If the negroes asked no questions, most of them were intelligent enough to interpret the preparations which had been made at Fort Bedford. The six boatmen who had remained half the night in the rear of the schoolhouse had had time enough to do some talking among the hands, though they had come in contact only with those who had been at work on the fort.
These men had listened to the tumult in the building and in the road, and through the open window near the boat had come to their ears the demand of Titus Lyon when admitted, and the reply of the meeting. They knew that Colonel Cosgrove, Colonel Belthorpe, and Squire Truman had taken an active part in the meeting, and they could understand for what purpose they had come to Riverlawn so late in the night.
The people on this plantation were doubtless better informed and more intelligent than upon most of the estates in this portion of the South, for they had always been treated with what other planters regarded as imprudent indulgence. In the time of Colonel Lyon, slavery had been a patriarchal institution, and the negroes regarded him as a father, guide, and friend rather than as a taskmaster.
Many of them had learned to read, and even carried their education several points farther. The planter had given them his illustrated papers, and others fell into their hands. Their usefulness increased with their intelligence; and to oblige his neighbors the colonel had occasionally sent his carpenters and masons to do jobs for them.
The more intelligent of them had kept their eyes and ears open to learn the "signs of the times" during the troubles which agitated the State; and there were those among them who were well informed in matters which were generally believed to be above their comprehension. They went about among the people of other plantations, and when they obtained any news in regard to the movements of either party, it was circulated among the whole of them.
Neither Noah Lyon nor Levi Bedford ever said anything about politics or the struggle between the contending parties for the mastery of the State; but the silence of the people indicated that they understood the situation. Though they were treated with what was considered extreme indulgence, and were entirely devoted to the planter and his family, the instinct of freedom doubtless existed in all of them.
In a short time about a dozen of the negroes had come to the fort in obedience to the order of the overseer. Half of them were mechanics who had been at work during the evening. They were collected in the building, and the white men present proceeded to interrogate them in regard to their qualifications.
"What is your name?" asked Colonel Belthorpe of the leader of the boat-crew.
"General, sar," replied he.
"You are a big fellow; did you ever fire a gun?" asked the planter.
"Yes, sar; Cunnel Lyon done send me often to shoot some ducks for de dinner."
"Are you a good shot?"
"De boys say I am," answered General modestly. "I done bring down tree quails out'n five on de wing, mars'r."
"Did you ever fire a rifle?"
"Yes, sar; Christmas time mars'r cunnel lend us his two rifles to shoot at a mark for a prize ob half a dollar; dis nigger won de prize," replied General, with a magnificent exhibition of ivory.
"Are you willing to fight for your master?" demanded Colonel Belthorpe sharply, as though he expected a negative response to the question.
"Yes, sar!" answered General with more energy than he had spoken before. "Ready to be killed for Mars'r Lyon; an' so's all de boys on de place."
"You will do," added the planter, as he handed him a breech-loader and a small package of ammunition. "Do you know how to use this piece?"
"Yes, sar; seen 'em before," replied the boatman, as he took the weapon and retired.
With the boys there were seven white men present, and each one of them had examined a servant in regard to his qualifications. The questions were similar, though not the same as those put by Colonel Belthorpe; and it appeared that all of them were more or less familiar with the use of firearms, for they were the best informed and most reliable hands on the estate. They were all provided with breech-loaders and cartridges. General and Dummy were sent with weapons to Rosebud and Mose at the bridge, and ordered to remain there; but they were not to fire upon the ruffians.
"Now we have a force of twenty-two men," said Colonel Belthorpe. "I don't know about these recruits with black faces, and I have my doubts about making soldiers of them. Fall in, and we will march up to the bridge."
All the white men were armed with revolvers as well as rifles. The men did not "fall in" in the military sense of the term, but simply followed their leader, as the experienced soldier, who had rendered most of his active service in fighting the Indians, was tacitly recognized to be.
"Don't you think we had better put out the lights in the fort, Colonel Belthorpe?" asked Levi.
"By no means. I have had fighting enough with cut-throat Indians to satisfy my tastes in that direction, and I am not anxious for any more of it," replied the planter. "Let the building remain lighted, and it will assure the ruffians that you are awake over here. If they will about wheel and go off, that will suit me better than a fight with them."
"Just my sentiments, Colonel," added Major Lyon.
"The creek is about fifty feet wide by the bridge," said Colonel Cosgrove. "It widens at its mouth to about a hundred. Is there any way by which the ruffians can get over at your boat-pier?"
"Without a boat there is no way to get across," replied Levi. "They must come across the bridge if they come at all."
"There they come!" exclaimed Major Lyon, as he pointed to the cross-roads where the creek road branched off from the others.
"They have provided themselves with lanterns and torches," said Levi. "We can see just what they are about."
As they came opposite the boat-pier the ruffians halted. They were not marching in any kind of order, but all of them were straggling along as though the Home Guard to which they belonged had not yet done any drilling.
"What have they stopped there for, Colonel Belthorpe?" asked Major Lyon.
"They can see your fort by this time, and the lights have attracted their attention," replied the military gentleman. "They can see that you are ready for them, and perhaps they will not deem it advisable to come any farther."
"I hope they will not," added the owner of Riverlawn.
The aggressive force remained a long time at this spot. In the stillness of the night the sounds which came up the creek indicated that a dispute was in progress in the ranks of the enemy. It looked as though the ruffians were divided among themselves in regard to the prudence of advancing any farther. If Titus Lyon was there, he could readily see that the stone ice-house had undergone some change. The brilliant light within it flashed out through the open door in the rear, and through the three embrasures in sight.
