The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Read online

  CHAPTER II

  THE SUTLER'S GOODS

  The appearance of the two soldiers in the camp at once attracted theattention of their comrades. It had been long since any of them hadtasted fresh meat and the sight of the pig which Dennis still wascarrying upon his shoulders aroused the desire of every beholder toshare in the repast which was to follow. There were many laughing callsto be invited to the feast, to all of which Dennis respondedgood-naturedly, but without in any way committing himself unduly to theincrease of the numbers of those with whom he intended to share thechange in the camp diet.

  "Hello, Levi," called Dennis, as he and Noel passed the sutler's tent.

  Levi Kadoff, one of the sutlers, who, by some strange methods, hadobtained the privilege of selling the soldiers from his stock which wasdisplayed in a tent not far from the center of the camp, looked hastilyup as he was greeted. His love for pork was not strong, but apparentlywas the only limit to his desires. At exorbitant prices he had beenselling his wares, and he had interfered in so many ways with the camplife and had been so disagreeable to most of the soldiers that at thetime he was the most detested man in Harper's Ferry. He had used everyartifice in inducing the boys in blue to buy from him, and many of thesales which he made were called robbery by those who had been persuadedto buy.

  "Vere you haf been?" demanded the sutler, as Dennis and Noel halted infront of him.

  "Been out foraging," answered Dennis loudly. "We have a pig here. If youwill come up to my tent after dark, I'll give you a slice o' spare rib."

  The expression of disgust which appeared instantly upon the face of Levicaused Noel to laugh heartily, but the countenance of Dennis wasunchanged, as he stared at the angry sutler.

  "What's the matter, Levi?" he said. "Don't you like pork?"

  Again an expression of disgust appeared upon the face of the sutler, buthe made no direct reply to the question.

  "How much are you charging for milk this mornin'?" inquired Dennis.

  "Twenty-five cents a glass."

  "Is that all?" demanded Dennis. "Shure, it was twinty cints when I leftcamp, and you have not put it up over five cints since the mornin'! Ithought you would have it up to fifty cints shure by this time. Levi,have you a bit of a conscience at all left yet?"

  "I vas all consciences," replied Levi, spreading out his hands as hespoke. "I don't think how I shall be able to do business here muchlonger. Dese things gets me--"

  "Of course you won't do business here much longer," broke in Dennis."You won't have to. Before you go, some of the boys will have to comedown and give you a good send-off."

  "No! No!" protested Levi excitedly. "They must not do dat. I haf beender very goot friend. I have made leedle, very leedle money."

  "Don't be scared, Levi. We know just how much money you have made. Someof the boys have been kapin' tabs on you. If we should take whativer youhave here, you would still be rich enough, and the boys would feel thatthey were only gittin' even with you for the way you have treated them."

  The eyes of the angry sutler snapped, as he turned sharply upon theyoung soldier. "If I choose I can reports to der colonel vat you havebeen doing."

  "What have I been doin'?" demanded Dennis innocently.

  "You know dere vas strict orders against foraging. I think now I shallreport to the colonel."

  The young soldiers remained no longer at the sutler's tent.

  "I believe that fellow will report you to the colonel," Noel said to hiscompanion.

  "To be shure he will. He's likely to do that, and if he does he's likelyto get somethin' more."

  The reports were current in the camp that orders had been reissuedagainst any foraging on the part of any of the men.

  Whether or not it was due to the feast which Dennis and Noel preparedthat night when their pig was roasted, or to the monotony of the campfare to which the soldiers still irreverently referred as "S. B.," isnot known, but at all events the temptation to find fresh food, andespecially fresh meat, outside the boundaries of the camp proved to betoo strong for many of the boys in blue.

  It was not long afterward when Dennis with others was tempted beyondhis power of resistance and again was found among those who wereforaging in the regions adjacent to the camp.

  A dozen or more were in the company and, as the soldiers believed,through the reports of Levi Kadoff, the colonel had been informed of theescapade. Consequently when the men returned to the camp the angrycolonel, taking a position near the guard, ordered the entrance of themen singly or in pairs, and then demanded of every one that he shoulddisclose what he had obtained in this foraging, against the strictcommand which had been issued.

  Shamefacedly and with many threats against the little sutler, thereturning soldiers showed what they had secured, oftentimes through hardlabor.

