The Drummer Boy

by J. T. Trowbridge

  XV.

  HATTERAS INLET.

  But what a morning dawned! Another storm, more terrible than the first,had been raging all night, and its violence was still increasing. And nowit came on to rain; and rain and wind and sea appeared to vie with eachother in wreaking their fury on the ill-starred expedition.

  Tuesday night the storm abated, and Wednesday brought fair weather. Thefleet in the mean time had suffered perils and hardships which can neverbe told. Many of the transports were still missing. Many were at anchoroutside the inlet, waiting for pilots to bring them in. Some had beenlost. The "City of New York," a large steam propeller, freighted withstores and munitions of war, had struck on the bar, and foundered in thebreakers. The crew, after clinging for twenty-four hours in the riggingto avoid being washed off by the sea, which made a clean breach over her,had been saved, but vessel and cargo were a total loss. Frank had watchedthe wreck, which seemed at one moment to emerge from the waves, and thenext was half hidden by the incoming billows, and enveloped in a whiteshroud of foam.

  The schooner had escaped the dangers of the sea, and was safe at lastinside the inlet; as safe, at least, as any of the fleet, in soprecarious an anchorage.

  There was still another formidable bar to pass before the open waters ofPamlico Sound could be entered. The transports that had got in were lyingin a basin, full of shoals, with but little room to swing with the tide,and they were continually running into each other, or getting aground.Nor was it encouraging to see bales of hay from one of the wrecks lodgeat low water upon the very sand-bar which the fleet had still to cross.

  Frank and his comrades took advantage of the fair weather to makeobservation of the two forts, Hatteras and Clark, which command thesituation. These were constructed by the rebels, but had been capturedfrom them by General Butler and Commodore Stringham, in August, 1861, andwere now garrisoned by national troops. They stand on the south-westernlimb of one of the low, barren islands which separate this part ofPamlico Sound from the Atlantic. Between two narrow sand-spits the tidesrush in and out with great force and rapidity; and this is the inlet--amere passage cut through into the sound by the action of the sea.

  As the schooner was being towed farther in, some men in a boat, who hadbeen ashore at Fort Hatteras, and were returning to their ship, camealongside. The party consisted of some officers belonging to a New Jerseyregiment, together with a boat's crew of six men.

  "Throw us a line," they said; "and tow us along."

  A line was flung to them from the schooner; but they had some difficultyin getting it, for the waves were running high in the channel. Pendingthe effort, the tiller slipped from the hands of the officer who wassteering; a heavy sea struck the boat on the quarter, and she capsized.Boats were lowered from the schooner, and sent to the rescue. It was ascene of intense and anxious interest to Frank, who was on deck and sawit all. The men in the water righted the boat several times, but shefilled and capsized as often. One officer was seen to get his feetentangled, sink with his head downward, and drown in that position beforehe could be extricated. He was the colonel of the regiment. The surgeonof the regiment also perished. All the rest were saved.

  The drowned bodies were brought upon deck, and every effort was made tobring back life into them; but in vain. And there they lay; so full ofhope, and courage, and throbbing human life an hour ago--now two pale,livid corpses. The incident made a strong impression on Frank, not yetaccustomed to the aspect of death, which was destined to become sofamiliar to his eyes a few days later.

  Still the dangers and delays that threatened to prove fatal to theexpedition were far from ended. It seemed that the rebels were theenemies it had least to fear. Avarice, incapacity, and treachery at homehad conspired with the elements against it. Many of the larger vesselsdrew too much water for the passage into the sound, and were wholly unfitfor the voyage.

  "The contractors," said Burnside, "have ruined me; but God holds me inhis palm, and all will yet be well."

  With nothing to distinguish him but his yellow belt, in blue shirt,slouched hat, and high boots, he stood like a sea-god (says aneye-witness) in the bows of his light boat, speaking every vessel, andinquiring affectionately about the welfare of the men.

  Storm succeeded storm, while the fleet was yet at the inlet; many dayselapsing before the principal vessels could be got over the "bulkhead,"as the bar is called, which still intervened between them and the sound.To add to the sufferings of the troops, the supply of fresh water gaveout. Much of that with which the transports had been provided bydishonest or imbecile contractors, had been put up in old oil casks,which imparted to it a taste and odor far from agreeable. But even ofsuch wretched stuff as this, there was at length none to be had.

  "We had ham for dinner yesterday," wrote Frank; "but as we had nothing todrink after it, we thought we should die of thirst. I never suffered soin my life; and O, what would I have given for a good drink out of ourwell at home! We were as glad as so many ducks, this morning, to see itrain. O, it did pour beautifully! I never knew what a blessing rain wasbefore. I went on deck, and got wet through, catching water where itdripped from the rigging. But I didn't care for the soaking--I had filledmy canteen; and I tell you, that nasty rain-water was a luxury."

  The noble-hearted general was grieved to the soul by the sufferings ofhis men. Neither day nor night did he seem to desist for a moment fromhis efforts to atone, by his own vigilance and activity, for the culpableinefficiency and negligence of others. He hastened to Fort Clark, wherethere was a condenser for converting salt water into fresh, and attendedpersonally to putting it into operation. By this means a miserably meagersupply was obtained,--enough, however, together with the rain that wascaught, to keep the demon of thirst at bay until the water vessels couldarrive.

