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[Illustration: "SERGEANT FRONKLYN DRAGGED THE FORM OF LIEUTENANT LYON
OUT OF THE MÊLÉE." _Page 299._]

_The Blue and the Gray on Land_

A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN

BY

OLIVER OPTIC

AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD, FIRST
AND SECOND SERIES" "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES" "THE GREAT WESTERN
SERIES" "THE WOODVILLE STORIES" "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD
SERIES" "THE LAKE SHORE SERIES" "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES"
"THE RIVERDALE STORIES" "THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES"
"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY--AFLOAT" "A MISSING
MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG
KNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD"
"THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN
THE NILE" "ASIATIC BREEZES" "ACROSS
INDIA" "HALF ROUND THE WORLD"
ETC., ETC., ETC., ETC., ETC.

BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY LEE AND SHEPARD

_All rights reserved_

LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN

TO

MY PATRIOTIC FRIEND

MRS. SARA WHITE LEE

THE MASSACHUSETTS REGENT

OF THE

DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION

THIS VOLUME

IS RESPECTFULLY AND CORDIALLY

DEDICATED

PREFACE

"A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN" is the third of the series of "The Blue and
the Gray--on Land." The stirring events of thirty-four years ago, when
the first gun of the Great Rebellion awoke the nation from its slumber
of thirteen years of peace, transformed the older boys of the day into
men. Thousands of them who lacked three or four years of their
majority, and some of them even six or seven years of it, flocked to
the standard of the imperilled Union. While the volunteers were in
considerable numbers over the military age, those who were not yet out
of their teens were earnest in their desire to be enrolled in the ranks
of the loyal army, and in one way or another surmounted the obstacle of
their tender age.

The youth of the hero of this volume is not contrary to the facts set
forth in the official records of the States; neither does his
appearance in a squadron of cavalry constitute an improbability, nor
his promotion from the rank of second lieutenant to that of first
lieutenant, nor even his appointment on the staff of a brigadier-general.
In the rosters of three regiments of cavalry, preserved in the archives
of a certain State, the name of a young man of seventeen is given as a
first lieutenant; two of eighteen as captains; one of the same age as
first lieutenant; and three more of that age as second lieutenants.
Deck Lyon's rank, therefore, is not exceptional.

Since the close of the war many high schools in the larger cities, and
many other educational institutions, have taught military drill and
evolutions in their regular courses; and the students have been
organized as companies, battalions, and regiments, and are thus trained
in actual practice as officers, from a corporal to a colonel, and as
privates, for service in the field if we should again unfortunately be
involved in a war with a foreign or domestic enemy.

The important battle of Mill Springs, or Logan's Cross Roads as it is
indifferently called in the official reports of the government, is
introduced in the story, though not in its minute details. The
Riverlawn Cavalry are present, and take part in the action, and the
command of the principal character renders important service on the
outskirts of the battle-field; and the squadron, either as a whole or
in detachments, was busily employed. The State was overrun by lawless
hordes of ruffians, of which Shaler, the latest historian of the State,
writes as follows:--

    "Deserters from both armies formed bands of outlaws called
    guerillas. These wretches, without commanders from either army,
    sheltered in the great forests that abound in nearly all parts of
    the State, were often strong enough to overcome the domestic
    forces, and were guilty of many outrages. They brought back to
    Kentucky the evils of its struggle with the Indians. Men again
    tilled their fields with their muskets by their sides, and slept in
    expectation of combat. During this and the following year these
    parties were hunted down, and, when captured, hanged without mercy.
    Still their numbers, their daring, and their swift movements, made
    the struggle as difficult and as bloody as in any year during the
    last century."

    The Riverlawn Cavalry was largely employed in operations against
    these irregular bodies of marauders; and there were so many of them
    that the force was kept constantly occupied. The cavalry had plenty
    of exciting experience; and the hero, in command of his platoon on
    detached service, proved himself to be not only a brave officer,
    but a skilful strategist.

    Compared with the States farther north, Kentucky had a terrible
    experience in the earlier years of the war, in her desperate
    struggle with Confederate and domestic enemies; and she is
    certainly entitled as a Union State to greater honor and respect
    for her loyalty and fidelity to the Union, and for sending so large
    a number of troops as she did "to the front," than any other loyal
    State.

WILLIAM T. ADAMS.

CONTENTS

                                                                 PAGE
CHAPTER I.
  GRACE MORGAN AND HER TREASURE-CHEST                              15

CHAPTER II.
  PREPARATIONS FOR DECISIVE ACTION                                 28

CHAPTER III.
  THE LIEUTENANT BAGS HIS GAME                                     41

CHAPTER IV.
  A REFRACTORY GUERILLA CHIEF                                      54

CHAPTER V.
  LIEUTENANT LYON ENCOUNTERS ANOTHER ENEMY                         67

CHAPTER VI.
  A SMART SKIRMISH IN THE ROAD                                     80

CHAPTER VII.
  THE BATTLE AT THE BREEDINGS FORT                                 92

CHAPTER VIII.
  BEFORE THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS                               105

CHAPTER IX.
  PREPARING FOR ANOTHER BATTLE IN THE ROAD                        118

CHAPTER X.
  THE SHARPSHOOTERS OF MILLERSVILLE                               131

CHAPTER XI.
  THE APPROACH OF ANOTHER CAVALRY FORCE                           144

CHAPTER XII.
  A NEW COMPANY OF MOUNTED RIFLEMEN                               156

CHAPTER XIII.
  A NIGHT IN A JAIL AT JAMESTOWN                                  169

CHAPTER XIV.
  THE AIDE-DE-CAMP OF THE GENERAL                                 182

CHAPTER XV.
  THE ATTEMPTED ESCAPE OF A WAGON-TRAIN                           195

CHAPTER XVI.
  AN IMAGINARY AND A REAL BATTLE                                  208

CHAPTER XVII.
  THE OVERWHELMING DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY                            221

CHAPTER XVIII.
  THE FLAG OF TRUCE ON THE MEADOW                                 234

CHAPTER XIX.
  THE RIVERLAWN CAVALRY ON THE FLANK                              247

CHAPTER XX.
  THE FLOWING TIDE OF THE ENEMY'S RETREAT                         260

CHAPTER XXI.
  DECK FINDS HIMSELF IN A TIGHT PLACE                             273

CHAPTER XXII.
  A LIEUTENANT AMONG THE "MISSING"                                286

CHAPTER XXIII.
  WITHIN THE CONFEDERATE LINES                                    299

CHAPTER XXIV.
  A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CUMBERLAND                             311

CHAPTER XXV.
  A BOAT VOYAGE DOWN THE GREAT RIVER                              324

CHAPTER XXVI.
  FOUR FUGITIVES FROM THE BATTLE-FIELD                            337

CHAPTER XXVII.
  THE OWNER OF THE MANSION ON THE HILL                            349

CHAPTER XXVIII.
  THE FIGHT BEGINS AT GROVE-HILL MANSION                          362

CHAPTER XXIX.
  A NEW METHOD OF OPERATIONS                                      375

CHAPTER XXX.
  THE SURRENDER OF CAPTAIN GRUNDY                                 387

CHAPTER XXXI.
  AN UNEXPECTED RE-ENFORCEMENT                                    399

CHAPTER XXXII.
  DECK LYON'S PLAN OF BATTLE                                      411

CHAPTER XXXIII.
  THE DEFEAT AND SURRENDER OF THE GUERILLAS                       424

CHAPTER XXXIV.
  THE GATHERING OF A NEW COMMAND                                  437

CHAPTER XXXV.
  A FIRST LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN                                  450

CHAPTER XXXVI.
  SCOUTING IN THE ENEMY'S COUNTRY.                                463

ILLUSTRATIONS

"SERGEANT FRONKLYN DRAGGED THE FORM OF LIEUTENANT LYON OUT OF THE
MÊLÉE"                                             _Frontispiece_

ILLUSTRATED TITLE

"COME DOWN, OR YOU ARE A DEAD MAN"                          _Page_ 64

"THEY LAID HIM ON THE GRASS JUST AS THE RECALL WAS SOUNDED"       141

"HE SOON DISCOVERED HIS LIEUTENANT RIDING AT THE HEAD OF HIS
PLATOON"                                                          210

"THE SHARPSHOOTERS RUSHED DOWN THE DECLIVITY"                     262

"THE BALL STRUCK HIM IN THE HEAD"                                 388

"THE UNWELCOME VISITORS POINTED THEIR WEAPONS"                    461

A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER I

GRACE MORGAN AND HER TREASURE-CHEST

"Are you an honest man, sir?" asked a very pretty young woman, not more
than twenty years old, as she stopped in the open field in front of
Sergeant Life Knox of the Riverlawn Cavalry, as it was generally
called, though the squadron belonged to a numbered regiment in
Kentucky.

The non-commissioned officer was a tall Kentuckian, over six feet high,
lank and raw-boned. He looked at the young woman, and a smile lighted
up his thin face.

"I reckon I am, Miss; I never robbed a bank, or stole a poor woman's
last dollar," he replied, thinking it was a queer question if the lady
proposed to trust him on his own recommendation.

"Are you a Confederate soldier, for I see that you wear a uniform?"
continued the young woman, looking behind her with a timid glance.

"I am not!" protested Life with earnestness enough to prove that he
meant all that he said. "Don't you see that I wear the uniform of the
United States army? and, Hail Columby! if I ain't a Union man from the
smallest nail in the heel of my boot to the top hair on my Kentucky
skull!"

"You won't rob me if I tell you the truth, will you?" asked she very
simply, and evidently agitated by painful doubts.

"No, indeed, Missy! I wouldn't do that even if you didn't tell me the
truth; not if you lied to me till you was black in the face," replied
the sergeant warmly. "But what difference does it make to you whether I
am honest or not? I am forty-two, and I reckon you don't think of
marrying me without my mother's consent."

"I am very serious, sir, and I hope you will not make fun of me,"
pleaded the young woman with a deep blush on her face, as she looked
behind her and listened.

"I wouldn't say a sassy thing to you for half a Kentucky county; but
you asked me a queer question. I'll do anything I kin for you. I reckon
I'm an honest man; and I don't reckon you kin find anybody in my county
that would say I'm not honest."

"That's enough; you look like an honest man, and I believe you," added
the fair woman, as she took from under her clothing a hard-wood box
about eight inches long by four in width and depth.

From the effort it required for her to handle it, Life judged that it
was quite heavy. It was bound with straps of brass, screwed to the
wood; and the sight of it was enough to convince the sergeant that it
contained something valuable. Her strange question seemed to be
explained by this supposition.

"What is your name, Missy?" asked Life, becoming very sedate all at
once; for, rough as his manners were, he had a kind heart, and would
not trifle with the feelings of any one.

"My name is Grace Morgan," replied the lady, looking behind her once
more, as though she dreaded some peril in that direction.

"Be you afeerd of sunthin', that you keep lookin' over yender?"
inquired the cavalryman in kindly tones. "What is it? Tell me all about
it."

"You say you are a Union man?" she inquired doubtfully.

"Bet your life on't! I'm orderly sergeant of the fust company of the
Riverlawn Cavalry. What's it all about?" asked Life, very tenderly for
him.

"Stephen Halliburn, who lives about half a mile over there, is my
guardian. About twenty Confederate soldiers, or guerillas, I don't know
which, are plundering his house and stable, and they say they will have
his money if they have to pull his house down to find it," answered
Grace, trembling, and glancing frequently behind her, as though she
were in mortal terror of the approach of the enemy.

"Oh, ho, Grace! That's what's the matter, ain't it? We'll soon fix the
gorrillas, or the soldiers, whatever they may be," replied Life, as he
looked earnestly in the direction of the road, a few rods distant from
the spot.

"But I can't carry this chest any farther. I am worn out bringing it so
far; for I have been so frightened that all the strength has gone out
of me," said Grace, as she placed the box on a rock near her. "I am
terribly afraid that Mr. Halliburn will be killed or badly hurt; for he
is a Union man, and speaks out just what he thinks."

"We will do what we can for him," added Life, still looking in the
direction of the road, and listening for sounds from the north.

"But you are only a single man; and what can you do against twenty
ruffians?" asked the Kentucky girl, who still trembled, and did not
seem to believe that the stalwart cavalryman could do anything to aid
Mr. Halliburn.

"About fifty on us," added Life quietly, still looking and listening.
"I'm a scout sent out ahead of half the fust company marchin' this way.
I left my horse in the road, to come over this way and take a look, for
I had an idee I heerd sunthin' on the left."

"Perhaps you heard the ruffians who are plundering my guardian,"
replied Grace, brightening up when she learned that fifty Union
soldiers were in the neighborhood. "He is a dear good man, and I love
him as though he were my father. I would not have left him if he had
not insisted that I should do something with the chest, which contains
all his money and papers. I can't carry it any farther, for it is very
heavy."

"And what were you gwine to do with it?" inquired Life, looking into
her pretty face.

"I was going to carry it over to the house of Colonel Ben Halliburn, my
guardian's brother, as he told me to do."

"All right, Missy; I'll tote it over to the road, and report to the
leftenant as soon as he comes up with the men," added Life as he picked
up the treasure-chest.

It was heavy, as the young woman had said, though it was a light load
for the powerful Kentuckian; and he concluded at once that it must
contain a considerable amount of gold. In the distracted condition of
the State very few had any confidence in the banks, and some had turned
their bills into coin for any emergency that might arise. Before he
reached the road he saw another scout getting over the fence.

