CHAPTER XII
THE FIGHT FOR THE FORT
Before they reached the brook they hailed Sergeant Carrick lest theyshould be fired upon as enemies, and when his answer came they droppedinto a walk, still panting and wiping the perspiration from dampforeheads. They bathed their faces freely in the brook, and sat down onthe bank to rest. The sergeant, a regular and a veteran of many bordercampaigns against the Indians, regarded them benevolently.
"I heard firing in front," he said, "and I thought you might beconcerned in it. If it hadn't been for my orders I'd have come forwardwith some of the men."
"Sergeant," said St. Clair, "if you were in the west again, and you wereall alone in the hills or on the plains and a band of yelling Siouxor Blackfeet were to set after you with fell designs upon your scalp,what would you do?"
"I'd run, sir, with all my might. I'd run faster than I ever ranbefore. I'd run so fast, sir, that my feet wouldn't touch the groundmore than once every forty yards. It would be the wisest thing onecould do under the circumstances, the only thing, in fact."
"I'm glad to hear you say so, Sergeant Carrick, because you are a man ofexperience and magnificent sense. What you say proves that Harry and Iare full of wisdom. They weren't Sioux or Blackfeet back there and Idon't suppose they'd have scalped us, but they were Yankees and theirintentions weren't exactly peaceful. So we took your advice before yougave it. If you'll examine the earth out there tomorrow you'll find ourfootprints only five times to the mile."
Far to the right and left other scattering shots had been fired, whereskirmishers in the night came in touch with one another. Hence theadventure of Harry and St. Clair attracted but little attention.Shots at long range were fired nearly every night, and sometimes it wasdifficult to keep the raw recruits from pulling trigger merely for thepleasure of hearing the report.
But when Harry and St. Clair related the incident the next morning toColonel Talbot, he spoke with gravity.
"There are many young men of birth and family in our army," he said,"and they must learn that war is a serious business. It is more thanthat; it is a deadly business, the most deadly business of all. If theYankees had caught you two, it would have served you right."
"They scared us badly enough as it was, sir," said St. Clair.
Colonel Leonidas Talbot smiled slightly.
"That part of it at least will do you good," he said. "You young mendon't know what war is, and you are growing fat and saucy in a pleasantcountry in June. But there is something ahead that will take a littleof the starch out of you and teach you sense. No, you needn't lookinquiringly at me, because I'm not going to tell you what it is, but goget some sleep, which you will need badly, and be ready at four o'clockthis afternoon, because the Invincibles march then and you march withthem."
Harry and St. Clair saluted and retired. They knew that it was notworth while to ask Colonel Talbot any questions. Since he had met himagain in Virginia, Harry had recognized a difference in this SouthCarolina colonel. The kindliness was still there, but there was a newsternness also. The friend was being merged into the commander.
They chose a tent in order to shut out the noise and make sleep possible,but on their way to it they were waylaid by Langdon, who had heardsomething of their adventure the night before, and who felt chagrinbecause he had lacked a part in it.
"Although everything generally happens for the best, there is a slipsometimes," he said, "and I want to be in on the next move, whatever itis. There is a rumor that the Invincibles are to march. You have beenbefore the colonel, and you ought to know. Is it true?"
"It is," replied Harry, "but that's all we do know. He was pretty sharpwith us, Tom, and among our three selves, we are not going to get anyfavors from Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel HectorSt. Hilaire because we're friends of theirs and would be likely tomeet in the same drawing-rooms, if there were no war."
Harry and St. Clair slept well, despite the noises of a camp, but theywere ready at the appointed time, very precise in their new uniforms.Langdon was with them and the three were eager for the movement, thenature of which officers alone seemed to know.
The Invincibles were an infantry regiment and the three youths, like themen, were on foot. They filed off to the left behind the front line ofthe Southern army, and marched steadily westward, inclining slightly tothe north. Many of the men, or rather boys, not yet fast in the bondsof discipline, began to talk, and guess together about their errand.But Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire rode along theline and sternly commanded silence, once or twice making the menace ofthe sword. The lads scarcely understood it, but they were awed intosilence. Then there was no noise but the rattle of their weapons andthe steady tread of eight hundred men.
