“Did you kill him?” asked Leon.
“Well, I reckon so. He threw his arms above his head, and that is a pretty good sign that he was done for.”
“Did you hear any bullets come near you?” inquired Leon, who shuddered when he thought how coolly Dawson could talk of shooting another in cold blood.
“Yes, sir, I heard them; but the rebels fired too high. I saw one man clap his hand to his mouth and say ‘Oh!’ but I didn’t see who it was. There they come!” said Dawson, grasping his carbine with a firmer hold and creeping up to an opening in the breastworks. “Now, Leon, show what you are made of.”
“It is certain death to send those fellows up here!” said Leon. “I wish I could warn them away.”
“Haw! haw!” laughed Dawson. “They know what is behind here better than we can tell them. If they don’t, they will soon find it out.”
Mr. Sprague stood a little ways from Leon with his rifle in his hand. He had charge of the brigade now, and it was his duty to give the order to fire. Nearer and nearer came the rebels, yelling like so many mad men, but the report of Mr. Sprague’s gun couldn’t be heard. As soon as the men saw him raise his piece to his shoulder they all fired, and the way the rebels went down before it was certain proof that their bullets had not all been thrown away. But these men were not to be defeated by one volley. They kept on until they reached the breastworks, and then they found that they were too high to be scaled by their horses. The Union men on the other side reached over and fired their guns in their faces, until the Confederates could stand it no longer. They turned their horses and fled, and did not stop until they were safe in the woods, from which they had just emerged.
“Long live the Jones-County Confederacy!” shouted some one in the ranks; and the shout was taken up by all the men in the line.
“Let’s go after them!” said another. “We can easy whip them.”
“No, stay where you are,” said Mr. Sprague, who got his instructions from Mr. Knight. “We can whip them here, but if we should get out of line of the breastworks they might prove too much for us.”