"Get on your hoss agin, Fronklyn!" shouted Life, who walked with long
and hurried strides, so that Grace had to run in order to keep near
him.

The story of the bearer of the chest had fully aroused him by this
time; and he was ready for action, whether it was in a fight, or in the
service of the fair maiden, though there was hardly a fibre of
sentimentalism in his composition. When he reached the road, Sergeant
Fronklyn had mounted his horse, and was waiting for orders from the
chief scout.

"Ride back like a streak o' lightnin', and tell Leftenant Lyon that the
gorrillas is cleanin' out a house over yender!" said Life in hurried
speech. "How fur back is the platoon?"

"Not more than half a mile," said Fronklyn.

"Go it, and don't let the grass grow under your hoss's irons!"

The other scout went off at the fastest gallop of his steed, and soon
disappeared beyond a turn in the road. The Riverlawn Cavalry had been
enlisted, drilled, and mustered into the loyal army at the plantation
of Noah Lyon, who had inherited the property under the will of his
elder brother. The raising of hemp and horses had made the deceased
brother, Colonel Duncan Lyon, a rich man, as worldly possessions were
gauged in this locality. His property had been fairly divided among his
heirs. The plantation had been given to his younger brother, greatly to
the dissatisfaction of the elder one.

Titus Lyon, the other surviving brother, was an entirely different kind
of man from Noah, as the original owner of Riverlawn was well aware
when he gave the place to his younger brother. All of them had come
from New Hampshire, the colonel in his early manhood, and Titus a few
years before Noah. The latter was a man of character, with lofty
principles, while his living brother was far from being a high-toned
person. He had always been what is called "a moderate drinker," and his
politics had always been the opposite of Noah's in the North.

Titus believed that he ought to have been born a rich man. He was a
mason by trade, and had gone to Kentucky to establish himself in this
business. For a time he did very well. He fawned upon and tried to
flatter his brother; but he drank more whiskey than ever. When the
colonel's health began to fail him, he looked forward to the possession
of Riverlawn. When it went to Noah he was mortally offended, and an
unhappy feud grew into being, though it was altogether on the side of
Titus.

The dissatisfied brother, apparently as much to spite Noah, who was an
enthusiastic Union man, cast in his lot with the Secessionists. With
the money he had received from his deceased brother's estate he became
a leader among them. They were bullies and ruffians for the most part,
operating at first in the interests of neutrality, the governor's
favorite scheme, and in the end falling very naturally into the ranks
of the enemies of the Union. Titus raised a company of Home Guards, in
which thousands of the citizens of the State were organized, some on
one and some on the other side of the question.

Titus was ambitious, and he was chosen captain of his company. He
displayed more energy and activity than he had ever manifested in his
business, and spent his money recklessly in fitting out and arming his
recruits. He purchased a considerable quantity of muskets, cannon, and
revolvers, with the ammunition for them. He concealed these military
supplies in a "sink," or cave, till he could organize his command. One
of Noah's sons discovered them while exploring the creek that flowed by
Riverlawn.

When the discovery was reported to his father, Major Lyon, as he was
courteously called before he was entitled to this handle to his name,
immediately decided that his duty to his country required him to take
possession of the arms and munitions. They were all removed to a
building prepared for their reception at Riverlawn. Captain Titus knew,
or suspected, that his brother had taken the military supplies, and his
wrath knew no bounds. When the Union men held a meeting in a
schoolhouse the smouldering fire was fanned into a blaze. The ruffians,
led on by their captain, marched upon Riverlawn, proposing to burn the
mansion and hang its owner to a tree on the lawn, though Titus denied
that he had any such intention, and declared that he had prevented his
followers from committing this outrage.

Major Lyon had heard of the threats against him and his property, and
he was prepared for the marauders. With the aid of his neighbors, and
arming his negroes, he fought the "Battle of Riverlawn," defeating and
dispersing the ruffians. Then, as arranged at the Union meeting, he
proceeded to raise a company of cavalry. The enthusiasm among the loyal
people was immense, and two companies were enlisted and mustered in.
Against his wishes he was chosen major of the battalion.

Levi Bedford was his overseer. He was a Tennessee Unionist in whom the
planter had unbounded confidence. When the major left his home in
command of the squadron of two companies, Levi took charge of his
family and estate. This family consisted of a daughter Hope, and a son
Dexter, now a lieutenant at eighteen. Noah had brought up in his family
from their early childhood the children of a brother who died penniless
in Vermont. Artemas, always called Artie, was sixteen, and a soldier in
one of the companies. Dorcas, the adopted daughter, was eighteen. They
had always been a happy family; and all the young people called Noah
and his wife, who treated them as their own, father and mother.

The squadron had been on detached duty. Their first service was to
protect a railroad bridge which Captain Titus's company and a troop of
Texan cavalry had been sent to destroy in order to prevent the
transportation of Union forces to Bowling Green. The Texans were
thoroughly defeated, and the Home Guards surrounded, beaten, and
captured. The major's brother was sent with them to the North, where he
had the opportunity to repent and get sober. His two sons, Alexander
and Orlando, half starved and disgusted, had fled from Bowling Green;
and when their mother and sisters went back to the North, the two boys
had enlisted in the Riverlawn Cavalry.

The next service of the squadron was in repressing guerilla outrages;
and they took part in the small battle of Munfordsville. When it was
known that the Confederates were marching into Kentucky from the south
and east, the squadron was sent to take part in the operations in this
quarter. The command arrived at Columbia, from which Major Lyon sent
the first company towards Mill Springs, where the enemy were reported
to be, by the way of Liberty and Miltonville. The second company were
to proceed by Millersville and Jamestown, with the same objective point
in view.

CHAPTER II

PREPARATIONS FOR DECISIVE ACTION

Captain Gordon was in command of the first company of the Riverlawn
Cavalry. He was an excellent officer, and had been sent down to
organize the company, and Major Lyon wished him to take the command of
the battalion; but he insisted that the planter should have that
position. The wealthy and influential men of the county, among whom the
major was honored and respected, persuaded him to accept; and he had
finally done so, Captain Gordon being the most strenuous that he should
do so.

Tom Belthorpe, the son of a planter residing near Riverlawn, was the
first lieutenant. Deck Lyon, as he had always been called by everybody
but his father, had proved to be one of "the bravest of the brave," and
to have excellent judgment for a young man of eighteen. He was a
universal favorite throughout the squadron. In the battles with the
guerillas at Greeltop and Plain Hill, Deck had greatly distinguished
himself. In the first of these actions, Lieutenant Gilder of the first
company had been killed, and his place was vacant. Among themselves the
company signed a paper in favor of the promotion of Deck to the grade
of lieutenant.

Major Lyon had no knowledge of this movement on the part of the men, or
perhaps he would have interfered to prevent its success; but the paper
went to higher authority than he, indorsed by Captain Gordon and
Lieutenant Belthorpe; and when the commission came it was as much of a
surprise to the father as to the son.

Wearing his new uniform, with shoulder-straps, he had fought as bravely
as ever at Munfordsville, and had led his platoon with skill and
discretion. Though in an attack of cavalry he led his men into action,
he was not again charged with recklessness, as he had been in the
action at the Cross Roads, as the fight at the other railroad bridge
was called. He conducted himself with dignity in his new position, and
all of a sudden he seemed to forget that he was only a boy.

The first company had marched down the road towards the South not more
than three miles, before the forward movement was arrested by a
messenger, coming in through a path from the road to Breedings with the
information that a guerilla or foraging party were approaching a
hamlet, evidently with the intention of plundering the houses and
out-buildings. It was known that the Confederate forces, who had
established and fortified themselves in and around Mill Springs, were
destitute of supplies. They were in a hungry or half-starved condition,
and their food was obtained mostly by foraging parties sent a
considerable distance from their camps.

Major Lyon had divided his squadron at Columbia in order to check the
operations of these bodies, some of which were said to be regular
partisan bands, robbing and plundering for their own benefit, and not
authorized to procure supplies for the Southern army. Captain Gordon
had been instructed to be on the lookout for these marauders. The
messenger said the party approaching the Breedings road consisted of
about thirty mounted men. He decided to send Lieutenant Belthorpe's
platoon to attack them, accompanying the force himself, for he could
not remain inactive when there was fighting to be done.

The captain had not expected to meet an enemy in the direction of
Breedings; but he had received an intimation that trouble might be
expected in the region between Columbia and Harrison, though nothing
was known in regard to such a raid. The country was cut up by
cross-roads, not much more than mere paths, on which several
plantations were located, making the territory very favorable to the
operations of guerillas or foragers.

"Lieutenant Lyon, I am going with Belthorpe's platoon, for I am more
likely to be needed where he goes than where you go," said Captain
Gordon, riding up to the young officer. "You will continue on this road
till you come to Millersville, and wait there until I join you."

"At Millersville," repeated Deck. "I have studied the map, and I know
just where it is."

"I talked with a planter just this side of Columbia, who gave me a hint
that marauding parties had a fine chance to operate in the country that
will be on your left as you proceed," continued the commander of the
company. "If you hear firing, or see anything that looks like a fire,
you will attend to the matter."

"Of course I should do so," added Deck.

"I want you to hurry up the baggage wagons, for they are what makes our
progress so slow. I need hardly warn you to be prudent, and not expose
yourself unnecessarily to a superior force. Don't leave your wagons too
far in your rear, for they contain just what the enemy want most. Now,
relying as much upon your discretion as your bravery, continue on your
march to Millersville," the captain concluded, as he galloped after the
first platoon, which had left the road a few minutes before.

Lieutenant Lyon saluted his superior, and then, conscious for the first
time in his life that he had been assigned to an independent command,
though it was likely to be of brief duration, he sent for the two
sergeants of his platoon, and sent them forward as scouts, with two
privates to assist them.

"Platoon--attention! Forward--march!" called the young officer, when he
had sent the scouts ahead with orders to keep a sharp lookout on both
sides, especially on the left.

Life Knox obeyed his orders to the letter, and made the left his
particular study; and when he saw something like signs of a plantation
in the distance, he dismounted, got over the fence, moving in a
direction to satisfy himself that no foragers were in sight. As he was
advancing towards the plantation, Grace Morgan came out of a bushy
knoll and confronted him. After the interview with her, he had carried
the treasure-chest to the road. He had sent the two privates to the
left; and as Sergeant Fronklyn galloped off to hurry up the platoon,
they rode down the road, and halted in front of him. One of these
soldiers was Deck's cousin, Alick Lyon.

"Have you seen or heard anything crooked, Lyon?" asked the chief scout.

"Not a thing, Sergeant; I thought I heard voices one time, but I could
make nothing of them. I saw this woman walking across a cornfield;" and
he pointed at Grace.

"I saw him too; but I was afraid of him," added the young woman.

"Wasn't you afeerd of me?" asked the sergeant, with a smile on his wiry
face.

"No, I was not; besides, I was tired out with the load I carried, and I
felt as though I could go no farther."

"How far from here does Colonel Halliburn live?" asked Life.

"It is more than a mile from this road."

"I reckon this box will not be very safe with him, for there's more
gorillas runnin' loose about this country than there is skippers in an
old cheese. Kin you ride horseback, Grace?"

"Every Kentucky girl can ride horseback," replied she, with the first
smile he had yet seen on her face, perhaps because she expected to be
sent to Colonel Halliburn's mansion.

"But we hain't got no side-saddle," suggested Life.

"I can get along very well on any saddle; and I have ridden a spirited
animal without any saddle," said the lady.

"Perhaps you would like to enlist in our company," added the sergeant,
with a heavy chuckle.

"I should like it first-rate, if it could be allowed," replied Grace,
with energy, while her eyes snapped at the idea.

"I shall have to leave that matter to Major Lyon. But here comes the
platoon," said Life, as thirty-five or forty men dashed down the road,
led by Lieutenant Lyon.

"Where are the enemy, Sergeant?" demanded the officer, as he reined in
his panting steed some distance in advance of his men, and in front of
Life and Grace Morgan.

"Half a mile or more to the east of where we stand," replied the scout.

"Is there a road or path over there?" inquired Deck.

"This is Grace Morgan, and she can tell you all about it, for she
brought me the news," answered Life, presenting the young woman.

The lieutenant raised his cap and bowed politely to the Kentucky
damsel; and he could not help observing that she was a very pretty
girl, though he had no time to indulge in the phrases of gallantry,
even if his fealty to Miss Kate Belthorpe had permitted him to do so.
This fair young lady was the sister of Lieutenant Belthorpe, and Deck
had made her acquaintance on the evening of the "Battle of Riverlawn,"
when he had rescued her from the grasp of a ruffian. He was too young
to be absolutely in love with the maiden, though he believed she was
the prettiest girl in the State of Kentucky.

Miss Morgan repeated the story she had told the sergeant.

"How did you escape from the ruffians?" asked Deck.

"We saw them coming from the direction of Miltonville; and Mr.
Halliburn, who is my guardian, sent me to carry his valuables to the
mansion of his brother, about a mile and a half from his own house,"
replied Grace, by this time quite reassured by the presence of the
soldiers.

"Have you the valuables now?"

"They are in a box," she replied, pointing to the treasure-chest. "It
contains a good deal of money in gold and silver, and it is so heavy
that I could not carry it any farther, for I was faint and tired out."