The young troops had been kept in splendid condition, drilling steadily,and they marched well. They passed to the extreme western end of theConfederate camp, and continued into the hills. The sun had passedits zenith when they started and a pleasant, cool breeze blew from theslopes of the western mountains. The sun set late, but the twilightbegan to fall at last, and they saw about them many places suitable fora camp and supper. But Colonel Talbot, who was now at the head of theline, rode on and gave no sign.
"If I were riding a bay horse fifteen hands high I could go on, too,forever," whispered Langdon to Harry.
"Remember your belief that everything happens for the best and just keepon marching."
The twilight retreated before the dark, but the regiment continued.Harry saw a dusky colonel on a dusky horse at the head of the line,and nearer by was Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also riding, silentand stern. The Invincibles were weary. It was now nine o'clock,and they had marched many hours without a rest, but they did not dare tomurmur, at least not loud enough to be heard by Colonel Leonidas Talbotand his lieutenant-colonel, Hector St. Hilaire.
"I wonder if this is going on all night," whispered Langdon.
"Very likely," returned Harry, "but remember that everything is for thebest."
Langdon gave him a reproachful look, but trudged sturdily on. Theyhalted about an hour later, but only for fifteen or twenty minutes.They had now come into much rougher country, steep, with high hillsand populated thinly. Westward, the mountains seemed very near in theclear moonlight. No explanation was given to the Invincibles, but theofficers rode among the groups and made a careful inspection of armsand equipment. Then the word to march once more was given.
They did not stop, except for short rests, until about three o'clock inthe morning, when they came to the crest of a high ridge, covered withdense forest, but without undergrowth. Then the officers dismounted,and the word was passed to the men that they would remain there untildawn, but before they lay down on the ground Colonel Talbot told themwhat was expected of them, which was much.
"A strong Northern force is encamped on the slope beyond," he said."It is in a position from which the left flank of our main army can bethreatened. Our enemies there are fortified with earthworks and theyhave cannon. If they hold the place they are likely to increase heavilyin numbers. It is our business to drive them out."
The colonel told some of the officers within Harry's hearing that theycould attack before dawn, but night assaults, unless with veteran troops,generally defeated themselves through confusion and uncertainty.Nevertheless, he hoped to surprise the Northern soldiers over theircoffee. For that reason the men were compelled to lie down in theirblankets in the dark. Not a single light was permitted, but they wereallowed to eat some cold food, which they brought in their knapsacks.
Although it was June, the night was chill on the high hills, and Harryand his two friends, after their duties were done, wrapped theirblankets closely around themselves as they sat on the ground, with theirbacks against a big tree. The physical relaxation after such hardmarching and the sharp wind of the night made Harry shiver, despite hisblanket. St. Clair and Langdon shivered, too. They did not know thatpart of it was that three-o'clock-in-the-m
orning feeling.
Harry, sensitive, keenly alive to impressions, was oppressed by acertain heavy and uncanny feeling. They were going into battle in themorning--and with men whom he did not hate. The attacks on the Star ofthe West and Sumter had been bombardments, distant affairs, where hedid not see the face of his enemy, but here it would be another matter.The real shock of battle would come, and the eyes of men seeking to killwould look into the eyes of others who also sought to kill.
He and St. Clair were not sleepy, as they had slept through most of theday, but Langdon was already nodding. Most of the soldiers also hadfallen asleep through exhaustion, and Harry saw them in the dusk lyingin long rows. The faint moon throwing a ghostly light over so manymotionless forms made the whole scene weird and unreal to Harry.He shook himself to cast off the spell, and, closing his eyes, soughtsleep.
But sleep would not come and the obstinate lids lifted again. It hadturned a little darker and the motionless forms at the far end of theline were hidden. But those nearer were so still that they seemed tohave been put there to stay forever. St. Clair had yielded at last toweariness and with his back against the tree slept by Harry's side.