  Ten days elapsed after the schooner entered the inlet before she was gotover the bulkhead into the open sound. And still ten days more weredestined to slip by before any general movement against the enemy wasattempted by the fleet. In the mean while the troops confined onshipboard resorted to a thousand devices for passing away the time. Therewas dancing, there was card-playing, there was singing; and many newgames were invented for the occasion. Frank learned the manual of arms.

  Something else he learned, not so much to his credit. Before saying whatthat was, I wish to remind the reader of the peculiar circumstances inwhich he was placed--the tedious hours; the hardships, which he was gladto forget at any cost; the example of companions, all older, and many somuch older than himself; and, not least by any means, his own ardent andsusceptible nature.

  One day he joined his comrades in a game of bluff. Now, bluff is a gamethere is no fun in unless some stake is played for. The boys had beenashore, and gathered some pebbles and shells from the beach, and thesewere used for the purpose. Frank had great success. He won more shellsthan any body. In the excitement, he forgot his thirst, and all theaccompanying troubles. He forgot, too, that this was a kind of gambling.And he was so elated, that when somebody proposed to play for pennies, hedid not think that it would be much worse to do that than to play forshells and pebbles.

  Unfortunately, he was still successful. He won twenty cents in about anhour. He did not intend to keep them, for he did not think that would beright. "I'll play," said he, "and let the boys win them back again." But,at the next sitting, he won still more pennies; so that he thought hecould well afford to play a bolder game. His success was all the moregratifying when he considered that he was the youngest of the party, andthat by skill and good fortune he was beating his elders.

  One day, after he had won more than a dollar,--which seems a good deal ofmoney to a boy in his condition,--he began to lose. This was not soamusing. He had made up his mind that when his winnings were gone, hewould stop playing; and the idea of stopping was not pleasant tocontemplate. How could he give up a sport which surpassed everything elsein the way of excitement? However, he determined to keep his resolution.And it
was soon brought to a test.

  The luck had turned, and Frank found himself where he began. If he playedany more, he must risk his own money. He didn't mind losing a fewpennies,--that was nothing serious; but the boys were not playing forsimple pennies now.

  "I believe I've played enough, boys," said he, passing his hand acrosshis heated brow, and casting his eyes around at objects which lookedstrange to them after their long and intense application to the cards.

  "O, of course!" sneered Jack Winch, who was watching the game, "Frank'llstop as soon as he is beginning to lose a little."

  Jack was not playing, for a very good reason. He had spent nearly all hismoney, and lost the rest. He had lost some of it to Frank, and wasconsequently very desirous of seeing the latter brought to the samecondition as himself.

  The sneering remark stung Frank. He would gladly have pleaded Jack'sexcuse for not playing any more; but he had still in his pocket over twodollars of the money he had reserved for himself when the troops werepaid off. And it did seem rather mean in him, now he thought of it, tothrow up the game the moment others were serving him as he had been onlytoo willing to serve them.

  "I'm not afraid of losing my money," said he, blushing; "but I've hadenough play for one day."

  "You didn't get sick of it so easy when the luck was on your side," saidHarris, who had lost money to Frank, and now wanted his revenge.

  "For instance, yesterday, when the Parrott was talking to the boy," saidSeth.

  The Parrott he spoke of was one of the twelve-pound Parrott guns theschooner carried; and the boy was the _buoy_, or target, in the water,at which the gunners had practised firing round shot. Frank rememberedhow all wanted to put aside the cards and watch the sport excepthimself. At another time he would have taken great interest in it, andhave been on hand to cheer as enthusiastically as any body when thewell-aimed shots struck the water; but his mind was completely absorbedin winning money. There was no such noble diversion on deck to-day; andit was only too easy to set? his real reason for getting so soon tiredof bluff.

  "That's right, Frank; stop! Now's a good time," said Atwater, who watchedthe game a good deal, but never took a hand in it.

  "Well, I shan't urge him, ef he's in 'arnest," said Seth; "though he haskep' me at it a darned sight longer 'n I wanted to, sometimes, when 'twasmy tin 'stid of his'n that was goin' by the board. Stop where ye be, mybold drummer boy; keep yer money, ef ye've got any left; that is the bestway, after all. 'I know the right, and I approve it, too; I know thewrong, and yet the wrong pursue,'" added Tucket, dealing the cards.

  No doubt he meant to give Frank good advice. But to the sensitive andproud spirit of the boy, it sounded like withering sarcasm. He couldn'tstand that.

  "I'll play fifteen minutes longer," said he, looking at his watch, "ifthat'll please you."

  "A quarter of an hour!" said Harris, contemptuously. "We'd better allstop now, and come at it fresh again, by and by."

  The proposition was acceded to; for what could Frank say against it? Hehad not the courage to say, "Boys, I feel that I have been doing wrong,and I mean to stop at once;" but he thought it more manly to play oncemore, if only to show that he was not afraid of losing. "And perhaps," hethought, remembering his former luck, "I shall win."