Si Klegg, Book 6

by John McElroy

  CHAPTER XVII. GATHERING UP THE BOYS AFTER THE BATTLE.

  "HOORAY for Injianny. Injianny gits there every time," roared Si,joining the yelling, exultant throng crowding around the Colonel. "Theold 200th wuz the first to cross the works, and miles ahead o' any otherrejimint."

  "Bully for the Wild Wanderers of the Wabash," Shorty joined in. "They'rethe boss regiment in the army o' the Cumberland, and the Army o' theCumberland's the boss army on earth. Hooray for US Co. Le's have aspeech. Where's Monty Scruggs?"

  "Yes, Where's Monty?" echoed Si, with a little chill at his heart, forhe had not remembered seeing the boy since they emerged from the abatis,just before the final rush.

  "Well, le's have a song, then," said Shorty, as Si was looking around."Where's Alf Russell?"

  "Yes, Where's Alf Russell?" echoed Si, with a new pang clutching at hisheart, for he then recalled that he had not seen Alf since he had helpedhim up the embankment, immediately after which Si's thoughts, had beenengrossed by the struggle for the flag. "Did any of you boys see eitherAlf or Monty?" he asked nervously.

  "And has anybody seen Pete Skidmore?" chimed in Shorty, his voicesuddenly changing from a tone of exultation to one of deepest concern."Why don't some o' you speak? Are you all dumb?"

  Somehow everybody instinctively stopped cheering, and an awed hushfollowed.

  "All of Co. Q step this way," called out the Orderly-Sergeant. All ofthe usual "rasp" had left the strong, rough voice. There was a mournfultremor in it. "Fall in, Co. Q, over there by this pile of picks andshovels."

  Scarcely 20 of the 80 stalwart youths who had lined up at the footof the rugged palisades of Rocky Face two evenings before groupedthemselves together in response to the Orderly's call.

  Capt. McGillicuddy, the Orderly, Si, and Shorty strained their eyes tosee more of the company disengaging themselves from the throng aroundthe Colonel.

  The Orderlies of the other companies called to their men to fall in atdifferent places.

  The Colonel looked at the muster with sad eyes.

  "Didn't nobody see nothin' o' little Skidmore?" savagely repeatedShorty, walking back to the works and scanning the country round. "Wasyou all so blamed anxious lookin' out for yourselves that you didn't payno attention to that little boy? Nice gang, you are."

  "Orderly, take the company back into the abatis, and look for the boys,"ordered Capt. McGillicuddy.

  "'Tention, company!" commanded the Orderly. "Stack arms! Rightface--Break ranks--March!"

  "Hello, boys," said Monty Scruggs's voice, weak but unmistakably his,as the company recrossed the works.

  "Great heavens! he's bin shot through the bowels?" thought Si, turningtoward him with sickening apprehension of this most dreaded of wounds.Then, aloud, with forced cheerfulness--"I hope you ain't hurt bad,Monty."

  "I was hurt bad enough, the Lord knows," answered the boy with a wansmile. "I hain't been hurt so bad since I stubbed by sore toe lastSummer. But I'm getting over it pretty fast. Just as I started up thebank a rebel threw a stone as big as my fist at me, and it took mesquare where I live. I thought at first that whole battery over there inthe fort had shot at me all at once. Goodness, but it hurt! My, but thatfellow could throw a stone! Seemed to me that it went clear into me, andbent my back-bone. I've been feeling to see if it wasn't bent. But wegot the works all right, didn't we?"

  "You bet we did," Si answered exultantly. "Licked the stuffin' out of'em. Awful glad you're no worse hurt, Monty. Make your way inside there,and you'll find the Surgeon. He'll bring you around all right. We'regoin' to look for the other boys."

  "Alf Russell caught a bullet," said Monty Scruggs. "I heard him yell,and turned to look at him, when that rebel's bowlder gave me somethingelse to think about, so I don't know where he is."

  "Gid Mackall's lying over there, somewhere," said Larry Joslyn, who wasall anxiety in regard to his old partner and antagonist. "Let me go andfind him."

  "Go ahead," said Si, helping Monty to his feet. "I'll be right withyou."

