"There is one very good reason," replied Walker. "The bridges are down, and we haven't had time to repair them, and the pontoons are too light for the heavy pieces we are taking across, so we have to adopt an entirely new method," he said, shrugging his shoulders and making a grimace, which, at first, seemed very comical to the boys.
"Then how do you get them across? Is the river very deep?" asked Ralph.
"About ten feet deep, I should say; of course, we can't run them across on their own wheels, but we pontoon them over," he said.
The subject was dropped for the moment, as one of the officers came in at that moment to consult with Walker. The boys seemed to be puzzled at his remarks, and when he returned he said:
"When we reach the end of this road, beyond, we turn to the right, at a point only a few hundred feet from the river. Well, just notice the heavy barrels at the landing."
As the corner was turned they quickly observed the barrels, and men busily engaged with ropes and heavy poles. A gun was run on its wheels close to the river's edge, and five of the barrels were secured to two poles, and lashed forward of the wheels, the poles running transversely. A like number of guns were then secured behind the wheels, also held by cross poles.
All of the barrels were hung higher than the tread of the wheels, so that after the equipment, as thus explained, was fully attached, the horses were driven into the river and hitched to the floating gun, while others mounted the float thus constructed, and, with poles, assisted in floating the piece across.
There was not a single mishap, and the six guns were taken over in a brief space of time. The ammunition wagons were taken across by way of the pontoon bridge, crowded as it was, and the entire outfit assembled on the other side within an hour of the time the stream was reached.