CHAPTER XI
THE STORY OF CARL MEYER
"Of all outrages!" exclaimed Dan.
"That girl! Wasn't she splendid?" answered Lawrence. "She made me thinkof some great tragic queen. What a scene for the stage!--and we saw itin reality."
"Wasn't thinking of the girl," sputtered Dan. "I was thinking of theoutrage of sending us back under arrest."
"He had a right to, Dan. We could be court-martialed and shot."
"What! For interfering with the hellish work of that murderer? He is asbad as a guerrilla," angrily responded Dan.
"For drawing a weapon and interfering with his orders," repliedLawrence. "Good God! I could almost afford to be shot for the pleasureof putting a bullet through the black heart of Jennison. That girl--Iwonder what will become of her!"
"Girl again!" growled Dan. "And don't blame Jennison too much. He hadgreat provocation. No doubt that old scoundrel had been shieldingJerry."
But Lawrence did not answer. He knew Dan's aversion to girls, and littlewas said as they rode on, mile after mile. Both Lawrence and Danbitterly felt the disgrace of reporting back to Lexington under arrest.
Lawrence knew that the case would have to go to Schofield. If there wasany court-martial, Schofield would have to order it, and Lawrence feltthat the General would deal leniently with him.
But the case never went to Schofield. On his return from his raid,Colonel Jennison released Lawrence from arrest, saying he did so onaccount of his youth, and that no doubt he acted as he did from suddenimpulse, owing to the distress and beauty of the girl. Neither did hethink Lawrence understood the situation. Harsh means had to be used toprevent the guerrillas from murdering Union men.
The fact was, Colonel Jennison did not wish the case to be investigated.He, Lane, and others had been reprimanded so often by the Federalauthorities that more than once they had threatened to turn guerrillasand wage warfare on their own account.
Soon after this affair, Lawrence was ordered to report at St. Louis.
"Now I suppose I can leave and join General Blair," said Lawrence, afterhe had given General Schofield a full report of what had happened.
"I trust you will stay with me a while yet," answered the General. "As Iwrote you, I am about to take the field in person. We will have butlittle rest until Hindman, who is gathering a large force in northernArkansas, is thoroughly whipped. There will be stirring times for thenext two months. Blair is not needing you yet. Grant's army is veryquiet--hasn't done much since Corinth fell and Memphis was taken. Theyare making slow progress along the Mississippi now."
Lawrence agreed to stay in Missouri a while longer. He was granted a twoweeks' furlough, and then he was to report at Springfield.
The first use Lawrence made of his furlough was to visit his uncle, andhe found that personage greatly elated over the prospects of the South."I tell you, Lawrence," he exclaimed, "the independence of the South isalready as good as secured. Why, just consider: McClellan whipped on thePeninsula, his army barely escaping; Pope completely crushed, his armyalmost annihilated, the remnant seeking refuge in the fortificationsaround Washington. Lee's army is sweeping victoriously through Maryland;Harper's Ferry taken with ten thousand prisoners. It will only be amatter of a few days until Washington is taken.
"Bragg is thundering at the very gates of Louisville. The whole ofTennessee and Kentucky will soon be redeemed. Buell's army will bedriven across the Ohio. Grant has not gained a foot since the capture ofCorinth. He has not, and never will, get past Vicksburg, I tell you,Lawrence, it's all over. The South has won."
"I admit, uncle," replied Lawrence, "that this has been a bad year forus. But the war isn't over. The worst is yet to come. In the end theSouth will be crushed."
"It cannot be! It cannot be!" cried his uncle, excitedly.
"Uncle, don't let us discuss the war," said Lawrence. "How long sinceyou heard from Edward? I am anxious to hear all the news."
"He was well the last time I heard from him," said Mr. Middleton, "but Ido not hear very often. It is harder to get letters through than it was;but, thank God! those we do get don't come through the hands of thattraitor, Guilford Craig. You have heard no news of him, have you?"
"No; but it is curious his body was never found. There is little doubtbut that he fell at Pea Ridge, and that at the hands of hisstep-brother."
"Served him right," growled Mr. Middleton.
"And Randolph Hamilton--what of him?" asked Lawrence.
"Randolph is also well, Edward writes."
"I am glad to hear that," answered Lawrence. "Randolph is a noblefellow. Lola Laselle did a fine thing when she saved him. How is Mrs.Hamilton now?"
"Mrs. Hamilton and Dorothy have gone to Europe," answered Mr. Middleton."Mr. Hamilton thought it best to take her away from the excitement ofthe war."
"So Dorothy is gone," said Lawrence, "Well, she won't have to hold asideher skirts for fear of contamination, if I happen to pass her on thesidewalk."