"Major Lyon, do those rascals know that you took possession of the military stores, or do they only guess at it?" asked Colonel Cosgrove.
"They know the arms they stored in a sink-hole cavern are gone, and they appeared at the meeting to know that I had caused their removal; but I have no idea how or where they obtained their information," replied the planter; and while they were waiting the approach of the ruffians, he gave a full account of the discovery and removal of the ammunition.
"They don't know that three extra white men are with you, and I don't think they would believe you would arm your servants, or that they would be good for anything if you did so," added Colonel Belthorpe. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to return to the fort and send a twelve-pound shot over the heads of that crowd."
"It would let them know that we have the cannon, if nothing more," said Colonel Cosgrove.
"You are a lawyer, Colonel; can't Captain Titus recover these arms by process of law?" inquired the other colonel.
"There is no law in this part of the State at the present time. Men have been murdered within a few miles of this spot, and no notice has been taken of the fact. Those arms were brought here for the use of the Home Guards, which is the same as saying that they are for the use of the Secessionists. The law won't touch the arms," replied the legal gentleman very deliberately.
"They have settled their dispute, whatever it was, and the ruffians are moving again," said Levi. "It is too late to send a twelve-pound shot over their heads, and if there is to be any fight, it will be at the bridge."
"You are right," replied Colonel Belthorpe, after a long look at the enemy; for as the road where they were was parallel to his line of vision, it was difficult to determine whether they were moving or not. "Let them come; and while they are doing so we will have a little drill of the forces."
He formed the six white men in one line, and the fifteen negroes in another, though some of the latter were only a shade or two darker than the former. Levi Bedford soon proved that he was familiar with the manual, and he was sent to drill the dark section of the army. But the exercise was confined to loading and firing. The men were drawn up in line across the bridge, and instructed as far as "shoulder arms," and then the drill officer explained how they were to conduct themselves.
"The ruffians are getting pretty near, Colonel," suggested Major Lyon.
"We are all ready for them," replied he.
The men were then placed at "Order arms," and permitted to watch the approach of the enemy. Their torches, which had probably been made in a birch grove on the other side of the river, and must have been occasionally renewed with material brought for the purpose, blazed brightly, and lighted up the road, so that they could be plainly seen.
"There are at least a hundred of them," said the officer in command.
"And some of them have muskets," added Colonel Cosgrove.
"It looks as though some one or more of us might be shot," continued Major Lyon. "If there is any man here, black or white, who wants to leave and find a safer place than this may be in a few minutes, he is at liberty to do so. I don't want any man to render unwilling service on my account; and you can make peace with that gang by giving me and my boys up to them."
"Never! Never! Never!" yelled every one of the servants.
"Mars'r Lyon foreber!" shouted General.
"Glory to God! We all die for Mars'r Lyon!" cried Dummy the preacher.
"Now all hands give three cheers!" interposed Colonel Belthorpe; and they were given as vigorously as on the deck of a man-of-war. "That will convince the enemy that we are wide awake, and don't mean to run away."
"I reckon that squad is just a little astonished about this time," said Levi.
For this reason, or some other, the enemy suddenly made a halt, and the tumult of many voices came up the road. If Captain Titus was in command of the enemy, his force was not reduced to anything like discipline. From the sounds there appeared to be many commanders, each of whom wanted to have his own way. The defenders of the mansion waited full a quarter of an hour before the tumult subsided, indicating that some point had been carried, though enough of the shouts of the stormy ruffians indicated that they were in favor of going ahead and making the attack. It was plain to the listeners that some of the gang had cooler heads, and knew what prudence meant.
Presently four men were seen marching up the road towards the bridge, the two at the flanks carrying flaming torches, as if to illuminate a white flag borne on a pole, which had possibly cost some member of the troop his white shirt. The two in the middle were evidently the officers, or ambassadors, of the ruffians. They came up to their end of the bridge, and halted there.
The representatives of the ruffians had halted about fifty feet from the line of the defenders of Riverlawn, and they could be distinctly seen. It was Buck Lagger who flaunted the flag of truce, and by his side stood Titus Lyon. The other two were simply torch-bearers. There the party stood, and there they seemed to be inclined to stand for an indefinite period of time. They could see the line of the defenders extended across the bridge, and the torches lent enough of their light to the scene to enable Captain Titus to discover that the men were all provided with muskets, though they probably could not make out the character of the weapons.
"This is all nonsense!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe, apparently disgusted with this peaceable display on the part of the enemy.
"Captain Titus wishes only to repeat the demand for the return of the arms," added Colonel Cosgrove. "But we can't spare them just yet."
"That is their ostensible purpose, but the real one is to see whether or not we are in condition to receive them," suggested Major Lyon.
"But I am not inclined to wait all night merely to be looked at," continued the commander of the forces impatiently.
"I think you had better speak to them, for they can hear you well enough at this distance," said Major Lyon.
"I am more inclined to march over the bridge and drive them away than to parley all night with them about nothing," replied Colonel Belthorpe. "In military matters I believe in vigorous action."
"According to the customs of civilized warfare we should respect a flag of truce, though we believe it is only an expedient to gain time," added Colonel Cosgrove.
"What do you want?" demanded the commander, adopting the suggestion of the planter of Riverlawn.
"We want to settle this business, and I want to see Major Lyon," replied Captain Titus.
"Come to the middle of the bridge, and he will meet you," shouted the officer in command.
Titus advanced with his three supporters, marching very slowly.
