw at once that the city was even more crowded than +Nashville had been. Its population had increased greatly in a few weeks, +and he could feel the quiver of excitement in the air. Citizen soldiers +were drilling in open places, and other men were throwing up earthworks. + +He left the stage and carried over his arm his baggage, which still +consisted only of a pair of saddle bags. He walked to an old-fashioned +hotel which Colonel Talbot had selected for him as quiet and good, +and as he went he looked at everything with a keen and eager interest. +The deep, mellow chiming of bells, from one point and then from another, +came to his ears. He knew that they were the bells of St. Philip's and +St. Michael's, and he looked up in admiration at their lofty spires. +He had often heard, in far Kentucky, of these famous churches and their +silver chimes. + +It seemed to Harry that the tension and excitement of the people in the +streets were of a rather pleasant kind. They had done a great deed, and, +keyed to a high pitch by their orators and newspapers, they did not fear +the consequences. The crowd seemed foreign to him in many aspects, +Gallic rather than American, but very likeable. + +He reached his hotel, a brick building behind a high iron fence, kept by +a woman of olive complexion, middle years, and pleasant manners, Madame +Josephine Delaunay. She looked at him at first with a little doubt, +because it was a time in Charleston when one must inspect strangers, +but when he mentioned Colonel Leonidas Talbot she broke into a series of +smiles. + +"Ah, the good colonel!" she exclaimed. "We were children at school +together, but since he became a soldier he has gone far from here. +And has he returned to fight for his great mother, South Carolina?" + +"He has come back. He has resigned from the army, and he is here to do +South Carolina's bidding." + +"It is like him," said Madame Delaunay. "Ah, that Leonidas, he has a +great soul!" + +"I travelled with him from Nashville to Charleston," said Harry, "and I +learned to like and admire him." + +He had established himself at once in the good graces of Madame Delaunay +and she gave him a fine room overlooking a garden, which in season +was filled with roses and oranges. Even now, pleasant aromatic odors +came to him through the open window. He had been scarcely an hour in +Charleston but he liked it already. The old city breathed with an ease +and grace to which he was unused. The best name that he knew for it was +fragrance. + +He had a suit of fresh clothing in his saddle bags, and he arrayed +himself with the utmost neatness and care. He felt that he must do so. +He could not present himself in rough guise to a people who had every +right to be fastidious. He would also obtain further clothing out of +the abundant store of money, as his father had wished him to make a good +appearance and associate with the best. + +He descended, and found Madame Delaunay in the garden, where she gave +him welcome, with grave courtesy. She seemed to him in manner and +bearing a woman of wealth and position, and not the keeper of an inn, +doing most of the work with her own hands. He learned later that the +two could go together in Charleston, and he learned also, that she was +the grand-daughter of a great Haytian sugar planter, who had fled from +the island, leaving everything to the followers of Toussaint l'Ouverture, +glad to reach the shores of South Carolina in safety. + +Madame Delaunay looked with admiration at the young Kentuckian, so tall +and powerful for his age. To her, Kentucky was a part of the cold North. + +"Can you tell me where I am likely to find Senator Yancey?" asked Harry. +"I have letters which I must deliver to him, and I have heard that he is +in Charleston." + +"There is to be a meeting of the leaders this afternoon in St. Anthony's +Hall in Broad street. You will surely find him there, but you must have +your luncheon first. I think you must have travelled far." + +"From Kentucky," replied Harry, and then he added impulsively: "I've +come to join your people, Madame Delaunay. South Carolina has many and +powerful friends in the Upper South." + +"She will need them," said Madame Delaunay, but with no tone of +apprehension. "This, however, is a city that has withstood much fire +and blood and it can withstand much more. Now I'll leave you here +in the garden. Come to luncheon at one, and you shall meet my other +guests." + +Harry sat down on a little wooden bench beneath a magnolia. Here in the +garden the odor of grass and foliage was keen, and thrillingly sweet. +This was the South, the real South, and its warm passions leaped up in +his blood. Much of the talk that he had been hearing recently from +those older than he passed through his mind. The Southern states did +have a right to go if they chose, and they were being attacked because +their prominence aroused jealousy. Slavery was a side issue, a mere +pretext. If it were not convenient to hand, some other excuse would be +used. Here in Charleston, the first home of secession, among people who +were charming in manner and kind, the feeling was very strong upon him. + +He left the house after luncheon, and, following Madame Delaunay's +instructions, came very quickly to St. Andrew's hall in Broad street, +where five days before, the Legislature of South Carolina, after +adjourning from Columbia, had passed the ordinance of secession. + +Two soldiers in the Palmetto uniform were on guard, but they quickly let +him pass when he showed his letters to Senator Yancey. Inside, a young +man, a boy, in fact, not more than a year older than himself, met him. +He was slender, dark and tall, dressed precisely, and his manner had +that easy grace which, as Harry had noticed already, seemed to be the +characteristic of Charleston. + +"My name is Arthur St. Clair," he said, "and I'm a sort of improvised +secretary for our leaders who are in council here." + +"Mine," said Harry, "is Henry Kenton. I'm a son of Colonel George +Kenton, of Kentucky, late a colonel in the United States Army, and I've +come with important messages from him, Senator Culver and other Southern +leaders in Kentucky." + +"Then you will be truly welcome. Wait a moment and I'll see if they are +ready to receive you." + +He returned almost instantly, and asked Harry to go in with him. +They entered a large room, with a dais at the center of the far wall, +and a number of heavy gilt chairs covered with velvet ranged on either +side of it. Over the dais hung a large portrait of Queen Victoria as a +girl in her coronation robes. A Scotch society had occupied this room, +but the people of Charleston had always taken part in their festivities. +In those very velvet chairs the chaperons had sat while the dancing had +gone on in the hall. Then the leaders of secession had occupied them, +when they put through their measure, and now they were sitting there +again, deliberating. + +A man of middle years and of quick, eager countenance arose when young +St. Clair came in with Harry. + +"Mr. Yancey," said St. Clair, "this is Henry Kenton, the son of Colonel +George Kenton, who has come from Kentucky with important letters." + +Yancey gave him his hand and a welcome, and Harry looked with intense +interest at the famous Alabama orator, who, with Slidell, of South +Carolina, and Toombs of Georgia, had matched the New England leaders in +vehemence and denunciation. Mr. Slidell, an older man, was present and +so was Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell, who had presided when secession was +carried. There were more present, some prominent, others destined to +become so, and Harry was introduced to them one by one. + +He gave his letters to Yancey and retired with young St. Clair to the +other end of the room, while the leaders read what had been written from +Kentucky. Harry was learning to become a good observer, and he watched +them closely as they read. He saw a look of pleasure come on the face +of every one, and presently Yancey beckoned to him. + +"These are fine assurances," said the orator, "and they have been +brought by the worthy son of a worthy father. Colonel Kenton, Senator +Culver and others, have no doubt that Kentucky will go out with us. +Now you are a boy, but boys sometimes see and hear more than men, +and you are old enough to think; that is, to think in the real sense. +Tell us, what is your own opinion?" + +Harry flushed, and paused in embarrassment. + +"Go on," said Mr. Yancey, persuasively. + +"I do not know much," said Harry slowly, wishing not to speak, but +feeling that he was compelled by Mr. Yancey to do so, "but as far as I +have seen, Kentucky is sorely divided. The people on the other side +are perhaps not as strong and influential as ours, but they are more +numerous." + +A shade passed over the face of Yancey, but he quickly recovered his +good humor. + +"You have done right to tell us the truth as you see it," he said, +"but we need Kentucky badly. We must have the state and we will get it. +Did you hear anything before you left, of one Raymond Bertrand, a South +Carolinian?" + +"He was at my father's house before I came away. I think it was his +intention to go from there to Frankfort with some of our own people, +and assist in taking out the state." + +Yancey smiled. + +"Faithful to his errand," he said. "Raymond Bertrand is a good lad. +He has visions, perhaps, but they are great ones, and he foresees a +mighty republic for us extending far south of our present border. +But now that you have accomplished your task, what do you mean to do, +Mr. Kenton?" + +"I want to stay here," replied Harry eagerly. "This is the head and +center of all things. I think my father would wish me to do so. +I'll enlist with the South Carolina troops and wait for what happens." + +"Even if what happens should be war?" + +"Most of all if it should be war. Then I shall be one of those who will +be needed most." + +"A right and proper spirit," said Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell. "When we +can command such enthusiasm we are unconquerable. Now, we'll not keep +you longer, Mr. Kenton. This is Christmas Day, and one as young as you +are is entitled to a share of the hilarity. Look after him, St. Clair." + +Harry went out with young St. Clair, whom he was now calling by his +first name, Arthur. He, too, was staying with Madame Delaunay, who was +a distant relative. + +Harry ate Christmas dinner that evening with twenty people, many of +types new to him. It made a deep impression upon him then, and one yet +greater afterward, because he beheld the spirit of the Old South in its +inmost shrine, Charleston. It seemed to him in later days that he had +looked upon it as it passed. + +They sat in a great dining-room upon a floor level with the ground. +The magnolias and live oaks and the shrubs in the garden moved in the +gentle wind. Fresh crisp air came through the windows, opened partly, +and brought with it, as Harry thought, an aroma of flowers blooming in +the farther south. He sat with young St. Clair--the two were already +old friends--and Madame Delaunay was at the head of the table, looking +more like a great lady who was entertaining her friends than the keeper +of an inn. + +Madame Delaunay wore a flowing white dress that draped itself in folds, +and a lace scarf was thrown about her shoulders. Her heavy hair, +intensely black, was bound with a gold fillet, after a fashion that +has returned a half century later. A single diamond sparkled upon her +finger. She seemed to Harry foreign, handsome, and very distinguished. + +About half the people in the room were of French blood, most of whom +Harry surmised were descendants of people who had fled from Hayti or +Santo Domingo. One, Hector St. Hilaire, almost sixty, but a major in +the militia of South Carolina, soon proved that the boy's surmise was +right. Lemonade and a mild drink called claret-sanger was served to +the boys, but the real claret was served to the major, as to the other +elders, and the mellowness of Christmas pervaded his spirit. He drank a +toast to Madame Delaunay, and the others drank it with him, standing. +Madame Delaunay responded prettily, and, in a few words, she asked +protection and good fortune for this South Carolina which they all loved, +and which had been a refuge to the ancestors of so many of them. +As she sat down she looked up at the wall and Harry's glance followed +hers. It was a long dining-room, and he saw there great portraits in +massive gilt frames. They were of people French in look, handsome, +and dressed with great care and elaboration. The men were in gay coats +and knee breeches, silk stockings and buckled shoes. Small swords were +at their sides. The women were even more gorgeous in velvet or heavy +satin, with their hair drawn high upon their heads and powdered. +One had a beauty patch upon her cheek. + +Major St. Hilaire saw Harry's look as it sped along the wall. He smiled +a little sadly and then, a little cheerfully: + +"Those are the ancestors of Madame Delaunay," he said, "and some, +I may mention in passing, are my own, also. Our gracious hostess and +myself are more or less distantly related--less, I fear--but I boast of +it, nevertheless, on every possible occasion. They were great people in +a great island, once the richest colony of France, the richest colony +in all the world. All those people whom you see upon the walls were +educated in Paris or other cities of France, and they returned to a life +upon the magnificent plantations of Hayti. What has become of that +brightness and glory? Gone like snow under a summer sun. 'Tis +nothing but the flower of fancy now. The free black savage has made a +wilderness of Hayti, and our enemies in the North would make the same +of South Carolina." + +A murmur of applause ran around the table. Major St. Hilaire had spoken +with rhetorical effect and a certain undoubted pathos. Every face +flushed, and Harry saw the tears glistening in the eyes of Madame +Delaunay who, despite her fifty years, looked very handsome indeed in +her white dress, with the glittering gold fillet about her great masses +of hair. + +The boy was stirred powerfully. His sensitive spirit responded at +once to the fervid atmosphere about him, to the color, the glow, the +intensity of a South far warmer than the one he had known. Their +passions were his passions, and having seen the black and savage Hayti +of which Major St. Hilaire had drawn such a vivid picture, he shuddered +lest South Carolina and other states, too, should fall in the same way +to destruction. + +"It can never happen!" he exclaimed, carried away by impulse. "Kentucky +and Virginia and the big states of the Upper South will stand beside her +and fight with her!" + +The murmur of applause ran around the table again, and Harry, blushing, +made himself as small as he could in his chair. + +"Don't regret a good impulse. Mr. Kenton," said a neighbor, a young +man named James McDonald--Harry had noticed that Scotch names seemed to +be as numerous as French in South Carolina--"the words that all of us +believe to be true leaped from your heart." + +Harry did not speak again, unless he was addressed directly, but he +listened closely, while the others talked of the great crisis that was +so obviously approaching. His interest did not make him neglect the +dinner, as he was a strong and hearty youth. There were sweets for +which he did not care much, many vegetables, a great turkey, and venison +for which he did care, finishing with an ice and coffee that seemed to +him very black and bitter. + +It was past eight o'clock when they rose and any lingering doubts that +Harry may have felt were swept away. He was heart and soul with the +South Carolinians. Those people in the far north seemed very cold and +hard to him. They could not possibly understand. One must be here +among the South Carolinians themselves to see and to know. + +Harry went to his room, after a polite good-night to all the others. +He was not used to long and heavy dinners, and he felt the wish to rest +and take the measure of his situation. He threw back the green blinds +and opened the window a little. Once more the easy wind brought him +that odor of the far south, whether reality or fancy he could not say. +But he turned to another window and looked toward the north. Away from +the others and away from a subtle persuasiveness that had been in the +air, some of his doubts returned. It would not all be so easy. What +were they doing in the far states beyond the Ohio? + +He heard footsteps in the hail and a voice that seemed familiar. +He had left his door partly open, and, when he turned, he caught a +glimpse of a face that he knew. It was young Shepard, whom he and Major +Talbot had met in Nashville. Shepard saw Harry also, and saluted him +cheerfully. + +"I've just arrived," he said, "and through letters from friends in +St. Louis, members of one of the old French families there, I've been +lucky enough to secure a room at Madame Delaunay's inn." + +"Fortune has been with us both," said Harry, somewhat doubtfully, +but not knowing what else to say. + +"It certainly has," said Shepard, with easy good humor. "I'll see you +again in the morning and we'll talk of what we've been through, both of +us." + +He walked briskly on and Harry heard his firm step ringing on the floor. +The boy retired to his own room again and locked the door. He had liked +Shepard from the first. He had seemed to him frank and open and no +one could deny his right to come to Charleston if he pleased. And yet +Colonel Talbot, a man of a delicate and sensitive mind, which quickly +registered true impressions, had distrusted him. He had even given +Harry a vague warning, which he felt that he could not ignore. He made +up his mind that he would not see Shepard in the morning. He would make +it a point to rise so early that he could avoid him. + +His conclusion formed, he slept soundly until the first sunlight poured +in at the window that he had left open. Then, remembering that he +intended to avoid Shepard, he jumped out of bed, dressed quickly and +went down to breakfast, which he had been told he could get as early +as he pleased. + +Madame Delaunay was already there, still looking smooth and fresh in +the morning air. But St. Clair was the only guest who was as early as +Harry. Both greeted him pleasantly and hoped that he had slept well. +Their courtesy, although Harry had no doubt of its warmth, was slightly +more ornate and formal than that to which he had been used at home. +He recognized here an older society, one very ancient for the New World. + +The breakfast was also different from the solid one that he always ate +at home. It consisted of fruits, eggs, bread and coffee. There was no +meat. But he fared very well, nevertheless. St. Clair, he now learned, +was a bank clerk, but after office hours he was drilling steadily in one +of the Charleston companies. + +"If you enlist, come with me," he said to Harry. "I can get you a place +on the staff, and that will suit you." + +Harry accepted his offer gladly, although he felt that he could not take +up his new duties for a few days. Matters of money and other things +were to be arranged. + +"All right," said St. Clair. "Take your time. I don't think there's +any need to hurry." + +Harry left Madame Delaunay's house immediately after breakfast, still +firm in his purpose to avoid Shepard, and went to the bank, on which +he held drafts properly attested. Not knowing what the future held, +and inspired perhaps by some counsel of caution, he drew half of it +in gold, intending to keep it about his person, risking the chance of +robbery. Then he went toward the bay, anxious to see the sea and those +famous forts, Sumter, Moultrie and the others, of which he had heard +so much. + +It was a fine, crisp morning, one to make the heart of youth leap, +and he soon noticed that nearly the whole population of the city was +going with him toward the harbor. St. Clair, who had departed for his +bank, overtook him, and it was evident to Harry that his friend was not +thinking much now of banks. + +"What is it, Arthur?" asked Harry. + +"They stole a march on us yesterday," replied St. Clair. "See that dark +and grim mass rising up sixty feet or more near the center of the harbor, +the one with the Stars and Stripes flying so defiantly over it? That's +Fort Sumter. Yesterday, while we were enjoying our Christmas dinner and +talking of the things that we would do, Major Anderson, who commanded +the United States garrison in Fort Moultrie, quietly moved it over to +Sumter, which is far stronger. The wives and children of the soldiers +and officers have been landed in the city with the request that we +send them to their homes in the states, which, of course, we will do. +But Major Anderson, who holds the fort in the name of the United States, +refuses to give it up to South Carolina, which claims it." + +Harry felt an extraordinary thrill, a thrill that was, in many ways, +most painful. Talk was one thing, action was another. Here stood South +Carolina and the Union face to face, looking at each other through the +muzzles of cannon. Sumter had one hundred and forty guns, most of which +commanded the city, and the people of Charleston had thrown up great +earthworks, mounting many cannon. + +Boy as he was, Harry was old enough to see that here were all the +elements of a great conflagration. It merely remained for somebody to +touch fire to the tow. He was not one to sentimentalize, but the sight +of the defiant flag, the most beautiful in all the world, stirred him in +every fiber. It was the flag under which both his father and Colonel +Talbot had fought. + +"It has to be, Harry," said St. Clair, who was watching him closely. +"If it comes to a crisis we must fire upon it. If we don't, the South +will be enslaved and black ignorance and savagery will be enthroned upon +our necks." + +"I suppose so," said Harry. "But look how the people gather!" + +The Battery and all the harbor were now lined with the men, women and +children of Charleston. Harry saw soldiers moving about Sumter, but no +demonstration of any kind occurred there. He had not thought hitherto +about the garrison of the forts in Charleston harbor. He recognized for +the first time that they might not share the opinions of Charleston, +and this name of Anderson was full of significance for him. Major +Anderson was a Kentuckian. He had heard his father speak of him; they +had served together, but it was now evident to Harry that Anderson would +not go with South Carolina. + +"You'll see a small boat coming soon from Sumter," said St. Clair. +"Some of our people have gone over there to confer with Major Anderson +and demand that he give up the fort." + +"I don't believe he'll do it," said Harry impulsively. Some one touched +him upon the shoulder, and turning quickly he saw Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He shook the colonel's hand with vigor, and introduced him to +young St. Clair. + +"I have just come into the city," said the colonel, "and I heard only +a few minutes ago that Major Anderson had removed his garrison from +Moultrie to Sumter." + +"It is true," said St. Clair. "He is defiant. He says that he will +hold the fort for the Union." + +"I had hoped that he would give up," said Colonel Talbot. "It might +help the way to a composition." + +He pulled his long mustache and looked somberly at the flag. The wind +had risen a little, and it whipped about the staff. Its fluttering +motions seemed to Harry more significant than ever of defiance. He +understood the melancholy ring in Colonel Talbot's voice. He, too, +like the boy's father, had fought under that flag, the same flag that +had led him up the flame-swept slopes of Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec. + +"Here they come," exclaimed St. Clair, "and I know already the answer +that they bring!" + +The small boat that he had predicted put out from Sumter and quickly +landed at the Battery. It contained three commissioners, prominent men +of Charleston who had been sent to treat with Major Anderson, and his +answer was quickly known to all the crowd. Sumter was the property +of the United States, not of South Carolina, and he would hold it for +the Union. At that moment the wind strengthened, and the flag stood +straight out over the lofty walls of Sumter. + +"I knew it would be so," said Colonel Talbot, with a sigh. "Anderson is +that kind of a man. Come, boys, we will go back into the city. I am to +help in building the fortifications, and as I am about to make a tour of +inspection I will take you with me." + +Harry found that, although secession was only a few days old, the work +of offense and defense was already far advanced. The planters were +pouring into Charleston, bringing their slaves with them, and white +and black labored together at the earthworks. Rich men, who had never +soiled their hands with toil before now, wielded pick and spade by the +side of their black slaves. And it was rumored that Toutant Beauregard, +a great engineer officer, now commander at the West Point Military +Academy, would speedily resign, and come south to take command of the +forces in Charleston. + +Strong works were going up along the mainland. The South Carolina +forces had also seized Sullivan's Island, Morris Island, and James +Island and were mounting guns upon them all. Circling batteries would +soon threaten Sumter, and, however defiantly the flag there might snap +in the breeze, it must come down. + +As they were leaving the last of the batteries Harry noticed the broad, +strong back and erect figure of a young man who stood with his hands in +his pockets. He knew by his rigid attitude that he was looking intently +at the battery and he knew, moreover, that it was Shepard. He wished +to avoid him, and he wished also that his companion would not see him. +He started to draw Colonel Talbot away, but it was too late. Shepard +turned at that moment, and the colonel caught sight of his face. + +"That man here among our batteries!" he exclaimed in a menacing tone. + +"Come away, colonel!" said Harry hastily. "We don't know anything +against him!" + +But Shepard himself acted first. He came forward quickly, his hand +extended, and his eyes expressing pleasure. + +"I missed you this morning, Mr. Kenton," he said. "You were too early +for me, but we meet, nevertheless, in a place of the greatest interest. +And here is Colonel Talbot, too!" + +Harry took the outstretched hand--he could not keep from liking +Shepard--but Colonel Talbot, by turning slightly, avoided it without +giving the appearance of brusqueness. His courtesy, concerning which +the South Carolinians of his type were so particular, would not fail him, +and, while he avoided the hand, he promptly introduced Shepard and +St. Clair. + +"I did not expect to find events so far advanced in Charleston," said +Shepard. "With the Federal garrison concentrated in Sumter and the +batteries going up everywhere, matters begin to look dangerous." + +"I suppose that you have made a careful examination of all the +batteries," said Colonel Talbot dryly. + +"Casual, not careful," returned Shepard, in his usual cheerful tones. +"It is impossible, at such a time, to keep from looking at Sumter, +the batteries and all the other preparations. We would not be human if +we didn't do it, and I've seen enough to know that the Yankees will have +a hot welcome if they undertake to interfere with Charleston." + +"You see truly," said Colonel Talbot, with some emphasis. + +"A happy chance has put me at the same place as Mr. Kenton," continued +Shepard easily. "I have letters which admitted me to the inn of Madame +Delaunay, and I met him there last night. We are likely to see much of +each other." + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot raised his eyebrows. When they walked a little +further he excused himself, saying that he was going to meet a committee +of defense at St. Andrew's Hall, and Harry and Arthur, after talking a +little longer with Shepard, left him near one of the batteries. + +"I'm going to my bank," said St. Clair. "I'm already long overdue, +but it will be forgiven at such a time as this. And I must say, Harry, +that Colonel Talbot does not seem to like your acquaintance, Mr. Shepard." + +"It is true, he doesn't, although I don't know just why," said Harry. + +He saw Shepard at a distance three more times in the course of the day, +but he sedulously avoided a meeting. He noticed that Shepard was always +near the batteries and earthworks, but hundreds of others were near them, +too. He did not return to Madame Delaunay's until evening, when it +was time for dinner, where he found all the guests gathered, with the +addition of Shepard. + +Madame Delaunay assigned the new man to a seat near the foot of the +table and the talk ran on much as it had done at the Christmas dinner, +Major St. Hilaire leading, which Harry surmised was his custom. Shepard, +who had been introduced to the others by Madame Delaunay, did not have +much to say, nor did the South Carolinians warm to him as they had to +Harry. A slight air of constraint appeared and Harry was glad when +the dinner was over. Then he and St. Clair slipped away and spent the +evening roaming about the city, looking at the old historic places, +the fine churches, the homes of the wealthy and again at the earthworks +and the harbor forts. The last thing Harry saw as he turned back toward +Madame Delaunay's was that defiant flag of the Union, still waving above +the dark and looming mass of old Sumter. + +He was unlocking the door to his room when Shepard came briskly down the +hall, carrying his candle in his hand. + +"I want to tell you good-bye, Mr. Kenton," he said, "I thought we were +to be together here at the inn for some time, but it is not to be so." + +"What has happened?" + +"It appears that my room had been engaged already by another man, +beginning tomorrow morning. I was not informed of it when I came here, +but Madame Delaunay has recalled the fact and I cannot doubt the word +of a Charleston lady. It appears also that no other room is vacant, +owing to the great number of people who have come into the city in the +last week or two. So, I go." + +He did not seem at all discouraged, his tone being as cheerful as ever, +and he held out his hand. Harry liked this man, although it seemed that +others did not, and when he released the hand he said: + +"Take good care of yourself, Mr. Shepard. As I see it, the people of +Charleston are not taking to you, and we do not know what is going to +happen." + +"Both statements are true," said Shepard with a laugh as he vanished +down the hail. Nothing yet had been able to disturb his poise. + +Harry went into his own room, and, throwing open his front window to let +in fresh air, he heard the hum of voices. He looked down into a piazza +and he saw two figures there, a man and a woman. They were Colonel +Talbot and Madame Delaunay. He closed the blind promptly, feeling that +unconsciously he had touched upon something hallowed, the thread of +an old romance, a thread which, though slender, was nevertheless yet +strong. Nor did he doubt that the suggestion of Colonel Leonidas Talbot +had caused the speedy withdrawal of Shepard. + +Several more days passed. Harry found that he was taken into the city's +heart, and its spell was very strong upon him. He knew that much of his +welcome was due to the powerful influence of Colonel Leonidas Talbot and +to the warm friendship of Arthur St. Clair, who apparently was related +to everybody. A letter came from his father, to whom he had written at +once of his purpose, giving his approval, and sending him more money. +Colonel Kenton wrote that he would come South himself, but he was needed +in Kentucky, where a powerful faction was opposing their plans. He said +that Harry's cousin, Dick Mason, had joined the home guards, raised in +the interests of the old Union, and was drilling zealously. + +The letter made the boy very thoughtful. The news about his cousin +opened his eyes. The line of cleavage between North and South was +widening into a gulf. But his spirits rose when he enlisted in the +Palmetto Guards, and began to see active service. His quickness and +zeal caused him to be used as a messenger, and he was continually +passing back and forth among the Confederate leaders in Charleston. +He also came into contact with the Union officers in Fort Sumter. + +The relations of the town and the garrison were yet on a friendly basis. +Men were allowed to come ashore and to buy fresh meat, vegetables, +and other provisions. Strict orders kept anyone from offering violence +or insult to them. Harry saw Anderson once, but he did not give him his +name, deeming it best, because of the stand that he had taken, that no +talk should pass between them. + +He picked up a copy of the Mercury one morning and saw that a steamer, +the Star of the West, was on its way to Charleston from a northern +port with supplies for the garrison in Fort Sumter. He read the brief +account, threw down the paper and rushed out for his friend, St. Clair. +He knew that the coming of this vessel would fire the Charleston heart, +and he was eager to be upon the scene. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FIRST CAPITAL + + +Harry and Arthur stood two days later upon the sea wall of Charleston. +Sumter rose up black and menacing in the clear wintry air. The muzzles +of the cannon seemed to point into the very heart of the city, and over +it, as ever, flew the defiant flag, the red and blue burning in vivid +colors in the thin January sunshine. The heart of Charleston, that most +intense of all Southern cities, had given forth a great throb. The Star +of the West was coming from the North with provisions for the garrison +of beleaguered Sumter. They would see her hull on the horizon in +another hour. + +Both Harry and Arthur were trembling with excitement. They were not on +duty themselves, but they knew that all the South Carolina earthworks +and batteries were manned. What would happen? It still seemed almost +incredible to Harry that the people of the Union--at least of the Union +that was--should fire upon one another, and his pulse beat hard and +strong, while he waited with his comrade. + +As they stood there gazing out to sea, looking for the black speck +that should mark the first smoke of the Star of the West, Harry became +conscious that another man was standing almost at his elbow. He glanced +up and saw Shepard, who nodded to him. + +"I did not know that I was standing by you until I had been here some +time," said Shepard, as if he sought to indicate that he had not been +seeking Harry and his comrade. + +"I thought you had left Charleston," said Harry, who had not seen him +for a week. + +"Not at such a time," said Shepard, quietly. "So much of overwhelming +interest is happening here that nobody who is alive can go away." + +He put a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes and scanned the sea's rim. +He looked a long time, and then his face showed excitement. + +"It comes! It comes!" he exclaimed, more to himself than to Harry and +Arthur. + +"Is it the steamer? Is it the Star of the West?" exclaimed Harry +forgetting all doubts of Shepard in the thrill of the moment. + +"Yes, the Star of the West! It can be no other!" replied Shepard. +"It can be no other! Take the glasses and see for yourself!" + +When Harry looked he saw, where sea and sky joined, a black dot that +gradually lengthened out into a small plume. It was not possible to +recognize any ship at that distance, but he felt instinctively that it +was the Star of the West. He passed the glasses to Arthur, who also +took a look, and then drew a deep breath. Harry handed the glasses back +to Shepard, saying: + +"I see the ship, and I've no doubt that it's the Star of the West. +Do you know anything about this vessel, Mr. Shepard?" + +"I've heard that she's only a small steamer, totally unfitted for +offense or defense." + +"If the batteries fire upon her she's bound to go back." + +"You put it right." + +"Then, in effect, this is a test, and it rests with us whether or not to +fire the first shot." + +"I think you're right again." + +Others also saw the growing black plume of smoke rising from the +steamer's funnel, and a deep thrilling murmur ran through the crowd +gathered on the sea walls. To many the vessel, steaming toward the +harbor, was foreign, carrying a foreign flag, but to many others it +was not and could never be so. + +Shepard passed the glasses to the boy again, and he looked a second time +at the ship, which was now taking shape and rising fast upon the water. +Then he examined the walls of Sumter and saw men in blue moving there. +They, too, were watching the coming steamer with the deepest anxiety. + +Arthur took his second look also, and Shepard watched through the +glasses a little longer. Then he put them in the case which he hung +over his shoulder. Glasses were no longer needed. They could now see +with the naked eye what was about to happen--if anything happened at all. + +"It will soon be decided," said Shepard, and Harry noticed that his +voice trembled. "If the Star of the West comes without interference up +to the walls of Sumter there will be no war. The minds of men on both +sides will cool. But if she is stopped, then--" + +He broke off. Something seemed to choke in his throat. Harry and +Arthur remained silent. + +The ship rose higher and higher. Behind her hung the long black trail +of her smoke. Soon, she would be in the range of the batteries. +A deep shuddering sigh ran through the crowd, and then came moments of +intense, painful silence. The little blue figures lining the walls of +Sumter were motionless. The sea moved slowly and sleepily, its waters +drenched in wintry sunshine. + +On came the Star of the West, straight toward the harbor mouth. + +"They will not fire! They dare not!" cried Shepard in a tense, strained +whisper. + +As the last word left his lips there was a heavy crash. A tongue of +fire leaped from one of the batteries, followed by a gush of smoke, +and a round shot whistled over the Star of the West. A tremendous shout +came from the crowd, then it was silent, while that tongue of flame +leaped a second time from the mouth of a cannon. Harry saw the water +spring up, a spire of white foam, near the steamer, and a moment later +a third shot clipped the water close by. He did not know whether the +gunners were firing directly at the vessel or merely meant to warn her +that she came nearer at her peril, but in any event, the effect was +the same. South Carolina with her cannon was warning a foreign ship, +the ship of an enemy, to keep away. + +The Star of the West slowed down and stopped. Then another shout, +more tremendous than ever, a shout of triumph, came from the crowd, +but Harry felt a chill strike to his heart. Young St. Clair, too, +was silent and Harry saw a shadow on his face. He looked for Shepard, +but he was gone and the boy had not heard him go. + +"It is all over," said St. Clair, with the certainty of prophecy. +"The cannon have spoken and it is war. Why, where is Shepard?" + +"I don't know. He seems to have slipped away after the first two or +three shots." + +"I suppose he considered the two or three enough. Look, Harry! The +ship is turning! The cannon have driven her off!" + +He was right. The Star of the West, a small steamer, unable to face +heavy guns, had curved about and was making for the open sea. There was +another tremendous shout from the crowd, and then silence. Smoke from +the cannon drifted lazily over the town, and, caught by a contrary +breeze, was blown out over the sea in the track of the retreating +steamer, where it met the black trail left by that vessel's own funnel. +The crowd, not cheering much now, but talking in rather subdued tones, +dispersed. + +Harry felt the chill down his spine again. These were great matters. +He had looked upon no light event in the harbor of Charleston that day. +He and Arthur lingered on the wall, watching that trailing black dot on +the horizon, until it died away and was gone forever. The blue figures +on the walls of Sumter had disappeared within, and the fortress stood up, +grim and silent. Beyond lay the blue sea, shimmering and peaceful in +the wintry sunshine. + +"I suppose there is nothing to do but go back to Madame Delaunay's," +said Harry. + +"Nothing now," replied St. Clair, "but I fancy that later on we'll have +all we can do." + +"If not more." + +"Yes, if not more." + +Both boys were very grave and thoughtful as they walked to Madame +Delaunay's most excellent inn. They realized that as yet South Carolina +stood alone, but in the evening their spirits took a leap. News came +that Mississippi also had gone out. Then other planting states followed +fast. Florida was but a day behind Mississippi, Alabama went out the +next day after Florida, Georgia eight days later, and Louisiana a +week after Georgia. Exultation rose high in Charleston. All the Gulf +and South Atlantic States were now sure, but the great border states +still hung fire. There was a clamor for Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland +and Missouri, and, though the promises from them came thick and fast, +they did not go out. But the fiery energy of Charleston and the lower +South was moving forward over all obstacles. Already arrangements had +been made for a great convention at Montgomery in Alabama, and a new +government would be formed differing but little from that of the old +Union. + +Now Harry began to hear much of a man, of whom he had heard his father +speak, but who had slipped entirely from his mind. It was Jefferson +Davis, a native of Kentucky like Abraham Lincoln. He had been a brave +and gallant soldier at Buena Vista. It was said that he had saved the +day against the overwhelming odds of Santa Anna. He had been Secretary +of War in the old Union, now dissolved forever, according to the +Charleston talk. Other names, too, began to grow familiar in Harry's +ears. Much was said about the bluff Bob Toombs of Georgia, who feared +no man and who would call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker +Hill monument. And there was little weazened Stephens, also of Georgia, +a great intellect in a shrunken frame, and Benjamin of the oldest race, +who had inherited the wisdom of ages. There would be no lack of numbers +and courage and penetration when the great gathering met at Montgomery. + +These were busy and on the whole happy days for Harry and St. Clair. +Harry drilled with his comrade in the Palmetto Guards now, and, in due +time, they were going to Montgomery to assist at the inauguration of the +new president, whoever he might be. No vessel had come in place of the +Star of the West. The North seemed supine, and Sumter, grim and dark +though she might be, was alone. The flag of the Stars and Stripes still +floated above it. Everywhere else the Palmetto flag waved defiance. +But there was still no passage of arms between Sumter and its hostile +neighbors. Small boats passed between the fort and the city, carrying +provisions to the garrison, and also the news. The Charlestonians told +Major Anderson of the states that went out, one by one, and the brave +Kentuckian, eating his heart out, looked vainly toward the open sea for +the help that never came. + +Exultation still rose in Charleston. The ball was rolling finely. +It was even gathering more speed and force than the most sanguine had +expected. Every day brought the news of some new accession to the cause, +some new triumph. The Alabama militia had seized the forts, Morgan and +Gaines; Georgia had occupied Pulaski and Jackson; North Carolina troops +had taken possession of the arsenal at Fayetteville, and those of +Florida on the same day had taken the one at Chattahoochee. Everywhere +the South was accumulating arms, ammunition and supplies for use--if +they should be needed. The leaders had good cause for rejoicing. +They were disappointed in nothing, save that northern tier of border +states which still hesitated or refused. + +Harry in these days wondered that so little seemed to happen in the +North. His strong connections and his own good manners had made him a +favorite in Charleston. He went everywhere, perhaps most often to the +office of the Mercury, controlled by the powerful Rhett family, among +the most fiery of the Southern leaders. Exchanges still came there from +the northern cities, but he read little in them about preparations for +war. Many attacked Buchanan, the present President, for weakness, +and few expected anything better from the uncouth western figure, +Lincoln, who would soon succeed him. + +Meanwhile the Confederate convention at Montgomery was acting. In those +days apathy and delay seemed to be characteristic of the North, courage +and energy of the South. The new government was being formed with speed +and decision. Jefferson Davis, it was said, would be President, and +Stephens of Georgia would be Vice-President. + +The time for departure to Montgomery drew near. Harry and Arthur were +in fine gray uniforms as members of the Palmetto Guards. Arthur, light, +volatile, was full of pleased excitement. Harry also felt the thrill +of curiosity and anticipation, but he had been in Charleston nearly six +weeks now, and while six weeks are short, they had been long enough +in such a tense time to make vital changes in his character. He was +growing older fast. He was more of a man, and he weighed and measured +things more. He recognized that Charleston, while the second city of +the South in size and the first in leadership, was only Charleston, +after all, far inferior in weight and numbers to the great cities of +the North. Often he looked toward the North over the vast, intervening +space and tried to reckon what forces lay there. + +The evening before their departure they sat on the wide piazza that +swept along the entire front of the inn of Madame Delaunay. Colonel +Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire sat with them. They, too, +were going to Montgomery. Mid-February had passed, and the day had been +one of unusual warmth for that time of the year, like a day in full +spring. The wind from the south was keen with the odor of fresh foliage +and of roses, and of faint far perfumes, unknown but thrilling. A sky +of molten silver clothed city, bay, and forts in enchantment. Nothing +seemed further away than war, yet they had to walk but a little distance +to see the defiant flag over Sumter, and the hostile Palmetto flags +waving not far away. + +Madame Delaunay appeared in the doorway. She was dressed as usual in +white and her shining black hair was bound with the slender gold fillet. + +"We are going away tomorrow, Madame," said Colonel Talbot, "and I know +that we cannot find in Montgomery any such pleasant entertainment as my +young friends have enjoyed here." + +Harry was confirmed in his belief that the thread of an old romance +still formed a firm tie between them. + +"But you will come back," said Madame Delaunay. "You will come back +very soon. Surely, they will not try to keep us from going our ways in +peace." + +A sudden thrill of passion and feeling had appeared in her voice. + +"That no one can tell, Julie," said Colonel Talbot very gravely--it +was the first time that Harry had ever heard him call her by her first +name--"but it seems to me that I should tell what I think. A Union such +as ours has been formed amid so much suffering and hardship, courage and +danger, that it is not to be broken in a day. We may come back soon +from Montgomery, Julie, but I see war, a great and terrible war, a war, +by the side of which those we have had, will dwindle to mere skirmishes. +I shut my eyes, but it makes no difference. I see it close at hand, +just the same." + +Madame Delaunay sighed. + +"And you, Major St. Hilaire?" she said. + +"There may be a great war, Madame Delaunay," he said, "I fear that +Colonel Talbot is right, but we shall win it." + +Colonel Talbot said nothing more, nor did Madame Delaunay. Presently +she went back into the house. After a long silence the colonel said: + +"If I were not sure that our friend Shepard had left Charleston long +since, I should say that the figure now passing in the street is his." + +A small lawn filled with shrubbery stretched before the house, but from +the piazza they could see into the street. Harry, too, caught a glimpse +of a passing figure, and like the colonel he was sure that it was +Shepard. + +"It is certainly he!" he exclaimed. + +"After him!" cried Colonel Talbot, instantly all action. "As sure as we +live that man is a spy, drawing maps of our fortifications, and I should +have warned the Government before." + +The four sprang from the piazza and ran into the street. Harry, +although he had originally felt no desire to seize Shepard, was carried +along by the impetus. It was the first man-hunt in which he had ever +shared, and soon he caught the thrill from the others. The colonel, +no doubt, was right. Shepard was a spy and should be taken. He ran +as fast as any of them. + +Shepard, if Shepard it was, heard the swift footsteps behind him, +glanced back and then ran. + +"After him!" cried Major St. Hilaire, his volatile blood leaping high. +"His flight shows that he's a spy!" + +But the fugitive was a man of strength and resource. He ran swiftly +into a cross street, and when they followed him there he leaped over +the low fence of a lawn, surrounding a great house, darted into the +shrubbery, and the four, although they were joined by others, brought +by the alarm, sought for him in vain. + +"After all, I'm not sorry he got away," said Colonel Talbot, as they +walked back to Madame Delaunay's. "There is no war, and hence, in a +military sense, there can be no spies. I doubt whether we should have +known what to do with him had we caught him, but I am certain that he +has complete maps of all our defenses." + +Harry, with Arthur and many others whom he knew, started the next day +for Montgomery. Jefferson Davis had already been chosen President, +and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President, and Davis was on his way +from his Mississippi home to the same town to be inaugurated. In the +excitement over the great event, so near at hand, Harry forgot all about +Shepard and his doubts. He bade a regretful farewell to Charleston, +which had taken him to its heart, and turned his face to this new place, +much smaller, and, as yet, without fame. + +Harry, Arthur, and their older friends began the momentous journey +across the land of King Cotton, passing through the very heart of the +lower South, as they went from Charleston to Montgomery. Davis and +Stephens would be inaugurated on the 17th of that month, which was +February. But the Palmetto Guards would arrive at Montgomery before +Davis himself, who had left his home and who would cross Mississippi, +Alabama, and a corner of Georgia before he reached the new capital to +receive the chief honor. + +Trains were slow and halting, and Harry had ample opportunity to see +the land and the people who crowded to the stations to bring news or to +hear it. He crossed a low, rolling country with many rivers, great and +small. He saw large houses, with white-pillared porticos, sitting back +among the trees, and swarms of negro cabins. Much of the region was yet +dead and brown from the touch of winter, but in the valleys the green +was appearing. Spring was in the air, and the spirits of the Palmetto +Guards, nearly all of whom were very young, were rising with it. + +The train drew into Montgomery, the little city that stood on the high +banks of the Alabama River. Here they were in the very heart of the +new Confederacy, and Harry and Arthur were eager to see the many famous +Southern men who were gathered there to welcome the new President. +Jefferson Davis was expected on the morrow, and would be inaugurated on +the day following. They heard that his coming was already a triumphal +progress. Vast crowds held his train at many points, merely to see him +and listen to a few words. Generally he spoke in the careful, measured +manner that was natural to him, but it was said that in Opelika, in +Alabama, he had delivered a warning to the North, telling the Northern +states that they would interfere with the Southern at their peril. + +Harry and Arthur, despite their eagerness to see the town and the great +men, were compelled to wait. The Palmetto Guards went into camp on the +outskirts, and their commander, Colonel Leonidas Talbot, late of the +United States Army, was very strict in discipline. His second in +command, Major Hector St. Hilaire, was no whit inferior to him in +sternness. Harry had expected that this old descendant of Huguenots, +reared in the soft air of Charleston, would be lax, or at least easy +of temper, but whatever of military rigor Colonel Talbot forgot, +Major St. Hilaire remembered. + +The guards were about three hundred in number, and their camp was +pitched on a hill, a half mile from the town. The night, after a +beautiful day, turned raw and chill, warning that early spring, even +in those southern latitudes, was more of a promise than a performance. +But the young troops built several great fires and those who were not +on guard basked before the glow. + +Harry had helped to gather the wood, most of which was furnished by the +people living near, and his task was ended. Now he sat on his blanket +with his back against a log and, with a great feeling of comfort, +saw the flames leap up and grow. The cooks were at work, and there +was an abundance of food. They had brought much themselves, and the +enthusiastic neighbors doubled and tripled their supplies. The pleasant +aroma of bacon and ham frying over the coals and of boiling coffee +arose. He was weary from the long journey and the work that he had done, +and he was hungry, too, but he was willing to wait. + +All the troops were South Carolinians except Harry and perhaps a dozen +others. They were a pleasant lot, quick of temper, perhaps, but he +liked them. Their prevailing note was high spirits, and the most +cheerful of all was a tall youth named Tom Langdon, whose father owned +one of the smaller of the sea islands off the South Carolina coast. +He was quite sanguine that everything would go exactly as they wished. +The Yankees would not fight, but, if by any chance they did fight, +they would get a most terrible thrashing. Tom, with a tin cup full of +coffee in one hand and a tin plate containing ham and bread in the other, +sat down by the side of Harry and leaned back against the log also. +Harry had never seen a picture of more supreme content than his face +showed. + +"In thirty-six hours we'll have a new President, do you appreciate that +fact, Harry Kenton?" asked young Langdon. + +"I do," replied Harry, "and it makes me think pretty hard." + +"What's the use of worrying? Why, it's just the biggest picnic that +I ever took part in, and if the Yankees object to our setting up for +ourselves I fancy we'll have to go up there and teach 'em to mind their +own business. I wouldn't object, Harry, to a march at somebody else's +expense to New York and Philadelphia and Boston. I suppose those cities +are worth seeing." + +Harry laughed. Langdon's good spirits were contagious even to a nature +much more serious. + +"I don't look on it as a picnic altogether," he said. "The Yankees will +fight very hard, but we live on the land almost wholly, and the grass +keeps on growing, whether there's war or not. Besides, we're an outdoor +people, good horsemen, hunters, and marksmen. These things ought to +help us." + +"They will and we'll help ourselves most," said Langdon gaily. "I'm +going to be either a general or a great politician, Harry. If it's a +long war, I'll come out a general; if it's a short one, I mean to enter +public life afterward and be a great orator. Did you ever hear me speak, +Harry?" + +"No, thank Heaven," replied Harry fervently. "Don't you think that +South Carolina has enough orators now? What on earth do all your people +find to talk about?" + +Langdon laughed with the utmost good nature. + +"We fire the human heart," he replied. "'Words, words, empty words,' it +is not so. Words in themselves are often deeds, because the deeds start +from them or are caused by them. The world has been run with words. +All great actions result from them. Now, if we should have a big war, +it would be said long afterward that it was caused by words, words +spoken at Charleston and Boston, though, of course, the things they say +at Boston are wrong, while those said at Charleston are right." + +Harry laughed in his turn. + +"It's quite certain," he said, "that you'll have no lack of words +yourself. I imagine that the sign over your future office will read, +'Thomas Langdon, wholesale dealer in words. Any amount of any quality +supplied on demand.'" + +"Not a bad idea," said Langdon. "You mean that as satire, but I'll +do it. It's no small accomplishment to be a good dictionary. But my +thoughts turn back to war. You think I never look beyond today, but I +believe the North will come up against us. And you'll have to go into +it with all your might, Harry. You are of fighting stock. Your father +was in the thick of it in Mexico. Remember the lines: + + "We were not many, we who stood + Before the iron sleet that day; + Yet many a gallant spirit would + Give half his years if he but could + Have been with us at Monterey." + +"I remember them," said Harry, much stirred. "I have heard my father +quote them. He was at Monterey and he says that the Mexicans fought +well. I was at Frankfort, the capital of our state, myself with him, +when they unveiled the monument to our Kentucky dead and I heard them +read O'Hara's poem which he wrote for that day. I tell you, Langdon, +it makes my blood jump every time I hear it." + +He recited in a sort of low chant: + + "The neighing troop, the flashing blade, + The bugle's stirring blast, + The charge, the dreadful cannonade, + The din and shout are past. + + "Nor war's wild note, nor glory's peal + Shall fill with fierce delight + Those breasts that never more may feel + The rapture of the fight." + +They were very young and, in some respects, it was a sentimental time, +much given to poetry. As the darkness closed in and the lights of the +little city could be seen no longer, their thoughts took a more solemn +turn. Perhaps it would be fairer to call them emotions or feelings +rather than thoughts. In the day all had been talk and lightness, +but in the night omens and presages came. Langdon was the first to +rouse himself. He could not be solemn longer than three minutes. + +"It's certain that the President is coming tomorrow, Harry, isn't it?" +he asked. + +"Beyond a doubt. He is so near now that they fix the exact hour, +and the Guards are among those to receive him." + +"I wonder what he looks like. They say he is a very great man." + +They were interrupted by St. Clair, who threw himself down on a blanket +beside them. + +"That's the third cup of coffee you're taking, Tom," he said to Langdon. +"Here, give it to me. I've had none." + +Langdon obeyed and St. Clair drank thirstily. Then he took from the +inside pocket of his coat a newspaper which he unfolded deliberately. + +"This came from Montgomery," he said. "I heard you two quoting poetry, +and I thought I'd come over and read some to you. What do you think of +this? It was written by a fellow in Boston named Holmes and published +when he heard that South Carolina had seceded. He calls it: 'Brother +Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline.'" + +"Read it!" exclaimed the others. + +"Here goes: + + "She has gone--she has left us in passion and pride, + Our stormy-browed sister so long at our side! + She has torn her own star from our firmament's glow, + And turned on her brother the face of a foe. + + "O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun, + We can never forget that our hearts have been one, + Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's name + From the fountain of blood with the fingers of flame." + +St. Clair read well in a full, round voice, and when he stopped with the +second verse Harry said: + +"It sounds well. I like particularly that expression, 'the fingers of +flame.' After all, there's some grief in parting company, breaking up +the family, so to speak." + +"But he's wrong when he says we left in passion and pride," exclaimed +Langdon. "In pride, yes, but not in passion. We may be children of +the sun, too, but I've felt some mighty cold winds sweeping down from +the Carolina hills, cold enough to make fur-lined overcoats welcome. +But we'll forget about cold winds and everything else unpleasant, +before such a jolly fire as this." + +They finished an abundant supper, and soon relapsed into silence. +The flames threw out such a generous heat that they were content to rest +their backs against the log, and gaze sleepily into the coals. Beyond +the fire, in the shadow, they saw the sentinels walking up and down. +Harry felt for the first time that he was really within the iron bands +of military discipline. He might choose to leave the camp and go into +Montgomery, but he would choose and nothing more. He could not go. +Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire were friends, +but they were masters also, and he was recognizing sooner than some of +the youths around him that it was not merely play and spectacle that +awaited them. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE NEW PRESIDENT + + +Their great day came. Clear sunlight shone over the town, the hills and +the brown waters of the Alabama. It was a peculiarly Southern country, +different, Harry thought, from his own Kentucky, more enthusiastic, +perhaps, and less prone to count the cost. The people had come not only +on the railroad, but they were arriving now from far places in wagons +and on horseback. Men of distinction, almost universally, wore black +clothes, the coats very long, black slouch hats, wide of brim, and white +shirts with glistening or heavily ruffled fronts. There were also many +black people in a state of pleasurable excitement, although the war--if +one should come--would be over them. + +Harry and his two young friends were anxious to visit Montgomery and +take a good look at the town, but they did not ask for leave, as Colonel +Talbot had already sternly refused all such applications. The military +law continued to lie heavily upon them, and, soon after they finished +a solid breakfast with appetites sharpened by the open air, they were +ordered to fall into line. Arrayed in their fine new uniforms, to which +the last touch of neatness had been added, they marched away to the +town. They might see it as a company, but not as individuals. + +They walked with even step along the grassy slopes, their fine +appearance drawing attention and shouts of approval from the dense +masses of people of all ages and all conditions of life who were +gathering. Harry, a cadet with a small sword by his side, felt his +heart swell as he trod the young turf, and heard the shouting and +applause. The South Carolinians were the finest body of men present, +and they were conscious of it. Eyes always to the front, they marched +straight on, apparently hearing nothing, but really hearing everything. + +They reached the houses presently and Harry saw the dome of the capitol +on its high hill rising before them, but a moment or two later the +Guards, with the Palmetto flag waving proudly in front, wheeled and +marched toward the railroad station. There they halted in close ranks +and stood at attention. Although the young soldiers remained immovable, +there was not a heart in the company that did not throb with excitement. +Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire were a little in advance, erect and +commanding figures. + +Other troops, volunteer companies, were present and they spread to right +and left of the South Carolinians. Behind and everywhere except in the +cleared space before them gathered the people, a vast mass through which +ran the hum and murmur of expectancy. Overhead, the sun leaped out and +shone for a while with great brilliancy. "A good omen," many said. +And to Harry it all seemed good, too. The excitement, the enthusiasm +were contagious. If any prophet of evil was present he had nothing to +say. + +A jet of smoke standing black against the golden air appeared above a +hill, and then came the rumble of a train. It was that which bore the +President elect, coming fast, and a sudden great shout went up from the +multitude, followed by silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of so +many. Harry's heart leaped again, but his will kept his body immovable. + +The rumble became a roar, and the jet of smoke turned to a cloud. +Then the train drew into the station and stopped. The people began a +continuous shout, bands played fiercely, and a tall, thin man of middle +years, dressed in black broadcloth, descended from a coach. All the +soldiers saluted, the bands played more fiercely than ever, and the +shouting of the crowd swelled in volume. + +It was the first time that Harry had ever seen Jefferson Davis, and the +face, so unlike that which he expected, impressed him. He saw a cold, +gray, silent man with lips pressed tightly together. He did not behold +here the Southern fire and passion of which he was hearing so much talk, +but rather the reserve and icy resolve of the far North. Harry at first +felt a slight chill, but it soon passed. It was better at such a time +to have a leader of restraint and dignity than the homely joker, Lincoln, +of whom such strange tales came. + +Mr. Davis lifted his black hat to the shouting crowd, and bowed again +and again. But he did not smile. His face remained throughout set in +the same stern mold. As the troops closed up, he entered the carriage +waiting for him, and drove slowly toward the heart of the city, the +multitude following and breaking at intervals into shouts and cheers. + +The Palmetto Guards marched on the right of the carriage, and Harry +was able to watch the President-elect all the time. The face held his +attention. Its sternness did not relax. It was the face of a man who +had seen the world, and who believed in the rule of strength. + +The procession led on to a hotel, a large building with a great portico +in front. Here it stopped, the bands ceased to play, Mr. Davis +descended from the carriage and entered the portico, where a group of +men famous in the South stood, ready to welcome him. The troops drew up +close to the portico, and back of them, every open space was black with +people. + +Harry, in the very front rank, saw and heard it all. Mr. Davis stopped +as soon as he reached the portico, and Yancey, the famous orator of +Alabama, to whom Harry had delivered his letters in Charleston, stepped +forward, and, in behalf of the people of the South, made a speech of +welcome in a clear, resonant, and emphatic tone. The applause compelled +him to stop at times, but throughout, Mr. Davis stood rigid and +unsmiling. His countenance expressed none of his thoughts, whatever +they may have been. Harry's eyes never wandered from his face, except +to glance now and then at the weazened, shrunken, little man who stood +near him, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, who would take the oath of +office as Vice-President of the new Confederacy. He had been present +throughout the convention as a delegate from Georgia, and men talked of +the mighty mind imprisoned in the weak and dwarfed body. + +Harry thrilled more than once as the new President spoke on in calm, +measured tones. He was glad to be present at the occurrence of great +events, and he was glad to witness this gathering of the mighty. +The tide of youth flowed high in him, and he believed himself fortunate +to have been at Charleston when the cannon met the Star of the West, +and yet more fortunate to be now at Montgomery, when the head of the +new nation was taking up his duties. + +His gaze wandered for the first time from the men in the portico to the +crowd without that rimmed them around. His eyes, without any particular +purpose, passed from face to face in the front ranks, and then stopped, +arrested by a countenance that he had little expected to see. It was +the shadow, Shepard, standing there, and listening, and looking as +intently as Harry himself. It was not an evil face, cut clearly and +eager, but Harry was sorry that he had come. If Colonel Talbot's +beliefs about him were true, this was a bad place for Shepard. + +But his eyes went back to the new President and the men on the portico +before him. The first scene in the first act of a great drama, a mighty +tragedy, had begun, and every detail was of absorbing interest to him. +Shepard was forgotten in an instant. + +Harry noticed that Mr. Davis never mentioned slavery, a subject which +was uppermost in the minds of all, North and South, but he alluded to +the possibility of war, and thought the new republic ought to have an +army and navy. The concluding paragraph of his speech, delivered in +measured but feeling tones, seemed very solemn and serious to Harry. + +"It is joyous in the midst of perilous times," he said, "to look around +upon a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve +animates and actuates the whole; where the sacrifices to be made are not +weighed in the balance against honor and right and liberty and equality. +Obstacles may retard, but they cannot long prevent the progress of a +movement sanctified in justice and sustained by a virtuous people. +Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us +in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which by his blessing they +were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity. +With the continuance of his favor ever gratefully acknowledged we may +look hopefully forward to success, to peace and to prosperity." + +The final words were received with a mighty cheer which rose and swelled +thrice, and again. Jefferson Davis stood calmly through it all, his +face expressing no emotion. The thin lips were pressed together +tightly. The points of his high collar touched his thick, close beard. +He wore a heavy black bow tie and his coat had broad braided lapels. +His hair was thick and slightly long, and his face, though thin, was +full of vitality. It seemed to Harry that the grave, slightly narrowed +eyes emitted at this moment a single flash of triumph or at least of +fervor. + +Mr. Davis was sworn in and Mr. Stephens after him, and when the shouting +and applause sank for the last time, the great men withdrew into the +hotel, and the troops marched away. The head of the new republic had +been duly installed, and the separation from the old Union was complete. +The enthusiasm was tremendous, but Harry, like many others, had an +underlying and faint but persistent feeling of sadness that came from +the breaking of old ties. Nor had any news come telling that Kentucky +was about to join her sister states of the South. + +The Palmetto Guards marched back to their old camp, and Harry, Langdon, +and St. Clair obtained leave of absence to visit the town. Youth had +reasserted itself and Harry was again all excitement and elation. +It seemed to him at the moment that he was a boy no longer. The Tacitus +lying peacefully in his desk was forgotten. He was a man in a man's +great world, doing a man's great work. + +But both he and his comrades had all the curiosity and zest of boys as +they walked about the little city in the twilight, looking at everything +of interest, visiting the Capitol, and then coming back to the Exchange +Hotel, which sheltered for a night so many of their great men. + +They stayed a while in the lobby of the hotel, which was packed so +densely that Harry could scarcely breathe. Most of the men were of the +tall, thin but extremely muscular type, either clean shaven or with +short beards trimmed closely, and no mustaches. Black was the +predominant color in clothing, and they talked with soft, drawling +voices. But their talk was sanguine. Most of them asked what the North +would do, but they believed that whatever she did do the South would go +on her way. The smoke from the pipes and cigars grew thicker, and Harry, +leaving his comrades in the crowd, walked out upon the portico. + +The crisp, fresh air of the February night came like a heavenly tonic. +He remained there a little while, breathing it in, expanding his lungs, +and rejoicing. Then he walked over to the exact spot upon which +Jefferson Davis had stood, when he delivered his speech of acceptance. +He was so full of the scene that he shut his eyes and beheld it again. +He tried to imagine the feelings of a man at such a moment, knowing +himself the chosen of millions, and feeling that all eyes were upon him. +Truly it would be enough to make the dullest heart leap. + +He opened his eyes, and although he stood in darkness on the portico, +he saw a dusky figure at the far edge of it, standing between two +pillars, and looking in at one of the windows. The man, whoever he was, +seemed to be intently watching those inside, and Harry saw at once that +it was not a look of mere curiosity. It was the gaze of one who wished +to understand as well as to know. He moved a little nearer. The figure +dropped lightly to the ground and moved swiftly away. Then he saw that +it was Shepard. + +The boy's feelings toward Shepard had been friendly, but now he felt a +sudden rush of hostility. All that Colonel Talbot had hinted about him +was true. He was there, spying upon the Confederacy, seeking its inmost +secrets, in order that he might report them to its enemies. Harry was +armed. He and all his comrades carried new pistols at their belts, +and driven by impulse he, too, dropped from the portico and followed +Shepard. + +He saw the dusky figure ahead of him still going swiftly, but with his +hand on the pistol he followed at greater speed. A minute later Shepard +turned into a small side street, and Harry followed him there. It was +not much more than an alley, dark, silent, and deserted. Montgomery +was a small town, in which people retired early after the custom of the +times, and tonight, the collapse after so much excitement seemed to have +sent them sooner than usual into their homes. It was evident that the +matter would lie without interference between Shepard and himself. + +Shepard went swiftly on and came soon to the outskirts of the town. +He did not look back and Harry wondered whether he knew that he was +pursued. The boy thought once or twice of using his pistol, but could +not bring himself to do it. There was really no war, merely a bristling +of hostile forces, and he could not fire upon anybody, especially upon +one who had done him no harm. + +Shepard led on, passed through a group of negro cabins, crossed an old +cotton field, and entered a grove, with his pursuer not fifty yards +behind. The grove was lighted well by the moon, and Harry dashed +forward, pistol in hand, resolved at last to call a halt upon the +fugitive. A laugh and the blue barrel of a levelled pistol met him. +Shepard was sitting upon a fallen log facing him. The moon poured a +mass of molten silver directly upon him, showing a face of unusual +strength and power, set now with stern resolution. Harry's hand was +upon the butt of his own pistol, but he knew that it was useless to +raise it. Shepard held him at his mercy. + +"Sit down, Mr. Kenton," said Shepard. "Here's another log, where you +can face me. You feel chagrin, but you need not. I knew that you +were following me, and hence I was able to take you by surprise. Now, +tell me, what do you want?" + +Harry took the offered log. He was naturally a lad of great courage and +resolution, and now his presence of mind returned. He looked calmly at +Shepard, who lowered his own pistol. + +"I'm not exactly sure what I want," he replied with a little laugh, +"but whatever it is, I know now that I'm not going to get it. I've +walked into a trap. I believed that you were a spy, and it seemed to +me that I ought to seize you. Am I right?" + +Shepard laughed also. + +"That's a frank question and you shall have a frank reply," he said. +"The suspicions of your friend, Colonel Talbot, were correct. Yes, +I am a spy, if one can be a spy when there is no war. I am willing to +tell you, however, that Shepard is my right name, and I am willing to +tell you also, that you and your Charleston friends little foresee the +magnitude of the business upon which you have started. I don't believe +there is any enmity between you and me and I can tell the thoughts that +I have." + +"Since you offered me no harm when you had the chance," said Harry, +"I give my word that I will seek to offer none myself. Go ahead, +I think you have more to say and I want to listen." + +Shepard thrust his pistol in his belt and his face relaxed somewhat. +As they faced each other on the logs they were not more than ten feet +part and the moon poured a shower of silver rays upon both. Although +Shepard was a few years the older, the faces showed a likeness, +the same clearness of vision and strength of chin. + +"I liked you, Harry Kenton, the first time I met you," said Shepard, +"and I like you yet. When I saw that you were following me, I led you +here in order to say some things to you. You are seeing me now probably +for the last time. My spying is over for a long while, at least. +A mile further on, a horse, saddled and bridled, is waiting for me. +I shall ride all the remainder of the night, board a train in the +morning, and, passing through Memphis and Louisville, I shall be in the +North in forty-eight hours." + +"And what then?" + +"I shall tell to those who ought to know what I have seen in Charleston +and Montgomery. I have seen the gathering of forces in the South, +and I know the spirit that animates your people, but listen to me, +Harry Kenton, do you think that a Union such as ours, formed as ours was, +can be broken up in a moment, as you would smash a china plate? The +forces on the other side are sluggish, but they are mighty. I foresee +war, terrible war, crowded with mighty battles. Now, I'm going to offer +you my hand and you are going to take it. Don't think any the less of +me because I've been playing the spy. You may be one yourself before +the year is out." + +His manner was winning, and Harry took the offered hand. What right +had he to judge? Each to his own opinion. Despite himself, he liked +Shepard again. + +"I'm glad I've known you, but at the same time I'm glad you're leaving," +he said. + +Shepard gave the boy's hand a hearty grasp, which was returned in kind. +Then he turned and disappeared in the forest. Harry walked slowly +back to Montgomery. Shepard had given him deep cause for thought. He +approached the Exchange Hotel, thinking that he would find his friends +there and return with them to the camp. But it was later than he had +supposed. As he drew near he saw that nearly all the lights were out +in the hotel, and the building was silent. + +He was sure that St. Clair and Langdon had already gone to the camp, +and he was about to turn away when he saw a window in the hotel thrown +up and a man appear standing full length in the opening. + +It was Jefferson Davis. The same flood of moonlight that had poured +upon Shepard illuminated his face also. But it was not the face of a +triumphant man. It was stern, sad, even gloomy. The thin lips were +pressed together more tightly than ever, and the somber eyes looked +out over the city, but evidently saw nothing there. Harry felt +instinctively that his thoughts were like those of Shepard. He, too, +foresaw a great and terrible war, and, so foreseeing, knew that this +was no time to rejoice and glorify. + +Harry, held by the strong spell of time and place, watched him a full +half hour. It was certain now that Jefferson Davis was thinking, +not looking at anything, because his head never moved, and his eyes were +always turned in the same direction--Harry noticed at last that the +direction was the North. + +The new President stepped back, closed the window and no light came from +his room. Harry hurried to the camp, where, as he had surmised, he +found St. Clair and Langdon. He gave some excuse for his delay, and +telling nothing of Shepard, wrapped himself in his blankets. Exhausted +by the stirring events of the day and night he fell asleep at once. + +Three days later they were on their way back to Charleston. They heard +that the inauguration of the new President had not been well received by +the doubtful states. Even the border slave states were afraid the lower +South had been a little too hasty. But among the youths of the Palmetto +Guards there was neither apprehension nor depression. They had been +present at the christening of the new nation, and now they were going +back to their own Charleston. + +"Everything is for the best," said young Langdon, whose unfailing +spirits bubbled to the brim, "we'll have down here the tightest and +finest republic the world ever heard of. New Orleans will be the +biggest city, but our own Charleston will always be the leader, its +center of thought." + +"What you need, Tom," said Harry, "is a center of thought yourself. +Don't be so terribly sanguine and you may save yourself some smashes." + +"I wouldn't gain anything even then," replied Langdon joyously. "I'll +have such a happy time before the smash comes that I can afford to pay +for it. I'm the kind that enjoys life. It's a pleasure to me just to +breathe." + +"I believe it is," said Harry, looking at him with admiration. "I think +I'll call you Happy Tom." + +"I take the name with pleasure," said Langdon. "It's a compliment to be +called Happy Tom. Happy I was born and happy I am. I'm so happy I must +sing: + + "Ol Dan Tucker was a mighty fine man, + He washed his face in the frying pan, + He combed his hair with a wagon wheel + And died with a toothache in his heel." + +"That's a great poem," said a long North Carolina youth named Ransome, +"but I've got something that beats it all holler. 'Ole Dan Tucker' is +nothing to 'Aunt Dinah's Tribberlations.'" + +"How does it go?" asked St. Clair. + +"It's powerful pathetic, telling a tale of disaster and pain. The first +verse will do, and here it is: + + "Ole Aunt Dinah, she got drunk, + Felled in a fire and kicked up a chunk, + Red-hot coal popped in her shoe, + Lord a-mighty! how de water flew!" + +"We've had French and Italian opera in Charleston," said St. Clair, +"and I've heard both in New Orleans, too, but nothing quite so moving +as the troubles of Ole Dan Tucker and Ole Aunt Dinah." + +They sang other songs and the Guards, who filled two coaches of a train, +joined in a great swinging chorus which thundered above the rattle of +the engine and the cars, so noisy in those days. Often they sang negro +melodies with a plaintive lilt. The slave had given his music to his +master. Harry joined with all the zest of an enthusiastic nature. +The effect of Shepard's words and of the still, solemn face of +Jefferson Davis, framed in the open window, was wholly gone. + +Spring was now advancing. All the land was green. The trees were in +fresh leaf, and when they stopped at the little stations in the woods, +they could hear the birds singing in the deep forest. And as they sped +across the open they heard the negroes singing, too, in their deep +mellow voices in the fields. Then came the delicate flavor of flowers +and Harry knew that they were approaching Charleston. In another hour +they were in the city which was, as yet, the heart and soul of the +Confederacy. + +Charleston, with its steepled churches, its quaint houses, and its +masses of foliage, much of it in full flower, seemed more attractive +than ever to Harry. The city preserved its gay and light tone. It was +crowded with people. All the rich planters were there. Society had +never been more brilliant than during those tense weeks on the eve +of men knew not what. But the Charlestonians were sure of one fact, +the most important of all, that everything was going well. Texas had +joined the great group of the South, and while the border states still +hung back, they would surely join. + +Harry found that the batteries and earthworks had increased in size and +number, forming a formidable circle about the black mass of Sumter, +above which the defiant flag still swung in the wind. The guards were +distributed among the batteries, but St. Clair, Langdon, and Harry +remained together. Toutant Beauregard, after having resigned the +command at West Point, as the Southern leaders had expected, came +to Charleston and took supreme command there. Harry saw him as he +inspected the batteries, a small, dark man, French in look, as he was +French in descent, full of nervous energy and vitality. He spoke +approving words of all that had been done, and Harry, St. Clair and Tom, +glowed with enthusiasm. + +"Didn't I tell you that everything would come just right!" exclaimed +Happy Tom. "We're the boys to do things. I heard today that they were +preparing a big fleet in the North to relieve Sumter, but no matter how +big it is, it won't be able to get into Charleston harbor. Will it, +old fellow?" + +He addressed his remarks to one of the great guns, and he patted the +long, polished barrel. Harry agreed with him that Charleston harbor +could be held inviolate. He did not believe that ships would have much +chance against heavy cannon in earthworks. + +He was back in Charleston several days before he had a chance to go to +Madame Delaunay's. She was unfeignedly glad to see him, but Harry saw +that she had lost some of her bright spirits. + +"Colonel Talbot tells me," she said, "that mighty forces are gathering, +and I am afraid, I am afraid for all the thousands of gallant boys like +you, Harry." + +But Harry had little fear for himself. Why should he, when the Southern +cause was moving forward so smoothly? They heard a day or two later +that the rail-splitter, Lincoln, had been duly inaugurated President of +what remained of the old Union, although he had gone to Washington at +an unexpected hour, and partly in disguise. On the same day the +Confederacy adopted the famous flag of the Stars and Bars, and Harry and +his friends were soon singing in unison and with fiery enthusiasm: + + "Hurrah! Hurrah! for Southern rights, hurrah! + Hurrah for the bonnie blue flag that bears a single star!" + +The spring deepened and with it the tension and excitement. The warm +winds from the South blew over Charleston, eternally keen with the odor +of rose and orange blossom. The bay moved gently, a molten mass now +blue, now green. The blue figures could be seen now and then on the +black walls of Sumter, but the fortress was silent, although the muzzles +of its guns always threatened. + +Harry received several letters from his father. The latest stated that +he might want him to return, but he was not needed yet. The state had +proved more stubborn than he and his friends had expected. A powerful +Union element had been disclosed, and there would be an obstinate fight +at Frankfort over the question of going out. He would let him know when +to come. + +Harry was perhaps less surprised than his father over the conflict of +opinion in Kentucky, but his thoughts soon slipped from it, returning to +his absorption in the great and thrilling drama in Charleston, which was +passing before his eyes, and of which he was a part. + +April came, and the glory of the spring deepened. The winds blowing +from the soft shores of the Gulf grew heavier with the odors of blossom +and flower. But Charleston thrilled continually with excitement. +Fort after fort was seized by the Southerners, almost without opposition +and wholly without the shedding of blood. It seemed that the stars in +their courses fought for the South, or at least it seemed so to the +youthful Harry and his comrades. + +"Didn't I tell you everything would come as we wished it?" said the +sanguine Langdon. "Abe Lincoln may be the best rail-splitter that ever +was, but I fancy he isn't such a terrible fighter." + +"Let's wait and see," said Harry, with the impression of Shepard's +warning words still strong upon him. + +His caution was not in vain. That day the rulers of Charleston received +a message from Abraham Lincoln that Sumter would be revictualled, +whether Charleston consented or not. The news was spread instantly +through the city and fire sprang up in the South Carolina heart. +The population, increased far beyond its normal numbers by the influx +from the country, talked of nothing else. Beauregard was everywhere +giving quick, nervous orders, and always strengthening the already +powerful batteries that threatened Sumter. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SUMTER + + +Harry saw an increase of energy after the arrival of Beauregard. +There were fresh rumors about the great fleet the North was going to +send down for the relief of Sumter. Major Anderson, the commander in +the fort, steadily refused all demands for surrender. It was said +freely that the Northern States did not intend to let their Southern +sisters go in peace. The Mercury, with all the power and fire of the +Rhett family behind it, thundered continually for action. Sumter with +its guns menacing the city should not be allowed to remain under the +hostile flag. + +It seemed to Harry afterward that he was in a sort of fever, not a fever +that parched and burned, but a fever that made his pulse leap faster, +and his heart long for the thrill of conflict. Often he sat with +St. Clair and Langdon on their earthworks, and looked at Sumter. + +"I wonder when the word will come for us to turn these big guns loose?" +Langdon said one day, as he looked at the cannon. "Seems to me we ought +to take Sumter before that fleet comes." + +"But wouldn't it be better for them to make the first hostile movement, +Happy?" asked Harry. "Then we'd put them in the wrong." + +"What difference does it make if we should happen to fight them, anyhow? +The question who began it we'd settle afterwards on victorious fields. +Oh, we're bound to win, Harry! We can't help it. If there's any war, +I expect inside of a year to sleep with my boots on in the President's +bed in the White House, and then I'd go on to Philadelphia and New York +and Boston and show myself as a fair specimen of the unconquerable +Southern soldier." + +"Happy," said Harry, in a rebuking tone, "you're the most terrific +chatterer I ever heard. Before you've done anything whatever, you talk +about having done it all." + +"And they call us Charlestonians fiery boasters," said St. Clair. +"Why, there's nobody in all Charleston who's half a match for this sea +islander, Happy Tom Langdon." + +Charleston received Lincoln's threat and gave it back. Many were glad +that he had made the issue. The enthusiasm swelled yet further, when +they heard that the Confederate envoys at Washington, treating for a +peaceful separation, had left the capital at once when Lincoln had sent +his message that Sumter would be relieved. + +"It looks more like war now," said Langdon, with satisfaction, "and I +may make my victorious march into the North after all." + +Harry said nothing. As events marched forward on swift foot, he felt +more intensely their gravity. For every month that had passed since he +put the Tacitus in his desk at Pendleton Academy, the boy had grown a +year in mind and thought. So, that rumor about the relieving fleet had +come true and they might look for it in Charleston in two or three days. + +Harry had his place in one of the batteries nearest Sumter, and he often +went with Colonel Talbot on tours of inspection and once or twice he was +in General Beauregard's own party. The fact that his father had been +a graduate of West Point and for years an officer, was of the greatest +service to him. In the little army of the United States before the +Civil War, the officers constituted a family. Everybody knew who +everybody else was, and those of the same age had been at West Point +together. General Beauregard and Colonel Kenton had met often, and the +Southern commander became very partial to the Colonel's son. + +Harry was present when Beauregard, some of his more important officers +and the civil authorities of Charleston, conferred after Lincoln's +warning message came. + +"If Lincoln's fleet tries to force the harbor," said Rhett, "we must +fire upon it. Sumter should be ours, and if Lincoln succeeds in +revictualling the fort it will be a great blow to our prestige. +It will hurt the whole South. What do you think, General?" + +"I think as you do, Mr. Rhett," replied Toutant Beauregard. "But have +no fear, gentlemen. No fleet that Lincoln may send can reach Sumter. +Our batteries are able to blow out of the water every vessel that flies +the Northern flag." + +"We must reduce Sumter itself before the fleet comes," said Jamison, +of Barnwell. + +Beauregard smiled slightly. + +"We can do that, too," he said, "and I am glad to see that you gentlemen +are for action. The fleet, I am accurately informed, consists of the +warship Baltic, three sloops of war and two tenders. The Baltic, +with Fox, the assistant secretary of the Northern Navy, on board, +left New York two days ago. The other vessels started earlier, and we +may expect the whole fleet in a day." + +"Then," said Rhett, "we must send to Sumter another and a final demand +for its surrender." + +They were all agreed, and Beauregard chose his messengers, putting Harry +among the number. Hoisting a white flag, they entered a large boat and +were rowed by powerful oarsmen toward Sumter. Harry, looking back, +saw the whole front of the harbor lined with people. Even at the +distance it looked like a holiday crowd. He saw hundreds of women and +girls in white and pink dresses, and there were roses of the same colors +in hats and bonnets. Great parasols of every shade threw back the +brilliant sunlight. It was still a holiday spectacle, a pageant, +and many of the light hearts along the sea wall could not realize that +it might yet be something far more. + +Anderson, the commander of Sumter, appeared upon the esplanade to +meet the boat coming with the white flag. Harry watched him closely. +He saw a face worn, but set hard and firm, and a figure upright and +steady. The Southerners tied their boat to the wall and climbed upon +the esplanade. + +"What do you want, gentlemen?" asked Anderson. + +"We have come with our final demand for your surrender," replied the +chief Southern officer. "If you do not yield we fire upon you." + +Anderson shrugged his shoulders. + +"I hear that a fleet from New York is coming to my relief." + +"It will never be able to force a passage into the harbor." + +"That may or may not be, but in any event, gentlemen, I tell you that +the flag will not come down. If you fire, we fire back." + +He spoke with no quiver in his voice, although his supply of ammunition +was low, and the fort had a food supply for only four days. + +"Then it is scarcely worth while for us to talk longer." + +"No, it would be a waste of time by both of us." The Southerners turned +back to their boat. Harry was the last and Anderson said to him in a +low tone: + +"I am sorry to see your father's son here." + +"I am where he would wish me to be," replied the boy stiffly. + +"Even so, I hope you will come to no harm," said Anderson in a generous +tone. + +After such a noble rejoinder Harry's heart softened instantly, and he +returned the wish. Then he followed the others into the boat, and they +pulled back to the mainland. + +The crowd surmised from the quick return of the boat the nature of the +answer that it brought. It seemed to feel one gigantic throb of passion, +and perhaps of relief also, that the issue was made after so many weeks +of waiting. Yet the holiday aspect disappeared, as if a cloud had +passed suddenly before the sun. + +Harry noted the shadow even before he landed. The people had become +silent, and faces that had laughed turned grave. As they set foot upon +the mainland, they told their news freely, and then the crowd dispersed +almost in silence. It was the first time that Harry had seen Charleston, +gay and light of heart, in the shadow, but he was sure that it could not +last long. His errand over, he returned to his own battery and told +Langdon and St. Clair of everything that had happened. + +"It's all for the best," said Langdon cheerfully. "Sumter will be ours +in another day." + +"Wait and see, Happy," said Harry. + +"All right, old Wait-and-See, I will," returned Langdon. + +Harry tried to suppress, or at least conceal his intense excitement. +The whole city was in the same state. The batteries were filled with +men of wealth and position, serving as mere volunteer privates. The +wives and daughters of many of them were at the Charleston Hotel or the +Mills House, or at such inns as that kept by Madame Delaunay. Governor +Pickens and his wife were at the Charleston Hotel, and with them were +chief officers of the city and state. Nearly everybody knew that +something was going to happen, but few knew when it would happen. + +Harry noticed a tightening of discipline at their battery. The orders +were sharp and they had to be obeyed. Nothing was wasted in politeness. +Visitors were no longer allowed to gratify curiosity. Women and girls +in their white or pink dresses were not permitted to come near and smile +at their husbands or brothers or sweethearts in the trenches. The +ammunition was stacked neatly behind the guns, and every man was +compelled to be ready at an instant's notice. + +"Looks like business," Langdon whispered joyfully to his comrades. +"I'm hoping that fleet will come just as soon as it can." + +"Happy, you sanguinary wretch," Harry whispered back, "I'm thinking the +fleet will come soon enough for you and all the rest of us." + +The afternoon faded. The sun sank in the hills behind them, and dusk +came over city and harbor. But Harry, from the battery, could still see +the black bulk of Sumter, and above it the gleaming red and blue of a +flag. + +Coffee and food were served to his comrades and himself in the battery, +and then they remained by their guns waiting. The night deepened. +Harry could yet see the flash of waters and the dim bulk of Sumter, +but the flag itself was no longer visible. No sound came from the city. +The silence there seemed singular and heavy. + +The boy felt the night and the waiting. Even Happy Tom ceased to be +light and frivolous. The three had nothing to do and they sat together, +always looking toward the sea where the smoke of the relieving fleet +might appear. Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire +passed together on a tour of inspection. They gave approving looks to +the three trim youths, with the frank open faces, but said nothing and +went on. Harry heard their footsteps for a moment or two, and then the +oppressive silence came again. + +The same stillness endured for a long time, so long that the three began +to believe nothing would happen. Despite himself, Harry began to nod +and he was forced to bring himself back to earth with a jerk. Then he +stretched a little and peered over the earthwork. It was brighter now. +A fine moon rode high, and the sea was dusted with starshine. The bulk +of Sumter, black no longer, was coated with silver. + +"Looks peaceful enough," whispered Langdon. "The ships have heard that +you and St. Clair and I are here waiting for them and have turned back." + +Harry made no answer. This waiting in the silence and the night made +his blood quiver just a little. He was about to turn back when he saw a +sudden flash of fire from another point further up. It was followed by +a heavy crash that echoed and re-echoed over the still sea and city. +Harry's heart leaped, but his body stiffened to attention. Tom and +St. Clair by his side pressed against the earthwork. + +"What is it?" they whispered. + +"The moonlight is good," replied Harry, "but I don't see any ship. +It must be a signal of some kind." + +"Hush!" said Langdon, "there it goes again!" + +Another cannon thundered, and the echoes, as before, came back from sea +and shore, followed, as the echoes died, by that strange, heavy silence. +But, straining their eyes to the utmost, the three boys could see +nothing on the sea. It swayed gently like a vast mass of molten silver +in the starshine, and lapped softly against the shore. The report of a +third heavy gun came, and then the reports of several more. After that +the silence was complete. It had seemed to Harry, his brain surcharged +with excitement, like the tolling of great bells. Langdon and St. Clair +whispered together, but he said nothing. + +It was permitted to the three to lie down in their blankets in the +earthwork and sleep, but they did not think of trying it. They wished +to know the meaning of those cannon shots and they waited, tense with +excitement. It was nearly midnight when Colonel Leonidas Talbot came. + +"We have learned that the Northern vessels will appear before Charleston +tomorrow," he said, "and the shots were a signal to all our people to be +ready. The attack on Sumter will begin in the morning. Now you three +boys must go to sleep. We shall need tomorrow soldiers who are fresh +and strong, not those who are worn and weak from loss of sleep." + +They tried it and found it easier now because they knew the mystery of +the shots. Harry became conscious that the night was crisp and cold, +and, wrapped in his blanket, he lay with his back against an inner wall +of the earthwork. The blood, the result of his tension and excitement, +pounded in his ears for some time, but, at last, his pulses became quiet, +and his heavy eyes closed. + +He was awakened at the first shoot of dawn by Colonel Leonidas Talbot. + +"Up, boys!" he said, "snatch a bite of food and a drink of coffee, +and make yourselves as neat as possible. General Beauregard is coming +to this very battery." + +His voice was quick and sharp, and the boys obeyed with the lightning +speed of youth. It was a pale dawn. Gray clouds drifted along the +sea's far rim, and a sharp wind came out of the Northwest. Heavy waves +rolled into the mouths of the narrow and difficult passes that led into +the bay. + +"The Lord Himself fights for us," Harry heard Colonel Leonidas Talbot +murmur. "No ships on such a sea would dare the passes in the face of +our guns." + +The pale light widened. Sumter was black and threatening again, +and the flag waved there before it. + +General Beauregard, his staff and a body of civilians arrived, and +almost overflowed the battery. Harry noticed among the civilians an +old man, seventy-five at least, with long hair, snow white. Despite +his years, his face was as keen and eager as that of any boy. + +"Who is he?" Harry whispered to St. Clair, who knew everybody. + +"His name's Ruffin, but he's not a South Carolinian. He's a Virginian, +but he has come to join us, and he's heart and soul with us. He's ready +to fight at the drop of a hat." + +Harry--their battery stood on Coming's Point--glanced toward the city +and uttered a low cry of surprise. + +"Look!" he said to his friends, "all Charleston is here." + +"Yes, and a lot more of South Carolina, too," said St. Clair. + +The people, learning the meaning of those signal guns in the night, +were packed in every open space, and the very roofs were black with +them. Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, +but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. Harry knew +that every heart in the fifty thousand beat, like his own, with strained +expectancy. + +A great gun in the battery was trained upon Sumter, and the gunner stood +ready at the lanyard, but the old man with the long white hair and the +keen, eager face, stepping forward, begged General Beauregard to allow +him the honor of firing the first shot. The General consented at once, +and the old man pulled the lanyard. + +There was a terrific crash that almost deafened Harry, a gush of flame, +followed by smoke, and a shell, screaming in a curve, dropped upon +Sumter. For a few moments no one spoke, and Harry could hear the blood +pounding in his ears. In a sudden flash of insight he saw a long and +terrible road that they must tread. But neither he nor any other +present realized to the full what had happened. The first real shot in +the mightiest war of history had been fired, and the years of promises, +kept or broken, of mutual jealousies and mutual abuse had ended at the +cannon's mouth. + +The silence was broken by a shout like the roar of a storm, that came +from the people in the town. A puff of smoke rose from Sumter and the +fort sent its answering shot, but it struck no enemy and again the shout +came from the town, now a cry of derision. + +Then all the batteries in the wide curve about Sumter leaped into fiery +life. Cannon after cannon poured shot and shell against the black +walls. The fort was ringed with fire. It seemed to Harry that the +earth rocked. He tried to speak to his comrades, but he could not hear +his own voice. He thought he was about to be deafened for his whole +life, but Langdon handed him pieces of cotton which he quickly stuffed +in his ears. Langdon and St. Clair had already taken the precaution. +Happy Tom had proved himself the most forethoughtful of them all. +And yet Langdon, careless and easy, was aflame with the fire of battle. +It seemed to Harry that he thought little of consequences. + +"Listen to it!" he shouted in excited tones to Harry and St. Clair. +"Hark to the thudding of the great guns! It's war, the greatest of all +games!" + +Harry felt an intense excitement also. These were his people. He was +of their bone and sinew, and he was with them, heart and soul. He +did his part at the guns, and, although his excitement grew, he said +nothing. He saw that the return fire from the fort was far inferior +to that of the South Carolinians, and that it was doing no damage. + +"Using their light guns only," he heard Colonel Talbot say during a +momentary lull. "They must be short of ammunition." + +The morning wore slowly on. From every battery along the mainland and +on the islands, the storm of projectiles yet beat upon Sumter, and, +at intervals, the fort replied, still using the light guns. Once Harry +heard the whistle of a shell over his head, and he ducked automatically, +while the others laughed. Another time, a solid shot sent the dirt +flying in all their faces, stinging like driven sand, but that was the +nearest any missile ever came to them. + +Beauregard, after a while, gave an order for the firing to cease, +and the city and harbor rose again, clear and distinct, in the pale +sunlight. The great crowd of people was still there, all watching and +waiting, The fort was battered and torn, but above it still hung the +defiant flag, and there was no offer of surrender. + +"Look! Look!" Langdon cried suddenly, reckless of all discipline, +as he pointed a forefinger toward the sea. + +Harry saw a column of smoke rising, and defining itself clearly against +the pale blue sky. + +"The Yankee fleet!" cried one of the officers, as he put his glasses to +his eyes. + +General Beauregard, General Ripley, and officers in every other battery, +also were watching that new column of smoke through glasses. The dark +spire in truth rose from the Baltic, the chief ship of the Union, +having on board the energetic Fox himself, and two hundred soldiers. +But chance and the elements seemed to have conspired against the +secretary. One of his strongest ships had gone to the relief of another +fort further south, others had been scattered by a storm, and the Baltic +had only two sister vessels as she approached, over a rolling gray sea, +the fiery volcano that was once the peaceful harbor of Charleston. + +Harry saw the first column of smoke increase to three, and they knew +then that the number of the Union vessels was far less than had been +expected. + +"Will they undertake to force the harbor and reach Sumter?" he asked of +Colonel Talbot, who was then in the battery. + +"If they do," replied the Colonel, "it will be a case of the most +reckless folly. They would be sunk in short order, as they come right +into the teeth of our guns. The sea itself, is against them. The waves +are rolling worse than ever." + +Colonel Talbot knew what he was saying. Vainly the men in Sumter looked +for relief by sea. They, too, had seen the three ships off the harbor, +and they knew whence they came and for what purpose. But they had +reached the end of their journey, and had fallen short with the object +of it in sight. They were compelled to swing back and forth, while +they watched the circle of batteries pour a continuous fire upon the +crumbling fort. + +After the Southern officers had taken a long look at the Union ships, +and had seen that they could do nothing, the fire on Sumter was renewed +with increased volume. It lasted all through the day and the vast crowd +of spectators did not diminish in numbers. Many of the wealthier were +in carriages. If one went away for food or refreshment another took his +place. + +When the wind at times lifted the smoke, Harry saw that the wooden +buildings standing on the esplanade of the fort were burning fiercely, +set on fire by the bursting shells. The iron cisterns, too, although he +did not know it until later, were smashed, and columns of smoke from the +flaming buildings were pouring into the fort, threatening its defenders +with destruction. + +Night came on, and most of the people, lining the harbor, were compelled +to go to their homes, but the fire of the Southern batteries continued, +always converging upon the scarred and blackened walls of Sumter, +from which came an occasional shot in return. Harry had now grown used +to this incessant, rolling crash. He could hear his comrades speak, +their voices coming in an under note, and now and then they discussed +the result. They agreed that Sumter was bound to fall. The Union fleet +could bring it no relief, and such a continuous rain of balls and shells +must eventually pound it to pieces. + +They ate and drank after dark. They had food in abundance and +delicacies of many kinds from which to choose. Charleston poured forth +its plenty for its heroes, and in those days of fresh young enthusiasm +there was no lack of anything. + +"The Yankees hold out well," said Langdon, "but I'm willing to bet a +hundred to one that nobody sleeps in that fort tonight. You can't see +the smoke of the ships any more. I suppose that for safety in the night +they've had to go further out to sea. I'm glad I'm not on one of them, +rolling and tumbling in those high waves. Well, everything is for the +best, and if Sumter doesn't fall into our laps tonight she'll fall +tomorrow, and if she doesn't fall tomorrow she'll fall the next day. +What do you say to that, old Wait-and-See?" + +"Wait and see," replied Harry so naturally that the others laughed. + +The bombardment went on all through the night. Harry continually +breathed smoke and the odor of burned gunpowder, which seemed to keep +his nerves keyed to a great pitch, and to maintain the heat of his +blood. Yet, after a while, he lay down, when his turn at the guns +ceased, and slept through sheer exhaustion. His eyes closed to the +thunder of cannon and they awoke at dawn to the same heavy thudding. + +The fire had not ceased at any time in the course of the night, and +Sumter looked like a ruin, but the flag still floated over it. +St. Clair and Langdon were awakened a few minutes later, and they +also stood up, rubbed their eyes, stared at the fort and listened +to the firing. Harry laughed at their appearance. + +"You fellows are certainly grimy," he said. "You look as if you hadn't +seen water for a month." + +"We can't see ourselves, old Wait-and-See," retorted Langdon, "but I +guess we're beauties alongside of you. If I didn't have the honor of +your acquaintance, I wouldn't know whether you came from the Indian +Territory, Ashantee or the Cannibal Islands." + +"And the music goes merrily on," said St. Clair. "I went to sleep with +the cannon firing, and I wake up with them still at it. I suppose a +fellow will get used to it after a while." + +"You can get used to anything," said an officer who heard them. "Now, +you boys eat your breakfasts. Your turn at the guns will come again +soon." + +They took breakfast willingly, although they found a strong flavor of +smoke, sand, and burned gunpowder in everything they ate and drank. +Then they went to their guns, but, when a few more shots were fired, +a trumpet blew a signal, and it was echoed from battery to battery. +Every cannon ceased, and, in the silence and under the lifting smoke, +Harry saw a white flag going up on the fort. + +Sumter was about to yield. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE HOMECOMING + + +A great and exultant cheer went up from the massed thousands in +Charleston. A smile passed over Beauregard's swarthy face and he showed +his white teeth. Colonel Leonidas Talbot regarded the white flag with +feelings in which triumph and sadness were mingled strangely. But +the emotions of Harry and his comrades were, for the moment, those of +victory only. + +Boats put out both from the fort and the shore. Discipline was relaxed +now, and Harry, St. Clair and Langdon went outside the battery. A light +breeze had sprung up, and it was very grateful to Harry, who for hours +had breathed the heavy odors of smoke and burned gunpowder. The smoke +itself, which had formed a vast cloud over harbor, forts and city, +was now drifting out to sea, leaving all things etched sharply in the +dazzling sunlight of a Southern spring day. + +"Well, old Wait-and-See, you have waited, and you have seen," said +Langdon to Harry. "That white flag and those boats going out mean that +Sumter is ours. Everything is for the best and we win everywhere and +all the time." + +Harry was silent. He was watching the boats. But the negotiations were +soon completed. Sumter, a mass of ruins, was given up, and the Star and +Bars, taking the place of the Stars and Stripes, gaily snapped defiance +to the whole North. "It begins to look well there," said Beauregard, +gazing proudly at the new flag. + +All the amenities were preserved between the captured garrison and their +captors. Anderson was sent to the Baltic, which still hovered outside, +and the Union vessels disappeared on their way back to the North. +Peace, but now the peace of triumph, settled again over Charleston, +and throughout the South went the joyous tidings that Sumter had been +taken. The great state of Virginia, Mother of Presidents, went out of +the Union at last, and North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed +her, but Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri still hung in the balance. + +Lincoln had called for volunteers to put down a rebellion, but Harry +heard everywhere in Charleston that the Confederacy was now secure. +The Southerners were rising by the thousands to defend it. The women, +too, were full of zeal and enthusiasm and they urged the men to go to +the front. With the full consent of the lower South the capital was to +be moved from Montgomery to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, on the +very border of the Confederacy, to look defiantly, as it were, across +at Washington over a space which was to become the vast battlefield of +America, although few then dreamed it. The progress of President Davis +to the new capital, set in the very face of the foe, was to be one huge +triumph of faith and loyalty. + +Harry heard nothing in Charleston but joyful news. There was not a +single note of gloom. Europe, which must have its cotton, would favor +the success of the South. Women who had never worked before, sewed +night and day on clothing for the soldiers. Men gave freely and without +asking to the new government. An extraordinary wave of emotion swept +over the South, carrying everybody with it. Charleston shouted anew as +the newspapers announced the news of distinguished officers who had gone +out with the Southern States. There were the two Johnstons, the one of +Virginia and the other of Kentucky; Lee, Bragg, of Buena Vista fame; +Longstreet, and many others, some already celebrated in the Mexican War, +and others with a greater fame yet to make. + +Harry heard it all and it was transfused into his own blood. Now a +letter came from his father. That obstinate faction in Kentucky still +held the state to the Union. Since Sumter had fallen and Charleston was +safe, he wished his son to rejoin him in Pendleton, whence they would +proceed together to Frankfort, and help the Southern party. His +personal account of the glowing deed that had been done in Charleston +harbor would help. He was sure that his old friend, General Beauregard, +would release him for this important duty. + +Harry's heart and judgment alike responded to the call. He took the +letter to General Beauregard, finding him at the Charleston Hotel with +Governor Pickens and officers of his staff, and stood aside while the +general read it. Beauregard at once wrote an order. + +"This is your discharge from the Palmetto Guards," he said. "Colonel +Kenton writes wisely. We need Kentucky and I understand that a very +little more may bring the state to us. Go with your father. I +understand that you have been a brave young soldier here and may you +do as well up there." + +Harry, feeling pride but not showing it, saluted and left the room, +going at once to Madame Delaunay's, where he had left his baggage. +He intended to leave early in the morning, but first he sought his +friends and told them good-bye. + +"Don't forget that we're going to have a great war," said Colonel +Leonidas Talbot, "and the first battle line will be far north of +Charleston. I shall look for you there." + +"God bless you, my boy," said Major Hector St. Hilaire. "May you come +back some day to this beautiful Charleston of ours, and find it more +beautiful than ever." + +"I'll meet you at Richmond later on," said Arthur St. Clair, "and then +we'll serve together again." + +"I'll join you at the White House in Washington," said Tom Langdon, +"and I'll give you the next best bed to sleep in with your boots on." + +Harry gave his farewells with deep and genuine regret. Whether their +manner was grave or frivolous, he knew that these were good friends +of his, and he sincerely hoped that he would meet them again. Madame +Delaunay spoke to him almost as if he had been a son of hers, and there +was dew in his eyes, because he could never forget her kindness to the +lad who had been a stranger. + +He resumed his civilian clothing and put his gray uniform, fine and new, +of which he was so proud, in his saddle bags. Kentucky had declared +herself neutral ground, warning the armies of both North and South to +keep off her sacred soil, and he did not wish to invite undue attention. +He intended, moreover, to leave the train when he neared Pendleton, +at the same little station at which he had taken it when he started +south. + +It was a different Harry who started home late in April. Four months +had made great changes. He bore himself more like a man. His manner +was much more considered and grave. He had seen great things and he had +done his share of them. He gazed upon a world full of responsibilities +and perils. + +But he looked back at Charleston the gay, the volatile and the beautiful, +with real affection. It was almost buried now in flowers and foliage. +Spring was at the full, every breeze was sharply sweet with grassy +flavors. The very triumph and joy of living penetrated his soul. +Youth swept aside the terrors of war. He was going home after victory. +He soon left Charleston out of sight. A last roof or steeple glittered +for a moment in the sun and then was gone. Before him lay the uplands +and the ridges, and in another day he would be in another land. + +He crossed the low mountains, passed through Nashville again, although +he did not stop there, his train making immediate connection, and once +more and with a thrill, entered his own state. He learned from casual +talk on the trains that affairs in Kentucky were very hot. The special +session of the Legislature, called by Governor Magoffin, was to meet at +Frankfort early in May. The women of the state had already prepared an +appeal to the Legislature to save them from the horrors of civil war. + +Harry saw that he had not left active life behind him when he came away +from Charleston. The feeling of strife had spread over a vast area. +The atmosphere of Kentucky, like that of South Carolina, was surcharged +with intensity and passion, but it had a difference. All the winds +blew in the same direction in South Carolina and they sang one song of +triumph, but in Kentucky they were variable and conflicting, and their +voices were many. + +He felt the difference as soon as he reached the hills of his native +state. People were cooler here and they were more prone to look at +the two sides of a question. The air, too, was unlike that of South +Carolina. There was a sharper tang to it. It whipped his blood as it +blew down from the slopes and crests. + +It was afternoon when he reached the little station of Winton and left +the train, a tall, sturdy boy, the superior of many a man in size, +strength and agility. His saddle bags over his arm, he went at once +to the liveryman with whom he had left his horse on his journey to +Charleston, and asked for another, his best, for the return ride to +Pendleton. The liveryman stared at him a moment or two and then burst +into an exclamation of surprise. + +"Why, it's Harry Kenton!" he said. "Harry, you've changed a lot in so +short a time! You were at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, they tell me! +It's made a mighty stir in these parts! There were never before such +times in old Kentucky! Yes, Harry, I'll give you the best horse I've +got, there ain't one more powerful in the state, but pushin' as hard as +you will you can't reach Pendleton before dark, an' you look out." + +"Look out for what?" + +"Bill Skelly an' his gang. Them mountaineers are up. They say they're +goin' to beat the rich men of the lowlands an' keep Kentucky in the +Union, but between you an' me, Harry, it's the hate they feel for +them that think harder an' work harder an' make more than themselves. +Bill Skelly is the worst man in the mountains an' he has gathered about +him a big gang of toughs. They're carin' mighty little about the Union +or the freedom of the slaves, but they expect to make a lot out of this +for themselves. Now I tell you again, Harry, to look out as you go +through the dark to Pendleton. The country is mighty troubled." + +"I will," replied Harry, with vivid recollection of his ride from +Pendleton to Winton. "I am armed, Mr. Collins, and I have seen war. +I served in one of the batteries that reduced Fort Sumter." + +He did not say the last as a boast, but merely as an assurance to the +liveryman, who he saw was anxious on his account. + +"If you've got pistols, just you think once before you shoot," said +Collins. "Things are shorely mighty troubled in these parts an' they're +goin' to be worse." + +"Have you heard anything of my father? Is he at Pendleton?" + +"He was two days ago. He'd been up to Louisville where the Southern +leaders had a meetin', but couldn't make things go as they wanted 'em +to go, an' so he come back to Pendleton. People are tellin' that he's +goin' to Frankfort soon." + +Harry thanked him, threw his saddle bags across the horse, a powerful +bay, and, giving a final wave of his hand to the sympathetic liveryman, +rode away. He had little fear. He carried a pair of heavy +double-barreled pistols in holsters, and a smaller weapon in his pocket. +The horse, as he soon saw, was of uncommon power and spirit and he +snapped his fingers at Skelly and his gang. + +He rode first at a long, easy walk, knowing too well to push hard at +the beginning, and the afternoon passed without anything worthy of his +notice save the loneliness of the road. In the two hours before sundown +he met less than half a dozen persons. All were men, and with a mere +nod they went on quickly, regarding him with suspicion. This was not +the fashion of a year ago, when they exchanged a friendly word or two, +but Harry knew its cause. Now nobody could trust anybody else. + +The setting sun was uncommonly red, tinting all the forest with a fiery +glow and Harry looked apprehensively at the line of blue hills now on +his right, whence danger had come before. But he saw nothing that moved +there. No signal lights twinkled. The intervening space was a mass of +heavy green foliage, which the eye, now that the twilight was at hand, +could penetrate only a few score yards. A northeast wind off the +distant mountain tops was cold and sharp, and Harry, who wore no +overcoat, shivered a little. + +Young though he was, he remembered the liveryman's caution, and he +watched the forest on either side, as well as he could. But he depended +more upon his keenness of ear. He did not believe the stirring of any +large force in the thickets could pass him unheard, and, having nursed +the strength of his great horse, he felt that he could leave almost any +pursuit far behind. + +The twilight sank into a dark and heavy night. The moon and stars lay +behind drifting clouds and, now and then, came a swish of cold rain. +Harry was not able to see more than a few yards to right or left, +when the road ran through the woods, as it did most of the time, and +not much further when fields chanced to lie on either side. + +He was within a mile of Pendleton, and his heart began to throb, not +with thoughts of Skelly, but because he would soon be in his old home +again. Ten or fifteen minutes more, and he would see the solid red +brick house rising among the clipped pines. But as he passed the +junction of a small road coming down from the hills, his attentive ear +gave warning. He heard the sound of hoofs and many of them. He drew +in for a moment under the boughs and listened. + +Harry's instinct warned him against the troop of men that he heard. +Collins, the liveryman, had told him that the country was full of +trouble. This region was neither North nor South. It was debatable +land, of which raiding bands would take full advantage, and, despite the +risk, he wished to know what was on foot. He was almost invisible under +the boughs of a great oak which hung over the road, and the horse, +after so many miles of hard riding, was willing enough to stand still. +The rain swished in his face and the leaves gave forth a chilly rustle, +but he held himself firmly to his task. + +The hoofbeats came nearer and then ceased. The horsemen stopped at +the point, where the narrower road merged into the larger and, as they +were clear of the foliage, Harry caught a view of them. There was no +moonlight, but his eyes had grown so well used to the darkness that he +was able to recognize Skelly, who was in advance, an old army rifle +across his saddle bow. Behind him were at least fifty men, and Harry +knew they were all mountaineers. They rode the scrubby mountain horses, +more like ponies, and every man carried a rifle. + +Harry divined instantly that they had come down from the hills to make a +raid upon the Confederate stronghold, Pendleton. War was on, and here +was their chance to take revenge upon the more civilized people of the +lowlands. Skelly was giving his final orders and Harry could hear him. + +"We'll leave the main road, pull down the fences an' ride across the +fields," he said. "We'll first take the house of that rebel and traitor, +Colonel Kenton. It'll be helpin' the cause if we burn it clean down to +the ground. If anybody tries to stop you, shoot. Then we'll go on to +the others." + +A growl of approval came from the men, and some shook their rifles as a +sign of what they would do. Harry knew them. Mostly moonshiners and +fugitives from justice, they cared far more for revenge and spoil than +for the Union. He shuddered as he heard their talk. His own home was +to be their first point of attack, and those who resisted were to be +shot down. + +He waited to hear no more, but, keeping in the shadow of the boughs and +riding at first in a walk, he went on toward Pendleton. He was sure +that Skelly's men had not heard his hoofbeats, as there was no sound of +pursuit, and, three or four hundred yards further, he changed from a +walk to a gallop. Careless of the dark and of all risks of the road, +he drove the horse faster and faster. He was on familiar ground. +He knew every hill and dip, almost every tree, but he did not pause to +notice anything. + +Soon he saw a light, then a dark outline, and his heart throbbed +greatly. It was his father's house, standing among the clipped pines, +and he was in time! Now his horse's feet thundered on the brief stretch +of road that was left, and in another minute he was at the gate opening +on the lawn. A man, rifle in hand, stood on the front steps, and +demanded to know who had come. + +"It is I, Harry, father!" cried Harry. "Skelly and his crowd are only a +mile behind me, coming to destroy the place!" + +Harry heard his father mutter, "Thank God!" which he knew was for his +coming. Then he quickly led the horse inside the gate, turned him loose +and ran forward. Colonel Kenton was already coming to meet him and the +hands of father and son met in a strong and affectionate clasp. + +"We will have to get out and go into the town," said Harry. "You and I +alone can't hold them off. Skelly has at least fifty men. I saw them +in the road." + +"I'm not afraid since you've got safely through," replied Colonel +Kenton. "We had a hint that Skelly was coming. That's why you see +me with this rifle. I'd have sent you a telegram to stop at Winton, +but couldn't reach you in time. Come into the house. Some friends of +ours are here, ready to help us hold it against anybody and everybody +that Skelly may bring." + +Harry, with his saddle bags and holsters over his arm, entered the front +hall with his father, who closed the door behind him. A single lamp +burned in the hall, but fifteen men, all armed with rifles, stood there. +He saw among them Steve Allison, the constable, Bracken the farmer, +Senator Culver, and even old Judge Kendrick. Most of them, besides the +rifles, carried pistols, and the party, though small, was resolute and +grim. They greeted Harry with warmth, but said few words. + +"We've food and hot coffee here," said Colonel Kenton. "After your long +ride, Harry, you'd better eat." + +"A cup of coffee will do," replied the boy. "But let me have a rifle. +Skelly and his men will be here in ten minutes." + +Old Judge Kendrick smiled. + +"You can't complain, colonel," he said, "that your son has not inherited +your temperament." + +A rifle, loaded and ready, was handed to Harry, and, at the same time he +drank a cup of hot coffee, brought by a trembling black boy. Allison +meanwhile had opened the door a little and was listening. + +"I don't hear 'em yet," he said. + +"They'll approach cautiously," said Colonel Kenton. "I think they're +likely to leave their horses at the edge of the wood and enter the lawn +on foot. We'll put out the light and go outside." + +"Good tactics," said Culver, as he promptly blew out the single light. +Then all went upon the great front portico, where they stood for a few +moments waiting. They could neither see nor hear anything hostile. +Drifting clouds still hid the moon and stars, and a swish of light, +cold rain came now and then. + +There were piazzas on both sides of the house, and a porch in the rear. +Colonel Kenton disposed his men deftly in order to meet the foe at any +point. The stone pillars would afford protection for the riflemen. +He, his son and old Judge Kendrick, held the portico in front. + +Harry crouched behind a pillar, his fingers on the trigger of a rifle, +and his holster containing the big double-barreled pistols lying at his +feet. Impressionable, and with a horror of injustice, his heart was +filled with rage. It was merely a band of outlaws who were coming to +plunder and destroy his beautiful home and to kill any who resisted. +He had respected those who held Sumter so long, but these fought only +for their own hand. + +A slight sound came from the road, a little distance to the south. +He waited until it was repeated and then he was sure. + +"They're out there," he whispered to his father at the next pillar. + +"I heard them," replied the colonel. "They'll come upon the lawn, +hiding behind the pines, and hoping to surprise the house. I fancy the +surprise will be theirs, not ours. When you shoot, Harry, shoot to kill, +or they will surely kill us. Keep as much as you can behind the pillar, +and don't get excited." + +Colonel Kenton was quite calm. The old soldier had returned to his +work. Wary and prepared, he was not loath to meet the enemy. Harry, +keeping his father's orders well in mind, crouched a little lower and +waited. Presently he heard a slight rustling, and he knew that Skelly's +men were among the dwarf pines on the lawn. The rustling continued and +came nearer. Harry glanced at his father, who was behind a pillar not +ten feet away. + +"Who are you, and what do you want?" called Colonel Kenton into the +darkness. + +There was no answer and the rustling ceased. Harry heard nothing but +the gentle fall of the rain. + +"Speak up!" called the colonel once more. "Who are you?" + +The answer came. Forty or fifty rifles cracked among the pines. +Harry saw little flashes of fire, and he heard bullets hiss so +venomously that a chill ran along his spine. There was a patter of lead +on every side of the house, but most of the shots came from the front +lawn. It was well that the colonel, Harry and the judge, were sheltered +by the big pillars, or two or three shots out of so many would have +found a mark. + +Harry's rage, which had cooled somewhat while he was waiting, returned. +He began to peer around the edge of the pillar, and seek a target, +but the colonel whispered to him to hold his fire. + +"Getting no reply, they'll creep a little closer presently and fire a +second volley," he said. + +Harry pressed closer to the pillar, kneeling low, as he had learned +already that nine out of ten men fire too high in battle. He heard once +more the rustling among the pines, and he knew that Skelly's men were +advancing. Doubtless they believed that the defenders had fled within +the house at the first volley. + +He heard suddenly the clicking of gun locks, and the rifles crashed +together again, but now the fire was given at much closer range. +Harry saw a dusky figure beside a pine not thirty feet away, and he +instantly pulled trigger upon it. His father's own rifle cracked at the +same time, and two cries of pain came from the lawn. The boy, hot with +the fire of battle, snatched the pistols out of the holsters and sent +in four more shots. + +Rapid reports from the other side of the house showed that the defenders +there were also repelling attacks. + +But Skelly's men, finding that they could not rush the house, kept up +a siege from the ambush of the pines. Bullets rattled like hailstones +against the thick brick walls of the house, and several times the +smashing of glass told that windows had been shot in. Harry's blood now +grew feverishly hot and his anger mounted with it. It was intolerable +that these outlaws should attack people in their own homes. Lying +almost flat on the floor of the portico he reloaded his rifle and +pistols. As he raised his head to seek a new shot, a bullet tipped his +ear, burning it like a streak of fire, and flattened against the wall +behind him. He fired instantly at the base of the flash and a cry of +pain showed that the bullet had struck a human target. + +Harry, in his excitement, raised himself a little for another shot, +and a second bullet cut dangerously near. A warning command came from +his father, veteran warrior of the plains, to keep down, and he obeyed +promptly. Then followed a period of long and intensely anxious waiting. +Harry thought that if the night would only lighten they could get a +clean sweep of the lawn and drive away the mountaineers, but it grew +darker instead and the wind rose. He heard the boughs of the clipped +pines rustle as they were whipped together, and the cold drops lashed +him in the face. He had become soaking wet, lying on the floor of the +portico, but he did not notice it. + +Harry saw far to his left a single dim light in the dip beyond the +forest, and he knew that it shone through a window in one of the houses +of Pendleton. + +It seemed amazing that so bitter a combat should be going on here, +while the people slept peacefully in the town below. But there was not +one chance in a thousand that they would hear of the battle on such a +night. Then an idea came to him, and creeping to his father he made his +proposition. Colonel Kenton opposed it vigorously, but Harry insisted. +He knew every inch of the grounds. Why should he not? He had played +over them all his life, and he could be in the fields and away in less +than two minutes. + +Colonel Kenton finally consulted Judge Kendrick, and the judge agreed +with Harry. Besieged by so many, they needed help and the boy was the +one to bring it. Then Colonel Kenton consented that Harry should go, +but pressed his hand and told him to be very careful. + +The boy went back into the house, passing through the dark rooms to the +rear. As he went, he heard the sound of sobbing. It was the colored +servants crying with terror. He found the constable and Senator Culver +on watch on the back porch and whispered to them his errand. + +"For God's sake, be careful, Harry," the Senator whispered back. +"Bad blood is boiling now. Some of Skelly's men have been hit hard, +and if they caught you they'd shoot you without mercy." + +"But they won't catch me," replied the boy with confidence. Thinking +it would be in the way in his rapid flight, he gave his rifle to the +senator, and taking the heavy pistols from the holsters, thrust them in +the pockets of his coat. Then he dropped lightly from the porch and +lay for a few moments in the darkness and on the wet ground, absolutely +still. + +A strange thrill ran through Harry Kenton when his body touched the +damp earth. The contact seemed to bring to him strength and courage. +Doubts fled away. He would succeed in the trial. He could not possibly +fail. His great-grandfather, Henry Ware, had been a renowned borderer +and Indian fighter, one of the most famous in all the annals of Kentucky, +gifted with almost preternatural power, surpassing the Indians +themselves in the lore and craft of forest and trail. It was said too, +that the girl, Lucy Upton, who became Henry Ware's wife and who was +Harry's great-grandmother, had received this same gift of forest +divination. His own first name had been given to him in honor of that +redoubtable great-grandfather. + +Now all the instincts of Harry's famous ancestors became intensely alive +in him. The blood of those who had been compelled for so many years to +watch and fight poured in a full tide through his veins. His bearing +became sharper, his eyes saw through the darkness like those of a cat, +and a certain sixth sense, hitherto a dormant instinct which would warn +of danger, came suddenly to life. + +Two parallel rows of honeysuckle bushes ran back some distance to a +vegetable garden. He reckoned that the mountaineers would be hiding +behind these, and therefore he turned away to the right, where dwarf +pines, clipped into cones, grew as on the front lawn. The grass, +helped by a wet spring, had grown already to a height of several inches, +and Harry was surprised at the ease with which he drew his body through +it. Every inch of garment upon him was soaked with rain, but he took no +thought of the fact. He felt a certain fierce joy in the wildness of +night and storm, and he was ready to defy any number of mountaineers. + +The sixth and new sense suddenly gave warning and he lay flat in the +wet grass just under one of the pines. Then he saw three men rise from +their shelter behind a honeysuckle bush, walk forward, and stand in a +group talking about ten feet behind him. Although they were not visible +from the house he saw them clearly enough. One of them was Skelly +himself, and all three were of villainous face. Straining his ear he +could hear what they said and now he was very glad indeed that he had +come. + +It was the plan of Skelly to wait in silence and patience a long time. +The defenders would conclude that he and his men had gone away, and then +the mountaineers could either rush the house or set it on fire. If the +final resort was fire, they could easily shoot Colonel Kenton and his +friends as they ran out. It was Skelly who spoke of this hideous plan, +laughing as he spoke, and Harry's hand went instinctively toward the +butt of one of the pistols. But his will made him draw it away again, +and, motionless in the grass, lying flat upon his face, he continued to +listen. + +Skelly's plan was accepted and they moved away to tell the others. +Harry rose a little, and crept rapidly through the grass toward the +vegetable garden. + +Again he was surprised at his own skill. Acute of ear as he had become +he could scarcely hear the brushing of the grass as he passed. As he +approached the garden he saw two more men, rifles in hand, walking about, +but paying little heed to them he kept on until he lay against the fence +enclosing the garden. + +It was a fence of palings, spiked at the top, and climbing it was a +problem. Studying the question for a moment or two he decided that it +was too dangerous to be risked, and moving cautiously along he began +to feel of the palings. At last he came to one that was loose, and he +pulled it entirely free at the bottom. Then he slipped through and into +the garden. Here were long rows of grapevines, fastened on sticks, and, +for a few moments, he lay flat behind one of the rows. He knew that he +was not yet entirely safe, as the mountaineers were keen of eye and ear, +and an outer guard of skirmishers might be lying in the garden itself. +But he was now even keener of eye and hearing than they, and he could +detect nothing living near him. The house also, and all about it, +was silent. Evidently Skelly's men had settled down to a long siege, +and Harry rejoiced in the amount of time they gave him. + +He rose to his feet, but, stooped to only half his height, he ran +swiftly behind the row of grapevines to the far end of the garden, +leaped over the fence and continued his rapid flight toward Pendleton, +where the single light still burned. He surmised that his father had +received the warning too late to gather more than a few friends, and +that the rest of the town was yet in deep ignorance. + +The first house he reached, the one in which the light burned, was that +of Gardner, the editor, and he beat heavily upon the door. Gardner +himself opened it, and he started back in astonishment at the wild +figure covered with mud, a heavy pistol clutched in the right hand. + +"In Heaven's name, who are you?" he cried. + +"Don't you know me, Mr. Gardner? I'm Harry Kenton, come back from +Charleston! Bill Skelly and fifty of his men have ridden down from the +mountains and are besieging us in our house, intending to rob and kill! +The constable is there and so are Judge Kendrick, Senator Culver, +and a few others, but we need help and I've come for it!" + +He spoke in such a rapid, tense manner that every word carried +conviction. + +"Excuse me for not knowing you, Harry," Gardner said, "but you're +calling at a rather unusual time in a rather unusual manner, and you +have the most thorough mask of mud I ever saw on anybody. Wait a minute +and I'll be with you." + +He returned in half the time, and the two of them soon had the town up +and stirring. Pendleton was largely Southern in sympathy, and even +those who held other views did not wholly relish an attack upon one of +its prominent men by a band of unclassified mountaineers. Lights sprang +up all over the town. Men poured from the houses and there was no house +then that did not contain at least one rifle. + +In a half hour sixty or seventy men, well armed with rifles and pistols, +were on their way to Colonel Kenton's house. Only a few drops of rain +were falling now, and the thin edge of the moon appeared between clouds. +There was a little light. The relieving party advanced swiftly and +without noise. They were all accustomed to outdoor life and the use of +weapons, and they needed few commands. Gardner came nearer than anyone +else to being the leader, although Harry kept by his side. + +They went on Harry's own trail, passing through the garden and hurrying +toward the house. Three or four dim figures fled before them, running +between the rows of vines. The Pendleton men fired at them, and then +raised a great shout, as they rushed for the lawn. The mountaineers +took to instant flight, making for the woods, where they had left their +horses. + +Colonel Kenton and his friends came from the house, shaking hands +joyfully with their deliverers. Lanterns were produced, and they +searched the lawn. Three men lay stiff and cold behind the dwarf pines. +Harry shuddered. He was seeing for the first time the terrible fruits +of civil war. It was not merely the pitched battles of armies, but +often neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes the cloak of North or +South would be used as a disguise for the basest of motives. + +They also found two sanguinary trails leading to the wood in which the +mountaineers had hitched their horses, indicating that the defenders of +the Kenton house had shot well. But by the next morning Skelly's men +had made good their flight far into the hills where no one could follow +them. They sent no request for their own dead who were buried by the +Pendleton people. + +But the town raised a home guard to defend itself against raiders of any +kind, and Colonel Kenton and Harry promptly made ready for their journey +to Frankfort, where the choice of the state must soon be made, and +whither Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, had gone already. +Colonel Kenton feared no charge because of the fight with Skelly's men. +He was but defending his own home and here, as in the motherland, +a man's house was his castle. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE FIGHT FOR A STATE + + +Colonel Kenton and Harry avoided Louisville, which was now in the hands +of Northern sympathizers, and, travelling partly by rail and partly by +stage, reached Frankfort early in May to attend the special session of +the Legislature called by Governor Magoffin. Although the skirmishing +had taken place already along the edge of highland and lowland, the +state still sought to maintain its position of neutrality. There was +war within its borders, and yet no war. In feeling, it was Southern, +and yet its judgment was with the Union. Thousands of ardent young men +had drifted southward to join the armies forming there, and thousands of +others, equally ardent, had turned northward to join forces that would +oppose those below. Harry, young as he was, recognized that his own +state would be more fiercely divided than any other by the great strife. + +But Federal and Confederate alike preserved the semblance of peace as +they gathered at Frankfort for the political struggle over the state. +Colonel Kenton and his son took the train at a point about forty miles +from the capital, and they found it crowded with public men going +from Louisville to Frankfort. It was the oldest railroad west of the +Alleghanies, and among the first ever built. The coaches swung around +curves, and dust and particles flew in at the windows, but the speed was +a relief after the crawling of the stage and Harry stretched himself +luxuriously on the plush seat. + +A tall man in civilian attire, holding himself very stiffly, despite the +swinging and swaying of the train, rose from his seat, and came forward +to greet Colonel Kenton. + +"George," he said, his voice quivering slightly, "you and I have fought +together in many battles in Mexico and the West, but it is likely now +that we shall fight other battles on this own soil of ours against each +other. But, George, let us be friends always, and let us pledge it here +and now." + +The words might have seemed a little dramatic elsewhere, but not so +under the circumstances of time and place. Colonel Kenton's quick +response came from the depths of a generous soul. + +"John," he said as their two hands met in the grip of brothers of the +camp and field, "you and I may be on opposing sides, but we can never be +enemies. John, this is my son, Harry. Harry, this is Major John Warren +of Mason County and the regular army of the United States; he does not +think as we do, but even at West Point he was a stubborn idiot. He and +I were continually arguing, and he would never admit that he was always +wrong. I never knew him to be right in anything except mathematics, +and then he was never wrong." + +Major Warren smiled and sat down by his old comrade. + +"You've a fine boy there, George," he said, "and I suppose he probably +takes his opinions from his father, which is a great mistake. I think +if I were to talk to him I could show him his, or rather your, error." + +"Not by your system of mathematical reasoning, John. Your method is +well enough for the building of a fortress or calculating the range of +a gun. But it won't do for the actions of men. You allow nothing for +feeling, sentiment, association, propinquity, heredity, climate and, +and--" + +"Get a dictionary or a book of synonyms, George." + +"Perhaps I should. I understand how we happen to differ. But I can't +explain it well. Well, maybe it will all blow over. The worries of +today are often the jokes of tomorrow." + +Major Warren shook his head. + +"It may blow over," he said, "but it will be a mighty wind; it will blow +a long time, and many things for which you and I care, George, will be +blown away by it. When that great and terrible wind stops blowing, +our country will be changed forever." + +"Don't be so downcast, John, you are not dead yet," said Colonel Kenton, +clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You've often seen big clouds go +by without either wind or rain." + +"How about that attack upon your house and you and your friends? +The clouds had something in them then." + +"Merely mountain outlaws taking advantage of unsettled conditions." + +Harry had listened closely and he knew that his father was only giving +voice to his hopes, not to his beliefs. But as they ceased to talk of +the great question, his attention wandered to the country through which +they were passing. Spring was now deep and green in Kentucky. They +were running through a land of deep, rich soil, with an outcrop of +white limestone showing here and there above the heavy green grass. A +peaceful country and prosperous. It seemed impossible that it should +be torn by war, by war between those who lived upon it. + +Then the train left the grass lands, cut through a narrow but rough +range of hills, entered a gorge and stopped in Frankfort, the little +capital, beside the deep and blue Kentucky. + +Frankfort had only a few thousand inhabitants, but Harry found here much +of the feeling that he had seen in Nashville and Charleston, with an +important difference. There it was all Southern, or nearly so, but here +North struggled with South on terms that certainly were not worse than +equal. + +Although the place was crowded, he and his father were lucky enough to +secure a room at the chief hotel, which was also the only one of any +importance. The hotel itself swarmed with the opposing factions. +Senator Culver and Judge Kendrick had a room together across the hall +from theirs, and next to them four red hot sympathizers with the Union +slept on cots in one apartment. Further down the hall Harvey Whitridge, +a state senator, huge of stature, much whiskered, and the proud +possessor of a voice that could be heard nearly a mile, occupied a room +with Samuel Fowler, a tall, thin, quiet member of the Lower House. +The two were staunch Unionists. + +Everybody knew everybody else in this dissevered gathering. Nearly +everybody was kin by blood to everybody else. In a state affected +little by immigration families were more or less related. If there was +to be a war it would be, so far as they were concerned, a war of cousins +against cousins. + +Colonel Kenton and Harry had scarcely bathed their faces and set their +clothing to rights, when there was a sharp knock at the door and the +Colonel admitted Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, dark of +complexion, volatile and wonderfully neat in apparel. He seemed at once +to Harry to be a messenger from that Charleston which he had liked, +and in the life of which he had had a share. Bertrand shook hands with +both with great enthusiasm, but his eyes sparkled when he spoke to Harry. + +"And you were there when they fired on Sumter!" he exclaimed. "And you +had a part in it! What a glorious day! What a glorious deed! And I +had to be here in your cold state, trying to make these descendants of +stubborn Scotch and English see the right, and follow gladly in the path +of our beautiful star, South Carolina!" + +"How goes the cause here, Bertrand?" asked Colonel Kenton, breaking in +on his prose epic. + +Bertrand shrugged his shoulders and his face expressed discontent. + +"Not well," he replied, "not as well as I had hoped. There is still +something in the name of the Union that stirs the hearts of the +Kentuckians. They hesitate. I have worked, I have talked, I have used +all the arguments of our illustrious President, Mr. Davis, and of the +other great men who have charge of Southern fortunes, and they still +hesitate. Their blood is not hot enough. They do not have the vision. +They lack the fire and splendor of the South Carolinians!" + +Harry felt a little heat, but Colonel Kenton was not disturbed at all by +the criticism. + +"Perhaps you are right, Bertrand," he said thoughtfully. "We +Kentuckians have the reputation of being very quick on the trigger, +but we are conservative in big things. This is going to be a great war, +a mighty great war, and I suppose our people feel like taking a good +long look, and then another, equally as long, before they leap." + +Bertrand, hot-blooded and impatient, bit his lip. + +"It will not do! It will not do!" he exclaimed. "We must have this +state. Virginia has gone out! Kentucky is her daughter! Then why does +not she do the same?" + +"You must give us time, Bertrand," said Colonel Kenton, still speaking +slowly and thoughtfully. "We are not starting upon any summer holiday, +and I can understand how the people here feel. I'm going with my people +and I'm going to fire on the old flag, under which I've fought so often, +but you needn't think it comes so easy. This thing of choosing between +the sections is the hardest task that was ever set for a man." + +Harry had never heard his father speak with more solemnity. Bertrand +was silent, overawed by the older man, but to the boy the words were +extremely impressive. His youthful temperament was sensitive to +atmosphere. In Charleston he shared the fire, zeal and enthusiasm of +an impressionable people. They saw only one side and, for a while, he +saw only one side, too. Here in Frankfort the atmosphere was changed. +They saw two sides and he saw two sides with them. + +"But you need have no fear about us, Bertrand," continued Colonel +Kenton. "My heart is with the South, and so is my boy's. I thought +that Kentucky would go out of the Union without a fight, but since there +is to be a struggle we'll go through with it, and win it. Don't be +afraid, the state will be with you yet." + +They talked a little longer and then Bertrand left. Harry politely held +the door open for him, and, as he went down the hall, he saw him pass +Whitridge and Fowler. Contrary to the custom which still preserved the +amenities they did not speak. Bertrand gave them a look of defiance. +It seemed to Harry that he wanted to speak, but he pressed his lips +firmly together, and, looking straight ahead of him, walked to the +stairway, down which he disappeared. As Harry still stood in the open +doorway, Whitridge and Fowler approached. + +"Can we come in?" Whitridge asked. + +"Yes, Harvey," said Colonel Kenton over the boy's shoulder. "Both of +you are welcome here at any time." + +The two men entered and Harry gave them chairs. Whitridge's creaked +beneath him with his mighty weight. + +"George," said the Senator pointedly but without animosity, "you and +I have known each other a good many years, and we are eighth or tenth +cousins, which counts for something in this state. Now, you have come +here to Frankfort to pull Kentucky out of the Union, and I've come to +pull so hard against you that you can't. You know it and I know it. +All's square and above board, but why do you bring here that South +Carolina Frenchman to meddle in the affairs of the good old state of +Kentucky? Is it any business of his or of the other people down there? +Can't we decide it ourselves? We're a big family here in Kentucky, +and we oughtn't to bring strangers into the family council, even if +we do have a disagreement. Besides, he represents the Knights of the +Golden Circle, and what they are planning is plumb foolishness. Even if +you are bound to go out and split up the Union, I'd think you wouldn't +have anything to do with the wholesale grabbing of Spanish-speaking +territories to the southward." + +"There's a lot in what you say, Harvey," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking with the utmost good humor, "but I didn't bring Bertrand here; +he came of his own accord. Besides, while I'm strong for the South, +I think this Knights of the Golden Circle business is bad, just as you +do." + +"I'm glad you've got that much sense left, George," said Whitridge. +"You army men never do know much about politics. It's easy to pull the +wool over your eyes." + +"Have you and Fowler come here for that purpose?" asked the colonel, +smiling. + +It was the preliminary to a long argument carried on without temper. +Harry listened attentively, but as soon as it was over and Whitridge and +Fowler had gone, he tumbled into his bed and went to sleep. + +He rose early the next morning, before his father in fact, as he was +eager to see more of Frankfort, ate a solid breakfast almost alone, +and went into the streets, where the first person he met was his own +cousin and schoolmate, Dick Mason. The two boys started, looked first +at each other with hostile glances, which changed the next instant to +looks of pleasure and welcome, and then shook hands with power and +heartiness. They could not be enemies. They were boys together again. + +"Why, Dick," exclaimed Harry, "I thought you had gone east to save the +Union." + +"So I have," replied Dick Mason, "but not as far east as you thought. +We've got a big camp down in Garrard County, where the forces of the +Kentuckians who favor the Union are gathering. General Nelson commands +us. I suppose you've heard that you rebels are gathering on the other +side of Frankfort in Owen County under Humphrey Marshall?" + +"Yes, Yank, I've heard it," replied Harry. "Now, what are you doing in +Frankfort? What business have you got here?" + +"Since you ask me a plain question I'll give you a plain answer," +replied Dick. "I'm here to scotch you rebels. You don't think you +can run away with a state like this, do you?" + +"I don't know yet," replied Harry, "but we're going to try. Say, Dick, +let's not talk about such things any more for a while. I want to see +this town and we can take a look at it together." + +"The plan suits me," said Dick promptly. "Come on. I've been here two +days and I guess I can be guide." + +"We'll take in the Capitol first," said Harry. + +Dick led the way and Harry approached with awe and some curiosity the +old building which was famous to him. Erected far back, when the state +was in its infancy, it still served well its purpose. He and Dick +walked together upon the lawns among the trees, but, as soon as the +doors were open, they went inside and entered with respect the room +in which the great men of their state, the Clays, the Marshalls, the +Breckinridges, the Crittendens, the Hardins, and so many others had +begun their careers. They were great men not to Kentucky alone, but to +the nation as well, and the hearts of the two boys throbbed with pride. +They sat down in two of the desks where the members were to meet the +next day and fight over the question whether Kentucky was Northern or +Southern. + +It was very early. Besides themselves there was nobody about but the +caretaker. They were sitting in the House and the room was still warmed +in winter by great stoves, but they were not needed now, as the windows +were open and the fresh breeze of a grass-scented May morning blew in +and tumbled the hair of the two youths of the same blood who sat side by +side, close friends of their school days again, but who would soon be +facing each other across red fields. + +The wind which blew so pleasantly on Harry's forehead reminded him of +that other wind which had blown so often upon his face at Charleston. +But it was not heavy and languorous here. It did not have the lazy +perfumes of the breezes that floated up from the warm shores of the +Gulf. It was sharp and penetrating. It whipped the blood like the +touch of frost. It stirred to action. His cousin's emotions were +evidently much like his own. + +"Harry," said Dick, "I never thought that Kentucky would be fighting +against Kentucky, that Pendleton would be fighting against Pendleton." + +Harry was about to reply when his attention was attracted by a heavy +footstep. A third person had entered the chamber of the House, and he +stood for a while in the aisle, looking curiously about him. Harry saw +the man before the stranger saw him and with an instinctive shudder +he recognized Bill Skelly. There he stood, huge, black, hairy, and +lowering, two heavy pistols shown openly in his belt. + +The boys were sitting low in the desks and it was a little while before +Skelly noticed them. His attitude was that of triumph, that of one who +expects great spoils, like that of a buccaneer who finds his profit in +troubled times, preying upon friend and foe alike. Presently he caught +sight of the two boys. But his gaze fastened on Harry, and a savage +glint appeared in his eyes. Then he strode down the wide aisle and +stood near them. But he looked at Harry alone. + +"You are Colonel Kenton's son?" he said. + +"I am," replied Harry, meeting his fierce stare boldly, "the same whom +you tried to murder on the way to Winton, the same who helped to hold +our house against you and your gang of assassins." + +Skelly's dark face grew darker as the black blood leaped to his very +eyes. But he choked down his passion. The mountaineer was not lacking +in cunning. + +"Your father and his friends killed some of my men," he said. "I ain't +here now to argy with you about the rights an' wrongs of it, but I want +to tell you that all the people of the mountains are up for the Union. +With them from the lowlands that are the same way, we'll chase you +rebels, Jeff Davis and all, clean into the Gulf of Mexico." + +Harry deliberately turned his head away, and stared out of a window +at the green of lawns and trees. Skelly filled him with abhorrence. +He felt as if he were in the presence of a creeping panther, and he +would have nothing more to say to him. Skelly looked at him for a few +minutes longer, drew himself together in the manner of a savage wild +beast about to spring, but relaxed the next moment, laughed softly, +and strode out of the chamber. + +"That's one of your men," said Harry. "I hope you're proud of him." + +"All the mountain people are for us," replied Dick judicially, "and we +can't help it if some of the rascals are on our side. You're likely to +have men just as bad on yours. I heard about the attack he made upon +Uncle George's house, but it was war, I suppose, and this which we have +here in Frankfort is only an armed truce. You can't do anything." + +"I suppose not. Do you know how long he has been here?" + +"He arrived at Camp Dick Robinson only two or three days ago, and I +suppose he has taken the first chance to come in and have a look at the +capital." + +"With the idea of looting it later on." + +Dick laughed. + +"Don't be bitter, Harry," he said. "It's going to be a fair fight." + +"Well, I hope so, here in this little town as well as on the greater +field of the country. Are you staying long in Frankfort, Dick?" + +"Only today. I'm going back tomorrow to Camp Dick Robinson." + +"Well, don't you make friends with that fellow Skelly, even if he is on +the same side you are." + +"I won't, Harry, have no fear of that." + +The two went together to the hotel, and found Colonel Kenton at +breakfast. He welcomed his nephew with great affection, and made him +sit by him until he had finished his breakfast. While he was drinking +his coffee Harry told him of Skelly's presence. The Colonel frowned, +but merely uttered three words about him. + +"We'll watch him," he said. + +Then the three went out and saw the little town grow into life and +seethe with the heat of the spirit. Although actual skirmishing had +taken place already in the state there was no violence here, except of +speech. All the members of the House and Senate were gathered, and +so far as Harry could observe the Southerners were in the majority. +Others thought so, too. Bertrand was sanguine. His eyes burned with +the fire of enthusiasm, lighting up his olive face. + +"We'll win. We'll surely win!" he said. "This state which we need so +much will be out of the Union inside of two weeks." + +But Senator Culver was more guarded in his opinion, or at least in the +expression of it. + +"It's going to be a mighty hot fight," he said. + +Harry and Dick together watched the convening of the Legislature, +having chosen seats in the upper lobby of the House. Harry looked for +Skelly, but not seeing him he inferred that the mountaineer's leave of +absence was short and that he had gone back to camp. + +Dick himself left the next morning for Camp Dick Robinson, and Harry +shook his hand over and over again as he departed. The feeling between +the cousins was strong and it had been renewed by their meeting under +such circumstances. + +"I may go east," said Dick, as he mounted his horse. "The big things +are going to happen there first." + +Harry watched him as he rode away and he wondered when they would meet +again. Like Colonel Leonidas Talbot he felt now that this was going to +be a great war, wide in its sweep. + +Harry returned to his hotel, very thoughtful. The second parting with +his cousin, who had been his playmate all his life, was painful, and +he realized that while he was wondering when and where they would meet +again it might never occur at all. He found his father and his friends +holding a close conference in his room at the hotel. Senator Culver, +Mr. Bracken, Gardner, the editor, and others yet higher in the councils +of the Confederacy, were there. Bertrand sat in a corner, saying little, +but watching everything with ardent, burning eyes. + +Letters had come from the chief Southern leaders. There was one from +Jefferson Davis, himself, another from the astute Benjamin, another from +Toombs, bold and brusque as befitted his temperament, and yet more from +Stephens and Slidell and Yancey and others. Colonel Kenton read them +one by one to the twenty men who were crowded into the room. They were +appealing, insistent, urgent. Their tone might vary, but the tenor was +the same. They must take Kentucky out of the Union and take her out at +once. In the West the line of attack upon the South would lead through +Kentucky. But if the state threw in her fortunes with the South, +the advance of Lincoln's troops would be blocked. The force of example +would be immense, and a hundred thousand valiant Kentuckians could +easily turn the scale in favor of the Confederacy. + +Harry listened to them a long time, but growing tired at last, went out +again into the fresh air. Young though he was, he realized that it was +one thing for the Southern leaders to ask, but it was another thing +for the Kentuckians to deliver. He saw all about him the signs of a +powerful opposition, and he saw, too, that these forces, scattered at +first, were consolidating fast, presenting a formidable front. + +The struggle began and it was waged for days in the picturesque old +Capitol. There was no violence, but feeling deepened. Men put +restraint upon their words, but their hearts behind them were full of +bitterness, bitterness on one side because the Northern sympathizers +were so stubborn, and bitterness on the other, because the Southern +sympathizers showed the same stubbornness. Friends of a lifetime used +but cold words to each other and saw widening between then, a gulf which +none could cross. Supporters of either cause poured into the little +capital. Tremendous pressure was brought to bear upon House and Senate. +Members were compelled to strive with every kind of emotion or appeal, +love of the Union, cool judgment in the midst of alarms, state +patriotism, kinship, and all the conflicting ties which pull at those +who stand upon the border line on the eve of a great civil war. And +yet they could come to no decision. Day after day they fought back and +forth over points of order and resolutions and the result was always +the same. North and South were locked fast within the two rooms of one +little Capitol. + +They were rimmed around meanwhile by a fiery horizon that steadily came +closer and closer. The guns reducing Sumter had been a sufficient +signal. North and South were sharply arrayed against each other. +The Southern volunteers, full of ardor and fire, continued to pour to +their standards. The North, larger and heavier, moved more slowly, +but it moved. The whole land swayed under an intense agitation. +The news of skirmishes along the border came, magnified and colored +in the telling. Men's minds were inflamed more every day. + +When Harry had been in Frankfort about a week he received a letter from +St. Clair, written from Richmond, urging him, if he could, to get an +assignment to the East, and to come to that city, which was to be the +permanent capital of the South. + +"We are here," he said, "looking the enemy in the face. Langdon and I +are in the same company and I see Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire +every day. We are going to the front soon, and before the summer is out +there will be a big battle followed by our taking of Washington." + +"But you must come, Harry, to Richmond and join us before we march. +This is a fine town and all the celebrities are crowding in. You never +saw such confidence and enthusiasm. Virginia was slow in joining us, +but, since she has joined, she is with us heart and soul. Troops are +pouring in all the time. Cannon and wagons loaded with ammunition and +supplies are hurrying to the front. The Yankees are not threatening +Richmond; we are threatening Washington. Be sure and get yourself +transferred to the East, Harry, where the great things are going to +happen. Friends are waiting for you here. Colonel Talbot and Major +St. Hilaire have a lot of power and they will use it for you." + +Harry was walking on the hills that look down on the Capitol, when he +read the letter and its warm words made his pulses leap with pleasure. +He felt now the pull of opposing magnets. He wanted to remain in +Frankfort with his father and see the issue, and he also wanted to join +those South Carolina comrades of his in the East, where the battle +fronts now lowered so ominously. + +He thought long over the letter, and, at last sat down by the monument +to the Kentucky volunteers who fell at the battle of Buena Vista. +The pull of the East was gradually growing the stronger. He did not +see what he could do at Frankfort, and he wanted to be off there on the +Virginia fields where the bayonets would soon meet. + +The curious feeling that war could not come here in his own land +persisted in Harry. It was late in the afternoon with the lower tip of +the sun just hid behind the far hills and the landscape that he looked +upon was soft and beautiful. The green of spring was deep and tender. +Everything rough or ugly was smoothed away by the first mellow touch +of the advancing twilight. The hills were clothed in the same robe of +green that lay over the valleys, and through the center of the circle +flowed the deep Kentucky, serene and blue. + +While Harry's thoughts at that moment were on war, he really had no +feeling against anybody. It was all general and impersonal. There +is something pure and noble about a boy who comes out of a good home, +something lofty to which the man later looks back with pride, not +because the boy was wise or powerful, but because his heart was good. + +The twilight slowly darkened over green fields and blue river. But the +noble stone, with its sculptured lines, by the side of which Harry sat, +seemed to grow whiter, despite the veil of dusk that was drooping softly +over it. The houses in the town below began to sink out of sight and +lights appeared in their place. + +Night came and found the boy still at his place. He could see only the +tint of the blue river now, and the far hills were lost in the darkness. +The chill of evening was coming on, and rising, he shook himself a +little. Then he followed a path down the steep hill and along the edge +of the river. But he paused, standing by the side of a great oak that +grew at the Water's margin, and looked up the Kentucky. + +Harry could see from the point where he stood no sign of human life. +He heard only the murmur of deep waters as they flowed slowly and +peacefully by. The spirit of his great ancestor, the famous Henry Ware, +who had been the sword of the border, was strong upon him. The Kentucky +was to him the most romantic of all rivers, clustered thick with the +facts and legends of the great days, when the first of the pioneers +came and built homes along its banks. It flowed out of mountains still +mysterious, and, for a few moments, Harry's thoughts floated from the +strife of the present to a time far back when the slightest noise in the +canebrake might mean to the hunter the coming of his quarry. + +A faint musical sound, not more than the sigh of a stray breeze, came +from a point far up the stream. He listened and the sound pleased him. +The lone, weird note was in full accord with the night and his mood, +and presently he knew it. It was some mountaineer on a raft singing a +plaintive song of his own distant hills. Huge rafts launched on the +headwaters of the stream in the mountains in the eastern part of the +state came in great numbers down the river, but oftenest at this time of +the year. Some stopped at Frankfort, and others went into the Ohio for +the cities down that stream. + +Harry waited, while the song grew a little in volume, and, penned now +between high banks, gave back soft echoes. But the raft came very +slowly, only as fast as the current of the river. He thought he would +see a light as the men usually cooked and slept in a rude little hut +built in the center of the raft. But all was yet in darkness. + +The singer, however rude and unlettered a mountaineer he may have been, +had a voice and ear, and Harry still listened with the keenest pleasure +to the melodious note that came floating down the river. The spell was +upon him. His imagination became so vivid that it was not a mountaineer +singing. He had gone back into another century. It was one of the +great borderers, perhaps Boone himself, who was paddling his canoe upon +the stream, the name of which was danger. And Kenton, and Logan and +Harrod and the others were abroad in the woods. + +He was engrossed so deeply that he did not hear a heavy step behind him, +nor did he see a huge bewhiskered figure in the path, holding a clubbed +rifle. Yet he turned. It was perhaps the instinct inherited from his +great ancestor, who was said to have had a sixth sense. Whatever it may +have been, he faced suddenly about, and saw Bill Skelly aiming at him +a blow with the clubbed rifle, which would at once crush his skull and +send his body into the deep stream. + +The same inherited instinct made him leap within the swing of the rifle +and clutch at the mountaineer's throat. The heavy butt swished through +the air, and the very force of the blow jerked the weapon from Skelly's +hands. The next instant he was struggling for his life. Harry was a +powerful youth, much stronger than many men, and, at that instant, +the spirit and strength of his great ancestor were pouring into his +veins. The treacherous attempt upon his life filled him with rage. +He was, in very truth, the forest runner of the earlier century, and he +strove with all his great might to slay his enemy. + +Skelly, six feet two inches tall and two hundred pounds of muscle and +sinew, struck the boy fiercely on the side of the head, but the terrible +grasp was still at his throat. He was the larger and the stronger, +but the sudden leap upon him gave his younger and smaller antagonist an +advantage. He had a pistol in his belt, but with that throttling grip +upon his throat he forgot it. The hunter had suddenly become the +hunted. Filled with rage and venom he had expected an easy triumph, and, +instead, he was now fighting for his life. + +Skelly struck again and again at the boy, but Harry, with instinctive +wisdom, pressed his head close to the man's chin, and Skelly's blows +at such short range lacked force behind them. All the while Harry's +youthful but powerful arms were pouring strength into the hands that +grasped the man's throat. The mountaineer choked and gasped, and, +changing his aim from the head, struck Harry again and again in the +chest. Then he remembered to draw his pistol, but Harry, raising his +knee, struck him violently on the wrist. The pistol dropped to the +ground, and Skelly, in the fierce struggle, was unable to regain it. + +Neither had uttered a cry. There was not a single shout for help. +Skelly would not want to call attention, and Harry recalled afterward +that in the tremendous tension of the moment the thought of it never +occurred to him. He continued to press savagely upon Skelly's throat, +while the mountaineer rained blows upon his chest, blows that would +have killed him had Skelly been able to get full purchase for his arms. +He heard the heavy gasping breath of the man, and he saw the dark, +hideous face close to his own. It was so hairy that it was like the +face of some huge anthropoid, with the lips wrinkled back from strong +and cruel white teeth. + +It seemed to Harry in very truth that he was fighting a great wild +beast. His own breath came in short gasps, and at every expansion of +the lungs a fierce pain shot through his whole body. A bloody foam rose +to his lips. The savage pounding upon his chest was telling. He still +retained his grasp upon Skelly's throat, where his fingers were sunk +into the flesh, but it was only the grimmest kind of resolution that +enabled him to hold on. + +Harry saw the fierce light in Skelly's eye turn to joy. The man foresaw +his triumph, and he began to curse low, but fast and with savage +unction. Harry felt himself weakening, and he made another mighty +effort to retain his hold, but the fingers still slipped, and, as Skelly +struck him harder than ever in the chest, they flew loose entirely. + +He knew that if Skelly had room for the full play of his arm that he +would be knocked senseless at the next blow, and to ward it off he +seized the man by his huge chest, tripping at the same time with all his +might. The two fell, rolled over in their struggling, and then Harry +felt himself dropping from a height. The next moment the deep waters of +the Kentucky closed over the two, still locked fast in a deadly combat, +and the waves circled away in diminishing height from the spot where +they had sunk. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE RIVER JOURNEY + + +"Best pour a little of this down his throat. It'll cut an' burn, +but if there's a spark o' life left in him it'll set it to blazin'." + +Harry became conscious of the "cutting" and "burning," and, struggling +weakly, he sat up. + +"That's better," continued the deep, masculine voice. "You've been +layin' on your face, lettin' the Kentucky River run out of your mouth, +while we was poundin' you on the back to increase the speed o' the +current. It's all out o' you now, an' you're goin' to keep your young +life." + +The man who spoke was standing almost over Harry, holding a flask in one +hand and a lantern in the other. He was obviously a mountaineer, tall, +with powerful chest and shoulders, and a short red beard. Near him +stood a stalwart boy about Harry's own age. They were in the middle of +a raft which had been pulled to the south side of the Kentucky and then +tied to the shore. + +Harry started to speak, but the words stopped at his lips. His weakness +was still great. + +"Wa'al," said the man, whimsically. "What was it? Sooicide? Or did +you fall in the river, bein' awkward? Or was you tryin' to swim the +stream, believin' it was fun to do it? What do you think, Ike?" + +"It wasn't no sooicide," replied the youth whom he had called Ike. +"Boys don't kill theirse'ves. An' it wasn't no awkwardness, 'cause he +don't look like the awkward kind. An' I guess he wasn't tryin' to swim +the Kentucky, else he would have took off his clothes." + +"Which cuts out all three o' my guesses, leavin' me nothin' to go on. +Now, I ain't in the habit of pickin' floatin' an' unconscious boys out +o' the middle o' the river, an' that leaves me in unpleasant doubt, +me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind." + +"It was murder," said Harry, at last finding strength to speak. + +"Murder!" exclaimed the man and boy together. + +"Yes, murder, that is, an attempt at it. A man set upon me to kill me, +and in the struggle we fell in the river, which, with your help, saved +my life. Look here!" + +He tore open his coat and shirt, revealing his chest, which looked like +pounded beef. + +"Somebody has shorely been gettin' in good hard licks on you," said the +man sympathetically, "an' I reckon you're tellin' nothin' but the truth, +these bein' such times as this country never heard of before. My name's +Sam Jarvis, an' I came with this raft from the mountains. This lunkhead +here is my nephew, Ike Simmons. We was driftin' along into Frankfort as +peaceful as you please, an' a singin' with joy 'cause our work was about +over. I hears a splash an' says I to Ike, 'What's that?' Says he to me, +'I dunno.' Says I to Ike ag'in, 'Was it a big fish?' Says he to me +ag'in, 'I dunno.' He's gittin' a repytation for bein' real smart +'cause he's always sayin, 'I dunno,' an' he's never wrong. Then I sees +somethin' with hair on top of it floatin' on the water. Says I, 'Is +that a man's head?' Says he, 'I dunno.' But he reaches away out from +the raft, grabs you with one hand by them brown locks o' yours, an' +hauls you in. I guess you owe your life all right enough to this +lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, the son o' my sister Jane." + +Ike grinned sympathetically. + +"Ain't it time to offer him some dry clothes, Uncle Sam?" he asked. + +"Past time, I reckon," replied Jarvis, "but I forgot it askin' questions, +me havin' such an inquirin' turn o' mind." + +Harry rose, with the help of a strong and friendly hand that Jarvis lent +him. His chest felt dreadfully sore. Every breath pained him, and all +the strength seemed to have gone from his body. + +"I don't know what became o' the other feller," said Jarvis. "Guess he +must have swum out all by hisself." + +"He undoubtedly did so," replied Harry. "He wasn't hurt, and I fancy +that he's some distance from Frankfort by this time. My name is Kenton, +Harry Kenton, and I'm the son of Colonel George Kenton, who is here in +Frankfort helping to push the ordinance of secession. You've saved my +life and he'd repay you." + +"We don't need no money," said Jarvis shortly. "Me an' Ike here will +have a lot of money when we sell this raft, and we don't lack for +nothin'." + +"I didn't mean money," said Harry, understanding their pride and +independence. "I meant in some other ways, including gratitude. +I've been fished out of a river, and a fisherman is entitled to the +value of his catch, isn't he?" + +"We'll talk about that later on, but me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' +mind, I'm wonderin' what your father will say about you when he sees +you. I guess I better doctor you up a little before you leave the raft." + +Ike returned from the tiny cabin with an extra suit of clothes of his +own, made of the roughest kind of gray jeans, home knit yarn socks and +a pair of heavy brogan shoes. A second trip brought underclothing of +the same rough quality, but Harry changed into them gladly. Jarvis +meanwhile produced a bottle filled with a brown liquid. + +"You may think this is hoss liniment," he said, "an' p'r'aps it has been +used for them purposes, but it's better fur men than animiles. Ole +Aunt Suse, who is 'nigh to a hundred, got it from the Injuns an' it's +warranted to kill or cure. It'll sting at first, but just you stan' it, +an' afore long it will do you a power o' good." + +Harry refused to wince while the mountaineer kneaded his bruised chest +with the liquid ointment. The burning presently gave way to a soothing +sensation. + +Harry noticed that neither Jarvis nor Ike asked him the name of his +opponent nor anything at all about the struggle or its cause. They +treated it as his own private affair, of which he could speak or not as +he chose. He had noticed this quality before in mountaineers. They +were among the most inquisitive of people, but an innate delicacy would +suppress questions which an ordinary man would not hesitate to ask. + +"Button up your shirt an' coat," said Jarvis at last, "an' you'll find +your chest well in a day or two. Your bein' so healthy helps you a lot. +Feelin' better already, boy? Don't 'pear as if you was tearin' out a +lung or two every time you drawed breath?" + +"I'm almost well," said Harry gratefully, "and, Mr. Jarvis, I'd like to +leave my wet clothes here to dry while I'm gone. I'll be back in the +morning with my father." + +"All right," said Samuel Jarvis, "but I wish you'd come bright an' +early. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, ain't used to great cities, +an' me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind we'll be anxious to see all +that's to be seed in Frankfort." + +"Don't you fear," replied Harry, full of gratitude, "I'll be back soon +in the morning." + +"But don't furgit one thing," continued Jarvis. "I hear there's a +mighty howdy-do here about the state goin' out o' the Union or stayin' +in it. The mountains are jest hummin' with talk about the question, +but don't make me take any part in it. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, +my nephew, are here jest to sell logs, not to decide the fate o' states." + +"I'll remember that, too," said Harry, as he shook hands warmly with +both of them, left the raft, climbed the bank and entered Frankfort. + +The little town had few lights in those days and the boy moved along in +the dusk, until he came near the Capitol. There he saw the flame of +lamps shining from several windows, and he knew that men were still at +work, striving to draw a state into the arms of the North or the South. +He paused a few minutes at the corner of the lawn and drew many long, +deep breaths. The soreness was almost gone from his chest. The oil +with which Samuel Jarvis had kneaded his bruises was certainly wonderful, +and he hoped that "Aunt Suse," who got it from the Indians, would fill +out her second hundred years. + +He reached the hotel without meeting any one whom he knew, and went up +the stairway to his room, where he found his father writing at a small +desk. Colonel Kenton glanced at him, and noticed at once his change of +costume. + +"What does that clothing mean, Harry?" he asked. "It's jeans, and it +doesn't fit." + +"I know it's jeans, and I know it doesn't fit, but I was mighty glad to +get it, as everything else I had on was soaked with water." + +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows. + +"I was hunting the bottom of the Kentucky River," continued Harry. + +"Fall in?" + +"No, thrown in." + +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows higher than ever. + +Harry sat down and told him the whole story, Colonel Kenton listening +intently and rarely interrupting. + +"It was great good fortune that the men on the raft came just at the +right time," he said, when Harry had finished. "There are bad +mountaineers and good mountaineers--Jarvis and his nephew represent one +type and Skelly the other. Skelly hates us because we drove back his +band when they attacked our house. In peaceful times we could have him +hunted out and punished, but we cannot follow him into his mountains +now. We shall be compelled to let this pass for the present, but as +your life would not be safe here you must leave Frankfort, Harry." + +"I can't go back to Pendleton," said the boy, "and stay there, doing +nothing." + +"I had no such purpose. I know that you are bound to be in active life, +and I was already meditating a longer journey for you. Listen clearly +to me, Harry. The fight here is about over, and we are going to fail. +It is by the narrowest of margins, but still we will fail. We who are +for the South know it with certainty. Kentucky will refuse to go out +of the Union, and it is a great blow to us. I shall have to go back to +Pendleton for a week or two and then I will take a command. But since +you are bent upon service in the field, I want you to go to the East." + +Harry's face flushed with pleasure. It was his dearest wish. Colonel +Kenton, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes, smiled. + +"I fancied that you would be quite willing to go," he said. "I had a +letter this morning from a man who likes you well, Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He is at Richmond and he says that President Davis, his cabinet, +and all the equipment of a capital will arrive there about the last of +the month. The enemy is massing before Washington and also toward the +West in the Maryland and Virginia mountains. A great battle is sure +to be fought in the summer and he wants you on his staff. General +Beauregard, whom you knew at Charleston, is to be in supreme command. +Can you leave here in a day or two for Richmond?" + +Harry's eyes were sparkling, and the flush was still in his face. + +"I could go in an hour," he replied. + +"Such an abrupt departure as that is not needed. Moreover the choice +of a route is of great importance and requires thought. If you were to +take one of the steamers up the Ohio, say to Wheeling, in West Virginia, +you would almost surely fall into the hands of the Northern troops. +The North also controls about all the railway connections there are +between Kentucky and Virginia." + +"Then I must ride across the mountains." + +"These new friends of yours who saved you from the river, are they going +to stay long in Frankfort?" + +"Not more than a day or two, I think. I gathered from what Jarvis said +that they were not willing to remain long where trouble was thick." + +"How are their sympathies placed in this great division of our people?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I inferred," he replied, "from what Jarvis said that they intend to +keep the peace. He intimated to me that the silence of the mountains +was more welcome to him than the cause of either North or South." + +Colonel Kenton smiled again. + +"Perhaps he is wiser than the rest of us," he said, "but in any event, +I think he is our man. He will sell his logs and pull back up the +Kentucky in a small boat. I gather from what you say that he came +down the most southerly fork of the Kentucky, which, in a general way, +is the route you wish to take. You can go with him and his nephew until +they reach their home in the mountains. Then you must take a horse, +strike south into the old Wilderness Road, cross the ranges into +Virginia and reach Richmond. Are you willing?" + +He spoke as father to son, and also as man to man. + +"I'm more than willing," replied Harry. "I don't think we could choose +a better way. Jarvis and his nephew, I know, will be as true as steel, +and I'd like that journey in the boat." + +"Then it's settled, provided Jarvis and his nephew are willing. We'll +see them before breakfast in the morning, and now I think you'd better +go to sleep. A boy who was fished out of the Kentucky only an hour or +two ago needs rest." + +Harry promptly went to bed, but sleep was long in coming. Their mission +to Frankfort had failed, and action awaited his young footsteps. +Virginia, the mother state of his own, was a mighty name to him, and men +already believed the great war would be decided there. The mountains, +too, with their wild forests and streams beckoned to him. The old, +inherited blood within him made the great pulses leap. But he slept at +last and dreamed of far-off things. + +Harry and his father rose at the first silver shoot of dawn, and went +quickly through the deserted street to a quiet cove in the Kentucky, +where Samuel Jarvis had anchored his raft. It was a crisp morning, +with a tang in the air that made life feel good. A thin curl of smoke +was rising from the raft, showing that the man and his nephew were +already up, and cooking in the little hut on the raft. + +Harry stepped upon the logs and his father followed him. Jarvis was +just pouring coffee from a tin pot into a tin cup, and Ike was turning +over some strips of bacon in an iron skillet on an iron stove. Both of +them, watchful like all mountaineers, had heard the visitors coming, +but they did not look up until they were on the raft. + +"Mornin'," called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look, Ike, it's the big fish that +we hooked out of the river last night, an' he's got company." + +"I want to thank you for saving my son's life," said the Colonel. + +"I reckon, then, that you're Colonel George Kenton," said Jarvis. +"Wa'al, you don't owe us no thanks. I'm of an inquirin' turn of mind, +an' whenever I see a man or boy floatin' along in the river I always +fish him out, just to see who an' what he is. My curiosity is pow'ful +strong, colonel, an' it leads me to do a lot o' things that I wouldn't +do if it wasn't fur it. Set an' take a bite with us. This air is +nippin' an' it makes my teeth tremenjous sharp." + +"We're with you," said the colonel, who was adaptable, and who saw at +once that Jarvis was a man of high character. "It's cool on the river +and that coffee will warm one up mighty well." + +"It's fine coffee," said Jarvis proudly. "Aunt Suse taught me how to +make it. She learned, when you didn't git coffee often, an' you had to +make the most of it when you did git it." + +"Who is Aunt Suse?" + +"Aunt Susan, or Suse as we call her fur short, is back at home in the +hills. She's a good hundred, colonel, an' two or three yars more to +boot, I reckon, but as spry as a kitten. Full o' tales o' the early +days an' the wild beasts an' the Injuns. She says you couldn't make up +any story of them times that ain't beat by the truth. When she come up +the Wilderness Road from Virginia in the Revolution she was already a +young woman. She's knowed Dan'l Boone and Simon Kenton an' all them +gran' old fellers. A tremenjous interestin' old lady is my Aunt Suse, +colonel." + +"I've no doubt of it, Mr. Jarvis." said Colonel Kenton, "but I don't +think I can wait a second longer for a cup of that coffee of yours. +It smells so good that if you don't give it to me I'll have to take it +from you." + +Jarvis grinned cheerfully. Harry saw that his father had already made a +skillful appeal to the mountaineer's pride. + +"Ike, you lunkhead," he said to his nephew, "I told the colonel to set, +but we did'nt give him anythin' to set on. Pull up them blocks o' wood +fur him an' his son. Now you'll take breakfast with us, won't you, +colonel? The bacon an' the corn cakes are ready, too." + +"Of course we will," said the colonel, "and gladly, too. It makes me +young again to eat this way in the fresh air of a cool morning." + +Samuel Jarvis shone as a host. The breakfast was served on a smooth +stump put on board for that purpose. The coffee was admirable, and the +bacon and thin corn cakes were cooked beautifully. Good butter was +spread over the corn cakes, and Harry and his father were surprised +at the number they ate. Ike, addressed by his uncle variously and +collectively as "lunkhead," "nephew," and "Ike," served. He rarely +spoke, but always grinned. Harry found later that while he had little +use for his vocal organs he invariably enjoyed life. + +"Colonel," said Jarvis, at about the tenth corn cake, "be you fellers +down here a-goin' to fight?" + +"I suppose we are, Mr. Jarvis!" + +"An' is your son thar goin' right into the middle of it?" + +"I can't keep him from it, Mr. Jarvis, but he isn't going to stay here +in Kentucky. Other plans have been made for him. When are you going +back up the Kentucky, Mr. Jarvis?" + +"This raft was bargained fur before it started. All I've got to do is +to turn it over to its new owners today, go to the bank an' get the +money. Then me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, both bein' of an +inquirin' mind, want to do some sight-seein', but I reckon we'll start +back in about two days in the boat that you see tied to the stern of the +raft." + +"Would you take a passenger in the boat? It's a large one." + +Samuel Jarvis pursed his lips. + +"Depends on who it is," he replied. "It takes a lot o' time, goin' up +stream, to get back to our start, an' a cantankerous passenger in as +narrow a place as a rowboat would make it mighty onpleasant for me an' +this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Wouldn't it, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. + +"The passenger that I'm speaking of wouldn't be a passenger altogether," +said Colonel Kenton. "He'd like to be one of the crew also, and I don't +think he'd make trouble. Anyway, he's got a claim on you already. +Having fished him out of the river, where he was unconscious, it's your +duty to take care of him for a while. It's my son Harry, who wants to +get across the mountains to Virginia, and we'll be greatly obliged to +you if you'll take him." + +Colonel Kenton had a most winning manner. He already liked Jarvis, +and Jarvis liked him. + +"I reckon your son is all right," said Jarvis, "an' if he gits +cantankerous we kin just pitch him overboard into the Kentucky. But I +can't undertake sich a contract without consultin' my junior partner, +this lunkhead, my nephew, Ike Simmons. Ike, are you willin' to take +Colonel Kenton's son back with us? Ef you're willin' say 'Yes,' ef +you ain't willin' say 'No.'" + +Ike said nothing, but grinned and nodded. + +"The resolution is passed an' Harry Kenton is accepted," said Jarvis. +"We start day after tomorrow mornin', early." + +Breakfast was finished and Colonel Kenton rose and thanked them. +He still said nothing about pay. But after he and Harry had entered +the town, he said: + +"You couldn't have better friends, Harry. Both the man and boy are as +true as steel, and, as they have no intention of taking part in the war, +they will just suit you as traveling companions." + +They spent the larger part of that day in buying the boy's equipment, +doing it as quietly as possible, as the colonel wished his son to depart +without attracting any notice. In such times as those secrecy was much +to be desired. A rifle, pistols, plenty of ammunition, an extra suit of +clothes, a pair of blankets, and a good supply of money were all that he +took. One small package which contained a hundred dollars in gold coins +he put in an inside pocket of his waistcoat. + +"You are to give that to Jarvis just after you start," said the colonel. +"We cannot pay him directly for saving you, because he will not take it, +but you can insist that this is for your passage." + +They were all at the cove before dawn on the appointed morning. Colonel +Kenton was to say Harry's good-bye for him to his friends. The whole +departure had been arranged with so much skill that they alone knew +of it. The boat was strong, shaped well, and had two pairs of oars. +A heavy canvas sheet could be erected as a kind of awning or tent in the +rear, in case of rain. They carried plenty of food, and Jarvis said +that in addition they were more than likely to pick up a deer or two on +the way. Both he and Ike carried long-barreled rifles. + +The three stepped into the boat. + +"Good-bye, Harry," said the colonel, reaching down a strong hand that +trembled. + +"Good-bye, father," said Harry, returning the clasp with another strong +hand that trembled also. + +People in that region were not demonstrative. Family affection was +strong, but they were reared on the old, stern Puritan plan, and the +handshake and the brief words were all. Then Jarvis and his silent +nephew bent to the oars and the boat shot up the deep channel of the +Kentucky. + +Harry looked back, and in the dusk saw his father still standing at the +edge of the cove. He waved a hand and the colonel waved back. Then +they disappeared around a curve of the hills, and the first light of +dawn began to drift over the Kentucky. + +Harry was silent for a long time. He was becoming used to sudden and +hard traveling and danger, but the second parting with his father moved +him deeply. Since he had been twelve or thirteen years of age, they +had been not only father and son, but comrades, and, in the intimate +association, he had acquired more of a man's mind than was usual in +one of his years. He felt now, since he was going to the east and the +colonel was remaining in the west, that the parting was likely to be +long--perhaps forever. + +It was no morbid feeling. It was the consciousness that a great and +terrible war was at hand. Although but a youth, he had been in the +forefront of things. He had been at Montgomery and Sumter, and he had +seen the fire and zeal of the South. He had been at Frankfort, too, +and he had seen how the gathering force of the massive North had refused +to be moved. His father and his friends, with all their skill and force, +strengthened by the power of kinship and sentiment, had been unable to +take Kentucky out of the Union. + +Harry was so thoroughly absorbed in these thoughts that he did not +realize how very long he remained silent. He was sitting in the stern +of the boat, with a face naturally joyous, heavily overcast. Jarvis +and Ike were rowing and with innate delicacy they did not disturb him. +They, too, said nothing. But they were powerful oarsmen, and they sent +the heavy skiff shooting up the stream. The Kentucky, a deep river at +any time, was high from the spring floods, and the current offered but +little resistance. The man of mighty sinews and the boy of sinews +almost as mighty, pulled a long and regular stroke, without any +quickening of the breath. + +The dawn deepened into the full morning. The silver of the river became +blue, with a filmy gold mist spread over it by the rising sun. High +banks crested with green enclosed them on either side, and beyond lay +higher hills, their slopes and summits all living green. The singing +of birds came from the bushes on the banks, and a sudden flash of flame +told where a scarlet tanager had crossed. + +The last house of Frankfort dropped behind them, and soon the boat +was shooting along the deep channel cut by the Kentucky through the +Bluegrass, then the richest and most beautiful region of the west, +abounding in famous men and in the height of its glory. It had never +looked more splendid. The grass was deeply luxuriant and young flowers +bloomed at the water's edge. The fields were divided by neat stone +fences and far off Harry saw men working on the slopes. + +Jarvis and Ike were still silent. The man glanced at Harry and saw that +he had not yet come from his absorption, but Samuel Jarvis was a joyous +soul. He was forty years old, and he had lived forty happy years. +The money for his lumber was in his pocket, he did not know ache or pain, +and he was going back to his home in an inmost recess of the mountains, +from which high point he could view the civil war passing around him +and far below. He could restrain himself no longer, and lifting up his +voice he sang. + +But the song, like nearly all songs the mountaineers sing, had a +melancholy note. + + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita, + Be my own fair bride." + +He sang, and the wailing note, confined between the high walls of the +stream, took on a great increase in volume and power. Jarvis had one +of those uncommon voices sometimes found among the unlearned, a deep, +full tenor without a harsh note. When he sang he put his whole heart +into the words, and the effect was often wonderful. Harry roused +himself suddenly. He was hearing the same song that he had heard the +night he went into the river locked fast in Skelly's arms. + + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita." + +rang the tenor note, rising and falling and dying away in wailing echoes, +as the boat sped on. Then Harry resolutely turned his face to the +future. The will has a powerful effect over the young, and when he made +the effort to throw off sadness it fell easily from him. All at once he +was embarked with good comrades upon a journey of tremendous interest. +Jarvis noticed the change upon his face, but said nothing. He pulled +with a long, slow stroke, suited to the solemn refrain of Juanita, +which he continued to pour forth with his soul in every word. + +They went on, deeper into the Bluegrass. The blue sky above them was +now dappled with golden clouds, and the air grew warmer, but Jarvis and +his nephew showed no signs of weariness. When Harry judged that the +right time had come he asked to relieve Ike at the oar. Ike looked +at Jarvis and Jarvis nodded to Ike. Then Ike nodded to Harry, which +indicated consent. + +But Harry, before taking the oar, drew a small package from his pocket +and handed it to Jarvis. + +"My father asked me to give you this," he said, "as a remembrance and +also as some small recompense for the trouble that I will cause you on +this trip." + +Jarvis took it, and heard the heavy coins clink together. + +"I know without openin' it that this is money," he said, "but bein' of +an inquirin' turn o' mind I reckon I've got to look into it an' count +it." + +He did so deliberately, coin by coin, and his eyes opened a little at +the size of the sum. + +"It's too much," he said. "Besides you take your turn at the oars." + +"It's partly as a souvenir," said Harry, "and it would hurt my father +very much if you did not take it. Besides, I should have to leave the +boat the first time it tied up, if you refuse." + +Jarvis looked humorously at him. + +"I believe you are a stubborn sort of feller," he said, "but somehow +I've took a kind o' likin' to you. I s'pose it's because I fished you +out o' the river. You always think that the fish you ketch yourself are +the best. Do you reckon that's the reason why we like him, Ike?" + +Ike nodded. + +"Then, bein' as we don't want to lose your company, an' seein' that you +mean what you say, we'll keep the gold, though half of it must go to +that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." + +"Then it's settled," said Harry, "and we'll never say another word about +it. You agree to that?" + +"Yes," replied Jarvis, and Ike nodded. + +Harry took his place at the oar. Although he was not as skillful as Ike, +he did well, and the boat sped on upon the deep bosom of the Kentucky. +The work was good for Harry. It made his blood flow once more in a full +tide and he felt a distinct elation. + +Jarvis began singing again. He changed from Juanita to "Poor Nelly +Gray": + + "And poor Nelly Gray, she is up in Heaven, they say, + And I shall never see my darling any more." + +Harry found his oar swinging to the tune as Ike's had swung to that of +Juanita, and he did not feel fatigue. They met few people upon the +river. Once a raft passed them, but Jarvis, looking at it keenly, +said that it had come down from one of the northern forks of the +Kentucky and not from his part of the country. They saw skiffs two or +three times, but did not stop to exchange words with their occupants, +continuing steadily into the heart of the Bluegrass. + +They relieved one another throughout the day and at night, tired but +cheerful, drew up their boat at a point, where there was a narrow +stretch of grass between the water and the cliff, with a rope ferry +three or four hundred yards farther on. + +"We'll tie up the boat here, cook supper and sleep on dry ground," +said Jarvis. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +OVER THE MOUNTAINS + + +The boat was secured firmly among the bushes, and finding an abundance +of fallen wood along the beach, they pulled it into a heap and kindled a +fire. The night, as usual, was cool, but the pleasant flames dispelled +the chill, and the cove was very snug and comfortable after a day of +hard and continuous work. Jarvis and Ike did the cooking, at which they +were adepts. + +"After pullin' a boat ten or twelve hours there's nothin' like somethin' +warm inside you to make you feel good," said Jarvis. "Ike, you lunkhead, +hurry up with that coffee pot. Me an' Harry can't wait more'n a minute +longer." + +Ike grinned and hurried. A fine bed of coals had now formed, and in a +few minutes a great pot of coffee was boiling and throwing out savory +odors. Jarvis took a small flat skillet from the boat and fried the +corn cakes. Harry fried bacon and strips of dried beef in another. +The homely task in good company was most grateful to him. His face +reflected his pleasure. + +"Providin' it don't rain on you, campin' out is stimulatin' to the body +an' soul," said Jarvis. "You don't know what a genuine appetite is +until you live under the blue sky by day, and a starry sky by night. +Harry, you'll find three tin plates in the locker in the boat. Fetch +'em." + +Harry abandoned his skillet for a moment, and brought the plates. +Ike, the coffee now being about ready, produced three tin cups, and with +these simple preparations they began their supper. The flames went +down and the fire became a great bed of coals, glowing in the darkness, +and making a circle of light, the edges of which touched the boat. +Harry found that Jarvis was telling the truth. The long work and the +cool night air, without a roof above him, gave him a hunger, the like of +which he had not known for a long time. He ate cake after cake of the +corn bread and piece after piece of the meat. Jarvis and Ike kept him +full company. + +"Didn't I tell you it was fine?" said Jarvis, stretching his long length +and sighing with content. "I feel so good that I'm near bustin' into +song." + +"Then bust," said Harry. + + "Soft, o'er the fountain, lingering falls the southern moon, + Far o'er the mountain breaks the day too soon. + In thy dark eyes' splendor, where the warm light loves to dwell, + Weary looks yet tender, speak their fond farewell. + 'Nita, Juanita! Ask thy soul if we should part, + 'Nita, Juanita! Lean thou on my heart." + +The notes of the old melody swelled, and, as before, the deep channel +of the river gave them back again in faint and dying echoes. Time and +place and the voice of Jarvis, with its haunting quality, threw a spell +over Harry. The present rolled away. He was back in the romantic old +past, of which he had read so much, with Boone and Kenton and Harrod and +the other great forest rangers. + +The darkness sank down, deeper and heavier. The stars came out +presently and twinkled in the blue. Yet it was still dim in the gorge, +save where the glowing bed of coals cast a circle of light. The +Kentucky, showing a faint tinge of blue, flowed with a soft murmur. +Harry and Ike were lying on the grass, propped each on one elbow, +while Jarvis, sitting with his back against a small tree, was still +singing: + + "When in thy dreaming, moons like these shall shine again + And daylight beaming prove thy dreams are vain, + Wilt thou not, relenting, for thy absent lover sigh? + In thy heart consenting to a prayer gone by, + 'Nita, Juanita, let me linger by thy side; + 'Nita, Juanita, be thou my own fair bride." + +The song ceased and the murmur of the river came more clearly. Harry +was drawn deeper and deeper into the old dim past. Lying there in the +gorge, with only the river to be seen, the wilderness came back, and the +whole land was clothed with the mighty forests. He brought himself back +with an effort, when he saw Jarvis looking at him and smiling. + +"'Tain't so bad down here on a spring night, is it, Harry?" he said. +"Always purvidin', as I said, that it don't rain." + +"Where did you get that song, Sam?" asked Harry--they had already fallen +into the easy habit of calling one another by their first names. + +"From a travelin' feller that wandered up into our mount'ins. He could +play it an' sing it most beautiful, an' I took to it right off. It +grips you about the heart some way or other, an' it sounds best when you +are out at night on a river like this. Harry, I know that you're goin' +through our mountins to git to Richmond an' the war. Me an' that +lunkhead Ike, my nephew, hev took a likin' to you. Now, what do you +want to git your head shot off fur? S'pose you stop up in the hills +with us. The huntin's good thar, an' so's the fishin'." + +Harry shook his head, but he was very grateful. + +"It's good of you to ask me," he said, "but I'm bound to go on." + +"Wa'al, if you're boun' to do it I reckon you jest have to, but we're +leavin' the invite open. Ef you change your mind on the trip all you've +got to do is to say so, an' we'll take you in, ain't that so, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. His uncle looked at him admiringly. + +"Ike's a lunkhead," he said, "but he's great to travel with. You kin +jest talk an' talk an' he never puts in, but agrees with all you say. +Now, fellers, we'll put out the fire an' roll in our blankets. I guess +we don't need to keep any watch here." + +Harry was soon in a dreamless sleep, but his momentary reversion to +the wilderness awoke him after a while. He sat up in his blankets and +looked around. A mere mass of black coals showed where the fire had +been, and two long dark objects looking like logs in the dim light were +his comrades. + +He cast the blankets aside entirely and walked a little distance up the +stream. The instinct that had awakened him was right. He heard voices +and saw a light. Then he remembered the rope ferry and he had no doubt +that some one was crossing, although it was midnight and past. He went +back and touched Jarvis lightly on the shoulder. The mountaineer awoke +instantly and sat up, all his faculties alert. + +"What is it?" he asked in a whisper. + +"People crossing the river at the ferry above," Harry whispered back. + +"Then we'll go and see who they are. Like as not they're soldiers in +this war that people seem bound to fight, when they could have a lot +more fun at home. Jest let Ike sleep on. He's my sister's son, but I +don't b'lieve anybody would ever think of kidnappin' him." + +The two went silently among the bushes toward the ferry which crossed +the river at a point where the hills on either side dipped low. As they +drew near, they heard many voices and the lights increased to a dozen. +Jarvis's belief that it was no party of ordinary travelers seemed +correct. + +"Let's go a little nearer. The bushes will still hide us," whispered +the mountaineer to the boy. "They ain't no enemies o' ours, but I guess +we'd better keep out o' their business, though my inquirin' turn o' mind +makes me anxious to see just who they are." + +They walked to the end of the stretch of bushes, and, while yet in +shelter, could see clearly all that was going on, especially as there +was no effort at concealment on the part of those who were crossing the +stream. They numbered at least two hundred men, and all had arms and +horses, although they were dismounted now, and the horses, accompanied +by small guards, were being carried over the river first. Evidently the +men understood their work, as it was being done rapidly and without much +noise. + +Harry's attention was soon concentrated on three men who stood near the +edge of the bushes, not more than thirty feet away. They wore slouch +hats and were wrapped in heavy, dark cloaks. They stood with their +backs to him, and although they seemed to be taking no part in the +management of the crossing, they watched everything intently. Two of +them were very tall, but the third was shorter and slender. + +The moon brightened presently, and some movement at the ferry caused +the three men to turn. Harry started and checked an exclamation at his +lips. But the watchful mountaineer had noted his surprise. + +"I guess you know 'em, Harry," he said. + +"Yes," replied the boy. "See the one in the center with the drooping +mustaches and the splendid figure. People have called him the +handsomest man in the United States. He was a guest at my father's +house last year when he was running for the presidency. It is the man +who received more popular votes than Lincoln, but fewer in the Electoral +College." + +"Breckinridge?" + +"Yes, John C. Breckinridge." + +"Why, he's younger than I expected. He don't look more'n forty." + +"Just about forty, I should say. The other tall man is named Morgan, +John H. Morgan. I saw him in Lexington once. He's a great horseman. +The third, the slender man who looks as if he were all fire, is named +Duke, Basil Duke. I think that he and Morgan are related. I fancy they +are going south, or maybe to Virginia." + +"Harry, these are your people." + +"Yes, Sam, they are my people." + +The mountaineer glanced at the tall youth who had found so warm a place +in his heart, and hesitated, but only for a moment. Then he spoke in a +decided whisper. + +"Since they are your people an' are goin' on the same business that you +are, though mebbe not by the same road, now is your time to join 'em, +'stead o' workin' your way 'cross the hills with two ignorant +mountaineers like me an' that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." + +"No, Sam. I'll confess to you that it's a temptation, but it's likely +that they're not going where I mean to go, and where I should go. +I'm going to keep on with you unless you and Ike throw me out of the +boat." + +"Well spoke, boy," said Jarvis. + +He did not tell Harry that Colonel Kenton had asked him to watch over +his son until he should leave him in the mountains, and that he had +given him his sacred promise. He understood what a powerful pull the +sight of Breckinridge, Morgan and Duke had given to Harry, and he knew +that if the boy were resolved to go with them he could not stop him. + +All the horses were now across. The three leaders took their places in +the boat, reached the farther shore and the whole company rode away in +the darkness. Despite his resolution Harry felt a pang when the last +figure disappeared. + +"Our curiosity bein' gratified, I think we'd better go back to sleep," +said Jarvis. + + "The anchor's weighed, farewell, farewell!" + +"We're seein' 'em goin' south, Harry. I dream ahead sometimes, an' I +dream with my eyes open. I've seen the horsemen ridin' in the night, +an' I see 'em by the thousands ridin' over a hundred battle fields, +their horses' hoofs treadin' on dead men." + +"Those are good men, brave and generous." + +"Oh, I don't mean them in partickler. Not for a minute. I mean a whole +nation, strugglin' an' strugglin' an' swayin' an' swayin'. I see things +that people neither North nor South ain't dreamed of yet. But sho! +What am I runnin' on this way fur? That lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, +ain't such a lunkhead as he looks. Them that say nothin' ain't never +got nothin' to take back, an' don't never make fools o' theirselves. +It's time we was back in our blankets sleepin' sound, 'cause we've got +another long day o' hard rowin' before us." + +Ike had not awakened and Jarvis and Harry were soon asleep again. +But they were up at dawn, and, after a brief breakfast, resumed their +journey on the river, going at a good pace toward the southeast. +They were hailed two or three times from the bank by armed men, whether +of the North or South Harry could not tell, but when they revealed +themselves as mere mountaineers on their way back, having sold a raft, +they were permitted to continue. After the last such stop Jarvis +remarked rather grimly: + +"They don't know that there are three good rifles in this boat, backed +by five or six pistols, an' that at least two of us, meanin' me and Ike, +are 'bout the best shots that ever come out o' the mountains." + +But his good nature soon returned. He was not a man who could retain +anger long, and before night he was singing again. + + "As I strayed from my cot at the close of the day + To muse on the beauties of June, + 'Neath a jessamine shade I espied a fair maid + And she sadly complained to the moon." + +"But it's not June, Sam," said Harry, "and there is no moon." + +"No, but June's comin' next month, an' the moon's comin' tonight; that +is, if them clouds straight ahead don't conclude to j'in an' make a +fuss." + +The clouds did join, and they made quite a "fuss," pouring out a great +quantity of rain, which a rising wind whipped about sharply. But Jarvis +first steered the boat under the edge of a high bank, where it was +protected partly, and they stretched the strong canvas before the first +drops of rain fell. It was sufficient to keep the three and all their +supplies dry, and Harry watched the storm beat. + +Sullen thunder rolled up from the southwest, and the skies were cut +down the center by burning strokes of lightning. The wind whipped the +surface of the river into white foamy waves. But Harry heard and beheld +it all with a certain pleasure. It was good to see the storm seek them, +and yet not find them--behind their canvas cover. He remained close in +his place and stared out at the foaming surface of the water. Back went +his thoughts again to the far-off troubled time, when the hunter in the +vast wilderness depended for his life on the quickness of eye and ear. +He had read so much of Boone and Kenton and Harrod, and his own great +ancestor, and the impression was so vivid, that the vision was +translated into fact. + +"I'm feelin' your feelin's too," said Jarvis, who, glancing at him, +had read his mind with almost uncanny intuition. "Times like these, +the Injuns an' the wild animals all come back, an' I've felt 'em still +stronger way up in the mountains, where nothin' of the old days is gone +'cept the Injuns. Ike, I guess it's cold grub for us tonight. We can't +cook anythin' in all this rain. Reach into that locker an' bring out +the meat an' bread. This ain't so bad, after all. We're snug an' dry, +an' we've got plenty to eat, so let the storm howl: + + "They bore him away when the day had fled, + And the storm was rolling high, + And they laid him down in his lonely bed, + By the light of an angry sky, + + "The lightning flashed and the wild sea lashed + The shore with its foaming wave, + And the thunder passed on the rushing blast + As it howled o'er the rover's grave." + +The full tenor rose and swelled above the sweep of wind and rain, +and the man's soul was in the words he sang. A great voice with the +accompaniment of storm, the water before them, the lightning blazing at +intervals, and the thunder rolling in a sublime refrain, moved Harry to +his inmost soul. The song ceased, but its echo was long in dying on the +river. + +"Did you pick up that, too, from a wandering fiddler?" asked Harry. + +"No, I don't know where I got it. I s'pose I found scraps here an' thar, +but I like to sing it when the night is behavin' jest as it's doin' now. +I ain't ever seen the sea, Harry, but it must be a mighty sight, +particklarly when the wind's makin' the high waves run." + +"Very likely you'd be seasick if you were on it then. I like it best +when the waves are not running." + +The thunder and lightning ceased after a while, but the rain came with +a steady, driving rush. The night had now settled down thick and dark, +and, as the banks on either side of the river were very high, Harry felt +as if they were in a black canyon. He could see but dimly the surface +of the river. All else was lost in the heavy gloom. But the boat had +been built so well and the canvas cover was so taut and tight that not +a drop entered. His sense of comfort increased, and the regular, even, +musical thresh of the rain promoted sleep. + +"We won't be waked up tonight by people crossin' the river, that's +shore," said Jarvis, "'cause thar ain't no crossin' fur miles, an' if +there was a crossin' people wouldn't use that crossin' nohow on a night +like this. So, boys, jest wrap your blankets about yourselves an' go +to sleep, an' if you don't hurry I'll beat you to that happy land." + +The three were off to the realms of slumber within ten minutes, running +a race about equal. The rain poured all through the night, but they +did not awake until the young sun sent the first beams of day into the +gorge. Then Jarvis sat up. He had the faculty of awakening all at once, +and he began to furl the canvas awning that had served them so well. +The noise awoke the boys who also sat up. + +"Get to work, you sleepy heads!" called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look what a +fine world it is! Here's the river all washed clean, an' the land all +washed clean, too! Stir yourselves, we're goin' to have hot food an' +coffee here on the boat. + + "I'm dreaming now of Hallie, sweet Hallie, + For the thought of her is one that never dies. + She's sleeping in the valley + And the mocking bird is singing where she lies. + Listen to the mocking bird, singing o'er her grave. + Listen to the mocking bird, singing where the weeping willows wave." + +"You sing melancholy songs for one who is as cheerful as you are, Sam," +said Harry. + +"That's so. I like the weepy ones best. But they don't really make me +feel sad, Harry. They jest fill me with a kind o' longin' to reach out +an' grab somethin' that always floats jest before my hands. A sort o' +pleasant sadness I'd call it. + + "Ah, well I yet remember + When we gathered in the cotton side by side; + 'Twas in the mild September + And the mocking bird was singing far and wide. + Oh, listen to the mocking bird + Still singing o'er her grave. + Oh, listen to the mocking bird + Still singing where the weeping willows wave." + +"Now that ain't what you'd call a right merry song, but I never felt +better in my life than I did when I was singin' it. Here you are, +breakfast all ready! We'll eat, drink an' away. I'm anxious to see +our mountains ag'in." + +The boat soon reached a point where lower banks ran for some time, and, +from the center of the stream, they saw the noble country outspread +before them, a vast mass of shimmering green. The rain had ceased +entirely, but the whole earth was sweet and clean from its great bath. +Leaves and grass had taken on a deeper tint, and the crisp air was keen +with blooming odors. + +Although they soon had a considerable current to fight, they made good +headway against it. Harry's practice with the oar was giving his +muscles the same quality like steel wire which those of Jarvis and Ike +had. So they went on for that day and others and drew near to the +hills. The eyes of Jarvis kindled when he saw the first line of dark +green slopes massing themselves against the eastern horizon. + +"The Bluegrass is mighty fine, an' so is the Pennyroyal," he said, +"an' I ain't got nothin' ag'in em. I admit their claims before they +make 'em, but my true love, it's the mountains an' my mountain home. +Mebbe some night, Harry, when we tie up to the bank, we'll see a deer +comin' down to drink. What do you say to that?" + +Harry's eyes kindled, too. + +"I say that I want the first shot." + +Jarvis laughed. + +"True sperrit," he said. "Nobody will set up a claim ag'inst you, +less it's that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Are you willin' to let him +have it, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. + +The Kentucky narrowed and the current grew yet stronger. But changing +oftener at the oars they still made good headway. The ranges, dark +green on the lower slopes, but blue on the higher ridges beyond them, +slowly came nearer. Late in the afternoon they entered the hills, +and when night came they had left the lowlands several miles behind. +They tied up to a great beech growing almost at the water's edge, +and made their camp on the ground. Harry's deer did not come that night, +but it did on the following one. Then Jarvis and he after supper went +about a mile up the stream, stalking the best drinking places, and they +saw a fine buck come gingerly to the river. Harry was lucky enough to +bring him down with the first shot, an achievement that filled him with +pride, and Jarvis soon skinned and dressed the animal, adding him to +their larder. + +"I don't shoot deer, 'cept when I need 'em to eat," said Jarvis, "an' we +do need this one. We'll broil strips of him over the coals in the +mornin'. Don't your mouth water, Harry?" + +"It does." + +The strips proved the next day to be all that Jarvis had promised, +and they continued their journey with renewed elasticity, fair weather +keeping them company. Deeper and deeper they went into the mountains. +The region had all the aspects of a complete wilderness. Now and then +they saw smoke, which Jarvis said was rising from the chimneys of log +cabins, and once or twice they saw cabins themselves in sheltered nooks, +but nobody hailed them. The news of the war had spread here, of course, +but Harry surmised that it had made the mountaineers cautious, +suppressing their natural curiosity. He did not object at all to their +reticence, as it made traveling easier for him. + +They were now rowing along a southerly fork of the Kentucky. Another +deer had been killed, falling this time to the rifle of Jarvis, and one +night they shot two wild turkeys. Jarvis and his nephew would arrive +home full handed in every respect, and his great tenor boomed out +joyously over the stream, speeding away in echoes among the lofty peaks +and ridges that had now turned from hills into real mountains. They +towered far above the stream, and everywhere there were masses of the +deepest and densest green. The primeval forest clothed the whole earth, +and the war to which Harry was going seemed a faint and far thing. + +Traveling now became slow, because they always had a strong current to +fight. Harry, at times when the country was not too rough, left the +boat and walked along the bank. He could go thus for miles without +feeling any weariness. Naturally very strong, he did not realize how +much his work at the oar was increasing his power. The thin vital air +of the mountains flowed through his lungs, and when Jarvis sang, as he +did so often, he felt that he could lift up his feet and march as if to +the beat of a drum. + +They left the fork of the Kentucky at last and rowed up one of the deep +and narrow mountain creeks. Peaks towered all about them, a half mile +over their heads, covered from base to crest with unbroken forest. +Sometimes the creek flowed between cliffs, and again it opened out into +narrow valleys. In a two days' journey up its course they passed only +two cabins. + +"In ordinary water we'd have stopped thar," said Jarvis at the second +cabin. "I know the man who lives in it an' he's to be trusted. We'd +have left the boat an' the things with him, an' we'd have walked the +rest of the way, but the creek is so high now that we kin make at least +twenty miles more an' tie up at Bill Rudd's place. Thar's no goin' +further on the water, 'cause the creek takes a fall of fifteen feet thar, +an' this boat is too heavy to be carried around it." + +They reached Rudd's place about dark. He was a hospitable mountaineer, +with a double-roomed log cabin, a wife and two small children. He +volunteered gladly to take care of the boat and its belongings, while +Jarvis and the boys went on the next day to Jarvis's home about ten +miles away. + +Rudd and his wife were full of questions. They were eager to hear of +the great world which was represented to them by Frankfort, and of the +war in the lowlands concerning which they had heard vaguely. Rudd had +been to Frankfort once and felt himself a traveler and man of the world. +He and his wife knew Jarvis and Ike well, and they glanced rather +curiously at Harry. + +"He's goin' across the mountains an' down into Virginia on some business +of his own which I ain't inquired into much," said Jarvis. + +Harry slept in a house that night for the first time in days, and he did +not like it. He awoke once with a feeling as if walls were pressing +down upon him, and he could not breathe. He arose, opened the door, +and stood by it for a few minutes, while the fresh air poured in. +Jarvis awoke and chuckled. + +"I know what's the matter with you, Harry," he said. "After you've +lived out of doors a long time you feel penned up in houses. If it +wasn't for rain an' snow I'd do without roofs 'cept in winter. Leave +the door wide open, an' we'll both sleep better. Nothin', of course, +would wake that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. I guess you might fight the +whole of Buena Vista right over his head, an' if it was his sleepin' +time he'd sleep right on." + +They left the next morning, taking with them all of Harry's baggage. +Jarvis' boat would remain in the creek at this point, and he and Ike +would return in due time for their own possessions. They followed a +footpath now, but the walk was nothing to them. It was in truth a +relief after so much traveling in the boat. + +"My legs are long an' they need straightenin'," said Jarvis. "The ten +miles before us will jest about take out the kinks." + +Jarvis was a bachelor, his house being kept by his widowed sister, +Ike's mother, and old Aunt Suse. Now, as they swung along in Indian +file at a swift and easy gait, his joyous spirits bubbled forth anew. +Lifting up his voice he sang with such tremendous volume that every +peak and ridge gave back an individual echo: + + "I live for the good of my nation, + And my suns are all growing low, + But I hope that the next generation + Will resemble old Rosin, the beau. + + "I've traveled this country all o'er, + And now to the next I will go, + For I know that good quarters await me + To welcome old Rosin, the beau." + +"I suppose you don't know how you got that song, either," said Harry. + +"No, it just wandered in an' I've picked it up in parts, here an' thar. +See that clump o' laurel 'cross the valley thar, Harry? I killed a +black bear in it once, the biggest seen in these parts in our times, +an' I kin point you at least five spots in which I've killed deer. +You kin trap lots of small game all through here in the winter, an' the +furs