"I think our guns"ll be in the way in that room," said Shorty, sotting his down. His face bore a look of stern determination. "They"re too long. I"m itching to have it out with that feller hand-to-hand.{79} We"ll rush in. You pretend to be goin" for Rosenbaum and leave me to have it out with Mr. Bolivar. Don"t you mix in at all. If I don"t settle him he ought to be allowed to go."
"No," said Si decisively. "I"m your superior officer, and it"s my privilege to have the first shy at him. I"ll "tend to him. I want a chance singlehanded at a man that talks that way. You take care of Rosenbaum."
"We mustn"t dispute," said Shorty, stooping down and picking up a couple of straws. "Here, pull. The feller that gits the longest "tends to Bolivar; the other to Rosenbaum."
Si drew and left the longer straw in Shorty"s hand. They drew their revolvers and rushed for the room, Shorty leading, Rosenbaum and Bolivar sprang up in alarm at the sound of their feet on the steps, and drew their revolvers.
"Surrender, you infernal rebels," shouted the boys, as they bolted through the door.
With the quickness of a cat, Rosenbaum had sidled near the door through which they had come. Suddenly he fired two shots into the ceiling, and sprang through the door so quickly that Si had merely the chance to fire a carefully-aimed shot through the top of his hat. Si jumped toward the door again, and fired a shot in the air, for still further make-believe.
He would waste no more, but reserve the other four for Bolivar, if he should need them.
Shorty confronted Bolivar with fierce eyes and leveled revolver, eagerly watching every movement and expression. The rebel was holding his pistol pointed upward, and his eyes looked savage. As his eyes met Shorty"s the latter was amazed to see him close the left with a most emphatic wink.
Seeing this was recognized, the rebel fired two shots into the ceiling, and motioned with his left hand to Si to continue firing. Without quite understanding. Si fired again. The rebel gave a terrific yell and fired a couple of shots out the window.
"Do the same," he said to Shorty, who complied, as Si had done, in half-comprehension. The rebel handed his revolver to Shorty, stepped to the window and listened.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SURPRISE 79]
There came the sounds of two horses galloping away on the hard, rocky road.
"He"s gone, and taken the n.i.g.g.e.r with him," he said contentedly, turning from the window, and giving another fierce yell. "Better fire the other two shots out of that pistol, to hurry him along."
Shorty fired the remaining shots out of the rebel"s revolver.
"What regiment do you belong to, boys?" asked Bolivar calmly.
"The 200th Ind.," answered Si, without being able to control his surprise.
"A very good regiment," said the rebel. "What"s your company?"
"Co. Q," answered Si.
"Who"s your Colonel?"
"Col. Duckworth."
"Who"s your Captain?"
"Capt. McGillicuddy."
"All right," said the rebel, with an air of satisfaction. "I asked those questions to make sure you were genuine Yankees. One can"t be too careful in my business. I"m in the United States Secret Service, and have to be constantly on the watch to keep it from being played on me by men pretending to be Yankees when they are rebels, and rebels when they are Yankees. I always make it the first point to ask them the names of their officers. I know almost all the officers in command on both sides."
"You in the Secret Service?" exploded the boys.{82}
They were on the point of adding "too," but something whispered to them not to betray Rosenbaum.
"Yes," answered Bolivar. "I"ve just come from Tullahoma, where I"ve been around Bragg"s Headquarters. I wanted to get inside our lines, but I was puzzled how to do it. That Jew you"ve just run off bothered me. I wish to the Lord you"d killed him. I"m more afraid of him than any other man in Bragg"s army. He"s smart as a briar, always nosing around where you don"t want him, and anxious to do something to commend him to Headquarters, Jew like. I"ve thought he suspected me, for he"d been paying special attention to me for some weeks. Two or three times I"ve been on the point of tailing him into the woods somewhere and killing him, and so get rid of him. It"s all right now. He"ll go back to Tullahoma with a fearful story of the fight I made against you, and that I am probably killed. I"ll turn up there in a week or two with my own story, and I"ll give him fits for having skipped out and left me to fight you two alone. Say, it"s a good ways to camp. Let"s start at once, for I want to get to Headquarters as soon as possible."
