"What do you want of me?" demanded Artie, with his right hand on the handle of his revolver.
"I want them handbills you just got printed," replied the spokesman. "We ain't go'n' to have no Abolition troops enlisted round here. And that ain't all nuther; we're gwine to clean out that Major Lyon that sent you over here."
"Hand over the papers and we won't hurt you," added another of the trio.
"I shall not give them up!" replied Artie as decidedly as though he had the new company of cavalry behind him. "Get out of the road, or I will ride over you!"
"You won't give em' up, won't yer?" returned the man in the middle, as he brought his old gun to his shoulder.
"No!" yelled the messenger, as he fired his revolver at the spokesman.
At the same moment he drove his heels into the flanks of his spirited steed, giving him the rein as he did so. The horse darted ahead like a shot from a gun, and choosing his way between the men, he knocked two of them over, and galloped on his way. The sudden movement of the animal had prevented the men from bringing their guns to bear upon him. The man on his feet fired, and the rider heard a ball whistle near him. In a minute he was out of the range of such weapons, and reached Riverlawn in season for supper.
He delivered the bills to the lieutenant, and told his story. The next morning the early risers saw these placards posted all over Barcreek village, and along the roads for five miles in all directions.
Levi and Deck were the bill-stickers, and the night was chosen as the time to post them, in order that the paste might be well dried and hardened before they were seen. They had taken a wagon, and with the coachman for driver they had gone their round after people generally were asleep. Wherever a flat surface could be found by the light of a lantern, on barns, fences, rocks, and shops, a placard was posted.
It would take the ruffian brigade a long time to pull them all down, after the paste was dry; and the very wrath of these men would assist in advertising the recruiting office at Riverlawn. The fact that the papers were ready for signature could hardly fail to be known all over the vicinity early in the morning, and all over the county in a day or two. The information was already circulating in Bowling Green; for the editor of The Planter, at whose office Artie had applied to have the bills printed, had made it known soon enough to enable the three ruffians to make an attempt to suppress the placards.
The Kentuckian was the loyal paper, and would doubtless make at least an item of the fact that the recruiting office had been established. Possibly the other journal would make a "dastardly outrage" of the shot which Artie had fired at the three ruffians who beset him on the road. There was no doubt in the minds of the active men at Riverlawn that the recruiting office would be known to the fullest extent even the day after the bills were posted; for even the women would gossip about it as they went from house to house, and the loafers in the "corner grocery" would have an exciting theme for discussion.
The people had been terrorized by the ruffians, who had banded together as Home Guards in this locality; and they had made noise enough to create the belief among the less demonstrative citizens that the Secessionists were in a majority. But Squire Truman had punctured this bubble by an actual canvass of the inhabitants, and proved, as did the vote of the Legislature, that loyalty was the predominant sentiment.
When Artie Lyon returned from his mission to the county town with the bundle of placards in his possession, there was so much excitement at Fort Bedford that he said nothing about his adventure on the road. Lieutenant Gordon had counselled the sending away of the four wounded ruffians, who had been carefully nursed and fed at the hospital. They were all recovering from their injuries, and all of them walked about the premises during a portion of the day.
"We don't want a lot of spies and enemies in our midst, for they will report everything that is done to their friends who have been permitted to visit them," he reasoned with the planter, and the major agreed with him; and this was the work which was in progress when Artie arrived.
Deck had made a hero of himself at the cross-cut, and his brother was not inclined to wear a wreath of laurel for the little exploit on the road. He slept upon it, and the next morning he felt that it was his duty to inform his father of the occurrence, as one of the indications of public sentiment in the county. The ruffians evidently intended that the Union army should not be recruited in the county.
Major Lyon praised him for his spirited conduct, and the lieutenant made him blush with his commendation. But the incident was discussed more as an exponent of the temper of the ruffians than as an exhibition of pluck and courage on the part of the boy.
"You were right in calling these fellows the ruffians, Major Lyon," said the recruiting officer. "I have no doubt there are many respectable Secessionists in this part of the State, but I am confident they do not associate with such fellows as you have had to deal with."
"Such men are simply in favor of neutrality, which I look upon as a fraud and a humbug," replied the planter. "They are gentlemen in the truest sense of the word, and I am only sorry they are on the wrong side of the question."
The American flag was flying on the newly erected staff, and during the forenoon the carpenters were busy preparing the fort for the new use to which it was to be devoted. A skylight was put in the roof to afford better light, a desk was brought from the library, and enclosed in rails for the officer. Dr. Farnwright, who lived at Brownsville, was appointed medical examiner, and the office was all ready for business by noon.