bring good prices. Oh, the mountains ain't so bad. Look! See the +smoke over that low ridge, the thin black line ag'in the sky. It comes +from the house o' Samuel Jarvis, Esquire, an' it ain't no bad place, +either, a double log house, with a downstairs an' upstairs, an' a frame +kitchen behin'. It's fine to see it ag'in, ain't it, Ike?" + +Ike smiled and nodded. + +In another half hour they crossed the low ridge and swung down into a +beautiful little valley, a mile long and a quarter of a mile broad that +opened out before them. The smoke still rose from the house, which they +now saw clearly, standing among its trees. A brook glinting with gold +in the sunshine flowed down the middle of the valley. A luscious +greenness covered the whole valley floor. No snugger nook could be +found in the mountains. + +"As fine as pie!" exclaimed Jarvis exultantly. "Everythin's straight +an' right. Ike, I think I see Jane, your mother, standin' in the porch. +I'll just give her a signal." + +He lifted up his voice and sang "Home, Sweet Home," with tremendous +volume. He was heard, as Harry saw a sunbonnet waved vigorously on +the porch. The travelers descended rapidly, crossed the brook, and +approached the house. A strong woman of middle years shouted joyously +and came forward to meet them, leaving a little weazened figure crouched +in a chair on the porch. + +Mrs. Simmons embraced her brother and son with enthusiasm, and gave a +hearty welcome to Harry, whom Jarvis introduced in the most glowing +words. Then the three walked to the porch and the bent little figure in +the chair. As they went up the steps together old Aunt Suse suddenly +straightened up and stood erect. A pair of extraordinary black eyes +were blazing from her ancient, wrinkled face. Her hand rose in a kind +of military salute, and looking straight at Harry she exclaimed in a +high-pitched but strong voice: + +"Welcome, welcome, governor, to our house! It is a long time since I've +seen you, but I knew that you would come again!" + +"Why, what's the matter, Aunt Suse?" asked Jarvis anxiously. + +"It is he! The governor! Governor Ware!" she exclaimed. "He, who was +the great defender of the frontier against the Indians! But he looks +like a boy again! Yet I would have known him anywhere!" + +The blazing eyes and tense voice of the old woman held Harry. She +pointed with a withered forefinger which she held aloft and he felt as +if an electric current were passing from it to him. A chill ran down +his back and the hair lifted a little on his head. Jarvis and his +nephew stood staring. + +"Walk in, governor," she said. "This house is honored by your coming." + +Then, and all in a flash, Harry understood. The mind of the old woman +dreaming in the sun had returned to the far past, and she was seeing +again with the eyes of her girlhood. + +"I'm not Henry Ware, Aunt Susan," he said, "but I'm proud to say that +I'm his great-grandson. My name is Kenton, Harry Kenton." + +The wrinkled forefinger sank, but the light in her eyes did not die. + +"Henry Ware, Harry Kenton!" she murmured. "The same blood, and the +spirit is the same. It does not matter. Come into our house and rest +after your long journey." + +Still erect, she stood on one side and pointed to the open door. +Jarvis laughed, but it was a laugh of relief rather than amusement. + +"She shorely took you, Harry, for your great-grandfather, Henry Ware, +the mighty woodsman and Injun fighter that later on became governor +of the state. I guess you look as he did when he was near your age. +I've heard her tell tales about him by the mile. Aunt Suse, you know, +is more'n a hundred, an' she's got the double gift o' lookin' forrard +an' back'ard. Come on in, Harry, this house will belong to you now, +an' ef at times she thinks you're the great governor, or the boy that +Governor Ware was before he was governor, jest let her think it." + +With the wrinkled forefinger still pointing a welcome toward the open +door Harry went into the house. He spent two days in the hospitable +home of Samuel Jarvis. He would have limited the time to a single day, +because Richmond was calling to him very strongly now, but it was +necessary to buy a good horse for the journey by land, and Jarvis would +not let him start until he had the pick of the region. + +The first evening after their arrival they sat on the porch of the +mountain home. Ike's mother was with them, but old Aunt Suse had +already gone to bed. Throughout the day she had called Harry sometimes +by his own name and sometimes "governor," and she had shown a wonderful +pride whenever he ran to help her, as he often did. + +The twilight was gone some time. The bright stars had sprung out in +groups, and a noble moon was shining. A fine, misty, silver light, +like gauze, hung over the valley, tinting the high green heads of the +near and friendly mountains, and giving a wonderful look of softness and +freshness to this safe nook among the peaks and ridges. Harry did not +wonder that Jarvis and Ike loved it. + +"Aunt Suse give me a big turn when she took you fur the governor," +said Jarvis to Harry, "but it ain't so wonderful after all. Often she +sees the things of them early times a heap brighter an' clearer than she +sees the things of today. As I told you, she knowed Boone an' Kenton +an' Logan an' Henry Ware an' all them gran' hunters an' fighters. +She was in Lexin'ton nigh on to eighty years ago, when she saw Dan'l +Boone an' the rest that lived through our awful defeat at the Blue Licks +come back. It was not long after that her fam'ly came back into the +mountains. Her dad 'lowed that people would soon be too thick 'roun' +him down in that fine country, but they'd never crowd nobody up here an' +they ain't done it neither." + +"Did you ever hear her tell of Henry Ware's great friend, Paul Cotter?" +asked Harry. + +"Shorely; lots of times. She knowed Paul Cotter well. He wuzn't as +tall an' strong as Henry Ware, but he was great in his way, too. +It was him that started the big university at Lexin'ton, an' that become +the greatest scholar this state ever knowed. I've heard that he learned +to speak eight languages. Do you reckon it was true, Harry? Do you +reckon that any man that ever lived could talk eight different ways?" + +"It was certainly true. The great Dr. Cotter--and 'Dr.' in his case +didn't mean a physician, it meant an M. A. and a Ph. D. and all sorts of +learned things--could not only speak eight languages, but he knew also +so many other things that I've heard he could forget more in a day and +not miss it than the ordinary man would learn in a lifetime." + +Jarvis whistled. + +"He wuz shorely a big scholar," he said, "but it agrees exactly with +what old Aunt Suse says. Paul Cotter was always huntin' fur books, +an' books wuz mighty sca'ce in the Kentucky woods then." + +"Henry Ware and Paul Cotter always lived near each other," resumed Harry, +"and in two cases their grandchildren intermarried. A boy of my own age +named Dick Mason, who is the great-grandson of Paul Cotter, is also my +first cousin." + +"Now that's interestin' an' me bein' of an inquirin' min', I'd like to +ask you where this Dick Mason is." + +Harry waved his hand toward the north. + +"Up there somewhere," he said. + +"You mean that he's gone with the North, took one side while you've took +the other?" + +"Yes, that's it. We couldn't see alike, but we think as much as ever of +each other. I met him in Frankfort, where he had come from the Northern +camp in Garrard County, but I think he left for the East before I did. +The Northern forces hold the railways leading out of Kentucky and he's +probably in Washington now." + +Jarvis lighted his pipe and puffed a while in silence. At length he +drew the stem from his mouth, blew a ring of smoke upward and said in a +tone of conviction: + +"It does beat the Dutch how things come about!" + +Harry looked questioningly at him. + +"I mean your arrivin' here, bein' who you are, an' your meetin' old Aunt +Suse, bein' who she is, an' that cousin of yours, Dick Mason, didn't you +say was his name, bein' who he is, goin' off to the North." + +They sat on the porch later than the custom of the mountaineers, and the +beauty of the place deepened. The moon poured a vast flood of misty, +silver light over the little valley, hemmed in by its high mountains, +and Harry was so affected by the silence and peace that he had no +feeling of anger toward anybody, not even toward Bill Skelly, who had +tried to kill him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +IN VIRGINIA + + +Harry left the valley with the keenest feeling of regret, realizing at +the parting how strong a friendship he had formed with this family. +But he felt that he could not delay any longer. Affairs must be moving +now in the great world in the east, and he wished to be at the heart of +them. He had a strong, sure-footed horse, and he had supplies and an +extra suit of clothes in his saddle bags. The rifle across his back +would attract no attention, as all the men in the mountains carried +rifles. + +Jarvis had instructed Harry carefully about the road or path, and as +the boy was already an experienced traveler with an excellent sense of +direction, there was no danger of his getting lost in the wilderness. + +Jarvis, Ike, and Mrs. Simmons gave him farewells which were full of +feeling. Aunt Suse had come down the brick walk, tap-tapping with her +cane, as Harry stood at the gate ready to mount his horse. + +"Good-bye, Aunt Susan," he said. "I came a stranger, but this house has +been made a home to me." + +She peered up at him, and Harry saw that once more her old eyes were +flaming with the light he had seen there when he arrived. + +"Good-bye, governor," she said, holding out a wrinkled and trembling +hand. "I am proud that our house has sheltered you, but it is not for +the last time. You will come again, and you will be thin and pale and +in rags, and you will fall at the door. I see you coming with these two +eyes of mine." + +"Hush, Aunt Suse," exclaimed Mrs. Simmons. "It is not Governor Ware, +it is his great-grandson, and you mustn't send him away tellin' of +terrible things that will happen to him." + +"I'm not afraid," said Harry, "and I hope that I'll see Aunt Susan and +all of you again." + +He lifted her hand and kissed it in the old-fashioned manner. + +She smiled and he heard her murmur: + +"It is the great governor's way. He kissed my hand like that once +before, when I went to Frankfort on the lumber raft." + +"Good-bye, Harry," repeated Jarvis. "If you're bound to fight I reckon +that's jest what you're bound to do, an' it ain't no good for me to say +anythin'. Be shore you follow the trail jest as I laid it out to you +an' in two days you'll strike the Wilderness Road. After that it's +easy." + +When Harry rode away something rose in his throat and choked him for a +moment. He knew that he would never again find more kindly people than +these simple mountaineers. Then in vivid phrases he heard once more the +old woman's prophecy: "You will come again, and you will be thin and +pale and in rags, and you will fall at the door." For a moment it +shadowed the sunlight. Then he laughed at himself. No one could see +into the future. + +He was now across the valley and his path led along the base of the +mountain. He looked back and saw the four standing on the porch, Jarvis, +Ike, Mrs. Simmons, and old Aunt Suse. He waved his hand to them and +all four waved back. A singular thrill ran through him. Could it be +possible that he would come again, and in the manner that the old woman +had predicted? + +The path, in another minute, curved around the mountain, and the valley +was shut from view. Nor, as he rode on, did he catch another glimpse of +it. One might roam the mountains for months and never see the home of +Samuel Jarvis. + +The two days passed without event. The weather remained fair, and no +one interfered with him. He slept the first night at a log cabin that +Jarvis had named, having reached it in due time, and the second day he +reached, also in due time, the old Wilderness Road. + +Thence the boy advanced by easy stages into Virginia until he reached a +railroad, where he sold his horse and took a train for Richmond, having +come in a few days out of the cool, peaceful atmosphere of the mountains +into another, which was surcharged everywhere with the fiery breath of +war. + +Harry realized as he approached the capital the deep intensity of +feeling in everybody. The Virginians were less volatile than the South +Carolinians, and they had long refused to go out, but now that they were +out they were pouring into the Southern army, and they were animated by +an extraordinary zeal. He began to hear new or unfamiliar names, Early, +and Ewell, and Jackson, and Lee, and Johnston, and Hill, and Stuart, +and Ashby, names that he would never forget, but names that as yet meant +little to him. + +He had letters from his father and he expected to find his friends of +Charleston in Richmond or at the front. General Beauregard, whom he +knew, would be in command of the army threatening Washington, and he +would not go into a camp of strangers. + +It was now early in June, and the country was at its best. On both +sides of the railway spread the fair Virginia fields, and the earth, +save where the ploughed lands stretched, was in its deepest tints of +green. Harry, thrusting his head from the window, looked eagerly ahead +at the city rising on its hills. Then a shade smaller than Charleston, +it, too, was a famous place in the South, and it was full of great +associations. Harry, like all the educated boys of the South, honored +and admired its public men. They were mighty names to him. He was +about to tread streets that had been trod by the famous Jefferson, +by Madison, Monroe, Randolph of Roanoke, and many others. The shades +of the great Virginians rose in a host before him. + +He arrived about noon, and, as he carried no baggage except his saddle +bags and weapons, he was quickly within the city, his papers being in +perfect order. He ate dinner, as the noonday meal was then called, +and decided to seek General Beauregard at once, having learned from an +officer on the train that he was in the city. It was said that he was +at the residence of President Davis, called the White House, after that +other and more famous one at Washington, in which the lank, awkward man, +Abraham Lincoln, now lived. + +But Harry paused frequently on the way, as there was nothing to hurry +him, and there was much to be seen. If Charleston had been crowded, +Richmond was more so. Like all capitals on the verge of a great war, +but as yet untouched by its destructive breath, it throbbed with life. +The streets swarmed with people, young officers and soldiers in their +uniforms, civilians of all kinds, and many pretty girls in white or +light dresses, often with flowers in their hair or on their breasts. +Light-heartedness and gaiety seemed predominant. + +Harry stopped a while to look at the ancient and noble state house, +now the home also of the Confederate Congress, standing in Capitol +Square, and the spire of the Bell Tower, on Shockoe Hill. He saw +important looking men coming in or going out of the square, but he did +not linger long, intending to see the sights another time. + +He was informed at the "White House" that General Beauregard was there, +and sending in his card he was admitted promptly. Beauregard was +sitting with President Davis and Secretary Benjamin in a room furnished +plainly, and the general in his quick, nervous manner rose and greeted +him warmly. + +"You did good service with us at Charleston," he said, "and we welcome +you here. We have already heard from your father, who was a comrade in +war of both President Davis and myself." + +"He wrote us that you were coming across the mountains from Frankfort," +said Mr. Davis. + +Harry thought that the President already looked worn and anxious. + +"Yes, sir," replied the boy, "I came chiefly by the river and the +Wilderness Road." + +"Your father writes that they worked hard at Frankfort, but that they +failed to take Kentucky out," continued the head of the Confederacy. + +"The Southern leaders did their best, but they could not move the state." + +"And you wish, then, to serve at the front?" continued the President. + +"If I may," returned Harry. "In South Carolina I was with Colonel +Leonidas Talbot. I have had a letter from him here, and, if it is your +pleasure and that of General Beauregard, I shall be glad to join his +command." + +General Beauregard laughed a little. + +"You do well," he said. "I have known Colonel Talbot a long time, and, +although he may be slow in choosing he is bound to be in the very thick +of events when he does choose. Colonel Talbot is at the front, and +you'll probably find him closer than any other officer to the Yankee +army. We need everybody whom we can get, especially lads of spirit +and fire like you. You shall be a second lieutenant in his command. +A train will leave here in four hours. Be ready. It will take you part +of the way and you will march on for the rest." + +Mr. Benjamin did not speak throughout the interview, but he watched +Harry closely. Neither did he speak when he left, but he offered him a +limp hand. The boy's view of Richmond was in truth brief, as before +night he saw its spires and roofs fading behind him. The train was +wholly military. There were four coaches filled with officers and +troops, and two more coaches behind them loaded with ammunition. + +Harry heard from some of the officers that the army was gathered at a +place called Manassas Junction, where Beauregard had taken command on +June 1st, and to which he would quickly return. But Harry did not know +any of these officers and he felt a little lonely. He slept after a +while in the car seat, awakened at times by the jolting or stopping of +the train, and arrived some time the next day in a country of green +hills and red clay roads, muddy from heavy rains. + +They left the train, marched over the hills along one of the muddy roads, +and presently saw a vast array of tents, fires, and earthworks, +stretching to the horizon. Harry's heart leaped again. This was the +great army of the South. Here were regiments and regiments, thousands +and thousands of men and here he would find his friends, Colonel Talbot +and Major St. Hilaire, and St. Clair and Langdon. + +The whole scene was inspiring in the extreme to the heart of youth. +Far to the right he saw cavalry galloping back and forth, and to the +left he saw infantry drilling. From somewhere in front came the strains +of a regimental band playing: + + "The hour was sad, I left the maid, + A lingering farewell taking, + Her sighs and tears my steps delayed, + I thought her heart was breaking. + In hurried words her name I blessed, + I breathed the vows that bind me + And to my heart in anguish pressed + The girl I left behind me." + +It was a favorite air of the Southern bands, and, much as it stirred +Harry now, he was destined to hear it again in moments far more +thrilling. He presented his order from General Beauregard to a sentinel, +who passed him to an officer, who in turn told him to go about a quarter +of a mile westward, where he would find the regiment of Colonel Talbot +quartered. + +"It's a mixed regiment," he said, "made up of Virginians, South +Carolinians, North Carolinians, and a few Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, +but it's already one of the best in the service. Colonel Talbot and his +second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, have been thrashing +it into shape in great fashion. They're mostly boys and already they +call themselves 'The Invincibles.' You can see the tents of their +commanding officers over there by that little creek." + +Harry's eyes followed the pointing finger, and again his heart leaped. +His friends were there, the two colonels for whom he had such a strong +affection, and the two lads of his own age. Theirs looked like a good +camp, too. It was arranged neatly, and by its side flowed the clear, +cool waters of Young's Branch, a tributary of the little Manassas River. +He walked briskly, crossed the brook, stepping from stone to stone, +and entered the grounds of the Invincibles. A tall youth rushed forward, +seized his hand and shook it violently, meanwhile uttering cries of +welcome in an unbroken stream. + +"By all the powers, it's our own Harry!" he exclaimed, "the new Harry +of the West, whom we were afraid we should never see again. Everything +is for the best, but we hardly hoped for this! How did you get here, +Harry? And you didn't bring Kentucky rushing to our side, after all! +Well, I knew it wasn't your fault, old horse! Ho, St. Clair, come and +see who's here!" + +St. Clair, who had been lying in the grass behind a tent, appeared and +greeted Harry joyfully. But while Langdon was just the same he had +changed in appearance. He was thinner and graver, and his intellectual +face bore the stamp of rapid maturity. + +"It's like greeting one of our very own, Harry," he said. "You were +with us in Charleston at the great beginning. We were afraid you would +have to stay in the west." + +"The big things will begin here," said Harry. + +"There can be no doubt of it. Do you know, Harry, that we are less than +thirty miles from Washington! If there were any hill high enough around +here we could see the white dome of the Capitol which we hope to take +before the summer is over. But we'll take you to the Colonel and Major +Hector St. Hilaire, that was, but Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire +that is." + +Colonel Talbot was sitting at a small table in a tent, the sides of +which had been raised all around, leaving only a canvas roof. +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire sat opposite him across the table, +and they were studying intently a small map of a region that was soon to +be sown deep with history. They looked up when Harry came with his two +friends, and gave him the welcome that he knew he would always receive +from them. + +"I've had a letter from your father," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, +"and I've been expecting you. You are to be a lieutenant on my staff, +and the quartermaster will sell you a new uniform as glossy and fine as +those of which St. Clair and Langdon are so proud." + +He asked him a few more questions about Kentucky and his journey over +the mountains, and then, telling St. Clair and Langdon to take care of +him, he and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire went back to the study of +their map. Harry noted that both were tanned deeply and that their +faces were very serious. + +"Come along, Harry," said Langdon. "Let the colonel and the major bear +all the troubles. For us everything is for the best. We've got you on +our hands and we're going to treat you right. See that deep pool in the +brook, where the big oak throws its shade over the water? It's partly +natural and it's partly dammed, but it's our swimming hole. You are +covered with dust and dirt. Pull off your clothes and jump in there. +We'll protect you from ribald attention. There are other swimming holes +along here, but this swimming hole belongs to the Invincibles, and we +always make good our rights." + +Harry was more than willing. In three minutes he jumped into the deep, +cool water, swimming, diving, and shaking himself like a big dog. +He had enjoyed no such luxury in many days, and he felt as if he were +being re-created. Langdon and St. Clair sat on the bank and gave him +instructions. + +"Now jump out," Langdon said at the end of five minutes. "You needn't +think because you've just come and are in a way a guest, that you can +keep this swimming hole all to yourself. A lot more of the Invincibles +need bathing and here come some for their chance." + +Harry came out reluctantly, and in a few minutes they were on the way +to the quartermaster, where the needed uniform, one that appealed +gloriously to his eye, was bought. St. Clair was quiet, but Langdon +talked enough for all three. + +"The Yankee vanguard is only a few miles away," he said. "You don't +have to go far before you see their tents, though I ought to say that +each side has another army westward in the mountains. There's been a +lot of fighting already, though not much of it here. The first shots on +Virginia soil were fired on our front the day General Beauregard arrived +to take command of our forces." + +"How about those troops in the hills?" asked Harry. + +"They've been up and doing. A young Yankee general named McClellan has +shown a lot of activity. He has beat us in some skirmishes and he has +organized troops as far west as the Ohio. Then he and his generals met +our general, Garnett, at Rich Mountain. It was the biggest affair of +the war so far, and Garnett was killed. Then a curious fellow of ours +named Jackson, and Stuart, a cavalry officer, lost a little battle at a +place called Falling Waters." + +"Has the luck been against us all along the line?" + +"Not at all! A cock-eyed Massachusetts politician, one Ben Butler, +a fellow of energy though, broke into the Yorktown country, but Magruder +thrashed him at Big Bethel. All those things, though, Harry, are just +whiffs of rain before the big storm. We're threatening Washington +here with our main army, and here is where they will have to meet us. +Lincoln has put General Scott, a Virginian, too, in command of the +Northern armies, but as he's so old, somebody else will be the real +commander." + +Harry felt himself a genuine soldier in his new uniform, and he soon +learned his new duties, which, for the present, would not be many. +The two armies, although practically face to face, refused to move. +On either side the officers of the old regular force were seeking to +beat the raw recruits into shape, and the rival commanders also waited, +each for the other to make the first movement. + +Harry and St. Clair were sent that night far toward the front with a +small detachment to patrol some hill country. They marched in the +moonlight, keeping among the trees, and listening for any sounds that +might be hostile. + +"It's not likely though that we'll be molested," said St. Clair. +"The men on both sides don't yet realize fully that they are here to +shoot at one another. This is our place, along a little brook, another +tributary of the Manassas." + +They stopped in a grove and disposed the men, twenty in number, along +a line of several hundred yards, with instructions not to fire unless +they knew positively what they were shooting at. Harry and St. Clair +remained near the middle of the line, at the edge of the brook, where +they sat down on the bank. The country was open in front of them, +and Harry saw a distant light. + +"What's that?" he asked. + +"The campfire of a Yankee outpost. I told you they were very near." + +"And that, I suppose, is one of their bugles." + +A faint but musical note was brought to them by the light wind blowing +in their faces. + +"That's what it is. It may be the signal of some movement, but they +can't attempt anything serious without showing themselves. Our +sentinels are posted along here for miles." + +The sound of the bugle continued faint and far away. It had a certain +weird effect in the night and the loneliness. Harry wished to know who +they were at that far campfire. His own cousin, Dick Mason, might be +there. + +"Although we're arrayed for war," said St. Clair, "the sentinels are +often friendly. They even exchange plugs of tobacco and news. The +officers have not been able to stop it wholly. Our sentinels tell +theirs that we'll be in Washington in a month, and theirs tell ours +that they've already engaged rooms in the Richmond hotels for July." + +"When two prophets disagree both can't be right," said Harry. "How far +away would you say that light is, Arthur?" + +"About a mile and a half. Let's scout a little in that direction. +There are no commands against it. Enterprise is encouraged." + +"Just what I'd like," said Harry, who was eager for action. + +Leaving their own men under the command of a reliable sergeant named +Carrick, the two youths crossed the brook and advanced over a fairly +level stretch of country toward the fire. Small clusters of trees were +scattered here and there, and beyond them was a field of young corn. +The two paused in one of the little groves about a hundred yards from +their own outposts and looked back. They saw only the dark line of +the trees, and behind them, wavering lights which they knew were the +campfires of their own army. But the lights at the distance were very +small, mere pin points. + +"They look more like lanterns carried by 'coon and 'possum hunters than +the campfires of an army," said Harry. + +"Yes, you'd hardly think they mark the presence of twenty or thirty +thousand men," said St. Clair. "Here we are at the cornfield. The +plants are not high, but they throw enough shadow to hide us." + +They climbed a rail fence, and advanced down the corn rows. The moon +was good and there was a plentiful supply of stars, enabling them to see +some distance. To their right on a hill was a white Colonial house, +with all its windows dark. + +"That house would be in a bad place if a battle comes off here, as seems +likely," said St. Clair. + +"And those who own it are wise in having gone away," said Harry. + +"I'm not so sure that they've gone. People hate to give up their homes +even in the face of death. Around here they generally stay and put out +the lights at dark." + +"Well, here we are at the end of the cornfield, and the light is not +more than four or five hundred yards away. I think I can see the +shadows of human figures against the flames. Come, let's climb the +fence and go down through this skirt of bushes." + +The suggestion appealed to the daring and curiosity of both, and in a +few minutes they were within two hundred yards of the Northern camp. +But they lay very close in the undergrowth. They saw a big fire and +Harry judged that four or five hundred men were scattered about. +Many were asleep on the grass, but others sat up talking. The +appearance of all was so extraordinary that Harry gazed in astonishment. + +It was not the faces or forms of the men, but their dress that was so +peculiar. They were arrayed in huge blouses and vast baggy trousers +of a blazing red, fastened at the knee and revealing stockings of a +brilliant hue below. Little tasselled caps were perched on the sides of +their heads. Harry remembering his geography and the descriptions of +nations would have taken them for a gathering of Turkish women, if their +masculine faces had been hidden. + +"What under the moon are those?" he whispered. "They do look curious," +replied St. Clair. "They call them Zouaves, and I think they're from +New York. It's a copy of a French military costume which, unless I'm +mistaken, France uses in Algeria." + +"They'd certainly make a magnificent target on the battlefield. A +Kentucky or Tennessee rifleman who'd miss such a target would die of +shame." + +"Maybe. But listen, they're singing! What do you think of that for a +military tune?" + +Harry heard for the first time in his life an extraordinary, choppy air, +a rapid beat that rose and fell abruptly, sending a powerful thrill +through his heart as he lay there in the bushes. The words were nothing, +almost without meaning, but the tune itself was full of compelling +power. It set the feet marching toward triumphant battle. + + "In Dixie's land I'll take my stand, + Cinnamon seed and sandy bottom, + Look away! Look away! + Down South in Dixie!" + +Three or four hundred voices took up the famous battle song, as +thrilling and martial as the Marseillaise, then fresh and unhackneyed, +and they sang it with enthusiasm and fire, officers joining with the +men. It was a singular fact that Harry should first hear Northern +troops singing the song which was destined to become the great battle +tune of the South. + +"What is it?" whispered Harry. + +"It's called Dixie. They say it was written by a man in New York for a +negro minstrel show. I suppose they sing it in anticipation, meaning +that they will soon be in the heart of Dixie, which is the South, +our South." + +"I don't think those baggy red legs will ever march far into our South," +whispered Harry defiantly. + +"It is to be seen. Between you and me, Harry, I'm convinced there is no +triumphant progress ahead for either North or South. Ah, another force +is coming and it's cavalry! Don't you hear the hoof-beats, Harry?" + +Harry heard them distinctly and he and his comrade lay more closely than +ever in the bushes, because the horsemen, a numerous body, as the heavy +tread indicated, were passing very near. The two lads presently saw +them riding four abreast toward the campfire, and Harry surmised that +they had been scouting in strong force toward the Southern front. +They were large men, deep with tan and riding easily. Harry judged +their number at two hundred, and the tail of the company would pass +alarmingly near the bushes in which his comrade and he lay. + +"Don't you think we'd better creep back?" he whispered to St. Clair. +"Some of them taking a short cut may ride right upon us." + +"Yes, it's time to make ourselves scarce." + +They turned back, going as rapidly as they dared, but that which Harry +had feared came to pass. The rear files of the horsemen, evidently +intending to go to the other side of the camp, rode through the low +bushes. Four of them passed so near the boys that they caught in the +moonlight a glimpse of the two stooping figures. + +"Who is there? Halt!" sharply cried one of them, an officer. +But St. Clair cried also: + +"Run, Harry! Run for your life, and keep to the bushes!" + +The two dashed at utmost speed down the strip of bushes and they heard +the thunder of horses' hoofs in the open on either flank. A half dozen +shots were fired and the bullets cut leaves and twigs about them. +They heard the Northern men shouting: "Spies! Spies! After them! +Seize them!" + +Harry in the moment of extreme danger retained his presence of mind: "To +the cornfield, Arthur!" he cried to his comrade. "The fence is staked +and ridered, and their horses can't jump it. If they stop to pull it +down they will give us time to get away!" + +"Good plan!" returned St. Clair. "But we'd better bend down as we run. +Those bullets make my flesh creep!" + +A fresh volley was sent into the bushes, but owing to the wise +precaution of bending low, the bullets went over their heads, although +Harry felt his hair rising up to meet them. In two or three minutes +they were at the fence, and they went over it almost like birds. +Harry heard two bullets hit the rails as they leaped--they were in +view then for a moment--but they merely increased his speed, as he and +St. Clair darted side by side through the corn, bending low again. + +They heard the horsemen talking and swearing at the barrier, and then +they heard the beat of hoofs again. + +"They'll divide and send a force around the field each way!" said +St. Clair. + +"And some of them will dismount and pursue us through it on foot!" + +"We can distance anybody on foot. Harry, when I heard those bullets +whistling about me I felt as if I could outrun a horse, or a giraffe, +or an antelope, or anything on earth! And thunder, Harry, I feel the +same way now!" + +Bullets fired from the fence made the ploughed land fly not far from +them, and they lengthened their stride. Harry afterward said that +he did not remember stepping on that cornfield more than twice. +Fortunately for them the field, while not very wide, extended far to +right and left, and the pursuing horsemen were compelled to make a +great circuit. + +Before the thudding hoofs came near they were over the fence again, and, +still with wonderful powers of flight, were scudding across the country +toward their own lines. They came to one of the clusters of trees and +dashing into it lay close, their hearts pounding. Looking back they +dimly saw the horsemen, riding at random, evidently at a loss. + +"That was certainly close," gasped St. Clair. "I'm not going on any +more scouts unless I'm ordered to do so." + +"Nor I," said Harry. "I've got enough for one night at least. I +suppose I'll never forget those men with the red bags in place of +breeches, and that tune, 'Dixie.' As soon as I get my breath back I'm +going to make a bee line for our own army." + +"And when you make your bee line another just as fast and straight will +run beside it." + +They rested five minutes and then fled for the brook and their own +little detachment behind it. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT + + +Before they reached the brook they hailed Sergeant Carrick lest they +should be fired upon as enemies, and when his answer came they dropped +into a walk, still panting and wiping the perspiration from damp +foreheads. They bathed their faces freely in the brook, and sat down on +the bank to rest. The sergeant, a regular and a veteran of many border +campaigns against the Indians, regarded them benevolently. + +"I heard firing in front," he said, "and I thought you might be +concerned in it. If it hadn't been for my orders I'd have come forward +with some of the men." + +"Sergeant," said St. Clair, "if you were in the west again, and you were +all alone in the hills or on the plains and a band of yelling Sioux +or Blackfeet were to set after you with fell designs upon your scalp, +what would you do?" + +"I'd run, sir, with all my might. I'd run faster than I ever ran +before. I'd run so fast, sir, that my feet wouldn't touch the ground +more than once every forty yards. It would be the wisest thing one +could do under the circumstances, the only thing, in fact." + +"I'm glad to hear you say so, Sergeant Carrick, because you are a man of +experience and magnificent sense. What you say proves that Harry and I +are full of wisdom. They weren't Sioux or Blackfeet back there and I +don't suppose they'd have scalped us, but they were Yankees and their +intentions weren't exactly peaceful. So we took your advice before you +gave it. If you'll examine the earth out there tomorrow you'll find our +footprints only five times to the mile." + +Far to the right and left other scattering shots had been fired, where +skirmishers in the night came in touch with one another. Hence the +adventure of Harry and St. Clair attracted but little attention. +Shots at long range were fired nearly every night, and sometimes it was +difficult to keep the raw recruits from pulling trigger merely for the +pleasure of hearing the report. + +But when Harry and St. Clair related the incident the next morning to +Colonel Talbot, he spoke with gravity. + +"There are many young men of birth and family in our army," he said, +"and they must learn that war is a serious business. It is more than +that; it is a deadly business, the most deadly business of all. If the +Yankees had caught you two, it would have served you right." + +"They scared us badly enough as it was, sir," said St. Clair. + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled slightly. + +"That part of it at least will do you good," he said. "You young men +don't know what war is, and you are growing fat and saucy in a pleasant +country in June. But there is something ahead that will take a little +of the starch out of you and teach you sense. No, you needn't look +inquiringly at me, because I'm not going to tell you what it is, but go +get some sleep, which you will need badly, and be ready at four o'clock +this afternoon, because the Invincibles march then and you march with +them." + +Harry and St. Clair saluted and retired. They knew that it was not +worth while to ask Colonel Talbot any questions. Since he had met him +again in Virginia, Harry had recognized a difference in this South +Carolina colonel. The kindliness was still there, but there was a new +sternness also. The friend was being merged into the commander. + +They chose a tent in order to shut out the noise and make sleep possible, +but on their way to it they were waylaid by Langdon, who had heard +something of their adventure the night before, and who felt chagrin +because he had lacked a part in it. + +"Although everything generally happens for the best, there is a slip +sometimes," he said, "and I want to be in on the next move, whatever it +is. There is a rumor that the Invincibles are to march. You have been +before the colonel, and you ought to know. Is it true?" + +"It is," replied Harry, "but that's all we do know. He was pretty sharp +with us, Tom, and among our three selves, we are not going to get any +favors from Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector +St. Hilaire because we're friends of theirs and would be likely to +meet in the same drawing-rooms, if there were no war." + +Harry and St. Clair slept well, despite the noises of a camp, but they +were ready at the appointed time, very precise in their new uniforms. +Langdon was with them and the three were eager for the movement, the +nature of which officers alone seemed to know. + +The Invincibles were an infantry regiment and the three youths, like the +men, were on foot. They filed off to the left behind the front line of +the Southern army, and marched steadily westward, inclining slightly to +the north. Many of the men, or rather boys, not yet fast in the bonds +of discipline, began to talk, and guess together about their errand. +But Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire rode along the +line and sternly commanded silence, once or twice making the menace of +the sword. The lads scarcely understood it, but they were awed into +silence. Then there was no noise but the rattle of their weapons and +the steady tread of eight hundred men. + +The young troops had been kept in splendid condition, drilling steadily, +and they marched well. They passed to the extreme western end of the +Confederate camp, and continued into the hills. The sun had passed +its zenith when they started and a pleasant, cool breeze blew from the +slopes of the western mountains. The sun set late, but the twilight +began to fall at last, and they saw about them many places suitable for +a camp and supper. But Colonel Talbot, who was now at the head of the +line, rode on and gave no sign. + +"If I were riding a bay horse fifteen hands high I could go on, too, +forever," whispered Langdon to Harry. + +"Remember your belief that everything happens for the best and just keep +on marching." + +The twilight retreated before the dark, but the regiment continued. +Harry saw a dusky colonel on a dusky horse at the head of the line, +and nearer by was Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also riding, silent +and stern. The Invincibles were weary. It was now nine o'clock, +and they had marched many hours without a rest, but they did not dare to +murmur, at least not loud enough to be heard by Colonel Leonidas Talbot +and his lieutenant-colonel, Hector St. Hilaire. + +"I wonder if this is going on all night," whispered Langdon. + +"Very likely," returned Harry, "but remember that everything is for the +best." + +Langdon gave him a reproachful look, but trudged sturdily on. They +halted about an hour later, but only for fifteen or twenty minutes. +They had now come into much rougher country, steep, with high hills +and populated thinly. Westward, the mountains seemed very near in the +clear moonlight. No explanation was given to the Invincibles, but the +officers rode among the groups and made a careful inspection of arms +and equipment. Then the word to march once more was given. + +They did not stop, except for short rests, until about three o'clock in +the morning, when they came to the crest of a high ridge, covered with +dense forest, but without undergrowth. Then the officers dismounted, +and the word was passed to the men that they would remain there until +dawn, but before they lay down on the ground Colonel Talbot told them +what was expected of them, which was much. + +"A strong Northern force is encamped on the slope beyond," he said. +"It is in a position from which the left flank of our main army can be +threatened. Our enemies there are fortified with earthworks and they +have cannon. If they hold the place they are likely to increase heavily +in numbers. It is our business to drive them out." + +The colonel told some of the officers within Harry's hearing that they +could attack before dawn, but night assaults, unless with veteran troops, +generally defeated themselves through confusion and uncertainty. +Nevertheless, he hoped to surprise the Northern soldiers over their +coffee. For that reason the men were compelled to lie down in their +blankets in the dark. Not a single light was permitted, but they were +allowed to eat some cold food, which they brought in their knapsacks. + +Although it was June, the night was chill on the high hills, and Harry +and his two friends, after their duties were done, wrapped their +blankets closely around themselves as they sat on the ground, with their +backs against a big tree. The physical relaxation after such hard +marching and the sharp wind of the night made Harry shiver, despite his +blanket. St. Clair and Langdon shivered, too. They did not know that +part of it was that three-o'clock-in-the-morning feeling. + +Harry, sensitive, keenly alive to impressions, was oppressed by a +certain heavy and uncanny feeling. They were going into battle in the +morning--and with men whom he did not hate. The attacks on the Star of +the West and Sumter had been bombardments, distant affairs, where he +did not see the face of his enemy, but here it would be another matter. +The real shock of battle would come, and the eyes of men seeking to kill +would look into the eyes of others who also sought to kill. + +He and St. Clair were not sleepy, as they had slept through most of the +day, but Langdon was already nodding. Most of the soldiers also had +fallen asleep through exhaustion, and Harry saw them in the dusk lying +in long rows. The faint moon throwing a ghostly light over so many +motionless forms made the whole scene weird and unreal to Harry. +He shook himself to cast off the spell, and, closing his eyes, sought +sleep. + +But sleep would not come and the obstinate lids lifted again. It had +turned a little darker and the motionless forms at the far end of the +line were hidden. But those nearer were so still that they seemed to +have been put there to stay forever. St. Clair had yielded at last to +weariness and with his back against the tree slept by Harry's side. + +He saw four figures moving up and down like ghosts through the shadows. +They were Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, and two +captains watching their men, seeing that silence and caution were +preserved. Harry knew that sentinels were posted further down the ridge, +but he could not see them from where he lay. Although it was a long +time, the forest and human figures wavered at last, and he dozed for a +while. But he soon awoke and saw a faint tint of gray low down in the +east, the first timid herald of dawn. + +The young soldiers were awakened. They started to rise with a +cheerful exchange of chatter, but were sternly commanded to silence. +Nevertheless, they talked in whispers and told one another how they +would wipe the Yankees off the face of the earth. Workers from the +shops in the big cities of the North could not stand before them, +the open air sons of the South. They stretched their long limbs, +felt their big muscles, and wondered why they were not led forward at +once. + +But before they marched they were ordered to take food from their +knapsacks and eat. Five minutes at most were allowed, and there was to +be no nonsense, no loud talking. Some who had come north with negro +servants stared at these officers who dared to talk to them as if they +were slaves. But the words of anger stopped at their lips. They would +take their revenge instead on the Yankees. + +Harry and his two friends had fitted themselves already into military +discipline and military ways. They ate, not because they were hungry, +but because they knew it was a necessity. Meanwhile, the faint gray +band in the east was broadening. The note of a bugle, distant, mellow, +and musical, came from a point down the slope. + +"The Yankee fort," said Langdon. "They're waking up, too. But I'm +looking for the best, boys, and inside of two hours that Yankee fort +will be a Confederate fort." + +The note of the bugle seemed to decide the Southern officers. The men +were ordered to see to their arms and march. The officers dismounted as +the way would be rough and left their horses behind. The troops formed +into several columns and four light guns went down the slope with them. +Scouts who had been out in the night came back and reported that the +fort, consisting wholly of earthworks, had a garrison of a thousand men +with eight guns. They were New York and New England troops and they did +not suspect the presence of an enemy. They were just lighting their +breakfast fires. + +The Southern columns moved forward in quiet, still hidden by the forest, +which also yet hid the Northern fort. Harry's heart began to beat +heavily, but he forced himself to preserve the appearance of calmness. +Pride stiffened his will and backbone. He was a veteran. He had been +at Sumter. He had seen the great bombardment, and he had taken a part +in it. He must show these raw men how a soldier bore himself in battle, +and, moreover, he was an officer whose business it was to lead. + +The deep forest endured as they advanced in a diagonal line down the +slope. The great civil war of North America was fought mostly in the +forest, and often the men were not aware of the presence of one another +until they came face to face. + +They were almost at the bottom where the valley opened out in grass land, +and were turning northward when Harry saw two figures ahead of them +among the trees. They were men in blue uniforms with rifles in their +hands, and they were staring in surprise at the advancing columns in +gray. But their surprise lasted only a moment. Then they lifted their +rifles, fired straight at the Invincibles, and with warning shouts +darted among the trees toward their own troops. + +"Forward, lads!" shouted Colonel Talbot. "We're within four hundred +yards of the fort, and we must rush it! Officers, to your places!" + +Their own bugle sang stirring music, and the men gathered themselves for +the forward rush. Up shot the sun, casting a sharp, vivid light over +the slopes and valley. The soldiers, feeling that victory was just +ahead, advanced with so much speed that the officers began to check them +a little, fearing that the Invincibles would be thrown into confusion. + +The forest ended. Before them lay a slope, from which the bushes had +been cut away and beyond were trenches, and walls of fresh earth, +from which the mouths of cannon protruded. Soldiers in blue, sentinels +and seekers of wood for the fires, were hurrying into the earthworks, +on the crests of which stood men, dressed in the uniforms of officers. + +"Forward, my lads!" shouted Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who was near the +front rank, brandishing his sword until the light glittered along its +sharp blade. "Into the fort! Into the fort!" + +The sun, rising higher, flooded the slopes, the valley, and the fort +with brilliant beams. Everything seemed to Harry's excited mind to +stand out gigantic and magnified. Black specks began to dance in +myriads before his eyes. He heard beside him the sharp, panting breath +of his comrades, and the beat of many feet as they rushed on. + +He saw the Northern officers on the earthwork disappear, dropping down +behind, and the young Southern soldiers raised a great shout of triumph +which, as it sank on its dying note, was merged into a tremendous crash. +The whole fort seemed to Harry to blaze with red fire, as the heavy guns +were fired straight into the faces of the Invincibles. The roar of +the cannon was so near that Harry, for an instant, was deafened by the +crash. Then he heard groans and cries and saw men falling around him. + +In another moment came the swish of rifle bullets, and the ranks of +the Invincibles were cut and torn with lead. The young recruits were +receiving their baptism of fire and it was accompanied by many wounds +and death. + +The earthworks in front were hidden for a little while by drifting smoke, +but the Invincibles, mad with pain and rage, rushed through it. They +were anxious to get at those who were stinging them so terribly, and +fortunately for them the defenders did not have time to pour in another +volley. Harry saw Colonel Talbot still in front, waving his sword, +and near him Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also with an uplifted sword, +which he pointed straight toward the earthwork. + +"On, lads, on!" shouted the colonel. "It is nothing! Another moment +and the fort is ours!" + +Harry heard the hissing of heavy missiles above him. The light guns of +the Invincibles had unlimbered on the slope, and fired once over their +heads into the fort. But they did not dare to fire again, as the next +instant the recruits, dripping red, but still wild with rage, were at +the earthworks, and driven on with rage climbed them and fired at the +huddled mass they saw below. + +Harry stumbled as he went down into the fort, but quickly recovered +himself and leaped to his feet again. He saw through the flame and +smoke faces much like his own, the faces of youth, startled and aghast, +scarcely yet comprehending that this was war and that war meant pain and +death. The Invincibles, despite the single close volley that had been +poured into them, had the advantage of surprise and their officers were +men of skill and experience. They had left a long red trail of the +fallen as they entered the fort, but after their own single volley they +pressed hard with the bayonet. Little as was their military knowledge, +those against them had less, and they also had less experience of the +woods and hills. + +As the Invincibles hurled themselves upon them the defenders slowly gave +way and were driven out of the fort. But they carried two of their +cannon with them, and when they reached the wood opened a heavy fire +upon the pursuing Southern troops, which made the youngsters shiver and +reel back. + +"They, too, have some regular officers," said Colonel Talbot to +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "It's a safe wager that several of +our old comrades of Mexico are there." + +Thus did West Pointers speak with respect of their fellow West Pointers. + +Exulting in their capture of the fort and still driven by rage, the +Invincibles attempted to rush the enemy, but they were met by such a +deadly fire that many fell, and their officers drew them back to the +shelter of the captured earthworks, where they were joined by their own +light guns that had been hurried down the slope. Another volley was +fired at them, when they went over the earthen walls, and Harry, as he +threw himself upon the ground, heard the ferocious whine of the bullets +over his head, a sound to which he would grow used through years +terribly long. + +Harry rose to his feet and began to feel of himself to see if he were +wounded. So great had been the tension and so rapid their movements +that he had not been conscious of any physical feeling. + +"All right, Harry?" asked a voice by his side. + +He saw Langdon with a broad red stripe down his cheek. The stripe was +of such even width that it seemed to have been painted there, and Harry +stared at it in a sort of fascination. + +"I know I'm not beautiful, Harry," said Langdon, "neither am I killed or +mortally wounded. But my feelings are hurt. That bullet, fired by some +mill hand who probably never pulled a trigger before, just grazed the +top of my head, but it has pumped enough out of my veins to irrigate my +face with a beautiful scarlet flow." + +"The mill hands may never have pulled trigger before," said Harry, +"but it looks as if they were learning how fast enough. Down, Tom!" + +Again the smoke and fire burst from the forest, and the bullets whined +in hundreds over their heads. Two heavier crashes showed that the +cannon were also coming into play, and one shell striking within the +fort, exploded, wounding a half dozen men. + +"I suppose that everything happens for the best," said Langdon, "but +having got into the fort, it looks as if we couldn't get out again. +With the help of the earthwork I can hide from the bullets, but how are +you to dodge a shell which can come in a curve over the highest kind of +a wall, drop right in the middle of the crowd, burst, and send pieces +in a hundred directions?" + +"You can't," said St. Clair, who appeared suddenly. + +He was covered with dirt and his fine new uniform was torn. + +"What has happened to you?" asked Harry. + +"I've just had practical proof that it's hard to dodge a bursting shell," +replied St. Clair calmly. "I'm in luck that no part of the shell itself +hit me, but it sent the dirt flying against me so hard that it stung, +and I think that some pieces of gravel have played havoc with my coat +and trousers." + +"Hark! there go our cannon!" exclaimed Harry. "We'll drive them out of +those woods." + +"None too soon for me," said St. Clair, looking ruefully at his torn +uniform. "I'd take it as a politeness on their part if they used +bullets only and not shells." + +They had not yet come down to the stern discipline of war, but their +talk was stopped speedily by the senior officers, who put them to work +arranging the young recruits along the earthworks, whence they could +reply with comparative safety to the fire from the wood. But Harry +noted that the raking fire of their own cannon had been effective. +The Northern troops had retreated to a more distant point in the forest, +where they were beyond the range of rifles, but it seemed that they had +no intention of going any further, as from time to time a shell from +their cannon still curved and fell in the fort or near it. The Southern +guns, including those that had been captured, replied, but, of necessity, +shot and shell were sent at random into the forest which now hid the +whole Northern force. + +"It seems to me," said St. Clair to Harry, "that while we have taken the +fort we have merely made an exchange. Instead of being besiegers we +have turned ourselves into the besieged." + +"And while I'm expecting everything to turn out for the best," said +Langdon, "I don't know that we've made anything at all by the exchange. +We're in the fort, but the mechanics and mill hands are on the slope in +a good position to pepper us." + +"Or to wait for reinforcements," said Harry. + +"I hadn't thought of that," said St. Clair. "They may send up into the +mountains and bring four or five times our numbers. Patterson's army +must be somewhere near." + +"But we'll hope that they won't," said Langdon. + +The Northern troops ceased their fire presently, but the officers, +examining the woods with their glasses, said they were still there. +Then came the grim task of burying the dead, which was done inside the +earthworks. Nearly two score of the Invincibles had fallen to rise no +more, and about a hundred were wounded. It was no small loss even for +a veteran force, and Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire +looked grave. Many of the recruits had turned white, and they had +strange, sinking sensations. + +There was little laughter or display of triumph inside the earthworks, +nor was there any increase of cheer when the recruits saw the senior +officers draw aside and engage in anxious talk. + +"I'm thinking that idea of yours, Harry, about Yankee reinforcements, +must have occurred to Colonel Talbot also," said Langdon. "It seems +that we have nothing else to fear. The Yankees that we drove out are +not strong enough to come back and drive us out. So they must be +looking for a heavy force from Patterson's army." + +The conference of the officers was quickly over, and then the men +were put to work building higher the walls of earth and deepening the +ditches. Many picks and spades had been captured in the fort, and +others used bayonets. All, besides the guard, toiled hard two or three +hours without interruption. + +It was now noon, and food was served. An abundance of water in barrels +had been found in the fort and the men drank it eagerly as the sun was +warm and the work with spade and shovel made them very thirsty. The +three boys, despite their rank, had been taking turns with the men and +they leaned wearily against the earthwork. + +The clatter of tools had ceased. The men ate and drank in silence. +No sound came from the Northern troops in the wood. A heavy, ominous +silence brooded over the little valley which had seen so much battle and +passion. Harry felt relaxed and for the moment nerveless. His eyes +wandered to the new earth, beneath which the dead lay, and he shivered. +The wounded were lying patiently on their blankets and those of their +comrades and they did not complain. The surgeons had done their best +for them and the more skillful among the soldiers had helped. + +The silence was very heavy upon Harry's nerves. Overhead great birds +hovered on black wings, and when he saw them he shuddered. St. Clair +saw them, too. + +"No pleasant sight," he said. "I feel stronger since I've had food and +water, Harry, but I'm thinking that we're going to be besieged in this +fort, and we're not overburdened with supplies. I wonder what the +colonel will do." + +"He'll try to hold it," said Langdon. "He was sent here for that +purpose, and we all know what the colonel is." + +"He will certainly stay," said Harry. + +After a good rest they resumed work with pick, shovel, and bayonet, +throwing the earthworks higher and ever higher. It was clear to the +three lads that Colonel Talbot expected a heavy attack. + +"Perhaps we have underrated our mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair, in his precise, dandyish way. "They may not ride as well +or shoot as well as we do, but they seem to be in no hurry about going +back to their factories." + +Harry glanced at him. St. Clair was always extremely particular about +his dress. It was a matter to which he gave time and thought freely. +Now, despite all his digging, he was again trim, immaculate, and showed +no signs of perspiration. He would have died rather than betray +nervousness or excitement. + +"I've no doubt that we've underrated them," said Harry. "Just as the +people up North have underrated us. Colonel Talbot told me long ago +that this was going to be a terribly big war, and now I know he was +right." + +A long time passed without any demonstration on the part of the enemy. +The sun reached the zenith and blazed redly upon the men in the fort. +Harry looked longingly at the dark green woods. He remembered cool +brooks, swelling into deep pools here and there in just such woods as +these, in which he used to bathe when he was a little boy. An intense +wish to swim again in the cool waters seized him. He believed it was +so intense because those beautiful woods there on the slope, where the +running water must be, were filled with the Northern riflemen. + +Three scouts, sent out by Colonel Talbot, returned with reports that +justified his suspicions. A heavy force, evidently from Patterson's +army operating in the hills and mountains, was marching down the valley +to join those who had been driven from the fort. The junction would be +formed within an hour. Harry was present when the report was made and +he understood its significance. He rejoiced that the walls of earth had +been thrown so much higher and that the trenches had been dug so much +deeper. + +In the middle of the afternoon, when the cool shade was beginning to +fall on the eastern forest, they noticed a movement in the woods. +They saw the swaying of bushes and the officers, who had glasses, +caught glimpses of the men moving in the undergrowth. Then came a +mighty crash and the shells from a battery of great guns sang in the air +and burst about them. It was well for the Invincibles that they had +dug their trenches deep, as two of the shells burst inside the fort. +Harry was with Colonel Talbot, now acting as an aide, and he heard the +leader's quiet comment: + +"The reinforcements have brought more big guns. They will deliver a +heavy cannonade and then under cover of the smoke they will charge. +Lieutenant Kenton, tell our gunners that it is my positive orders that +they are not to fire a single shot until I give the word. The Yankees +can see us, but we cannot see them, and we'll save our ammunition for +their charge. Keep well down in the trench, Lieutenant Kenton!" + +The Invincibles hugged their shelter gladly enough while the fire from +the great guns continued. A second battery opened from a point further +down the slope, and the fort was swept by a cross-fire of ball and +shell. Yet the loss of life was small. The trenches were so deep +and so well constructed that only chance pieces of shell struck human +targets. + +Harry remained with Colonel Talbot, ready to carry any order that he +might give. The colonel peered over the earthwork at intervals and +searched the woods closely with a powerful pair of glasses. His face +was very grave, but Harry presently saw him smile a little. He wondered, +but he had learned enough of discipline now not to ask questions of his +commanding officer. At length he heard the colonel mutter: + +"It is Carrington! It surely must be Carrington!" A third battery now +opened at a point almost midway between the other two, and the smile of +the colonel came again, but now it lingered longer. + +"It is bound to be Carrington!" he said. "It cannot possibly be any +other! That way of opening with a battery on one flank, then on the +other, and then with a third midway between was always his, and the +accuracy of aim is his, too! Heavens, what an artillery officer! +I doubt whether there is such another in either army, or in the world! +And he is better, too, than ever!" + +He caught Harry looking at him in wonder, and he smiled once more. + +"A friend of mine commands the Northern artillery," he said. "I have +not seen him, of course, but he is making all the signs and using all +the passwords. We are exactly the same age, and we were chums at West +Point. We were together in the Indian wars, and together in all the +battles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It's John Carrington, +and he's from New York! He's perfectly wonderful with the guns! +Lord, lad, look how he lives up to his reputation! Not a shot misses! +He must have been training those gunners for months! Thunder, but that +was magnificent!" + +A huge shell struck squarely in the center of the earthwork, burst with +a terrible crash, and sent steel splinters and fragments flying in every +direction. A rain of dirt followed the rain of steel, and, when the +colonel wiped the last mote from his eye, he said triumphantly and +joyously: + +"It's Carrington! Not a shadow of doubt can be left! Only such gunners +as those he trains can plump shells squarely among us at that range! +Oh, I tell you, Harry, he's a marvel. Has the wonderful mathematical +and engineering eye!" + +The eyes of Colonel Leonidas Talbot beamed with admiration of his old +comrade, mingled with a strong affection. Nevertheless, he did not +relax his vigilance and caution for an instant. He made the circuit of +the fort and saw that everything was ready. The Southern riflemen lined +every earthwork, and the guns had been wheeled into the best positions, +with the gunners ready. Then he returned to his old place. + +"The charge will come soon, Lieutenant Kenton," he said to Harry. +"Their cannonade serves a double purpose. It keeps us busy dodging ball +and shell, and it creates a bank of smoke through which their infantry +can advance almost to the fort and yet remain hidden. See how the +smoke covers the whole side of the mountain. Oh, Carrington is doing +splendidly! I have never known him to do better!" + +Harry wished that Carrington would not do quite so well. He was tired +of crouching in a ditch. He was growing somewhat used to the hideous +howling of the shells, but it was still unsafe anywhere except in the +trenches. It seemed to him, too, that the cannon fire was increasing +in volume. The slopes and the valley gave back a continuous crash of +rolling thunder. Heavier and heavier grew the bank of smoke over and +against the forest. It was impossible to see what was going on there, +but Harry had no doubt that the Northern regiments were massing +themselves for the attack. + +The youth remained with Colonel Talbot, being held by the latter to +carry orders when needed to other points in the fort. St. Clair and +Langdon were kept near for a similar use and they were crouching in the +same trench. + +"If everything happens for the best it's time it was happening," said +Langdon in an impatient whisper. "These shells and cannon balls flying +over me make my head ache and scare me to death besides. If the Yankees +don't hurry up and charge, they'll find me dead, killed by the collapse +of worn-out nerves." + +"I intend to be ready when they come," said St. Clair. "I've made every +preparation that I can call to mind." + +"Which means that your coat must be setting just right and that your +collar isn't ruffled," rejoined Langdon. "Yes, Arthur, you are ready +now. You are certainly the neatest and best dressed man in the +regiment. If the Yankees take us they can't say that they captured a +slovenly prisoner." + +"Then," said St. Clair, smiling, "let them come on." + +"Their cannon fire is sinking!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot. "In a minute +it will cease and then will come the charge! 'Tis Carrington's way, +and a good way! Hark! Listen to it! The signal! Ready, men! Ready! +Here they come!" + +The great cannonade ceased so abruptly that for a few moments the +stillness was more awful than the thunder of the guns had been. The +recruits could hear the great pulses in their temples throbbing. +Then the silence was pierced by the shrill notes of a brazen bugle, +steadily rising higher and always calling insistently to the men to +come. Then they heard the heavy thud of many men advancing with +swiftness and regularity. + +The Southern troops were at the earthworks in double rows, and the +gunners were at the guns, all eager, all watching intently for what +might come out of the smoke. But the rising breeze suddenly caught the +great bank of mists and vapors and whirled the whole aside. Then Harry +saw. He saw a long line of men, their front bristling with the blue +steel of bayonets, and behind them other lines and yet other lines. + +It seemed to Harry that the points of the bayonets were almost in his +face, and then, at the shouted command, the whole earthwork burst into a +blaze. The cannon and hundreds of rifles sent their deadly volleys into +the blue masses at short range. The fort had turned into a volcano, +pouring forth a rain of fire and deadly missiles. The front line of +the Northern force was shot away, but the next line took its place and +rushed at the fort with those behind pressing close after them. The +defenders loaded and fired as fast as they could and the high walls +of earth helped them. The loose dirt gave away as the Northern men +attempted to climb them, and dirt and men fell together back to the +bottom. The Northern gunners in the rear of the attack could not fire +for fear of hitting their own troops, but the Southern cannon at the +embrasures had a clear target. Shot and shell crashed into the Northern +ranks, and the deadly hail of bullets beat upon them without ceasing. +But still they came. + +"The mechanics and mill hands are as good as anybody, it appears!" +shouted St. Clair in Harry's ear, and Harry nodded. + +But the defenses of the fort were too strong. The charge, driven home +with reckless courage, beat in vain upon those high earthen walls, +behind which the defenders, standing upon narrow platforms, sent showers +of bullets into ranks so close that few could miss. The assailants +broke at last and once more the shrill notes of the brazen bugle pierced +the air. But instead of saying come, it said: "Fall back! Fall back!" +and the great clouds of smoke that had protected the Northern advance +now covered the Northern retreat. + +The firing had been so rapid and so heavy that the whole field in front +of the fort was covered with smoke, through which they caught only the +gleam of bayonets and glimpses of battle flags. But they knew that the +Northern troops were retiring, carrying with them their wounded, but +leaving the dead behind. Harry, excited and eager, was about to leap +upon the crest of the earthwork, but Colonel Talbot sharply ordered him +down. + +"You'd be killed inside of a minute!" he cried. "Carrington is out +there with the guns! As soon as their troops are far enough back he'll +open on us with the cannon, and he'll rake this fort like a hurricane +beating upon a forest. Only the earthworks will protect us from certain +destruction." + +He sent the order, fierce and sharp, along the line, for every one to +keep under cover, and there was ample proof soon that he knew his man. +The Northern infantry had retired and the smoke in front was beginning +to lift, when the figure of a tall man in blue appeared on a hillock at +the edge of the forest. Harry, who had snatched up a rifle, levelled it +instantly and took aim. But before his finger could pull the trigger +Colonel Talbot knocked it down again. + +"My God!" he exclaimed. "I was barely in time to save him! It was +Carrington himself!" + +"But he is our enemy! Our powerful enemy!" + +"Our enemy! Our official enemy, yes! But my friend! My life-long +friend! We were boys together at West Point! We slept under the same +blanket on the icy plateaux of Mexico. No, Harry, I could not let you +or any other slay him!" + +The figure disappeared from the hillock and the next moment the great +guns opened again from the forest. The orders of Colonel Talbot had +not been given a moment too soon. Huge shells and balls raked the fort +once more and the defenders crouched lower than ever in the trenches. +Harry surmised that the new cannonade was intended mainly to prevent +a possible return attack by the Southern troops, but they were too +cautious to venture from their earthworks. The Invincibles had grown +many years older in a few hours. + +When it became evident that no sally would be made from the fort, +the fire of the cannon in front ceased, and the smoke lifted, disclosing +a field black with the slain. Harry looked, shuddered and refused to +look again. But Colonel Talbot examined field and forest long and +anxiously through his glasses. + +"They are there yet, and they will remain," he announced at last. +"We have beaten back the assault. They may hold us here until a great +army comes, and with heavy loss to them, but we are yet besieged. +Carrington will not let us rest. He will send a shell to some part +of this fort every three or four minutes. You will see." + +They heard a roar and hiss a minute later, and a shell burst inside the +walls. Through all the afternoon Carrington played upon the shaken +nerves of the Invincibles. It seemed that he could make his shells hit +wherever he wished. If a recruit left a trench it was only to make a +rush for another. If their nerves settled down for a moment, that +solemn boom from the forest and the shriek of the shell made them jump +again. + +"Wonderful! Wonderful!" murmured Colonel Talbot, "but terribly trying +to new men! Carrington certainly grows better with the years." + +Harry tried to compose himself and rest, as he lay in the trench with +St. Clair and Langdon. They had had their battle face to face and all +three of them were terribly shaken, but they recovered themselves at +last, despite the shells which burst at short but irregular intervals +inside the fort. Thus the last hours of the afternoon waned, and as the +twilight came, they went more freely about the fort. + +Colonel Talbot called a conference of the senior officers in a corner +of the enclosure well under the shelter of the earthen walls, and after +some minutes of anxious talking they sent for the three youths. Harry, +St. Clair and Langdon responded with alacrity, sure that something of +the utmost importance was afoot. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE SEEKER FOR HELP + + +Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and four other officers +were in a deep alcove that had been dug just under the highest earthwork, +where they were not likely to be interrupted in their deliberations by +any fragment of an exploding shell. The only light was that of the +stars and the early moon which had now come out, but it was sufficient +to show faces oppressed by the utmost anxiety. Three other men also had +been summoned to the council. + +"We have chosen you six for an important errand," said Colonel Talbot, +"but you are to go upon it singly, and not collectively. As you see, +we are besieged here by a greatly superior force. Its assault has been +repulsed, but it will not go away. It will bombard us incessantly, and, +since we are not strong enough to break through their lines and have +limited supplies of food and water, we must fall in a day or two, +unless we get help. We want you to make your way over the hills tonight +to General Beauregard's army and bring aid. Even should five be +captured or slain the sixth may get through. Lieutenant Kenton, you +will go first. You will recall that the horses of the officers were +left on the crest of the mountain with a small guard. They may be there +yet, and if you can secure a mount, so much the better. But the moment +you leave this fort you must rely absolutely upon your own skill and +judgment." + +Harry bowed. It was a great trust and he felt elation because he had +been chosen first. He was again a courier, and he would do his best. + +"I should advise you not to take either a rifle or a sword," said +Colonel Talbot, "as they will be in the way of speed. But you'd better +have two pistols. Now, go! I send you upon a dangerous errand, but I +hope that the son of George Kenton, my old friend, will succeed. Hark! +There is Carrington again! How strangely this war arrays comrades +against one another!" + +A shell burst almost at the center of the fort, and, for a few moments, +the air was full of earth and flying fragments of steel. But in another +minute Harry made his preparations, dropped over the rear earthwork and +crouched for a little while against it. Before him stretched an open +space of several hundred yards and here he felt was his greatest danger. +The Northern sharpshooters might be lurking at the edge of the forest, +and he ran great danger of being picked off as he fled. He looked up +hopefully at the skies and saw a few clouds, but they did not promise +much. Starshine and moonshine together gave enough light for a good +sharpshooter. + +Bending until he was half stooped, he took his chance and ran across the +clearing. His flesh quivered, fearing the sudden impact of a bullet +upon it, but no crack of a rifle came and he darted into the protecting +shades of the forest. He lay a few minutes among the trees, until his +lungs filled with fresh air. Then he rose and advanced cautiously up +the slope, which lay to the south of the fort. The besieging force was +massed on the northern side of the fort, but it was probable that they +had outposts here also, to guard against such errands as the one upon +which Harry himself was bent. + +Yet he felt sure of getting through. One youth in a forest was hard +to find. The clouds at which he had looked so hopefully were really +growing a little heavier now. It would take good eyes to find him and +swift feet to catch him. He paused again halfway up the slope, and saw +a flash of flame from the Northern forest. Then came the thunderous +roar of one of Carrington's guns, all the louder in the still night, +and he saw the shell burst just over the fort. + +He knew that these guns would play all night on the Southern recruits, +allowing them but little rest and sleep and shaking their nerves still +further. + +But he must not pause for the guns. A hundred yards further and he sank +quietly into a clump of bushes. Voices had warned him and he lay quite +still while a Northern officer and twenty soldiers passed. They were so +near that he heard them talking and they spoke of the recapture of the +fort within two days at least. When they were lost among the trees he +rose and advanced more rapidly than before. + +He met no interruption until he reached the crest of the mountain, +when he ran almost into the arms of a sentinel. The man in the darkness +did not see the color of his uniform and hailed him for news. + +"Nothing," replied Harry hastily, as he darted away. "I carry a message +from our commander to a detachment stationed further on!" + +But the sentinel, catching sight of his uniform, and exclaiming: "A +Johnny Reb!" threw up his rifle and fired. Luckily for Harry it was +such a hurried shot that the bullet only made his flesh creep, and +passed on, cutting the twigs. Then Harry lifted himself up and ran. +Lifting himself up describes it truly. He had all the motives which can +make a boy run, pressing danger, love of life, devotion to his cause, +and a burning desire to do his errand. Hence he lifted his feet, +spurned the earth behind him and fled down the slope at amazing speed. +Several more shots were fired, but the bullets flew at random and did +not come near him. + +Harry did not stop until he was two or three miles from the fort, +when he knew that he was safe from anything but a chance meeting with +the Northern troops. Then he lay down under a big tree and panted. +But his breathing soon became easy, and, rising, he examined the region. +He always had a good idea of locality, and soon he found the road by +which the Invincibles had come. No one could mistake the tracks made by +the cannon wheels. He would retrace his steps on that road as fast as +he could. He saw that it was useless now to look for the men with the +horses. Fear of capture had compelled them to move long since, and a +search would merely waste time. + +He tightened his belt, squared his shoulders, and bending a little +forward, ran at a long, easy gait along the trail. He was a strong and +enduring youth, trained to the woods and hills, and, with occasional +stops for rest, he knew that he could continue until he reached the +camp at Manassas. He wondered if the others had got through. He hoped +they had, but he was still anxious to be the first who should reach +Beauregard, an ambition not unworthy on the part of youth. + +He stopped after midnight for a longer rest than usual. Colonel Talbot, +at the last moment, had made him take a small knapsack with some food +in it, and now he was grateful for his commander's foresight. He ate, +drank from a tiny brook that he heard trickling among the trees, and +felt as if he had been made anew. He wisely protracted this stop to +half an hour and then he went forward at an increased gait. + +His flight, save for short rests, continued without interruption until +morning. Always he looked about for a horse, intending in such an +emergency to take a horse by force and gallop to Beauregard. But the +country was populated very thinly and he saw none. He must continue +to rely upon his own good lungs, strong muscles, and dauntless spirit. + +Dawn came, bathing the hills in gray light and unveiling the green of +the valleys below. Then the sun showed an edge of red fire in the east, +and the full day was at hand. Harry saw below him many horsemen in +smooth array. They seemed to have just started, as a huge campfire a +little further up the valley was still burning. + +To the weary and anxious boy it seemed a most gallant command, fresh +as the dawn, splendid horses, splendid men, overflowing with life and +strength and spirits. His eyes traveled to one who was a little in +advance of all the others, and rested there. The figure that held his +gaze was scarcely modern, it was more like that of a knight of old +romance. + +He saw a young man, tall, and built very powerfully, riding upon an +immense black horse. His hair and beard were long and thick, of a +golden brown that looked like pure flowing gold in the brilliant rays of +the young sun. His coat had two rows of shining brass buttons down the +front, and was sewn thickly with gold braid. Heavy gold braid covered +the seams of his trousers and a great sash of yellow silk was tied +around his waist. Spurs of gold gleamed in the sun. Long yellow gloves +covered his hands. His hat was of the finest felt, the brim pinned back +with a golden star, while a black ostrich plume waved over the crown. + +Harry gazed at this singular and striking figure with wonder. He had +seen in the pictures knights of old France wearing such a garb as this, +and yet it did not seem so strange here. These were strange times. +Everything was out of the normal, and the brilliant colors which would +have seemed so dandyish to him at other times appealed to him now. + +He suddenly recalled that these men were in gray uniforms, and he, too, +wore a gray uniform. They were his own people, cavalry of the Southern +army. Recovering his presence of mind, he ran forward, shouting and +waving his hands. The leader was the first to notice him and gave the +order to halt. The whole command stopped with beautiful precision, +the ranks remaining even. Then the leader, looking more than ever like +a mediaeval knight, rode slowly forward on his great black horse to meet +the youth who was running to meet him. + +When Harry came near he saw that the man was young, under thirty. +He gazed steadily at the boy out of deep blue eyes, and his hair and +beard rippled like molten gold under the light breeze. + +"Who are you?" he asked. + +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton, and I am a lieutenant in the regiment +of the Invincibles, commanded by Colonel Leonidas Talbot! We were sent +to take a fort on the other side of the mountain and took it, but the +regiment is besieged there by a much larger Northern force, and I came +through in the night for help." + +The man stroked his golden beard and a light leaped up in his eye. +Any dandyish or foppish quality that he might have seemed to have +disappeared at once, and Harry saw only the soldier. + +"Ah, I have heard of this expedition," he said, "and so the Invincibles +are in a trap. We had started on another errand, but we will go to the +relief of Colonel Talbot. My name is Stuart, lad, J. E. B. Stuart, +and this is my command." + +It was Harry's first meeting with the famous Jeb Stuart, the most +picturesque of all the Southern cavalry leaders, although not superior +to the illiterate man of genius, Forrest. Stuart inspired supreme +confidence in him. His manner, the very brilliancy of his clothes, +seemed to say that here was one who would dare anything. + +"We have some extra horses," said Stuart, "you shall mount one and guide +us." + +"The country is very difficult for cavalry," said Harry. "The slopes +are steep and are wooded heavily." + +"For ordinary cavalry, yes," replied Stuart, proudly, "but these +horsemen of mine can go anywhere. But we will not rely upon cavalry +alone. I will send two men at full speed to the main army for infantry +reinforcements. Meanwhile, we will hurry forward." + +Mounted on a good horse, Harry felt like a new being, and his spirits +rose rapidly as the whole troop set off at a swift pace. He rode by the +side of Stuart, who asked him many questions. Harry saw that he was not +only brilliant and dashing, but thorough. He was planning to relieve +Colonel Talbot, but he had no intention of dashing into a trap. + +Soon they were deep in the hills and here they picked up a weary youth, +dodging about among the trees. It was St. Clair. He had run the +gauntlet, but he had been pursued so hotly that he had been forced to +lie hidden in the forest a long time. He had made his uniform look as +spruce as possible and he held himself with dignity when the horsemen +approached, but he could not conceal the fact that he was exhausted. + +"I congratulate you, Harry," he said, when he also was astride a horse. +"It is likely that you are the only one who has got through so far. +I'm quite sure that Langdon was driven back, and I don't know what has +become of the others. But it was great luck to find such a command as +this." + +He looked somewhat enviously at Jeb Stuart's magnificent raiment, +and again pulled and brushed at his own. + +"You cannot expect to equal it," said Harry, smiling. + +"Not unless my opportunities improve greatly. I must say, also, that +the colors are a little too bright for me, although they suit him. +Everything must be in harmony, Harry, and it is certainly true of Stuart +and his uniform that they are in perfect accord. Good clothes, Harry, +give one courage and backbone." + +Stuart and his men continued to advance rapidly, although they were now +deep in the hills, and Harry realized to the full that it was a splendid +command, splendid men and splendid horses, led by a cavalryman of +genius. Stuart neglected no precaution. He sent scouts ahead and threw +out flankers. When they reached the forest the ranks opened out, and, +without losing touch, a thousand men rode among the trees as easily as +they had ridden in the open fields. + +They reached the crest of the last slope and Stuart, sitting his horse +with Harry and St. Clair on either side, looked through his glasses at +the valley below. + +"Our people still hold it," he said. "I can see their gray uniforms and +I have no doubt the besiegers are still in the forest. Yes, there's +their signal!" + +The heavy report of a cannon shot rolled up the valley and Harry saw a +shell burst over the fort. Carrington was still at work, playing upon +the nerves of the defenders. + +"While we have ridden through the forest," said Stuart, "a cavalry +charge here is not possible. We must dismount, leaving one man in every +ten to hold the horses, signal to Colonel Talbot that help has come, +and then attack on foot." + +A bugler advanced on horseback at Stuart's command, blew a long and +thrilling call, and then another man beside him broke out an immense +Confederate flag. + +"They see us in the fort and recognize us," said Stuart. "Hark to the +cheer!" + +The faint sound of many voices in unison came up from the valley, +and Harry knew it to be the Invincibles expressing joy that help had +come. The fort then opened with its own guns, and Stuart's dismounted +horsemen, who were armed with carbines, advanced through the forest, +using the trees for shelter, and attacking the Northern force on the +flank. They and the Invincibles together were not strong enough to +drive off the enemy, but the heavy skirmishing lasted until the middle +of the afternoon, when a whole brigade of infantry came up from the main +army. Then the Northern troops retreated slowly and defiantly, carrying +with them all their wounded and every gun. + +"I've got to take my hat off to the mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair. "I think, Harry, that if it hadn't been for your skill +and luck in getting through we would soon have been living our lives +according to their will." + +Colonel Talbot congratulated Harry, but his words were few. + +"Lad," he said, "you have done well." + +Then he and Stuart consulted. Harry, meanwhile, found Langdon, who had +been driven back, as St Clair had suspected. He had also sustained a +slight wound in the arm, but he was rejoicing over their final success. + +"Everything happens for the best," he said. "You might have been driven +back, Harry, as I was. You might not have met Stuart. This little +wound in my arm might have been a big one in my heart. But none of +those things happened. Here I am almost unhurt, and here we are +victorious." + +"Victorious, perhaps, but without spoils," said St. Clair. "We've got +this fort, but we know it will take a big force to keep it. I don't +like the way these mill hands and mechanics fight. They hang on too +long. After we drove them out of the fort they ought to have retreated +up the valley and left us in peace. If they act this way when they're +raw, what'll they do when they are seasoned?" + +After the conference with Colonel Talbot, Stuart and his cavalry pursued +the Northern force up the valley, not for attack, but for observation. +Stuart came back at nightfall and reported that their retreat was +covered by the heavy guns, and, if they were attacked with much success, +it must be done by at least five thousand men. + +"Carrington again," said Colonel Talbot, smiling and rubbing his hands. +"You and your horsemen, Stuart, could never get a chance at the Northern +recruits, unless you rode first over Carrington's guns. From whatever +point you approached their muzzles would be sure to face you." + +"The colonel is undoubtedly right about his friend Carrington," said +St. Clair to Harry and Langdon. "I guess those guns scared us more +than anything else." + +Stuart and his command left them about midnight. A brilliant moon and a +myriad of stars made the night so bright that Harry saw for a long time +the splendid man on the splendid horse, leading his men to some new +task. Then he lay down and slept heavily until dawn. They remained in +the fort two days longer, and then came an order from Beauregard for +them to abandon it, and rejoin the main army. The shifting of forces +had now made the place useless to either side, and the Invincibles and +their new comrades gladly marched back over the mountain and into the +lowlands. + +Harry found a letter from his father awaiting him. Colonel Kenton was +now in Tennessee, where he had been joined by a large number of recruits +from Kentucky. He would have preferred to have his son with him, +but he was far from sure of his own movements. The regiment might yet +be sent to the east. There was great uncertainty about the western +commanders, and the Confederate resistance there had not solidified as +it had in the east. + +Harry expected prompt action on the Virginia field, but it did not come. +The two armies lay facing each other for many days. June deepened and +the days grew hot. Off in the mountains to the west there were many +skirmishes, with success divided about equally. So far as Harry could +tell, these encounters meant nothing. Their own battle at the fort +meant nothing, either. The fort was now useless, and the two sides +faced each other as before. Some of the Invincibles, however, were +gone forever. Harry missed young comrades whom he had learned to like. +But in the great stir of war, when one day in its effects counted as ten, +their memories faded fast. It was impossible, when a boy was a member +of a great army facing another great army, to remember the fallen long. +Although the long summer days passed without more fighting, there was +something to do every hour. New troops were arriving almost daily and +they must be broken in. Intrenchments were dug and abandoned for new +intrenchments elsewhere, which were abandoned in their turn for +intrenchments yet newer. They moved to successive camps, but meanwhile +they became physically tougher and more enduring. + +The life in the open air agreed with Harry wonderfully. He had already +learned from Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire how to +take care of himself, and he and St. Clair and Langdon suffered from +none of the diseases to which young soldiers are so susceptible. +But the long delays and uncertainties preyed upon them, although they +made no complaint except among themselves, and then they showed irony +rather than irritation. + +"Sleeping out here under the trees is good," said Langdon, "but it isn't +like sleeping in the White House at Washington, which, as I told you +before, I've chosen as my boarding house for the coming autumn." + +"There may be a delay in your plans, Tom," said Harry. "I'd make them +flexible if I were you." + +"I intend to carry 'em out sooner or later. What's that you're reading, +Arthur?" + +"A New York newspaper. I won't let you see it, Tom, but I'll read +portions of it to you. I'll have to expurgate it or you'd have a rush +of blood to the head, you're so excitable. It makes a lot of fun of us. +Tells that old joke, 'hay foot, straw foot,' when we drill. Says the +Yankees now have three hundred thousand men under the best of commanders, +and that the Yankee fleet will soon close up all our ports. Says a belt +of steel will be stretched about us." + +"Then," said Langdon, "just as soon as they get that belt of steel +stretched we'll break it in two in a half dozen places. But go on with +those feats of fancy that you're reading from that paper." + +"Makes fun of our government. Says McDowell will be in Richmond in a +month." + +"Just the time that Tom gives himself to get into Washington," +interrupted Harry. "But go on." + +"Makes fun of our army, too, especially of us South Carolinians. +Says we've brought servants along to spread tents for us, load our guns +for us, and take care of us generally. Says that even in war we won't +work." + +"They're right, so far as Tom is concerned," said Harry. "We're going +to give him a watch as the laziest man among the Invincibles." + +"It's not laziness, it's wisdom," said Langdon. "What's the use of +working when you don't have to, especially in a June as hot as this one +is? I conserve my energy. Besides, I'm going to take care of myself +in ways that you fellows don't know anything about. Watch me." + +He took his clasp-knife and dug a little hole in the ground. Then he +repeated over it solemnly and slowly: + + "God made man and man made money; + God made the bee and the bee made honey; + God made Satan and Satan made sin; + God made a little hole to put the devil in." + +"What do you mean by that, Tom?" asked Harry. "I learned it from some +fellows over in a Maryland company. It's a charm that the children in +that state have to ward off evil. I've a great belief in the instincts +of children, and I'm protecting myself against cannon and rifles in the +battle that's bound to come. Say, you fellows do it, too. I'm not +superstitious, I wouldn't dream of depending on such things, but anyway, +a charm don't hurt. Now go ahead; just to oblige me." + +Harry and St. Clair dug their holes and repeated the lines. Langdon +sighed with relief. + +"It won't do any harm and it may do some good," he said. + +They were interrupted by an orderly who summoned Harry to Colonel +Talbot's tent. The colonel had complimented the boy on his energy +and courage in bringing Stuart to his relief, when he was besieged +in the fort, and he had also received the official thanks of General +Beauregard. Proud of his success, he was anxious for some new duty +of an active nature, and he hoped that it was at hand. Langdon and +St. Clair looked at him enviously. + +"He ought to have sent for us, too," said Langdon. "Colonel Talbot has +too high an opinion of you, Harry." + +"I've been lucky," said Harry, as he walked lightly away. He found that +Colonel Talbot was not alone in his tent. General Beauregard was there +also. "You have proved yourself, Lieutenant Kenton," said General +Beauregard in flattering and persuasive tones. "You did well in the far +south and you performed a great service when you took relief to Colonel +Talbot. For that reason we have chosen you for a duty yet more arduous." + +Beauregard paused as if he were weighing the effect of his words upon +Harry. He had a singular charm of manner when he willed and now he used +it all. Colonel Talbot looked keenly at the boy. + +"You have shown coolness and judgment," continued Beauregard, "and they +are invaluable qualities for such a task as the one we wish you to +perform." + +"I shall do my best, whatever it is," said Harry, proudly. + +"You know that we have spent the month of June here, waiting," continued +General Beauregard in those soft, persuasive tones, "and that the +fighting, what there is of it, has been going on in the mountains to the +west. But this state of affairs cannot endure much longer. We have +reason to believe that the Northern advance in great force will soon +be made, but we wish to know, meanwhile, what is going on behind their +lines, what forces are coming down from Washington, what is the state of +their defenses, and any other information that you may obtain. If you +can get through their lines you can bring us news which may have vital +results." + +He paused and looked thoughtfully at the boy. His manner was that of +one conferring a great honor, and the impression upon Harry was strong. +But he remembered. This was the duty of a spy, or something like it. +He recalled Shepard and the risk he ran. Spies die ingloriously. +Yet he might do a great service. Beauregard read his mind. + +"We ask you to be a scout, not a spy," he said. "You may ride in your +own uniform, and, if you are taken, you will merely be a prisoner of +war." + +Harry's last doubt disappeared. + +"I will do my best, sir," he said. + +"No one can do more," said Beauregard. + +"When do you wish me to start?" + +"As soon as you can get ready. How long will that be? Your horse will +be provided for you." + +"In a half hour." + +"Good," said Beauregard. "Now, I will leave you with Colonel Talbot, +who will give you a few parting instructions." + +He left the tent, but, as he went, gave Harry a strong clasp of the hand. + +"Now, my boy," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, when they were alone in the +tent, "I've but little more to say to you. It is an arduous task that +you've undertaken, and one full of danger. You must temper courage +with caution. You will be of no use to our cause unless you come back. +And, Harry, you are your father's son; I want to see you come back for +your own sake, too. Good-bye, your horse will be waiting." + +Harry quickly made ready. St. Clair and Langdon, burning with curiosity, +besieged him with questions, but he merely replied that he was riding on +an errand for Colonel Talbot. He did not know when he would come back, +but if it should be a long time they must not forget him. + +"A long time?" said St. Clair. "A long time, Harry, means that you've +got a dangerous mission. We'll wish you safely through it, old fellow." + +"And don't forget the charm!" exclaimed Langdon. "Of course I don't +believe in such foolishness, I wouldn't think of it for a minute, but, +anyway, they don't do any harm. Good-bye and God bless you, Harry." + +"The same from me, Harry," said St. Clair. + +The strong grip of their hands still thrilled his blood as he rode away. +His pass carried him through the Southern lines, and then he went toward +the northwest, intending to pass through the hills, and reach the rear +of the Northern force. He carried no rifle, and his gray uniform, +somewhat faded now, would not attract distant attention. Still, he did +not care to be observed even by non-combatants, and he turned his horse +into the first stretch of forest that he could reach. + +Harry, being young, felt the full importance of his errand, but it was +vague in its nature. He was to follow his own judgment and discover +what was going on between the Northern army and Washington, no very +great distance. When he was well hidden within the forest he stopped +and considered. He might meet Federal scouts on errands like his own, +but the horse they had given him was a powerful animal, and he had +good weapons in his belt. It was Virginia soil, too, and the people, +generally, were in sympathy with the South. He relied upon this fact +more than upon any other. + +The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest of +a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin for +profitable cultivation. Yet the growth of trees and bushes was heavy, +and Harry decided to keep in the middle of it, as long as it continued +northward in the direction in which he was going. He found a narrow +path among the trees, and with his hand on a pistol butt he rode +along it. + +He expected to meet some one, but evidently the war had driven away all +who used the path, and he continued in a welcome silence and desolation. +Coming from an army where he always heard many sounds, this silence +impressed him at last. Here in the woods there was a singular peace. +The June sun had been hot that year in Virginia, but in the sheltered +places the leaves were not burned. A moist, fresh greenness enclosed +him and presently he heard the trickle of running water. + +He came to a little brook, not more than a foot wide and only two or +three inches deep, but running joyfully over its pebbly bottom. Both +Harry and his horse drank of the water, which was cold, and then they +went with the stream, which followed the slow downward slope of the hill +toward the north. After a mile, he turned to the edge of the forest and +looked over the valley. He caught his breath at the great panorama of +green hills and of armies upon them that was spread out before him. +Down there under the southern horizon were the long lines of his own +people, and toward Washington, but much nearer to him, were the lines +of a detachment of the Northern army. Between, he caught the flash of +water from Bull Run, Young's Branch and the lesser streams. Behind the +Northern force the sun glinted on a long line of bayonets and he knew +that it was made by a regiment marching to join the others. The +spectacle, with all the somber aspects of war, softened by the distance, +was inspiring. Harry drew a long breath and then another. It was in +truth more like a spectacle than war's actuality. He counted five +colonial houses, white and pillared, standing among green trees and +shrubbery. Smoke was rising from their chimneys, as if the people who +lived in them were going about their peaceful occupations. + +He turned back into the forest, and rode until he came to its end, +two or three miles further on. Here the brook darted down through +pasture land to merge its waters finally into those of Bull Run. +Harry left it regretfully. It had been a good comrade with its pleasant +chatter over the pebbles. + +Two miles of open country lay before him, and beyond was another cloak +of trees. He decided to ride for the forest, and remain there until +dark. He would not then be more than fifteen miles from Washington, +and he could make the remaining distance under the cover of darkness. +He followed a narrow road between two fields, in one of which he saw a +farmer ploughing, an old man, gnarled and knotty, whose mind seemed bent +wholly upon his work. He was ploughing young corn, and although he +could not keep from seeing Harry, he took no apparent notice of him. + +The boy rode on, but the picture of the grim old man ploughing between +the two armies lingered with him. The fence enclosing the two fields +was high, staked, and ridered, and presently he was glad of it. He +beheld on a hill to his right, about a half mile away, four horsemen, +and the color of their uniforms was blue. He bent low over his horse +that they might not see him, and rode on, the pulses in his temples +beating heavily. He was glad that gray was not an assertive color, +and he was glad that his own gray had been faded by the hot June sun. + +Half way to the protecting wood he saw one of the men on the hill, +undoubtedly an officer, put glasses to his eyes. Harry was sure at +first that he had been discovered, but the man turned the glasses on +Beauregard's camp, and the boy rode on unnoticed, praying that the +same luck would attend him in the other half of the distance. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN WASHINGTON + + +A quarter of a mile from the forest, the wood ascended considerably, +throwing him into relief. He felt some shivers here, as he did not know +who might be watching him. Field glasses were ugly things when a man +was trying to hide. He glanced at the little group that he had seen +on the hill, and he noticed now that the officer with the glasses was +looking at him. But Harry was a long distance away, and he had the +courage and prudence of mind to keep from falling into a panic. He did +not believe that they could tell the color of his uniform at that range, +but if he whipped his horse into a gallop, pursuit would certainly come +from somewhere. + +He rode slowly on, letting his figure sway negligently, and he did not +look back again at the group on the hill, where the officer was watching +him. But he looked from side to side, fearing that horsemen in blue +might appear galloping across the fields. It was a supreme test of +nerve and will. More than once he felt an almost irresistible +temptation to lash his horse and gallop for the wood as hard as he +could. That wood seemed wonderfully deep and dark, fit to hide any +fugitive. But it had acquired an extraordinary habit of moving further +and further away. He had to exert his will so hard that his hand fairly +trembled on his bridle rein. Yet he remained master of himself, and +went on sitting the saddle in the slouchy attitude that he had adopted +when he knew himself to be observed. + +The wood was only three or four hundred yards away, when far to his left +he saw several horsemen appear on a slope, and he was quite sure that +their uniforms were blue. The distance to the wood was now so short +that the temptation to gallop was powerful, but he still resisted. +Pride, too, helped him and he did not increase the pace of his horse a +particle. He saw the dark, cool shadow very near now, and he thought he +heard one of the new horsemen on his left shout to him. But he would +not look around. Preserving appearances to the last, he rode into the +forest, and its heavy shadows enveloped him. + +He stopped a moment under the trees and wiped the perspiration from his +forehead. He was also seized with a violent fit of trembling, but it +was over in a half minute, and then turning his horse from the path he +rode into the densest part of the forest. + +Harry felt an immense relief. He knew that he might be followed, +but he did not consider it probable. It was more than likely that he +passed for some countryman riding homeward. Martial law had not yet +covered all the hills with a network of iron rules. So he rode on +boldly, and he noticed with satisfaction that the forest seemed to be +extensive and dense. Night, heavy with clouds, was coming, too, and +soon he would be so well hidden that only chance would enable an enemy +to find him. + +In a half hour he stopped and took his bearings as best he could. +It seemed to be a wild bit of country. He judged that it was ground +cropped too much in early times, and left to grow into wilderness again. +He was not likely to find anything in it save a hut or two of charcoal +burners. It was a lonely region, very desolate now, with the night +birds calling. The clouds grew heavier and he would have been glad of +shelter, but he put down the wish, recalling to himself with a sort of +fierceness that he was a soldier and must scorn such things. Moreover, +it behooved him to make most of his journey in the night, and this +forest, which ran almost to Washington, seemed to be provided for his +approach. + +He had fixed the direction of Washington firmly in his mind, and having +a good idea of location, he kept his horse going at a good walk toward +his destination. As his eyes, naturally strong, grew used to the forest, +and his horse was sure of foot, they were able to go through the bushes +without much trouble. He stopped at intervals to listen for a possible +enemy--or friend--but heard nothing except the ordinary sounds of the +forest. + +By and by a wind rose and blew all the clouds away. A shining moon and +a multitude of brilliant stars sprang out. Just then Harry came to a +hillock, clear of trees, with the ground dipping down beyond. He rode +to the highest point of the hillock and looked toward the east into a +vast open world, lighted by the moon and stars. Off there just under +the horizon he caught a gleam of white and he knew instinctively what +it was. It was the dome of the Capitol in that city which was now the +capital of the North alone. It was miles away, but he saw it and his +heart thrilled. He forgot, for the moment, that by his own choice it +was no longer his own. + +Harry sat on his horse and looked a long time at that far white glow, +deep down under the horizon. There was the capital of his own country, +the real capital. Somehow he could not divest himself of that idea, +and he looked until mists and vapors began to float up from the lowlands, +and the white gleam was lost behind them. Then he rode on slowly and +thoughtfully, trying to think of a plan that would bring rich rewards +for the cause for which he was going to fight. + +He had discovered something already. He had seen the bayonets of a +regiment marching to join the Northern army, and he had no doubt that he +would see others. Perhaps they would consider themselves strong enough +in a day or two to attack. It was for him to learn. He was back in the +forest and he now turned his course more toward the east. By dawn he +would be well in the rear of the Northern army, and he must judge then +how to act. + +But all his calculations were upset by a very simple thing, one of +Nature's commonest occurrences--rain. The heavy clouds that had +gathered early in the night were gone away merely for a time. Now they +came back in battalions, heavier and more numerous than ever. The +shining moon and the brilliant stars were blotted out as if they had +never been. A strong wind moaned and a cold rain came pouring into +his face. The blanket that he carried on his saddle, and which he +now wrapped around him, could not protect him. The fierce rain drove +through it and he was soaked and shivering. The darkness, too, was so +great that he could see only a few yards before him, and he let the +horse take his course. + +Harry thought grimly that he was indeed well hidden in the forest. +He was so well hidden that he was lost even to himself. In all that +darkness and rain he could not retain the sense of direction, and he had +no idea where he was. He rambled about for hours, now and then trying +to find shelter behind massive tree trunks, and, after every failure, +going on in the direction in which he thought Washington lay. His +shivering became so strong that he was afraid it would turn into a real +chill, and he resolved to seek a roof, if the forest should hold such a +thing. + +It was nearly dawn when he saw dimly the outlines of a cabin standing +in a tiny clearing. He believed it to be the hut of a charcoal burner, +and he was resolved to take any risk for the sake of its roof. He +dismounted and beat heavily upon the door with the butt of a pistol. +The answer was so long in coming that he began to believe the hut was +empty, which would serve his purpose best of all, but at last a voice, +thick with sleep, called: "Who's there?" + +"I'm lost and I need shelter," Harry replied. + +"Wait a minute," returned the voice. + +Harry, despite the beat of the rain, heard a shuffling inside, and then, +through a crack in the door, he saw a light spring up. He hoped the +owner of the voice would hurry. The rain seemed to be beating harder +than ever upon him and the cold was in his bones. Then the door was +thrown back suddenly and an uncommonly sharp voice shouted: + +"Drop the reins! Throw up your hands an' walk in, where I kin see what +you are!" + +Harry found himself looking into the muzzle of an old-fashioned +long-barreled rifle. But the hammer was cocked, and it was held by a +pair of large, calloused, and steady hands, belonging to a tall, thin +man with powerful shoulders and a bearded face. + +There was no help for it. The boy dropped the reins, raised his hands +over his head and walked into the hut, where the rain at least did not +reach him. It was a rude place of a single room, with a fire-place at +one end, a bed in a corner, a small pine table on which a candle burned, +and clothing and dried herbs hanging from hooks on the wall. The man +wore only a shirt and trousers, and he looked unkempt and wild, but he +was a resolute figure. + +"Stand over thar, close to the light, whar I kin see you," he said. + +Harry moved over, and the muzzle of the rifle followed him. The man +could look down the sights of his rifle and at the same time examine his +visitor, which he did with thoroughness. + +"Now, then, Johnny Reb," he said, "what are you doin' here this time o' +night an' in such weather as this, wakin' honest citizens out o' their +beds?" + +"Nothing but stand before the muzzle of your rifle." + +The man grinned. The answer seemed to appeal to him, and he lowered the +weapon, although he did not relax his watchfulness. + +"I got the drop on you, Johnny Reb; you're boun' to admit that," he +said. "You didn't ketch Seth Perkins nappin'." + +"I admit it. But why do you call me Johnny Reb?" + +"Because that's what you are. You can't tell much about the color of +a man's coat after it's been through sech a big rain, but I know yourn +is gray. I ain't takin' no part in this war. They've got to fight it +as best they kin without me. I'm jest an innercent charcoal burner, +'bout the most innercent that ever lived, I guess, but atween you an' me, +Johnny Reb, my feelin's lean the way my state, Old Virginny, leans, +that is, to the South, which I reckon is lucky fur you." + +Harry saw that the man had blue eyes and he saw, too, that they were +twinkling. He knew with infallible instinct that he was honest and +truthful. + +"It's true," he said. "I'm a Southern soldier, and I'm in your hands." + +"I see that you trust me, an' I think I kin trust you. Jest you wait +'til I put that hoss o' yourn in the lean-to behind the cabin." + +He darted out of the door and returned in a minute shaking the water +from his body. + +"That hoss feels better already," he said, "an' you will, too, soon. +Now, I shet this door, then I kindle up the fire ag'in, then you take +off your clothes an' put them an' yo'self afore the blaze. In time you +an' your clothes are all dry." + +The man's manner was all kindness, and the poor little cabin had become +a palace. He blew at the coals, threw on dry pine knots, and in a few +minutes the flames roared up the chimney. + +Harry took off his wet clothing, hung it on two cane chairs before the +fire and then proceeded to roast himself. Warmth poured back into his +body and the cold left his bones. Despite his remonstrances, Perkins +took a pot out of his cupboard and made coffee. Harry drank two cups of +it, and he knew now that the danger of chill, to be followed by fever, +was gone. + +"Mr. Perkins," he said at length, "you are an angel." + +Perkins laughed. + +"Mebbe I air," he said, "but I 'low I don't look like one. Guess ef I +went up an' tried to j'in the real angels Gabriel would say, 'Go back, +Seth Perkins, an' improve yo'self fur four or five thousand years afore +you try to keep comp'ny like ours.' But now, Johnny Reb, sence you're +feelin' a heap better you might tell what you wuz tryin' to do, prowlin' +roun' in these woods at sech a time." + +"I meant to go behind the Yankee army, see what reinforcements were +coming up, find out their plans, if I could, and report to our general." + +Perkins whistled softly. + +"Say," he said, "you look like a boy o' sense. What are you wastin' +your time in little things fur? Couldn't you find somethin' bigger an' +a heap more dangerous that would stir you up an' give you action?