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diff --git a/40013-8.txt b/40013-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 07f3c53..0000000 --- a/40013-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9107 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Master of Warlock, by George Cary Eggleston - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Master of Warlock - A Virginia War Story - -Author: George Cary Eggleston - -Illustrator: C. D. Williams - -Release Date: June 17, 2012 [EBook #40013] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER OF WARLOCK *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - - THE MASTER OF WARLOCK - - A VIRGINIA WAR STORY - - BY GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON - - AUTHOR OF "DOROTHY SOUTH," "A CAROLINA CAVALIER," ETC. - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - C. D. WILLIAMS - - LOTHROP PUBLISHING - COMPANY BOSTON - - COPYRIGHT, - 1903, - - BY - LOTHROP - PUBLISHING - COMPANY. - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - ENTERED AT - STATIONERS' - HALL - - Published, January, 1903 - - - TO "DOROTHY SOUTH," THE DEAR LITTLE WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN WIFE TO ME - FOR THIRTY-FOUR YEARS, WHO HAS UNCONSCIOUSLY INSPIRED ALL MY WORK, - AND WHOSE PERSONALITY, IN ITS SEVERAL PHASES, IT HAS BEEN MY LOVING - ENDEAVOUR TO PORTRAY IN ALL THE STORIES I HAVE WRITTEN, I DEDICATE - THIS BOOK WITH REVERENCE AND SOUL-FELT THANKS. - - GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON. - - _Culross, October 18, 1902._ - - - - -[Illustration: "_In the firelight_"] - - - - -Table of Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - -I. A BREAK IN THE BRIDGE 11 - -II. THE BRINGING UP OF AGATHA 32 - -III. JESSAMINE AND HONEYSUCKLE 47 - -IV. IN REVOLT 71 - -V. AT THE OAKS 78 - -VI. NEXT MORNING 94 - -VII. A FAREWELL AT THE GATE 111 - -VIII. A RED FEATHER 118 - -IX. THE BIRTH OF WOMANHOOD 135 - -X. IN ACTION 144 - -XI. AT WARLOCK 163 - -XII. UNDER ESCORT 172 - -XIII. A SOUVENIR SERVICE 187 - -XIV. QUICK WORK 199 - -XV. AGATHA'S VENTURE 214 - -XVI. CANISTER 223 - -XVII. AT HEADQUARTERS 238 - -XVIII. A BRUSH AT THE FRONT 248 - -XIX. AGATHA'S RESOLUTION 256 - -XX. TWO HOME-COMINGS 265 - -XXI. AT PARTING 279 - -XXII. SAM AS A STRATEGIST 290 - -XXIII. A NEGOTIATION 301 - -XXIV. FLIGHT 317 - -XXV. A NARROW ESCAPE 327 - -XXVI. MADEMOISELLE ROLAND 336 - -XXVII. AGATHA'S WONDER-STORY 345 - -XXVIII. WHEN A MAN TALKS TOO MUCH 364 - -XXIX. A STRUGGLE OF GIANTS 374 - -XXX. THE LAST STRAW 380 - -XXXI. AT WARLOCK AND AT THE OAKS 396 - -XXXII. IN RIGHTEOUS WRATH 407 - -XXXIII. UNDER RED LEAVES 416 - -XXXIV. THE END AND AFTER 425 - - - - -_List of Illustrations_ - - -"_In the firelight_" Frontispiece - -_Agatha Ronald_ 44 - -"'_If any man flunks--I'll brain him_'" 126 - -"'_Riding under gallant escort_'" 186 - -"'_I love you, Agatha Ronald_'" 235 - -"'_At Christ-church-in-the-woods_'" 423 - - - - -The Master of Warlock - - - - -I - -_A BREAK IN THE BRIDGE_ - - -The road was a winding, twisting track as it threaded its way through a -stretch of old field pines. The land was nearly level at that point, and -quite unobstructed, so that there was not the slightest reason that -ordinary intelligence could discover for the roadway's devious -wanderings. It might just as well have run straight through the pine -lands. - -But in Virginia people were never in a hurry. They had all of leisure -that well-settled and perfectly self-satisfied ways of life could bring -to a people whose chief concern it was to live uprightly and happily in -that state of existence into which it had pleased God to call them. What -difference could it make to a people so minded, whether the journey to -the Court-house--the centre and seat of county activities of all -kinds--were a mile or two longer or shorter by reason of meaningless -curves in the road, or by reason of a lack of them? Why should they -bother to straighten out road windings that had the authority of long -use for their being? And why should the well-fed negro drivers of family -carriages shake themselves out of their customary and comfortable naps -in order to drive more directly across the pine land, when the horses, -if left to themselves, would placidly follow the traditional track? - -The crookedness of the road was a fact, and Virginians of that time -always accepted and respected facts to which they had been long -accustomed. For that sufficient reason Baillie Pegram, the young master -of Warlock, was not thinking of the road at all, but accepting it as he -did the greenery of the trees and the bursting of the buds, as he jogged -along at a dog-trot on that fine April morning in the year of our Lord -1861. - -He was well mounted upon a mettlesome sorrel mare,--a mare with -pronounced ideas of her own. The young man had taught her to bend these -somewhat to his will, but her individuality was not yet so far subdued -or suppressed as to lose itself in that of her master. So she suddenly -halted and vigorously snorted as she came within sight of the little -bridge over Dogwood Branch, where a horse and a young gentlewoman were -obviously in trouble. - -I name the horse and the girl in that ungallant reverse order, because -that was the order in which they revealed themselves to the mare and her -master. For the girl was on the farther side of the horse, and stooping, -so that she could not be seen at a first glance. As she heard -approaching hoof-beats she straightened herself into that dignity of -demeanour which every young Virginia gentlewoman felt it to be her -supreme duty in life to maintain under any and all circumstances. - -She was gowned in the riding-habit of that time, with glove-fitting body -and a skirt so long that, even when its wearer sat upon a high horse, it -extended to within eighteen inches of the ground. When Baillie Pegram -reached the little bridge and hastily dismounted, she was standing as -erect as a young hickory-tree, making the most of her five feet four of -height, and holding the skirt up sufficiently to free her feet. She -wore a look half of welcome, half of defiance on her face. The defiance -was prompted by a high-bred maidenly sense of propriety and by something -else. The welcome was due to an instinctive rejoicing in the coming of -masculine help. For the girl was indeed in sore need of assistance. Her -horse had slipped his foot through a break in the bridge flooring, and -after a painful struggle, had given up the attempt to extricate it. He -was panting with pain, and his young mistress was sympathetically -sharing every pain that he suffered. - -Baillie Pegram gave the girl a rather formal greeting as he dismounted. -Stooping he examined the imprisoned leg of the animal. Then seizing a -stone from the margin of the stream, he quickly beat the planking loose -from its fastenings, releasing the poor brute from its pillory. But the -freed foot did not plant itself upon the ground again. The horse held it -up, limp and dangling. Seeing what had happened, the young man promptly -ungirthed the saddles, and transferred that of the young woman to the -back of his own animal. - -"You must take my mare, Miss Ronald," he said. "Your horse is in no -condition to carry you, and, poor fellow, he never will be again." - -"Just what has happened, Mr. Pegram?" the girl asked, with a good deal -of hauteur in her tone. - -"Your horse's leg is broken beyond all possibility of repair," he -answered. "I will take care of him for you, and you must ride my mare. -She is a trifle unruly at times, and not very bridle-wise, so that she -is scarcely fit for a lady's use. But I take it you know how to ride." - -The girl did not answer at once. After a space she said: - -"You forget that I am Agatha Ronald." - -"No, I do not forget," he answered. "I remember that fact with regret -whenever I think of you. However, under the circumstances, you must so -far overcome your prejudice as to accept the use of my mare." - -There was a mingling of hauteur and amusement in the girl's voice and -countenance as she answered: - -"Permit me, Mr. Pegram, to thank you for your courteous proffer of help, -_and to decline it_." - -"I need no thanks," he said, "for a trifling courtesy which is so -obviously imperative. As for declining it, why of course you cannot do -that." - -"Why not?" she asked, resentfully. "Am I not my own mistress? Surely you -would not take advantage of my mishap to force unwelcome attentions upon -me?" - -The utterance was an affront, and Baillie Pegram saw clearly that it was -intended to be such. He bit his lip, but controlled himself. - -"I will not think," he answered, "that you quite meant to say that. You -are too just to do even me a wrong, and surely I have not deserved such -an affront at your hands. Nor can the circumstances that prompt you to -decline any unnecessary courtesy at my hands justify you in--well, in -saying what you have just said. I have not sought to force attentions -upon you, and you know it. I have only asked you to let me behave like a -gentleman under circumstances which are not of my making or my seeking. -Your horse is hopelessly lamed--so hopelessly that as soon as you are -gone, I am going to kill him by the roadside as an act of ordinary -humanity. You are fully five miles from The Oaks, where you are staying -with your aunts. Except in this bit of pine barren, the roads are -exceedingly muddy. You are habited for riding, and you could not walk -far in that costume, even upon the best of roads. You simply must make -use of my mare. I cannot permit you to refuse. If I did so, I should -incur the lasting and just disapproval of your aunts, The Oaks ladies. -You certainly do not wish me to do that. I have placed your saddle upon -my mare, and I am waiting to help you mount." - -The girl hesitated, bewildered, unwilling, and distinctly in that -feminine state of mind which women call "vexed." At last she asked: - -"What will you do if I refuse?" - -"O, in that case I shall turn the mare loose, and walk at a respectful -distance behind you as you trudge over the miry road, until you become -hopelessly involved in the red clay at Vinegar Post. Then I shall rush -to your rescue like a gallant knight, and carry you pick-a-back all the -way to The Oaks. It will be a singularly undignified approach to a -mansion in which the proprieties of life are sternly insisted upon. -Don't you think you'd better take the mare, Miss Ronald?" - -The girl stood silent for nearly a minute in a half-angry mood of -resistance, which was in battle with the laughing demon that just now -possessed her. She did not want to laugh. She was determined not to -laugh. Therefore she laughed uncontrollably, as one is apt to do when -something ludicrous occurs at a funeral. Presently she said: - -"I wonder what it was all about anyhow--the quarrel, I mean, between -your grandfather and my poor father?" - -There was a touch of melancholy in her tone as she spoke of her "poor -father"--for that phrase, in Virginian usage, always meant that the dear -one mentioned was dead. "I wonder what it was that makes it so -imperative for me to be formally courteous beyond the common to you, and -at the same time highly improper for me to accept such ordinary -courtesies at your hands as I freely accept from others, thinking -nothing about the matter." - -"Would you really like to know?" the young man asked. - -"Yes--no. I'm not quite certain. Sometimes I want to know--just now, for -example--so that I may know just what my duty is. But at other times I -think it should be enough for me, as a well-ordered young person, to -know that I must be loyal to my poor father's memory, and never forgive -a Pegram while I live. My good aunts have taught me that much, but they -have never told me anything about the origin of the feud. All I know is -that, in order to be true to the memory of my poor father, who died -before I was born, I must always remember that the Ronalds and the -Pegrams are hereditary enemies. That is why I refuse to use the mare -which you have so courteously offered me, Mr. Pegram." - -"Still," answered the young man, as if arguing the matter out with -himself, "it might not compromise your dignity so much to ride a mare -that belongs to me, as to let me 'tote' you home--for that is precisely -what I must do if you persist in your refusal." - -The girl again laughed, merrily this time, but still she hesitated: - -"Listen!" said Baillie; "that's my boy Sam coming. It would be unseemly -for us to continue our quarrel in the presence of a servant." - -As he spoke the voice of Sam rose from beyond the pines, in a ditty -which he was singing with all the power of a robust set of vocal organs: - - "My own Eliza gal--she's de colour ob de night, - When de moon it doesn't shine a little bit; - But her teeth shows white in de shaddah ob de night, - And her eyes is like a lantern when it's lit. - - "Oh, Eliza! - How I prize yeh! - You'se de nicest gal dere is; - It's fer you dat I'se a-pinin', - For you're like a star dat's shinin' - When de moon it's done forgitten how to riz." - -With that Sam came beaming upon the scene. His round, black, shining -visage, and eyes that glittered with a humour which might have won an -anchorite to merriment, resembled nothing so much as the sun at its -rising, if one may think of the sun as black and glistening from a -diligent rubbing with a bacon rind, which was Sam's favourite cosmetic, -as it is of all the very black negroes. - -Sam was sitting sidewise upon a saddleless mule, but when he saw the -situation he quickly slipped to the ground, pulled his woolly forelock -in lieu of doffing the hat which he had not, and asked: - -"What's de mattah, Mas' Baillie?" - -The girl saw the impropriety of continuing the discussion--it had ceased -to be a quarrel now--in Sam's presence. So she held out her hand, and -said: - -"Thank you very much, Mr. Pegram. I will ride your beautiful mare, and -to-morrow, if you are so minded, you may call at The Oaks to inquire how -the animal has behaved toward me. Good morning, sir!" - -She sprang into the saddle without waiting for young Pegram to assist -her, for she was even yet determined to accept no more of attention at -his hands than she must. He, in his turn, was too greatly relieved by -this ending of the embarrassing scene to care for the implied snub to -his gallantry. As soon as the girl rode away, which she did without -pausing for a moment, Baillie Pegram turned to Sam, and without -inquiring upon what errand that worthy had been going, gave the order: - -"Mount your mule and ride at a respectful distance behind Miss Agatha -Ronald. She may have trouble with that half-broken mare of mine. And -mind you, boy, don't entertain the young lady with any of your songs as -you go. When you get back to Warlock, bring me a horse to the -Court-house, do you hear?" - -Then leading the wounded animal upon three legs into the woods near by, -Pegram fired a charge of shot from the fowling-piece which he carried, -into its brain, killing the poor beast instantly and painlessly. - -Having discharged this duty of mercy, the young man, with high boots -drawn over his trousers' legs, set out with a brisk stride for the -county-seat village, known only as "the Court-house." Entering the -clerk's office, he said to the county clerk: - -"As a magistrate of this county I direct you to enter a fine of five -dollars against Baillie Pegram, Esq., supervisor of the Vinegar Post -road, for his neglect to keep the bridge over Dogwood Branch in repair. -Here's the money. Give me a receipt, please, and make the proper entries -upon the court records." - -"Pardon me, Mr. Pegram," answered the clerk, "but you remember that at -the last term of the county court, with a full bench of magistrates -sitting, it was decided to adjourn the court indefinitely in view of the -disturbed condition of the time?" - -"I remember that," answered the young man, "but that action was taken -only upon the ground that under present circumstances it would work -hardship to many for the courts to meet for the enforcement of debts. -This is a very different case. As road supervisor I am charged with a -public duty which I have neglected. As a magistrate it is my duty to -fine every road supervisor who is derelict. No session of the court is -necessary for that. I shall certainly not tolerate such neglect of duty -on the part of any county officer, particularly when I happen to be -myself the derelict official. So enter the fine and give me a receipt -for the money." - -Does all this impress the reader as quixotic? Was it a foolish -sentimentalism that prompted these men to serve their neighbours and the -public without pay, and, upon occasion, to hold themselves rigidly -responsible to a high standard of duty? Was it quixotism which prompted -George Washington to serve his country without one dollar of pay, -through seven years of war, as the general of its armies, and through -nearly twice that time as President, first of the Constitutional -Convention, and afterwards, for eight years, as President of the nation? -Was it an absurd sentimentalism that prompted him, after he had declined -pay, to decline also the gifts voluntarily and urgently pressed upon him -by his own and other States, and by the nation? The humourists ridicule -all such sentiment. But the humourists are not a court of final appeal. -At any rate, this sentimentality had its good side. - -But at this time of extreme excitement, there were, no doubt, ludicrous -exaggerations of sentiment and conduct now and then, and on this -sixteenth day of April, 1861, the master of Warlock encountered some -things that greatly amused him. Having finished his business in the -clerk's office, he found himself in the midst of excited throngs. -Startling news had come from Richmond that morning. In view of the -bombardment of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln had called for -seventy-five thousand men as an army with which to reduce the seceding -States to subjection. - -Virginia was not one of the seceding States. Up to that time, she had -utterly repudiated the thought that secession was justified by Mr. -Lincoln's election, or by any threat to the South which his accession to -office implied. - -The statesmen of Virginia had busied themselves for months with efforts -to find a way out of the difficulties that beset the country. They were -intent upon saving that Union which had been born of Virginia's -suggestion, if such saving could be accomplished by any means that did -not involve dishonour. The people of Virginia, when called upon to -decide the question of their own course in such a crisis by the election -of a constitutional convention, had overwhelmingly decided it against -secession, and in favour of adherence to the Union. Under Virginia's -influence, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and -Missouri had refused to secede. - -But while the Virginians were thus opposed to secession, and while they -were fully convinced that secession was neither necessary nor advisable -under the circumstances then existing, they were of one mind in -believing that the constitutional right of any State to withdraw from -the Union at will was absolute and indefeasible. So when Mr. Lincoln -called upon Virginia for her quota of troops with which to coerce back -into the Union those States which had exercised what the Virginians held -to be their rightful privilege of withdrawal, it seemed to the -Virginians that there was forced upon them a choice between secession -and unspeakable dishonour. They wanted to remain in the Union, of which -their State had been from the beginning so influential a part. They were -intensely loyal to the history and traditions of that Union over which -their Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Tyler had presided, -and at the head of whose supreme court their John Marshall had so wisely -interpreted the constitution. But when Mr. Lincoln notified them that -they must furnish their quota of troops with which to make war upon -sister States for exercising a right which the Virginians deemed -unquestionable, they felt that they had no choice but to join the -seceding States and take the consequences. - -What a pity it seems, as we look back upon that crisis of forty odd -years ago, that Mr. Lincoln could not have found some other way out of -his difficulties! What a pity that he could not have seen his way clear -to omit Virginia and the other border States from his call for troops, -with which to make war upon secession! Doubtless it was impracticable -for him to make such a distinction. But the pity of it is none the less -on that account. For if this might have been done, there would have been -no civil war worthy the attention of the historian or the novelist. In -that case the battles of Bull Run, the Seven Days, Fredericksburg, -Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, -Cold Harbour, and the rest of the bloody encounters would never have -been fought. In that case the country would not have exhausted itself -with four years of strenuous war, enlisting 2,700,000 men on one side, -and 600,000 on the other. In that case many thousands of brave young -lives would have been spared, and the desolation of homes by tens of -thousands would not have come upon the land. - -It is idle, however, to speculate in "if's," even when their -significance is so sadly obvious as it is in this case. Facts are facts, -and the all-dominating fact on that 16th of April, 1861, was that -President Lincoln had called upon Virginia for her quota of troops with -which to make war upon the seceding States, and that Virginia had no -mind to respond to the call. - -It was certain now, that Virginia--however reluctantly and however -firmly convinced she might be that secession was uncalled for on the -part of the Southern States, would adopt an ordinance of secession, and -thus make inevitable the coming of the greatest war in all history, -where otherwise no war at all, or at most an insignificant one, would -have occurred. - -There was no question in the minds of any body at the Court-house on -this sixteenth day of April, 1861, that Virginia would secede as soon as -a vote could be taken in the convention. - -The county was a small one, insignificant in the number of its white -inhabitants,--there being six negroes to one white in its -population,--but it was firmly convinced that upon its attitude depended -the fate of Virginia, and perhaps of the nation. This conviction was -strong, at any rate, in the minds of the three local orators who had -ordered a muster for this day in order that they might have an audience -to harangue. These were Colonel Gregor, of the militia and the bar, -Lieutenant-Colonel Simpson, also of the bar and the militia, and Captain -Sam Guthrie, who commanded a troop of uniformed horsemen, long ago -organised for purposes of periodical picnicking. This troop afterward -rendered conspicuously good service in Stuart's First Regiment of -Virginia cavalry, but not under Captain Guthrie's command. That officer, -early in the campaign, developed a severe case of nervous prostration, -and retired. The militiamen also volunteered, and rendered their full -four years of service. But Lieutenant-Colonel Simpson retired during his -first and only skirmish, while Colonel Gregor discovered in himself a -divine call to the ministry of the gospel, and stayed at home to answer -it. But all this came later. In April, 1861, these three were the eager -advocates of war, instant and terrible. Under inspiration of the news -from Richmond, they spouted like geysers throughout that day. They could -not have been more impassioned in their pleas if theirs had been a -reluctant community, in danger of disgracing itself by refusing to -furnish its fair share of volunteers for Virginia's defence, though in -fact every able-bodied man in the county had already signified his -intention of volunteering at the first opportunity. - -But the orators were not minded to miss so good an opportunity to -display their eloquence, and impress themselves upon the community. -Colonel Gregor, in a fine burst of eloquence, warned his fellow -citizens, whom he always addressed as "me countrymen," to examine -themselves carefully touching their personal courage, "for," he -thundered, "where Gregor leads, brave men must follow." - -Later in the day, Lieutenant-Colonel Simpson hit upon the happy idea, -which his superior officer at once adopted, of ordering the entire -militia of the county into camp at the Court-house, where the three men -eloquent might harangue them at will between drills. The two -field-officers told the men that they must now regard themselves as -minute men, and hold themselves in readiness to respond at a moment's -notice to the country's call, for the repelling of invasion, whensoever -it might come. - -All this impressed Baillie Pegram as ridiculous. That young gentleman -had a saving sense of humour, but he was content to smile at a -foolishness in which he had no mind to join. The young men of the -county responded enthusiastically to the encampment call. It meant for -them some days of delightful picnicking, with dancing in the evening. - -Baillie Pegram, having business to transact in Richmond, absented -himself from a frolic not to his taste, and took the noonday train for -the State capital. - - - - -II - -_THE BRINGING UP OF AGATHA_ - - -Agatha Roland was a particularly well ordered young gentlewoman, at -least during her long, half-yearly visits to her aunts at The Oaks. At -home with her maternal grandfather, Colonel Archer, she was neither well -nor ill ordered--she was not ordered at all. She gave orders instead, in -a gentle way; and her word was law, by virtue of her grandfather's -insistence that it should be so regarded, and still more by reason of -something in herself that gently gave authority to her will. - -Agatha had been born at The Oaks, and that plantation was to be her -property at the death of her two elderly maiden aunts, her dead father's -sisters. But she had been taken as a little child to the distant home of -her grandfather, Colonel Archer, and after her mother's death she had -lived there alone with that sturdy old Virginia gentleman. - -She was less than seven years old when he installed her behind the -tea-tray in her dead mother's stead, and made her absolute mistress of -the mansion, issuing the order that "whatever Miss Agatha wants done -must be done, or I will find out why." Her good aunts sought to -interfere at first, but they soon learned better. They wanted the girl -to come to them at The Oaks "for her bringing up," they said. Upon that -plan Colonel Archer instantly put a veto that was not the less -peremptory for the reason that he could not "put his foot down" just -then, because of an attack of the gout. Then the good ladies urged him -to take "some gentlewoman of mature years and high character" into his -house, "to look after the child's bringing up, so that her manners may -be such as befit a person of her lineage." - -To this appeal the old gentleman replied: - -"I'll look after all that myself. I don't want the child taught a lot of -nonsense, and I won't have her placed under anybody's authority. She -doesn't need control, any more than the birds do; she shall grow up -here at Willoughby in perfect freedom and naturalness. I'll be -responsible for the result. She shall wear bonnets whenever she wants -to, and go without them whenever that pleases her best; when she wants -to go barefoot and wade in the branches, as all healthy children like to -do, she shall not be told that her conduct is 'highly improper,' and all -that nonsense. O, I know," he said, in anticipation of a protest that he -saw coming, "I know she'll get 'dreadfully tanned,' and become a -tomboy--and all the rest of it. But I'll answer for it that when she -grows up her perfectly healthy skin will bear comparison with the -complexion of the worst house-burnt young woman in all the land, and as -for her figure, nature will take care of that under the life of liberty -that she's going to live, in the air and sunshine." - -"But you'll surely send her to school?" - -"Not if I retain my senses. I remember my humanities well enough to -teach her all the Latin, Greek, and mathematics she needs. We'll read -history and literature together, and as for French, I speak that -language a good deal better than most of the dapper little -dancing-masters do who keep 'young ladies' seminaries.' We'll ride -horseback together every day, and I'll teach her French while I'm -teaching her how to take an eight-rail fence at a gallop." - -The remonstrances were continued for a time, until one day the old -gentleman made an end of them by saying: - -"I have heard all I want to hear on that subject. It is not to be -mentioned to me again." - -Everybody who knew Colonel Archer knew that when he spoke in that tone -of mingled determination and self-restraint, it was a dictate of -prudence to respect his wish. So after that Agatha and he lived alone at -Willoughby, a plantation in Northern Virginia three or four days distant -by carriage from The Oaks. - -Morning, noon, and night, these two were inseparable companions. -"Chummie" was the pet name she gave him in her childish days, and he -would never permit her to address him by any other as she grew up. - -Old soldier that he was,--for he had commanded a company under Jackson -at New Orleans, and had been a colonel during the war with Mexico,--it -was his habit to exact implicit obedience within his own domain. He was -the kindliest of masters, but his will was law on the plantation, and as -everybody there recognised the fact, he never had occasion to give an -order twice, or to mete out censure for disobedience. But for Agatha -there was no law. Colonel Archer would permit none, while she in her -turn made it her one study in life to be and do whatever her "Chummie" -liked best. - -Colonel Archer had a couple of gardeners, of course, but their work was -mainly to do the rougher things of horticulture. He and Agatha liked to -do the rest for themselves. They prepared the garden-beds, seeded them, -and carefully nursed their growths into fruitage, he teaching her, as -they did so, that love of all growing things which is botany's best -lesson. - -"And the plants love us back again, Chummie," she one day said to him, -while she was still a little child. "They smile when we go near them, -and sometimes the pansies whisper to me. I'm sure of that." - -She was at that time a slender child, with big, velvety brown eyes and a -tangled mass of brown hair which her maid Martha struggled in vain to -reduce to subjection. She usually put on a sunbonnet when she went to -the garden in the early morning; but when it obstructed her vision, or -otherwise annoyed her, she would push it off, letting it fall to her -back and hang by its strings about her neck. Even then it usually became -an annoyance, particularly when she wanted to climb a fruit-tree, and -Martha would find it later, resting upon a cluster of rose-bushes, or -hung upon a fence-paling. - -The pair of chums--the sturdy old gentleman and the little girl--had no -regular hours for any of their employments, but at some hour of every -day, they got out their books and read or studied together. - -They were much on horseback, too, and when autumn came they would tramp -together through stubble fields and broom-straw growths, shooting quails -on the wing--partridges, they correctly called them, as it is the habit -of everybody in Virginia to do, for the reason that the bird which the -New York marketman calls "quail," is properly named "Partridge -Virginiensis," while the bird that the marketman sells as a partridge is -not a partridge at all, but a grouse. The girl became a good shot -during her first season, and a year later she challenged her grandfather -to a match, to see who could bag the greater number of birds. At the end -of the morning's sport, her bag outnumbered her companion's by two -birds; but when the count was made, she looked with solemn eyes into her -grandfather's face and, shaking her head in displeasure, said: - -"Chummie, you've been cheating! I don't like to think it of you, but -it's true. You've missed several birds on purpose to let me get ahead of -you. I'll never count birds with you again." - -The old gentleman tried to laugh the matter off, but the girl would not -consent to that. After awhile she said: "I'll forgive you this time, -Chummie; but I'll never count birds with you again." - -"But why not, Ladybird?" - -"Why, because you don't like to beat me, and I don't like to beat you. -So if we go on counting birds and each trying to lose the match, we'll -get to be very bad shots. Besides that, Chummie, cheating will impair -your character." - -But the girl was not left without the companionship of girls of her own -age. Colonel Archer was too wise a student of human nature for that. So -from the beginning he planned to give her the companionship she needed. - -"You are the mistress of Willoughby, you know, Agatha," he said to her -one day, "and you must keep up the reputation of the place for -hospitality. You must have your dining-days like the rest, and invite -your friends." - -And she did so. She would send out her little notes, written in a hand -that closely resembled that of her grandfather, begging half a dozen -girls, daughters of the planters round about, to dine with her, and they -would come in their carriages, attended by their negro maids. It was -Colonel Archer's delight to watch Agatha on these occasions, and observe -the very serious way in which she sought to discharge her duties as a -hospitable hostess in becoming fashion. - -A little later he encouraged her to invite two or three of her young -friends, now and then, to stay for a few days or a week with her, after -the Virginian custom. But not until she was twelve years old did he -consent to spare her for longer than a single night. Then he agreed with -The Oaks ladies that she should spend a few weeks in the spring and a -few in the late summer or autumn of every year with them. They welcomed -the arrangement as one which would at least give them an opportunity to -"form the girl." During her semi-annual visits to The Oaks they very -diligently set themselves to work drilling her in the matter of respect -for the formalities of life. - -The process rather interested Agatha, and sometimes it even amused her. -She was solemnly enjoined not to do things that she had never thought of -doing, and as earnestly instructed to do things which she had never in -her life neglected to do. - -At first she was too young to formulate the causes of her interest and -amusement in this process. But her mind matured rapidly in association -with her grandfather, and she began at last to analyse the matter. - -"When I go to The Oaks," she wrote to her "Chummie" one day, "I feel -like a sinner going to do penance; but the penance is rather amusing -than annoying. I am made to feel how shockingly improper I have been at -Willoughby with you, Chummie, during the preceding six months, and how -necessary it is for me to submit myself for a season to a control that -shall undo the effects of the liberty in which I live at Willoughby. I -am made to understand that liberty is the very worst thing a girl or a -woman can indulge herself in. Am I very bad, Chummie?" - -For answer the old gentleman laughed aloud. Then he wrote: - -"You see how shrewdly I have managed this thing, Ladybird. I wouldn't -let you go to The Oaks till you had become too fully confirmed in your -habit of being free, ever to be reformed." - -Later, and more seriously, he said to the girl: - -"Every human being is the better for being free--women as well as men. -Liberty to a human being is like sunshine and fresh air. Restraint is -like medicine--excellent for those who are ill, but very bad indeed for -healthy people. Did it ever occur to you, Agatha, that you never took a -pill or a powder in your life? You haven't needed medicine because -you've had air and sunshine; no more do you need restraint, and for the -same reason. You are perfectly healthy in your mind as well as in your -body." - -"But, Chummie, you don't know how very ill regulated I am. Aunt Sarah -and Aunt Jane disapprove very seriously of many things that I do." - -"What things?" - -"Well, they say, for example, that it is very unladylike for me to call -you 'Chummie,'--that it indicates a want of that respect for age and -superiority which every young person--you know I am only a 'young -person' to them--should scrupulously cultivate." - -"Well, now, let me give you warning, Miss Agatha Ronald; if you ever -call me anything but 'Chummie,' I'll alter my will, and leave this -plantation to the Abolitionist Society as an experiment station." - -Nevertheless, Agatha Ronald was, as has been said at the beginning of -this chapter, a particularly well ordered young gentlewoman so long as -she remained as a guest with her aunts at The Oaks. She loved the gentle -old ladies dearly, and strove with all her might, while with them, to -comport herself in accordance with their standards of conduct on the -part of a young gentlewoman. - -Sometimes, however, her innocence misled her, as it had done on that -morning when Baillie Pegram had met her at the bridge over Dogwood -Branch. The spirit of the morning had taken possession of her on that -occasion, and she had so far reverted from her condition of -dame-nurtured grace into her habitual state of nature as to mount her -horse and ride away without the escort even of a negro groom. It was not -at all unusual at that time for young gentlewomen in Virginia to ride -thus alone, but The Oaks ladies strongly disapproved the custom, as they -disapproved all other customs that had come into being since their own -youth had passed away, especially all customs that in any way tended to -enlarge the innocent liberty of young women. On this point the good -ladies were as rigidly insistent as if they had been the ladies superior -of a convent of young nuns. They could not have held liberty for young -gentlewomen in greater dread and detestation, had they believed, as they -certainly did not, in the total depravity of womankind. - -"It is not that we fear you would do anything wrong, dear," they would -gently explain. "It is only that--well, you see a young gentlewoman -cannot be too careful." - -Agatha did not see, but she yielded to the prejudices of her aunts with -a loyalty all the more creditable to her for the reason that she did not -and could not share their views. On this occasion she had not thought of -offending. It had not occurred to her that there could be the slightest -impropriety in her desire to greet the morning on horseback, and -certainly it had not entered her mind that she might meet Baillie Pegram -and be compelled to accept a courtesy at his hands. She knew, as she -rode silently homeward after that meeting at the bridge, that in this -respect she had sinned beyond overlooking. - -For Agatha Ronald knew that she must be on none but the most distant and -formal terms with the master of Warlock. She had learned that lesson at -Christmas-time, three months before. She had spent the Christmas season -in Richmond, with some friends. There Baillie Pegram had met her for the -first time since she had attained her womanhood--for he had been away at -college, at law school, or on his travels at the time of all her more -recent sojourns at The Oaks. He had known her very slightly as a shy and -wild little girl, but the woman Agatha was a revelation to him, and -her beauty not less than her charm of manner and her unusual -intelligence, had fascinated him. He frequented the house of her -Richmond friends, and had opportunities to learn more every day of -herself. He did not pause to analyse his feeling for her; he only knew -that it was quite different from any that he had ever experienced -before. And Agatha, in her turn and in her candor, had admitted to -herself that she "liked" young Pegram better than any other young man -she had ever met. - -[Illustration: _Agatha Ronald_] - -No word of love had passed between these two, and both were unconscious -of their state of mind, when their intercourse was suddenly interrupted. -A note came to Baillie one day from Agatha, in which the frank and -fearlessly honest young woman wrote: - -"I am not to see you any more, Mr. Pegram. I am informed by my relatives -that there are circumstances for which neither of us is responsible, -which render it quite improper that you and I should be friends. I am -very sorry, but I think it my duty to tell you this myself. I thank you -for all your kindnesses to me before we knew about this thing." - -That was absolutely all there was of the note, but it was quite enough. -It had set Baillie to inquiring concerning a feud of which he vaguely -knew the existence, but to which he had never before given the least -attention. - -That is how it came about that Agatha rode sadly homeward after the -meeting at the bridge, wondering how she could have done otherwise than -accept the use of Baillie Pegram's mare, and wondering still more what -her aunts would say to her concerning the matter. - -"Anyhow," she thought at last, "I've done no intentional wrong. Chummie -would not blame me if he were here, and I am not sure that I shall -accept much blame at anybody's else hands. I'll be good and submissive -if I can, but--well, I don't know. Maybe I'll hurry back home to -Chummie." - - - - -III - -_JESSAMINE AND HONEYSUCKLE_ - - -It was a peculiarity of inherited quarrels between old Virginia families -that they must never be recognised outwardly by any act of discourtesy, -and still less by any neglect of formal attention where courtesy was -called for. Such quarrels were never mentioned between the families that -were involved in them, and equally they were never forgotten. Each -member of either family owed it to himself to treat all members of the -other family with the utmost deference, while never for a moment -permitting that deference to lapse into anything that could be construed -to mean forgiveness or forgetfulness. - -Agatha, as we have seen, had twice violated the code under which such -affairs were conducted; once in the note she had sent to Baillie Pegram -in Richmond, and for the second time in giving him permission to call at -The Oaks to inquire concerning her journey homeward on his mare. But on -both occasions she had been out of the presence and admonitory influence -of her aunts, and when absent from them, Agatha Ronald was not at all -well regulated, as we know. She was given to acting upon her own natural -and healthy-minded impulses, and such impulses were apt to be at war -with propriety as propriety was understood and insisted upon at The -Oaks. - -But Baillie Pegram was not minded to make any mistake in a matter of so -much delicacy and importance. He had received Agatha's permission to -make that formal call of inquiry, which was customary on all such -occasions, and she in her heedlessness had probably meant what she said, -as it was her habit to do. But Baillie knew very well that her good -aunts would neither expect nor wish him to call upon their niece. At the -same time he must not leave his omission to do so unexplained. He must -send a note of apology, not to Agatha,--as he would have done to any -other young woman under like circumstances,--but to her aunts instead. -In a note to them he reported his sudden summons to Richmond, adding -that as he was uncertain as to the length of his stay there, he begged -the good ladies to accept his absence from home as his sufficient excuse -for not calling to inquire concerning the behaviour of his mare during -their niece's journey upon that rather uncertain-minded animal's back. -This note he gave to Sam for delivery, when Sam brought him the horse he -had ordered but no longer wanted. - -Baillie Pegram had all the pride of his lineage and his class. He had -sought to forget all about Agatha Ronald after her astonishing little -note had come to him some months before in Richmond, and until this -morning he had believed that he had accomplished that forgetfulness. But -now the thought of her haunted him ceaselessly. All the way to Richmond -her beauty and her charm, as she had stood there by the roadside, filled -his mind with visions that tortured him. He tried with all his might to -dismiss the visions and to think of something else. He bought the daily -papers and tried to interest himself in their excited utterances, but -failed. Red-hot leaders, that were meant to stir all Virginian souls to -wrathful resolution, made no impression on his mind. He read them, and -knew not what he had read. He was thinking of the girl by the roadside, -and his soul was fascinated with the memory of her looks, her words, her -finely modulated voice, her ways, as she had tried to refuse his offer -of assistance. Had he been of vain and conceited temper, he might have -flattered himself with the thought that her very hauteur in converse -with him implied something more and better than indifference on her part -toward him. But that thought did not enter his mind. He thought instead: - -"What a sublimated idiot I am! That girl is nothing to me--worse than -nothing. Circumstances place her wholly outside my acquaintance, except -in the most formal fashion. She is a young gentlewoman of my own -class--distinctly superior to all the other young gentlewomen of that -class whom I have ever met,--and ordinarily it would be the most natural -thing in the world for me to pay my addresses to her. But in this case -that is completely out of the question. To me at least she is the -unattainable. I must school myself to think of her no more, and that -ought to be easy enough, as I am not in love with her and am not -permitted even to think of being so. It's simply a craze that has taken -possession of me for a time,--the instinct of the huntsman, to whom -quarry is desirable in the precise ratio of its elusiveness. There, I've -thought the whole thing out to an end, and now I must give my mind to -something more important." - -Yet even in the midst of the excitement that prevailed in Richmond that -day, Baillie Pegram did not quite succeed in driving out of his mind the -memory of the little tableau by the bridge, or forgetting how supremely -fascinating Agatha Ronald had seemed, as she had haughtily declined his -offer of service, and still more as she had reluctantly accepted it, and -ridden away after so cleverly evading his offer to help her mount. - -It had been his purpose to remain in Richmond for a week or more, but on -the third morning he found himself homeward bound, and filled with vain -imaginings. Just why he had started homeward before the intended time, -it would have puzzled him to say; but several times he caught himself -wondering if there would be awaiting him at Warlock an answer to his -formal note of apology for not having made a call which nobody had -expected him to make. He perfectly knew that no such answer was to be -expected, and especially that if there should be any answer at all, it -must be one of formal and repellent courtesy, containing no message from -Agatha of the kind that his troubled imagination persisted in conceiving -in spite of the scorn with which he rejected the absurd conjecture. - -Nevertheless as he neared home he found himself half-expecting to find -there an answer to his note, and he found it. It gave him no pleasure in -the reading, and in his present state of mind he could not find even a -source of amusement in the stilted formality of its rhetoric. It had -been written by one of Agatha's aunts, and signed by both of them. Thus -it ran: - - "The Misses Ronald of The Oaks feel themselves deeply indebted to - Mr. Baillie Pegram for his courtesy to their niece and guest, Miss - Agatha Ronald, on the occasion of her recent misadventure. They - have also to thank Mr. Pegram most sincerely for having taken upon - himself the disagreeable duty of giving painless death to the - unfortunate animal that their niece was riding upon that occasion. - They have to inform Mr. Pegram that as Miss Agatha Ronald is making - her preparations for an almost immediate return to her maternal - grandfather's plantation of Willoughby, in Fauquier, and as she - will probably begin her journey before Mr. Pegram's return from - Richmond, there will scarcely be opportunity for his intended call - to inquire concerning her welfare after her homeward ride upon the - mare which he so graciously placed at her disposal at a time of - sore need. They beg to report that the beautiful animal behaved - with the utmost gentleness during the journey. - - "The Oaks ladies beg to assure Mr. Pegram of their high esteem, and - to express their hope that he will permit none of the events of - this troubled time to prevent him from dining with them at The Oaks - on the third Friday of each month, as it has been his courteous - custom to do in the past. The Misses Ronald remain, - - "Most respectfully, - - "SARAH RONALD, - - "JANE RONALD." - -This missive was more than a little bewildering. Its courtesy was -extreme. Even in practically telling Baillie Pegram not to call upon -their niece, the good ladies had adroitly managed to make their message -seem rather one of regret than of prohibition. Certainly there was not a -word in the missive at which offence could be taken, and not an -expression lacking, the lack of which could imply negligence. The young -man read it over several times before he could make out its exact -significance, and even then he was not quite sure that he fully -understood. - -"It reads like a 'joint note' from the Powers to the Grand Turk," he -said to the young man--his bosom friend--whom he had found awaiting him -at Warlock on his return. This young man, Marshall Pollard, had been -Baillie Pegram's intimate at the university, and now that university -days were done, it was his habit to come and go at will at Warlock, the -plantation of which Baillie was owner and sole white occupant with the -exception of a maiden aunt who presided over his household. - -The intimacy between these two young men was always a matter of wonder -to their friends. They had few tastes in common, except that both had a -passionate love for books. Baillie Pegram was fond of fishing and -shooting and riding to hounds. He loved a horse from foretop to fetlock. -His friend cared nothing for sport of any kind, and very often he walked -over long distances rather than "jolt on horseback," as he explained. He -was thoroughly manly, but of dreamy, introspective moods and quiet -tastes. But these two agreed in their love of books, and especially of -such rare old books as abounded in the Warlock library, the accumulation -of generations of cultivated and intellectual men and women. They -agreed, too, in their fondness for each other. - -Marshall Pollard was never regarded as a guest at Warlock, or treated as -such. He came and went at will, giving no account of either his comings -or his goings. He did precisely as he pleased, and so did his host, -neither ever thinking it necessary to offer an apology for leaving the -other alone for a day or for a week, as the case might be. Pollard had -his own quarters in the rambling old house, with perfect liberty for -their best furnishing. Often the two friends became interested together -in a single subject of literary or historical study, and would pore over -piles of books in the great hallway if it rained, and out under the -spreading trees on the lawn if the weather were fair. Often, on the -other hand, their moods would take different courses, and for days -together they would scarcely see each other except at meal-times. Theirs -was a friendship that trusted itself implicitly. - -"It's an ideal friendship, this of yours and mine," said Marshall, in -his dreamy way, one day. "It never interferes with the perfect liberty -of either. What a pity it is that it must come to an end!" - -"But why should it come to an end?" asked his less introspective friend. - -"O, because one or the other of us will presently take to himself a -wife," was the answer. - -"But why should that make a difference? It will not if I am the one to -marry first. That will only make your life at Warlock the pleasanter for -you. It will give you two devoted friends instead of one." - -"It will do nothing of the kind," answered Pollard, with that confidence -of tone which suggests that a matter has been completely thought out. -"Our friendship is based upon the fact that we both care more for each -other than for anybody else. When you get married, you'll naturally and -properly care more for your wife than for me. You'd be a brute if you -didn't, and I'd quarrel with you. After your marriage we shall continue -to be friends, of course, but not in the old way. I'll come to Warlock -whenever I please, and go away whenever it suits me to go, just as I do -now. But I shall make my bow to my lady when I come, and my adieus to -her when I take my departure. I'll enjoy doing that, because I know that -your wife will be a charming person, worthy of your devotion to her. But -it will not be the same as now. And it will be best so. 