The two young voyagers of the night sprang to their feet on the pile of cases which filled the body of the gundalow, and looked about them. It was still dark, and they could not make out anything when just roused from their slumber.
"What are we stopping here for, father? Has anything broken?" asked Deck, discovering Mr. Lyon near him.
"Nothing but your slumbers, my son," replied the planter. "Haven't you got your eyes open yet? Can't you see that you have got home?"
"I believe I have been asleep," added Artie, rubbing his eyes.
"I know you have, my boy; for I spread your overcoats over you both before we reached the big bend, and I know you were sleeping as soundly as a pair of babies then. You must have slept an hour and a half," the father explained. "I am glad you had some sleep, for we have more work to do before we can go to bed."
"I can see the bridge now," added Deck.
"And there is the house," said Artie.
The negroes were all wide awake by this time, and Levi had gone to the mansion for the key to the ice-house. Mr. Lyon lighted all of the lanterns, and sent the boys to the stone building with them, following himself soon after. The overseer came with the key, and it was opened with some difficulty. The ice with which it had been filled in the winter had been exhausted, and it contained nothing but rubbish. The hands were called, and the interior was soon cleaned out.
Though Levi had not closed his eyes during the night, and had been busy all the time, he was wide awake, and proceeded to drive things as he had done at the cavern. It was decided to move the cannons first, after a broad gang plank had been made of the material in the boat. A heavy cart-stake was procured, which was thrust into the first of the pieces, with room enough for three of the hands to get hold of it. Another was placed under the cascabel, which was supported by General and Dummy, with Rosebud at the jaws.
The gun was easily handled with this force, and the men walked briskly to the new arsenal. Three wheelbarrows were brought from the tool-house by the planter and the boys while Levi was superintending the removal of the cannons. Three wheelers were selected by the overseer, two placed in the gundalow to load the barrows, and one at the ice-house. In less than an hour, and when the daylight was appearing in the east, the job was finished.
"Now, boys, you can sleep all the rest of the day," said Mr. Lyons, and Levi sent the hands to their quarters.
"We haven't seen any men on the watch," said Levi, while he was placing some boards over the windows of the building, "but there may have been some on the lookout for all that."
"If they were in the road near the big bend, where you thought they would be, if anywhere, they could not have walked to the cavern in time to find us there, for we made quick work of loading the boat," added the planter.
"If there were any men there, they may have observed us; but they could not get round here to see what was done with the cases if they did," replied Levi. "They may possibly have recognized the Magnolia: and that is the only clew they could have obtained of the operations in this affair."
"It is time to go to bed, and I am inclined to think we shall do some sleeping to-day," added the planter, as he led the way to the mansion.
Levi was not willing to leave anything to chance; and before he went to his room in the house he had called up two of the servants and established a patrol along the bank of the creek from the bridge to the boathouse, with orders to call him if any persons were seen prowling about the vicinity.
All the operations of the night had been conducted with the most prudent regard to secrecy. Doubtless Levi Bedford knew more about the residents of the county than Noah Lyon, and probably more about Titus as he was and had been during the last few years. The disappearance of the arms and ammunition would make a tremendous sensation among the Southern sympathizers, though most of them were not yet aware of the existence of such a store of munitions in the vicinity; for the knowledge of them had probably been confined to the members of Titus's company of Home Guards. Even if the wrath and excitement occasioned by the loss of the war material was limited to these ruffians, there were enough of them to do a vast amount of mischief in the county.
The interview on the bridge with his brother had opened wide the eyes of Noah; but he had always lived in a peaceful community, and his overseer understood the situation better than he did. Levi had taken every precaution against the possible assaults of the "bushwackers," as he called the gang with whom the Northern "doughface" had cast his lot at the breaking out of the troubles in the State. The boys slept soundly till nearly noon, and the planter till the middle of the forenoon; but Levi appeared as usual at breakfast, having slept but about three hours.
Mr. Lyon had told his wife something about the events of the night, and assured her that the arms were safe in the ice-house, and nothing was said at the table about the proceedings of the party, though Levi was as good-natured as usual, and talked about other things. As soon as he had finished his morning meal with a most excellent appetite, he hastened to the ice-house with the key in his hand. The field-hands had gone to their work, and all was quiet about the place.
The ice-house was near the creek, about half-way between the bridge and the boathouse, close to the stream. The door of it faced the water, and there was a small square window in either end. Levi walked around the building two or three times, closely examining the structure. Then he stopped at the door and cast his eyes all around him, especially at the lay of the land on the other side of the creek. He was not a military engineer any more than his employer; but he was a man of ideas, and he was evidently preparing for events in the future which he foresaw, and which the disturbed condition of the State rendered more than possible.
When he had completed his survey he unlocked the door of the building. The cases were all just as they had been piled up in the early morning. He bestowed only a glance at them, and then began a study of the two windows, from which he removed the boards that prevented any one from seeing what the building contained. Then he gave his attention to the doors, which were double, the thickness of the wall apart. He was evidently making a plan in his mind for some alterations to the structure; but he was alone, and of course he said nothing.
He appeared to have reached his conclusion. Closing and locking the outer door, he walked over to the boathouse, at the pier of which the Magnolia had been secured by the boatmen as soon as the work of the night was completed. Here again he stopped and made a survey of the neighboring swamp, which separated the lawn from the bank of the Green. Then he went over to the bank of the river, and followed it down stream.
At this point a bend of the river above forced the water of the stream over near the opposite shore, while half-way across from the bank on which he stood, the waters from the river and the creek had washed in the mud so that it formed a bar on a bed of rocks, and the descent here produced the rapids. The water for half a mile was considerably troubled when the streams were full, while it was deep enough on the other side to permit the passage of the steamboats that plied on the river.
Levi continued his walk in the road, with Green River on one side and on the other the swamp which bordered the creek to a point near its source. The swamp was impassable on foot or by boat. It was better than a wall in the rear of the mansion, and the marauders of Titus Lyon could not approach from that direction. Farther along was a broad lagoon or pond, connected by a wide and sluggish inlet with Bar Creek. This could be crossed with a boat; but the approach to it from the spring road over the low ground was difficult and dangerous.
