CHAPTER III
THE FLOODED RIVER
Harry and Dalton were aroused before daylight by Colonel Peyton ofLee's staff, with instructions to mount at once, and join a strongdetachment, ready to go ahead and clear a way. Sherburne's troop wouldlead. The Invincibles, for whom mounts had been obtained, would follow.There were fragments of other regiments, the whole force amounting toabout fifteen hundred men, under the command of Sherburne, who had beenraised the preceding afternoon to the rank of Colonel, and whose skilland valor were so well known that such veterans as Colonel Talbot andLieutenant Colonel St. Hilaire were glad to serve under him. Harry andDalton would represent the commander-in-chief, and would returnwhenever Colonel Sherburne thought fit to report to him.
Harry was glad to go. While he had his periods of intense thought, andhis character was serious, he was like his great ancestor, essentiallya creature of action. His blood flowed more swiftly with the beat ofhis horse's hoofs, and his spirits rose as the free air of the fieldsand forests rushed past him. Moreover he was extremely anxious to seewhat lay ahead. If barriers were there he wanted to look upon them. Ifthe Union cavalry were trying to keep them from laying bridges acrossthe Potomac he wanted to help drive them away.
Harry and Dalton had a right as aides and messengers of Lee to ridewith Sherburne, but before they joined him they rode among theInvincibles, who were in great feather, because they too, for the timebeing, rode, and toiled in neither dust nor mud.
"Colonel Sherburne may think a good deal of his own immediate troop,"said St. Clair to Harry, "but if the men of the Invincibles couldachieve so much on foot they'll truly deserve their name on horseback.Where is this enemy of ours? Lead us to him."
"You'll find him soon enough," said Harry. "You South Carolina talkershave learned many times that the Yankees will fight."
"Yes, Harry, I admit it freely. But you must admit on your part thatthe South Carolinians will fight as well as talk, although at presentmost of the South Carolinians in this regiment are Virginians."
"But not our colonel and lieutenant-colonel," said Happy Tom. "Realold South Carolina still leads."
"May they always lead!" said Harry heartily, looking at the two grayfigures.
"Tell Colonel Sherburne," said Happy Tom, who was in splendid spirits,"that we congratulate him on his promotion and are ready to obey himwithout question."
"All right. He'll be glad to know that he has your approval."
"He might have the approval of worse men. I feel surging within me thetalents of a great general, but I'm too young to get 'em recognized."
"You'll have to wait until the sections are not fighting each other,but are united against a common foe. But meanwhile I'll tell ColonelSherburne that if he gets into a tight pinch not to lose heart as youare here."
Saluting Colonel Talbot and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, Harry andDalton rode to the head of the column, where Sherburne led. They atetheir breakfast on horseback, and went swiftly down a valley in thegeneral direction of the Potomac. The dawn had broadened into fullmorning, clear and bright, save for a small cloud that hung low in thesouthwest, which Sherburne noticed with a frown.
"That's a little cloud and it looks innocent," he said to Harry, "but Idon't like it."
"Why not?"
"Because in the ten minutes that I've been watching it I've been ableto notice growth. I'm weather-wise and we may have more rain. Morerain means a higher Potomac. A higher Potomac means more difficulty incrossing it. More difficulty in crossing it means more danger of ourdestruction, and our destruction would mean the end of the Confederacy."
He spoke with deadly earnestness as he continued to look at the tinydusky spot on the western sky. Harry had a feeling of awe. Again herealized that such mighty issues could turn upon a single hair. Theincrease or decrease of that black splotch might mean the death or lifeof the Confederacy. As he rode he watched it.
His heart sank slowly. The little baby cloud, looking so harmless, wasgrowing. He said to himself in anger that it was not, but he knew thatit was. Black at the center, it radiated in every direction until itbecame pale gray at the edges, and by and by, as it still spread, itgave to the southwest an aspect that was distinctly sinister.
Sherburne shook his head and the gravity of his face increased. As thecloud grew alarm grew with it in his mind.
