Love under Fire

  CHAPTER XVI

  A CALL TO DUTY

  The family name was an uncommon one, and, coupled as it was with"Louisiana," and the title "Captain," could refer only to Gerald LeGaire. I wanted to question, the lad, but refrained, spurring my horseahead so as to remove the temptation. Even the little already saidplainly revealed that he resented bitterly his position in life, anddetermined to remain no longer in slavery to his own father. His father!That would be Le Gaire! The thought added fuel to the flame of dislikewhich I already cherished against the man. Of course legally this formerrelationship between master and slave meant nothing; it would beconsidered no bar to legitimate marriage; perhaps to one brought up inthe environment of slavery it would possess no moral turpitude even, yetto me it seemed a foul, disgraceful thing. Whether it would so appear toMiss Willifred I could not even conjecture; she was of the South, with,all the prejudice and peculiarity of thought characteristic of hersection. Pure-hearted, womanly, as I believed her to be, this earlieralliance still might not seem to her particularly reprehensible.Certainly it was not my part to bring it to her attention, or to utilizemy knowledge of the situation to advance my cause, or injure Le Gaire.Nor would I question the ex-slave further; I already knew enough, toomuch possibly, although curiosity was not dormant, and I wondered whathad become of the mother, and from what special cause had arisen theintense hatred in the heart of the son.

  We rode steadily forward all day, under fire twice, and once charging abattery. All that opposed our advance however was a thin fringe oftroops, intent merely upon causing delay, and making a brief stand, onlyto fall back promptly as soon as we flung forward any considerable bodyof men. By night-fall we had attained a position well within the bend ofthe river, the centre and left wing had achieved a crossing, and ourentire line had closed up so as to display a solid front. The Ninthbivouacked in the hills, our rest undisturbed, except for the occasionalfiring of the pickets. With dawn we were under arms, feeling our wayforward, and, an hour later, the two armies were face to face. Nearlyevenly mated, fighting across a rough country, neither side could claimvictory at the end of the day. While we on the right forced our lineforward for nearly five miles, leaving behind us a carpet of dead, theleft and centre met with such desperate resistance as to barely retaintheir earlier position. It required an hour of night fighting to closeup the gap, and we slept on our arms, expecting an early morningassault. Instead of attempting this the enemy fell back to their secondline of intrenchments, and, after waiting a day to determine theirmovements and strengthen our own line, we again advanced, feeling ourway slowly in, but finally meeting with a resistance which compelleda halt.

  The details of this battle belong to history, not to these pages. TheNinth bore no conspicuous part, hovering on the extreme right flank,engaged in continuous skirmishing, and scouting along miles of front.The morning of the third day found the armies fronting each other,defiant yet equally afraid to join battle, both commanders seeking forsome point of strategy which would yield advantage--we of the Northfearful of advancing against intrenchments, and those of the South notdaring to come forth into the open. For the moment it was a trucebetween us--the truce of two exhausted bull-dogs, lying face to facewith gleaming teeth, ready to spring at the first opening.

  We of the Ninth were at the edge of an opening in the woods, with lowhills on either hand, our pickets within easy musket-shot of thegray-clad videttes beyond the fringe of trees. Knowing our own successwe could not comprehend this inaction, or the desperate fighting whichheld back the troops to the east, and we were impatient to go in. I waslying on my back in the shelter of a slight hollow, wondering at thesurrounding stillness, wishing for anything to occur which would giveaction, when the major rode up, accompanied by another officer in anartillery uniform. I was on my feet in an instant saluting.

  "Lieutenant Galesworth, this is Captain Kent, an aide on GeneralSheridan's staff. He desires you to accompany him to headquarters."

  My heart bounding with anticipation, within five minutes I was ridingbeside him, back to the river road, and along the rear of our extendedline. He was a pleasant, genial fellow, but knew nothing of why I hadbeen summoned, his orders being simply to bring me at once. Two hours ofhard riding, and we came to a double log cabin, with a squad of horsemenin front, and a considerable infantry guard near by. A sentry paced backand forth in front of the steps, and several officers were sitting onthe porch. Dismounting, my companion handed the reins of both horses toa trooper, and led the way in. A word to the sentinel, and we faced thegroup above. One, a sharp-featured man, with very dark complexion, roseto his feet.

  "What is it, Kent?"

  "This is Lieutenant Galesworth, of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry. Thegeneral will wish to see him at once."

