The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Part 21

"Because I'se a Yankee."

"You're a what?" demanded Noel.

"I'se workin' wif de Yankees. I des' made up my mind dey was de bes'

friends what I got. When a lot ob men leave home and come 'way off down yere jes' toe set de n.i.g.g.e.rs free, I done make up my min' dat I'd des'

do all I could fo' 'em."

"Where are you going now?"

"I reckon I'm goin' toe tote you toe Aunt Katie's."

"You know I'm a Union soldier, don't you?"

"I reckon I does. Leastwise I suspected so when I first heerd yo' talk.

If yo' all will tell me how yo' says de word ob dat animal what gibes milk, den I'll sho'ly know."

"What do you mean?" inquired Noel sharply.

"I mean dat animal what we spell c-o-w. How yo' all done say dat name?"

Noel laughingly p.r.o.nounced the word, and instantly his dusky companion was satisfied with the claim which the young soldier had made.

"Yas, suh. Yo' all sho'ly is er Yankee. What I cain't understan', suh, is what yo' all is doin' yere. The nearest place war dey is any Union sojers is Frederick."

"How far is that from here?"

"Not so very far, but I reckon hit's too far away fo' yo' all toe try fo' toe git dere to-night. De sojers is scourin' de country an'--"

"Do you mean Stuart's cavalry?"

"Yas, suh, and some mo' men besides dem. Hit's gittin' dreadfully hard toe find yo' way in times like dese."

"Where are you going now?" suddenly Noel inquired.

"I'se goin' toe take yo' all toe Aunt Katie's an'--"

The young negro hesitated and again searchingly looked at his companion.

"What's the trouble?" inquired Noel quickly. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, suh, I isn't 'fraid," grinned the negro. "Sho'ly not as long as I hab a frind lak dis wif me," he added as he drew from a pocket inside his coat a long narrow knife which was at least ten inches in length.

"Dis yere," grinned Sam, "is one ob de bes' friends what I got."

"What is it?" inquired Noel, extending his hand as he spoke.

"No, suh. I don' let dis friend of mine eber go out ob my hands. Not eben fo' Gene'al Bu'nside."

"Where is General Burnside?" asked Noel.

"I reckon he isn't far 'way from Frederick City."

"Are you going to see him?" demanded the young soldier, suddenly inspired by a new thought.

"Well, suh, I cain't jes' say 'bout dat," replied Sam as he thrust his knife back into its receptacle. "I mought and then again I moughtn't."

"I believe you're going there," said Noel sharply.

"Dat's des' as may be," again responded Sam. "I mought and den I moughtn't. Now, we hab been talkin' here long er 'nuff. If we all is goin' toe get yo' toe Aunt Katie's we mus' be movin' along. I haven't much time to stay yere any longer."

"How far is Aunt Katie's from here?"

"Not so very far," again responded the negro. "But I des' cain't lose de time."

"Where did you come from?" abruptly inquired Noel.

"I des' came from down de road a spell."

"And you say you're going to Frederick City to report to General Burnside?"

"No, suh. No, suh. I didn't say any such thing," replied Sam with a grin. "I des' said that I mought see him."

"I believe you're taking word to him from some one down in this part of Maryland."

Sam grinned, but made no reply.

The practice of using the blacks as spies or as means of obtaining information was more prevalent than the young soldier was aware. Some of the black men were keenly intelligent, and their stealthiness enabled them to avoid many dangers to which the white soldiers were often exposed. It was plain, too, that n.i.g.g.e.r Sam, as he called himself, was thoroughly familiar with the region; and he had said and done enough to cause his companion to suspect that the purpose of his journey was more than had appeared upon the surface.

Conversation ceased when the journey was resumed. Weary as Noel was by the experiences of the day, it was with difficulty that he was able to keep up with his companion, who swiftly led the way through the field and across the occasional swamps.

The sun had disappeared from sight and darkness was creeping over the land when at last Noel and his black guide arrived on the border of a long stretch of woods.

"Yo' all stay right yere, suh," said Sam, "while I done go toe see if Aunt Katie will take yo' in fo' de night."

"I don't want to stop at Aunt Katie's," declared Noel. "I want to go with you. I'm sure you're on your way to Frederick City--"

"Hush!" said Sam sternly. "Yo' all don't know who may be hidin' in dese yere trees."

The negro spoke in a whisper, but it was manifest to his companion that his fears had been aroused and perhaps not without reason.

"Yo' all do des' what I says toe yo'," continued Sam. "Set right yere behin' dis yere tree while I go toe see if Aunt Katie kin take yo' in fo' de night."

There was nothing else to be done except to obey the directions of Sam.

Reluctantly Noel seated himself on the ground behind one of the large trees, and the negro at once started across the field that intervened between the woods and the little cabins, a faint outline of which could be seen in the distance. Doubtless the little whitewashed structures were the quarters of the negroes of the large plantation, Noel concluded.

The weary young soldier leaned forward and watched the departing Sam as long as he could be seen. In a brief time the young negro pa.s.sed beyond the nearest of the cabins.

A half-hour or more elapsed before Sam returned. Noel's anxiety meanwhile had been increasing, and he was on the point of departing from the vicinity, as he had become fearful that his guide might play him false and report him to his enemies instead of to the colored woman to whom he had referred as the friend of escaping whites and blacks alike.

The dim outlines of the approaching guide soon became more clearly defined, and it was with a feeling of relief that Noel heard Sam say, "Hit's all right, suh. Aunt Katie done say as how she will take yo' in.