"I suppose I must see him," said Major Lyon, who would evidently have been glad to be spared the interview.
"Three of us will go with you, and make an even thing of it," added Colonel Belthorpe, as Noah Lyon stopped forward to discharge his disagreeable duty.
The commander placed Colonel Cosgrove on one side of him and Squire Truman on the other, taking position in front of them himself. He saw the planter of the estate did not like to meet his brother.
"Major Lyon, I think you had better let me do the talking, for the situation must be very annoying to you," suggested the leader.
"I shall be very glad to have you do so, Colonel," answered the planter. "I am extremely sorry that my own brother is the leader of the ruffians, and I did not expect to see him engaged in such a work. He warned me yesterday that my place might be burned, and that I might be hung to one of the big trees, though he had prevented such an outrage so far."
"I suppose the loss of the military stores has roused him to the highest pitch of wrath, which he manifested in his visit to the meeting. But if he can proceed so far as to bring a horde of ruffians to burn your house and hang you to a tree, you can't do less than defend yourself, even if he is your own brother," said the lawyer.
"I do not shrink from my duty," added Noah Lyon.
"March!" exclaimed the leader, as he advanced to the middle of the bridge, where the party from the other side had halted by this time.
Captain Titus was evidently surprised to find his brother supported by two of the most distinguished men of the county, to say nothing of the eloquent village lawyer. He could not help seeing that there was law enough on the other side, and that they knew what they were doing.
"What is your business here?" demanded Colonel Belthorpe in a very stern tone.
"I stated my position in the meet'n' you held to-night, and you heard what I had to say," Captain Titus began.
"We all heard you; and it is not necessary to repeat it," replied the commander. "What is your business here at this time of night?"
"We came here for the arms and ammunition that was stole from us last night. They were my property till they were given out to the company," Captain Titus explained.
"What company? Do you mean the ruffians you have led over here? They are a horde of lawless men. You have no authority to raise a company, and it does not appear in what service they are to be employed. They have made war upon the peaceable people of this county, as they did this evening at the schoolhouse."
"We hain't made war on nobody!" protested Titus, warming up to the occasion.
"You sent some of your force into the schoolroom to break up a Union meeting; and that was making war upon the people there assembled. The man at your side with the white flag was one that I assisted in putting out. We knew the arms were for the use of these ruffians in terrorizing the whole country," said Colonel Belthorpe in the most emphatic speech; and he used the "we" to shift the responsibility from the shoulders of Major Lyon to those of himself and associates. "Captain Titus Lyon, you and your gang have been bullying and persecuting the Union citizens of this vicinity long enough; and from this time they intend to defend themselves in earnest. You have made war on them, and the arms and ammunition were simply the spoils of war."
"I come over here to talk with my brother, and not with you," Titus objected, upset by the logic and by the announcement of the intentions of the Unionists.
"Colonel Belthorpe represents me, as he does all the rest of us," interposed Major Lyon. "You threatened me yesterday to your heart's content, Brother Titus, to burn my house and hang me to a big tree; and I don't care to hear anything more of it."
"I have said all it is necessary to say," resumed the commander; "and we decline to hear anything more from you. We shall defend Major Lyon and his plantation from all enemies who may appear. The conference is ended."
"Defend him with niggers!" shouted Buck Lagger. "Are we white men to stand up and fight niggers in this war, as you call it? It is an outrage, and we won't stand it! We will hang every nigger we catch with arms in his possession!"
"Then a white ruffian will hang to the next tree! It will take two to play at that game," responded the commander vigorously. "When about a hundred ruffians, composed mostly of white trash, come over here to burn Major Lyon's mansion and hang him to a big tree, he is quite justified in calling in his servants to defend his property and himself."
The colonel had his doubts about the propriety of arming the negroes, and he wished to be understood even by the enemy; and he certainly made a plain case of it.
"We have had enough of your gabble!" continued the leader. "We decline any further communication with you under a flag of truce or otherwise. If you and your ruffians don't retire from this vicinity within five minutes, we shall open fire upon you! About face, march!"
The three men behind the colonel turned about, and deliberately marched back to the end of the bridge nearest to the mansion. The party of the flag hesitated a few moments, and then returned to the main body of the ruffians. At the end of the bridge the Riverlawn planter found his wife and the two girls. From the windows of the mansion they had seen the blazing torches of the ruffians, and the party who had marched from the fort to oppose them.
They found Deck and Artie in the ranks drawn up on the bridge; and they had explained the situation, including a brief account of the tumult at the meeting. Mrs. Lyon and her daughters were much alarmed for the safety of the male members of the family; but Levi succeeded in quieting them, so that they were quite calm when the major returned.
"We have been terribly frightened, Noah," said Mrs. Lyon. "When you and the boys did not come home from the meeting, I was afraid something had happened to you."
The two colonels and the village lawyer saluted the ladies, and assured them that there was no danger, and that they were amply able to defend the place from the assault of a thousand men.
"Now go home, Ruth, and go to bed," added Noah. "We will join you as soon as we have driven off these ruffians, and it won't take long to do it."
She accepted this advice, though she still appeared to have her doubts, and went back to the mansion. What she had seen looked like war to her; and though she had freely consented that her husband and the two boys should join the army of the Union, she and the girls had some of a woman's timidity in the face of the awful calamities of actual war.
"What are they about now?" asked Colonel Belthorpe, as his friends took their places in the ranks.
"They have sent a dozen men or more down the bank of the creek, and they are out of sight now," replied Levi.
