Altsheler, Joseph - [Novel 09]

by In Hostile Red (lit)

  Throughout the talk Greene said nothing, sitting there upon the log, looking calm and decided. I like this quality of stanchness in the New Eng- landers. They stick fast, whatever else you may say about them, and that I think wins more than anything else.

  I received my instructions a moment later and retired. As I walked away, I met Marcel.

  " Was it a council of war ? " he asked.

  "I think so."

  " I hope that you gave them the proper instruc- tions,"

  316

  At the Council Fire

  " I did my best," I replied in the same spirit.

  "They had no right to expect more," rejoined Marcel ; " but it 's a great pity I was not in your place."

  Perhaps he would have given them advice. Mar- cel had great confidence in his judgment.

  317

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Under the Apple-Trees

  WE lay gasping under the apple-trees. The hottest sun that ever I felt or saw, was dissolving our muscles and pinning us to the earth, mere flaccid lumps. The heat quivered in the air, and the grass turned dry blades to the brown soil. I ran my finger along the bare edge of my sword, and the skin was scorched. My throat burned.

  " What a day to fight ! " said Marcel. " The red coats that the British over yonder wear blaze like fire, and I dare say are as hot. I wish I were a private and not an officer. Then I could strip myself."

  He looked longingly at a huge soldier who had taken off coat and shirt, and was lying on the grass, naked to the waist, his rifle ready in his hands.

  " Leave old Father Sun alone," I said : " I believe he will settle the business for both armies. At least he seems to be bent upon doing it."

  I tried to look up at the sun, but His Majesty met me with so fierce a stare that I was glad to turn my eyes again, blinking, to the earth. When they recovered from the dimness, I looked along the line of panting soldiers, and saw one who had dropped his rifle on the grass and flung his arms out at ease.

  318

  Under the Apple-Trees

  " Stir up that man, there," I said ; " he must keep his rifle in hand and ready."

  " If you please, sir," said the bare-waisted soldier, " he won't be stirred up."

  " Won't be stirred up ? " I said, with natural im- patience ; " why won't he ? "

  " Because he can't be," said the soldier.

  " Can't be ? " I said, not understanding such ob- stinacy. " What do you mean? "

  " He can't be stirred up," replied the soldier ; "because he's dead, sir."

  I examined the man, and found that it was true. We had marched long and hard in the stifling heat before we lay down in the orchard, and the man, overpowered by it, had died so gently that his death was not known to us. We let him lie there, the dead man in the ranks with the quick.

  "Doesn't the concussion of cannon and muskets cause rain sometimes ? " asked Marcel.

  " I have heard so," I replied. " Why ? "

  " Because, if it does," said Marcel, " I hope the battle will be brought on at once, and that it will be a most ferocious contention. Then it may cause a shower heavy enough to cool us off."

  " Whether it brings pain or not," I said, " I think the battle will soon be upon us."

  Up went the sun, redder and fiercer than ever. The heavens blazed with his light. The men panted like dogs, and their tongues hung out. The red coats of the British opposite us looked so bright that they dazzled my eyes. The leaves of the apple- treee cracked and twisted up. 310

  In Hostile Red

  " It would be funny," said Marcel, " if the British were to charge upon us and find us all lying here in a placid row, dead, killed by the sun."

  " Yes," said I, " it would be very funny."

  " But not impossible," said the persistent Marcel.

  We lay near the little town of Freehold in the Jersey fields, where we had overtaken the retreating British, and intended to force a battle, although we were much inferior in numbers and equipment.

  I can say with truth that the men were eager for the fight. They had starved long at Valley Forge, and now with full stomachs they had come upon the heels of a flying enemy. Moreover, we had been raised up mightily by the French alliance. We did not know then how much the French were to dis- appoint us, and how little aid they were to give us until the final glorious campaign.

  " Listen ! " exclaimed a soldier near me.

  " What is it, Alloway ? " I asked.

