THE UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH CAROLINA
LIBRARY
THE WILMER COLLECTION
OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS
PRESENTED BY
RICHARD H. WILMER, JR.
y
J
CALMER COUi:£;iia{i
J£iLM£B COLLECIiUCj
^lillicnii llalfcrk
A TALE OF THE
Dark Days of IvExNTUCky
IN THE YEAR 1861.
BY MARTHA RE MICK,
AUTHOR OF "AGNES STANHOPE."
'There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."
BOSTON:
A. WILLIAMS & CO., 100 WASHINGTON STREET.
18G5.
Entered, according: to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
MARTHA REMICK.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
lyxKS A>'D NiLES.
Stertotgpcrs anti ^rintrrs,
37 CORSHILL.
INTRODUCTION
The following pages record the history of a Ken-
tucky family — not very unlike in its experiences to
those of a thousand others — through the first year
of the war just ended, and in the few months which
preceded its breaking out. Care has been taken to
render the narrative as veritable as circumstances
would permit, and to lean as little from the far
New England stand-point as early prejudices would
allow. Slowly before us the terrible drama opened.
God sealed our eyes in the beginning, because of our
participation in the state of things which warmed
it to life ; but the dullest heart must acknowledge
at last that, though his vengeance sleep for a hun-
dred years, his ear is never closed to the cry of
redress for wrong. His hour has come. From him
are the issues closing before us to the happy end.
535758
CONTENTS.
Chapter
I.
The Letter, .
Page
. 9
II.
The Journey, .
. 17
III.
The Kentuckian Family,
. 24
IV.
The Reception,
. 32
V.
First Impressions, .
. 39
VI.
Aunt Phillis' Sickness, .
. 46
VII.
The Mortgage,
. 55
VIII.
Jim's Flight, .
. 61
IX.
Return of the Fugitive,
. 70
X.
Sale of Susan's Husband,
. 77
XI.
Augusta's Return, .
. 85
XII.
Augusta and Mr. Stuart,
. 92
XIII.
The Dream,
. 100
XIV.
Sale of Part of the Slaves, .
. 109
XV.
Susan's Flight,
. 118
XVI.
The Fruitless Search,
. 128
XVII.
The Holidays,
. 136
XVIII.
Christmas-Day,
. 146
XIX.
The Interview in the Library
, . 156
XX.
James's Departure, .
. 166
XXI.
Departure of Guests,
. 173
XXII.
The Political Horizon thicke>
iing, 181
XXIII.
Millicent's Lonely Walk,
. 191
VI
CONTENTS.
XXIV.
The Conflagration,
. 202
XXV.
TuE Friendly Warning, .
. 212
XXVI.
Mr. Leepons Railway Ride, .
2*^2
XXVll.
The Homeless Family,
. 230
XXVllT.
The Fright, ....
. 238
XXIX.
DlSAl'l'OlNTMENT,
. 248
XXX.
The Alarm in the IIousedold,
. 258
XXXI.
The Attack, ....
. 2(38
XXX 11.
The Morning Scene,
. 27G
XXXIII.
The Village Doctor,
. 285
XXXIV.
Millicent's Discovery, .
. 2U2
XXXV.
A Stolen Visit,
. 301
XXXVI.
Jim,
. 311
XXXVli.
Jim and Rose, ....
. 322
XXXVIII.
The Alarm, ....
. 330
XXX IX.
The Horrors of Civil "War, .
. 338
XL.
The Night Drive, .
. 348
xu.
The Battle of Belmont,
. 354
XLII.
Retrospection,
. 302
XLIIl.
The Estranged Lovers, .
. SOU
XLIV.
An Unexpected Meeting,
. 375
XLV.
^Ieeting between Mother and Son
, 3S3
XLVl.
Major Leeson's Departure, .
. 391
XLVII.
The Battle of Mill Springs, .
. 3'J7
XLVIII.
Mystery of Susan's Flight- solved
, 405
XLIX.
Parting Words,
. 410
L.
Conclusion, ....
. 418
MiLLICEWT IIaLFORD.
CHAPTER I .
THE LETTER.
IN the autumn of 1860, a young girl,
Millicent Halforcl, left her New England
home, located in a quiet village town of
Massachusetts, to become an inmate of her
aunt's family in Kentucky. The circum-
stances of this adoption on the one side
were unusually sorrowful. By the death of
her father, the 3^oung gi-rl had found herself
bereft of her nearest friend and only pro-
tector. Her step-mother, a widow at the
period of her marriage, with a large family
of children, and scanty means, was not likely
to take much interest in her prospects.
9
10 MILLICEXT riALFORD.
"I don't kuow what you will set al>out,
Mill}'," said bustling, energetic Mrs. Ilal-
ford, when the first days of mourning had
worn away, and the family l)egan to turn
their attention to the future. " You might
have learned a dressmaker's trade, as I sug-
gested last spring, if your father hadn't
been so proud. What's the use of bringing
a child up in idleness, I'd like to know? or
what good is all the schooling you've had
at the Academy going to do you?"
" I might teach," said MilUcent, forcing
down a sigh, suggested perhaps b}' a glimpse
of the pale, sickly face and slender figure
which confronted her opposite in the mir-
ror, or by the cold, unsympathizing tones
of her step-mother. " You know that was
father's thought."
*' And where are you to get a school,
Milly?"
'' I don't know, ma'am, I'm sure."
' " I don't know, either," said Mrs. Hal-
ford, shortly. " If your father had listened
to me, he would have given you a trade."
THE LETTER. 11
*'I have not got an answer to my letter
to Aunt Leeson," observed Millicent, hes-
itatingly. " Perhaps she will suggest some-
thing; she can guess how we are circum-
stanced. I dare say she could get me a
place to teach. If I were only competent, I
might be a governess."
" She wont help you much," said Mrs.
Halford, dryly. '' I doubt if she answers
your letter at all."
Millicent's eyes filled with tears. The
same doubt had arisen in her mind only the
past night, when, for the third time, she had
turned away disappointed from the steps
of the village post-office. Her aunt had
never liked her (Millicent's) mother's mar-
riage with simple Farmer Halford, and a
broken and irregular correspondence was all
the intimacy which had been kept up be-
tween them after that event to the date of
the younger sister's death. Then Mrs. Lee-
son's letters had entirely ceased, and no
communication had taken place between the
families until MilHcent's letter, which her
12 MILLICEKT HALFORD.
father had, as his last parting words, when
she knelt by his dying-bed, desired her to
write. No doubt, poor man ! he had a dis-
tinct idea of the lonely and rugged life to
which ho was leaving her.
"A letter to-night, Milly ! " said James, tho
eldest boy, a fine lad of fifteen, coming in
from the driving rain-storm which was
splashing great drops outside the window,
and swelling the already swollen gutters in
the road.
■Milly took it eagerly, her cheeks flushing
with a fever of surprise and pleasure.
^^ It's from Aunt Leeson," she said, look-
ing at the postmark, and proceeding to tear
it open.
"Well, what does she say?" asked Mrs.
Halford, after what seemed to her a length-
ened delay on the part of her step-daughter.
" She invites me to come to live with her,
and says she shall be glad of my services
to teach her little girl."
Mrs. Halford looked relieved ; she was
glad to get her step-daughter off her hands.
THE LETTER. 13
" It's a good offer/' she said, " and there
is no reason why you should not accept it.*'
Certainly there was not. Mrs. Halford
mo'ved away to the oven to tend the cakes
which were doing to a fine brown in its
depths, and Millicent began to lay the coarse
but snowy cloth on the round table for tea.
Presently she stole up-stairs to her little
chamber, and dropping into her low chair
by the window, pored again by the dim twi-
light over the few lines in her aunt's let-
ter. They were coldly traced, — not a word
of that sympathy for which her heart went
out in passionate yearning in her late be-
reavement. Mrs. Leeson wrote in the ster-
eotyped tones of duty, and plainly thought
that she was accomplishing some great char-
ity in offering a home, however burdened
with conditions, to her orphan niece.
"I wonder if she will like me," thought
Milly, gazing, in a mirror of memory, at
her pale, plain face and shy, retiring ways.
"I'm afraid she wont. Now if it had been
Fanny — "
1-i MILTLCENT IIALFORD.
Fanny was her step-raother's daughter, a
rosy-cheeked, merry girl of just lier own
years, — fresh seventeen, — but as unlike her
in all outward appearance as could well be.
" Milly 1 " said a voice at the foot of the
staircase.
The girl started up at her mother's voice,
and ran down. The biscuits were smoking
upon the table, and Mrs. Ilalford was in
the act of pouring out the tea. Milly took
her place next to James. A new sui^ject
was coming up in her thoughts. What
would her aunt say to her wardrobe ? It
was slender and of modest materials. She
had an idea that her aunt would desire her
to make a better appearance.
" When do you set out, Milly ? " asked
her step-mother at the close of the meal.
" I suppose Mrs. Leeson is to send on for
you. You never could find the way there
by yourself; it's hundreds of miles."
" She said her eldest son, ma'am, was in
New York, and I could meet him there.''
'' But how are you to get to Xew York,
THE LETTER.
15
I'd like to know ? You never have set your
foot beyond Boston yet, and your father
wouldn't have trusted you to go alone."
"No doubt we can think of a way/' said
Milly, quietly. "There is Mr. Garden, who
will be going on, or sending some one, for
goods; he would take charge of me, per-
haps."
"Most likely he's gone before this; it's
the middle of September now."
"Perhaps not, ma'am. I'll write him a
note to-night, anyhow."
"When is your cousin to be there?"
"He is in New York now. Aunt Leeson
says, and will remain there until I join him."
Little more was said. Millicent washed
up the supper things, and retired to her
chamber, this time with a lamp, to write
her note. She had no very bright antici-
pations of the future as she folded it up
and sat in a little fit of musing, while the
rain sobbed drearily outside the window,
and pattered heavily upon the roof over-
head. She was about to quit her home,
16 MILLICENT HALFORD.
the only liome she had ever known, in all
probability never to return to it. True, she
had experienced little of affection or S3nn-
path}^ in it in these later years; but each
low, dark room held its pictures of days
that were gone. Even the old gnarled ap-
ple-trees outside, the clump of lilacs, and
the little garden whicli every June had
seen flushed with pinks and sweet-williams
were ^ dear. The future looked very sad
to the young girl, vista after vista opening
out into the distance as she sent her
thoughts into the years. What did it hold
for her? Why was she about to be trans-
planted into new scenes so far from this
dear spot?
She heard Fanny's cheerful voice in the-
entry ; slie was in the act of ascending the
staircase, and her mother's answering tones
rose behind her. Milly hurried to put out
her light, and crept into bed. In that fru-
gal household, it would have been judged
a grave impropriety to meditate by lamp-
light. Her step-mother had supposed her in
bed an hour before.
CHAPTER II.
THE JOURNEY.
MILLICENT'S note met a favorable an-
swer. Mr. Garden had been detained
by illness in bis family from setting out on
bis visit to New York at the usual date,
and cheerfully promised the protection of
bis escort to the young lady. She had lit-
tle time for preparation, as he was to start
on the day but one following. Her trunk
was hastily packed. There was no time,
bad the means been in her possession, for
attempting an improvement in her ward-
robe ; and, with an exchange of trembling
good-bys, she took her seat in the stage
which was to carry her on the first few
miles of her journey. She had taken her
leave of her step-mother in the house ; her
2 17
18 MILLICENT HALFORD.
brothers and sister were grouped on the
steps to see her off.
'' I wish I were going too, Milly/' said
Fanny, in an undertone, thinking more of
the excitements and novelties of the journey
than the strange faces that waited at the
end. ''You'll be sure to write to us, —
wont you? — and tell us all about the place
when you get there ? "
'' I shall miss you about my arithmetic,
Milly," said James, a suspicious moisture
shining up in his honest brown eyes. ''I
sha'n't have anybody to show me about my
sums the long fall evenings."
" Good-b}^" said Milly again, sinking back
into her corner of the stage. The driver
pulled up his reins, and the horses started
on at a jogging pace. Soon they were
past the pear-tree which flung its long arms
over the bend of the road, had crossed the
bridge lined with willows, passed the red
schoolhouse, tlie meeting-house, with its tall
spire, a long row of scattering farmhouses,
and Millicent drew her head in wearily from
TFIE JOURNEY. 19
the contemplation of new sights and unfa-
miliar spots. The green fields were yet
sprinkled with the white frost of the past
night, which had crisped the edges of many
a long row of bean-vines, and withered
whole gardens of blossoms.
The ride began to grow long to Millicent
before the railway station was reached,
where the stage-driver kindly helped her
on board the cars, which had drawn up
almost at the same moment with the ap-
pearance of the stage. Soon the train
started off with voluminous floods of smoke,
keeping its wa}^ through the open country.
It was quite dusk in the short autumn
day when the puffing engine slackened its
speed within sight of a row of red brick
walls rising over the outskirts of a wide
marsh, and Millicent knew that the train
was approaching the end of its journey.
Presently it glided into a long, dark build-
ing, passing the windows, framed with the
faces of passengers, of a waiting train, and
came to a halt
20 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
Meliccnt, fullowiug the general movement,
found herself outside in the din and confu-
sion of a crowd of vociferous hack-drivers.
Searching in her port-monnaie for Mr. Car-
den's card, she was soon in a carriage, and
in a few moments alighted at the end of
a substantial brick block, in a quiet street
near tlie depot. She had been here once
before with her father, on the occasion of
one of his short visits to town, and a very
kind welcome met her from the pleasant,
motherly-looking woman whom the abrupt
pull at the bell brought to the door to re-
ceive her.
'' You look tired, my dear," said ]Mrs.
Garden, showing her guest into her parlor,
and assisting her to remove her bor.net
and shawl. " How early did you leave
home ? "
" The stage started at eight, ma'am."
'' You must be hungry as well as tired.
Did you get a luncheon on the way?"
" Xo, ma'am. I had no appetite."
" Well, tea will be ready soon ; Mr. Car-
91
THE JOUENEY. ■"■
den comes in at six. I have jn^t told
Jane to make up the fire. My husband
tells me you are going a long journey.'
"Yes, ma'am."
" Going to be a governess, I believe Mr.
Garden said?"
"No ma'am," -MiUicent colored slightly.
Was it a false feeling?-" I'm going to live
•with my aunt."
Why did Mrs. Garden's eyes rest upon
the homely but serviceable shawl which she
was folding upon her arm, in the act of
taking it up-stairs, and the plain silk bon-
net, which should have been crape? or did
Millicent only imagine this? ^^
"I suppose your aunt is very wealthy,
she said, hesitating; "has lots of slaves.
- People do mostly, I've been told, in Ken-
tucky "
"I don't know," said Millicent. "Father
^sed to say Aunt Leeson was rich; but
I have never seen her, and we had no
letters from her after mother died until this
one came."
22 MILLICENT HALFORD.
*' How long has your mother been dead?"
"Eight years." Millicent's voice dropped
to a subdued tone.
" A long time." Mrs. Garden finished
folding the shawl over her arm, and tak-
ing the bonnet in her hand, went up the
staircase.
" How I wish I could have some nicer
clothes I " thought MilHcent, taking a chair
by the window. " I'm afraid Aunt Leeson
wont be pleased with me. But how could
I help it? Where was the money to come
from?"
Her father had left very little except
the small farm, which he had conveyed to
her step-mother by his will for the support
of his two youngest children. She had had
her plain suit of mourning with Fanny.
What had she to complain of?
There -was very little to see on the
street outside; the red brick walls shut
out the sky, and besides, the twilight was
beginning to fall.
Presently a key grated in the street
THE JOURNEY. 23
door. Mr. Garden had let himself in, and
his steps died away down to the lower
regions, in which a bell presently sounded,
and Mrs. Garden made her appearance to
show her guest down to the basement din-
ing-room, where the tea-table was spread. '
" We must be ready betimes in the morn-
ing. Miss Halford,'' said Mr. Garden, as Mil-
licent, confessing to fatigue, quitted the fam-
ily group at an early hour after tea; "the
express train goes out at nine."
CHAPTER III.
THE KENTUCKIAN FAMILY.
TTTE will precede Millicent to the little
T f Kentuckian household of" which she is
about to become a member. It consists of
Mrs. Leeson, the mistress ; her two sons,
the elder of whom is now absent on a
visit to New York (Millicent's escort), the
younger at present at home on a stay of
a few days snatched from the close study
of his profession in the office of an emi-
nent lawyer at Bowling Green ; her little
daughter of twelve ; her husband's orphan
niece. Miss Augusta Leeson, and some
twelve or thirteen servants, the latter vary-
ing in complexion from the deepest tint
of ebony to a rich quadroon. Miss Au-
gusta Leeson is not, however, a permanent
24
THE KENTUCKIAN FAMILY. 25
inmate of this home; she has arrived here
quite suddenly on a visit, and inoppor-
tunely in the absence of her fiance^ Mr.
Frederick Leeson.
It may as well be confessed in the com-
mencement that this match has been hardly
of the young couple's framing. Interested
friends, the mother, and the young lady's
guardian have used their interest to bring
about the engagement, and though the af-
fair promises well on the surface, and the
marriage is settled to come oiF in the
spring, on the lady's side, at least, it has
very little of the coloring of affection.
'' I must tell Jim to drive over to the
depot for Frederick," observed Mrs. Leeson
on the afternoon of her son's expected ar-
rival, as she sauntered out on the lawn
with her niece. " Adele has gone up to
her chamber with a headache. Poor child !
I wonder how she will like her new teach-
er. She is so hard upon governesses. I
don't suppose the girl will have much ap-
pearance, brought up as she has. been in
an out-of-the-way Yankee town."
26 MILtlCENT HALFORD.
Mrs. Leesoa bad certainly forgotten that
she was once herself a Yankee girl, bora
and bred in a quiet New England village,
married to a poor clerk, who, by some
lucky strokes of fortune, became a wealtl|y
merchant, as whose widow she had been
honored with the hand of the Kentucky
gentleman who had become her second
husband, leaving her, after a short and
not very happy marriage, a second time
a widow.
"You said Miss Halford was very young,
I think," observed Miss Leeson, in reply
to her aunt's speech.
"Yes, barely seventeen. I wish she had
been a year or two older.'' Mrs. Leeson
stooped to gather some of the late roses
which blew in thick clusters in a sheltered
spot against the garden-wall. " Her letter
is ver}^ prettily written though; she claims
to have had a tolerable education, and even
a smattering of French and Latin — Jim!"
she raised her voice suddenly to catch the
ear of the coach-boy, a tall, ebony-colored
THE KENTUCKIAN FAMILY. 27
youth of twenty, who was lounging lazily
in the sun outside the stable buildings,
"harness up the horses and drive over to
the station. Your master, Frederick, comes
in the afternoon train."
"Yes, missis." The boy jerked off hi3
cap, and replacing it on his woolly head,
started at a quick pace to the stable-yard.
"These lazy niggers," said Mrs. Leeson,
turning to a fresh subject of conversation,
"they don't half of them earn their bread.
They need a right smart overseer. That
grain crop ought to have been reaped in
these fine days. This is the fourth day
they have been at work upon it; but
they'll do next to nothing while Fred, is
away; he's too easy with them."
" Why don't you manage in his absence ? '^
asked Miss Leeson.
"Why, what would be the use? His
plans of governing and mine don't agree.
We agreed that 1 was to have the oi'der-
ing of the house-servants, and he the out-
of-door hands. That was the understandiuir
28 MILLRKM IIALFOIID.
wlien lie caine of age. Fretl. is as easy
a master as ever live J, — too much so for
his own interests."
Mrs. Leeson had got to the end of her
Avalk, and, with her hands full of roses, be-
gan to retrace her steps tip to the house.
She went into the large, open sitting-room,
whose windows opened on a balcony, or
veranda, running the length of that side
of the house, while- her niece, separating
from her at the door, sauntered on to an
orchard of apple-trees which lay a little to
the left, quite within range of view from
the windows.
Perhaps the beauty of the day, the
mild, warm air, and tlie soft sunshine
lured the young lady under these friendly
shadows which spread above an emerald
carpet. It was quite impossible she could
have distinguished the tall, stationary figure
which held a position in the background.
" Augusta ! "
Miss Leeson gave a pretty little start
of surprise as Mr. James Leeson quitted
THE KENTUCKIAN FAMILY. 29
the fence against which his back had
been placed, and came up to }ier side,
holding out his hand half-entreatingly for
one of the late summer roses she was
drawing absently through her fingers.
" Will you give me one of these flow-
ers for a keepsake? I am going away this
evening."
" So soon ! " The color flushed up faintly
into the young lady's cheeks. It might
have been from the surprise, the request,
or it might have • had its origin in quite
another source of emotion.
" Yes, it is quite three days over the
time fixed upon for my stay," — Mr. James
possessed himself quietly of the coveted
flower, which he was audacious enough to
take to his lips, — "and there is no reason
why I should linger. Frederick will be
here to-night."
"I shall miss you," said Augusta, drop-
ping her eyes, and the quiet fading out
of the glow in her cheek did not indicate
much pleasure in the greeting of her ex-
pected bridegroom.
BO MILLICENT HALFORD.
Mr. James did not take advantage of the
reply, if any advantage could liave been
taken. Perhaps he caught at the instant
a glimpse of his mother, who had taken
her chair at one of the low French win-
dows opening on the veranda, an observa-
tion Avhich was taken at the same moment
by his cousin. It was not desirable to the
young people to be seen in apparently con-
fidential conversation in the apple-orchard.
Miss Augusta gathered up the remnant of
her flowers, and Mr. James, transferring his
purloined rosebud to his vest-pocket, ac-
companied her up the walk to the house.
Mrs. Leeson made no opposition to her
son's announcement of departure. She had,
in fact, been expecting it for a day or
two, and had experienced some disquiet
over a state of affairs which was as plain
to her quick perceptions as it must have
been to those of an}^ other interested look-
er-on. Miss Leeson was certainly allowing
herself to forget the relations which she
held to Frederick as his affianced wife, and
THE KENTUCKIAN FAMII^Y. 31
James was surrendering himself with inex-
cusable weakness to a strong passion for
his future sister-in-law.
" Frederick's coming will make all right,"
thought the anxious mother, with a sigh
of relief, resuming her sewing which, for
the last few moments, had dropped idly
against her knee, while Augusta languidly
turned the leaves of a fresh book upon
the table, and Mr. James sauntered back
again into the open air. Neither of the
three was happy or quite at ease. Mrs.
Leeson could not crush down a conscious-
ness that she had not acted quite rightly
in bringing about this engagement, weighty
as were the considerations that hung upon
it. Mr. James's natural sense of honor re-
proached him as having been grievously in
error in yielding weakly to his unexpected
temptation, and winning away the affections
of his brother's betrothed. Augusta, she
had a dismal consciousness that Mr. Fred-
erick's appearance was to take place that
night, and that she was expected to get
up a show of gladness at his coming.
CHAPTER IV.
THE RECEPTION.
MR. FREDERICK LEESOX'S carriao^e
was at the station, drawn up a few
paces from the platform, when that gen-
tleman emerged from the train, pausing to
assist, with scrupulous politeness, in the de-
scent of his travelling companion, a little
slender, plainly-attired girl, whom Jim's roll-
ing eyes at once recognized as the ex-
pected Yankee teacher.
"All well at home, Jim?" asked Mr.
Leeson, leisurely helping his cousin into
the vehicle, and preparing to follow her,
while the boy, who had sprung down from
his perch, proceeded to lift up the trunk
and valise to their places.
'' Yes, mass'r." Jim's eyes brightened
32
THE RECEPTION. 33
with the consciousness of a valuable piece
of information. ^' Miss Augusta, sir, have
come down on a visit, and Mass'r James
be at home too."
^' Ah ! " Mr. Frederick's face expressed
satisfaction. Plainly he was not yet in
the secret of his lady-love's fickleness. He
had by this time taken his place in the
carriage. Jim, having accomplished the
strapping of the trunk and valise, climbed
lip on his perch; the reins were drawn
in, and the horses started off at a good
pace.
Millicent leaned on lier cushion, much
too wearied with the fatigue of her unac-
customed journey to look out at the scen-
ery through which she was passing, — the
pretty level grain-fields, the scattered houses,
with their clusters of barns and gray out-
buildings, the hills stretching away in the
distance.
Presently the carriage turned off from
the road, and rolled up a broad green ave-
nue opening to the front of a house, which
3
34 MILLICENT HALFORD.
seemed to be composed of a collection of
buildings, with a wide veranda running
round the western side.
Jim pulled in his reins at the door. Mr.
Leeson alighted, and assisted Millicent from
the carriage. A handsome woman, with
silver threads just shining in her black
hair, which she wore without a widow's
cap, came out into the hall as they stepped
in, followed by a young lady attired with
much elegance.
Millicent shrunk back a little to give
place to the' first greeting which passed
between the son and his mother; but her
part immediately followed.
'-^ You seem very tired, Millicent," said
Mrs. Leeson, giving her her hand. " My
niece. Miss Augusta Leeson. I will call
Dinah to show you up to your chamber.
Tea will be ready in half an hour."
Millicent was glad of the dismissal, and
followed the negress, who, with a showy
red bandanna bound round her head, pre-
ceded her up the staircase to the room
THE RECEPTION. 35
appropriated to her use. It was small,
quite apart from the commodious guest-
chambers and the rooms occupied by the
family ; but two narrow windows looked
out on a pleasant interval of country.
Dinah, Mrs. Leeson's special waiting-maid,
threw a glance around the room, to see
that the ewer was filled with water, and
everything in its place.
Millicent began to take ofif her bonnet
and bathe her face, and, after some little
hesitation, asked that her trunk might be
brought up. She wished to make a more
presentable appearance before her aunt
than her dusty travelling dress would ad-
mit.
Dinah went out, and, in a few moments,
the trunk made its appearance, and select-
ing a muslin dress and fresh collar, she
hastened to finish her toilet. It was hardly
completed when the supper-bell rang, and
Dinah reappeared to show her the way to
the dining-room.
The family were already seated at the
36 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
table. Mrs. Leeson directed Millicent to a
seat beside her daughter, who eyed her
new governess with critical attention.
Little was said to Millicent during the
repast. Mr. Frederick Leeson addressed to
her one or two observations, making him-
self generally agreeable, like the thorough
gentleman that he was. Miss Augusta
quite ignored her presence. (Mr. James
was not present, having, as it proved,
started away on the same train by which
his brother had arrived.)
If Millicent had entertained any roman-
tic ideas of the reception which awaited
her, they must, by the end of that long
half-hour, have been completely put to
flight. She saw and felt that her position
in her aunt's family was to be simply that
of a hired governess, without, perhaps, any
exact statement of wages.
^' When did you quit home, Millicent?"
asked Mrs. Leeson as, supper over, the
family withdrew into the sitting-room.
^^A week ago, ma'am."