"Maybe it will pass," said Harry hopefully.
"I don't think so. It's not moving away. It just hangs there andgrows and grows. You're a woodsman, Harry, and you ought to feel it.Don't you think the atmosphere has changed?"
"I didn't have the courage to say so until you asked me, but it'sdamper. If I were posing as a prophet I should say that we're going tohave rain."
"And so should I. Usually at this period of the year in our country wewant rain, but now we dread it like a pestilence. At any other timethe Potomac could rise or fall, whenever it pleased, for all I cared,but now it's life and death."
"Our doubts are decided and we've lost. Look, sir the whole southwestis dark now!"
"And here come the first drops!"
Sherburne sent hurried orders among the men to keep their ammunitionand weapons dry, and then they bent their heads to the storm whichwould beat almost directly in their faces. Soon it came without muchpreliminary thunder and lightning. The morning that had been warmturned cold and the rain poured hard upon them. Most of the horsemenwere wet through in a short time, and they shivered in their soddenuniforms, but it was a condition to which they were used, and theythought little of themselves but nearly all the while of the Potomac.
Few words were spoken. The only sounds were the driving of the rainand the thud of many hoofs in the mud. Harry often saw misty figuresamong the trees on the hills, and he knew that they were watched byhostile eyes as the Northern armies in Virginia, were always watchedwith the same hostility. It was impossible for Lee's men to make anysecret march. The population, intensely loyal to the Union, promptlycarried news of it to Meade or his generals.
Twice he pointed out the watchers to Sherburne who merely shrugged hisshoulders.
"I might send out men and cut off a few of them," he said, "but forwhat good? Hundreds more would be left and we'd merely be burdenedwith useless prisoners. Here's a creek ahead, Harry, and look howmuddy and foamy it is! It's probably raining harder higher up in thehills than it is here, and all these creeks and brooks go to swell thePotomac."
The swift water rose beyond their stirrups and there was a vastsplashing as fifteen hundred men rode through the creek. It was a landof many streams, and a few miles farther on they crossed another,equally swollen and swift.
They had hoped that the rain, like the sudden violence of a summershower, would pass soon, but the skies remained a solid gray and itsettled into a steady solemn pour, cold and threatening, and promisingto continue all day long. They could see that every stream theycrossed was far above its normal mark, and the last hope that theymight find the Potomac low enough for fording disappeared.
The watchers on the hills were still there, despite the rain, but theydid no sharpshooting. Nor did the Southern force do damage to anybodyor anything, as it passed. Near noon Sherburne resolved to build afire in a cove protected by cliffs and heavy timber, and give his menwarm food lest they become dispirited.
It was a task to set the wet wood, but the men of his command, used toforest life, soon mastered it. Then they threw on boughs and wholetree trunks, until a great bonfire blazed and roared merrily, thrustingout innumerable tongues of red and friendly flame.
"Is there anything more beautiful than a fine fire at such a time?"said St. Clair to Harry. "As it blazes and eats into the wood itcrackles and those crackling sounds are words."
"What do the words say?"
"They say, 'Come here and stand before me. So long as you respect meand don't come too close I'll do you nothing but good. I'll warm youand I'll dry you. I'll drive the wet from your skin and your clothes,and I'll cha
se the cold out of your body and bones. I'll take hold ofyour depressed and sunken heart and lift it up again. Where you sawonly gray and black I'll make you see gold and red. I'll warm and cookyour food for you, giving you fresh life and strength. With mycrackling coals and my leaping flames I'll change your world of despairinto a world of hope.'"
"Hear! Hear!" said Happy Tom. "Arthur has turned from a soddensoldier into a giddy poet! Is any more poetry left in the barrel,Arthur?"
"Plenty, but I won't turn on the tap again to-day. I've translated foryou. I've shown you where beauty and happiness lie, and you must dothe rest for yourself."
