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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/7504.txt b/7504.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..21f6997 --- /dev/null +++ b/7504.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6613 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tom of the Raiders, by Austin Bishop + +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: Tom of the Raiders + +Author: Austin Bishop + +Posting Date: October 20, 2012 [EBook #7504] +Release Date: February, 2005 +First Posted: May 11, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM OF THE RAIDERS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Olaf Voss and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration by Morgan Dennis: Again and again Tom fed logs into the +flames.] + + +TOM OF THE RAIDERS + + BY + +AUSTIN BISHOP + + +ILLUSTRATED BY +MORGAN DENNIS + + + + +To +DOLORES AND SAM +WITHOUT ADHESIONS + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I WITH THE SECOND OHIO + II THE RAIDERS START + III ARRESTED + IV TOM GOES ALONE + V TOM ARRIVES AT THE BEEGHAM'S + VI ON TO CHATTANOOGA + VII IN MARIETTA + VIII THE TRAIN IS CAPTURED + IX THE RACE + X "THEY'RE AFTER US!" + XI THE PURSUIT + XII SPEEDING NORTHWARD + XIII FIGHTING WITH FIRE + XIV THE END OF THE RACE + XV CAPTURED + XVI ESCAPING + XVII FIGHTING THE RIVER +XVIII NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE + XIX THE LAST DASH + XX TOM REPORTS AT HEADQUARTERS + XXI THAT CERTAIN PERSON + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Again and again Tom fed logs into the flames. _Frontispiece_ + +The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of the river. + +The men were feeding the ties they had collected, out upon the road through +an opening they had broken in the rear of the car. + +"I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you into trouble--" + + + + +CHAPTER ONE + + +WITH THE SECOND OHIO + +As he rounded the last bend of the road, Tom saw the white tents of the +Union army stretched out before him. He forgot how tired he was after his +long walk, and pressed forward eagerly, almost running. The soldiers who +were sauntering along the road eyed him curiously. + +"Hey, you! You can't go by here without a pass!" The Sentry's rifle, with +its long gleaming bayonet, snapped into a menacing attitude. + +Tom stopped abruptly, caught his breath, and asked: "Is this the Second +Ohio?" + +"Maybe," answered the Sentry coldly. "What do you want to know for?" + +"I've come to see my cousin--Herbert Brewster, of Company B." + +The Sentry's position relaxed. He brought his rifle to the ground, leaned +upon it, and gazed at the young man who stood before him. "Well now!" he +said. "He'll certainly be glad to see you! We don't get many visitors down +this way. What's your name?" + +"Tom Burns." + +"Going to enlist?" + +"Yes. How'd you guess it?" + +"Oh, I dunno. I just thought so. You're pretty young, ain't you?" + +"Eighteen," answered Tom. "I'm old enough to fight." He looked past the +Sentry, down at the even rows of tents which formed the company streets of +the Second Ohio. His heart beat faster at the thought that he would be part +of it after today. A soldier in the Union army! + +"I'll send a messenger with you down to Company B," said the Sentry. +"You'll have to get the Captain's permission before you can see your +cousin." + +It was early in April, 1862. The troops under the command of General O. M. +Mitchel were encamped between Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, +after a march from Nashville through a steady drizzle of rain. It had been +a dreary, tedious march, made worse by long detours to avoid burnt bridges, +detours over roads where the heavy wagons of the army sank hub-deep in the +glue-like mud. It had been a fight against the rain and mud every inch of +the way. And now, except for the details of bridge repairing, the troops +were resting, drying their water-soaked knapsacks, and gathering strength +for the march southward. Rumors of Chattanooga were in the air, and the +camp was buzzing with talk of "Mitchel's plan of campaign." Groups of +soldiers stood about exchanging views on what would happen next, +speculating upon the points where they would come into contact with the +rebs: others were playing games, or lying upon blankets spread before their +tents, sleeping, reading and writing letters. The rows of tents gave a +suggestion of military orderliness to the scene, but it was a suggestion +only, for the tents and their guy ropes were strung with blankets and +clothing put out to dry. + +Although it was not quite what he had expected to see, the camp was +wonderful and thrilling to Tom Burns. He had expected more military pomp +and precision; not simply hundreds of men, half-clothed and weather-worn, +loitering and shifting between rows of tents. Even the tents were patched +and dirty. But if the scene did not compare with the picture he had in his +imagination--of officers mounted upon spirited horses, buglers sounding +calls, companies standing at attention--there was a spirit of action and +excitement in the air which made him rejoice. These men, who were +half-clothed because the only garments they had to put upon their backs +were tied to the guy ropes drying, were hardened campaigners; men, +roughened and toughened in their months of service, pausing a moment before +battle. The stains and tears of the tents were campaign badges. Tom began +to feel proud that "his" regiment was not like the new, raw troops he had +seen in the north--immaculately clean troops which had never known a night +in the open, far from the comforts of barracks. + +He was speechless as the messenger who had been detailed by the Sergeant of +the Guard led him down the regimental street, where the officers' tents +faced each company street. Company F ... Company E ... Company D.... At the +head of each street was a small penciled sign telling them what company +they were passing. Tom glanced ahead to Company B. In front of the +officer's tent two men were talking. + +"Is one of them the Captain?" he asked. + +"Yep--the short one," answered the messenger. "The other's the doctor." + +"What's the Captain's name?" + +"Moffat--Captain Moffat." + +They stopped a few paces from where the Captain and the doctor were +standing, and waited. Tom hazarded a glance down the street of Company B to +see if he could catch a glimpse of his cousin, but Herbert Brewster was not +in sight. Presently the Captain turned toward them. He was a short man, +heavily built, and his manner was that of a man who had spent a lifetime +commanding soldiers. + +"Well, what is it?" he asked. + +The messenger snapped to attention: he saluted. "This man wants to see +Herbert Brewster of your company, sir." + +"I'm his cousin, sir," added Tom. + +The Captain dismissed the messenger with a nod. "You're Corporal Brewster's +cousin, eh?" + +"Corporal?" asked Tom. + +The Captain laughed. "I thought that would surprise you. Yes, he was made +Corporal last week. You'll find him in the third tent on your left. I don't +suppose you know that he's on the sick list with a bad ankle?" + +"No!" + +"Yep." + +"I hope it isn't serious." + +"Hm-m-m"--the Captain stroked his chin--"no, the ankle isn't serious, but +being on the sick list is. Run along and cheer him up. Tell him that I'll +be down to see him in a few minutes." + +"Yes, sir." + +The Captain turned back to the doctor, and Tom threaded his way down the +street. At the third tent he stopped, pulled open the flap and peered in. +There was Bert, stretched out on his bedding, writing a letter. His right +ankle was a mass of bandages from which his toes peered out. He did not +look up from his writing. + +"Does Corporal Herbert Brewster of Cleveland, Ohio, live here?" asked Tom. + +"You, Tom! you!" + +"Don't try to get up on that bad ankle." He rushed over and grabbed Bert's +hand. "How are you?" + +"What in the world are you doing at Murphytown?--or whatever they call this +end of the mud-puddle. And how are all the people? When did you see mother +and father last?" + +Tom held up his hands in surrender; then, as he sat down on the edge of the +bedding, Bert took him by the shoulders and shook him. "They're all fine. +I'm here to enlist, Corporal. Will you have me in your squad?" + +"You bet! Tell me about home." + +Bert had been among the first to enlist, and, except for one furlough of +two weeks, he had not been able to return home. Many minutes passed before +Tom reached the point of his own departure from Cleveland; how he had +gained the consent of his father and mother to his enlistment; his trip to +Murfreesboro and all his adventures and misadventures en route. "And, by +the way," he ended, "the Captain said that I was to tell you that he'd be +here to see you soon. And what did you do to your ankle?" + +"The Captain's coming to see me, eh? Humph! A lot of good that'll do me. +Was he talking with the doctor?" + +"Yes." + +"Humph!" Bert plunged into thought. + +"How about the ankle?" Tom reminded him. "What did you do to it?" + +"I was on a bridge detail yesterday," answered Bert gloomily. "We were +loading some pilings to be hauled up to a bridge, and I was on the wagon, +placing them as they were shoved up to me. They were all greasy with mud, +and I--well, I was thinking about some other things, and I stepped on a +slippery hunk of mud. I went down; then one of the pilings rolled over when +my foot struck it, and went on my ankle." + +"Gee, that's hard luck!" + +"I'd just as soon sprain a dozen ankles," answered Bert. "That isn't the +hard luck." + +"What do you mean?" asked Tom. + +Bert looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said. "I +can't tell you. It's something we were planning to do, and"--he motioned +towards his ankle--"here I am. Perhaps I'll tell you later." + +The flap of the tent was pushed aside and the Captain entered. He stood for +a moment looking regretfully at Bert. "I'm sorry," he said, "but the doctor +says it can't be done. Too bad!" + +Bert glared at his ankle. "Well, sir, if it can't be done, it just can't." + +Tom watched the two men, wondering what thoughts were in their minds. What +was this mysterious plan that was ending so badly? + +The Captain spoke at last: "It's nice that you have your cousin here to +keep you company while you're waiting for your ankle to heal." + +"He'll be with me longer than that, Captain. He's come to enlist." + +"Good!" exclaimed Captain Moffat. He turned to Tom. "I 'll be glad to have +you, my boy!" + +"And I'll be glad to be with you." + +"Sir!" corrected Bert. "You'll have to learn to say 'sir' in the army." + +"Yes--sir!" replied Tom. + +The Captain smiled: "What's your name?" + +"Burns, sir. Tom Burns." + +"And how old are you!" + +"Eighteen, sir." + +"Young," commented the Captain, "but you look strong enough to stand the +life." He put out his hand. "I'm glad to have you. We need men these days, +and we can always handle a few recruits. You can stay here with Corporal +Brewster until you're assigned to a squad. I'll have some bedding sent down +here for you to use until you draw your kit." He started out, then paused. +"Don't be too disappointed, Brewster. There'll be other chances." + +"Keep me in mind for the first chance, Captain." + +"I'll promise you that." + +"Thank you, sir," said Bert. "Do you know who will take my place?" + +"Not yet," replied Captain Moffat. "I'll have to select a man." + +He left the tent, his heavy sword clanking as he walked. Tom resumed his +seat beside Bert. + +"What is this scheme of yours, Bert?" he asked. "Can't you tell me? Is it a +secret?" + +Bert considered the matter for nearly a minute, while Tom watched him +intently. "Yes, it's a secret," replied Bert; then he added, "But I'll tell +you." + +"If it's a military secret, perhaps you'd better not. Of course I wouldn't +tell anyone, but...." + +"No, it's all right for me to tell you." Bert put his hand into his +knapsack which lay beside his bed and pulled forth a map. "Look here." Tom +moved up beside him and they spread the map out on their knees. "There's a +town called Corinth." Tom pointed with a brown forefinger. "Beauregard is +there. And here is Atlanta, which is Beauregard's base of supplies. Here is +Murfreesboro where we're camped. If Beauregard's supplies were cut off +between Atlanta and Chattanooga, what would happen to Beauregard?" + +"He'd been in for trouble," answered Tom. + +"And Chattanooga...?" + +"Chattanooga would be flying Mitchel's flag." Tom's eyes brightened, and he +turned so that he could look squarely at his cousin. "But, Bert, how were +you going to do it?" + +Bert smiled wanly, and left Tom in suspense a moment before he answered. +Then he glanced balefully at his ankle. "Some of us were going into the +South, and ... well, we were simply going to do it." + +"The railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga?" asked Tom. + +"You've guessed it, but, on your life, don't breathe a word of it." + +Tom's eyes opened wide. "Never! And aren't they going to do it now! Just +because you're ankle is broken?" + +"They'll do it, all right," answered Bert. "I'm not that important. There's +only one man who is so important that they have to have him." + +"And who's that?" + +"The leader--the man who planned it. He knows the country." Bert folded the +map and put it back in his knapsack. + +"I'm sorry about your ankle," Tom said weakly. "With a chance like that!" +He whistled, and leaned back, with his hands clasped around a knee, gazing +steadfastly at the roof of the tent. Bert rested his chin in his hands and +sat silently, looking at him. Tom's eyes narrowed and his fingers tightened +until they were white. + +"Bert...." he began, then stopped. + +"Yes?" + +Their eyes met. Tom leaned forward and clutched his cousin's arm. "Do you +think, Bert, that Captain Moffat would let me go in your place?" + +"I don't know," answered Bert. "But we can ask. Asking won't do any harm." + +"Will you ask him? Will you really?" + +"Do you want to go? Without knowing any more about it than that?" + +"More than anything else in the world. Do you think he will let me go, +Bert? Tell him that I'm not afraid--that I can be trusted to carry out +orders. You know I can do it, don't you, Bert?" + +"Yes, I know you can do it. And I thought that you'd probably want to do +it. That's why I disobeyed orders and told you. I wanted to give you the +chance to volunteer." + +"I wonder if the Captain'll just laugh and say that I'm a raw recruit." + +"The Captain isn't that kind of man," answered Bert. "He doesn't laugh at a +fellow just because he wants to do something. And about being a raw +recruit.... It's my opinion that he'd rather send a recruit, if he's a good +man, than a trained soldier. Trained soldiers are too scarce. He was +willing to let me go because I volunteered months ago for any expedition +that was to be sent out. When the call came for a man from each company, he +called me into his tent, and just told me that I was going. Of course, a +man doesn't have to go. It's for volunteers only. You know what it might +mean if you got caught?" + +"That we'd be held as spies. And perhaps...?" + +"Yes." + +They were silent for a moment. + +"Will you ask the Captain now?" demanded Tom. + +"You go on up to his tent and ask him if he'll come down here for a +minute," said Bert. "You're absolutely positive that you want to go? You +wouldn't rather have me wait until tomorrow while you think it over?" + +"No! Ask him now, before he decides on someone else!" + +Tom clapped his cousin on the shoulder, hurried out of the tent and up the +company street. + + + + +CHAPTER TWO + + +THE RAIDERS START + +"Come with me," said Captain Moffat, as he emerged from Bert Brewster's +tent. Tom had been waiting outside, while Bert and the Captain were +talking. He had recognized several men from Cleveland in the company and +had tried to carry on a conversation with them. But conversation was +impossible. His mind was too full of hopes and plans to recall the news +from home. Now, as he walked up the company street, he wondered what the +Captain was thinking. Would he be allowed to take Bert's place? He hazarded +a glance at the Captain's face, but he could find no answering expression +there--always the same stern mask, from which black eyes flashed. Tom could +feel his heart pounding as they entered the Captain's tent. + +"Sit down," said Captain Moffet, pointing to a box. He called his +messenger. "I don't want to be disturbed for a few minutes." + +"Very good, sir," answered the messenger. He stationed himself a few yards +in front. + +"It strikes me," the Captain said, as he sat in a folding chair directly +before Tom, "that you are entirely too young to be sent out on such an +expedition as this. But I like to know that you volunteer for it. It gives +me a comfortable feeling to have men in my company who are always ready for +anything that comes up, who are perpetual volunteers for the dangerous +jobs." + +Tom felt his heart sink. Then he wasn't to be allowed to go! This was +simply a nice way of telling him that he couldn't! + +"But, Captain," he said explosively, "I'd rather do this than anything else +on earth. I am young--I'll admit that--but that'll make me all the more +valuable. If it comes to carrying messages, I can run for miles without +stopping. Why, I can move faster and fight harder just because I am young! +Please give me the chance!" + +The Captain looked at him narrowly. "You really want to go, don't you?" + +"Yes!" Tom almost shouted. + +"All right," said the Captain, rising from his chair. "You _are_ going." +Tom wanted to thank him, but he was speechless. "You will hold yourself in +readiness for orders." The Captain had become the quiet, stern military man +again. "You will let it be known that you are here to visit your cousin, +and when you leave camp you will say that you are returning home." + +"Yes, sir." + +"In the meantime, provide yourself with some rough clothes at Shelbyville, +and some heavy shoes. I will provide you with a revolver. That will be all +now." + +"Yes, sir." + +Tom hurried back to his cousin's tent in a daze. + +The next afternoon at the general store in Shelbyville he bought a rough +suit, and a heavy pair of shoes. "Just wrap the suit up," he told the +clerk, "I'll be in for it tomorrow, or the next day. I'll wear the shoes." +He tramped back to Murfreesboro, displayed his pass to the Sentry, and went +to Bert's tent. + +"The doctor has been in again," Bert told him. "He says that my ankle will +be well in a week or so." + +"Good!" exclaimed Tom. "Look at my pretty little shoes." He displayed the +heavy, rough boots he had bought at Shelbyville. + +"You ought not to start in those things," advised Bert. "New shoes will +cripple you. Here, we'll trade." He produced a pair which had been worn +soft in miles of marching. "And here's a waterproof cape for you." + +"No, I don't want to take your things." + +But Bert insisted. "I know this sort of life. You take 'em and don't +argue." + +Bert had told him all that he knew of the raid, but, as he remarked, +"that's little enough." None of the men who had volunteered knew the +details of the expedition: they knew only that they were to accept orders +from an unknown man, follow him blindly and willingly into whatever he +might lead them. It was to be a raid of great importance, a raid that might +change the course of the war if it proved successful. So great was the +secrecy that no man knew who his companions were to be. All of them, as +Tom, were waiting for orders to be given without knowing when the orders +would come, nor what they would be. Tom spent hours, when his cousin's +tentmates were away, studying the map, memorizing minute details of it. + +Orders came on his third day at camp. He was clearing away the tin plates +and cups from which they had been eating dinner, when the Captain's orderly +appeared at the door of the tent. "Cap'n wants to see you immediately." + +Tom and Bert exchanged a glance; then Tom followed the messenger to the +Captain's tent. + +When the messenger had been stationed to keep intruders away, the Captain +said: "You will leave tonight. Take the Wartrace road out of Shelbyville +and walk about a mile and a quarter. When you come to a fork in the road go +into the trees and wait until you're picked up. You should be there at +eight o'clock. You understand?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Repeat my instructions." + +Tom repeated them without fault. + +"Good! Wait here for a moment." The Captain left the tent. He returned +presently with the Major of the battalion and another Captain. From the box +where the documents of Company B were kept, he produced enlistment papers. +For several minutes, while Tom stood tense and erect, the Captain wrote. +The other two officers talked in an undertone. + +"Sign here," said the Captain. Tom signed. The Major picked up the paper +and glanced through it. + +"Hold up your right hand," said the Major. Then Tom heard the oath which +bound him to serve the United States of America honorably as a soldier. + +"I do," he replied, and let his hand drop to his side again. + +The two officers signed the papers, shook hands with him, nodded to Captain +Moffat and left the tent. It all happened so quickly that Tom could +scarcely realize that he was now a soldier. When he had entered the tent he +was a civilian, bound merely by promises of service; now he was a soldier, +without a uniform, to be sure, but none the less a soldier. His eyes dimmed +and he looked away from the Captain. + +Captain Moffat folded the paper, returned it to the box, and faced Tom. He +looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds; then placed his hands upon +his shoulders. + +"Private Tom Burns," he said softly. "Good luck to you. It will be Second +Lieutenant Tom Burns if this expedition is a success. Good luck, my boy, +and may God be with you." He took Tom's hand and shook it. + +And then Tom found himself walking down the street of Company B--a soldier +of Company B--and he scarcely knew that his feet were treading ground. + +There were two men in the tent, talking with Bert, and Tom waited +impatiently for them to leave. + +"Tonight," he said shortly, as the tent flap dropped behind them. + +"Tonight?" + +"Yes." + +They sat silently until Bert exclaimed, "I envy you! You're the luckiest +boy in the world, walking right into such a chance as this." + +"I wish you were going." + +"So do I." + +Silence overcame them again. + +"I'd better write a letter home," Tom said presently. "I'll say that I've +enlisted and let it go at that." + +It was shortly before six o' clock when Tom left camp. He went to the store +in Shelbyville, claimed the suit he purchased two days before, and induced +the proprietor to let him make the change in the back room of the store. He +made a bundle of the clothes he had discarded, left them at the store +saying that he would call for them in a few days, then went out on the one +street of the village. It was deserted; the good citizens of Shelbyville +were at dinner, and a few soldiers who had come to the village to make +purchases were hurrying back to camp to be there when mess call sounded. In +the excitement of his departure Tom had forgotten that he must eat, but, +with a half-hour to spare before starting for the meeting place, he +returned to the store and stuffed his pockets with food. Then, with a hunk +of cold meat in one hand and a slice of bread in the other, he walked down +the village road, eating his supper as he went. Near the edge of the +village he saw two men ahead of him, and he wondered if they too were +members of the expedition. They stopped, leaning against a fence, and eyed +him as he went by. + +Dusk came, and then darkness. The sky was overcast, but occasionally the +moonlight flashed through a break in the clouds, showing the road before +him. Walking was difficult, for the half-dried mud was slippery, and the +broad wheels of wagons had made deep ruts. Several times he stumbled, and +once he wrenched his ankle. He made his way more carefully after that, +sometimes feeling out the ground with the toes of his boots before he +placed his weight forward. The thought of being disabled before he had +really started on the adventure, of going back to camp to commiserate with +Bert over sprained ankles, filled him with dread. The deepest ruts turned +away from the main road to a farm house: a dog barked, and Tom hurried +forward. Several hundred yards further along the road, he thought he saw a +man who moved behind a tree and hid. He did not stop to investigate. + +Tom paused for a moment at the fork of the road; then went forward +breathlessly. Between the bushes which lined the edge of the fork stood +several tall trees, with their trunks lost in black, ragged undergrowth. In +the darkness he made out a trail. Again he paused, straining for the +slightest sound. As he took a step forward he heard someone say: + +"Hello, there!" + +He stopped short. "Hello," he gasped; then, when he had overcome his +surprise, "Where are you?" + +"Just four feet ahead of you." + +"Who are you?" + +"Brown, Company F, Twenty-first Ohio." + +"Oh,"--this with relief in his voice--"I'm Burns, Company B, of the Second. +Are there any others here?" He went forward and they tried to make out each +other's faces in the dark. + +"No. There was to be a third man with us, Andrews said," answered Brown. +"He hasn't come yet." + +"And who's Andrews?" asked Tom. + +Brown laughed. "Why, he's the man who's leading us. The one who's going to +take us in." + +"I didn't know," answered Tom. "They didn't tell me much--except that I was +going. That was enough." + +"That's about as much as most of the men know," remarked Brown. "Knight and +I were the only ones who talked with Andrews. We are the engineers." + +"The engineers?" asked Tom. "What sort of engineers?" He heard Brown +chuckle. + +"Well, they _didn't_ tell you much, did they? Locomotive engineers, of +course. We're going to steal a railroad train." + +"Steal a railroad train!" exclaimed Tom. + +"Yep! That's what we're going to do." + +Tom gave a low whistle. + +Brown continued: "We're going to take a train on the Georgia State +Railroad. Knight and I are to run it, and the rest of you...." + +From down the road came a mumble of voices. Brown clutched Tom's arm and +they listened. "That's them!" exclaimed Brown in a whisper. + +One man of the approaching group stepped off the road into the fork, while +the others waited. + +"Brown," he called. + +"Right here, sir." Brown stepped forward, and Tom followed. + +"How many are with you?" asked the man. + +"Just one--Burns. The third hasn't come yet." + +"How are you, Burns? I'm Andrews." He groped for Tom's hand in the +darkness, shook it. "I wonder where the other man is. Well, it makes no +difference. We won't wait for him. Come on." + +They followed him, out to where the others were standing. + +"This way, men," said Andrews, starting up the road on the left. Brown and +Tom fell in beside him. "The rest of you straggle out so that you can get +off the road quickly if anyone comes." Then, to Brown and Tom: "Perhaps +he's lost, or perhaps he's changed his mind. Three others weren't where I +told them to be, but we'll get along just as well without them. I arranged +it this way so that if any of you did decide at the last minute that you +didn't want to go...." He did not finish the sentence. Presently he said: +"I want no men who aren't anxious to be with me." + +Tom could not see Andrews' face, but he liked his calm, pleasant voice. +Conversation stopped, except for Brown's remark, "It looks like rain," and +Andrews' answering, "Hm-m-m." For several minutes they plodded along the +road, hidden even from the intermittent light of the moon by the trees that +grew beside the road. + +"Here we are," said Andrews presently. They stopped and waited for the +others; then turned off the road into a small opening in the woods. Andrews +went ahead of them, and called back, "Come over here." + +They found him with two men. There came a rumble of thunder, so remote that +it seemed like an echo, but to the ears of Andrews' men it was a sharp +reminder of the troubles that might lay ahead of them. + +"Hm-m-m! Perhaps you were right, Brown," said Andrews. + +Thunder sounded again, this time nearer. + +"Let's count heads," said Andrews. "Get in a semi-circle, just as close +together as possible." + +The men groped about, arranging themselves. Tom found himself shoulder to +shoulder between two of them. Presently they were quiet. Andrews' calm, +authoritative voice came again: "Starting at this end, give your names and +your organizations." + +Then: "Bensinger, Company G, Twenty-first Ohio"--"Dorsey, Company H, +Thirty-third"--"Brown, Company G, Twenty-first"--"Pittenger, Company G, +Second".... There were twenty of them, not including Andrews. Tom found +himself between Wilson, Company C, of the Twenty-first Ohio, and Shadrack, +Company K, of the Second Ohio. + +The thunder sounded again and a few drops of rain pattered down. A murmer +arose from the men. More thunder, and a flash of lightning. Another crash, +and more rain splashed about them. + +"It looks as though we're in for bad weather, men," said Andrews. "Gather +about me so that you can all hear what I'm going to tell you." A streak of +lightning illuminated the scene as they moved forward. Tom caught a glimpse +of Andrews: a tall man, heavily built, with a long black beard. The rain +was falling steadily. Tom unslung the cape which Bert had given him and put +it on. There was a general rustle of capes and coats: then silence. Andrews +continued: "I want all of you to understand that any man who wishes to +change his mind may do so, and return to camp when we leave here. I want +only those men who are willing and anxious to see this thing through, to +follow me to the end"--he paused--"and that end may well be disaster. You +have three days and three nights in which to reach Marietta, and you may +travel as you see fit. Avoid forming groups of more than four. The course +is east into the Cumberland Mountains, then south to the Tennessee River. +Cross the river and travel by train, from whatever station you come to, +through Chattanooga to Marietta. I will follow the same general course. Be +at the hotel in Marietta not later than Thursday evening, ready to start +the next morning. Have you any questions to ask about the route?" + +There were questions, many of them. Over and over again he traced the +course they were to follow; told them what they might find at certain +points, what to avoid. + +"I will supply you with all the Confederate money you will need. Carry none +of our money with you." + +"And if we are questioned?" asked Brown. Tom recognized his voice; then, in +another flash of lightning he caught a glimpse of his face. That one +glimpse was to change the course of Tom's adventures. + +"I am coming to that presently," answered Andrews. "Buy whatever you need, +and hire any sort of conveyance that you may think safe. But don't be +lavish with the money I'm giving you--it may have to last a long time. It +should be more than enough, but we can't tell what will happen. And now +about being questioned: If you have to answer questions, say that you come +from Fleming County, Kentucky; that you are on your way to join the +Southern troops. I happen to know that no men from Fleming County are in +the Southern army, and so there will be little risk of meeting anyone from +there. And if you are asked why you don't enlist immediately, say that you +want to join a regiment in Atlanta." + +"And if we're completely cornered?" asked one of the men. + +"Then enlist." + +"In the Southern army?" + +"Surely. Remember, men, that you are playing a bigger game than your own +personal likes and dislikes. The idea of enlisting in the Southern army may +seem terrible, but it isn't so terrible as being captured and tried as a +spy. You can desert at the first chance. And remember this: upon every one +of you depends the success or failure of this venture." + +There was a murmer of approval, then silence. + +Andrews continued: + +"Tomorrow morning General Mitchel starts on a forced march. He will +surprise and capture Huntsville on Friday. Our work is to capture the train +that same day, destroy communications from Atlanta and join him with all +possible speed. We will try to reach him with our train. Failing that, we +will desert the train and join him as best we can." + +Mitchel would move the next morning! Huntsville! Chattanooga! For a moment +the men were silent; then came a sharp "Ah!" The long winter campaign was +ended; now for action! + +"We will start at once," said Andrews. A crash of thunder drowned his +words. "From Marietta onwards we will fight it out together." + +He began to distribute money to them. Several groups disappeared into the +night. + +"Shall we go together?" asked a man at Tom's right. "My name's Shadrack." + +"Yes. Mine's Burns." + +"Mine's Wilson," said another man. "Let's make it three." + +"Good!" + +They filed past Andrews, took the handful of Confederate money he held out, +and started toward the road. The rain ceased for a few seconds; then came a +flash of lightning, a burst of thunder, and the rain came swirling down. In +an instant, Tom and his two companions were utterly alone in the black +night, headed for the Southern lines. + + + + +CHAPTER THREE + + +ARRESTED + +"The Union pickets are at Wartrace," said Wilson, as they plodded down the +road. + +"We ought to pass them tonight," Tom added. "Have we any way of identifying +ourselves?" + +"No," replied Wilson. "We'd better try to avoid them." + +"What I hope," remarked Shadrack, with a chuckle, "is that our pickets are +sleepy--dreaming of a nice warm fire at home, instead of keeping on the +alert. Whew! what a storm!" + +The steady pelting of the rain made conversation impossible. The road was +becoming a slippery gumbo into which their feet sank deeply, and they put +all their strength into the laborious task of walking. Finally, after an +hour, they stopped to rest. + +"I don't think we've gone more than two miles," said Tom. + +"The railroad track runs along here to the left some place," Wilson +remarked. "If we could reach it, we'd find better walking." + +"You'll have to swim to get there," muttered Shadrack. "Those fields will +be mud up to our necks." + +"Be quiet!" Tom whispered. "Someone's coming." + +"Probably some of our own men," said Wilson. + +They stood silently as two men passed them on the road. It was impossible +to see them in the darkness, but they caught a broken sentence, "...find a +barn ... too much mud...." + +"That's about the best thing that we can do," said Shadrack, after the men +had gone by. "Find a barn some place, and stay there for the night." + +"I'd like to push on," replied Tom. "What do you think, Wilson?" + +"Let's try to reach the railroad." + +"All right." + +Shadrack grunted his assent, and they trudged along the road, looking for +an opening to the left. Presently a flash of lightning showed them a field. +They climbed the fence and started across. Their feet sank in mud that +seemed bottomless, and water oozed in over their shoe-tops. + +"Can you make it?" asked Wilson. + +"Yeh--go on," answered Tom, panting. + +"I'm coming," muttered Shadrack. + +It took them a half-hour to cross the field; then they sat on the fence +exhausted. No lightning came to show them the way, so they climbed the +fence, crossed another road, and entered a second field. The mud here was +worse. + +"Bogged!" exclaimed Shadrack. + +They retreated to the road. + +"Let's follow this road," suggested Tom. "It seems to go in the general +direction of the railroad tracks." + +"Probably goes to a farmhouse," replied Wilson. + +"Suits me exactly," said Shadrack. + +During the next twenty minutes they made their way slowly along the road, +slipping in the mud, sometimes falling. Twice Tom went down on his hands +and knees. Shadrack sprawled face downward, and got up muttering something +about "eating the filthy stuff." + +Ahead of them a dog commenced to bark; then a door opened, and a man stood +looking out. + +"Call your dog off," yelled Wilson. + +"Who are you, and what do you want?" demanded the farmer. The dog continued +to bark, but he did not approach them. + +"We're on our way to Wartrace," answered Wilson, "and we're lost in the +storm. Can you give us a place to sleep?" + +"Are you soldiers?" + +Wilson paused a moment, then answered, "No." + +"Come on up here then, and let's look at ye," answered the farmer. "Here, +Shep, shut up that barking! Come here!" + +They saw the dog curl up at its master's feet, and they went forward. + +"How far are we from Wartrace?" asked Wilson, as they approached the door. + +"'Bout two miles," answered the farmer. "Wait there, and I'll take a look +at ye." He reached to one side and took a lamp. Then, shielding his eyes +from the light, he held it up and glanced from one to the other. The dog +came toward them, whining and growling. "Shut up, Shep. All right--come on +in." + +They entered the shanty. In one corner of the room a dilapidated stove was +glowing; in another corner there was a bed, made of rough boards, with a +pile of dirty bedding on the straw. A table and one chair completed the +furniture. Near the door some farm implements were stacked. A rusty, +battered pan on the floor caught the water that dripped in through a leak +in the roof. + +Now, for the first time, the three adventurers had an opportunity of seeing +each other. Tom, as he took off his cape and water-soaked coat, glanced +first at Wilson, then at Shadrack. Wilson was a tall man, nearly forty, +with a serious face. His mouth was stern, and he had sharp gray eyes. +Shadrack was short and plump. He was still blowing and puffing from his +exertions in the mud, but he laughed as he took out a handkerchief and +wiped his face. He had, in truth, been eating mud, for his face was +streaked with it. "Had my mouth open when I fell," he explained. + +The farmer stood at the door, watching them silently as they took off their +shoes and put them by the stove. Finally he asked, "What are you going to +Wartrace for?" + +Tom had been wondering what story they had better tell him. They were still +north of their own lines, even though they were in enemy country, and he +felt that there might be some danger in saying that they were on their way +to join the Southern army. He decided to leave the response to Wilson, who, +because of his age and experience, was the natural leader. But, before +Wilson could speak, Shadrack replied: + +"We're from Fleming County, Kentucky, and we're going through the lines to +join the Confederate army." + +Wilson frowned and shook his head at Shadrack. + +"So?" asked the farmer. "Goin' to fight the Yanks, eh?" + +"Yep," answered Shadrack, "an' we're goin' to give 'em a good licking! +That's what they need! We've seen all we want to see of Yanks." + +"Well, I'll tell you right now that you're going to waste yer time," +replied the farmer. "An' maybe you'll waste more than that." + +Shadrack sat down on the floor near the fire, and Tom squatted beside him. + +"You have some pretty bad rainstorms in this part of the country, don't +you?" Wilson asked. + +While Wilson was speaking, Tom nudged Shadrack, and muttered, "Be +careful--don't talk too much." Shadrack's eyes lighted in puzzled surprise. + +After a long silence, the farmer spoke: "You men better turn around again +an' go back to yer homes. Yer folks need you more than the South does. The +North is going to win this war." + +In their hearts they were elated to hear a Southerner say that their own +troops would be victorious; but, having told one story, they decided not to +change. + +"No," said Wilson solemnly, "we must go on." + +Presently the farmer arose and stretched, "I'll go out an' see if the +chickens are all right," he said, and left the shanty. + +"Don't be a fool," said Wilson earnestly, "Don't be a better rebel than the +Southerners." + +"I'm sorry," replied Shadrack. "That's what we were told to say...." + +"I know," interrupted Wilson, "but we have to be careful in the way we tell +that story. For one thing, remember that we're still inside our own lines." + +"Yes," replied Shadrack ruefully. + +"I think you'd better do the talking for us," suggested Tom to Wilson. +"We'll just agree to what you say." + +"Now, that's a good idea!" exclaimed Shadrack. "We'll just nod our heads +an' say, 'That's right!' I'll not say a word after this." + +A half-hour passed before the farmer returned. Without speaking, he took +off his boots and coat, and lay down on his bed. The others arranged +themselves on the floor about the stove, and Tom blew out the light. The +floor was hard, but the stove was warm--and they were dry. Sleep came +almost immediately. + +They were awakened at dawn by the door opening, and a man shouting, "Get up +there! Hold you hands up! Strike a light, Johnson." + +Tom jumped to his feet. In the half-light of morning he saw the glint of a +revolver. Wilson and Shadrack were beside him, and the farmer was sitting +on the edge of his bed. They put their hands up--all except the farmer. The +bluish flame of a sulphur match sputtered, then grew bright. Three Union +soldiers stood before them with drawn revolvers, while a fourth lighted the +lamp. + +"These are the men, I presume, Smith?" asked the Sergeant. + +The farmer grunted. + +Tom and Shadrack looked to Wilson to speak, but he said nothing. So the +farmer had sent word to Union troops! When he had gone out to look after +his chickens, he had sent a messenger with the news that three ardent +Southerners were to be captured at his house if the soldiers would come and +get them! Captured by their own troops! + +"Pull on your boots," ordered the Sergeant. "Wait a minute! Look through +their clothes and see if they're armed, Martin." + +The soldier who had lighted the lamp approached, and ran his hands through +their pockets. He produced three revolvers and laid them on the table. The +Sergeant picked them up, glanced at them to be sure they were loaded; then +distributed them among the soldiers. + +"That's all, Sergeant," said the soldier addressed as Martin. + +"All right, get on your boots. You did a good night's work, Smith." + +"I told 'em they'd better go back home," said the farmer dully. + +Tom, Wilson, and Shadrack sat on the floor pulling on their heavy, +water-laden boots. When they stood up, the Sergeant said: "Call Jim and +Max." Two more soldiers appeared, making six in all. + +"Two of us to a prisoner. Come on." + +They left the shanty. The farmer was still sitting on the edge of the bed, +staring at them. + + + + +CHAPTER FOUR + + +TOM GOES ALONE + +The rain had ceased. Dawn, flooding above the heavy clouds, was at last +filtering through, and the world rested tranquilly in a bluish, shadowless +light. Tom, as he stepped from the shanty, with his arms held by two Union +soldiers, glanced about him in wonderment. This unfamiliar scene, which had +been an endless blackness the night before, was like a dream country into +which he was straying half awake. The events of the previous day became +remote and unreal. He paused for a moment, but the apprehensive tightening +of fingers upon his arms made him suddenly aware of the fact that he was a +prisoner, and he fell into step with the soldiers. + +"So you were a-goin' to fight the Yanks, were you!" asked one of them. + +"We'll talk about that later," answered Tom. + +"'Pears to me that it ain't anything I'd want to talk about at any time if +I was you," answered the other soldier. + +Tom, with his guards, was in the lead; then came Wilson, with Shadrack a +few paces behind him. The Sergeant was with Shadrack. Tom glanced back, and +his eyes met Wilson's. There was a flash of understanding between them; +then Wilson turned to look at Shadrack, as though cautioning silence. No +one spoke as they picked their way along through the ooze of mud in the +direction of the main road. To their left was another shanty, much like the +one in which they had spent the night, and before the door stood a man, +with his wife and child, gazing at them dumbly. The man was dressed, but +the woman and child had wrapped tattered blankets over them for protection +against the cold. Tom, as he watched them, reconstructed the drama of the +night before. They, he thought, were "poor whites," like the man in whose +shanty they had slept--Smith, the soldiers had called him--and their hearts +were with the Northern army. Smith, when he had left on the pretext of +attending to his chickens, had probably gone to them, routed them out of +bed to tell them of the rebels he was harboring. The man had dressed and +floundered through the mud until he came to the Union pickets, brought the +soldiers back with him to Smith's shanty. That was his service to the +Northern cause, and he must feel proud now, thought Tom. There, huddling +together on the doorstep of their miserable, rain-soaked hut, they had +visible proof of having helped the North, of having rendered their service. +And their pride, lifting them for a brief moment from the pitiful squalor +of their lives, seemed such a fine thing to Tom that he hoped they would +never know of the mistake they had made. He glanced back and saw them still +watching, silent and motionless. + +When the procession had come to a spot where it was hidden both from the +shanties and the road, Wilson spoke: + +"Sergeant, I'd like to have a word with you." + +"All right," answered the Sergeant. "What is it?" + +"Alone, I mean," answered Wilson. "It's important. I'm not trying to +escape. It's so important that I can't let the rest of your men hear it." + +"You men stand by these two prisoners while I hear what the reb has to +say," ordered the Sergeant. "Come over here." + +Wilson went to the Sergeant and talked earnestly for several minutes. The +Sergeant watched him narrowly, frowning. A few of Wilson's words drifted +over to the others; "...not asking you to take my word ... to some person +of authority ... not lose a minute about it...." The Sergeant was visibly +impressed. He tilted his cap and scratched his head; shifted his weight +from one leg to another; stroked his whiskers. Finally, after a brief +discussion, they came to a decision. + +"This man and I are going to take the wagon," announced the Sergeant. "We +have to get to Wartrace as quick as we can. You others 'll have to walk. +It'll take too long if we all ride--too much of a pull for the horses." + +There was some grumbling among the guards at the prospect of trudging +through the mud when they had expected a comfortable ride in the wagon. +However, without understanding what it all was about, they accepted the +Sergeant's decision. When they reached the road where the wagon was +standing, Wilson said to Tom: + +"I'll try and meet you before you get to Wartrace. Take your time." + +"Yep," added the Sergeant, "don't hurry." + +They saw the wagon, drawn at a trot, disappear down the road, the mud +spurting out from the wheels. Tom and Shadrack exchanged glances and +laughed. + +"Now I call that extraordinary!" exclaimed one of the guards. Then, as if +he liked the word, he repeated, "Extraordinary!" + +"If we give you our words not to try escaping," asked Tom, "will you let go +our arms? You have the guns, anyhow. It'll make walking easier." + +"All right," drawled a guard. "That's a good idea." He turned to the other +soldiers, and asked, "What do you think? Let 'em walk a couple of paces +ahead, eh?" It was agreed. + +Tom and Shadrack went ahead, while the guards followed, speculating among +themselves on this new turn of affairs. + +"Wilson is probably going to the officer in command and have him rush +through a message," said Tom. "I suppose they have a telegraph line between +Wartrace and headquarters." + +"I hope so," replied Shadrack. "I wonder how far the others got?" + +Tom had been wondering the same thing. "Probably not much farther than we +did," he answered. + +More than an hour later they saw a light buggy drawn by two horses +approaching them; then they distinguished Wilson and the Sergeant. As the +horses were reined in, Wilson jumped from the buggy. + +"All right," he said, laughing. Then to the guards, "Thanks for your +company, boys. Let's have our guns." + +The guards looked at the Sergeant, puzzled. "Yep," said the Sergeant, "give +the revolvers. These men are all right. The Captain says that we're to +forget that we've ever seen 'em." He winked at Wilson, then reached out and +slapped him on the back. + +As the soldiers walked away, Wilson said: "Andrews arrived at Wartrace +early this morning, just after these men left, and told the Captain to be +watching for any of his men who might get caught by the sentries. When I +went into the Captain's room, he looked at me and said, 'Andrews?' I said, +'Yes, sir.' In about two minutes I was on my way back. We have to cut down +along a road about a hundred yards from here. I have a pass to get us by +the Sentry. We have to make Manchester tonight." + +Without wasting any time in talking, the three men hurried to the road that +would take them past the Union lines and into the enemy country. A few +minutes later a Sentry challenged them. Wilson produced his pass, the +Sentry nodded and they went forward. + +As they pressed on across the strip of country between the Northern and +Southern pickets, General Mitchel's army of ten thousand men broke camp. +Tents were struck, wagons loaded, knapsacks swung into place ... and the +army stretched out to crawl wearily through that sea of jelly-like mud +towards Huntsville. + +It was early in the afternoon when Tom, Shadrack, and Wilson reached +Manchester. They were tired and wet, but far worse than being tired and +wet, they were hungry. They resolved that the first thing they should do +was forage for food, and so they made their way directly to the small store +in the center of the village. But there was little food to be had there. +The storekeeper, a wizened old man who had lost all interest in selling +things, told them that they might be able to buy something from one of the +village people--he didn't know who had food for sale. Perhaps the Widow +Fry--he indicated the general direction of the Widow Fry's house--might +give them something. They turned away from the store disconsolately. + +"It's raining again," remarked Shadrack. He turned his round face upward +and gazed at the sky so solemnly that the others laughed. But there was no +disputing the fact: the drizzle had commenced. To the south, in the +direction of Chattanooga, the clouds had formed a dark, ominous wall, as +though nature were raising a barrier to the expedition. + +A man, hurrying to be home and out of the rain, came abreast of them. Tom +stopped him. + +"Can you tell us where the Widow Fry lives?" he asked. + +"Yes," answered the man, and he glanced from Tom to Shadrack and Wilson +deliberately. "But tell me why everyone is going to the Widow Fry's!" + +"Everyone?" asked Wilson. + +"Well, three men stopped me 'bout a minute ago and asked the same thing," +the man replied. "Friends of yours, maybe?" + +"No," answered Wilson. It was a truthful answer, too, for even if the men +belonged to Andrews' party, they would not have recognized them. "The +storekeeper said we could get something to eat there." + +"Just traveling, are you!" persisted the man. + +"So to speak," replied Wilson. He was determined not to risk trouble again, +not to say that they were on their way to join the Southern army until they +were well within the Southern lines. + +"Come on, let's be getting in out of the rain," said Tom suddenly. "Don't +let's stand here getting wet. Where is the Widow Fry's?" + +"'Fraid of the wet, young man?" asked the native of Manchester. + +"Yes," answered Tom bluntly. + +"Well," drawled the man. He turned away from them sufficiently for Tom to +nudge Wilson and motion up the street. Andrews was riding toward them! He +was mounted upon a tired-looking bay, whose head drooped from hard riding. +Andrews looked equally tired, for he sat hunched up in the saddle, his cape +drawn tightly around him and his head bowed. "Y'see that clump of trees +down yonder!" asked the man. "The Widow Fry's house is just beyond that. +Are you journeyin' far?" + +"Thank you," answered Tom. "No, we're not going far." They strode away, +leaving the inquisitive citizen of Manchester staring after them. "The old +fool!" Tom exclaimed. "He'd keep us there for an hour. I wonder where +Andrews is going?" He hazarded a glance over his shoulder. Andrews was +almost up to them. + +"We'd better not speak to him until we're farther away from these houses," +said Wilson. + +"When we get down almost to the trees, I'll hail him." + +They quickened their pace so that Andrews would come abreast of them near +the Widow Fry's. Several times Tom glanced back to see if Andrews was +watching them, but the leader's eyes seemed never to waver from the pommel +of his saddle. The village street narrowed down to a country road, and the +"plock-plock-plock" of the horse's hoofs on the mud sounded directly behind +them. + +"This is all right," said Wilson. "Let's slow down." Then, as the horse +came up to them, Wilson said: "Andrews!" + +"Follow me," Andrews answered. He touched his horse with his spurs. The +animal was too tired to do more than quicken its step, but it carried +Andrews ahead of them rapidly. + +"He didn't seem surprised," said Wilson. + +"He knew who we were when he saw us on the street, I think," answered Tom. + +"Good-by, warm food," wailed Shadrack, for they were passing the Widow +Fry's. "Hot coffee, a plate full of stew, bread...." + +"Don't talk about it," begged Tom. + +"Fried eggs and ham," continued Shadrack. + +"We'll put you down and feed you mud, if you say another word. Won't we, +Wilson!" + +"If we don't starve to death first," Wilson replied. + +"Good-by, food," Shadrack wailed again. He picked up a stick from the +roadside and commenced to gnaw it; then, surprised because the others were +not eating, he broke the stick in three parts, and said: "Do have some of +the nice tender steak, Mr. Burns and Mr. Wilson." They threw the sticks at +him. He ran ahead of them. They finished the bombardment with hunks of mud, +and chased after him, slipping and splashing along the road. + +Andrews had dismounted, and they saw him leave the road, leading his horse. +They followed, and found him standing at the horse's head, waiting for +them. + +"How did you fare, men?" he asked. After they had told him of their +adventures, he continued: "This rain is bad. I'm afraid of it. If it keeps +up, General Mitchel will be delayed one day, perhaps two days. It will be +impossible for him to reach Huntsville in time--impossible." + +He appeared to be thinking aloud, rather than talking to them. His head was +bowed, and he stroked the horse's neck mechanically. + +"I dare not go back now in hopes of getting into communication with General +Mitchel. It would never do to leave my men scattered about the country, +waiting for me to return. Do you men, from your experience, think that the +General can reach Huntsville on Friday?" + +Wilson was first to answer. "I don't think so," he said. "Some of the +forces might reach there in time, but I don't think the General can +concentrate at Huntsville for an attack before Saturday. Not with this mud +to wade through." + +"I agree with Wilson, sir," said Shadrack. + +The three men turned to Tom. He felt suddenly embarrassed. Three veterans +asking him, a soldier of one day's campaigning, for an opinion! "From what +I've heard of General Mitchel," he said, "I think he will do whatever he +says he will do--even if he has to attack Beauregard's army single handed." +Then he added, as though to explain away what he had said: "But that is +nothing more than my opinion of the man. I ... I enlisted just yesterday." + +"Yesterday!" exclaimed the three older men. + +"Yes. My cousin was going on the raid, but he sprained his ankle. I came to +enlist, and I begged the Captain to send me." + +"I see," answered Andrews, studying him. After a moment he plunged again +into consideration of the problems which lay before him. "I am going ahead +on the theory that Mitchel will be one day late in reaching Huntsville," he +said at last. "We must find all the men and tell them, so that there will +be no confusion in Marietta." + +"There are three men at the Widow Fry's back there," said Shadrack. "I +don't know if they're some of ours or not." + +Andrews nodded. "We'll find out presently. I'm worrying most about our +engineers. I think I know where I can find Knight, but Brown has gone on +ahead. Do any of you know Brown?" + +"I do, sir," answered Tom. "We met at the same place last night, and then I +got a good look at him in the lightning." + +"Hm-m-m! That may help." + +"Mr. Andrews," commenced Tom. + +"Yes? What is it?" + +"If we're going to delay a day, shouldn't someone be sent back with a +message for General Mitchel?" + +"I've been considering that," answered Andrews. "Will you volunteer?" + +"No," Tom answered flatly. "Of course, I'll go if I'm ordered, but I'll not +volunteer." + +"Hm-m-m ... well, never mind about that. I have some other work for you." +Andrews seemed to emerge from a fog of indecision. "I want you to take my +horse and travel south as rapidly as you can. If you come across any of our +men who may be ahead of us, tell them that the raid is postponed one day. +I--if I can--will get word back to the General. I want you to locate Brown. +I was told that he and the man who is traveling with him--I don't know who +it is--managed to get a ride in a farmer's wagon. They left here this +morning, and the farmer was going to take them as far as a village called +Coal Mines. You'll probably overtake them, but if you don't find them on +the road, go into Chattanooga and catch the train for Marietta Thursday. +Brown will probably catch that train. Tell him about the change in plans, +and wait in Marietta for us. We will be there Friday night. In the +meantime, I will locate Knight. Is that clear?" + +"Yes, sir," answered Tom. "What shall I do with the horse?" + +"The poor brute is just about ready to drop now," replied Andrews. "Ride +him as far as he'll carry you, then turn him loose. Throw the saddle and +bridle into the bushes. It's after four o'clock now. You'd better be +getting along." + +"Yes, sir." Tom took the reins. + +"Say!" Shadrack broke in, "he'd better have something to eat, or he'll fall +off the horse. We were just going to the Widow Fry's to persuade her to +give us a meal." + +Andrews reached into his pockets, and drew forth two paper packages. +"Here's some bread and meat. I'm sorry I haven't anything more, or anything +better. You can eat it while you ride." + +Tom thanked him and mounted the horse. "Good-by, sir. Good-by, Wilson and +Shadrack. Luck to you." He turned the horse into the road, and started +southward. Now he was alone, with the South before him. + + + + +CHAPTER FIVE + + +TOM ARRIVES AT THE BEECHAM'S + +Wednesday dawned in a drizzle of rain. It had seemed to Tom, riding through +the long night on a horse whose legs trembled at every step, that the dawn +would never come; that the world had been conquered by the downpour. At +least it had seemed so until the monotony of the rain and cold deadened his +senses, allowing him to fall into a doze. + +He straightened in the saddle, and stretched. A chill seized him, and he +commenced to shiver violently. His clothes were wet and heavy. + +"This won't do," he said aloud, with his teeth chattering. At the sound of +his voice the horse pricked up his ears feebly. "Poor fellow! You're just +about ready to drop, aren't you?" He reined in, stroking the horse's +shoulder; then dismounted. For a few seconds he clung to the saddle, +supporting himself; his numbed legs refused to hold him until he brought +them to life by stamping and kicking. Even then he was none too sure of his +step. + +"Poor boy!" he said to the horse. "It's been a hard trip for you. Poor boy! +Here, let's take that bit out of your mouth and see if you can find +something to eat. There's not much around here, is there?" The horse +commenced chewing at some weeds which had sprung up along the roadside. Tom +pulled out the sodden remains of the food Andrews had given him, gave the +bread to the horse and ate the meat. Then, leading the horse, he walked +along the road. He had passed Coal Mines shortly after midnight, but +without coming upon Brown. Probably, he thought, Brown and his companion +had found a house or barn in which they were spending the night, which +meant that he was ahead of them and would be in Chattanooga when they +arrived. + +A half-hour later he tried to remount, but the horse was too exhausted to +bear his weight. They rested for a few minutes and then walked for another +half-hour. Several times the horse stumbled. When they stopped to rest +again, the horse braced his legs as though it took all his strength to +stand. His head was hanging, and his eyes were dull. + +"Poor fellow," Tom repeated. "It's cruel to make you do this, but I can't +leave you here." If he had to abandon the animal, he wanted to leave him +where there was some chance of finding food. Here there was nothing. + +They pressed on again, walking for a few minutes, then resting. It was +nearly seven o'clock when they came to a big house, standing several +hundred yards from the road. Tom turned up the driveway. Presently the odor +of frying bacon came to his nostrils, and he felt faint and dizzy. + +"Lan' sakes alive," exclaimed the negro woman who came to the door. "Lan' +sakes, have you all been out in this rain storm. Jasper!" + +"Yas'm," came the answer. A little negro boy appeared from around his +mother's skirts. + +"Take this gentleman's horse 'round to de stable. Come right in, sir." + +"Thank you," answered Tom wearily. "Can you give me something to eat?" + +"Yassir. You come right in." + +"I'd better unsaddle the horse first, mammy," replied Tom. + +"Jasper, you tell yo' pa to unsaddle this gentleman's horse. You come right +in here, sir. I'll tell the white folks." + +Tom needed no second urging. He entered the big kitchen, his stomach +wrenching and aching at the odor of food. "Don't bother about telling the +white folks that I'm here, mammy," he said. "Just give me something to eat. +I'm starving." + +"Yassir, yassir," replied the old woman, "but a kitchen ain't no place for +white folks to eat. I'll just run an' tell Mr. Beecham you all is here." +She disappeared through the door leading to the back part of the house. + +Tom decided that it was no time for ceremony. On the table lay a loaf of +bread--the colored woman had been slicing it when he knocked--and in the +pan sizzled a dozen slices of bacon. In less than five seconds, Tom was +eating a bacon sandwich. And he was halfway through the second sandwich +when the colored woman came back to the kitchen. + +"Sakes!" she exclaimed. "I guess you is suh-tainly hungry. Mr. Beecham he's +coming right away." + +Mr. Beecham proved to be an elderly, stern-faced gentleman. He stood in the +doorway gazing at Tom. + +"Well, sir," he said at last. "Do you prefer my kitchen to my dining-room, +sir?" + +"No, Mr. Beecham, I don't," answered Tom. "But in these clothes, wet to the +skin, it would be an intrusion to go farther than the kitchen." + +It was an answer that Mr. Beecham appreciated. Tom was glad that the last +evidences of the stolen bacon sandwiches had disappeared down his throat. +He stood waiting for Mr. Beecham to speak--and wondering if he was to be +invited for breakfast. + +"Will you come with me, please?" asked Mr. Beecham. They passed through a +corridor, and into the big entrance hall, where logs were blazing In a +fireplace. "In these days," continued Mr. Beecham, "it is customary to ask +people who they are. You understand, I trust." + +"Certainly, sir," said Tom. "My name is Thomas Burns, and I'm from Fleming +County, Kentucky. I'm on my way to Atlanta to enlist." He had been bracing +himself for the past minute to tell that story, and it came smoothly, +convincingly. For a moment after it was out, he hated himself. + +Mr. Beecham pursed his lips and nodded. