CHAPTER XII. THE CLOSING CIRCLE
"George," said Harry, "we must chance it now and get back to the horses.We've got to reach General Jackson before the Northern army is throughthe pass."
"You lead," said Dalton. "I don't think we'll have any danger exceptwhen we are in that strip of grass between these bushes and the woods."
Harry started, and when he reached the grass threw himself almost flaton his face again, crawling forward with extreme caution. Dalton, closebehind him, imitated his comrade. The high grass merely rippled as theypassed and the anxious Northern officers walking back and forth were notwell enough versed in woodcraft to read from any sign that an enemy wasnear.
Once Dalton struck his knee against a small bush and caused its leavesto rustle. A wary and experienced scout would have noticed the slight,though new noise, and Harry and Dalton, stopping, lay perfectly still.But the officers walked to and fro, undisturbed, and the two boysresumed their creeping flight.
When they reached the forest, they rose gladly from their knees, and ranup the slope, still bearing in mind that time was now the most pressingof all things. They whistled softly as they neared the little plateau,and Billy's low answering whistle came back. They hurried up the lastreach of the slope, and there he was, the eyes shining in his eagerface, the three bridles clutched tightly in his small right hand.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he asked in a whisper.
"We did, Billy," answered Harry.
"I saw 'em sendin' up shootin' stars an' other shootin' stars way off tothe east answerin', an' I didn't know what it meant."
"It was their vanguard in the Gap, talking to their army several milesto the eastward. But we lay in the bushes, Billy, and we heard whattheir officers said. All that you heard was true. Ten thousand Yankeeswill be through the pass in the morning, and Stonewall Jackson will havegreat cause to be grateful to William Pomeroy, aged twelve."
The boy's eyes fairly glowed, but he was a man of action.
"Then I guess that we've got to jump on our horses and ride licketysplit down the valley to give warnin' to General Jackson," he said.
Harry knew what was passing in the boy's mind, that he would go withthem all the way to Jackson, and he did not have the heart to sayanything to the contrary just then. But Dalton replied:
"Right you are, Billy. We ride now as if the woods were burning behindus."
Billy was first in the saddle and led the way. The horses had gaineda good rest, while Harry and Dalton were stalking the troopers in thevalley, and, after they had made the descent of the slope, they swunginto a long easy gallop across the level.
The little lad still kept his place in front. Neither of the otherswould have deprived him of this honor which he deserved so well. He saterect, swinging with his horse, and he showed no sign of weariness. Theytook no precautions now to evade a possible meeting with the enemy. Whatthey needed was haste, haste, always haste. They must risk everythingto carry the news to Jackson. A mere half hour might mean the differencebetween salvation and destruction.
Harry felt the great tension of the moment. The words of the Northernofficers had made him understand what he already suspected. The wholefate of the Confederacy would waver in the balance on the morrow. IfJackson were surrounded and overpowered, the South would lose its rightarm. Then the armies that engulfed him would join McClellan and pourforward in an overwhelming host on Richmond.
Their hoofbeats rang in a steady beat on the road, as they went forwardon that long easy gallop which made the miles drop swiftly behind them.The skies brightened, and the great stars danced in a solid sheet ofblue. They were in the gently rolling country, and occasionally theypassed a farmhouse. Now and then, a watchful dog barked at them, butthey soon left him and his bark behind.
Harry noticed that Billy's figure was beginning to waver slightly, andhe knew that weariness and the lack of sleep were at last gaining themastery over his daring young spirit. It gave him relief, as it solved aproblem that had been worrying him. He rode up by the side of Billy, buthe said nothing. The boy's eyelids were heavy and the youthful figurewas wavering, but it was in no danger of falling. Billy could haveridden his horse sound asleep.
Harry presently saw the roof of Mrs. Pomeroy's house showing among thetrees.
"It's less than half a mile to your house, Billy," he said.
"But I'm not going to stop there. I'm goin' on with you to GeneralJackson, an' I'm goin' to help him fight the Yankees."
Harry was silent, but when they galloped up to the Pomeroy house, Billywas nearly asleep.