THE RECEPTION. , 37
'' So Frederick kept you waiting a day
or two in New York ? '^
"Yes, ma'am; he was not quite ready to
4art."
" Your letter missed me, mother," ob-
•>erved the gentleman from his distant seat
at the open window. " I did not get it till
the morning I took the train."
" It was Jim's carelessness in neglecting
to post it, 1 haven't a doubt," said the
lady, emphatically ; " it's just like him. I
will look into it to-morrow."
Augusta l%id down a book, the leaves
of which she had been turning carelessly
under the blaze of the astral, as her cousin
addressed some observation to her. The
young lady's face wore a clouded expres-
sion. She was suffering with a headache,
she said, and Mr. Frederick's sympathy was
expressed with much feeling.
'^ You may retire, Millicent, if you wish,"
observed Mrs. Leeson, noticing the young
girl's air of weariness. " A night's rest
will put you up after your journey. You
38 MILLICENT HALFORD.
will find a lamp, if you can penetrate to
the kitchen."
Millicent said " Good-night," and thank-
fully accepted her dismissal. A clear, full
moon was shining out of doors, and she
had no hesitation in seeking her way up
to her chamber without the doubtful search
into the servants' regions. The moonlight
shimmered brightly through the open cur-
tains over the white counterpane of tlie
bed and the clieap gray carpet, knotted
here and there on its suz'face witli a
prett}' group of flowers.
^Millicent took her Bible from her trunk,
and after an ineffectual attempt to distin-
guish a few lines, closed the book, and sur-
rendered herself to a fit of meditation. She
felt the strangeness of the place, and the
sense of loneliness which surrounded her.
In her child days, she had been taught
that an overruling Providence directs the
events of every life; and the lesson learned
at her mother's knee had always been
treasui-ed up.
CHAPTER V.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
MILLICENT did not wake until late on
the following morning. A night of
sound sleep had succeeded the fatigues,
of her journey. The sun was shining
brightly upon her pillow when she opened
her eyes, and with a sense of the late-
ness of the hour, hastened to rise. The
air was sweet as she threw up her win-
dow and leaned out for an instant in the
pause between the conclusion of her sim-
ple toilet and the act of emerging from
her chamber. As she did so, her ear
caught a sound which seemed to be the
stifled cry of a human being in distress,
and which appeared to proceed from the
cluster of out-buildings abutting to the left
of her window.
39
40 MTLLTrivNT ITALFORn.
"Somebody is in distress," thought Mll-
licent, anxiously.
The opening of the door caused lier to
draw her head in, A bright-looking mu-
latto girl, whom she liad seen waiting on
the table the past night, stood in the
opening.
" Something is the matter, Rose," she
said, hurriedly. " Somebody is hurt. Come
here and listen ! "
'' It's only Jim, Miss Ilalford," said the
girl, her eyes dilating with a curious ex-
pression. " He went and done forgot to
post missus' letter to Mass'r Frederick, and
she's having him whipped for it."
Millicent shuddered. It was inhuman,
cruel ! The color came up hot into her
face.
"Missus sent me up to tell you it is
'most breakfast-time," said the girl, prepar-
ing to go out ; '' the bell rings in ten
minutes."
Millicent went back to listen at the win-
dow. The muffled cries had ceased. Jim's
punishment was ended.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 41
Mrs. Leeson received Millicent, when she
descended to the breakfast-room, with rather
more kindness than she had done on the
previous night, and even expressed a hope
that sli,e had rested welL Miss Leeson bade
her a languid good-morning, which was re-
peated with more animation by Mr. Fred-
erick on his entrance, and Adele came run-
ning in from the garden, her lap full of
fragrant flowers. It was a pleasant pic-
ture, — the breakfast-table, with its snowy
damask covering, its glistening . china, its
fresh rolls, and amber-hued coffee ; the yel-
low canaries singing cheerily in their cage
in the window; the bright, warm sunshine
irradiating every corner. But a shadow
lay over it all, — Millicent heard, in fancy,
the cry which had startled her in her
chamber.
''1 had Jim whipped this morning for
forgetting your letter," observed Mrs. Lee-
son toward the close of the nearly-silent
repast. " I'll warrant he wont forget a
thing of this kind again in a hurry."
42 MI LUCENT IIALFORD.
Addle raised lier eyes suddenly from her
plate to lier mother's face. Mr. Freder-
ick's brow contracted with a careless mix-
ture of disapproval and indifference. Miss
Lee son did not regard the matter as of
sufiicient importance to attract her atten-
tion.
" It's time that grain crop was got in,"
said Mrs. Leeson, as a general movement
was made to quit the table. '' The hands
have been at it for a week. It's over-ripe,
and if a heavy rain should come upon it,
it would beat it out."
" I shall see to it to-day," said her son ;
^'there's plenty of time. Augusta, what are
your plans for the morning? Will you
drive, or a ride on horseback ? If the hist,
I shall be happy to be your cavalier."
" I have a new book commenced which
I am interested to see the end of," re-
plied the young lady, turning her face a
little aside to the window.
" Adele will show you up to her school-
room," said Mrs. Leeson, speaking rather
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 43
shortly to Millicent. " Come, my dear, give
those flowers to Rose ; she will dispose of
them in the vases."
"I don't want to be shut up in the
schoolroom, mamma, this bright morning,"
pouted Addle. " It will be sure to bring
back my headache puzzling over those
musty books."
" Show Millicent up-stairs," said Mrs. Lee-
son, reaching forward to take the flowers
out of her daughter's hand. ''Do as I bid
you ! "
Adele sulkily obeyed, and preceded her
cousin up the staircase. The schoolroom
was in an eastern angle of the house; the
door opening into it adjoined Millicent's
chamber. It was a large, airy apartment,
well furnished with maps, charts, and cases
of books. A portfolio of drawings lay on
a table in a distant corner. One of them
had shpped to the floor. Adele ^^vent for-
ward and picked it up.
" Do you draw. Miss Halford ? " she in-
quired, a faint glow of interest brightening
44 MILLICENT HALFORD.
up lier sullen moofl. ^^ I like to paint ;
but I bate tbis dull grammar and algebra."
<'A little," said Millicent, taking tbe
drawings from ber band to look tbem over.
^^Are tbese sketcbes yours?"
Tbe fine toucb displayed in tbem migbt
well bave elicited tbe surprised question.
" Xo, not mine. I can't begin to do any-
tbing like tbat. Tliey are Fred.'s.'*
^' Sketcbes of landscapes in tbis vicinity,
I suppose?" bazarded Millicent, laying tbem
down. ^' Tiiis last is exquisite," still bold-
ing it in ber band. ^^ Tbis wood and wa-
ter, — I bave seen tbem before. Wbere?"
Sbe could not tell wby a quick sbud-
der came over ber, and tbe bealtby blood
faded out of ber cbeek. Are tbere sucb
tbings as premonitions? Had sbe seen it
in ber dreams?
''' Tbat is a Virginia landscape," said
Adcle, looking at ber troubled face witb
curious surprise. " ^b-)?t of tbese pictures
are. Frederick sketcbed tbem last spring,
wben be was at Tudor Hall."
FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 45
Millicent restored it to its place in the
portfolio, and commenced examining her pu-
pil, to ascertain the extent of her acquire-
ments. If she had feared that her young
cousin was already too far advanced to de-
rive much benefit from her instructions, she
was soon agreeably disappointed, and quite
surprised, by the lamentable ignorance that
met her researches.
" We will take these French verbs this
morning," she said, marking off the first
lesson ; '^ and these exercises in algebra are
to follow."
Adele seated herself with a dismal res-
ignation in her corner, and Milhcent took
up a stray volume of poems which had
found its way up from the sitting-room ta-
ble.
'^If I can only make her love me," she
thought, glancing at the momentarily-ab-
sorbed child, ^'I shall not feel quite alone."
Could she?
CnAPTER YI.
GLAD were both teacher and pupil when
the long morning finally came to an
end, and the dinner-bell summoned them to
the lower regions. Adele had blundered
through her French verbs, and came to a
determined stop over her second tough
problem in algebra. Still the patience and
gentleness of her new teaclier were not
wholly thrown away. She did not scold
her, like odious Madame Marchet, or threat-
en, like sour Miss Lindsley, to report her
dulness and inattention to mamma.
The afternoon was at Millicent's disposal,
and, on leaving the dining-room, a few
steps behind her aunt, she sauntered out
on the lawn in front of the house, and
4G
AUNT PHILLIS' SICKNESS. 47
after exploring the garden, turaed into a
path which led off in the direction of the
kitchen and out-buildings. The windows of
the first were open. A slender, wearied-
looking woman was standing at her iron-
ing-table, which she had placed in a posi-
tion to take advantage of the little fresh
air which was stirring. A little child, of
a year or more, was playing in the door-
way. Both the mother and child were
white, the former with only the faintest
traces of mulatto blood in her rich com-
plexion.
Millicent stopped to speak to the child,
and accepted the chair which the woman
left her work to place for her.
" I've been so hurried to-day ! " said the
laundress. " Mistress expected me to get
this done an hour ago; but what with this
troublesome child and Aunt Phillis to tend
upon, I couldn't. Baby's good now though,"
glancing at the child, rolled up in a ball
on the doorstep, "and aunty will have to
wait awhile for her cup of balm tea."
48 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
Millicent glanced at tlie pitclier of herbs
steeping upon the stove, struck by the
last observation, and hesitated to offer her
services. The woman eyed her witli some
curiosity, looking up from her steady proc-
ess of smoothing the muslins, a large pile
of which still lay damp upon the table.
It was her first sight of the new govern-
ess.
^' It will take you some time to finish
yet," observed Millicent presently. " Shall I
take the tea up to the sick woman? I
have nothing to do."
" Thank you ver}^ kindly. Miss Ilalford,"
said the woman, proceeding at once to
pour it out, — ''if 'tisn't too much trouble.
Phillis' chamber is up them stairs, the sec-
ond door to the right. She's down sick,
poor aunty ! Got a fever on her, I think-,
and worry of mind too." The last sen-
tence she added in a lowered voice, half
to herself
Millicent took up the bowl of medicine,
and proceeded as well as she could up
AUNT PIIILLIS' SICKNESS. 49
the steep stairway. She knocked at the
door.
" Come in," said a feeble voice, and
raising the latch, she found herself in a
small chamber, lighted by a narrow win-
dow, the open sash of which afforded a
very imperfect ventilation, besides letting
an unhealthy draught directly upon the
head of the straw pallet, which, with a
chair and small table, constituted the fur-
niture. An aged negress, her brow wrin-
kled with farrows, and her short hair
blanched to a grizzly white, lay on the
bed, and sent a restless glance toward the
door as it opened.
" Laws, miss, you needn't hab taken de
pains," she said, as Millicent poured out a
part of the .tea in a cup which stood on
the table, and bent over the bed. ^' I can
drink widout being helped."
''You seem very feverish," remarked her
visitor, conquering her repugnance to sit
down in the vacant chair, which she saw
•plainly, in the wistful eyes watching her,
she was expected to do.
60 MILLICENT HALFORD.
" Yes, dear, I's bery sick." She lay
back with a groan.
MiUicent debated in her mind the pro-
priety of closing the window and opening
the door. The latter would all'ord better
ventilation. To leave both open, with the
full air beginning to stir out of doors,
would hazard too powerful a draught. The
sick woman groaned again.
" You seem very ill," said Millicent, gcn-
i\y. " Have you had a doctor ? "
" No, chile. Missus was in last night,
and she didn't tink it necessary. She said
to Susan, gib me plenty ob balm tea. But
I's worse to-day. It's all 'bout Jim, miss.
Tears like I can't keep him out ob my
mind."
Millicent remembered the little event of
the morning, which had thrown such a
shadow over her spirits upon her first in-
troduction to her new home.
The old woman hesitated to open her
troubles to the Yankee governess; but ^lil-
licent's sympathizing looks, with the light-
AUNT PHILLIS' SICKNESS. 51
headedness of fever, which was beginning
to impart a restless hurry to her spirits,
loosened her tongue.
'•'It's all 'bout Jim's being whipped, miss;
he aint used to it. I's worrying what'll
come ob it. Missus don't know him; he's
a smart, bright boy ; but he wont be good
for anyting now de whip's, been used; he's
jes' like what his farder was."
" Is Jim your grandson ? " asked Milli-
cent, less from curiosity than a loss what
to say. I
" Yes, dear, and he's all I's got left to
me in de worP. Missus bought him when
she bought me ; dat's a good many years
ago. He was a little bright pickaninny
of ten, and I was a smart, strong woman.
Tears like I's 'most got through my la-
bors now."
"Is your son living?" asked Millicent.
"I dunno, dear. He was sold down in
Georgia 'fore I came here. I b'longed to
Mas'r Rhet, and Harry did too. It nearly
tore my heart out to part wid him, de
52 MILLICKNT IIALFC >Un.
boy, and see him go off in do driver's
gang ; but one poor comfort, he couldn't
fare worse dan he had. "Mas'r's oberseer
"used to beat him cruelly."
" Miss Halford," said Ad61e, putting her
head into the chamber, "mamma wants to
speak to you."
The girl's face expressed much wonder
at her governess' occupation, as Millicent,
putting the cup which she held in her
hand on the table, rose to follow her down
the staircase.
"I have looked all over the house for
you," said Adele, " till Susan told me you
were with Aunt Phillis."
The laundress was still at work on the
muslins as they crossed the kitchen. The
pile showed little diminution.
Mrs. Leeson was in the sitting-room, sew-
ing at one of the open windows.
'^ Can you do fine sewing, Millicent?"
she asked, as her niece joined her.
" Yes, ma'am, very well."
" Perhaps you will c^ssist me then over
AUNT PHILLIS' SICKNESS. 53
this," rising to get her basket, which stood
on the table.
Milhcent accepted the offered work, and
drew her chair at a respectful distance
from her aunt's.
Adele inquired for her cousin. Augusta
had gone out to drive with Frederick, Mrs.
Leeson replied, with an air of satisfaction;
they had taken a long distance, to some
spot she mentioned, and would probably
not be at home before nightfall.
Adele pouted slightly. She would have
liked to share this pleasure.
*' Miss Halford has been up with Aunt
Phillis, mamma,'^ she said presently. " I
found her in her room. Aunty looks really
sick."
Mrs. Leeson threw a quick, dissatisfied
glance at her niece.
" If Phillis gets worse, I must send for
a doctor," she said. "I saw nothing alarm-
ing when I visited her last night. The
balm tea she is taking will check the fe-
ver."
54 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
"I guess aunty worries about Jim's be-
ing whipped," said Adcle. " Rose said she
was quite out of her head this morning."
" Pshaw ! " said her mother. " The boy
needed it before this ; he'd have got it,
too, if he had had a right smart master,
instead of a woman, to train liim. He will
have a better memory for it, after he gets
out of his sullenness."
He was sullen then. Millicent bent lower
over her sewing. Every word of her aunt
seemed to bring to her a throb of pain.
The young girl had heard in her distant
New England home of a race of people
who were bought and sold like dumb beasts
in the market ; but the story had floated
past her like an idle tale. Now she found
herself standing on the threshold of these
scenes of wretchedness and misery.
CHAPTER VII.
THE MORTGAGE.
IF Mr. James Leeson had improved his
brother's absence to lay suit to his be-
trothed, during his accidental visit to his
home in the beginning of her stay, the
lost ground seemed, to all outward appear-
ance, to be pretty elFectually recovered by
Mr. Frederick. Augusta's headache passed
off with the evening of his arrival; the
interesting book which had detained her in-
doors from the pleasure of a tete-a-tete
drive with her lover was finished in the
course of the morning, and at the supper-
table the young lady presented a face as
smiling and rosy as it was ever her wont
to wear. Only one present guessed that
she had had a hard struggle with herself,
55
56 MILLICENT HALFORD.
and had come off, for the time, at least, con-
queror. No doubt, the maimer of her part-
ing with Mr. James had helped in her
newly-formed decision. The gentleman had
taken his leave of her in the presence of
his mother, Avith a cool empressement which
whispered no hope upon his part of an
early meeting. It had only been a flirta-
tion. Augusta had said it angril}- to her-
self the past night upon her pillow ; or,
if he really cared for her, — and words and
tones came up to keep that idea in her
mind, — his passion was not strong enough
to overleap the obstacles between them.
Mrs. Leeson was much pleased with this
favorable turn of affairs ; but a doubt was
beginning to cross her mind as to the ex-
pediency of delaying this marriage six
months, which would bring round the end
of April, the time fixed upon for the wed-
ding. Augusta had demurred at May, with
the old English prejudice that it was an
ill-omened month lor a bridal. A looker-on
might have doubted if this marriage would
THE MORTGAGE. 57
prove fruitful of happiness under any cir-
cumstances.
Mrs. Leeson, like the wise and provident
woman that she was, took an opportunity
of breaking the subject to her son, open-
ing it, not upon the ground which was
actuaUy the basis of her interest, but from
quite a different point. She alluded to the
unfortunate pecuniary circumstances which
had first aroused her interest in the match,
and the partial mortgage that lay upon
her son's estate, and which would come
due by ' the approaching January. It was
in the dusk of twilight. The mother and
son had found a few moments alone in the
sitting-room ; Augusta had just left them ;
Millicent and Adele were taking a stroll
in the garden.
Frederick colored, and made a nrovement
as if he would have interrupted his moth-
er's flow of words. He really loved his
cousin in his quiet way, and though not
bhnd to the advantages to accrue from her
U'ealth in his unhappily embarrassed circum-
58 MILLICENT HALFORD.
stances, he had much too correct a sense
of honor to have a^jked the hand of any
woman solely from that circumstance.
^' Bonnet will wait," he said, carelessly.
"He is an old neighbor, and will not be
in a hurry to foreclose the mortgage."
" I am not sure," said Mrs. Leeson, a
little uneasily. '' We are old neighbors, as
you say; but the state of affairs between
us is not quite what it used to be. James
has been foolishly offering some attentions
to his daughter."
'' It would be a respectable match for
him," said Frederick. ^^ The young lady is
amiable and agreeable. My dear mother,
what objections can you have to otTer?"
''I? The affair seems to be broken off.
That is the matter. Your brother James
is like most other young men, — always
caught by the last pretty face."
''Ah," said Frederick, musingly. ''Well,
I don't think this will make any differ-
ence with Mr. Bennet. If it should, I
dare say I can easily raise a loan."
THE MORTGAGE. 59
"Just like you," said his mother, shortly,
"putting off till to-morrow everything that
has the appearance of care or trouble ;
but why not hurry up your marriage a
little? It may as well take place at New
Year's as in April.''
There was some propriety in the sugges-
tion. Frederick thoughtfully considered it.
" Your engagement has lasted for a year,''
observed his mother. " Augusta's stay with
us, she told me an hour ago, will not ex-
tend beyond the middle of November; she
has promised her guardian to return by
that time. Of course, you will escort her
home, a favorable opportunity to ask for
the shortening of your probation."
Perhaps the mother and son would not
have felt quite as composed in this care-
less tete-a-tete, had they been aAvare that,
in her exit, Augusta had left the door that
opened behind them ajar, and for herself,
had gone no farther than the wide entry,
in which she loitered to enjoy the cool
air from the veranda. In this position, all
of her aunt's remarks reached her ears, and
60 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
a portion of bcr cousin's replies. The em-
barrassed circumstances of her future hus-
band were for the first time made known
to her, and a second thought told her that
her ignorance of the moment before had
been fully shared by her guardian. A tu-
mult of angry blood rushed to her tem-
ples ; she stood perfectly still, to struggle
with the new revelation.
''How fortunate that I do not love him!'^
she thought. *' And I have been blaming
myself for doing him injustice!"
The quick steps of Millicent and Addle
were hurrying up the walk a moment later,
and the supper-bell would soon ring. She
glided on tip-toe through the entry, and
managed to make a noiseless ascent of the
staircase, the soft carpet burying the sound
of her footsteps.
Perhaps her conscience told her she had
not acted rightly in listening; yet the cur-
rent of air through the unclosed door had
borne the conversation to her ears with the
first sentence. How could she choose but
listen?
CHAPTER VIII.
JIM'S FLIGHT.
MRS. LEESON was at fault in suppos-
ing Phillis' sickness to be but a slight
attack of fever from which a few days
would see her recovered. The old woman
grew much worse, and at the last point
the doctor was called. He felt her pulse,
examined her symptoms, and pronounced
the case a hopeless one, which might ter-
minate fatally in twenty-four hours.
Rose, the bright-faced mulatto girl, wiped
away a few tears. Jim, the most inter-
ested person, heard the announcement of
his grandmother's condition with the appar-
ently sullen indifference which had charac-
terized him since the morning of the whip-
ping.
61
62 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
" Phillis was a good servant in lier clay,"
remarked Mrs. Leeson, coming back from
her visit to the chamber; "but she had
got to be so old and decrepit she had
almost got through her labors; she was of
little use before this attack came on ; "
and she dismissed the subject.
Millicent bent over her work with a
pressure of uneasy thoughts. Death in the
house ! It wore to her a solemn a[)i)ear-
ance; she could not put it out of her re-
flections.
The last stitch was taken in the muslin
skirt which her aunt had given her to
complete. Mrs. Leeson was gone out, and
Millicent, with an idle half-hour upon her
hands, threaded her way out aimlessly into
the kitchen. A dull, drizzling rain was
falling out of doors, an unlooked-for change
from the clear, bright atmosphere of the
previous day. Susan was busy over some
plain sewing, with her baby crawling con-
tentedly on the floor. Lizzie, the cook,
was actively kneading dough for the sup-
jim's flight. 63
per biscuit. Both looked np at Millicent's
appearance. Their serious faces contrasted
with the indifferent ones she had just left.
Susan's eyes were suspiciously swollen.
^*How is Fhillis getting on?" asked Mil-
licent, in a low voice, stepping into the
room.
'^ Poorly, Miss Halford," said Susan, drop-
ping her eyes. '' Rose said a minute ago
she was just gone. Wont you step up and
see her?" she asked, rising.
Millicent hesitated ; but the girl was al-
ready on the staircase, and some indefin-
able feeling told her she might possibly be
of use in that death chamber. She had
seen her father die. His calm, peaceful
sinking away had divested death of much
of her childish terror. She went up be-
hind Susan with a few quickened heart-
beats, and stopped at the door of the
chamber.
The dying woman was quite conscious;
her head lay back on the pillow, her large
eyes wide open, and her hands keeping a
64: MILLICEXT HALFORD.
tremulous movement on tlie bed-clothes.
She was quite alone, Rose, who* had been
keeping watch with her, having just stepped
out. The power of speech had not yet left
her.
'•Is dat you, Susan?" she asked, looking
toward the door. '' I's very tliirsty."
Millicent gave her the cup of water that
stood on the table.
*' 'Most ober Jordan," she whispered, in
her husky voice, " de Lord be praised !
It's all clear now. He'll bring Jim safe.
I's not 'fraid to trust him now."
Millicent sat down in the chair, and put
her handkerchief to her eyes.
^' If you would please read a chapter,
Miss Halford," whispered Susan, " I'm sure
she would like it."
Millicent looked for the Bible.
"I will run into mistress' room and get
it," said Susan, hurrying out.
^' Is it possible she has no Bible of her
own ? " thought Millicent. She forgot, for
the moment, that a knowledge of letters is
JIM'S FLIGHT. 65
supposed by their masters to place slaves
above their condition. She might be par-
doned in this early instance for her for-
getfulness ; for Susan's skin was little re-
moved in tint from her own.
Susan came back with the handsomely-
clasped volume, and Millicent, opening it,
turned to that beautiful chapter of John
which will be read in death chambers and
sorrowing homes so long as the earth is
peopled with the sorrowing and the dying.
She read on, interrupted now and then by
Aunt Phillis' fervent ejaculations, till the
close was reached. Rose had come back,
and she got up to go out.
A change had taken place in the dying
woman. As, in the act of rising, she looked
toward the bed, Millicent saw that her eyes
were set, and the restless hands lay quite
still. Rose, with the animation peculiar to
her race, burst into loud sobs.
"Hush," said Susan, "hush. Rose! You^l
disturb her; she's going out of all her trou-
bles. I wish I was going too, I do ! "
5
66 MILLICENT HALFORD.
Millicent stepped out, the last words ring-
ing painfully in her ears. What if she, too,
had been born a slave, like poor Susan?
Nothing was said of the dying old ser-
vant around the supper-table. The conver-
sation flowed on between Mrs. Leeson and
her son. Augusta was moodily silent, speak-
ing only when spoken to, and then with an
apparent effort; and little was addressed to
Millicent.
The evening passed much as usual. Fred-
erick and Augusta varied its monotony by
a game of chess. Adcle watched the play.
Mrs. Leeson took up a book, and Millicent
made a show of following her example.
A few stars were shining through the
rifts of cluuds when Millicent went up to
her chamber. The storm, which had ex-
hausted itself during the last hour in a
torrent of rain-drops, was breaking away.
She thought of poor old Phillis as she sent
her gaze up into the blue depths. Almost
home ! The fetters of a slave about to
drop from her wearied limbs ! What ec3-
67
tatic happiness and joy waited to crown
her !
Mrs. Leeson brought a clouded face to
the breakfast-table on the following morn-
ing. Something had gone wrong. Millicent
saw that plainly in her absorbed preoccu-
pation.
"Jim has run off/' she said, relieving her
mind of the announcement toward the close
of the meal.
Frederick started, and put down the cup
which he was in the act of raising to his
lips. Augusta went on deliberately with
the process of spreading the remnant of
her roll. Adele stopped with her toast on
her fork.
" You must be mistaken, mother ! " said
Frederick. " When did you find it out ? "
" A few moments ago. I wanted to send
him on an errand, and he was nowhere to
be found.''
" Have you had the out-buildings exam-
ined?"
"Yes, thoroughly; his cot was not slept
68 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
ill last night ; be was not seen by any of
our people after tbe first part of tbe even-
ing."
" He bas got a good start," said Fred-
erick, with a lowering brow, as be pusbed
back bis cbair from tbe table. '' I must
set out at once to searcb for bim. Wby
did you not tell me wben you first made
tbe discovery ? "
" A few moments will make little differ-
ence. I did not wisb to interrupt break-
fast. He cannot have got far on foot;
most likely be is resting now in some
w^oods."
"It was a dark nigbt/' observed Mr.
Leeson, ratber to bimself, as be turned to
go out.
Millicent beard bim call to bis body ser-
vant, from tbe next room, to get out bis
horse. She sat balancing her spoon trem-
bbngly on her cup. None of the family
had followed Mr. Leeson's hurried move-
ment of departure from tbe tal»Ie. If tbe
poor slave should be overtaken and brou.c^bt
jim's flight. 69
back, what would be bis punishment? She
felt at that moment that, if circumstances
had permitted, she could have done a great
deal to assist in his concealment from his
master. She saw the latter ride past the
window a few minutes later, in the bright
sunshine, closely followed by his servant,
Tom, and Mrs. Leeson at the same instant
gave the signal for rising.