They crowded about the huge fire which ran the entire length of thecove, and watched the cooks who had brought their supplies onhorseback. Great quantities of coffee were made, and they had bacon andhard biscuits.
Although the rain still reached them in the cove they forgot it as theyate the good food--any food was good to them--and drank cup after cupof hot coffee. Youthful spirits rose once more. It wasn't such a badday after all! It had rained many times before and people still lived.Also, the Potomac had risen many times before, but it always fellagain. They were riding to clear the way for Lee's invincible armywhich could go wherever it wanted to go.
"Men on horseback looking at us!" hailed Happy Tom. "About fifty on alow hill on our right. Look like Yankee cavalrymen. Wonder what theytake us for anyway!"
Harry, St. Clair, Langdon and Dalton walked to the edge of the cove,every one holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand. Sherburne wasalready there and with his glasses was examining the strange group, aswell as he could through the sweeping rain.
"A scouting party undoubtedly," he said, "but weather has made theiruniforms and ours look just about alike. It's equally certain thoughthat they're Yankees. No troop of ours so small would be found here."
Harry was also watching them through glasses, and he took particularnote of one stalwart figure mounted upon a powerful horse. Thedistance was too great to recognize the face, but he knew the swing ofthe broad shoulders. It was Shepard and once more he had the uneasyfeeling winch the man always inspired in him. He appeared andreappeared with such facility, and he was so absolutely trackless thathe had begun to appear to him as omniscient. Of course the man knewall about Sherburne's advance and could readily surmise its purpose.
"They're an impudent lot to sit there staring at us in thatsupercilious manner," said Colonel Talbot. "Shall I take theInvincibles, sir, and teach them a lesson?"
Sherburne smiled and shook his head.
"No, Colonel," he said, "although I thank you for the offer. They'dmelt away before you and we'd merely waste our energies. Let them lookas much as they please, and now that the boys have eaten their breadand bacon and drunk their coffee, and are giants again, we'll ride ontoward the Potomac."
"Do we reach it to-day, sir?" asked Colonel Talbot.
"Not before to-morrow afternoon, even if we should not be interrupted.This is the enemy's country and we may run at any time into a force aslarge as our own if not larger."
"Thank you for the information, Colonel Sherburne. My ignorance ofgeography may appear astonishing to you, although we had to study itvery hard at West Point. But I admit my weakness and I add, as perhapssome excuse, that I have lately devoted very little attention to theNorthern states. It did not seem worth my time to spend much study onthe rivers, and creeks and mountains of what is to be a foreigncountry--although I may never be able to think of John Carrington andmany other of my old friends in the army as the foreigners they're sureto become. Has the thought ever occurred to you, Colonel, that by ourvictories we're making a tremendous lot of foreigners in America?"
"It has, Colonel Talbot, but I can't say that the thought has ever beena particularly happy one."
"It's the Yankees who are being made into foreigners," saidLieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire. "The gallant Southern people, ofcourse, remain what they are."
"They're going," said Harry. "They've seen enough of us."
The distant troop disappeared over the crest of the hill. Harry hadnoticed that Shepard led the way as if he were the ruling spirit, buthe did not consider it necessary to say anything to the others abouthim. The trumpet blew and Sherburne's force, mounting, rode away fromthe cove. Harry cast one regretful glance back at the splendid firewhich still glowed there, and then resigned himself to the cold andrain.
They did not stop again until far in the night. The rain ceased, butthe whole earth was sodden and the trees on the low ridge, on whichSherburne camped, dripped with water. Spies might be all around them,but for the sake of physical comfort and the courage that he knew wouldcome with it, he ordered another big fire built. Vigilant riflementook turns in beating up the forests and fields for possible enemies,but the young officers once more enjoyed the luxury of the fire. Theirclothing was dried thoroughly, and their tough and sinewy framesrecovered all their strength and elasticity.
"To enjoy being dry it is well to have been wet," said Daltonsententiously.
"That's just like you, you old Presbyterian," said Happy Tom. "Isuppose you'll argue next that you can't enjoy Heaven unless you'vefirst burned in the other place for a thousand years."