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Will +you be my guest at breakfast, sir?" + +"Thank you, sir," Tom replied. "But in these clothes...." + +"I daresay we will be able to find other clothes for you. If you will come +with me?" + +"First I'd like to go to the stable and see my horse. I gave him a hard +ride last night to put distance between me and the Union pickets." + +"Certainly." Mr. Beecham called another colored boy, who guided Tom to the +stable. There he found his horse munching hay, wearily but contentedly. The +stableman approached, armed with grooming implements. + +"That's good," said Tom. "Give him a good grooming, and a blanket. Then, in +a half-hour, give him a feed of oats." + +"Yassir." + +He slipped a dollar into the negro's hand, and left him beaming. + +Mr. Beecham escorted him to a room upstairs, where, with the aid of another +negro servant, they found clothes to replace the wet things he was wearing. +They left him to wash and dress. + +"We will have breakfast just as soon as you are ready," said Mr. Beecham as +he closed the door. + +Tom wondered if all these negroes were slaves. He had seen an occasional +negro in the North, but of course they were freed. He had expected to find +them different; less cheerful, perhaps, and carrying an air of oppression. +And it disturbed him slightly not to find them so. + +Mr. Beecham had provided him with a suit of his own clothes. They were +about the same size, but a suit cut for a man of more than fifty looks +strange on a boy of eighteen. Tom glanced at himself in the mirror and +laughed. However, it was part of the adventure he had been tossed into. + +As he left his room and started down the stairs, the chatter of women's +voices struck his ears. Then he saw two women standing with Mr. Beecham +before the fire. One of them was elderly, and the other was a girl--about +his own age, Tom thought. She was strikingly pretty, standing there in the +glow of the fire, glancing up out of the corners of her eyes, as though she +could not restrain her curiosity. + +"May I present Mr. Burns, my dear," said Mr. Beecham. "My wife and my +niece, Miss Marjorie, Mr. Burns." + +Tom bowed, muttering "Mrs. Beecham, Miss Marjorie." When he caught the +girl's eyes, he saw a twinkle of amusement. Then he remembered his clothes, +and he blushed. The formalities of introduction over, they turned to the +dining-room, where two negro girls were already arranging breakfast. It was +a feast: coffee, hot cakes, eggs ... everything that Shadrack in his +wildest moments of hunger could have dreamt of. + +Mr. Beecham's conversation about the war, conditions in the South, his +hatred of the North and the abolitionists, occupied most of Tom's +attention. It was difficult to play the role of Southerner; he wanted to +protest against some of the things the older man said. There was slight +opportunity for him to reply, however, and so he simply nodded, apparently +agreeing heartily. + +"Did you ride far last night?" asked Miss Marjorie finally. + +"From Wartrace," he said. "I came through the lines there." + +"And weren't there any Union sentries?" + +"I didn't stop to investigate." + +Mr. Beecham broke in upon their conversation at that point with some +observations of his own upon the subject of Northern politics. Then he +drifted to war manoeuvers: "I tell you, Beauregard will smash that man +Mitchel to a million pieces. Mitchel is so frightened that he dares not +move. Whichever way he moves, he is lost. He is trapped like a man at +chess. The best thing he can do is to surrender before he loses his troops. +He dares not move." + +And Tom was thinking to himself: "How surprised you'd be if you knew that +Mitchel was moving this very minute." + +Mitchel _was_ moving. Under the weight of their water-soaked equipment, his +men were plodding wearily through the mud, marching slowly and steadily +upon Huntsville. While Tom had been riding through the night, Mitchel's men +had slept on the flooded ground between Shelbyville and Fayetteville. Now +they were prying the heaving wagons from the mud holes, while the cavalry +swept out on the flanks to clear the country of enemy scouts. Skirmishers +were advancing through the woods and over the hills, protecting the troops, +with their thousands of wagons and guns, from surprise attack. General +Mitchel, riding through the drizzle, announced to his aides: "Regardless of +the weather, we will attack Huntsville Friday." + +Even Andrews, underrating Mitchel's relentless determination to do what he +said he would do, if all the forces of the weather were against him, +thought himself safe in delaying the raid at least one day. + + + + +CHAPTER SIX + + +ON TO CHATTANOOGA + +"I must leave, sir, as soon as my horse is fit to travel," replied Tom to +Mr. Beecham's questions regarding his plans. "That will give me more than +enough time if the ferry is running, and just enough time if I must follow +the river to the Chattanooga ferry." + +Mr. Beecham's house was only ten miles from the town, figured on the map; +but the weather made map figuring hazardous. The Tennessee River had +mounted to a torrent under the continual rains, and the ferries which +customarily provided short-cuts were, for the most part, not operating. Tom +gathered that information at breakfast. He had no intention of trying to +cross at the Chattanooga ferry, for the Confederate guards there would be +dangerously strong, and it remained to find some ferryman who could be +bribed to risk the trip. That might take time. + +"I'll look at your horse while I'm out," said Mr. Beecham. He was +preparing, regardless of the storm, for his usual walk about his estate. He +went out, and Mrs. Beecham turned to her household duties. Miss Marjorie +and Tom were alone, standing before the blazing fire in the hall. There was +still that disconcerting twinkle of amusement in her eyes. + +"I suppose I do look funny," he said, glancing down at his clothes. + +"It's not kind of me to laugh," she replied. "Were you very wet!" + +"As wet as one person can possibly be. I absorbed at least half of the +rainstorm between Wartrace and here. No more water would stick to me--it +just rolled off, finally." + +"I don't think I should like being a soldier," she said. "Do you?" + +"I haven't tried it. I'm just beginning." + +"Do you want to fight?" + +"It isn't a question of wanting to fight," he replied. "It's a question of +duty." + +"Oh." She sat down and he took a chair beside her. "But you were out of it. +No one would have said that it was your duty to run the danger of going +through the Union pickets." + +He wished that she would not talk about the war. It was unpleasant, this +lying to a girl. With Mr. Beecham it was different. Then he remembered that +she had said "Union pickets," instead of "Yankee pickets." It struck him as +strange, coming from a Southern girl. + +"Tell me about your home," she asked. + +He gave a rather sketchy description of his imaginary home in Fleming +County, Kentucky--a none too convincing description. Then he tried to +change the subject by asking her if she had always lived with the Beechams. + +"No--not always," she answered. "Is Fleming Cou...." + +"And is your name Beecham?" he interrupted, anxious to avoid the subject of +Fleming County. + +"My name is Landis," she answered. "Marjorie Landis. Is Fleming County very +large?" + +"No--no. Not very large. And where did you live before you came here?" + +"With mother." It seemed to be her turn for evasion. "I presume," she +continued, "that you know all the people in the county?" + +He wondered if, by some chance, she knew people there, if she was going to +pin him down to persons and definite places in Fleming County. + +"No, indeed," he answered. "You see, I haven't been there all the time." + +"I never was very good at geography," she began apologetically. "Where is +Fleming County?" + +"Oh, it is in the southern part of the state," he said. He decided to study +the first map he could get his hands upon. + +"Let's do as we used to do in school," she said. "Bound Fleming County for +me." + +Tom decided that he hated all girls, and Miss Marjorie Landis in +particular. She had trapped him, easily and pleasantly. + +He forced himself to laugh, and the laugh sounded mirthlessly in his ears. +"Oh, I've forgotten," he said. "I can't remember what counties are around +us there. I wonder when this rain will stop? We'll have to build us an ark +if it keeps on much longer. Wouldn't a war on an ark be a strange thing? +The ark would keep turning in the current--the North would become the South +and the South would become the North, and so rapidly that we wouldn't know +which side we were fighting on. Do you think we'd have to stop and change +uniforms every time the ark turned?" He arose and went to the window. "I +wonder if my poor horse is getting rested! It's a pity to ride him again +this afternoon. Perhaps I'd better go out and see him." + +She, too, arose. "Never mind about the horse, Mr. Burns," she said. "You'd +much better be studying geography! Wait here a moment." + +She turned and ran up the stairs. Tom, his head pounding, watched her +disappear. What was she going to do, now that she had trapped him? Of +course she knew that he had not been telling the truth. Presently she +returned with a book under her arm. Scarcely glancing at him, she +approached, opened the book--it was a geography--turned the pages to a map +of Kentucky. + +"There!" she said. He looked at her, rather than the book. "No--study it." + +He did as she bade him--and found Fleming County in the north-eastern part +of the state. It had been a bad guess. Then he glanced at the names of the +counties surrounding it. + +"But why...." he began. + +"Give me the map!" she demanded. "Now can you remember them!" + +"But...." + +"Please! Say them--the counties!" + +"Lewis, Carter, Morgan, Bath, Nicholas, Mason." + +As the door opened and Mr. Beecham entered, they turned. "Mr. Burns has +been showing me on the map where he lives," said Miss Marjorie sweetly. + +"Ah, yes--ah, yes," answered Mr. Beecham. "Ah, yes, indeed." + +Tom scarcely heard him, or saw him. + +"Your horse will be ready to carry you in a few hours, I think," said Mr. +Beecham. "You must have ridden him easily, sir." + +"I didn't press him harder than was necessary," responded Tom. + +"I tell you," announced Mr. Beecham, divesting himself of his storm coat, +"it takes a Southern man to get the most out of horse flesh, without +hurting the horse. A good reason for the superiority of our cavalry! I +trust you are going to join the cavalry." + +"Yes, sir," answered Tom. He was thoroughly sick of deception. At that +moment, if he could have found an adequate excuse for departure, he would +willingly have walked the remaining distance to Chattanooga--and swum the +river in the bargain. + +Mr. Beecham settled himself before the fire. "I've not known many gentlemen +from Kentucky," he announced. "For the most part I stay at home, and we +have few travelers along this road. There was a Mr. Charles, of Floyd +County. Isn't that just east of Fleming County!" + +"No," answered Tom, "Carter County is on our east." He glanced at Miss +Marjorie. She was watching him intently, alive to the dangerous ground he +was treading. + +"Ah, yes," answered Mr. Beecham, "so it is--so it is. Let me see the +geography a moment, dear." Miss Marjorie gave him the book, opened to the +map of Kentucky. "Quite so--quite so. Floyd County is here." He pointed. + +"Yes," answered Tom. "Does there seem to be any chance of the storm ending, +sir?" + +The weather provided a safer subject of conversation, which lasted for +nearly a half-hour. Then Tom became intensely interested in Mr. Beecham's +estate, and the difficulties of handling crops in war time. Miss Marjorie +sat near them, sewing. Tom would have given everything he possessed for two +minutes alone with her. Why was she befriending him? He asked the question +over and over again. + +It was decided that one of Mr. Beecham's servants should go with Tom to the +ferry landing. The servant, carrying a note from Mr. Beecham to the +ferryman, would show him the way, and, more than that, it would be +additional proof to the ferryman that Mr. Beecham was especially desirous +of Tom's being taken across the river. "Then I'll know if old Jones who +runs the ferry does as I tell him to do," explained Mr. Beecham. "They +don't like to cross when the river's high." + +Dinner was served, and still Tom had no opportunity to speak with Marjorie +alone. The glances they exchanged were charged with meaning--but it was an +unexplainable meaning. Several times as he pondered over it, Tom lost the +thread of Mr. Beecham's remarks, and had to grope for the right answers. + +"Your horse will be ready for you in a few minutes," said Mr. Beecham as +they arose from the table. + +"And your clothes are dried and in your room," added his wife. + +It was time to be going. He mounted to his room, changed into the rough +suit he had bought in Shelbyville, and forced his feet into his soggy +shoes. They were waiting for him before the fire as he came down. After a +moment, Mrs. Beecham left them. Tom hoped desperately that Mr. Beecham +would do likewise. + +"I'll see if Sam is bringing your horse," he said. + +Tom's eyes met Marjorie's as the older man entered the next room, where he +could look out toward the stables. He had no sooner disappeared than Tom +asked in a low voice: "Why did you do that?" + +"You're not a Southerner, are you?" she asked. + +"No," he answered bluntly. "But what...?" + +"I'm not either," she replied. Her glowed with excitement. "I'm from +Albany...." + +They were interrupted by Mr. Beecham's returning. "The horse is coming," he +announced. Mrs. Beecham entered the room. + +"Thank you for your hospitality," said Tom. + +"It has been a pleasure," replied Mrs. Beecham. + +"A pleasure, sir--a pleasure," responded her husband. + +Tom's dislike for the deception he was practising made him want to run from +the house. For the moment he hated the idea of the expedition. + +He put out his hand to Marjorie. She gave him a cool, firm clasp, and +looked straight into his eyes. "I wish you the best of luck for everything +you undertake," she said slowly. + +"Thank you," he replied. "I'll need luck." Her hand gave his a quick +pressure. Once again the railroad raid became a great, thrilling adventure +in which he was to play a part. + +"He bowed and left the house. + +"Sam!" called Mr. Beecham. + +"Yassah!" answered the negro boy who was mounted upon another horse. + +"You stay there until this gentleman is across the river." + +"Yassah." + +Tom mounted and they started down the road. He looked back, saw Marjorie at +the window, and waved. She answered him. + +Despite the rain which beat in their faces, Tom studied the country through +which they were passing, and asked the negro boy innumerable questions. But +he found his mind slipping back constantly to Marjorie. A Northern girl in +the South! Surrounded by "rebs" but still true to her country! And she +wished him luck! + +"Whose place is that?" asked Tom, pointing to a small house which was +almost hidden from the road by trees. + +An expression of dislike came over the negro's face. "Mistah Murdock's," he +answered. + +"A farmer?" + +"No, suh," replied the negro. The expression of dislike changed visibly to +repugnance and fear. He added: "He keeps dawgs!" + +There was no need to ask more. The negro's tone was sufficient. Dogs! There +was only one reason why a man made a business of keeping dogs--to chase +escaping slaves. The thought was horrible to Tom, and he turned away. + +They found the ferryman in his shanty, hugging a stove. + +"No crossing today," he announced. "Look at that there river. No crossing +today. Besides that, it's forbidden by the law. No Sentry, no crossing." + +That was good news! No Sentry! "Mr. Beecham thought that you would take me +across," said Tom. "Sam, give him Mr. Beecham's note." + +"Yassuh." Sam produced the note. + +The ferryman read it, scratching his head. "That man'll be my death yet," +he said. "Take a horse across today? No, sir! I'll take you across if you +and the nigger'll handle oars, but not the horse! No, sir! It's against the +law, anyways. No Sentry, no crossing. No, sir! I'll risk the river an' the +law, just because Mr. Beecham asks it, but I can't take that there nag." + +"Well, then we'll leave the horse behind," answered Tom. "I can pull an +oar. Can you row, Sam?" + +The negro backed against the wall, shaking his head, terrified at the +thought of the rough crossing. + +"Just like all of 'em," said the ferryman. "When there's any danger, don't +count on _them_. Mr. Beecham treats his niggers too easy, anyways. I always +say if he'd lick 'em they'd be better." + +"He's pretty easy with them, is he?" asked Tom. + +"Treats 'em as though they were prize stock," answered the ferryman in +disgust. "I guess you and I can get across," he grumbled. "Two white men're +better 'an a dozen of 'em." + +"Sam, you take my horse back to Mr. Beecham. I'll write a note for you to +carry." Tom wrote a message, explaining that the horse could not be ferried +across, and asking that it be disposed of in any manner that suited Mr. +Beecham's convenience. + +The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of the river. Tom, +swinging on his big oar in answer to the ferryman's cries of "Ho!" "Now!", +saw the other bank creeping nearer. At last they cleared the full flood of +the stream. On the other shore, Sam stood open-mouthed, watching them. + +[Illustration: The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of +the river.] + +It was eight o'clock that evening when Tom, soaked to the skin again, cold, +hungry, and tired, tramped into the little town of Chattanooga. A few lamps +shone through the windows into the deserted street, making dull splotches +of yellow in the mist. Three or four people passed him, hurrying to be out +of the storm. + +He stopped one man and asked: "Where can I find a hotel?" Then he gasped as +the man straightened and threw back the coat he had thrown over his head +and shoulders: it was a Confederate soldier! + +"That's about as good as any place," answered the Confederate, pointing +across the street. "Where you see the two lights burning." + +"Thank you." + +"Welcome." He pulled the coat about his face again and disappeared into the +storm. + +Tom crossed the street to spend his first night behind the Confederate +lines. + + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN + + +IN MARIETTA + +Tom awoke dazed from twelve hours of sleep. For a moment he could not +remember where he was; then it flashed across his mind. In Chattanooga! He +sprang from bed, dressed and went downstairs. It was late, but the +proprietor of the hotel gave him breakfast, after some grumbling about +people who had nothing to do but sleep. + +The train from Marietta did not leave until two o'clock, and as the hotel +clock had just struck ten, Tom began to wonder what he should do with +himself. For a half-hour he sat in the hotel watching the people who passed +in and out. The sight of so many young men in civilian clothes reassured +him, for it meant that there was less chance of being questioned by the +military authorities. Finally he went out to the street. The rain had +stopped, and the sun was struggling through the clouds. + +There were crowds of civilians and soldiers upon the narrow sidewalks, and +through the streets lumbered the heavy wagons of the Southern army. Tom +walked along slowly, scanning the faces of the people he passed, hoping to +catch a glimpse of Brown. Finally he reached the station. + +A train had just come in, and the station was crowded with passengers, +struggling out with the bags and packages, and townspeople who had come to +get the news. Tom listened closely to the chatter. The train was from +Memphis and had passed over the line which Mitchel was about to attack. +There was no suggestion of excitement or activity along the route. Then the +news of Mitchel's movement had not advanced before him, thought Tom. To +him, that was the best news in the world. Mitchel's plans were successful. + +He followed the crowd from the station and once again began wandering about +the streets. Not far away was a big shed labeled Commissary Department. The +army wagons were backed up to a loading platform, and Confederate soldiers +were busy transferring boxes of supplies. By this time Tom had lost the +first sense of strangeness at being in the enemy country, and so he went +over to watch the soldiers work. + +Presently it was noon, and time for dinner. He returned to the hotel. + +There, sitting apart from the others at one end of the long table, were +Brown and his companion! They glanced at him, and then continued eating. It +dawned upon Tom that while he knew Brown, Brown did not know him. He took a +seat opposite them. + +"How d'you do?" said Tom. + +Brown and the other man nodded, but did not speak. + +"Just traveling through?" asked Tom. + +"Yes," said Brown. + +"Where are you from?" Tom's manner was casual and friendly. + +"Kentucky," answered Brown. + +"Oh, is that so? Coming through to enlist?" + +"Yes." + +"Whereabouts in Kentucky do you hail from?" persisted Tom. + +"Fleming County." + +"Well, that's good news! I'm from Fleming County myself. Let's see, I think +I remember you. Your name is Brown, isn't it?" Brown's eyes were wide; the +other man's jaw was drooping. "Surely I remember you," continued Tom. +"You're a locomotive engineer, aren't you? I presume you'll be running a +locomotive here in the South. We need engineers." + +Brown was speechless; his companion was rising from the table. + +"That's all right," said Tom. "Sit down! I'm Burns. We met at the same +place last Monday night, Brown." + +"Young man!" said Brown, slowly recovering his power of speech. "When I get +my revenge on you, you'll feel it!" + +"Whew!" breathed the other. + +When dinner was finished, they left the hotel to find a spot where they +could talk. Tom told them of the change in plans. It was decided that they +should leave for Marietta on the afternoon train, rather than spend the +extra day in Chattanooga. Dorsey, who was traveling with Brown, thought +that there might be some others who had not been told of the change and who +would be on the train. + +As they threaded their way through the crowd at the station, Tom caught the +first intimation of Mitchel's drive upon Huntsville. "The train is +jam-full," a man was saying. "There isn't a seat left. All those soldiers +who went through here this morning are being sent back." + +"Why is that?" asked his companion. + +"They don't seem to know," the man continued. "They got as far as +Stevenson--that's a little place down the line about thirty miles--and then +they received orders to go back. They're to join Beauregard at Corinth as +fast as they can by the way of Atlanta and Meridian." + +"Hm-m-m, that's strange!" + +"Perhaps there's a wreck between here and Corinth." + +Tom whispered the news to Brown and Dorsey after they were aboard the +train. They exchanged glances. + +It was ten o'clock that night when the brakeman of the train called, +"Marietta!" Dorsey was asleep on the coal box of the car, while Tom and +Brown dozed against the door. They had taken turns at the coal box for +eight hours. Now they moved stiffly out to the platform, relieved that the +journey had ended. For several minutes they waited at the station, slowly +circulating among the people to see if they could recognize any other +members of the expedition. + +"I guess we're the only ones here," said Tom. + +"Looks that way," replied Brown. "Let's go to the hotel." + +"I'd give a good deal to know where Mitchel is at just this minute," said +Tom. + +"So would I," replied Dorsey. "I hope we're not making a mistake by +delaying a day." + +"It's my opinion," said Brown, "that when Mitchel starts to do a thing, it +takes more than mud to stop him." + +They walked on silently toward the hotel. + +While they drifted off to sleep that night, General Mitchel was perfecting +the last details of the attack upon Huntsville. Every road was blocked by +scouts to prevent the news of the advance going before them. Ten miles to +the south lay Huntsville, unaware of the approaching army. + +The last rush of the advance commenced at two o'clock in the morning. +Mitchel's weary army struggled to its feet, and stood ready to march. The +cavalry was the first away, and disappeared silently into the night. There +were no bugle calls, and no shouting. Even the noise of the horses' hoofs +was deadened by the deep mud of the road. The four cannons which the +cavalry took with it fell into position; then the infantry moved forward. +As each regiment passed, General Mitchel addressed his men; then when the +last of them was on the road, he and his aides pressed towards the front. + +When daylight came, the cavalry was four miles from Huntsville. The first +section of cavalry galloped to the west of the town, the second to the +east, while the remaining cavalrymen, led by General Mitchel, dashed for +the station. Now all restraints upon noise were removed. The shouting of +the cavalrymen drifted back to the infantrymen to quicken their steps, and +the cannons hammered along the road. + +A few minutes later, Huntsville was in the control of the Union troops. At +the station, Mitchel found fifteen locomotives, eighty cars, and a cipher +message from Beauregard to the Confederate Secretary of War. Beauregard was +desperately in need of troops, said the decoded message. + + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT + + +THE TRAIN IS CAPTURED + +"I have no positive information, but I think that Mitchel captured +Huntsville today!" + +Andrews was speaking. An exclamation of surprise came from the men who were +clustered about him in a room of the hotel at Marietta. There were nineteen +of them; travel-worn, tired and still wet from the incessant rain. It was +their last conference before the raid. + +"The line between Chattanooga and Corinth is blocked," continued Andrews, +"and no one knows the cause of it. No trains and no telegraph messages are +coming through. Of course it may be that Beauregard has heard of Mitchel's +advance and has chosen to operate in silence. All that we can do is hope +and pray for the best, and carry out our orders. If we can destroy the +railroad between here and Chattanooga, it will put the city at Mitchel's +mercy. Then our work is done. It will remain for Mitchel and Beauregard to +fight it out." + +He paused, and there was a moment of profound silence while the men +considered the situation. Then Andrews spoke again: + +"The fact that action has started between Chattanooga and Corinth means +that our task is additionally hazardous. The odds we must overcome are +greater than I expected. If we have made a mistake in delaying a day, we +must work the harder to keep that mistake from costing Mitchel his victory. +The train we are to capture leaves Marietta at six o'clock tomorrow +morning. I will see that you are called before five so that you will have +plenty of time to get to the station. Carry food with you, for there's no +telling when you'll sit at a table again. Buy tickets for points north of +Big Shanty--Allatoona, Etowah, Calhoun and Dalton--so that you won't excite +suspicion. Get aboard the same car in groups of two and three, and don't +show that you are acquainted. Avoid all talk about the raid. We must say +everything that is to be said here tonight before we separate. I will be in +the same car, and if trouble starts, follow me. + +"At Big Shanty we will seize the train. The train stops at Big Shanty for +the crew and passengers to have breakfast. Stay in the car until the others +have left; then, when you see me leave, follow me to the head of the +trains. Walk slowly, and carelessly, as though you were simply out to +stretch your legs. Brown and Knight will go with me to the engine, and you, +Burns"--he pointed to Tom--"you come with us, too. I want you as fireman. +Ross will uncouple the train after the third box-car. The box-cars are +empties being sent to Chattanooga for supplies which the rebs are storing +in Atlanta. The doors will be unlocked. The rest of you are to climb aboard +the last box-car. Do all of you understand?" The men nodded. "Have your +guns ready to use in case there is any interference, but don't fire unless +you must. After the train has started...." + +He paused; then, with a gesture which told them that he would not even try +to guess what might happen, he added: "We will succeed or leave our bones +in Dixie! That is all I can tell you. Tonight, before you go to sleep, +examine your guns and make sure that they are not clogged or rusty." + +The meeting was over, and each man, as he stepped from the room, realized +that he was on the verge of a great adventure. They made their way silently +along the dark corridors of the hotel. + +"I'm about ready to explode," said Tom. "Think of it! I'm going to be +fireman!" + +"I'll make you heave wood so fast that you'll be sorry for that trick you +played in Chattanooga," replied Brown. "Did I tell you about that, Knight?" + +Knight, Brown, Dorsey, Wilson, and Tom were all occupying the same room. +The hotel at Marietta was crowded, and the men were sleeping wherever they +could squeeze themselves in. Tom, Dorsey, and Brown, having had several +nights of good rest, had relinquished the bed and sofa to the three +newcomers, and had spread blankets on the floor. + +"Let's lock the door, and look at our guns," suggested Tom. The lock was +broken, and so he barred the door with a chair. Then they sat on the bed, +with the lamp beside them, and talked while they unloaded their revolvers, +wiped away the rust and mud, and reloaded. Each told of his experiences and +narrow escapes. Knight had been arrested as a deserter from the Confederate +army. Wilson and Shadrack had stolen a ferryboat and crossed the Tennessee +River at night, Brown and Dorsey had shared their food with two Confederate +sentries who had stopped them as they crossed the railroad bridge at +Stevenson. "Most sociable sentries I ever found," said Dorsey. "They +believed our story, and told us all about Bull Run. It was mighty +interesting to hear their side of it, because we were both in the fight." +But it was Tom who had been most royally entertained. He told them about +Mr. Beecham, and how Marjorie Landis had trapped him. + +"But what did you do?" demanded Dorsey. "How did you get out of it?" + +"She wished me luck when I left," said Tom. "She was a Northern girl." + +The others whistled. "Whew!" said Brown. "That's about enough luck to last +you for a year." + +They talked until midnight; then divided the bedding between them and lay +down to sleep. It seemed to Tom that sleep would never come. The plan of +the raid went racing through his mind again and again; he could see every +move as Andrews had described it. His thoughts carried him back to the +other side of the lines. What was Bert doing? He supposed that Bert had +been left behind when Mitchel advanced. His parents in Cleveland? What +would they think if they were told that he was a hundred miles behind the +Confederate picket lines? What a story to tell them when he returned! And +Marjorie Landis? Would she realize, when the news of the raid swept over +the country, that he had taken part in it? She was a plucky girl! + +The next thing he knew was that there was a terrific pounding in some +remote part of the world. He sat up in the darkness and tried to recall +himself. Then someone said, "All right--wait a second." The chair which had +been placed against the door was yanked away, and Andrews entered, holding +a lamp. + +"Wake up, men," he said. "It's just five. You have an hour." + +Brown lighted the lamp on the table; the others climbed stiffly to their +feet, stretching. + +"You can get breakfast downstairs," said Andrews. "The proprietor always +has some packages of food prepared for people who are traveling. Stuff your +pockets." He vanished down the corridor. + +"That's the hardest floor I've ever slept on," said Brown. The others +muttered in response. + +To Tom, the scene was strange and unreal. The yellow light of the lamp and +the faint dawn which was stealing in through the windows made the men seem +ghost-like as they moved about the room, dressing. Huge shadows loomed on +the walls, swaying and disappearing. + +"Shall we go together, Brown!" asked Knight. + +"You'd better not," said Tom. "Engineers are too valuable. If you go +together you might both be stopped before you could reach the engine." + +"The boy's right," replied Brown. "You and I'll go together, eh, Tom?" + +"Yep." + +"Are you ready?" + +"All ready. Come on." + +Tom and Brown left the room, found the way along the corridor to the +stairs. "Now for it!" exclaimed Tom, clutching the other's arm. + +"You bet!" + +Breakfast finished, they left the hotel and went toward the station. Tom +looked anxiously at the sky, and saw that the clouds were broken. They had +a chance, at least, of good weather for the raid. At the station they +bought tickets for Kingston. There were about thirty people moving +restlessly about in the dark, waiting for the train. Tom recognized Andrews +and five of their men. Then the remainder appeared suddenly. Andrews paced +up and down, his head slightly bowed. + +The whistle of the train came shrieking through the night. Tom's throat +tightened and his heart thumped. Presently they could hear the engine, and +see the sparks above the trees. Then the train came sweeping down the track +towards them, the wheels rumbling and the brakes whining. The engine, with +its name, _General_, painted upon the side of the cab, passed them. + +Tom's eyes followed the engine. He saw the engineer in the light of the +flames from the firebox; the fireman was in the act of sliding fresh logs +upon the flames. + +Several passengers stepped from the train. Andrews boarded the second +coach, and the men followed him, distributing themselves through the car. +Ahead of them were four freight cars and another coach. Brown and Tom found +a seat not far from Andrews; Wilson and Knight settled themselves across +the aisle. Tom glanced back and saw the others scattered through the car. +His eyes met Shadrack's and, mindful of Andrews' warning, he turned away +before he laughed outright. Shadrack's expression was comical: his eyes +were wide and he was gazing about him apprehensively, yet still with that +twinkle of amusement. + +"'Board--'board," cried the conductor. + +Tom could hear the rapid puffing of the engine as the wheels slipped on the +wet rails; then the puffing became more laborious. There was a rattle of +loose couplings, and the train jerked forward. It was lighter now. To the +west, the Kennesaw Mountains made a splotch of black against the dark blue +sky, and the houses and woods along the track were visible in the half +light. + +The train gathered speed, then settled down to a steady pace. The smoke +from the engine drifted back to them. The forward door of the car opened +and the conductor entered. He stood for a moment looking down the length of +the car, then commenced to take tickets, scrutinizing each passenger +closely. The conductor was a young man--about twenty-six--and the men of +Andrews' party found his gaze disturbing. Tom met his eyes, and wondered if +he knew anything of their purpose, suspected anything. + +"I don't like the looks of that conductor," he whispered to Brown. + +"Probably wondering why so many people got aboard at Marietta." + +Andrews arose, as though to stretch, but Tom could see that he was watching +the conductor. At last they heard the rear door of the car slam. The +conductor had not stopped to ask questions, regardless of what he +suspected. + +"Big Shanty! Big Shanty! Twenty minutes for breakfast." It was like a bugle +call to Andrews' men. Their eyes were turned toward him. He sat as though +he were sleeping. The other passengers stirred in their seats, making ready +to race to the restaurant. + +The speed of the train slackened, and the train glided into the town. +Bordering the tracks on the west was an encampment of Confederate soldiers. +Rows of white tents stretched down the slope towards a thick woods. On the +east were the houses of Big Shanty. The train stopped opposite a long shed, +before which a man stood ringing a bell. There was no need to call the +passengers to breakfast; they tumbled off the train and ran to get places +at the counter. And at the head of the crowd was the conductor. The +engineer and fireman brought up the rear, wiping their hands on pieces of +waste. Except for three passengers who were sleeping, Andrews' men had the +car to themselves. + +It was several minutes before Andrews showed any signs of stirring. Then he +arose and walked to the rear of the car. + +"Not yet," he said, as he passed Tom. Presently they saw him strolling +beside the train. Then he boarded the front platform, opened the door and +nodded. They got up and went out. + +"Ross, you come with me," said Andrews. "Brown, Knight, and Burns follow. +The rest go up the other side of the engine." + +Andrews and Boss walked slowly towards the engine. + +"Uncouple here, Ross," ordered Andrews. "Then cross over and get aboard +with the rest." His tone was calm and untroubled. + +Tom saw Ross pull the coupling pin, and duck under the train. He glanced +back to the shed where the train crew was at breakfast. There was no sign +of alarm. + +They approached the engine as indifferently as though they were walking for +exercise. + +"Wait here," said Andrews when they were beside the engine cab. He went +forward, crossed in front of the train and looked back on the other side to +see if the men were aboard. Then he came sauntering back. + +"Get aboard!" he snapped. "Knight at the throttle." + +Knight mounted first; then Brown, with Tom and Andrews following. Knight +jumped to the engineer's seat, and grabbed the throttle. There came the +hissing of steam: the engine trembled and puffed. Brown lunged for the sand +lever, yanked it open. The wheels spun on the track, then grabbed it, and +the engine sprang forward like a beast unchained. + + + + +CHAPTER NINE + + +THE RACE + +The sudden jerk of the engine sent Tom spinning against the side of the +cab. Andrews, who was mounting the wood-pile in the tender to see what was +happening behind them, was thrown flat. He scrambled to his feet, his hands +bleeding from the splinters, and climbed up the pile. Then he waved his +arms and yelled in exultation. The yell sounded faintly through the noise +of the engine. + +Tom swung from the cab and looked back. The crowd was spilling from the +shed. Several men raced after the train. Others stood watching, dumfounded. + +Knight was bending over the throttle, urging the train forward as though he +were putting his own strength into the flying pistons. His lips were drawn +back from his set teeth, and his left hand upon the throttle was white from +its grip. With his right hand he was pounding upon the sill of the cab. + +Brown was studying the steam gauge. He had opened the forced draft and the +smoke stack had become a fountain of sparks. + +"More wood!" he yelled. + +Tom stripped off his coat. The _General_ was pounding upon the rails, +swaying from side to side. It was almost impossible to stand without +clinging to the side of the cab. Tom lurched cautiously toward the tender, +grabbed a log and dragged it back after him. Brown swung the door of the +fire-box open. Tom gasped as the heat struck him. The red flames seemed to +leap out at him, enveloping him, smothering him. He slid the log into the +fire. The door crashed shut again. "More! More!" yelled Brown. + +Again and again Tom fed logs into the flames. Each time, Brown opened and +closed the door as though an instant's heat were too precious to be lost. +Brown's eyes were constantly upon the wavering needle of the steam gauge. + +Andrews, sitting in the fireman's seat, was leaning from the window, +glancing first ahead and then back. Except for that first shout of triumph, +he had been calm and deliberate. + +"Enough for now," shouted Brown. "Rest!" + +Tom, panting and weak, climbed up beside Andrews and put his head out so +that the cool wind would strike it. The violent effort of dragging those +logs from the tender to the fire-box, together with the heat that played +upon him each time, had made his legs seem like jelly beneath him. But the +cool air revived him, and he watched Brown constantly for the signal that +more wood was needed. Once he looked back and saw Shadrack leaning from the +door of the boxcar. They waved excitedly to each other. + +"Stop!" yelled Andrews to Knight. + +Brown repeated the order. Knight, aroused from his intense purpose of +forcing the last ounce of speed out of the _General_, shut the throttle. +Brown gave the whistle a blast, and began twisting at the brake. Gradually +the train lost its speed. The men in the box-car leaned from the door, +asking why they were stopping. + +"Come up here," yelled Andrews. "One of you men climb that telegraph pole +and knock the insulating cap off. Then break the wire." + +A little fellow named Scott scrambled up the pole. Telegraph communications +were broken ahead of them. + +"There's no telegraph station at Big Shanty," explained Andrews. "The best +they can do is to go on horseback to Marietta and telegraph to Atlanta for +an engine to pursue us. But they can't telegraph ahead of us! At Kingston +we'll meet the regular freight train, which is traveling against us. While +we're standing in the yards the door of the box-car must be closed. Do you +understand?" + +"Yes!" shouted the men. + +"Hop aboard then!" + +Once again the _General_ started forward. Brown was at the throttle. + +"More wood!" yelled Knight. + +With Knight at the door of the fire-box, Tom yanked a half-dozen logs from +the tender and slid them into the flames. + +"Not too fast," Andrews called to Brown. "We're out of the worst of it now, +and we don't want to get to Kingston too soon. Have to wait in the yards." + +Brown nodded and slackened the speed. Now they could talk without yelling. +Presently Andrews ordered another stop and they drew up beside Moon +Station. He jumped out and came back with an iron bar. "Go ahead," he +yelled, then, pointing to the bar: "Good for pulling up track." + +Tom added more fuel, and then stood at the door of the cab to see Allatoona +as they went through. Brown opened the throttle gradually. The outskirts of +the town whizzed past them; then the station. The crowd upon the station +platform, expecting that this was the passenger train, stared +uncomprehendingly as the train thundered in and out of town. + +They rounded a bend which cut Allatoona off from view; then Andrews +motioned to Brown to stop. Tom grabbed the brake and tightened it. The +train stopped abruptly. Andrews pointed to the telegraph line. + +"Tear it down, Scott. Let's pull up some rails here." + +They ran to the rear of the train and pried one rail from the track. After +ten minutes of feverish work, Andrews called: + +"Load the rails on the box-car. Come on!" + +They climbed aboard again, and the _General_ carried them onward. + +Tom was standing at the door of the cab, resting and watching the country, +when Andrews came up behind him suddenly and exclaimed: "Look at that!" He +pointed over Tom's shoulder to a locomotive that was standing, steam up, on +a spur. "That's serious business," said Andrews quickly. "I wonder where it +came from. I didn't think there was another locomotive between Atlanta and +Kingston." + +As they passed the locomotive, Tom read its name, _Yonah_, painted upon the +side of the cab. + +"Hadn't we better destroy the track?" asked Tom. + +"No," Andrews replied, "we're only thirteen miles to Kingston. We better +get there and past the freight without losing any time." + +"More wood!" yelled Brown. Knight was at the throttle again. + +The supply of wood was running low. A dozen sticks remained and those would +soon be gone. + +"Water's low, too," said Brown. + +"We'll stop at Cass Station," replied Andrews. "It's a wood and water +station--seven miles this side of Kingston." + +As they drew up at Cass Station Andrews jumped from the engine. The old man +who had charge of the wood and water came out to meet him. + +"I'm running a special ammunition train to Beauregard and I have to have +fuel," he said. "Tom, call the boys from the box-car and get them to work." + +Tom raced back to the car and opened the door. "Give a hand on this wood," +he shouted. They streamed out after him, and attacked the wood pile. Knight +and Brown filled the tanks with water. Before the old station agent knew +what had struck his little place, the _General_ was steaming off up the +road. + +"We're a little ahead of time for Kingston," said Andrews anxiously. He +peered ahead toward the town, and announced presently, "The freight isn't +in. We'll have to wait. Let me do all the talking, boys, when we're in +there. I don't like the looks of this. Run a few hundred yards up beyond +the station, Knight. I'll jump off and have the switch thrown, and then you +can back in on the side-track." + +They coasted slowly into Kingston, and passed the station. Andrews jumped +off. Tom, hanging out from the cab, saw him talking with the switchman. The +latter threw the switch and waved. + +"All right," said Tom. "Let her go back." Knight reversed the engine, and +they cleared the track for the freight. Andrews swung aboard. + +The station agent came running toward them. "What's this?" he demanded. +"What's this train? Who are you?" + +"I'm running this train on government authority," answered Andrews calmly. +"I'm rushing ammunition to Beauregard." He waved toward the box-cars. Then +he demanded sternly: "Why isn't that local freight here?" + +The agent was subdued. "It ought to be along any minute, sir," he answered. +"Is there a passenger train behind you, sir?" + +"I suppose so," answered Andrews indifferently. "This engine was supposed +to haul the regular train, but we had to take it for this work. Powder is +more important than passengers these days. They were fitting out another +passenger train at Atlanta when we left." + +He handled the situation in masterful style. Tom, pretending to be busy +inside the cab, listened and chuckled. Knight and Brown were out oiling the +engine. + +"When did the freight leave Adairsville?" demanded Andrews. + +"I don't know, sir," answered the agent, "but I'll find out." + +"Yes, please do--and hurry up about it." + +"Yes, sir." + +Before the agent returned, they heard the whistle of the freight far up the +track. It approached slowly, and then crept into the station, stopping with +the cars blocking the track for Andrews' train. + +Brown, who was at the throttle, gave an exclamation of impatience. Andrews +swung to the ground. At that moment the agent rushed out, and yelled to the +freight engineer, "Draw farther up the track." The freight train started +again, laboriously. Andrews jumped aboard. + +"Run out of here just as soon as the switch is turned," he ordered. + +The last car of the freight train rounded the trees and came into sight. On +the rear of it was fastened a red flag! _It was a warning that there was +still another train behind!_ + +"Good Lord!" exclaimed Andrews. He jumped to the ground again, and went +toward the station. The conductor of the freight train met him. "What does +this mean?" demanded Andrews. "I'm ordered to get powder up to Beauregard, +and I find the track blocked ahead of me." + +"It's not my fault," answered the conductor. "I haven't anything to do with +it. But I don't think that you're going to get any powder to Beauregard on +this road." + +"Why not?" + +"What will you do about Mitchel at Huntsville?" + +"What do you mean?" asked Andrews. + +"I mean that Mitchel broke through and captured Huntsville yesterday," +answered the conductor. "If you're working for the government, you ought to +know it by this time, too." + +"Don't believe everything you hear," answered Andrews. "Mitchel wouldn't be +fool enough to risk an attack on Huntsville in this weather." + +"Then why are they bringing this special train down from Chattanooga with +all the supplies?" + +"That's their business, not mine," answered Andrews. "If Mitchel has +captured Huntsville, then some of Beauregard's troops are split, and that's +probably the reason why I'm ordered to get this powder up as far as I can. +When I get there I'll find soldiers to use it." + +"Maybe," answered the conductor. + +"How long will it be before the special is here?" + +"Probably about thirty minutes." + +Forty minutes passed before they heard the whistle of the second train; +then five minutes of anxious waiting before it came into the station. The +first freight, in the meantime, had pulled up on another side track, +waiting patiently for the arrival of the passenger train which Andrews' men +had stolen. + +The special train stopped, blocking the path of the _General_, just as the +first had done. + +"Oh, Lord," said Andrews. He sprang from the cab. "Move up there! Get out +of my way! I'm running a special powder train! Pull up ahead!" + +"I'll pull up if it'll do you any good," answered the engineer. "There's +another special train right behind me." + +"How far behind you?" + +"Oh, twenty minutes, maybe. What are you running a powder train for? Who +are you going to give the powder to? The Yanks?" + +"To Beauregard!" + +"You've got some trouble ahead. The Yanks have captured the line between +you and Beauregard--two hundred miles of it--from Tuscumbia to Bridgeport!" + +The conductor and the engineer of the first train had joined them. "You'd +better turn back and go the other way," said the conductor. "If you go up +there, the Yanks will get your powder." + +"I'll follow my orders," replied Andrews. + +He walked back to the _General_, and called Tom. "Walk down there beside +the box-car and let the men know what has happened. Don't let anybody see +you talking with them. Tell them that we're likely to have a fight--to be +ready to jump out and use their guns." + +Tom sauntered to the box-car and leaned against the door. "Hey! you men! +This is Tom Burns. Andrews says that we're likely to have a fight. Get your +guns ready." + +"What's the trouble?" one of them asked. Tom explained as best he could the +difficulties they had encountered. "There may be some more trains behind +this one," he told them. "They're moving out of Chattanooga. The rebs are +on the run!" + +The whistle of the second special train sounded as Tom walked back toward +Andrews. He stood beside the engine, listening to the argument between +Andrews and the three railroad men. The first special had pulled far down +the track, leaving ample room for the second to come in and for Andrews to +get out. + +The station agent came running toward them. "I've just had Chattanooga on +the wire," he said, "and they don't know anything about this powder train. +I tried to get Atlanta, but the wire is down!" + +"Of course Chattanooga doesn't know anything about my train," answered +Andrews calmly. "If they did, they wouldn't be sending these trains down +blocking me. My orders came from Beauregard at Corinth, through Montgomery +to Atlanta." + +"Chattanooga orders you to wait here until the order is confirmed," said +the agent. + +"I don't care a rap for Chattanooga's orders," Andrews responded. "I have +my own orders." + +"I won't turn that switch to let you out." + +"Then I'll turn the switch myself, and if you try to stop me I'll have you +up for treason!" Andrews said it so calmly, so quietly, that the agent's +jaw drooped. + +The second special came creaking into the station. Andrews ran forward and +shouted: "Run down until you clear the switch." The engineer nodded. "Tom, +get down there and throw that switch!" + +"Yes, sir." + +Tom ran to the switch and waited. The station agent, with the other +trainmen, had withdrawn to one side; they were holding an excited +discussion as to what he should do. + +The last car of the train rounded the bend. It carried no red flag! The +road was clear ahead of them! + +Tom threw the switch as the wheels of the last car passed. He waved to +Andrews and the _General_ rolled toward him. Then, just as he was aboard +and their train was twisting into the main track, they heard a piercing +whistle from the south. + +"They're after us!" exclaimed Andrews. "Probably a train from Atlanta +pursuing us! As fast as you can make her go, Knight." + +The _General_ went lunging down the track, gathering speed. + + + + +CHAPTER TEN + + +"THEY'RE AFTER US!" + +At Big Shanty, the chatter of the train crew and passengers at breakfast +died as though the world had been struck dumb. The hissing of escaping +steam was followed by the whir of wheels slipping on the track. William +Fuller, the conductor of the train, was the first to his feet. He ran to +the door, with Anthony Murphy, a railroad man who had been a passenger on +the train, following him. They were in time to see the _General_, with +three freight cars, swing around the bend and disappear. On the tender, a +man arose, waved his arms and yelled. The yell came drifting back to them +above the noise of the stolen engine. + +"Deserters!" exclaimed Fuller. He raced up the track, with the engineer and +the fireman of the train following him. They were so hopelessly +outdistanced that the crowd laughed. + +Murphy found the station agent. "Get a horse and ride back to Marietta," he +ordered. "Telegraph Atlanta--train stolen--start a train in pursuit." He, +too, joined in the chase up the tracks. + +It was Fuller's idea that his train had been taken by conscripts who were +deserting from the Confederate encampment on the other side of the tracks. +He believed that they would run the engine until they had put several miles +between them and Big Shanty, and then take refuge in the woods. He had been +warned in Atlanta, just before he left on this run, to keep a sharp watch +for deserting conscripts; it was for that reason he had scrutinized the +passengers in his train so closely. + +With Fuller in the lead, they rounded curve after curve of the track, +hoping each time to find the abandoned engine. + +"I can't go any farther," panted the engineer. + +"Come on!" yelled Fuller. + +The men yanked off their coats, tossed them aside, and settled down into a +trot. Murphy was still bringing up the rear. + +Presently they came to Moon Station. Not far away there was a miniature +flat-car of the type which is loaded with tools and supplies and pushed +along the track. Ahead of them the road swept down in a gentle grade. + +"Throw that on the track," ordered Fuller. The four men, puffing from their +long run, took the corners of the little car and dragged it to the tracks. +Fuller started them with a shove, then scrambled aboard. + +"I sent the agent riding back to Marietta," panted Murphy. + +"At Etowah," replied Fuller, "they have an engine--the _Yonah_. It belongs +to the iron works. If it isn't up at the mills we'll take it." + +"Has it steam up?" asked Murphy. + +"I don't know. If it hasn't, we're done." + +The hand-car was coasting easily down the grade; it rounded a sharp bend. + +"Jump!" yelled the engineer. + +His warning came too late. The car reached the spot where Andrews' men had +torn up the rail; its wheels left the track and it spun about, scattering +the men over the ground. + +"Anybody hurt?" demanded Fuller, scrambling to his feet. + +"No," they answered. All of them were bruised and the fireman's cheek was +cut. "It's nothing," he said. They righted the car and dragged it to the +track. + +"Look at that!" called Fuller, pointing to the broken telegraph wires. +"This isn't a conscript's job." + +"What do you think?" asked Murphy. "The Yanks?" + +"Probably. Get that car back on the tracks, anyway. Grab some of those +fence rails. We've about reached the bottom of the grade, and we can pole +the car faster than we can walk. I can't run another inch." + +They found two light rails, boarded the car and coasted to the bottom of +the grade. Then began the tedious work of poling. It was, as Fuller had +said, faster than walking. On level track they could go five or six miles +an hour; on the upgrades, two of them walked while the other two poled. + +At the top of the last grade before they came to Etowah, they looked down +and saw the _Yonah_ a mile away, upon the turn-table. The locomotive was +being turned for its trip up the branch to the iron works! + +"Give a push!" yelled Fuller. "In another minute we're lost." + +The four men ran beside the hand car and started down the grade, jumping +aboard when they could run no faster. The car slipped to and fro on the +tracks, yanked them about the curves. + +"Keep a sharp lookout ahead on the tracks," ordered Fuller. But the way was +clear. If Andrews had stopped at this point to obstruct the track, the +pursuit which followed would have been impossible. The _Yonah_ would have +been on its way up the branch before the hand car arrived. + +As it was, the engineer of the _Yonah_ was climbing aboard when his +attention was attracted by the yells of the men on the approaching car, +flying down the track as fast as a hand car ever traveled. He waited, +wondering what was wrong. + +Fuller ran to the _Yonah_, while his men pushed the hand car from the +track. "We'll have to take this engine," he said. "The Yanks have stolen my +train!" The three men joined him, and before the engineer could protest, +they were pushing at the bar of the turn-table, swinging the locomotive +around. + +"I haven't much fuel," said the engineer. + +"You have enough to get us to Kingston," answered Fuller. "Get aboard +there!" + +The _Yonah_ slipped from the turn-table, swung into the main track and +started in pursuit. The throttle was open wide. + +Fuller and Murphy exchanged glances; the same thought had crossed their +minds. If the Yanks had torn up the track ahead of them, the _Yonah_ would +be wrecked, and, traveling at such speed, a wreck meant death for them all. +The _Yonah_ would hurl itself from the track, and end in a steaming, +smoldering ruin. Yet the two men kept their thoughts to themselves and said +nothing. Caution at that moment might mean that they would lose the race. +It was better to lose in a wreck than to lose by delaying. The _Yonah_--it +was a light engine--fairly danced upon the rails. + +Passengers along the way who had been disappointed once by a train which +did not stop for them, gazed in amazement as the engine flashed past. + +Fuller, sitting behind the engineer, leaned out of the window and peered +ahead, watching the track anxiously. Murphy, with the two men who had come +with them, stood by the brakes, ready to apply them when Fuller gave the +signal. They were two miles from Kingston when Fuller lurched across the +cab and pulled the whistle cord. It was that long shrieking blast which +Andrews' men had heard as the _General_ swung around the bend of the +side-track into the main line. + +Andrews, as Kingston dropped behind them, stood leaning against the side of +the cab, his chin in his hand, and his eyes closed. Tom, stripped to his +waist, was struggling back and forth between the tender and the engine with +logs of wood which he shoved into the fire-box. The _General_ was belching +great clouds of black smoke; red sparks flashed back over the train like a +plume waving in the breeze. + +"That's enough," yelled Knight. "We've got a full head of steam now. Push +her, Brown, push her!" + +And still Andrews stood there, with his eyes closed, thinking. Tom +clambered to the fireman's seat. + +"Stop here!" called Andrews suddenly. + +Tom sprang for the brake. + +"Rip down those wires," Andrews continued. "Two of you men--you and +you--load those ties in the freight car." He pointed to a pile which lay +near the track. "Put some of them on the rails." Then when they were under +way again, he yelled to Knight, "Stop around that next bend--we'll tear up +a rail." + +The men streamed out again, when the train had come to a stop; they +wrenched at the spikes with their inadequate tools, but the oak ties held +them stubbornly. The task was little more than half completed when Andrews +came running. + +"Pry it up--don't bother about the rest of the spikes. Give a hand, here." +They slid a bar under the rail and pulled upward, straining. Slowly it +bent; then broke. The men tumbled over each other down the embankment, a +mixture of bodies, legs, arms and tools, with the rail clattering after +them. Miraculously, no one was hurt. Tom was at the bottom of the heap; he +struggled loose and climbed up to the track. + +Andrews snatched his hat off and ran, waving it, back to the engine. +"'Board!" he shouted. The _General_ rushed forward, under full power. + +Andrews sat beside Tom in the fireman's seat. "The people who are chasing +us will be held up by the freight trains at Kingston," he said. "It will +probably be ten minutes before they can get clear of the station. It was a +gamble, stopping to tear up that rail. I was afraid they'd come up on us. +That will block them, though." He looked back along the track. "We'll be in +Adairsville soon. We have to meet the through freight there." + +"Wood!" yelled Knight. Tom slid down from his seat and struggled with the +logs. Andrews moved over to Brown and yelled in his ear. Brown, without +taking his eyes off the track ahead of him, nodded. He had the throttle +open wide, and the _General_ was swaying perilously on the curves. Long +moments passed while the engine seemed to travel on the outer wheels; then, +as the track straightened, to come crashing down. + +Tom was becoming accustomed to the swaying, jerking floor of the cab. He +hurried back and forth between the tender and the fire-box, crouching to +keep his balance, struggling with the heavy logs. He was covered with soot, +and the sweat made tiny rivulets in the black as it streamed down his body. +His shirt had been caught by a puff of wind and carried out of the cab. He +lifted the lid of the fireman's seat and threw his coat and cape into the +box. + +Andrews sat beside him again, glancing nervously at his watch. "If we are +more than an hour late at Adairsville, the through freight may pull out and +block the road. Then there's the southbound passenger train." + +"At Adairsville?" asked Tom. + +"No, at Calhoun," answered Andrews. "There is the same danger with that as +with the freight. If we don't come within an hour of the time we're due, it +has a right to go ahead and meet us at the next station." They were +rounding a curve which gave them a clear view of the track behind for +several miles. The pursuing engine was not in sight. + +The speed of the _General_ slackened. Tom glanced ahead and saw +Adairsville. + +"Are we going to stop?" he asked. + +"Yes. I want to get that freight started south. They might wait, when they +see that this is not the passenger train. Work up a full head of steam +while we're here, Knight." + +Tom put more fuel upon the fire. The train slid into the station at +Adairsville and stopped. The freight train was standing on the side-track, +ready to pull out. Andrews jumped to the platform: + +"I'm running this special train to Chattanooga," he announced. "Some of +Beauregard's troops have been cut off by Mitchel. Is the passenger train +waiting for me at Calhoun?" + +"I don't know," answered the amazed station agent. The conductor and the +engineer of the freight train came running up. + +"What's this--what's this?" asked the conductor. + +"Special powder train," answered the station agent. + +"Your way is clear to Kingston," said Andrews. "The passenger train is +waiting there. I have to be going." + +"But the southbound passenger train!" protested the conductor. "It has left +Calhoun by this time. You'd better wait here." + +"If I meet any train, I'll blow it off the face of the earth!" answered +Andrews. "I have twenty tons of powder in those cars." He waved toward the +empty box-cars--empty except for the sixteen men in the last. He swung +aboard the _General_. + +"Go ahead," he ordered. + +Knight was at the throttle. After the one curve which took them out of +sight of Adairsville, the tracks stretched straight ahead of them, and +there was a slight down grade. Knight opened the throttle wide. The +_General_ plunged forward in huge leaps, swaying through space. There were +moments when all the wheels seemed clear of the tracks, when the locomotive +seemed to fly; at other times it settled on the tracks and shook as though +it were about to drop in pieces. Behind them, the freight cars lashed back +and forth, throwing the men on the floor when they tried to rise. + +"Wood!" yelled Brown. + +Tom took up his struggle with the logs. Now he picked them up and heaved +them into the cab, then followed, holding to the tender, and stuffed them +into the flames. He stopped once for breath, and looked at Knight. The +engineer's face was screwed into a grimace; his jaw was set, his eyes half +closed, and his head thrust forward into the wind which swept past them. +Occasionally he closed the throttle a few notches, as though he were +tempering the speed just enough to keep the _General_ from leaping into the +air. He seemed to be controlling a live monster, bent on carrying them to +destruction. + +Outside, the country flitted past them, a blur of trees and hills. + +Andrews lurched across the cab and shouted to Knight: "Calhoun--around +bend!" Knight nodded and slackened off on the throttle. The _General_ +drifted into a normal speed which, by comparison, was mere crawling; it hit +the curve, swayed and settled down upon the tracks. + +"Brake!" screamed Knight. + +Brown and Tom lunged for the wheel and twisted. When it was set, Tom leaned +from the cab and saw that they were bearing down upon the passenger train, +its whistle screeching a warning. The two engines stopped within twenty +yards of collision. + +Andrews ducked out on the running board of the _General_. "Get back!" he +yelled, waving frantically. + +The engineer of the passenger train did not wait to ask questions; he +reversed his locomotive and slid back into Calhoun, taking the main track. +That left the side-track for Andrews. The engineer of the passenger train, +in his anxiety to be far away from the train which had almost wrecked him, +had backed so far that his rear car was blocking the other end of the +side-track. + +"Draw up and let me out," called Andrews. + +But the engineer descended from his cab. "What do yon mean by running me +down that way?" he demanded explosively. "You're over an hour late. I have +the right of way." Then as he came closer: "Who are you?" + +"I have the right of way here," answered Andrews. "This is a special powder +train." + +"Special or no special," answered the engineer, "no man can run a train +like that on this road. Show me your orders." + +"Get your train out of my way," answered Andrews. He was calm again now, +and his tone showed nothing of the agony of suspense raging within him. + +"I refuse to clear the track until you show me your orders for running like +that." + +Andrews glanced at Tom. And there was meaning in that glance. Tom swung +from the engine and strolled back along the train, ready to call the men. + +"Get your train out of my way," answered, Andrews evenly. He pulled out his +watch. "I'll give you thirty seconds to start your train forward. At the +end of that time I'll have my men do it for you, and I'll take you to +Chattanooga with me--charged with aiding the enemy!" + +The engineer began to splutter; then he paused, turned suddenly and strode +off toward his engine. The passenger train pulled slowly ahead. Tom ran to +the switch, threw the handle, and swung aboard the _General_ as it passed +him. + +"Whew!" said Andrews. "I thought we were going to have trouble there." + +"Do you think the passenger train will pull out?" asked Tom. "That would +block 'em." + +"No," answered Andrews. "He'll stay there. I wanted to tell him that the +way was clear to Adairsville ... but I couldn't. It might mean a wreck, if +they are still pursuing us. That would be terrible--it's a passenger +train." + +Tom nodded. Brown yelled for more wood. When the fire had been stoked, Tom +took his seat beside Andrews. + +"We've left them behind now, I think," continued the leader. "That tangle +of freight at Kingston will stop them." + +A deep rumble, rising above the noise of the _General_ struck their ears. +For a moment they did not know what it was; then Tom exclaimed, "Thunder! +Look!" He pointed to the black sky. Already the rain was splashing down +upon them, streaking the forward windows of the cab. + +"We're near the Reseca bridge now," said Andrews. Then he added: "If only +the rain doesn't come down hard enough to put out our fires! It may take us +longer.... Hey, Knight! Stop here! We'll tear up the rails!" + +The _General_ glided around a sharp curve in the road and came to a stop. +The men jumped out from the box-car. + +"Pull up some rails here, men," ordered Andrews. "Break the wires, Scott." +Scott was already halfway up a telegraph pole. + +"We dumped some ties out on the road back there," said Ross. "They're lying +across the rails." + +"Good!" answered Andrews. "I think we've left them behind, but we can't +take any chances. We may have to spend more time at the bridges starting +the fires." + +He ran back to where the men were working at the rail, grabbed the iron bar +and rained blows down upon the spikes. When half of the spikes had been +drawn, he yelled, "Pry this up!" They put the iron bar beneath the rail, +and pulled. Slowly the remaining spikes gave way, and the _inside rail of +the curve_ rattled down the embankment. + +"Now for the other side," ordered Andrews. + +The men were beginning to attack the spikes when a prolonged blast of a +locomotive whistle sounded to the south. There was an instant of quiet; +then Andrews yelled: + +"Come on! They're after us, but that rail will be enough to wreck them!" + +They ran for the train. + + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN + + +THE PURSUIT + +The screeching whistle of the _Yonah_, which had sent the _General_ +speeding away from Kingston, was a warning to the engineer of the freight +train blocking the way of the pursuers. It had pulled out of the station +and was lumbering southward, intending to make the side-track at Cass +Station and wait for Fuller's passenger train. + +Brakes were twisted, and the two locomotives approached each other slowly. + +"Our fuel's about gone," said Murphy. + +Fuller was swinging from the _Yonah's_ cab, ready to jump off. "Then we'll +get aboard the freight," he replied. The others followed him. + +"Back into the station," ordered Fuller, as he climbed into the cab of the +freight locomotive. "The Yanks have stolen my train!" + +"They've just pulled out!" answered the engineer. He threw the engine into +reverse, while the fireman swung on the whistle cord. + +Fuller sprang into the tender, climbed the wood pile and up on the box-car. +The second freight was just pulling out, blocking the track. He waved and +yelled to Murphy, who yanked at the whistle. The second freight stopped and +waited. At that moment a combined passenger and freight train from the +branch line to Rome swung around the bend and pulled into the station. The +congestion was complete. With the fuel-less _Yonah_ at one end, and the +Rome train at the other, the three freights were hopelessly locked and +tangled. + +Fuller ran back to the engine. "Come on," he said. "We'll take the Rome +engine." + +"This engine is faster," answered Murphy. "We can shunt the cars on the +side-track and run her backwards." + +"It'll take a half-hour to get her clear," said Fuller. "Come on!" + +He jumped from the train, and ran up the track. Murphy, still protesting, +ran after him. It was their second foot race that day, and they arrived at +the station winded. + +"Cut that engine loose!" yelled Fuller. The station agent recognized him, +and asked what had happened. "The Yanks!" answered Fuller. It was +explanation enough. The Rome engine, supplied with fuel for its return +trip, was uncoupled. + +"Telegraph Chattanooga train stolen by Yanks. Am in pursuit." + +The station agent ran to his office, but it was too late to get the message +through; Andrews' men had already torn the line down. + +The engine which Fuller now had was smaller and slower than the _Yonah_. +The engineer, upon entering Kingston, had allowed the steam pressure to +sink, and they crawled slowly from the station. Five minutes later they +came to the break in the telegraph lines, and Fuller knew that his message +to Chattanooga had not gone through. They worked feverishly at the engine, +but the steam pressure rose slowly. It was that fact which saved them from +a wreck when they came to the spot where Andrews' men had torn up the rail. +There was ample time to reverse the engine and bring it to a stop. + +Without spikes and tools it was hopeless to think of bridging the gap. They +stood gazing ruefully at the break. + +"We're done!" muttered Murphy. + +"No, we're not," answered Fuller. "Come on!" And he started running up the +track. The others, nearly exhausted by the pace he had led them, followed +on their third foot race after the stolen train. + +This broken rail, which so nearly blocked the course of his pursuers, was +Andrews' greatest mistake. If he had left the way clear for Fuller, sending +the southbound freight against him from Adairsville, a collision would have +been inevitable. As it was, Fuller and his men, running towards +Adairsville, heard the approaching train in plenty of time to stop it. Once +again, scarcely fifteen minutes after deserting one locomotive, they were +aboard another, the _Texas_. + +It took but a minute to explain to the engineer what had happened. The +engine, thrown into reverse, pushed back to Adairsville, with Fuller, +mounted on the end box-car, controlling the train by signals. South of the +station they stopped, while Fuller jumped from the train and pulled open +the switch to the side-track. Murphy uncoupled the train at the engine. +Again they started back, this time shunting the train to the siding and +allowing it to run on its own momentum. When the wheels of the last car +passed, with a gap of a few yards between the car and the engine, Fuller +threw the switch and leaped for the cab. Murphy caught his arms and pulled +him aboard. The _Texas_ plunged backward down the track, racing the +cast-off train as it rolled upon the siding. For a moment it seemed that +they would collide at the north switch where the side-track re-entered the +main line. Fuller, leaning from the cab, glanced apprehensively at the +engineer. He had the throttle opened wide and the _Texas_ was gaining speed +at every turn of her wheels. The station agent was on the platform, waving +his arms and yelling. Ahead of them, the leading freight car lurched as it +struck the bend of the side-track; then the _Texas_ rattled over the switch +and out of danger--with two yards to spare. + +Behind them, the freight car struck the closed switch, jumped it, ran off +the track and turned over. The force of the cars shoved it over the ground: +the second car crashed on its side. + +Fuller glanced back indifferently at the wreck they had left behind them. +"Keep her open wide!" he yelled, and the engineer nodded. + +Ahead lay the clear straight road down which the _General_ had swept just a +few minutes before. There were no obstructions, and no breaks as far as +Fuller and Murphy could see. They had climbed to the edge of the tender and +were sitting, clutching the sides, studying the tracks ahead of them. + +"Stop at Calhoun!" called Fuller, and the order was passed back to the +engineer. As the station swung into view, the _Texas_ came to a halt, with +her brakes screaming. + +Fuller jumped off. "That train--stolen!" he said to the station agent. + +"Out of here five minutes ago." + +"Get aboard!" + +Fuller dragged the protesting station agent to the engine. When the _Texas_ +had started again, he explained: "The lines are down. I want you to jump +off at Dalton, if we haven't caught them before then, and send through this +message. If we press