The door sprang open as they approached, and the figure of the stalwartwoman appeared. Harry knew that she had been watching there every minutesince they left. He was touched by the dramatic spirit of the moment,and he said:
"Mrs. Pomeroy, we bring back to you the most gallant soldier inStonewall Jackson's army of the Valley of Virginia. He led us straightto the Gap where we were able to learn the enemy's movements, aknowledge which may save the Confederacy from speedy destruction. Webring him back to you, safe and unharmed, and sleeping soundly in hissaddle."
He lifted Billy from the saddle and put him in his mother's arms.
"Billy's a hero, Cousin Eliza," said Dalton. "Few full-grown men havedone as important deeds in their whole lives as he has done to-night.When he awakens he'll be angry because he didn't go with us, but youtell him we'll see that he's a duly enrolled member of General Jackson'sarmy. Stonewall Jackson never forgets such deeds as his."
"It's a proud woman I am to-night," said Mrs. Pomeroy. "Good-bye, CousinGeorge, and you, too, Mr. Kenton. I can see that you're in a hurry to beoff, and you ought to be. I want to see both of you in my house again inbetter days."
She went inside, carrying the exhausted and sleeping boy in her arms,and Harry and Dalton galloped away side by side.
"How's your horse, Harry?" asked Dalton.
"Fine. Smooth as silk! How's yours?"
"The machinery moves without a jar. I may be stiff and sore myself, butI'm so anxious to get to General Jackson that I haven't time to thinkabout it."
"Same here. Suppose we speed 'em up a little more."
They came into the turnpike, and now the horses lengthened out theirstride as they fled northward. It was yet some time until dawn, but thetwo young riders took the cold food from their knapsacks and ate as theygalloped on. It was well that they had good horses, staunch and true, asthey were pushing them hard now.
Harry looked toward the west, where the dark slope of Little NorthMountain closed in the valley from that side, and he felt a shiverwhich he knew did not come from the night air. He knew that a powerfulNorthern force was off there somewhere, and he wondered what it wasdoing. But he and Dalton had done their duty. They had uncovered onehostile force, and doubtless other men who rode in the night for Jacksonwould attend to the rest.
Both Harry and Dalton had been continuously in the saddle for many hoursnow, but they did not notice their weariness. They were still upborneby a great anxiety and a great exaltation, too. Feeling to the fullthe imminence and immensity of the crisis, they were bending themselvesheart and soul to prevent it, and no thought of weariness could entertheir minds. Each was another Billy, only on a larger and older scale.
Later on, the moon and all the stars slipped away, and it became verydark. Harry felt that it was merely a preliminary to the dawn, and heasked Dalton if he did not think so, too.
"It's too dark for me to see the face of my watch," said Dalton, "but Iknow you're right, Harry. I can just feel the coming of the dawn. It'ssome quality in the air. I think it grows a little colder than it hasbeen in the other hours of the night."
"I can feel the wind freshening on my face. It nips a bit for a Maymorning."
They slackened speed a little, wishing to save their horses for a finalburst, and stopped once or twice for a second or two to listen for thesound of other hoofbeats than their own. But they heard none.
"If the Yankee armies are already on the turnpi
ke they're not near us.That's sure," said Dalton.
"Do you know how many men they have?"
"Some of the spies brought in what the general believed to be prettystraight reports. The rumors said that Shields was advancing to ManassasGap with ten thousand men, and from what we heard we know that is true.A second detachment, also ten thousand strong, from McDowell's army iscoming toward Front Royal, and McDowell has twenty thousand men eastof the Blue Ridge. What the forces to the west are I don't know but theenemy in face of the general himself on the Potomac must now number atleast ten thousand."
Harry whistled.
"And at the best we can't muster more than fifteen thousand fit to carryarms!" he exclaimed.
Dalton leaned over in the dark, and touched his comrade on the shoulder.
"Harry," he said, "don't forget Old Jack. Where Little Sorrel leadsthere is always an army of forty thousand men. I'm not setting myself upto be very religious, but it's safe to say that he was praying to-night,and when Old Jack prays, look out."