"Oh, how earnestly I hope he may be
going on a fruitless errand ! " prayed Mil-
licent; but the dull sinking at her heart
told her that her fears held more than a
balance with her hopes.
. CHAPTER IX.
RETURN OF THE FUGITITE.
MR. LEESOX did not make his appear-
ance at dinner. He did not, in fact,
arrive at home till near nightfalL Millicent
was sitting by the open window when she
saw him ride up the avenue, his mounted
servant following behind him, and another
figure, which she was at no loss to iden-
tify as poor Jim's, moving rapidly along
at his horse's rein. This was the culmi-
nation of her feverish restlessness through
the long day, of her nervous starts at the
warbling of a bird, or the falling of a dead
leaf Oh, if she could only gather the cour-
age to beg Mr. Frederick to be merciful,
and for this once to let the poor fellow's
offence go unpunished I
70
RETURN OP THE FUGITIVE. 71
She turned to look at Miss Leeson, who
had come out of the reverie which had
held her through the morning, and was
chatting with Adele, who, with her lap
full of roses, lingered on her way to the
dining-room.
'' Jim is found ! " said Mrs. Leeson, sud-
denly opening the door. ''He has led Fred-
erick a long hunt; he will get his punish-
ment for this, and a hard punishment too.
Adele, where is Eose? I saw her in the
garden with you a minute ago.'^
"She Avent round to the kitchen, mamma,
as I turned to come this way."
" Very well." She closed the door, Adele
passing out with her.
Millicent turned to Augusta, conquering
the dislike which that lady's distant ways
toward herself had caused, to address her.
''Miss Leeson," she said, hurriedl}-, "will
you intercede with Mr. Fi-ederick for poor
Jim? He will have him beaten terribly for
this running aAvay, if you do not."
Augusta lifted up her eyes in extreme
astonishment.
72 MILLICENT HALFORD.
^' I never interfere in such matters, Miss
Hallbrd," she replied, coldly.
"What a fool I was," thought Millicent,
" to suppose she had a grain of feeling in
her heart ! '^
It would be to no purpose to ask Adele;
she was but a child, and her entreaties
would avail nothing. Her aunt she well
knew to be inflexible. Her heart sank
with a dumb helplessness.
The supper-bell rang shortly. Mr. Leeson
made his appearance, freshened by a change
of suit from the disorder of his journey,
and quite in his usual even spirits.
Nothing was said of Jim until the close
of the meal ; then, as the movement to
leave the table was made, Augusta care-
lessly asked her cousin, —
"Where did you find your runaway?"
" In a wood about twelve miles from
here. A good night's walk he made of it.
I should have been back before; but I
passed the spot a long way, and then
turned back and beat in all directions.
RETURN OP THE FUGITIVE. 73
Nobody had seen liim. It was merely per-
severance that hunted him up."
MiUicent shuddered.
" He will have time to repent his folly,"
said Mr. Leeson. "■ I have ordered him a
moderate whipping, and shall keep him on
bread and water for three or four days,
with little of that.''
" Your leniency is all thrown away,'^
added his mother ; " the boy needs a se-
vere castigation. Nothing short of the
whip will take the sullenijess out of him.
He'll run away again as soon as he gets
a chance ! "
" I don't believe in whipping," said Mr.
Frederick, '^ only when it can't be helped,
and then moderately. Mother and I seldom
agree upon this point."
Miss Leeson did not give her opinion.
Probably the subject possessed little inter-
est for her. The family adjourned to the
sitting-room, where Mr. Leeson's portfolio
was discovered lying on the table, having
made its descent in Adele's hands from the
14: MILLTCENT HALFORD.
upper regions of the schoolroom. One or
two of the sketches proved to be new to
Augusta, and she began to turn tliem over.
MilHcent, unnoticed by the group in the
conversation which came on, shortly quit-
ted her corner, and stepped out through
the low, open window on the veranda.
She had at first no object in her change
of position beyond a longing to feel the
breath of the cool night air upon her fe-
vered temples ; but, mechanically, her steps
turned toward .the angle formed by the
kitchen, in the direction of the out-build-
ings, in one of which, out of the group,
she knew the recovered slave must be
confined. The kitchen was alight, as she
passed, and the figures within distinctly
visible. Rose w^as sitting at a little dis-
tance from the table, her head bent down
upon her hands ; Susan was steadily sew-
ing; Lizzie was paring a pan of apples.
She threw a glance up at the dark win-
dow of Phillis's chamber, just visible by
the light of the stars. Phillis was no
RETURN OF THE FUGITIVE. 75
longer there; her worn-out form had been
laid away that afternoon to its kindred
dust in the httle graveyard on the slope.
" I wonder if they know in heaven what
befalls us here?" queried Millicent, as she
groped her way on. She passed the car-
riage-house and the stable. A little farther
on a low moan drew her attention. This
must be the place in which Jim was con-
fined. " How much I should like to see
him and speak to him ! '' she thought ; '^ but
I dare not." ^
Another figure came gliding up, as she
stood back in the shadow, and passed close
to the locked door. It bore Susan's height
and figure, a handkerchief closely envelop,
ing the head.
^' Jim," she said, in a low whisper, put-
ting her mouth close to the aperture of
the key-hole, — " Jim ! "
"Who's dar?" asked a sullen voice in-
side.
"It's me, Jim, — only Susan. How do you
feel to-night? I've run out to speak to
76 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
you; but I darsn't sta.y l)ut a minute."
She put her ear to the key-hole. Millicent
listened intently for the answer; but none
came. '' I darsn't stop," said the woman,
speaking again. " Jim, I wish I could give
you something to eat ; but mistress keeps
everything locked. You must be hungry."
Jim made no answer. A ' slight stir on
Millicent's part rustled a dead leaf under
her dress. Susan started, and ran lightly
toward the house.
" I, too, may be missed," thought Milli-
cent; and she judged it best to turn her
steps back to the veranda.
CHAPTER X.
SALE OF SUSAN'S HUSBAND.
POOR Jim's hungry state was the first
thought that came into Millicent's mind
in the morning, as she unclosed her eyes
from the sound, refreshing slumbers of
youth. The sun was shining brightly, and
she hurried through her toilet, stopping to
throw a glance out of her window at the
line of out-buildings, one of which^ to her
quickened sight, covered a scene of wretch-
edness and misery. As she lingered, her
eyes fell suddenly upon a group below
that riveted her attention, and turned her
thoughts into a fresh channel. The fore-
most figure was Susan, who stood with
her face covered with her hands, her form"^
apparently shaking with sobs, while close
77
78 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
beside lier was a young, sturdy-looking mu-
latto, whose face expressed the acnic of
silent wretchedness. A few paces off, the
baby was lying upon the wet grass, quite
unnoticed by either of the couple in their
preoccupation.
Millicent leaned forward, trying to com-
prehend the scene ; but the distance pre-
vented the words, if any were spoken, from
reaching her ears. The breakfast-bell called
her away. She hurried to give the finish-
ing touches to her hair, and went down.
She met Adele coming in from the garden
as she reached the foot of the staircase.
"What is the matter with Susan, Adele?"
.she asked, a fear that Mrs. Leeson had dis-
covered the girl's visit of tiie past night,
and tliat it had taken place contrary to
some direct orders, creeping over her.
" Mr. Bennet has sold Sam, Susan's hus-
band," replied Adele.
This, then, was the explanation. Milli-
cent pitied the poor girl with all her heart.
"Why didn't your brother buy him?"
SALE OF Susan's husband. 79
asked Millicent. '' Where are they going to
take him?"
'^ Fred, has as many negroes as he
want?," said Adele, answering the first
question, with a look of surprise. ''The
trader who lias bought him will take him
off to Georgia, mamma says. The bargain
is agreed upon, but isn't finished. If it
was, Sam wouldn't have had liberty to come
here. He found out somehow that his mas-
ter was about to sell him."
Millicent went on to the breakfast-room
with her charge. The fresh rolls, the
dainty buckwheats, and amber-hued coffee
had at no time worn a less tempting ap-
pearance. Only a stone's throw from this
sunshiny apartment and these cheerful faces
two poor human hearts were nearly break-
ing.
" Susan is in a great way about Sam
this morning," remarked Mrs. Leeson, tak-
ing up one or two ordinary topics of con-
versation. " Mr. Bennet has sold him."
" Ah ! Who is the purchaser ? " asked
Frederick.
80 MILLTCEXT HALFORD.
" A Georgian trader, I believe, who came
along a day or two ago. He has been
stopping at Hildreth's, — over to tlie tavern.
Sam found it out this morning, and ran
over to tell Susan."
" It's a hard case," said Mr. Leeson, de-
liberatel}^ helping himself to a fresh roll.
'^ I wouldn't part with one of my slaves
on any account ; I go upon principle in
the matter."
Mrs. Leeson glanced at her niece's plate,
the contents of which remained nearly un-
'touched.
"You seem to have quite lost your ap-
petite, Millicent," she said.
^' I am not feeling very well, ma'am."
" A turn in the fresh air will do you
good. Adele's lessons can wait for an
hour."
They were leaving the table. Millicent
seized upon the permission to go out on
the veranda. The morning air was cool
and sweet. She wondered if Susan was
still lingering by the out-buildings. A few
SALE OF Susan's husband. 81
steps farther satisfied her that the mourn-
ful parting was over. Susan was not to
be seen on the spot where she had watched
her from her window. She had gone in
w^ith her child.
A little later, Miss Augusta Leeson came
out in her riding-dress, a pair of horses
making their appearance from the stable in
the care of black Joe. Her cousin assisted
her into her saddle, and springing into his,
the couple were soon cantering down the
avenue.
" How gracefully she rides ! " thought
Millicent, following them with her eyes.
She went back into the house, the hour
Mrs. Leeson had given her having nearly
expired. She must open Adcle's lessons,
however wavering the attention she might
be able to fix upon them. She did not
catch a glimpse of poor Susan until even-
ing; then she found her in the kitchen
to which an errand for Mrs. Leeson took
her. It was a message the lady had for-
gotten to give her cook, and which, de-
7
82 MILLICEXT HALrOIiD.
tained by the sudden appearance of com-
pany, a couple of visitors from tlie neigh-
borhood, she intrusted to her niece.
Susan was sitting at the table at her
sewing, precisely in the same position as
on the previous niglit ; but the great
change in her face from its habitually wea-
ried expression to a sullen despair told the
story of suffering beneath.
Millicent lingered when she had done her
errand to Lizzie. She wondered if Susan's
husband had already gone, if they had no
hope of meeting again. She glanced at tlie
child, who lay sleeping soundly on a cush-
ion at its mother^s feet.
"Sam went dis morning," whispered Liz-
zie, interpreting her look. '' De trader took
him off wid de rest."
Low as were the tones of the commu-
nication, they seemed to reach Susan in
her distant corner of the room ; for her
work slipped from her hands, and she burst
into a tempest of convulsive sobs, such as
had wrung her frame in the morning.
SALE OF SUSAN'S HUSBAND. 83
"Now Ts done de mischief 1" exclaimed
LizziO; with a friglitened look, the glass
dish which she held in her hand slipping
to the floor and parting in a dozen frag-
ments. ^' Oh, what will missus say ? '' her
eyes riveted on the pieces.
" Let her alone," said Dinah, Mrs. Lee-
son's maid, who had come in unobserved.
'' It will do her good, poor thing ! She
hasn't eat a morsel to-da}^, only sat tink-
ing. Let her hab. her cry out."
''It's been upon me for a week," mur-
mured Susan, between her sobs. '' I've felt
it com in' on. I knowed it was some great
trouble ; but I didn't tink ob dis. I didn't
tink Mr. Bennet would eber sell Sam !
What was we brought into de world for,
I wonder? God wasn't good to put us
here ! "
''Don't talk so, honey," said Lizzie, put-
ting her arms round her. " Tink what
Aunt Phillis said. We mustn't question
God. He do eberyting best, ef we can't
84 MILLICENT HALFORD.
" You ncber liad such trouble, Lizzie,"
said Susan, bending her face down upon
her hands. " Ef you liad, your heart would
break. You don't know what it is."
The child, wakened suddenly by its moth-
er's sobs, had begun to cry. Dinah lifted
it from tlie floor, and gently forced it into
its mother's arms.
" Try to bear it better for de sake ob
de baby. You ought to tink dis is left to
you," she said.
*'I wish it hab neber been born," said
Susan, taking it in her arras, and gazing at
it with a strange look. ''How do I know
what it will come to? No comfort to me
I know."
What could either of them reply? Mil-
licent shrank out of the doorway. The
scene passing before her was toa painful
to look upon longer, and she felt as if in-
truding upon its sacredness.
CHAPTER XI.
AUGUSTA'S RETURN.
AUGUSTA LEESON had fully decided
upon severing her engagement with
her cousin on the evening on which she
had become an accidental listener to his
conversation with his mother; but a very
little reflection showed her that the an-
nouncement could not be made with pro-
priety while under the shelter of his roof.
It was necessary, too, that she should first
acquaint her guardian with her intentions,
and she began to try to think of some
pretext for shortening her visit. She had
answered" her aunt, in reply to that lady's
search for information, that her stay would
extend to the middle of Novembei', still
rather more than four weeks distant. How
85
86 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
was this awkward avowal to be got over?
She would write to Mr. Stuart, her guar-
dian, and solicit her recall home. She
did so that evening, after she had retired
to her chamber, from an apparently agree-
able play at chess with Mr. Leeson, and
well aware that he wouM attribute tliis
singular step, for which she could cfTer
no sufficient reasons, to a lovers' quarrel.
She stated that Mr. Frederick Leeson
would be her escort upon her return, and
in all probability spend some short time
with them. The answer came, worded as
she had anticipated. Mr. Stuart gladly gave
consent to his ward's return, and fixed an
early day for her appearance at Tudor
Hall.
Auofusta went down with her letter to
her aunt. Mrs. Leeson heard the announce-
ment with extreme surprise. ^Ir. Stuart
gave no reason for shortening his ward's
visit ; he left the suggestion of probabili-
ties to the ready fancy of the young lad}^
" Mr. Stuart may be ill," observed Au-
Augusta's return. 87
gusta, blushing at the ingenious surmise, to
which the gentleman's own familiar hand-
writing gave the denial, ^' or Miss Stuart
may be indisposed. She had a severe at-
tack of fever last summer, and her con-
stitution is naturally delicate. They would
not wish to alarm me."
It was very probable. Mrs. Leeson's
sober face relaxed, and she bustled out to
tell Frederick the unpleasant news.
Augusta was eager to get away. Her
anxiety under the apparent circumstances
was natural. She set out on the following
day, under the escort of her cousin. Her
aunt parted from her with an affectionate
farewell. In her heart she trusted that
their next meeting would take place on
the occasion of her summons to her son's
wedding. The young gentleman quitted
his home under the same agreeable im-
pression, that a few words with Augusta
upon the subject, and an interview with
Mr. Stuart, would lessen very materially
his remaining period of waiting.
88 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
They found Mr. Stuart and his sister in
their usual health, to the surprise of Fred-
erick, on reaching Tudor Hall, and very lit-
tle explanation was given of the cause of
Augusta's sudden summons. But the wel-
come which greeted the young gentleman
was cordial and hearty, and placing the
whole matter to some whim of Augusta's
guardian, he dismissed his curiosity upon
the subject.
The first opening of the revelation which
was to break upon him came to Frederick
in the changed deportment of his betrotned.
-She had always been coy, and little dis-
posed to affect his society, leaving herself
to be sought ; but now an additional cold-
ness and reserve was visible toward him.
Lovers' eyes are keen. Frederick soon saw
that some hidden cause of dissatisflxction
existed on the part of his fiancee. It
might have seemed an unfavorable moment
for opening the subject nearest his heart;
but he regarded it as otherwise. Such a
course would be likely to bring out an
Augusta's return. 89
acknowledgment of the secret pique or
resentment for which he sought in vain
in his own short-comings to find the oc-
casion.
Augusta listened to him with attention.
It was a glowing autumn afternoon, and
they were alone on the veranda, where
they had loitered coming in from the gar-
den. Frederick spoke with eloquence and
warmth ; the most careless ear might have
distinguished his sincerity. Augusta did
not. A cold, hard feeling rankled in her
heart: she thought with bitterness of the
mortgaged estate which her fortune was to
free.
'^ I am satisfied as the terms of the en-
gagement stand," she said, coldly, drawing
away her hand ; " the time was fixed with
your consent."
'' I allowed others to decide for us,"
remonstrated Frederick. "I gave up to
the wishes of your guardian. It was nat-
ural that Mr. Stuart should be unwilling
to part with you. I was grateful enough
90 MILLICENT IlALFOPiD.
at the time to be thought wortliy of such
a treasure at all.''
" A six months will soon glide away,"
said Augusta, turning aside her face, while
her voice kept its cold, modulated tone.
" I am quite sure Mr. Stuart has no de-
sire to shorten the period."
''Augusta, what has come between us?^'
exclaimed Frederick, suddenly possessing
himself of her hand. "You are changed
toward me. How have I been so unfor-
tunate as to displease you ? "
" You have not displeased me, Freder-
ick," said the lady, quietly releasing her-
self. '' To what change can you possibly
allude?"
Mr. Leeson reflected for a moment. Cer-
tainly he had nothing very tangible to com-
plain of The change of which he spoke
was one rather to be ftlt than of that
character which can be expressed in words.
"Mr. Stuart was in his library an hour
ago," he said, quitting the last subject.
" With your consent I will go in to see
Augusta's return. 91
him. May I tell him I have your per-
mission to urge my wishes for an earlier
day for our marriage ? "
Augusta -hesitated ; the moment had
clearly arrived for the stating of her pur-
poses, and the distinct avowal of the
change in her feelings which her lover's
quick eyes had already penetrated. The
time had come ; but, for obvious reasons,
she wished the statement to proceed from
her guardian.
Miss Stuart's appearance on the veranda
at this instant made a welcome interrup-
tion ; her afternoon siesta ended, she had
come out through the drawing-room to join
the young couple.
Frederick soon effected his escape, and
Augusta beard the library-door close upon
him, as he disappeared into the halL
CHAPTER XII.
AUGUSTA AND MR. STUAET.
ON leaving the veranda, Augusta was
summoned by a servant to the library.
She obeyed with a nervous tremor at the
thought of confronting her cousin : but, to
her agreeable surprise, her first glance, on
entering the room, showed that he had
passed out.
Mr. Stuart was alone, seated at his ta-
ble, with a half-written letter lying at his
elbow, his pen still poised in his stand.
'' Frederick has just gone out," he ob-
served, as his ward took a chair opposite,
a faint glow of color, the result of various
emotions, suffusing her cheeks. ^' He wishes
to shorten the period of his engagement
with you. Is he right in supposing that
he has your sanction to his request ? ''
92
AUGUSTA AND MR. STUART. 93
"Mr. Stuart," — Augusta's voice wavered
a little through the intensity of her inter-
est in replying, — "were you acquainted,
when you gave your consent to my mar-
riage with Mr. Leeson, with the fact that
his property was largely mortgaged?"
" I was not, my dear ! " Mr. Stuart looked
extremely surprised. "How did you gain
such a piece of information?"
"Quite accidentally, sir," said Augusta,
dropping her eyes ; " but my information
is of a character which leaves no doubt
upon the subject."
Mr. Stuart reflected. "I had no suspi-
cions of this," he said, musingly. " Freder-
ick should have shown us more frankness."
"You see," said Augusta, with a little
covert bitterness, "his reasons for shorten-
ing his engagement."
"I do not know, Augusta," said Mr.
Stuart, thoughtfully. "Frederick is an hon-
orable man. I have known his character
from his boyhood; he is incapable of a
mean or dishonorable action. His pride, a
94 MILLTCEXT IIALFOHD.
mistaken motive, must have held him si-
lent. He would never be the man to woo
a woman solely lor the ftjrtune she could
bring him."
"Whatever the motive mav be," returned
Augusta, 'Mie has lost my confidence. His
concealment virtually sets our engagement
at an end."
" You speak under the influence of re-
sentment, my dear," observed Mr. Stuart.
'' AVait, and let us consider this matter.
But, first, are you sure the information
you have obtained is perfectly reliable?"
"I had the affirmation from his own lips,
in a private conversation with his mother,
to which I was an unintentional listener,"
said Augusta. " Mrs. Leeson urged upon
him this step which he has just taken.
The mortgage would fall due in January.
By entering into possession of my fortune,
he would obtain the means to meet it."
Mr. Stuart sat silent. One of the most
painful experiences which can ever come to
us in life is to learn the unworthiness of
AUGUSTA AND MR. STUART. 95
one in whom we have believed and trusted.
Viewed from every point, Mr. Leeson had
acted wrongly in withholding the fact of
his serious involvements from his betrothed.
^' Are you aware, Augusta," resumed Mr.
Stuart, presently, '' that this match with
your cousin received your late father's ap-
proval ; that it was, in reality, the object
of his dearest wishes, and that his late
will, dated but a few weeks prior to his
death, contained a clause to favor this event,
if it should ever come within the range of
possibility ? "
" I was not," said Augusta, in some sur-
prise. " What is the clause to which you
allude, Mr. Stuart?"
" It is simply this : in appointing me
your guardian, he left the disposal of your
hand at my bestowal in a measure. If you
were to many without my consent,- you
were to forfeit the larger part of your for-
tune."
" At whose suggestion was this clause
added?" asked Augusta, with rising color.
96 MILLICENT HALFORD.
"By no one's suggestion, my dear. Your
father took no advice from lii.s friends in
the ordering of his will."
'' I am to understand that he left a writ-
ten statement of his desire that I should
marry Frederick ? "
" By no means ! The wish was expressed
to me, as his nearest and oldest friend, to
whose care he was about to leave his or-
phan daugliter. He knew and liked Fred-
erick, then a fine, manly boy of sixteen,
and his evident preference for you, even
at thaf early age, might naturally have
suggested the hope which he did entertain
of a future attachment. It was natural that
your father should wish to see his property
descend to one of his own name."
It was Augusta's turn to become silent.
Where were the glowing hopes w^hich she
had brooded over only an hour ago ? The
dearest thought of her heart in the disso-
lution of this engagement, and the opening
of new prospects, had been the fortune
which she would be able to brino; to her
AUGUSTA AND MR. STUART. 97
lover, lifting him above the straitnesses and
cares of his daily profession.
" You will consider this matter, Augusta,"
observed Mr. Stuart, quite recovered from
his first surprise over the discovery, and
coming round plainly to the side of his fa-
vorite. '^ Frederick has acted unwisely in
his concealment, but evidently from a mo-
tive of false pride. I believe his attach-
ment for you to be sincere, above the ad-
vantages to be reaped by his marriage.
Take my advice, as it would be given
were you my own daughter, and pardon
his disingenuousness."
Would Mr. Stuart really have given such
counsel to a child of his own? Augusta
doubted. Yet the old gentleman was sin-
cere in striving to carry out what he
firmly believed would stilh have been the
wishes of his old friend.
" I cannot," said the young lady, firmly ;
"it is impossible for me to fulfil my en-
gagement with Mr. Leeson after this dis-
covery. I have not acted hastily ; it is
7
98 MILLICENT HALFORD.
quite tliree weeks since I gained the in-
formation. I Lave waited day by day for
an opportunity to break it to you. My
mind is fully made up. Under no circum-
stances will I marry Frederick ! "
Mr. Stuart shook his head. lie had seen
ladies quite as positive before, who, when
the occasion came, wavered in their deter-
minations. A young girl's resentment was
natural under such circumstances. She
could not be expected to retain faith in
her lover, where the faintest shadow of
mercenary motives rested upon his suit.
" I shall not allow you to decide the
matter at once, Augusta," he said, speak-
ing up. ^' As your guardian, my advice is
entitled to some consideration. I will with-
draw my conditional consent to Freder-
ick fur the sltf)rtening of the engage-
ment, and when April comes round, you
will know more fully your state of mind,
Until then, I must desire of you a com-
plete silence upon your discovery."
^' If he only knew," thouo^ht Auji^usta ; but
she wisely kept silent.
AUGUSTA AND MR. STUART. 99
"I will try to obey yon, Mr. Stuart/'
she said, rising ; " at least, while Mr. Lee-
son remains nncler your roof, I trust I
shall not fail toward him in the courte-
sies due to a guest."
'' Foolish child ! " thought the old gentle-
man, looking after her as she swept out
with the haughty step of a queen ; " and
yet I cannot blame her. What could
have drawn Frederick into such an un-
worthy concealment? He should have
been frank with us."
CHAPTER XIII.
-THE DREAM.
MR. LEESOX'S visit to Tudor Hall came
suddenly to an end. He was sum-
moned home by the alarming illness of his
mother. The letter came upon the even-
ing of the day on which the interview
we have mentioned with ^Ir. Stuart took
place, and in the confusion and anxiety
attending this unwelcome piece of news,
the subject was for the time dismissed from
his thoughts. His mothei-'s complaint was
fever, — a malignant typlius, — which might
run a long course, or terminate fatally in
a few days. Millicent v/rote the short,
hurried note of recall, giving him the doc-
tor's opinion that the case was one which
presented an alarming appearance.
100
THE DREAM. 101
Mr. Leeson hurried away by the morn-
ing train, the carriage taking him over to
the station at daybreak. He had parted
from Augusta on the evening before in
the expectation of seeing her in the morn-
ing; but the carriage came round from
the stable before the young lady made her
appearance from her chamber, and a hasty
examination of his watch showed him that
a moment's delay might cause him to lose
the train. He left his adieus then with
Miss Stuart, who had kindly presided at
his scarcely-tasted breakfast, and Avith a
feeling of disappointment which he would
have been unwilling to acknowledge to
himself, set out on his lonesome drive in
the gray, misty dawn. The thick white
fog veiled every object on the road, and
drawing back from the window, he leaned
against the carriage, forced back into the
company of his own thoughts. Only a
little day before, — it seemed but yester-
day, — he had parted from his mother,
leaving her in the fulness of health ; now
102 MILLICENT HALFORD.
he was Lurrying to her death-bed 1 ITuw
bhiid we all are to the hours wliich are
close upon us, — how mercifully blind!
It was late in the evening when the
last train halted at the familiar station, and
Frederick got out, quickly distinguishing by
the glitter of the stars overhead the car-
riage drawn up by the platform.
Jim was on his perch, straining his e3'es
in the dim starlight, as the puffing train
put off, for a glimpse of his master.
" How is my mother, Jim ? " asked Fred-
erick, stepping up to the carriage.
'^ Missus be alive, massa ; but de doctor
he say she be very bad."
She was living ! Frederick got in with
an order for rapid driving, and in a very
few moments found himself at the house.
