Rodney The Partisan Read online

  CHAPTER II.

  THE RANGERS ELECT OFFICERS.

  When Rodney had left the village of Mooreville half a mile or so behindhim, he threw the reins loose upon his horse's neck, thrust his handsdeep into his pockets and thought over the conversation he had had withTom Randolph. He had warned his cousin Marcy that the North Carolinapeople would be sure to turn the cold shoulder upon him on account ofhis Union principles, and now it seemed to Rodney that he was in prettynear the same predicament because his father believed and said that theseven seceding States, with two and a half millions of free persons,could not whip the loyal states and territories with twenty-fivemillions.

  "It serves me just right," was Rodney's mental reflection. "I persecutedMarcy on account of his opinions, and now I am going to have a little ofthe same kind of treatment. No one but a red-hot secessionist has gotany business in this part of the country."

  When Rodney reached home he found his father there and supper waitingfor him. He did not mention Tom Randolph's name, but he spent a gooddeal of time in thinking about him, and wondered how he would fare ifTom succeeded in winning the coveted commission. There were many ways inwhich a lieutenant could torment his subordinates, and Tom would be justmean enough to use all the power the law allowed him.

  "I'll not take a thing to-morrow, even if it is offered to me," was theresolution Rodney made before he went to sleep that night. "I'll go outas a private and come back as a private, unless I can win promotion inthe face of the enemy. Time makes all things right, and we'll see whowill come out at the top of the heap--Tom Randolph or I."

  The next morning about eight o'clock, Rodney seated himself in thecarriage with his father and mother and was driven to the camp of theRangers. It presented more of a holiday appearance now than it did thefirst time he saw it, for it had been cleaned up and decorated in honorof the occasion. The little grove in which the tents were pitched wasthronged with visitors, the Rangers were out in full force and there wasa good deal of "logrolling" going on. All the candidates had ballotsprepared, and Rodney had scarcely set his foot on the ground before hewas surrounded by a little group of recruits, all of whom were anxiousto serve the Confederacy in the capacity of officers.

  "We've got you down for third sergeant," said one. "We've arranged topush you for that position if you will vote for me for orderly and forRandolph for second lieutenant."

  "Find out who the other candidates are before you make any promises,"exclaimed another; and then, when no one was observing his movements,the speaker gave Rodney a wink and a nod which the latter could not failto understand. He drew off on one side and the recruit, whose hands werefull of ballots, went on to say:

  "Randolph doesn't stand the ghost of a chance for the secondlieutenancy, and he has good cheek to ask the boys to give it to him. Hethinks he is going to run the company because his father has done somuch for it."

  "And he thinks he and his friends are going to keep me in the backgroundbecause my father has done so little for it," added Rodney.

  "Well, they can't do it, and they will find it out when the thing is putto the test. You have a military education and Randolph hasn't. That'sone thing against him, and his overwhelming self-conceit is another. Youare rather young to look for a commission in a company of men, but youwill come in for the orderly sergeant's berth sure as shooting."

  "I am obliged to those who suggested me for that place, but I'll nottake it," said Rodney very decidedly. "I enlisted for a soldier."

  "Well, what in the name of sense do you call the orderly?"

  "I call him a clerk," answered Rodney.

  "Why, I thought he was drill-master."

  "Of awkward squads--yes,"

  "Then can't you see that that is another reason why we need you in thatberth? We all belong to the awkward squad now. You'll have to take it.We need a drill-master, and must have some one who knows enough to keepthe company's books; and that's more than that friend of Randolph's cando. I want nothing for myself, for I am not a military man. Hubbard willcome in for captain without opposition. It's the place he ought to have,for he has done more for us than anybody else, and Odell and Percy willbe the lieutenants. Put those in the box when the time comes."

  Rodney took the ballots that were placed in his hand, and just then someone called out:

  "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes! All you Rangers fall in in single rank here infront of headquarters, and be ready to cast your votes for captain."

  Rodney laughed heartily.

