The Young Lieutenant; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XVIII

  LIEUTENANT SOMERS HAS A NEW SENSATION

  The experience of the soldiers at Harrison's Landing, for a monthfollowing their arrival, was not of the most agreeable nature; andconsisted of too large a proportion of exercise with pick and shovel tobe very pleasant to those who had not been accustomed to handling theseuseful implements. Intrenchments and batteries were constructed; and theposition was as carefully fortified as the genius of the distinguishedengineer in command could suggest, and as thoroughly as though heexpected to spent the balance of the term of his natural life at thisplace.

  The army was soon in a condition to defy the operations of the enemy, whowere wise enough not to molest it. Somers, in common with the rest of thecommand, recovered from the severe trials of the movement from White OakSwamp, and again longed for active operations. About two weeks after thecessation of active operations, the official documents which announcedhis promotion to the rank of first lieutenant came down to the army; butthis was a foregone conclusion. He had won his first bar by his scoutingservices, and his commission was expected for a fortnight before itsarrival. It did not, therefore, cause him any surprise; and was so smallan elevation, that his comrades hardly congratulated him upon itsreception.

  A fortnight later, there came a startling sensation to thrill him withsatisfaction and delight. An orderly from the division headquarterssummoned him to attend upon the general. The message startled him; for itindicated some momentous event to him, and he hastily prepared to obeythe order.

  "You are in luck again," said De Banyan, grasping his hand.

  "Perhaps not," replied Somers, bewildered at the suggestion.

  "I know you are, my dear boy. I was sent for just four weeks after thebattle of Solferino, and made a brigadier-general," persisted thecaptain.

  "Ah! then you are General de Banyan?"

  "No, no; I dropped the title when I ceased to hold the office."

  "That was modest, general."

  "Captain, if you please."

  "You are entitled by courtesy to the use of the title, and you shall notbe robbed of any of your honors."

  "As a particular favor, Somers, never call me general. I do not wish torise above my actual rank. I have never mentioned the little circumstanceof my promotion before. Your good fortune was so similar to my own, thatI was surprised into doing so."

  "What do you mean by my good fortune, captain?"

  "Why, you are promoted again. I will bet my year's pay you have hadanother lift."

  "Nonsense! I have just been promoted."

  "Bah! what was that to a man of your merit, with a Senator to speak atcourt for you? A petty first lieutenancy is nothing for a brilliantfellow like you."

  "I am not half so brilliant a fellow as you declare, and I think that acommission as first lieutenant is a big thing for a young man like me.I'm sure I never had an idea of being an officer at all; and, when I wasmade a sergeant, I didn't think I deserved it."

  "What do you suppose a major-general can want with you? You have heardfrom Senator Guilford once before, and I am satisfied you will hear fromhim again. Now, Somers, what do you suppose the general wants of you?"

  "I don't know; I think it very likely he wants a man of my size to go upthe river, or on the other side, scouting; nothing more than that, I amsatisfied. But I must obey the order," added Somers, who had been makinghis preparations during the conversation.

  "Well, good-by, my boy; and I shall have to stand one side for you afterthis, and salute you as major."

  "As what?"

  "Major."

  "How absurd you are, captain! You always talk like a sensible fellow;that is, when you mean what you say."

  "A hard hit; and very likely the first thing you do, when you get to be amajor, will be to arrest me for lying."

  "Your hit is the hardest, my dear captain. We have seen some hard timestogether; and you may be sure that whatever I am, I shall never forgetyou."

  "That's hearty, my boy! Your hand once more," replied De Banyan,extending his own. "After the battle of Solferino----"

  "Really, captain, you must excuse me this time, or the general will putme under arrest for my want of promptness, instead of sending me onspecial duty."

  "Well, good luck to you, Somers," said the captain as the lieutenantstarted for the division headquarters.

  As he passed out of sight, an expression of sadness settled down uponCaptain de Banyan's face. He looked disappointed and uncomfortable, andit is quite probable that he envied the good fortune of his youngcompanion in arms. If Somers had been brave, and attentive to his duty,he had been no less so himself; and he could not help feeling that thedestruction of those railroad cars had made the young man's fortune; thathis rapid advancement was a mere stroke of good luck.

