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diff --git a/old/67150-0.txt b/old/67150-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3356a4b..0000000 --- a/old/67150-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2311 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of "Bobbie", a Story of the Confederacy, -by Kate Langley Bosher - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: "Bobbie", a Story of the Confederacy - -Author: Kate Langley Bosher - -Release Date: January 12, 2022 [eBook #67150] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Carlos Colon, the Library of Congress and the Online - Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This - file was produced from images generously made available by - The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "BOBBIE", A STORY OF THE -CONFEDERACY *** - - - - - - -[Illustration: _Frontispiece—Bobbie._ - -“Is it all right at the house?” See p. 122.] - - - - - “BOBBIE” - - _A STORY OF_ - THE CONFEDERACY - - BY - KATE LANGLEY BOSHER - _Author of “When Love is Love”_ - - ILLUSTRATED - - PHILADELPHIA - HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY - - COPYRIGHT, 1899, - BY - KATE CAIRNS. - - COPYRIGHT, 1905, - BY - HENRY ALTEMUS. - - - - -_IN MEMORY OF “THE DAYS THAT ARE NO MORE.”_ - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration: _“You see dis?” she said._] - - - - -[Illustration: “BOBBIE”] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -He always said he never knew which was worse, his name or his nose; but -as he could get rid of neither, he accepted both in his own bright, happy -way, and that ended the matter with him. - -Peter Black had given him the name of Mars’ Bobbie to distinguish him -from Mars’ Robert, his father, and it seemed to fit so exactly and suit -so well his cheery, lovable little self as a baby, and later as a boy, -and even on to young manhood, that no one thought of calling him anything -else, or loved any other name half so well for him. - -He was such a long time in coming, he used to say laughingly, that when -he did get here his parents and friends and relatives, together with -all the negroes on the plantation, thought he was going to be something -extra; and then to be called “_Bobbie_,” and to have a broken nose, -was so hurtful to his vanity, that, after thinking the matter over, he -settled it by deciding that never again would he allow the subject to -enter his mind, with the result that he became more lovable and loving -than ever, and the secret of the charm all lay in the decision about -his nose and name—he never thought of himself, but always of every one -else first; and that is why he was so loved—he was so brave and true and -honest and glad always. - -“White Point,” where he was born, was the centre of the Rockland -district; and while the neighborhood in that section of the country was -tolerably well settled, still the “quality folks” were not very numerous, -and in a radius of some twenty miles there were scarcely half a dozen -families that kept up any kind of an establishment. Consequently, with -the exception of “Grey Cliffs”—Dr. Trevillian’s place—“White Point” -stood alone for a synonym of all that was grand and elegant, and as a -gathering place for all the “bus heads” of the neighboring counties, as -well as many cities. - -Over two hundred slaves were owned by the master, and the stables were -reckoned the finest in the State, for the stock included many animals -of well-known and enviable records. There was a private race-track -at one end of the plantation, and when at the spring and fall meets -the neighbors from his own and adjoining counties met at Mars’ Robert -Tayloe’s, there were times to be remembered, and good old times they were! - -The gentlemen brought their own horses and dogs, and in the morning after -breakfast it was no unusual sight to see fifty or more blooded animals -brought out by the stable boys and walked up and down for the inspection -and discussion of the gentlemen who had come down to see their favorites; -and it was owing to one of these occasions that Bobbie made his nose -immortal. - -Though his eighth birthday had not yet been reached, he knew every detail -of stable matters to what his mother thought an alarming degree, and the -ambition of his life was to get astride a race horse. Never had he been -allowed that privilege, though he had ridden bareback everything else on -the place; and when he heard his father discussing, the night before the -big race, the relative merits of his special pride—Dare Devil—as compared -with Major Dalrymple’s Lady Virginia, he could stand it no longer, and he -crept out to look for Peter Black. - -Had Bobbie known what an _alter ego_ was, he would have said that Peter -Black was it; for one was the substance, the other the shadow; and when -Bobbie was wanted Peter Black was generally called. - -By right of birth he really belonged to Sallie Tom, Bobbie’s mammy; but -for all other intents and purposes he was owned body and soul by little -Mars’ Bobbie, to whom Mars’ Robert had given him on the morning of the -great day when the little master “done come.” The big master had made -him creep softly in the missus’ beautiful room, and had shown him the -new wonder, and told him that he was to belong to him hereafter, and -that he must always be very careful, and never let any harm come to him; -and Peter Black had promised solemnly, and walked out of the room as one -would come out of a holy place, and no king on his coronation day was -ever half so proud as he. - -Sallie Tom, his mother, was present at this installation into office, -and she tried hard to conceal the pride she felt at the selection of -the little marsa’s body servant. She said no word at the time, but when -she got down to her cabin she put Peter Black on a chair and had a -conversation with him. - -Peter was her one and only offspring, and though she loved him very -much in her own peculiar way, it was something very different from the -absolute idolatry she had for her master and mistress, and now for the -little stranger that for ten long years she had hoped and prayed would -come to fill the sore need of a child up in the big house. - -There was a strain of Indian blood somewhere in Sallie Tom, it was -thought, and the rest of the negroes were far more afraid than fond of -her. They declared she “cungered” them, and some would have nothing to -do with her; and for that reason, though the best worker on the place, -she had been put in the house by her mistress. At the birth of the baby -she had been installed as nurse-in-chief, and from that hour she ruled as -despot of the nursery kingdom. - -In more ways than one did she assert her Indian peculiarities. No one -knew for certain that she possessed a drop of such blood; but her hate -once aroused was implacable, and her devotion once given was as intense -as it was enduring and genuine. - -After the birth of the baby Sallie Tom moved up into the house -altogether, but she was still allowed to retain her cabin, and there -Peter Black slept at night, and there in her hours of recreation or -investigation she went to look after her private matters and to see that -all things continued in their usual spotless condition. - -On the afternoon of the day that made Peter Black henceforth the property -of the few-hours-old heir, Sallie Tom interviewed her offspring as to the -responsibilities and obligations now resting upon him as a body servant; -and if at the end of the interview Peter Black failed to understand what -he was to be and to do, it was because he was only six years old, and not -yet equal to taking life altogether seriously. - -One thing, however, he fully appreciated, and that was the old horse-hair -whip that hung near the chimney corner. Sallie Tom took it down and shook -it out in the air. - -“You see dis?” she said, as she arose from her seat to go back to the -house. “You see dis heah, Peter Black? Mars’ Robert told you to-day dat -you b’long to de little marsa, now, and so you does. Yo’ foots is to run -for him, yo’ han’s is to work for him, yo’ tongue is to talk up for -him, yo’ eyes is to look out for him; but you b’long to me, too, Peter -Black, and when yo’ foots don’t run, and yo’ hands don’t work, and yo’ -eyes don’t see, and you gets to any foolin’, den me and dis heah frien’ -of yourn will hav’ suppin to say to you, Peter Black, and now go long wid -you,” and Sallie Tom turned and threw her arms around him and hugged him -passionately, and then sent him out to play. - -From the day of his induction into office Peter Black never gave cause -for any regret as to his selection. His idolatry of his little master was -almost pathetically absurd. It was he who called him Mars’ Bobbie, the -day he crowed so lustily in his face, and the name seemed to fit so well -the rollicking, laughing, happy little soul that it just stayed, and no -one wanted it changed. When he first began to crawl it was over Peter -Black’s back, and Peter’s was the only hand he would touch when he tried -to make his first steps, and almost before he could call his mother he -would cry for “B’ Bac,” and “B’ Bac” was always there. - -On up through the days of infancy the comradeship continued to grow, and -though Bobbie’s was the imperious one of babyhood, he loved Peter Black -better than anything on earth, and shared faithfully every piece of cake -or candy that was given him, and it was due to this absolute and complete -submission to his will that Peter Black let his young master have his way -about the horses, an indulgence which resulted in Bobbie’s broken nose. -When the latter crept out of his room the night before the big race he -made Peter Black promise to wake him up the next morning at 4 o’clock. -“I’m not going to tell you what for,” said Bobbie, “but you wake me up;” -and Peter Black did as he was bidden. - -Together they crept through the house and down to the stables, and then -Bobbie told his plans. “Major Dalrymple said last night he knowed Lady -Virginia was a-going to beat the whole place, and I know there ain’t a -horse in the world that can beat my father’s Dare Devil, and I just -want to tell him so, and I’m going to try and see. You must get on Lady -Virginia and I will ride Dare Devil; and don’t let’s have any saddles, -’cause my feet don’t touch.” - -They almost ran as they talked, and it was in vain that Peter Black -protested and begged his little master not to do so dreadful a thing; but -Bobbie’s blood was up, and words had no effect. They opened the stable -and led out their favorites to the track, and slipped up on their backs. -“Now, when I count three you let her go, and you make her _go_, ’cause -I don’t want to win easy. If I come back here first, _I_ beat; if _you_ -first, then I’ll tell father it’s no use. Now, listen. One, two”—Bobbie’s -voice trembled with excitement—“three!”—and they were off. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -They said afterward that the big race wasn’t half so exciting as this one -witnessed by an unexpected audience. They had hardly mounted their horses -and gotten under way before several of the stable boys and the visiting -grooms were rushing wildly to the track. The horses had been missed at -once, and already up to the house the message had been sent that Mars’ -Bobbie and Peter Black were racing. - -Hardly waiting to slip on their clothes, down came Mr. Tayloe and Dr. -Trevillian, followed by some three or four of the gentlemen guests and -numerous servants, all making madly for the race track. - -Both children could be distinctly seen, though now half way round the -bend, and breathlessly the men stood and watched. Mr. Tayloe’s face -was deathly white, and his hands shook as he grasped the gate-post at -the entrance to the track. The rest, however, had forgotten who were on -the horses. It was a race that they were watching, and so intense was -the interest that they almost held their breath as again the children -appeared in sight, for neck and neck they were going now. Both horses -were being ridden at break-neck speed. All sense of servant and master -was forgotten in Peter Black’s and Bobbie’s minds; it was a race to win, -and all else save winning was driven out. Nearer and nearer they came, -and up through the stillness of the early morning could be heard the -ringing of the horses’ hoofs upon the hard-packed track; and now they -could see that each was stretched almost flat upon the back of his horse, -holding on in some mysterious way known only to himself. - -Neck and neck they still held, and though Major Dalrymple felt afraid of -an accident, he mentally determined that if Tayloe wanted to get rid of -Peter Black after this escapade, he would buy him and have him trained -for a jockey. He had the making of one in him, and Lady Virginia was -doing well, even as it was. - -On they came, and instinctively the men and stable hands breathed hard. -For the life of them not one could say which he thought would come in -ahead. Louder and louder sounded the hoof-beats on the hard earth; and -though his heart was beating almost out of his bosom, even Mr. Tayloe -could scarce repress a smile when he saw the eager excitement on his -little son’s face as he neared the stretch that would decide the race. -Peter Black was losing his head, but Bobbie leaned still lower and -touched Dare Devil on the forehead, as he was accustomed to do in the -stables, and then he saw the crowd at the gate and his father’s white -face among them. “Dare Devil, we _must_!” he cried, almost frantically. -“Don’t you see father? We _must_;” and he bent his feet against his -flanks, and Dare Devil gave a great leap—and Peter Black was behind! - -The men set up a shout, and Dare Devil, almost maddened, kept up his -wonderful speed, and in a moment it was over—the goal was reached, and -Bobbie had loosened his hold and was shouting wildly to his father, when -Dare Devil gave another spurt—and Bobbie lay on the ground, flung against -the fence. Every man rushed quickly to the spot; but already his father -had him in his arms, and Dr. Trevillian was bending over him. Peter Black -was there, too, and they said