He saw four figures moving up and down like ghosts through the shadows.They were Colonel Talbot, Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, and twocaptains watching their men, seeing that silence and caution werepreserved. Harry knew that sentinels were posted further down the ridge,but he could not see them from where he lay. Although it was a longtime, the forest and human figures wavered at last, and he dozed for awhile. But he soon awoke and saw a faint tint of gray low down in theeast, the first timid herald of dawn.
The young soldiers were awakened. They started to rise with acheerful exchange of chatter, but were sternly commanded to silence.Nevertheless, they talked in whispers and told one another how theywould wipe the Yankees off the face of the earth. Workers from theshops in the big cities of the North could not stand before them,the open air sons of the South. They stretched their long limbs,felt their big muscles, and wondered why they were not led forward atonce.
But before they marched they were ordered to take food from theirknapsacks and eat. Five minutes at most were allowed, and there was tobe no nonsense, no loud talking. Some who had come north with negroservants stared at these officers who dared to talk to them as if theywere slaves. But the words of anger stopped at their lips. They wouldtake their revenge instead on the Yankees.
Harry and his two friends had fitted themselves already into militarydiscipline and military ways. They ate, not because they were hungry,but because they knew it was a necessity. Meanwhile, the faint grayband in the east was broadening. The note of a bugle, distant, mellow,and musical, came from a point down the slope.
"The Yankee fort," said Langdon. "They're waking up, too. But I'mlooking for the best, boys, and inside of two hours that Yankee fortwill be a Confederate fort."
The note of the bugle seemed to decide the Southern officers. The menwere ordered to see to their arms and march. The officers dismounted asthe way would be rough and left their horses behind. The troops formedinto several columns and four light guns went down the slope with them.Scouts who had been out in the night came back and reported that thefort, consisting wholly of earthworks, had a garrison of a thousand menwith eight guns. They were New York and New England troops and they didnot suspect the presence of an enemy. They were just lighting theirbreakfast fires.
The Southern columns moved forward in quiet, still hidden by the forest,which also yet hid the Northern fort. Harry's heart began to beatheavily, but he forced himself to preserve the appearance of calmness.Pride stiffened his will and backbone. He was a veteran. He had beenat Sumter. He had seen the great bombardment, and he had taken a partin it. He must show these raw men how a soldier bore himself in battle,and, moreover, he was an officer whose business it was to lead.
The deep forest endured as they advanced in a diagonal line down theslope. The great civil war of North America was fought mostly in theforest, and often the men were not aware of the presence of one anotheruntil they came face to face.
They were almost at the bottom where the valley opened out in grass land,and were turning northward when Harry saw two figures ahead of themamong the trees. They were men in blue uniforms with rifles in theirhands, and they were staring in surprise at the advancing columns ingray. But their surprise lasted only a moment. Then they lifted theirrifles, fired straight at the Invincibles, and with warning shoutsdarted among the trees toward their own troops.
"Forward, lads!" shouted Colonel Talbot. "We're within four hundredyards of the fort, and we must rush it! Officers, to your places!"
Their own bugle sang stirring music, and the men gathered themselves forthe forward rush. Up shot the sun, casting a sharp, vivid light overthe slopes and valley. The soldiers, feeling that victory was justahead, advanced with so much speed that the officers began to check thema little, fearing that the Invincibles would be thrown into confusion.
The forest ended. Before them lay a slope, from which the bushes hadbeen cut away and beyond were trenches, and walls of fresh earth,from which the mouths of cannon protruded. Soldiers in blue, sentinelsand seekers of wood for the fires, were hurrying into the earthworks,on the crests of which stood men, dressed in the uniforms of officers.
"Forward, my lads!" shouted Colonel Leonidas Talbot, who was near thefront rank, brandishing his sword until the light glittered along itssharp blade. "Into the fort! Into the fort!"
The sun, rising higher, flooded the slopes, the valley, and the fortwith brilliant beams. Everything seemed to Harry's excited mind tostand out gigantic and magnified. Black specks began to dance inmyriads before his eyes. He heard beside him the sharp, panting breathof his comrades, and the beat of many feet as they rushed on.