  Meanwhile the pile upon which the colonel had commanded every soldier tocast whatever he had obtained grew steadily. Chickens, an occasionalham, various vegetables, and other articles composed the greater part ofthe rapidly increasing heap.

  Most of those who had been engaged in the forbidden occupation hadalready returned to camp, when Dennis O'Hara at last appeared. Thistime, however, Noel Curtis was not with his friend.

  As Dennis drew near the guard he discovered the presence of the colonel,but if he was alarmed by his discovery, his feeling was not betrayed byany change in the expression of his face. And yet apparently Dennis wasthe most guilty of all the men. Inside his coat was something whichcaused the garment to protrude in such a manner as to reveal, and yet atthe same time to conceal, whatever Dennis had secured.

  Demurely the young Irish soldier approached the waiting colonel and, asthe officer sharply ordered him to halt, Dennis and a few watchingsoldiers were aware that the colonel's patience was entirely exhausted.He was not only angry that his commands had been disobeyed, butmanifestly the indifference of the young soldier increased his feelingof irritation.

  "What have you inside your coat?" demanded the irate colonel.

  "Yis, sor! Yis, sor!" retorted Dennis, saluting as he spoke.

  "What have you inside your coat?" repeated the angry officer.

  "Nothin' of any value, sor."

  "I don't believe what you say! A man who will disobey orders will lieabout his disobedience! Unbutton your coat, sir, and show me what youhave!"

  "Indade, sor," protested Dennis, "'tis nothin' I have which willinterest the likes of you, Colonel Rathbun. 'Tis nothin' of any valueat all I have."

  "Unbutton your coat, sir, and throw what you have stolen on to thispile, where the rest of your thievish comrades have placed what theystole!"

  "Indade, sor," protested Dennis once more, "'tis nothin' of any value. Ididn't rob anybody, sor! I--"

  "Do as I tell you!" demanded the angry colonel, "or I will order you tobe taken to the guard-house!"

  "Yis, sor! Yis, sor!" responded Dennis promptly, as he began to fumbleat the buttons of his jacket.

  The garment, however, had been drawn so tightly about him to cover theobject he was trying to conceal that it was with great apparentdifficulty he obeyed.

  Watching the awkward attempts of the young Irish soldier to comply withthe demand of the colonel, many of the men of the regiment werecrowding about the place. Curiosity as to the prize which Dennis hadsecured and suspicion that his sober face belied the feeling in hisheart, and the general knowledge that Dennis O'Hara was one of the worstpractical jokers in the camp, combined with other motives that steadilyincreased the number of the spectators.

  After several attempts Dennis succeeded in unbuttoning the upper buttonsof his jacket, and then again he paused and facing the colonel said,"'Tis nothin' that will interest you, Colonel. I haven't taken anythingof value--"

  "Not another word from you, sir!" shouted the angry officer. "Do as Itell you! Unbutton your coat and show what you have stolen and throw iton the heap where the other things are piled!"

  "Yis, sor! Yis, sor!" said Dennis, speaking almost sadly, as he resumedhis occupation
and in a brief time succeeded in unbuttoning his jacket.

  As he did so a small block of wood fell to the ground. For a moment themen stared blankly at Dennis's "prize" and then broke into loud andprolonged laughter.

  The colonel's face flushed slowly when he discovered the truepossession of the young Irishman, and then in a good-natured way hestruck the block of wood with his sword and turning to his men said,"Sold! I have been sold, and shall have to own up to it. You youngrascal," he said, once more addressing Dennis, "I have half a mind tosend you to the guard-house on general principles. You had no businessto play such pranks as that."

  "But, Colonel," protested Dennis demurely, "I didn't want to play it. Idid my best not to, but you ordered me to, so you see I had to. I wasjust bringing in a present."

  "A present?" demanded the colonel, as the men laughed again. "A present?To whom were you going to give that block of wood?"

  "Shure I was going to give it to the sutler," replied Dennis. "I had anidea that it would match his head."

  The boys dispersed, pleased that the colonel had been so lenient withthem and that their only punishment had been the loss of the articleswhich they had secured in their expedition.