"They are looking for a chance to get across the stream," added the commander. "They had better stay where they are if they don't intend to go home. Is there any boat on that side of the river?"
"No boat of any kind; but there is a lot of logs on the shore, about half-way to the river, and they might build a raft of them. I did not think of those logs before, or I should have rolled them into the creek," replied the overseer.
"It will be the worse for them if they attempt to cross. Some one said you had served in an artillery company in Tennessee, Mr. Bedford; is that so?" inquired the commander.
"That is so, Colonel; and I know how to handle a twelve-pounder," replied Levi.
"How many men will it take to manage one of the guns in the fort?"
"If you will give me the two boys, I can send a shot across the creek every five minutes, and in less time when we get a little used to the piece."
"Then take the boys, if Major Lyon does not object, and go to the fort."
"Of course I don't object, Colonel," added the father.
"We don't want to kill any of the ruffians if we can help it; but I am decidedly in favor of driving them away. I saw plenty of broken lumber about the fort; and I think you had better kindle a big fire on the shore of the creek, so that you can see over on the other side. If they attempt to build a raft, give them a shot; but not otherwise," said Colonel Belthorpe, still straining his eyes to ascertain in the darkness what the squad were doing on the bank of the creek.
"Shall you remain here, Colonel?" asked Levi.
"Not at all; we shall march over the bridge. This is a neighborhood war, and I believe in carrying it on upon peace principles as far as possible, and the first shot must come from the other side," replied the planter from outside.
Levi departed for Fort Bedford, attended by Deck and Artie. The commander then arranged his men in ranks by fours, and taught them how to come in line again, using some technical terms which the negroes did not understand; but he succeeded in getting them to perform the manœuvre quite clumsily. They marched over the bridge by fours. The enemy still occupied the position where they had first halted, and the colonel continued the march till the force was within hail of the enemy.
Some of the ruffians had muskets; and whether in obedience to the orders of their leaders or not, three random shots were fired. This was enough to satisfy the conscience of Colonel Belthorpe, and he gave the command to halt, and the men came into line again across the road.
"Ready!" he shouted; and the men all brought themselves into position as they had before been instructed. "Aim!"
These orders and the movements of the men appeared to produce a decided sensation in the rabble in front of them; for they were simply a crowd, not formed in any order. Some of them took to their heels, and were seen running down the road at a breakneck speed.
"Fire!" added the commander.
A terrible yell came back as the men fired their rifles. That volley was enough for them, and they bolted before the smoke of the powder had blown aside. Two men were seen lying on the ground, killed or wounded, and the ruffians were too much shaken to give them any attention. Half-way to the river they halted again, as did the pursuing force. The enemy scattered at this point; but in a few moments the whizzing of bullets was heard over their heads by the defenders of the plantation.
Levi Bedford had made all possible haste to reach the fort, and the boys had not lingered far behind him, though they could not help giving some of their attention to the enemy on the other side of the creek. The ruffians remained at the position they had taken; and certainly they had made no progress in the accomplishment of the purpose which had brought them to the vicinity of Riverlawn. Probably if the darkness had not concealed the artillery party, those with guns would have fired at them.
"Now, boys, the first order of Colonel Belthorpe was to build a fire, and we will attend to that," said the overseer, as he led the way to the rear of the stone building.
"Of course I obey orders," added Artie, "but I don't believe much in the fire. As soon as it blazes up it will give the ruffians light enough to see us. Some of them have guns, and they will fire at us then."
"What do you suppose these stone walls are for, Artie?" asked Levi with his usual smile.
"They were put up to keep the ice cool originally," replied Artie.
"Then they ought to keep us cool," said the overseer. "When the man with a big mouth opened it, the dentist told him he had opened it wide enough, for he proposed to stand outside. But we don't propose to stand outside, but inside, as soon as we have lighted the fire."
"But we have to see what the ruffians are about on the other side of the creek; for you are not to fire a shot unless they attempt to build a raft," suggested Artie.
"We can look through the port-holes, can't we?" asked Deck. "If they build a raft they will make a fire the first thing they do, and we can see what they are doing."
"We shall find a way to ascertain what they are doing," added Levi, as he led the way to obtain more armfuls of the broken boards; and they were the remains of the cases in which the arms and ammunition had been packed.
The wood was piled up a couple of rods from the fort, though a little at one side, so as not to obstruct the view of the party. Only a portion of the fuel was used, and the rest saved to replenish the fire. The match was applied, and in a short time the blaze mounted above the pile, and lighted the surrounding region.
"Now, boys, if you feel as though you might get a bullet through your heads, you can go into the fort, and you will be safe there," said Levi.
"Are you not going in, Levi?"
"I am when the occasion requires; but I want to see what they are about over there," replied the overseer.
As he was in no haste to put the stone walls between himself and a possible shot, the pride of the boys would not permit them to do so, and it became a sort of contention to see who would be the first to seek shelter.
"The Seceshers are firing at our people!" exclaimed Deck, quite excited as he realized that hostilities had actually begun.
"The ruffians are firing, each on his own hook, for there is no order among them," added Levi, as he heard several shots.
The plantation force could now be just seen, marching down the road, by the light of the enemy's torches. The random shots from the ruffians were continued, and it was evident that each man was his own commander.
"Colonel Belthorpe will not stand that sort of thing for any great length of time," Levi remarked, as his eyes and ears gave him further information in regard to the situation on the other side.
"They say chance shots sometimes do the most mischief, or I have read it in some story," said Deck. "I hope one of them will not hit father."