"You"ve got another revolver there," said Si, who had prudently reloaded his own weapon.
"That"s so," said Bolivar, pulling it out. "You can take and carry it or I"ll take the cylinder out, if you are not convinced about me."
"You"d better let me carry it," said Shorty, shoving the revolver in his own belt. "These are queer times, and one can"t be too careful with rebels who{83} claim to be Yankees, and Yankees who claim to be rebels."
They trudged back to camp, taking turns riding the horse. When the rebel rode, however, one of the boys walked alongside with the bridle in his hand. All doubts as to Bolivar"s story were dispelled by his instant recognition by the Provost-Marshal, who happened to be at the picket-post when they reached camp.
"The longer I live," remarked Shorty, as they made their way along to the Hoosier"s Rest, "and I seem to live a little longer every day, the less I seem to understand about this war."
Shorty spoke as if he had had an extensive acquaintance with wars.
"The only thing that I"ve come to be certain about," a.s.sented Si, "is that you sometimes most always can"t generally tell."
And they proceeded to get themselves some supper, accompanying the work of denunciations of the Commissary for the kind of rations he was drawing for the regiment, and of the Orderly-Sergeant for his letting the other Orderlies eucher him out of the company"s fair share.
CHAPTER VI. LETTER FROM HOME
THE DEACON"S TROUBLES IN GETTING HOME WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
ONE MORNING the Orderly-Sergeant handed Si the following letter:
Deer Son: I got hoam safely a weke ago, thanks 2 all-protecting Providens; likewise 2 about 175 pound of tuff & helthy Josiah Klegg.
Providens helpt rite along, but it tuk 50-year-old Injianny hickory & whit-leather 2 pull through sum ov the t.i.te plasis.
Abraham Lincoln is as strong as an ox, but I never thought that anything that diddent wear horns or chew the cud could be so measly dumb. He kin eat as much as Buck, our off-steer, & I declare I don"t believe he knows any more.
We had only bin on the train long enuff for Abe to finish up the whole of the 3 days rations you provided us with 2 last us home, when I notist that Blowhard Billings was on board. He was still dressed in full uniform, & playin off officer yit, but I happened 2 recolleck that he was no officer no more, & it wuz lucky that I done so. He wuz lookin at me & Abe hard with them mean, fatfish ize ov hizn.
Jest as a matter ov precaushon. I make Abe change seats with me & taik the inside. Billings{85} caim up. You know what I thought ov him ov old, & there"s never bin any love lost betwixt us sence I stopped him cheatin poor Eli Mitch.e.l.l outen his plow-team. I told him then that the coppers on a dead n.i.g.g.e.r"s eyes wuzzent saif when he wuz around, & I woulddent trust him ez fur ez I could sling a bull by the tale. He got mad at this & never got over it. I never encouraged him to. I woulddent feel satisfied with myself if he wuzzent mad at me. I coulddent change my opinion, even when he tried to steal into respectability by goin into the army. I knowed he"d do anything but fite, & woulddent"ve bin supprized any day by hearing that him and the other mules in camp had disappeared together.
Presently Billings he c.u.m up very corjil like & says:
"Howdy, Deacon. I hope you air very well."
I told him I wuz tollable peart, and he says:
"I see a man in the third car forward that wuz inquiring for you, and wanted to see you powerful bad."
"That so?" says I, unconcernedlike.
"Yes," says he. "He wuz awful anxious to see you, and I said I"d send you to him if I c.u.m acrost you."
Somehow, I dropped onto it in a minnit that he wuz schemin" to git me away from Abraham Lincoln--
"Well," says I, "it"s about ez fur for me forward to him as it is for him back here to me. I don"t know as I want to see him at all. If he wants to see me so bad let him c.u.m back here."{86}