by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXVII
AN UNEXPLAINED GATHERING ON THE ROAD
The ruffians were a mere mob, entirely devoid of any semblance ofdiscipline; and it was again made manifest that they could not stand upagainst a continuous fire such as the mounted boys and those on footwere beginning to pour into them, scattered though it was at first bythe restiveness of the untrained horses. Titus Lyon was not a militaryman, and he did not appear to appreciate the advantage of order in thehandling of his force.
It is true that the negroes that confronted him were not organized toany adequate extent for military purposes, though the little trainingColonel Belthorpe had given them on the bridge had been of very greatservice to them. It was absolutely astonishing to the commander that theboys did not drop their weapons and run when the random shots from theenemy were discharged at them; for this idea was in accordance with hisestimate of negro character.
It was a new revelation to him, the manner in which the men conductedthemselves under fire, hurried as they had been, without any training,into the ranks; and the same number of white men of average abilitycould hardly have done better under similar circumstances. But the negrowas strong in his affections, and the feeling that they were fightingfor the family who had used them kindly, and treated them with moreconsideration than they had been in the habit of receiving, even underthe mild sway of Colonel Lyon, was the stimulus that strengthened theirsouls and nerved their arms.
The "people" of Lyndhall were inspired by the example of those fromRiverlawn, and they were filled with admiration when they saw those oftheir own kind bearing arms, some of them well mounted, and learned thatthey had actually done duty during the night as soldiers. General,Dummy, and Mose had talked to them, and roused their spirit ofemulation. Besides, they had been moved by the same devotion to themembers of the planter's family; and their indignation at the conduct ofthe overseer, who had been their tyrant, had done not a little todevelop their belligerent feelings.
The ruffians had taken to their heels, and fled into the open countrybetween the old and the new road. There were some trees upon the tract,and the fugitives proceeded to utilize them as far as they wereavailable to shelter them from the balls of the horsemen. At this pointthe negroes of Lyndhall, unexpectedly to their owner, manifested theirpresence in a very decided manner. The sight of the four stout boys onthe horses, undismayed by the random shots which had been fired at them,had a tremendous influence upon them, and they became exceedinglyexcited, not to say crazed; and, without any orders from the commander,they rushed into the fields after the ruffians.
Doubtless they would have obeyed from instinct the order to return ifthe colonel had given it; but he allowed them to have their own way.With the various weapons with which they had armed themselves, they fellupon the helpless fugitives, pounded, punched, and hammered them tillthey begged for mercy. They, in turn, were confronted by an infuriatedmob. Those who were able to do so fled with all the speed they couldcommand towards the old road, which was nearly a mile distant at thispoint. Not a few of them had been so beaten that they could not run, andthey dropped upon the ground. The victors were not cruel, and they didnot meddle with those who no longer made any resistance.
The Lyndhall boys had gone into the fight with no leader of their ownnumber; but as soon as they left the road one developed himself in theperson of the preacher of the plantation, a white-haired negro of overseventy years of age, whom the family called "Uncle Dave." He had alwaysbeen a mild, gentle, and very religious man, and he was always treatedwith respect.
Uncle Dave seemed to become a giant in strength, his voice that of astentor, and his manner fierce, as soon as his flock went into action.He called upon his people not to kill the ruffians, for their souls wereblack with unrepented sins; and when one of the marauders sunk to theearth, he commanded them not to touch him again. The fleeing ruffianswere indebted to him for their lives, while he ordered his flock topunish them severely as they deserved.
Colonel Belthorpe regarded this man with wonder; for he had always beenas gentle as a lamb, obedient in all things, and anxious to minister tothe people in sickness and death. Now he seemed to be the most terriblefighting character he had ever met. He saw his volunteers, as he calledthem, chase the ruffians till they disappeared in the distance and thedarkness. The mounted men had ceased firing, for there was no enemynear, and they were fearful of hitting those who were fighting on theirown side.
"We have made a clean sweep here," said the commander, as ColonelCosgrove and Major Gadbury joined him in the road; for they had been inthe fields south of the road, engaged in a flank movement.
"It has been an easy victory," replied the gentleman from the countytown. "But they were nothing but a mob; and your boys seem to belunatics. They are likely to kill the whole of them before they getthrough."
"They will not kill one of them unless it is by accident, for I heardUncle Dave order them as they took to the fields not to do so; and Inotice that when a man drops on the ground they let him alone," addedthe Lyndhall planter.
"We have nothing more to do here, unless we go down the road and pick upthe wounded, for I see half a dozen of them in front of us, though theyare all sitting up and looking about them, so that none of them havebeen killed," said Major Gadbury.
"Our occupation here appears to be gone," continued Colonel Belthorpe,as he looked over the fields from which the combatants had disappeared,with the exception of those who were unable to run away. "Major Lyonover on the old road may not have been as fortunate as we have been, andwe must go over and re-enforce him. General!"
"Here, sar!" replied that worthy.
"We are going over to the old road to help out Major Lyon. You willleave two of your men here, one mounted, and the other on foot, to watchthe enemy; the others will go with me," added the planter.
"Yes, sar," answered General, as he detailed the two scouts. "I reckonwe done finished 'em ober here, Mars'r Cunnel."
"No doubt of it, General; and I hope Major Lyon has done as well over onthe old road."