He saw the Northern officers on the earthwork disappear, dropping downbehind, and the young Southern soldiers raised a great shout of triumphwhich, as it sank on its dying note, was merged into a tremendous crash.The whole fort seemed to Harry to blaze with red fire, as the heavy gunswere fired straight into the faces of the Invincibles. The roar ofthe cannon was so near that Harry, for an instant, was deafened by thecrash. Then he heard groans and cries and saw men falling around him.
In another moment came the swish of rifle bullets, and the ranks ofthe Invincibles were cut and torn with lead. The young recruits werereceiving their baptism of fire and it was accompanied by many woundsand death.
The earthworks in front were hidden for a little while by drifting smoke,but the Invincibles, mad with pain and rage, rushed through it. Theywere anxious to get at those who were stinging them so terribly, andfortunately for them the defenders did not have time to pour in anothervolley. Harry saw Colonel Talbot still in front, waving his sword,and near him Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, also with an uplifted sword,which he pointed straight toward the earthwork.
"On, lads, on!" shouted the colonel. "It is nothing! Another momentand the fort is ours!"
Harry heard the hissing of heavy missiles above him. The light guns ofthe Invincibles had unlimbered on the slope, and fired once over theirheads into the fort. But they did not dare to fire again, as the nextinstant the recruits, dripping red, but still wild with rage, were atthe earthworks, and driven on with rage climbed them and fired at thehuddled mass they saw below.
Harry stumbled as he went down into the fort, but quickly recoveredhimself and leaped to his feet again. He saw through the flame andsmoke faces much like his own, the faces of youth, startled and aghast,scarcely yet comprehending that this was war and that war meant pain anddeath. The Invincibles, despite the single close volley that had beenpoured into them, had the advantage of surprise and their officers weremen of skill and experience. They had left a long red trail of thefallen as they entered the fort, but after their own single volley theypressed hard with the bayonet. Little as was their military knowledge,those against them had less, and they also had less ex
perience of thewoods and hills.
As the Invincibles hurled themselves upon them the defenders slowly gaveway and were driven out of the fort. But they carried two of theircannon with them, and when they reached the wood opened a heavy fireupon the pursuing Southern troops, which made the youngsters shiver andreel back.
"They, too, have some regular officers," said Colonel Talbot toLieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "It's a safe wager that several ofour old comrades of Mexico are there."
Thus did West Pointers speak with respect of their fellow West Pointers.
Exulting in their capture of the fort and still driven by rage, theInvincibles attempted to rush the enemy, but they were met by such adeadly fire that many fell, and their officers drew them back to theshelter of the captured earthworks, where they were joined by their ownlight guns that had been hurried down the slope. Another volley wasfired at them, when they went over the earthen walls, and Harry, as hethrew himself upon the ground, heard the ferocious whine of the bulletsover his head, a sound to which he would grow used through yearsterribly long.
Harry rose to his feet and began to feel of himself to see if he werewounded. So great had been the tension and so rapid their movementsthat he had not been conscious of any physical feeling.
"All right, Harry?" asked a voice by his side.
He saw Langdon with a broad red stripe down his cheek. The stripe wasof such even width that it seemed to have been painted there, and Harrystared at it in a sort of fascination.
"I know I'm not beautiful, Harry," said Langdon, "neither am I killed ormortally wounded. But my feelings are hurt. That bullet, fired by somemill hand who probably never pulled a trigger before, just grazed thetop of my head, but it has pumped enough out of my veins to irrigate myface with a beautiful scarlet flow."
"The mill hands may never have pulled trigger before," said Harry,"but it looks as if they were learning how fast enough. Down, Tom!"
Again the smoke and fire burst from the forest, and the bullets whinedin hundreds over their heads. Two heavier crashes showed that thecannon were also coming into play, and one shell striking within thefort, exploded, wounding a half dozen men.
"I suppose that everything happens for the best," said Langdon, "buthaving got into the fort, it looks as if we couldn't get out again.With the help of the earthwork I can hide from the bullets, but how areyou to dodge a shell which can come in a curve over the highest kind ofa wall, drop right in the middle of the crowd, burst, and send piecesin a hundred directions?"
"You can't," said St. Clair, who appeared suddenly.
