If there was any more of the song, the rebel evidently did not know it,for he kept singing these two lines over and over, now and then varyingthe monotony of the performance by whistling. Frank stood for somemoments listening to him, and finally began moving cautiously around thecabin, to find some opening through which he could look and see what wasgoing on inside. He presently discovered a hole between the logs, and,upon looking in, saw a man seated on the floor before a fire-place, inwhich burned some pine knots, engaged in whittling out an oar with hisbowie-knife. On the floor near him lay one evidently just finished. Atthe opposite side of the room stood a bag, from the mouth of whichpeeped several letters.
A thought struck Frank--which would be of the most benefit, to burn thehouse or to capture the mail, which might contain information of thegreatest importance? Undoubtedly the latter would be of the mostconsequence. Then he debated long and earnestly upon the chances ofescaping with the mail, should he attempt its capture. The man who hadcharge of it was a most powerful-looking fellow, who knowing theimportance of his trust, and the certainty of receiving prompt andeffective assistance from his comrades, would, no doubt, fight mostdesperately, unless he could be taken at disadvantage and secured beforehe had time to think of resistance. Besides, the cabin was scarcelyfifty feet distant from the house, which Frank knew was filled with men,for he could hear them walking about the rooms and talking to eachother. The least unusual noise would certainly alarm them, in which caseescape would be entirely out of the question Frank, we say, thought overall these things, and finally coming to the conclusion that it would beworse than useless to attempt the capture of the mail, turned hisattention to the house. How was he to set fire to it?
Frank, we know, was not wanting in courage, but he had learned, byexperience, that there are times when "discretion is the better part ofvalor." When he proposed the expedition, he had not expected to find theentire regiment quartered in the house. He had supposed that the menwould find sleeping-rooms in the negro quarters, which were nearly ahalf mile back, while the house would be reserved for the officers. Butthe rebels surely would not remain up all night, and when they had allgone to bed would be the time to execute his purpose. He would notabandon his project until he had given it a trial, or fully satisfiedhimself that the undertaking was utterly impracticable. For the present,he would remain where he was; something might "turn up" which would beto his advantage.
At this moment a man entered the cabin, the door of which stood open,and inquired:
"Going over to-night, Stiles?"
Frank was thunderstruck, and he now saw the necessity of attemptingnothing unless it promised complete success. As the reader has alreadylearned, he was among his old enemies, the Wildcats. Upon making thisdiscovery he was both astonished and alarmed--astonished, for it seemedto him that he could scarcely make a move in any direction without beingconfronted by the redoubtable Wild-cats. This was the second time he hadfound himself among them before he was aware of it. He was alarmed,because he knew, by experience, the treatment he would receive if heshould fall into their hands without the prospect of an immediateexchange.
But his attention was again drawn to the men in the cabin.
"Yes," replied Stiles, in answer to his companion's question, "I'm goingover to-night--allers makin' due 'lowance for bein' ketched by theYanks."
"Here's some mail, then," continued the man, thrusting several lettersinto the bag. "How soon do you start?"
"Jest as soon as Tibbs comes with the up-country mail, an' I get thekernel's letters. Was you takin' a chaw of tobaker, Bob?"
"No, I wasn't," replied the other, quickly thrusting his hand into hispocket, as if to protect the precious article. "Tobacco is scarce."
"Now, Bob," said Stiles, "I know you've got some. Me an' you's allersbeen good friends."
The rebel could not withstand this appeal, although he produced his"plug" very reluctantly, and as he handed it to his companion, said:
"Stiles, you're a dead beat. Go easy on that, now, if you please,because it's all there is in the regiment."
The rebel cut off a huge piece of the weed, and, thrusting it into hischeek, went on with his work, while Bob returned to his quarters. He hadscarcely quitted the cabin before Frank had all his plans laid. He wouldgo back after Archie, and together they would lie in wait on the bank ofthe river, and, if possible, capture that mail. With this determination,he was moving slowly away from the cabin, when a door, which he had notbefore noticed, suddenly opened, and Stiles came out, and turning thecorner, stood face to face with Frank, and scarcely an arm's length fromhim. With the latter, retreat without discovery was, of course,impossible. There was but one course he could pursue, and that presentedbut a small chance for success. He was, however, allowed no time fordeliberation, for the rebel, quickly recovering from his surprise,turned to run; but with one bound Frank overtook him, and throwing himto the ground, caught him by the throat, stifling a cry for help thatarose to his lips. This it was that had alarmed the colonel and Archie;and had the former investigated the matter, Frank would again have beena prisoner in the hands of the Wild-cats.
