In the Saddle

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER X

  THE BATTLE BEGUN AT THE CROSS-ROADS

  Deck and Artie Lyon were not veterans in military service; but onseveral occasions during the preceding six months they had been withinthe reach of flying bullets. They had not become hardened to thewhizzing, boring sound they make in their passage through the air, forthey carried wounds and death in their train; but they had consideredand talked about the chances of being hit, and fully realized thepossible consequences.

  "We are in the hands of the good Lord," Noah Lyon used to say; "and ifit be his will that we suddenly pass the portals that divide the seenfrom the unseen, or that we languish for weeks or months upon the couchof pain, we can only submit to the divine will; and all we have to do isfaithfully to discharge our duty to God and our country. God and ourcountry! Let this be our watchword, boys; and with it on our tonguesand in our hearts, we ought to fear no danger."

  Some appear to be brave in mere bravado, and the pride of many givesthem courage: but the bravest men are those who are earnestly devoted tothe discharge of their duty; for principle generates courage when it isfounded upon religious faith. It was in this firm reliance that thefather had schooled his sons. He was a faithful apostle, and they wereloving disciples.

  "Where are you hit, Deck?" asked Artie, full of anxiety in regard to hisbrother, though he could see that he was not very severely wounded.

  "Right in the arm, half-way between the wrist and the elbow," repliedDeck with a smile; for the time had come for him to feel something ofwhat had only been talked about before. "It won't amount to much, thoughit doesn't feel good."

  "Let me see it, and I will fix it up as well as I can," added Artie, ashe wheeled his horse till he was at the side of his companion.

  The noble steeds stood as quietly as though they understood what hadoccurred, while Artie rolled up the sleeve of the jacket, and disclosedthe wound. The fond and devoted mother had provided each of them with abandage and a handful of lint, and she had even practised them in doingup a leg and an arm. Artie wiped away the blood, and then applied thelint, around which he wound the bandage, as he had been instructed.

  "It is not a bad wound, as you say, Deck, and I hope you will never havea worse one," said Artie, as he pinned the end of the bandage.

  "Thank you, Artie, and you are quite a surgeon," replied Deck, as hestraightened out his arm. "That feels better, though it is still ratherwarm. But we have business on our hands, and we can't fool away any moretime. What do you suppose the presence of those two fellows here means?"

  "There is only one thing that it can mean," replied Artie, as hestrained his vision to take in whatever might be seen in the directionfrom which the two scouts had come. "There must be a body of cavalrymennot far behind them."

  "I don't understand this business," added Deck. "Let's ride up theslope, and then we can see the enemy if there is any there."

  "It won't take both of us to do that. We know, if everybody in thecompany does not, that there is a company of Texan Rangers camped aboutthree miles from Mr. Barkland's plantation. From their odd uniform wehave a right to believe these two scouts belonged to that company. Verylikely the captain of it is up to some mischief; and if a part of theforce should come over here after Captain Truman has departed to joinour first company, they could undo all that has been done, burn thebridge, and recapture all the prisoners."

  "That's so!" exclaimed Deck, taking in the argument of his brother, andfully agreeing with it.

  "As you are wounded, I will ride up the slope, and see what is to beseen, while you hurry back as fast as Ceph will take you to CaptainTruman, and tell him all about it," suggested Artie.

  "All right; go ahead!" returned Deck, as he wheeled his horse, whileArtie galloped up the slope, which was quite gentle for half a mile.

  When the latter reached the spot where the Texan had fallen, he saw thathe was not dead, though the blood was oozing from a wound in hisbreast. His horse was quietly feeding on the bushes at the side of theroad; but Artie could not stop to do anything for his wounded enemy,though his heart was big enough to do everything in his power. He rodeon at the highest speed of Dolly, as he called her, though she had hadanother name before he made her acquaintance. He reached the top of thehill, if it could be called such, and the spot commanded a view of thecountry for several miles.

  It was not a plain which opened to him, for the prospect was bounded bya range of hills several miles distant, the intervening space having asort of rolling surface. The first object that attracted his attentionwas a horseman, riding at full gallop up a slope about a mile distantfrom him. He concluded that he was the scout whose companion had fallenfrom his horse when he fired his carbine. He must have stopped by theway, or ridden more slowly than at present, or he would have been out orsight in the time he had taken.

  Artie had halted on the crown of the slope, for it was useless to go anyfarther. He could see the country for at least two miles; and it wasnot prudent for him to proceed alone. He sat upon his horse consideringwhat he should do next. The only course left open to him was to returnto the south road; but if an enemy was approaching by the east road, asthe presence of the two scouts indicated, it was important that heshould ascertain the fact.

  He kept his eyes busily engaged in wandering along the whole horizon tothe east and south of him. If Captain Truman's command were not wanted,it would be an error to detain them. On the other hand, the result ofthe morning's work would be all undone if the enemy should advance afterthe larger portion of the second company had been withdrawn. It was aperplexing question for a boy of eighteen to settle; and he realized theresponsibility that had accidentally, as it were, fallen upon him.

  If he was not at the cross-road when Deck returned from his visit to thecamp at the bridge, Captain Truman would march his men up the slope,when they might be needed in the vicinity of the planter's house. Hedecided to compromise with the circumstances, and wait a reasonable timefor some evidence of an advance on the part of the Texans. The twoscouts had come from beyond the elevation where he stood; and unlessthey were simply messengers or spies, there must be a force behind them.As spies, they would not have appeared in full uniform.

