Original Size
Harry and Jack stood speechless with astonishment. Here they had been carrying dispatches without knowing it; the mystery of their having nothing further to do than report to the commander of the post was explained.
“This is nothing new,” said the colonel, as he silently regarded the youths. “It is n't the first time a man has served as messenger without being aware of it; but your case is n't equal to that of a man in Kentucky that I heard of not long ago. He was a rebel spy, who passed frequently inside our lines. One of our spies who was with the rebel army used to conceal dispatches in the lining of this man's overcoat whenever he saw indications that he was about to go away, and when he got into our lines an officer who knew his real character used to get possession of the papers, the efficient carrier being entirely ignorant of the fact that he was thus being used. He was allowed to come and go, as his services to the Union were much greater than to the Confederacy, though he was no friend of ours.”
The colonel then gave orders that the boys should be well fed and cared for, and told them they could rest a day before setting out on their return. “And when you go back,” said the colonel, “you will not run as much risk as you have just been through.”
They had their day's rest as proposed, and on the second morning after their arrival at Fort Scott they started on the return journey. Colonel Hinton assigned a company of cavalry to accompany them, and kept good his promise that they should not run the same risk as in their trip upward from the army.
Harry and Jack were not forgetful of the family who fed and cared for them on the occasion when the latter “played crazy.” A well-wrapped package containing a pound of tea, and another of coffee, was fastened behind Harry's saddle, and while on the way Harry told the captain of the escort all about their adventure. At Harry's suggestion the boys did not show themselves at the house, as he did not wish the people to know that they had been deceived as to their character. The escort divided a little while before reaching the house, and while one squad went there and delivered the parcel, which was supposed to have been sent by the boys, the other went by at a trot, the youths riding so that they were screened by some of the men.
The boys were of service to the escort in showing the way to the haystack which they discovered in the forest, as already mentioned. When they reached it they had a skirmish with a party of guerrillas who had already found it, and were camping there comfortably with their saddles stripped from their horses, and evidently under the belief that nobody but themselves knew where it was. Our men had the guerrillas at a disadvantage, and the fight resulted badly for the rebels; two of them were killed and three wounded, while on our side only one man was hurt, and he but slightly. Ten horses were captured and taken away in triumph; some of the guerrillas escaped with their steeds, while the rest fled on foot. A sharp watch was kept through the night lest they should return and renew the fight, but they did not put in an appearance.
Just as they were starting the next morning Harry called attention to a cloud of dust in the road they intended following, and it was immediately surmised that an enemy was in the neighborhood. Very quickly the order to mount was given and the column moved in the direction of the suspicious dust. Hardly had they reached the road before a crowd of horsemen was seen approaching, and then both sides made ready for a fight.
There was a good deal of maneuvering for the advantage, and both parties advanced with great caution. A few shots were exchanged at long distances, where they could not possibly do any harm, but simply on the Chinese principle of letting the other side know that warm work could be expected. As the columns drew closer together the strangers were found to be dressed in blue, and as they made a similar discovery concerning our own party the shooting ceased. A flag of truce was then sent forward, accompanied by Harry, to meet a similar flag from the other side. The flags met half-way between the lines, and it was quickly ascertained that the supposed enemy was a scouting party sent out by General Curtis. Harry recognized the bearers of the flag, and there was a vigorous hand-shaking followed by a signal for both sides to put off the idea of fighting for the present unless they could find somebody else to fight with.
On their arrival in camp Harry and Jack reported immediately to General Vandever, and then to General Curtis, to whom they delivered the dispatches they had brought from Fort Scott. The general questioned them closely in regard to their experiences, and laughed heartily when he heard of Jack's exploit in playing crazy. He thought it an admirable ruse, but said it could not be tried on very often, as it was sure to leak out. Then he praised the boys for the admirable manner in which they had performed their difficult task, and said he might have occasion to call on them again.
“I'm not at all sure,” said Harry, as soon as the boys were by themselves once more, “I'm not sure that I'm in a hurry to go on another scouting expedition; are you?”
“As to that,” answered Jack, “I'd like a little rest and a chance to think it over. But after I've rested I shall be ready to try it on once more, but not through the same country.”
