declivity; and Fronklyn,
with a mental protest, followed him.

CHAPTER XXIV

A NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE CUMBERLAND

It was walking by the feeling rather than the sight; for the black
waters of the great river seemed to make the darkness more dense than
in the camp above. Deck's lessons in reasonable caution came to his
mind; and he had quite as much need of them as on the field of battle.
A misstep might precipitate him into the dark waters of the rushing
stream.

He did not "lose his head," which was exceedingly serviceable to him at
the present moment. He had said nothing to his companion in regard to
this perilous descent in the darkness, for he was sure Fronklyn would
protest against the difficult and dangerous enterprise upon which he
had entered; but he was willing that he should follow him, or remain in
the camp, as he might think best.

The sergeant was a courageous man, as had often been demonstrated on
the field of battle. He was not only loyal to the government, but to
the lieutenant; and he would have sacrificed his life rather than
abandon him in the present emergency. At the same time, he could see
but little hope in the present venture, whatever it might be; for the
lieutenant had not informed him in regard to his purpose in descending
to the stream.

If he had seen the boat that was made fast to the stern of the steamer,
it had no significance to him. He had never been a boatman; and the
little craft was not suggestive to him as it was to Deck, who had spent
much of his time on the waters of Bar Creek and Green River since his
father moved from New Hampshire to Kentucky. He had not spoken of his
plan to his associate, partly from the force of habit as an officer,
and partly from the fear of being overheard by some one on the shore
above. They had crawled, "snaked it," nearly half a mile, and had come
to a point near the body of the Confederate troops.

It was not easy to stand up on the miry slope of forty-five degrees,
and the feet of the leader had a tendency to give way in the mud. He
took an angling course, which would require him to move five or six
hundred feet up the river before he reached the water. He had left his
sabre where his companion had removed it; but he still wore his belt,
which he had replaced after he came to his senses; and the small
revolver was suspended where the hip pocket would have been if his
trousers had been provided with one.

He had nothing on that imped