Page 138 - Among the camps, or, Young people's stories of the war

but he let go, and with a few vigorous strokes he reached the

other side. The next thing to do was to get Jake over,
[ake was still on the far side, and, with his eyes wide open,
was declaring, vehemently, "N or, sir,1’ he "warn gwine to git
in that deep water, over his head." He "didn’t like water
nohow.1' Jack was in a dilemma. Jake had to be got over,
and so had his clothes. They had an axe. They could cut

poles if he could get back. There was nothing for it but to
try. Accordingly he went up a little way, took a plunge,
and, after hard pulling and much splashing and blowing, got
back to the tree and climbed up. They were afraid the

Yankees might see them if they worked too long on the
river,, as it was a little cleared up on the hill above, so the}'
went back into the woods and set to work. Jack selected a
young pine not too large for them to " tote," and they cut it
down, and cut off two poles, which they carried down to the
river, and finally, after much trouble, worked along the tree in

the water, and got them stretched across from the branch
of the fallen log to the other bank. Jake could hardly be
persuaded to try it, but jack offered him all his biscuit (his
customary cohi with Jake), and promised to help him, and

finally jake was got over, "conning it”— by which was meant
crawling on his hands and knees.
The next thing was to find the horse, for jack had deter­
mined to capture him. This was a difficult thing to effect.
In the first place, he might not be there at all, as he might

have escaped or have been caught; and the woods had to be