A broad light streamed out as usual from
the kitchen ; but the rest of the house,
under its thick curtains, lay in darkness.
It was a gloomy coming home, passing
into the silent hall, no one to welcome
him. He hesitated at the staircase in the
THE DREAM. 103
act of ascending to the door of his moth-
er's chamber. '
Dinah came out from the sitting-room to
tell him in a low voice that supper was
waiting him in the dining-room, and had
been waiting his arrival for the last hour.
"I will go up to see my mother first,
Dinah," he said. " Is she conscious?
When did the doctor go ? "
" He just went, sir. Mistress is more
herself to-night; but she has been lying
in a kind of stupor most of de day."
Frederick went up. His mother's cham-
ber and the smaller room which she was
wont to appropriate as a dressing-room lay
to the right. He stepped into the last,
the door of which stood ajar. The room
beyond, dimly-lighted by a night-lamp, lay
in stillness. He hesitated to go on ; but
his light footfall had caught the ear of the
watcher inside, and she stepped out. It
was his Cousin Millicent.
" I am so glad you have come, Mr. Fred-
erick," she said, in a whisper. " Your
104 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
mother is very sick. I took the liberty
of writing for you."
" Then my recall home was not by my
mother's direction ? "
" Xo ; she has not been conscious these
two or tliree clays, — not until to-night. I
hope I did riglit in writing you ? "
" You did." He took a step forward.
" Shall I disturb her by coming in ? "
Millicent hesitated. " I believe she has
fallen asleep," she said, in a whisper. '' The
doctor has just gone out. lie said she
must be kept very quiet. I did not tell
her you were expected to-night."
Frederick turned and went out.
^' Where is Adole ? " he asked, as he
seated himself at the supper-table, where
Rose proceeded to wait upon him.
" She be gone off to a neighbor's. Miss
Halford sent her away."
To keep her out of any danger of con-
tagion, Millicent had shown a prudent fore-
thought. Frederick approved the step.
The table looked very lonesome with
THE DREAM. 105
these vacant places. He soon hurried
through his meal, and went back to the
sitting-room. Here he found a fire had
been kindled in the grate, probably owing
to Dinah's forethouglit, and the room had
been carefully dusted and set to rights.
He took up a book, which he soon
laid down, unable to fix his thoughts up-
on its contents. If his mother's illness
was of so dangerous a character, should
not James be sent for ? Certainly he
should be written to. He got out pen
and paper, with this recollection, and
penned a note to his brother. He would
wait until the morning for the doctor's ap-
pearance to add a postscript, he thought,
as he folded it, and laid it beside an en-
velope. He went back to his arm-chair
by the grate, which presented a mass of
glowing crimson coals. The stillness and
solitude of the room were oppressive ; he
tried to turn his thoughts from his moth-
er's sick-chamber and the pale, slender lit-
tle figure he had seen watching there in
106 MILLICENT HALFORD.
the commencement of the evening. Ilis
own affairs presented a subject serious
enough for his consideration : but his easy,
indolent mind naturally turned from their
contemplation. By and by a light slum-
ber crept over him as his head sank
against the arm of his chair, and the
troubled present was soon forgotten in a
deep and full repose.
The room was filled with the gray day-
dawn when he awoke with a start, and
put his hands to his temples to clear
away the remembrance of a painful dream.
He cast his eyes around the room. Its
deep-green carpet, its chairs, its tables, and
low, French windows, — all were real; yet
a moment before he had been standing in
a wide, open plain, amidst the smoke and
confusion of battle, with dying forms around
him, and his own brother at his feet, bleed-
ing from a ghastly wound in his breast.
Some moments passed before he could
shake off the liallucination, the superstitious
awe, which the vivid scene had flung over
his spirits.
THE DREAM. 107
"A frightful , niglitmare ! *' he murmured
aloud, going to the window, and throwing
up the sash. " It is not wonderful, this
dream," he mused, '' after Mr. Stuart's ear-
nest talk. He is wrong, — he is entirely
wrong ; it never can come to arms I The
North will compromise first."
The roll of a gig up the avenue cauglit
his ear, as he still stood by the open win-
dow. The white fog veiled every object
within a hundred yards; but the rumble
of the vehicle w^as distinct over the frozen
ground.
The servants were not yet stirring, and
he went himself to the door to admit the
visitor. It proved to be the doctor as he
had anticipated. Millicent, who had caught
the same sounds in the hush of the sick
woman's chamber, stole down the staircase
before the physician had quite crossed the
threshold. She looked surprised to see
Frederick up, and in the dress of the past
night, which showed he had not souglit
his bed.
108 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
Mrs. Leeson had rested some, she said
in answer to the inquiries put to her, and
was now awake and quite rational.
'' A fiivorable symptom," commented the
doctor, preparing to go up, and Frederick
turned back, to reconsider the necessity of
despatching his letter to his brother.
CHAPTER XIV.
SALE OF PART OF THE SLAVES.
MRS. LEESON did not die. It was a
hard struggle between life and death;
but her naturally good constitution tri-
umphed, and, by the middle of December,
she was able to make her first appearance
in the family sitting-room. Her long and
dangerous sickness had wrought one impor-
tant change in her character ; it had
aroused in the depths of her narrow
heart a human interest in her orphan
niece. The young girl had devoted her-
self to her in her sickness, had shared the
labors of the hired nurse, whom Frederick
had procured immediately after his arrival,
and had shown a degree of thought in the
commencement, and a fearlessness of the
109
110 .MILLICENT nALFORD.
contagion, little to be expected in one so
yonng.
^* Millicent has done well,'' said Mrs. Lee-
son to her son, in one of these softened
days of convalescence. '^ I shall never for-
get the obligations I owe her."
Frederick did not reply ; the book he
had been reading lay open in his hantj ;
but the absent light in his clear gray eyes
showed that his thoughts were far away
from the page before hiui. His mother
looked up, attracted by his preoccupation.
" You have not told me, Frederick," she
said, suddenly, " of your success with Au-
gusta ; we talked the matter over before
you went to Virginia."
"Augusta declines to shorten the term
of our engagement," said Mr. Leeson, in
a cold tone ; '' such is Mr. Stuart's an-
nouncement. I have had no letter from
my cousin herself since my return."
An uneasy expression came upon his
mother's face.
" Her silence is singular," she said. '' To
SALE OF PART OF THE SLAVES. Ill
what do you attribute it? Have you had
a lovers' quarrel, Frederick?"
" No, madam ; I am as much at a loss
for the cause of her singular conduct as
yourself I have written her twice under
the impression my first letter had miscar-
ried."
Mrs. Leeson looked really troubled. "It
is quite six weeks since you left Tudor
Hall/' she observed.
*' Quite that length of time, I believe."
" Why not write to Mr. Stuart for an
explanation ? "
Frederick colored slightly. " I have
thought of the propriety of doing so;
but it is merely possible that accident
may have led to this delay. I Avill give
her a farther opportunity for replying."
" There is this matter of the mortgage,"
resumed his mother ; " it will soon fall due.
Have you settled in what way to dispose
of it?"
"I have seen Bennet, and, contrary to
my expectations, he quite declines to sub-
mit to any delay in the payment."
112 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
^' As I feared/' observed his mother, Avith
a sigh. "By wliat means can you raise
the necessary sum?"
" A part I can procure as a loan," re-
phed Frederick. "Mr. Leavitt has promised
to accommodate me ; but the whole amount
is large." He put his hand to his temples.
Some uneasy suggestion plainly pressed
upon him.
" I see but one wa}-," observed his
mother, speaking up with her straightfor-
ward, business tact, — "some of our people
must be sold."
"I have thought of the necessity," said
Frederick : " but I cannot ea:>ily make up
my mind to it. It is contrarj^ to my prin-
ciples."
"There is no help for it," said Mrs. Lee-
son. "Susan must go, — and who else can
be best spared?"
"I do not know," said Frederick; "Joe
and Harry, I suppose."
" They will each bring a good price in
the market," observed Mrs. Leeson. " How
large a sum will Leavitt loan you?"
SALE OF PART OF THE SLAVES. 113
" The whole amount of the mortgage,
you may remember, is seven thousand,
not a large sum to any one with means
to cover it; but a very large amount to
any one in my position. Leavitt will loan
me four thousand six hundred. The re-
mainder I have no way of raising."
"Except on the negroes/' added Mrs.
Leeson.
" Yes," said her son, slowly.
"Johnston is over to the tavern to-night,"
observed his mother. " I heard Miss Ben-
net say so an hour ago ; she came in to
see me. He has been there two or three
days. Would it not be as well to see him
at once? He may start to-morrow."
"Yes," said Frederick, laying down his
book. His mind was quite made up. Ne-
cessity pressed him to action. '^ I will
send Jim over for him." He went to the
door and rang the bell. Kose answered it.
"' Send Jim here," he said. The girl went
out. " I cannot do any better," said Fred-
erick, coming back to his chair. " I always
8
114 MILLICENT riALFORD.
said that I would never part with any of
my slaves ; but the emergencies of the case
leave no choice."
Johnston, the trader, made his appearance
in rather more than an hour after the mes-
sage reached him from Mr. Leeson. Fred-
erick was still in the sitting-room. His
mother had gone back to her chamber.
He motioned his visitor to a chair, with-
out tlie ceremony of rising, and took a
little delay before he proceeded to open
the business.
"You want to make a trade, sir, I sup-
pose?" observed Johnston, leaning back in
his chair. '' Got some likely hands to dis-
pose of?"
"I have two boys and a girl." c bserved
Frederick, conquering his repugnance to
the last question, " which I may sell upon
fl\ir terms."
'^ What's their age and condition, sir?"
" The eldest, Joe, is about eight-and-
twenty, — a good field hand, but mostly
used in my employ as a stable-boy ; Harry
SALE "OF PART OF THE SLAVES. 115
is twenty-four, a likely field hand; both
are strong, muscular fellows. The woman
is my mother's laundress, a very capable
girl."
''Black or mulatto, — the woman?"
"A light mulatto. She might easily pass
as white."
" Would do for a fancy girl, I suppose ? "
'^ Quite likely." Mr. Leeson made the
answer in a business-like way.
"I never buy an article without seeing
it," observed the trader. '' Suppose you
bring them forward, Mr. Leeson, and then
we will see how nearly we can agree upon
the prices. I have rather a large cofHe on
my hands at present. Niggers are cheap
just now; that prospect of trouble with
the North puts 'em down."
Mr. Leeson wholl}^ disbelieved this -last
assertion ; but he proceeded to ring the
bell, and told Rose to send- Susan in with
a bottle of brandy and a couple of glasses.
Rose disappeared, sending an uneasy glance
at the trader.
116 MHXICEXT HALFORD.
Susan shortly made licr appearance, — a
tall, handsome woman, in a neat dress and
collar, whose plainness set off her glossy
black hair and pale, creamy complexion to
advantage.
'^A handsome wench,*' observed Johnston,
drawing up his cliair to the table to par-
take of the refreshment, by an invitation
from his host, " but suUen-looking. I'll give
you a cool eight hundred for her alone ;
that's as much as she's worth."
" I shall not part with her for that,"
said Frederick, shaking his head; ''she is
worth ten hundred at the smallest reckon-
ing ; she has a little child, too, rather
more than a year old."
"A child is of no account at that age,"
observed the trader, — ''only a trouble, tak-
ing up a woman's time . to look after.
Come, Mr. Leeson, I'll give you eight hun-
dred and fifty, and call that a fair offer."
" I shall not part with Susan for less
than ten hundred," said Frederick, de-
cidedly ; " only the most pressing neces-
SALE OF PART OF THE SLAVES HT
sity would induce me to part with any
of my slaves."
Johnston demurred a little, but finally
yielded.
" The girl will bring a cool twelve hun-^
dred in Orleans," he considered.
The prices of Harry and Joe were ad-
justed with less difficulty, Mr. Johnston be-
iiig first favored with a view of them, and
the trader prepared to take his leave.
The bargain was closed, and he was to
come over in the morning to make the
"settlement, and take possession of his pur-
chases.
"It will be hard to break the news to
Susan," thought Mr. Leeson, as he turned
away from the door, after showing out his
guest. "I will wait until the morning; as
well put it off to the last moment."
CHAPTER XY.
SUSAX'S FLIGHT.
FREDERICK'S impression of the secrecy
attending bis visitor's errand happened
to be quite unfounded. The unusual ap-
pearance of a trader at Wheatley Place
was an event of itself sufficient to excite
the lively apprehensions of the servants.
Rose flew down to the kitchen, her dusky
face blanched to a dull gray, and her e3'es
dilated to their utmost width with her
master's message to Susan. To disobey it
the poor girl well knew would prove
fruitless ; and, with a trembling heart, she
gathered up the tray bearing the bottle of
liquor and glasses, and took her way up
to the sitting-room. The scrutinizing look
which the trader threw upon her as she
118
SUSAN'S FLIGHT. 119
faced liim in turning to go out did not
escape her attention, and with faculties
quickened by her alarm, she stole out by
a side-door to the veranda on leaving the
room, instead of proceeding back to the
kitchen.
It was a gray December twilight, and
a drizzling shower of rain, which had been
threatening from the full clouds nearly all
day, was beginning to patter upon the
damp boards. She felt very little of the
mist or the cold as she crept up to one
of the windows which, luckily for her
purpose, was not close shut, and, with
her ear laid to the narrow aperture, lis-
tened to the conversation going on between
her master and his visitor. She heard
them discussing the terms of her sale.
A cold perspiration started to her fore-
head, and the strength seemed for the in-
stant to quit her limbs. It would not do
to be seen here. She started up as a
movement took place in the room, and
glided away noiselessly back to the door
120 MILLICEM HALFOIin.
through which she had stoleo out. She
dared not trust herself with her white
face and startled eyes to the observation
of her fellow-servants, but crept up over
the back staircase to her little chamber,
where she shut herself in. What should
she do ? A little girl of twelve, she had
come to Wheatley Place, bought by its
master at a slave-auction in Virgiuia. All
her life intervening, up to this full wo-
manhood, had passed here. Who shall say
she had not the ties of habit to endear
the spot? But it was not this parting
which agonized her. She knew the fate
to which she was going out ; she had
heard it hinted at by the trader. She
crouched down, wringing her hands, by
the side of her little pallet. What could
she do?
'' If I run away, I shall be brought
back," she moaned. '' I can't leave my
child. Jesus, have pity on me!"
" I must go down," she thought ; " they
will miss me." She got up and looked
SUSAN'S FLIGHT. 121
out of her narrow window upon the dark-
gray sky, over which the clouds were
rohing up, with a fast-fahing shower com-
ing from the west. ''It will be a dark
night," she thought, as she stood studying
the sky. "This gleam of light will soon
shut down. I can't but be taken," she
mused, as she went down the stairs. ''I'll
try it, any way. I'm not afraid to die, if
it comes to that." But how was she
to get away cumbered with the child?
Her poor temples throbbed with fever-heat
as she tried to think.
At supper she contrived to slip two or
three corn-cakes into her pocket when
Rose's attention was turned, and Lizzie
had got up to go to the stove. Dinah
was up with her mistress, and did not
come down until their meal was ended.
She had to take up her basket of sewing,
and to appear as unconcerned as her state
of distress would permit. Luckily her si-
lent mood was too common to attract
attention, and she heard their uneasy spec-
122 MILLICENT riALFOIlD.
ulations upon tlie trader's possiMe errand
without betraying her vital interest in tlie
sulject.
Eight, nine, ten, came round, and a gen-
eral movement took place to retire. Susan
gathered up her baby, wliich now lay in
a peaceful sleep upon tlie wooden settle,
and took her away up to her chamber.
At eleven Mr. Frederick would be sure
to retire, according to his usual custom,
and the house would be clear. She got
out her shawl and hood, took a warm
covering from the bed to wrap her baby
from the rain, and going to the head of
the long staircase, crouched back in the
shadows to T\-hich the hall lamp failed to
penetrate, and listened.
By and by the sitting-room door un-
closed. Mr. Leeson came out, and, with a
cloud resting on his usually open face,
began to ascend the staircase. . Susan
drew farther back in her corner, waited
for him to enter his chamber and close
the door, and then stole back to her own.
SUSAN'S FLIGHT. 123
It took but a moment to equip herself
in her hood and shawl ; another to wrap
her babe and lift it, still sleeping, from
its pillow, and then, with a step winged
to lightness by fear, she glided down tlie
staircase. Her advent was to take place
through one of the sitting-room windows,
which opened on the veranda. This she
had chosen as the nearest and most prac-
ticable way. The slipping of a bolt might
give the alarm, or even the creaking of a
door in the night stillness.
The hall was safely crossed, and Susan
had just laid her hand on the door of the
sitting-room, when, to her dismay, it opened
from the inside, and she found herself con-
fronting Miss Halford.
Millicent with difficulty repressed an ex-
clamation, w^arned to silence by Susan's
sudden gesture of placing her finger im-
ploringly, on her lip. She stepped back
into the room, followed by the intended
fugitive, and closed the door. In one hand
she retained her lamp, upon which her
12-4 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
grasp had rather tightened than loosened
in the surprise of the moment, and in the
other a vinaigrette, which her aunt liad left
below, and despatched her for at this late,
and as it proved for poor Susan inoppor-
tune, hour.
'^ What does this mean ? " asked Millicent,
glancing at the hood and shawl and the
still sleeping babe, closely folded in its
mother's arms.
" Master hab sold me to de trader dat
was here to-night, Miss Halford," said Su-
san, "and I am going to run away."
Millicent put down her lamp on the table,
and sat down herself in tl\e nearest chair,
in her surprise.
" It must be a mistake, Susan,'' she said,
faintly. " I have heard nothing of it."
" Why should you. Miss Halford ? You
are from de North, de free country, where
de abolitionists lib. Dey wouldn't hab told
you of it; dey would tink you would tell
US.
"But how do you know? Are you
sure?"
SUSAN'S FLIGHT. 125
" I listened, and heard mas'r and de tra-
der talk. He is coming for me and Harry
and Joe in de morning."
" I shall not stop you, Susan," said Mil-
licent, recovering from her surprise a little,
and looking up to meet the wild glitter
in the woman's eye. " But how can you
get away with your child, and in this wild,
stormy night?" She shuddered. The rain
was beating in a torrent on the hard
ground.
" I don't know," said Susan, wearily ;
"but I'm going, and perhaps de Lord will
provide for me."
"You have, friends to help you?" said
Millicent, inquiringly. " You needn't fear
to trust me, Susan."
"No, Miss Halford, I habn't one. I don't
know where I'm going, or how I shall get
away."
Millicent looked at her. "Was it a secret
voice which whispered it to be her duty
to give all the help she could to this poor
creature in her deadly strait?
126 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
" You can never get away on foot/' she
said; "you will be overtaken and brought
back." Her thoughts ran quickly over two
or three plans, coming back to their first
starting-point. " The train passes at the
station above here at eight in the morn-
ing; if you could get on board — "
Susan shook her head. " IVe no money,
Miss Halford, — only a few cents."
Millicent put her hand into her pocket,
bringing out her purse. " How fortunate,"
she murmured, still keeping her voice down
to the level of a whisper, " tliat I should
havie had this with me ! Here is enough
to buy your ticket to . I wish it were
more. I don't know what you will do the
rest of the way."
" Thank you a thousand times, Miss Hal-
ford," faltered Susan, pressing her lips to
her hand. " Only let me get a good start
from here, and I shall get safe. The Lord
certainly heard me to-night."
"If you can only get to Philadelphia,"
said Millicent; "but I can't tell you any-
SUSAN'S FLIGHT.
127
thing about, the way." A gust of wind
sliook one of the windows; both started.
'a dare not stay longer," whispered Mil-
licent, starting up. ''Aunt Leeson will be
impatient, and send for me."
She took up her lamp, and, without trust-
ing herself with another look or word to
the trembling woman before her, started to
the door.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE FRUITLESS SEARCH.
OX returning to lier aunt's chamber, Mil-
licent found Mrs. Leeson impatiently
waiting for lier appearance with the vuiai-
grette. She had not yet given up the h.ihit,
acquired in the first weeks of her aunt's
convalescence, of sleeping on a little p diet
in her dressing-room to be in readine-s to
her call, sliould she require attention duiing
the night.
'' You look pale, Millicent," she observed,
as she took the smelling-bottle from her
band. ''You have not met with a fright?"
'' No, ma'am." Millicent tried to steady
her voice, and to make a change of posi-
tion which would conceal her face, under
tlie pretence of stooping to adjust her
aunt's pillows.
12S
THE FRUITLESS SEAECH. 129
"Frederick was not up?" persisted Mrs.
Leeson.
"No, ma'am; I beard him pass up to *
his chamber an hour ago."
Mrs. Leeson laid herself back upon her
pillows with a languid sigh, and Milhcent
prepared to go out. The rain-drops were
beating heavily against the window; she
shuddered as she thought of the poor way-
farer outside. It was quite two miles to
the second station. Could she find her way ^
through the wet roads in the impenetrable
darkness?
Little sleep visited MiUicent's piUow that
night. Once or twice she fell into a
troubled dream, to wake from it with the
oppressive sense of a nightmare weighing
upon her; and toward day-dawn she was
glad to distinguish a temporary lull in the
outside elements, and by and by to dis-
cover that the rain had ceased altogether.
She lay waiting for some signs of life m
the house before venturing to rise, and
when she at last did so, the day was far
9
130 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
advanced. The storm of the past night was
over ; a clear blue sky spread overhead,
* and the sun was coming up royally in the
east. Millicent had a difficult task before
her. She went down at the breakfast-bell
with a fluttering heart. Mr. Leeson had
just made his appearance ; Adele came in
at the same moment ; Mrs. Leeson still
breakfasted in her chamber. Susan's flight
had not yet been discovered. It was close
upon eiglit; Millicent had stopped to look
at her aunt's watch upon the table on com-
ing down. She allowed herself to be helped
to one of the hot rolls, and poured out
Mr. Leeson's coffee with as steady a hand
as she could assume.
"You are looking pale, Millicent," ob-
served Frederick, who seemed unusually
preoccupied, his attention drawn to her
near the close of the repast. " You con-
fine yourself too closely to my mother.
All invalids are inclined to be exacting.
You should urge your claims to more rec-
reation.'^
THE FRUITLESS SEARCH. 131
"I am quite well," said Millicent, her
voice dropping. '^ The wildness of the
storm last night has unsettled my nerves."
" The hail pattered heavily against my
windows," observed Frederick ; " it was se-
vere enough to keep any one waking."
They had not left the table when Mr.
Johnston was announced. Frederick rose to
go in to see him. He stopped to tell Rose
to call Susan. The girl hesitated. Some-
thing in her bewildered manner made her
master stop.
"I don't know where she is, sir," she
said. " She hasn't made her 'pearance in
de kitchen for dis whole morning; and
Dinah she went up to her room a minute
ago, and she wasn't dere."
Mr. Leeson came to a full stop. "Where
can she be gone ? " he exclaimed. " Search
for her at once, and send her into the
sitting-room." He kept on his way out.
Millicent sat trembling. It was now past
eight; the train had started out. Rose dis-
appeared on her useless errand.
132 MILLTCEKT IIALFORD.
Several moments passed, wlien Mr. Lee-
son again made his appearance. Dinah en-
tered at the same instant by the opposite
door.
'^ Nothing can be found of her, sir I "
she exclaimed, speaking to her master.
"Her bed hasn't been slept in."
The case was plain at last. Susan had
run off.
Frederick stifled an oath which sprang to
his lips. It was pardonable in the heat of
his vexation.
"Has she taken her child?" he asked.
" When was she seen last ? "
" She went up to her chamber wid us
last night, sir, jest de same as usual. We
heard nothing afterwards. I's jest asked
Rose and Lizzie."
Frederick took a quick step back to the
door of the sitting-room. Millicent heard
his hurried exclamation to the man inside.
" The girl has run off it seems, — went
off last night. I have got to search after
her. Will you wait here till I come
back ? "
THE FRUITLESS SEARCH. 133
"No; I'll join in the hunt, Mr. Leeson.
It's lucky I didn't pay down for her last
night, I reckon."
" She can't have got far with the
child — "said Frederick; the closing of
the door shut out the remainder of the
sentence.
"Mistress wants to see you, Miss Hal-
ford," said Dinah, putting her head in
from the hall; and Millicent got up from
the table to go up to her aunt's chamber.
She obeyed the summons with no little
anxiety. Did Mrs. Leeson suspect her of
aiding in poor Susan's flight? If such a
suspicion should enter into the lady's
mind, her agitation of the past night
would tell seriously against her. She
found her aunt wrapped up in her dress-
ing-gown in her easy-chair by the fire, a
table littered with the remains of her
breakfast at her side.
" What is all this confusion about, Milli-
cent?" she asked, querulously, without
turning round at her niece's entrance. "I
134 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
can make little of it out of Dinah. What
is the trouble?"
The girl had evidently been afraid to
impart to her mistress in her still weak
and excitable state the fact of her fellow-
servant's flight.
" 1 believe Susan has run off," said Mil-
licent, thinking it best to tell the worst.
'^ Run off ! " Mrs. Leeson's face ex-
pressed a mute consternation. " Nonsense !
She wouldn't leave her baby ; she's some-
where round. Has Johnston come ? "
"Yes, ma'am; he is below, — just starts
ing off with Mr. Frederick in search of
ber."
It was true. Mrs. Leeson folded her
hands together with a deep-drawn breath.
" She can't have got far ! " she exclaimed.
" I heard the hail beat against the shut-
ters long after midnight."
Millicent bustled about, making a show
of putting the chamber to rights, and
keeping her face carefully out of the
range of her aunt's observation.
THE FRUITLESS SEARCH. 135
"How could she have found out that
Frederick meant to sell her?" queried
Mrs. Leeson. "I can't imagine. Some
carelessness on his part. It is just like
him."
Millicent turned to go out, relieved that
her part in the poor slave's escape was still
unsuspected. She went up to her chamber,
and closed the door upon herself, to wait,
to hope, and pray.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE HOLIDAYS.
]~j^REDERICK returned unsuccessful from
- his searcli, to his great disappointment
and vexation. The wild storm of the night,
which he had trusted would impede the
progress of the fugitive, had, in reality,
mercifully sheltered her flight. He could
discover no trace of the course she had
taken, and all inquiries had proved worse
than useless. As to the railroad-station,
by the interposition of a merciful Provi-
dence, that route never entered his
thoughts. It might have been compara-
tively easy for her to have effected her
escape in that manner under the disguise
of a poor white woman; but he knew
her to be without means, and never
136
THE HOLIDAYS. 137
dreamed that any one of his household had
dared to commit the capital offence of of-
fering sympathy and aid to her flight.
