CHAPTER XV.
CAPTAIN JACK AT THE FRONT.
Two days after the conversation recorded in the last chapter the folksliving at the Ruthven plantation were disturbed at daybreak by thedistant firing of cannon, which continued for over two hours, graduallydrawing closer and closer.
"What can this mean?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, in alarm, as she moved to thewindow. "Can the Yankees be pressing our army back again?"
"I will take the spyglass and go to the roof," said Jack. "Perhaps I'llbe able to see something."
Armed with the glass he made his way to the garret of the plantationhome, and then up a ladder leading to a scuttle of the roof. Marion, asanxious as anybody, came after him.
Standing on the roof, Jack adjusted the spyglass and gave a long look inthe direction from whence the sounds were proceeding.
"What do you see, Jack?"
"I can see nothing but smoke," he answered. "Some is over at Bannock'swoods and the other near Townley church."
"Don't you see any of our soldiers?"
"No. The trees are in the way, and all I can see is a stretch of the bayroad. Hark! the cannon are at it again!"
"But the sounds are closer," persisted Marion.
"That is true. They must be--hullo! there come our men, along the bottomof the woods--they are retreating!"
"Do you mean to say they are coming this way, Jack?"
"Yes, Marion. See for yourself!" And he handed the girl the spyglass.
Marion took a long look, and gave a sigh. "You are right, our bravesoldiers are suffering another defeat. Perhaps they will come to ourplantation!"
"If they do, we ought to do all we can for the wounded," answered Jackquickly.
"To be sure. Oh, see! they are running this way as fast as theycan--fully two regiments of them!"
Again Jack took the glass. "Yes, and now I can see the Yankees. My, whata lot of them! At least twice as many men as there are on our side. Ireally believe they are going to push on to here, Marion!"
At this the girl turned pale. "And if they do?"
"We must defend ourselves as best we can," answered Jack. "Do you knowwhat I am going to do? Call out the Home Guard!"
"But, Jack, you may be shot down?"
"If I am, it will be only at my post of duty, Marion."
So speaking, Jack leaped down the ladder into the garret and randownstairs. He met Old Ben just coming into the house, accompanied byDarcy Gilbert.
"Darcy! just the fellow I want to see! And Old Ben, too!"
"The Yankees are coming!" answered Darcy.
"I know it, Darcy. I was going to call out the Home Guard."
"Exactly my idea."
"Old Ben can help you get the boys together."
"'Deed I will, Massah Jack, if yo' wants me to," responded the coloredman.
Darcy and Ben were soon off and Jack re-entered the house, to beconfronted by Mrs. Ruthven.
"What are you up to, Jack?"
"I have called out our Home Guard, mother. The Yankees shall not destroythis plantation or molest you and Marion."
"You must do nothing rash, Jack."
"I will be careful. But this is private property, and you and Marion areladies, and our enemy must remember this," responded Jack, and ran offto don his uniform and his sword.
Inside of half an hour the members of Jack's company began to appear,until there were nineteen boys assembled. Each had his gun or his pistolfully loaded, and the appearance made by the lads, when drawn up in aline, was quite an imposing one.
"Ise got a pistol," said Old Ben, showing a long, old-fashioned "hoss"pistol on the sly. "If anybody tries to shoot Massah Jack, he will heahfrom dis darky, suah."
"Thank you, Ben," answered our hero. "You always were true to me. Ifever I grow up to be a man and get rich, I shan't forget you," and thismade Old Ben grin from ear to ear.
Presently there was a clatter on the road beyond the plantation, and aConfederate battery, drawn by horses covered with foam, swept past.
"The Yanks are coming!" was the cry. "Get indoors and hide your jewelryand silverware!"
"They are coming!" muttered our hero. He called the boys together. "HomeGuard, attention!" he cried out. "Line up here. Carry arms! Boys, areyou willing to stand by me and help me to keep my mother's house frombeing ransacked?"
"Yes! yes!" was the ready reply.
"Hurrah for Captain Jack!" put in several of the more enthusiastic ones.
"Thank you, boys. We won't fight unless we have to. But if it comes tothat, let everybody give a good account of himself."
"We will! We will!"
Soon another battery swept by the house, the horses almost ready to dropfrom exhaustion. Marion saw this and whispered to her mother.
"Let me do it, mother," she pleaded.
"If you so much wish it," answered Mrs. Ruthven.
With all speed the girl ran to the barn and brought out her own horse, abeautiful black, and ran him to the road.
"Take my horse and hitch him to yonder cannon!" she cried. "He isfresh--he will help you save the piece!"
"Good fer you, young lady!" shouted one of the cannoneers. "We've gotfriends yet, it seems!" The horse was taken, and the cannon moved on ata swifter pace than ever.
"That was grand of you, Marion!" cried Jack. He knew just how much shethought of the steed she had sacrificed, her pet saddle horse.
And now came several of the hospital corps, carrying the wounded onstretchers, and also several ambulances. In the meantime the shootingcame closer and closer, and several shells sped over the plantation, toburst with a crash in the woods beyond.
"The battle is at hand! God defend us!" murmured Mrs. Ruthven.
Several Confederates with stretchers were crossing the lawn. On thestretchers lay three soldiers, all badly wounded.
"We can't carry them any further, madam," said one of the party. "Willyou be kind enough to take them in?"
