CHAPTER III. BESIDE THE RIVER
Dick was on duty early in the morning when he saw a horseman coming ata gallop toward the Rapidan. The man was in civilian clothing, but hisfigure seemed familiar. The boy raised his glasses, and he saw at oncethat it was Shepard. He saw, too, that he was urging his horse to itsutmost speed.
The boy's heart suddenly began to throb, and there was a cold, pricklingsensation at the roots of his hair. Shepard had made an extraordinaryimpression upon him and he did not believe that the man would be comingat such a pace unless he came with great news.
He saw Shepard stop, give the pass word to the pickets, then gallop on,ford the river and come straight toward the heart of the army. Dick ranforward and met him.
"What is it?" he cried.
"General Pope's tent! Where it is! I can't wait a minute."
Dick pointed toward a big marquee, standing in an open space, andShepard leaping from his horse and abandoning it entirely, ran towardthe marquee. A word or two to the sentinels, and he disappeared inside.
Dick, devoured with curiosity and anxiety, went to Colonel Winchesterwith the story of what he had seen.
"I know of Shepard," said the colonel. "He is the best and most daringspy in the whole service of the North. I think you're right in inferringthat he rides so fast for good cause."
Shepard remained with the commander-in-chief a quarter of an hour. Whenhe came forth from the tent he regained his horse and rode away withouta word, going in the direction of Clark's Mountain. But his news wasquickly known, because it was of a kind that could not be concealed.Pennington came running with it to the regiment, his face flushed andhis eyes big.
"Look! Look at the mountain!" he exclaimed.
"I see it," said Warner. "I saw it there yesterday, too, in exactly thesame place."
"So did I, but there's something behind it. Lee and Jackson are therewith sixty or eighty thousand men! The whole Southern army is only sixor seven miles away."
Even Warner's face changed.
"How do you know this?" he asked.
"A spy has seen their army. They say he is a man whose reports are neverfalse. At any rate orders have already been issued for us to retreatand I hear that we're going back until we reach the Rappahannock, behindwhich we will camp."
Dick knew very well now that it was Shepard who brought the news, andPennington's report about the retreat was also soon verified. Thewhole army was soon in motion and a feeling of depression replacedthe optimism of the night before. The advance had been turned into aretreat. Were they to go back and forth in this manner forever? ButColonel Winchester spoke hopefully to his young aides and said that theretreat was right.
"We're drawing out of a trap," he said, "and time is always on our side.The South to win has to hit hard and fast, and in this case the Army ofthe Potomac and the Army of Virginia may join before Lee and Jackson cancome up."
The lads tried to reconcile themselves, but nevertheless they did notlike retreat. Dick with his powerful glasses often looked back towardthe dark bulk of Clark's Mountain. He saw nothing there, nor anything inthe low country between, save the rear ranks of the Union army marchingon.
But Shepard had been right. Lee and Jackson, advancing silently and withevery avenue of news guarded, were there behind the mountain with sixtythousand men, flushed with victories, and putting a supreme faith intheir great commanders who so well deserved their trust. The men ofthe valley and the Seven Days, wholly confident, asked only to be ledagainst Pope and his army, and most of them expected a battle that veryday, while the Northern commander was slipping from the well-laid trap.
Pope's judgment in this case was good and fortune, too, favored him.Before the last of his men had left the Rapidan Lee himself, with hisstaff officers, climbed to the summit of Clark's Mountain. They werearmed with the best of glasses, but drifting fogs coming down fromthe north spread along the whole side of the mountain and hung like acurtain between it and the retreating army. None of their glasses couldpierce the veil, and it was not until nearly night that rising windscaught the fog and took it away. Then Lee and his generals saw a vastcloud of dust in the northwest and they knew that under it marchedPope's retreating army.
