The supper ended, the problem of the money in the gun again loomed up. Everyone had an opinion as to how to extricate the valuable charge. The women, of course, suggested hair-pins, but these were tried without success. A gimlet taken from its handle and secured to the ramrod, refused to take hold.
Somebody suggested shooting the gun across a pond of water, and getting the money that way, but it was decided that the force of the Springfield seemed too great for any body of water in the neighborhood. Then Jabe Clemmons, the "speculative" genius of the neighborhood, spoke up: "Gentlemen, I"ve an idee. Deacon, how much is in that small haystack of your"n?"
""Bout 10 tons," answered the Deacon.
"Jest about. Well, I"ll pay you the regular market price for it, and give $100 to Miss Trelawney. Now, let this gentleman stand 50 feet from it and shoot his gun at it. He mustn"t tell none of us where he aims at. I"ll sell you, gentlemen, that hay in 40 quarter-ton lots, commencing at the top, each man to pay $2 besides the regular price for a quarter ton o" hay, an" we"ll draw numbers as to our turns in takin" the fodder."
"Looks somethin" like gamblin"," demurred the Deacon.
"No more"n church lotteries," answered Jabe, "since it"s for a good purpose. Now, gentlemen, who wants to buy a quarter ton of Deacon Klegg"s first-cla.s.s hay?"
At once he had replies enough to take the whole stack, but while he was writing down the names Deacon Klegg had another idea.
"I can"t quite git my mind reconciled to gamblin", even for a good purpose," he said. "And I ain"t sure about how the two 50"s "ll strike the haystack. It"d be a sin if they were destroyed, as they are likely to be. I"ve another idee. My well there is 25 foot deep. Let"s take the bucket out, and let Shorty shoot his gun straight down into the well. I believe the money"ll come out all right. If it don"t I"ll make it up myself, rather than be a party to a gamble."
"May blow the bottom o" your old well out," muttered Jabe Clemmons, who dearly loved anything in the shape of a game of hazard.
"I"ll resk that," said the Deacon. "I kin dig an other well, if necessary."
The Deacon"s proposal was carried. Shorty, holding the b.u.t.t of his gun carefully upright, fired down into the well. A boy was lowered in the bucket, and soon announced by a joyful cry that he had gotten the bills. Upon being brought up and examined they were found to be uninjured, ex cept by a slight singeing at the edges.
"Providence"s agin managin" things," murmured Shorty gratefully; "but the Deacon"s gumption helped out."
All the money for those not present to receive it in person was turned over to the Deacon, and then for the first time the boys felt relieved of a great responsibility.
"There are two trains goin" east," said the Deacon, in response to their inquiries as to the facilities for returning. "The through express pa.s.ses here at 3:15, and it"ll git you to Jeffersonville early in the morning. The accommodation pa.s.ses about day break, and it"ll git you there in the evenin", if it makes connections, which it often doesn"t."
"We must go on the through express," said Si firmly. There was a loud outcry by the mother and sisters, but the father recognized the demands of military discipline.
Si began to fidget to get away from the crowd of eager inquirers, which Mandy noticing, she found opportunity to whisper: "Don"t fret. She"ll be here presently."
Si"s face burned. He had thought his secret well-kept, but here his sisters read his thoughts like an open book. He had wanted to go to Annabel, and have a few golden minutes alone with her. Just what for just what he would say or do he did not in the least know he could not imagine. Only he felt that in some way the main interest of his life depended on seeing her somewhere remote from curious eyes and listening ears. He wanted to go to her, not to have her come to him, and meet him in such a throng as was gathered at his home.
While these thoughts were coursing through his mind he heard Maria call: "Si, come here into my room. I want to show you the purtiest thing you ever saw."
While Mandy was a most correct young woman, she could not withstand giving a significant wink to those around, to which they responded with knowing smiles. These, fortunately, Si did not see. He arose at once, the people made way, and he was led by Maria to her room. She opened the door and said: "There, now, kiss me for a loving sister."
It was a fervent kiss that Si rewarded her with, for, there, rising from her chair as the door opened, dressed in her best, and her face wreathed with smiles and blushes, stood Annabel.
"Since you are so mean about goin" away so soon, you can only have 10 minutes together; make the most of it," laughed Maria, and she scudded back to the sitting-room.
Si stood for an instant dazed. How beautiful she was far more so than his recollections had painted her. She had blossomed out from the school-girl into the mature woman, and every feature ripened. Fair as his home seemed in contrast with the country he had left, she seemed still fairer in contrast with any woman he had ever seen. Where were the thousand things that, brooding by the campfire and lying in his tent, he thought over to say to her when they met? All forgotten or dismissed as inappropriate. He simply stood and gazed at her. She re covered herself first, and said teasingly: "Well, how do you do? Ain"t you going to speak? Ain"t you glad to see me?"