them fast enough they won't have time to cut the +lines." + +Fuller took a pencil and paper and wrote the message: + + "To Gen. Leadbetter, + + "Commander at Chattanooga: + + "My train captured this A.M. at Big Shanty, evidently by Federal soldiers + in disguise. They are making for Chattanooga, possibly with the idea of + burning the railroad bridges in their rear. If I do not capture them in + the meantime, see that they do not pass Chattanooga. + + "WILLIAM A. FULLER." + +He handed the message to the station agent. + +Murphy, on the tender, suddenly raised his arms and yelled. The engineer of +the _Texas_ closed the throttle, and reversed the engine. Fuller jumped to +the brake; and the fireman, thinking that he had a train crew to man the +brakes, swung on the whistle cord to give warning. It was this blast which +fell on the ears of Andrews' men as they were tearing up the rail, a mile +and a half farther north. + +The _Texas_, trembling under the power of the reversed pressure against her +piston, seemed to buck upon the tracks. She stopped as though she had come +to the end of an anchor chain. + +"Ties on the track," shouted Murphy, jumping from the tender. The others +followed him and they tossed the ties to the side. Then they scrambled back +aboard the locomotive. + +"You men stand by the brake," ordered Fuller. "Murphy and I will be on the +tender. When we raise our arms--stop!" + +Two minutes later, Fuller and Murphy, straining to see obstructions on the +track, caught a glimpse of the gap where a rail had been torn loose. It was +only a glimpse, for the engine was almost upon it, swinging around the +curve. They yelled and raised their arms, but it was too late. + +Even before the engineer could close the throttle the _Texas_ was on the +verge of the break. Fuller and Murphy sat paralyzed, their arms +outstretched, expecting the locomotive to plunge from the rails. Then, an +instant later, they knew that the _Texas_ had miraculously sailed over the +gap! + +Fuller was the first to regain his senses. He waved to the engineer to go +ahead, and the _Texas_ swept down the road. Murphy and Fuller looked at one +another in dumb amazement. + +"The inside rail of the curve," Murphy said at last. Fuller nodded in +comprehension. + +The Texas, lunging around the curve, had been thrown against the outside +rail; the inside wheels were lifted clear of the break. Had Andrews' men +attacked the outside rail first, the race would have ended there, with the +_Texas_ a battered wreck, strewn over the trackside. On the other hand, if +Fuller and Murphy had seen the break sooner, a wreck would have been +inevitable, for the locomotive, in checking its speed, would have rested +evenly upon both rails. Luck was with the pursuers. + +Now the rain was falling in torrents. It stung the faces of the two +Confederates as they sat on the tender, peering ahead, but they were +oblivious to it. Oblivious, that is, except that they knew the rain would +help them. The bridges would be the harder to burn. + +Time after time, they raised their arms and the _Texas_ came to a stop, +while they jumped to the ground and threw ties from the track. The +_General_ was gaining a greater lead each time the _Texas_ was checked. And +seconds were counting. + +Fuller grabbed Murphy's arm, and said: "Look!" + +Far ahead they saw a black cloud of smoke. It was the _General_ approaching +the Reseca bridge. + + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE + + +SPEEDING NORTHWARD + +Tom slammed the door of the fire-box and climbed up on the seat beside +Andrews, who was leaning half out of the window, absorbed in his own +thoughts. He glanced back, and turned to Tom. + +"They're still after us," he said grimly. "I want to drop the last box-car. +Can you get back there and tell the men?" + +"Yes," answered Tom. "Why not break 'through the ends of all the cars--so +we can get back and forth without having to climb over the roofs!" + +"All right--but hurry. Uncouple just as soon as you can." + +Tom climbed over the logs in the tender; then, balancing carefully, he +stood up and clutched the top of the swaying freight car. In an instant he +had swung himself over and was running down the roofs of the cars, +silhouetted against the cloudy sky. When he reached the end of the train he +lay on his stomach and looked down. The men were feeding the ties they had +collected out upon the road through an opening they had broken in the rear +of the car. The hole was large enough so that he could climb down the +ladder, swing around the corner, and enter. + +[Illustration: The men were feeding the ties they had collected out upon +the road through an opening they had broken in the rear of the car.] + +"Andrews wants to drop this car," he told the men when he was safe inside. +"Break the other end open." They took one of the rails they had removed +from the track north of Big Shanty, and with it as a battering-ram knocked +a hole in the forward end; then in the end of the second car. They passed +the remaining ties and the rails forward. + +"I'll pull the pin," said Tom. He lay down on the floor and reached for the +coupling; then he drew back. "No--here, shove a tie off. Well see if we can +wreck her." + +As he drew the pin out, the others threw a tie down. It struck one wheel of +the detached car, bounded, struck again and then bounded out of the way. +The men silently watched the car rolling along behind them. + +Tom shook his head in disgust. "Let's knock the ends of these cars out," he +said. Once again they took the rail up and battered their way through. Tom +climbed up over the end of the tender and reported to Andrews. + +"We tried to wreck it," he said, "but the tie bounced out of the way." + +Andrews nodded and leaned from the cab. "We're within a mile of Reseca +bridge," he said slowly. "I don't dare to stop and build a fire. They're +too close upon us." + +Now, for the first time, Tom realized that the raid might fail in its +purpose. The excitement of the race, of reaching this point where the road +to Chattanooga lay clear before them, had been upon him; it had never +entered his head that their long struggle against so many obstacles could +end in anything but glorious success. Surely they could do something to +block the way of the pursuing engine. + +"Can't we stop and fight?" he asked. "Put up an obstacle at one of these +curves, and attack them from ambush? We're all armed." + +"No," answered Andrews; "they'll be better armed." He still believed that +the engine in their rear had come from Atlanta--probably with a detachment +of soldiers aboard, prepared for a battle. "There are bridges ahead--the +Chickamauga bridges. We'll drop another car on the Reseca bridge. Go back +and tell them. I'll slow down. Try to wreck it in the shed." + +Tom hurried back again over the wood pile. + +The Reseca bridge which ran over the Oostenaula River was covered by a long +shed. And, as it was built upon a curve in the road, a box-car--either +wrecked or merely left standing--could not be seen until the pursuing +engine was almost upon it. + +Ross stood at the side door of the first freight car, while Tom clutched +the coupling pin, ready to draw it. Others waited with ties. The train's +speed decreased. + +"Get ready," yelled Ross; then, as they entered the shed, "Go!" + +Tom drew the pin. The car seemed to cling to the train for several seconds; +then the _General_ leaped ahead. Ties streamed out upon the track. The +wheels of the abandoned car knocked several out of the way; then, as the +train swung about the curve, leaving the car hidden in the shed, Tom saw +one tie resting at an angle across the track. The wheels struck it, and the +car lurched heavily.... They could see no more. + +"I think we put it off the track," cried Tom exultantly when he was back in +the engine. Andrews slapped him on the back. + +"We'll have to break the wires above here," he said as the little station +in Reseca flashed past them. "Stop about a mile up here, Knight. On a +curve." + +"Wood!" yelled Brown. + +Tom took up the work of dragging logs from the tender and stuffing them in +the fire-box. He stopped once, and pointed to the wood pile. Fuel was +running low. + +"At Green's Station," said Andrews. + +"Water there, too?" asked Brown. + +"At Tilton--just a few miles farther on." Andrews waved to Knight to shut +off the power. + +"If that car at Reseca bridge doesn't stop them, we're cornered," panted +Andrews as he ran back. "Put an obstruction here! That bent rail!" + +The men ran back to the car and pulled out the rail. It was the one they +had ripped from the ties north of Calhoun. They forced the straight end of +it under the track, leaving the bent end projecting toward the pursuers--a +scarcely visible snag which would rip into the engine. + +"Keep dropping ties, men," ordered Andrews. "We have to stop at the wood +yard." + +Brown took the throttle and pushed the _General_ onward toward Green's +Station. Tom put the last of the fuel in the fire, and leaned wearily +against the cab. Drops of rain, carried by the wind, splashed upon him and +ran down his body, streaking the soot which covered his chest and stomach. +His eyes met Knight's and they looked at each other dumbly, asking each +other how the the race would end. Instinctively they turned toward Andrews. +He was in the fireman's seat, hands clenched and face set, staring ahead. +He did not move until they were within sight of Green's Station. + +The _General_ stopped at the wood pile and the men jumped out. The keeper +of the yard came running toward them. Andrews waved him aside. + +"Throw that wood aboard, men," he said. But they had already attacked the +pile. + +Then they heard repeated short blasts of a whistle to the southward. The +men paused and looked at Andrews. + +"Pile it in! Hurry!" he yelled. + +"Who are you?" demanded the keeper. "What's this train!" + +Andrews seemed not to hear him. Four Confederate soldiers who were standing +several hundred yards away yelled and pointed in the direction of the +whistling. + +"'Board," called Andrews. As he climbed into the cab of the General, Tom +saw that his face had become suddenly drawn. There was no talking now. The +race had reached the final test of strength. While Tom, in the tender, +yanked logs loose from the pile, Andrews stood ready to pass them to +Knight, who shoved them into the fire-box. + +"The wood's wet," said Knight. The others heard him and made no reply. He +worked with the drafts, coaxing the fire. Occasionally, Brown glanced at +the steam gauge; then the two engineers would exchange glances. Slowly the +needle of the gauge crept up. + +In the box-car the men silently dropped ties upon the tracks. Sometimes +there was a mumble of satisfaction as a tie fell squarely across the rails; +or a grunt of disgust when one tumbled end for end and landed out of +position. + +Running a mile or so behind them, they caught occasional glimpses of the +smoke of the _Texas_. There were moments when the smoke paused and mounted +straight into the sky; then a few seconds later it flattened out and rose +in a long black stream. The _Texas_ was running from obstruction to +obstruction, clearing the way and pressing forward. How had they done it? +How had they passed the broken rail, the ties along the track, the box-cars +and the snag? Those questions were pounding in the brains of Andrews' men. + +If ever a man combined determination with luck it was Fuller. He had +started on foot from Big Shanty in complete ignorance of what was happening +to his stolen train. Undoubtedly, if he had known that a party of Northern +raiders had taken it, he would have waited until a locomotive came from +Atlanta. The idea of running after a locomotive would have seemed too +ridiculous. But, expecting to find it abandoned around each curve, he raced +on and on until they came to the hand car; then the _Yonah_. When the +_Yonah_ had run out of fuel, the _New York_ was there to carry him to the +Rome engine. When the Rome engine had been stopped by the break in the +track, they had come to the _Texas_. They had shunted and outraced the +train, jumped the broken track, and avoided wrecking on obstructions so +many times that they had lost count. And still they pressed on. The force +of Fuller's determination seemed greater than the force of the steam which +flashed against the pistons of the _Texas_. + +Fuller and Murphy, still sitting on the edge of the tender, saw the +abandoned box-car as they swerved around the bend. Fuller waved his arms up +and down slowly to the engineer as a signal to come to a gradual stop. They +coasted down upon the box-car, picked it up and carried it on with them. +Fuller and Murphy climbed to the top of it; Murphy, staying at the rear end +to repeat the signals of Fuller, who was perched on the front. + +At the sight of ties lying across the track, Fuller's arms shot up. An +instant later, the _Texas_ was laboring to a stop under reversed power, her +brakes grabbing at the wheels. Then, when the decreasing speed of the train +gave his legs the advantage, Fuller was ahead, heaving ties from the road. + +Far to the northward, across the bend which hid the Reseca bridge from +view, Fuller caught a glimpse of the _General_ speeding on its way. He saw +that the train had been shortened once more, that the engine was hauling +only one box-car. He dreaded that first sight of the Reseca bridge, for, if +Andrews had left it in flames, the race was over for the _Texas_. Then they +swept around the curve and the bridge lay before them, indistinct in the +drizzle of rain. It appeared intact, but Fuller knew that long curving shed +too well through his years of travel over the road not to be suspicious of +what lurked inside. + +He waved a signal to approach gradually; then, as they came to the +entrance, his arms shot up. The _Texas_ came to a stop. + +"Wait here," he yelled, sliding down the ladder. He ran into the shed. + +The left forward wheel of the box-car had mounted upon one of the ties +thrown before it. The tie was wedged diagonally across the track, and the +flange had cut a deep groove in it. The right wheel was nearly a foot off +the track. Apparently the car had struck the tie just at the moment of +losing momentum. + +Fuller made a hasty examination, then ran back to the _Texas_. Murphy was +coming forward to meet him. + +"They've dropped the second box-car in there," explained Fuller. "The front +wheels are off the track. We can drag it back, I think. We'll have to find +a coupling pin." + +The fireman was racing through his chest, looking for something which would +serve to couple the cars together. "Will this be all right?" he asked, +holding up a short crow-bar. + +"Yes," answered Fuller. "And bring a heavy hammer." + +While Murphy signaled the _Texas_ into the shed, Fuller and the fireman ran +forward with the crow-bar and hammer. + +"Careful now," yelled Fuller, as the two box-cars came closer together. +"Easy--easy!" The cars met gently. He slid the crow-bar into the hole and +held it while the fireman hammered the top over. + +"Now run back slowly--an inch at a time," ordered Fuller. + +The engineer opened the throttle, and the _Texas_ crept away, taking up the +slack in the couplings. The left wheel followed back along the groove its +flange had cut in the tie. Fuller watched it breathlessly. There came a +clash of metal as the wheel slipped down from the tie and struck the track. +For a second the flange rode on the rail, then settled into position, +forcing the right wheel up. + +Fuller yelled in triumph, kicked the tie off the track, and jumped for the +ladder. The steam hissed as the _Texas_ was thrown into reverse again. They +swept out of the shed, pushing the two cars. + +The bent rail which Andrews had left as a snag in the track would have +wrecked Fuller if the _Texas_ had been traveling forward instead of +backward. As it was, the cars cleared it. The snag caught on the low +cow-catcher of the engine and gave the train a mighty jerk. They were past +it before they knew what had happened. In fact, Fuller did not know until +later, for he had not seen the snag ahead of them, and he could see nothing +as he looked back. + +He motioned Murphy ahead. "What was that?" he asked. + +"Don't know. Something on the track. Thought the engine was going off for a +second." + +"They'll probably stop at Green's for wood," said Fuller. "Keep the whistle +going." + +Murphy hurried back over the swaying cars. An instant later the whistle was +screaming out its warning to the keeper of the wood yard at Green's +Station. + +Fuller's arms went up again, and he was on the ground removing ties. + +"We'll have to stop for fuel," yelled Murphy. + +When the _Texas_ swung around into view of Green's Station the track ahead +was still clear. The _General_ was speeding northward. + + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN + + +FIGHTING WITH FIRE + +Tom discovered that the weariness which was creeping over him, stealing his +strength, was hunger. The sight of Knight gnawing at a hunk of bread sent +him to his coat for the package of food he had bought at Big Shanty. +Andrews, too, became suddenly aware that he must eat. Brown, hovering over +the throttle, was too intent upon pushing the _General_ forward to be +conscious of his body. He sat there as though hypnotized by the gleaming +rails which stretched before him. + +Tilton came into view. Andrews crossed over to Brown and told him where to +stop for water; then he stood ready to swing off the engine to confront +anyone who might interfere. The station was one hundred yards north of the +water pipe, so the agent could not get a good view of the freight car. It +was obviously no car to support the special powder train story: its end was +broken open wide, and the sixteen men within were waiting in readiness to +swing off and fight. + +Brown and Knight adjusted the water pipe. Andrews hurried forward to meet +the keeper. Tom was a few yards behind him, prepared to run back and call +the men out. + +"Special train," said Andrews. "Running through to Corinth." + +"Through to Corinth?" demanded the man incredulously. + +"All right!" yelled Knight. + +Andrews and Tom turned and ran back to the engine without waiting to answer +questions. The _General_ with Knight at the throttle now, went roaring past +the amazed agent. He stood rooted to the ground while the men in the +freight car waved derisively. + +Brown had collapsed in the fireman's seat, his head thrown back against the +cab wall and his eyes closed. The strain of driving a locomotive at full +speed over a strange track was beginning to tell upon him. + +"There is nothing for us to do until we get past Dalton," said Andrews. "On +the other side of the tunnel is a bridge. We'll set fire to it." He glanced +at his watch. "We're ahead of the passenger train's schedule, and we may +find the tracks blocked at the switches in Dalton." + +"What then?" asked Knight. + +"We'll have to fight our way through," answered Andrews. "Tom, tell the men +to stand ready to jump out and fight at Dalton. You stay up on the tender +and don't let any man show a head until I give the signal." Then, to +Knight: "Stop a couple of hundred yards below the station while I run ahead +and see if the switches are clear. If the way is open, we'll rush it." + +"Right," answered the engineer. "More wood, Tom." + +Tom climbed up on the tender and passed the orders back to the men; then he +turned to stoking the fire. + +"Here we are," said Andrews. Once again he was calm and deliberate. He +seemed to be gathering himself together for the conflict with the station +authorities at Dalton. + +Tom glanced ahead and saw the town looming up before them--the big station, +with its high roof sweeping out over the tracks, the passenger coaches and +freight cars standing upon the side-tracks, and the maze of switches. It +seemed like a network, spread out to catch them. He climbed up on the wood +pile in the tender where he could see Andrews and repeat a signal for help +to the men. + +As the _General_ stopped, Andrews sprang off and walked ahead. He paused to +talk with several men who were coming down the track, then walked on toward +the station. Suddenly he turned and motioned sharply. + +Knight pulled the throttle open and the _General_ fairly jumped. Andrews +swung aboard. "Push her, Knight!" he yelled. + +Tom, perched on the tender, saw a man rush from the station and wave. He +shouted something but it was lost in the noise of the locomotive. Then they +plunged into the darkness of the roof, and out again on the other side. + +Ahead of them the track swerved sharply to the left. Knight saw it too late +to moderate his speed. The _General_ hit the curve and reared on its right +wheels, hanging there for a breathless moment. Tom clutched the edge of the +tender to keep from being thrown off. He saw Knight's hand slip from the +throttle as he slammed it shut, saw Andrews' expression of horror. It +seemed as though whole minutes passed while the _General_ balanced on the +curve, swaying and trembling. Then slowly it tilted back to the left and +struck the tracks with a clash that made the locomotive shudder. It wavered +from side to side, gradually settling itself upon the rails. + +Knight glanced at Andrews; his hand went to the throttle again and drew it +open. Tom entered the cab. There was not a word said about their narrow +escape from a wreck. + +Ten minutes later Andrews called to Knight to stop. "Tell them to tear up +the tracks and break the telegraph line, Tom," he ordered. + +Tom climbed over the tender and into the freight car. He repeated Andrews' +orders. Shadrack grabbed him and asked: "What was that we struck back +there?" + +"Curve in the road," answered Tom. "Almost threw me from the tender." + +"It bounced me five times between the walls of this car," answered +Shadrack. + +The train came to a stop and the men streamed out through the back end of +the car. Scott fairly shot up the telegraph pole. + +Once again the whistle of the pursuers sounded. + +"'Board," shouted Andrews. "Never mind about the track." When Tom joined +him in the engine, he said: "Have the men start a fire in the freight car. +We'll leave it in the first bridge shed. It's our last chance." + +"How about the tunnel?" asked Tom. "An ambush--anything. Stop and fight +them!" + +"No--not now. Hurry! Get that fire started! Use the engine fuel!" + +Tom went to the box-car. "Andrews wants you to start a fire here. We'll +drop the car under the bridge shed. When you get the fire going, climb +aboard the tender." He left the men gathering the splintered boards into a +heap, and returned to the engine. + +Shadrack's head appeared above the edge of the tender presently. He +motioned to Tom. "This wood is so wet we can't light it. We haven't any +paper." + +"Wait," ordered Tom. He grabbed a log from the tender and went to the +fire-box, thrusting one end into the blaze. "I'll have to pass the fire +back to them," he explained to Andrews. "The wood is too wet." + +When the end of the log was blazing, he pulled it out and raced back to +Shadrack. The wind and the rain extinguished the flames, but he hurried +forward again determinedly. This time he lighted several of the smallest +logs, which burned more freely. He made three trips to the freight car, +each time carrying a blazing torch, and he had just stepped into the tender +with the last log when the blackness of night fell upon them. Tom paused +for an instant bewildered. They had plunged into the tunnel. + +The scene around him was illuminated by the flickering tongues of flame +which lapped up the end of the log. He stumbled over the wood in the +tender, and handed the log to Shadrack. Through the hole in the box-car he +saw the men working at the fire. Several were bending over it, fanning, +while others hurried back and forth in the dull glow bringing fuel. One man +was breaking the walls of the car with the iron bar, throwing the boards +back as he pounded and wrenched them loose. Then, suddenly, the blaze +increased and the car was filled with smoke. Flames leaped several feet in +the air, mounting high and higher until they spread out against the roof of +the car. + +"More logs, Tom." + +Tom recognized Shadrack's voice. He passed log after log back. + +The train emerged from the tunnel. The car was leaving a trail of smoke +behind it; flames were darting from the side doors and flowing back against +the walls. Several of the men climbed into the tender, wiping their eyes +and coughing. More followed them until the tender seemed overflowing. + +"All out, I guess," said Ross. "Whew! that's a hot fire." + +"Where's Shadrack?" demanded Tom. They glanced about from one to another. +Shadrack was not among them. + +Tom jumped up to the edge of the tender and let himself down into the +freight car. + +"Shadrack!" he called; then louder, "Shadrack! Shadrack!" + +There was no answer. The dense smoke choked and blinded him. "Shadrack!" He +ran down the car, holding his breath and dodging the flames. "Shadrack!" + +"Here!" + +"Where?" + +"Outside." + +Tom swung out around the end of the car and found Shadrack on the ladder, +climbing and fighting the waves of smoke which drifted back upon him, +enveloping him, from the side door. He was dragging himself wearily from +one rung to another. + +"Can you get up?" Tom asked. Shadrack gasped and shook his head. "Hold on +tight! Just hold there!" + +Tom started back for the center of the car, found the side door and put his +head out for a breath of clean air. Then he drew the door shut and made his +way to the rear end again. That would keep the smoke from Shadrack as he +climbed to the top of the car. Tom clung there, holding to the brake bar +and the ladder, looking up. He saw Shadrack's legs disappear over the edge. +Dizziness overcame him for a moment. He held on with all his strength, +closed his eyes, letting the cool rain splatter in his face. Then he +climbed the ladder, Shadrack was sitting on the top of the car, swaying +weakly. + +"Are you all right, Shadrack?" asked Tom. + +"Yes--in a second. Thanks for coming. The smoke almost finished me. I was +scattering the flames around. Is the fire going all right?" + +"Yes. We'd better get back to the tender." + +"I would have fallen off, if you hadn't closed that door. I'm still dizzy." + +Tom looked ahead and saw the bridge. "Come on, Shadrack," he said. "We have +to get forward. On your hands and knees." He, too, was so dizzy that he +could not trust himself to walk upright. Together they crawled forward over +the hot roof. Beneath them the flames crackled. + +As they came to the end of the car and looked down into the tender, they +found the men yelling, "Shadrack! Burns!" One of the men was gesticulating +wildly to Andrews. + +"Here we are!" yelled Tom. He waved to Andrews. + +"We thought you were caught in there," said Wilson, helping them into the +tender. "Dorsey started after you, but the fire forced him back." + +"We _were_ almost caught," gasped Tom, still choking from the smoke. The +forward part of the car was a solid mass of flames, which roared and +crackled above the noise of the engine. "Pass some of those logs into the +engine!" + +Tom entered the cab and stuffed fuel into the fire-box. Andrews, leaning +from the fireman's window, was gazing back. He called to Tom and pointed. +Behind them, perhaps a mile and a half, came the pursuing engine. + +"Tell the men to pull the coupling when we stop," said Andrews. Tom obeyed, +and Ross crawled over the end of the tender, his coat wrapped about his +head to protect him from the flames, which spurted out in the eddies of +wind. + +"How much fuel have you left?" asked Andrews. + +"Ten sticks." + +"This is our last chance, then," Andrews replied. "We'll have to abandon +the locomotive if they get through." + +Andrews jumped up and crossed to the other side of the engine. He stood +beside Knight, shouting into his ear. Knight nodded; then he closed the +throttle, and the _General's_ speed slackened. The bridge shed was looming +ahead of them. + +The _General_ darted into the shed and came to a stop. Tom stood at the +door of the tender, waiting for the signal that the car had been uncoupled. +Already the flames were licking the shed walls and mounting to the roof; +the scene was illuminated in a wavering, red glow. + +Boss jumped up from behind the tender, and yelled, "Go!" + +"Go!" repeated Tom. The steam hissed and enveloped them in a cloud. The +walls echoed the screeching of the wheels as they slid upon the tracks. +Brown yanked at the sand lever. The wheels gained traction and the +_General_ jumped ahead and sped from the bridge. + +Smoke was pouring from the ends of the shed as they looked back. And across +the bend, a mile behind them, came the _Texas_! + + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN + + +THE END OF THE RACE + +Fuller had stopped at Green's Station and at Tilton for wood and water; at +Dalton he paused for a moment to shunt the two freight cars which Andrews +had dropped. The telegraph operator who had been dragged into the chase at +Calhoun ran to the station and pounced upon a telegraph key. Chattanooga +answered him and he hammered out half of the message; then the wire "went +dead." Andrews had broken the lines. But half of the message was enough to +warn Chattanooga. The Commander of the Confederate troops rushed his men +out to block the tracks against the raiders. + +Fuller, relieved of the two box-cars, ordered the _Texas_ ahead, and they +swung out from the Dalton station. + +"How about the tunnel?" Murphy asked. + +Fuller thought for a moment. "We'll go straight through," he answered. + +"You don't think that they'll drop that last box-car there?" asked Murphy. + +"We'll have to take the risk. A minute's delay will be enough for them to +destroy the bridge." + +Murphy nodded and climbed up beside Fuller on the edge of the tender. Both +of them realized that they would be in the very center of the wreck if +Andrews had abandoned his last freight car in the tunnel. Yet they sat +there, coolly and indifferently, awaiting whatever might come of the risk +they were taking. + +"If I were leading those men," said Fuller, "I would rush for the bridge, +and not bother about the tunnel. And I think that is what they'll do." That +was all he said as the black entrance grew larger before them. + +The engineer glanced at Fuller and Murphy, wondering if they would give the +signal to slow down. Neither of them moved. Then the _Texas_ plunged into +the smoke-laden darkness. Presently there appeared a faint luminous splotch +ahead of them, growing brighter as the seconds passed. They flashed out +into the daylight again. + +"Whew!" said Murphy. They exchanged glances and Fuller laughed nervously. + +The _General_ was just disappearing around the bend. + +"Look!" exclaimed Fuller. They caught a glimpse of the smoking freight car. +He climbed down from the tender and went to the engineer. "Put every ounce +into her! They're making for the bridge--freight car on fire!" + +The _Texas_, unburdened by cars, had the advantage in speed now. For +seconds she seemed to hover above the tracks as the engineer forced her +around the curve under full throttle. They came to the point where they had +caught the last glimpse of the _General_; then the bridge swung into view. +Black smoke, with wisps of red flames breaking through it, poured from the +ends of the shed. + +"They've left the freight car in there," shouted Fuller to the engineer. +"Just the shed is burning now. Slow down and pick the car up, then rush on +through." + +"Through that fire?" demanded the engineer. + +"Yes! If we stop we're lost." Fuller went to Murphy. "Better come in the +cab--we're going through." Murphy followed him. They stood looking out over +the tender. + +The engineer reversed the _Texas_ and brought it to a crawling pace as they +reached the mouth of the shed. Smoke and flames enveloped them, blinding +them, and they felt the wheels of the locomotive crunching over charred +board which had fallen across the track. Then came the shock as the tender +bumped the freight car. Flames showered down over the locomotive, streaking +through the blackness. The heat was scorching, sickening. The speed of the +_Texas_ increased. And then they found themselves in the clear air again, +pushing the smoking remains of the freight car before them. + +"Go on! Go on!" yelled Fuller. "Never mind about the bridge." He glanced +back and saw the shed collapse, shooting sparks into the pillar of smoke +that was rising. "We'll get them between here and Chattanooga." + + * * * * * + +That smoke, rising into the sky, came like a signal of triumph to Andrews' +men. They watched it silently; then they yelled. It was recompense for all +those long hours of tension and violent effort. The men danced, shouted, +and hammered each other upon the back. Andrews' face, drawn by hours of +anxiety, relaxed into a smile. + +"There's one bridge down!" he shouted. "How much fuel have we?" + +"This is the last of it," answered Tom. He kicked the two logs which lay on +the tender floor, ready to be shoved into the fire-box. + +Andrews went to the tender and gathered the men about him. "What we'll do +from here on," he said, "depends upon whether the Rebs come through that +bridge. If they don't get through, we'll have time enough to gather fuel +and burn the bridges ahead of us. If they do get through, the only thing +that we can do is to abandon the engine and take to our legs." + +"Stop and fight 'em," protested Boss. + +"No," answered Andrews. "We're not here to fight. It won't do us or the +North any good. We're here to burn bridges and we've done it. If we can't +reach the next bridge our work is done. Scatter--each man for himself!" + +The _General_ came into a long straight track, which had the small town of +Ringgold at its northern end. "If we don't see them by the time we reach +the next curve it means they're stopped," said Andrews. + +Tom put the last of the fuel into the fire. Brown closed the dampers and +glanced at the steam gauge. He shook his head savagely. "If we only had +some of that fuel we used on the freight car!" he exclaimed. + +"More important to burn the bridge," answered Tom. "I wish Andrews would +stop around this bend and fight 'em." + +The _General_ was thundering down upon the station at Ringgold. The men +stood in the tender gazing silently back, watching for the _Texas_ to come +around the curve. + +"There!" + +Tom looked down the track. The Texas, pushing the smoldering freight car +before her, was still after them! The Ringgold station flashed past, with +the bewildered agent looking first at one locomotive and then at the other. +The General whipped around the curve. + +"Slow down, Knight!" ordered Andrews. "Jump off, men. Scatter and make your +way back to the lines!" + +Knight shut the throttle and allowed the _General_ to lose speed. Tom, +Andrews, and Brown stood aside while the men filed from the tender into the +cab. The first stood on the step for a moment, then jumped. Tom saw him +strike the trackside and go sprawling. The second jumped ... the third ... +the fourth.... + +"Get ready to reverse the engine, Knight," said Andrews. "We'll send it +back on them." Knight threw the lever over. "They'll stop in Ringgold for a +minute to shunt that car." + +All the men, except the engine crew, were off. + +"You next, Tom," ordered Andrews. "Then Brown and Knight. I'll stay by the +engine and send her back. Here, Tom, take your coat." In that last moment, +Andrews was as calm as if he had reached the end of some commonplace, +humdrum journey. + +Tom took his coat and put it on. He paused for a second on the step of the +_General_, then leaped. His feet struck the ground and he pitched forward. +He arose, dazed and shaken, and stepped into the woods which lined the +track. + +The _General_ disappeared up the track; a minute later the _Texas_ passed +him, and he caught a glimpse of the two men who had pursued them from Big +Shanty. They were sitting on the edge of the tender, leaning forward +eagerly. + +"If we'd only stopped to fight them!" thought Tom. But it was too late for +that now. The great railroad race was over, and ahead of him lay miles of +enemy country. He wondered where the other men were, if he would meet them. +He was aroused from his thoughts by the noise of a locomotive coming from +the north. The _Texas_ came rolling back, with the two men on the tender +waving to the engineer; the _General_ followed, steaming down the track +with its cab deserted. But the Southerners had seen it in time to avoid +collision. + +The gap between the two locomotives narrowed; then they came together +gently. One of the men jumped to the _General's_ tender, rushed into the +cab and shut the throttle. The locomotive which had carried the raiders on +that wild trip from Big Shanty was again in the hands of the Confederates. + +Tom stood behind a tree watching them. Presently the _Texas_ started north, +pushing the _General_ before her. The last of its fuel and steam had been +used in that final charge down the track. + +Tom walked into the woods, away from the railroad, and sank to the ground +exhausted. Minutes passed while he lay there resting. Every muscle in his +body was sore, and it was enough just to stretch out with his head against +the cool moist ground. The problem of getting out of the enemy's country +and back to his own lines seemed too remote to be considered now. But +presently he sat up and began to wonder what would happen next. He was +about twenty miles from Chattanooga--he knew that from studying the map at +Marietta. Mitchel's lines lay to the west, probably fifty miles away. To +the north lay the flooded Tennessee River, which he would have to cross. +And as for himself, he was shirtless and grimy with soot; he was almost +without food, and dead tired. To make matters worse, just as though they +were not bad enough, the drizzle of rain, which had been an implacable +enemy since that night on the road to Wartrace, gave no signs of ending. +Evening was approaching. + +Tom got to his feet. First, he decided, he would put a greater distance +between himself and the railroad. He walked through the forest and came to +a road. It was deserted. Regardless of the danger of being seen so near to +the spot where they had burned the bridge, he followed the road to the +north. His ears were straining for the least sound of people approaching, +and he dived into the bushes several times when he thought he heard +someone. Then, since no one came, he took to the road again. He had his +cape fastened around his neck to hide his shirtlessness, and he dabbed at +his face with his handkerchief, wiping away the soot. But the idea of +getting clean without soap and warm water was hopeless. + +He heard the unmistakable creak of wheels behind him, and sprang into the +bushes. Presently a heavy wagon, drawn by two tired-looking, emaciated +horses, appeared on the road. In the wagon were two men and a woman. The +man who was driving was carrying on a grumbling monologue. You worked like +a dog, he said, to grow crops and then the government seized them to feed +to good-for-nothing soldiers. The only crops he'd grow this year would be +just enough for his own family. If the government wanted anything from him +the government would have to pay him in advance. + +Not a word about the burnt bridges or the stolen train! Tom listened +eagerly. These people were coming from the direction of Ringgold, and +certainly they would be talking about the havoc the Yanks had raised--if +they knew of it. When the wagon had disappeared around the bend, Tom came +out on the road again. Until the news spread over the countryside he was +safe from interference. + +After an hour's walking he came to a scattering of houses at a cross-roads. +Over one was a sign "General Store," painted in sprawling, uneven letters. +It would probably be his last chance before the chase began to buy the +things he needed. He opened the door and entered the dimly lighted store. +An old man came out from the back room. + +"Good evening," said Tom. "I want to buy a shirt." + +"Evenin'," replied the man. "Shirt? Well.... Shirt? Don't think I've ever +seen you before. D'you live around this a-way, young man?" + +"No, I'm just going through to Chattanooga." + +"Mary," called the man, "bring that light." A woman in the back room +mumbled in response. Tom dreaded the light. In the dusk of the store he +could hide his appearance, but with the lamp they would see how disheveled +and dirty he was. And, if they had heard any rumors of what had happened +during the day, they would suspect him instantly. He looked around at the +door and picked his course between the barrels and boxes which lay strewn +about the floor. + +The woman entered with the light. "Well, I declare!" she exclaimed, looking +at Tom. He was, indeed, a strange looking specimen. His face was streaked +with black, for his attempts at rubbing himself clean with his handkerchief +had been unevenly distributed. His black eyelids, as he blinked in the +light, made him grotesque. "What's happened to _you_?" demanded the woman. + +"I've been fighting a fire," answered Tom. He was ready to jump for the +door. + +"A fire! Where?" + +That was encouraging. "Down south of Ringgold," Tom replied. "The bridge +caught on fire from a locomotive." + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man. "Y' don't say so!" + +"Jeb!" screeched the woman. + +"Yes'm," came the response from the back room. A small boy straggled into +the store. + +"Whyfor you don't tell us there's a fire down Ringgold way?" asked the +woman. + +"There wa'n't no fire when I left," he answered. + +"When did you leave?" asked Tom. + +"'Round noon." + +"I guess you just missed it," replied Tom. He was on fairly safe ground +now. "The fire didn't start until after one o'clock." + +"Huh!" grunted the boy. + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man again. "What happened?" + +"Let's have a shirt," said Tom. "I'll tell you about it while you're +finding the shirts." The old man turned toward the littered shelves and +commenced pawing over the merchandise which had accumulated there. The +woman and the boy drew closer, waiting anxiously for the news. "I was +waiting for the passenger train at Ringgold," continued Tom. "But the train +didn't come. After a while we saw some smoke to the southward and we +thought that was the train. But it wasn't. The smoke just stayed in one +spot." + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man, stopping his search. + +"Yep," answered Tom, "but find the shirt for me. After a few minutes the +station agent...." + +"Morrison," interjected the woman. + +"Yes, I believe his name was Morrison, come to think of it," replied Tom. +"Well, Morrison got on the hand car." + +"I rode on the hand car once," said the boy. + +"Shut up!" ordered the woman. Her husband stopped again in the search to +glare at the offender. + +"Come on, find that shirt for me," said Tom. He was talking with one eye on +the door, fearing the entrance of someone who would spoil his story. "The +agent got on the hand car and went a piece down the track. Pretty soon he +came back a-flying. 'The bridge is on fire!' he yelled. So we got on the +hand car, and went down to the bridge. There the passenger train stood, +with all the passengers and the train crew fighting the fire. They were +trying to put it out so the train could get across. Can't you find it?" +This last to the old man. + +"We don't sell many shirts," he answered. "Don't pay. Most of the people +makes 'em 'emselves. Have we got any shirts, Mary?" + +"I ain't never seen any," she replied. "I bin here twenty years." + +"Then sell me one of yours," Tom said. + +"Can't do that." + +"Why not?" + +"Well...." + +"If you won't sell me a shirt, I can't waste my time here talking." Tom +started impatiently towards the door. + +"Here, young man," said the woman, "you come back here with me. I reckon we +can find something for you." She picked up the lamp and led the way into +the back room. It was the combined living-room, bedroom, and dining-room of +the family. One door led to the yard behind the house, the other into a +lean-to shanty which served as a kitchen. Tom, by way of precaution, took +it in rapidly. + +"Tell us about the bridge," urged the boy. + +Tom continued on a rambling story of how he had helped to fight the fire, +how sparks had fallen on him, and how he had to tear his shirt off because +it was in flames. He gave a lurid description of the scene. The woman +clucked her tongue at intervals, the man exclaimed, "Don't say so!" +repeatedly, and the boy grunted his appreciation. Tom talked on and on, +reserving the end of his story. At last the woman held a shirt out to +him--it seemed to Tom to represent everything which stood between him and +his ultimate triumphal return to the Union lines. Without a shirt he could +no nothing; with it there was some chance of having his story believed. He +took it from her. + +"And finally the bridge went down," he continued. "The flames shot hundreds +of feet in the air, and the sparks fell down for five minutes afterwards. +The passenger train went back to Dalton, and I decided that I'd go to +Chattanooga on foot." + +"Don't say so!" + +Through the door to the kitchen Tom could see a kettle of water steaming on +the stove. "I'd like to wash some of this soot off," he said. + +The woman led him to the kitchen and gave him a tin basin. "When the door +was closed behind her, he stripped off the cape and coat, and fell to +scrubbing with the hot water and soap. Then he dried himself and pulled on +the shirt. It was several sizes too small for him, but it was better than +nothing at all. He could hear the two old people and the boy discussing the +fire. Probably, he thought, they would talk of little else until they heard +the real story. He thanked his stars that he had struck this one quiet spot +in the chaos of war to prepare himself for the adventures of the next few +days. It was providential. Now he was ready to meet the world. + +"I'd like to buy something to eat," he said as he stepped from the kitchen. + +"We ain't got much," answered the woman. + +"I'll pay you well," he replied. "I'll have to carry it with me. It's +getting dark and I must be getting on to Chattanooga." + +"Will some ham an' some bread do?" + +"Splendidly." + +She went into the kitchen. + +"How did you say that bridge caught on fire?" asked the old man. + +"Sparks from a locomotive, I suppose." + +"You don't say so--in all this rain!" + +Five minutes later he left the store and disappeared down the road which +led to Chattanooga. Then he climbed a fence and made his way across the +fields to a road which ran north. For a half-hour he plodded through the +mud. The strain of the long day was commencing to tell upon him, and each +step forward cost a mighty effort. The hunks of mud which accumulated on +his shoes felt like blocks of lead weighing him down. + +"About enough for this day," he mumbled to himself. Ahead of him he saw a +barn, standing a few yards from the road. Farther along, perhaps a hundred +yards, was the house with its lighted windows. He walked close to the rail +fence and approached the barn cautiously, listening for dogs; then he +crawled under the fence and squatted there, waiting. It was still light +enough for him to be seen from the house, and so he decided not to make the +rush for the barn until later. Several minutes passed, then he heard the +sound of boots splashing along the muddy road, and the mumble of voices. He +threw himself on the wet sod and lay there, hidden by the weeds and +darkness. The voices came near. + +Tom caught the words "...some damage anyhow." + +"Yes," replied the other man, "but if Andrews had only...." + +Tom did not wait any longer. "Shadrack!" he called. The two men stopped as +though they had been struck. "Over here by the fence. It's Tom Burns." + +"You, Tom! You scared the life out of me." + +"Who's with you?" + +"Wilson." + +"Hello, there. Crawl through. I'm waiting for it to get dark enough so that +I can make the barn." They shook hands. "I recognized your voice, Shadrack. +How are you, Wilson?" + +"All right enough. Have you seen any of the others!" + +"Not a soul. Wonder what happened to them?" + +"Scattered all over two miles by the locomotive," answered Shadrack. +"Probably some of them went on the other side of the tracks, making for +Mitchel's lines. We decided to go straight north and get across the +Tennessee just as fast as we can." + +"So did I," answered Tom. "Let's get over to the barn now. It's dark +enough." + +They hurried across the short open space. A farm wagon standing at the end +of the barn formed a step to the hay mow. By standing on the edge of the +wagon box, Tom could reach the floor. He pulled himself up and struggled +inside. Then he helped Shadrack and Wilson to come after him. + +"Whew!" breathed Shadrack. "Just like home." He chuckled. + +"It does me good to hear that laugh again," said Tom. He gave Shadrack a +dig in the ribs. "I don't suppose you're hungry, are you?" + +"Don't talk to me until I get through eating this hay." + +"Leave enough for us to sleep on," protested Wilson. + +"Smell this," said Tom. He opened the package of ham and bread. Shadrack +moaned. Tom took out his knife and divided the food; then they had supper. + +"We ought to be out of this before daybreak," said Tom, throwing himself +back on the hay. "I hope one of us wakes up. I feel as though I could sleep +forever." + +It was just dawn when Tom awoke. From his head to his feet, he was sore and +stiff. He sat up, rubbing his legs and stretching painfully. "Hey, Wilson! +Shadrack! Come on. It's getting light." He went to the door and looked out. +"If we drop straight down between the barn and the wagon, they can't see us +from the house." He slid over the edge, hung by his fingers and dropped to +the ground. The others followed, silently. A minute later they were on the +road again. + +"Do you know exactly where this road is taking us?" asked Wilson presently. + +"No," answered Tom, "but so long as it doesn't take us into Chattanooga, +I'm satisfied. We're going north and the river is about twenty miles ahead +of us." + +"And we're going about one mile an hour," replied Shadrack, slipping in the +mud. + +It was nearly noon when they heard the sound of horses galloping along the +road toward them. They jumped into the bushes and waited breathlessly. A +few seconds later, four horsemen, each of them carrying a rifle over his +arm, went riding past. + +"They're after us," said Wilson. + +Tom nodded. "What do you think we'd better do? I'm for staying to the +road." + +"If it wasn't so blamed muddy we could go across the fields," said +Shadrack, "but we'd get bogged again." + +"The road's our one chance," added Wilson. "Let's get to work." + +During the remainder of the afternoon they worked their way up along the +edge of the road, hiding in the bushes time after time. Several small +bodies of armed men passed them, and once they caught a scrap of +conversation about "Yank bridge burners." The hunt was on. + + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN + + +CAPTURED + +"Halt there!" + +The command came from behind. They whipped about and found themselves +facing a raised rifle. The man was a civilian, tall and lanky. He waved the +rifle from one to the other. + +"Where're you going?" he demanded. + +"Chattanooga," answered Tom. He said it coolly but it required an effort. + +"And yer going with me," replied the man. + +"That so?" asked Wilson. "I can think of better company if you're going to +keep that rifle waving around in the air. What's the matter with you?" + +"Put your hands up, an' keep 'em up," ordered the man. + +"Well, this way we won't take the wrong road again," said Tom. "I'd rather +walk at the end of a rifle than drown in this mud. The folks at home'll +laugh when they hear that we were held up just as soon as we got in the +South." + +"Hey? What's that?" demanded the man. + +"If you're after our money you won't get much," Tom replied. + +"I ain't after yer money," said the man. "I'm after you." + +"What sort of a Yank trick is this!" demanded Wilson. + +"Huh?" + +"I'm asking what sort of a Yank trick this is? Are you a Southerner or are +you a Yank?" + +"I'll unload this gun into your head if you call me a Yank," answered the +man. + +"Then what do you want?" + +"I'm arresting you in the name of the law for burning bridges. That's what +I want." + +"Burning what?" + +"Burning bridges!" shouted the man. "An' don't stand there the rest of the +day talking, either." + +"You seem to be running the talking match," said Tom. "What do you want us +to do? Want us to run so's you can have a good excuse for taking a shot at +us with that gun?" + +"And you might have the decency," answered Wilson, "to ask us who we are +before you go any further." + +"Well, then, who are you?" + +"We're from Kentucky and we've sneaked through the Union lines to enlist. +If you want to show us the way to Chattanooga we'll be much obliged to you. +But if you're going to the trouble of arresting us for burning.... What was +it we burned, Tom?" + +"Bridges," replied Tom, laughing. + +"Yes--for burning bridges, then you're wasting your time." + +"Maybe," answered the man. "But you're a-going with me all the same." + +"Then let's go," said Tom. "What's the use of standing here in the mud?" + +"I'll walk you back to Judson, an' you can tell yer story there. I ain't +believing you and I ain't disbelieving you. Turn around the way you was +a-going, an' keep yer hands out of yer pockets. I'll let a bullet go smack +into the first man that makes a move he shouldn't." + +Here was a man they couldn't talk down. He was probably a good shot, and +ready to keep his threat. If only they could get him at a disadvantage, and +pull their revolvers before he could fire. But such hopes were shattered a +few minutes later when two horsemen pulled up before them. They yelled when +they saw the three prisoners. + +"Good work, Alf!" said one of the men. "Three of 'em. Hello there, Yanks." + +"You're a Yank yourself," answered Tom hotly. + +"What's that?" + +"We're no more Yanks than you are. We were on our way to enlist in the army +at Chattanooga, and this is the way we get handled." + +"Don't believe 'em," said Alf. "Let's search 'em." + +"Why not wait until we get back to Judson? Easier to do it there." + +"All right," replied Alf. "You two ride along beside 'em. I'm done up +totin' this gun." + +The procession started again. Tom heard Wilson whisper to Shadrack: "Keep +to the story!" + +"No talking, there!" ordered one of the horsemen. "You can do all your +talking when you get to Judson." + +It was nearly six o'clock when they reached the little town of Judson. As +they went down the main street, men and boys tagged along beside them, +plying the guards with questions. The guards waved them aside, and +answered, "Don't know if it's them or not. Picked 'em up a piece down the +road." + +They stopped at a two-story frame building labeled "Hotel." One of the +guards went in, then motioned to the others to bring the prisoners. +Presently they found themselves in a big room, lighted by two lamps which +hung from the ceiling. The air was cloudy with smoke. A dozen men sat about +at the tables. Instantly there was commotion. Everyone commenced talking. + +"Got three of 'em!" shouted Alf. "Three of 'em, Judge." + +"He thinks he has," said Wilson. + +"You better keep your mouth shut," yelled Alf. + +"No use talkin' like that, Alf," said the man addressed as Judge. "Where +did you find them?" + +"Down the Ringgold road about five miles." + +A murmur arose from the men. + +"I can tell a Yank one mile off," boasted Alf. + +"I can tell a fool just as far away as I can see you," interrupted Wilson. + +"You...." + +"Now, Alf, keep quiet," said the Judge. "What were you men doing down the +Ringgold road?" + +"We were trying to get to Chattanooga," Tom replied, "We got started on the +wrong road this morning." + +Wilson broke in: "We tried to tell this wild man with his rifle that we +were going to enlist in the army. We've sneaked through the Union lines +from Kentucky, and came across the Tennessee yesterday. Then we got on the +wrong road. This fellow held us up and arrested us in the name of the law +for something-or-other. I don't know yet what we're arrested for." + +"For burning bridges," yelled Alf. "That's what I arrested you for." + +"All right," answered Wilson. "We're arrested for burning bridges. Whose +bridges? What bridges?" + +"We're getting a whole lot of encouragement to fight for the South," said +Tom. + +"He's crazier than any Yank I've ever seen in my life," remarked Shadrack, +nodding toward Alf. + +"Search 'em," demanded Alf. "That'll show you whether I'm right or not." + +"Now, Alf," said the Judge, "you go on out to the kitchen and get something +to eat. I'll examine these prisoners and I'll see that you get the credit +for capturing them if they are the Yanks. Go on, now." He pushed Alf gently +toward the door. Alf, still protesting, disappeared reluctantly into the +kitchen. The Judge shook his head, laughing. + +"That man acts a little crazy," said Tom. + +"Oh, he's hot-headed," said the Judge. "He gets one idea and he can't think +of anything else. Lock the door, Joe, so we won't be disturbed. And lock +the kitchen door, too, or Alf'll be back. Now let's search these men, and +see what we can find." + +Tom, Shadrack, and Wilson held their arms up, while the men dumped the +contents of their pockets on a table. Three revolvers, handkerchiefs, +Confederate money.... They found nothing of importance. + +"Now let's sit down here and talk this thing over," said the Judge. "Where +do you men say you come from!" + +"From Fleming County, Kentucky," replied Wilson. "We were getting tired of +the way the Yanks were running things and so we decided that we'd go and +fight for the South. We started out last week and made our way through the +lines. It was easy. We didn't see a single Union sentry." + +"Where did you come across the river?" demanded the Judge. + +"A few miles this side of Decatur," said Tom. + +One of the men beside the Judge interrupted: "There aren't any ferries +running up there." + +"I know there aren't," answered Tom. "We were afraid to tell anyone what we +were going to do until we got across the river, and so we had to build a +raft." + +"A raft!" exclaimed the Judge. + +"Yes, out of logs. I got washed overboard and I grabbed on to one of the +logs and held there. Look at my hands." He spread his hands out upon the +table, palms up. They had been torn and bruised by the logs he had yanked +from the tender. + +"Hm-m-m!" grunted the Judge, "must have whipped you around some in that +current!" + +"Once it whirled me right over, and I thought my wrists would break before +I could get another grip. They were trying to pull me aboard, but every +time they came to help me the raft tilted so that they had to crawl back." + +"And finally," said Wilson, "I got down on my stomach and held to his +wrists, while Shadrack sat on the other side and balanced us." + +"I came mighty near going overboard myself, then," added Shadrack. + +It was a good yarn, and they enlarged upon it. + +"And so you're going to enlist, eh?" asked the Judge finally. + +"Yes," answered Wilson. "We thought that Chattanooga would be a good place +for us. It's near Beauregard and we'll probably get into action pretty +soon." + +"It's not so near to Beauregard as you think," the Judge answered. "The +Yanks have taken a bite out of the railroad between there and Corinth." + +"They have?" asked Tom. "Is that what this man Alf was so excited about!" + +"No--not exactly," replied the Judge. "Some Yanks stole a train on the +Georgia State Railroad yesterday and burned a bridge." + +"Stole a train!" + +"That's what they did!" He gave them a wild and inaccurate account of what +Andrews' raiders had done. "A daring bit of work!" he ended. + +"Judge, we're famished," said Wilson. "Do you think we could get some +supper here?" + +"Joe, run out to the kitchen and see if Mrs. James can give these boys some +dinner. And tell Alf that I don't want to be disturbed." + +Dinner came and they ate ravenously. The Judge sat across the table from +them, talking with some of his friends. Obviously, the atmosphere had +changed, now that Alf was no longer there to incite trouble, but they +noticed that the Judge took good care to keep the revolvers out of their +reach. What did he think? Did he believe their story? Were they to be set +free again, or would they be taken to Chattanooga? + +"Now, boys," said the Judge as they pushed back from the table, "I want you +to stay here in this hotel for the night. Tomorrow you can go to +Chattanooga and enlist." It was a request which amounted to a command. + +"Well, sir," replied Wilson, "we'll be glad to stay here and have a good +night's rest. We need it." + +"Joe, you show them their rooms. I'll keep these for the present, if you +don't mind." He motioned towards the revolvers. "You can take the other +things." + +They nodded and said good-night. Joe handed them candles and they followed +him upstairs. "Here's one room," he said. "Two of you can sleep there." + +"You and Shadrack take it," said Tom to Wilson. "Good-night." They shook +hands. + +"Here's the other," said Joe, leading the way down the corridor. Tom +entered his room, said good-night to Joe, then closed the door and +commenced to investigate. It was a narrow room with one window looking out +upon the yard. He opened the window and looked down. In the dim light which +came from the room in which they had been sitting downstairs he could see a +wagon drawn up beside the house; there was a stack of farm tools against +the wagon, and the ground was strewn with objects he could not make out. +Just a mixture of things which had been thrown there for want of a better +place, he thought. The window of the next room was within a foot of his own +window. He leaned over and peered in, but he could see nothing. Then he put +his ear against the thin wall and listened. He could hear no sound but the +mumble of voices from the room downstairs; those he could hear distinctly. +He glanced about the floor, wondering if the sound was coming up through a +crack. A patch of tin caught his eye and he carried the candle over to +examine it. It was about a foot square, covering a stove-pipe hole, and was +held in place by four tacks. He pulled out his knife, loosened one tack and +bent the corner up. Then he put his ear down and listened. + +Alf had just returned to the room. "Why not take 'em to Chattanooga now?" +he was demanding. "Turn 'em over to the authorities." + +"Now, Alf," said the Judge, "I'm taking care of this. The men are upstairs +going to bed, and Joe is in the hall on guard. If they've come all the way +from Kentucky to fight for the South, we don't want to make them hate the +South so much that they'll be sorry they came. If they are Yanks we'll have +plenty of time to deal with them tomorrow. I'm going over to Chattanooga +with them in the morning and turn them over to the authorities. They can do +whatever they think best." + +"I'd take 'em over tonight," answered Alf. + +The conversation, carried along upon those lines, lasted for half an hour, +with the Judge dominating. One of the men said, finally, "Oh, for Lord's +sake, Alf, shut up!" For a minute it seemed that the two men would fight, +but the Judge quieted them. They called for drinks and cards, and commenced +playing. + +Tom left the hole, and continued his investigations. With Joe on guard in +the hall, there seemed to be no chance of warning Wilson and Shadrack. But +perhaps Joe might leave for a moment. Then he could run down the hall, +enter their room and spend the night, plotting out a way of escaping. He +decided to remain at the hole, listening for Joe's voice. But first he +barred the door with a chair. + +A half-hour passed. Then the door of the room downstairs opened with a +bang. The man who had entered announced: "They've captured two of the +engine stealers over at Julian's Gap! They confessed to it, but first they +told a cock-and-bull yarn about coming from Fleming County, Kentucky, to +join the Southern troops!" + +"What!" yelled the Judge. + +"There you are!" Alf shouted triumphantly. "Get 'em!" + +Tom jumped to his feet. There was no time to warn Wilson and Shadrack. He +could hear the boots pounding up the stairs. He sprang to the window and +threw it open. To jump on that mess of farm tools below him would probably +mean a broken leg. Leaning far out, he reached around and pushed up the +window of the next room, climbed in and closed his own window. Through the +wall he could hear them banging at his door. + + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN + + +ESCAPING + +Tom stood in the center of the dark room and listened to the tumult in the +corridor. They were pounding at the door of the room he had just deserted, +wrenching at the knob. + +"Open up there!" yelled Alf. "Open up!" + +Then came a crash as the door splintered. Alf's voice sounded in rage of +fury: "Gone!" + +Tom heard him bolt from the room and up the corridor, screaming: "Is he in +there with the other two? Have you got them?" + +Then the Judge's voice: "We've got these two. Where's the other?" + +"Gone!" answered Alf. "Escaped! I told you...." + +"Joe!" boomed the Judge. + +"Here I am, sir." + +"Have you been here all the time?