The Southern army was at once ordered forward in pursuit and in thenight the vanguard, wading the Rapidan, followed eagerly. Dick and hiscomrades did not know then that they were followed so closely, butthey were destined to know it before morning. The regiment of ColonelWinchester, one of the best and bravest in the whole service, formed apart of the rearguard, and Dick, Warner and Pennington rode with theirchief.
The country was broken and they crossed small streams. Sometimes theywere in open fields, and again they passed through long stretches offorest. There was a strong force of cavalry with the regiment, and thebeat of the horses' hoofs made a steady rolling sound which was notunpleasant.
But Dick found the night full of sinister omens. They had left theRapidan in such haste that there was still a certain confusion ofimpressions. The gigantic scale of everything took hold of him. Onehundred and fifty thousand men, or near it, were marching northward intwo armies which could not be many miles apart. The darkness and thefeeling of tragedy soon to come oppressed him.
He listened eagerly for the sounds of pursuit, but the long hours passedand he heard nothing. The rear guard did not talk. The men wasted nostrength that way, but marched stolidly on in the moonlight. Midnightpassed and after a while it grew darker. Colonel Winchester and hisyoung officers rode at the very rear, and Pennington suddenly held uphis hand.
"What is it?" asked Colonel Winchester.
"Somebody following us, sir. I was trained out on the plains to takenotice of such things. May I get down and put my ear to the ground? Imay look ridiculous, sir, but I can make sure."
"Certainly. Go ahead."
Pennington sprang down and put his ear to the road. He did not listenlong, but when he stood up again he said:
"Horsemen are coming. I can't tell how many, but several hundreds atleast."
"As we're the very last of our own army, they must be Southern cavalry,"said Colonel Winchester. "If they want to attack, I dare say our boysare willing."
Very soon they heard clearly the gallop of the cavalry, and the menheard it also. They looked up and turned their faces toward those whomust be foes. Despite the dimness Dick saw their eyes brighten. ColonelWinchester had judged rightly. The boys were willing.
The rear guard turned back and waited, and in a few minutes the Southernhorsemen came in sight, opening fire at once. Their infantry, too, soonappeared in the woods and fields and the dark hours before the dawn werefilled with the crackle of small arms.
Dick kept close to Colonel Winchester who anxiously watched the pursuit,throwing his own regiment across the road, and keeping up a heavy fireon the enemy. The Union loss was not great as most of the firing in thedusk, of necessity, was at random, and Dick heard bullets whistling allabout him. Some times the bark flew from trees and now and then therewas a rain of twigs, shorn from the branches by the showers of missiles.
It was arduous work. The men were worn by the darkness, the uncertaintyand the incessant pursuit. The Northern rear guard presented a strongfront, retreating slowly with its face to the enemy, and alwaysdisputing the road. Dick meanwhile could hear through the crash ofthe firing the deep rumble of Pope's great army with its artillery andthousands of wagons continually marching toward the Rappahannock. Hismind became absorbed in a vital question. Would Lee and Jackson come upbefore they could reach the bigger river? Would a battle be forced thenext day while the Union army was in retreat? He confided his anxietiesto Warner who rode by his side.
"I take it that it's only a vanguard that's pursuing us," said theVermonter. "If they were in great force they'd have been pushing harderand harder. We must have got a good start before Lee and Jackson foundus out. We know our Jackson, Dick, and he'd have been right on top of uswithout delay."
"That's right, George. It must be their cavalry
mostly. I suppose JebStuart is there leading them. At any rate we'll soon know better what'sdoing. Look there toward the east. Don't you see a ray of light behindthat hill?"
"I see it, Dick."
"Is it the first ray of the morning, or is it just a low star?"
"It's the dawn, Dick, and mighty glad I am to see it. Look how fast itcomes!"
The sun shot up, over the hill. The sky turning to silver soon gave wayto gold, and the clear August light poured in a flood over the rollingcountry.
Dick saw ahead of him a vast cloud of dust extending miles from eastto west, marking where the army of Pope pushed on its retreat to theRappahannock. There was no need to search for the Northern force. Thenewest recruit would know that it was here.