“I don't suppose General Curtis would send us that way again,” was the reply, “as he would know that it would be doubly dangerous for us, since we've been seen with the cavalry and would be known to be on the union side. We could n't make anybody believe our story about hunting for stolen horses from Forsyth way.”
On the day of their return to camp orders were issued for the army to be ready to move on the following morning. The boys wondered if the advance upon Little Rock was about to commence, and also whether the dispatches they brought had anything to do with the orders to march.
But the development of events did not indicate that they were going in the direction of the Arkansas capital, nor yet to Fort Scott or anywhere near it. The army moved to Forsyth, in Taney county, Missouri, on the banks of the White river, and nearly due east from Keitsville, where the camp had been. For some part of the way the principal road follows the bank of the river and gives pretty glimpses of the wooded valley and the meandering stream. Like most of the southwestern rivers, the White has a very tortuous course, and consequently the road rather touched upon than followed the stream; to have done the latter would make it needlessly long.
There was no enemy of consequence along the line of march, and therefore no opposition was expected or offered. Here and there half-a-dozen horsemen were seen, but they were not considered worthy of attention. Forsyth was occupied until the army received a supply of stores and ammunition, which was sent from Springfield by a somewhat difficult road through the Ozark mountains.
Our young friends went with dispatches to the post commander at Springfield, but as the road was well guarded and no rebels or guerrillas were supposed to be in the neighborhood, they did not consider the journey of any serious moment, and did not disguise themselves. The distance is about fifty miles, and they took a part of two days for the ride, spending the night at Ozark, which is about half-way between the opposite ends of the route. There was so much up and down hill to the road that they did not find it an easy one to travel in a hurry, and besides, they were carrying out the orders of the general in spending the night at Ozark, where there was temporarily a garrison of fifteen or twenty men.
“It is a very pretty mountain country,” said Harry afterwards, when speaking of the journey, “and I wished I could make sketches of some of the landscapes along the road. In some places you look down a long distance in the valleys, and in others you are completely shut in and wonder how you will ever get out of there. An interesting feature of the country is the large springs that abound all through it; they are like the great springs we saw at Cross Hollows in Arkansas, and doubtless have the same sort of origin. There is one spring near the village of Ozark which forms the head of a good-sized brook, just as does the spring at the head of Sugar Creek.”
At Springfield they found very little change in the state of affairs since they passed through the town on their way to Sugar Creek and Pea Ridge. The garrison had thrown up earthworks to protect themselves in case of an attack by the rebels, as it was thought possible that a column of cavalry, or possibly some marauding expeditious like those of Quantrell and Todd, might take a notion to pay a brief visit to the place, and the commandant did n't propose to be caught napping. The supplies for General Curtis were being pushed forward as fast as possible, but the bad condition of the roads and the scarcity of draft animals greatly hindered the work. Mules and horses were in great demand, and considering the great numbers of these animals that had been completely worn out and used up in the arduous service of transportation in the southwest, the great wonder is that supplies could be sent forward at all.
They remained two days in Springfield and then started on their return to Forsyth. Not dreaming of any danger, they did not deem it worth their while to so time the journey as to spend the night under the protection of the guard at Ozark; instead of doing so, they passed through that town and lodged in a house several miles beyond, where they had an exciting adventure, as the sequel will show.
CHAPTER XXXV. A TREACHEROUS HOST—HOW THE BOYS TURNED THE TABLES.
The house where they asked for entertainment for the night was a two-story frame building, and belonged to a well-to-do farmer, who was the owner of ten or twelve negroes, and therefore one of the aristocracy of southwest Missouri. Being an owner of slaves, he was naturally in sympathy with secession, though he professed the most ardent unionism whenever he was visited by any party of soldiers wearing the federal blue. His family consisted of his wife and two daughters. His son had gone to join Price's army, and the father took great pains to explain that he had done so greatly against the parental will.
