CHAPTER IV.
A Midnight Alarm.
On the afternoon of the following day, as Frank and his cousin werewalking up and down the deck, talking over old times, Simpson hurriedlyapproached them, exclaiming,
"Boys, do you want to leave this ship?"
"Yes," answered Frank; "we're tired of staying here."
"Well, it's all right, then. I volunteered to go, and I had both yournames put down. The executive officer says if you want to go, just getyour donnage and go for'ard."
"Where are we to go?" inquired Archie.
"On board of the Illinois," answered Simpson. "She is a magazine-ship, andis lying half-way between here and Mound City. No work at all to do, I'mgoing.'
"Then we'll go, of course," said Frank; "for we don't want to lose you."
They immediately got down their hammocks and bags, and went forward, wherethey found the executive officer standing on the forecastle, waiting forthem.
"Well, lads, do you volunteer to go on the Illinois?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Jump down into that dingy, then," said the officer, pointing to a smallboat that lay alongside.
The boys did as they were ordered, and just as they had finished storingaway their bags and hammocks under the thwarts, a man dressed in theuniform of a sailor sprang down into the boat, exclaiming:
"Man your oars, lads, and shove off--you've a long pull before you."
Archie took one of the oars, Frank the other; Simpson stowed himself awayin the bow of the boat, and the sailor took his seat at the helm.
The cousins were both good oarsmen, and they made the little boat danceover the water like a duck. It was full five miles to the place where theIllinois lay, and they soon found that it was indeed "a long, hard pull."The current was very strong, and it reminded the boys of many a toughstruggle they had had around the head of Strawberry Island, in theKennebec River.
In about two hours they reached the Illinois, and, as they sprang onboard, their baggage was seized by willing hands, and carried to thecabin, which had been stripped of nearly all its furniture, and presented,altogether, a desolate appearance. After a few moments' conversation withone of their new messmates, they learned that there were only fifteen menon board the vessel, including one sergeant and two corporals. These werethe only officers; and they were, in fact, no officers at all, for theywere all rated, on the books of the receiving-ship, as "landsmen."
They soon discovered that there was no discipline among the crew--therecould not be under the circumstances. Each stood a two-hour watch, atnight, and assisted in pumping out the ship, morning and evening. With theexception of these duties, there was no work to be done on board thevessel. The remainder of the day was spent as suited them best. Somepassed the time in hunting and nailing, some in reading, and some loungedabout the decks, from morning until night.
Frank and Archie were very much pleased with their new situation. Therewas no boatswain's mate to trouble them, and they were in no danger ofrendering themselves liable to punishment for some unintentional offense.
After stowing away their bags and hammocks, they amused themselves instrolling about the boat, until a neat-looking little sailor stepped up,and informed them that supper was ready. They followed him into the cabin,and took their seats at the table, with the rest, and one of the sailors,who went by the name of Woods, exclaimed:
"Now, boys, pitch in, help yourselves, for if you don't, you won't behelped at all. Every one that comes here has to learn to take care ofhimself."
"You will not find us at all bashful," answered Frank, and he beganhelping himself most bountifully to every thing on the table.
It did not take them long to become acquainted, and the boys found thattheir new shipmates were much better educated than the majority of thesailors they had met. They were a good-natured, jovial set of fellows, andthe meal-hour passed away quickly and pleasantly.
Immediately after supper the corporal ordered all hands below to pump outthe ship. In a quarter of an hour this was accomplished, and as they wereascending to the boiler-deck. Woods remarked:
"I wish I was back in Wisconsin again for a little while."
"Are you tired of the navy?" inquired Frank.
"Oh, no!" answered Woods; "but I should like to see my friends again, andtry my hand at quail-shooting."
"Are you fond of hunting?"
"Yes, indeed; I spend all my spare time in the woods, when I am at home."
This was the very man, of all others, that Frank would have chosen for acompanion, and he informed Woods that he also was very fond of ruralsports. They seated themselves on the boiler door railing, and eachrelated some of his hunting and fishing adventures, and, finally, Woodsproposed that they should go over the river into Kentucky, on thefollowing morning, on a squirrel hunt. Frank, of course, readily agreed tothis. He immediately started in search of his cousin and Simpson, andinformed them of the proposed excursion. When he returned to the placewhere he had left Woods, he found him with a musket on his shoulder, and acartridge-box buckled about his waist, pacing up and down the deck.
"I'm on watch, you see," he said, as Frank came up, "You will go on atmidnight; so you had better go and turn in. If we go hunting to-morrow, wemust start by four o'clock at least, for we have a good way to walk beforewe reach the hunting-ground. Good night." And Woods, settling his musketmore firmly on his shoulder, continued his beat, while Frank sought hishammock.