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"The dirty rat let him escape...." + +"Shut up, Alf! Have you been here all the time, Joe?" + +"Yes, sir. I've been right here, sir. I didn't leave for a second." + +Alf yelled: "Look out the window! He jumped out the window! Run around +outside!" He came bounding down the hall again, entered the room, and threw +open the window. + +Tom could see his head in the candle light. He shifted back closer to the +wall, his heart pounding. "Look through them bushes," yelled Alf to the men +who had run into the yard. He let the window slam shut and went up the +hall. Then: "Where'd that other one go? Come on! Out with it! You know!" + +"Don't try any of that," said the Judge. "You're wasting your time. These +men don't know anything about it. Joe was here in the corridor." + +A few seconds later, Tom heard Alf's voice in the yard: "He's got away. Get +horses! If we only had a pack of dogs...." The noise in the corridor +ceased, and the men clumped down the stairs, leading Wilson and Shadrack +with them. The sound of voices in the yard grew indistinct and far away. + +Tom began quietly to investigate his new room. It was on the corner of the +house, and there were two windows--the one through which Tom had entered, +and another which looked out to the rear. He felt his way along the wall +and came to a wash-stand and a chair. He took the chair and wedged it +silently under the door-knob; then stole across to the rear window. It was +black dark outside. After a few minutes, he raised the window and listened. +Men were yelling in the distance. Apparently they were starting on a wild +night chase in the hopes of finding him on the road. + +"If you had more sense and less energy, Alf," muttered Tom, "you might get +me." The vision of Andrews' calmness during the raid flashed across his +mind. "Let them get excited," he said to himself; "you keep your wits." + +Then he heard the Judge's voice, booming in front of the hotel: "Tell them +to get that wagon around here in a hurry--we'll get these two engine +stealers started for Chattanooga, and hunt down the other one when it's +light." + +Tom left the window and snatched up the bedclothes, knotted the blankets +together and tied them around the leg of the bed. They would shorten his +drop to a few feet, so that the noise would not be heard above the general +commotion. Then he waited until he heard the wagon creak up before the +hotel and stop. The crowd followed the prisoners and their guards out to +watch the departure. + +Tom opened the window and tossed the blankets down; then he squirmed to the +sill, clutched the blankets with his hands and knees, and slid. He dropped +to the ground noiselessly, and stood for a moment scanning the yard for +obstacles. Thirty or forty yards ahead of him there was a row of bushes +which led into the woods south of the village. That would be the best way, +he decided. + +Then he changed his mind, for it was too obviously the best way--others +would think of it too, and look for him there. To the bushes, then, and +across the road to the north at the first opportunity. He took off his +shoes, tied them together through a button-hole so that he could not drop +them, and raced, crouching, across the open space. In the bushes, he +stopped and listened. The crowd was yelling and talking in front of the +hotel. Regardless of the stones and twigs which cut into his feet, he +pressed on through the bushes as rapidly as he dared, skirting the yard and +avoiding the woods which lay to his left. A dog yipped frantically, and Tom +stopped; then he decided that the dog was aimlessly sharing in the +excitement, and went forward again. + +Five minutes later, he sat on the ground and began scraping the +accumulation of mud and twigs from his socks. He pulled his shoes on, laced +and tied them; then he stood up and began to make his calculations. In +leaving the hotel he had gone west; now, with the village on his right, he +was facing northward, and the Tennessee River was directly ahead of him, +probably four or five miles. The sky was heavily clouded and there were no +stars by which he could set his course through the fields and woods which +lay between him and the river. There was a road going northward from the +hotel, but it would be inviting capture to follow it. The best he could do, +he decided, was to parallel the road, stealing to the right every half-hour +or so until he came to it, then stealing back again until he was under +cover. + +Presently he heard the wagon creaking, its wheels sinking through the mud +and grinding upon the solid ground beneath. Men were talking, but he could +not distinguish what they said. Poor Wilson and Shadrack! Prisoners, and +bound for Chattanooga under heavy guard! As he stood there listening, a +sense of utter helplessness wrenched at him. He could do nothing but fight +his own way back to the lines. Plans for going to their rescue tumbled over +each other in his mind, but all of them were hopelessly inadequate. + +When the wagon had passed, he walked to the Chattanooga road and crossed, +plunging into the bushes on the other side. Once again he took his +bearings, and hurried northward as quietly as he could. The branches +whipped in his face; sometimes he stumbled and fell. Once he walked into a +ditch half-filled with water, and sprawled on the slippery mud of the bank. +Then he came to a field where his feet sank in the gumbo over his +shoe-tops. His feet accumulated mud until he was obliged to stop and scrape +it off with his hands. But he labored forward, step after step. + +After an hour, he turned to the right and went towards the road to make +sure of his course. He reached it after more than a half-hour's walk. + +"Must have veered off to the left," he muttered; then he silently retraced +his steps for ten minutes, and turned northward again. + +Ahead of him he made out a farmhouse, so he went on a long detour to avoid +arousing the dogs. An hour later, he struck back toward the road again, and +found it after fifteen minutes' walking. + +"That's better," he said. He was puffing from the exertion of dragging +himself through the mud, so he sat near the road and rested. His ears +caught the sound of horses' hoofs. He worked his way to the roadside and +waited there to overhear a scrap of the conversation, for the riders were +talking. + +"...trying to tell Alf," were the first words he caught. + +"He's too crazy to listen," answered the other. "Can't find a man on a +night like this. He won't be fool enough to travel on the road, anyhow. +Better wait until daylight, I says to Alf, but he goes raving 'round like a +mad dog into the woods." + +"Well, we'll go to the river an' lay low there. Probably he'll come popping +out along 'bout noon." + +"Can't get across the river, anyhow, can he!" + +"Can't tell about a Yank. Who'd have thought they'd have stole an engine!" + +"Yeh, that's right...." + +So they were posting a guard along the river! That was valuable +information. And Alf was in the woods! + +At three o'clock in the morning Tom spread his cape upon the ground and +sank down to rest. The long struggle through the mud had become a +nightmare. He was too exhausted to care greatly if the man-hunt ended with +him a prisoner--if it would only end. To be out of this sea of jelly-like +mud would be enough. He lay there breathing heavily, his body aching and +throbbing. Minutes passed. Then he became vaguely aware of a faint roaring. +He listened for a moment, but it meant nothing to him. Presently the sound +came to his ears again, and he sat up. + +"The river!" he exclaimed at last. He forgot his exhaustion and sprang to +his feet. During the past two hours he had been straining to catch that +sound, and now he wanted to rush forward, recklessly. But he held himself +in check, remembering the conversation he had overheard, and approached +slowly, choosing each step of the way. Many times he paused to listen; the +noise of the rushing water seemed nearer, but always far away, just out of +his reach. It was maddening. Again and again he felt himself becoming +unnerved by the mud and the darkness and the idea of being hunted. + +The clouds were breaking, and a faint blue light seeped through the rifts. +It was as though the trees and bushes had grown magically from the +blackness, only to dissolve in blackness again as the rifts closed. For a +moment he paused, thinking that he had heard the sound of voices. Ten +minutes passed while he crouched in the mud, listening. There was another +brief instant of moonlight, this time brighter, and the shadows cast by the +trees seemed living, moving things. Tom could feel his heart thumping. + +"Don't get excited," he muttered to himself. It was encouraging and +comforting to hear the sound of his own voice: "Don't be a fool and lose +your wits--and spoil your chances." + +To his left was a forest, and directly ahead of him ran a long row of +bushes. He wanted to avoid the forest, so he hurried as fast as he could +across the field during the next interval of darkness. Then came another +wait of five minutes, and another dash forward. He gained the bushes and +discovered that he had come to a road. It bordered the river, he decided, +for now the rush of the water seemed directly before him. Just as he was +about to cross the road, he caught the beat of a horse's hoofs upon the +mud. A minute later the horse galloped past; Tom had a brief glimpse of the +rider, with his rifle held in the crook of his arm. + +Tom crossed the road and entered the thicket on the other side. Now the +river sounded below him, and he decided that he must be close to the edge +of an embankment. He crept forward slowly on his hands and knees through +the tangle of branches, feeling the ground before him. One hand went off +into space, and he groped about. Then he drew back and waited for another +moment of moonlight to show him his position. When it came, a few minutes +later, he saw the Tennessee, swollen and tossing, forty feet below him. He +was on the edge of a sheer embankment. + +"Can't do it here," he said, moving away. He crawled back to the road, +crossed it, and walked in the direction of Chattanooga. Presently he heard +someone yelling in the distance. He decided that it was the horseman +calling a farmer from his bed and warning him of the escaped Yankee. + +After a half-hour of slow traveling, he made his way towards the river +again. Now the dawn was coming, and the water rippled luminously as Tom +looked over the embankment. At this point, the descent to the water's edge +was more gradual--a straight drop of twelve feet, then a slope of gravel. +Once down there, he would have no choice but to swim the river, and +swimming in such a current was no easy matter. Would it be better, he asked +himself, to go farther down, to risk another half-hour in exploring! + +His thoughts were interrupted suddenly by voices on the road, twenty yards +behind him. A man said: "Reckon this is as good a spot as any. Out there I +can see as far up as Johnson's and a mile down." + +"Suit yourself," answered the other; "you know the country. I'll go down +an' get Phipps out if nobody else has. Then I'll be back along up this way +and tell the boys that you're here." + +"You say this Yank's a young man?" + +"'Bout twenty, I'd say." + +"How many of them were there that stole the train?" + +"The stories are all different. Some say five and some say fifty. Can't +tell. Well, I'll see you later." + +Tom swung over the edge of the embankment and dropped. He struck the loose +gravel and rolled down with the gravel sliding after him in a great wave. +It seemed incredible that the men should not hear him, but he trusted to +the noise of the river and ran down along the water's edge. Presently he +came to a large rock projecting from the embankment and dodged behind it. +There he sank down to get breath for his next move. + + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN + + +FIGHTING THE RIVER + +Tom began to explore the rock behind which he had taken refuge. It +projected several feet from the side of the embankment, and the wash of the +water in former days when the river was even higher than at present had +carried away the dirt on the down-stream side, forming a small pocket. In +the darkness, he ran his hands over the wall of it. There was room enough +for him there if he sat with his knees drawn up under his chin. He squeezed +himself in, and fell to considering what he had better do next. + +He decided that it would be hopeless to try swimming the river at this +point, after his night-long struggle through the mud. He was too tired, and +the current would simply toss him about. On the other hand, it was too +dangerously near dawn to attempt going farther down the river in hopes of +finding a place where the current was not so strong. If he spent the day +here would he be stronger when night came again after having gone +twenty-four hours without food? But with the next night clear before him, +there was at least a slight chance that he might find some means of getting +across. It wasn't quite clear in his mind what such means might be. +However, luck had been with him in escaping from the hotel. Poor Wilson and +Shadrack! They were in Chattanooga by this time. At any event, swimming was +out of the question for the present. Sleep was the most important thing. +The thoughts which had been hammering through his head were lost as he +dozed off. Then, a few minutes later, he awoke with a start. Every muscle +in his body was cramped and aching. He shook himself awake, felt around +until he came to a large flat stone. With this he scraped away several feet +of dirt at the side of the pocket. Then he climbed in again, braced himself +against the wall and kicked more dirt loose with his heels. Alternating +with the rock and his heels, he made the pocket long enough so that he +could stretch out comfortably. Then he scraped away the back wall, so that +there was no danger of being seen from above, and piled rocks along the +edge of the pocket, so that he could not easily be seen from the opposite +bank. That completed, he crawled in and scooped out dirt with his hands, to +make the bottom of the pocket conform to his body. Then, with a sigh which +expressed his weariness and comfort in a breath, he plunged into sleep. + +It was noon when he awoke. He raised himself on one elbow and glanced out +over the rocks at the river. His joints protested at every move, and his +muscles seemed bruised and hurt. He was thoroughly chilled, and yet his +head felt hot. + +"Hmmm, a little fever," he said. He stripped off some of his clothes and +began chafing his body; then he lay back and flexed his arms and legs in +the scant room of the pocket. After a half-hour of this he could feel the +blood flowing through him again. + +From the pocket, he could see across the river and down, where the +embankment sloped towards Chattanooga. He peered cautiously out, trying to +decide what he should do when night fell; but there seemed to be no choice +except to swim, for he could see nothing that gave him an atom of +encouragement. And the swift current of the river swept on as far as his +eyes could reach. + +He settled himself again on the floor of his hiding-place. Hunger was +gnawing at him, and which was more difficult to bear, he was thirsty. He +shut his eyes and lay quietly. After a few minutes he sat up, and fell to +rubbing his body again. Towards the middle of the afternoon he drifted off +into an uneasy, troubled sleep. People--friends from home, his companions +on the raid--approached him in his dreams, and promised to bring water; +then they went away, talking and laughing, and forgot to come back. Again +and again he asked them, and always they promised. He awakened himself by +crying, "Please! Please!" + +His body ached and throbbed; it was painful to move. His throat was +parched, and his tongue felt swollen. After he had pounded and rubbed his +muscles again, he sat up and looked out. The sun was setting, and the river +appeared to be a long shimmering ribbon of gold. He let his eyes wander +along it slowly. A large oblong thing, which rested near the water's edge +about three-quarters of a mile below him, caught his attention. At first it +seemed a mere trick of the shadows; then, as he watched it more closely, he +wondered if it could be a flatboat, drawn out of the water. He sat gazing +at it anxiously. The minutes passed and he forgot that he was hungry and +thirsty. + +"It's a flatboat or a raft," he said to himself. + +Finally the sun set, and Tom waited in an agony of suspense while the dusk +slowly turned into darkness. As the time for him to move approached, his +thirst became almost unbearable. The rush of the water, which was the only +noise he could hear, was tantalizing, maddening. His body felt as though it +were being consumed by a slow fire, which mounted steadily to his head, +sickening him and making him dizzy. He wanted to kick the stones away, +spring from his hiding-place and rush down to the water's edge, plunge his +face into the cool water and take great gulps of it.... Yet he sat quietly, +his hands clenched, forcing his mind to think of other things. Across the +river, the embankment became a soft blue-green blur, which turned darker +and darker. The ripples of the river caught the last rays of light, +flashing as though the surface were in flames. + +"I'll get out," he said to himself, "when I can't see the water." Then, +grimly: "And not before." He looked down the river again towards the oblong +object which had caught his attention, but it was lost in the night. + +"Must be careful when I go to drink," he muttered. "Just a sip at first. +Then another sip in a minute or so." + +He began to take the stones away from the opening of the pocket; then he +swung his feet out and sat on the edge. He glanced up: there was no moon, +and the sky was filled with heavy clouds. The rim of the embankment where +the guards had spent the day watching for him was scarcely distinguishable. +He got to his feet and leaned weakly against the rock. + +"Whew! Weak as a baby! Water'll make me feel better." The effort of rising +had made him dizzy, and his legs were like soft rubber beneath him. His +knees seemed to bend in all directions under his weight. "Better crawl," he +muttered; then he sank to his hands and knees. He found himself laughing as +he made his way to the water, and it struck him suddenly that he was +delirious. That realization had the effect of clearing his mind instantly. +"Careful about drinking," he cautioned himself. "Just one sip." + +Water! He put his face in it, took a mouthful and let some of it trickle +down his throat. He spat the rest out and pushed back from the stream. +Presently he was at the edge again, bathing his face and taking little +sips. Dizziness came over him like a great wave which caught him up and +spun him around. He lay flat and waited for it to pass; then he felt +better. + +After a few minutes he arose and commenced to walk back and forth over a +small strip of sand, limbering his muscles. Finally he stripped off the +damp clothes and stood naked in the shelter of the rock, pounding and +chafing his body until it glowed. Gradually he overcame the paralysis of +the cold. "Legs," he said, rubbing and beating them savagely, "when I tell +you to move, don't take five minutes about it. Now, move!" While the legs +did not respond with alacrity, they showed improvement. His nervous system, +which transmitted the orders of his mind to his body, seemed asleep--or +broken like the telegraph lines they had torn down along the route of the +raid. But slowly his nerves awoke, and strength replaced the numbness. + +Hunger seized him, and so, remembering the stories he had heard of Indians +tightening their belts during famines, he wound his underdrawers about his +stomach, pulling the legs taut, then tying them. "Poor substitute for a +meal," he mumbled, laughing. At least, he could laugh now, and that counted +for something. He dressed and went to the water for another drink; then he +began to pace slowly along the strip of sand, not daring to sit down and +risk becoming numbed again. + +"Better wait here for a few hours," he said. "They'll probably get sick of +watching and seeing nothing but black night. Later I'll go down and see +what that thing is. If it's a flatboat or a raft, I'll try to get across on +that. If it isn't, I'll climb up the bank and get a log. Then I'll try +swimming across holding to it. That'll keep me up if I get a cramp. Lord, +I'm hungry! Guess I'd better not think about it. I'm talking to myself as +though I'd reached my second childhood. Oh, well...." He paused and looked +up toward the embankment. "You thought you'd get me, didn't you, Alf? Not +this Yankee!" + +So the next two hours passed, while Tom walked back and forth, keeping the +blood stirring in his veins, talking to himself. At last he decided that +the time had come for him to go down the river. He took up a small stick to +help him feel the way along the shore, pulled his sodden felt hat down +securely on his head, and started, picking his way carefully and silently +among the stones. After a few minutes he began to zig-zag along the bank so +that he could not possibly miss that oblong thing for which he was +searching. He was wondering if he had passed it, or if, after all, it had +just been a trick of the shadows, when his stick sounded hollowly against a +wooden object. He leaned forward and felt of it. It was a flatboat! + +In the darkness he walked about it, running his hands along the edge. It +measured about ten feet by fourteen feet, he decided. Then he climbed in +and felt of the bottom. At one corner there was a hole. The boat had +probably been washed loose from its mooring during some previous flood +time, and had come ashore here, striking the rocks. Certainly it had not +been in the water for a long time, for the bottom boards were warped, with +gaping seams between them. + +"But it's a boat," said Tom, as he got out. He went to the water; the end +of the flatboat was two yards from the river. Then he went back, clutched +the end and tried to move it. Exerting all his strength, the boat barely +stirred. + +"Whew! Too heavy for me." He tried again, but with no better success. "Have +to get a lever," he panted. + +He spent the next ten minutes feeling about the beach, hoping that he would +come upon something which he could use to pry the boat forward. But there +was nothing; the beach was bare of everything except rocks and sand. For a +moment he stood there, too keenly disappointed to know what he should do +next. Then he turned toward the embankment. + +Halfway up, a stone upon which he was standing became dislodged and tumbled +to the bottom, carrying a rush of gravel with it. Tom, clinging to an +exposed root, waited breathlessly, expecting an outcry from some guard who +had heard the noise. He secured another footing, reached higher on the +root, and dragged himself up another foot. Presently his head came over the +edge; then he found a little tree which would bear his weight, swung a leg +over and squirmed to the top. Again he waited, listening and getting his +breath. + +He crawled through the bushes on his hands and knees, pressing down the +branches and selecting each inch of the way. Presently he came to the road. +Another wait to catch the sound of a guard. Then forward again. + +"There!" he exclaimed, as his hand touched a rail fence. He arose and +pressed down on the top rail, testing it for strength. It bent too easily +under his weight, so he tried the one underneath. That was stronger. +Silently he disengaged the ends of the top rail and laid it on the ground; +then he took up the rail he wanted, held it above his head and swung it +over the bushes until it pointed towards the river. He made his way to the +center of it, balanced it carefully over one shoulder and started creeping +for the river again. + +The barking of a dog stopped him just as he crossed the road. The +suddenness of the barking made it seem as though the dog were at his heels, +but he realized, as he collected himself, that the animal was a +considerable distance away. Probably it was at the farm where the horseman +had recruited a guard the night before, Tom decided. He hurried through the +bushes and narrowly escaped tumbling over the edge of the embankment. He +went down again, pulling the rail after him and letting it slip to the +bottom. + +"Now I'll move you," he said to the flatboat. First he rolled stones away, +clearing the path to the water; next he went behind the boat, shoved the +rail under and heaved upward. The rail curved under the strain, then the +boat slid forward, grinding on the sand. One foot nearer the water. Tom +took off his coat, threw it aboard, and worked the boat forward another +foot. At last the forward end was in the river, with the water lapping +against it. He stopped for breath. + +Once again he heard the barking of a dog, this time nearer. Then again, +still nearer. Presently he heard a man shouting, and another man answer +him. They were on the road above him, and the dog was yipping with +excitement. + +Tom drew back to the embankment, every nerve throbbing. So they were +chasing him with dogs! + +Then a man's voice: "Don't see nothing here. That good-for-nothing +cur--bringing us out in the middle of the night to chase squirrels. Come +here, Stub!" Tom heard the yelp of the dog as the man kicked it. "Teach ye +to git us up in the middle of the night fer nothing." Again the dog yelped. + +"Ain't this about where Saunders' old boat is?" asked the other man. + +"Yeh, I reckon so. There you can see it--right down there." + +"Ain't it nearer the water? Say, you don't s'pose...?" + +"Naw, that's because the water's high--mighty near as high as it was three +years ago. Get out of here, you mangy cur!" Another yelp. "He couldn't get +across in that sieve. Couldn't get it into the water, for one thing. Come +on, let's go back. I tell ye that Yank ain't...." The rest of his words +were lost as they left the embankment and went back to the road. + +Tom, breathing more easily, waited for five minutes, then picked up his +rail and shoved it under the boat. "If you had as much sense as your dog, +mister, you'd be all right." That was his parting shot at the two men as he +gave another heave at the rail. Water was pouring into the boat, so he +stuffed his coat into the hole. That would keep the boat from filling so +rapidly, at least. + +Two more heaves at the rail and the current caught the forward end, +swinging it around slightly. Another heave; and he jumped aboard, dragging +the rail after him. He stood up and poled the boat away from the shore. The +current turned it end for end; he changed his rail to the other side, +reached down for the bottom and gave another shove, which sent him out into +the full flow of the Tennessee River. + +The flatboat had shipped about two inches of water, and more was entering +just as fast as it could flow through the cracks. "But it's a boat," Tom +repeated. "And she'll be a boat until she sinks--and then I'm a swimmer." + +He tried to reach the bottom of the river with his rail, but the water +washed it aside; then he tried to steer by holding the rail against the +upstream side, but the old boat was in no mood to answer a helm. She veered +about in the current, twisting, turning, going sideways, wallowing in the +uneven water. Tom, squatting in the center, watched its aimless, crazy +actions, wondering what he could do to get it edging towards the opposite +shore. The water was mounting higher; the boat was half-filled now, and the +waves were splashing over. But still she careened, as though enjoying her +new freedom, down the Tennessee. + +Tom glanced up, and saw, to his amazement, the lights of Chattanooga +glowing like dim yellow stars in the darkness. Chattanooga! And he was +passing it in the darkness! He sat speechless watching the city as the +current carried him along. + +Below Chattanooga there was a sharp bend in the river where it turned to +the northward. He remembered that from studying the map. Would he be washed +up on the same side of the river from which he had just escaped? Would it +be better to jump overboard and swim, letting the boat drift wherever it +pleased her? But there was no time for considering what might happen, and +what he might do: he was already at the bend. The flat-boat, caught in the +eddy, was whirling about dizzily. Tom snatched up the rail and reached for +the bottom, poling her off towards midstream whenever he could get the rail +down. Gradually the boat drifted into the current, and started north. It +had sunk far down in the water, and the waves slopped over the sides. + +"If you'll last to the next turn!" exclaimed Tom prayerfully. He was +sitting waist-deep in water, and his teeth were chattering. He was becoming +numb again, but there was no opportunity for exercise now. The old flatboat +seemed ready to slide from under him at any minute. + +The next bend of the river, where it turned southward again, was only a few +miles from where Tom had crossed in the ferryboat on his way to Chattanooga +and Marietta. From that point he knew his way north. But the first +necessity was food. Hunger had become a sharp pain which tore at his +stomach. He reached inside his shirt, and wound the knot of under-drawers +until it hurt. That pain was preferable to the other. + +The moon, half-hidden behind a bank of clouds, was beginning to flood the +world with its light, showing the course of the river. Ahead of him, Tom +could see the bend, where the stream seemed to end in the black shore. He +reached along the bottom of the boat until he touched his coat, pulled it +out of the hole; then he stripped off his clothes and wrapped them together +in his cape. With this soggy bundle tied around his neck he waited, +shivering, as the boat swung out of the main current toward the north bank. +Then he jumped. + +It seemed hours before he could get his legs and arms working; then, as he +started to swim, he felt a wrenching pain in his stomach. His arms worked +spasmodically, beating against the water, dragging him slowly ahead. An +eddy caught him and rolled him over. He righted himself and put his legs +down; his toes touched the bottom for an instant, then lost it. The bundle +of clothes seemed to press him down, deeper and deeper into the water. Then +he felt his feet squarely on the bottom, and he struggled out of the water. +At last, he was across the Tennessee. + + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN + + +NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE + +Dawn found Tom near the house of the ferryman who had taken him across on +his trip South. Rather than risk another walk through fields and woods, he +had chosen to follow the bank of the river until he came to a road. That +course, even though it was longer, made less demand upon his strength, for +the walking was easier. + +He skirted the ferryman's house and took to the road. For a little while at +least he would be safe from interference; then, when light came, he would +forage for food. Food.... It had been thirty-six hours since he had +eaten--so long ago that the pains in his stomach had stopped. He was weak +and dizzy, and the importance of ever reaching the Union lines shrunk as he +thought of finding something to eat--anything. Security? What good was +security if it meant starvation? "Oh, shut up, and keep your legs moving," +he said to himself wrathfully, shaking such thoughts from his head. He took +another twist at the improvised hunger belt. It really did help, he +decided. + +At his left he saw Murdock's house, and the words of the negro boy came +back to him: "He keeps dawgs." Dogs for tracking down escaping slaves or +Yankees. Now, for the first time, it seemed to Tom that the rain which had +fallen during the past week was befriending him. The ground was too wet to +hold a scent. If Murdock's "dawgs" were brought out to chase him, they +would become hopelessly muddled and lost. Nevertheless, his step quickened. +After he had walked another mile, the faster pace began to tell upon him +and he lagged. + +"Have to rest, I guess," he said, and he entered the woods. A chill seized +him as soon as he sat down. He arose, and remarked: "If I sit down, I'm +finished, and I can't walk much farther. I wonder...." + +He had been fighting the idea of going to the Beecham's, or, rather, to +Marjorie. She was the one person he knew south of the lines who would help +him, yet he had been trying to keep the thought of going to her out of his +mind. It might involve her in danger. Three miles above the Beecham's there +was another farm. He had planned to go there, to tell them that he had just +come through the Union lines to enlist with the South, and ask for food. +But now he realized that he could not walk four miles--one mile to the +Beecham's, then three more to the farm. If his legs would carry him for one +mile, they would be doing well. It was difficult even to stand, and the +woods and sky lurched and whirled about him. + +"I'll go to Marjorie," he muttered. "Get word to her some way. She'll +help." He started for the road, then stopped. If an alarm were raised, and +Murdock's dogs were brought out, they might track him along the road. +Somewhere behind the Beecham's house, running through the woods, there was +a small stream. It came within three hundred yards of the house; then there +was a long row of thick bushes which led up to the garden. The negroes' +shanties were far to the other side. He had taken all of them in at a +glance when he rode away. It seemed that years had passed since that day. + +He stumbled through the woods until he came to the stream; then he splashed +along through the water. That would kill the scent. He had read of slaves +wading through streams to throw dogs off. He was just like an escaping +slave now, he thought. It was curious that he should know all the dread and +terror that they felt, that he should be experiencing the same sort of +man-hunt. He felt sick at the thought of all the brutality men were showing +to each other--the killing, the destruction of war, the gigantic effort to +bring ruin down upon each other. Such ideas went streaking through his mind +as he stumbled along the rough bed of the stream. It was incredible, +unbelievable. The railroad raid seemed like some sick man's dream, crazy, +tortured, and awful. + +He knelt down in the water and splashed it over his face, took a drink. His +head became clear again. He pulled himself to his feet. + +Through the trees he could see the Beecham's house, stark white in the +early morning light. It was after seven o'clock, he thought, and the family +would soon be at breakfast. A small stream of smoke drifted up from the +kitchen chimney, wavering and drooping in the still air. + +Tom left the stream and entered the bushes. When he was within fifty yards +of the house, he dropped to the ground. An instant later, he felt himself +going to sleep. It was like whirling through a great dark space to +oblivion. + +He awoke two hours later, and felt the warm sun beating down upon him. He +raised his head and glanced about, recollecting how he had come here. Then +he squirmed through the branches and looked toward the house. There, in the +garden, stood Marjorie, snipping at a rose bush with a pair of scissors. + +"Marjorie!" he called hoarsely. She glanced at the house, as though she +thought that someone there had called her. "Marjorie!" She turned in his +direction. "It's Tom Burns--over here. Down at the end of this row--in the +bushes." Her scissors dropped to the ground and her hands went to her +throat in a gesture of alarm. "Come here," he said. "But slowly--so that +they won't know." + +She recovered the scissors hurriedly and came toward him. "Where are you?" +she gasped. + +"Here--hiding. Stop at that last rose bush and pretend to be working." + +"Oh, Tom--you escaped! You got away!" + +"Yes, but I'm famished. Crossed the Tennessee last night--nothing to eat +since night before last. Can you...?" + +"Yes, I'll get you something," she gasped. "I'm so glad you escaped. I've +been worried.... Wait there." + +She walked toward the house and entered. Presently she came out of the +kitchen door and sauntered into the garden again. + +"I told Mattie, the cook," she said as she came near him and went to +trimming the rose bush again. "She understands. Her little boy is going to +bring you something to eat. Here he comes." + +He looked out and saw the little colored boy, Jasper, running to the +stable. He entered and appeared a second later out of the rear door; then +he made a wide detour to avoid being seen from the house, and disappeared +in the woods. + +"As soon as he comes, go back until you're out of sight of the house. I'll +meet you there. Watch for me." + +"Yes--I understand." + +She turned away, walked idly through the garden, and entered the kitchen +again. Presently Tom heard the crackle of branches, and Jasper, his eyes +and mouth wide open, came through the bushes. + +"Here, Jasper," said Tom. "Come on--I won't hurt you." The boy had stopped, +suddenly terror-stricken. "Come on, Jasper." He approached cautiously, step +by step, holding a package before him. He dropped it when Tom put his hand +out, and hurried back a few feet. "Now, Jasper, you go right back to your +mammy again," said Tom. "Don't say a word to anyone." + +Jasper nodded vigorously, then fled. + +In the package Tom found bread and chicken. At first he revolted at the +odor of food, then his appetite awoke and he wanted to wolf it down. But he +ate slowly, making his way toward the wood as Marjorie had said. He stopped +beside the stream, where he could watch for her. + +Soon he caught a glimpse of her white dress, and he called. She hurried +toward him. + +"I read all about it in the Atlanta paper," she said. "You were in the +railroad raid, weren't you?" + +"Yes." + +"I knew.... Oh, you're all wet. What happened to you? Oh, Tom!" + +"Wet?" he said. "I've been wet for so long I've forgotten about it. You sit +down there where you can see if anyone is coming." He pointed to a log. +"I'll lie here and rest." He wrapped his cape about him, and stretched out +on the ground. "I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you +into trouble, but I was starved into it. Will you forgive me?" + +[Illustration: "I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you +into trouble."] + +"Oh, I'm glad you came. I've been worrying ever since you left. I didn't +know what you were going to do, and I was afraid you'd be caught. Then the +news of the raid and the stolen engine came. I knew that you were one of +the men. Uncle didn't guess it until yesterday when he read about it in the +Atlanta paper. Tell me about it--please!" + +"What did your uncle say? How did he guess that I was one of them?" + +"The paper said that some of the men were captured, and that they told the +story about coming from Kentucky. When Uncle read that, he ... he...." + +"What did he do?" + +"He swore terribly," answered Marjorie. "Aunty sent me from the room. But +tell me about it. Oh, what's the matter, Tom?" + +He had risen on his elbows, then fallen back on the ground. "Nothing," he +said. "I'm dizzy, that's all. Every once in a while it strikes me. Wait a +second, and I'll be all right." + +She knelt beside him and touched his forehead. "You're feverish," she said. +"Oh, Tom ... I ... can't I do anything?" + +"Feverish!" exclaimed Tom. "I'm so cold that I can't move. I'm frozen!" His +teeth were chattering, and he commenced to shiver. "I'll be all right in a +minute. Guess I'd better get up." He arose, then sat down abruptly on the +log, for his legs felt too weak to support him. "I'm sorry, Marjorie," he +said. "I'm pretty tired." + +She watched him, too alarmed to speak. She exclaimed: "But you are +feverish, Tom. Oh, I didn't know. I might have seen that you were sick...." + +The rest of her words were lost in the great buzzing noise which filled his +head. Everything turned black before him--black filled with a thousand +shooting colors; then the world gave a vicious lurch which toppled him +over. He awoke, flat on the ground, with Marjorie leaning above him, crying +and dabbing his forehead with a wet handkerchief. + +"Fainted!" he mumbled disgustedly. "Fool to faint!" He closed his eyes +again to rid himself of dizziness. "Big baby! Sorry, Marjorie." + +"You must come to the house, Tom," cried Marjorie. "It doesn't make any +difference about Uncle. I'll tell him that he must take you in. He must!... +he must!" + +"No--be all right in a minute. Terribly hot! Take this cape off." He tried +to get out of the cape, but she stopped him. "It's too hot," he protested, +but he let her draw the cape up more tightly about him. + +"Won't you let me take you to the house?" she begged. + +"No--have to get back to the lines." + +"But you can't, Tom. You're sick. It's the fever that makes you hot. Oh, +Tom...." + +"Got to get back to the lines," he interrupted. "Start in a few minutes. I +guess ... sleep a little first. Mustn't be captured. You wake me up if +anyone comes. Murdock's dogs...." + +It was night when his brain cleared again. He was wrapped in blankets, +lying comfortably on the ground. Overhead the branches of the trees, black +against the sky, waved solemnly. + +"You 'wake, massah?" + +Tom started at the voice. An old negro was sitting beside him. + +"Yes--what...?" + +"You jes' rest quiet," said the negro. "Ev'thing's all right. Miss +Marjorie, she comin' soon." + +Tom closed his eyes and began to unravel the tangle of the day's events. He +could remember voices which had circled around him, babbling endlessly; two +negroes who had taken off his wet clothes, put him in dry things and +wrapped him in blankets; and Matty, the cook, who had soothed him and given +him hot drinks. Then Marjorie had come. Twice he had awakened and found her +sitting there. The afternoon was all confusion, like some half-forgotten +thing of his imagination. But he was comfortable now, and he didn't care. + +He drifted off into an untroubled sleep, and awoke again with the sound of +voices in his ears. In the faint light of the moon, he saw two negroes +squatting near him. They were talking in whispers. One of them was saying: + +"Ol' Murdock's dawgs is a-cryin' and a-moanin'--" + +And the other answered: "Oh, Lor'!" + +"An' ol' mammy, she's a-looking at the tea grounds in a cup." + +"What she say?" + +"She don' say nothing." He paused to give his words effect. "She got a +rabbit foot." + +"Oh, Lor'!" The negro glanced fearfully about them. "Oh, Lor'!" he +repeated. "Oh, Lor'! Oh, Lor'!" It had become a wail of terror now, a wail +so piteous and so moving that Tom felt as though an icy cold hand had +reached out for him, taking away all his strength. The stark trees of the +lonely, shadow-infested woods seemed to press in upon them like an army of +fantastic giants. The fear which was torturing the negroes came over him in +a spasm, then passed away. + +"What's the trouble there?" he demanded sharply. + +The negroes gasped audibly. "Nothin'," answered one of them presently. It +was the negro who had been talking about Murdock's dogs and the rabbit's +foot. + +"What are you getting scared about?" + +"Nothin'," came the muttered response. + +"Then don't lose your heads," replied Tom. He sat upright and sagged +forward weakly. The strength seemed to flow suddenly from his body; his +legs and arms felt flabby and useless. "Whew!" he exclaimed. "I'll have to +do better than this. Weak as a baby!" Bracing himself on one arm, he flexed +the other slowly. The negroes watched him. + +"Oh, Lor'!" wailed the older negro again. + +"Shut up!" said Tom. + +"O Lor'--der's horses on de road! Now der a-coming!" + +Tom listened and heard a faint clatter of hoofs, growing louder and louder. +It stopped for a moment as the horsemen pulled up to round the bend into +the Beecham's farm. Then a man yelled, "Hey, Beecham! Beecham! Hey, +Beecham! Come down for a minute. This is Kirby talking. We're on a Yank +hunt. Want you to help." There came a muffled response from the house, the +yelling ceased and the night was quiet again. + +Tom found himself on his feet, without knowing how he managed to get up. He +was clinging to the trunk of a tree for support. "Here, you," he said to +the negroes. "They're after me. Take these blankets and get back to your +huts. If they catch me they won't catch me here." Whimpering, the negroes +scooped up the blankets. + +"Wait!" ordered Tom. "How about these clothes? Where're mine? If I'm caught +in these things...." The negroes collected his clothes, which had been +spread out to dry, and he changed rapidly. "Take everything and get back as +quickly as you can. Come just as soon as it's daylight to be sure you +haven't left anything. Tell Miss Marjorie that I've gone...." + +They jumped at the crackling of some underbrush near them. It was Marjorie. + + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN + + +THE LAST DASH + +"Here we are, Marjorie." He went forward to meet her. "Thanks a thousand +times for all you've done. You must go back now. I'm going on--so that they +won't catch me here." + +"No, Tom, you can't go this way," she answered, crying. "I won't let you. +Here!--Joe and Sam--put those things down and stay here. Oh, Tom, they'll +surely catch you if you try it." She clutched his arm as though to hold him +from running into the woods. + +"But, Marjorie, there's nothing we can do," he protested. "Please go back. +Don't you see what it'll mean if I'm found near here? If I had my horse, +the one I sent back from the ferry that day...." + +"It's in the far pasture--three miles away," she answered. "Kirby'll have +the whole country looking for you by the time we could get it. You'll have +to stay here, Tom. I'll hide you in the house--Matty'll hide you over the +kitchen. Let me do that for you--let me take the risk. Please!" + +"No! If they get me, they'll get me in the open. No, Marjorie. Go on back." + +"Then take a horse from the stable. Take my horse." + +"Yours?" + +"Yes. Uncle gave him to me, and I give him to you. You must...." + +"But they'll know...." + +"No, they won't...." + +"But tomorrow when they find...." + +She was facing him squarely, holding to his arms and shaking him. "Matty's +husband is the stableman. He knows about you. He'll say that he turned the +horse into the pasture. You must.... Joe! Sam! Go up to the stable and +saddle my horse and bring him here. Run!" + +"Yassum," replied the negroes in a breath. They disappeared into the +darkness. Tom's protest was smothered under Marjorie's hand. The wave of +excitement which had kept him on his feet passed, and it was as though he +had been caught in a powerful undertow which swept his legs from under him. +He sank down on the fallen log where they had been sitting together earlier +in the day. + +"Can you ride? Are you strong enough?" she asked anxiously. + +"Yes--if I once get my legs wrapped around him I can stick there. Marjorie, +if you're caught at this, all the raid will seem like an immense failure." + +"But I won't be caught, and I will always be proud that you came to me when +you needed me, when I could help you." + +"You're worth a dozen soldiers!" he exclaimed. + +There was a moment of silence. "Poor Tom!" she said softly. "It's all so +terrible, isn't it? And so wonderful! You men have left the whole South +gasping at your bravery. Even Uncle--and he hates everything from the +North--says it's the most daring thing he's ever heard of." + +"But you--you're from the North." + +"Yes," she answered. "We don't talk about the war. He just takes it for +granted that I believe everything he believes. I've been here two years +now. When mother and father were alive I lived in Albany. I'm going back +just as soon as I can. Listen!" + +There were more horses on the road. + +"They're coming to join Kirby," she said. "I heard him say that more men +were coming. When Uncle went down to let them in, I went to the head of the +stairs to hear what they were saying. Uncle took them into the dining-room +to give them something to eat and drink; then I dressed and stole down." + +"But how did they know that I was in this part of the country?" + +"There was something about a boat. It was found ashore a few miles down the +river, and there was a report from Chattanooga that the boat had been +taken. I didn't wait to hear it all. Oh, I wish Joe and Sam would hurry! +You must get started before they leave. Men are going out in all +directions, and Kirby is taking the road to Wartrace. If you're ahead of +him they'll never catch you. Star can run like the wind." + +"Star?" + +"My horse," she explained. "He's a beautiful horse.... Oh, I wish they'd +hurry." There was anguish in her voice. + +"They'll come just as fast as they can," replied Tom calmly. "Why don't you +go back to the house now!" + +"I can't until you're on the road." + +"Why not? Please go back now." + +"I-I'll have to wait until the men have gone. I wouldn't dare to go back +until then. Then, too...." She faltered and stopped. + +"What?" + +"You can't leave by the main road. I'm going to show you the way through +the woods. Then there's a fence to jump. I'm going to take Star over it." + +It was useless to protest, for she became calm again and determined. "I +want to do it," she said. "You've come to me for help, and it's my right to +help you all I can. And remember, I'll always be proud of it. Oh, so +proud!" She slipped her hand into his and they sat there quietly, straining +to catch the first sounds of the negroes returning. + +"There they are--General Marjorie," he said presently. + +She jumped up and ran to the horse. Tom could see her pressing her cheek to +the horse's nose, stroking its head and neck. "Go back now," she said to +the negroes. "Take everything with you. If Matty is up, tell her that I'll +be home in a few minutes." + +"Yas, Miss Marjorie." Again they took up the blankets and clothes, and the +night swallowed them. + +"Mount, Tom," ordered Marjorie. "No, don't argue! Hurry! You'll need all +your strength." + +Laboriously, he did as he was told to do. With Marjorie leading Star, they +made their way through the woods. Once she stopped and listened. "They +haven't started yet," she said. + +A few minutes later she stopped again. "There's the fence," she said. "Let +me mount now. You hold Star while I fix the stirrups." He slid to the +ground and stood there, while she measured the straps with her arms and +fixed the buckles. He could see her plainly now in the soft moonlight which +was flooding the world. Ahead of them was the black wall of the rail fence. + +"Now," she said, "if you'll help me mount." He held his hands braced +against his knees so that they formed a step for her. She was up, adjusting +herself to the saddle, stroking Star's neck, talking to him softly. "You +climb the fence and wait on the other side," she ordered. Once again he did +as he was told to do. + +She brought Star to the fence at an easy trot, let him smell it and see it; +then she tossed her handkerchief to Tom. "Put it on the top rail as a +marker," she said, as she turned back for the run. + +Tom spread the handkerchief on the fence--a tiny spot of white to guide +Star over. Then he watched her, as she retreated into the black background +of the woods, his heart thumping so that it hurt. She had thrown aside her +cape when she mounted, and now she seemed so small and immature, sitting +there on Star's great back. + +Star's hoofs pounded upon the soft turf, then his body emerged from the +shadows. Tom could see Marjorie crouching, riding to his gait, holding him +down for the jump. At the fence there was an instant's pause; Star's +forequarters rose slowly, deliberately; then, as easily as though he were a +great projectile reaching the topmost limit of its flight, Star floated +over the fence. He had cleared it by a foot. + +Marjorie wheeled about, dismounted, and readjusted the stirrups. "There!" +she said. "Now--now, go." + +"I can never thank you," he began. + +"Don't--please don't even try," she interrupted. "Good luck once again. +Good-by, Star dear." She pressed her cheek against the horse's head. +"Good-by, Tom. Remember me always." + +He mounted and for a moment they delayed the parting. He reached down and +took her hand. "Always, little soldier, always," he said. "Good-by." + +"Listen!" The sounds of shouting came from the Beecham's. "They're +starting. Go straight ahead until you come to the road, then to your left." + +He gave Star the reins, and above the beat of hoofs heard her call: "Good +luck, Tom!" He glanced back and saw her standing there, her arms raised +above her head. Then he realized that he had her handkerchief, which he had +taken from the fence, clutched in his hand, so he waved it as a last signal +of parting before he crammed it in his pocket. + +They came to the road suddenly; Star planted his feet and slid on the soft +earth. Then, when they turned northward, Tom could feel all the strength of +the fine, valiant animal he was riding. It was a strength which seemed to +flow into the road, which carried him forward in long, swinging leaps. + +"Go it, Star!" he said. "Go it, boy!" In his excitement he forgot that he +had ever had the fever, that his legs had been too weak to carry him. He +leaned forward, riding easily, peering ahead at the road. + +Star was willing, but no horse could stand such a pace forever, so he +reined in to a trot. After he had passed the first farmhouse, he brought +the horse to a walk. "They'll stop there, old fellow," he confided. "You've +shown them what a pair of hind hoofs look like." + +He remembered the road vaguely from his trip southward, but the houses and +the little towns looked different now in the moonlight. Through each +settlement he walked Star quietly, but always ready to throw himself +forward, dig his heels into the horse's flanks and race away. An hour +passed ... two hours ... three hours. They pressed northward steadily, +sometimes at a walk but usually at a comfortable, steady trot, and always +saving energy for that last dash if the need arose. + +The first light of dawn found him a mile south of Manchester. "Guess we'd +better begin to step lively, Star," he said, reaching forward and stroking +the horse's neck. Star snorted and shook his head. They trotted around a +bend in the road. Ahead of them Tom distinguished a man who had dismounted +and was standing beside his horse. + +"Get ready, boy," he whispered, reining in slightly. + +"Hey! You!" called the man. "Where're _you_ going?" + +Tom held his reins in his left hand, and took off his hat with his right +hand. + +"None of your business!" he replied. Then with his hat he slapped the man's +horse on the head. He whooped, and dug his heels into Star's flanks. As +they shot forward, he saw the other horse rear up, pawing the air. The +man--he had the reins wrapped about his arm--was yanked from his feet and +sent sprawling. Tom, flat against Star's neck, with the black mane whipping +his face, sped down the road--past the spot where they had met Andrews that +first day of the raid, past the Widow Fry's and down the one street of +Manchester at a full gallop. + +"Keep it up, Star!" he urged. "Go it, Star! We're almost there, old boy. Go +it, Star!" But there was little need of urging; Star's forelegs were +reaching out mechanically for the road, clipping it off in huge sections. +Each leap seemed like a convulsion. His neck was outstretched and his head +was thrust forward as though he were devouring the road. + +Tom did not look back, but he cast out short, broken sentences to console +his pursuer. "Huh! Race me--on that hunk o'--dog meat. Get a--_horse_! If +you want to--race me--get a--_horse_. A horse that can--_run_! We'll +race--anything that--wears four legs. Won't we--Star? Huh!" + +Presently he eased Star's gait, for the horse was beginning to breath too +heavily. "Guess they won't bother about us," he remarked. "Wonder how much +ground we covered then. Must be pretty close...." + +"_Halt!_" + +It was a cry that brought a yell of exultation to Tom's lips. There was no +mistaking it. No civilian could say halt in that tone. + +Tom pulled on the reins and Star planted his feet; they went sliding past +the Sentry with his rifle glinting in the moonlight. "Halt there!" came the +second warning as Star came to a stop. "Put your hands up!" + +Tom dropped the reins and raised his hands. Star, almost winded, seemed +propped upon his legs, rather than standing upon them. His head drooped and +each breath came as a great heave. + +"Who are you?" demanded the Sentry. + +"Friend," answered Tom. + +"Password?" + +"Haven't got it. I'm...." + +"Keep your hands up," interrupted the Sentry; then he bawled out: "Sergeant +o' the gua-r-r-d. Post number-r _six_." The call was repeated as though by +an echo. + +"I'm one of the railroad raiders," continued Tom. "I'm...." + +"What?" yelled the Sentry. "Are you one of _them_? Say! Put those hands +down and let me shake 'em. Say!" + + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY + + +TOM REPORTS AT HEADQUARTERS + +The Sergeant, with four men, came on the double quick, and found Tom and +the Sentry standing in the middle of the road talking. The Sentry's gun +stood neglected, leaning against a tree. + +"What does this mean, Cummins?" demanded the Sergeant. + +"Here's one of the raiders," answered the Sentry, as though that was enough +to account for almost any negligence. And it was enough, for the Sergeant +forgot the Sentry completely. He grabbed Tom's hand. + +"That was a wonderful job you boys did down there," he said. "We've been +waiting for you and watching all along the line." + +"Am I the first one through?" asked Tom. + +"I guess so. Are there any more behind you?" + +"I don't know. I got separated from the others. There were three of us, and +the other two were captured. Are you sure that none of them reached the +line on the other side of Chattanooga?" he asked anxiously. + +"We haven't heard of any," answered the Sergeant. "The whole country's +waiting for you, and I guess we'd have heard of it if any had come through +the lines. Say, when the news of the raid came out, the North just went +crazy with excitement." + +One of the men added: "And I guess the South did some going crazy, too." + +"I have to sit down," remarked Tom suddenly. "Sorry, but my legs don't seem +to be much good." + +"We've got to be getting on and report to the Captain. You'd better climb +on your horse," remarked the Sergeant. + +"I'll walk the rest of the way, thanks," said Tom. "Star's done about +enough work for one night. Wait a minute and I'll be all right." + +"Have a hard time getting through?" asked one of the men. + +"Oh, not so very hard," replied Tom. The memory of all the miseries of that +long chase seemed dulled in his mind now. "The worst of it was that I was +wet all the time, wet to the skin. Then I didn't have anything to eat for +about two days. Got a little touch of the fever." + +"Pshaw!" exclaimed the Sergeant. "Say, that's a good horse you've got +there! Where did you find it?" + +"Maybe I'll tell you after the war's over," answered Tom. + +"Ah! Well, you had luck, anyhow." + +"Yep," answered Tom. He put his hand into his pocket and clutched +Marjorie's handkerchief. "Yep, I had luck, all right enough. I can walk +now, I guess. Let's go report to the Captain." + +It was daylight when they reached the headquarters of the guard. The Sentry +posted before the door watched them approach, then called out: "'Lo there, +Serg. Got a Johnny Reb for our breakfast?" + +"Reb nothing!" replied the Sergeant. "This boy's one of the raiders." + +The Sentry's jaw dropped slightly. He stared for a moment, then turned and +bolted through the door, yelling back over his shoulder, "I'll get the +Captain out. Isn't up yet." + +They entered the house, and Tom dropped into the first chair he reached. +"Sergeant," he said, "have one of your men take care of my horse. He can +have some water now." + +"All right, Lieutenant." + +"I'm no Lieutenant--I'm a private, a raw recruit." + +"Huh?" grunted the Sergeant incredulously. + +"That's the truth." + +"Well, if you ain't a Lieutenant you ought to be and I'll bet my stripes +that you will be. Hey, Max, you go out and see that the Lieutenant's horse +is taken care of." + +From upstairs they could hear the sound of voices and the scurrying of +feet. Presently someone clattered down the stairs. The door swung open and +the Captain entered, buttoning his coat. + +"Glad to see you, my boy!" he exclaimed. "Don't bother about getting up. +You can go, Sergeant." He drew a chair up close to Tom's; then as the +Sergeant started to leave the room, he said, "Have my messenger ready to +travel. Give him the fastest horse we've got in the place." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Now, tell me about it. In the first place, what's your name and regiment?" + +"Tom Burns, private, Company B, Second Ohio," answered Tom proudly. With +the Captain jotting down notes, he told the first accurate story of the +raid up to the moment when they had abandoned the train; then of his own +experiences in escaping. "I finally reached this side of the river on the +flatboat, and swam ashore. That was yesterday morning. Let's see--was it +yesterday or the day before?" He looked back over the tangle of nights and +days, and thought for a moment. "Yes, it was yesterday morning. I'm sorry +that I'm so confused, but so many things have happened that I'm all mixed +up." + +"I understand," said the Captain. + +"Then...." continued Tom. He stopped. "No, I can't tell you any more. +Another person helped me. If it hadn't been for that person I would never +have reached the lines. And if it ever got out they'd make a lot of trouble +for...." He caught himself on the verge of saying "her," and added, "for +that person." + +"Well," said the Captain, "that's of no importance to us. It makes no +difference. The point is that you're back again." + +"It's of importance to me, I can tell you," said Tom. + +"Hm-m-m, I guess so. All right, Tom Burns, I'm going to send a messenger to +get this news on the wire to headquarters. You're about worn out. Sorry +that there's just one bed here. That's the one I've just climbed out of, +but you're welcome to it." + +"Couldn't ask for anything better," replied Tom sleepily. He arose and +stretched his tired muscles. "Will you make sure that my horse is being +properly cared for, Captain? He's a fine horse.... Where is that bed, +Captain?" + +It was evening when he awoke, and he remained awake long enough to eat some +food which an orderly brought for him. Then, with the intention of getting +up after a few minutes, he closed his eyes again. The next thing he knew it +was daylight again. He jumped out of bed and opened the door. + +"Good morning," called a soldier as Tom peered out. "Have a good nap, young +man?" + +"What day is this, anyhow!" demanded Tom. "How long have I been sleeping?" + +"Just twenty-four hours, that's all," answered the soldier. + +"Hello, Burns." It was the Captain. "How are you?" + +"Fine! But I'm ashamed of myself for cheating you out of your bed." + +"You've earned a bed, my boy. Get some clothes on and we'll have breakfast. +Can you travel today?" + +"Yes." + +"A message came from Mitchel at Huntsville. He wants to see you." + +And so Tom, mounted upon Star and accompanied by the Captain's messenger, +retraced the road to Shelbyville and followed the course of Mitchel's army +southward. All along the route, when the news spread that one of the +raiders was passing through, they were surrounded by soldiers, who wanted +to hear the story and to shake hands. Finally Tom begged the messenger not +to tell people who he was, not to mention the raid. "We'll never get to +Huntsville if this keeps up," he said. + +It was noon of the third day when they reined their horses in at the +outskirts of the town, and exhibited their pass to a Sentry. "Let 'em past, +boys," yelled the Sentry. "Here's the raider!" They trotted into Huntsville +with the soldiers yelling. And it was all that Tom could do to keep from +yelling. Now, for the first time, the full exultation of being back again +struck him; but he sat speechless, stroking Star's neck nervously. + +They pulled up before headquarters. + +"Tom!" + +Tom glanced about and saw Bert running toward him. + +"Bert!" + +Tom jumped from Star's back, tossed the reins to the messenger and they met +as though in collision. "Good work, Tom! When the word came, the company +went wild. The Captain got leave for me to come up here and meet you. Go on +in and report to the General. I'll be out here waiting for you." Bert +thumped him on the back and started him towards the door. + +Tom followed the Sergeant of the Guard into the anteroom, and stood, ill at +ease, looking out of the windows into the yard, until the General could +receive him. Presently the door behind him opened, and he turned, expecting +to see the Sergeant. Instead, it was General Mitchel himself. Tom snapped +to attention. + +"Welcome back again, Private Burns," boomed the General. He approached and +their hands met with a _smack!_ The General was beaming. "Glad to see you, +boy. I'm proud of you. Come in here." He took Tom's arm and led him toward +the private office. + +"Now let's have the yarn," said the General, lighting a cigar and leaning +back in his chair. Tom glanced about him and saw that the office had +originally been a dining-room. The family table, which was strewn with +maps, served as the General's desk, and the disorder of the chairs showed +that there had been a recent meeting of the staff. On the sideboard were +the remains of the General's lunch, which he had just finished. + +"Am I the first one back?" asked Tom. + +"Yes--the only one who has returned. I had just about given you all up as +captured." + +"Then you think the others are ... prisoners?" + +"Afraid so--yes. When was it you captured the train--Friday or Saturday?" + +"Saturday, sir." + +"Hm-m-m, I thought so. That was what the reports from the South said, but I +couldn't be sure. And how was it you didn't take the train on Friday, as we +planned? But, perhaps, you'd better tell me the story right from the +beginning." + +Once again, Tom started with his departure from Murfreesboro and told in +detail of the movements of the raiders. The General listened intently, +scratching down occasional notes; presently he arose and spread a map +before them. Then, with their chairs close together, the General and the +Private traced out the course of the raiders and the progress of the +locomotive race up to the point where Andrews had given the order to +abandon the engine and scatter. + +"Hm-m-m, if he'd only stopped to fight--at the tunnel, say...." remarked +the General. + +"That's what we wanted to do," answered Tom, "but he wouldn't." + +"Of course," said the General, "we have to remember that Andrews was not a +soldier--he was a spy, and accustomed to another way of working. Too +bad.... Luck was dead against you, I'm afraid." + +The General leaned back again and looked at him narrowly as he told the +story of his flight from the hotel and across the Tennessee. Tom continued: + +"I would have been captured surely if it hadn't been for a certain person +who took care of me, and gave me a horse. The whole countryside was getting +up to search the woods for me. They were bringing the dogs out. Then I got +the horse; we cut through the fields ahead of them. That's all. I raced +until I tumbled into the arms of a Sentry." + +The General drummed on the table with his pen, and emitted great puffs of +smoke. "Hm-m-m!" he said. "Hm-m-m! Not entirely successful, but a great +blow at the South all the same. I'm proud of you men, Burns--mighty proud +of you." He was silent for a moment, then: "I'm going to recommend you for +a commission." + +"Thank you, sir," gasped Tom. + +"You've earned it. You can go up North for training, and join us again +later--a Lieutenant. How'll you like that?" + +"I'd like to have a commission, of course, but...." + +"But what?" + +"Why, you see, General, I'm nothing but a recruit, I've never even worn a +uniform." + +"What?" exclaimed the General. Tom told him how he had come to take part in +the raid, how he had been sworn into the service just before his departure. +"Well," said the General at last, "that really makes no difference. You're +officer caliber, and that's enough." + +"All the same, General, I think I'd like to go to my company, and get some +experience. Company B is in the fight now, isn't it?" + +"Experience!" exclaimed the General. + +"Experience as a soldier, I mean," Tom replied. + +"Of course, of course," the General answered, laughing. "Yes, Company B is +in the fight. All right, my boy, all right. We'll send you there--for +experience!--and then North you go and learn the business of being an +officer." + +"Thank you, sir." + +The interview was at an end. They stood up and shook hands. Tom suddenly +remembered Star. "By the way, sir," he said. "A private doesn't generally +have a Kentucky thoroughbred, does he?" + +"Not generally." + +"Well, sir, I have one, but I guess the time for Star and me to part has +come. Will you take it? The person who gave Star to me is a good +Northerner. The ... the person would be proud to have the horse ridden by a +General." + +"Do you think that _the person_"--the General smiled--"would be any prouder +to have a General riding the horse than she--pardon me!--than to have you +riding it?" + +"I don't know, sir," replied Tom, with a grin. "But I know she'll be mighty +proud just the same." + +"All right, my boy." The General called one of his aides and instructed him +to see that Tom reached Company B. They shook hands again and Tom walked +out of the headquarters building to find Bert waiting for him. The railroad +raid had ended. + + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE + + +THAT CERTAIN PERSON + +Long years of warfare passed; then came the day when war was over, and +Captain Tom Burns strolled down the avenue in Washington, linked arm in arm +with Brown and Knight. Behind them sauntered the surviving members of the +raiders. Each of them wore a medal of honor, which had been pinned to their +coats that afternoon. + +"You're going straight home, I suppose, Tom?" asked Brown. + +"No--no, I'm going to Albany. Someone I have to see there. I was home on a +furlough just a few weeks ago." + +"It's just about my train time," said Knight. "I'll have to be getting to +the station." + +"Wait a minute while we say good-by to the boys, and I'll go with you," +said Tom. They stopped while the others came up. The moment of parting had +come, and silence fell over them. Some of the men had escaped from prison +camps, others had been exchanged, and this meeting had been a great event +in their lives. For two days they had lived their experiences once again, +exchanging stories and discussing the raid. + +"Good-by, boys," said Knight, breaking the pall of silence. "You all have +my address. Let me know when you're around my part of the country." + +"Same goes for me," said several of them. "Don't forget, now. Good-by, Tom. +'By, Knight. Here, let's shake that paw again. Drop me a line, eh?" + +"'By, boys," said Tom, untangling, himself from the group. He looked back +and waved. + +Two days later in Albany Tom presented himself at the Mayor's office. "I've +come on a peculiar errand," he explained. "One time when I was in the +South, a Northern girl, who was living there, befriended me and saved me +from being taken prisoner. Her name was Marjorie Landis, and she told me +that she had lived here. She said she was coming back to Albany just as +soon as the war was over. I want you to help me find her, if it's not +asking too much." + +The Mayor smiled. "You don't happen to be Tom Burns of the raiders, by any +chance, do you?" he asked. + +Tom jumped. "Yes--but how...." His voice dwindled off in amazement. + +"I've heard a lot about you, young man. Yes, I think that if you'll go to +this address"--he wrote on a slip of paper--"and ask for Miss Landis, +you'll find someone who'll be very glad to see you. Don't even stop to +thank me--you hurry along." + +Tom needed no urging. He sped from the office, signaled a cab and gave the +driver the paper. "Let that horse move his legs," he ordered. + +"Yes, sir." + +They pulled up presently before a big brownstone house. + +"Tell Miss Landis that Captain Burns is calling," he told the servant. + +"Yes, Captain. Will you come this way, sir?" He was ushered into a parlor, +where he waited nervously; then he heard footsteps on the stairs. + +"Tom--Tom Burns!" Marjorie bounded into the room. + +"Marjorie!" + +They stood looking at each other, speechless. She was the first to collect +herself. "I'm so glad you've come," she said. "I've wondered and wondered +about you." + +"But you knew I'd come if I could, didn't you?" + +"I thought so--I hoped so." + +"For one thing, I have a horse and a handkerchief of yours." + +"Star! Is he still alive? Oh, tell me about it. But, no--tell me about +yourself first." + +That evening, long after dinner, they finished their stories. Marjorie had +come North six months before; the Beechams had never suspected her of +having given him her horse. "The people," she said, "went mad scurrying +about the country after you. I don't know what they would have done if they +had suspected me. I don't like to think of it." + +"I've been worrying about you ever since," answered Tom. "I could have +hugged that Mayor when he told me that you were here and safe." + +"Wasn't it strange that you went directly to him? He's one of our best +friends." + +"I couldn't think of anyone else to go to." + +And he told of the battles he had fought, of his promotions and all that +had befallen him. "I rode Star all through the year of '63, after I was +attached to the Headquarters Staff. General Mitchel gave him back to me. He +said, 'I don't suppose you'd like to have that Certain Person's horse +again, would you?' I said, 'I would, but I don't dare to take a General's +horse away from him.' Good old Star! When winter set in I decided that he'd +seen about enough war, so I sent him home. He is in the country near +Cleveland now on a furlough, waiting for his mistress to ride him again." +Tom pulled out the small handkerchief. "But I'd like to keep this," he +said. "It has brought me luck. I'm superstitious about it." + +"Please keep it," she said. "I hope it'll always bring you luck." + +He arose to go. "I'll be back just as soon as I can," he said, then he +added: "to bring Star." + +"Is that the only reason?" + +"It isn't a reason," he replied severely. "It's an excuse." + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tom of the Raiders, by Austin Bishop + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM OF THE RAIDERS *** + +***** This file should be named 7504.txt or 7504.