The Southern vanguard was behind them and not many hundred yards away.Dick distinctly saw the cavalry, riding along the road, and hundredsof skirmishers pushing through the woods and fields. He judged thatthe force did not number many thousands and that it could not think ofassailing the whole Union army. But with the coming of day the vigor ofthe attack increased. The skirmishers fired from the shelter of everytree stump, fence or hillock and the bullets pattered about Dick and hiscomrades.
The Union rear guard maintained its answering fire, but as it wasretreating it was at a disadvantage. The regiments began to suffer. Manymen were wounded. The fire became most galling. A sudden charge by therearguard was ordered and it was made with spirit. The Southern van wasdriven back, but when the retreat was resumed the skirmishers and thecavalry came forward again, always firing at their retreating foe.
"I judge that it's going to be a very hot morning," said ColonelWinchester, wiping away a few drops of blood, where a bullet had barelytouched his face. "I think the wind of that bullet hurt me more than itskiss. There will be no great battle to-day. We can see now that theyare not yet in strong enough force, but we'll never know a minute's restuntil we're behind the Rappahannock. Oh, Dick, if McClellan's armywere only here also! This business of retreating is as bitter as deathitself!"
Dick saw the pain on his colonel's face and it was reflected on his own.
"I feel it, sir, in the same way. Our men are just as eager as theJohnnies to fight and they are as brave and tenacious. What do you thinkwill happen, sir?"
"We'll reach the Rappahannock and take refuge behind it. We command therailroad bridge there, and can cross and destroy it afterward. But theriver is broad and deep with high banks and the army of the enemy cannotpossibly force the passage in any way while we defend it."
"And after that, sir?"
"God alone knows. Look out, Dick, those men are aiming at us!"
Colonel Winchester seized the bridle of Dick's horse and pulled himviolently to one side, pulling his own horse in the same directionin the same manner. The bullets of half a dozen Southern skirmishers,standing under the boughs of a beech tree less than two hundred yardsaway, hissed angrily by them.
"A close call," said the colonel. "There, they've been scattered by ourown riflemen and one of them remains to pay the toll."
The reply of the Northern skirmishers had been quick, and the grayfigure lying prone by the trunk of the tree told Dick that the colonelhad been right. He was shaken by a momentary shudder, but he could notlong remember one among so many. They rode on, leaving the prone figureout of sight, and the Southern cavalry and skirmishers pressed forwardafresh.
Many of the Union men had food in their saddle bags, and supplies weresent back for those who did not have it. Colonel Winchester who wasnow thoroughly cool, advised his officers to eat, even if they felt nohunger.
"I'm hungry enough," said Pennington to Dick. "Out on the plains, wherethe air is so fresh and so full of life I was always hungry, and Isuppose I brought my appetite here with me. Dick, I've opened a can ofcove oysters, and that's a great deal for a fellow on horseback todo. Here, take your share, and they'll help out that dry bread you'remunching."
Dick accepted with thanks. He learned that he, too, could eat with agood appetite while bullets were knocking up dust only twenty yardsaway. Meanwhile there was a steady flash of firing from every wood andcornfield behind them.
As he ate he watched and he saw an amazing panorama. Miles in frontthe great cloud of dust, cutting across from horizon to horizon swelledslowly on toward the Rappahannock. Behind them rode the Southern cavalryand masses of infantry were pressing forward, too. Far off on eitherflank rolled the pleasant country, its beauty heightened by the loom ofblue mountains.
Colonel Winchester had predicted truly. The fighting between theNorthern rearguard, and the Southern vanguard never ceased. Every momentthe bullets were whistling, and occasionally a cannon lent its deep roarto the crackling fire of the rifles. Daring detachments of the Southerncavalry often galloped up and charged lagging regiments. And they weredriven off with equal courage and daring.
