The Sword of Antietam | Page 4

enemy and
of the grand deeds that he was going to do. Who was Pope to sweep
away such men as Lee and Jackson with mere words!
Dick longed for Grant, the stern, unyielding, unbeatable Grant whom
he had known at Shiloh. In the west the Union troops had felt the
strong hand over them, and confidence had flowed into them, but here
they were in doubt. They felt that the powerful and directing mind was
absent.
Silence fell upon them all for a little space, while the four gazed
intently into the south, strange fears assailing everyone. Dick never
doubted that the Union would win. He never doubted it then and he
never doubted it afterward, through all the vast hecatomb when the flag
of the Union fell more than once in terrible defeat.
But their ignorance was mystifying and oppressive. They saw before
them the beautiful country, the hills and valleys, the forest and the blue
loom of the mountains, so much that appealed to the eye, and yet the

horizon, looking so peaceful in the distance, was barbed with spears.
Jackson was there! The sergeant's theory had become conviction with
them. Distance had been nothing to him. He was at hand with a great
force, and Lee with another army might fall at any time upon their
flank, while McClellan was isolated and left useless, far away.
Dick's heart missed a beat or two, as he saw the sinister picture that he
had created in his own mind. Highly imaginative, he had leaped to the
conclusion that Lee and Jackson meant to trap the Union army, the
hammer beating it out on the anvil. He raised the glasses to his eyes,
surveyed the forests in the South once more, and then his heart missed
another beat.
He had caught the flash of steel, the sun's rays falling across a bayonet
or a polished rifle barrel. And then as he looked he saw the flash again
and again. He handed the glasses to Warner and said quietly:
"George, I see troops on the edge of that far hill to the south and the
east. Can't you see them, too?"
"Yes, I can make them out clearly now, as they pass across a bit of
open land. They're Confederate cavalry, two hundred at least, I should
say."
Dick learned long afterward that it was the troop of Sherburne, but, for
the present, the name of Sherburne was unknown to him. He merely
felt that this was the vanguard of Jackson riding forward to set the trap.
The men were now so near that they could be seen with the naked eye,
and the sergeant said tersely:
"At last we've seen what we were afraid we would see."
"And look to the left also," said Warner, who still held the glasses.
"There's a troop of horse coming up another road, too. By George,
they're advancing at a trot! We'd better clear out or we may be enclosed
between the two horns of their cavalry."
"We'll go back to our force at Cedar Run," said Harry, "and report what

we've seen. As you say, George, there's no time to waste."
The four mounted and rode fast, the dust of the road flying in a cloud
behind their horses' heels. Dick felt that they had fulfilled their errand,
but he had his doubts how their news would be received. The Northern
generals in the east did not seem to him to equal those of the west in
keenness and resolution, while the case was reversed so far as the
Southern generals were concerned.
But fast as they went the Southern cavalry was coming with equal
speed. They continually saw the flash of arms in both east and west.
The force in the west was the nearer of the two. Not only was
Sherburne there, but Harry Kenton was with him, and besides their own
natural zeal they had all the eagerness and daring infused into them by
the great spirit and brilliant successes of Jackson.
"They won't be able to enclose us between the two horns of their
horsemen," said Sergeant Whitley, whose face was very grave, "and the
battle won't be to-morrow or the next day."
"Why not? I thought Jackson was swift," said Warner.
"Cause it will be fought to-day. I thought Jackson was swift, too, but
he's swifter than I thought. Them feet cavalry of his don't have to
change their name. Look into the road comin' up that narrow valley."
The eyes of the three boys followed his pointing finger, and they now
saw masses of infantry, men in gray pressing forward at full speed.
They saw also batteries of cannon, and Dick almost fancied he could
hear the rumble of their wheels.
"Looks as if the sergeant was right,"