AFTER the meal at Major’s Quantrell resumed his march, sending Haller and Todd ahead with an advance guard and bringing up the rear himself with the main body of twenty-two men. Night overtook him at the Tate House, three miles east of Little Santa Fe, a small town in Jackson County, close to the Kansas line, and he camped there. Haller and Todd were still further along, no communication being established between these two parts of a common whole. The day had been cold and the darkness bitter. That weariness that comes with a hard ride, a rousing fire, and a hearty1 supper, fell early upon the Guerrillas. One sentinel at the gate kept drowsy2 watch, and the night began to deepen. In various attitudes and in various places, twenty-one of the twenty-two men were sound asleep, the twenty-second keeping watch and ward3 at the gate in freezing weather.
It was just twelve o’clock and the fire in the capacious fireplace was burning low. Suddenly a shout was heard. The well known challenge of “Who are you?” arose on the night air, followed by a pistol shot, and then a volley. Quantrell, sleeping always like a cat, shook himself loose from his blankets and stood erect4 in the glare of the firelight. Three hundred Federals, following all day on his trail, had marked him take cover at night and went to bag him, boots and breeches. They had44 hitched5 their horses back in the brush and stole upon the dwelling6 afoot. So noiseless had been their advance, and so close were they upon the sentinel before they were discovered, that he had only time to cry out, fire, and rush for the timber. He could not get back to his comrades, for some Federals were between him and the door. As he ran he received a volley, but in the darkness he escaped.
The house was surrounded. To the men withinside this meant, unless they could get out, death by fire and sword. Quantrell was trapped, he who had been accorded the fox’s cunning and the panther’s activity. He glided7 to the window and looked out cautiously. The cold stars above shone, and the blue figures under them and on every hand seemed colossal8. The fist of a heavy man struck the door hard, and a deep voice commanded, “Make a light.” There had been no firing as yet, save the shot of the sentinel and its answering volley. Quantrell went quietly to all who were still asleep and bade them get up and get ready. It was the moment when death had to be looked in the face. Not a word was spoken. The heavy fist was still hammering at the door. Quantrell crept to it on tip-toe, listened a second at the sounds outside and fired. “Oh,” and a stalwart Federal fell prone10 across the porch, dying. “You asked for a light and you got it, d——n you,” Quantrell ejaculated, cooler than his pistol barrel. Afterwards there was no more45 bravado11. “Bar the doors and barricade12 the windows,” he shouted; “quick, men!” Beds were freely used and applicable furniture. Little and Shepherd stood by one door; Jarrette, Younger, Toler and Hoy barricaded13 the other and made the windows bullet-proof. Outside the Federal fusilade was incessant14. Mistaking Tate’s house for a frame house, when it was built of brick, the commander of the enemy could be heard encouraging his men to shoot low and riddle15 the building. Presently there was a lull16, neither party firing for the space of several minutes, and Quantrell spoke9 to his people: “Boys, we are in a tight place. We can’t stay here, and I do not mean to surrender. All who want to follow me out can say so. I will do the best I can for them.” Four concluded to appeal to the Federals for protection; seventeen to follow Quantrell to the death. He called a parley17, and informed the Federal commander that four of his followers18 wanted to surrender. “Let them come out,” was the order. Out they went, and the fight began again. Too eager to see what manner of men their prisoners were, the Federals holding the west side of the house huddled19 about them eagerly. Ten Guerrillas from the upper story fired at the crowd and brought down six. A roar followed this, and a rush back again to cover at the double quick. It was hot work now. Quantrell, supported by James Little, Cole Younger, Hoy and Stephen Shores held the upper story, while Jarrette,46 Toler, George Shepherd and others held the lower. Every shot told. The proprietor20 of the house, Major Tate, was a Southern hero, gray-headed, but Roman. He went about laughing. “Help me get my family out, boys,” he said, “and I will help you hold the house. It’s about as good a time for me to die, I reckon, as any other, if so be that God wills it. But the old woman is only a woman.” Another parley. Would the Federal officer let the women and children out? Yes, gladly, and the old man, too. There was eagerness for this, and much of veritable cunning. The family occupied an ell of the mansion21 with which there was no communication from the main building where Quantrell and his men were, save by way of a door which opened upon a porch, and this porch was under the concentrating fire of the assailants. After the family moved out the attacking party would throw skirmishers in and then—the torch. Quantrell understood it in a moment and spoke up to the father of the family: “Go out, Major. It is your duty to be with your wife and children.” The old man went, protesting. Perhaps for forty years the blood had not coursed so rapidly and so pleasantly through his veins22. Giving ample time for the family to get safely beyond the range of the fire of the besieged23, Quantrell went back to his post and looked out. He saw two Federals standing24 together beyond revolver range. “Is there a shotgun here?” he asked. Cole Younger brought him one47 loaded with buckshot. Thrusting half his body out the nearest window, and receiving as many volleys as there were sentinels, he fired the two barrels of his gun so near together that they sounded as one barrel. Both Federals fell, one dead, the other mortally wounded. Following this daring and conspicuous26 feat27 there went up a yell so piercing and exultant28 that even the horses, hitched in the timber fifty yards away, reared in their fright and snorted in terror. Black columns of smoke blew past the windows where the Guerrillas were, and a bright red flame leaped up towards the sky on the wings of the wind. The ell of the house had been fired and was burning fiercely. Quantrell’s face—just a little paler than usual—had a set look that was not good to see. The tiger was at bay. Many of the men’s revolvers were empty, and in order to gain time to reload them, another parley was held. The talk was of surrender. The Federal commander demanded immediate29 submission30, and Shepherd, with a voice heard above the rage and the roar of the flames, pleaded for twenty minutes. No. Ten? No. Five? No. Then the commander cried out in a voice not a whit31 inferior to Shepherd’s in compass: “You have one minute. If, at its expiration32, you have not surrendered, not a single man among you shall escape alive.” “Thank you,” said Cole Younger, soto voce, “catching comes before hanging.” “Count sixty, then, and be d——d to you”! Shepherd shouted as a parting48 volley, and then a strange silence fell upon all these desperate men face to face with imminent33 death. When every man was ready, Quantrell said briefly34, “Shot guns to the front.” Six loaded heavily with buck25 shot, were borne there, and he put himself at the head of the six men who carried them. Behind these those having only revolvers. In single file, the charging column was formed in the main room of the building. The glare of the burning ell lit it up as though the sun was shining there. Some tightened35 their pistol belts. One fell upon his knees and prayed. Nobody scoffed36 at him, for God was in that room. He is everywhere when heroes confess. There were seventeen about to receive the fire of three hundred.