The pronounced unionism of the man did not arouse any suspicions in the minds of Harry and Jack, who talked freely with him during and after the supper which was set before them. They retired early to bed, as they were wearied with their day's ride and intended to be off at an early hour in the morning, so as to reach Forsyth in good season. On their arrival, before dark, they accompanied their horses to the barn and saw them fed and cared for by one of the negroes, whose good graces they secured by slipping a quarter into his hand. They took a general survey of the barn and its surroundings, more from habit than from any thought that such knowledge might be useful to them before the next morning.
The room where they slept was in the upper story of the house, and there was a window in it which opened upon a shed that served as a kitchen. There was no means of fastening the door, and neither of the youths thought there was any special occasion for securing it, as they did not apprehend any disturbance from the family, and it was hardly likely that an outsider could make an entrance without being stopped by some one below stairs.
They threw off their clothing and retired to the double bed which stood in one corner of the apartment, and in less than five minutes both were sound asleep. Harry was on the front of the bed, while Jack lay next to the wall.
About midnight Harry was waked by a hand upon his shoulder, and he was about to ask, “Who's there?” in an audible voice, when he heard a gentle “Hush!” close to his ear.
Instantly collecting his thoughts, he asked, in the same low whisper:
“What's the matter?”
“Hush! don't speak, and don't move till I've been gone five minutes. Keep still, and listen.”
“Certainly,” said Harry; “what's the trouble?”
“Father's gone to get some men, who 'll carry you off. They are hiding in the woods a mile or so back from here, and he's just gone for 'em. You've time enough to git away, and you'd better git.”
“We 'll git, you bet,” answered Harry; “but who are you?”
“Never mind,” was the soft answer, “I'm your friend, that's all.”
“I want to know,” said Harry, “as it may be in our power to do you or your people service some time. You may be sure we won't betray you.”
“Well, if you must know, I'm Cordelia, the youngest daughter of Mr. ————, who is such a Yankee when any of you fellers comes 'round. He's secesh though, and so are we all, for that matter; but promise me you won't say so to anybody.”
Harry made the required promise, and then Miss Cordelia explained that she overheard her father and mother talking about how they could have the young Yanks carried off into the woods and kept there. “I did n't so much mind your being just carried off,” she added, “but I did n't know but they might kill you as they've killed some of the union men about here. I'd taken a sort o' liking to both of you, and did n't want any harm to come to you. And that's why I came and told you.”
“Now,” she added, “I'll creep back to where sister Jane and I sleep, and you must n't stir for five minutes. Don't try to go downstairs and out of the house that way, but get out on the shed, and at the further end of it you 'll find a big chimney that's built up in steps like, so that you can get along it down onto the ground. Then find your horses and be off jest as quick as you can. There's a little lane from the back of the barn that goes downhill, and if you keep along that lane and then turn to the right where it forks, you 'll come out on the main road about a quarter of a mile from the house. Now, good-bye!”
“Good-bye!” whispered Harry, “and be sure we won't forget your kindness.” And as he said so he pressed to his lips the hand that had been resting on his shoulder, and which he took hold of just as it was being removed.
Then he roused Jack, who would have spoken aloud, had not Harry pressed a hand on his mouth and whispered, not as softly as the recent whispering had been, that he'd better shut up. As soon as Jack was fairly awake the situation was explained, and the five minutes in which they had been enjoined to lie still were fully taken up in laying plans for getting away.
“In the first place,” said Harry, “we ought to fasten the door of the room, so as to delay our would-be captors as long as possible.”
“That's so,” said Jack; “but how'll we fasten it?”
“I think the chair will do it,” was the reply; “at any rate I 'll try it. We might move the bed against the door, but in doing it we would be very likely to make a noise.”
They dressed themselves quickly, but without noise, occasionally glancing out of the window to the starlit but moonless sky. When they had completed their toilets, all but putting on their shoes, Harry leaned the chair against the door and found it made an excellent wedge beneath the latch, and would greatly hinder an attempt to force an entrance.
“That's a splendid way to fasten a door,” whispered Harry. “I got the idea from Mr. Johnson, a commercial traveler, who used to come to father's house. He said that if you take a chair or a strong cane,—anything in fact that will go under the latch and rest on the floor at a sharp angle,—it will defy any effort to open the door short of bursting it in.”