  When the two young soldiers were again in their tent, Dennis said toNoel, "That little sutler, Levi, is to blame for all this trouble. Hethought the boys would be after buyin' not so much of him. He's thefirst of all the men who put us on hard tack that was 'cut and driedlong before Noah died.'" And Dennis began to sing noisily,--

  "My rations are S.B., Taken from porkers three Thousand years old; And hard-tack cut and dried Long before Noah died,-- From what wars left aside Ne'er can be told."

  "I'm afraid the colonel won't be so easy next time," suggested Noel.

  "Don't you worry about that," said Dennis. "The next time there won't beany Levi to carry tales to him. I have got it all fixed up in me mind.We're going to make Levi a good soldier."

  "You can't do that," laughed Noel, "unless you begin at his feet."

  "That's where we propose to begin."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Noel, me boy," whispered Dennis, "I can't tell you all the details, butwe're goin' to have a sham fight here between the Forty-sixth and theFifty-first, and I shouldn't be one bit surprised if Levi Kadoff'ssupplies were somewhere near the middle of the battle-ground."

  Noel laughed and thought no more concerning the statement of his comradeuntil the following day when to his surprise he discovered that therewas, indeed, to be a sham battle between some of the men of the tworegiments to which Dennis had referred.

  An interested spectator he watched the two regiments when they formed inline near the tent of the sutler, Levi Kadoff. Nor was he the onlyspectator, for near by were assembled many of the men, all apparentlyaware that something of unusual interest was about to occur.

  At last, when everything was in readiness, the Forty-sixth charged theiropponents and with little effort drove them back. The Fifty-first,however, rallied, and then began to press their foes back to theirformer position. In the midst of all the efforts there was wildexcitement and loud cheers among the spectators, whose numbers increasedwith every passing moment.

  When the Fifty-first re-formed, it was directly in front of Levi's tentof supplies. A few minutes later, the bugle sounded and the Forty-sixthcharged again.

  Down came the laughing boys like a whirlwind, every one yelling asloudly as his lungs enabled him.

  Apparently the sight of the charge of the noisy soldiers brought dismayto the hearts of the re-formed regiment, and before a word had beenspoken they began to fall back. The applause and laughter among thespectators increased as the howling, laughing mass of soldiers ranswiftly forward driving their "enemies" before them.

  Unfortunately for the sutler, his tent and supplies were directly in theway of the retreating Fifty-first. No one afterward could explain how ithad been done, but the ropes of Levi's tent somehow were cut, and in atrice the stock of the little sutler was scattered over what seemed tobe a half-acre of ground. There were few of the soldiers who did nothave some articles in their hands. The battle itself seemed to have beenforgotten, and in a brief time all the goods had disappeared, eitherinto haversacks or into secret pockets of the thoughtless soldiers.

  Levi, almost like a madman, was fighting to save his property. At onetime he seized a cheese-knife and with it strove desperately to strikesome of the boys. He was quickly disarmed, however, and as he was pushedfrom one to another he not only found no place upon which his feet couldsecure a resting-place, but no other weapon came within his grasp. Atlast, when he was released by the howling mass of soldiers, he was atleast five hundred yards from the place where his ruined store had beenlocated.

  It was manifest now that every soldier understood the purpose of thesham battle. The very location had been selected with the thought tobring dire troubles upon the unpopular sutler, who so often had takenadvantage of the boys in their purchases of his supplies.

  By this time, however, orders had come from headquarters which speedilydispersed the disorderly mob, and in a brief time the camp resumed itsformer appearance, save for the loss of the sutler's stores and tent.

  It was at this time that Noel unexpectedly came upon the little sutler.The man was almost beside himself with anger and grief.

  "I vill haf the law on them!" he shouted. "They shall be shot, eferyone! I vill haf mine goots vonce more!"

  Not untouched by the suffering of the man, Noel said to him, "I don'tthink the boys meant anything very bad. They thought you had beencharging them too much for what they have been buying."

  "I haf not! It vas cheap! It vas all cheap! But I vill tell you. Datfellow Dennis O'Hara, he it is who has made all dese troubles. I villgif him no rest. He shall pay me back efery cent vat I haf lost. I shallgif him no rest."

  Noel laughed lightly as he turned away, not for a moment taking thethreats of the angry man seriously, and if he had been told at the timethat the very lives of himself and his companions would depend upon aword of the little trader, he would not have believed the prophecy.