  "That's the deputy sheriff," said the recruit with whom he had beenconversing, as the two hastened toward the captain's tent. "There isn'tmuch military about that order."

  "It'll do," replied Rodney. "The boys seem to understand it, and whatmore do you want?"

  "Now answer to your names," continued the deputy; whereupon Rodneylaughed again.

  "What ought he to have said?" inquired his friend.

  "Listen to roll-call, would be the proper order," said the Barringtonboy. "But it's all right. Guerillas are not supposed to be posted insuch things."

  "But we are not guerillas."

  "Look in your dictionary and you will find that you can't make us out tobe anything else," replied Rodney.

  The two fell in side by side and answered to their names when they werecalled. The Barrington boy supposed that nominations would now be inorder, but it seemed that they had already been made from captain downto fourth corporal. The Rangers were faced to the right and ordered tomarch up one at a time and deposit their votes for captain in theballot-box (a cigar box with a slot in the cover), beside which stoodthe three "inspectors of election" who were to count the votes afterthey were all in, and who had been chosen before Rodney arrived on theground. When the balloting was completed the company had countermarchedtwice, and stood on the same ground it occupied before the ceremonybegan. One of the inspectors emptied the contents of the cigar box onthe table, another opened the first ballot that came to his hand andcalled out the name that was written upon it, and the third kept count.The result was just what Rodney's friend told him it would be.

  "There were sixty-five votes cast, and they one and all bear the name ofour popular friend Robert Hubbard," said the inspector and theannouncement was received with cheers.

  "Speech! Speech!" shouted the Rangers.

  "No, no!" replied the newly elected captain. "There are two lieutenants,one orderly sergeant, five duty sergeants and four corporals yet to beelected, and we don't want to waste any time in foolishness."

  "Have you got your ballots ready for first lieutenant?" inquired thedeputy sheriff, who continued to act as master of ceremonies. "Then faceto the right again and march yourselves around here and put 'em in thebox. Laugh away, Rodney," he added, smiling good-naturedly and shakinghis head at the Barrington boy. "We'll get the hang of these thingsafter a while."

  The voting was gone through with the same as before, and there was morecheering and clapping of hands when the inspector announced that HiramOdell had been unanimously elected to the office of first lieutenant;but following the example of his superior he declined to waste time inspeech-making.

  And now Rodney Gray began to take a deeper interest in what was goingon. The second lieutenant would be voted for next, and Tom Randolph,whose father had done so much for the company, had had the impudence tobring himself forward as a candidate. It couldn't be possible, Rodneythought, that such an ignorant upstart stood any chance of election whenhis opponent was so popular a young man as Albert Percy. He stood wherehe could see Tom's face, and there was not a particle of color in it. Ifhe could have looked into the ballot Tom held in his hand, he would havefound that the name written upon it was that of Thomas Randolph himself.The candidate intended to vote in his own favor and he did; but it didnot bring him the coveted office. When the result was announced he hadjust twelve votes. All the others were cast for Albert Percy. Then therewas more cheering, but Tom didn't join in; and neither did he shout outa responsi
ve "Aye" when it was proposed that the election be declaredunanimous. On the contrary he looked daggers at every man in the rankswhose eye he could reach; and he could reach more than half of them, forthe line was almost as crooked as a rail fence.

  "That's a pretty way for them to treat me after all the exertions myfather has made and the money he has promised to spend for the company,"said Tom to the sympathizing friend who stood next on the right. "Ibelieve I'll haul out."

  "Don't do it," was the reply. "Stay in and help beat the rest of thatticket. It's all cut and dried."

  "Of course it is and has been for some time. I could see it now if I hadonly half an eye; but they have been so sly about it that I neversuspected it before. Slip out of the line and tell everybody who votedfor me to vote against Gray, no matter what they put him up for. We'llshow them that they don't run the company."

  "Have you got your votes ready for orderly sergeant?" inquired thedeputy.

  "I'd like to say a word before the vote is taken," said Captain Hubbard,without giving any one time to answer the sheriff's question, "and thatis, that the office of orderly sergeant is one of the most important inthe company."