He was covered with dirt and his fine new uniform was torn.
"What has happened to you?" asked Harry.
"I've just had practical proof that it's hard to dodge a bursting shell,"replied St. Clair calmly. "I'm in luck that no part of the shell itselfhit me, but it sent the dirt flying against me so hard that it stung,and I think that some pieces of gravel have played havoc with my coatand trousers."
"Hark! there go our cannon!" exclaimed Harry. "We'll drive them out ofthose woods."
"None too soon for me," said St. Clair, looking ruefully at his tornuniform. "I'd take it as a politeness on their part if they usedbullets only and not shells."
They had not yet come down to the stern discipline of war, but theirtalk was stopped speedily by the senior officers, who put them to workarranging the young recruits along the earthworks, whence they couldreply with comparative safety to the fire from the wood. But Harrynoted that the raking fire of their own cannon had been effective.The Northern troops had retreated to a more distant point in the forest,where they were beyond the range of rifles, but it seemed that they hadno intention of going any further, as from time to time a shell fromtheir cannon still curved and fell in the fort or near it. The Southernguns, including those that had been captured, replied, but, of necessity,shot and shell were sent at random into the forest which now hid thewhole Northern force.
"It seems to me," said St. Clair to Harry, "that while we have taken thefort we have merely made an exchange. Instead of being besiegers wehave turned ourselves into the besieged."
"And while I'm expecting everything to turn out for the best," saidLangdon, "I don't know that we've made anything at all by the exchange.We're in the fort, but the mechanics and mill hands are on the slope ina good position to pepper us."
"Or to wait for reinforcements," said Harry.
"I hadn't thought of that," said St. Clair. "They may send up into themountains and bring four or five times our numbers. Patterson's armymust be somewhere near."
"But we'll hope that they won't," said Langdon.
The Northern troops ceased their fire presently, but the officers,examining the woods with their glasses, said they were still there.Then came the grim task of burying the dead, which was done inside theearthworks. Nearly two score of the Invincibles had fallen to rise nomore, and about a hundred were wounded. It was no small loss even fora veteran force, and Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilairelooked grave. Many of the recruits had turned white, and they hadstrange, sinking sensations.
There was little laughter or display of triumph inside the earthworks,nor was there any increase of cheer when the recruits saw the seniorofficers draw aside and engage in anxious talk.
"I'm thinking that idea of yours, Harry, about Yankee reinforcements,must have occurred to Colonel Talbot also," said Langdon. "It seemsthat we have nothing else to fear. The Yankees that we drove out arenot strong enough to come back and drive us out. So they must belooking for a heavy force from Patterson's army."
The conference of the officers was quickly over, and then the menwere put to work building higher the walls of earth and deepening theditches. Many picks and spades had been captured in the fort, andothers used bayonets. All, besides the guard, toiled hard two or threehours without interruption.
It was now noon, and food was served. An abundance of water in barrelshad been found in the fort and the men drank it eagerly as the sun waswarm and the work with spade and shovel made them very thirsty. Thethree boys, despite their rank, had been taking turns with the men andthey leaned wearily against the earthwork.
The clatter of tools had ceased. The men ate and drank in silence.No sound came from the Northern troops in the wood. A heavy, ominoussilence brooded over the little valley which had seen so much battle andpassion. Harry felt relaxed and for the moment nerveless. His eyeswandered to the new earth, beneath which the dead lay, and he shivered.The wounded were lying patiently on their blankets and those of theircomrades and they did not complain. The surgeons had done their bestfor them and the more skillful among the soldiers had helped.
The silence was very heavy upon Harry's nerves. Overhead great birdshovered on black wings, and when he saw them he shuddered. St. Clairsaw them, too.
"No pleasant sight," he said. "I feel stronger since I've had food andwater, Harry, but I'm thinking that we're going to be besieged in thisfort, and we're not overburdened with supplies. I wonder what thecolonel will do."
"He'll try to hold it," said Langdon. "He was sent here for thatpurpose, and we all know what the colonel is."
"He will certainly stay," said Harry.