Before that time a dozen men had presented themselves for enlistment, and had signed the roll. A camp for the volunteers was to be established in the vicinity as soon as practicable. The lieutenant had sent off a requisition for uniforms, arms, provisions, and such other supplies as would be needed. At dinner all were in excellent spirits, and the location of the camp was discussed, and was decided after considerable disagreement. When the party returned to the fort they found half a dozen men waiting for the officer. While he was questioning them, a tremendous outcry came from the direction of the mansion.
"Fire! fire!" screamed the two girls, assisted by all the females in the house.
The planter, Levi, and the boys ran with all their might to the point from which the alarm came. Before they reached it a considerable cloud of smoke rose from the rear of the building, indicating the locality of the fire.
"The house is on fire!" screamed Dorcas.
Major Lyon ran into the house; but Levi, as soon as he saw the smoke, rushed around the mansion, followed by the two boys. In the rear of the building was an ell, to which a one-story structure had been added as a storeroom. The flames rose from this part of the house. Against it was heaped up a pile of dry wood and other combustibles, and it was instantly apparent to the overseer that the fire was the work of an incendiary. No time was to be lost, for the flames were rapidly gathering headway, and in a few minutes the whole mansion would be on fire.
The hands began to appear on the spot, and Levi sent the first one to the stable for pitchforks; but he did not wait for them, and began to draw away the combustibles with such sticks as he could obtain. The boys followed his example, and the dry wood, blazing against the side of the storeroom, was soon removed from its dangerous proximity to the building. The work was effectively completed with the pitchforks as soon as they came.
"There are three men running away towards the swamp!" shouted Deck.
"I see them!" added Artie.
"Put the fire out first, and we will attend to them afterwards!" said Levi. "Keep an eye on them while you work, and see where they go."
The burning brands were removed from the house, but the flames were already communicated to the building. Mrs. Lyon had not gone out at the front door with the girls, but had rushed to the storeroom, where she was soon joined by her husband. All the buckets in the house were brought into use, including half a dozen leather ones that hung in the main hall, and all the women were carrying water to the exposed point. The fire had not yet come through the side of the building, and the buckets were passed out the window to the overseer.
In a few moments the fire was thoroughly drowned out, and everybody breathed more freely. The lieutenant and the recruits had followed the others, and assisted in putting out the fire. Deck and Artie turned their attention to the three men they had seen, and had started in pursuit of them; but Levi called them back. Then he sent to the fort for several revolvers, not doubting that the men who were engaged in this desperate venture were armed.
But he did not wait for them, and told Artie to bring them to him as soon as the messenger returned. Gordon and Deck went with him. The great river was directly in the rear of the mansion, with the road to the county town on its shore. The swamp between the lawn and the road was a quagmire of mud, which was impassable for man or beast. The green from which the estate had been named was high ground, and bordered on the river, with the swamp between them.
"I suppose this fire is the work of the ruffians," said the lieutenant when the party had reached the highest ground in the rear of the house.
"No doubt of that; but it is a mystery to me how any of them got this side of the house without being seen," replied Levi.
"But there is the road I came over yesterday morning," suggested the officer.
"And you can see that low place this side of it, where the ruffians could neither walk nor swim. There is a pond farther along, with a stream from it that flows into Bar Creek," the overseer explained.
While they were on this high land, surveying the surrounding region, Artie brought them the weapons which had been sent for, and informed Levi that his father and the recruits were following the creek, looking for the incendiaries.
"I should say they came across the river above the bridge," said the lieutenant, pointing in that direction.
"But the rapids run close to the shore, and they would not find very good boating right there," replied the overseer with a smile. "However, we will go over to the river, and beat the edge of the swamp to the pond."
They went to the river; but nothing like a boat could be seen on the shore. Then they followed the swamp till they heard a shot ahead of them.
"That makes it look as though Major Lyon had fallen upon them," said Levi, as he quickened his pace. "There is another and another;" and two shots followed the first one.
The party broke into a run, and soon came in sight of the pond. On its waters was a flatboat, or bateau, in which three men were paddling with all their might towards the shore near the road to Bowling Green. The planter had fired three shots at them; but they were too far off for the range of the revolver.
"Out of the reach of the revolver; and he had better have brought one of the breech-loaders," said the lieutenant. "It looks to me just as though they had a first-rate chance to escape."
