Harry rose to his feet and shook St. Clair and Langdon.
"Up, boys!" he said. "The enemy will soon be here. I can see their
bayonets glittering on the hills."
The Invincibles sprang to their feet almost as one man, and soon all the
troops of Evans were up and humming like bees. Food and coffee were
served to them hastily, but, before the last cup was thrown down, a heavy crash came from one of the hills beyond Bull Run, and a shell, screaming over their heads, burst beyond them. It was quickly followed by another, and then the round shot and shells came in dozens from batteries which had been posted well in the night.
The Southern batteries replied with all their might and the riflemen
supported them, sending the bullets in sheets across Bull Run. The
battle flamed in fifteen minutes into extraordinary violence. Harry had
never before heard such a continuous and terrific thunder. It seemed
that the drums of his ears would be smashed in, but over his head he
heard the continuous hissing and whirring of steel and lead. The
Northern riflemen were at work, too, and it was fortunate for the
Invincibles that they were able to lie down, as they poured their fire
into the bushes and woods on the opposite bank.
The volume of smoke was so great that they could no longer see the
position of the enemy, but Harry believed that so much metal must do
great damage. Although he was a lieutenant he had snatched up a rifle
dropped by some fallen soldier, and he loaded and fired it so often that
the barrel grew hot to his hand. Lying so near the river, most of the
hostile fire went over the heads of the Invincibles, but now and then a
shell or a cluster of bullets struck among them, and Harry heard groans. But he quickly forgot these sounds as he watched the clouds of smoke and the blaze of fire on the other side of Bull Run.
"They are not trying to force the passage of the bridge! Everything is
for the best!" shouted Langdon.
"No, they dare not," shouted St. Clair in reply. "No column could live
on that bridge in face of our fire."
It seemed strange to Harry that the Northern troops made no attempt to
cross. Why did all this tremendous fire go on so long, and yet not a
foe set foot upon the bridge? It seemed to him that it had endured for
hours. The sun was rising higher and higher and the day was growing
hotter and hotter. It lay with the North to make the first movement to
cross Bull Run, and yet no attempt was made.
Colonel Talbot came repeatedly along the line of the Invincibles, and Harry saw that he was growing uneasy. Such a great volume of fire, without any effort to take advantage of it, made the veteran suspicious. He knew that those old comrades of his on the other side of Bull Run would not waste their metal in a mere cannonade and long range rifle fire. There must be something behind it. Presently, with the consent of the commander, he drew the Invincibles back from the river, where they were permitted to cease firing, and to rest for a while on their arms.
But as they drew long breaths and tried to clear the smoke from their
throats, a rumor ran down the lines. The attack at the bridge was but a
feint. Only a minor portion of the hostile army was there. The greater
mass had gone on and had already crossed the river in face of the
weak left flank of the Southern army. Beauregard had been outwitted. The Yankees were now in great force on his own side of Bull Run, and it would be a pitched battle, face to face.
The whole line of the Invincibles quivered with excitement, and then
Harry saw that the rumor was true, or that their commander at least
believed it to be so. The firing stopped entirely and the bugles blew
the retreat. All the brigades gathered themselves up and, wild with
anger and chagrin, slowly withdrew.
"Why are we retreating?" exclaimed Langdon, angrily. "Not a Yankee set
his foot on the bridge! We're not whipped!"
"No," said Harry, "we're not whipped, but if we don't retreat we will
be. If fifteen or twenty thousand Yankees struck us on the flank while
those fellows are still in front everything would go."