'Male and female -created he them,' and it would be an abominable shame if you were to -remain single for many years to come. It is your duty, and it will -presently be your highest pleasure to make some loving and lovable woman -as happy as God intended her to be. Better than that--the love of a good -woman will make your life richer and worthier than it is now. It will -ennoble you, and fit you for the life that your good qualities destine -you to lead. You see I've been studying your case, Baillie, and I've -made up my mind that there never was a man who needed to marry more than -you do. You're a thoroughly good fellow now--but that's about all. -You'll be something mightily better than that, when you have the -inspiration of a good woman's love to spur you out of your present -egotistic self-content, and give you higher purposes in life than those -of the well-bred, respectable citizen that you are. You pay your debts; -you take excellent care of your negroes; you serve your neighbours as an -unpaid magistrate and all that, and it is all very well. But you are -capable of much higher things, and when you get yourself a wife worthy -of you, you'll rise to a new level of character and conduct." - -"And how about you?" the friend asked. - -"O, as for me, I don't count. You see, I'm that anomalous thing, a -Virginian who doesn't ride horses or care for sport. I'm abnormal. Women -like me in a way, and the more elderly ones among them do me the honour -to approve me. But that is all. Young women are apt to fall in love with -robuster young fellows." - -"But you are robust," quickly answered Baillie, "and altogether manly." - -"No, I'm not. I'm physically strong enough, of course, but strength -isn't all of robustness. I can lift as much as you can, but I don't like -to lift, and you do. I can jump as high, but I don't like to jump, while -you do. When we were canoeing in Canada a year ago, I could shoot a -rapid as well as you, but I'd very much rather have walked down the -bank, leaving the guide to navigate the canoe, while you often sent the -guide about his business and rebuked his impertinence in offering help -where you wanted to do your own helping of yourself without any -interference on his part. I remember that just as we were starting on -the long and difficult journey to the Lake of the Woods, you dismissed -the whole crew of half-breed hangers-on, and we set out alone. I would -never have done that, greatly as I detested the unclean company. I went -with you, of course, but I went relying upon you for guidance, just as I -should have gone relying upon the half-breeds if you had not been with -me. We two are differently built, I tell you. Now, even here at Warlock, -I send for Sam when I want my studs changed from one shirt to another, -while only this morning you cleaned your own boots rather than wait for -Sam after you had whistled for him thrice. I don't think I'm lazier than -you are, and I know I'm not more afraid of anything. But you rejoice in -toilsome journeys, while I prefer to take them easily, hiring other -people to do the hard work. You relish danger just as you do red pepper, -while I prefer safety and a less pungent seasoning. Now, young women of -our kind and class prefer your kind of man to my kind, and so you are -likely to marry, while I am not. Another thing. I saw you throw aside a -copy of Shakespeare the other day without even marking your place in the -volume, because a company of gentlewomen had driven up to visit your -aunt, and you completely forgot your Shakespeare in thinking of the -gentlewomen. Now I, in a like case, should have edged a little farther -around the tree, read on to the end of the scene, marked my place, and -only then have discovered that the gentlewomen had driven up. Women like -your ways better than mine, and they are entirely right." - -In all this, Marshall Pollard exaggerated somewhat, in playful fashion, -and to his own discrediting. But in the main his analysis of the -difference between himself and his friend was quite correct. - -It was to this friend that Baillie Pegram spoke of the note he had -received from The Oaks ladies, saying that it read "like a joint note -from the Powers to the Grand Turk." - -"Tell me about it," answered Marshall. - -"O, read it for yourself," Baillie replied, handing him the sheet. "The -stilted ceremoniousness of it," he presently added, "is easy enough to -understand, but I can't, for the life of me, see why the good ladies of -The Oaks felt it incumbent upon themselves to write to me at all. They -are always scrupulously attentive to forms and conventionalities when -discharging any obligation of courtesy, and in this case they have had -the rather embarrassing duty imposed upon them of telling me not to call -upon their niece, who is also their guest. That sufficiently accounts -for the stiff formality of their rhetoric, and their scrupulous -attention to the niceties of courtesy in the embarrassing case, but--" - -"Remember, also," broke in Marshall Pollard, "that they are 'maiden -ladies,' while you, my dear, unsuspicious boy, are a particularly -marriageable young man." - -"Don't talk nonsense, Marshall; this is a serious matter," answered -Baillie. - -"It isn't nonsense at all that I'm talking," said his friend. "I'm -speaking only words of 'truth and soberness.' The Misses Sarah and Jane -Ronald, as I understand the matter, are highly bred and blue-bloodedly -descended Virginia gentlewomen, who happen to be as yet unmarried. Very -naturally and properly they adopt a guarded manner in addressing a -missive to a peculiarly marriageable young gentleman like you, lest -their intentions be misinterpreted." - -"Why, they are old enough," Baillie replied, "to be my grandmothers!" - -"True," answered the other, "but you wouldn't venture to suggest that -fact to the mind of either of them, would you, Baillie?" - -"Certainly not, but--" - -"Certainly not. And certainly they in their turn do not give special -weight to that fact. When will you learn to understand women a little -bit, Baillie? Don't you know that no woman ever thinks of herself as -too old or too ugly or too unattractive to fascinate a young man? -Especially no well-bred spinster, accustomed to be courted in her youth, -and treated with deference in her middle age, ever realises that she is -so old as to be privileged to lay aside those reserves with which she -was trained in youth to guard her maidenly modesty against the ugly -imputation of a desire to 'throw herself at the head' of a young -gentleman possessed of good manners, good looks, an old family name, and -a plantation of five or six thousand acres? Now, don't let your vanity -run away with you, my boy. I do not mean for one moment to suggest that -either of The Oaks ladies would think of accepting an offer of marriage -from you or anybody else. I am too gallant to imagine that they have not -had abundant opportunities of marriage in their day. At the same time, -propriety is propriety, you know, and the conduct of an 'unattached -female' cannot be too carefully guarded against the possibility of -misinterpretation." - -Baillie laughed, and presently fell into silence for a space. Finally -his companion lazily said: - -"It is time for you to be off, if you are going." - -"Going where?" - -"Why, to dine at The Oaks, of course. You are invited for the third -Friday of each month, if I understand the matter correctly, and this is -the third Friday of April, I believe." - -"Why, so it is. I hadn't thought of the date. By Jove, I'll go! There's -just a chance that she hasn't started yet." - -"It's awkward, of course," said Pollard, in his meditative, -philosophical way, "especially with this war coming on. But these things -never will adjust themselves to circumstances in a spirit of rationality -and accommodation." - -"What on earth do you mean, Marshall? I don't understand." - -"Of course not. The bird caught in the net of the fowler does not -usually see just what is the matter with him." - -"But Marshall--" - -"O, I'll explain as well as I can. I mean only that you are in love with -Agatha Ronald. Of course you're totally unconscious of your state of -mind, but you'll find it out after awhile. It is an utterly irrational -state of mind for you to be in, but the malady often takes that form, I -believe, and I've done you a service in telling you about it, for as a -rule a man never finds out what's the matter with him in such a case -until some friend tells him. He just goes on making a fool of himself -until somebody else jogs his elbow with information which he alone has -need of. Now suppose you tell me all about this case. What is it that -stands between you and the young lady?" - -Again Baillie laughed. But this time the laugh was accompanied by a -tell-tale flushing of the face. - -"The whole thing is ridiculous," he presently said. "It couldn't have -happened anywhere but in this dear old Virginia of ours. I'll tell you -all I know about it. My grandfather whom I never saw in my life, and -Miss Agatha Ronald's father, who died before she was born, were friends, -like you and me. They owned adjoining plantations,--Warlock and The -Oaks, both held by original grants to their great-grandfathers, made in -the early colonial times. But the county clerk's office burned up, a -generation or two ago, and with it all the records that could show where -the boundaries between these two plantations lay. In trying to -determine those boundaries one unlucky day, when both had probably taken -too much or too little Madeira for dinner, the two irascible old -gentlemen fell into a dispute as to where the boundary line should run -through a wretched little scrap of ground down there on Nib's Creek, -which never had been cultivated, never has been, and never will be. The -thing was not worth a moment's thought in itself, but the gout got into -it, or in some other way the two absurd old gentlemen's dignity got -itself involved, and so they quarrelled. If there had been time, they -would have laughed the thing off presently over a mint-julep. But -unhappily one of them died, and that made a permanent family quarrel of -the dispute. All the women-kind took it up as an inherited feud, which -made it impossible that any Pegram should have aught to do with any -Ronald, or any Ronald with any Pegram. So much, it was held, was due to -the tender memory of the dead. But, after our Virginian tradition, the -individual members of both families have been held bound to treat each -other with the extreme of formal but quite unfriendly courtesy. That is -why I have been required, from my fifteenth birthday onward, to dine at -The Oaks on the third Friday of every month when I happened to be in the -county on that day. I had only the vaguest notion of the situation until -last Christmas, when circumstances brought it to my attention. Then I -made my good Aunt Catherine tell me all about it. When I learned what -the matter in dispute was, I sent for the family lawyer, and ordered him -to make out a deed to The Oaks ladies, conveying all my right, title, -and interest in the disputed piece of land to them 'for and in -consideration of the sum of one dollar in hand paid, receipt whereof is -hereby acknowledged.' I sent the deed to The Oaks ladies, with a perhaps -too effusive note, asking them to accept it as an evidence of my desire -to make an end of a quarrel which had long alienated those who should -have remained friends." - -"What an idiot you made of yourself by doing that!" broke in young -Pollard. - -"Of course, and I soon found it out. The Oaks ladies wrote that they had -never, by any act or word, recognised the existence of a quarrel; that -if such quarrel existed, it lay between the dead, who had not -authorised them or me to adjust it; and that they, holding only a life -interest in The Oaks, by virtue of their 'poor brother's' kindly will, -were not authorised either to alienate any part of the fee, or to add to -it, by deed of gift or otherwise; that their 'poor brother' had never -been accustomed to accept gifts of land or of anything else from others, -and finally that they were sure his spirit would not sanction the -purchase, for the miserable consideration of one dollar, of a piece of -land which, till the time of his death, he had believed to be absolutely -his own. There was no use arguing such a case or explaining it. So I -have let it rest, and have gone once a month to dine with The Oaks -ladies, as a matter of duty. It's all absurd, but--" - -"But it interferes with your interest in Miss Agatha," broke in the -friend. "Take my advice, and don't let it. Off with you to The Oaks, and -ten to one you'll find the young lady still there. The date of her -departure was not fixed when this diplomatic note was despatched, and as -you were not expected to receive the communication for a week to come, -she is probably still there. If so, by the way, please don't mention my -presence at Warlock. You see--well, I have met the young lady at her -grandfather's, and properly I ought to pay my respects to her, now that -she's a guest on a plantation adjoining that on which I am staying. But -I don't want to. Your saddle-horses jolt so confoundedly, and besides, -I've discovered up-stairs a copy of old T. Gordon's seventeenth century -translation of Tacitus, with his essays on that author, and his -bitter-tongued comments on all preceding translations of his favourite -classic. I want an afternoon with the old boy." - -"You certainly are a queer fellow, Marshall," said Baillie. - -"How so? Because I like old books? Or is it because I don't like the -jolting of your horses?" - -"Why haven't you told me that you knew Miss Agatha Ronald?" - -"I have told you--within the last minute." - -"But why didn't you tell me before?" - -"O, well,--perhaps I didn't think of it. Never mind that. It is time for -you to be off, unless you want the soup and your welcome to grow cold -while waiting for you." - -When Baillie had ridden away, Marshall Pollard sat idly for a time in -the porch. Then tossing aside the book he had been holding in his hand -but not reading, he rose and went to his room. There he searched among -his belongings for a little Elzevir volume, and took from between its -leaves a sprig of dried yellow jessamine. - -"It is a poisonous flower," he said, as he tossed it out of the window. -"She warned me of that when I took it from her hand. She was altogether -right." - -Apparently pursuing a new-born purpose, the young man returned to the -porch, broke off a sprig of honeysuckle leaves--for the vine was not yet -in flower--and carefully placed it between the pages of the Elzevir. - -"The honeysuckle," he said to himself, "is unlike the yellow jessamine. -It is sweet and wholesome. So is the friendship of the man from whose -vine I have plucked it." - - - - -IV - -_IN REVOLT_ - - -When Agatha reached The Oaks, mounted upon Baillie Pegram's mare, her -reception at the hands of her aunts was one of almost stunned -astonishment. The two good ladies had learned an hour before her coming -that she had ridden away alone that morning while yet they had slept, -and they had carefully prepared a lecture upon that exceeding -impropriety, for delivery on the young woman's return. - -But when they saw her dismount from Baillie Pegram's mare, they were -well-nigh speechless with horror at her depravity. The deliverance that -had been so carefully prepared for her chastening no longer met the -requirements of the case. A new and far severer rebuke must be -extemporised, and the necessity of that was an additional offence on the -part of the young woman who had forced it upon them. They were not -accustomed to speak extemporaneously on any subject of importance. To do -so involved the danger of saying too much, or saying it less effectively -than they wished, or--worse still--leaving unsaid things that they very -much wished to say. In response to their horrified questionings, Agatha -made the simplest and most direct statement possible. - -"The morning was fine, and I wanted to ride. I rode as far as Dogwood -Branch. There my poor horse--the one that my grandfather sent down for -me to ride while here--met with a mishap. His foot went through a hole -in the bridge, and in his struggle to extricate it, he broke his leg. -Mr. Pegram came along and released the poor beastie's foot, but it was -too late. So he insisted upon my taking his mare, and showed me that I -couldn't refuse. He sent his servant to ride on a mule behind me in case -I should have trouble with his only partially broken mare. He promised -to put my poor horse out of his misery. There. That's all there is to -tell." - -The little speech was made in a tone and with a manner that suggested -difficult self-restraint. When it was ended the two good aunts sat for -a full minute looking at the girl with eyes that were eloquent of -reproach--a reproach that for the moment could find no fit words for its -expression. At last the torrent came--not with a rushing violence of -speech, but with a steady, overwhelming flow. The girl stood still, -seemingly impassive. - -"Will you not be seated?" presently asked Aunt Sarah. - -"If you don't mind, I prefer to stand," she answered, in the gentlest, -most submissive tone imaginable, for Agatha--angry and outraged--was -determined to maintain her self-control to the end. Her gentle -submissiveness of seeming deceived her censors to their undoing. -Satisfied that they might rebuke her to their hearts' content, they -proceeded, adding one word of bitter reproach and condemnation to -another, and waxing steadily stronger in their righteous wrath. Still -the girl stood like a soldier under a fire which he is forbidden to -return. Still she controlled her countenance and restrained herself from -speech. Only a slight flushing of the face, and now and then a tremor -of the lip, gave indication of emotion of any kind. - -Not until the storm had completely expended its wrath upon her head did -Agatha Ronald open her lips. Then she spoke as Agatha Ronald: - -"Will you please order my carriage to be ready for me on Saturday -morning, Aunt Sarah? My maid is too ill to travel to-morrow or the next -day. But by Saturday morning she will be well enough, and I shall begin -my journey to Willoughby at nine o'clock, if you will kindly order a cup -of coffee served half an hour before the usual breakfast-time on -Saturday." - -She departed instantly from the room, giving no time or opportunity for -reply or remonstrance. - -"Perhaps we have spoken too severely, Jane," said Aunt Sarah. - -Perhaps they had. At any rate, it had been Agatha's purpose to remain a -full month longer at The Oaks before beginning the long homeward -carriage journey which alone Colonel Archer permitted to his grandchild. -Railroads were new in those days, and Colonel Archer had not reconciled -himself to them. - -"They are convenient for carrying freight," he said, "but a young lady -isn't freight. She should travel in her own carriage." - -Later in the day Agatha reappeared, as gentle and smiling as usual, and -as attentive as ever to the comfort of her aunts. Her manner was perfect -in its docility, for she had decided that so long as she should remain -under their roof, it was her duty to herself, and incidentally to her -aunts, to minister in every way she could to their pleasure, and to obey -their slightest indicated wishes implicitly. They were misled somewhat -by her manner, which they construed to be an indication of submission. - -"You will surely not think of leaving us on Saturday, dear, now that you -have thought the matter over calmly," said Aunt Sarah; "and perhaps we -spoke too severely this morning. But you will overlook that, I am sure, -in view of the concern we naturally feel for your bringing up." - -A bitter and convincing speech was on the girl's lips ready for -delivery,--a speech in which she should declare her independence, and -assert her right as a woman fully grown to determine her conduct for -herself within the limits of perfect innocence,--but she drove it back -into her heart, and restrained her utterance to the single sentence: - -"I shall begin my journey on Saturday morning." - -Agatha Ronald was in revolt against an authority which she deemed -oppressive, and such revolt was natural enough on the part of a daughter -of Virginia whose ancestry included three signers of the Declaration of -Independence, and at least half a dozen fighting soldiers of the -Revolution. It was in her blood to resent and resist injustice and to -defy the authority that decreed injustice. But after the fashion of -those revolutionary ancestors of hers, she would do everything with due -attention to "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind." She had -decided to quit The Oaks because she could not and would not longer -submit to a discipline which she felt to be arbitrary, unreasonable, and -unjust. But she was determined to be as gentle and as gentlewomanly as -possible in the manner of her leaving. It was her fixed purpose never -again to visit that plantation--her birthplace--until she should be -summoned thither to take possession as its sole inheritor, but she let -slip no hint of this determination to distress her aunts, who, after -all, meant only kindness to her by their severity. - -"I'll say nothing about it," she resolved. "I'll just go back to -Chummie. He understands me, and I'll never leave him again." - - - - -V - -_AT THE OAKS_ - - -When Baillie Pegram rode into The Oaks grounds on that third Friday of -April, 1861, the first person he encountered was none other than Agatha. -She was gowned all in white, except that she had tied a cherry-coloured -ribbon about her neck. She was wholly unbonneted, and was armed with a -little gardening implement--hoe on one side and miniature rake on the -other. She was busy over a flower-bed, and the young man, rounding a -curve in the shrubbery, came upon her, to the complete surprise of both. - -The situation might have been embarrassing but for the ease and perfect -self-possession with which the girl accepted it. She greeted her -visitor, to his astonishment, without any of the hauteur that had marked -her demeanour on the occasion of their last previous meeting. Here at -The Oaks she felt herself under the entirely adequate protection of her -aunts. She had therefore no occasion to stand upon the defensive. Out -there at the bridge she had been herself solely responsible for her -conduct, and dependent upon herself for the maintenance of her dignity. -Here Mr. Baillie Pegram was the guest of her people, while out there he -had been a person casually and unwillingly encountered, and not on any -account to be permitted any liberty of intercourse. Besides all these -conclusive differences of circumstance, there was the additional fact -that Agatha was in revolt against authority, and very strongly disposed -to maintain her perfect freedom of innocent action. So she gave her -visitor a garden-gloved hand as he dismounted, and slowly walked with -him toward the house. - -"I attended an opera once," she chattered, "when I was a very little -girl. I remember that I thought the basso a porpoise, and the tenor a -conceited popinjay, and the prima donna a fat woman, but I fell -completely in love with the haymakers in the chorus. So whenever I go -gardening I find myself instinctively trying to make myself look as like -them as I can. That, I suppose, is why I tied a red ribbon about my -neck this morning." - -Here Baillie Pegram missed an opportunity to make a particularly gallant -and flattering speech. To any other woman, under like circumstances, he -would have said something of her success in making a charmingly -attractive picture of herself. But there was much of reverence in his -admiration for Agatha, and he felt that a merely complimentary speech -addressed to her would be a frivolous impertinence. So instead he asked: - -"Do you often go out gardening?" - -"O, yes, always when the weather permits, and sometimes when it forbids. -At Willoughby I've often gone out in a waterproof to train my flowers -and vines. I'm just going away from The Oaks, and I've been digging up a -hideously formal bed which the gardener's soul delights in, and sowing -mixed portulaca instead of the priggish plants. Portulaca smiles at you, -you know, when you get up soon enough in the morning to see it in its -glory. But I'll never see the smiles in this case." - -"But why not?" - -"Why, I'm leaving The Oaks on Saturday, you know,--or rather you do not -know,--and I'm not coming back for a long, long time." - -"May I again presume to ask why not?" - -"O, well, I must go to my grandfather. If I don't he'll enlist or join a -company, or get a commission, or whatever else it is that a man does -when he makes a soldier out of himself. You see I'm the only person who -can manage my grandfather." - -"But surely, at his age--" - -"O, yes, I know. He's over eighty now, but you don't know him very well, -or you'd understand. He was a soldier under Jackson at New Orleans, and -a colonel in the Mexican War, and he'll go into this war, too, if I -don't go home and tell him he mustn't. I'm going to-morrow morning." - -Manifestly the girl wanted to chatter. Women often do that when they are -anxious to avoid serious conversation. If men never do it, it is only -because they lack the intellectual alertness necessary. They hem and -haw, and make stupid remarks about the weather instead, and succeed only -in emphasising the embarrassment which a woman would completely bury -under charming chatter. - -"You haven't seen my aunts yet, I suppose?" Miss Agatha presently asked. - -"No. I'm just arriving at The Oaks. I dine here, you know, on the third -Friday of every month." - -"Yes--so I've heard. I don't think the aunties expected you to-day. -They'll be glad to see you, of course, but I think they thought you were -still in Richmond." - -Baillie wondered if this was a covert rebuke to him for having ventured -upon the premises while Agatha was still there. The girl was not -altogether an easy person to understand. In any case her remark revealed -the fact that the question of his coming had been discussed in the house -and decided in the negative. It was with some embarrassment, therefore, -that he presented himself to those formidable personages, The Oaks -ladies, and tried to treat his own coming quite as a matter of course. -But if his presence was in any wise unwelcome to them, there was nothing -in their demeanour to suggest the fact. They expressed no surprise -whatever, and only a placid, well-bred self-congratulation that absence -had not deprived them of the pleasure of his company at dinner, as they -had feared that it might. Then one of them added: - -"It is unfortunate that Agatha is to dine at The Forest to-day, with our -cousins, the Misses Blair. By the way," tinkling a bell, "it is time to -order the carriage, and for you to change your gown, Agatha, dear." - -Baillie Pegram happened to catch sight of the young girl's face as these -words were spoken, and he read there enough of surprise to convince him -that if it had been previously arranged for her to drive to The Forest -for dinner, she at least had heard nothing of the matter until now. But -whether the surprise reflected in her face was one of pleasure or the -reverse, she gave him no chance to guess. She merely glanced at the tall -and slowly ticking clock, and said: - -"I'll go at once, auntie. I did not know it was so late. Excuse the -abruptness of my leave-taking, Mr. Pegram, and let me say good-bye, for -I leave for Willoughby to-morrow morning." - -It was all an admirable bit of acting--the more admirable, Baillie -thought, for the reason that the scene had been suddenly extemporised -and not rehearsed--for he was satisfied that Agatha at least had been -completely surprised by the announcement that she was to dine at The -Forest that day. - -Unfortunately the acting was destined to be wasted, for almost -immediately after Agatha's departure for her chamber, a carriage drove -up, and Baillie gallantly assisted Miss Blair herself to alight from it. -She greeted her cousins of The Oaks effusively in the ceaseless speech -with which it was her practice to meet and greet her friends. - -"Isn't it good of me, Cousin Sarah and Cousin Jane? I had a positive -headache to-day, but I was determined to drive over and dine with you, -so as to bid Agatha good-bye. Where is the dear child? You see we heard -only this morning that she had changed her plans and was going to leave -us to-morrow. So I just had to come and dine"--and so forth, through a -speech that fortunately gave The Oaks ladies time a-plenty in which to -collect their wits and avoid all appearance of discomfiture. - -"You are always so good and thoughtful," said Miss Sarah, as soon as -Miss Blair left a little hole in her conversation. "We knew you'd want -to see Agatha before she left, and we were just planning to send her to -you for dinner. In fact she's gone up to dress. But this is so much -better, particularly as we have Mr. Baillie Pegram with us, too. This is -his regular day, you know, and he is always so mindful of his -engagements. We had feared we should miss seeing him to-day, as he was -away in Richmond; but he got home in time, and he never fails us when -within reach. He has an admirable habit of punctuality which the other -young men of our rather lax time might emulate with advantage." - -Here was Baillie Pegram's opportunity, but he missed it. If he had -possessed one-half or one-tenth the tact that Agatha had shown fifteen -minutes before, he would have protested that, much to his regret, he -could not remain to dinner that day, as he had a guest of his own at -Warlock, and had ridden over only to make his apologies and express his -regret. But Baillie Pegram, not being a woman, did not think of the -right thing to say until it was one full minute too late, wherefore, of -course, it would not do for him to say it at all. - -What a pity it is that men can't be women--sometimes! Just for lack of -that tact which is instinctive in a woman, the master of Warlock was -doomed to dine that day under a sense of intrusion on his part, which -certainly did not contribute to his enjoyment of the dinner or the -company. But he had only himself to blame, and, like the resolute fellow -that he was, he determined to bear the consequences of his blundering -stupidity with the best grace he could. He professed the keenest delight -in the unexpected pleasure of having Miss Blair for his fellow guest, -adding, with an obeisance to The Oaks ladies, "Though of course one -needs no other company than that of our hostesses themselves, to make -the day of a dinner at The Oaks altogether delightful." - -Obviously the young man was improving in tactfulness under the stimulus -of circumstances. - -When dinner was served half an hour later, he gave his arm to Miss -Sarah, and entered the stately but gloomy old dining-room, with its -high-backed, carved mahogany chairs, its stained-glass cathedral -windows, and its general atmosphere of solemnity and depression, with -such grace as a resolute spirit could command. He managed to taste the -dishes as they were served, and to carve without a mishap of any kind, -but in the matter of conversation he was certainly not brilliant, though -he had the approaching war for his theme. - -After the old English custom which survived in Virginia, the wine--a -rich old Madeira--was not served until the dessert was removed. Then it -came on with the cigars. The ladies sipped a single glass each, and -rose, whereupon the young man gallantly held open the great door, bowing -as the womankind took their departure. - -When they had gone, there being no gentleman present except himself, -young Pegram was left alone with the wine, the cigars, a single wax -candle for cigar-lighting purposes,--and Henry. Henry was the perfectly -trained butler of the establishment, a butler taught from childhood, by -his late master, to comport himself always with the dignity of a -diplomat who has dined. He stood bolt upright behind the young man's -chair, eager to anticipate every want, and anticipating them all without -a false movement or any suggestion of hurry. Henry had presided as -butler in his late master's establishment when that master kept "open -house" as a distinguished senator in Washington, and it was the -serving-man's boast that he "knew what a gentleman wants and when he -wants it." - -But Henry's very propriety became irksome to Baillie Pegram presently. -It reminded him of his own lack of any ease except a forcibly assumed -one. "Henry feels himself in his proper place," the young man reflected. -"I do not." - -It was not the young man's habit to take more than a glass or two of -wine after dinner, and on this occasion he had no relish even for that -small allowance. Yet he sat with it for a sufficient time to show proper -respect for the hospitality of the house. He held his glass up between -him and the stained-glass windows, and went through all the motions of -watching the play of colours through the amber liquid, quite as if his -relish for it had been that of a confirmed _bon vivant_. Finally he -lighted a fresh cigar, and said to Henry: "It is quite warm. I think -I'll finish my cigar out among the shrubbery. Please say to the ladies -that I'll join them within half an hour." - -He was not destined, however, to fulfil this promise. For, as he passed -out into the shrubbery, he encountered Miss Agatha by an accident which -that young lady had in all probability arranged with the utmost care, as -women do sometimes. She very much wanted speech with Baillie. - -"I want to thank you, Mr. Pegram," she said, eagerly, "for not making a -scene. It was very hard on you--the situation, I mean--and you have -spared me at every point. Perhaps you had better take your leave now as -quickly as you can." - -But the young man's courage had completely come back to him, with -something of the dare-devil spirit added to it: as the soldier beset, -sometimes comes to relish danger for its own sake, and deliberately -invites more of it, so Baillie Pegram, knowing perfectly that he had -completely outraged the proprieties, as The Oaks ladies interpreted -them, was minded to outrage them still further. Having braved the -situation to this point, he was determined to brave it out to the -end--whatever the end might be. So to the girl's suggestion, he -answered: - -"But the day is not over yet, and the piazzas of The Oaks fortunately -include one with a western aspect. Let us sit there and enjoy the -sunset. We'll join the ladies later." - -The girl consented, willingly enough. She was already in revolt, for one -thing, and she knew that her aunts would not venture again to censure -her severely, after what had happened. - -"But you must not misunderstand me, Mr. Pegram," she said, as the two -seated themselves in the great oaken chairs fabricated on the plantation -during colonial times. "I have declared my independence so far as to -insist upon my right to treat you with courtesy upon occasion. But you -must not suppose that I have forgotten the gulf that lies between us, -and especially you must not interpret my attitude to mean that I am -disloyal to the memory of my poor father." - -"I quite understand," he answered, meditatively and sadly. "You and I -are privileged, by your good pleasure, to treat each other with formal -courtesy, but I must not in any way presume upon that privilege beyond -its intention." - -The girl sat silent, looking wistfully out into the glow that had -followed the sunset. Finally she said: - -"I suppose that is it. It is a hard situation to deal with--for me." - -"And for me," the youth replied. - -"Yes, for you, too, I suppose. But neither of us is responsible. We must -recognise conditions and do the best we can." - -"I quite understand. You give me leave hereafter to behave like a -gentleman toward you, whenever circumstances shall happen to force any -sort of intercourse upon us; but beyond that you remind me that there is -war between your house and mine, and between me and thee. It is not a -treaty of peace that you offer, or even a protocol looking to peace; it -is only an amenity of war, like a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, -or a temporary truce, for the burial of the dead who have fallen between -the lines." - -This statement of the case did not at all satisfy the bewildered girl's -mind, but there was no opportunity to correct it, for at that moment a -maid came with a formally polite message to the effect that if Mr. -Pegram and Miss Ronald had _quite_ finished their conversation in the -porch, the Misses Ronald and Miss Blair were waiting to receive them in -the library. - -"After all," Agatha thought, afterward, "I do not know that I could have -bettered his definition of the situation. But it isn't one that I like." - -All skies seemed serene as the two miscreants entered the library, -Baillie making all that was necessary of apology by saying: - -"Pardon us, good ladies, I pray you. We have lingered too long in the -porch, but you will graciously attribute our fault to the unusual beauty -of the sunset. Sunsets mean so much, you know. They suggest the end of -pleasant things and the coming of a darkness to which we do not know the -dawn. I cannot help thinking that the sunset that Miss Ronald and I have -been witnessing is typical. Our beautiful Virginia life is at its -sunset. A night-time of war and suffering is approaching, and we cannot -know of the day that must follow." - -At this point Miss Blair relieved the situation by giving the -conversation a thoroughly practical and commonplace turn. - -"Why, Mr. Pegram," she exclaimed, "you surely do not doubt the outcome -of the war? You confidently expect the triumph of our righteous cause?" - -"Well, I hope for it. But the size and the number of the guns will have -something to do with the result, and our enemies can put four or five -men and four or five guns to our one in the field. It is a dark night -that must follow our sunset. We can only do our best, and leave the -result to God. Ladies, I bid you good night, and good-bye; for I fear I -shall see none of you again soon. I shall be off soldiering almost at -once." - - - - -VI - -_NEXT MORNING_ - - -If Baillie Pegram imagined that by his parting words he had silenced the -batteries of The Oaks ladies, he totally misjudged his enemy. For in -spite of his intimation of intent not to dine at The Oaks again, there -came to him at breakfast the next morning a little note in which the -good ladies calmly reasserted their privilege of deciding such matters -for themselves quite irrespective of the wishes or purposes of young -persons of whatever sex or degree. - - "The Misses Ronald present their respectful compliments to Mr. - Baillie Pegram," the note ran, "and beg to say that in view of the - terribly disturbed condition of the times, it is their purpose - presently to close The Oaks for a season, so far at least as the - entertainment of guests is concerned. They may perhaps go upon a - journey. As to that, their plans are as yet unformed, but at any - rate it is their purpose not to entertain again for the present, - except by special invitation to their nearest intimates. They feel - it incumbent upon them to give timely notice of this alteration in - the customs of their house to those valued friends who, like Mr. - Pegram, have been accustomed to dine at The Oaks at stated - intervals. - - "With sincere good wishes for Mr. Pegram's safety and good fortune - in that soldierly career to which he feels himself summoned by the - circumstances of the time, and in full confidence that he is - destined to win for himself the laurels that befit one of his - distinguished ancestry, The Oaks ladies remain, - - "Most respectfully, - - "SARAH RONALD, - "JANE RONALD." - -Having read the joint note, Baillie passed it to his friend at the other -end of the breakfast-table, saying: "Read that, old fellow, and see what -has come of following your madcap advice." - -Pollard carefully read the letter through, and then asked: - -"Well, what of it?" - -"Why, don't you see, by going to The Oaks yesterday as you advised, I've -managed to get myself forbidden the house." - -"Well, what of that? I don't understand that you have any passionate -desire to dine with the estimable old ladies every month, and I think -you told me last night, when I was trying to get a nap, that Miss Agatha -is leaving this morning." - -"Yes, of course. But can't you understand that it's a disagreeable and -humiliating thing thus to be forbidden the house, just as if I were -guilty of some misconduct--" - -"O, yes, I understand perfectly. It is exceedingly inconvenient to find -yourself at odds with the elderly female relatives of a young -gentlewoman to whom you would very much like to pay your addresses. But -in this case, I do not see that it complicates matters very much, as you -told me yourself yesterday that the case is hopeless--that there is -already an impassable barrier between yourself and Miss Agatha Ronald, -so what difference does it make? When you've a ten-rail staked and -ridered fence in front of you, a rail more or less doesn't signify much. -I'll tell you, Baillie, you must do as I've done. In view of the -chances of war, which are apt to worry one who thinks much about them, I -have decided to accept and believe the fatalistic philosophy, which -teaches that what is to be will be, even if it never happens." - -Pegram sat silent for a while before answering. Then he said: - -"Be serious for a little if you can, Pollard, I want to talk with you. -You were right after all in what you said to me yesterday, though at the -time I regarded it as unutterable nonsense. It seems absurd, under the -circumstances, but the fact is that--well, that Agatha Ronald has -somehow come to mean more to me than any other woman ever did or ever -will. Perhaps I shouldn't have found out the fact for a long time to -come, if it hadn't been for what you said to me yesterday. But I've -found it out now, and I know all that it means to me. It means that I've -made a fool of myself, and I must set to work to repair the mistake. -Fortunately, the way is open, and that is what I want to say to you. I'm -going to leave you to-day. I'm going to Richmond to volunteer in one of -the batteries there that are already organised, armed, and equipped, -and nearly ready for the field. They'll be the first sent to the front, -and I intend to put myself at the front just as speedily as I can." - -"But why not do better than that for yourself?" asked Pollard. - -"What better is there that I can do?" - -"Why not raise a battery of your own, and command it? You know Governor -Letcher, and you have influence in plenty. You can have a captain's -commission for the asking." - -"I suppose I might. But I am strongly impressed with the fact that there -are altogether too many men in like predicament--too many men whose -position and influence entitle them to expect commissions while, like -me, they know nothing whatever of the military art. We need some -privates in this war, and fortunately a good many of us are willing to -serve as such. I am, for one. The number of gentlemen in Virginia whose -position is as good as my own is quite great enough to officer any army -in Europe, and our ignorance of military affairs is great enough to -wreck the best army that was ever organised. I'll not add mine to the -list. I'll go in as a private soldier. If I am ever fit to command, it -will be time enough then for me to ask for a commission. I'm going to -volunteer in the ranks." - -"So am I," answered Pollard. - -"What? You? When?" - -"Yes. Me. Yesterday." - -"Well, go on. Don't be provoking. Tell me all about it. When did you do -it, and how, and why? For a generally agreeable young man, I must say, -Marshall, you can make of yourself about as disagreeable a person as I -ever encountered. Come! Tell me!" - -Pollard smiled and meditated, as if planning the order of his utterance. -At last he said: - -"There isn't much to tell, and I don't know just where to begin. But -after--well, after you rode away to The Oaks yesterday, I got to -thinking and wondering what I should do with myself now that your -companionship was lost to me. There is nobody about for me to fall in -love with, and after all, there is a limit to the entertainment to be -got out of old T. Gordon and his Tacitus. You see, girls never behave -properly toward me. There isn't one of them in ten counties who would -ever think of breaking her horse's leg in a bridge just in time to let -me come to her rescue. Besides, I should probably be on foot, with no -mare to lend the distressed damsel, and, altogether, you see--" - -"Will you stop your nonsense, or will you not?" asked Baillie, with -impatience. "Tell me what you did." - -"Well, I got Sam to bring me the least objectionable of your abominably -jolting saddle-horses--the bay with three white feet and a blaze on the -face--and I managed to keep a little breath in my body while riding over -to the Court-house. It was my purpose to go to Richmond, and I asked the -old ticket agent to send me, but he obstinately refused. He said there -were only two trains a day, one at noon and one at midnight. I -remonstrated with him, but it was of no use. I explained to him that the -_raison d'être_ of a railroad--I translated the French to him--was to -carry people to whatever place they wished to go to, and at such hours -as might suit their convenience. I told him it was an abominable outrage -that with a railroad lying there unused, he would not send a gentleman -to Richmond without making him wait for eight or ten hours for the -convenience of people whom he knew nothing about. He looked at me rather -curiously when I urged that consideration upon him. I think it rather -staggered him, but he persisted in his obstinate refusal to send me to -Richmond without further delay. He even suggested that I might go -somewhere else, but I interpreted that as meaningless profanity, and -gently explained to him that I did not wish to go to the place he had -mentioned. Then he told me he had no train, and I asked him why he -suffered himself to have no train, when a gentleman wanted one and was -willing to pay for it." - -"_Will_ you stop your nonsense, and tell me what happened?" interrupted -Baillie. - -Pollard smiled, and continued: - -"Now, that question of yours reassures me as to the sanity of the -station agent. It is closely similar to the question he asked, only, by -reason of his lack of cultivation, he interrupted the even and orderly -flow of his English with many objurgative and even violent terms, such -as we do not employ in ordinary converse, but such as stablemen and -innkeepers seem to like to use. - -"Despairing of my efforts to secure reasonable public service at the -hands of the railroad, I looked about me, and presently encountered -Captain Skinner. You know him, of course--lives at the Kennels, or some -such place--keeps a lot of dogs, and drinks a good deal more whiskey -than would be good for most men. But he is a West Pointer, you know, and -served for a considerable time in the Indian wars. He was at -Chapultepec, too, I think. At any rate, he mentioned the fact in -connection with his missing arm. He told me he was going to raise a -battery in the purlieus of Richmond. He said he didn't want a company of -young bloods, but one of soldiers. He proposes to enlist wharf-rats down -at Rockett's, and ruffians, and especially jailbirds. 'There are more -than a hundred as good men as ever smelt gunpowder or stopped a bullet -in its career,' he said, 'now languishing in the Richmond jails and the -Virginia State Penitentiary. Governor Letcher promises me that he will -pardon all of them who choose to enlist with me, and I'm going to look -them over. Those that are fit to make soldiers of, I'll enlist, and -after a week or two of drilling I'll have a battery ready for the -field.' - -"His idea pleased me, so I told him to put me down as the first man on -his list. He objected at first. You see, I've had no experience as a -ruffian, and I never served a term in jail in my life, but I convinced -him that I would make a good cannonier, and he enrolled me. I am to -report to him at Rockett's by the day after to-morrow." - -To Baillie's remonstrances and pleadings that his friend should choose a -company of gentlemen in which to serve, Marshall turned a deaf ear. - -"When I become a soldier," he said, "and put myself under another man's -command, I want that other man to be one who knows something about the -business. Captain Skinner knows what to do with a gun and a gunner, and -I've a pretty well-defined notion that most of our coming captains have -all that yet to learn, and besides--well, I've given you reasons -enough." - -"Besides what, Marshall? What were you going to say?" - -"O, nothing that you would understand or sympathise with. It's only that -somehow I don't want to be in a company of gentlemen turned soldiers, -where I should be sure to meet our kind of people on terms of social -equality now and then. As a common soldier, I should find it rather -embarrassing at a military ball to have a lady put me on her -dancing-list while scornfully refusing a like favour perhaps to the -officer who must assign me to guard-duty next morning." - -In thus answering, Marshall Pollard equivocated somewhat. He made no -mention of the little jessamine and honeysuckle incident, but perhaps -there was something behind that which helped to determine his course in -choosing Captain Skinner's company for his own, thus placing himself -among men wholly without the pale of that society in which sprigs of -jessamine are given and cherished, and now and then thrown out of the -window. At any rate, the young man seemed disposed to change the course -of the conversation. - -"Now, Baillie," he said, "you've catechised me quite enough for one -morning. Tell me about yourself. Why are you going off to Richmond to -enlist in one of the batteries there, instead of joining your neighbours -and friends here in organising one or other of the companies they are -forming?" - -"For the simple reason that I want to be in the middle of this mix as -soon as possible. Those Richmond batteries are already fit to take the -field, and they'll be hurling shells at the enemy and dodging shells on -their own account before these companies here learn which way a -sergeant's chevrons should point. I want to get to the front among the -first, that's all." - -Sending for Sam, he bade that worthy pack a small saddle valise for him -with a few belongings, and when, an hour later, the two friends were -ready for their departure, Sam presented himself, clad in his best, and -carrying a multitudinous collection of skillets, kettles, and -frying-pans, with other and less soldierly belongings. When asked by his -master, "What does this mean?" Sam answered, in seeming astonishment at -the question: - -"Why, Mas' Baillie, you'se a-gwine to de wah, an' of co'se Sam's a-gwine -along to take k'yar o' you." - -"Of course Sam is going to do no such thing," answered the young man. -"Go and put away your pots and pans." - -"But, Mas' Baillie," remonstrated the negro boy, in a nearly tearful -voice, "who's a-gwine to take k'yar o' you ef Sam ain't thar? Whose -a-gwine to clean yer boots, an' bresh yer clo'se, an' cook yer victuals, -an' all that?" - -The master was touched by the boy's devotion, though he justly suspected -that a yearning for adventure had quite as much to do with Sam's wish to -"go to de wah," as his desire to be of service to a kindly master. - -"But, Sam," he said, "a common soldier doesn't carry his personal -servant with him. If we did that, there wouldn't be enough--" - -"A common soldier!" Sam broke in, exercising that privilege of -interrupting his master's speech which the personal servants of -Virginians always claimed for their own. "A common soldier! Who says -Mas' Baillie'll be a common soldier? De mastah of Warlock ain't a common -nuffin'. He's a Pegram, he is, an' de Pegrams ain't never been common -yit, an' dey ain't a-gwine to be." - -"But, Sam," argued his master, "you see we're all going to war. We can't -carry our servants with us any more than we can carry our feather beds -or our foot-tubs. We must do things for ourselves, now." - -"But who's a-gwine to cook your victuals, Mas' Baillie?" - -"I reckon I'll have to do that for myself," answered the master. - -"What? You? Mas' Baillie Pegram a-gittin' down on his knees in de mud -an' a-smuttin' up of his han's an' his face, an' a-wrastlin' with pots -an' kittles? Well, I'd jes' like to see you a-doin' of that!" - -Baillie was disposed to amuse himself with the boy; so he said: - -"But your mammy says you don't know how to cook, Sam, and that you don't -seem to know how to learn." - -This staggered Sam for an instant, but he promptly rose to the -emergency. - -"I kin 'splain all dat, Mas' Baillie. You see, I'se done been a-foolin' -o' mammy. Mammy, she's de head cook at Warlock; she's a-gittin' old, an' -de rheumatiz an' de laziness is a-gittin' into her bones. So she's done -tried to make Sam take things offen her shoulders. But I'se done see de -situation. I'se watched mammy so long dat I kin cook anything from a -Brunswick stew to an omelette sufferin', jes' as good as mammy kin. But -it 'ud never 'a' done to let her know that, else she'd 'a' shouldered -the whole thing onter Sam. So when she done set me to watch somethin' -she's a-cookin' while she's busy with somethin' else, I jes' had to let -it spile some way, in self-defence. Of co'se, I had to run out'n de -kitchen after that, a-dodgin' o' de pots an' kittles mammy throwed at my -head--an' sometimes I didn't dodge quick enough, either--but de result -was de same. Mammy was sure I couldn't cook, an' dat's what she done -tole you, Mas' Baillie. But I kin cook, sho'. An' please, Mas' Baillie, -you'll let me go 'long wid you?" - -The time was growing short now, and Baillie sent the boy away, saying: - -"If I ever get to be an officer, Sam, and am allowed a servant, I'll -send for you. But you'd better learn all you can about cooking while -we're waiting for that." - -Sam was disconsolate. He went to the detached kitchen building--for no -Virginian ever suffered cooking to be carried on within fifty feet of -his dwelling--and sat down and buried his face in his hands and rocked -himself backward and forward, moaning dismally. - -"I'd jes' like to know," he muttered to the pickaninnies, standing by in -their simple costume of long shirts and nothing else, "I'd jes' like to -know what's a-gwine to become o' dis here Warlock plantation an' dese -here niggas, now dat Mas' Baillie's done gone off to git hisself killed -in de wah. De chinch-bug is a-gwine to eat de wheat dis summer sho'. De -watermillions is a-gwine to run all to vines. De 'bacca worms an' de -grasshoppas is a-gwine to chew up all de terbacca befo' men gits a -chawnce at it. De crows is a-gwine to pull up all de cawn--an' dey might -as well, too, fer ef dey didn't, it 'ud wither in de rows. Don't yer -understan', you stupid little niggas, you'se a-gwine to stawve to death, -you is, an' you better believe it. Mas' Baillie's done gone to git -hisself killed, I tells you, an' you'se got a mighty short time till yer -stomicks gits empty an' shet up an' crampy like. You'se a-gwine to -stawve to death, sho', an' it'll hurt wus'n as ef you'd a-swallered a -quart o' black cherries 'thout swallerin' none o' de seeds fer safety." - -By this time all the young negroes were wailing bitterly, and they would -not be comforted until Sam's mammy set out a kettle of pot-liquor, and -gave them pones of ash-cake to crumble into it. After that, Sam's -prophecies of evil departed from their inconstant minds. But Sam did not -recover so quickly. For days afterward he moped in melancholy, -occasionally stretching his big eyes to their utmost while he solemnly -delivered some dismal prophecy of evil to come. - - - - -VII - -_A FAREWELL AT THE GATE_ - - -When the two friends reached the outer gates of Warlock plantation on -their way to the Court-house, Marshall, to whose queer ways his friend -was thoroughly well used, called a halt. - -"Let us dismount," he said, "and consider what we are doing." - -When they had seated themselves upon the carpet of pine-needles, the -meditative youth resumed: - -"Does it occur to you, Baillie," he asked, "that when you and I pass -through yonder gate, we shall leave behind us for ever the most -enjoyable life that it ever fell to the lot of human beings to lead? Do -you realise that we may never either of us come back through that gate -again, and that if we do, it will only be to find all things changed? We -are at the end of a chapter. The next chapter will be by no means like -unto it." - -"I confess I don't quite understand," answered the less meditative one. - -"Well, this easy-going, delightful Virginian life of ours has no -counterpart anywhere on this continent or elsewhere in the world, and we -have decided to put an end to it. For this war is going to be a very -serious thing to us Virginians. Virginia is destined to be the -battle-field. Greater armies than have ever before been dreamed of on -this continent are going to trample over her fields, and meet in -dreadful conflict on the margins of her watercourses. Her homes are -going to be desolated, her fields laid waste, her substance utterly -exhausted, and her people reduced to poverty in a cause that is not her -own, and in behalf of which she unselfishly risks all for the sake of an -abstraction, and in defence of a right on the part of other States which -Virginia herself had seen no occasion to assert in her own defence. -Whatever else happens in this war, all that is characteristic in -Virginian life, all that is peculiar to it, all that lends loveliness to -it, must be sacrificed on the altar of duty. - -"I don't at all know how the change is to come about, or what new things -are destined to replace the old; but I see clearly that the old must -give way to something new. Perhaps, after all, that is best. Ours has -been a beautiful life, and a peculiarly picturesque one, but it is not -in tune with this modern industrial world. It has its roots in the past, -and the past cannot endure. We have thus far been able to go on living -in an ideal world, but the real world has been more and more asserting -itself, and even if no war were coming on to upset things, things must -be upset. Railroads and telegraphs have come to us rather in spite of -our will than by reason of it. We have realised their convenience in a -fashion, but they are still foreign and antagonistic to our ideas. The -older gentlemen among us still prefer to make long journeys on horseback -rather than go by rail, while very many of them insist resolutely upon -sending their womankind always in private carriages, even when they go -long distances to the mountains for the summer. - -"We are living in the past and fighting off the present, but the present -will successfully assert itself in the end. You have yourself rejected -all the overtures of the speculators who have wanted to open coal mines -on Warlock plantation, but the time will come when you'll be glad to be -made richer than any Pegram ever dreamed of being by the sinking of mine -shafts among your lawn trees. - -"If you are lucky enough to survive this war, you'll see a new labour -system established, and learn to regard the men who work for you, not as -your dependents, for whom you are responsible, and for whose welfare you -feel a sympathetic concern, but as so many 'employees,' to be dealt with -through a trades union, and kept down to the lowest scale of wages -consistent with their living and working. - -"I am not