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/5/0/7504/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Olaf Voss and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Tom of the Raiders + +Author: Austin Bishop + +Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7504] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on May 11, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM OF THE RAIDERS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Olaf Voss +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + +[Illustration by Morgan Dennis: Again and again Tom fed logs into the +flames.] + + +TOM OF THE RAIDERS + + BY + +AUSTIN BISHOP + + +ILLUSTRATED BY +MORGAN DENNIS + + + + +To +DOLORES AND SAM +WITHOUT ADHESIONS + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I WITH THE SECOND OHIO + II THE RAIDERS START + III ARRESTED + IV TOM GOES ALONE + V TOM ARRIVES AT THE BEEGHAM'S + VI ON TO CHATTANOOGA + VII IN MARIETTA + VIII THE TRAIN IS CAPTURED + IX THE RACE + X "THEY'RE AFTER US!" + XI THE PURSUIT + XII SPEEDING NORTHWARD + XIII FIGHTING WITH FIRE + XIV THE END OF THE RACE + XV CAPTURED + XVI ESCAPING + XVII FIGHTING THE RIVER +XVIII NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE + XIX THE LAST DASH + XX TOM REPORTS AT HEADQUARTERS + XXI THAT CERTAIN PERSON + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Again and again Tom fed logs into the flames. _Frontispiece_ + +The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of the river. + +The men were feeding the ties they had collected, out upon the road through +an opening they had broken in the rear of the car. + +"I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you into trouble--" + + + + +CHAPTER ONE + + +WITH THE SECOND OHIO + +As he rounded the last bend of the road, Tom saw the white tents of the +Union army stretched out before him. He forgot how tired he was after his +long walk, and pressed forward eagerly, almost running. The soldiers who +were sauntering along the road eyed him curiously. + +"Hey, you! You can't go by here without a pass!" The Sentry's rifle, with +its long gleaming bayonet, snapped into a menacing attitude. + +Tom stopped abruptly, caught his breath, and asked: "Is this the Second +Ohio?" + +"Maybe," answered the Sentry coldly. "What do you want to know for?" + +"I've come to see my cousin--Herbert Brewster, of Company B." + +The Sentry's position relaxed. He brought his rifle to the ground, leaned +upon it, and gazed at the young man who stood before him. "Well now!" he +said. "He'll certainly be glad to see you! We don't get many visitors down +this way. What's your name?" + +"Tom Burns." + +"Going to enlist?" + +"Yes. How'd you guess it?" + +"Oh, I dunno. I just thought so. You're pretty young, ain't you?" + +"Eighteen," answered Tom. "I'm old enough to fight." He looked past the +Sentry, down at the even rows of tents which formed the company streets of +the Second Ohio. His heart beat faster at the thought that he would be part +of it after today. A soldier in the Union army! + +"I'll send a messenger with you down to Company B," said the Sentry. +"You'll have to get the Captain's permission before you can see your +cousin." + +It was early in April, 1862. The troops under the command of General O. M. +Mitchel were encamped between Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, +after a march from Nashville through a steady drizzle of rain. It had been +a dreary, tedious march, made worse by long detours to avoid burnt bridges, +detours over roads where the heavy wagons of the army sank hub-deep in the +glue-like mud. It had been a fight against the rain and mud every inch of +the way. And now, except for the details of bridge repairing, the troops +were resting, drying their water-soaked knapsacks, and gathering strength +for the march southward. Rumors of Chattanooga were in the air, and the +camp was buzzing with talk of "Mitchel's plan of campaign." Groups of +soldiers stood about exchanging views on what would happen next, +speculating upon the points where they would come into contact with the +rebs: others were playing games, or lying upon blankets spread before their +tents, sleeping, reading and writing letters. The rows of tents gave a +suggestion of military orderliness to the scene, but it was a suggestion +only, for the tents and their guy ropes were strung with blankets and +clothing put out to dry. + +Although it was not quite what he had expected to see, the camp was +wonderful and thrilling to Tom Burns. He had expected more military pomp +and precision; not simply hundreds of men, half-clothed and weather-worn, +loitering and shifting between rows of tents. Even the tents were patched +and dirty. But if the scene did not compare with the picture he had in his +imagination--of officers mounted upon spirited horses, buglers sounding +calls, companies standing at attention--there was a spirit of action and +excitement in the air which made him rejoice. These men, who were +half-clothed because the only garments they had to put upon their backs +were tied to the guy ropes drying, were hardened campaigners; men, +roughened and toughened in their months of service, pausing a moment before +battle. The stains and tears of the tents were campaign badges. Tom began +to feel proud that "his" regiment was not like the new, raw troops he had +seen in the north--immaculately clean troops which had never known a night +in the open, far from the comforts of barracks. + +He was speechless as the messenger who had been detailed by the Sergeant of +the Guard led him down the regimental street, where the officers' tents +faced each company street. Company F ... Company E ... Company D.... At the +head of each street was a small penciled sign telling them what company +they were passing. Tom glanced ahead to Company B. In front of the +officer's tent two men were talking. + +"Is one of them the Captain?" he asked. + +"Yep--the short one," answered the messenger. "The other's the doctor." + +"What's the Captain's name?" + +"Moffat--Captain Moffat." + +They stopped a few paces from where the Captain and the doctor were +standing, and waited. Tom hazarded a glance down the street of Company B to +see if he could catch a glimpse of his cousin, but Herbert Brewster was not +in sight. Presently the Captain turned toward them. He was a short man, +heavily built, and his manner was that of a man who had spent a lifetime +commanding soldiers. + +"Well, what is it?" he asked. + +The messenger snapped to attention: he saluted. "This man wants to see +Herbert Brewster of your company, sir." + +"I'm his cousin, sir," added Tom. + +The Captain dismissed the messenger with a nod. "You're Corporal Brewster's +cousin, eh?" + +"Corporal?" asked Tom. + +The Captain laughed. "I thought that would surprise you. Yes, he was made +Corporal last week. You'll find him in the third tent on your left. I don't +suppose you know that he's on the sick list with a bad ankle?" + +"No!" + +"Yep." + +"I hope it isn't serious." + +"Hm-m-m"--the Captain stroked his chin--"no, the ankle isn't serious, but +being on the sick list is. Run along and cheer him up. Tell him that I'll +be down to see him in a few minutes." + +"Yes, sir." + +The Captain turned back to the doctor, and Tom threaded his way down the +street. At the third tent he stopped, pulled open the flap and peered in. +There was Bert, stretched out on his bedding, writing a letter. His right +ankle was a mass of bandages from which his toes peered out. He did not +look up from his writing. + +"Does Corporal Herbert Brewster of Cleveland, Ohio, live here?" asked Tom. + +"You, Tom! you!" + +"Don't try to get up on that bad ankle." He rushed over and grabbed Bert's +hand. "How are you?" + +"What in the world are you doing at Murphytown?--or whatever they call this +end of the mud-puddle. And how are all the people? When did you see mother +and father last?" + +Tom held up his hands in surrender; then, as he sat down on the edge of the +bedding, Bert took him by the shoulders and shook him. "They're all fine. +I'm here to enlist, Corporal. Will you have me in your squad?" + +"You bet! Tell me about home." + +Bert had been among the first to enlist, and, except for one furlough of +two weeks, he had not been able to return home. Many minutes passed before +Tom reached the point of his own departure from Cleveland; how he had +gained the consent of his father and mother to his enlistment; his trip to +Murfreesboro and all his adventures and misadventures en route. "And, by +the way," he ended, "the Captain said that I was to tell you that he'd be +here to see you soon. And what did you do to your ankle?" + +"The Captain's coming to see me, eh? Humph! A lot of good that'll do me. +Was he talking with the doctor?" + +"Yes." + +"Humph!" Bert plunged into thought. + +"How about the ankle?" Tom reminded him. "What did you do to it?" + +"I was on a bridge detail yesterday," answered Bert gloomily. "We were +loading some pilings to be hauled up to a bridge, and I was on the wagon, +placing them as they were shoved up to me. They were all greasy with mud, +and I--well, I was thinking about some other things, and I stepped on a +slippery hunk of mud. I went down; then one of the pilings rolled over when +my foot struck it, and went on my ankle." + +"Gee, that's hard luck!" + +"I'd just as soon sprain a dozen ankles," answered Bert. "That isn't the +hard luck." + +"What do you mean?" asked Tom. + +Bert looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said. "I +can't tell you. It's something we were planning to do, and"--he motioned +towards his ankle--"here I am. Perhaps I'll tell you later." + +The flap of the tent was pushed aside and the Captain entered. He stood for +a moment looking regretfully at Bert. "I'm sorry," he said, "but the doctor +says it can't be done. Too bad!" + +Bert glared at his ankle. "Well, sir, if it can't be done, it just can't." + +Tom watched the two men, wondering what thoughts were in their minds. What +was this mysterious plan that was ending so badly? + +The Captain spoke at last: "It's nice that you have your cousin here to +keep you company while you're waiting for your ankle to heal." + +"He'll be with me longer than that, Captain. He's come to enlist." + +"Good!" exclaimed Captain Moffat. He turned to Tom. "I 'll be glad to have +you, my boy!" + +"And I'll be glad to be with you." + +"Sir!" corrected Bert. "You'll have to learn to say 'sir' in the army." + +"Yes--sir!" replied Tom. + +The Captain smiled: "What's your name?" + +"Burns, sir. Tom Burns." + +"And how old are you!" + +"Eighteen, sir." + +"Young," commented the Captain, "but you look strong enough to stand the +life." He put out his hand. "I'm glad to have you. We need men these days, +and we can always handle a few recruits. You can stay here with Corporal +Brewster until you're assigned to a squad. I'll have some bedding sent down +here for you to use until you draw your kit." He started out, then paused. +"Don't be too disappointed, Brewster. There'll be other chances." + +"Keep me in mind for the first chance, Captain." + +"I'll promise you that." + +"Thank you, sir," said Bert. "Do you know who will take my place?" + +"Not yet," replied Captain Moffat. "I'll have to select a man." + +He left the tent, his heavy sword clanking as he walked. Tom resumed his +seat beside Bert. + +"What is this scheme of yours, Bert?" he asked. "Can't you tell me? Is it a +secret?" + +Bert considered the matter for nearly a minute, while Tom watched him +intently. "Yes, it's a secret," replied Bert; then he added, "But I'll tell +you." + +"If it's a military secret, perhaps you'd better not. Of course I wouldn't +tell anyone, but...." + +"No, it's all right for me to tell you." Bert put his hand into his +knapsack which lay beside his bed and pulled forth a map. "Look here." Tom +moved up beside him and they spread the map out on their knees. "There's a +town called Corinth." Tom pointed with a brown forefinger. "Beauregard is +there. And here is Atlanta, which is Beauregard's base of supplies. Here is +Murfreesboro where we're camped. If Beauregard's supplies were cut off +between Atlanta and Chattanooga, what would happen to Beauregard?" + +"He'd been in for trouble," answered Tom. + +"And Chattanooga...?" + +"Chattanooga would be flying Mitchel's flag." Tom's eyes brightened, and he +turned so that he could look squarely at his cousin. "But, Bert, how were +you going to do it?" + +Bert smiled wanly, and left Tom in suspense a moment before he answered. +Then he glanced balefully at his ankle. "Some of us were going into the +South, and ... well, we were simply going to do it." + +"The railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga?" asked Tom. + +"You've guessed it, but, on your life, don't breathe a word of it." + +Tom's eyes opened wide. "Never! And aren't they going to do it now! Just +because you're ankle is broken?" + +"They'll do it, all right," answered Bert. "I'm not that important. There's +only one man who is so important that they have to have him." + +"And who's that?" + +"The leader--the man who planned it. He knows the country." Bert folded the +map and put it back in his knapsack. + +"I'm sorry about your ankle," Tom said weakly. "With a chance like that!" +He whistled, and leaned back, with his hands clasped around a knee, gazing +steadfastly at the roof of the tent. Bert rested his chin in his hands and +sat silently, looking at him. Tom's eyes narrowed and his fingers tightened +until they were white. + +"Bert...." he began, then stopped. + +"Yes?" + +Their eyes met. Tom leaned forward and clutched his cousin's arm. "Do you +think, Bert, that Captain Moffat would let me go in your place?" + +"I don't know," answered Bert. "But we can ask. Asking won't do any harm." + +"Will you ask him? Will you really?" + +"Do you want to go? Without knowing any more about it than that?" + +"More than anything else in the world. Do you think he will let me go, +Bert? Tell him that I'm not afraid--that I can be trusted to carry out +orders. You know I can do it, don't you, Bert?" + +"Yes, I know you can do it. And I thought that you'd probably want to do +it. That's why I disobeyed orders and told you. I wanted to give you the +chance to volunteer." + +"I wonder if the Captain'll just laugh and say that I'm a raw recruit." + +"The Captain isn't that kind of man," answered Bert. "He doesn't laugh at a +fellow just because he wants to do something. And about being a raw +recruit.... It's my opinion that he'd rather send a recruit, if he's a good +man, than a trained soldier. Trained soldiers are too scarce. He was +willing to let me go because I volunteered months ago for any expedition +that was to be sent out. When the call came for a man from each company, he +called me into his tent, and just told me that I was going. Of course, a +man doesn't have to go. It's for volunteers only. You know what it might +mean if you got caught?" + +"That we'd be held as spies. And perhaps...?" + +"Yes." + +They were silent for a moment. + +"Will you ask the Captain now?" demanded Tom. + +"You go on up to his tent and ask him if he'll come down here for a +minute," said Bert. "You're absolutely positive that you want to go? You +wouldn't rather have me wait until tomorrow while you think it over?" + +"No! Ask him now, before he decides on someone else!" + +Tom clapped his cousin on the shoulder, hurried out of the tent and up the +company street. + + + + +CHAPTER TWO + + +THE RAIDERS START + +"Come with me," said Captain Moffat, as he emerged from Bert Brewster's +tent. Tom had been waiting outside, while Bert and the Captain were +talking. He had recognized several men from Cleveland in the company and +had tried to carry on a conversation with them. But conversation was +impossible. His mind was too full of hopes and plans to recall the news +from home. Now, as he walked up the company street, he wondered what the +Captain was thinking. Would he be allowed to take Bert's place? He hazarded +a glance at the Captain's face, but he could find no answering expression +there--always the same stern mask, from which black eyes flashed. Tom could +feel his heart pounding as they entered the Captain's tent. + +"Sit down," said Captain Moffet, pointing to a box. He called his +messenger. "I don't want to be disturbed for a few minutes." + +"Very good, sir," answered the messenger. He stationed himself a few yards +in front. + +"It strikes me," the Captain said, as he sat in a folding chair directly +before Tom, "that you are entirely too young to be sent out on such an +expedition as this. But I like to know that you volunteer for it. It gives +me a comfortable feeling to have men in my company who are always ready for +anything that comes up, who are perpetual volunteers for the dangerous +jobs." + +Tom felt his heart sink. Then he wasn't to be allowed to go! This was +simply a nice way of telling him that he couldn't! + +"But, Captain," he said explosively, "I'd rather do this than anything else +on earth. I am young--I'll admit that--but that'll make me all the more +valuable. If it comes to carrying messages, I can run for miles without +stopping. Why, I can move faster and fight harder just because I am young! +Please give me the chance!" + +The Captain looked at him narrowly. "You really want to go, don't you?" + +"Yes!" Tom almost shouted. + +"All right," said the Captain, rising from his chair. "You _are_ going." +Tom wanted to thank him, but he was speechless. "You will hold yourself in +readiness for orders." The Captain had become the quiet, stern military man +again. "You will let it be known that you are here to visit your cousin, +and when you leave camp you will say that you are returning home." + +"Yes, sir." + +"In the meantime, provide yourself with some rough clothes at Shelbyville, +and some heavy shoes. I will provide you with a revolver. That will be all +now." + +"Yes, sir." + +Tom hurried back to his cousin's tent in a daze. + +The next afternoon at the general store in Shelbyville he bought a rough +suit, and a heavy pair of shoes. "Just wrap the suit up," he told the +clerk, "I'll be in for it tomorrow, or the next day. I'll wear the shoes." +He tramped back to Murfreesboro, displayed his pass to the Sentry, and went +to Bert's tent. + +"The doctor has been in again," Bert told him. "He says that my ankle will +be well in a week or so." + +"Good!" exclaimed Tom. "Look at my pretty little shoes." He displayed the +heavy, rough boots he had bought at Shelbyville. + +"You ought not to start in those things," advised Bert. "New shoes will +cripple you. Here, we'll trade." He produced a pair which had been worn +soft in miles of marching. "And here's a waterproof cape for you." + +"No, I don't want to take your things." + +But Bert insisted. "I know this sort of life. You take 'em and don't +argue." + +Bert had told him all that he knew of the raid, but, as he remarked, +"that's little enough." None of the men who had volunteered knew the +details of the expedition: they knew only that they were to accept orders +from an unknown man, follow him blindly and willingly into whatever he +might lead them. It was to be a raid of great importance, a raid that might +change the course of the war if it proved successful. So great was the +secrecy that no man knew who his companions were to be. All of them, as +Tom, were waiting for orders to be given without knowing when the orders +would come, nor what they would be. Tom spent hours, when his cousin's +tentmates were away, studying the map, memorizing minute details of it. + +Orders came on his third day at camp. He was clearing away the tin plates +and cups from which they had been eating dinner, when the Captain's orderly +appeared at the door of the tent. "Cap'n wants to see you immediately." + +Tom and Bert exchanged a glance; then Tom followed the messenger to the +Captain's tent. + +When the messenger had been stationed to keep intruders away, the Captain +said: "You will leave tonight. Take the Wartrace road out of Shelbyville +and walk about a mile and a quarter. When you come to a fork in the road go +into the trees and wait until you're picked up. You should be there at +eight o'clock. You understand?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Repeat my instructions." + +Tom repeated them without fault. + +"Good! Wait here for a moment." The Captain left the tent. He returned +presently with the Major of the battalion and another Captain. From the box +where the documents of Company B were kept, he produced enlistment papers. +For several minutes, while Tom stood tense and erect, the Captain wrote. +The other two officers talked in an undertone. + +"Sign here," said the Captain. Tom signed. The Major picked up the paper +and glanced through it. + +"Hold up your right hand," said the Major. Then Tom heard the oath which +bound him to serve the United States of America honorably as a soldier. + +"I do," he replied, and let his hand drop to his side again. + +The two officers signed the papers, shook hands with him, nodded to Captain +Moffat and left the tent. It all happened so quickly that Tom could +scarcely realize that he was now a soldier. When he had entered the tent he +was a civilian, bound merely by promises of service; now he was a soldier, +without a uniform, to be sure, but none the less a soldier. His eyes dimmed +and he looked away from the Captain. + +Captain Moffat folded the paper, returned it to the box, and faced Tom. He +looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds; then placed his hands upon +his shoulders. + +"Private Tom Burns," he said softly. "Good luck to you. It will be Second +Lieutenant Tom Burns if this expedition is a success. Good luck, my boy, +and may God be with you." He took Tom's hand and shook it. + +And then Tom found himself walking down the street of Company B--a soldier +of Company B--and he scarcely knew that his feet were treading ground. + +There were two men in the tent, talking with Bert, and Tom waited +impatiently for them to leave. + +"Tonight," he said shortly, as the tent flap dropped behind them. + +"Tonight?" + +"Yes." + +They sat silently until Bert exclaimed, "I envy you! You're the luckiest +boy in the world, walking right into such a chance as this." + +"I wish you were going." + +"So do I." + +Silence overcame them again. + +"I'd better write a letter home," Tom said presently. "I'll say that I've +enlisted and let it go at that." + +It was shortly before six o' clock when Tom left camp. He went to the store +in Shelbyville, claimed the suit he purchased two days before, and induced +the proprietor to let him make the change in the back room of the store. He +made a bundle of the clothes he had discarded, left them at the store +saying that he would call for them in a few days, then went out on the one +street of the village. It was deserted; the good citizens of Shelbyville +were at dinner, and a few soldiers who had come to the village to make +purchases were hurrying back to camp to be there when mess call sounded. In +the excitement of his departure Tom had forgotten that he must eat, but, +with a half-hour to spare before starting for the meeting place, he +returned to the store and stuffed his pockets with food. Then, with a hunk +of cold meat in one hand and a slice of bread in the other, he walked down +the village road, eating his supper as he went. Near the edge of the +village he saw two men ahead of him, and he wondered if they too were +members of the expedition. They stopped, leaning against a fence, and eyed +him as he went by. + +Dusk came, and then darkness. The sky was overcast, but occasionally the +moonlight flashed through a break in the clouds, showing the road before +him. Walking was difficult, for the half-dried mud was slippery, and the +broad wheels of wagons had made deep ruts. Several times he stumbled, and +once he wrenched his ankle. He made his way more carefully after that, +sometimes feeling out the ground with the toes of his boots before he +placed his weight forward. The thought of being disabled before he had +really started on the adventure, of going back to camp to commiserate with +Bert over sprained ankles, filled him with dread. The deepest ruts turned +away from the main road to a farm house: a dog barked, and Tom hurried +forward. Several hundred yards further along the road, he thought he saw a +man who moved behind a tree and hid. He did not stop to investigate. + +Tom paused for a moment at the fork of the road; then went forward +breathlessly. Between the bushes which lined the edge of the fork stood +several tall trees, with their trunks lost in black, ragged undergrowth. In +the darkness he made out a trail. Again he paused, straining for the +slightest sound. As he took a step forward he heard someone say: + +"Hello, there!" + +He stopped short. "Hello," he gasped; then, when he had overcome his +surprise, "Where are you?" + +"Just four feet ahead of you." + +"Who are you?" + +"Brown, Company F, Twenty-first Ohio." + +"Oh,"--this with relief in his voice--"I'm Burns, Company B, of the Second. +Are there any others here?" He went forward and they tried to make out each +other's faces in the dark. + +"No. There was to be a third man with us, Andrews said," answered Brown. +"He hasn't come yet." + +"And who's Andrews?" asked Tom. + +Brown laughed. "Why, he's the man who's leading us. The one who's going to +take us in." + +"I didn't know," answered Tom. "They didn't tell me much--except that I was +going. That was enough." + +"That's about as much as most of the men know," remarked Brown. "Knight and +I were the only ones who talked with Andrews. We are the engineers." + +"The engineers?" asked Tom. "What sort of engineers?" He heard Brown +chuckle. + +"Well, they _didn't_ tell you much, did they? Locomotive engineers, of +course. We're going to steal a railroad train." + +"Steal a railroad train!" exclaimed Tom. + +"Yep! That's what we're going to do." + +Tom gave a low whistle. + +Brown continued: "We're going to take a train on the Georgia State +Railroad. Knight and I are to run it, and the rest of you...." + +From down the road came a mumble of voices. Brown clutched Tom's arm and +they listened. "That's them!" exclaimed Brown in a whisper. + +One man of the approaching group stepped off the road into the fork, while +the others waited. + +"Brown," he called. + +"Right here, sir." Brown stepped forward, and Tom followed. + +"How many are with you?" asked the man. + +"Just one--Burns. The third hasn't come yet." + +"How are you, Burns? I'm Andrews." He groped for Tom's hand in the +darkness, shook it. "I wonder where the other man is. Well, it makes no +difference. We won't wait for him. Come on." + +They followed him, out to where the others were standing. + +"This way, men," said Andrews, starting up the road on the left. Brown and +Tom fell in beside him. "The rest of you straggle out so that you can get +off the road quickly if anyone comes." Then, to Brown and Tom: "Perhaps +he's lost, or perhaps he's changed his mind. Three others weren't where I +told them to be, but we'll get along just as well without them. I arranged +it this way so that if any of you did decide at the last minute that you +didn't want to go...." He did not finish the sentence. Presently he said: +"I want no men who aren't anxious to be with me." + +Tom could not see Andrews' face, but he liked his calm, pleasant voice. +Conversation stopped, except for Brown's remark, "It looks like rain," and +Andrews' answering, "Hm-m-m." For several minutes they plodded along the +road, hidden even from the intermittent light of the moon by the trees that +grew beside the road. + +"Here we are," said Andrews presently. They stopped and waited for the +others; then turned off the road into a small opening in the woods. Andrews +went ahead of them, and called back, "Come over here." + +They found him with two men. There came a rumble of thunder, so remote that +it seemed like an echo, but to the ears of Andrews' men it was a sharp +reminder of the troubles that might lay ahead of them. + +"Hm-m-m! Perhaps you were right, Brown," said Andrews. + +Thunder sounded again, this time nearer. + +"Let's count heads," said Andrews. "Get in a semi-circle, just as close +together as possible." + +The men groped about, arranging themselves. Tom found himself shoulder to +shoulder between two of them. Presently they were quiet. Andrews' calm, +authoritative voice came again: "Starting at this end, give your names and +your organizations." + +Then: "Bensinger, Company G, Twenty-first Ohio"--"Dorsey, Company H, +Thirty-third"--"Brown, Company G, Twenty-first"--"Pittenger, Company G, +Second".... There were twenty of them, not including Andrews. Tom found +himself between Wilson, Company C, of the Twenty-first Ohio, and Shadrack, +Company K, of the Second Ohio. + +The thunder sounded again and a few drops of rain pattered down. A murmer +arose from the men. More thunder, and a flash of lightning. Another crash, +and more rain splashed about them. + +"It looks as though we're in for bad weather, men," said Andrews. "Gather +about me so that you can all hear what I'm going to tell you." A streak of +lightning illuminated the scene as they moved forward. Tom caught a glimpse +of Andrews: a tall man, heavily built, with a long black beard. The rain +was falling steadily. Tom unslung the cape which Bert had given him and put +it on. There was a general rustle of capes and coats: then silence. Andrews +continued: "I want all of you to understand that any man who wishes to +change his mind may do so, and return to camp when we leave here. I want +only those men who are willing and anxious to see this thing through, to +follow me to the end"--he paused--"and that end may well be disaster. You +have three days and three nights in which to reach Marietta, and you may +travel as you see fit. Avoid forming groups of more than four. The course +is east into the Cumberland Mountains, then south to the Tennessee River. +Cross the river and travel by train, from whatever station you come to, +through Chattanooga to Marietta. I will follow the same general course. Be +at the hotel in Marietta not later than Thursday evening, ready to start +the next morning. Have you any questions to ask about the route?" + +There were questions, many of them. Over and over again he traced the +course they were to follow; told them what they might find at certain +points, what to avoid. + +"I will supply you with all the Confederate money you will need. Carry none +of our money with you." + +"And if we are questioned?" asked Brown. Tom recognized his voice; then, in +another flash of lightning he caught a glimpse of his face. That one +glimpse was to change the course of Tom's adventures. + +"I am coming to that presently," answered Andrews. "Buy whatever you need, +and hire any sort of conveyance that you may think safe. But don't be +lavish with the money I'm giving you--it may have to last a long time. It +should be more than enough, but we can't tell what will happen. And now +about being questioned: If you have to answer questions, say that you come +from Fleming County, Kentucky; that you are on your way to join the +Southern troops. I happen to know that no men from Fleming County are in +the Southern army, and so there will be little risk of meeting anyone from +there. And if you are asked why you don't enlist immediately, say that you +want to join a regiment in Atlanta." + +"And if we're completely cornered?" asked one of the men. + +"Then enlist." + +"In the Southern army?" + +"Surely. Remember, men, that you are playing a bigger game than your own +personal likes and dislikes. The idea of enlisting in the Southern army may +seem terrible, but it isn't so terrible as being captured and tried as a +spy. You can desert at the first chance. And remember this: upon every one +of you depends the success or failure of this venture." + +There was a murmer of approval, then silence. + +Andrews continued: + +"Tomorrow morning General Mitchel starts on a forced march. He will +surprise and capture Huntsville on Friday. Our work is to capture the train +that same day, destroy communications from Atlanta and join him with all +possible speed. We will try to reach him with our train. Failing that, we +will desert the train and join him as best we can." + +Mitchel would move the next morning! Huntsville! Chattanooga! For a moment +the men were silent; then came a sharp "Ah!" The long winter campaign was +ended; now for action! + +"We will start at once," said Andrews. A crash of thunder drowned his +words. "From Marietta onwards we will fight it out together." + +He began to distribute money to them. Several groups disappeared into the +night. + +"Shall we go together?" asked a man at Tom's right. "My name's Shadrack." + +"Yes. Mine's Burns." + +"Mine's Wilson," said another man. "Let's make it three." + +"Good!" + +They filed past Andrews, took the handful of Confederate money he held out, +and started toward the road. The rain ceased for a few seconds; then came a +flash of lightning, a burst of thunder, and the rain came swirling down. In +an instant, Tom and his two companions were utterly alone in the black +night, headed for the Southern lines. + + + + +CHAPTER THREE + + +ARRESTED + +"The Union pickets are at Wartrace," said Wilson, as they plodded down the +road. + +"We ought to pass them tonight," Tom added. "Have we any way of identifying +ourselves?" + +"No," replied Wilson. "We'd better try to avoid them." + +"What I hope," remarked Shadrack, with a chuckle, "is that our pickets are +sleepy--dreaming of a nice warm fire at home, instead of keeping on the +alert. Whew! what a storm!" + +The steady pelting of the rain made conversation impossible. The road was +becoming a slippery gumbo into which their feet sank deeply, and they put +all their strength into the laborious task of walking. Finally, after an +hour, they stopped to rest. + +"I don't think we've gone more than two miles," said Tom. + +"The railroad track runs along here to the left some place," Wilson +remarked. "If we could reach it, we'd find better walking." + +"You'll have to swim to get there," muttered Shadrack. "Those fields will +be mud up to our necks." + +"Be quiet!" Tom whispered. "Someone's coming." + +"Probably some of our own men," said Wilson. + +They stood silently as two men passed them on the road. It was impossible +to see them in the darkness, but they caught a broken sentence, "...find a +barn ... too much mud...." + +"That's about the best thing that we can do," said Shadrack, after the men +had gone by. "Find a barn some place, and stay there for the night." + +"I'd like to push on," replied Tom. "What do you think, Wilson?" + +"Let's try to reach the railroad." + +"All right." + +Shadrack grunted his assent, and they trudged along the road, looking for +an opening to the left. Presently a flash of lightning showed them a field. +They climbed the fence and started across. Their feet sank in mud that +seemed bottomless, and water oozed in over their shoe-tops. + +"Can you make it?" asked Wilson. + +"Yeh--go on," answered Tom, panting. + +"I'm coming," muttered Shadrack. + +It took them a half-hour to cross the field; then they sat on the fence +exhausted. No lightning came to show them the way, so they climbed the +fence, crossed another road, and entered a second field. The mud here was +worse. + +"Bogged!" exclaimed Shadrack. + +They retreated to the road. + +"Let's follow this road," suggested Tom. "It seems to go in the general +direction of the railroad tracks." + +"Probably goes to a farmhouse," replied Wilson. + +"Suits me exactly," said Shadrack. + +During the next twenty minutes they made their way slowly along the road, +slipping in the mud, sometimes falling. Twice Tom went down on his hands +and knees. Shadrack sprawled face downward, and got up muttering something +about "eating the filthy stuff." + +Ahead of them a dog commenced to bark; then a door opened, and a man stood +looking out. + +"Call your dog off," yelled Wilson. + +"Who are you, and what do you want?" demanded the farmer. The dog continued +to bark, but he did not approach them. + +"We're on our way to Wartrace," answered Wilson, "and we're lost in the +storm. Can you give us a place to sleep?" + +"Are you soldiers?" + +Wilson paused a moment, then answered, "No." + +"Come on up here then, and let's look at ye," answered the farmer. "Here, +Shep, shut up that barking! Come here!" + +They saw the dog curl up at its master's feet, and they went forward. + +"How far are we from Wartrace?" asked Wilson, as they approached the door. + +"'Bout two miles," answered the farmer. "Wait there, and I'll take a look +at ye." He reached to one side and took a lamp. Then, shielding his eyes +from the light, he held it up and glanced from one to the other. The dog +came toward them, whining and growling. "Shut up, Shep. All right--come on +in." + +They entered the shanty. In one corner of the room a dilapidated stove was +glowing; in another corner there was a bed, made of rough boards, with a +pile of dirty bedding on the straw. A table and one chair completed the +furniture. Near the door some farm implements were stacked. A rusty, +battered pan on the floor caught the water that dripped in through a leak +in the roof. + +Now, for the first time, the three adventurers had an opportunity of seeing +each other. Tom, as he took off his cape and water-soaked coat, glanced +first at Wilson, then at Shadrack. Wilson was a tall man, nearly forty, +with a serious face. His mouth was stern, and he had sharp gray eyes. +Shadrack was short and plump. He was still blowing and puffing from his +exertions in the mud, but he laughed as he took out a handkerchief and +wiped his face. He had, in truth, been eating mud, for his face was +streaked with it. "Had my mouth open when I fell," he explained. + +The farmer stood at the door, watching them silently as they took off their +shoes and put them by the stove. Finally he asked, "What are you going to +Wartrace for?" + +Tom had been wondering what story they had better tell him. They were still +north of their own lines, even though they were in enemy country, and he +felt that there might be some danger in saying that they were on their way +to join the Southern army. He decided to leave the response to Wilson, who, +because of his age and experience, was the natural leader. But, before +Wilson could speak, Shadrack replied: + +"We're from Fleming County, Kentucky, and we're going through the lines to +join the Confederate army." + +Wilson frowned and shook his head at Shadrack. + +"So?" asked the farmer. "Goin' to fight the Yanks, eh?" + +"Yep," answered Shadrack, "an' we're goin' to give 'em a good licking! +That's what they need! We've seen all we want to see of Yanks." + +"Well, I'll tell you right now that you're going to waste yer time," +replied the farmer. "An' maybe you'll waste more than that." + +Shadrack sat down on the floor near the fire, and Tom squatted beside him. + +"You have some pretty bad rainstorms in this part of the country, don't +you?" Wilson asked. + +While Wilson was speaking, Tom nudged Shadrack, and muttered, "Be +careful--don't talk too much." Shadrack's eyes lighted in puzzled surprise. + +After a long silence, the farmer spoke: "You men better turn around again +an' go back to yer homes. Yer folks need you more than the South does. The +North is going to win this war." + +In their hearts they were elated to hear a Southerner say that their own +troops would be victorious; but, having told one story, they decided not to +change. + +"No," said Wilson solemnly, "we must go on." + +Presently the farmer arose and stretched, "I'll go out an' see if the +chickens are all right," he said, and left the shanty. + +"Don't be a fool," said Wilson earnestly, "Don't be a better rebel than the +Southerners." + +"I'm sorry," replied Shadrack. "That's what we were told to say...." + +"I know," interrupted Wilson, "but we have to be careful in the way we tell +that story. For one thing, remember that we're still inside our own lines." + +"Yes," replied Shadrack ruefully. + +"I think you'd better do the talking for us," suggested Tom to Wilson. +"We'll just agree to what you say." + +"Now, that's a good idea!" exclaimed Shadrack. "We'll just nod our heads +an' say, 'That's right!' I'll not say a word after this." + +A half-hour passed before the farmer returned. Without speaking, he took +off his boots and coat, and lay down on his bed. The others arranged +themselves on the floor about the stove, and Tom blew out the light. The +floor was hard, but the stove was warm--and they were dry. Sleep came +almost immediately. + +They were awakened at dawn by the door opening, and a man shouting, "Get up +there! Hold you hands up! Strike a light, Johnson." + +Tom jumped to his feet. In the half-light of morning he saw the glint of a +revolver. Wilson and Shadrack were beside him, and the farmer was sitting +on the edge of his bed. They put their hands up--all except the farmer. The +bluish flame of a sulphur match sputtered, then grew bright. Three Union +soldiers stood before them with drawn revolvers, while a fourth lighted the +lamp. + +"These are the men, I presume, Smith?" asked the Sergeant. + +The farmer grunted. + +Tom and Shadrack looked to Wilson to speak, but he said nothing. So the +farmer had sent word to Union troops! When he had gone out to look after +his chickens, he had sent a messenger with the news that three ardent +Southerners were to be captured at his house if the soldiers would come and +get them! Captured by their own troops! + +"Pull on your boots," ordered the Sergeant. "Wait a minute! Look through +their clothes and see if they're armed, Martin." + +The soldier who had lighted the lamp approached, and ran his hands through +their pockets. He produced three revolvers and laid them on the table. The +Sergeant picked them up, glanced at them to be sure they were loaded; then +distributed them among the soldiers. + +"That's all, Sergeant," said the soldier addressed as Martin. + +"All right, get on your boots. You did a good night's work, Smith." + +"I told 'em they'd better go back home," said the farmer dully. + +Tom, Wilson, and Shadrack sat on the floor pulling on their heavy, +water-laden boots. When they stood up, the Sergeant said: "Call Jim and +Max." Two more soldiers appeared, making six in all. + +"Two of us to a prisoner. Come on." + +They left the shanty. The farmer was still sitting on the edge of the bed, +staring at them. + + + + +CHAPTER FOUR + + +TOM GOES ALONE + +The rain had ceased. Dawn, flooding above the heavy clouds, was at last +filtering through, and the world rested tranquilly in a bluish, shadowless +light. Tom, as he stepped from the shanty, with his arms held by two Union +soldiers, glanced about him in wonderment. This unfamiliar scene, which had +been an endless blackness the night before, was like a dream country into +which he was straying half awake. The events of the previous day became +remote and unreal. He paused for a moment, but the apprehensive tightening +of fingers upon his arms made him suddenly aware of the fact that he was a +prisoner, and he fell into step with the soldiers. + +"So you were a-goin' to fight the Yanks, were you!" asked one of them. + +"We'll talk about that later," answered Tom. + +"'Pears to me that it ain't anything I'd want to talk about at any time if +I was you," answered the other soldier. + +Tom, with his guards, was in the lead; then came Wilson, with Shadrack a +few paces behind him. The Sergeant was with Shadrack. Tom glanced back, and +his eyes met Wilson's. There was a flash of understanding between them; +then Wilson turned to look at Shadrack, as though cautioning silence. No +one spoke as they picked their way along through the ooze of mud in the +direction of the main road. To their left was another shanty, much like the +one in which they had spent the night, and before the door stood a man, +with his wife and child, gazing at them dumbly. The man was dressed, but +the woman and child had wrapped tattered blankets over them for protection +against the cold. Tom, as he watched them, reconstructed the drama of the +night before. They, he thought, were "poor whites," like the man in whose +shanty they had slept--Smith, the soldiers had called him--and their hearts +were with the Northern army. Smith, when he had left on the pretext of +attending to his chickens, had probably gone to them, routed them out of +bed to tell them of the rebels he was harboring. The man had dressed and +floundered through the mud until he came to the Union pickets, brought the +soldiers back with him to Smith's shanty. That was his service to the +Northern cause, and he must feel proud now, thought Tom. There, huddling +together on the doorstep of their miserable, rain-soaked hut, they had +visible proof of having helped the North, of having rendered their service. +And their pride, lifting them for a brief moment from the pitiful squalor +of their lives, seemed such a fine thing to Tom that he hoped they would +never know of the mistake they had made. He glanced back and saw them still +watching, silent and motionless. + +When the procession had come to a spot where it was hidden both from the +shanties and the road, Wilson spoke: + +"Sergeant, I'd like to have a word with you." + +"All right," answered the Sergeant. "What is it?" + +"Alone, I mean," answered Wilson. "It's important. I'm not trying to +escape. It's so important that I can't let the rest of your men hear it." + +"You men stand by these two prisoners while I hear what the reb has to +say," ordered the Sergeant. "Come over here." + +Wilson went to the Sergeant and talked earnestly for several minutes. The +Sergeant watched him narrowly, frowning. A few of Wilson's words drifted +over to the others; "...not asking you to take my word ... to some person +of authority ... not lose a minute about it...." The Sergeant was visibly +impressed. He tilted his cap and scratched his head; shifted his weight +from one leg to another; stroked his whiskers. Finally, after a brief +discussion, they came to a decision. + +"This man and I are going to take the wagon," announced the Sergeant. "We +have to get to Wartrace as quick as we can. You others 'll have to walk. +It'll take too long if we all ride--too much of a pull for the horses." + +There was some grumbling among the guards at the prospect of trudging +through the mud when they had expected a comfortable ride in the wagon. +However, without understanding what it all was about, they accepted the +Sergeant's decision. When they reached the road where the wagon was +standing, Wilson said to Tom: + +"I'll try and meet you before you get to Wartrace. Take your time." + +"Yep," added the Sergeant, "don't hurry." + +They saw the wagon, drawn at a trot, disappear down the road, the mud +spurting out from the wheels. Tom and Shadrack exchanged glances and +laughed. + +"Now I call that extraordinary!" exclaimed one of the guards. Then, as if +he liked the word, he repeated, "Extraordinary!" + +"If we give you our words not to try escaping," asked Tom, "will you let go +our arms? You have the guns, anyhow. It'll make walking easier." + +"All right," drawled a guard. "That's a good idea." He turned to the other +soldiers, and asked, "What do you think? Let 'em walk a couple of paces +ahead, eh?" It was agreed. + +Tom and Shadrack went ahead, while the guards followed, speculating among +themselves on this new turn of affairs. + +"Wilson is probably going to the officer in command and have him rush +through a message," said Tom. "I suppose they have a telegraph line between +Wartrace and headquarters." + +"I hope so," replied Shadrack. "I wonder how far the others got?" + +Tom had been wondering the same thing. "Probably not much farther than we +did," he answered. + +More than an hour later they saw a light buggy drawn by two horses +approaching them; then they distinguished Wilson and the Sergeant. As the +horses were reined in, Wilson jumped from the buggy. + +"All right," he said, laughing. Then to the guards, "Thanks for your +company, boys. Let's have our guns." + +The guards looked at the Sergeant, puzzled. "Yep," said the Sergeant, "give +the revolvers. These men are all right. The Captain says that we're to +forget that we've ever seen 'em." He winked at Wilson, then reached out and +slapped him on the back. + +As the soldiers walked away, Wilson said: "Andrews arrived at Wartrace +early this morning, just after these men left, and told the Captain to be +watching for any of his men who might get caught by the sentries. When I +went into the Captain's room, he looked at me and said, 'Andrews?' I said, +'Yes, sir.' In about two minutes I was on my way back. We have to cut down +along a road about a hundred yards from here. I have a pass to get us by +the Sentry. We have to make Manchester tonight." + +Without wasting any time in talking, the three men hurried to the road that +would take them past the Union lines and into the enemy country. A few +minutes later a Sentry challenged them. Wilson produced his pass, the +Sentry nodded and they went forward. + +As they pressed on across the strip of country between the Northern and +Southern pickets, General Mitchel's army of ten thousand men broke camp. +Tents were struck, wagons loaded, knapsacks swung into place ... and the +army stretched out to crawl wearily through that sea of jelly-like mud +towards Huntsville. + +It was early in the afternoon when Tom, Shadrack, and Wilson reached +Manchester. They were tired and wet, but far worse than being tired and +wet, they were hungry. They resolved that the first thing they should do +was forage for food, and so they made their way directly to the small store +in the center of the village. But there was little food to be had there. +The storekeeper, a wizened old man who had lost all interest in selling +things, told them that they might be able to buy something from one of the +village people--he didn't know who had food for sale. Perhaps the Widow +Fry--he indicated the general direction of the Widow Fry's house--might +give them something. They turned away from the store disconsolately. + +"It's raining again," remarked Shadrack. He turned his round face upward +and gazed at the sky so solemnly that the others laughed. But there was no +disputing the fact: the drizzle had commenced. To the south, in the +direction of Chattanooga, the clouds had formed a dark, ominous wall, as +though nature were raising a barrier to the expedition. + +A man, hurrying to be home and out of the rain, came abreast of them. Tom +stopped him. + +"Can you tell us where the Widow Fry lives?" he asked. + +"Yes," answered the man, and he glanced from Tom to Shadrack and Wilson +deliberately. "But tell me why everyone is going to the Widow Fry's!" + +"Everyone?" asked Wilson. + +"Well, three men stopped me 'bout a minute ago and asked the same thing," +the man replied. "Friends of yours, maybe?" + +"No," answered Wilson. It was a truthful answer, too, for even if the men +belonged to Andrews' party, they would not have recognized them. "The +storekeeper said we could get something to eat there." + +"Just traveling, are you!" persisted the man. + +"So to speak," replied Wilson. He was determined not to risk trouble again, +not to say that they were on their way to join the Southern army until they +were well within the Southern lines. + +"Come on, let's be getting in out of the rain," said Tom suddenly. "Don't +let's stand here getting wet. Where is the Widow Fry's?" + +"'Fraid of the wet, young man?" asked the native of Manchester. + +"Yes," answered Tom bluntly. + +"Well," drawled the man. He turned away from them sufficiently for Tom to +nudge Wilson and motion up the street. Andrews was riding toward them! He +was mounted upon a tired-looking bay, whose head drooped from hard riding. +Andrews looked equally tired, for he sat hunched up in the saddle, his cape +drawn tightly around him and his head bowed. "Y'see that clump of trees +down yonder!" asked the man. "The Widow Fry's house is just beyond that. +Are you journeyin' far?" + +"Thank you," answered Tom. "No, we're not going far." They strode away, +leaving the inquisitive citizen of Manchester staring after them. "The old +fool!" Tom exclaimed. "He'd keep us there for an hour. I wonder where +Andrews is going?" He hazarded a glance over his shoulder. Andrews was +almost up to them. + +"We'd better not speak to him until we're farther away from these houses," +said Wilson. + +"When we get down almost to the trees, I'll hail him." + +They quickened their pace so that Andrews would come abreast of them near +the Widow Fry's. Several times Tom glanced back to see if Andrews was +watching them, but the leader's eyes seemed never to waver from the pommel +of his saddle. The village street narrowed down to a country road, and the +"plock-plock-plock" of the horse's hoofs on the mud sounded directly behind +them. + +"This is all right," said Wilson. "Let's slow down." Then, as the horse +came up to them, Wilson said: "Andrews!" + +"Follow me," Andrews answered. He touched his horse with his spurs. The +animal was too tired to do more than quicken its step, but it carried +Andrews ahead of them rapidly. + +"He didn't seem surprised," said Wilson. + +"He knew who we were when he saw us on the street, I think," answered Tom. + +"Good-by, warm food," wailed Shadrack, for they were passing the Widow +Fry's. "Hot coffee, a plate full of stew, bread...." + +"Don't talk about it," begged Tom. + +"Fried eggs and ham," continued Shadrack. + +"We'll put you down and feed you mud, if you say another word. Won't we, +Wilson!" + +"If we don't starve to death first," Wilson replied. + +"Good-by, food," Shadrack wailed again. He picked up a stick from the +roadside and commenced to gnaw it; then, surprised because the others were +not eating, he broke the stick in three parts, and said: "Do have some of +the nice tender steak, Mr. Burns and Mr. Wilson." They threw the sticks at +him. He ran ahead of them. They finished the bombardment with hunks of mud, +and chased after him, slipping and splashing along the road. + +Andrews had dismounted, and they saw him leave the road, leading his horse. +They followed, and found him standing at the horse's head, waiting for +them. + +"How did you fare, men?" he asked. After they had told him of their +adventures, he continued: "This rain is bad. I'm afraid of it. If it keeps +up, General Mitchel will be delayed one day, perhaps two days. It will be +impossible for him to reach Huntsville in time--impossible." + +He appeared to be thinking aloud, rather than talking to them. His head was +bowed, and he stroked the horse's neck mechanically. + +"I dare not go back now in hopes of getting into communication with General +Mitchel. It would never do to leave my men scattered about the country, +waiting for me to return. Do you men, from your experience, think that the +General can reach Huntsville on Friday?" + +Wilson was first to answer. "I don't think so," he said. "Some of the +forces might reach there in time, but I don't think the General can +concentrate at Huntsville for an attack before Saturday. Not with this mud +to wade through." + +"I agree with Wilson, sir," said Shadrack. + +The three men turned to Tom. He felt suddenly embarrassed. Three veterans +asking him, a soldier of one day's campaigning, for an opinion! "From what +I've heard of General Mitchel," he said, "I think he will do whatever he +says he will do--even if he has to attack Beauregard's army single handed." +Then he added, as though to explain away what he had said: "But that is +nothing more than my opinion of the man. I ... I enlisted just yesterday." + +"Yesterday!" exclaimed the three older men. + +"Yes. My cousin was going on the raid, but he sprained his ankle. I came to +enlist, and I begged the Captain to send me." + +"I see," answered Andrews, studying him. After a moment he plunged again +into consideration of the problems which lay before him. "I am going ahead +on the theory that Mitchel will be one day late in reaching Huntsville," he +said at last. "We must find all the men and tell them, so that there will +be no confusion in Marietta." + +"There are three men at the Widow Fry's back there," said Shadrack. "I +don't know if they're some of ours or not." + +Andrews nodded. "We'll find out presently. I'm worrying most about our +engineers. I think I know where I can find Knight, but Brown has gone on +ahead. Do any of you know Brown?" + +"I do, sir," answered Tom. "We met at the same place last night, and then I +got a good look at him in the lightning." + +"Hm-m-m! That may help." + +"Mr. Andrews," commenced Tom. + +"Yes? What is it?" + +"If we're going to delay a day, shouldn't someone be sent back with a +message for General Mitchel?" + +"I've been considering that," answered Andrews. "Will you volunteer?" + +"No," Tom answered flatly. "Of course, I'll go if I'm ordered, but I'll not +volunteer." + +"Hm-m-m ... well, never mind about that. I have some other work for you." +Andrews seemed to emerge from a fog of indecision. "I want you to take my +horse and travel south as rapidly as you can. If you come across any of our +men who may be ahead of us, tell them that the raid is postponed one day. +I--if I can--will get word back to the General. I want you to locate Brown. +I was told that he and the man who is traveling with him--I don't know who +it is--managed to get a ride in a farmer's wagon. They left here this +morning, and the farmer was going to take them as far as a village called +Coal Mines. You'll probably overtake them, but if you don't find them on +the road, go into Chattanooga and catch the train for Marietta Thursday. +Brown will probably catch that train. Tell him about the change in plans, +and wait in Marietta for us. We will be there Friday night. In the +meantime, I will locate Knight. Is that clear?" + +"Yes, sir," answered Tom. "What shall I do with the horse?" + +"The poor brute is just about ready to drop now," replied Andrews. "Ride +him as far as he'll carry you, then turn him loose. Throw the saddle and +bridle into the bushes. It's after four o'clock now. You'd better be +getting along." + +"Yes, sir." Tom took the reins. + +"Say!" Shadrack broke in, "he'd better have something to eat, or he'll fall +off the horse. We were just going to the Widow Fry's to persuade her to +give us a meal." + +Andrews reached into his pockets, and drew forth two paper packages. +"Here's some bread and meat. I'm sorry I haven't anything more, or anything +better. You can eat it while you ride." + +Tom thanked him and mounted the horse. "Good-by, sir. Good-by, Wilson and +Shadrack. Luck to you." He turned the horse into the road, and started +southward. Now he was alone, with the South before him. + + + + +CHAPTER FIVE + + +TOM ARRIVES AT THE BEECHAM'S + +Wednesday dawned in a drizzle of rain. It had seemed to Tom, riding through +the long night on a horse whose legs trembled at every step, that the dawn +would never come; that the world had been conquered by the downpour. At +least it had seemed so until the monotony of the rain and cold deadened his +senses, allowing him to fall into a doze. + +He straightened in the saddle, and stretched. A chill seized him, and he +commenced to shiver violently. His clothes were wet and heavy. + +"This won't do," he said aloud, with his teeth chattering. At the sound of +his voice the horse pricked up his ears feebly. "Poor fellow! You're just +about ready to drop, aren't you?" He reined in, stroking the horse's +shoulder; then dismounted. For a few seconds he clung to the saddle, +supporting himself; his numbed legs refused to hold him until he brought +them to life by stamping and kicking. Even then he was none too sure of his +step. + +"Poor boy!" he said to the horse. "It's been a hard trip for you. Poor boy! +Here, let's take that bit out of your mouth and see if you can find +something to eat. There's not much around here, is there?" The horse +commenced chewing at some weeds which had sprung up along the roadside. Tom +pulled out the sodden remains of the food Andrews had given him, gave the +bread to the horse and ate the meat. Then, leading the horse, he walked +along the road. He had passed Coal Mines shortly after midnight, but +without coming upon Brown. Probably, he thought, Brown and his companion +had found a house or barn in which they were spending the night, which +meant that he was ahead of them and would be in Chattanooga when they +arrived. + +A half-hour later he tried to remount, but the horse was too exhausted to +bear his weight. They rested for a few minutes and then walked for another +half-hour. Several times the horse stumbled. When they stopped to rest +again, the horse braced his legs as though it took all his strength to +stand. His head was hanging, and his eyes were dull. + +"Poor fellow," Tom repeated. "It's cruel to make you do this, but I can't +leave you here." If he had to abandon the animal, he wanted to leave him +where there was some chance of finding food. Here there was nothing. + +They pressed on again, walking for a few minutes, then resting. It was +nearly seven o'clock when they came to a big house, standing several +hundred yards from the road. Tom turned up the driveway. Presently the odor +of frying bacon came to his nostrils, and he felt faint and dizzy. + +"Lan' sakes alive," exclaimed the negro woman who came to the door. "Lan' +sakes, have you all been out in this rain storm. Jasper!" + +"Yas'm," came the answer. A little negro boy appeared from around his +mother's skirts. + +"Take this gentleman's horse 'round to de stable. Come right in, sir." + +"Thank you," answered Tom wearily. "Can you give me something to eat?" + +"Yassir. You come right in." + +"I'd better unsaddle the horse first, mammy," replied Tom. + +"Jasper, you tell yo' pa to unsaddle this gentleman's horse. You come right +in here, sir. I'll tell the white folks." + +Tom needed no second urging. He entered the big kitchen, his stomach +wrenching and aching at the odor of food. "Don't bother about telling the +white folks that I'm here, mammy," he said. "Just give me something to eat. +I'm starving." + +"Yassir, yassir," replied the old woman, "but a kitchen ain't no place for +white folks to eat. I'll just run an' tell Mr. Beecham you all is here." +She disappeared through the door leading to the back part of the house. + +Tom decided that it was no time for ceremony. On the table lay a loaf of +bread--the colored woman had been slicing it when he knocked--and in the +pan sizzled a dozen slices of bacon. In less than five seconds, Tom was +eating a bacon sandwich. And he was halfway through the second sandwich +when the colored woman came back to the kitchen. + +"Sakes!" she exclaimed. "I guess you is suh-tainly hungry. Mr. Beecham he's +coming right away." + +Mr. Beecham proved to be an elderly, stern-faced gentleman. He stood in the +doorway gazing at Tom. + +"Well, sir," he said at last. "Do you prefer my kitchen to my dining-room, +sir?" + +"No, Mr. Beecham, I don't," answered Tom. "But in these clothes, wet to the +skin, it would be an intrusion to go farther than the kitchen." + +It was an answer that Mr. Beecham appreciated. Tom was glad that the last +evidences of the stolen bacon sandwiches had disappeared down his throat. +He stood waiting for Mr. Beecham to speak--and wondering if he was to be +invited for breakfast. + +"Will you come with me, please?" asked Mr. Beecham. They passed through a +corridor, and into the big entrance hall, where logs were blazing In a +fireplace. "In these days," continued Mr. Beecham, "it is customary to ask +people who they are. You understand, I trust." + +"Certainly, sir," said Tom. "My name is Thomas Burns, and I'm from Fleming +County, Kentucky. I'm on my way to Atlanta to enlist." He had been bracing +himself for the past minute to tell that story, and it came smoothly, +convincingly. For a moment after it was out, he hated himself. + +Mr. Beecham pursed his lips and nodded. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Will +you be my guest at breakfast, sir?" + +"Thank you, sir," Tom replied. "But in these clothes...." + +"I daresay we will be able to find other clothes for you. If you will come +with me?" + +"First I'd like to go to the stable and see my horse. I gave him a hard +ride last night to put distance between me and the Union pickets." + +"Certainly." Mr. Beecham called another colored boy, who guided Tom to the +stable. There he found his horse munching hay, wearily but contentedly. The +stableman approached, armed with grooming implements. + +"That's good," said Tom. "Give him a good grooming, and a blanket. Then, in +a half-hour, give him a feed of oats." + +"Yassir." + +He slipped a dollar into the negro's hand, and left him beaming. + +Mr. Beecham escorted him to a room upstairs, where, with the aid of another +negro servant, they found clothes to replace the wet things he was wearing. +They left him to wash and dress. + +"We will have breakfast just as soon as you are ready," said Mr. Beecham as +he closed the door. + +Tom wondered if all these negroes were slaves. He had seen an occasional +negro in the North, but of course they were freed. He had expected to find +them different; less cheerful, perhaps, and carrying an air of oppression. +And it disturbed him slightly not to find them so. + +Mr. Beecham had provided him with a suit of his own clothes. They were +about the same size, but a suit cut for a man of more than fifty looks +strange on a boy of eighteen. Tom glanced at himself in the mirror and +laughed. However, it was part of the adventure he had been tossed into. + +As he left his room and started down the stairs, the chatter of women's +voices struck his ears. Then he saw two women standing with Mr. Beecham +before the fire. One of them was elderly, and the other was a girl--about +his own age, Tom thought. She was strikingly pretty, standing there in the +glow of the fire, glancing up out of the corners of her eyes, as though she +could not restrain her curiosity. + +"May I present Mr. Burns, my dear," said Mr. Beecham. "My wife and my +niece, Miss Marjorie, Mr. Burns." + +Tom bowed, muttering "Mrs. Beecham, Miss Marjorie." When he caught the +girl's eyes, he saw a twinkle of amusement. Then he remembered his clothes, +and he blushed. The formalities of introduction over, they turned to the +dining-room, where two negro girls were already arranging breakfast. It was +a feast: coffee, hot cakes, eggs ... everything that Shadrack in his +wildest moments of hunger could have dreamt of. + +Mr. Beecham's conversation about the war, conditions in the South, his +hatred of the North and the abolitionists, occupied most of Tom's +attention. It was difficult to play the role of Southerner; he wanted to +protest against some of the things the older man said. There was slight +opportunity for him to reply, however, and so he simply nodded, apparently +agreeing heartily. + +"Did you ride far last night?" asked Miss Marjorie finally. + +"From Wartrace," he said. "I came through the lines there." + +"And weren't there any Union sentries?" + +"I didn't stop to investigate." + +Mr. Beecham broke in upon their conversation at that point with some +observations of his own upon the subject of Northern politics. Then he +drifted to war manoeuvers: "I tell you, Beauregard will smash that man +Mitchel to a million pieces. Mitchel is so frightened that he dares not +move. Whichever way he moves, he is lost. He is trapped like a man at +chess. The best thing he can do is to surrender before he loses his troops. +He dares not move." + +And Tom was thinking to himself: "How surprised you'd be if you knew that +Mitchel was moving this very minute." + +Mitchel _was_ moving. Under the weight of their water-soaked equipment, his +men were plodding wearily through the mud, marching slowly and steadily +upon Huntsville. While Tom had been riding through the night, Mitchel's men +had slept on the flooded ground between Shelbyville and Fayetteville. Now +they were prying the heaving wagons from the mud holes, while the cavalry +swept out on the flanks to clear the country of enemy scouts. Skirmishers +were advancing through the woods and over the hills, protecting the troops, +with their thousands of wagons and guns, from surprise attack. General +Mitchel, riding through the drizzle, announced to his aides: "Regardless of +the weather, we will attack Huntsville Friday." + +Even Andrews, underrating Mitchel's relentless determination to do what he +said he would do, if all the forces of the weather were against him, +thought himself safe in delaying the raid at least one day. + + + + +CHAPTER SIX + + +ON TO CHATTANOOGA + +"I must leave, sir, as soon as my horse is fit to travel," replied Tom to +Mr. Beecham's questions regarding his plans. "That will give me more than +enough time if the ferry is running, and just enough time if I must follow +the river to the Chattanooga ferry." + +Mr. Beecham's house was only ten miles from the town, figured on the map; +but the weather made map figuring hazardous. The Tennessee River had +mounted to a torrent under the continual rains, and the ferries which +customarily provided short-cuts were, for the most part, not operating. Tom +gathered that information at breakfast. He had no intention of trying to +cross at the Chattanooga ferry, for the Confederate guards there would be +dangerously strong, and it remained to find some ferryman who could be +bribed to risk the trip. That might take time. + +"I'll look at your horse while I'm out," said Mr. Beecham. He was +preparing, regardless of the storm, for his usual walk about his estate. He +went out, and Mrs. Beecham turned to her household duties. Miss Marjorie +and Tom were alone, standing before the blazing fire in the hall. There was +still that disconcerting twinkle of amusement in her eyes. + +"I suppose I do look funny," he said, glancing down at his clothes. + +"It's not kind of me to laugh," she replied. "Were you very wet!" + +"As wet as one person can possibly be. I absorbed at least half of the +rainstorm between Wartrace and here. No more water would stick to me--it +just rolled off, finally." + +"I don't think I should like being a soldier," she said. "Do you?" + +"I haven't tried it. I'm just beginning." + +"Do you want to fight?" + +"It isn't a question of wanting to fight," he replied. "It's a question of +duty." + +"Oh." She sat down and he took a chair beside her. "But you were out of it. +No one would have said that it was your duty to run the danger of going +through the Union pickets." + +He wished that she would not talk about the war. It was unpleasant, this +lying to a girl. With Mr. Beecham it was different. Then he remembered that +she had said "Union pickets," instead of "Yankee pickets." It struck him as +strange, coming from a Southern girl. + +"Tell me about your home," she asked. + +He gave a rather sketchy description of his imaginary home in Fleming +County, Kentucky--a none too convincing description. Then he tried to +change the subject by asking her if she had always lived with the Beechams. + +"No--not always," she answered. "Is Fleming Cou...." + +"And is your name Beecham?" he interrupted, anxious to avoid the subject of +Fleming County. + +"My name is Landis," she answered. "Marjorie Landis. Is Fleming County very +large?" + +"No--no. Not very large. And where did you live before you came here?" + +"With mother." It seemed to be her turn for evasion. "I presume," she +continued, "that you know all the people in the county?" + +He wondered if, by some chance, she knew people there, if she was going to +pin him down to persons and definite places in Fleming County. + +"No, indeed," he answered. "You see, I haven't been there all the time." + +"I never was very good at geography," she began apologetically. "Where is +Fleming County?" + +"Oh, it is in the southern part of the state," he said. He decided to study +the first map he could get his hands upon. + +"Let's do as we used to do in school," she said. "Bound Fleming County for +me." + +Tom decided that he hated all girls, and Miss Marjorie Landis in +particular. She had trapped him, easily and pleasantly. + +He forced himself to laugh, and the laugh sounded mirthlessly in his ears. +"Oh, I've forgotten," he said. "I can't remember what counties are around +us there. I wonder when this rain will stop? We'll have to build us an ark +if it keeps on much longer. Wouldn't a war on an ark be a strange thing? +The ark would keep turning in the current--the North would become the South +and the South would become the North, and so rapidly that we wouldn't know +which side we were fighting on. Do you think we'd have to stop and change +uniforms every time the ark turned?" He arose and went to the window. "I +wonder if my poor horse is getting rested! It's a pity to ride him again +this afternoon. Perhaps I'd better go out and see him." + +She, too, arose. "Never mind about the horse, Mr. Burns," she said. "You'd +much better be studying geography! Wait here a moment." + +She turned and ran up the stairs. Tom, his head pounding, watched her +disappear. What was she going to do, now that she had trapped him? Of +course she knew that he had not been telling the truth. Presently she +returned with a book under her arm. Scarcely glancing at him, she +approached, opened the book--it was a geography--turned the pages to a map +of Kentucky. + +"There!" she said. He looked at her, rather than the book. "No--study it." + +He did as she bade him--and found Fleming County in the north-eastern part +of the state. It had been a bad guess. Then he glanced at the names of the +counties surrounding it. + +"But why...." he began. + +"Give me the map!" she demanded. "Now can you remember them!" + +"But...." + +"Please! Say them--the counties!" + +"Lewis, Carter, Morgan, Bath, Nicholas, Mason." + +As the door opened and Mr. Beecham entered, they turned. "Mr. Burns has +been showing me on the map where he lives," said Miss Marjorie sweetly. + +"Ah, yes--ah, yes," answered Mr. Beecham. "Ah, yes, indeed." + +Tom scarcely heard him, or saw him. + +"Your horse will be ready to carry you in a few hours, I think," said Mr. +Beecham. "You must have ridden him easily, sir." + +"I didn't press him harder than was necessary," responded Tom. + +"I tell you," announced Mr. Beecham, divesting himself of his storm coat, +"it takes a Southern man to get the most out of horse flesh, without +hurting the horse. A good reason for the superiority of our cavalry! I +trust you are going to join the cavalry." + +"Yes, sir," answered Tom. He was thoroughly sick of deception. At that +moment, if he could have found an adequate excuse for departure, he would +willingly have walked the remaining distance to Chattanooga--and swum the +river in the bargain. + +Mr. Beecham settled himself before the fire. "I've not known many gentlemen +from Kentucky," he announced. "For the most part I stay at home, and we +have few travelers along this road. There was a Mr. Charles, of Floyd +County. Isn't that just east of Fleming County!" + +"No," answered Tom, "Carter County is on our east." He glanced at Miss +Marjorie. She was watching him intently, alive to the dangerous ground he +was treading. + +"Ah, yes," answered Mr. Beecham, "so it is--so it is. Let me see the +geography a moment, dear." Miss Marjorie gave him the book, opened to the +map of Kentucky. "Quite so--quite so. Floyd County is here." He pointed. + +"Yes," answered Tom. "Does there seem to be any chance of the storm ending, +sir?" + +The weather provided a safer subject of conversation, which lasted for +nearly a half-hour. Then Tom became intensely interested in Mr. Beecham's +estate, and the difficulties of handling crops in war time. Miss Marjorie +sat near them, sewing. Tom would have given everything he possessed for two +minutes alone with her. Why was she befriending him? He asked the question +over and over again. + +It was decided that one of Mr. Beecham's servants should go with Tom to the +ferry landing. The servant, carrying a note from Mr. Beecham to the +ferryman, would show him the way, and, more than that, it would be +additional proof to the ferryman that Mr. Beecham was especially desirous +of Tom's being taken across the river. "Then I'll know if old Jones who +runs the ferry does as I tell him to do," explained Mr. Beecham. "They +don't like to cross when the river's high." + +Dinner was served, and still Tom had no opportunity to speak with Marjorie +alone. The glances they exchanged were charged with meaning--but it was an +unexplainable meaning. Several times as he pondered over it, Tom lost the +thread of Mr. Beecham's remarks, and had to grope for the right answers. + +"Your horse will be ready for you in a few minutes," said Mr. Beecham as +they arose from the table. + +"And your clothes are dried and in your room," added his wife. + +It was time to be going. He mounted to his room, changed into the rough +suit he had bought in Shelbyville, and forced his feet into his soggy +shoes. They were waiting for him before the fire as he came down. After a +moment, Mrs. Beecham left them. Tom hoped desperately that Mr. Beecham +would do likewise. + +"I'll see if Sam is bringing your horse," he said. + +Tom's eyes met Marjorie's as the older man entered the next room, where he +could look out toward the stables. He had no sooner disappeared than Tom +asked in a low voice: "Why did you do that?" + +"You're not a Southerner, are you?" she asked. + +"No," he answered bluntly. "But what...?" + +"I'm not either," she replied. Her glowed with excitement. "I'm from +Albany...." + +They were interrupted by Mr. Beecham's returning. "The horse is coming," he +announced. Mrs. Beecham entered the room. + +"Thank you for your hospitality," said Tom. + +"It has been a pleasure," replied Mrs. Beecham. + +"A pleasure, sir--a pleasure," responded her husband. + +Tom's dislike for the deception he was practising made him want to run from +the house. For the moment he hated the idea of the expedition. + +He put out his hand to Marjorie. She gave him a cool, firm clasp, and +looked straight into his eyes. "I wish you the best of luck for everything +you undertake," she said slowly. + +"Thank you," he replied. "I'll need luck." Her hand gave his a quick +pressure. Once again the railroad raid became a great, thrilling adventure +in which he was to play a part. + +"He bowed and left the house. + +"Sam!" called Mr. Beecham. + +"Yassah!" answered the negro boy who was mounted upon another horse. + +"You stay there until this gentleman is across the river." + +"Yassah." + +Tom mounted and they started down the road. He looked back, saw Marjorie at +the window, and waved. She answered him. + +Despite the rain which beat in their faces, Tom studied the country through +which they were passing, and asked the negro boy innumerable questions. But +he found his mind slipping back constantly to Marjorie. A Northern girl in +the South! Surrounded by "rebs" but still true to her country! And she +wished him luck! + +"Whose place is that?" asked Tom, pointing to a small house which was +almost hidden from the road by trees. + +An expression of dislike came over the negro's face. "Mistah Murdock's," he +answered. + +"A farmer?" + +"No, suh," replied the negro. The expression of dislike changed visibly to +repugnance and fear. He added: "He keeps dawgs!" + +There was no need to ask more. The negro's tone was sufficient. Dogs! There +was only one reason why a man made a business of keeping dogs--to chase +escaping slaves. The thought was horrible to Tom, and he turned away. + +They found the ferryman in his shanty, hugging a stove. + +"No crossing today," he announced. "Look at that there river. No crossing +today. Besides that, it's forbidden by the law. No Sentry, no crossing." + +That was good news! No Sentry! "Mr. Beecham thought that you would take me +across," said Tom. "Sam, give him Mr. Beecham's note." + +"Yassuh." Sam produced the note. + +The ferryman read it, scratching his head. "That man'll be my death yet," +he said. "Take a horse across today? No, sir! I'll take you across if you +and the nigger'll handle oars, but not the horse! No, sir! It's against the +law, anyways. No Sentry, no crossing. No, sir! I'll risk the river an' the +law, just because Mr. Beecham asks it, but I can't take that there nag." + +"Well, then we'll leave the horse behind," answered Tom. "I can pull an +oar. Can you row, Sam?" + +The negro backed against the wall, shaking his head, terrified at the +thought of the rough crossing. + +"Just like all of 'em," said the ferryman. "When there's any danger, don't +count on _them_. Mr. Beecham treats his niggers too easy, anyways. I always +say if he'd lick 'em they'd be better." + +"He's pretty easy with them, is he?" asked Tom. + +"Treats 'em as though they were prize stock," answered the ferryman in +disgust. "I guess you and I can get across," he grumbled. "Two white men're +better 'an a dozen of 'em." + +"Sam, you take my horse back to Mr. Beecham. I'll write a note for you to +carry." Tom wrote a message, explaining that the horse could not be ferried +across, and asking that it be disposed of in any manner that suited Mr. +Beecham's convenience. + +The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of the river. Tom, +swinging on his big oar in answer to the ferryman's cries of "Ho!" "Now!", +saw the other bank creeping nearer. At last they cleared the full flood of +the stream. On the other shore, Sam stood open-mouthed, watching them. + +[Illustration: The little ferryboat pitched and turned in the current of +the river.] + +It was eight o'clock that evening when Tom, soaked to the skin again, cold, +hungry, and tired, tramped into the little town of Chattanooga. A few lamps +shone through the windows into the deserted street, making dull splotches +of yellow in the mist. Three or four people passed him, hurrying to be out +of the storm. + +He stopped one man and asked: "Where can I find a hotel?" Then he gasped as +the man straightened and threw back the coat he had thrown over his head +and shoulders: it was a Confederate soldier! + +"That's about as good as any place," answered the Confederate, pointing +across the street. "Where you see the two lights burning." + +"Thank you." + +"Welcome." He pulled the coat about his face again and disappeared into the +storm. + +Tom crossed the street to spend his first night behind the Confederate +lines. + + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN + + +IN MARIETTA + +Tom awoke dazed from twelve hours of sleep. For a moment he could not +remember where he was; then it flashed across his mind. In Chattanooga! He +sprang from bed, dressed and went downstairs. It was late, but the +proprietor of the hotel gave him breakfast, after some grumbling about +people who had nothing to do but sleep. + +The train from Marietta did not leave until two o'clock, and as the hotel +clock had just struck ten, Tom began to wonder what he should do with +himself. For a half-hour he sat in the hotel watching the people who passed +in and out. The sight of so many young men in civilian clothes reassured +him, for it meant that there was less chance of being questioned by the +military authorities. Finally he went out to the street. The rain had +stopped, and the sun was struggling through the clouds. + +There were crowds of civilians and soldiers upon the narrow sidewalks, and +through the streets lumbered the heavy wagons of the Southern army. Tom +walked along slowly, scanning the faces of the people he passed, hoping to +catch a glimpse of Brown. Finally he reached the station. + +A train had just come in, and the station was crowded with passengers, +struggling out with the bags and packages, and townspeople who had come to +get the news. Tom listened closely to the chatter. The train was from +Memphis and had passed over the line which Mitchel was about to attack. +There was no suggestion of excitement or activity along the route. Then the +news of Mitchel's movement had not advanced before him, thought Tom. To +him, that was the best news in the world. Mitchel's plans were successful. + +He followed the crowd from the station and once again began wandering about +the streets. Not far away was a big shed labeled Commissary Department. The +army wagons were backed up to a loading platform, and Confederate soldiers +were busy transferring boxes of supplies. By this time Tom had lost the +first sense of strangeness at being in the enemy country, and so he went +over to watch the soldiers work. + +Presently it was noon, and time for dinner. He returned to the hotel. + +There, sitting apart from the others at one end of the long table, were +Brown and his companion! They glanced at him, and then continued eating. It +dawned upon Tom that while he knew Brown, Brown did not know him. He took a +seat opposite them. + +"How d'you do?" said Tom. + +Brown and the other man nodded, but did not speak. + +"Just traveling through?" asked Tom. + +"Yes," said Brown. + +"Where are you from?" Tom's manner was casual and friendly. + +"Kentucky," answered Brown. + +"Oh, is that so? Coming through to enlist?" + +"Yes." + +"Whereabouts in Kentucky do you hail from?" persisted Tom. + +"Fleming County." + +"Well, that's good news! I'm from Fleming County myself. Let's see, I think +I remember you. Your name is Brown, isn't it?" Brown's eyes were wide; the +other man's jaw was drooping. "Surely I remember you," continued Tom. +"You're a locomotive engineer, aren't you? I presume you'll be running a +locomotive here in the South. We need engineers." + +Brown was speechless; his companion was rising from the table. + +"That's all right," said Tom. "Sit down! I'm Burns. We met at the same +place last Monday night, Brown." + +"Young man!" said Brown, slowly recovering his power of speech. "When I get +my revenge on you, you'll feel it!" + +"Whew!" breathed the other. + +When dinner was finished, they left the hotel to find a spot where they +could talk. Tom told them of the change in plans. It was decided that they +should leave for Marietta on the afternoon train, rather than spend the +extra day in Chattanooga. Dorsey, who was traveling with Brown, thought +that there might be some others who had not been told of the change and who +would be on the train. + +As they threaded their way through the crowd at the station, Tom caught the +first intimation of Mitchel's drive upon Huntsville. "The train is +jam-full," a man was saying. "There isn't a seat left. All those soldiers +who went through here this morning are being sent back." + +"Why is that?" asked his companion. + +"They don't seem to know," the man continued. "They got as far as +Stevenson--that's a little place down the line about thirty miles--and then +they received orders to go back. They're to join Beauregard at Corinth as +fast as they can by the way of Atlanta and Meridian." + +"Hm-m-m, that's strange!" + +"Perhaps there's a wreck between here and Corinth." + +Tom whispered the news to Brown and Dorsey after they were aboard the +train. They exchanged glances. + +It was ten o'clock that night when the brakeman of the train called, +"Marietta!" Dorsey was asleep on the coal box of the car, while Tom and +Brown dozed against the door. They had taken turns at the coal box for +eight hours. Now they moved stiffly out to the platform, relieved that the +journey had ended. For several minutes they waited at the station, slowly +circulating among the people to see if they could recognize any other +members of the expedition. + +"I guess we're the only ones here," said Tom. + +"Looks that way," replied Brown. "Let's go to the hotel." + +"I'd give a good deal to know where Mitchel is at just this minute," said +Tom. + +"So would I," replied Dorsey. "I hope we're not making a mistake by +delaying a day." + +"It's my opinion," said Brown, "that when Mitchel starts to do a thing, it +takes more than mud to stop him." + +They walked on silently toward the hotel. + +While they drifted off to sleep that night, General Mitchel was perfecting +the last details of the attack upon Huntsville. Every road was blocked by +scouts to prevent the news of the advance going before them. Ten miles to +the south lay Huntsville, unaware of the approaching army. + +The last rush of the advance commenced at two o'clock in the morning. +Mitchel's weary army struggled to its feet, and stood ready to march. The +cavalry was the first away, and disappeared silently into the night. There +were no bugle calls, and no shouting. Even the noise of the horses' hoofs +was deadened by the deep mud of the road. The four cannons which the +cavalry took with it fell into position; then the infantry moved forward. +As each regiment passed, General Mitchel addressed his men; then when the +last of them was on the road, he and his aides pressed towards the front. + +When daylight came, the cavalry was four miles from Huntsville. The first +section of cavalry galloped to the west of the town, the second to the +east, while the remaining cavalrymen, led by General Mitchel, dashed for +the station. Now all restraints upon noise were removed. The shouting of +the cavalrymen drifted back to the infantrymen to quicken their steps, and +the cannons hammered along the road. + +A few minutes later, Huntsville was in the control of the Union troops. At +the station, Mitchel found fifteen locomotives, eighty cars, and a cipher +message from Beauregard to the Confederate Secretary of War. Beauregard was +desperately in need of troops, said the decoded message. + + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT + + +THE TRAIN IS CAPTURED + +"I have no positive information, but I think that Mitchel captured +Huntsville today!" + +Andrews was speaking. An exclamation of surprise came from the men who were +clustered about him in a room of the hotel at Marietta. There were nineteen +of them; travel-worn, tired and still wet from the incessant rain. It was +their last conference before the raid. + +"The line between Chattanooga and Corinth is blocked," continued Andrews, +"and no one knows the cause of it. No trains and no telegraph messages are +coming through. Of course it may be that Beauregard has heard of Mitchel's +advance and has chosen to operate in silence. All that we can do is hope +and pray for the best, and carry out our orders. If we can destroy the +railroad between here and Chattanooga, it will put the city at Mitchel's +mercy. Then our work is done. It will remain for Mitchel and Beauregard to +fight it out." + +He paused, and there was a moment of profound silence while the men +considered the situation. Then Andrews spoke again: + +"The fact that action has started between Chattanooga and Corinth means +that our task is additionally hazardous. The odds we must overcome are +greater than I expected. If we have made a mistake in delaying a day, we +must work the harder to keep that mistake from costing Mitchel his victory. +The train we are to capture leaves Marietta at six o'clock tomorrow +morning. I will see that you are called before five so that you will have +plenty of time to get to the station. Carry food with you, for there's no +telling when you'll sit at a table again. Buy tickets for points north of +Big Shanty--Allatoona, Etowah, Calhoun and Dalton--so that you won't excite +suspicion. Get aboard the same car in groups of two and three, and don't +show that you are acquainted. Avoid all talk about the raid. We must say +everything that is to be said here tonight before we separate. I will be in +the same car, and if trouble starts, follow me. + +"At Big Shanty we will seize the train. The train stops at Big Shanty for +the crew and passengers to have breakfast. Stay in the car until the others +have left; then, when you see me leave, follow me to the head of the +trains. Walk slowly, and carelessly, as though you were simply out to +stretch your legs. Brown and Knight will go with me to the engine, and you, +Burns"--he pointed to Tom--"you come with us, too. I want you as fireman. +Ross will uncouple the train after the third box-car. The box-cars are +empties being sent to Chattanooga for supplies which the rebs are storing +in Atlanta. The doors will be unlocked. The rest of you are to climb aboard +the last box-car. Do all of you understand?" The men nodded. "Have your +guns ready to use in case there is any interference, but don't fire unless +you must. After the train has started...." + +He paused; then, with a gesture which told them that he would not even try +to guess what might happen, he added: "We will succeed or leave our bones +in Dixie! That is all I can tell you. Tonight, before you go to sleep, +examine your guns and make sure that they are not clogged or rusty." + +The meeting was over, and each man, as he stepped from the room, realized +that he was on the verge of a great adventure. They made their way silently +along the dark corridors of the hotel. + +"I'm about ready to explode," said Tom. "Think of it! I'm going to be +fireman!" + +"I'll make you heave wood so fast that you'll be sorry for that trick you +played in Chattanooga," replied Brown. "Did I tell you about that, Knight?" + +Knight, Brown, Dorsey, Wilson, and Tom were all occupying the same room. +The hotel at Marietta was crowded, and the men were sleeping wherever they +could squeeze themselves in. Tom, Dorsey, and Brown, having had several +nights of good rest, had relinquished the bed and sofa to the three +newcomers, and had spread blankets on the floor. + +"Let's lock the door, and look at our guns," suggested Tom. The lock was +broken, and so he barred the door with a chair. Then they sat on the bed, +with the lamp beside them, and talked while they unloaded their revolvers, +wiped away the rust and mud, and reloaded. Each told of his experiences and +narrow escapes. Knight had been arrested as a deserter from the Confederate +army. Wilson and Shadrack had stolen a ferryboat and crossed the Tennessee +River at night, Brown and Dorsey had shared their food with two Confederate +sentries who had stopped them as they crossed the railroad bridge at +Stevenson. "Most sociable sentries I ever found," said Dorsey. "They +believed our story, and told us all about Bull Run. It was mighty +interesting to hear their side of it, because we were both in the fight." +But it was Tom who had been most royally entertained. He told them about +Mr. Beecham, and how Marjorie Landis had trapped him. + +"But what did you do?" demanded Dorsey. "How did you get out of it?" + +"She wished me luck when I left," said Tom. "She was a Northern girl." + +The others whistled. "Whew!" said Brown. "That's about enough luck to last +you for a year." + +They talked until midnight; then divided the bedding between them and lay +down to sleep. It seemed to Tom that sleep would never come. The plan of +the raid went racing through his mind again and again; he could see every +move as Andrews had described it. His thoughts carried him back to the +other side of the lines. What was Bert doing? He supposed that Bert had +been left behind when Mitchel advanced. His parents in Cleveland? What +would they think if they were told that he was a hundred miles behind the +Confederate picket lines? What a story to tell them when he returned! And +Marjorie Landis? Would she realize, when the news of the raid swept over +the country, that he had taken part in it? She was a plucky girl! + +The next thing he knew was that there was a terrific pounding in some +remote part of the world. He sat up in the darkness and tried to recall +himself. Then someone said, "All right--wait a second." The chair which had +been placed against the door was yanked away, and Andrews entered, holding +a lamp. + +"Wake up, men," he said. "It's just five. You have an hour." + +Brown lighted the lamp on the table; the others climbed stiffly to their +feet, stretching. + +"You can get breakfast downstairs," said Andrews. "The proprietor always +has some packages of food prepared for people who are traveling. Stuff your +pockets." He vanished down the corridor. + +"That's the hardest floor I've ever slept on," said Brown. The others +muttered in response. + +To Tom, the scene was strange and unreal. The yellow light of the lamp and +the faint dawn which was stealing in through the windows made the men seem +ghost-like as they moved about the room, dressing. Huge shadows loomed on +the walls, swaying and disappearing. + +"Shall we go together, Brown!" asked Knight. + +"You'd better not," said Tom. "Engineers are too valuable. If you go +together you might both be stopped before you could reach the engine." + +"The boy's right," replied Brown. "You and I'll go together, eh, Tom?" + +"Yep." + +"Are you ready?" + +"All ready. Come on." + +Tom and Brown left the room, found the way along the corridor to the +stairs. "Now for it!" exclaimed Tom, clutching the other's arm. + +"You bet!" + +Breakfast finished, they left the hotel and went toward the station. Tom +looked anxiously at the sky, and saw that the clouds were broken. They had +a chance, at least, of good weather for the raid. At the station they +bought tickets for Kingston. There were about thirty people moving +restlessly about in the dark, waiting for the train. Tom recognized Andrews +and five of their men. Then the remainder appeared suddenly. Andrews paced +up and down, his head slightly bowed. + +The whistle of the train came shrieking through the night. Tom's throat +tightened and his heart thumped. Presently they could hear the engine, and +see the sparks above the trees. Then the train came sweeping down the track +towards them, the wheels rumbling and the brakes whining. The engine, with +its name, _General_, painted upon the side of the cab, passed them. + +Tom's eyes followed the engine. He saw the engineer in the light of the +flames from the firebox; the fireman was in the act of sliding fresh logs +upon the flames. + +Several passengers stepped from the train. Andrews boarded the second +coach, and the men followed him, distributing themselves through the car. +Ahead of them were four freight cars and another coach. Brown and Tom found +a seat not far from Andrews; Wilson and Knight settled themselves across +the aisle. Tom glanced back and saw the others scattered through the car. +His eyes met Shadrack's and, mindful of Andrews' warning, he turned away +before he laughed outright. Shadrack's expression was comical: his eyes +were wide and he was gazing about him apprehensively, yet still with that +twinkle of amusement. + +"'Board--'board," cried the conductor. + +Tom could hear the rapid puffing of the engine as the wheels slipped on the +wet rails; then the puffing became more laborious. There was a rattle of +loose couplings, and the train jerked forward. It was lighter now. To the +west, the Kennesaw Mountains made a splotch of black against the dark blue +sky, and the houses and woods along the track were visible in the half +light. + +The train gathered speed, then settled down to a steady pace. The smoke +from the engine drifted back to them. The forward door of the car opened +and the conductor entered. He stood for a moment looking down the length of +the car, then commenced to take tickets, scrutinizing each passenger +closely. The conductor was a young man--about twenty-six--and the men of +Andrews' party found his gaze disturbing. Tom met his eyes, and wondered if +he knew anything of their purpose, suspected anything. + +"I don't like the looks of that conductor," he whispered to Brown. + +"Probably wondering why so many people got aboard at Marietta." + +Andrews arose, as though to stretch, but Tom could see that he was watching +the conductor. At last they heard the rear door of the car slam. The +conductor had not stopped to ask questions, regardless of what he +suspected. + +"Big Shanty! Big Shanty! Twenty minutes for breakfast." It was like a bugle +call to Andrews' men. Their eyes were turned toward him. He sat as though +he were sleeping. The other passengers stirred in their seats, making ready +to race to the restaurant. + +The speed of the train slackened, and the train glided into the town. +Bordering the tracks on the west was an encampment of Confederate soldiers. +Rows of white tents stretched down the slope towards a thick woods. On the +east were the houses of Big Shanty. The train stopped opposite a long shed, +before which a man stood ringing a bell. There was no need to call the +passengers to breakfast; they tumbled off the train and ran to get places +at the counter. And at the head of the crowd was the conductor. The +engineer and fireman brought up the rear, wiping their hands on pieces of +waste. Except for three passengers who were sleeping, Andrews' men had the +car to themselves. + +It was several minutes before Andrews showed any signs of stirring. Then he +arose and walked to the rear of the car. + +"Not yet," he said, as he passed Tom. Presently they saw him strolling +beside the train. Then he boarded the front platform, opened the door and +nodded. They got up and went out. + +"Ross, you come with me," said Andrews. "Brown, Knight, and Burns follow. +The rest go up the other side of the engine." + +Andrews and Boss walked slowly towards the engine. + +"Uncouple here, Ross," ordered Andrews. "Then cross over and get aboard +with the rest." His tone was calm and untroubled. + +Tom saw Ross pull the coupling pin, and duck under the train. He glanced +back to the shed where the train crew was at breakfast. There was no sign +of alarm. + +They approached the engine as indifferently as though they were walking for +exercise. + +"Wait here," said Andrews when they were beside the engine cab. He went +forward, crossed in front of the train and looked back on the other side to +see if the men were aboard. Then he came sauntering back. + +"Get aboard!" he snapped. "Knight at the throttle." + +Knight mounted first; then Brown, with Tom and Andrews following. Knight +jumped to the engineer's seat, and grabbed the throttle. There came the +hissing of steam: the engine trembled and puffed. Brown lunged for the sand +lever, yanked it open. The wheels spun on the track, then grabbed it, and +the engine sprang forward like a beast unchained. + + + + +CHAPTER NINE + + +THE RACE + +The sudden jerk of the engine sent Tom spinning against the side of the +cab. Andrews, who was mounting the wood-pile in the tender to see what was +happening behind them, was thrown flat. He scrambled to his feet, his hands +bleeding from the splinters, and climbed up the pile. Then he waved his +arms and yelled in exultation. The yell sounded faintly through the noise +of the engine. + +Tom swung from the cab and looked back. The crowd was spilling from the +shed. Several men raced after the train. Others stood watching, dumfounded. + +Knight was bending over the throttle, urging the train forward as though he +were putting his own strength into the flying pistons. His lips were drawn +back from his set teeth, and his left hand upon the throttle was white from +its grip. With his right hand he was pounding upon the sill of the cab. + +Brown was studying the steam gauge. He had opened the forced draft and the +smoke stack had become a fountain of sparks. + +"More wood!" he yelled. + +Tom stripped off his coat. The _General_ was pounding upon the rails, +swaying from side to side. It was almost impossible to stand without +clinging to the side of the cab. Tom lurched cautiously toward the tender, +grabbed a log and dragged it back after him. Brown swung the door of the +fire-box open. Tom gasped as the heat struck him. The red flames seemed to +leap out at him, enveloping him, smothering him. He slid the log into the +fire. The door crashed shut again. "More! More!" yelled Brown. + +Again and again Tom fed logs into the flames. Each time, Brown opened and +closed the door as though an instant's heat were too precious to be lost. +Brown's eyes were constantly upon the wavering needle of the steam gauge. + +Andrews, sitting in the fireman's seat, was leaning from the window, +glancing first ahead and then back. Except for that first shout of triumph, +he had been calm and deliberate. + +"Enough for now," shouted Brown. "Rest!" + +Tom, panting and weak, climbed up beside Andrews and put his head out so +that the cool wind would strike it. The violent effort of dragging those +logs from the tender to the fire-box, together with the heat that played +upon him each time, had made his legs seem like jelly beneath him. But the +cool air revived him, and he watched Brown constantly for the signal that +more wood was needed. Once he looked back and saw Shadrack leaning from the +door of the boxcar. They waved excitedly to each other. + +"Stop!" yelled Andrews to Knight. + +Brown repeated the order. Knight, aroused from his intense purpose of +forcing the last ounce of speed out of the _General_, shut the throttle. +Brown gave the whistle a blast, and began twisting at the brake. Gradually +the train lost its speed. The men in the box-car leaned from the door, +asking why they were stopping. + +"Come up here," yelled Andrews. "One of you men climb that telegraph pole +and knock the insulating cap off. Then break the wire." + +A little fellow named Scott scrambled up the pole. Telegraph communications +were broken ahead of them. + +"There's no telegraph station at Big Shanty," explained Andrews. "The best +they can do is to go on horseback to Marietta and telegraph to Atlanta for +an engine to pursue us. But they can't telegraph ahead of us! At Kingston +we'll meet the regular freight train, which is traveling against us. While +we're standing in the yards the door of the box-car must be closed. Do you +understand?" + +"Yes!" shouted the men. + +"Hop aboard then!" + +Once again the _General_ started forward. Brown was at the throttle. + +"More wood!" yelled Knight. + +With Knight at the door of the fire-box, Tom yanked a half-dozen logs from +the tender and slid them into the flames. + +"Not too fast," Andrews called to Brown. "We're out of the worst of it now, +and we don't want to get to Kingston too soon. Have to wait in the yards." + +Brown nodded and slackened the speed. Now they could talk without yelling. +Presently Andrews ordered another stop and they drew up beside Moon +Station. He jumped out and came back with an iron bar. "Go ahead," he +yelled, then, pointing to the bar: "Good for pulling up track." + +Tom added more fuel, and then stood at the door of the cab to see Allatoona +as they went through. Brown opened the throttle gradually. The outskirts of +the town whizzed past them; then the station. The crowd upon the station +platform, expecting that this was the passenger train, stared +uncomprehendingly as the train thundered in and out of town. + +They rounded a bend which cut Allatoona off from view; then Andrews +motioned to Brown to stop. Tom grabbed the brake and tightened it. The +train stopped abruptly. Andrews pointed to the telegraph line. + +"Tear it down, Scott. Let's pull up some rails here." + +They ran to the rear of the train and pried one rail from the track. After +ten minutes of feverish work, Andrews called: + +"Load the rails on the box-car. Come on!" + +They climbed aboard again, and the _General_ carried them onward. + +Tom was standing at the door of the cab, resting and watching the country, +when Andrews came up behind him suddenly and exclaimed: "Look at that!" He +pointed over Tom's shoulder to a locomotive that was standing, steam up, on +a spur. "That's serious business," said Andrews quickly. "I wonder where it +came from. I didn't think there was another locomotive between Atlanta and +Kingston." + +As they passed the locomotive, Tom read its name, _Yonah_, painted upon the +side of the cab. + +"Hadn't we better destroy the track?" asked Tom. + +"No," Andrews replied, "we're only thirteen miles to Kingston. We better +get there and past the freight without losing any time." + +"More wood!" yelled Brown. Knight was at the throttle again. + +The supply of wood was running low. A dozen sticks remained and those would +soon be gone. + +"Water's low, too," said Brown. + +"We'll stop at Cass Station," replied Andrews. "It's a wood and water +station--seven miles this side of Kingston." + +As they drew up at Cass Station Andrews jumped from the engine. The old man +who had charge of the wood and water came out to meet him. + +"I'm running a special ammunition train to Beauregard and I have to have +fuel," he said. "Tom, call the boys from the box-car and get them to work." + +Tom raced back to the car and opened the door. "Give a hand on this wood," +he shouted. They streamed out after him, and attacked the wood pile. Knight +and Brown filled the tanks with water. Before the old station agent knew +what had struck his little place, the _General_ was steaming off up the +road. + +"We're a little ahead of time for Kingston," said Andrews anxiously. He +peered ahead toward the town, and announced presently, "The freight isn't +in. We'll have to wait. Let me do all the talking, boys, when we're in +there. I don't like the looks of this. Run a few hundred yards up beyond +the station, Knight. I'll jump off and have the switch thrown, and then you +can back in on the side-track." + +They coasted slowly into Kingston, and passed the station. Andrews jumped +off. Tom, hanging out from the cab, saw him talking with the switchman. The +latter threw the switch and waved. + +"All right," said Tom. "Let her go back." Knight reversed the engine, and +they cleared the track for the freight. Andrews swung aboard. + +The station agent came running toward them. "What's this?" he demanded. +"What's this train? Who are you?" + +"I'm running this train on government authority," answered Andrews calmly. +"I'm rushing ammunition to Beauregard." He waved toward the box-cars. Then +he demanded sternly: "Why isn't that local freight here?" + +The agent was subdued. "It ought to be along any minute, sir," he answered. +"Is there a passenger train behind you, sir?" + +"I suppose so," answered Andrews indifferently. "This engine was supposed +to haul the regular train, but we had to take it for this work. Powder is +more important than passengers these days. They were fitting out another +passenger train at Atlanta when we left." + +He handled the situation in masterful style. Tom, pretending to be busy +inside the cab, listened and chuckled. Knight and Brown were out oiling the +engine. + +"When did the freight leave Adairsville?" demanded Andrews. + +"I don't know, sir," answered the agent, "but I'll find out." + +"Yes, please do--and hurry up about it." + +"Yes, sir." + +Before the agent returned, they heard the whistle of the freight far up the +track. It approached slowly, and then crept into the station, stopping with +the cars blocking the track for Andrews' train. + +Brown, who was at the throttle, gave an exclamation of impatience. Andrews +swung to the ground. At that moment the agent rushed out, and yelled to the +freight engineer, "Draw farther up the track." The freight train started +again, laboriously. Andrews jumped aboard. + +"Run out of here just as soon as the switch is turned," he ordered. + +The last car of the freight train rounded the trees and came into sight. On +the rear of it was fastened a red flag! _It was a warning that there was +still another train behind!_ + +"Good Lord!" exclaimed Andrews. He jumped to the ground again, and went +toward the station. The conductor of the freight train met him. "What does +this mean?" demanded Andrews. "I'm ordered to get powder up to Beauregard, +and I find the track blocked ahead of me." + +"It's not my fault," answered the conductor. "I haven't anything to do with +it. But I don't think that you're going to get any powder to Beauregard on +this road." + +"Why not?" + +"What will you do about Mitchel at Huntsville?" + +"What do you mean?" asked Andrews. + +"I mean that Mitchel broke through and captured Huntsville yesterday," +answered the conductor. "If you're working for the government, you ought to +know it by this time, too." + +"Don't believe everything you hear," answered Andrews. "Mitchel wouldn't be +fool enough to risk an attack on Huntsville in this weather." + +"Then why are they bringing this special train down from Chattanooga with +all the supplies?" + +"That's their business, not mine," answered Andrews. "If Mitchel has +captured Huntsville, then some of Beauregard's troops are split, and that's +probably the reason why I'm ordered to get this powder up as far as I can. +When I get there I'll find soldiers to use it." + +"Maybe," answered the conductor. + +"How long will it be before the special is here?" + +"Probably about thirty minutes." + +Forty minutes passed before they heard the whistle of the second train; +then five minutes of anxious waiting before it came into the station. The +first freight, in the meantime, had pulled up on another side track, +waiting patiently for the arrival of the passenger train which Andrews' men +had stolen. + +The special train stopped, blocking the path of the _General_, just as the +first had done. + +"Oh, Lord," said Andrews. He sprang from the cab. "Move up there! Get out +of my way! I'm running a special powder train! Pull up ahead!" + +"I'll pull up if it'll do you any good," answered the engineer. "There's +another special train right behind me." + +"How far behind you?" + +"Oh, twenty minutes, maybe. What are you running a powder train for? Who +are you going to give the powder to? The Yanks?" + +"To Beauregard!" + +"You've got some trouble ahead. The Yanks have captured the line between +you and Beauregard--two hundred miles of it--from Tuscumbia to Bridgeport!" + +The conductor and the engineer of the first train had joined them. "You'd +better turn back and go the other way," said the conductor. "If you go up +there, the Yanks will get your powder." + +"I'll follow my orders," replied Andrews. + +He walked back to the _General_, and called Tom. "Walk down there beside +the box-car and let the men know what has happened. Don't let anybody see +you talking with them. Tell them that we're likely to have a fight--to be +ready to jump out and use their guns." + +Tom sauntered to the box-car and leaned against the door. "Hey! you men! +This is Tom Burns. Andrews says that we're likely to have a fight. Get your +guns ready." + +"What's the trouble?" one of them asked. Tom explained as best he could the +difficulties they had encountered. "There may be some more trains behind +this one," he told them. "They're moving out of Chattanooga. The rebs are +on the run!" + +The whistle of the second special train sounded as Tom walked back toward +Andrews. He stood beside the engine, listening to the argument between +Andrews and the three railroad men. The first special had pulled far down +the track, leaving ample room for the second to come in and for Andrews to +get out. + +The station agent came running toward them. "I've just had Chattanooga on +the wire," he said, "and they don't know anything about this powder train. +I tried to get Atlanta, but the wire is down!" + +"Of course Chattanooga doesn't know anything about my train," answered +Andrews calmly. "If they did, they wouldn't be sending these trains down +blocking me. My orders came from Beauregard at Corinth, through Montgomery +to Atlanta." + +"Chattanooga orders you to wait here until the order is confirmed," said +the agent. + +"I don't care a rap for Chattanooga's orders," Andrews responded. "I have +my own orders." + +"I won't turn that switch to let you out." + +"Then I'll turn the switch myself, and if you try to stop me I'll have you +up for treason!" Andrews said it so calmly, so quietly, that the agent's +jaw drooped. + +The second special came creaking into the station. Andrews ran forward and +shouted: "Run down until you clear the switch." The engineer nodded. "Tom, +get down there and throw that switch!" + +"Yes, sir." + +Tom ran to the switch and waited. The station agent, with the other +trainmen, had withdrawn to one side; they were holding an excited +discussion as to what he should do. + +The last car of the train rounded the bend. It carried no red flag! The +road was clear ahead of them! + +Tom threw the switch as the wheels of the last car passed. He waved to +Andrews and the _General_ rolled toward him. Then, just as he was aboard +and their train was twisting into the main track, they heard a piercing +whistle from the south. + +"They're after us!" exclaimed Andrews. "Probably a train from Atlanta +pursuing us! As fast as you can make her go, Knight." + +The _General_ went lunging down the track, gathering speed. + + + + +CHAPTER TEN + + +"THEY'RE AFTER US!" + +At Big Shanty, the chatter of the train crew and passengers at breakfast +died as though the world had been struck dumb. The hissing of escaping +steam was followed by the whir of wheels slipping on the track. William +Fuller, the conductor of the train, was the first to his feet. He ran to +the door, with Anthony Murphy, a railroad man who had been a passenger on +the train, following him. They were in time to see the _General_, with +three freight cars, swing around the bend and disappear. On the tender, a +man arose, waved his arms and yelled. The yell came drifting back to them +above the noise of the stolen engine. + +"Deserters!" exclaimed Fuller. He raced up the track, with the engineer and +the fireman of the train following him. They were so hopelessly +outdistanced that the crowd laughed. + +Murphy found the station agent. "Get a horse and ride back to Marietta," he +ordered. "Telegraph Atlanta--train stolen--start a train in pursuit." He, +too, joined in the chase up the tracks. + +It was Fuller's idea that his train had been taken by conscripts who were +deserting from the Confederate encampment on the other side of the tracks. +He believed that they would run the engine until they had put several miles +between them and Big Shanty, and then take refuge in the woods. He had been +warned in Atlanta, just before he left on this run, to keep a sharp watch +for deserting conscripts; it was for that reason he had scrutinized the +passengers in his train so closely. + +With Fuller in the lead, they rounded curve after curve of the track, +hoping each time to find the abandoned engine. + +"I can't go any farther," panted the engineer. + +"Come on!" yelled Fuller. + +The men yanked off their coats, tossed them aside, and settled down into a +trot. Murphy was still bringing up the rear. + +Presently they came to Moon Station. Not far away there was a miniature +flat-car of the type which is loaded with tools and supplies and pushed +along the track. Ahead of them the road swept down in a gentle grade. + +"Throw that on the track," ordered Fuller. The four men, puffing from their +long run, took the corners of the little car and dragged it to the tracks. +Fuller started them with a shove, then scrambled aboard. + +"I sent the agent riding back to Marietta," panted Murphy. + +"At Etowah," replied Fuller, "they have an engine--the _Yonah_. It belongs +to the iron works. If it isn't up at the mills we'll take it." + +"Has it steam up?" asked Murphy. + +"I don't know. If it hasn't, we're done." + +The hand-car was coasting easily down the grade; it rounded a sharp bend. + +"Jump!" yelled the engineer. + +His warning came too late. The car reached the spot where Andrews' men had +torn up the rail; its wheels left the track and it spun about, scattering +the men over the ground. + +"Anybody hurt?" demanded Fuller, scrambling to his feet. + +"No," they answered. All of them were bruised and the fireman's cheek was +cut. "It's nothing," he said. They righted the car and dragged it to the +track. + +"Look at that!" called Fuller, pointing to the broken telegraph wires. +"This isn't a conscript's job." + +"What do you think?" asked Murphy. "The Yanks?" + +"Probably. Get that car back on the tracks, anyway. Grab some of those +fence rails. We've about reached the bottom of the grade, and we can pole +the car faster than we can walk. I can't run another inch." + +They found two light rails, boarded the car and coasted to the bottom of +the grade. Then began the tedious work of poling. It was, as Fuller had +said, faster than walking. On level track they could go five or six miles +an hour; on the upgrades, two of them walked while the other two poled. + +At the top of the last grade before they came to Etowah, they looked down +and saw the _Yonah_ a mile away, upon the turn-table. The locomotive was +being turned for its trip up the branch to the iron works! + +"Give a push!" yelled Fuller. "In another minute we're lost." + +The four men ran beside the hand car and started down the grade, jumping +aboard when they could run no faster. The car slipped to and fro on the +tracks, yanked them about the curves. + +"Keep a sharp lookout ahead on the tracks," ordered Fuller. But the way was +clear. If Andrews had stopped at this point to obstruct the track, the +pursuit which followed would have been impossible. The _Yonah_ would have +been on its way up the branch before the hand car arrived. + +As it was, the engineer of the _Yonah_ was climbing aboard when his +attention was attracted by the yells of the men on the approaching car, +flying down the track as fast as a hand car ever traveled. He waited, +wondering what was wrong. + +Fuller ran to the _Yonah_, while his men pushed the hand car from the +track. "We'll have to take this engine," he said. "The Yanks have stolen my +train!" The three men joined him, and before the engineer could protest, +they were pushing at the bar of the turn-table, swinging the locomotive +around. + +"I haven't much fuel," said the engineer. + +"You have enough to get us to Kingston," answered Fuller. "Get aboard +there!" + +The _Yonah_ slipped from the turn-table, swung into the main track and +started in pursuit. The throttle was open wide. + +Fuller and Murphy exchanged glances; the same thought had crossed their +minds. If the Yanks had torn up the track ahead of them, the _Yonah_ would +be wrecked, and, traveling at such speed, a wreck meant death for them all. +The _Yonah_ would hurl itself from the track, and end in a steaming, +smoldering ruin. Yet the two men kept their thoughts to themselves and said +nothing. Caution at that moment might mean that they would lose the race. +It was better to lose in a wreck than to lose by delaying. The _Yonah_--it +was a light engine--fairly danced upon the rails. + +Passengers along the way who had been disappointed once by a train which +did not stop for them, gazed in amazement as the engine flashed past. + +Fuller, sitting behind the engineer, leaned out of the window and peered +ahead, watching the track anxiously. Murphy, with the two men who had come +with them, stood by the brakes, ready to apply them when Fuller gave the +signal. They were two miles from Kingston when Fuller lurched across the +cab and pulled the whistle cord. It was that long shrieking blast which +Andrews' men had heard as the _General_ swung around the bend of the +side-track into the main line. + +Andrews, as Kingston dropped behind them, stood leaning against the side of +the cab, his chin in his hand, and his eyes closed. Tom, stripped to his +waist, was struggling back and forth between the tender and the engine with +logs of wood which he shoved into the fire-box. The _General_ was belching +great clouds of black smoke; red sparks flashed back over the train like a +plume waving in the breeze. + +"That's enough," yelled Knight. "We've got a full head of steam now. Push +her, Brown, push her!" + +And still Andrews stood there, with his eyes closed, thinking. Tom +clambered to the fireman's seat. + +"Stop here!" called Andrews suddenly. + +Tom sprang for the brake. + +"Rip down those wires," Andrews continued. "Two of you men--you and +you--load those ties in the freight car." He pointed to a pile which lay +near the track. "Put some of them on the rails." Then when they were under +way again, he yelled to Knight, "Stop around that next bend--we'll tear up +a rail." + +The men streamed out again, when the train had come to a stop; they +wrenched at the spikes with their inadequate tools, but the oak ties held +them stubbornly. The task was little more than half completed when Andrews +came running. + +"Pry it up--don't bother about the rest of the spikes. Give a hand, here." +They slid a bar under the rail and pulled upward, straining. Slowly it +bent; then broke. The men tumbled over each other down the embankment, a +mixture of bodies, legs, arms and tools, with the rail clattering after +them. Miraculously, no one was hurt. Tom was at the bottom of the heap; he +struggled loose and climbed up to the track. + +Andrews snatched his hat off and ran, waving it, back to the engine. +"'Board!" he shouted. The _General_ rushed forward, under full power. + +Andrews sat beside Tom in the fireman's seat. "The people who are chasing +us will be held up by the freight trains at Kingston," he said. "It will +probably be ten minutes before they can get clear of the station. It was a +gamble, stopping to tear up that rail. I was afraid they'd come up on us. +That will block them, though." He looked back along the track. "We'll be in +Adairsville soon. We have to meet the through freight there." + +"Wood!" yelled Knight. Tom slid down from his seat and struggled with the +logs. Andrews moved over to Brown and yelled in his ear. Brown, without +taking his eyes off the track ahead of him, nodded. He had the throttle +open wide, and the _General_ was swaying perilously on the curves. Long +moments passed while the engine seemed to travel on the outer wheels; then, +as the track straightened, to come crashing down. + +Tom was becoming accustomed to the swaying, jerking floor of the cab. He +hurried back and forth between the tender and the fire-box, crouching to +keep his balance, struggling with the heavy logs. He was covered with soot, +and the sweat made tiny rivulets in the black as it streamed down his body. +His shirt had been caught by a puff of wind and carried out of the cab. He +lifted the lid of the fireman's seat and threw his coat and cape into the +box. + +Andrews sat beside him again, glancing nervously at his watch. "If we are +more than an hour late at Adairsville, the through freight may pull out and +block the road. Then there's the southbound passenger train." + +"At Adairsville?" asked Tom. + +"No, at Calhoun," answered Andrews. "There is the same danger with that as +with the freight. If we don't come within an hour of the time we're due, it +has a right to go ahead and meet us at the next station." They were +rounding a curve which gave them a clear view of the track behind for +several miles. The pursuing engine was not in sight. + +The speed of the _General_ slackened. Tom glanced ahead and saw +Adairsville. + +"Are we going to stop?" he asked. + +"Yes. I want to get that freight started south. They might wait, when they +see that this is not the passenger train. Work up a full head of steam +while we're here, Knight." + +Tom put more fuel upon the fire. The train slid into the station at +Adairsville and stopped. The freight train was standing on the side-track, +ready to pull out. Andrews jumped to the platform: + +"I'm running this special train to Chattanooga," he announced. "Some of +Beauregard's troops have been cut off by Mitchel. Is the passenger train +waiting for me at Calhoun?" + +"I don't know," answered the amazed station agent. The conductor and the +engineer of the freight train came running up. + +"What's this--what's this?" asked the conductor. + +"Special powder train," answered the station agent. + +"Your way is clear to Kingston," said Andrews. "The passenger train is +waiting there. I have to be going." + +"But the southbound passenger train!" protested the conductor. "It has left +Calhoun by this time. You'd better wait here." + +"If I meet any train, I'll blow it off the face of the earth!" answered +Andrews. "I have twenty tons of powder in those cars." He waved toward the +empty box-cars--empty except for the sixteen men in the last. He swung +aboard the _General_. + +"Go ahead," he ordered. + +Knight was at the throttle. After the one curve which took them out of +sight of Adairsville, the tracks stretched straight ahead of them, and +there was a slight down grade. Knight opened the throttle wide. The +_General_ plunged forward in huge leaps, swaying through space. There were +moments when all the wheels seemed clear of the tracks, when the locomotive +seemed to fly; at other times it settled on the tracks and shook as though +it were about to drop in pieces. Behind them, the freight cars lashed back +and forth, throwing the men on the floor when they tried to rise. + +"Wood!" yelled Brown. + +Tom took up his struggle with the logs. Now he picked them up and heaved +them into the cab, then followed, holding to the tender, and stuffed them +into the flames. He stopped once for breath, and looked at Knight. The +engineer's face was screwed into a grimace; his jaw was set, his eyes half +closed, and his head thrust forward into the wind which swept past them. +Occasionally he closed the throttle a few notches, as though he were +tempering the speed just enough to keep the _General_ from leaping into the +air. He seemed to be controlling a live monster, bent on carrying them to +destruction. + +Outside, the country flitted past them, a blur of trees and hills. + +Andrews lurched across the cab and shouted to Knight: "Calhoun--around +bend!" Knight nodded and slackened off on the throttle. The _General_ +drifted into a normal speed which, by comparison, was mere crawling; it hit +the curve, swayed and settled down upon the tracks. + +"Brake!" screamed Knight. + +Brown and Tom lunged for the wheel and twisted. When it was set, Tom leaned +from the cab and saw that they were bearing down upon the passenger train, +its whistle screeching a warning. The two engines stopped within twenty +yards of collision. + +Andrews ducked out on the running board of the _General_. "Get back!" he +yelled, waving frantically. + +The engineer of the passenger train did not wait to ask questions; he +reversed his locomotive and slid back into Calhoun, taking the main track. +That left the side-track for Andrews. The engineer of the passenger train, +in his anxiety to be far away from the train which had almost wrecked him, +had backed so far that his rear car was blocking the other end of the +side-track. + +"Draw up and let me out," called Andrews. + +But the engineer descended from his cab. "What do yon mean by running me +down that way?" he demanded explosively. "You're over an hour late. I have +the right of way." Then as he came closer: "Who are you?" + +"I have the right of way here," answered Andrews. "This is a special powder +train." + +"Special or no special," answered the engineer, "no man can run a train +like that on this road. Show me your orders." + +"Get your train out of my way," answered Andrews. He was calm again now, +and his tone showed nothing of the agony of suspense raging within him. + +"I refuse to clear the track until you show me your orders for running like +that." + +Andrews glanced at Tom. And there was meaning in that glance. Tom swung +from the engine and strolled back along the train, ready to call the men. + +"Get your train out of my way," answered, Andrews evenly. He pulled out his +watch. "I'll give you thirty seconds to start your train forward. At the +end of that time I'll have my men do it for you, and I'll take you to +Chattanooga with me--charged with aiding the enemy!" + +The engineer began to splutter; then he paused, turned suddenly and strode +off toward his engine. The passenger train pulled slowly ahead. Tom ran to +the switch, threw the handle, and swung aboard the _General_ as it passed +him. + +"Whew!" said Andrews. "I thought we were going to have trouble there." + +"Do you think the passenger train will pull out?" asked Tom. "That would +block 'em." + +"No," answered Andrews. "He'll stay there. I wanted to tell him that the +way was clear to Adairsville ... but I couldn't. It might mean a wreck, if +they are still pursuing us. That would be terrible--it's a passenger +train." + +Tom nodded. Brown yelled for more wood. When the fire had been stoked, Tom +took his seat beside Andrews. + +"We've left them behind now, I think," continued the leader. "That tangle +of freight at Kingston will stop them." + +A deep rumble, rising above the noise of the _General_ struck their ears. +For a moment they did not know what it was; then Tom exclaimed, "Thunder! +Look!" He pointed to the black sky. Already the rain was splashing down +upon them, streaking the forward windows of the cab. + +"We're near the Reseca bridge now," said Andrews. Then he added: "If only +the rain doesn't come down hard enough to put out our fires! It may take us +longer.... Hey, Knight! Stop here! We'll tear up the rails!" + +The _General_ glided around a sharp curve in the road and came to a stop. +The men jumped out from the box-car. + +"Pull up some rails here, men," ordered Andrews. "Break the wires, Scott." +Scott was already halfway up a telegraph pole. + +"We dumped some ties out on the road back there," said Ross. "They're lying +across the rails." + +"Good!" answered Andrews. "I think we've left them behind, but we can't +take any chances. We may have to spend more time at the bridges starting +the fires." + +He ran back to where the men were working at the rail, grabbed the iron bar +and rained blows down upon the spikes. When half of the spikes had been +drawn, he yelled, "Pry this up!" They put the iron bar beneath the rail, +and pulled. Slowly the remaining spikes gave way, and the _inside rail of +the curve_ rattled down the embankment. + +"Now for the other side," ordered Andrews. + +The men were beginning to attack the spikes when a prolonged blast of a +locomotive whistle sounded to the south. There was an instant of quiet; +then Andrews yelled: + +"Come on! They're after us, but that rail will be enough to wreck them!" + +They ran for the train. + + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN + + +THE PURSUIT + +The screeching whistle of the _Yonah_, which had sent the _General_ +speeding away from Kingston, was a warning to the engineer of the freight +train blocking the way of the pursuers. It had pulled out of the station +and was lumbering southward, intending to make the side-track at Cass +Station and wait for Fuller's passenger train. + +Brakes were twisted, and the two locomotives approached each other slowly. + +"Our fuel's about gone," said Murphy. + +Fuller was swinging from the _Yonah's_ cab, ready to jump off. "Then we'll +get aboard the freight," he replied. The others followed him. + +"Back into the station," ordered Fuller, as he climbed into the cab of the +freight locomotive. "The Yanks have stolen my train!" + +"They've just pulled out!" answered the engineer. He threw the engine into +reverse, while the fireman swung on the whistle cord. + +Fuller sprang into the tender, climbed the wood pile and up on the box-car. +The second freight was just pulling out, blocking the track. He waved and +yelled to Murphy, who yanked at the whistle. The second freight stopped and +waited. At that moment a combined passenger and freight train from the +branch line to Rome swung around the bend and pulled into the station. The +congestion was complete. With the fuel-less _Yonah_ at one end, and the +Rome train at the other, the three freights were hopelessly locked and +tangled. + +Fuller ran back to the engine. "Come on," he said. "We'll take the Rome +engine." + +"This engine is faster," answered Murphy. "We can shunt the cars on the +side-track and run her backwards." + +"It'll take a half-hour to get her clear," said Fuller. "Come on!" + +He jumped from the train, and ran up the track. Murphy, still protesting, +ran after him. It was their second foot race that day, and they arrived at +the station winded. + +"Cut that engine loose!" yelled Fuller. The station agent recognized him, +and asked what had happened. "The Yanks!" answered Fuller. It was +explanation enough. The Rome engine, supplied with fuel for its return +trip, was uncoupled. + +"Telegraph Chattanooga train stolen by Yanks. Am in pursuit." + +The station agent ran to his office, but it was too late to get the message +through; Andrews' men had already torn the line down. + +The engine which Fuller now had was smaller and slower than the _Yonah_. +The engineer, upon entering Kingston, had allowed the steam pressure to +sink, and they crawled slowly from the station. Five minutes later they +came to the break in the telegraph lines, and Fuller knew that his message +to Chattanooga had not gone through. They worked feverishly at the engine, +but the steam pressure rose slowly. It was that fact which saved them from +a wreck when they came to the spot where Andrews' men had torn up the rail. +There was ample time to reverse the engine and bring it to a stop. + +Without spikes and tools it was hopeless to think of bridging the gap. They +stood gazing ruefully at the break. + +"We're done!" muttered Murphy. + +"No, we're not," answered Fuller. "Come on!" And he started running up the +track. The others, nearly exhausted by the pace he had led them, followed +on their third foot race after the stolen train. + +This broken rail, which so nearly blocked the course of his pursuers, was +Andrews' greatest mistake. If he had left the way clear for Fuller, sending +the southbound freight against him from Adairsville, a collision would have +been inevitable. As it was, Fuller and his men, running towards +Adairsville, heard the approaching train in plenty of time to stop it. Once +again, scarcely fifteen minutes after deserting one locomotive, they were +aboard another, the _Texas_. + +It took but a minute to explain to the engineer what had happened. The +engine, thrown into reverse, pushed back to Adairsville, with Fuller, +mounted on the end box-car, controlling the train by signals. South of the +station they stopped, while Fuller jumped from the train and pulled open +the switch to the side-track. Murphy uncoupled the train at the engine. +Again they started back, this time shunting the train to the siding and +allowing it to run on its own momentum. When the wheels of the last car +passed, with a gap of a few yards between the car and the engine, Fuller +threw the switch and leaped for the cab. Murphy caught his arms and pulled +him aboard. The _Texas_ plunged backward down the track, racing the +cast-off train as it rolled upon the siding. For a moment it seemed that +they would collide at the north switch where the side-track re-entered the +main line. Fuller, leaning from the cab, glanced apprehensively at the +engineer. He had the throttle opened wide and the _Texas_ was gaining speed +at every turn of her wheels. The station agent was on the platform, waving +his arms and yelling. Ahead of them, the leading freight car lurched as it +struck the bend of the side-track; then the _Texas_ rattled over the switch +and out of danger--with two yards to spare. + +Behind them, the freight car struck the closed switch, jumped it, ran off +the track and turned over. The force of the cars shoved it over the ground: +the second car crashed on its side. + +Fuller glanced back indifferently at the wreck they had left behind them. +"Keep her open wide!" he yelled, and the engineer nodded. + +Ahead lay the clear straight road down which the _General_ had swept just a +few minutes before. There were no obstructions, and no breaks as far as +Fuller and Murphy could see. They had climbed to the edge of the tender and +were sitting, clutching the sides, studying the tracks ahead of them. + +"Stop at Calhoun!" called Fuller, and the order was passed back to the +engineer. As the station swung into view, the _Texas_ came to a halt, with +her brakes screaming. + +Fuller jumped off. "That train--stolen!" he said to the station agent. + +"Out of here five minutes ago." + +"Get aboard!" + +Fuller dragged the protesting station agent to the engine. When the _Texas_ +had started again, he explained: "The lines are down. I want you to jump +off at Dalton, if we haven't caught them before then, and send through this +message. If we press them fast enough they won't have time to cut the +lines." + +Fuller took a pencil and paper and wrote the message: + + "To Gen. Leadbetter, + + "Commander at Chattanooga: + + "My train captured this A.M. at Big Shanty, evidently by Federal