afterward that he was as white as Bobbie. -It was quite five minutes before they brought him to, and his first words -caused a great cheer to break the awful stillness that had followed his -fall. “We beat him father! tell him so; tell him that Dare Devil can beat -them all!” he cried; and then he lifted his hand to his face and saw the -blood with which it was stained. - -“What is it?” he asked, trying to rise, and looking at it again -wonderingly. “Oh, father,” he pleaded, “don’t tell mother ’bout the -blood—take me down to Sallie Tom’s cabin—don’t let mother see it—you -can do anything you want with me, father,” he continued, and he tried -hard to look up bravely in the latter’s face, “only don’t let mother -know I am hurt, and don’t punish Peter Black. I made him do it—he didn’t -want to, and he’s mine, you know father, and you haven’t the right.” He -watched his father’s face eagerly. “Promise me,” he cried, “promise me.” -And though his father had an intense desire to see Peter Black soundly -thrashed, he knew he had no right to do it, for he had simply obeyed his -little master, as he himself had ordered him to do. - -Up at the house there was great excitement when it was known that -Bobbie’s nose was broken, and more than ever was his sway over the -household absolute and entire, as he lay for a few days a prisoner in his -little bed, waiting for the great surgeon from the North to come down and -make it all straight and well again. - -That night his mother knelt by his bed and held him passionately to her -heart and thanked God that he was still her own, and then she asked him -what he most wanted to play with while he was waiting to get well, and -his answer brought the first tiny twinge of jealousy of which she had -ever been conscious. “I want Dorothy, mother,” he said, putting his arms -around her neck in his old sweet, baby way. “I want Dorothy most of all. -I’m sorry she ain’t a boy as big as me—but maybe I’ll be glad she is a -girl when she gets bigger—for I’ll have to have a sweetheart, won’t I, -mother?” But before she could answer he was fast asleep in her arms. The -seed, however, had fallen on fruitful ground, and with a sigh of which -she was half ashamed, his mother began to think it would not be so very -long before her realm in her boy’s heart would be invaded, and she no -longer reign supreme. - -The same night she told her husband of Bobbie’s wish, and also what -he had said, and together they laughed at the way he regarded the -inevitability of a sweetheart, and though neither said anything more, -it seemed too absurd to discuss children scarce seven and three years -old—still the idea took root, and the hope was born that some day Bobbie -and Dorothy would keep up the life in the big house when they were -growing old, or when, perchance, they had passed away. - -[Illustration: “Louder and louder sounded the hoof-beats.”] - -Dorothy came the next day, Dr. Trevillian bringing her over himself in -answer to the urgent note sent him by Bobbie’s father, and for a week -the two were blissfully happy. At the end of that time Dorothy was taken -back, the promise that she should come again being the only way of -stopping her sobs at parting. Bobbie was standing in the doorway with -his hands clutched closely together, trying hard to keep back the tears; -but when the carriage was lost sight of by a turn in the road, he ran -to his mother and buried his head in her lap. “He can take her from me -now, ’cause I’m little and can’t help it,” he blurted out, gulpingly, -“but when we get bigger I won’t let any man, not even her father, take -her from me; for, mother,” and he slipped up into her lap and locked his -arms around her neck, “if I tell you something will you promise not to -tell—not even father?” and he whispered something solemnly in her ear, -and his mother laughed and kissed him, and held him a little closer to -her heart. - -When Dr. Trevillian put his little daughter into the carriage and started -off for home, he wondered why he had been fool enough to let her stay -away from him and her own home for seven long days, and then when he -saw the beautiful baby eyes, with their wondrously beautiful lashes all -filled with tears, and heard the little catch in her voice because she -was leaving her playfellow, he felt himself a selfish brute, and his -heart smote him at the thought of the loneliness of his motherless child. - -The Tayloes and Trevillians had been friends loyal and true for -generations back, but only of late had the Doctor begun again to visit -“White Point.” After the terrible shock of his wife’s death he had -refused to go among his former friends or take up his old life as before, -and not until Dorothy was nearly three years old did he realize the error -of his way, or the injustice to his child that such a life entailed. He -began gradually to resume his practice and to visit a little, and when -he yielded to Mr. Tayloe’s request that Dorothy should come and pay them -a visit, it was only after a severe struggle and the urgent pleading -of his maiden sister that the child should have this pleasure, that he -finally gave in, and the pain it cost him to let her go was known only to -himself. - -And that was the way it went on. Year in and year out they grew up, -seeing each other so constantly that no thought of either was ever -kept from the other; and while over everybody else in the house and -neighborhood Bobbie reigned supreme, to Dorothy alone did he succumb, and -mercilessly she tyrannized over him with all the inconsistency of the -woman nature that was in her. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -Bobbie was sixteen when his father finally made up his mind to send him -to college. It nearly broke his mother’s heart, to say nothing of the -terrible blow it was to Peter Black and Sallie Tom, who still kept up -their passionate love for the boy; yet it was admitted by all that the -going was a necessity. Bobbie simply would not study at home. By dawn -of the day he was off on his horse, and every inch of ground for miles -around was as familiar as the lawn in front of the house. Every bend of -the river with all its fish, every bird that flew, every insect that -hummed, and every kind of game in the woods, were as near and dear to -Bobbie and Peter Black as old and tried friends; and though his progress -with his tutors was not always as great as it might have been, his tall, -straight body, his supple limbs, and his clear eyes and bright, clever -face more than repaid for the neglect of his books. - -His father had a serious talk with him before he left, and Bobbie’s face -took on a new expression while he listened. “All right, father,” he said -when he left him, “I know it’s time for me to study now, and you shan’t -be ashamed of me when I come back;” and his father was satisfied, for -Bobbie’s word, once given, he knew would never fail. - -Such a time there was the day he left! Had the sun been in an eclipse, -and all the world in total darkness, there could not have been greater -gloom than that which pervaded the entire household, with all the cabin -contingent, on the morning he was to leave. Bobbie’s heart was out of its -accustomed place, and stuck so persistently in his throat that he found -talking difficult. The remembrance of his mother’s face, he felt would -go with him through life, and the intense dolefulness of Peter Black was -oppressive. Sallie Tom was a kind of nightmare. So heartily did she -disapprove of this move of the master that she had kept away as long as -possible, but now that her idol, her pride, was leaving, she could hold -out no longer. Like a cyclone she rushed through the line of darkies, all -drawn up by the big gate waiting to see the young master off, and in a -minute she had him in her arms and almost off his feet. “Gord A’mighty -tek care of my chile!” she sobbed, rocking him backwards and forwards in -a way highly uncomfortable to poor Bobbie, who yet had not the heart to -rebuff her. “Gord A’mighty tek care of my po’ chile, gwine out alone, all -by hissef, and bring him back to his old mammy!” and she strained him -passionately to her heart, and with a cry of real anguish she let him go -and rushed wildly down to her cabin, and for two days nobody saw Sallie -Tom. - -At last all the partings were over and Bobbie and his father had waved -as long as they could see them, to the waiting crowd, and then a silence -long and oppressive fell upon both. Bobbie dared not trust himself to -speak, and his father was watching solicitously one of the back wheels -of the carriage, and only the hoarse, choky “Git up dar, Jonah, git up, -you Whale, you,” of Uncle Lias as he jerked the horses, trying to make -out there was nothing unusual in the trip they were taking, broke the -stillness of the air. A turn in the road, however, made Bobbie start, -and caused his heart to give an extra leap. There, waiting under the big -willow down by the river road, were Dr. Trevillian and Dorothy, and the -former called cheerily that they were waiting to ride part of the way as -escort, and to his dying day Bobbie never forgot this gracious act of -letting him see Dorothy once more before leaving. He had left her the -night before just at twilight, but a new feeling possessed him as he -saw her now sitting so quietly, yet so firmly on the little pony he had -broken and trained for her until safe for her to ride. - -Ever since the day his nose was broken, and she had come over to play -with him, she had possessed him absolutely and entirely, and no tree was -ever too high to climb for birds’ eggs for Dorothy; no briars ever too -sharp to hunt for the berries and flowers and nuts she liked the best, -and no trouble ever too great to take, if only she were pleased; but -it was simply as comrades, as boy and girl, that they had played and -quarreled and made up again, but to-day it was different. Bobbie felt it, -but did not understand—he only had a fierce desire to take that gawk of -a fellow, John Coxe, away with him—he would be finding all the flowers -that Dorothy loved, and would get all the chinquapins and chestnuts from -Pebble Hollow now, and he would be far, far away. They had both been -shy and unlike themselves last night. Bobbie had slipped over early to -tell her good-bye, and they had stayed down at the spring until almost -dark and talked over all the foolish little nothings that neither was -interested in, and Bobbie had almost kicked out the toe of his boot -against the pebbles trying to appear natural. “I’m awfully sorry you’re -going,” said Dorothy, at last, making a desperate effort, however, to -look as if she did not mind much. “There won’t be anything to do now -except to think about Christmas, and after Christmas the summer, and -that seems like a hundred years off,” and as the blankness all came over -her, she threw herself down on the grass and forgot to make believe -anything except that she was lonely and miserable, and didn’t want Bobbie -to go, and in a minute he was down there beside her, and both were -fighting desperately hard to keep back the tears, and Bobbie tried to say -something to her and he couldn’t—he could only choke and then get angry -with himself, and then he told her he must go, and he put his arms around -her and kissed her. - -And now when he saw her sitting so easily on her horse, waiting for him, -his heart gave a great leap. They merely nodded to each other, and Dr. -Trevillian became actually merry and jolly in his efforts to keep up -the spirits of the party. He would miss the lad sorely. He knew how his -old friend’s heart ached at the thought of sending his boy out into the -world, and he felt keenly for him, but it would never do to show it now. -Dorothy and Bobbie talked but little, and soon they reached the point -where they must separate. Bobbie took off his hat and shook hands with -Dr. Trevillian. “I have a favor to ask of you, Doctor,” he said in his -frank, fearless way, “Will you let Dorothy write to me sometimes, and -will you object to my telling her about the college, and the boys, etc.? -I wouldn’t expect her to do it often,” he went on, trying to repress the -eagerness in his voice, “but I would thank you very much.” Dr. Trevillian -looked a little taken back at this modest request, and he hesitated a -moment, and then he saw Bobbie’s eager face and Dorothy’s flushed one, -and he thought it would be no harm. “Very well,” he said, “I will make -it a reward of merit, if you make a certain average with your studies, -of which your father will tell me, and Dorothy makes the same with hers, -once a month you shall each send a letter—is that satisfactory?” and the -Doctor wrung the boy’s hand until it almost hurt. - -“Perfectly,” answered Bobbie, returning the pressure gratefully, “and I -thank you very much. I promise you my letters will always come—will you -promise also, Dorothy?” - -And Dorothy nodded, and without waiting to say good-bye, touched her -horse with her whip, and was far down the road before her father had -finished shaking hands with Mr. Tayloe. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -It was five years before the coming home, and the going away of Bobbie -ceased to be the principal event of the year, both at “White Point” and -“Grey Cliffs,” and in fact to the whole neighborhood, and from the date -of one arrival until the next all events and happenings were reckoned, -for a truly royal time was made of these home-comings; and merry-makings -such as never will be the same again, were indulged in to an unlimited -degree. From morn till night was one continual round of pleasure, and -nothing was ever too much trouble if it contributed to the young people’s -enjoyment. - -“He works so hard all during the session,” said Bobbie’s mother, when his -father was mildly remonstrating on the unceasing frolicking. “You know -how splendidly he has done at school, how he never fails at anything, -and now we must let him have all the relaxation he needs, poor dear, and -there can possibly be no harm, for Dorothy is always along.” - -Her husband smiled a little as he stooped to fasten his stirrup straps. -“Yes, fortunately there is Dorothy, and if it were not for her I wouldn’t -be quite so sure of all those good reports we’ve been getting. He knows -there would be no letter without them, and no letter would be Bobbie’s -worse punishment.” - -They looked at each other and laughed softly, and then he stooped over -and kissed her. - -It was his fourth Christmas holiday that Bobbie noticed a great change in -Dorothy. He was greatly changed himself—stronger, taller, and straighter -than ever, yet with more grace and ease, and the polish that comes with -constant contact with gentlemen of his own class, and through it all ran -the old, sweet charm that made all who came near him love him. The strong -will of which he was possessed was evidenced more than ever in the firm -lines about his mouth, but Bobbie himself did not realize this, he saw -only the change in Dorothy. - -It was Christmas-eve, and the night of the annual big party given in his -and his friends’ honor. He had not seen her since he had gotten home. He -had ridden over early in the morning and later, in the afternoon, and -each time he had been told she was too sick to see him, but was trying to -get well enough to come over at night, and now, as he stood watching the -different people enter, he was full of miserable uncertainty as to her -coming; and if she didn’t, why, what was the use of all this to do? He -had brought home six of his college chums for the holidays, and a finer -looking set of young men would be hard to find, thought Mr. Tayloe, as -he watched them grouped together near the huge fire-places in the big -parlors now a blaze of light, and filled, in every niche and corner, with -Christmas greens. Over the doors and on the walls, and banked about the -mantels were great festoons of holly, while a mass of foliage out in -the beautiful old hall hid completely from sight the musicians stationed -behind it. Through the opened doors could be seen the people going up the -wide stairs to leave their wraps, and now they were coming in, and Bobbie -and the boys had to take their positions by Mrs. Tayloe for awhile, and -very soon the rooms were crowded with all the country folks and many -strangers besides, and still no sign of Dorothy. Bobbie was beginning -to get restless. He had a cordial, merry greeting for all, but his eyes -were constantly watching the staircase. What if, after all, she did not -come! Presently his heart gave a great bound—nobody but Dorothy held her -head like that, though all he could see was a mass of soft, white, fluffy -stuff that enveloped from head to foot the figure trying hard to get up -the stairs, but who at every step was stopped and spoken to by others -coming or going. - -Presently she was in the room, and Bobbie wanted to push everybody aside -and go to her and take her away—away from all this noise and music and -crowd, and have her to himself; but, instead, he never moved an inch, -only his face grew white, and he was ashamed of the furious beating of -his heart. She was trying to come with her father, whose arm she held, -to speak to his mother and the rest; but immediately she was surrounded -and almost hopelessly entangled as she laughingly tried to make her -way through the crowd. Bobbie leaned carelessly against the mantel and -awaited her coming with apparent quiet. She was a revelation to him -to-night. Surely it must be another Dorothy! The one he had left in the -early fall was a girl—this one was a woman. Bobbie did not know where -the charm lay; he saw it all in a flash—the long dress, the different -arrangement of the hair, and the manner that comes with the wearing, -filled him with entirely new sensations. Was she going to be changed -too? On she came, with her father and numerous followers, and soon she -stood near enough for Bobbie to see her in her quaint, short-waisted -gown of sheerest, daintiest white, over its satin slip, cut low in the -neck, and with great puffs for sleeves. Surely no head was ever poised -like Dorothy’s, and no hair was ever so soft, or curled so bewitchingly -around a forehead and neck as did that which escaped from the loose coil -at the back of her head. She wore no jewels or ornaments of any kind, -but in her hands she carried the huge bouquet of violets he had ordered -from the city and sent to her during the day. How exactly they matched -her eyes, he thought, as he watched her—those wondrously beautiful eyes, -with their wondrously beautiful lashes! She had spoken to his mother, -and now she turned to Bobbie: “I’ve had to fight my way up here,” she -said laughingly, holding out her hand to him in the sweet, frank way of -old, “but I suppose no penalty is too great to pay for the privilege of -speaking to so many college men;” and Bobbie, bending low over the hand -he held in his own, had scarce time for a word before she was speaking to -his chum next to him, and in a minute all the boys were crowding around -and holding out their hands to grasp hers. A moment more and she would be -gone. Bobbie slipped out of the line and touched her arm. “Dorothy,” he -whispered, “give me your card: these fellows will get every dance before -I have a chance.” - -His tone was the old imperious one he used as a child when determined to -have his way. Dorothy looked in his face for a moment, hesitated, smiled, -and then handed her card to him, and recklessly he scribbled here and -there, until she protested, and made him give it back. Now she was gone, -and he could see her dancing down the long room, while dozens of eyes -watched her eagerly, for Dorothy was fair to look upon to-night. - -She afterwards called it her “coming-out party,” and in truth it could in -reason be so called. She was a woman now—a very young one, it is true, -but full of all a woman’s witchery and grace, and Bobbie was by no means -the only one who loved her. - -The last year and a half at college was a restless time for Bobbie, for -his ambition admitted of nothing less than first honors, that she might -be proud of him, and through it all he was possessed by a nameless dread. -Suppose she should not give him now the old love she bore him in their -childhood days! Their letters were always friendly and kind in tone, but -after awhile there was a formality in them which both tried to overlook, -yet neither succeeded in banishing, and they wrote of everything else but -the one thing dearest to their hearts. - -The night Bobbie took his degree was a very proud and happy one, for he -was given the blissful surprise of knowing Dorothy was there with his -father and mother. “At the last moment father allowed me to come,” she -had managed to whisper, and then she had to leave him; and before the -evening was done, he almost angrily wished she had not come. Scarce a -word could he have with her before she was literally taken away from -him by a score of men, who were waiting to claim a dance in the ball -that followed the closing exercises of the year. It was late, very late, -before he got her away from them all. She was standing in a corner of the -room, as usual, surrounded by a gay group, when he walked up and placed -her hand upon his arm, and led her away from the crowd. “I’m sorry to -break you up,” he said, nodding to the others, standing stock still with -amazement at his nerve, “but I believe this dance is mine,” and he walked -off with Dorothy, quite as if she already belonged entirely to him. - -“We are spoiling you to-night, Bobbie,” she said, laughing indulgently; -“even I am letting you do as you choose, but I just wonder if you expect -to keep it up—if you think that we are always going simply to follow your -lead?” - -“No,” he answered, “no; after to-night you will lead, and I suppose I -will do the following; but to-night—we do not want to dance—I want to get -you away from all this crowd.” - -He led her through the door, and down the length of the veranda, until -they came to a quiet corner, far removed from the ball-room and the gay -company within. There was a seat way back in the shadow, and he pushed -her gently in it, while he stood leaning against the railing, tearing the -blossoms off the vine that made so beautiful a drapery from the floor -quite to the top above. The moon was gloriously bright, but only in faint -glints could it be seen through the mass of leaves, and as Dorothy leaned -back its glimmer shone upon her hair, and for a moment rested lovingly -there, and then danced wickedly and distractingly up and down, until it -was all Bobbie could do to keep from kissing it, to make it still. He had -loved Dorothy all his life, and now that he wanted to tell her so, as man -to woman, his courage failed him. Faint strains of the rhythmic waltz -reached them, and Dorothy leaned back, with her hands loosely clasped in -her lap, and turned her face so that he could not see it well. - -[Illustration: Dorothy.] - -“What is it—are you tired?” he asked, uneasily, sitting beside her. “Ah, -Dorothy, you know it so well already!—know that always I have loved -you—and yet you make it so hard for me to tell you. You have held me off -and made me afraid to speak, but to-night—but to-night you must tell me, -Dorothy. Will you let the others go, and will you marry me, now I am -through college? Answer me, Dorothy, don’t make me wait.” He had his arms -around her, and he drew her face again to his, while his breath came fast -and hard, and he could distinctly hear the beating of his heart. - -Dorothy looked at him for just a moment, and then she tried to free -herself from his arms. “Not until you answer me,” he said, holding her -tighter. “What is it?” - -“I wonder why men are so stupid,” she said, laughing a little unsteadily, -“you take so long to find out what women know so soon. I like the others, -but—ah, Bobbie, you know”—and she looked up in his face and touched it -shyly with her hand. - -And Bobbie knew, knew that of all men on earth _he_ was the most -supremely blessed, and he could not speak for the wonderful happiness -that filled him. He could only hold her in his arms and kiss the -quivering, trembling lips, and the beautiful violet eyes and the moon -glints in her hair. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -Sallie Tom and Peter Black had a conversation a night or two after the -return of the “white folks from the college,” and the announcement of -Dorothy’s and Bobbie’s engagement was of course its topic-in-chief. - -“Dey do say,” said Sallie Tom, taking her pipe surreptitiously from the -depth of her bottomless pocket, and lighting it with a coal from the -hearth, “dey do say dat de Doctor done walk de flo’ all night long when -Mars’ Bobbie come over and axed for Miss Dorothy, jis as if he didn’t -kno’ dat it had to come; every nigger on the place know’d it was gwine to -end dat way, and tain’t no use fur de Doctor to say he didn’t spec it so -suddin’; tain’t nothin’ suddin’ bout it. Dey been a loving’ one another -ever sence dey been born, ever sence his nose got broke. Miss Dorothy is -mighty nice, but she ought to thank her Gord A’mighty every day that our -Mars’ Bobbie luv her,” and Sallie Tom kicked the ashes together on the -hearth and gave a little grunt, puffing vigorously at her pipe meanwhile. - -“He sutny do luv her,” said Peter Black, leaning back in his chair and -clasping his knees between his hands, “ain’t no mistake about dat, and -dere ain’t goin’ to be no foolin’ ’bout gittin’ married if he kin hep -it, but the Doctor say he cayn’t let Miss Dorothy go way from home yit. -She ain’t quite turn eighteen, and Mars’ Bobbie he ain’t been long cum -twenty-one, and de Doctor say dere’s plenty time yit. It don’t mek much -difference to me,” he went on after a pause, “jis so dey stay home and -don’t go flyin’ all roun’ de worl’ enny mo’. I’m glad dey is gwine to git -married, but I do want de marsa to be home a little bit by hissef fust. -’Pears like I ain’t seen him good yit.” - -“You’re right,” grunted Sallie Tom, between the puffs, “ain’t hardly -cotch a good look at him mysef, do’ he did come heah de night he got -home an ax me fur his buttermilk and hoecake, same ez what he use’ to do, -and sat over dere in de corner, like what he allus bin a doin’ sence he -wuz a baby; de Lord a-bless him!” And Sallie Tom wrapped her head up in -her big apron and rocked back and forth, quite overcome by the flood of -recollections called up by his presence at home again. It had been the -sorest trial in the lives of Sallie Tom and Peter Black, this going away -of Bobbie, and now that he was back, unspeakable joy reigned supreme in -the breasts of each. During the years at college, Peter Black had acted -as dining-room boy, helping the butler, who was getting rather old, but -he had been immediately reinstalled in his old position on Bobbie’s -return, and his love and allegiance to his young master was greater than -ever before. - -It was in the summer of sixty (’60) that Bobbie got his degree at college -and the promise of Dorothy to be his wife, and while much gayety and -pleasure filled up the measure of many days, other and more weighty -subjects began to fill the air, and caused many long and serious -discussions among the men of the neighborhood, old and young alike, and -by the fall the one absorbing topic among all classes was the terrible -possibility of war. - -It was a clear, cool October night that Dorothy and Bobbie had their -first serious talk about it. His horse was hitched to the post waiting -for him, and Dorothy had come out on the porch to say good-bye. The moon -shone clear and bright, softening the shadows cast by the great trees on -the lawn, and all the air was full of the sweet, fall fragrance which -belongs to that season of the year. - -Bobbie was holding his hat in his hand, idly twirling it as he talked, -to hide the excitement he could scarce repress. “Father says,” and they -began to walk up and down the veranda, “father says if the State secedes, -he will organize a troop of cavalry at once, and I will of course join -him. Your father will be our surgeon, and you—has your father said -anything about it to you, Dorothy?” he asked abruptly, taking her hand -and drawing it through his arm and holding it there tightly. “Has he -mentioned any of his possible plans to you?” - -“Yes,” she answered slowly, “yes, he has talked with me of every -possibility. I am to go to your mother in case there is any necessity. -Auntie will go to the city, so as to be near the hospitals, and you—and -father—and everybody I love will be in that horrible, cruel thing! Ah, -Bobbie, why must it happen—why cannot it be stopped?” and she shivered in -dread apprehension of the days that were awaiting her. Bobbie answered -her seriously and solemnly, “I would to Heaven it could, but if not, you -would not have me stay?” - -“No,” she said, raising her head quickly. “I would not have you stay even -if it broke my heart to have you go. I did not know how much I loved my -South until now, when I must give up all I love most for it. I pray God -to help me—to make me brave—but sometimes I’m afraid I’m a coward; but -of course you must go, and who knows but I may yet have a major, or a -colonel, or a brigadier-general for a husband?” and she tried to laugh -bravely at the thought. - -“You shall have one who is every inch a Southern soldier,” he said, -taking the upturned face in his hands. “And I can have nothing greater -than that,” she added proudly, and the moon rested lovingly for a moment -on their bent heads, and only the winds heard the vows they made to be -true to their cause—come what may, come what might. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -Such a short, hurried time, it seemed afterwards, before everything was -decided, all preparations made, and all the great changes, which at first -they thought would only prove temporary, settled down to a permanent -thing. The neighborhood, once so gay and bright and full of all that -makes life worth the living, was turned into a kind of camping ground -or recruiting station, and “White Point” was the nucleus around which -everything centered. - -Mr. Tayloe was the leading spirit of the place, and no better-drilled -body of cavalry entered the service than the “Rockland Home Guards” under -his command, with Bobbie as his first lieutenant and Dr. Trevillian as -surgeon. “Grey Cliffs” was to be closed, with only the servants in their -quarters, to take charge of the place as long as they proved faithful, -and Dorothy was established with Bobbie’s mother. Her aunt had left for -the city, where, she said sadly, she knew there would be plenty to do -after awhile, and soon the beautiful old home had a dreary, deserted -look, for the shadow of coming sorrow was hovering over it. - -Bobbie had begged hard to be married before he should start for what -might perhaps be an interminable absence, but Dr. Trevillian was firm in -his refusal for a year longer at least. - -“I am giving you the light of my life, Bobbie,” he said, putting his -hand on the young man’s shoulder, as he stood pleading his cause, just -two days before they received orders to join H.’s regiment at C—, “and -you must wait, my man, until she is a little older—she is so young yet! -Perhaps”—he cleared his throat and went on after a minute—“perhaps, -after I leave here, I may never come back; but remember always, that my -daughter’s happiness is in your power, and that I put into your hands the -most sacred trust one man can give another. I charge you to guard it -well.” - -Bobbie bared his head as a knight of old. “So help me God,” he said -reverently, “I shall be worthy of it.” They shook hands in silence and -separated. - -It was the night before they were to start. Mr. Tayloe and his wife were -shut in their room. The Doctor was in the library writing some final -directions to be sent over to “Grey Cliffs,” and Bobbie and Dorothy were -out on the lawn, under the old wishing-tree down by the gate. Every -preparation for departure had been made, and the start was to occur at -five the next morning. Peter Black was in an ecstasy of delight because -he was to accompany his young master as his body-servant, and Sallie Tom -was in the depths of stern and silent indignation and despair at the turn -affairs had taken. - -She now had her son down in the cabin for final admonitions as to the -duties and obligations resting upon him, and for renewed charges that -no matter where they might be, in case anything happened to the young -master, he was to bring him home, if possible; if not, he was to come -himself and tell her that she might go to him. - -Bobbie and Dorothy were silent for a long time, down under the old -wishing-tree, for neither could trust themselves to speak of the things -nearest their hearts, but after awhile Bobbie began to talk of the orders -received the day before. “If it were not for leaving you and mother,” -he said, “if it weren’t for that continual nightmare hanging over me, I -think I should enjoy going more than anything on earth. We have talked, -and argued, and discussed all this so long that I am glad the time has -come to fight it out; it is the only way to settle it, and the sooner -begun the sooner ended.” - -Dorothy answered slowly, and after a long pause: “Yes, I know it is the -only way to settle it, but it is a horrible price that must be paid for -the final decision. Ah, I understand how you feel, but you are going -into it, into the danger, into work, into action—and—I know—into death, -too, perhaps,” and her voice shook a little, “but it is so much harder -for us—we who have to stay here—who must sit day after day—waiting to -hear. Of course, I can knit socks, and tear strips, and make bandages -to send to the city; but what can I do to make myself forget for one -single moment that you may be needing me—or father?”—and she broke down -in a genuine sob, and then in a minute she slipped away from him. “You -will think me a coward—and I know I am not that—see, I have brought you -something—you must keep it, and read it, and be the man it can make you,” -and she put in his hands a tiny pocket Testament, on the inside of which -she had pasted a small picture of herself. - -“That will be my talisman,” he said, kissing it reverently, and putting -it in his inner pocket, “and will keep me from harm, please God.” - -They talked until the night grew late and chill, and then he put his -arms around her for a last good-bye. The winds shivered in the tops of -the trees, and the whip-poor-wills ’way down by the brook were calling -plaintively to each other, and the moon slipped under a cloud, and only -the stars looked down and saw the sorrow that filled their brave young -hearts. - -They were gone, and Dorothy and Bobbie’s mother turned from the porch, -from which they had watched as long as possible, and went inside, not -daring to speak, lest all the long-controlled feeling they had been -struggling to conceal should reveal itself at last. - -They took up their new life courageously, and the influence of each was -great, both in the home and in the neighborhood; but it was not long -before trouble began to appear among the servants, and, as time went on, -greater and greater discontent became evident. - -It was not until news of the first battle reached them that the horror of -it all made itself felt in full force to Dorothy. She had heard that a -battle must take place soon; and when Bobbie’s letter came, telling her -he hoped and prayed his regiment would have the honor of being allowed -to go into the first fight, her heart sank in miserable misgivings. - -She wrote him, however, that if he were sent into this battle, she knew -the honor of old Rockland would be safe, and not by a single word did she -tell him how torturing was the anxiety, or how, all night long, she had -knelt at her window and prayed God to protect and keep him safe. - -Not for ten days did she hear again, and then came such a battered and -soiled old envelope that the address was almost unreadable. It was very -short, and written in pencil on a scrap of paper torn from a note-book, -and ran as follows: - - “DEAR DOROTHY—We are drawn up in line of battle, facing the - enemy, and waiting the signal to charge. I am using my cap to - write on. I don’t know how it is going to be. I only know we - are going to fight like our women expect us; and now, before - it begins, I am trying to send you a word to tell you that the - thought of you makes me dare all things. I am going to put - this in my pocket. Peter Black knows what I want done in case - I don’t send it myself. Tell mother she shall not be ashamed - of her son. My love to her, and for you, little sweetheart, God - bless you, and make me worthy of you! - - “BOBBIE.” - -Peter Black found it in his pocket, where he had been directed to look; -and though Bobbie declared it was only a scratch, it kept him close for a -week, and Peter Black’s powers as a nurse were tested pretty well in that -time. - -It was shortly after this that Bobbie was appointed General H.’s special -scout. His well-known absence of fear, his reckless daring, together with -his wonderful ability to ferret his way through any section of country, -and his marvelous endurance, had already attracted the attention of his -regiment, and soon it became a common matter to send for him when the -situation demanded unusual haste and caution. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -The first year of the war passed with comparatively little change at -“White Point,” but towards the middle of the second year the trouble -which had been brewing among the negroes for some time gave way to open -rebellion; and had it not been for Sallie Tom’s wonderful and cunjuring -influence over them, they would have left long before they did. Under -Mrs. Tayloe’s and Dorothy’s oversight, much of the farming had been kept -up; but towards the second harvesting it became evident that trouble -was ahead. A negro agitator and so-called preacher had appeared in the -village near by, and so great was the effect of his haranguing that the -entire neighborhood was demoralized, and nightly meetings were held down -at the cross-roads. Sallie Tom was constable-in-chief of the “White -Point” contingent, and every night she stationed herself in the road -usually taken by the servants and hands on their way to the meetings, a -gun in one hand and a pistol in the other, ready to shoot the first one -who passed. Every negro on the place believed in her cunjuring power, -and they would no sooner have thought of passing than of trying to ride -the moon. Things were beginning to look desperate. Even the loyal and -good servants showed signs of dissatisfaction under the influence of the -agitators, until finally only Dorothy’s old mammy Rachel, Jessie, the -dining-room servant, Uncle Lias, the carriage driver, and Sallie Tom -remained deaf to the promises of good fortune and prosperity advanced by -the younger element. - -It was on a clear, bright October morning, that the result of all their -meetings and plannings were realized. Mrs. Tayloe and Dorothy came -down as usual, and found Sallie Tom and the three other servants drawn -up in line outside the dining-room door. Sallie Tom was almost wild -with excitement and anger. “They’re gone!” she cried, waving her hand -violently in the direction of the quarters, her voice trembling and her -whole body quivering. “They’re gone, every one of them—gone like thieves -in the night. They have took all their things, and six of the horses, -mos’ all the corn, and Gord A’mighty knows what else. Oh, Lordy!” she -went on, “to think of all the trouble what’s come to us ’count of dat -monstrous inturfurence bizness of them Yankees! To think I uver should -er lived to see my missus done treated so by niggers! Oh, Lord A’mighty, -what we gwine to do anyhow?” And Sallie Tom for the moment lost her -courage in the face of the dread possibilities of the future. - -Mrs. Tayloe turned white to the lips, and Dorothy caught her hands and -held them in her own strong, tender ones. - -“I suppose it had to come,” she said presently, nervously pressing -Dorothy’s hands in her own. “I am thankful it is no worse. We must do the -best we can, and not let the gentlemen know. Ah, no, we must not let the -gentlemen know!” Her voice broke, and she hurried back to her room, and -they left her there, for they knew it was best that she should be alone -for awhile. - -It was Dorothy’s turn to advise and lead now. With all the courage and -hope of youth she began to take charge of the place. With the help of -the others she managed to keep up part of the farm, and from one end to -the other she rode daily on her horse, sometimes with saddle, sometimes -bareback. A new fear was beginning to grow in her heart. Every dollar on -earth possessed by both her father and Mr. Tayloe had been invested in -Confederate bonds, and she knew that very soon their purchasing value -would be of little account. - -That they should ever suffer she did not allow herself to think; but it -was necessary to husband every resource, and every energy must be bent -toward keeping from Bobbie’s mother as long as possible the seriousness -of the situation. Life was by no means now a thing of ease or pleasure -to Dorothy. The days became weeks, and the weeks months, and the months -were becoming years, and the clouds which at first they thought would -be but temporary, were continually growing blacker and heavier, with -never a sign of lifting. It was not until the Christmas of ’63 that -any real alarm, however, was actually felt as to the outlook. By a -long-planned and well-timed scheme Mr. Tayloe, who now through successive -ranks had been promoted to that of colonel, and Dr. Trevillian, now a -surgeon-in-chief, had managed to get leave for a two days’ visit home, -the first they had been able to make together since they entered the -service. Bobbie’s movements were uncertain. He would be there, he wrote, -were it a matter of possibility, but he might be kept for some special -duty. He had managed to run in for a day or so at intervals of every few -months, and consequently was better prepared for the present condition of -things than were the others. - -All through the three long years there never had been a time when it was -possible for him and Dorothy to be married. When he was at home, her -father and his were away, and he could never induce her to marry him -unless all were there. - -Every