“All right,” answered Jack; “let's have short talks and quick business.”
Then they opened, and very softly opened, the window, and with their shoes in their hands stepped out on the roof of the shed. Creeping along the roof they reached the chimney without making a sound, and found the place that was “built up in steps like” and facilitated their descent to the ground.
There they sat down and put their shoes on, and then they moved in the direction of the barn. But just before reaching it they heard voices that made them pause. After listening a moment they sought shelter behind a broken cart that offered a friendly place of concealment.
A group of five men on horseback came up and drew rein within a few feet of where the youths were lying. They talked in low tones, but loud enough to be distinctly heard, and both Harry and Jack perceived that one of the voices belonged to their host.
“We'd better get their horses out first and saddle'em,” said Mr. ———(we 'll call him Jones, but that was n't his name or anything like it), “and then you won't have to do it afterwards. I can help you now, but could n't when the young Yanks are looking on.”
“All right, squire,” was the answer, and with that all slid down from their horses. The bridles were placed in the hands of one who appeared to be the youngest, as he certainly was the smallest, of the party, and the others proceeded to bring out and saddle the horses of Harry and Jack.
When this had been done Mr. Jones suggested that all the horses should be tied to the fence close to the barn, so that Billy, the man who had been holding the five steeds, could be free to help them in case there was occasion for anything. This was agreed to, and Billy was left to watch outside while the rest of the party entered the house. Mr. Jones was to retire to bed and thus give the capture the aspect of something that had been done against his will. In case of any outside alarm, Billy was to strike against the barn-door three times; it had been proposed to fire a shot from his rifle, but on careful consideration it was thought the other signal would answer just as well and be less suspicious to ears for which it was not intended.
The four disappeared in the direction of the house, and from their place of concealment Harry and Jack surveyed the scene and formed their plans. Having nothing else to do, the five horses of the guerrillas were inclined to quarrel with the two strange ones, and the disturbance they made gave our friends an opportunity to whisper easily to each other, without danger of being overheard by Billy.
“We must watch our chance,” said Harry, “and jump on his shoulders so as to bear him to the ground before he can call out for help.”
“That won't do,” said Jack, “as he might give a yell as he goes down. Better drop him with a club, and then he 'll be senseless the moment it hits him and will stay so long enough for us to get away, and there 'll be no danger of his hollering.”
Harry did not altogether like the idea of the club, but he realized that it was a case of self-preservation, and the treatment was no worse than what Mr. Billy would be ready to apply to them without the least compunction. So he assented to Jack's proposal, and the two armed themselves with clubs, which were conveniently furnished by the spokes of a crushed wheel of the cart.
“I reckon them strange horse shad better be a little further off,” said Billy to himself, “and then there won't be so much furse.”
Suiting the action to his thought, he proceeded to separate the old from the new, and while he was occupied with this prudential duty Harry and Jack crept up behind him and, at an opportune moment, felled him with a blow from one of the cart-spokes. He went down without a sound; in less than a minute a handkerchief had been tied across his mouth, in which a corncob was inserted as a gag, his hands were securely fastened behind him, and his feet were tied together. He was not likely to give an alarm, no matter how soon he revived.
Harry and Jack then took possession of the seven horses, mounting their own and leading the other five. Harry took charge of three, and left the other two to Jack. They went at a walk down the lane which the girl had indicated, and on reaching the high-road quickened their pace as much as the led horses would permit.
“It was very kind of them to saddle our horses for us,” said Jack, “and to save us any trouble about it.”
“Yes,” replied Harry, “and I'd give one of their saddles to hear their remarks when they find we're not in the house, and come outside and see the way that Billy is waiting for them.”
“I'm afraid their remarks will not be of a Sunday-school character,” was Jack's answer, “nor very respectful to us.”
CHAPTER XXXVI. CONVICTED BY A DUMB WITNESS—SHORT RATIONS—A CAPTURE.
The boys pushed on as fast as they could, but it was not possible to make so good time with so many horses to lead as though they had been unencumbered. But they had a good start at any rate, and besides, they had brought away the horses of their would-be captors, and thus diminished the chances of pursuit.