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I was set to do this task, Mr. Perkins," he said, "and I mean to do it." + +"That shows good sperrit, but ef I wuz set to do it I wouldn't. Do you +know whar you are an' what's around you, Johnny Reb?" + +"No, I don't." + +"Wa'al, you're right inside o' the Union lines. The armies o' Patterson +an' McDowell hem in all this forest, an' I reckon mebbe it wuz a good +thing fur you that the storm came up an' you got past in it. Wuz you +expectin', Johnny Reb, to ride right into the Yankee pickets with that +Confedrit uniform on?" + +"I don't know exactly what I intended to do. I meant to see in the +morning. I didn't know I was so far inside their lines." + +"You know it now, an' if you're boun' to do what you say you're settin' +out to do, then you've got to change clothes. Here, I'll take these an' +hide 'em." + +He snatched Harry's uniform from the chair, ran up a ladder into a +little room under the eaves, and returned with some rough garments under +his arm. + +"These are my Sunday clothes," he said. "You're pow'ful big fur your +years, an' they'll come purty nigh fittin' you. Leastways, they'll fit +well enough fur sech times ez these. Now you wear 'em, ef you put any +value on your life." + +Harry hesitated. He wished to go as a scout, and not as a spy. Clothes +could not change a man, but they could change his standing. Yet the +words of Perkins were obviously true. But he would not go back. +He must do his task. + +"I'll take your clothes on one condition, Mr. Perkins," he said, "you +must let me pay for them." + +"Will it make you feel better to do so?" + +"A great deal better." + +"All right, then." + +Harry took from his saddle bags the purse which he had removed from his +coat pocket when he undressed, and handed a ten dollar gold piece to the +charcoal burner. + +"What is it?" asked the charcoal burner. + +"A gold eagle, ten dollars." + +"I've heard of 'em, but it's the first I've ever seed. I'm bound to say +I regard that shinin' coin with a pow'ful sight o' respeck. But if I +take it I'm makin' three dollars. Them clothes o' mine jest cost seven +dollars an' I've wore 'em four times." + +"Count the three dollars in for shelter and gratitude and remember, +you've made your promise." + +Perkins took the coin, bit it, pitched it up two or three times, +catching it as it fell, and then put it upon the hearth, where the +blaze could gleam upon it. + +"It's shorely a shiner," he said, "an' bein' that it's the first I've +ever had, I reckon I'll take good care of it. Wait a minute." + +He picked up the coin again, ran up the ladder into the dark eaves of +the house, and came back without it. + +"Now, Johnny Reb," he said, "put on my clothes and see how you feel." + +Harry donned the uncouth garb, which fitted fairly well after he had +rolled up the trousers a little. + +"You'd pass for a farmer," said Perkins. "I fed your hoss when I put +him up, an' as soon as the rain's over you kin start ag'in, a sight +safer than you wuz when you wore that uniform. Ef you come back this +way ag'in I'll give it to you. Now, you'd better take a nap. I'll call +you when the rain stops." + +Harry felt that he had indeed fallen into the hands of a friend, and +stretching himself on a pallet which the charcoal burner spread in front +of the fire, he soon fell asleep. He awoke when Perkins shook his +shoulder and found that it was dawn. + +"The rain's stopped, day's come an' I guess you'd better be goin'" +said the man. "I've got breakfast ready for you, an' I hope, boy, +that you'll get through with a whole skin. I said that both sides would +have to fight this war without my help, but I don't mind givin' a boy +a hand when he needs it." + +Harry did not say much, but he was deeply grateful. After breakfast he +mounted his horse, received careful directions from Perkins and rode +toward Washington. The whole forest was fresh and green after its heavy +bath, and birds, rejoicing in the morning, sang in every bush. Harry's +elation returned. Clothes impart a certain quality, and, dressed in +a charcoal burner's Sunday best, he began to bear himself like one. +He rode in a slouchy manner, and he transferred the pistols from his +belt to the large inside pockets of his new coat. As he passed in an +hour from the forest into a rolling open country, he saw that Perkins +had advised him wisely. Dressed in the Confederate uniform he would +certainly have had trouble before he made the first mile. + +He saw the camps of troops both to right and left and he knew that these +were the flank of the Northern army. Then from the crest of another +hill he caught his second view of Washington. The gleam from the dome +of the Capitol was much more vivid now, and he saw other white buildings +amid the foliage. Since he had become technically a spy through the +mere force of circumstances, Harry took a daring resolve. He would +enter Washington itself. They were all one people, Yanks and Johnny +Rebs, and no one could possibly know that he was from the Southern army. +Only one question bothered him. He did not know what to do with the +horse. + +But he rode briskly ahead, trusting that the problem of the horse would +solve itself, and, as he turned a field, several men in blue uniforms +rode forward and ordered him to halt. Harry obeyed promptly. + +"Where are you going?" asked the leading man, a minor officer. + +"To Washin'ton," replied the boy in the uncouth language that he thought +fitted his role. + +"And what are you going to Washington for?" + +"To sell this hoss," replied Harry, on the impulse of the moment. +"I raised him myself, but he's too fine fur me to ride, specially when +hosses are bringin' sech good prices." + +"He is a fine animal," said the officer, looking at him longingly. +"Do you want to sell him now?" + +Harry shook his head. + +"No," he replied. "I'm goin' to make one o' them big bugs in Washin'ton +pay fur him an' pay fur him good." + +The officer laughed. + +"You're not such a simpleton as you look," he said. "You're right. +They'll pay you more for him in the capital than I could. Ride on. +They may pass you over Long Bridge or they may not. That part of it +is not my business." + +Harry went forward at a trot, glad enough to leave such dangerous +company behind. But he saw that he was now in the very thick of mighty +risks. He would encounter a menace at every turn. Had he realized +fully the character of his undertaking when he was in the charcoal +burner's hut he would have hesitated long. Now, there was nothing to +do but go ahead and take his fate, whatever it might be. + +Yet his tale of wishing to sell a horse served him well. After a few +questions, it passed him by a half dozen interruptions, and he became so +bold that he stopped and bought food for his noon-day meal at a little +wayside tavern kept by a woman. Three or four countrymen were lounging +about and all of them were gossips. But Harry found it worth while to +listen to their gossip. It was their business to carry vegetables and +other provisions into Washington for sale and they picked up much news. +They said that the Northern government was pushing all its troops to the +front. All the politicians and writers in Washington were clamoring for +a battle. One blow and "Jeff Davis and Secession" would be smashed to +atoms. Harry's young blood flamed at the contemptuous words, but he +could not afford to show any resentment. Yet this was valuable +information. He could confirm Beauregard's belief that an attack would +soon be made in great force. + +When Harry left them he turned again to the left, as he saw a stretch of +country rolling and apparently wooded lying in that direction. Once, +when a young boy, he had come to Washington with his father for a stay +of several weeks, and he had a fair acquaintance with the region about +the capital. He knew that forested hills lay ahead of him and beyond +them the Potomac. + +In another hour he was in the hills, which he found without people. +Through every opening in the leaves he saw Washington and he could also +discern long lines of redoubts on the Virginia side of the river. + +Late in the afternoon he came to a small, abandoned log cabin. He +inferred that its owner had moved away because of the war. As nearly as +he could judge it had not been occupied for several weeks. Back of it +was a small meadow enclosed with a rail fence, but everything else was +deep woods. He turned his horse into the meadow and left his saddle, +bridle and saddle blanket in the house. He might not find anything when +he returned, but he must take the risk. + +Then he set off at a brisk pace through the woods, which opened out a +little after dusk, and disclosed a great pillared white house, with +surrounding outbuildings. He knew at once that this was Arlington, +the home of one of the Southern generals, Lee, of whom he had heard his +father speak well. + +But he also saw, despite the dusk, blue uniforms and the gleam of +bayonets. And as he looked he saw, too, earthworks and the signs that +many men were present. He lay long among the bushes until the night +thickened and darkened and he resolved to inspect the earthworks +thoroughly. No very strict watch seemed to be kept, and, in truth, +it did not seem to be needed here so near to Washington, and so far +away from the Southern army. + +Before ten o'clock everything settled into quiet, and he cautiously +climbed a great beech which was in full and deep foliage. The boughs +were so many and the leaves so dense that one standing directly under +him could not have seen him. But he went up as far as he could go, and, +crouched there, made a comprehensive survey. + +It was a fine moonlight night and he saw the earthworks stretching for a +long distance, thorough and impregnable to anything except a great army. +Beyond that was a silver band which was the Potomac, and beyond the +river were the clustered roofs which were Washington. But he turned his +eyes back to the earthworks, and he tried to fasten firmly in his mind +their number and location. This, too, would be important news, most +welcome to Beauregard. + +The boy's elation grew. They had given him a delicate and dangerous +task, but he was doing it. He had overcome every obstacle so far, +and he would overcome them to the end. He was bound to enter that +Washington which, in the distance, seemed to lie in such a close cluster. + +He felt that he had lingered long enough at Arlington, and, descending, +he made a great curve around the earthworks, coming to the river north +of Arlington. His next problem was the passage of the Potomac. He did +not dare to try Long Bridge, which he knew would be guarded strictly, +but he thought he might find some boatman who would take him over. +As the capital was so crowded, the farmers were continually crossing +with loads of provisions, and now that an uncommonly hot July had come +the night would be a favorite time for the passage. + +A search up and down the bank brought its reward. A Virginian, who said +his name was Grimes, had a heavy boat filled with vegetables, and Harry +was welcome as a helper. + +"It's a dollar for you," said Grimes, who did not trouble to ask the boy +his name, "an' here are your oars." + +The two, pulling strongly, shot the boat out into the stream, and then +rowed in a diagonal line for the city, which rose up brilliant and great +in the moonlight. Other boats were in the river, but they paid no +attention to the barge, loaded with produce, and rowed by two innocent +countrymen. They soon reached the Washington shore, and Grimes handed +Harry a silver dollar. + +"You're a strong young fellow," he said, "an' I guess you've earned the +money. My farm is only four miles up the river an' thar's goin' to be a +big market for all I kin raise. I need a good han' to help me work it. +How'd you like to come with me an' take a good job, while them that +don't know no better go ahead an' do the fightin'?" + +"Thank you for your offer," replied Harry, "but I've got business to +attend to in Washington." + +He slipped the dollar into his pocket, because he had earned it honestly, +and entered Washington, just as the rising sun began to gild domes and +roofs. Coming from the boat, his appearance aroused no suspicion. +People were pouring into Washington then as they were pouring into the +Confederate capital at Richmond. One dressed as he, and looking as he, +could enter or depart almost as he pleased, despite the ring of +fortifications. + +Up went the sun, and the full day came, extremely hot and clear. +Harry turned into a little restaurant, and spent half of his well-earned +dollar for breakfast. Neither proprietor nor waiter gave him more +than a casual glance. Evidently they were used to serving countrymen. +Harry, feeling refreshed and strong again, paid for his food and went +outside. + +The streets were thronged. He had expected nothing else, but there was +a great air of excitement and expectancy as if something important were +going to happen. + +"What is it?" asked Harry of a man beside him. + +"Don't you know what day this is?" asked the man. + +"I've forgot," replied the boy in the slouchy speech and intonation of +the hills. "I jest came in with dad this mornin', bringin' a wagon load +of fresh vegetables." + +"You look as foolish as you talk," said the man scornfully. "This +is the Fourth of July, and the special session of Congress called by +President Lincoln is to meet this morning and decide how to give the +rebels the thrashing they need." + +"I did hear somethin' about that," replied Harry, "but workin' in the +field I furgot all about it. I 'low I'll stroll that way." + +He drifted on with the crowd toward the Capitol, which rose nobler and +more imposing than ever, a great marble building, gleaming white in the +sunshine. Harry's heart throbbed. He could not yet dissociate himself +from the idea that he, as one of the nation, was a part owner of the +Capitol. But, forgetting all danger, he persisted in his errand. +A great event was about to occur, and he intended to see it. + +There were soldiers everywhere. The streets blazed with uniforms, +but the people were allowed to gather about the Capitol and many also +entered. A friendly sentinel passed Harry, who stood for a few moments +in the rotunda. He was careful to keep near other spectators, in order +that he might not attract attention to himself. + +All things that he saw cut sharply into his sensitive and eager mind. +It was in truth an extraordinary situation for one who had come as he +had come, and he waited, calm of face, but with every pulse beating. +The comments of the other spectators told him who the famous men were +as they entered. Here were Cameron and Wade of the lowering brows. +There passed Taney, the venerable Chief Justice, and then dry and quiet +Hamlin, the Vice-President, on his way to preside over the Senate, +went by. A tall and magnificent figure in a general's uniform next +attracted Harry's attention. He was an old man, but he held himself +very erect and his head was crowned with splendid snowy hair. + +"Old Fuss and Feathers," said a man near Harry, and the boy knew that +this was General Scott, the Virginian, who had led the famous and +victorious march into the City of Mexico, and who was now in name, +but in name only, commander of the Northern army. His father had served +under him in those memorable battles and Harry looked at him with a +certain veneration, as the old man passed on and disappeared in another +room. Then came more, some famous and others destined to be so. + +The atmosphere of the great building was surcharged. Harry and his +comrades had heard that the North was discouraged, that the people +would not fight, that they would "let the erring sisters go in peace." +It did not seem so to him here. The talk was all of war and of invading +the South, and he seemed to feel a tenacious spirit behind it. + +He managed to secure entrance to the lobbies of both Senate and House, +and he listened for a while to the debates. He discovered the same +spirit there. He felt that he had a right to report not only on the +forts of Washington and the movements of brigades, but also on the +temper in the North. Resolution and tenacity, he now saw, were worth +as much as cannon balls. + +Harry did not leave the Capitol until the middle of the afternoon, +when he drifted back to the restaurant at which he had obtained his +breakfast, where he spent the other half of the dollar for luncheon. +Then he resolved to escape from Washington that night. He had picked up +by casual talk and observation together a fair knowledge of Washington's +defenses. Above all he had learned that the North was pouring troops in +an unbroken stream into the capital, and that the great advance on the +line of Bull Run would take place very soon. He could scarcely expect +to achieve more; he had already surpassed his hopes, and it was surely +time to go. + +He left the restaurant. The streets were still crowded, and he saw +standing at the nearest corner a figure that seemed familiar. He took a +long look, and then he was shaken with alarm. It was Shepard. He had +seen him under such tense conditions that he could never forget the man. +The turn of his shoulders, the movement of his head--all were familiar. +And Harry had a great respect for the keenness and intelligence of +Shepard. He could not forget how Shepard had talked to him that night +in Montgomery. There was something uncanny about the man, and he had a +sudden conviction that Shepard had seen him long since and was watching +him. He thrust his hands into his capacious pockets. The pistols were +still there, and he resolved that he would use them if need be. + +He went at first toward the Potomac, and he did not look back for a +long time, rambling about the streets in a manner apparently aimless. +Now and then a quiver ran down his back, and he knew it was due to the +mental fear that Shepard was pursuing. When he did look back at last he +did not see him, and he felt immediate elation. It would not be long +now until dark, and then he would make his escape across the river. + +Time was slow, but it could not keep darkness back forever, and, as soon +as it had come fully, he turned toward the north. Southern troops would +not be looked for there, and egress would be easier in that direction. +He passed on without interruption and soon was in the suburbs, which +were then so shabby. Then he looked back, and cold fear plucked at the +roots of his hair. A man was following him, and he could tell even in +the dim light that it was Shepard. + +A shudder shook him now. A rope was the fate for a spy. But he +recovered himself and walked on faster than ever. The cabins thinned +away, and he saw before him bushes. His keen hearing brought to him +the soft sound of the pursuing footsteps. Now he took his resolution. +There were few games at which two could not play. + +He passed between two bushes, came around and returned to the open. +But he returned with one of the pistols cocked and levelled, his finger +on the trigger. Shepard, pursuing swiftly, walked almost against the +muzzle, and Harry laughed softly. + +"Well, Mr. Shepard," he said, "you've followed me well, but as I've no +mind to be hung for a spy or anything else, I must ask you to go back." + +"You have the advantage at present, it is true," said Shepard, "but what +makes you think I was going to shoot at you or have you seized?" + +"Isn't it what one would naturally expect?" + +"Yes--perhaps. But I could have given the alarm while you were still in +the city. I speak the truth when I say I do not know just what I had +in mind. But at all events the tables are turned. You hold me at the +pistol's muzzle and I admit it." + +He smiled and the boy could not keep from liking him. + +"Mr. Shepard," said Harry, "what you told me at Montgomery was true. +We of the South did not realize the numbers, power and spirit of the +North. I know now the truth of what you told me, but, on the other hand, +you of the North do not realize the fire, courage and devotion of the +South." + +"I understand it, but I'm afraid that not many of our people do so. +Suppose we call it quits once more. Let this be Montgomery over again. +You do not want to shoot me here any more than I wanted to shoot you +down there." + +"I admit that also," said Harry. + +"Then you are safe from me, if I'm safe from you." + +"Agreed," said Harry, as he lowered the weapon. + +"Good-bye," said Shepard. + +"Good-bye." + +But they did not offer to shake hands. Each turned his back on the +other, and, when Harry stopped in the bushes, he saw only the dim +outlines of Washington. At midnight he found a colored man who, for pay, +rowed him across the Potomac. At dawn he found his horse peacefully +grazing in the meadow, and at the next dawn he was once more within the +southern lines. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BATTLE'S EVE + + +Harry found little change in the Southern army, except that more troops +had come up from Richmond. It still rested upon Bull Run. The country +here was old, having been cropped for many generations, the soil mostly +clay and cut in deep ruts. There were many ravines and water courses, +and hillocks were numerous. Colonel Talbot had told Harry a month +before that it was not a bad place for a battle ground, and he +remembered it now as he came back to it. He had not taken the time +to return to the charcoal burner's hut for his uniform, and, when he +approached his own lines he still wore the Sunday best of Perkins. + +The sentinel who hailed him first doubted his claim that he was a member +of the Invincibles, but he insisted so urgently, and called all its +officers by name so readily that he was passed on. He dismounted, +gave his horse to an orderly, and walked toward a clump of trees where +he saw Colonel Talbot writing at a small table in the open. The colonel, +engrossed in his work, did not look up, as the boy's footsteps made +little sound on the turf. When Harry stood before him he saluted and +said: + +"I have returned to make my report, Colonel Talbot." + +The colonel looked up, uttered a cry of pleasure and seized Harry by +both hands. + +"Thank God, you've come back, my boy!" he said. "I hesitated to send +your father's son on such an errand, but I thought that you would +succeed. You have seen the enemy's forces?" + +"I've been in Washington, itself," said Harry, some pride showing in his +voice. + +"Then we'll go at once to General Beauregard. He is in his tent now, +conferring with some of his chief officers." + +A great marquee stood in the shade of a grove, only two or three hundred +yards away. Its sides were open, as the heat was great, and Harry saw +the commander-in-chief within, talking earnestly with men in the uniform +of generals. Longstreet, Early, Hill and others were there. Harry was +somewhat abashed, but he had the moral support of Colonel Talbot, and, +after the first few moments of embarrassment, he told his story in a +direct and incisive manner. The officers listened with attention. + +"It confirms the other reports," said Beauregard. + +"It goes further," said Longstreet. "Our young friend here is obviously +a lad of intelligence and discernment and what he saw in Washington +shows that the North is resolved to crush us. The battle that we are +going to fight will not be the last battle by any means." + +"Each side is too sanguine," said Hill. + +"You have done well, Lieutenant Kenton," said Beauregard, "and now you +can rejoin your regiment. You are to receive a promotion of one grade." + +Harry was glad to leave the marquee and hurry toward the camp of the +Invincibles. The first of his friends whom he saw was Happy Tom Langdon, +bathing his face in a little stream that flowed into Young's Branch. +He walked up and smote him joyously on the back. Langdon sprang to his +feet in anger and exclaimed: + +"Hey, you fellow, what do you mean by that?" + +He saw before him a tall, gawky youth in ill-fitting clothes, his face a +mask of dust. But this same dusty youth grinned and replied: + +"I hit you once, and if you don't speak to me more politely I'll hit you +twice." + +Langdon stared. Then recognition came. + +"Harry Kenton, by all that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "And so you've +come back! I was afraid you never would! What have you been doing, +Harry?" + +"I've been pretty busy. I drove in the right wing of the Yankee army, +put to flight a couple of brigades in their center, then I went on to +Washington and had a talk with Lincoln. I told him the North would have +me to reckon with if he kept on with this war, but he said he believed +he'd go ahead anyhow. I even mentioned your name to him, but the menace +did no good." + +Langdon called to St. Clair and soon Harry was surrounded by friends who +gave him the warmest of greetings and who insisted upon the tale of his +adventures, a part of which he was free to tell. Then a new uniform was +brought to him, and, after a long and refreshing bath in a deep pool of +the stream, he put it on. He felt now as if he had been entirely made +over, and, as he strolled back to camp, a tall, thin man, black of hair +and pallid of face, hailed him. + +Harry took two glances before he recognized Arthur Travers in the +Southern uniform. Then he grasped his hand eagerly and asked him when +he had come. + +"Only two days ago," replied Travers. "I'm in another regiment farther +along Bull Run. I merely came over here to tell you that your father +was well when I last heard from him. He is with the Western forces that +are to be under Albert Sidney Johnston." + +Harry did not care greatly for Travers, but it was pleasant to see +anybody from the old home, and they talked some time. But Harry did +not see him again soon, as the bonds of discipline were now tightened. +Regiments were kept in ranks and the men were not permitted to wander +from their places. Northern bands were continually in their front, +and it was reported daily that the great army at Washington was about +to move. + +Yet the days passed, and no important event occurred. July advanced. +The heat became more intense. The fields were bare, the vegetation +trodden out by armies, and, when the wind rose, clouds of dust beat upon +them. It was lucky for them that the country was cut by so many streams. + +The Invincibles were moved about several times, but they stopped at +last at a little plateau where a branch railroad joined the main stem, +giving to the place the name Manassas Junction. Bull Run was near, +flowing between high banks, but with crossings at two fords and two +bridges. Beauregard had thrown up earthworks at the station, and strong +batteries were hidden in the foliage at the fords. The Southern army, +weary of waiting, was eager for battle. The Northern people, also weary +of waiting, demanded that their own troops advance. + +As Harry sat with his friends one hot night the word was passed that the +Northern army was coming at last. The Southern scouts had reported that +McDowell's whole force was already on the march and was drawing near. +It would attempt the passage of Bull Run. A murmur ran through the camp +of the Invincibles, but there was little talk. They had already tasted +of battle at the fort in the valley, and it was not a thing to be taken +lightly. + +Harry resolved that he would sleep if he could, but there was no rest +for the Invincibles just then. An order came from Beauregard, and, +with Colonel Talbot at their head, they took up their arms, marching to +one of the fords of Bull Run, where they lay down among trees near a +battery. They were forbidden to talk, but they whispered, nevertheless. +The ford before them was Blackburn's, and the heavy attack of the +Northern army would be made there in the morning. + +Harry and the Invincibles were at the very edge of the river. They had +been under heavy fire before, but, nevertheless, everything they now saw +or heard played upon their nerves. The murmur of the little river was +multiplied thrice. Every time a bayonet or a saber rattled it smote +with sharpness upon the ear. The neigh of a horse became a fierce, +lingering note, and out of the darkness that covered the rolling country +in front of them came many sounds, but few of which were real. + +For a long time there was movement on their own side of the stream. +Troops were continually coming up in the night and taking position. +It required no acute mind to perceive that the Southern commander +expected the main attack to be made here, and was massing his troops in +force to receive it. Except at the ford itself the banks of the river +were high, but those on the Northern side were higher. A skirt of +forest lined the Southern bank, and Harry saw Longstreet and his men +march into it, and lie there on their arms. Nearer to him among the +trees were the powerful batteries of artillery. Beauregard himself had +come and he now had with him seven brigades eager for the attack. + +The night was hot and windless, save at distant intervals, when a slight +breeze blew from the North. Then it brought dust with it, and Harry +believed that it came from the dry soil, trod to powder by the marching +feet of a great army, and the wheels of many cannon. + +Comparative silence came after a while on his own side of the river. +There was no sharp sound, only a low and almost continuous murmur made +by the whispering, and restless movements which so many thousands of men +could not avoid. But the sound was so steady that they heard above it +the croak of frogs at the edge of the stream, and then another sound +which Harry at first did not understand. + +"What is it?" he whispered to St. Clair, who lay a little higher than he. + +"It's a lot of our men crossing the ford. Raise up and you can see them +walking in the water. I take it that the general is going to put a +force in the bushes and trees on the other bank to sting the Northern +army good and hard before it pushes home the main attack." + +Standing up Harry saw men wading Bull Run in a long file, every one +carrying a rifle on his shoulder. In the hot dim night they looked +like lines of Indians advancing through the water to choose an ambush. +They were crossing for half an hour, and then they melted away. He +could not see one of the figures again, nor did any sound come from them, +but he knew that the riflemen lay there in the bushes, and that many a +man would fall before they waded Bull Run again. + +"Do you think the attack is really coming this time?" whispered Langdon. + +"I feel sure of it," replied Harry. "All the scouts have said so and +you may laugh at me, Tom, but I tell you that when the wind blows our +way I feel the dust raised by thirty thousand men marching toward us." + +"I'm not laughing at you, Harry. Sometimes that instinct of yours tells +when things are coming long before you can see or hear 'em. But while +I'm no such wonder myself I can hear those bullfrogs croaking down there +at the edge of the water. Think of their cheek, calmly singing their +night songs between two armies of twenty or thirty thousand men each, +who are going to fight tomorrow." + +"But it's not their fight," said St. Clair, "and maybe they are croaking +for a lot of us." + +"Shut up, you bird of ill omen, you raven, you," said Happy Tom. +"Everything is going to happen for the best, we are going to win the +victory, and we three are going to come out of the battle all right." + +St. Clair did not answer him. His was a serious nature and he foresaw a +great struggle which would waver long in doubt. Harry had lain down on +his blanket and was seeking sleep again. + +"Stop talking," he said to the other two. "We've got to go to sleep if +it's only for the sake of our nerves. We must be fresh and steady when +we go into the battle in the morning." + +"I suppose you are right," said Happy Tom, "but I find this overtaking +slumber a long chase. Maybe you can form a habit of sleeping well +before big battles, but I haven't had the chance to do so yet." + +Harry did fall asleep after a while, but he awoke before dawn to find +that there was already bustle and movement in the army about him. +Fires were lighted further back, and an early but plentiful breakfast +was cooked. All were up and ready when the sun rose over the Virginia +fields. + +"Another hot day," said Happy Tom. "See, the sun is as red as fire! +And look how it burns on the water there." + +"Yes, hot it will be," Harry said to himself. They had eaten their +breakfast and lay once more among the trees. Harry searched with his +eyes the bushes and thickets on the other side for their riflemen, +but most of them were still invisible in the day. Then the Southern +brigades were ordered to lie down, but after they lay there some time +Harry felt that the film of dust on the edge of the wind was growing +stronger, and presently they saw a great cloud of it rising above hills +and trees and moving toward them. + +"They're coming," said St. Clair. "In less than a half hour they'll be +at the ford." + +"But I doubt if they know what is waiting for them," said Harry. + +The cloud of dust rapidly came nearer, and now they heard the beat of +horses' feet and the clank of artillery. Harry began to breathe hard, +and he and the other young officers walked up and down the lines of +their company. All the Invincibles clearly saw that great plume of dust, +and heard the ominous sounds that came with it. It was very near now, +but suddenly the fringe of forest on the far side of the river burst +into flame. The hidden riflemen had opened fire and were burning the +front of the advancing army. + +But the Northern men came steadily on, rousing the riflemen out of the +bushes, and then they appeared among the trees on the north side of Bull +Run--a New York brigade led by Tyler. The moment their faces showed +there was a tremendous discharge from the Southern batteries masked in +the wood. The crash was appalling, and Harry shut his eyes for a moment, +in horror, as he saw the entire front rank of the Northern force go +down. Then the Southern sharpshooters in hundreds, who lined the +water's edge, opened with the rifle, and a storm of lead crashed into +the ranks of the hapless New Yorkers. + +"Up, Invincibles!" cried Colonel Talbot, and they began to fire, and +load, and fire again into the attacking force which had walked into what +was almost an ambush. + +"They'll never reach the ford!" shouted Happy Tom. + +"Never!" Harry shouted back. + +The Southern generals, already trained in battles, pushed their +advantages. A great force of Southern sharpshooters crossed the river +and took the Northern brigade in flank. The New Yorkers, unable to +stand the tremendous artillery and rifle fire in their front, and the +new rifle fire on their side also, broke and retreated. But another +brigade came up to their relief and they advanced again, sending a +heavy return fire from their rifles, while the artillery on their flank +replied to that of the South. + +The combat now became fierce. The Invincibles in the very thick of it +advanced to the water's edge, and fired as fast as they could load and +reload. Huge volumes of smoke gathered over both sides of Bull Run, +and men fell fast. There was also a rain of twigs and boughs as +the bullets and shells cut them through, and the dense, heated air, +shot through with smoke, burned the throats of blue and gray. + +But the South had the advantage of position and numbers. Moreover, +those riflemen on the flanks of the Northern troops burned them +terribly and they were weary, too, with long marching in dust and heat. +As the artillery and rifle fire converged upon them and became heavier +and heavier they were forced to give way. They yielded ground slowly, +until they were beyond range of the cannon, and then, brushing off the +fierce swarm of sharpshooters on their flank, they retreated all the +way back to the village, whence they had come. + +The firing on the Southern side of Bull Run ceased suddenly, and the +smoke began to drift away. The Invincibles, save those who had fallen +to stay, stood up and shouted. They had won the greatest victory in the +world, and they flung taunts in the direction of the retreating foe. + +"Stop that!" shouted Colonel Talbot, striding up and down the line. +"This is only a beginning. Wait until we have a real battle." + +"This has happened for the best," said Happy Tom, "but I'd like to know +what the colonel calls a real battle. The fire was so loud I couldn't +hear myself speak, and I know at least a million men were engaged. +Arthur, how can you be cool enough to bathe your face in that water?" + +"It's to make it cool," replied St. Clair, who had stooped over Bull Run, +and was laving his face. "I feel that dust and burned gunpowder are +thick all over me." + +He stood up, his face now clean, and began to arrange his uniform. +Then he carefully dusted his coat and trousers. + +"Hope you are all ready for another battle, Arthur," said Tom. + +"Not yet," replied St. Clair laughing. "That will do me for quite a +while." + +St. Clair had his wish. The enemy seemed to have enough for the time. +The hot, breathless day passed without any further advance. Now and +then they heard the Northern bugles, and the scouts reported that the +foe was still gathering heavily not far away, but the Invincibles, +from their camp, saw nothing. + +"I suppose the colonel was right," said Happy Tom, "and this must have +been a sort of prologue. But if the prologue was so hot what's the play +going to be?" + +"Something hotter," said Harry. + +"A vague but true answer," said Langdon. + +Yet the delay was long. They lay all that day and all that night along +the banks of Bull Run, and a hundred conflicting reports ran up and down +their ranks. The Northern army would retreat, it would attack within a +few hours; the Southern army would retreat, it would hold its present +position; both sides would receive reinforcements, neither would receive +any fresh troops. Every statement was immediately denied. + +"I refuse to believe anything until it happens," said Harry, when night +came. "I'm getting hardened to this sort of thing, and as soon as my +time off duty comes I'm going to sleep." + +Sleep he did in the shot-torn woods, and it was the heavy sleep of +exhaustion. Nerves did not trouble him, as he slept without dreams and +rose to another windless, burning day. The hours dragged on again, +but in the night there was a tremendous shouting. Johnston, with eight +thousand men, had slipped away from Patterson in the mountains, and the +infantry had come by train directly to the plateau of Manassas, where +they were now leaving the cars and taking their place in the line of +battle. The artillery and cavalry were coming on behind over the +dirt road. The Southern generals were already showing the energy and +decision for which they were so remarkable in the first years of the +war. Johnston was the senior, but since Beauregard had made the +battlefield, he left him in command. + +The Invincibles were moved off to the left along Bull Run, and were +posted in front of a stone bridge, where other troops gathered, until +twelve or thirteen thousand men were there. But Harry and his comrades +were nearest to the bridge, and it seemed to him that the situation was +almost exactly as it had been three nights before. Again they faced +Bull Run and again they expected an attack in the morning. There was +no change save the difference between a ford and a bridge. But the +Invincibles, hardened by the three days of skirmishing and waiting, +took things more easily now. + +They lay in the woods near the steep banks, and the batteries commanded +the entrance to the bridge. The night was once more hot and windless +and they were so quiet that they could hear the murmur of the waters. +Far across Bull Run they saw dim lights moving, and they knew that they +were those of the Northern army. + +"I think things have changed a lot in the last three days," said Harry. +"Then the Yankees didn't know much about us. They charged almost +blindfolded into our ambush. Now we don't know much about them. +We don't know by any means where the attack is coming. It is they who +are keeping us guessing." + +"But there are only two fords and two bridges across Bull Run," said +Langdon, "and they have got to choose one out of the lot." + +"Which means that we've got to accumulate our forces at some one of four +places, one guess out of four." + +Harry did not speak at all in a tone of discouragement, but his +intelligent mind saw that the Northern leaders had profited by their +mistakes and that the Southern general did not really know where the +great impact would come. The Northern scouts and skirmishers swarmed on +the other side of Bull Run, and even in the darkness this cloud of wasps +was so dense that Beauregard's own scouts could not get beyond them and +tell what the greater mass behind was doing. Harry was summoned at +midnight by Colonel Talbot. Behind a clump of trees some distance back +of the bridge, Beauregard, Johnston, Evans, who was in direct command at +the ford, Early, and several other important officers were in anxious +consultation. Colonel Talbot told Harry that he would be wanted +presently as a messenger, and he stood on one side while the others +talked. It was then that he first heard Jubal Early swear with a +richness, a spontaneity and an unction that raised it almost to the +dignity of a rite. + +Harry gathered that they could not agree as to the point at which the +Northern attack would be delivered, but the balance of opinion inclined +to the bridge, before which the command of Evans was encamped. Hence he +was sent farther down the stream, with a message for a North Carolina +regiment to move up and join Evans. + +The regiment lay about a mile away, but Harry walked almost the whole +distance among sleeping men. They lay on the grass by thousands, +and exhausted by the movement and marching of recent days they slept +heavily. In the moonlight they looked as if they were dead. It was so +quiet now that some night birds in the trees uttered strange moaning +cries. But far across Bull Run lights still moved and Harry had no +doubt that the great battle, delayed so long, was really coming in the +morning. + +The North Carolina regiment rose sleepily and marched with him to the +bridge, where it was incorporated into the force of Evans. Beauregard, +Johnston and Early had gone to other points, and Harry knew that +they were still anxious and of divided opinions. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, to whom he had to report, and who moved +their own regiment down near Evans, did not conceal the fact from him. + +"Harry," said the colonel, "we're all sure that we'll have to fight on +the morrow, and it looks as if the battle would come in the greatest +weight here at the bridge, but the Invincibles must be prepared for +anything. You lads are fit and trim, and I hope that all of you will +do your duty tomorrow. Remember that we have brave foes before us, and +I know most of their officers. All who are of our age have been the +comrades of Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and myself." + +"It is true, and it is a melancholy phase of this war," said Hector +St. Hilaire. + +They walked away together and Harry rejoined those of his own age near +the banks of Bull Run. But Langdon and St. Clair were sound asleep on +their blankets, and so were all the rest of the Invincibles, save those +who had been posted as sentinels. But Harry did not sleep that night. +It was past midnight now, but he was never more awake in his life, +and he felt that he must watch until day. + +He had no duties to do, and he sat down with his back to a tree and +waited. Far in his front, three or four miles, perhaps, he thought he +saw lights signaling to each other, but he had no idea what they meant, +and he watched them merely with an idle curiosity. Once he thought he +heard the distant call of a trumpet, but he was not sure. Woods and +fields were flooded with the brightness of moon and stars, but if +anything was passing on the other side of Bull Run, it was too well +hidden for him to see it. His senses were soothed and he sank into a +state of peace and rest. In reality it was a physical relaxation coming +after so much tension and activity, and the bodily ease became mental +also. + +Resting thus, motionless against the trunk of the tree, time passed +easily for him. The warm air of the night blew now and then against his +face and only soothed him to deeper rest. The last light far across +Bull Run went out and the darker hours came. Nothing stirred now in the +woods until the hot dawn came again, and the brazen sun leaped up in the +sky. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +BULL RUN + + +Harry rose to his feet and shook St. Clair and Langdon. + +"Up, boys!" he said. "The enemy will soon be here. I can see their +bayonets glittering on the hills." + +The Invincibles sprang to their feet almost as one man, and soon all the +troops of Evans were up and humming like bees. Food and coffee were +served to them hastily, but, before the last cup was thrown down, +a heavy crash came from one of the hills beyond Bull Run, and a shell, +screaming over their heads, burst beyond them. It was quickly followed +by another, and then the round shot and shells came in dozens from +batteries which had been posted well in the night. + +The Southern batteries replied with all their might and the riflemen +supported them, sending the bullets in sheets across Bull Run. The +battle flamed in fifteen minutes into extraordinary violence. Harry had +never before heard such a continuous and terrific thunder. It seemed +that the drums of his ears would be smashed in, but over his head he +heard the continuous hissing and whirring of steel and lead. The +Northern riflemen were at work, too, and it was fortunate for the +Invincibles that they were able to lie down, as they poured their fire +into the bushes and woods on the opposite bank. + +The volume of smoke was so great that they could no longer see the +position of the enemy, but Harry believed that so much metal must do +great damage. Although he was a lieutenant he had snatched up a rifle +dropped by some fallen soldier, and he loaded and fired it so often that +the barrel grew hot to his hand. Lying so near the river, most of the +hostile fire went over the heads of the Invincibles, but now and then a +shell or a cluster of bullets struck among them, and Harry heard groans. +But he quickly forgot these sounds as he watched the clouds of smoke and +the blaze of fire on the other side of Bull Run. + +"They are not trying to force the passage of the bridge! Everything is +for the best!" shouted Langdon. + +"No, they dare not," shouted St. Clair in reply. "No column could live +on that bridge in face of our fire." + +It seemed strange to Harry that the Northern troops made no attempt to +cross. Why did all this tremendous fire go on so long, and yet not a +foe set foot upon the bridge? It seemed to him that it had endured for +hours. The sun was rising higher and higher and the day was growing +hotter and hotter. It lay with the North to make the first movement to +cross Bull Run, and yet no attempt was made. + +Colonel Talbot came repeatedly along the line of the Invincibles, +and Harry saw that he was growing uneasy. Such a great volume of fire, +without any effort to take advantage of it, made the veteran suspicious. +He knew that those old comrades of his on the other side of Bull Run +would not waste their metal in a mere cannonade and long range rifle +fire. There must be something behind it. Presently, with the consent +of the commander, he drew the Invincibles back from the river, where +they were permitted to cease firing, and to rest for a while on their +arms. + +But as they drew long breaths and tried to clear the smoke from their +throats, a rumor ran down the lines. The attack at the bridge was but a +feint. Only a minor portion of the hostile army was there. The greater +mass had gone on and had already crossed the river in face of the +weak left flank of the Southern army. Beauregard had been outwitted. +The Yankees were now in great force on his own side of Bull Run, and it +would be a pitched battle, face to face. + +The whole line of the Invincibles quivered with excitement, and then +Harry saw that the rumor was true, or that their commander at least +believed it to be so. The firing stopped entirely and the bugles blew +the retreat. All the brigades gathered themselves up and, wild with +anger and chagrin, slowly withdrew. + +"Why are we retreating?" exclaimed Langdon, angrily. "Not a Yankee set +his foot on the bridge! We're not whipped!" + +"No," said Harry, "we're not whipped, but if we don't retreat we will +be. If fifteen or twenty thousand Yankees struck us on the flank while +those fellows are still in front everything would go." + +These were young troops, who considered a retreat equivalent to a +beating, and fierce murmurs ran along the line. But the officers paid +no attention, marching them steadily on, while the artillery rumbled +by their side. Both to right and left they heard the sound of firing, +and they saw the smoke floating against both horizons, but they paid +little attention to it. They were wondering what was in store for them. + +"Cheer up, you lads!" cried Colonel Talbot. "You'll get all the +fighting you can stand, and it won't be long in coming, either." + +They marched only half an hour and then the troops were drawn up on a +hill, where the officers rapidly formed them into position. It was none +too soon. A long blue line, bristling with cannon on either flank, +appeared across the fields. It was Burnside with the bulk of the +Northern army moving down upon them. Harry was standing beside Colonel +Talbot, ready to carry his orders, and he heard the veteran say, between +his teeth: + +"The Yankees have fooled us, and this is the great battle at last." + +The two forces looked at each other for a few moments. Elsewhere great +guns and rifles were already at work, but the sounds came distantly. +On the hill and in the fields there was silence, save for the steady +tramp of the advancing Northern troops. Then from the rear of the +marching lines suddenly came a burst of martial music. The Northern +bands, by a queer inversion, were playing Dixie: + + "In Dixie's land + I'll take my stand, + To live and die for Dixie. + Look away! Look away! + Down South in Dixie." + +Harry's feet beat to the tune, the wild and thrilling air played for the +first time to troops going into battle. + +"We must answer that," he said to St. Clair. + +"Here comes the answer," said St. Clair, and the Southern bands began +to play "The Girl I Left Behind Me." The music entered Harry's veins. +He could not look without a quiver upon the great mass of men bearing +down upon them, but the strains of fife and drum put courage in him and +told him to stand fast. He saw the face of Colonel Talbot grow darker +and darker, and he had enough experience himself to know that the odds +were heavily against them. + +The intense burning sun poured down a flood of light, lighting up the +opposing ranks of blue and gray, and gleaming along swords and bayonets. +Nearer and nearer came the piercing notes of Dixie. + +"They march well," murmured Colonel Talbot, "and they will fight well, +too." + +He did not know that McDowell himself, the Northern commander, was +now before them, driving on his men, but he did know that the courage +and skill of his old comrades were for the present in the ascendant. +Burnside was at the head of the division and it seemed long enough to +wrap the whole Southern command in its folds and crush it. + +Scattered rifle shots were heard on either flank, and the young +Invincibles began to breathe heavily. Millions of black specks danced +before them in the hot sunshine, and their nervous ears magnified every +sound tenfold. + +"I wish that tune the Yankees are playing was ours," said Tom Langdon. +"I think I could fight battles by it." + +"Then we'll have to capture it," said Harry. + +Now the time for talking ceased. The rifle fire on the flanks was +rising to a steady rattle, and then came the heavy boom of the cannon +on either side. Once more the air was filled with the shriek of shells +and the whistling of rifle bullets. Men were falling fast, and through +the rising clouds of smoke Harry saw the blue lines still coming on. +It seemed to him that they would be overwhelmed, trampled under foot, +routed, but he heard Colonel Talbot shouting: + +"Steady, Invincibles! Steady!" + +And Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, walking up and down the lines, +also uttered the same shout. But the blue line never ceased coming. +Harry could see the faces dark with sweat and dust and powder still +pressing on. It was well for the Southerners that nearly all of them +had been trained in the use of the rifle, and it was well for them, too, +that most of their officers were men of skill and experience. Recruits, +they stood fast nevertheless and their rifles sent the bullets in an +unceasing bitter hail straight into the advancing ranks of blue. +There was no sound from the bands now. If they were playing somewhere +in the rear no one heard. The fire of the cannon and rifles was a +steady roll, louder than thunder and more awful. + +The Northern troops hesitated at last in face of such a resolute stand +and such accurate firing. Then they retreated a little and a shout of +triumph came from the Southern lines, but the respite was only for a +moment. The men in blue came on again, walking over their dead and past +their wounded. + +"If they keep pressing in, and it looks as if they would, they will +crush us," murmured Colonel Talbot, but he did not let the Invincibles +hear him say it. He encouraged them with voice and example, and they +bent forward somewhat to meet the second charge of the Northern army, +which was now coming. The smoke lifted a little and Harry saw the green +fields and the white house of the Widow Henry standing almost in the +middle of the battlefield, but unharmed. Then his eyes came back to the +hostile line, which, torn by shot and shell, had closed up, nevertheless, +and was advancing again in overwhelming force. + +Harry now had a sudden horrible fear that they would be trodden under +foot. He looked at St. Clair and saw that his face was ghastly. +Langdon had long since ceased to smile or utter words of happy +philosophy. + +"Open up and let the guns through!" some one suddenly cried, and a wild +cheer of relief burst from the Invincibles as they made a path. The +valiant Bee and Bartow, rushing to the sound of the great firing, +had come with nearly three thousand men and a whole battery. Never +were men more welcome. They formed instantly along the Southern front, +and the battery opened at once with all its guns, while the three +thousand men sent a new fire into the Northern ranks. Yet the Northern +charge still came. McDowell, Burnside, and the others were pressing it +home, seeking to drive the Southern army from its hill, while they were +yet able to bring forces largely superior to bear upon it. + +The thunder and crash of the terrible conflict rolled over all the +hills and fields for miles. It told the other forces of either army +that here was the center of the battle, and here was its crisis. +The sounds reached an extraordinary young-old man, bearded and awkward, +often laughed at, but never to be laughed at again, one of the most +wonderful soldiers the world has ever produced, and instantly gathering +up his troops he rushed them toward the very heart of the combat. +Stonewall Jackson was about to receive his famous nickname. + +Jackson's burning eyes swept proudly over the ranks of his tall +Virginians, who mourned every second they lost from the battle. An +officer retreating with his battery glanced at him, opened his mouth to +speak, but closed it again without saying a word, and infused with new +hope, turned his guns afresh toward the enemy. Already men were feeling +the magnetic current of energy and resolution that flowed from Jackson +like water from a fountain. + +A message from Colonel Talbot, which he was to deliver to Jackson +himself, sent Harry to the rear. He rode a borrowed horse and he +galloped rapidly until he saw a long line of men marching forward at +a swift but steady pace. At their head rode a man on a sorrel horse. +His shoulders were stooped a little, and he leaned forward in the saddle, +gazing intently at the vast bank of smoke and flame before him. Harry +noticed that the hands upon the bridle reins did not twitch nor did the +horseman seem at all excited. Only his burning eyes showed that every +faculty was concentrated upon the task. Harry was conscious even then +that he was in the presence of General Jackson. + +The boy delivered his message. Jackson received it without comment, +never taking his eyes from the battle, which was now raging so fiercely +in front of them. Behind came his great brigade of Virginians, the +smoke and flame of the battle entering their blood and making their +hearts pound fast as they moved forward with increasing speed. + +Harry rode back with the young officers of his staff, and now they +saw men dash out of the smoke and run toward them. They cried that +everything was lost. The lip of Jackson curled in contempt. The long +line of his Virginians stopped the fugitives and drove them back to the +battle. It was evident to Harry, young as he was, that Jackson would +be just in time. + +Then they saw a battery galloping from that bank of smoke and flame, and, +its officer swearing violently, exclaimed that he had been left without +support. The stern face and somber eyes of Jackson were turned upon him. + +"Unlimber your guns at once," he said. "Here is your support." + +Then the valiant Bee himself came, covered with dust, his clothes torn +by bullets, his horse in a white lather. He, too, turned to that stern +brown figure, as unflinching as death itself, and he cried that the +enemy in overwhelming numbers were beating them back. + +"Then," said Jackson, "we'll close up and give them the bayonet." + +His teeth shut down like a vise. Again the electric current leaped +forth and sparkled through the veins of Bee, who turned and rode back +into the Southern throng, the Virginians following swiftly. Then +Jackson looked over the field with the eye and mind of genius, the eye +that is able to see and the mind that is able to understand amid all +the thunder and confusion and excitement of battle. + +He saw a stretch of pines on the edge of the hill near the Henry house. +He quickly marched his troops among the trees, covering their front with +six cannon, while the great horseman, Stuart, plumed and eager, formed +his cavalry upon the left. Harry felt instinctively that the battle +was about to be restored for the time at least, and he turned back to +Colonel Talbot and the Invincibles. A shell burst near him. A piece +struck his horse in the chest, and Harry felt the animal quiver under +him. Then the horse uttered a terrible neighing cry, but Harry, alert +and agile, sprang clear, and ran back to his own command. + +On the other side of Bull Run was the Northern command of Tyler, which +had been rebuffed so fiercely three days before. It, too, heard the +roar and crash of the battle, and sought a way across Bull Run, but for +a time could find none. An officer named Sherman, also destined for a +mighty fame, saw a Confederate trooper riding across the river further +down, and instantly the whole command charged at the ford. It was +defended by only two hundred Southern skirmishers whom they brushed out +of the way. They were across in a few minutes, and then they advanced +on a run to swell McDowell's army. The forces on both sides were +increasing and the battle was rising rapidly in volume. But in the face +of repeated and furious attacks the Southern troops held fast to the +little plateau. Young's Branch flowed on one side of it and protected +them in a measure; but only the indomitable spirit of Jackson and Evans, +of Bee and Bartow, and others kept them in line against those charges +which threatened to shiver them to pieces. + +"Look!" cried Bee to some of his men who were wavering. "Look at +Jackson, standing there like a stone wall!" + +The men ceased to waver and settled themselves anew for a fresh attack. + +But in spite of everything the Northern army was gaining ground. +Sherman at the very head of the fresh forces that had crossed Bull Run +hurled himself upon the Southern army, his main attack falling directly +upon the Invincibles. The young recruits reeled, but Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire still ran up and down the lines begging +them to stand. They took fresh breath and planted their feet deep once +more. Harry raised his rifle and took aim at a flitting figure in the +smoke. Then he dropped the muzzle. Either it was reality or a powerful +trick of the fancy. It was his own cousin, Dick Mason, but the smoke +closed in again, and he did not see the face. + +The rush of Sherman was met and repelled. Tie drew back only to come +again, and along the whole line the battle closed in once more, fiercer +and more deadly than ever. Upon all the combatants beat the fierce sun +of July, and clouds of dust rose to mingle with the smoke of cannon and +rifles. + +The advantage now lay distinctly with the Northern army, won by its +clever passage of Bull Run and surprise. But the courage and tenacity +of the Southern troops averted defeat and rout in detail. Jackson, +in his strong position near the Henry house, in the cellars of which +women were hiding, refused to give an inch of ground. Beauregard, +called by the cannon, arrived upon the field only an hour before noon, +meeting on the way many fugitives, whom he and his officers drove +back into the battle. Hampton's South Carolina Legion, which reached +Richmond only that morning, came by train and landed directly upon the +battlefield about noon. In five minutes it was in the thick of the +battle, and it alone stemmed a terrific rush of Sherman, when all others +gave way. + +Noon had passed and the heart of McDowell swelled with exultation. +The Northern troops were still gaining ground, and at many points the +Southern line was crushed. Some of the recruits in gray, their nerves +shaken horribly, were beginning to run. But fresh troops coming up +met them and turned them back to the field. Beauregard and Johnston, +the two senior generals, both experienced and calm, were reforming their +ranks, seizing new and strong positions, and hurrying up every portion +of their force. Johnston himself, after the first rally, hurried back +for fresh regiments, while Jackson's men not only held their ground but +began to drive the Northern troops before them. + +The Invincibles had fallen back somewhat, leaving many dead behind them. +Many more were wounded. Harry had received two bullets through his +clothing, and St. Clair was nicked on the wrist. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire were still unharmed, but a deep gloom had +settled over the Invincibles. They had not been beaten, but certainly +they were not winning. Their ranks were seamed and rent. From the +place where they now stood they could see the place where they formerly +stood, but Northern troops occupied it now. Tears ran down the faces +of some of the youngest, streaking the dust and powder into hideous, +grinning masks. + +Harry threw himself upon the ground and lay there for a few moments, +panting. He choked with heat and thirst, and his heart seemed to have +swollen so much within him that it would be a relief to have it burst. +His eyes burned with the dust and smoke, and all about him was a fearful +reek. He could see from where he lay most of the battlefield. He saw +the Northern batteries fire, move forward, and then fire again. He saw +the Northern infantry creeping up, ever creeping, and far behind he +beheld the flags of fresh regiments coming to their aid. The tears +sprang to his eyes. It seemed in very truth that all was lost. In +another part of the field the men in blue had seized the Robinson house, +and from points near it their artillery was searching the Southern +ranks. A sudden grim humor seized the boy. + +"Tom," he shouted to Langdon, "what was that you said about sleeping in +the White House at Washington with your boots on?" + +"I said it," Langdon shouted back, "but I guess it's all off! For God's +sake, Harry, give me a drink of water! I'll give anybody a million +dollars and a half dozen states for a single drink!" + +A soldier handed him a canteen, and he drank from it. The water was +warm, but it was nectar, and when he handed it back, he said: + +"I don't know you and you don't know me, but if I could I'd give you a +whole lake in return for this. Harry, what are our chances?" + +"I don't know. We've lost one battle, but we may have time to win +another. Jackson and those Virginians of his seem able to stand +anything. Up, boys, the battle is on us again!" + +The charge swept almost to their feet, but it was driven back, and then +came a momentary lull, not a cessation of the battle, but merely a +sinking, as if the combatants were gathering themselves afresh for a new +and greater effort. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the fierce +July sun was at its zenith, pouring its burning rays upon both armies, +alike upon the living and upon the dead who were now so numerous. + +The lull was most welcome to the men in gray. Some fresh regiments sent +by Johnston had come already, and they hoped for more, but whether they +came or not, the army must stand. The brigades were massed heavily +around the Henry house with that of Jackson standing stern and +indomitable, the strongest wall against the foe. His fame and his +spirit were spreading fast over the field. + +The lull was brief, the whole Northern army, its lines reformed, swept +forward in a half curve, and the Southern army sent forth a stream of +shells and bullets to meet it. The brigades of Jackson and Sherman, +indomitable foes, met face to face and swept back and forth over the +ground, which was littered with their fallen. Everywhere the battle +assumed a closer and fiercer phase. Hampton, who had come just in time +with his guns, went down wounded badly. Beauregard himself was wounded +slightly, and so was Jackson, hit in the hand. Many distinguished +officers were killed. + +The whole Northern army was driven back four times, and it came a fifth +time to be repulsed once more. In the very height of the struggle Harry +caught a glimpse in front of them of a long horizontal line of red, +like a gleaming ribbon. + +"It's those Zouaves!" cried Langdon. "Shoot their pants!" + +He did not mean it as a jest. The words just jumped out, and true to +their meaning the Invincibles fired straight at that long line of red, +and then reloading fired again. The Zouaves were cut to pieces, the +field was strewed with their brilliant uniforms. A few officers tried +to bring on the scattered remnants, but two regiments of regulars, +sweeping in between and bearing down on the Invincibles, saved them from +extermination. + +The Invincibles would have suffered the fate they had dealt out to the +Zouaves, but fresh regiments came to their help and the regulars were +driven back. Sherman and Jackson were still fighting face to face, +and Sherman was unable to advance. Howard hurled a fresh force on the +men in gray. Bee and Bartow, who had done such great deeds earlier +in the day, were both killed. A Northern force under Heintzelman, +converging for a flank attack, was set upon and routed by the +Southerners, who put them all to flight, captured three guns and took +the Robinson house. + +Fortune, nevertheless, still seemed to favor the North. The Southerners +had barely held their positions around the Henry house. Most of their +cannon were dismounted. Hundreds had dropped from exhaustion. Some had +died from heat and excessive exertion. The mortality among the officers +was frightful. There were few hopeful hearts in the Southern army. + +It was now three o'clock in the afternoon and Beauregard, through his +glasses, saw a great column of dust rising above the tops of the trees. +His experience told him that it must be made by marching troops, but +what troops were they, Northern or Southern? In an agony of suspense +he appealed to the generals around him, but they could tell nothing. +He sent off aides at a gallop to see, but meanwhile he and his generals +could only wait, while the column of dust grew broader and broader and +higher and higher. His heart sank like a plummet in a pool. The cloud +was on the Federal flank and everything indicated that it was the army +of Patterson, marching from the Valley of Virginia. + +Harry and his comrades had also seen the dust, and they regarded it +anxiously. They knew as well as any general present that their fate lay +within that cloud. + +"It's coming fast, and it's growing faster," said Harry. "I've got so +used to the roar of this battle that it seems to me alien sounds are +detached from it, and are heard easily. I can hear the rumble of cannon +wheels in that cloud." + +"Then tell us, Harry," said Langdon, "is it a Northern rumble or a +Southern rumble that you hear?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I'll admit it's a good deal of a fancy," he said. + +Arthur St. Clair suddenly leaped high in the air, and uttered at the +very top of his voice the wild note of the famous rebel yell. + +"Look at the flags aloft in that cloud of dust! It's the Star and Bars! +God bless the Bonnie Blue Flag! They are our own men coming, and coming +in time!" + +Now the battle flags appeared clearly through the dust, and the great +rebel yell, swelling and triumphant, swept the whole Southern line. +It was the remainder of Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah. It had +slipped away from Patterson, and all through the burning day it had been +marching steadily toward the battlefield, drummed on by the thudding +guns. Johnston, the silent and alert, was himself with them now, +and aflame with zeal they were advancing on the run straight for the +heart of the Northern army. + +Kirby Smith, one of Harry's own Kentucky generals, was in the very van +of the relieving force. A man after Stonewall Jackson's own soul, +he rushed forward with the leading regiments and they hurled themselves +bodily upon the Northern flank. + +The impact was terrible. Smith fell wounded, but his men rushed on and +the men behind also threw themselves into the battle. Almost at the +same instant Jubal Early, who had made a circuit with a strong force, +hurled it upon the side of the Northern army. The brave troops in blue +were exhausted by so many hours of fierce fighting and fierce heat. +Their whole line broke and began to fall back. The Southern generals +around the Henry house saw it and exulted. Swift orders were sent and +the bugles blew the charge for the men who had stood so many long and +bitter hours on the defense. + +"Now, Invincibles, now!" cried Colonel Leonidas Talbot. "Charge home, +just once, my boys, and the victory is ours!" + +Covered with dust and grime, worn and bleeding with many wounds, but +every heart beating triumphantly, what was left of the Invincibles rose +up and followed their leader. Harry was conscious of a flame almost +in his face and of whirling clouds of smoke and dust. Then the entire +Southern army burst upon the confused Northern force and shattered it +so completely that it fell to pieces. + +The bravest battle ever fought by men, who, with few exceptions, had not +smelled the powder of war before, was lost and won. + +As the Southern cannon and rifles beat upon them, the Northern army, +save for the regulars and the cavalry, dissolved. The generals could +not stem the flood. They rushed forward in confused masses, seeking +only to save themselves. Whole regiments dashed into the fords of Bull +Run and emerged dripping on the other side. A bridge was covered with +spectators come out from Washington to see the victory, many of them +bringing with them baskets of lunch. Some were Members of Congress, +but all joined in the panic and flight, carrying to the capital many +untrue stories of disaster. + +A huge mass of fleeing men emerged upon the Warrenton turnpike, throwing +away their weapons and ammunition that they might run the faster. +It was panic pure and simple, but panic for the day only. For hours +they had fought as bravely as the veterans of twenty battles, but now, +with weakened nerves, they thought that an overwhelming force was upon +them. Every shell that the Southern guns sent among them urged them to +greater speed. The cavalry and little force of regulars covered the +rear, and with firm and unbroken ranks retreated slowly, ready to face +the enemy if he tried pursuit. + +But the men in gray made no real pursuit. They were so worn that they +could not follow, and they yet scarcely believed in the magnitude of +their own victory, snatched from the very jaws of defeat. Twenty-eight +Northern cannon and ten flags were in their hands, but thousands of dead +and wounded lay upon the field, and night was at hand again, close and +hot. + +Harry turned back to the little plateau where those that were left of +the Invincibles were already kindling their cooking fires. He looked +for his two comrades and recognized them both under their masks of dust +and powder. + +"Are you hurt, Tom?" he said to Langdon. + +"No, and I'm going to sleep in the White House at Washington after all." + +"And you, Arthur?" + +"There's a red line across my wrist, where a bullet passed, but it's +nothing. Listen, what do you think of that, boys?" + +A Southern band had gathered in the edge of the wood and was playing +a wild thrilling air, the words of which meant nothing, but the tune +everything: + + "In Dixie's land + I'll take my stand, + To live and die for Dixie. + Look away! Look away! + Look away down South in Dixie." + +"So we have taken their tune from them and made it ours!" St. Clair +exclaimed jubilantly. "After all, it really belonged to us! We'll play +it through the streets of Washington." + +But Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who stood close by, raised his hand +warningly. + +"Boys," he said, "this is only the beginning." + + + + + +Appendix: Transcription notes: + +This etext was transcribed from a volume printed in April, 1964 +(Twenty-eighth Printing) + + +The following modifications were applied while transcribing the +printed book to e-text: + + chapter 1: + - Fixed typo ("hestitated"), page 22, para 2 + - Fixed typo (changed "this father" to "his father"), page 23, + first line of para 5 + + chapter 2: + - Changed "t" to upper-case in sentence "to bed!" on page 40, para 3 + + chapter 3: + - Removed an extraneous quotation mark on page 62, at the end of para 4 + - Fixed typo ("extaordinary"), page 63, para 2 + - Fixed typo ("fews"), page 65, para 5 + + chapter 4: + - Fixed typo ("feeliing"), page 81, para 6 + + chapter 6: + - Added a missing comma on page 111, third sentence + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 119, para 7 + + chapter 9: + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 187, para 3 + + chapter 10: + - Page 197, second para: replaced a comma with a period preceding "Yet" + (However, It is unclear whether the author intended a period, or + whether instead the "yet" should be lower case - either would serve + equally well.) + - Fixed typo (changed "achievment" to "achievement"), page 208, para 8 + + chapter 11: + - Fixed typo ("thy're") on page 234, para 4 + + chapter 12: + - Page 241, para 1: changed "four o'clock this morning" to "four + o'clock this afternoon" - the content of this page and the following + pages clearly indicates that the march started in mid-day, + not before dawn + + chapter 13: + - Fixed typo ("persausive") on page 282, para 4 + - Fixed typo ("aand") on page 284, para 4 + + chapter 14: + - Fixed typo (changed "hid" to "hide"), page 289, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("batallions"), page 292, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("aand"), page 293, para 5 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 7 on page 295 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 8 on page 296 + - Fixed typo ("paseed"), page 299, para 1 + + chapter 16: + - Removed a duplicate "to" on page 330, para 3 + + Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII: + + - The printed book presented the names of newspapers and ships + in italics, but italics are not available in plain ASCII + + Chapter 1, page 9: Pendleton News, News, Louisville Journal, News + page 10: News + Chapter 3, page 71: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 4, everywhere: Star of the West + Chapter 5, page 96: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 6 and 7: Baltic + Chapter 12: Star of the West + + - The word "marquee" in chapter 15 was presented in the printed + book with an accented "e" + + +I did not modify: + + - The following sentence in chapter 1 does not seem quite right, + but I am not sure how to change it, if I would change it: + + George Kenton, having inherited much land in Kentucky, and two or + three plantations further south had added to his property by good + management. + + - There are a number of instances where the use of the comma in the + printed book seems to me inappropriate, mainly in terms of commas + inserted where I would not insert them, and also sometimes commas + lacking where I would provide them. However, I have adhered to + the punctuation as printed (except for obvious printing errors, + which are noted above). + + For example: + + His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, an + emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. + + Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, + but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. + + The sea itself, is against them. + + Two heavier crashes showed that the cannon were also coming into + play, and one shell striking within the fort, exploded, wounding + a half dozen men. + + The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest + of a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin + for profitable cultivation. + + - Each section of verse is formatted to appear similar to its + presentation in the printed book. Consequently: some verse is + indented more than others, some is left-aligned, some is + staggered on the left margin, some is center-aligned. + + - The author sometimes uses a technique whereby a paragraph introducing + a quotation ends with a colon, with the quotation following as the + next paragraph. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Guns of Bull Run, by Joseph A. Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GUNS OF BULL RUN *** + +***** This file should be named 3653.txt or 3653.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/5/3653/ + +Produced by Ken Reeder. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.06/12/01*END* +[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + + + + + +This etext was produced by Ken Reeder <kreeder@mailsnare.net> +Errata and other transcription notes are included as an appendix + + + + + +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN +A STORY OF THE CIVIL WAR'S EVE + +by JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + + + +THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + + VOLUMES IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + THE GUNS OF BULL RUN. + THE GUNS OF SHILOH. + THE SCOUTS OF STONEWALL. + THE SWORD OF ANTIETAM. + THE STAR OF GETTYSBURG. + THE ROCK OF CHICKAMAUGA. + THE SHADES OF THE WILDERNESS. + THE TREE OF APPOMATTOX. + + + PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + HARRY KENTON, A Lad Who Fights on the Southern Side. + DICK MASON, Cousin of Harry Kenton, Who Fights on the Northern Side. + COLONEL GEORGE KENTON, Father of Harry Kenton. + MRS. MASON, Mother of Dick Mason. + JULIANA, Mrs. Mason's Devoted Colored Servant. + COLONEL ARTHUR WINCHESTER, Dick Mason's Regimental Commander. + COLONEL LEONIDAS TALBOT, Commander of the Invincibles, + a Southern Regiment. + LIEUTENANT COLONEL HECTOR ST. HILAIRE, Second in Command of the + Invincibles. + ALAN HERTFORD, A Northern Cavalry Leader. + PHILIP SHERBURNE, A Southern Cavalry Leader. + WILLIAM J. SHEPARD, A Northern Spy. + DANIEL WHITLEY, A Northern Sergeant and Veteran of the Plains. + GEORGE WARNER, A Vermont Youth Who Loves Mathematics. + FRANK PENNINGTON, A Nebraska Youth, Friend of Dick Mason. + ARTHUR ST. CLAIR, A Native of Charleston, Friend of Harry Kenton. + TOM LANGDON, Friend of Harry Kenton. + GEORGE DALTON, Friend of Harry Kenton. + BILL SKELLY, Mountaineer and Guerrilla. + TOM SLADE, A Guerrilla Chief. + SAM JARVIS, The Singing Mountaineer. + IKE SIMMONS, Jarvis' Nephew. + AUNT "SUSE," A Centenarian and Prophetess. + BILL PETTY, A Mountaineer and Guide. + JULIEN DE LANGEAIS, A Musician and Soldier from Louisiana. + JOHN CARRINGTON, Famous Northern Artillery Officer. + DR. RUSSELL, Principal of the Pendleton School. + ARTHUR TRAVERS, A Lawyer. + JAMES BERTRAND, A Messenger from the South. + JOHN NEWCOMB, A Pennsylvania Colonel. + JOHN MARKHAM, A Northern Officer. + JOHN WATSON, A Northern Contractor. + WILLIAM CURTIS, A Southern Merchant and Blockade Runner. + MRS. CURTIS, Wife of William Curtis. + HENRIETTA GARDEN, A Seamstress in Richmond. + DICK JONES, A North Carolina Mountaineer. + VICTOR WOODVILLE, A Young Mississippi Officer. + JOHN WOODVILLE, Father of Victor Woodville. + CHARLES WOODVILLE, Uncle of Victor Woodville. + COLONEL BEDFORD, A Northern Officer. + CHARLES GORDON, A Southern Staff Officer. + JOHN LANHAM, An Editor. + JUDGE KENDRICK, A Lawyer. + MR. CULVER, A State Senator. + MR. BRACKEN, A Tobacco Grower. + ARTHUR WHITRIDGE, A State Senator. + + + HISTORICAL CHARACTERS + + ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States. + JEFFERSON DAVIS, President of the Southern Confederacy. + JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, Member of the Confederate Cabinet. + U. S. GRANT, Northern Commander. + ROBERT B. LEE, Southern Commander. + STONEWALL JACKSON, Southern General. + PHILIP H. SHERIDAN, Northern General. + GEORGE H. THOMAS, "The Rock of Chickamauga." + ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON, Southern General. + A. P. HILL, Southern General. + W. S. HANCOCK, Northern General. + GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Northern General. + AMBROSE B. BURNSIDE, Northern General. + TURNER ASHBY, Southern Cavalry Leader. + J. E. B. STUART, Southern Cavalry Leader. + JOSEPH HOOKER, Northern General. + RICHARD S. EWELL, Southern General. + JUBAL EARLY, Southern General. + WILLIAM S. ROSECRANS, Northern General. + SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, Southern General. + LEONIDAS POLK, Southern General and Bishop. + BRAXTON BRAGG, Southern General. + NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST, Southern Cavalry Leader. + JOHN MORGAN, Southern Cavalry Leader. + GEORGE J. MEADE, Northern General. + DON CARLOS BUELL, Northern General. + W. T. SHERMAN, Northern General. + JAMES LONGSTREET, Southern General. + P. G. T. BEAUREGARD, Southern General. + WILLIAM L. YANCEY, Alabama Orator. + JAMES A. GARFIELD, Northern General, afterwards President of + the United States. + + And many others + + + IMPORTANT BATTLES DESCRIBED IN THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + BULL RUN + KERNSTOWN + CROSS KEYS + WINCHESTER + PORT REPUBLIC + THE SEVEN DAYS + MILL SPRING + FORT DONELSON + SHILOH + PERRYVILLE + STONE RIVER + THE SECOND MANASSAS + ANTIETAM + FREDERICKSBURG + CHANCELLORSVILLE + GETTYSBURG + CHAMPION HILL + VICKSBURG + CHICKAMAUGA + MISSIONARY RIDGE + THE WILDERNESS + SPOTTSYLVANIA + COLD HARBOR + FISHER'S HILL + CEDAR CREEK + APPOMATTOX + + + +CONTENTS + + I. NEWS FROM CHARLESTON + + II. A COURIER TO THE SOUTH + + III. THE HEART OF REBELLION + + IV. THE FIRST CAPITAL + + V. THE NEW PRESIDENT + + VI. SUMTER + + VII. THE HOMECOMING + + VIII. THE FIGHT FOR A STATE + + IX. THE RIVER JOURNEY + + X. OVER THE MOUNTAINS + + XI. IN VIRGINIA + + XII. THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT + + XIII. THE SEEKER FOR HELP + + XIV. IN WASHINGTON + + XV. BATTLE'S EVE + + XVI. BULL RUN + + + + +THE GUNS OF BULL RUN + +CHAPTER I + +NEWS FROM CHARLESTON + + +It would soon be Christmas and Harry Kenton, at his desk in the +Pendleton Academy, saw the snow falling heavily outside. The school +stood on the skirt of the town, and the forest came down to the edge of +the playing field. The great trees, oak and ash and elm, were clothed +in white, and they stood out a vast and glittering tracery against the +somber sky. + +The desk was of the old kind, intended for two, and Harry's comrade in +it was his cousin, Dick Mason, of his own years and size. They would +graduate in June, and both were large and powerful for their age. +There was a strong family resemblance and yet a difference. Harry's +face was the more sensitive and at times the blood leaped like +quicksilver in his veins. Dick's features indicated a quieter and more +stubborn temper. They were equal favorites with teachers and pupils. + +Dick's eyes followed Harry's, and he, too, looked at the falling snow +and the white forest. Both were thinking of Christmas and the holiday +season so near at hand. It was a rich section of Kentucky, and they +were the sons of prosperous parents. The snow was fitting at such a +time, and many joyous hours would be passed before they returned to +school. + +The clouds darkened and the snow fell faster. A wind rose and drove it +against the panes. The boys heard the blast roaring outside and the +comfort of the warm room was heightened by the contrast. Harry's eyes +turned reluctantly back to his Tacitus and the customs and manners of +the ancient Germans. The curriculum of the Pendleton Academy was simple, +like most others at that time. After the primary grades it consisted +chiefly of the classics and mathematics. Harry led in the classics and +Dick in the mathematics. + +Bob Turner, the free colored man, who was janitor of the academy, +brought in the morning mail, a dozen letters and three or four +newspapers, gave it to Dr. Russell and withdrew on silent feet. + +The Doctor was principal of Pendleton Academy, and he always presided +over the room in which sat the larger boys, nearly fifty in number. +His desk and chair were on a low dais and he sat facing the pupils. +He was a large man, with a ruddy face, and thick hair as white as the +snow that was falling outside. He had been a teacher fifty years, +and three generations in Pendleton owed to him most of the learning that +is obtained from books. He opened his letters one by one, and read +them slowly. + +Harry moved far away into the German forest with old Tacitus. He was +proud of his Latin and he did not mean to lose his place as first in the +class. The other boys also were absorbed in their books. It was seldom +that all were studious at the same time, but this was one of the rare +moments. There was no shuffling of feet, and fifty heads were bent over +their desks. + +It was a full half hour before Harry looked up from his Tacitus. +His first glance was at the window. The snow was driving hard, and the +forest had become a white blur. He looked next at the Doctor and he saw +that the ruddy face had turned white. The old man was gazing intently +at an open letter in his hand. Two or three others had fallen to the +floor. He read the letter again, folded it carefully, and put it in his +pocket. Then he broke the wrapper on one of the newspapers and rapidly +read its columns. The whiteness of his face deepened into pallor. + +The slight tearing sound caused most of the boys to look up, and they +noticed the change in the principal's face. They had never seen him +look like that before. It was as if he had received some sudden and +deadly stroke. Yet he sat stiffly upright and there was no sound in the +room but the rustling of the newspaper as he turned its pages. + +Harry became conscious of some strange and subtle influence that had +crept into the very air, and his pulse began to leap. The others felt +it, too. There was a tense feeling in the room and they became so still +that the soft beat of the snow on the windows could be heard. + +Not a single eye was turned to a book now. All were intent upon the +Doctor, who still read the newspaper, his face without a trace of color, +and his strong white hands trembling. He folded the paper presently, +but still held it in his hand. As he looked up, he became conscious of +the silence in the room, and of the concentrated gaze of fifty pairs +of eyes bent upon him. A little color returned to his cheeks, and his +hands ceased to tremble. He stood up, took the letter from his pocket, +and opened it again. + +Dr. Russell was a striking figure, belonging to a classic type found +at its best in the border states. A tall man, he held himself erect, +despite his years, and the color continued to flow back into the face, +which was shaped in a fine strong mold. + +"Boys," he said, in a firm, full voice, although it showed emotion, +"I have received news which I must announce to you. As I tell it, +I beg that you will restrain yourselves, and make little comment here. +Its character is such that you are not likely ever to hear anything of +more importance." + +No one spoke, but a thrill of excitement ran through the room. Harry +became conscious that the strange and subtle influence had increased. +The pulses in both temples were beating hard. He and Dick leaned +forward, their elbows upon the desk, their lips parted a little in +attention. + +"You know," continued Dr. Russell in the full voice that trembled +slightly, "of the troubles that have arisen between the states, North +and South, troubles that the best Americans, with our own great Henry +Clay at the head, have striven to avert. You know of the election of +Lincoln, and how this beloved state of ours, seeking peace, voted for +neither Lincoln nor Breckinridge, both of whom are its sons." + +The trembling of his voice increased and he paused again. It was +obvious that he was stirred by deep emotion and it communicated itself +to the boys. Harry was conscious that the thrill, longer and stronger +than before, ran again through the room. + +"I have just received a letter from an old friend in Charleston," +continued Dr. Russell in a shaking voice, "and he tells me that on the +twentieth, three days ago, the state of South Carolina seceded from the +Union. He also sends me copies of two of the Charleston newspapers of +the day following. In both of these papers all despatches from the +other states are put under the head, 'Foreign News.' With the +Abolitionists of New England pouring abuse upon all who do not agree +with them, and the hot heads of South Carolina rushing into violence, +God alone knows what will happen to this distracted country that all +of us love so well." + +He turned anew to his correspondence. But Harry saw that he was +trembling all over. An excited murmur arose. The boys began to talk +about the news, and the principal, his thoughts far away, did not call +them to order. + +"I suppose since South Carolina has gone out that other southern states +will do the same," said Harry to his cousin, "and that two republics +will stand where but one stood before." + +"I don't know that the second result will follow the first," replied +Dick Mason. + +Harry glanced at him. He was conscious of a certain cold tenacity in +Dick's voice. He felt that a veil of antagonism had suddenly been drawn +between these two who were the sons of sisters and who had been close +comrades all their lives. His heart swelled suddenly. As if by +inspiration, he saw ahead long and terrible years. He said no more, +but gazed again at the pages of his Tacitus, although the letters only +swam before his eyes. + +The great buzz subsided at last, although there was not one among the +boys who was not still thinking of the secession of South Carolina. +They had shared in the excitement of the previous year. A few had +studied the causes, but most were swayed by propinquity and kinship, +which with youth are more potent factors than logic. + +The afternoon passed slowly. Dr. Russell, who always heard the +recitations of the seniors in Latin, did not call the class. Harry was +so much absorbed in other thoughts that he did not notice the fact. +Outside, the clouds still gathered and the soft beat of the snow on the +window panes never ceased. The hour of dismissal came at last and the +older boys, putting on their overcoats, went silently out. Harry did +not dream that he had passed the doors of Pendleton Academy for the +last time, as a student. + +While the seniors were quiet, there was no lack of noise from the +younger lads. Snowballs flew and the ends of red comforters, dancing +in the wind, touched the white world with glowing bits of color. Harry +looked at them with a sort of pity. The magnified emotions of youth had +suddenly made him feel very old and very responsible. When a snowball +struck him under the ear he paid no attention to it, a mark of great +abstraction in him. + +He and his cousin walked gravely on, and left the shouting crowd behind +them. Three or four hundred yards further, they came upon the main +street of Pendleton, a town of fifteen hundred people, important in +its section as a market, and as a financial and political center. It +had two banks as solid as stone, and it was the proud boast of its +inhabitants that, excepting Louisville and Lexington, its bar was of +unequalled talent in the state. Other towns made the same claim, +but no matter. Pendleton knew that they were wrong. Lawyers stood +very high, especially when they were fluent speakers. + +It was a singular fact that the two boys, usually full of talk, after +the manner of youth, did not speak until they came to the parting of +their ways. Then Harry, the more emotional of the two, and conscious +that the veil of antagonism was still between them, thrust out his hand +suddenly and said: + +"Whatever happens, Dick, you and I must not quarrel over it. Let's +pledge our word here and now that, being of the same blood and having +grown up together, we will always be friends." + +The color in the cheeks of the other boy deepened. A slight moisture +appeared in his eyes. He was, on the whole, more reserved than Harry, +but he, too, was stirred. He took the outstretched hand and gave it a +strong clasp. + +"Always, Harry," he replied. "We don't think alike, maybe, about the +things that are coming, but you and I can't quarrel." + +He released the hand quickly, because he hated any show of emotion, +and hurried down a side street to his home. Harry walked on into the +heart of the town, as he lived farther away on the other side. He soon +had plenty of evidence that the news of South Carolina's secession had +preceded him here. There had been no such stir in Pendleton since they +heard of Buena Vista, where fifty of her sons fought and half of them +fell. + +Despite the snow, the streets about the central square were full of +people. Many of the men were reading newspapers. It was fifteen miles +to the nearest railroad station, and the mail had come in at noon, +bringing the first printed accounts of South Carolina's action. In this +border state, which was a divided house from first to last, men still +guarded their speech. They had grown up together, and they were all of +blood kin, near or remote. + +"What will it mean?" said Harry to old Judge Kendrick. + +"War, perhaps, my son," replied the old man sadly. "The violence of New +England in speech and the violence of South Carolina in action may start +a flood. But Kentucky must keep out of it. I shall raise my voice +against the fury of both factions, and thank God, our people have never +refused to hear me." + +He spoke in a somewhat rhetorical fashion, natural to time and place, +but he was in great earnest. Harry went on, and entered the office of +the Pendleton News, the little weekly newspaper which dispensed the news, +mostly personal, within a radius of fifty miles. He knew that the News +would appear on the following day, and he was anxious to learn what +Mr. Gardner, the editor, a friend of his, would have to say in his +columns. + +He walked up the dusty stairway and entered the room, where the +editor sat amid piles of newspapers. Mr. Gardner was a youngish man, +high-colored and with longish hair. He was absorbed so deeply in a copy +of the Louisville Journal that he did not hear Harry's step or notice +his coming until the boy stood beside him. Then he looked up and said +dryly: + +"Too many sparks make a blaze at last. If people keep on quarreling +there's bound to be a fight some time or other. I suppose you've heard +that South Carolina has seceded." + +"Dr. Russell announced it at the school. Are you telling, Mr. Gardner, +what the News will have to say about it?" + +"I don't mind," replied the editor, who was fond of Harry, and who liked +his alert mind. "If it comes to a breach, I'm going with my people. +It's hard to tell what's right or wrong, but my ancestors belonged to +the South and so do I." + +"That's just the way I feel!" exclaimed Harry vehemently. + +The editor smiled. + +"But I don't intend to say so in the News tomorrow," he continued. +"I shall try to pour oil upon the waters, although I won't be able to +hide my Southern leanings. The Colonel, your father, Harry, will not +seek to conceal his." + +"No," said Harry. "He will not. What was that?" + +The sound of a shot came from the street. The two ran hurriedly down +the stairway. Three men were holding a fourth who struggled with them +violently. One had wrenched from his hand a pistol still smoking at the +muzzle. About twenty feet away was another man standing between two who +held him tightly, although he made no effort to release himself. + +Harry looked at the two captives. They made a striking contrast. +The one who fought was of powerful build, and dressed roughly. His +whole appearance indicated the primitive human being, and Harry knew +immediately that he was one of the mountaineers who came long distances +to trade or carouse in Pendleton. + +The man who faced the mountaineer, standing quietly between those who +held him, was young and slender, though tall. His longish black hair +was brushed carefully. The natural dead whiteness of his face was +accentuated by his black mustache, which turned up at the ends like +that of a duelist. He was dressed in black broadcloth, the long coat +buttoned closely about his body, but revealing a full and ruffled +shirt bosom as white as snow. His face expressed no emotion, but the +mountaineer cursed violently. + +"I can read the story at once," said the editor, shrugging his +shoulders. "I know the mountaineer. He's Bill Skelly, a rough man, +prone to reach for the trigger, especially when he's full of bad whiskey +as he is now, and the other, Arthur Travers, is no stranger to you. +Skelly is for the abolition of slavery. All the mountaineers are. +Maybe it's because they have no slaves themselves and hate the more +prosperous and more civilized lowlanders who do have them. Harry, +my boy, as you grow older you'll find that reason and logic seldom +control men's lives." + +"Skelly was excited over the news from South Carolina," said Harry, +continuing the story, which he, too, had read, as an Indian reads a +trail, "and he began to drink. He met Travers and cursed the slave- +holders. Travers replied with a sneer, which the mountaineer could +not understand, except that it hurt. Skelly snatched out his pistol +and fired wildly. Travers drew his and would have fired, although not +so wildly, but friends seized him. Meanwhile, others overpowered Skelly +and Travers is not excited at all, although he watches every movement +of his enemy, while seeming to be indifferent." + +"You read truly, Harry," said Gardner. "It was a fortunate thing for +Skelly that he was overpowered. Somehow, those two men facing each +other seem, in a way, to typify conditions in this part of the country +at least." + +Harry was now watching Travers, who always aroused his interest. +A lawyer, twenty-seven or eight years of age, he had little practice, +and seemed to wish little. He had a wonderful reputation for dexterity +with cards and the pistol. A native of Pendleton, he was the son of +parents from one of the Gulf States, and Harry could never quite feel +that he was one of their own Kentucky blood and breed. + +"You can release me," said Travers quietly to the young men who stood on +either side of him holding his arms. "I think the time has come to hunt +bigger game than a fool there like Skelly. He is safe from me." + +He spoke with a supercilious scorn which impressed Harry, but which +he did not wholly admire. Travers seemed to him to have the quiet +deadliness of the cobra. There was something about him that repelled. +The men released him. He straightened his long black coat, smoothed the +full ruffles of his shirt and walked away, as if nothing had happened. + +Skelly ceased to struggle. The aspect of the crowd, which was largely +hostile, sobered him. Steve Allison, the town constable, appeared and, +putting his hand heavily upon the mountaineer's shoulder, said: + +"You come with me, Skelly." + +But old Judge Kendrick intervened. + +"Let him go, Steve," he said. "Send him back to the mountains." + +"But he tried to kill a man, Judge." + +"I know, but extraordinary times demand extraordinary methods. A great +and troubled period has come into all our lives. Maybe we're about to +face some terrible crisis. Isn't that so?" + +"Yes," replied the crowd. + +"Then we must not hurry it or make it worse by sudden action. If Skelly +is punished, the mountaineers will say it is political. I appeal to you, +Dr. Russell, to sustain me." + +The white head of the principal showed above the crowd. + +"Judge Kendrick is right," he said. "Skelly must be permitted to go. +His action, in fact, was due to the strained conditions that have long +prevailed among us, and was precipitated by the alarming message that +has come today. For the sake of peace, we must let him go." + +"All right, then," said Allison, "but he goes without his pistol." + +Skelly was put upon his mountain pony, and he rode willingly away amid +the snow and the coming dusk, carrying, despite his release, a bitter +heart into the mountains, and a tale that would inflame the jealousy +with which upland regarded lowland. + +The crowd dispersed. Gardner returned to his office, and Harry went +home. He lived in the best house in or about Pendleton and his father +was its wealthiest citizen. George Kenton, having inherited much land +in Kentucky, and two or three plantations further south had added to +his property by good management. A strong supporter of slavery, actual +contact with the institution on a large scale in the Gulf States had not +pleased him, and he had sold his property there, reinvesting the money +in his native and, as he believed, more solid state. His title of +colonel was real. A graduate of West Point, he had fought bravely with +Scott in all the battles in the Valley of Mexico, but now retired and a +widower, he lived in Pendleton with Harry, his only child. + +Harry approached the house slowly. He knew that his father was a +man of strong temper and he wondered how he would take the news from +Charleston. All the associations of Colonel Kenton were with the +extreme Southern wing, and his influence upon his son was powerful. + +But the Pendleton home, standing just beyond the town, gave forth +only brightness and welcome. The house itself, large and low, built +massively of red brick, stood on the crest of a gentle slope in two +acres of ground. The clipped cones of pine trees adorned the slopes, +and made parallel rows along the brick walk, leading to the white +portico that formed the entrance to the house. Light shone from a +half dozen windows. + +It seemed fine and glowing to Harry. His father loved his home, and so +did he. The twilight had now darkened into night and the snow still +drove, but the house stood solid and square to wind and winter, and the +flame from its windows made broad bands of red and gold across the snow. +Harry went briskly up the walk and then stood for a few moments in the +portico, shaking the snow off his overcoat and looking back at the town, +which lay in a warm cluster in the hollow below. Many lights twinkled +there, and it occurred to Harry that they would twinkle later than usual +that night. + +He opened the door, hung his hat and overcoat in the hall, and entered +the large apartment which his father and he habitually used as a reading +and sitting room. It was more than twenty feet square, with a lofty +ceiling. A home-made carpet, thick, closely woven, and rich in colors +covered the floor. Around the walls were cases containing books, +mostly in rich bindings and nearly all English classics. American work +was scarcely represented at all. The books read most often by Colonel +Kenton were the novels of Walter Scott, whom he preferred greatly to +Dickens. Scott always wrote about gentlemen. A great fire of hickory +logs blazed on the wide hearth. + +Colonel Kenton was alone in the room. He stood at the edge of the +hearth, with his back to the fire and his hands crossed behind him. +His tanned face was slightly pale, and Harry saw that he had been +subjected to great nervous excitement, which had not yet wholly abated. + +The colonel was a tall man, broad of chest, but lean and muscular. +He regarded his son attentively, and his eyes seemed to ask a question. + +"Yes," said Harry, although his father had not spoken a word. "I've +heard of it, and I've already seen one of its results." + +"What is that?" asked Colonel Kenton quickly. + +"As I came through town Bill Skelly, a mountaineer, shot at Arthur +Travers. It came out of hot words over the news from Charleston. +Nobody was hurt, and they've sent Skelly on his pony toward his +mountains." + +Colonel Kenton's face clouded. + +"I'm sorry," he said. "I fear that Travers will be much too free with +stinging remarks. It's a time when men should control their tongues. +Do you be careful with yours. You're a youth in years, but you're a man +in size, and you should be a man in thought, too. You and I have been +close together, and I have trusted you, even when you were a little boy." + +"It's so, father," replied Harry, with affection and gratitude. + +"And I'm going to trust you yet further. It may be that I shall give +you a task requiring great skill and energy." + +The colonel looked closely at his son, and he gave silent approval to +the tall, well-knit form, and the alert, eager face. + +"We'll have supper presently," he said, "and then we will talk with +visitors. Some you know and some you don't. One of them, who has come +far, is already in the house." + +Harry's eyes showed surprise, but he knew better than to ask questions. +The colonel had carried his military training into private life. + +"He is a distant relative of ours, very distant, but a relative still," +continued Colonel Kenton. "You will meet him at supper. Be ready in a +half hour." + +The dinner of city life was still called supper in the South, and +Harry hastened to his room to prepare. His heart began to throb with +excitement. Now they were to have visitors at night and a mysterious +stranger was there. He felt dimly the advance of great events. + +Harry Kenton was a normal and healthy boy, but the discussions, the +debates, and the passions sweeping over the Union throughout the year +had sifted into Pendleton also. The news today had merely struck fire +to tinder prepared already, and, infused with the spirit of youth, +he felt much excitement but no depression. Making a careful toilet +he descended to the drawing room a little before the regular time. +Although he was early, his father was there before him, standing in his +customary attitude with his back to the hearth, and his hands clasped +behind him. + +"Our guest will be down in a few minutes," said Colonel Kenton. "He +comes from Charleston and his name is Raymond Louis Bertrand. I will +explain how he is related to us." + +He gave a chain of cousins extending on either side from the Kenton +family and the Bertrand family until they joined in the middle. It was +a slender tie of kinship, but it sufficed in the South. As he finished, +Bertrand himself came in, and was introduced formally to his Kentucky +cousin. Harry would have taken him for a Frenchman, and he was, in very +truth, largely of French blood. His black eyes and hair, his swarthy +complexion, gleaming white teeth and quick, volatile manner showed a +descendant of France who had come from the ancient soil by way of Hayti, +and the great negro rebellion to the coast of South Carolina. He seemed +strange and foreign to Harry, and yet he liked him. + +"And this is my young cousin, the one who is likely to be so zealous for +our cause," he said, smiling at Harry with flashing black eyes. "You +are a stalwart lad. They grow bigger and stronger here than on our warm +Carolina coast." + +"Raymond arrived only three hours ago," said Colonel Kenton in +explanation. "He came directly from Charleston, leaving only three +hours after the resolution in favor of secession was adopted." + +"And a rough journey it was," said Bertrand vivaciously. "I was +rattled and shaken by the trains, and I made some of the connections by +horseback over the wild hills. Then it was a long ride through the snow +to your hospitable home here, my good cousin, Colonel Kenton. But I had +minute directions, and no one noticed the stranger who came so quietly +around the town, and then entered your house." + +Harry said nothing but watched him intently. Bertrand spoke with a +rapid lightness and grace and an abundance of gesture, to which he was +not used in Kentucky. He ate plentifully, and, although his manners +were delicate, Harry felt to an increasing degree his foreign aspect and +spirit. He did not wonder at it when he learned later that Bertrand, +besides being chiefly of French blood, had also been educated in Paris. + +"Was there much enthusiasm in South Carolina when the state seceded, +Raymond?" asked Colonel Kenton. + +"I saw the greatest joy and confidence everywhere," he replied, the +color flaming through his olive face. "The whole state is ablaze. +Charleston is the heart and soul of our new alliance. Rhett and Yancey +of Alabama, and the great orators make the souls of men leap. Ah, sir, +if you could only have been in Charleston in the course of recent +months! If you could have heard the speakers! If you could have +seen how the great and righteous Calhoun's influence lives after him! +And then the writers! That able newspaper, the Mercury, has thundered +daily for our cause. Simms, the novelist, and Timrod and Hayne, the +poets have written for it. Let the cities of the North boast of their +size and wealth, but they cannot match Charleston in culture and spirit +and vivacity!" + +Harry saw that Bertrand felt and believed every word he said, and his +enthusiasm was communicated to the colonel, whose face flushed, and to +Harry, too, whose own heart was beating faster. + +"It was a great deed!" exclaimed Colonel Kenton. "South Carolina has +always dared to speak her mind, but here in Kentucky some of the cold +North's blood flows in our veins and we pause to calculate and consider. +We must hasten events. Now, Raymond, we will go into the library. +Our friends will be here in a half hour. Harry, you are to stay with +us. I told you that you are to be trusted." + +They left the table, and went into the great room where the fire had +been built anew and was casting a ruddy welcome through the windows. +The two men sat down before the blaze and each fell silent, engrossed in +his thoughts. Harry felt a pleased excitement. Here was a great and +mysterious affair, but he was going to have admittance to the heart +of it. He walked to the window, lifted the curtain and looked out. +A slender erect figure was already coming up the walk, and he recognized +Travers. + +Travers knocked at the door and was received cordially. Colonel Kenton +introduced Bertrand, saying: + +"The messenger from the South." + +Travers shook hands and nodded also to signify that he understood. +Then came Culver, the state senator from the district, a man of middle +years, bulky, smooth shaven, and oratorical. He was followed soon by +Bracken, a tobacco farmer on a great scale, Judge Kendrick, Reid and +Wayne, both lawyers, and several others, all of wealth or of influence +in that region. Besides Harry, there were ten in the room. + +"I believe that we are all here now," said Colonel Kenton. "I keep my +son with us because, for reasons that I will explain later, I shall +nominate him for the task that is needed." + +"We do not question your judgment, colonel," said Senator Culver. +"He is a strong and likely lad. But I suggest that we go at once to +business. Mr. Bertrand, you will inform us what further steps are to be +taken by South Carolina and her neighboring states. South Carolina may +set an example, but if the others do not follow, she will merely be a +sacrifice." + +Bertrand smiled. His smile always lighted up his olive face in a +wonderful way. It was a smile, too, of supreme confidence. + +"Do not fear," he said. "Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana +are ready. We have word from them all. It is only a matter of a few +days until every state in the lower south goes out, but we want also and +we need greatly those on the border, famous states like your Kentucky +and Virginia. Do you not see how you are threatened? With the triumph +of the rail-splitter, Lincoln, the seat of power is transferred to the +North. It is not alone a question of slavery. The balance of the +Union is destroyed. The South loses leadership. Her population is not +increasing rapidly, and hereafter she will merely hold the stirrup while +the North sits in the saddle." + +A murmur arose from the men. More than one clenched his hands, until +the nails pressed into the flesh. Harry, still standing by the window, +felt the influence of the South Carolinian's words more deeply perhaps +than any other. The North appeared to him cold, jealous, and vengeful. + +"You are right about Kentucky and Virginia," said Senator Culver. +"The secession of two such strong states would strike terror in the +North. It would influence the outside world, and we would be in a far +better position for war, if it should come. Governor Magoffin will have +to call a special session of the legislature, and I think there will +be enough of us in both Senate and House to take Kentucky out." + +Bertrand's dark face glowed. + +"You must do it! You must do it!" he exclaimed. "And if you do our +cause is won!" + +There was a thoughtful silence, broken at last by Colonel Kenton, +who turned an inquiring eye upon Bertrand. + +"I wish to ask you about the Knights of the Golden Circle," he said. +"I hear that they are making great headway in the Gulf States." + +Raymond hesitated a moment. It seemed that he, too, felt for the first +time a difference between himself and these men about him who were so +much less demonstrative than he. But he recovered his poise quickly. + +"I speak to you frankly," he replied. "When our new confederation is +formed, it is likely to expand. A hostile union will lie across our +northern border, but to the south the way is open. There is our field. +Spain grows weak and the great island of Cuba will fall from her grasp. +Mexico is torn by one civil war after another. It is a grand country, +and