After a good rest they resumed work with pick, shovel, and bayonet,throwing the earthworks higher and ever higher. It was clear to thethree lads that Colonel Talbot expected a heavy attack.
"Perhaps we have underrated our mill hands and mechanics," saidSt. Clair, in his precise, dandyish way. "They may not ride as wellor shoot as well as we do, but they seem to be in no hurry about goingback to their factories."
Harry glanced at him. St. Clair was always extremely particular abouthis dress. It was a matter to which he gave time and thought freely.Now, despite all his digging, he was again trim, immaculate, and showedno signs of perspiration. He would have died rather than betraynervousness or excitement.
"I've no doubt that we've underrated them," said Harry. "Just as thepeople up Nort
h have underrated us. Colonel Talbot told me long agothat this was going to be a terribly big war, and now I know he wasright."
A long time passed without any demonstration on the part of the enemy.The sun reached the zenith and blazed redly upon the men in the fort.Harry looked longingly at the dark green woods. He remembered coolbrooks, swelling into deep pools here and there in just such woods asthese, in which he used to bathe when he was a little boy. An intensewish to swim again in the cool waters seized him. He believed it wasso intense because those beautiful woods there on the slope, where therunning water must be, were filled with the Northern riflemen.
Three scouts, sent out by Colonel Talbot, returned with reports thatjustified his suspicions. A heavy force, evidently from Patterson'sarmy operating in the hills and mountains, was marching down the valleyto join those who had been driven from the fort. The junction would beformed within an hour. Harry was present when the report was made andhe understood its significance. He rejoiced that the walls of earth hadbeen thrown so much higher and that the trenches had been dug so muchdeeper.
In the middle of the afternoon, when the cool shade was beginning tofall on the eastern forest, they noticed a movement in the woods.They saw the swaying of bushes and the officers, who had glasses,caught glimpses of the men moving in the undergrowth. Then came amighty crash and the shells from a battery of great guns sang in the airand burst about them. It was well for the Invincibles that they haddug their trenches deep, as two of the shells burst inside the fort.Harry was with Colonel Talbot, now acting as an aide, and he heard theleader's quiet comment:
"The reinforcements have brought more big guns. They will deliver aheavy cannonade and then under cover of the smoke they will charge.Lieutenant Kenton, tell our gunners that it is my positive orders thatthey are not to fire a single shot until I give the word. The Yankeescan see us, but we cannot see them, and we'll save our ammunition fortheir charge. Keep well down in the trench, Lieutenant Kenton!"
The Invincibles hugged their shelter gladly enough while the fire fromthe great guns continued. A second battery opened from a point furtherdown the slope, and the fort was swept by a cross-fire of ball andshell. Yet the loss of life was small. The trenches were so deepand so well constructed that only chance pieces of shell struck humantargets.
Harry remained with Colonel Talbot, ready to carry any order that hemight give. The colonel peered over the earthwork at intervals andsearched the woods closely with a powerful pair of glasses. His facewas very grave, but Harry presently saw him smile a little. He wondered,but he had learned enough of discipline now not to ask questions of hiscommanding officer. At length he heard the colonel mutter:
"It is Carrington! It surely must be Carrington!" A third battery nowopened at a point almost midway between the other two, and the smile ofthe colonel came again, but now it lingered longer.
"It is bound to be Carrington!" he said. "It cannot possibly be anyother! That way of opening with a battery on one flank, then on theother, and then with a third midway between was always his, and theaccuracy of aim is his, too! Heavens, what an artillery officer!I doubt whether there is such another in either army, or in the world!And he is better, too, than ever!"
He caught Harry looking at him in wonder, and he smiled once more.
"A friend of mine commands the Northern artillery," he said. "I havenot seen him, of course, but he is making all the signs and using allthe passwords. We are exactly the same age, and we were chums at WestPoint. We were together in the Indian wars, and together in all thebattles from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. It's John Carrington,and he's from New York! He's perfectly wonderful with the guns!Lord, lad, look how he lives up to his reputation! Not a shot misses!He must have been training those gunners for months! Thunder, but thatwas magnificent!"