“Those fellows from the woods have n't any horses to follow us with, that's certain,” said Harry; “but there's no telling how many our late host may have in his barn, or close by in the brush.”
“That's so,” answered Jack; “but I don't believe he has many. There was only one in the barn when we put up our horses, and we've got him along with us. But quite likely he has some out in the brush, and they may scare up two or three saddles and come after us. What shall we do if they turn up?”
“Let their horses go, and cut for Forsyth as fast as we can,” said Harry; “that's the only thing I can suggest, or at any rate the safest thing. They 'll stop to get their horses, and we 'll easily outrun them.”
Jack agreed to the suggestion, and it was resolved to put it into practice in case of necessity. As time went on it was evident that Mr. Jones did n't have any extra horses handy, as there were no indications of pursuit, and as daylight approached the boys began to feel safe. Every hour brought them nearer the camp of the army, and they knew that once within the lines they could tell their story in perfect security.
Suddenly they heard the sound of horses' feet behind them, and as they looked back they saw three or four men riding rapidly in their direction. The glance showed that the men were in the costume of the country, and quite likely they were the pursuers whom the boys dreaded.
“We're in for it now,” exclaimed Harry. “Let go your horses and I 'll let go mine.”
“Not much,” answered Jack; “just look ahead.”
Harry looked and saw approaching from the other direction a squad of ten or twelve cavalry in the Union blue.
Harry wanted to shout, “Hurrah!” but just then he was too much occupied to do it. He took in the situation in an instant; they were about equally distant from their pursuers and the cavalry, and the advantage in their favor was that they could get to the shelter of their friends before they could possibly be overtaken by the bushwhackers. The latter also saw the predicament they were in and immediately checked their speed. The sergeant of the cavalry saw that there was something wrong, and he and his men came forward at a gallop.
“Go for those fellows and I 'll explain afterwards,” said Harry, as the sergeant drew rein near him. The sergeant recognized the youths and did not wait for further words. Away went the cavalry in chase, and in a little while returned with two captured horses and one man, the rest having got away.
The cavalry squad accompanied the boys to the picket line, which was only half a mile further along the road. The picket-guard was just then being relieved, and the prisoner was turned over to it and sent to camp along with the captured horses. The squad then proceeded on the foraging expedition for which it had started when it so opportunely met our young friends and saved them from trouble. The boys went triumphantly to General Vandever with their prizes, and told the story of their adventure to a group of interested listeners. They were the heroes of the day, and received a liberal amount of praise for the shrewd manner in which they not only got out of their predicament, but turned it to their advantage. Of course they carefully concealed the part which the girl played in warning them, but pretended that they overheard the conversation between Mr. Jones and his wife after they had retired and were supposed to be in bed.
The prisoner stoutly denied any complicity in the attempted capture of the youths, and professed the most thorough ignorance of them or any desire to pursue and retake the runaways. He explained that he and his friends had come from Douglas county in search of some stray cattle, and were just on the point of turning back when they saw the boys and a moment afterward the cavalry.
There was nothing to disprove his story, and no evidence against him except the circumstantial evidence that he and his friends were riding very rapidly toward the youths before they saw the cavalry, and tried hard to get away immediately afterwards. If their mission was an innocent one, there was no reason for their fast riding; and furthermore they had no need to be as alarmed as they were on seeing the soldiers. But of course this was only circumstantial, and he might have been released but for a suggestion from Harry, on which action was immediately taken.
The five horses which Harry and Jack had secured at the time of their hasty flight from Mr. Jones's house were turned loose in the yard; they had not been fed since their night-journey, and might fairly be supposed to be hungry.
Soon after they had thus been put by themselves the officer who had charge of the prisoner suggested that they would go and see what the general had to say on the subject of liberating the captive. As if by accident they crossed the yard where the horses where inclosed, the prisoner not suspecting the trick and being too intent on his release to observe the presence of the captured animals, especially as they were mingled with some ten or twelve others.