  "I wonder how he happens to know so much," whispered Tom Randolph to theRanger who touched elbows with him on the right; and in a minute more hefound out.

  "Ever since I began taking an active part in getting up this company,"continued the captain, "I have been in correspondence with a militaryfriend who has taken pains to post me on some matters that are nottouched upon in the tactics. Among other things he warned me that if weintend to do business in military form, we must be careful whom weselect for the office of orderly. He ought to be a thorough-goingsoldier--"

  "Gray, Gray! Sergeant Rodney Gray!" yelled a score of voices.

  "Very well, gentlemen," said the captain, who looked both surprised andpleased. "If he is your choice I have nothing to say beyond this: Ishall be more than satisfied with his election."

  "Randolph, Randolph!" shouted Tom's friends, believing that if he couldnot get one office he might be willing to take another; but it turnedout that their candidate was not that sort of fellow.

  "I don't want it, and what's more to the point, I won't accept it," saidhe, wrathfully. "If any one votes for me he will only be wasting hisballot, for I am going to leave the company. Do you suppose I am such afool as to allow myself to be set up and bowled over by Rodney Gray?" headded in an undertone, in response to a mild protest from his friend onthe right. "His supporters are in the majority and no one else need lookfor a show."

  Everybody was surprised to hear this declaration from the lips of onewho had thus far taken the deepest interest in the organization and doneall in his power to help it along, and several of the Rangers leanedforward to get a glimpse of the speaker's face to see if he really meantwhat he said. Rodney glanced toward the captain to see how he took it,and learned what it was that induced the defeated candidate to take thisstand. Leaning upon his cane just inside the door of the captain's tentwas Mr. Randolph, whose face was fully as black as Tom's, and who noddedapprovingly at every word the angry young man uttered.

  "I haven't been sworn in yet, and am as free to go and come as I was amonth ago," declared Tom.

  "For the matter of that, so are we all," answered the captain, who hadknown a week beforehand that young Randolph was sure to be defeated, andthat he would take it very much to heart. "But I considered myself boundfrom the time I put my name to this muster-roll. We can't be sworn inexcept by a State officer, for the minute we consent to that, thatminute we give up our freedom and render ourselves liable to be orderedto the remotest point in the Confederacy. We are partisans, and neverwill surrender our right to do as we please."

  Captain Hubbard and his company of Rangers were not the only dupes therewere in the Confederacy at that moment. It was well known that the newgovernment was in full sympathy with partisan organizations; and itsagents industriously circulated the report that it would not only aid inthe formation of such organizations, but would allow them full libertyof action after they were sworn into the service of their State. Thegovernment knew the temper of the Southern people, and was well awarethat the desire to emulate the example of such heroes as Marion woulddraw into the service many a dashing youngster who might otherwise stayout of it. What could be more alluring to a hot-head like Rodney Graythan the wild, free, and glorious life which the simple word "partisan"conjured up? The ruse, for that's just what it was, proved successful.Partisan companies sprung into existence all over the South, but in lessthan twelve months after the war began there was not one of them in theservice. Neither were there any such things as State troops.

  When Morgan and Forrest were first heard of they were known andacknowledged as partisans; and the former carried his partisanship sofar that when General Buckner declined to give him permission to actupon his own responsibility, he took possession of a deserted house,went into camp there, and supported his men out of his own pocket; butbefore the war closed both he and Forrest were Confederate generals, andtheir men were regularly sworn into the Confederate service.

  We said that the State troops also had ceased to exist, and thefollowing incident proves it: When the Governor of Arkansas called uponhis troops, who were serving in the Army of the Center, to come home atonce and save their State from threatened invasion, General Beauregardought to have permitted them to obey the summons. He could not dootherwise and be consistent, for if the eleven rebellious States madethe Confederacy, they surely had the right to unmake it. But did he liveup to the principles for which he was fighting? On the contrary hesurrounded those Arkansas troops with a wall of gleaming bayonets backedby frowning batteries, and gave them just five minutes to make up theirminds whether or not they would return to duty. The government atRichmond was a despotism of the worst sort, as more than one poor,deluded rebel found to his sorrow; and yet Jefferson Davis and the restof them stoutly maintained that they were fighting for the right of theStates to do as they pleased.

