第34章

Back,backwewent,asfastasrosinandpineknotscouldforcetheenginetomoveus。Thecarsswayedcontinuallybackandforth,momentarilythreateningtoflythecrazyroadway,androllovertheembankmentorintooneoftheadjacentswamps。Wewouldhavehailedsuchacatastrophe,asitwouldhaveprobablykilledmoreoftheguardsthanofus,andtheconfusionwouldhavegivenmanyofthesurvivorsopportunitytoescape。Butnosuchaccidenthappened,andtowardsmidnightwereachedthebridgeacrosstheGreatPedeeRiver,whereourtrainwasstoppedbyasquadofRebelcavalrymen,whobroughttheintelligencethatasKilpatrickwasexpectedintoFlorenceeveryhour,itwouldnotdototakeusthere。

Wewereorderedoffthecars,andlaiddownonthebanksoftheGreatPedee,ourguardsandthecavalryformingalinearoundus,andtakingprecautionstodefendthebridgeagainstKilpatrick,shouldhefindoutourwhereaboutsandcomeafterus。

"Well,Mc,"saidAndrews,asweadjustedouroldovercoatandblanketonthegroundforabed;"Iguessweneedn\'tcarewhetherschoolkeepsornot。Ourfellowshaveevidentlygotbothendsoftheroad,andarecomingtowardsusfromeachway。There\'snoroad——notevenawagonroad——fortheJohnniestorunusoffon,andIguessallwe\'vegottodoistostandstillandseethesalvationoftheLord。Badasthesehoundsare,Idon\'tbelievetheywillshootusdownratherthanletourfolksretakeus。Atleasttheywon\'tsinceoldWinder\'sdead。Ifhewasalive,he\'dorderourthroatscut——onebyone——withtheguards\'pocketknives,ratherthangiveusup。I\'monlyafraidwe\'llbeallowedtostarvebeforeourfolksreachus。"

Iconcurredinthisview。

CHAPTERLXXVIII。

RETURNTOFLORENCEANDASHORTSOJOURNTHERE——OFFTOWARDSWILMINGTON

AGAIN——CRUISINGAREBELOFFICER\'SLUNCH——SIGNSOFAPPROACHINGOURLINES

——TERROROFOURRASCALLYGUARDS——ENTRANCEINTOGOD\'SCOUNTRYATLAST。

ButKilpatrick,likeSherman,camenot。PerhapsheknewthatalltheprisonershadbeenremovedfromtheStockade;perhapshehadotherbusinessofmoreimportanceonhand;probablyhismovementwasonlyafeint。AtalleventsitwasdefinitelyknownthenextdaythathehadwithdrawnsofarastorenderitwhollyunlikelythatheintendedattackingFlorence,sowewerebroughtbackandreturnedtoouroldquarters。Foraweekormoreweloiteredaboutthenownearly—abandonedprison;skulkedandcrawledaroundthedismalmud—tentsliketheghostlydenizensofsomePotter\'sField,who,forsomereasonhadbeenallowedtoreturntoearth,andforawhilecreeppainfullyaroundthelittlehillocksbeneathwhichtheyhadbeenentombed。

Afewscore,whosevitalpowerswerestrainedtothelastdegreeoftension,gaveuptheghost,andsanktodreamlessrest。ItmatterednowlittletothesewhenShermancame,orwhenKilpatrick\'sguidonsshouldflutterthroughtheforestofsighingpines,heraldsoflife,happiness,andhome——

Afterlife\'sfitfulfevertheysleptwellTreasonhaddoneitsworst。Norsteelnorpoison:

Malicedomestic,foreignlevy,nothingCouldtouchthemfarther。

Onedayanotherordercameforustobeloadedonthecars,andovertotherailroadwewentagaininthesamefashionasbefore。Thecomparativelyfewofuswhowerestillabletowalkatallwell,loadedourselvesdownwiththebundlesandblanketsofourlessfortunatecompanions,whohobbledandlimped——manyevencrawlingontheirhandsandknees——overthehard,frozenground,byoursides。

Thosenotabletocrawleven,weretakeninwagons,fortheorderswereimperativenottoleavealivingprisonerbehind。

Attherailroadwefoundtwotrainsawaitingus。Onthefrontofeachengineweretworudewhiteflags,madebyfasteningthehalvesofmealsackstoshortsticks。Thesightofthesegaveussomehope,butourbeliefthatRebelswereconstitutionalliarsanddeceiverswassofirmandfixed,thatwepersuadedourselvesthattheflagsmeantnothingmorethansomewilfuldelusionforus。

AgainwestartedoffinthedirectionofWilmington,andtraversedthesamecountrydescribedinthepreviouschapter。AgainAndrewsandI

foundourselvesinthenextboxcartothepassengercoachcontainingtheRebelofficers。Againwecutaholethroughtheend,withoursaw,andagainfoundadarkyservantsittingontherearplatform。Andrewswentoutandsatdownalongsideofhim,andfoundthathewasseateduponalargegunny—bagsackcontainingthecookedrationsoftheRebelofficers。

