The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Part 12

The falling of the raindrops on the roof, which was directly above them, helped drown any noise that the guard might make below. The whistling of the wind as it swayed the branches of the near-by tree was weird. Even the beating of their hearts seemed to sound so loudly that each was able to share in his companion's feelings.

Both young soldiers were listening intently for any disturbances that might be made in the room below them. A faint light entered the room through the one window, which was near the tree. This, however, was sufficient, after the lapse of a few minutes, to enable both boys dimly to discern the outlines of the room in which they were standing.

"Whist!" whispered Dennis. "They haven't heard us. 'T is a fine day for us."

"Wait," said Noel.

"No, I'm not goin' to wait," retorted Dennis. "What we want to do is to lave at once. The more we wait, the longer we'll have to stay. Every minute here means a month in Libby Prison."

The window was closed, but one of the small panes was broken, and without much difficulty the boys succeeded in removing the sash.

A heavy downpour of rain and a fresh shriek from the storm served to cause both boys to pause once more and listen for further sounds of discovery from the room below. Apparently, however, their escape had not as yet been discovered, and eagerly both prepared to descend by the way of the tree to the ground.

In order to gain a more secure foothold and at the same time avoid making any noise, each of the boys had tied his shoes together and hung them about his neck.

Dennis first peered out of the window, and when he withdrew his head he whispered to Noel, "I cannot see the guard anywhere. I guess the Johnnies don't like the rain and have gone in out of the wet."

Noel was too excited to respond to the suggestion and eagerly said, "Go on, Dennis! Go ahead! Don't wait a minute."

"Here I go, then!" said Dennis, as, leaning from the window, he grasped the extended branches of the tree which reached to within a few inches of the side of the house.

Noel breathlessly watched his companion, at the same time seeking to discover whether the descent of Dennis was known to any one below. The young soldier had no conception of the minutes that pa.s.sed, but it seemed to him a long time before the young Irishman at last disappeared from sight, evidently having successfully gained the ground.

Without hesitating longer, Noel instantly prepared to follow. As he seized the extended branch his hands for a moment slipped, and it was only with difficulty that he retained his hold and prevented himself from falling to the ground. The branch creaked ominously and the alarm of the young soldier was increased by his fear that it would fail to sustain him. Noel was strong and nimble, however, and soon secured a firmer grip, and convinced that his departure from the building as yet had not been discovered, he rapidly made his way to the ground, and then without delaying a moment ran swiftly in the direction of the barn.

All the time he was fearful of a shot from the guard in or about the house. Perhaps fear gave him additional speed. At all events, in a brief time he gained the shelter he was seeking, and at once, keeping well within the lee of the barn, peered anxiously at the place from which he had fled.

The noise of the storm was the only sound to be heard. The faint light that was s.h.i.+ning from the window of the hall where the guard had been stationed was the only bright spot in the midst of the surrounding darkness. There were no indications of pursuit and no sound which indicated that his flight had become known.

But where was Dennis? For the first time Noel became aware that he and his friend had not made any plans as to their meeting in case both were successful in escaping from the house.

Eagerly the boy looked all about him, but there was no sign of his friendly comrade. For a moment Noel was undecided. Should he remain where he was and wait the possible coming of Dennis? Or should he at once depart from the place, now that he had succeeded in gaining the shelter of the barn, and strive to make his way as best he might to the road which joined the one that led through the swamp?

Noel Curtis was too highly wrought up to hesitate long. Safely making his way toward the opposite side of the barn, he then started swiftly in the direction in which the longed-for road was to be found. He had only a faint recollection of the direction, however, and the night was too dark to enable him to discover any familiar signs.

Before he had fled twenty yards he was drenched with the downpour. That fact, however, was of minor consequence, and in his eagerness, although he frequently was slipping and sliding as his feet failed to gain a firm foothold in the slippery mud, it was not long before Noel found himself at the place he was seeking. He had believed that no guard would be stationed there in such a night. Not only was the storm so violent as to make it well-nigh impossible for a man and his horse to remain outside, but the darkness would enable any Northern soldiers who might have crossed the corduroy road to escape the vision of the waiting Confederate.