The three boys took especial notice of those cavalry bands and beganto believe at last that they could identify the very men in them. Dicklooked for his cousin, Harry Kenton. He was sure that he would be therein the front--but he did not see him. Instead he saw after a while anextraordinary figure on a large black horse, a large man in magnificentuniform, with a great plume in his hat. He was nearer to them than anyother Southern horseman, and he seemed to be indifferent to danger.
"Look! look! There's Jeb Stuart!" exclaimed Dick. He had heard somuch about the famous Stuart and his gorgeous uniform that he knew himinstinctively, and, Warner and Pennington, as their eyes followed hispointing finger felt the same conviction.
Three of the Northern riflemen fired at once at the conspicuous target,and Dick breathed a little sigh of relief when all their bullets missed.Then the brilliant figure turned to one side and was lost in the smoke.
"Well," said Pennington. "We've seen Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuartboth in battle against us. I wonder who will come next."
"Lee is due," said Warner, "but I doubt whether his men will let himexpose himself in such a way. We'll have to slip under cover to get achance of seeing him."
The hours went on, and the fight between rear guard and vanguard neverceased. That column of dust miles long was at the same distance infront, continuing in its slow course for the river, but the foes incontact were having plenty of dust showers of their own. Dick's throatand mouth burned with the dust and heat of the pitiless August day, andhis bones ached with the tension and the long hours in the saddle. Buthis spirit was high. They were holding off the Southern cavalry and hefelt that they would continue to do so.
About noon he ate more cold food, and then rode on, while the sun blazedand blazed and the dust whirled in clouds like the "dust devils" of thedesert, continually spitting forth bullets instead of sand. Late inthe afternoon he heard the sound of many trumpets, and saw the Southerncavalry getting together in a great mass. A warning ran instantlyamong the Union troops and the horsemen in blue and one or two infantryregiments drew closer together.
"They're going to charge in force," said Colonel Winchester to Dick."See, our rearguard has lost touch with our main army, leaving a sideopening between. They see this chance and intend to make the most ofit."
"But our men are willing and anxious to meet them," said Dick. "You cansee it in their faces."
He had made no mistake, as the fire in their rear deepened, and theysaw the gathering squadrons of gray cavalry, a fierce anger seized theretreating Union rearguard. Those wasps had been buzzing and stingingthem all day long and they had had enough of it. They could fight, andthey would, if their officers would let them. Now it seemed that theofficers were willing.
A deep and menacing mutter of satisfaction ran along the whole line.They would show the Southerners what kind of men they were. ColonelWinchester drew his infantry regiment into a small wood which at thatpoint skirted the road.
"There is no doubt that we've found it at the right time," said Warner.
Both knew that the forest would protect the infantry from the fiercecharges of the Southern cavalry, while proving
no obstacle to theNorthern defense. His own cavalry was gathering in the road ready tomeet Jeb Stuart and his squadrons.
The three boys sat on their horses within the covering of the trees,and watched eagerly, while the hostile forces massed for battle. TheSouthern cavalry was supported by infantry also on its flanks, and onceagain Dick caught sight of Jeb Stuart with his floating plume. But thattime he was too far away for any of the Northern riflemen to reach himwith a bullet, and as before he disappeared quickly in the clouds ofdust and smoke which never ceased to float over both forces.
"Look out! The charge!" suddenly exclaimed Colonel Winchester.
They heard the thunder of the galloping horses, and also the flash ofmany rifles and carbines. Cavalry met cavalry but the men in gray reeledback, and as they retreated the Northern infantry in the wood sent adeadly fire into the flank of the attacking force. The Southern infantryreplied, and a fierce battle raged along the road and through the woods.Dick heard once more the rattling of bullets on bark, and felt the twigsfalling upon his face as they were shorn off by the missiles.
"We hold the road and we'll hold it for a while," exclaimed ColonelWinchester, exultation showing in his tone.
"Why can't we hold it all the time?" Dick could not refrain from asking.