it would prosper mightily in strong hands. Beyond lie the unstable +states of Central America, also awaiting good rulers." + +Colonel Kenton frowned and the lawyers looked doubtful. + +"I can't say that I like your prospect," the colonel said. "It seems to +me that your knights of the Golden Circle meditate a great slave empire +which will eat its way even into South America. Slavery is not wholly +popular here. Henry Clay long ago wished it to be abolished, and his is +a mighty name among us. It would be best to say little in Kentucky of +the Knights of the Golden Circle. Our climate is a little too cold for +such a project." + +Bertrand bit his lip. Swift and volatile, he showed disappointment, but, +still swift and volatile, he recovered quickly. + +"I have no doubt that you are right, Colonel Kenton," he said, in the +tone of one who conforms gracefully, "and I shall be careful when I go +to Frankfort with Senator Culver to say nothing about it." + +But Harry, who watched him all the time, read tenacity and purpose in +his eyes. This man would not relinquish his great southern dream, +a dream of vast dominion, and he had a powerful society behind him. + +"What news, then, will you send to Charleston?" asked Bertrand at +length. "Will you tell her that Kentucky, the state of great names, +will stand beside her?" + +"Such a message shall be carried to her," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking for them all, "and I propose that my son Harry be the +messenger. These are troubled times, gentlemen, and full of peril. +We dare not trust to the mails, and a lad, carrying letters, would +arouse the least suspicion. He is strong and resourceful. I, his +father, should know best and I am willing to devote him to the cause." + +Harry started when he heard the words of his father, and his heart gave +a great leap of mingled surprise and joy. Such a journey, such an +enterprise, made an instant appeal to his impulsive and daring spirit. +But he did not speak, waiting upon the words of his elders. All of them +looked at him, and it seemed to Harry that they were measuring him, +both body and mind. + +"I have known your boy since his birth," said Senator Culver, "and he +is all that you say. There is none stronger and better. The choice is +good." + +"Good! Aye, good indeed!" said the impetuous Bertrand. "How they will +welcome him in Charleston!" + +"Then, gentlemen," said Colonel Kenton, very soberly, "you are all +agreed that my son shall carry to South Carolina the message that +Kentucky will follow her out of the Union?" + +"We are," they said, all together. + +"I shall be glad and proud to go," said Harry, speaking for the first +time. + +"I knew it without asking you," said Colonel Kenton. "I suggest to you, +friends, that he start before dawn, and that he go to Winton instead +of the nearest station. We wish to avoid observation and suspicion. +The fewer questions he has to answer, the better it will be for all of +us." + +They agreed with him again, and, in order that he might be fresh and +strong for his journey, Harry was sent to his bedroom. Everything +would be made ready for him, and Colonel Kenton would call him at the +appointed hour. As he withdrew he bade them in turn good night, and +they returned his courtesy gravely. + +It was one thing to go to his room, but it was another to sleep. +He undressed and sat on the edge of the bed. Only when he was alone did +he realize the tremendous change that had come into his life. Nor into +his life alone, but into the lives of all he knew, and of millions more. + +It had ceased snowing and the wind was still. The earth was clothed +in deep and quiet white, and the pines stood up, rows of white cones, +silvered by the moonlight. Nothing moved out there. No sound came. +He felt awed by the world of night, and the mysterious future which must +be full of strange and great events. + +He lay down between the covers and, although sleep was long in coming, +it came at last and it was without dreams. + + + +CHAPTER II + +A COURIER TO THE SOUTH + + +Harry was awakened by his father shaking his shoulder. It was yet dark +outside, but a small lamp burned on his table. + +"It is time for you to go, Harry," said Colonel Kenton, somewhat +unsteadily. "Your horse, bridle and saddle on, is waiting. Your +breakfast has been cooked for you, and everything else is ready." + +Harry dressed rapidly in his heaviest and warmest clothing. He and his +father ate breakfast by lamplight, and when he finished it was not yet +dawn. Then the Colonel himself brought him his overcoat, comforter, +overshoes, and fur cap. + +"The saddlebags are already on your horse," he said, "and they are +filled with the things you will need. In this pocket-book you will +find five hundred dollars, and here is, also, an order on a bank in +Charleston for more. See that you keep both money and order safely. +I trust to you to spend the money in the proper manner." + +Harry put both in an inside pocket of his waistcoat, and then his father +handed him a heavy sealed letter. + +"This you must guard with your life," he said. "It is not addressed +to anybody, but you can give it to Senator Yancey, who is probably +in Charleston, or Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, or General +Beauregard, who, I understand, is coming to command the troops there, +and whom I knew in former days, or to General Ripley. It contains +Kentucky's promise to South Carolina, and it is signed by many of us. +And now, Harry, let prudence watch over action. It is no common errand +upon which you ride." + +The colonel walked with him to the gate where the horse stood. Harry +did not know who had brought the animal there, but he believed that his +father had done so with his own hand. The boy sprang into the saddle, +Colonel Kenton gave him a strong grasp of the hand, undertook to say +something but, as he did so, the words choked in his throat, and he +walked hastily toward the house. + +Harry spoke to his horse, but a hundred yards away, before he came to +the first curve in the road, he stopped and looked back. Colonel Kenton +was standing in the doorway, his figure made bright in the moonlight. +Harry waved his hand and a hand was waved in return. Tears arose to his +own eyes, but he was youth in the saddle, with the world before him, +and the mist was gone quickly. + +The snow was six or eight inches deep, and lay unbroken in the road. +But the horse was powerful, shod carefully for snow and ice, and Harry +had been almost from infancy an expert rider. His spirits rose. +He had no fear of the stillness and the dark. But one could scarcely +call it the dark, since brilliant stars rode high in a bright blue +heaven, and the forest on either side of him was a vast and intricate +tracery of white touched with silver. + +He examined his saddle bags, and found in them a silver-mounted pistol +and cartridges which he transferred to his belt. The line of the +mountains lay near the road, and he remembered Bill Skelly and those +like him. The weapon gave him new strength. Skelly and his comrades +might come on any pretext they chose. + +The road lay straight toward the south, edged on either side by forest. +Now and then he passed a silent farm house, set back among the trees, +and once a dog barked, but there was no sound, save the tread of the +horse's feet in the snow, and his occasional puff when he blew the steam +from his nostrils. Harry did not feel the cold. The heavy overcoat +protected his body, and the strong action of the heart, pouring the +blood in a full tide through his veins, kept him warm. + +The east whitened. Dawn came. Thin spires of smoke began to rise from +distant houses in the woods or fields. Harry was already many miles +from Pendleton, and then something rose in his throat again. He +remembered his father standing in the portico, and, strangely enough, +the Tacitus lying in his locked desk at the academy. But he crushed +it down. His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, +an emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. + +The station at Winton was a full twenty miles from Pendleton and, +with such heavy snow, Harry did not expect to arrive until late in the +afternoon. Nor would there be any need for him to get there earlier, +as no train for Nashville reached that place until half past six in the +evening. His horse showed no signs of weariness, but he checked his +speed, and went on at an easy walk. + +The road curved nearer to a line of blue hills, which sloped gradually +upward for scores of miles, until they became mountains. All were +clothed with forest, and every tree was heavy with snow. A line between +the trees showed where a path turned off from the main road and entered +the hills. As Harry approached it, he heard the crunching of horses' +hoofs in the snow. A warning instinct caused him to urge his own horse +forward, just as four riders came into view. + +He saw that the men in the saddles, who were forty or fifty yards away, +were mountaineers, like Skelly. They wore fur caps; heavy blanket +shawls were drooped about their shoulders and every one carried a rifle. +As soon as they saw the boy they shouted to him to halt. + +Harry's alert senses took alarm. They must have gained some knowledge +of his errand and its nature. Perhaps word had been sent from Pendleton +by those who were arraying themselves on the other side that he be +intercepted. When they cried to him to stop, he struck his horse +sharply, shouted to him, and bent far over against his neck. Colonel +Kenton had chosen well. The horse responded instantly. He seemed to +gather his whole powerful frame compactly together, and shot forward. +The nearest mountaineer fired, but the bullet merely whistled where the +horse and rider had been, and sent snow flying from the bushes on the +other side of the road. A second rifle cracked but it, too, missed the +flying target, and the mountaineers, turning into the main road, gave +pursuit. + +Harry felt a cold shiver along his spine when the leading man pulled +trigger. It was the first time in his life that any one had ever fired +upon him, and the shiver returned with the second shot. And since they +had missed, confidence came. He knew that they could not overtake him, +and they would not dare to pursue him long. He glanced back. They +were a full hundred yards in the rear, riding all four abreast. He +remembered his own pistol, and, drawing it from his belt, he sent a +bullet toward the pursuit. It was too long a range for serious work, +but he intended it as a warning that he, too, was armed and would fight. + +The road still ran through the forest with the hills close on the left. +Up went the sun, casting a golden glory over the white earth. Harry +beheld afar only a single spire of smoke. The houses were few in that +region, and he might go four or five miles without seeing a single human +being, save those who pursued. But he was not afraid. His confidence +lay chiefly in the powerful animal that he rode, and he saw the distance +between him and the four men lengthen from a hundred to two hundred +yards. One of them fired another shot at him, but it only shook the +snow from a tree fifteen feet away. He could not keep from sending back +a taunting cry. + +On went the sun up the curve of the heavens, and the brilliant light +grew. The forest thinned away. The line of hills retreated, and before +him lay fields, extending to both right and left. The eye ranged over +a great distance and he counted the smoke of five farm houses. He +believed that the men would not pursue him into the open country, +but he urged his horse to greater speed, and did not turn in his saddle +for a quarter of an hour. When he finally looked back the mountaineers +were gone. He could see clearly a half-mile, and he knew now that his +surmise had come true. They dared to pursue only in the forest, and +having failed, they would withdraw into the hills. + +He drew his horse down to a walk, patted his shoulder, and spoke to him +words of approval. He was not sorry now that he had passed through the +adventure. It would harden him to risks and dangers to come. He made +up his mind, also, to say nothing about it. He could send a warning +back from Winton, but the men in Pendleton knew how to protect +themselves, and the message might fall into wrong hands. + +His journey continued in such peace that it was hard to believe men had +fired upon him, and in the middle of the afternoon he reached Winton. +He left his horse, saddle and bridle at a livery stable, stating that +they would be called for by Colonel Kenton, who was known throughout the +region, and sought food at the crude little wooden hotel. He was glad +that he saw no one whom he knew, because, after the fashion of the +country, they would ask him many questions, and he felt relief, too, +when the train arrived. + +Dark had already come when Harry entered the car. There were no coaches +for sleepers, and he must make himself comfortable as best he could on +the red plush seat, sprinkled thickly with ashes and cinders from the +engine. Fortunately, he had the seat alone, although there were many +people in the car. + +The train, pouring out a huge volume of black smoke, pulled out of the +station with a great clatter that never ceased. Now Harry felt an ebb +of the spirits and melancholy. He was leaving behind Pendleton and all +that he had known. In the day the excitement, the cold air, and the +free world about him had kept him up. Now the swaying and jarring +of the train, crude like most others in that early time of railways, +gave him a sense of illness. The window at his elbow rattled +incessantly, and the ashes and cinders sifted in, blackening his face +and hands. Three or four smoking lamps, hung from the ceiling, lighted +the car dimly, and disclosed but partly the faces of the people around +him. Some were asleep already. Others ate their suppers from baskets. +Harry felt of his pockets at intervals to see that his money and letters +were safe, and he kept his saddle bags closely on the seat beside him. + +The nausea created by the motion of the train passed away soon. He put +his face against the dusty window pane and tried to see the country. +But he could catch only glimpses of snowy woods and fields, and, once +or twice, flashes of water as they crossed rivers. The effort yielded +little, and he turned his attention to the people. He noted only one +who differed in aspect from the ordinary country passenger. + +A man of middle years sat rigidly erect at the far end of the car. +He wore a black hat, broad of brim, and all his clothing was black and +precise. His face was shaven smoothly, save for a long gray mustache +with an upward curve. While the people about him talked in a +miscellaneous fashion, he did not join them, and his manner did not +invite approach even in those easy times. + +Harry was interested greatly. The stranger presently opened a valise, +took out some food and ate delicately. Then he drew a small silver +cup from the same valise, filled it at the drinking stand, drank and +returned it to the valise. Without a crumb having fallen on clothing +or floor, he resumed his seat and gazed straight before him. + +Harry's interest in the stranger increased. He had a fine face, cut +clearly, and of a somewhat severe and melancholy cast. Always he gazed +straight before him, and his mind seemed to be far from the people in +the car. It was obvious that he was not the ordinary traveler, and the +boy spent some time in trying to guess his identity. Then he gave it up, +because he was growing sleepy. + +Excitement and the long physical strain were now telling upon Harry. +He leaned his head against the corner of the seat and the wall, drew his +overcoat as a blanket about his body and shoulders, and let his eyelids +droop. The dim train grew dimmer, and he slept. + +The train was due at Nashville between midnight and morning, and Harry +was awakened by the conductor a half hour before he reached the city. +He shook himself, put on his overcoat that he had used as a blanket, +and tried to look through the window. He saw only darkness rushing past, +but he knew that he had left Kentucky behind, and it seemed to him that +he had come into an alien land, a land of future friends, no doubt, +but as yet, the land of the stranger. + +All the people in the train were awakening, and were gathering their +baggage sleepily about them. But the stranger, who drank from the +silver cup, seemed not to have been asleep at all. He still sat rigidly +erect, and his melancholy look had not abated. His valise lay on the +seat beside him. Harry noticed that it was large and strong, with metal +clasps at the corners. + +The engine was whistling already for Nashville, and Harry threw his +saddle bags over his arm. He was fully awake now, alert and eager. +This town of Nashville was full of promise. It had been the home of +the great Andrew Jackson, and it was one of the important cities of the +South, where cities were measured by influence rather than population, +because all, except New Orleans, were small. + +As the train slowed down, Harry arose and stood in the aisle. The +stranger also stood up, and Harry noticed that his bearing was military. +He looked around, his eyes met Harry's--perhaps he had been observing +him in the night--and he smiled. It was a rare, illuminating smile that +made him wonderfully attractive, and Harry smiled back. He did not know +it, but he was growing lonely, with the loneliness of youth, and he +wanted a friend. + +"You are stopping in Nashville?" said the man with the friendliness of +the time. + +"For a day only. I am then going further south." + +Harry had answered without hesitation. He did not believe it possible +that this man could be planning anything against him or his errand. +The tall stranger looked upon him with approval. + +"I noticed you in the train last night when you slept," he said, +speaking in the soft, musical accents of the seaboard South. "Your +sleep was very deep, almost like collapse. You showed that you had +been through great physical and mental strain, and even before you +fell asleep your anxious look indicated that you rode on an errand +of importance." + +Harry gazed at him in surprise, mingled with a little alarm. The +strange man laughed musically and with satisfaction. + +"I am neither a detective nor a conspirator," he said. "These are times +when men travel upon anxious journeys. I go upon one myself, but since +we are in Tennessee, well south of the Mason and Dixon line, I make no +secret of it. I am Leonidas Talbot, of South Carolina, until a week ago +a colonel in the American army, but now bound for my home in Charleston. +You boarded this train at a station in Kentucky, either the nearest or +among the nearest to Pendleton. A resemblance, real or fancied, has +caused me to notice you closely." + +The man was looking at him with frank blue eyes set well apart, and +Harry saw no need of concealing his identity. + +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton--though people generally call me +Harry--and I live at Pendleton in Kentucky," he replied. + +Now the smile of Leonidas Talbot, late colonel U. S. A., became rarely +sweet. + +"I should have guessed it," he said. "The place where you joined us and +the strong resemblance should have made me know. You must be the son of +Colonel George Kenton." + +"Yes," said Harry. + +"Then, young sir, let me shake your hand." + +His manner seemed so warm and natural that Harry held out his hand, +and Colonel Talbot gave it a strong clasp. + +"Your father and I have served together," he said. "We were in the +same class at West Point, and we fought in the same command against the +Indians on the plains. I saw him again at Cerro Gordo, and we were side +by side at Contreras, Molino del Rey, and the storming of Chapultepec. +He left the service some time after we came back from Mexico, but I +remained in it, until--recent events. It is fitting that I should meet +his son here, when we go upon errands which are, perhaps, similar in +nature. I infer that your destination is Charleston!" + +"Yes," said Harry impulsively, and he was not sorry that he had obeyed +the impulse. + +"Then we shall go together," said Colonel Talbot. "I take it that many +other people are now on their way to this same city of Charleston, +which since the secession of South Carolina has become the most famous +in the Union." + +"I shall be glad if you will take me with you," said Harry. "I know +little of Charleston and the lower South, and I need company." + +"Then we will go to a hotel," said Colonel Talbot. "On a journey like +this two together are better than one alone. I know Nashville fairly +well, and while it is of the undoubted South, it will be best for us, +while we are here, to keep quiet tongues in our heads. We cannot get a +train out of the city until the afternoon." + +They were now in the station and everybody was going out. It was not +much past midnight, and a cold wind blowing across the hills and the +Cumberland River made Harry shiver in his overcoat. Once more he was +glad of his new comradeship with a man so much his superior in years and +worldly wisdom. + +Snow lay on the ground, but not so deep as in Kentucky. Houses, mostly +of wood, and low, showed dimly through the dusk. No carriages met the +train, and the people were melting away already to their destinations. + +"I'll lead the way," said Colonel Talbot. "I know the best hotel, +and for travelers who need rest the best is always none too good." + +He led briskly through the silent and lonely streets, until they came +to a large brick building with several lights shining from the wide and +open door. They entered the lobby of the hotel, one carrying his saddle +bags, the other his valise, and registered in the book that the sleepy +clerk shoved toward them. Several loungers still sat in cane-bottomed +chairs along the wall, and they cast curious glances at Harry and the +colonel. + +The hotel was crowded, the clerk said. People had been crowding into +town in the last few days, as there was a great stir in the country +owing to the news from Charleston. He could give them only one room, +but it had two beds. + +"It will do," said the colonel, in his soft but positive voice. "My +young friend and I have been traveling hard and we need rest." + +Harry would have preferred a room alone, but his trust in Colonel Talbot +had already become absolute. This man must be what he claimed to be. +There was no trace of deceit about him. His heart had never before +warmed so much to a stranger. + +Colonel Talbot closed and locked the door of their room. It was a large +bare apartment with two windows overlooking the town, and two small beds +against opposite walls. The colonel put his valise at the foot of one +bed, and walked to the window. The night had lightened somewhat and he +saw the roofs of buildings, the dim line of the yellow river, and the +dusky haze of hills beyond. He turned his head and looked steadily in +the direction in which lay Charleston. A look of ineffable sadness +overspread his face. + +The light on the table was none too bright, but Harry saw Colonel +Talbot's melancholy eyes, and he could not refrain from asking: + +"What's the trouble, colonel?" + +The South Carolinian turned from the window, sat down on the edge of the +bed and smiled. It was an illuminating smile, almost the smile of youth. + +"I'm afraid that everything's the matter, Harry, boy," he said. "South +Carolina, the state that I love even more than the Union to which it +belongs, or belonged, has gone out, and, Harry, because I'm a son of +South Carolina I must go with it--and I don't want to go. But I've been +a soldier all my life. I know little of politics. I have grown up with +the feeling that I must stay with my people through all things. I must +be kin by blood to half the white people in Charleston. How could I +desert them?" + +"You couldn't," said Harry emphatically. + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled. It is possible that, at the moment, +he wished for the sanguine decision of youth, which could choose a side +and find only wrong in the other. + +"In my heart," he continued, "I do not wish to see the Union broken up, +although the violence of New England orators and the raid of John Brown +has appalled me. But, Harry, pay good heed to me when I say it is not a +mere matter of going out of the Union. It may not be possible for South +Carolina and the states that follow her to stay out." + +"I don't understand you," said the boy. + +"It means war! It means war, as surely as the rising of the sun in the +morning. Many think that it does not; that the new republic will be +formed in peace, but I know better. A great and terrible war is coming. +Many of our colored people in Charleston and along the Carolina coast +came by the way of the West Indies. They have strange superstitions. +They believe that some of their number have the gift of second sight. +In my childhood I knew two old women who claimed the power, and they +gave apparent proofs that were extraordinary. I feel just now as if I +had the gift myself, and I tell you, Harry, although you can see only a +dark horizon from the window, I see one that is blood red all the way +to the zenith. Alas, our poor country!" + +Harry stared at him in amazement. The colonel, although he had called +his name, seemed to have forgotten his presence. A vivid and powerful +imagination had carried him not only from the room, but far into the +future. He recovered himself with an abrupt little shrug of the +shoulders. + +"I am too old a man to be talking such foolishness to a boy," he said, +briskly. "To bed, Harry! To bed! Your sleep on the train was brief +and you need more! So do I!" + +Harry undressed quickly, and put himself under the covers, and the +colonel also retired, although somewhat more leisurely. The boy could +not sleep for some time. One vision was present in his mind, that of +Charleston, the famous city to which they were going. The effect of +Colonel Talbot's ominous words had worn off. He would soon see the city +which had been so long a leader in Southern thought and action, and he +would see, too, the men who had so boldly taken matters in their own +hands. He admired their courage and daring. + +It was late when Harry awoke, and the colonel was already up and +dressed. But the man waited quietly until the boy was dressed also, +and they went down to breakfast together. Despite the lateness of +the hour the dining-room was still crowded, and the room buzzed with +animated talk. Harry knew very well that Charleston was the absorbing +topic, just as it had been the one great thought in his own mind. +The people about him seemed to be wholly of Southern sympathies, and +he knew very well that Tennessee, although she might take her own time +about it, would follow South Carolina out of the Union. + +They found two vacant seats at a table, where three men already sat. +One was a member of the Legislature, who talked somewhat loudly; the +second was a country merchant of middle age, and the third was a young +man of twenty-five, who had very little to say. The legislator, whose +name was Ramsay, soon learned Colonel Talbot's identity, and he would +have proclaimed it to everybody about him, had not the colonel begged +him not to do so. + +"But you will at least permit me to shake your hand, Colonel Talbot," +he said. "One who can give up his commission in the army and come back +to us as you have done is the kind of man we need." + +Colonel Talbot gave a reluctant hand. + +"I am proud to have felt the grasp of one who will win many honors in +the coming war," said Ramsay. + +"Or more likely fill a grave," said Colonel Talbot, dryly. + +The silent young man across the table looked at the South Carolinian +with interest, and Harry in his turn examined this stranger. He was +built well, shaven smoothly, and did not look like a Tennesseean. +His thin lips, often pressed closely together, seemed to indicate a +capacity for silence, but when he saw Harry looking at him he smiled +and said: + +"I gather from your conversation that you are going to Charleston. +All southern roads seem to lead to that town, and I, too, am going +there. My name is Shepard, William J. Shepard, of St. Louis." + +Colonel Talbot turned a measuring look upon him. It was so intent and +comprehensive that the young man flushed slightly, and moved a little in +his seat. + +"So you are from St. Louis?" said the colonel. "That is a great city, +and you must know something about the feeling there. Can you tell me +whether Missouri will go out?" + +"I cannot," replied Shepard. "No man can. But many of us are at work." + +"What do you think?" persisted Colonel Talbot. + +"I am hoping. Missouri is really a Southern state, the daughter of +Kentucky, and she ought to join her Southern sisters. As the others +go out one by one, I think she will follow. The North will not fight, +and we will form a peaceful Southern republic." + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot of South Carolina swept him once more with that +intent and comprehensive gaze. + +"The North will fight," he said. "As I told my young friend here last +night, a great and terrible war is coming." + +"Do you think so?" asked Shepard, and it seemed to Harry that his tone +had become one of overwhelming interest. "Then Charleston, as its +center and origin, ought to be ready. How are they prepared there for +defense?" + +Colonel Talbot's eyes never left Shepard's face and a faint pink tint +appeared again in the young man's cheeks. + +"There are the forts--Sumter, Moultrie, Johnson and Pinckney," replied +the South Carolinian, "and I heard to-day that they are building +earthworks, also. All are helping and it is said that Toutant +Beauregard is going there to take command." + +"A good officer," said Shepard, musingly. "I believe you said you were +leaving for Charleston this afternoon?" + +"No, I did not say when," replied Colonel Talbot, somewhat sharply. +"It is possible that Harry and I may linger a while in Nashville. +They do not need us yet in Charleston, although their tempers are pretty +warm. There has been so much fiery talk, cumulative for so many years, +that they regard northern men with extremely hostile eyes. It would not +take much to cause trouble." + +Colonel Talbot continued to gaze steadily at Shepard, but the Missourian +looked down into his plate. It seemed to Harry that there was some sort +of play between them, or rather a thread of suspicion, a fine thread +in truth, but strong enough to sustain something. He could see, too, +that Colonel Talbot was giving Shepard a warning, a warning, veiled and +vague, but nevertheless a warning. But the boy liked Shepard. His face +seemed to him frank and honest, and he would have trusted him. + +They rose presently and went into the lobby, where the colonel evaded +Shepard, as the place was now crowded. More news had come from +Charleston and evidently it was to their liking. There was a great +amount of talk. Many of the older men sprinkled their words with +expressive oaths. The oaths came so naturally that it seemed to be a +habit with them. They chewed tobacco freely, and now and then their +white shirt fronts were stained with it. All those who seemed to be of +prominence wore long black coats, waistcoats cut low, and trousers of +a lighter color. + +Near the wall stood a man of heavy build with a great shaggy head and +thick black hair all over his face. He was dressed in a suit of rough +gray jeans, with his trousers stuffed into high boots. He carried in +his right hand a short, thick riding whip, with which he occasionally +switched the tops of his own boots. + +Harry spoke to him civilly, after the custom of the time and place. +He took him for a mountaineer, and he judged by the heavy whip he +carried, that he was a horse or cattle trader. + +"They talk of Charleston," said Harry. + +"Yes, they talk an' talk," said the man, biting his words, "an' they do +nothin'." + +"You think they ought to take Tennessee out right away?" + +"No, I'm ag'in it. I don't want to bust up this here Union. But I +reckon Tennessee is goin' out, an' most all the other Southern states +will go out, too. I 'low the South will get whipped like all tarnation, +but if she does I'm a Southerner myself, an' I'll have to git whipped +along with her. But talkin' don't do no good fur nobody. If the South +goes out, it's hittin' that'll count, an' them that hits fastest, +hardest, truest an' longest will win." + +The man was rough in appearance and illiterate in speech, but his +manner impressed Harry in an extraordinary manner. It was direct and +wonderfully convincing. The boy recognized at once a mind that would +steer straight through things toward its goal. + +"My name is Harry Kenton," he said politely. "I'm from Kentucky, +and my father used to be a colonel in the army." + +"Mine," said the mountaineer, "is Nat Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest +for full and long. I'm a trader in live stock, an' I thought I'd look +in here at Nashville an' see what the smart folks was doin'. I'd tell +'em not to let Tennessee go out of the Union, but they wouldn't pay any +'tention to a hoss-tradin' mountaineer, who his neighbors say can't +write his name." + +"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Forrest," said Harry, "but I'm afraid we're +on different sides of the question." + +"Mebbe we are 'til things come to a head," said the mountaineer, +laughing, "but, as I said, if Tennessee goes out, I reckon I'll go with +her. It's hard to go ag'in your own gang. Leastways, 't ain't in me +to do it. Now I've had enough of this gab, an' I'm goin' to skip out. +Good-bye, young feller. I wish you well." + +Bringing his whip once more, and sharply this time, across the tops of +his own boots, he strode out of the hotel. His walk was like his talk, +straight and decisive. Harry saw Shepard in the lobby making friends, +but, imitating his older comrade, he avoided him, and late that +afternoon Colonel Talbot and he left for Charleston. + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE HEART OF REBELLION + + +Harry, with his friend Colonel Leonidas Talbot, approached Charleston +on Christmas morning. It was a most momentous day to him. As he came +nearer, the place looked greater and greater. He had read much about +it in the books in his father's house--old tales of the Revolution and +stories of its famous families--and now its name was in the mouths of +all men. + +He had felt a change in his own Kentucky atmosphere at Nashville, +but it had become complete when he drew near to Charleston. It was a +different world, different alike in appearance and in thought. The +contrast made the thrill all the keener and longer. Colonel Talbot, +also, was swayed by emotion, but his was that of one who was coming home. + +"I was born here, and I passed my boyhood here," he said. "I could not +keep from loving it if I would, and I would not if I could. Look how +the cold North melts away. See the great magnolias, the live oaks, +and the masses of shrubbery! Harry, I promise you that you shall have +a good time in this Charleston of ours." + +They had left the railroad some distance back, and had come in by stage. +The day was warm and pleasant. Two odors, one of flowers and foliage, +and the other of the salt sea, reached Harry. He found both good. +He felt for the thousandth time of his pocket-book and papers to see that +they were safe, and he was glad that he had come, glad that he had been +chosen for such an important errand. + +The colonel asked the driver to stop the stage at a cross road, and he +pointed out to Harry a low, white house with green blinds, standing on a +knoll among magnificent live oaks. + +"That is my house, Harry," he said, "and this is Christmas Day. Come +and spend it with me there." + +Harry felt to the full the kindness of Colonel Leonidas Talbot, for whom +he had formed a strong affection. The colonel seemed to him so simple, +so honest and, in a way, so unworldly, that he had won his heart almost +at once. But he felt that he should decline, as his message must be +delivered as soon as he arrived in Charleston. + +"I suppose you are right," said the colonel, when the boy had explained +why he could not accept. "You take your letters to the gentlemen who +are going to make the war, and then you and I and others like us, +ranging from your age to mine, will have to fight it." + +But Harry was not to be discouraged. He could not see things in a gray +light on that brilliant Christmas morning. Here was Charleston before +him and in a few hours he would be in the thick of great events. +A thrill of keen anticipation ran through all his veins. The colonel +and he stood by the roadside while the obliging driver waited. He +offered his hand, saying good-bye. + +"It's only for a day," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, as he gave the +hand a strong clasp. "I shall be in Charleston tomorrow, and I shall +certainly see you." + +Harry sprang back to his place and the stage rolled joyously into +Charleston. Harry saw at once that the city was even more crowded than +Nashville had been. Its population had increased greatly in a few weeks, +and he could feel the quiver of excitement in the air. Citizen soldiers +were drilling in open places, and other men were throwing up earthworks. + +He left the stage and carried over his arm his baggage, which still +consisted only of a pair of saddle bags. He walked to an old-fashioned +hotel which Colonel Talbot had selected for him as quiet and good, +and as he went he looked at everything with a keen and eager interest. +The deep, mellow chiming of bells, from one point and then from another, +came to his ears. He knew that they were the bells of St. Philip's and +St. Michael's, and he looked up in admiration at their lofty spires. +He had often heard, in far Kentucky, of these famous churches and their +silver chimes. + +It seemed to Harry that the tension and excitement of the people in the +streets were of a rather pleasant kind. They had done a great deed, and, +keyed to a high pitch by their orators and newspapers, they did not fear +the consequences. The crowd seemed foreign to him in many aspects, +Gallic rather than American, but very likeable. + +He reached his hotel, a brick building behind a high iron fence, kept by +a woman of olive complexion, middle years, and pleasant manners, Madame +Josephine Delaunay. She looked at him at first with a little doubt, +because it was a time in Charleston when one must inspect strangers, +but when he mentioned Colonel Leonidas Talbot she broke into a series of +smiles. + +"Ah, the good colonel!" she exclaimed. "We were children at school +together, but since he became a soldier he has gone far from here. +And has he returned to fight for his great mother, South Carolina?" + +"He has come back. He has resigned from the army, and he is here to do +South Carolina's bidding." + +"It is like him," said Madame Delaunay. "Ah, that Leonidas, he has a +great soul!" + +"I travelled with him from Nashville to Charleston," said Harry, "and I +learned to like and admire him." + +He had established himself at once in the good graces of Madame Delaunay +and she gave him a fine room overlooking a garden, which in season +was filled with roses and oranges. Even now, pleasant aromatic odors +came to him through the open window. He had been scarcely an hour in +Charleston but he liked it already. The old city breathed with an ease +and grace to which he was unused. The best name that he knew for it was +fragrance. + +He had a suit of fresh clothing in his saddle bags, and he arrayed +himself with the utmost neatness and care. He felt that he must do so. +He could not present himself in rough guise to a people who had every +right to be fastidious. He would also obtain further clothing out of +the abundant store of money, as his father had wished him to make a good +appearance and associate with the best. + +He descended, and found Madame Delaunay in the garden, where she gave +him welcome, with grave courtesy. She seemed to him in manner and +bearing a woman of wealth and position, and not the keeper of an inn, +doing most of the work with her own hands. He learned later that the +two could go together in Charleston, and he learned also, that she was +the grand-daughter of a great Haytian sugar planter, who had fled from +the island, leaving everything to the followers of Toussaint l'Ouverture, +glad to reach the shores of South Carolina in safety. + +Madame Delaunay looked with admiration at the young Kentuckian, so tall +and powerful for his age. To her, Kentucky was a part of the cold North. + +"Can you tell me where I am likely to find Senator Yancey?" asked Harry. +"I have letters which I must deliver to him, and I have heard that he is +in Charleston." + +"There is to be a meeting of the leaders this afternoon in St. Anthony's +Hall in Broad street. You will surely find him there, but you must have +your luncheon first. I think you must have travelled far." + +"From Kentucky," replied Harry, and then he added impulsively: "I've +come to join your people, Madame Delaunay. South Carolina has many and +powerful friends in the Upper South." + +"She will need them," said Madame Delaunay, but with no tone of +apprehension. "This, however, is a city that has withstood much fire +and blood and it can withstand much more. Now I'll leave you here +in the garden. Come to luncheon at one, and you shall meet my other +guests." + +Harry sat down on a little wooden bench beneath a magnolia. Here in the +garden the odor of grass and foliage was keen, and thrillingly sweet. +This was the South, the real South, and its warm passions leaped up in +his blood. Much of the talk that he had been hearing recently from +those older than he passed through his mind. The Southern states did +have a right to go if they chose, and they were being attacked because +their prominence aroused jealousy. Slavery was a side issue, a mere +pretext. If it were not convenient to hand, some other excuse would be +used. Here in Charleston, the first home of secession, among people who +were charming in manner and kind, the feeling was very strong upon him. + +He left the house after luncheon, and, following Madame Delaunay's +instructions, came very quickly to St. Andrew's hall in Broad street, +where five days before, the Legislature of South Carolina, after +adjourning from Columbia, had passed the ordinance of secession. + +Two soldiers in the Palmetto uniform were on guard, but they quickly let +him pass when he showed his letters to Senator Yancey. Inside, a young +man, a boy, in fact, not more than a year older than himself, met him. +He was slender, dark and tall, dressed precisely, and his manner had +that easy grace which, as Harry had noticed already, seemed to be the +characteristic of Charleston. + +"My name is Arthur St. Clair," he said, "and I'm a sort of improvised +secretary for our leaders who are in council here." + +"Mine," said Harry, "is Henry Kenton. I'm a son of Colonel George +Kenton, of Kentucky, late a colonel in the United States Army, and I've +come with important messages from him, Senator Culver and other Southern +leaders in Kentucky." + +"Then you will be truly welcome. Wait a moment and I'll see if they are +ready to receive you." + +He returned almost instantly, and asked Harry to go in with him. +They entered a large room, with a dais at the center of the far wall, +and a number of heavy gilt chairs covered with velvet ranged on either +side of it. Over the dais hung a large portrait of Queen Victoria as a +girl in her coronation robes. A Scotch society had occupied this room, +but the people of Charleston had always taken part in their festivities. +In those very velvet chairs the chaperons had sat while the dancing had +gone on in the hall. Then the leaders of secession had occupied them, +when they put through their measure, and now they were sitting there +again, deliberating. + +A man of middle years and of quick, eager countenance arose when young +St. Clair came in with Harry. + +"Mr. Yancey," said St. Clair, "this is Henry Kenton, the son of Colonel +George Kenton, who has come from Kentucky with important letters." + +Yancey gave him his hand and a welcome, and Harry looked with intense +interest at the famous Alabama orator, who, with Slidell, of South +Carolina, and Toombs of Georgia, had matched the New England leaders in +vehemence and denunciation. Mr. Slidell, an older man, was present and +so was Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell, who had presided when secession was +carried. There were more present, some prominent, others destined to +become so, and Harry was introduced to them one by one. + +He gave his letters to Yancey and retired with young St. Clair to the +other end of the room, while the leaders read what had been written from +Kentucky. Harry was learning to become a good observer, and he watched +them closely as they read. He saw a look of pleasure come on the face +of every one, and presently Yancey beckoned to him. + +"These are fine assurances," said the orator, "and they have been +brought by the worthy son of a worthy father. Colonel Kenton, Senator +Culver and others, have no doubt that Kentucky will go out with us. +Now you are a boy, but boys sometimes see and hear more than men, +and you are old enough to think; that is, to think in the real sense. +Tell us, what is your own opinion?" + +Harry flushed, and paused in embarrassment. + +"Go on," said Mr. Yancey, persuasively. + +"I do not know much," said Harry slowly, wishing not to speak, but +feeling that he was compelled by Mr. Yancey to do so, "but as far as I +have seen, Kentucky is sorely divided. The people on the other side +are perhaps not as strong and influential as ours, but they are more +numerous." + +A shade passed over the face of Yancey, but he quickly recovered his +good humor. + +"You have done right to tell us the truth as you see it," he said, +"but we need Kentucky badly. We must have the state and we will get it. +Did you hear anything before you left, of one Raymond Bertrand, a South +Carolinian?" + +"He was at my father's house before I came away. I think it was his +intention to go from there to Frankfort with some of our own people, +and assist in taking out the state." + +Yancey smiled. + +"Faithful to his errand," he said. "Raymond Bertrand is a good lad. +He has visions, perhaps, but they are great ones, and he foresees a +mighty republic for us extending far south of our present border. +But now that you have accomplished your task, what do you mean to do, +Mr. Kenton?" + +"I want to stay here," replied Harry eagerly. "This is the head and +center of all things. I think my father would wish me to do so. +I'll enlist with the South Carolina troops and wait for what happens." + +"Even if what happens should be war?" + +"Most of all if it should be war. Then I shall be one of those who will +be needed most." + +"A right and proper spirit," said Mr. Jamison, of Barnwell. "When we +can command such enthusiasm we are unconquerable. Now, we'll not keep +you longer, Mr. Kenton. This is Christmas Day, and one as young as you +are is entitled to a share of the hilarity. Look after him, St. Clair." + +Harry went out with young St. Clair, whom he was now calling by his +first name, Arthur. He, too, was staying with Madame Delaunay, who was +a distant relative. + +Harry ate Christmas dinner that evening with twenty people, many of +types new to him. It made a deep impression upon him then, and one yet +greater afterward, because he beheld the spirit of the Old South in its +inmost shrine, Charleston. It seemed to him in later days that he had +looked upon it as it passed. + +They sat in a great dining-room upon a floor level with the ground. +The magnolias and live oaks and the shrubs in the garden moved in the +gentle wind. Fresh crisp air came through the windows, opened partly, +and brought with it, as Harry thought, an aroma of flowers blooming in +the farther south. He sat with young St. Clair--the two were already +old friends--and Madame Delaunay was at the head of the table, looking +more like a great lady who was entertaining her friends than the keeper +of an inn. + +Madame Delaunay wore a flowing white dress that draped itself in folds, +and a lace scarf was thrown about her shoulders. Her heavy hair, +intensely black, was bound with a gold fillet, after a fashion that +has returned a half century later. A single diamond sparkled upon her +finger. She seemed to Harry foreign, handsome, and very distinguished. + +About half the people in the room were of French blood, most of whom +Harry surmised were descendants of people who had fled from Hayti or +Santo Domingo. One, Hector St. Hilaire, almost sixty, but a major in +the militia of South Carolina, soon proved that the boy's surmise was +right. Lemonade and a mild drink called claret-sanger was served to +the boys, but the real claret was served to the major, as to the other +elders, and the mellowness of Christmas pervaded his spirit. He drank a +toast to Madame Delaunay, and the others drank it with him, standing. +Madame Delaunay responded prettily, and, in a few words, she asked +protection and good fortune for this South Carolina which they all loved, +and which had been a refuge to the ancestors of so many of them. +As she sat down she looked up at the wall and Harry's glance followed +hers. It was a long dining-room, and he saw there great portraits in +massive gilt frames. They were of people French in look, handsome, +and dressed with great care and elaboration. The men were in gay coats +and knee breeches, silk stockings and buckled shoes. Small swords were +at their sides. The women were even more gorgeous in velvet or heavy +satin, with their hair drawn high upon their heads and powdered. +One had a beauty patch upon her cheek. + +Major St. Hilaire saw Harry's look as it sped along the wall. He smiled +a little sadly and then, a little cheerfully: + +"Those are the ancestors of Madame Delaunay," he said, "and some, +I may mention in passing, are my own, also. Our gracious hostess and +myself are more or less distantly related--less, I fear--but I boast of +it, nevertheless, on every possible occasion. They were great people in +a great island, once the richest colony of France, the richest colony +in all the world. All those people whom you see upon the walls were +educated in Paris or other cities of France, and they returned to a life +upon the magnificent plantations of Hayti. What has become of that +brightness and glory? Gone like snow under a summer sun. 'Tis +nothing but the flower of fancy now. The free black savage has made a +wilderness of Hayti, and our enemies in the North would make the same +of South Carolina." + +A murmur of applause ran around the table. Major St. Hilaire had spoken +with rhetorical effect and a certain undoubted pathos. Every face +flushed, and Harry saw the tears glistening in the eyes of Madame +Delaunay who, despite her fifty years, looked very handsome indeed in +her white dress, with the glittering gold fillet about her great masses +of hair. + +The boy was stirred powerfully. His sensitive spirit responded at +once to the fervid atmosphere about him, to the color, the glow, the +intensity of a South far warmer than the one he had known. Their +passions were his passions, and having seen the black and savage Hayti +of which Major St. Hilaire had drawn such a vivid picture, he shuddered +lest South Carolina and other states, too, should fall in the same way +to destruction. + +"It can never happen!" he exclaimed, carried away by impulse. "Kentucky +and Virginia and the big states of the Upper South will stand beside her +and fight with her!" + +The murmur of applause ran around the table again, and Harry, blushing, +made himself as small as he could in his chair. + +"Don't regret a good impulse. Mr. Kenton," said a neighbor, a young +man named James McDonald--Harry had noticed that Scotch names seemed to +be as numerous as French in South Carolina--"the words that all of us +believe to be true leaped from your heart." + +Harry did not speak again, unless he was addressed directly, but he +listened closely, while the others talked of the great crisis that was +so obviously approaching. His interest did not make him neglect the +dinner, as he was a strong and hearty youth. There were sweets for +which he did not care much, many vegetables, a great turkey, and venison +for which he did care, finishing with an ice and coffee that seemed to +him very black and bitter. + +It was past eight o'clock when they rose and any lingering doubts that +Harry may have felt were swept away. He was heart and soul with the +South Carolinians. Those people in the far north seemed very cold and +hard to him. They could not possibly understand. One must be here +among the South Carolinians themselves to see and to know. + +Harry went to his room, after a polite good-night to all the others. +He was not used to long and heavy dinners, and he felt the wish to rest +and take the measure of his situation. He threw back the green blinds +and opened the window a little. Once more the easy wind brought him +that odor of the far south, whether reality or fancy he could not say. +But he turned to another window and looked toward the north. Away from +the others and away from a subtle persuasiveness that had been in the +air, some of his doubts returned. It would not all be so easy. What +were they doing in the far states beyond the Ohio? + +He heard footsteps in the hail and a voice that seemed familiar. +He had left his door partly open, and, when he turned, he caught a +glimpse of a face that he knew. It was young Shepard, whom he and Major +Talbot had met in Nashville. Shepard saw Harry also, and saluted him +cheerfully. + +"I've just arrived," he said, "and through letters from friends in +St. Louis, members of one of the old French families there, I've been +lucky enough to secure a room at Madame Delaunay's inn." + +"Fortune has been with us both," said Harry, somewhat doubtfully, +but not knowing what else to say. + +"It certainly has," said Shepard, with easy good humor. "I'll see you +again in the morning and we'll talk of what we've been through, both of +us." + +He walked briskly on and Harry heard his firm step ringing on the floor. +The boy retired to his own room again and locked the door. He had liked +Shepard from the first. He had seemed to him frank and open and no +one could deny his right to come to Charleston if he pleased. And yet +Colonel Talbot, a man of a delicate and sensitive mind, which quickly +registered true impressions, had distrusted him. He had even given +Harry a vague warning, which he felt that he could not ignore. He made +up his mind that he would not see Shepard in the morning. He would make +it a point to rise so early that he could avoid him. + +His conclusion formed, he slept soundly until the first sunlight poured +in at the window that he had left open. Then, remembering that he +intended to avoid Shepard, he jumped out of bed, dressed quickly and +went down to breakfast, which he had been told he could get as early +as he pleased. + +Madame Delaunay was already there, still looking smooth and fresh in +the morning air. But St. Clair was the only guest who was as early as +Harry. Both greeted him pleasantly and hoped that he had slept well. +Their courtesy, although Harry had no doubt of its warmth, was slightly +more ornate and formal than that to which he had been used at home. +He recognized here an older society, one very ancient for the New World. + +The breakfast was also different from the solid one that he always ate +at home. It consisted of fruits, eggs, bread and coffee. There was no +meat. But he fared very well, nevertheless. St. Clair, he now learned, +was a bank clerk, but after office hours he was drilling steadily in one +of the Charleston companies. + +"If you enlist, come with me," he said to Harry. "I can get you a place +on the staff, and that will suit you." + +Harry accepted his offer gladly, although he felt that he could not take +up his new duties for a few days. Matters of money and other things +were to be arranged. + +"All right," said St. Clair. "Take your time. I don't think there's +any need to hurry." + +Harry left Madame Delaunay's house immediately after breakfast, still +firm in his purpose to avoid Shepard, and went to the bank, on which +he held drafts properly attested. Not knowing what the future held, +and inspired perhaps by some counsel of caution, he drew half of it +in gold, intending to keep it about his person, risking the chance of +robbery. Then he went toward the bay, anxious to see the sea and those +famous forts, Sumter, Moultrie and the others, of which he had heard +so much. + +It was a fine, crisp morning, one to make the heart of youth leap, +and he soon noticed that nearly the whole population of the city was +going with him toward the harbor. St. Clair, who had departed for his +bank, overtook him, and it was evident to Harry that his friend was not +thinking much now of banks. + +"What is it, Arthur?" asked Harry. + +"They stole a march on us yesterday," replied St. Clair. "See that dark +and grim mass rising up sixty feet or more near the center of the harbor, +the one with the Stars and Stripes flying so defiantly over it? That's +Fort Sumter. Yesterday, while we were enjoying our Christmas dinner and +talking of the things that we would do, Major Anderson, who commanded +the United States garrison in Fort Moultrie, quietly moved it over to +Sumter, which is far stronger. The wives and children of the soldiers +and officers have been landed in the city with the request that we +send them to their homes in the states, which, of course, we will do. +But Major Anderson, who holds the fort in the name of the United States, +refuses to give it up to South Carolina, which claims it." + +Harry felt an extraordinary thrill, a thrill that was, in many ways, +most painful. Talk was one thing, action was another. Here stood South +Carolina and the Union face to face, looking at each other through the +muzzles of cannon. Sumter had one hundred and forty guns, most of which +commanded the city, and the people of Charleston had thrown up great +earthworks, mounting many cannon. + +Boy as he was, Harry was old enough to see that here were all the +elements of a great conflagration. It merely remained for somebody to +touch fire to the tow. He was not one to sentimentalize, but the sight +of the defiant flag, the most beautiful in all the world, stirred him in +every fiber. It was the flag under which both his father and Colonel +Talbot had fought. + +"It has to be, Harry," said St. Clair, who was watching him closely. +"If it comes to a crisis we must fire upon it. If we don't, the South +will be enslaved and black ignorance and savagery will be enthroned upon +our necks." + +"I suppose so," said Harry. "But look how the people gather!" + +The Battery and all the harbor were now lined with the men, women and +children of Charleston. Harry saw soldiers moving about Sumter, but no +demonstration of any kind occurred there. He had not thought hitherto +about the garrison of the forts in Charleston harbor. He recognized for +the first time that they might not share the opinions of Charleston, +and this name of Anderson was full of significance for him. Major +Anderson was a Kentuckian. He had heard his father speak of him; they +had served together, but it was now evident to Harry that Anderson would +not go with South Carolina. + +"You'll see a small boat coming soon from Sumter," said St. Clair. +"Some of our people have gone over there to confer with Major Anderson +and demand that he give up the fort." + +"I don't believe he'll do it," said Harry impulsively. Some one touched +him upon the shoulder, and turning quickly he saw Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He shook the colonel's hand with vigor, and introduced him to +young St. Clair. + +"I have just come into the city," said the colonel, "and I heard only +a few minutes ago that Major Anderson had removed his garrison from +Moultrie to Sumter." + +"It is true," said St. Clair. "He is defiant. He says that he will +hold the fort for the Union." + +"I had hoped that he would give up," said Colonel Talbot. "It might +help the way to a composition." + +He pulled his long mustache and looked somberly at the flag. The wind +had risen a little, and it whipped about the staff. Its fluttering +motions seemed to Harry more significant than ever of defiance. He +understood the melancholy ring in Colonel Talbot's voice. He, too, +like the boy's father, had fought under that flag, the same flag that +had led him up the flame-swept slopes of Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec. + +"Here they come," exclaimed St. Clair, "and I know already the answer +that they bring!" + +The small boat that he had predicted put out from Sumter and quickly +landed at the Battery. It contained three commissioners, prominent men +of Charleston who had been sent to treat with Major Anderson, and his +answer was quickly known to all the crowd. Sumter was the property +of the United States, not of South Carolina, and he would hold it for +the Union. At that moment the wind strengthened, and the flag stood +straight out over the lofty walls of Sumter. + +"I knew it would be so," said Colonel Talbot, with a sigh. "Anderson is +that kind of a man. Come, boys, we will go back into the city. I am to +help in building the fortifications, and as I am about to make a tour of +inspection I will take you with me." + +Harry found that, although secession was only a few days old, the work +of offense and defense was already far advanced. The planters were +pouring into Charleston, bringing their slaves with them, and white +and black labored together at the earthworks. Rich men, who had never +soiled their hands with toil before now, wielded pick and spade by the +side of their black slaves. And it was rumored that Toutant Beauregard, +a great engineer officer, now commander at the West Point Military +Academy, would speedily resign, and come south to take command of the +forces in Charleston. + +Strong works were going up along the mainland. The South Carolina +forces had also seized Sullivan's Island, Morris Island, and James +Island and were mounting guns upon them all. Circling batteries would +soon threaten Sumter, and, however defiantly the flag there might snap +in the breeze, it must come down. + +As they were leaving the last of the batteries Harry noticed the broad, +strong back and erect figure of a young man who stood with his hands in +his pockets. He knew by his rigid attitude that he was looking intently +at the battery and he knew, moreover, that it was Shepard. He wished +to avoid him, and he wished also that his companion would not see him. +He started to draw Colonel Talbot away, but it was too late. Shepard +turned at that moment, and the colonel caught sight of his face. + +"That man here among our batteries!" he exclaimed in a menacing tone. + +"Come away, colonel!" said Harry hastily. "We don't know anything +against him!" + +But Shepard himself acted first. He came forward quickly, his hand +extended, and his eyes expressing pleasure. + +"I missed you this morning, Mr. Kenton," he said. "You were too early +for me, but we meet, nevertheless, in a place of the greatest interest. +And here is Colonel Talbot, too!" + +Harry took the outstretched hand--he could not keep from liking +Shepard--but Colonel Talbot, by turning slightly, avoided it without +giving the appearance of brusqueness. His courtesy, concerning which +the South Carolinians of his type were so particular, would not fail him, +and, while he avoided the hand, he promptly introduced Shepard and +St. Clair. + +"I did not expect to find events so far advanced in Charleston," said +Shepard. "With the Federal garrison concentrated in Sumter and the +batteries going up everywhere, matters begin to look dangerous." + +"I suppose that you have made a careful examination of all the +batteries," said Colonel Talbot dryly. + +"Casual, not careful," returned Shepard, in his usual cheerful tones. +"It is impossible, at such a time, to keep from looking at Sumter, +the batteries and all the other preparations. We would not be human if +we didn't do it, and I've seen enough to know that the Yankees will have +a hot welcome if they undertake to interfere with Charleston." + +"You see truly," said Colonel Talbot, with some emphasis. + +"A happy chance has put me at the same place as Mr. Kenton," continued +Shepard easily. "I have letters which admitted me to the inn of Madame +Delaunay, and I met him there last night. We are likely to see much of +each other." + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot raised his eyebrows. When they walked a little +further he excused himself, saying that he was going to meet a committee +of defense at St. Andrew's Hall, and Harry and Arthur, after talking a +little longer with Shepard, left him near one of the batteries. + +"I'm going to my bank," said St. Clair. "I'm already long overdue, +but it will be forgiven at such a time as this. And I must say, Harry, +that Colonel Talbot does not seem to like your acquaintance, Mr. Shepard." + +"It is true, he doesn't, although I don't know just why," said Harry. + +He saw Shepard at a distance three more times in the course of the day, +but he sedulously avoided a meeting. He noticed that Shepard was always +near the batteries and earthworks, but hundreds of others were near them, +too. He did not return to Madame Delaunay's until evening, when it +was time for dinner, where he found all the guests gathered, with the +addition of Shepard. + +Madame Delaunay assigned the new man to a seat near the foot of the +table and the talk ran on much as it had done at the Christmas dinner, +Major St. Hilaire leading, which Harry surmised was his custom. Shepard, +who had been introduced to the others by Madame Delaunay, did not have +much to say, nor did the South Carolinians warm to him as they had to +Harry. A slight air of constraint appeared and Harry was glad when +the dinner was over. Then he and St. Clair slipped away and spent the +evening roaming about the city, looking at the old historic places, +the fine churches, the homes of the wealthy and again at the earthworks +and the harbor forts. The last thing Harry saw as he turned back toward +Madame Delaunay's was that defiant flag of the Union, still waving above +the dark and looming mass of old Sumter. + +He was unlocking the door to his room when Shepard came briskly down the +hall, carrying his candle in his hand. + +"I want to tell you good-bye, Mr. Kenton," he said, "I thought we were +to be together here at the inn for some time, but it is not to be so." + +"What has happened?" + +"It appears that my room had been engaged already by another man, +beginning tomorrow morning. I was not informed of it when I came here, +but Madame Delaunay has recalled the fact and I cannot doubt the word +of a Charleston lady. It appears also that no other room is vacant, +owing to the great number of people who have come into the city in the +last week or two. So, I go." + +He did not seem at all discouraged, his tone being as cheerful as ever, +and he held out his hand. Harry liked this man, although it seemed that +others did not, and when he released the hand he said: + +"Take good care of yourself, Mr. Shepard. As I see it, the people of +Charleston are not taking to you, and we do not know what is going to +happen." + +"Both statements are true," said Shepard with a laugh as he vanished +down the hail. Nothing yet had been able to disturb his poise. + +Harry went into his own room, and, throwing open his front window to let +in fresh air, he heard the hum of voices. He looked down into a piazza +and he saw two figures there, a man and a woman. They were Colonel +Talbot and Madame Delaunay. He closed the blind promptly, feeling that +unconsciously he had touched upon something hallowed, the thread of +an old romance, a thread which, though slender, was nevertheless yet +strong. Nor did he doubt that the suggestion of Colonel Leonidas Talbot +had caused the speedy withdrawal of Shepard. + +Several more days passed. Harry found that he was taken into the city's +heart, and its spell was very strong upon him. He knew that much of his +welcome was due to the powerful influence of Colonel Leonidas Talbot and +to the warm friendship of Arthur St. Clair, who apparently was related +to everybody. A letter came from his father, to whom he had written at +once of his purpose, giving his approval, and sending him more money. +Colonel Kenton wrote that he would come South himself, but he was needed +in Kentucky, where a powerful faction was opposing their plans. He said +that Harry's cousin, Dick Mason, had joined the home guards, raised in +the interests of the old Union, and was drilling zealously. + +The letter made the boy very thoughtful. The news about his cousin +opened his eyes. The line of cleavage between North and South was +widening into a gulf. But his spirits rose when he enlisted in the +Palmetto Guards, and began to see active service. His quickness and +zeal caused him to be used as a messenger, and he was continually +passing back and forth among the Confederate leaders in Charleston. +He also came into contact with the Union officers in Fort Sumter. + +The relations of the town and the garrison were yet on a friendly basis. +Men were allowed to come ashore and to buy fresh meat, vegetables, +and other provisions. Strict orders kept anyone from offering violence +or insult to them. Harry saw Anderson once, but he did not give him his +name, deeming it best, because of the stand that he had taken, that no +talk should pass between them. + +He picked up a copy of the Mercury one morning and saw that a steamer, +the Star of the West, was on its way to Charleston from a northern +port with supplies for the garrison in Fort Sumter. He read the brief +account, threw down the paper and rushed out for his friend, St. Clair. +He knew that the coming of this vessel would fire the Charleston heart, +and he was eager to be upon the scene. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FIRST CAPITAL + + +Harry and Arthur stood two days later upon the sea wall of Charleston. +Sumter rose up black and menacing in the clear wintry air. The muzzles +of the cannon seemed to point into the very heart of the city, and over +it, as ever, flew the defiant flag, the red and blue burning in vivid +colors in the thin January sunshine. The heart of Charleston, that most +intense of all Southern cities, had given forth a great throb. The Star +of the West was coming from the North with provisions for the garrison +of beleaguered Sumter. They would see her hull on the horizon in +another hour. + +Both Harry and Arthur were trembling with excitement. They were not on +duty themselves, but they knew that all the South Carolina earthworks +and batteries were manned. What would happen? It still seemed almost +incredible to Harry that the people of the Union--at least of the Union +that was--should fire upon one another, and his pulse beat hard and +strong, while he waited with his comrade. + +As they stood there gazing out to sea, looking for the black speck +that should mark the first smoke of the Star of the West, Harry became +conscious that another man was standing almost at his elbow. He glanced +up and saw Shepard, who nodded to him. + +"I did not know that I was standing by you until I had been here some +time," said Shepard, as if he sought to indicate that he had not been +seeking Harry and his comrade. + +"I thought you had left Charleston," said Harry, who had not seen him +for a week. + +"Not at such a time," said Shepard, quietly. "So much of overwhelming +interest is happening here that nobody who is alive can go away." + +He put a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes and scanned the sea's rim. +He looked a long time, and then his face showed excitement. + +"It comes! It comes!" he exclaimed, more to himself than to Harry and +Arthur. + +"Is it the steamer? Is it the Star of the West?" exclaimed Harry +forgetting all doubts of Shepard in the thrill of the moment. + +"Yes, the Star of the West! It can be no other!" replied Shepard. +"It can be no other! Take the glasses and see for yourself!" + +When Harry looked he saw, where sea and sky joined, a black dot that +gradually lengthened out into a small plume. It was not possible to +recognize any ship at that distance, but he felt instinctively that it +was the Star of the West. He passed the glasses to Arthur, who also +took a look, and then drew a deep breath. Harry handed the glasses back +to Shepard, saying: + +"I see the ship, and I've no doubt that it's the Star of the West. +Do you know anything about this vessel, Mr. Shepard?" + +"I've heard that she's only a small steamer, totally unfitted for +offense or defense." + +"If the batteries fire upon her she's bound to go back." + +"You put it right." + +"Then, in effect, this is a test, and it rests with us whether or not to +fire the first shot." + +"I think you're right again." + +Others also saw the growing black plume of smoke rising from the +steamer's funnel, and a deep thrilling murmur ran through the crowd +gathered on the sea walls. To many the vessel, steaming toward the +harbor, was foreign, carrying a foreign flag, but to many others it +was not and could never be so. + +Shepard passed the glasses to the boy again, and he looked a second time +at the ship, which was now taking shape and rising fast upon the water. +Then he examined the walls of Sumter and saw men in blue moving there. +They, too, were watching the coming steamer with the deepest anxiety. + +Arthur took his second look also, and Shepard watched through the +glasses a little longer. Then he put them in the case which he hung +over his shoulder. Glasses were no longer needed. They could now see +with the naked eye what was about to happen--if anything happened at all. + +"It will soon be decided," said Shepard, and Harry noticed that his +voice trembled. "If the Star of the West comes without interference up +to the walls of Sumter there will be no war. The minds of men on both +sides will cool. But if she is stopped, then--" + +He broke off. Something seemed to choke in his throat. Harry and +Arthur remained silent. + +The ship rose higher and higher. Behind her hung the long black trail +of her smoke. Soon, she would be in the range of the batteries. +A deep shuddering sigh ran through the crowd, and then came moments of +intense, painful silence. The little blue figures lining the walls of +Sumter were motionless. The sea moved slowly and sleepily, its waters +drenched in wintry sunshine. + +On came the Star of the West, straight toward the harbor mouth. + +"They will not fire! They dare not!" cried Shepard in a tense, strained +whisper. + +As the last word left his lips there was a heavy crash. A tongue of +fire leaped from one of the batteries, followed by a gush of smoke, +and a round shot whistled over the Star of the West. A tremendous shout +came from the crowd, then it was silent, while that tongue of flame +leaped a second time from the mouth of a cannon. Harry saw the water +spring up, a spire of white foam, near the steamer, and a moment later +a third shot clipped the water close by. He did not know whether the +gunners were firing directly at the vessel or merely meant to warn her +that she came nearer at her peril, but in any event, the effect was +the same. South Carolina with her cannon was warning a foreign ship, +the ship of an enemy, to keep away. + +The Star of the West slowed down and stopped. Then another shout, +more tremendous than ever, a shout of triumph, came from the crowd, +but Harry felt a chill strike to his heart. Young St. Clair, too, +was silent and Harry saw a shadow on his face. He looked for Shepard, +but he was gone and the boy had not heard him go. + +"It is all over," said St. Clair, with the certainty of prophecy. +"The cannon have spoken and it is war. Why, where is Shepard?" + +"I don't know. He seems to have slipped away after the first two or +three shots." + +"I suppose he considered the two or three enough. Look, Harry! The +ship is turning! The cannon have driven her off!" + +He was right. The Star of the West, a small steamer, unable to face +heavy guns, had curved about and was making for the open sea. There was +another tremendous shout from the crowd, and then silence. Smoke from +the cannon drifted lazily over the town, and, caught by a contrary +breeze, was blown out over the sea in the track of the retreating +steamer, where it met the black trail left by that vessel's own funnel. +The crowd, not cheering much now, but talking in rather subdued tones, +dispersed. + +Harry felt the chill down his spine again. These were great matters. +He had looked upon no light event in the harbor of Charleston that day. +He and Arthur lingered on the wall, watching that trailing black dot on +the horizon, until it died away and was gone forever. The blue figures +on the walls of Sumter had disappeared within, and the fortress stood up, +grim and silent. Beyond lay the blue sea, shimmering and peaceful in +the wintry sunshine. + +"I suppose there is nothing to do but go back to Madame Delaunay's," +said Harry. + +"Nothing now," replied St. Clair, "but I fancy that later on we'll have +all we can do." + +"If not more." + +"Yes, if not more." + +Both boys were very grave and thoughtful as they walked to Madame +Delaunay's most excellent inn. They realized that as yet South Carolina +stood alone, but in the evening their spirits took a leap. News came +that Mississippi also had gone out. Then other planting states followed +fast. Florida was but a day behind Mississippi, Alabama went out the +next day after Florida, Georgia eight days later, and Louisiana a +week after Georgia. Exultation rose high in Charleston. All the Gulf +and South Atlantic States were now sure, but the great border states +still hung fire. There was a clamor for Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland +and Missouri, and, though the promises from them came thick and fast, +they did not go out. But the fiery energy of Charleston and the lower +South was moving forward over all obstacles. Already arrangements had +been made for a great convention at Montgomery in Alabama, and a new +government would be formed differing but little from that of the old +Union. + +Now Harry began to hear much of a man, of whom he had heard his father +speak, but who had slipped entirely from his mind. It was Jefferson +Davis, a native of Kentucky like Abraham Lincoln. He had been a brave +and gallant soldier at Buena Vista. It was said that he had saved the +day against the overwhelming odds of Santa Anna. He had been Secretary +of War in the old Union, now dissolved forever, according to the +Charleston talk. Other names, too, began to grow familiar in Harry's +ears. Much was said about the bluff Bob Toombs of Georgia, who feared +no man and who would call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker +Hill monument. And there was little weazened Stephens, also of Georgia, +a great intellect in a shrunken frame, and Benjamin of the oldest race, +who had inherited the wisdom of ages. There would be no lack of numbers +and courage and penetration when the great gathering met at Montgomery. + +These were busy and on the whole happy days for Harry and St. Clair. +Harry drilled with his comrade in the Palmetto Guards now, and, in due +time, they were going to Montgomery to assist at the inauguration of the +new president, whoever he might be. No vessel had come in place of the +Star of the West. The North seemed supine, and Sumter, grim and dark +though she might be, was alone. The flag of the Stars and Stripes still +floated above it. Everywhere else the Palmetto flag waved defiance. +But there was still no passage of arms between Sumter and its hostile +neighbors. Small boats passed between the fort and the city, carrying +provisions to the garrison, and also the news. The Charlestonians told +Major Anderson of the states that went out, one by one, and the brave +Kentuckian, eating his heart out, looked vainly toward the open sea for +the help that never came. + +Exultation still rose in Charleston. The ball was rolling finely. +It was even gathering more speed and force than the most sanguine had +expected. Every day brought the news of some new accession to the cause, +some new triumph. The Alabama militia had seized the forts, Morgan and +Gaines; Georgia had occupied Pulaski and Jackson; North Carolina troops +had taken possession of the arsenal at Fayetteville, and those of +Florida on the same day had taken the one at Chattahoochee. Everywhere +the South was accumulating arms, ammunition and supplies for use--if +they should be needed. The leaders had good cause for rejoicing. +They were disappointed in nothing, save that northern tier of border +states which still hesitated or refused. + +Harry in these days wondered that so little seemed to happen in the +North. His strong connections and his own good manners had made him a +favorite in Charleston. He went everywhere, perhaps most often to the +office of the Mercury, controlled by the powerful Rhett family, among +the most fiery of the Southern leaders. Exchanges still came there from +the northern cities, but he read little in them about preparations for +war. Many attacked Buchanan, the present President, for weakness, +and few expected anything better from the uncouth western figure, +Lincoln, who would soon succeed him. + +Meanwhile the Confederate convention at Montgomery was acting. In those +days apathy and delay seemed to be characteristic of the North, courage +and energy of the South. The new government was being formed with speed +and decision. Jefferson Davis, it was said, would be President, and +Stephens of Georgia would be Vice-President. + +The time for departure to Montgomery drew near. Harry and Arthur were +in fine gray uniforms as members of the Palmetto Guards. Arthur, light, +volatile, was full of pleased excitement. Harry also felt the thrill +of curiosity and anticipation, but he had been in Charleston nearly six +weeks now, and while six weeks are short, they had been long enough +in such a tense time to make vital changes in his character. He was +growing older fast. He was more of a man, and he weighed and measured +things more. He recognized that Charleston, while the second city of +the South in size and the first in leadership, was only Charleston, +after all, far inferior in weight and numbers to the great cities of +the North. Often he looked toward the North over the vast, intervening +space and tried to reckon what forces lay there. + +The evening before their departure they sat on the wide piazza that +swept along the entire front of the inn of Madame Delaunay. Colonel +Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire sat with them. They, too, +were going to Montgomery. Mid-February had passed, and the day had been +one of unusual warmth for that time of the year, like a day in full +spring. The wind from the south was keen with the odor of fresh foliage +and of roses, and of faint far perfumes, unknown but thrilling. A sky +of molten silver clothed city, bay, and forts in enchantment. Nothing +seemed further away than war, yet they had to walk but a little distance +to see the defiant flag over Sumter, and the hostile Palmetto flags +waving not far away. + +Madame Delaunay appeared in the doorway. She was dressed as usual in +white and her shining black hair was bound with the slender gold fillet. + +"We are going away tomorrow, Madame," said Colonel Talbot, "and I know +that we cannot find in Montgomery any such pleasant entertainment as my +young friends have enjoyed here." + +Harry was confirmed in his belief that the thread of an old romance +still formed a firm tie between them. + +"But you will come back," said Madame Delaunay. "You will come back +very soon. Surely, they will not try to keep us from going our ways in +peace." + +A sudden thrill of passion and feeling had appeared in her voice. + +"That no one can tell, Julie," said Colonel Talbot very gravely--it +was the first time that Harry had ever heard him call her by her first +name--"but it seems to me that I should tell what I think. A Union such +as ours has been formed amid so much suffering and hardship, courage and +danger, that it is not to be broken in a day. We may come back soon +from Montgomery, Julie, but I see war, a great and terrible war, a war, +by the side of which those we have had, will dwindle to mere skirmishes. +I shut my eyes, but it makes no difference. I see it close at hand, +just the same." + +Madame Delaunay sighed. + +"And you, Major St. Hilaire?" she said. + +"There may be a great war, Madame Delaunay," he said, "I fear that +Colonel Talbot is right, but we shall win it." + +Colonel Talbot said nothing more, nor did Madame Delaunay. Presently +she went back into the house. After a long silence the colonel said: + +"If I were not sure that our friend Shepard had left Charleston long +since, I should say that the figure now passing in the street is his." + +A small lawn filled with shrubbery stretched before the house, but from +the piazza they could see into the street. Harry, too, caught a glimpse +of a passing figure, and like the colonel he was sure that it was +Shepard. + +"It is certainly he!" he exclaimed. + +"After him!" cried Colonel Talbot, instantly all action. "As sure as we +live that man is a spy, drawing maps of our fortifications, and I should +have warned the Government before." + +The four sprang from the piazza and ran into the street. Harry, +although he had originally felt no desire to seize Shepard, was carried +along by the impetus. It was the first man-hunt in which he had ever +shared, and soon he caught the thrill from the others. The colonel, +no doubt, was right. Shepard was a spy and should be taken. He ran +as fast as any of them. + +Shepard, if Shepard it was, heard the swift footsteps behind him, +glanced back and then ran. + +"After him!" cried Major St. Hilaire, his volatile blood leaping high. +"His flight shows that he's a spy!" + +But the fugitive was a man of strength and resource. He ran swiftly +into a cross street, and when they followed him there he leaped over +the low fence of a lawn, surrounding a great house, darted into the +shrubbery, and the four, although they were joined by others, brought +by the alarm, sought for him in vain. + +"After all, I'm not sorry he got away," said Colonel Talbot, as they +walked back to Madame Delaunay's. "There is no war, and hence, in a +military sense, there can be no spies. I doubt whether we should have +known what to do with him had we caught him, but I am certain that he +has complete maps of all our defenses." + +Harry, with Arthur and many others whom he knew, started the next day +for Montgomery. Jefferson Davis had already been chosen President, +and Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President, and Davis was on his way +from his Mississippi home to the same town to be inaugurated. In the +excitement over the great event, so near at hand, Harry forgot all about +Shepard and his doubts. He bade a regretful farewell to Charleston, +which had taken him to its heart, and turned his face to this new place, +much smaller, and, as yet, without fame. + +Harry, Arthur, and their older friends began the momentous journey +across the land of King Cotton, passing through the very heart of the +lower South, as they went from Charleston to Montgomery. Davis and +Stephens would be inaugurated on the 17th of that month, which was +February. But the Palmetto Guards would arrive at Montgomery before +Davis himself, who had left his home and who would cross Mississippi, +Alabama, and a corner of Georgia before he reached the new capital to +receive the chief honor. + +Trains were slow and halting, and Harry had ample opportunity to see +the land and the people who crowded to the stations to bring news or to +hear it. He crossed a low, rolling country with many rivers, great and +small. He saw large houses, with white-pillared porticos, sitting back +among the trees, and swarms of negro cabins. Much of the region was yet +dead and brown from the touch of winter, but in the valleys the green +was appearing. Spring was in the air, and the spirits of the Palmetto +Guards, nearly all of whom were very young, were rising with it. + +The train drew into Montgomery, the little city that stood on the high +banks of the Alabama River. Here they were in the very heart of the +new Confederacy, and Harry and Arthur were eager to see the many famous +Southern men who were gathered there to welcome the new President. +Jefferson Davis was expected on the morrow, and would be inaugurated on +the day following. They heard that his coming was already a triumphal +progress. Vast crowds held his train at many points, merely to see him +and listen to a few words. Generally he spoke in the careful, measured +manner that was natural to him, but it was said that in Opelika, in +Alabama, he had delivered a warning to the North, telling the Northern +states that they would interfere with the Southern at their peril. + +Harry and Arthur, despite their eagerness to see the town and the great +men, were compelled to wait. The Palmetto Guards went into camp on the +outskirts, and their commander, Colonel Leonidas Talbot, late of the +United States Army, was very strict in discipline. His second in +command, Major Hector St. Hilaire, was no whit inferior to him in +sternness. Harry had expected that this old descendant of Huguenots, +reared in the soft air of Charleston, would be lax, or at least easy +of temper, but whatever of military rigor Colonel Talbot forgot, +Major St. Hilaire remembered. + +The guards were about three hundred in number, and their camp was +pitched on a hill, a half mile from the town. The night, after a +beautiful day, turned raw and chill, warning that early spring, even +in those southern latitudes, was more of a promise than a performance. +But the young troops built several great fires and those who were not +on guard basked before the glow. + +Harry had helped to gather the wood, most of which was furnished by the +people living near, and his task was ended. Now he sat on his blanket +with his back against a log and, with a great feeling of comfort, +saw the flames leap up and grow. The cooks were at work, and there +was an abundance of food. They had brought much themselves, and the +enthusiastic neighbors doubled and tripled their supplies. The pleasant +aroma of bacon and ham frying over the coals and of boiling coffee +arose. He was weary from the long journey and the work that he had done, +and he was hungry, too, but he was willing to wait. + +All the troops were South Carolinians except Harry and perhaps a dozen +others. They were a pleasant lot, quick of temper, perhaps, but he +liked them. Their prevailing note was high spirits, and the most +cheerful of all was a tall youth named Tom Langdon, whose father owned +one of the smaller of the sea islands off the South Carolina coast. +He was quite sanguine that everything would go exactly as they wished. +The Yankees would not fight, but, if by any chance they did fight, +they would get a most terrible thrashing. Tom, with a tin cup full of +coffee in one hand and a tin plate containing ham and bread in the other, +sat down by the side of Harry and leaned back against the log also. +Harry had never seen a picture of more supreme content than his face +showed. + +"In thirty-six hours we'll have a new President, do you appreciate that +fact, Harry Kenton?" asked young Langdon. + +"I do," replied Harry, "and it makes me think pretty hard." + +"What's the use of worrying? Why, it's just the biggest picnic that +I ever took part in, and if the Yankees object to our setting up for +ourselves I fancy we'll have to go up there and teach 'em to mind their +own business. I wouldn't object, Harry, to a march at somebody else's +expense to New York and Philadelphia and Boston. I suppose those cities +are worth seeing." + +Harry laughed. Langdon's good spirits were contagious even to a nature +much more serious. + +"I don't look on it as a picnic altogether," he said. "The Yankees will +fight very hard, but we live on the land almost wholly, and the grass +keeps on growing, whether there's war or not. Besides, we're an outdoor +people, good horsemen, hunters, and marksmen. These things ought to +help us." + +"They will and we'll help ourselves most," said Langdon gaily. "I'm +going to be either a general or a great politician, Harry. If it's a +long war, I'll come out a general; if it's a short one, I mean to enter +public life afterward and be a great orator. Did you ever hear me speak, +Harry?" + +"No, thank Heaven," replied Harry fervently. "Don't you think that +South Carolina has enough orators now? What on earth do all your people +find to talk about?" + +Langdon laughed with the utmost good nature. + +"We fire the human heart," he replied. "'Words, words, empty words,' it +is not so. Words in themselves are often deeds, because the deeds start +from them or are caused by them. The world has been run with words. +All great actions result from them. Now, if we should have a big war, +it would be said long afterward that it was caused by words, words +spoken at Charleston and Boston, though, of course, the things they say +at Boston are wrong, while those said at Charleston are right." + +Harry laughed in his turn. + +"It's quite certain," he said, "that you'll have no lack of words +yourself. I imagine that the sign over your future office will read, +'Thomas Langdon, wholesale dealer in words. Any amount of any quality +supplied on demand.'" + +"Not a bad idea," said Langdon. "You mean that as satire, but I'll +do it. It's no small accomplishment to be a good dictionary. But my +thoughts turn back to war. You think I never look beyond today, but I +believe the North will come up against us. And you'll have to go into +it with all your might, Harry. You are of fighting stock. Your father +was in the thick of it in Mexico. Remember the lines: + + "We were not many, we who stood + Before the iron sleet that day; + Yet many a gallant spirit would + Give half his years if he but could + Have been with us at Monterey." + +"I remember them," said Harry, much stirred. "I have heard my father +quote them. He was at Monterey and he says that the Mexicans fought +well. I was at Frankfort, the capital of our state, myself with him, +when they unveiled the monument to our Kentucky dead and I heard them +read O'Hara's poem which he wrote for that day. I tell you, Langdon, +it makes my blood jump every time I hear it." + +He recited in a sort of low chant: + + "The neighing troop, the flashing blade, + The bugle's stirring blast, + The charge, the dreadful cannonade, + The din and shout are past. + + "Nor war's wild note, nor glory's peal + Shall fill with fierce delight + Those breasts that never more may feel + The rapture of the fight." + +They were very young and, in some respects, it was a sentimental time, +much given to poetry. As the darkness closed in and the lights of the +little city could be seen no longer, their thoughts took a more solemn +turn. Perhaps it would be fairer to call them emotions or feelings +rather than thoughts. In the day all had been talk and lightness, +but in the night omens and presages came. Langdon was the first to +rouse himself. He could not be solemn longer than three minutes. + +"It's certain that the President is coming tomorrow, Harry, isn't it?" +he asked. + +"Beyond a doubt. He is so near now that they fix the exact hour, +and the Guards are among those to receive him." + +"I wonder what he looks like. They say he is a very great man." + +They were interrupted by St. Clair, who threw himself down on a blanket +beside them. + +"That's the third cup of coffee you're taking, Tom," he said to Langdon. +"Here, give it to me. I've had none." + +Langdon obeyed and St. Clair drank thirstily. Then he took from the +inside pocket of his coat a newspaper which he unfolded deliberately. + +"This came from Montgomery," he said. "I heard you two quoting poetry, +and I thought I'd come over and read some to you. What do you think of +this? It was written by a fellow in Boston named Holmes and published +when he heard that South Carolina had seceded. He calls it: 'Brother +Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline.'" + +"Read it!" exclaimed the others. + +"Here goes: + + "She has gone--she has left us in passion and pride, + Our stormy-browed sister so long at our side! + She has torn her own star from our firmament's glow, + And turned on her brother the face of a foe. + + "O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun, + We can never forget that our hearts have been one, + Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's name + From the fountain of blood with the fingers of flame." + +St. Clair read well in a full, round voice, and when he stopped with the +second verse Harry said: + +"It sounds well. I like particularly that expression, 'the fingers of +flame.' After all, there's some grief in parting company, breaking up +the family, so to speak." + +"But he's wrong when he says we left in passion and pride," exclaimed +Langdon. "In pride, yes, but not in passion. We may be children of +the sun, too, but I've felt some mighty cold winds sweeping down from +the Carolina hills, cold enough to make fur-lined overcoats welcome. +But we'll forget about cold winds and everything else unpleasant, +before such a jolly fire as this." + +They finished an abundant supper, and soon relapsed into silence. +The flames threw out such a generous heat that they were content to rest +their backs against the log, and gaze sleepily into the coals. Beyond +the fire, in the shadow, they saw the sentinels walking up and down. +Harry felt for the first time that he was really within the iron bands +of military discipline. He might choose to leave the camp and go into +Montgomery, but he would choose and nothing more. He could not go. +Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire were friends, +but they were masters also, and he was recognizing sooner than some of +the youths around him that it was not merely play and spectacle that +awaited them. + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE NEW PRESIDENT + + +Their great day came. Clear sunlight shone over the town, the hills and +the brown waters of the Alabama. It was a peculiarly Southern country, +different, Harry thought, from his own Kentucky, more enthusiastic, +perhaps, and less prone to count the cost. The people had come not only +on the railroad, but they were arriving now from far places in wagons +and on horseback. Men of distinction, almost universally, wore black +clothes, the coats very long, black slouch hats, wide of brim, and white +shirts with glistening or heavily ruffled fronts. There were also many +black people in a state of pleasurable excitement, although the war--if +one should come--would be over them. + +Harry and his two young friends were anxious to visit Montgomery and +take a good look at the town, but they did not ask for leave, as Colonel +Talbot had already sternly refused all such applications. The military +law continued to lie heavily upon them, and, soon after they finished +a solid breakfast with appetites sharpened by the open air, they were +ordered to fall into line. Arrayed in their fine new uniforms, to which +the last touch of neatness had been added, they marched away to the +town. They might see it as a company, but not as individuals. + +They walked with even step along the grassy slopes, their fine +appearance drawing attention and shouts of approval from the dense +masses of people of all ages and all conditions of life who were +gathering. Harry, a cadet with a small sword by his side, felt his +heart swell as he trod the young turf, and heard the shouting and +applause. The South Carolinians were the finest body of men present, +and they were conscious of it. Eyes always to the front, they marched +straight on, apparently hearing nothing, but really hearing everything. + +They reached the houses presently and Harry saw the dome of the capitol +on its high hill rising before them, but a moment or two later the +Guards, with the Palmetto flag waving proudly in front, wheeled and +marched toward the railroad station. There they halted in close ranks +and stood at attention. Although the young soldiers remained immovable, +there was not a heart in the company that did not throb with excitement. +Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire were a little in advance, erect and +commanding figures. + +Other troops, volunteer companies, were present and they spread to right +and left of the South Carolinians. Behind and everywhere except in the +cleared space before them gathered the people, a vast mass through which +ran the hum and murmur of expectancy. Overhead, the sun leaped out and +shone for a while with great brilliancy. "A good omen," many said. +And to Harry it all seemed good, too. The excitement, the enthusiasm +were contagious. If any prophet of evil was present he had nothing to +say. + +A jet of smoke standing black against the golden air appeared above a +hill, and then came the rumble of a train. It was that which bore the +President elect, coming fast, and a sudden great shout went up from the +multitude, followed by silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of so +many. Harry's heart leaped again, but his will kept his body immovable. + +The rumble became a roar, and the jet of smoke turned to a cloud. +Then the train drew into the station and stopped. The people began a +continuous shout, bands played fiercely, and a tall, thin man of middle +years, dressed in black broadcloth, descended from a coach. All the +soldiers saluted, the bands played more fiercely than ever, and the +shouting of the crowd swelled in volume. + +It was the first time that Harry had ever seen Jefferson Davis, and the +face, so unlike that which he expected, impressed him. He saw a cold, +gray, silent man with lips pressed tightly together. He did not behold +here the Southern fire and passion of which he was hearing so much talk, +but rather the reserve and icy resolve of the far North. Harry at first +felt a slight chill, but it soon passed. It was better at such a time +to have a leader of restraint and dignity than the homely joker, Lincoln, +of whom such strange tales came. + +Mr. Davis lifted his black hat to the shouting crowd, and bowed again +and again. But he did not smile. His face remained throughout set in +the same stern mold. As the troops closed up, he entered the carriage +waiting for him, and drove slowly toward the heart of the city, the +multitude following and breaking at intervals into shouts and cheers. + +The Palmetto Guards marched on the right of the carriage, and Harry +was able to watch the President-elect all the time. The face held his +attention. Its sternness did not relax. It was the face of a man who +had seen the world, and who believed in the rule of strength. + +The procession led on to a hotel, a large building with a great portico +in front. Here it stopped, the bands ceased to play, Mr. Davis +descended from the carriage and entered the portico, where a group of +men famous in the South stood, ready to welcome him. The troops drew up +close to the portico, and back of them, every open space was black with +people. + +Harry, in the very front rank, saw and heard it all. Mr. Davis stopped +as soon as he reached the portico, and Yancey, the famous orator of +Alabama, to whom Harry had delivered his letters in Charleston, stepped +forward, and, in behalf of the people of the South, made a speech of +welcome in a clear, resonant, and emphatic tone. The applause compelled +him to stop at times, but throughout, Mr. Davis stood rigid and +unsmiling. His countenance expressed none of his thoughts, whatever +they may have been. Harry's eyes never wandered from his face, except +to glance now and then at the weazened, shrunken, little man who stood +near him, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, who would take the oath of +office as Vice-President of the new Confederacy. He had been present +throughout the convention as a delegate from Georgia, and men talked of +the mighty mind imprisoned in the weak and dwarfed body. + +Harry thrilled more than once as the new President spoke on in calm, +measured tones. He was glad to be present at the occurrence of great +events, and he was glad to witness this gathering of the mighty. +The tide of youth flowed high in him, and he believed himself fortunate +to have been at Charleston when the cannon met the Star of the West, +and yet more fortunate to be now at Montgomery, when the head of the +new nation was taking up his duties. + +His gaze wandered for the first time from the men in the portico to the +crowd without that rimmed them around. His eyes, without any particular +purpose, passed from face to face in the front ranks, and then stopped, +arrested by a countenance that he had little expected to see. It was +the shadow, Shepard, standing there, and listening, and looking as +intently as Harry himself. It was not an evil face, cut clearly and +eager, but Harry was sorry that he had come. If Colonel Talbot's +beliefs about him were true, this was a bad place for Shepard. + +But his eyes went back to the new President and the men on the portico +before him. The first scene in the first act of a great drama, a mighty +tragedy, had begun, and every detail was of absorbing interest to him. +Shepard was forgotten in an instant. + +Harry noticed that Mr. Davis never mentioned slavery, a subject which +was uppermost in the minds of all, North and South, but he alluded to +the possibility of war, and thought the new republic ought to have an +army and navy. The concluding paragraph of his speech, delivered in +measured but feeling tones, seemed very solemn and serious to Harry. + +"It is joyous in the midst of perilous times," he said, "to look around +upon a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve +animates and actuates the whole; where the sacrifices to be made are not +weighed in the balance against honor and right and liberty and equality. +Obstacles may retard, but they cannot long prevent the progress of a +movement sanctified in justice and sustained by a virtuous people. +Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us +in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which by his blessing they +were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity. +With the continuance of his favor ever gratefully acknowledged we may +look hopefully forward to success, to peace and to prosperity." + +The final words were received with a mighty cheer which rose and swelled +thrice, and again. Jefferson Davis stood calmly through it all, his +face expressing no emotion. The thin lips were pressed together +tightly. The points of his high collar touched his thick, close beard. +He wore a heavy black bow tie and his coat had broad braided lapels. +His hair was thick and slightly long, and his face, though thin, was +full of vitality. It seemed to Harry that the grave, slightly narrowed +eyes emitted at this moment a single flash of triumph or at least of +fervor. + +Mr. Davis was sworn in and Mr. Stephens after him, and when the shouting +and applause sank for the last time, the great men withdrew into the +hotel, and the troops marched away. The head of the new republic had +been duly installed, and the separation from the old Union was complete. +The enthusiasm was tremendous, but Harry, like many others, had an +underlying and faint but persistent feeling of sadness that came from +the breaking of old ties. Nor had any news come telling that Kentucky +was about to join her sister states of the South. + +The Palmetto Guards marched back to their old camp, and Harry, Langdon, +and St. Clair obtained leave of absence to visit the town. Youth had +reasserted itself and Harry was again all excitement and elation. +It seemed to him at the moment that he was a boy no longer. The Tacitus +lying peacefully in his desk was forgotten. He was a man in a man's +great world, doing a man's great work. + +But both he and his comrades had all the curiosity and zest of boys as +they walked about the little city in the twilight, looking at everything +of interest, visiting the Capitol, and then coming back to the Exchange +Hotel, which sheltered for a night so many of their great men. + +They stayed a while in the lobby of the hotel, which was packed so +densely that Harry could scarcely breathe. Most of the men were of the +tall, thin but extremely muscular type, either clean shaven or with +short beards trimmed closely, and no mustaches. Black was the +predominant color in clothing, and they talked with soft, drawling +voices. But their talk was sanguine. Most of them asked what the North +would do, but they believed that whatever she did do the South would go +on her way. The smoke from the pipes and cigars grew thicker, and Harry, +leaving his comrades in the crowd, walked out upon the portico. + +The crisp, fresh air of the February night came like a heavenly tonic. +He remained there a little while, breathing it in, expanding his lungs, +and rejoicing. Then he walked over to the exact spot upon which +Jefferson Davis had stood, when he delivered his speech of acceptance. +He was so full of the scene that he shut his eyes and beheld it again. +He tried to imagine the feelings of a man at such a moment, knowing +himself the chosen of millions, and feeling that all eyes were upon him. +Truly it would be enough to make the dullest heart leap. + +He opened his eyes, and although he stood in darkness on the portico, +he saw a dusky figure at the far edge of it, standing between two +pillars, and looking in at one of the windows. The man, whoever he was, +seemed to be intently watching those inside, and Harry saw at once that +it was not a look of mere curiosity. It was the gaze of one who wished +to understand as well as to know. He moved a little nearer. The figure +dropped lightly to the ground and moved swiftly away. Then he saw that +it was Shepard. + +The boy's feelings toward Shepard had been friendly, but now he felt a +sudden rush of hostility. All that Colonel Talbot had hinted about him +was true. He was there, spying upon the Confederacy, seeking its inmost +secrets, in order that he might report them to its enemies. Harry was +armed. He and all his comrades carried new pistols at their belts, +and driven by impulse he, too, dropped from the portico and followed +Shepard. + +He saw the dusky figure ahead of him still going swiftly, but with his +hand on the pistol he followed at greater speed. A minute later Shepard +turned into a small side street, and Harry followed him there. It was +not much more than an alley, dark, silent, and deserted. Montgomery +was a small town, in which people retired early after the custom of the +times, and tonight, the collapse after so much excitement seemed to have +sent them sooner than usual into their homes. It was evident that the +matter would lie without interference between Shepard and himself. + +Shepard went swiftly on and came soon to the outskirts of the town. +He did not look back and Harry wondered whether he knew that he was +pursued. The boy thought once or twice of using his pistol, but could +not bring himself to do it. There was really no war, merely a bristling +of hostile forces, and he could not fire upon anybody, especially upon +one who had done him no harm. + +Shepard led on, passed through a group of negro cabins, crossed an old +cotton field, and entered a grove, with his pursuer not fifty yards +behind. The grove was lighted well by the moon, and Harry dashed +forward, pistol in hand, resolved at last to call a halt upon the +fugitive. A laugh and the blue barrel of a levelled pistol met him. +Shepard was sitting upon a fallen log facing him. The moon poured a +mass of molten silver directly upon him, showing a face of unusual +strength and power, set now with stern resolution. Harry's hand was +upon the butt of his own pistol, but he knew that it was useless to +raise it. Shepard held him at his mercy. + +"Sit down, Mr. Kenton," said Shepard. "Here's another log, where you +can face me. You feel chagrin, but you need not. I knew that you +were following me, and hence I was able to take you by surprise. Now, +tell me, what do you want?" + +Harry took the offered log. He was naturally a lad of great courage and +resolution, and now his presence of mind returned. He looked calmly at +Shepard, who lowered his own pistol. + +"I'm not exactly sure what I want," he replied with a little laugh, +"but whatever it is, I know now that I'm not going to get it. I've +walked into a trap. I believed that you were a spy, and it seemed to +me that I ought to seize you. Am I right?" + +Shepard laughed also. + +"That's a frank question and you shall have a frank reply," he said. +"The suspicions of your friend, Colonel Talbot, were correct. Yes, +I am a spy, if one can be a spy when there is no war. I am willing to +tell you, however, that Shepard is my right name, and I am willing to +tell you also, that you and your Charleston friends little foresee the +magnitude of the business upon which you have started. I don't believe +there is any enmity between you and me and I can tell the thoughts that +I have." + +"Since you offered me no harm when you had the chance," said Harry, +"I give my word that I will seek to offer none myself. Go ahead, +I think you have more to say and I want to listen." + +Shepard thrust his pistol in his belt and his face relaxed somewhat. +As they faced each other on the logs they were not more than ten feet +part and the moon poured a shower of silver rays upon both. Although +Shepard was a few years the older, the faces showed a likeness, +the same clearness of vision and strength of chin. + +"I liked you, Harry Kenton, the first time I met you," said Shepard, +"and I like you yet. When I saw that you were following me, I led you +here in order to say some things to you. You are seeing me now probably +for the last time. My spying is over for a long while, at least. +A mile further on, a horse, saddled and bridled, is waiting for me. +I shall ride all the remainder of the night, board a train in the +morning, and, passing through Memphis and Louisville, I shall be in the +North in forty-eight hours." + +"And what then?" + +"I shall tell to those who ought to know what I have seen in Charleston +and Montgomery. I have seen the gathering of forces in the South, +and I know the spirit that animates your people, but listen to me, +Harry Kenton, do you think that a Union such as ours, formed as ours was, +can be broken up in a moment, as you would smash a china plate? The +forces on the other side are sluggish, but they are mighty. I foresee +war, terrible war, crowded with mighty battles. Now, I'm going to offer +you my hand and you are going to take it. Don't think any the less of +me because I've been playing the spy. You may be one yourself before +the year is out." + +His manner was winning, and Harry took the offered hand. What right +had he to judge? Each to his own opinion. Despite himself, he liked +Shepard again. + +"I'm glad I've known you, but at the same time I'm glad you're leaving," +he said. + +Shepard gave the boy's hand a hearty grasp, which was returned in kind. +Then he turned and disappeared in the forest. Harry walked slowly +back to Montgomery. Shepard had given him deep cause for thought. He +approached the Exchange Hotel, thinking that he would find his friends +there and return with them to the camp. But it was later than he had +supposed. As he drew near he saw that nearly all the lights were out +in the hotel, and the building was silent. + +He was sure that St. Clair and Langdon had already gone to the camp, +and he was about to turn away when he saw a window in the hotel thrown +up and a man appear standing full length in the opening. + +It was Jefferson Davis. The same flood of moonlight that had poured +upon Shepard illuminated his face also. But it was not the face of a +triumphant man. It was stern, sad, even gloomy. The thin lips were +pressed together more tightly than ever, and the somber eyes looked +out over the city, but evidently saw nothing there. Harry felt +instinctively that his thoughts were like those of Shepard. He, too, +foresaw a great and terrible war, and, so foreseeing, knew that this +was no time to rejoice and glorify. + +Harry, held by the strong spell of time and place, watched him a full +half hour. It was certain now that Jefferson Davis was thinking, +not looking at anything, because his head never moved, and his eyes were +always turned in the same direction--Harry noticed at last that the +direction was the North. + +The new President stepped back, closed the window and no light came from +his room. Harry hurried to the camp, where, as he had surmised, he +found St. Clair and Langdon. He gave some excuse for his delay, and +telling nothing of Shepard, wrapped himself in his blankets. Exhausted +by the stirring events of the day and night he fell asleep at once. + +Three days later they were on their way back to Charleston. They heard +that the inauguration of the new President had not been well received by +the doubtful states. Even the border slave states were afraid the lower +South had been a little too hasty. But among the youths of the Palmetto +Guards there was neither apprehension nor depression. They had been +present at the christening of the new nation, and now they were going +back to their own Charleston. + +"Everything is for the best," said young Langdon, whose unfailing +spirits bubbled to the brim, "we'll have down here the tightest and +finest republic the world ever heard of. New Orleans will be the +biggest city, but our own Charleston will always be the leader, its +center of thought." + +"What you need, Tom," said Harry, "is a center of thought yourself. +Don't be so terribly sanguine and you may save yourself some smashes." + +"I wouldn't gain anything even then," replied Langdon joyously. "I'll +have such a happy time before the smash comes that I can afford to pay +for it. I'm the kind that enjoys life. It's a pleasure to me just to +breathe." + +"I believe it is," said Harry, looking at him with admiration. "I think +I'll call you Happy Tom." + +"I take the name with pleasure," said Langdon. "It's a compliment to be +called Happy Tom. Happy I was born and happy I am. I'm so happy I must +sing: + + "Ol Dan Tucker was a mighty fine man, + He washed his face in the frying pan, + He combed his hair with a wagon wheel + And died with a toothache in his heel." + +"That's a great poem," said a long North Carolina youth named Ransome, +"but I've got something that beats it all holler. 