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There were three others with me; P. G. Shadrack, of Company K, Second Ohio, a merry, reckless fellow, but at heart noble and generous; William Campbell, a citizen of Kentucky, who had received permission to come with us, in a soldier's place.
They confessed to it, but first they told a cock-and-bull yarn about coming from Fleming County, Kentucky, to join the Southern troops!" "What!" yelled the Judge. "There you are!" Alf shouted triumphantly. "Get 'em!" Tom jumped to his feet. There was no time to warn Wilson and Shadrack. He could hear the boots pounding up the stairs. He sprang to the window and threw it open.
The best he could do, he decided, was to parallel the road, stealing to the right every half-hour or so until he came to it, then stealing back again until he was under cover. Presently he heard the wagon creaking, its wheels sinking through the mud and grinding upon the solid ground beneath. Men were talking, but he could not distinguish what they said. Poor Wilson and Shadrack!
So of all ole Zion Church up at the hill, sah, they've jes' jined an' jined around, fust one church an' then another, till of all the ole Zion Church that me an' you loved so much, they ain't none lef' but Parson Shadrack, the preacher, sister Tilly, an' me We wus Zion." "Pow'ful bad, pow'ful bad," said the Bishop "and you three made Zion."
The scene around him was illuminated by the flickering tongues of flame which lapped up the end of the log. He stumbled over the wood in the tender, and handed the log to Shadrack. Through the hole in the box-car he saw the men working at the fire. Several were bending over it, fanning, while others hurried back and forth in the dull glow bringing fuel.
For a minute it seemed that the two men would fight, but the Judge quieted them. They called for drinks and cards, and commenced playing. Tom left the hole, and continued his investigations. With Joe on guard in the hall, there seemed to be no chance of warning Wilson and Shadrack. But perhaps Joe might leave for a moment.
"Can you make it?" asked Wilson. "Yeh go on," answered Tom, panting. "I'm coming," muttered Shadrack. It took them a half-hour to cross the field; then they sat on the fence exhausted. No lightning came to show them the way, so they climbed the fence, crossed another road, and entered a second field. The mud here was worse. "Bogged!" exclaimed Shadrack. They retreated to the road.
Do you men, from your experience, think that the General can reach Huntsville on Friday?" Wilson was first to answer. "I don't think so," he said. "Some of the forces might reach there in time, but I don't think the General can concentrate at Huntsville for an attack before Saturday. Not with this mud to wade through." "I agree with Wilson, sir," said Shadrack. The three men turned to Tom.
As they came to the end of the car and looked down into the tender, they found the men yelling, "Shadrack! Burns!" One of the men was gesticulating wildly to Andrews. "Here we are!" yelled Tom. He waved to Andrews. "We thought you were caught in there," said Wilson, helping them into the tender. "Dorsey started after you, but the fire forced him back."
Perhaps the Widow Fry he indicated the general direction of the Widow Fry's house might give them something. They turned away from the store disconsolately. "It's raining again," remarked Shadrack. He turned his round face upward and gazed at the sky so solemnly that the others laughed. But there was no disputing the fact: the drizzle had commenced.
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