  Lieutenant Somers, wondering what could possibly be wanted of him,hastened to the headquarters of the division. He had no faith whatever inthe prognostications of Captain de Banyan, and was too modest to believethat he had done anything to merit another promotion so soon. Recallingthe incidents of his career since his eventful expedition within therebel lines, there was nothing in his conduct to merit even the notice ofhis superiors, unless it was what others called his skill and courage inrallying the broken company at Glendale. He had been warmly praised forthis act; but he deemed it of little importance, for the memory ofWilliamsburg cast into the shade anything that had occurred to him sincethat bloody day.

  He was ushered into the presence of the general, who gave him the kindlywelcome which he always bestowed upon those of humble rank. Now, Somerscherished an intense admiration for this distinguished officer, andesteemed it a greater honor to stand in his presence than in that of themost powerful sovereign of the earth.

  "Lieutenant Somers?" said the general, extending his hand; a piece ofcondescension which made our officer blush, and appear as awkward as acountry school-boy.

  "Yes, sir; thank you, sir," stammered Somers, as he took the profferedhand.

  "You behaved well at Glendale, Somers," said the general bluntly.

  "I endeavored to do my duty, general."

  "You did well on that scout, too; and I'm going to send you out onanother, if you have any fancy for such work."

  "I will do the best I can."

  "But, my brave fellow, I wish you to be very careful; for we can't affordto lose officers like you."

  "I am always careful, general," said Somers with a smile.

  "Can you handle a boat?"

  "Yes, sir; I was brought up among boats."

  "You will go over the river. There is rebel cavalry over there, and verylikely a considerable force of infantry. I am inclined to think they arebuilding batteries in the woods, to close up the navigation of the river,or perhaps to shell us out of our position. In a word, I am instructed tosolve the problem, and I have selected you to do the work. What do yousay?"

  "I am all ready, sir, to undertake that, or any service to which I may beordered."

  "That's the right spirit, Captain Somers; and I thank you for thepromptness with which you enter into my plans. I am satisfied, captain,that you will discharge the duty to my entire satisfaction."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "Well, Captain Somers, you shall take what force you think necessary. Asit will not be prudent for you to go over before dark, you may make upyour plan, and I will listen to the details before you go. How many boatsshall you want, captain?"

  "Only one, sir," replied Somers promptly; though he was wondering withall his might how the general happened to make so many blunders in regardto his military title, for he had called him captain four or five times.

  "Only one? You will need force enough to protect you, captain," repliedthe general.

  Captain again!

  "I do not intend to fight the whole rebel army, if it is over there. I donot propose to take more than half a dozen men with me."

  "I think that is a sensible view of the enterprise; for the more men youtake, the greater your chances
of being discovered. Select your own men,Captain Somers."

  Captain Somers! The general had certainly forgotten that he was only afirst lieutenant, or else he was amusing himself at his modestsubordinate's expense.

  "I know of several men in our regiment who are just what I want," repliedSomers, hardly able to speak from embarrassment, on account of thegeneral's often-repeated mistake.

  "Very well; you shall have the necessary authority to select whom youplease. You may go now, and arrange your plans."

  Somers saluted the general, and was about to retire, when the thoughtoccurred to him that he might at least gratify his friend Captain deBanyan, and perhaps bring him favorably to the general's notice.

  "May I be allowed to select an officer to go with me?" he asked.

  "Certainly, if you desire; but you will remember that you are a youngofficer, going out on difficult and dangerous service, and that officerswill not be so obedient as privates," suggested the general. "Whom do youdesire to go with you?"

  "Captain de Banyan, of our regiment."

  "Captain! Why, then he will be your equal in rank, and by priority ofcommission, your superior."

  "We shall agree remarkably well, general, though he is my superior inrank, without regard to dates," replied Somers, who by this time had cometo the conclusion that the general meant something by calling himcaptain.

  "No; you are both captains," added the general with apparentindifference.

  "I beg your pardon, general; you have probably forgotten that thecommission which was forwarded to me only about two weeks ago was that offirst lieutenant."

  "I remember all about it, Captain Somers; but, by the time you reach yourquarters, there will be another commission there for you. By the way,captain, do you remember Senator Guilford?"

