Si easily divined his thoughts, for something of the same nature had already caused his own heart to palpitate in a reproving way.
"Of--c-c-course--I d-d-don"t--mean th-th-that. Shorty," he stammered "but she"s a nice girl, anyhow, "n" she"s gittin" up a dinner fer me "n" you. Bet ye it"ll be a nice lay-out, too!"
Shorty did not feel quite at ease in his mind about leaving the post again, but Si a.s.sured him it would be all right. The peculiar circ.u.mstances of the case had sadly warped Si"s judgment.
So they went to the house and were cordially greeted by their fair young hostess, who was flying around, putting the finishing touches to the meal she had prepared for them.
"Jiminy, don"t that smell good?" said Si to Shorty in an undertone, as his sensitive nostrils caught the savory odors that arose from the nicely-spread board.
The young soldiers stood their guns on the floor in a corner of the room, preliminary to an a.s.sault on the edibles.
"Ugh!" exclaimed the young woman, with a coquettish shiver, "be them awful things loaded?"
"N--no!" said Si; "they won"t hurt ye if ye don"t touch "em!"
Si was learning to fib a little, and he wanted to quiet the girl"s fears.
The boys were soon seated at the table, bountifully supplied with ham, chicken, eggs, bread and b.u.t.ter, honey, and all the accessories of a well-ordered repast. They fell to with an eagerness that was, perhaps, justified by the long time that had elapsed since they had had a "square meal." Si thought that never in his life had anything tasted so good.
While they were thus engaged, without a thought of impending danger, the girl suddenly opened the door, leading to the dining room. A wild-eyed man--who proved to be her brother--in the uniform of a rebel soldier, dashed in, and, presenting a c.o.c.ked revolver, demanded their unconditional and immediate surrender.
They were in a tight place. But Si proved equal to the sudden and appalling emergency. It flashed through his mind in an instant how the girl had "played it" on him. He made up his mind that he would rather be shot than be captured under such circ.u.mstances.
[Ill.u.s.tration: SI SPRANG UPON HIM 199 ]
Si sprang up, and the rebel, true to his word, fired. Si dodged, and the ball only chipped a piece from his left ear. There was not time to get and use his gun. With the quickness of a cat Si sprang upon him, and with a blow of his fist laid him sprawling upon the floor. Disarming him, he placed the revolver at his head and triumphantly exclaimed:
"Now, gol durn ye, you"re my prisoner. I"d like to blow the top o" yer head off fer spilin" my dinner, but I won"t do it this time. But you jist git up "n" come "long with me!"
With his complete mastery of the situation, Si"s confidence returned, and Shorty, who had been dazed and helpless at first, recovered himself and came to his a.s.sistance.
But at this instant their ears caught the sound of horses" hoofs galloping down the pike. Si"s quick perception told him that is was a dash of rebel cavalrymen, and that a few moments later escape would be impossible.
"Grab yer gun an" git!" he said to Shorty, at the same time casting one ferocious glance at the terrified girl, who stood, white and speechless, contemplating the scene.
Si and Shorty dashed out of the house and started for the reserve, at the highest speed of which their legs were capable. On clattered the horses, and a few shots from the carbines of the swift-riding hors.e.m.e.n whistled through the air.
Six feet at a jump, with thumping hearts and bulging eyes, the fugitives almost flew over the ground, throwing quick glances at their pursuers, and then ahead, in the hope of catching a glimpse of succor.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "SHORTY IF WE--ONLY GIT--OUT O" THIS--" 203 ]
"Shorty, if we only git out o" this--" but Si found he hadn"t any wind to spare to finish the sentence. We must leave to the reader"s imagination the good resolutions as to his future conduct that were forming in Si"s mind at this critical juncture. He saw the awful consequences of yielding to the influence of that alluring young woman and her seductive dinner. What he had read about Adam and the trouble Eve got him into, in pretty much the same way, flashed before him. It was a good time to resolve that he wouldn"t do so any more.
Shorty, long and lank, was swifter on his feet than Si. Hardtack and bacon had not yet reduced the latter"s surplus flesh to a degree that enabled him to run well. Shorty kept ahead, but would not desert his comrade, slowing up for an instant now and then to give Si, who was straining to the utmost every nerve, and puffing like a locomotive on an upgrade, a chance to keep within supporting distance.
The soldiers of the reserve taking the alarm, came out at a double-quick and were fortunately able to cover the retreat of Si and Shorty. The half dozen cavalrymen, upon the appearance of so large a force, turned their horses and galloped away.
"h.e.l.lo, Si," said the Orderly of Co. Q, "yer ear"s bleedin". What hurt ye?"
"Fell down and scratched it on a brier!" said Si, as soon as he was able to speak.
That night Si and Shorty sat on a log by the campfire talking over the events of the day.
"Don"t ye never blow on this thing," said Si. "It"ll be a cold day for us if they"d find it out."
"There ain"t no danger o" my tellin"," replied Shorty. "But, say, ain"t that a nice girl out there?"
"She"s a mean rebel, that"s what she is! But that was a smart trick o"
her"n, wasn"t it?"
"Come mighty near bein" too smart fer us!" replied Shorty. "I don"t want no more such close shaves in mine. You "member the story of the spider and the fly, don"t ye? Well, she was the spider "n" we was two poor little fool flies!"