"I will send two of my men to see you safely to the house where you are
going," continued the lieutenant, as he glanced at his platoon, which
had halted in the road near the place where the maiden stood. "Life,
name two of your trustiest men," he added in a low tone to the
sergeant.

"Fronklyn and Sandy Lyon," responded Life promptly. "The lady can ride
on an army saddle, or even without any saddle."

"Send the men you mention; as our spare horses are with the
baggage-wagons, you can wait till they come up. Is there any road, Miss
Morgan, across these fields to your guardian's mansion?" added Deck,
willing that his men should rest for a few minutes, for he was not
inclined to fight his first battle, while in command, without fully
understanding the situation.

"There is a rough road across the fields and through the woods to the
mansion; but it is very soft and muddy," replied Grace.

"There comes a man across the field!" exclaimed Life.

"That is Win Milton!" cried the maiden, her face suffused with a blush,
as though she supposed all the listeners understood her relations to
the young man, who was now running with all the speed of his legs
across the field.

He was a stalwart fellow, and the maiden's crimson cheeks betrayed the
whole story. He was well dressed, and his face was intelligent and
expressive.

"I am so glad you have come, Win," ejaculated the blushing beauty, as
the young man grasped her offered hands. "What is the news from the
house?"

"The ruffians are guerillas, and they are trying to make Mr. Halliburn
give up his money, but he declared that he had not a dollar in the
house; yet he found time to tell me that you had taken the chest
containing it to his brother's," replied Winfield Milton, which was his
full name. "The robbers were ransacking the house in search of the
money or other valuables; and Mr. Halliburn insisted that I should
follow you, for he was alarmed in regard to your safety."

"Mr. Win--I have not heard your name yet," interposed the lieutenant.

"This is Mr. Winfield Milton, of Miltonville," added Grace, with
another blush.

"I am glad to see you, Mr. Milton, for you can be of service to me. I
suppose you are acquainted with this locality?" replied Deck.

"Born and raised in these parts, Captain."

"Lieutenant Lyon, if you please. I have already detailed two of my men
to conduct Miss Morgan to the mansion where she wishes to go, for I
desire to employ you as my guide, if the lady will consent," continued
Deck.

"Certainly I will consent!" exclaimed Grace. "I would guide you myself,
if I had not to take care of the treasure-chest."

"I shall be very glad to serve you, Lieutenant," added Win.

Although not ten minutes had elapsed since the arrival of the officer
in command, the baggage wagons were in sight. Men were sent to them for
two of the extra horses, saddled for immediate use. One of them was
given to Miss Morgan, Sergeant Fronklyn received the treasure-chest on
his horse, and Sandy Lyon was sent on ahead to scout the path. The lady
seated herself on the army saddle, and the party moved off as rapidly
as the muddy road would permit.

THE LIEUTENANT BAGS HIS GAME

The Riverlawn Cavalry had lost a number of its men, who had been killed
in the several actions in which it had been engaged, and a greater
number had been disabled by wounds; though both companies had been
recruited up to their full standard. The squadron was so popular that
more than twenty had applied to enlist after its ranks were full. Deck
had, therefore, his full quota, and two more.

"The other horse is for you, Mr. Milton," said the lieutenant, when he
was ready to move on to the mansion invested by the ruffians.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Lyon; I left my horse a mile beyond Mr.
Halliburn's, when I learned that the guerillas were going in that
direction," replied the guide. "I am satisfied, now that Grace is
safe."

"There is another band of guerillas or foragers in the direction of
Breedings; but the first platoon of our company has gone over to give
them a reception, and I don't believe any of them will get as far south
as the house to which Miss Morgan is going," Deck explained.

"I hope not, for I am very anxious about Grace," added the guide.

"She is a very attractive young lady," suggested Deck.

"Which makes her peril all the greater," replied her intended, for such
he was, as they entered a forest of black walnut. "We have tried to
persuade her to go to her uncle's house in Springfield, Ohio; but she
refuses to leave her guardian, who has been a father to her from her
childhood. I shall get my horse, if the ruffians have not stolen him,
and hasten to Colonel Halliburn's, as soon as you have disposed of
these villains."

"I shall try to bag the whole of them," said Deck. "But so many
prisoners would be a nuisance to me."

"There is a loyal Home Guard in Millersville, if the Confederates have
not scattered them; and they would take care of your prisoners,"
suggested the guide.

"Now, Mr. Milton,"--

"Call me Win, as everybody else does, and that will save time,"
interposed the young man.

"As you please, Win; the name is shorter, and perhaps you will
recognize it more readily because it is more familiar to you than one
with a handle to it. Now, I want to know something more about the
surroundings of Mr. Halliburn's mansion. I wonder that this gentleman
is not a colonel, like most people of any importance in this State."

"He was formerly a clergyman, and sometimes officiates now on an
emergency. That fact saved him from any military infliction. Then his
brother is a real colonel, and two of the same title would have made
confusion in talking about them," the guide explained.

The mud was so deep that no great speed could be made on the march, and
the guerillas were not likely to complete their mission for some hours,
for they seldom left a plundered house without requiring a meal to be
provided for them. Still, the lieutenant pushed on with all practicable
haste.

"How does the land lie about the house?" asked Deck.

"All the land cultivated on the plantation, which contains over a
thousand acres, is on the east side of the mansion. Most of the ground
on the west of it is in walnut; for in the dry season it is easily
hauled to the Cumberland River, and carried to a market during high
water. It is a profitable crop to the planter."

"Does the walnut grove reach as far as the mansion?"

"Very nearly. There is a small grove south of the house, and a wooded
hill to the north-east of it."

"Very well; I think I have got the idea of it," replied Deck, as he
relapsed into silence to study his plan.

Though he had a great deal of confidence in himself, he was fully
conscious of the responsibility which rested upon him. Probably if
Captain Gordon had suspected that the lieutenant at eighteen would
encounter an enemy, he would have come with the platoon himself, though
he had quite as much confidence in Deck as in Tom Belthorpe. But the
other division was reasonably sure to engage an enemy, and doubtless
this consideration had decided the question as to which he should
accompany.

"This wood extends around to the north side of the mansion, if I
understand the situation," said Deck, when he had arranged the attack
in his own mind.

"Precisely so," replied the guide.

"That is on our left; how is it on the right, Win?"

"You come out of the woods into a cornfield; beyond this is a low hill,
and beyond it is a grove, where the family walk in warm weather."

"How far are we from the mansion now?"

"Something more than a hundred rods."

"Platoon--halt!" said the lieutenant, suddenly whirling his horse about
as on a pivot. "Sergeant Knox!"

Life rode up to him, saluted, and waited for further orders.

"With fifteen men you will move to the left through the woods till you
come to the mansion now directly in front of us. Move without noise,
and halt your force as near the house as you can without being seen by
the enemy, who are too busy to notice anything just now. When the bugle
sounds the 'Advance,' you will march at a gallop to the east side of
the house. Do you understand me, Life?" said Deck, speaking very
clearly, but in a low tone.

"I'll bet I do; shall I repeat the orders?" replied the sergeant.

"It is not necessary."

Deck then directed Corporal Tilford, another non-commissioned officer,
to take twelve men and proceed to the right, through the cornfield,
concealing himself behind the hill mentioned by Win, and halt in the
grove. At the same signal, a second time given, the corporal was to
march his men in haste to the front of the mansion. The two detachments
went to the left and the right as directed, and the lieutenant
continued the march directly to his destination. The stable of the
plantation was the first building they saw, for the west side of the
mansion was concealed by a dozen lofty trees. If the ruffians were
still in the house, they appeared to have taken no precautions to guard
against a surprise: for there was no sentinel, and no person could be
seen near the mansion.

"Platoon--halt!" said Deck, when he had led his men into the shelter of
the trees; but he spoke in a very low tone, for he was not more than
fifty feet from the mansion.

Taking the bugler and the guide with him, he crept carefully around the
principal building, halting at the corner. From this point he obtained
a full view of the ground in front. He counted twenty-two horses,
secured to a fence and in other places where it could be done. This he
concluded was the force of the enemy. He could hear very loud noises
and shouts within the mansion, and the sounds appeared to come from the
upper story of the building. It was evident that the marauders had
searched the lower part of the house, and were now engaged in going
through the upper portion.

"Was it known that Mr. Halliburn had a large sum of money in his
house?" asked Deck in a whisper of the guide.

"Probably it was; he kept it in several banks till recently. When he
withdrew the money from the banks, the officers of these institutions
were incensed against him; for his example would be followed by other
influential people, and the banks would be ruined," Win explained in
the same low tone.

"Stufton, go to the rear of the house, and send the first six men you
come to around to me. Tell them to make no noise," continued the
lieutenant, addressing the bugler.

He was not absent more than three minutes, and the men crept around the
house as though they had been engaged in a burglarious enterprise,
securing their sabres so that they did not rattle. Milton wondered what
the cavalryman in command intended to do, but he waited patiently for
the outcome. Ordering the men in a whisper to follow him, Deck stole
silently to the portico of the mansion on the east side, which was
precisely like one on the west.

The front door of the mansion was wide open. Deck stationed his six men
on the piazza, close to the building, and then passed into the hall
through the open passage. A door on each side opened into as many large
apartments. The one on the right was plainly the parlor. On a broad
sofa reclined a man with white hair and beard. He lay there, and did
not move any more than if the breath had left his body. In the room on
the left lay an elderly woman on another sofa, as motionless as the
other.

Heavy footsteps could be heard on the floors of the upper story, with
the sound of rough voices, from which proceeded a constant flow of
profanity. Deck stepped out of the hall to the piazza, and called the
men to him one at a time, and then stationed them in the hall
surrounding the staircase leading to the second story.

"If any one attempts to descend the stairs, warn him not to do so, and
shoot him if he disobeys," said Deck to each of the troopers, who had
his carbine in readiness for use.

"Are there any back stairs in the house, Win?" asked Deck in the usual
whisper.

"There are, by the dining-room in the rear," replied the guide, who
began to understand the method by which the lieutenant meant to
operate, but he said nothing.

Deck went to the west door of the mansion, opened it, and called three
more men, whom he instructed as he had the others, and stationed them
at the foot of the back stairs. Calling a corporal and a private, he
sent them to Life and Tilford, with an order to secure all horses, and
load their carbines, putting their revolvers in their belts. Then they
were to wait for the signal from the bugle.

"Now we will look into the two rooms, and see if the man and woman on
the sofas are dead," said Deck to the guide. "Come with me, Win, if you
please."

Milton had not entered the house before, and had not seen the persons
on the sofas. He followed the lieutenant into the room where the man
lay. Going nearer to him than before, he discovered that the gentleman
was strapped to the sofa so that he could not move.

"It is Mr. Halliburn!" was the whispered exclamation of Win.

"Hush! Don't speak, sir," said Deck, as he proceeded to remove the
straps which bound him, aided by the guide.

"Not a sound, sir!" continued the young officer. "You are safe, and so
is Miss Morgan, and also the treasure-chest. Not a word!"

Win assisted him to sit up on the sofa, and then went into the other
front room with Deck. The latter warned her as he had the man not to
speak, and then asked the guide who she was, while both of them began
at once to remove her bonds.

"Mrs. Halliburn," replied Win, who assisted her to rise as soon as she
was liberated.

"Now, Win, if you wish to go and find your horse, I can spare you,
though I should like very well to have you remain longer."

"I want to see this thing through," answered Milton. "I have seen you
pile up all the incidents of this affair, like those in a novel; and
now I want to see you pull out the pin in the last chapter, and let
everything down in a heap. I suppose Grace is safe with your men to
guard her."

"I will vouch for her safety. I am going to pull out the pin now,"
added Deck, as he beckoned the bugler to follow him to the front or
east piazza.

He ordered him to sound the "Advance," and the command was promptly
obeyed. The ringing notes of the startling call sounded clearly in the
silence of the retired locality, and it could have been heard at least
half a mile. Life Knox's force came first, and Deck directed the
sergeant to surround the house, and shoot down any guerilla that
attempted to escape. The bugle sounded the second call, and Corporal
Tilford and his dozen men appeared in front of the mansion. The
sergeant continued to station the men till all of them were in
position.

The marauders flocked to the windows, and found half a dozen carbines
pointed at each opening. It checked their enthusiasm at once. At the
staircase those who proposed to descend found as many pieces aimed at
them. It looked just then as though Lieutenant Lyon had bagged the
twenty-two guerillas in the upper story of the mansion.

CHAPTER IV

A REFRACTORY GUERILLA CHIEF

The situation did not look hopeful to the ruffians who had taken
possession of the mansion. They saw at least forty carbines pointed at
them, and the staircase looked like a barred gate to them. Their heavy
footsteps could be heard in the lower story as they walked about from
one window to another, searching for some avenue of escape. Life Knox
was passing around the house, assisted by Corporal Tilford, in
readiness to meet the first attempt to resist the fate that was in
store for them.

The lieutenant stood at the front door, and occasionally stepped
out-doors to assure himself that the house was well covered by his
troopers. He was disposed to wait for some movement on the part of the
enemy, or to allow them to get accustomed to the situation. He had
fought guerillas before; and it was not wise, in his judgment, to force
them suddenly into desperation, for they became reckless when pressed
too hard.