"I thought you and Dorothy were great friends--kind of childishsweethearts," replied his uncle.
"That was before I turned Yankee," laughed Lawrence.
"Ah, my boy, Dorothy is not the only one who has been disappointed inyou," sighed his uncle.
While Lawrence and Mr. Middleton were talking, a newsboy came runningdown the street, yelling: "Extra! Extra! Terrible battle in Maryland.McClellan whips Lee. Fifty thousand men killed."
Mr. Middleton rushed out and purchased a paper. It told of the greatbattle at Antietam. He turned pale as he read, and his hands trembled sohe could scarcely hold the paper. Lawrence heard him murmur, "Thank God!Edward was not in it."
Lawrence had no thought of exulting over the news in his uncle'spresence; instead, he told him that the first reports of a battle werealways exaggerated; but at the same time his heart was singing for joy.Afterward, when the news came that Lee had succeeded in getting his armysafely across the Potomac, Mr. Middleton's hopes revived. It was a drawnbattle, after all.
There was one in St. Louis that Lawrence could not fail to visit, andthat was Lola Laselle, the girl who had taken his part on the steamboat,when a forlorn, dirty, homeless boy, and who had chosen him for herknight-errant when he went into the army.
Of all the young people Lawrence had associated with before the war,Lola was one of the few who had remained faithful to the old flag, andby so doing had been mercilessly cut by her young companions. But oneday Lola hid Randolph Hamilton to keep him from being arrested as a spy,and this somewhat restored her to favor, especially with the Randolphfamily.
No sooner did Lola see Lawrence than she ran toward him withoutstretched hands, crying, "Lawrence, Lawrence, is this indeed you? Howglad I am to see you! And how you have grown! Why, you are a man!"
"And I am afraid I have lost my little girl," said Lawrence, as he tookher hand, and gallantly raised it to his lips. "You have grown to almosta young lady."
"I don't know whether I like it or not," said Lola. "I sometimes think Ihad rather remain a little girl."
"I believe I am of your opinion," replied Lawrence, looking at heradmiringly.
"Why, am I growing homely?" pouted Lola.
"That's not it. If you were still a little girl, I--I might have beenpermitted to kiss your cheek, instead of just your hand. Remember----"
"Stop! You mean thing!" commanded Lola, blushing furiously.
Lawrence gazed on her with admiration. She was certainly budding into amost beautiful girl.
"Lola, you are splendid!" he cried, "I wouldn't have you a little girlagain. You are far ahead of any girl I know."
"How about Dorothy Hamilton?" she asked, mockingly.
"Dorothy Hamilton be hanged! How did you and she part?"
"Good friends. She and I correspond. After I saved Randolph, she couldnot do enough for me."
"Then she has some heart. I am glad to hear it," answered Lawrence,bitterly. "When I saved her from being crushed beneath the horse's feet,she rewarded me by calling me a miserable Yanke
e."
"Maybe she will be good to you some time," said Lola. "Remember how sheused to cut me."
"I reckon I do," said Lawrence, "and it used to make me tearing mad.Lola, of all the girls I used to associate with, you are the only onewho does not pass me with looks of contempt; but your friendship andsympathy are worth all I have lost--yes, a thousand times more."
"Don't magnify my importance; but I shall always be your friend,Lawrence," she said, simply.
They then fell to talking of other things, and Lawrence had to tell herof all his experiences. When he told her of his capture by theguerrillas, and how he had been ordered to be put to death, sheshuddered and turned so pale he thought she was going to faint.
"Stop! Stop!" she gasped. "It was awful--awful! I cannot bear it."
"Wait and let me tell you how I escaped death," said Lawrence.
When he had finished, her eyes, though bedewed with tears, were shiningwith joy and pride.
"Lawrence," she cried, "I am prouder of you than ever. You were shownmercy, because you were merciful; and I would have my knight-errant asmerciful as he is brave."
"How can he be otherwise, when she whose colors he wears is so kind andmerciful?" gallantly replied Lawrence, and, taking her little hand inhis, he raised it and pressed his lips against her trembling fingers.
"A true knight can always kiss the hand of the lady he serves," saidLawrence. He then bade her good-bye, with the promise of coming againbefore he went to the front.
Is it strange that, as he went on his way, his thoughts were all of thebeautiful girl he had just left? But, all unbidden, there arose beforehim a mental vision of the face of another girl--a girl whose queenlyhead was crowned with a wealth of golden hair, but whose eyes flashedwith scorn at the sight of him--whose very soul loathed the uniform hewore; and he sighed, he hardly knew why.
