Frank Before Vicksburg. The Gun-Boat Series

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Castlemon Harry. Frank Before Vicksburg. The Gun-Boat Series

CHAPTER I. Home Again

CHAPTER II. Harry on a Scout

CHAPTER III. On Duty Again

CHAPTER IV. The Fight in the Woods

CHAPTER V. In the Hands of the "Johnnies" Again

CHAPTER VI. An Old Acquaintance

CHAPTER VII. A CLOSE SHAVE

CHAPTER VIII. Taking Down the Captain

CHAPTER IX. A Practical Joke

CHAPTER X. New Messmates

CHAPTER XI. A Good Night's Work

CHAPTER XII. In the Trenches

CHAPTER XIII. The Scout's Story

CHAPTER XIV. Running the Batteries

CHAPTER XV. A Race for the Old Flag

CHAPTER XVI. The Rival Sharp-Shooters

CHAPTER XVII. The Smugglers' Cave – Conclusion

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When they had finished every thing in the basket, the boys threw themselves on the grass in front of the cabin, and Harry said: "I shall never forget the last time we made our camp here – on the day we had that 'coon-hunt, and Archie fell into the creek. I've thought of it a great many times since I left home to go into the service, and it makes me feel sad to see how things have changed. From school-boys and amateur hunters, who started and turned pale when we heard the howl of a wolf or the hooting of an owl, you and I have grown pretty well on toward manhood; have become experienced in scenes of danger, and have had more narrow escapes than when we climbed up that tree to get out of the reach of the wolves that were in pursuit of the white buck. But there are some who have not been as fortunate as ourselves. There has been a thinning out of our ranks, and two good fellows who have hunted with us in these woods, and slept under the same blankets with us in this cabin, we shall never see again; and the probabilities are, that, if we live to return home again, after peace has been restored, and we go tramping around through these woods, to visit all our old hunting and fishing-grounds, we shall miss a third. Ben Lake and William Johnson are dead; my brother is suffering in a rebel prison, and, from what I have seen and heard of the manner in which Union prisoners are treated at the South, I never expect to see him again, even if he is not executed. Ben Lake, you know, was a quiet, good-natured fellow, scarcely ever saying any thing unless he was first spoken to, and I had an idea that he would be a little cowardly when he heard the bullets whistling around him; but I was never more mistaken in my life, for he won his promotion in the very first battle in which our regiment was engaged. When I was made captain of our company, he received the appointment of first lieutenant, and an excellent officer he made. He was a splendid rider, and when mounted on his horse – 'Thunderbolt' he called him – he made a fine appearance. He was no band-box officer, however, for he never shrank from his duty, and he was above ordering one of his men to do what he was afraid to undertake himself. He and I were prisoners once for about forty-eight hours, and the way it happened was this:

hen they had finished every thing in the basket, the boys threw themselves on the grass in front of the cabin, and Harry said:

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Harry then sprang into his own skiff, and Charles sullenly picked up his oars, and pulled toward home.

"There," exclaimed Harry, "I feel better now. I worked off a little of my indignation on that fellow. The rascal! to tell us that George ought to be starved for helping to maintain the government, and that he didn't care whether the Union went to ruin or not. Now that I think of it, I'm sorry that I let him off so easily."

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