by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XVI
RETURN TO THE CAMP
The moment Somers was recognized, Hapgood and his party rushed forward,rightly judging, from the rapidity of his motions, that he was pursued.The sharp eye of the veteran sergeant was the first to perceive theferocious Mississippian, who, undaunted by the appearance of the Unionsoldiers, continued the pursuit as long as there was even a gleam of hopethat he could overtake his intended victim. He was only a few pacesbehind the lieutenant when the latter was discovered.
Hapgood raised his musket and fired, just as the implacable pursuerabandoned the chase, and turned his steps back to the rebel line. Hestaggered for a few paces more, and fell just as a dozen other musketswere leveled at him. He appeared to have been hit in the leg; for he didnot fall flat upon the ground, as he would if he had been struck in avital part, but sank down to a sitting posture.
The Union men rushed up to him, and found that the supposition wascorrect; the ball had passed through the fleshy part of his thigh,disabling, but not dangerously wounding him. The ruffian--we do not callhim so because he was a rebel, but he was naturally and by education justwhat the term indicates--was as savage and implacable as before.
"Better leave me where I am, Yanks," said he; "'case, if I get well, Ishall be the death of some of you. You kin shoot me through the head ifyou like."
"Don't consarn yourself about us, reb," replied Hapgood. "We'll take goodcare that you don't hurt yourself, or any one else, while you are in ourhands."
"Mebbe you will, Yanks; but, just as sure as you was born, I'll hev theheart's blood of that younker as fotched Tom Myers down."
"Who's Tom Myers?" demanded the veteran.
"The man that you Yanks killed this forenoon."
"Whose heart's blood do you want?"
"That younker with the badge on his shoulder; the un I chased in."
"He didn't kill Tom Myers, or any other man."
"Show me the man, then," growled the rebel, now beginning to feel thepain of his wound.
"I'm your man. I brought Tom Myers down," replied Hapgood, anxious toremove any cause of peril from his _protege_.
"Did yer?"
"Sartin I did; saw him drop when I fired."
"Then, stranger, yer kin make up yer mind to die like a hog within tendays. I tell yer, Yank, there ain't bolts and bars enough in Yankee landto keep me away from yer. You kin shoot me if yer like now, and that'sall the way yer kin save yerself."
"Well, reb, you are great at blowing; but I've seen a good many jest sichfellers as you be. I've fit with 'em, and fit agin' 'em; and I tell you,your uncle can take keer of just as many of you as can stand up betweenhere and sundown. Put that in your hopper, reb; and the sooner you dryup, the sooner you'll come to your milk. We'll take keer on you like aChristian, though you ain't nothin' but a heathen. Here, boys, make astretcher, and kerry him along. Take that jack-knife out of his handfust, and keep one eye on him all the time."
Having thus delivered himself, Sergeant Hapgood hastened to the spotwhere Somers had seated himself on the ground to recover his wind andrest his weary limbs. The terrible excitement of the last hour seemed tofatigue him more than the previous labors of the whole day; and he washardly in condition to march to the division headquarters, where he wasto report the success of his mission.
"Oh, Tom--I mean Lieutenant Somers--I'm glad to see you!" exclaimed theveteran as he grasped both the hands of the young soldier.
"Thank you, uncle; I'm just as glad to see you as you can be to see me,"replied Somers.
"You're all tuckered out, Somers."
"I had to run for some distance, with the odds against me; but I shallget rested in a little while."
The sergeant began to ask questions; and, as soon as he had recovered hisbreath, Somers gave him a brief sketch of his adventures, dwelling mainlyon the last and most thrilling event of the day.
"I can hardly believe that I am alive and well after all that hashappened," said he in conclusion. "That was the most bloodthirsty villainI ever encountered in the whole course of my life."
"If you say shoot him, leftenant, it shall be done quicker'n you can sayJack Roberson," added Hapgood, indignant at the conduct of the savagerebel.
"Of course, I don't say anything of that kind. It would be murder to doanything of that sort while he is our prisoner."
"He desarves hanging more'n Kyd the pirate did; and if I had my way, he'dswing afore sunrise to-morrow. He's a consarned heathen!"
"Never mind him; only keep him safe, and where he can't do any mischief;for he is wicked enough to kill the man that feeds him."