"Because we are retreating and the Southerners are continually comingup, while our army wishes to go away."
Dick glanced through the trees and saw that great clouds of dust stillwere rolling toward the northwest. It must be almost at the Rappahannocknow, and he began to appreciate what this desperate combat in the woodsmeant. They were holding back the Southern army, while their men couldcross the river and reform behind it.
The battle swayed back and forth, and it was most desperate betweenthe cavalry. The bugles again and again called the gray horsemen to thecharge, and although the blue infantry supported their own horsemen witha heavy rifle fire, and held the wood undaunted, the Northern rearguard was forced to give way at last before the pressure of numbers andattacks that would not cease.
Their own bugles sounded the retreat and they began to retire slowly.
"Do we run again?" exclaimed Pennington, a tear ploughing its waythrough the smoky grime on his cheek.
"No, we don't run," replied Warner calmly, "We're forced back, and therebels will claim a victory but we haven't fought for nothing. Lee andJackson will never get up in time to attack our army before it's overthe river."
The regiment began its slow retreat. It had not suffered much, owing tothe shelter of the forest, and, full of courage and resolution, it was aformidable support on the flank of the slowly retreating cavalry.
The evening was now at hand. The sun was setting once more over theVirginia hills destined to be scarred so deeply by battle, but attackand defense went on. As night came the thudding of cannon added to thetumult, and then the three boys saw the Rappahannock, a deep and widestream flowing between high banks crested with timber. Ahead of themPope's army was crossing on the bridge and in boats, and massesof infantry supported by heavy batteries had turned to protect thecrossing. The Southern vanguard could not assail such a powerfulforce, and before the night was over the whole Union army passed to theNorthern side of the Rappahannock.
Dick felt a mixture of chagrin and satisfaction as he crossed the river,chagrin that this great army should draw back, as McClellan's had beenforced to draw back at the Seven Days, and satisfaction that they weresafe for the time being and could prepare for a new start.
But the feeling of exultation soon passed and gave way wholly tochagrin. They were retreating before an army not exceeding their own,in numbers, perhaps less. They had another great force, the Army of thePotomac, which should have been there, and then they could have badedefiance to Lee and Jackson. The North with its great numbers, its finecourage and its splendid patriotism should never be retreating. He feltonce more as thousands of others felt that the hand on the reins wasneither strong nor sure, and that the great trouble lay there. Theyought not to be hiding behind a river. Lee and Jackson did not do it.Dick remembered that grim commander in the West, the silent Grant, andhe did not believe he would be retreating.
Long after darkness came the firing continued between skirmishers acrossthe stream, but finally it, too, waned and Dick was permitted to throwhimself upon the ground and sleep with the sleeping thousands. Warnerand Pennington slept near him and not far away was the brave sergeant.Even he was overpowered by fatigue and he slept like one dead, neverstirring.
Dick was awakened next morning by the booming of cannon. He had becomeso much used to such sounds that he would have slept on had not thecrashes been so irregular. He stood up, rubbed his eyes and then lookedin the direction whence came the cannonade. He saw from the crest of ahill great numbers of Confederate troops on the other side of the river,the August sun glittering over thousands of bayonets and rifle barrels,and along the somber batteries of great guns. The firing, so far as hecould determine, was merely to feel out or annoy the Northern army.
It was a strange sight to Dick, one that is not looked upon often, twogreat armies gazing across a river at each other, and, sure to meet,sooner or later, in mortal combat. It was thrilling, awe-inspiring, butit made his heart miss a beat or two at the thought of the wounds anddeath to come, all the more terrible because those who fought togetherwere of the same blood, and the same nation.
Warner and Pennington joined him on the height where he stood, and theysaw that in the early hours before dawn the Northern generals had notbeen idle. The whole army of Pope was massed along the left bank ofthe river and every high point was crowned with heavy batteries ofartillery. There had been a long drought, and at some points theRappahannock could be forded, but not in the face of such a defence asthe North here offered.