TheintelligencethattherewassomethingthereworthtakingAndrewscommunicatedtomebyanexpressivesignal,ofwhichsoldierscampaigningtogetheraslongasheandIhad,alwayshaveanextensiveandwellunderstoodcode。

Itookaseatintheholewehadmadeintheendofthecar,inreachofAndrews。Andrewscalledtheattentionofthenegrotosomefeatureofthecountrynearby,andaskedhimaquestioninregardtoit。Ashelookedinthedirectionindicated,Andrewsslippedhishandintothemouthofthebag,andpulledoutasmallsackofwheatbiscuits,whichhepassedtomeandIconcealed。ThedarkyturnedandtoldAndrewsallaboutthematterinregardtowhichtheinterrogationhadbeenmade。

Andrewsbecamesomuchinterestedinwhatwasbeingtoldhim,thathesatupcloserandclosertothedarky,whointurnmovedfartherawayfromthesack。

Nextweranthroughaturpentineplantation,andasthedarkywaspointingoutwherethestill,themaster\'splace,the"quarters,"etc。,were,Andrewsmanagedtofishoutofthatbagandpasstomethreeroastedchickens。Thenagreatswampcalledfordescription,andbeforewewerethroughwithit,Ihadaboutapeckofboiledsweetpotatos。

Andrewsemptiedthebagasthedarkywasshowinghimagreatpeanutplantation,takingfromitasmallfrying—pan,acanteenofmolasses,andahalf—gallontinbucket,whichhadbeenusedtomakecoffeein。

Wedividedupourwealthofeatableswiththerestoftheboysinthecar,notforgettingtokeepenoughtogiveourselvesamagnificentmeal。

Asweranalongwesearchedcarefullyfortheplacewherewehadseentheline—of—battle,expectingthatitwouldnowbemarkedwithsignsofaterribleconflict,butwecouldseenothing。Wecouldnotevenfixthelocalitywherethelinestood。

AsitbecameapparentthatweweregoingdirectlytowardWilmington,asfastasourenginescouldpullus,theexcitementrose。WehadmanymisgivingsastowhetherourfolksstillretainedpossessionofWilmington,andwhether,iftheydid,theRebelscouldnotstopatapointoutsideofourlines,andtransferustosomeotherroad。

Forhourswehadseennobodyinthecountrythroughwhichwewerepassing。Whatfewhouseswerevisiblewereapparentlydeserted,andtherewerenoTownsorstationsanywhere。Wewereveryanxioustoseesomeone,inhopesofgettingahintofwhatthestateofaffairswasinthedirectionweweregoing。Atlengthwesawayoungman——apparentlyascout——onhorseback,buthisclotheswereequallydividedbetweentheblueandthebutternut,astogivenocluetowhichsidehebelonged。

Anhourlaterwesawtwoinfantrymen,whowereevidentlyoutforaging。

Theyhadsacksofsomethingontheirbacks,andworeblueclothes。Thiswasaveryhopefulsignofanearapproachtoourlines,butbitterexperienceinthepastwarnedusagainstbeingtoosanguine。

About4o\'clockP。M。,thetrainsstoppedandwhistledlongandloud。

LookingoutIcouldsee——perhapshalf—a—mileaway——alineofriflepitsrunningatrightangleswiththetrack。Guards,whosegunsflashedastheyturned,werepacingupanddown,buttheyweretoofarawayformetodistinguishtheiruniforms。

Thesuspensebecamefearful。

ButIreceivedmuchencouragementfromthesingularconductofourguards。FirstInoticedaCaptain,whohadbeenespeciallymeantouswhileatFlorence。

Hewaswalkingonthegroundbythetrain。Hisfacewaspale,histeethset,andhiseyesshonewithexcitement。Hecalledoutinastrange,forcedvoicetohismenandboysontheroofofthecars"Here,youfellersgitdownoff\'entharandformaline。"

Thefellowsdidso,inaslow,constrained,frightenedwaysandhuddledtogether,inthemostunsoldierlymanner。

ThewholethingremindedmeofasceneIoncesawinourline,whereaweak—kneedCaptainwasorderedtotakeapartyofratherchicken—heartedrecruitsoutontheskirmish—line。

Weimmediatelydivinedwhatwasthematter。Thelinesinfrontofuswerereallythoseofourpeople,andtheidiotsofguards,notknowingoftheirentiresafetywhenprotectedbyaflagoftruce,werescaredhalfoutoftheirsmallwitsatapproachingsoneartoarmedYankees。

Weshoweredtauntsandjeersuponthem。AnIrishmaninmycaryelledout:

"Och,yedirtyspalpeens;it\'snotshootin\'prisonersyearenow;it\'scumin\'wheretheYankeeb\'yshevthegun;andtheminnityesaythimyerwhiteliversshowthemselvesinyerpalefaces。Badlucktotheblatherin\'bastardsthatyezare,andtothemothersthatboreye。"

AtlengthourtrainmovedupsoneartothelinethatIcouldseeitwasthegrand,oldloyalbluethatclothedtheformsofthemenwhowerepacingupanddown。

Andcertainlytheworlddoesnotholdassuperblookingmenastheseappearedtome。

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