He swayed in his saddle and Dick dashed forward:
"General, your wound must be dressed!"
Governor Harris of Tennessee, his aide, observed him at the same moment and spurred his horse to his side.
The General turned his dim eyes to the Governor and gasped:
"I fear I'm mortally wounded—"
He reeled in his saddle and would have fallen had not Dick caught him and tenderly lowered him to the ground.
The brave war Governor of Tennessee received the falling Commander in his arms and helped Dick bear him a short distance from the field into a deep ravine.
Dick took the flask of whiskey from his pocket and pressed it to his lips in vain. A moment and he was dead.
In a passion of grief the boy threw his arms around his beloved Chief and called through his tears and groans:
"My God, General, you can't die—you mustn't die now! Don't you hear the boys shouting? They're driving Grant's army into the river. They've avenged Donelson!—General—for God's sake speak to me—say you won't die—you can't, you can't—Oh, Lord God, save his precious life!—"