=Johnny was a small boy, but each morning he got on =Nell's back and drove
forty cows into their milking pens.

Later, =Johnny helped to churn the butter, carried buckets of water
from the spring, and rode =Nell to the fields to bring the men lunch.
He worked hard all day long, but no one ever thanked him.
Instead, when one of the cows wandered away, the mistress gave =Johnny a beating.

=Johnny put his head against =Nell's neck and wiped away a tear.
"Oh, =Nell, even when I try my best, they don't care," he whispered.
"Now that Mama's gone, you and Uncle =Silas are all I have.
I love you girl. But I sure hate being a slave."

Uncle =Silas longed for freedom too.
"Folks in the Southern states want to keep us in slavery, but
=AbeLincoln aims to set us free," Uncle =Silas told =Johnny.
"Would you fight if there is a war," =Johnny asked?
Uncle =Silas said softly, "I'm too old to be a soldier,
=Johnny. But if I was young like you, I might join the Union army!"

One cold day =Johnny and =Nell were driving the cows to
a pasture near the road. Suddenly =Nell let out a loud snort.
=Johnny saw hundreds of soldiers marching toward them.
"Look at their blue uniforms," he whispered into =Nell's ear.
"Those are Union soldiers from the North."

A tall soldier left the line and came up to =Johnny.
"Hello, there. My name is =Ben. Is this fine black mule yours?"
"No, sir," said =Johnny. She belongs to Dr =Hogatt. This is his farm.
I'm a slave here."

"Is that so," said Ben, scratching =Nell's soft nose?
"Well, since it's not your farm and not your mule, why don't
you come along with us? We could use a strong boy like you.
You can join the Union army and be free."
The Union army wanted him!
=Johnny could hardly believe his ears.
He looked into the soldier's kind face.
"But if I go, I'll be a runaway."
=Ben patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you."

=Johnny didn't want to be a slave.
But how could he leave Uncle =Silas and =Nell?
Then he remembered what Uncle =Silas had said.
=Johnny made up his mind. "If I join the Union army, maybe
I can help Uncle =Silas get free too."
=Johnny threw his arms around =Nell's neck. =Nell nudged his arm with
her big head. "You must go home now," he told her.
"But I'll never forget you, girl."
Then =Johnny fell into step beside his new friend. =Ben smiled.
"This here's =Johnny," he told the others. "He wants to be a soldier."

At first =Johnny felt excited as he walked along.
But the soldiers marched so fast, he could hardly keep up.
His feet began to hurt.
He felt small and shy.

He missed Uncle =Silas and =Nell.
Do I really belong here, he wondered?
But it was too late.
He couldn't turn back now.
When the soldiers stopped, everybody got busy making camp.
=Johnny stood alone, wondering what to do.
=Ben took his arm.
"Come and meet =Dave. He drives the supply wagon. You can
help him feed the mules."

At suppertime =Dave gave =Johnny a tin plate and a cup.
=Johnny ate stew and a biscuit called hardtack.
Everything tasted strange and new.

After supper the soldiers told stories around the fire.
"Come sit by me, little =Johnny," said =Dave.
At bedtime, =Dave spread out a blanket.
"Roll up in this to stay warm," he said.
=Johnny tried to sleep on the cold, hard ground.
His legs were sore.
His heart was sore, too.
Did I do the right thing, Johnny wondered?

=Dave woke =Johnny with a gentle shake.
"I'm taking you to meet the captain this morning," =Dave said.
"He's in charge of Company C."

When they entered the tent, =Dave saluted.
"Captain, this is =Johnny," said =Dave, patting =Johnny's shoulder.
"He's the boy we picked up on the road."
The captain said, "So, you want to be a soldier. You're a little young, aren't you?"
=Johnny was scared, but he lifted his chin.
"I'm small, but I'm strong. I can take care of a mule."
"That's the spirit," said the captain with a smile.

I could use help with the supply wagon," =Dave said.
The captain nodded. "Want to give it a try, =Johnny?"
=Johnny tried to salute just like =Dave.
"Oh, yes, sir!"
=Dave and the captain grinned.