The overseer knew the whole region very well; but when he had viewed it again in the light of impending contingencies, he seemed to be entirely satisfied with the situation, for his chronic smile was on his round face, though no one was there to see it. He went to the shop, which formed part of the carriage-house, and began a survey of the lumber on hand there. A couple of three-inch oak planks were pulled out from the pile. He measured and marked them with a piece of chalk, and then left the shop.
Among the plantation hands were carpenters, masons, painters, and other mechanics, more or less skilful, though none of them had regularly learned a trade. Some of them had become quite expert in the use of tools, and could do a very respectable job, especially the carpenters. Levi was himself a "jack-of-all-trades," and he had trained some of them to the best of his ability.
When he came out of the shop he sent Frank the coachman to call the three carpenters, who worked in the field most of the time. The colonel had given these men names to suit himself, and they were proud of their cognomens. "Shavings" was the most skilful of them, and was the "boss" at any job to be done. "Gouge" and "Bitts" were only fair workmen, but they did very well under the direction of their foreman.
When they came, Levi ordered Shavings to make two doors of the three-inch planks, and described what he wanted very minutely. At the same time the two door-frames were ordered, and the mechanics went to work with a will, and without asking to what use the doors were to be applied.
By this time the planter came out from his late breakfast, and the overseer reported to him what he had been doing the last three hours. They visited the shop where the negro mechanics were sawing out the planks for the doors, and then went to the stables, where Frank remained on duty all the time when not out with one of the teams; and then one of the grooms took his place.
"How many horses are there on the place now, Frank?" asked the planter.
"Thirty-five in all, Major," answered the coachman.
"Are they all fit for service?" inquired the owner.
"No, sir; six of them are breeding mares, and nine are colts, two and three years old. We have fifteen horses and mares four years old and more, for sale, and I reckoned you would sell them about this time."
"That's all, Frank," added the planter as he left the stable.
"I don't know what you are driving at, Major Lyon, but we have twenty-seven horses over three years old, and fit for service, though the three year olds are rather young yet for hard work," said Levi, as they walked towards the ice-house.
"I have held my tongue about as long as necessary; but now all these sores in the State seem to be coming to a head, and I will tell you, between ourselves, that I have an idea of raising a company of Union cavalry to offset the Home Guards of this county," replied Mr. Lyon.
"That's a glorious idea!" exclaimed Levi with tremendous enthusiasm. "I wish I was ten years younger, and weighed thirty pounds less, for I should like to swing a sabre in that company."
"But you are to look out for the plantation and take care of my family while I am away, Levi. You can ride a colt better than any of us; but your work is here, and you may be called upon to do as much fighting as any of us," said Mr. Lyon.
"I will do my duty wherever you put me, Major; but I should rather enjoy a whack at those border ruffians who are making the whole county hot with outrages. Last night they burned out a Union man two miles above the village."
"The time for action is close at hand," added Mr. Lyon, as they came to the ice-house. "There have been talk and threats enough. My brother has told me that I am liable to be hung on one of the big trees after a mob has burned the house; but I think we are ready for such a gathering as he suggests. We may hear something about it to-night in the meeting at the Big Bend schoolhouse."
"I have looked the ice-house over this morning, and I have made up my mind what ought to be done," said Levi; and he proceeded to state his plan for turning the stone structure into a sort of fort. "I have ordered the doors already, and if you say the word, Major, I will make three or four embrasures in the walls for the two field-pieces; and we must have a magazine for the ammunition."
"I approve your plan; go ahead and do the work as you think best. You can use all the hands you need; and from this moment the ice-house will be known as Fort Bedford," replied Mr. Lyons.
"Thank you, Major, and I will endeavor to make the fortress worthy of a better name," returned Levi, as he hastened to the stable to send for the men he wanted.
In the afternoon Levi Bedford had half the hands on the plantation at work in and about the ice-house. Embrasures, or port-holes, were opened in the thick walls, one at each end and one on each side of the door, at the proper height for the twelve-pounders, which were mounted on the carriages, in order that everything should be correctly adjusted. Then the door which opened on the side next to the creek was filled up with stones taken from the quarry in the only hill on the plantation, so that it was as thick and as solid as the rest of the walls. Then a new door was made on the opposite side.
By sundown the carpenter had completed and hung the double doors; and they were secured with the heavy locks the colonel had purchased in the days of the horse-thieves. All this work was not completed when night came, and four trusty men were selected to patrol the creek from the bridge down to the boat-pier, two serving till midnight, and the other two till morning.
"I think we shall be in condition to stand a siege by to-morrow night," said the overseer, as he accompanied the planter and the boys to Fort Bedford, on the way to the schoolhouse at Big Bend.
"It looks so now," replied Mr. Lyon as he went into the building. "You have made remarkable progress for one day. But I want to open one of these boxes."
"Which one, Major?" asked Levi.
"The one which contains revolvers and cartridges, for some of the smaller ones are labelled with the names of these articles. I hardly expect any trouble at the meeting to-night; but I think it its best to be prepared for the worst. I have brought one of the colonel's pistols with me; but I want to put the boys in condition to defend themselves," added the planter.
"I think we can make good use of them, for we have had some experience with such tools," said Deck, who did not appear to be at all affected by the serious nature of the preparations they were making.
"Where have you had any such experience, Dexter?" inquired his father.
"Tom Bartlett and Ben Mason had revolvers at the time of the housebreaking scare in Derry, and Artie and I used to fire at a mark with them in the hill pasture," replied the enthusiastic boy. "Artie used to beat us all, and often put the ball through the centre of the target."
"Sometimes," suggested the other.
"Then you are both ahead of me, for I never fired a revolver or a pistol of any kind, though I used to go hunting with a fowling-piece when I was a boy," added Mr. Lyon.
"Then I think you had better practise a little, Major," said Levi, as he pulled out one of the smaller boxes from the top of the pile of cases. "This contains what you want, I reckon."
Deck brought the hatchet, and the case was opened. Most of the weapons were navy revolvers, wrapped in oiled paper to save them from rust. They were closely packed in the case, the spare space being filled in with packages of cartridges. They opened another box, and found half a dozen of smaller size, with the proper ammunition. The overseer selected two of them, handing one to each of the boys, with a box of cartridges.