About midnight he was awakened by a hand laid on his shoulder, when,starting up, he found one of the corporals standing beside his hammockholding a lantern in his hand.
"Is your name Nelson?" he inquired.
Frank answered in the affirmative, and the corporal continued:
"Roll out, then, for it is time for you to go on watch. But be carefulwhen you come out, or you'll be shot."
"Shot!" exclaimed Frank. "Who'll shoot me? Are there any rebels aroundhere?"
"Yes, plenty of them. There are some out on the bank now. I was walkingwith Woods, when I happened to look up, and saw two men, with theirmuskets pointed straight at us; but we got out ofthe way before they hadtime to shoot. Hurry up, now, but don't expose yourself," and the corporalhurried aft, hiding his lantern under his coat of the went.
What Frank's feelings were, we will not attempt to say. He was not acoward, for we once saw him alone in the forest, standing face to facewith a wounded wild-cat, with no weapon in his hands but an ax; butfighting a wild-cat and a rebel sharp-shooter were two widely differentthings. He had never heard the whistle of a hostile bullet, nor had heever seen a rebel; and it is not to be wondered at, if his feelings werenot of the most enviable nature. But he was not one to shrink from hisduty because it was dangerous; and he drew on his clothes as quickly aspossible, and seizing a musket and cartridge-box that stood in a rackclose by the cabin door, he hurried aft, where he found Woods concealedbehind the port wheel-house, and the corporal behind a chicken-coop. Theyboth held their guns in readiness, and were peering into the woods, as iftrying to pierce the thick darkness that enshrouded them. The Illinois wastied up close to the bank, which, as the water in the river was low, wasabout thirty feet in hight; and as the moon was shining very brightly, aperson hidden in the bushes could distinctly see every thing on deck.
"Keep close there," said Woods, as Frank came up. "The corporal says hesaw some guerrillas on the bank."
Frank accordingly concealed himself behind a stanchion, and his handtrembled considerably as he cocked his musket and brought it to hisshoulder. They remained in this position for nearly a quarter of an hour,when, suddenly, something stirred in the bushes.
"There they are," whispered the corporal, drawing himself entirely out ofsight, behind the chicken-coop. "Look out, they'll shoot in a moment."
Frank kept a close watch on the bushes, and presently discovered a whiteobject moving about among them.
"I see something, boys," he said; "but it don't look to me like a man."
"Yes, it is a m
an," exclaimed the corporal, excitedly. "Shoot him."
In obedience to the order, Frank raised his gun to his shoulder, and anounce ball and a couple of buckshot went crashing through the bushes. Thecommotion increased for a moment, and then ceased, and something thatsounded very much like a groan issued from the woods.
"By gracious, you hit one of them," exclaimed the corporal. "That was agood shot. We'll teach these rebs that it isn't healthy to go prowlingabout here at night."
Frank hastily reloaded his musket, and they waited, impatiently, fornearly an hour, for the other guerrilla to show himself, but the woodsremained as silent as death.
"I guess that shot finished them," said the corporal; "so I will go andturn in. Keep a good look-out," he added, turning to Frank, "and don'texpose yourself too much."
Woods and the corporal then went into the cabin, and Frank was left tohimself. A feeling of loneliness he had never before experienced came overhim. At first he determined to go and call his cousin to come and standwatch with him, so that he would have some one to talk with; but, onsecond thought, he remembered that Archie was to come on watch at twoo'clock, and probably would not like to be disturbed. Besides, if hecalled him, it would look as though he was a coward, and afraid to standhis watch alone; so he gave up the idea, and remained in his place ofconcealment. Once he thought he discovered the sheen of a musket among thebushes; but it was only his imagination, and after waiting half an hourwithout hearing any thing suspicious, he shouldered his gun, and commencedpacing the deck, in full view of the woods. But he was not molested, andwhen two o'clock came he saw a figure steal cautiously out of the cabin,and creep along toward him, under cover of the wheel-house. As heapproached nearer, Frank recognized his cousin.
"Where are the rebs?" inquired the latter.
"The corporal said he saw two of them out there in the woods," answeredFrank, pointing to a thick clump of bushes that stood on the edge of thebank; "and there was _something_ out there, and I shot at it. But I've beenon deck here, in plain sight, for the last hour, and haven't seen anything."
"I hope there are no rebs in there," said Archie; "but I'll keep dark forawhile. I shipped to fight, but I don't like the idea of having a fellowsend a bullet into me when I can't see him," and he began to settlehimself into a comfortable position behind the chicken-coop.
"I don't think there is any danger," said Frank; "but perhaps it is wellto be careful at first. Be sure and call us when you come off watch," andhe shouldered his rifle and walked leisurely into the cabin.