"Yes, if anybody can lead us out of this trap it will be Old Jack," saidHarry. "Look, there's the dawn coming over the Blue Ridge, George."
A faint tint of gray was appearing on the loftiest crests of the BlueRidge. It could scarcely be called light yet, but it was a sign to thetwo that the darkness there would soon melt away. Gradually the grayshredded off and then the ridges were tipped with silver which soonturned to gold. Dawn rushed down over the valley and the pleasantforests and fields sprang into light.
Then they heard hoofbeats behind them coming fast. The experienced earsof both told them that it was only a single horseman who came, and,drawing their pistols, they turned their horses across the road. Whenthe rider saw the two threatening figures he stopped, but in a moment herode on again. They were in gray and so was he.
"Why, it's Chris Aubrey of the general's own staff!" exclaimed Dalton."Don't you know him, Harry?"
"Of course I do. Aubrey, we're friends. It's Dalton and Kenton."
Aubrey dashed his hands across his eyes, as if he were clearing amist from them. He was worn and weary, and his look bore a singularresemblance to that of despair.
"What is it, Chris?" asked Dalton with sympathy.
"I was sent down the Luray Valley to learn what I could and I discoveredthat Ord was advancing with ten thousand men on Front Royal, whereGeneral Jackson left only a small garrison. I'm going as fast as myhorse can take me to tell him."
"We're on the same kind of a mission, Chris," said Harry. "We've seenthe vanguard of Shields, ten thousand strong coming through ManassasGap, and we also are going as fast as our horses can take us to tellGeneral Jackson."
"My God! Does it mean that we are about to be surrounded?"
"It looks like it," said Harry, "but sometimes you catch things that youcan't hold. George and I never give up faith in Old Jack."
"Nor do I," said Aubrey. "Come on! We'll ride together! I'm glad I metyou boys. You give me courage."
The three now rode abreast and again they galloped. One or two earlyfarmers going phlegmatically to their fields saw them, but they passedon in silence. They had grown too used to soldiers to pay much attentionto them. Moreover, these were their own.
The whole valley was now flooded with light. To east and to west loomedthe great walls of the mountains, heavy with foliage, cut here and thereby invisible gaps through which Harry knew that the Union troops werepouring.
They caught sight of moving heads on a narrow road coming from the westwhich would soon merge into theirs. They slackened speed for a moment ortwo, uncertain what to do, and then Aubrey exclaimed:
"It's a detachment of our own cavalry. See their gray uniforms, andthat's Sherburne leading them!"
"So it is!" exclaimed Harry, and he rode forward joyfully. Sherburnegave all three of them a warm welcome, but he was far from cheerful. Heled a dozen troopers and they, like himself, were covered with dustand were drooping with weariness. It was evident to Harry that they hadridden far and hard, and that they did not bring good news.
"Well, Harry," said Sherburne, still attempting the gay air, "chance hasbrought us together again, and I should judge from your appearance thatyou've come a long way, bringing nothing particularly good."
"It's so. George and I have been riding all night. We were in ManassasGap and we learned definitely that Shields is coming through the passwith ten thousand men."
"Fine," said Sherburne with a dusty smile. "Ten thousand is a good roundnumber."
"And if we'll give him time enough," continued Harry, "McDowell willcome with twice as many more."
"Look's likely," said Sherburne.
"We've been riding back toward Jackson as fast as we could," continuedHarry, "and a little while ago Aubrey riding the same way overtook us."
"And what have you seen, Aubrey?" asked Sherburne.
"I? Oh, I've seen a lot. I've been down by Front Royal in the night,and I've seen Ord with ten thousand men coming full tilt down the LurayValley."
"What another ten thousand! It's funny how the Yankees run to even tensof thousands, or multiples of that number."
"I've heard," said Harry, "that the force under Banks and Saxton infront of Jackson was ten thousand also."
"I'm sorry, boys, to break up this continuity," said Sherburne witha troubled laugh, "but it's fifteen thousand that I've got to report.Fremont is coming from the west with that number. We've seen 'em. I'veno doubt that at this moment there are nearly fifty thousand Yankees inthe valley, with more coming, and all but ten thousand of them are inGeneral Jackson's rear."