'Ole Dan Tucker' is +nothing to 'Aunt Dinah's Tribberlations.'" + +"How does it go?" asked St. Clair. + +"It's powerful pathetic, telling a tale of disaster and pain. The first +verse will do, and here it is: + + "Ole Aunt Dinah, she got drunk, + Felled in a fire and kicked up a chunk, + Red-hot coal popped in her shoe, + Lord a-mighty! how de water flew!" + +"We've had French and Italian opera in Charleston," said St. Clair, +"and I've heard both in New Orleans, too, but nothing quite so moving +as the troubles of Ole Dan Tucker and Ole Aunt Dinah." + +They sang other songs and the Guards, who filled two coaches of a train, +joined in a great swinging chorus which thundered above the rattle of +the engine and the cars, so noisy in those days. Often they sang negro +melodies with a plaintive lilt. The slave had given his music to his +master. Harry joined with all the zest of an enthusiastic nature. +The effect of Shepard's words and of the still, solemn face of +Jefferson Davis, framed in the open window, was wholly gone. + +Spring was now advancing. All the land was green. The trees were in +fresh leaf, and when they stopped at the little stations in the woods, +they could hear the birds singing in the deep forest. And as they sped +across the open they heard the negroes singing, too, in their deep +mellow voices in the fields. Then came the delicate flavor of flowers +and Harry knew that they were approaching Charleston. In another hour +they were in the city which was, as yet, the heart and soul of the +Confederacy. + +Charleston, with its steepled churches, its quaint houses, and its +masses of foliage, much of it in full flower, seemed more attractive +than ever to Harry. The city preserved its gay and light tone. It was +crowded with people. All the rich planters were there. Society had +never been more brilliant than during those tense weeks on the eve +of men knew not what. But the Charlestonians were sure of one fact, +the most important of all, that everything was going well. Texas had +joined the great group of the South, and while the border states still +hung back, they would surely join. + +Harry found that the batteries and earthworks had increased in size and +number, forming a formidable circle about the black mass of Sumter, +above which the defiant flag still swung in the wind. The guards were +distributed among the batteries, but St. Clair, Langdon, and Harry +remained together. Toutant Beauregard, after having resigned the +command at West Point, as the Southern leaders had expected, came +to Charleston and took supreme command there. Harry saw him as he +inspected the batteries, a small, dark man, French in look, as he was +French in descent, full of nervous energy and vitality. He spoke +approving words of all that had been done, and Harry, St. Clair and Tom, +glowed with enthusiasm. + +"Didn't I tell you that everything would come just right!" exclaimed +Happy Tom. "We're the boys to do things. I heard today that they were +preparing a big fleet in the North to relieve Sumter, but no matter how +big it is, it won't be able to get into Charleston harbor. Will it, +old fellow?" + +He addressed his remarks to one of the great guns, and he patted the +long, polished barrel. Harry agreed with him that Charleston harbor +could be held inviolate. He did not believe that ships would have much +chance against heavy cannon in earthworks. + +He was back in Charleston several days before he had a chance to go to +Madame Delaunay's. She was unfeignedly glad to see him, but Harry saw +that she had lost some of her bright spirits. + +"Colonel Talbot tells me," she said, "that mighty forces are gathering, +and I am afraid, I am afraid for all the thousands of gallant boys like +you, Harry." + +But Harry had little fear for himself. Why should he, when the Southern +cause was moving forward so smoothly? They heard a day or two later +that the rail-splitter, Lincoln, had been duly inaugurated President of +what remained of the old Union, although he had gone to Washington at +an unexpected hour, and partly in disguise. On the same day the +Confederacy adopted the famous flag of the Stars and Bars, and Harry and +his friends were soon singing in unison and with fiery enthusiasm: + + "Hurrah! Hurrah! for Southern rights, hurrah! + Hurrah for the bonnie blue flag that bears a single star!" + +The spring deepened and with it the tension and excitement. The warm +winds from the South blew over Charleston, eternally keen with the odor +of rose and orange blossom. The bay moved gently, a molten mass now +blue, now green. The blue figures could be seen now and then on the +black walls of Sumter, but the fortress was silent, although the muzzles +of its guns always threatened. + +Harry received several letters from his father. The latest stated that +he might want him to return, but he was not needed yet. The state had +proved more stubborn than he and his friends had expected. A powerful +Union element had been disclosed, and there would be an obstinate fight +at Frankfort over the question of going out. He would let him know when +to come. + +Harry was perhaps less surprised than his father over the conflict of +opinion in Kentucky, but his thoughts soon slipped from it, returning to +his absorption in the great and thrilling drama in Charleston, which was +passing before his eyes, and of which he was a part. + +April came, and the glory of the spring deepened. The winds blowing +from the soft shores of the Gulf grew heavier with the odors of blossom +and flower. But Charleston thrilled continually with excitement. +Fort after fort was seized by the Southerners, almost without opposition +and wholly without the shedding of blood. It seemed that the stars in +their courses fought for the South, or at least it seemed so to the +youthful Harry and his comrades. + +"Didn't I tell you everything would come as we wished it?" said the +sanguine Langdon. "Abe Lincoln may be the best rail-splitter that ever +was, but I fancy he isn't such a terrible fighter." + +"Let's wait and see," said Harry, with the impression of Shepard's +warning words still strong upon him. + +His caution was not in vain. That day the rulers of Charleston received +a message from Abraham Lincoln that Sumter would be revictualled, +whether Charleston consented or not. The news was spread instantly +through the city and fire sprang up in the South Carolina heart. +The population, increased far beyond its normal numbers by the influx +from the country, talked of nothing else. Beauregard was everywhere +giving quick, nervous orders, and always strengthening the already +powerful batteries that threatened Sumter. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SUMTER + + +Harry saw an increase of energy after the arrival of Beauregard. +There were fresh rumors about the great fleet the North was going to +send down for the relief of Sumter. Major Anderson, the commander in +the fort, steadily refused all demands for surrender. It was said +freely that the Northern States did not intend to let their Southern +sisters go in peace. The Mercury, with all the power and fire of the +Rhett family behind it, thundered continually for action. Sumter with +its guns menacing the city should not be allowed to remain under the +hostile flag. + +It seemed to Harry afterward that he was in a sort of fever, not a fever +that parched and burned, but a fever that made his pulse leap faster, +and his heart long for the thrill of conflict. Often he sat with +St. Clair and Langdon on their earthworks, and looked at Sumter. + +"I wonder when the word will come for us to turn these big guns loose?" +Langdon said one day, as he looked at the cannon. "Seems to me we ought +to take Sumter before that fleet comes." + +"But wouldn't it be better for them to make the first hostile movement, +Happy?" asked Harry. "Then we'd put them in the wrong." + +"What difference does it make if we should happen to fight them, anyhow? +The question who began it we'd settle afterwards on victorious fields. +Oh, we're bound to win, Harry! We can't help it. If there's any war, +I expect inside of a year to sleep with my boots on in the President's +bed in the White House, and then I'd go on to Philadelphia and New York +and Boston and show myself as a fair specimen of the unconquerable +Southern soldier." + +"Happy," said Harry, in a rebuking tone, "you're the most terrific +chatterer I ever heard. Before you've done anything whatever, you talk +about having done it all." + +"And they call us Charlestonians fiery boasters," said St. Clair. +"Why, there's nobody in all Charleston who's half a match for this sea +islander, Happy Tom Langdon." + +Charleston received Lincoln's threat and gave it back. Many were glad +that he had made the issue. The enthusiasm swelled yet further, when +they heard that the Confederate envoys at Washington, treating for a +peaceful separation, had left the capital at once when Lincoln had sent +his message that Sumter would be relieved. + +"It looks more like war now," said Langdon, with satisfaction, "and I +may make my victorious march into the North after all." + +Harry said nothing. As events marched forward on swift foot, he felt +more intensely their gravity. For every month that had passed since he +put the Tacitus in his desk at Pendleton Academy, the boy had grown a +year in mind and thought. So, that rumor about the relieving fleet had +come true and they might look for it in Charleston in two or three days. + +Harry had his place in one of the batteries nearest Sumter, and he often +went with Colonel Talbot on tours of inspection and once or twice he was +in General Beauregard's own party. The fact that his father had been +a graduate of West Point and for years an officer, was of the greatest +service to him. In the little army of the United States before the +Civil War, the officers constituted a family. Everybody knew who +everybody else was, and those of the same age had been at West Point +together. General Beauregard and Colonel Kenton had met often, and the +Southern commander became very partial to the Colonel's son. + +Harry was present when Beauregard, some of his more important officers +and the civil authorities of Charleston, conferred after Lincoln's +warning message came. + +"If Lincoln's fleet tries to force the harbor," said Rhett, "we must +fire upon it. Sumter should be ours, and if Lincoln succeeds in +revictualling the fort it will be a great blow to our prestige. +It will hurt the whole South. What do you think, General?" + +"I think as you do, Mr. Rhett," replied Toutant Beauregard. "But have +no fear, gentlemen. No fleet that Lincoln may send can reach Sumter. +Our batteries are able to blow out of the water every vessel that flies +the Northern flag." + +"We must reduce Sumter itself before the fleet comes," said Jamison, +of Barnwell. + +Beauregard smiled slightly. + +"We can do that, too," he said, "and I am glad to see that you gentlemen +are for action. The fleet, I am accurately informed, consists of the +warship Baltic, three sloops of war and two tenders. The Baltic, +with Fox, the assistant secretary of the Northern Navy, on board, +left New York two days ago. The other vessels started earlier, and we +may expect the whole fleet in a day." + +"Then," said Rhett, "we must send to Sumter another and a final demand +for its surrender." + +They were all agreed, and Beauregard chose his messengers, putting Harry +among the number. Hoisting a white flag, they entered a large boat and +were rowed by powerful oarsmen toward Sumter. Harry, looking back, +saw the whole front of the harbor lined with people. Even at the +distance it looked like a holiday crowd. He saw hundreds of women and +girls in white and pink dresses, and there were roses of the same colors +in hats and bonnets. Great parasols of every shade threw back the +brilliant sunlight. It was still a holiday spectacle, a pageant, +and many of the light hearts along the sea wall could not realize that +it might yet be something far more. + +Anderson, the commander of Sumter, appeared upon the esplanade to +meet the boat coming with the white flag. Harry watched him closely. +He saw a face worn, but set hard and firm, and a figure upright and +steady. The Southerners tied their boat to the wall and climbed upon +the esplanade. + +"What do you want, gentlemen?" asked Anderson. + +"We have come with our final demand for your surrender," replied the +chief Southern officer. "If you do not yield we fire upon you." + +Anderson shrugged his shoulders. + +"I hear that a fleet from New York is coming to my relief." + +"It will never be able to force a passage into the harbor." + +"That may or may not be, but in any event, gentlemen, I tell you that +the flag will not come down. If you fire, we fire back." + +He spoke with no quiver in his voice, although his supply of ammunition +was low, and the fort had a food supply for only four days. + +"Then it is scarcely worth while for us to talk longer." + +"No, it would be a waste of time by both of us." The Southerners turned +back to their boat. Harry was the last and Anderson said to him in a +low tone: + +"I am sorry to see your father's son here." + +"I am where he would wish me to be," replied the boy stiffly. + +"Even so, I hope you will come to no harm," said Anderson in a generous +tone. + +After such a noble rejoinder Harry's heart softened instantly, and he +returned the wish. Then he followed the others into the boat, and they +pulled back to the mainland. + +The crowd surmised from the quick return of the boat the nature of the +answer that it brought. It seemed to feel one gigantic throb of passion, +and perhaps of relief also, that the issue was made after so many weeks +of waiting. Yet the holiday aspect disappeared, as if a cloud had +passed suddenly before the sun. + +Harry noted the shadow even before he landed. The people had become +silent, and faces that had laughed turned grave. As they set foot upon +the mainland, they told their news freely, and then the crowd dispersed +almost in silence. It was the first time that Harry had seen Charleston, +gay and light of heart, in the shadow, but he was sure that it could not +last long. His errand over, he returned to his own battery and told +Langdon and St. Clair of everything that had happened. + +"It's all for the best," said Langdon cheerfully. "Sumter will be ours +in another day." + +"Wait and see, Happy," said Harry. + +"All right, old Wait-and-See, I will," returned Langdon. + +Harry tried to suppress, or at least conceal his intense excitement. +The whole city was in the same state. The batteries were filled with +men of wealth and position, serving as mere volunteer privates. The +wives and daughters of many of them were at the Charleston Hotel or the +Mills House, or at such inns as that kept by Madame Delaunay. Governor +Pickens and his wife were at the Charleston Hotel, and with them were +chief officers of the city and state. Nearly everybody knew that +something was going to happen, but few knew when it would happen. + +Harry noticed a tightening of discipline at their battery. The orders +were sharp and they had to be obeyed. Nothing was wasted in politeness. +Visitors were no longer allowed to gratify curiosity. Women and girls +in their white or pink dresses were not permitted to come near and smile +at their husbands or brothers or sweethearts in the trenches. The +ammunition was stacked neatly behind the guns, and every man was +compelled to be ready at an instant's notice. + +"Looks like business," Langdon whispered joyfully to his comrades. +"I'm hoping that fleet will come just as soon as it can." + +"Happy, you sanguinary wretch," Harry whispered back, "I'm thinking the +fleet will come soon enough for you and all the rest of us." + +The afternoon faded. The sun sank in the hills behind them, and dusk +came over city and harbor. But Harry, from the battery, could still see +the black bulk of Sumter, and above it the gleaming red and blue of a +flag. + +Coffee and food were served to his comrades and himself in the battery, +and then they remained by their guns waiting. The night deepened. +Harry could yet see the flash of waters and the dim bulk of Sumter, +but the flag itself was no longer visible. No sound came from the city. +The silence there seemed singular and heavy. + +The boy felt the night and the waiting. Even Happy Tom ceased to be +light and frivolous. The three had nothing to do and they sat together, +always looking toward the sea where the smoke of the relieving fleet +might appear. Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Major Hector St. Hilaire +passed together on a tour of inspection. They gave approving looks to +the three trim youths, with the frank open faces, but said nothing and +went on. Harry heard their footsteps for a moment or two, and then the +oppressive silence came again. + +The same stillness endured for a long time, so long that the three began +to believe nothing would happen. Despite himself, Harry began to nod +and he was forced to bring himself back to earth with a jerk. Then he +stretched a little and peered over the earthwork. It was brighter now. +A fine moon rode high, and the sea was dusted with starshine. The bulk +of Sumter, black no longer, was coated with silver. + +"Looks peaceful enough," whispered Langdon. "The ships have heard that +you and St. Clair and I are here waiting for them and have turned back." + +Harry made no answer. This waiting in the silence and the night made +his blood quiver just a little. He was about to turn back when he saw a +sudden flash of fire from another point further up. It was followed by +a heavy crash that echoed and re-echoed over the still sea and city. +Harry's heart leaped, but his body stiffened to attention. Tom and +St. Clair by his side pressed against the earthwork. + +"What is it?" they whispered. + +"The moonlight is good," replied Harry, "but I don't see any ship. +It must be a signal of some kind." + +"Hush!" said Langdon, "there it goes again!" + +Another cannon thundered, and the echoes, as before, came back from sea +and shore, followed, as the echoes died, by that strange, heavy silence. +But, straining their eyes to the utmost, the three boys could see +nothing on the sea. It swayed gently like a vast mass of molten silver +in the starshine, and lapped softly against the shore. The report of a +third heavy gun came, and then the reports of several more. After that +the silence was complete. It had seemed to Harry, his brain surcharged +with excitement, like the tolling of great bells. Langdon and St. Clair +whispered together, but he said nothing. + +It was permitted to the three to lie down in their blankets in the +earthwork and sleep, but they did not think of trying it. They wished +to know the meaning of those cannon shots and they waited, tense with +excitement. It was nearly midnight when Colonel Leonidas Talbot came. + +"We have learned that the Northern vessels will appear before Charleston +tomorrow," he said, "and the shots were a signal to all our people to be +ready. The attack on Sumter will begin in the morning. Now you three +boys must go to sleep. We shall need tomorrow soldiers who are fresh +and strong, not those who are worn and weak from loss of sleep." + +They tried it and found it easier now because they knew the mystery of +the shots. Harry became conscious that the night was crisp and cold, +and, wrapped in his blanket, he lay with his back against an inner wall +of the earthwork. The blood, the result of his tension and excitement, +pounded in his ears for some time, but, at last, his pulses became quiet, +and his heavy eyes closed. + +He was awakened at the first shoot of dawn by Colonel Leonidas Talbot. + +"Up, boys!" he said, "snatch a bite of food and a drink of coffee, +and make yourselves as neat as possible. General Beauregard is coming +to this very battery." + +His voice was quick and sharp, and the boys obeyed with the lightning +speed of youth. It was a pale dawn. Gray clouds drifted along the +sea's far rim, and a sharp wind came out of the Northwest. Heavy waves +rolled into the mouths of the narrow and difficult passes that led into +the bay. + +"The Lord Himself fights for us," Harry heard Colonel Leonidas Talbot +murmur. "No ships on such a sea would dare the passes in the face of +our guns." + +The pale light widened. Sumter was black and threatening again, +and the flag waved there before it. + +General Beauregard, his staff and a body of civilians arrived, and +almost overflowed the battery. Harry noticed among the civilians an +old man, seventy-five at least, with long hair, snow white. Despite +his years, his face was as keen and eager as that of any boy. + +"Who is he?" Harry whispered to St. Clair, who knew everybody. + +"His name's Ruffin, but he's not a South Carolinian. He's a Virginian, +but he has come to join us, and he's heart and soul with us. He's ready +to fight at the drop of a hat." + +Harry--their battery stood on Coming's Point--glanced toward the city +and uttered a low cry of surprise. + +"Look!" he said to his friends, "all Charleston is here." + +"Yes, and a lot more of South Carolina, too," said St. Clair. + +The people, learning the meaning of those signal guns in the night, +were packed in every open space, and the very roofs were black with +them. Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, +but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. Harry knew +that every heart in the fifty thousand beat, like his own, with strained +expectancy. + +A great gun in the battery was trained upon Sumter, and the gunner stood +ready at the lanyard, but the old man with the long white hair and the +keen, eager face, stepping forward, begged General Beauregard to allow +him the honor of firing the first shot. The General consented at once, +and the old man pulled the lanyard. + +There was a terrific crash that almost deafened Harry, a gush of flame, +followed by smoke, and a shell, screaming in a curve, dropped upon +Sumter. For a few moments no one spoke, and Harry could hear the blood +pounding in his ears. In a sudden flash of insight he saw a long and +terrible road that they must tread. But neither he nor any other +present realized to the full what had happened. The first real shot in +the mightiest war of history had been fired, and the years of promises, +kept or broken, of mutual jealousies and mutual abuse had ended at the +cannon's mouth. + +The silence was broken by a shout like the roar of a storm, that came +from the people in the town. A puff of smoke rose from Sumter and the +fort sent its answering shot, but it struck no enemy and again the shout +came from the town, now a cry of derision. + +Then all the batteries in the wide curve about Sumter leaped into fiery +life. Cannon after cannon poured shot and shell against the black +walls. The fort was ringed with fire. It seemed to Harry that the +earth rocked. He tried to speak to his comrades, but he could not hear +his own voice. He thought he was about to be deafened for his whole +life, but Langdon handed him pieces of cotton which he quickly stuffed +in his ears. Langdon and St. Clair had already taken the precaution. +Happy Tom had proved himself the most forethoughtful of them all. +And yet Langdon, careless and easy, was aflame with the fire of battle. +It seemed to Harry that he thought little of consequences. + +"Listen to it!" he shouted in excited tones to Harry and St. Clair. +"Hark to the thudding of the great guns! It's war, the greatest of all +games!" + +Harry felt an intense excitement also. These were his people. He was +of their bone and sinew, and he was with them, heart and soul. He +did his part at the guns, and, although his excitement grew, he said +nothing. He saw that the return fire from the fort was far inferior +to that of the South Carolinians, and that it was doing no damage. + +"Using their light guns only," he heard Colonel Talbot say during a +momentary lull. "They must be short of ammunition." + +The morning wore slowly on. From every battery along the mainland and +on the islands, the storm of projectiles yet beat upon Sumter, and, +at intervals, the fort replied, still using the light guns. Once Harry +heard the whistle of a shell over his head, and he ducked automatically, +while the others laughed. Another time, a solid shot sent the dirt +flying in all their faces, stinging like driven sand, but that was the +nearest any missile ever came to them. + +Beauregard, after a while, gave an order for the firing to cease, +and the city and harbor rose again, clear and distinct, in the pale +sunlight. The great crowd of people was still there, all watching and +waiting, The fort was battered and torn, but above it still hung the +defiant flag, and there was no offer of surrender. + +"Look! Look!" Langdon cried suddenly, reckless of all discipline, +as he pointed a forefinger toward the sea. + +Harry saw a column of smoke rising, and defining itself clearly against +the pale blue sky. + +"The Yankee fleet!" cried one of the officers, as he put his glasses to +his eyes. + +General Beauregard, General Ripley, and officers in every other battery, +also were watching that new column of smoke through glasses. The dark +spire in truth rose from the Baltic, the chief ship of the Union, +having on board the energetic Fox himself, and two hundred soldiers. +But chance and the elements seemed to have conspired against the +secretary. One of his strongest ships had gone to the relief of another +fort further south, others had been scattered by a storm, and the Baltic +had only two sister vessels as she approached, over a rolling gray sea, +the fiery volcano that was once the peaceful harbor of Charleston. + +Harry saw the first column of smoke increase to three, and they knew +then that the number of the Union vessels was far less than had been +expected. + +"Will they undertake to force the harbor and reach Sumter?" he asked of +Colonel Talbot, who was then in the battery. + +"If they do," replied the Colonel, "it will be a case of the most +reckless folly. They would be sunk in short order, as they come right +into the teeth of our guns. The sea itself, is against them. The waves +are rolling worse than ever." + +Colonel Talbot knew what he was saying. Vainly the men in Sumter looked +for relief by sea. They, too, had seen the three ships off the harbor, +and they knew whence they came and for what purpose. But they had +reached the end of their journey, and had fallen short with the object +of it in sight. They were compelled to swing back and forth, while +they watched the circle of batteries pour a continuous fire upon the +crumbling fort. + +After the Southern officers had taken a long look at the Union ships, +and had seen that they could do nothing, the fire on Sumter was renewed +with increased volume. It lasted all through the day and the vast crowd +of spectators did not diminish in numbers. Many of the wealthier were +in carriages. If one went away for food or refreshment another took his +place. + +When the wind at times lifted the smoke, Harry saw that the wooden +buildings standing on the esplanade of the fort were burning fiercely, +set on fire by the bursting shells. The iron cisterns, too, although he +did not know it until later, were smashed, and columns of smoke from the +flaming buildings were pouring into the fort, threatening its defenders +with destruction. + +Night came on, and most of the people, lining the harbor, were compelled +to go to their homes, but the fire of the Southern batteries continued, +always converging upon the scarred and blackened walls of Sumter, +from which came an occasional shot in return. Harry had now grown used +to this incessant, rolling crash. He could hear his comrades speak, +their voices coming in an under note, and now and then they discussed +the result. They agreed that Sumter was bound to fall. The Union fleet +could bring it no relief, and such a continuous rain of balls and shells +must eventually pound it to pieces. + +They ate and drank after dark. They had food in abundance and +delicacies of many kinds from which to choose. Charleston poured forth +its plenty for its heroes, and in those days of fresh young enthusiasm +there was no lack of anything. + +"The Yankees hold out well," said Langdon, "but I'm willing to bet a +hundred to one that nobody sleeps in that fort tonight. You can't see +the smoke of the ships any more. I suppose that for safety in the night +they've had to go further out to sea. I'm glad I'm not on one of them, +rolling and tumbling in those high waves. Well, everything is for the +best, and if Sumter doesn't fall into our laps tonight she'll fall +tomorrow, and if she doesn't fall tomorrow she'll fall the next day. +What do you say to that, old Wait-and-See?" + +"Wait and see," replied Harry so naturally that the others laughed. + +The bombardment went on all through the night. Harry continually +breathed smoke and the odor of burned gunpowder, which seemed to keep +his nerves keyed to a great pitch, and to maintain the heat of his +blood. Yet, after a while, he lay down, when his turn at the guns +ceased, and slept through sheer exhaustion. His eyes closed to the +thunder of cannon and they awoke at dawn to the same heavy thudding. + +The fire had not ceased at any time in the course of the night, and +Sumter looked like a ruin, but the flag still floated over it. +St. Clair and Langdon were awakened a few minutes later, and they +also stood up, rubbed their eyes, stared at the fort and listened +to the firing. Harry laughed at their appearance. + +"You fellows are certainly grimy," he said. "You look as if you hadn't +seen water for a month." + +"We can't see ourselves, old Wait-and-See," retorted Langdon, "but I +guess we're beauties alongside of you. If I didn't have the honor of +your acquaintance, I wouldn't know whether you came from the Indian +Territory, Ashantee or the Cannibal Islands." + +"And the music goes merrily on," said St. Clair. "I went to sleep with +the cannon firing, and I wake up with them still at it. I suppose a +fellow will get used to it after a while." + +"You can get used to anything," said an officer who heard them. "Now, +you boys eat your breakfasts. Your turn at the guns will come again +soon." + +They took breakfast willingly, although they found a strong flavor of +smoke, sand, and burned gunpowder in everything they ate and drank. +Then they went to their guns, but, when a few more shots were fired, +a trumpet blew a signal, and it was echoed from battery to battery. +Every cannon ceased, and, in the silence and under the lifting smoke, +Harry saw a white flag going up on the fort. + +Sumter was about to yield. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE HOMECOMING + + +A great and exultant cheer went up from the massed thousands in +Charleston. A smile passed over Beauregard's swarthy face and he showed +his white teeth. Colonel Leonidas Talbot regarded the white flag with +feelings in which triumph and sadness were mingled strangely. But +the emotions of Harry and his comrades were, for the moment, those of +victory only. + +Boats put out both from the fort and the shore. Discipline was relaxed +now, and Harry, St. Clair and Langdon went outside the battery. A light +breeze had sprung up, and it was very grateful to Harry, who for hours +had breathed the heavy odors of smoke and burned gunpowder. The smoke +itself, which had formed a vast cloud over harbor, forts and city, +was now drifting out to sea, leaving all things etched sharply in the +dazzling sunlight of a Southern spring day. + +"Well, old Wait-and-See, you have waited, and you have seen," said +Langdon to Harry. "That white flag and those boats going out mean that +Sumter is ours. Everything is for the best and we win everywhere and +all the time." + +Harry was silent. He was watching the boats. But the negotiations were +soon completed. Sumter, a mass of ruins, was given up, and the Star and +Bars, taking the place of the Stars and Stripes, gaily snapped defiance +to the whole North. "It begins to look well there," said Beauregard, +gazing proudly at the new flag. + +All the amenities were preserved between the captured garrison and their +captors. Anderson was sent to the Baltic, which still hovered outside, +and the Union vessels disappeared on their way back to the North. +Peace, but now the peace of triumph, settled again over Charleston, +and throughout the South went the joyous tidings that Sumter had been +taken. The great state of Virginia, Mother of Presidents, went out of +the Union at last, and North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed +her, but Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri still hung in the balance. + +Lincoln had called for volunteers to put down a rebellion, but Harry +heard everywhere in Charleston that the Confederacy was now secure. +The Southerners were rising by the thousands to defend it. The women, +too, were full of zeal and enthusiasm and they urged the men to go to +the front. With the full consent of the lower South the capital was to +be moved from Montgomery to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, on the +very border of the Confederacy, to look defiantly, as it were, across +at Washington over a space which was to become the vast battlefield of +America, although few then dreamed it. The progress of President Davis +to the new capital, set in the very face of the foe, was to be one huge +triumph of faith and loyalty. + +Harry heard nothing in Charleston but joyful news. There was not a +single note of gloom. Europe, which must have its cotton, would favor +the success of the South. Women who had never worked before, sewed +night and day on clothing for the soldiers. Men gave freely and without +asking to the new government. An extraordinary wave of emotion swept +over the South, carrying everybody with it. Charleston shouted anew as +the newspapers announced the news of distinguished officers who had gone +out with the Southern States. There were the two Johnstons, the one of +Virginia and the other of Kentucky; Lee, Bragg, of Buena Vista fame; +Longstreet, and many others, some already celebrated in the Mexican War, +and others with a greater fame yet to make. + +Harry heard it all and it was transfused into his own blood. Now a +letter came from his father. That obstinate faction in Kentucky still +held the state to the Union. Since Sumter had fallen and Charleston was +safe, he wished his son to rejoin him in Pendleton, whence they would +proceed together to Frankfort, and help the Southern party. His +personal account of the glowing deed that had been done in Charleston +harbor would help. He was sure that his old friend, General Beauregard, +would release him for this important duty. + +Harry's heart and judgment alike responded to the call. He took the +letter to General Beauregard, finding him at the Charleston Hotel with +Governor Pickens and officers of his staff, and stood aside while the +general read it. Beauregard at once wrote an order. + +"This is your discharge from the Palmetto Guards," he said. "Colonel +Kenton writes wisely. We need Kentucky and I understand that a very +little more may bring the state to us. Go with your father. I +understand that you have been a brave young soldier here and may you +do as well up there." + +Harry, feeling pride but not showing it, saluted and left the room, +going at once to Madame Delaunay's, where he had left his baggage. +He intended to leave early in the morning, but first he sought his +friends and told them good-bye. + +"Don't forget that we're going to have a great war," said Colonel +Leonidas Talbot, "and the first battle line will be far north of +Charleston. I shall look for you there." + +"God bless you, my boy," said Major Hector St. Hilaire. "May you come +back some day to this beautiful Charleston of ours, and find it more +beautiful than ever." + +"I'll meet you at Richmond later on," said Arthur St. Clair, "and then +we'll serve together again." + +"I'll join you at the White House in Washington," said Tom Langdon, +"and I'll give you the next best bed to sleep in with your boots on." + +Harry gave his farewells with deep and genuine regret. Whether their +manner was grave or frivolous, he knew that these were good friends +of his, and he sincerely hoped that he would meet them again. Madame +Delaunay spoke to him almost as if he had been a son of hers, and there +was dew in his eyes, because he could never forget her kindness to the +lad who had been a stranger. + +He resumed his civilian clothing and put his gray uniform, fine and new, +of which he was so proud, in his saddle bags. Kentucky had declared +herself neutral ground, warning the armies of both North and South to +keep off her sacred soil, and he did not wish to invite undue attention. +He intended, moreover, to leave the train when he neared Pendleton, +at the same little station at which he had taken it when he started +south. + +It was a different Harry who started home late in April. Four months +had made great changes. He bore himself more like a man. His manner +was much more considered and grave. He had seen great things and he had +done his share of them. He gazed upon a world full of responsibilities +and perils. + +But he looked back at Charleston the gay, the volatile and the beautiful, +with real affection. It was almost buried now in flowers and foliage. +Spring was at the full, every breeze was sharply sweet with grassy +flavors. The very triumph and joy of living penetrated his soul. +Youth swept aside the terrors of war. He was going home after victory. +He soon left Charleston out of sight. A last roof or steeple glittered +for a moment in the sun and then was gone. Before him lay the uplands +and the ridges, and in another day he would be in another land. + +He crossed the low mountains, passed through Nashville again, although +he did not stop there, his train making immediate connection, and once +more and with a thrill, entered his own state. He learned from casual +talk on the trains that affairs in Kentucky were very hot. The special +session of the Legislature, called by Governor Magoffin, was to meet at +Frankfort early in May. The women of the state had already prepared an +appeal to the Legislature to save them from the horrors of civil war. + +Harry saw that he had not left active life behind him when he came away +from Charleston. The feeling of strife had spread over a vast area. +The atmosphere of Kentucky, like that of South Carolina, was surcharged +with intensity and passion, but it had a difference. All the winds +blew in the same direction in South Carolina and they sang one song of +triumph, but in Kentucky they were variable and conflicting, and their +voices were many. + +He felt the difference as soon as he reached the hills of his native +state. People were cooler here and they were more prone to look at +the two sides of a question. The air, too, was unlike that of South +Carolina. There was a sharper tang to it. It whipped his blood as it +blew down from the slopes and crests. + +It was afternoon when he reached the little station of Winton and left +the train, a tall, sturdy boy, the superior of many a man in size, +strength and agility. His saddle bags over his arm, he went at once +to the liveryman with whom he had left his horse on his journey to +Charleston, and asked for another, his best, for the return ride to +Pendleton. The liveryman stared at him a moment or two and then burst +into an exclamation of surprise. + +"Why, it's Harry Kenton!" he said. "Harry, you've changed a lot in so +short a time! You were at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, they tell me! +It's made a mighty stir in these parts! There were never before such +times in old Kentucky! Yes, Harry, I'll give you the best horse I've +got, there ain't one more powerful in the state, but pushin' as hard as +you will you can't reach Pendleton before dark, an' you look out." + +"Look out for what?" + +"Bill Skelly an' his gang. Them mountaineers are up. They say they're +goin' to beat the rich men of the lowlands an' keep Kentucky in the +Union, but between you an' me, Harry, it's the hate they feel for +them that think harder an' work harder an' make more than themselves. +Bill Skelly is the worst man in the mountains an' he has gathered about +him a big gang of toughs. They're carin' mighty little about the Union +or the freedom of the slaves, but they expect to make a lot out of this +for themselves. Now I tell you again, Harry, to look out as you go +through the dark to Pendleton. The country is mighty troubled." + +"I will," replied Harry, with vivid recollection of his ride from +Pendleton to Winton. "I am armed, Mr. Collins, and I have seen war. +I served in one of the batteries that reduced Fort Sumter." + +He did not say the last as a boast, but merely as an assurance to the +liveryman, who he saw was anxious on his account. + +"If you've got pistols, just you think once before you shoot," said +Collins. "Things are shorely mighty troubled in these parts an' they're +goin' to be worse." + +"Have you heard anything of my father? Is he at Pendleton?" + +"He was two days ago. He'd been up to Louisville where the Southern +leaders had a meetin', but couldn't make things go as they wanted 'em +to go, an' so he come back to Pendleton. People are tellin' that he's +goin' to Frankfort soon." + +Harry thanked him, threw his saddle bags across the horse, a powerful +bay, and, giving a final wave of his hand to the sympathetic liveryman, +rode away. He had little fear. He carried a pair of heavy double- +barreled pistols in holsters, and a smaller weapon in his pocket. +The horse, as he soon saw, was of uncommon power and spirit and he +snapped his fingers at Skelly and his gang. + +He rode first at a long, easy walk, knowing too well to push hard at +the beginning, and the afternoon passed without anything worthy of his +notice save the loneliness of the road. In the two hours before sundown +he met less than half a dozen persons. All were men, and with a mere +nod they went on quickly, regarding him with suspicion. This was not +the fashion of a year ago, when they exchanged a friendly word or two, +but Harry knew its cause. Now nobody could trust anybody else. + +The setting sun was uncommonly red, tinting all the forest with a fiery +glow and Harry looked apprehensively at the line of blue hills now on +his right, whence danger had come before. But he saw nothing that moved +there. No signal lights twinkled. The intervening space was a mass of +heavy green foliage, which the eye, now that the twilight was at hand, +could penetrate only a few score yards. A northeast wind off the +distant mountain tops was cold and sharp, and Harry, who wore no +overcoat, shivered a little. + +Young though he was, he remembered the liveryman's caution, and he +watched the forest on either side, as well as he could. But he depended +more upon his keenness of ear. He did not believe the stirring of any +large force in the thickets could pass him unheard, and, having nursed +the strength of his great horse, he felt that he could leave almost any +pursuit far behind. + +The twilight sank into a dark and heavy night. The moon and stars lay +behind drifting clouds and, now and then, came a swish of cold rain. +Harry was not able to see more than a few yards to right or left, +when the road ran through the woods, as it did most of the time, and +not much further when fields chanced to lie on either side. + +He was within a mile of Pendleton, and his heart began to throb, not +with thoughts of Skelly, but because he would soon be in his old home +again. Ten or fifteen minutes more, and he would see the solid red +brick house rising among the clipped pines. But as he passed the +junction of a small road coming down from the hills, his attentive ear +gave warning. He heard the sound of hoofs and many of them. He drew +in for a moment under the boughs and listened. + +Harry's instinct warned him against the troop of men that he heard. +Collins, the liveryman, had told him that the country was full of +trouble. This region was neither North nor South. It was debatable +land, of which raiding bands would take full advantage, and, despite the +risk, he wished to know what was on foot. He was almost invisible under +the boughs of a great oak which hung over the road, and the horse, +after so many miles of hard riding, was willing enough to stand still. +The rain swished in his face and the leaves gave forth a chilly rustle, +but he held himself firmly to his task. + +The hoofbeats came nearer and then ceased. The horsemen stopped at +the point, where the narrower road merged into the larger and, as they +were clear of the foliage, Harry caught a view of them. There was no +moonlight, but his eyes had grown so well used to the darkness that he +was able to recognize Skelly, who was in advance, an old army rifle +across his saddle bow. Behind him were at least fifty men, and Harry +knew they were all mountaineers. They rode the scrubby mountain horses, +more like ponies, and every man carried a rifle. + +Harry divined instantly that they had come down from the hills to make a +raid upon the Confederate stronghold, Pendleton. War was on, and here +was their chance to take revenge upon the more civilized people of the +lowlands. Skelly was giving his final orders and Harry could hear him. + +"We'll leave the main road, pull down the fences an' ride across the +fields," he said. "We'll first take the house of that rebel and traitor, +Colonel Kenton. It'll be helpin' the cause if we burn it clean down to +the ground. If anybody tries to stop you, shoot. Then we'll go on to +the others." + +A growl of approval came from the men, and some shook their rifles as a +sign of what they would do. Harry knew them. Mostly moonshiners and +fugitives from justice, they cared far more for revenge and spoil than +for the Union. He shuddered as he heard their talk. His own home was +to be their first point of attack, and those who resisted were to be +shot down. + +He waited to hear no more, but, keeping in the shadow of the boughs and +riding at first in a walk, he went on toward Pendleton. He was sure +that Skelly's men had not heard his hoofbeats, as there was no sound of +pursuit, and, three or four hundred yards further, he changed from a +walk to a gallop. Careless of the dark and of all risks of the road, +he drove the horse faster and faster. He was on familiar ground. +He knew every hill and dip, almost every tree, but he did not pause to +notice anything. + +Soon he saw a light, then a dark outline, and his heart throbbed +greatly. It was his father's house, standing among the clipped pines, +and he was in time! Now his horse's feet thundered on the brief stretch +of road that was left, and in another minute he was at the gate opening +on the lawn. A man, rifle in hand, stood on the front steps, and +demanded to know who had come. + +"It is I, Harry, father!" cried Harry. "Skelly and his crowd are only a +mile behind me, coming to destroy the place!" + +Harry heard his father mutter, "Thank God!" which he knew was for his +coming. Then he quickly led the horse inside the gate, turned him loose +and ran forward. Colonel Kenton was already coming to meet him and the +hands of father and son met in a strong and affectionate clasp. + +"We will have to get out and go into the town," said Harry. "You and I +alone can't hold them off. Skelly has at least fifty men. I saw them +in the road." + +"I'm not afraid since you've got safely through," replied Colonel +Kenton. "We had a hint that Skelly was coming. That's why you see +me with this rifle. I'd have sent you a telegram to stop at Winton, +but couldn't reach you in time. Come into the house. Some friends of +ours are here, ready to help us hold it against anybody and everybody +that Skelly may bring." + +Harry, with his saddle bags and holsters over his arm, entered the front +hall with his father, who closed the door behind him. A single lamp +burned in the hall, but fifteen men, all armed with rifles, stood there. +He saw among them Steve Allison, the constable, Bracken the farmer, +Senator Culver, and even old Judge Kendrick. Most of them, besides the +rifles, carried pistols, and the party, though small, was resolute and +grim. They greeted Harry with warmth, but said few words. + +"We've food and hot coffee here," said Colonel Kenton. "After your long +ride, Harry, you'd better eat." + +"A cup of coffee will do," replied the boy. "But let me have a rifle. +Skelly and his men will be here in ten minutes." + +Old Judge Kendrick smiled. + +"You can't complain, colonel," he said, "that your son has not inherited +your temperament." + +A rifle, loaded and ready, was handed to Harry, and, at the same time he +drank a cup of hot coffee, brought by a trembling black boy. Allison +meanwhile had opened the door a little and was listening. + +"I don't hear 'em yet," he said. + +"They'll approach cautiously," said Colonel Kenton. "I think they're +likely to leave their horses at the edge of the wood and enter the lawn +on foot. We'll put out the light and go outside." + +"Good tactics," said Culver, as he promptly blew out the single light. +Then all went upon the great front portico, where they stood for a few +moments waiting. They could neither see nor hear anything hostile. +Drifting clouds still hid the moon and stars, and a swish of light, +cold rain came now and then. + +There were piazzas on both sides of the house, and a porch in the rear. +Colonel Kenton disposed his men deftly in order to meet the foe at any +point. The stone pillars would afford protection for the riflemen. +He, his son and old Judge Kendrick, held the portico in front. + +Harry crouched behind a pillar, his fingers on the trigger of a rifle, +and his holster containing the big double-barreled pistols lying at his +feet. Impressionable, and with a horror of injustice, his heart was +filled with rage. It was merely a band of outlaws who were coming to +plunder and destroy his beautiful home and to kill any who resisted. +He had respected those who held Sumter so long, but these fought only +for their own hand. + +A slight sound came from the road, a little distance to the south. +He waited until it was repeated and then he was sure. + +"They're out there," he whispered to his father at the next pillar. + +"I heard them," replied the colonel. "They'll come upon the lawn, +hiding behind the pines, and hoping to surprise the house. I fancy the +surprise will be theirs, not ours. When you shoot, Harry, shoot to kill, +or they will surely kill us. Keep as much as you can behind the pillar, +and don't get excited." + +Colonel Kenton was quite calm. The old soldier had returned to his +work. Wary and prepared, he was not loath to meet the enemy. Harry, +keeping his father's orders well in mind, crouched a little lower and +waited. Presently he heard a slight rustling, and he knew that Skelly's +men were among the dwarf pines on the lawn. The rustling continued and +came nearer. Harry glanced at his father, who was behind a pillar not +ten feet away. + +"Who are you, and what do you want?" called Colonel Kenton into the +darkness. + +There was no answer and the rustling ceased. Harry heard nothing but +the gentle fall of the rain. + +"Speak up!" called the colonel once more. "Who are you?" + +The answer came. Forty or fifty rifles cracked among the pines. +Harry saw little flashes of fire, and he heard bullets hiss so +venomously that a chill ran along his spine. There was a patter of lead +on every side of the house, but most of the shots came from the front +lawn. It was well that the colonel, Harry and the judge, were sheltered +by the big pillars, or two or three shots out of so many would have +found a mark. + +Harry's rage, which had cooled somewhat while he was waiting, returned. +He began to peer around the edge of the pillar, and seek a target, +but the colonel whispered to him to hold his fire. + +"Getting no reply, they'll creep a little closer presently and fire a +second volley," he said. + +Harry pressed closer to the pillar, kneeling low, as he had learned +already that nine out of ten men fire too high in battle. He heard once +more the rustling among the pines, and he knew that Skelly's men were +advancing. Doubtless they believed that the defenders had fled within +the house at the first volley. + +He heard suddenly the clicking of gun locks, and the rifles crashed +together again, but now the fire was given at much closer range. +Harry saw a dusky figure beside a pine not thirty feet away, and he +instantly pulled trigger upon it. His father's own rifle cracked at the +same time, and two cries of pain came from the lawn. The boy, hot with +the fire of battle, snatched the pistols out of the holsters and sent +in four more shots. + +Rapid reports from the other side of the house showed that the defenders +there were also repelling attacks. + +But Skelly's men, finding that they could not rush the house, kept up +a siege from the ambush of the pines. Bullets rattled like hailstones +against the thick brick walls of the house, and several times the +smashing of glass told that windows had been shot in. Harry's blood now +grew feverishly hot and his anger mounted with it. It was intolerable +that these outlaws should attack people in their own homes. Lying +almost flat on the floor of the portico he reloaded his rifle and +pistols. As he raised his head to seek a new shot, a bullet tipped his +ear, burning it like a streak of fire, and flattened against the wall +behind him. He fired instantly at the base of the flash and a cry of +pain showed that the bullet had struck a human target. + +Harry, in his excitement, raised himself a little for another shot, +and a second bullet cut dangerously near. A warning command came from +his father, veteran warrior of the plains, to keep down, and he obeyed +promptly. Then followed a period of long and intensely anxious waiting. +Harry thought that if the night would only lighten they could get a +clean sweep of the lawn and drive away the mountaineers, but it grew +darker instead and the wind rose. He heard the boughs of the clipped +pines rustle as they were whipped together, and the cold drops lashed +him in the face. He had become soaking wet, lying on the floor of the +portico, but he did not notice it. + +Harry saw far to his left a single dim light in the dip beyond the +forest, and he knew that it shone through a window in one of the houses +of Pendleton. + +It seemed amazing that so bitter a combat should be going on here, +while the people slept peacefully in the town below. But there was not +one chance in a thousand that they would hear of the battle on such a +night. Then an idea came to him, and creeping to his father he made his +proposition. Colonel Kenton opposed it vigorously, but Harry insisted. +He knew every inch of the grounds. Why should he not? He had played +over them all his life, and he could be in the fields and away in less +than two minutes. + +Colonel Kenton finally consulted Judge Kendrick, and the judge agreed +with Harry. Besieged by so many, they needed help and the boy was the +one to bring it. Then Colonel Kenton consented that Harry should go, +but pressed his hand and told him to be very careful. + +The boy went back into the house, passing through the dark rooms to the +rear. As he went, he heard the sound of sobbing. It was the colored +servants crying with terror. He found the constable and Senator Culver +on watch on the back porch and whispered to them his errand. + +"For God's sake, be careful, Harry," the Senator whispered back. +"Bad blood is boiling now. Some of Skelly's men have been hit hard, +and if they caught you they'd shoot you without mercy." + +"But they won't catch me," replied the boy with confidence. Thinking +it would be in the way in his rapid flight, he gave his rifle to the +senator, and taking the heavy pistols from the holsters, thrust them in +the pockets of his coat. Then he dropped lightly from the porch and +lay for a few moments in the darkness and on the wet ground, absolutely +still. + +A strange thrill ran through Harry Kenton when his body touched the +damp earth. The contact seemed to bring to him strength and courage. +Doubts fled away. He would succeed in the trial. He could not possibly +fail. His great-grandfather, Henry Ware, had been a renowned borderer +and Indian fighter, one of the most famous in all the annals of Kentucky, +gifted with almost preternatural power, surpassing the Indians +themselves in the lore and craft of forest and trail. It was said too, +that the girl, Lucy Upton, who became Henry Ware's wife and who was +Harry's great-grandmother, had received this same gift of forest +divination. His own first name had been given to him in honor of that +redoubtable great-grandfather. + +Now all the instincts of Harry's famous ancestors became intensely alive +in him. The blood of those who had been compelled for so many years to +watch and fight poured in a full tide through his veins. His bearing +became sharper, his eyes saw through the darkness like those of a cat, +and a certain sixth sense, hitherto a dormant instinct which would warn +of danger, came suddenly to life. + +Two parallel rows of honeysuckle bushes ran back some distance to a +vegetable garden. He reckoned that the mountaineers would be hiding +behind these, and therefore he turned away to the right, where dwarf +pines, clipped into cones, grew as on the front lawn. The grass, +helped by a wet spring, had grown already to a height of several inches, +and Harry was surprised at the ease with which he drew his body through +it. Every inch of garment upon him was soaked with rain, but he took no +thought of the fact. He felt a certain fierce joy in the wildness of +night and storm, and he was ready to defy any number of mountaineers. + +The sixth and new sense suddenly gave warning and he lay flat in the +wet grass just under one of the pines. Then he saw three men rise from +their shelter behind a honeysuckle bush, walk forward, and stand in a +group talking about ten feet behind him. Although they were not visible +from the house he saw them clearly enough. One of them was Skelly +himself, and all three were of villainous face. Straining his ear he +could hear what they said and now he was very glad indeed that he had +come. + +It was the plan of Skelly to wait in silence and patience a long time. +The defenders would conclude that he and his men had gone away, and then +the mountaineers could either rush the house or set it on fire. If the +final resort was fire, they could easily shoot Colonel Kenton and his +friends as they ran out. It was Skelly who spoke of this hideous plan, +laughing as he spoke, and Harry's hand went instinctively toward the +butt of one of the pistols. But his will made him draw it away again, +and, motionless in the grass, lying flat upon his face, he continued to +listen. + +Skelly's plan was accepted and they moved away to tell the others. +Harry rose a little, and crept rapidly through the grass toward the +vegetable garden. + +Again he was surprised at his own skill. Acute of ear as he had become +he could scarcely hear the brushing of the grass as he passed. As he +approached the garden he saw two more men, rifles in hand, walking about, +but paying little heed to them he kept on until he lay against the fence +enclosing the garden. + +It was a fence of palings, spiked at the top, and climbing it was a +problem. Studying the question for a moment or two he decided that it +was too dangerous to be risked, and moving cautiously along he began +to feel of the palings. At last he came to one that was loose, and he +pulled it entirely free at the bottom. Then he slipped through and into +the garden. Here were long rows of grapevines, fastened on sticks, and, +for a few moments, he lay flat behind one of the rows. He knew that he +was not yet entirely safe, as the mountaineers were keen of eye and ear, +and an outer guard of skirmishers might be lying in the garden itself. +But he was now even keener of eye and hearing than they, and he could +detect nothing living near him. The house also, and all about it, +was silent. Evidently Skelly's men had settled down to a long siege, +and Harry rejoiced in the amount of time they gave him. + +He rose to his feet, but, stooped to only half his height, he ran +swiftly behind the row of grapevines to the far end of the garden, +leaped over the fence and continued his rapid flight toward Pendleton, +where the single light still burned. He surmised that his father had +received the warning too late to gather more than a few friends, and +that the rest of the town was yet in deep ignorance. + +The first house he reached, the one in which the light burned, was that +of Gardner, the editor, and he beat heavily upon the door. Gardner +himself opened it, and he started back in astonishment at the wild +figure covered with mud, a heavy pistol clutched in the right hand. + +"In Heaven's name, who are you?" he cried. + +"Don't you know me, Mr. Gardner? I'm Harry Kenton, come back from +Charleston! Bill Skelly and fifty of his men have ridden down from the +mountains and are besieging us in our house, intending to rob and kill! +The constable is there and so are Judge Kendrick, Senator Culver, +and a few others, but we need help and I've come for it!" + +He spoke in such a rapid, tense manner that every word carried +conviction. + +"Excuse me for not knowing you, Harry," Gardner said, "but you're +calling at a rather unusual time in a rather unusual manner, and you +have the most thorough mask of mud I ever saw on anybody. Wait a minute +and I'll be with you." + +He returned in half the time, and the two of them soon had the town up +and stirring. Pendleton was largely Southern in sympathy, and even +those who held other views did not wholly relish an attack upon one of +its prominent men by a band of unclassified mountaineers. Lights sprang +up all over the town. Men poured from the houses and there was no house +then that did not contain at least one rifle. + +In a half hour sixty or seventy men, well armed with rifles and pistols, +were on their way to Colonel Kenton's house. Only a few drops of rain +were falling now, and the thin edge of the moon appeared between clouds. +There was a little light. The relieving party advanced swiftly and +without noise. They were all accustomed to outdoor life and the use of +weapons, and they needed few commands. Gardner came nearer than anyone +else to being the leader, although Harry kept by his side. + +They went on Harry's own trail, passing through the garden and hurrying +toward the house. Three or four dim figures fled before them, running +between the rows of vines. The Pendleton men fired at them, and then +raised a great shout, as they rushed for the lawn. The mountaineers +took to instant flight, making for the woods, where they had left their +horses. + +Colonel Kenton and his friends came from the house, shaking hands +joyfully with their deliverers. Lanterns were produced, and they +searched the lawn. Three men lay stiff and cold behind the dwarf pines. +Harry shuddered. He was seeing for the first time the terrible fruits +of civil war. It was not merely the pitched battles of armies, but +often neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes the cloak of North or +South would be used as a disguise for the basest of motives. + +They also found two sanguinary trails leading to the wood in which the +mountaineers had hitched their horses, indicating that the defenders of +the Kenton house had shot well. But by the next morning Skelly's men +had made good their flight far into the hills where no one could follow +them. They sent no request for their own dead who were buried by the +Pendleton people. + +But the town raised a home guard to defend itself against raiders of any +kind, and Colonel Kenton and Harry promptly made ready for their journey +to Frankfort, where the choice of the state must soon be made, and +whither Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, had gone already. +Colonel Kenton feared no charge because of the fight with Skelly's men. +He was but defending his own home and here, as in the motherland, +a man's house was his castle. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE FIGHT FOR A STATE + + +Colonel Kenton and Harry avoided Louisville, which was now in the hands +of Northern sympathizers, and, travelling partly by rail and partly by +stage, reached Frankfort early in May to attend the special session of +the Legislature called by Governor Magoffin. Although the skirmishing +had taken place already along the edge of highland and lowland, the +state still sought to maintain its position of neutrality. There was +war within its borders, and yet no war. In feeling, it was Southern, +and yet its judgment was with the Union. Thousands of ardent young men +had drifted southward to join the armies forming there, and thousands of +others, equally ardent, had turned northward to join forces that would +oppose those below. Harry, young as he was, recognized that his own +state would be more fiercely divided than any other by the great strife. + +But Federal and Confederate alike preserved the semblance of peace as +they gathered at Frankfort for the political struggle over the state. +Colonel Kenton and his son took the train at a point about forty miles +from the capital, and they found it crowded with public men going +from Louisville to Frankfort. It was the oldest railroad west of the +Alleghanies, and among the first ever built. The coaches swung around +curves, and dust and particles flew in at the windows, but the speed was +a relief after the crawling of the stage and Harry stretched himself +luxuriously on the plush seat. + +A tall man in civilian attire, holding himself very stiffly, despite the +swinging and swaying of the train, rose from his seat, and came forward +to greet Colonel Kenton. + +"George," he said, his voice quivering slightly, "you and I have fought +together in many battles in Mexico and the West, but it is likely now +that we shall fight other battles on this own soil of ours against each +other. But, George, let us be friends always, and let us pledge it here +and now." + +The words might have seemed a little dramatic elsewhere, but not so +under the circumstances of time and place. Colonel Kenton's quick +response came from the depths of a generous soul. + +"John," he said as their two hands met in the grip of brothers of the +camp and field, "you and I may be on opposing sides, but we can never be +enemies. John, this is my son, Harry. Harry, this is Major John Warren +of Mason County and the regular army of the United States; he does not +think as we do, but even at West Point he was a stubborn idiot. He and +I were continually arguing, and he would never admit that he was always +wrong. I never knew him to be right in anything except mathematics, +and then he was never wrong." + +Major Warren smiled and sat down by his old comrade. + +"You've a fine boy there, George," he said, "and I suppose he probably +takes his opinions from his father, which is a great mistake. I think +if I were to talk to him I could show him his, or rather your, error." + +"Not by your system of mathematical reasoning, John. Your method is +well enough for the building of a fortress or calculating the range of +a gun. But it won't do for the actions of men. You allow nothing for +feeling, sentiment, association, propinquity, heredity, climate and, +and--" + +"Get a dictionary or a book of synonyms, George." + +"Perhaps I should. I understand how we happen to differ. But I can't +explain it well. Well, maybe it will all blow over. The worries of +today are often the jokes of tomorrow." + +Major Warren shook his head. + +"It may blow over," he said, "but it will be a mighty wind; it will blow +a long time, and many things for which you and I care, George, will be +blown away by it. When that great and terrible wind stops blowing, +our country will be changed forever." + +"Don't be so downcast, John, you are not dead yet," said Colonel Kenton, +clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You've often seen big clouds go +by without either wind or rain." + +"How about that attack upon your house and you and your friends? +The clouds had something in them then." + +"Merely mountain outlaws taking advantage of unsettled conditions." + +Harry had listened closely and he knew that his father was only giving +voice to his hopes, not to his beliefs. But as they ceased to talk of +the great question, his attention wandered to the country through which +they were passing. Spring was now deep and green in Kentucky. They +were running through a land of deep, rich soil, with an outcrop of +white limestone showing here and there above the heavy green grass. A +peaceful country and prosperous. It seemed impossible that it should +be torn by war, by war between those who lived upon it. + +Then the train left the grass lands, cut through a narrow but rough +range of hills, entered a gorge and stopped in Frankfort, the little +capital, beside the deep and blue Kentucky. + +Frankfort had only a few thousand inhabitants, but Harry found here much +of the feeling that he had seen in Nashville and Charleston, with an +important difference. There it was all Southern, or nearly so, but here +North struggled with South on terms that certainly were not worse than +equal. + +Although the place was crowded, he and his father were lucky enough to +secure a room at the chief hotel, which was also the only one of any +importance. The hotel itself swarmed with the opposing factions. +Senator Culver and Judge Kendrick had a room together across the hall +from theirs, and next to them four red hot sympathizers with the Union +slept on cots in one apartment. Further down the hall Harvey Whitridge, +a state senator, huge of stature, much whiskered, and the proud +possessor of a voice that could be heard nearly a mile, occupied a room +with Samuel Fowler, a tall, thin, quiet member of the Lower House. +The two were staunch Unionists. + +Everybody knew everybody else in this dissevered gathering. Nearly +everybody was kin by blood to everybody else. In a state affected +little by immigration families were more or less related. If there was +to be a war it would be, so far as they were concerned, a war of cousins +against cousins. + +Colonel Kenton and Harry had scarcely bathed their faces and set their +clothing to rights, when there was a sharp knock at the door and the +Colonel admitted Raymond Bertrand, the South Carolinian, dark of +complexion, volatile and wonderfully neat in apparel. He seemed at once +to Harry to be a messenger from that Charleston which he had liked, +and in the life of which he had had a share. Bertrand shook hands with +both with great enthusiasm, but his eyes sparkled when he spoke to Harry. + +"And you were there when they fired on Sumter!" he exclaimed. "And you +had a part in it! What a glorious day! What a glorious deed! And I +had to be here in your cold state, trying to make these descendants of +stubborn Scotch and English see the right, and follow gladly in the path +of our beautiful star, South Carolina!" + +"How goes the cause here, Bertrand?" asked Colonel Kenton, breaking in +on his prose epic. + +Bertrand shrugged his shoulders and his face expressed discontent. + +"Not well," he replied, "not as well as I had hoped. There is still +something in the name of the Union that stirs the hearts of the +Kentuckians. They hesitate. I have worked, I have talked, I have used +all the arguments of our illustrious President, Mr. Davis, and of the +other great men who have charge of Southern fortunes, and they still +hesitate. Their blood is not hot enough. They do not have the vision. +They lack the fire and splendor of the South Carolinians!" + +Harry felt a little heat, but Colonel Kenton was not disturbed at all by +the criticism. + +"Perhaps you are right, Bertrand," he said thoughtfully. "We +Kentuckians have the reputation of being very quick on the trigger, +but we are conservative in big things. This is going to be a great war, +a mighty great war, and I suppose our people feel like taking a good +long look, and then another, equally as long, before they leap." + +Bertrand, hot-blooded and impatient, bit his lip. + +"It will not do! It will not do!" he exclaimed. "We must have this +state. Virginia has gone out! Kentucky is her daughter! Then why does +not she do the same?" + +"You must give us time, Bertrand," said Colonel Kenton, still speaking +slowly and thoughtfully. "We are not starting upon any summer holiday, +and I can understand how the people here feel. I'm going with my people +and I'm going to fire on the old flag, under which I've fought so often, +but you needn't think it comes so easy. This thing of choosing between +the sections is the hardest task that was ever set for a man." + +Harry had never heard his father speak with more solemnity. Bertrand +was silent, overawed by the older man, but to the boy the words were +extremely impressive. His youthful temperament was sensitive to +atmosphere. In Charleston he shared the fire, zeal and enthusiasm of +an impressionable people. They saw only one side and, for a while, he +saw only one side, too. Here in Frankfort the atmosphere was changed. +They saw two sides and he saw two sides with them. + +"But you need have no fear about us, Bertrand," continued Colonel +Kenton. "My heart is with the South, and so is my boy's. I thought +that Kentucky would go out of the Union without a fight, but since there +is to be a struggle we'll go through with it, and win it. Don't be +afraid, the state will be with you yet." + +They talked a little longer and then Bertrand left. Harry politely held +the door open for him, and, as he went down the hall, he saw him pass +Whitridge and Fowler. Contrary to the custom which still preserved the +amenities they did not speak. Bertrand gave them a look of defiance. +It seemed to Harry that he wanted to speak, but he pressed his lips +firmly together, and, looking straight ahead of him, walked to the +stairway, down which he disappeared. As Harry still stood in the open +doorway, Whitridge and Fowler approached. + +"Can we come in?" Whitridge asked. + +"Yes, Harvey," said Colonel Kenton over the boy's shoulder. "Both of +you are welcome here at any time." + +The two men entered and Harry gave them chairs. Whitridge's creaked +beneath him with his mighty weight. + +"George," said the Senator pointedly but without animosity, "you and +I have known each other a good many years, and we are eighth or tenth +cousins, which counts for something in this state. Now, you have come +here to Frankfort to pull Kentucky out of the Union, and I've come to +pull so hard against you that you can't. You know it and I know it. +All's square and above board, but why do you bring here that South +Carolina Frenchman to meddle in the affairs of the good old state of +Kentucky? Is it any business of his or of the other people down there? +Can't we decide it ourselves? We're a big family here in Kentucky, +and we oughtn't to bring strangers into the family council, even if +we do have a disagreement. Besides, he represents the Knights of the +Golden Circle, and what they are planning is plumb foolishness. Even if +you are bound to go out and split up the Union, I'd think you wouldn't +have anything to do with the wholesale grabbing of Spanish-speaking +territories to the southward." + +"There's a lot in what you say, Harvey," replied Colonel Kenton, +speaking with the utmost good humor, "but I didn't bring Bertrand here; +he came of his own accord. Besides, while I'm strong for the South, +I think this Knights of the Golden Circle business is bad, just as you +do." + +"I'm glad you've got that much sense left, George," said Whitridge. +"You army men never do know much about politics. It's easy to pull the +wool over your eyes." + +"Have you and Fowler come here for that purpose?" asked the colonel, +smiling. + +It was the preliminary to a long argument carried on without temper. +Harry listened attentively, but as soon as it was over and Whitridge and +Fowler had gone, he tumbled into his bed and went to sleep. + +He rose early the next morning, before his father in fact, as he was +eager to see more of Frankfort, ate a solid breakfast almost alone, +and went into the streets, where the first person he met was his own +cousin and schoolmate, Dick Mason. The two boys started, looked first +at each other with hostile glances, which changed the next instant to +looks of pleasure and welcome, and then shook hands with power and +heartiness. They could not be enemies. They were boys together again. + +"Why, Dick," exclaimed Harry, "I thought you had gone east to save the +Union." + +"So I have," replied Dick Mason, "but not as far east as you thought. +We've got a big camp down in Garrard County, where the forces of the +Kentuckians who favor the Union are gathering. General Nelson commands +us. I suppose you've heard that you rebels are gathering on the other +side of Frankfort in Owen County under Humphrey Marshall?" + +"Yes, Yank, I've heard it," replied Harry. "Now, what are you doing in +Frankfort? What business have you got here?" + +"Since you ask me a plain question I'll give you a plain answer," +replied Dick. "I'm here to scotch you rebels. You don't think you +can run away with a state like this, do you?" + +"I don't know yet," replied Harry, "but we're going to try. Say, Dick, +let's not talk about such things any more for a while. I want to see +this town and we can take a look at it together." + +"The plan suits me," said Dick promptly. "Come on. I've been here two +days and I guess I can be guide." + +"We'll take in the Capitol first," said Harry. + +Dick led the way and Harry approached with awe and some curiosity the +old building which was famous to him. Erected far back, when the state +was in its infancy, it still served well its purpose. He and Dick +walked together upon the lawns among the trees, but, as soon as the +doors were open, they went inside and entered with respect the room +in which the great men of their state, the Clays, the Marshalls, the +Breckinridges, the Crittendens, the Hardins, and so many others had +begun their careers. They were great men not to Kentucky alone, but to +the nation as well, and the hearts of the two boys throbbed with pride. +They sat down in two of the desks where the members were to meet the +next day and fight over the question whether Kentucky was Northern or +Southern. + +It was very early. Besides themselves there was nobody about but the +caretaker. They were sitting in the House and the room was still warmed +in winter by great stoves, but they were not needed now, as the windows +were open and the fresh breeze of a grass-scented May morning blew in +and tumbled the hair of the two youths of the same blood who sat side by +side, close friends of their school days again, but who would soon be +facing each other across red fields. + +The wind which blew so pleasantly on Harry's forehead reminded him of +that other wind which had blown so often upon his face at Charleston. +But it was not heavy and languorous here. It did not have the lazy +perfumes of the breezes that floated up from the warm shores of the +Gulf. It was sharp and penetrating. It whipped the blood like the +touch of frost. It stirred to action. His cousin's emotions were +evidently much like his own. + +"Harry," said Dick, "I never thought that Kentucky would be fighting +against Kentucky, that Pendleton would be fighting against Pendleton." + +Harry was about to reply when his attention was attracted by a heavy +footstep. A third person had entered the chamber of the House, and he +stood for a while in the aisle, looking curiously about him. Harry saw +the man before the stranger saw him and with an instinctive shudder +he recognized Bill Skelly. There he stood, huge, black, hairy, and +lowering, two heavy pistols shown openly in his belt. + +The boys were sitting low in the desks and it was a little while before +Skelly noticed them. His attitude was that of triumph, that of one who +expects great spoils, like that of a buccaneer who finds his profit in +troubled times, preying upon friend and foe alike. Presently he caught +sight of the two boys. But his gaze fastened on Harry, and a savage +glint appeared in his eyes. Then he strode down the wide aisle and +stood near them. But he looked at Harry alone. + +"You are Colonel Kenton's son?" he said. + +"I am," replied Harry, meeting his fierce stare boldly, "the same whom +you tried to murder on the way to Winton, the same who helped to hold +our house against you and your gang of assassins." + +Skelly's dark face grew darker as the black blood leaped to his very +eyes. But he choked down his passion. The mountaineer was not lacking +in cunning. + +"Your father and his friends killed some of my men," he said. "I ain't +here now to argy with you about the rights an' wrongs of it, but I want +to tell you that all the people of the mountains are up for the Union. +With them from the lowlands that are the same way, we'll chase you +rebels, Jeff Davis and all, clean into the Gulf of Mexico." + +Harry deliberately turned his head away, and stared out of a window +at the green of lawns and trees. Skelly filled him with abhorrence. +He felt as if he were in the presence of a creeping panther, and he +would have nothing more to say to him. Skelly looked at him for a few +minutes longer, drew himself together in the manner of a savage wild +beast about to spring, but relaxed the next moment, laughed softly, +and strode out of the chamber. + +"That's one of your men," said Harry. "I hope you're proud of him." + +"All the mountain people are for us," replied Dick judicially, "and we +can't help it if some of the rascals are on our side. You're likely to +have men just as bad on yours. I heard about the attack he made upon +Uncle George's house, but it was war, I suppose, and this which we have +here in Frankfort is only an armed truce. You can't do anything." + +"I suppose not. Do you know how long he has been here?" + +"He arrived at Camp Dick Robinson only two or three days ago, and I +suppose he has taken the first chance to come in and have a look at the +capital." + +"With the idea of looting it later on." + +Dick laughed. + +"Don't be bitter, Harry," he said. "It's going to be a fair fight." + +"Well, I hope so, here in this little town as well as on the greater +field of the country. Are you staying long in Frankfort, Dick?" + +"Only today. I'm going back tomorrow to Camp Dick Robinson." + +"Well, don't you make friends with that fellow Skelly, even if he is on +the same side you are." + +"I won't, Harry, have no fear of that." + +The two went together to the hotel, and found Colonel Kenton at +breakfast. He welcomed his nephew with great affection, and made him +sit by him until he had finished his breakfast. While he was drinking +his coffee Harry told him of Skelly's presence. The Colonel frowned, +but merely uttered three words about him. + +"We'll watch him," he said. + +Then the three went out and saw the little town grow into life and +seethe with the heat of the spirit. Although actual skirmishing had +taken place already in the state there was no violence here, except of +speech. All the members of the House and Senate were gathered, and +so far as Harry could observe the Southerners were in the majority. +Others thought so, too. Bertrand was sanguine. His eyes burned with +the fire of enthusiasm, lighting up his olive face. + +"We'll win. We'll surely win!" he said. "This state which we need so +much will be out of the Union inside of two weeks." + +But Senator Culver was more guarded in his opinion, or at least in the +expression of it. + +"It's going to be a mighty hot fight," he said. + +Harry and Dick together watched the convening of the Legislature, +having chosen seats in the upper lobby of the House. Harry looked for +Skelly, but not seeing him he inferred that the mountaineer's leave of +absence was short and that he had gone back to camp. + +Dick himself left the next morning for Camp Dick Robinson, and Harry +shook his hand over and over again as he departed. The feeling between +the cousins was strong and it had been renewed by their meeting under +such circumstances. + +"I may go east," said Dick, as he mounted his horse. "The big things +are going to happen there first." + +Harry watched him as he rode away and he wondered when they would meet +again. Like Colonel Leonidas Talbot he felt now that this was going to +be a great war, wide in its sweep. + +Harry returned to his hotel, very thoughtful. The second parting with +his cousin, who had been his playmate all his life, was painful, and +he realized that while he was wondering when and where they would meet +again it might never occur at all. He found his father and his friends +holding a close conference in his room at the hotel. Senator Culver, +Mr. Bracken, Gardner, the editor, and others yet higher in the councils +of the Confederacy, were there. Bertrand sat in a corner, saying little, +but watching everything with ardent, burning eyes. + +Letters had come from the chief Southern leaders. There was one from +Jefferson Davis, himself, another from the astute Benjamin, another from +Toombs, bold and brusque as befitted his temperament, and yet more from +Stephens and Slidell and Yancey and others. Colonel Kenton read them +one by one to the twenty men who were crowded into the room. They were +appealing, insistent, urgent. Their tone might vary, but the tenor was +the same. They must take Kentucky out of the Union and take her out at +once. In the West the line of attack upon the South would lead through +Kentucky. But if the state threw in her fortunes with the South, +the advance of Lincoln's troops would be blocked. The force of example +would be immense, and a hundred thousand valiant Kentuckians could +easily turn the scale in favor of the Confederacy. + +Harry listened to them a long time, but growing tired at last, went out +again into the fresh air. Young though he was, he realized that it was +one thing for the Southern leaders to ask, but it was another thing +for the Kentuckians to deliver. He saw all about him the signs of a +powerful opposition, and he saw, too, that these forces, scattered at +first, were consolidating fast, presenting a formidable front. + +The struggle began and it was waged for days in the picturesque old +Capitol. There was no violence, but feeling deepened. Men put +restraint upon their words, but their hearts behind them were full of +bitterness, bitterness on one side because the Northern sympathizers +were so stubborn, and bitterness on the other, because the Southern +sympathizers showed the same stubbornness. Friends of a lifetime used +but cold words to each other and saw widening between then, a gulf which +none could cross. Supporters of either cause poured into the little +capital. Tremendous pressure was brought to bear upon House and Senate. +Members were compelled to strive with every kind of emotion or appeal, +love of the Union, cool judgment in the midst of alarms, state +patriotism, kinship, and all the conflicting ties which pull at those +who stand upon the border line on the eve of a great civil war. And +yet they could come to no decision. Day after day they fought back and +forth over points of order and resolutions and the result was always +the same. North and South were locked fast within the two rooms of one +little Capitol. + +They were rimmed around meanwhile by a fiery horizon that steadily came +closer and closer. The guns reducing Sumter had been a sufficient +signal. North and South were sharply arrayed against each other. +The Southern volunteers, full of ardor and fire, continued to pour to +their standards. The North, larger and heavier, moved more slowly, +but it moved. The whole land swayed under an intense agitation. +The news of skirmishes along the border came, magnified and colored +in the telling. Men's minds were inflamed more every day. + +When Harry had been in Frankfort about a week he received a letter from +St. Clair, written from Richmond, urging him, if he could, to get an +assignment to the East, and to come to that city, which was to be the +permanent capital of the South. + +"We are here," he said, "looking the enemy in the face. Langdon and I +are in the same company and I see Colonel Talbot and Major St. Hilaire +every day. We are going to the front soon, and before the summer is out +there will be a big battle followed by our taking of Washington." + +"But you must come, Harry, to Richmond and join us before we march. +This is a fine town and all the celebrities are crowding in. You never +saw such confidence and enthusiasm. Virginia was slow in joining us, +but, since she has joined, she is with us heart and soul. Troops are +pouring in all the time. Cannon and wagons loaded with ammunition and +supplies are hurrying to the front. The Yankees are not threatening +Richmond; we are threatening Washington. Be sure and get yourself +transferred to the East, Harry, where the great things are going to +happen. Friends are waiting for you here. Colonel Talbot and Major +St. Hilaire have a lot of power and they will use it for you." + +Harry was walking on the hills that look down on the Capitol, when he +read the letter and its warm words made his pulses leap with pleasure. +He felt now the pull of opposing magnets. He wanted to remain in +Frankfort with his father and see the issue, and he also wanted to join +those South Carolina comrades of his in the East, where the battle +fronts now lowered so ominously. + +He thought long over the letter, and, at last sat down by the monument +to the Kentucky volunteers who fell at the battle of Buena Vista. +The pull of the East was gradually growing the stronger. He did not +see what he could do at Frankfort, and he wanted to be off there on the +Virginia fields where the bayonets would soon meet. + +The curious feeling that war could not come here in his own land +persisted in Harry. It was late in the afternoon with the lower tip of +the sun just hid behind the far hills and the landscape that he looked +upon was soft and beautiful. The green of spring was deep and tender. +Everything rough or ugly was smoothed away by the first mellow touch +of the advancing twilight. The hills were clothed in the same robe of +green that lay over the valleys, and through the center of the circle +flowed the deep Kentucky, serene and blue. + +While Harry's thoughts at that moment were on war, he really had no +feeling against anybody. It was all general and impersonal. There +is something pure and noble about a boy who comes out of a good home, +something lofty to which the man later looks back with pride, not +because the boy was wise or powerful, but because his heart was good. + +The twilight slowly darkened over green fields and blue river. But the +noble stone, with its sculptured lines, by the side of which Harry sat, +seemed to grow whiter, despite the veil of dusk that was drooping softly +over it. The houses in the town below began to sink out of sight and +lights appeared in their place. + +Night came and found the boy still at his place. He could see only the +tint of the blue river now, and the far hills were lost in the darkness. +The chill of evening was coming on, and rising, he shook himself a +little. Then he followed a path down the steep hill and along the edge +of the river. But he paused, standing by the side of a great oak that +grew at the Water's margin, and looked up the Kentucky. + +Harry could see from the point where he stood no sign of human life. +He heard only the murmur of deep waters as they flowed slowly and +peacefully by. The spirit of his great ancestor, the famous Henry Ware, +who had been the sword of the border, was strong upon him. The Kentucky +was to him the most romantic of all rivers, clustered thick with the +facts and legends of the great days, when the first of the pioneers +came and built homes along its banks. It flowed out of mountains still +mysterious, and, for a few moments, Harry's thoughts floated from the +strife of the present to a time far back when the slightest noise in the +canebrake might mean to the hunter the coming of his quarry. + +A faint musical sound, not more than the sigh of a stray breeze, came +from a point far up the stream. He listened and the sound pleased him. +The lone, weird note was in full accord with the night and his mood, +and presently he knew it. It was some mountaineer on a raft singing a +plaintive song of his own distant hills. Huge rafts launched on the +headwaters of the stream in the mountains in the eastern part of the +state came in great numbers down the river, but oftenest at this time of +the year. Some stopped at Frankfort, and others went into the Ohio for +the cities down that stream. + +Harry waited, while the song grew a little in volume, and, penned now +between high banks, gave back soft echoes. But the raft came very +slowly, only as fast as the current of the river. He thought he would +see a light as the men usually cooked and slept in a rude little hut +built in the center of the raft. But all was yet in darkness. + +The singer, however rude and unlettered a mountaineer he may have been, +had a voice and ear, and Harry still listened with the keenest pleasure +to the melodious note that came floating down the river. The spell was +upon him. His imagination became so vivid that it was not a mountaineer +singing. He had gone back into another century. It was one of the +great borderers, perhaps Boone himself, who was paddling his canoe upon +the stream, the name of which was danger. And Kenton, and Logan and +Harrod and the others were abroad in the woods. + +He was engrossed so deeply that he did not hear a heavy step behind him, +nor did he see a huge bewhiskered figure in the path, holding a clubbed +rifle. Yet he turned. It was perhaps the instinct inherited from his +great ancestor, who was said to have had a sixth sense. Whatever it may +have been, he faced suddenly about, and saw Bill Skelly aiming at him +a blow with the clubbed rifle, which would at once crush his skull and +send his body into the deep stream. + +The same inherited instinct made him leap within the swing of the rifle +and clutch at the mountaineer's throat. The heavy butt swished through +the air, and the very force of the blow jerked the weapon from Skelly's +hands. The next instant he was struggling for his life. Harry was a +powerful youth, much stronger than many men, and, at that instant, +the spirit and strength of his great ancestor were pouring into his +veins. The treacherous attempt upon his life filled him with rage. +He was, in very truth, the forest runner of the earlier century, and he +strove with all his great might to slay his enemy. + +Skelly, six feet two inches tall and two hundred pounds of muscle and +sinew, struck the boy fiercely on the side of the head, but the terrible +grasp was still at his throat. He was the larger and the stronger, +but the sudden leap upon him gave his younger and smaller antagonist an +advantage. He had a pistol in his belt, but with that throttling grip +upon his throat he forgot it. The hunter had suddenly become the +hunted. Filled with rage and venom he had expected an easy triumph, and, +instead, he was now fighting for his life. + +Skelly struck again and again at the boy, but Harry, with instinctive +wisdom, pressed his head close to the man's chin, and Skelly's blows +at such short range lacked force behind them. All the while Harry's +youthful but powerful arms were pouring strength into the hands that +grasped the man's throat. The mountaineer choked and gasped, and, +changing his aim from the head, struck Harry again and again in the +chest. Then he remembered to draw his pistol, but Harry, raising his +knee, struck him violently on the wrist. The pistol dropped to the +ground, and Skelly, in the fierce struggle, was unable to regain it. + +Neither had uttered a cry. There was not a single shout for help. +Skelly would not want to call attention, and Harry recalled afterward +that in the tremendous tension of the moment the thought of it never +occurred to him. He continued to press savagely upon Skelly's throat, +while the mountaineer rained blows upon his chest, blows that would +have killed him had Skelly been able to get full purchase for his arms. +He heard the heavy gasping breath of the man, and he saw the dark, +hideous face close to his own. It was so hairy that it was like the +face of some huge anthropoid, with the lips wrinkled back from strong +and cruel white teeth. + +It seemed to Harry in very truth that he was fighting a great wild +beast. His own breath came in short gasps, and at every expansion of +the lungs a fierce pain shot through his whole body. A bloody foam rose +to his lips. The savage pounding upon his chest was telling. He still +retained his grasp upon Skelly's throat, where his fingers were sunk +into the flesh, but it was only the grimmest kind of resolution that +enabled him to hold on. + +Harry saw the fierce light in Skelly's eye turn to joy. The man foresaw +his triumph, and he began to curse low, but fast and with savage +unction. Harry felt himself weakening, and he made another mighty +effort to retain his hold, but the fingers still slipped, and, as Skelly +struck him harder than ever in the chest, they flew loose entirely. + +He knew that if Skelly had room for the full play of his arm that he +would be knocked senseless at the next blow, and to ward it off he +seized the man by his huge chest, tripping at the same time with all his +might. The two fell, rolled over in their struggling, and then Harry +felt himself dropping from a height. The next moment the deep waters of +the Kentucky closed over the two, still locked fast in a deadly combat, +and the waves circled away in diminishing height from the spot where +they had sunk. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE RIVER JOURNEY + + +"Best pour a little of this down his throat. It'll cut an' burn, +but if there's a spark o' life left in him it'll set it to blazin'." + +Harry became conscious of the "cutting" and "burning," and, struggling +weakly, he sat up. + +"That's better," continued the deep, masculine voice. "You've been +layin' on your face, lettin' the Kentucky River run out of your mouth, +while we was poundin' you on the back to increase the speed o' the +current. It's all out o' you now, an' you're goin' to keep your young +life." + +The man who spoke was standing almost over Harry, holding a flask in one +hand and a lantern in the other. He was obviously a mountaineer, tall, +with powerful chest and shoulders, and a short red beard. Near him +stood a stalwart boy about Harry's own age. They were in the middle of +a raft which had been pulled to the south side of the Kentucky and then +tied to the shore. + +Harry started to speak, but the words stopped at his lips. His weakness +was still great. + +"Wa'al," said the man, whimsically. "What was it? Sooicide? Or did +you fall in the river, bein' awkward? Or was you tryin' to swim the +stream, believin' it was fun to do it? What do you think, Ike?" + +"It wasn't no sooicide," replied the youth whom he had called Ike. +"Boys don't kill theirse'ves. An' it wasn't no awkwardness, 'cause he +don't look like the awkward kind. An' I guess he wasn't tryin' to swim +the Kentucky, else he would have took off his clothes." + +"Which cuts out all three o' my guesses, leavin' me nothin' to go on. +Now, I ain't in the habit of pickin' floatin' an' unconscious boys out +o' the middle o' the river, an' that leaves me in unpleasant doubt, +me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind." + +"It was murder," said Harry, at last finding strength to speak. + +"Murder!" exclaimed the man and boy together. + +"Yes, murder, that is, an attempt at it. A man set upon me to kill me, +and in the struggle we fell in the river, which, with your help, saved +my life. Look here!" + +He tore open his coat and shirt, revealing his chest, which looked like +pounded beef. + +"Somebody has shorely been gettin' in good hard licks on you," said the +man sympathetically, "an' I reckon you're tellin' nothin' but the truth, +these bein' such times as this country never heard of before. My name's +Sam Jarvis, an' I came with this raft from the mountains. This lunkhead +here is my nephew, Ike Simmons. We was driftin' along into Frankfort as +peaceful as you please, an' a singin' with joy 'cause our work was about +over. I hears a splash an' says I to Ike, 'What's that?' Says he to me, +'I dunno.' Says I to Ike ag'in, 'Was it a big fish?' Says he to me +ag'in, 'I dunno.' He's gittin' a repytation for bein' real smart +'cause he's always sayin, 'I dunno,' an' he's never wrong. Then I sees +somethin' with hair on top of it floatin' on the water. Says I, 'Is +that a man's head?' Says he, 'I dunno.' But he reaches away out from +the raft, grabs you with one hand by them brown locks o' yours, an' +hauls you in. I guess you owe your life all right enough to this +lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, the son o' my sister Jane." + +Ike grinned sympathetically. + +"Ain't it time to offer him some dry clothes, Uncle Sam?" he asked. + +"Past time, I reckon," replied Jarvis, "but I forgot it askin' questions, +me havin' such an inquirin' turn o' mind." + +Harry rose, with the help of a strong and friendly hand that Jarvis lent +him. His chest felt dreadfully sore. Every breath pained him, and all +the strength seemed to have gone from his body. + +"I don't know what became o' the other feller," said Jarvis. "Guess he +must have swum out all by hisself." + +"He undoubtedly did so," replied Harry. "He wasn't hurt, and I fancy +that he's some distance from Frankfort by this time. My name is Kenton, +Harry Kenton, and I'm the son of Colonel George Kenton, who is here in +Frankfort helping to push the ordinance of secession. You've saved my +life and he'd repay you." + +"We don't need no money," said Jarvis shortly. "Me an' Ike here will +have a lot of money when we sell this raft, and we don't lack for +nothin'." + +"I didn't mean money," said Harry, understanding their pride and +independence. "I meant in some other ways, including gratitude. +I've been fished out of a river, and a fisherman is entitled to the +value of his catch, isn't he?" + +"We'll talk about that later on, but me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' +mind, I'm wonderin' what your father will say about you when he sees +you. I guess I better doctor you up a little before you leave the raft." + +Ike returned from the tiny cabin with an extra suit of clothes of his +own, made of the roughest kind of gray jeans, home knit yarn socks and +a pair of heavy brogan shoes. A second trip brought underclothing of +the same rough quality, but Harry changed into them gladly. Jarvis +meanwhile produced a bottle filled with a brown liquid. + +"You may think this is hoss liniment," he said, "an' p'r'aps it has been +used for them purposes, but it's better fur men than animiles. Ole +Aunt Suse, who is 'nigh to a hundred, got it from the Injuns an' it's +warranted to kill or cure. It'll sting at first, but just you stan' it, +an' afore long it will do you a power o' good." + +Harry refused to wince while the mountaineer kneaded his bruised chest +with the liquid ointment. The burning presently gave way to a soothing +sensation. + +Harry noticed that neither Jarvis nor Ike asked him the name of his +opponent nor anything at all about the struggle or its cause. They +treated it as his own private affair, of which he could speak or not as +he chose. He had noticed this quality before in mountaineers. They +were among the most inquisitive of people, but an innate delicacy would +suppress questions which an ordinary man would not hesitate to ask. + +"Button up your shirt an' coat," said Jarvis at last, "an' you'll find +your chest well in a day or two. Your bein' so healthy helps you a lot. +Feelin' better already, boy? Don't 'pear as if you was tearin' out a +lung or two every time you drawed breath?" + +"I'm almost well," said Harry gratefully, "and, Mr. Jarvis, I'd like to +leave my wet clothes here to dry while I'm gone. I'll be back in the +morning with my father." + +"All right," said Samuel Jarvis, "but I wish you'd come bright an' +early. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, ain't used to great cities, +an' me bein' of an inquirin' turn o' mind we'll be anxious to see all +that's to be seed in Frankfort." + +"Don't you fear," replied Harry, full of gratitude, "I'll be back soon +in the morning." + +"But don't furgit one thing," continued Jarvis. "I hear there's a +mighty howdy-do here about the state goin' out o' the Union or stayin' +in it. The mountains are jest hummin' with talk about the question, +but don't make me take any part in it. Me an' this lunkhead, Ike, +my nephew, are here jest to sell logs, not to decide the fate o' states." + +"I'll remember that, too," said Harry, as he shook hands warmly with +both of them, left the raft, climbed the bank and entered Frankfort. + +The little town had few lights in those days and the boy moved along in +the dusk, until he came near the Capitol. There he saw the flame of +lamps shining from several windows, and he knew that men were still at +work, striving to draw a state into the arms of the North or the South. +He paused a few minutes at the corner of the lawn and drew many long, +deep breaths. The soreness was almost gone from his chest. The oil +with which Samuel Jarvis had kneaded his bruises was certainly wonderful, +and he hoped that "Aunt Suse," who got it from the Indians, would fill +out her second hundred years. + +He reached the hotel without meeting any one whom he knew, and went up +the stairway to his room, where he found his father writing at a small +desk. Colonel Kenton glanced at him, and noticed at once his change of +costume. + +"What does that clothing mean, Harry?" he asked. "It's jeans, and it +doesn't fit." + +"I know it's jeans, and I know it doesn't fit, but I was mighty glad to +get it, as everything else I had on was soaked with water." + +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows. + +"I was hunting the bottom of the Kentucky River," continued Harry. + +"Fall in?" + +"No, thrown in." + +Colonel Kenton raised his eyebrows higher than ever. + +Harry sat down and told him the whole story, Colonel Kenton listening +intently and rarely interrupting. + +"It was great good fortune that the men on the raft came just at the +right time," he said, when Harry had finished. "There are bad +mountaineers and good mountaineers--Jarvis and his nephew represent one +type and Skelly the other. Skelly hates us because we drove back his +band when they attacked our house. In peaceful times we could have him +hunted out and punished, but we cannot follow him into his mountains +now. We shall be compelled to let this pass for the present, but as +your life would not be safe here you must leave Frankfort, Harry." + +"I can't go back to Pendleton," said the boy, "and stay there, doing +nothing." + +"I had no such purpose. I know that you are bound to be in active life, +and I was already meditating a longer journey for you. Listen clearly +to me, Harry. The fight here is about over, and we are going to fail. +It is by the narrowest of margins, but still we will fail. We who are +for the South know it with certainty. Kentucky will refuse to go out +of the Union, and it is a great blow to us. I shall have to go back to +Pendleton for a week or two and then I will take a command. But since +you are bent upon service in the field, I want you to go to the East." + +Harry's face flushed with pleasure. It was his dearest wish. Colonel +Kenton, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes, smiled. + +"I fancied that you would be quite willing to go," he said. "I had a +letter this morning from a man who likes you well, Colonel Leonidas +Talbot. He is at Richmond and he says that President Davis, his cabinet, +and all the equipment of a capital will arrive there about the last of +the month. The enemy is massing before Washington and also toward the +West in the Maryland and Virginia mountains. A great battle is sure +to be fought in the summer and he wants you on his staff. General +Beauregard, whom you knew at Charleston, is to be in supreme command. +Can you leave here in a day or two for Richmond?" + +Harry's eyes were sparkling, and the flush was still in his face. + +"I could go in an hour," he replied. + +"Such an abrupt departure as that is not needed. Moreover the choice +of a route is of great importance and requires thought. If you were to +take one of the steamers up the Ohio, say to Wheeling, in West Virginia, +you would almost surely fall into the hands of the Northern troops. +The North also controls about all the railway connections there are +between Kentucky and Virginia." + +"Then I must ride across the mountains." + +"These new friends of yours who saved you from the river, are they going +to stay long in Frankfort?" + +"Not more than a day or two, I think. I gathered from what Jarvis said +that they were not willing to remain long where trouble was thick." + +"How are their sympathies placed in this great division of our people?