THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES
The representatives of the ruffians had halted about fifty feet from the
line of the defenders of Riverlawn, and they could be distinctly seen.
It was Buck Lagger who flaunted the flag of truce, and by his side stood
Titus Lyon. The other two were simply torch-bearers. There the party
stood, and there they seemed to be inclined to stand for an indefinite
period of time. They could see the line of the defenders extended across
the bridge, and the torches lent enough of their light to the scene to
enable Captain Titus to discover that the men were all provided with
muskets, though they probably could not make out the character of the
weapons.
"This is all nonsense!" exclaimed Colonel Belthorpe, apparently
disgusted with this peaceable display on the part of the enemy.
"Captain Titus wishes only to repeat the demand for the return of the
arms," added Colonel Cosgrove. "But we can't spare them just yet."
"That is their ostensible purpose, but the real one is to see whether or
not we are in condition to receive them," suggested Major Lyon.
"But I am not inclined to wait all night merely to be looked at,"
continued the commander of the forces impatiently.
"I think you had better speak to them, for they can hear you well enough
at this distance," said Major Lyon.
"I am more inclined to march over the bridge and drive them away than to
parley all night with them about nothing," replied Colonel Belthorpe.
"In military matters I believe in vigorous action."
"According to the customs of civilized warfare we should respect a flag
of truce, though we believe it is only an expedient to gain time," added
Colonel Cosgrove.
"What do you want?" demanded the commander, adopting the suggestion of
the planter of Riverlawn.
"We want to settle this business, and I want to see Major Lyon," replied
Captain Titus.
"Come to the middle of the bridge, and he will meet you," shouted the
officer in command.
Titus advanced with his three supporters, marching very slowly.
"I suppose I must see him," said Major Lyon, who would evidently have
been glad to be spared the interview.
"Three of us will go with you, and make an even thing of it," added
Colonel Belthorpe, as Noah Lyon stopped forward to discharge his
disagreeable duty.
The commander placed Colonel Cosgrove on one side of him and Squire
Truman on the other, taking position in front of them himself. He saw
the planter of the estate did not like to meet his brother.
"Major Lyon, I think you had better let me do the talking, for the
situation must be very annoying to you," suggested the leader.
"I shall be very glad to have you do so, Colonel," answered the planter.
"I am extremely sorry that my own brother is the leader of the ruffians,
and I did not expect to see him engaged in such a work. He warned me
yesterday that my place might be burned, and that I might be hung to one
of the big trees, though he had prevented such an outrage so far."
"I suppose the loss of the military stores has roused him to the highest
pitch of wrath, which he manifested in his visit to the meeting. But if
he can proceed so far as to bring a horde of ruffians to burn your house
and hang you to a tree, you can't do less than defend yourself, even if
he is your own brother," said the lawyer.
"I do not shrink from my duty," added Noah Lyon.
"March!" exclaimed the leader, as he advanced to the middle of the
bridge, where the party from the other side had halted by this time.
Captain Titus was evidently surprised to find his brother supported by
two of the most distinguished men of the county, to say nothing of the
eloquent village lawyer. He could not help seeing that there was law
enough on the other side, and that they knew what they were doing.
"What is your business here?" demanded Colonel Belthorpe in a very stern
tone.
"I stated my position in the meet'n' you held to-night, and you heard
what I had to say," Captain Titus began.
"We all heard you; and it is not necessary to repeat it," replied the
commander. "What is your business here at this time of night?"
"We came here for the arms and ammunition that was stole from us last
night. They were my property till they were given out to the company,"
Captain Titus explained.
"What company? Do you mean the ruffians you have led over here? They are
a horde of lawless men. You have no authority to raise a company, and it
does not appear in what service they are to be employed. They have made
war upon the peaceable people of this county, as they did this evening
at the schoolhouse."
"We hain't made war on nobody!" protested Titus, warming up to the
occasion.
"You sent some of your force into the schoolroom to break up a Union
meeting; and that was making war upon the people there assembled. The
man at your side with the white flag was one that I assisted in putting
out. We knew the arms were for the use of these ruffians in terrorizing
the whole country," said Colonel Belthorpe in the most emphatic speech;
and he used the "we" to shift the responsibility from the shoulders of
Major Lyon to those of himself and associates. "Captain Titus Lyon, you
and your gang have been bullying and persecuting the Union citizens of
this vicinity long enough; and from this time they intend to defend
themselves in earnest. You have made war on them, and the arms and
ammunition were simply the spoils of war."
"I come over here to talk with my brother, and not with you," Titus
objected, upset by the logic and by the announcement of the intentions
of the Unionists.
"Colonel Belthorpe represents me, as he does all the rest of us,"
interposed Major Lyon. "You threatened me yesterday to your heart's
content, Brother Titus, to burn my house and hang me to a big tree; and
I don't care to hear anything more of it."
"I have said all it is necessary to say," resumed the commander; "and we
decline to hear anything more from you. We shall defend Major Lyon and
his plantation from all enemies who may appear. The conference is
ended."