"I should like to try this little persuader," said Deck, as he opened the box of ammunition, and proceeded to load the pistol.
Artie followed his example; and, setting up the cover of the case by the creek, they blazed away at it till the chambers of the revolvers were empty. They fired in turn, and the position of each bullet-hole was noted. Artie kept up his old reputation, for he hit near the centre of the board three times out of six. Deck fired the best shot, but his others were more scattering. They hit the board every time, and Levi said they "would do."
Then Mr. Lyon tried his hand with the revolver he had brought from the mansion; but his aim was less accurate than that of the boys. He put four of his six balls into the board, three of them outside of the punctures made by Deck and Artie.
"You will improve with more experience, Major; but I reckon you could hit a bushwhacker if he wasn't more than ten feet from you; and these tools generally come into use at short range. How were you going up to Big Bend, Major?"
"I thought we should walk," replied the planter; and he reloaded his revolver, as both of the boys had done by this time. "It is not more than three-quarters of a mile."
"I think you had better go in the Magnolia, with the crew that pulled us last night," suggested Levi. "If there should be any row at the schoolhouse, those boys will stand by you as long as there is anything left of you."
"I don't look for any row, Levi, but I suppose it is always best to be prepared for the worst," replied the planter. "You may send for the crew."
One of the watchmen happened to be near at the time, and he was despatched for the boatmen who had formed the regular crew of the Magnolia in the time of the deceased planter.
"I suppose, if there should be any trouble at the schoolhouse, and I should be protected by my negroes, it would tend to aggravate the charge against me of being an abolitionist; and that seems to be about the worst thing that can be said against a man in this county."
"But only among the border ruffians," the overseer amended the statement. "The man that owns fifty niggers cannot decently be accused of being an abolitionist. I advise you to go in the boat because the schoolhouse is right on the very bank of the river. The back windows over the platform look out upon the water. If the bushwhackers come down upon you, and things go against you, it will be easy to get out by one of these windows. A good general always keeps the line of retreat open behind him when he goes into battle; and you had better have the Magnolia under one of these windows."
"Why, Levi, you talk as though you were about sure an attempt would be made to break up the meeting," replied Mr. Lyon.
"To tell you the truth, I do feel almost sure of it," returned the overseer. "Captain Titus, as they call him up in the village so as not to mix him up with Major Noah Lyon, was about mad enough yesterday to do something desperate. You say he has threatened you, and"—
"I did not say that, Levi," interposed the planter. "Don't make my brother out any worse than he is, for conscience' sake."
"What did he say, then?"
"He told me the people on his side of the question would have mobbed me before this time if he had not prevented them from doing so."
"That's about the same thing. I don't like to say anything against your brother, Major, but I don't look on Captain Titus as a square man. He wants to keep his own head covered up because you are his brother; but I believe on my conscience that he would like to see your place burned to the ground, and it wouldn't break his heart to see you hanging by the neck to one of the big trees."
Mr. Lyon realized that the overseer understood the character of Titus better than he had supposed. His brother was terribly disappointed because the colonel had not left Riverlawn to him; and he had charged the deceased with unfairness and injustice in making his will. He was compelled to believe the claim of Titus that he had prevented the ruffians from destroying his property was a pretence, and nothing more. His brother was not only disappointed but revengeful.
"It is generally understood about here that you called this Union meeting," continued Levi.
"I suggested it, for we ought to know who's who; and it remains to be seen how many will have the pluck to attend the meeting. Titus believes that a large majority of the people in these parts are of his way of thinking, while I believe that they are about two to one the other way, though most of them are afraid to do or say much, and I want to bring them out if possible."
"You are right as to numbers, Major; and when a man is afraid that his house will be burned down over his head, or that he will get a bullet through his brains while he sits at his window, I don't much wonder that he is not inclined to speak out loud, and these bushwhackers have had it all their own way. I hope you will be able to bring out the prudent and timid ones."
"I talked the meeting over with others, and Colonel Cosgrove promised to come up and help us out with a speech. We all agreed that it was time to make a demonstration in favor of the Union," replied the planter as the boat's crew appeared on the ground.
"I should like to go with you. Major, but I don't think it is safe to leave the place alone," said the overseer. "Whether the ruffians had a watch on the spring road last night or not, I don't know. We haven't heard anything of them during the day; but I should be willing to wager a pair of my old shoes they have found out by this time that the arms and ammunition placed in the cavern have taken to themselves wings, like other riches, and flown away. If I am not much mistaken, Captain Titus finds himself some thousands poorer to-day than he was a week ago."
"Do you believe they have discovered the loss so soon?"
"I haven't much doubt of it. Captain Titus keeps three horses, and it was easy enough for him to send one of his boys over to the cavern to see that the arms were all right. He has missed them by this time; and if we do our duty they won't shoot any bullets into the heads and hearts of the Union army. Of course Captain Titus and his gang are boiling over with wrath. You won't see him at the meeting, perhaps; but there will be enough there to make a noise, if nothing more. I have been thinking of these things to-day, and that is the reason why I thought it best to take proper precautions."
"I am glad you have spoken out, Levi, for you have generally been very reticent," replied Mr. Lyon, as he led the way to the boat-pier, where the crew had manned the boat.
"I couldn't say much while I believed your brother was at the bottom of most of the mischief," pleaded Levi.
The planter and the boys seated themselves in the stern sheets of the Magnolia. Deck took the tiller lines with the consent of his father, and General was permitted to get under way as he pleased, giving all the orders in detail. None of the crew asked any questions, and in a short time Deck brought the boat up under one of the windows of the schoolhouse. Mr. Lyon charged General to keep the Magnolia just where they had placed her, and not to make any noise at all.
The building was already partly filled, and more were constantly arriving. Before the appointed time Colonel Cosgrove descended from his wagon at the door, and the planter welcomed him. At the hour named, Squire Truman, a young legal gentleman from a Northern county, who had settled in the village, called the meeting to order. It was said that he had not a very flourishing practice, but he was regarded as a young man of more than average ability. He had the credit of being a ready and able speaker; and Mr. Lyon had invited him to open the assemblage with a statement of the situation in the county, especially in the vicinity of Barcreek.