"We are not euchred yet," replied Levi, as he ran with all his might in the direction of the pond, but to a point much nearer the road. "I have often thought of this place since the troubles here began. The high ground extends very nearly to the road, over which a bridge goes over a small creek, flowing into the pond. I have crossed this place on a plank to the road."
"Then we are all right."
"We are if I can find the plank. One of the cows got mired here, and it was brought over to use in getting her out. There it is!" exclaimed the overseer, rushing to the spot where it lay.
It was carried to the swamp; and though it was too short to bridge the dangerous place, it assisted, with the help of two long leaps, in carrying them over. It was now seen that the ruffians had a wagon, with which they had probably brought the boat to the pond. The party reached the road just as the incendiaries leaped from the bateau. Levi fired the six shots of his weapon at them, and the others followed his example; but the enemy were too far off, and not one of them appeared to be hit.
The moment they reached the shore they ran for the road, and struck it at a considerable distance from the pursuers. The ruffians did not wait to recover the team, but bolted with all their might towards Bowling Green. It seemed useless to pursue them; for they had an advantage of a hundred rods, and the overseer was too fat to compete in speed with them.
The wagon was only a haycart, drawn by two mules; and the incendiaries could easily outrun them if they were used for the pursuit. The purpose of the villains had been defeated, and Levi was disposed to be satisfied with this result. The bateau was taken from the water, and loaded upon the wagon. Major Lyon and the recruits started back to the mansion as soon as the ruffians had effected their escape.
The party seated themselves in the boat, and the mules were started for a new home. When they reached the bridge over the upper part of the rapids, they were not a little surprised, not to say startled, to see a crowd of men marching over in the direction of Riverlawn. They were not exactly a mob, for the head of the column was in regular ranks, and the men were armed with muskets.
"What does that mean, Mr. Bedford?" asked the lieutenant.
"The placards we posted last night have waked up the ruffians, and they are coming over here on the same mission as the three we have driven off to Bowling Green," replied Levi, as he whipped up the mules. "They are the ruffians without a doubt, and we are going to have music of some sort before the sun goes down to-night."
The information was carried to Major Lyon, who had reached the fort in advance of them. The ruffians had doubtless made up their minds that a company of cavalry should not be enlisted at Riverlawn, as advertised, and it was evident enough to all that there was to be a fight before this question could be settled.
So far as the overseer and the boys had been able to observe the crowd on Rapids Bridge, they were in much better condition for an assault than when they came before. The right of the line was formed in ranks, all they could see of the assailants, for they had just begun to cross the river. They were armed with muskets, or something that looked like such weapons.
Levi drove directly to the fort, where Major Lyon was telling those who had not gone with him the result of the visit to the pond. There were only six recruits present, though a dozen had before been enlisted. These were all young men, generally the sons of the farmers of the vicinity, and doubtless adopted the political sentiments of their fathers. They were of a better class than the ruffians morally.
"I did not expect to be besieged so soon, Major Lyon," said Lieutenant Gordon with a pleasant laugh, though he had never been in anything but a skirmish so far.
"We shall hardly be besieged, Lieutenant, for I think it will be a fight as soon as they get near enough to begin it," replied the planter, who was seated on a log, resting himself after the hard tramp he had had after the incendiaries. "But the enemy seem to be better prepared for business than they were when they came before, for you say that all you could see were armed with muskets."
"I could not see at the distance they were from us how well they were armed," added the officer.
"About every family in these parts has one or more persons who do something at hunting in the woods and swamps, and I reckon it would be hard to find a house without a fowling-piece or an old king's arm in it," said Levi.
"They have all got guns of some sort," interposed Simeon Enbank, one of the recruits. "They have been drilling all the time for the last two days in one of Dr. Falkirk's fields."
"I went over to look at them this morning, and the sight of them made me so mad that I came right over here and enlisted," added Robert Yowell.
"Good for you, Yowell!" exclaimed the officer. "Could you see what sort of guns they had?"
"I went in and looked at them; for they were not using them when I was there. They were in line, sort of taking steps, as they do in a dancing-school," answered the recruit.
"But the arms?"
"They were all sorts and kinds, mostly fowling-pieces and old flint-locks that might have been used in the Revolutionary War."
"But we are losing time," said Major Lyon impatiently. "If they had reached the bridge when you saw them, they will be here very soon."
"We don't lose time while we are looking up the condition of the enemy. I believe you are all ready for an attack, and we can do nothing till they reach the other side of the creek. But we can talk while we work," replied the officer. "I suppose these recruits will assist us in the defence of the place?"