"Defend him with niggers!" shouted Buck Lagger. "Are we white men to
stand up and fight niggers in this war, as you call it? It is an
outrage, and we won't stand it! We will hang every nigger we catch with
arms in his possession!"
"Then a white ruffian will hang to the next tree! It will take two to
play at that game," responded the commander vigorously. "When about a
hundred ruffians, composed mostly of white trash, come over here to burn
Major Lyon's mansion and hang him to a big tree, he is quite justified
in calling in his servants to defend his property and himself."
The colonel had his doubts about the propriety of arming the negroes,
and he wished to be understood even by the enemy; and he certainly made
a plain case of it.
"We have had enough of your gabble!" continued the leader. "We decline
any further communication with you under a flag of truce or otherwise.
If you and your ruffians don't retire from this vicinity within five
minutes, we shall open fire upon you! About face, march!"
The three men behind the colonel turned about, and deliberately marched
back to the end of the bridge nearest to the mansion. The party of the
flag hesitated a few moments, and then returned to the main body of the
ruffians. At the end of the bridge the Riverlawn planter found his wife
and the two girls. From the windows of the mansion they had seen the
blazing torches of the ruffians, and the party who had marched from the
fort to oppose them.
They found Deck and Artie in the ranks drawn up on the bridge; and they
had explained the situation, including a brief account of the tumult at
the meeting. Mrs. Lyon and her daughters were much alarmed for the
safety of the male members of the family; but Levi succeeded in quieting
them, so that they were quite calm when the major returned.
"We have been terribly frightened, Noah," said Mrs. Lyon. "When you and
the boys did not come home from the meeting, I was afraid something had
happened to you."
The two colonels and the village lawyer saluted the ladies, and assured
them that there was no danger, and that they were amply able to defend
the place from the assault of a thousand men.
"Now go home, Ruth, and go to bed," added Noah. "We will join you as
soon as we have driven off these ruffians, and it won't take long to do
it."
She accepted this advice, though she still appeared to have her doubts,
and went back to the mansion. What she had seen looked like war to her;
and though she had freely consented that her husband and the two boys
should join the army of the Union, she and the girls had some of a
woman's timidity in the face of the awful calamities of actual war.
"What are they about now?" asked Colonel Belthorpe, as his friends took
their places in the ranks.
"They have sent a dozen men or more down the bank of the creek, and they
are out of sight now," replied Levi.
"They are looking for a chance to get across the stream," added the
commander. "They had better stay where they are if they don't intend to
go home. Is there any boat on that side of the river?"
"No boat of any kind; but there is a lot of logs on the shore, about
half-way to the river, and they might build a raft of them. I did not
think of those logs before, or I should have rolled them into the
creek," replied the overseer.
"It will be the worse for them if they attempt to cross. Some one said
you had served in an artillery company in Tennessee, Mr. Bedford; is
that so?" inquired the commander.
"That is so, Colonel; and I know how to handle a twelve-pounder,"
replied Levi.
"How many men will it take to manage one of the guns in the fort?"
"If you will give me the two boys, I can send a shot across the creek
every five minutes, and in less time when we get a little used to the
piece."
"Then take the boys, if Major Lyon does not object, and go to the fort."
"Of course I don't object, Colonel," added the father.
"We don't want to kill any of the ruffians if we can help it; but I am
decidedly in favor of driving them away. I saw plenty of broken lumber
about the fort; and I think you had better kindle a big fire on the
shore of the creek, so that you can see over on the other side. If they
attempt to build a raft, give them a shot; but not otherwise," said
Colonel Belthorpe, still straining his eyes to ascertain in the darkness
what the squad were doing on the bank of the creek.
"Shall you remain here, Colonel?" asked Levi.
"Not at all; we shall march over the bridge. This is a neighborhood war,
and I believe in carrying it on upon peace principles as far as
possible, and the first shot must come from the other side," replied the
planter from outside.
Levi departed for Fort Bedford, attended by Deck and Artie. The
commander then arranged his men in ranks by fours, and taught them how
to come in line again, using some technical terms which the negroes did
not understand; but he succeeded in getting them to perform the
manoeuvre quite clumsily. They marched over the bridge by fours. The
enemy still occupied the position where they had first halted, and the
colonel continued the march till the force was within hail of the enemy.
Some of the ruffians had muskets; and whether in obedience to the orders
of their leaders or not, three random shots were fired. This was enough
to satisfy the conscience of Colonel Belthorpe, and he gave the command
to halt, and the men came into line again across the road.
"Ready!" he shouted; and the men all brought themselves into position as
they had before been instructed. "Aim!"
These orders and the movements of the men appeared to produce a decided
sensation in the rabble in front of them; for they were simply a crowd,
not formed in any order. Some of them took to their heels, and were seen
running down the road at a breakneck speed.
"Fire!" added the commander.
A terrible yell came back as the men fired their rifles. That volley was
enough for them, and they bolted before the smoke of the powder had
blown aside. Two men were seen lying on the ground, killed or wounded,
and the ruffians were too much shaken to give them any attention.
Half-way to the river they halted again, as did the pursuing force. The
enemy scattered at this point; but in a few moments the whizzing of
bullets was heard over their heads by the defenders of the plantation.