He was a decided and outspoken Union man. He began very moderately; but in a few minutes he became more earnest, and soon rose to the height of eloquence. He was warmly applauded by the audience, though there were some tokens of disapprobation, evidently proceeding from some of the individuals whom Levi called "bushwhackers." Titus Lyon was not there, but some of his representatives had already manifested themselves. The discordant elements soon became more demonstrative as the speaker waxed eloquent. They made noise enough to disturb the equanimity of Squire Truman; and he switched off from his line of remark, and proceeded to dress down the malcontents in the most vigorous language.
"I beg leave to inform those who are struggling to create a disturbance, that this is a Union meeting, called as such, and as such only," said the orator, shaking with indignation. "It was called for Union men only! It is a gathering of those who are loyal to the government at Washington, and not to decide between secession and fidelity to the old flag. Those who are not Union men are respectfully requested to retire from the meeting."
This request brought forth a torrent of yells from the ruffians, though there were apparently not more than a dozen of them. Squire Truman was defiant, and his handsome face looked as noble as that of a Roman senator.
"Has the time come when free speech in behalf of this glorious Union is to be put down?" And then the ruffians howled again. "Has it come to this in the State of Kentucky, the second to be admitted into the Union? and, with the help of God and all honest men, she shall be the last to leave it! Are we men to be badgered and silenced by half a score of blackguards and ruffians? I am one of half a dozen to put them out of the hall."
About a dozen rose from their seats, headed by Noah Lyon, and moved down the aisles of the schoolroom.
The planter of Riverlawn was not a fighting character; he had always been one of the most peaceful of men. He had never raised a hand against one of his fellow-beings, and it required the stimulus of an occasion like the present to rouse a belligerent feeling in him, if the groundwork of any such emotion existed in his nature. It was hardly that, but rather a sense of his solemn duty, which he was called upon to perform, as a surgeon is required to amputate a limb to save life; and he was impelled to save the life of the Union.
Noah Lyon was not physically a large man, but one who weighed a hundred and a half; yet his frame was well knit, firmly compacted, and inured by hard labor from his boyhood. As he rose to his feet and marched down the middle aisle of the schoolroom, his face exhibited more strength than his form; for all the determination of his nature was concentrated in his eyes and the muscles of his countenance.
The fervid speech of the young orator had brought him to his bearings. Deck and Artie had been similarly affected; and with their fists clinched they followed the planter. Squire Truman leaped from the platform into the midst of them, as the dozen others sprang to their feet, some with their eyes flashing with indignation, and all of them with a fixed purpose not to submit to the outrage in which the ruffians were engaged.
When Mr. Lyon had proceeded as far as the middle of the room, one of the disturbers of the peace, whom the planter had spotted, rose to his feet and confronted him in the aisle. It was Buck Lagger, a pedler, who was one of the most virulent of the Secessionists, and who aspired to be a leader among the turbulent spirits of the county.
"What are you go'n' to do about it?" demanded he savagely.
"Are you a Union man?" asked Mr. Lyon with quiet determination.
"No, I'm not!" yelled the ruffian, who had the reputation in Barcreek of being a brute of the lowest order, with a whole volley of oaths.
"Then you were not invited here, and you will leave!" said the planter.
"This buildin' is public, and I have as much right here as you have!" answered Buck Lagger, with a coarse guffaw.
Noah Lyon did not wait for anything more, but grappled with the fellow as an eagle swoops down on his prey. Buck tried to get his right hand into his breast pocket, evidently to obtain a weapon of some kind; but his assailant understood his purpose, and crowded him over backwards upon one of the desks, choking him so hard that he soon lost all his pluck.
Colonel Cosgrove was close behind Mr. Lyon, and seized upon the boon companion of the pedler. He was an excellent specimen of a Kentucky gentleman, stalwart in form and determined in purpose. He bore his man down as the leader had done. The other ruffians rushed to the assistance of their leaders, and themêléebecame general.
There did not appear to be more than half a dozen active ruffians in the room; at least not more who were resolute enough to take part in these stormy proceedings. Mr. Lyon had choked so much of the energy out of Buck Laggar that he had ceased to feel for his weapon, and the planter took him by the collar of the coat with both hands, and dragged him to the door, where he pitched him on the ground all in a heap.
Colonel Cosgrove followed him with his man; and then came the orator with a fellow nearly twice his size, with whom he was having a hard tussle, when Deck leaped upon the back of this victim, and drawing his arms tightly under his throat, brought him to the floor, and then rolled him out at the door. The other Union men in the audience had tackled the remaining ruffians when they went to the assistance of those of their number who had been attacked, and hustled them out of the apartment.
"That will do for the present," said Squire Truman, as the resolute Unionists completed their active work, and stopped to catch their breath.
"I think we had better station a guard at the door, and challenge every man who wants to come in," suggested Mr. Lyon.
"That's a good idea, for it is the evident intention of the blackguards to break up the meeting; and I should be ashamed to have such a thing done,—a Union meeting dispersed by force in the State of Kentucky!" added the young lawyer.
"Precisely so!" exclaimed Colonel Cosgrove. "I will offer my services as one of the guard."
"Good!" shouted Colonel Belthorpe, a big Kentuckian whose plantation was near that of Major Lyon, "I will be another."
"Here are two more!" cried Deck Lyon, as he and Artie presented themselves.
"Lively boys," laughed Colonel Cosgrove. "Both of them took a hand in the skirmish we have had, and they will do very well for this duty."
The Union men in the assembly applauded warmly, and the young orator led the way back to the seats, mounting the platform himself. He resumed his speech with an allusion to the event which had just transpired, and roused his audience to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by his fiery eloquence. He spoke half an hour, and concluded by nominating Major Noah Lyon as the presiding officer of the evening; and the selection was heartily indorsed by the meeting.
Before he could reach the platform, a dozen men appeared at the door. The volunteer committee on admissions retired to the lobby so that they need not disturb the proceedings. Colonel Cosgrove took Artie by the arm, while Colonel Belthorpe did the same with Deck, each at one side of the door.
"Are you a Union man?" demanded Deck in a loud voice, for he felt that he must do or say something, boiling over with enthusiasm for the cause as he was; and perhaps the fact that he had a loaded revolver in his pocket was an inciting influence with him.