The six men all volunteered to perform the service required.
"There are a dozen more men over in the grove," said Ben Decker; "for I had a talk with them as I came along from the old road. They said they expected to stay here all day, and they brought their dinners with them."
This was good news, and Deck was sent over after them. Major Lyon went to the desk, and wrote a brief note to Colonel Belthorpe. He had already ordered all the horses that could be saddled, and Frank was sent to deliver the message the planter had written to Lyndhall. Decker was provided with a steed for his mission, and a wagon was sent for the men a little later.
The negroes who had been slightly drilled in the use of the arms were ordered to report at the fort, and all the hands on the place were summoned from the fields, and held in readiness for anything required of them. The six recruits were drilled for a little while in the use of the breech-loaders. At the same time Levi did what he could to instruct the negroes, though nothing like a military organization could be attempted in the brief space of time available for the purpose.
The twelve-pounders were loaded with canister this time; and Levi, with four of the hands, was placed in charge of the fort. Deck and Artie Lyon were sent down the creek to report the approach of the enemy, and found they had halted at the cross roads, evidently to prepare for the attack. The boys climbed a big tree to obtain a better view of the proceedings of the ruffians, as they still called them, though they had reduced themselves to something like an organization.
"There are a lot of wagons on the bridge," said Deck, who was the first to discover them. "What do you suppose that means?"
"There are three mule teams," added Artie, who had taken a higher place in the tree than his brother. "I see now; the wagons are loaded with boats."
"That means that they intend to cross the creek," replied Deck. "They ought to know this at the fort at once; and if you will study up the thing while I am gone, Artie, I will run up and carry the information."
"That is a good scheme; go ahead with it as quick as you can."
Deck descended the tree with a haste which threatened the safety of the bones of his body, and ran with all the speed he could command to Fort Bedford.
Lieutenant Gordon was drilling the eighteen recruits, the number from the grove on the other side of the creek having arrived, and Levi was training the negroes in the rear of the fort. All the men had been supplied with muskets and rounds of ammunition. No attention was given to facing, wheeling, or marching; for the use of the weapon was more important than any other detail in the brief space of time available.
Deck reported to his father, who was observing the drill of the Africans, and in the hearing of Levi. It was not a mere accident that Squire Truman was seen approaching the fort from the bridge; for he had observed the movement among the ruffians in the village, and had seen that the column was moving by a roundabout road in the direction of the Rapids Bridge. He had no horse, but he had started at once on foot for Riverlawn, to apprise the planter of the danger that menaced him.
"It is time to do something," said the major, after he had welcomed the young lawyer. "The ruffians have a wagon-train loaded with boats in their rear, as my son has just informed me. We will adjourn to the fort and call in the lieutenant."
The information was imparted to the officer, and he joined the others in the fort.
"They intend to make it easy work for us to repel them," said the lieutenant with a smile.
"You are the only military man among us just now, Lieutenant, and I place you in command of all the forces," added Major Lyon. "Levi had some experience in the artillery many years ago."
"I don't aspire to any command," added the overseer. "I will obey orders as a private; and that is all I ever was in the artillery."
"But I shall do something better for you," replied Captain Gordon, as they began to call him from this time. "You are a good soldier, Mr. Bedford, and I shall make an officer of you at once. You will limber up your two guns, and haul them down to the boathouse. Have you any gunners?"
"Plenty of them, Captain; for I have trained enough of the hands to handle a full battery," answered Levi.
The planter had ordered both horses and wagons to be assembled in the rear of Fort Bedford, in readiness for any emergency. A pair of horses were promptly harnessed to each gun by the enthusiastic negroes whom the overseer had trained for battery service, and the artillery was soon on its way to the anticipated field of action. A supply of ammunition was sent down by a wagon.
The major and the squire mounted a couple of steeds, and rode to the front of the fort, a horse having been sent for the use of the new commander. The recruits were standing in line, leaning on their weapons; but they seemed to be engaged in a lively conversation. As the lieutenant approached, Jim Keene, one of the recruits, stepped forward with an awkward attempt to be polite, and addressed the officer:—
"Captain Gordon, we are not going into the army with niggers," said he in a very decided tone. "We ain't going to drop down to the level of niggers, and we want to take our names off that paper."
"Not a single negro has been enlisted, and will not be," replied Captain Gordon.