"You have got them into a tight place," said Win Milton, who was
watching the young officer with the most intense interest.

"The circumstances have just fitted the situation for me," replied
Deck, who kept his eyes wandering in every direction in search of any
demonstration on the part of the ruffians. "Do you know any of the men
you have seen about the place, Win?"

"I recognize one of them, and I have seen some of the others," replied
the guide. "A fellow who is called Captain Coonly seems to be in
command of the gang. He has been the most active Secessionist in Adair
County, and the most desperate one. He has an intense hatred of the
Union men of the vicinity, and has advocated hanging every one of them.
He is a fire-eater of the most pronounced stamp; but the rascal is a
coward, I believe, though he has the reputation of being a brave man;
yet he is nothing but a bully. You would think, to hear him talk, that
he was going to burn up the Cumberland River."

"Is he the long-haired fellow I saw at the head of the stairs, dressed
better than the rest of the gang?" asked Deck.

"That is the man. He is well educated, and is a lawyer in Columbia; but
the influential and conservative men, who are nearly all Unionists,
will have nothing to do with him, and have always looked upon him as a
scallawag. He raised a company of Home Guards, but he could enlist only
the ruffians of the vicinity," replied Milton, as he drew the picture
of the leader of the guerillas; and Deck thought the lawyer was not
unlike some of the Secessionists of Butler and Edmonson Counties.

"As you say, we have the ruffians in a tight place, and I want to give
them a chance to think over the situation, and take it in," added Deck.
"If they want to fight, we can accommodate them at any moment they are
ready to open the ball. I suppose they are all armed."

"With old shot-guns, horse-pistols, and antique rifles," replied Win
contemptuously.

"But even such weapons will kill; and I don't want to lose my men
unless it is absolutely necessary, for they can be put to a better use
than in grinding up such blackguards as we have here."

"Don't you think they comprehend the situation by this time?" asked
Milton, who seemed to be impatient to see the end of the affair.

"I might as well wait here as at Millersville; for Captain Gordon has
gone over to Breedings to settle up a case of this kind, and he may not
arrive for several hours yet. I will go into the house and talk with
Mr. Halliburn," said Deck, as he suited the action to the word.

"I doubt if he can give you any information you have not already
obtained," answered Milton, following the lieutenant into the mansion.

The planter and his wife were found on the sofas where they had been
confined; and they seemed to be still paralyzed with terror, for not a
few Union men had been hung or shot in the State within the preceding
year. Mr. Halliburn was a man of sixty or more. He had been a clergyman
during a considerable portion of his life, and he was not at all
belligerent in his nature.

"Mr. Halliburn, this is Lieutenant Lyon, of the Riverlawn Cavalry,
serving the United States Government," said Win, presenting the young
officer.

"I am very glad to see you, Lieutenant Lyon; I may say that I am
rejoiced to see you at this time, for I am beset by the children of
Satan, who would hang me to the highest walnut in my park," said the
venerable gentleman, with a sweetly religious smile on his thin lips,
while his eyes lighted up with an expression in keeping with the smile,
which excited the reverence of the youthful soldier.

"I am very glad to see you, Mr. Halliburn, for I hope I shall soon be
able to relieve you of your troublesome visitors," replied Deck, taking
the hand the planter extended to him.

"I am not a man of war or blood, and I have submitted with what
resignation I could command to the outrages of these myrmidons of sin,"
continued the ex-clergyman. "They learned in some manner that I had
money in the house, which belongs mostly to my ward, Miss Morgan."

"I have met her, and sent two of my men to conduct her to the house of
your brother," added Deck.

"God bless you for your kindness to the child!" exclaimed Mr.
Halliburn, grasping the officer's hand again. "When I saw these foes of
God and man coming towards the mansion, I understood their mission; and
I sent Grace to my brother's with all the money in the house. I hoped
to save it for her use, for nearly all of it belongs to her. But where
is my poor wife?"

"She is all right, in the sitting-room," replied Win. "I will bring her
in," and he hastened to the other front room for her.

Mr. Halliburn told the lieutenant that the marauders had threatened to
hang him if he did not tell where his money was concealed. He had told
them the truth, that there was no money in the house; but they refused
to believe him, and had been searching the house for the last hour.
They had opened every drawer and closet, explored the cellar, examined
the chimneys at each end of the house, and then gone up-stairs to
continue the hunt.

Mrs. Halliburn came into the room, leaning on the arm of Win Milton,
who presented her to the lieutenant. She looked like the twin-sister,
rather than the wife, of the planter, and the same pious expression was
settled upon her face. But Deck had learned all he cared to know at
present, and he thought by this time that the guerillas had come to a
realizing sense of their situation. He thought it was time for him to
attend to them. As he passed out of the parlor, a soldier saluted him.

"One on 'em wants to speak to the commanding officer," said he,
pointing to the head of the stairs, where the marauders were huddled
together. "This is the lieutenant in command," added the cavalryman,
calling to the man who wished to see him.

"What! that boy?" demanded the ruffian.

"Boy or man, I am in command of this detachment of United States
cavalry," replied Deck, elevating his head as high as he could get it;
and he was quite as tall as half of his platoon. "If you have anything
to say to me, say it with a civil tongue in your head."

"That is Captain Coonly," said Win in a low tone.

"I have come to the conclusion that I had better make terms with you,"
replied the leader of the ruffians.

"I make no terms with thieves and robbers," answered Deck, with dignity
enough for a major-general. "I find you engaged in plundering a citizen
of the United States, threatening him, and ransacking his mansion.
Soldiers do not engage in such work."

"I am in the service of the Southern Confederacy," replied Captain
Coonly, evidently somewhat crestfallen.

"Have you a commission about you?"

"Not yet; but I shall have one."

"I look upon you and your gang as guerillas, and I shall treat you as
such. Will you surrender to an officer of the United States?"

"No, I won't surrender! I am willing to make terms with you, and will
do the fair thing," blustered the captain without a commission.

"I do not make terms with such as you are. We have talked enough on
that subject, and you need not say another word about terms; there is
no such word in my book."

"My men are all armed in good shape, and they are fighting characters.
All I ask is fair play."

"You shall have it; and according to the civil law of Kentucky, that
means the inside of a prison-cell for such fellows as you are!"
answered the lieutenant coolly and calmly, with no display of anger;
for he was trying with all his might to follow the excellent advice his
father had given him for his guidance as an officer.

"No civil law about it!" exclaimed Captain Coonly, his wrath stirred up
by the mention of a prison. "I am a soldier, and so are my men. I
demand terms such as one military officer should give to another."

"I do not recognize you as a soldier in the service of the Confederacy,
which would entitle you to military consideration," Lieutenant Lyon
declared with as much solemnity as though he had been presiding over a
court-martial.

Win Milton could hardly control his risible muscles; for he was
inclined to laugh outright as he heard a young fellow of eighteen talk
as though he understood military law as well as he did cavalry tactics.
But Deck had studied the needed subjects for his conduct as an officer
while others slept, and he had improved every opportunity to converse
with Captain Gordon upon the laws and customs of the service.

"I thought you said we should have fair play?" growled Captain Coonly.

"I did; and I explained what fair play was in a case like this. But we
have talked enough about terms; and now we will proceed to business, or
to fight out this thing, if you so elect," said Deck very calmly but
very decidedly.

"But I only ask"--

"You need not ask anything!" interposed the lieutenant. "We have talked
enough; now will you oblige me by coming down the stairs?"

"What if I decline to come down the stairs?" demanded Captain Coonly.

"Then I shall interpret your reply to mean that you prefer to fight out
this matter."

"But you have us"--

"I have you, and I propose to keep you. No more talk! Come down-stairs,
Captain Coonly, or I will order my men to fire!"

The leader of the marauders hesitated, and then took a single step in
the descent; he halted there.

"I only want to say"--

"Say nothing more! Come down, or you are a dead man in another second!"
added Deck, still calm and resolute.

[Illustration: "COME DOWN, OR YOU ARE A DEAD MAN." _Page 64._]

"Go down, Cap!" said several of his followers as they retired from the
dangerous locality at the head of the stairs.

The captain did not hesitate any longer, but descended the steps very
slowly, as though he was marching at his own funeral.

"Win, bring all the cords and straps you can find. We shall want a lot
of them," said Deck in a low tone to the guide. "Bugler, go with him
and help him bring them."

"This is not fair play," said the captain as he landed in the hall.

"No more talk!"

"What are you going to do with me?" demanded Coonly.

"You are my prisoner, and I intend to secure you properly. Give me your
sword and pistols."

"I'll see you in"--

"Life!" called Deck, as he saw the stalwart sergeant near the front
door.

"Here, Leftenant!" replied Life as he strode into the hall and made the
military salute to his officer.

"Disarm this man!" said Deck, pointing to the ruffian leader.

The tall sergeant seized Coonly by the collar of his coat with his left
hand, held him out as though he had been a small boy, unbuckled his
sword-belt, and took two revolvers from his pockets with his right. The
captain was a middling-sized man, and he struggled in the gripe of the
powerful Kentuckian; but he might as well have attempted to resist
Hercules himself.

"Now bind his arms behind him," continued Deck.

"I protest, Lieutenant, against this brutal treatment!" stormed the
prisoner in a loud voice.

"All right; protest as much as you please, but don't make too much
noise about it, or I shall be obliged to have you gagged."

This hint quieted him; and with the aid of the bugler he was secured as
the officer had ordered.

CHAPTER V

LIEUTENANT LYON ENCOUNTERS ANOTHER ENEMY

Surrounded by double their own number of soldiers, armed with the best
weapons, the marauders imprisoned in the upper story of the mansion
could not help realizing that their situation was hopeless. They had
not offered to come to the assistance of Captain Coonly when he was in
the gripe of the stalwart sergeant; for the carbines of the cavalrymen
still covered them, and they saw that they would be shot down if they
attempted to descend the stairs without orders, or fired upon their
assailants in the hall.

The captain was conducted into the sitting-room, and a man was placed
at the door to keep watch of him. But he was harmless by this time; as
Win expressed it, "the fun had all gone out of him." Deck began to
think he had spent time enough over the affair; and he was in a hurry
to return to the Millersville Road.

"Up-stairs there!" he called to the ruffians, who remained there
because they could not escape without the certainty of being shot
whether they attempted to leave by the windows or the stairs. "Is
there any officer among you?"

"Lieutenant Billock is here," replied one of them.

"Let him show himself."

"That is my name," responded a fellow nearly as big as Life Knox at the
head of the stairs.

"Your commander is a prisoner, and you rank next to him. What do you
propose to do, fight or surrender?" Deck inquired of him.

"What can I do?" asked the big fellow; and he had not the air of a
fighting-man, in spite of his ample proportions.

"That is for you to decide," answered Deck.

"We are surrounded by double our own number, and caged here like a lot
of mules. Give me five minutes to talk to the boys," returned the
guerilla lieutenant.

"All right; but not a minute more than five," added the officer of
cavalry, as he looked at his watch.

"What are you gwine to do with 'em when you get 'em?" asked Life in a
low tone.

"Turn them over to Captain Gordon when I have done my share of the
job," answered Deck.

"We have concluded to surrender," said Lieutenant Billock at the head
of the stairs. "I don't see 's we kin help ourselves under the
sucumstances."

"Very well; I shall hold you as prisoners, and treat you as I did your
captain. Call in six more men, Life."

This additional force, carbine in hand, was stationed in the hall by
the officer, with orders to shoot any man who resisted or tried to
escape; and the orders were given in a loud tone, so that the prisoners
on the floor above could hear them.

"Now you will form a line up there, and march down in single file, six
feet apart. Each man will deposit all his weapons on the floor, and go
into the room on the left, after his arms are tied behind him,"
continued Deck.

The prisoners said nothing, and obeyed the order in silence. Lieutenant
Billock came first. The bugler was ordered to see that every one put
all his arms on the floor, and assist him in doing so. Two men tied his
arms behind him, and led him to the sitting-room. All the others
followed him, and were served in the same manner. Twenty-two men were
counted when the ceremony was finished. The bugler was ordered to blow
the Assembly, and the whole platoon gathered in front of the mansion,
which faced the east.

Lieutenant Lyon appeared to have studied up his plan, for he was ready
to take the next step as soon as all the prisoners had been secured. He
next formed his men in two ranks, reaching from the mansion to the
fence, where the ruffians had hitched their horses, retaining the
sergeant and half a dozen soldiers in the hall, where he stood himself.
Then he sent half the prisoners out-doors, with their arms still
secured behind them, and directed Life in what manner to mount and
otherwise dispose of them.

The sergeant called ten men from the ranks to assist him, and each one
of them took a ruffian in his charge. Life had Captain Coonly in his
own hands. As the prisoners pointed out their own horses, they were
conducted to the fence. The cord or strap was then loosened from the
left wrist of each, but remained fastened to the right. They were then
required to mount their steeds, which were a sorry-looking set of
animals.

"Now you are all right," said Life when the captain was in his seat in
the saddle.

"Why don't you take this strap from my right wrist?" asked the
prisoner.

"Beca'se I kin make a better use on't," replied the sergeant, taking
the strap in his hand, and making it fast to the crupper strap behind
the rider.

It was drawn back far enough to prevent the prisoner from reaching it
with his left hand. This was a device of Deck himself; and he had
treated a prisoner in this manner once before, and it had succeeded
admirably, though his man was disposed to resist. Life looked over the
work the men had done, and changed some of it when necessary. Half of
the cavalrymen were then sent for their horses.