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I inferred," he replied, "from what Jarvis said that they intend to +keep the peace. He intimated to me that the silence of the mountains +was more welcome to him than the cause of either North or South." + +Colonel Kenton smiled again. + +"Perhaps he is wiser than the rest of us," he said, "but in any event, +I think he is our man. He will sell his logs and pull back up the +Kentucky in a small boat. I gather from what you say that he came +down the most southerly fork of the Kentucky, which, in a general way, +is the route you wish to take. You can go with him and his nephew until +they reach their home in the mountains. Then you must take a horse, +strike south into the old Wilderness Road, cross the ranges into +Virginia and reach Richmond. Are you willing?" + +He spoke as father to son, and also as man to man. + +"I'm more than willing," replied Harry. "I don't think we could choose +a better way. Jarvis and his nephew, I know, will be as true as steel, +and I'd like that journey in the boat." + +"Then it's settled, provided Jarvis and his nephew are willing. We'll +see them before breakfast in the morning, and now I think you'd better +go to sleep. A boy who was fished out of the Kentucky only an hour or +two ago needs rest." + +Harry promptly went to bed, but sleep was long in coming. Their mission +to Frankfort had failed, and action awaited his young footsteps. +Virginia, the mother state of his own, was a mighty name to him, and men +already believed the great war would be decided there. The mountains, +too, with their wild forests and streams beckoned to him. The old, +inherited blood within him made the great pulses leap. But he slept at +last and dreamed of far-off things. + +Harry and his father rose at the first silver shoot of dawn, and went +quickly through the deserted street to a quiet cove in the Kentucky, +where Samuel Jarvis had anchored his raft. It was a crisp morning, +with a tang in the air that made life feel good. A thin curl of smoke +was rising from the raft, showing that the man and his nephew were +already up, and cooking in the little hut on the raft. + +Harry stepped upon the logs and his father followed him. Jarvis was +just pouring coffee from a tin pot into a tin cup, and Ike was turning +over some strips of bacon in an iron skillet on an iron stove. Both of +them, watchful like all mountaineers, had heard the visitors coming, +but they did not look up until they were on the raft. + +"Mornin'," called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look, Ike, it's the big fish that +we hooked out of the river last night, an' he's got company." + +"I want to thank you for saving my son's life," said the Colonel. + +"I reckon, then, that you're Colonel George Kenton," said Jarvis. +"Wa'al, you don't owe us no thanks. I'm of an inquirin' turn of mind, +an' whenever I see a man or boy floatin' along in the river I always +fish him out, just to see who an' what he is. My curiosity is pow'ful +strong, colonel, an' it leads me to do a lot o' things that I wouldn't +do if it wasn't fur it. Set an' take a bite with us. This air is +nippin' an' it makes my teeth tremenjous sharp." + +"We're with you," said the colonel, who was adaptable, and who saw at +once that Jarvis was a man of high character. "It's cool on the river +and that coffee will warm one up mighty well." + +"It's fine coffee," said Jarvis proudly. "Aunt Suse taught me how to +make it. She learned, when you didn't git coffee often, an' you had to +make the most of it when you did git it." + +"Who is Aunt Suse?" + +"Aunt Susan, or Suse as we call her fur short, is back at home in the +hills. She's a good hundred, colonel, an' two or three yars more to +boot, I reckon, but as spry as a kitten. Full o' tales o' the early +days an' the wild beasts an' the Injuns. She says you couldn't make up +any story of them times that ain't beat by the truth. When she come up +the Wilderness Road from Virginia in the Revolution she was already a +young woman. She's knowed Dan'l Boone and Simon Kenton an' all them +gran' old fellers. A tremenjous interestin' old lady is my Aunt Suse, +colonel." + +"I've no doubt of it, Mr. Jarvis." said Colonel Kenton, "but I don't +think I can wait a second longer for a cup of that coffee of yours. +It smells so good that if you don't give it to me I'll have to take it +from you." + +Jarvis grinned cheerfully. Harry saw that his father had already made a +skillful appeal to the mountaineer's pride. + +"Ike, you lunkhead," he said to his nephew, "I told the colonel to set, +but we did'nt give him anythin' to set on. Pull up them blocks o' wood +fur him an' his son. Now you'll take breakfast with us, won't you, +colonel? The bacon an' the corn cakes are ready, too." + +"Of course we will," said the colonel, "and gladly, too. It makes me +young again to eat this way in the fresh air of a cool morning." + +Samuel Jarvis shone as a host. The breakfast was served on a smooth +stump put on board for that purpose. The coffee was admirable, and the +bacon and thin corn cakes were cooked beautifully. Good butter was +spread over the corn cakes, and Harry and his father were surprised +at the number they ate. Ike, addressed by his uncle variously and +collectively as "lunkhead," "nephew," and "Ike," served. He rarely +spoke, but always grinned. Harry found later that while he had little +use for his vocal organs he invariably enjoyed life. + +"Colonel," said Jarvis, at about the tenth corn cake, "be you fellers +down here a-goin' to fight?" + +"I suppose we are, Mr. Jarvis!" + +"An' is your son thar goin' right into the middle of it?" + +"I can't keep him from it, Mr. Jarvis, but he isn't going to stay here +in Kentucky. Other plans have been made for him. When are you going +back up the Kentucky, Mr. Jarvis?" + +"This raft was bargained fur before it started. All I've got to do is +to turn it over to its new owners today, go to the bank an' get the +money. Then me an' this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, both bein' of an +inquirin' mind, want to do some sight-seein', but I reckon we'll start +back in about two days in the boat that you see tied to the stern of the +raft." + +"Would you take a passenger in the boat? It's a large one." + +Samuel Jarvis pursed his lips. + +"Depends on who it is," he replied. "It takes a lot o' time, goin' up +stream, to get back to our start, an' a cantankerous passenger in as +narrow a place as a rowboat would make it mighty onpleasant for me an' +this lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Wouldn't it, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. + +"The passenger that I'm speaking of wouldn't be a passenger altogether," +said Colonel Kenton. "He'd like to be one of the crew also, and I don't +think he'd make trouble. Anyway, he's got a claim on you already. +Having fished him out of the river, where he was unconscious, it's your +duty to take care of him for a while. It's my son Harry, who wants to +get across the mountains to Virginia, and we'll be greatly obliged to +you if you'll take him." + +Colonel Kenton had a most winning manner. He already liked Jarvis, +and Jarvis liked him. + +"I reckon your son is all right," said Jarvis, "an' if he gits +cantankerous we kin just pitch him overboard into the Kentucky. But I +can't undertake sich a contract without consultin' my junior partner, +this lunkhead, my nephew, Ike Simmons. Ike, are you willin' to take +Colonel Kenton's son back with us? Ef you're willin' say 'Yes,' ef +you ain't willin' say 'No.'" + +Ike said nothing, but grinned and nodded. + +"The resolution is passed an' Harry Kenton is accepted," said Jarvis. +"We start day after tomorrow mornin', early." + +Breakfast was finished and Colonel Kenton rose and thanked them. +He still said nothing about pay. But after he and Harry had entered +the town, he said: + +"You couldn't have better friends, Harry. Both the man and boy are as +true as steel, and, as they have no intention of taking part in the war, +they will just suit you as traveling companions." + +They spent the larger part of that day in buying the boy's equipment, +doing it as quietly as possible, as the colonel wished his son to depart +without attracting any notice. In such times as those secrecy was much +to be desired. A rifle, pistols, plenty of ammunition, an extra suit of +clothes, a pair of blankets, and a good supply of money were all that he +took. One small package which contained a hundred dollars in gold coins +he put in an inside pocket of his waistcoat. + +"You are to give that to Jarvis just after you start," said the colonel. +"We cannot pay him directly for saving you, because he will not take it, +but you can insist that this is for your passage." + +They were all at the cove before dawn on the appointed morning. Colonel +Kenton was to say Harry's good-bye for him to his friends. The whole +departure had been arranged with so much skill that they alone knew +of it. The boat was strong, shaped well, and had two pairs of oars. +A heavy canvas sheet could be erected as a kind of awning or tent in the +rear, in case of rain. They carried plenty of food, and Jarvis said +that in addition they were more than likely to pick up a deer or two on +the way. Both he and Ike carried long-barreled rifles. + +The three stepped into the boat. + +"Good-bye, Harry," said the colonel, reaching down a strong hand that +trembled. + +"Good-bye, father," said Harry, returning the clasp with another strong +hand that trembled also. + +People in that region were not demonstrative. Family affection was +strong, but they were reared on the old, stern Puritan plan, and the +handshake and the brief words were all. Then Jarvis and his silent +nephew bent to the oars and the boat shot up the deep channel of the +Kentucky. + +Harry looked back, and in the dusk saw his father still standing at the +edge of the cove. He waved a hand and the colonel waved back. Then +they disappeared around a curve of the hills, and the first light of +dawn began to drift over the Kentucky. + +Harry was silent for a long time. He was becoming used to sudden and +hard traveling and danger, but the second parting with his father moved +him deeply. Since he had been twelve or thirteen years of age, they +had been not only father and son, but comrades, and, in the intimate +association, he had acquired more of a man's mind than was usual in +one of his years. He felt now, since he was going to the east and the +colonel was remaining in the west, that the parting was likely to be +long--perhaps forever. + +It was no morbid feeling. It was the consciousness that a great and +terrible war was at hand. Although but a youth, he had been in the +forefront of things. He had been at Montgomery and Sumter, and he had +seen the fire and zeal of the South. He had been at Frankfort, too, +and he had seen how the gathering force of the massive North had refused +to be moved. His father and his friends, with all their skill and force, +strengthened by the power of kinship and sentiment, had been unable to +take Kentucky out of the Union. + +Harry was so thoroughly absorbed in these thoughts that he did not +realize how very long he remained silent. He was sitting in the stern +of the boat, with a face naturally joyous, heavily overcast. Jarvis +and Ike were rowing and with innate delicacy they did not disturb him. +They, too, said nothing. But they were powerful oarsmen, and they sent +the heavy skiff shooting up the stream. The Kentucky, a deep river at +any time, was high from the spring floods, and the current offered but +little resistance. The man of mighty sinews and the boy of sinews +almost as mighty, pulled a long and regular stroke, without any +quickening of the breath. + +The dawn deepened into the full morning. The silver of the river became +blue, with a filmy gold mist spread over it by the rising sun. High +banks crested with green enclosed them on either side, and beyond lay +higher hills, their slopes and summits all living green. The singing +of birds came from the bushes on the banks, and a sudden flash of flame +told where a scarlet tanager had crossed. + +The last house of Frankfort dropped behind them, and soon the boat +was shooting along the deep channel cut by the Kentucky through the +Bluegrass, then the richest and most beautiful region of the west, +abounding in famous men and in the height of its glory. It had never +looked more splendid. The grass was deeply luxuriant and young flowers +bloomed at the water's edge. The fields were divided by neat stone +fences and far off Harry saw men working on the slopes. + +Jarvis and Ike were still silent. The man glanced at Harry and saw that +he had not yet come from his absorption, but Samuel Jarvis was a joyous +soul. He was forty years old, and he had lived forty happy years. +The money for his lumber was in his pocket, he did not know ache or pain, +and he was going back to his home in an inmost recess of the mountains, +from which high point he could view the civil war passing around him +and far below. He could restrain himself no longer, and lifting up his +voice he sang. + +But the song, like nearly all songs the mountaineers sing, had a +melancholy note. + + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita, + Be my own fair bride." + +He sang, and the wailing note, confined between the high walls of the +stream, took on a great increase in volume and power. Jarvis had one +of those uncommon voices sometimes found among the unlearned, a deep, +full tenor without a harsh note. When he sang he put his whole heart +into the words, and the effect was often wonderful. Harry roused +himself suddenly. He was hearing the same song that he had heard the +night he went into the river locked fast in Skelly's arms. + + "'Nita, 'Nita, Juanita." + +rang the tenor note, rising and falling and dying away in wailing echoes, +as the boat sped on. Then Harry resolutely turned his face to the +future. The will has a powerful effect over the young, and when he made +the effort to throw off sadness it fell easily from him. All at once he +was embarked with good comrades upon a journey of tremendous interest. +Jarvis noticed the change upon his face, but said nothing. He pulled +with a long, slow stroke, suited to the solemn refrain of Juanita, +which he continued to pour forth with his soul in every word. + +They went on, deeper into the Bluegrass. The blue sky above them was +now dappled with golden clouds, and the air grew warmer, but Jarvis and +his nephew showed no signs of weariness. When Harry judged that the +right time had come he asked to relieve Ike at the oar. Ike looked +at Jarvis and Jarvis nodded to Ike. Then Ike nodded to Harry, which +indicated consent. + +But Harry, before taking the oar, drew a small package from his pocket +and handed it to Jarvis. + +"My father asked me to give you this," he said, "as a remembrance and +also as some small recompense for the trouble that I will cause you on +this trip." + +Jarvis took it, and heard the heavy coins clink together. + +"I know without openin' it that this is money," he said, "but bein' of +an inquirin' turn o' mind I reckon I've got to look into it an' count +it." + +He did so deliberately, coin by coin, and his eyes opened a little at +the size of the sum. + +"It's too much," he said. "Besides you take your turn at the oars." + +"It's partly as a souvenir," said Harry, "and it would hurt my father +very much if you did not take it. Besides, I should have to leave the +boat the first time it tied up, if you refuse." + +Jarvis looked humorously at him. + +"I believe you are a stubborn sort of feller," he said, "but somehow +I've took a kind o' likin' to you. I s'pose it's because I fished you +out o' the river. You always think that the fish you ketch yourself are +the best. Do you reckon that's the reason why we like him, Ike?" + +Ike nodded. + +"Then, bein' as we don't want to lose your company, an' seein' that you +mean what you say, we'll keep the gold, though half of it must go to +that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." + +"Then it's settled," said Harry, "and we'll never say another word about +it. You agree to that?" + +"Yes," replied Jarvis, and Ike nodded. + +Harry took his place at the oar. Although he was not as skillful as Ike, +he did well, and the boat sped on upon the deep bosom of the Kentucky. +The work was good for Harry. It made his blood flow once more in a full +tide and he felt a distinct elation. + +Jarvis began singing again. He changed from Juanita to "Poor Nelly +Gray": + + "And poor Nelly Gray, she is up in Heaven, they say, + And I shall never see my darling any more." + +Harry found his oar swinging to the tune as Ike's had swung to that of +Juanita, and he did not feel fatigue. They met few people upon the +river. Once a raft passed them, but Jarvis, looking at it keenly, +said that it had come down from one of the northern forks of the +Kentucky and not from his part of the country. They saw skiffs two or +three times, but did not stop to exchange words with their occupants, +continuing steadily into the heart of the Bluegrass. + +They relieved one another throughout the day and at night, tired but +cheerful, drew up their boat at a point, where there was a narrow +stretch of grass between the water and the cliff, with a rope ferry +three or four hundred yards farther on. + +"We'll tie up the boat here, cook supper and sleep on dry ground," +said Jarvis. + + + +CHAPTER X + +OVER THE MOUNTAINS + + +The boat was secured firmly among the bushes, and finding an abundance +of fallen wood along the beach, they pulled it into a heap and kindled a +fire. The night, as usual, was cool, but the pleasant flames dispelled +the chill, and the cove was very snug and comfortable after a day of +hard and continuous work. Jarvis and Ike did the cooking, at which they +were adepts. + +"After pullin' a boat ten or twelve hours there's nothin' like somethin' +warm inside you to make you feel good," said Jarvis. "Ike, you lunkhead, +hurry up with that coffee pot. Me an' Harry can't wait more'n a minute +longer." + +Ike grinned and hurried. A fine bed of coals had now formed, and in a +few minutes a great pot of coffee was boiling and throwing out savory +odors. Jarvis took a small flat skillet from the boat and fried the +corn cakes. Harry fried bacon and strips of dried beef in another. +The homely task in good company was most grateful to him. His face +reflected his pleasure. + +"Providin' it don't rain on you, campin' out is stimulatin' to the body +an' soul," said Jarvis. "You don't know what a genuine appetite is +until you live under the blue sky by day, and a starry sky by night. +Harry, you'll find three tin plates in the locker in the boat. Fetch +'em." + +Harry abandoned his skillet for a moment, and brought the plates. +Ike, the coffee now being about ready, produced three tin cups, and with +these simple preparations they began their supper. The flames went +down and the fire became a great bed of coals, glowing in the darkness, +and making a circle of light, the edges of which touched the boat. +Harry found that Jarvis was telling the truth. The long work and the +cool night air, without a roof above him, gave him a hunger, the like of +which he had not known for a long time. He ate cake after cake of the +corn bread and piece after piece of the meat. Jarvis and Ike kept him +full company. + +"Didn't I tell you it was fine?" said Jarvis, stretching his long length +and sighing with content. "I feel so good that I'm near bustin' into +song." + +"Then bust," said Harry. + + "Soft, o'er the fountain, lingering falls the southern moon, + Far o'er the mountain breaks the day too soon. + In thy dark eyes' splendor, where the warm light loves to dwell, + Weary looks yet tender, speak their fond farewell. + 'Nita, Juanita! Ask thy soul if we should part, + 'Nita, Juanita! Lean thou on my heart." + +The notes of the old melody swelled, and, as before, the deep channel +of the river gave them back again in faint and dying echoes. Time and +place and the voice of Jarvis, with its haunting quality, threw a spell +over Harry. The present rolled away. He was back in the romantic old +past, of which he had read so much, with Boone and Kenton and Harrod and +the other great forest rangers. + +The darkness sank down, deeper and heavier. The stars came out +presently and twinkled in the blue. Yet it was still dim in the gorge, +save where the glowing bed of coals cast a circle of light. The +Kentucky, showing a faint tinge of blue, flowed with a soft murmur. +Harry and Ike were lying on the grass, propped each on one elbow, +while Jarvis, sitting with his back against a small tree, was still +singing: + + "When in thy dreaming, moons like these shall shine again + And daylight beaming prove thy dreams are vain, + Wilt thou not, relenting, for thy absent lover sigh? + In thy heart consenting to a prayer gone by, + 'Nita, Juanita, let me linger by thy side; + 'Nita, Juanita, be thou my own fair bride." + +The song ceased and the murmur of the river came more clearly. Harry +was drawn deeper and deeper into the old dim past. Lying there in the +gorge, with only the river to be seen, the wilderness came back, and the +whole land was clothed with the mighty forests. He brought himself back +with an effort, when he saw Jarvis looking at him and smiling. + +"'Tain't so bad down here on a spring night, is it, Harry?" he said. +"Always purvidin', as I said, that it don't rain." + +"Where did you get that song, Sam?" asked Harry--they had already fallen +into the easy habit of calling one another by their first names. + +"From a travelin' feller that wandered up into our mount'ins. He could +play it an' sing it most beautiful, an' I took to it right off. It +grips you about the heart some way or other, an' it sounds best when you +are out at night on a river like this. Harry, I know that you're goin' +through our mountins to git to Richmond an' the war. Me an' that +lunkhead Ike, my nephew, hev took a likin' to you. Now, what do you +want to git your head shot off fur? S'pose you stop up in the hills +with us. The huntin's good thar, an' so's the fishin'." + +Harry shook his head, but he was very grateful. + +"It's good of you to ask me," he said, "but I'm bound to go on." + +"Wa'al, if you're boun' to do it I reckon you jest have to, but we're +leavin' the invite open. Ef you change your mind on the trip all you've +got to do is to say so, an' we'll take you in, ain't that so, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. His uncle looked at him admiringly. + +"Ike's a lunkhead," he said, "but he's great to travel with. You kin +jest talk an' talk an' he never puts in, but agrees with all you say. +Now, fellers, we'll put out the fire an' roll in our blankets. I guess +we don't need to keep any watch here." + +Harry was soon in a dreamless sleep, but his momentary reversion to +the wilderness awoke him after a while. He sat up in his blankets and +looked around. A mere mass of black coals showed where the fire had +been, and two long dark objects looking like logs in the dim light were +his comrades. + +He cast the blankets aside entirely and walked a little distance up the +stream. The instinct that had awakened him was right. He heard voices +and saw a light. Then he remembered the rope ferry and he had no doubt +that some one was crossing, although it was midnight and past. He went +back and touched Jarvis lightly on the shoulder. The mountaineer awoke +instantly and sat up, all his faculties alert. + +"What is it?" he asked in a whisper. + +"People crossing the river at the ferry above," Harry whispered back. + +"Then we'll go and see who they are. Like as not they're soldiers in +this war that people seem bound to fight, when they could have a lot +more fun at home. Jest let Ike sleep on. He's my sister's son, but I +don't b'lieve anybody would ever think of kidnappin' him." + +The two went silently among the bushes toward the ferry which crossed +the river at a point where the hills on either side dipped low. As they +drew near, they heard many voices and the lights increased to a dozen. +Jarvis's belief that it was no party of ordinary travelers seemed +correct. + +"Let's go a little nearer. The bushes will still hide us," whispered +the mountaineer to the boy. "They ain't no enemies o' ours, but I guess +we'd better keep out o' their business, though my inquirin' turn o' mind +makes me anxious to see just who they are." + +They walked to the end of the stretch of bushes, and, while yet in +shelter, could see clearly all that was going on, especially as there +was no effort at concealment on the part of those who were crossing the +stream. They numbered at least two hundred men, and all had arms and +horses, although they were dismounted now, and the horses, accompanied +by small guards, were being carried over the river first. Evidently the +men understood their work, as it was being done rapidly and without much +noise. + +Harry's attention was soon concentrated on three men who stood near the +edge of the bushes, not more than thirty feet away. They wore slouch +hats and were wrapped in heavy, dark cloaks. They stood with their +backs to him, and although they seemed to be taking no part in the +management of the crossing, they watched everything intently. Two of +them were very tall, but the third was shorter and slender. + +The moon brightened presently, and some movement at the ferry caused +the three men to turn. Harry started and checked an exclamation at his +lips. But the watchful mountaineer had noted his surprise. + +"I guess you know 'em, Harry," he said. + +"Yes," replied the boy. "See the one in the center with the drooping +mustaches and the splendid figure. People have called him the +handsomest man in the United States. He was a guest at my father's +house last year when he was running for the presidency. It is the man +who received more popular votes than Lincoln, but fewer in the Electoral +College." + +"Breckinridge?" + +"Yes, John C. Breckinridge." + +"Why, he's younger than I expected. He don't look more'n forty." + +"Just about forty, I should say. The other tall man is named Morgan, +John H. Morgan. I saw him in Lexington once. He's a great horseman. +The third, the slender man who looks as if he were all fire, is named +Duke, Basil Duke. I think that he and Morgan are related. I fancy they +are going south, or maybe to Virginia." + +"Harry, these are your people." + +"Yes, Sam, they are my people." + +The mountaineer glanced at the tall youth who had found so warm a place +in his heart, and hesitated, but only for a moment. Then he spoke in a +decided whisper. + +"Since they are your people an' are goin' on the same business that you +are, though mebbe not by the same road, now is your time to join 'em, +'stead o' workin' your way 'cross the hills with two ignorant +mountaineers like me an' that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew." + +"No, Sam. I'll confess to you that it's a temptation, but it's likely +that they're not going where I mean to go, and where I should go. +I'm going to keep on with you unless you and Ike throw me out of the +boat." + +"Well spoke, boy," said Jarvis. + +He did not tell Harry that Colonel Kenton had asked him to watch over +his son until he should leave him in the mountains, and that he had +given him his sacred promise. He understood what a powerful pull the +sight of Breckinridge, Morgan and Duke had given to Harry, and he knew +that if the boy were resolved to go with them he could not stop him. + +All the horses were now across. The three leaders took their places in +the boat, reached the farther shore and the whole company rode away in +the darkness. Despite his resolution Harry felt a pang when the last +figure disappeared. + +"Our curiosity bein' gratified, I think we'd better go back to sleep," +said Jarvis. + + "The anchor's weighed, farewell, farewell!" + +"We're seein' 'em goin' south, Harry. I dream ahead sometimes, an' I +dream with my eyes open. I've seen the horsemen ridin' in the night, +an' I see 'em by the thousands ridin' over a hundred battle fields, +their horses' hoofs treadin' on dead men." + +"Those are good men, brave and generous." + +"Oh, I don't mean them in partickler. Not for a minute. I mean a whole +nation, strugglin' an' strugglin' an' swayin' an' swayin'. I see things +that people neither North nor South ain't dreamed of yet. But sho! +What am I runnin' on this way fur? That lunkhead, Ike, my nephew, +ain't such a lunkhead as he looks. Them that say nothin' ain't never +got nothin' to take back, an' don't never make fools o' theirselves. +It's time we was back in our blankets sleepin' sound, 'cause we've got +another long day o' hard rowin' before us." + +Ike had not awakened and Jarvis and Harry were soon asleep again. +But they were up at dawn, and, after a brief breakfast, resumed their +journey on the river, going at a good pace toward the southeast. +They were hailed two or three times from the bank by armed men, whether +of the North or South Harry could not tell, but when they revealed +themselves as mere mountaineers on their way back, having sold a raft, +they were permitted to continue. After the last such stop Jarvis +remarked rather grimly: + +"They don't know that there are three good rifles in this boat, backed +by five or six pistols, an' that at least two of us, meanin' me and Ike, +are 'bout the best shots that ever come out o' the mountains." + +But his good nature soon returned. He was not a man who could retain +anger long, and before night he was singing again. + + "As I strayed from my cot at the close of the day + To muse on the beauties of June, + 'Neath a jessamine shade I espied a fair maid + And she sadly complained to the moon." + +"But it's not June, Sam," said Harry, "and there is no moon." + +"No, but June's comin' next month, an' the moon's comin' tonight; that +is, if them clouds straight ahead don't conclude to j'in an' make a +fuss." + +The clouds did join, and they made quite a "fuss," pouring out a great +quantity of rain, which a rising wind whipped about sharply. But Jarvis +first steered the boat under the edge of a high bank, where it was +protected partly, and they stretched the strong canvas before the first +drops of rain fell. It was sufficient to keep the three and all their +supplies dry, and Harry watched the storm beat. + +Sullen thunder rolled up from the southwest, and the skies were cut +down the center by burning strokes of lightning. The wind whipped the +surface of the river into white foamy waves. But Harry heard and beheld +it all with a certain pleasure. It was good to see the storm seek them, +and yet not find them--behind their canvas cover. He remained close in +his place and stared out at the foaming surface of the water. Back went +his thoughts again to the far-off troubled time, when the hunter in the +vast wilderness depended for his life on the quickness of eye and ear. +He had read so much of Boone and Kenton and Harrod, and his own great +ancestor, and the impression was so vivid, that the vision was +translated into fact. + +"I'm feelin' your feelin's too," said Jarvis, who, glancing at him, +had read his mind with almost uncanny intuition. "Times like these, +the Injuns an' the wild animals all come back, an' I've felt 'em still +stronger way up in the mountains, where nothin' of the old days is gone +'cept the Injuns. Ike, I guess it's cold grub for us tonight. We can't +cook anythin' in all this rain. Reach into that locker an' bring out +the meat an' bread. This ain't so bad, after all. We're snug an' dry, +an' we've got plenty to eat, so let the storm howl: + + "They bore him away when the day had fled, + And the storm was rolling high, + And they laid him down in his lonely bed, + By the light of an angry sky, + + "The lightning flashed and the wild sea lashed + The shore with its foaming wave, + And the thunder passed on the rushing blast + As it howled o'er the rover's grave." + +The full tenor rose and swelled above the sweep of wind and rain, +and the man's soul was in the words he sang. A great voice with the +accompaniment of storm, the water before them, the lightning blazing at +intervals, and the thunder rolling in a sublime refrain, moved Harry to +his inmost soul. The song ceased, but its echo was long in dying on the +river. + +"Did you pick up that, too, from a wandering fiddler?" asked Harry. + +"No, I don't know where I got it. I s'pose I found scraps here an' thar, +but I like to sing it when the night is behavin' jest as it's doin' now. +I ain't ever seen the sea, Harry, but it must be a mighty sight, +particklarly when the wind's makin' the high waves run." + +"Very likely you'd be seasick if you were on it then. I like it best +when the waves are not running." + +The thunder and lightning ceased after a while, but the rain came with +a steady, driving rush. The night had now settled down thick and dark, +and, as the banks on either side of the river were very high, Harry felt +as if they were in a black canyon. He could see but dimly the surface +of the river. All else was lost in the heavy gloom. But the boat had +been built so well and the canvas cover was so taut and tight that not +a drop entered. His sense of comfort increased, and the regular, even, +musical thresh of the rain promoted sleep. + +"We won't be waked up tonight by people crossin' the river, that's +shore," said Jarvis, "'cause thar ain't no crossin' fur miles, an' if +there was a crossin' people wouldn't use that crossin' nohow on a night +like this. So, boys, jest wrap your blankets about yourselves an' go +to sleep, an' if you don't hurry I'll beat you to that happy land." + +The three were off to the realms of slumber within ten minutes, running +a race about equal. The rain poured all through the night, but they +did not awake until the young sun sent the first beams of day into the +gorge. Then Jarvis sat up. He had the faculty of awakening all at once, +and he began to furl the canvas awning that had served them so well. +The noise awoke the boys who also sat up. + +"Get to work, you sleepy heads!" called Jarvis cheerfully. "Look what a +fine world it is! Here's the river all washed clean, an' the land all +washed clean, too! Stir yourselves, we're goin' to have hot food an' +coffee here on the boat. + + "I'm dreaming now of Hallie, sweet Hallie, + For the thought of her is one that never dies. + She's sleeping in the valley + And the mocking bird is singing where she lies. + Listen to the mocking bird, singing o'er her grave. + Listen to the mocking bird, singing where the weeping willows wave." + +"You sing melancholy songs for one who is as cheerful as you are, Sam," +said Harry. + +"That's so. I like the weepy ones best. But they don't really make me +feel sad, Harry. They jest fill me with a kind o' longin' to reach out +an' grab somethin' that always floats jest before my hands. A sort o' +pleasant sadness I'd call it. + + "Ah, well I yet remember + When we gathered in the cotton side by side; + 'Twas in the mild September + And the mocking bird was singing far and wide. + Oh, listen to the mocking bird + Still singing o'er her grave. + Oh, listen to the mocking bird + Still singing where the weeping willows wave." + +"Now that ain't what you'd call a right merry song, but I never felt +better in my life than I did when I was singin' it. Here you are, +breakfast all ready! We'll eat, drink an' away. I'm anxious to see +our mountains ag'in." + +The boat soon reached a point where lower banks ran for some time, and, +from the center of the stream, they saw the noble country outspread +before them, a vast mass of shimmering green. The rain had ceased +entirely, but the whole earth was sweet and clean from its great bath. +Leaves and grass had taken on a deeper tint, and the crisp air was keen +with blooming odors. + +Although they soon had a considerable current to fight, they made good +headway against it. Harry's practice with the oar was giving his +muscles the same quality like steel wire which those of Jarvis and Ike +had. So they went on for that day and others and drew near to the +hills. The eyes of Jarvis kindled when he saw the first line of dark +green slopes massing themselves against the eastern horizon. + +"The Bluegrass is mighty fine, an' so is the Pennyroyal," he said, +"an' I ain't got nothin' ag'in em. I admit their claims before they +make 'em, but my true love, it's the mountains an' my mountain home. +Mebbe some night, Harry, when we tie up to the bank, we'll see a deer +comin' down to drink. What do you say to that?" + +Harry's eyes kindled, too. + +"I say that I want the first shot." + +Jarvis laughed. + +"True sperrit," he said. "Nobody will set up a claim ag'inst you, +less it's that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. Are you willin' to let him +have it, Ike?" + +Ike grinned and nodded. + +The Kentucky narrowed and the current grew yet stronger. But changing +oftener at the oars they still made good headway. The ranges, dark +green on the lower slopes, but blue on the higher ridges beyond them, +slowly came nearer. Late in the afternoon they entered the hills, +and when night came they had left the lowlands several miles behind. +They tied up to a great beech growing almost at the water's edge, +and made their camp on the ground. Harry's deer did not come that night, +but it did on the following one. Then Jarvis and he after supper went +about a mile up the stream, stalking the best drinking places, and they +saw a fine buck come gingerly to the river. Harry was lucky enough to +bring him down with the first shot, an achievement that filled him with +pride, and Jarvis soon skinned and dressed the animal, adding him to +their larder. + +"I don't shoot deer, 'cept when I need 'em to eat," said Jarvis, "an' we +do need this one. We'll broil strips of him over the coals in the +mornin'. Don't your mouth water, Harry?" + +"It does." + +The strips proved the next day to be all that Jarvis had promised, +and they continued their journey with renewed elasticity, fair weather +keeping them company. Deeper and deeper they went into the mountains. +The region had all the aspects of a complete wilderness. Now and then +they saw smoke, which Jarvis said was rising from the chimneys of log +cabins, and once or twice they saw cabins themselves in sheltered nooks, +but nobody hailed them. The news of the war had spread here, of course, +but Harry surmised that it had made the mountaineers cautious, +suppressing their natural curiosity. He did not object at all to their +reticence, as it made traveling easier for him. + +They were now rowing along a southerly fork of the Kentucky. Another +deer had been killed, falling this time to the rifle of Jarvis, and one +night they shot two wild turkeys. Jarvis and his nephew would arrive +home full handed in every respect, and his great tenor boomed out +joyously over the stream, speeding away in echoes among the lofty peaks +and ridges that had now turned from hills into real mountains. They +towered far above the stream, and everywhere there were masses of the +deepest and densest green. The primeval forest clothed the whole earth, +and the war to which Harry was going seemed a faint and far thing. + +Traveling now became slow, because they always had a strong current to +fight. Harry, at times when the country was not too rough, left the +boat and walked along the bank. He could go thus for miles without +feeling any weariness. Naturally very strong, he did not realize how +much his work at the oar was increasing his power. The thin vital air +of the mountains flowed through his lungs, and when Jarvis sang, as he +did so often, he felt that he could lift up his feet and march as if to +the beat of a drum. + +They left the fork of the Kentucky at last and rowed up one of the deep +and narrow mountain creeks. Peaks towered all about them, a half mile +over their heads, covered from base to crest with unbroken forest. +Sometimes the creek flowed between cliffs, and again it opened out into +narrow valleys. In a two days' journey up its course they passed only +two cabins. + +"In ordinary water we'd have stopped thar," said Jarvis at the second +cabin. "I know the man who lives in it an' he's to be trusted. We'd +have left the boat an' the things with him, an' we'd have walked the +rest of the way, but the creek is so high now that we kin make at least +twenty miles more an' tie up at Bill Rudd's place. Thar's no goin' +further on the water, 'cause the creek takes a fall of fifteen feet thar, +an' this boat is too heavy to be carried around it." + +They reached Rudd's place about dark. He was a hospitable mountaineer, +with a double-roomed log cabin, a wife and two small children. He +volunteered gladly to take care of the boat and its belongings, while +Jarvis and the boys went on the next day to Jarvis's home about ten +miles away. + +Rudd and his wife were full of questions. They were eager to hear of +the great world which was represented to them by Frankfort, and of the +war in the lowlands concerning which they had heard vaguely. Rudd had +been to Frankfort once and felt himself a traveler and man of the world. +He and his wife knew Jarvis and Ike well, and they glanced rather +curiously at Harry. + +"He's goin' across the mountains an' down into Virginia on some business +of his own which I ain't inquired into much," said Jarvis. + +Harry slept in a house that night for the first time in days, and he did +not like it. He awoke once with a feeling as if walls were pressing +down upon him, and he could not breathe. He arose, opened the door, +and stood by it for a few minutes, while the fresh air poured in. +Jarvis awoke and chuckled. + +"I know what's the matter with you, Harry," he said. "After you've +lived out of doors a long time you feel penned up in houses. If it +wasn't for rain an' snow I'd do without roofs 'cept in winter. Leave +the door wide open, an' we'll both sleep better. Nothin', of course, +would wake that lunkhead, Ike, my nephew. I guess you might fight the +whole of Buena Vista right over his head, an' if it was his sleepin' +time he'd sleep right on." + +They left the next morning, taking with them all of Harry's baggage. +Jarvis' boat would remain in the creek at this point, and he and Ike +would return in due time for their own possessions. They followed a +footpath now, but the walk was nothing to them. It was in truth a +relief after so much traveling in the boat. + +"My legs are long an' they need straightenin'," said Jarvis. "The ten +miles before us will jest about take out the kinks." + +Jarvis was a bachelor, his house being kept by his widowed sister, +Ike's mother, and old Aunt Suse. Now, as they swung along in Indian +file at a swift and easy gait, his joyous spirits bubbled forth anew. +Lifting up his voice he sang with such tremendous volume that every +peak and ridge gave back an individual echo: + + "I live for the good of my nation, + And my suns are all growing low, + But I hope that the next generation + Will resemble old Rosin, the beau. + + "I've traveled this country all o'er, + And now to the next I will go, + For I know that good quarters await me + To welcome old Rosin, the beau." + +"I suppose you don't know how you got that song, either," said Harry. + +"No, it just wandered in an' I've picked it up in parts, here an' thar. +See that clump o' laurel 'cross the valley thar, Harry? I killed a +black bear in it once, the biggest seen in these parts in our times, +an' I kin point you at least five spots in which I've killed deer. +You kin trap lots of small game all through here in the winter, an' the +furs bring good prices. Oh, the mountains ain't so bad. Look! See the +smoke over that low ridge, the thin black line ag'in the sky. It comes +from the house o' Samuel Jarvis, Esquire, an' it ain't no bad place, +either, a double log house, with a downstairs an' upstairs, an' a frame +kitchen behin'. It's fine to see it ag'in, ain't it, Ike?" + +Ike smiled and nodded. + +In another half hour they crossed the low ridge and swung down into a +beautiful little valley, a mile long and a quarter of a mile broad that +opened out before them. The smoke still rose from the house, which they +now saw clearly, standing among its trees. A brook glinting with gold +in the sunshine flowed down the middle of the valley. A luscious +greenness covered the whole valley floor. No snugger nook could be +found in the mountains. + +"As fine as pie!" exclaimed Jarvis exultantly. "Everythin's straight +an' right. Ike, I think I see Jane, your mother, standin' in the porch. +I'll just give her a signal." + +He lifted up his voice and sang "Home, Sweet Home," with tremendous +volume. He was heard, as Harry saw a sunbonnet waved vigorously on +the porch. The travelers descended rapidly, crossed the brook, and +approached the house. A strong woman of middle years shouted joyously +and came forward to meet them, leaving a little weazened figure crouched +in a chair on the porch. + +Mrs. Simmons embraced her brother and son with enthusiasm, and gave a +hearty welcome to Harry, whom Jarvis introduced in the most glowing +words. Then the three walked to the porch and the bent little figure in +the chair. As they went up the steps together old Aunt Suse suddenly +straightened up and stood erect. A pair of extraordinary black eyes +were blazing from her ancient, wrinkled face. Her hand rose in a kind +of military salute, and looking straight at Harry she exclaimed in a +high-pitched but strong voice: + +"Welcome, welcome, governor, to our house! It is a long time since I've +seen you, but I knew that you would come again!" + +"Why, what's the matter, Aunt Suse?" asked Jarvis anxiously. + +"It is he! The governor! Governor Ware!" she exclaimed. "He, who was +the great defender of the frontier against the Indians! But he looks +like a boy again! Yet I would have known him anywhere!" + +The blazing eyes and tense voice of the old woman held Harry. She +pointed with a withered forefinger which she held aloft and he felt as +if an electric current were passing from it to him. A chill ran down +his back and the hair lifted a little on his head. Jarvis and his +nephew stood staring. + +"Walk in, governor," she said. "This house is honored by your coming." + +Then, and all in a flash, Harry understood. The mind of the old woman +dreaming in the sun had returned to the far past, and she was seeing +again with the eyes of her girlhood. + +"I'm not Henry Ware, Aunt Susan," he said, "but I'm proud to say that +I'm his great-grandson. My name is Kenton, Harry Kenton." + +The wrinkled forefinger sank, but the light in her eyes did not die. + +"Henry Ware, Harry Kenton!" she murmured. "The same blood, and the +spirit is the same. It does not matter. Come into our house and rest +after your long journey." + +Still erect, she stood on one side and pointed to the open door. +Jarvis laughed, but it was a laugh of relief rather than amusement. + +"She shorely took you, Harry, for your great-grandfather, Henry Ware, +the mighty woodsman and Injun fighter that later on became governor +of the state. I guess you look as he did when he was near your age. +I've heard her tell tales about him by the mile. Aunt Suse, you know, +is more'n a hundred, an' she's got the double gift o' lookin' forrard +an' back'ard. Come on in, Harry, this house will belong to you now, +an' ef at times she thinks you're the great governor, or the boy that +Governor Ware was before he was governor, jest let her think it." + +With the wrinkled forefinger still pointing a welcome toward the open +door Harry went into the house. He spent two days in the hospitable +home of Samuel Jarvis. He would have limited the time to a single day, +because Richmond was calling to him very strongly now, but it was +necessary to buy a good horse for the journey by land, and Jarvis would +not let him start until he had the pick of the region. + +The first evening after their arrival they sat on the porch of the +mountain home. Ike's mother was with them, but old Aunt Suse had +already gone to bed. Throughout the day she had called Harry sometimes +by his own name and sometimes "governor," and she had shown a wonderful +pride whenever he ran to help her, as he often did. + +The twilight was gone some time. The bright stars had sprung out in +groups, and a noble moon was shining. A fine, misty, silver light, +like gauze, hung over the valley, tinting the high green heads of the +near and friendly mountains, and giving a wonderful look of softness and +freshness to this safe nook among the peaks and ridges. Harry did not +wonder that Jarvis and Ike loved it. + +"Aunt Suse give me a big turn when she took you fur the governor," +said Jarvis to Harry, "but it ain't so wonderful after all. Often she +sees the things of them early times a heap brighter an' clearer than she +sees the things of today. As I told you, she knowed Boone an' Kenton +an' Logan an' Henry Ware an' all them gran' hunters an' fighters. +She was in Lexin'ton nigh on to eighty years ago, when she saw Dan'l +Boone an' the rest that lived through our awful defeat at the Blue Licks +come back. It was not long after that her fam'ly came back into the +mountains. Her dad 'lowed that people would soon be too thick 'roun' +him down in that fine country, but they'd never crowd nobody up here an' +they ain't done it neither." + +"Did you ever hear her tell of Henry Ware's great friend, Paul Cotter?" +asked Harry. + +"Shorely; lots of times. She knowed Paul Cotter well. He wuzn't as +tall an' strong as Henry Ware, but he was great in his way, too. +It was him that started the big university at Lexin'ton, an' that become +the greatest scholar this state ever knowed. I've heard that he learned +to speak eight languages. Do you reckon it was true, Harry? Do you +reckon that any man that ever lived could talk eight different ways?" + +"It was certainly true. The great Dr. Cotter--and 'Dr.' in his case +didn't mean a physician, it meant an M. A. and a Ph. D. and all sorts of +learned things--could not only speak eight languages, but he knew also +so many other things that I've heard he could forget more in a day and +not miss it than the ordinary man would learn in a lifetime." + +Jarvis whistled. + +"He wuz shorely a big scholar," he said, "but it agrees exactly with +what old Aunt Suse says. Paul Cotter was always huntin' fur books, +an' books wuz mighty sca'ce in the Kentucky woods then." + +"Henry Ware and Paul Cotter always lived near each other," resumed Harry, +"and in two cases their grandchildren intermarried. A boy of my own age +named Dick Mason, who is the great-grandson of Paul Cotter, is also my +first cousin." + +"Now that's interestin' an' me bein' of an inquirin' min', I'd like to +ask you where this Dick Mason is." + +Harry waved his hand toward the north. + +"Up there somewhere," he said. + +"You mean that he's gone with the North, took one side while you've took +the other?" + +"Yes, that's it. We couldn't see alike, but we think as much as ever of +each other. I met him in Frankfort, where he had come from the Northern +camp in Garrard County, but I think he left for the East before I did. +The Northern forces hold the railways leading out of Kentucky and he's +probably in Washington now." + +Jarvis lighted his pipe and puffed a while in silence. At length he +drew the stem from his mouth, blew a ring of smoke upward and said in a +tone of conviction: + +"It does beat the Dutch how things come about!" + +Harry looked questioningly at him. + +"I mean your arrivin' here, bein' who you are, an' your meetin' old Aunt +Suse, bein' who she is, an' that cousin of yours, Dick Mason, didn't you +say was his name, bein' who he is, goin' off to the North." + +They sat on the porch later than the custom of the mountaineers, and the +beauty of the place deepened. The moon poured a vast flood of misty, +silver light over the little valley, hemmed in by its high mountains, +and Harry was so affected by the silence and peace that he had no +feeling of anger toward anybody, not even toward Bill Skelly, who had +tried to kill him. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +IN VIRGINIA + + +Harry left the valley with the keenest feeling of regret, realizing at +the parting how strong a friendship he had formed with this family. +But he felt that he could not delay any longer. Affairs must be moving +now in the great world in the east, and he wished to be at the heart of +them. He had a strong, sure-footed horse, and he had supplies and an +extra suit of clothes in his saddle bags. The rifle across his back +would attract no attention, as all the men in the mountains carried +rifles. + +Jarvis had instructed Harry carefully about the road or path, and as +the boy was already an experienced traveler with an excellent sense of +direction, there was no danger of his getting lost in the wilderness. + +Jarvis, Ike, and Mrs. Simmons gave him farewells which were full of +feeling. Aunt Suse had come down the brick walk, tap-tapping with her +cane, as Harry stood at the gate ready to mount his horse. + +"Good-bye, Aunt Susan," he said. "I came a stranger, but this house has +been made a home to me." + +She peered up at him, and Harry saw that once more her old eyes were +flaming with the light he had seen there when he arrived. + +"Good-bye, governor," she said, holding out a wrinkled and trembling +hand. "I am proud that our house has sheltered you, but it is not for +the last time. You will come again, and you will be thin and pale and +in rags, and you will fall at the door. I see you coming with these two +eyes of mine." + +"Hush, Aunt Suse," exclaimed Mrs. Simmons. "It is not Governor Ware, +it is his great-grandson, and you mustn't send him away tellin' of +terrible things that will happen to him." + +"I'm not afraid," said Harry, "and I hope that I'll see Aunt Susan and +all of you again." + +He lifted her hand and kissed it in the old-fashioned manner. + +She smiled and he heard her murmur: + +"It is the great governor's way. He kissed my hand like that once +before, when I went to Frankfort on the lumber raft." + +"Good-bye, Harry," repeated Jarvis. "If you're bound to fight I reckon +that's jest what you're bound to do, an' it ain't no good for me to say +anythin'. Be shore you follow the trail jest as I laid it out to you +an' in two days you'll strike the Wilderness Road. After that it's +easy." + +When Harry rode away something rose in his throat and choked him for a +moment. He knew that he would never again find more kindly people than +these simple mountaineers. Then in vivid phrases he heard once more the +old woman's prophecy: "You will come again, and you will be thin and +pale and in rags, and you will fall at the door." For a moment it +shadowed the sunlight. Then he laughed at himself. No one could see +into the future. + +He was now across the valley and his path led along the base of the +mountain. He looked back and saw the four standing on the porch, Jarvis, +Ike, Mrs. Simmons, and old Aunt Suse. He waved his hand to them and +all four waved back. A singular thrill ran through him. Could it be +possible that he would come again, and in the manner that the old woman +had predicted? + +The path, in another minute, curved around the mountain, and the valley +was shut from view. Nor, as he rode on, did he catch another glimpse of +it. One might roam the mountains for months and never see the home of +Samuel Jarvis. + +The two days passed without event. The weather remained fair, and no +one interfered with him. He slept the first night at a log cabin that +Jarvis had named, having reached it in due time, and the second day he +reached, also in due time, the old Wilderness Road. + +Thence the boy advanced by easy stages into Virginia until he reached a +railroad, where he sold his horse and took a train for Richmond, having +come in a few days out of the cool, peaceful atmosphere of the mountains +into another, which was surcharged everywhere with the fiery breath of +war. + +Harry realized as he approached the capital the deep intensity of +feeling in everybody. The Virginians were less volatile than the South +Carolinians, and they had long refused to go out, but now that they were +out they were pouring into the Southern army, and they were animated by +an extraordinary zeal. He began to hear new or unfamiliar names, Early, +and Ewell, and Jackson, and Lee, and Johnston, and Hill, and Stuart, +and Ashby, names that he would never forget, but names that as yet meant +little to him. + +He had letters from his father and he expected to find his friends of +Charleston in Richmond or at the front. General Beauregard, whom he +knew, would be in command of the army threatening Washington, and he +would not go into a camp of strangers. + +It was now early in June, and the country was at its best. On both +sides of the railway spread the fair Virginia fields, and the earth, +save where the ploughed lands stretched, was in its deepest tints of +green. Harry, thrusting his head from the window, looked eagerly ahead +at the city rising on its hills. Then a shade smaller than Charleston, +it, too, was a famous place in the South, and it was full of great +associations. Harry, like all the educated boys of the South, honored +and admired its public men. They were mighty names to him. He was +about to tread streets that had been trod by the famous Jefferson, +by Madison, Monroe, Randolph of Roanoke, and many others. The shades +of the great Virginians rose in a host before him. + +He arrived about noon, and, as he carried no baggage except his saddle +bags and weapons, he was quickly within the city, his papers being in +perfect order. He ate dinner, as the noonday meal was then called, +and decided to seek General Beauregard at once, having learned from an +officer on the train that he was in the city. It was said that he was +at the residence of President Davis, called the White House, after that +other and more famous one at Washington, in which the lank, awkward man, +Abraham Lincoln, now lived. + +But Harry paused frequently on the way, as there was nothing to hurry +him, and there was much to be seen. If Charleston had been crowded, +Richmond was more so. Like all capitals on the verge of a great war, +but as yet untouched by its destructive breath, it throbbed with life. +The streets swarmed with people, young officers and soldiers in their +uniforms, civilians of all kinds, and many pretty girls in white or +light dresses, often with flowers in their hair or on their breasts. +Light-heartedness and gaiety seemed predominant. + +Harry stopped a while to look at the ancient and noble state house, +now the home also of the Confederate Congress, standing in Capitol +Square, and the spire of the Bell Tower, on Shockoe Hill. He saw +important looking men coming in or going out of the square, but he did +not linger long, intending to see the sights another time. + +He was informed at the "White House" that General Beauregard was there, +and sending in his card he was admitted promptly. Beauregard was +sitting with President Davis and Secretary Benjamin in a room furnished +plainly, and the general in his quick, nervous manner rose and greeted +him warmly. + +"You did good service with us at Charleston," he said, "and we welcome +you here. We have already heard from your father, who was a comrade in +war of both President Davis and myself." + +"He wrote us that you were coming across the mountains from Frankfort," +said Mr. Davis. + +Harry thought that the President already looked worn and anxious. + +"Yes, sir," replied the boy, "I came chiefly by the river and the +Wilderness Road." + +"Your father writes that they worked hard at Frankfort, but that they +failed to take Kentucky out," continued the head of the Confederacy. + +"The Southern leaders did their best, but they could not move the state." + +"And you wish, then, to serve at the front?" continued the President. + +"If I may," returned Harry. "In South Carolina I was with Colonel +Leonidas Talbot. I have had a letter from him here, and, if it is your +pleasure and that of General Beauregard, I shall be glad to join his +command." + +General Beauregard laughed a little. + +"You do well," he said. "I have known Colonel Talbot a long time, and, +although he may be slow in choosing he is bound to be in the very thick +of events when he does choose. Colonel Talbot is at the front, and +you'll probably find him closer than any other officer to the Yankee +army. We need everybody whom we can get, especially lads of spirit +and fire like you. You shall be a second lieutenant in his command. +A train will leave here in four hours. Be ready. It will take you part +of the way and you will march on for the rest." + +Mr. Benjamin did not speak throughout the interview, but he watched +Harry closely. Neither did he speak when he left, but he offered him a +limp hand. The boy's view of Richmond was in truth brief, as before +night he saw its spires and roofs fading behind him. The train was +wholly military. There were four coaches filled with officers and +troops, and two more coaches behind them loaded with ammunition. + +Harry heard from some of the officers that the army was gathered at a +place called Manassas Junction, where Beauregard had taken command on +June 1st, and to which he would quickly return. But Harry did not know +any of these officers and he felt a little lonely. He slept after a +while in the car seat, awakened at times by the jolting or stopping of +the train, and arrived some time the next day in a country of green +hills and red clay roads, muddy from heavy rains. + +They left the train, marched over the hills along one of the muddy roads, +and presently saw a vast array of tents, fires, and earthworks, +stretching to the horizon. Harry's heart leaped again. This was the +great army of the South. Here were regiments and regiments, thousands +and thousands of men and here he would find his friends, Colonel Talbot +and Major St. Hilaire, and St. Clair and Langdon. + +The whole scene was inspiring in the extreme to the heart of youth. +Far to the right he saw cavalry galloping back and forth, and to the +left he saw infantry drilling. From somewhere in front came the strains +of a regimental band playing: + + "The hour was sad, I left the maid, + A lingering farewell taking, + Her sighs and tears my steps delayed, + I thought her heart was breaking. + In hurried words her name I blessed, + I breathed the vows that bind me + And to my heart in anguish pressed + The girl I left behind me." + +It was a favorite air of the Southern bands, and, much as it stirred +Harry now, he was destined to hear it again in moments far more +thrilling. He presented his order from General Beauregard to a sentinel, +who passed him to an officer, who in turn told him to go about a quarter +of a mile westward, where he would find the regiment of Colonel Talbot +quartered. + +"It's a mixed regiment," he said, "made up of Virginians, South +Carolinians, North Carolinians, and a few Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, +but it's already one of the best in the service. Colonel Talbot and his +second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, have been thrashing +it into shape in great fashion. They're mostly boys and already they +call themselves 'The Invincibles.' You can see the tents of their +commanding officers over there by that little creek." + +Harry's eyes followed the pointing finger, and again his heart leaped. +His friends were there, the two colonels for whom he had such a strong +affection, and the two lads of his own age. Theirs looked like a good +camp, too. It was arranged neatly, and by its side flowed the clear, +cool waters of Young's Branch, a tributary of the little Manassas River. +He walked briskly, crossed the brook, stepping from stone to stone, +and entered the grounds of the Invincibles. A tall youth rushed forward, +seized his hand and shook it violently, meanwhile uttering cries of +welcome in an unbroken stream. + +"By all the powers, it's our own Harry!" he exclaimed, "the new Harry +of the West, whom we were afraid we should never see again. Everything +is for the best, but we hardly hoped for this! How did you get here, +Harry? And you didn't bring Kentucky rushing to our side, after all! +Well, I knew it wasn't your fault, old horse! Ho, St. Clair, come and +see who's here!" + +St. Clair, who had been lying in the grass behind a tent, appeared and +greeted Harry joyfully. But while Langdon was just the same he had +changed in appearance. He was thinner and graver, and his intellectual +face bore the stamp of rapid maturity. + +"It's like greeting one of our very own, Harry," he said. "You were +with us in Charleston at the great beginning. We were afraid you would +have to stay in the west." + +"The big things will begin here," said Harry. + +"There can be no doubt of it. Do you know, Harry, that we are less than +thirty miles from Washington! If there were any hill high enough around +here we could see the white dome of the Capitol which we hope to take +before the summer is over. But we'll take you to the Colonel and Major +Hector St. Hilaire, that was, but Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire +that is." + +Colonel Talbot was sitting at a small table in a tent, the sides of +which had been raised all around, leaving only a canvas roof. +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire sat opposite him across the table, +and they were studying intently a small map of a region that was soon to +be sown deep with history. They looked up when Harry came with his two +friends, and gave him the welcome that he knew he would always receive +from them. + +"I've had a letter from your father," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, +"and I've been expecting you. You are to be a lieutenant on my staff, +and the quartermaster will sell you a new uniform as glossy and fine as +those of which St. Clair and Langdon are so proud." + +He asked him a few more questions about Kentucky and his journey over +the mountains, and then, telling St. Clair and Langdon to take care of +him, he and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire went back to the study of +their map. Harry noted that both were tanned deeply and that their +faces were very serious. + +"Come along, Harry," said Langdon. "Let the colonel and the major bear +all the troubles. For us everything is for the best. We've got you on +our hands and we're going to treat you right. See that deep pool in the +brook, where the big oak throws its shade over the water? It's partly +natural and it's partly dammed, but it's our swimming hole. You are +covered with dust and dirt. Pull off your clothes and jump in there. +We'll protect you from ribald attention. There are other swimming holes +along here, but this swimming hole belongs to the Invincibles, and we +always make good our rights." + +Harry was more than willing. In three minutes he jumped into the deep, +cool water, swimming, diving, and shaking himself like a big dog. +He had enjoyed no such luxury in many days, and he felt as if he were +being re-created. Langdon and St. Clair sat on the bank and gave him +instructions. + +"Now jump out," Langdon said at the end of five minutes. "You needn't +think because you've just come and are in a way a guest, that you can +keep this swimming hole all to yourself. A lot more of the Invincibles +need bathing and here come some for their chance." + +Harry came out reluctantly, and in a few minutes they were on the way +to the quartermaster, where the needed uniform, one that appealed +gloriously to his eye, was bought. St. Clair was quiet, but Langdon +talked enough for all three. + +"The Yankee vanguard is only a few miles away," he said. "You don't +have to go far before you see their tents, though I ought to say that +each side has another army westward in the mountains. There's been a +lot of fighting already, though not much of it here. The first shots on +Virginia soil were fired on our front the day General Beauregard arrived +to take command of our forces." + +"How about those troops in the hills?" asked Harry. + +"They've been up and doing. A young Yankee general named McClellan has +shown a lot of activity. He has beat us in some skirmishes and he has +organized troops as far west as the Ohio. Then he and his generals met +our general, Garnett, at Rich Mountain. It was the biggest affair of +the war so far, and Garnett was killed. Then a curious fellow of ours +named Jackson, and Stuart, a cavalry officer, lost a little battle at a +place called Falling Waters." + +"Has the luck been against us all along the line?" + +"Not at all! A cock-eyed Massachusetts politician, one Ben Butler, +a fellow of energy though, broke into the Yorktown country, but Magruder +thrashed him at Big Bethel. All those things, though, Harry, are just +whiffs of rain before the big storm. We're threatening Washington +here with our main army, and here is where they will have to meet us. +Lincoln has put General Scott, a Virginian, too, in command of the +Northern armies, but as he's so old, somebody else will be the real +commander." + +Harry felt himself a genuine soldier in his new uniform, and he soon +learned his new duties, which, for the present, would not be many. +The two armies, although practically face to face, refused to move. +On either side the officers of the old regular force were seeking to +beat the raw recruits into shape, and the rival commanders also waited, +each for the other to make the first movement. + +Harry and St. Clair were sent that night far toward the front with a +small detachment to patrol some hill country. They marched in the +moonlight, keeping among the trees, and listening for any sounds that +might be hostile. + +"It's not likely though that we'll be molested," said St. Clair. +"The men on both sides don't yet realize fully that they are here to +shoot at one another. This is our place, along a little brook, another +tributary of the Manassas." + +They stopped in a grove and disposed the men, twenty in number, along +a line of several hundred yards, with instructions not to fire unless +they knew positively what they were shooting at. Harry and St. Clair +remained near the middle of the line, at the edge of the brook, where +they sat down on the bank. The country was open in front of them, +and Harry saw a distant light. + +"What's that?" he asked. + +"The campfire of a Yankee outpost. I told you they were very near." + +"And that, I suppose, is one of their bugles." + +A faint but musical note was brought to them by the light wind blowing +in their faces. + +"That's what it is. It may be the signal of some movement, but they +can't attempt anything serious without showing themselves. Our +sentinels are posted along here for miles." + +The sound of the bugle continued faint and far away. It had a certain +weird effect in the night and the loneliness. Harry wished to know who +they were at that far campfire. His own cousin, Dick Mason, might be +there. + +"Although we're arrayed for war," said St. Clair, "the sentinels are +often friendly. They even exchange plugs of tobacco and news. The +officers have not been able to stop it wholly. Our sentinels tell +theirs that we'll be in Washington in a month, and theirs tell ours +that they've already engaged rooms in the Richmond hotels for July." + +"When two prophets disagree both can't be right," said Harry. "How far +away would you say that light is, Arthur?" + +"About a mile and a half. Let's scout a little in that direction. +There are no commands against it. Enterprise is encouraged." + +"Just what I'd like," said Harry, who was eager for action. + +Leaving their own men under the command of a reliable sergeant named +Carrick, the two youths crossed the brook and advanced over a fairly +level stretch of country toward the fire. Small clusters of trees were +scattered here and there, and beyond them was a field of young corn. +The two paused in one of the little groves about a hundred yards from +their own outposts and looked back. They saw only the dark line of +the trees, and behind them, wavering lights which they knew were the +campfires of their own army. But the lights at the distance were very +small, mere pin points. + +"They look more like lanterns carried by 'coon and 'possum hunters than +the campfires of an army," said Harry. + +"Yes, you'd hardly think they mark the presence of twenty or thirty +thousand men," said St. Clair. "Here we are at the cornfield. The +plants are not high, but they throw enough shadow to hide us." + +They climbed a rail fence, and advanced down the corn rows. The moon +was good and there was a plentiful supply of stars, enabling them to see +some distance. To their right on a hill was a white Colonial house, +with all its windows dark. + +"That house would be in a bad place if a battle comes off here, as seems +likely," said St. Clair. + +"And those who own it are wise in having gone away," said Harry. + +"I'm not so sure that they've gone. People hate to give up their homes +even in the face of death. Around here they generally stay and put out +the lights at dark." + +"Well, here we are at the end of the cornfield, and the light is not +more than four or five hundred yards away. I think I can see the +shadows of human figures against the flames. Come, let's climb the +fence and go down through this skirt of bushes." + +The suggestion appealed to the daring and curiosity of both, and in a +few minutes they were within two hundred yards of the Northern camp. +But they lay very close in the undergrowth. They saw a big fire and +Harry judged that four or five hundred men were scattered about. +Many were asleep on the grass, but others sat up talking. The +appearance of all was so extraordinary that Harry gazed in astonishment. + +It was not the faces or forms of the men, but their dress that was so +peculiar. They were arrayed in huge blouses and vast baggy trousers +of a blazing red, fastened at the knee and revealing stockings of a +brilliant hue below. Little tasselled caps were perched on the sides of +their heads. Harry remembering his geography and the descriptions of +nations would have taken them for a gathering of Turkish women, if their +masculine faces had been hidden. + +"What under the moon are those?" he whispered. "They do look curious," +replied St. Clair. "They call them Zouaves, and I think they're from +New York. It's a copy of a French military costume which, unless I'm +mistaken, France uses in Algeria." + +"They'd certainly make a magnificent target on the battlefield. A +Kentucky or Tennessee rifleman who'd miss such a target would die of +shame." + +"Maybe. But listen, they're singing! What do you think of that for a +military tune?" + +Harry heard for the first time in his life an extraordinary, choppy air, +a rapid beat that rose and fell abruptly, sending a powerful thrill +through his heart as he lay there in the bushes. The words were nothing, +almost without meaning, but the tune itself was full of compelling +power. It set the feet marching toward triumphant battle. + + "In Dixie's land I'll take my stand, + Cinnamon seed and sandy bottom, + Look away! Look away! + Down South in Dixie!" + +Three or four hundred voices took up the famous battle song, as +thrilling and martial as the Marseillaise, then fresh and unhackneyed, +and they sang it with enthusiasm and fire, officers joining with the +men. It was a singular fact that Harry should first hear Northern +troops singing the song which was destined to become the great battle +tune of the South. + +"What is it?" whispered Harry. + +"It's called Dixie. They say it was written by a man in New York for a +negro minstrel show. I suppose they sing it in anticipation, meaning +that they will soon be in the heart of Dixie, which is the South, +our South." + +"I don't think those baggy red legs will ever march far into our South," +whispered Harry defiantly. + +"It is to be seen. Between you and me, Harry, I'm convinced there is no +triumphant progress ahead for either North or South. Ah, another force +is coming and it's cavalry! Don't you hear the hoof-beats, Harry?" + +Harry heard them distinctly and he and his comrade lay more closely than +ever in the bushes, because the horsemen, a numerous body, as the heavy +tread indicated, were passing very near. The two lads presently saw +them riding four abreast toward the campfire, and Harry surmised that +they had been scouting in strong force toward the Southern front. +They were large men, deep with tan and riding easily. Harry judged +their number at two hundred, and the tail of the company would pass +alarmingly near the bushes in which his comrade and he lay. + +"Don't you think we'd better creep back?" he whispered to St. Clair. +"Some of them taking a short cut may ride right upon us." + +"Yes, it's time to make ourselves scarce." + +They turned back, going as rapidly as they dared, but that which Harry +had feared came to pass. The rear files of the horsemen, evidently +intending to go to the other side of the camp, rode through the low +bushes. Four of them passed so near the boys that they caught in the +moonlight a glimpse of the two stooping figures. + +"Who is there? Halt!" sharply cried one of them, an officer. +But St. Clair cried also: + +"Run, Harry! Run for your life, and keep to the bushes!" + +The two dashed at utmost speed down the strip of bushes and they heard +the thunder of horses' hoofs in the open on either flank. A half dozen +shots were fired and the bullets cut leaves and twigs about them. +They heard the Northern men shouting: "Spies! Spies! After them! +Seize them!" + +Harry in the moment of extreme danger retained his presence of mind: "To +the cornfield, Arthur!" he cried to his comrade. "The fence is staked +and ridered, and their horses can't jump it. If they stop to pull it +down they will give us time to get away!" + +"Good plan!" returned St. Clair. "But we'd better bend down as we run. +Those bullets make my flesh creep!" + +A fresh volley was sent into the bushes, but owing to the wise +precaution of bending low, the bullets went over their heads, although +Harry felt his hair rising up to meet them. In two or three minutes +they were at the fence, and they went over it almost like birds. +Harry heard two bullets hit the rails as they leaped--they were in +view then for a moment--but they merely increased his speed, as he and +St. Clair darted side by side through the corn, bending low again. + +They heard the horsemen talking and swearing at the barrier, and then +they heard the beat of hoofs again. + +"They'll divide and send a force around the field each way!" said +St. Clair. + +"And some of them will dismount and pursue us through it on foot!" + +"We can distance anybody on foot. Harry, when I heard those bullets +whistling about me I felt as if I could outrun a horse, or a giraffe, +or an antelope, or anything on earth! And thunder, Harry, I feel the +same way now!" + +Bullets fired from the fence made the ploughed land fly not far from +them, and they lengthened their stride. Harry afterward said that +he did not remember stepping on that cornfield more than twice. +Fortunately for them the field, while not very wide, extended far to +right and left, and the pursuing horsemen were compelled to make a +great circuit. + +Before the thudding hoofs came near they were over the fence again, and, +still with wonderful powers of flight, were scudding across the country +toward their own lines. They came to one of the clusters of trees and +dashing into it lay close, their hearts pounding. Looking back they +dimly saw the horsemen, riding at random, evidently at a loss. + +"That was certainly close," gasped St. Clair. "I'm not going on any +more scouts unless I'm ordered to do so." + +"Nor I," said Harry. "I've got enough for one night at least. I +suppose I'll never forget those men with the red bags in place of +breeches, and that tune, 'Dixie.' As soon as I get my breath back I'm +going to make a bee line for our own army." + +"And when you make your bee line another just as fast and straight will +run beside it." + +They rested five minutes and then fled for the brook and their own +little detachment behind it. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT + + +Before they reached the brook they hailed Sergeant Carrick lest they +should be fired upon as enemies, and when his answer came they dropped +into a walk, still panting and wiping the perspiration from damp +foreheads. They bathed their faces freely in the brook, and sat down on +the bank to rest. The sergeant, a regular and a veteran of many border +campaigns against the Indians, regarded them benevolently. + +"I heard firing in front," he said, "and I thought you might be +concerned in it. If it hadn't been for my orders I'd have come forward +with some of the men." + +"Sergeant," said St. Clair, "if you were in the west again, and you were +all alone in the hills or on the plains and a band of yelling Sioux +or Blackfeet were to set after you with fell designs upon your scalp, +what would you do?" + +"I'd run, sir, with all my might. I'd run faster than I ever ran +before. I'd run so fast, sir, that my feet wouldn't touch the ground +more than once every forty yards. It would be the wisest thing one +could do under the circumstances, the only thing, in fact." + +"I'm glad to hear you say so, Sergeant Carrick, because you are a man of +experience and magnificent sense. What you say proves that Harry and I +are full of wisdom. They weren't Sioux or Blackfeet back there and I +don't suppose they'd have scalped us, but they were Yankees and their +intentions weren't exactly peaceful. So we took your advice before you +gave it. If you'll examine the earth out there tomorrow you'll find our +footprints only five times to the mile." + +Far to the right and left other scattering shots had been fired, where +skirmishers in the night came in touch with one another. Hence the +adventure of Harry and St. Clair attracted but little attention. +Shots at long range were fired nearly every night, and sometimes it was +difficult to keep the raw recruits from pulling trigger merely for the +pleasure of hearing the report. + +But when Harry and St. Clair related the incident the next morning to +Colonel Talbot, he spoke with gravity. + +"There are many young men of birth and family in our army," he said, +"and they must learn that war is a serious business. It is more than +that; it is a deadly business, the most deadly business of all. If the +Yankees had caught you two, it would have served you right." + +"They scared us badly enough as it was, sir," said St. Clair. + +Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled slightly. + +"That part of it at least will do you good," he said. "You young men +don't know what war is, and you are growing fat and saucy in a pleasant +country in June. But there is something ahead that will take a little +of the starch out of you and teach you sense. No, you needn't look +inquiringly at me, because I'm not going to tell you what it is, but go +get some sleep, which you will need badly, and be ready at four o'clock +this afternoon, because the Invincibles march then and you march with +them." + +Harry and St. Clair saluted and retired. They knew that it was not +worth while to ask Colonel Talbot any questions. Since he had met him +again in Virginia, Harry had recognized a difference in this South +Carolina colonel. The kindliness was still there, but there was a new +sternness also. The friend was being merged into the commander. + +They chose a tent in order to shut out the noise and make sleep possible, +but on their way to it they were waylaid by Langdon, who had heard +something of their adventure the night before, and who felt chagrin +because he had lacked a part in it. + +"Although everything generally happens for the best, there is a slip +sometimes," he said, "and I want to be in on the next move, whatever it +is. There is a rumor that the Invincibles are to march. You have been +before the colonel, and you ought to know. Is it true?" + +"It is," replied Harry, "but that's all we do know. He was pretty sharp +with us, Tom, and among our three selves, we are not going to get any +favors from Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel Hector +St. Hilaire because we're friends of theirs and would be likely to +meet in the same drawing-rooms, if there were no war." + +Harry and St. Clair slept well, despite the noises of a camp, but they +were ready at the appointed time, very precise in their new uniforms. +Langdon was with them and the three were eager for the movement, the +nature of which officers alone seemed to know. + +The Invincibles were an infantry regiment and the three youths, like the +men, were on foot. They filed off to the left behind the front line of +the Southern army, and marched steadily westward, inclining slightly to +the north. Many of the men, or rather boys, not yet fast in the bonds +of discipline, began to talk, and guess together about their errand. +But Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire rode along the +line and sternly commanded silence, once or twice making the menace of +the sword. The lads scarcely understood it, but they were awed into +silence. Then there was no noise but the rattle of their weapons and +the steady tread of eight hundred men. + +The young troops had been kept in splendid condition, drilling steadily, +and they marched well. They passed to the extreme western end of the +Confederate camp, and continued into the hills. The sun had passed +its zenith when they started and a pleasant, cool breeze blew from the +slopes of the western mountains. The sun set late, but the twilight +began to fall at last, and they saw about them many places suitable for +a camp and supper. But Colonel Talbot, who was now at the head of the +line, rode on and gave no sign. + +"If I were riding a bay horse fifteen hands high I could go on, too, +forever," whispered Langdon to Harry. + +"Remember your belief that everything happens for the best and just keep +on marching." + +The twilight retreated before the dark, but the regiment continued. +Harry saw a dusky colonel on a dusky horse at the head of the line, +and nearer by was Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also riding, silent +and stern. The Invincibles were weary. It was now nine o'clock, +and they had marched many hours without a rest, but they did not dare to +murmur, at least not loud enough to be heard by Colonel Leonidas Talbot +and his lieutenant-colonel, Hector St. Hilaire. + +"I wonder if this is going on all night," whispered Langdon. + +"Very likely," returned Harry, "but remember that everything is for the +best." + +Langdon gave him a reproachful look, but trudged sturdily on. They +halted about an hour later, but only for fifteen or twenty minutes. +They had now come into much rougher country, steep, with high hills +and populated thinly. Westward, the mountains seemed very near in the +clear moonlight. No explanation was given to the Invincibles, but the +officers rode among the groups and made a careful inspection of arms +and equipment. Then the word to march once more was given. + +They did not stop, except for short rests, until about three o'clock in +the morning, when they came to the crest of a high ridge, covered with +dense forest, but without undergrowth. Then the officers dismounted, +and the word was passed to the men that they would remain there until +dawn, but before they lay down on the ground Colonel Talbot told them +what was expected of them, which was much. + +"A strong Northern force is encamped on the slope beyond," he said. +"It is in a position from which the left flank of our main army can be +threatened. Our enemies there are fortified with earthworks and they +have cannon. If they hold the place they are likely to increase heavily +in numbers. It is our business to drive them out." + +The colonel told some of the officers within Harry's hearing that they +could attack before dawn, but night assaults, unless with veteran troops, +generally defeated themselves through confusion and uncertainty. +Nevertheless, he hoped to surprise the Northern soldiers over their +coffee. For that reason the men were compelled to lie down in their +blankets in the dark. Not a single light was permitted, but they were +allowed to eat some cold food, which they brought in their knapsacks. + +Although it was June, the night was chill on the high hills, and Harry +and his two friends, after their duties were done, wrapped their +blankets closely around themselves as they sat on the ground, with their +backs against a big tree. The physical relaxation after such hard +marching and the sharp wind of the night made Harry shiver, despite his +blanket. St. Clair and Langdon shivered, too. They did not know that +part of it was that three-o'clock-in-the-morning feeling. + +Harry, sensitive, keenly alive to impressions, was oppressed by a +certain heavy and uncanny feeling. They were going into battle in the +morning--and with men whom he did not hate. The attacks on the Star of +the West and Sumter had been bombardments, distant affairs, where he +did not see the face of his enemy, but here it would be another matter. +The real shock of battle would come, and the eyes of men seeking to kill +would look into the eyes of others who also sought to kill. + +He and St. Clair were not sleepy, as they had slept through most of the +day, but Langdon was already nodding. Most of the soldiers also had +fallen asleep through exhaustion, and Harry saw them in the dusk lying +in long rows. The faint moon throwing a ghostly light over so many +motionless forms made the whole scene weird and unreal to Harry. +He shook himself to cast off the spell, and, closing his eyes, sought +sleep. + +But sleep would not come and the obstinate lids lifted again. It had +turned a little darker and the motionless forms at the far end of the +line were hidden. But those nearer were so still that they seemed to +have been put there to stay forever. St. Clair had yielded at last to +weariness and with his back against the tree slept by Harry's side. + +He saw four figures moving up and down like ghosts through the shadows. +They were Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, and two +captains watching their men, seeing that silence and caution were +preserved. Harry knew that sentinels were posted further down the ridge, +but he could not see them from where he lay. Although it was a long +time, the forest and human figures wavered at last, and he dozed for a +while. But he soon awoke and saw a faint tint of gray low down in the +east, the first timid herald of dawn. + +The young soldiers were awakened. They started to rise with a +cheerful exchange of chatter, but were sternly commanded to silence. +Nevertheless, they talked in whispers and told one another how they +would wipe the Yankees off the face of the earth. Workers from the +shops in the big cities of the North could not stand before them, +the open air sons of the South. They stretched their long limbs, +felt their big muscles, and wondered why they were not led forward at +once. + +But before they marched they were ordered to take food from their +knapsacks and eat. Five minutes at most were allowed, and there was to +be no nonsense, no loud talking. Some who had come north with negro +servants stared at these officers who dared to talk to them as if they +were slaves. But the words of anger stopped at their lips. They would +take their revenge instead on the Yankees. + +Harry and his two friends had fitted themselves already into military +discipline and military ways. They ate, not because they were hungry, +but because they knew it was a necessity. Meanwhile, the faint gray +band in the east was broadening. The note of a bugle, distant, mellow, +and musical, came from a point down the slope. + +"The Yankee fort," said Langdon. "They're waking up, too. But I'm +looking for the best, boys, and inside of two hours that Yankee fort +will be a Confederate fort." + +The note of the bugle seemed to decide the Southern officers. The men +were ordered to see to their arms and march. The officers dismounted as +the way would be rough and left their horses behind. The troops formed +into several columns and four light guns went down the slope with them. +Scouts who had been out in the night came back and reported that the +fort, consisting wholly of earthworks, had a garrison of a thousand men +with eight guns. They were New York and New England troops and they did +not suspect the presence of an enemy. They were just lighting their +breakfast fires. + +The Southern columns moved forward in quiet, still hidden by the forest, +which also yet hid the Northern fort. Harry's heart began to beat +heavily, but he forced himself to preserve the appearance of calmness. +Pride stiffened his will and backbone. He was a veteran. He had been +at Sumter. He had seen the great bombardment, and he had taken a part +in it. He must show these raw men how a soldier bore himself in battle, +and, moreover, he was an officer whose business it was to lead. + +The deep forest endured as they advanced in a diagonal line down the +slope. The great civil war of North America was fought mostly in the +forest, and often the men were not aware of the presence of one another +until they came face to face. + +They were almost at the bottom where the valley opened out in grass land, +and were turning northward when Harry saw two figures ahead of them +among the trees. They were men in blue uniforms with rifles in their +hands, and they were staring in surprise at the advancing columns in +gray. But their surprise lasted only a moment. Then they lifted their +rifles, fired straight at the Invincibles, and with warning shouts +darted among the trees toward their own troops. + +"Forward, lads!" shouted Colonel Talbot. "We're within four hundred +yards of the fort, and we must rush it! Officers, to your places!" + +Their own bugle sang stirring music, and the men gathered themselves for +the forward rush. Up shot the sun, casting a sharp, vivid light over +the slopes and valley. The soldiers, feeling that victory was just +ahead, advanced with so much speed that the officers began to check them +a little, fearing that the Invincibles would be thrown into confusion. + +The forest ended. Before them lay a slope, from which the bushes had +been cut away and beyond were trenches, and walls of fresh earth, +from which the mouths of cannon protruded. Soldiers in blue, sentinels +and seekers of wood for the fires, were hurrying into the earthworks, +on the crests of which stood men, dressed in the uniforms of officers. + +"Forward, my lads!" shouted Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who was near the +front rank, brandishing his sword until the light glittered along its +sharp blade. "Into the fort! Into the fort!" + +The sun, rising higher, flooded the slopes, the valley, and the fort +with brilliant beams. Everything seemed to Harry's excited mind to +stand out gigantic and magnified. Black specks began to dance in +myriads before his eyes. He heard beside him the sharp, panting breath +of his comrades, and the beat of many feet as they rushed on. + +He saw the Northern officers on the earthwork disappear, dropping down +behind, and the young Southern soldiers raised a great shout of triumph +which, as it sank on its dying note, was merged into a tremendous crash. +The whole fort seemed to Harry to blaze with red fire, as the heavy guns +were fired straight into the faces of the Invincibles. The roar of +the cannon was so near that Harry, for an instant, was deafened by the +crash. Then he heard groans and cries and saw men falling around him. + +In another moment came the swish of rifle bullets, and the ranks of +the Invincibles were cut and torn with lead. The young recruits were +receiving their baptism of fire and it was accompanied by many wounds +and death. + +The earthworks in front were hidden for a little while by drifting smoke, +but the Invincibles, mad with pain and rage, rushed through it. They +were anxious to get at those who were stinging them so terribly, and +fortunately for them the defenders did not have time to pour in another +volley. Harry saw Colonel Talbot still in front, waving his sword, +and near him Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also with an uplifted sword, +which he pointed straight toward the earthwork. + +"On, lads, on!" shouted the colonel. "It is nothing! Another moment +and the fort is ours!" + +Harry heard the hissing of heavy missiles above him. The light guns of +the Invincibles had unlimbered on the slope, and fired once over their +heads into the fort. But they did not dare to fire again, as the next +instant the recruits, dripping red, but still wild with rage, were at +the earthworks, and driven on with rage climbed them and fired at the +huddled mass they saw below. + +Harry stumbled as he went down into the fort, but quickly recovered +himself and leaped to his feet again. He saw through the flame and +smoke faces much like his own, the faces of youth, startled and aghast, +scarcely yet comprehending that this was war and that war meant pain and +death. The Invincibles, despite the single close volley that had been +poured into them, had the advantage of surprise and their officers were +men of skill and experience. They had left a long red trail of the +fallen as they entered the fort, but after their own single volley they +pressed hard with the bayonet. Little as was their military knowledge, +those against them had less, and they also had less experience of the +woods and hills. + +As the Invincibles hurled themselves upon them the defenders slowly gave +way and were driven out of the fort. But they carried two of their +cannon with them, and when they reached the wood opened a heavy fire +upon the pursuing Southern troops, which made the youngsters shiver and +reel back. + +"They, too, have some regular officers," said Colonel Talbot to +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "It's a safe wager that several of +our old comrades of Mexico are there." + +Thus did West Pointers speak with respect of their fellow West Pointers. + +Exulting in their capture of the fort and still driven by rage, the +Invincibles attempted to rush the enemy, but they were met by such a +deadly fire that many fell, and their officers drew them back to the +shelter of the captured earthworks, where they were joined by their own +light guns that had been hurried down the slope. Another volley was +fired at them, when they went over the earthen walls, and Harry, as he +threw himself upon the ground, heard the ferocious whine of the bullets +over his head, a sound to which he would grow used through years +terribly long. + +Harry rose to his feet and began to feel of himself to see if he were +wounded. So great had been the tension and so rapid their movements +that he had not been conscious of any physical feeling. + +"All right, Harry?" asked a voice by his side. + +He saw Langdon with a broad red stripe down his cheek. The stripe was +of such even width that it seemed to have been painted there, and Harry +stared at it in a sort of fascination. + +"I know I'm not beautiful, Harry," said Langdon, "neither am I killed or +mortally wounded. But my feelings are hurt. That bullet, fired by some +mill hand who probably never pulled a trigger before, just grazed the +top of my head, but it has pumped enough out of my veins to irrigate my +face with a beautiful scarlet flow." + +"The mill hands may never have pulled trigger before," said Harry, +"but it looks as if they were learning how fast enough. Down, Tom!" + +Again the smoke and fire burst from the forest, and the bullets whined +in hundreds over their heads. Two heavier crashes showed that the +cannon were also coming into play, and one shell striking within the +fort, exploded, wounding a half dozen men. + +"I suppose that everything happens for the best," said Langdon, "but +having got into the fort, it looks as if we couldn't get out again. +With the help of the earthwork I can hide from the bullets, but how are +you to dodge a shell which can come in a curve over the highest kind of +a wall, drop right in the middle of the crowd, burst, and send pieces +in a hundred directions?" + +"You can't," said St. Clair, who appeared suddenly. + +He was covered with dirt and his fine new uniform was torn. + +"What has happened to you?" asked Harry. + +"I've just had practical proof that it's hard to dodge a bursting shell," +replied St. Clair calmly. "I'm in luck that no part of the shell itself +hit me, but it sent the dirt flying against me so hard that it stung, +and I think that some pieces of gravel have played havoc with my coat +and trousers." + +"Hark! there go our cannon!" exclaimed Harry. "We'll drive them out of +those woods." + +"None too soon for me," said St. Clair, looking ruefully at his torn +uniform. "I'd take it as a politeness on their part if they used +bullets only and not shells." + +They had not yet come down to the stern discipline of war, but their +talk was stopped speedily by the senior officers, who put them to work +arranging the young recruits along the earthworks, whence they could +reply with comparative safety to the fire from the wood. But Harry +noted that the raking fire of their own cannon had been effective. +The Northern troops had retreated to a more distant point in the forest, +where they were beyond the range of rifles, but it seemed that they had +no intention of going any further, as from time to time a shell from +their cannon still curved and fell in the fort or near it. The Southern +guns, including those that had been captured, replied, but, of necessity, +shot and shell were sent at random into the forest which now hid the +whole Northern force. + +"It seems to me," said St. Clair to Harry, "that while we have taken the +fort we have merely made an exchange. Instead of being besiegers we +have turned ourselves into the besieged." + +"And while I'm expecting everything to turn out for the best," said +Langdon, "I don't know that we've made anything at all by the exchange. +We're in the fort, but the mechanics and mill hands are on the slope in +a good position to pepper us." + +"Or to wait for reinforcements," said Harry. + +"I hadn't thought of that," said St. Clair. "They may send up into the +mountains and bring four or five times our numbers. Patterson's army +must be somewhere near." + +"But we'll hope that they won't," said Langdon. + +The Northern troops ceased their fire presently, but the officers, +examining the woods with their glasses, said they were still there. +Then came the grim task of burying the dead, which was done inside the +earthworks. Nearly two score of the Invincibles had fallen to rise no +more, and about a hundred were wounded. It was no small loss even for +a veteran force, and Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire +looked grave. Many of the recruits had turned white, and they had +strange, sinking sensations. + +There was little laughter or display of triumph inside the earthworks, +nor was there any increase of cheer when the recruits saw the senior +officers draw aside and engage in anxious talk. + +"I'm thinking that idea of yours, Harry, about Yankee reinforcements, +must have occurred to Colonel Talbot also," said Langdon. "It seems +that we have nothing else to fear. The Yankees that we drove out are +not strong enough to come back and drive us out. So they must be +looking for a heavy force from Patterson's army." + +The conference of the officers was quickly over, and then the men +were put to work building higher the walls of earth and deepening the +ditches. Many picks and spades had been captured in the fort, and +others used bayonets. All, besides the guard, toiled hard two or three +hours without interruption. + +It was now noon, and food was served. An abundance of water in barrels +had been found in the fort and the men drank it eagerly as the sun was +warm and the work with spade and shovel made them very thirsty. The +three boys, despite their rank, had been taking turns with the men and +they leaned wearily against the earthwork. + +The clatter of tools had ceased. The men ate and drank in silence. +No sound came from the Northern troops in the wood. A heavy, ominous +silence brooded over the little valley which had seen so much battle and +passion. Harry felt relaxed and for the moment nerveless. His eyes +wandered to the new earth, beneath which the dead lay, and he shivered. +The wounded were lying patiently on their blankets and those of their +comrades and they did not complain. The surgeons had done their best +for them and the more skillful among the soldiers had helped. + +The silence was very heavy upon Harry's nerves. Overhead great birds +hovered on black wings, and when he saw them he shuddered. St. Clair +saw them, too. + +"No pleasant sight," he said. "I feel stronger since I've had food and +water, Harry, but I'm thinking that we're going to be besieged in this +fort, and we're not overburdened with supplies. I wonder what the +colonel will do." + +"He'll try to hold it," said Langdon. "He was sent here for that +purpose, and we all know what the colonel is." + +"He will certainly stay," said Harry. + +After a good rest they resumed work with pick, shovel, and bayonet, +throwing the earthworks higher and ever higher. It was clear to the +three lads that Colonel Talbot expected a heavy attack. + +"Perhaps we have underrated our mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair, in his precise, dandyish way. "They may not ride as well +or shoot as well as we do, but they seem to be in no hurry about going +back to their factories." + +Harry glanced at him. St. Clair was always extremely particular about +his dress. It was a matter to which he gave time and thought freely. +Now, despite all his digging, he was again trim, immaculate, and showed +no signs of perspiration. He would have died rather than betray +nervousness or excitement. + +"I've no doubt that we've underrated them," said Harry. "Just as the +people up North have underrated us. Colonel Talbot told me long ago +that this was going to be a terribly big war, and now I know he was +right." + +A long time passed without any demonstration on the part of the enemy. +The sun reached the zenith and blazed redly upon the men in the fort. +Harry looked longingly at the dark green woods. He remembered cool +brooks, swelling into deep pools here and there in just such woods as +these, in which he used to bathe when he was a little boy. An intense +wish to swim again in the cool waters seized him. He believed it was +so intense because those beautiful woods there on the slope, where the +running water must be, were filled with the Northern riflemen. + +Three scouts, sent out by Colonel Talbot, returned with reports that +justified his suspicions. A heavy force, evidently from Patterson's +army operating in the hills and mountains, was marching down the valley +to join those who had been driven from the fort. The junction would be +formed within an hour. Harry was present when the report was made and +he understood its significance. He rejoiced that the walls of earth had +been thrown so much higher and that the trenches had been dug so much +deeper. + +In the middle of the afternoon, when the cool shade was beginning to +fall on the eastern forest, they noticed a movement in the woods. +They saw the swaying of bushes and the officers, who had glasses, +caught glimpses of the men moving in the undergrowth. Then came a +mighty crash and the shells from a battery of great guns sang in the air +and burst about them. It was well for the Invincibles that they had +dug their trenches deep, as two of the shells burst inside the fort. +Harry was with Colonel Talbot, now acting as an aide, and he heard the +leader's quiet comment: + +"The reinforcements have brought more big guns. They will deliver a +heavy cannonade and then under cover of the smoke they will charge. +Lieutenant Kenton, tell our gunners that it is my positive orders that +they are not to fire a single shot until I give the word. The Yankees +can see us, but we cannot see them, and we'll save our ammunition for +their charge. Keep well down in the trench, Lieutenant Kenton!" + +The Invincibles hugged their shelter gladly enough while the fire from +the great guns continued. A second battery opened from a point further +down the slope, and the fort was swept by a cross-fire of ball and +shell. Yet the loss of life was small. The trenches were so deep +and so well constructed that only chance pieces of shell struck human +targets. + +Harry remained with Colonel Talbot, ready to carry any order that he +might give. The colonel peered over the earthwork at intervals and +searched the woods closely with a powerful pair of glasses. His face +was very grave, but Harry presently saw him smile a little. He wondered, +but he had learned enough of discipline now not to ask questions of his +commanding officer. At length he heard the colonel mutter: + +"It is Carrington! It surely must be Carrington!" A third battery now +opened at a point almost midway between the other two, and the smile of +the colonel came again, but now it lingered longer. + +"It is bound to be Carrington!" he said. "It cannot possibly be any +other! That way of opening with a battery on one flank, then on the +other, and then with a third midway between was always his, and the +accuracy of aim is his, too! Heavens, what an artillery officer! +I doubt whether there is such another in either army, or in the world! +And he is better, too, than ever!" + +He caught Harry looking at him in wonder, and he smiled once more. + +"A friend of mine commands the Northern artillery," he said. "I have +not seen him, of course, but he is making all the signs and using all +the passwords. We are exactly the same age, and we were chums at West +Point. We were together in the Indian wars, and together in all the +battles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It's John Carrington, +and he's from New York! He's perfectly wonderful with the guns! +Lord, lad, look how he lives up to his reputation! Not a shot misses! +He must have been training those gunners for months! Thunder, but that +was magnificent!" + +A huge shell struck squarely in the center of the earthwork, burst with +a terrible crash, and sent steel splinters and fragments flying in every +direction. A rain of dirt followed the rain of steel, and, when the +colonel wiped the last mote from his eye, he said triumphantly and +joyously: + +"It's Carrington! Not a shadow of doubt can be left! Only such gunners +as those he trains can plump shells squarely among us at that range! +Oh, I tell you, Harry, he's a marvel. Has the wonderful mathematical +and engineering eye!" + +The eyes of Colonel Leonidas Talbot beamed with admiration of his old +comrade, mingled with a strong affection. Nevertheless, he did not +relax his vigilance and caution for an instant. He made the circuit of +the fort and saw that everything was ready. The Southern riflemen lined +every earthwork, and the guns had been wheeled into the best positions, +with the gunners ready. Then he returned to his old place. + +"The charge will come soon, Lieutenant Kenton," he said to Harry. +"Their cannonade serves a double purpose. It keeps us busy dodging ball +and shell, and it creates a bank of smoke through which their infantry +can advance almost to the fort and yet remain hidden. See how the +smoke covers the whole side of the mountain. Oh, Carrington is doing +splendidly! I have never known him to do better!" + +Harry wished that Carrington would not do quite so well. He was tired +of crouching in a ditch. He was growing somewhat used to the hideous +howling of the shells, but it was still unsafe anywhere except in the +trenches. It seemed to him, too, that the cannon fire was increasing +in volume. The slopes and the valley gave back a continuous crash of +rolling thunder. Heavier and heavier grew the bank of smoke over and +against the forest. It was impossible to see what was going on there, +but Harry had no doubt that the Northern regiments were massing +themselves for the attack. + +The youth remained with Colonel Talbot, being held by the latter to +carry orders when needed to other points in the fort. St. Clair and +Langdon were kept near for a similar use and they were crouching in the +same trench. + +"If everything happens for the best it's time it was happening," said +Langdon in an impatient whisper. "These shells and cannon balls flying +over me make my head ache and scare me to death besides. If the Yankees +don't hurry up and charge, they'll find me dead, killed by the collapse +of worn-out nerves." + +"I intend to be ready when they come," said St. Clair. "I've made every +preparation that I can call to mind." + +"Which means that your coat must be setting just right and that your +collar isn't ruffled," rejoined Langdon. "Yes, Arthur, you are ready +now. You are certainly the neatest and best dressed man in the +regiment. If the Yankees take us they can't say that they captured a +slovenly prisoner." + +"Then," said St. Clair, smiling, "let them come on." + +"Their cannon fire is sinking!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot. "In a minute +it will cease and then will come the charge! 'Tis Carrington's way, +and a good way! Hark! Listen to it! The signal! Ready, men! Ready! +Here they come!" + +The great cannonade ceased so abruptly that for a few moments the +stillness was more awful than the thunder of the guns had been. The +recruits could hear the great pulses in their temples throbbing. +Then the silence was pierced by the shrill notes of a brazen bugle, +steadily rising higher and always calling insistently to the men to +come. Then they heard the heavy thud of many men advancing with +swiftness and regularity. + +The Southern troops were at the earthworks in double rows, and the +gunners were at the guns, all eager, all watching intently for what +might come out of the smoke. But the rising breeze suddenly caught the +great bank of mists and vapors and whirled the whole aside. Then Harry +saw. He saw a long line of men, their front bristling with the blue +steel of bayonets, and behind them other lines and yet other lines. + +It seemed to Harry that the points of the bayonets were almost in his +face, and then, at the shouted command, the whole earthwork burst into a +blaze. The cannon and hundreds of rifles sent their deadly volleys into +the blue masses at short range. The fort had turned into a volcano, +pouring forth a rain of fire and deadly missiles. The front line of +the Northern force was shot away, but the next line took its place and +rushed at the fort with those behind pressing close after them. The +defenders loaded and fired as fast as they could and the high walls +of earth helped them. The loose dirt gave away as the Northern men +attempted to climb them, and dirt and men fell together back to the +bottom. The Northern gunners in the rear of the attack could not fire +for fear of hitting their own troops, but the Southern cannon at the +embrasures had a clear target. Shot and shell crashed into the Northern +ranks, and the deadly hail of bullets beat upon them without ceasing. +But still they came. + +"The mechanics and mill hands are as good as anybody, it appears!" +shouted St. Clair in Harry's ear, and Harry nodded. + +But the defenses of the fort were too strong. The charge, driven home +with reckless courage, beat in vain upon those high earthen walls, +behind which the defenders, standing upon narrow platforms, sent showers +of bullets into ranks so close that few could miss. The assailants +broke at last and once more the shrill notes of the brazen bugle pierced +the air. But instead of saying come, it said: "Fall back! Fall back!" +and the great clouds of smoke that had protected the Northern advance +now covered the Northern retreat. + +The firing had been so rapid and so heavy that the whole field in front +of the fort was covered with smoke, through which they caught only the +gleam of bayonets and glimpses of battle flags. But they knew that the +Northern troops were retiring, carrying with them their wounded, but +leaving the dead behind. Harry, excited and eager, was about to leap +upon the crest of the earthwork, but Colonel Talbot sharply ordered him +down. + +"You'd be killed inside of a minute!" he cried. "Carrington is out +there with the guns! As soon as their troops are far enough back he'll +open on us with the cannon, and he'll rake this fort like a hurricane +beating upon a forest. Only the earthworks will protect us from certain +destruction." + +He sent the order, fierce and sharp, along the line, for every one to +keep under cover, and there was ample proof soon that he knew his man. +The Northern infantry had retired and the smoke in front was beginning +to lift, when the figure of a tall man in blue appeared on a hillock at +the edge of the forest. Harry, who had snatched up a rifle, levelled it +instantly and took aim. But before his finger could pull the trigger +Colonel Talbot knocked it down again. + +"My God!" he exclaimed. "I was barely in time to save him! It was +Carrington himself!" + +"But he is our enemy! Our powerful enemy!" + +"Our enemy! Our official enemy, yes! But my friend! My life-long +friend! We were boys together at West Point! We slept under the same +blanket on the icy plateaux of Mexico. No, Harry, I could not let you +or any other slay him!" + +The figure disappeared from the hillock and the next moment the great +guns opened again from the forest. The orders of Colonel Talbot had +not been given a moment too soon. Huge shells and balls raked the fort +once more and the defenders crouched lower than ever in the trenches. +Harry surmised that the new cannonade was intended mainly to prevent +a possible return attack by the Southern troops, but they were too +cautious to venture from their earthworks. The Invincibles had grown +many years older in a few hours. + +When it became evident that no sally would be made from the fort, +the fire of the cannon in front ceased, and the smoke lifted, disclosing +a field black with the slain. Harry looked, shuddered and refused to +look again. But Colonel Talbot examined field and forest long and +anxiously through his glasses. + +"They are there yet, and they will remain," he announced at last. +"We have beaten back the assault. They may hold us here until a great +army comes, and with heavy loss to them, but we are yet besieged. +Carrington will not let us rest. He will send a shell to some part +of this fort every three or four minutes. You will see." + +They heard a roar and hiss a minute later, and a shell burst inside the +walls. Through all the afternoon Carrington played upon the shaken +nerves of the Invincibles. It seemed that he could make his shells hit +wherever he wished. If a recruit left a trench it was only to make a +rush for another. If their nerves settled down for a moment, that +solemn boom from the forest and the shriek of the shell made them jump +again. + +"Wonderful! Wonderful!" murmured Colonel Talbot, "but terribly trying +to new men! Carrington certainly grows better with the years." + +Harry tried to compose himself and rest, as he lay in the trench with +St. Clair and Langdon. They had had their battle face to face and all +three of them were terribly shaken, but they recovered themselves at +last, despite the shells which burst at short but irregular intervals +inside the fort. Thus the last hours of the afternoon waned, and as the +twilight came, they went more freely about the fort. + +Colonel Talbot called a conference of the senior officers in a corner +of the enclosure well under the shelter of the earthen walls, and after +some minutes of anxious talking they sent for the three youths. Harry, +St. Clair and Langdon responded with alacrity, sure that something of +the utmost importance was afoot. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE SEEKER FOR HELP + + +Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and four other officers +were in a deep alcove that had been dug just under the highest earthwork, +where they were not likely to be interrupted in their deliberations by +any fragment of an exploding shell. The only light was that of the +stars and the early moon which had now come out, but it was sufficient +to show faces oppressed by the utmost anxiety. Three other men also had +been summoned to the council. + +"We have chosen you six for an important errand," said Colonel Talbot, +"but you are to go upon it singly, and not collectively. As you see, +we are besieged here by a greatly superior force. Its assault has been +repulsed, but it will not go away. It will bombard us incessantly, and, +since we are not strong enough to break through their lines and have +limited supplies of food and water, we must fall in a day or two, +unless we get help. We want you to make your way over the hills tonight +to General Beauregard's army and bring aid. Even should five be +captured or slain the sixth may get through. Lieutenant Kenton, you +will go first. You will recall that the horses of the officers were +left on the crest of the mountain with a small guard. They may be there +yet, and if you can secure a mount, so much the better. But the moment +you leave this fort you must rely absolutely upon your own skill and +judgment." + +Harry bowed. It was a great trust and he felt elation because he had +been chosen first. He was again a courier, and he would do his best. + +"I should advise you not to take either a rifle or a sword," said +Colonel Talbot, "as they will be in the way of speed. But you'd better +have two pistols. Now, go! I send you upon a dangerous errand, but I +hope that the son of George Kenton, my old friend, will succeed. Hark! +There is Carrington again! How strangely this war arrays comrades +against one another!" + +A shell burst almost at the center of the fort, and, for a few moments, +the air was full of earth and flying fragments of steel. But in another +minute Harry made his preparations, dropped over the rear earthwork and +crouched for a little while against it. Before him stretched an open +space of several hundred yards and here he felt was his greatest danger. +The Northern sharpshooters might be lurking at the edge of the forest, +and he ran great danger of being picked off as he fled. He looked up +hopefully at the skies and saw a few clouds, but they did not promise +much. Starshine and moonshine together gave enough light for a good +sharpshooter. + +Bending until he was half stooped, he took his chance and ran across the +clearing. His flesh quivered, fearing the sudden impact of a bullet +upon it, but no crack of a rifle came and he darted into the protecting +shades of the forest. He lay a few minutes among the trees, until his +lungs filled with fresh air. Then he rose and advanced cautiously up +the slope, which lay to the south of the fort. The besieging force was +massed on the northern side of the fort, but it was probable that they +had outposts here also, to guard against such errands as the one upon +which Harry himself was bent. + +Yet he felt sure of getting through. One youth in a forest was hard +to find. The clouds at which he had looked so hopefully were really +growing a little heavier now. It would take good eyes to find him and +swift feet to catch him. He paused again halfway up the slope, and saw +a flash of flame from the Northern forest. Then came the thunderous +roar of one of Carrington's guns, all the louder in the still night, +and he saw the shell burst just over the fort. + +He knew that these guns would play all night on the Southern recruits, +allowing them but little rest and sleep and shaking their nerves still +further. + +But he must not pause for the guns. A hundred yards further and he sank +quietly into a clump of bushes. Voices had warned him and he lay quite +still while a Northern officer and twenty soldiers passed. They were so +near that he heard them talking and they spoke of the recapture of the +fort within two days at least. When they were lost among the trees he +rose and advanced more rapidly than before. + +He met no interruption until he reached the crest of the mountain, +when he ran almost into the arms of a sentinel. The man in the darkness +did not see the color of his uniform and hailed him for news. + +"Nothing," replied Harry hastily, as he darted away. "I carry a message +from our commander to a detachment stationed further on!" + +But the sentinel, catching sight of his uniform, and exclaiming: "A +Johnny Reb!" threw up his rifle and fired. Luckily for Harry it was +such a hurried shot that the bullet only made his flesh creep, and +passed on, cutting the twigs. Then Harry lifted himself up and ran. +Lifting himself up describes it truly. He had all the motives which can +make a boy run, pressing danger, love of life, devotion to his cause, +and a burning desire to do his errand. Hence he lifted his feet, +spurned the earth behind him and fled down the slope at amazing speed. +Several more shots were fired, but the bullets flew at random and did +not come near him. + +Harry did not stop until he was two or three miles from the fort, +when he knew that he was safe from anything but a chance meeting with +the Northern troops. Then he lay down under a big tree and panted. +But his breathing soon became easy, and, rising, he examined the region. +He always had a good idea of locality, and soon he found the road by +which the Invincibles had come. No one could mistake the tracks made by +the cannon wheels. He would retrace his steps on that road as fast as +he could. He saw that it was useless now to look for the men with the +horses. Fear of capture had compelled them to move long since, and a +search would merely waste time. + +He tightened his belt, squared his shoulders, and bending a little +forward, ran at a long, easy gait along the trail. He was a strong and +enduring youth, trained to the woods and hills, and, with occasional +stops for rest, he knew that he could continue until he reached the +camp at Manassas. He wondered if the others had got through. He hoped +they had, but he was still anxious to be the first who should reach +Beauregard, an ambition not unworthy on the part of youth. + +He stopped after midnight for a longer rest than usual. Colonel Talbot, +at the last moment, had made him take a small knapsack with some food +in it, and now he was grateful for his commander's foresight. He ate, +drank from a tiny brook that he heard trickling among the trees, and +felt as if he had been made anew. He wisely protracted this stop to +half an hour and then he went forward at an increased gait. + +His flight, save for short rests, continued without interruption until +morning. Always he looked about for a horse, intending in such an +emergency to take a horse by force and gallop to Beauregard. But the +country was populated very thinly and he saw none. He must continue +to rely upon his own good lungs, strong muscles, and dauntless spirit. + +Dawn came, bathing the hills in gray light and unveiling the green of +the valleys below. Then the sun showed an edge of red fire in the east, +and the full day was at hand. Harry saw below him many horsemen in +smooth array. They seemed to have just started, as a huge campfire a +little further up the valley was still burning. + +To the weary and anxious boy it seemed a most gallant command, fresh +as the dawn, splendid horses, splendid men, overflowing with life and +strength and spirits. His eyes traveled to one who was a little in +advance of all the others, and rested there. The figure that held his +gaze was scarcely modern, it was more like that of a knight of old +romance. + +He saw a young man, tall, and built very powerfully, riding upon an +immense black horse. His hair and beard were long and thick, of a +golden brown that looked like pure flowing gold in the brilliant rays of +the young sun. His coat had two rows of shining brass buttons down the +front, and was sewn thickly with gold braid. Heavy gold braid covered +the seams of his trousers and a great sash of yellow silk was tied +around his waist. Spurs of gold gleamed in the sun. Long yellow gloves +covered his hands. His hat was of the finest felt, the brim pinned back +with a golden star, while a black ostrich plume waved over the crown. + +Harry gazed at this singular and striking figure with wonder. He had +seen in the pictures knights of old France wearing such a garb as this, +and yet it did not seem so strange here. These were strange times. +Everything was out of the normal, and the brilliant colors which would +have seemed so dandyish to him at other times appealed to him now. + +He suddenly recalled that these men were in gray uniforms, and he, too, +wore a gray uniform. They were his own people, cavalry of the Southern +army. Recovering his presence of mind, he ran forward, shouting and +waving his hands. The leader was the first to notice him and gave the +order to halt. The whole command stopped with beautiful precision, +the ranks remaining even. Then the leader, looking more than ever like +a mediaeval knight, rode slowly forward on his great black horse to meet +the youth who was running to meet him. + +When Harry came near he saw that the man was young, under thirty. +He gazed steadily at the boy out of deep blue eyes, and his hair and +beard rippled like molten gold under the light breeze. + +"Who are you?" he asked. + +"My name is Kenton, Henry Kenton, and I am a lieutenant in the regiment +of the Invincibles, commanded by Colonel Leonidas Talbot! We were sent +to take a fort on the other side of the mountain and took it, but the +regiment is besieged there by a much larger Northern force, and I came +through in the night for help." + +The man stroked his golden beard and a light leaped up in his eye. +Any dandyish or foppish quality that he might have seemed to have +disappeared at once, and Harry saw only the soldier. + +"Ah, I have heard of this expedition," he said, "and so the Invincibles +are in a trap. We had started on another errand, but we will go to the +relief of Colonel Talbot. My name is Stuart, lad, J. E. B. Stuart, +and this is my command." + +It was Harry's first meeting with the famous Jeb Stuart, the most +picturesque of all the Southern cavalry leaders, although not superior +to the illiterate man of genius, Forrest. Stuart inspired supreme +confidence in him. His manner, the very brilliancy of his clothes, +seemed to say that here was one who would dare anything. + +"We have some extra horses," said Stuart, "you shall mount one and guide +us." + +"The country is very difficult for cavalry," said Harry. "The slopes +are steep and are wooded heavily." + +"For ordinary cavalry, yes," replied Stuart, proudly, "but these +horsemen of mine can go anywhere. But we will not rely upon cavalry +alone. I will send two men at full speed to the main army for infantry +reinforcements. Meanwhile, we will hurry forward." + +Mounted on a good horse, Harry felt like a new being, and his spirits +rose rapidly as the whole troop set off at a swift pace. He rode by the +side of Stuart, who asked him many questions. Harry saw that he was not +only brilliant and dashing, but thorough. He was planning to relieve +Colonel Talbot, but he had no intention of dashing into a trap. + +Soon they were deep in the hills and here they picked up a weary youth, +dodging about among the trees. It was St. Clair. He had run the +gauntlet, but he had been pursued so hotly that he had been forced to +lie hidden in the forest a long time. He had made his uniform look as +spruce as possible and he held himself with dignity when the horsemen +approached, but he could not conceal the fact that he was exhausted. + +"I congratulate you, Harry," he said, when he also was astride a horse. +"It is likely that you are the only one who has got through so far. +I'm quite sure that Langdon was driven back, and I don't know what has +become of the others. But it was great luck to find such a command as +this." + +He looked somewhat enviously at Jeb Stuart's magnificent raiment, +and again pulled and brushed at his own. + +"You cannot expect to equal it," said Harry, smiling. + +"Not unless my opportunities improve greatly. I must say, also, that +the colors are a little too bright for me, although they suit him. +Everything must be in harmony, Harry, and it is certainly true of Stuart +and his uniform that they are in perfect accord. Good clothes, Harry, +give one courage and backbone." + +Stuart and his men continued to advance rapidly, although they were now +deep in the hills, and Harry realized to the full that it was a splendid +command, splendid men and splendid horses, led by a cavalryman of +genius. Stuart neglected no precaution. He sent scouts ahead and threw +out flankers. When they reached the forest the ranks opened out, and, +without losing touch, a thousand men rode among the trees as easily as +they had ridden in the open fields. + +They reached the crest of the last slope and Stuart, sitting his horse +with Harry and St. Clair on either side, looked through his glasses at +the valley below. + +"Our people still hold it," he said. "I can see their gray uniforms and +I have no doubt the besiegers are still in the forest. Yes, there's +their signal!" + +The heavy report of a cannon shot rolled up the valley and Harry saw a +shell burst over the fort. Carrington was still at work, playing upon +the nerves of the defenders. + +"While we have ridden through the forest," said Stuart, "a cavalry +charge here is not possible. We must dismount, leaving one man in every +ten to hold the horses, signal to Colonel Talbot that help has come, +and then attack on foot." + +A bugler advanced on horseback at Stuart's command, blew a long and +thrilling call, and then another man beside him broke out an immense +Confederate flag. + +"They see us in the fort and recognize us," said Stuart. "Hark to the +cheer!" + +The faint sound of many voices in unison came up from the valley, +and Harry knew it to be the Invincibles expressing joy that help had +come. The fort then opened with its own guns, and Stuart's dismounted +horsemen, who were armed with carbines, advanced through the forest, +using the trees for shelter, and attacking the Northern force on the +flank. They and the Invincibles together were not strong enough to +drive off the enemy, but the heavy skirmishing lasted until the middle +of the afternoon, when a whole brigade of infantry came up from the main +army. Then the Northern troops retreated slowly and defiantly, carrying +with them all their wounded and every gun. + +"I've got to take my hat off to the mill hands and mechanics," said +St. Clair. "I think, Harry, that if it hadn't been for your skill +and luck in getting through we would soon have been living our lives +according to their will." + +Colonel Talbot congratulated Harry, but his words were few. + +"Lad," he said, "you have done well." + +Then he and Stuart consulted. Harry, meanwhile, found Langdon, who had +been driven back, as St Clair had suspected. He had also sustained a +slight wound in the arm, but he was rejoicing over their final success. + +"Everything happens for the best," he said. "You might have been driven +back, Harry, as I was. You might not have met Stuart. This little +wound in my arm might have been a big one in my heart. But none of +those things happened. Here I am almost unhurt, and here we are +victorious." + +"Victorious, perhaps, but without spoils," said St. Clair. "We've got +this fort, but we know it will take a big force to keep it. I don't +like the way these mill hands and mechanics fight. They hang on too +long. After we drove them out of the fort they ought to have retreated +up the valley and left us in peace. If they act this way when they're +raw, what'll they do when they are seasoned?" + +After the conference with Colonel Talbot, Stuart and his cavalry pursued +the Northern force up the valley, not for attack, but for observation. +Stuart came back at nightfall and reported that their retreat was +covered by the heavy guns, and, if they were attacked with much success, +it must be done by at least five thousand men. + +"Carrington again," said Colonel Talbot, smiling and rubbing his hands. +"You and your horsemen, Stuart, could never get a chance at the Northern +recruits, unless you rode first over Carrington's guns. From whatever +point you approached their muzzles would be sure to face you." + +"The colonel is undoubtedly right about his friend Carrington," said +St. Clair to Harry and Langdon. "I guess those guns scared us more +than anything else." + +Stuart and his command left them about midnight. A brilliant moon and a +myriad of stars made the night so bright that Harry saw for a long time +the splendid man on the splendid horse, leading his men to some new +task. Then he lay down and slept heavily until dawn. They remained in +the fort two days longer, and then came an order from Beauregard for +them to abandon it, and rejoin the main army. The shifting of forces +had now made the place useless to either side, and the Invincibles and +their new comrades gladly marched back over the mountain and into the +lowlands. + +Harry found a letter from his father awaiting him. Colonel Kenton was +now in Tennessee, where he had been joined by a large number of recruits +from Kentucky. He would have preferred to have his son with him, +but he was far from sure of his own movements. The regiment might yet +be sent to the east. There was great uncertainty about the western +commanders, and the Confederate resistance there had not solidified as +it had in the east. + +Harry expected prompt action on the Virginia field, but it did not come. +The two armies lay facing each other for many days. June deepened and +the days grew hot. Off in the mountains to the west there were many +skirmishes, with success divided about equally. So far as Harry could +tell, these encounters meant nothing. Their own battle at the fort +meant nothing, either. The fort was now useless, and the two sides +faced each other as before. Some of the Invincibles, however, were +gone forever. Harry missed young comrades whom he had learned to like. +But in the great stir of war, when one day in its effects counted as ten, +their memories faded fast. It was impossible, when a boy was a member +of a great army facing another great army, to remember the fallen long. +Although the long summer days passed without more fighting, there was +something to do every hour. New troops were arriving almost daily and +they must be broken in. Intrenchments were dug and abandoned for new +intrenchments elsewhere, which were abandoned in their turn for +intrenchments yet newer. They moved to successive camps, but meanwhile +they became physically tougher and more enduring. + +The life in the open air agreed with Harry wonderfully. He had already +learned from Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire how to +take care of himself, and he and St. Clair and Langdon suffered from +none of the diseases to which young soldiers are so susceptible. +But the long delays and uncertainties preyed upon them, although they +made no complaint except among themselves, and then they showed irony +rather than irritation. + +"Sleeping out here under the trees is good," said Langdon, "but it isn't +like sleeping in the White House at Washington, which, as I told you +before, I've chosen as my boarding house for the coming autumn." + +"There may be a delay in your plans, Tom," said Harry. "I'd make them +flexible if I were you." + +"I intend to carry 'em out sooner or later. What's that you're reading, +Arthur?" + +"A New York newspaper. I won't let you see it, Tom, but I'll read +portions of it to you. I'll have to expurgate it or you'd have a rush +of blood to the head, you're so excitable. It makes a lot of fun of us. +Tells that old joke, 'hay foot, straw foot,' when we drill. Says the +Yankees now have three hundred thousand men under the best of commanders, +and that the Yankee fleet will soon close up all our ports. Says a belt +of steel will be stretched about us." + +"Then," said Langdon, "just as soon as they get that belt of steel +stretched we'll break it in two in a half dozen places. But go on with +those feats of fancy that you're reading from that paper." + +"Makes fun of our government. Says McDowell will be in Richmond in a +month." + +"Just the time that Tom gives himself to get into Washington," +interrupted Harry. "But go on." + +"Makes fun of our army, too, especially of us South Carolinians. +Says we've brought servants along to spread tents for us, load our guns +for us, and take care of us generally. Says that even in war we won't +work." + +"They're right, so far as Tom is concerned," said Harry. "We're going +to give him a watch as the laziest man among the Invincibles." + +"It's not laziness, it's wisdom," said Langdon. "What's the use of +working when you don't have to, especially in a June as hot as this one +is? I conserve my energy. Besides, I'm going to take care of myself +in ways that you fellows don't know anything about. Watch me." + +He took his clasp-knife and dug a little hole in the ground. Then he +repeated over it solemnly and slowly: + + "God made man and man made money; + God made the bee and the bee made honey; + God made Satan and Satan made sin; + God made a little hole to put the devil in." + +"What do you mean by that, Tom?" asked Harry. "I learned it from some +fellows over in a Maryland company. It's a charm that the children in +that state have to ward off evil. I've a great belief in the instincts +of children, and I'm protecting myself against cannon and rifles in the +battle that's bound to come. Say, you fellows do it, too. I'm not +superstitious, I wouldn't dream of depending on such things, but anyway, +a charm don't hurt. Now go ahead; just to oblige me." + +Harry and St. Clair dug their holes and repeated the lines. Langdon +sighed with relief. + +"It won't do any harm and it may do some good," he said. + +They were interrupted by an orderly who summoned Harry to Colonel +Talbot's tent. The colonel had complimented the boy on his energy +and courage in bringing Stuart to his relief, when he was besieged +in the fort, and he had also received the official thanks of General +Beauregard. Proud of his success, he was anxious for some new duty +of an active nature, and he hoped that it was at hand. Langdon and +St. Clair looked at him enviously. + +"He ought to have sent for us, too," said Langdon. "Colonel Talbot has +too high an opinion of you, Harry." + +"I've been lucky," said Harry, as he walked lightly away. He found that +Colonel Talbot was not alone in his tent. General Beauregard was there +also. "You have proved yourself, Lieutenant Kenton," said General +Beauregard in flattering and persuasive tones. "You did well in the far +south and you performed a great service when you took relief to Colonel +Talbot. For that reason we have chosen you for a duty yet more arduous." + +Beauregard paused as if he were weighing the effect of his words upon +Harry. He had a singular charm of manner when he willed and now he used +it all. Colonel Talbot looked keenly at the boy. + +"You have shown coolness and judgment," continued Beauregard, "and they +are invaluable qualities for such a task as the one we wish you to +perform." + +"I shall do my best, whatever it is," said Harry, proudly. + +"You know that we have spent the month of June here, waiting," continued +General Beauregard in those soft, persuasive tones, "and that the +fighting, what there is of it, has been going on in the mountains to the +west. But this state of affairs cannot endure much longer. We have +reason to believe that the Northern advance in great force will soon +be made, but we wish to know, meanwhile, what is going on behind their +lines, what forces are coming down from Washington, what is the state of +their defenses, and any other information that you may obtain. If you +can get through their lines you can bring us news which may have vital +results." + +He paused and looked thoughtfully at the boy. His manner was that of +one conferring a great honor, and the impression upon Harry was strong. +But he remembered. This was the duty of a spy, or something like it. +He recalled Shepard and the risk he ran. Spies die ingloriously. +Yet he might do a great service. Beauregard read his mind. + +"We ask you to be a scout, not a spy," he said. "You may ride in your +own uniform, and, if you are taken, you will merely be a prisoner of +war." + +Harry's last doubt disappeared. + +"I will do my best, sir," he said. + +"No one can do more," said Beauregard. + +"When do you wish me to start?" + +"As soon as you can get ready. How long will that be? Your horse will +be provided for you." + +"In a half hour." + +"Good," said Beauregard. "Now, I will leave you with Colonel Talbot, +who will give you a few parting instructions." + +He left the tent, but, as he went, gave Harry a strong clasp of the hand. + +"Now, my boy," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot, when they were alone in the +tent, "I've but little more to say to you. It is an arduous task that +you've undertaken, and one full of danger. You must temper courage +with caution. You will be of no use to our cause unless you come back. +And, Harry, you are your father's son; I want to see you come back for +your own sake, too. Good-bye, your horse will be waiting." + +Harry quickly made ready. St. Clair and Langdon, burning with curiosity, +besieged him with questions, but he merely replied that he was riding on +an errand for Colonel Talbot. He did not know when he would come back, +but if it should be a long time they must not forget him. + +"A long time?" said St. Clair. "A long time, Harry, means that you've +got a dangerous mission. We'll wish you safely through it, old fellow." + +"And don't forget the charm!" exclaimed Langdon. "Of course I don't +believe in such foolishness, I wouldn't think of it for a minute, but, +anyway, they don't do any harm. Good-bye and God bless you, Harry." + +"The same from me, Harry," said St. Clair. + +The strong grip of their hands still thrilled his blood as he rode away. +His pass carried him through the Southern lines, and then he went toward +the northwest, intending to pass through the hills, and reach the rear +of the Northern force. He carried no rifle, and his gray uniform, +somewhat faded now, would not attract distant attention. Still, he did +not care to be observed even by non-combatants, and he turned his horse +into the first stretch of forest that he could reach. + +Harry, being young, felt the full importance of his errand, but it was +vague in its nature. He was to follow his own judgment and discover +what was going on between the Northern army and Washington, no very +great distance. When he was well hidden within the forest he stopped +and considered. He might meet Federal scouts on errands like his own, +but the horse they had given him was a powerful animal, and he had +good weapons in his belt. It was Virginia soil, too, and the people, +generally, were in sympathy with the South. He relied upon this fact +more than upon any other. + +The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest of +a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin for +profitable cultivation. Yet the growth of trees and bushes was heavy, +and Harry decided to keep in the middle of it, as long as it continued +northward in the direction in which he was going. He found a narrow +path among the trees, and with his hand on a pistol butt he rode +along it. + +He expected to meet some one, but evidently the war had driven away all +who used the path, and he continued in a welcome silence and desolation. +Coming from an army where he always heard many sounds, this silence +impressed him at last. Here in the woods there was a singular peace. +The June sun had been hot that year in Virginia, but in the sheltered +places the leaves were not burned. A moist, fresh greenness enclosed +him and presently he heard the trickle of running water. + +He came to a little brook, not more than a foot wide and only two or +three inches deep, but running joyfully over its pebbly bottom. Both +Harry and his horse drank of the water, which was cold, and then they +went with the stream, which followed the slow downward slope of the hill +toward the north. After a mile, he turned to the edge of the forest and +looked over the valley. He caught his breath at the great panorama of +green hills and of armies upon them that was spread out before him. +Down there under the southern horizon were the long lines of his own +people, and toward Washington, but much nearer to him, were the lines +of a detachment of the Northern army. Between, he caught the flash of +water from Bull Run, Young's Branch and the lesser streams. Behind the +Northern force the sun glinted on a long line of bayonets and he knew +that it was made by a regiment marching to join the others. The +spectacle, with all the somber aspects of war, softened by the distance, +was inspiring. Harry drew a long breath and then another. It was in +truth more like a spectacle than war's actuality. He counted five +colonial houses, white and pillared, standing among green trees and +shrubbery. Smoke was rising from their chimneys, as if the people who +lived in them were going about their peaceful occupations. + +He turned back into the forest, and rode until he came to its end, +two or three miles further on. Here the brook darted down through +pasture land to merge its waters finally into those of Bull Run. +Harry left it regretfully. It had been a good comrade with its pleasant +chatter over the pebbles. + +Two miles of open country lay before him, and beyond was another cloak +of trees. He decided to ride for the forest, and remain there until +dark. He would not then be more than fifteen miles from Washington, +and he could make the remaining distance under the cover of darkness. +He followed a narrow road between two fields, in one of which he saw a +farmer ploughing, an old man, gnarled and knotty, whose mind seemed bent +wholly upon his work. He was ploughing young corn, and although he +could not keep from seeing Harry, he took no apparent notice of him. + +The boy rode on, but the picture of the grim old man ploughing between +the two armies lingered with him. The fence enclosing the two fields +was high, staked, and ridered, and presently he was glad of it. He +beheld on a hill to his right, about a half mile away, four horsemen, +and the color of their uniforms was blue. He bent low over his horse +that they might not see him, and rode on, the pulses in his temples +beating heavily. He was glad that gray was not an assertive color, +and he was glad that his own gray had been faded by the hot June sun. + +Half way to the protecting wood he saw one of the men on the hill, +undoubtedly an officer, put glasses to his eyes. Harry was sure at +first that he had been discovered, but the man turned the glasses on +Beauregard's camp, and the boy rode on unnoticed, praying that the +same luck would attend him in the other half of the distance. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +IN WASHINGTON + + +A quarter of a mile from the forest, the wood ascended considerably, +throwing him into relief. He felt some shivers here, as he did not know +who might be watching him. Field glasses were ugly things when a man +was trying to hide. He glanced at the little group that he had seen +on the hill, and he noticed now that the officer with the glasses was +looking at him. But Harry was a long distance away, and he had the +courage and prudence of mind to keep from falling into a panic. He did +not believe that they could tell the color of his uniform at that range, +but if he whipped his horse into a gallop, pursuit would certainly come +from somewhere. + +He rode slowly on, letting his figure sway negligently, and he did not +look back again at the group on the hill, where the officer was watching +him. But he looked from side to side, fearing that horsemen in blue +might appear galloping across the fields. It was a supreme test of +nerve and will. More than once he felt an almost irresistible +temptation to lash his horse and gallop for the wood as hard as he +could. That wood seemed wonderfully deep and dark, fit to hide any +fugitive. But it had acquired an extraordinary habit of moving further +and further away. He had to exert his will so hard that his hand fairly +trembled on his bridle rein. Yet he remained master of himself, and +went on sitting the saddle in the slouchy attitude that he had adopted +when he knew himself to be observed. + +The wood was only three or four hundred yards away, when far to his left +he saw several horsemen appear on a slope, and he was quite sure that +their uniforms were blue. The distance to the wood was now so short +that the temptation to gallop was powerful, but he still resisted. +Pride, too, helped him and he did not increase the pace of his horse a +particle. He saw the dark, cool shadow very near now, and he thought he +heard one of the new horsemen on his left shout to him. But he would +not look around. Preserving appearances to the last, he rode into the +forest, and its heavy shadows enveloped him. + +He stopped a moment under the trees and wiped the perspiration from his +forehead. He was also seized with a violent fit of trembling, but it +was over in a half minute, and then turning his horse from the path he +rode into the densest part of the forest. + +Harry felt an immense relief. He knew that he might be followed, +but he did not consider it probable. It was more than likely that he +passed for some countryman riding homeward. Martial law had not yet +covered all the hills with a network of iron rules. So he rode on +boldly, and he noticed with satisfaction that the forest seemed to be +extensive and dense. Night, heavy with clouds, was coming, too, and +soon he would be so well hidden that only chance would enable an enemy +to find him. + +In a half hour he stopped and took his bearings as best he could. +It seemed to be a wild bit of country. He judged that it was ground +cropped too much in early times, and left to grow into wilderness again. +He was not likely to find anything in it save a hut or two of charcoal +burners. It was a lonely region, very desolate now, with the night +birds calling. The clouds grew heavier and he would have been glad of +shelter, but he put down the wish, recalling to himself with a sort of +fierceness that he was a soldier and must scorn such things. Moreover, +it behooved him to make most of his journey in the night, and this +forest, which ran almost to Washington, seemed to be provided for his +approach. + +He had fixed the direction of Washington firmly in his mind, and having +a good idea of location, he kept his horse going at a good walk toward +his destination. As his eyes, naturally strong, grew used to the forest, +and his horse was sure of foot, they were able to go through the bushes +without much trouble. He stopped at intervals to listen for a possible +enemy--or friend--but heard nothing except the ordinary sounds of the +forest. + +By and by a wind rose and blew all the clouds away. A shining moon and +a multitude of brilliant stars sprang out. Just then Harry came to a +hillock, clear of trees, with the ground dipping down beyond. He rode +to the highest point of the hillock and looked toward the east into a +vast open world, lighted by the moon and stars. Off there just under +the horizon he caught a gleam of white and he knew instinctively what +it was. It was the dome of the Capitol in that city which was now the +capital of the North alone. It was miles away, but he saw it and his +heart thrilled. He forgot, for the moment, that by his own choice it +was no longer his own. + +Harry sat on his horse and looked a long time at that far white glow, +deep down under the horizon. There was the capital of his own country, +the real capital. Somehow he could not divest himself of that idea, +and he looked until mists and vapors began to float up from the lowlands, +and the white gleam was lost behind them. Then he rode on slowly and +thoughtfully, trying to think of a plan that would bring rich rewards +for the cause for which he was going to fight. + +He had discovered something already. He had seen the bayonets of a +regiment marching to join the Northern army, and he had no doubt that he +would see others. Perhaps they would consider themselves strong enough +in a day or two to attack. It was for him to learn. He was back in the +forest and he now turned his course more toward the east. By dawn he +would be well in the rear of the Northern army, and he must judge then +how to act. + +But all his calculations were upset by a very simple thing, one of +Nature's commonest occurrences--rain. The heavy clouds that had +gathered early in the night were gone away merely for a time. Now they +came back in battalions, heavier and more numerous than ever. The +shining moon and the brilliant stars were blotted out as if they had +never been. A strong wind moaned and a cold rain came pouring into +his face. The blanket that he carried on his saddle, and which he +now wrapped around him, could not protect him. The fierce rain drove +through it and he was soaked and shivering. The darkness, too, was so +great that he could see only a few yards before him, and he let the +horse take his course. + +Harry thought grimly that he was indeed well hidden in the forest. +He was so well hidden that he was lost even to himself. In all that +darkness and rain he could not retain the sense of direction, and he had +no idea where he was. He rambled about for hours, now and then trying +to find shelter behind massive tree trunks, and, after every failure, +going on in the direction in which he thought Washington lay. His +shivering became so strong that he was afraid it would turn into a real +chill, and he resolved to seek a roof, if the forest should hold such a +thing. + +It was nearly dawn when he saw dimly the outlines of a cabin standing +in a tiny clearing. He believed it to be the hut of a charcoal burner, +and he was resolved to take any risk for the sake of its roof. He +dismounted and beat heavily upon the door with the butt of a pistol. +The answer was so long in coming that he began to believe the hut was +empty, which would serve his purpose best of all, but at last a voice, +thick with sleep, called: "Who's there?" + +"I'm lost and I need shelter," Harry replied. + +"Wait a minute," returned the voice. + +Harry, despite the beat of the rain, heard a shuffling inside, and then, +through a crack in the door, he saw a light spring up. He hoped the +owner of the voice would hurry. The rain seemed to be beating harder +than ever upon him and the cold was in his bones. Then the door was +thrown back suddenly and an uncommonly sharp voice shouted: + +"Drop the reins! Throw up your hands an' walk in, where I kin see what +you are!" + +Harry found himself looking into the muzzle of an old-fashioned +long-barreled rifle. But the hammer was cocked, and it was held by a +pair of large, calloused, and steady hands, belonging to a tall, thin +man with powerful shoulders and a bearded face. + +There was no help for it. The boy dropped the reins, raised his hands +over his head and walked into the hut, where the rain at least did not +reach him. It was a rude place of a single room, with a fire-place at +one end, a bed in a corner, a small pine table on which a candle burned, +and clothing and dried herbs hanging from hooks on the wall. The man +wore only a shirt and trousers, and he looked unkempt and wild, but he +was a resolute figure. + +"Stand over thar, close to the light, whar I kin see you," he said. + +Harry moved over, and the muzzle of the rifle followed him. The man +could look down the sights of his rifle and at the same time examine his +visitor, which he did with thoroughness. + +"Now, then, Johnny Reb," he said, "what are you doin' here this time o' +night an' in such weather as this, wakin' honest citizens out o' their +beds?" + +"Nothing but stand before the muzzle of your rifle." + +The man grinned. The answer seemed to appeal to him, and he lowered the +weapon, although he did not relax his watchfulness. + +"I got the drop on you, Johnny Reb; you're boun' to admit that," he +said. "You didn't ketch Seth Perkins nappin'." + +"I admit it. But why do you call me Johnny Reb?" + +"Because that's what you are. You can't tell much about the color of +a man's coat after it's been through sech a big rain, but I know yourn +is gray. I ain't takin' no part in this war. They've got to fight it +as best they kin without me. I'm jest an innercent charcoal burner, +'bout the most innercent that ever lived, I guess, but atween you an' me, +Johnny Reb, my feelin's lean the way my state, Old Virginny, leans, +that is, to the South, which I reckon is lucky fur you." + +Harry saw that the man had blue eyes and he saw, too, that they were +twinkling. He knew with infallible instinct that he was honest and +truthful. + +"It's true," he said. "I'm a Southern soldier, and I'm in your hands." + +"I see that you trust me, an' I think I kin trust you. Jest you wait +'til I put that hoss o' yourn in the lean-to behind the cabin." + +He darted out of the door and returned in a minute shaking the water +from his body. + +"That hoss feels better already," he said, "an' you will, too, soon. +Now, I shet this door, then I kindle up the fire ag'in, then you take +off your clothes an' put them an' yo'self afore the blaze. In time you +an' your clothes are all dry." + +The man's manner was all kindness, and the poor little cabin had become +a palace. He blew at the coals, threw on dry pine knots, and in a few +minutes the flames roared up the chimney. + +Harry took off his wet clothing, hung it on two cane chairs before the +fire and then proceeded to roast himself. Warmth poured back into his +body and the cold left his bones. Despite his remonstrances, Perkins +took a pot out of his cupboard and made coffee. Harry drank two cups of +it, and he knew now that the danger of chill, to be followed by fever, +was gone. + +"Mr. Perkins," he said at length, "you are an angel." + +Perkins laughed. + +"Mebbe I air," he said, "but I 'low I don't look like one. Guess ef I +went up an' tried to j'in the real angels Gabriel would say, 'Go back, +Seth Perkins, an' improve yo'self fur four or five thousand years afore +you try to keep comp'ny like ours.' But now, Johnny Reb, sence you're +feelin' a heap better you might tell what you wuz tryin' to do, prowlin' +roun' in these woods at sech a time." + +"I meant to go behind the Yankee army, see what reinforcements were +coming up, find out their plans, if I could, and report to our general." + +Perkins whistled softly. + +"Say," he said, "you look like a boy o' sense. What are you wastin' +your time in little things fur? Couldn't you find somethin' bigger an' +a heap more dangerous that would stir you up an' give you action?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I was set to do this task, Mr. Perkins," he said, "and I mean to do it." + +"That shows good sperrit, but ef I wuz set to do it I wouldn't. Do you +know whar you are an' what's around you, Johnny Reb?" + +"No, I don't." + +"Wa'al, you're right inside o' the Union lines. The armies o' Patterson +an' McDowell hem in all this forest, an' I reckon mebbe it wuz a good +thing fur you that the storm came up an' you got past in it. Wuz you +expectin', Johnny Reb, to ride right into the Yankee pickets with that +Confedrit uniform on?" + +"I don't know exactly what I intended to do. I meant to see in the +morning. I didn't know I was so far inside their lines." + +"You know it now, an' if you're boun' to do what you say you're settin' +out to do, then you've got to change clothes. Here, I'll take these an' +hide 'em." + +He snatched Harry's uniform from the chair, ran up a ladder into a +little room under the eaves, and returned with some rough garments under +his arm. + +"These are my Sunday clothes," he said. "You're pow'ful big fur your +years, an' they'll come purty nigh fittin' you. Leastways, they'll fit +well enough fur sech times ez these. Now you wear 'em, ef you put any +value on your life." + +Harry hesitated. He wished to go as a scout, and not as a spy. Clothes +could not change a man, but they could change his standing. Yet the +words of Perkins were obviously true. But he would not go back. +He must do his task. + +"I'll take your clothes on one condition, Mr. Perkins," he said, "you +must let me pay for them." + +"Will it make you feel better to do so?" + +"A great deal better." + +"All right, then." + +Harry took from his saddle bags the purse which he had removed from his +coat pocket when he undressed, and handed a ten dollar gold piece to the +charcoal burner. + +"What is it?" asked the charcoal burner. + +"A gold eagle, ten dollars." + +"I've heard of 'em, but it's the first I've ever seed. I'm bound to say +I regard that shinin' coin with a pow'ful sight o' respeck. But if I +take it I'm makin' three dollars. Them clothes o' mine jest cost seven +dollars an' I've wore 'em four times." + +"Count the three dollars in for shelter and gratitude and remember, +you've made your promise." + +Perkins took the coin, bit it, pitched it up two or three times, +catching it as it fell, and then put it upon the hearth, where the +blaze could gleam upon it. + +"It's shorely a shiner," he said, "an' bein' that it's the first I've +ever had, I reckon I'll take good care of it. Wait a minute." + +He picked up the coin again, ran up the ladder into the dark eaves of +the house, and came back without it. + +"Now, Johnny Reb," he said, "put on my clothes and see how you feel." + +Harry donned the uncouth garb, which fitted fairly well after he had +rolled up the trousers a little. + +"You'd pass for a farmer," said Perkins. "I fed your hoss when I put +him up, an' as soon as the rain's over you kin start ag'in, a sight +safer than you wuz when you wore that uniform. Ef you come back this +way ag'in I'll give it to you. Now, you'd better take a nap. I'll call +you when the rain stops." + +Harry felt that he had indeed fallen into the hands of a friend, and +stretching himself on a pallet which the charcoal burner spread in front +of the fire, he soon fell asleep. He awoke when Perkins shook his +shoulder and found that it was dawn. + +"The rain's stopped, day's come an' I guess you'd better be goin'" +said the man. "I've got breakfast ready for you, an' I hope, boy, +that you'll get through with a whole skin. I said that both sides would +have to fight this war without my help, but I don't mind givin' a boy +a hand when he needs it." + +Harry did not say much, but he was deeply grateful. After breakfast he +mounted his horse, received careful directions from Perkins and rode +toward Washington. The whole forest was fresh and green after its heavy +bath, and birds, rejoicing in the morning, sang in every bush. Harry's +elation returned. Clothes impart a certain quality, and, dressed in +a charcoal burner's Sunday best, he began to bear himself like one. +He rode in a slouchy manner, and he transferred the pistols from his +belt to the large inside pockets of his new coat. As he passed in an +hour from the forest into a rolling open country, he saw that Perkins +had advised him wisely. Dressed in the Confederate uniform he would +certainly have had trouble before he made the first mile. + +He saw the camps of troops both to right and left and he knew that these +were the flank of the Northern army. Then from the crest of another +hill he caught his second view of Washington. The gleam from the dome +of the Capitol was much more vivid now, and he saw other white buildings +amid the foliage. Since he had become technically a spy through the +mere force of circumstances, Harry took a daring resolve. He would +enter Washington itself. They were all one people, Yanks and Johnny +Rebs, and no one could possibly know that he was from the Southern army. +Only one question bothered him. He did not know what to do with the +horse. + +But he rode briskly ahead, trusting that the problem of the horse would +solve itself, and, as he turned a field, several men in blue uniforms +rode forward and ordered him to halt. Harry obeyed promptly. + +"Where are you going?" asked the leading man, a minor officer. + +"To Washin'ton," replied the boy in the uncouth language that he thought +fitted his role. + +"And what are you going to Washington for?" + +"To sell this hoss," replied Harry, on the impulse of the moment. +"I raised him myself, but he's too fine fur me to ride, specially when +hosses are bringin' sech good prices." + +"He is a fine animal," said the officer, looking at him longingly. +"Do you want to sell him now?" + +Harry shook his head. + +"No," he replied. "I'm goin' to make one o' them big bugs in Washin'ton +pay fur him an' pay fur him good." + +The officer laughed. + +"You're not such a simpleton as you look," he said. "You're right. +They'll pay you more for him in the capital than I could. Ride on. +They may pass you over Long Bridge or they may not. That part of it +is not my business." + +Harry went forward at a trot, glad enough to leave such dangerous +company behind. But he saw that he was now in the very thick of mighty +risks. He would encounter a menace at every turn. Had he realized +fully the character of his undertaking when he was in the charcoal +burner's hut he would have hesitated long. Now, there was nothing to +do but go ahead and take his fate, whatever it might be. + +Yet his tale of wishing to sell a horse served him well. After a few +questions, it passed him by a half dozen interruptions, and he became so +bold that he stopped and bought food for his noon-day meal at a little +wayside tavern kept by a woman. Three or four countrymen were lounging +about and all of them were gossips. But Harry found it worth while to +listen to their gossip. It was their business to carry vegetables and +other provisions into Washington for sale and they picked up much news. +They said that the Northern government was pushing all its troops to the +front. All the politicians and writers in Washington were clamoring for +a battle. One blow and "Jeff Davis and Secession" would be smashed to +atoms. Harry's young blood flamed at the contemptuous words, but he +could not afford to show any resentment. Yet this was valuable +information. He could confirm Beauregard's belief that an attack would +soon be made in great force. + +When Harry left them he turned again to the left, as he saw a stretch of +country rolling and apparently wooded lying in that direction. Once, +when a young boy, he had come to Washington with his father for a stay +of several weeks, and he had a fair acquaintance with the region about +the capital. He knew that forested hills lay ahead of him and beyond +them the Potomac. + +In another hour he was in the hills, which he found without people. +Through every opening in the leaves he saw Washington and he could also +discern long lines of redoubts on the Virginia side of the river. + +Late in the afternoon he came to a small, abandoned log cabin. He +inferred that its owner had moved away because of the war. As nearly as +he could judge it had not been occupied for several weeks. Back of it +was a small meadow enclosed with a rail fence, but everything else was +deep woods. He turned his horse into the meadow and left his saddle, +bridle and saddle blanket in the house. He might not find anything when +he returned, but he must take the risk. + +Then he set off at a brisk pace through the woods, which opened out a +little after dusk, and disclosed a great pillared white house, with +surrounding outbuildings. He knew at once that this was Arlington, +the home of one of the Southern generals, Lee, of whom he had heard his +father speak well. + +But he also saw, despite the dusk, blue uniforms and the gleam of +bayonets. And as he looked he saw, too, earthworks and the signs that +many men were present. He lay long among the bushes until the night +thickened and darkened and he resolved to inspect the earthworks +thoroughly. No very strict watch seemed to be kept, and, in truth, +it did not seem to be needed here so near to Washington, and so far +away from the Southern army. + +Before ten o'clock everything settled into quiet, and he cautiously +climbed a great beech which was in full and deep foliage. The boughs +were so many and the leaves so dense that one standing directly under +him could not have seen him. But he went up as far as he could go, and, +crouched there, made a comprehensive survey. + +It was a fine moonlight night and he saw the earthworks stretching for a +long distance, thorough and impregnable to anything except a great army. +Beyond that was a silver band which was the Potomac, and beyond the +river were the clustered roofs which were Washington. But he turned his +eyes back to the earthworks, and he tried to fasten firmly in his mind +their number and location. This, too, would be important news, most +welcome to Beauregard. + +The boy's elation grew. They had given him a delicate and dangerous +task, but he was doing it. He had overcome every obstacle so far, +and he would overcome them to the end. He was bound to enter that +Washington which, in the distance, seemed to lie in such a close cluster. + +He felt that he had lingered long enough at Arlington, and, descending, +he made a great curve around the earthworks, coming to the river north +of Arlington. His next problem was the passage of the Potomac. He did +not dare to try Long Bridge, which he knew would be guarded strictly, +but he thought he might find some boatman who would take him over. +As the capital was so crowded, the farmers were continually crossing +with loads of provisions, and now that an uncommonly hot July had come +the night would be a favorite time for the passage. + +A search up and down the bank brought its reward. A Virginian, who said +his name was Grimes, had a heavy boat filled with vegetables, and Harry +was welcome as a helper. + +"It's a dollar for you," said Grimes, who did not trouble to ask the boy +his name, "an' here are your oars." + +The two, pulling strongly, shot the boat out into the stream, and then +rowed in a diagonal line for the city, which rose up brilliant and great +in the moonlight. Other boats were in the river, but they paid no +attention to the barge, loaded with produce, and rowed by two innocent +countrymen. They soon reached the Washington shore, and Grimes handed +Harry a silver dollar. + +"You're a strong young fellow," he said, "an' I guess you've earned the +money. My farm is only four miles up the river an' thar's goin' to be a +big market for all I kin raise. I need a good han' to help me work it. +How'd you like to come with me an' take a good job, while them that +don't know no better go ahead an' do the fightin'?" + +"Thank you for your offer," replied Harry, "but I've got business to +attend to in Washington." + +He slipped the dollar into his pocket, because he had earned it honestly, +and entered Washington, just as the rising sun began to gild domes and +roofs. Coming from the boat, his appearance aroused no suspicion. +People were pouring into Washington then as they were pouring into the +Confederate capital at Richmond. One dressed as he, and looking as he, +could enter or depart almost as he pleased, despite the ring of +fortifications. + +Up went the sun, and the full day came, extremely hot and clear. +Harry turned into a little restaurant, and spent half of his well-earned +dollar for breakfast. Neither proprietor nor waiter gave him more +than a casual glance. Evidently they were used to serving countrymen. +Harry, feeling refreshed and strong again, paid for his food and went +outside. + +The streets were thronged. He had expected nothing else, but there was +a great air of excitement and expectancy as if something important were +going to happen. + +"What is it?" asked Harry of a man beside him. + +"Don't you know what day this is?" asked the man. + +"I've forgot," replied the boy in the slouchy speech and intonation of +the hills. "I jest came in with dad this mornin', bringin' a wagon load +of fresh vegetables." + +"You look as foolish as you talk," said the man scornfully. "This +is the Fourth of July, and the special session of Congress called by +President Lincoln is to meet this morning and decide how to give the +rebels the thrashing they need." + +"I did hear somethin' about that," replied Harry, "but workin' in the +field I furgot all about it. I 'low I'll stroll that way." + +He drifted on with the crowd toward the Capitol, which rose nobler and +more imposing than ever, a great marble building, gleaming white in the +sunshine. Harry's heart throbbed. He could not yet dissociate himself +from the idea that he, as one of the nation, was a part owner of the +Capitol. But, forgetting all danger, he persisted in his errand. +A great event was about to occur, and he intended to see it. + +There were soldiers everywhere. The streets blazed with uniforms, +but the people were allowed to gather about the Capitol and many also +entered. A friendly sentinel passed Harry, who stood for a few moments +in the rotunda. He was careful to keep near other spectators, in order +that he might not attract attention to himself. + +All things that he saw cut sharply into his sensitive and eager mind. +It was in truth an extraordinary situation for one who had come as he +had come, and he waited, calm of face, but with every pulse beating. +The comments of the other spectators told him who the famous men were +as they entered. Here were Cameron and Wade of the lowering brows. +There passed Taney, the venerable Chief Justice, and then dry and quiet +Hamlin, the Vice-President, on his way to preside over the Senate, +went by. A tall and magnificent figure in a general's uniform next +attracted Harry's attention. He was an old man, but he held himself +very erect and his head was crowned with splendid snowy hair. + +"Old Fuss and Feathers," said a man near Harry, and the boy knew that +this was General Scott, the Virginian, who had led the famous and +victorious march into the City of Mexico, and who was now in name, +but in name only, commander of the Northern army. His father had served +under him in those memorable battles and Harry looked at him with a +certain veneration, as the old man passed on and disappeared in another +room. Then came more, some famous and others destined to be so. + +The atmosphere of the great building was surcharged. Harry and his +comrades had heard that the North was discouraged, that the people +would not fight, that they would "let the erring sisters go in peace." +It did not seem so to him here. The talk was all of war and of invading +the South, and he seemed to feel a tenacious spirit behind it. + +He managed to secure entrance to the lobbies of both Senate and House, +and he listened for a while to the debates. He discovered the same +spirit there. He felt that he had a right to report not only on the +forts of Washington and the movements of brigades, but also on the +temper in the North. Resolution and tenacity, he now saw, were worth +as much as cannon balls. + +Harry did not leave the Capitol until the middle of the afternoon, +when he drifted back to the restaurant at which he had obtained his +breakfast, where he spent the other half of the dollar for luncheon. +Then he resolved to escape from Washington that night. He had picked up +by casual talk and observation together a fair knowledge of Washington's +defenses. Above all he had learned that the North was pouring troops in +an unbroken stream into the capital, and that the great advance on the +line of Bull Run would take place very soon. He could scarcely expect +to achieve more; he had already surpassed his hopes, and it was surely +time to go. + +He left the restaurant. The streets were still crowded, and he saw +standing at the nearest corner a figure that seemed familiar. He took a +long look, and then he was shaken with alarm. It was Shepard. He had +seen him under such tense conditions that he could never forget the man. +The turn of his shoulders, the movement of his head--all were familiar. +And Harry had a great respect for the keenness and intelligence of +Shepard. He could not forget how Shepard had talked to him that night +in Montgomery. There was something uncanny about the man, and he had a +sudden conviction that Shepard had seen him long since and was watching +him. He thrust his hands into his capacious pockets. The pistols were +still there, and he resolved that he would use them if need be. + +He went at first toward the Potomac, and he did not look back for a +long time, rambling about the streets in a manner apparently aimless. +Now and then a quiver ran down his back, and he knew it was due to the +mental fear that Shepard was pursuing. When he did look back at last he +did not see him, and he felt immediate elation. It would not be long +now until dark, and then he would make his escape across the river. + +Time was slow, but it could not keep darkness back forever, and, as soon +as it had come fully, he turned toward the north. Southern troops would +not be looked for there, and egress would be easier in that direction. +He passed on without interruption and soon was in the suburbs, which +were then so shabby. Then he looked back, and cold fear plucked at the +roots of his hair. A man was following him, and he could tell even in +the dim light that it was Shepard. + +A shudder shook him now. A rope was the fate for a spy. But he +recovered himself and walked on faster than ever. The cabins thinned +away, and he saw before him bushes. His keen hearing brought to him +the soft sound of the pursuing footsteps. Now he took his resolution. +There were few games at which two could not play. + +He passed between two bushes, came around and returned to the open. +But he returned with one of the pistols cocked and levelled, his finger +on the trigger. Shepard, pursuing swiftly, walked almost against the +muzzle, and Harry laughed softly. + +"Well, Mr. Shepard," he said, "you've followed me well, but as I've no +mind to be hung for a spy or anything else, I must ask you to go back." + +"You have the advantage at present, it is true," said Shepard, "but what +makes you think I was going to shoot at you or have you seized?" + +"Isn't it what one would naturally expect?" + +"Yes--perhaps. But I could have given the alarm while you were still in +the city. I speak the truth when I say I do not know just what I had +in mind. But at all events the tables are turned. You hold me at the +pistol's muzzle and I admit it." + +He smiled and the boy could not keep from liking him. + +"Mr. Shepard," said Harry, "what you told me at Montgomery was true. +We of the South did not realize the numbers, power and spirit of the +North. I know now the truth of what you told me, but, on the other hand, +you of the North do not realize the fire, courage and devotion of the +South." + +"I understand it, but I'm afraid that not many of our people do so. +Suppose we call it quits once more. Let this be Montgomery over again. +You do not want to shoot me here any more than I wanted to shoot you +down there." + +"I admit that also," said Harry. + +"Then you are safe from me, if I'm safe from you." + +"Agreed," said Harry, as he lowered the weapon. + +"Good-bye," said Shepard. + +"Good-bye." + +But they did not offer to shake hands. Each turned his back on the +other, and, when Harry stopped in the bushes, he saw only the dim +outlines of Washington. At midnight he found a colored man who, for pay, +rowed him across the Potomac. At dawn he found his horse peacefully +grazing in the meadow, and at the next dawn he was once more within the +southern lines. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BATTLE'S EVE + + +Harry found little change in the Southern army, except that more troops +had come up from Richmond. It still rested upon Bull Run. The country +here was old, having been cropped for many generations, the soil mostly +clay and cut in deep ruts. There were many ravines and water courses, +and hillocks were numerous. Colonel Talbot had told Harry a month +before that it was not a bad place for a battle ground, and he +remembered it now as he came back to it. He had not taken the time +to return to the charcoal burner's hut for his uniform, and, when he +approached his own lines he still wore the Sunday best of Perkins. + +The sentinel who hailed him first doubted his claim that he was a member +of the Invincibles, but he insisted so urgently, and called all its +officers by name so readily that he was passed on. He dismounted, +gave his horse to an orderly, and walked toward a clump of trees where +he saw Colonel Talbot writing at a small table in the open. The colonel, +engrossed in his work, did not look up, as the boy's footsteps made +little sound on the turf. When Harry stood before him he saluted and +said: + +"I have returned to make my report, Colonel Talbot." + +The colonel looked up, uttered a cry of pleasure and seized Harry by +both hands. + +"Thank God, you've come back, my boy!" he said. "I hesitated to send +your father's son on such an errand, but I thought that you would +succeed. You have seen the enemy's forces?" + +"I've been in Washington, itself," said Harry, some pride showing in his +voice. + +"Then we'll go at once to General Beauregard. He is in his tent now, +conferring with some of his chief officers." + +A great marquee stood in the shade of a grove, only two or three hundred +yards away. Its sides were open, as the heat was great, and Harry saw +the commander-in-chief within, talking earnestly with men in the uniform +of generals. Longstreet, Early, Hill and others were there. Harry was +somewhat abashed, but he had the moral support of Colonel Talbot, and, +after the first few moments of embarrassment, he told his story in a +direct and incisive manner. The officers listened with attention. + +"It confirms the other reports," said Beauregard. + +"It goes further," said Longstreet. "Our young friend here is obviously +a lad of intelligence and discernment and what he saw in Washington +shows that the North is resolved to crush us. The battle that we are +going to fight will not be the last battle by any means." + +"Each side is too sanguine," said Hill. + +"You have done well, Lieutenant Kenton," said Beauregard, "and now you +can rejoin your regiment. You are to receive a promotion of one grade." + +Harry was glad to leave the marquee and hurry toward the camp of the +Invincibles. The first of his friends whom he saw was Happy Tom Langdon, +bathing his face in a little stream that flowed into Young's Branch. +He walked up and smote him joyously on the back. Langdon sprang to his +feet in anger and exclaimed: + +"Hey, you fellow, what do you mean by that?" + +He saw before him a tall, gawky youth in ill-fitting clothes, his face a +mask of dust. But this same dusty youth grinned and replied: + +"I hit you once, and if you don't speak to me more politely I'll hit you +twice." + +Langdon stared. Then recognition came. + +"Harry Kenton, by all that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "And so you've +come back! I was afraid you never would! What have you been doing, +Harry?" + +"I've been pretty busy. I drove in the right wing of the Yankee army, +put to flight a couple of brigades in their center, then I went on to +Washington and had a talk with Lincoln. I told him the North would have +me to reckon with if he kept on with this war, but he said he believed +he'd go ahead anyhow. I even mentioned your name to him, but the menace +did no good." + +Langdon called to St. Clair and soon Harry was surrounded by friends who +gave him the warmest of greetings and who insisted upon the tale of his +adventures, a part of which he was free to tell. Then a new uniform was +brought to him, and, after a long and refreshing bath in a deep pool of +the stream, he put it on. He felt now as if he had been entirely made +over, and, as he strolled back to camp, a tall, thin man, black of hair +and pallid of face, hailed him. + +Harry took two glances before he recognized Arthur Travers in the +Southern uniform. Then he grasped his hand eagerly and asked him when +he had come. + +"Only two days ago," replied Travers. "I'm in another regiment farther +along Bull Run. I merely came over here to tell you that your father +was well when I last heard from him. He is with the Western forces that +are to be under Albert Sidney Johnston." + +Harry did not care greatly for Travers, but it was pleasant to see +anybody from the old home, and they talked some time. But Harry did +not see him again soon, as the bonds of discipline were now tightened. +Regiments were kept in ranks and the men were not permitted to wander +from their places. Northern bands were continually in their front, +and it was reported daily that the great army at Washington was about +to move. + +Yet the days passed, and no important event occurred. July advanced. +The heat became more intense. The fields were bare, the vegetation +trodden out by armies, and, when the wind rose, clouds of dust beat upon +them. It was lucky for them that the country was cut by so many streams. + +The Invincibles were moved about several times, but they stopped at +last at a little plateau where a branch railroad joined the main stem, +giving to the place the name Manassas Junction. Bull Run was near, +flowing between high banks, but with crossings at two fords and two +bridges. Beauregard had thrown up earthworks at the station, and strong +batteries were hidden in the foliage at the fords. The Southern army, +weary of waiting, was eager for battle. The Northern people, also weary +of waiting, demanded that their own troops advance. + +As Harry sat with his friends one hot night the word was passed that the +Northern army was coming at last. The Southern scouts had reported that +McDowell's whole force was already on the march and was drawing near. +It would attempt the passage of Bull Run. A murmur ran through the camp +of the Invincibles, but there was little talk. They had already tasted +of battle at the fort in the valley, and it was not a thing to be taken +lightly. + +Harry resolved that he would sleep if he could, but there was no rest +for the Invincibles just then. An order came from Beauregard, and, +with Colonel Talbot at their head, they took up their arms, marching to +one of the fords of Bull Run, where they lay down among trees near a +battery. They were forbidden to talk, but they whispered, nevertheless. +The ford before them was Blackburn's, and the heavy attack of the +Northern army would be made there in the morning. + +Harry and the Invincibles were at the very edge of the river. They had +been under heavy fire before, but, nevertheless, everything they now saw +or heard played upon their nerves. The murmur of the little river was +multiplied thrice. Every time a bayonet or a saber rattled it smote +with sharpness upon the ear. The neigh of a horse became a fierce, +lingering note, and out of the darkness that covered the rolling country +in front of them came many sounds, but few of which were real. + +For a long time there was movement on their own side of the stream. +Troops were continually coming up in the night and taking position. +It required no acute mind to perceive that the Southern commander +expected the main attack to be made here, and was massing his troops in +force to receive it. Except at the ford itself the banks of the river +were high, but those on the Northern side were higher. A skirt of +forest lined the Southern bank, and Harry saw Longstreet and his men +march into it, and lie there on their arms. Nearer to him among the +trees were the powerful batteries of artillery. Beauregard himself had +come and he now had with him seven brigades eager for the attack. + +The night was hot and windless, save at distant intervals, when a slight +breeze blew from the North. Then it brought dust with it, and Harry +believed that it came from the dry soil, trod to powder by the marching +feet of a great army, and the wheels of many cannon. + +Comparative silence came after a while on his own side of the river. +There was no sharp sound, only a low and almost continuous murmur made +by the whispering, and restless movements which so many thousands of men +could not avoid. But the sound was so steady that they heard above it +the croak of frogs at the edge of the stream, and then another sound +which Harry at first did not understand. + +"What is it?" he whispered to St. Clair, who lay a little higher than he. + +"It's a lot of our men crossing the ford. Raise up and you can see them +walking in the water. I take it that the general is going to put a +force in the bushes and trees on the other bank to sting the Northern +army good and hard before it pushes home the main attack." + +Standing up Harry saw men wading Bull Run in a long file, every one +carrying a rifle on his shoulder. In the hot dim night they looked +like lines of Indians advancing through the water to choose an ambush. +They were crossing for half an hour, and then they melted away. He +could not see one of the figures again, nor did any sound come from them, +but he knew that the riflemen lay there in the bushes, and that many a +man would fall before they waded Bull Run again. + +"Do you think the attack is really coming this time?" whispered Langdon. + +"I feel sure of it," replied Harry. "All the scouts have said so and +you may laugh at me, Tom, but I tell you that when the wind blows our +way I feel the dust raised by thirty thousand men marching toward us." + +"I'm not laughing at you, Harry. Sometimes that instinct of yours tells +when things are coming long before you can see or hear 'em. But while +I'm no such wonder myself I can hear those bullfrogs croaking down there +at the edge of the water. Think of their cheek, calmly singing their +night songs between two armies of twenty or thirty thousand men each, +who are going to fight tomorrow." + +"But it's not their fight," said St. Clair, "and maybe they are croaking +for a lot of us." + +"Shut up, you bird of ill omen, you raven, you," said Happy Tom. +"Everything is going to happen for the best, we are going to win the +victory, and we three are going to come out of the battle all right." + +St. Clair did not answer him. His was a serious nature and he foresaw a +great struggle which would waver long in doubt. Harry had lain down on +his blanket and was seeking sleep again. + +"Stop talking," he said to the other two. "We've got to go to sleep if +it's only for the sake of our nerves. We must be fresh and steady when +we go into the battle in the morning." + +"I suppose you are right," said Happy Tom, "but I find this overtaking +slumber a long chase. Maybe you can form a habit of sleeping well +before big battles, but I haven't had the chance to do so yet." + +Harry did fall asleep after a while, but he awoke before dawn to find +that there was already bustle and movement in the army about him. +Fires were lighted further back, and an early but plentiful breakfast +was cooked. All were up and ready when the sun rose over the Virginia +fields. + +"Another hot day," said Happy Tom. "See, the sun is as red as fire! +And look how it burns on the water there." + +"Yes, hot it will be," Harry said to himself. They had eaten their +breakfast and lay once more among the trees. Harry searched with his +eyes the bushes and thickets on the other side for their riflemen, +but most of them were still invisible in the day. Then the Southern +brigades were ordered to lie down, but after they lay there some time +Harry felt that the film of dust on the edge of the wind was growing +stronger, and presently they saw a great cloud of it rising above hills +and trees and moving toward them. + +"They're coming," said St. Clair. "In less than a half hour they'll be +at the ford." + +"But I doubt if they know what is waiting for them," said Harry. + +The cloud of dust rapidly came nearer, and now they heard the beat of +horses' feet and the clank of artillery. Harry began to breathe hard, +and he and the other young officers walked up and down the lines of +their company. All the Invincibles clearly saw that great plume of dust, +and heard the ominous sounds that came with it. It was very near now, +but suddenly the fringe of forest on the far side of the river burst +into flame. The hidden riflemen had opened fire and were burning the +front of the advancing army. + +But the Northern men came steadily on, rousing the riflemen out of the +bushes, and then they appeared among the trees on the north side of Bull +Run--a New York brigade led by Tyler. The moment their faces showed +there was a tremendous discharge from the Southern batteries masked in +the wood. The crash was appalling, and Harry shut his eyes for a moment, +in horror, as he saw the entire front rank of the Northern force go +down. Then the Southern sharpshooters in hundreds, who lined the +water's edge, opened with the rifle, and a storm of lead crashed into +the ranks of the hapless New Yorkers. + +"Up, Invincibles!" cried Colonel Talbot, and they began to fire, and +load, and fire again into the attacking force which had walked into what +was almost an ambush. + +"They'll never reach the ford!" shouted Happy Tom. + +"Never!" Harry shouted back. + +The Southern generals, already trained in battles, pushed their +advantages. A great force of Southern sharpshooters crossed the river +and took the Northern brigade in flank. The New Yorkers, unable to +stand the tremendous artillery and rifle fire in their front, and the +new rifle fire on their side also, broke and retreated. But another +brigade came up to their relief and they advanced again, sending a +heavy return fire from their rifles, while the artillery on their flank +replied to that of the South. + +The combat now became fierce. The Invincibles in the very thick of it +advanced to the water's edge, and fired as fast as they could load and +reload. Huge volumes of smoke gathered over both sides of Bull Run, +and men fell fast. There was also a rain of twigs and boughs as +the bullets and shells cut them through, and the dense, heated air, +shot through with smoke, burned the throats of blue and gray. + +But the South had the advantage of position and numbers. Moreover, +those riflemen on the flanks of the Northern troops burned them +terribly and they were weary, too, with long marching in dust and heat. +As the artillery and rifle fire converged upon them and became heavier +and heavier they were forced to give way. They yielded ground slowly, +until they were beyond range of the cannon, and then, brushing off the +fierce swarm of sharpshooters on their flank, they retreated all the +way back to the village, whence they had come. + +The firing on the Southern side of Bull Run ceased suddenly, and the +smoke began to drift away. The Invincibles, save those who had fallen +to stay, stood up and shouted. They had won the greatest victory in the +world, and they flung taunts in the direction of the retreating foe. + +"Stop that!" shouted Colonel Talbot, striding up and down the line. +"This is only a beginning. Wait until we have a real battle." + +"This has happened for the best," said Happy Tom, "but I'd like to know +what the colonel calls a real battle. The fire was so loud I couldn't +hear myself speak, and I know at least a million men were engaged. +Arthur, how can you be cool enough to bathe your face in that water?" + +"It's to make it cool," replied St. Clair, who had stooped over Bull Run, +and was laving his face. "I feel that dust and burned gunpowder are +thick all over me." + +He stood up, his face now clean, and began to arrange his uniform. +Then he carefully dusted his coat and trousers. + +"Hope you are all ready for another battle, Arthur," said Tom. + +"Not yet," replied St. Clair laughing. "That will do me for quite a +while." + +St. Clair had his wish. The enemy seemed to have enough for the time. +The hot, breathless day passed without any further advance. Now and +then they heard the Northern bugles, and the scouts reported that the +foe was still gathering heavily not far away, but the Invincibles, +from their camp, saw nothing. + +"I suppose the colonel was right," said Happy Tom, "and this must have +been a sort of prologue. But if the prologue was so hot what's the play +going to be?" + +"Something hotter," said Harry. + +"A vague but true answer," said Langdon. + +Yet the delay was long. They lay all that day and all that night along +the banks of Bull Run, and a hundred conflicting reports ran up and down +their ranks. The Northern army would retreat, it would attack within a +few hours; the Southern army would retreat, it would hold its present +position; both sides would receive reinforcements, neither would receive +any fresh troops. Every statement was immediately denied. + +"I refuse to believe anything until it happens," said Harry, when night +came. "I'm getting hardened to this sort of thing, and as soon as my +time off duty comes I'm going to sleep." + +Sleep he did in the shot-torn woods, and it was the heavy sleep of +exhaustion. Nerves did not trouble him, as he slept without dreams and +rose to another windless, burning day. The hours dragged on again, +but in the night there was a tremendous shouting. Johnston, with eight +thousand men, had slipped away from Patterson in the mountains, and the +infantry had come by train directly to the plateau of Manassas, where +they were now leaving the cars and taking their place in the line of +battle. The artillery and cavalry were coming on behind over the +dirt road. The Southern generals were already showing the energy and +decision for which they were so remarkable in the first years of the +war. Johnston was the senior, but since Beauregard had made the +battlefield, he left him in command. + +The Invincibles were moved off to the left along Bull Run, and were +posted in front of a stone bridge, where other troops gathered, until +twelve or thirteen thousand men were there. But Harry and his comrades +were nearest to the bridge, and it seemed to him that the situation was +almost exactly as it had been three nights before. Again they faced +Bull Run and again they expected an attack in the morning. There was +no change save the difference between a ford and a bridge. But the +Invincibles, hardened by the three days of skirmishing and waiting, +took things more easily now. + +They lay in the woods near the steep banks, and the batteries commanded +the entrance to the bridge. The night was once more hot and windless +and they were so quiet that they could hear the murmur of the waters. +Far across Bull Run they saw dim lights moving, and they knew that they +were those of the Northern army. + +"I think things have changed a lot in the last three days," said Harry. +"Then the Yankees didn't know much about us. They charged almost +blindfolded into our ambush. Now we don't know much about them. +We don't know by any means where the attack is coming. It is they who +are keeping us guessing." + +"But there are only two fords and two bridges across Bull Run," said +Langdon, "and they have got to choose one out of the lot." + +"Which means that we've got to accumulate our forces at some one of four +places, one guess out of four." + +Harry did not speak at all in a tone of discouragement, but his +intelligent mind saw that the Northern leaders had profited by their +mistakes and that the Southern general did not really know where the +great impact would come. The Northern scouts and skirmishers swarmed on +the other side of Bull Run, and even in the darkness this cloud of wasps +was so dense that Beauregard's own scouts could not get beyond them and +tell what the greater mass behind was doing. Harry was summoned at +midnight by Colonel Talbot. Behind a clump of trees some distance back +of the bridge, Beauregard, Johnston, Evans, who was in direct command at +the ford, Early, and several other important officers were in anxious +consultation. Colonel Talbot told Harry that he would be wanted +presently as a messenger, and he stood on one side while the others +talked. It was then that he first heard Jubal Early swear with a +richness, a spontaneity and an unction that raised it almost to the +dignity of a rite. + +Harry gathered that they could not agree as to the point at which the +Northern attack would be delivered, but the balance of opinion inclined +to the bridge, before which the command of Evans was encamped. Hence he +was sent farther down the stream, with a message for a North Carolina +regiment to move up and join Evans. + +The regiment lay about a mile away, but Harry walked almost the whole +distance among sleeping men. They lay on the grass by thousands, +and exhausted by the movement and marching of recent days they slept +heavily. In the moonlight they looked as if they were dead. It was so +quiet now that some night birds in the trees uttered strange moaning +cries. But far across Bull Run lights still moved and Harry had no +doubt that the great battle, delayed so long, was really coming in the +morning. + +The North Carolina regiment rose sleepily and marched with him to the +bridge, where it was incorporated into the force of Evans. Beauregard, +Johnston and Early had gone to other points, and Harry knew that +they were still anxious and of divided opinions. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, to whom he had to report, and who moved +their own regiment down near Evans, did not conceal the fact from him. + +"Harry," said the colonel, "we're all sure that we'll have to fight on +the morrow, and it looks as if the battle would come in the greatest +weight here at the bridge, but the Invincibles must be prepared for +anything. You lads are fit and trim, and I hope that all of you will +do your duty tomorrow. Remember that we have brave foes before us, and +I know most of their officers. All who are of our age have been the +comrades of Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire and myself." + +"It is true, and it is a melancholy phase of this war," said Hector +St. Hilaire. + +They walked away together and Harry rejoined those of his own age near +the banks of Bull Run. But Langdon and St. Clair were sound asleep on +their blankets, and so were all the rest of the Invincibles, save those +who had been posted as sentinels. But Harry did not sleep that night. +It was past midnight now, but he was never more awake in his life, +and he felt that he must watch until day. + +He had no duties to do, and he sat down with his back to a tree and +waited. Far in his front, three or four miles, perhaps, he thought he +saw lights signaling to each other, but he had no idea what they meant, +and he watched them merely with an idle curiosity. Once he thought he +heard the distant call of a trumpet, but he was not sure. Woods and +fields were flooded with the brightness of moon and stars, but if +anything was passing on the other side of Bull Run, it was too well +hidden for him to see it. His senses were soothed and he sank into a +state of peace and rest. In reality it was a physical relaxation coming +after so much tension and activity, and the bodily ease became mental +also. + +Resting thus, motionless against the trunk of the tree, time passed +easily for him. The warm air of the night blew now and then against his +face and only soothed him to deeper rest. The last light far across +Bull Run went out and the darker hours came. Nothing stirred now in the +woods until the hot dawn came again, and the brazen sun leaped up in the +sky. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +BULL RUN + + +Harry rose to his feet and shook St. Clair and Langdon. + +"Up, boys!" he said. "The enemy will soon be here. I can see their +bayonets glittering on the hills." + +The Invincibles sprang to their feet almost as one man, and soon all the +troops of Evans were up and humming like bees. Food and coffee were +served to them hastily, but, before the last cup was thrown down, +a heavy crash came from one of the hills beyond Bull Run, and a shell, +screaming over their heads, burst beyond them. It was quickly followed +by another, and then the round shot and shells came in dozens from +batteries which had been posted well in the night. + +The Southern batteries replied with all their might and the riflemen +supported them, sending the bullets in sheets across Bull Run. The +battle flamed in fifteen minutes into extraordinary violence. Harry had +never before heard such a continuous and terrific thunder. It seemed +that the drums of his ears would be smashed in, but over his head he +heard the continuous hissing and whirring of steel and lead. The +Northern riflemen were at work, too, and it was fortunate for the +Invincibles that they were able to lie down, as they poured their fire +into the bushes and woods on the opposite bank. + +The volume of smoke was so great that they could no longer see the +position of the enemy, but Harry believed that so much metal must do +great damage. Although he was a lieutenant he had snatched up a rifle +dropped by some fallen soldier, and he loaded and fired it so often that +the barrel grew hot to his hand. Lying so near the river, most of the +hostile fire went over the heads of the Invincibles, but now and then a +shell or a cluster of bullets struck among them, and Harry heard groans. +But he quickly forgot these sounds as he watched the clouds of smoke and +the blaze of fire on the other side of Bull Run. + +"They are not trying to force the passage of the bridge! Everything is +for the best!" shouted Langdon. + +"No, they dare not," shouted St. Clair in reply. "No column could live +on that bridge in face of our fire." + +It seemed strange to Harry that the Northern troops made no attempt to +cross. Why did all this tremendous fire go on so long, and yet not a +foe set foot upon the bridge? It seemed to him that it had endured for +hours. The sun was rising higher and higher and the day was growing +hotter and hotter. It lay with the North to make the first movement to +cross Bull Run, and yet no attempt was made. + +Colonel Talbot came repeatedly along the line of the Invincibles, +and Harry saw that he was growing uneasy. Such a great volume of fire, +without any effort to take advantage of it, made the veteran suspicious. +He knew that those old comrades of his on the other side of Bull Run +would not waste their metal in a mere cannonade and long range rifle +fire. There must be something behind it. Presently, with the consent +of the commander, he drew the Invincibles back from the river, where +they were permitted to cease firing, and to rest for a while on their +arms. + +But as they drew long breaths and tried to clear the smoke from their +throats, a rumor ran down the lines. The attack at the bridge was but a +feint. Only a minor portion of the hostile army was there. The greater +mass had gone on and had already crossed the river in face of the +weak left flank of the Southern army. Beauregard had been outwitted. +The Yankees were now in great force on his own side of Bull Run, and it +would be a pitched battle, face to face. + +The whole line of the Invincibles quivered with excitement, and then +Harry saw that the rumor was true, or that their commander at least +believed it to be so. The firing stopped entirely and the bugles blew +the retreat. All the brigades gathered themselves up and, wild with +anger and chagrin, slowly withdrew. + +"Why are we retreating?" exclaimed Langdon, angrily. "Not a Yankee set +his foot on the bridge! We're not whipped!" + +"No," said Harry, "we're not whipped, but if we don't retreat we will +be. If fifteen or twenty thousand Yankees struck us on the flank while +those fellows are still in front everything would go." + +These were young troops, who considered a retreat equivalent to a +beating, and fierce murmurs ran along the line. But the officers paid +no attention, marching them steadily on, while the artillery rumbled +by their side. Both to right and left they heard the sound of firing, +and they saw the smoke floating against both horizons, but they paid +little attention to it. They were wondering what was in store for them. + +"Cheer up, you lads!" cried Colonel Talbot. "You'll get all the +fighting you can stand, and it won't be long in coming, either." + +They marched only half an hour and then the troops were drawn up on a +hill, where the officers rapidly formed them into position. It was none +too soon. A long blue line, bristling with cannon on either flank, +appeared across the fields. It was Burnside with the bulk of the +Northern army moving down upon them. Harry was standing beside Colonel +Talbot, ready to carry his orders, and he heard the veteran say, between +his teeth: + +"The Yankees have fooled us, and this is the great battle at last." + +The two forces looked at each other for a few moments. Elsewhere great +guns and rifles were already at work, but the sounds came distantly. +On the hill and in the fields there was silence, save for the steady +tramp of the advancing Northern troops. Then from the rear of the +marching lines suddenly came a burst of martial music. The Northern +bands, by a queer inversion, were playing Dixie: + + "In Dixie's land + I'll take my stand, + To live and die for Dixie. + Look away! Look away! + Down South in Dixie." + +Harry's feet beat to the tune, the wild and thrilling air played for the +first time to troops going into battle. + +"We must answer that," he said to St. Clair. + +"Here comes the answer," said St. Clair, and the Southern bands began +to play "The Girl I Left Behind Me." The music entered Harry's veins. +He could not look without a quiver upon the great mass of men bearing +down upon them, but the strains of fife and drum put courage in him and +told him to stand fast. He saw the face of Colonel Talbot grow darker +and darker, and he had enough experience himself to know that the odds +were heavily against them. + +The intense burning sun poured down a flood of light, lighting up the +opposing ranks of blue and gray, and gleaming along swords and bayonets. +Nearer and nearer came the piercing notes of Dixie. + +"They march well," murmured Colonel Talbot, "and they will fight well, +too." + +He did not know that McDowell himself, the Northern commander, was +now before them, driving on his men, but he did know that the courage +and skill of his old comrades were for the present in the ascendant. +Burnside was at the head of the division and it seemed long enough to +wrap the whole Southern command in its folds and crush it. + +Scattered rifle shots were heard on either flank, and the young +Invincibles began to breathe heavily. Millions of black specks danced +before them in the hot sunshine, and their nervous ears magnified every +sound tenfold. + +"I wish that tune the Yankees are playing was ours," said Tom Langdon. +"I think I could fight battles by it." + +"Then we'll have to capture it," said Harry. + +Now the time for talking ceased. The rifle fire on the flanks was +rising to a steady rattle, and then came the heavy boom of the cannon +on either side. Once more the air was filled with the shriek of shells +and the whistling of rifle bullets. Men were falling fast, and through +the rising clouds of smoke Harry saw the blue lines still coming on. +It seemed to him that they would be overwhelmed, trampled under foot, +routed, but he heard Colonel Talbot shouting: + +"Steady, Invincibles! Steady!" + +And Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, walking up and down the lines, +also uttered the same shout. But the blue line never ceased coming. +Harry could see the faces dark with sweat and dust and powder still +pressing on. It was well for the Southerners that nearly all of them +had been trained in the use of the rifle, and it was well for them, too, +that most of their officers were men of skill and experience. Recruits, +they stood fast nevertheless and their rifles sent the bullets in an +unceasing bitter hail straight into the advancing ranks of blue. +There was no sound from the bands now. If they were playing somewhere +in the rear no one heard. The fire of the cannon and rifles was a +steady roll, louder than thunder and more awful. + +The Northern troops hesitated at last in face of such a resolute stand +and such accurate firing. Then they retreated a little and a shout of +triumph came from the Southern lines, but the respite was only for a +moment. The men in blue came on again, walking over their dead and past +their wounded. + +"If they keep pressing in, and it looks as if they would, they will +crush us," murmured Colonel Talbot, but he did not let the Invincibles +hear him say it. He encouraged them with voice and example, and they +bent forward somewhat to meet the second charge of the Northern army, +which was now coming. The smoke lifted a little and Harry saw the green +fields and the white house of the Widow Henry standing almost in the +middle of the battlefield, but unharmed. Then his eyes came back to the +hostile line, which, torn by shot and shell, had closed up, nevertheless, +and was advancing again in overwhelming force. + +Harry now had a sudden horrible fear that they would be trodden under +foot. He looked at St. Clair and saw that his face was ghastly. +Langdon had long since ceased to smile or utter words of happy +philosophy. + +"Open up and let the guns through!" some one suddenly cried, and a wild +cheer of relief burst from the Invincibles as they made a path. The +valiant Bee and Bartow, rushing to the sound of the great firing, +had come with nearly three thousand men and a whole battery. Never +were men more welcome. They formed instantly along the Southern front, +and the battery opened at once with all its guns, while the three +thousand men sent a new fire into the Northern ranks. Yet the Northern +charge still came. McDowell, Burnside, and the others were pressing it +home, seeking to drive the Southern army from its hill, while they were +yet able to bring forces largely superior to bear upon it. + +The thunder and crash of the terrible conflict rolled over all the +hills and fields for miles. It told the other forces of either army +that here was the center of the battle, and here was its crisis. +The sounds reached an extraordinary young-old man, bearded and awkward, +often laughed at, but never to be laughed at again, one of the most +wonderful soldiers the world has ever produced, and instantly gathering +up his troops he rushed them toward the very heart of the combat. +Stonewall Jackson was about to receive his famous nickname. + +Jackson's burning eyes swept proudly over the ranks of his tall +Virginians, who mourned every second they lost from the battle. An +officer retreating with his battery glanced at him, opened his mouth to +speak, but closed it again without saying a word, and infused with new +hope, turned his guns afresh toward the enemy. Already men were feeling +the magnetic current of energy and resolution that flowed from Jackson +like water from a fountain. + +A message from Colonel Talbot, which he was to deliver to Jackson +himself, sent Harry to the rear. He rode a borrowed horse and he +galloped rapidly until he saw a long line of men marching forward at +a swift but steady pace. At their head rode a man on a sorrel horse. +His shoulders were stooped a little, and he leaned forward in the saddle, +gazing intently at the vast bank of smoke and flame before him. Harry +noticed that the hands upon the bridle reins did not twitch nor did the +horseman seem at all excited. Only his burning eyes showed that every +faculty was concentrated upon the task. Harry was conscious even then +that he was in the presence of General Jackson. + +The boy delivered his message. Jackson received it without comment, +never taking his eyes from the battle, which was now raging so fiercely +in front of them. Behind came his great brigade of Virginians, the +smoke and flame of the battle entering their blood and making their +hearts pound fast as they moved forward with increasing speed. + +Harry rode back with the young officers of his staff, and now they +saw men dash out of the smoke and run toward them. They cried that +everything was lost. The lip of Jackson curled in contempt. The long +line of his Virginians stopped the fugitives and drove them back to the +battle. It was evident to Harry, young as he was, that Jackson would +be just in time. + +Then they saw a battery galloping from that bank of smoke and flame, and, +its officer swearing violently, exclaimed that he had been left without +support. The stern face and somber eyes of Jackson were turned upon him. + +"Unlimber your guns at once," he said. "Here is your support." + +Then the valiant Bee himself came, covered with dust, his clothes torn +by bullets, his horse in a white lather. He, too, turned to that stern +brown figure, as unflinching as death itself, and he cried that the +enemy in overwhelming numbers were beating them back. + +"Then," said Jackson, "we'll close up and give them the bayonet." + +His teeth shut down like a vise. Again the electric current leaped +forth and sparkled through the veins of Bee, who turned and rode back +into the Southern throng, the Virginians following swiftly. Then +Jackson looked over the field with the eye and mind of genius, the eye +that is able to see and the mind that is able to understand amid all +the thunder and confusion and excitement of battle. + +He saw a stretch of pines on the edge of the hill near the Henry house. +He quickly marched his troops among the trees, covering their front with +six cannon, while the great horseman, Stuart, plumed and eager, formed +his cavalry upon the left. Harry felt instinctively that the battle +was about to be restored for the time at least, and he turned back to +Colonel Talbot and the Invincibles. A shell burst near him. A piece +struck his horse in the chest, and Harry felt the animal quiver under +him. Then the horse uttered a terrible neighing cry, but Harry, alert +and agile, sprang clear, and ran back to his own command. + +On the other side of Bull Run was the Northern command of Tyler, which +had been rebuffed so fiercely three days before. It, too, heard the +roar and crash of the battle, and sought a way across Bull Run, but for +a time could find none. An officer named Sherman, also destined for a +mighty fame, saw a Confederate trooper riding across the river further +down, and instantly the whole command charged at the ford. It was +defended by only two hundred Southern skirmishers whom they brushed out +of the way. They were across in a few minutes, and then they advanced +on a run to swell McDowell's army. The forces on both sides were +increasing and the battle was rising rapidly in volume. But in the face +of repeated and furious attacks the Southern troops held fast to the +little plateau. Young's Branch flowed on one side of it and protected +them in a measure; but only the indomitable spirit of Jackson and Evans, +of Bee and Bartow, and others kept them in line against those charges +which threatened to shiver them to pieces. + +"Look!" cried Bee to some of his men who were wavering. "Look at +Jackson, standing there like a stone wall!" + +The men ceased to waver and settled themselves anew for a fresh attack. + +But in spite of everything the Northern army was gaining ground. +Sherman at the very head of the fresh forces that had crossed Bull Run +hurled himself upon the Southern army, his main attack falling directly +upon the Invincibles. The young recruits reeled, but Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire still ran up and down the lines begging +them to stand. They took fresh breath and planted their feet deep once +more. Harry raised his rifle and took aim at a flitting figure in the +smoke. Then he dropped the muzzle. Either it was reality or a powerful +trick of the fancy. It was his own cousin, Dick Mason, but the smoke +closed in again, and he did not see the face. + +The rush of Sherman was met and repelled. Tie drew back only to come +again, and along the whole line the battle closed in once more, fiercer +and more deadly than ever. Upon all the combatants beat the fierce sun +of July, and clouds of dust rose to mingle with the smoke of cannon and +rifles. + +The advantage now lay distinctly with the Northern army, won by its +clever passage of Bull Run and surprise. But the courage and tenacity +of the Southern troops averted defeat and rout in detail. Jackson, +in his strong position near the Henry house, in the cellars of which +women were hiding, refused to give an inch of ground. Beauregard, +called by the cannon, arrived upon the field only an hour before noon, +meeting on the way many fugitives, whom he and his officers drove +back into the battle. Hampton's South Carolina Legion, which reached +Richmond only that morning, came by train and landed directly upon the +battlefield about noon. In five minutes it was in the thick of the +battle, and it alone stemmed a terrific rush of Sherman, when all others +gave way. + +Noon had passed and the heart of McDowell swelled with exultation. +The Northern troops were still gaining ground, and at many points the +Southern line was crushed. Some of the recruits in gray, their nerves +shaken horribly, were beginning to run. But fresh troops coming up +met them and turned them back to the field. Beauregard and Johnston, +the two senior generals, both experienced and calm, were reforming their +ranks, seizing new and strong positions, and hurrying up every portion +of their force. Johnston himself, after the first rally, hurried back +for fresh regiments, while Jackson's men not only held their ground but +began to drive the Northern troops before them. + +The Invincibles had fallen back somewhat, leaving many dead behind them. +Many more were wounded. Harry had received two bullets through his +clothing, and St. Clair was nicked on the wrist. Colonel Talbot and +Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire were still unharmed, but a deep gloom had +settled over the Invincibles. They had not been beaten, but certainly +they were not winning. Their ranks were seamed and rent. From the +place where they now stood they could see the place where they formerly +stood, but Northern troops occupied it now. Tears ran down the faces +of some of the youngest, streaking the dust and powder into hideous, +grinning masks. + +Harry threw himself upon the ground and lay there for a few moments, +panting. He choked with heat and thirst, and his heart seemed to have +swollen so much within him that it would be a relief to have it burst. +His eyes burned with the dust and smoke, and all about him was a fearful +reek. He could see from where he lay most of the battlefield. He saw +the Northern batteries fire, move forward, and then fire again. He saw +the Northern infantry creeping up, ever creeping, and far behind he +beheld the flags of fresh regiments coming to their aid. The tears +sprang to his eyes. It seemed in very truth that all was lost. In +another part of the field the men in blue had seized the Robinson house, +and from points near it their artillery was searching the Southern +ranks. A sudden grim humor seized the boy. + +"Tom," he shouted to Langdon, "what was that you said about sleeping in +the White House at Washington with your boots on?" + +"I said it," Langdon shouted back, "but I guess it's all off! For God's +sake, Harry, give me a drink of water! I'll give anybody a million +dollars and a half dozen states for a single drink!" + +A soldier handed him a canteen, and he drank from it. The water was +warm, but it was nectar, and when he handed it back, he said: + +"I don't know you and you don't know me, but if I could I'd give you a +whole lake in return for this. Harry, what are our chances?" + +"I don't know. We've lost one battle, but we may have time to win +another. Jackson and those Virginians of his seem able to stand +anything. Up, boys, the battle is on us again!" + +The charge swept almost to their feet, but it was driven back, and then +came a momentary lull, not a cessation of the battle, but merely a +sinking, as if the combatants were gathering themselves afresh for a new +and greater effort. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the fierce +July sun was at its zenith, pouring its burning rays upon both armies, +alike upon the living and upon the dead who were now so numerous. + +The lull was most welcome to the men in gray. Some fresh regiments sent +by Johnston had come already, and they hoped for more, but whether they +came or not, the army must stand. The brigades were massed heavily +around the Henry house with that of Jackson standing stern and +indomitable, the strongest wall against the foe. His fame and his +spirit were spreading fast over the field. + +The lull was brief, the whole Northern army, its lines reformed, swept +forward in a half curve, and the Southern army sent forth a stream of +shells and bullets to meet it. The brigades of Jackson and Sherman, +indomitable foes, met face to face and swept back and forth over the +ground, which was littered with their fallen. Everywhere the battle +assumed a closer and fiercer phase. Hampton, who had come just in time +with his guns, went down wounded badly. Beauregard himself was wounded +slightly, and so was Jackson, hit in the hand. Many distinguished +officers were killed. + +The whole Northern army was driven back four times, and it came a fifth +time to be repulsed once more. In the very height of the struggle Harry +caught a glimpse in front of them of a long horizontal line of red, +like a gleaming ribbon. + +"It's those Zouaves!" cried Langdon. "Shoot their pants!" + +He did not mean it as a jest. The words just jumped out, and true to +their meaning the Invincibles fired straight at that long line of red, +and then reloading fired again. The Zouaves were cut to pieces, the +field was strewed with their brilliant uniforms. A few officers tried +to bring on the scattered remnants, but two regiments of regulars, +sweeping in between and bearing down on the Invincibles, saved them from +extermination. + +The Invincibles would have suffered the fate they had dealt out to the +Zouaves, but fresh regiments came to their help and the regulars were +driven back. Sherman and Jackson were still fighting face to face, +and Sherman was unable to advance. Howard hurled a fresh force on the +men in gray. Bee and Bartow, who had done such great deeds earlier +in the day, were both killed. A Northern force under Heintzelman, +converging for a flank attack, was set upon and routed by the +Southerners, who put them all to flight, captured three guns and took +the Robinson house. + +Fortune, nevertheless, still seemed to favor the North. The Southerners +had barely held their positions around the Henry house. Most of their +cannon were dismounted. Hundreds had dropped from exhaustion. Some had +died from heat and excessive exertion. The mortality among the officers +was frightful. There were few hopeful hearts in the Southern army. + +It was now three o'clock in the afternoon and Beauregard, through his +glasses, saw a great column of dust rising above the tops of the trees. +His experience told him that it must be made by marching troops, but +what troops were they, Northern or Southern? In an agony of suspense +he appealed to the generals around him, but they could tell nothing. +He sent off aides at a gallop to see, but meanwhile he and his generals +could only wait, while the column of dust grew broader and broader and +higher and higher. His heart sank like a plummet in a pool. The cloud +was on the Federal flank and everything indicated that it was the army +of Patterson, marching from the Valley of Virginia. + +Harry and his comrades had also seen the dust, and they regarded it +anxiously. They knew as well as any general present that their fate lay +within that cloud. + +"It's coming fast, and it's growing faster," said Harry. "I've got so +used to the roar of this battle that it seems to me alien sounds are +detached from it, and are heard easily. I can hear the rumble of cannon +wheels in that cloud." + +"Then tell us, Harry," said Langdon, "is it a Northern rumble or a +Southern rumble that you hear?" + +Harry laughed. + +"I'll admit it's a good deal of a fancy," he said. + +Arthur St. Clair suddenly leaped high in the air, and uttered at the +very top of his voice the wild note of the famous rebel yell. + +"Look at the flags aloft in that cloud of dust! It's the Star and Bars! +God bless the Bonnie Blue Flag! They are our own men coming, and coming +in time!" + +Now the battle flags appeared clearly through the dust, and the great +rebel yell, swelling and triumphant, swept the whole Southern line. +It was the remainder of Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah. It had +slipped away from Patterson, and all through the burning day it had been +marching steadily toward the battlefield, drummed on by the thudding +guns. Johnston, the silent and alert, was himself with them now, +and aflame with zeal they were advancing on the run straight for the +heart of the Northern army. + +Kirby Smith, one of Harry's own Kentucky generals, was in the very van +of the relieving force. A man after Stonewall Jackson's own soul, +he rushed forward with the leading regiments and they hurled themselves +bodily upon the Northern flank. + +The impact was terrible. Smith fell wounded, but his men rushed on and +the men behind also threw themselves into the battle. Almost at the +same instant Jubal Early, who had made a circuit with a strong force, +hurled it upon the side of the Northern army. The brave troops in blue +were exhausted by so many hours of fierce fighting and fierce heat. +Their whole line broke and began to fall back. The Southern generals +around the Henry house saw it and exulted. Swift orders were sent and +the bugles blew the charge for the men who had stood so many long and +bitter hours on the defense. + +"Now, Invincibles, now!" cried Colonel Leonidas Talbot. "Charge home, +just once, my boys, and the victory is ours!" + +Covered with dust and grime, worn and bleeding with many wounds, but +every heart beating triumphantly, what was left of the Invincibles rose +up and followed their leader. Harry was conscious of a flame almost +in his face and of whirling clouds of smoke and dust. Then the entire +Southern army burst upon the confused Northern force and shattered it +so completely that it fell to pieces. + +The bravest battle ever fought by men, who, with few exceptions, had not +smelled the powder of war before, was lost and won. + +As the Southern cannon and rifles beat upon them, the Northern army, +save for the regulars and the cavalry, dissolved. The generals could +not stem the flood. They rushed forward in confused masses, seeking +only to save themselves. Whole regiments dashed into the fords of Bull +Run and emerged dripping on the other side. A bridge was covered with +spectators come out from Washington to see the victory, many of them +bringing with them baskets of lunch. Some were Members of Congress, +but all joined in the panic and flight, carrying to the capital many +untrue stories of disaster. + +A huge mass of fleeing men emerged upon the Warrenton turnpike, throwing +away their weapons and ammunition that they might run the faster. +It was panic pure and simple, but panic for the day only. For hours +they had fought as bravely as the veterans of twenty battles, but now, +with weakened nerves, they thought that an overwhelming force was upon +them. Every shell that the Southern guns sent among them urged them to +greater speed. The cavalry and little force of regulars covered the +rear, and with firm and unbroken ranks retreated slowly, ready to face +the enemy if he tried pursuit. + +But the men in gray made no real pursuit. They were so worn that they +could not follow, and they yet scarcely believed in the magnitude of +their own victory, snatched from the very jaws of defeat. Twenty-eight +Northern cannon and ten flags were in their hands, but thousands of dead +and wounded lay upon the field, and night was at hand again, close and +hot. + +Harry turned back to the little plateau where those that were left of +the Invincibles were already kindling their cooking fires. He looked +for his two comrades and recognized them both under their masks of dust +and powder. + +"Are you hurt, Tom?" he said to Langdon. + +"No, and I'm going to sleep in the White House at Washington after all." + +"And you, Arthur?" + +"There's a red line across my wrist, where a bullet passed, but it's +nothing. Listen, what do you think of that, boys?" + +A Southern band had gathered in the edge of the wood and was playing +a wild thrilling air, the words of which meant nothing, but the tune +everything: + + "In Dixie's land + I'll take my stand, + To live and die for Dixie. + Look away! Look away! + Look away down South in Dixie." + +"So we have taken their tune from them and made it ours!" St. Clair +exclaimed jubilantly. "After all, it really belonged to us! We'll play +it through the streets of Washington." + +But Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who stood close by, raised his hand +warningly. + +"Boys," he said, "this is only the beginning." + + + + + +Appendix: Transcription notes: + +This etext was transcribed from a volume printed in April, 1964 +(Twenty-eighth Printing) + + +The following modifications were applied while transcribing the +printed book to e-text: + + chapter 1: + - Fixed typo ("hestitated"), page 22, para 2 + - Fixed typo (changed "this father" to "his father"), page 23, + first line of para 5 + + chapter 2: + - Changed "t" to upper-case in sentence "to bed!" on page 40, para 3 + + chapter 3: + - Removed an extraneous quotation mark on page 62, at the end of para 4 + - Fixed typo ("extaordinary"), page 63, para 2 + - Fixed typo ("fews"), page 65, para 5 + + chapter 4: + - Fixed typo ("feeliing"), page 81, para 6 + + chapter 6: + - Added a missing comma on page 111, third sentence + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 119, para 7 + + chapter 9: + - Fixed typo ("tomorow"), page 187, para 3 + + chapter 10: + - Page 197, second para: replaced a comma with a period preceding "Yet" + (However, It is unclear whether the author intended a period, or + whether instead the "yet" should be lower case - either would serve + equally well.) + - Fixed typo (changed "achievment" to "achievement"), page 208, para 8 + + chapter 11: + - Fixed typo ("thy're") on page 234, para 4 + + chapter 12: + - Page 241, para 1: changed "four o'clock this morning" to "four + o'clock this afternoon" - the content of this page and the following + pages clearly indicates that the march started in mid-day, + not before dawn + + chapter 13: + - Fixed typo ("persausive") on page 282, para 4 + - Fixed typo ("aand") on page 284, para 4 + + chapter 14: + - Fixed typo (changed "hid" to "hide"), page 289, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("batallions"), page 292, para 1 + - Fixed typo ("aand"), page 293, para 5 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 7 on page 295 + - Added missing close-quotation-marks to para 8 on page 296 + - Fixed typo ("paseed"), page 299, para 1 + + chapter 16: + - Removed a duplicate "to" on page 330, para 3 + + Limitations imposed by converting to plain ASCII: + + - The printed book presented the names of newspapers and ships + in italics, but italics are not available in plain ASCII + + Chapter 1, page 9: Pendleton News, News, Louisville Journal, News + page 10: News + Chapter 3, page 71: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 4, everywhere: Star of the West + Chapter 5, page 96: Mercury, Star of the West + Chapter 6 and 7: Baltic + Chapter 12: Star of the West + + - The word "marquee" in chapter 15 was presented in the printed + book with an accented "e" + + +I did not modify: + + - The following sentence in chapter 1 does not seem quite right, + but I am not sure how to change it, if I would change it: + + George Kenton, having inherited much land in Kentucky, and two or + three plantations further south had added to his property by good + management. + + - There are a number of instances where the use of the comma in the + printed book seems to me inappropriate, mainly in terms of commas + inserted where I would not insert them, and also sometimes commas + lacking where I would provide them. However, I have adhered to + the punctuation as printed (except for obvious printing errors, + which are noted above). + + For example: + + His abounding youth made him consider as weak and unworthy, an + emotion which a man would merely have reckoned as natural. + + Forty or fifty thousand, men, women and children, were looking on, + but nothing more than a murmur ran through the great mass. + + The sea itself, is against them. + + Two heavier crashes showed that the cannon were also coming into + play, and one shell striking within the fort, exploded, wounding + a half dozen men. + + The belt of forest into which he had ridden, ran along the crest + of a hill, where the soil evidently had been considered too thin + for profitable cultivation. + + - Each section of verse is formatted to appear similar to its + presentation in the printed book. Consequently: some verse is + indented more than others, some is left-aligned, some is + staggered on the left margin, some is center-aligned. + + - The author sometimes uses a technique whereby a paragraph introducing + a quotation ends with a colon, with the quotation following as the + next paragraph. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext The Guns of Bull Run, by Joseph A. Altsheler + + + diff --git a/old/tgobr10.zip b/old/tgobr10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f912c19 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/tgobr10.zip |