|The boys pushed on as fast as they could, but it was not possible to
make so good time with so many horses to lead as though they had been
unencumbered. But they had a good start at any rate, and besides,
they had brought away the horses of their would-be captors, and thus
diminished the chances of pursuit.
“Those fellows from the woods have n't any horses to follow us with,
that's certain,” said Harry; “but there's no telling how many our late
host may have in his barn, or close by in the brush.”
“That's so,” answered Jack; “but I don't believe he has many. There was
only one in the barn when we put up our horses, and we've got him along
with us. But quite likely he has some out in the brush, and they may
scare up two or three saddles and come after us. What shall we do if
they turn up?”
“Let their horses go, and cut for Forsyth as fast as we can,” said
Harry; “that's the only thing I can suggest, or at any rate the safest
thing. They 'll stop to get their horses, and we 'll easily outrun
them.”
Jack agreed to the suggestion, and it was resolved to put it into
practice in case of necessity. As time went on it was evident that Mr.
Jones did n't have any extra horses handy, as there were no indications
of pursuit, and as daylight approached the boys began to feel safe.
Every hour brought them nearer the camp of the army, and they knew that
once within the lines they could tell their story in perfect security.
Suddenly they heard the sound of horses' feet behind them, and as
they looked back they saw three or four men riding rapidly in their
direction. The glance showed that the men were in the costume of the
country, and quite likely they were the pursuers whom the boys dreaded.
“We're in for it now,” exclaimed Harry. “Let go your horses and I 'll
let go mine.”
“Not much,” answered Jack; “just look ahead.”
Harry looked and saw approaching from the other direction a squad of ten
or twelve cavalry in the Union blue.
Harry wanted to shout, “Hurrah!” but just then he was too much occupied
to do it. He took in the situation in an instant; they were about
equally distant from their pursuers and the cavalry, and the advantage
in their favor was that they could get to the shelter of their friends
before they could possibly be overtaken by the bushwhackers. The latter
also saw the predicament they were in and immediately checked their
speed. The sergeant of the cavalry saw that there was something wrong,
and he and his men came forward at a gallop.
“Go for those fellows and I 'll explain afterwards,” said Harry, as the
sergeant drew rein near him. The sergeant recognized the youths and did
not wait for further words. Away went the cavalry in chase, and in a
little while returned with two captured horses and one man, the rest
having got away.
The cavalry squad accompanied the boys to the picket line, which was
only half a mile further along the road. The picket-guard was just then
being relieved, and the prisoner was turned over to it and sent to camp
along with the captured horses. The squad then proceeded on the foraging
expedition for which it had started when it so opportunely met our
young friends and saved them from trouble. The boys went triumphantly
to General Vandever with their prizes, and told the story of their
adventure to a group of interested listeners. They were the heroes of
the day, and received a liberal amount of praise for the shrewd manner
in which they not only got out of their predicament, but turned it to
their advantage. Of course they carefully concealed the part which
the girl played in warning them, but pretended that they overheard the
conversation between Mr. Jones and his wife after they had retired and
were supposed to be in bed.
The prisoner stoutly denied any complicity in the attempted capture of
the youths, and professed the most thorough ignorance of them or any
desire to pursue and retake the runaways. He explained that he and his
friends had come from Douglas county in search of some stray cattle,
and were just on the point of turning back when they saw the boys and a
moment afterward the cavalry.
There was nothing to disprove his story, and no evidence against him
except the circumstantial evidence that he and his friends were riding
very rapidly toward the youths before they saw the cavalry, and tried
hard to get away immediately afterwards. If their mission was an
innocent one, there was no reason for their fast riding; and furthermore
they had no need to be as alarmed as they were on seeing the soldiers.
But of course this was only circumstantial, and he might have
been released but for a suggestion from Harry, on which action was
immediately taken.
The five horses which Harry and Jack had secured at the time of their
hasty flight from Mr. Jones's house were turned loose in the yard; they
had not been fed since their night-journey, and might fairly be supposed
to be hungry.
Soon after they had thus been put by themselves the officer who had
charge of the prisoner suggested that they would go and see what the
general had to say on the subject of liberating the captive. As if by
accident they crossed the yard where the horses where inclosed, the
prisoner not suspecting the trick and being too intent on his release
to observe the presence of the captured animals, especially as they were
mingled with some ten or twelve others.
