While they were upon the ground, Tom Belthorpe and Major Gadbury signed the enlistment papers, as Deck and Artie had done before, and the Lyndhall party went home. The recruits were dismissed for a week, and ordered to report at Riverlawn at the end of that time.
The second battle had been fought and won, and there was no present danger of another attack, though patrols were kept along the creek till the camp was formed the following week. The two attacks upon Riverlawn was the current topic of conversation all over the county for the next week; and so far from damaging the Union cause, it stimulated the recruiting, and at the end of the week Lieutenant Gordon had the names of a full company on his roll. He had reported his success, and had received orders to enlist another company.
The government supplied everything that was required, including sabres, carbines, uniforms, ammunition, and lumber for barracks. Steamboats from Evansville came up the river loaded with supplies; and as the water was high from unusual rains, they landed their cargoes at the boathouse pier, enlarged for the purpose. Each boat was provided with a guard, for they were occasionally fired upon from the sh.o.r.e. Another officer and several non-commissioned officers were sent to the camp.
Barracks and stables were built, and the drill was kept up very diligently. Riverlawn was no longer between two fires, for they were now all on one side. Before, the fight had been a sort of neighborhood quarrel; but now it had become a national affair. The outrages upon Union men ceased in that locality, though they still occurred in other parts of the State. At the end of a month two companies of cavalry had been enlisted, forming a squadron, if another could be raised.
About this time the Home Guard, under command of Captain t.i.tus Lyon, marched to Bowling Green for the purpose of joining the Confederate army that was expected there. They went with such arms as they had used in the second battle of Riverlawn, and without uniforms. They had a hard time of it; for they had no supplies, and suffered from hunger and cold in the cool nights. t.i.tus"s two sons, Sandy and Orly, were enrolled in the company; but both of them deserted, though they had not been mustered in, and went back to their mother, where they could at least get enough to eat. The captain could not go home, for it required his presence and all his skill and energy to keep his recruits from abandoning the company.
Noah Lyon saw nothing more of his brother after his visit to Riverlawn when the lieutenant arrived. After he had gone to the South, his wife and daughters called at the mansion, and declared that they were left without money or means of support, except so far as they could obtain it from the little farm.
Deck and Artie Lyon, whose career as soldiers is to appear in these volumes, now appeared wearing the uniform of cavalrymen, with sabres clinking at their sides. They have been under fire, though not in a pitched battle. They are frequent visitors on Sundays at Lyndhall, and Kate Belthorpe has what her father called "a violent admiration for Captain Deck," as he still insists upon styling him, a.s.sured that, if he is not of that rank now, he will be in due time. The next volume will present the two boys and others engaged in actual warfare; and what they did will be found in "IN THE SADDLE."
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY
NAVY SERIES
TAKEN BY THE ENEMY WITHIN THE ENEMY"S LINES ON THE BLOCKADE STAND BY THE UNION FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT A VICTORIOUS UNION
ARMY SERIES
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER IN THE SADDLE (In Press) A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN (In Press)
(Other volumes in preparation)
LEE AND SHEPARD"S DOLLAR BOOKS
Around the World in Eighty Days. By JULES VERNE. Ill.u.s.trated.
One of the famous modern books. The author is both learned and imaginative, and he brings the researches of the scientist in aid of the story-teller with a skill attained by no other modern writer.
The Wreck of the Chancellor, and Martin Paz. Two stories in one volume.
By JULES VERNE.
The first is an account of the shipwreck of a vessel which sailed from Charleston, S.C., and was driven upon the west coast of Scotland. The second is a story of life among Spanish-Americans and Indians in Lima, South America. Both are masterly specimens of the author"s style in fiction.
Winter in the Ice; Dr. Ox"s Experiment; A Drama in the Air. Three stories in one volume. By JULES VERNE.
The FIRST is a thrilling story of Arctic adventure. The SECOND is a whimsical but most ingenious experiment with oxygen as a stimulant, upon the people of a whole city. It is a most subtle and effective story. The THIRD is the experience of an aeronaut with a madman while making an ascent.
The tales in the foregoing three volumes were translated from the French by Hon. George M. Towle, author of "Heroes of History."