A huge shell struck squarely in the center of the earthwork, burst witha terrible crash, and sent steel splinters and fragments flying in everydirection. A rain of dirt followed the rain of steel, and, when thecolonel wiped the last mote from his eye, he said triumphantly andjoyously:
"It's Carrington! Not a shadow of doubt can be left! Only such gunnersas those he trains can plump shells squarely among us at that range!Oh, I tell you, Harry, he's a marvel. Has the wonderful mathematicaland engineering eye!"
The eyes of Colonel Leonidas Talbot beamed with admiration of his oldcomrade, mingled with a strong affection. Nevertheless, he did notrelax his vigilance and caution for an instant. He made the circuit ofthe fort and saw that everything was ready. The Southern riflemen linedevery earthwork, and the guns had been wheeled into the best positions,with the gunners ready. Then he returned to his old place.
"The charge will come soon, Lieutenant Kenton," he said to Harry."Their cannonade serves a double purpose. It keeps us busy dodging balland shell, and it creates a bank of smoke through which their infantrycan advance almost to the fort and yet remain hidden. See how thesmoke covers the whole side of the mountain. Oh, Carrington is doingsplendidly! I have never known him to do better!"
Harry wished that Carrington would not do quite so well. He was tiredof crouching in a ditch. He was growing somewhat used to the hideoushowling of the shells, but it was still unsafe anywhere except in thetrenches. It seemed to him, too, that the cannon fire was increasingin volume. The slopes and the valley gave back a continuous crash ofrolling thunder. Heavier and heavier grew the bank of smoke over andagainst the forest. It was impossible to see what was going on there,but Harry had no doubt that the Northern regiments were massingthemselves for the attack.
The youth remained with Colonel Talbot, being held by the latter tocarry orders when needed to other points in the fort. St. Clair andLangdon were kept near for a similar use and they were crouching in thesame trench.
"If everything happens for the best it's time it was happening," saidLangdon in an impatient whisper. "These shells and cannon balls flyingover me make my head ache and scare me to death besides. If the Yankeesdon't hurry up and charge, they'll find me dead, killed by the collapseof worn-out nerves."
"I intend to be ready when they come," said St. Clair. "I've made everypreparation that I can call to mind."
"Which means that your coat must be setting just right and that yourcollar isn't ruffled," rejoined Langdon. "Yes, Arthur, you are readynow. You are certainly the neatest and best dressed man in theregiment. If the Yankees take us they can't say that they captured aslovenly prisoner."
"Then," said St. Clair, smiling, "let them come on."
"Their cannon fire is sinking!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot. "In a minuteit will cease and then will come the charge! 'Tis Carrington's way,and a good way! Hark! Listen to it! The signal! Ready, men! Ready!Here they come!"
The great cannonade ceased so abruptly that for a few moments thestillness was more awful than the thunder of the guns had been. Therecruits could hear the great pulses in their temples throbbing.Then the silence was pierced by the shrill notes of a brazen bugle,steadily rising higher and always calling insistently to the men tocome. Then they heard the heavy thud of many men advancing withswiftness and regularity.
The Southern troops were at the earthworks in double rows, and thegunners were at the guns, all eager, all watching intently for whatmight come out of the smoke. But the rising breeze suddenly caught thegreat bank of mists and vapors and whirled the whole aside. Then Harrysaw. He saw a long line of men, their front bristling with the bluesteel of bayonets, and behind them other lines and yet other lines.
It seemed to Harry that the points of the bayonets were almost in hisface, and then, at the shouted command, the whole earthwork burst into ablaze. The cannon and hundreds of rifles sent their deadly volleys intothe blue masses at short range. The fort had turned into a volcano,pouring forth a rain of fire and deadly missiles. The front line ofthe Northern force was shot away, but the next line took its place andrushed at the fort with those behind pressing close after them. Thedefenders loaded an
d fired as fast as they could and the high wallsof earth helped them. The loose dirt gave away as the Northern menattempted to climb them, and dirt and men fell together back to thebottom. The Northern gunners in the rear of the attack could not firefor fear of hitting their own troops, but the Southern cannon at theembrasures had a clear target. Shot and shell crashed into the Northernranks, and the deadly hail of bullets beat upon them without ceasing.But still they came.
