Artie entered the canoe,
the first two at the oars, while the slaves deposited themselves on the
raft, doing what they could to aid their progress over the stream by
means of several sweeps which had been picked up.

CHAPTER IV

A FIRST VICTORY OVER THE ENEMY

It may be asked why a rush was not made upon the mansion and barns,
instead of the stealthy advance now under way. The answer to this is,
Deck and the others knew that the force to be encountered was larger
than their own, and probably just as well, if not better, armed.
Moreover, the young major felt that some of the guerillas must be on the
lookout from the mansion, and an advance across the lawn in front and to
one side, or the meadow to the rear and the other side, could only have
been accomplished after a serious loss of life. The guerillas of
Kentucky were for the most part "dead-shots," and the youthful commander
was not inclined to risk his men in the open against their superior
numbers.

The creek at the point where the raft had been moored was between sixty
and seventy feet wide, consequently the journey to the other side did
not occupy over five minutes, even though the raft was an unwieldy thing
to handle. As soon as they were near enough to do so, all hands leaped
into the meadow grass, and started on a rush for Fort Bedford.

Bang! bang! bang! The three shots in rapid succession came from the rear
of the largest barn, and Deck felt something rush through his cap and
his hair beneath. A groan came from Clinker, who was struck in the side.
The negro staggered but kept on, his eyes rolling and staring from a
pain that was new to him.

"'Tain't much, I reckon," he panted, in reply to Levi Bedford's
question. "Anybuddy else hit?"

Nobody was, and without halting to return the fire they pressed on. Soon
they were under the shelter of the ice-house, as dark and silent as the
rest of the plantation had previously appeared.

"I left it locked up," explained Levi Bedford, when Artie gave a cry as
he caught sight of the door. The heavy slabs of wood had been smashed in
with a stout log used as a battering-ram, and a hasty search revealed
the fact that the arms and ammunition, the overseer had mentioned, had
been carried away.

As the party passed into the building several more shots were fired at
them, but the bullets merely found resting-places in the woodwork or
flattened themselves on the stone walls. Levi Bedford now saw one of the
shoot