CHAPTER XXI
THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES
The representatives of the ruffians had halted about fifty feet from theline 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 stoodTitus Lyon. The other two were simply torch-bearers. There the partystood, and there they seemed to be inclined to stand for an indefiniteperiod of time. They could see the line of the defenders extended acrossthe bridge, and the torches lent enough of their light to the scene toenable Captain Titus to discover that the men were all provided withmuskets, though they probably could not make out the character of theweapons.
"This is all nonsense!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe, apparentlydisgusted with this peaceable display on the part of the enemy.
"Captain Titus wishes only to repeat the demand for the return of thearms," added Colonel Cosgrove. "But we can't spare them just yet."
"That is their ostensible purpose, but the real one is to see whether ornot 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 enoughat this distance," said Major Lyon.
"I am more inclined to march over the bridge and drive them away than toparley 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 flagof truce, though we believe it is only an expedient to gain time," addedColonel Cosgrove.
"What do you want?" demanded the commander, adopting the suggestion ofthe planter of Riverlawn.
"We want to settle this business, and I want to see Major Lyon," repliedCaptain Titus.
"Come to the middle of the bridge, and he will meet you," shouted theofficer in command.
Titus advanced with his three supporters, marching very slowly.
"I suppose I must see him," said Major Lyon, who would evidently havebeen glad to be spared the interview.
"Three of us will go with you, and make an even thing of it," addedColonel Belthorpe, as Noah Lyon stopped forward to discharge hisdisagreeable duty.
The commander placed Colonel Cosgrove on one side of him and SquireTruman on the other, taking position in front of them himself. He sawthe planter of the estate did not like to meet his brother.
"Major Lyon, I think you had better let me do the talking, for thesituation 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 meyesterday that my place might be burned, and that I might be hung to oneof 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 highestpitch of wrath, which he manifested in his visit to the meeting. But ifhe can proceed so far as to bring a horde of ruffians to burn your houseand hang you to a tree, you can't do less than defend yourself, even ifhe 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 thebridge, where the party from the other side had halted by this time.
Captain Titus was evidently surprised to find his brother supported bytwo of the most distinguished men of the county, to say nothing of theeloquent village lawyer. He could not help seeing that there was lawenough on the other side, and that they knew what they were doing.
"What is your business here?" demanded Colonel Belthorpe in a very sterntone.
"I stated my position in the meet'n' you held to-night, and you heardwhat I had to say," Captain Titus began.
"We all heard you; and it is not necessary to repeat it," replied thecommander. "What is your business here at this time of night?"
"We came here for the arms and ammunition that was stole from us lastnight. 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 area horde of lawless men. You have no authority to raise a company, and itdoes not appear in what service they are to be employed. They have madewar upon the peaceable people of this county, as they did this eveningat the schoolhouse."
"We hain't made war on nobody!" protested Titus, warming up to theoccasion.
"You sent some of your force into the schoolroom to break up a Unionmeeting; and that was making war upon the people there assembled. Theman at your side with the white flag was one that I assisted in puttingout. We knew the arms were for the use of these ruffians in terrorizingthe whole country," said Colonel Belthorpe in the most emphatic speech;and he used the "we" to shift the responsibility from the shoulders ofMajor Lyon to those of himself and associates. "Captain Titus Lyon, youand your gang have been bullying and persecuting the Union citizens ofthis vicinity long enough; and from this time they intend to defendthemselves in earnest. You have made war on them, and the arms andammunition were simply the spoils of war."
"I come over here to talk with my brother, and not with you," Titusobjected, upset by the logic and by the announcement of the intentionsof the Unionists.
"Colonel Belthorpe represents me, as he does all the rest of us,"interposed Major Lyon. "You threatened me yesterday to your heart'scontent, Brother Titus, to burn my house and hang me to a big tree; andI don't care to hear anything more of it."
"I have said all it is necessary to say," resumed the commander; "and wedecline to hear anything more from you. We shall defend Major Lyon andhis plantation from all enemies who may appear. The conference isended."