Colonel Winchester himself came a moment or two later and joined them asthey gazed at the two armies and the river between. Both he and the boysused their glasses and they distinctly saw the Southern masses.
"Will they try to cross, sir?" asked Dick of the colonel.
"I don't think so, but if they do we ought to beat them back. Meanwhile,Dick, my boy, every day's delay is a fresh card in our hand. McClellanis landing his army at Aquia Creek, whence it can march in two days toa junction with us, when we would become overwhelming and irresistible.But I wish it didn't take so long to disembark an army!"
The note of anxiety in his voice did not escape Dick. "You wish then tobe sure of the junction between our two armies before Lee and Jacksonstrike?"
"Yes, Dick. That is what is on my mind. The retreat of this army,although it may have caused us chagrin, was most opportune. It gaveus two chances, when we had but one before. But, Dick, I'm afraid. Iwouldn't say this to anybody but you and you must not repeat me. I wishI could divine what is in the mind of those two men, Lee and Jackson.They surely have a plan of some kind, but what is it?"
"Have we any definite news from the other side, sir?"
"Shepard came in this morning. But little ever escapes him, and he saysthat the whole Southern army is up. All their best leaders are there.Lee and Jackson and Longstreet and the Hills and Early and Lawton andthe others. He says that they are all flushed with confidence in theirown courage and fighting powers and the ability of their leaders. Oh,if only the Army of the Potomac would come! If we could only stave offbattle long enough for it to reach us!"
"Don't you think we could do it, sir? Couldn't General Pope retreat onWashington then, and, as they continued to follow us, we could turn andspring on them with both armies."
But Colonel Winchester shook his head.
"It would never do," he said. "All Europe, eager to see the Unionsplit, would then help the Confederacy in every possible manner. The oldmonarchies would say that despite our superior numbers we're not able tomaintain ourselves outside the defenses of Washington. And these thingswould injure us in ways that we cannot afford. Remember, Dick, my boy,that this republic is the hope of the world, and that we must save it."
"It w
ill be done, sir," said Dick, almost in the tone of a youngprophet. "I know the spirit of the men. No matter how many defeats areinflicted upon us by our own brethren we'll triumph in the end."
"It's my own feeling, Dick. It cannot, it must not be any other way!"
Dick remained upborne by a confidence in the future rather than in thepresent, and throughout the morning he remained with his comrades, underarms, but doing little, save to hear the fitful firing which ran alonga front of several miles. But later in the day a heavy crash came from aford further up the stream.
Under cover of a great artillery fire Stuart's cavalry dashed into theford, and drove off the infantry and a battery posted to defend it. Thenthey triumphantly placed heavy lines of pickets about the ford on theUnion side.
It was more than the Union lads could stand. A heavy mass of infantry,Colonel Winchester's regiment in the very front of it, marched forwardto drive back these impertinent horsemen. They charged with so muchimpetuosity that Stuart's cavalry abandoned such dangerous ground. Allthe pickets were drawn in and they retreated in haste across the stream,the water foaming up in spurts about them beneath the pursuing bullets.
Then came a silence and a great looking back and forth. The threateningarmies stared at each other across the water, but throughout theafternoon they lay idle. The pitiless August sun burned on and the dustthat had been trodden up by the scores of thousands hung in clouds low,but almost motionless.
Dick went down into a little creek, emptying into the Rappahannock, andbathed his face and hands. Hundreds of others were doing the same. Thewater brought a great relief. Then he went back to Colonel Winchesterand his comrades, and waited patiently with them until evening.
He remembered Colonel Winchester's words earlier in the day, and, as thedarkness came, he began to wonder what Lee and Jackson were thinking. Hebelieved that two such redoubtable commanders must have formed a plan bythis time, and, perhaps in the end, it would be worth a hundred thousandmen to know it. But he could only stare into the darkness and guess andguess. And one guess was as good as another.