"Of course any one of us is liable to be hit while this game is going on. Perhaps you had better go into the fort, for this fire will soon attract the enemy's attention," suggested the overseer.
"When you get ready to go in we will go in with you," replied Artie.
"There is no need of exposing all three of us to the changes of a shot."
"Then one of us boys will stay out, for you are nearly twice as big as either one of us, and therefore twice as likely to get hit," laughed Deck.
"There!" exclaimed Levi, without noticing the remark, "now there will be music in the air!"
"What is it? I don't hear anything," added Deck.
"Don't you see that the colonel has halted his force? Now they have formed a line across the road," continued the overseer, as he closely watched the movements on the other side of the creek.
The fort party were silent with expectation and anxiety, and then they heard the orders of the commander, which ended in a volley from the fifteen breech-loaders. The birch torches still lighted up the ground, and the observers saw two men fall. This discharge produced a panic in the rabble, and they fled from the road to the shelter of a grove that lay beyond. From the fort it could be seen that a few of the ruffians, with guns in their hands, had taken refuge behind the trunks of the large trees, where they were reloading their pieces.
"That's Indian fighting," said Levi. "Our men, from their position, can't see these skulkers, who will have a good chance to pick off some of them at their leisure. We must attend to this matter."
The overseer elevated his rifle, and took deliberate aim at one of the ruffians behind a big tree, and fired. He saw his man fall. Deck and Artie followed his example, though they could not see any single individuals at whom they might direct their aim. They all continued to fire till the chambers of their weapons were empty.
"I don't believe we hit anybody with those last shots; for as soon as my man dropped and the others could see where the shot came from, they ran away or moved to the other side of the tree," said Levi, as he carefully observed the situation.
The retreat of the main body of the ruffians, taking the torches with them, left the scene in darkness. The number and direction of the last discharges assured those who had sought the shelter of the trees that they were flanked. Nothing could be seen in the gloom of the grove; and, as no more shots came from that quarter, it was supposed that the skulkers had retreated to the main body.
"There's a light down the creek, Levi!" exclaimed Deck, as a blaze flashed up at a point nearly opposite the boat-pier.
"That's where the logs lay," added the overseer. "The squad that was sent down the bank of the stream has got to work at last."
"Perhaps they have been at work for the last half hour," suggested Artie. "They didn't need any light to enable them to roll the logs into the creek and build a raft."
"Quite right, my boy; you have hit the nail on the head. By the light of the fire I can now see the raft, though they haven't finished it," replied Levi.
"Hadn't we better fire at them?" asked Deck.
"You might as well fire at the moon, my boys," returned the overseer. "You haven't had much practice with these breech-loaders, and you couldn't hit anything at the distance they are from us."
"But where is our army?" asked Artie rather facetiously.
"Colonel Belthorpe don't seem to be following up the enemy," replied Levi. "Perhaps, as the ruffians are retreating, he is satisfied to let them go home and dream over their work of this evening. The torches of the main body of the enemy seem to be going out, and very likely their stock of birch bark is all gone. They are about half-way between our force and the raft."
"They are within rifle-shot of us, anyhow," suggested Deck. "We might give them a little more waking up."
"Don't be too enthusiastic, Mr. Lyon. We don't win it to kill any more of them than is absolutely necessary," said the overseer rather more seriously than usual. "They have the raft in the water, and we will go in the fort and see what can be done for them."
Neither of the boys knew anything about artillery tactics, or of the process of loading a field-piece, and Levi proceeded to instruct them.
The creek bent a little to the south as it approached the river, and the chief gunner directed one of the pieces at the western embrasure, so that it covered the fire built near the logs. The inside of the opening was bevelled, so that he could bring the cannon to bear upon the objective point. It was then drawn in, and the charge, with a solid shot, was rammed home by the boys.
The cannon was run out again at the embrasure, and Levi pointed it, mindful of the instructions of the colonel commanding, so that the missile would go over the men at work on the raft.
"Now you may go outside, and see what you can see," continued Levi. "I don't mean to hit the men there, or even the raft; but I want you to notice what effect the shot produces upon the ruffians at the work."
"All right, Levi; sing out when you are going to pull the lock-string," replied Deck as he followed Artie out of the fort.
"Ready! Fire!" shouted the overseer when time enough for them to take a position had elapsed.
The discharge of the cannon gave forth a tremendous report, and the boys heard the whizzing of the shot as it flew like a flash through the air. The retreating army of the ruffians suddenly halted without any orders from Captain Titus or any one else as the echo of the report struck upon their ears. Doubtless they were astonished; but they were in darkness, for the last of the torches had gone out, and it could only be seen that they had halted as abruptly as though the shot from the piece had mowed its way through the mob.
The shot, as intended, passed over the heads of the men at work on the raft, and struck into a tree on the other side of the road, causing a heavy branch to fall to the ground. The raft-builders suddenly took to their heels, and disappeared in the grove.
"Did it hit anything, boys?" asked Levi, coming out of the fort.
"Nothing but a big tree beyond the road, and a large branch fell to the ground," replied Deck.
"I had an idea that you had been fooling us at first, Levi," added Artie, "and had fired at the main body, for they stopped as short as though the cannon ball had gone through the crowd. All the men at work on the raft knocked off instantly, and ran away as though the shot were chasing them."
"I reckon we needn't fire another shot, for the ruffians won't go near that raft again," added Levi. "I fired over their heads, as I told you I should, and nobody was hurt by that shot. I dropped one man behind that tree, and that is all the mischief I have done."
"Are you sorry for that one?" asked Deck.