  " The battle ! It 's begun ! " he replied.

  The sound of a rifle-shot came through the hot air across the fields, and then many more sang together. A half mile away, under the low lines of trees, a cloud of smoke was rising, and the base of it was red with flashes. Presently a cannon boomed its deeper note, and the echo of shouts came faintly. At last the battle had begun, and our men, panting already in the heat, grew hotter with impatience. It was hard to lie there under the burning sun while the battle swelled, without us. But we had no choice, and we pulled at the dry grass, while we watched the growing combat. 320

  CHAPTER THIRTY The Defence of the Gun

  MARCEL and I, with some others, were moved presently to the outskirts with the skirmishers. We lay among some trees by the roadside, and in the road one of our cannon with its complement of men was stationed to drive back a large body of the British troops which threatened us on that wing. We did not have to wait long for the attack. The heavy red squares of the English appeared, pressing down the road. Then the gun, a beautiful bronze twelve- pounder, became active, and the men who fought it were full of zeal.

  They fired for a time, working rapidly, skilfully, and without friction, like a perfect machine, only the sergeant in command speaking, his short, sharp orders snapping out like the crackling of a. whip. The faces of all were impassive, save for the occa- sional flash of an eye when a shot beat its fellows. The gun was alive now, pouring a stream of missiles from its bronze throat, the British replying with both cannon and muskets.

  Presently the men fell back a little with the gun, until they came to a hillock, and then unlimbered again just beyond the crest, where they were some- what sheltered. They seemed to think that the new 21 .,-'1

  In Hostile Red

  position was good, and they would fight where they were. Ross, the sergeant in command, a tall, thin Jerseymau with an impassive face, gave the order to unlimber the cannon, and the six horses dragged the limber to the proper distance in the rear. At an almost equal distance in the rear of the limber stood the caisson, also with its six horses. The chief of caisson, a short, stout man, was behind the limber ready to supply ammunition when needed, his face calm, his nerves unmoved by the roar and blaze of the combat, which rolled towards him in a flaming curve, tipped with steel.

  There were thirteen men with the gun and caisson, and t he eyes of all were on Sergeant Ross, who com- manded it, a man worthy of his post and fit for battle. The twelve horses stood in the rear. We were still near them among the trees by the roadside, firing our rifles, and could hear the few words that they said.

  " We must stay here," resumed Sergeant Ross to the corporal, his gunner, a tall, thin Jerseyman like himself and as calm and impassive. The corporal looked at the heavy squares pressing forward as if to crush them, listened a moment to the swell of the battle, but said nothing. The men were at work already, serving in silence.

  There had been no lull in the combat, and the advancing British line looked like a red wav«} of fire. A shell burst over the men around the guiy, and a fragment struck the lead horse of the limber chest in the neck. The animal uttered a single neigh of pain, and then let his head drop, while the blood 322

  The Defence of the Gun

  poured from his wound. His eye expressed melan- choly and resignation precisely like that of a stricken veteran. He fell softly in a few moments, and died. The battle was coining very near, and made many threats. The reserve men cut the gear of the dead horse, dragged his body aside, and replaced him with one of the six from the caisson. They did this with- out
comment, and the sergeant and the gunner took no notice.

  " To your posts ! " called Sergeant Ross. His men sprang instantly to position. No. 7 took a charge of shot and powder from the limber chest and passed it to No. 5, who handed it to No. 2. No. 2 inserted it in the gun, while No. 1 rammed it home. The gunner took aim at the black mass of the British army, ret! at the crest with flame. Ser- geant Ross gave the command to fire, and No. 4 obeyed. The twelve-pound shot rushed through the air, but though watching and eager to see, the men could not tell what damage it had done. The advancing line was hidden at that moment by the floating smoke and the flash of the firing. Those at the gun bent to their work. No. 1 ran his sponge into the black muzzle, swabbed out the barrel, and No. 2 inserted a fresh charge. These impassive men seemed to show no fear; they loaded and fired as if unconscious of the showers of balls and bullets.