"I am!" exclaimed the person addressed, with emphasis.
"Pass in," replied Deck.
"Put the same question, Artie," added Colonel Cosgrove, amused at the earnestness of Deck.
Artie put the question with less pomposity than his cousin, and the answer was the same. The brace of colonels then took part in the challenging, and the dozen applicants were promptly admitted. One of the colonels then suggested to the other that the boys could remain in the lobby while they stood inside the door.
Noah Lyon had presided on several occasions in town meetings, and his modesty had been so far overcome that he could face an audience, especially in such a cause as the present. He was received with applause and cheers, and proceeded to make a speech in his usual quiet way. He said he could not make such a speech as the eloquent gentleman from Barcreek village had done; but he was a Union man in every fibre of his being, whether he was in New Hampshire or Kentucky.
This statement was received with tremendous applause. He proceeded to say that he was a peaceable man, and was in favor of peaceable measures; but he did not intend to be overridden and trodden down by the Secession element, which he believed was in a large minority in the State. He was ready to talk as long as talking did any good; but when he had talked enough he was ready to fight.
This was the popular sentiment in the meeting, and a tumult of applause followed, ending in nine rousing cheers. He was ready to shoulder a musket in any Kentucky regiment, and he was glad that some had already been organized. He had twenty-seven horses he would give "without money and without price," to the cause of the Union, with which to start a cavalry company; and "I think I canfindarms for the men," he added.
This offer was greeted with yells of approval, and it was some time before he could say anything more.
"I will also contribute twenty horses," shouted Colonel Cosgrove.
"I will give the next twenty," Colonel Belthorpe cried out.
The clapping of hands and the cheering were renewed with more vigor than ever, if possible; and others offered to contribute from one to five each, till over a hundred horses were pledged for the company. In the midst of this enthusiasm the voice of Deck was heard in the lobby.
"Are you a Union man, sir?" he demanded in a voice loud enough to be heard in a momentary lull of the enthusiasm.
"No, I am not!" replied the applicant, with a volley of expletives.
"Then you can't go in," answered Deck.
"Who says I can't?" asked the intruder in fierce tones.
"This is a Union meeting, and none but Union men are admitted," replied Deck, loud enough to be heard on the platform; for the meeting had become silent, and all were turning around to see the door.
"Do you see that?" demanded the ruffian, as he drew a bowie-knife from his pocket, and threw it open with a jerk.
Deck had put his right hand on his hip pocket, which contained his revolver; and, the moment he saw the knife, he drew it, and pointed it at the part where the intruder carried what brains he had.
"And do you see that?" called the plucky boy.
"And that?" added Artie on the other side of the door.
"Take yourself off!" shouted Deck furiously, as he retreated a pace, to keep out of the reach of the wicked-looking blade of the knife.
"Isn't this a free building?" asked the ruffian, as he looked from one revolver to the other.
"Free to Union men to-night," answered Deck.
By this time half a dozen men from the interior were approaching the door, and the ruffian suddenly decamped. Deck followed him to the door, and saw the man disappear in the grove on the other side of the road. Then he heard a voice among the trees; and it was evident to him that there were more ruffians, perhaps biding their time to make an attack upon the Unionists when they went to their homes.
"Three cheers for the boys!" shouted one of the men who had come to the door, and observed the retreat of the ruffian.
They were lustily given, and then Deck announced to the meeting that there were more men in the grove, for some one had hailed the ruffian that had just left the door.
"No matter for them," said the chairman. "Let us go on with this meeting, and when they come in, if they do so, we will take care of them. The boys will keep watch, and let us know if they approach the schoolhouse."
A committee of three were appointed to attend to the enrolment of the company of cavalry. The two colonels and the major by courtesy were appointed on this committee. Then Colonel Cosgrove was called upon to make the speech he had promised. He was not so eloquent as his professional brother from the village; but he was more solid, and was as vigorously applauded as the other speakers had been.
He said there had been a sort of reign of terror in the county, and it was because the Unionists had been less demonstrative than the Secessionists, and for that reason he believed in the present meeting. He was disposed to be peaceable, but he was ready to fight for the Union. He proceeded at considerable length. He was in favor of having it understood in the county that there were plenty of Unionists within its borders, and that they were not to be frowned or bullied down by the ruffians of the other side.
This remark seemed to be the sense of the assembly, which had now increased in numbers to over a hundred, and the applause was decided.
While the colonel from the county town was speaking, Deck and Artie had been over to the other side of the road, and penetrated the grove for a short distance. Probably those who had been ejected from the meeting were there; but the boys crept near enough to make out that there were not less than fifty men there, and possibly double that number.
As they retired from the grove they found that a single man was following them. They retreated to the lobby of the schoolhouse, with their revolvers in their hands. They had hardly resumed their stations at the door when the man presented himself before them. To the astonishment of his two nephews this person proved to be Titus Lyon.
"Are you a Union man?" demanded Deck.
"I am not," replied Titus.
"Then you can't go into this meeting," added Deck, as firmly as he had spoken at any time before.
The applicant could not fail to see that both of the boys had weapons in their hands. He looked earnest and determined, but he did not appear to be even angry. He halted and fixed his gaze upon the floor, apparently in deep thought.
Revolvers are dangerous weapons; and Deck and Artie had used them enough in sport to realize this truth. They had not yet become accustomed to seeing bullets fired into the bodies of human beings; to the sight of strong men falling with a death-wound in the head or heart, which was afterwards almost an everyday spectacle in the battles of the Great Rebellion.
They had been brought up where human life was held to be more sacred than in the locality to which they had been transplanted; and if they had thought of discharging their weapons into the vital parts of even the ruffians who menaced the Union meeting with violence, they were certainly not ready to begin with one of their own flesh and blood, though Titus Lyon had proved himself to be one of the most virulent enemies of the public peace.
"I have no weapons, as you have, boys, and I have something to say to this meeting," said Titus, after he had meditated for two or three minutes. "I want to go in; but I shall not stop there many minutes."
"We can't let you in, Uncle Titus," replied Deck decidedly; "that's the order of the meeting."
"But I'm going in if I'm shot for it," continued the applicant for admission very quietly, but with none of the bluster which had become almost a second nature to him.
