“They? Who?”
“I am sure I don’t know, but there’s a regiment of them. They shot down every horse in the party before we knew there was danger near, and then set out to hunt us at their leisure. Have you seen them? Where are they now?”
“Come out and tell us where the other four are,” said Rodney, who had by this time satisfied himself that Mr. Biglin had escaped uninjured. “Your horses are all right, and so are Miles and Louden. Ned and I had a short talk with them not more than an hour ago.”
“I am surprised to hear it,” said Mr. Biglin, with a long-drawn sigh of relief. “I was sure they had all been killed.” He put down his hands and came out of his concealment as he spoke, but he stepped cautiously as if afraid of making a noise, and cast timid glances on all sides of him. “It’s just awful to be shot at in that cold-blooded way, isn’t it? I don’t see how you stood it so long in the army.”
“Do you imagine that I stayed there and let the Yanks pop at me because I thought it was funny?” demanded Rodney. “I stayed so long for the reason that I couldn’t help myself. Miles and Louden have gone on to the city, and I reckon your horses must be there by this time if they kept on running.”
“And did the horses escape also?” said Mr. Biglin, who looked as though he didn’t know whether to believe it or not. “It’s really wonderful how any of us came out alive.”
Instead of replying Rodney threw back his head and shouted “Hey-youp!” so loudly that the woods rang with the sound.
“What made you do that?” said Mr. Biglin in a frightened whisper, at the same time backing toward the thicket from which he had just emerged. “Do you want to show the enemy where we are?”
“No; but I want to let your four friends know where we are.”
He raised his war-whoop a second time, following it up by calling out the names of the missing men and telling them to come on, for there was nothing to be afraid of. There was a long silence—so long that Rodney began to fear the party had become widely separated during the hurried stampede of its members; but after a while a faint answering shout came to his ears, then another and another, and finally he could hear the missing men making their way through the bushes in his direction. When they came up it was found that not one of them had been injured by the shower of bullets which had whistled about their ears thicker than any hailstones they ever saw, but they were all pale and nervous, and begged Rodney and Ned to take them out of the woods by the shortest and easiest route. Seeing that two of them were almost ready to drop with fear or exhaustion, the boys gave them their horses and led the way on foot. Not a word was said until they found themselves safe in the road, and then Mr. Biglin recovered his courage and the use of his tongue.