They returned mounted in a few minutes, and were placed in charge of
the prisoners, under Corporal Tilford. The other half of the ruffians
were then mounted in the same manner, and the rest of the platoon went
for their steeds in the grove; while orderly Sergeant Life formed the
platoon, with the prisoners in the centre, and half a dozen soldiers on
their flanks, to check the ambition of any who attempted to escape. All
was ready for the march to the Millersville Road, and Deck went in to
bid adieu to Mr. Halliburn and his wife.

"I sincerely hope that you will have no more visits from such
ruffians," said he as he took the hand of the ex-clergyman. "I am
confident this gang will not molest you again. I had my men search them
as they laid down their arms, and they found a few trinkets, which I
passed over to Mr. Milton."

"All we had of any great value was in the treasure-chest which Grace
carried away before the servants of sin entered the mansion. I am under
such a load of obligation to you, Lieutenant Lyon, that I shall never
be able to repay or reciprocate your kindness to us in our distress;
but I thank you with all my heart, and I shall pray daily for you, that
you may be saved from peril and temptation in this world, and that we
may meet in the happy land beyond the grave."

Mrs. Halliburn expressed herself in the same terms; and the young
officer hastened away, attended by Win Milton, who was going to the
home of Colonel Halliburn, to assure himself of the safety of Grace
Morgan.

"What shall we do with all these guns and pistols, Lieutenant?" asked
Win, as he pointed to the pile of them in the hall.

"Anything you like; I don't want them. I advise you to conceal them
under the hay in your stable. There must be some servants about this
house, though I have not seen one," said Deck.

"There are about thirty of them; but they all fled at the approach of
the guerillas. They will all come back now that the danger is over."

The lieutenant mounted his horse, and placed himself at the head of the
column, with Win at his side, still acting as guide. Deck then gave the
order to march. Milton conducted the platoon to the road by an open
field most of the way, and the soil afforded a better footing for the
horses.

"What does all that mean, Lieutenant?" asked Win, as they came to a
little hill which gave them a view of the road for a considerable
distance. "There is a company of cavalry coming down the road at a
headlong gallop!"

"Probably the first platoon of our company," replied Deck.

At the same moment Sergeant Fronklyn and Sandy Lyon rode furiously
across the field, and halted in front of them, having just returned
from their mission to the mansion of Colonel Halliburn.

"Confederate cavalry!" shouted Fronklyn, when he was a considerable
distance from the column.

"Battalion--halt!" shouted Deck in his loudest tones.

"It is a small platoon, and perhaps it is a part of the enemy
Lieutenant Belthorpe engaged at Breedings. The men look as though they
were running away from a force behind them."

"How many of them are there, Fronklyn?" asked Deck hurriedly.

"Not more than thirty, if as many as that," answered the sergeant.

"Life!" called the lieutenant. "Select ten men, and guard the
prisoners," he added.

The sergeant took the men from the rear of the column, and Deck ordered
the rest of the platoon to march at a gallop. The officer rode at a
pace the other horses could not equal, and reached the road far in
advance of his command. He wanted a few minutes to examine the
situation; but the enemy were within fifty rods of him. At a glance he
counted six fours, which made twenty-four men besides the officer.

By the time the lieutenant had made his momentary survey of the
approaching force, his platoon reached the road, Win Milton with them.
The company's baggage-train had arrived, and had halted about twenty
rods to the south of the place where Fronklyn had thrown down the fence
when he saw the command were coming. The wagons were guarded by ten
men, who had been taken from both companies at Columbia; for Major Lyon
had learned there that several counties were overrun with guerillas and
foragers, the latter sent out from General Zollicoffer's Confederate
force at Mill Springs.

The baggage-guard had been ordered up by Fronklyn, and they were
approaching as Deck dashed into the road. If a dozen war-elephants had
waddled into the road instead of Deck's command, they could hardly have
created more surprise than this force of United States cavalry. The
officer in command of the force promptly ordered a halt when he was
within twenty rods of his enemy, for he could not help recognizing the
uniform of the loyal army.

The young lieutenant had reined in his horse and come to a halt as soon
as he reached the road, where he had a full view of the coming
detachment. Milton joined him as the men dashed into the road, with
Life, who had detailed Corporal Tilford, with the ten men, to guard the
prisoners. Deck, profiting by the solemn injunctions of his father when
his promotion went into effect, struggled to keep cool and
self-possessed. His first impulse was to charge the approaching enemy;
and he would have done so if the Confederates had not halted, and given
him time to look over his surroundings.

As he took in the situation, he was perfectly satisfied that he could
easily defeat the enemy, and the only fear he had was that the
detachment would escape. His force was now nearly double that of the
Confederates in numbers, and would be more than that if he called in
the guard of his prisoners.

"Do you know that force, Win?" he asked as the guide rode up to him.

"I do. They wear the blue and the gray, and they are Tennessee
cavalry," replied Milton. "Fronklyn was right."

Deck had a field-glass slung over his shoulder, and he directed it to a
point beyond the enemy; for he wished to ascertain if Tom Belthorpe's
platoon was in pursuit; but the road was too crooked to enable him to
see any distance, for it was bordered in places by walnut forests.

"I don't quite understand this thing," said Deck, musing, as he
strained his vision to discover another force at the north. "Captain
Gordon was with the detachment that went to Breedings; and if he
defeated the Confederates, as he must have done, I don't see how he
happened to permit them to escape, for he had better horses than the
men in front of us ride, and the captain and Lieutenant Belthorpe are
wide-awake officers."

"But both of them are strangers in these counties, while the
Tennesseeans are probably well acquainted with the country. Zollicoffer
has to feed his army on the supplies gathered from the region around
him, and his foragers have learned the geography of this part of the
State. At any rate, his officers can obtain plenty of guides," replied
Milton; "and this one had a better knowledge of the roads and the paths
across the country."

Fearful that the Confederate commander would avail himself of his
knowledge, and thus elude him, Deck sent Life with ten men into the
field on the left, and Fronklyn with the same number into that on the
right. The enemy did not seem to like this movement, though it weakened
the force in front of him about one-half. The officer arranged his men
so that they extended entirely across the road, and then in a voice
that might have been heard half a mile, he ordered a charge.

CHAPTER VI

A SMART SKIRMISH IN THE ROAD

The Confederate troopers set up a yell loud and fierce enough to
intimidate all the old ladies in the State if they could have heard it;
but the Riverlawn Cavalry had heard it before, and its effect was to
kindle the wrath of the members of the platoon.

"Unsling your carbines, Life! Unsling your carbines, Fronklyn!" shouted
Deck, as the flanking parties dashed into the two fields.

The men had fought hand to hand with the Texan Rangers; and they were
roused to the highest pitch of enthusiasm when they found themselves
again in front of a regular force of troopers, instead of Home Guards
or guerillas. With their sabres in hand they rushed upon the foe with
all the speed to which they could spur their horses. The men were
fresh; for they had fought no engagement that day, and their work had
been easier than the regular marching.

On the other hand, the enemy had perhaps fought with the first platoon,
and had been running their horses till the animals were nearly
exhausted. But they received the charge like brave men, and stood up to
the work. Deck had advanced on the right of his men for the reason that
the officer in command of the enemy was on the left of his troopers;
for he desired to meet him. He had drawn his sabre; and possibly the
remembrance of his meeting on the field with the lieutenant of the
Texan Rangers had something to do with his choice of a position.

The squads in charge of Life and Fronklyn had each put in a volley from
their carbines as soon as they were abreast of the Confederates, where
they could fire diagonally at the enemy so as not to imperil their
friends; and two of them had dropped out of their saddles, and
doubtless others were wounded. Deck shouted words of encouragement to
his soldiers, and almost instantly the conflict became furious. The
Confederates fought like demons, and two of the loyal force were seen
to drop from their saddles by the men on the flanks.

But the firing ceased as soon as both parties were mingled in the
fight; for the two sergeants feared that their bullets might hit the
wrong men. At this point the Confederate commander rushed upon the
young lieutenant, who was ready for him, though he had not opened the
duel. Both of them were skilled swordsmen, and for a minute at least
they parried each other's cuts and thrusts. Life realized that his
_protégé_, as he regarded him, was in imminent peril; for his
antagonist was a heavier and taller man, and the longer reach of his
right arm was in his favor.

Deck was hard pressed, and neither officer could even glance at his
men, lest he should be caught off his guard. But Deck was still
self-possessed, and perhaps the excellent advice of his father saved
his life. Life Knox was not afraid of anything, but he trembled for the
safety of his lieutenant. He sought a position where he could put a
bullet through the brain of the brave Confederate, though he felt that
it would be mean to do so. Fortunately for him the sergeant could find
no such position.

Ceph, the name of Deck's noble steed, which had been abbreviated from
Bucephalus, seemed to Life, whose attention was fixed upon his officer,
restive and uneasy: but his rider did not bring him into a leaping
posture, as he had done on a former occasion, and had been charged by
his superiors with reckless daring; but the charger suddenly stood up
on his hind feet, as though he intended to attempt the leap over the
Confederate officer's horse on his own responsibility.

But the other steed was too tall for him, and his rider reined him in.
At the moment when he was elevated above the head of his opponent, Deck
seized his opportunity to deliver a blow upon the head of his foe with
his sabre. It struck him on the side of the head, above the ear,
cleaving his skull, and he dropped from his horse like a lump of lead.
Life was happily relieved at the result of this furious conflict.

He had not been idle during the affair; for he had sent two of his men
to remove the fence at the side of the road, and Fronklyn had done the
same on the other side. The moment the enemy's brave leader had fallen
from his horse, the sergeant ordered his men into the road, leading the
way himself, and the other sergeant on the left had followed his
example.

"Squad--attention!" shouted the orderly sergeant, after he had formed
the troopers in two ranks. "Forward--march!"

He led the charge himself; and they delivered a volley of blows and
thrusts, as occasion served them, which ended the strife in less than
another moment. Several of the Confederates cried "Quarter!" and not
another blow was struck after the word was heard.

"Who is in command of this company now?" asked Deck, as he and his men
moved out of the tangle to the sides of the road.

"Leftenant Logan," replied a wounded trooper who had a sabre-cut on the
side of his face which was bleeding profusely.

"The fall of Captain Letcher leaves me in command," said this officer,
approaching the young lieutenant.

"Do you surrender, Lieutenant Logan?" asked Deck, as he surveyed the
fine form and handsome face of the officer, who appeared to be not more
than a year or two older than the victor.

"I have no alternative; we are outnumbered, and surrounded by your
force," replied the Confederate lieutenant solemnly and sadly.

"I sympathize with you, Lieutenant, though I was compelled to do my
duty," replied Deck; and even while he gloried in the success of his
command, he was sincerely sorry for the misfortune of the officer, whom
he had seen in the road fighting bravely for the cause in this
particular field, which was lost from the beginning. "But it is no
disgrace or dishonor to you or your brave soldiers to be beaten by
double your number."

"I thank you, Lieutenant; and I only regret that we are obliged to be
enemies," returned the officer very courteously. "Am I at liberty to
attend to my wounded now?"

"Certainly, sir; and I hope your loss is not so great as it appears to
be at this moment," answered Deck.

After an action as hotly contested as this skirmish had been, it was
surprising how few had been killed outright. Only two of the Riverlawns
had fallen never to rise again; but six of the twenty-two Confederates
who had gone into the action were past human aid. Four of the blue, and
nine of gray, had been disabled by wounds more or less severe, while
hardly a single man on either side had escaped without being slightly
wounded.

"Have you a surgeon in your detachment, Lieutenant Logan?"

"I have not. He was left with the other platoon near Breedings; but I
hope you have one."

"I have not. Ours is with the main body," replied Deck; and the
Confederate officer returned to his men.

"Who are the killed in our platoon, Life?" said Deck, when the sergeant
came to the lieutenant for further orders.

"I don't like to say so, Leftenant; but your cousin, Orly Lyon, is one
of them."

"Poor fellow!" exclaimed Deck. "I am sorry he has finished his campaign
so soon; but I am glad he did not die among the enemies of the Union."

"But he fought like a hero in the action, for I was near him when he
fell under the sabre of the lieutenant yonder," added Sergeant Sluder.

"Who was the other man killed, Life?" asked Deck.

"Barron, another of the new recruits."

"I am sorry to lose him, for he was a very promising soldier, though he
had not been sufficiently drilled. Bury the dead in the field on the
right," said Deck as he started for the baggage-wagons, where the
wounded had been carried.

Life had detailed a burial party, and Logan had done the same for the
men he had lost. Shovels and picks had been supplied to both from one
of the wagons. Having attended to this duty, the orderly sergeant was
sent to the field to ascertain the condition of the prisoners in charge
of Corporal Tilford. They still sat upon their horses, with the right
hand made fast at the crupper-strap, and doubtless were anxiously
awaiting the result of the skirmish in the road.

"How goes it, Sergeant Knox?" asked Captain Coonly when Life came
within speaking distance of him.

"All right," replied the big Kentuckian.

"Haven't the regulars of the Confederate army licked you?"

"Not much; but they have been licked out of their boots, with the third
part of them killed or badly wounded. You have no show for gittin' out
of this scrape yet."

