Only one shot was to be allowed. The affair had to be managed with the utmost secrecy; above all things, it had to be kept from the ears of Morgan. But it was whispered from one to another until half the officers knew of it. None blamed Calhoun, yet none could see how Conway could avoid giving the challenge.
"Both are dead men," said an officer, with a grave shake of the head.
"Morgan ought to be told; he would stop it."
"Tell Morgan if you dare!" cried half a dozen voices.
"Oh, I am not going to tell; if they wish to kill each other it"s none of my business," replied the officer, turning away.
Calhoun was known as the best pistol shot in the brigade, and Conway was no mean marksman. Everyone thought it would be a b.l.o.o.d.y affair. Many were aware of the enmity which Conway held toward Calhoun, and knew he would kill him if he could. Meanwhile Jennie slept unconscious of the danger Calhoun was in for her sake.
It was a beautiful autumn morning when they met. The sun was just rising, touching woods, and fields, and the spires of the distant town with its golden light. The meeting was in a place which Calhoun well knew. How often he had played there when a boy! It was an open glade in the midst of a grove of mighty forest trees. The trees had taken on the beautiful hues of autumn, and they flamed with red and gold and orange.
At least twenty had a.s.sembled to witness the duel. A surgeon stood near with an open case of instruments at his feet. Many glanced at it, but turned their eyes away quickly. It was too suggestive.
The princ.i.p.als were placed in position. A hush came over the little group of spectators. Even the breeze seemed no longer to whisper lovingly among the trees, but took upon itself the wail of a dirge, and a shower of leaves, red as blood, fell around the contestants.
"Are you ready, gentlemen?" asked Mathews.
"Ready!" answered Calhoun.
"Ready!" said Conway.
"One-two-three-fire!"
Conway"s pistol blazed, and Calhoun felt a slight twinge of pain. The ball had grazed his left side, near the heart, and drawn a few drops of blood.
For a moment Calhoun stood, then coolly raised his pistol and fired in the air.
The spectators raised a shout of applause; but Conway was white with rage.
"I demand another shot," he shouted, "Pennington"s action has made a farce of this meeting."
"It was the condition that but one shot should be allowed," remonstrated Mathews.
"The condition has not been fulfilled," angrily replied Conway; "I demand another shot."
In the mean time Matson had gone up to Calhoun, and seeing the hole through his clothing, exclaimed. "My G.o.d! are you shot, Lieutenant?"
"A mere scratch; it"s nothing," answered Calhoun.
An examination showed it to be so, but blood had been drawn. This should have satisfied Conway, but it did not; he still insisted on a second shot.
This the seconds were about to refuse absolutely, when Calhoun asked to be heard.
"Although Captain Conway richly deserved the blow I gave him," he said, "yet as a gentleman and an officer I felt he could do no less than challenge me. I have given him the satisfaction he demanded. If he insists on continuing the duel, I shall conclude it is his desire to kill me through personal malice, not on account of his injured honor, which according to the code has been satisfied. This time there will be no firing in the air. Give him the second shot, if he desires it."
"No! No!" cried a dozen voices.
Mathews went up to Conway, and speaking in a low tone, said: "You fool, do you want to be killed? Pennington will kill you as sure as fate, if you insist on the second shot. Now you are out of it honorably."
Conway mumbled something, and Mathews turning around, said: "Gentlemen, my princ.i.p.al acknowledges himself satisfied. It is with pleasure that I compliment both of the princ.i.p.als in this affair. They have conducted themselves like true Kentucky gentlemen, and I trust they will part as such."
"Shake hands, gentlemen, shake hands," cried their friends, crowding around them.
Calhoun gave his freely, but Conway extended his coldly. There was a look in his eye which foreboded future trouble.
Such a meeting could not be kept secret, and it soon came to the ears of Morgan. Both of the princ.i.p.als, as well as the seconds were summoned into his presence. He listened to all the details in silence, and then said:
"It is well that this affair resulted as it did. If either one of the princ.i.p.als had fallen, the other would have been summarily dealt with.
Both of you," looking at Conway and Calhoun, "were to blame. Lieutenant Pennington should not have struck the blow: no gentleman will tamely submit to the indignity of a blow. As for you, Captain Conway, I am surprised that you, one of my officers, should insult a lady. If this offence is ever repeated, intoxication will be no plea in its extenuation.