Perhaps the interest he felt in the mission which brought him to the schoolhouse had induced him to refrain from his usual potations, for he appeared to be perfectly sober. He used none of the intemperate language which was generally on his tongue, so that the boys were not roused to indignation, even if they were tempted to use their weapons; but both of them placed themselves in the doorway as though they intended to dispute his passage into the room.
The meeting was proceeding with its business, though the orators had finished their speeches. A Union farmer was telling about one of his neighbors who had been threatened by the ruffians, as the Secessionists had come to be generally called by this time. He was quite earnest in his plea that something should be done to protect men who stood by the government.
The two colonels were interested, and they had moved forward where they could hear the farmer, who spoke in a low tone; and no one inside was aware of what was transpiring in the lobby, so that the boys were practically alone.
"We can't let you in, Uncle Titus, and we don't want to shoot you," interposed Artie. "I will call Colonel Cosgrove, and you can make your request to him;" and he went to the place where the colonel was standing.
"But I am going in," persisted Titus Lyon, attempting to push Deck aside.
"You can't go in!" said Deck, as he crowded his uncle back from the entrance. "Wait a moment, and you can tell Colonel Cosgrove what you want!"
"I don't want anything of Colonel Cosgrove; he is worse than your father," replied the applicant.
"Good-evening, Mr. Lyon," said the Kentuckian, presenting himself at the door at this moment.
"I have something to say to this meeting, Colonel, which it is important for the meeting to hear," added Titus.
"Come right in and say it, Mr. Lyon," replied the colonel, to the astonishment of the young guardians of the portal.
He was as polite as a Kentucky gentleman generally is; and he took the arm of the applicant, and marched with him to the space behind the desks, where he halted till the former had finished his remarks. Noah Lyon was taken "all back" by the appearance of his brother escorted by the most influential Kentuckian in the county. The entire audience turned and stared at the unexpected guest.
"Mr. Chairman, I have the honor to present Captain Titus Lyon of Barcreek to the meeting," said the colonel. "He claims to have something of importance to communicate. He is not a Union man, as is well known, but I trust no objection will be made to hearing him."
"I am not a Union man, as Colonel Cosgrove says," Titus began. "When I came to this State, I became a Kentuckian, and I go with the people of this section of the country. But I did not come here to talk politics. There is two sides to the question before the country, and each on 'em has its rights. I belong to the party that is tryin' to keep the peace in the State if we have to fight for it. As we had a perfect right to do, we bought about three thousand dollars worth of arms and ammernition to protect ourselves agin them that is tryin' to force the State into a war of subjergation agin our own flesh and blood.
"Them arms and ammernition has been stole," continued Titus, waxing indignant in spite of his effort to keep cool, and relapsing into his everyday speech. "I believe it was done by what you call Union men, and I cal'late I know jest who done it; and I cal'late, Mr. Chairman, you know jest as well or better'n I do who done it."
"Who was it?" demanded a person in the audience.
"I h'ain't got nothin' to say here about that," answered Captain Titus. "But if them arms and ammernition ain't given up right off, here and now, on the spot, or some plan agreed on for doin' so afore to-morrer noon, the blood will run in the low places round here, and the clouds in the sky will give back the light from the fires that is burnin' down some of the nicest houses in these parts. I hain't got nothin' more to say; but if any one wants to see me about settlin' up this matter, I can be found near the road in front of the schoolhouse."
"But this is war, Captain Lyon," suggested Colonel Belthorpe.
"I know 'tis; and that's jest what I mean. We want the Union thieves to give up the property they stole; and that's all we ask now," replied Titus, whose wrath was beginning to be stirred to the boiling point.
"We are ready to meet you on that ground!" shouted Squire Truman, springing to his feet; for he knew that Captain Titus was the ringleader of the ruffians in the vicinity, and his threat roused him to a fiery indignation. "I know nothing about the arms and ammunition; but whoever took possession of them has done a noble and patriotic deed, and, Mr. Chairman, I move you that a vote of thanks be tendered to them for it."
This motion was hailed with thunders of applause; and when the presiding officer put it to the meeting, it was carried unanimously, and no one wished to delay it by making a speech.
Squire Truman then made another speech, in which he pictured the result of permitting the arms to get into the hands of the ruffians for whose use they were evidently intended; and he magnified the prudence and forethought of the unknown persons who had taken the responsibility of such a forward step. This speech was received with cheers, in which the throats of the audience seemed to be strained to their utmost tension.
"Captain Lyon," said Colonel Cosgrove, when the tumult had subsided in a measure, "no formal answer seems to be necessary to your demand. The action of this meeting and the spirit with which it has been received are a sufficient reply. Personally, I can only say I heartily rejoice that the arms and ammunition have been turned aside from the purpose for which they were intended, and we will take care that they are not used against the government of the United States. We are loyal citizens, and we shall do our duty to the glorious flag under which we live. Have you any further communication to make to this meeting, Captain Lyon?"
"No, I haven't; I've said my say, and fire and blood is the next thing," replied Titus, as he rushed out of the schoolroom, furious with passion.
The business of the meeting was completed; but the boys informed the two colonels that the road was full of men. Then several of the Unionists drew revolvers from their pockets; for they had fully expected that the meeting would be disturbed, and that it would end in a fight. They had come prepared to defend themselves. The situation was discussed, but no one was inclined to avoid the issue. If there was to be a fight, it would be no new thing in the State.
Colonel Belthorpe, whose title was not one of mere courtesy, for he had served in the regular army in his younger days, and won his later spurs in the militia, advised that a procession be formed, with the armed men on the right, while the others were told to obtain clubs, or anything they could lay their hands upon. But before the column was formed Buck Lagger appeared at the door.
"We want Major Lyon and his two cubs!" shouted the ruffian, who appeared to be the right-hand man of Captain Titus.
The ruffians had held a meeting in the grove, privately notified by this Buck,—for Titus had not been inclined to show his hand,—and a delegation had been sent to try the temper of the assemblage in the schoolhouse. They had been defeated and ejected. It was plain by this time that the cavern had been visited and the loss of the munitions discovered.