Si could only step forward and take her hand, and murmur: [Ill.u.s.tration: "ANNABEL, HOW PURTY YOU LOOK." 173]
"Annabel, how purty you look. How you"ve growed, and all purtier. I"m awfully glad to see you. That"s what I most wanted to come home for."
Then his face burned with new blushes to think how much he had said. They sat down, he still holding her hand, with his eyes fixed upon her face. Somehow, in the mysterious telegraphy of first love, they so fully understood one another that words were unnecessary.
Speechless, but fuller of happiness than they ever dreamed was possible in the world, they sat with clasped hands until Maria came back, calling out: "Time"s up. The folks say that they can"t let Annabel have you any longer. Come into the sitting-room, both of you. Come along, Si. Come along, Annabel."
Si rose obediently, but Annabel declined to go. She did not say why, but Maria, with a woman"s instincts, knew that she wanted to be alone to think it all over. Maria therefore hurried back.
"Good-by, Annabel," he said, pressing her hand again. "I"ll write to you first thing when I git back."
"Good-by, Si. G.o.d keep you for me, safe through battles and dangers."
She turned away to hide her bursting tears.
It was astonishing how quick midnight came. When the clock striking 12 smote the ears of the family, n.o.body had said, heard or asked one t.i.the of what he or she was burning eager to, yet the parting was but a little more than two brief hours away.
With a heart heavier even than when she parted from her boy for the first time, Mrs. Klegg arose, and sought to distract her thoughts by collecting as big a package as they could carry of the choicest eatables. How often she stopped to cry softly into her ap.r.o.n not even the girls knew, for she was resolved to keep up a brave front, especially before Si, and would carefully wash all traces of tears from her face, and clear the sobs from her throat before re-entering the room where he was.
Shorty had at once been taken to the hearts of everyone, and all the older men urged him to "come back here as soon as the war"s over, marry a nice girl, and settle down among us."
Si received many compliments upon his development into such a fine, stalwart man.
One after another said: "Si, what a fine, big man you"ve growed into. I declare, you"re a credit to your father and mother and the settlement. We all expect you to come back a Captain or a Colonel, and we"ll run you for Sheriff or County Commissioner, or something as big."
"O, anything but Treasurer," Si would laughingly reply. "I"ve had enough handling other folks" money to last me my life."
Presently Abraham Lincoln brought the spring wagon around. Even in the moonlight Si could see that freedom and the Deacon"s tuition had developed the ex-slave into a much better man than the wretched runaway whom his father had protected. He wanted to know more of him, but there were too many demands upon his attention. They all mounted into the wagon, the bundles were piled in, one last embrace from his mother, and they drove away, reaching the station just in time to catch the train. As he kissed Maria good-by she shoved a letter into his hand, saying: "This is from Annabel. Read it after you git on."
As the train whirled away Si made an excuse to go away from Shorty, and standing up under the lamp in the next car he read on a tear-stained sheet: "Deer Si: I wanted so much to tel you, but the words wooddent come to my lips, that Ime yours til deth, no matter what happens, and Ime shure you feel the saim way. Annabel."
Coming back with his heart in a tumult of rapture, he found his partner fast asleep and even snoring.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FRISKY YOUNGSTERS.
TRYING TO LICK A BATCH OF RECRUITS INTO SHAPE.
FOR awhile the tumult of thought kept Si awake, but he was too young, healthy, and tired for this to last long, and soon he had his head pillowed on his blanket-roll, placed in the open car-window, and was sleeping too sound to even dream of Annabel, while the rushing train pelted his face with cinders from the engine and a hail of gravel from the road-bed. But what was that to a soldier-boy who had been home, seen his best girl, and had one of his mother"s square meals?
When the train rolled into Jeffersonville in the afternoon, they saw Lieut. Bowersox on the platform anxiously waiting for them. His face lighted up with pleasure when he saw them, and eagerly coming forward he said: "Great Cesar, boys, but I"m glad you"ve come. I"ve been waiting for you all day. Rush orders came last night to send everybody to the front. I guess they are in need of every gun they can get. I should have gone last night, but I managed to stave off my orders till now. If you hadn"t come on this train, though, I should "ve had to go on with out you. Hurry along, now. We are going right across the river."