=Dave was proud of his mules.
"Our team is the best," he told =Johnny.
"Here are =Jimmy and =Jenny, the lead mules.
=Pete and =Rhoda pull in the middle, and =Kitty
and =Tuff are closest to the wagon wheels."
=Johnny scratched =Kitty's neck.
She look just like =Nell.
"It's not easy to drive a team of six mules," =Dave warned him.
=Johnny smiled and patted =Kitty.
"I'm ready to try."

Every day =Johnny worked hard at driving the team.
"You're good with the mules," =Dave told him.
"Can I drive the team alone," =Johnny asked eagerly?
"Whoa, not so fast," said =Dave.
"You're not ready just yet."

One night =Dave did not join the others at supper.
The captain asked, "Where's =Dave?"
"He has a bad stomachache," said =Johnny.
The captain frowned.
"What's in your wagon, =Johnny?"
"Bacon, coffee, and hardtack," =Johnny told him.
The captain looked worried.
"Some of our soldiers are keeping watch down the road.
They haven't eaten since morning," he said.

Let me drive the wagon to them," =Johnny begged.
"Can you handle the mules alone, =Johnny," asked the captain?
=Johnny swallowed hard. "You can count on me."
It was hard to hitch up the mules in the dark, but =Johnny did it.
He gave =Kitty an extra pat.
"=Ben and the other soldiers are hungry," he told her.
"They need us to bring them food. Let's prove that we can do it."

=Johnny drove the wagon down the dark road.
Now and then, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds.
=Johnny shivered in the cold air.
Suddenly he heard rushing water.
Up ahead he could see a bridge.
Oh no! A river!

The roar of the water filled =Johnny's ears. =Johnny was afraid to cross the
bridge. But what else could he do? =Ben and the other soldiers needed him!
"Let's go, team," he called!

Slowly the mules lifted their heavy feet onto the wooden planks.
=Johnny tried not to look down.
Just thinking about the deep, cold water made him shiver.
Boom! A cannon roared close by.
The mules shuddered and tossed their heads.
Their eyes were wide with fear.

=Johnny tried to calm his team.
"Steady now."
Suddenly he felt an awful jolt.
"What was that," cried =Johnny?
He felt the wagon jerk.
One of the wheels had broken through a plank in the bridge!

=Johnny looked down.
If the wagon slipped more, they would all topple into the
rushing river. He tightened =Kitty's reins and kicked her sides hard.
"Let's go, =Kitty!"
=Johnny felt =Kitty pulling, but the heavy wagon didn't move.
=Johnny leaned down and yelled, "Come on, girl! You can do it."

Slowly, slowly =Johnny felt the wagon lift up.
There! The wheel was free at last.
They moved across the bridge to safety.
=Kitty's sides were shaking.
=Johnny's hands were shaking too.
In the moonlight he saw soldiers up ahead.
Suddenly he heard someone call out, "Look, fellows!
It's =Johnny."

=Ben rushed to the wagon and lifted =Johnny down.
"Are you okay, =Ben," asked =Johnny?
"Thanks to you we are," said =Ben with a grin.
"Hooray for =Johnny," the men cried in low
excited whispers!

The next morning =Dave felt better.
=Johnny and =Dave were fixing their wagon
when the captain came to see them.
"Is this the wagon of the best mule-team drivers
in the Union army," he asked?

=Dave put his arm around =Johnny.
"It sure is, sir. I didn't think =Johnny was ready.
But he proved he could drive a team as well as any
soldier."
The captain nodded. "There's only one problem."
"Did I do something wrong, sir?" =Johnny was worried.

"No, the problem is that you don't look like a soldier,"
the captain said.
=Johnny glanced down at his ragged clothes.
"But this is all I have," he said.
The captain winked and handed him a bundle.
=Johnny tore it open. "A uniform! Oh, thank you."
The captain shook =Johnny's hand.
"Thank you, =Johnny. We're proud to have such a brave
boy in Company C."
=Johnny beamed. "I'm proud to be here, sir."
=Johnny put on his new coat and cap and saluted.
=Dave and the captain saluted back.

=Johnny ran to show =Kitty his new uniform.
"Look, girl! I really do belong now.
I just wish Uncle =Silas and =Nell could see me."
=Kitty nudged his arm with her big head, just like
=Nell used to do.

"I love you, =Kitty," =Johnny said as he laughed.
"And my new friends, too. But most of all I love being free."