The Mountain: An Event Group Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

side. He knew without turning around in his saddle that his small unit of men were now preparing for any nasty surprises that might arise from this highly unusual and clandestine meeting.
    The rain seemed to diminish as the rider returned, this time in advance of an ornate carriage with oil lamps illuminated on each side of the driver who sat atop it. The officer upon the mount took hold of the lead horse of the six that drew the carriage and eased them and their charge into the fast-moving waters of the Rappahannock. The horses flinched at first but Stuart could see that the rider had a calming effect on the team as they eased into the river and made the crossing. The horse and rider then allowed the carriage to cross as they made the far side. The cavalry officer easily approached Jeb Stuart when the carriage finally battled its way up the bank.
    Stuart waited. What they were doing this dark night was far beyond the pale of Stuart’s understanding. General Robert E. Lee had ordered that he meet and safely escort the envoy directly into the camp of the Army of Northern Virginia. Stuart had the feeling that President Lincoln was asking for a truce so Lee could consider the surrender of the army to General Meade, who had failed to destroy Lee at Gettysburg. This was the reason Jeb Stuart was tempted to end this little meeting right now. He kept his hands on his saddle as the Union officer approached until their two horses were nose to nose. The man raised his right hand into the air and brought it to the brim of his dripping hat.
    “Lieutenant Colonel Hines Jorgensen, First Division of General Buford’s Corps, at your service, sir.”
    Stuart was hesitant in returning the military respect accorded by this officer, but in the end Stuart’s West Point training kicked in as if he had never left the service of the United States Army. The salute was returned.
    “General J. E. B. Stuart, at yours, sir,” he said, and then bowed and amazingly his horse did also, allowing its right foreleg to stretch out and its left to bend. The Union officer was impressed, but then the man had seen this Confederate general do some amazing things on the field of battle, as he was a rebel that every cavalry officer in the United States knew on a level they wished they didn’t. Horse and rider straightened and then Stuart gestured toward the trees behind him as his small unit of cavalrymen made their presence known. Jeb Stuart turned back to the Union officer and held the man’s eyes.
    “You were supposed to have only you and one other,” the Union man Jorgensen said, “not an entire unit.”
    Stuart smiled for the first time in what seemed like months. “These men are not a unit, sir, they are my personal guard. It would be somewhat of a personal embarrassment if Mr. Lincoln’s mysterious envoy turned out to be an assassin, now wouldn’t it?”
    “Mr. Lincoln is far above such intrigues and you of all soldiers should know that, General. He wants this foolishness to end and end soon.”
    “That, sir, is not up to me.”
    “Then may I suggest that you take us to the man that it is up to?”
    Stuart didn’t say anything in return but instead spurred his large horse and made his way to the carriage where he stopped and looked up at the carriage driver. The man had a set of three stripes up and three down, and the single star in the middle told Stuart all he wanted to know. His eyes roamed to the man’s face and then recognition struck his memory like a hammer slamming home upon a nail.
    “Sergeant Major Wilkes, it has been a long time. I think it was on the Cimarron I saw you last.” Stuart smiled at the memory. “I think a wild Comanche was attempting to fill your hindquarters with arrows. How have you been, Sergeant Major?”
    The bearded soldier sitting atop the carriage kept his eyes straight ahead. Stuart felt his horse move as he waited for his old Indian-fighting comrade to respond.
    “Sergeant Major? It’s me, Captain