"But there is a squad of niggers marching down to the creek with muskets in their hands," added Keene, pointing to the detachment that followed the guns, with Levi at their head, mounted on his favorite colt.
"If we had a sufficient force of white men here, we should not call in the negroes as fighting men," interposed Major Lyon. "That Home Guard that has just crossed the bridge over the river consists of over a hundred men, and this time they are armed with guns. We can muster only twenty-four white men at present to beat them off. The other night we called upon the hands to help defend the place because no others were to be had; and to some extent the same is true to-day. My house has been set on fire, and that mob are coming to burn my buildings and capture my wife and daughters. If the white man won't fight for me, the negro will!"
"That alters the case," replied Keene. "We didn't understand it before, and we will fight for you, one and all;" and all the other recruits shouted their acquiescence with one voice.
"No negroes will be enlisted for the army, for there are no orders to that effect," added Captain Gordon.
"That's enough!" exclaimed Enbank. "We will stand by Major Lyon as long as there is a Secesher in sight."
"And you will find the negroes as stiff under fire as any white man ought to be," said Major Lyon, as he galloped down to the boathouse, followed by Squire Truman.
Artie, up in the tree, had kept his eyes wide open, but there was nothing more to be seen. Deck returned to him, and took his place near him. The enemy was still halted at the cross roads. The wagon-train had come up with the main body, and stopped in the road at the side of the creek. Whoever directed the movements of the column had evidently blundered, for the assailants did not appear to know what to do next.
"There is only one boat on each wagon, which is drawn by two mules," said Artie in the tree.
"They must have expected to get the boats into the water before they were discovered," added Deck. "Perhaps they would have done so if we had not happened to see them crossing the bridge when we were coming up after the hunt for the firebugs."
"There comes our artillery," continued Artie, as Levi's section of a battery galloped down the descent from the fort.
At this moment a bullet from the enemy struck a branch of the tree just above Artie's head. The boys had been discovered; and some one, with a better weapon than most of those with which the guards were armed, had fired upon them.
"Get behind the trunk, Artie!" shouted Deck, a position he had secured before. "Now use your musket, my boy!"
They were near enough at their lofty position to make out individuals at the cross roads, which were distant hardly more than double the width of the creek. Deck had seen one man, who wore a semi-uniform, that took a very active part in the movement. Having assured himself that this person was not his uncle, the enterprising young soldier took careful aim at him, and fired. Artie discharged his piece a moment later.
"I hit the man in uniform!" exclaimed Deck, with no little exultation. "A man is tying up one of his arms."
Major Lyon heard the shot, and shouted to the boys to come to the boathouse; and they obeyed the order, keeping the trunks of the trees between themselves and the enemy as far as possible. They were no longer needed in the tree, for the ruffian band could be plainly seen from the boathouse, which was at a safe distance from the enemy.
The enemy did nothing, and seemed to be still in a state of confusion and uncertainty as to what they should do. The new commander of their forces was certainly even more stupid than Captain Titus had been. As Deck had suggested, he had expected to surprise the defenders at Riverlawn, so far, at least, as to get their boats into the water before they discovered that they were attacked.
"If they had any plan of attack it is a failure," said Captain Gordon, as he and the planter were seated on their horses watching the enemy from the front of the boathouse. "One of the recruits informs me that they have a leader in the person of a captain from the Confederate army in Tennessee, who was either sent for by Captain Titus, or was despatched by General Buckner to organize recruits for the Southern army."
"I should say that his first business would be to prevent recruiting for the Union forces," replied Major Lyon.
"Whatever he is, he has made a mess of it," added Captain Gordon.
"But what did he expect to do?" asked the planter.
"Of course he expected to put his pontoons into the water, and send over a force of from thirty to fifty men before they were discovered. If he had done that, they could have acted as sharpshooters from behind the trees on this side. They are just out of range of our muskets now, though the twelve-pounders would catch them with a single shot of canister."
"But I don't wish to have any more of them killed and wounded than is absolutely necessary," said the planter.
"You desire to carry on the war on peace principles," answered the captain with a smile. "You don't seem to understand that the war has actually begun, and the more damage we can do the enemy, the better it will be for us."
"You are in command, and I shall not interfere with your operations," said Major Lyon, as he rode off to the point where Levi was training his gunners.
The recruits in front of the boathouse were impatient for something to be done. They were from the country around the village of Barcreek. The frequent outrages against Union men and families had kindled a feeling of hatred in them, and they were anxious to retaliate. The influence of certain men like Colonel Cosgrove and Colonel Belthorpe had created more Union sentiment than prevailed in many of the Southern counties of the State, and the loyal men had been terrorized from the first indications of trouble.
