Part 50 (1/2)
Stonewall Jackson came out of the house with the flag before it. Behind him were those of his staff who had not left headquarters when the invasion occurred, while, holding the horses before the door, waited, white-lipped, a knot of most anxious orderlies. One brought Little Sorrel. Jackson mounted with his usual slow deliberation, then, turning in the saddle, looked back to the shouting blue hors.e.m.e.n. They saw him and dug spurs into flanks. First he pulled the forage cap over his eyes and then he jerked his hand into the air. These gestures executed he touched Little Sorrel with the rowel and, his suite behind him, started off down the street toward the bridge over the Shenandoah. One would not have said that he went like a swift arrow. There was, indeed, an effect of slowness, of a man traversing, in deep thought, a solitary plain. But for all that, he went so fast that the s.p.a.ce between him and the enemy did not decrease. They came thunderingly on, a whole Federal charge--but he kept ahead. Seeing that he did so, they began to discharge carbine and pistol, some aiming at Little Sorrel, some at the grey figure riding stiffly, bolt upright and elbows out. Little Sorrel shook his head, snorted, and went on. Ahead loomed the bridge, a dusky, warm, gold-shot tunnel below an arch of weather-beaten wood. Under it rolled with a heavy sound the Shenandoah. Across the river, upon the green hilltops, had arisen a commotion. All the drums were beating the long roll.
Stonewall Jackson and Little Sorrel came on the trodden rise of earth leading to the bridge mouth. The blue cavalry shouted and spurred. Their carbines cracked. The b.a.l.l.s pockmarked the wooden arch. Jackson dragged the forage cap lower and disappeared within the bridge. The four or five with him turned and drew across the gaping mouth.
The blue cavalry came on, firing as they came. Staff and orderlies, the grey answered with pistols. Behind, in the bridge, sounded the hollow thunder of Little Sorrel's hoofs. The sound grew fainter. Horse and rider were nearly across. Staff and orderlies fired once again, then, just as the blue were upon them, turned, dug spur, shouted, and disappeared beneath the arch.
The Federal cavalry, ma.s.sed before the bridge and in the field to either side, swore and swore, ”He's out!--Jackson's out! There he goes--up the road! Fire!--d.a.m.n it all, what's the use? He's charmed. We almost got him! Good Lord! We'd all have been major-generals!”
A patrol galloped up. ”They've got a great wagon train, sir, at the other end of the village--ordnance reserve, supply, everything! It is in motion. It's trying to get off by the Staunton road.”
The cavalry divided. A strong body stayed by the bridge, while one as large turned and galloped away. Those staying chafed with impatience.
”Why don't the infantry come up--d.a.m.ned creeping snails!”--”Yes, we could cross, but when we got to the other side, what then?--No, don't dare to burn the bridge--don't know what the general would say.”--”Listen to those drums over there! If Stonewall Jackson brings all those hornets down on us!”--”If we had a gun--Speak of the angels!--Unlimber right here, lieutenant!--Got plenty of canister? Now if the d.a.m.ned infantry would only come on! Thought it was just behind us when we crossed the ford--What's that off there?”
”That” was a sharp sputter of musketry. ”Firing! Who are they firing at?
There aren't any rebels--we took them all prisoners--”
”There's fighting, anyway--wagon escort, maybe. The devil! Look across the river! Look! All the hornets are coming down--”
Of the detail from the 65th Coffin and two others stood their ground until the foremost of the herd was crossing the ford near at hand, large, threatening, trumpeting. Then the three ran like hares, hearts pounding at their sides, the ocean roaring in their ears, and in every cell in their bodies an accurate impression that they had been seen, and that the trumpeting herd meant to run down, kill or capture every grey soldier in Port Republic! Underfoot was wet knot gra.s.s, difficult and slippery; around was the shrouding mist. They thought the lane ran through to another street, but it proved a cul-de-sac. Something rose mistily before them; it turned out to be a cowshed. They flung themselves against the door, but the door was padlocked. Behind the shed, between it and a stout board fence, sprang a great clump of wet elder, tall and rank, with spreading leaves; underneath, black, miry earth. Into this they crowded, squatted on the earth, turned face toward the pa.s.sage up which they had come, and brought their rifles to the front. A hundred yards away the main herd went by, gigantic in the mist.
The three in the elder breathed deep. ”All gone. Gone!--No. There's a squad coming up here.”
The three kneeling in the mire, watching through triangular s.p.a.ces between the branchy leaves, grew suddenly, amazingly calm. What was the sense in being frightened? You couldn't get away. Was there anywhere to go to one might feel agitation enough, but there wasn't! Coffin handled his rifle with the deliberation of a woman smoothing her long hair. The man next him--Jim Watts--even while he settled forward on his knees and raised his musket, turned his head aside and spat. ”Derned old fog always gits in my throat!” A branch of elder was cutting Billy Maydew's line of vision. He broke it off with noiseless care and raised to his shoulder the Enfield rifle which he had acquired at Winchester. There loomed, at thirty feet away, colossal beasts bestridden by giants.
Suddenly the mist thinned, lifted. The demon steeds and riders resolved themselves into six formidable looking Federal troopers. From the main street rang the Federal bugles, vehemently rallying, imperative.
Shouting, too, broke out, savage, triumphant, pointed with pistol shots. The bugle called again, _Rally to the colours! Rally!_
”I calculate,” said one of the six blue hors.e.m.e.n, ”that the boys have found Stonewall.”
”Then they'll need us all!” swore the trooper leading. ”If anybody's in the cow-house they can wait.”--_Right about face! Forward! Trot!_
The men within the elder settled down on the wet black earth. ”Might as well stay here, I suppose,” said Coffin. Jim Watts began to s.h.i.+ver.
”It's awful damp and cold. I've got an awful pain in the pit of my stomach.” He rolled over and lay groaning. ”Can't I go, sir?” asked Billy. ”I kind of feel more natural in the open.”
Now Mathew Coffin had just been thinking that while this elder bush springing from muddy earth, with a manure heap near, was d.a.m.ned uncomfortable, it was better than being outside while those devils were slas.h.i.+ng and shooting. Perhaps they would ride away, or the army might come over the bridge, and there would be final salvation. He had even added a line to the letter he was writing, ”An elder bush afforded me some slight cover from which to fire--” And now Billy Maydew wanted to go outside and be taken prisoner! Immediately he became angry again.
”You're no fonder of the open than I am!” he said, and his upper lip twitched one side away from his white teeth.
Billy, his legs already out of the bush, looked at him with large, calm grey eyes. ”Kin I go?”
”Go where? You'll get killed.”
”You wouldn't grieve if I did, would you? I kinder thought I might get by a back street to the wagons. A cousin of mine's a wagon master and he ain't going ter give up easy. I kinder thought I might help--”
”I'm just waiting,” said Coffin, ”until Jim here gets over his spasm.
Then I'll give the word.”
Jim groaned. ”I feel sicker'n a yaller dog after a fight--'n' you know I didn't mind 'em at all when they were really here! You two go on, 'n'
I'll come after awhile.”
Coffin and Billy found the back street. It lay clear, warm, sunny, empty. ”They're all down at the bridge,” said Billy. ”Bang! bang! bang!”
They came to a house, blinds all closed, shrinking behind its trees.
Houses, like everything else, had personality in this war. A town occupied changed its mien according to the colour of the uniform in possession. As the two hurrying grey figures approached, a woman, starting from the window beside which she had been kneeling, watching through a crevice, ran out of the house and through the yard to the gate. ”You two men, come right in here! Don't you know the Yankees are in town?”