advocating the new, or condemning the old. I am only pointing -out the fact that the new is surely destined to triumph over the old, -and replace it. - -"The negroes in Virginia are beyond question the best paid, the best -fed, the best housed, and altogether the best cared for labouring -population on earth. They are secure in childhood and in old age and in -illness, as no other labouring people on earth are. They are happy, and -in important ways they are even freer than any other labouring class -ever was. But they are slaves, and modern thought insists that they -would be better off as free men, even though freedom should bring to -them a loss of happiness and a loss of that well-nigh limitless liberty -which they enjoy as bondsmen, under care of kindly masters. - -"Mind you, Baillie, I am not arguing for or against the claims of modern -thought. I am only pointing out the fact that it is resistless, and will -have its way. All history teaches that. Even chivalry, armed as it was -from head to heel, and limitlessly courageous as it was, could not hold -its own against commercialism, when commercialism became dominant as the -thought that represented the aspirations of men. Not even prejudice or -sentiment can prevail against progress. - -"John Ruskin is even now protesting in the name of æsthetics against the -scarring of England with railroad embankments, and the pollution of -England's air with the vomitings of unsightly factory chimneys; but -neither the extension of the British railway system nor the -multiplication of British factories halts because of his protests. - -"Henry Clay was never so eloquent as when pleading against protective -tariffs as something that threatened this country with a system like -that of Manchester, in which men were divided into mill owners and mill -operatives, with antagonistic interests; yet Henry Clay was forced by -the conditions of his time to become the apostle of industrial -protection by tariff legislation. - -"My thesis is that no man and no people can for long stand in the way of -what the Germans call the _zeitgeist_--the spirit of the age. Neither, I -think, can any people stand apart from that spirit and let it pass them -by. That is what we Virginians have been trying to do. The time has come -when we are going out to fight the _zeitgeist_, and the _zeitgeist_ is -going to conquer us." - -"You expect the South to fail in the war, then?" asked Baillie. - -"I don't know. We may fail or we may win. But in either case the old -régime in the Old Dominion will be at an end when the war is over. -Virginia will become a modern State, whatever else happens, and the old -life in which you and I were brought up will become a thing of the past, -a matter of history, the memory of which the novelists may love to -recall, but the conditions of which can never again be established. - -"Fortunately, none of these things needs trouble us. They make no -difference whatever in our personal duty. Virginia has proclaimed her -withdrawal from the Union, under the declared purpose of the Union to -make war upon her for doing so. It is for us to fight in Virginia's -cause as manfully as we can, leaving God, or the Fates, or whatever else -it is that presides over human affairs, to take care of the result. - -"Come! The time is passing; we must hurry in order to catch that train -which represents the modern progress that is destined to ride over us -and crush us. Good-bye, old Virginia life! God bless you for a good old -life! May we live as worthily in the new, if we survive to see the -new!" - - - - -VIII - -_A RED FEATHER_ - - -The sun shone with the fervent heat of noonday in mid-July, as the long -line of cannon and caissons came lumbering down the incline of the -roadway that leads from the mountainside into the little railway -village. The breath of the guns was still offensively sulphurous, for -there had been no time in which to cleanse them since their work of -yesterday. The officers and non-commissioned officers on their horses, -and the cannoniers who rode upon the ammunition-chests, were -powder-grimed and dusty--for there had been no opportunity on this -hurried march for those ablutions that all soldiers so eagerly delight -in. - -There were no shouted commands given, for this battery had been three -times under fire, and one of the first things an officer learns in real -war is not to shout his orders except when the din of battle renders -shouting necessary. Three months ago on parade the captain of this -battery would have bellowed, "Forward into battery!" by way of -impressing his importance upon the lookers-on. Now that he had learned -to be in earnest, he merely turned to his bugler, and said, as if in a -parlour, "Forward into battery, then halt." - -A little musical snatch on the bugle did the rest, and with the -precision of a piece of mechanism, the guns were moved into place, each -with its caissons at a fixed distance in the rear, and the command, "At -ease," was followed by a stable-call, in obedience to which the drivers -set to work to feed and groom their horses. For while men may be allowed -to go grimed and dirty on campaign, the horses at least must be curried -and rubbed and sponged into perfect health and comfort whenever there is -opportunity. - -Here at the little railway station were assembled all the womankind from -a dozen miles round about. These had come to look upon the Army of the -Shenandoah, with which Johnston, after several days of skirmishing in -the valley with the Federals under Patterson, was hurrying onward to -Manassas to join Beauregard there, in the battle which was so obviously -at hand. - -The women of every degree had come, not merely to see the spectacle of -war, but to cheer the soldiers with smiles and words of encouragement, -and still more to minister in what ways they could to their needs. The -maids and matrons thus assembled were gaily clad, for war had not yet -robbed them of the wherewithal to deck themselves as gaily as the lilies -do. They were full of high confidence and ardent hope, for war had not -yet brought to them, and for many moons to come was not destined to -bring to them, the realisation that defeat and disaster are sometimes a -part of the bravest soldiers' fortune. These women believed absolutely -and unquestioningly in the righteousness of the Southern cause, and they -had not yet read the history of Poland, and La Vendée, and the Huguenots -with discretion enough to doubt that victory always in the end crowns -the struggles of those who stand for the right. - -How much of disappointment and suffering this curiously perverse reading -of history has wrought, to be sure! And how confidently, in every case, -the men and women on either side of a war commend their cause to Heaven, -in full confidence that God, in his justice, cannot fail to give victory -to the right, and cannot fail to understand that they are right and -their enemies hopelessly wrong. Probably every educated woman among -those who were assembled at the little village on that twentieth day of -July, 1861, had read Motley's histories; every one of them knew the -story of Poland and of Ireland and of La Vendée and the Camisards; but -they still believed that God and not the guns decides the outcome of -battles. - -In one article of their faith at least they were absolutely right. They -believed in the courage, the devotion, the unflinching prowess of the -men who had enlisted to fight for their cause. They had come now, at the -approach of a first great battle, to bid these men Godspeed. Four years -later, when war had well-nigh worn out the gallant Army of Northern -Virginia, and when the very hope of ultimate victory, over enormously -superior numbers and against incalculably superior resources, was -scarcely more than an impulse of faith-inspired insanity, these women of -the South were still present and helpful wherever their presence could -cheer, and wherever their help was needed. - -To-day, they looked to the morrow for a victory that should make an end -of the war. The victory came with a startling completeness wholly -unmatched in all the history of battles. But the end did not come, and -the war wore itself out, through four long years of brilliant -achievement, alternated with terrible disaster. At Petersburg these -women did not look to the morrow at all, but their courage was the same, -their cheer the same, their devotion the same. It was still their chosen -task to encourage the little remnant of an army which still held the -defensive works with a line stretched out to attenuation. To the very -end--and even after the end--these brave women faltered not nor failed. - -When the war began, the women of the South made a gala-day of every day -when soldiers were in sight. As the war neared its calamitous end, all -days were to them days of mourning and of always willing self-sacrifice. - -On that twentieth day of July, 1861, the women gathered together were -full of high hope and confidence. Some were perched upon goods boxes, -arranged to serve as seats. Some were tripping about on foot, gliding -hither and thither in gladness, as girls do in a dance, simply because -their nerves were tuned to a high pitch, and their sympathetic feet -refused to be still. But for the most part they sat in their carriages, -with the tops thrown back in defiance of the fervour of the sun. -Defiance was in the air, indeed, and the troops on their way to the -battle-field were not more resolute in their determination to do and to -dare, than were the dames and damsels there gathered together in their -purpose to disregard sunshine and circumstance, while bestowing their -smiles upon these men, their heroes. - -After the fashion of the time among volunteers who were presently to -become war-worn into veterans, but who were never to be reduced to the -condition of hireling regulars, the men were free, as soon as a halt was -called, to move about among the feminine throng, greeting their -acquaintances when they had any, and being cheerily greeted by -strangers, in utter disregard of those conventions with which womanhood -elsewhere than in Virginia surrounds itself. There womanhood had always -felt itself free, because it had always felt itself under the protection -of all there was of manhood in the land. No woman in that time and -country was ever in danger of affront, for the reason that no man dared -affront her, lest he encounter vengeance, swift, sure, and relentless, -at the hands of the first other man who might hear of the circumstance. -No Virginian girl of that time had her mind directed to evil things by -the suggestion of chaperonage; and no Virginia gentleman was subjected -to insulting imputation by the refusal of a woman's guardians to entrust -her protection against himself, as against all others, to his chivalry. -So far was the point of honour pressed in such matters, that no man was -free even to make the most deferential proposal of marriage to any woman -while she was actually or technically under his charge and protection. -To do that, it was held, was to place the woman in an embarrassing -position, to subject her to the necessity of accepting the offer on the -one hand, or of declining it while yet under obligation to accept escort -and protection at the hands of the man making it. - -Under this rigid code of social intercourse, which granted perfect -freedom to all women, and exacted scrupulous respect for such freedom at -the hands of all men, the intercourse between gentlemen volunteers and -the young women who had come to visit them in camp was even less -restrained than that of a drawing-room, in which all are guests of a -common host, and all are guaranteed, as it were, by that host's -sponsorship of invitation. - -In all their dealings with the volunteers, the women of Virginia brought -common sense to bear in a positively astonishing degree, reinforcing it -with abounding good-will and perfect confidence in the manhood of men as -their sufficient shield against misinterpretation. And they were -entirely right in this. For "battle, murder, and sudden death," would -very certainly have been the part of any man in those ranks who should -have failed in due respect to this generosity of mind on the part of -womanhood. The dignity of womanhood was never so safe as when women thus -confidently left its guardianship to the instinctive chivalry of men. - -For a time after the halt, Baillie Pegram was too busy to inquire -whether or not any friends of his own were among the throng. For -something had happened to Baillie Pegram over there in the Valley of the -Shenandoah two or three days before. The gun to whose detachment he -belonged as a cannonier had been detached and sent to an exposed -position on the Martinsburg road. The sergeant in command of it had been -killed by a bullet, and the two corporals--the gunner and the chief of -caisson--had been carried to the rear on litters, with bullets in their -bodies. There was absolutely nobody in command of the gun, but Baillie -Pegram was serving as number one at the piece--that is to say, as the -cannonier handling the sponge and rammer. Seeing the badly weakened -gun-crew disposed to falter for lack of anybody to command them, and -seeing, too, the necessity of continuing the fire, Baillie assumed an -authority which did not belong to him in any way. - -"Stand to the gun, men!" he cried. "If any man flunks till this job is -done, I'll brain him with my rammer-head, orders or no orders." - -A moment later the faltering of number three called upon him for the -execution of his threat, and he instantly did what he had said he -would do, felling the man to the grass, stunned for the time by a quick -blow with the iron-bound rammer-head. Then he called upon number five to -take the recreant's place, and that gun continued its work until the hot -little action was over. - -[Illustration: "'_If any man flunks--I'll brain him_'"] - -A slouchy-looking personage had been standing by all the while. At the -end of it all he demanded Baillie Pegram's name and rank, and the name -of his battery. That evening Baillie Pegram's captain sent for him, and -said: - -"I am going to make you my sergeant-major. I have General Jackson's -request to recognise your good conduct under his eye to-day. Even -without his suggestion I should wish to have you with me as my staff -sergeant. I have kept that post open until now, in order that I might -choose the best man for it." - -It should be explained that the rank of sergeant-major is the very -highest non-commissioned rank known to military life. Ordinarily, the -sergeant-major is a regimental non-commissioned officer. But following -the French system, the Confederate regulations allowed every battery of -field-artillery a sergeant-major, if its captain so desired. He -outranked all other non-commissioned officers, and usually exercised a -lieutenant's command in battle--always if any commissioned officer were -absent or disabled. - -Thus it came about that Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram was too busy on -that morning to look up acquaintances among the spectators gathered -there. He had orders to execute, and details of many kinds to look -after, including the making out of that morning report which every -company in the service must daily render, and upon which the commanding -general must rely for information as to the exact number of fighting men -he has available for duty. - -Baillie had just completed this task, when some one brought him news -that a lady in a carriage near by wished to speak with him. Having -nothing now to do, he responded to the call, and found Agatha Ronald -awaiting him. She sat in her carriage alone. In her lap was a -work-basket, fully equipped for that mending which these women always -came prepared to do when soldiers were passing by. Baillie had no -mending to be done, but Agatha bade him remove his jacket and deliver it -into her charge. - -"We've heard what happened in the Valley the other day," she said, "and -it is not seemly for a sergeant-major to be on duty without the insignia -of his rank. Red is the artillery colour, I believe, and your marks are -three chevrons, with three arches connecting them, are they not? -Fortunately, I brought a roll of red braid. So let me have your coat, -please, and I'll readjust your costume to your rank." - -Agatha spoke glibly, but it was under manifest constraint. She forced -and feigned a lightness of mood which she did not feel, and her manner -deceived Baillie Pegram completely, as it was meant to do. - -"What a fool I am," he thought, "to expect anything else. She was -embarrassed when I last saw her, and worried, but that was all on -account of her aunts. She is her own mistress to-day, and--well, it is -better so. There'll be a fight to-morrow, and that's fortunate." - -At that point the girl interrupted his meditations by saying, in her -assumed tone of lightness, which he so greatly misinterpreted: - -"I know there is war between your house and mine, but I'm going to give -aid and comfort to the enemy, if it comforts you to have your chevrons -properly sewed on." - -"There can surely be no war between me and thee," he answered, with -earnestness in his tone. "At any rate, I do not make war upon a woman, -and least of all--" - -"You must not misunderstand, Mr. Pegram," the girl broke in, looking at -him earnestly out of her great brown eyes. "I esteem you highly, and I -am sorry there is trouble between your house and mine. But I am not -disloyal to the memory of my father. You must never think that. It is -only that you are a gentleman who has been kind to me, and a soldier -whom I honour. But the war endures between your house and mine." - -Had she slapped him in the face with her open palm, she could not have -hurt his pride more deeply. He snatched his jacket from her hand. Only -one sleeve was finished, and the needle still hung from it by a thread. - -"I'll wear it so," he said. "I, at any rate, have no house. I am the -last of my race, and let me say to you now--for I shall never see you -again of my own free will--that the war between our houses will -completely end when I receive my discharge from life." - -Then a new thought struck him. - -"It is not for Baillie Pegram, the master of Warlock, that you have done -this," touching the braided sleeve, "but for Baillie Pegram, the soldier -on his way to battle. Let it be so." - -Stung by his own words, and controlled by an impulse akin to that which -had seized him at the gun two days before, he reached out and plucked -from her headgear the red feather that she wore there, saying: - -"Here! fasten that in my hat. I've a mind to wear it in battle -to-morrow. Then I'll send it back to you." - -What demon of the perverse had prompted him to this action, he did not -know, but the girl in her turn seemed subject to its will. Instead of -resenting what he had done, she took the feather and with some quickly -plied stitches fastened it securely to his already soiled and worn -slouch hat. Then handing it back to him, she said: - -"Good-bye. God grant that when the feather comes back to me, it be not -stained to a deeper red than now." - -At that moment the bugle blew. Baillie touched his hat, bowed low, and -said: - -"At least you are a courteous enemy." - -"And a generous one?" she asked. - -But he did not answer the implied question. - - * * * * * - -When he had gone, Agatha bent low over her work-basket, as if in search -of something that she could not find. If two little tear-drops slipped -from between her eyelids, nobody caught sight of them. - -Presently another bugle blew, and as Baillie Pegram's battery took up -the march, the guns and men of Captain Skinner took its place. But this -time there was no mingling of the men with the spectators. Captain -Skinner was too rigid a disciplinarian to permit that, and he knew his -ruffians too well. The moment the battery halted, the sergeant of the -guard posted his sentries, and the men remained within the battery -lines. - -Seeing this, Agatha tripped from her carriage, and, work-basket in hand, -started to enter the battery. She was instantly halted by a sentry, -whose appearance did not tempt her to dispute his authority. She -therefore simply said to him, "Call your sergeant of the guard, please." -To the sergeant, when he came, she said, "Will you please report to -Captain Skinner that Miss Agatha Ronald, of Willoughby, asks leave to -enter the battery lines, in order to do such mending for the men as may -be needed?" - -But it was not necessary for the sergeant to deliver his message, for -Captain Skinner, way-worn and dusty, at that moment presented himself, -and greeted the visitor. - -"It is very gracious of you," he said, "but, my dear young lady, my men -do not belong to that class with which alone you are acquainted. You had -better not visit my camp." - -"Your men are soldiers, sir," she said, "and their needs may be quite as -great as those of any others. We are not living in drawing-rooms just -now. I crave your permission to enter the battery." - -The captain touched his hat again, signed to the sentry to let the young -woman pass, and then, turning to the sergeant of the guard, said: - -"Post ten extra sentinels among the guns, with orders to arrest -instantly any man who utters an oath or in any other way offends this -young lady's ears. See to it yourself that this order is obeyed to the -letter." - - - - -IX - -_THE BIRTH OF WOMANHOOD_ - - -The captain's stern commands were not needed, and the extra sentinels -had no work to do in restraining the men from offensive speech and -conduct. They courteously saluted as Agatha passed them by, and when -they learned what her kindly mission was, they hurriedly brought armfuls -of saddle-blankets and arranged them as a cushion for her on the top of -a limber-chest. Perched up there, she called for their torn garments, -and nimbly plied her needle and her scissors for the space of half an -hour before observing the sentry who had been posted nearest to her. His -slouch hat, indeed, was drawn down over his eyes in such fashion that -but little of his face could be seen. But looking up at last in search -of further work to do, she recognised the form of Marshall Pollard. -Instantly a deep flush overspread her face, and, dismounting from the -limber-chest, she approached and addressed him. He presented arms and -said to her in French, so that those about them might not understand: - -"Pardon me, mademoiselle, but it is forbidden to speak to a sentinel on -duty." With that he recovered arms and resumed the monotonous pacing of -his beat. - -As the girl hurried out of the battery, flushed and agitated, she again -encountered Captain Skinner. - -"Has anybody been rude to you, Miss Ronald?" he asked, quickly. - -"No, Captain Skinner, I have only praise for your men. They have been -courteous in the extreme. I predict that they will acquit themselves -right gallantly in to-morrow's battle." - -"O, they're fighters, and will give a good account of themselves if this -muddled railroad management lets us get to Manassas before the fighting -is over." - -With thanks to Agatha for her kindness, Captain Skinner bowed low in -farewell. - -Springing into her carriage she gave the command, "Home," and drove away -without waiting to see the remainder of the Army of the Shenandoah as -it moved, partly by train, and partly on march, toward the scene of the -coming battle. - -During the homeward ride the girl laughed and chatted with her -companions with more than her usual vivacity, quite as if this had been -the gladdest of all her gala-days. But the gaiety was forced, and the -laughter had a nervous note in it which would have betrayed its impulse -to her companions had they been of closely observant habit of mind. - -But when she reached home Agatha excused herself to her friends, and -shut herself in her room. Throwing off her hat, but making no other -change in her costume, she stretched herself upon the polished floor, -after a habit she had indulged since childhood whenever her spirit was -perturbed. For an hour she lay there upon the hard ash boards, with her -hands clasped under her head, thinking, thinking, thinking. - -"God knows," she thought, "I have tried to do my duty, and it is -bitterly hard for a woman. In loyalty to my dead father's memory, I have -insulted and wounded the only man I could ever have loved, and sent him -away from me in anger and wretchedness. And even in doing that--even in -being cruel to him and to myself, I have fallen short of my duty as -Agatha Ronald. I have weakly yielded something at least of that proud -attitude which it is my duty to my family traditions to maintain. I have -recognised the state of war, but I have parleyed with the enemy. And -Baillie Pegram is at this hour wearing a plume plucked from my hat and -fastened into his by my own hands. God forgive me if I have been -disloyal! But is it disloyalty?" - -With that question echoing in her mind she sat up, staring at the wall, -as if trying there to read her answer. - -"Is it my duty to cherish a feud that is meaningless to me--to hate a -man who has done no wrong to me or mine, simply because there was a -quarrel between our ancestors before either of us was born? I do not -know! I do not know! But I must be true to my family, true to my race, -true to the traditions in which I have been bred. I have fallen short of -that in this case. I must not err again. I must never again forget, even -for a moment, that Baillie Pegram is my hereditary enemy." - -Then she caught herself thinking and almost wishing that a Federal -bullet might end her perplexity--that Baillie Pegram might never live to -see her again. "I wonder," she thought, "if that is what Christ meant -when he said that one who hates his neighbour is a murderer in his -heart. It is all a blind riddle to me. Here have I been brought up a -Christian, taught from my infancy that hatred is murder, and taught at -the same time that it is my highest duty, as a Ronald, to go on hating -all the Pegrams on earth because my father and Baillie Pegram's -grandfather quarrelled over something that I know absolutely nothing -about!" - -Presently the girl's mind reverted to the second meeting of that -eventful day,--her encounter with Marshall Pollard. She wondered why he -had enlisted in company with such men as those who constituted Captain -Skinner's battery, for even thus early those men had become known as the -worst gang of desperadoes imaginable,--a band that must be kept day and -night under a discipline as rigid and as watchful as that of any State -prison, lest they lapse into crimes of violence. She wondered if this -meant that the peculiarly gentle-souled Marshall Pollard was trying to -"throw himself away," as she had heard that men disappointed in love -sometimes do,--that he wished to degrade himself by low associations. - -"And I am the cause of it all," she mourned. For she knew that Marshall -Pollard had loved her with the love of an honest man, and that his life -had been darkened, to say the least, by her inability to respond to his -devotion. In this case she should have had the consolation of knowing -that she had been guilty of no wilful, no conscious wrong, but, in her -present mood, she was disposed to flagellate her soul for an imagined -offence. - -"He came to me," she reflected, "loving me from the first. Little idiot -that I was, I did not understand. I liked him as a girl may like a -boy,--for I was only a girl then,--and I did not dream that the -affection he manifested toward me meant more than that sort of thing on -his part. Those things which ought to have revealed to me his state of -mind meant nothing more to me then than do the little gallantries and -deferences which all men pay to all women. How bitterly he reproached me -at the last for having deceived him and led him on with encouragements -which I at least had not intended as such. Are all women born -coquettes? Is it our cruel instinct to trifle with the souls of men, as -little children love to torture their pets? Have we women no principles, -no earnestness, no consciences--except afterward, when remorse awakens -us? Are we blind, that we do not see, and deaf that we do not hear? Or -is it our nature to be cruel, especially to those who love us and offer -us the best that there is in their strong natures? - -"I remember how we stood out there in the grounds, under the jessamine -arbour, as the sun went down; and how at last, when I had made him -understand, he plucked a sprig of the beautiful, golden flowers from the -bunch that I held in my hand, and how I bade him beware, for that the -jessamine is poisonous, and how he replied, 'Not more poisonous than it -is to love a coquette.' - -"I remember that he gave me no chance to answer, no opportunity to -protest again my innocence of such intent as he had imputed to me in his -passionate speech, but turned his back and stalked away, with that -stride which I saw again to-day, as he paced his beat. That was two -years ago--and to-day I have seen him again in such company as he would -never have sought but for me,--the willing companion of ruffians, the -associate of desperadoes, the messmate of thieves!" - -Agatha was on her feet now, and nervously laying aside one after another -of the little fripperies with which she had decorated her person that -day. She found herself presently half-unconsciously searching for the -gown that she must wear at dinner, though her never-failing maid had -laid it out long before her home-coming, that it might be in readiness -for her need. - -A sudden thought came into the suffering girl's mind. - -"These two men, whose lives are hurt by their love for me, will suffer -far less than I shall. They are soldiers as strong to endure as they are -strong to dare. They have occupation for all their waking hours. They -will be upon the march, in battle, or otherwise actively employed all -the time. In remembering more strenuous things they will forget their -sorrows and throw aside their griefs as they cast away everything when -they go into battle that may in any wise hinder their activity or -embarrass their freedom. I must sit still here at Willoughby, and think, -and think, and think." - -Then like a lightning flash another thought came into her mind, and she -spoke it aloud: - -"Why should I be idler than they are? Why should I sit here brooding -while they are toiling and fighting for Virginia? I am no more afraid of -death or of danger than they are, and while women may not fight, there -are other ways in which a woman of courage may render quite as good a -service. I'll do it. I'll take the risks. I'll endure the hardships. -I'll render my country a _service that shall count_." - -With that she rang for her maid and bade her prepare a cold plunge bath. -When she descended to dinner, an hour later, Agatha no longer chattered -frivolously, as she had done in the carriage, by way of concealing her -emotions, but bore herself seriously, as became her in view of the -prospect of battle on the morrow. - -In that hour of agonising thought, Agatha Ronald had ceased to be a -girl, and had become an earnest, resolute woman, strong to do, strong to -endure, and, if need be, strong to dare. Life had taken on a new meaning -in her eyes. - - - - -X - -_IN ACTION_ - - -It was midnight when the battery to which Baillie was attached reached -Manassas Junction. The men were weary and half-starved after three days -of fighting and marching, and the horses, worn out with dragging the -guns and caissons over well-nigh impassable roads, were famishing for -water. But an effort to secure water and forage for them failed, and so -did an effort to secure water and rations for the men. - -For on the eve of the first great battle of the war the Southern army -was in a state of semi-starvation which grew worse with every hour that -brought fresh relays of troops but no new supplies of food. Already had -begun that course of extraordinary mismanagement in the supply -departments at Richmond which throughout the war kept the Army of -Northern Virginia constantly half-starving or wholly starving, even -when, as at Manassas, it lay in the midst of a land of abounding plenty. - -All the efforts of the generals commanding in the field to remedy this -state of things by drawing upon the granaries and smoke-houses round -about them for supplies that were in danger of presently falling into -the enemy's hands, were thwarted by the stupid obstinacy of a -crack-brained commissary-general. It was his inexplicable policy, while -the army lay at Manassas with an unused railroad reaching into the rich -fields to the west, to forbid the purchase of food and forage there -except by his own direct agents, who were required to send it all to -Richmond, whence it was transported back again, in such meagre -quantities as an already overtaxed single track railroad could manage to -carry. - -Red-tape was choking the army to death from the very beginning, and it -continued to do so to the end, in spite of all remonstrances. - -Even in the matter of water the men at Manassas were restricted to a few -pints a day to each man for all uses, simply because the commanding -general was not allowed the simple means of procuring a more adequate -supply. - -This, however, is not the place in which to set forth in detail those -facts of perverse stupidity which have been fully stated in official -reports, in General Beauregard's memoirs, and in other authoritative -works. Such matters are mentioned herein only so far as they affected -the events that go to make up the present story. - -When the Army of the Shenandoah began to add its numbers to that already -gathered at Manassas, a way out was found, so far at least as water was -concerned, by sending the regiments and batteries, as fast as they came, -to positions near Bull Run, some miles in front, where water at least -was to be had. Baillie's command, worn out as it was, and suffering from -hunger, was hurried through the camp and forced to march some weary -miles farther before taking even that small measure of rest and sleep -that the rapidly waning night allowed. It was nearly morning when the -men and horses were permitted to drink together out of the muddy stream -which was presently to mark the fighting-line between two armies in -fierce battle for the mastery. - -It was nearly sunrise when a cannon-shot broke the stillness of a -peculiarly brilliant Sunday morning and summoned all the weary men to -their posts. A little later the battery with which we are concerned -received its orders and was moved into position on the line. Its -complement of commissioned officers being short, Sergeant-Major Baillie -Pegram had command of the two guns which constituted the left section, -and had a lieutenant's work to do. - -Troops were being hurried hither and thither in what seemed to Baillie's -inexperienced eyes a hopeless confusion. But as he watched, he saw order -grow out of the chaos,--a manifestation of the fact that there was one -mind in control, and that every movement, however meaningless it might -seem, was part and parcel of a concerted plan, and was intended to have -its bearing upon the result. - -In the meanwhile the occasional report of a rifle had grown into a -continuous rattle of musketry on the farther side of the stream, where -the skirmishers were hotly at work, their firing being punctuated now -and then by the deeper exclamation of a cannon. But the work of the day -had not yet begun in earnest. The main line was not yet engaged, and -would not be until the skirmishers should slowly fall back upon it from -their position beyond the stream. - -To men in line of battle this is the most trying of all war's -experiences. Then it is that every man questions himself closely as to -his ability to endure the strain. Nerves are stretched to a tension that -threatens collapse. Speech is difficult even to the bravest men, and the -longing to plunge into the fray and be actively engaged is well-nigh -irresistible. - -All this and worse is the experience even of war-seasoned veterans when -they must stand or lie still during these endless minutes of waiting, -while the skirmishers are engaged in front. What must have been the -strain upon the nerves and brains of men, not one of whom had as yet -seen a battle, and not one in ten of whom had even received his "baptism -of fire" in a skirmish, as the men in Baillie's battery had done during -the week before! It is at such a time, and not in the heat of battle, -that men's courage is apt to falter, and that discipline alone holds -them to their duty. - -The strain was rather relieved of its intensity by the shrieking of a -Hotchkiss shell, which presently burst in the midst of Baillie Pegram's -section and not far from his person. Then came the less noisy but more -nerve-racking patter of musket-balls,--few and scattering still, as the -skirmish-lines were still well in front,--but deadly in their force, as -was seen when two or three of the men suddenly sank to the ground in the -midst of a stillness which was broken only by the whiz of the occasional -bullets. - -One man cried out with pain. The rest of those struck were still. The -one who cried out was slightly wounded. The others were dead. And the -battle was not yet begun. - -At this moment came a courier with orders. Upon receiving them the -captain hurriedly turned to Baillie, and said: - -"Take your section across the Run, at the ford there just to the left. -Take position with the skirmish-line and get your orders from its -commander. Leave your caissons behind, and move at a gallop." - -Baillie Pegram was too new to the business of war to understand -precisely what all this meant. Had he seen a little more of war he -would have guessed at once that the enemy was moving upon the -Confederate left along the road that lay beyond the stream, and that his -guns were needed to aid the skirmishers in the work to be done in front -in preparation for the battle that had not yet burst in all its fury. He -would have understood, too, from the order to leave his caissons behind, -that the stand beyond the stream was not meant to be of long duration. -The fifty shots he carried in each of his limber-chests would be quite -enough to last him till orders should come to fall back across the -stream again. - -But he did not understand all this clearly. What he did understand was -that he was under orders to take his guns across the stream and use them -there as vigorously as he could till further orders should come. - -As he emerged from the woods a few hundred yards beyond Bull Run, he -found a skirmish-line of men lying down and contesting the ground inch -by inch with another line like their own, beyond which he could see the -heavy columns of the enemy marching steadily to turn the Confederate -left flank and force it from its position. Notwithstanding his lack of -experience in such matters, he saw instantly what was happening, and -realised that this left wing of Beauregard's army was destined to -receive the brunt of the enemy's attack. He wondered, in his ignorance, -if Beauregard knew all this, and if somebody ought not to go and tell -him of it. - -He had no time to think beyond this, for at that moment the -skirmish-line, under some order which he had not heard, gave way to the -right and left, leaving a little space open for his guns. Planting them -there he opened fire with shrapnel, which he now and then changed to -canister when the enemy, in his eagerness, pressed forward to within -scant distance of the slowly retiring skirmish-line of the Confederates. - -Under orders Baillie fell back with the skirmishers, moving the guns by -hand, and continuing to fire as he went. - -As the Confederate skirmishers drew near the stream which they were to -cross, the officer in command of them said to Pegram: - -"Advance your guns a trifle, Sergeant-Major, and give them your heaviest -fire for twenty-five seconds or so. When they recoil, limber up and -take your guns across the creek as quickly as possible. I'll cover your -movement." - -Baillie did not perfectly understand the purpose of this, but he -understood his orders, and very promptly obeyed them. Advancing his guns -quickly to a little knoll thirty or forty yards in front, he opened fire -with double charges of canister, each gun firing at the rate of three or -four times a minute, and each vomiting a gallon of iron balls at each -discharge into the faces of a line of men not a hundred yards away. At -the same moment the riflemen of the skirmish-line rose to their feet, -rushed forward with a yell that impressed Baillie as truly demoniacal, -and delivered a murderous volley of Minie balls in aid of his canister. -The combined fire was irresistible, as it was meant to be, and the -Federal skirmishers fell back in some confusion in face of it. - -Then the cool-headed leader of the skirmishers turned to Baillie and -commanded: - -"Now be quick. Take your guns across the creek at once. They'll be on us -again in a minute with reinforcements, but I'll hold them back till you -get the guns across--" - -He had not finished his order when he fell, with a bullet in his brain, -and his men, picking him up, laid him limply across his horse, which two -of them hurried to the rear, passing within ten feet of Baillie Pegram -as he struggled to get his guns across the run without wetting his -ammunition. - -"Poor, gallant fellow!" thought Baillie, as the corpse was borne past -him. "He was only a captain, but he would have made himself a -major-general presently, with his coolness and his determination. He -died too soon!" - -Meanwhile Baillie was busy executing the order that the dead man had -given with his last breath, while some other was in command out there in -front and struggling to protect the guns till they could pass the -stream. - -It is always so in life. No man is indispensable. When one man falls at -the post of duty, there is always some other to take his place. "Men may -come and men may go," but the work that men were born to do "goes on for -ever." - -As Baillie was directing the struggles of his drivers in the difficult -task of recrossing the stream, three shells burst over him in so quick -a succession that he did not know from which of them came the fragment -that cut a great gash in his head and rendered him for the moment -senseless. He recovered himself quickly, and this was fortunate, for his -untrained and inexperienced men were far less steady in retreat under -fire than they had been out there in front, and Baillie's direction was -needed now to prevent them from abandoning in panic the guns with which -they had fought so gallantly a few minutes before. - -Under his sharply given commands they recovered their morale, and a few -minutes later Baillie brought his powder-grimed guns again into position -on the left of the battery. Then, half-blinded by the blood that was -flowing freely over his face and clothing, he sought his captain, raised -his hand in salute, and said, feebly: - -"Captain, I beg to report that I have executed my orders. My men have -behaved well, every--" - -A heavy musketry fire from the enemy at that moment began, and Baillie -Pegram's horse--the beautiful sorrel mare on which Agatha had once -ridden--sank under him, in that strange, limp way in which a horse -falls when killed instantly by a bullet received in any vital part. - -By good fortune the sergeant-major was not caught under the animal, but -as he tried to walk toward the new mount which he had asked for, he -staggered and fell, much as the mare had done, but from a different -cause. Complete unconsciousness had overtaken him, as a consequence of -the shock of his wound and the resultant loss of blood. - -When he came to consciousness again, he was lying on the grass under a -tree, with a young surgeon kneeling beside him, busy with bandages. For -a time his consciousness did not extend beyond his immediate -surroundings and the terrific aching of his head. Presently the heavy -firing which seemed to be all about him, and the zip, zip, zip of -bullets as they struck the earth under the hospital tree brought him to -a realisation of the fact that battle was raging there, and that he, -somehow,--he could not make out how,--was absent from his post with the -guns. He made a sudden effort to rise, but instantly fell back again, -unconscious. - -When he next came to himself there was a sound as of thousands of -yelling demons in his ears, which he presently made out to be the "rebel -yell" issuing from multitudinous throats. There were hoof-beats all -about him, too, the hoof-beats of a thousand horses moving at full -speed. Excited by these sounds, wondering and anxiously apprehensive, he -made another effort to rise, but was promptly restrained by the strong -but gentle hands of an attendant, who said to him, with more of good -sense than grammar: - -"Lay still. It's all right, and it's all over. We've licked 'em, and -they's a-runnin' like mad. The horsemen what passed us was Stuart's -cavalry, a-goin' after 'em to see that they don't stop too soon." - -Stuart was drunk with delight. He shouted to his men, as he rode across -Stone Bridge: "Come on, boys! We'll gallop over the long bridge into -Washington to-night if some blockhead doesn't stop us with orders, and I -reckon we can gallop away from orders!" - -Baillie lay still only because the attendant kept a hand upon his chest -and so restrained him. As he listened, the firing receded and grew less -in volume, except that now and then it burst out in a volley. That was -when one of Stuart's squadrons came suddenly upon a mass of their -confused and fleeing foes and poured a hailstorm of leaden cones in -among them as a suggestion that it was time for them to scatter and -resume their run for Washington. - -As the turmoil grew less and faded into the distance, Baillie's wits -slowly came back to him, and thoughts of himself returned. - -"Where am I?" was his first question. - -"Under a hospital tree on the battle-field of Manassas," answered the -nurse. "You're about two hundred yards in the rear of the position where -your battery has been covering itself with glory all day. It's gone now -to help in the pursuit. But it's had it hot and heavy all day, judging -from the sloppings over." - -"The 'sloppings over?' What do you mean?" - -"Why, the bullets and shells and things that didn't get theirselves -stopped, like, on the lines, but come botherin' over here by this -hospital tree. Two of 'em hit wounded men, an' finally, just at the -last, you know, the doctor got his comeuppance." - -"Was he wounded?" - -"Wuss 'n that. He war killed, jes' like a ordinary soldier. That's why -you're still a-layin' here, an' here you'll lay, I reckon, all night, -for they ain't nobody left to give no orders, 'ceptin' me, an' I ain't -nothin' but a detail. But I'm a-goin' to git you somethin' to eat ef I -kin. They's another hospital jest over the hill, an' mebbe they've got -somethin' to eat, an' mebbe they's a spare surgeon there, too. Anyhow -I'm a-goin' to do the best I kin fer you an' the rest." - -"How many of us are there?" asked Baillie. - -"Only four now--not enough for them to bother about, I s'pose they'll -say, specially sence two on 'em is clean bound to die, anyhow. All the -slightly wounded has been carried away to a reg'lar hospital. That's -their game, I reckon--to take good keer o' the fellers that's a-goin' to -git well, so as to make complaints ef they don't, an' leave the rest -what can't live to make no complaints to die where they is." - -Baillie was too weak, and still too muddled in his intelligence, to -disabuse the mountaineer's mind of this misconception. It is only -ordinary justice to say that his interpretation was utterly wrong. There -was never a more heroic set of men than the surgeons who ministered on -the battle-fields of the Civil War to the wounded on one side or on the -other. At the beginning, their department was utterly unorganised, and -scarcely at all equipped, either with material appliances or with -capable human help in the way of nurses, litter-bearers, or -ambulance-men. They did the best they could. When battle was on, they -hung yellow flags from trees as near the firing-line as possible, and -these flags were respected by both sides, so far as intentional firing -upon them was concerned. But located as they were, just in the rear of -the fighters, these field-hospitals were constantly under a heavy fire, -aimed not at them, but at the fighting-line in front, and it was under -such a fire that the young surgeons did their difficult and very -delicate work. The tying of an artery was often interfered with by the -bursting of a shell which half-buried both patient and surgeon in loose -earth. It was the duty of these field-surgeons to do only so much as -might be immediately necessary--to put their patients as quickly as -possible into a condition in which it was reasonably safe to send them, -in ambulances or upon litters, to some better-equipped hospital in the -rear. Very naturally and very properly, the surgeons discriminated, in -selecting wounded men to send to the hospitals, between those who were -in condition to be removed, and those to whom removal would mean death, -certainly or probably. The mountaineer, who had been detailed as a -hospital attendant that day, did not understand, and so he -misinterpreted. - -"Where is my hat?" Baillie Pegram asked, after a period of silence. - -"Is it the one with a red feather in it?" responded the attendant. - -"Yes." - -"Well, it's a good deal the wuss for wear," answered the man, producing -the blood-soaked and soil-stained headgear. "I don't think you'll want -to wear it again." - -But when the headpiece was brought, the young man, with feeble and -uncertain fingers, detached the feather and thrust it inside his flannel -shirt, leaving the lacerated hat where it had fallen upon the ground. - -"Am I badly wounded?" Pegram asked, after a little. - -"Well," answered the man, "you've got a good deal more'n I should like -to be a-carryin' around with me. But I reckon you'll pull through, -perticular ef you kin git to a hospital after a bit." - -Just then, as night was falling, a pitiless rain began, and all night -long Baillie Pegram lay in a furrow of the field, soaked and suffering. -But he removed the feather from its hiding-place, and held it upon his -chest, in order that the rain might wash away the blood-stains with -which it had been saturated. - -When the morning came, and the ambulance with it, the blood-stains were -gone and the feather was clean, though its texture was limp, its -appearance bedraggled, and much of its original colour had been washed -out. - - * * * * * - -Two or three days later, Agatha Ronald at her home received by mail a -package containing a feather, once red but now badly faded. No note or -message of any kind accompanied it, but Agatha understood. She had -already learned through the newspapers that "Sergeant-Major Baillie -Pegram, after a desperate encounter with the enemy on the outer lines, -had been severely--perhaps mortally--wounded in the head;" and that -"Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram has been mentioned in General Orders for -his gallant conduct on the field, with a recommendation for promotion, -if he recovers from his wounds, as the surgeons give little hope that he -will." - -She wrapped the faded feather in tissue-paper, deposited it in a -jewelled glove-box which had come to her as an heirloom from her mother, -and put it away in one of her most sacred depositories. - -A week or two later, she learned that Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram had -been removed from the general hospital at Richmond to his home at -Warlock, and that he was now expected to recover from his wounds. - - - - -XI - -_AT WARLOCK_ - - -"It's jes' what I done tole you niggas fust off." - -That was Sam's comment upon the situation when his master was brought -home to Warlock, stretched upon a litter. - -"I done tole yer what'd happen when Mas' Baillie go off to de wah in dat -way, 'thout Sam to take k'yar of him. An' bar in min' what else I done -tole yer, too. Ain't de chinch-bug done et up de wheat, jes' as I tole -yer? Now, Mas' Baillie, he's a-gwine to die wid that hole in he haid. -Den what's a-gwine to become o' you niggas?" - -Sam promptly installed himself as his master's nurse, sitting by him -during the day, and sleeping on the floor by his bedside every night. -For a time it seemed likely that the negro's dismal prophecy of -Baillie's death would be fulfilled, but with rest and the bracing air -of his own home, he slowly grew better, until he was able at last to sun -himself in the porch or under the trees of the lawn. - -He chafed a good deal at first over the fact that he had not seen the -major part of the fighting along Bull Run, and it annoyed him still more -that he was likely to lose his share in a campaign which was expected to -bring the war to a speedy and glorious end. It was Marshall Pollard who -laughed him out of this latter regret. During the long waiting-time that -followed the battle of Manassas, Marshall, who had gained a lieutenancy -in his battery, secured several brief leaves of absence in order to -visit the convalescent man at Warlock. - -"You're missing nothing whatever, Baillie," he said to him one day, in -answer to his querulous complainings. "We're doing nothing out there in -front of Washington, and, so far as I can see, we're not likely to do -anything for many months to come. When the battle of Manassas ended in -such a rout of the enemy as never will happen again, we all expected to -push on into Washington, where only a very feeble, resistance or none -at all would have been met. When that didn't happen, we confidently -expected that the army at Centreville would be reinforced at once with -every man who could be hurried to the front, and that General Johnston -would push across the Potomac and take Washington in the rear, or -capture Baltimore and Philadelphia, and cut Washington off. - -"I don't pretend to understand grand strategy, but this was plain common -sense, and I suppose that common sense has its part to play in grand -strategy, as in everything else. Anyhow, it is certain that that was the -time to strike, and if the army at Manassas had been reinforced and -pushed across the Potomac while the enemy was so hopelessly demoralised -and disintegrated, there is not the smallest doubt in my mind that the -war would have come to an end within a month or two. Instead of that, we -have done nothing, while the enemy has been straining every nerve to -bring new troops into the field by scores of thousands, and to drill and -discipline them for the serious work of war. They have done all this so -effectually that they now have two or three men to our one, half a dozen -guns to our one, and supply departments so perfectly organised that no -man in all that host need go without his three good meals a day, while -we are kept very nearly in a state of starvation, and are now fortifying -at Centreville, like a beaten army, whose chief concern is to defend -itself against the danger of capture." - -"Have you ever heard an explanation of this strange state of things?" -asked Baillie. "You see, I've been out of the way of hearing anything -ever since the battle." - -"O, yes, I've heard all sorts of explanations. But the real explanation, -I think, is the lack of an experienced general, capable of grasping the -situation and turning it to account. Neither in the field nor in -authority at Richmond, have we a man who ever commanded an army, or even -looked on while a great campaign was in progress. General Johnston and -General Beauregard are doubtless very capable officers in their way. But -until this war came, they were mere captains in the engineer corps, -engaged in constructing Mississippi levees, and that sort of thing. -Neither of them ever in his life commanded a brigade. Neither ever saw a -great battle, or had anything to do with an army composed of men by -scores of thousands. - -"Their victory at Manassas simply appalled them. They didn't know at all -what to do next. They will probably become good and capable commanders -of armies before the war is over, but at present they are only -ex-captains of engineers, suddenly thrust into positions for which they -have absolutely none of that fitness which comes of experience." - -"But have they not learned enough yet? Will they not now see their -opportunity, and undertake a fall