United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Juvenile fiction
They had ferried and crossed well into the dusk of the evening. And at
the first dawn they were at it again. Drew tried to remember how many
times he had made that trip, swimming or rowing, always with some mount
as his special charge. More than half the company had sworn they could
not swim, and so the burden of the transfer fell upon their fellows.
"Rennie--" That was Campbell climbing up from the raft after another
weary passage across. "There's trouble on the other side. You've been
using that mule of yours to get some of the horses over, haven't you?"
Drew was so tired that words were too much trouble to shape. He nodded
dully. Pryor had been right about Hannibal. The big mule had not only
taken his own passage across the Tennessee as a matter-of-course
proceeding, but had shouldered and urged along three horses as he went.
And twice since then Drew had taken him back and forth to bring in
skittish mounts causing trouble.
"That horse of mine's running wild; he broke out of the water twice."
The captain caught at Drew's bare arm so hard his nails cut. "Think you
could get him over with the mule's help?"
Drew wavered a little as he walked slowly to where he had picketed
Hannibal after their last trip. He was tired, and although he had eaten
earlier that morning, he was hungry again. It was warm and the sun was
climbing, but the air felt chill against his naked body and he shivered.
The one thing they were all getting out of this river business, Drew
decided, were much-needed baths.
Kirby, his body white save for tanned face and throat, sun-darkened
hands and wrists, crouched on the raft as Drew brought Hannibal down to
that unwieldy craft.
"Tryin' for the cap'n's hoss?"
"What's wrong with it?" Drew helped the Texan push off.
"Reaches no bottom, an' then it plain warps its backbone tryin' to paw
down the sky. Maybe that mule can git some sense into the loco critter.
But I'm not buyin' no chips on his doin' it."
Drew located Campbell's horse, a rangy, good-looking gray which reminded
him a little of the colt he had seen at Red Springs, snorting and
trotting back and forth along the path they had worn on the banks during
their efforts of the past twenty-four hours. One of the rear guard held
its lead rope and kept as far from the skittish animal as he could.
"He's plumb mean," the guardian informed Drew. "When he jumps, get out
from under--quick!"
Yet when Drew, mounted on Hannibal now, brought the horse down to the
water's edge, the horse appeared to go willingly enough. The scout
tossed the lead rope to Kirby, waiting until the raft pushed off with
its load of men and fringe of horses, then took to the river beside
Campbell's horse. When they reached the deeper section he saw the gray
go into action.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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