In the Saddle
Page 20
CHAPTER XVII
THE CONFUSION OF THE DAY EXPLAINED
A single volley from each company of the Riverlawn Cavalry proved to beenough to settle the affairs of the enemy in front. Major Lyon lookedabout him in the road, and he was surprised to find but eight formslying on the ground. How so many bullets could have been fired intofifty men with no greater loss of life seemed strange to him; but he wasjust beginning to obtain his experience. The result did not prove thatonly that number had been hit; for the number lying in the road did notfully indicate the enemy's loss.
Captain Gordon began a vigorous pursuit of the retreating enemy; butthey had the start of him by at least a mile, for he had met with someobstructions in reaching the road after his men had delivered theirfire. Both the pursuers and the pursued disappeared behind the hill, andthere was nothing more that the second company could do. The major hadlooked over those left upon the field, to ascertain if the captain wasamong them; but he was not.
"Captain Dingfield was a bold and reckless officer; and, as he rode atthe head of his troop, I wonder that he is not lying here with theothers who dropped from their horses," said Major Lyon, as he surveyedwhat had not yet ceased to be a sad sight.
"He was exceedingly fortunate to escape, though he may have carried offwith him half-a-dozen bullets in his body," replied Captain Truman.
"Either he had no idea of how many men we have, or he intended to makeonly a demonstration against us, to enable the force he had sent to thebridge to finish their work," added the major. "The explosion seems tohave been the signal for him to advance; and I am inclined to believe heintended only to prevent me from using my force to interfere with thework of those he had sent for the destruction of the bridge. Fortunatelythat matter had been attended to, and Belthorpe has men enough toovercome that sent by the hill road."
"I should say that Dingfield had been thoroughly and completely routed,"replied Captain Truman with more enthusiasm than the major could feel;for the latter realized that the bridge had narrowly escaped destructionin the very face of his squadron, and under their very eyes.
"I don't know yet," he returned. "We can tell better about that when wehave ascertained the condition of the bridge."
"We can still see it, and it does not appear to have suffered any veryserious injury."
"March your company back to the cross-roads, Captain Truman. We shallsoon learn what more we have to do. The bridge does not appear to havesuffered much, as you suggest," added the commander as he rode down thehill, with Artie at his side.
"What do you suppose has become of Deck, father?" asked the young man;and there was a look of great anxiety on his face.
"I don't know, and I cannot conjecture," replied the father with a blanklook at the inquirer. "I saw him lower the flag as I had ordered him todo. It did not occur to me that there could be any movement in progressthere then. For the next hour or more I had enough to think of near thecross-roads, and I don't know that I looked at the bridge once in thattime; certainly not with the expectation of seeing anything there."
"I can't understand it at all, father," added Artie; and he looked asthough the tears might easily come into his eyes, for they had beentogether from their childhood, and had always been greatly devoted toeach other.
They had never been known to quarrel with each other, though each wasrather tenacious of his own opinion. Deck was not his own brother, onlyhis cousin, though the fraternal feeling had always been as warm andearnest as though they had been born of the same father and mother.Since the troubles in the vicinity of Riverlawn had begun, and they hadserved side by side in the fights with the ruffians, as well as indrilling together for three months, the tie that united them had becomeeven more intimate. Artie was fearfully anxious in regard to the fate ofhis brother; and his father was not less so, though he was moresuccessful in concealing his feeling.
"I cannot understand it any better than you can," replied the major. "IfI had thought of his safety at all, I should have considered him asmore secure on the bridge than at the cross-roads, where we were liableto confront the enemy at any moment. Dexter had been so forward in theaction on the east road, that I felt rather relieved to think that hewas in a safe place. I wished him to do his duty faithfully; but he rodeinto the front rank of the company, being a volunteer, and threwhimself, horse and all, upon the lieutenant in command of the enemy."
"I saw him do that myself, though Deck says Ceph tried to leap over theofficer's horse of his own accord," added Artie. "There must have beensome of the enemy's men on the bridge when we supposed there was no onethere."
"For my part, I did not suppose anything at all about it, as I have saidbefore; but I am confident now there must have been some of the Texansthere, or men in their employ," continued the major. "It appears thatthe farther abutment of the bridge had been mined, though the work musthave been done at the top. It seems to have been badly done, as thoughthe workmen were laboring under great disadvantages."
The father and son could explain nothing; for they had nothing to basetheir opinions on, the explosion and the smoke of the fires being allthe facts in their possession. Life Knox and his scouts had doubtlessobtained some information by this time which would enable them toconjecture the fate of poor Deck. They continued on their way, with thesecond company just behind them. There was nothing to be done, unless itwas to send a re-enforcement to Lieutenant Belthorpe, though it wasdoubtful if he had encountered the enemy.
As soon as Major Lyon and Artie reached the hospital they heard avigorous yell, which seemed to come from the guards in charge of thecamp. It was immediately followed by a hearty cheer from the secondcompany. Both father and son looked about them without being able to seeanything to call forth these cheers.
