A LONG WAIT FOR THE ENEMY
The only feeling Major Lyon had in regard to his unfortunate brother was
that of sorrow. If he had been disposed to do so, he could not leave his
soldiers to converse with him, as Titus evidently desired; for he was
hurrying the first company forward in order to unite his forces and
secure a favorable position before the enemy in his rear could overtake
him. Doubtless Titus desired to make a request of some kind; perhaps to
be set at liberty, perhaps only to demand a ration of whiskey.
The captain was so imprudent that he was as likely as otherwise to
reproach him, call him a thief, or something of that kind, as he had
done before, in the presence of his command. He had been captured in the
act of committing a dastardly outrage, as well as being in the military
service of the enemy. He was willing to extend to him every reasonable
privilege; but he was a prisoner of war, to take the mildest view of his
condition, and the major was not a man who could be conveniently blind
to an obvious duty.
The first company proceeded on its rapid march, and in a short time
reached the cross-roads, where it was halted, with the head of the
column near the camp at the railroad bridge. Captain Truman hastened to
the major as soon as he halted, and the commander extended his hand to
him.
"I commend you, Captain Truman, for the good work you have accomplished;
and I thank you for the skill, courage, and devotion with which you have
done your duty. But the enemy are in motion in this direction on the
south road, and we have no time for anything but preparation for the
immediate future. It is possible that a detachment of the enemy may
approach by the east road."
"I have a picket stationed a mile up that road, and we shall have early
notice of any force coming from that direction, Major Lyon," replied the
captain of the second company, which had just been sent back by the
order of which Artie had been the bearer.
"Very well. You have fought a severe fight, Captain; in what condition
are your men?" inquired the commander.
"They are in excellent condition; for they have found that they are
fully the equals of the Texans on fighting ground, and they are ready
and anxious to meet the enemy again. We have buried our dead, and our
wounded are doing well."
Major Lyon had carefully studied the face of the country for several
miles in the vicinity of the planter's mansion, from his elevated
position on the building, and had observed it for the present situation
as he rode down from the plantation. He had confidently expected an
attack while he was near the house of Mr. Barkland. He had arranged his
plan to receive the assault; and Lieutenant Belthorpe, with one-third of
the company, had been sent around through the grove to a position behind
a knoll, which would effectually conceal him from the enemy till the
time came for him to assail the Texans in the flank and rear.
Captain Gordon had heartily approved this plan, and they had force
enough to carry it out successfully. Major Lyon regretted very much that
the issue had not come in the manner he had anticipated. The plan
of the captain of the Rangers had evidently failed because he had not
heard from the detachment sent by the hill road, as the natives called
it. He must have had some means of knowing where this flanking party
were, or he would have moved sooner. Probably a swift rider was to have
been sent back when the force reached the cross-roads; but they had not
got so far as that. His first news must have been the defeat of this
portion of his command.
"Captain Truman, have you noticed a considerable knoll on the left of
the south road, just above the cross-roads?" asked the major.
"I have; and I thought of posting my reserve under Lieutenant Gadbury
there; but I found it was too far off for the time at my command,"
replied the captain.
"Can it be reached without going by the south road?"
"Very easily; by riding through this field, where we were posted this
morning, crossing the east road, and then through a valley, which will
conceal the force till they reach the shelter of the knoll."
"How many men can you muster in your company?"
"About eighty, if you are to remain in this vicinity; for ten or fifteen
will be a sufficient guard for the prisoners."
"Then you will march your available force to the point indicated. I see
that you have hoisted the American flag on the railroad bridge," added
the major.
"It is the camp flag, and I wanted it in the most sightly place I could
find," replied the captain.
"It will answer a double purpose, then. Could you see it from behind the
knoll?"
"Perfectly; we did not get the flag-pole elevated till half an hour
ago."
"I shall send Deck to lower that flag, and remain by the staff till I
give him the signal to hoist it again. Then you will march to the south
road with all speed, and attack the enemy in the rear or on the flank."
"I understand you perfectly, Major Lyon, and your order shall be carried
out to the letter," replied Captain Truman, as he saluted, and hurried
to his company, which had been formed in the field by the side of the
road.
"Dexter!" called the commander, when he had found his son in the ranks.
Both of the boys had been used as messengers during the morning, and
this service had led them into the most dangerous positions; and both of
them had fought like heroes as volunteers while their company was at the
plantation.
Deck came out of his place in the ranks, saluted his father, and
expected to be called upon for more messenger service, hoping it would
lead him into the thickest of the action, as it had before.
"Do you see that flag on the railroad bridge, Dexter?" asked his father,
pointing at the ensign.
"I do; and I take off my cap to it," replied Deck, suiting the action to
the word.
"You will go to it and haul it down, my son."
"Haul down the American flag!" exclaimed Deck.
"As long as it is not for a surrender or the abandonment of the camp,
you need have no scruples about it," replied the major, with a smile at
the boy's objection. "You will obey the order, and you will remain at
the staff. When you see me wave my handkerchief three times in the air,
you may set your conscience at ease by hoisting the flag again."