effort was made to make this Christmas a memorable one. Mrs. -Tayloe’s happiness at having her husband home once more gave her a fresh -measure of strength, and the very best that had been carefully saved and -hoarded for many months past was now made into the good things of former -Christmas times; and though Dorothy knew they would have to stint for -months to come, yet she never let any one but Sallie Tom realize how -reckless it all was. - -Sallie Tom’s joy at having once more a pretence of Christmas festivities -made itself known by her own peculiar way of snorting as she prepared -the various dishes that were best liked by the master and the Doctor, -to say nothing of those she surreptitiously made for Bobbie, in case he -should come. That he would come, she never doubted, and all day long on -Christmas-eve she had her ears, as well as her eyes, open to catch the -first sound of his horse’s hoofs on the frozen ground outside. - -Colonel Tayloe and his wife had stayed much in their room, talking over -matters of minutest detail as to the new life of each, while Dorothy and -her father had a long talk after the latter’s return from “Grey Cliffs,” -where he had spent most of the day. He had brought back her mother’s -portrait, and told her he wanted it put in her room. “There is no telling -what may happen,” he said, trying, however, to speak cheerfully. “There -may be trouble around here yet. The negroes seem to be going crazy. Only -two are over there now—old Israel and his wife. I have buried all the -silver and a few other things,” and he told her where he had hidden them. -“I want you to understand about everything, Dorothy. You know it will all -be yours some day, and there is no telling”—he stopped abruptly at the -sight of the sad, pained face. “Don’t look that way, Dorothy, daughter,” -he went on, softly stroking the hand he held in both of his. “When the -end comes to me don’t grieve, but be glad, glad for me; for I’ve wanted -to go for a long time, except for leaving you, and I know that is all -right now. Bobbie has proven himself to be a soldier worthy of the cause -for which he fights, and I have been proud of him—very proud. I have made -you both wait much longer than I intended, but I did it to be satisfied, -and I am satisfied at last. I have lived for so many years with only the -memory of a past and the hope of a future that I am longing for the NOW -of her presence.” He paused for a moment, and Dorothy dared not trust -herself to speak; she could only cling to him in mute understanding of -the loneliness of his life. He stroked her hair softly, and after awhile -continued: “You have been the comfort of my life, my daughter—my dear -little daughter—but you will understand some day, and I only want you not -to grieve should the fate of some of those poor lads come to me. You know -I am on the field sometimes—you will remember, child—and go now and see -that everything is ready for Bobbie’s coming, for I am sure he will be -here, and when he comes I want to have a talk with him.” - -She kissed her father in silence again and again, and then she left the -room; but the awful possibilities which his words suggested filled her -with unutterable sorrow and loneliness, and, like a child that longs for -warmth and cheer and comforting, she sank down on the rug in front of the -big blazing fire, and her lips quivered in her great longing for Bobbie. -She clasped her knees loosely with her hands, and the flames danced -merrily up and down before her blurred eyes. The corners of the room were -lost in shadows, and the flicker of the firelight played upon the walls. -It would be such a relief to give way and have a good cry. She bit her -lip to keep it back; and then she heard a little noise, and somebody had -his arms about her and was down on his knees beside her, and outside she -could hear Sallie Tom snorting, and Bobbie was telling her, almost out of -breath, that he had ridden like the wind all day and all night just to -spend a few hours with her and why didn’t she speak to him and tell him -she was glad to see him? And all she could do at first was to cling to -him, and let all the pent-up feeling and anxiety of the months past come -out between the laughter and tears; and Bobbie understood it all, and -soothed and quieted her as only he could do, and in a little while she -was her own brave self, and was making him answer a dozen questions at -once. She might have kept it up indefinitely had he not told her he was -starving, and that sent her flying for Sallie Tom. - -It promised to be such a happy Christmas, after all. The knowledge that -this brief return of other days could last but a short while made every -moment precious, and such old-time doings as Bobbie insisted upon keeping -up made them forget for a few hours at least, the serious outlook for the -future. It was just before dinner on Christmas Day that Bobbie came to -Dorothy with a face full of intensely repressed feeling. She was standing -by the big window in the library watching the snow, now fast falling and -thickly covering the ground, and he went up to her and took both of her -hands in his. “Dorothy,” he said quietly, “has your father said anything -to you to-day about our marriage?” - -“Not a word,” she answered, turning quickly and searching his face for -the meaning of the new light there. “We must not worry him about it, -Bobbie; he has had so much sorrow in his life that I dare not ask him to -give me entirely to you. We can afford to wait.” - -“But if he says he wishes it, now, to-day, would you be willing?” He -drew her down on the sofa by him. “I have just had a long talk with -your father,” he continued, “and he told me that he would like us to be -married at once, while he is at home and we are all together.” He almost -crushed her hands in his as he waited her answer, controlling by a great -effort, his old boyish and imperious impatience. - -“Dear father,” she said, and her eyes were full of tears, “I must see -him first, and then I will tell you, Bobbie. It is so sudden; and to -be married in such a hurry don’t seem just right somehow.” His look of -disappointment reproached her. She put her hand upon his face in the -quaint way peculiar to herself for just a moment, and then she drew -herself away. - -She would not let him go with her, and it was fully half an hour before -she came back, bringing her father with her. Both showed the traces of -how tender had been the talk between them, and both were very quiet. Dr. -Trevillian led her to Bobbie, and put her hands in his. “She agrees to -our plans, my son,” he said, trying to speak brightly, and then he turned -abruptly and left them alone. - -“You are not marrying your general, Dorothy,” said Bobbie, presently. -“What are you going to do about it?” - -“Send off his scout to-night to report to _his_ general for new orders,” -she answered, trying to speak bravely, “but now we must hurry,” and her -face colored richly as she ran out of the room. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -Had a bomb been exploded at “White Point,” the excitement could hardly -have been greater than that caused by Bobbie’s announcement that the -marriage would occur that night. Such hurrying and scurrying for the -numberless preparations which Sallie Tom insisted should be made had not -been seen since the war began. Peter Black could hardly saddle the horse, -in such a tremor was he over the great news, and Colonel and Mrs. Tayloe -were gratefully pleased that the marriage should be consummated even in -such an unexpected way. - -And now, while Bobbie was riding like mad through the fast-falling snow -and gathering darkness, Dorothy and his mother were deep in the mysteries -of certain old trunks, which, in the beginning of the war had been -brought over from “Grey Cliffs,” and in one of which lay her mother’s -wedding gown and veil. - -It was a good five miles to the court-house, near which, fortunately, was -the minister’s heme; and though it was bitterly cold, and the snow cut -like ice in his face, Bobbie knew and felt nothing save the unutterable -happiness that filled his heart. He had made Peter Black stay at home to -help the women folks, and on he rode madly. He stopped only long enough -at the Rev. Dr. Miles’s house to tell the dear old gentleman that his -services would be needed at once, and to get his promise to go over with -all the family to the wedding. “Bundle them up in the sleigh, and take -the whole business over,” he called, as he rode off, scarcely waiting to -take breath. “We can’t have much of a frolic, but you all must be there.” - -It took quite a long time to get through at the court-house. The old -clerk was indulging in his one and only dissipation of the year, and -fully an hour was lost in finding him, and one or two others, and -getting the license ready. The Reverend Doctor and his family had already -started when Bobbie passed his way again. He stopped for a moment to find -out, and then decided to make a short cut for home. - -The wedding had been fixed for nine o’clock, Sallie Tom declaring it was -“monstrous” to talk of “gettin’ up a weddin’ supper in ten minutes,” and -they had laughingly agreed to the hour she set. From the time Bobbie -left Sallie Tom began bossing the whole affair, and soon everybody in -the house was running at her command. Uncle Lias’s rheumatism was pretty -bad, but she showed him no mercy, and gave the parlors to him to fix up -right. Every stick of wood she knew it was necessary to watch, but this -“was Mars’ Bobbie’s weddin’ night, and they should have as much fire as -they wanted, if they friz for it the rest of their lives,” she thundered -to Uncle Lias, who ventured to remonstrate on her reckless prodigality in -heaping up the logs in the great fire-places in the parlors. Peter Black -was piling the mantels and pictures with beautiful holly and mistletoe; -and between the windows where the ceremony was to take place he had -placed the white silken cushions on which his young master’s father and -mother had knelt when they were married so many years ago. Fortunately, -Anne Carter had come over just after Bobbie left—pretty Anne Carter, -Dorothy’s dear friend and almost sister—and under her fingers the rooms -began to wear the festive look of other days. The great wax candles -sputtered for a moment, and then flared up bravely in the beautiful -old silver candlesticks, and soon the rooms were a flood of warm, rich -light. Anne surveyed them for a moment, then ran up-stairs to report the -progress made to Dorothy. “Sallie Tom is snorting like an old porpoise,” -she declared, sitting down for a moment, and fingering almost reverently -the beautiful old lace veil lying on the bed, and stroking softly the -quaint, old-fashioned wedding gown. “She seems on the eve of spontaneous -combustion, but the dining room is a sight to behold! Where in the name -of reason she has raked up all those good things to eat will ever be one -of the mysteries of life to me. It looks so much like old times,” she -went on, still handling the soft, pretty things composing the bridal -outfit, “that it makes me positively sick to think of the awful change. -You know we’ve been on half rations for months, and how we’re going to -hold out is beyond my ken. Sallie Tom always was an uncanny old animal, -anyhow, and I believe she’s cunjured those things from the man in the -moon; but the very smell has made me disgracefully hungry, and I wish -Bobbie would make haste and come, so we can begin on the supper.” Dorothy -laughed a little, and looked up at the clock. “He ought to be here now,” -she said: “it’s seven, and he’s had plenty of time to get back.” “Perhaps -the Yanks have nabbed him,” suggested Anne, getting up and giving a last -touch to the silk stockings. “Father wrote us, some time ago, he thought -our section would be visited soon, and to look out for the raiders, as -he called them.” - -Dorothy turned white to her lips, and caught hold of the chair nearest -to her, while her voice died away in her throat; and Anne, turning, saw -at once the effect of her thoughtless words. “Why, Dorothy,” she cried, -going straight to her and putting her hands on her shoulders, “you didn’t -think I was in earnest—I was joking, of course. You know there’s no -danger way off here, and Bobbie is as safe as I am. For heaven’s sake, -don’t look like that!” Dorothy smiled faintly, and the color came slowly -back to her face. “I don’t know what is the matter, but I have the most -curious feeling that something is going to happen—what—what was that?” -she cried nervously, catching Anne by the arm. “I’m sure I don’t know,” -answered Anne; “but I must say going to get married is having a curious -effect on you; now do hurry and get into the wedding garments,” she went -on, kissing her hurriedly, “while I go and see who’s arrived. I don’t -doubt Bobbie has ‘hollered’ at every house in the neighborhood as he -passed by—now hurry, do,” and Anne ran hastily down-stairs, her heart -beating a little faster than usual at the noises she heard outside. It -was only the Rev. Dr. Miles and family, however, and Colonel and Mrs. -Tayloe, with Dr. Trevillian, were welcoming them in hearty, hospitable -fashion when she reached the door. “Where is Bobbie?” she called out, -almost before speaking; “Didn’t he come with you?” “No; he went on to the -court-house,” answered Mrs. Miles, brushing the snow carefully from her -best silk gown; “and if poor old Mr. Turpin is in his usual Christmas -condition it will take some time to make out what Bobbie wants.” Anne -saw the uneasiness Mrs. Tayloe was trying so hard to conceal, and knew -that to keep everybody from crying everybody must laugh, and she began in -her own inimitable way to start the ball rolling. The Rutherfoords had -gotten over, Bobbie having called to them, they said, also Mrs. Trent and -her daughter; and Colonel Tayloe and the Doctor were besieged by the -women for news of the war. Every household in the county had one or more -members in the army, and every item of the life, with all its hardships -and its every exciting detail, was eagerly sought after. - -Dorothy was still up in her