The night seemed portentous to him. It was full of sinister omens. Hestrove to pierce the darkness on the other shore with his eyes, and seewhat was going on there, but he distinguished only a black backgroundand the dim light of fires.
Dick was not wrong. The Confederate commanders did have a plan and theomens which seemed sinister to him were sinister in fact. Jackson withhis forces was marching up his side of the Rappahannock and the greatbrain under the old slouch hat was working hard.
When Lee and Jackson found that the Union army on the Rapidanhad slipped away from them they felt that they had wasted a greatopportunity to strike the retreating force before it reached theRappahannock, and that, as they followed, the situation of theConfederacy would become most critical. They would leave McClellan andthe Army of the Potomac nearer to Richmond, their own capital, than theywere. Nevertheless Lee, full of daring despite his years, followed, andthe dangers were growing thicker every hour around Pope.
Dick, with his regiment, moved the next morning up the river. The enemywas in plain view beyond the stream, and Shepard and the other spiesreported that the Southern army showed no signs of retiring. But Shepardhad said also that he would not be able to cross the river again. Thehostile scouts and sharpshooters had become too vigilant. Yet he wassure that Lee and Jackson would attempt to force a passage higher up,where the drought had made good fords.
"It's well that we're showing vigilance," said Colonel Winchester toDick. He had fallen into the habit of talking much and confidentially tothe boy, because he liked and trusted him, and for another reason whichto Dick was yet in the background.
"Do you feel sure that the rebels will attempt the crossing?" askedDick.
"Beyond a doubt. They have every reason to strike before the Army of thePotomac can come. Besides, it is in accord with the character of theirgenerals. Both Lee and Jackson are always for the swift offensive, andEarly, Longstreet and the Hills are the same way. Hear that boomingahead! They're attacking one of the fords now!"
At a ford a mile above and also at another a mile or two further on, theSouthern troops had begun a heavy fire, and gathered in strong masseswere threatening every moment to attempt the passage. But the Unionguns posted on hills made a vigorous reply and the time passed in heavycannonades. Colonel Winchester, his brows knitted and anxious, watchedthe fire of the cannon. He confided at last to his favorite aide hisbelief that what lay behind the cannonade was more important than thecannonade itself.
"It must be a feint or a blind," he said. "They fire a great deal,but they don't make any dash for the stream. Now, the rebels haven'tammunition to waste."
"Then what do you think they're up to, sir?"
"They must be sending a heavy force higher up the river to cross wherethere is no resistance. And we must meet them there, with my regimentonly, if we can obtain no other men."
The colonel obtained leave to go up the Rappahannock until nightfall,but only his own regiment, now reduced to less than four hundred men,was allotted to him. In truth his division commander thought his purposeuseless, but yielded to the insistence of Winchester who was known tobe an officer of great merit. It seemed to the Union generals that theymust defend the fords where the Southern army lay massed before them.
Dick learned that there was a little place called Sulphur Springs somemiles ahead, and that the river there was spanned by a bridge whichthe Union cavalry had wrecked the day before. He divined at once thatColonel Winchester had that ford in mind, and he was glad to be with himon the march to it.
They left behind them the sound of the cannonade which they learnedafterward was being carried on by Longstreet, and followed the course ofthe stream as fast as they could over the hills and through the woods.But with so many obstacles they made slow progress, and, in the closeheat, the men soon grew breathless. It was also late in the afternoonand Dick was quite sure that they would not reach Sulphur Springs beforenightfall.
"I've felt exactly this same air on the great plains," said Pennington,as they stopped on the crest of a hill for the troops to rest a little."It's heavy and close as if it were being all crowded together. It makesyour lungs work twice as hard as usual, and it's also a sign."
"Tell your sign, old weather sharp," said Warner.
"It's simple enough. The sign may not be so strong here, but it appliesjust as it does on the great plains. It means that a storm is coming.Anybody could tell that. Look there, in the southwest. See that cloudedging itself over the horizon. Things will turn loose to-night. Don'tyou say the same, sergeant? You've been out in my country."