campaign?" - -"No. The opportunity is entirely gone. The Federal army is to-day much -stronger in every way than our own. We have pottered away the months -that should have been spent in vigorous and decisive action. The only -man in our army capable of seeing and seizing such an opportunity and -turning it to account--I mean Robert E. Lee--has been kept in the -mountains of Western Virginia, engaged in settling wretched little -disputes among a lot of incapable, cantankerous political brigadiers. It -means a long war and a terrible one, Baillie, and you'll have -opportunity to do all the fighting you want before it is over. But -nothing of any consequence will be done this fall." - -The young lieutenant was quite right in his prophecy. Except for a -little contest at Drainesville--amounting to scarcely more than a -skirmish--there was absolutely nothing done until the 21st of October. -Then occurred the small, badly ordered and strategically meaningless -battle of Leesburg, or Ball's Bluff, when the Federals were again -completely defeated. After that came a long autumn of superb campaigning -weather, and a tedious winter of complete inaction. Federal expeditions -besieged some of the forts and islands along the Carolina coasts, thus -preparing the way for a coast campaign which was never made in earnest. - -There was fighting of some consequence in Kentucky and Missouri, and as -the winter waned, General Grant made his important campaign against the -forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, breaking the Confederate -line of defence in that quarter, and pushing it southward. But in -Virginia, the natural battle-field, absolutely nothing was done during -all those months of weary waiting. - -For this strange and strangely prolonged pause in a war which had begun -with a rush and a hurrah, history has been puzzled to find an -explanation. It is true that the Confederate forces were untrained -volunteers, whose endurance and discipline could not have been relied -upon in an aggressive campaign to anything like the extent to which Lee -afterward depended upon the unflinching endurance and unfaltering -courage of these same men. But the Federal army was at that time in much -worse condition. To unfamiliarity with war and to complete lack of -discipline in that army, there was added the demoralisation of -disastrous defeat and panic. General McClellan said in his official -capacity, and with carefully chosen words, that when he was placed in -control in August, he found "no army to command,--a mere collection of -regiments cowering on the banks of the Potomac, some perfectly raw, -others dispirited by recent defeat, some going home." He completed his -description of the situation by saying: "There were no defensive works -on the southern approaches to the capital. Washington was crowded with -straggling officers and men absent from their stations without -authority." - -Why the Confederates, with their great victory to urge them on, made no -effort to take advantage of such conditions, but lay still instead, -giving McClellan many months in which to recruit and organise and drill -his forces into one of the most formidable armies of modern times, is -one of the puzzles of history. Perhaps Marshall Pollard's suggestion was -the correct explanation,--namely, that there was no general at Manassas -who knew what to do with a great opportunity, or how to do it. - -Seeing that Baillie was becoming excited by this serious talk, his -friend adroitly turned the conversation to less strenuous matters. Half -an hour later The Oaks ladies drove up in their antique, high-hung -carriage, to make that formal inquiry concerning Mr. Baillie Pegram's -convalescence which from the first they had made with great -scrupulousness three times every week. - -When they had gone, Pollard asked: - -"Have you seen Miss Agatha since that day last spring, when you were -requested not to visit The Oaks?" - -For a moment Baillie remained silent. Then he said: "If you don't mind, -I'd rather not talk of that, Marshall." - -That was all that passed between these two on that subject during the -week of Marshall's stay at Warlock. How unlike men are to women in these -things! Had these two young men been two young women instead, how -minutely each would have confided to the other the last detail of -experience and thought and feeling! And this not because women are more -emotional than men--for they are not--but because they are not ashamed, -as men are, of the tenderer side of their natures. - - - - -XII - -_UNDER ESCORT_ - - -No sooner had Agatha Ronald determined to enter upon a career of very -dangerous service to her cause and country, than she set herself -diligently to the work of perfecting plans which were at first vague and -undefined. It was no part of her purpose to fail if by any forethought -and thoroughness of preparation she might avert the danger of failure. -She determined to do nothing until every point and possibility, so far -as conditions could be foreseen, should be considered and provided for. - -First of all, she entered into perfect confidence with her maid, Martha, -telling the trusty negro woman as she meant to tell no other person near -her, except her grandfather, precisely what she intended to do, and how. -Martha had a shrewd intelligence likely to be useful in emergencies, and -her devotion to her mistress was as absolute as that of any devotee to -an object of worship. This mistress had been hers to care for by night -and by day ever since Agatha had been four years of age. All of loyalty, -all of affection, all of self-sacrificing devotion of which the negro -character in its best estate is capable, she gave to Agatha, never -doubting her due or questioning her right to such service of the heart -and soul. She knew no other love than this, no other life than that of -unceasing, all-embracing care for her mistress. - -It was with no shadow of doubt or hesitation, therefore, that Agatha -revealed her purposes to Martha, and asked for her aid in carrying them -out. And Martha received the somewhat startling confidence as calmly as -if her mistress had been telling her of an intended afternoon drive. - -When matters had settled down into apathetic idleness after the battle -of Manassas, Agatha made occasion to visit the army. Officers at Fairfax -Court-house had their wives and daughters with them at their -headquarters then, and many of these were Agatha's intimates, whom she -might visit without formal invitation. - -At their quarters, she received visits from such of her friends as -belonged to the cavalry forces stationed thereabouts. In her intercourse -with these, she steadily maintained the innocent little fiction that she -was there solely for social purposes, and to see the splendid army that -had so recently won an astonishing victory. - -One day, she learned that the picturesque cavalier, General J. E. B. -Stuart, had boldly pushed his outposts to Mason's and Munson's Hills, -and established his headquarters under a tree, within easy sight of -Washington. She instantly developed an intense desire to visit him -there. It happened that she knew Stuart and his family personally, and -had often dined in the great cavalry leader's company at her own and -other homes. So she said one day, to a young cavalry officer, who was -calling upon her: - -"I want you to do me a very great service. I want you to ask General -Stuart to let me visit him at the outposts. He'll offer to come here to -call upon me instead, for he is always gallant, but you are to tell him -I will not permit that. The service needs him at the front, and I want -to visit him there. Besides, I particularly want to take a peep at -Washington City in its new guise as a foreign capital which we are -besieging." - -The young man remonstrated. He protested that there was very great -danger in the attempt--that raids from the picket-lines were of daily -occurrence, that the firing was often severe--and all the rest of it, -wherefore General Stuart would almost certainly forbid the young lady's -proposed enterprise. - -The girl calmly looked the young man in the eyes--he was an old friend -whom she had known from her childhood--and said, very solemnly: - -"Charlie, I am no more afraid of bullets than you are. My heart is set -upon this visit, and you _must_ arrange it for me. As for General -Stuart, I'll manage him, if you'll carry a note to him for me." - -That young man had once begun to make love to Agatha, and she had -checked him gently and affectionately in time to spare his pride, and to -make of him her willing knight for all time to come. So he answered -promptly: - -"I'll carry your note, of course, and if Stuart gives permission, I'll -beg to be myself your escort. Then, if anybody bothers you with bullets -or anything else, it'll be a good deal the worse for him." - -The girl thanked him in a way that would have made a hero of him in her -defence had occasion served, and presently she scribbled a little note -and placed it in the young cavalryman's hands for delivery. It was -simple enough, but it was so worded as to make sure that Stuart would -promptly grant its request. It ran as follows: - - "MY DEAR GENERAL STUART:--I very much want to see you for half an - hour out where you are, at Mason's or Munson's Hill, and not here - at Fairfax Court-house. My visit will be absolutely and entirely in - the public interest, though to all others than yourself I am - pretending that it is prompted solely by the whim of a romantic - young girl. Please send a permit at once, and please permit - Lieutenant Fauntleroy, who bears this, to be my escort." - -The note was unsealed, of course, except by the honour of the gentleman -who bore it. Stuart's response was prompt, as every act of his -enthusiastic life was sure to be. He read the note, held a corner of -the sheet in the blaze of his camp-fire, and retained his hold upon the -farther corner of it until it was quite consumed. Then he dropped the -charred sheets into the coals, and turning to Lieutenant Fauntleroy, -commanded: - -"Return at once to Fairfax Court-house, detail an escort of half a dozen -good men under your own personal command, and escort Miss Ronald to my -headquarters. Be very careful not to place the young lady under fire if -you can avoid it. Ride in the woods, or under other cover, wherever you -can. Remember, you will have a lady in charge, and must take no risks." - -"At what time shall I report with Miss Ronald?" - -"At her time--at whatever time she shall fix upon as most pleasing to -her." - -Thus it came about that before noon of the next day, in the midst of a -pouring rain-storm, General Stuart lifted Agatha Ronald from her saddle, -taking her by the waist for that purpose. He welcomed her with a kiss -upon her brow, as the daughter of a house whose hospitality he had often -enjoyed. He quickly escorted her to a little brush shelter which he had -made his men hastily construct as a defence for her against the rain, -and ordered the sentries posted full fifty yards away, in order that the -conversation might by no chance be overheard. - -"It is a splendid service," he said, when the girl had finished telling -him of her plans. "But it will be attended by extraordinary danger to a -young woman like you." - -"I have considered all that, General," she replied, very seriously. "I -do not shrink from the danger." - -"Of course not. You are a woman, a Virginian, and a Ronald,--three -sufficient guarantees of courage. But I'm afraid for you. It is a -terrible risk you are going to take--immeasurably greater in the case of -a woman than in that of a man." - -"I have my wits, General,--and this," showing him a tiny revolver. "With -that a woman can always defend her honour." - -"You mean by suicide?" - -"Yes--if necessity compels." Stuart looked at the gentle girl, gazing -into her fawn-like brown eyes as if trying to read her soul in their -depths. Presently he said: - -"God bless you and keep you, dear! I'm going to ride back to Fairfax -Court-house with you. Make yourself as comfortable as you can here for -half an hour, while I ride out to the pickets. I'll be with you soon, -and then we'll have dinner, for you are my guest to-day." - -When the dinner was served, it consisted of some ears of corn, plucked -from a neighbouring field, and roasted with husks unremoved, among the -live coals of the cavalier's camp-fire. Stuart made no apology for the -lack of variety in the meal, for he sincerely accepted the doctrine -which he often preached to his men, that "anything edible makes a good -enough dinner if you are hungry, and the simpler it is, the better. -There's nothing more troublesome in a campaign than cooking utensils and -unnecessary things generally. If armies would move without them, there'd -be more and better fighting done. The chief thing in war is to start at -once and get there without delay." - -The meal over, Stuart held out his hand as a step, from which Agatha -lightly sprang into her saddle. Then he mounted the superb gray, which -he always rode when battle was on, or when he had a gentlewoman under -his charge. For there was a touch of the boyish dandy in Stuart, and a -good deal more than a touch of that gallantry which prompts every true -man of warm blood to honour womanhood with every possible attention. - -The horse was fit for his rider, and that is saying quite all that can -be said in praise of a horse. Mounted upon him, Stuart was the bodily -presentment of all that painters and sculptors have imagined the typical -cavalier to be or to seem. Stalwart of figure, erect in carriage, his -muscles showing themselves in graceful strength with every movement of -his body, his head carried like that of a boy or a young bull, his beard -closely clipped, his moustache standing out straight at the ends, and -resembling that of Virginia's earliest knight errant, Captain John -Smith, of Jamestown, Stuart was a picture to look upon, which the -onlooker did not soon forget. His many-gabled slouch hat was decorated -with streaming plumes, that helped to make of him a target for the -enemy's sharpest sharpshooters whenever battle was on. Full of vigour, -full of health, and full to the very lips of a boyish enthusiasm of -life, he seemed never to know what weariness might signify, and never -for one moment to abate the intensity of his purpose. He did all things -as if all had been part of a great game in which he was playing for a -championship. - -On this occasion, however, his manner was subdued, and his conversation -serious in a degree unusual to one of his effervescent spirits. He was -riding with Agatha Ronald for the very serious purpose of talking with -her about details that must be carefully arranged with a view to her -safety in the dangerous undertaking upon which she was about to enter. A -word or two to Lieutenant Fauntleroy sent that officer with his escort -squad to the front, while Stuart and his charge rode in rear. - -"Now, one thing more is necessary, Miss Agatha," he said. "You ought to -reënter our country far to the west, if you can, where there are no -armies, and only small detachments. Still, I don't know so well about -that. Here we keep the Yankees too busy at the front to attend to -matters in the rear, while over in the valley they'll have nothing -better to do than look out for wandering women like you. Anyhow, you may -find it necessary or advisable to enter my lines. In that case, you must -be arrested immediately and brought to my headquarters. That is -necessary on all accounts--to prevent the nature of your mission from -being discovered, and--well, to prevent you from having to report to -anybody but me. I shall want to see you, and hear all about your -results. So I'm going to give orders every day that will put every -picket-officer on watch for you, and impress every one of them with the -idea that you are a peculiarly dangerous person, in league with traitors -on our side, and trying to put yourself into communication with such. I -cannot give you any sort of paper, you see, for papers are always -dangerous. But I'll give you six words that will answer the purpose. -Whenever you speak the right one of these words with emphasis, the -picket-officer will understand that you are the very dangerous spy whose -entrance into our lines I anticipate, and whose arrest I particularly -desire to secure. I'll give out one of the six words each day, -particularly charging officers of the pickets that any woman entering -our lines by any means, and using that word with emphasis, is the spy I -want,--that her use of it will be intended for the purpose of finding -traitorous friends, and that any such woman, no matter upon what pretext -she enters the lines, is to be arrested as soon as she uses the word. -Only one of these words will be given out each day, but you will know -them all, and use them in succession until you use the right one and are -arrested. The words will be such as you can embody in an ordinary -sentence without exciting the suspicion of any of the men who may be -standing by,--for, of course, only officers will be commissioned to -arrest you. You can use the words in different sentences, until you use -the right one. Then you will be arrested and brought to my headquarters, -where I hope to have a better dinner than that of to-day to offer you." - -Just at that moment, the road along which they were riding passed -between two abandoned fields, each of which was skirted by woodlands on -its farther side. Stuart raised his head like a startled deer, and said: - -"We must quit the road here, and put ourselves behind that skirt of -timber over on the left. Your horse will take the fence easily." - -With that the pair pushed their animals over the rail fence on the left, -and at a gallop rode across the field toward a little strip of young -chestnut woodland that lay beyond. But just as they reached the centre -of the field there came the zip, zip, zip of bullets striking the earth, -the whiz of bullets passing their ears, and the weird whistle of bullets -passing over them, one of which, now and then, turned somersaults in its -course, and produced the peculiar sound that only bullets so misbehaving -are capable of producing. At the same moment, the escort under -Lieutenant Fauntleroy, who had been in front, fell back to protect its -charge, as it was its duty to do. Stuart hurriedly said to the girl: - -"Ride for your life to the chestnut-trees, and hide yourself there, -while I take care of those fellows. I'll come to you when it's over." - -With that he turned about, placed himself at the head of the little -escort squad, and, swinging his sabre, as he always did in action, led -them at a furious pace, over a fence and into the thicket from which the -fire was coming. The few men who were lurking there were quickly -scattered, and abandoning their arms, they ran with all their might to -the strong picket-post from which they had been thrown out to intercept -him. - -This done, all danger of further trouble was at an end, or would have -been, had Stuart willed it so. But the scent of battle was always in his -nostrils. His men were accustomed to say that he was always "looking for -trouble," whenever there was the smallest chance of finding it. So -instead of contenting himself with having dispersed the assailing party, -he wheeled about to the right, and led his squad with the fury of -Mameluke against the strong picket-post itself. Amid a hailstorm of -bullets he charged through the half-company there posted, and then, -turning about, charged back again, completing the work of destruction -and dispersal. - -It was not until this was over, and he had given the command, "Trot," -that he saw Agatha by his side, her pistol in hand and empty of its -charges, her hair loosened and falling in tangled masses over her -shoulders, her face aglow, and her lithe form as erect as that of any -trooper among them all. - -"But my dear Miss Ronald," Stuart ejaculated, "what are you doing here?" - -"Riding under gallant escort, General, that is all." - -[Illustration: "'_Riding under gallant escort_'"] - -"But I ordered you to take refuge in the timber." - -"Yes, I know," she answered, with a laughing challenge in her eyes, "but -as I have never been mustered in, I'm not subject to your orders. You -can't court-martial me, can you, General?" - -Stuart looked at her before answering--his eyes full of an admiration -that was dimmed by glad tears. At last he leaned over, kissed her again -upon the forehead, and said, impressively: - -"What a wife you'll make for a soldier some day!" - - - - -XIII - -_A SOUVENIR SERVICE_ - - -During the rest of the journey Agatha was excited and full of -enthusiasm. She had participated in a fight under the lead of the -gallantest of cavaliers, and she had borne herself under fire in a way -that had won his admiration. That admiration found expression in a -hundred ways, and chiefly in pressing offers of service. Before their -parting he said to her: - -"Now, my dear Miss Agatha, you really must let me do you some favour. I -want to cherish the memory of this day's glorious ride, and I want to -render you some service, the memory of which may serve as a souvenir. -What shall it be?" - -At that moment there came to Agatha's mind one of those inspirations -that come to all of us at times, quite without consciousness of whence -they come or why. She answered: - -"You are already doing everything for me, General. You have sanctioned -an enterprise on which I have set my heart, and you have done all you -could to make it successful. You gave me for dinner to-day the very best -ear of green corn that I ever tasted. You have personally and very -gallantly escorted me back here to Fairfax Court-house, and on the way -you have got up for me the most dramatic bit of action that I ever saw. -I am convinced that you did it only for my entertainment, and I am truly -grateful." Then with a sudden access of intense seriousness, she added, -"And you have opened a way to me to render that service to my country -which I had planned. Never, so long as you live,--and I hope that may be -long for Virginia's sake,--will you know or imagine how great a service -you have rendered me in this. But you insist upon doing more. You insist -that I shall crave a boon at your hands. Very well; I will do so." - -With that readiness of response which characterised everything that -Stuart did, he seized the opportunity offered, and broke into Agatha's -sentence with the answer: - -"Of course I insist. What is it that I may do?" - -"I want you to secure a captain's commission, then, for Sergeant-Major -Baillie Pegram. You know all about his family. He volunteered as a -private. He was promoted to be sergeant-major by Stonewall Jackson's own -request, in recognition of his good conduct. He was terribly wounded at -Manassas, mentioned in general orders, and strongly recommended for -promotion for gallantry on the field. My aunts write to me--" here -Agatha fibbed a little, as a woman is permitted to do under -circumstances that might otherwise compromise her dignity, for it was -not her aunts, but a highly intelligent negro maid in their service who -kept the young lady informed as to Baillie Pegram's condition--"my aunts -tell me he is getting well again, and will soon be ready for duty." - -"What is his arm?" asked Stuart, eagerly. - -"Light artillery," Agatha answered. - -"Has he influence?" - -"How do you mean?" - -"Could he get men to enlist?" - -"Why, of course. He's the master of Warlock, you know." - -Then with a little touch of embarrassment, she added, "I mean he is the -head of one of the great families, and they always have influence." - -"O, yes, of course," Stuart answered. "I see the situation clearly. Will -you say to Mr. Pegram--Sergeant-Major Pegram, I mean--that I have -authority from the War Department to raise three companies of flying -artillery, with the men all mounted, to serve with the cavalry, and that -if he can form such a company,--of fifty or seventy-five men, or better -still a hundred men--I will secure him a captain's commission with -authority to do so?" - -"But, General," said the girl, quickly, and in manifest fright, "I do -not correspond with Mr. Pegram. In fact we are _very nearly strangers_." - -"O, I see," answered the cavalier, with a twinkle in his eyes. "How long -has it been since you and this gallant young gentleman arranged to be -'very nearly strangers?'" - -"O, you entirely mistake, General," the girl quickly answered. "Really -and truly I never knew Mr. Pegram very well; but he wore a red feather -of mine at the battle of Manassas, and afterward he sent it back to me -and--well, anyhow he proved his gallantry and he really ought to be -something more than a sergeant-major, don't you think?" - -For answer Stuart made a sweeping bow, removing his hat and saying: -"Concerning Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram, I think whatever you think. -Anyhow, as he had the good taste to wear your red feather, and as he has -fought well enough to secure a wound and a mention in general orders and -your personal approval, he shall be a captain if he wants to be. Give me -his address, and you need not have any correspondence with him." - -"I'll write it," she answered, "if you'll excuse me for a moment," and -with that she retired within doors--for they had been standing in the -porch--in a rage of vexation with herself. She hastily sponged off her -inflamed face with cold water, dried it, and loosely twisted up her -errant hair, which had run riot over her neck and shoulders ever since -the little encounter with the enemy. Then she scribbled Baillie Pegram's -Warlock address on a scrap of paper and returned to Stuart's presence, -with the mien and bearing of a queen. - -The cavalier's face was rippling all over with smiles as he bade her -adieu, wished her Godspeed in her enterprise, and turned away. At the -steps he faced about, and advancing said to her: - -"When do you wish to return to Fauquier?" - -"I shall go home to-morrow morning," she answered. - -"You travel in your own carriage, of course?" - -"Yes, and my maid is with me." - -"Very well," he answered. "At sunrise a platoon under command of a -trusty officer will report here and serve as your escort." - -"But, General, surely that is not necessary." - -"Not necessary, perhaps," was the answer, "but it pleases me to have it -so, and you'll indulge my fancy, I am sure. I hope to have you as my -prisoner before many moons have passed." - -She understood, and with a rippling smile she replied: - -"Thank you, and good-bye. I shall certainly enjoy my next ear of green -corn if I am permitted to take it in your company, under some tree that -you have honoured by making it your headquarters." - -"O, my ravenous cavalrymen will have eaten up all the green corn long -before that time; but I'll give you a dinner if I have to raid a -Federal picket-post to get it." - -With that he sprang into his saddle, waved a farewell, and rode away -singing: - - "If you want to have a good time, - Jine the cavalry, - Jine the cavalry, - Jine the cavalry, - If you want to have a good time, - Jine the cavalry, - Jine the cav-al-ry." - -It was Stuart's boast at that time that he knew the face and name of -every man in his old first regiment, and he afterward extended this -boast to include all the men in the first brigade of Virginia Cavalry. -He used to say: "I ought to remember those fellows; they made me a -major-general." - -But however well Stuart knew his men, with whom he fraternised in a way -very unusual to most officers bred in the regular army, as he had been, -nobody ever pretended to know him well enough to guess with any accuracy -what he would do next under any given circumstances. On this occasion he -had not brought his staff with him, but that made small difference with -an officer of his temper, whose habit of mind it was to disregard forms -and ceremonies, and to go straight to his purpose, whatever it might -happen to be. When he left Agatha, he rode at once to the camp of a -detached company and asked for its captain. To him he said: - -"Send couriers to all the cavalry camps, and say that General Stuart -orders the entire force to report in front at once." - -He designated three roads and four bridle-paths by which the commands -were to move; and three or four points of rendezvous. Then he added: - -"Let the men move light--no baggage or blankets or anything else but -arms and ammunition." - -A moment later he met Colonel Fitzhugh Lee, who had succeeded him in -command of the old first regiment,--"my Mamelukes," as Stuart loved to -call them. The two grasped hands, and Stuart said: "I've ordered -everybody to the front. You are to take command on the left. We must -drive the Federal pickets back from all their advanced posts. They are -growing impudent. They fired at a lady under my personal escort to-day. -We must teach them not to repeat that." - -Of course the men who had done the firing in question had no means of -knowing that there was a woman among the assailed, and Stuart knew the -fact very well. But he chose to regard whatever happened as something -intended. - -Turning from Lee, he galloped to the camp of some batteries, and said to -the officer in command: - -"I wish you'd lend me a couple of guns or so for the afternoon. I've -some work to do. Send them out along the Falls Church road. I'll not -have to go borrowing guns after a little while. I'll have some mounted -batteries of my own." - -The officer addressed issued the necessary orders as quietly as a -gentleman in his own house might bid a servant bring a glass of water -for a thirsty guest. No questions were asked on either side, and no -explanations offered. It is not the military fashion to ask unnecessary -questions or to give needless explanations. - -By this time the cavalry regiments were streaming by on their hurried -way to the front, saluting Stuart as they passed, and now and then -cheering, as they were apt to do when they saw their gallant leader. He -in his turn nodded and bowed in acknowledgment, and now and then called -out a cheery word of greeting. He would be at the head of all these -fellows presently, and they knew that "the performance would not begin," -as they were in the habit of saying, till he should be there to lead. -But meanwhile he had something else to attend to, for Stuart never -forgot anything that he wanted to remember, however engrossingly he -might be engaged with other affairs. Riding up to a tent before which -Colonel Field was standing awaiting his horse, he asked: - -"Is your adjutant with you, Field?" - -"No--he has gone on with orders, but his orderly is here, General." - -"That will do as well." Then turning to the orderly, who had appeared, -he said: - -"Take down a paper from dictation, please. When it is written out, bring -it to me at the front for signature." - -The dictation was as follows: - -"General J. E. B. Stuart, commanding the cavalry, respectfully reports -that in pursuance of the authorisation of the War Department, he has -selected Sergeant-Major Baillie Pegram, of ----'s battery, as one of the -persons to be commissioned captain of artillery and authorised to raise -a mounted battery to serve with the cavalry. General Stuart begs to -report that Sergeant-Major Pegram's character and qualifications are -abundantly certified, and that he has already been mentioned in general -orders and recommended for promotion for conspicuous gallantry in the -battle of Manassas. He is at present at his home, recovering from a -severe wound received in that action. All of which is respectfully -submitted." - -"There!" said Stuart, when the dictation was done. "Write that out, fold -and indorse it properly, and bring it to me at the front for signature. -Then forward it through the regular channels." - -Then Stuart put spurs to his horse, and galloped to the front. There he -made hurried disposition of the various commands, and half an hour later -hurled his whole force precipitately upon all the Federal outposts on -the ten-mile line. The onset was sudden and resistless, and within a -brief while every picket-post of the enemy was abandoned, and a new -line of observation established many miles nearer to Washington City. - -With that tireless energy and that sleepless vigilance in attention to -details which always characterised the conduct of this typical -chevalier, Stuart spent the entire night following this day's work in -visiting his new outposts, from one end of the line to the other. Yet -when morning came he breakfasted upon an ear of raw corn and a laugh, -and rode on to Munson's Hill to learn what signals had been received -from his agents in Washington during the night. - - - - -XIV - -_QUICK WORK_ - - -It was a warm, soft day in autumn, joyous in its sunshine, sad in its -suggestions of the year's decay. Baillie Pegram, now nearly well again, -but still lacking strength, was lolling on the closely clipped sward -under one of the great trees at Warlock, chatting disjointedly with -Marshall Pollard, who had got away again on a few days' leave of -absence, for the purpose of visiting his friend. Baillie had already -written to his captain, reporting himself as nearly well again, -expressing regret at his long absence from duty, and announcing his -purpose of rejoining the battery within a week or ten days at -furthest--"at the earliest time," he said, "when I can persuade the -surgeons to release me from their clutches." This was likely, therefore, -to be the last meeting between the two friends for many moons to come. - -"Tell me about yourself, old fellow," said Baillie, after a pause in -the conversation. "How do you like your service in that battery of -ruffians?" - -"Thoroughly well. They're not half-bad fellows when kept under military -discipline, and I've enjoyed studying them psychologically. I'm -convinced that the only reason society has failed so consummately in its -attempts to deal with the criminal class is that it hasn't taken pains -to understand them or find out their point of view. We really haven't -taken pains enough even to classify them, or to find out the differences -there are among them. We class them all together--all who violate the -law--and call them criminals, and proceed to deal with them as if they -were a totally different species from ourselves, whereas, in point of -fact, they are 'men like unto ourselves,' with like passions and desires -and impulses. The only real difference is that circumstances and -education and association have taught us to curb our passions and hold -our impulses in check, while they have run wild, obeying those instincts -which are born in all of us. - -"They are usually very generous fellows--impulsive, affectionate, and -loyal to such friendships as they know. If you discovered any wrong -being done to me, or heard any unjust accusation made against me, you'd -resist and resent instantly. But you'd know precisely how far and in -what direction to carry your resentment, while these fellows do not know -anything except the instincts of a righteous wrath. There isn't a man in -Skinner's Battery who wouldn't be quick to stand for me and by me. But -in doing so he would calmly kill the man who injured me, and never be -able to understand why he must be hanged for doing so. - -"Most of them have been made hardened criminals solely by society's -blundering way of dealing with them. It has sent them to jail, for small -first offences, committed in ignorance perhaps. It has thus declared war -upon them, and with the instincts of manhood they have taken up the gage -of battle. In other words, it is my sincere belief that quite nine in -ten of the criminal class are criminal only because of society's neglect -at first and blundering afterward. They need education and discipline; -we give them resentful punishment instead, and there is a world of -difference between the two things. - -"However, I did not mean to deliver a lecture on penology. And after all -I am no longer one of the ruffians, you know. All the officers of the -battery are gentlemen, while none of the men happens to be anything of -the kind. There is, therefore, as sharp a line of demarcation drawn in -our battery, between officers and enlisted men, as there is in any -regular army. This makes things pleasant for the officers, and I fancy -they are not unpleasant for the men. It is a case of aristocracy where -the upper class enjoys itself and the lower class is content. It is -quite different from service in an ordinary Confederate company of -volunteers. There the enlisted men are socially quite as good as their -officers and sometimes distinctly better. Under such circumstances it is -difficult to maintain more of distinction and discipline than the -enlisted men may voluntarily consent to. Socially, with us Southern -people, it is quite as honourable to be an enlisted man in such a -battery as yours as to be a commissioned officer. That's a good enough -thing in its way, but it isn't military, and it is distinctly bad for -the service." - -"I don't know so well about that," said Baillie. "We have at least the -advantage of knowing that, discipline or no discipline, every man in the -ranks, equally with every officer, has a personal reputation at home to -sustain by good conduct. Even your desperadoes couldn't fight better -than the young fellows I had with me on the skirmish-line at Manassas, -though they had never had anything resembling discipline to sustain -them. Every man of them knew that if he 'flunked' he could never go home -again--unless all flunked at once and so kept each other company. That -very nearly happened while we were falling back across Bull Run." - -"Precisely. And it happened to the whole Federal army a few hours later. -Discipline, with a ready pistol-shot behind it, would have prevented -that in both cases. 'Man's a queer animal,' you know, if you remember -your reading, and one of the queerest things about him is that when he -has once accustomed himself to accept orders unquestioningly, and to -obey them blindly, as every soldier does in drilling, he becomes far -more afraid of mere orders than he is of the heaviest fire. Personal -courage and high spirit among the men are admirable in their way, but -for the purposes of battle, discipline and the habit of blind obedience -are very much more trustworthy. If you want to make soldiers of men, you -must teach them, morning, noon, and night, that blind, unquestioning -obedience is the only virtue they can cultivate. That isn't good for the -personal characters of the men, of course, but it is necessary in the -case of soldiers, and our volunteers will all of them have to learn the -lesson before this war is over. More's the pity, for I can't imagine how -a whole nation of men so trained to submission can ever again become a -nation of--oh, confound it! I'm running off again into a psychological -speculation. Fortunately, here comes a letter for you." - -A servant approached, bearing upon a tray a missive from The Oaks -ladies, which had been delivered at the house a few minutes earlier. The -grand dames assured Mr. Baillie Pegram of their highest respect and -esteem, but suggested that, to the very great satisfaction of the -anxiety they had so long felt on his account, they were convinced by his -assurances to that effect, that he was now so far advanced on the road -to complete recovery as perhaps to excuse them from the necessity of -making their thrice a week journey to Warlock to inquire concerning his -welfare. If they were mistaken in this assumption, would not Mr. Baillie -Pegram kindly notify them? And if the daily inquiries which they -intended to make hereafter through a trusty servant, should at any -moment bring to them news of a relapse, they would instantly resume -their personal and most solicitous inquiries. - -To this Baillie laughingly wrote a reply equally formal, in which he -assured the good ladies that their tender concern for him during his -illness had been a chief factor in a recovery which was now practically -complete. - -Meantime Sam had come with the mail-pouch from the post-office, and it -held two letters for Baillie. - -One of these was a formal and official communication from the War -Department, informing him that upon General J. E. B. Stuart's -recommendation, he had been appointed captain of artillery with -authority to raise a mounted battery of from fifty to one hundred men, -for service with the cavalry. His commission, dating from the day of his -wound at Manassas, accompanied the document, and with it an order for -him to proceed, as soon as he should be fit for service, to enlist and -organise the company thus authorised, and to make the proper -requisitions for arms and equipments. - -Baillie's second letter was a personal one from Stuart. It was scribbled -in pencil on the envelopes of some old letters and such other fragments -of paper as the cavalier could command at some picket-post. It read: - -"I have asked the War Department to commission you as a captain, to -raise a company of mounted artillery to serve with me in front. I -understand that you have a healthy liking for the front. The War -Department lets me choose my own men for this service, and I have chosen -you first, for several reasons. One is that you know what to do with a -gun. Another is that you fought so well at Manassas. Another is that you -are very strongly recommended to me by a person whose judgment is -absolutely conclusive to my mind. - -"Now get to work as quickly as you can. Enrol fifty or seventy-five, or -better still a hundred men if you can find them. Put them in camp and -instruct them, and report to me the moment you are ready. Make -requisition for guns--six of them if you can secure a hundred men--and -drill your men at the piece. For a hundred men in _mounted_ artillery -you will need about 170 horses--100 for the cannoniers to ride and 70 -for the guns, etc. There is likely to be your difficulty. Can't you help -yourself out a bit? I am told that you have influence. Can't you -persuade your neighbours to contribute some at least of the horses you -need? The quicker your battery is horsed the quicker you'll get a chance -to practise your men in gunnery with the enemy for a target. Please send -me a personal line, telling me how soon you will be ready to join me. It -will take a month or two, of course, but I hope it won't take more." - -Twelve hours later Baillie Pegram sent an answer to General Stuart's -letter. In it he said: - -"Thank you. I'll have the men and the horses within twenty-four hours. -If the guns are promptly forthcoming on my requisition, I'll be ready -within two days to receive orders to join you. As for drill, I can -attend to that in front of Washington as well as in camp of instruction -at Richmond." - -But before sending that note, which delighted Stuart's soul when it -came, Baillie Pegram had done a world of earnest work. - -First of all there was the problem of getting the men. The able-bodied -citizens of the county had already volunteered for the most part, but -some were still waiting for one reason or another, and Baillie, who knew -everybody, sent hurried notes to all of these, by special negro -messengers, asking each to send an immediate reply to him at the -Court-house. On this service he employed all his young negroes, mounting -them on all his mules. The men appealed to responded almost to a man, -for the master of Warlock was a man under whose command his neighbours -eagerly wanted to serve, and Baillie found more than half of them -awaiting him at the county seat, when he got there in mid-afternoon. - -Still better, he found a messenger there from one of the men whom he had -summoned. This messenger came from a camp at a little distance, where -were assembled about sixty or seventy men and boys peculiarly situated. -These men and boys had belonged to a company composed mainly of college -students, which had gone out with the earliest volunteers. The company -had been captured at Rich Mountain, and the men composing it had been -sent home on parole. Within the two days preceding Baillie Pegram's call -for volunteers, official notification had come of the discharge of all -these men from parole by virtue of an exchange of prisoners. Thereupon -the men, thus left free to volunteer again, had met in camp to consider -what should be done. Their company had been officially disbanded, and -there were now not enough of them left to secure its reorganisation. -When Baillie Pegram's call for volunteers came, therefore, the men were -called together, and in pursuance of a resolution, unanimously adopted, -a messenger was sent to the Court-house to say that sixty-two men of the -disbanded company offered themselves for enrolment under Captain Pegram, -and that they would report for duty on the following morning at the -Court-house. - -Thus before four o'clock Baillie was assured of his hundred men or more. -The next problem was to secure horses. He called together such of his -men as were present, and said: - -"Each of you is mounted. We shall need your horses. The government will -have them valued, and will pay the assessed price for any that may die -in the service. It will pay monthly for their services. How many of you -will enlist your horses as well as yourselves, as all our cavalrymen -have done?" - -The response was general, and many of the planters offered additional -horses on the same terms, so that, before night fell Baillie Pegram had -more than a hundred men and about a hundred and thirty horses secured. -Forty or fifty more horses must be had, but Baillie knew how to secure -them, and so he sent off his note to Stuart. Then he turned to Marshall -Pollard, and said: - -"I want you to go to Richmond by the midnight train, old fellow, and -return by the noonday train to-morrow. I've a mind to complete this -business at a stroke. I've a few thousand dollars in bank and a few -thousand more in the hands of my commission merchant. The money is worth -its face now. Heaven only knows what it will be worth a year hence. I'm -going to spend it now for the rest of the horses I need, and I want you -to go to Richmond and bring it to me. In the meanwhile I'll bargain with -a drover who is not very far away, for the horses." - -Then, weak as he was, Baillie planned to ride the dozen miles that lay -between the Court-house and the point where the drover was camping with -his horses, but one of his friends, who had just enlisted with him, bade -him to go to the tavern and to bed, saying: - -"I'll have the drover and his horses here before noon to-morrow, and I -shall know something about the horses by that time, too, for I'll come -back in company with them, and I'll keep my eyes open." - -No sooner was Baillie comfortably stretched upon a lounge in his hotel -room, than Sam presented himself. - -"Mas' Baillie," the negro boy broke in, without waiting for his master -to ask how he came to be there, "Mas' Baillie, you's a-gwine to be one -o' de officers now, jes' as you ought to ha' been fust off. Now you'll -need Sam wid you, won't you?" - -"I'll need somebody, I suppose," the young man answered, with a laugh at -Sam's enthusiasm, "but if I take you along where I am going, you'll -stand a mighty good chance of getting a bullet-hole through you, or -having your black head knocked off your shoulders by a shell. Have you -thought of that?" - -"Co'se I'se thought o' dat, an' I ain't de leas' bit afeard nuther. I'se -a Pegram nigga from Warlock, I is, an' a Pegram nigga from Warlock ain't -got no more business to be afeared o' bullets when his duty brings 'em -in his way, dan a white folks Pegram hisself is. Ef ye'll jes' take Sam -along of you, you sha'n't never have no 'casion to be shamed o' yer -servant." - -"Very well, Sam," answered the master; "now go back to Warlock, and tell -your mammy you're going to the war. By the way, you may have that old -velveteen and corduroy hunting suit of mine to wear. Get it from the -closet in the chamber, and tell your mammy to shorten the trousers legs -by seven or eight inches." - -Sam was fairly dancing for joy, and as he mounted his mule for the -homeward journey, he began to sing a dismal ditty which he had composed -as an expression of his feelings at the time of his master's first -departure from Warlock to serve as a soldier. Unhappily only a fragment -of the song remains to us. It began: - - "Dey ain't no sun in de mawning, - Dey ain't no moon shine in de night, - 'Case the war's done come an' de mahstah's done gone, - Fer to git hisse'f killed in de fight. - - "Oh, Moses! - Holy Moses! - Can't you come back 'cross de ribber? - Can't you let Gabrel blow his horn?" - -What lines were to follow, and what words rhymed with "ribber" and -"horn," we are not permitted to know. For at this point, Sam, whose -self-education included a considerable proficiency in profanity, broke -off his singing, reined in his mule, and said: - -"Dat's too _dam_ dismal fer de 'casion!" Then addressing the mule, he -reproachfully asked: - -"What for you done let me sing dat? Don' you know Sam's a-gwine to de -wah wid Mas' Baillie?" - -As the mule made no reply, the conversation ceased at this point, and -the remainder of the homeward journey was made in complete silence. - - - - -XV - -_AGATHA'S VENTURE_ - - -After a month or two of cautious correspondence with friends and others -who were to aid her in carrying out her purpose, Agatha Ronald set out -one day, and drove with Martha, her maid, to Winchester, where she had -friends. After a week's stay there, she made her way to a little town on -the Potomac, again taking up quarters with friends. - -From this point, she communicated through her friends with intimates of -theirs who lived in Maryland. Finally she had arrangements made by which -a succession of houses was open to her, all of them the homes of people -strongly in sympathy with the South. But she must first manage to get -through the Federal lines unobserved, and in this a Federal commander -unwittingly aided her. He threw a small force one day into the little -town in which she was staying, meaning to hold possession of it as a -part of the loosely drawn lines on the upper river. This left Agatha -within Federal domain--a young gentlewoman visiting friends, and in no -way attracting attention to herself. Presently she moved on into -Maryland, and by short stages made her way to the house of a very ardent -Southern family, near the Pennsylvania border. From there it was easy -for her to go to Harrisburg, and thence by rail to Baltimore. - -The chief purpose of her journey was now practically accomplished. She -had established what she called her "underground railroad," with a -multitude of stations, and a very roundabout route. But it would serve -its purpose all the better for that, she thought, as the chief condition -of its successful operation was that its existence should at no time be -suspected. - -In Baltimore, proceeding with the utmost caution, she put herself into -indirect communication with a large number of "Dixie girls"--as young -women in that city whose hearts were with the South were called. It -would not do for her to meet these young women personally. That might -excite suspicion, especially as most of them had brothers in the -Southern army. But through others she succeeded in organising them -secretly into a band prepared to do her work. - -That work was the purchase of medicines--chiefly morphine and -quinine--and the smuggling of them through the lines into the -Confederacy for the use of the armies there. For it is one of the -barbarisms of war which civilisation has not yet outgrown, that -medicines, even those which are imperatively necessary for the saving of -life and the prevention of suffering, are held to be as strictly -contraband as gunpowder itself is. - -Agatha's plan was to have her associates in Baltimore purchase medicines -and surgical appliances in that city and elsewhere--buying only in small -quantities in each case, in order to avoid suspicion, but buying large -quantities in the aggregate--and forward them to her in Virginia by way -of her underground railroad; that is to say, passing them from hand to -hand over the route by which she had herself reached Baltimore. - -Having perfected these arrangements, her next task was herself to get -back to her home, whither she did not mean to go empty-handed. She had -gowns made for herself and Martha, using two thicknesses of oiled silk -as interlining. Between these she bestowed as much morphia as could be -placed there without attracting attention. - -This done, she was ready for her return journey, which presented -extraordinary difficulty. She could not return by the way she had come, -lest the purpose of her journey should be discovered, and her plans for -the future be thwarted. She must find some other way. - -At first she thought of making her way southward to the lower reaches of -the Potomac, and depending upon chance for means of getting across the -river there, but this was rendered impracticable by the news that the -Confederates had retired from their advanced outposts to Manassas and -Centreville, with the Fairfax Court-house line as their extreme advance -position. This meant, of course, that they no longer held in any -considerable force the posts along the lower river. Moreover, Agatha -learned that both the Potomac below Washington, and the navigable part -of the Rappahannock were closely patrolled now, by night and by day, by -a numerous fleet of big and little Federal war-ships. There seemed no -course open to her but to try in some way to get through to Stuart's -pickets, if in any way or at any risk she could manage that. That she -determined to attempt. - -Her first step was to visit friends on the Potomac above Washington. -There she learned minutely what the situation was. With some difficulty -she secured permission to go as a guest to a house near Falls Church, in -Virginia. She had hoped there to find Confederate picket-posts, and to -work her way to some one of them by stealth or strategy, or by boldly -taking risks. She found instead that the nearest Confederate outpost was -at Fairfax Court-house, nine miles away, while the inner Federal lines -lay on the route from Falls Church to Vienna, and stretched both ways -from those points. Stuart was no longer at Mason's and Munson's Hills. -With the approach of winter the Confederates had retired to their -fortified line, and Stuart, with the cavalry, had established himself at -Camp Cooper and other camps, three or four miles in rear of the Fairfax -Court-house line, which now constituted his extreme advance. - -Moreover, the Federal army, under McClellan's skilled and vigilant -command, had been completely reorganised, drilled, disciplined, and -converted from the chaotic mass described in his report--quoted in a -former chapter--into an alert and trustworthy army, destined, during -later campaigns, to cover itself with glory. At present, McClellan, who -had no thought of advancing upon Centreville and Manassas, where the -Confederates were strongly fortified, was at any rate manifesting spirit -by continually pressing the Confederate outposts, and now and then -making considerable demonstrations against them. - -His inner picket-lines, as already explained, were drawn very near the -house in which Agatha was sojourning. His advanced posts--where the -skirmishing was frequent--were along the Fairfax Court-house line. -Between these two lines lay eight or ten miles of thick and difficult -country, held by the Federals, and scouted over every day, but not -regularly picketed. - -Thus, instead of a mile or two of difficulty, Agatha had before her ten -miles of trouble, with a prospect of worse at the end of it. - -Time and extraordinary care were necessary to meet these new -difficulties. Agatha's first problem was to find out all she could of -facts, to gather exact and trustworthy information. In this endeavour -she had a shrewdly intelligent co-adjutor in Martha. - -By way of avoiding suspicion--for the family with whom she was staying -were known to be strongly Southern in their sympathies, and the Federal -officers had begun to understand the devoted loyalty of the negroes to -the families that owned them--Agatha established Martha in a cabin of -her own a mile or more from the house. There Martha posed as a free -negro woman, who was disposed to make a living for herself by selling -fried chickens, biscuits, and pies to the Federal soldiers on the -interior picket-lines, and a little