Despite the Lieutenant"s urgency, Si found time to hand him a jar of honey and a small crock of b.u.t.ter from their home supplies, which he received with proper appreciation, and handed over to the grinning negro boy he had picked up somewhere in Tennessee for a servant. They followed the Lieutenant to where he had his squad of about 100 recruits gathered. He said: "Here, Klegg, you will act as Orderly-Sergeant, and Shorty and the rest of you as Sergeants of this detachment. Here is the list of them, Klegg. Make up a roll and call it whenever I order you to do so."
Si took the list and looked over the crowd. They were mainly boys of about the same age and style as himself when he first enlisted, but he thought he had never seen so green, gawky a lot in the world. Like him then, every one was weighted down with a bundle of things that would evidently be contributed to the well-being of the people along the line of march.
It seemed to him that they stood around the platform in as ugly crookedness as a lodgment of driftwood on a Wabash bottom after a freshet.
"Where on the Wea prairies," muttered Shorty, "did Old Abe pick up that job lot o" wind shaken, lopsided saplings? Must"ve bin pulled when green and warped in the dryin"."
"Well, we"ve got to git "em into some sort o" shape," answered Si. "You must help."
"I help?" returned Shorty despairingly. "You"ll need a West Point perfessor and a hay-press to git that crowd into soldier shape. I ain"t once."
"Here, Sergeant," ordered Lieut. Bowersox, "line the men up, count them, learn their names, and give them a little preliminary drill, while I go to Headquarters and see the Colonel again about our transportation."
"Fall in, boys; fall in," commanded Si.
The crowd looked at him curiously. They knew that he wanted them to do something, they were willing to do it, but they hadn"t the slightest idea what it was. They made a move by huddling up a little toward him.
"Fall in in two ranks, with the right here," shouted Si.
There was more inconsequent huddling, which seemed so purposely awkward that it irritated Si, and he spoke sharply: "Gosh all Krismuss, what"s the matter with you lunkheads? Don"t you know nothing? You"re dummer"n a lot o" steers."
"Guess we know "bout as much as you did when you first enlisted," said the smallest of the lot, a red-cheeked, bright-eyed boy, who looked as if he should have been standing up before a blackboard "doing a sum" in long division, instead of on his way to the field of strife. "Show us how, and we"ll learn as quick as you did."
Si looked at the fresh young boy. There was something actually girlish in his face, and it reminded him of Annabel. His heart softened toward him at once, and he remembered his own early troubles. He said gently to the boy: "You"re right. What"s your name, my boy?"
"Abel Waite."
"Well, Abel, we"ll make a soldier out of you in a little while. You are the smallest; you"ll be the left of the line. Go and stand there at the corner. Now, boys, all lay your bundles down. Here, you tall fellow, what"s your name?"
"James Bradshaw."
"Well, Bradshaw, you"ll be the right of the line all the time, and the rest "ll form on you. Come, stand here."
Bradshaw shambled forward in a way that made Shorty call out: "Here, Bradshaw, wake up! You ain"t now follerin" a plow over the last year"s corn-furrers. Straighten up, lift them mud-hooks livelier and drop your hands to your side."
The man stopped, raised his hands, and looked at Shorty with his mouth wide open.
"Come, Bradshaw," said Si gently, taking hold of him, "I"ll show you. Now you stand right here. Put your heels together. Now turn your toes out. Throw your shoulders back this way. Close your mouth. Put your little fingers on the seams of your pantaloons that way. Now stand just so."
The poor man looked as miserable as if put in a strait-jacket, but tried to literally obey instructions.
"Now, what"s your name?" Si asked the next tall est man.
"Simeon Wheelwright."
"Wheelwright, you stand behind Bradshaw, just as he does."
And so Si went painstakingly through the whole squad until he came to Abel Waite, whom he found did not need any instruction, for he had profited by hearing the lectures to the others, and was standing as stiff and correct as a veteran could have done.
"Great outfit," remarked Shorty, walking down the line, gun in hand, and surveying it critically. "Looks like a mourners" bench froze stiff. Here, you red-headed man there, take in that corporation. You won"t have so much bay window after you"ve lived on army rations awhile."
"Now," commanded Si, "when I say "Count twos from the right," I want you to begin and count. The first man you, Bradshaw says "one," and the next man on your left says "two" and so on. The men in the rear rank do the same. Count twos from the right Count!"
"One, two; four, six; seven, nine; ten, "leven," shouted the boys, in all manner of tones and general bewilderment.
"Stop it; stop it!" yelled Si, his temper again rising. "Great day, can"t you fellers understand plain English when it"s talked to you? What"s the matter with you, anyway? Here, Bradshaw, when I give the order to count, you count one. Wheel wright, you count one at the same time. Williams and Talbot, you each count two. Then Aldrich, you and Reynolds count one, and so on."