  While Si was going back the way he had come Shorty was tearing throughthe tangled brush, turning over the tree-tops by main strength,searching for Pete Skidmore. The rest of the company were seeking outthe fallen ones hither and thither, and calling to one another, as theymade discoveries, but Shorty only looked for Pete Skidmore. Si and Harrypresently came to Gid Mackall's body, lying motionless in a pool ofblood that dyed crimson the brown leaves thickly covering the ground.His cap had fallen off, and his head had crushed down into a bunch ofslender oak twigs; his eyes were closed, and his callow face white aspaper.

  "O, he's dead! He's stone dead," wailed Harry Joslyn. "And just thinkhow I quarreled and fought with him this morning."

  "Mebbe not," said Si, to whom such sights were more familiar, "Thatbullet hole in his blouse is too low down and too fur out to've hiteither his heart or his lungs, seems to me. Mebbe he's only fainted fromloss o' blood. Ketch hold o' his feet. I'll take his head, and we'llcarry him back to the Surgeon. Likely he kin bring him to."

  The rough motion roused Gid, and as they clambered back over the works,Harry was thrilled to see him open his eyes a little ways.

  "Apparently," said the busy Surgeon, stopping for a minute, with knifeand bullet-forceps in his bloodstained hands, to give a brief glanceand two or three swift touches to Gid, "the ball has struck his side andbroke a rib or two. He's swooned from loss of blood. The blood's stoppedflowing now, and he'll come around all right. Lay him over there inthe shade of those trees. Put something under his head, and make himas comfortable as possible. I'll attend to him as soon as I can getthrough with these men who are much worse off than he is."

  And the over-worked Surgeon hurried away to where loud groans wereimperatively calling for his helpful ministrations.

  Si and Harry broke down a thick layer of cedar branches to make acomfortable bed for Gid, placed a chunk under his head, and hurried awayagain to search for Alf Russell. They went over carefully that part ofthe works they had crossed, and the abatis in front, but could find notrace of him. They feared that after he had been shot he had crawledback under the shelter of some tree-tops, to protect him from the flyingbullets, and died there. They turned over and pulled apart the branchesfor a wide space, but did not succeed in finding him, or any trace. Butthey found Bob Willis, stark in death, lying prone in the top of a younghickory, into which he had crashed, when the fatal bullet found himpressing courageously forward. Him they carried pitifully forward, andadded to the lengthening row of the regiment's dead, which was beinggathered up.

  Then they went reluctantly back--shuddering with the certainty of whatthey should find, to bring in Jim Humphreys's body.

  Harry Joslyn was so agitated by the sight of Humphreys's mangled headand staring eyes that Si made him turn his back, place himself betweenthe feet, one of which he took in each hand, and go before in carryingthe body back. Si stripped the blouse up so as to cover the head, andtook the shoulders between his hands, and so another body was added tothe row of the regimental dead.

  Si himself was so sick at heart that he had little inclination tocontinue the search farther than to look over the wounded, as they werebrought in, in hopes of finding some of his squad there.

  "There are three of us yet missing," he said. "Mebbe they've got mixedup with the Kankakee boys on our left, and'll come in all right afterawhile. Mebbe they're out with Shorty somewhere. I'll wait till he comesin. Harry, I expect me and you'd better dig poor Jim's grave. There'sno tellin' how long we'll stay here. Jim 'd rather we put him under thanstrangers what don't know and care for him. It's all we kin do for thepoor feller; I'll git a pick and you take a shovel. We'll make the graveright here, where the Colonel lit when he jumped over the works with theflag. That'll tickle Jim, if he's lookin' down from the clouds. Too bad,he couldn't have lived long enough to see us go over the embankment,with the Colonel in the lead, wavin' the flag."

  "The best thing," said Harry, forgetting his sorrow in the excitingmemories of the fight, "was to see
the Orderly sock his bayonet up tothe shank in the rebel, and you blow off that officer's head--"

  "Hush, Harry. Never speak o' that," Si admonished him.