"There may be something in that," said Dalton gravely, "although thetest, of course, would be an extremely severe one."
"I know which way you're headed, George."
"Then tell me, because I don't know myself."
"As soon as this war is over you'll enter the ministry, and no sin willget by you, not even those nice little ones that all of us like toforgive."
"Maybe you're right, Happy, and if I do go into the ministry I shall atonce begin long and earnest preparation for the task which wouldnecessarily be the most difficult of my life."
"And may I make so bold as to inquire what it is, George?"
"Your conversion, Happy."
Langdon grinned.
"But why do you want to convert me, George? I'm perfectly happy as Iam."
"For your own well being, Tom. Your happiness is nothing to me, but Iwant to make you good."
Both laughed the easy laugh of youth, but Harry looked long at Dalton.He thought that he detected in him much of the spirit of StonewallJackson, and that here was one who had in him the makings of a greatminister. The thought lingered with him.
St. Clair was carefully smoothing out his uniform and brushing from itthe least particle of mud. His first preoccupation always asserteditself at the earliest opportunity, and in a very short time he was theneatest looking man in the entire force. Harry, although he oftenjested with him about it, secretly admired this characteristic of St.Clair's.
"You boys sleep while you can," said Sherburne, "because we can'tafford to linger in this region. Our safety lies in rapid marching,giving the enemy no chance to gather a large force and trap us. Makethe best of your time because we're up and away an hour after midnight."
The young officers were asleep within ten minutes, but the vigilantriflemen patrolled the country in a wide circuit about them. Sherburnehimself, although worn by hard riding, slept but little. Anxiety kepthis eyes open. He knew that his task to find a passage for the armyacross the swollen Potomac was of the utmost importance and he meant toachieve it. He understood to the full the dangerous position in whichthe chief army of the Confederacy stood. His own force might beattacked at any moment by overwhelming numbers and be cut off anddestroyed or captured, but he also knew the quality of the men he led,and he believed they were equal to any task.
As he sat by the fire thinking somberly, a figure in the brush no greatdistance away was watching him. Shepard, the spy, in the darkness hadpassed with ease between the sentinels, using the skill of an Indian instalking or approaching, and now, lying well hidden, almost flat uponhis stomach, he surveyed the camp. He looked at Sherburne, sitting ona log and brooding, and he made out Harry's figure wrapped in a blanketand lying with his feet to the fire.
Shepard's mind was powerfully
affected. An intense patriot, somethingremote and solitary in his nature had caused him to undertake this mostdangerous of all trades, to which he brought an intellectual power andcomprehension that few spies possess. As Harry had discovered longsince, he was a most uncommon man.
Now Shepard as he gazed at this little group felt no hatred for them ortheir men. He had devoted his life to the task of keeping the Unionintact. His work must be carried out in obscure ways. He could neverhope for material reward, and if he perished it would be in someout-of-the-way corner, perhaps at the end of a rope, a man known to sofew that there would be none to forget him. And yet his patriotism wasso great and of such a fine quality that he viewed his enemies aroundthe fire as his brethren. He felt confident that the armies of theNorth would bring them back into the Union, and when that occurred theymust come as Americans on an equal footing with other Americans. Theycould not be in the Union and not of it.
But Shepard's feeling for his official enemies would not keep him fromacting against them with all the skill, courage and daring that hepossessed in such supreme measure. He knew that it was Sherburne'stask to open a way for the Army of Northern Virginia to the Potomac andto find a ford, or, in cooperation with some other force, to build abridge. It was for him to defeat the plan if he could.
While the rain all the day before had brought gloom to the hearts ofSherburne and his men it had filled his with joy, as he thought of theinnumerable brooks and creeks that were pouring their swollen watersinto the Potomac, already swollen too. He meant now to followSherburne's force, see what plan it would attempt, what point, perhaps,it would select for the bridge, and then bring the Union brigades inhaste to defeat it.