It seemed that Sherburne, daring cavalryman, had lost his courage forthe moment, but the faith of the stern Presbyterian youth, Dalton, neverfaltered.
"As I told Harry a little while ago, we have at least fifty thousandmen," he said.
"What do you mean?" asked Sherburne.
"I count Stonewall Jackson as forty thousand, and the rest will bringthe number well over fifty thousand."
Sherburne struck his gauntleted hand smartly on his thigh.
"You talk sense, Dalton!" he exclaimed. "I was foolish to despair! Iforgot how much there was under Stonewall Jackson's hat! They haven'tcaught the old fox yet!"
They galloped on anew, and now they were riding on the road, over whichthey had pursued so hotly the defeated army of Banks. They would soonbe in Jackson's camp, and as they approached their hearts grew lighter.They would cast off their responsibilities and trust all to the leaderwho appeared so great to them.
"I see pickets now," said Aubrey. "Only five more minutes, boys, but assoon as I give my news I'll have to drop. The excitement has kept me up,but I can't last any longer."
"Nor I," said Harry, who realized suddenly that he was on the vergeof collapse. "Whether our arrival is to be followed by a battle or aretreat I'm afraid I won't be fit for either."
They gave the password, and the pickets pointed to the tent of Jackson.They rode straight to him, and dismounted as he came forth from thetent. They were so stiff and sore from long riding that Dalton andAubrey fell to their knees when they touched the ground, but theyquickly recovered, and although they stood somewhat awkwardly theysaluted with the deepest respect. Jackson's glance did not escape theirmishap, and he knew the cause, but he merely said:
"Well, gentlemen."
"I have to report, sir," said Sherburne, speaking first as the seniorofficer, "that General Fremont is coming from the west with fifteenthousand men, ready to fall upon your right flank."
"Very good, and what have you seen, Captain Aubrey?"
"Ord with ten thousand men is in our rear and is approaching FrontRoyal."
"Very good. You have done faithful work, Captain Aubrey. What have youseen, Lieutenant Kenton and Lieutenant Dalton?"
"General Shields, sir, is in Manassas Gap this morning with ten thousandmen, and he and General Ord can certainly meet to-day if they wish. Welearned also that General McDowell can come up in a few days with twentythousand more."
The f
ace of Stonewall Jackson never flinched. It looked worn and wearybut not more so than it did before this news.
"I thank all of you, young gentlemen," he said in his quiet level tones."You have done good service. It may be that you're a little weary. You'dbetter sleep now. I shall call you when I want you."
The four saluted and General Jackson went back into the tent. Aubreymade a grimace.
"We may be a little tired!" he said. "Why, I haven't been out of thesaddle for twenty-four hours, and I felt so anxious that every one ofthose hours was a day long."
"But it's a lot to get from the general an admission that you may beeven a little tired," said Dalton. "Remember the man for whom you ride."
"That's so," said Aubrey, "and I oughtn't to have said what I did. We'vegot to live up to new standards."
Sherburne, Aubrey and Dalton picked out soft spots on the grass andalmost instantly were sound asleep, but Harry lingered a minute or twolonger. He saw across the river the glitter of bayonets and the darkmuzzles of cannon. He also saw many troops moving on the hills and heknew that he was looking upon the remains of Banks' army reinforced byfresh men, ready to dispute the passage or fight Jackson if he marchednorthward in any other way, while the great masses of their comradesgathered behind him.
Harry felt again for a moment that terrible sinking of the heart whichis such close kin to despair. Enemies to the north of them, enemies tothe south of them, and to the east and to the west, enemies everywhere.The ring was closing in. Worse than that, it had closed in already andStonewall Jackson was only mortal. Neither he nor any one else couldlead them through the overwhelming ranks of such a force.
But the feeling passed quickly. It could not linger, because the bandof the Acadians was playing, and the dark men of the Gulf were singing.Even with the foe in sight, and a long train of battles and marchesbehind them, with others yet worse to come, they began to dance, claspedin one another's arms.