  "I don't consider myself bound to stay in the company for no otherreason than because my name is on that muster-roll," said Randolph.

  "Stick to it and we'll back you up," whispered the recruit on Tom'sright.

  "If I drop out of the ranks will you come too?" whispered Randolph, inreply.

  "I will, and so will all the rest."

  Being thus encouraged Randolph stepped out of the line and walked offtoward his father's carriage, to which his indignant mother had alreadybeat a dignified retreat. When he had gone a little distance he lookedbehind him and saw, with no little satisfaction, that he was followed byeleven others who were displeased by the way the election was going.

  They were the ones who had been urged into the company by Mr. Randolph,who had promised to see them well fitted out with horses and weapons,and of course they felt bound to follow the example of his son. Therewere those who believed that Mr. Randolph would not have taken so muchinterest in the company if he had not believed that every recruit hebrought into it would cast a vote for Tom.

  Here was a pretty state of affairs, thought Captain Hubbard, who lookedtroubled rather than vexed. He did not care so much for the desertion ofyoung Randolph and his friends (although the unexpected withdrawal oftwelve men from his command was no small matter), but he did care forthe spirit that prompted their action. It was a rule or ruin policy hedid not like to see manifested at that juncture. He was well enoughacquainted with Randolph to know that he would not be satisfied withsimply deserting the company, but would try in all ways to be revengedupon every member of it who had voted against him. While the captain wasthinking about it, somebody tried to make matters worse by setting up aloud hiss, and in an instant the sound was carried along the wholelength of the line. It wasn't stopped, either, until Rodney Gray steppedto the front.

  "Mr. Commander," said he, raising his hand to his cap with a militaryflourish, "I don't want this position. The officers already chosen havebeen fairly elected, but I'll vote for Randolph for t
he next highestoffice in the gift of the company, if he can be induced to come back."

  "Haven't you heard him say that he don't want it and won't take it?"replied the captain. "I think the Rangers know what they are doing.Proceed with the election."

  "But, Captain, I don't want to be a clerk," protested Rodney. "I want tobe a soldier. Aside from his writing, the orderly has little to do butloaf about camp all the while, keeping an eye on the company property,signing requisitions and drilling awkward squads, and that's a job Idon't want. What's more, without any intention of being disrespectful,I'll not take it. There must be some here who want it, and who can dothat sort of work as well, if not better than I can. If you think youmust put me in for something, let me be a duty sergeant, so that I willhave a chance to go on a scout now and then."

  So saying the Barrington boy made another flourish with his hand andstepped back to his place in the ranks with military precision.

  "Now, Rodney, take that back," said Lieutenant Percy, with mostunbecoming familiarity. "You are the only military man in the company,and I don't see how we can get along without you."

  "I'll tell you what I'll do, Rodney," chimed in Captain Hubbard. "Youtake the position, and I will promise that you shall go out on a scoutas often as you please."

  The Barrington boy's face relaxed into a broad grin.

  "Captain," said he, "what sort of an organization is this any way--a mobor a military company?"

  "Now, what is the use of your asking such a question as that?" demandedthe captain, rather sharply.

  "Well, then, if it is a military company, I suppose you intend to begoverned by military rules, do you not?"

  "Of course we do, if we have brains enough to find out what those rulesare."

  "I have no fears on that score; and when you find out what those rulesare, you will see that you have no business to let me go out on a scoutas often as I please."

  "What's the reason I haven't?" exclaimed the captain. "I command thecompany, don't I?"

  "You certainly do."

  "And haven't I a right to do as I please?"

  "That depends upon circumstances. Do you intend to remain right hereabout home?"

  "Not by a jugful. We're going to belong to some part of the army, if wehave to go clear up to Missouri to find a commander who will take us."