Stiles struggled desperately to free himself from the strong grasp thatheld him, until Frank pulled one of his revolvers from the pocket of hispea-jacket and presented it at his head.
"Do you surrender?" he asked, releasing his hold of the rebel's throat.
"Yes," replied Stiles, faintly. "Don't shoot, Yank!"
"You shall not be harmed if you behave yourself. Have you any weapons?"
"No! They are all in the shanty!"
Frank, after searching the rebel's pockets and satisfying himself of thetruth of this statement, continued:
"Get up! Now, I know you have friends all around you, but if you havethe least desire to live, you'll not make any noise; although you mayalarm the camp, it will not save you. Do you understand?"
"Have I got a pair of ears?" asked the rebel.
"Well, if you have, you hear what I say," returned Frank. "Now go thisway," he added, pointing toward the river.
The rebel, who had a wholesome fear of the revolver which Frank held inhis hand, ready cocked, obeyed, without the slightest hesitation, andthey reached the bank of the river, where the cutter lay, without beingdiscovered.
"Now," said Frank, "I want to ask you a few questions. Where do you keepthe boat in which you were going to carry that mail?"
"In the creek, jest above where that ar' gunboat lies, replied Stiles."
"How many of you were to go?"
"Two--me an' another feller."
"Well, now, the colonel won't find you when he wants you. What will hedo?"
"Oh, he'll send some body else. The mail must go, an' it makes no oddswho takes it, so long as he don't get ketched."
"That's all I want to know," said Frank. Then, going to the top of thebank, he called out:
"Tom, come up here!"
The coxswain soon made his appearance, and Frank said:
"Now, Stiles, you're a prisoner."
"Dog gone ef I keer," he replied, "so long as I get plenty of grub an'tobaker."
The rebel was marched down the bank, and Frank again bent his stepstoward the house, intending to find his cousin, and, with hisassistance, to capture the mail. When he arrived at the tree where hehad left Archie, the latter was not to be seen. This, however, did notgive him any uneasiness, for Archie, he thought, had doubtless gone backto the cutter. Frank had already made up his mind to go back after him,when he saw a man walk up to the cabin in which he had first discoveredthe man who was now his prisoner, and heard him call out:
"Massa Stiles! de mail all ready, sar!"
Receiving no answer, the negro walked into the cabin, but finding itvacant, went out to make the report to the colonel that Stiles was notto be found. From this Frank knew that he had no time to lose. Stileshad told him that some one else would be sent with the mail, and as itwas all ready, a man would soon be found to take his place. If he wentback after Archie, he might b
e too late. He must attempt it alone, andunaided. Walking out from behind the tree, he started toward the creek,where lay the boat in which the mail was to be carried.
The creek he found without difficulty; but the boat was evidently hiddenaway, for he searched up and down the bank for it without success. If hefound it, it was his intention to cut it loose, and allow it to driftout into the river, thus depriving the rebels of the means of carryingtheir mail. But failing in this, he ran up the bank, and awaited thecoming of the rebels. It was a hazardous undertaking to attempt thecapture of two men, both of whom were, no doubt, well armed; but Frankhad great confidence in the _looks_ of his revolvers, and hoped toaccomplish his object without alarming the rebels in the house.
He had waited perhaps a quarter of an hour, when he heard footstepsapproaching, and presently he discovered the two men for whom he hadbeen watching. One carried the mail-bags, and the other a pair of oars,the same, no doubt, which Stiles had but a short time before completed.Frank waited until they were almost upon him, and then sprang up with arevolver in each hand, which he pointed straight at the heads of themen, exclaiming:
"You're my prisoners. Don't make any resistance."
The rebels were astonished, and the man who carried the mail-bags threwthem down and held his arms above his head, in token of surrender. Butthe other, after regarding the officer for a moment, as if to make surethat it was a human being with whom he had to deal, dropped his oars,and before his captor was aware of his intention, drew a pistol andfired. Frank felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, and the revolverwhich he held in that hand fell from his grasp. He had received hisfirst wound, but although thoroughly frightened, he did not lose hispresence of mind. If he had, he would soon have been recalled to a senseof his dangerous situation, for the rebel again cocked his revolver; butthis time Frank fired first, and the rebel sank to the ground with aloud yell. In an instant Frank turned upon the other; but he appeared tobe too much under the influence of fear to lend his comrade anyassistance.