Many of the Acadians had already gone to a far land and they would neveragain on this earth see Antoinette or Celeste or Marie, but the sun ofthe south was in the others and they sang and danced in the brief restallowed to them.
Harry liked to look at them. He sat on the grass and leaned his backagainst a tree. The music raised up the heart and it was wonderfullylulling, too. Why worry? Stonewall Jackson would tell them what to do.
The rhythmic forms grew fainter, and he slept. He was awakened thenext instant by Dalton. Harry opened his eyes heavily and lookedreproachfully at his friend.
"I've slept less than a minute," he said.
Dalton laughed.
"So it seemed to me, too, when I was awakened," he said, "but you'veslept a full two hours just as I did. What do you expect when you'reworking for Stonewall Jackson. You'll be lucky later on whenever you geta single hour."
Harry brushed the traces of sleep from his eyes and stood up straight.
"What's wanted?" he asked.
"You and I and some others are going to take a little railroad trip,escorted by Stonewall Jackson. That's all I know and that's all anybodyknows except the general. Come along and look your little best."
Harry brushed out his wrinkled uniform, straightened his cap, and ina minute he and Dalton were with the group of staff officers aboutJackson. There was still a section of railway in the valley held by theSouth, and Jackson and his aides were soon aboard a small train on theirway back to Winchester. Harry, glancing from the window, saw the troopsgathering up their ammunition and the teamsters hitching up theirhorses.
"It's going to be a retreat up the valley," he whispered to Dalton. "Butmasses more than three to one are gathering about us."
"I tell you again, you just trust Old Jack."
Harry looked toward the far end of the coach where Jackson sat with theolder members of his staff. His figure swayed with the train, buthe showed no sign of weariness or that his dauntless soul dwelt in aphysical body. He was looking out at the window, but it was obvious thathe did not see the green landscape flashing past. Harry knew that hewas making the most complex calculations, but like Dalton he ceased towonder about them. He put his faith in Old Jack, and let it go at that.
There was very little talking in the train. Despite every effort,Harry's eyes grew heavy and he began to doze a little. He would wakenentirely at times and straighten up with a jerk. Then he would see thefields and forests still rushing past, now and then a flash as theycrossed a stream, and always the sober figure of the general, staring,unseeing, through the window.
He suddenly became wide-awake, when he heard sharp comment in the coach.All the older officers were gazing through the windows with the greatestinterest. Harry saw a man in Confederate uniform galloping across thefields and waving his hands repeatedly to the train which was alreadychecking speed.
"A staff officer with news," said Dalton.
"Yes," said Harry, "and I'm thinking it will seem bad news to you andme."
The train stopped in a field, and the officer, panting and covered withdust and perspiration, rode alongside. Jackson walked out on the steps,followed by his eager officers.
"What is it?" asked Jackson.
"The Northern army has retaken Front Royal. The Georgia regiment youleft in garrison there has been driven out and without support ismarching northward. I have here, sir, a dispatch from Colonel Connor,the commander of the Georgians."
He handed the folded paper to the general, who received it but did notopen it for a moment. There was something halfway between a sigh and agroan from the officers, but Jackson said nothing. He smiled, but, asHarry saw it, it was a strange and threatening smile. Then he opened thedispatch, read it carefully, tore it into tiny bits and threw them away.Harry saw the fragments picked up by the wind and whirled across thefield. Jackson nearly always destroyed his dispatches in this manner.
"Very good," he said to the officer, "you can rejoin Colonel Connor."
He went back to his seat. The train puffed, heaved and started again.Jackson leaned against the back of the seat and closed his eyes. Heseemed to be asleep. But the desire for sleep was driven from Harry.The news of the retaking of Front Royal had stirred the whole train.Officers talked of it in low tones, but with excitement. The Northerngenerals were acting with more than their customary promptness. Alreadythey had struck a blow and Ord with his ten thousand men had undoubtedlypassed from the Luray Valley into the main Valley of Virginia to form ajunction with Shields and his ten thousand.