"I'm only sorry I didn't hit him a little higher up, where I hit theother feller this mornin'," added the veteran. "How do you feel now,leftenant?"
"I am improving. I shall be ready to go with you in a few moments more."
After sitting on the stump half an hour longer, he was in condition tomarch; but the danger was past, the tremendous excitement had subsided,and his muscles, which had been strained up to the highest tension,seemed to become soft and flaccid. The party passed the Union pickets,and reached the headquarters of the division general, who had justfinished his supper.
"Somers! by all that is great and good!" exclaimed the general, whoprobably never expected to see the scout again.
"I have come to make my report, sir," replied the lieutenant.
"You are all used up. You look as though you could hardly stand up."
"I am very tired, sir," added Somers languidly.
"Sit down, then. Here, Peter," he added, addressing his servant, "bringin a glass of whiskey for Lieutenant Somers."
"Thank you, general; I never drink anything stronger than coffee."
"But a little whiskey would do you good in your present condition; youneed it."
"I thank you, general; I never drink whiskey, as I had occasion to say toa rebel general of division to-day."
"Eh? 'Pon my conscience! Were you asked to drink by a rebel major-general?"demanded the officer, greatly surprised at the statement of the scout
"Not exactly, sir. About the first question he asked me was, how muchwhiskey I could drink without going by the board."
"Who was he? Bring coffee, Peter."
"General M----."
"So I supposed. He is a jovial, good-hearted fellow; but I'll wager myshoulder-straps he was tight at the time," laughed the general.
"Very tight, sir."
"Well, he is a fighting man, drunk or sober; but I should rather leadthan follow him in action. Where have you been all day?"
"Shall I tell my story in full, or only give you the information Iobtained?"
"Tell the story, so that I can determine whether the information is goodfor anything or not."
Somers drank the tin cup of coffee which the general's servant brought tohim, and then proceeded to relate the incidents of the day in the rebelcamp. His distinguished auditor, who, in the Army of the Potomac, hadwell earned the title of "the bravest of the brave," listened with eagerinterest to the details of the lieutenant's story, asking occasionalquestions upon points which were not only calculated to elicit particularinformation, but to display the skill and intelligence of the scout. Theinterview was prolonged for several hours; and at its close astaff-officer was despatched to the corps commander; for what purpose, ofcourse, Somers had no intimation.
"Lieutenant Somers, you have earned your promotion; and if you don't haveit, it will be because I have not influence enough to procure it. Youhave done well."
"Thank you, sir."
"Your friend, Senator Guilford, shall hear of you within forty-eighthours."
"I beg your pardon, sir; but, grateful as I am to Senator Guilford forthe interest he has expressed in me, I don't care to be patronized by anyman in civil life."
"Whew!" laughed the general. "I wish some of our colonels and brigadierswould take a lesson from you. Never mind, Lieutenant Somers; you willdeserve all you ever get."
"Thank you, sir."
"
Go to your quarters now. Here," he added, dashing off a note at histable, in which he desired that Somers might be excused from duty for thenext two days, to enable him to recover from the fatigues of his arduousexpedition.
I need not inform my readers how soundly our hero slept in his sheltertent that night, nor how his slumbers were disturbed by a horrid rebelwith a bowie-knife, and a horrid feminine monstrosity which seemed to becalled Sue by her attendant demons; but he slept as a tired boy only cansleep.
The next morning the brigade was relieved from picket duty, and theregiment returned to its camp. Captain de Banyan had neither seen norheard from his young friend since his departure on the forenoon of thepreceding day. Of course he was overjoyed to see him, as well asintensely curious to know where he had been, what he had done, andwhether he had been promoted. Somers told his adventures to the mess,omitting such military information as was "contraband" in the camp.
"Somers, my dear fellow, you are a man after my own heart!" exclaimed thecaptain, grasping his hand, and wringing it with all the enthusiasm ofhis fervid nature. "Somers, my boy, did you ever hear of a man having hisdouble?"
"I have read of such things in old legends."
"I believe in it, Somers. You are my double! You are my second self! Youare as near like me as one pea is like another! Just before the battle ofMagenta----"
At this interesting point in the conversation, the officers of the messburst into an involuntary roar of laughter, ending up Magenta with a longdash.
"Not exactly like you, Captain de Banyan," added Somers.