room, now fully dressed for the ceremony. -Like a quaint, sweet picture of a day gone by, she stood in her mother’s -wedding gown waiting for Bobbie. - -Anne Carter held her off at arm’s length and surveyed her critically, -from the two provoking little curls that wouldn’t lie smooth under -the beautiful veil to the tiny satin slippers that restlessly slipped -out now and then under the gown, and then she kissed her hastily. “I -never knew before exactly how wickedly good-looking you were, Dorothy -Trevillian—it’s a shame to be married with nobody but dear old Dr. Miles -and his family, and old Mrs. Rutherfoord and her maidens three, and pious -Mrs. Trent and that proper daughter of hers, to see you. Not a man -down-stairs except the two fathers. Heigho! what’s that?” In a flash she -was gone, and Dorothy, left standing at the open door, listened. - -The parlor doors were thrown wide open, and Sallie Tom rushed wildly in. -“Gord A’mighty!” she cried hoarsely, clutching first at the Colonel and -then at the Doctor, “Gord A’mighty, get out o’ heah, Mars’ Robert, and -tek de Doctor wid you—dey done come. Peter Black seen six of ’em down -de road whar he gone to look fur Mars’ Bobbie; dey on dere way heah—he -heah’d dem talkin’ ’bout how to git heah. For Gord’s sake, hurry up in de -loft, top o’ de garret, and I’ll manage so dey won’t fine you. Dey got -orders to ’rest you all, and mos’ special Mars’ Bobbie, whar got some -papers. Peter Black heah’d ’em say so. Move long, all o’ you, and help -put out dese lights and shet dese rooms up, so dey won’t ketch on to -nothin’ special. You mus’ tell ’em,” she said, turning to Mrs. Tayloe, -who, white as a sheet, was sitting perfectly limp in her chair, “you mus’ -tell ’em de parson is a goin’ to tek his Christmas supper wid you, and -dese heah friends, too. Go ’long in de libr’y and shet up dis heah part -de house.” - -Every hand was instantly at work, and in a minute or two only the -smoldering fires gave evidence of the rooms having been used. Colonel -Tayloe and the Doctor had exchanged a few hurried words. They mortally -hated to hide in the loft, but it was their only resource. If found, it -would mean new anxiety and disaster to the women. They must take Sallie -Tom’s advice. - -It took but a minute to reach the garret, and there through an opening -she thrust them into a side loft and closed the door, drawing a line -filled with old and long-disused garments across it, so that, unless -closely inspected, the door was not apt to be seen. - -Down-stairs the utmost confusion reigned supreme. Mrs. Tayloe’s chief -thought was Bobbie, but by a superhuman effort she managed to conquer -herself, and think what was best to be done. The Miles children were -crying, but were ordered by Anne to keep quiet, and if they dared speak -a word the soldiers would eat them alive. - -Quickly the dining room was dispossessed of all the wedding -paraphernalia, and only the necessities of a ministerial tea remained. - -Dorothy had heard the confusion, and before Anne could reach her the -wedding garments were off, and she, in her usual quiet dress, was -hurriedly putting them back in the trunks. “They will search the entire -house,” she said in answer to Anne’s look of astonishment, “and they must -see nothing that would give them an idea of anything unusual going on.” - -Dorothy was herself now, quiet and brave, and ready for whatever might -await her. The last thing had hardly been put away, the room straightened -and the lights lowered, before they heard the muffled sound of horses’ -hoofs upon the snow outside, and soon a thunderous knock at the door. -Through the blinds they had seen several horsemen, one of whom seemed to -be giving directions to the others. - -Dorothy slipped down the stairs, and for a moment looked into the -library. “Please do not look so frightened,” she called to the others, -“Sallie Tom and I will manage.” Then she went on to the door. A furious -gust of wind blew wildly around the corner of the house, and a voice -outside called out: “There is no use in resisting, you might as well open -at once.” Dorothy pushed Sallie Tom aside, and threw open the door. Two -officers stood without with pistols in hand, and as the light fell full -upon the slight, girlish figure standing in the doorway, they drew back, -as if startled themselves. For a moment no one spoke, then the taller of -the two stepped forward and lifted his cap. “I am sorry to trouble you,” -he said courteously, putting his pistol in his belt as he spoke, “but -I understand General H.’s scout, Robert F. Taylor, is here, and we are -under orders to search the house, and produce him, if possible, and also -any other soldiers who may be found here.” - -Sallie Tom gave a most vicious snort, and Dorothy laid her hands upon -her. “You are at perfect liberty to search the house, gentlemen,” she -said quietly, trying hard to control her voice, as she motioned them -to enter that she might close the door, “but I am afraid you will have -your trouble for nothing, you are just a little too late; the gentleman -you are looking for did take his Christmas dinner with us, but that was -five hours ago; he left immediately afterwards.” She looked up almost -provokingly into their faces, and the least bit of a smile quivered on -her lips, as the officers exchanged glances. - -It was impossible that this slip of a girl, this beautiful thing, could -be fooling them. They must search the house anyhow—could they be allowed -at once? - -“Certainly,” she answered promptly, “Sallie Tom will show you every inch -of it.” “It is terribly cold,” she continued, seeing them rub their hands -together, “won’t you let the rest of the men come in also? they can at -least get warm while waiting.” - -“Oh, they don’t mind,” one of them smilingly rejoined, “they are -accustomed to waiting, and cold, too, and besides I would not care to -fill your whole house.” - -“I hardly think half a dozen men would do that,” she answered gravely. -“I suppose you would like to begin your search at once, however,” she -continued as she threw open the parlor door. “You can walk in and examine -at your leisure. You will pardon my leaving you, we have friends to tea. -Sallie Tom will show you every inch of space in the house.” She bowed to -them courteously and left. - -The two men looked at each other blankly for a moment, and then the -younger one began to laugh at the expression on the other man’s face. -“This beats my time,” he said softly to the one in command—a lieutenant, -evidently, from his uniform. They lowered their voices so that Sallie -Tom couldn’t hear. “I’ll bet an even hundred that fellow’s about here -somewhere, and that girl’s determined to save him. She’s the coolest -thing I’ve struck since I entered the service, and by long odds the -prettiest. Did you notice her eyes?” “Hush,” said the other, “that old -woman’s a regular hawk, she’s pretending not to notice. Come, we must -search the house thoroughly, though it’s a nasty piece of business. I -wish that girl hadn’t been so polite.” The two men began to walk around -the room, looking more at the many old and elegant things it contained, -than with any expectation of finding a clue here to the hiding place -of any rebels that might be in the house. Their looks and bearing gave -evidence that they were gentlemen, who, while they disliked their -invasion of private property, were determined to obey to the letter the -orders they had undertaken to fill. These orders were to capture the -daring scout of General H⸺ and bring him to where their company was -camping temporarily, some five miles below “White Point.” - -A scouting party of some six or seven men, under their young lieutenant, -had volunteered to make this capture, if possible, having heard that -young Taylor, as they thought the name was, would no doubt spend his -Christmas at home. They knew very well the importance attached to this -holiday by the Southern people, and what a time for home-coming it -was, and were confident of springing a trap and catching their unwary -victim in it. So confident of success had they been, that they would -take only some six or seven in their party, and now to be met in this -coolly prepared-for manner, and by such a demoralizing pretty girl, was -upsetting to their soldierly dignity and calculations. They moved slowly -round the room for a minute or two, talking in an undertone. Sallie Tom, -snorting in a suppressed kind of way, was walking about moving chairs -and sofas, shaking out curtains, and opening the doors of cabinets full -of bric-a-brac, but still not a word did she utter. How on earth was she -going to keep Bobbie away, and give him the signal of danger, was what -she was turning over her mind. Her cabin was a good distance from the -house. If she could only get there without exciting suspicion, or if -Peter Black had already gotten there with Dorothy’s message, all might -yet be well. She lifted herself up straight and changed her tactics—that -is, she ceased to snort; she would do the amiable act. It was Christmas -night; perhaps she could make the whole crowd drunk; and, if so, the -Colonel and Doctor could slip off with Bobbie. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -“Has you gent’men seen everything in dis heah room what you would like -to?” She gave a low, cheerful, seductive kind of laugh as she asked the -question, resting her hands on her hips and looking at first one and then -the other, “’cause we’ve got a pow’ful lot of rooms in dis heah house, -and if you wants to get back to your Christmas-tree I reckon we’d better -be a movin’.” - -The two men looked at her as a fresh kind of curiosity and laughed. “Oh, -I guess there isn’t much use in hurrying,” one answered; “it’s right -uncomfortable to be hidden somewhere, and you all might as well make up -your minds to give up the young gentleman; he can’t possibly escape, you -know. We’ve got men all outside the house. It would be dangerous for him -to try; he might get shot.” - -Sallie Tom clutched her hands angrily together under her apron. She had -an intense desire to wring their necks, the little whippersnappers, she -muttered under her breath. Give up Mars’ Bobbie? Not as long as a drop of -blood was in her veins; but outwardly she gave no sign. “Yes, I seen you -is got a pow’ful lot of men outside,” she said, chuckling as if highly -amused. “I counted you when you comed up, an’ dere’s six of you; you two -is in heah, an’ de other fo’ is at de fo’ corner’s of de house. Lordy, -gent’mens, you all sutny don’t know nothin’ ’bout dis heah place when you -comes up wid six men to frighten a lot of women folks. Dis heah place is -‘White Point,’ an’ we all is jes ez used to seein’ men ’round heah ez -flies in summer. Why, our Mars’ Tayloe didn’t think nothin’ o’ callin’ -up a hundred head o’ niggers at a time an’ givin’ em eggnog an’ sich on -Christmas. You all oughter bringed up suppin’ what would a-looked like -suppin’ when you was a-comin’; but I don’t s’pose you all is frum anywhar -near dese heah parts, an’ cose you didn’t kno’ no better.” Sallie Tom’s -cheerfully condescending tone was irresistible. - -The two men laughed in spite of themselves. “We acknowledge our -ignorance, old woman,” the Lieutenant answered, “and now, as I don’t -think our friend is in any of these chairs or sofas, we would like to -move on.” Sallie Tom opened the door and they walked into the hall. -A cheerful light from the library streamed out, and the laughing and -talking sounded as if the inmates were entirely uninterested in the -search being made through the house. The two men stopped instinctively -at the door and bowed politely. Dorothy sprang from her chair and came -toward them, also Anne Carter, and whatever was in their hearts, they -concealed it well. - -“You wish to search these rooms?” said Dorothy, pleasantly. “Don’t -hesitate to do so. Our pastor is taking his Christmas tea with us, also -a few other friends, and that is why I cannot go with you over the -house—unless they will excuse me. Let’s go anyhow, Anne,” she added, -turning quickly to her friend. “I’ve told you it would be useless, -however,” she went on. “Mr. Tayloe left here five hours ago; but of -course you must go through the house, and we might show you some nooks -and corners Sallie Tom would possibly leave out.” The two men glanced at -each other, then accepted Dorothy’s offer with thanks. It would certainly -do no harm to have two pretty girls go along. They looked around the -comfortable, homelike rooms a little longingly; how cosy everything was, -and how good that coffee smelt! One of them involuntarily sniffed it and -Mrs. Tayloe saw it, and her hospitable soul forgot for a moment they were -soldiers hunting for her boy. They were some other mother’s boys, and she -came forward in her sweet, gracious way, full of such quiet dignity that -the rudest boor would have felt its power. “It is very cold,” she said, -interrupting them as they stood talking together at the door; “will not -you gentlemen have a cup of coffee?” The Lieutenant and his Sergeant drew -back a little, as if they had not heard aright. They had read a great -deal about Southern hospitality, but it quite upset them to be offered -it under such circumstances. Sallie Tom had drawn Dorothy aside, and was -saying something in an undertone; but the latter had heard Mrs. Tayloe’s -question, and she answered it for them. - -“Of course they will,” she broke in. “I’m sure they are hungry and -thirsty too, and I know they will have some supper after we get through -the search; but we must do that first. Sallie Tom will lead the way, the -gentlemen will follow, and Anne and I will bring up the rear.” - -Laughingly they left the room, and faithfully did Sallie Tom pilot -them into every nook and corner. Every closet was opened and every -big box explored. Those left down-stairs in the library listened with -beating hearts and strained ears to every step, and when at last they -were heard mounting the garret stairs Mrs. Taylor sank helplessly in -her chair and buried her face in her hands. Down through the halls -sounded the apparently merry laughter of the girls, joined in now and -then