soldiers + in disguise. They are making for Chattanooga, possibly with the idea of + burning the railroad bridges in their rear. If I do not capture them in + the meantime, see that they do not pass Chattanooga. + + "WILLIAM A. FULLER." + +He handed the message to the station agent. + +Murphy, on the tender, suddenly raised his arms and yelled. The engineer of +the _Texas_ closed the throttle, and reversed the engine. Fuller jumped to +the brake; and the fireman, thinking that he had a train crew to man the +brakes, swung on the whistle cord to give warning. It was this blast which +fell on the ears of Andrews' men as they were tearing up the rail, a mile +and a half farther north. + +The _Texas_, trembling under the power of the reversed pressure against her +piston, seemed to buck upon the tracks. She stopped as though she had come +to the end of an anchor chain. + +"Ties on the track," shouted Murphy, jumping from the tender. The others +followed him and they tossed the ties to the side. Then they scrambled back +aboard the locomotive. + +"You men stand by the brake," ordered Fuller. "Murphy and I will be on the +tender. When we raise our arms--stop!" + +Two minutes later, Fuller and Murphy, straining to see obstructions on the +track, caught a glimpse of the gap where a rail had been torn loose. It was +only a glimpse, for the engine was almost upon it, swinging around the +curve. They yelled and raised their arms, but it was too late. + +Even before the engineer could close the throttle the _Texas_ was on the +verge of the break. Fuller and Murphy sat paralyzed, their arms +outstretched, expecting the locomotive to plunge from the rails. Then, an +instant later, they knew that the _Texas_ had miraculously sailed over the +gap! + +Fuller was the first to regain his senses. He waved to the engineer to go +ahead, and the _Texas_ swept down the road. Murphy and Fuller looked at one +another in dumb amazement. + +"The inside rail of the curve," Murphy said at last. Fuller nodded in +comprehension. + +The Texas, lunging around the curve, had been thrown against the outside +rail; the inside wheels were lifted clear of the break. Had Andrews' men +attacked the outside rail first, the race would have ended there, with the +_Texas_ a battered wreck, strewn over the trackside. On the other hand, if +Fuller and Murphy had seen the break sooner, a wreck would have been +inevitable, for the locomotive, in checking its speed, would have rested +evenly upon both rails. Luck was with the pursuers. + +Now the rain was falling in torrents. It stung the faces of the two +Confederates as they sat on the tender, peering ahead, but they were +oblivious to it. Oblivious, that is, except that they knew the rain would +help them. The bridges would be the harder to burn. + +Time after time, they raised their arms and the _Texas_ came to a stop, +while they jumped to the ground and threw ties from the track. The +_General_ was gaining a greater lead each time the _Texas_ was checked. And +seconds were counting. + +Fuller grabbed Murphy's arm, and said: "Look!" + +Far ahead they saw a black cloud of smoke. It was the _General_ approaching +the Reseca bridge. + + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE + + +SPEEDING NORTHWARD + +Tom slammed the door of the fire-box and climbed up on the seat beside +Andrews, who was leaning half out of the window, absorbed in his own +thoughts. He glanced back, and turned to Tom. + +"They're still after us," he said grimly. "I want to drop the last box-car. +Can you get back there and tell the men?" + +"Yes," answered Tom. "Why not break 'through the ends of all the cars--so +we can get back and forth without having to climb over the roofs!" + +"All right--but hurry. Uncouple just as soon as you can." + +Tom climbed over the logs in the tender; then, balancing carefully, he +stood up and clutched the top of the swaying freight car. In an instant he +had swung himself over and was running down the roofs of the cars, +silhouetted against the cloudy sky. When he reached the end of the train he +lay on his stomach and looked down. The men were feeding the ties they had +collected out upon the road through an opening they had broken in the rear +of the car. The hole was large enough so that he could climb down the +ladder, swing around the corner, and enter. + +[Illustration: The men were feeding the ties they had collected out upon +the road through an opening they had broken in the rear of the car.] + +"Andrews wants to drop this car," he told the men when he was safe inside. +"Break the other end open." They took one of the rails they had removed +from the track north of Big Shanty, and with it as a battering-ram knocked +a hole in the forward end; then in the end of the second car. They passed +the remaining ties and the rails forward. + +"I'll pull the pin," said Tom. He lay down on the floor and reached for the +coupling; then he drew back. "No--here, shove a tie off. Well see if we can +wreck her." + +As he drew the pin out, the others threw a tie down. It struck one wheel of +the detached car, bounded, struck again and then bounded out of the way. +The men silently watched the car rolling along behind them. + +Tom shook his head in disgust. "Let's knock the ends of these cars out," he +said. Once again they took the rail up and battered their way through. Tom +climbed up over the end of the tender and reported to Andrews. + +"We tried to wreck it," he said, "but the tie bounced out of the way." + +Andrews nodded and leaned from the cab. "We're within a mile of Reseca +bridge," he said slowly. "I don't dare to stop and build a fire. They're +too close upon us." + +Now, for the first time, Tom realized that the raid might fail in its +purpose. The excitement of the race, of reaching this point where the road +to Chattanooga lay clear before them, had been upon him; it had never +entered his head that their long struggle against so many obstacles could +end in anything but glorious success. Surely they could do something to +block the way of the pursuing engine. + +"Can't we stop and fight?" he asked. "Put up an obstacle at one of these +curves, and attack them from ambush? We're all armed." + +"No," answered Andrews; "they'll be better armed." He still believed that +the engine in their rear had come from Atlanta--probably with a detachment +of soldiers aboard, prepared for a battle. "There are bridges ahead--the +Chickamauga bridges. We'll drop another car on the Reseca bridge. Go back +and tell them. I'll slow down. Try to wreck it in the shed." + +Tom hurried back again over the wood pile. + +The Reseca bridge which ran over the Oostenaula River was covered by a long +shed. And, as it was built upon a curve in the road, a box-car--either +wrecked or merely left standing--could not be seen until the pursuing +engine was almost upon it. + +Ross stood at the side door of the first freight car, while Tom clutched +the coupling pin, ready to draw it. Others waited with ties. The train's +speed decreased. + +"Get ready," yelled Ross; then, as they entered the shed, "Go!" + +Tom drew the pin. The car seemed to cling to the train for several seconds; +then the _General_ leaped ahead. Ties streamed out upon the track. The +wheels of the abandoned car knocked several out of the way; then, as the +train swung about the curve, leaving the car hidden in the shed, Tom saw +one tie resting at an angle across the track. The wheels struck it, and the +car lurched heavily.... They could see no more. + +"I think we put it off the track," cried Tom exultantly when he was back in +the engine. Andrews slapped him on the back. + +"We'll have to break the wires above here," he said as the little station +in Reseca flashed past them. "Stop about a mile up here, Knight. On a +curve." + +"Wood!" yelled Brown. + +Tom took up the work of dragging logs from the tender and stuffing them in +the fire-box. He stopped once, and pointed to the wood pile. Fuel was +running low. + +"At Green's Station," said Andrews. + +"Water there, too?" asked Brown. + +"At Tilton--just a few miles farther on." Andrews waved to Knight to shut +off the power. + +"If that car at Reseca bridge doesn't stop them, we're cornered," panted +Andrews as he ran back. "Put an obstruction here! That bent rail!" + +The men ran back to the car and pulled out the rail. It was the one they +had ripped from the ties north of Calhoun. They forced the straight end of +it under the track, leaving the bent end projecting toward the pursuers--a +scarcely visible snag which would rip into the engine. + +"Keep dropping ties, men," ordered Andrews. "We have to stop at the wood +yard." + +Brown took the throttle and pushed the _General_ onward toward Green's +Station. Tom put the last of the fuel in the fire, and leaned wearily +against the cab. Drops of rain, carried by the wind, splashed upon him and +ran down his body, streaking the soot which covered his chest and stomach. +His eyes met Knight's and they looked at each other dumbly, asking each +other how the the race would end. Instinctively they turned toward Andrews. +He was in the fireman's seat, hands clenched and face set, staring ahead. +He did not move until they were within sight of Green's Station. + +The _General_ stopped at the wood pile and the men jumped out. The keeper +of the yard came running toward them. Andrews waved him aside. + +"Throw that wood aboard, men," he said. But they had already attacked the +pile. + +Then they heard repeated short blasts of a whistle to the southward. The +men paused and looked at Andrews. + +"Pile it in! Hurry!" he yelled. + +"Who are you?" demanded the keeper. "What's this train!" + +Andrews seemed not to hear him. Four Confederate soldiers who were standing +several hundred yards away yelled and pointed in the direction of the +whistling. + +"'Board," called Andrews. As he climbed into the cab of the General, Tom +saw that his face had become suddenly drawn. There was no talking now. The +race had reached the final test of strength. While Tom, in the tender, +yanked logs loose from the pile, Andrews stood ready to pass them to +Knight, who shoved them into the fire-box. + +"The wood's wet," said Knight. The others heard him and made no reply. He +worked with the drafts, coaxing the fire. Occasionally, Brown glanced at +the steam gauge; then the two engineers would exchange glances. Slowly the +needle of the gauge crept up. + +In the box-car the men silently dropped ties upon the tracks. Sometimes +there was a mumble of satisfaction as a tie fell squarely across the rails; +or a grunt of disgust when one tumbled end for end and landed out of +position. + +Running a mile or so behind them, they caught occasional glimpses of the +smoke of the _Texas_. There were moments when the smoke paused and mounted +straight into the sky; then a few seconds later it flattened out and rose +in a long black stream. The _Texas_ was running from obstruction to +obstruction, clearing the way and pressing forward. How had they done it? +How had they passed the broken rail, the ties along the track, the box-cars +and the snag? Those questions were pounding in the brains of Andrews' men. + +If ever a man combined determination with luck it was Fuller. He had +started on foot from Big Shanty in complete ignorance of what was happening +to his stolen train. Undoubtedly, if he had known that a party of Northern +raiders had taken it, he would have waited until a locomotive came from +Atlanta. The idea of running after a locomotive would have seemed too +ridiculous. But, expecting to find it abandoned around each curve, he raced +on and on until they came to the hand car; then the _Yonah_. When the +_Yonah_ had run out of fuel, the _New York_ was there to carry him to the +Rome engine. When the Rome engine had been stopped by the break in the +track, they had come to the _Texas_. They had shunted and outraced the +train, jumped the broken track, and avoided wrecking on obstructions so +many times that they had lost count. And still they pressed on. The force +of Fuller's determination seemed greater than the force of the steam which +flashed against the pistons of the _Texas_. + +Fuller and Murphy, still sitting on the edge of the tender, saw the +abandoned box-car as they swerved around the bend. Fuller waved his arms up +and down slowly to the engineer as a signal to come to a gradual stop. They +coasted down upon the box-car, picked it up and carried it on with them. +Fuller and Murphy climbed to the top of it; Murphy, staying at the rear end +to repeat the signals of Fuller, who was perched on the front. + +At the sight of ties lying across the track, Fuller's arms shot up. An +instant later, the _Texas_ was laboring to a stop under reversed power, her +brakes grabbing at the wheels. Then, when the decreasing speed of the train +gave his legs the advantage, Fuller was ahead, heaving ties from the road. + +Far to the northward, across the bend which hid the Reseca bridge from +view, Fuller caught a glimpse of the _General_ speeding on its way. He saw +that the train had been shortened once more, that the engine was hauling +only one box-car. He dreaded that first sight of the Reseca bridge, for, if +Andrews had left it in flames, the race was over for the _Texas_. Then they +swept around the curve and the bridge lay before them, indistinct in the +drizzle of rain. It appeared intact, but Fuller knew that long curving shed +too well through his years of travel over the road not to be suspicious of +what lurked inside. + +He waved a signal to approach gradually; then, as they came to the +entrance, his arms shot up. The _Texas_ came to a stop. + +"Wait here," he yelled, sliding down the ladder. He ran into the shed. + +The left forward wheel of the box-car had mounted upon one of the ties +thrown before it. The tie was wedged diagonally across the track, and the +flange had cut a deep groove in it. The right wheel was nearly a foot off +the track. Apparently the car had struck the tie just at the moment of +losing momentum. + +Fuller made a hasty examination, then ran back to the _Texas_. Murphy was +coming forward to meet him. + +"They've dropped the second box-car in there," explained Fuller. "The front +wheels are off the track. We can drag it back, I think. We'll have to find +a coupling pin." + +The fireman was racing through his chest, looking for something which would +serve to couple the cars together. "Will this be all right?" he asked, +holding up a short crow-bar. + +"Yes," answered Fuller. "And bring a heavy hammer." + +While Murphy signaled the _Texas_ into the shed, Fuller and the fireman ran +forward with the crow-bar and hammer. + +"Careful now," yelled Fuller, as the two box-cars came closer together. +"Easy--easy!" The cars met gently. He slid the crow-bar into the hole and +held it while the fireman hammered the top over. + +"Now run back slowly--an inch at a time," ordered Fuller. + +The engineer opened the throttle, and the _Texas_ crept away, taking up the +slack in the couplings. The left wheel followed back along the groove its +flange had cut in the tie. Fuller watched it breathlessly. There came a +clash of metal as the wheel slipped down from the tie and struck the track. +For a second the flange rode on the rail, then settled into position, +forcing the right wheel up. + +Fuller yelled in triumph, kicked the tie off the track, and jumped for the +ladder. The steam hissed as the _Texas_ was thrown into reverse again. They +swept out of the shed, pushing the two cars. + +The bent rail which Andrews had left as a snag in the track would have +wrecked Fuller if the _Texas_ had been traveling forward instead of +backward. As it was, the cars cleared it. The snag caught on the low +cow-catcher of the engine and gave the train a mighty jerk. They were past +it before they knew what had happened. In fact, Fuller did not know until +later, for he had not seen the snag ahead of them, and he could see nothing +as he looked back. + +He motioned Murphy ahead. "What was that?" he asked. + +"Don't know. Something on the track. Thought the engine was going off for a +second." + +"They'll probably stop at Green's for wood," said Fuller. "Keep the whistle +going." + +Murphy hurried back over the swaying cars. An instant later the whistle was +screaming out its warning to the keeper of the wood yard at Green's +Station. + +Fuller's arms went up again, and he was on the ground removing ties. + +"We'll have to stop for fuel," yelled Murphy. + +When the _Texas_ swung around into view of Green's Station the track ahead +was still clear. The _General_ was speeding northward. + + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN + + +FIGHTING WITH FIRE + +Tom discovered that the weariness which was creeping over him, stealing his +strength, was hunger. The sight of Knight gnawing at a hunk of bread sent +him to his coat for the package of food he had bought at Big Shanty. +Andrews, too, became suddenly aware that he must eat. Brown, hovering over +the throttle, was too intent upon pushing the _General_ forward to be +conscious of his body. He sat there as though hypnotized by the gleaming +rails which stretched before him. + +Tilton came into view. Andrews crossed over to Brown and told him where to +stop for water; then he stood ready to swing off the engine to confront +anyone who might interfere. The station was one hundred yards north of the +water pipe, so the agent could not get a good view of the freight car. It +was obviously no car to support the special powder train story: its end was +broken open wide, and the sixteen men within were waiting in readiness to +swing off and fight. + +Brown and Knight adjusted the water pipe. Andrews hurried forward to meet +the keeper. Tom was a few yards behind him, prepared to run back and call +the men out. + +"Special train," said Andrews. "Running through to Corinth." + +"Through to Corinth?" demanded the man incredulously. + +"All right!" yelled Knight. + +Andrews and Tom turned and ran back to the engine without waiting to answer +questions. The _General_ with Knight at the throttle now, went roaring past +the amazed agent. He stood rooted to the ground while the men in the +freight car waved derisively. + +Brown had collapsed in the fireman's seat, his head thrown back against the +cab wall and his eyes closed. The strain of driving a locomotive at full +speed over a strange track was beginning to tell upon him. + +"There is nothing for us to do until we get past Dalton," said Andrews. "On +the other side of the tunnel is a bridge. We'll set fire to it." He glanced +at his watch. "We're ahead of the passenger train's schedule, and we may +find the tracks blocked at the switches in Dalton." + +"What then?" asked Knight. + +"We'll have to fight our way through," answered Andrews. "Tom, tell the men +to stand ready to jump out and fight at Dalton. You stay up on the tender +and don't let any man show a head until I give the signal." Then, to +Knight: "Stop a couple of hundred yards below the station while I run ahead +and see if the switches are clear. If the way is open, we'll rush it." + +"Right," answered the engineer. "More wood, Tom." + +Tom climbed up on the tender and passed the orders back to the men; then he +turned to stoking the fire. + +"Here we are," said Andrews. Once again he was calm and deliberate. He +seemed to be gathering himself together for the conflict with the station +authorities at Dalton. + +Tom glanced ahead and saw the town looming up before them--the big station, +with its high roof sweeping out over the tracks, the passenger coaches and +freight cars standing upon the side-tracks, and the maze of switches. It +seemed like a network, spread out to catch them. He climbed up on the wood +pile in the tender where he could see Andrews and repeat a signal for help +to the men. + +As the _General_ stopped, Andrews sprang off and walked ahead. He paused to +talk with several men who were coming down the track, then walked on toward +the station. Suddenly he turned and motioned sharply. + +Knight pulled the throttle open and the _General_ fairly jumped. Andrews +swung aboard. "Push her, Knight!" he yelled. + +Tom, perched on the tender, saw a man rush from the station and wave. He +shouted something but it was lost in the noise of the locomotive. Then they +plunged into the darkness of the roof, and out again on the other side. + +Ahead of them the track swerved sharply to the left. Knight saw it too late +to moderate his speed. The _General_ hit the curve and reared on its right +wheels, hanging there for a breathless moment. Tom clutched the edge of the +tender to keep from being thrown off. He saw Knight's hand slip from the +throttle as he slammed it shut, saw Andrews' expression of horror. It +seemed as though whole minutes passed while the _General_ balanced on the +curve, swaying and trembling. Then slowly it tilted back to the left and +struck the tracks with a clash that made the locomotive shudder. It wavered +from side to side, gradually settling itself upon the rails. + +Knight glanced at Andrews; his hand went to the throttle again and drew it +open. Tom entered the cab. There was not a word said about their narrow +escape from a wreck. + +Ten minutes later Andrews called to Knight to stop. "Tell them to tear up +the tracks and break the telegraph line, Tom," he ordered. + +Tom climbed over the tender and into the freight car. He repeated Andrews' +orders. Shadrack grabbed him and asked: "What was that we struck back +there?" + +"Curve in the road," answered Tom. "Almost threw me from the tender." + +"It bounced me five times between the walls of this car," answered +Shadrack. + +The train came to a stop and the men streamed out through the back end of +the car. Scott fairly shot up the telegraph pole. + +Once again the whistle of the pursuers sounded. + +"'Board," shouted Andrews. "Never mind about the track." When Tom joined +him in the engine, he said: "Have the men start a fire in the freight car. +We'll leave it in the first bridge shed. It's our last chance." + +"How about the tunnel?" asked Tom. "An ambush--anything. Stop and fight +them!" + +"No--not now. Hurry! Get that fire started! Use the engine fuel!" + +Tom went to the box-car. "Andrews wants you to start a fire here. We'll +drop the car under the bridge shed. When you get the fire going, climb +aboard the tender." He left the men gathering the splintered boards into a +heap, and returned to the engine. + +Shadrack's head appeared above the edge of the tender presently. He +motioned to Tom. "This wood is so wet we can't light it. We haven't any +paper." + +"Wait," ordered Tom. He grabbed a log from the tender and went to the +fire-box, thrusting one end into the blaze. "I'll have to pass the fire +back to them," he explained to Andrews. "The wood is too wet." + +When the end of the log was blazing, he pulled it out and raced back to +Shadrack. The wind and the rain extinguished the flames, but he hurried +forward again determinedly. This time he lighted several of the smallest +logs, which burned more freely. He made three trips to the freight car, +each time carrying a blazing torch, and he had just stepped into the tender +with the last log when the blackness of night fell upon them. Tom paused +for an instant bewildered. They had plunged into the tunnel. + +The scene around him was illuminated by the flickering tongues of flame +which lapped up the end of the log. He stumbled over the wood in the +tender, and handed the log to Shadrack. Through the hole in the box-car he +saw the men working at the fire. Several were bending over it, fanning, +while others hurried back and forth in the dull glow bringing fuel. One man +was breaking the walls of the car with the iron bar, throwing the boards +back as he pounded and wrenched them loose. Then, suddenly, the blaze +increased and the car was filled with smoke. Flames leaped several feet in +the air, mounting high and higher until they spread out against the roof of +the car. + +"More logs, Tom." + +Tom recognized Shadrack's voice. He passed log after log back. + +The train emerged from the tunnel. The car was leaving a trail of smoke +behind it; flames were darting from the side doors and flowing back against +the walls. Several of the men climbed into the tender, wiping their eyes +and coughing. More followed them until the tender seemed overflowing. + +"All out, I guess," said Ross. "Whew! that's a hot fire." + +"Where's Shadrack?" demanded Tom. They glanced about from one to another. +Shadrack was not among them. + +Tom jumped up to the edge of the tender and let himself down into the +freight car. + +"Shadrack!" he called; then louder, "Shadrack! Shadrack!" + +There was no answer. The dense smoke choked and blinded him. "Shadrack!" He +ran down the car, holding his breath and dodging the flames. "Shadrack!" + +"Here!" + +"Where?" + +"Outside." + +Tom swung out around the end of the car and found Shadrack on the ladder, +climbing and fighting the waves of smoke which drifted back upon him, +enveloping him, from the side door. He was dragging himself wearily from +one rung to another. + +"Can you get up?" Tom asked. Shadrack gasped and shook his head. "Hold on +tight! Just hold there!" + +Tom started back for the center of the car, found the side door and put his +head out for a breath of clean air. Then he drew the door shut and made his +way to the rear end again. That would keep the smoke from Shadrack as he +climbed to the top of the car. Tom clung there, holding to the brake bar +and the ladder, looking up. He saw Shadrack's legs disappear over the edge. +Dizziness overcame him for a moment. He held on with all his strength, +closed his eyes, letting the cool rain splatter in his face. Then he +climbed the ladder, Shadrack was sitting on the top of the car, swaying +weakly. + +"Are you all right, Shadrack?" asked Tom. + +"Yes--in a second. Thanks for coming. The smoke almost finished me. I was +scattering the flames around. Is the fire going all right?" + +"Yes. We'd better get back to the tender." + +"I would have fallen off, if you hadn't closed that door. I'm still dizzy." + +Tom looked ahead and saw the bridge. "Come on, Shadrack," he said. "We have +to get forward. On your hands and knees." He, too, was so dizzy that he +could not trust himself to walk upright. Together they crawled forward over +the hot roof. Beneath them the flames crackled. + +As they came to the end of the car and looked down into the tender, they +found the men yelling, "Shadrack! Burns!" One of the men was gesticulating +wildly to Andrews. + +"Here we are!" yelled Tom. He waved to Andrews. + +"We thought you were caught in there," said Wilson, helping them into the +tender. "Dorsey started after you, but the fire forced him back." + +"We _were_ almost caught," gasped Tom, still choking from the smoke. The +forward part of the car was a solid mass of flames, which roared and +crackled above the noise of the engine. "Pass some of those logs into the +engine!" + +Tom entered the cab and stuffed fuel into the fire-box. Andrews, leaning +from the fireman's window, was gazing back. He called to Tom and pointed. +Behind them, perhaps a mile and a half, came the pursuing engine. + +"Tell the men to pull the coupling when we stop," said Andrews. Tom obeyed, +and Ross crawled over the end of the tender, his coat wrapped about his +head to protect him from the flames, which spurted out in the eddies of +wind. + +"How much fuel have you left?" asked Andrews. + +"Ten sticks." + +"This is our last chance, then," Andrews replied. "We'll have to abandon +the locomotive if they get through." + +Andrews jumped up and crossed to the other side of the engine. He stood +beside Knight, shouting into his ear. Knight nodded; then he closed the +throttle, and the _General's_ speed slackened. The bridge shed was looming +ahead of them. + +The _General_ darted into the shed and came to a stop. Tom stood at the +door of the tender, waiting for the signal that the car had been uncoupled. +Already the flames were licking the shed walls and mounting to the roof; +the scene was illuminated in a wavering, red glow. + +Boss jumped up from behind the tender, and yelled, "Go!" + +"Go!" repeated Tom. The steam hissed and enveloped them in a cloud. The +walls echoed the screeching of the wheels as they slid upon the tracks. +Brown yanked at the sand lever. The wheels gained traction and the +_General_ jumped ahead and sped from the bridge. + +Smoke was pouring from the ends of the shed as they looked back. And across +the bend, a mile behind them, came the _Texas_! + + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN + + +THE END OF THE RACE + +Fuller had stopped at Green's Station and at Tilton for wood and water; at +Dalton he paused for a moment to shunt the two freight cars which Andrews +had dropped. The telegraph operator who had been dragged into the chase at +Calhoun ran to the station and pounced upon a telegraph key. Chattanooga +answered him and he hammered out half of the message; then the wire "went +dead." Andrews had broken the lines. But half of the message was enough to +warn Chattanooga. The Commander of the Confederate troops rushed his men +out to block the tracks against the raiders. + +Fuller, relieved of the two box-cars, ordered the _Texas_ ahead, and they +swung out from the Dalton station. + +"How about the tunnel?" Murphy asked. + +Fuller thought for a moment. "We'll go straight through," he answered. + +"You don't think that they'll drop that last box-car there?" asked Murphy. + +"We'll have to take the risk. A minute's delay will be enough for them to +destroy the bridge." + +Murphy nodded and climbed up beside Fuller on the edge of the tender. Both +of them realized that they would be in the very center of the wreck if +Andrews had abandoned his last freight car in the tunnel. Yet they sat +there, coolly and indifferently, awaiting whatever might come of the risk +they were taking. + +"If I were leading those men," said Fuller, "I would rush for the bridge, +and not bother about the tunnel. And I think that is what they'll do." That +was all he said as the black entrance grew larger before them. + +The engineer glanced at Fuller and Murphy, wondering if they would give the +signal to slow down. Neither of them moved. Then the _Texas_ plunged into +the smoke-laden darkness. Presently there appeared a faint luminous splotch +ahead of them, growing brighter as the seconds passed. They flashed out +into the daylight again. + +"Whew!" said Murphy. They exchanged glances and Fuller laughed nervously. + +The _General_ was just disappearing around the bend. + +"Look!" exclaimed Fuller. They caught a glimpse of the smoking freight car. +He climbed down from the tender and went to the engineer. "Put every ounce +into her! They're making for the bridge--freight car on fire!" + +The _Texas_, unburdened by cars, had the advantage in speed now. For +seconds she seemed to hover above the tracks as the engineer forced her +around the curve under full throttle. They came to the point where they had +caught the last glimpse of the _General_; then the bridge swung into view. +Black smoke, with wisps of red flames breaking through it, poured from the +ends of the shed. + +"They've left the freight car in there," shouted Fuller to the engineer. +"Just the shed is burning now. Slow down and pick the car up, then rush on +through." + +"Through that fire?" demanded the engineer. + +"Yes! If we stop we're lost." Fuller went to Murphy. "Better come in the +cab--we're going through." Murphy followed him. They stood looking out over +the tender. + +The engineer reversed the _Texas_ and brought it to a crawling pace as they +reached the mouth of the shed. Smoke and flames enveloped them, blinding +them, and they felt the wheels of the locomotive crunching over charred +board which had fallen across the track. Then came the shock as the tender +bumped the freight car. Flames showered down over the locomotive, streaking +through the blackness. The heat was scorching, sickening. The speed of the +_Texas_ increased. And then they found themselves in the clear air again, +pushing the smoking remains of the freight car before them. + +"Go on! Go on!" yelled Fuller. "Never mind about the bridge." He glanced +back and saw the shed collapse, shooting sparks into the pillar of smoke +that was rising. "We'll get them between here and Chattanooga." + + * * * * * + +That smoke, rising into the sky, came like a signal of triumph to Andrews' +men. They watched it silently; then they yelled. It was recompense for all +those long hours of tension and violent effort. The men danced, shouted, +and hammered each other upon the back. Andrews' face, drawn by hours of +anxiety, relaxed into a smile. + +"There's one bridge down!" he shouted. "How much fuel have we?" + +"This is the last of it," answered Tom. He kicked the two logs which lay on +the tender floor, ready to be shoved into the fire-box. + +Andrews went to the tender and gathered the men about him. "What we'll do +from here on," he said, "depends upon whether the Rebs come through that +bridge. If they don't get through, we'll have time enough to gather fuel +and burn the bridges ahead of us. If they do get through, the only thing +that we can do is to abandon the engine and take to our legs." + +"Stop and fight 'em," protested Boss. + +"No," answered Andrews. "We're not here to fight. It won't do us or the +North any good. We're here to burn bridges and we've done it. If we can't +reach the next bridge our work is done. Scatter--each man for himself!" + +The _General_ came into a long straight track, which had the small town of +Ringgold at its northern end. "If we don't see them by the time we reach +the next curve it means they're stopped," said Andrews. + +Tom put the last of the fuel into the fire. Brown closed the dampers and +glanced at the steam gauge. He shook his head savagely. "If we only had +some of that fuel we used on the freight car!" he exclaimed. + +"More important to burn the bridge," answered Tom. "I wish Andrews would +stop around this bend and fight 'em." + +The _General_ was thundering down upon the station at Ringgold. The men +stood in the tender gazing silently back, watching for the _Texas_ to come +around the curve. + +"There!" + +Tom looked down the track. The Texas, pushing the smoldering freight car +before her, was still after them! The Ringgold station flashed past, with +the bewildered agent looking first at one locomotive and then at the other. +The General whipped around the curve. + +"Slow down, Knight!" ordered Andrews. "Jump off, men. Scatter and make your +way back to the lines!" + +Knight shut the throttle and allowed the _General_ to lose speed. Tom, +Andrews, and Brown stood aside while the men filed from the tender into the +cab. The first stood on the step for a moment, then jumped. Tom saw him +strike the trackside and go sprawling. The second jumped ... the third ... +the fourth.... + +"Get ready to reverse the engine, Knight," said Andrews. "We'll send it +back on them." Knight threw the lever over. "They'll stop in Ringgold for a +minute to shunt that car." + +All the men, except the engine crew, were off. + +"You next, Tom," ordered Andrews. "Then Brown and Knight. I'll stay by the +engine and send her back. Here, Tom, take your coat." In that last moment, +Andrews was as calm as if he had reached the end of some commonplace, +humdrum journey. + +Tom took his coat and put it on. He paused for a second on the step of the +_General_, then leaped. His feet struck the ground and he pitched forward. +He arose, dazed and shaken, and stepped into the woods which lined the +track. + +The _General_ disappeared up the track; a minute later the _Texas_ passed +him, and he caught a glimpse of the two men who had pursued them from Big +Shanty. They were sitting on the edge of the tender, leaning forward +eagerly. + +"If we'd only stopped to fight them!" thought Tom. But it was too late for +that now. The great railroad race was over, and ahead of him lay miles of +enemy country. He wondered where the other men were, if he would meet them. +He was aroused from his thoughts by the noise of a locomotive coming from +the north. The _Texas_ came rolling back, with the two men on the tender +waving to the engineer; the _General_ followed, steaming down the track +with its cab deserted. But the Southerners had seen it in time to avoid +collision. + +The gap between the two locomotives narrowed; then they came together +gently. One of the men jumped to the _General's_ tender, rushed into the +cab and shut the throttle. The locomotive which had carried the raiders on +that wild trip from Big Shanty was again in the hands of the Confederates. + +Tom stood behind a tree watching them. Presently the _Texas_ started north, +pushing the _General_ before her. The last of its fuel and steam had been +used in that final charge down the track. + +Tom walked into the woods, away from the railroad, and sank to the ground +exhausted. Minutes passed while he lay there resting. Every muscle in his +body was sore, and it was enough just to stretch out with his head against +the cool moist ground. The problem of getting out of the enemy's country +and back to his own lines seemed too remote to be considered now. But +presently he sat up and began to wonder what would happen next. He was +about twenty miles from Chattanooga--he knew that from studying the map at +Marietta. Mitchel's lines lay to the west, probably fifty miles away. To +the north lay the flooded Tennessee River, which he would have to cross. +And as for himself, he was shirtless and grimy with soot; he was almost +without food, and dead tired. To make matters worse, just as though they +were not bad enough, the drizzle of rain, which had been an implacable +enemy since that night on the road to Wartrace, gave no signs of ending. +Evening was approaching. + +Tom got to his feet. First, he decided, he would put a greater distance +between himself and the railroad. He walked through the forest and came to +a road. It was deserted. Regardless of the danger of being seen so near to +the spot where they had burned the bridge, he followed the road to the +north. His ears were straining for the least sound of people approaching, +and he dived into the bushes several times when he thought he heard +someone. Then, since no one came, he took to the road again. He had his +cape fastened around his neck to hide his shirtlessness, and he dabbed at +his face with his handkerchief, wiping away the soot. But the idea of +getting clean without soap and warm water was hopeless. + +He heard the unmistakable creak of wheels behind him, and sprang into the +bushes. Presently a heavy wagon, drawn by two tired-looking, emaciated +horses, appeared on the road. In the wagon were two men and a woman. The +man who was driving was carrying on a grumbling monologue. You worked like +a dog, he said, to grow crops and then the government seized them to feed +to good-for-nothing soldiers. The only crops he'd grow this year would be +just enough for his own family. If the government wanted anything from him +the government would have to pay him in advance. + +Not a word about the burnt bridges or the stolen train! Tom listened +eagerly. These people were coming from the direction of Ringgold, and +certainly they would be talking about the havoc the Yanks had raised--if +they knew of it. When the wagon had disappeared around the bend, Tom came +out on the road again. Until the news spread over the countryside he was +safe from interference. + +After an hour's walking he came to a scattering of houses at a cross-roads. +Over one was a sign "General Store," painted in sprawling, uneven letters. +It would probably be his last chance before the chase began to buy the +things he needed. He opened the door and entered the dimly lighted store. +An old man came out from the back room. + +"Good evening," said Tom. "I want to buy a shirt." + +"Evenin'," replied the man. "Shirt? Well.... Shirt? Don't think I've ever +seen you before. D'you live around this a-way, young man?" + +"No, I'm just going through to Chattanooga." + +"Mary," called the man, "bring that light." A woman in the back room +mumbled in response. Tom dreaded the light. In the dusk of the store he +could hide his appearance, but with the lamp they would see how disheveled +and dirty he was. And, if they had heard any rumors of what had happened +during the day, they would suspect him instantly. He looked around at the +door and picked his course between the barrels and boxes which lay strewn +about the floor. + +The woman entered with the light. "Well, I declare!" she exclaimed, looking +at Tom. He was, indeed, a strange looking specimen. His face was streaked +with black, for his attempts at rubbing himself clean with his handkerchief +had been unevenly distributed. His black eyelids, as he blinked in the +light, made him grotesque. "What's happened to _you_?" demanded the woman. + +"I've been fighting a fire," answered Tom. He was ready to jump for the +door. + +"A fire! Where?" + +That was encouraging. "Down south of Ringgold," Tom replied. "The bridge +caught on fire from a locomotive." + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man. "Y' don't say so!" + +"Jeb!" screeched the woman. + +"Yes'm," came the response from the back room. A small boy straggled into +the store. + +"Whyfor you don't tell us there's a fire down Ringgold way?" asked the +woman. + +"There wa'n't no fire when I left," he answered. + +"When did you leave?" asked Tom. + +"'Round noon." + +"I guess you just missed it," replied Tom. He was on fairly safe ground +now. "The fire didn't start until after one o'clock." + +"Huh!" grunted the boy. + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man again. "What happened?" + +"Let's have a shirt," said Tom. "I'll tell you about it while you're +finding the shirts." The old man turned toward the littered shelves and +commenced pawing over the merchandise which had accumulated there. The +woman and the boy drew closer, waiting anxiously for the news. "I was +waiting for the passenger train at Ringgold," continued Tom. "But the train +didn't come. After a while we saw some smoke to the southward and we +thought that was the train. But it wasn't. The smoke just stayed in one +spot." + +"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man, stopping his search. + +"Yep," answered Tom, "but find the shirt for me. After a few minutes the +station agent...." + +"Morrison," interjected the woman. + +"Yes, I believe his name was Morrison, come to think of it," replied Tom. +"Well, Morrison got on the hand car." + +"I rode on the hand car once," said the boy. + +"Shut up!" ordered the woman. Her husband stopped again in the search to +glare at the offender. + +"Come on, find that shirt for me," said Tom. He was talking with one eye on +the door, fearing the entrance of someone who would spoil his story. "The +agent got on the hand car and went a piece down the track. Pretty soon he +came back a-flying. 'The bridge is on fire!' he yelled. So we got on the +hand car, and went down to the bridge. There the passenger train stood, +with all the passengers and the train crew fighting the fire. They were +trying to put it out so the train could get across. Can't you find it?" +This last to the old man. + +"We don't sell many shirts," he answered. "Don't pay. Most of the people +makes 'em 'emselves. Have we got any shirts, Mary?" + +"I ain't never seen any," she replied. "I bin here twenty years." + +"Then sell me one of yours," Tom said. + +"Can't do that." + +"Why not?" + +"Well...." + +"If you won't sell me a shirt, I can't waste my time here talking." Tom +started impatiently towards the door. + +"Here, young man," said the woman, "you come back here with me. I reckon we +can find something for you." She picked up the lamp and led the way into +the back room. It was the combined living-room, bedroom, and dining-room of +the family. One door led to the yard behind the house, the other into a +lean-to shanty which served as a kitchen. Tom, by way of precaution, took +it in rapidly. + +"Tell us about the bridge," urged the boy. + +Tom continued on a rambling story of how he had helped to fight the fire, +how sparks had fallen on him, and how he had to tear his shirt off because +it was in flames. He gave a lurid description of the scene. The woman +clucked her tongue at intervals, the man exclaimed, "Don't say so!" +repeatedly, and the boy grunted his appreciation. Tom talked on and on, +reserving the end of his story. At last the woman held a shirt out to +him--it seemed to Tom to represent everything which stood between him and +his ultimate triumphal return to the Union lines. Without a shirt he could +no nothing; with it there was some chance of having his story believed. He +took it from her. + +"And finally the bridge went down," he continued. "The flames shot hundreds +of feet in the air, and the sparks fell down for five minutes afterwards. +The passenger train went back to Dalton, and I decided that I'd go to +Chattanooga on foot." + +"Don't say so!" + +Through the door to the kitchen Tom could see a kettle of water steaming on +the stove. "I'd like to wash some of this soot off," he said. + +The woman led him to the kitchen and gave him a tin basin. "When the door +was closed behind her, he stripped off the cape and coat, and fell to +scrubbing with the hot water and soap. Then he dried himself and pulled on +the shirt. It was several sizes too small for him, but it was better than +nothing at all. He could hear the two old people and the boy discussing the +fire. Probably, he thought, they would talk of little else until they heard +the real story. He thanked his stars that he had struck this one quiet spot +in the chaos of war to prepare himself for the adventures of the next few +days. It was providential. Now he was ready to meet the world. + +"I'd like to buy something to eat," he said as he stepped from the kitchen. + +"We ain't got much," answered the woman. + +"I'll pay you well," he replied. "I'll have to carry it with me. It's +getting dark and I must he getting on to Chattanooga." + +"Will some ham an' some bread do?" + +"Splendidly." + +She went into the kitchen. + +"How did you say that bridge caught on fire?" asked the old man. + +"Sparks from a locomotive, I suppose." + +"You don't say so--in all this rain!" + +Five minutes later he left the store and disappeared down the road which +led to Chattanooga. Then he climbed a fence and made his way across the +fields to a road which ran north. For a half-hour he plodded through the +mud. The strain of the long day was commencing to tell upon him, and each +step forward cost a mighty effort. The hunks of mud which accumulated on +his shoes felt like blocks of lead weighing him down. + +"About enough for this day," he mumbled to himself. Ahead of him he saw a +barn, standing a few yards from the road. Farther along, perhaps a hundred +yards, was the house with its lighted windows. He walked close to the rail +fence and approached the barn cautiously, listening for dogs; then he +crawled under the fence and squatted there, waiting. It was still light +enough for him to be seen from the house, and so he decided not to make the +rush for the barn until later. Several minutes passed, then he heard the +sound of boots splashing along the muddy road, and the mumble of voices. He +threw himself on the wet sod and lay there, hidden by the weeds and +darkness. The voices came near. + +Tom caught the words "...some damage anyhow." + +"Yes," replied the other man, "but if Andrews had only...." + +Tom did not wait any longer. "Shadrack!" he called. The two men stopped as +though they had been struck. "Over here by the fence. It's Tom Burns." + +"You, Tom! You scared the life out of me." + +"Who's with you?" + +"Wilson." + +"Hello, there. Crawl through. I'm waiting for it to get dark enough so that +I can make the barn." They shook hands. "I recognized your voice, Shadrack. +How are you, Wilson?" + +"All right enough. Have you seen any of the others!" + +"Not a soul. Wonder what happened to them?" + +"Scattered all over two miles by the locomotive," answered Shadrack. +"Probably some of them went on the other side of the tracks, making for +Mitchel's lines. We decided to go straight north and get across the +Tennessee just as fast as we can." + +"So did I," answered Tom. "Let's get over to the barn now. It's dark +enough." + +They hurried across the short open space. A farm wagon standing at the end +of the barn formed a step to the hay mow. By standing on the edge of the +wagon box, Tom could reach the floor. He pulled himself up and struggled +inside. Then he helped Shadrack and Wilson to come after him. + +"Whew!" breathed Shadrack. "Just like home." He chuckled. + +"It does me good to hear that laugh again," said Tom. He gave Shadrack a +dig in the ribs. "I don't suppose you're hungry, are you?" + +"Don't talk to me until I get through eating this hay." + +"Leave enough for us to sleep on," protested Wilson. + +"Smell this," said Tom. He opened the package of ham and bread. Shadrack +moaned. Tom took out his knife and divided the food; then they had supper. + +"We ought to be out of this before daybreak," said Tom, throwing himself +back on the hay. "I hope one of us wakes up. I feel as though I could sleep +forever." + +It was just dawn when Tom awoke. From his head to his feet, he was sore and +stiff. He sat up, rubbing his legs and stretching painfully. "Hey, Wilson! +Shadrack! Come on. It's getting light." He went to the door and looked out. +"If we drop straight down between the barn and the wagon, they can't see us +from the house." He slid over the edge, hung by his fingers and dropped to +the ground. The others followed, silently. A minute later they were on the +road again. + +"Do you know exactly where this road is taking us?" asked Wilson presently. + +"No," answered Tom, "but so long as it doesn't take us into Chattanooga, +I'm satisfied. We're going north and the river is about twenty miles ahead +of us." + +"And we're going about one mile an hour," replied Shadrack, slipping in the +mud. + +It was nearly noon when they heard the sound of horses galloping along the +road toward them. They jumped into the bushes and waited breathlessly. A +few seconds later, four horsemen, each of them carrying a rifle over his +arm, went riding past. + +"They're after us," said Wilson. + +Tom nodded. "What do you think we'd better do? I'm for staying to the +road." + +"If it wasn't so blamed muddy we could go across the fields," said +Shadrack, "but we'd get bogged again." + +"The road's our one chance," added Wilson. "Let's get to work." + +During the remainder of the afternoon they worked their way up along the +edge of the road, hiding in the bushes time after time. Several small +bodies of armed men passed them, and once they caught a scrap of +conversation about "Yank bridge burners." The hunt was on. + + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN + + +CAPTURED + +"Halt there!" + +The command came from behind. They whipped about and found themselves +facing a raised rifle. The man was a civilian, tall and lanky. He waved the +rifle from one to the other. + +"Where're you going?" he demanded. + +"Chattanooga," answered Tom. He said it coolly but it required an effort. + +"And yer going with me," replied the man. + +"That so?" asked Wilson. "I can think of better company if you're going to +keep that rifle waving around in the air. What's the matter with you?" + +"Put your hands up, an' keep 'em up," ordered the man. + +"Well, this way we won't take the wrong road again," said Tom. "I'd rather +walk at the end of a rifle than drown in this mud. The folks at home'll +laugh when they hear that we were held up just as soon as we got in the +South." + +"Hey? What's that?" demanded the man. + +"If you're after our money you won't get much," Tom replied. + +"I ain't after yer money," said the man. "I'm after you." + +"What sort of a Yank trick is this!" demanded Wilson. + +"Huh?" + +"I'm asking what sort of a Yank trick this is? Are you a Southerner or are +you a Yank?" + +"I'll unload this gun into your head if you call me a Yank," answered the +man. + +"Then what do you want?" + +"I'm arresting you in the name of the law for burning bridges. That's what +I want." + +"Burning what?" + +"Burning bridges!" shouted the man. "An' don't stand there the rest of the +day talking, either." + +"You seem to be running the talking match," said Tom. "What do you want us +to do? Want us to run so's you can have a good excuse for taking a shot at +us with that gun?" + +"And you might have the decency," answered Wilson, "to ask us who we are +before you go any further." + +"Well, then, who are you?" + +"We're from Kentucky and we've sneaked through the Union lines to enlist. +If you want to show us the way to Chattanooga we'll be much obliged to you. +But if you're going to the trouble of arresting us for burning.... What was +it we burned, Tom?" + +"Bridges," replied Tom, laughing. + +"Yes--for burning bridges, then you're wasting your time." + +"Maybe," answered the man. "But you're a-going with me all the same." + +"Then let's go," said Tom. "What's the use of standing here in the mud?" + +"I'll walk you back to Judson, an' you can tell yer story there. I ain't +believing you and I ain't disbelieving you. Turn around the way you was +a-going, an' keep yer hands out of yer pockets. I'll let a bullet go smack +into the first man that makes a move he shouldn't." + +Here was a man they couldn't talk down. He was probably a good shot, and +ready to keep his threat. If only they could get him at a disadvantage, and +pull their revolvers before he could fire. But such hopes were shattered a +few minutes later when two horsemen pulled up before them. They yelled when +they saw the three prisoners. + +"Good work, Alf!" said one of the men. "Three of 'em. Hello there, Yanks." + +"You're a Yank yourself," answered Tom hotly. + +"What's that?" + +"We're no more Yanks than you are. We were on our way to enlist in the army +at Chattanooga, and this is the way we get handled." + +"Don't believe 'em," said Alf. "Let's search 'em." + +"Why not wait until we get back to Judson? Easier to do it there." + +"All right," replied Alf. "You two ride along beside 'em. I'm done up +totin' this gun." + +The procession started again. Tom heard Wilson whisper to Shadrack: "Keep +to the story!" + +"No talking, there!" ordered one of the horsemen. "You can do all your +talking when you get to Judson." + +It was nearly six o'clock when they reached the little town of Judson. As +they went down the main street, men and boys tagged along beside them, +plying the guards with questions. The guards waved them aside, and +answered, "Don't know if it's them or not. Picked 'em up a piece down the +road." + +They stopped at a two-story frame building labeled "Hotel." One of the +guards went in, then motioned to the others to bring the prisoners. +Presently they found themselves in a big room, lighted by two lamps which +hung from the ceiling. The air was cloudy with smoke. A dozen men sat about +at the tables. Instantly there was commotion. Everyone commenced talking. + +"Got three of 'em!" shouted Alf. "Three of 'em, Judge." + +"He thinks he has," said Wilson. + +"You better keep your mouth shut," yelled Alf. + +"No use talkin' like that, Alf," said the man addressed as Judge. "Where +did you find them?" + +"Down the Ringgold road about five miles." + +A murmur arose from the men. + +"I can tell a Yank one mile off," boasted Alf. + +"I can tell a fool just as far away as I can see you," interrupted Wilson. + +"You...." + +"Now, Alf, keep quiet," said the Judge. "What were you men doing down the +Ringgold road?" + +"We were trying to get to Chattanooga," Tom replied, "We got started on the +wrong road this morning." + +Wilson broke in: "We tried to tell this wild man with his rifle that we +were going to enlist in the army. We've sneaked through the Union lines +from Kentucky, and came across the Tennessee yesterday. Then we got on the +wrong road. This fellow held us up and arrested us in the name of the law +for something-or-other. I don't know yet what we're arrested for." + +"For burning bridges," yelled Alf. "That's what I arrested you for." + +"All right," answered Wilson. "We're arrested for burning bridges. Whose +bridges? What bridges?" + +"We're getting a whole lot of encouragement to fight for the South," said +Tom. + +"He's crazier than any Yank I've ever seen in my life," remarked Shadrack, +nodding toward Alf. + +"Search 'em," demanded Alf. "That'll show you whether I'm right or not." + +"Now, Alf," said the Judge, "you go on out to the kitchen and get something +to eat. I'll examine these prisoners and I'll see that you get the credit +for capturing them if they are the Yanks. Go on, now." He pushed Alf gently +toward the door. Alf, still protesting, disappeared reluctantly into the +kitchen. The Judge shook his head, laughing. + +"That man acts a little crazy," said Tom. + +"Oh, he's hot-headed," said the Judge. "He gets one idea and he can't think +of anything else. Lock the door, Joe, so we won't be disturbed. And lock +the kitchen door, too, or Alf'll be back. Now let's search these men, and +see what we can find." + +Tom, Shadrack, and Wilson held their arms up, while the men dumped the +contents of their pockets on a table. Three revolvers, handkerchiefs, +Confederate money.... They found nothing of importance. + +"Now let's sit down here and talk this thing over," said the Judge. "Where +do you men say you come from!" + +"From Fleming County, Kentucky," replied Wilson. "We were getting tired of +the way the Yanks were running things and so we decided that we'd go and +fight for the South. We started out last week and made our way through the +lines. It was easy. We didn't see a single Union sentry." + +"Where did you come across the river?" demanded the Judge. + +"A few miles this side of Decatur," said Tom. + +One of the men beside the Judge interrupted: "There aren't any ferries +running up there." + +"I know there aren't," answered Tom. "We were afraid to tell anyone what we +were going to do until we got across the river, and so we had to build a +raft." + +"A raft!" exclaimed the Judge. + +"Yes, out of logs. I got washed overboard and I grabbed on to one of the +logs and held there. Look at my hands." He spread his hands out upon the +table, palms up. They had been torn and bruised by the logs he had yanked +from the tender. + +"Hm-m-m!" grunted the Judge, "must have whipped you around some in that +current!" + +"Once it whirled me right over, and I thought my wrists would break before +I could get another grip. They were trying to pull me aboard, but every +time they came to help me the raft tilted so that they had to crawl back." + +"And finally," said Wilson, "I got down on my stomach and held to his +wrists, while Shadrack sat on the other side and balanced us." + +"I came mighty near going overboard myself, then," added Shadrack. + +It was a good yarn, and they enlarged upon it. + +"And so you're going to enlist, eh?" asked the Judge finally. + +"Yes," answered Wilson. "We thought that Chattanooga would be a good place +for us. It's near Beauregard and we'll probably get into action pretty +soon." + +"It's not so near to Beauregard as you think," the Judge answered. "The +Yanks have taken a bite out of the railroad between there and Corinth." + +"They have?" asked Tom. "Is that what this man Alf was so excited about!" + +"No--not exactly," replied the Judge. "Some Yanks stole a train on the +Georgia State Railroad yesterday and burned a bridge." + +"Stole a train!" + +"That's what they did!" He gave them a wild and inaccurate account of what +Andrews' raiders had done. "A daring bit of work!" he ended. + +"Judge, we're famished," said Wilson. "Do you think we could get some +supper here?" + +"Joe, run out to the kitchen and see if Mrs. James can give these boys some +dinner. And tell Alf that I don't want to be disturbed." + +Dinner came and they ate ravenously. The Judge sat across the table from +them, talking with some of his friends. Obviously, the atmosphere had +changed, now that Alf was no longer there to incite trouble, but they +noticed that the Judge took good care to keep the revolvers out of their +reach. What did he think? Did he believe their story? Were they to be set +free again, or would they be taken to Chattanooga? + +"Now, boys," said the Judge as they pushed back from the table, "I want you +to stay here in this hotel for the night. Tomorrow you can go to +Chattanooga and enlist." It was a request which amounted to a command. + +"Well, sir," replied Wilson, "we'll be glad to stay here and have a good +night's rest. We need it." + +"Joe, you show them their rooms. I'll keep these for the present, if you +don't mind." He motioned towards the revolvers. "You can take the other +things." + +They nodded and said good-night. Joe handed them candles and they followed +him upstairs. "Here's one room," he said. "Two of you can sleep there." + +"You and Shadrack take it," said Tom to Wilson. "Good-night." They shook +hands. + +"Here's the other," said Joe, leading the way down the corridor. Tom +entered his room, said good-night to Joe, then closed the door and +commenced to investigate. It was a narrow room with one window looking out +upon the yard. He opened the window and looked down. In the dim light which +came from the room in which they had been sitting downstairs he could see a +wagon drawn up beside the house; there was a stack of farm tools against +the wagon, and the ground was strewn with objects he could not make out. +Just a mixture of things which had been thrown there for want of a better +place, he thought. The window of the next room was within a foot of his own +window. He leaned over and peered in, but he could see nothing. Then he put +his ear against the thin wall and listened. He could hear no sound but the +mumble of voices from the room downstairs; those he could hear distinctly. +He glanced about the floor, wondering if the sound was coming up through a +crack. A patch of tin caught his eye and he carried the candle over to +examine it. It was about a foot square, covering a stove-pipe hole, and was +held in place by four tacks. He pulled out his knife, loosened one tack and +bent the corner up. Then he put his ear down and listened. + +Alf had just returned to the room. "Why not take 'em to Chattanooga now?" +he was demanding. "Turn 'em over to the authorities." + +"Now, Alf," said the Judge, "I'm taking care of this. The men are upstairs +going to bed, and Joe is in the hall on guard. If they've come all the way +from Kentucky to fight for the South, we don't want to make them hate the +South so much that they'll be sorry they came. If they are Yanks we'll have +plenty of time to deal with them tomorrow. I'm going over to Chattanooga +with them in the morning and turn them over to the authorities. They can do +whatever they think best." + +"I'd take 'em over tonight," answered Alf. + +The conversation, carried along upon those lines, lasted for half an hour, +with the Judge dominating. One of the men said, finally, "Oh, for Lord's +sake, Alf, shut up!" For a minute it seemed that the two men would fight, +but the Judge quieted them. They called for drinks and cards, and commenced +playing. + +Tom left the hole, and continued his investigations. With Joe on guard in +the hall, there seemed to be no chance of warning Wilson and Shadrack. But +perhaps Joe might leave for a moment. Then he could run down the hall, +enter their room and spend the night, plotting out a way of escaping. He +decided to remain at the hole, listening for Joe's voice. But first he +barred the door with a chair. + +A half-hour passed. Then the door of the room downstairs opened with a +bang. The man who had entered announced: "They've captured two of the +engine stealers over at Julian's Gap! They confessed to it, but first they +told a cock-and-bull yarn about coming from Fleming County, Kentucky, to +join the Southern troops!" + +"What!" yelled the Judge. + +"There you are!" Alf shouted triumphantly. "Get 'em!" + +Tom jumped to his feet. There was no time to warn Wilson and Shadrack. He +could hear the boots pounding up the stairs. He sprang to the window and +threw it open. To jump on that mess of farm tools below him would probably +mean a broken leg. Leaning far out, he reached around and pushed up the +window of the next room, climbed in and closed his own window. Through the +wall he could hear them banging at his door. + + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN + + +ESCAPING + +Tom stood in the center of the dark room and listened to the tumult in the +corridor. They were pounding at the door of the room he had just deserted, +wrenching at the knob. + +"Open up there!" yelled Alf. "Open up!" + +Then came a crash as the door splintered. Alf's voice sounded in rage of +fury: "Gone!" + +Tom heard him bolt from the room and up the corridor, screaming: "Is he in +there with the other two? Have you got them?" + +Then the Judge's voice: "We've got these two. Where's the other?" + +"Gone!" answered Alf. "Escaped! I told you...." + +"Joe!" boomed the Judge. + +"Here I am, sir." + +"Have you been here all the time?