"The mechanics and mill hands are as good as anybody, it appears!"shouted St. Clair in Harry's ear, and Harry nodded.
But the defenses of the fort were too strong. The charge, driven homewith reckless courage, beat in vain upon those high earthen walls,behind which the defenders, standing upon narrow platforms, sent showersof bullets into ranks so close that few could miss. The assailantsbroke at last and once more the shrill notes of the brazen bugle piercedthe air. But instead of saying come, it said: "Fall back! Fall back!"and the great clouds of smoke that had protected the Northern advancenow covered the Northern retreat.
The firing had been so rapid and so heavy that the whole field in frontof the fort was covered with smoke, through which they caught only thegleam of bayonets and glimpses of battle flags. But they knew that theNorthern troops were retiring, carrying with them their wounded, butleaving the dead behind. Harry, excited and eager, was about to leapupon the crest of the earthwork, but Colonel Talbot sharply ordered himdown.
"You'd be killed inside of a minute!" he cried. "Carrington is outthere with the guns! As soon as their troops are far enough back he'llopen on us with the cannon, and he'll rake this fort like a hurricanebeating upon a forest. Only the earthworks will protect us from certaindestruction."
He sent the order, fierce and sharp, along the line, for every one tokeep under cover, and there was ample proof soon that he knew his man.The Northern infantry had retired and the smoke in front was beginningto lift, when the figure of a tall man in blue appeared on a hillock atthe edge of the forest. Harry, who had snatched up a rifle, levelled itinstantly and took aim. But before his finger could pull the triggerColonel Talbot knocked it down again.
"My God!" he exclaimed. "I was barely in time to save him! It wasCarrington himself!"
"But he is our enemy! Our powerful enemy!"
"Our enemy! Our official enemy, yes! But my friend! My life-longfriend! We were boys together at West Point! We slept under the sameblanket on the icy plateaux of Mexico. No, Harry, I could not let youor any other slay him!"
The figure disappeared from the hillock and the next moment the greatguns opened again from the forest. The orders of Colonel Talbot hadnot been given a moment too soon. Huge shells and balls raked the fortonce more and the defenders crouched lower than ever in the trenches.Harry surmised that the new cannonade was intended mainly to preventa possible return attack by the Southern troops, but they were toocautious to venture from their earthworks. The Invincibles had grownmany years older in a few hours.
When it became evident that no sally would be made from the fort,the fire of the cannon in front ceased, and the smoke lifted, disclosinga field black with the slain. Harry looked, shuddered and refused tolook again. But Colonel Talbot examined field and forest long andanxiously through his glasses.
"They are there yet, and they will remain," he announced at last."We have beaten back the assault. They may hold us here until a greatarmy comes, and with heavy loss to them, but we are yet besieged.Carrington will not let us rest. He will send a shell to some partof this fort every three or four minutes. You will see."
They heard a roar and hiss a minute later, and a shell burst inside thewalls. Through all the afternoon Carrington played upon the shakennerves of the Invincibles. It seemed that he could make his shells hitwherever he wished. If a recruit left a trench it was only to make arush for another. If their nerves settled down for a moment, thatsolemn boom from the forest and the shriek of the shell made them jumpagain.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" murmured Colonel Talbot, "but terribly tryingto new men! Carrington certainly grows better with the years."
Harry tried to compose himself and rest, as he lay in the trench withSt. Clair and Langdon. They had had their battle face to face and allthree of them were terribly shaken, but they recovered themselves atlast, despite the shells which burst at short but irregular intervalsinside the fort. Thus the last hours of the afternoon waned, and as thetwilight came, they went more freely about the fort.
Colonel Talbot called a conference of the senior officers in a cornerof the enclosure well under the shelter of the earthen walls, and aftersome minutes of anxious talking they sent for the three youths. Harry,St. Clair and Langdon responded with alacrity, sure that something ofthe utmost importance was afoot.
The Guns of Bull Run: A Story of the Civil War's Eve Page 13