by the two young officers, who were becoming momentarily more and -more impressed that they were making guys of themselves, and were being -laughed at good-naturedly for their pains. Notwithstanding all this, -however, very faithfully they performed their part, and not a nook lacked -investigation. When they reached the garret stairs Sallie Tom began to -mount as unconcernedly as she had shown every other part of the house. -She held her lamp high in hand and clattered noisily up the steps, as if -to give fair warning to the men hidden in the loft that their very breath -must be held during the search. The men followed a little indifferently. -It was evident they were having their trouble for nothing, and they were -anxious to get through. Anne and Dorothy, following behind, looked at -each other with white faces. Surely the beating of their hearts would be -heard if they stopped laughing and talking. The farce must be kept up a -little longer. - -“I suppose this is where the family ghosts are kept,” said the younger of -the two men, as they began to mount the steps. “I should think, however, -they would soon be pretty well frozen out up here.” - -“Not a bit of it,” answered Dorothy, laughing a little recklessly, -“we have some most interesting cases in the family, and this is their -principal scene of action. This is my first visit up here after dark -since I was so frightened when a child. It always gives me the creeps to -think of the place at night.” - -“Then we feel highly honored at your presence with us,” answered the -Lieutenant, making a profound bow, as they reached the landing at the top -of the steps. “I wish I knew some of these wonderful ghost stories that I -hear are peculiar to this part of the country, and I would give something -pretty to see one of your ghosts.” - -Sallie Tom pushed open the door, and they all entered. The long, -low-pitched room with its four dormer windows, stretched out into huge -weird dimensions as they stood silently for a moment looking around, -and then the men slipped farther in. Sallie Tom followed and held her -lamp high in hand, and the light fell so as to cause the opening to the -loft to be cast in such a shadow that it could not be distinguished from -the rest of the wall. All around the room were great packing-trunks and -cases, and from ropes stretched from side to side hung various pieces of -old clothing and bed covering. The room was completely dark save for the -stream of light cast by the lamp, and a gruesome, uncanny feeling crept -over them all, as the men wandered around the room, poking behind this -and that, and turning over old broken chairs and odd bits of furniture. -Anne touched Dorothy on the arm and pointed to a sheet near by. - -“Let’s frighten them,” she whispered. “I’m positive that little -yellow-haired thing smells a rat; he’ll find that hole in the wall yet.” - -Dorothy nodded and clutched Sallie Tom by the dress. She pointed to -Anne, who was softly drawing the sheet towards her. “Playing ghost!” she -muttered under her breath; “you shriek and run with the lamp.” - -Dorothy walked over to the two officers and began to talk. “This used to -be our happy hunting-ground when we were children,” she began; “we always -played up here on rainy days, and such dressing in antique garments I am -sure you have never seen—unless,” she added, politely, “you had a similar -garret to play in.” They were getting dangerously near the entrance to -the loft. “We got frightened by what we thought was a ghost once, and -we never cared to play here again. What—what, oh, what is that!” she -cried, clutching the sleeve of one of the men. A terrific shriek from -Sallie Tom, as she rushed wildly down the steps with the lamp, made their -blood run cold. “Oh, Lordy, Lord Gord A’mighty!” she yelled, pitching -like something wild, on, down, down, until she reached the library. -“De ghostes done come like de trumpet bin a’blowed,” she shrieked. “Oh, -Lord, don’t mix us up wid dem inturferin’ Yankees. Lord A’mighty, hab -mercy on us, dey come a’meddlin’ fust. Oh, Lordy, Lordy!” they could hear -her shriek, but fainter and fainter as she neared the room below. The -two men turned quickly at the terrific sound of Sallie Tom’s voice, and -though the room was inky black save for the dim rays that came from the -dormer windows, they saw creeping towards them a flapping, white-winged -object. Both of them caught Dorothy with one hand, while with the other -they grasped their pistols. A muffled laugh broke from under the sheet, -and in a second it was dropped and Anne shook it off gaily. “Now confess -you were frightened,” she cried, merrily. “I do believe you were going to -shoot me. I didn’t think of that when I put the sheet on, but that is why -I dropped it in such a hurry. Did you ever hear such a shriek as Sallie -Tom gave? She’ll never forgive me for this—she’s such a firm believer in -‘ghostes.’ I wish she had left the lamp behind; it’s as dark as Egypt up -here, and I’m almost frozen.” Dorothy had dropped down on the top of a -chest, and apparently was quivering in every limb. The men broke into a -relieved laugh as they put their pistols back into their belts. - -“It was pretty cold up here before the ghost appeared,” said the -Lieutenant, “but it makes me hot all over to think how near I came to -shooting you. Great heaven! suppose I had!” The man’s voice shook in -spite of himself, and he wiped his face with his handkerchief. - -“You’re a plucky ghost,” said the Sergeant, still trying to get his -pistol fixed in his belt, “and I’m honest enough to acknowledge you -frightened me silly.” His blood was still tingling from the touch of -Dorothy’s hands—he wanted to get down to the light where he could see her -face again, and he made a move towards the door. Dorothy was laughing -now, a little foolishly. - -“It was stupid in me to think it was really a ghost,” she said, rather -apologetically, “but Anne ought not to have frightened us like that. Are -you gentlemen through?” she added, “or shall I call Sallie Tom to bring -back the lamp?” - -“I don’t think she would come if you called,” answered the Lieutenant. -“I guess we have taxed your patience quite long enough. Can I help you -down the steps?” He turned to Anne as he spoke and held out his hand -to lead her down. The Sergeant did the same for Dorothy, and soon they -were back in the library, where amidst much laughter they explained the -cause of Sallie Tom’s flight. “She is out in the kitchen now, trying to -get supper,” said Mrs. Tayloe, breathing freely once more; “but I don’t -believe you can persuade her you are not the genuine article, my dear.” -She pressed Anne by the hand, and the latter understood the signal. “Poor -old Sallie Tom,” she answered, getting up, “I must go and make peace -with her, or we won’t have anything much for supper, I’m afraid, and -I’m simply, absolutely starving.” She went out of the room with a mock -courtesy, and they heard her calling to Sallie Tom to “look out! the -‘ghostes’ were coming!” And then the kitchen door banged. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -It was not a difficult matter to persuade the men to stay to supper. Old -Uncle Lias kept piling up the fire, and the scene was so homelike—and -then it was Christmas night! - -“You thought you were going to frighten us with your armed force,” said -Dorothy to the Sergeant, who managed to keep near her, “but I know you -have only four men outside, and it’s a shame to keep them on their -horses on such a bitter night.” She walked over to the window and looked -out. “It is snowing furiously! Why don’t you let them come in and have -some supper? I should hate to have any of our men outside of warmth and -shelter to-night,” she added, wondering miserably where Bobbie then -was. “Ask the Lieutenant to let them come in.” The Sergeant looked at -her curiously; surely she could not be scheming. He walked over to -the Lieutenant and repeated Dorothy’s request. They talked it over for -awhile, and then the Lieutenant accepted the invitation with thanks. The -men outside were men of his own class, and at least would appreciate the -courtesy of being asked in, and the superior officer had made up his mind -to stay and see something more of that ghost, if possible. - -Women are nearly always good actors, and even the prim Misses Rutherfoord -and the proper Miss Trent nervously tried to appear in sympathy with the -reckless gayety of Dorothy and Anne, who, when the other four young men -came in, received them as they would have done the acquaintances of old -friends, and the dining-room became a scene of genuine Christmas cheer. -Dorothy’s hands shook as she handed first one and then another dainty -cup to their very much mixed-up guests; and if at times her laughter was -a little unusually gay for her, it was the only way she could keep back -the tears which treacherously hung under her lashes. This was to have -been her wedding night, she thought bitterly, between the sharp, witty -sayings which kept them all convulsively laughing, and under the table -she would press her hands together in an agony of terror, as the thought -of what might possibly have happened came over her. She was doing all -this to save him. Peter Black she knew was hidden down in the woods by -the road Bobbie must pass. They were to go to Sallie Tom’s cabin and stay -there until they heard from her. That was the message she had sent, and -now every moment was precious, yet she could not hurry lest suspicions -be aroused. Sallie Tom was still snorting over the fright of the ghost, -nevertheless her supper was in no wise injured, and when she finally -brought in a huge punch bowl filled to the brim with luscious, foaming -eggnog, she was greeted by a clapping of hands. - -[Illustration: “Now confess you were frightened.”] - -“Dis heah is suppin’ what you ain’t seen of en, I reckon,” she said to -one of the soldiers, as she put it down on the table with an air of -supreme satisfaction, “dis heah am de genuine artickle itsef, ain’t no -mek-believe ’bout dis,” she continued, stirring the contents with a -handsome old silver ladle. “Dis am de stuff what de quality folks all -drink in de Souf at Christmus times, and de missus she low’d we mus’ all -hav some to-night, even if all de men folks am away,” She added the last -mournfully, and as Dorothy took the ladle out of her hands, she pressed -Sallie Tom’s fingers in such a way that the latter understood, and -shortly afterwards left the room. - -If the Yankee soldiers had never tried it before, they made up for lost -opportunities, and though the reverend parson walked restlessly up and -down the room, holding his only partly touched glass in his hand, he -dared not utter the protest that his conscience told him under other -circumstances he should, and Dorothy and Anne, with a silent prayer for -forgiveness, filled again and again the glasses of the men with the -foamy seductive stuff, and good cheer was being widely disseminated when -Sallie Tom entered again. She touched Dorothy’s dress in passing, and -began to break some more eggs to show the strangers how it was made, but -Anne had them now at the piano, and song after song she struck up and -led. Her clear soprano voice was joined in hilariously by every soldier -in the room, and even timidly by the Misses Rutherfoord and the Miles -children. Presently Uncle Lias, sent by Sallie Tom, came in with his old -banjo and began a jig, and such an uproariously gay time they were having -that they did not hear the soft click of the door or notice that Dorothy -was back in the room, her face flushed and lips quivering, or that Mrs. -Tayloe was missing. Sallie Tom’s cordial had done its work well. The -men were gloriously happy and magnanimously inclined towards the whole -Southern army much more these charming Southern women, and the good old -parson with his two pair of twins. Anne caught Dorothy’s eye and banged -louder and louder, then some one proposed the Virginia Reel. Miss Trent -took Anne’s place at the piano, and though navigation was a treacherous -thing for some of the boys in blue, still they bravely stood up and went -through it heroically, making a terrible clatter with their feet and -hands to the music, and through all Anne and Dorothy were the wildest, -gayest in the crowd. Romping, noisy games followed each other in quick -succession, during which Dorothy managed repeatedly to slip by one of the -windows and stealthily look out. Finally she was satisfied, and then she -declared herself worn out, and the Rev. Doctor Miles, with whom every now -and then she had contrived to catch a few words, understood it was time -to go, and the soldiers immediately took the hint. They were gentlemen, -and by no means inclined to presume upon the privileges of war; and when -he asked them in his nervous, timid way if it would be safe for him to -venture home with so many ladies in charge, they gallantly offered their -services as escort, though assuring him the road was perfectly safe so -far as their men were concerned. - -“There is not apt to be much prying around on such a night as this,” the -Lieutenant added, shivering a little as he went out in the hall, “but I -know it is one we shall never forget,” and he bowed low over the hand -Mrs. Tayloe held out to him. “We have all heard of Southern hospitality, -of course, but we hardly expected to enjoy it under the present condition -of things. I can only assure you, madam, you will never regret it.” He -looked at Anne as he spoke, and held out his hand to her. “When all this -is over,” he whispered, “this beastly war, I mean, will you scorn to know -a man who fought on the other side?” - -“I never scorn an honest man,” she answered, “even if he is a Yankee -soldier,” she added, laughing. “Good-bye.” She touched his hand lightly, -and drew back into the room. The horses pawed the ground and turned -restlessly round and round. The Mileses and Rutherfoords and Trents -piled hastily in their sleighs, and only the Sergeant stood at the door, -telling Dorothy again and again good-bye. The eggnog had been too much -for him, and his tone took a sentimental air as he held her hand for a -second. - -“I say,” he whispered, “don’t tell the Lieutenant, but I’m mighty glad we -didn’t catch that fellow, and if I ever run across him again I won’t know -him! Good-bye, good-bye, you little Southern witch, good-bye.” - -At last they were gone. The muffled sound of their horses’ hoofs, -together with their laughter, could be heard for a few moments only, and -then came still, intense, impenetrable silence. - -Dorothy was back in the library for one brief minute. “Keep the lights -up, and the house just as it is, until I get back,” she said, hurriedly, -“Thank God, they got out safely,” she added, turning to Mrs. Tayloe, and -giving her a swift, tender kiss. “Did anybody miss me? I was wild with -terror lest they would suspect something, but I knew their only chance -was to get out during the noise and romping. I shall tell them good-bye -for you all. No, no! No one must go.” She was hastily wrapping herself -up as she talked, and when Sallie Tom appeared at the door, heavily -muffled about the head and face, they crept out together into the bitter, -bitter night. - -It was a good half-mile down to the quarters, but already they could see -through the darkness a tiny light, and they struggled on through the -snow, almost falling in a drift, then up and on again. Neither spoke. The -reaction was beginning to tell on Dorothy, and her strength was tested -to the utmost. Much was yet to be done, however, and she bit her lips -almost to the blood, lest she should give some sign of how she suffered. -The snow muffled the sound of their coming, and while Sallie Tom knocked -softly at the door, Dorothy leaned heavily against it. In a moment it -was opened, and the men sprang forward to catch her, as she almost fell -inside. “I’m all right,” she cried. “Shut the door quick. You have not a -moment to lose. Are the horses ready?” - -Bobbie took her up in his arms, as if she were a little child, and put -her in front of the fire. “Where is Dr. Miles?” he asked, hoarsely. -“Didn’t you bring him? I have the license here in my pocket. We _must_ -be married before I leave you. Don’t tell me!”