Noel's surprise and pleasure were great when he discovered that the road over which he was running was a plank road. When he had fled about one hundred yards, almost breathless he halted to discover whether or not there were any signs of pursuit.

Convinced that his escape as yet was unknown, the lad seated himself on a plank in a small bridge and donned the shoes which he had been carrying about his neck. Then he resumed his flight through the driving storm.

CHAPTER XI

NICK

The brief respite had so restored the strength of the young soldier that he ran swiftly over the loose planks until he had gone several yards from the place where he had stopped.

Compelled then to slacken his pace, he glanced anxiously about him as he moved on through the unfamiliar country. The storm was still severe, though heavy, broken clouds now were to be seen in the darkened sky.

Noel was fleeing through a country with which he not only was not familiar, but which also provided many perils of its own. Fortunately, as he believed, there were few people whom he was likely to meet at such a time and in a pouring rain. The thought of Stuart's cavalry, however, caused him to be doubly watchful, for he knew of the report that hors.e.m.e.n had been thrown out to intercept any stragglers that might be striving to make their way to the army of General McClellan.

An hour or more elapsed, and as yet Noel had not discovered any one on the old roadway. Once when he had pa.s.sed a humble cabin the barking of the dogs had caused him to hesitate. He was defenseless and was unaware of the sympathies of the inmates of the little house. The uncertainty, however, caused him to resume his flight, although he still was ignorant of his destination.

His chief thought was that, by placing the greatest possible distance between him and the enemies whom he had left behind him, he might then be able to obtain help or find a place in which he could hide throughout the day and resume his flight when night again came. Even in his alarm and perplexity, he smiled as he recalled the statement of Dennis, when the young Irishman had outlined his plan for escape, "that he didn't know where he was going, but he knew he wanted to go there mighty quick, and he wanted to go mighty bad."

The night now was almost gone. Noel was aware of this from the slight change that appeared in the eastern sky. There was as yet no promise of the pa.s.sing of the storm, though its violence had markedly decreased.

It was strange, the young soldier thought, that all through the hours of his flight he had not discovered any of his enemies. At that moment, however, Noel saw coming from a lane at the left of the road a man who was carrying a burden in each hand. Around his neck hung a yoke the cords of which were attached to bundles.

It was too dark to enable Noel to determine whether or not the man was a soldier. He halted abruptly, and, prepared to flee instantly if occasion should demand, eagerly watched the approaching stranger. As yet he apparently was unaware of the presence of Noel in the road. Suddenly, however, he glanced in the direction of the young soldier.

The man's alarm was so manifest at his discovery that under other circ.u.mstances Noel would have laughed heartily. The light was sufficiently strong to enable him to see now that the man was not a soldier, and a moment later, when the stranger spoke, the young soldier's fears were relieved when it became manifest that he was a negro.

"Who dat? Who dat?" asked the colored man as he stopped abruptly.

"Where did you come from?" demanded Noel, striving to speak sternly.

"Yas, suh! Yas, suh!" replied the negro. "Is yo' all come from--"

Whatever the place from which the negro thought he came, he did not complete his sentence, and consequently Noel was left in ignorance.

"Who lives here?" demanded Noel.

"Ma.s.sa Hilton."

"Is he home?"

"No, suh. Yas, suh. I don' jest 'member whether he's home or not,"

stammered the negro.

Noel's experiences with Long John had made him somewhat suspicious of the colored people of the region. He decided that he would be extremely cautious, and at once said, "In which direction are you going?"

"Yas, suh! Yas, suh!" replied the negro.

"Come on, then," said Noel. "I'm going in the same direction."

The colored man hesitated a moment, and then as he moved nearer he was convinced that he did not need to fear the young stranger and obediently joined him.

As soon as they had advanced beyond the point in the road which hid the little house from their sight, Noel turned to his companion and said, "What are you doing--leaving home at this time of night?"

"I don' lib dar," replied the negro promptly. "I b'long to Ma.s.sa Frost."

"Where does he live?"

"Fo' or five miles up yonder," replied the negro, pointing ahead of him as he spoke.