It is said that men often feel when they are watched, although thewatcher is invisible, but it was not so in Sherburne's case. He didnot in the least suspect the presence of Shepard or of any foe, and thespy, after he had seen all he wished, withdrew, with the same stealththat had marked his coming.
An hour after midnight all were awakened and they rode away. The nextday they reached the Potomac near Williamsport, where their pontoonbridge had been destroyed, and looked upon the wide stream of thePotomac, far too deep for fording.
"If General Lee is attacked on the banks of this river by greatlysuperior forces," said Sherburne, "he'll have no time to build bridges.If we didn't happen to be victorious our forces would have to scatterinto the mountains, where they could be hunted down, man by man."
"But such a thing as that is unthinkable, sir," said Harry. "We maynot win always, but here in the East we never lose. Remember Antietamand the river at our back."
"Right you are, Harry," said Sherburne more cheerfully. "The generalwill get us out of this, and here is where we must cross. The rivermay run down enough in two or three days to permit of fording. Godgrant that it will!"
"And so say I!" repeated Harry with emphasis.
"I mean to hold this place for our army," continued Sherburne.
"A reserved seat, so to speak."
"Yes, that's it. We must keep the country cleared until our main forcecomes up. It shouldn't be difficult. I haven't heard of anyconsiderable body of Union troops between us and the river."
They made camp rapidly in a strong position, built their fires forcooking, set their horses to grazing and awaited what would come. Itwas a dry, clear night, and Harry, who had no duties, save to ride witha message at the vital moment, looked at once for his friends, theInvincibles.
St. Clair met him and held up a warning hand, while Happy touched hislip with his finger. Before the double injunction of silence andcaution, Harry whispered:
"What's happened?"
"A tragedy," replied St. Clair.
"And a victory, too," said Happy Tom.
"I don't understand," said Harry.
"Then look and you will," said St. Clair.
He pointed to a small clear space in which Colonel Leonidas Talbot andLieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire sat on their blankets facing eachother with an empty cracker box between them, upon which their chessmen were spread. The firelight plainly revealed a look of dismay uponthe face of Colonel Talbot, and with equal plainness a triumphantexpression upon that of Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire.
"Colonel Talbot has lost his remaining knight," whispered St. Clair. "Idon't know how it came about, but when the event occurred we heard themboth utter a cry. Listen!"
"I fail even yet, Hector, to see just how it occurred." said ColonelTalbot.
"But it has occurred, Leonidas, and that's the main thing. A generalin battle does not always know how he is whipped, but the whippinghurts just as much."
"You should not show too much elation over your triumph, Hector.Remember that he laughs best who laughs last."
"I take my laugh whenever I can, Leonidas, because no one knows who isgoing to laugh last. It may be that he who laughs in the present willalso laugh at the end. What do you mean by that move, Leonidas?"
"That to you is a mystery, Hector. It's like one of StonewallJackson's flanking marches, and in due time the secret will be revealedwith terrible results."
"Pshaw, Leonidas, you can't frighten a veteran like me. That for yourmove, and here's mine in reply."
The two gray heads bent lower over the board as the colonels made moveafter move. The youths standing in the shadow of the trees watcheduntil the second time that night the two uttered a simultaneous cry.But they were very different in quality. Now Colonel Talbot'sexpressed victory and Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire's consternation.
"Your bishop, Hector!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot. "Pious and ablegentleman as he is, an honor to his cloth, he is nevertheless mycaptive."
"I admit that it was most unexpected, Leonidas. You have matched myvictory with one of yours. It was indeed most skillful and I don't yetsee what led to it."
"Did I not warn you a little while ago that you couldn't frighten me? Iprepared a trap for you, and thus I rise from defeat to victory."
"At any rate we are about even on the evening's work, Leonidas, and wehave made more progress than for the whole six months preceding. Itseems likely now that we can finish our game soon."