As they entered the yard one of the horses came familiarly up to the prisoner, rubbed his nose against the man's shoulder, and in other ways gave most positive testimony that he had found his master. The identification of the man by the horse was complete. As the officer and his charge walked around the yard and then out of it, the horse followed like a dog; and though the man protested that he had never before set eyes on the animal, the evidence was altogether too strong against him to be doubted.
“That's enough,” said the officer, when the horse had followed the man for five or six minutes. “We'll hold on to you for a while and see what 'll turn up. Guess we 'll send you to St. Louis and have you tried for bushwhacking.”
At this the fellow broke down and confessed to his connection with the plan for abducting the boys. Then he was plied with questions, and before his inquisitors were through with him they had elicited a good deal of valuable information. On the strength of this information an expedition was immediately sent out, which succeeded in capturing a small camp and securing a goodly supply of provisions that had been accumulated for the purpose of sending to Price's army as soon as the way was open. Altogether the performance of Harry and Jack on that memorable night “panned out” very well, to use the expression of a gold-miner belonging to one of the companies of the Ninth Iowa.
A few days after the occurrences above narrated the army moved to Batesville, Arkansas, farther down the White river, and at a point where General Curtis expected to be met by gun-boats convoying steamers with supplies and ammunition for his army. No enemy opposed them, and there were no incidents of consequence on the march. There was a small force of rebel cavalry in the town, but it fled before the advance of the army after firing a few shots, which did no harm to any one.
Harry and Jack now believed that the long-talked-of advance on Little Rock had begun. Batesville is about one hundred miles from that city, and if unopposed in its march, the army could easily reach it in a week or ten days. The rumor went through the army that Little Rock was the objective point of the campaign, and bets were freely offered that the stars and stripes would float over the capital of Arkansas long before the fourth of July.
But there were serious difficulties in the way of the advance in the desired direction. In the first place, the river was unusually low for that season of the year, as it had only four feet of water in the channel, while the gun-boats and most of the transports needed not less than five or six feet. One of the gun-boats that tried to ascend the river was blown up by a rebel battery at St. Charles, and the transports could not move without the aid of their armed brothers. The wagon road to Rolla was a long one and open to interruptions by raiding bands of rebels. One entire train was captured and destroyed by them within thirty miles of Rolla, and other trains were more or less interfered with. The army was short of food and ammunition, and in such a condition it could not take the offensive.
To add to General Curtis's perplexities a part of his army (ten regiments) were ordered to join the forces of General Halleck, then besieging Corinth, Mississippi, and to move with all possible haste. They were ordered in the direction of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, two hundred and forty miles away. They performed the march in ten days, an average of twenty-four miles a day, which may be considered one of the best instances of marching during the war. Many of the men wore out their shoes on the journey, and were barefooted for the last fifty or sixty miles. The withdrawal of this force, added to the scarcity of provisions and ammunition, made the army too weak to venture upon Little Rock, and General Curtis began to turn his eyes in the direction of the Mississippi river.
The army remained seven weeks at Batesville, and during that period it sent out many foraging expeditions, in the hope of collecting provisions enough to subsist it without drawing upon its scanty supply of rations which it had received from Rolla. But in spite of all efforts the supply could not be maintained, and many a time the soldiers had to live two days upon food that would have been no more than enough for one. The gun-boats and the transports did not come, and instead of rising the river continued to fall.
Harry and Jack accompanied many of the foraging expeditions, and, on several occasions, they were of much practical service. Harry was able to find concealed stores of pork and bacon where others declared there was nothing, and one day Jack brought from under a heap of straw sufficient bacon to feed a whole regiment for nearly a week. Harry had a keen eye for chickens, and whenever he went on a tour it was a noticeable circumstance that General Vandever usually had chicken that day for supper. Jack was as sharp after pigs as Harry was for chickens, and many were the young porkers that fell into his hands.
One day they ran into a scouting party of rebels, and the foraging party had a sharp skirmish with their adversaries over the possession of a haystack. The rebels were discomfited and the unionists secured the coveted prize, but not until three of their number had been wounded, one of them severely. The rebels suffered to the extent of having two men killed, two or three wounded and four captured. The prisoners were taken back to camp under guard of two soldiers, assisted by our young friends, who kept a sharp watch to prevent the escape of the captives. During the march Harry fell into conversation with one of them, and very soon learned something that caused him to open his eyes with astonishment.
