And, sergeant, make him pound that
drum like the devil beating tan-bark!"
The huge man caught the spirit of his commander's order. In a
twinkling he had the boy astride of his neck with the kettle-drum
resting on his head, and then the rattling music began. Clark
followed, pointing onward with his sword. The half frozen and
tottering soldiers sent up a shout that went back to where Captain
Bowman was bringing up the rear under orders to shoot every man
that straggled or shrank from duty.
Now came a time when not a mouthful of food was left. A whole day
they floundered on, starving, growing fainter at every step, the
temperature falling, the ice thickening. They camped on high land;
and next morning they heard Hamilton's distant sunrise gun boom
over the water.
"One half-ration for the men," said Clark, looking disconsolately
in the direction whence the sound had come. "Just five mouthfuls
apiece, even, and I'll have Hamilton and his fort within forty-
eight hours."
"We will have the provisions, Colonel, or I will die trying to get
them," Beverley responded "Depend upon me."
They had constructed some canoes in which to transport the weakest
of the men.
"I will take a dugout and some picked fellows. We will pull to the
wood yonder, and there we shall find some kind of game which has
been forced to shelter from the high water.
Pages:
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344