Heretofore it has been our proud boast that where Morgan"s men are there any lady, be she for North or South, is as safe as in her own home. Let us see that it will always be so."
The men who heard burst into a wild cheer. Each of them was a knight to uphold the honor of woman.
As Captain Conway listened to the reprimand, his red face became redder.
His heart was full of anger, but he was diplomat enough to listen with becoming humility. To his fellow-officers his plea was intoxication, and in the stirring times which followed, his offence was forgotten.
Scouts came dashing into the city with the startling intelligence that a large Federal force was advancing on the place. It was not long before a battle was being waged through the streets. Before an overwhelming force of infantry Morgan had to fall back.
Bragg was in full retreat, and to Morgan fell the lot of guarding the rear. As they were falling back from Camp d.i.c.k Robinson, Calhoun met a Major Hockoday, who to him was the bearer of sad news. The Major said that that morning his men pursued a Federal scout who had ventured inside their lines. In his effort to escape he had fallen over the cliff of d.i.c.k River, and been killed. "And I am sorry to say," added the Major, "that that scout was your cousin, Captain Fred Shackelford."
"Are you sure?" asked Calhoun, in a trembling voice.
"Perfectly sure. I knew him too well to be mistaken. For the sake of his father, I sent word to the overseer of the General"s plantation so that the body could be found, and given Christian burial."
"Thank you," replied Calhoun, as he turned away with swimming eyes. All his old love for his cousin had returned. There was little heart in Calhoun for battle that day. It was weeks before he learned that Fred was not dead.
CHAPTER X.
HARTSVILLE.
WHEN Bragg evacuated Kentucky his weary army found rest at Murfreesboro.
This little city is thirty-two miles southeast of Nashville, situated on the railroad leading from Nashville to Chattanooga. It had already become famous by the capture of a Federal brigade there in August, by General N.
B. Forrest, and was destined to become the theatre of one of the greatest battles of the war.
In the Federal army a great change had taken place. General Buell had been relieved from command, and General W. Rosecrans, the hero of the battle of Corinth, appointed in his place. This general a.s.sembled his army at Nashville. Thus the two great armies were only thirty-two miles apart, with their outposts almost touching.
Bragg, believing that it would be impossible for Rosecrans to advance before spring, established his army in winter quarters, and the soldiers looked forward to two or three months of comparative quiet.
Rosecrans"s first duty was to reopen the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which had been so thoroughly destroyed by Morgan. An army of men did the work-a work which took them weeks to accomplish. But it was not in the nature of Morgan to be quiet. Not only he, but his men, fretted in camp life. Its daily routine with its drills did not suit them. Their home was the saddle, and they wanted no other. Therefore Morgan began to look around in search of a weak point in the Federal lines. For this purpose Calhoun and his scouts were kept busy. They seemed to be omnipresent, now here, now there. They would ride in between the Federal posts, learn of the citizens where the enemy were posted, and whether their camps were guarded with vigilance or not. Many a prisoner was picked up, and much valuable information obtained. In this way Morgan soon knew, as well as the Federal commander himself, how his troops were posted, and the number at each post.
Taking everything into consideration, Calhoun reported that Hartsville offered the best opening for an attack. "It is the extreme eastern outpost of the Federals," he said. "The nearest troops to them are at Castalian Springs, nine miles away. The country from here to Hartsville is entirely free of Federal troops, and we can approach the place un.o.bserved. The c.u.mberland River is low and can be forded. But if you wish, I will go and make a thorough reconnaissance of the place."
"Go, and be back as soon as possible," replied Morgan, "but be careful; do not take too many risks."
With a dozen of his trusty scouts, Calhoun had no trouble in reaching the bank of the c.u.mberland River opposite Hartsville. Here, concealed in the woods, through his gla.s.s he noted the position of every regiment, and drew a map of the camp. But he was not satisfied with this. Under the cover of darkness he crossed the river, determined to learn more. Above all, he wished to learn where the enemy"s pickets were posted at night, their exact force, as nearly as possible, and the discipline which they were under. He wanted to do all this without alarming them.