Original Size
CHAPTER XXXVII. RETURNING CORDELIA'S KINDNESS—JACK AND HARRY ON A NAVAL EXPEDITION.
But though he opened his eyes with astonishment, he did not open his lips to say why he did so. To have done so would have been imprudent to the last degree.
The question to the prisoner had revealed the fact that the captive whom Harry was so closely guarding was the son of Mr. Jones, the treacherous host from whom the two youths had had such a narrow escape, and the brother of the girl who had given them the hint which led to their hasty departure. He had joined Price's army as originally intended, and was serving with a cavalry regiment that had been assigned to the duty of harassing the union forces and preventing their obtaining the supplies they desired. His company was the one with which the union cavalry had disputed the possession of the haystack, as described in the last chapter.
“Now,” thought Harry, “I've got a chance to pay off the girl for her kindness to us. I 'll get her brother free and send him home to her. He 'll never know how it came about, but I'm sure she 'll understand.”
Further questioning showed that another of the prisoners was a near neighbor of young Jones, and that he was very much attached to Miss Cordelia; in fact, the twain were lovers, and this circumstance determined Harry on his course of action, and on the way to Batesville he studied how best to accomplish his object.
He found that the young fellows were heartily tired of the war, and wanted to go home; this was particularly the case with the young lover, whose interest was greatly roused when he found that Harry had seen the girl he left behind him. Harry gave no particulars of his acquaintance with her, other than that he had stopped at the house of Mr. Jones on his way from Springfield to Forsyth, and remembered seeing a young girl such as the prisoner described, or rather such as her brother told about. He said he could not remember the name, but thought it was Corinne, or Cor—something or other.
The prisoners were fearful that something terrible would happen to them, as they had heard the usual wild stories about the barbarity of the Yankees. Harry encouraged their belief as far as he thought judicious, in order to make them all the more grateful for any service he might render them. He promised to do his best to save them from being hanged or shot, and suggested that a great deal would depend on their conduct.
“If you try to escape,” said he, “you will be shot down at once; but if you obey orders and do exactly what is told you without question, you 'll find it to your advantage.”
They promised everything he asked of them, and on reaching camp they went demurely to the quarters assigned them, and made not the least trouble. As soon as he was relieved of his charges Harry went straight to General Vandever and asked to see him privately, a request which the general readily granted.
Under the seal of confidence Harry then told the whole story of how he and Jack had been saved from capture by the warning given by Cordelia, and how two of the prisoners then in camp were the brother and lover of the warm-hearted girl. He wanted them set free as a return for the service she had rendered the two youths, but at the same time he specially desired that neither the prisoners nor any one else should know or suspect the real reason of his request.
“We can easily arrange that,” answered the general. “I 'll see General Curtis and ask him to turn the prisoners over to me, to do with as I think best: I've no doubt he 'll do it, and if he does there won't be any trouble about the other details.”
An hour later the general sent for Harry, who responded with alacrity to the call.
“It's all right,” said the general, as soon as Harry came into his presence. “The five horses that you and Jack captured that night are worth more to us than the prisoners; the men might not like to know they've been traded for horses, but that's the way I look at it. Go and see if you can get the prisoners to take an oath not to serve in the rebel armies again during the war, and you may tell them they 'll be released if they 'll do it.”
Harry went at once to the guard-house, where the prisoners were confined, and it did not take long for them to make the desired promise. He explained that he had urged their case before the general, and had persuaded the latter to grant his request on condition that they went home at once and stayed there, and furthermore, that they signed the required oath and gave no further aid in any way to the war.
This being arranged the prisoners were taken before General Vandever, who gave them a severe lecture, pretended he was opposed to letting them loose, but had only done so at the urgent request of Harry, who believed them to be honest, but misguided, and who felt sure they would live up to their promise. There was much more talk to the same effect, all tending to show that they owed their liberation to Harry and Jack; and finally the papers were signed, the oath was taken, and the prisoners were escorted to the lines and allowed to go on their way toward Forsyth and home.
