In the Saddle

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE ACTION BY THE RAILROAD BRIDGE

  It was hardly daylight the next morning when Major Lyon sprang from hiscamp-bed. The first thing he recalled was the visit to his tent in thenight of Mr. Barkland. He thought it was rather strange that CaptainTitus had not brought his lieutenant, as it now appeared that he was inreality, as he had been before only in appearance; for he was a ruffianof the rudest stripe.

  Three months before he had attempted to shoot Levi Bedford, the major'sfaithful overseer, as he drove past his house; and he had been hisbrother's principal supporter in the attacks of the mob upon Riverlawnand Lyndhall. He was just the desperado for such work as that in whichthe commander of the Home Guards had engaged the evening before.

  "Sentinel!" called the major to the guard at headquarters.

  "Here, Major!" replied the soldier.

  "Send for Dexter and Artemas Lyon. Have them report at headquartersmounted," added the major, as he proceeded to complete his simpletoilet.

  The "assembly" was not sounded that morning, lest the noise should beheard in some other camp; but all the men had been called verbally, andwere getting ready for the business of the day. The troopers assigned tothat duty were watering the horses at a brook which flowed through theplantation, and others were striking the tents. A number of pickets onfoot had patrolled the roads for a mile from the camp, but there hadbeen no alarm during the night. Deck and Artie promptly reported at themajor's tent as they had been ordered to do.

  "Good-morning, boys," said their father. "Do you know where the railroadbridge over the creek is?"

  "I do," replied Deck.

  "I have a message for Captain Truman. You will find his company in twodivisions this morning, one on each side of the bridge, and both of themare in concealment by this time in the morning. The captain is behindthe hill, just this side of the creek. Do you think you can find him?"

  "I know I can," replied Deck.

  "You must remember that he is keeping his men out of sight. My messageis for him alone. He is not aware that Captain Titus and his companionsat the mansion were captured last night. Whether the work will becarried on by his first lieutenant or not, I don't know. This officer isBuck Lagger; and I know that he will be glad to get the command of thecompany, even for a short time. I believe he will begin the destructionof the bridge early this morning; for, according to Levi Bedford, Buckbelieves he is a bigger man and an abler captain than his superiorofficer."

  "I have no doubt if there is any mischief to be done, Buck will do it assoon as possible," added Deck.

  "But if he fails to do so, tell Captain Truman to move over to the campthey occupied last night, and to keep his eye on the company. You willalso inform him that there is a company of Texan cavalry in camp aboutthree miles to the south-east of us, and they will probably be on themove this morning," continued Major Lyon.

  "Texan cavalry!" exclaimed Deck.

  "Music somewhere here to-day," added Artie with a smile.

  "The first company will be between this enemy and the second company,and you will tell Captain Truman to give no attention to them. Now go assoon as possible," added the major; and the boys started on theirmission.

  The horses were in excellent condition, and the boys were pleased tohave something to do that brought them out of the ranks for a time. Thesection of country which one could take in from the hill on which themansion of the planter was located, included the railway and two commonroads. South of the railroad, and extending in the same generaldirection, was the road by which the command had marched from Riverlawn.

  The camp of the Home Guards was at the south of it, and half a mile fromit; for it appeared to have been a part of the purpose of Captain Titusto conceal his force. The half-dozen shots which had been fired as thetroopers passed came from a party of strollers, it afterwards appeared;and Buck Lagger, in charge of the camp, had not discovered the presenceof the cavalry from Riverlawn.

  At the point where Cato had been first seen, and who had given theinformation in regard to the outrage at the mansion, the road to thesouth branched off, or rather crossed the other at right angles. On thisone was the mansion of Mr. Barkland, and about three miles farther southwas the reported camp of the Texans. Deck had had no opportunity tostudy the panorama of the region as it might be seen in the daytime fromthe hill by the planter's house, for the darkness shut off his view.

  The camp of the first company was on the south road, and the boys rodein the direction of the railroad bridge. The day was breaking in theeast, but it was not light enough to see distinctly the prominent objectin the vicinity. They could make out the hill where they expected tofind Captain Truman, but not the one on the other side of the railroad.

  "Hold on, Deck!" said Artie, when they came to the crossing of theroads. "I hear a noise off towards the west."

  "It is the tramp of men's feet; but that is none of our affair," repliedDeck.

  "I have no doubt it is the Home Guards," added Artie.

  "I know it is; didn't father say they were to come over here to do theirwork? We can report to Captain Truman that the enemy are approaching,and he will be glad to get the information."

  Deck started his horse; but they had been directed to move with aslittle noise as possible, and they could not hurry. They took thecross-road, and the hill was on the right, and the railroad bridge onthe left of it. Leaving the road, they struck into the field, and movedtoward the station of the first half of the second company.

  "Who comes there?" called a voice from the grove that surrounded thehill.

  "Friends," replied Deck.

  "Advance, friends, and give the countersign."

  "Riverlawn," answered Deck, giving the word that had been selected theday before. "We have a message for Captain Truman from Major Lyon. Whereis he?"

  "Not far from here," replied Blenks, who was in charge of the picketline. "I will conduct you to him."