"Defend him with niggers!" shouted Buck Lagger. "Are we white men tostand up and fight niggers in this war, as you call it? It is anoutrage, and we won't stand it! We will hang every nigger we catch witharms in his possession!"
"Then a white ruffian will hang to the next tree! It will take two toplay at that game," responded the commander vigorously. "When about ahundred ruffians, composed mostly of white trash, come over here to burnMajor Lyon's mansion and hang him to a big tree, he is quite justifiedin 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 madea plain case of it.
"We have had enough of your gabble!" continued the leader. "We declineany further communication with you under a flag of truce or otherwise.If you and your ruffians don't retire from this vicinity within fiveminutes, we shall open fire upon you! About face, march!"
The three men behind the colonel turned about, and deliberately marchedback to the end of the bridge nearest to the mansion. The party of theflag hesitated a few moments, and then returned to the main body of theruffians. At the end of the bridge the Riverlawn planter found his wifeand the two girls. From the windows of the mansion they had seen theblazing torches of the ruffians, and the party who had marched from thefort to oppose them.
They found Deck and Artie in the ranks drawn up on the bridge; and theyhad explained the situation, including a brief account of the tumult atthe meeting. Mrs. Lyon and her daughters were much alarmed for thesafety of the male members of the family; but Levi succeeded in quietingthem, so that they were quite calm when the major returned.
"We have been terribly frightened, Noah," said Mrs. Lyon. "When you andthe boys did not come home from the meeting, I was afraid something hadhappened to you."
The two colonels and the village lawyer saluted the ladies, and assuredthem that there was no danger, and that they were amply able to defendthe place from the assault of a thousand men.
"Now go home, Ruth, and go to bed," added Noah. "We will join you assoon as we have driven off these ruffians, and it won't take long to doi
t."
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 boysshould join the army of the Union, she and the girls had some of awoman's timidity in the face of the awful calamities of actual war.
"What are they about now?" asked Colonel Belthorpe, as his friends tooktheir places in the ranks.
"They have sent a dozen men or more down the bank of the creek, and theyare out of sight now," replied Levi.
"They are looking for a chance to get across the stream," added thecommander. "They had better stay where they are if they don't intend togo 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, abouthalf-way to the river, and they might build a raft of them. I did notthink of those logs before, or I should have rolled them into thecreek," replied the overseer.
"It will be the worse for them if they attempt to cross. Some one saidyou had served in an artillery company in Tennessee, Mr. Bedford; isthat 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 creekevery five minutes, and in less time when we get a little used to thepiece."
"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 amdecidedly in favor of driving them away. I saw plenty of broken lumberabout the fort; and I think you had better kindle a big fire on theshore of the creek, so that you can see over on the other side. If theyattempt to build a raft, give them a shot; but not otherwise," saidColonel Belthorpe, still straining his eyes to ascertain in the darknesswhat 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 aspossible, and the first shot must come from the other side," replied theplanter from outside.
Levi departed for Fort Bedford, attended by Deck and Artie. Thecommander then arranged his men in ranks by fours, and taught them howto come in line again, using some technical terms which the negroes didnot understand; but he succeeded in getting them to perform themanoeuvre quite clumsily. They marched over the bridge by fours. Theenemy still occupied the position where they had first halted, and thecolonel continued the march till the force was within hail of the enemy.
Some of the ruffians had muskets; and whether in obedience to the ordersof their leaders or not, three random shots were fired. This was enoughto satisfy the conscience of Colonel Belthorpe, and he gave the commandto halt, and the men came into line again across the road.
"Ready!" he shouted; and the men all brought themselves into position asthey had before been instructed. "Aim!"
These orders and the movements of the men appeared to produce a decidedsensation 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 seenrunning down the road at a breakneck speed.
"Fire!" added the commander.
A terrible yell came back as the men fired their rifles. That volley wasenough for them, and they bolted before the smoke of the powder hadblown 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. Theenemy scattered at this point; but in a few moments the whizzing ofbullets was heard over their heads by the defenders of the plantation.