Suddenly the thoughts of all girls were driven from his mind, for in thecrowd before him he saw a well-known face--the face of Carl Meyer. Carlwas a German boy, about a year older than Lawrence. It was he who hadinduced Lawrence to join the Home Guards, and thus paved the way to hisacquaintance with Frank Blair. They had not met since the battle ofWilson Creek, when Carl went back with a broken arm.
In a moment the two clasped hands, their eyes telling what their lipsrefused to utter. At length Lawrence found voice. "My! how you havegrown!" he exclaimed; "and this,"--he touched the strap of a secondlieutenant on his shoulder--"Oh, Carl, I am so glad."
"And you," replied Carl, the joy gleaming in his honest eyes; "I seeit's Captain now."
"Come with me, Carl. I must hear all that has happened to you since thelast time we met."
In the privacy of Lawrence's room, Carl told his story--a story thatLawrence listened to breathless attention.
"The wound which I received at Wilson Creek was a bad one," said Carl,"and at first it was thought I would have to lose my arm; but I have ityet, and a pretty good arm it is. After I had recovered, which was earlyin January of this year, I was with the army which operated against NewMadrid and Island Number 10. Lawrence, you should have been with me. Itwas glorious. The river fight--the mighty siege-guns--the great mortarswhich hurled shells weighing hundreds of pounds. It was as if all thethunders of heaven had gathered in one place to smite the earth.
"Then think of digging a canal twelve miles long, six miles of itthrough heavy timber. Great trees were sawed off beneath the water, tomake a road for the transports."
"How could you do it? How could you do it?" broke in Lawrence.
"By standing on rafts or in boats and using saws with very long handles.It was a giant's task, but at last it was completed. Not only this, but,amid snow and chilling rains, bayous were waded, swamps consideredimpassable struggled through; and at last New Madrid and Island Number10 fell.
"The fruits of these victories were glorious: nearly two hundred cannon,great and small; seven thousand prisoners, as many small arms, greatstores of the munitions of war, and several transports sunk. All of thiswith a loss of only fifty."
"It was glorious, Carl," cried Lawrence. "No wonder you feel proud ofbeing one of an army that dared so much, and accomplished so much."
"Wait until you hear the rest," replied Carl. "After Island Number 10fell, most of the army was sent to reinforce Halleck before Corinth; butmy command was left. We soon had possession of the Mississippi nearly toMemphis; but rumors came of the Confederates building an immense fleetof gunboats and ironclad rams.
"Our gunboats moved down and attacked, but were repulsed and drivenback. Colonel Charles Ellet had been given authority to build some rams.He hastily constructed some out of old river steamboats, converting theminto engines of destruction. With these wooden rams, without cannon, andwithout an armed crew, Colonel Ellet proposed to attack and destroy thewhole fleet.
"Eleven sharpshooters had been chosen and placed on the _Monarch_. I wasfortunate enough to be one of the eleven. We were the only armed menaboard the ram. The _Monarch_ was commanded by Colonel Alfred Ellet, abrother of Charles. Charles was aboard the ram, _Queen of the West_.
"It was dusk when we came to our fleet of gunboats anchored across theMississippi. Below them, a little above Memphis, lay the Rebel fleet,anchored in a line across the river. There the two fleets lay like twogreat beasts ready to spring on each other.
"Colonel Ellet anchored and waited for the morning. Hardly was it lightwhen there came the boom of a great gun. It was a beautiful morning, andas the thunder of the gun reverberated over the water, thousands of thepeople of Memphis rushed to the bluffs to witness the battle and, withwaving flags and shouts of encouragement, cheer their men on to victory.
"On, in imposing line, comes the Rebel fleet, the smokestacks of theirvessels belching forth great clouds of smoke, and their guns thunderingas they come. Now the guns of our fleet answer their thunder, and thebluffs on which the people are gathered shake and tremble with theconcussion. A black wall of smoke settles down and hides our fleet fromview; only through the blackness can be seen the flashes of the greatguns.
"Hardly had the battle opened when Colonel Ellet signalled for his fleetof rams to get under way. The _Queen of the West_ and the _Monarch_ gotoff first, and straight for the wall of blackness, lit by the fitfulflashes, we steered. We entered that wall, and everything was blottedfrom view--only around and about us was the roar of the great guns, thebursting of shells.
"Suddenly, as if emerging from the mouth of a tunnel, we burst from thecloud of smoke, and before us at full speed was coming the Rebel fleet,nearly a dozen gunboats and ironclads, against two wooden, unarmed rams.
"Colonel Ellet never swerved; ahead at full speed he drove the _Queen ofthe West_ for the _General Lovell_. We could see the tall figure ofColonel Ellet standing on the hurricane-deck of the _Queen_. With hishat he signalled his brother to steer for the _General Price_, and onthe two rams rushed, the _Queen_ slightly ahead.