"Up goes the flag, father!" shouted Artie, who had directed his gazewhere others were looking, and saw that the American flag had just beenhoisted on the pole upon the bridge.
"Always a welcome sight, but more so now than usual," added the major,as he raised his field-glass and directed it to the flagstaff. "I seethe tall form of Sergeant Knox at the halyards, and he has done thisthing. I pray that it may be the herald of good news in regard toDexter."
"Do you suppose the flag means that he has found Deck, father?" askedArtie, as a flood of hope flashed through his mind.
"It is impossible to tell what it means; but the sergeant seems to beclimbing down the wall, and he will soon be here," replied the major.
Artie started his horse, with the evident intention of going to thebridge; but the major called him back, and directed him to wait where hewas till Knox joined them.
"I may want you at any moment," said the father. "I have been using youand Dexter as my orderlies, and I appoint you to that position now."
"Is there any news from up above, Major Lyon?" asked the woundedlieutenant, who had walked to the spot where the commander stopped hishorse. "I heard a volley a little while ago; has there been anotherengagement?"
"A very brief one," replied the major. "It was very soon decided, forCaptain Dingfield retreated as soon as he had received our fire."
"Captain Dingfield!" exclaimed the wounded lieutenant; "that is not atall like him."
"It was the only thing he could do. He left eight of his men in theroad, where they dropped from their horses; and of course he led awaymany others with bullets in their bodies. I should say that CaptainDingfield had been a very reckless commander, and I was almost sure Ishould find his body among the killed; but it was not there, and Isuppose he is still carrying it with him."
"We did not expect much of any difficulty in this expedition, and wewere satisfied that we could ride over the Home Guards we heard had beensent here to protect the bridges," replied Lieutenant Makepeace ratherlanguidly, for he had been severely wounded.
"I have a squadron of United States cavalry under my command," said themajor proudly.
"So I discovered this forenoon; not that you had a squadron here, butthat the troopers were regular cavalrymen; a
nd I must say that no menever fought better, for my command were beaten and driven off in lesstime than it takes to tell of it," added the prisoner with an attempt tosmile. "But two full companies were sent over here, though I have notyet been able to find the other."
"But the other company is here," said Major Lyon.
"Where?"
"There they are," answered the commander, pointing to the camp. "Theyare prisoners of war now."
"That accounts for it."
"That company were Home Guards in the first of it, but now they havebecome regular Confederate soldiers."
"They have made a mess of this expedition."
"I suppose you have a force over at the north end of the railroadbridge, lieutenant," said the major very quietly, and not expecting theprisoner would answer the question.
"If there is, it has been sent there since I was wounded. Everything hasworked very differently from what we expected; for Captain Dingfieldtalked the whole thing over with me. We have fought the battle, and lostit. I suppose there is no harm in comparing notes after the affair isfinished."
"I should think not; for I don't believe you can give me anyinformation that will be useful to me now," replied the major.
"We ascertained that your company was camped near that plantation; andwe had no idea that you had more than one. We believed the company sentfrom Bowling Green, which we have not seen yet, for we have not beenthere, was posted somewhere on what is called the east road. Dingfield'splan was to march down by the south road, use up your company near theplantation, and then effect a junction with the infantry company for thedestruction of the bridge, which is said to be a matter of greatimportance to the South."
"I should say that it was; and my orders came from the general incommand to prevent it," interposed the major.
"I was sent by Captain Dingfield round by the hill road, to attack youin the rear while he took you in front. As I said, we had no suspicionthat you had another company of cavalry here. One of my scouts was shot,and is in this hospital with me. The other came back to me. But he hadseen only two troopers; and I decided to push on, especially as I hadfour bridge-builders with me."
"Four bridge-builders!" exclaimed the major, "And what became of them?"
"I was ordered to send them by the nearest road to the bridge; and I wastold, when I inquired on the way, that the hill road was the shortestcut to it. They had a six-mule wagon with them, containing their tools,tents, blasting-powder, and provisions. I came down the east road withmy force, while they continued on their way by the hill road. My forcewas defeated as we approached the cross-roads, where I was to turn up."
"I waited all the forenoon and some of the afternoon for CaptainDingfield to attack me," said the major.
"The bridgemen made us late in starting, and the mules delayed us forhours on the road. Our surprise was in finding a whole company waitingfor us at the cross-roads, where we had anticipated no obstacle."
The arrival of Knox prevented the major from obtaining any furtherinformation from the obliging lieutenant; but later in the day heexplained his own operations to him. The capture of Captain Titus'scompany early in the morning, and the superior force of the loyaltroops, had saved the bridge, though there was still an enemy to fightby the force of Lieutenant Belthorpe.
The account of the bridge-builders threw some light on the disappearanceof Deck Lyon. It was evident that they had attempted to destroy thebridge; but when Knox reported to the major, he was compelled toacknowledge that he had been unable to find him, or to obtain anyintelligence of him. But Deck had had a lively experience, and itbecomes necessary to return to him while engaged in his solitary vigilat the foot of the flagstaff.