"Yes, yes!" cried Mrs. Ruthven. "Bring them in at once. We will do ourbest for them!" And she summoned the servants to prepare cots on thelower floor, since it would have been awkward to take the woundedupstairs.
The stretcher-carriers were followed by others, until six woundedConfederates lay on cots in the sitting room. A young surgeon was athand, and he went to work without delay, and Mrs. Ruthven and Marionassisted.
And now the army was passing by the plantation, some on foot, some onhorseback, and all exhausted, ragged, covered with dust and dirt, andmany badly wounded. The shooting of small-arms had ceased, but thedistant cannon still kept booming, and occasionally a shell burst in thevicinity. As the last of the Confederates swept by Jack ran down to theroadway.
"The enemy are coming!" he said, after a long look ahead. "They will behere in less than ten minutes."
Soon the trampling of horses' hoofs was heard, and then came theoccasional blast of a trumpet. At last a troop of cavalry swept by,paying no attention to the Ruthven homestead.
The cavalry was followed at a distance by a company of rascally lookingguerrillas--followers of every army--who fight simply for the sake oflooting afterward.
"To the house!" cried the captain of the guerrillas, a man named SandyBarnes.
"Company, attention!" cried out Jack, and drew up his command across thelawn in front of the homestead.
"Halt!" shouted Captain Barnes. And then he added; "What are you boysdoing here?"
"We are the guard of this house," answered Jack, quietly but firmly.
"Guard nothin'! Out of our way!" growled the guerrilla.
"We will not get out of your way, and you will advance at your peril."
"What, will you boys show fight?" queried the guerrilla curiously.
"We will!" came from the boys. "Keep back!"
"This is private property and must be respected," went on Jack."Besides, the house is now a hospital, for there are six woundedConfederates inside, in charge of a surgeon."
The guerrilla muttered something under his breath.
"Come on, anyhow!" shouted somebody in a rear rank. "It looks like ahouse worth visitin'!"
"Try to enter the house and we will shoot!" went on Jack, his facegrowing white.
"Why, youngster, you don't know who you are talking to," growled Barnes.
He stepped forward as if to enter the house by a side door, when Jackran in front of him and raised his sword.
"Not another step, if you value your life!"
"Out of my way, boy!" And now the guerrilla raised his own sword, whilesome of his men raised their guns.
It was truly a trying moment, and Marion, at the window, looked on withbated breath. "Oh, if Jack should be killed!" she thought.
But now there came a shout from the road, and there appeared a regimentof regular Federal troops. The guerrillas saw them coming, and gazedanxiously at their leader.
"It's Colonel Stanton's regiment!" muttered a guerrilla lieutenant. "Hewon't stand no nonsense, cap."
"I know it," growled Barnes. "Right face, forward march!" he shouted,and, as quickly as they had come, the guerrillas left the plantation andtook to a side road leading to the distant hills.
But the Federal regiment had seen them, and as the guerrillas ran theyreceived a volley which lay several of them low. They were virtuallyoutlaws, and knew it, and lost no time in getting out of sight.
"Halt!" shouted the Federal colonel as he rode up across the lawn, andone after another the companies behind him stopped in their march. Thenthe Northerner came closer to Jack and the others of the Home Guard.
"What's the matter here? What does this mean?"
Jack gazed up into the face of the Federal colonel and saw that it wasan unusually kindly one. "We are defending this home, sir; that's all. Ireckon those fellows who just ran off wanted to ransack it."
"The scoundrels! I've been after them twice before. Was anybody hurt?"
"No, sir."
"You are a young Confederate, I presume?"
"I am the captain of these boys. We call ourselves the Home Guard. Wewish to protect our homes, that's all."
At this the face of the colonel broke out into a warm smile.
"You do yourself credit, my lad. You could not do better than protectyour homes and your mothers and sisters. Whose place is this?"
"Mrs. Alice Ruthven's."
"Did the Confederate battery just retreat past here?"
"I cannot answer that question, sir."
"Well, it doesn't matter much. We have got them on the run, and that wasall we wanted for the present."
"I hope you don't intend to do anything to this place," went on Jackanxiously. "It is private property, and, besides, we have six woundedmen here, in charge of a surgeon."
"An officer who is a gentleman always respects private property," wasthe grave answer. "As long as you do nothing treacherous, you havenothing to fear from me or my men." And so speaking, the colonel rodeback to the road.
"A fine-looking man, and a gentleman, if ever there was one," thoughtJack. "What a difference between him and that fellow who threatened mewith his sword!"
"Will they come back, Jack?" asked Mrs. Ruthven, as she came outside.
"I don't know, mother. But the officer said we had nothing to fear."
"He looked like an honest gentleman."
"So I thought. How are those wounded men making out?"
"One is already dead, poor fellow. But the surgeon has hopes of theothers."
"Is Marion helping the doctor?"
"Yes. I want her to come away from the awful sights, but she will not.Jack, she is almost as brave as you are!"
"Pooh! I'm not so brave, mother."
"Yes, you are. Why, that rascal was going to run you through with hissword!"
"Dat he was," put in Old Ben. "But let me tell yo' sumt'ing, missus. Ihad dat feller covered wid dis hoss-pistol ob mine. If he had tried toslew Jack dat would hab been de end of the rascal, suah pop!"
"Good for you, Ben! Continue to look out for Jack, and I will reward youhandsomely," concluded Mrs. Ruthven, and returned to the house.
Young Captain Jack; Or, The Son of a Soldier Page 16