"Why don't we fire at them, Captain?" demanded Enbank.
"Why don't you fire at the moon? Because you are too far off, and nothing is to be gained by it," replied the commander. "I am waiting for the enemy to make a movement of some kind; and as soon as they do so, you shall have enough of it, I will warrant you."
"They are doing something now!" exclaimed Sam Drye.
"The mule-teams are in motion!" exclaimed Major Lyon, returning to the front of the building.
"I see they are," replied Captain Gordon; "and there is a movement up the new road, as you call it."
"What does that mean?"
"Probably it is intended to cover the launching of the boats. I think the reprobates are in earnest this time," added the commander.
About fifty men started up the new road, and immediately broke into a run. The territory between the new and the old road was covered with trees of large growth, though rather too sparsely to be a wood, but was rather a grove. For about twenty rods above the cross roads the trees had been cut off, and it was a stump field. As soon as the detachment reached the grove they scattered and took refuge behind the trunks of the big trees.
"That is the idea, is it?" said Captain Gordon. "They intend to pick us off from their covert. We must do the same thing. Scatter, my men; and fire at will as you see a head."
The recruits obeyed the order, and were sheltered behind the big trees by the time the enemy reached the positions they had chosen. A desultory firing was begun on both sides of the creek. The commander and the major were on horseback, and they could not protect themselves as the recruits did, and they rode to the rear of the boathouse. They found that Levi had organized a shovel brigade there. The Magnolia had been taken out of the water to prevent it from being captured by the marauders, and had been placed behind the boathouse.
Levi had moved the craft about twenty feet from the building, and had propped it up, with the keel nearest to the creek. This was as far as he had proceeded when the officer presented himself on the ground. Twenty negroes, armed with shovels, which had before been brought down in the wagon, were standing ready for orders.
"What in the world are you doing now, Levi?" asked the planter, when he saw what had been done.
"I am throwing up a breastwork, so that my men can work the guns without being shot down by the enemy on the other side of the creek," replied the overseer.
"A capital idea!" exclaimed Captain Gordon.
"But you are putting it behind the boathouse, man!" shouted the major, who thought he had detected Levi in an egregious blunder.
"These negroes are worth from five hundred to a thousand dollars apiece if you want to sell them, and not many of them would be left if I should set them to digging in the open," replied Levi, laughing at his own argument. "Those ruffians could pick them off at their leisure, and we might as well not have any artillery if the cannoneers are to be shot down as fast as they show themselves. I will warrant that fellow in command on the other side has picked out his best riflemen for duty in the grove."
"The negroes are not for sale," replied the planter. "I should as soon think of selling one of my sons as one of them. But the boathouse is between you and the enemy, Levi."
"How long do you think it will take me with the force at hand to move the boathouse out of the way, Major Lyon?" demanded the overseer with a very broad smile.
"I indorse Mr. Bedford's work," added Captain Gordon, who had turned to observe the operation of the enemy at the cross roads. "They are not making a good job of their work."
As soon as the recruits had been ordered to the trees, and before the detachment sent to the grove had obtained their positions, Deck and Artie had obeyed the commander's order in hot haste. They had chosen a couple of trees on the very verge of the quagmire which lay between the lawn and the road to the south; and when the ruffians attempted to move the mules, both of them opened fire upon the animals.
Both of the boys were good shots, and they hit the mark every time. The mule, though one of the most useful beasts in the world, is very uncertain at times. The testimony of soldiers is to the effect that mules object to being under fire. The two boys were near enough to each other to talk together, and they had agreed to fire into different teams, and they had wounded one in each of them. The two that had been hit not only made a disturbance, braying furiously, but they communicated the scare to the others. The mule drivers could do nothing with them, and in a minute or two the whole of them were all snarled up, and the men were obliged to unhitch them from the wagons and lead them away.
The animals were so terrified that they bolted up the new road in spite of the drivers, and turned in at the bridge, which seemed to promise them a place of security, just as Colonel Belthorpe and his party galloped up to it. The mules were permitted to take the lead. Major Gadbury and Tom were with the planter of Lyndhall. Major Lyon saw them, and, by a roundabout course, joined them in season to prevent them from coming within range of the sharpshooters in the grove.