"I am sorry for him, but not that I hit him, for he might have killed two or three of our people from his hiding-place behind the tree. I don't believe in killing anybody as long as it can possibly be avoided; but the ruffians began the shooting, and they are responsible for the consequences. At least half a dozen Union men have been killed in this county by those ruffians, or those like them; and your father might have been swinging from a big tree by this time if we hadn't taken the bull by the horns. No, I am not sorry for anything I have done!"
"And the house would have been burnt down, and mother and the girls subjected to the insults of these miscreants," added Artie; and all three of them were much moved as they contemplated the possibilities before them.
"Can you see anything of our people over there, Deck?" asked Levi.
"Not a thing; it is too dark."
"I don't believe there will be anything more to do at the fort to-night, though the affair may not be over yet," continued Levi, after he had anxiously peered through the gloom to discover the rest of the defenders of Riverlawn. "I want you, Deck, to go up to the bridge, and down the creek road, and ascertain what our people are doing. You may report to Colonel Belthorpe that we have driven off the builders of the raft, and that the main body of the ruffians have fallen back from the road into the grove."
"All right, Levi," replied Deck, who was very glad to be appointed to such a mission; and, with his breech-loader on his shoulder, he marched in the direction indicated at a lively pace, though he was so tired and sleepy that it required a determined effort to enable him to keep on his feet, for it was now two o'clock in the morning.
When he reached the bridge he found there, to his intense astonishment, a dozen horses, some of them with saddles and bridles on, and others with bridles, and blankets in place of saddles. They were in charge of Frank the coachman, with Woolly and Mose to assist him.
Deck Lyon could not imagine any possible use that could be made of the horses in charge of the boys, and it was not probable that those in care of them could afford him any information on the subject. It was evident that some new movement was contemplated, and it looked as though the commander of the forces intended to chase the ruffians with mounted men.
"Where is my father, Frank?" asked Deck.
"He's down the road with the rest of them; but I reckon they are all marching back to the bridge," replied the coachman.
"What are you going to do with all these horses?" asked Deck, as he began to move on.
"Dunno, Mars'r Deck, what they are for; but Mars'r Lyon sent us for them."
Frank knew nothing about the use to which the horses were to be put, and Deck continued on his way over the bridge. The fire from the blazing boards in front of Fort Bedford sent some of the light across the creek; but it did not reveal the presence of the defenders of the plantation, and the messenger could not see anything of the force. It could not be far away, and he continued to advance.
Just beyond the bridge he met a wagon coming towards him. When it came near enough for him to see it in the gloom, he found that it belonged to the plantation. Three men sat on the front seat, and were chattering at a lively rate as they drew near.
"Who is driving that team?" demanded Deck.
"Me, Mars'r Deck," replied the man who held the reins.
"Who's me?"
"Clinker, sar, wid Bitts and Filly," replied the driver, who was the blacksmith of the estate.
"What are you doing with the wagon over here?"
"Cart'n' off de wounded, mars'r."
"How many have you?"
"On'y two, sar."
These were the ruffians, doubtless, who had fallen when the volley was fired at the beginning of the affair.
"You haven't got them all, then," added Deck. "There is another opposite the fort, near a big tree, who was hit by Levi, firing from the other side of the creek."
"We go for him when we done unload dese we got," said Clinker.
"Can you tell me where my father and the rest of them are?" inquired Deck, who could see nothing of the main body.
"In de grove, Mars'r Deck. Wen de ruff'ns done runned off dat way Mars'r Belt'orpe lead de sodjers arter 'em."
Deck was afraid he might not find his father before morning if they pursued the retreating ruffians in that direction; for they would have to follow the river, when they reached it, about ten miles before they could come to a bridge by which they could cross. But he had a mission, and he bravely fought against the fatigue and sleepiness that beset him, and struck into the grove by a road some distance below the bridge over the creek.
He had not gone twenty rods in the gloom of the wood before he heard the sound of voices and the tramp of footsteps ahead of him, and he was confident the force was returning to the plantation. He soon confronted the little column, and placed himself by the side of the commander, who was leading the way.
"Levi sent me over to report what we have been doing," said he.
"I heard the report of one of your guns, and I concluded that you had work on your hands," replied Colonel Belthorpe, without slacking his speed or halting to listen to the report.
"Not much work, Colonel. The ruffians were building a raft at the pile of logs, and we fired over their heads, as ordered. The big branch of a tree came down, and all the men on the raft and near them ran into the woods. The road is all clear of them, and they are not going home by the Rapids Bridge."
"No, the villains!" exclaimed the commander. "They have other business on their hands. I am afraid we have been too tender with them."
"One thing more, Colonel, and I have done," continued Deck. "When the ruffians retreated before your fire, those who had guns stationed themselves behind the trees and began to fire at you. Then we three opened upon them with the rifles, and when Levi fired a man dropped. After that we saw nothing more of them."
"All right, my boy," added the colonel, hurrying his march. "I thought the villains were only making a detour, intending to reach the Rapids Bridge; but I find they are marching in the direction of my plantation."
Colonel Cosgrove and Major Lyon had been called forward to listen to the report of Deck, and it was decided that, so far as Riverlawn was concerned, the battle had been fought and won, inasmuch as the enemy had been driven away. By the time the report was finished and the result announced, the force had reached the bridge.
"Where are you going now, Clinker?" asked Major Lyon, when the wagon returned from the hospital, as the small building set apart for the sick of the plantation hands was called, and appeared on the bridge.
"Mars'r Deck done tell me a man dropped behind a tree down de creek, and I'm gwine for him," replied the blacksmith.