The commander started off at a gallop, and the mounted men closelyfollowed him. They passed through the deserted courtyard of the mansion,where the planter was accosted by his two daughters, who had beenobserving the movements of the combatants from the elevated veranda ofthe house.
"Where are you going now, papa?" asked Miss Kate.
"We have driven off the ruffians from this side, and we are going overto assist Major Lyon," replied the colonel. "Sam, you will remain here,and look out for the house," he added to the man with the white jacket,to whom this duty had been before assigned, and then rode on towards theold road.
"Don't shoot, Colonel Belthorpe!" called a voice from behind the stable,as the horsemen advanced, and a man came out into the roadway.
It was Tilford, the overseer, who had retreated from the mansion, andjoined the ruffians, whom he called his friends. At the first dischargeof the mounted men which followed the revolver practice of thecommander, he had been hit in the thigh with a bullet; and at thegeneral stampede of the enemy he had made his way into the field.Realizing that there was no safety for him among "his friends," he hadlimped all the way back to the mansion.
His wound was not a bad one, though it was painful, and partiallydisabled him. As he had detached himself from the ruffians there was noone to dispute his passage, and he had reached the stable, behind whichhe had concealed himself when he heard the approach of the horsemen.But, dark as it was, the colonel perceived and recognized him.
"What are you doing here, Tilford?" demanded the commander.
"I am wounded and in great pain," replied the overseer in weak andsubmissive tones.
"Then why don't you join your friends?" asked the colonel.
"I made a mistake to-night, and I did not know who my friends were,"pleaded the wounded man.
"Sam!" shouted the planter to the house servant, who had followed theparty nearly to the stable; and the boy immediately presented himselfbefore his master. "
Take the overseer to his room, and do what you canfor him."
"Thank you, Colonel!" exclaimed Tilford; and his wound seemed to havemade another man of him.
Sam took the sufferer by the arm, wondering at the magnanimity of hismaster, who had ordered all the people to shoot him if he was seen againon the premises, and conducted him towards the mansion, where he had achamber back of the dining-room. As he led him up the steps, Margie andKate came to him; and they proved to be as forgiving as their father,for they did everything they could to make him comfortable. One of theold "aunties," skilled in nursing, was sent to him, and his wound wasdressed.
The mounted men, led by the commander, galloped over to the old road,which was deserted at the place where they came out. On a slightelevation in the highway a great fire was blazing brilliantly, and nearit was an assemblage of people, the nature of which the commander couldnot make out.
"I don't understand that gathering," said he, as Major Gadbury rode upto his side.
"It looks as though the enemy were using the flag of truce ruse overhere," replied the major.
"I don't believe Major Lyon would fool with them. They are marauders anddisturbers of the peace, and I think he is as disposed to deal summarilywith them as I am," added the commander. "But we will ride up to theplace, and we shall soon know what is going on."
"Who are these men coming into the road just ahead of us?" asked MajorGadbury, pointing to three men who were making their way through thefield to the road. "The fire on the hill don't give quite light enough toenable me to make them out; but I suppose they are ruffians who havemade their way from the new road."
"I don't know what they are, but we will go and see;" and they rodeforward about a dozen rods to the point where the men were emerging fromthe field. "Who goes there?" demanded Colonel Belthorpe.
"Is that you, Mars'r Cunnel?" asked one of them.
"Uncle Dave!" exclaimed the planter.
"That's the parson," added Colonel Cosgrove.
"What are you doing over here, Uncle?" asked the commander.
"We done have nothin' more to do over yonder," replied the preacher."The boys are all movin' over this way."
"But where are the ruffians that retreated from the new road?"
"The boys fell upon 'em and drove 'em over to the west, sar," the parsonexplained. "We don't kill any of 'em; but we bang 'em so they hold stillon the ground. We think they was comin' over here to help the ruffianson this side, and we come over to 'tend to 'em."
"All right, venerable Uncle," laughed the colonel. "But can you tell mewhat is going on upon the hill yonder?"
"I don't know, Mars'r Cunnel. I don't see 'em till now."
Uncle Dave had a pitchfork in his hand, and it was plain enough just nowthat he was of the church militant, for he was in fighting condition. Itwas said that he could read and write; but from motives of policy henever allowed a white man to see him do either. He was a sensible oldman in spite of his condition, and was employed about the stable andcarriage-house, and was favored by his master and all the family. He hadlearned to speak without using the negro dialect, though his sentenceswere not rhetorical models, and from the force of habit he retained someof the old forms to avoid the imputation of "putting on airs."
"There seems to be no fighting going on up there," said the commanderafter he had studied the situation some time, though he could notunderstand it. "If the ruffians are moving over here, as Uncle Davesays, we shall be needed in that quarter."
"I don't think so, Mars'r Cunnel, for we maul the ruffians so that theywon't want to fight no more for two weeks and a half," added thepreacher, who heard the remark.
"You may stay here, and if your flock come to this road, send them up tothe hill where we are going," ordered the commander, as he dashed off,followed by the other horsemen.
The gathering on the hill was not a parley under a flag of truce, asColonel Belthorpe feared it might be; but to explain its nature it willbe necessary to go back to the time when Major Lyon, followed by hiscommand, had marched over to the old road.