It did not take the planter of Riverlawn long to explain the situation; and he was informed that twenty Lyndhall negroes, under the lead of Uncle David, in wagons, were on their way to the seat of danger. The horses were left in charge of the servants, and the party made their way to the fort, where they armed themselves with breech-loaders, and took places behind the trees with the recruits.
At the cross roads the enemy were attempting to get the boats to the creek by hauling the wagons by man-power. It was a long pull for them, but they succeeded at the end of a couple of hours. The party in the grove and the one on the lawn were careful about showing themselves, and the firing was continued on both sides without producing any decided result. But by this time Levi had completed his breastwork. Rather to make a smoke than for any other purpose, both of the twelve-pounders were discharged, aimed into the grove.
While the smoke hung about the boathouse, for one of the pieces had been fired on each side of it, all hands seized hold of the building, lifted it from its foundations, and bore it some distance towards the mansion. The cannon were then drawn into the hastily constructed fort, loaded with round shot this time, and were ready for use. The cracking of the rifles in the grove had been quite lively during this operation, and two of the negroes were wounded.
By this time the first of the boats had been filled with men, who were paddling it with all their might to a clump of bushes near the trees where Deck and Artie were sheltered. Both of them fired into the crowd in the boat. But it was hardly under way before Levi had brought one of his guns to bear upon it. He was very careful in pointing the piece, and the solid shot struck the craft squarely on its bow, knocking the thing all to pieces. The black gunners cheered, and were almost mad with enthusiasm.
Another of the boats which had just been launched had to be used to pick up the men from the first. They were taken to the shore. Then some sort of a contention seemed to be stirred up among the party, the nature of which could be easily understood, for it was almost sure death to embark in the boats. In the mean time the shots from the recruits and others behind the trees were picking them off, and the dispute ended in the whole of them taking to their heels and fleeing towards the bridge.
The fire from the grove seemed to be suspended at the same time; for the sharpshooters could not help seeing that the plan of attack, whatever it was, had failed. Colonel Belthorpe and Major Lyon came out from behind their trees. Captain Gordon, who was a cavalry officer, thought it was time for his arm of the service to come into action to harass the retreat of the enemy, if nothing more, and he called in all the recruits from their covert, and ordered as many men as could be mounted to rally at the bridge.
Twenty-four mounted men, including those from Lyndhall, were mustered, each with a breech-loader, in the absence of sabres and carbines. Captain Gordon led them down the new road to the grove. The force occupying it had fled to the old road, and were hurrying to the Rapids Bridge. Among the trees they found two men killed and three badly wounded. Each of them had a rifle on the ground near him, and they were weapons of excellent quality.
The cavalry party followed the fugitives to the bridge, and at the intercession of Major Lyon they were permitted to escape; for he was confident they would not make another attack upon Riverlawn, at least not till they had an organized regiment for the purpose.
While they were upon the ground, Tom Belthorpe and Major Gadbury signed the enlistment papers, as Deck and Artie had done before, and the Lyndhall party went home. The recruits were dismissed for a week, and ordered to report at Riverlawn at the end of that time.
The second battle had been fought and won, and there was no present danger of another attack, though patrols were kept along the creek till the camp was formed the following week. The two attacks upon Riverlawn was the current topic of conversation all over the county for the next week; and so far from damaging the Union cause, it stimulated the recruiting, and at the end of the week Lieutenant Gordon had the names of a full company on his roll. He had reported his success, and had received orders to enlist another company.
The government supplied everything that was required, including sabres, carbines, uniforms, ammunition, and lumber for barracks. Steamboats from Evansville came up the river loaded with supplies; and as the water was high from unusual rains, they landed their cargoes at the boathouse pier, enlarged for the purpose. Each boat was provided with a guard, for they were occasionally fired upon from the shore. Another officer and several non-commissioned officers were sent to the camp.
Barracks and stables were built, and the drill was kept up very diligently. Riverlawn was no longer between two fires, for they were now all on one side. Before, the fight had been a sort of neighborhood quarrel; but now it had become a national affair. The outrages upon Union men ceased in that locality, though they still occurred in other parts of the State. At the end of a month two companies of cavalry had been enlisted, forming a squadron, if another could be raised.
About this time the Home Guard, under command of Captain Titus Lyon, marched to Bowling Green for the purpose of joining the Confederate army that was expected there. They went with such arms as they had used in the second battle of Riverlawn, and without uniforms. They had a hard time of it; for they had no supplies, and suffered from hunger and cold in the cool nights. Titus's two sons, Sandy and Orly, were enrolled in the company; but both of them deserted, though they had not been mustered in, and went back to their mother, where they could at least get enough to eat. The captain could not go home, for it required his presence and all his skill and energy to keep his recruits from abandoning the company.