later to those posted farther in -advance. - -Martha was a sagacious as well as a discreet person. At first she showed -a timid reluctance to go farther toward the front than the inner lines -from Falls Church to Vienna. While peddling her wares there, she took -pains to learn all the foot-paths, and the location of all the -picket-posts in that region. Then little by little she allowed herself -to be persuaded to go farther toward the outer lines, for the soldiers -found her fried chicken and her biscuits and her pies particularly -alluring. - -It was only after she had mastered both the topography of the country -between, and the exact methods of its military occupation, that she so -far overcame her assumed timidity as to push on with her basket to the -picket-posts immediately in front of Fairfax Court-house itself. She -raised her prices as she went, lest by selling out her stock in trade -she should leave herself no excuse for going to the extreme front at -all. For the same reason she came at last to pass by many posts where -she had formerly had good customers, retaining her wares professedly for -the sake of the higher prices that the men at the front gladly paid for -something better to eat than the contents of their haversacks. - -Within a week or two Martha had learned and reported to her mistress -quite all that any officer on either side knew of the country, its -roads, its foot-paths, its difficulties, and the opportunities it -afforded. In the middle of every night, Martha made her way to her -mistress, or her mistress made her way to Martha, until at last, Agatha, -who had directed her inquiries, was equipped with all necessary -information, and ready for her supreme endeavour. It involved much of -danger and incredible difficulty. But the courageous young woman was -prepared to meet both danger and difficulty with an equable mind. She -knew now whither she was going and how, but the journey through a -difficult country must be made wholly on foot and wholly by night. - -Agatha was ready for the ordeal. As for Martha, the earth to the very -ends of it held no terrors that could cause even hesitation on her part -in the service of her mistress. - - - - -XVI - -_CANISTER_ - - -It was a little after midnight when Agatha and her maid, stripped of all -belongings that could impede them on their way, set out on foot upon -their perilous journey. Agatha was deliberately exposing herself to far -worse dangers than any that the soldier is called upon to brave in the -work of war. She could carry little in the way of food, and of course -could not replenish her supplies until she should succeed in entering -the Confederate lines, if indeed that purpose were not hopeless of -accomplishment at all. But the danger of starvation which these -conditions involved, was the very least of the perils she must -encounter. At any moment of her stealthy progress she might be shot by a -sentinel. Far worse than that, she might be seized with her tell-tale -medicines upon her person, while hiding within the forbidden lines of -the enemy. In that case, there would be no question whatever as to her -status in military law, or as to her fate. If she should fall into the -enemy's hands under such circumstances, by forcible capture or even by -voluntary surrender, she must certainly be hanged as a spy. She was -armed against that danger only by the possession of the means of instant -self-destruction,--her little six-shooter. - -It was comparatively easy for her to find her way during the first -night, through the slender interior picket-line, and into the forbidden -region that lay between that and the outposts in front. Every roadway -leading toward the Confederate positions was, of course, securely -guarded, and all of them were thus completely closed to Agatha's use. -She must steal through the thickets of underbrush that lay between the -roads, making such progress as she could without at any time placing -herself within sight or hearing of a sentinel. Sometimes this involved -prolonged waiting in constrained positions, and several times she -narrowly missed discovery. - -When morning came, the pair of women hid themselves between two logs -that lay in a dense thicket, and there they remained throughout the -daylight hours. There, too, before noon, they consumed the last -fragments of their food. - -During the next night they made small progress. They succeeded, indeed, -in crossing a deep and muddy creek that lay in front of them, but it was -only to find themselves confronted by a roadway, which ran athwart their -line of march, and which, on this night, at least, was heavily picketed -and constantly patrolled by scouting squads of cavalry. - -Agatha crept on her hands and knees, and quite noiselessly, to a point -from which she could make out the situation, and there the pair remained -in hiding among the weeds and bushes that skirted an old and partially -destroyed fence, until daylight came again. - -With the daylight came a considerable thinning of the line of videttes -in front, and toward nightfall, after a day of toilsome crawling back -and forth in search of a way of escape, the two women succeeded in -crossing the road unobserved. After crawling for a hundred yards or so -beyond the road, they hid themselves as securely as they could, and -waited for night to come again. - -They were suffering the pangs of excessive hunger and thirst now, and -gnawing roots and twigs by way of appeasing the terrible craving. It was -obvious to Agatha that this night must make an end of her attempt in one -way or another. She must reach the Confederate lines before the coming -of another day, or both she and her companion must perish of hunger, or -surrender themselves and be hanged. She suggested this thought to -Martha, whose only answer was: - -"Anyhow, you'se got your pistol, Miss Agatha." - -There were still two miles or more to go before reaching the little -patch of briars and young chestnut-trees just in front of the Fairfax -Court-house village, which was Agatha's objective. During her peddling -trips, Martha had learned that Federal sharpshooters were thrown into -this thicket every night, usually between midnight and morning, for the -purpose of annoying the Confederate pickets, stationed not fifty yards -away. She had learned, too, that nearly every morning, about daylight, -the Confederates were accustomed to rid themselves of the annoyance by -sending out a cavalry force to charge the thicket and clear it of its -occupants. It was Agatha's plan to hide herself and her maid there, and -be captured by Stuart's men when they should come. - -But she could not enter the bushes until the sharpshooters should be in -position. Otherwise they would be sure to discover her while placing -themselves. As soon as the riflemen had crept to their posts, Agatha, -favoured by the unusual darkness of a thickly clouded night, crept to a -hiding-place just in rear of the men. There she and Martha lay upon the -ground during long hours, well-nigh famished, and suffering severely -from cold, for the autumn was now well advanced. - -Unfortunately for Agatha's plan, the Confederates had adopted new -methods for this night. Instead of ordering cavalry to clear the -thicket, they had decided to clear it with canister. Accordingly, a -battery of artillery had been ordered to the front, and bivouacked half -a mile in rear of Fairfax Court-house. Thence just before daylight two -guns had been dragged forward by prolonge ropes, and stationed under the -trees of a little grove about fifty yards in front of the cover from -which the Federal sharpshooters were occasionally firing. - -Just at dawn, these two guns suddenly and furiously opened upon the -bushes with canister in double charges. - -The effect was terrific. The bushes were mown down as with a scythe, and -it seemed impossible to the two women that any human being should -survive the iron hailstorm for a single minute. The sharpshooters -scurried away precipitately, one of them actually stumbling over -Agatha's prostrate form, which he probably took to be that of some -comrade slain. But Agatha and her maid remained, and the fearful fire -continued. They remained because there was nothing else for them to do. -They could not retreat. They could not surrender. They were starving. -They must go forward or die. - -Then the courage and daring of her race came to Agatha's soul, and she -resolved to make a last desperate attempt to save herself, not by -running away from the fire,--which would be worse than useless,--but by -running into it. The danger in doing this was scarcely greater, in fact, -though it seemed so, than that involved in lying still, but it requires -an extraordinary courage for one unarmed and not inspired by the -desperate all-daring spirit of battle, to rush upon guns that are -belching canister in half-gallon charges, at the rate of three or four -times a minute. - -The sharpshooters were completely gone now, and nothing lay between the -young woman and her friends except a canister-swept open space fifty -yards in width. This the heroic girl--baffled of all other -resource--determined to dare. Directing Martha to follow her closely, -she rose and in the gray of the dawn ran like a deer toward the -bellowing guns. Fortunately, some one at the guns caught sight of the -fleet-footed pair when they had covered about half the distance, and, in -the increasing light, saw them to be women. Instantly the order, "Cease -firing!" was given, and the clamorous cannon were hushed, but a heavy -musketry fire from the enemy broke forth just as Agatha and her maid -fell exhausted between the guns. A voice of command rang out: - -"Pick up those women, quick, and carry them out of the fire!" Half a -dozen of the men responded, and strong arms carried the nearly lifeless -women to a small depression just in rear, where they were screened from -the now slowly slackening shower of bullets. - -When the fire had completely ceased, Captain Baillie Pegram ordered his -guns, "By hand to the rear," and rode back to inquire concerning his -captives. It was then that he discovered for the first time who the -fugitives were, and the horror with which he realised what he supposed -to be the situation, set him reeling in his saddle. - -He had heard nothing of Agatha's mission to the north, of course. He now -knew only that she had been hiding within the enemy's lines, and only -one interpretation of that fact seemed possible. Agatha Ronald--the -woman he loved, the woman upon whose integrity and Virginianism he would -have staked his life without a second thought--had turned traitor! He -did not pause to ask himself how, in such a case, she had come to be in -the thicket among the sharpshooters. He was too greatly stunned to think -of that, or otherwise to reason clearly. - -Nor did he question her, except to ask if she or her maid had been -wounded, and when she assured him of their safety, he said: - -"I don't know whether to thank God for that or not. It might have been -better, perhaps, if both had fallen." - -Agatha heard the remark, and understood in part at least the thought -that lay behind it. But she did not reply. She only said, feebly: - -"We are starving." - -"Bring two horses, quickly," Baillie commanded. "Lieutenant Mills, take -the guns back to the bivouac. Our work here is done." - -Then turning to Agatha, he explained: - -"We have no rations here; can you manage to ride as far as our bivouac? -It is only half a mile away, and we'll find something to eat there." - -Agatha's exhaustion was so great that she could scarcely sit up, but she -summoned all her resolution and managed to hold herself in place on the -McClellan saddle which alone was available for her use. Martha was -carried by the men on an improvised litter. - -At the bivouac, no food was found except a pone or two of coarse corn -bread and a few slices of uncooked bacon. But the delicate girl and her -maid devoured these almost greedily, eating the bacon raw in soldier -fashion, for, of course, no fires were allowed upon the picket-line. - -Food and rest quickly revived Agatha, and Baillie remembered certain -very peremptory orders he had received as to his course of procedure -should "any woman whatever" come into his lines. - -"I must escort you presently to a safer place than this," he said. - -"Am I to go under _compulsion_, Captain Pegram," the girl asked, "or of -my own _accord_?" - -"With that," he answered, "I am afraid I have nothing to do. My sole -concern is to take you out of danger. It is not my business to ask you -questions as to how you have come into danger in a way so peculiar." - -"And yet," she replied, "that is a matter that I suppose requires -_inquiry_, and I am ready for the _ordeal_." - -The moment she spoke that word, which was the fourth in the series that -Stuart had given her, and the one he had selected as a test for this -day, Baillie Pegram flinched as if he had been struck, while his face -turned white. Hoping that her use of the word had been accidental, or -that the emphasis she had placed upon it had been unintended, he asked: - -"What did you say?" - -"I said," she responded, very deliberately, "that I am ready for the -_ordeal_." - -The look of consternation on Baillie's face deepened. Without replying, -he walked away in an agitation of mind which he felt must be hidden from -others at all costs. Pacing back and forth under screen of some bushes, -he tried to think the matter out. Under his orders, he must arrest -Agatha and take her to Stuart, who had been more than usually anxious, -as Baillie knew, to capture this particular prisoner. But to do that, he -felt, must mean Agatha's disgrace and shameful death, and the staining -of an ancient and honoured name. Yet what else could he do? - -"Would to God!" he exclaimed, under his breath, "that my canister had -done its work better!" - -Then he fell into silence again, questioning himself in the vain hope of -finding a way through the blind wall of circumstances. - -"Agatha," he thought, "has been with the enemy, and has been trying to -get back again in order to render them some further traitorous service. -Stuart has obviously learned all about the conspiracy in which she had -been engaged. That is why he has been so eager for her arrest. That is -how he knew what signal-words she would use in her endeavour to find -some fellow conspirator among us. But why did she use the word to me. -Surely the conspiracy cannot have become so wide-spread among us that -she deemed _me_ a person likely to be engaged in it. Perhaps she spoke -for other ears than mine, hoping to find a traitor among those who stood -by. - -"And the worst of it is that I still love her. Knowing her treachery and -her shame, I still cannot change my attitude of mind. What shall I do? I -could turn traitor for her sake. I could manage to secure her escape, -and then give myself up, confess my crime, and accept the shameful death -that it would merit." - -For the space of a minute he lingered over this idea of supreme -self-sacrifice with which the devil seemed to be luring him to -destruction. Then he cast it aside, and reproached himself for having -let it enter his mind. - -"No love is worth a man's honour," he thought. "A better way would be to -kill her myself, and then commit suicide. No, not that. Suicide is -the coward's way out; and killing her would only reveal and emphasise -her crime." - -Just then one of his men approached him, and announced that orders had -come for the battery's return to its camp. Baillie walked back to the -bivouac, and said to his lieutenant: - -"Take command and march to the camp at once. I have some personal orders -to execute." - -With that promptitude which all men serving under Stuart learned to -regard as one of the cardinal virtues, the lieutenant had the battery -mounted and in motion within a few minutes. Not until it had made the -turn in the road did Baillie approach Agatha. Then he faced her, and -staring with strained and bloodshot eyes into her face, he abruptly -said: - -"I love you, Agatha Ronald. In spite of what you have done, that fact -remains. I love you!" - -[Illustration: "'_I love you, Agatha Ronald_'"] - -"This is neither the time nor place in which to tell me so," she -interrupted. Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, she broke down -and burst into tears. It was only a very few moments before she -controlled herself, and forced herself to speak clearly, though she did -so with manifest difficulty. - -"Please forget what you have just said," she began. "I realise your -position. I understand. I think I know what you have been thinking. You -have contemplated a crime for my sake,--the highest crime of all. For my -sake you have been tempted to sacrifice not only your life--which to a -brave man means little--but your honour, which is more precious to a -brave man than all else in the world. Tell me, please, and tell me -quickly, that you have put that temptation aside--that you have utterly -repudiated the horrible thought." - -"I have done so certainly," he replied, in a hard voice. "But why do you -care so much for that?" - -"Why? Because your honour--all honour--is precious to me, and I could -not respect you if you had consented to the thought of dishonour even in -your mind. I should loathe and detest your soul if for my sake or any -sake you could have done that. No, don't interrupt me, please," seeing -that he was trying to speak, "let me finish. I, too, am under orders, -one of which is to keep my lips sealed. But under such circumstances as -these I may disobey my orders without dishonour. I am not a soldier. -Let me tell you a little, then, so that you may not suffer on my -account. No harm will come to me when you take me, as you must, to -General Stuart. I am here by his own orders, and I was over there," -motioning toward the enemy's lines, "with his full knowledge and -consent. There. That is all I may tell you." - -The strong man turned deathly pale under the shock of the relief that -the young woman's words brought to his mind. For a moment Agatha thought -that he would fall, but recovering himself, he ejaculated, "Thank God!" -and those were the only words he spoke for a space. - -He presently ordered the horses brought, and helped Agatha to mount. - -"Can you manage to ride a McClellan saddle?" he asked. "There is no -other to be had." - -"I suppose not," Agatha answered, with returning spirits. "I suppose the -quartermaster's department does not issue side-saddles to the mounted -artillery for the use of errant damsels whom they capture. But I can do -very well on a cavalry saddle." - - - - -XVII - -_AT HEADQUARTERS_ - - -Agatha was well-nigh exhausted by the terrible strain she had endured. -She could scarcely sustain herself in the saddle, as she and Baillie set -out, her maid riding a-pillion behind her. She would have liked--if she -had dared risk it--to keep the silence of extreme weariness during the -journey to Stuart's headquarters, two or three miles away, but in fact -she talked incessantly, in a hard, constrained voice, limiting the -conversation strictly to external matters. She asked her companion about -his battery, the number and character of his guns, how many men he might -have under his command, the nature of his duties, and many other things, -chatter about which served as a substitute for the more personal -conversation that she was determined to avoid. She was fencing for -position, and her purpose was plain enough to Baillie Pegram, but at -the end of the ride the girl herself was more inscrutably a riddle to -him than she had been before. For just as they arrived, and when it was -too late for him to say any word in reply, she suddenly turned to him, -and said: - -"Before we part, Captain Pegram, I want to thank you for all you have -done for me, and still more for what you have felt--I mean your wish to -save me. I am very grateful, but--" - -There she broke off, leaving him to torture himself with almost -maddening conjectures as to what should have followed that bewildering -"but." - -At that moment Stuart, who had heard of the capture and was waiting, -came hurriedly from the piazza of his headquarters to greet and welcome -the arriving pair. With strong arms he lifted the girl from her saddle -and placed her on her feet, as he might have done with an infant child. -For he was a giant in strength, and his muscles were as obedient to his -will as were the troopers who so eagerly followed him in every fray. - -Seeing the girl's bedraggled condition, and understanding how sorely -shaken her nerves must be, he made no reference to the circumstances of -her coming, but cheerily said: - -"I am doubly fortunate, Miss Agatha, in having you again for a visitor, -and in having the ladies of my household with me just now; for God bless -these Virginia women," addressing this part of his remark to Captain -Pegram, "they are always with us when we need them." - -With that he hurried Agatha into the house, and placed her in feminine -charge, with orders that she should have food and rest and sleep, and -especially that she should not be annoyed by any questionings until such -time as she should herself desire to speak with him. - -"You will remain with us to dinner, Captain Pegram, if you please. There -are matters about which I wish to talk with you." - -When the two were left alone, he said: - -"Tell me, now, all you know about how Miss Agatha became your -prisoner--the details, I mean." - -When Baillie had finished the narrative, expressing wonder that the girl -had passed unharmed through that hailstorm of canister, Stuart said, -simply: - -"I'm glad your gun practice was no better." - -"So am I," the young man answered. - -It was not until late in the afternoon that Stuart was summoned to meet -his guest, who was also his prisoner. She had in the meantime divested -herself and her maid of their burden, and the precious drug had been -carefully packed for shipment under guard to Richmond. She had also -slept long and well after her breakfast, and was now as fresh and as -full of spirit as if she had known no hardship, and passed through no -danger. - -Before the dinner hour, Stuart had taken pains to send away all the -members of his staff, each upon some errand manufactured for the -occasion. At dinner there was no one present but his own family, Agatha, -and Captain Baillie Pegram. - -Stuart was all eagerness to learn not only the results, but the details -of the perilous journey, and to that end he required Agatha to begin at -the beginning and relate each day's experience. She did so, explaining -the arrangements she had made for her underground railway, and telling -him of a plan she had formed to give to that line a number of termini at -various points in Virginia, each under charge of some trusty "Dixie -girl," in order that there might be no interruption of the traffic, -whatever the future movements of the two armies might be. - -"It's the very crookedest railroad you ever heard of, General," she -added, when her account of it was finished, "but I expect it to do a -considerable traffic. I am to be its general freight agent, and I have -impressed all my agents with the fact that the preservation of our -secret is of far greater importance than the safe delivery of any one -consignment of goods. They will take plenty of time at every step, and -not risk discovery for the sake of speed." - -"That is excellent. But I wish I had suggested to you to make some -arrangement by which you might--" - -"O, I did that," she interrupted. "I took a leaf out of your book. Of -course, it will often be possible to get little letters through, but -letters are very dangerous--at least, when they say anything. So I have -taken your signal-words as my model, and laboriously constructed a -system by which I can say the most dangerous things in a letter without -seeming to say anything at all." - -"By signal-words?" - -"Yes, partly, but more in other ways." - -"For example?" - -"Well, if I send a foolish, chattering girl's note about nothing, and I -happen to write it in a 'back hand,' that fact will tell my -correspondent what I want to tell her. So if I write in an ordinary -hand, that will mean something quite different. In the same way, if I -write, 'My dear Mary,' it will signify one thing, while 'Dear Mary' will -mean another; I've arranged fourteen different forms of address, each -having its own particular meaning. The punctuation will mean something, -too, and the way I sign myself, and the colour of my ink, and the -occasional slight misspelling of a word--all these and a dozen other -things are carefully arranged for, so that I can tell a friend pretty -nearly anything I please, while seeming only to tell her the colour of -my new gown--if I ever have a new gown again--or anything else of the -kind that girls are fond of writing letters about." - -"But you and all your correspondents must have copies of your code for -all this. Isn't there great danger that one or another of them may be -discovered?" - -The girl laughed before answering. - -"Even you, General Stuart, must have found out that it is difficult to -discover what is in a young woman's mind. This code exists nowhere else -in the world. We've all learned it by heart, and can recite it backward -or forward or even sideways. No word of it has ever been written down on -paper, or ever will be. You gentlemen are fond of saying that we women -cannot keep a secret. You shall see how well we keep this." - -"O, as to that," answered Stuart, "I never shared any such belief. Why, -women keep secrets so well that we never know even what they think of -us. Is not that so, Captain Pegram?" - -"Yes, and perhaps it is fortunate for us, too, sometimes." - -"But I did betray a secret to Captain Pegram this morning," Agatha -continued, speaking gravely now. "He seemed so troubled at having to -arrest me under the circumstances in which I seemed to have placed -myself, that I relieved his mind by telling him I was acting under your -orders, or, at least, with your consent." - -"Perhaps you'd like to prefer charges against the captain? I dare say he -was very stern and inconsiderate." - -Instantly the girl flushed, and speaking with unusual seriousness, she -answered: - -"I beg to assure you, General Stuart, that Captain Pegram was altogether -generous and kind to me--far more so than I had a right to expect. I can -never sufficiently thank him." - -To Baillie, this speech was inscrutable and bewildering. It might mean -one thing, or another--much or little--according to the interpretation -put upon the words. It might refer only to Baillie's care for her -physical comfort and safety, or, as Baillie scarcely dared believe, it -might obliquely include in its intent, an acknowledgment of the -passionate declaration of love that he had been betrayed into making. It -might be interpreted to mean that the words surprised from his lips were -not unwelcome to her who had heard them. She had bidden him forget what -he had said, but might it not be that she herself remembered and was -not displeased with the recollection? - -He resolved to ask her for the answer to that riddle at the earliest -possible moment, but for the present he flushed crimson and kept silent. - -Stuart, however, had accomplished his purpose. He had found out, or -believed that he had found out, what he wished to know concerning the -attitude of these two toward each other, and he was mightily pleased -with the discovery. He abruptly changed the course of the conversation. - -"When would you like to go to your home, Miss Agatha?" - -"I should like to set out early to-morrow, General, if I may--if I am -released from arrest." - -"O, I shall not release you yet. You are much too dangerous a -conspirator for that. I shall send you home under guard, and I have -selected Captain Pegram to be your safe-keeper. I shall send him with -you, under orders to remain at Willoughby for a week, keeping you under -close surveillance. If at the end of that time he finds you sufficiently -subdued, he will have orders to put you on parole, and return to his -command. As he and you are 'almost strangers,' he will be a safer judge -of the propriety of releasing you than any other officer I could send -for that purpose." - -The two were sorely embarrassed by this announcement, coming as it did -without warning to either. Neither knew what to say, or whether the -arrangement was welcome or unwelcome to the other. The sudden -announcement of it, at any rate, was very embarrassing to both, and -Pegram received it with a feeling of consternation for the moment. In -the next instant, he realised the opportunity it would give him to renew -the morning's conversation, and to learn definitely what Agatha's -attitude toward him was to be after such a declaration as he had made. -For whatever else happens, an avowal of that kind, made with such -earnestness, never fails to work some change in a true woman's mind and -soul. Baillie managed, with some difficulty, to say: - -"I will be glad to carry out your orders, General." - -Agatha said nothing. What she thought and felt, it would be idle to -inquire. - - - - -XVIII - -_A BRUSH AT THE FRONT_ - - -A situation which might have become embarrassing, had it been prolonged, -was relieved at that moment by the arrival of a courier who had come in -hot haste with messages from the front. - -The enemy was moving upon Fairfax Court-house in three columns and in -strong force. The light of battle came into Stuart's eyes as he received -the news, and he issued hurried orders to his staff-officers as one -after another they came up at a gallop. To Agatha he said: - -"Remain here, you and the other ladies, unless orders come for you to -leave. I must borrow Captain Pegram from your service for a time, if I -may." - -"Gladly!" answered the girl, and her tone sorely puzzled Baillie Pegram. -But there was no time for speculation upon its meaning, for Stuart -turned to him and ordered: - -"Take your battery down the Vienna road, and act with Fitz Lee or -whomever else you find there. Move rapidly, but spare your horses all -you can." - -Then hurriedly turning to the couriers and staff-officers who stood by -their horses, he issued orders with the rapidity of one who recites the -alphabet or the multiplication table. Within the space of two minutes he -had assigned every brigade and regiment under his command to its post -and duty, and had sent to General Johnston at Centreville a request that -infantry supports might be moved forward and held within call in case of -need. A minute later he was a-gallop for the front. - -Baillie had preceded him, and even before the general had reached -Fairfax Court-house, Pegram's battery was hurrying down the Vienna road, -with the First and Fourth Regiments of Virginia cavalry just in front. -It was the work of a very few moments to form these forces and others -that were coming up, into a line of battle, facing the enemy, but by the -time they were in position, Stuart himself came up and took command. - -"Tell Captain Pegram," he said to a staff-officer, "to advance his -battery to the brow of the hill yonder, and open a vigorous fire upon -whatever he finds in front. Order Colonel Jones of the First Regiment to -take position immediately in rear of the battery, and support it at all -hazards." - -Within less time than it takes to write the words, Baillie Pegram's guns -were hurling shrapnel into the face of the enemy, whose response was -menacingly slow and deliberate. - -"That looks," said Stuart, presently, to one who rode by his side, "as -if they meant business this time. Send orders to the infantry in rear to -form a second line, and be ready in case we are beaten back." - -It should be explained that during the autumn of 1861 McClellan sent out -many expeditions, each wearing the aspect of an advance in force against -the Confederate position at Centreville. These movements were in reality -intended as threats, and nothing more. The chief purpose of them was to -keep the Confederates uneasy, and at the same time to accustom the -Federal volunteers to stand fire and to contemplate battle in earnest as -the serious business of the soldier. - -These advances were made always with a brave show of infantry, cavalry, -and artillery, and with all the seeming of the vanguard of an army -intending battle. But after a heavy skirmish the columns were always -withdrawn, leaving only picket-lines at the front. McClellan was not yet -ready to offer battle. It was during that period that President Lincoln, -weary of McClellan's delay and inactivity, sarcastically said that if -the general had no use for the army, he (Lincoln) would like to borrow -it for awhile. - -But this day's movement differed in some respects from those that had -gone before. It involved a much heavier force, for one thing, and the -proportion of artillery to the other arms was greater. Still more -significant was the fact that the commander of the expedition, instead -of making the customary dash, threw forward a heavy skirmish-line, -holding his main body in reserve, and otherwise conducting himself after -the fashion of a general sent to hold the front with as little fighting -as might be, until a much heavier force could be brought up. - -It was Stuart's duty, as the commander of the cavalry, to find out as -quickly as possible what lay behind the lines that confronted him, in -order that he might know and report precisely what and how much the -movement meant. To that end he sent for Colonel Jones, of the First -Regiment, and when that most unmilitary-looking of hard fighters -presented himself in his faded yellow coat, the pot hat which he always -wore at that time, and with his peculiar nasal drawl, Stuart gave the -order: - -"Take your right company and ride to the right around the flank of the -enemy's line. Find out what it amounts to. See if there are baggage and -ammunition trains in rear, and if they mean business. The whole thing is -probably as hollow as a gourd, but it may be otherwise. Go and find -out." - -In the meantime, Stuart had dismounted a part of his forces, and ordered -them with their carbines to form a skirmish-line on foot in front. The -rest of his men--three thousand stalwart young cavaliers, mounted upon -horses that had pedigrees behind them--were drawn up in double ranks -wherever there was space for a regiment, a company, or a squad of them -to stand. - -Then came half an hour of waiting. The enemy had thrown additional -infantry forward, and the skirmishing grew steadily heavier, as if the -Federal skirmish-line were being reinforced from moment to moment. - -In fact, that heavy advance-line embraced all there was of the Federal -movement, as Colonel Jones discovered, when with a single company of -horsemen he gained the enemy's rear. There were no baggage or provision -or ammunition trains to indicate a serious purpose of giving battle. - -The captain of the company which Colonel Jones had taken with him on -this mission of discovery, was a reticent person, but a man of quick -wits, ready resource, and a daring that always had a relish of humour in -it. When Colonel Jones suggested a return march around the enemy's left -flank, the captain asked: - -"Why not take a short cut?" and when asked for his meaning, answered: - -"It's an egg-shell, that line. The quickest way of letting Stuart know -the fact, it seems to me, would be to break through right here. He won't -be long in getting to windward of the situation when he sees us coming." - -The suggestion was instantly acted upon, with a startling dramatic -result. With a yell that made them seem a regiment of howling demons, -the fifty or sixty men charged upon the rear of the line and broke -through it. Even before the head of their little column showed itself on -the farther side, their yells had made sufficient report of the facts to -the alert mind of Jeb Stuart. He instantly led his entire force forward -to the charge. - -There was a clatter of hoofs, a clangour of sabres, a rattle of small -arms, and a roar from Baillie Pegram's guns. Everything was shrouded in -an impenetrable cloud of dust and powder-smoke. - -The enemy stood fast for a time, resisting obstinately and fairly -checking the tremendous onset. It was not until a brigade of infantry -and three full batteries had been brought into action that the Federals -gave way. Even then, they retreated in orderly fashion, with no -suggestion of panic or loss of cohesion. - -"George B. McClellan has at last got his army into fighting shape," -commented Stuart, when all was over. "He's going to give us trouble from -this time forth." - -The Federals were in full retreat, but their steadiness did not -encourage Stuart to send small forces in pursuit. He contented himself -with advancing his line half a mile for purposes of observation, after -which, as the night was falling, he ordered a general return of his -regiments to their encampments. - -When all was over, there were found to be many empty saddles in Stuart's -command. Among them was that which Baillie Pegram had ridden during the -morning's journey with Agatha Ronald. - - - - -XIX - -_AGATHA'S RESOLUTION_ - - -The reports which came to Stuart from the several commands that evening -included one from the senior lieutenant of Baillie Pegram's battery. -After reading it, Stuart took Agatha aside, and said: - -"I have news which it will not be pleasant for you to hear. Captain -Pegram is badly wounded, and in the hands of the enemy." - -The girl paled to the lips, but controlled herself, and replied in a -voice constrained but steady: - -"Tell me about it, General--all of it, please." - -"I'll tell you all that is known. Captain Pegram is an unusually -energetic officer, with a bad habit of getting himself wounded. His -battery to-day was in the extreme advance, but it seems that a little -hill just in front of him interfered with the fire of one of his guns, -and so he advanced with that piece to the crest of the mound. At that -moment the enemy made a dash at that point, and it became necessary to -retire the gun to prevent its capture. Pegram gave orders to that -effect, and they were executed. But almost as the orders left his lips, -he fell from his horse with a bullet-hole through his body. His men -tried to bring him off, but that involved the risk of losing the gun, so -he peremptorily ordered them to save the gun and leave him where he lay. -The enemy's line swarmed over the little hill, and when our men -recovered it, Pegram was nowhere to be found. The enemy had evidently -carried him to the rear to care for him as a wounded prisoner." - -"Can anything be done?" the girl asked, still with an apparent calm that -would have deceived a less sagacious observer than Stuart. - -"I could send a flag of truce to-morrow to ask concerning him, but it -would be of no use. You see the enemy refuses as yet to recognise our -rights as belligerents, and will not communicate with us in proper form. -Their answer would come back addressed to me, but carefully lacking all -indication of my character as an officer in the Confederate army. Under -my orders I could not receive a communication so addressed. It would be -of no use, therefore, to inquire, and in any case we could not secure -his exchange, as we have now no exchange cartel in force. I do not see -that we can do anything." - -The young woman stood silent for a full minute, while Stuart looked at -her, full of an admiration for the courage she was manifesting. At last -she asked: - -"General, will you send to the camp of Captain Pegram's battery, and bid -his servant report here to me at once?" - -For reply Stuart called Corporal Hagan--the swarthy giant who had charge -of his couriers--and ordered him to send a courier on Agatha's mission -without delay. - -Half an hour later Sam presented himself with eyes red from weeping, and -Agatha proceeded at once to business. - -"You care a great deal for your master, don't you, Sam?" - -"Kyar for Mas' Baillie? Ain't I his nigga? An' ain't he de mastah of -Warlock? Kyar for him? Why, Mis' Agatha, I'se ready to lay down an' die -dis heah very minute 'case he's done got hisse'f shot an' captured." - -"Then you are willing to take some risks for his sake?" - -"Sho' as shootin' I is. Yes, sho'er'n shootin', 'case shootin' ain't -always sho'. Jes' you tell me how to do anything for Mas' Baillie, an' -then bet all the money you done got, an' put your mortal soul into de -bet, dat Sam'll face de very debil hisse'f to carry out yer -'structions." - -"I believe you, Sam, and I'm going to trust you. You will go with me to -Willoughby to-morrow. We'll start soon in the morning and get there -before night. From there I'm going to send you north to find your -master. I'll tell you how to do it. When you find him, you are to stay -with him and nurse him, no matter where he is. And when he gets well -enough, you must find some way of setting him free from the hospital so -that he can make his way back to Virginia again." - -"But, Mis' Agatha, how's I to--" - -"Never mind the details now. I'll tell you about all that when I get my -plans ready. I'll tell you everything you must do and how to do it, so -far as I can, and you must depend on your wits for the rest. You're -pretty quick, I think." - -"Yes'm; anyhow I kin see through a millstone ef there's a hole through -it. But, Mis' Agatha, is you sho' 'nuff gwine to tell me how to fin' -Mas' Baillie an' take kyar o' him?" - -Agatha reassured him, and sent him off to sleep in order to be ready for -their early start in the morning. Then she joined Stuart and asked him: - -"Did you pick up any prisoners near the point where Captain Pegram -fell?" - -"I really don't know. Why?" - -"Why, if you did you'd know to what command they belonged, and that -would help me." - -"Help you? Why, what are you planning?" - -"To find Captain Pegram." - -"But how?" - -"Through my agents,--and Sam, his body-servant." - -"O, I see. Your underground railroad is to have a passenger traffic. -I'll find out what you wish to know. And if you'd like I'll have Sam -passed through our lines, after which he can pretend to be a runaway." - -"I thought of that," Agatha answered, "but it will not do. I must send -him through my friends. You see in Maryland he'll require a slave's pass -from a master, and my friends will be his masters, one after another. -Besides, they will help me find out in what hospital Captain Pegram is. -I've thought it all out. I must first prepare my friends for Sam's -coming. With your permission I'll take him with me to Willoughby -to-morrow." - -"You are a wonderful woman!" - -That is all that Stuart said, but it sufficiently suggested the -admiration he felt for her courage, her resourcefulness, and her womanly -devotion. Bidding her call upon him for any assistance she might need in -carrying out her plans, he dismissed her for the night, ordering her to -go to sleep precisely as he might have ordered a soldier to go to his -tent. But Agatha did not obey as the soldier would have done. She went -to bed, indeed, but she could not sleep. Her nerves were all a-quiver as -the result of the trying experiences to which she had been subjected, -until now her excited brain simply would not sink into quietude. She lay -hour after hour staring into the darkness, thinking, thinking, -thinking. She remembered the words that suffering on her account had -wrung from Baillie Pegram that morning at the bivouac, and she bitterly -reproached herself for having given him no worthier answer than a -command to forget what he had said. She knew now with what measure of -devotion this man loved her, and she knew something else, too, as she -lay there in the darkness face to face with her own soul. She knew now -that she loved Baillie Pegram with all that was best in her proud and -passionate nature. That truth confronted her. It was "naked and not -ashamed." Her conscience scourged her for what she regarded as her -heartlessness and frivolity in putting aside his declaration of love -with the false pretence that it found no response in her own soul. - -"I might at least have thanked him," she thought. "I might at least have -said to him 'there is no longer war between me and thee.' And now he -lies dead perhaps, or on a bed of suffering,--a wounded prisoner in the -hands of the enemy. All that I can now do is to search him out and send -Sam to nurse and comfort him." Then a new thought came to her. "That is -_not_ all that I can do. Shame upon me for thinking so, even for a -moment. I can go to him myself, and I will, if God lets him live long -enough. I'll take Sam with me. He can be very helpful in the search, -with his sharp wits and the freedom from suspicion which his black face -will secure him." - -The dawn was breaking now, and a score of bugles were musically sounding -the reveille in the camps round about. Agatha rose quickly, and without -summoning her weary maid, plunged her face into a basin of cold water -half a dozen times. Then seeing in her little mirror how hollow-eyed and -haggard she was, she wetted a towel and flagellated herself with it till -the colour came back and her nerves lost their tremulousness. - -So great a transformation did this treatment work, that Stuart -complimented her upon her freshness of face when she appeared at the -breakfast-table. He had meanwhile secured for her definite information -as to the Federal command that had made Pegram prisoner. He had also -managed in some way to secure a side-saddle for her to ride upon, and a -squad of cavalrymen, under command of a sergeant, was waiting outside -to be her escort on her journey. - -"Thank you, General, for giving me so good a mount," she said, glancing -with a practised eye at the lean but powerful animal provided for her -use. - -"You should have a better one, if a better were to be had. You deserve -it. By the way, you need not send the horse back by the escort. He will -not be needed here, for a time at least." - -Agatha looked at him, and then at the animal again, this time -recognising it as the one that Baillie Pegram had ridden by her side -twenty-four hours before. - -"He belongs to Captain Pegram, I believe," she answered. - -"Yes, his second horse, and he is specially careful of him." - -"I'll see that the animal is well cared for," answered the girl, -"until--" - -She did not finish the sentence, and Stuart turned away, pretending not -to see the tears that stood beneath her eyelids. - - - - -XX - -_TWO HOME-COMINGS_ - - -News of Agatha's safe return to Virginia had been sent to Colonel Archer -by a courier, on the morning of her arrival at Stuart's headquarters, -and the octogenarian promenaded up and down the porch all the next day, -during her homeward journey. - -He had greatly grieved to have his "ladybird" undertake her late -perilous enterprise at all. But with him at least Agatha was accustomed -to have her way, and moreover the spirit of the old soldier was strong -within him still, so that he was intensely in sympathy with Agatha's -courageous purpose to render such service as a woman might to the cause -that both had at heart. - -But Agatha had a harder task before her now. Remembering the -heart-broken tone in which he had bidden her good-bye on the former -occasion, and easily imagining the suffering he must have endured -during her absence, both from loneliness and from apprehension for her -safety, she thought with something like terror of her new necessity of -leaving him again, almost in the very hour of his joy at her return. For -it was her resolute purpose to set out again within a very few days,--as -soon, indeed, as she could feel confidence that her preliminary letters -would reach their destination before her own arrival there. - -There were other matters that troubled her, too. She must tell her -Chummie the reason for her second journey, and that would be a -distressing thing for her to do. She must tell him frankly--for she -would never in the least trifle with truth, especially in dealing with -him--that she had learned to love Baillie Pegram, and that she had in -effect put it out of possibility that Baillie Pegram should ever ask for -knowledge of that fact. - -To a woman of her sensitively proud nature, such a confession, even to -her grandfather, seemed almost shameful. She shrank from the very -thought of it, and flushed crimson every time it came to her mind during -that long day's ride. Yet not for one moment did she falter in her -determination to undergo the ordeal. Not for one moment did she -entertain a thought of evading the painful confession, or in any way -disguising the truth. So much was due to her grandfather, and never in -her life had she cheated him of his dues as Chummie. It was due to -herself also. To shrink from a duty because of its painfulness would be -cowardice, and there was no touch or trace of that most detestable -weakness in her soul. - -"Anyhow," she resolved, "I'll let him have one whole day of joy before I -grieve him with the news that I must go away again. And in telling him -of my first journey I'll say as little as I can about the dangers -encountered and the hardships endured; I'll make as much of a frolic of -it as I can in the telling. Surely there will be no untruthfulness in -that." - -That day's journey was a long one, but the start was early, and Baillie -Pegram's horse was a willing one, as that energetic young man's horses -were apt to be, while as for the troopers of the escort, they and their -horses were accustomed to follow at any pace their leader might set. It -was barely three o'clock in the afternoon, therefore, when the cavalcade -arrived at Willoughby, and Agatha threw herself into the old gentleman's -arms. - -"Oh, Agatha!" - -"Oh, Chummie!" - -That at first was all that the two could say. When Colonel Archer found -voice he greeted the troopers and bade them leave their horses to the -care of his servants. For the men were of that class, socially, to which -Colonel Archer belonged, and there was no thought at that time in -Virginia of treating a gentleman otherwise than as a gentleman, merely -because he happened to be a private soldier. - -"You will be my guests for the night," the host said, quite as if that -settled the matter. But the sergeant had orders which he must -obey,--orders which Stuart, with his unfailing foresight, had probably -given, to make sure that the presence of his men at Willoughby overnight -might not spoil an occasion of tender affection. - -"Thank you very cordially, Colonel Archer," answered the sergeant; "but -we are under orders to move on toward Loudoun County to-night. We are -permitted to rest the horses for three hours only. After that we must -march about a dozen miles before sleeping, so that we may complete a -little scouting expedition into Loudoun to-morrow. Our orders on that -point are peremptory." - -"Well, Ladybird, we'll have the gentlemen to dinner at any rate. As soon -as I heard of your coming I went out with my gun, and brought back two -big wild turkeys, as fat as butter. I thought you might come under -escort, so I've had them put both the birds on the spit. I'll wager you -gentlemen haven't seen a wild turkey this fall." - -So he ran on with his hospitable greetings, managing in his joyous -nervousness to upset two of the glasses which he had ordered a servant -to bring with the decanters, for the troopers' refreshment. Agatha -managed presently to get a word with him aside. - -"It is three o'clock, Chummie--an hour before dinner. I'll have time -enough to boil myself a little. Think of it, Chummie, I haven't had a -hot bath for a whole week!" Then turning to her escort she excused -herself until the dinner-hour. - -This was an unhappy circumstance, as Agatha learned when she came down, -fresh-faced, to the dinner. For, left alone with the troopers, the old -gentleman naturally asked them concerning the details of her coming into -Stuart's lines, and as the story of her dash through the canister fire -was echoing throughout the army, the young fellows grew enthusiastic in -their minute descriptions of her peril and her heroism. When Agatha -reappeared, therefore, the old gentleman was all a-tremble. He met her -at the foot of the stairway, and a little scene followed, which told the -girl not only that he knew all that had been most harrowing in her -experiences, but that the knowledge of it would make her coming absence -cruelly hard for him to bear. - -At dinner he found himself too tremulous to carve, and, for the first -time in his life, he relinquished that most hospitable of all a host's -offices to the younger men. - -"Never mind, Ladybird," he said, cheerily, as he saw how greatly -troubled she was, "it will pass presently, and you shall find me quite -myself again in the morning. We're going after the birds, you know, you -and I. I haven't allowed a partridge to be killed on the plantation this -fall, so that you might be sure of a good day's sport with Chummie." - -Thus it came about that as the old man and the young woman sat in the -firelight that evening, after the troopers were gone, Agatha changed her -purpose and told him of Baillie Pegram. Delicately, but with perfect -candour, she told the whole of the truth. - -"I learned to like him very much while I was in Richmond last Christmas, -and I was not to blame for that, was I, Chummie? He was so kind to me, -so good in a thousand little ways, so gentle in all his strength that he -reminded me of you, more than anybody else ever did. I used often to -think that he was very much the sort of man you must have been when you -were in your twenties. There was no reason, that I knew of, why I should -not like him. He was a gentleman, the representative of one of the best -families in the State, a man of the highest character, well-educated, -travelled, intellectual, and of charming manners. He did more than -anybody else--or everybody else for that matter--to make the time pass -pleasantly for me. You see how it was, don't you, Chummie?" - -The old gentleman nodded his head with a smile, and answered: - -"I see how it was, Ladybird. Go on. Tell me all about it." - -"Then one day there came a letter from The Oaks. It wasn't just a -scolding letter. It was something much worse than that. For if my aunts -had scolded me, I shouldn't have stood it." - -"What would you have done, Ladybird?" asked the grandfather, with a look -of pleased and loving pride upon his countenance. - -"I should have come back to Willoughby and you." - -"And right welcome you would have been. But go on. What did the old -cats--psha! I didn't mean that; I thought I heard a cat yowling as I -spoke--what did the good ladies of The Oaks say to you?" - -"O, they wrote very kindly and sorrowfully. They were shocked to know -that I had permitted something like intimacy to grow up between myself -and a young man without consulting them as to the proprieties of the -situation. But how could I have done that, Chummie? You see I didn't sit -down and say, 'I'm going to be intimate with this young man if my aunts -approve.' The friendship just grew, quite naturally, like the grass on a -lawn. I didn't think about it at all, and I don't see why I should. I -met Mr. Pegram in all the best houses; everybody was fond of him, and -everybody spoke of him in the highest terms. Why should I think--" - -"You shouldn't, Ladybird. I should have been ashamed of you if you had. -Only a vain or morbidly self-conscious girl would have thought in such a -case. And only--there goes that confounded cat again--only elderly -gentlewomen of secluded lives and a badly perverted sense of propriety -would ever have thought of such a thing. But continue, my child. I -suppose they told you about that idiotic old quarrel--" - -"Yes, Chummie--they told me and they didn't tell me. They never would -say what it was all about, or how much there was in it. Indeed, they -told me I was guilty of a great irreverence in even asking concerning -it. They said it should be quite enough for a well-ordered young woman -to know that these people were my father's enemies. As Mr. Baillie -Pegram never knew my father, I couldn't understand why he and I should -be enemies, but when I said something like that, I saw that the aunties -were terribly shocked. I suppose I'm not a 'well-ordered' young lady, -Chummie." - -"No! Thank God you're not. You are just a sweet, wholesome, lovable -girl--and that is very different from what those old--ladies call a -'well-ordered' young woman." - -"Well, anyhow," the girl resumed, "I obeyed my instructions. I wrote to -Mr. Pegram, telling