A sudden crash of rifle fire toward the east and from a point notdistant told them no. They rose to their feet, but they put thechessmen away very deliberately, while the young officers hastened totheir posts. The fire continued and spread about them in a half circle,accompanied now and then by the deeper note of a light field gun.Sherburne made his dispositions rapidly. All the men remained on foot,but a certain number were told off to hold the horses in the center ofthe camp.
"We're attacked by a large force," said Sherburne, "Our scouts gave uswarning in time. Evidently they wish to drive us away from herebecause this will be the ford in case the river falls in time."
"Then you look for a sharp fight?"
"Without question. And remember that you're to avoid all risk if youcan. It's not your business to get shot here, but it is your business,and your highly important business, to ride back to General Lee withthe news of what's happening. In order to do that it's necessary foryou to remain alive."
"I obey orders," said Harry reluctantly.
"Of course you do. Keep back with the men who are holding the horses.That fire is growing fast! I'm glad we were able to find a camp sodefensible as this hill."
He hurried away to watch his lines and Harry remained at his stationnear the horses, where Dalton was compelled by the same responsibilityto stay with him. It was the first time that Harry had been forced toremain a mere spectator of a battle raging around him, and while notone who sought danger for danger's sake, it was hard work to controlhimself and remain quiet and unmoved.
"I suspect they're trying to cut us off completely from our own army,"he said to Dalton.
"Seems likely to me, too," said Dalton. "Wipe us out here, and holdthe river for themselves. Our scouts assured us that there was nolarge force of the enemy in this region. It must have been gathered i
ngreat haste."
"In whatever way it was gathered, it's here, that's sure."
There was a good moon now, and, using his glasses, Harry saw manydetails of the battle. The attack was being pressed with great vigorand courage. He saw in a valley numerous bodies of cavalry, firingtheir carbines, and he saw two batteries, of eight light guns each,move forward for a better range. Soon their shells were exploding nearthe hill on which Harry stood, and the fire of the rifles, unbrokennow, grew rapidly in volume.
But the men under Sherburne, youthful though most of them might be,were veterans. They knew every trick of war, and columns of infantryswept forward to meet the attack, preceded by the skirmishers, who tookheavy toll of the foe.
"If they'd been able to make it a surprise they might have rushed us,"said Harry.
"Nobody catches Sherburne sleeping," said Dalton.
"That's true, and because they can't they won't be able to overcome himhere. Now there go our rifles! Listen to that crash. I fancy thatabout a thousand were fired together, and they weren't fired fornothing."
"No," said Dalton, "but the Yankees don't give way. You can see bytheir line of fire that they're still coming. Look there! A powerfulbody of horse is charging!"
It was unusual to see cavalry attack at night, and the spectacle wasremarkable, as the moonlight fell on the raised sabers. But thedefiant rebel yell, long and fierce, rose from the thicket, and, as therifles crashed, the entire front of the charging column was burnedaway, as if by a stroke of lightning. But after a moment of hesitationthey came on, only to ride deeper into a rifle fire which emptiedsaddles so fast that they were at last compelled to turn and gallopaway.
"Brave men," said Harry. "A gallant charge, but it had to meet toomany Southern rifles, aimed by men who know how to shoot."
"But their infantry are advancing through that wood," said Dalton."Hear them cheering above the rifle fire!"
The Northern shout rang through the forest, and the rebel yell, againfull of defiance, replied. The cavalry had been driven off, but theinfantry and artillery were far from beaten. The sixteen guns of thetwo batteries were massed on a hill and they began to sweep theSouthern lines with a storm of shells and shrapnel. The forest and thedark were no protection, because the guns searched every point of theSouthern line with their fire. Sherburne's men were forced to giveground, before cannon served with such deadly effect.
"What will the colonel do?" asked Dalton. "The big guns give theYankees the advantage."
"He'll go straight to the heart of the trouble," said Harry. "He'llattack the guns themselves."