—. The look on her face -stopped him; and the reckless young soldier, who had faced death a -hundred times without a quiver, turned away, lest she should see the -bitter pain of this defeat. The two older men stood aside; this was too -sacred even for them. Sallie Tom was outside, helping Peter Black with -the horses, and only the sputtering of the logs broke the sorrowful -stillness that fell upon them all. Presently Bobbie stooped over and -kissed her. “I know all about it. We have been outwitted to-night; but -I swear here, in the presence of you all, that, if it is not possible -before, then on next Christmas night nothing but Almighty God himself -shall keep me from claiming my wife! I shall keep this”—and he touched -the license in his pocket—“whenever I come, will you be ready?” She -nodded without speaking, and silently they each bent and kissed her -good-bye, and through the stillness she heard the muffled sounds of their -horses’ hoofs upon the snow, and upon her heart lay the despair of utter -desolation. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -The days that followed were very dreary ones. Little by little the -resources gave out, and actual, positive hunger began to be felt on -every side. “White Point” reflected the life of the county; and while -much of the real condition of things was kept from Mrs. Tayloe, lest her -sorrowing heart could not bear the strain upon it, yet even she knew how -necessary it was to count every mouthful eaten. Anne and Dorothy kept -up the spirits of the people until in August, when the terrible sorrow -came, and Dorothy sat like one stunned and crushed by its force. They -brought his body home; and not until she knelt over it and saw the almost -rapturous smile upon his face did she realize that to grieve would be -selfish indeed; that he was at last “at home”—at last “with her!” The -shock of her father’s death for a while broke almost her brave spirit. -It was a glorious death, Bobbie wrote her. It grieved him beyond words of -telling that he could not be with her in her sorrow, but more than ever -was he needed, and not for even one single day could he get leave. - -After they buried him, right next to her mother, the old routine of -life became almost unendurable. She could not leave “White Point,” her -duty kept her there, and yet how she longed for work—hard, continuous, -ceaseless work—that she might not think. Anne’s cheerful, buoyant nature -was a helpful tonic, and Dorothy struggled hard to be brave. Always Anne -had something funny to tell of that “good-looking Lieutenant,” with whose -movements, in some mysterious way, she seemed to keep well posted; and -she made Dorothy take hold of life again, and in doing for others, her -own pain became a little dulled. - -The weeks dragged into months, and still Bobbie had never gotten back. -Way off in a distant part of the country he had been in active service, -and his name had become a familiar one in the army, and they loved him -there as they had loved him in his home as a boy, and over the camp-fires -at night many a tale was told of his daring and skill as a soldier, and -his gentle touch as a nurse when the day was done. - -Ten days had gone by and no sign or word had Dorothy received, and -Christmas-eve had come again. To no one had she ever spoken of the vow -made down in Sallie Tom’s cabin a year ago, but all through the dreary -days she had cherished it in her heart. Anne Carter was to spend the -holidays at “White Point,” and in obedience to her, and with the secret -hope that he would yet come, she had helped with the old-time decorations -of Christmas green. Her sorrow must not make the others sad, she thought, -and with brave unselfishness she tried hard to forget herself in them. -For the first time since the Christmas a year ago, when they had all been -home, she made Uncle Lias make a big fire in the library. The dining-room -was also bright with a cherry glow, and she walked from first one window -to the other watching the scene outside. The snow lay cold and deep and -white, but the night was beautifully clear. The moon was shining almost -magically upon the frozen earth, touching the trees with mystic splendor -in their crystal decorations, and all the air was still, so still that -the faintest echo could be heard. - -[Illustration: “‘I never scorn an honest man,’ she answered.”] - -The time dragged on and still no sign came, or was given by Dorothy -of what was so intensely filling her heart. Mrs. Tayloe sat in her -accustomed place by the fire, but the weary hands failed to knit so -rapidly as of old, and the sad, strained look upon her face told better -than words of that of which she could not speak. - -Anne worked hard to keep up the spirit of the season, and when to their -intense surprise they heard the sound of bells outside and saw the Rev. -Dr. Miles and family drive up, all felt a great relief. “I’ve come to -bring good luck to you,” he said, shaking hands with Dorothy in his -understanding, sympathetic way. “There’s no telling when these boys will -turn up,” he added, trying to speak cheerfully, “so I thought I would -come over and be on hand in case I was needed,” and the dear old parson -patted her hands tenderly and softly. Everybody tried to be pleasant and -look natural and easy, but it was a dismal failure, and when the clock -struck ten Dorothy could stand it no longer. She slipped out on the long -veranda at the back of the house, and leaned wearily upon one of its -tall, straight columns. Down-stairs in the servants’ room Uncle Lias was -playing softly on his old violin. The last notes of the “Suwannee River” -died away upon the air, and then he began, low and soft and sad, the old, -sweet song that almost broke her heart, “Home, Home, Home, Sweet Home,” -quivered out upon the still frosty air, and such a longing for the old -life that was gone, such a craving for the one she loved so well, came -over her that she slipped down in the snow, and leaning against the -railing buried her face in her hands, and prayed Him who alone could -understand, to give back her home to her—for Bobbie was her home, her -life, her all. She felt something fall and touch her dress, and looked -up hastily; no sound broke the air—only that longing cry, “Home, Home, -Home, Sweet Home,” yet she strained her eyes in the darkness; surely that -was a shadow moving under the trees—a little bullet fell at her feet—she -jumped up hurriedly and in a flash she knew. Down through the snow she -fled, and out upon the air sounded softer and fainter: “Be it ever so -humble, there’s no place like home.” She reached the tree and staggered, -and Bobbie caught her—caught her and held her close. “I swore I’d come -if alive,” he said, brokenly, “and I’m here, though at the last minute I -came near missing it. Is it all right at the house?” He leaned against -the tree through utter weakness, and Dorothy could only nod affirmatively -to his question—the sudden joy had checked the power of speech. “I’ve -brought some one with me I didn’t intend,” Bobbie went on. “We came near -putting an end to each other, but stopped in time.” He nodded at a man -standing back in the shadow, and the latter came forward and held his cap -in his hand. - -“I know it is very presumptuous,” he said, looking straight in Dorothy’s -face, “but I was bound to see that ghost again, and I risked it.” - -In sheer excess of happiness she held out her hands. “It’s the -Lieutenant,” she cried; “don’t you know it’s the one who wanted you last -year—Oh, Bobbie! Bobbie!” - - * * * * * - -There was a wedding after all—the queerest, strangest, happiest wedding -old Rockland county ever had recorded in its books. Bobbie was faint -and weak from lack of food and rest, and like some strange wonder that -had come into their midst, they hovered over and waited on him while he -told of how for forty-eight hours he had ridden night and day to reach -there in time. “Father is on the way,” he went on, while Sallie Tom held -out “jis a little drap of suppin warm for him.” “I left him down by -the old mill. He and Peter Black stopped for a few minutes to attend to -something. It was after I left father that I met this gentleman,” and -he nodded toward the Lieutenant, “and it’s lucky we’re both not out on -the road. Both fired and missed, and something made me ask where he was -going and who he was (Bobbie’s voice got a little husky), and I thought -I’d better not fire again. And now when father comes you will marry me, -Dorothy?” He asked the question before them all, looking steadfastly in -her face, while he took the license out of his pocket and laid it on the -table. “It came near being burnt up once,” he said, laughing. “It was a -close call, but I told you this would save me,” and he held up the little -Testament which was deeply dented in the middle. “The ball glanced off, -and I wasn’t hurt. Now, mother, what are you crying for?” - -When the big master came Sallie Tom got to work. The Rev. Dr. Miles -couldn’t stay all night, but not until Christmas-Day would they be -married. When the clock struck twelve the ceremony would take place, and -poor Uncle Lias couldn’t make the fires quick enough in the big parlors, -and Peter Black was called here and there, just as he had been a year ago. - -“Bobbie must wear his uniform,” Dorothy said. She could marry him in -nothing whose decorations would make her half so proud as would the -torn and battered, the faded and worn old suit which told of honorable -service. She whispered something to Bobbie, and the latter sprang to his -feet. Anne and the Lieutenant were freezing away off in one of the big -window seats, unconscious that they were cold, and evidently in a hot -discussion. Bobbie walked over and saluted. “I believe you are to be -Dorothy’s bridesmaid, Anne,” he said, looking at her provokingly and in a -way she didn’t understand. - -“Of course I am,” she answered, slipping off the seat, “and I’ve got to -wear just what I have on. To my dying day it will be a mortification. -It’s the only decent gown I’ve got, and all on account of _this_ man and -his friends,” and she turned with a merry laugh to the Lieutenant, now -standing and slightly leaning against the window. - -“I have come to ask him a favor,” answered Bobbie, turning toward him -also. “Will you do me the honor to be my best man, Lieutenant Hardwicke?” -and he held out his hand to the man in blue. - -The other grasped it warmly. “Tell them who I am, for God’s sake, Bobbie. -I am proud to be a ‘Yankee soldier,’ as she calls me, but tell them who -else I am.” Anne had dropped into a chair, and Bobbie laughed at her look -of blank astonishment. - -“This is Dick Hardwicke, of Boston, Anne. He graduated two terms before -I, and though he was older and we were not in the same classes, we were -always good friends while at college.” - -“And did you come to search for your college friend as you would for a -thief?” she cried, her voice ringing with unutterable scorn, as she rose -to her feet. - -“Not a bit of it,” he answered, fearlessly. “In open fight we would have -had to take the chances of this beastly war, but that the Robert F. -Taylor, as our order read, was our Bobbie Tayloe, I no more suspected -than you did my identity. Do you believe me?” She look at him a moment -searchingly. - -“Yes,” she answered, after a long pause. “I hate to do it—but I’m bound -to.” - - * * * * * - -It was just after the clock struck the birth of another Christmas-Day -that Bobbie led his bride into the beautiful parlors, and while they -plighted their troth with only those around who knew and loved them most, -Uncle Lias outside the door played softly on his old violin the sweet -old Christmas carol of “Peace on Earth—Good Will to Men,” and after it -was over the Blue and the Grey shook hands together, to the intense and -unqualified disgust of loyal old Sallie Tom. - -[Illustration] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "BOBBIE", A STORY OF THE -CONFEDERACY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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