Presently they saw new coils of smoke in the
darkness and knew they were right. The transports, steaming swiftly,
were soon beyond the range of the batteries, and then the gun boats,
drawing off, dropped down the river with them.
Long before the boats reached a point level with Grant's camp the army
was being formed in line for embarkation on the gunboats and transports.
The horses were to be placed on one or two of the transports and the men
filled all the other vessels.
"You can't down Grant," said Pennington. "A failure with him merely
means that he's going to try again."
"But don't forget the navy and the Father of Waters," said Dick, as their
transports swung from the shore upon the dark surface of the river.
"The mighty rivers help us. Look how we went up the Cumberland and the
Tennessee and now we've harnessed a flowing ocean for our service."
"Getting poetical, Dick," said Warner.
"I feel it and so do you. You can't see the bluffs any more. There's
nothing in sight, but the lights of the steamers and the transports.
We must be somewhere near the middle of the stream, because I can't make
out either shore.
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