Tilford reported that the prisoners had not made any trouble; for they
all declared that the Riverlawns would be beaten, and they were waiting
to be set at liberty. The sentinels over them guarded them very
closely, and afforded them no opportunity to make a demonstration, even
if they had been disposed to do so; for the soldiers with loaded
carbines in their hands, and with orders to shoot any one who did not
obey orders, or who attempted to escape, was a fact patent to them all.
Life was satisfied with his inspection, and hastened back to the
wagons.

When he reached the road, he met two well-dressed gentlemen coming out
of the field on the left, from the direction of Colonel Halliburn's
house. Both of them were mounted, and were provided with saddle-bags.
He was a native of Kentucky, and he promptly recognized them as
doctors.

"Mornin', gentlemen," said he, riding towards them. "I reckon you uns
be doctors?"

"You are not far from right, soldier," replied the elder of the two.

"Be you Secesh or Union?" demanded Life, as though he had the right to
put the question.

"Divide the question, and each can answer for himself," replied the one
who had spoken before. "I am opposed to making Kentucky the
battleground of this war; and if I fought on either side, it would be
with the Confederates."

"Be you of the same mind?" asked Life, turning to the other.

"I am sorry to differ from my friend, Dr. McNairy; but I am a Union
man," answered the younger doctor, though he appeared to be at least
forty years old. "But what has happened here?" he continued, surveying
the surroundings, especially the work of the burial parties.

"There's been a bit of a scrimmage between your friends here and them
as runs with t'other doctor; but you are both wanted right now,"
replied Life.

At this moment Mr. Milton arrived at the spot, and had apparently
recognized the two gentlemen as they rode across the field. He saluted
them both, calling them by name.

"I've told these doctors what we want of them," added the sergeant.

"But what about this battle, Mr. Milton?" inquired Dr. McNairy, the
elder one, who appeared to be about sixty years old.

Milton gave a very brief account of the action, and mentioned that Mr.
Halliburn's mansion had been ransacked by the prisoners whom he pointed
out in the field.

"Why didn't you hang them?" demanded Dr. Barlow, the young doctor.

"The military officer in command of the detachment here managed the
business, and I had nothing to do with the matter; though I would have
strung up Coonly if I had had my way, for hanging would do him good.
But the lieutenant said that one outrage did not mend another," replied
Milton impatiently; for he was anxious to have the wounded cared for.

"The lieutenant is a sensible man," added Dr. McNairy.

"Now, Dr. Barlow, your coming is most opportune; and I hope you will
attend to the wounded of the Union force, and that Dr. McNairy will do
the same for the Confederates," added Milton.

"It is a mere accident that we happen to be here, for we have been over
to perform an operation on the wife of General Macklin; but I am glad
to be able to serve the Union wounded, and I am quite willing to do the
same for the Confederates."

"I will take care of the Confederates," added Dr. McNairy.

"Now, Sergeant Knox, if you will conduct Dr. McNairy to the
Confederates, I will take Dr. Barlow to the Union wounded."

"I'll do that; but tell the leftenant there is a cavalry force comin'
down the road, and I reckon it's the first platoon of our company."

Both of them departed on their missions, accompanied by the doctors.

CHAPTER VII

THE BATTLE AT THE BREEDINGS FORT

Dr. McNairy was introduced to Lieutenant Logan, and the surgeon began
his work at once. Both of the professional gentlemen had their
instruments with them, for they had performed an operation that
forenoon. Life remained but a moment after he had done his errand, and
hastened to a point where he could obtain a better view of the
approaching cavalry force. His supposition that it was the first
platoon of the first company proved to be correct, and he awaited its
arrival.

The column was moving leisurely, for there was no occasion for haste;
and it appeared later that the men had not been idle during the
forenoon. Captain Gordon and Lieutenant Belthorpe were riding at the
head of the platoon, and as they came to a turn in the road the scene
of the late action came into view; and both of the officers were
greatly surprised, for neither of them had supposed that Deck would
have anything to do but guard and hurry on the baggage-wagons.

"What does all that mean?" asked the captain, as he opened his eyes
very wide to take in the gathering in the road and the fields beside it
of men and horses.

"It looks as though Lieutenant Lyon had been doing something there; but
I will warrant that Deck has done his duty like a man, whatever he has
been at," replied Tom Belthorpe, who had an abundant admiration for the
young officer.

"I hope he has not been reckless, as I am afraid he is inclined to be
when things get warm around him," returned the captain.

"There comes Sergeant Knox; and things must be quiet in the camp, or he
would not have left Deck for a moment," added the lieutenant.

Life had ridden forward to inform the captain what had transpired in
the road and at the mansion of Mr. Halliburn; for he believed the
officers would be anxious to solve what was now a mystery to them.

"What's going on here, Sergeant?" demanded the captain as soon as Life
came within speaking-distance of him.

"We uns have had a bit of a scrimmage here with Confed'rit cavalry,"
replied the sergeant as he reined in his steed, and saluted the
captain.

"A skirmish?" said the captain.

"Well, yes; and it was a rayther lively bout till the enemy
surrendered."

"Did they surrender?" asked the commander of the company; for it was
not the habit of the Southern troopers to yield, and he had been
fighting with a portion of the same company that forenoon.

"They couldn't help theirselves; we outnumbered 'em, and they had to
give in or be cut to pieces."

"How is Lieutenant Lyon?" inquired the captain with no little anxiety
in his tones and his expression.

"I reckon he's got a sword-cut on the arm; but he's right side up, and
don't say nothin' about it."

"What were the losses?"

"We had two killed and four wounded."

"Who were the killed?"

"Orly Lyon and Barron."

"Both new recruits, and one of them is the nephew of Major Lyon."

"The enemy lost six killed, and nine wounded; and the captain in
command was in the fust lot, brought down by Leftenant Lyon in a
hand-to-hand squabble at the side of the road. Deck fit like a mad
rooster. His hoss stood up straight, and gin his rider a chance to git
in the cut that finished the officer."

"Lieutenant Lyon was reckless, wasn't he, Sergeant?" asked the captain.

"Not a bit on't! He was as cool as a frozen cowcumber; but he hit hard
when his hoss stood up endways," replied Life. "We cleaned out a gang
of gorillas afore we had this scrimmage in the road."

"Another affair? Did you have a hard fight with them?"

"No fight at all," answered the tall Kentuckian, with a slight chuckle.
"Deck bagged 'em like a flock of wild turkeys in a trap-pen."

"We will hear about that another time," said Captain Gordon as the head
of the column arrived at the scene of the fight. "Who are those over on
our right?"

"The fust ones is the Confed'rits burin' their dead. The next lot is
the doctor fixin' up the enemy's wounded. The surgeon is a Secesh, and
we picked up two on 'em as they come across lots from an operation on
some woman. T'other is over with our men, and he's a Union man."

"Where is Lieutenant Lyon?"

"I left him over by the baggage-wagons, lookin' out for the wounded. We
shall git there in a minute or two."

"What are those men on our left, in the field?" asked the captain as
they came to a point where the prisoners could be seen, still in charge
of Corporal Tilford.

"Them's the prisoners tooken over at the mansion of Mr. Halliburn, half
a mile from here," replied Life, as they approached the location of the
wounded Union soldiers.

Dr. Barlow had informed Deck of the coming of the first platoon, and he
had mounted his horse to go out and meet them. He was ready to come
into the presence of the captain of the company; for he felt that he
had done his duty faithfully, and also that he had conducted himself
with prudence and discretion.

"What in the world have you been doing over here, Lieutenant Lyon?"
asked Captain Gordon, as he rode forward, and grasped the hand of the
young officer. "You seem to have been busy here from what Sergeant Knox
has told me."

"We haven't had any time to spare, Captain; for in half an hour after
we parted events began to thicken upon us, and we have been kept busy
ever since," replied Deck.

"I will hear your report later, for my men are tired, and need their
dinner. It seems to be all quiet about here now, and we must take a
rest here."

"I have ordered our cooks to make coffee, and it will be ready to serve
out very soon," replied Deck, as he pointed to the fires in the field
behind the temporary hospital; and near them the horses of the troopers
and the mules that drew the wagons were eating their oats off the
grass. "We shall feed our men on herring and hardtack with the coffee."

Lieutenant Belthorpe ordered his men to picket their horses and feed
them; and in another hour the soldiers and their beasts had all been
fed. Seated on the grass with his two lieutenants, the captain listened
to the report of Deck on the events of the forenoon. When he came to
his encounter with Captain Letcher, both of his auditors were intensely
interested, though he told his story very modestly.

"I suppose you caused Ceph to stand up on end when you found yourself
in a tight place?" suggested Tom Belthorpe.

"I did not," answered Deck very emphatically. "Ceph knows more than
some men; but he became restive and uneasy after the captain and I had
pegged away at each other for some time, and he stood up of his own
accord. I had to hold on with all my might with my left hand; but my
horse did not try to leap over the other animal, for he was even taller
than Ceph. When I saw the captain's head below mine, I used the
opportunity, and made the cut that finished the affair. I was not
reckless, as I was once accused of being, but wrongly, Captain Gordon.
I have made it a business of mine to-day to keep cool, and not let my
impulses run away with me; and I think I succeeded very well."

"Life thinks so too," added the captain.

"I have not said a word to him about it. I have kept my affairs closely
in my own head."

"You managed the guerillas admirably, and bagged them very skilfully,"
said his superior approvingly.

"I think it was largely a matter of luck and chance that I gathered
them in without losing a man, or even having a fight," added Deck. "The
ruffians were all busy ransacking the mansion in search of the money;
and if they had found it, I learned from Mr. Milton that it would have
given them over two hundred dollars apiece. I got in without
disturbing them, and they did not suspect the presence of my platoon
till the bugler sounded the call for my men. Then they were surrounded,
and the carbines were pointed at every window, with half a dozen aimed
up the staircase. It was easy enough then to bring the affair to a
conclusion."

"What are you going to do with your prisoners, Lieutenant?" asked
Captain Gordon.

"I turn them over to my superior officer, of course; for I have ceased
to be in command now. Mr. Milton informed me that there is a Union Home
Guard at Millersville that might take charge of the guerillas," replied
Deck, glad to be rid of this responsibility.

"Who is this Mr. Milton?" asked the commander; and Deck told him all he
knew about him, and especially that he had been very useful to him as a
guide.

"Where is he now?" inquired the captain, as they continued to eat the
dinner of hardtack and herring, washed down with hot coffee.

"There he is near the hospital; he has just sat down to lunch with the
sergeants," replied Deck, pointing to the group.

"Ask him to join us, Lieutenant," said the captain.

Deck obeyed; and Milton immediately responded to the summons. The
lieutenant apologized to him for his want of attention, for he had been
very busy every moment of the time. He was introduced to the commander
and Lieutenant Belthorpe; and the former thanked him warmly for the
service he had rendered, and invited him to join them in the simple
repast before them. He freely answered all the questions put to him. He
declared that Millersville contained a majority of loyal people, many
of whom had enlisted in the Kentucky regiments, while others had formed
a Union Home Guard, and were ready to fight to keep the State in the
Union.

"I judge that your time has not been wasted this forenoon," said Deck.

"It has not, indeed," replied the commander of the company; and he
proceeded to detail his experience with the enemy at Breedings.

He found on his arrival at that place that the marauders were a
foraging-party of regular Confederate cavalry, and not guerillas. It
consisted of at least a platoon, or half a company. They were coming
across the field from the Millersville Road. As soon as they discovered
the Riverlawn force, the enemy retreated, as the captain understood it;
but they were only hastening to a small fortification of earthworks
thrown up by the Confederate Home Guards of the place, who were in the
majority in that locality, although there were several rich planters in
the district who were Union men.

The fort had been armed with two rusty iron cannons, which had been
used for salutes in the time when the Fourth of July had been generally
celebrated. But it was not large enough to hold all the cavalrymen, and
the second platoon of twenty-five men had been sent to a hill on the
other side of the road. The commander sent Lieutenant Belthorpe to
attack them there, while he gave his attention to the enemy in the
fort.

The two guns, loaded with home-made grape-shot, were discharged; but
the gunners were utterly ignorant of the art of handling the pieces,
and the scattering bullets all went over the heads of the loyal
cavalrymen. The captain did not give them time to repeat the
experiment, for he ordered his lieutenant to charge over the earthwork
before they had time to load again. The fort had been constructed in a
very rude manner, without the help of an engineer; and it was only a
sort of windrow of earth, as hay is raked up in a field, and the
mounted men had no difficulty in riding over it.

The Confederates had dismounted, turning their horses into a field.
This was a fatal mistake on the part of their officer. His men were
huddled together with the Home Guards in the small space; and though
they fought bravely, they were soon ridden down, and totally defeated.
Many of them had been killed or disabled, and the Home Guards had run
away as soon as the horses began to ride them down. The officer called
for quarter, and surrendered. He and his men were paroled at once.

At the hill Lieutenant Belthorpe had vigorously attacked the second
platoon, and soon drove them from their ground. When the victory was
won at the fort, Captain Gordon re-enforced Belthorpe with twenty men
while the paroling was in process; and the enemy seeing that they were
outnumbered more than before, when they were driven from the hill, gave
up the fight, and fled at the best speed of their horses by the way
they had come. The lieutenant in command pursued them as far as the
road, when the recall was sounded near the fort, and they returned to
the little village. Captain Letcher was in command of the platoon, and
he had continued to retreat, believing that his pursuers were still
following him.