"The _General Lovell_ drew out from their line and steered straight forthe _Queen_. Like two great monsters, the boats rushed at each other. Weforgot to cheer; we heeded not the thunder of battle; we could only lookat these two vessels rushing to what seemed certain destruction.
"Even the excited cheering of the crowd on the bluffs grew silent. Withtense nerves and white faces, they watched the two vessels. Coming asthey were, it meant the destruction of both. Would not one swerve toavoid the coming blow? Still standing on the deck of his vessel, his eyefixed on his prey, Ellet drove the _Queen_ forward--not a hair's breadthwould he swerve.
"Just before the shock came, the _General Lovell_ swerved to try toavoid the coming blow--but too late. Full amidships the _Queen_ struckher, cutting her through like a great knife, and the vessel sank beneaththe turbid waters of the river, all the crew not killed struggling inthe water.
"From the thousands on shore there came a mighty groan--a wail of agonywhich seemed to throb and quiver through the air, making itself felteven above the roar of the battle.
"Now was our turn. The _Mona
rch_ struck the _General Price_ a glancingblow, not sinking her, but shaving off her starboard wheel; and she wasout of the fight.
"Before the _Queen_ could be disentangled from the wreck of the _GeneralLovell_, the _Beauregard_ and _Van Dorn_ both attacked her. ColonelEllet fell with a ball through the knee; but as he lay on the deck, hecontinued to direct the fight.[9]
[Footnote 9: Colonel Ellet died of his wounds.]
"The _Monarch_ saw the danger which threatened the _Queen of the West_,and straight for the _Beauregard_ she went, crashing into that vessel'sside, and putting her out of the conflict.
"The Confederate fleet thought only of escape now. The battle drifteddown the river, past the city. The gunboats joined in the chase, and butone Confederate vessel escaped. Those that had not been sunk or disabledwere run on the shore on the Arkansas side and set on fire by theircrews, before escaping into the swamp."
"Carl," cried Lawrence, "I would have given ten years of my life to haveseen that battle, and, like you, to have been a part of it."
"Very little part I had," replied Carl, modestly, "except to fire a fewshots when we were at close quarters. But after the fight--ach!Lawrence, that is something worth telling."
"What was it, Carl?"
"Toward the close of the fight, a white flag was run up in the city ofMemphis. Colonel Ellet sent his son, a medical cadet, no older thanyourself, Lawrence, to demand the surrender of the city. He chose threemen, of whom I was one, to accompany him.
"We rowed ashore in a small boat, and landed in the midst of a howling,excited mob of thousands.
"Young Ellet handed the message which his father had written to theMayor, and then we started for the postoffice. The mob closed in aroundus--four men in the midst of thousands. They cursed, they howled; theyheaped upon us the most violent names; they threatened to tear us topieces.
"We reached the postoffice, ascended to the top of the building, andbegan to lower the Confederate flag. A frenzy seized the crowd. Theysurged to and fro; they howled and gnashed their teeth like beasts ofprey. Some drew revolvers and began shooting at us.
"'Don't fire back,' said young Ellet, coolly. 'They can not hit us thishigh.'
"The Stars and Bars came down, and the glorious Stars and Stripes arose,and as its folds unfurled to the breeze we swung our hats and gave arousing cheer; but I do not think we were heard above the roar of themob.
"Leaving the flag waving, we descended, and once more the mob surroundedus, snarling, cursing and howling; but a great fear kept them fromtearing us to pieces.
"We walked through their midst as coolly as if we were being showeredwith bouquets instead of curses, and reached our boat in safety."
"It was a brave thing to do, Carl. I wouldn't have missed hearing yourstory for anything," said Lawrence, as he warmly shook his hand atparting.
The next day Lawrence went to bid his uncle and aunt good-bye, beforestarting for the front. As they talked, they were again interrupted by anewsboy crying, "Extra! Extra! All about the great battle at Corinth!Generals Price and Van Dorn whipped! The Missouri brigade annihilated!"
"What's that?" exclaimed Mr. Middleton, turning pale.
Lawrence secured a paper and gave it to him. He glanced at it andgroaned. It told how Van Dorn and Price had been disastrously defeatedbefore Corinth; how the Confederate Missouri brigade had charged up tothe very mouth of the cannon of Fort Robinette, and that but few of themwere left alive.
"We must hope for the best," said Lawrence, as he looked at the strickenfaces of his uncle and aunt; but he could say no more.
Mr. Middleton, with shaking limbs and halting footsteps, assisted hiswife to her room.
In St. Louis that night many sat weeping, yet hoping that their lovedones were safe; for St. Louis had many a son in that battle, both on theFederal side and the Confederate.
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