CHAPTER XIX
AT THE FORK
Noel ran swiftly forward in the darkness until at last he was compelledto stop to recover his breath. As he looked behind him he saw that thefire on the plantation manifestly was dying down. There was one spot ofdull red yet to be seen against the dark horizon, but the flames hadceased.
For a moment he was tempted to turn and bid Dennis join him in hisflight; but his uncertainty as to the exact direction in which to returnto the old well, and his confidence that somehow the young Irish soldierwould be able to make his way through the surrounding difficultiescaused him to decide to continue his own flight.
The young soldier soon found himself in a road with which he was, ofcourse, unfamiliar. He also was ignorant alike of the location of hisfriends and his enemies. For a brief time Noel tried to discover somesigns which would indicate the presence or the passing of bodies oftroops, but his efforts were unavailing, and at last he turned to hisleft and started resolutely along the roadway.
Frequently the young soldier stopped to convince himself that he was inno immediate peril. To his listening ears, however, no sounds of dangercame. The silence of the night was unbroken, and from the occasionalplantations not even the dogs betrayed any alarm at his passing.
Two hours or more had elapsed, and Noel now was beginning to feel theeffects of his labors. Only in a general way did he know where he wantedto go, but his very ignorance had strengthened his nervous fear and heincreased his efforts to make haste.
Suddenly the young soldier was aware that a dense fog was settling overthe land. Almost like raindrops the heavy mist rested upon his face andclothing. He was able to see but a short distance before him. What fearsor hopes might be concealed by the enfolding mist he did not know, buthis senses were alert, and he was keenly watchful as he moved forward inthe darkness.
He had not advanced far, however, when he came to a fork in the road.Almost at right angles a road branched which plainly was traveled asfrequently as the one over which he had journeyed. Near the fork theyoung soldier discovered a little cabin, about which he was striving tomake some investigations that would enable him to decide which road tofollow. The little building was near the side of the road, and as Noelsaw it he abruptly halted and listened intently for any sounds thatmight betray the presence of people within it.
It was almost morning by this time, and though the fog was notscattered, the light of the coming day presented a new aspect to hissurroundings. Cautiously the young soldier approached the little cabin.The door was open, and as he came nearer he saw that there was no windowin the room. Apparently the place was deserted.
At last with renewed caution Noel approached the door and hastilyglanced within the building. In spite of the darkness he was convincedthat he was the only one in the place. His impression was strengthenedwhen he entered and found that apparently the room had not been occupiedfor a long time.
So tired was Noel by the efforts which he had made in his flight thatthe place appeared almost inviting. At all events, it was quiet andpeaceful and he flung himself on the ground and soon was sleepingsoundly.
The young soldier was awakened suddenly, and as he opened his eyes, atfirst he was unable to say where he was. Rays of the early sunlight werestreaming through the open spaces in the walls, but stronger than theimpression produced by the morning was that of the sounds which he heardfrom the road.
It was plain that horses and men were outside the building, and if hecould judge from the noise there were many of both.
Alarmed as Noel was by what he heard, he nevertheless quickly arose andcautiously looked through the place where the window had been.
The sight which greeted his eyes was one which might well have startleda bolder man than the young soldier. A troop of cavalry had halted atthe fork in the road and were preparing their breakfast. There were atleast fifty men in the band, and from their actions Noel concluded theywere in no immediate fear of discovery or attack. The men were notnoisy, but they were joking with one another, and plainly wereinterested in the preparations which were being made for their morningmeal. Indeed, the odor of the bacon which was being broiled over theseveral fires which had been kindled, made him aware that he, too, hadeaten little since he had fled from his pursuers early the precedingday.
Occasional words were overheard, and it was not difficult for the youngsoldier to conclude that the men before him belonged to a troop ofStuart's cavalry, and that apparently they were in no immediate fear ofthe Federal troops.
As the young soldier looked about him in the morning light he saw thatthe building in which he had slept was old and dilapidated. One cornerof the roof had fallen, and the place was so small that no one passingwould believe that many could be concealed within its walls. At allevents, its appearance of desolation undoubtedly was his strongestprotection, he thought. Not one of the cavalrymen would think ofinspecting a place around which the bushes and weeds were growing andwithin which no one was likely to seek refuge.
