General Nelson's Scout 22

General Nelson's Scout 22

The girl held up her hands in dismay. "And I told him----" She stopped

suddenly.

 

"Told him what?" demanded Conway.

 

"Oh! nothing, nothing; only what a good fellow you were."

 

The captain looked at her sharply, and said: "It is well you gave away

no secrets."

 

Fred made his way back to camp with a thankful heart. He told Colonel

Garrard of the intended attack, and then started back for the

headquarters of General Thomas. It was a long and hard ride, and it was

well in the small hours of the night when he arrived. The general was

aroused and the news of the expected attack told. He quietly wrote a

couple of orders, and went back to his bed. One order was to General

Schoepf to at once march his brigade to the relief of Colonel Garrard at

Rock Castle. The other was sent to Colonel Connell at Big Hill to move

his regiment to Rock Castle, instead of advancing toward London as

ordered.

 

Both orders were obeyed, and both commands were in position on the 20th.

General Zollicoffer made his expected attack on the 21st, and was easily

repulsed. The battle was a small one; nothing but a skirmish it would

have been called afterwards; but to the soldiers engaged at that time,

it looked like a big thing. It greatly encouraged the Federal soldiers,

and correspondingly depressed the soldiers of Zollicoffer's army.

 

Fred got back to Rock Castle in time to see the battle. It was his first

sight of dead and wounded soldiers. And as he looked on the faces of the

dead, their sightless eyes upturned to heaven, and the groans of the

wounded sounding in his ears, he turned sick at heart, and wondered why

men created in the image of God would try to kill and maim each other.

And yet, a few moments before, he himself was wild with the excitement

of battle, and could scarcely be restrained from rushing into it.

 

The next day the army advanced, and passed the place where Fred met

with his adventure, and he thought he would make another visit to Miss

Alice Johnson. But that young lady gave him a cold reception. She called

him a "miserable, sneaking Yankee," and turned her back on him in

disgust. He didn't hear the last of his call on Miss Johnson.

 

Fred pointed out the place where his horse had leaped the fence, and

officers and men were astonished, and Prince became as much a subject of

praise as his rider. It was a common saying among the soldiers as he

rode by, "There goes the smartest boy and best horse in Kentucky."

 

When Fred returned to Camp Dick Robinson, he found a letter awaiting him

from General Nelson. The general was making a campaign against a portion

of the command of General Humphrey Marshall in the mountains of Eastern

Kentucky, and wrote that if Fred could possibly come to him to do so.

 

"Of course; go at once," said General Thomas, when the letter was shown

him. "I am sorry to lose you, but I think Zollicoffer will be rather

quiet for a while, and General Nelson has the first claim on you. I

shall always be grateful to you for the service you have rendered me. I

trust that it is but the beginning of still closer relations in the

future."

 

It was fated that General Thomas and Fred were to be much together

before the war closed.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER X.

 

IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY.

 

 

To his dismay, Fred noticed that the letter of General Nelson was dated

the 10th of October, and it was now the last of the month. For some

reason the letter had been greatly delayed.

 

It was known that Nelson was already in the mountains of Eastern

Kentucky; therefore no time was to be lost if Fred joined him. Much to

his regret, Fred had to leave Prince behind. Afterwards he blessed his

stars that he did, for if he had taken the horse he would have lost him

forever.

 

Fred traveled to Cincinnati by rail, and then by boat up the Ohio to

Maysville. He found that Nelson had not only been gone from Maysville

for some days, but that there was no direct line of communication with

his army. Nothing daunted, he determined to follow, and procuring a

horse, he started on his journey alone and unattended, and against the

advice of the officer in command at Maysville.

 

"Wait," said that officer, "until we send forward a train. It will be

strongly guarded, and you will escape all danger of capture."

 

But Fred would not wait. He believed it to be his duty to join Nelson

as soon as possible. By hard riding, he reached Hazel Green on the

evening of the second day, and without adventure. Here he learned that

Nelson's command had left the place only two days before, and was now

supposed to be at or near Prestonburg, and there were rumors of fighting

at that place.

 

The next morning Fred pressed forward in high spirits, thinking he would

overtake at least the rear of Nelson's army by night. Along in the

afternoon four cavalrymen suddenly confronted him, blocking the road.

 

As they all had on the blue Federal overcoat, Fred had not the remotest

idea but that they belonged to Nelson's army, and riding boldly up to

them asked how far the command was in advance.