  The British army pushed on, and its line of battle converged nearer, but the men at the gun were still without emotion. This machine, whose parts were human beings, worked in a beautiful way, and we

  In Hostile Red

  admired them. Again the cannon was alive, pouring forth its rapid stream of shot.

  " We must drive 'em back ! " said Sergeant Ross.

  " We '11 blow'em to hell with this twelve-pounder," said the corporal.

  He patted the gun, a polished piece kept in perfect order. They fired again, and the shattered British line crumpled up before the rage of the twelve- pounder, which was pouring its fire into it, faster and faster ; the rows had already become thinner at that point, the bulk of the force turning aside against the heavier Continental battalions. The hopes of the men with the gun rose.

  " We '11 mow 'em down," said No. 1, the sponger and rammer, a boy of twenty.

  They showed feeling at last, and their faces bright- ened up. They were young, in fact, boys rather than men ; the oldest of them was under twenty-five, and the youngest was not more than seventeen.

  The battle veered a little, and thundered to right and left ; but the thinner line in front of the gun was still advancing, and its muskets threatened. A bat- tery, a little distance in its rear, threw shot over its head ; but the regular and precise work of the men was not disturbed.

  "Depress that gun a bit ! " said Ross to the cor- poral, in his sharp, snapping voice. It was done. The discharge that followed swept down a row of advancing men in red. The gunner smiled, and the captain of the gun nodded approvingly. The cannon- eers said nothing, but No. 7 passed another cart- ridge.

  324

  The Defence of the Gun

  A shell screamed through the air, took off Sergeant Ross's head and passed on. The corporal made no comment, but joined the duties of captain of the gun to his twn duties as gunner. The regularity and precisinL of the work was not disturbed for a mo- ment 'Tie gun had aroused more attention in the Britist. lines, and it became necessary to silence it and destroy the men who served it It was merely a small incident in the course of a great battle, but the gun had become an obstacle.

  "They know we are here,' said the corporal to the new gunner, a faint smile appearing on his brown face.

  " Yes, and they are throwing us bouquets," replied the gunner, as a shower of bullets flew over theii heads.

  There was a crash in their ears, a blaze of light like that struck by steel, and the cannon toppled over. The four men nearest it fell to the ground, three sprang up quickly ; but the fourth, who was No. 5, a cannoneer, lay still and dead. A reserve man instantly took his place. The others ran anxiously to the cannon. They paid no attention to the dead man. The wounded gun was of far more importance than many men.

  " The wheel 's smashed ! No harm beyond that I " said the corporal. Then he shouted,

  "Change wheels!"

  The rubbish was dragged away, the extra wheel, provided for such cases, was brought as by another turn of the perfect machine from its place on the caisson, and fitted on the axle. No. 4, a cannoneer,

  In Hostile Red

  was killed by a bullet while they were doing it ; but the second reserve man took his place, and the battery went on with its work as well as ever.

  The gun was fired rapidly again, and the men saw that the effect was good ; the red line of their enemy had been shattered once more. The corporal glanced a little to the left, and said, in an unchanged voice :

  " A cavalry charge is coming ; stand steady ! "

  The red line of infantry was suddenly blotted out, and in its place a line of horsemen rose out of the smoke. They were riding at a gallop, firing from their pistols, their sabres ready for the swinging blow when the charge was driven home, a swelling wave, edged with fire and steel. It was a glittering and magnificent sight.

  The boys about the gun looked anxious at the sight of the cavalry, but the corporal was calm.

  " Load with grape, triple charges ! " he said, and his voice cracked louder and sharper than ever.