His admiration for the men before him became stronger as he continued towatch their activities. Not only were they well trained, but theirhorses were wonderful animals. Some of them showed the effect of thelabors of the campaign, but it was clear that both men and horses madeup a carefully selected body.
Noel, as has been said, was peering anxiously from one corner of thelittle window. An exclamation of surprise almost escaped his lips whensuddenly he discovered two men approaching from the branch road, and hewas convinced that one was Levi, the former sutler in the camp atHarper's Ferry, and the other was the husband of Sairy Ann's sister.
It became evident to the young watcher that the arrival of both men wasexpected. At all events, an orderly ran forward to meet them, and it wasplain from the conversation which followed that neither of the newcomerswas a stranger to him.
Noel's desire to see and hear more became intense. Soon after thearrival of the sutler and his companion, patrols were established in thethree roads. The chief comfort that Noel had at the time was theconviction that his hiding-place, in view of the interest which thearrival of the two men had created, was not likely to receive theattention of the cavalrymen.
Except for a few faint snatches of the conversation of the soldiers,Noel, despite his efforts, still was unable to overhear much of what wassaid.
Occasionally words came to him, but for the most part they weremeaningless. The impression, however, which he received was that thenewcomers had brought information which was considered of importance,for the men soon were hastily preparing to leave the place, althoughthey had not yet finished their breakfast.
By this time the fog largely had been burned away by the rays of therising sun. When a few minutes later the bugle sounded, the men mountedtheir horses and in a body departed swiftly, leaving behind them bothLevi and his strange companion, whom Noel had first seen in the house ofthe elongated Jim, the husband of Sairy Ann.
The two men sat on the ground near one of the fires which was stillburning, and over it was some of the food still cooking which thesoldiers had abandoned in their sudden departure. The conversationbetween the two could be overheard more plainly, and as Noel listenedhis interest became more intense.
"Here, don't yo' all want some of this yere bacon?" inquired Levi'scompanion.
"I do not eat bacon."
"Why don't you eat it?"
"Because it vas unclean."
"It's as clean as anything you're likely to get in the next week ortwo," laughed the man. "Now, then, Levi, what did you find out?"
"Just vat I tells you."
"Yo' 're perfectly sure about that, be yo'?"
"Yes," snapped Levi. "Now you tells me vat you haf found."
"Not very much. I was back here on the major's plantation, and he saidthere were some Yanks at the nigger hut last night, but that theycouldn't find any trace of them this mo'nin'. One of the cabins burnedup last night, and the major thinks the men got away while all handswere busy puttin' out the fire."
"How many did you say der vas?" inquired Levi.
"How many of what?"
"How many Yankees vere dere. How many got avay?"
"I don't know anything about that. I heard the major say he was suretwo, anyway."
"Yah, I knows dose men, I vas sure. Dey are de two men what robbed me ofmine goots. Dey push over mine tent. Dey say I charge too mooch. Deysteals mine goots. Dot is vy I am no more some Yankee."
"A Yankee!" exclaimed his companion as he threw back his head andlaughed loudly. "A Yankee! Yo' 're about as much Yankee as yo' arenigger."
"Not too far, mine friend. Not too far. You forget dot the brains of theConfederacy is Jew brains--"
"That's a good one! That's a good one!" broke in Levi's companion. "Now,then," he added more soberly, "are yo' all comin' on with me, or am Igoin' with yo' all? The captain said yo' all were to come with me. Doyo' know where we're goin'?"
"I know vere ve vas going to try to go," said Levi. "Ever since dose menpush over mine tent and steals mine goots, I--"
"Well, if we're going, why don't we start? I have had all I want toeat," broke in the other man.
Noel could see that neither of the men was clad in the uniform of theConfederate army. His suspicions were confirmed that both were beingused by the rebel troops to secure information concerning the presenceand the actions of McClellan's army.
Noel was desirous of hearing the men speak more concerning theirimmediate plans, but, although it was plain that neither was suspiciousthat any one was near, almost instinctively they both lowered theirvoices whenever they spoke concerning the immediate task whichconfronted them.
An interruption was provided, however, by Noel himself. A sudden impulseto sneeze became almost uncontrollable. In spite of his efforts torepress the impulse Noel soon found that he was unable to do so, andafter several attempts a prolonged and agonizing sound came from thehut, which instantly caused the two men outside to leap to their feetand gaze anxiously at the little building.