Part 4 (1/2)
”Mine's Wilson,” said another man. ”Let's make it three.”
”Good!”
They filed past Andrews, took the handful of Confederate money he held out, and started toward the road. The rain ceased for a few seconds; then came a flash of lightning, a burst of thunder, and the rain came swirling down. In an instant, Tom and his two companions were utterly alone in the black night, headed for the Southern lines.
CHAPTER THREE
ARRESTED
”The Union pickets are at Wartrace,” said Wilson, as they plodded down the road.
”We ought to pa.s.s them tonight,” Tom added. ”Have we any way of identifying ourselves?”
”No,” replied Wilson. ”We'd better try to avoid them.”
”What I hope,” remarked Shadrack, with a chuckle, ”is that our pickets are sleepy-dreaming of a nice warm fire at home, instead of keeping on the alert. Whew! what a storm!”
The steady pelting of the rain made conversation impossible. The road was becoming a slippery gumbo into which their feet sank deeply, and they put all their strength into the laborious task of walking. Finally, after an hour, they stopped to rest.
”I don't think we've gone more than two miles,” said Tom.
”The railroad track runs along here to the left some place,” Wilson remarked. ”If we could reach it, we'd find better walking.”
”You'll have to swim to get there,” muttered Shadrack. ”Those fields will be mud up to our necks.”
”Be quiet!” Tom whispered. ”Someone's coming.”
”Probably some of our own men,” said Wilson.
They stood silently as two men pa.s.sed them on the road. It was impossible to see them in the darkness, but they caught a broken sentence, ”...find a barn ... too much mud....”
”That's about the best thing that we can do,” said Shadrack, after the men had gone by. ”Find a barn some place, and stay there for the night.”
”I'd like to push on,” replied Tom. ”What do you think, Wilson?”
”Let's try to reach the railroad.”
”All right.”
Shadrack grunted his a.s.sent, and they trudged along the road, looking for an opening to the left. Presently a flash of lightning showed them a field. They climbed the fence and started across. Their feet sank in mud that seemed bottomless, and water oozed in over their shoe-tops.
”Can you make it?” asked Wilson.
”Yeh-go on,” answered Tom, panting.
”I'm coming,” muttered Shadrack.
It took them a half-hour to cross the field; then they sat on the fence exhausted. No lightning came to show them the way, so they climbed the fence, crossed another road, and entered a second field. The mud here was worse.
”Bogged!” exclaimed Shadrack.
They retreated to the road.