 

"What command?" asked one of the party, who appeared to be the leader.

 

"Why, Nelson's command, of course," replied Fred, in surprise. But the

words were hardly out of his mouth before four revolvers were leveled on

him, and he was commanded to surrender. There was no alternative but to

submit as gracefully as possible.

 

"Now, boys," said the leader, "we will see what we have captured.

Examine him."

 

It must be borne in mind that Fred was dressed in civilian clothes, and

therefore could not be taken prisoner as a soldier.

 

The soldiers, after going through his pockets, handed the contents to

their leader.

 

"Ah," said that personage with a wicked grin, "young man, you may go

along with us to Colonel Williams. For aught I know, these letters may

hang you," and filing off from the Prestonburg road, they took a rough

mountain road for Piketon.

 

Fred afterward found that the four soldiers were a scouting party that

had got in the rear of Nelson's army in the hopes of picking up some

stragglers, their only reward being himself. As was said, the party

consisted of four. The leader, Captain Bascom, was a hooked-nosed,

ferret-eyed man, who frequently took deep draughts from a canteen

containing what was familiarly known as "mountain dew"--whisky distilled

by the rough mountaineers. Being half-drunk all the time added intensity

to a naturally cruel, tyrannical disposition.

 

One of the soldiers named Drake was a burly, red-faced fellow, who

seemed to be a boon companion of the captain; at least one took a drink

as often as the other. Another of the soldiers answered to the name of

Lyle; he was a gloomy, taciturn man, and said little. The remaining one

of Fred's captors was a mere boy, not older than himself. He was a

bright-eyed, intelligent looking fellow, tough and muscular, and from

his conversation vastly above the station in life of his comrades before

he enlisted. It was not long before Fred discovered that Captain Bascom

took delight in worrying the boy, whose name was Robert Ferror. In this

he was followed to a greater or less extent by Drake. Not only this,

but when they stopped for the night at the rude home of a mountaineer,

Fred noticed that Bob, as all called him, was the drudge of the party.

He not only had to care for the captain's horse, but to perform menial

service, even to cleaning the mud from the captain's boots. As he was

doing this, Bob caught Fred looking at him, and coloring to the roots of

his hair, he trembled violently. It was evident that he felt himself

degraded by his work, but seeing a look of pity in Fred's eyes, he

fiercely whispered, "My mother's niggers used to do this for me," and

then he cast such a look of hate on Captain Bascom that Fred shuddered.

There was murder in that look.

 

It was not until the evening of the second day of his capture that

Piketon was reached. Along in the afternoon, away to the left, firing

was heard, and every now and then, the deep boom of cannon reverberated

through the valleys and gorges. Nelson was advancing on Piketon. It made

Fred sick at heart to think that his friends were so near, and yet so

far.

 

The knowledge that the Confederates were being driven seemed to anger

Bascom, and he drank oftener than usual. Noticing that Bob was talking

to Fred as they were riding along, he turned back and struck the boy

such a cruel blow in the face that he was knocked from his horse.

 

By order of Bascom, Drake and Lyle dismounted, picked Bob up, wiped the

blood from his face, and after forcing some whisky down his throat,

placed him on his horse. At first he seemed dazed and could not guide

his horse. He gradually came to himself, and when he looked at Bascom

Fred saw that same murderous look come over his face which he had

noticed once before. "Bascom has cause to fear that boy," thought Fred.

 

When the party rode into Piketon they found everything in the utmost

confusion. Preparations were being made to evacuate the place. The

soldiers who had been in the fight came streaming back, bringing with

them their wounded and a few prisoners. They reported thousands and

thousands of Yankees coming. This added to the confusion and the

demoralization of the troops.

 

The prisoners were thrown, for the night, in a building used as a jail.

It was of hewn logs, without windows or doors, being entered through the

roof, access being had to the roof by an outside stairway, then by a

ladder down in the inside. When all were down, the ladder was drawn up,

and the opening in the roof closed. The place was indescribably filthy,

and Fred always wondered how he lived through the night. When morning

came and the ladder was put down for them to ascend, each and every one

thanked the Lord the rebels were to retreat, and that their stay in the

noisome hole was thus ended. With gratitude they drank in mouthfuls of

the fresh air.

 

The whole place was in a frenzy of excitement. Commissary stores they

were not able to carry away were given to the flames. Every moment the

advance of Nelson's army was expected. But as time passed, and no army

appeared the panic somewhat subsided and something like order was restored.