"Go over and get the small wagon for that; we want this one," added the planter.
"Where are you going, father?" asked Deck, who saw that some expedition was in preparation.
"We are satisfied that the ruffians are going over to Colonel Belthorpe's plantation, to do there what they intended to do here, and we mean to get there before they do," replied Major Lyon. "We believe that everything here is safe for the present."
The party crossed the bridge and came to the saddle horses. By this time all the men on the plantation who had not before been called for duty had assembled by the horses, and the four white men mounted at once. The breech-loaders were provided with straps, and had been suspended at the backs of those who used them. Eight of the men who had already seen service were mounted and seven more were put into the wagon, provided with weapons which had been sent for.
"Filly!" called Major Lyon, addressing a mulatto who had the reputation of being a very intelligent fellow, "you will go to the fort and tell Levi we are going over to Lyndhall, for we are sure the ruffians mean to burn the house. Take the rest of the hands here with you, and tell him to keep a close watch over the place. I shall take Dexter with me."
The rest of the party had already ridden off at full gallop, fearful that they might be too late to protect the colonel's property.
"But I have no horse, father," said Deck, who had heard the planter tell Filly that he should take him with him.
"You will go in the wagon," replied his father. "I see that you are gaping, and you must be very tired. Get in; the body is filled with hay, and it will give you a chance to get rested."
Deck did not like the arrangement very well, tired as he was, but he obeyed the order. The negroes made way for him, and fixed him a nice place to lie down in the wagon. He dropped asleep almost instantly, for he had been up all the night before, and had worked hard and been intensely excited since he left his bed just before noon.
Major Lyon had his late brother's favorite animal, a blood horse that had won a small fortune for his master in the races, and he soon overtook the advance of the party. The wagon could not keep up with him, and was soon left far behind.
Near the east end of the Rapids Bridge over the river was a locality called the "Cross Roads," where four highways came together. At this point the one from the county town passing through Barcreek village crossed the stream. Another road branched off here, leading up the creek, from which the private way over the bridge led to Major Lyon's mansion. It continued half a mile farther up the creek, and then turned to the north-east. This was called the "New Road," and upon it, three miles from the creek bridge, was the plantation of Colonel Belthorpe.
From the Cross Roads also extended what was called the "Old Road," which was laid out nearer to the great river; and six miles distant by the later-built highway the two came together, though it was over eight by the older one. About half a mile of the new road was on the bank of Bar Creek, and upon it had transpired most of the events related.
The ruffians had been driven down this road towards Rapids Bridge. They had taken to the woods between the two highways; and by sending out the village lawyer to reconnoitre, Colonel Belthorpe had discovered that the enemy were marching, not to the bridge, but up the old road, which would take them, after a three miles' walk, to a point near his plantation, where they could easily cross to the new road. The distance by the new road was a mile less than by the other, and the fleet horses would carry the party to Lyndhall in abundant season to confront the marauders.
"I don't believe the villains can get there before we do," said Colonel Belthorpe, as Major Lyon galloped his horse to his side. "If I had anticipated the events of to-night, I should have been prepared for them. My overseer is not a Union man, and I am afraid he will not do his duty. My place is not so well situated for a defence as yours, Major."
"I believe we have force enough to drive the ruffians again, for they don't like the smell of gun-powder any better than other bullies," replied the Riverlawn planter.
"My son Tom is at home, and my nephew, Major Gadbury, is visiting at Lyndhall. But all of them, including my two daughters, have gone to a party at Rock Lodge. I suppose you know the place, Major?"
"Not by that name."
"It is over on the old road, close by Rock Hill, from which it takes its name. You must have met Captain Carms."
"I have met him, and we have called upon him, but I never heard the name of his place before."
"Just at the foot of Rock Hill there is a cart-path connecting the two roads, and the ruffians may come through by that passage, though it is very rough. Most of our stone comes from the quarry there, and the teams make bad work with the roads."
"The enemy can't be a great way behind us by this time," suggested Major Lyon.
"We haven't wasted any time, and it is some distance they had to travel round by the Cross Roads," replied the colonel, as he urged his steed to greater speed.
Though the road was anything but a smooth one, Deck Lyon slept like a log on the hay. His dusky companions did not speak a loud word for fear of waking him. Nearly half an hour after the horsemen had passed it, the wagon was approaching the cross-cut between the two roads at Rock Hill. Clinker the blacksmith, who had been excused from ambulance duty and another put in his place, was driving the horses.
"Cristofus! Wat's dat?" he exclaimed, as two very distinct female screams struck his ears, and he set his team into a dead run.
"'Pears like it's women screeching," replied Mose, who was by his side on the front seat. "Dar's trouble dar!"
"I reckon do screeches comed out'n de cross-cut," added Clinker.
The screams were repeated several times, and as the wagon passed the hill the sounds of an encounter were heard. It was evident that a fight of some kind was in progress, and the men in the wagon unslung their breech-loaders ready for action; for they came to the conclusion at once that the ruffians were at the bottom of it. No shots were heard, and it did not appear that the marauders were armed.
"I reckon we mus' woke Mars'r Deck," said Clinker, as he reined in his horses at the cross-cut.
One of the men at his side shook the tired boy, and he sprang to his feet; for doubtless he was dreaming of the events of the night. Clinker explained the situation in as few words as his vocabulary would permit. Deck seized his musket and leaped from the wagon, followed by all but the driver, who drove the horses to a tree and fastened them there.