What would Jackson do? Older men in the train than Harry and Dalton wereasking that question, but he remained silent. He kept his eyes closedfor some time, and Harry thought that he must be fast asleep, althoughit seemed incredible that a man with such responsibilities could sleepat such a time. But he opened his eyes presently and began to talk witha warm personal friend who occupied the other half of the seat.
Harry did not know the tenor of this conversation then, but he heard ofit later from the general's friend. Jackson had remarked to the man thathe seemed to be surrounded, and the other asked what he would do if theNorthern armies cut him off entirely. Jackson replied that he would goback toward the north, invade Maryland and march straight on Baltimoreand Washington. Few more daring plans have ever been conceived, but,knowing Jackson as he learned to know him, Harry always believed that hewould have tried it.
But the Southern leaders within that mighty and closing ring in thevalley were not the only men who had anxious minds. At the Union capitalthey did not know what had become of Jackson. They knew that he wassomewhere within the ring, but where? He might pounce upon a division,deal another terrible blow and then away! In a week he had drawnthe eyes of the world upon him, and his enemies no longer consideredanything impossible to him. Many a patriot who was ready to die ratherthan see the union of the states destroyed murmured: "If he were only onour side!" There was already talk of recalling McClellan's great army todefend Washington.
The object of all this immense anxiety and care was riding peacefully ina train to Winchester, talking wi
th a friend but conscious fully of hisgreat danger. It seemed that the Northern generals with their separatearmies were acting in unison at last, and must close down on their prey.
They came again into Winchester, the town torn so often by battle andits anxieties, and saw the Presbyterian minister, his face gray withcare, greet Jackson. Then the two walked toward the manse, followed at arespectful distance by the officers of the staff.
Harry soon saw that the whole of Winchester was in gloom. They knewthere of the masses in blue converging on Jackson, and few had hope.While Jackson remained at the manse he sat upon the portico within call.There was little sound in Winchester. The town seemed to have passedinto an absolute silence. Most of the doors and shutters were closed.
And yet the valley had never seemed more beautiful to Harry. Far offwere the dim blue mountains that enclosed it on either side, and thebright skies never bent in a more brilliant curve.
He felt again that overpowering desire to sleep, and he may have dozed alittle when he sat there in the sun, but he was wide awake when Jacksoncalled him.
"I want you to go at once to Harper's Ferry with this note," he said,"and give it to the officer in command. He will bring back the troops toWinchester, and you are to come with him. You can go most of the way onthe train and then you must take to your horse. The troops will marchback by the valley turnpike."
Harry saluted and was off. He soon found that other officers were goingto the various commands with orders similar to his, and he no longer hadany doubt that the whole force would be consolidated and would withdrawup the valley. He was right. Jackson had abandoned the plan of enteringMaryland and marching on Baltimore and Washington, and was now aboutto try another, fully as daring, but calling for the most sudden andcomplicated movements. He had arranged it all, as he rode in the train,most of it as he leaned against the back of the seat with his eyes shut.
Harry was soon back in Harper's Ferry, and the troops there immediatelybegan their retreat. Most all of them knew of the great danger thatmenaced their army, but Harry, a staff officer, understood better thanthe regimental commanders what was occurring. The Invincibles were intheir division and he rode with the two colonels, St. Clair and HappyTom Langdon. They went at a swift pace and behind them came the steadybeat of the marching troops on the turnpike.
"You have been with General Jackson in Winchester, Harry," said ColonelLeonidas Talbot in his precise manner, "and I judge that you must haveformed some idea of his intentions. This indicates a general retreatsouthward, does it not?"
"I think so, sir. General Jackson has said nothing, but I know thatorders have been sent to all our detachments to draw in. He must havesome plan of cutting his way through toward the south. What do youthink, Colonel St. Hilaire?"
"It must be so," replied Lieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire, "buthow he will do it is beyond me. When I look around at all these bluemountains, Leonidas, it seems to me that we're enclosed by livingbattlements."
"Or that Jackson is like the tiger in the bush, surrounded by thebeaters."
"Yes, and sometimes it's woe to the beaters when they come too near."