CHAPTER VIII

BEFORE THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS

Captain Gordon had related the history of the affair at Breedings, and
Deck had learned from Lieutenant Logan considerably more that was not
within the knowledge of the commander. As they finished their simple
dinner, they discovered a gentleman, attended by a couple of men who
looked like mechanics, the latter with muskets on their shoulders, and
all of them mounted on fine horses, approaching the camp. The two
surgeons had finished dressing the wounds of the injured, and had
mounted their horses to depart. The soldiers, the prisoners, and the
horses had all been fed, and it seemed to be time for the next
movement.

"That is Colonel Halliburn coming," said Milton.

"Is his title simply an honorary one, or is he a military man?"
inquired the captain.

"He has been the leading man in the militia for thirty years, though he
has never been in active service," replied Milton. "He is past the
military age now."

The gentleman was introduced to the party, and he gave Deck the most
cordial thanks for the service rendered to his brother.

"How is Miss Grace, Colonel?" asked Win.

"She is well and happy now, though she is much concerned about her
guardian, and would have returned to him if I had permitted her to do
so; but I am going over to my brother's now, and I shall persuade him
and his wife to come to my house, for it is not safe for them to be
alone there. I have brought a couple of my men with me; and if we can
do anything to assist you here, we are at your service."

"Thank you, sir; we have defeated the enemy on all sides, and we are
ready to move on now to join the other company of our squadron,"
replied the captain. "The next question that we have to settle is the
disposition of our wounded, some of whom are not in condition to be
moved."

"My house is at your service for this purpose. I have twenty-five men
who belong to the Home Guard of Millersville residing in my village;
and I have called them out since Miss Morgan came to my house, and they
will be able to defend us from any ordinary enemies, so that your men
will be safe there," said the colonel.

"I thank you with all my heart," answered Captain Gordon. "I shall
avail myself of your kind offer."

"I am the captain of the Home Guards, and Dr. Barlow is the surgeon;
and we will attend to the removal of the men. I will look after the
matter as soon as I return from my brother's. Mr. Milton and the doctor
will remain here till I come."

"I am under very great obligations to you, Colonel Halliburn," added
the captain, "and I hope I shall be able to render you any service in a
time of need which you may require."

The commander of the company paroled the Confederate prisoners, and
permitted them to retire with their horses. They carried their wounded
with them on stretchers or on horseback, and marched up the road to
join the rest of their company. The bugle sounded, and the first
company of the Riverlawns formed in the road. It was only about six
miles to Millersville, and the captain decided to march the guerilla
prisoners to that town. They were placed between the two platoons, with
a guard on the flank; but the fun had all gone out of them, and they
were as submissive as whipped puppies. The column marched, and in about
two hours arrived at their next destination.

They found a company of about fifty Home Guards, armed with muskets,
but without uniforms, drawn up to receive them; for the news of the
skirmish had reached the place, and a considerable body of citizens
were in attendance as spectators.

"I am Lieutenant Ripley, commanding in the absence of Captain Halliburn
the Home Guards, all loyal men, and we give you a Kentucky welcome,"
said the officer of the Guards, saluting the captain. "What can we do
for you?"

"You can take these guerilla prisoners off our hands, for they are a
nuisance to us," replied Captain Gordon with a smile.

"Do you wish us to hang them to those trees yonder?" asked the
lieutenant.

"I do not ask you to do anything of the kind, though it might do them
good to hang them; but we don't treat prisoners in that way, even if
they are guerillas," replied the commander with considerable energy.
"You can confine them in some building, or let them go; but you must
not kill, starve, or ill-treat them, for Union soldiers don't do such
things."

It was nearly sundown, and the captain decided to bivouac for the
night. The camp was laid out in a field, and the tents were pitched. A
supper was cooked for the men, though the commissioned officers were
invited to a private house; but they declined the invitations to sleep
away from the company, though they ate the supper provided for them in
the house of a Union magnate, and repeated again the story of the day's
events. The commander inquired particularly for the news from the seat
of war in this quarter.

"I understand that General Crittenden has joined the army of General
Zollicoffer, and, as he ranks him, has the command of the army,"
replied the host, who seemed to be a very well-informed gentleman. "I
believe most of the Confederate troops on the other side of the
Cumberland River are Tennesseeans, and that is about all I know in
regard to them."

"Do you know where they are located, Mr. Kennedy?" asked the captain.

"We all know that they are on the other side of the Cumberland, about
six miles below the point to which steamboats can ascend. Zollicoffer
has fortified the hills, three or four hundred feet high, and holds a
very strong position; in fact, one of the strongest in the State in the
hands of the enemy. It covers the coal-mines and a great many
salt-wells beyond the river, and these are of the utmost importance to
the Confederacy. But it is well understood in these parts that the army
of Zollicoffer is short of supplies, and some say his men are starving
in the camps. I know that the Tennessee cavalry are foraging on this
side of the river to a considerable extent; and you have met one of
these parties to-day, and defeated them. Compared with the guerillas
that are operating on their own account in many parts of the State, the
foragers are really very mild; for they do not insult women, or take
anything from the farmers and planters except provisions; and they
treat Federalists and Secessionists just alike, for supplies have
become an absolute necessity to their army."

"Troops are constantly arriving from the North; and doubtless they
intend to attack Zollicoffer or General Crittenden, whichever it may
be, in his position near the Cumberland," suggested Captain Gordon.

"I doubt if Zollicoffer will wait for them to do that; for he must find
the Union forces, and beat them, or retreat into Tennessee. Should he
stay where he is, he must either surrender or starve."

It appeared subsequently that he decided upon the alternative of
crossing the Cumberland, and attacking the Union forces wherever he
could find them. He was compelled to do this, as Mr. Kennedy declared,
or starve for the want of supplies. Mill Springs, which is the name
given to the battle that was fought by Zollicoffer, though it is called
Somerset, and also Logan's Cross Roads, is on the south side of the
Cumberland River, and is a post-town. But the battle was not fought on
that side of the river, and it is the name of the position of the
Confederate army before the battle.

The line of defence, or of attack, as might be, chosen by the
Confederate army under General Johnston in Kentucky, appeared to extend
across the southern part of the State, and included three strongholds,
the first of which was Columbus, on the Mississippi River, on the west;
Bowling Green in the centre; and around Mill Springs on the east.
General Crittenden, the Southern commander-in-chief in this section,
had intrenched himself at Beech Grove, in Pulaski County, on the north
side of the river, east of Mill Springs.

Zollicoffer commanded under him, and the battle was fought by him. His
position was fifteen miles south-west of Somerset. General Buell, at
Louisville, then in command of the Union department which included the
State of Kentucky, realized the necessity of reducing this stronghold,
and sent General George H. Thomas, the ideal soldier of the war, though
not then so well known as at a later period, with a considerable force
to this region to accomplish this object. This able general had
approached his destination, but had not yet concentrated his force for
the attack. It was General Crittenden's policy to beat the Union army
in detail before the troops for the assault had been massed for the
final attack; but Zollicoffer, forced by his need of supplies, crossed
the river in a steamer and other craft, with about five thousand men,
and moved towards the north, to attack the force that threatened him.

This was the situation in the vicinity of Somerset and Mill Springs
when the Riverlawn Cavalry was marching in the direction of the former
place; and one company had reached Millersville, while the other was
believed to be at Harrison. The raids in the vicinity by foragers and
guerillas had been the immediate cause of sending the squadron to the
locality. The first company had camped for the night; and the officers
had returned from the residence of Mr. Kennedy, where they had been
entertained at supper. The officers and soldiers were tired enough to
roll themselves up in their blankets in their beds on the grass; and
Captain Gordon was preparing to do so when one of the sentinels
informed him that a man at the lines wished to see him, and he believed
it was the one who had been the guide of the first platoon in the
forenoon, for he gave his name as Winfield Milton.

At the sound of this name, Deck, who had lain down, sprang to his feet.
He feared that he had come for assistance against another attack of
guerillas or foragers. The captain ordered him to be admitted to the
tent, and he soon appeared. He had rendered very valuable service, both
to Deck's command and to the company after it was united.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Captain, at this hour; but I could not get
away any earlier, for we have been busy over at Colonel Halliburn's,
moving his brother and his wife, and transporting the wounded to his
mansion."

"I am very glad to see you, Mr. Milton. It is only eight o'clock, and I
had not retired," replied the captain. "But I hope you have not been
attacked again."

"No, sir, we have not been attacked; and if we had been, we have force
enough at the colonel's to defend ourselves, for we have a part of the
Home Guards from this town to re-enforce those of the little village,"
replied Milton. "I came for another purpose."

"I am glad to see you again, Win," interposed Deck, as he grasped the
hand of the late guide.

"Sorry to turn you out of bed, Lieutenant Lyon; but I was afraid you
would leave before I could get here in the morning," replied the
visitor. "I have been talking with Colonel Halliburn since you left,
and I have felt not a little ashamed that I am not in the Union army in
its time of need. But I have had to look after Grace and her guardian's
family, and that is the best excuse I could give to myself. Now they
are all settled at the colonel's, and I have come over here to enlist
in your company, Captain Gordon, if you will take me. You have lost
some men, and I thought you might want some more."

"We have kept both of our companies full so far, and I shall be glad to
have so good a man as you are in our ranks," promptly answered the
captain. "When shall you be ready to join us?"

"Right now!" exclaimed Milton.

"Is Miss Morgan willing that you should enlist?" asked Deck with a
laugh.

"Grace is as good a girl as ever was raised in Kentucky, and she has
always been ready to have me go to the war. She is as full of
patriotism as a nut is of meat, and says she should be ashamed to make
any objection to my going. I am ready to sign the papers, and take all
the steps to get into your company, Captain," continued the would-be
recruit.

"Our surgeon is with the other company, and you must be examined by a
doctor."

Milton drew a paper from his pocket, which proved to be a certificate
to his physical qualifications, signed by Dr. Barlow, who had been
regularly appointed as an examining surgeon. The Captain wrote down the
particulars in answer to his questions, and Winfield Milton was duly
enlisted in the service. Deck was especially pleased with the result of
this interview, for he had taken a strong liking to Milton.

CHAPTER IX

PREPARING FOR ANOTHER BATTLE IN THE ROAD

The Assembly sounded at five o'clock the next morning; and half an hour
later the troopers had their breakfast of coffee, hardtack, and cold
beef, the last cooked the night before. Milton was supplied with a
uniform and accoutrements from a wagon by the quartermaster-sergeant.
He had served in the militia in a company of mounted men raised in his
county; and though some of the tactics were new to him, he was at home
in most of the duties of the soldier.

At six o'clock, while there was still hardly light enough to recognize
a friend twenty feet off, the company was formed; and Life Knox, who
was the orderly sergeant, reported the fact to the captain. It was but
ten miles to Jamestown, and twenty-five to Harrison, where the two
companies were to unite. Life Knox, who had earned the reputation of
being the most reliable scout in the company or the squadron, was sent
out on this duty with Milton, because the latter was entirely familiar
with all the country in Wayne and Pulaski Counties.

They left the camp somewhat in advance of the column. Colonel Halliburn
arrived at Millersville just as the company were departing; for he had
received important intelligence, brought by a friend who had just come
from Robertsport, on the south side of the Cumberland River, where he
had been on private business. The colonel rode by the side of the
captain for some distance when the company started.

"You must have been up all night, Colonel Halliburn, for you are here
in the gray dawn of the morning," said the captain when his visitor
joined him. "What is the news from your valley?"

"All is quiet there, though we keep a guard on duty by night and day,"
replied the colonel. "The doctor, who spent the night at my house,
reports that all your wounded are doing well, and that his worst case
is likely to recover. But my news is from the other direction."

"From what direction?" asked Captain Gordon, deeply interested by this
time in the remarks of his companion.

"From Jamestown, not ten miles from this town. My friend Squire Walcott
has just returned from Robertsport, which you know is only a few miles
from Mill Springs, and in the midst of Zollicoffer's intrenchments. He
belongs to our company, and had some difficulty in getting across the
river; but he managed it very well, though he was under suspicion. He
walked five miles down the river, and there fell in with a negro who
was just landing from a bateau.

"For a silver dollar the negro ferried him across the river. The fellow
knew more than the law allows down here, and Walcott contrived to let
him understand that he was a Union man; and this won Cuffy's heart, and
he told him all the news about the Confederate army posted there. It
has been known in these parts that this army has been short of
provisions and forage for several weeks, but we did not suppose their
supplies were as limited as this negro reported.

"Both the men and the horses are half starved. Bare existence in the
camp was a hard struggle; and some of the regiments subsisted on
one-third of the ordinary rations, and the horses and mules were hardly
in condition for use. The fractional ration consisted of bread alone in
many portions of the army. The supplies of the north-east counties had
been exhausted; and most of the subsistence had been obtained latterly
from Kentucky, gathered in by foragers of the cavalry.

"Cuffy had a son who was the body-servant of a colonel of a Tennessee
regiment; and he told his father what he learned in the camp, the most
important item of which was that Zollicoffer would soon attack the
Federal forces wherever he could find them. He could remain no longer
in his intrenchments, with starvation staring him full in the face. Of
course I am telling this in my own language, as I translated it from
the negro's gibberish.