Ready! Quantrell flung the door wide open and leaped out. The shotgun men—Jarrette, Younger, Shepherd, Toler, Little and Hoy, were hard behind him. Right and left from the thin short column a fierce fire beat into the very faces of the Federals, who recoiled37 in some confusion, shooting, however, from every side. There was a yell and a grand rush, and when the end had come and all the fixed38 realities figured up, the enemy had eighteen killed, twenty-nine badly wounded; and five prisoners, and the captured horses of the Guerrillas. Not a man of Quantrell’s band was touched, as it broke through the cordon39 on the south of the house and gained the sheltering timber beyond. Hoy, as he rushed out the third from Quantrell49 and fired both barrels of his gun, was so near to a stalwart Federal that he knocked him over the head with a musket40 and rendered him senseless. To capture him afterwards was like capturing a dead man. But little pursuit was attempted. Quantrell halted at the timber, built a fire, reloaded every gun and pistol, and took a philosophical41 view of the situation. Enemies were all about him. He had lost five men—four of whom, however, he was glad to get rid of—and the balance were afoot. Patience! He had just escaped from an environment sterner than any yet spread for him, and fortune was not apt to offset42 one splendid action by another exactly opposite. Choosing, therefore, a rendezvous43 upon the head waters of the Little Blue, another historic stream of Jackson County, he reached the residence of David Wilson late the next morning, after a forced march of great exhaustion44. The balance of the night, however, had still to be one of surprises and counter-surprises, not alone to the Federals, but to the other portion of Quantrell’s command under Haller and Todd.
Encamped four miles south of Tate House, the battle there had roused them instantly. Getting to saddle quickly, they were galloping45 back to the help of their comrades when a Federal force, one hundred strong, met them full in the road. Some minutes of savage46 fighting ensued, but Haller could not hold his own with thirteen men, and he retreated, firing, to the brush.
50 Afterwards everything was made plain. The four men who surrendered so abjectly47 at the Tate house imagined that it would bring help to their condition if they told all they knew, and they told without solicitation48 the story of Haller’s advance and the whereabouts of his camp. A hundred men were instantly dispatched to surprise it or storm it, but the firing had roused the isolated49 Guerrillas, and they got out in safety after a rattling50 fight of some twenty minutes.
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1
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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2
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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3
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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4
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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5
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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6
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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7
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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8
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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9
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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10
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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11
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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12
barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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13
barricaded
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| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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14
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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15
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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16
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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17
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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18
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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21
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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22
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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23
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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25
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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26
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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27
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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28
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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29
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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30
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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31
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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32
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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33
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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34
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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35
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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36
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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38
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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39
cordon
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| n.警戒线，哨兵线 | |
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40
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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41
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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42
offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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43
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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44
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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45
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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46
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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47
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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48
solicitation
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| n.诱惑；揽货；恳切地要求；游说 | |
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49
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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50
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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