  "And see you," continued Harry, "stand off all three of them rebels,who was tryin' to bayonet you, until Corp'l Elliott came raring down,swinging his gun like a flail. Great Scott! didn't he lay 'em out,though! I saw it all, as I was loading my gun in nine times to shootone of the rebels attacking you, I'd just got the cap on, when Corp'lElliott loped in."

  "Orderly," said Si a little later, "we've got Jim Humphreys's grave dug.Will you take the things out of his pockets to send to his folks? andthen we'll bury him."

  "Better wait till the Captain comes back and gives the orders," saidthe Orderly. "I don't want to touch his pockets without the Captain'sorders. Then, we ought to have his blanket to bury him in. You go aheadand dig Bob Willis's grave, and I'll take a detail back and bring up theblankets and things."

  Shorty had pushed his unavailing search for little Pete far past thepoint where he remembered to have seen the boy, in the midst of thefighting. He had torn his hands and worn out his strength in tearingaside the brush to expose every possible place that the dying boy orhis dead body might be concealed. He had reached the further side of theobstruction, and sat down on a stump, in despair of heart and exhaustionof body.

  Those with him, more intent on getting something to eat, had pushed onback to where their haversacks and canteens and blankets had been left.

  Presently Shorty heard a call across the little valley:

  "Cor--po--ral Ell--iott. Cor--po--ral Ell--iott!"

  "Well, what is it?" Shorty called back, crustily.

  "Lit--tle--Pete--and--Sandy--Ba--ker--is--o--ver--here," came back uponthe bright Spring air.

  Shorty sprang up electrified, and tore across the intervening spaceat the double-quick. He found Pete and Sandy Baker standing soberly onguard over the line of the company's blankets and belongings.

  "Great Jehosephat, you little brats, how did you git here?" heexclaimed, snatching little Pete up and hugging him.

  "Why shouldn't we be here?" asked Pete, as soon as he could get breath."Didn't the Captain order us to stay here? Me and Sandy follered youfellers until you jumped inside the works, and the rebels was a runnin'.We stood on top o' the bank and shot at the rebels as fast as we couldload our guns. We kept shootin' at 'em till they got clean down to theroad. Then we saw the Captain lookin' over our way, and we thought hewas comin' over there to skin us alive for leaving the things, and weducked down behind the bank and run back here as fast as we could fetchit. You ain't goin' to tell the Captain on us, and have us tied up bythe thumbs, are you, Corporal? Everything's safe. Nothing's gone. Youwon't tell, will you?"

  "O, you worthless little scamp," said Shorty, with tears of joy in hiseyes. "You ain't worth the powder that'd blow you up. I could pound youfor the worry you've given me in the last hour. But you ain't hurt abit, are you?"

  "Nope," answered Pete. "But we both got awfully scratched runnin'through that brush. Say, wasn't the way the boys jumped the works andwaded into them sardines just grand?"

  The Orderly-Sergeant and his detail came back for the things, and Shortyand the boys, picking up those belonging to the squad, made their way tothe company.

  By the time they got back everybody's emotions had subsided sufficientlyto allow him to remember that he was terribly hungry, and that the nextbusiness in order should be the cooking of the first warm meal they hadhad for more than a day. Fires were soon blazing in every direction, andthe air was fragrant with the smell of hot coffee and cooking meat. EvenMonty Scruggs felt that the kink had gone out of his backbone, and thedisturbance in his dietetic department had sufficiently subsided toallow him to enjoy a cup of coffee and piece of toasted meat on ahardtack. The Surgeon had reached Gid Mackall, and had put him incomfortable shape.

  The bodies of Bob Willis and Jim Humphreys were wrapped in theirblankets, and mournfully consigned to the earth. A cedar bush was stuckin the head of each grave, and Si, finding a piece of smooth board anda chunk of soft charcoal from a fire, sat down on the bank, and begunlaboriously composing the following inscription:

  JAMES HUMFRI CO. Q.

  200th injianny VolunTer Infantry KiLD may, 15th 1864 He dide For His country The lord luvs a

  Braiv man

  "That's all right. Si," said Shorty coming up with his mouthful ofhardtack and meat, and inspecting Si's work with critical approval."You kin lay away over me and all the rest when it comes to writin' andcomposin'. And you know how to spell, too. I wish I had your education.But I never had a chance to go to school."