Sergeant Whitley was standing near them regarding the cloud attentively.
"Yes, Mr. Pennington," he replied. "I was out there a long time and I'drather be there now fighting the Indians, instead of fighting our ownpeople, although no other choice was left me. I've seen some terriblehurricanes on the plains, winds that would cut the earth as if it wasdone with a ploughshare, and these armies are going to be rained onmighty hard to-night."
Dick smiled a little at the sergeant's solemn tone, and formal words,but he saw that he was very much in earnest. Nor was he one to underrateweather effects upon movements in war.
"What will it mean to the two armies, sergeant?" he asked.
"Depends upon what happens before she busts. If a rebel force is thenacross it's bad for us, but if it ain't the more water between us an'them the better. This, I take it, is the end of the drought, and a floodwill come tumbling down from the mountains."
The sun now darkened and the clouds gathered heavily on the Westernhorizon. Colonel Winchester's anxiety increased fast. It became evidentthat the regiment could not reach Sulphur Springs until far intothe night, and, still full of alarms, he resolved to take a smalldetachment, chiefly of his staff, and ride forward at the utmost speed.
He chose about twenty men, including Dick, Warner, Pennington, SergeantWhitley, and another veteran who were mounted on the
horses of juniorofficers left behind, and pressed forward with speed. A West Virginiannamed Shattuck knew something of the country, and led them.
"What is this place, Sulphur Springs?" asked Colonel Winchester ofShattuck.
"Some big sulphur springs spout out of the bank and run down to theriver. They are fine and healthy to drink an' there's a lot of cottagesbuilt up by people who come there to stay a while. But I guess thempeople have gone away. It ain't no place for health just at this time."
"That's a certainty," said Colonel Winchester.
"An' then there's the bridge, which, as we know, the cavalry has brokedown."
"Fortunately. But can't we go a little faster, boys?"
There was a well defined road and Shattuck now led them at a gallop.As they approached the springs they checked their speed, owing to theincreasing darkness. But Dick's good ears soon told him that somethingwas happening at the springs. He heard faintly the sound of voices, andthe clank and rattle which many men with weapons cannot keep from makingnow and then.
"I'm afraid, sir," he said to Colonel Winchester, "that they're alreadyacross."
The little troop stopped at the command of its leader and all listenedintently. It was very dark now and the wood was moaning, but the columnsof air came directly from the wood, bearing clearly upon their crest thenoises made by regiments.
"You're right, Dick," said Colonel Winchester, bitter mortificationshowing in his tone. "They're there, and they're on our side of theriver. Oh, we might have known it! They say that Stonewall Jacksonnever sleeps, and they make no mistake, when they call his infantry footcavalry!"
Dick was silent. He shared his leader's intense disappointment, but heknew that it was not for him to speak at this moment.
"Mr. Shattuck," said Colonel Winchester, "how near do you think we canapproach without being seen?"
"I know a neck of woods leading within a hundred yards of the cottages.If we was to leave our horses here with a couple of men we could slipdown among the trees and bushes, and there ain't one chance in ten thatwe'd be seen on so dark a night."
"Then you lead us. Pawley, you and Woodfall hold the horses. Now followsoftly, lads! All of you have hunted the 'coon and 'possum at night, andyou should know how to step without making noise."
Shattuck advanced with certainty, and the others, true to theirtraining, came behind him in single file, and without noise. But as theyadvanced the sounds of an army ahead of them increased, and when theyreached the edge of the covert they saw a great Confederate divisionon their side of the stream, in full possession of the cottages andoccupying all the ground about them. Many men were at work, restoringthe wrecked bridge, but the others were eating their suppers or were atrest.
"There must be seven or eight thousand men here," said Dick, who did notmiss the full significance of the fact.
"So it seems," said Warner, "and I'm afraid it bodes ill for GeneralPope."