  The dark-featured man glanced at me, and turned back into the house, andKent introduced me to the others, none of whom I recognized. This wasnot Sheridan's staff, but before I could question any of them, themessenger returned, and motioned for me to follow. It was a large room,low-ceilinged, with three windows, the walls of bare logs whitewashed,the floor freshly swept, the only furniture a table and a few chairs.But two men were present, although a sentinel stood motionless at thedoor,--a broad-shouldered colonel of engineers, with gray moustache andwearing glasses, sitting at a table littered with papers, and a shortstocky man, attired in a simple blue blouse, with no insignia of rankvisible, his back toward me, gazing out of a window. I took a singlestep within, and halted. The short man wheeled about at the slightsound, his eyes on my face; I recognized instantly the closely trimmedbeard, the inevitable cigar between the lips, and, with a leap of theheart, my hand rose to the salute.

  "Lieutenant Galesworth?"

  "Yes, General."

  "Very well; you may retire, Colonel Trout, and, sentry, close the door."

  His keen gray eyes scrutinized my face, betraying no emotion, but headvanced closer, one hand upon the table.

  "General Sheridan informs me he has found you a valuable scout, alwaysready for any service, however dangerous."

  "I have endeavored to carry out my orders, General," I answered quietly.

  "So I am told," in the same even voice. "The army is full of good men,brave men, but not all possess sufficient intelligence and willingnessto carry out an independent enterprise. Just now I require such a man,and Sheridan recommends you. How old are you?"

  I answered, and barely waiting the sound of my voice, he went on:

  "You have scouted over this country?"

  "I have, sir."

  "How far to the south?"

  "About five miles beyond the Three Corners."

  "Not far enough, is it, Parker?" turning to the officer at the table.

  "The house is below," was the response, "but perhaps I had betterexplain the entire matter to Lieutenant Galesworth, and let him decidefor himself whether he cares to make the attempt."

  The general nodded approval, and walked back to the window, his handsclasped behind his back. Parker spread out a map.

  "Just step over here, Lieutenant. This is our present position,represented by the irregular blue line; those red squares show theenemy's forces as far as we understand them. The crosses representbatteries, and the important intrenchments are shown by the doublelines. Of course this is imperfect, largely drawn from the reports ofscouts. Their line is slightly shorter than our own, our rightoverlapping, but they have a stronger reserve force protecting thecentre. Now notice the situation here," and he traced it with hispencil. "Your regiment is practically to the rear of their main line ofdefence, but the nature of the ground renders them safe. There is a,deep ravine here, trending to the southeast, and easily defended. Nownote, ten miles, almost directly south of Three Corners, on the openpike, the first building on the right-hand side beyond a log church,stands an old plantation house. It is a large building, painted white,in the midst of a grove of trees, and in the rear is a commodious stableand a dozen negro cabins. The map shows this house to be somewhat tothe right of the
Confederate centre, and about five miles to the rear oftheir first line."

  I bent over, intent on the map, endeavoring to fix each point clearly inmy mind. Parker paused in his speech, and the general turned about, hiseyes fastened upon us.

  "I understand," I said finally.

  "Very well. Deserters informed us last night that Johnston had takenthis house for his headquarters. This morning one of our most reliablescouts confirms the report, and says the place can be easily approachedby a small party using the ravine for concealment, coming in past thenegro cabins at the rear."

  My eyes brightened, as I straightened up, instantly comprehending theplan.

  "What guard have they?"

  "A few sentinels at the house, and a squad of cavalry in the stable.Naturally they feel perfectly safe so far to the rear of their ownlines. It is the very audacity of such an attempt which makes successpossible."

  The general stepped forward.

  "Don't take this as an order, Lieutenant," he said bluntly. "It willmean a desperate risk, and if you go, you must comprehend thoroughly theperil involved. You were recommended as the best man to lead such aparty, but we supposed you already knew that country."

  "I can place my hand on a man who does know every inch of it," Ireplied, my mind clear, and my decision reached. "I thank you for theprivilege."

  "Good; when?"

  "To-night, of course; there is ample time to prepare."

  "How many men will you require?"

  I hesitated, but for barely an instant.

  "Not to exceed ten, General--a small party will accomplish as much as alarger one, and be less liable to attract attention. All I need willvolunteer from my own company."

  Apparently his own thought coincided with mine, for he merely looked atme a moment with those searching gray eyes, and then turned to the map,beckoning me to join him.

  "Familiarize yourself with every detail of the topography of theregion," he said, his finger on the paper. "Colonel Parker will explainanything you may need to know." He straightened up, and extended hishand, the cigar still crushed between his teeth. "I believe you are theright stuff, Lieutenant; young enough to be reckless, old enough to knowthe value of patience. Are you married?"

  I shook my head, with a smile, yet conscious my cheeks were flushed.

  "Then I am going to say to you--go, and do the best you can. Parker willgive you any other instructions you desire. Good-bye, my lad, andgood luck."

  He turned and left the room, my eyes following him until the doorclosed.