  "Then you think it'll do, Shorty," said Si, much flattered by hispartner's approval.

  "Yes, it's just bully. But I think you ought to say something aboutJim's good character. That's usual on tombstones. You might say of himthat he had in him the makin' of the finest poker player in the Army ofthe Cumberland. I never see a sleepyheaded boy pick up the fine pints o'the game like he did, and he had nerve, too, along with his science."

  "No, it wouldn't do at all to put anything o' that kind on," answeredSi, going to the grave, and driving the board down with a pick. "Mustn'tlet Jim's folks know for the world that he gambled. It'd be the laststraw on his poor old mother, who's a strict Baptist. She may standhearing that he's killed, but never could that he played cards. What inthe world's become of Alf Russell, do you s'pose?"

  "Who in Jeff Davis's dominions is that comin' up?" said Shorty, scanningan approaching figure. "Looks as if he'd had his head busted and thentied up agin with strings."

  The figure certainly looked like Alf Russell and wore Alf Russell'sclothes, but the head was unrecognizable. A broad white bandageencircled the face, going from the top of the forehead around under thechin, and there were several folds of it. Then it ran around the headtransversely, covering the nose and the cheeks, and only allowing themouth and the eyes to show.

  "Hello, boys," said a weak voice, which was unmistakably Alf Russell's.

  "Hello, Alf," said Si delightedly. "I'm so glad to see you. I've binhuntin' everywhere for you. What's happened to you? Badly hurt?"

  "Nothing, only the left side o' my head tore out," said Alf feebly."Something struck me, probably a bomb-shell, just as I was going upthe bank after you. I went down to our Surgeon, but he was too busy toattend to me. I then found the brigade hospital, but the Surgeons therewere too busy, too. They gave me a roll of bandages, and told me to fixit up myself. I did it with the help of one of the men who was waitingto have his leg dressed. I fancy I did quite a neat piece of bandaging,as well as the Surgeons themselves could've done it. Don't you thinkso?"

  "Great Scott!" gasped Si, "you couldn't be walkin' around with the sideof your head knocked out. I'm astonished at you."

  "So'm I," returned Alf placidly. "I'm surprised that I'm doing as wellas I am. But I gave myself good attendance, and that's a great thing.I'm awful hungry. Got anything to eat? Where's my haversack?"

  "Here it is," said Si, readily. "And here's a cup o' hot coffee. I'llbrile you a piece o' meat. But really, I don't think you ought to eatanything before the Surgeon sees you. Mebbe it won't be good for you."

  "I'll chance it," said Alf desperately, reaching for the cup of coffee."I'm sure it'll be better for me to eat something."

  "Le's go down and see the Surgeon," insisted Si.

  "No," protested Alf, "it ain't hurting me much now, and he's awful busywith other men, so we hadn't better interrupt him."

  "The Surgeon ought to see you at once, Alf," interjected Shorty. "Herecomes one of 'em now. Doctor, will you please look at this boy."

  "Certainly," said the Surgeon, stopping on his way. "I guess I can sparea minute. Take off that bandage, my boy."

  "Don't mind me. Doctor," said Alf. "'Taint hurting me now, at all,scarcely. I did it up very carefully."

  "Take off the bandage at once, I tel
l you," said the Surgeonimperatively. "I haven't any time to waste. Let me see your wound."

  Alf set down his cup of coffee, and began laboriously unwinding the longbandage, while the rest stood around in anxious expectation. Yards offolds came off from around his forehead and chin, and then he reachedthat around his nose and the back of his head. Still the ghastly edgesof the terrible wound did not develop. Finally the blood-soaked lastlayer came off, and revealed where a bullet had made a shallow butugly-looking furrow across the cheek and made a nick in the ear.

  "Alf, that rebel come dumbed nigh missin' you," said the greatlyrelieved Si.

  "If you should happen to ketch cold in that it wouldn't git well for aweek," added Shorty.

  "Give me that bandage," said the Surgeon just before he hurried away."Take this sticking-plaster and draw the lips of the wound together, andif you keep the dirt out it may heal without a scar."