rrific. It was like
the poet says:

"'Then shook the hills with thunder riven,
Then rushed the steeds to battle driven,
And louder than the bolts of heaven,
Far flashed the red artillery.'"

"O, come off, Monty," called the more prosaic Gid Mackall; "you know we
didn't have no artillery. If we'd had, we'd a blowed 'em clean offen the
hill."

The whistle summoned them to get aboard and move on.

CHAPTER XXI. CHATTANOOGA AT LAST

LOST IN A MAZE OF RAILROAD TRAINS.

"WHAT'S the program?" Si inquired of the conductor, as the boys were
being formed on the bank, preparatory to entering the cars. "I s'pose
it's to go over there and put in a week o' hard work rebuildin' that
bridge. Have you got any axes and saws on the train? How long is the
blamed old bridge, anyway?"

"Not much it ain't," responded the conductor. "If you think the army's
goin' to wait a week, or even a day, on a bridge, you're simply not up
to date, that's all. The old Buell and Rosecrans way o' doin' things is
played out since Sherman took command. Your Uncle Billy's a hustler, and
don't let that escape your mind for a minute, or it'll likely lead you
into trouble. You'll find when you get down to Chattynoogy that nobody's
asleep in daylight, or for a good part o' the night. They're not only
wide-awake, but on the keen jump. The old man kin see four ways at once,
he's always where he ain't expected, and after everybody with a sharp
stick. In Buell's time a burnt bridge 50 foot long 'd stopped us for two
weeks. Now that bridge 'll likely be finished by the time we git there.
I've just been over there, and they were layin' the stringers."

"Why, how in the world did they manage?" asked Si.

"O, Sherman's first move was to order down here duplicates for every
bridge on the road. He's got 'em piled up at Louisville, Nashville,
Murfreesboro and Chattynoogy. The moment a bridge is reported burned a
gang starts for the place with another bridge, and they're at work as
soon's it's cool enough to let 'em get to the abutments. I've seen
'em pullin' away the burnin' timbers to lay new ones. They knowed at
Chattynoogy as soon's we did that the bridge was burned. The operator
at the next station must 've seen it and telegraphed the news, and they
started a bridge-gang right out. I tell you, double-quick's the time
around where old Cump Sherman is."

"Duplicate bridges," gasped Si. "Well, that is an idee."

"What does he mean b