  When he had waited perhaps ten minutes, he discovered something movingover the top of one of the hills south-east of him. With the utmosteagerness he observed the spot. He could not make out anything thatlooked like a road. But presently the moving object became more definiteto his gaze. He wished he had his father's field-glass; but all he coulddo was to watch and wait. In a few minutes more the moving objectresolved itself into a body of mounted men. They were marching along thesummit of an elevation, and he saw them begin the descent.

  While still in sight the troop halted, and Artie concluded that thescout who had escaped had come up with them, and was making his report.But he could not leave yet; for it was important that he should reportthe strength of the enemy, as well as his actual presence in thevicinity. The young cavalryman had a full view of the valley into whichthe troop were descending; and as soon as they marched again heestimated, and even counted, the number of men.

  The Texans did not compel him to wait a great while, for they resumedthe march at full gallop. They had been moving at a very moderate gaitwhen Artie first saw them. The report of the scout doubtless assured theofficer in command that a force of Union cavalry was located near thebridge, and he was hurrying his men forward to meet it. Artie had seenenough to assure him of the approach of an enemy, and he started on hisreturn to the cross-road. He had seen the whole of the force, and hadestimated its number at forty-four men in the ranks; for he had countedeleven sections of four in each.

  Dolly had had quite a rest while he was observing the approach of theenemy; and, as soon as he had obtained the facts, he was in a hurry. Heurged his steed forward at her best speed. He reached the cross-roadjust as Deck appeared there; for the information he brought perplexedthe captain not a little in regard to his duty under the changedcircumstances, and he had been detained to
answer a great manyquestions.

  "Where is Captain Truman?" shouted Artie, as soon as he was withinspeaking distance of his brother.

  "He will be here in a few minutes with his men," replied Deck, who hadalso remained, to have his wound properly dressed by the surgeon. "Haveyou seen the enemy, Artie?"

  "I have; and they are within a mile and a half of here now," repliedArtie. "They are advancing with all speed, and they will be here in afew minutes."

  "Here is the captain," added Deck; and a minute later the troopers werehalted.

  "Here is Artie, Captain Truman; and he has big news for you," said Deck,who appeared to have forgotten that he was wounded.

  "Your report, Artie," demanded the captain.

  "The Texan Rangers--at least, that is what I suppose they are--will behere in ten or fifteen minutes, if they don't stop by the way."

  "Is it a large force?" asked the captain, with some anxiety visible onhis face.

  "Forty-four men, as I estimated them, besides the officers."

  "We outnumber them, then. But I am ordered to report at the planter'shouse," said the officer, who appeared to be musing upon the situation.

  He was not an experienced officer; and his mind was charged with theidea that the soldier must obey his superior officer, though hisintellect was broad enough, and he had read in his military books thatone in command of a force must use judgment and discretion. This waswhat he was thinking of when he alluded to his orders, which he wouldnot have done if the boys had not been the sons of the major, and he wason very intimate terms with them.

  "But, if you obey your orders, the bridge will be destroyed, and the"--

  "I don't intend to obey them; I am not quite blind, my boy," interposedCaptain Truman, with a smile on his face. "Less than fifty men, you say,Artie. I made up my mind, from what Deck said, that if there was a forceapproaching from that direction, the enemy were divided, and were comingto the bridge by the two roads."

  "There must be more than forty-four men in the whole company, besidesthe officers," added Artie.

  "No doubt of it," replied the captain, looking about him.

  Then he called for Lieutenant Gadbury, and sent him, with thirty men,back to the field where they had been concealed to await the attack ofthe Home Guards on the bridge. Then he ordered the rest of the men,about forty in number, to unsling their carbines, and formed them acrossthe south road. In a somewhat longer time than Artie had predicted, thehead of the enemy's column, arrived at the top of the hill, where theyhalted.

  A couple of officers appeared in front of the troop, and seemed to besurveying the situation. They could see the railroad bridge, and that ithad not been destroyed by another division of the Confederates. But theycould not see the camp that had been established at the side of thestructure, for it was on much lower ground. They could also see thecavalry of Captain Truman, stationed about six feet apart, so that theyextended both ways on the crossing along the south road.

  The Union cavalry doubtless looked like a small force to the officerswho observed it. They had the reputation of being bold and brave men,and the order to attack was not long withheld. The officer in commandled his men down the hill at full gallop, the men yelling like so manydemons; for, at this early stage of the war, the troops of the enemy hadacquired the notion that these hideous cries would intimidate theirfoes; but they did not in this instance.

  "Now, my boys, this will be no fool's play!" shouted Captain Truman atthe top of his lungs. "These troopers are not Home Guards; and therewill be fighting, and no child's play. Stand up to it like men--likeKentuckians, and, above all, like Union men!"

  The soldiers responded with a hearty cheer; and they kept it up till theenemy were within gunshot range, where they halted. They were formedacross the road, but with only half-a-dozen men in a rank, so that theywere still clustered in a rather solid mass. In this condition theydelivered their first volley. One of the Union men dropped from hissaddle, and only one. If others were wounded, they said nothing. Thefire was promptly returned; but, so far as could be seen, with nogreater effect than that of the Rangers.

  The Union men, as ordered, continued to fire at will; and it was soonevident that their carbines were superior to those in the hands of theenemy, for they discharged at least twice as many shots. The report ofthe muskets had brought the force of Lieutenant Gadbury into the rear ofthe enemy, and both divisions of the company were pouring bullets intothem.