The speech of Captain Titus indicated that he knew who had taken possession of the property, though Noah Lyon could not conjecture who had given the information. He was inclined to believe that his brother had jumped to his conclusion, though spies about the plantation might have obtained some clew to the night visit to the sink-hole of the Magnolia. The flatboat had been loaded with rocks and sunk in the deepest water of the river, so that it need not betray the planter and his people.
"We want Major Lyon and his cubs!" repeated Buck Lagger, in a voice loud enough to be heard all over the building. "We don't mean to meddle with nobody else, and all the rest o' you uns can go home without no trouble. Hand over Major Lyon and his cubs so we can get the property he stole, and we won't make no fuss."
"We shall not hand him over, but we will protect him to the last drop of our blood!" yelled Squire Truman, hoarse with the strain upon his voice. "Turn the ruffian out!"
But it was not necessary to turn him out, for he fled as soon as he had executed his mission. There was no great commotion outside, though the mob could be seen through the open door. The demand of Buck indicated the principal object of the ruffians, and the purpose for which they had assembled in the grove.
"My friends, I am grateful for your support and promise of protection to me and my boys," said Noah Lyon, who had descended from the platform to the floor, where the boys had joined him. "It appears from what the messenger of the ruffians has said that I am the sole object of their vengeance. I have the means here of taking good care of myself and my boys, and I need not involve you all in a fight to protect me."
To a few of the prominent men near him he stated in a low tone, so that he need not be heard by any ruffian lingering near the door, that his boat was under the south window, and he could escape without confronting the mob in the road. This course would save a fight, and the planter's friends decided to adopt it. The door was closed, and the boys passed out of the window first. They ordered the crew to be silent, and after Noah Lyon had shaken hands with the principal men, he followed them. The Magnolia was shoved out into the river. Deck headed it across the stream, so as to keep the schoolhouse between it and the ruffians.
Under the lead of Colonel Belthorpe, with his revolver ready for use, the Union men marched out of the building, forming four deep when they reached the foot of the steps. The ruffians had placed themselves so that the column passed through them, and they all scrutinized the faces by the light of a fire they had kindled at the side of the road. They did not see the victims for whom they were looking, and when the last of the procession had passed them they set up a furious howl.
"We have been fooled!" shouted Buck Lagger, as he started after the column. "Where is Major Lyon?" he demanded.
"He is not here," replied some one in the ranks.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know;" and he told the truth, for he had not heard the planter's statement about the boat, and had not been near the window.
"Where is Major Lyon?" demanded Buck Lagger when he reached the head of the procession.
"He came in his boat, and he has returned by it," replied Colonel Belthorpe, with something like a chuckle at the discomfiture of the ruffian.
"This is treachery!" howled Buck. "You were to give him up to us."
"No, we were not," returned the doughty colonel. "Didn't you hear us say we would protect him to the last drop of our blood?"
"We will soon find him and his cubs!" growled the present leader, as he fell back into the grove, followed by the rest of the mob.
The Magnolia reached the boat-pier, and Levi Bedford was there to welcome the party.
The two windows in the rear of the schoolhouse had been wide open all the evening, and the negroes of the boat's crew could not help hearing the excited speeches, and the thunders of applause in the meeting of the Unionists; but not one of them spoke a word about them to the planter and the boys. They pulled with all their might, and made a quick run to the boat-pier.
The first thing that attracted the attention of Major Lyon—we may as well call him so, as most of the people of Barcreek did—was the lights in Fort Bedford. Through the embrasures which had been made in the front and ends of the building it could be seen that the interior of the building was brilliantly illuminated.
"You have come back safe and sound, Major," said Levi, as he took the painter of the Magnolia.
"By the skin of our teeth we have," replied the planter.
"Then you have had trouble over there?" asked the overseer.
"Yes; some of the ruffians tried to break up the meeting, and we put them out without any ceremony."
"Good!" exclaimed Levi heartily. "I feel as though I were an inch taller. I was afraid our friends would let the ruffians bully you."
"Buck Lagger and about half a dozen others took places in the schoolhouse, and began to yell while Squire Truman was making his speech. He is a very smart young man, an eloquent orator, and full of vim. When he proposed to put the disturbers out, we went in with him and did it. The boys faced the music, and stood up to it like veteran policemen," said Major Lyon.
"Good, boys! I knew you would do it," added Levi.
"But why is the fort lighted up so late in the evening, Levi?" asked the planter.
"I have had a dozen hands at work there, all the carpenters and masons included, and we have the building about ready for business," replied the overseer. "The fact of it is, I am taking a more serious view of the state of things than you appear to be doing, and I thought I would have things ready for whatever comes, and as soon as it comes."
"I am glad you have done so; and I should have worked with you if I had not had to attend the meeting," added the major. "The situation looks decidedly serious to-night, and my eyes have been opened wide enough to see it."
The boatmen had been ordered by the planter to take all the boats out of the water; and while they were doing so the major informed the overseer more fully in regard to the meeting, especially of the demand for the restoration of the military supplies, and that he and the boys should be given up to the mob.
"I didn't think Captain Titus would show himself in the meeting," said Levi, as they walked up to the fort. "That Buck Lagger is one of the biggest villains that goes unhung; and hanging would do him good. I should say that the ball had opened."
The hands in the old ice-house were all hard at work, and it at once appeared to the planter that a great deal of labor had been done in the building during his absence. The cases had all been opened, the arms had been removed from them, and arranged conveniently about the interior. The two twelve-pounders had been mounted on their carriages, and the pieces were pointed out at the two front embrasures, from which they could be readily removed to those at the ends of the structure.
Two large chandeliers of three burners each had been removed from the drawing-room of the mansion, and were suspended from the roof; but these were for temporary use while the work was in progress. The ammunition had been arranged for the present in the boxes outside of the building.
Major Lyon and the boys had hardly taken a hasty survey of the premises in their changed aspect before the noise of carriage wheels was heard on the road leading from the bridge to the fort by the side of the creek. The vehicle was drawn by two horses, and was approaching at a rapid rate.
"Who can that be?" asked Levi with a troubled expression on his round face.
"It may be my brother coming to demand the arms," replied Noah Lyon, as he took one of the muskets from the wall. "Probably he has a load of his supporters with him if it is he."
"I think we are all ready for them," added the overseer; and he took a gun, and handed one to each of the boys. "I think we had better go out and meet them, for we don't care to have them see what we have been doing here;" and he led the way hastily up the road.