It was afterward ascertained that the arrival of the pair at the Jones' mansion was the cause of great astonishment to the family, and especially to the senior Jones, who had been in mortal terror ever since that night, for fear that the youths would cause his house to be burned over his head in revenge for his treachery. Cordelia blushed down to the roots of her hair, but her blushes were attributed to her joy at seeing her lover and brother safe at home from the wars. No one had the slightest suspicion that she had aught to do with the escape of the youths and the capture of the horses. As the returned soldiers babbled on about the kindness of Harry, and how he had brought about their liberation, the tears came into her eyes, and it was with great difficulty that she preserved her composure.
As before stated, the army in camp at Batesville, weakened by the withdrawal of a portion of its numbers, which were sent to aid in the siege of Corinth, and, being short of provisions and ammunition, was in no condition to advance upon Little Rock. Its only line of march was back to Rolla, or through the country that lay between it and the Mississippi river. The movement upon Rolla would be a retrograde one, while that toward the Mississippi would be an advance; consequently the latter was selected without hesitation.
From the sixth of May until the twenty-fourth of June the army lay at Batesville, making preparations for its future movements. Word came that gun-boats and transports were ascending the White river, and would probably come to Jacksonport, which is twenty-five miles below Batesville and at the junction of the White with the Black river. For ten days previous to the departure from Batesville, Captain Winslow, the quartermaster-in-chief of General Curtis's array, bought corn and other provisions, and saved the army rations so that he had enough on hand for a twenty days' supply, which was considered sufficient to carry them through to Helena, on the bank of the Mississippi, in case the gun-boats and transports should fail to reach Jacksonport. As subsequent events developed, this precaution was a wise one.
For the first time in its history this part of Arkansas was honored with a navy. General Curtis built five large flat-boats, with strong decks, partly for the transportation of supplies and partly for use as pontoons in case a river was to be crossed. Cotton bales were ranged around their sides and firmly fastened, as a protection against musketry in case the rebels should attempt to hinder their progress, and it was thought they would even be able to stop cannon-shot of the smaller calibers. There were no naval officers and sailors with the army, and so it was necessary to improvise them. There was a liberal number of volunteers for the new service, as it promised to be exciting and was certainly novel.
Captain Wadsworth, of the Thirteenth Illinois, was put in command of the fleet, and his company formed the crew. Harry and Jack were accepted as volunteers to aid in navigating the boats, each of which was provided with sweeps, or long oars, that were necessary to keep it in the channel. Some of the old soldiers were accustomed to flat-boat navigation on the Mississippi, and felt confident they could avoid getting ashore; but, of course, it was unknown what the rebels might do to hinder their progress.
Harry was half inclined to back out when he found that the road from Batesville to Jacksonport did not follow the bank of the river, but wound among the hills at a considerable distance from it. In case of an attack upon the naval forces of General Curtis the army would not be near enough to furnish any efficient aid, except in a few places. But, having agreed to go, he said nothing; neither did Jack.
The advance of the array moved out of Batesville on the morning of the twenty-fourth of June. Then came each of the three divisions in its order, and by noon the town was deserted. The navy pushed off from the shore and floated slowly down the stream, the captain, who had been promoted by his associates to the rank of admiral, ordering his men to make no exertions at the oars other than might be necessary to keep their craft in the current. Some of the natives of the country offered to assist as pilots, and one of them who claimed to know all about the river was taken aboard the “Cordelia,” the boat where Harry and Jack were serving, and to which they had given the name. He was so enormously fat that Jack suggested he should be called Pauncheous Pilot, but he was careful to keep the suggestion from the ears of the subject of it.
The youths had intrusted their horses to the care of two of their comrades, as it was not practicable to take them on board the “Cordelia,” which had only sufficient room for her crew and was encumbered with boxes and other freight. Convenient loopholes had been made between the bales of cotton, so that the occupants of the boats could defend themselves from musketry fire without serious risk. The oars or sweeps were operated in openings between the bales somewhat wider than the loopholes, and movable screens of thick plank were arranged so that the oarsmen would be fairly well protected.