him there could be no friendship between him and me, -and do you know, Chummie, they blamed me more for that than for all the -rest. They said it was 'unladylike' and a lot more things, for me to -write to him at all. But I never could find out what they thought I -ought to have done. I couldn't break off the acquaintance without -telling him I must do so, could I?" - -"_You_ couldn't, and I'm glad you couldn't. A 'well-ordered' young lady -would have done it easily. She would have told a lot of lies about not -being at home when he called, or having a headache when he wanted to -see her. You couldn't do that because you are honest and truthful, and -that's the best thing about you, except your love for your old Chummie, -and even that wouldn't be of much account if I couldn't trust its truth -and sincerity. Go on, child. I didn't mean to interrupt." - -"O, but you must interrupt. That's the only way I know what you're -thinking. Well, I went to The Oaks sometime later, and while there I -went out one morning for a ride by myself. My poor horse broke his leg, -as I told you in a letter, and Mr. Baillie Pegram happened along, and -was very kind in helping me out of my trouble. He insisted that I should -ride his mare home. I tried all I could to refuse, but he showed me that -I simply could not help myself, and so I took the mare,--the same one -that was killed under him at Manassas. That time the aunties did -actually scold me, or pretty nearly that. So I rebelled, and made up my -mind to come back to you at once. Mr. Pegram dined at The Oaks on the -day before I started, and he and I had a long talk, but of course it -could not change the situation. That was the last I saw of him until -the day before the battle of Manassas, when he took a red feather out of -my hat and wore it in the battle. He was terribly wounded in the fight, -but he sent the feather back to me as he had promised to do. I had -quoted to him or let him quote to me the Indian's defiance, 'There is -war between me and thee.' It was after that that he insisted upon taking -the feather and wearing it through the battle." - -The girl paused, but her grandfather said nothing for a whole minute. -Perhaps he felt that she needed the pause before speaking further. At -last he said, very low and gently: - -"Tell me about yesterday morning." - -She did so, sparing herself at no point. She told of Baillie's outburst, -and of the declaration of his love. She told, too, of her chilling -answer, and her perversity in so managing the conversation as to prevent -a recurrence to the subject. Finally she broke down, saying with -streaming eyes: - -"Oh, Chummie! I have ruined his life--and my own!" - -"I don't know so well about that. He may recover, you know." - -"Yes, I know. But what then?" At that she laid her head upon the old -man's breast and let herself become a little child again, in an -abandonment of grief. And with a childlike confidence and candour she -said at last: - -"Oh, Chummie! Don't you understand? He can never know. He will always -think of me as hard and cold and unresponsive. After what I said to him -yesterday morning, he cannot again tell me--why, Chummie, it was as bad -as if I had slapped him in the face!" - -The old man caressed her till her agitation subsided. Then, speaking in -a tone of wisdom which irresistibly carried conviction with it, he said: - -"You are wholly wrong, Agatha. Baillie Pegram is much too brave and -true, and much too generous a man to let this matter rest where it is. -If he recovers, as I pray God he may, be very sure he will come to you -again and tell you calmly what he blurted out without meaning to do so, -under stress of a trying situation. You must go to sleep now, little -girl. You are very weary and greatly overwrought. And we must be up with -the sun to-morrow on account of the birds. Good night, dear. You must -never leave me again while I live." - -There was unsteadiness in his step, as he gallantly ushered her through -the doorway, and as he returned to the room to extinguish the solitary -lamp. Then a heaviness came over him, and he sat down again in his easy -chair before the fire. The logs had ceased to blaze and crackle now, but -the old man sat still. The logs fell into a mass of glowing coals after -a time, and slowly the coals ceased to glow. One by one they went out. -Still he did not move. - -There were only ashes in the great fireplace when the morning came and -Agatha found her Chummie still sitting there where the fire of his life -had so gently gone out. - - - - -XXI - -_AT PARTING_ - - -News of Colonel Archer's death ran rapidly through a State of which he -had been one of the foremost citizens, by reason alike of his public -services and his private virtues. It quickly reached Stuart's ears, and -he promptly sent a courier with a letter of sympathy and friendship, at -the end of which he wrote: - -"Now, my dear Miss Agatha, I crave a favour at your hands. Your -grandfather was a soldier greatly distinguished in two wars. He should -have a soldier's burial, and with your permission, which I take for -granted, I am ordering a company of dragoons and a battery now stationed -at Warrenton and under my command, to move at once to Willoughby, and -there pay the last honours to the veteran." - -Heart-broken as she was, Agatha met calamity with a fortitude which -astonished even herself. She was still scarcely more than a girl, but -the blood of a soldier filled her veins,--a soldier who had never -flinched from danger or murmured under suffering. "I too will neither -flinch nor murmur," she said to herself. "Chummie would like it best to -see me brave and resolute, if he could know--and perhaps he does know. I -will bear myself as he would like me to." - -And she kept that vow to the letter. The tears would mount to her -eyelids now and then in spite of her and trickle down her cheeks; but -they were silent tears, accompanied by no moanings that were audible; -they were the tears of heart-break, not the tears of weakness and -self-pity. They were hidden for the most part from human view, and -resolutely restrained in the presence of others. And when any of those -who thronged about her for her consolation caught momentary sight of -them, the effect was like that produced when a strong man weeps. - -When the soldiers came she directed an attentive ministry to their -comfort, and after the last salutes to the dead had been fired over the -grave, she turned to Captain Marshall Pollard, whose battery it was -that had paid that tribute of honour, and asked in a steady voice: - -"Can you arrange to stay at Willoughby overnight? I have need to talk -with you of matters of some importance. It will be very kind and good of -you, if you can manage it." - -After a moment's reflection, Marshall answered: - -"I can stay till midnight, and that will give us time for our talk. I -must be at Warrenton at reveille in the morning, but my horse will -easily make the distance if I start by one o'clock." - -Then he spoke a few words in a low tone to his lieutenant, who took -command and marched the battery away, with all heads bared till they had -passed out of the grounds. - -"Let us not talk of my grandfather, please," said the girl, as the two -entered the drawing-room. "Not that I shrink from that," she quickly -added. "It can never be painful to me to speak of him. But it might -distress you. You knew him and loved him long ago, before--before you -and I quarrelled." - -She did not shrink from this reference to the past, or try in any way to -disguise the truth of it. Her mind was full of the dear dead man's last -words spoken in praise of her courage and truthfulness, and she was more -resolute than ever to live up to the character he had approved so -earnestly and with so much of loving admiration. - -"I think we did not quarrel," the young captain responded; "you did not, -at any rate. I misjudged you cruelly, and in my anger I falsely accused -you in my heart. Believe me, Agatha,"--he had called her so in the old -days, and the name came easily to his lips now,--"believe me when I say -that I have outlived all that bitterness. Let us be true, loyal friends -hereafter, friends who know and trust each other, friends who do not -misunderstand." - -The girl held out her hand, in response, and made no effort to hide the -tears with which she welcomed this healing of the old wounds. - -The young man, too, rejoiced in a reconciliation which laid his old love -for this woman for ever to rest and planted flowers of friendship upon -its grave. He was astonished at his own condition of mind and heart. He -learned now the truth that his mad love for Agatha had become completely -a thing of the past, and that the bitterness which had at first -succeeded it was utterly gone. He could think of her henceforth with a -tender affection that had no trace of passion in it. The dead past had -buried its dead, and the grass grew green above it. - -At that moment dinner was announced, for Agatha had decreed that life at -Willoughby should at once resume its accustomed order. "Chummie would -like it so," she thought. So the two friends passed through the hall to -the dining-room hand in hand, just as they had so often done in the old -days before passion had come to disturb their lives. - -Marshall had now one supreme desire with respect to Agatha,--a great -yearning to comfort her and help her as a brother might. He told her so, -when they returned to the drawing-room after dinner, to sit before the -great fire of hickory logs during all the remaining hours of Marshall's -stay. - -"Tell me now," he said, "of your plans, that I may share in them and -help you carry them out perhaps. What are you going to do?" - -"I'm going to find Baillie if I can, and nurse him back to health--if it -is not too late." - -"But he is in the hands of the enemy, you know." - -"Yes, I know. That makes it more difficult, but we must not shrink from -difficulties. I shall start north to-morrow." - -"But how?--Tell me about it, please." - -She explained her plans, telling him of the arrangements she had made -for bringing medicines through the blockade, transmitting letters, and -finding friends at every step in case of need. Then she added: - -"I'm going to take Sam with me this time. He is devoted to his master, -and his sagacity is extraordinary. I shall depend upon him to help me -find where Baillie is, and to do whatever there is to do for him." - -"Will you let me have writing materials?" the young man abruptly asked. - -Without asking for an explanation, she brought her lap desk, and with -the awkwardness which a man always manifests in attempting to use that -peculiarly feminine device, he managed to fill two or three sheets. When -he had done, he handed the papers to her, saying: - -"I can really help, I think. You will need money for your expenses. You -must have it in sufficient supply to meet all emergencies, so that you -may never be delayed or baffled in any purpose for want of it. And it -may easily happen that you shall need a considerable sum at once. Money -is the pass-key to many difficult doors. It so happens that I have a -very considerable sum invested in railroad and other securities, in the -hands of a very close friend of mine in New York. I have written to him -to sell out the whole of them and place the proceeds at your disposal in -any banks that may be most convenient to you." - -"But, Marshall, you are impoverishing yourself--" - -"In the which case," he responded, with his gentle, half-mocking smile, -"I should be doing no more than all the rest of us Virginians are doing -in this struggle. But I am doing nothing of the kind. I have a -plantation, you know, and absolutely nobody dependent upon me. If I -survive the war I shall have some land, at any rate, out of which to dig -a living. These investments of mine at the North were made long before -the war, and I should have sold them out at the beginning of the -trouble if I hadn't been too lazy to attend to my affairs. I'm glad now -that I was lazy. It enables me to help the two best friends I ever had -in this rather lonely world,--Baillie Pegram and you. A man may do as he -likes with his own, you know, and this is precisely what I like to do -with my securities. Fortunately my friend who has them in charge is a -blue-blooded Virginian, who would be fighting with us out there on the -lines, if he were not a helpless cripple, fit for nothing, as he wrote -to me when the trouble came, but to manage his banking-house. But how -are you to get these papers through with you, without risk of -discovery?" - -"I'll make Sam carry them," she responded. "Nobody will ever think of -searching him, particularly as his connection with my affairs will be -known to nobody except my friends and co-conspirators." - -"What a strategist you are, Agatha! What a general you would have made -if you'd happened to be a man!" exclaimed the young man in admiration. - -"No," she answered, hesitating for a moment, and then resolutely going -on to speak truthfully the thought that was in her. "No, Marshall, for -then I should not have had the impulse that teaches me now what to do. -Tell me now, about the war. Shall I find Willoughby occupied as a -Federal general's headquarters when I get back to Virginia?" - -"I don't know. I cannot even guess what the officials at Richmond mean. -I only know we have thrown away an opportunity that will never come back -to us. The army was full of enthusiasm after Manassas--it is discouraged -and depressed now. Then it was strong with the hope and confidence that -are born of victory; now it sits there wondering when the enemy will be -ready for it to fight again. It was fit for any enterprise then, and the -enemy was utterly unfit to resist anything it might have undertaken. But -it was not permitted to undertake anything. It was made to lie still, -like a pointer in a turkey blind, quivering with eagerness to be up and -doing, but restrained by the paralysis of misdirected authority. While -we have been doing nothing, the Federal enemy has been swollen to more -than twice our numbers. More important still, it has been fashioned by -McClellan's skilled hand into as fine a fighting-machine as any general -need wish for his tool. The officers have been instructed in their -profession, and the men have been taught their trade. Their organisation -is perfect, their discipline is almost as good as that of regulars, and -their confidence in themselves and their commanders is daily and hourly -increasing. Our men have abundant confidence in themselves, but none at -all in generals who throw away their opportunities or in a government -that touches nothing without paralysing it. Moreover, the Federal army -has supply departments behind it that could not be bettered, while ours -seem wholly imbecile and incapable. It should have been obvious to every -intelligent man at the outset, that with our vastly inferior material -resources, our best chance of winning in this war was by bringing to -bear from the first all we could of dash and ceaseless activity. We -should have taken the aggressive at once and all the time, knowing that -every day of delay must strengthen the enemy and weaken us. Instead of -that, after winning a great battle in such fashion as well-nigh to -destroy for a time the enemy's capacity of resistance, we have taken up -a defensive attitude and let the precious opportunity slip from our -grasp. It will never return. I do not say that we shall be beaten in the -end; I say only that our task is immeasurably more difficult now than it -was three months ago, and it is growing more and more difficult every -day." - -"You are discouraged then?" - -"No. I am only depressed. As for courage, we must all of us keep that up -to the end. We must be brave to endure as well as to fight,--if we are -ever graciously permitted to fight again. But I did not mean to talk of -these things. I am only a battery captain. I have no business to think. -But unfortunately our army is largely composed of men who can't help -thinking. Tell me now, for I must ride presently, is there anything that -I can do for you--any way in which I can help you?" - -"You will be helping me all the time, just by letting me feel that the -old boy and girl friendship is mine again. That is more precious to me -than you can imagine. Good-bye, now. Your horse is at the door. Thank -you for all, and God bless you." - - - - -XXII - -_SAM AS A STRATEGIST_ - - -Agatha's second progress northward was far more difficult of -accomplishment than the first had been. Under McClellan's skilled -vigilance the armed mob which he found "cowering on the Potomac" in -August, had been converted into an army, drilled, disciplined, and -familiar with every detail of that military art which it was called upon -to practise. The lines west of Washington were far more rigidly drawn -and more fully manned than before, and the officers and men who held -them exercised a vigilance that had not been thought of a few months -earlier. - -And this was not the only difficulty that Agatha encountered in her -effort to reach Baltimore. A passport system had been inaugurated at the -North, under operation of which those who would travel, and especially -those who travelled toward Baltimore,--a city whose loyalty to the -Union lay under grave suspicion,--must give a satisfactory account of -themselves in order to secure the necessary papers. War had begun to -bring the country under that despotism which military force always and -everywhere regards as the necessary condition of its effectiveness. - -It was a strange spectacle that the country presented during that four -years of fratricidal strife. A great, free people, the freest on earth, -fell to fighting, one part with another part. Each side was battling, as -each side sincerely believed, for the cause of liberty; each was -unsparingly spending its blood and treasure in order, in Mr. Lincoln's -phrase, that "government of the people, by the people, and for the -people might not perish from the earth." Yet on both sides a military -rule as rigorous as that of Russia laid its iron hand upon the people, -and the people submitted themselves to its exactions almost without a -murmur. Arbitrary, inquisitorial, intolerant, this military despotism -wrought its will both at the North and at the South, overriding laws and -disregarding constitutions, making a mockery of chartered rights, and -restraining personal liberty in ways that would have caused instant and -universal revolt, had such things been attempted by civil authority. - -The military arm is a servant which is apt to make itself the -unrelenting master of those who invoke its assistance. - -Agatha encountered this difficulty while yet inside the Confederate -lines. She was not permitted to pass in any northward direction upon any -pretence. The authorities at one place under Confederate control forbade -her to go to another place under like control. She appealed to Stuart in -this emergency, and although his authority did not extend into the -Shenandoah Valley, he made such representations to the commandants in -that quarter as were sufficient for her purposes. - -To get within the Federal lines was a still more perplexing problem. One -device after another proved ineffectual, and the girl was almost in -despair. She appealed at last to the general in command of the cavalry -in that region,--one of those to whom Stuart had written in her -behalf,--and he promptly responded: - -"At precisely what point have you friends in coöperation with you?" - -She named a little town within the Federal line where lived some of her -nearest friends. - -"I can manage that," he said. "The point is an insignificant one ten -miles within their lines. There are pretty certainly no troops there, -and the picket-lines in front are not very strong, as nothing could be -more improbable than the raid I shall make in that direction. You can -ride, of course." - -"Of course." - -"Very well. I'll take a strong force, make a dash through the -picket-lines, gallop into the town, and make a foray through the region -round about. You will follow my column as closely as you can without -placing yourself under fire, and when we reach the town, settle yourself -with your friends there, turning your horse loose lest he attract -attention. You'd better do that just before we reach the town, and walk -the rest of the way. Can you wear a walking-skirt under your -riding-habit, and slip off the outer--you see I'm a bachelor, Miss -Ronald, and don't understand such things." - -"You may safely leave all that to my superior feminine sagacity. When -shall we start?" - -"Whenever you wish. Only we'd better march in the afternoon and reach -the town after nightfall. The nights are very dark now, and you will -perhaps be able to escape observation in the town. Let me see," looking -at his watch, "it's now half past one. We could do the thing this -afternoon, if you were ready." - -"I can be ready in fifteen minutes," she replied. - -"You're very prompt," the officer said, with a suggestion of admiration -in his voice. - -"O, I'm half-soldier, you know. General Stuart approves me." - -"Very well, then. We'll march in half an hour." - -The operation was a very simple one, in its military part, at least. The -expedition was composed of a force much too strong for resistance by the -handful of men available for immediate use on the enemy's part. In the -guise of a foraging party it easily dispersed the picket-lines and -pushed forward rapidly, taking the little town in its course, but making -no halt there. It scoured the country round about, and as soon as -Federal forces began to gather for its destruction, it retreated by -quite a different route from that by which it had advanced. - -It was nine o'clock in the evening when Agatha slipped off her horse in -the little Maryland town and left it in charge of a trooper. A -five-minutes' walk brought her to the house of her friends, where she -was safe. - -With her walked her negro maid, who had ridden behind her. That maid's -name was Sam, and he quickly divested himself of the feminine outer -garments which he had worn over his own clothes. This device had been of -Sam's own invention, for that worthy, under stress of circumstances, was -rapidly developing into something like genius that gift of diplomacy -which he had before employed in discouraging his mammy's efforts to make -him her assistant in the kitchen. Sam was a consummate liar whenever -lying seemed to him to be necessary or even useful. In the service of -his master he had no hesitation in saying, or indeed in doing, anything -that might be convenient, and during her long stay north of the Potomac -Agatha was far more deeply indebted to Sam's unscrupulousness than she -knew. For when he found that his mistress had conscientious objections -to his methods, he simply forbore to mention them to her, and carried -out his plans on his own responsibility. Long afterward, in relating the -experiences of this time to his black companions at Warlock, he made it -an interesting feature of his discourse to keep reminding his hearers -that, "Mis' Agatha's so dam' hones' dat she wouldn't tell a lie _even to -a Yankee_." - -This declaration never failed to open the eyes of the auditors in -wonder, and to bring from their lips the half-incredulous response: - -"Well, I 'clar to gracious!" - -It was Sam who devised and suggested the next step in the present -journey. Agatha's arrival at the house, under cover of a very dark -night, had been unobserved by any one outside the household, but it was -obvious that her remaining there would involve grave danger of -discovery. Her presence could not be concealed from the servants of the -household, and however loyal these might be to their mistress and her -three daughters, who constituted the family, they would very certainly -talk, the more especially, if any efforts were made to keep the visitor -in hiding in the house. In a town so small--it was only a village, in -fact--gossip has quick wings, and there were sure to be some persons -there who would promptly report to the military that a young woman from -beyond the lines was in hiding in the town. - -The whole matter was discussed in family conclave during the night of -Agatha's coming, and fortunately Sam was present, for the reason that it -was specially necessary to conceal from the household servants the -interesting fact that the "maid" who had accompanied a young lady to the -place was in truth a stalwart negro boy. He remained in the room, -therefore, from which all the servants were rigidly excluded, and thus -became familiar with every detail of the puzzling situation. After -ingenuity had been fairly exhausted in devising plans only to reject -them one after another as impracticable, Sam, whose modesty had never -amounted to shyness, boldly broke into the conversation. - -"As I figgers it out, Mis' Agatha," he said, "de case is puffec'ly clar. -We cawn't stay heah, 'thout a-gittin' tuk up. We cawn't go back South -'thout a-gittin' tuk up an' maybe gittin' hung in de bargain. So we mus' -jes' go on Norf, now, immediately, at once." - -"But we can't, Sam. You don't understand. We can't travel without -passports." - -"Couldn't de ladies git a skyar into 'em, an' tell de Yankees dey jes' -cawn't an' won't stay any longer in a town whar de rebels is a-comin' -gallopin' through de streets, a-yellin' an' a-shootin' an' a-kickin' up -de ole Harry? Wouldn't de Yankees give 'em passpo'ts to de Norf den? -Wouldn't dey think it natch'rel dat a houseful o' jes' ladies what's got -no men-folks to pertect 'em, would be skyar'd out o' der seven senses -after sich a performance as dis heah?" - -"But, Sam," interposed his mistress, "that wouldn't do me any good or -you either. If anybody asked for passports for you and me, the officers -would ask who we are and where we came from, and all about it." - -"Don't ax 'em fer no passpo't fer you. Jes' let de other ladies ax fer -passpo'ts fer demselves, an' a nigga boy to drive de carriage. I'll be -de nigga boy. Den one o' de young ladies mout git over her skyar an' -jes' stay at home, quiet like, an' let you take her place in de -carriage. De young lady wouldn't have to go roun' tellin' folks she's -done git over her skyar an' stayed at home. Nobody'd know nuffin' about -her bein' heah fer a week, an' by dat time de Yankees would 'a' done -fergitten how many folks went away in de carriage." - -After some discussion it was agreed that Sam's plan, in its general -outline at least, was feasible, and as there was no alternative way out, -it was finally decided to adopt the scheme. - -"You mus' do it right away den," suggested Sam, "while de skyar is on to -folks. Ef you wait, de Yankees'll fin' out de trigger o' de trap, sho'. -An' after awhile, all de ladies 'ceptin' you, Mis' Agatha, can git over -de skyar an' come home agin." - -Sam's plan was aided in its execution by the fact that several other -families in the town were genuinely scared by the Confederate raid, and, -as soon as the Federal posts were reëstablished, asked for passports -under which they might send their women and children to less exposed -points. When Agatha's hostess made a like application for herself and -daughters, with their negro, "Sam, aged eighteen, five feet seven -inches high," and all the rest of the description, no difficulty was -encountered in securing the desired papers. - -In order that Agatha might go as far northward as possible without -having to renew her passport, it was decided that their destination -should be at a point well beyond the Pennsylvania border. Agatha had no -friends there, and she knew no one of Southern sympathies in the town -selected. But thanks to Marshall Pollard, she had command of money in -plenty, or would have, as soon as she could send the papers he had given -her to New York. It was arranged, therefore, that the little party, in -the character of refugees, should take quarters at a hotel until such -time as Agatha could renew her journey without her companions. In the -meantime, Agatha, by means of correspondence with her friends in -Baltimore and Washington, could prosecute her inquiries as to Baillie -Pegram's condition and whereabouts. - - - - -XXIII - -_A NEGOTIATION_ - - -Agatha did not remain long in the little Pennsylvania town. She found -its people to be positively peppery in their Union sentiments, and she -soon realised that she could make no inquiries from that point without -attracting dangerous attention to herself. She saw, too, that the little -city was not large enough for easy concealment. She could not there lose -herself in the crowd and pass unobserved whithersoever she pleased. She -promptly decided that her best course would be to go on to New York, but -even that could not be undertaken with safety for a time. She must -remain where she was for two or three weeks--long enough for her -presence there to lose its character as a novelty. - -Sam, who enjoyed her confidence to the full, suggested that she should -feign ill-health, and leave the place under pretence of seeking a -residence better suited to her constitution. That was not the way in -which Sam expressed his thought, of course, but he made himself clearly -understood by saying: - -"Tell you what 'tis, Mis' Agatha, you'se jes' got to git powerful sick -an' say you cawn't live in no sich a pesky town as dis here one. Den you -kin pack up yer things, ef you've got any, an' move on." - -Agatha laughed, and answered: - -"Why, Sam, I don't know how to be ill. I never had a headache in my -life, and I couldn't look like an invalid if I tried. No, Sam, we must -just wait here for a time." - -"Why, Mis' Agatha, it's de easiest thing in de world to make out as how -you'se sick when you ain't. I'se done it hundreds of times, when mammy -wanted me to wuk in de kitchen an' I wanted to go a-fishin'. All you got -to do is to look solemncholy-like, an' say you'se got a pain in yo' haid -an' a powerful misery in yo' back, an' cole chills a-creepin' all over -you. Tell you what, it's as easy as nuffin' at all." - -Agatha laughed again, but put Sam's plan aside without further -discussion, whereat that budding strategist went away sorrowful, -muttering to himself: - -"I done heah folks say as how 'white man's mighty onsartain,' but Mis' -Agatha's a heap wuss'n even a white man, leastwise 'bout some things." - -A week later, Sam presented another plan, which he had wrought out in -his mind at cost of not a little gray brain matter. - -"Mis' Agatha," he asked, "is you got any frien's in New York what you -kin trus' to do what you axes 'em to do?" - -"Yes, Sam. There's one gentleman there who will do anything I ask him to -do. He's the one to whom I sent the papers that I made you carry till we -got here." - -"Den you kin write to him?" - -"Yes, certainly." - -"Well, now, I'se got a plan dat'll wuk as easy--as easy as playin' of de -banjo. You jes' write to dat gentleman, an' git him to sen' you a -telemagraph, sayin' as how somebody's a-dyin' over there, somebody yo'se -powerful fond of, an' so you mus' come quick." - -This time Sam's suggestion commended itself to his mistress's mind, and -soon afterward there came a telegram to her, saying: - -"Come quick if you want to see Eliza alive." - -She hurriedly packed the few belongings which she had purchased in the -Pennsylvania town, bade her friends good-bye, and before noon of the -next day, was safely hidden in the little lodging which Marshall -Pollard's friend had secured for her in New York. In the great city she -might go and come and do as she pleased without fear of observation, and -without the least danger of attracting attention to herself. There is no -solitude so secure as that of a thronged city, where men are too -completely self-centred to concern themselves with the affairs of their -neighbours. - -Agatha's first inquiries concerning Baillie's whereabouts were directed -toward the military prisons and prison-camps, but in none of them could -she find a trace of the master of Warlock. When she had completely -exhausted this field of inquiry, a great fear came upon her, that the -man she sought was dead. The presumption was strong that he had died of -his wound before he could be sent to any of the prisons provided for -captured Confederates. A less resolute person would have accepted that -conclusion, but Agatha persisted in her search, extending her inquiries -to all the hospitals of the Federal army, and within a month her -persistence was rewarded. - -What she learned was that Baillie Pegram's wound had been too severe to -admit of his transportation far beyond Washington, and that he, in -company with a few other prisoners in like condition, had been placed in -an improvised hospital a few miles north of the capital city, where he -still lay under treatment, with only a slender chance of recovery. Her -first impulse was to go to Washington at once, and endeavour in some way -to secure permission to enter the hospital as a nurse. Her friends in -Washington and in Maryland discouraged this attempt, assuring her not -only of its futility, but of its danger. They were convinced, indeed, -that she could not even enter Washington, which was then a vast -fortified camp, without the discovery of her identity by the agents of a -secret service which had become well-nigh omniscient, so far as personal -identities, personal histories, and personal intentions were concerned. - -"Stay where you are," one of them urgently wrote her, "and keep yourself -free to act if at any time a chance shall come to accomplish any good. -It would spoil all and destroy the last vestige of hope, for you to -attempt what you suggest. You can do no good here. You may do -inestimable good if you remain where you are." - -When this decision was communicated to Sam, his round black face became -long, and the look of laughter completely went out of his countenance. -But Sam was not an easily discouraged person, and he had come to believe -in his own sagacity. So after a day or two of disconsolate moping, he -set his wits at work upon this new problem. Presently an idea was born -to him, and he went at once to lay it before Agatha for consideration. - -"Mis' Agatha," he said, "even ef you cawn't git to Mas' Baillie, Sam -kin, an' that'll be better'n nothin', won't it?" - -"Yes, Sam," answered the sad-eyed young woman, "very much better than -nothing. You could take care of your master, and be a comfort to him, -and if the time ever should come when anything could be done for him, -you'd be on the ground to help. But how can you get to him?" - -"I could manage dat, ef I was a free nigga," answered the boy, -meditatively. - -"But you are free, I suppose," said Agatha. "You've been brought to a -free State, practically with your master's consent, and that makes you -free, I believe. But--" - -"O, I don't want to be a sho' 'nuff free nigga," interrupted Sam. "I -ain't never a-gwine to be dat. I'se a-gwine to 'long to Mas' Baillie -cl'ar to de end o' de cawn rows. But I done heah folks up heah say dat -de Yankees is a-sendin' back all de niggas what runs away from der -mahstahs, an' ef I ain't got nuffin' to say I'se free, dey'd sen' me -back to Ferginny ef I went down dat way whar Mas' Baillie is." - -Sam's information on this point was in a measure correct. For in the -singleness of his purpose to save the Union at all costs, and in his -anxiety not to alienate the border slave States by interfering with -slavery where it legally existed, Mr. Lincoln steadfastly insisted, -during the first year of the war, that military commanders should -restore all fugitive slaves who should come to them for protection, or -where that could not be done, should list them and employ them in work -upon fortifications and the like. - -Agatha thought for a time, and then said: - -"I think I can manage that, Sam. I'll try, at any rate. But I must wait -till to-morrow. Tell me how you expect to get to your master." - -"I don't rightly know yit, Mis' Agatha. But I'll git dar. Maybe you'll -send a letter to yo' frien's down dat way, tellin' 'em Sam's all right, -so's dey'll trus' me. Ef you do dat, Mis' Agatha, I'll do de res'." - -It was impossible, of course, to execute legal papers setting Sam free, -nor were any papers at all necessary for his use, so long as he remained -in New York. But in Washington he might have to give an account of -himself, and by way of making sure that he should not be seized as a -runaway slave, and set to work upon the fortifications, Agatha's friend, -the banker, gave him a document in which he certified that the negro boy -was not a runaway slave, but was known to him as a legally free negro, -who had been living in New York, but wished to go to Washington and -elsewhere in search of employment. - -Armed with this paper, and with full instructions from Agatha as to how -to find certain of her friends, Sam set out on his journey full of -determination to succeed in his affectionate purpose. - -In Washington, he engaged in various small employments that yielded a -revenue in the form of tips. He purchased a banjo, and ingratiated -himself everywhere by singing his plantation songs, including both those -that he had learned from others, and a few, such as "Oh, Eliza," which -he had fabricated for himself. In the course of a week or two he learned -all he needed to know about roads, military lines, and the like, and was -prepared to make his way to the hospital where his master lay. - -There he besought employment of menial kinds, at the hands of the -surgeons and other officers, of whom there were only a very few at the -post. Again he strummed his banjo and sang his songs to good purpose, -impressing everybody with the conviction that he was a jolly, -thoughtless, happy-go-lucky negro, and very amusing withal. The hospital -was a very small one in a very lonely part of the country, and service -there was extremely tedious to those who were condemned to it. Sam's -minstrelsy, therefore, was more than welcome as something that -pleasantly broke the monotony, and the officers concerned were anxious -to keep the amusing fellow employed at the post, lest he go elsewhere. -They gave him all sorts of odd jobs to do, from blacking boots and -polishing spurs and buckles, to grooming a horse when privileged in that -way, to show his skill in "puttin' of a satin dress onto a good animal," -as he called the process. - -Agatha had provided the boy with a small sum of money for use in -emergencies, and, as his living had cost him nothing, he had -considerably added to its amount. He cherished it jealously, feeling -that it might prove to be his readiest tool in accomplishing his -purposes. - -For a time he was not permitted to enter the hospital, which was nothing -more than an old barn in which a floor had been laid and windows cut. -Four sentries guarded it, one on each of its sides. The patients within -numbered about fifteen, all of them wounded Confederate officers, for -whom this provision had been made until such time as they should be -sufficiently recovered to be taken North to a military prison. - -Being in no regular way employed at the post, Sam was free to go and -come as he pleased, and he did a good deal of night-prowling at this -time. He managed in that way to establish relations with certain of -Agatha's friends, whose residence was ten or a dozen miles away. He -visited them at intervals in order to hear from Agatha, and report to -her through them. He had not dared inquire concerning his master in any -direct way, or to reveal his interest in any of the hospital patients. -But when two of them had died, he had asked one of the servitors about -the place what their names were, and had thus satisfied himself that -neither of them was Captain Pegram. By keeping his ears on the alert, he -had learned also that there were not likely to be any further deaths, -and that the remaining wounded men were slowly, but quite surely, -recovering. Still further, he had heard one of the doctors, in -conversation with the other, comment upon the remarkable vitality of -Captain Pegram. - -"That wound would have killed almost any other man I ever saw, but upon -my word the man is getting well. Barring accidents, I regard him now as -pretty nearly out of danger." - -All this Sam duly reported to Agatha through her friends. It greatly -comforted her, but it seriously alarmed Sam. For Sam had learned the -ways of the place, and he knew that there was haste made to send every -patient North, as soon as he was in condition to be removed without -serious danger to his life; and Sam had begun to cherish hopes and lay -plans which would certainly come to nothing if his master should be -removed from the hospital to a military prison. - -He determined, therefore, to find some way of getting into the hospital, -communicating with his master, and finding out for himself precisely -what the prospects were. - -It was winter now, and besides the snow there was much mud around the -hospital, which was freely tracked into it by all who entered. Peter, -the rheumatic old negro man who was employed to scrub the place, -complained bitterly of this. He said to Sam one day: - -"Dese heah doctahs an' dese heah 'tendants is mighty pahticklah to have -de place keeped scrumptiously clean, but dey's mighty onpahticklah to -wipe dar boots 'fo' enterin' de hospital. Ole Pete's done got mos' -enough o' dis heah job." - -"Why don't yo' quit it, den?" asked Sam, with seeming indifference. - -"'Case I can't 'ford to. I ain't got no udder 'ployment fer de rest o' -de wintah, an' it's a long ways to blackberry time." - -"How much does dey gib yo' fer a-doin' of it?" - -"'Mos' nothin' 'tall--a dollah an' a half a month an' my bo'd." - -"Yes, an' de job won't las' long, nuther," said Sam, sympathetically, -"'cordin' to what I heah. De rebel officers is all a-gwine to git well, -I done heah de doctahs say, an' when dey does dat, dey'll be shipped off -Norf, an' dis heah 'stablishment'll be broke up. You'se too ole fer sich -wuk, anyways, Uncle Pete. Yo' oughter be a-nussin' o' yer knees by a -fire somewhars, 'stead o' warin' of 'em out a-scrubbin' flo's. You'se -got a lot o' prayin' to do yit, 'fo' yo' dies,--'nuff to use up what -knees you'se got left. Give up de job. Uncle Pete, and go off wha' you -kin make yer peace wid de Lawd, as de preachahs says you must." - -"But I cawn't, I tell you! I ain't got no money, an' I ain't got no -'ployment, 'ceptin' dis heah scrubbin'. Ef I had five dollahs, Ole Pete -wouldn't be heah fer a day later'n day afteh to-morrow--dat's pay-day." - -Sam sat silent for a time as if meditating on what he had it in mind to -say, before committing himself to the rash proposal. Finally, he turned -to the old man, and said: - -"Look heah, Uncle Pete, I'se sorry fer you, sho' 'nuff I is. I'se done -'cumulated a little money, by close scrimpin', an' I'm half a mind to -help yo' out. Lemme see. You'se a-gwine to git a dollah an' a half day -after to-morrow. I kin spar yo' six dollahs mo'. Dat'll make seben -dollahs an' a half. I'll do it ef you'll take pity on yerse'f an' go to -town an' git yerse'f a easier sort o' wuk. Yo' kin owe me de six dollahs -tell you git rich enough to pay it back." - -The old man was inclined to be suspicious of a generosity of which he -had never known the equal. - -"Who'se a-gwine to take de job ef I gibs it up?" he asked. - -"What de debbil do you k'yar 'bout dat?" asked Sam. "Anyhow, dey ain't -a-gwine to raise de wages. Yo' kin jes' bet yo' life on dat. Yo' kin do -jes' as yo' please 'bout 'ceptin' de offer I done made you. I oughtn't -to 'a' made it, but I'se always a-makin' of a fool o' myse'f, when my -feelin's is touched. Six dollahs is a lot o' money, _hit_ is. Maybe yo' -think I'm Mr. Astor, to go a-throwin' of money away like dat, or, maybe -yo'se Mr. Astor yerse'f, to be hesitatin' 'bout a-'ceptin' of it. Reckon -I bettah withdraw de offah--" - -"Who'se a-hesitatin'?" broke in old Peter, hurriedly. "I ain't never -thought o' hesitatin', Sam. I'll take de money sho', an' I thank you -kindly for yer generosity, Sam. You'se a mighty fine boy, Sam, an' I'se -always liked you ever since I fust knowed you. Now dat you'se a-behavin' -jes' like as if yo' was my own chile, I reck'lec' dat I always had a -fatherly feelin' foh you, Sam. Lemme have de money now, Sam, so's I kin -go to sleep to-night a-feelin' I ain't got but one mo' day to do dis -heah sort o' wuk." - -"Yo' won't change yo' mind?" asked Sam. - -"Sartain sho'! Wish I may die ef I do." - -Sam regarded that oath as one likely to be binding upon any negro -conscience, but he wished to take no risks; so putting on an air of -great solemnity, and pushing his face to within four inches of the old -man's, he said: - -"Now you'se done swore it by de 'wish I may die,' an' you mus' keep dat -sw'ar. Ef yo' don't, it'll be my solemn duty to carry out yo' wish by -killin' you myse'f, an', 'fore de Lawd, I'll do it. Heah's de money." - - - - -XXIV - -_FLIGHT_ - - -Sam had so far commended himself by alertness and thoroughness in -whatever he did, that he had no difficulty in securing what he called -"de scrubbin' contract." He now had perfect freedom of hospital ingress -and egress, but he felt that he must be cautious, especially in his -first revelation of his presence to his master, who, he was confident, -knew nothing of his being there. He feared to surprise some exclamation -from Pegram, which would, as he phrased it, "give de whole snap away." - -So on the first morning he began his scrubbing at the outer door, and -moved slowly on his hands and knees along the line of cots, taking sly -glimpses of their occupants as he went. It was not till he reached the -farther corner of the large room that he found the cot of his master. -Then with his face near the floor and scrubbing violently with his -brush, he began intoning in a low voice: - -"Don't say nothin', don't say nothin', don't say nothin' when yo' sees -me. It's Sam sho' 'nuff, an' Sam's done come, an' don't you give it -away." - -To any one ten feet away, all this sounded like the humming of a chant -by one who unconsciously sang below the breath as he worked. But to -Baillie, who lay within a foot or two of the boy's head, the words were -perfectly audible, and presently, without moving, and in a low murmuring -voice, he said: - -"I understand, Sam. I knew you were here. I heard you singing outside, -many days ago." - -Then the wounded man pretended to have difficulty in adjusting his -blankets, and Sam rose and bent over the cot to help him. While doing -so, he said: - -"Mis' Agatha, she done brung me to New York, an' sent me heah to fin' -yo'. How's you a-gittin'? Tell me, so's I kin report, an' tell me every -day." - -Baillie replied briefly that his wound was healing and his strength -coming back, to which Sam answered: - -"Don't you go fer to tell de doctah too much 'bout dat. Jes' keep as -sick as you kin, while you'se a-gittin' well. I'll tell you why another -time. Git 'quainted wid Sam more an' more ebery day, Mas' Baillie, so's -we kin talk 'thout 'rousin' 'spicion." - -In aid of this, Sam took pains, as the days went on, to establish -relations with all the other patients who were well enough to talk, and -as his inconsequent humour seemed to amuse them, the doctors made no -objection to his loquaciousness. - -It was one of the articles in Sam's philosophical creed that "yo' cawn't -have too many frien's, 'case yo' cawn't never know when you may need -'em." Accordingly, he cultivated acquaintance with everybody, high and -low, about the place, including the peculiarly surly man who brought the -coal and the kindling-wood for the establishment. That personage was a -white man of melancholy temper and extraordinary taciturnity. He went in -and out of the place, wearing a long overcoat that had probably seen -better days, but so long ago as to have forgotten all about them. The -only other article of his clothing that was visible was a slouch hat, -the brim of which had completely lost courage and could no longer -pretend to stand out from the head that wore it, but hung down like a -limp lambrequin over the man's eyes. The man himself seemed in an -equally discouraged condition. He shambled rather than walked, and never -answered a question or responded to a salutation, except in Sam's case. -To him, when the two were alone, the man would sometimes speak a few -words. - -Sam was daily and hourly studying everybody and everything about him, -with a view to possibilities. Nobody was too insignificant and nothing -too trivial for him to note and consider and remember. "Yo' cawn't never -know," he philosophised, "what rock will come handiest when yo' wants to -frow it at a squirrel." - -As the weeks passed, Baillie Pegram so improved that he sat up, and even -walked about the place a little. One day, Sam learned that Baillie and -three others were deemed well enough to be removed from hospital to -prison, and that the transfer was to be made two days later. During the -night after this discovery was made, Sam trudged through a blinding -snow-storm--the last, probably, of the waning winter--to the house of -Agatha's friends, ten or a dozen miles away, and back again through the -snow-drifts, arriving at the hospital about daylight, as he had often -done before, after a prowling by night. - -He had made all his arrangements but one, and he had armed himself for -that, by drawing upon Agatha's friends for ten dollars in small bills. - -During the day, he managed to tell his master all that was necessary -concerning the emergency, and his plans for meeting it. - -"To-morrow 'bout sundown, Mas' Baillie," he said, at the last. "'Member -de hour. When Sam speaks to yo' at de front do', yo' is to go ter yo' -cot. Yo'll fin' de coat an' de hat a-waitin' fo' yo'. Put 'em on quick, -an' pull de hat down clos't, an' turn de collah up high. Den walk out'n -de back do' fru de wood-shed, an' pass out de gate, jes' as ef yo' was -de ole man, sayin' nuffin' to nobody. Yo' mustn't walk straight like yo' -always does, but shufflin'-like, jes' as de ole man does. Den mount de -coal kyart an' drive up to de forks o' de road. Den shuffle out'n de -coat an' hat, an' git inter de sleigh. Yo' frien's 'ull take kyar o' de -res'." - -Having thus instructed his master, Sam postponed further proceedings -until the morrow. He had not yet opened negotiations with the old -coal-man,--negotiations upon which the success of his plans -depended,--but he trusted his wits and his determination to accomplish -what he desired, and he had no notion of risking all by unnecessary -haste. - -Even when the coal-man came during the next morning, Sam contented -himself with asking if he would certainly come again with his cart about -sunset of that day, as he usually did. Having reassured himself on that -point, Sam said nothing more, except that he would himself be at leisure -at that time and would help bring in the load of wood. - -Then Sam finished his scrubbing, and spent the afternoon in repairing -the apparatus of his handicraft. He readjusted the hoops on his -scrubbing-bucket, scoured his brushes, and ground the knife that he was -accustomed to use in scraping the floor wherever medicines had been -spilled or other stains had been made, for Sam had a well earned -reputation for thoroughness in his work. Curiously enough, he this time -ground the knife-blade to a slender point, "handy," he said, "fer -gittin' into cracks wid." - -When the coal-man came with a load of wood, a little before sunset, -dumping it outside the gate, Sam was ready to help him carry it in and -split it into kindlings within the shed. For this work, when the wood -had all been brought in, the old man laid off his overcoat and hat. -Thereupon Sam opened negotiations. - -"I'se a-gwine to a frolic to-night," he said, "an' I'se a-gwine to have -a mighty good time a-playin' o' de banjo an' a-dancin', but hit's -powerful cold, an' de walk's a mighty long one." - -Then, as if a sudden thought had come to him, he said: - -"Tell yo' what! 