Page 140 - Among the camps, or, Young people's stories of the war

began to come over toward Jack, still calling to him. Sud­

denly there was a shout just ahead ; they stopped ; it was
repeated.
“ Who dat calling ?” asked Jake, in, a frightened under­
tone.
" Hush ! it's a picket,’1 said Jack, stooping and motioning
him back, just as a volume ol white smoke with blazes in it

seemed to burst out of the woods at the edge of the clearing,
and the stillness was broken by the report of half a dozen,
carbines. Leaves and pieces of bark fell around them, but
the bullets flew wide of their mark.

"Run, Jake ! ” shouted Jack, as be darted away : but Jake
had not waited for orders ; he had dropped his axe and corn,
and was “ flying.”
Jack soon came up with him, and they dashed aEong to­
gether, thinking that perhaps the picket knew where they had
crossed the river, and would try to cut them off,

In their excitement they took a way farther from the river
than that by which they had come. The woods were open,
and there were small spaces covered with coarse grass on the
little streams. As they ran along down a hill approaching one ,

of these, they heard a sound of trampling coming towards
them which brought them to a sudden stand-still with thetr
hearts in their mouths. Ic must be the enemy. They were
coming at full gallop. What a crashing they made coming
on I They did not have time to run, and jack immediately
cocked his old musket and resolved at least to fight. Just