What could be done? Frederick could
only dash off a notice to a county paper,
containing a description of the girl, and of-
fering a reward for her capture, and
then consider the necessity of making
good her place with the trader. As to
the last consideration, the money her sale
would have brought he needed, and must
have. The mortgage could not go uncan-
celled. Since Mr. Bennet declined to wait
his time, another of his field hands must
be parted with. He made the election un-
wilhngly, under the hard pressure of ne-
cessity ; but, as good fortune ordered, it
was now winter, and his place could be
refilled out of the portion which would
come to him with his bride's hand in the
spring. It was not in his easy nature to
doubt the certainty of his marriage,
though his cousin's singular conduct gave
him no Httle vexation and displeasure.
138 MILLICENT nALFORD.
She had chosen to take pique on some
silly trifle, — it was a woman's way ; but
of the depth of her attachment to himself
he entertained no real doubt. His mother
did, with better means of knowledge, and
the anxiety of mind very much retarded
her recovery.
December was waning, and still no re-
ply to Frederick's letter from his be-
trothed, lie finally dashed off a note to
Mr. Stuart, briefly demanding the cause of
Augusta's singular conduct. A speedy re-
ply arrived, but directed to his mother,
and emanating from Miss Stuart. It of-
fered a long-pending visit to Mrs. Leeson
from the lady, — nothing less than the
spending of the Christmas holidays at
Wheatley Place, and added tliat she would
probably be accompanied on this occasion
by her brother's ward. It need not be add-
ed that Mrs. Leeson made haste to give
a most cordial answer, and, indeed, at first
the letter seemed to act as an elixir to
revive her from the languid state into
which she had settled since the fever.
THE HOLIDAYS. 1^^
An after-thought came to detract some-
what from the pleasure of receiving the
expected visitors. James would be at
home during a part of the holidays, and
no doubt this fact had entered into the
calculations of the younger lady.
It was very unfortunate. Mrs. Leeson
pondered over the matter until her head
seemed turning with the quickened pulsa-
tions of her brain. The marriage must
take place. Frederick would be ruined
witho-at it.
Miss Stuart and Augusta made their ap-
pearance precisely a week from the re-
ceipt of Mrs. Leeson-s letter, and three
days later Mr. James Leeson arrived from
Bowling Green at the commencement ot
the Christmas-week, to meet with an agree-
able and quite unexpected surprise, under
his mother's roof.
The Christmas-week of 1860! Who of us
dreamed, as we looked out upon its snow-
white fields and gray skies, that the an-
niversary of its return would witness our
140 MILLICENT HALFORD.
fair land, from Xorth to South, rent in tho
seetliing convulsions of civil war? Wo at
the North, as the low murmurs of the
rising storm reached us, said, *' The South
w^ill never secede ; she dare not ; for her
uprising would put arms in the hands of
her ^millions of slaves. These idle words
will die away." But we forgot that, en-
throned above us, was a living God, who
in the old days sealed tho eyes of tho
Egyptians, and to whom the cry of the
oppressed never ascends in vain.
South Carolina had already passed her
ordinance of secession, which act took place
on the 20th of December, without wait-
ing for the inauguration of the incoming
government ; and this news Mr. Stuart
brought to the Kentucky household to
which he came down to spend the Christ-
mas-week with his already present family.
A hush fell upon the little group in the
sitting-room, following the announcement. Xo
one there saw the armed hosts which were
to overrun the peaceful valleys ; the blood-
THE HOLIDAYS. 1^1
red fields on which tens of thousands were
to lay down their lives in the awful car-
nage of battle; the grief-wrung homes,
peopled with the pale spectres of want
and fomine; or, in the background, the
ecstatic joy of millions of liberated bonds-
nien,-to all of which this act, taken in
the blindness of human wisdom, was the
opening; but each in the space of that
instant felt the chill of a ' mournful and
individual presentiment.
"The North will not fight," said Fred-
erick Leeson, who was the first to re-
cover himself; "she will yield to the just
claims of the South, and settle the matter
by a compromise. These difficulties will
blow over. South Carolina is hot-headed.
Her movement is premature."
Mr. Stuart shook his head. " It is easy
to talk of compromises," he said; "but
such is not the character of the Northern
mind. The time, too, has passed for mu-
tual concessions. The South has already
borne too much. Look at the petitions m
142 MILLICENT HALFORD.
Congress year after year to take away
our property ! Think of the John Crown
raid ! What can we expect from an ad-
ministration which numbers such support-
ers among its first friends ? "
'' But what can be gained by going
out?" asked Frederick. "Such a step, if
carried out, will only inaugurate the hor-
rors of a bloody war."
''The North will hardly fight," said Mr.
Stuart. " The voice of public sentiment
there will be against the war. In such an
event as an unfriendly separation, you will
soon see the South" a united unit, and the
North rent and powerless with factions."
" The government is good as it stands,"
observed Mrs. Leeson, moving uneasily to
a new position in the depths of her capa-
cious easy-chair, and dropping the work
which she held idly in her fingers. " The
new President elect could not interfere with
our slaves if he chose to do so. The Con-
stitution would keep our rights."
" Yes," said James, who had not yet
THE HOLIDAYS. 143
taken part in the conversation; "but there
are other considerations. The South ^vill
rapidly rise to power and wealth without
the North ; it has always been an incubus
upon her growth with its one-sided tariff."
"If the separation can be accomplished
peaceably," observed Frederick; "but I
doubt very much if such a step can."
" Should it come to a struggle," observed
Mr. Stuart, " the preponderance, in spite of
numbers, would be with our section. The
North is a nation of tradesmen and me-
chanics, devoted to menial labors, wholly
unused to arms, and lacking in the cour-
age and chivalry whicli belong to our su-
perior race. The conflict would not prove
a protracted one, and the result is easy
to anticipate."
- Augusta and MiUicent had both sat silent,
Augusta turning the pages of a book which
she^eld in her hand, her beaming eye and
glowing cheek ' showing alone that lier
thoughts were with the speakers, and on
some branch of the subject which they
144 MILLTCKXT HALFOUO.
had accidentally toucliod ; Milliccnt bending
over her sewing, a little paler than usual,
and with one or two anxious questions
Avhispering in her heart.
Would God approve an unholy cause,
and set upon it the seal of his approval
by a host of victories, should the possible
conflict come? Was it true that his ear
could be deaf to the groans of the slave
under the lash, the baying of the blood-
hound in pursuit of the terror-stricken fu-
gitive, or that he could look with approval
upon the selling and using of his human
children as beasts of burden? //' he did
notj the end was clear. The awful day of
retribution was dawning?; and in his hand,
the North, though a nation of tradesmen and
mechanics, would come up firmly to her
work. That night, by her bed, she prayed
fervently that peace might heal the t!ireat-
ening dissensions of the land ; but, as she
did so, the face of the fugitive she had
helped in her flight on that wild night of
storm but a little week before, seemed to
THE HOLIDAYS. 145
pass before her out of the darkness, and
her face sunk lower in her hands, as she
added, ^'Yet not my will, but thine, be
done."
y
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHRISTMAS-DAY.
THE Christmas-day broke fair and clear,
after a night of mist and rain. Morn-
ing services were held in the chapel lo-
cated about a mile from Wlieatley Place,
and Frederick ordered out his carriage at
an intimation from his mother to take
thither his guests, or such of them as
should desire to attend. Miss Stuart gladly
accepted the invitation ; Mr. Stuart assented
politely; James, whose church-going procliv-
ities were of a secondary order, declined,
with little ceremony, his brother's courteous
proposal that he should take his place in
the vehicle, and the fourth seat was, of
course, allotted to Angusta. At the last
moment the young lady changed her mind,
140
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 147
and announced her intention of staying at
home. Remonstrances proved quite in vain.
She had a headache, she said, which must
be indulged ; she should go up to her
chamber and lie down. " Milhcent can
take my pkice," she added. There was
very little time left to dress. Mihicent
hurried up to her chamber, and, without
pausing to acquaint her aunt with the new
turn of arrangements, came back to find
the carriage in readiness, and the company
waiting. If Augusta's object was to open
an opportunity for a tete-a-tete with Mr.
James Leeson, her point was fully carried.
At the expiration of little more than an
hour after the carriage had driven down
the avenue, she made her appearance in
the sitting-room, where that gentleman sat,
apparently absorbed in the columns of a
fresh paper, but, in reality, closely buried
in a train of not ver}" agreeable reflec-
tions. He laid down his paper, on his
cousin's entrance, with some polite inqui-
ries for her headache.
148 MILLICKNT HALFOUD.
An awkward pau.<e followed. Mr. Lee-
son tried to start some indifferent topic,
and turned, for assistance, to tlie paragraph
wLicli had taken up his attention at her en-
trance. It was connected with the conver-
sation of the past evening, in which Augus-
ta had borne her part as an interested
h'stener.
" If these difficulties should culminate in
a struggle," observed James, " which I se-
cretly believe they will, 1 shall not remain
a passive spectator, but take my part with
my own section. Kentucky will go out of
the old Union, and so will most of the
Border States."
" Your brother thinks differently," re-
marked Augusta, repressing a slightly scorn-
ful smile. ^' He believes these difficulties
will yet be compromised."
'' I cannot," replied James. '' The move-
ment is too widely extended. We shall
very shortly hear that each of the States
of the Southern section has followed the
lead of South Carolina. But as to Fred-
CHEISTMAS-DAY. 149
erick's views, when the time for decision
comes, I have little doubt that he will be
found on the side of the North."
Augusta's eyes kindled ; her hot South-
ern blood flushed up into her cheeks. Wo-
man-like,' she had little idea of the intri-
cacies of politics, or the various aspects
which this close-at-hand struggle was to as-
sume. Little as was the love she had ever
had for Frederick, and rapidly as this sen-
timent had of late given place to contempt,
on discovering what she believed to be his
mercenary suit to herself, she was not pre-
pared for this prediction.
^* Yon believe this of your own brother,
James I '' she exclaimed.
''Why should I not?" asked Mr. Leeson.
"You heard his remarks last evening. I
do not anticipate a bloodless separation of
these States from the old Union, as I have
just told you. The struggle may be even
a severe one in the commencement; but
we cannot fail to triumph ultimately. It
will call out armed opposition even here,
150 MILLICENT HALFORD.
in our noble State of Kentuckv. Brother
will be set against brother, and friend
against friend. Frederick's easy nature will
take up the shortest policy ; he will not
stand alone."
" You are unjust to him," said Augusta,
with a glow of feeling.
''You think so?" said James, stooping
to pick up his paper, which had slipped
from his knee to the floor, with the air
of one struck by a sudden recollection.
"It is possible that I am. I beg your
pardon, Augusta."
" I need no apology," said the lady, col-
oring, and speaking up in the warmth of
the moment. " I have no stake in your
brother's truth or falseness to his country;
yet I believe him incapable of the baseness
of siding with its enemies."
" No stake in the matter." Mr. James
pondered over the remark with some inter-
est. He had not been blind to the cool-
ness existing between his brotljcr and his
betrc)thed in the two days which had
passed since his arrival.
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 151
Augusta sat at the table opposite him,
her elbow supported by it, her face lean-
ing upon her hand. Her heart, it must be
confessed, beat with quickened pulsations.
The moment was favorable for an expla-
nation. Would he seize it?
Mr. James stole a glance at his cousin,
struck by the crimsoning of her half-
averted face, and the pretty embarrassment
of her attitude.
^'Augusta," he exclaimed, carried out of
himself in the suddenness of the moment,
'^ why do you marry Frederick? You do
not care for him. You cannot be happy
together."
His cousin made him no reply. Her
face was wholly averted from him and
half shaded by her hand. He threw down
his paper, and came toward her, moved
by an impulse he no longer struggled to
control.
" Augusta," he said, bending over her,
" God only knows how I have struggled to
stand by and look in silence upon this
152 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
sacrifice ! I can do so no longer. I must
speak ! My own secret unliappiness I
could bear, but not the consciousness of
yours."
" You mistake," said Augusta, speaking
in a voice scarcely above a whisper, as
she relinquished to liim her hand ; '^ my
engagement to your brother no longer
exists ; it was broken weeks ago by a
discovery which should have been made
by me earlier."
"To what do you allude?" asked Jaiaes,
breathlessly, retaining her hand.
^' To the involved state of his alTiirs,
w^hich he has kept back from me."
It was not a new discovery to Mr. Lee-
son ; he had long been aware of his broth-
er's embarrassments. Whether this was suf-
ficient ground for annulling an engagement,
he was at present too much in love to
determine. He contented himself with
pressing silent kisses upon the fair hand
in his.
"I shall bring you nothing, James/' said
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 153
Augusta, after a little pause. "Mr. Stuart,
by a clause in my father's will, has the
power to strip me of my fortune, if I
marry contrary to his wishes. He has set
his heart upon Frederick, and this conceal-
ment makes no difference in his choice."
" I do not want your fortune, Augusta,"
returned her cousin ; " let Mr. Stuart take
it. All I ask is yourself My profession,
in time, will open to me all I desire, and
all that your ambition as my wife can
claim."
But it would necessitate a long waiting.
James recalled this with a sudden chill of
recollection.
The sound of the carriage-wheels coming
up over the frozen ground startled both.
James went back to his seat ; Augusta wa-
vered between a retreat to her chamber
and a dread of encountering the returning
party in the hall. She had scarcely a mo-
ment for consideration, when the echoes
of voices and footsteps reached her.
Frederick came in first, flushed and hand-
154 M]LLICENT IIALFOPvD.
some with his dri\e in tlie cool air. Un-
observant as he was in his easy vanity,
by some accident the tableau before liini
on this morning drew his attention, — liis
cousin's heightened color and drooping eyes,
his brother's visible embarrassment. A sud-
den chill came over him, a painful sus-
picion. He commanded himself to in-
quire for Augusta's headache, received her
half-spoken replies, and stepped to tlie win-
dow. The door behind him unclosed; Miss
Stuart came in, directly followed by his
mother. He had time to think in the buzz
of conversation which rose between the
ladies. Was he dreaming ? Everything
around him seemed frightfully unreal. Au-
gusta, was she false ? His brother, his
playmate, his friend, who had known noth-
ing from him in the many years of their
family tie but kindness, — could he be
leagued to deceive him ? The dinner-bell
rang in the height of his reflections. He
started to ofier his arm to lead out !Miss
Stuart; Mr. Stuart followed with Mrs. Lee-
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 155
son; he felt, rather than saw, with an an-
gry thrill, that James was on the point
of offering a similar courtesy to Augusta;
Millicent and Adele made up the company.
If he has wronged me, he shall account
for it to me with his life, though he be
my brother, was Frederick Leeson's stern
determination, as with outwardly smiling
lips he took his place at the board.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY.
FREDERICK LEESON'S eyes were fully
opened. He saw at last the cause of
liis betrothed's singular conduct toward liim;
her contemptuous neglect of his letters,
and the coldness and constraint which had
of late grown up between them. Her
fickle heart had made a transfer of itself
to his brother, and James had dishonorably
laid his plans to win her attachment.
Now that this conviction had once entered
his mind, a thousand circumstances rose
up to corroborate it. He wondered at his
blindness, and saw that the deception must
have been going on for a long time. He
thought it over in a stillness of suppressed
passion infinitely more to be dreaded in
156
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY. 157
its results than any stormy outbreak.
What should be his course ? To rest
passive under this wrong was not in his
nature. To any other than his brother, in
the heat of his hot blood, he would have
despatched a challenge ; as it was, he hes-
itated. He would see Augusta, and demand
of her a full explanation ; then he should
understand clearly how the matter stood.
The afternoon and evening which fol-
lowed, to one, at least, of the party,
proved interminably long. James and Au-
gusta, wrapped in their new-found happi-
ness, kept in the background of the con-
versation which flowed more freely than
usual ; Mrs. Leeson experienced a depres-
sion for which she was unable to account;
Frederick, outwardly unobservant, secretly
watched every look and word which passed
between the suspected couple.
The following morning favored him with
the opportunity he sought, as, crossing his
cousin in the hall, he begged for a few
moments' conversation in the little room to
158 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
tlie left, wliicl), fitted up -witli several cases
of books, bad been dignified witb tbe ap-
pellation of the library. Augusta followed
him tremblingly. To refuse his request
was impossible ; the denouement must come
at some time ; but she would gladly havo
procrastinated it. Frederick placed a chair
for his cousin, closed the door, and came
back to take his seat opposite her. Au-
gusta glanced at him ; his usual color had
quite deserted him; his eyes wore a fixed,
resolute look; hers fell.
" Augusta," began Mr. Leeson, with his
usually subdued tone of voice and maimer,
'' you have not yet offered me any expla-
nation of your silence since I left Tudor
Hall, in my mother's sickness. Were my
letters received by you ? "
" They were," said Augusta, in a voice
scarcely audible.
'^ Why, then, were they left unanswered?"
Augusta roused herself to answer. A
bright glow shot up into her face. Why
should she shrink and cower before this
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY. 159
•unwortb}^ man who had basely deceived
her ; sought her hand only to free his en-
cumbered property? Why should she hes-
itate to speak ?
"On my last visit here/' she said, in a
low voice, *'I made a discovery which, in
my opinion, releases me from my part of
our engagement. You may be aware that,
at the time I gave you my promise, it
was more in compliance with my guardi-
an's wishes than from any election of my
own."
"I was oiot aware of it," said Frederick,
an answering glow rising in a crimson
spot to his cheek. " May I ask the char-
acter of the discovery to which you al-
lude?"
Augusta nerved herself to the answer.
" The embarrassment of your affairs, which
you kept back from me at the time of
our engagement."
Frederick bit his lip till the blood welled
up from the crimson wound. How had
these perplexities got to her knowledge ?
IGO MILLTCENT IIALFORD.
The tables were suddenly turned between
them. A hot glow of mortification dyed
his face.
" Ladies are supposed to have little in-
terest in such matters," he said. *' A mort-
gaged homestead is no rare matter in Ken-
tucky. This is a subject ibr your guardian
to weigh, Augusta, rather than yoursell""
" I have my own opinion of the matter,"
said the young lady, speaking with firm-
ness. " In my judgment this discovery sets
me free from my part of our engagement.
I will not marry any man whose love for
me rests under the imputation of interested
motiv'es."
" It is easy to find reasons for what we
wish," said Frederick, turning his penetrat-
ing eyes upon her. " Will you assure me,
AiTigusta, that no one has supplanted me
in your afi'ections ? "
She could not answer. The blood re-
treated from her cheeks ; a cold perspira-
tion stood upon her forehead.
''Let him beware," said Frederick, in a
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY. 161
suppressed voice, " the man who has stepped
between us, whoever he may be." He
rose. ^' I will not hold you to your
promise, Augusta. A woman's hand with-
out her heart is of little worth. Shall I
leave it to you to acquaint Mr. Stuart
with the close of our engagement ? "
She bent her head, without trusting her
lips to speak. Both rose. Augusta, on
leaving the room, passed up to her cham-
ber. Her pulses were throbbing violently;
her head ached. The shock of the com-
munication to her cousin had passed; but
the consequences remained to be consid-
ered. Plainly his suspicions were aroused,
and not far from the right track. The
greatest caution would be necessary in
her future intercourse with her lover.
What if an open quarrel should come about
between them? She trembled at the idea.
It had blanched her cheek, and stopped
the quick beating of her heart a moment
ago. It would not do for her to remain
in her chamber ; her absence would excite
11
1C2 MILLICENT HALFORD.
her aunt's attention. She got up wearily
from the cliair into wliicli she had tlirown
herself, and prepared to go down. In stop-
ping from the staircase, she encountered
suddenly the object of her thoughts. Mr.
James, probabl}^ missing her from the com-
pany in the sitting-room had stepped out
into the hall. It was not a very fivorable
opportunity for a private conversation ; Ijut
Augusta seized upon it in the hurry of
the moment.
'^ I have just spoken with Frederick,
James," she whispered. " We have parted
in anger. It would be terrible if he should
discover the whole."
" It must come out sometime/' said Mr.
James, indifferently.
" But he will never forgive you ; it will
bring about an open quarrel."
The sitting-room door again opened.
Mrs. Leeson came out in time to see her
niece';5 hand released, and to notice the
young lady's heightened color as she
swept past her into the room she was in
the act of leaving.
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY. 163
" James," said Mrs. Leeson, stepping up
to her son and speaking in a suppressed
voice, ^' what does this mean ? Are you
sensible of what must be the consequences
of your folly ? "
" Augusta is free, madam, to choose for
herself," said Mr. James, without any at-
tempt at evasion, or any disposition to
put a false face upon the actual state of
affairs, which his judgment might have
told him would be hopeless. " Frederick
has released her from her engagement to
him, and she is free to elect for herself"
" Released her ! " Mrs. Leeson gasped
for breath, and turned white. " How has
this come about ? You have had your
part in it, James."
The gentleman did not reply ; perhaps
he had no answer to give.
Another timely interruption came about.
Adcle's light step ghded down the stair-
case. Mrs. Leeson broke away from her
son to pursue her way up to her cham-
ber, where she threw herself down upon
164 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
her bed, feeling quite faint witli tlie un-
expected shock which liad met her. It
was long before any one came to^ her.
By and by she heard Millicent stirring in
her dressing-room, and called to her to
get her vinairjrctte.
" You are ill, aunt," said her niece, anx-
iously, bathing her forehead. *^ What can
I do for you ? ''
"It is nothing, child, only a faintness. I
want to sec Frederick. Can you contrive
to call him from the sitting-room without
disturbing the rest of the company ? "
Millicent did not know ; but she went
down, to oblige her aunt, upon her errand.
The whole flimily were assembled in the
sitting-room, Adele turning over a book;
Augusta her head bent over some fine em-
broidery, with which she affected to be
busied ; Mr. James with a paper upon his
knee ; Miss Stuart penning a note at a
eide-table ; Mr. Stuart and Frederick in
conversation. Millicent had to wait quite
an hour before an opportunity was of-
THE INTERVIEW IN THE LIBRARY. 165
fered to her; this took place in the gen-
eral movement following the arrival of a
visitor from the neighborhood ; she turned
to Frederick and said briefly that his
mother desired to see him. She was in
her chamber, she added, where she had
been seized with a little faintness.
"I wonder what she can want of him,"
thought MilHcent, as he stepped away;
" she seemed much disturbed ; something
has gone wrong. It could not be any-
thing relating to herself She thought of
poor Susan, and wished, for the hundredth
time, that she could hear tidings of her
safety.
CHAPTER XX.
James's departure.
MR. LEESOX went up to his mother's
chamber, to find her extended upon
her bed, evidently suffering severely from
a nervous attack. She motioned him to a
chair, which he took in silence.
" I have heard such a surprising piece
of news this morning," she said, turning her
eyes anxiously upon him, " I cannot be-
lieve it to be real. Frederick, have you
and Augusta quarrelled?"
'' No, madam," a bright spot kindled on
her son's cheek, " by no means. Augusta
has expressed dissatisfaction with our en-
gagement ; it is not her purpose to fulfil
it, and I have given her back her prom-
ise."
166
James's departure. 1G7
"Not her purpose to fulfil it!" Mrs.
Leeson's thin hands folded anxiously over
each other. *' What will become of your
mortgage, Frederick? You will be ru-
ined ! "
Mr. Leeson's color deepened. He leaned
back in his chair with a deprecatory
movement. " My dear mother, do you
suppose I am -capable of urging on this
matter for the sake of obtaining posses-
sion of my cousin's fortune ? I assure you
I have no desire to secure her hand
without her heart."
" But what has brought about this sud-
den change ? " Mrs. Leeson's voice fal-
tered a little in the question ; her eyes
dropped before her son's penetrating
glance. It was plain that he suspected
his brother's unr\^orthy part. The ques-
tion had been unwisely put.
" There is little account to be made
for. a lady's fmcies," said Frederick, coldly.
"I will not pretend to explain for Augusta."
" Sbe has promised to marry you," said
1G8 MILLICKNT IIALFURD.
Mrs. Leeson, more finnly ; '* the engage-
ment is of long standing; lier guardian
^vill not allow her to break her promise."
"Mr. Stuart," said Frederiek, dryly, 'Ms
acquainted with my unfortunate embarrass-
ments. I am of the opinion that, if the
subject were to come up in discussion,
this fact would make a decided change
in his feelings toward me."
" How could they have come to liis
knowledge?" Mrs. Leeson's perplexity-
deepened.
Frederick thought only of one way. The
brother who could stoop to rival him
would not hesitate to take the dishonor-
able part of an informer. His deduction
was natural, though, as the reader is
aware, wholly unjust. He was silent. Mrs.
Leeson covered her face with a deep-
drawn sigh. The position of aflairs was
deplorable enough. Frederick was right ;
Mr. Stuart would not now be likely to
favor the fulfilment of his ward's engage-
ment contrary to the lady's wishes. But
James's departure. 169
wlieDce could the information have been
derived? She dismissed the fruitless ques-
tion with an effort.
The dinner-bell rang. Frederick got up
to go down ; he saw that his mother was
too ill to make the effort of appearing at
table.
" Shall I send Millicent up to stay with
you?" he asked, as he turned to go out.
" No, Frederick," she answered ; '^ I wish
to be alone."
^' He knows all," she thought, as she
leaned her head back upon her pillow.
^'He suspects James's falsen3ss. What can
be done ? There will be an open quarrel
between them ; Frederick's blood is high
when once aroused, and dangerous conse-
quences may come about."
If she could only get James back to
Bowling Green, then slie would have time
to think of other matters.
" I must see him alone," she mused ;
"but how shall I get the opportunity?
His own sense of propriety should tell
1 <() MIMJri:XT IIALFOKD.
liim that he can bo no longer a welcome
guest under his brother's roof."
Mrs. Leeson might ])ave spared herself
a portion of her anxieties, had slie been
aware that this impression had actually en-
tered her son's mind, and that he had set-
tled on the following morning for his de-
parture. It was hard to part from his new
love under such circumstances, — hard to
lessen even the short time they were at
liberty to spend togetlier; but the fitness
of things plainly required this course. Fred-
erick's manner toward him had undergone
a marked change, and it was evident that
his suspicions had seized upon the part he
had taken in breaking his engagement.
Mrs. Leeson was too ill to leave her
chamber for the evening, and in the morn-
ing, James, who had arranged to stait by
the early train, on learning that his mother
was awake, sent up his adieus by Milh'cent.
A gloomy depression hung over his solitary
breakfast. The rest of the household had
not made their appearance from their cham-
JAJilES'S DEPAKTUPtE. 171
bers. He wondered if he should catch a
glimpse of Augusta on passing out.
Jim was already in waiting with the car-
riage. The hand of his watch on the table
beside him was approaching eight, and he
had reason to hurry his departure. He
went to the window and looked out. The
bare, brown earth, the frozen carriage-path,
and a cluster of bare sycamores were all
that the prospect presented. He turned to
the table and took up his watch. At that
instant, Augusta entered by the opposite
door. Her face was pale and her eyes
heavy. James hurried up to her and took
her hand.