Deck ran with all his might into the passage, and presently came to a road wagon which had been "held up" by a gang of the ruffians. He ordered his six followers to have their arms ready, but not to fire till he gave them the word. With his revolver in his hand, which was a more convenient weapon than the gun, he rushed into the midst of the fight. The party attacked were the nephew and son of Colonel Belthorpe, with his two daughters, who had been to the party at Rock Lodge.
Deck Lyon rushed furiously down the lane which connected the two roads at this point. It was dark, and it was in vain that he tried to understand the situation from anything he could see. He was sure that the main body of the ruffians were not in the cross-cut, for there was not room enough for them. He had to depend chiefly upon his ears for information, for the trees on one side of the passage obscured his way.
The first sound that attracted his attention as he advanced, above the general din, was a half-suppressed scream quite near him. The lane was so rough that he was obliged to move more slowly than when he had left the wagon, and he halted when he heard the cry. A moment later he discovered a man bearing a form in his arms, whose cries he was evidently trying to suppress with one of his hands placed over her mouth.
An opening in the grove enabled him to see so much, and to note the position of the ruffian. With his revolver in his hand he rushed forward; and, finding himself behind the assailant of the female, he threw himself upon him, and grasped him by the throat with both hands. He had done some of this kind of work at the schoolhouse in the evening, and the experience was useful to him.
He compelled the villain to release his hold upon his prisoner in order to defend himself. Deck wrenched and twisted him in an effort to throw him down, but his arms were not strong enough to accomplish his purpose, and he called upon Mose to assist him. The faithful servant was close by him; and perhaps he was desirous of striking a literal blow in defence of his young master, for he delivered one squarely on the head of the ruffian which knocked him six feet from the spot.
At this moment, and just as the captor of the lady went over backwards into a hole by the side of the cart-path, a bright light was flashed upon the scene, and Deck could see where he was and where the ruffian he had encountered was. When Clinker had secured the horses at the end of the lane, he realized the necessity of more light on the subject before the party; for though he heard much he saw little.
Taking a quantity of the hay from the wagon, he hastened to the scene of the conflict just as Deck had closed with the ruffian who was bearing the lady away. Putting it on the ground, he lighted it with a match, and then heaped on sticks and hits of board and plank scattered about by those who had loaded stone in the passage. The blaze revealed the entire situation to Deck and his companions, and it made a weird picture.
"Good, Clinker!" shouted Deck, as he saw the blacksmith standing with his musket in his hand, busy doing what he had undertaken. "Keep the fire up!"
The ruffian whom Mose, who was not much inferior to General and Dummy in bulk and strength, had knocked both literally and slangily "in a hole," lay perfectly still. Some five rods ahead of him Deck discovered a road wagon in the lane. Two horses were harnessed to it, and at the head of each of them was a ruffian, doing his best to restrain the spirited animals, frightened by the cries and the movements of the assailants. Behind the wagon were two white men engaged in a terrible struggle with half a dozen of the soldiers of the ruffian army. They were getting the worst of it, though they fought with desperate energy.
From their appearance and the fact that they were defending themselves, it was plain enough to Deck that they were in charge of the two females. They were unarmed, though one of them had procured a piece of board, and was doing good service with it. Just beyond the scene of the fight stood Buck Lagger, holding a female by the arm. She evidently realized that resistance was useless, and she had ceased to struggle or scream.
"Now follow me, boys!" shouted Deck. "You had better walk over to the fire, miss," he added to the young lady redeemed from the hands of the ruffian. "Clinker will see that no harm comes to you."
The six men who had followed the young man in advance of them, marched close to him, with their muskets in readiness for use. Deck could not order them to fire, for they were as likely to hit friends as enemies; but he rushed to the scene of the conflict, where the two white men had just been forced back by the marauders.
"Both fall back this way, gentlemen!" called the young leader.
Major Gadbury and Tom Belthorpe, as the colonel had given the names of those who attended his two daughters to the party, could not help realizing that assistance was at hand, though they saw only a stout boy and half a dozen negroes, and they promptly detached themselves from their assailants, and retreated behind the wagon.
"Now fire at them, one at a time!" shouted Deck, when it was safe to do so.
Mose was nearest to him, and instantly discharged his musket at the foremost assailants of the gentlemen. One of them dropped to the ground. The ruffians had not bargained for this sort of discipline, and they fled on the instant; for they had heard Deck's order, and saw that there were more bullets where the first one came from. They ran into the woods, and disappeared behind the trunks of the great trees.
"Don't fire again, but follow me!" said Deck, as he started at his best speed towards the spot where Buck Lagger stood with his prisoner.
This ruffian perceived the defeat of his party, and he attempted to force the lady in the direction taken by his infamous comrades. He led the way, dragging his prisoner after him; but she resisted now, hanging back so that he could not move at anything more than a snail's pace. She screamed again, and Major Gadbury and Tom Belthorpe started to assist her.
Deck had accomplished half the distance to the ruffian when he saw that the strength of the lady was failing her, and Buck was advancing more rapidly. He raised his revolver, and, aiming the weapon with all possible care, he fired. Clinker had kept the fire blazing freely, and he had plenty of light. The ruffian released his hold upon his prisoner, and swung his right hand over to his left shoulder. Deck believed his bullet had struck him there, though he continued his retreat to the wood.
"I am sorry you didn't kill him!" exclaimed one of the two gentlemen, as they halted at Deck's side.
"I had to be careful not to hit the lady," replied Deck. "But we have driven them off. Now, boys, in line!" shouted the young leader to his men. "Face the woods!"