His employer and the boys followed him, and soon confronted the occupants of the wagon.
"Halt!" called Levi in a very decided tone, as he placed himself in front of the team; and the driver reined in his horses. "What is your business here?"
"Good-evening, Levi," came from the party in the wagon; and the challenger promptly recognized the voice of Colonel Cosgrove. "I wish to see Major Lyon at once."
"Here I am, Colonel; but I did not expect to see you again so soon," replied the planter, hastening to the carriage. "But drive on, and we will see you at Fort Bedford."
"Fort Bedford!" exclaimed the Kentuckian; and he told his coachman to drive on.
"This is Fort Bedford you see ahead of you; it is named after Levi, for he originated the idea. To what am I indebted for this unexpected visit to Riverlawn?" answered the planter.
"To the fact that we consider you in great danger, Major, and we thought you would be in pressing need of assistance from your friends even this very night."
"We are here to stand by you, Major," said one on the back seat of the wagon, who proved to be Colonel Belthorpe.
"And to show that we can fight as well as talk," added Squire Truman, who was seated at his side.
"I am very grateful to you for coming to my assistance, for you have all proved this evening that talking is not your only strength," said the planter, as he walked along at the side of the wagon.
"I see you are all armed and ready for business," continued Colonel Cosgrove.
"When I heard the sound of your vehicle on the bridge, I suspected that it might be my deluded brother and his supporters coming over here to execute the threat he made at the meeting."
"No; after we got away from the ruffians, we talked the matter over," replied Colonel Cosgrove. "Buck Lagger demanded that the major and his cubs should be given up to them when they did not find you and the boys in the column. Then they swore that they would have you. I talked over the situation with our friends here, and we concluded that the ruffians would be over here before morning to capture their victims, and burn your mansion. We decided to come here for this reason,—to warn you of your danger, and help you beat them off if they came."
"I am very much obliged to you; but you will find everything in readiness for their reception," replied Major Lyon, as they reached the fort.
"You are lighted up here as though you were going to have a ball instead of a fight," suggested Colonel Belthorpe.
"There are plenty of balls in the fort, but they are all twelve-pounders," returned the major as the party alighted. "Levi has been at work here while we were at the meeting, and he will explain everything to you better than I can."
The trio of visitors entered the building, and were astonished at the nature and extent of the preparations to defend the mansion and its occupants from a hostile demonstration. Levi stated what he had done, and pointed out everything in detail.
"You think the ruffians are coming over here to-night, do you, Colonel Cosgrove?" asked the planter.
"I think they are on their way here now," replied the Kentuckian.
"Is there any other way they can get to your house than over that bridge?" asked Colonel Belthorpe, who was the only military man in the party who had seen real service, though Levi had been in the militia.
"There is no other way," replied Levi, when his employer nodded to him. "No mob could get through the swamp back of the mansion in the daytime, to say nothing of doing it in the night. The bridge is the only approach; and, if worse comes to worst, we can cut that away."
"You are in a very strong position, and I don't believe it will be necessary to cut away the bridge," added the military gentleman. "They can only cross the creek in boats."
"Our boats are all taken out of the water."
"With those twelve-pounders you can beat off a regiment. You have everything for the defence except soldiers," added the authority of the party.
"Perhaps we can find them when they are needed," said Major Lyon.
The lawyer understood, but the planter did not. It was a delicate subject, and it could not be considered in that presence. The former realized this fact, and suggested that something ought to be done to give them notice of the coming of the hostile ruffians.
"That's so," added Colonel Belthorpe. "I think you had better station the two boys, who have proved that they have pluck enough for any duty, where they can give us early notice of the approach of the enemy."
"We shall want the boys here, and a couple of negroes will do for that duty just as well," replied Levi.
"All right," answered the military gentleman, who made no objection to the employment of the servants for this duty. "Give each of them a revolver, and tell them to fire three shots if any force approaches."
Rosebud and Mose were detailed for service at the bridge; and perhaps this was the first time that negroes had ever been armed on the plantation. They were proud of the position assigned to them, and departed on the run, promising to be as faithful as white men could be.
"Where are you going to find your soldiers when you want them, Major Lyon?" inquired Colonel Belthorpe. "You hinted that you knew where to look for them."
"I think we had better not discuss that subject just now," interposed the lawyer, as he looked around him at the negroes, who had finished all the work given them to do, and were listening with their ears wide open to all that was said.
Levi solved the difficulty by sending all the negroes out of the building, and directing them to patrol the bank of the creek as far as the swamp.
"On the question of enlisting negroes in the army, either as regulars or volunteers, I have not yet come to a decision," said Major Lyon. "But in defence of my property, and the protection of my family I should have no objection to using all my hands who were willing to be so employed."
"Arm your negroes!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe.
"Not to fight the battles of the nation, but to protect my wife and children and my property," answered the Riverlawn planter. "We can muster but four white men, and two of them are boys. If a mob of fifty or a hundred or five hundred ruffians come over here to hang me and burn my house, shall I let them do so rather than employ the willing hands of men with black faces to defend myself?" demanded Noah Lyon, earnestly enough to mount almost to the height of eloquence.
"By the great Jehoshaphat, I believe you are right!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe, with a stamp of his foot. "I did not look at it in that way. But making soldiers of the niggers is another thing, and I'm not ready for that."
"We are all agreed so far as the situation on this place is concerned. If there were any State or national force at hand to call upon for protection against these reckless ruffians, I should invoke its aid; but there is none, and we must protect ourselves," added Colonel Cosgrove. "I heartily approve of Major Lyon's purpose to use his negroes to defend himself and his property."
"Then it is high time to get them in training for this service," said the major with energy. "Levi, call in the hands you just sent away."
Two of them came back without any calling, for they burst into the fort in a state of high excitement.
"Well, Bitts, what's the matter now?" asked Levi very calmly.
"Gouge and me done went down to de rapids, whar we kin see de bridge ober de riber, and dar's more'n two tousand men comin' ober it!" gasped Bitts.
"Call it fifty or a hundred, Bitts. But no matter, boy; call in all the hands except the two on the creek bridge."
Both of the negroes rushed off on their mission.