"But this is not the most vital news to you at this time, though it may
be of service to you. Walcott made his way on foot to the cabin where
he left his horse, and then rode to Jamestown. At this town he found a
full company of the Seventeenth Tennessee Cavalry, who had camped there
the night before, living on what was left of the fat of the land; for
the place had been raided twice before. They had two wagons with them,
and it was evident that they intended to load them with provisions and
forage.

"Walcott reached his home at midnight, and immediately called upon me
with the news he had gathered. At Jamestown he saw one of the
lieutenants flirting with a girl in front of the hotel. This officer
was summoned to supper, and his companion hastened up the street. She
was the daughter of a storekeeper in the town, which is the county seat
of Russell County; and my friend had often traded there in goods he
could not find in the towns nearer home.

"The girl was speaking to her father when Walcott went in; but the
keeper of the store welcomed him. He had not much to say to the trader;
but he saluted the daughter, and engaged her in conversation. He began
by warning her to be very discreet in her relations with good-looking
officers of the Southern army. Then he asked her what the company were
doing in Jamestown; and she told him they were going to Millersville,
and that he would call and see her on his return. She was a very pretty
girl, and I hope she profited by my friend's advice."

"But when did all this occur?" inquired Captain Gordon, intensely
interested when he heard that the company were coming to Millersville.

"I told you that Walcott got home at midnight," answered the colonel.

"But midnight divides any two days in the month of January, and in
every other month in every year. What particular midnight was it?"

"Why, the very last one that ever was--last night. My friend rode half
the night in order to give me, as the captain of the Home Guards, this
news, as soon as he got to the town, less than half an hour ago. I
called on Lieutenant Ripley, and ordered him to muster our company, and
get as many volunteers to defend the town as he could. The second
lieutenant, who lives near me, will march the men on guard in the
little village to town at once. I believe I have told you all I know,
Captain Gordon."

"I am exceedingly obliged to you for the information you have given
me," replied the commander of the company.

"I am inclined to think I had better take the bull by the horns, and
march my company, all but a guard for the town, over here, and join
you. My men all have horses, and are well armed, though they are not
provided with sabres. Most of them have hunting-rifles, and are dead
shots," continued the colonel.

"I shall not object to your marching your company over here, though I
think I can handle the enemy alone; but you must use your own
judgment," added the captain.

"I would rather fight the battle over here than in the town; and I
shall bring my men, and put them under your command, Captain Gordon. I
think they are all ready by this time," replied the colonel, as he
wheeled his horse, and rode back at a gallop.

The commander communicated the intelligence he had just received to his
two lieutenants; and it was heard by some of the cavalrymen, from whom
it passed along the ranks, till all of them knew that a battle would
soon be fought, perhaps within a couple of hours. The captain rode back
to the head of the column. He had increased the speed of the company
from a walk to a trot while conversing with Colonel Halliburn.

The captain had no doubt that the information he had received was
entirely correct; and he hurried his men somewhat, hoping to find a
better place for the coming combat than he had yet seen along the road,
with woods on each side of the way. But he rode about three miles
farther before he came to a location that suited him. It was a hill
with a rude farmhouse at the top of it, on the right. The land on this
side had been cleared, and the crops had been harvested from it. At the
ascent of the hill on the left, about ten acres had been recently
cleared, while a continuous forest began at the crest of the hill, and
extended as far as he could see.

The captain realized that he could not have found a better location for
his purpose in the whole State of Kentucky; and he gave the order to
halt and to remain at ease when the company was not more than half-way
up the hill. He preferred to make his charge, when it came to that,
down the hill; and he had come to a halt where his force could not be
seen by an enemy on the other side of the elevation.

Captain Gordon was accounted a skilful strategist; and as he sat on his
horse at the head of the column, he matured his plan to meet the
attack, or to begin it, as the case might be. He had not waited much
more than an hour when the Millersville Home Guard galloped up to the
foot of the hill, and halted. The captain rode back to the head of
their column, and the colonel in command saluted him. The horses were
reeking with foam, and seemed to be well nigh winded, so great was the
speed to which they had been urged. It was a horse-raising country, and
the animals were of the highest grade.

"My men are now under your command, Captain Gordon, and personally I
will obey your orders," said the colonel. "I have explained the matter
to my men; and they all understand it, and will recognize you as the
commander of the whole force."

"I shall give my orders to you, sir, as the captain of the company, as
far as practicable," replied Captain Gordon. "How many men have you?"

"Sixty-four, besides the two lieutenants."

"How many of them are armed with rifles?"

"More than I thought when I spoke to you about them, for there are
forty-two of them; and they are skilled in the use of their weapons."

"Call them from the ranks, if you please, and have the first lieutenant
march them to the top of the hill," continued the captain. "If you will
go with me, I will explain my plan of action."

"I obey your orders, Captain."

The men with rifles were called out at once, and formed in fours by
Lieutenant Ripley. The second lieutenant formed the other twenty-two in
the same order. They had muskets slung on their backs, and most of them
had heavy revolvers in their belts, the only uniform any of the company
wore. The captain sent for a quartermaster-sergeant, and ordered him to
bring twenty-two sabres from one of the wagons.

Sergeant Fronklyn was sent for, and he was directed to drill these men
in the most important cuts and thrusts of the manual until the men were
needed for service. The captain, with Colonel Halliburn, returned to
the head of the column, when the plan was explained; and his companion
declared that it would make short work of the approaching company.

The riflemen were posted in the woods on the left, and their lieutenant
was fully informed what was expected of him. They were to dismount,
leave their horses farther in the forest, and then station themselves
behind the trees. When the enemy came within rifle-shot of them, they
were to pick them off, the column being divided among them, so that all
might not fire at the same mark. This was to be the greeting of the
Confederate company.

The captain explained to his companion in what manner the main body of
the company and its re-enforcement were to go into the action. Twenty
men were sent to take away the fence on the right hand of the road; and
it was soon removed, in spite of the protest of the farmer. The rails
and posts were carried far enough to be out of the way. This work was
performed under the supervision of the second lieutenant. It was hardly
completed before Deck discovered the proprietor stealing to the east,
and evidently intending to reach the road on the descent of the hill.
He arrested the man, and he was conducted to the head of the column.

The captain ordered him to be tied to a tree in the shelter of his
cabin; for it was plain that he meant to inform the enemy of the
presence of the Union company. The lieutenants were then instructed
what they were to do; and this had hardly been done, before Life and
Milton were discovered riding furiously up the road. They reported the
enemy approaching very leisurely towards the hill, and not more than
half a mile from it. The sergeant was confident they had not been seen,
for they had been careful to keep out of sight around a bend in the
road.

The company were still too far down the declivity to be seen till the
enemy came to the top of the hill, and the riflemen were likely to
bring them to a halt before they could reach that point. The captain
had taken a position where he could see without being seen. Sooner than
he expected he saw the head of the Confederate column, and ten minutes
later the riflemen began the discharge of their pieces. The first man
to drop from his saddle was the commander of the company, who was the
most conspicuous mark at the head of his command.

CHAPTER X

THE SHARPSHOOTERS OF MILLERSVILLE

The forty-two riflemen of the Home Guard were sharpshooters who had
practised for many years with the weapon, both as hunters and by firing
at a mark. Some of them were past the military age; and the lieutenant
in command of the detachment was sixty years old, and he had won his
spurs as the best shot in the town. He was a man of influence, and his
skill had procured him his present position in the company.

Lieutenant Ripley was at the right of the line of sharpshooters. He had
stationed his men in the woods, and ordered them not to fire till he
did so; and they were to load and fire at will after he had given the
first discharge. When the captain of the Confederate cavalry dropped
from his horse, it was known by whose shot he had fallen. A couple of
men were ordered to dismount, and bear him to the side of the roads;
and the lieutenant who succeeded to the command ordered a halt.

Captain Gordon and Colonel Halliburn were behind the farmer's house,
where they had retired, not to avoid the bullets of the enemy, but to
obtain a position where they could see without being seen. The horse of
the former stood on a knoll, from which his rider could look over the
corner of the low building, and the latter was at his side. Both of
them saw the captain of the company fall from his horse.

"Ripley fired that shot," said the colonel. "He was never known to miss
his aim when he had fair play."

"That was a good beginning, at any rate," added the captain.

"But why don't the next man in the line fire?" mused the commander of
the Home Guard, uttering his thought.

They could not know then the reason; but they learned afterwards that
the lieutenant had ordered them not to do so, as he wished to observe
the effect of the death of the captain, for he had not moved after he
fell. The company seemed to be staggered by the event for the space of
a minute. The men all turned their heads towards the woods; and as no
shot followed the first one at once, they might have inferred that the
fatality to the commander had been the work of an assassin.

This view was immediately confirmed by the captain's successor; for he
ordered four troopers to dismount, and go into the woods in search of
the murderer. But they did not reach the edge of the forest before fire
was opened upon them, and every one of them dropped dead or wounded.
The rifle was a terribly effective weapon in the hands of the
sharpshooters. The company had certainly fallen into an ambush. The
troopers could do nothing on their horses in the woods, and for the
moment they were practically helpless.

The fire continued all along the line of riflemen, one discharge at a
time, so that no two men should aim at the same soldier or officer; and
all along the detachment every one seemed to bring down his man. The
lieutenant saw the havoc made in his command; but Captain Gordon did
not give the order for his company to advance on the plan he had
arranged.

The battle appeared to be fighting itself without any assistance from
the summit of the hill, and it was evident that the enemy had no
knowledge of any force outside of the forest.

"That lieutenant has just given an order, but I could not make out what
he said," observed the colonel. "He is in a tight place, and you have
set a very ugly trap for that company to fall into, Captain Gordon."

"The assistance of your company, Colonel, has given me a very decided
advantage," replied the captain.

"And you have made excellent use of it. My men are safe in the woods,
and the lieutenant seems to be losing his time."

"You can see what his order meant now, for his men are dismounting.
They are going into the woods to clean out the enemy, and that is
really the only thing he can do," replied Captain Gordon. "It will be
time for me to put a finger in the pie very soon, for the protection of
your men, if for nothing else."

"You need not trouble your head about the riflemen, for they all have
legs; and even Ripley, the oldest man among them, can use his
walking-pins as well as any of them. They will retreat through the
woods, using their rifles as they retire."

Every alternate man of the company was dismounted, giving the
bridle-rein of his horse to one mounted. They double-quicked into the
forest; but they began to drop, to cling to the trees for support, or
to retire from the field before the observers on the hill lost sight of
them. Still Captain Gordon did not give the word to advance.

"Isn't it time for this company to move forward?" asked the colonel.

"Not quite; it is best to wait a short time, till the cavalrymen get a
little farther into the woods," answered the captain. "Your men are
firing quite rapidly now, and are evidently retiring in good order."

"I am not at all concerned about them. They can keep behind the trees,
firing as they retreat. The riflemen have hunted through that forest,
which extends five or six miles to the north, and they have known every
acre of it for years. They are quite at home there; and they will not
fall into any creek or mud-hole, as the enemy would without a guide."

"They are brave men, and they have done good work this morning. But it
is now time for my company to make a move; for I will not leave your
guards to do all the fighting," added Captain Gordon, as he descended
from the knoll, followed by his companion.

He had already explained to his two lieutenants in command of the
platoons what they were to do at a signal sounded by the bugler. The
captain rode to the top of the hill, though he did not expose himself
to the fire of the enemy, who were still unaware of his presence.
Stufton was near the head of the column, and he gave him the order to
sound the advance. He did it with full lungs. Lieutenant Lyon,
commanding the second platoon, gave the order to march, and his men
started at a trot, which was immediately changed to a gallop. The
farmer's fence had been removed by order of the captain when he had
arranged his plan for the action; and Deck, on the right flank of his
command, took to the field, where they had plenty of space, though
recent rains had turned the soil into soft mud. But the speed was kept
up in spite of this impediment till the head of the platoon reached the
left, or foot, of the Confederate company.

In response to the bugle signal, Lieutenant Belthorpe advanced upon the
head of the enemy's column, deploying to the side of the road, and
continuing till they filled up the space to the foot of Deck's force.
The enemy had discharged their carbines, or other pieces, at random,
and apparently without orders; but they inflicted no injury upon the
flying horsemen. Deck was the first to give the order to charge; but he
had been prohibited by the captain, to whom some one had reported the
young lieutenant's custom of leading his men into action, from placing
himself in front of his men when he went in upon a charge, unless in a
case of actual emergency.

Deck promised to obey this order, and he did so in the advance of his
platoon; and when he ordered the charge upon the left of the enemy's
column, he was on its right. Every man of the Confederates was
encumbered with an extra horse, though as they confronted the Union
cavalrymen he rid himself of his charge; and thus turned loose, the
animals were soon wandering wherever they found an opening. Deck had
very nearly his full complement of men, and so had Tom Belthorpe; for
the soldiers of the Home Guard had been detailed to guard the
baggage-wagons, and picket the rear of the column. One-half of the
Confederates had been sent into the woods, and by this time they had
advanced a considerable distance in pursuit of the riflemen.

The enemy were at present doubly outnumbered; and though they realized
the fact, they fought as though they had been contending man for man.
Indeed, they contended desperately against the odds before them, and
deserved victory for their steady valor. But with them then it was a
"lost cause," and through no fault of their own. Before the Union
column had reached the position assigned to them, the lieutenant in
command had sent his bugler into the forest to sound the retreat for
the portion of the company pursuing the riflemen.