Harry dropped back with his younger friends who were by no means of saddemeanor. St. Clair had restored his uniform to its usual immaculateneatness or in some manner he had obtained a new one. Tom Langdon wasHappy Tom again.
"We've eaten well, and we've slept well," said Langdon, "and Arthur andI are restored completely. He's the finest dandy in the army again,and I'm ready for another week's run with Jackson. I know I won't getanother chance to rest in a long time, but Old Stonewall needn't think Ican't march as long as he can."
"You'll get your fill of it," said Harry, "and of fighting, too. Take alook all around you. No, not a half circle, but a complete circle."
"Well, I've twisted my neck until my head nearly falls off. Whatsignifies the performance?"
"There was no time when you were turning around the circle that youreyes didn't look toward Yankees. Nearly fifty thousand of 'em are in thevalley. We're in a ring of steel, Happy."
"Well, Old Jack will just take his sword and slash that steel ringapart. And if he should fail I'm here. Lead me to 'em, Harry."
Langdon's spirits were infectious. Even the marching men who heard HappyTom laugh, laughed with him and were more cheerful. They marchedfaster, too, and from other points men were coming quickly to Jacksonat Winchester. They were even coming into contact with the ring ofsteel which was closing in on them. Fremont, advancing with his fifteenthousand from the mountains, met a heavy fire from a line of ambushedriflemen. Not knowing where Jackson was or what he was doing, andfearing that the great Confederate commander might be before him withhis whole army, he stopped at Cedar Creek and made a camp of defense.
Shields, in the south, moving forward, found a swarm of skirmishersin his front, and presently the Acadians, sent in that direction byJackson, opened up with a heavy fire on his vanguard. Shields drew back.He, too, feared that Jackson with his entire army was before him andrumor magnified the Southern force. Meanwhile the flying cavalry ofAshby harassed the Northern advance at many points.
All the time the main army of Jackson was retreating toward Winchester,carrying with it the prisoners and a vast convoy of wagons filled withcaptured ammunition and stores. Jackson had foreseen everything. He haddirected the men who were leading these forces to pass around Winchesterin case he was compelled to abandon it, circle through the mountains andjoin him wherever he might be.
But Harry when he returned to Winchester breathed a little more freely.He felt in some manner that the steel ring did not compress so tightly.Jackson, acting on the inside of the circle, had spread consternation.The Northern generals could not communicate with one another becauseeither mountains or Southern troops came between. Prisoners whom theSouthern cavalry brought in told strange stories. Rumor in their rankshad magnified Jackson's numbers double or triple. Many believed thata great force was coming from Richmond to help him. Jackson wassurrounded, but the beaters were very wary about pressing in on him.
Yet the Union masses in the valley had increased. McDowell himself hadnow come, and he sent forward cavalry details which, losing the way,were compelled to return. Fremont on the west at last finding the lineof riflemen before him withdrawn, pushed forward, and saw the longcolumns of the Southern army with their wagons moving steadily towardthe south. His cavalry attacking were driven off and the Southerndivision went on.
Harry with the retreating division wondered at these movements andadmired their skill. Jackson's army, encumbered as it was with prisonersand stores, was passing directly between the armies of Fremont andShields, covering its flanks with clouds of skirmishers and cavalry thatbeat off every attack of the hostile vanguards, and that kept the twoNorthern armies from getting into touch.
Jackson had not stopped at Winchester. He had left that town once moreto the enemy and was still drawing back toward the wider division of thevalley west of the Massanuttons. The great mind was working very fastnow. The men themselves saw that warlike genius incarnate rode on theback of Little Sorrel. Jackson was slipping through the ring, carryingwith him every prisoner and captured wagon.
His lightning strokes to right and to left kept Shields and Fremontdazed and bewildered, and McDowell neither knew what was passing norcould he get his forces together. Harry saw once more and with amazementthe dark bulk of the Massanuttons rising on his left and he knew thatthese great isolated mountains would again divide the Union force, whileJackson passed on in the larger valley.