He did not know actually in what manner Sherburne would proceed, but hewas quite sure that such would be his course. The wary Southern leaderinstantly detailed a swarm of his best riflemen to creep through thewoods toward the cannon. In a few minutes the gunners themselves wereunder the fire of hidden marksmen who shot surpassingly well. Thegunners, the cannoneers, the spongers, the rammers and the ammunitionpassers were cut down with deadly certainty.
The captain of the guns, knowing that the terrible rifle fire wascoming from the thickets, deluged the woods and bushes with shells andshrapnel, but the riflemen lay close, hugging the ground, and althougha few were killed and more wounded, the vast majority crept closer andcloser, shooting straight and true in the moonlight. The fire from thebatteries became scattered and wild. Their crews were cut down so fastthat not enough men were left to work the guns, and their commanderreluctantly gave the order to withdraw to a less exposed position.
"Rifles triumphant over artillery," said Harry, who studied everythingthrough his glasses; "but of course the dusk helped the riflemen."
"That's true," said Dalton, "but it takes good men like Sherburne touse the favoring chances. Now our boys are charging!"
The tremendous rebel yell swelled through the forest, and the Southerninfantry rushed to the attack. Harry saw that the charge wassuccessful, and his ears told him so too. The firing moved further andfurther away, and soon declined in volume.
"They've been beaten off," said Harry.
"At least for the time," said Dalton, "but I've an idea they'll hang onour front and may attack again in a day or so."
"How then are you and I to get through and tell General Lee that thisis the place to bridge the Potomac, if it's to be bridged at all?"
Dalton shook his head.
"I don't know," he replied, "and I won't think about it until ColonelSherburne gives his orders."
The sounds of battle died in the distant woods. The last shot, whetherfrom cannon or rifle, was fired, and the Southern troops returned totheir positions, which they began to fortify strongly. Sherburneappeared presently, his uniform cut by bullets in two or three places,but his body untouched. He drew Harry and Dalton aside, where theirwords could not be heard by anybody else.
"You two," he said, "were to report to General Lee when I thought fit.Well, the time has come; Harry, you go first, and, at a suitablemoment, George will follow. We have news of surpassing importance. Wetook a number of prisoners in that battle and we were also lucky enoughto rescue several of our men who had been held as captives. We'velearned from them that General Meade, after making up his mind topursue, followed straight behind us for a while, but he has now turnedand gone southward in the direction of Frederick. He will cross SouthMountain, advance toward Sharpsburg, and attempt to smash us here, withour backs to this swollen river. Why, some of the Federal leadersconsider the Army of Northern Virginia as good as destroyed already!"
He spoke with angry emphasis.
"But it isn't," said Harry.
"No, it isn't. Doubtless General Lee will learn from scouts of his ownof General Meade's flanking movement, but we mustn't take the chance.Moreover, we must tell him that this is the place for our army tocross. If the river runs down in two or three days we'll have a fordhere."
"I'm ready to go at any moment," said Harry. "Night helping me, I maybe able to ride through the lines of our enemies out there."
"No, Harry, you must not go that way. They're so vigilant that youwould not have any possible chance. Nor can you ride. You must leaveyour horse behind."
"What way then must I go, sir?"
"By the river. We have gathered up a few small boats, used at thecrossing here. You can row, can't you?"
"Fairly well, sir."
"'Twill do, because you're not to stay in the boat long. I want you todrop down the stream until you're well beyond the Federal lines. Thenleave the boat and strike out across the country for General Lee. Youknow the way. You can buy or seize a horse, and you must not fail."
"I will not fail," said Harry confidently.
"You'll succeed if anybody will, and now you must be off. Your pistolsare loaded, Harry? You may have to use them."
They did not delay a minute, going down the shelving shore to thePotomac, where a man held a small boat against the bank.
"Get in, Harry," said Sherburne. "You'd better drop down three or fourmiles, at least. Good-by and good luck."
He shook hands with his colonel and Dalton, took the oars and pulledfar out into the stream.
The Shades of the Wilderness: A Story of Lee's Great Stand Page 5