The commander made the signal over his plumed hat, so that the
messenger would be able to recognize it when it was given in the fight,
if there should be one, of which he was not altogether sure after the
disappointment of the morning.
"I shall see that signal from the bridge if it is made three miles off."
"Keep your eyes wide open after the engagement begins; for it is a
signal, really an order from me, of the utmost importance, and the
result of the action may depend upon it," added the major very
impressively. "I have called upon you for this service because I know I
can depend upon you, Dexter."
"Of course I shall do my duty and obey my orders to the best of my
ability," replied Deck; but judging from the expression on his face he
was not pleased with the mission assigned to him.
"You can go to the bridge at once; but you will not haul the flag down
till I make the signal agreed upon to you," added Major Lyon.
"But, father, do you expect to fight this battle without me?" asked
Deck, with a very cheerful smile on his face; and he would not have said
as much as that to any other person, even as a joke.
"You have made yourself the hero of the day, and perhaps you ought to
have a little rest," replied his father, quite as cheerfully as the son,
for he took the question as it was intended.
"I don't exactly like the idea of squatting on that bridge, and looking
on while there is any fighting going on," continued the young soldier.
"But the position to which I have assigned you is one of the most
important on the field. I can trust you to be watchful, while another,
interested in the action, might neglect his duty."
"I have nothing more to say, father," replied Deck, as he rode off in
the direction of the bridge.
Major Lyon had made his dispositions and issued his orders before he
spoke to his son. Captain Truman was galloping over the field towards
the east road, with sixty men, which was the number finally designated
for the service at the knoll. Captain Gordon had posted his men along
the roads and the adjoining fields. The baggage-wagons and the prisoners
had arrived from the plantations, and Captain Titus had an opportunity
to rejoin his company; but the glory of his military life seemed to have
passed away. He was treated the same as the rest of the prisoners, and
no one took any notice of him. He was not in good odor even in his own
company; for his men declared that he had deserted them the night
before.
The enemy had not yet appeared; and even the pickets that had been
posted a mile down the south road had not been driven in, which would be
the first indication that hostilities were at hand. Those from the
second company who were scouting the east road had not been heard from;
and they had been ordered to proceed as far as a certain hill, where
Artie had first seen the detachment sent that way.
Noon came, and the soldiers ate their dinner from their haversacks, and
the horses took their oats from the grass. It was a very quiet time, and
the Riverlawn battalion would have been glad to receive an order to
march upon the enemy wherever they could be found. They were impatient
for something to do, especially the first company, which had not yet
seen any fighting.
Major Lyon improved his time as he took his lunch with Captain Truman,
in listening to a fuller report of the action on the east road. The
commander asked particularly in regard to the lieutenant who had fallen
under the onslaught of Deck Lyon. He had been wounded in the chest by a
ball, and he had gone down from a cut of the young soldier's sabre. He
had been stunned by the blow, and left on the field. But he had been
conveyed to the camp in the wagon with other wounded men, and the
surgeon had dressed his wounds. He believed he would recover.
"I should like to see that man," said the major.
"I saw him walking about the shanty hospital not long ago. I spoke with
him, and he is a very gentlemanly fellow. You can send for him if you
wish, Major. But it is time for me to join my company, as I sent the men
in charge of Lieutenant Gadbury; for I had to give some orders in regard
to the prisoners."
"I will not send for him; but I will ride down to the hospital, which is
only a few rods from the cross-roads. Captain Gordon, I wish to have
some one near me to carry my orders, if need be," said the commander, as
Captain Truman rode off.
"Your orderly?" asked the captain.
"I prefer Artie Lyon; I have already sent Dexter on duty upon the
bridge. I am going down to the hospital; send me notice at once if any
movement is apparent."
Artie was sent to him at once; but Deck had told him where he was going,
and he hoped he would not be sent to join him. He followed his father to
the hospital, where Dr. Farnwright received him. He asked for the Texan
lieutenant; and the surgeon pointed him out, seated on a log at the side
of the road.
"This is Major Lyon, commanding the squadron," said the doctor,
introducing him.
The officer rose from his seat, and saluted the major very politely.
"This gentleman is Lieutenant Makepeace, of the Texan Rangers," added
the surgeon.
"That does not sound like a Southern name," replied Major Lyon, and he
took the hand of the wounded officer.
"I am a Northern man; but my home has been in Texas for seven years,
though I came from a New England State."
"I regret to see you on the wrong side in this war, though I am sorry
that you have been wounded."
"I don't know exactly how I came in this service; but I was very near
being elected to the captaincy of this company, though I am not a
Texan."
"Who is the commander of the company?"
"Captain Dingfield."
"There comes the picket down the hill!" exclaimed Artie, who had
discovered half-a-dozen men running their horses down the descent.
"Then I must leave you; but I shall see you again," added the major, as
he dashed up the road at full speed.