" I could not go without seeing you,"
he said. "You will allow me to write to
you ? "
Slie murmured a scarcely audible yes.
She could not do without his letters, though
they might bring about a discovery with
Mr. Stuart at an earlier period than she
desired.
"Carriage be waiting, mas'er," said Jim,
showing his ebony face at the door.
172 MILLK KNT IIALFORD.
" You will be late fur the train, James,"
said Miss Stuart, making her appearance
from the liall ; and with a hurried good-
by to his cousin, and a dismal depression
upon his spirits, quite the contrary of his
usual easy cheerfulness, the young man hur-
ried out. He had been spared a meeting
witli Frederick; he w^as thankful for tliat;
but the wrong he had done him in this
moment of departure certainly pressed upon
his conscience. It was not a principle of
fear; he knew of no point on which he
could be found vulnerable to Frederick's
revenge ; but he felt that lie had violated
the code of honor in which all Kentucky
gentlemen are reared. He had not done it
deliberately. A moment of temptation had
found him unprepared, and all these after-
consequences had followed as a matter of
course.
'^ I have gone too far to retract," he pon-
dered, turning his eyes from the bleak pros-
pect that lay along the carriage road. "Au-
gusta's happiness is bound up in this mat-
ter as fully as mine,"
CHAPTER XXI.
DEPARTURE OF GUESTS.
DURING the remaining week of her
guests' stay, Mrs. Leeson did not leave
her chamber. The shock she had received
had brought on a severe illness. The doc-
tor was sent for, and prescribed medicines
which were powerless to cure a diseased
mind. Where was the money to come from
which should lift the new mortgage from
Wheatley Place? was the constantly-recur-
ring question which haunted the sick wo-
man's pillow. She well knew the character
of the security upon which Frederick's new
loan must have been advanced. It mattered
httle how near or how distant was the day
of repayment; it must eventually be met.
" What are your plans, Frederick ? " she
17^
174 ilJLLlCKM llALl'ORD.
asked one morning, loi)king- up at lier son,
who had fallen into a fit of reflection by
her pillow. It was his daily custom to make
her a short morning visit, which on this
occasion had been prolonged by her re-
quest.
Frederick started. " To what do you re-
fer, madam, — to what plans?"
*' This new mortgage, — when is it to be
met?"
The son looked down at his mother. It
was eas}^ to read now the secret of her
haggard face and wretclied nigiits.
"I have given very little thought to the
matter," he answered. ^' The mortgage falls
due in about six months. I presume some
way can be found of meeting it."
"But how?"
" A sale of the rest of the negroes, the
horses and carriage, if no better." Fred-
erick turned away his fice uneasily from
her questioning. '' Do not let this matter
troul)le you, mother; it will be arranged
well"
DEPARTURE OF GUESTS. 175
^'Our guests leave us to-morrow," said
his mother; "Miss Stuart told me so last
evening."
Frederick's face was still averted ; he
manifested no interest in the information.
"You have not spoken with Mr. Stuart?"
hazarded his mother.
"Upon what subject? Augusta? No; I
left the explanations to the lady herself."
Mrs. Leeson sighed. She well knew the
hopelessness of looking for any change in
that quarter.
Frederick went out, and in about an
hour after, Augusta made her appearance.
Her visits to her aunt's sick-chamber were
narrowed into the smallest limits that pro-
priety would admit; and it may as well be
confessed that, but for the question of out-
ward proprieties, they would have been
gladly dispensed with upon both sides.
" You are looking better this morning.
Aunt Leeson," observed Augusta, taking
the chair which Millicent placed for her,
without any acknowledgment of her cour-
176 MILLICEXT HALFOTID,
tesy, and contemplating lier annt's fluslied
face, to which her conversation with her
son had imparted a transient glow.
" I am very little better, Augusta,"
said Mrs. Leeson, turning away her face.
" Miss Stuart tells me that you return
home to-morrow.'^
Such were their arrangements, the young
lady replied.
Mrs. Leeson considered the subject of
her next remark. Would it answer any
purpose? It would, at all events, be free-
ing her mind of a duty.
'^ My dear, I am sorry to observe the
state of feeling between you and Fre ler-
ick," she hazarded. '^ He tells me that you
have seriously proposed to him the break-
ing of^your engagement." Augusta moved
uneasily in her chair. She w^as quite un-
prepared for this attack. '^ Have you con-
sidered the subject?" her aunt went on,
— '^ the length of time you have been be-
trothed to Frederick, and the injustice,
not to say cruelty, of indicting this mor-
DEPAETURE OF GUESTS. 177
tification and pain upon a deserving and
honorable man?"
" 1 do not love Frederick/' said Augusta,
speaking up with an effort. " I should be
doing him a great injustice in marrying
him under such circumstances. There are
plenty of ladies who would be eager to
appreciate his fine qualities and attractions,
which are quite lost upon myself."
" But the right of inflicting this pain
and mortification ? " persisted Mrs. Leeson.
"Has not Frederick told you," asked
Augusta, facing her, "the circumstances
under which our engagement has been
broken off?"
" Because of his embarrassed affairs," as-
sented Mrs. Leeson, — "a circumstance to
which no true woman would cast a mo-
ment's thought. There is a stronger rea-
son which influences you, Augusta, — one
quite contrary to this." Augusta's head
drooped; spite of her efforts, a bright
color came up into her cheeks. " An en-
gagement of such long standing as yours,"
12
178 MILTJCEXT IIALFORD.
resumed her aunt, ' to every trnthful mind,
should hold the sacredness of a marriage.
No faith, no trust, can be safely placed in
a man who would counsel a woman to
break such a promise."
" I have taken my own judgment in the
matter, aunt," said Augusta, coldly; '^ no
one has influenced me."
Mrs. Leeson drew a weary sigh. It was
hopeless to go on talking. Augusta rose,
under the pretence of arranging her disor-
dered pillows, and shortly went out.
On the morrow the guests left Wheat-
ley Place, Mr. Stuart still in ignorance of
the consummation brought about by this
ill-chosen visit. At parting, he gave a cor-
dial invitation to Frederick to make an
early visit to Tudor Hall, which was re-
peated by his sister. Frederick answered
courteously, and without trusting himself
with a glance at his embarrassed and silent
cousin. She might retain her secret as long
as she chose, he thought ; it was a part
of the duplicity of her character. How
DEPARTURE OF GUESTS. 179
could he ever have fancied that he loved
her? Yet such feelings are not subdued
at once. There was still a lingering ten-
derness toward her in the depths of his
wounded heart. It would die its natural
death sometime; but not to-day.
"Missus has got someting on her
mind," said Dinah to Milb'cent, the latter
having found her way into the old ser-
vant's good graces in the long weeks of
Mrs. Leeson's sickness. " She's a-worrying
'bout Mas'er Frederick; Miss Augusta has
broke her word to him."
"How do you know, Dinah?" asked Mil-
licent, in much surprise. She was well ac-
quainted with the fact of the engagement,
which, indeed, was the property of all the
household, being, in Mrs. Leeson's eyes,
before the events of the last week, as
fully settled as anything in fate.
"I heard missus say so," said Dinah,
with a httle hesitation. "I came into de
dressing-room for someting while she was
argufying wid Miss Augusta. Miss Augusta
180 MTLLICENT IIALFOHD.
wouldn't hear any reason. It's clear broken
off, — a great blow to missus."
" You shouldn't have stopped to listen,
Dinah," said Millicent, disapprovingly.
" I didii't, Miss Halford ; the words camo
close to my ears. I didn't know Miss Au-
gusta was in with missus."
"How could she refuse him?" thought
Millicent, wonderingly. In her eyes, Mr.
Frederick Leeson was the ideal of an at-
tractive and thorough gentleman.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE POLITICAL HORIZON THICKENING.
THE closing month of winter wore away ;
the long spring days came round. Mrs.
Leeson came down from her close chamber
in the mild April mornings to sit at the
open window over the veranda, to listen
to the songs of the birds, and watch the
springing grass of the lawn and the open-
ing buds of the garden, in the luxurious
quiet of convalescence. Two little months
had wrought upon her the outward work
of a dozen years : her thick black hair had
become heavily silvered, her smooth brow
taken the tracery of long lines of care,
and her step grown weak and uncertain.
She bore no longer the appearance of a
woman in the full prime and vigor of life,
but of one fast falling toward age.
181
182 MTLLICEXT HALFOKD.
" It is James's work," she pondered, one
morning, taking a long, son-owful gaze
at herself in her mirror. " Wliere will it
stop?" She had received no letters from
the younger son since his return to Bowl-
ing Green, — a silence altogether unusual,
James felt that he had acted unworthily,
and could have little doubt upon his moth-
er's state of feeling upon the subject.
May was now at hand. The wheat-fields
were sown ; the ordinary labors at Wheat-
ley Place performed. Mrs. Leeson pondered
anxiously over the question, What hands
would gather in the green springing crops?
The mortgage would fall due in July ; all
the negroes, with the exception of the
house-servants, must be sold to meet it.
Frederick was hopeful of raising another
loan ; but various circumstances were con-
curring to defeat him. Among the most
prominent of these was the disordered state
of the country, created by the steadily-
looming trouble with the Xorth. The war
bad indeed opened ; a long array of States
THE POLITICAL HORIZON THICKENING. 183
Lad passed out of the Federal Union, and
Kentucky stood hesitating on the ground
of an assumed neutrality, which all clear-
minded men saw it would be out of her
power to hold. Large companies of her
young men were already forming, eager
to take a part with the neighboring States
in the coming struggle, and Frederick in-
cidentally learned that his brother, quitting
for the time the practice of his peaceful
profession, had accepted a captain's com-
mission in a mounted troop, and would
shortly be on his way south to join the
Confederate armies. His admission to the
bar had taken place in the first of March.
When this intelligence was received, it was
close upon June. Frederick did not think
it necessary to impart his information to
his mother. In her feeble state it would
cause her no little anxiety ; and, besides,
James's name was now tacitly withheld" be-
tween them.
The time was approaching when Freder-
ick must choose his politics, and make his
184 MILLICENT HALFORD.
decision upon wliich side he would he
found in the conflict. His neighbors, with
a very few exceptions, had early chosen.
Slaveholders, for the most part, it was
no matter for wonder that they should
side with the South.
" Neutrality cannot be considered for a
moment," was the general voice in this
southern section of the State. " Those
who are not with us are against us."
And two men of fair property and re-
spectability were signalled out as objects
of mob violence, — a little of which put
in action might act as a salutary hint to
lukewarm friends of the cause, or to those
who, like Frederick Leeson, were sus-
pected of halting between two opinions.
Mr. Bennet was the first of these. A
native of one of the New England States
by birth, settled for rather more than the
space of a dozen years on the soil of
Kentucky, it was natural that the subject
of his political opinions should be regarded
with suspicion ; and this feeling was des-
THE POLITICAL HORIZON THICKENING. 185
fined, imfortunately, to be soon increased
by some careless remarks which dropped
from him upon two or three occasions.
The committee of vigilance which had
been secretly formed met in council. A
night visit to his house was decided up-
on, and an invitation was conveyed to Mr.
Leeson to make one of the party.
It was in his home that the message
reached Frederick, as he sat in his sitting-
room alone, the low windows open to the
scent of the red June roses and clamber-
ing honeysuckles outside.
Mr. Findley recapitulated briefly two or
three of Mr. Bennet's incendiary sayings,
and commented upon the effects which
such a course, if unchecked, would be
likely to produce.
"It will be hard for his family," ob-
served Frederick, with the air of consid-
ering the matter of the arson. " Mrs.
Bennet is ill, I hear, and there are two
little girls, beside Miss Bennet."
" The family will easily find shelter ; no
186. MTLLTCEXT IIALFORD.
harm is meant for them," said Fiiiflley, in-
differently. '' Bennet will be likely to be
shot down, if he makes resistance to the
destruction of his property ; but that's of
no account."
Frederick was not shocked — at all
events, little surprised — at this last an-
nouncement. Blood was alread}' beginning
to flow in these quarrels.
" I cannot join you to-night," he said,
answering aloud, " for a plain reason. ^M}'
state of neighborhood with ^Ir. Bennet is
not altogether a pleasant one ; some hard
feelings have grown up between us on
matters of business ; and if I were to
make one of your party, it would be, to
appearances, to gratify a personal grudge."
Findley laughed a low, short laugh.
^' This is your reason for declining, Mr.
Leeson? "
'' I cannot find a better, sir.'* Frederick
spoke with calm courtesy.
Findley got up to go. " I suppose it is
useless to urge you," he said, " as you
THE POLITICAL HORIZON THICKENING. 187
seem to be decided ; but I don't know
how this r(?fusal will be received. People
say, Mr. Leeson, that you are a little
lukewarm in the cause. It's bad for any
man to lie under suspicion in these
days. I am telling you the fact as a
friend."
" I am obliged to you," said Frederick,
coldly. He got up to open the door and
show out his unwelcome guest.
The twilight, with a breath of wind
which swept by, rustling the leaves of the
rose- vines at the instant, hid the move-
ments of a slight, dusky figure, which
glided off the veranda and disappeared
through the open side-door into the house.
Rose, full of a troubled curiosity —
which had possessed her ever since
the evening of poor Susan's sale, and
the knowledge of her master's embar-
rassments, which had got to her ears
by overhearing her mistress' talk — to
know the errand of her master's visitor,
had found a listening place outside the
188 MILLICENT HALFORD.
window, and gathered tlie most of tlie
conversation after tlie first few sentences.
" Poor Mas'er Bennet ! '' she exclaimed,
bursting into the kitchen, wliich happened
to be tenanted by Lizzie. " What does you
tink, Lizzie? Dey be going to burn down
his house to-night, and shoot him like a
dog ! "
" You go 'way," said Lizzie, turning an
incredulous eye on her dusky fellow-ser-
vant. " You're jest trying to make me
b'lieve some great tings, dat's all."
'^ It's true, Lizzie, ebery word. I lis-
tened and heard mas'er talk. I was
crouched up on de veranda."
" What has happened, Rose?" asked
Millicent, who came in at the moment,
stopping short at sight of the two dis-
mayed faces.
Each hesitated to tell her.
" It's 'bout Mas'er Bennet, Miss Halford,"
said Lizzie, speaking. " Rose, she heard
Mas'er Frederick say they was going — a
gang of 'em white gemmen — to burn
THE POLITICAL HORIZON THICKENING. 189
down Mas'er Bennet's house to-night and
shoot him."
Milhcent turned pale. She had heard
of such frightful scenes of violence more
than once of kite. Only yesterday she had
listened, with horror, to the details of a
frightful scene not three miles from them,
at^'a pretty, quiet spot which she had
passed in a spring drive with Ad^le. The
cottage, belonging to a Union man, had
been burnt down; he had escaped, by
what seemed a miraculous accident, with
his life ; but his wife and three httle ones
had been turned out homeless upon the
roadside, to be cared for by a poor neigh-
bor, who had little but a crust of bread
and a cup of water to offer.
''This is dreadful!" she faltered; "so
near us. Can't something be done to
warn the man?"
She spoke aloud to herself rather than
to the two servants. The distance to
Valley Farm, Mr. Bennet's seat, was little
more than half a mile, a distance easily
100 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
traversed on tlie liigliway, and wliicli conld
be made bv a somewh;it more circuitous
route through the fields. She knew very
well the condition of the family. Mrs.
Bennet, a sickly woman, was just getting
better of a recent attack of fever. The
two little girls were aged respectively
eight and ten. Miss Bennet, the elder,
who occupied the relation of step-daughter
to the present Mrs. Bennet, was an at-
tractive young lady of twenty.
Millicent roused herself to ask the time
set for the attack ; but she could gain
little information from Eose. All she
could tell was that the party were then
in the act of assembling at the tavern,
where Mr. Leeson was invited to join
them ; but whether he had accepted or
declined this invitation the girl was quite
unable to determine, her master's closing
words having escaped her.
CHAPTER XXIII.
millicent's loxely walk.
T was in the first fall of the twilight;
the stars were coming out dimly over-
head. The first half of the night prom-
ised to be dark ; at precisely two the
full moon would make her appearance in
the south.
The attack, then, w^ould most likely begin
at an hour before midnight. Millicent calcu-
lated accurately. At that hour the fimily
would be in their beds, unsuspecting and
unsuspicious. Three hours would be an
amply sufficient space of time to finish up
the work, and to scatter in a secure re-
treat from the vicinity of the smouldering-
ruins. Slie would have ample time to
warn them of their danger, and to make
lUl
102 MILLICICXT HALFOItn
her retreat undiscovered. It required cour-
age ; hut we know that the most timid
can nerve themselves to action under tlie
pressure of duty. Supper was over. Her
aunt, she well knew, was at this moment
expecting her in her chamber, where it
was her cusfom to spend tlie closing
hours of evening, reading aloud, in con-
versation, or silent, as the invalid's varia-
ble mood might dictate.
" Adele must supply my place to-night,"
she thought, gliding up the staircase to
her chamber. Her thin muslin dress was
soon exchanged for one of thicker mate-
rial ; her bonnet and shawl assumed, and
coming down, she made her exit unob-
served, as she thought, through a side-
door, and glided into the apple-orchard
under the fiiendly shadows of the trees.
A heavy dew had already dampened the
tall grass : she made her way through it
as rapidly as she could, keeping in the
shadow of stone walls till she came to a
part of the road which must necessarily be
mtlltcent's lonely walk. 193
crossed to approach the borders of Valley
Farm. It was fortunate that slie halted
here ; for in the next moment a man on
horseback rode slowly past, reining in his
horse to a short walk as he went by
with more of the tread of a sentinel than
the haste of an equestrian hieing home-
wards or business-bound. Millicent waited
breathlessly till the echoes of his horse's
hoofs died away around the angle of the
road, and then, rapidly scaling the high
wall which had afforded her an effectual
concealment, crossed the highway, and
clambered into the wheat-field upon the
opposite side. This she must of necessity
cross in the full starlight, and she quick-
ened her steps, getting within the shade
of a friendly sycamore just as she heard
a horse's footfalls returning over the hard
ground. Most likely it was the person
who had passed her the moment before
keeping up a patrol, to prevent informa-
tion from being carried to the doomed
family. He went slowly past, and she
13
194 MILLICKNT HALFOHD.
nerved lieiself to quit her i)lace and
creep Imrricdly on.
The field was traversed, a boundary of
fence crossed, a fragrant-smelling hedge
passed, and she found herself at the end
of her walk. The air was odorous with the
scents of flowers, as she crossed the garden
and hurried up to the front entrance. A
negro woman came to the door.
"Is Mr. Bonnet in?" Millicent asked,
hurriedly.
" No, miss ; he went out an hour ago."
jMilliccnt felt her heart sink at the answer.
"Mrs. Bennet then, — show me to her."
'' My missus is sick, ma'am. She's not
able to see company."
Plainly Millicent's dress and appearance
did not speak in her favor. " v^ome poor
wliito woman come to beg," was, no doubt,
the servant's conclusion. " It wont be of
any use for her to see missus ; she don't
like such trash."
'' Take my name in to Miss Bennet,"
said Millicent, despairing of gaining admis-
millicent's lonely walk. 195
sion in her nervous agitation. " Tell her
Miss Halford wishes to speak with her for
a moment."
The woman went in, and presently re-
turned, bidding Milhcent to enter.
The room into which she was shown
was a large, handsome parlor, elaborately
furnished, and well lighted by a solar lamp,
which the servant had just set down upon
the slender marble table.
Miss Bennet came in by the opposite
door as Millicent entered. She threw a
glance of some surprise at her visitor,
placed a chair for her, and waited to hear
her errand. Millicent sank down into the
offered seat, and began nervously to loosen
her bonnet strings ; she found her respira-
tion suddenly growing difficult. Each mo-
ment might be of inestimable value.
" You have walked fast, Miss Halford,"
observed Miss Bennet, regarding her with
wondering attention. '^ Has anything hap-
pened at Wheatley Place? Is Mrs. Leeson
worse ? "
196 MILLICKNT IIALFOIil).
"Mrs. Lccson is well/' said Milliccnt, ab-
sently. " My errand is to you, or to your
father, rather. A night attack has been
phinned upon your house ; it is to come
on in a few hours, and I have come to
tell you."
Miss Bennet's warm color left her cheeks;
she trembled, and turned white.
" Papa must be told," she said, starting
up. "What shall we do? What will be-
come of us?"
"Is Mr. Bennet at home?" asked Milli-
cent, anxiously. "The woman wdio let me
in said he was out."
" He has come back," said Miss Bennet,
disappearing through the door.
Millicent sat in anxious suspense for sev-
eral moments, when the young lady reap-
peared, and desired her to follow^ her. She
was show^n into a small room which seemed
applied to the purposes of a library by
the hanging cases of books wdiieh orna-
mented its walls. Mr. Bennet, a gray-
headed man, sat in a leather-covered chair
millicent's lonely walk. 197
before his writing-desk, a half-written sheet
at his elbow, his pen lying beside it, ap-
parently dropped from his hand at his
daughter's entrance.
" Repeat to my father what you have
told me," said Miss Bennet, placing a chair
for her visitor, ^' and how you came by
your knowledge."-
" Did Mr. Leeson send you ? " asked Mr.
Bennet, bending a searching look upon the
young girl. .
Was her errand doubted? Millicent felt
quite faint. '^ No, sir," she said, hurriedly ;
" one of the servants overheard the talk.
The company are now at the tavern form-
ing, and they sent to ask Mr. Leeson to
join them."-
The girl's pale face, coupled with her
agitation, told powerfully for the truth of
her words.
Mr. Bennet -dropped his face upon his
hand^! with a groan. It was easy to see
what was passing in the man's thoughts.
How should he get away his family, — his
198 MILLICENT IIALFOHD.
sick wife and two little girls, not to think
of the labors of years wasted in one wan-
ton hour?
" There can be no time to lose, fatlier,"
said Miss Bennet, speaking with sudden
resolution. " I must go up and break it to
mother."
^^ I have but two rusty fowling-i)ieces in
the house," said Mr. Bennet, uncovering
his face, "and no ammunition. \i^ I had
the means, I would arm my negroes, and
give these men a warm reception. What
a fool I was not to expect this ! But
what have I done ? "
He might well ask himself that question,
and so might many anotlier unfortunate
man.
" Where shall we go ? " said his daugli-
ter, stopping and facing him suddenly, as
she turned to go out. '' It will be death
to mother to be exposed to this damp
niglit air."
'• The road is watched," said Millicent.
" I had difficulty in getting across."
millicent's lonely walk. 199
"Then they will soon be here/' said Mr.
Bennet, rising. <^ Go up to your mother,
Jane, and I will call the servants. We
must get together what little we can to
be saved ; that will be very little."
"They mean to shoot you, sir/' said
Millicent, "if they find you. You wont
have more than time to get off.'-'
Perhaps some such thought had already
struck him. He began to unlock his sec-
retary, and to take out his papers and
monej^
Millicent had done her errand. She won-
dered if she had best linger to afford some
further assistance, or if her safety required
her immediate departure. The last thought
was suddenly checked by the reappearance
of Miss Bennet, leading her mother, whose
ghastly face and tottering gteps showed
her unfitness for the brutal scene about
to be inaugurated.
"You must fly, Harry!" she exclaimed,
addressing her husband. " It is you they
want; they will do us no harm. We shall
200 MILLICKNT HALFORD.
get shelter at a neighbor's. Did you say
the road was watched, young hidy ? "
"Yes, ma'am; but there are fields
back of here which he can get throu
'* Don't stop longer, Mr. Bennet," saic
the poor wife, wringing her hands : " they
will do us no harm; it is you tliey want.
Do go ! Every minute seems an age."
What could tlie poor man do? With the
rapidfty of lightning, his thoughts went over
his situation, — the uselessness of attempt-
ing any resistance, the spectacle of his in-
valid wife, roused from her bed to be
turned out into the damp, unwholesome
night air, his two frightened little girls,
whose cries, hushed by their nurse, came
distinctl}^ down the " staircase from their dis-
tant chamber.
" Mr. Leavitt will not refuse us a night's
;shelter," said his daughter, speaking hope-
fully. '^ It's not very far for us to go.
Don't stop to worry any longer, father;
they will be here."
To hesitate was indeed madness. With
millicent's loxely walk. 201
a fervent grasp of his daughter's Imnd, and
an agonized look at his wife, Mr. Bennet
disappeared in the hall, and in the next
moment Millicent saw his figure gliding
over the lawn at the back of the house
in the uncertain starlight. Her mission was
finished ; it was time for her to think of
her return, and she rose to go.
" We cannot find words to thank you,
Miss Halford," said Miss Bennet, thinking
with a shudder of the lonesome walk to
be braved by the young governess. "God
will bless you for preserving my dear fa-
ther's life!"
"I wish I could do more for you," said
Millicent, faintly, as she returned the pres-
sure of the hand which the warm-hearted
girl had laid upon her arm. If she could
but take them with her to Wheatley Place ;
but tliat slielter she knew t% be very far
out of her power to offer.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CONFLAGRATION.
MILLICENT recrossed the road safely,
•undisturbed by tlie apparition of the
rider who had alarmed her an hour before;
but just as she had got safely over, a
buzz of suppressed voices stole to her ear,
and she became conscious that footsteps
were approaching, and that her best course
was to lie down in the rank, wet grass as
much as possible in the shadow thrown by
the wall. The moon was not yet up; a
long four hours intervened between her
rising. Millioent was quite safe from dis-
covery ; but slie could not still the quick
beating of her lieart whicli the peculiarity
of her situation excited. The group of
passers-by proved, as she had anticipated
202
THE CONFLAGRATION. 203
them to be, tlie party at the tavern, set
out at this early hour upon their errand
of arson and murder.
It might have been that Frederick Lce-
son's refusal to join them had been con-
sidered a proof of sympathy with Mr. Ben-
net, and they had been led to hurry pro-
ceedings from a fear that warning w^oukl
be conveyed to him.
Several of the party were in a half-in-
toxicated state, and Millicent shuddered at
the brutal oaths and fiendish maledictions
which reached her ears. When they had
passed on, and the spund of their footsteps
had quite died away, she got up to go on.
A few quick steps took her across the
fields. She glided, with a sigh of relief,
under the friendly shadows of the apple-
orchard, and stepped into the garden, whose
beds sent up a sweet perfume. Here, to
her dismay, in turning a corner of the ve-
randa, she came upon Frederick Leeson.
Both stopped short, — Millicent with a
sudden thrill of terror at the discovery,
Mr. Leeson in complete astonishment.
204 MILTJCENT nALFOKD.
Witli more of self-possession, the young
lady niiglit have attempted to pass off her
nocturnal excursion as a ramble in the fresh
air; but the suddenness of the shock quite
took away the power of speech, and she
stood still with downcast eyes and quick-
coming breath.