As they entered the yard one of the horses came familiarly up to the
prisoner, rubbed his nose against the man's shoulder, and in other
ways gave most positive testimony that he had found his master. The
identification of the man by the horse was complete. As the officer and
his charge walked around the yard and then out of it, the horse followed
like a dog; and though the man protested that he had never before set
eyes on the animal, the evidence was altogether too strong against him
to be doubted.
“That's enough,” said the officer, when the horse had followed the man
for five or six minutes. “We'll hold on to you for a while and see what
'll turn up. Guess we 'll send you to St. Louis and have you tried for
bushwhacking.”
At this the fellow broke down and confessed to his connection with
the plan for abducting the boys. Then he was plied with questions, and
before his inquisitors were through with him they had elicited a good
deal of valuable information. On the strength of this information an
expedition was immediately sent out, which succeeded in capturing a
small camp and securing a goodly supply of provisions that had been
accumulated for the purpose of sending to Price's army as soon as the
way was open. Altogether the performance of Harry and Jack on that
memorable night “panned out” very well, to use the expression of a
gold-miner belonging to one of the companies of the Ninth Iowa.
A few days after the occurrences above narrated the army moved to
Batesville, Arkansas, farther down the White river, and at a point where
General Curtis expected to be met by gun-boats convoying steamers with
supplies and ammunition for his army. No enemy opposed them, and there
were no incidents of consequence on the march. There was a small force
of rebel cavalry in the town, but it fled before the advance of the army
after firing a few shots, which did no harm to any one.
Harry and Jack now believed that the long-talked-of advance on Little
Rock had begun. Batesville is about one hundred miles from that city,
and if unopposed in its march, the army could easily reach it in a week
or ten days. The rumor went through the army that Little Rock was the
objective point of the campaign, and bets were freely offered that the
stars and stripes would float over the capital of Arkansas long before
the fourth of July.
But there were serious difficulties in the way of the advance in the
desired direction. In the first place, the river was unusually low
for that season of the year, as it had only four feet of water in the
channel, while the gun-boats and most of the transports needed not less
than five or six feet. One of the gun-boats that tried to ascend the
river was blown up by a rebel battery at St. Charles, and the transports
could not move without the aid of their armed brothers. The wagon road
to Rolla was a long one and open to interruptions by raiding bands
of rebels. One entire train was captured and destroyed by them within
thirty miles of Rolla, and other trains were more or less interfered
with. The army was short of food and ammunition, and in such a condition
it could not take the offensive.
To add to General Curtis's perplexities a part of his army (ten
regiments) were ordered to join the forces of General Halleck, then
besieging Corinth, Mississippi, and to move with all possible haste.
They were ordered in the direction of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, two
hundred and forty miles away. They performed the march in ten days, an
average of twenty-four miles a day, which may be considered one of the
best instances of marching during the war. Many of the men wore out
their shoes on the journey, and were barefooted for the last fifty or
sixty miles. The withdrawal of this force, added to the scarcity of
provisions and ammunition, made the army too weak to venture upon Little
Rock, and General Curtis began to turn his eyes in the direction of the
Mississippi river.
The army remained seven weeks at Batesville, and during that period it
sent out many foraging expeditions, in the hope of collecting provisions
enough to subsist it without drawing upon its scanty supply of rations
which it had received from Rolla. But in spite of all efforts the supply
could not be maintained, and many a time the soldiers had to live two
days upon food that would have been no more than enough for one. The
gun-boats and the transports did not come, and instead of rising the
river continued to fall.
Harry and Jack accompanied many of the foraging expeditions, and, on
several occasions, they were of much practical service. Harry was able
to find concealed stores of pork and bacon where others declared
there was nothing, and one day Jack brought from under a heap of straw
sufficient bacon to feed a whole regiment for nearly a week. Harry had
a keen eye for chickens, and whenever he went on a tour it was a
noticeable circumstance that General Vandever usually had chicken that
day for supper. Jack was as sharp after pigs as Harry was for chickens,
and many were the young porkers that fell into his hands.
One day they ran into a scouting party of rebels, and the foraging party
had a sharp skirmish with their adversaries over the possession of a
haystack. The rebels were discomfited and the unionists secured the
coveted prize, but not until three of their number had been wounded, one
of them severely. The rebels suffered to the extent of having two men
killed, two or three wounded and four captured. The prisoners were taken
back to camp under guard of two soldiers, assisted by our young friends,
who kept a sharp watch to prevent the escape of the captives. During
the march Harry fell into conversation with one of them, and very soon
learned something that caused him to open his eyes with astonishment.
[Illustration: 293]