'Spose yo' lemme wahr yo' overcoat. Yo' ain't got far to -go, an' I'll give yo' a dollah fer de use of it." - -The old man hesitated, and Sam was in a hurry. - -"I'll make it two dollahs, an' heah's de money clean an' new," pulling -out the bills. "Say de word an' it's your'n." - -The offer was too tempting to be resisted, and the bargain was quickly -made. - -"Reckon I better go brush it up," said Sam, taking the garment and -managing to fold the soft hat into it. He passed through the door into -the hospital, cast his bundle upon Baillie Pegram's bed, and walked -quickly to the front door, where his master was standing looking out -upon the snow, now darkening in the falling dusk. - -"All ready," the negro said, in an undertone, as he passed, and Captain -Pegram wearily turned and walked toward his cot. Half a minute later, -what looked like the old coal-man passed into the wood-shed, and out of -it at the rear, whence, with shuffling steps he walked to and through -the gate, mounted the coal-cart, and slowly drove away. - -Sam, hurrying around the building, entered the wood-shed just as his -master was leaving it, and confronted the owner of the coat and hat that -Pegram wore. He was none too soon, for the old man, seeing Pegram pass, -clad in his garments, thought he was being robbed, and was about to -raise a hue and cry. Sam interposed with an assumption of authority: - -"Stay right whah yo' is," he commanded, "an' don't make no noise, do yo' -heah? Ef you keeps quiet-like, an' stays heah at wuk fer ha'f a hour, -an' den goes away 'bout yo' business a-sayin' nothin' to nobody, you'll -git another dollah, an' I'll tell yo' whah to fin' yo' clo'se. Ef yo' -don't do jes' as I tells yo', yo'll git dis, an' yo' won't never have no -'casion fer no clo'se no more. Do yo' heah?" - -Sam held the keenly pointed knife in his hand, while the old man worked -for the appointed space of half an hour. At the end of that time, Sam -said: - -"Now yo' may go, an' heah's yo' dollah. Yo'll fin' yer kyart at de forks -o' de road, an' yer coat an' hat'll be in de kyart. But min' you don't -never know nothin' 'bout dis heah transaction, fer ef yo' ever peeps, -dey'll hang yo' fer helpin' a pris'ner to escape, an' I'll kill yo' -besides. Go, now. Do yo' heah?" - -Sam watched him pass out through the gate and turn up the road. When he -had disappeared, the black strategist muttered: - -"Reckon dat suggestion 'bout gittin' hisse'f 'rested fer helpin' a -pris'ner 'scape, will sort o' bar itse'f in on de ole man's min'. He -won't never let hisse'f 'member nuffin' 'bout dis heah. Anyhow, Mas' -Baillie's gone, an' it's time Sam was a-gittin' out o' this, too." - -With that the boy secured his banjo and bade good night to the surgeon -whom he met outside, saying that he was going to have a "powerful good -time at de frolic." - - - - -XXV - -_A NARROW ESCAPE_ - - -Baillie Pegram found little difficulty in imitating the shambling gait -of the old coal man as he walked to the hospital exit. In his weakness -he could hardly have walked in any other fashion. He managed with -difficulty to climb upon the cart, and to endure the painful drive to -the forks of the road, somewhat more than half a mile away. - -There he found a sleigh awaiting him, with four women in it, all muffled -to the eyes in buffalo-robes, and a gentleman wrapped in a fur overcoat, -on the box. The gentleman gave the reins to one of the ladies, and -proceeded to help Pegram from the coal-cart, while the others stepped -out upon the hard frozen snow. - -The body of the sleigh was deep, and it had been filled with fresh rye -straw. One of the gentlewomen parted this to either side, and spread a -fur robe upon the floor beneath, into which the gentleman hurriedly -helped Baillie, drawing the robe closely together over him, and -replacing the straw so that no part of the fur wrapping beneath could be -seen. - -All this was done quickly, and without a word, the women resumed their -seats, the man cracked his whip, and the spirited horses set off at a -merry pace. - -By way of precaution, a roundabout road was followed, and it was late -when the sleighing-party reached its destination. There the women -alighted and passed into the house. The gentleman drove the sleigh into -the barn, with Baillie Pegram still lying under the straw. When the -horses were unhitched, their owner directed the negro, who took charge -of them, to walk them back and forth down by the stables to cool them -off, before putting them into their stalls. It was not until the hostler -was well away from the barn that his master removed the seats and lifted -Baillie from his hiding-place under the straw. By that time, a young -man, perhaps thirty years old, and strong of frame, had appeared, and -the two hurriedly carried the now nearly helpless man into the house, -where a bed awaited him. Stripping him, the younger man proceeded to -examine the wound with the skilful eye of a surgeon. - -"The wound has suffered no injury," he presently said to his host, "but -the man is greatly exhausted. Will you heat some flat-irons, and place -them at his feet? He must have nourishment, too, but of course it won't -do to bring any of the servants in here--" - -"I'll manage that," said the host. "We are all supposed to have been out -on a lark, and I always have a late supper after that sort of thing. -I'll have it served in the room that opens out of this. As soon as it -comes, I'll send the servants away, and we can feed your patient from -our table." - -In the meanwhile, the ever faithful Sam, half frozen but full of courage -and determination, was toiling over the flint-like snow, trying to reach -the house before the morning. In order that he might the better keep his -hands from freezing, he cast his banjo into a snow-filled ravine, -saying: - -"Reckon I sha'n't need you any more, an' ef I does, I kin git another." -With that, he thrust his hands into his pockets, where his accumulated -earnings reassured him as to his ability to buy banjos at will. - -It had been a part of the plan of rescue that Baillie should remain but -a brief while at his present stopping-place. It was deemed certain that -a search for him would be made as soon as his escape should be -discovered, and the house in which he had been put to bed that night was -likely to be one of the first to be examined, wherefore Sam was anxious -to reach that destination as soon as possible, lest he miss his master. - -But when the morning came, Baillie was in a high fever, and the doctor -forbade all attempts to remove him, for a time at least. As the day -advanced, the fever subsided somewhat, and Baillie grew anxious to -continue his journey. Finally, the doctor hit upon a plan of procedure. - -"You simply must not now undertake the long journey we had intended you -to make to-day, Captain," he said, "but the distance to my house in the -town is comparatively small. I might manage to take you there this -afternoon, if you think you can sit up in my sleigh for a five-mile -ride, and then get out at my door and walk into the house without -tottering on your legs." - -Baillie eagerly protested his ability to endure the ride, and the doctor -proceeded to arrange for it. Some clothing had already been provided in -the house for Baillie to don in place of his uniform, and the doctor now -said: - -"I'm going to drive home at once. I'll be back before three o'clock. Get -the captain into his citizen's clothes and have him ready by that time, -but let him lie down till I come, to spare his strength. I've a patient -in town, a consumptive, and I've been taking him out with me every fine -day, for the sake of the air. He is not very ill at present, but he is -one of us, and will be just as sick as I tell him to be when I get him -here. I'm afraid I shall find it necessary to ask you to keep him for a -day or two." - -The hint was understood, and the doctor drove away behind a pair of good -trotters. Before the appointed time he returned, bringing his patient -with him, and at his request the sick man was put to bed in the room -where Baillie had passed the night. - -A few minutes later a party of soldiers rode up and reported that they -were under orders to search the house for an escaped Confederate -officer. The doctor, with a well assumed look of professional concern on -his face, said to the officer in command of the squad: - -"That is a trifle unfortunate just now. I have a patient in the -adjoining room--a young man in pulmonary consumption. Of course you'll -have to search the house, but I beg you, Lieutenant, to spare my -patient. His condition is such that--" - -"I'll be very careful, I assure you. I'll go alone to search that room, -and make as little disturbance as possible." - -Still wearing a look of anxiety, the doctor said: - -"Couldn't you leave that room unexamined, Lieutenant? I assure you on my -honour that there is nobody there except my patient." - -The physician's anxiety suggested a new thought to the officer's mind. - -"I take your word for that, Doctor. I believe you when you tell me -there's nobody but your patient in that room. But your patient may -happen to be the very man we want, even without your knowing the fact. -Our man is very ill, recovering from a severe wound,--and he'd be sure -to need a doctor after walking, as he must have done, a dozen miles in -this snow. Pardon me, Doctor; I do not mean to accuse you of any -complicity; but you are a physician, bound to do your best for any -patient who sends for you, and to keep his confidence--professional -ethics requires that. I shall not blame you if I find your patient to be -my man. You are doing only your professional duty. But I must see the -man. I can tell whether he's the one we want. Our man has been shot -through the body, and the wound is not yet completely healed. My orders -are to look for that wound on every man I have reason to suspect, and I -must do my duty." - -"O, certainly," replied the physician. "You'll find no wounds on my -patient, and I earnestly beg you to avoid exciting him more than is -absolutely necessary. You see, in his condition, any undue excitement--" - -"O, I'll be very careful, Doctor, very careful, indeed." - -"Thank you. It is very good of you. You see, as I was saying, in his -condition, any undue excitement--" - -"O, yes, I know all about that. You may trust me to be careful." - -"Again thank you. Come, Bob," looking at his watch, and addressing -Baillie, who was sitting by, "we must be going. I've half a dozen -patients waiting for me." - -Baillie rose, nerving himself for the effort, bowed to the lieutenant, -and walked out of the house. A minute later, muffled to the ears in -furs, the two men were speeding over the snow, with Sam clinging on -behind, and playing the part of "doctah's man." - -"Here," said the physician, handing Baillie a flask, "take a stiff swig -of that. You must keep up your strength." Then after he had replaced the -flask in his overcoat pocket, he chuckled: - -"That was very neatly done--to have you walk away in that fashion from -under the very nose of the man who was looking for you." - -Sam echoed the chuckle, and Baillie said: - -"I hope your patient will suffer no harm from all this!" - -"O, not a bit. He's in the game, and he'll enjoy it, especially after -they are gone, and he suddenly recovers from his extreme illness." - -"But why was it necessary to take him there at all?" - -"Why, under the circumstances, it would never have done for me to be -seen driving away from there with a companion when I had been seen -driving out there alone. As it is, your presence in the sleigh is -satisfactorily accounted for to everybody who sees us. But how about -your discarded uniform? Won't they find that?" - -"No. Sam reduced it to ashes early this morning, and then aired the room -to get rid of the smell of burning wool." - -"That was excellent. Who thought of doing it?" - -"Sam." - - - - -XXVI - -_MADEMOISELLE ROLAND_ - - -During all those months of waiting, Agatha Ronald had remained in New -York, under the advice of Marshall Pollard's friend, who was accustomed -to put his counsel into the form of something like a command whenever -that seemed to him necessary. She was urged to remain in the city, too, -by all her friends who were near Baillie Pegram's prison hospital. "Stay -where you are," was the burden of all their letters. "You can do no good -here, and you may do much harm if you attempt to come, while you will -very surely be needed where you are, if we succeed, as we hope, in -effecting Captain Pegram's escape. We shall do all that is possible to -accomplish that, but when we do he will still be a very ill man,--for if -he is to escape at all, it must be before he sufficiently recovers to -be sent to a prison. You will be needed then to care for him somewhere, -for, of course, he must not remain in this quarter of the country. Be -patient and trust us--and Sam. For that boy is a wonder of devotion and -ingenuity. He has just left us to return to the hospital before morning. -He makes the journey on foot by night, three times a week, walking -twenty odd miles each trip, in all sorts of weather. When we -remonstrated with him to-night--for a fearful storm is raging--and told -him he should have waited for better weather, he indignantly replied: -'Den Mis' Agatha would have had to wait a whole day beyond her time fer -news. No sirree. Sam's a-gwine to come on de 'pinted nights, ef it rains -pitchforks an' de win' blows de ha'r offen he haid.'" - -So Agatha busied herself with such concerns as were hers. She laboured -hard to improve the service of her "underground railroad," and sent -medicines and surgical appliances through the lines with a frequency -that surprised the authorities at Richmond. She corresponded in a -disguised way with her friends in and near Washington, offering all she -could of helpful suggestion to them and through them to Sam. It was by -her command that Sam told his master, while in the hospital, just where -and how she was to be found if he should escape, and how perfectly -equipped she was to come to his assistance in such a case. - -For the rest, she battled bravely with her sorrow and her anxieties, -lest they unfit her for prompt and judicious action when the time for -action should come. In brief, she behaved like the devoted and heroic -woman she was. - -After long months of weary waiting, her pulse was one day set bounding -by the tidings that the master of Warlock had escaped from the hospital, -and was in safe hands. This news was communicated by means of a -telegram, which said only, "Dress goods satisfactory. Trimmings -excellent." - -Fuller news came by letter a day later, and it was far less joyous. It -told her that the exposure, exertion, and excitement of the escape had -brought Baillie into a condition of dangerous illness; that he lay -helpless in the physician's house; that no one was permitted to see him -for fear of discovery, except Sam, who had been installed as nurse. - -Other letters followed this daily for a week, each more discouraging -than the last. Finally came one from the doctor himself, in answer to -Agatha's demand, in which he wrote: - -"I labour under many difficulties. Captain Pegram's presence in my house -must be concealed as long as that can be accomplished. I am a bachelor, -and I often receive patients for treatment here, but in this case the -man's illness is the consequence of a bullet wound, and should that fact -become known, it would pretty certainly cause an inquiry; for my -Southern sentiments are well known, and in the eyes of the governmental -secret service, I am very distinctly a 'suspect.' The consequence of all -this is that I dare not introduce a competent nurse into the house. - -"Sam is willing and absolutely devoted, but of course he knows nothing -of nursing. Yet nursing, and especially the tender nursing of a woman, -is this patient's chief need. If he were in New York now, where -political rancour is held in check by the fact that sentiment there is -divided, and where people are too busy to meddle with other people's -affairs, we could manage the matter easily. You can scarcely imagine how -different the conditions here are. I might easily command the services -of any one of half a dozen or a dozen gentlewomen of Maryland whom I -could trust absolutely. But the very fact of my bringing one of them -here to nurse a stranger, would set a pack of clever detectives on the -scent, and within twenty-four hours they would know the exact truth. - -"You will see, my dear young lady, how perplexing a situation it is. I -hoped at first that Capt. P. might presently rally sufficiently to stand -the trip to New York. I could have managed that. But he simply cannot be -moved now, or for many weeks to come. It would be murder to make the -attempt." - -When Agatha had read this latter, her mind was instantly made up. - -"I must go to him at all hazards and all costs, and nurse him myself. -But first I must think out a way, so that there may be no failure." - -She sat for an hour thinking and planning. Then she got up and hurriedly -scribbled two letters. It was after nightfall, and Agatha had never yet -gone into the streets by night. Her terror of that particular form of -danger was great. But these letters must be posted at once, and by her -own hand. There were no lamp-post mailing-boxes in those half-civilised -days, and she must travel many blocks to reach the nearest post-office -station. She took up the little pistol which she had so long carried for -the purpose of defending her honour by self-destruction, if need should -arise, examined its chambers, placed it beneath her cloak, and hurried -into the street. - -Then, as now, to the shame of what we call our civilisation, no woman -could traverse the thoroughfares of a great city after dark and -unattended without risk of insult or worse. Then, as now, a costly -police force utterly ignored its duty of so vigilantly protecting the -helpless that the streets should be as safe to women as to men, by night -as well as by day. - -During that little walk of a dozen city blocks through streets that the -public adequately paid to have securely guarded, Agatha felt far more of -fear than she had experienced while facing the canister fire of Baillie -Pegram's guns. - -She escaped molestation more by good fortune than by any security that -police protection afforded or now affords to the wives and daughters of -a community that calls itself civilised, and pays princely sums every -year for a police protection that it does not get. - -One of her letters was addressed to a friend in Baltimore. It gave her -the address of Marshall Pollard's friend, the banker, and added: - -"On receipt of this you are to telegraph, asking him to find and send -you a nurse who speaks French--a Frenchwoman preferred. He will send me, -in response to the demand, as Mlle. Roland,--an anagram of my own name. -I shall speak nothing but French in your house, and afterward." - -To Baillie's doctor she wrote: - -"I think I see a way out of your difficulties. Can you not make a new -diagnosis of Captain Pegram's case--finding him ill of tuberculosis, or -typhoid, or some other wasting malady corresponding with his external -appearance, thus concealing the fact that he suffers in consequence of a -wound? He speaks French like a Parisian--I suppose he can even dream in -that language, as I always do--so for safety and by way of forwarding -my plan, you may regard him as a French gentleman who has fallen ill -during his travels in America, and come to you for treatment. You are to -be very anxious to secure a French nurse for him, and to that end you -may write as soon as you receive this, to the gentlewoman whose address -in Baltimore is enclosed, asking her to procure such a nurse if she can. -I will be that nurse, and will know no English during my stay. This plan -will enable me to go to Captain Pegram's bedside without exciting the -least suspicion, and, when he is sufficiently recovered to travel, there -will be little if any trouble in arranging for his nurse to take the -convalescent to New York, and thence to Europe. Once out of the country -and well again, he can go to Nassau, and thence to a Southern port on -one of the English blockade-running ships. To secure all this we must -scrupulously maintain the fiction that he is a Frenchman, and I a French -nurse." - -Agatha's first care on the next morning was to visit the banker and -instruct him as to the part he was to play in the conspiracy, when the -telegram should come from Baltimore. That done, she plied her needle -nimbly, fashioning caps, aprons and the like, such as French nurses only -wore at that time, before there were any trained nurses other than -Frenchwomen among us. She was already wearing black gowns, of course, -and when she added a jet rosary and a stiffly starched broad white -collar to her costume, she had no need to inform anybody that she was a -hospital-bred nurse from Paris. - -In the little Maryland town where Baillie Pegram lay in a stupor, her -advent attracted much curious attention, especially because of the -jaunty little nurse's cap she wore, and of her inability to speak -English. But this curiosity averted, rather than invited suspicion, as -Agatha had intended and planned that it should do. - -The physician's knowledge of the French language was scant, and his -pronunciation was execrably bad, but he managed to greet the nurse in -that tongue on her arrival, and to say, very gallantly: - -"Now my patient should surely get well. Under care of such a nurse even -a dead man might be persuaded back to life." - - - - -XXVII - -_AGATHA'S WONDER-STORY_ - - -Agatha had been for more than a week at Baillie Pegram's bedside before -he manifested any consciousness of her presence. But from the very first -her ministrations had seemed to soothe him. - -Even when his fever brought active delirium with it, a word from his -soft-voiced French nurse quieted him, and each day showed less of fever -and more of strength. - -At last one day he lay quiet, and Agatha sat stitching at something near -the foot of the bed. Her face was bent over her work, so that she did -not see when he opened his eyes and gazed steadily at her for a time. -Not until she looked up, as she was accustomed watchfully to do every -little while, did he fully recognise her. Then, in a feeble voice, he -spoke her name--nothing more. - -She gently readjusted his pillows, and he fell into a more natural -sleep than he had known since his relapse had befallen him. - -When he waked again, Sam was sitting by, Agatha having left the room for -a brief while. - -"Who has been here, Sam?" the sick man asked. - -"Nobody, Mas' Baillie, on'y de French lady what's a-nussin' of yo'," -replied Sam, lying with the utmost equanimity, in accordance with what -he believed to be the spirit of his instructions. - -"I dreamed it, then. Tell me where I am, Sam." - -"I ain't Sam an' yo' ain't Mas' Baillie; I'se jes' _garshong_, an' yo'se -a French gentleman, an' yo' cawn't talk nuffin' but French, an' so -'tain't no use fer yo' to try to talk to me. Yo' mus' jes' go to sleep, -now, an' when de French nuss comes back, yo' kin ax her in French like -whatsomever yo' wants to know." - -Baillie's bewildered wits struggled for a moment with the problem of his -own identity, but before the French nurse returned he had fallen asleep -again. It was not until the next day, therefore, that he had opportunity -to ask Agatha anything, but his fever had abated by that time, and his -mind was rapidly clearing. - -"Tell me about it all, please," he said to her. - -"Sh--speak only in French," she replied, herself speaking in that -tongue. "It is very necessary, and address me as Mademoiselle Roland." - -Then she told him so much as was necessary to prevent him from -exercising his imagination in an exciting way. When she had explained -that he was still in the house of the doctor who had aided him in his -escape, and that the pretence of his being a French gentleman and she a -French nurse was necessary for safety, she added: - -"I came to you when you were very ill and needed me, and I shall stay -with you so long as you need me. You mustn't talk now. Wait a few days, -and you will be strong enough." - -The prediction was fulfilled, and a few days later Agatha told him the -whole story of her own and Sam's search for him, dwelling particularly -upon Sam's devotion and the ingenuity he had brought to bear upon the -problem of rescue. For at times when there was no possibility that -anybody should overhear, Agatha had made Sam tell her all the details -of that affair, until she knew as well as he did every word he had -spoken and every step he had taken in the execution of his purpose. - -Baillie's progress toward recovery was necessarily slow, but it was -steady and continuous, and after many weeks, when he was permitted to -sit up for awhile each day, he begged to hear about the progress of the -war. - -It was now September, 1862, and what she had to tell him was one of the -most dramatic stories that the history of our American war has to -relate. - -McClellan had proved himself to be a great organiser and a masterful -engineer, and he had at last tried to prove himself to be also a great -general. - -He had so perfectly fortified the city of Washington that a brigade or a -division or two might easily hold it against the most determined hosts. -He had organised the "regiments cowering upon the Potomac," and the -scores of other regiments that had come pouring into the capital, into -one of the finest armies that had ever taken the field in any -country in the world. He had multiplied his artillery, and -swelled his cavalry force to proportions that rendered it numerically -superior to Stuart's "Mamelukes." He had so perfected his supply -departments--quartermaster's, commissary's, medical, and ordnance--that -their work was accomplished with the precision, the certainty, and the -smoothness of well-ordered machinery. - -He had brought under his immediate command a perfectly organised army, -numbering nearly or quite two hundred thousand men.[1] The Confederates -had in Virginia about one-fourth that number available for the defence -of Richmond. Nor could this army of defence be reinforced from other -parts of the South, for during the long waiting-time in Virginia, events -of the most vital importance had been occurring at the West. Chief of -these in importance, though the government at Washington was slow to -recognise the fact, was the discovery there of a really capable -commander--General Grant. He had captured Forts Henry and Donelson, thus -gaining control of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, breaking the -Confederate line of defence, and pushing the Southern armies completely -out of Kentucky, and almost out of Tennessee. He was preparing, when -McClellan moved, to complete that part of his work by fighting the -tremendous battle of Shiloh. - -[Footnote 1: Rossiter Johnson, in his "History of the War of Secession," -says that 121,000 were sent to Fortress Monroe and seventy thousand left -at Washington, besides McDowell's corps and Bleuker's division.] - -Thus the Confederates could not afford to draw so much as a single -regiment or battery from that field for the strengthening of Johnston's -force in Virginia. Finally, early in March, Johnston had withdrawn from -Centreville and Manassas to the immediate neighbourhood of Richmond. - -It was in such circumstances that McClellan at last undertook to use the -great army he had created, for the purpose it was meant to accomplish. -Early in the spring, he transferred 120,000 men by water to Fortress -Monroe, leaving seventy thousand at and near Washington, to hold that -capital secure. Somewhat more than half of this force at Washington was -to advance upon Richmond by way of Fredericksburg, and add forty -thousand men to McClellan's great army when he should sit down before -the Confederate capital. He, meanwhile, was to march up the peninsula -formed by the York and James Rivers, supported by the navy on either -side. - -Richmond was seemingly doomed, and everywhere at the North the -expectation was that McClellan, with his overwhelming forces and his -well-nigh perfect organisation, would make an end of the war before the -first anniversary of the battle of Manassas. - -If McClellan had been half as capable in the field as he had proved -himself to be in the work of organisation, this might easily have -happened. But he was cautious to a positively paralysing degree. It was -his habit of mind to overestimate his enemy's strength to his own -undoing. Thus when he began his advance up the peninsula, with nearly -sixty thousand men, to be almost immediately reinforced to one hundred -thousand and more, he found a Confederate line stretched across the -peninsula at Yorktown. It consisted of thirteen thousand men under -Magruder, and with his enormous superiority of numbers, McClellan might -have run over it in a day, while with his transports, protected by -gunboats, he might easily have carried his army by it on either side, -compelling its retreat or surrender. But in his excessive caution he -assumed that the entire Confederate force was concentrated there, and -his imagination doubled the strength of that force. He confidently -believed that the Yorktown lines were defended by an army of eighty -thousand or more, and instead of finding out the facts by an assault, he -wasted nearly a month in scientifically besieging the little force of -thirteen thousand men, with an army six or eight times as great, and a -siege train of enormous strength. - -When at last he had pushed his siege parallels near enough for an -assault, he found his enemy gone, and discovered that the great frowning -cannon in their works were nothing more than wooden logs, painted black, -and mounted like heavy guns. - -The North had not yet found a general capable of commanding the superb -army it had created, or of making effective use of those enormously -superior resources which from the beginning had been at its disposal. -Grant had splendidly demonstrated his capacity at Shiloh, but Halleck -had immediately superseded him, and completely thrown away the -opportunity there presented. Grant was still denied any but volunteer -rank, and for many weeks after Shiloh he was left, as he has himself -recorded, with none but nominal command, and was not even consulted by -his immeasurably inferior superior. - -McClellan at last reached the neighbourhood of Richmond, and placed his -great army on the eastern and northern fronts of the Confederate -capital. But still permitting his imagination to mislead him, he -confidently believed the Confederate forces to be quite twice as -numerous as they were in fact. So instead of pressing them vigorously, -as a more enterprising and less excessively cautious commander would -have done, he proceeded to fortify and for weeks kept his splendid army -idle in a pestilential swamp, whose miasms were far deadlier than -bullets and shells could have been. - -At the end of May the Confederates assailed his left wing, believing -that a flood in the river had isolated it from the rest of the army, and -a bloody five days' battle ensued, with no decisive results, except to -demonstrate the fighting quality of the troops under McClellan's -command. - -Still he hesitated and fortified, and urgently called for -reinforcements. These to the number of forty thousand were on their way -to join him, marching directly southward from Washington. - -But the Confederates had been more fortunate than their foes. They had -found their great commander, a piece of good fortune which did not -happen to the Federal armies until nearly two years later. After the -battle of Seven Pines at the end of May and the beginning of June, -Robert E. Lee assumed personal command of the forces defending Richmond, -and from that hour the great game of war was played by him with a -sagacity and a boldness that had not been seen before. - -Lee's problem was to drive McClellan's army away from Richmond, and -transfer the scene of active hostilities to some more distant point. To -that end he must prevent the coming of McDowell with his army to -McClellan's assistance. Accordingly he ordered Jackson to sweep down the -Shenandoah valley, threatening an advance upon Washington in its rear, -thus putting the Federals there upon their defence. He rightly believed -that the excessive concern felt at the North for the safety of the -capital would make Jackson's operations an occasion of great alarm. - -The result was precisely what Lee had intended. Jackson swept like a -hurricane through the valley, moving so rapidly and appearing so -suddenly at unexpected and widely separated points as to seem both -ubiquitous and irresistible. The Federal army which was marching to -reinforce McClellan was promptly turned aside and sent over the -mountains to meet and check Jackson. While it was hurrying westward, -Jackson suddenly slipped out of the valley and carried his "foot -cavalry"--as his rapidly marching corps had come to be called--to the -neighbourhood of Richmond, where Lee was ready to fall upon his -adversary in full force, striking his right flank like a thunderbolt, -pushing into his rear, pressing him back in successive encounters, -threatening his base of supplies on the York River, and finally -compelling him to retreat to the cover of his gunboats at Harrison's -Landing on the James. - -All this constituted what is known as the "Seven Days' Battles." It was -a brilliant operation, attended at every step by heroic fighting on both -sides, and by consummate skill on both--for if Lee's successful -operation for his enemy's dislodgment was good strategy, McClellan's -successful withdrawal of his army from its imperilled position to one -in which it could not be assailed, was scarcely less so. - -But still more dramatic events were to follow. McClellan had been driven -away from the immediate neighbourhood of the Confederate capital, but -his new position at Harrison's Landing was one from which he might at -any moment advance again either upon Richmond or upon Petersburg, which -was afterward proved to be the military key to the capital. His army was -still numerically stronger than Lee's, and it might be reinforced at any -time, and to any desired extent, while Lee had already under his command -every man that could be spared from other points. More important still, -the fighting strength of McClellan's forces had been bettered by the -battling they had done. The men were inured to war work now, and had -improved in steadiness and discipline under the tutelage of experience. - -Except that its confidence in its general was somewhat impaired, the -Army of the Potomac was a stronger and more trustworthy war implement -than it had been at the beginning. So long as it should remain where it -was, Lee must keep the greater part of his own force in the -intrenchments in front of Richmond, and the seat of war must remain -discouragingly near the Confederate capital. In the meanwhile a new -Federal force, called the Army of Virginia, had been sent out from -Washington under General John Pope, to assail Richmond from the north -and west, while securely covering Washington. Pope's base was at -Manassas, and his army had been pushed forward to the line of the -Rappahannock, where there was no army to meet it and check its advance -upon Richmond. - -Lee must act quickly. For should Pope come within striking-distance of -Richmond on the northwest, McClellan's army would very certainly advance -from the east, and Richmond would be threatened by a stronger force than -ever before. - -But Lee could not move in adequate force to meet and check Pope's -advance, without leaving Richmond undefended against any advance that -McClellan might see fit to make. His perplexing problem was to compel -the withdrawal of McClellan, and the transfer of his army to Washington. - -To effect this, Lee again played upon the nervous apprehension felt in -Washington for the safety of that city. He detached Jackson, and sent -him to the Rappahannock to threaten Pope, while remaining within reach -of Richmond in case of need. This movement increased the apprehension in -Washington, and a considerable part of McClellan's force was withdrawn -by water. Thereupon Lee sent another corps to the Rappahannock, a -proceeding which led to the withdrawal of pretty nearly all that -remained of McClellan's army, to reinforce Pope, and the abandonment of -the campaign by way of the peninsula. Lee instantly transferred the -remainder of his army to the Rappahannock, leaving only a small garrison -in the works at Richmond. - -Pope was alert to meet Lee at every point, and he was being strengthened -by daily reinforcements from what had been McClellan's army. But in -Pope, with all his energy and dash and extraordinary self-confidence, -the Federal government had not found a leader capable of playing the -great war game on equal terms with Robert E. Lee. Grant and Sherman were -still in subordinate commands at the West, while Halleck, who believed -in neither of them, had been brought to Washington and placed in -supreme control of all the Union armies. - -Lee quickly proved himself greatly more than a match for Pope in the art -of war. Making a brave show of intending to force his way across the -river at a point where Pope could easily hold his own, Lee detached -Jackson and sent him around Bull Run Mountains and through Thoroughfare -Gap to fall upon his adversary's base at Manassas. As soon as Jackson -was well on his way, Lee sent other forces to join him, while still -keeping up his pretence of a purpose to force a crossing. - -It was not until the head of Jackson's column appeared near Manassas -that Pope suspected his adversary's purpose. He then hastily fell back -from the river, and concentrated all his forces at Manassas, while Lee, -with equal haste, moved, with the rest of his army, to join Jackson. - -His strategy had completely succeeded, and he promptly assailed Pope, -with his entire force, on the very field where the first great battle of -the war had been fought, a little more than a year before. - -Pope struggled desperately, but after two days of battle, he was -completely beaten and forced to take refuge behind the defences of -Washington. - -This was at the beginning of September, just three months after Lee had -taken personal command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Within that -brief time he had done things, the simplest statement of which reads -like a wonder-story. At the beginning of June a Federal army of 120,000 -men lay almost within cannon-shot of the Confederate capital, while -another Federal force about one-third as large was marching unopposed to -form a junction with it, and still other Federal armies occupied the -valley and sent raiders at will throughout Northern Virginia. At the -beginning of September there remained no Federal army at all in Virginia -to oppose Lee's will, whatever it might chance to be. McClellan with his -grand army had been beaten in battle, and driven into a retreat which -ended in his complete withdrawal, after a disastrous campaign, which at -its beginning had seemed certain of success. Jackson had cleared the -valley of armies superior to his own in numbers. Pope had been outwitted -in strategy, beaten in battle, and driven to cover at Washington. - -That was the story that Agatha related to Baillie early in September, -when he was fit to hear it. It stirred his blood with enthusiasm, and -bred in him an eagerness almost dangerous, to be at the head of his -battery again, and a sharer in this splendid work of war. - -"Your story is not ended yet," he said, when Agatha had finished. "It is -'to be continued,'--be very sure of that. Lee will not rest content with -what he has done, marvellous as it is. He took the offensive as soon as -he had disposed of McClellan. He will surely not now assume the -defensive again, as our army did a year ago after the battle of -Manassas. He is obviously made of quite other stuff than that of his -predecessors in command. And here am I losing my share in it all,--a -convalescent in charge of a nurse, and in hiding in the enemy's country. -I tell you, Agatha, I must break out of this. As soon as I have strength -enough to ride a horse, I must find a way of getting back to Virginia. -And with the stimulus of strong desire, I shall not be long now in -regaining that much of strength. In the meanwhile, I must think out a -plan by which I can pass the Potomac without falling into the enemy's -hands." - -"I have already thought of all that," returned his companion, "and I -have had others thinking of it, too,--all the friends in Maryland with -whom I am in correspondence. After studying the conditions minutely we -are agreed in the positive conviction that it will be impossible for you -to get through the Federal lines, which are more rigidly drawn and more -vigilantly guarded now than ever before. You cannot even start on such a -journey without being arrested and imprisoned, and that would completely -defeat your purpose." - -"I must take the chances, then. For I simply will not sit idly here -after I get well enough to sit in a saddle." - -"Listen," commanded Agatha. "You are exciting yourself, and that is very -bad for you. Besides, it is wholly unnecessary, for I have thought -myself not into despair, but into hopefulness, rather. I have devised a -plan, the success of which is practically assured in advance, by which -you and I are going back into the Confederacy. No, I will not tell you -what it is just now. You have excited and wearied yourself too much -already. You must go back to your bed now, and sleep for several hours. -When you wake, you shall have something to eat, and after that, if I -find you sufficiently calm, I will tell you all about it. In the -meantime, you may rest easy in your mind, for my plan is sure to -succeed, and it will not be difficult of execution." - - - - -XXVIII - -_WHEN A MAN TALKS TOO MUCH_ - - -When Baillie had had his rest, he asked Agatha again to tell him of her -plans. She explained that it was understood in the little town that he -was a French gentleman who had suffered a severe hemorrhage; that as -soon as he should be sufficiently recovered, it was his purpose to -return to his own country in charge of his French nurse; that she -planned in that way to sail with him from New York for Liverpool, where -he would be free, as soon as his health should return, to go to the -Bahamas and sail thence for Charleston, Wilmington, or some other -Southern port, in one of the English blockade-runners that were now -making trips almost with the regularity of packets. - -Baillie approved the plan, though he lamented the length of time its -execution must consume. - -"Agatha," he said,--for since that morning at Fairfax Court-house he -had addressed her only by her first name,--"I owe you my life, and I -shall owe you my liberty, too, as soon as this admirable plan of yours -can be carried out. I owe you, even now, such liberty as I have, for but -for you--" - -"You mustn't forget Sam," she interrupted; "it was he and not I who -rescued you from the prison hospital." - -"O, my appreciation of Sam's devotion is limitless, and my gratitude to -him will last so long as I live. But it was you who brought him North; -it was you who planned my rescue at terrible risk to yourself, and put -Sam in the way of accomplishing it. And the doctor tells me without any -sort of qualification that but for your coming to me as a nurse when you -did, I should have died certainly and quickly. Don't interrupt me, -please, I'm not going to embarrass you with an effort to thank you for -what you have done. There is a generosity so great that expressions of -thanks in return for it are a mockery--almost an insult, just as an -offer to pay for it would be. I shall not speak of these things -again--not now at least, not until time and place and circumstance -shall be fit. I only want you to know that silence on my part does not -signify indifference." - -Baillie made no reference to that occasion when an untimely declaration -of his love had been wrung from him only to be met by a passionless -reminder that the time and place were inappropriate. He felt -instinctively that any reference to that utterance of his would be in -effect a new declaration of his love. In this spirit of chivalry, -Baillie scrupulously guarded both his manner and his words at this time, -lest his feelings should betray him into some expression that might -embarrass the woman whose care of him must continue for some time to -come. Feeling, on this occasion, that he had approached dangerously near -to some utterance which might subject his companion to embarrassment, he -resolutely turned the conversation into less hazardous channels. - -"Your plan is undoubtedly the best that could be made under the -circumstances," he said, "and as for the waste of time, we must simply -reconcile ourselves to that. After all, I cannot hope to be strong -enough for several months to come, to resume command of my battery in -such campaigns as this great leader of ours will surely give us. For he -is really and truly a great leader, Agatha. Only a great general could -have wrought the marvels he has achieved. He would have proved himself -great if he had done nothing more than prevent McClellan's reinforcement -by sending Jackson to the valley. That was a great thought. And the next -was greater. Having compelled the Federals to divert their reinforcing -army from its purpose, he brought Jackson to Richmond, and fell upon -McClellan with a fury that compelled his vastly superior army to abandon -its campaign and retreat to the cover of its gunboats. There was a -second achievement of the kind that only great generals accomplish. And -even that did not fulfil the measure of his greatness. With a truly -Napoleonic impulse, and by truly Napoleonic methods, he instantly -converted his successful defence of Richmond into an offence which has -been equally successful, so far. By his prompt movement against Pope he -has compelled the complete abandonment of McClellan's campaign and the -withdrawal of his army from Virginia. By his crushing defeat of Pope, he -has cleared Virginia of its enemies, and changed the aspect of the war, -from one of timorous defence on the part of the Confederates to one of -confident aggression." - -"What a pity it is," answered Agatha, "that some such man was not in -command when the first battle of Manassas was won!" - -"Yes. Such a man, with such an opportunity, would have made a speedy end -of the trouble. He would never have given McClellan a chance to organise -such an army as that which has been besieging Richmond. However, that is -not what I was thinking of. I was going to say that a man capable of -doing what Lee has done, will not rest content with that. He will -continue in the aggressive way in which he has begun, and we shall hear -presently of other battles and other campaigns. Agatha, I simply _must_ -bear a part in all this. I am getting stronger every day now, and can -sit up two hours at a time. Why can we not now carry out your plan? Why -can we not go at once to New York in our assumed personalities, and sail -immediately, so as to save all the time we can?" - -"I have thought of that," the young woman answered, "but the doctor -peremptorily forbids it for the present. He hopes you will be well -enough two or three weeks hence to make the effort, but to make it short -of that time, he says, would be almost certainly to spoil all by -bringing on a relapse. You must be patient; we shall in that way make -our success a certainty, and the war will last long enough for you to -have your part in it, surely." - -"Yes, unhappily for our country, it will last long enough." - -The next morning brought news of a startling character. Lee was already -beginning to fulfil Baillie's prediction by an aggressive campaign. -Having driven the enemy out of Virginia, he now undertook to transfer -the scene of the fighting to the region north of the Potomac. He had -sent Jackson again to clear the valley, and was marching another corps -northward upon a parallel line east of the mountains, while holding the -remainder of his small but potent army in readiness to form a junction -with either of the detached corps when necessary. The movement clearly -foreshadowed a campaign in Maryland which, if it should prove -successful, would place the Confederates in rear of Washington, and -render that capital untenable, if Lee should win a single decisive -battle north of the Potomac. - -The alarm in Washington was such as almost to precipitate a panic. For -had not Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia proved themselves far more -than a match for every general and every army that had tried conclusions -with them? Moreover, as they were advancing, full of the enthusiasm of -recent victory, and free to pursue whatever routes they pleased, there -was nobody to meet them except one or the other of two generals already -discredited by defeat at Lee's hands, and an army drawn from those that -the Army of Northern Virginia had so recently overthrown in the field. - -Pope was no longer thought of as a leader fit for the task of meeting -Lee. His campaign in Virginia had ended so disastrously, that men forgot -all his former achievements, at Island Number Ten in the Mississippi, -and elsewhere. He had already been removed from command and sent to -fight Indians in the Northwest. There remained only McClellan, whom Lee -had already outmanoeuvred and outfought, and both the government and -the army had lost confidence in him. But the emergency was great, and -McClellan, who had been removed, was again ordered to take command. - -From the two armies that had been driven out of Virginia, a new one was -quickly organised, which greatly outnumbered Lee's force. But instead of -moving quickly to the assault, as Grant, or Sherman, or Thomas would -have done under like circumstances, McClellan moved at a tortoise-like -pace, giving his adversary ample time in which to unite his three -columns, pass the Potomac unmolested, and push forward into Maryland. - -All this was to come a little later, however. On the morning when Agatha -read the newspapers to Baillie, all that was known was that Lee was -rapidly moving northward, with evident intent to invade Maryland and -push his columns into the rear of Washington. - -"This is good news for us, Agatha," Baillie said, when the despatches -had been read. "Unless Lee receives a check, the Army of Northern -Virginia will be swarming all about us here within three or four days. -If that occurs, you and I and Sam will have no difficulty in going to -Virginia by a much more direct route than the one we have been planning -to follow. An ambulance ride with liberty for its objective will do me -no harm, while you and Sam shall be provided with good horses. Stuart -will take care of that, even if he has to capture the horses from the -enemy." - -"We may safely trust him for so much of accommodation," answered the -girl. "But if you excite yourself as you are doing now, you'll be ill -again, and spoil all. You must go back to bed at once and go to sleep. -That is your shortest road to rescue, now, whether Lee comes this way or -is beaten back. In either case you will need all of strength that you -can manage to accumulate." - -The sick man obeyed, so far at least as going to bed was concerned. But -he found it impossible to comply with his nurse's further injunction by -going to sleep. His pulses were throbbing violently with the excitement -of hope, and his nerves were tense almost to the verge of collapse. When -the doctor returned from his round of visits he found his patient in a -fever that, in one so weak, was dangerous. During the following night -Baillie grew worse, and by the next morning the physician was convinced -that he had lost most if not all of the ground that he had gained during -three weeks of convalescence. - -"Mademoiselle Roland," he said, "I must command you to forbid him to -talk hereafter, even in French." - -Baillie heard the remark, and came instantly to Agatha's defence. - -"It was not her fault, Doctor," he said. "It was all my own." - -"O, I know that," answered the physician. "She's the discreetest nurse I -ever knew, while you are without question the most obstinate, -cantankerous, and unruly patient a nurse was ever called upon to keep in -subjection." - -"Am I all that?" Baillie asked Agatha, when the doctor had left the -room; "all that he said?" - -"No, certainly not. But you mustn't talk. Go to sleep." - -"Thank you!" was all that he could say in the stupor which the physician -had induced with a sleeping potion. - - - - -XXIX - -_A STRUGGLE OF GIANTS_ - - -When Baillie woke from his drug-compelled sleep, his condition was far -better than the doctor had anticipated. Lee was coming now, and the sick -man was buoyed and strengthened by a confident hope of speedy rescue. -The Army of Northern Virginia was in Maryland, and Baillie was sure that -it would push rapidly eastward to and beyond the town where he had so -long lain ill. - -So it would have done if all had gone well. But there was a Federal -force of eleven thousand men at Harper's Ferry. By all the principles of -strategy it ought to have retired as soon as Lee crossed the Potomac -above or below that point. To remain was to be cut off and to invite -capture. McClellan, as a trained and scientific soldier, understood this -perfectly, and he wished the force at Harper's Ferry to be withdrawn and -added to his army. He was overruled by the civilian authorities at -Washington, and the detached force remained in its entrenchments, -completely isolated and helpless. - -But in the meanwhile its presence at Harper's Ferry completely blocked -Lee's only secure route of retreat in case of disaster. It was -absolutely necessary for him to reduce it before continuing his progress -northward or eastward. To that end he was obliged to send Jackson back -across the Potomac, with orders to assail Harper's Ferry from the south, -while other forces, detached for that purpose, should hold positions -north and east of the town, thus preventing the garrison's escape. - -Jackson did his part promptly and perfectly, as it was his custom to do. -He carried the place, capturing the entire garrison of eleven thousand -men, and all the guns, ammunition, and military stores, which had been -accumulated there in vast quantities. - -This was a very important capture, but in order to accomplish it, Lee -had been compelled to scatter his forces in a dangerous fashion, besides -losing the advantage that would have attended a rapid advance against -an enemy who could not know whither he purposed to go, but must guard -all roads at once. For from Lee's position after he had crossed the -river it was open to him to advance upon Washington or Baltimore or -Philadelphia as he might elect, keeping his adversary in the meanwhile -in a state of embarrassing uncertainty as to his purposes. - -But when he sent Jackson back and detached other strong forces to hold -the avenues of escape from Harper's Ferry, his army was badly scattered, -its several parts lying at too great a distance from each other for -ready coöperation. - -During the consequent days of waiting, McClellan was advancing in -leisurely fashion to meet the Confederate movement, and his army was -every day adding to its strength by the hurrying forward of fresh -regiments and brigades to its reinforcement. - -Finally Lee issued an order setting forth in detail his plan for -concentrating his scattered forces. Copies of this order, showing the -exact location of each part of the army and the movements to be made by -each, were sent to all of the corps commanders. One of those copies was -lost, and fell into McClellan's hands. - -For once that most leisurely of generals was in a hurry. His opportunity -had come to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia by beating it in -detail. He threw a strong force forward to assail certain of its -positions. The assault proved successful, but the success did not come -so quickly as it should have done. By determined fighting Lee gained -time in which to bring his scattered forces together again at Sharpsburg -before his adversary could fall upon him in force. There, on Antietam -Creek, on the 17th of September, 1862, was fought a battle which is -reckoned the bloodiest of all the war, in proportion to the numbers -engaged. - -McClellan had seventy thousand men in line, Lee forty thousand. The -struggle began early in the morning and continued until after nightfall. -The fighting on both sides was as heroic and as determined as any that -was ever done in the world. At the end of it all both sides claimed the -victory, and neither had in fact won it. Neither had been able to drive -the other from his position. Neither had broken the other's lines or -gained any decisive advantage. And when morning came again neither side -was willing to renew the contest, and neither would retire from the -field. - -For a whole day the two armies lay facing each other in grim defiance, -each ready to receive the other should it attack, but neither venturing -to make the assault. - -After twenty-four hours of defiant waiting, Lee slowly retired to the -Potomac, while McClellan lay still, not venturing to follow his -adversary. Lee crossed unmolested into Virginia and took up a position -within easy striking distance, but his adversary made no attempt to -strike. McClellan presently advanced and stretched his great army along -the Potomac. But he assumed an attitude of defence, calling insistently -for reinforcements, though his army outnumbered Lee's about two to one. - -He had succeeded in checking Lee's invasion of the North and turning it -back. He was content with that, and in spite of President Lincoln's -urgency he refused to do more, till at last General Burnside was ordered -to assume command in his stead. - -It was confidently expected both at the North and at the South, after -Lee's withdrawal to Virginia, that as soon as his army should be rested, -he would again take the offensive, assail McClellan at some point, and -attempt a new march northward. This expectation was strengthened when -Stuart, early in October, plunged across the river with his cavalry, -galloped over the country, penetrated into Pennsylvania, and saucily -rode entirely round McClellan's army, just as he had done a few months -before at Richmond, in preparation for Lee's seven days' battle. - - - - -XXX - -_THE LAST STRAW_ - - -When the news came to Baillie and Agatha that Lee and McClellan had met -in a great battle, and that the Army of Northern Virginia had retraced -its steps across the Potomac, both lost heart a little. - -But Baillie was now regaining strength at a surprising rate, and his -eagerness to carry out Agatha's plan of escape, by way of England, -Nassau, and a blockaded Southern port, became importunate. - -Yielding to it, early in October, Agatha hurriedly made her final -preparations. Through her friend in New York she engaged passage for -herself, Baillie, and Sam, on a Cunard steamer appointed to sail on the -15th of the month. She made all necessary arrangements for the sick -French gentleman, his French nurse, and his negro valet to make the -journey to New York on the 14th, in order that they might sail the next -morning. - -But a few days before the time set for their departure a great -excitement arose in the town where Baillie had so long lain ill. The -Confederates were coming again; they had destroyed McClellan in a great -battle, current rumour reported, and were now marching upon Washington -unopposed. So the rumours ran. - -Later tidings corrected all this to some extent. It was learned that -there had been no battle as yet, and that the invading force was only -the vanguard of Lee's advance. - -"I think I understand what it means," said Agatha, who had followed -Stuart's operations in the past with close attention, learning to -appreciate his methods. "This is simply one of General Stuart's -splendidly audacious raids. He rode around McClellan at Richmond, you -remember; he rode around Pope, and captured his baggage, and his -uniform, and all his mules at Manassas two months ago. I suspect that he -is simply riding around McClellan again in search of forage and stores -and glory." - -"That is probably what the movement means," answered Baillie, "though -it may be made in preparation for another advance of the whole army, -just as each of his former exploits was. In either case, if he comes -this way it will answer our purpose. I shall escape with him. If it is -only a cavalry raid, of course Stuart will have to force his way back -through or over whatever obstacles McClellan may throw in his path, and -in that case there will be a continual running fight with no secure rear -for you to take shelter with. Of course, if the whole army advances, a -secure way will be open, but if only the cavalry come, there will be no -line of communication. In that case it will be necessary for you to -remain here, or rather go on to New York and sail for Liverpool as we -have both intended." - -"You are forgetful, Captain Pegram. I have ridden with General Stuart -before, and as to placing myself under fire, I think you know I am not -without experience. No. If General Stuart comes this way, I shall ask -him for a horse and play outrider to the ambulance in which you are to -travel." - -"But, Agatha!" he pleaded, "I am unwilling to have you expose yourself -thus needlessly. Think of the danger and the hardship, and think too of -the discomfort you must suffer as a solitary woman in company with a -horde of rough-riding cavalrymen!" - -"Hush! I will not hear one word even in suspicion of our Virginia -cavaliers. I know those superb fellows, and I trust them. They may be -rough as riders, and they are certainly rough fellows for the enemy to -encounter, but they are gallant gentlemen; they are as gentle as only -giants of courage can be, in their attitude toward a defenceless woman. -If the opportunity comes, I shall certainly ride with them." - -At that moment there was a scurrying in the streets, a hurried closing -of the little shops, and a scampering of juvenile chronic offenders to -points of secure observation. - -A minute or two later some gray-clad regiments of cavalry trotted into -the town, taking temporary possession of it. They created no more of -disorder, and made far less noise than a Sunday-school picnic might have -done. Not a man of them was permitted to quit his place in the ranks -even for a single moment, for Stuart had given strict orders, and his -lieutenants enforced them relentlessly. - -There were very valuable commissary and ordnance stores belonging to the -United States government in the town, and the advance squadron of the -cavalry quietly took possession of these military supplies, quickly -loading them into wagons, but touching no single cent's worth of private -property of any kind, and molesting no citizen. So the orders ran. - -Half an hour sufficed for this work, and at the end of that time the -column moved out of the town in silence and good order. - -Captain Baillie Pegram accompanied it in an ambulance, with Sam riding -at its tail, and Agatha, mounted upon a stout and war-seasoned cavalry -horse, preceding the vehicle. - -At nightfall the detachment joined the main column, and there was a -brief pause for supper. Agatha, in her capacity of nurse, questioned -Baillie closely as to his condition, and found that he had seemingly -taken no harm from excitement or weariness. When she had satisfied -herself on that point, she ventured to tell him that his own battery lay -around the ambulance. He promptly sat up and asked to see his -subalterns and certain of his men. - -"You may see a few of them," answered his nurse, "if you will receive -them lying down. If you insist upon sitting up, I'll not permit a single -one of them even to grasp your hand." - -He yielded to her authority, and during the remainder of the brief -halting time, there was a cheering reunion of comrades and a hasty -interchange of personal news between men who loved each other as only -those men do who have stood together under an enemy's fire and together -endured the hardships of campaigning. - -The enemy's cavalry was by this time approaching in considerable force, -and Stuart, whose plan did not include any purpose of unnecessary -fighting, set his column in motion again. But he did not take the line -of march which he had been following all day. That had been intended as -a blind. By threatening several points in directions quite other than -the one he meant to take, he had accomplished two important purposes. He -had gained time for all his scattered detachments to rejoin the column, -and he had compelled the enemy to scatter his forces in many directions -for the defence of the threatened points. - -Having thus shaken off the greater part of the force pursuing him, he -began his march that night in such a direction as to suggest that he -meant to return if possible by the route by which he had come. For this -his enemy was of course prepared. As soon as the cavalry forces that -were observing his movement discovered what they took to be his purpose, -they withdrew for a space and planted themselves across his pathway. -Infantry and artillery forces were hurried forward in support, and the -enemy confidently believed that at last the wily cavalier was securely -entrapped. - -To encourage this mistaken belief, Stuart threw forward a small force of -men armed with carbines, and instructed them to maintain a scattering -fire upon the enemy's pickets during the night as if feeling of the -position in preparation for an attempt to break through it on the -morrow. - -No sooner was this disposition made than the main body of the -Confederates was turned into the by-roads that led toward the Potomac at -a point far east of McClellan's position and farther down the river. - -By a rapid march it reached the river at daylight and crossed it by -sunrise. In the meanwhile, just before the dawn, the detachment which -had been left behind to maintain a show of intended battle during the -night, quietly withdrew, and rode at a gallop to rejoin the escaping -column. The enemy did not discover their withdrawal until sunrise, by -which time they were many miles away, galloping toward the river, which -they crossed without molestation. - -It was not until the column halted in Virginia for a breakfast that -might be taken in security, that Stuart met Baillie and Agatha in -person. He insisted upon hearing the whole story, even making Sam take -part in its telling. At parting he sought a word apart with Agatha, and -said to her: - -"I suppose you and Captain Pegram have quite ceased to be 'almost -strangers' by this time." - -The girl flushed crimson, but managed to answer: - -"No, General. I have simply been his nurse, you know, and--and--well, -he has been very ill." - -"Nevertheless," answered the cavalier, "I'll court-martial him when he -returns to duty, if I hear no better report than that of his conduct." - -This bit of playfulness on Stuart's part had the effect of making Agatha -exceedingly uncomfortable in her mind. She had so long been caring for -Baillie as a man ill nigh unto death, that she had ceased to think of -conventionalities in connection with her relations to him. But Stuart's -jest reminded her that others might not be equally forgetful, especially -now that her patient was rapidly regaining his strength. - -"My work is done," she said to herself, "and I must no longer intrude -myself upon Captain Pegram or his affairs. As soon as he can be sent off -to Warlock in Sam's care, I must bid him a final adieu and go back to my -loneliness at Willoughby. After all, I shall have enough to do there, -caring for the poor negroes and managing the plantation so that it shall -yield enough for them to live upon. I wonder if everything has fallen -into complete neglect there during my absence? Now that Chummie has gone -to the angels, I am needed there. And besides I must look after my -underground railroad affairs. I wonder if the line is in good working -order, and if it is carrying as much freight as it ought." - -She realised, too, now that the parting was drawing near, how much -Baillie Pegram's presence had come to mean to her, how necessary a part -of her life he had become, and how barren and desolate that life must be -when they two should have spoken a final good-bye. For during her period -of nursing, he and she had come to be the best of comrades, and at such -times as his condition had permitted, they had fallen into habits of -intimate converse. Their talks, it is true, had never been personal in -character. They had talked of books and travel and life; now and then -they had discussed philosophy, ethics, æsthetics, and a hundred other -subjects external to themselves. But although their converse had not -been personal in character, it had taught each to know the impulses, the -sentiments, and the convictions of the other in a degree that purely -personal intercourse never could have done. - -Agatha understood all this now, as she had not understood it before, -and the understanding saddened her. For she was resolutely determined -now to take herself as completely out of this man's life as if she had -never known him at all. She proudly realised her duty, and she would not -flinch from its doing. - -"Did I not break off the acquaintance at that Christmas-time nearly two -years ago?" she argued with herself. "Was I not strong and resolute, the -moment I learned what my duty was? Why then should I not do the same -again?" - -She let her thoughts wander at will. "It is true there was war between -us then, and there is none now. There never has been since Chummie -talked with me that last night of his life. And it seems harder now in -other ways. Since I have come to know Captain Pegram so well, and -especially since I have taken care of him in a time of helplessness, it -seems harder to send him away and tell him that we are mere -acquaintances, not likely to see much of each other hereafter." - -Then she generalised in this fashion: - -"Life is very hard on women in any case--much harder than it is on men, -in every way. And the worst of it is that men do not want it to be so, -and nothing they can do can prevent. Even in that restriction of our -lives which petty conventionality forces upon us, men cannot come to our -relief. It is women who hold women to such restrictions. Men would laugh -them away, if we would let them, but we never will. We hold each other -to the rigidest standards of propriety, even when propriety makes -needless and foolish exactions of us. Men never do that. They want us to -be innocently as free as they are, but we are afraid to be so. We are -afraid of other women. Even Chummie could not succeed in setting me -free. I was too much afraid of other women's opinions, too much a slave -to other women's standards to accept the freedom he tried so hard to -force upon me. - -"No, that isn't just it. I am not really afraid of other women's -opinions; I am afraid of my own. I have laughed at and defied other -women's standards, many a time, and I shall go on doing so to the end, -whenever I am convinced that their opinions are unsound and their -standards wrong. I did that when I went North to find and rescue Captain -Pegram. I knew perfectly that my good aunts would look upon my conduct -with positive horror, and that the least any other woman of my -acquaintance would say about my conduct would be 'How could she?' in -tones that meant all that is possible of condemnation. But I did not -care for all that, and I do not care for it now, because I know that -what I did was right, and that Chummie would have said so if he had -lived till now. The trouble is that in the main I share those opinions -of other women which so restrict the liberty of all women. I am afraid -of those opinions because they are my own as well as others'; I submit -myself to those standards of feminine conduct because I share the -opinion that sets them up and enforces obedience to them." - -At this point Agatha "shied" away from the thought that had in fact -suggested all this introspective meditation. She would not admit, even -to herself, that she was strongly moved by a perfectly natural impulse, -to bridge the chasm that lay between her and Baillie Pegram, to remind -him of what he had said to her that far-away morning on the picket-line -at Fairfax Court-house, and so give him opportunity to say it again. -When that thought intruded itself upon her, she was shocked and -startled by it. It seemed to her immodest in an extreme degree, -unwomanly, almost atrocious. She would not harbour it for a moment. She -cast it out of her mind, and was bitterly resentful against herself for -having permitted it even to suggest itself. - -"I must act at once," she resolved, when the day's march was resumed. "I -must flee from the devil of this temptation. If Captain Pegram suffers -no relapse to-day, I will bid him good-bye in the morning. No, I will -not bid him good-bye. That would be too--well, it would be almost like -acting upon that hideous thought. I shall simply go without saying a -word to him. Perhaps I shall leave a little note for him, simply telling -him that I am going to look after affairs at Willoughby, as he no longer -needs his French nurse. I'll be very careful, in writing it, not to--not -to make it more than coldly courteous and friendly." - -It was nearly nightfall when the cavalcade rejoined the main body of -Lee's army. Agatha made haste to secure a careful examination of Baillie -by a staff surgeon. He reported that the convalescent man had taken no -harm from the journey, but was so far recovered that a month's rest -would render him fit for duty again. Assured of this, Agatha sent for -Sam and minutely instructed him as to the care of his master on the -homeward journey which, she had arranged, was to begin immediately, with -the assistance of an ambulance for a part of the way. - -Then, early the next morning, she went to Stuart, and preferred a -request. In the present disturbed state of things she hesitated to make -the journey to Willoughby alone, and she asked for an escort for a day. - -Stuart looked at her with a face far sadder than his was accustomed to -be, and said: - -"I have very bad news for you, Miss Agatha. You cannot go to -Willoughby--for there is no Willoughby. That was one of the many -plantations ravaged by Pope while he held Northern Virginia. The house -and all the barns were burned, and every living animal for a score of -miles around was killed. Even if Willoughby had been spared, it would -not do for you to live there now. The armies will move to new positions -presently,--nobody knows where,--and this northern part of Virginia will -be no fit place for women and children to live in till the war is -over." - -The girl sat pale and speechless, as she listened. It was as if she had -received a blow in the face. She had bravely met danger and sorrow and -hardship, and had endured them all with heroic resolution. She seemed -now quite unable to endure this new trial of her courage. She made no -outcry and shed no tears. She simply sat there before the headquarters -camp-fire, statue-like in her pallor and her immobility. Stuart gently -laid his hand upon her head, and sought to soothe her with a voice that -was always gentle when he spoke to a woman. - -Agatha seemed not to know what he was doing. She made no response to his -words, and as he looked into her face the light went out of her great -brown eyes. - -A moment later she reeled, and Stuart caught her in his brawny arms. - -"Bring a surgeon quick," he commanded. - -Then he gently laid the seemingly lifeless form upon a blanket which the -sentinel spread upon the ground. - - - - -XXXI - -_AT WARLOCK AND AT THE OAKS_ - - -For the first time in her life Agatha Ronald was ill. For the first time -her strength had given way under prolonged strain. The surgeon who had -been summoned to attend her ordered that she should be sent immediately -to some place in rear of the army's exposed position, where she could -have complete rest. - -Unfortunately there was no such place within a day's journey--no place -which might not at any hour become the scene of battle or at the least -of massive manoeuvring. Nowhere short of Charlottesville was there a -secure resting-place for the overwrought nerves that had so stoutly held -their own as long as their ministering strength was needed in the -service of others. - -While this matter was still under perplexed discussion, Marshall Pollard -made his timely appearance. Hearing of the arrival of Baillie and -Agatha with Stuart's returning column, he had ridden forward from his -camp to meet and greet his friends. He had passed a quarter of an hour -with the master of Warlock, who was now permitted to sit up most of the -time, and who was to start almost immediately on his homeward journey. -While they two were talking together, word reached Sam's ears that his -"Mis' Agatha" had fallen ill at General Stuart's camp-fire. Marshall -went with him immediately to her, under an injunction from Baillie to -"get her out of this, Marshall, if you can. Tell her not to mind me, but -to take care of herself. Tell her I shall be ready for duty almost -immediately--tell her I'm on duty--tell her anything and everything that -will persuade her to let you take her to a place of safety." - -Marshall was quick to see the necessity of prompt action, and Agatha was -far too ill to oppose his plans in any way. Stuart had ordered a little -tent stretched for her, and here it was decided she should remain until -Captain Pollard could arrange for her removal. - -He first secured a week's leave of absence for himself. While arranging -that, he had half a dozen of his men scouring the country round about -in search of a carriage. One was found which had escaped destruction -during the days of Pope's unsparing ravaging. It was an old-fashioned -vehicle of family state, swung high upon C springs and stoutly built for -service. - -In this conveyance, Agatha, still dazed and unresisting, was started on -her homeward journey early the next morning. One of Pollard's battery -men acted as driver, while Pollard himself rode by the side of the -carriage. - -About midnight the party reached Charlottesville, where tender, loving -hands took charge of Agatha for the night. - -The journey had rather rested than wearied her, and the physician who -had been summoned to attend her found her free from all positive -illness. - -"She has need of nothing now but rest and quiet," he said. - -When Marshall called upon her in the morning, he found the young woman's -mind clear again, and her nerves under control. - -"Tell me of Captain Pegram," she eagerly demanded, as soon as she had -briefly expressed her gratitude to Pollard for the care he was taking -for her comfort. - -With that gentle smile which always so invited affection, Marshall -reassured her concerning her late patient. - -"He is in Sam's excellent hands, and on his way to the rear by this -time. He will be on duty again pretty soon. Indeed, if the army were -stationed anywhere in particular just now he wouldn't go away from it at -all. He would take command of his battery at once, merely reporting -himself on the sick-list for a week or two. As it is he must go away for -a little while. Now let us talk about yourself. I have a week's leave, -granted for the express purpose of letting me do what is best for you. -Tell me what is best--or rather--it's the same thing--what is most to -your liking? Will you stay here, or--" - -"If I may," she answered, quickly, "I want to go home--to The Oaks, I -mean, for that is the only home I have in all the world now. Please take -me there." - -"It would be a very long journey by carriage," he said, as if talking to -himself, "but we can make the trip by rail if you are strong enough to -stand it." - -It was necessary in those days to think of a railway journey as a -formidable undertaking for any but the strongest persons. There were no -such things known then as sleeping-cars, or drawing-room cars. The -railroads were badly built, with the rails spiked down to loose ties, -and in no way joined together at their ends. The cars were coupled -together by chain links, and operated with hand-brakes, so that when a -train was stopping, there was a jolting which in our day would be deemed -intolerable. In Virginia at that time there was the additional -discomfort of laminated iron rails, and cars badly out of repair. - -But Agatha's courage had come back to her now, and she was eager to -complete her journey as speedily as possible. So Marshall sent the -carriage back to its owner, and with Agatha, took the first train for -Lynchburg, whence another railroad would convey them to their -destination. - -There was very little of conversation between the two as they travelled, -for the jarring and the rattle of the disjointed train, as it jolted -over its intolerably ill-kept road-bed, made talking difficult and -hearing well-nigh impossible. But during the long pauses at the stations -Agatha related the story of her adventures, with something of that -relish which one always feels in telling of experiences past, which were -anything but relishful at the time of their occurrence. - -Better still, the two friends talked much of Baillie Pegram, a subject -that enlisted the sympathetic interest of both, and drew them closer -than ever together as friends. - -The good ladies of The Oaks welcomed Agatha with all of tenderness that -their dignity would permit. They deeply disapproved of all that she had -done, of course, but they reflected that she had suffered much, and as -she was not now strong they forebore to emphasise by words of censure -the condemnation which they could not avoid manifesting in their manner. -Agatha did not much mind their disapproval. This was one of the cases in -which, feeling that her conduct had been altogether right, she was not -troubled by the contrary opinions of others. Moreover she had other -subjects to think about. - -Captain Pollard went at once to Warlock, after delivering his charge -into her aunts' hands, and on the next day, when he visited The Oaks to -ask concerning her, he reported that the master of Warlock had reached -home and was still rapidly gaining strength. - -This news gave Agatha a little shock. She had intended, as we know, to -take herself out of Captain Pegram's life as quickly and as completely -as possible, and now circumstances had forced her to place herself near -to him again. She knew that as soon as he should be able to ride, -ordinary courtesy would compel him to visit her, and--well, she did not -want him to do that. She felt herself in the position of a woman who has -purposely placed herself in the way of inviting attentions, or at least -has suffered herself to be so placed. - -She had done nothing of the kind, of course. Indeed, she had had no -choice in the matter, but the very thought that Baillie Pegram might so -interpret her course, distressed her greatly, in her still -nerve-tortured condition. She cared nothing whatever for what others, -including her aunts, might think of the matter, but the thought that -Baillie Pegram might misunderstand was intolerable. - -Her aunts added to her embarrassment by adopting a course which plainly -showed that they entertained a fear identical with her own. They sent a -note to Warlock every day, inquiring concerning the health of that -plantation's master. They made these notes as coldly formal as stilted -rhetoric could contrive, and they were at pains to read the missives to -Agatha before sending them. - -"Why do you do that?" she asked, when the second day's note was read. -There was almost a querulous tone in her protest. - -"Why, it seems to us proper, dear; we want you to be assured that we -make no mention of your presence here, but take the utmost possible -pains to show Captain Pegram how entirely you are--" - -At that point Agatha rose to her feet and looked indignantly at her -relatives. For a moment there was danger of an outbreak of offended -pride, but by an effort the girl controlled herself and said, simply: - -"Please don't do it any more. I shall feel hurt if you offer again to -read to me anything you may have written. If you will excuse me I think -I will go to my room now. I am not strong to-day." - -It was the custom of the good ladies to protest that they "never could -understand Agatha;" but on this occasion they understood her -sufficiently to know that they had trodden very near a danger-line which -they were more than unwilling to cross. - -Baillie Pegram in his turn was by no means minded to submit to the -manifest purpose of The Oaks ladies that he should hear nothing about -Agatha, beyond what Marshall Pollard had reported to him during the two -days of his stay at Warlock. Marshall had gone now, and Baillie wrote in -response to the second of the notes: - -"I am getting well quite as rapidly as my best friends could wish. There -is not the slightest occasion for uneasiness about me. I am even -permitted to ride horseback a little. But I am exceedingly anxious for -tidings of Miss Agatha, whom you have not mentioned in either of your -notes. Will you not send me word concerning her, or better still, if she -is well enough to write, will you not ask her to send me a few lines? My -gratitude to her for all that she has done for me is very great, and so -is my anxiety to know that she is recovering from the painful illness -which was caused by her generous self-sacrifice in my behalf." - -As Agatha had asked her aunts not to read to her their letters to the -master of Warlock, those ladies chose to interpret her request as -including his letter to them. They made no mention of the fact that he -had written to make inquiries concerning her. She wondered a little that -he had not done so, but on the whole, she argued, it was better so. - -Baillie was not so easily pleased. He chafed when the next note came -from The Oaks, bringing no tidings from Agatha, and when still another -of like character followed it, he grew uneasy, lest the silence might -mean that Agatha had herself forbidden all mention of her in letters -from The Oaks. - -"She is taking that method, probably," he argued, "of dismissing me -again, and letting me know that I must not presume upon the service she -has done me. What a fool I am, to be sure! I have been reckoning upon -her devotion to me in my illness and captivity as proof that what I -brutally blurted out at Fairfax Court-house was not unwelcome to her -after all. With her quick feminine perceptions, she has discovered how I -have been misinterpreting her duty doing, and she wants now to show me -my error in the simplest way possible." - -As he meditated, the soldier impulse in him asserted itself,--the -impulse to dare the worst in the hope of achieving the best. - -Acting upon that impulse he immediately wrote a note to Agatha, and sent -it by Sam, with orders to deliver it to her in person, if possible, and -at all events to ask for an answer and fetch it. - -In his note he told Agatha of his unanswered inquiries, and of the great -uneasiness he felt concerning her health. Finally he begged her to -relieve his anxiety by sending a line in reply. - - - - -XXXII - -_IN RIGHTEOUS WRATH_ - - -The grounds about The Oaks mansion were much more extensive than was -customary on Virginia plantations. The late owner, Agatha's father, had -cherished the forest growths jealously, permitting no tree to be cut -that could in any wise be preserved, and forbidding the encroachment of -the lawns immediately about the house upon the wild woodland growths -that bordered and surrounded them. It was Agatha's delight on windy -autumn days to wander in these woodlands, and on this morning Sam -encountered her quite half a mile from the house. She was hatless, and -the wind was taking what liberties it pleased with her thick-growing -hair, while she, having turned child again in her enjoyment of the -brilliant, gusty morning, was wading about in the depths of the fallen -leaves, delighting her soul with their rustling. - -Sam delivered his note and she read it. Instantly the child spirit in -her took flight and she became the strong, resolute, self-contained -young woman that she had learned to be during the storm and stress -period of her recent life. Her sudden access of dignity did not spare -even Sam. Like an officer in battle issuing his orders, she turned to -the negro boy and said: - -"Return to your master at once. Tell him you met me far from the house. -Say to him that I am almost as well as ever, and that I will answer his -note during the day. There. Go now, and deliver the message as I have -given it to you. Do you hear?" - -Sam's face grew long, as he turned about, and Agatha caught sight of it. -She was in a mighty rage, but not with Sam. She bethought her that the -boy had misunderstood, to the injury of his feelings, so she called to -him, and added: - -"I did not mean to speak sharply to you, Sam. You don't deserve any but -kindly words. I was thinking of something else. How are you since you -got back to Warlock, and tell me truly how your master is." - -"Thank you, Mis' Agatha," answered the boy, his face all smiles again, -"Mas' Baillie he's a-gittin' as lively as a spring chicken what don't -mean to be ketched. He rides every day now, an' don't he jes' eat! He'll -be all right in a week or two, yo' may be sure. As fer Sam, he ain't -never nothin' else but well, specially now dat we done git away from dem -Yankees an' back to Warlock ag'in!" - -Nevertheless Sam grew distinctly melancholy as he rode homeward, -repeating his message time and again in order that he might deliver it -correctly. The message seemed to him unduly curt, and certainly the note -he had delivered seemed somehow to have angered Agatha. Sam wondered how -and why, and he grieved over the circumstance, too, for Sam had taken -the liberty of making up his mind that Agatha would make an ideal -mistress at Warlock, and that the master of Warlock was planning some -such destiny for her. Her message and her manner suggested that she -resented all this, and that his master's hopes, which he took for -granted, were likely to be disappointed. - -Baillie Pegram's interpretation of the message when it was delivered to -him did not materially differ from that which Sam had put upon it. - -"She resents the liberty I have taken," he thought, "in writing to her -directly. She has forbidden her aunts to reply to my inquiries made -through them. She has sought in that way to tell me, by indirection, -that the old family war between herself and me still endures; that all -her suffering and sacrifice in ministering to me was inspired solely by -a sense of duty; that she wishes now to end our intimacy as she did two -years ago. Clearly that is the state of the case, and she is naturally -angry now that I have forced an attention upon her which compels her to -tell me directly what she had meant me to infer. What an idiot I was to -do that!" - -In the meanwhile Agatha had walked rapidly to the house. At the -beginning of her journey she indulged her indignation freely. She -rehearsed all the bitingly sarcastic things she meant to say to her -aunts, all the defiance she intended to hurl at their helpless heads. -But as she spent her superfluous vitality in brisk walking, she -recovered her self-control. - -"I will not scold," she resolved. "That would be undignified. I will be -calm and courteous, saying as little as may be necessary to let them see -my displeasure. They have grievously compromised my dignity by what they -have done. I must not sacrifice what remains of it by a petulant -outbreak. They have treated me like a child in pinafores, who must be -restrained lest she misbehave. I must show them that I have outgrown -pinafores. I must prove myself incapable of childish misbehaviour." - -Firm in this determination, she entered the house with Baillie Pegram's -note in her hand, and upon joining her aunts before the library fire, -she said quite calmly: - -"I have a note from Captain Pegram, who has got a notion into his head -that I am seriously ill, and that you are concealing the fact from his -friendly knowledge. He tells me he has twice asked you for news of me, -and you have made no response. Of course you forgot to mention in your -notes that I am quite well again." - -The ladies looked at each other with troubled eyes. Presently one of -them spoke: - -"No, dear, we did not forget. We have only been mindful of proprieties -which Mr. Pegram seems strangely to forget or ignore. Under the -circumstances, and in view of the relations between the Ronalds and the -Pegrams, it seemed to us rather impertinent in him to send messages to -you, even through us. We intended to rebuke his presumption by ignoring -the messages. Why, he even went so far as to ask us to let you write to -him yourself." - -Agatha received all this in silence, controlling herself with -difficulty. It was not until a full minute after her aunt had ceased to -speak that she said: - -"Go on, please." - -"There would seem to be no more to say; for surely it is needless to -comment upon Mr. Pegram's crowning impertinence in writing directly to -you." - -"Go on, please. Tell me all about it. You see I don't at all -understand." - -By this time the good dames began to realise that Agatha was either very -angry or very deeply hurt, so they decided to soothe and placate her. -This is how they did it. - -"No, dear, I suppose you do not understand. How should you, with such -bringing up as your grandfather gave you? Of all the strange -perversities--" - -"Stop!" cried Agatha, rising from her chair with a look upon her face -which her aunts did not understand but gravely feared. Their last spoken -words had set her free to speak. She had not dared resent their -criticism of Baillie Pegram's conduct. That might have been -misinterpreted. But the reflection upon her grandfather was a different -matter. She stood there livid to the lips and shaking with the -indignation which she was struggling to suppress. After that one word, -"Stop!" she remained silent for a space, struggling to restrain the -angry utterance that was surging to her lips. At last, speaking in a -constrained voice, she said: - -"I will not hear another word. Neither you nor any other human being is -worthy to speak my grandfather's name except with reverence. He was -great, and wise, and unspeakably good. He hated lies and shams and false -conventionalities." - -Here the roused tigress in Agatha was sharply restrained. She found -herself about to indulge in a tirade, and that she was resolved not on -any account to do. Still speaking in a voice of enforced calm, she -added: - -"I must go now and write to Captain Pegram. I shall dine with the Misses -Blair at The Forest to-day." - -To Baillie she wrote: - -"It is very kind of you to feel so much solicitude on my account. But it -is needless, as I am quite well again and growing stronger every day. I -go in half an hour to dine at The Forest, where I shall remain till -to-morrow. After that I shall go to Richmond in search of some way in -which I may be of service. I am pleased to hear through Sam that you are -so greatly better. Thank you again for all your kindness to me, and -good-bye." - -Having despatched this note, Agatha donned her hat and cloak and walked -out of the house. Without a pause she passed on through the grounds and -along the road to the plantation known as The Forest. - -She had made no adieus to her aunts. "To do that," she reflected, "I -should have to tell lies, or act them. I should have to say I am sorry -to leave them, and I am not sorry. Oh, Chummie! the world is very lonely -now that you are not in it! But you mustn't grieve in heaven, Chummie. -It will not be for long, you know, and while I stay here I'm going to -try harder than ever to be true and good and altogether truthful, as you -want me to be, and when I go to join you I'll be happy enough to make up -for all these little troubles here." - -At that moment a merry gust of wind blew off her headgear. She picked it -up, but did not replace it on her head. She liked to feel the crisp -breezes in her face. She even indulged the fancy that they bore caresses -to her from Chummie. - - - - -XXXIII - -_UNDER RED LEAVES_ - - -Agatha's note, coming after her curt message, was a sore puzzle to its -recipient. One might interpret it to mean anything or nothing. It was -courteous enough, but its courtesy was colourless and cold. It was such -a note as might have been addressed to the veriest stranger. There was -nothing in it to reassure the master of Warlock as to Agatha's view of -his conduct, nothing to allay his fear that she had resented his -inquiries as an impertinence. On the contrary, if that were the meaning -of the former silence and of the morning's message, this note was -precisely such as a sensitively self-respecting young woman might have -written when compelled by his persistence to write to him at all. - -It was a very bad quarter of an hour with him, during which he read the -missive a dozen times, unable to make out what it meant. - -But Baillie Pegram was not a man to despair until he must, or to rest -under a painful uncertainty. It was his habit of mind to meet dangers -and difficulties half-way, and question them insistently concerning -their extent. He called Sam, therefore, and bade him bring the -easy-going pacer which he had begun to ride for exercise, and mounting -the animal he set off at a gentle gait toward The Forest. - -He appeared there half an hour before the four o'clock dinner was -announced, and his welcome by his hostesses, Miss Blair and her sister, -was all the warmer for the reason that his arrival indicated, more -surely than any message from Warlock could have done, the extent of his -convalescence. - -Perhaps he was welcome also on another account. For the Misses Blair -were deeply concerned about Agatha, and they hoped that he might -persuade her, as they had failed to do, to give up her plan of going to -Richmond and seeking service as a hospital nurse or in some other -capacity in which a woman might employ herself. They were deeply -concerned as to the matter of nursing for the reason that it was deemed -highly improper in Virginia for any but married women to nurse in the -military hospitals, where the patients, of course, were men. - -Agatha had told them as little as possible of her affairs. She had said -nothing whatever of her quarrel with her aunts, only telling them that -she had left The Oaks finally, and asking them to send thither for such -personal belongings as she had there, so that she might remain overnight -at The Forest, and go to Richmond on the morrow. The younger Miss Blair -had volunteered to go in person on this errand, and from her the ladies -at The Oaks had first learned that Agatha had finally quitted the place -in her resentment. They were greatly distressed, and immediately ordered -their carriage and drove to The Forest, where Baillie Pegram found them -on his arrival. - -Their pleadings with Agatha had been earnest, insistent, and wholly -fruitless. She had manifested no anger, and they had discovered no -resentment in her voice as she replied to them. She had made no -complaints and uttered no reproaches. To all their pleadings she had -answered, simply: - -"I have quite decided upon my course. I shall not change my plans." - -The good dames were in such despair that they even welcomed Baillie's -coming. - -"We have done everything, said everything," they hastily explained to -him; "why, we have almost _apologised_ to the child, and all to no -purpose. Perhaps you can have some influence, Captain Pegram. Will you -not speak to her?" - -"I shall speak to her, of course," was his reply. "I am here indeed for -that express purpose. But I shall certainly not try to dissuade her from -any course that she may desire to pursue. That would be an impertinence -of which I am incapable." - -The Oaks ladies flushed as he spoke the word "impertinence," remembering -their own recent use of the term in connection with his conduct. Perhaps -Agatha had told him of that in her letter, they thought. If so it would -be most embarrassing for them to dine in his company and hers. So, -pleading their great agitation of mind as their excuse, they returned at -once to The Oaks, leaving Baillie and Agatha as the only guests of the -Misses Blair at dinner. - -When left alone with the young woman after dinner, the master of Warlock -opened the conversation as promptly as it was his custom to open fire -when the proper moment had come. - -"Agatha," he began, as the two stood in the piazza in the glow of the -early setting sun and in the midst of the blood-red Virginia creepers -that embowered the place, "Agatha, do you remember the words I spoke to -you on the picket-line at Fairfax Court-house?" Then without waiting for -her reply, he continued: "I have come to you now to say those words over -again, at a more fitting time and in a more appropriate place. I love -you. I have loved you ever since those days in Richmond, those precious -days when I first began to know you for what you are. I loved you all -through that cruel time when, in obedience to what you believed was your -duty, you decreed that there should be 'war between me and thee.' And -now after all that you have done and dared for me, my love for a nature -so pure, so noble, so heroic, passes understanding. I have a right to -tell you this now. Tell me in return, if it displeases you?" - -With that absolute truthfulness which was the basis of her nature, -Agatha replied as frankly as he had spoken. - -"It pleases me," she said. "I had not expected this. I thought I had -repulsed you so rudely that--oh! Baillie, you will never know." - -In a torrent of tears that were a more welcome answer than any words -could have been, she buried her face in her hands. - -Half an hour later these two sat by a crackling fire, arranging -practical affairs. - -"You do not wish to go back to The Oaks, then, even for a few weeks, and -to save appearances?" - -"No, Baillie, I cannot. I should have to act a lie every hour of my stay -there. I should be obliged to pretend friendship for my aunts when I -feel nothing of the kind. They have insulted the memory of my -grandfather, and they have spoken of you in a way that never so long as -I live will I let any human being speak of you without resenting it. I -do not care to 'save appearances,' as you put it. Appearances may look -out for themselves. 'Saving appearances' is only a sneaking way of -lying. No. I will go to some friends in Richmond, if they will let me--" - -"Why not go to Warlock?" he asked. - -"Why, that would outrage the proprieties beyond forgiveness now that -we--well, under the circumstances." - -So Mistress Agatha did "care for appearances" and conventions after all. -But Baillie did not think of that. - -"Why not go there as the mistress of Warlock--as my wife?" he asked. -"Why should we not be married to-morrow at Christ-Church-in-the-Woods? I -am a soldier. I shall be strong enough to return to duty presently. When -I do so I shall want to feel that you are safe at Warlock, that you are -mine, my wife to cherish while I live. Say that it shall be so, Agatha! -Let me send word to Mr. Berkeley, the rector, to-night, that we shall be -at the church at noon to-morrow!" - -[Illustration: "'_'At Christ-church-in-the-wood_'"] - -The girl thought for a moment, and then said: - -"Yes, that will be best. For then, if you fall ill or are wounded again, -I shall have a right to go to you and care for you. Let it be so. Now -you must not ride to Warlock on horseback to-night. It is very cool, and -you have already overtaxed your strength. I shall ask Miss Blair to send -you over in her carriage." - -When he had gone Agatha announced the news to her hostesses and -straightway set about writing a score of little notes to be despatched -by negro messengers early in the morning, to her friends in the -neighbourhood. To her aunts she wrote simply, and without formal address -of any kind, the bare statement: - -"Captain Baillie Pegram and I are to be married to-morrow, Thursday, at -noon, at Christ-Church-in-the-Woods." - -This note she sent before going to bed. When it was received at The -Oaks, a conversation ensued which was largely ejaculatory: - -"How shocking!" - -"Yes, and how scandalous!" - -"What will people say!" - -"The girl must be bewitched!" - -"And yet it is better than nursing soldiers, and she an unmarried -woman!" - -"Perhaps. At any rate it is clear that we can exercise no restraint -over the poor, headstrong child." - -"No, Captain Pegram has completely undermined our influence. Of course -we cannot lend our countenance to the affair by attending!" - -"I think we must. Otherwise people will talk. They might even call it a -runaway match." - -"That would be too dreadful!" - -"Yes. I think we must put the best face we can on the affair by -attending. In these war-times everything is topsyturvy. Ah, me! What a -pity we couldn't have had the child's bringing-up to ourselves!" - -"Yes, we should have made a very different woman of her. Anyhow, with -this marriage all our responsibility for her will be at an end. And -after all, perhaps it is as well to have it so, for if she had remained -single there is no knowing at what moment she would have done something -else as scandalous as her going North to nurse Mr. Pegram was." - -And so they cackled for half the night. - - - - -XXXIV - -_THE END AND AFTER_ - - -A few weeks later came the news that a campaign was on and battle -impending. Burnside had replaced McClellan in command of the Federal -armies in Virginia. He had at once begun a campaign against Richmond, -moving by way of Fredericksburg. There Lee met him, posting the Southern -veterans on the circling hills behind the town and awaiting his -adversary's assault. - -Baillie Pegram had resumed command of his battery now, but no longer -with the light guns that he had used while galloping with Stuart. A -captured Federal battery of six twelve-pounder Napoleons had been -assigned to him, and with these he took position on the crest of Marye's -Heights, where there was presently to occur one of the most heroic -battles of all the war. - -It was nearly mid-December when Burnside crossed the river and moved to -assault Lee. His army, though greater than Lee's, was not quite so great -in numbers as it had been when McClellan had commanded it near -Richmond's gates; but it was greatly more formidable in all other -respects. The men who composed it were war-seasoned veterans now, and -its officers had fully learned their trade of command. Moreover the army -had successfully held its own against Lee at Sharpsburg, and the -confidence inspired by that event was an important element of strength. -But in Burnside the Federal administration had again failed to find a -leader capable of so employing the North's stupendous resources of men, -money, and material as to crush the splendid resistance of the Army of -Northern Virginia. - -So Burnside failed, as McDowell, and McClellan, and Pope had failed -before, and as Hooker, who succeeded him in command, failed even more -conspicuously, when, in the following spring, he made the campaign of -Chancellorsville. - -After Chancellorsville Lee crossed the Potomac again. Then came -Gettysburg, which proved to be the turning-point in the war, so far as -the armies of Virginia were concerned. - -For before the next campaign opened--the campaign of the Wilderness, -Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbour--the North had recognised in Grant a -leader who knew what use to make of the means at his command, and, more -important still, a leader who clearly saw that the strength of the -Confederacy lay, not in the possession of cities or the holding of -strategic positions, but in the superb fighting force of Lee's army. -Grant, in supreme command of all the armies of the Union, directed the -work of all of them to the one task of crushing Lee, and in the end he -accomplished it. When that was done, this most stupendous war in modern -history was over. - -In all these epoch-making events the master of Warlock did his part, -with a devotion that wrought a colonel's stars upon his collar and added -honour to the name he bore. During the long winter of 1863-64, while the -mud-bound armies lay helplessly idle in winter quarters, Baillie had -Agatha with him in his log hut near Orange Court-house, and before the -campaign opened at the Wilderness in the spring, an heir to Warlock was -born in camp,--a child veritably "cradled in a revolution." - -Agatha was near her husband, too, during the long siege of Petersburg, -though she could not be actually with him; for his place was on the -lines, where the "scream of shot, and burst of shell, and bellowing of -the mortars" were ceaseless by night and by day, for the space of eight -months, before the end came. But she was always near at hand, as one of -that heroic band of women who stayed and starved in the beleaguered -city, heedless of the storm of huge shells that daily wrecked buildings -there and tore cavernous trenches in the streets. She remained there to -the end as the others did, in order that they might minister in loving, -life-saving ways to the wounded, who were daily brought in from the -lines on ever-busy litters. - -When at last the attenuated lines that had so long and so heroically -held their ground against an ever-increasing disparity of numbers, were -broken, and Lee ordered the instant evacuation of the city, Agatha made -her way on foot to Warlock, and there, with her babe, awaited the return -of the man she loved, and whose voice she fancied she could hear in the -receding echoes of the cannon. - -He came at last,--ten days later,--and Agatha greeted him with loving -looks and words that cheered him in that despondency that at first made -every returning Confederate lament that he had not been permitted to -share the fate of those who had fallen facing the foe. - -Over the mantel in that family room which in Virginia was always called -"the chamber," Agatha hung up the artillery sword, the pistols, the -colonel's sash, and the Mexican spurs that the master of Warlock had -worn in his campaigning. - -"Those are for the little boy to see daily as he grows up, so that he -may know what manner of man his mother wishes him to become--what manner -of man his mother loves and reveres." - -Then she brought two other mementos and hung them also on the wall. One -was the sergeant-major's jacket on which she had stitched the chevrons -on the day before Manassas. - -"So you found the old jacket, did you?" asked Baillie. "I kept it as a -reminder of you." - -"Yes--I know. I found it in the little closet where you had hung it. I -should have left it there always, just as your hands had placed it, -if--if you had not come back to Warlock again." - -She was weeping now, but her face was joyous in spite of the tears. For -had he not come back to her, strong and well and still young? And should -not they two find ways in which to meet their present poverty with stout -hearts and heads erect? - -"We must 'look up,' Baillie, 'and not down--forward and not backward.' -We have each other left--" - -"And the boy--_our_ boy!" he interrupted. "Yes, we have enough to live -for--enough to enrich our lives to the end. And thanks to you I have -courage left both to do and to endure." - -"Courage? Of course. You could never lose that and still live. It is as -vital a part of you as your head itself is." - -Then she brought the other memento and fastened it into its place. It -was a faded red feather. - -"I have carried that on my person," she said, "ever since that day at -Fairfax Court-house when you first told me that you loved me." - - * * * * * - -A few months later Marshall Pollard came. He hobbled upon a cork leg -which he had not yet learned to use with ease, but the old smile was on -his face, the old cheer in his voice. - -"Agatha," he said, "I should like to occupy my old quarters here during -my stay, if I may. You see, Baillie, it is as I told you long years -ago--I must ask leave of my lady now. But I don't mind, as my lady -happens to be Agatha instead of some other." - -"And your other prediction is fulfilled, too," answered the master of -Warlock, "the prediction that you made out there by the plantation gate. -The old life of Virginia is completely gone, the old conditions have -been utterly swept away. We can never re-create them. We can never bring -the old life back, and perhaps it is better so. We Virginians had for -generations lived in the past. Our manner of life and all our -conceptions of living were those of a century ago. We had not kept step -with progress. We have been rudely shaken out of the lethargic ease that -was so delightful and perhaps so bad for us. We are free now to create a -new life in tune with that of the modern world. - -"And we shall do that right manfully. We shall develop the resources of -our region, and the South will grow more prosperous than it ever was -before. Better still, our children will be educated in the gospel of -work, and learn the lesson that was never taught to you and me till war -came to teach us, that it is in strenuous endeavour, and not in -paralysing ease, that a man finds the greatest happiness in life." - -"Tell me of your plans, Baillie." - -"They are not mine. They are Agatha's. We have arranged to convert this -plantation, and The Oaks, and all the land round about--for the company -we have formed has bought every acre that could be had--into a nest of -coal mines. The deposit is a rich one, you know, and I have had no -difficulty in getting practical men with abundant capital to join me in -the enterprise. We are already building a branch railroad to carry our -product. But there is to be no shaft sunk within half a mile of Warlock -House, so that I shall be 'master of Warlock' still. Tell us now of your -own affairs, Marshall." - -"There is not much to tell. Thanks to Agatha's wonderful economy in -spending, I still have investments at the North which yield me a -sufficient income for my small needs. I have divided my plantation into -little farms, and have let them to the best of the negroes and to some -white farmers. I am to get my rentals in the shape of a share of the -crops. This sets me free to do the work that best pleases me. You know I -have been writing in a small way with some success ever since I grew up. -I shall write some books now. I think I have some messages to deliver -that some at least of my fellow men may be the better or the happier for -hearing." - -"But you will want to marry some day." - -"No. My 'some day' died years ago." - - -THE END. - - * * * * * - -The Master of Warlock - -By GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON, Author of "Dorothy South," "A Carolina -Cavalier." Six Illustrations by C. D. Williams. - -"THE MASTER OF WARLOCK" has an interesting plot, and is full of purity -of sentiment, charm of atmosphere, and stirring doings. One of the -typical family feuds of Virginia separates the lovers at first; but, -when the hero goes to the war, the heroine undergoes many hardships and -adventures to serve him, and they are happily united in the end. - - * * * * * - -Dorothy South - -A STORY OF VIRGINIA JUST BEFORE THE WAR - -Baltimore Sun says: - - "No writer in the score and more of novelists now exploiting the - Southern field can, for a moment, compare in truth and interest to - Mr. Eggleston. In the novel before us we have a peculiarly - interesting picture of the Virginian in the late fifties. We are - taken into the life of the people. We are shown the hearts of men - and women. Characters are clearly drawn, and incidents are - skilfully presented." - - * * * * * - -A Carolina Cavalier - -A STIRRING TALE OF WAR AND ADVENTURE - -Philadelphia Home Advocate says: - - "As a love story, 'A Carolina Cavalier' is sweet and true; but as a - patriotic novel, it is grand and inspiring. We have seldom found a - stronger and simpler appeal to our manhood and love of country." - - * * * * * - -The Captain - -By CHURCHILL WILLIAMS, author of "J. Devlin--Boss." Illustrated by A. I. -Keller. - -Who is the Captain? thousands of readers of this fine book will be -asking. It is a story of love and war, of scenes and characters before -and during the great civil conflict. It has lots of color and movement, -and the splendid figure naming the book dominates the whole. - - * * * * * - -J. Devlin--Boss - -A ROMANCE OF AMERICAN POLITICS. - -Mary E. Wilkins says: - - "I am delighted with your book. Of all the first novels, I believe - yours is the very best. The novel is American to the core. The - spirit of the times is in it. It is inimitably clever. It is an - amazing first novel, and no one except a real novelist could have - written it." - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Master of Warlock, by George Cary Eggleston - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER OF WARLOCK *** - -***** This file should be named 40013-8.txt or 40013-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/0/1/40013/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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