  They found the captain seated on his horse, apart from his command,eating his breakfast from his haversack. The men were all mounted, andin readiness for immediate service, though they were standing at ease,some of them taking their morning meal.

  "Good-morning, Deck," said Captain Truman, as he recognized his earlyvisitors. "You left your bunk in good time this morning."

  "We are the bearers of orders from Major Lyon," replied Deck, who was inthe habit of doing most of the talking, though Artie had a tongue of hisown; and he repeated all the orders and all the information with whichthey had been charged.

  "Captain Titus a prisoner!" exclaimed the captain, when he had finished."Then it remains to be proved whether or not Lieutenant Buck Lagger willexecute the orders received by Captain Titus."

  "We heard them down the road as we came along," said Artie.

  "I have no doubt they will be at work within half an hour," added Deck."But we must hurry back, for our company will move farther to the south,I think, judging from the message we brought to you."

  "But you can't go now, for you will meet the Home Guards by the time youget to the south road. The ruffians would be glad to get a couple ofprisoners like you and Artie; for then Buck Lagger could exchange youboth for his captain."

  "Such an arrangement would not suit Buck Lagger at all," replied Deck."When Levi Bedford brought Buck to the fort at Riverlawn, after heattempted to kill him on the road, the villain did not speak veryhandsomely of his captain, but said he should soon be in command of thecompany himself."

  "Be that as it may, you ought not to throw yourselves into the midst ofthese ruffians," the captain insisted. "If they don't capture you, theywould take great pleasure in abusing you."

  "Mounted as we are, I think we could take care of ourselves against thewhole of them," answered Deck.

  The soldiers of the squadron had an utter contempt for the fightingqualities of this company, and Deck and Artie shared it with theothers. But the captain protested so earnestly against their exposingthemselves to a needless peril, that they agreed to wait
behind somebushes near the south road till the company had passed. They wouldgladly have learned something more in regard to the plan of the captain;but he was as reticent as military men usually are, and kept his owncounsel. The messengers rode to the knoll covered with bushes which theyhad observed near the road when they entered the field.

  "We shall have a chance to see something of this affair," said Deck, ashe stopped his horse at a point where the bushes would conceal them fromthose passing in the road.

  "Do you suppose the first company will remain where they are for anylength of time?" asked Artie.

  "Father didn't say anything about that; but I imagine he will put thecompany in a position to meet the Texans."

  "There they come!" exclaimed Artie. "They are just turning into thesouth road. Buck Lagger looks big enough to be a brigadier-general."

  "But they are straggling along as though they were going to a picnic,"added Deck. "There are some of them half a mile in the rear."

  Then the boys observed two wagons drawn by mules, and the stragglersappeared to be the guard for their protection. Buck Lagger led thecompact portion of his command, who were armed with axes as well asmuskets. The south road ran under the railroad bridge, and the Guardhalted there. The lieutenant lost no time in beginning his work. Aportion of the men went to work at the abutment, trying to remove someof the stones in the wall, evidently with the intention of blowing upthe end of the structure when the wagons arrived with the powder.

  About one-half of the men were sent to the platform of the bridge,climbing up the embankment a short distance beyond the wall. As soon asthey reached the wooden portion of the bridge, they began to pull up theplanks of the platform, and toss them over into the creek, a work whichwould not at all interfere with the usefulness of the structure for thepassage of trains. These men were in so elevated a position that theboys could distinctly see their operations.

  Then they heard the crack of a rifle, and one of the soldiers droppedfrom the bridge into the creek. This single effective shot was followedby a volley; and, though they could not be seen, it was clear thatLieutenant Gadbury had led his command to the front, and they had openedfire on the destroyers of the bridge. His men were good marksmen; fornot a few of them were hunters, and they had had abundant practice atthe camp.

  "They can't stand much of that sort of thing," said Deck, much excitedby what he saw.

  "Not they; they are coming down from the bridge now," added Artie.

  "Here come the rest of the company," exclaimed Deck, as Captain Truman,followed by his fifty men by fours, dashed through the field at fullgallop. "I reckon I don't stay here any longer."

  "But the baggage-train of the enemy has not come up yet," suggestedArtie.

  "But I want to see what is going on, and we can't see anything in theroad from here, and that is where the fight is going to be," returnedDeck, who was far more excited than his brother. "I suppose LieutenantGadbury is coming down to the bridge from the north, and now CaptainTruman is approaching it from the south. They will have it out there."

  Both divisions of the company halted at some distance from the enemy,and began to pour a murderous fire into them, crushed as they werebetween the upper and nether millstones. The plan of Major Lyon had beencarried out to the letter. The Guards returned the fire with all theenergy they could muster; but it was very soon evident that theirweapons were doing little harm to the cavalry.

  "This is little better than wholesale murder!" exclaimed Captain Truman;and he sent the second lieutenant, with half his men, into the field,with orders to charge the enemy in concert with him.

  This charge was made; and the enemy were ridden down by the horsemen,till they cried out for quarter. Buck Lagger lay dead upon the ground,with not less than a dozen others, while half the rest of them werewounded. The victory was complete, and the cavalrymen were only sorrythey had not met a foe worthy of their steel. Eight of them werewounded, two of them severely.