  "I do, general; I have good reason to remember him; for he takes a deepinterest in my affairs," replied Somers, whose brown face was red withblushes.

  "Has a pretty daughter, hasn't he? Fell out of a railroad car and brokeher arm, didn't she?"

  "That was the only time I ever saw her, general," stammered Somers; "andprobably I shall never see her again."

  "Why, you are as cold-blooded as a frog! Why don't you write to thedamsel, and tell her you are still alive, if you can't think of anythingelse to say?"

  "I don't like to curry favor with great folks."

  "I like that, captain. But you must attend to your duty now. You may haveCaptain de--what's-his-name--if you like."

  "Captain de Banyan, sir. He is a brave and noble fellow."

  "Your friend, eh?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Well, I remember him. He is certainly a brave fellow; for I noticed himat Glendale."

  "At Oak Grove he captured the enemy's sharpshooters, who were lodged inthe old house."

  "I thought you did that."

  "No, sir; I was under Captain de Banyan's orders at the time."

  "I see; and I will remember that, Captain Somers. By the way, it would bewell for you to write to Senator Guilford, just to inform him of yourpromotion. He has done good service for you, though I have no hesitationin saying your promotion would have been certain without his aid."

  "Thank you, general," replied Somers, who fully understood the meaning ofthat significant remark.

  We regret that the good conduct of our hero has destroyed the fitness ofthe title which we had chosen for our humble volume; but we will ventureto say that our sympathizing readers will rejoice with him in hisadvancement.

  Captain Somers! The idea seemed to him as big as a mountain, when hewithdrew from the presence of the general, who evidently experienced adeep satisfaction in the result of his recommendation to the authorities,and had humorously chosen this method of communicating the welcome news.The earth seemed to be as elastic as India-rubber under the feet of thenew-made captain, as he hastened back to the camp of the regiment.

  He could hardly believe his senses; it was so strange that a young manlike him should attain to this high rank. He wanted to "crow;" andperhaps he would have done so, if he had not considered that he mustmaintain the dignity of his new office.

  "Captain Somers, I greet you!" exclaimed De Banyan on his return to camp.

  "Who told you I was a captain?" laughed Somers.

  "This document," replied he, handing him the ponderous official envelope."I congratulate you, my boy; though I'm rather disappointed to find youare not a major."

  "Nonsense, captain! I would have declined a major's commission."

  "Declined it!" gasped De Banyan. "Well, I don't know but you would. Youare the only officer I ever knew to decline a glass of wine, and I don'tknow but you would decline a major's commission."

  "I certainly would. Why, I'm only a boy; and I don't know but I ought todecline even a captain's commission. I'm only eighteen years old."

  "What of that? There's the Fourth Vermont over there--the colonel of thatregiment isn't twenty-one yet, and there isn't a better or braver officerin the army. If you decline, I'll cross you off from my list of friends.Why, at Balaclava, when I was----"

  "Balaclava and blarney!" exclaimed Somers impatiently.

  "I was only going to say, that I was but seventeen when I was made acaptain in the British army."

  "I have been a brigadier in my own imagination, just as you were acaptain, when you were seventeen. But never mind that; I am going on ascout; have got my orders."

  "Ah, my boy! you are going to celebrate the arrival of your commission byactive duty. I wish the generals would think of me when they wantsomething handsome done."

  "What do you say to going with me?"

  "I would thank my stars for the chance."

  "Well, then I have orders for you."

  "Somers, my dear fellow, you touch my heart-strings!" cried the captain,jumping up, and throwing his arms around Somers in the most extravagantmanner.

  "On one condition," added Captain Somers.

  "Any condition you please."

  "You are my superior; but----"

  "I know all about it. I will go as a volunteer, and you shall command theexpedition."

  "We will work together."

  "With all my heart."

  Somers then selected six men for the service, with special reference totheir skill as boatmen, and ordered them to make the necessarypreparations for duty. As there were still several hours to spare beforedark, he used a portion of this time in writing a letter to his mother,informing her of the remarkable fortune that had attended him; andanother to Senator Guilford, thanking him for the kind interest he hadmanifested in his welfare, in the postscript of which he wrote thehistory of Captain de Banyan's valuable services, and modestly added thatany favor conferred on his friend would ever be gratefully remembered bythe writer.