The Prairie Crusoe: ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. Translated from the French.
A Prussian officer after the battle of Jena found a child that had been abandoned, and, moved by pity, took charge of it. Years afterward, the child, having become a tall and brave youth, sailed for the New World, and having landed upon the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, went into the interior of the country. At that time the country was overrun by bisons, bears, and other wild animals, and by Indians, who lived by hunting and war. The youth had a plenty of thrilling experiences, both with brute and human foes. He came near death many times; but his courage, presence of mind, or good luck, or all together, saved him. Finally he returned to Germany, where his adventures were far more agreeable than among the Sioux.
Willis the Pilot: A SEQUEL TO THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.
This is a fortunate continuation of the "Swiss Family Robinson," a book which has had great and deserved popularity. The careers of the four sons of that family are faithfully detailed, as well as the fortunes of others who come upon the scene, including Willis the Pilot, a weather-beaten sailor, whose saying and doings make him a person of such prominence as to give his name to the book. The scenes are in the South Seas; and the narrative treats of the geography, inhabitants, and productions of little-known regions. The difficulties and dangers of founding a new colony are faithfully related; and it is shown how by intelligent labor and perseverance they may be overcome.
The Young Crusoe: THE ADVENTURES OF A SHIPWRECKED BOY. By DR. HARLEY.
The variations upon the original theme of a shipwrecked mariner have been many. In this case the hero is a young French boy, who was abandoned by his comrades on a sinking ship not far from an island, and who by swimming, in company with a large dog, got to sh.o.r.e, and lived there many years. His dog was a faithful friend. He caught and reared goats, and provided himself with food and other necessaries. Potatoes were plenty, as were rice and other grain. It is a very pleasing story.
Of the visitors who afterward came to the island it is best not to speak, for fear of revealing too much of the secret of the story in advance.
Cast Away in the Cold: AN OLD MAN"S STORY OF A YOUNG MAN"S ADVENTURES.
By DR. ISAAC I. HAYES, the famous Arctic explorer, author of "An Arctic Boat Journey," etc.
The narrative is supposed to be told by an ancient mariner, Captain John Hardy, of his early experiences in an Arctic voyage.
It opens with a vivid description of the ice-floes, first seen as the vessel sailed northward; and of the seal-catching by the sailors upon the floating ice. Then came thrilling and fatal adventures with icebergs, a shipwreck, and the prospect of death by cold or starvation.
The various expedients to get food,--seals, ducks, and other birds,--and the long and finally successful efforts to procure fire for warmth and for cooking, make some most interesting chapters. The meeting with the Esquimaux gave a ray of hope, and at last deliverance came. The author, as every one knows, was a famous explorer, and his book is a most trustworthy account of the Frozen North.
ADRIFT IN THE ICE-FIELDS. BY CAPTAIN CHARLES W. HALL.
This book chronicles the adventures and mishaps of a party of English gentlemen in the early spring while shooting sea-fowl on the sea-ice by day, together with the stories with which they while away the long evenings.
Later in the season the breaking up of the ice carries four hunters into involuntary wandering amid the vast ice-pack which in winter fills the great Gulf of St. Lawrence. Their perils, the shifts to which they are driven to procure shelter, food, fire, medicine, and other necessaries, together with their devious drift, and final rescue by a sealer, are used to give interest to a reliable description of the ice-fields of the Gulf, the habits of the seal, and life on board of a sealing steamer.
The Arctic Crusoe: A TALE OF THE POLAR SEA. By PERCY B. ST. JOHN.
In this book of stirring adventure, the characteristics of the Arctic regions have been described according to latest authorities. The regions are those visited by Parry and Franklin.
The Year"s Best Days. By ROSE HARTWICK THORPE, author of the well-known poem, "Curfew must not ring to-night."
"That day is best wherein we give A thought to others" sorrows; Forgetting self, we learn to live, And blessings born of kindly deeds Make golden our to-morrows."--INTRODUCTION.
To beautiful stories are appended several poems by the author.
Dora Darling, THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT. By Mrs. JANE G. AUSTIN.