^' Wiiere have you been, Millicent? " in-
quired Mr. Leeson, his voice betraying a
little surprise, while his eyes took in her
wet dress and generally embarrassed atti-
tude, which showed in strong eflect under
the light shed from the opposite window.
" I have been to walk, sir."
" So I perceive. If not too intrusive,
may I inquire how far your walk ex-
tended ? "
'^ I must beg to decline answering, un-
less you insist," replied Millicent.
" Certainly not," said Mr. Leeson, cour-
teously, opening the door at the same mo-
ment for her to pass in ; but a shadow
came over his brow. Was it possible that
his visitor's errand could have come to this
THE CONFLAGRATION. 205
young lady's ears, and that she had started
off on a Quixotic expedition, to warn the
threatened family? If she had done so,
and her act could be traced, the full storm
of vengeance would descend upon his head,
and Wheatley Place would be the next
dwelling selected to become the theatre of
lawless violence. The thought was not new
to him. He was well aware that, if he
should much longer persist in holding aloof
from the turbulent majority of his section,
he would be set apart as a doomed man,
and his home be most likely given over
to destruction and pillage. His refusal of
to-night to take part in these cruel pro-
ceedings had, no doubt, aroused ill-feeling.
It became him to be wary how he stood.
Millicent, glad to escape, hurried up to
her chamber, to be stopped on her way
by an imperative call from Dinah.
^^ Mistress has been asking for you this
hour, Miss Halford. She says come in."
Millicent wavered, but had no choice but
to obey.
206 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
" "Wliere liave yon been, Millicent?" in-
qnired ^Irs. Leeson, looking np from lier
pillow. " Adcle has been searcbing fur you
everywhere."
"How wet you are, Mi.>^s Hal ford ! " said
Adele, looking at her cousin by the full
blaze of the lamp. " Your dress is com-
pletely draggled, and even your shawl ! "
The last, with her bonnet, lay over her
arm. Millicent had had the prudence to
divest herself of them before coming in.
"I have been ont in the garden," she
said, speaking quickly, " and I wandered
from there out into the field below.''
"It is not safe to be out in these times,"
said Mrs. Leeson, shaking her head disap-
provingly. " Don't venture again. Bat how
came you to loiter so lonsr? You must
have known I was expecting you."
Millicent stammered something of tlie still-
ness and beauty of the evening, and went
out, with her aunt's permission, to change
her dress.
Mrs. Leeson asked the time by the watch
THE CONFLAGRATION. 207
when she returnee!. It Avas nearly eleven.
A little exclamation escaped Aclele.
" How conld you be out so late in the
dews, Millicent ? " said her aunt, reprovingly.
"Your conduct is very strange."
" I did not dream it was so late," said
Millicent; and the remark was spoken truth-
fully.
Adele said good-night to her mother, and
went up to bed. Mrs. Leeson was rest-
less, and desired her niece to sit with her
an hour, and read from a book which she
had begun on the previous evening.
Millicent stilled her nerves to turn back
to the third chapter, and commence in her
usual voice the monotonous narrative so
widely excelled by the scenes which were
opening almost within view of their peace-
ful windows. She read on for some twenty
minutes, when a vivid flame of light shot
up in the western sky, and presently a
broad illumination flashed over the windows.
"What is that?" said Mrs. Leeson, start-
ing up. " A fire somewhere ! It must be
near here. Open the window."
208 MILLICEXT HALFOnn.
s
Millicent obeyed. The crackling of the
flames was distinctly heard ; Ijut outside
these there was a still and ominous hush.
Every instant the illumination seemed to
grow more vivid.
"Where can the fire be?" asked Mrs.
Leeson, anxiously. " Call Frederick."
Millicent hesitated. She had not heard
Mr. Leeson go up to his room, though she
had listened once or twice. It was quite
possible that at the last moment he had
started to make one of the party. She
hoped not; but she feared.
'^Millicent!" iterated Mrs. Leeson.
She got up to obey her. "Do you wish
to see him, ma'am? I think — I am not
sure — but I think he has gone out."
" At tliis time of evening ! Impossible.
Call him ; I wish him to come in and tell
me where the fire seems to be. It is very
strange it should be so still. I'm afraid
it's the Chantilly house-burning over again."
Millicent stepped out, and knocked lightly
at Frederick's door. As she had antici-
THE CONFLAGRATION. 209
patecl^ no ansAver came. She glided down
the staircase. At the instant she halted
on the last step, the object of her search
emerged from the sitting-room. Millicent's
heart gave a quick bound of relief.
" Your mother is much alarmed, Mr. Fred-
erick," she said, speaking hastily. "Will
you come up to her? She is anxious to
know the locality of the fire."
It was a piece of information that Mil-
licent could easily have given her. Mr.
Leeson had this impression as he followed
his young cousin's footsteps into his moth-
er's chamber.
"Where is the fire, Frederick?" asked
Mrs. Leeson, anxiously, removing her eyes
from the brilliant illumination which spread
over the eastern heavens. " It seems very
near."
" It shows up from the direction of Val-
ley Farm," observed Frederick, quietly, plac-
ing himself at the window. "I think it
must be Mr. Bennet's place."
Mrs. Leeson drew a deep breath. "What
14
210 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
is it, Frederick, — an incendiary fire? It
can't be set by accident."
" It bas that appearance, madam. From
tbe total stillness, tliere would seem to be
no attempts to put it out."
"What will become of them?" said Mrs.
Leeson. " Mrs. Bennet has hardly yet got
off from her sick-bed. She will take her
death to go out in this damp night ! "
Frederick did not answer; he seemed to
be watching the progress of" the lire.
"What has Mr. Bennet done?" asked his
mother, her suspicions confirmed by lier
son's silence. "How has he given offence?"
"He has been too free in liis remarks,"
replied Frederick, still keeping his face
tnrnc<l in the direction of the fire. " Ilis
New England birth, and the fact that he
is a stranger among us, though settled here
some dozen years, has made him an object
of su>piciun."
"' What a terrible state of things ! " said
Mrs. Leeson, shutting her eyes, as if she
would gladly shut out the picture of wretch-
THE CONFLAGRATION. 211
edness and suffering that the crimson sky
brought up. '' What demon has entered
into these men's hearts ? "
Below, on the veranda, Millicent's down-
ward glance detected the servants gathered
in various positions, watching the progress
of the fire. Dinah and Lizzie had joined
them ; Jim was distinctly prominent in the
foreground, a strange expression stamped
upon his dark face, which had parted with
its easy, good-natured expression on the
morning of his cruel whipping. Did a
voice, unheard b}^ the curious group around
him, whisper in his ear that this picture
upon which his eyes rested, — this midnight
work of man's cruelty and wrong, was ouq
of the million of opening scenes whose re-
sults were to accomplish the liberation of
his down-trodden race ?
f
CHAPTER XXV.
THE FRIENDLY WARNING.
THE conflagration of the burning house
spread to the servants' outbuildings and
the adjoining barn, and did not die out
completely until near daybreak. The birds
were beginning their morning carol when
Millicent laid her head upon her pillow,
and tried to forget the incidents of the
past night in a few moments of fevered
sleep.
It was a wear^Mooking face which she
took down to the breakfast-table at eight.
Adcle was there, fresh in her happy un-
consciousness of all that had taken place ;
for the sweet slumbers of youth had kept
her eyes sealed through the hours of wake-
fulness and watching which had fallen to
others.
212
THE FRIENDLY WARNING. 213
Mr. Leeson seemed absent and preoccu-
pied. This was usual to liim of late ; he
spoke but two or three times during the
repast, and when it was ended, he took
liis hat from the hall table, and sauntered
out for a walk. He had not got farther-
than the extremity of the garden, when
he desci'ied his neighbor, Mr. Leavitt, rid-
ing slowly past, and, as he slackened his
horse's rein, Frederick hurried liis steps
down the carriage-walk to join him. On
several accounts tliis meeting was desired
upon both sides. Upon Mr. Leavitt's part
it could hardly be said to be accidental.
" I was setting out to see you, Mr.
Leavitt," observed Frederick, when the
brief salutations of the morning were over.
" My mortgage, I remember, falls due in
little more than a fortnight. I confess that
I am sorely pressed for the means to meet
it."
*^ Give yourself no anxiety, Mr. Leeson,"
said Mr. Leavitt, good-naturedly. ^' I will
give you a farther extension of the mort-
214 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
gage, if you desire it. The security is
good. Take your own time in the matter."
. Frederick expressed his thanks. The re-
lief was certainly a very great one.
" You saw the fire last night, Mr. Lee-
sou ? " observed Leavitt, bending a search-
ing glance upon his friend. '' I passed
Valley Farm a moment ago ; the house and
out-buildings are a heap of ruins."
'• A bad affair for Mr. Bennet/' observed
Frederick, speaking in a careless tone. '*' Do
you know anything of the particulars?"
Leavitt nodded. " I was one of the party
who stood by and saw the work done,"
he assented, dropping his voice, '^ though
the open road barred the possibility of a
listener. It was not quite of my choice;
but I had an invitation, and did not think
it prudent to slight it. You took that
risk, I understand?"
''I did," said Frederick. "But what
was the result of the visit? Was any
blood shed?"
" Xo ; the family seemed to have received
THE FRIENDLY WARNING. 2\5
warniDg. The house was entirely deserted;
even the negroes were not to be found,
and tlie horses had been taken out from
the stable."
Frederick looked thoughtfully down. His
suspicions of the nature of his . cousin's
night walk were receiving confirmation.
Mr. Leavitt leaned over, and placed his
hand lightly upon his friend's shoulder.
^'Mr. Leeson/' he said, *^ I have come past
here this morning purposely to warn you.
I am sorry to say that your refusal to
join in with us last night, coupled with
the fact of Bonnet's escape, has been put
under a bad construction."
" I cannot say that this news takes me
by surprise," replied Frederick, "though
my pai-t has been entirely free from inter-
meddling. So Wheatley Place is to be
signalled out next? In a lawless-growing
community, there are always plenty of ex-
cuses to be found for selecting a new ob-
ject for ra[)ine and violence."
"You speak with heat, Mr. Leeson," said
216 MILLICENT HALFDKO.
Mr. Leavitt, soothingly. '' In these times,
the only way for a man to save his life
and propeity is to go with the strong
party."
"There will come a day' of reckoning,"
said Frederick, in a suppressed voice.
" When the first terror of these mob days
has blown over, we shall see where Ken-
tucky stands. Her legishiturc lias expressed
itself for the old Union against the dic-
tates of her governor. I believe it has
expressed the true voice of her people."
*•' I beg you to be warned, ^Ir. Leesou,"
said Leavitt, drawing in his reins. *^ What-
ever is to come by and by, we are under
mob rule now. I have done a friend's
part in coming to caution you. I can go
no -farther."
" I thank you, Leavitt," said Mr. Leeson,
speaking with warmth. " You have done
me a great service. If these gentlemen
decide to pay me a night" visit of the
character they gave poor Bonnet, I shall
be prepared to receive them."
THE FRIENDLY WARNING. 217
Mr. Leavitt rorle off, and Frederick
turned his steps slowly back in the direc-
tion from which he had come. Two or
three unpleasant considerations pressed up-
on him, — what were his means of resist-
ance, should his house be attacked, and
what would become of his feeble mother
in the excitements and dangers of such an
emergency? For the first, he must take
the noon train, and set out for the nearest
town to get a supply of ammunition, and
commence privately drilling his negroes ;
for the second, it was not best to disquiet
his rnother with a confession of the state
of affairs, but, if possible, to keep her in
ignorance. How this could be done in a
house peopled with loquacious servants, was
certainly a question of some moment. It
was best to make a full confidant of Mil-
licent ; her position in the household had
grown to be one of no small importance,
and her daring conduct of. the past night,
with her after-management of the affair^
had shown her to be possessed of both
couraire and discretion.
218 JIILLICEXT UALKOKD.
Mr. Loesoii proceeded to liis lihrary,
wliere a part of liis in()riiiii<j;s were usually
spent, and despatched Rose to call Milli-
ceiit from the schoolroom. It was an al-
together unusual interruption, and Adele
looked up surprised, while Millicent's vary-
ing color showed a variety of emotions.
She commanded herself to desire Adele to
continue on her lesson, and went down
with a very distinct consciousness of some-
thing unpleasant awaiting her. Mr. Leeson
sat in his leather-covered library-chair, with
his head slightly inclined upon his hand,
and lines of thought upon his brow ; but
he rose at her appearance to place a chair
for her, and wdien he spoke his voice had
its usual slightly-subdued tone.
" I have sent for you, Milliccnt, to ask
your assistance in a matter which I feel
unable- to fully arrange for myself."
Millicent looked up, a faint glow break-
ing over her face, which rendered it for
the moment positively beautiful.
Mr. Leeson was struck with this ob-
THE FrJEXDLY WAl.XING. 219
seiTation at the instant. He stopped for
a moment before he went on.
"An attack," he resnmed, "is likely to
be threatened upon Wheatley Place, with
similar results to those of the scene we
watched last night. I shall make my prep-
arations to meet it. It is of tlie utmost im-
portance that the danger sliould be kept
from my mother in her present weak state.
Will you undertake to do this?"
" I will," said Millicent, the color re-
treating from her face. " But are you sure,
Mr. Frederick, — are you quite sure there
is danger?"
" I think there is ; I am quite sure."
Millicent hesitated ; her eagerness con-
quered her dislike to put a question.
"What can have broiiglit it about? You
have taken no part upon either side."
" Precisely this, Millicent, — that I have
taken no part upon either side."
" Is there any cause, any particular rea-
son given, for these threats?" she asked,
her anxiet}^ getting the better of her
timidity.
220 MILLICKNT HALFOKO.
"My relu.siil to join in the liouse-ljiiruing
of last niglit, for one," said Mr. Leeson,
indifferently; ^' but my position lias been a
source of dissatisfaction to the vigilance
committee, as tliey are styled, for some
time." He paused, as if there was some-
tliing more he was about to add.
Millicent gave him an anxious attention.
"I shall arm my negroes," he pursued,
" and teach them the use of the musket.
I am a tolerable shot myself. A few well-
directed shots would put a dozen of these
cowardly night-robbers to fliglit."
Millicent doubted. What were the glid-
ing bullets, though winged with death,
amonji" a crowd of half-intoxicated and fu-
o
rious men ? She got up to go ; Mr. Lee-
son had finished his communications.
" It is not necessary to tell Adele," he
observed, as she paused with her hand up-
on the door in the act of going out. " We
must save her all needless alarm."
Millicent assented, though her judgment
did not quite approve this part. Slie knew
THE FPwIENDLY WARNING. 221
her pupil better^ perhaps, than did Fred-
erick, and felt that, with a little prepa-
ration, her courage could be relied upon
even in this serious emergency.
How often we find ourselves rising su-
perior to the circumstances of our lives, —
courage, resolution, judgment, developed,
which we never thought ourselves to pos-
sess ! If any one had told Mr. Frederick
Leeson, on the evening on which he, re-
ceived his shy, silent cousin into his charge
at the New York depot, that the time
would come in less than a year when he
would find himself depending upon her co-
operation in affairs involving the safet}^ of
much that was dearest to him, he would
have thrown the assertion from him as a
romantic impossibility.
CHAPTER XXVI.
MR. LEESON'S railway RIDE.
MR. LEESOX took an immediate oppor-
tunity of acquainting his mother with
Mr. Leavitt's lenient conduct in the mat-
ter of tlie mortgage, an opportunity wdiicli
he seized upon in the hour preceding his
setting out for the railway station.
Mrs. Leeson listened vrith emotions of
tlianklulness and relief, which were a lit-
tle clouded by the consciousness that tlie
troublesome question was only temporarily
put oiF, and must still be met.
" Negroes bring next to nothing in tlie
present state of troubles," observed Mr.
Leeson, " setting aside m}* unwillingness to
part with them, and the very serious in-
convenience the step would create. ^Iv.
222
MR. LEESON's railway RIDE. 223
Leavitt can afford to wait ; and by the
w^inter, something may turn up. This
state of things cannot go on for long."
" The meadow lot may as well be parted
with/' said Mrs. Leeson, keeping her
thoughts upon her son's embarrassed posi-
tion. '' It is hard to have any of your fa-
ther's estate go ; but I see no other way.
We must sacrifice a part to save the re-
mainder."
Frederick shook his head. " It would be
nearly impossible to find a purchaser in
these times/' he remarked, " not to ob-
serve that the lot you have marked out
is really the only valuable tillage part of
the farm."
" The waste fields could be reclaimed
under proper management/' observed his
mother. " You have little tact for fiirming,
Frederick ; but your poor father had less
before you. You should have been bred
to a profession."
What had it done for James ? The al-
lusion was unfortunate. Mrs. Leeson re-
224 MILLICENT IIALFOHD.
membcred it too late. The unpleasant
news which her eldest son had kept back
from her had reached her in a letter from
Miss Stuart, the only person at Tudor Hall
who now kept up relation with Wheatley
Place. It had not been Mr. Stuart's habit
to write, and all continuance of intimacy
between Frederick and Augusta had, of
course, dropped in the new understanding
of things. Miss Stuart had alluded to the
step taken by James under the impression
that it was fully known to his mother.
" It might have been as well," observed
Frederick, breaking the awkward pause ;
'•' but we could not foresee how events
would turn." He pushed back his chair,
and rose. " I am going into town, mother.
Have you any commissions ? "
Mrs. Leeson did not think of any. '' I
have had a wretched night," she said, go-
ing back to her personal complaints.
" What will become of that poor fau^ily,
Frederick? I hear Mrs. Bennet is likely
to have a relapse of fever. They have ta-
ken shelter with poor Mrs. Crawford, af-
ter applying to one or two places. No-
body dared to take them in.''
" It is a hard case/' said Frederick, mus-
ingly. " Mrs. Crawford is poor ; it is next
to impossible that Mrs. Bennet can get
many of the comforts she needs."
" Dinah said she was very ill," observed
Mrs. Leeson ; " she saw^ Mr. Leavitt's boy,
Sam, this morning. He went to the cot-
tage on an errand from Mrs. Leavitt. Mrs.
Crawford had taken some sewing for her.
She thought Mrs. Bennet had taken to be
a little light-headed."
"No wonder, with her trouble," said
Frederick. " It is a mercy Bennet got off.
I hope he will make his escape out of the
country. If he should be so rash as to
hang round here to look after his family,
he will be sure to be taken."
" You think they would kill him?" Mrs.
Leeson's face expressed a troubled horror.
" We have heard of one or two such in-
stances not far from here," responded Fred-
15
22G MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
erick. " Mr. Bonnet liua made himself very
unpopular, and by liis free speaking put
bis life very seriously in danger."
" Where will it all end ? " groaned Mrs.
Leeson. '^ Wiiat will become of us in such
a state of things?"
Frederick went out, ordered his carriage,
and was driven over to the station.
The train had not come in. On con-
sulting his watch, he found himself a few
moments before the time, and began to
pace leisurely to and fro upon the plat-
form. Two other gentlemen were waiting,
— persons of his acquaintance; but they
gave him a cool good-morning, and seemed
disposed to keep out of the range of his
conversation.
Presently the train came sweeping up ;
he took his place on board, and was
soon whirling rapidly into town.
Conversation flowed freely among the
passengers, all confined to one subject, and
setting in one direction. Frederick sat si-
lent, only answering when his opinions
MR. leeson's railway rJDE. 227
were appealed to. A grim smile parted his
lips once or twice as he listened. The
reign of terror had commenced.
Could he have thrown a glance back in-
to his mother's chamber on his railway
ride, he might have seen another link
threatened in the chain of his sudden un-
popularity.
Mrs. Leeson was discussing with Dinah
the propriety of loading a small basket
with dehcacies suited to the needs of an
invalid, and despatching it to Mrs. Bennet,
whose deplorable condition excited her sym-
pathies more acutely than it might have
done, had she been herself in a less fee-
ble state.
Millicent stood by, warmly seconding the
plan in her heart, but not daring to add
her mite of approval, from a conscious-
ness of the very dangerous mine to which
this httle incident might set the spark.
The matter was finally decided, Dinah
going out to exercise her skill in the
kitchen, after listening to her mistress' full
i!l!8 MILLICENT RALFORD.
instructions of the manner in wliich to
prepare a dish of blanc-mange, and Milli-
cent timidly proffered her services to start
on the proposed errand.
Mrs. Leeson demurred, in some surprise.
Dinah could take over the basket as well,
and Millicent's services were needed in
the schoolroom, where it may as well be
said that Adele still sat conning her in-
terrupted lesson.
^* I can, perhaps, bring you fuller infor-
mation of Mrs. Bennet's state. I shall be
allowed to see her," replied Millicent,
" and — " she hesitated, '^ will it be best
for Dinah to make her appearance there?
If her visit should come out, might it not
turn to Mr. Frederick's disadvantage ? "
'' You may be right," said Mrs. Leeson,
giving up hurriedly at the last suggestion.
" But how will you contrive to escape the
same share of observation ? As one of
our family, I cannot perceive the differ-
ence."
" I shall manage my approach more
ME. LEESON'S railway RIDE. 229
guardedly/' said Millicent, " and I shall
beg Mrs. Crawford to keep my visit a
secret. Since she has courage to give
them a shelter in their need, she can cer-
tainly be trusted with so small a matter."
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE HOMELESS FAMILY.
MILLICENT did not set out inimodi-
ately upon her errand. On second
thoughts, she dared not trust herself in
the garish brightness of noonday, but
judged it best to wait till tlie twilight
should render her face and figure indis-
tinct in its friendly shadows. It was a
dangerous experiment, this wandering out
at nightfall ; but it was not again to be
repeated, and she would venture this once,
trusting to a keen sight and a superabun-
dance of watchfulness.
She heard the distant whistle of the lo-
comotive on the down train, which was
bringing in Mr. Leeson, as she stepped out
into the field over which she had returned
230
THE HOMELESS FAMILY. 231
the past niglit; for she dared not trust
herself to the broad highway. Her walk
extended farther than that of the previous
night, and the road had to be crossed twice,
which Avas a work of some difficulty.
"I wish I had taken Dinah with me,"
was her secret thought, as she began to
consider the increased darkness which most
likely would shroud her return, and her
very uncertain knowledge of the localities.
'^ What shall I do, if I should get lost, and
have to spend the night in these fields ? "
Her way lay past Yalley Farm, the spot
she had visited on the previous night; a
heap of black cinders and a yawning pit
was all which now showed where the house
had stood. The fragrant-smelling hedge was
scorched, and stripped of its green leaves,
the odorous beds of the garden trampled
down into promiscuous heaps. Millicent
sighed as she looked at the work of des-
olation, made more dismal in the uncer-
tain light flickered from the stars, and
hurried on. A second time she crossed
232 MILLICEXT nALFORD.
the road, wliich now wound to the back
of Valley Farm, without accident, and be-
gan to climb the green slope which
stretched up the hill, under whose base
stood Mrs. Crawford's small one-story cot-
tage. She had to pass not far from the
back of a large house, — Mr. Leavitt's, —
and was obliged to make a detour out of
her direct way to escape the possibility of
coming into notice. The deep baying of
a hound struck her disagreeably as she
accomplished this movement, and she started
into a quick walk, which soon became a
run in her nervous alarm. She was quite
out of breath when the door was reached,
and stopped a moment to recover herself
before essaying to knock.
Mrs. Crawford, a pale, slatternly-dressed
woman, opened the door, and waited to
hear her errand before bidding her to en-
ter. Mrs. Bennet had grown much worse
in a few hours, she said, in answer to
her inquiries, and led her into the small
room, which, to appearances, seemed to an-
THE HOMELESS FAMILY. 233
swer the purposes of both kitchen and
bedroom. A fine, sturdy-looking boy of
twelve or fourteen lounged on the straw
bed in the corner, and a young girl a
year or two older busied herself in placing
a chair for the unseasonable visitor, after
carefully dusting it wuth her apron.
Miss Bennet presently made her appear-
ance from the inner room, her pale, hag-
gard face and disordered dress forming a
painful contrast to the blooming complex-
ion and elaborate toilet of the past night,
as did the dingy room, with its confused
and poverty-stricken furniture, to the ele-
gant parlor of Valley Farm.
"You are very kind to come. Miss Hal-
ford," she said, taking the basket from
MiUicent's hand. "Mamma will see you;
but I do not think she knows any one;
she is growing light-headed."
Millicent got up and followed her into
the opposite room, which Mrs. Crawford
had kindly given up to her unexpected
visitors. Mrs. Bennet was lying in a high
234 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
fever, wliicli was mucli increased by tlie
close room and the constant excitement
which was preying upon her. The two
httle girls were huddled close to the bed ;
one of them had fallen asleep, the other
looked up with curiosity at the visitor.
" She needs a doctor," observed MilH-
cent, struck by the sick woman's hot face
and restless eyes.
"It is the worry which is killing her,"
said her daughter ; " she needs only cool-
ing medicines, and those I was so fortu-
nate as to take with me. If I could only
hear from papa, and know that he has got
off safe ! but I am afraid that he is lin-
gering around here to obtain a chance to
speak ivith us."
"Why do you think so?" asked Milli-
cent.
"I cannot tell you; only I do think so.
If he is here, he will be sure to be caught,
and the}" will hang him without mercy."
Millicent could give her little comfort.
Knowing the wretched condition of his
THE HOMELESS FAMILY. 235
family, it was only too likely that Mr.
Bennet would be tempted to linger in their
vicinity to catch news of them, and to
form some plan of communicating with
them.
" We have friends at the North," observed
Miss Bennet, *' if mamma was better, and
we could only get away."
It was a hopeless plan at present. Mil-
licent said a few words of her aunt's
anxieties for them.
" Mrs. Leeson is kind," said Miss Ben-
net, with a little hesitation. Perhaps the
thought that an invitation might have been
extended to her mother to be removed to
Wheatley Place crossed her mind.
Millicent rose to go. Her visit had not
proved, on the whole, a very satisfactory
one ; she began to see that it would not
be safe to repeat it.
She did her errand to Mrs. Crawford,
received her promise of secrecy, and, tak-
ing her basket from Miss Bennet's hand,
said good-night to her at the door.
236 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
The young lad}" followed her out into
the air. ^' Mrs. Leeson has not heard from
her son lately ? " she asked.
''From Mr. James? Yes." Milliccnt
paused ; there was no need to keep it a
secret. '' He has left Bowling Green, and
taken a commission in the Confederate
army."
Miss Bonnet's face was turned away.
Millicent thought she repressed a sigh.
"What is his address?" she asked.
" I cannot tell you," said Millicent, rather
surprised at the question. " Mrs. Leeson's
information came, I believe, through a
letter from Miss Stuart."
"Then he has not written home? Very
likely he understood his mother's disap-
proval of the step."
Miss Bennet said her good-night, and
disappeared indoors.