At last he got them to count to his satisfaction, and then proceeded to the next lesson.
"Now, at the command "right face" everybody face to the right. The No. 1 men in the front rank stand fast. The No. 1 men in the rear rank take a side step to the right. The No. 2 men each take a side step to the right, and places himself on the right of No. 1."
"Great Jehosephat, Si," remonstrated Shorty; "it"ll take "em a month to learn all that."
"Don"t care if it does," said Si desperately. "They"ve got to learn it sometime, and they can"t learn no younger. Might as well begin now as any time. "Tention! Right face!"
Si had hard work restraining the angry words which fumed up when he saw the execution of his command. Only a few had turned to the right. The rest had either stood still, turned to the left or were turning first one way and then another, to adjust themselves to those nearest them.
"Looks like a political primary just before the vote"s called," remarked Shorty. "Better git red rags to tie around their right hands, so"s they"ll know "em."
"It"ll be a shame to take them across the Ohio river in this shape," said Si in deep vexation. "They"ll shoot one another"s heads off in the first fight, if they"ve guns in their hands."
"Don"t worry," answered Shorty consolingly. "They"ll pick it up mighty fast as soon as they see other fellers doing it, and "ll be in purty good shape by the time we git "em to the regiment. We was just as green as they are."
Si repressed his petulant words with an effort, and started in to give them an ocular demonstration of the way to execute "right face," but was interrupted by the Lieutenant coming up and saying: "Here, we"ve got to move right out to catch the ferryboat and the train on the other side. "Tention! Pick up your bundles. Forward, march!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RECRUITS LINED UP ON THE PLATFORM. 186]
Tactics were forgotten in a go-as-you-please rush on to the ferryboat, through the streets of Louisville, and on to the cars for Nashville. Everybody else was doing the same. The boat and streets were filled and the depot yard packed with men all pushing forward for the "front." While Si, walking alongside the Lieutenant, led, Shorty and the rest of the detail brought up the rear. After they had scrambled into the old freight cars and stowed them selves away, Si looked over his squad and counted it.
"Have you got them all aboard, Sergeant?" in quired Lieut. Bowersox.
"I"ve got the right number, sir," Si answered, saluting; "and if they ain"t all the same men they"re just as good."
"All right," returned the officer. "I had 103 put in my charge to take to the regiment, and 103 men I must have when I get there."
"You shall have the full 103, Lieutenant," a.s.sured Shorty, "if we have to s.n.a.t.c.h in a native or two to take the place of some that fall through the cracks."
At Nashville the crowd and confusion were excessive; detachments of men of all kinds, sorts and conditions armed and unarmed recruits, convalescent veterans, men coming back from furlough, stragglers under guard, squads of Quartermaster"s employees, gangs of railroad laborers and bridge-builders were all surging around, while their officers, superintendents, foremen, etc., shouted themselves hoa.r.s.e in trying to get their men together and keep them so. When Si at last got his men on board, and the train had moved out, he was dismayed to find that he was five short.
"They was lost in that shuffle back there in the depot," said Shorty. "Lucky it wa"n"t more. Wonder that we ever got through as well as we did."
"What in the world am I going to do?" inquired Si dolefully. "There"s no use sending back for them. They"ve probably got mixed up with some other squads, and gone the Lord knows where. They haven"t sense enough to find their regiment in such a ruck as this."
Si counted his men over again, with no better result.
"I"ve got an idee," said Shorty, as Si came up to commune again with him as to the misfortune. "I noticed five mighty lively young Irishmen in that bridge gang that"s on the rear car, and I"ve got a pint flash of whisky that some fellow was green enough to lay down while we was there in Nash ville. I"m goin" back to that car on recruitin" duty."
Si, unable to think of anything better, went with him. The train had stopped on a switch, and seemed likely to rust fast to the rails, from the way other trains were going by in both directions. The bridge gang, under charge of a burly, red-faced young Englishman, was in the rear car, with their tools, equipments, bedding and cooking utensils.
The English foreman was a recent arrival in the country. This was his first employment here. Naturally surly and domineering, these qualities were enhanced by potations at Nashville and since leaving.
Si and Shorty strolled up to the young Irishmen, who were standing on the ground near their car. They were very plainly recent arrivals, for they still wore the characteristic clothes of the Emerald Isle, and after a little conversation with them Shorty produced his bottle and offered them a drink. The foreman had watched them suspiciously, and he came swaggering up, saying insolently: ""Ere, you bloomin" sojer, Hi want you to keep haway from my men, hand not be a-givin" them drink. You stay by yourselves, hand Hi won"t "ave "em hinterfered wi" by n.o.buddy."