There he joined them on the 24th, having waited at Catlettsburg only long enough to forward to them necessary supplies.
The arrival of the regiment was opportune2, for the district was thoroughly3 alarmed. A regiment had been stationed there—the Fourteenth Kentucky—but had hastily retreated to the mouth of the river during the night of the 19th, under the impression that Marshall was advancing with his forces to drive them into the Ohio. It was a false alarm, but the union citizens were very much alarmed, and were preparing with their families to cross the river for safety. With the appearance of Garfield's regiment a feeling of security returned.
I am anxious to make plain to my boy readers the manner in which the young colonel managed his campaign. I think they will have no difficulty in understanding that Garfield had two very difficult things to accomplish. Colonel Craven knew nothing of Garfield's advance, nor of his plans. It was necessary to inform him. Again, if possible, a junction4 must be effected. The first was difficult, because the intervening country was infested5 with roving bands of guerrillas, and a messenger must take his life in his hands. How, again, could a junction be effected in the face of a superior enemy, liable to fall upon either column and crush it?
Obviously the first thing was to find a messenger.
"Have you a man," he asked, "who will die rather than fail or betray us?"
"Yes," answered the Kentuckian, after a pause, "I think I have. His name is John Jordan, and he comes from the head of the Blaine."
This was a small stream which entered the Big Sandy, a short distance from the town.
At the request of Garfield, Jordan was sent for. In a short time he entered the tent of the union commander.
This John Jordan was a remarkable7 man, and well known in all that region. He was of Scotch8 descent, and possessed9 some of the best traits of his Scotch ancestry10. He was a born actor, a man of undoubted courage, fertile in expedients11, and devoted12 to the union cause.
Garfield was a judge of men, and he was impressed in the man's favor at first sight. He describes Jordan as a tall, gaunt, sallow man, about thirty years of age, with gray eyes, a fine falsetto voice, and a face of wonderful expressiveness13. To the young colonel he was a new type of man, but withal a man whom he was convinced that he could trust.
"Why did you come into this war?" he asked, with some curiosity.
"To do my share, colonel, and I've made a bargain with the Lord. I gave Him my life to start with, and if He has a mind to take it, it's His. I've nothing to say agin it."
"You mean you have come into the war, not expecting to get out of it alive?"
"Yes, colonel."
"You know what I want you to do. Will you die rather than let this dispatch be taken?"
"I will."
He felt that the man could be trusted, and he said so.
The dispatch was written upon tissue paper. It was then rolled into the form of a bullet, coated with warm lead, and given into the hands of the messenger. He was provided with a carbine and a brace15 of revolvers, and when the moon was down, he mounted his horse in the darkness and set out on his perilous16 journey.
It would not do to ride in the daytime, for inevitably17 he would be stopped, or shot down. By day he must hide in the woods, and travel only at night.
His danger was increased by the treachery of one of his own comrades of the Fourteenth Kentucky, and he was followed by a band of guerrillas in the Confederate interest. Of this, however, Jordan was not apprised18, and supposing himself secure he sought shelter and concealment19 at the house of a man whom he knew to be loyal. Near enough to see, but not to be seen, the guerrillas waited till the tired messenger was sleeping, and then coming boldly out of the woods, surrounded the house.
"Wake for your life!" she said. "The guerrillas are outside, clamoring for you. I have locked the doors, but I can not keep them out long."
Jordan had thrown himself on the bed with his clothes on. He knew that he was liable to be surprised, and in such an event time was most valuable. Though awakened21 from a sound sleep, he had all his wits about him.
"Thank you," said he. "I have a favor to ask in the name of our cause."
"Be quick, then," said the woman. "They are bursting open the door."
"Take this bullet. It contains a secret dispatch, which, if I am killed, I enjoin22 upon you to convey to Colonel Craven, at Paris. Will you do it?"
"If I can."
"Then I am off."
The door burst open, but he made a sudden dash, and escaped capture. He headed for the woods, amid a volley of bullets, but none of them reached him. Once he turned round, and fired an answering shot. He did not stop to see if it took effect, but it was the messenger of Death. One of the guerrillas reeled, and measured his length upon the ground, dead in a moment.
Fleet as a deer the brave scout23 pushed on till he got within the protecting shadows of the friendly woods. There they lost the trail, and though he saw them from his place of concealment, he was himself unseen.
"Curse him!" said the disappointed leader. "He must have sunk into the earth, or vanished into the air."
"If he's sunk into the earth, that is where we want him," answered another, with grim humor.
"You will find I am not dead yet!" said the hidden scout to himself. "I shall live to trouble you yet."
He passed the remainder of the day in the woods, fearing that his pursuers might still be lingering about.
"If there were only two or three, I'd come out and face 'em," he said, "but the odds24 are too great. I must skulk25 back in the darkness, and get back the bullet."
Night came on, and the woman who had saved him, heard a low tapping at the door. It might be an enemy, and she advanced, and opened it with caution. A figure, seen indistinctly in the darkness, stood before her.
"Who are you?" she asked doubtfully.
"Don't be afraid, ma'am, it's only me."
"And you—"
"Are the man you saved this morning!"
"God be thanked! Then you were not killed?"
"Do I look like a dead man? No, my time hasn't come yet. I foiled 'em in the wood, and there I have spent all day. Have you any victuals26, for I am famished27?"
"Yes, come in."
"I can not stay. I will take what you have and leave at once, for the villains28 may be lurkin' round here somewhere. But first, the bullet! have you that safe?"
"Here it is."
The scout put it in his pocket, and taking in his hand a paper box of bread and meat which his loyal hostess brought him, resumed his hazardous29 journey.
He knew that there were other perils30 to encounter, unless he was particularly fortunate, but he had a heart prepared for any fate. The perils came, but he escaped them with adroitness31, and at midnight of the following day he was admitted into the presence of Colonel Craven.
In forty-eight hours, traveling only by night, he had traversed one hundred miles with a rope round his neck, and without the prospect33 of special reward. For he was but a private, and received but a private's pay—thirteen dollars a month, a shoddy uniform, and hard-tack, when he could get it.
Colonel Craven opened the bullet, and read the dispatch.
It was dated "Louisa, Kentucky, December 24, midnight"; and directed him to move at once with his regiment (the Fortieth Ohio, eight hundred strong) by way of Mount Sterling34 and McCormick's Gap, to Prestonburg. He was to encumber35 his men with as few rations36 as possible, since the safety of his command depended on his celerity. He was also requested to notify Lieutenant-Colonel Woodford, at Stamford, and direct him to join the march with his three hundred cavalry37.
On the following morning Col. Craven's column began to move. The scout waited till night, and then set out on his return. The reader will be glad to learn that the brave man rejoined his regiment.
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1
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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8
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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expressiveness
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| n.富有表现力 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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15
brace
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| n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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18
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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enjoin
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| v.命令；吩咐；禁止 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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skulk
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| v.藏匿；潜行 | |
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victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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adroitness
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32
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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encumber
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| v.阻碍行动，妨碍，堆满 | |
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36
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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