Noah Lyon saw nothing more of his brother after his visit to Riverlawn when the lieutenant arrived. After he had gone to the South, his wife and daughters called at the mansion, and declared that they were left without money or means of support, except so far as they could obtain it from the little farm.
Deck and Artie Lyon, whose career as soldiers is to appear in these volumes, now appeared wearing the uniform of cavalrymen, with sabres clinking at their sides. They have been under fire, though not in a pitched battle. They are frequent visitors on Sundays at Lyndhall, and Kate Belthorpe has what her father called "a violent admiration for Captain Deck," as he still insists upon styling him, assured that, if he is not of that rank now, he will be in due time. The next volume will present the two boys and others engaged in actual warfare; and what they did will be found in "In the Saddle."
One of the famous modern books. The author is both learned and imaginative, and he brings the researches of the scientist in aid of the story-teller with a skill attained by no other modern writer.
The first is an account of the shipwreck of a vessel which sailed from Charleston, S.C., and was driven upon the west coast of Scotland. The second is a story of life among Spanish-Americans and Indians in Lima, South America. Both are masterly specimens of the author's style in fiction.
The first is a thrilling story of Arctic adventure. The second is a whimsical but most ingenious experiment with oxygen as a stimulant, upon the people of a whole city. It is a most subtle and effective story. The third is the experience of an aeronaut with a madman while making an ascent.
A Prussian officer after the battle of Jena found a child that had been abandoned, and, moved by pity, took charge of it. Years afterward, the child, having become a tall and brave youth, sailed for the New World, and having landed upon the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, went into the interior of the country. At that time the country was overrun by bisons, bears, and other wild animals, and by Indians, who lived by hunting and war. The youth had a plenty of thrilling experiences, both with brute and human foes. He came near death many times; but his courage, presence of mind, or good luck, or all together, saved him. Finally he returned to Germany, where his adventures were far more agreeable than among the Sioux.
This is a fortunate continuation of the "Swiss Family Robinson," a book which has had great and deserved popularity. The careers of the four sons of that family are faithfully detailed, as well as the fortunes of others who come upon the scene, including Willis the Pilot, a weather-beaten sailor, whose saying and doings make him a person of such prominence as to give his name to the book. The scenes are in the South Seas; and the narrative treats of the geography, inhabitants, and productions of little-known regions. The difficulties and dangers of founding a new colony are faithfully related; and it is shown how by intelligent labor and perseverance they may be overcome.
The variations upon the original theme of a shipwrecked mariner have been many. In this case the hero is a young French boy, who was abandoned by his comrades on a sinking ship not far from an island, and who by swimming, in company with a large dog, got to shore, and lived there many years. His dog was a faithful friend. He caught and reared goats, and provided himself with food and other necessaries. Potatoes were plenty, as were rice and other grain. It is a very pleasing story. Of the visitors who afterward came to the island it is best not to speak, for fear of revealing too much of the secret of the story in advance.
The narrative is supposed to be told by an ancient mariner, Captain John Hardy, of his early experiences in an Arctic voyage.
It opens with a vivid description of the ice-floes, first seen as the vessel sailed northward; and of the seal-catching by the sailors upon the floating ice. Then came thrilling and fatal adventures with icebergs, a shipwreck, and the prospect of death by cold or starvation. The various expedients to get food,—seals, ducks, and other birds,—and the long and finally successful efforts to procure fire for warmth and for cooking, make some most interesting chapters. The meeting with the Esquimaux gave a ray of hope, and at last deliverance came. The author, as every one knows, was a famous explorer, and his book is a most trustworthy account of the Frozen North.
This book chronicles the adventures and mishaps of a party of English gentlemen in the early spring while shooting sea-fowl on the sea-ice by day, together with the stories with which they while away the long evenings.
Later in the season the breaking up of the ice carries four hunters into involuntary wandering amid the vast ice-pack which in winter fills the great Gulf of St. Lawrence. Their perils, the shifts to which they are driven to procure shelter, food, fire, medicine, and other necessaries, together with their devious drift, and final rescue by a sealer, are used to give interest to a reliable description of the ice-fields of the Gulf, the habits of the seal, and life on board of a sealing steamer.
In this book of stirring adventure, the characteristics of the Arctic regions have been described according to latest authorities. The regions are those visited by Parry and Franklin.