  "Then you will find that you can't do as you please. The minute thatcommander accepts you, he will swear you and all of us into theservice."

  "After we have been sworn into the service of the State?"

  "Certainly."

  "I don't believe it," said Captain Hubbard, bluntly. "He wouldn't haveany right to do it."

  The boy's words raised a chorus of dissent all along the line, andLieutenant Odell said, as soon as he could make himself heard:

  "You are way off the track, Rodney. What did we secede for if it wasn'tto prove the doctrine of State Rights? If we are going to give ourliberty up to a new government, we might as well have stayed under theold." And all the Rangers uttered a hearty "That's so."

  "You'll see," replied Rodney, who was greatly amused by the look ofastonishment his words had brought to the faces around him. "A generalwould look pretty accepting the services of a company he couldn'tcommand, wouldn't he, now?"

  "But he could command us," said everybody in the line; and CaptainHubbard added: "I'd promise that we would obey him as promptly andreadily as any of his regular troops."

  "But that wouldn't satisfy him. He'd want the power to make us obey him,or we might take it into our heads to leave him when things didn't go tosuit, just as Randolph and his friends have left us. If we should tryany little game like that in the face of the enemy, he might have thelast one of us shot."

  "What do you think of the prospect, boys?" said the captain, pulling outhis handkerchief and mopping his face with it. He was all in the darkand wanted somebody to suggest something.

  "Look here, Rodney," said Lieutenant Percy. "If you knew our company wasto go up in smoke what did you join it for?"

  "I don't believe it is going up in smoke," was the reply. "I certainlyhope it isn't, for I am under promise to go into the service, and wouldrather go with my friends and neighbors than with strangers; but if weare going to bear arms, we've got to have authority from somebody to doit."

  "Why, we'll get that from the State of Louisiana," exclaimed theRangers, almost as one man. "The State is supreme, no one outside of ithas a right to command our services, and State Rights will be ourbattle-cry, if we need one."

  "All right," exclaimed Rodney. "I am here to share the fortunes of thecompany, whatever they may be, but I can't take the position you have sokindly offered me, and I beg you will not urge me further. Give it tosome one who wants it, and I will do all I can to help him."

  "Well, that's different," said the captain, who seemed to be muchrelieved. "Fall out and prepare your ballots; and you had better fix 'emall up while you are about it, so that there may be no further delay."

  The order to "fall out" was quite unnecessary, for the ranks were prettywell broken before the captain gave it. He allowed them half an hour inwhich to write out their ballots, and then the line was reformed, aftera fashion, and the voting went on; and although the results were in themain satisfactory, there were some long faces among the Rangers.

  "Never mind," said Rodney, who had been elected first duty sergeant."You outsiders may have a chance yet. I'll bet a picayune that if thiscompany sees any service at all, it will not be mustered out with thesame officers it has now. Bone your tactics night and day, and then ifthere is an examination, you will stand as good a chance as anybody.Captain, who is going to commission you?"

  "I have been commissioned already; that is to say, I have beenauthorized by the governor to raise a company of independent cavalry tobe mustered into the State service. That is all right, isn't it?"

  "I suppose it is," replied the boy; and then he walked off to find hisfather, thoughtfully pulling his under lip as he went.

  "What's the matter?" inquired Mr. Gray, as his son approached the placewhere he was standing. "Wasn't the election satisfactory? I thought thebest men were chosen."

  "I wasn't thinking about that," was the answer. "If we are mustered intothe service of the State, we must of course be sworn in. This State is apart of the Confederacy; and if the Confederacy calls upon Louisiana fortroops then what?"

  "Why, then you would have to go. I reckon," replied one of the planterswho was talking with his father.

  "Yes, I reckon we would: and we'd have to take the oath to support theConfederacy, and that would take us out from under the control of theState and make us Confederate troops, wouldn't it? It's a sort ofmixed-up mess and I don't see where our independence comes in. But theboys seem to think it is all right and I suppose it is."

  But it wasn't all right, and the sequel proved it.