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"The dirty rat let him escape...." + +"Shut up, Alf! Have you been here all the time, Joe?" + +"Yes, sir. I've been right here, sir. I didn't leave for a second." + +Alf yelled: "Look out the window! He jumped out the window! Run around +outside!" He came bounding down the hall again, entered the room, and threw +open the window. + +Tom could see his head in the candle light. He shifted back closer to the +wall, his heart pounding. "Look through them bushes," yelled Alf to the men +who had run into the yard. He let the window slam shut and went up the +hall. Then: "Where'd that other one go? Come on! Out with it! You know!" + +"Don't try any of that," said the Judge. "You're wasting your time. These +men don't know anything about it. Joe was here in the corridor." + +A few seconds later, Tom heard Alf's voice in the yard: "He's got away. Get +horses! If we only had a pack of dogs...." The noise in the corridor +ceased, and the men clumped down the stairs, leading Wilson and Shadrack +with them. The sound of voices in the yard grew indistinct and far away. + +Tom began quietly to investigate his new room. It was on the corner of the +house, and there were two windows--the one through which Tom had entered, +and another which looked out to the rear. He felt his way along the wall +and came to a wash-stand and a chair. He took the chair and wedged it +silently under the door-knob; then stole across to the rear window. It was +black dark outside. After a few minutes, he raised the window and listened. +Men were yelling in the distance. Apparently they were starting on a wild +night chase in the hopes of finding him on the road. + +"If you had more sense and less energy, Alf," muttered Tom, "you might get +me." The vision of Andrews' calmness during the raid flashed across his +mind. "Let them get excited," he said to himself; "you keep your wits." + +Then he heard the Judge's voice, booming in front of the hotel: "Tell them +to get that wagon around here in a hurry--we'll get these two engine +stealers started for Chattanooga, and hunt down the other one when it's +light." + +Tom left the window and snatched up the bedclothes, knotted the blankets +together and tied them around the leg of the bed. They would shorten his +drop to a few feet, so that the noise would not be heard above the general +commotion. Then he waited until he heard the wagon creak up before the +hotel and stop. The crowd followed the prisoners and their guards out to +watch the departure. + +Tom opened the window and tossed the blankets down; then he squirmed to the +sill, clutched the blankets with his hands and knees, and slid. He dropped +to the ground noiselessly, and stood for a moment scanning the yard for +obstacles. Thirty or forty yards ahead of him there was a row of bushes +which led into the woods south of the village. That would be the best way, +he decided. + +Then he changed his mind, for it was too obviously the best way--others +would think of it too, and look for him there. To the bushes, then, and +across the road to the north at the first opportunity. He took off his +shoes, tied them together through a button-hole so that he could not drop +them, and raced, crouching, across the open space. In the bushes, he +stopped and listened. The crowd was yelling and talking in front of the +hotel. Regardless of the stones and twigs which cut into his feet, he +pressed on through the bushes as rapidly as he dared, skirting the yard and +avoiding the woods which lay to his left. A dog yipped frantically, and Tom +stopped; then he decided that the dog was aimlessly sharing in the +excitement, and went forward again. + +Five minutes later, he sat on the ground and began scraping the +accumulation of mud and twigs from his socks. He pulled his shoes on, laced +and tied them; then he stood up and began to make his calculations. In +leaving the hotel he had gone west; now, with the village on his right, he +was facing northward, and the Tennessee River was directly ahead of him, +probably four or five miles. The sky was heavily clouded and there were no +stars by which he could set his course through the fields and woods which +lay between him and the river. There was a road going northward from the +hotel, but it would be inviting capture to follow it. The best he could do, +he decided, was to parallel the road, stealing to the right every half-hour +or so until he came to it, then stealing back again until he was under +cover. + +Presently he heard the wagon creaking, its wheels sinking through the mud +and grinding upon the solid ground beneath. Men were talking, but he could +not distinguish what they said. Poor Wilson and Shadrack! Prisoners, and +bound for Chattanooga under heavy guard! As he stood there listening, a +sense of utter helplessness wrenched at him. He could do nothing but fight +his own way back to the lines. Plans for going to their rescue tumbled over +each other in his mind, but all of them were hopelessly inadequate. + +When the wagon had passed, he walked to the Chattanooga road and crossed, +plunging into the bushes on the other side. Once again he took his +bearings, and hurried northward as quietly as he could. The branches +whipped in his face; sometimes he stumbled and fell. Once he walked into a +ditch half-filled with water, and sprawled on the slippery mud of the bank. +Then he came to a field where his feet sank in the gumbo over his +shoe-tops. His feet accumulated mud until he was obliged to stop and scrape +it off with his hands. But he labored forward, step after step. + +After an hour, he turned to the right and went towards the road to make +sure of his course. He reached it after more than a half-hour's walk. + +"Must have veered off to the left," he muttered; then he silently retraced +his steps for ten minutes, and turned northward again. + +Ahead of him he made out a farmhouse, so he went on a long detour to avoid +arousing the dogs. An hour later, he struck back toward the road again, and +found it after fifteen minutes' walking. + +"That's better," he said. He was puffing from the exertion of dragging +himself through the mud, so he sat near the road and rested. His ears +caught the sound of horses' hoofs. He worked his way to the roadside and +waited there to overhear a scrap of the conversation, for the riders were +talking. + +"...trying to tell Alf," were the first words he caught. + +"He's too crazy to listen," answered the other. "Can't find a man on a +night like this. He won't be fool enough to travel on the road, anyhow. +Better wait until daylight, I says to Alf, but he goes raving 'round like a +mad dog into the woods." + +"Well, we'll go to the river an' lay low there. Probably he'll come popping +out along 'bout noon." + +"Can't get across the river, anyhow, can he!" + +"Can't tell about a Yank. Who'd have thought they'd have stole an engine!" + +"Yeh, that's right...." + +So they were posting a guard along the river! That was valuable +information. And Alf was in the woods! + +At three o'clock in the morning Tom spread his cape upon the ground and +sank down to rest. The long struggle through the mud had become a +nightmare. He was too exhausted to care greatly if the man-hunt ended with +him a prisoner--if it would only end. To be out of this sea of jelly-like +mud would be enough. He lay there breathing heavily, his body aching and +throbbing. Minutes passed. Then he became vaguely aware of a faint roaring. +He listened for a moment, but it meant nothing to him. Presently the sound +came to his ears again, and he sat up. + +"The river!" he exclaimed at last. He forgot his exhaustion and sprang to +his feet. During the past two hours he had been straining to catch that +sound, and now he wanted to rush forward, recklessly. But he held himself +in check, remembering the conversation he had overheard, and approached +slowly, choosing each step of the way. Many times he paused to listen; the +noise of the rushing water seemed nearer, but always far away, just out of +his reach. It was maddening. Again and again he felt himself becoming +unnerved by the mud and the darkness and the idea of being hunted. + +The clouds were breaking, and a faint blue light seeped through the rifts. +It was as though the trees and bushes had grown magically from the +blackness, only to dissolve in blackness again as the rifts closed. For a +moment he paused, thinking that he had heard the sound of voices. Ten +minutes passed while he crouched in the mud, listening. There was another +brief instant of moonlight, this time brighter, and the shadows cast by the +trees seemed living, moving things. Tom could feel his heart thumping. + +"Don't get excited," he muttered to himself. It was encouraging and +comforting to hear the sound of his own voice: "Don't be a fool and lose +your wits--and spoil your chances." + +To his left was a forest, and directly ahead of him ran a long row of +bushes. He wanted to avoid the forest, so he hurried as fast as he could +across the field during the next interval of darkness. Then came another +wait of five minutes, and another dash forward. He gained the bushes and +discovered that he had come to a road. It bordered the river, he decided, +for now the rush of the water seemed directly before him. Just as he was +about to cross the road, he caught the beat of a horse's hoofs upon the +mud. A minute later the horse galloped past; Tom had a brief glimpse of the +rider, with his rifle held in the crook of his arm. + +Tom crossed the road and entered the thicket on the other side. Now the +river sounded below him, and he decided that he must be close to the edge +of an embankment. He crept forward slowly on his hands and knees through +the tangle of branches, feeling the ground before him. One hand went off +into space, and he groped about. Then he drew back and waited for another +moment of moonlight to show him his position. When it came, a few minutes +later, he saw the Tennessee, swollen and tossing, forty feet below him. He +was on the edge of a sheer embankment. + +"Can't do it here," he said, moving away. He crawled back to the road, +crossed it, and walked in the direction of Chattanooga. Presently he heard +someone yelling in the distance. He decided that it was the horseman +calling a farmer from his bed and warning him of the escaped Yankee. + +After a half-hour of slow traveling, he made his way towards the river +again. Now the dawn was coming, and the water rippled luminously as Tom +looked over the embankment. At this point, the descent to the water's edge +was more gradual--a straight drop of twelve feet, then a slope of gravel. +Once down there, he would have no choice but to swim the river, and +swimming in such a current was no easy matter. Would it be better, he asked +himself, to go farther down, to risk another half-hour in exploring! + +His thoughts were interrupted suddenly by voices on the road, twenty yards +behind him. A man said: "Reckon this is as good a spot as any. Out there I +can see as far up as Johnson's and a mile down." + +"Suit yourself," answered the other; "you know the country. I'll go down +an' get Phipps out if nobody else has. Then I'll be back along up this way +and tell the boys that you're here." + +"You say this Yank's a young man?" + +"'Bout twenty, I'd say." + +"How many of them were there that stole the train?" + +"The stories are all different. Some say five and some say fifty. Can't +tell. Well, I'll see you later." + +Tom swung over the edge of the embankment and dropped. He struck the loose +gravel and rolled down with the gravel sliding after him in a great wave. +It seemed incredible that the men should not hear him, but he trusted to +the noise of the river and ran down along the water's edge. Presently he +came to a large rock projecting from the embankment and dodged behind it. +There he sank down to get breath for his next move. + + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN + + +FIGHTING THE RIVER + +Tom began to explore the rock behind which he had taken refuge. It +projected several feet from the side of the embankment, and the wash of the +water in former days when the river was even higher than at present had +carried away the dirt on the down-stream side, forming a small pocket. In +the darkness, he ran his hands over the wall of it. There was room enough +for him there if he sat with his knees drawn up under his chin. He squeezed +himself in, and fell to considering what he had better do next. + +He decided that it would be hopeless to try swimming the river at this +point, after his night-long struggle through the mud. He was too tired, and +the current would simply toss him about. On the other hand, it was too +dangerously near dawn to attempt going farther down the river in hopes of +finding a place where the current was not so strong. If he spent the day +here would he be stronger when night came again after having gone +twenty-four hours without food? But with the next night clear before him, +there was at least a slight chance that he might find some means of getting +across. It wasn't quite clear in his mind what such means might be. +However, luck had been with him in escaping from the hotel. Poor Wilson and +Shadrack! They were in Chattanooga by this time. At any event, swimming was +out of the question for the present. Sleep was the most important thing. +The thoughts which had been hammering through his head were lost as he +dozed off. Then, a few minutes later, he awoke with a start. Every muscle +in his body was cramped and aching. He shook himself awake, felt around +until he came to a large flat stone. With this he scraped away several feet +of dirt at the side of the pocket. Then he climbed in again, braced himself +against the wall and kicked more dirt loose with his heels. Alternating +with the rock and his heels, he made the pocket long enough so that he +could stretch out comfortably. Then he scraped away the back wall, so that +there was no danger of being seen from above, and piled rocks along the +edge of the pocket, so that he could not easily be seen from the opposite +bank. That completed, he crawled in and scooped out dirt with his hands, to +make the bottom of the pocket conform to his body. Then, with a sigh which +expressed his weariness and comfort in a breath, he plunged into sleep. + +It was noon when he awoke. He raised himself on one elbow and glanced out +over the rocks at the river. His joints protested at every move, and his +muscles seemed bruised and hurt. He was thoroughly chilled, and yet his +head felt hot. + +"Hmmm, a little fever," he said. He stripped off some of his clothes and +began chafing his body; then he lay back and flexed his arms and legs in +the scant room of the pocket. After a half-hour of this he could feel the +blood flowing through him again. + +From the pocket, he could see across the river and down, where the +embankment sloped towards Chattanooga. He peered cautiously out, trying to +decide what he should do when night fell; but there seemed to be no choice +except to swim, for he could see nothing that gave him an atom of +encouragement. And the swift current of the river swept on as far as his +eyes could reach. + +He settled himself again on the floor of his hiding-place. Hunger was +gnawing at him, and which was more difficult to bear, he was thirsty. He +shut his eyes and lay quietly. After a few minutes he sat up, and fell to +rubbing his body again. Towards the middle of the afternoon he drifted off +into an uneasy, troubled sleep. People--friends from home, his companions +on the raid--approached him in his dreams, and promised to bring water; +then they went away, talking and laughing, and forgot to come back. Again +and again he asked them, and always they promised. He awakened himself by +crying, "Please! Please!" + +His body ached and throbbed; it was painful to move. His throat was +parched, and his tongue felt swollen. After he had pounded and rubbed his +muscles again, he sat up and looked out. The sun was setting, and the river +appeared to be a long shimmering ribbon of gold. He let his eyes wander +along it slowly. A large oblong thing, which rested near the water's edge +about three-quarters of a mile below him, caught his attention. At first it +seemed a mere trick of the shadows; then, as he watched it more closely, he +wondered if it could be a flatboat, drawn out of the water. He sat gazing +at it anxiously. The minutes passed and he forgot that he was hungry and +thirsty. + +"It's a flatboat or a raft," he said to himself. + +Finally the sun set, and Tom waited in an agony of suspense while the dusk +slowly turned into darkness. As the time for him to move approached, his +thirst became almost unbearable. The rush of the water, which was the only +noise he could hear, was tantalizing, maddening. His body felt as though it +were being consumed by a slow fire, which mounted steadily to his head, +sickening him and making him dizzy. He wanted to kick the stones away, +spring from his hiding-place and rush down to the water's edge, plunge his +face into the cool water and take great gulps of it.... Yet he sat quietly, +his hands clenched, forcing his mind to think of other things. Across the +river, the embankment became a soft blue-green blur, which turned darker +and darker. The ripples of the river caught the last rays of light, +flashing as though the surface were in flames. + +"I'll get out," he said to himself, "when I can't see the water." Then, +grimly: "And not before." He looked down the river again towards the oblong +object which had caught his attention, but it was lost in the night. + +"Must be careful when I go to drink," he muttered. "Just a sip at first. +Then another sip in a minute or so." + +He began to take the stones away from the opening of the pocket; then he +swung his feet out and sat on the edge. He glanced up: there was no moon, +and the sky was filled with heavy clouds. The rim of the embankment where +the guards had spent the day watching for him was scarcely distinguishable. +He got to his feet and leaned weakly against the rock. + +"Whew! Weak as a baby! Water'll make me feel better." The effort of rising +had made him dizzy, and his legs were like soft rubber beneath him. His +knees seemed to bend in all directions under his weight. "Better crawl," he +muttered; then he sank to his hands and knees. He found himself laughing as +he made his way to the water, and it struck him suddenly that he was +delirious. That realization had the effect of clearing his mind instantly. +"Careful about drinking," he cautioned himself. "Just one sip." + +Water! He put his face in it, took a mouthful and let some of it trickle +down his throat. He spat the rest out and pushed back from the stream. +Presently he was at the edge again, bathing his face and taking little +sips. Dizziness came over him like a great wave which caught him up and +spun him around. He lay flat and waited for it to pass; then he felt +better. + +After a few minutes he arose and commenced to walk back and forth over a +small strip of sand, limbering his muscles. Finally he stripped off the +damp clothes and stood naked in the shelter of the rock, pounding and +chafing his body until it glowed. Gradually he overcame the paralysis of +the cold. "Legs," he said, rubbing and beating them savagely, "when I tell +you to move, don't take five minutes about it. Now, move!" While the legs +did not respond with alacrity, they showed improvement. His nervous system, +which transmitted the orders of his mind to his body, seemed asleep--or +broken like the telegraph lines they had torn down along the route of the +raid. But slowly his nerves awoke, and strength replaced the numbness. + +Hunger seized him, and so, remembering the stories he had heard of Indians +tightening their belts during famines, he wound his underdrawers about his +stomach, pulling the legs taut, then tying them. "Poor substitute for a +meal," he mumbled, laughing. At least, he could laugh now, and that counted +for something. He dressed and went to the water for another drink; then he +began to pace slowly along the strip of sand, not daring to sit down and +risk becoming numbed again. + +"Better wait here for a few hours," he said. "They'll probably get sick of +watching and seeing nothing but black night. Later I'll go down and see +what that thing is. If it's a flatboat or a raft, I'll try to get across on +that. If it isn't, I'll climb up the bank and get a log. Then I'll try +swimming across holding to it. That'll keep me up if I get a cramp. Lord, +I'm hungry! Guess I'd better not think about it. I'm talking to myself as +though I'd reached my second childhood. Oh, well...." He paused and looked +up toward the embankment. "You thought you'd get me, didn't you, Alf? Not +this Yankee!" + +So the next two hours passed, while Tom walked back and forth, keeping the +blood stirring in his veins, talking to himself. At last he decided that +the time had come for him to go down the river. He took up a small stick to +help him feel the way along the shore, pulled his sodden felt hat down +securely on his head, and started, picking his way carefully and silently +among the stones. After a few minutes he began to zig-zag along the bank so +that he could not possibly miss that oblong thing for which he was +searching. He was wondering if he had passed it, or if, after all, it had +just been a trick of the shadows, when his stick sounded hollowly against a +wooden object. He leaned forward and felt of it. It was a flatboat! + +In the darkness he walked about it, running his hands along the edge. It +measured about ten feet by fourteen feet, he decided. Then he climbed in +and felt of the bottom. At one corner there was a hole. The boat had +probably been washed loose from its mooring during some previous flood +time, and had come ashore here, striking the rocks. Certainly it had not +been in the water for a long time, for the bottom boards were warped, with +gaping seams between them. + +"But it's a boat," said Tom, as he got out. He went to the water; the end +of the flatboat was two yards from the river. Then he went back, clutched +the end and tried to move it. Exerting all his strength, the boat barely +stirred. + +"Whew! Too heavy for me." He tried again, but with no better success. "Have +to get a lever," he panted. + +He spent the next ten minutes feeling about the beach, hoping that he would +come upon something which he could use to pry the boat forward. But there +was nothing; the beach was bare of everything except rocks and sand. For a +moment he stood there, too keenly disappointed to know what he should do +next. Then he turned toward the embankment. + +Halfway up, a stone upon which he was standing became dislodged and tumbled +to the bottom, carrying a rush of gravel with it. Tom, clinging to an +exposed root, waited breathlessly, expecting an outcry from some guard who +had heard the noise. He secured another footing, reached higher on the +root, and dragged himself up another foot. Presently his head came over the +edge; then he found a little tree which would bear his weight, swung a leg +over and squirmed to the top. Again he waited, listening and getting his +breath. + +He crawled through the bushes on his hands and knees, pressing down the +branches and selecting each inch of the way. Presently he came to the road. +Another wait to catch the sound of a guard. Then forward again. + +"There!" he exclaimed, as his hand touched a rail fence. He arose and +pressed down on the top rail, testing it for strength. It bent too easily +under his weight, so he tried the one underneath. That was stronger. +Silently he disengaged the ends of the top rail and laid it on the ground; +then he took up the rail he wanted, held it above his head and swung it +over the bushes until it pointed towards the river. He made his way to the +center of it, balanced it carefully over one shoulder and started creeping +for the river again. + +The barking of a dog stopped him just as he crossed the road. The +suddenness of the barking made it seem as though the dog were at his heels, +but he realized, as he collected himself, that the animal was a +considerable distance away. Probably it was at the farm where the horseman +had recruited a guard the night before, Tom decided. He hurried through the +bushes and narrowly escaped tumbling over the edge of the embankment. He +went down again, pulling the rail after him and letting it slip to the +bottom. + +"Now I'll move you," he said to the flatboat. First he rolled stones away, +clearing the path to the water; next he went behind the boat, shoved the +rail under and heaved upward. The rail curved under the strain, then the +boat slid forward, grinding on the sand. One foot nearer the water. Tom +took off his coat, threw it aboard, and worked the boat forward another +foot. At last the forward end was in the river, with the water lapping +against it. He stopped for breath. + +Once again he heard the barking of a dog, this time nearer. Then again, +still nearer. Presently he heard a man shouting, and another man answer +him. They were on the road above him, and the dog was yipping with +excitement. + +Tom drew back to the embankment, every nerve throbbing. So they were +chasing him with dogs! + +Then a man's voice: "Don't see nothing here. That good-for-nothing +cur--bringing us out in the middle of the night to chase squirrels. Come +here, Stub!" Tom heard the yelp of the dog as the man kicked it. "Teach ye +to git us up in the middle of the night fer nothing." Again the dog yelped. + +"Ain't this about where Saunders' old boat is?" asked the other man. + +"Yeh, I reckon so. There you can see it--right down there." + +"Ain't it nearer the water? Say, you don't s'pose...?" + +"Naw, that's because the water's high--mighty near as high as it was three +years ago. Get out of here, you mangy cur!" Another yelp. "He couldn't get +across in that sieve. Couldn't get it into the water, for one thing. Come +on, let's go back. I tell ye that Yank ain't...." The rest of his words +were lost as they left the embankment and went back to the road. + +Tom, breathing more easily, waited for five minutes, then picked up his +rail and shoved it under the boat. "If you had as much sense as your dog, +mister, you'd be all right." That was his parting shot at the two men as he +gave another heave at the rail. Water was pouring into the boat, so he +stuffed his coat into the hole. That would keep the boat from filling so +rapidly, at least. + +Two more heaves at the rail and the current caught the forward end, +swinging it around slightly. Another heave; and he jumped aboard, dragging +the rail after him. He stood up and poled the boat away from the shore. The +current turned it end for end; he changed his rail to the other side, +reached down for the bottom and gave another shove, which sent him out into +the full flow of the Tennessee River. + +The flatboat had shipped about two inches of water, and more was entering +just as fast as it could flow through the cracks. "But it's a boat," Tom +repeated. "And she'll be a boat until she sinks--and then I'm a swimmer." + +He tried to reach the bottom of the river with his rail, but the water +washed it aside; then he tried to steer by holding the rail against the +upstream side, but the old boat was in no mood to answer a helm. She veered +about in the current, twisting, turning, going sideways, wallowing in the +uneven water. Tom, squatting in the center, watched its aimless, crazy +actions, wondering what he could do to get it edging towards the opposite +shore. The water was mounting higher; the boat was half-filled now, and the +waves were splashing over. But still she careened, as though enjoying her +new freedom, down the Tennessee. + +Tom glanced up, and saw, to his amazement, the lights of Chattanooga +glowing like dim yellow stars in the darkness. Chattanooga! And he was +passing it in the darkness! He sat speechless watching the city as the +current carried him along. + +Below Chattanooga there was a sharp bend in the river where it turned to +the northward. He remembered that from studying the map. Would he be washed +up on the same side of the river from which he had just escaped? Would it +be better to jump overboard and swim, letting the boat drift wherever it +pleased her? But there was no time for considering what might happen, and +what he might do: he was already at the bend. The flat-boat, caught in the +eddy, was whirling about dizzily. Tom snatched up the rail and reached for +the bottom, poling her off towards midstream whenever he could get the rail +down. Gradually the boat drifted into the current, and started north. It +had sunk far down in the water, and the waves slopped over the sides. + +"If you'll last to the next turn!" exclaimed Tom prayerfully. He was +sitting waist-deep in water, and his teeth were chattering. He was becoming +numb again, but there was no opportunity for exercise now. The old flatboat +seemed ready to slide from under him at any minute. + +The next bend of the river, where it turned southward again, was only a few +miles from where Tom had crossed in the ferryboat on his way to Chattanooga +and Marietta. From that point he knew his way north. But the first +necessity was food. Hunger had become a sharp pain which tore at his +stomach. He reached inside his shirt, and wound the knot of under-drawers +until it hurt. That pain was preferable to the other. + +The moon, half-hidden behind a bank of clouds, was beginning to flood the +world with its light, showing the course of the river. Ahead of him, Tom +could see the bend, where the stream seemed to end in the black shore. He +reached along the bottom of the boat until he touched his coat, pulled it +out of the hole; then he stripped off his clothes and wrapped them together +in his cape. With this soggy bundle tied around his neck he waited, +shivering, as the boat swung out of the main current toward the north bank. +Then he jumped. + +It seemed hours before he could get his legs and arms working; then, as he +started to swim, he felt a wrenching pain in his stomach. His arms worked +spasmodically, beating against the water, dragging him slowly ahead. An +eddy caught him and rolled him over. He righted himself and put his legs +down; his toes touched the bottom for an instant, then lost it. The bundle +of clothes seemed to press him down, deeper and deeper into the water. Then +he felt his feet squarely on the bottom, and he struggled out of the water. +At last, he was across the Tennessee. + + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN + + +NORTH OF THE TENNESSEE + +Dawn found Tom near the house of the ferryman who had taken him across on +his trip South. Rather than risk another walk through fields and woods, he +had chosen to follow the bank of the river until he came to a road. That +course, even though it was longer, made less demand upon his strength, for +the walking was easier. + +He skirted the ferryman's house and took to the road. For a little while at +least he would be safe from interference; then, when light came, he would +forage for food. Food.... It had been thirty-six hours since he had +eaten--so long ago that the pains in his stomach had stopped. He was weak +and dizzy, and the importance of ever reaching the Union lines shrunk as he +thought of finding something to eat--anything. Security? What good was +security if it meant starvation? "Oh, shut up, and keep your legs moving," +he said to himself wrathfully, shaking such thoughts from his head. He took +another twist at the improvised hunger belt. It really did help, he +decided. + +At his left he saw Murdock's house, and the words of the negro boy came +back to him: "He keeps dawgs." Dogs for tracking down escaping slaves or +Yankees. Now, for the first time, it seemed to Tom that the rain which had +fallen during the past week was befriending him. The ground was too wet to +hold a scent. If Murdock's "dawgs" were brought out to chase him, they +would become hopelessly muddled and lost. Nevertheless, his step quickened. +After he had walked another mile, the faster pace began to tell upon him +and he lagged. + +"Have to rest, I guess," he said, and he entered the woods. A chill seized +him as soon as he sat down. He arose, and remarked: "If I sit down, I'm +finished, and I can't walk much farther. I wonder...." + +He had been fighting the idea of going to the Beecham's, or, rather, to +Marjorie. She was the one person he knew south of the lines who would help +him, yet he had been trying to keep the thought of going to her out of his +mind. It might involve her in danger. Three miles above the Beecham's there +was another farm. He had planned to go there, to tell them that he had just +come through the Union lines to enlist with the South, and ask for food. +But now he realized that he could not walk four miles--one mile to the +Beecham's, then three more to the farm. If his legs would carry him for one +mile, they would be doing well. It was difficult even to stand, and the +woods and sky lurched and whirled about him. + +"I'll go to Marjorie," he muttered. "Get word to her some way. She'll +help." He started for the road, then stopped. If an alarm were raised, and +Murdock's dogs were brought out, they might track him along the road. +Somewhere behind the Beecham's house, running through the woods, there was +a small stream. It came within three hundred yards of the house; then there +was a long row of thick bushes which led up to the garden. The negroes' +shanties were far to the other side. He had taken all of them in at a +glance when he rode away. It seemed that years had passed since that day. + +He stumbled through the woods until he came to the stream; then he splashed +along through the water. That would kill the scent. He had read of slaves +wading through streams to throw dogs off. He was just like an escaping +slave now, he thought. It was curious that he should know all the dread and +terror that they felt, that he should be experiencing the same sort of +man-hunt. He felt sick at the thought of all the brutality men were showing +to each other--the killing, the destruction of war, the gigantic effort to +bring ruin down upon each other. Such ideas went streaking through his mind +as he stumbled along the rough bed of the stream. It was incredible, +unbelievable. The railroad raid seemed like some sick man's dream, crazy, +tortured, and awful. + +He knelt down in the water and splashed it over his face, took a drink. His +head became clear again. He pulled himself to his feet. + +Through the trees he could see the Beecham's house, stark white in the +early morning light. It was after seven o'clock, he thought, and the family +would soon be at breakfast. A small stream of smoke drifted up from the +kitchen chimney, wavering and drooping in the still air. + +Tom left the stream and entered the bushes. When he was within fifty yards +of the house, he dropped to the ground. An instant later, he felt himself +going to sleep. It was like whirling through a great dark space to +oblivion. + +He awoke two hours later, and felt the warm sun beating down upon him. He +raised his head and glanced about, recollecting how he had come here. Then +he squirmed through the branches and looked toward the house. There, in the +garden, stood Marjorie, snipping at a rose bush with a pair of scissors. + +"Marjorie!" he called hoarsely. She glanced at the house, as though she +thought that someone there had called her. "Marjorie!" She turned in his +direction. "It's Tom Burns--over here. Down at the end of this row--in the +bushes." Her scissors dropped to the ground and her hands went to her +throat in a gesture of alarm. "Come here," he said. "But slowly--so that +they won't know." + +She recovered the scissors hurriedly and came toward him. "Where are you?" +she gasped. + +"Here--hiding. Stop at that last rose bush and pretend to be working." + +"Oh, Tom--you escaped! You got away!" + +"Yes, but I'm famished. Crossed the Tennessee last night--nothing to eat +since night before last. Can you...?" + +"Yes, I'll get you something," she gasped. "I'm so glad you escaped. I've +been worried.... Wait there." + +She walked toward the house and entered. Presently she came out of the +kitchen door and sauntered into the garden again. + +"I told Mattie, the cook," she said as she came near him and went to +trimming the rose bush again. "She understands. Her little boy is going to +bring you something to eat. Here he comes." + +He looked out and saw the little colored boy, Jasper, running to the +stable. He entered and appeared a second later out of the rear door; then +he made a wide detour to avoid being seen from the house, and disappeared +in the woods. + +"As soon as he comes, go back until you're out of sight of the house. I'll +meet you there. Watch for me." + +"Yes--I understand." + +She turned away, walked idly through the garden, and entered the kitchen +again. Presently Tom heard the crackle of branches, and Jasper, his eyes +and mouth wide open, came through the bushes. + +"Here, Jasper," said Tom. "Come on--I won't hurt you." The boy had stopped, +suddenly terror-stricken. "Come on, Jasper." He approached cautiously, step +by step, holding a package before him. He dropped it when Tom put his hand +out, and hurried back a few feet. "Now, Jasper, you go right back to your +mammy again," said Tom. "Don't say a word to anyone." + +Jasper nodded vigorously, then fled. + +In the package Tom found bread and chicken. At first he revolted at the +odor of food, then his appetite awoke and he wanted to wolf it down. But he +ate slowly, making his way toward the wood as Marjorie had said. He stopped +beside the stream, where he could watch for her. + +Soon he caught a glimpse of her white dress, and he called. She hurried +toward him. + +"I read all about it in the Atlanta paper," she said. "You were in the +railroad raid, weren't you?" + +"Yes." + +"I knew.... Oh, you're all wet. What happened to you? Oh, Tom!" + +"Wet?" he said. "I've been wet for so long I've forgotten about it. You sit +down there where you can see if anyone is coming." He pointed to a log. +"I'll lie here and rest." He wrapped his cape about him, and stretched out +on the ground. "I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you +into trouble, but I was starved into it. Will you forgive me?" + +[Illustration: "I didn't want to come here, Marjorie, for fear I'd get you +into trouble."] + +"Oh, I'm glad you came. I've been worrying ever since you left. I didn't +know what you were going to do, and I was afraid you'd be caught. Then the +news of the raid and the stolen engine came. I knew that you were one of +the men. Uncle didn't guess it until yesterday when he read about it in the +Atlanta paper. Tell me about it--please!" + +"What did your uncle say? How did he guess that I was one of them?" + +"The paper said that some of the men were captured, and that they told the +story about coming from Kentucky. When Uncle read that, he ... he...." + +"What did he do?" + +"He swore terribly," answered Marjorie. "Aunty sent me from the room. But +tell me about it. Oh, what's the matter, Tom?" + +He had risen on his elbows, then fallen back on the ground. "Nothing," he +said. "I'm dizzy, that's all. Every once in a while it strikes me. Wait a +second, and I'll be all right." + +She knelt beside him and touched his forehead. "You're feverish," she said. +"Oh, Tom ... I ... can't I do anything?" + +"Feverish!" exclaimed Tom. "I'm so cold that I can't move. I'm frozen!" His +teeth were chattering, and he commenced to shiver. "I'll be all right in a +minute. Guess I'd better get up." He arose, then sat down abruptly on the +log, for his legs felt too weak to support him. "I'm sorry, Marjorie," he +said. "I'm pretty tired." + +She watched him, too alarmed to speak. She exclaimed: "But you are +feverish, Tom. Oh, I didn't know. I might have seen that you were sick...." + +The rest of her words were lost in the great buzzing noise which filled his +head. Everything turned black before him--black filled with a thousand +shooting colors; then the world gave a vicious lurch which toppled him +over. He awoke, flat on the ground, with Marjorie leaning above him, crying +and dabbing his forehead with a wet handkerchief. + +"Fainted!" he mumbled disgustedly. "Fool to faint!" He closed his eyes +again to rid himself of dizziness. "Big baby! Sorry, Marjorie." + +"You must come to the house, Tom," cried Marjorie. "It doesn't make any +difference about Uncle. I'll tell him that he must take you in. He must!... +he must!" + +"No--be all right in a minute. Terribly hot! Take this cape off." He tried +to get out of the cape, but she stopped him. "It's too hot," he protested, +but he let her draw the cape up more tightly about him. + +"Won't you let me take you to the house?" she begged. + +"No--have to get back to the lines." + +"But you can't, Tom. You're sick. It's the fever that makes you hot. Oh, +Tom...." + +"Got to get back to the lines," he interrupted. "Start in a few minutes. I +guess ... sleep a little first. Mustn't be captured. You wake me up if +anyone comes. Murdock's dogs...." + +It was night when his brain cleared again. He was wrapped in blankets, +lying comfortably on the ground. Overhead the branches of the trees, black +against the sky, waved solemnly. + +"You 'wake, massah?" + +Tom started at the voice. An old negro was sitting beside him. + +"Yes--what...?" + +"You jes' rest quiet," said the negro. "Ev'thing's all right. Miss +Marjorie, she comin' soon." + +Tom closed his eyes and began to unravel the tangle of the day's events. He +could remember voices which had circled around him, babbling endlessly; two +negroes who had taken off his wet clothes, put him in dry things and +wrapped him in blankets; and Matty, the cook, who had soothed him and given +him hot drinks. Then Marjorie had come. Twice he had awakened and found her +sitting there. The afternoon was all confusion, like some half-forgotten +thing of his imagination. But he was comfortable now, and he didn't care. + +He drifted off into an untroubled sleep, and awoke again with the sound of +voices in his ears. In the faint light of the moon, he saw two negroes +squatting near him. They were talking in whispers. One of them was saying: + +"Ol' Murdock's dawgs is a-cryin' and a-moanin'--" + +And the other answered: "Oh, Lor'!" + +"An' ol' mammy, she's a-looking at the tea grounds in a cup." + +"What she say?" + +"She don' say nothing." He paused to give his words effect. "She got a +rabbit foot." + +"Oh, Lor'!" The negro glanced fearfully about them. "Oh, Lor'!" he +repeated. "Oh, Lor'! Oh, Lor'!" It had become a wail of terror now, a wail +so piteous and so moving that Tom felt as though an icy cold hand had +reached out for him, taking away all his strength. The stark trees of the +lonely, shadow-infested woods seemed to press in upon them like an army of +fantastic giants. The fear which was torturing the negroes came over him in +a spasm, then passed away. + +"What's the trouble there?" he demanded sharply. + +The negroes gasped audibly. "Nothin'," answered one of them presently. It +was the negro who had been talking about Murdock's dogs and the rabbit's +foot. + +"What are you getting scared about?" + +"Nothin'," came the muttered response. + +"Then don't lose your heads," replied Tom. He sat upright and sagged +forward weakly. The strength seemed to flow suddenly from his body; his +legs and arms felt flabby and useless. "Whew!" he exclaimed. "I'll have to +do better than this. Weak as a baby!" Bracing himself on one arm, he flexed +the other slowly. The negroes watched him. + +"Oh, Lor'!" wailed the older negro again. + +"Shut up!" said Tom. + +"O Lor'--der's horses on de road! Now der a-coming!" + +Tom listened and heard a faint clatter of hoofs, growing louder and louder. +It stopped for a moment as the horsemen pulled up to round the bend into +the Beecham's farm. Then a man yelled, "Hey, Beecham! Beecham! Hey, +Beecham! Come down for a minute. This is Kirby talking. We're on a Yank +hunt. Want you to help." There came a muffled response from the house, the +yelling ceased and the night was quiet again. + +Tom found himself on his feet, without knowing how he managed to get up. He +was clinging to the trunk of a tree for support. "Here, you," he said to +the negroes. "They're after me. Take these blankets and get back to your +huts. If they catch me they won't catch me here." Whimpering, the negroes +scooped up the blankets. + +"Wait!" ordered Tom. "How about these clothes? Where're mine? If I'm caught +in these things...." The negroes collected his clothes, which had been +spread out to dry, and he changed rapidly. "Take everything and get back as +quickly as you can. Come just as soon as it's daylight to be sure you +haven't left anything. Tell Miss Marjorie that I've gone...." + +They jumped at the crackling of some underbrush near them. It was Marjorie. + + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN + + +THE LAST DASH + +"Here we are, Marjorie." He went forward to meet her. "Thanks a thousand +times for all you've done. You must go back now. I'm going on--so that they +won't catch me here." + +"No, Tom, you can't go this way," she answered, crying. "I won't let you. +Here!--Joe and Sam--put those things down and stay here. Oh, Tom, they'll +surely catch you if you try it." She clutched his arm as though to hold him +from running into the woods. + +"But, Marjorie, there's nothing we can do," he protested. "Please go back. +Don't you see what it'll mean if I'm found near here? If I had my horse, +the one I sent back from the ferry that day...." + +"It's in the far pasture--three miles away," she answered. "Kirby'll have +the whole country looking for you by the time we could get it. You'll have +to stay here, Tom. I'll hide you in the house--Matty'll hide you over the +kitchen. Let me do that for you--let me take the risk. Please!" + +"No! If they get me, they'll get me in the open. No, Marjorie. Go on back." + +"Then take a horse from the stable. Take my horse." + +"Yours?" + +"Yes. Uncle gave him to me, and I give him to you. You must...." + +"But they'll know...." + +"No, they won't...." + +"But tomorrow when they find...." + +She was facing him squarely, holding to his arms and shaking him. "Matty's +husband is the stableman. He knows about you. He'll say that he turned the +horse into the pasture. You must.... Joe! Sam! Go up to the stable and +saddle my horse and bring him here. Run!" + +"Yassum," replied the negroes in a breath. They disappeared into the +darkness. Tom's protest was smothered under Marjorie's hand. The wave of +excitement which had kept him on his feet passed, and it was as though he +had been caught in a powerful undertow which swept his legs from under him. +He sank down on the fallen log where they had been sitting together earlier +in the day. + +"Can you ride? Are you strong enough?" she asked anxiously. + +"Yes--if I once get my legs wrapped around him I can stick there. Marjorie, +if you're caught at this, all the raid will seem like an immense failure." + +"But I won't be caught, and I will always be proud that you came to me when +you needed me, when I could help you." + +"You're worth a dozen soldiers!" he exclaimed. + +There was a moment of silence. "Poor Tom!" she said softly. "It's all so +terrible, isn't it? And so wonderful! You men have left the whole South +gasping at your bravery. Even Uncle--and he hates everything from the +North--says it's the most daring thing he's ever heard of." + +"But you--you're from the North." + +"Yes," she answered. "We don't talk about the war. He just takes it for +granted that I believe everything he believes. I've been here two years +now. When mother and father were alive I lived in Albany. I'm going back +just as soon as I can. Listen!" + +There were more horses on the road. + +"They're coming to join Kirby," she said. "I heard him say that more men +were coming. When Uncle went down to let them in, I went to the head of the +stairs to hear what they were saying. Uncle took them into the dining-room +to give them something to eat and drink; then I dressed and stole down." + +"But how did they know that I was in this part of the country?" + +"There was something about a boat. It was found ashore a few miles down the +river, and there was a report from Chattanooga that the boat had been +taken. I didn't wait to hear it all. Oh, I wish Joe and Sam would hurry! +You must get started before they leave. Men are going out in all +directions, and Kirby is taking the road to Wartrace. If you're ahead of +him they'll never catch you. Star can run like the wind." + +"Star?" + +"My horse," she explained. "He's a beautiful horse.... Oh, I wish they'd +hurry." There was anguish in her voice. + +"They'll come just as fast as they can," replied Tom calmly. "Why don't you +go back to the house now!" + +"I can't until you're on the road." + +"Why not? Please go back now." + +"I-I'll have to wait until the men have gone. I wouldn't dare to go back +until then. Then, too...." She faltered and stopped. + +"What?" + +"You can't leave by the main road. I'm going to show you the way through +the woods. Then there's a fence to jump. I'm going to take Star over it." + +It was useless to protest, for she became calm again and determined. "I +want to do it," she said. "You've come to me for help, and it's my right to +help you all I can. And remember, I'll always be proud of it. Oh, so +proud!" She slipped her hand into his and they sat there quietly, straining +to catch the first sounds of the negroes returning. + +"There they are--General Marjorie," he said presently. + +She jumped up and ran to the horse. Tom could see her pressing her cheek to +the horse's nose, stroking its head and neck. "Go back now," she said to +the negroes. "Take everything with you. If Matty is up, tell her that I'll +be home in a few minutes." + +"Yas, Miss Marjorie." Again they took up the blankets and clothes, and the +night swallowed them. + +"Mount, Tom," ordered Marjorie. "No, don't argue! Hurry! You'll need all +your strength." + +Laboriously, he did as he was told to do. With Marjorie leading Star, they +made their way through the woods. Once she stopped and listened. "They +haven't started yet," she said. + +A few minutes later she stopped again. "There's the fence," she said. "Let +me mount now. You hold Star while I fix the stirrups." He slid to the +ground and stood there, while she measured the straps with her arms and +fixed the buckles. He could see her plainly now in the soft moonlight which +was flooding the world. Ahead of them was the black wall of the rail fence. + +"Now," she said, "if you'll help me mount." He held his hands braced +against his knees so that they formed a step for her. She was up, adjusting +herself to the saddle, stroking Star's neck, talking to him softly. "You +climb the fence and wait on the other side," she ordered. Once again he did +as he was told to do. + +She brought Star to the fence at an easy trot, let him smell it and see it; +then she tossed her handkerchief to Tom. "Put it on the top rail as a +marker," she said, as she turned back for the run. + +Tom spread the handkerchief on the fence--a tiny spot of white to guide +Star over. Then he watched her, as she retreated into the black background +of the woods, his heart thumping so that it hurt. She had thrown aside her +cape when she mounted, and now she seemed so small and immature, sitting +there on Star's great back. + +Star's hoofs pounded upon the soft turf, then his body emerged from the +shadows. Tom could see Marjorie crouching, riding to his gait, holding him +down for the jump. At the fence there was an instant's pause; Star's +forequarters rose slowly, deliberately; then, as easily as though he were a +great projectile reaching the topmost limit of its flight, Star floated +over the fence. He had cleared it by a foot. + +Marjorie wheeled about, dismounted, and readjusted the stirrups. "There!" +she said. "Now--now, go." + +"I can never thank you," he began. + +"Don't--please don't even try," she interrupted. "Good luck once again. +Good-by, Star dear." She pressed her cheek against the horse's head. +"Good-by, Tom. Remember me always." + +He mounted and for a moment they delayed the parting. He reached down and +took her hand. "Always, little soldier, always," he said. "Good-by." + +"Listen!" The sounds of shouting came from the Beecham's. "They're +starting. Go straight ahead until you come to the road, then to your left." + +He gave Star the reins, and above the beat of hoofs heard her call: "Good +luck, Tom!" He glanced back and saw her standing there, her arms raised +above her head. Then he realized that he had her handkerchief, which he had +taken from the fence, clutched in his hand, so he waved it as a last signal +of parting before he crammed it in his pocket. + +They came to the road suddenly; Star planted his feet and slid on the soft +earth. Then, when they turned northward, Tom could feel all the strength of +the fine, valiant animal he was riding. It was a strength which seemed to +flow into the road, which carried him forward in long, swinging leaps. + +"Go it, Star!" he said. "Go it, boy!" In his excitement he forgot that he +had ever had the fever, that his legs had been too weak to carry him. He +leaned forward, riding easily, peering ahead at the road. + +Star was willing, but no horse could stand such a pace forever, so he +reined in to a trot. After he had passed the first farmhouse, he brought +the horse to a walk. "They'll stop there, old fellow," he confided. "You've +shown them what a pair of hind hoofs look like." + +He remembered the road vaguely from his trip southward, but the houses and +the little towns looked different now in the moonlight. Through each +settlement he walked Star quietly, but always ready to throw himself +forward, dig his heels into the horse's flanks and race away. An hour +passed ... two hours ... three hours. They pressed northward steadily, +sometimes at a walk but usually at a comfortable, steady trot, and always +saving energy for that last dash if the need arose. + +The first light of dawn found him a mile south of Manchester. "Guess we'd +better begin to step lively, Star," he said, reaching forward and stroking +the horse's neck. Star snorted and shook his head. They trotted around a +bend in the road. Ahead of them Tom distinguished a man who had dismounted +and was standing beside his horse. + +"Get ready, boy," he whispered, reining in slightly. + +"Hey! You!" called the man. "Where're _you_ going?" + +Tom held his reins in his left hand, and took off his hat with his right +hand. + +"None of your business!" he replied. Then with his hat he slapped the man's +horse on the head. He whooped, and dug his heels into Star's flanks. As +they shot forward, he saw the other horse rear up, pawing the air. The +man--he had the reins wrapped about his arm--was yanked from his feet and +sent sprawling. Tom, flat against Star's neck, with the black mane whipping +his face, sped down the road--past the spot where they had met Andrews that +first day of the raid, past the Widow Fry's and down the one street of +Manchester at a full gallop. + +"Keep it up, Star!" he urged. "Go it, Star! We're almost there, old boy. Go +it, Star!" But there was little need of urging; Star's forelegs were +reaching out mechanically for the road, clipping it off in huge sections. +Each leap seemed like a convulsion. His neck was outstretched and his head +was thrust forward as though he were devouring the road. + +Tom did not look back, but he cast out short, broken sentences to console +his pursuer. "Huh! Race me--on that hunk o'--dog meat. Get a--_horse_! If +you want to--race me--get a--_horse_. A horse that can--_run_! We'll +race--anything that--wears four legs. Won't we--Star? Huh!" + +Presently he eased Star's gait, for the horse was beginning to breath too +heavily. "Guess they won't bother about us," he remarked. "Wonder how much +ground we covered then. Must be pretty close...." + +"_Halt!_" + +It was a cry that brought a yell of exultation to Tom's lips. There was no +mistaking it. No civilian could say halt in that tone. + +Tom pulled on the reins and Star planted his feet; they went sliding past +the Sentry with his rifle glinting in the moonlight. "Halt there!" came the +second warning as Star came to a stop. "Put your hands up!" + +Tom dropped the reins and raised his hands. Star, almost winded, seemed +propped upon his legs, rather than standing upon them. His head drooped and +each breath came as a great heave. + +"Who are you?" demanded the Sentry. + +"Friend," answered Tom. + +"Password?" + +"Haven't got it. I'm...." + +"Keep your hands up," interrupted the Sentry; then he bawled out: "Sergeant +o' the gua-r-r-d. Post number-r _six_." The call was repeated as though by +an echo. + +"I'm one of the railroad raiders," continued Tom. "I'm...." + +"What?" yelled the Sentry. "Are you one of _them_? Say! Put those hands +down and let me shake 'em. Say!" + + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY + + +TOM REPORTS AT HEADQUARTERS + +The Sergeant, with four men, came on the double quick, and found Tom and +the Sentry standing in the middle of the road talking. The Sentry's gun +stood neglected, leaning against a tree. + +"What does this mean, Cummins?" demanded the Sergeant. + +"Here's one of the raiders," answered the Sentry, as though that was enough +to account for almost any negligence. And it was enough, for the Sergeant +forgot the Sentry completely. He grabbed Tom's hand. + +"That was a wonderful job you boys did down there," he said. "We've been +waiting for you and watching all along the line." + +"Am I the first one through?" asked Tom. + +"I guess so. Are there any more behind you?" + +"I don't know. I got separated from the others. There were three of us, and +the other two were captured. Are you sure that none of them reached the +line on the other side of Chattanooga?" he asked anxiously. + +"We haven't heard of any," answered the Sergeant. "The whole country's +waiting for you, and I guess we'd have heard of it if any had come through +the lines. Say, when the news of the raid came out, the North just went +crazy with excitement." + +One of the men added: "And I guess the South did some going crazy, too." + +"I have to sit down," remarked Tom suddenly. "Sorry, but my legs don't seem +to be much good." + +"We've got to be getting on and report to the Captain. You'd better climb +on your horse," remarked the Sergeant. + +"I'll walk the rest of the way, thanks," said Tom. "Star's done about +enough work for one night. Wait a minute and I'll be all right." + +"Have a hard time getting through?" asked one of the men. + +"Oh, not so very hard," replied Tom. The memory of all the miseries of that +long chase seemed dulled in his mind now. "The worst of it was that I was +wet all the time, wet to the skin. Then I didn't have anything to eat for +about two days. Got a little touch of the fever." + +"Pshaw!" exclaimed the Sergeant. "Say, that's a good horse you've got +there! Where did you find it?" + +"Maybe I'll tell you after the war's over," answered Tom. + +"Ah! Well, you had luck, anyhow." + +"Yep," answered Tom. He put his hand into his pocket and clutched +Marjorie's handkerchief. "Yep, I had luck, all right enough. I can walk +now, I guess. Let's go report to the Captain." + +It was daylight when they reached the headquarters of the guard. The Sentry +posted before the door watched them approach, then called out: "'Lo there, +Serg. Got a Johnny Reb for our breakfast?" + +"Reb nothing!" replied the Sergeant. "This boy's one of the raiders." + +The Sentry's jaw dropped slightly. He stared for a moment, then turned and +bolted through the door, yelling back over his shoulder, "I'll get the +Captain out. Isn't up yet." + +They entered the house, and Tom dropped into the first chair he reached. +"Sergeant," he said, "have one of your men take care of my horse. He can +have some water now." + +"All right, Lieutenant." + +"I'm no Lieutenant--I'm a private, a raw recruit." + +"Huh?" grunted the Sergeant incredulously. + +"That's the truth." + +"Well, if you ain't a Lieutenant you ought to be and I'll bet my stripes +that you will be. Hey, Max, you go out and see that the Lieutenant's horse +is taken care of." + +From upstairs they could hear the sound of voices and the scurrying of +feet. Presently someone clattered down the stairs. The door swung open and +the Captain entered, buttoning his coat. + +"Glad to see you, my boy!" he exclaimed. "Don't bother about getting up. +You can go, Sergeant." He drew a chair up close to Tom's; then as the +Sergeant started to leave the room, he said, "Have my messenger ready to +travel. Give him the fastest horse we've got in the place." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Now, tell me about it. In the first place, what's your name and regiment?" + +"Tom Burns, private, Company B, Second Ohio," answered Tom proudly. With +the Captain jotting down notes, he told the first accurate story of the +raid up to the moment when they had abandoned the train; then of his own +experiences in escaping. "I finally reached this side of the river on the +flatboat, and swam ashore. That was yesterday morning. Let's see--was it +yesterday or the day before?" He looked back over the tangle of nights and +days, and thought for a moment. "Yes, it was yesterday morning. I'm sorry +that I'm so confused, but so many things have happened that I'm all mixed +up." + +"I understand," said the Captain. + +"Then...." continued Tom. He stopped. "No, I can't tell you any more. +Another person helped me. If it hadn't been for that person I would never +have reached the lines. And if it ever got out they'd make a lot of trouble +for...." He caught himself on the verge of saying "her," and added, "for +that person." + +"Well," said the Captain, "that's of no importance to us. It makes no +difference. The point is that you're back again." + +"It's of importance to me, I can tell you," said Tom. + +"Hm-m-m, I guess so. All right, Tom Burns, I'm going to send a messenger to +get this news on the wire to headquarters. You're about worn out. Sorry +that there's just one bed here. That's the one I've just climbed out of, +but you're welcome to it." + +"Couldn't ask for anything better," replied Tom sleepily. He arose and +stretched his tired muscles. "Will you make sure that my horse is being +properly cared for, Captain? He's a fine horse.... Where is that bed, +Captain?" + +It was evening when he awoke, and he remained awake long enough to eat some +food which an orderly brought for him. Then, with the intention of getting +up after a few minutes, he closed his eyes again. The next thing he knew it +was daylight again. He jumped out of bed and opened the door. + +"Good morning," called a soldier as Tom peered out. "Have a good nap, young +man?" + +"What day is this, anyhow!" demanded Tom. "How long have I been sleeping?" + +"Just twenty-four hours, that's all," answered the soldier. + +"Hello, Burns." It was the Captain. "How are you?" + +"Fine! But I'm ashamed of myself for cheating you out of your bed." + +"You've earned a bed, my boy. Get some clothes on and we'll have breakfast. +Can you travel today?" + +"Yes." + +"A message came from Mitchel at Huntsville. He wants to see you." + +And so Tom, mounted upon Star and accompanied by the Captain's messenger, +retraced the road to Shelbyville and followed the course of Mitchel's army +southward. All along the route, when the news spread that one of the +raiders was passing through, they were surrounded by soldiers, who wanted +to hear the story and to shake hands. Finally Tom begged the messenger not +to tell people who he was, not to mention the raid. "We'll never get to +Huntsville if this keeps up," he said. + +It was noon of the third day when they reined their horses in at the +outskirts of the town, and exhibited their pass to a Sentry. "Let 'em past, +boys," yelled the Sentry. "Here's the raider!" They trotted into Huntsville +with the soldiers yelling. And it was all that Tom could do to keep from +yelling. Now, for the first time, the full exultation of being back again +struck him; but he sat speechless, stroking Star's neck nervously. + +They pulled up before headquarters. + +"Tom!" + +Tom glanced about and saw Bert running toward him. + +"Bert!" + +Tom jumped from Star's back, tossed the reins to the messenger and they met +as though in collision. "Good work, Tom! When the word came, the company +went wild. The Captain got leave for me to come up here and meet you. Go on +in and report to the General. I'll be out here waiting for you." Bert +thumped him on the back and started him towards the door. + +Tom followed the Sergeant of the Guard into the anteroom, and stood, ill at +ease, looking out of the windows into the yard, until the General could +receive him. Presently the door behind him opened, and he turned, expecting +to see the Sergeant. Instead, it was General Mitchel himself. Tom snapped +to attention. + +"Welcome back again, Private Burns," boomed the General. He approached and +their hands met with a _smack!_ The General was beaming. "Glad to see you, +boy. I'm proud of you. Come in here." He took Tom's arm and led him toward +the private office. + +"Now let's have the yarn," said the General, lighting a cigar and leaning +back in his chair. Tom glanced about him and saw that the office had +originally been a dining-room. The family table, which was strewn with +maps, served as the General's desk, and the disorder of the chairs showed +that there had been a recent meeting of the staff. On the sideboard were +the remains of the General's lunch, which he had just finished. + +"Am I the first one back?" asked Tom. + +"Yes--the only one who has returned. I had just about given you all up as +captured." + +"Then you think the others are ... prisoners?" + +"Afraid so--yes. When was it you captured the train--Friday or Saturday?" + +"Saturday, sir." + +"Hm-m-m, I thought so. That was what the reports from the South said, but I +couldn't be sure. And how was it you didn't take the train on Friday, as we +planned? But, perhaps, you'd better tell me the story right from the +beginning." + +Once again, Tom started with his departure from Murfreesboro and told in +detail of the movements of the raiders. The General listened intently, +scratching down occasional notes; presently he arose and spread a map +before them. Then, with their chairs close together, the General and the +Private traced out the course of the raiders and the progress of the +locomotive race up to the point where Andrews had given the order to +abandon the engine and scatter. + +"Hm-m-m, if he'd only stopped to fight--at the tunnel, say...." remarked +the General. + +"That's what we wanted to do," answered Tom, "but he wouldn't." + +"Of course," said the General, "we have to remember that Andrews was not a +soldier--he was a spy, and accustomed to another way of working. Too +bad.... Luck was dead against you, I'm afraid." + +The General leaned back again and looked at him narrowly as he told the +story of his flight from the hotel and across the Tennessee. Tom continued: + +"I would have been captured surely if it hadn't been for a certain person +who took care of me, and gave me a horse. The whole countryside was getting +up to search the woods for me. They were bringing the dogs out. Then I got +the horse; we cut through the fields ahead of them. That's all. I raced +until I tumbled into the arms of a Sentry." + +The General drummed on the table with his pen, and emitted great puffs of +smoke. "Hm-m-m!" he said. "Hm-m-m! Not entirely successful, but a great +blow at the South all the same. I'm proud of you men, Burns--mighty proud +of you." He was silent for a moment, then: "I'm going to recommend you for +a commission." + +"Thank you, sir," gasped Tom. + +"You've earned it. You can go up North for training, and join us again +later--a Lieutenant. How'll you like that?" + +"I'd like to have a commission, of course, but...." + +"But what?" + +"Why, you see, General, I'm nothing but a recruit, I've never even worn a +uniform." + +"What?" exclaimed the General. Tom told him how he had come to take part in +the raid, how he had been sworn into the service just before his departure. +"Well," said the General at last, "that really makes no difference. You're +officer caliber, and that's enough." + +"All the same, General, I think I'd like to go to my company, and get some +experience. Company B is in the fight now, isn't it?" + +"Experience!" exclaimed the General. + +"Experience as a soldier, I mean," Tom replied. + +"Of course, of course," the General answered, laughing. "Yes, Company B is +in the fight. All right, my boy, all right. We'll send you there--for +experience!--and then North you go and learn the business of being an +officer." + +"Thank you, sir." + +The interview was at an end. They stood up and shook hands. Tom suddenly +remembered Star. "By the way, sir," he said. "A private doesn't generally +have a Kentucky thoroughbred, does he?" + +"Not generally." + +"Well, sir, I have one, but I guess the time for Star and me to part has +come. Will you take it? The person who gave Star to me is a good +Northerner. The ... the person would be proud to have the horse ridden by a +General." + +"Do you think that _the person_"--the General smiled--"would be any prouder +to have a General riding the horse than she--pardon me!--than to have you +riding it?" + +"I don't know, sir," replied Tom, with a grin. "But I know she'll be mighty +proud just the same." + +"All right, my boy." The General called one of his aides and instructed him +to see that Tom reached Company B. They shook hands again and Tom walked +out of the headquarters building to find Bert waiting for him. The railroad +raid had ended. + + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE + + +THAT CERTAIN PERSON + +Long years of warfare passed; then came the day when war was over, and +Captain Tom Burns strolled down the avenue in Washington, linked arm in arm +with Brown and Knight. Behind them sauntered the surviving members of the +raiders. Each of them wore a medal of honor, which had been pinned to their +coats that afternoon. + +"You're going straight home, I suppose, Tom?" asked Brown. + +"No--no, I'm going to Albany. Someone I have to see there. I was home on a +furlough just a few weeks ago." + +"It's just about my train time," said Knight. "I'll have to be getting to +the station." + +"Wait a minute while we say good-by to the boys, and I'll go with you," +said Tom. They stopped while the others came up. The moment of parting had +come, and silence fell over them. Some of the men had escaped from prison +camps, others had been exchanged, and this meeting had been a great event +in their lives. For two days they had lived their experiences once again, +exchanging stories and discussing the raid. + +"Good-by, boys," said Knight, breaking the pall of silence. "You all have +my address. Let me know when you're around my part of the country." + +"Same goes for me," said several of them. "Don't forget, now. Good-by, Tom. +'By, Knight. Here, let's shake that paw again. Drop me a line, eh?" + +"'By, boys," said Tom, untangling, himself from the group. He looked back +and waved. + +Two days later in Albany Tom presented himself at the Mayor's office. "I've +come on a peculiar errand," he explained. "One time when I was in the +South, a Northern girl, who was living there, befriended me and saved me +from being taken prisoner. Her name was Marjorie Landis, and she told me +that she had lived here. She said she was coming back to Albany just as +soon as the war was over. I want you to help me find her, if it's not +asking too much." + +The Mayor smiled. "You don't happen to be Tom Burns of the raiders, by any +chance, do you?" he asked. + +Tom jumped. "Yes--but how...." His voice dwindled off in amazement. + +"I've heard a lot about you, young man. Yes, I think that if you'll go to +this address"--he wrote on a slip of paper--"and ask for Miss Landis, +you'll find someone who'll be very glad to see you. Don't even stop to +thank me--you hurry along." + +Tom needed no urging. He sped from the office, signaled a cab and gave the +driver the paper. "Let that horse move his legs," he ordered. + +"Yes, sir." + +They pulled up presently before a big brownstone house. + +"Tell Miss Landis that Captain Burns is calling," he told the servant. + +"Yes, Captain. Will you come this way, sir?" He was ushered into a parlor, +where he waited nervously; then he heard footsteps on the stairs. + +"Tom--Tom Burns!" Marjorie bounded into the room. + +"Marjorie!" + +They stood looking at each other, speechless. She was the first to collect +herself. "I'm so glad you've come," she said. "I've wondered and wondered +about you." + +"But you knew I'd come if I could, didn't you?" + +"I thought so--I hoped so." + +"For one thing, I have a horse and a handkerchief of yours." + +"Star! Is he still alive? Oh, tell me about it. But, no--tell me about +yourself first." + +That evening, long after dinner, they finished their stories. Marjorie had +come North six months before; the Beechams had never suspected her of +having given him her horse. "The people," she said, "went mad scurrying +about the country after you. I don't know what they would have done if they +had suspected me. I don't like to think of it." + +"I've been worrying about you ever since," answered Tom. "I could have +hugged that Mayor when he told me that you were here and safe." + +"Wasn't it strange that you went directly to him? He's one of our best +friends." + +"I couldn't think of anyone else to go to." + +And he told of the battles he had fought, of his promotions and all that +had befallen him. "I rode Star all through the year of '63, after I was +attached to the Headquarters Staff. General Mitchel gave him back to me. He +said, 'I don't suppose you'd like to have that Certain Person's horse +again, would you?' I said, 'I would, but I don't dare to take a General's +horse away from him.' Good old Star! When winter set in I decided that he'd +seen about enough war, so I sent him home. He is in the country near +Cleveland now on a furlough, waiting for his mistress to ride him again." +Tom pulled out the small handkerchief. "But I'd like to keep this," he +said. "It has brought me luck. I'm superstitious about it." + +"Please keep it," she said. "I hope it'll always bring you luck." + +He arose to go. "I'll be back just as soon as I can," he said, then he +added: "to bring Star." + +"Is that the only reason?" + +"It isn't a reason," he replied severely. "It's an excuse." + + +THE END + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tom of the Raiders, by Austin Bishop + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOM OF THE RAIDERS *** + +This file should be named traid10.txt or traid10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, traid11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, traid10a.txt + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Olaf Voss +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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