"Shorty," said Si, "I"d a mighty sight ruther be an angel an" have the daisies a-bloomin" over my grave, than to have been tuk a prisoner in that house. But that dinner was good, anyhow--what we got of it!"
CHAPTER XX. "THE SWEET SABBATH"
HOW THE BLESSED DAY OF REST WAS SPENT IN THE ARMY.
"TOMORROW"S Sunday, ye know," said the Orderly of Company Q one Sat.u.r.day night at roll-call.
This was in the nature of news to the boys. But for the announcement very few of them would have known it. The Orderly was not distinguished for his piety, and it is not likely that the approach of Sunday would have occurred to him if the Sergeant-Major had not come around with orders from the Colonel for a proper observance of the day. The Colonel himself would not have thought of it either, if the Chaplain had not reminded him of it. Everybody wondered how even the Chaplain could keep track of the days well enough to know when Sunday came--but that was chiefly what he wore shoulder-straps and drew his salary for. It was the general impression that he either carried an almanac in his pocket, or else a stick in which he cut a notch every day with his jack-knife, and in that way managed to know when a new week began.
"There"ll be guard-mountin" at 9 o"clock," continued the Orderly, "regimental inspection at 10, preachin" at 11, an" dress-parade at 5 in the evenin". All of ye wants to tumble out right promptly at revellee an" git yer breakfast, an" then clean up yer guns an" put all yer traps in apple-pie order, "cause the Colonel"s goin" to look at "em. He"s got sharp eyes, an" I reck"n he"ll be mighty pertickler. If there"s anything that ain"t jest right he"ll see it quicker"n litenin". Ye know we hain"t had any inspections yet, an" the Cap"n wants us to be the boss company.
So ye"ve got to scratch around lively in the mornin"."
"Say," said Corporal Klegg, after the company had broken ranks, "seems to me there wa"n"t no use in the Orderly tellin" us to "scratch around,"
fer we"re doin" that purty much all the time, now that the graybacks is gittin" in their work on us."
Shorty smiled faintly at what he seemed to consider a rather feeble joke, even for Si.
The 200th Ind. had now been in the field for many weeks, but it had been continually cantering about the country, and the Generals had kept it particularly active on Sundays. Probably this regiment did not manifest any more than the average degree of enthusiasm and fervor in religious matters, but there were many in its ranks who, at home, had always sat under Gospel ministrations, and to tramp on Sundays, the same as other days, was, at first, a rude shock to their moral sensibilities. These were yet keen, the edges had not been worn off and blunted and battered by the hard knocks of army life. True, they could scarcely tell when Sunday came, but they knew that they kept right along every day.
"Shorty," said Si, after they had curled up under the blanket for the night, ""pears to me it"ll seem sort o" nice to keep Sunday agin. At the rate we"ve bin goin" on we"ll all be heathens by the time we git home--if we ever do. Our Chaplain haint had no chance to preachify yet.
The boys of Comp"ny X, w"at knows him, says he"s a staver, "n" I b"lieve it"ll make us all feel better to have him talk to us once. "Twont do us no harm, nohow, I"d like to be home to-morrer "n" go to church with mother, "n" sister Marier, "n"--er--I mean the rest of the folks. Then I"d jest eat all the afternoon. I ain"t goin" ter git homesick, Shorty; but a feller can"t help feelin" a little streaked once "n" a while.
Mebbe it"s a good idee fer "em to keep us on the jump, fer then we don"t git no chance to think "bout it. I don"t suppose I"m the only boy "n the regiment that "d be glad to git a jest fer to-morrer. I sh"d want ter be back bright "n" arly to fall in Monday mornin", fer I"m goin" to stick to the 200th through thick "n" thin, if I don"t git knocked out. Say, Shorty, how d"ye feel, any way?"
But Shorty was already fast asleep. Si spooned up to him and was soon, in his dreams, away up in Posey County.
The sound of the bugle and drum, at daylight, fell upon unwilling ears, for the soldiers felt the same indisposition to get up early Sunday morning that is everywhere One of the characteristics of modern civilization. Their beds were hard, but to their weary limbs no couch of down ever gave more welcome rest than did the rough ground on which they lay. But the wild yell of the Orderly, "Turn out for roll-call!" with the thought of the penalties for non-obedience--which some of them had abundant reason to remember--quickly brought out the laggards.
Si and Shorty were, as usual, among the first to take their places in line. They were pleasantly greeted by the Captain, who had come out on the run at the last moment, and wriggled himself into his coat as he strode along the company street. The Captain did not very often appear at morning rollcall. But one officer of the company was required to be present, and the Captain generally loaded this duty upon the Lieutenants "turn about." If he did show up, he would go back to bed and snooze for an hour while the cook was getting breakfast. If one of the men did that he would soon be promenading with a rail on his shoulder or standing on a barrel with a stick or a bayonet tied in his mouth.
"I think that"s a fust rate notion to mount the guards," said Si to Shorty as they sat on a rail by the fire making coffee and frying bacon.
"It"ll be so much better "n walkin" back "n" forrard on the beats.
Wonder "f they"ll give us bosses or mules to ride."
"I"d like to know what put that idee into yer head," said Shorty.