All thought of concealment was now out of the question. The rebels inthe house had, of course, been alarmed, and Frank's only chance forescape with his prisoner and the mail was to reach the cutter as soon aspossible, and pull off to the vessel. Hastily relieving the prisoner ofhis weapons, he directed him to pick up the mail and follow the coursehe pointed out.
The prisoner did as he was ordered; but they had not gone far when aloud yelling announced that the rebels in the house had been alarmed,and were in pursuit. Frank kept close behind his prisoner, who, throughfear of the revolver, ran at a rapid rate, but they had further to runto reach the cutter than the guerrillas, and the latter gained rapidly.The prisoner, who was not long in discovering this, slackened his paceconsiderably, although he appeared to be doing his utmost. Frank,however, was not deceived. Thrusting his revolver into his pocket, heseized the rebel by the nape of the neck, and helped him over the groundin a manner more rapid than agreeable. Had the man been aware of thefact that his captor had but one arm that he could use, he might nothave submitted so quietly as he did. Frank, whose whole mind was wrappedup in the idea of saving his prisoner and the mail, did not stop tothink of this, but pushed his man ahead to such good advantage that theysucceeded in reaching the cutter before their pursuers. He marched therebel down the bank in the most lively manner, and tumbled him into theboat, where he was instantly seized and secured.
The sailors, who had heard the noise of the pursuit, and waitedimpatiently for the appearance of their officer, were all in theirplaces, and as Frank sprang in, he shouted:
"Shove off--lively now, lads!"
The cutter was speedily pushed from the shore, and the oars got out andhandled by twelve strong fellows, all good oarsmen.
"Let fall--give away together," again commanded Frank, who, in spite ofthe pain of his wound, began to chuckle over his good luck in securingthe mail. "The rebs will give us a volley," he continued, "unless we getout of sight in the darkness before they reach the bank. So, pick herup, lads, and walk right away with her."
The sailors, understanding the order, and rejoicing in the escape oftheir young officer, whose safety and well-being they regarded asinfinitely of more importance than their own, gave way manfully on themuffled oars, which made no sound as they bent beneath the sturdystrokes, and the cutter flew noiselessly through the water, The rebelsreached the bank but a few moments after the cutter had left, butneither seeing nor hearing any thing of her, they contented themselveswith uttering their yells, and firing a volley into the darkness in thedirection they supposed the boat had gone.
But their attention was soon called to another quarter, for a brightflame shot up from the house. The boat's crew saw it, and could scarcelyrefrain hurrahing; but knowing that they were not yet out of range ofthe guerrillas' rifles, they gave vent to their jubilant feelings byredoubling their efforts at the oars.
"Mr. Nelson," whispered the coxswain, "may I be allowed to say that waswell done, sir!"
"I didn't do that, Tom," answered Frank, in a faint voice, as he gazedin surprise at the burning house, and thought of his cousin. "IsPaymaster Winters in the cutter?"
Frank hardly dared to ask the question, for if his cousin had been inthe boat he would have known it before that time.
"The paymaster!" repeated the coxswain; "no, sir. He went away with you,sir, and I haven't seen him since. He's missing, that's a fact."
Frank felt ready to faint on hearing this, and very bitterly did hecensure himself for allowing his cousin to accompany him! But regretswere useless; the mischief had been done, and could not be undone. Hehad one hope, however, to which he still clung--that Archie might be onboard the vessel. Perhaps, not daring to attempt to find his way back tothe cutter, through fear of capture, he had swam on board and was nowsafe. He would soon know.
In a few moments they had reached the Boxer, and as the cutter camealong side, Frank seized the mail-bags and sprang out. After giving theofficer of the deck, who met him at the gangway, instructions in regardto the prisoners, he ran up the stairs that led to the wardroom. Here hemet the captain, who, taking him familiarly by the arm, led him into thecabin, exclaiming:
"Mr. Nelson, I congratulate you, sir; it was well done, sir! The houseis all in a blaze."
"Captain," said Frank, "I didn't do that, sir. Is the paymaster onboard?
"Why, no, sir; not unless he came with you."
"I haven't seen him, captain, since I left him within a short distanceof that house. If he is not on board, sir, he's out there yet, and hehas fired the building."
"Why, Mr. Nelson," exclaimed the captain, for the first time noticingFrank's pale face and useless hand, from which the blood was dripping,"you are wounded, sir. Orderly, orderly, send the doctor here at once."
Frank on the Lower Mississippi Page 5