He felt a thrill, powerful and indescribable. Jackson in very truth hadslashed across with his sword that great ring of steel and was passingthrough the break, leaving behind not a single prisoner, nor a singlewagon. Sixty-two thousand men had not only failed to hold sixteenthousand, but their scattered forces had suffered numerous severedefeats from the far smaller army. It was not that the Northern men wereinferior to the Southern in courage and tenacity, but the Southern armywas led by a genius of the fir
st rank, unmatched as a military leader inmodern times, save by Napoleon and Lee.
It was the last day of May and the twilight was at hand. The dark massesof Little North Mountain to the west and of the Massanuttons to the eastwere growing dim. Harry rode by the side of Dalton a few paces in therear of Jackson, and he watched the somber, silent man, riding silentlyon Little Sorrel. There was nothing bright or spectacular about him. Thebattered gray uniform was more battered than ever. In place of the worncap an old slouched hat now shaded his forehead and eyes. But Harryknew that their extraordinary achievements had not been due to luck orchance, but were the result of the mighty calculations that had beenmade in the head under the old slouched hat.
Harry heard behind him the long roll and murmur of the marching army,the wheels of cannon and wagons grating on the turnpike, the occasionalneigh of a horse, the rattle of arms and the voices of men talking low.Most of these men had been a year and a half ago citizens untrained forwar. They were not mere creatures of drill, but they were intelligent,and they thought for themselves. They knew as well as the officers whatJackson had done and henceforth they looked upon him as something almostsuperhuman. Confident in his genius they were ready to follow whereverJackson led, no matter what the odds.
These were exactly the feelings of both Harry and Dalton. They wouldnever question or doubt again. Both of them, with the hero worship ofyouth felt a mighty swell of pride, that they should ride with so greata leader, and be so near to him.
The army marched on in the darkening hours, leaving behind it sixtythousand men who closed up the ring only to find their game gone.
Harry heard from the older staff officers that they would go on upthe valley until they came to the Gaps of the Blue Ridge. There inan impregnable position they could turn and fight pursuit or take therailway to Richmond and join in the defense against McClellan. Itall depended on what Jackson thought, and his thoughts were uniformlydisclosed by action.
Meanwhile the news was spreading through the North that Jackson hadescaped, carrying with him his prisoners and captured stores. Odds hadcounted for nothing. All the great efforts directed from Washington hadbeen unavailing. All the courage and energy of brave men had been invain. But the North did not cease her exertions for an instant. Lincoln,a man of much the same character as Jackson, but continually thwartedby mediocre generals, urged the attack anew. Dispatches were sent to allthe commanders ordering them to push the pursuit of Jackson and to bringhim to battle.
Cut to the quick by their great failure, Fremont, Shields, Ord,Banks, McDowell and all the rest, pushed forward on either side of theMassanuttons, those on the west intending to cross at the gap, jointheir brethren, and make another concerted attempt at Jackson'sdestruction.
But Harry ceased to think of armies and battles as he rode on in thedark. He was growing sleepy again and he dozed in his saddle. Halfconsciously he thought of his father and wondered where he was. He hadreceived only one letter from him after Shiloh, but he believed that hewas still with the Confederate army in the west, taking an active part.Much as he loved his father it was the first time that he had been inhis thoughts in the last two weeks. How could any one think of anythingbut the affair of the moment at such a time, when the seconds wereticked off by cannon-shots!
In this vague and pleasant dream he also remembered Dick Mason, hiscousin, who was now somewhere there in the west fighting on the otherside. He thought of Dick with affection and he liked him none the lessbecause he wore the blue. Then, curiously enough, the last thing thathe remembered was his Tacitus, lying in his locked desk in the PendletonAcademy. He would get out that old fellow again some day and finish him.Then he fell sound asleep in his saddle, and the horse went steadily on,safely carrying his sleeping master.
He did not awake until midnight, when Dalton's hand on his shouldercaused him to open his eyes.
"I've been asleep, too, Harry," said Dalton, "but I woke up first. We'regoing into camp here for the rest of the night."
"I'm glad to stop," said Harry, "but I wonder what the dawn will bring."
"I wonder," said Dalton.