"You can't tell half so big a story," said Lieutenant Munroe.
"Gentlemen," interposed the captain with dignity, "you interrupted me atthe wrong moment. I was about to prove to you wherein Lieutenant Somerswas my double; and with your permission, I will proceed with my argument.Just before the battle of Magenta, I was sent out on a scout; and I wentat the particular request of the Emperor Napoleon, who--permit me to add,in the presence of a company which seems to be inimical to myantecedents, if not to me--had unlimited confidence in my ability toperform this delicate duty with skill and success. Well, gentlemen, Ipassed our pickets; of course I mean the French pickets; for I was, asyou are all aware, a colonel in the French infantry at that time."
"We are all aware of it," laughed Munroe--"over the left."
"That is a slang phrase, and repulsive to the ears of a cultivatedgentleman. As I was saying, gentlemen, I passed our pickets, and soonencountered a Russian general of division."
"Russian?"
"Austrian, I should have said; and I thank you, Somers, for thecorrection. I suppose he was making the grand rounds with the officer ofthe day. Be that as it may, he considered it his duty to stop me; and Iwas under the disagreeable necessity of putting a bullet through hishead. He was a count, and the father of a large family; however, I couldnot help it, though I was sorry to make orphans of his children. Istepped into his uniform without the delay of a moment."
"Where was the sergeant of the guard, the officer of the day, and thesentinels?" demanded Lieutenant Munroe.
"I beg you will not interrupt me, Lieutenant Munroe, with these ill-timedremarks, which are merely intended to throw discredit on my character fortruth and veracity. I remarked, that I stepped into the uniform of thedefunct major-general. To abbreviate the narrative somewhat, I walkedthrough the Austrian lines for three hours, till I had discovered theposition of the infantry, cavalry and artillery. But the most singularpart of the affair was, that, when the long roll was beat once duringthat eventful night, I placed myself at the head of the departedgeneral's division, and maneuvered it for an hour on the field, intendingto place it in such a position that the French could capture it.Unfortunately, no attack was made by the Emperor's forces, and I couldnot carry out my plan."
"Can you talk the Austrian lingo, captain?" asked Munroe.
"Of course I can," replied De Banyan with dignity.
"Here, Schrugenheimer, let us have a specimen of the lingo!" said thetormentor, appealing to a German officer. "Ask him some questions in yourown language."
"Gentlemen, if my word is not sufficient, I shall not condescend todemonstrate what I have said. You will notice the similarity between theadventures of Lieutenant Somers and my own."
The officers of the mess all laughed heartily at the conclusion of thecomparison; for the story, like a fairy tale, was pleasant to hear, buthard to believe. But weightier matters than these were at hand for thesegallant men; and before night the gay laugh had ceased, and they hadnerved themselves for the stern duties of the hour. Cannon had beenthundering to the right of them for three days; and in the afternoon theyhad seen the smoke of burning bridges, which assured them that theircommunications with White House had been cut off. At night, orders weregiven to have the men ready to move, and to prepare for a hurried march.Extra stores were destroyed, clothing thrown away, and tents were cut inpieces, or otherwise rendered useless to the next occupants of theground. Everything to be transported was reduced to the smallest possiblecompass.
These orders were ominous of disaster; but on the following morning ageneral order was read, to the effect that all was right. The troubledexpression on the countenances of officers and men indicated theirincredulity; for the destruction in which they had been engaged beliedthe words of the order. The brigade was then moved back three miles fromthe camp. A portion of the regiment was posted near a house, in which wasa bedridden old woman, attended by her daughter. The rebels wereadvancing by the Williamsburg road, and soon had a battery of artilleryin position to shell the vicinity of the house.
It was an intensely hot day. Captain de Banyan sat asleep on the fencenear the house. He was very much exhausted by the labors of the twopreceding nights on picket, and at the destruction of the stores; andwhile Somers was watching the progress of the battle on the right, wherea sharp fight was in progress, a shell screamed between them, and struckthe house about a foot from the ground.
"That reminds me of the night before Magenta," said the veteran, openinghis eyes, without even a start. "A hundred-pounder shell knocked my hatoff, and then passed through the two open windows at each gable of ahouse, without even breaking a pane of glass."
"A narrow escape for you and for the house," replied Somers with alanguid smile.