  The grape, triple charges, was rammed into the twelve-pounder, and the wonderful machine that handled the gun increased its speed. The British cavalry galloped into a stream of fire. The gun was hidden from them by the incessant blaze and smoke of its discharges, and the triple loads of grape whizzed among them, killing horses and horsemen, destroying the precision of their ordered lines, crum- pling up those in front, and heaping the dead in the way of those behind. But the unslain horsemen galloped on, and always before them roared the engine of death, the gun, and always about them whistled the showers of grape. Presently they were

  The Defence of the Gun

  into the flame and the smoke, and before them rose the gun and its detachment.

  "Stretch prolonge ropes!" shouted the corporal to his men.

  The drivers cracked their whips over the horses, and whirled the caisson and the limber chest about, bringing them, horses and all, into line with the piece, and in a moment, heavy ropes were stretched from the cannon to the limber chest, and from the limber chest to the caisson, and the fighting men were crouching in their appointed positions between the wheels, and around the gun, holding in hand their pistols and artillery swords, short, heavy weapons with which they could slash as with axes. The cav- alry company was charging UIXMI a breastwork held by an armed force.

  "Let 'em have it with the pistols!" cried the corporal to his men.

  The pistols began to crack, and more holes ap- peared in the charging lines of horsemen. When a trooper was hit hard in the breast or shoulder, up went his hands, and he fell back from his horse ; if struck in the limbs, he fell forward and rolled off. Some horses that had lost their riders kept place in the charge and galloped on. Two or three others turned to one side, and ran about, neighing with fear and alarm, but would not leave the field. All sprang aside when they came to a wounded or dead man lying on the ground.

  The cavalry company was not large, and many saddles were empty before it smashed into the gun and ite defenders. Then a terrible tumult aroe. 827

  In Hostile Red

  There was a confused metee of rearing horses, men leaning in the saddle, firing with pistols and slash- ing with sabres. Other men, brown and wiry, reach- ing over and bending forward among the wheels, striking upward with short heavy swords, killing horses and riders, and darting about like Indians, evading alike the hoofs of the horses and the slashes of the horsemen. There was a sickening whit of steel cutting through flesh, the gasp of last and hard- drawn breaths, and the sound of falls. The horses became entangled among the ropes, and stumbled over the gun and caisson, throwing their riders to the earth. The sinewy forms of their enemies slipped in and out like snakes, escaping the blows aimed from above, but steadily deepening the stains on their own red swords. Shouts, cries, and the stamp of horses' feet came from the whirling ball of fire and smoke, which began presently to throw forth men and horses. The cavalrymen who still rode, galloped away, and those who were on foot now, followed. Many of the horses were ri derless, and they joined others that ran up and down the field, always keep- ing the battle in view. Then the ball
split asunder entirely, and each half began to shred off in frag- ments ; the dying combat, and the men, the living and the dead, rose out of it. The ground over which they had fought was a soaking red mire, and the wheels of cannon, caisson, and limber were sunk deep in it. But the cavalry had been beaten ; en- tangled in the breastwork of the gun and its equip- ment and the prolonge ropes, they had been unable to withstand the slashing and the thrusting of the

  The Defence of the Gun

  short artillery swords, and those who lived fled to the main line of their army, knowing their defeat and not seeking to hide it. A trumpet sounded the recall, and the riderless horses, ceasing their restless race to and fro on the field, fell into line like the veterans they were, and followed the bugler back to the army which owned them.

  The men about the gun may have enjoyed their victory ; but they gave no sign, and the seven who were left, four having fallen, were reloading as if nothing had happened to interrupt the regular firing of their one gun battery. No. 1, the sponger and rammer, had been killed by a pistol-shot. No. 2 had taken his place, his own place being taken in turn by No. 3, and so on, each moving up a step in the promotion of death. There was no reserve men now, and the force at the caisson was reduced. The corporal was bleeding from a sabre-cut on the head ; but he took no notice of it, nor did the men comment on the appearance of his face, which was dyed red. Such things had grown common.

  " We gave 'em hell that time," said the corporal.