Millicent climbed the hill, and had got
nearly past the house, which she had made
a wide detour to avoid in coming, when
the deep baying of a hound in the dis-
THE HOMELESS FAMILY. 23 7
tance again arrested her attention. She
halted and stood still in the tall grass, at
a loss whether to advance or to begin to
retrace her steps. The last was nearly out
of the question, and if the animal was
chained, as was most likely, he could do
her no injury. Very likely his bark came
from his kennel in some outside building,
and was not excited, as her fears had at
jQrst fancied, by her proximity.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE FPJGHT.
REASSURED by this last recollection,
Millicent hastened her steps ; but she
had hardly proceeded twenty yards, wlicn
the increasing volume of sound warned her
that the animal was coming toward her,
and led her to halt again, this time in a
pitiable state of irresolution and terror. She
would have retraced her steps at a rapid
run; but her alarm had the effect of tak-
ing from her the power of motion, and
beside, the distance to the cottage was
much too great for her to hope to pass
over it without being overtaken, should the
hound actually have scented her presence.
Her only course was to stand still and
wait the coming of events. The darkness,
238
THE FmGHT. 239
relieved only by the light of a few stars,
was too intense for her sight to penetrate
beyond a few 3"ards. Slie could only dis-
cern the tall grass, nodding with blossoms
on each side of her, and a cluster of trees
in the foreground, which might be supposed
to form part of an orchard but for their
distance from any dwelling-house.
Millicent clasped her hands tightly to-
gether, and fixed her eyes on the distance,
from out of which the deep-voiced baying
of the dog proceeded, every moment get-
ting nearer. It was a fearful situation.
Her breath began to come in gasps, and
she was conscious that great beads of per-
spiration were standing on her forclieod.
With more presence of mind, slie miglit
have tried to climb a tree wliich stood at
no great distance, and who:^e low branches
would liave offered a ready foothold ; but
the terror of the emergency seemed to take
away all her thou gl its.
Suddenly she grew conscious of footsteps
and voices, and just as the dog emerged
2-1:0 MILLICEXT HALFOIID.
from cover almost at her feet, with lolling
tongue and wild eyes, a band was placed
heavily upon lier shoulder, and a rough
voice responded to lier irrepressihlc shriek.
"Down, Joles, down! AVliat business have
ye liere, gal? Lcavitt, this is one of Ben-
net's niggers, I guess. ^'
Millicent tore herself away from the man's
grasp, and made an ineifectual attempt to
draw her bonnet closer over her face.
" Come, let's have a look at ye," persisted
the first speaker, standing up before her so
as to bar her progress, as she took a step
to get away. '^ Who and what are ye ?
Ye don't seem to be a nigger wench arter
all, as I can make out."
"I belong in the neighborhood," said
Millicent, speaking wnth difficulty. "I came
here on an errand to the house just back,
and took this short cross back to the road."
"A pretty time of night for a woman
to be walking alone ! " the man leered at
her with a siiort laugh. " What w^as your
errand, miss, that you couldn't do it by
dayhght?"
THE FRIGHT. 241
"I went to carry some things for a sick
woman," said Millicent, bringing her basket
round from her arm for the man's inspec-
tion. " I could not go earher." She did
not say she dared not from fear of the
very discovery that had come upon her.
'' That's a Hkely story," said the m.an,
bursting out with an oath. '' I say, Leav-
itt,'' speaking to his companion, who still
kept in the background, and had not once
spoken in the short colloquy, ^' this don't
look nat'ral. The girl's a spy and a go-
between to Bennet and his wife, loike as
not."
" Oh, no, no ! " exclaimed Millicent, clasp-
ing her hands. ^' Indeed, indeed, I am not.
I know nothing of Mr. Bennet. I only
brought some delicacies to tlie sick Avoman
who 1 heard w^as ill with a fever at the
cottage."
"What's your name then? Whar do ye
b'long?" asked her interrogator, shortly.
"I should ratlier not tell you, sir," said
Millicent, her senses almost deserting her
in her terror.
zrj, :uILLki::\t iialfop.d.
" Thafs good," said tlio man, with a laugli.
" Come, Leavitt, let's take lier along to
the house and see what we can git out
of her. There's something under this, de-
pend- upon it ! "
To have kept silent longer would have
been folly.
*' I will tell you who I am, sir," said
jMillicent, hurriedly, "if you will let me
go. My name is Millicent Halford ; I am
a governess in Mr. Leeson's family at
Wheatley Place."
" Ah ! " The man dropped her arm, which
he had seized upon in the act of forcing
her along, with a short exclamation. " So
you are the Yankee teacher; are you?
^Ye don't want any such folks round here."
" You liave scared the girl nearly to
death, Wadleigh," interposed Leavitt, speak-
ing for the first time. " If you have any
questions to ask her, why don't you put
them in a more moderate way?"
" Like yours," sneered Wadleigh. " Well,
gal, answer me one question, and you may
go. Where is old Bennet hid?"
THE FrJGIIT. 243
"I don't know, sir, — I don't, upon my
life ! I have just told yon what my er-
rand was to Mrs. Bennet : I have told
you the whole truth. Mr. Leeson did not
know I came here ; he has been in town
all day."
" Lying comes as easy as breathing to
these Yankees," said Wadleigh, in an un-
dertone, to Leavitt.
" Please let me go, sir," said Millicent,
hurriedly ; " it's getting late, and I shall
be afraid to go on."
'' It wont answer any purpose to detain
her," said Leavitt, speaking up before Wad-
leigh could reply. " If there's anything
wrong, she don't know it. I'd stake my
word upon her face ! Let her go." .
" Pshaw ! " said Wadleigh, half-unwillingly.
" You're too sober a man, Leavitt, to be
taken in by a pretty face ; " but he drew
a step back, and Millicent took advantage
of the movement to hurry past him with-
out waiting for a more direct permission
to pursue her course, or for the risk of
244 MILLICKNT UALFOIID.
a change in lier captor's purpose. She
moved on as rapidly as tlie thick grass
Would allow, quite unconscious now of the
heavy dews which ching to her skirts and
saturated her thin sh'ppers.
The road was crossed, and she turned
again into the fields which lay past the
deserted ruins of Valley Farm. A sudden
apparition started up in her path, as she
h'ngered here for a second, held by some
irrepressible attraction to gaze against her
will. It was the figure of a man, crouched
down in the shadow of the burnt hedge,
against whom her dress might very likely
have swept in her rapid passage.
]\Iillicent's nerves were unsteady through
the fright she had just undergone; her lips
parted with a dismal shriek, which rang
out gloomily on the still air.
^' Hush ! " whispered a voice proceeding
from the motionless figure, "you will show
them where 1 am."
It was Mr. Beunet. Millicent sat down
on the grass. This meeting had quite de-
prived her of strength.
THE FRIGHT. 245
" Tell me something of my family/' he
said, crouching back in the shadow of the
hedge. " Is my wife living ? ''
'' You don't know what danger you are
in, sir ! " said Millicent, speaking between
her gasps for breath. " They are out with
a hound to-night ; they came upon me only
a minute ago. It wont do for you to lin-
ger here a moment : you will be sure to
be taken. It may be my shriek has be-
trayed you now."
Both started, as a breath of wind swept
over the tall grass. Millicent listened, and
th; ught she heard the renewed baying of
a hound in the distance.
" You must go, sir," she said, springing
up. ^^It wont do for you to stop here!
They will be upon you in a moment ! "
Tlie man threw a sullen glance at the
ruined spot, where so lately his home had
risen, without making a movement to stir.
'^ You have told me nothing of my fom-
ily," he iterated. "Is my wife living?"
" She is in good hands," said Millicent,
246 MILLICENT HALFORD.
speaking rapidl}'. "I have just come from
her. All her anxiety is for you. If you
arc taken, it will kill her.''
The deep, distant baying of a hound
was certainly audible. Millicent listened
again.
Bennet picked himself up from the ground.
"I have a knife here," he said, putting
his hand in liis vest, " and a pistol. I
shall not be taken alive. But I am faint
for Avant of food ; I have tasted nothing
for twenty-four hours."
Millicent paused. She had very little
time to think.
^' I could contrive to get you something,"
she said ; '' but how t(^ get it to you ?
You must get away from here as fast as
possible. Where have you been through
the day?"
" In a little wood not half a mile from
here."
"They will search it to-night," said Mil-
licent. ^' Oh, I wish you were miles from
here ! "
THE FPJOnT. 247
They bad moved on while speaking, and
were now close to the road.
Bennet stopped. " I am not going your
way, Miss Halford. I shall strike up through
the field."
Millicent, too, paused. " You will not
be able to keep on without food. The
men are out for you too. If you could
hide, and come to the orchard back of
Wheatley Place at two, you would then
have two hours before day for the begin-
ning of your journey, and the night prom-
ises to be cloudy."
It was a good calculation. The fugitive
felt, so as he stopped to consider it.
" I will try to do so," he said, " if I
am not too closely watched. I know a
place where I can hide on the banks of
a creek; the water will take out the scent
for the hounds."
CHAPTER XXIX.
DISAPPOINTMENT.
MILLICENT crossed the road, and trav-
ersed the remaining fields without far-
ther accident. She found Dinah waiting
her appearance in the orchard in a state
of hvely apprehension.
*^ Missus is 'most out of her head 'hout
yoUj" she said, as they proceeded in to-
gether. '' She couldn't think what could
keep you so long."
Millicent did not think it best to ac-
quaint her aunt with her adventures ; she
merely dwelt upon the distance and the
alarm which she had really felt in her
lonely excursion.
"I should have sent Dinah with you/'
said Mrs. Leeson; "but the thought did
248
DISAPPOIXTMEXT. 2-1:9
not come to me until you had passed out
of hearing."
Milhcent thought it had proved quite as
well. The negro woman's company would
not have prevented the unfortunate rencon-
tre with Wadleigh and Leavitt, and might
have seriously embarrassed the few words
of counsel she had been able to ofier to
the fugitive of whom they were in search.
She sat with her aunt rather more than
an hour, and then, as Mrs. Leeson dropped
into a light sleep, she took the opportunity
of leaving her, and proceeded down-stairs.
It was not far from twelve ; Mr. Leeson
had just come in from the direction of the
stable-buildings, and was sitting in a thoughts
ful attitude at one of the windows opening
on the veranda as she stepped out. He
had been drilling his negroes.
Millicent remembered suddenly a book
she had left upon the table, and found it
an excuse for entering. Her cousin gave
a little start at her appearance, and turned
round from the window.
250 MILLICENT HALFORD.
" You have not retired, Millicent," he
observed. " Is my mother worse this even-
ing?"
'' Xo ; Mrs. Leeson has dropped into a
liglit sleep. I am too wakeful to get rest,
iirid I shall try to busy myself with a book
for an hour or two to come."
Her uneasiness was natural. Frederick
could not himself shake off the awe of his
unpleasant situation.
" I have had two or three busy hours
to-night," he observed, speaking in a tone
which effort alone made cheerfuh "I can-
not say much for my first lessons. These
negroes are better adapted to handling the
hoe than the musket, not to speak of long
"use."
What motive had these poor creatures to
learn? They were not about to fight for
home. To-morrow even might see them
torn away, bound in a slave coffle, on
their way to the cotton fields of Georgia,
under the lash of a brutal driver.
" I have read that they make the best
DISAPPOINTMENT. 251
soldiers in the world," said Millicent, with
a hesitating manner.
"The full-blooded African, — yes; but this
mongrel race, very little can be expected
from them."
Millicent did not venture an answer.
Perhaps the remark admitted of none. She
took up her book to go out.
" I shall have their quarters removed to
the house to-morrow." pursued Mr. Lee-
son. ''This threatened attack may come off
at any moment. We shall get no further
warning."
Was the danger so close at hand? Mil-
licent drew an uneasy breath as she stepped
out. She could not be blind to the very
scanty nature of Mr. Leeson's preparation.
If blood should first be drawn by his hand,
it might only have the effect of deepen-
ing the fury of his assailants, and hurry
his own doom. If Mr. James were only
still at Bowling Green, the active part he
had taken on the side of the Confederacy
would give him influence to protect his
2o2 MTLLICENT IlALFOllD.
brother. Millicent did not consider that
fratricidal contests are always sure to work
as wide a separation in families as in neigh-
borhoods. In this instance, too, a private
enmity added its bitterness, and it is hard
to say in such cases if the hatred be the
stronger on the side of the injured or the
injurer.
It was past one Avhcn ^Ir. Lecson went
up to his chamber. Millicent sat in her
aunt's room wearying over her book in the
intervals of listening intently for his foot-
steps. She had very little time left before
two, as a frlance at the watch on the table
told her, and she proceeded at once to
grope her way very softly down to the
kitchen. The night was dark, though a
few stars glimmered in the east, and she
had to trust to her knowledge of the rooms,
and the position of the furniture, as she
went on.
The kitchen was reached without acci-
dent, and takins: the kevs of the closet
from her pocket, Millicent felt her way to
DI3APP01NTJIEXT. 253
the pantry. Here she abstracted part of a
loaf of bread and a few slices of meat,
the remains of the previous day's dinner,
and stood for a moment casting about in
her thouglits for the means of adding to
this frugal meal. A couple of dry rolls ]siy
on a plate in the corner. She remembered
having seen them in the morning, and
felt very carefully over the array of cut
glass goblets to reach them.
Mrs. Leeson's closet rarely presented
much variety ; her table was always frugal,
less from her own choice it might be than
from the rigid necessity of economy.
Mihicent closed the door, carefully locked
it, and after wrapping her luncheon in a
paper which she had taken down with her,
proceeded to grope her way out. She
dared not slip the bolt of the side-door,
lest in the stillness of the night it should
give an alarm, but crept into the sitting-
room, out of whose low windows she could
easily emerge on the veranda.
The night was intensely still; the air
254 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
was heavy Avitli the fragrance of the roses
which climbed around the pillars. It could
not be far from two. Millicent glided light-
ly in the direction of the orchard, moving
cautiously, and halting more than once as
slie passed under her cousin's windows.
The darkness veiled every object around
her. Several moments passed before she
could distinguish the trees of the orchard,
and the spot once attained, she seated her-
self to await her expected visitor. It was
a lonesome situation. Her heart pulsated
tremulously, and she wished the hour was
over. How would Mr. Bennet discover her
in tlie darkness with his possible ignorance
of the locality? She laid her ear to the
ground, and listened intently for footsteps.
Twenty, thirty minutes passed. She began
to despair. Could it be that he was cap-
tured? An icy chill crept over her. The
minutes flew on, and by and by a dim
glimmer of light began to show in the
east. A bird began to chirp in the branches
overhead, soon followed by a chorus of
feathered songsters.
DISAPPOINTMENT. 255
To remain longer would be useless. Mil-
licent bent her head again to the ground,
only to catch the low sighing of the wind
among the grasses, and rose from her seat.
She must hurry back before daybreak, re-
visit the pantry, and make her way as
noiselessly as she could up to her own
chamber. She had no disposition to sleep;
her anxieties quite took away all thoughts
of repose, and she sat herself down by the
window to watch the full breaking of the
dawn.
The negro quarters were early astir. The
men had their meals to cook for the day .
before going into the field, and, if time
permitted, an hour or two to spend upon
the plot of garden which Mr. Leeson, in
carrying out the old Virginian customs,
had appropriated to their especial use.
Millicent went down-stairs with the first
sounds of life stirring in the house, and
passed out into the air. The men were
going to their labors in the field, laden
with their hoes. Jim, whose meals were
256 illLLlCEXT IlALFOnn.
taken at the kitchen table, he being con-
sidered to belong to the class of lionse-
servants, had just descended from his bed
in the stable-loft, and was stretching liim-
self lazily in the sun. Millicent glanced at
the negroes as they stepped on in their
coarse but whole attire. They looked cheer-
ful and even happy, and one of them was
humming a snatch of a song. Certainly
slavery presented few of its worst charac-
teristics at Wheatley Place. Mr. Leeson
was an easy master and on the whole a
fair-principled man. If a portion of human
beings had in his eyes precisely the riglits
and claims of dumb cattle, it was in a
measjire owing to the fault of his education,
and the frightful power of custom. Milli-
cent turned from looking after them to
contemplate Jim, whose attention on his
part Avas drawn toward her. The boy's
sullen expression struck her. Dinah had
lately hinted at a love affair on the tapis
between Eose and Jim. Millicent remem-
bered it.
DISAPPOINTMENT. 257
"You were practising with the musket
last night, Jim/' she observed, speaking to
him cheerfully. " How do you like to be
a soldier?"
" I dunno, missus." Jim's eyes rolled up
with a curious expression. "I's 'most 'fraid
ob de gun."
" You wouldn't be afraid of it, if you
were fighting for your life, Jim. Suppose
Wheatley Place were burned down, like Mr.
Bennet's house that we watched the other
night, what would become of us?"
"I dunno, miss."
Jim twirled his straw hat over his hands
without an appearance of any special in-
terest in the question.
Millicent looked at him uneasily. Mrs.
Leeson had been unfortunate in the occa-
sion she had selected for ordering Jim a
whipping. She should have given him the
lesson earlier, or it would have been much
wiser to have omitted it altogether. Al-
though only a slave, it was plain that
Jim's sluggish blood had been fully roused
by the degrading punishment of the whip.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE ALARM IX THE HOUSEHOLD.
ON going in, Millicent found tliat the
rumor of the projected attack upon
Wheatley Place had ah'cady gone its ruund
in the kitchen, exciting the liveliest aj>
prehensions of Lizzie and Rose, and the
no less deep, but more suppressed, disqui-
etude of Dinah. On closely questioning
Rose, she found that the alarm had its
beginning in Mr. Leeson's preliminary steps
of the past night, which were supposed to
be taken with some immediate object. Mil-
licent set herself at work to quiet the
servants' fears by assuring them that this
course was only what was necessary to
be taken b}^ the master of any household
in the dangerous character of the times.
258
THE ALARM IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 259
They must carefully keep it from Mrs.
Leeson, she added, who, in her weak state,
was wholly unfitted to bear the smallest
excitement.
It was easy to quiet their fears,-— easy
to put on an outward cheerfulness; but a
fever of unrest possessed her beneath. Ad-
cle's cheerful tones grated upon her ear at
the breakfast-table, and Mrs. Leeson's fret-
ful mood, when she went up to her cham-
ber, , seemed to make more than the usual
demands upon her patience.
Two circumstances had occurred to dis-
turb Mrs. Leeson's delicate nerves, —the
first, a letter from her son, which had
come in by the post the previous day,
but which Frederick receiving just at night-
fall had thought proper to withhold from
his mother until the morning; the second,
a piece of news which she lost little time
in communicating to Millicent: Mr.'Bennet
was supposed to be somewhere lurking in
the neighborhood, and a gang of men had
scattered through the past night in search
260 MILLICENT HALFORD.
of liim. They bad certainly tracked liim
across a field, and once the lioiind tliey
took with them had got upon a scent, but
was foiled through some unexplained means.
Mrs. Leeson had received her information
from her maid, Dinah, who, on her part,
had been indebted to Mr. Leavitt's Sam.
"It is horrible!" added Mrs. Leeson,
shuddering. " They should be content with
destroying the poor man^s property, with-
out hunting his life."
They had not taken him then. Millicent
found herself relieyed of one anxiety ; the
chase had been too close to allow of the
fugitive keeping Jiis appointment if he had
fully decided to do so. Ignorant, as Mil-
licent of course was, of the circumstances
of the previous mortgage, she did not
know of an}^ reason why Mr. Bonnet
should hesitate to accept a crust of bread
from Wheatley Place in his hour of need.
Mrs. Leeson made no allusion to her
letter, the postmark upon which drew Mil-
licent's attention, as she glided about, plac-
THE ALARM IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 261
lug the room to rights, and gave Aclele,
who had just entered, a direction in an
undertone to gather her a handful of roses
and honeysuckles to replace the drooping
flowers in the vases. It might not be for
long these little offices would be in her
power; she thought over the fact with an
nneasy sigh.
Adole seemed to have caught the con-
tagion of her depressed spirits, as they
passed up together to the schoolroom.
The young lady had conceived a strong
regard for her governess, and Millicent
had begun to find in her a degree of
companionship which she could hardly have
looked for at first. If she had not given
her word to Frederick to preserve silence,
she would certainly have taken her into
her confidence, sure of her judgment and
courage under the circumstances; as it was,
she doubted the justice of keeping back
the peril which was now so close at hand.
" Frederick was drilling his negroes last
night. Miss Halford," said Adele, pausing,
262 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
with lier book open at the morning les-
son. " Do you think wo are in any dan-
ger of being attacked ? "
" I do not know," said Millicent, looking
down. '• The country seems to be in a
IVighiful state ; no one is safe but those
wlio are leagued to tliis house-burning and
pillage. Your brother does w^ell to pre-
pare against the possibility of danger.''
" What should we do," pursued Adele,
'' if they came here as they went to Mr.
Bonnet's ? It would kill mother to be
turned out, as poor Mrs. Bonnet was,
from a sick-bed into the damp night."
'' Your brother would make resistance,"
said Millicent; '-he would not leave his
house like Mr. Bennet."
'' Then the}' would kill him. You know
they were hunting up Mr. Bennet last
night to warn him off; Sam said so."
MilHcent hoped their intentions toward
Mr. Bennet went no farther ; on that point
she was doubtful.
^' I hope Frederick wont resist," pursued
THE ALARM IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 263
Adele, with a strange thoiiglitfulness quite
beyond a child. '' I don't believe it would
do any good ; they would only kill him."
'' Then you would be willing to see
your house burned down like Mr. Ben-
net's ? "
'^ I don't know ; it seems awful. I v^- ish
we could go away. Mamma has friends at
Belmont. We might go there ; they are
cousins of ours."
^'I suppose Mr. Leeson thinks it best
to remain here to protect his property/'
said Millicent, directing by a glance her
pupil's attention to her book. " If he
sliould go away, it would be put to the
torch at once ; and your mother, even if
able to be removed, would not consent to
go without him."
The day passed on slowly to Millicent;
a feverish restlessness preyed upon her ;
sh.e dreaded the approach of the nightfall,
and shrank from the inquisitive glance
which her imagination once or twice fan-
cied directed tov/ard her by her aunt,
during her stay in the invalid's chamber.
264 JIILLICEXT IIALFORD.
It was one of ^Mrs. Leeson's ill days,
which might be accouiited for, in part, by
the oppressive state of tlie atmosphere,
which had gathered a sultry heat, and
partly by some mental cause which did
not make its appearance upon the surface.
Frederick spent the most of the da}- in
the Hbrary, api)arently engaged in \\riting
letters, and went out directly after supper
for a stroll in the garden.
If the family at Wheatley Place could
have looked into the low bar-room of the
neighboring tavern a few hours later, they
would have found the burden of suspense
lifted to give place to a scarcely less
terrible certainty.
A group of some eighteen or twenty
men were lounging in chairs around the
bar at the weird hour of twelve, the land-
lord, who, to appearances, formed one of
the party, niixing and dealing out a suc-
cession of brimming glasses to the de-
mands of his customers. A noisy conver-
sation was going on, which seemed to have
THE ALARM IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 265
reached its climax, tlie uproarious oaths
and demonstrations for once giving place
before the remonstrances of the more ret-
icent and qniet party. The subject just
passed under discussion was the plan of
attack upon Wheatley Place, — the attack
itself had been settled upon earlier in the
evening. Only one voice had opposed it,
— that of Mr. Leavitt, faintly, — and with
a readiness to yield on the first sliow of
argument. Mr. Leeson's unpopularity had
come to a mushroom growth, and in the
eyes of these guardians of public matters,
fully warranted the taking of some bold
step against him.
First, he had always been suspected of
lukewarmness in the good cause, a state
of feeling which, in the emergencies of the
times, could be ill tolerated. Secondly, he
had shown clearly his disloyal sympathies
in refusing to join in the late night raid
upon his neighbor, and in privately con-
veying him information of the contemplated
attacl:. If these causes were not sufficient
2G6 WILLTCENT IIALFORD.
to warrant an indignant state of feeling,
anotlier liad been supplied the past niglit'
in the fact that Bennet had been clearly
tracked in the close vicinity of Wheatley
Place, whose master had no doubt afforded
him shelter, and where it was by no means
improbable that he was still secreted.
Tiie more violent members of the party
had urged a repetition of the violence of-
fered at Valley Farm, and the summary
execution of lynch law upon the traitor,
who, surprised by this sudden attack, would
fall an easy prey into their hands. The
first part of the motion had been success-
I'ully resisted on the grounds of Mr. Leav-
itt's mortgage, and the well-known loyalty
of the younger Mr. Leeson ; but the last,
with some little opposition, was yielded to
the decision of the majority. It remained
now to be decided how the attack upon
the house should be opened, and the whole
affair managed in as quiet a manner as
possible.
To call out Mr. Leeson, shoot him down
THE ALARM IX THE HOUSEHOLD. 267
on liis cloor-stone, with a few brief mo-
ments offered him for preparation, when
once in their hands, and to search the
house and ont-biiildings afterward for the
hidden fugitive, — a search which would
then meet with no opposition from the
terrified women and negroes, — presented
itself as the shortest course.
It was no new circumstance in the heat
of this partisan warfare for neighbors to
vote the death of a neighbor with whom
they had spent a lifetime on terms of mu-
tual good-feeling, or even for brothers to
look tamely on and see members of their
own households surrendered up to butchery.
In the heart of a slave-holder, used, in
his supreme realm, to acts of cruelty and
barbarism, little tenderness could be ex-
pected; it was rather a ready-waiting field,
Avith the germs of a hundred brutal pas-
sions ready to start into life at the hot
breath of civil war.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE ATTACK.
THE night was clear ; the heavens over-
head were hnng with a myriad of
glistening stars ; the wheat stood in flower
along the roadsides ; the tall gra??s, with
its withering blossoms, was ripe for the
scythe of the mower. Stealthily the party
moved on, their footfalls echoing heavily
in the stillness on the dusty ground, low
words passing between thera, — here and
there tlie stifled murmur of an oath, or
the bantering of a half-drunken jest. A
few moments brought them to the gate
which opened on the long carriage avenue
leading up to Wheatley Place.
Leavitt passed in last of the company ;
his ghastly face escaped the notice of his
208
J
THE ATTACK. 269
companions in the glimmer of the starlight,
and he seized the opportunity of falling a
few paces behind them, as they pressed
up to the house.
The tall building lay in stillness, the
roses and honeysuckles fluttering around
the white pillars of the veranda. The mid-
night band fell back by a preconcerted
arrangement into the shadows, only two of
the party remaining outside ; one stepped
up to the door, and gave a loud knock.
A little pause followed. Presently Mr. Lee-
son's head appeared above at the window.
'^ Who are you ? " he demanded.
'^ Friends," said the visitor below. " You
know me, Leeson, — Captain Rodney, — and
this is Delford. Come down ; we want to
speak with you."
"You have chosen a most unsuitable
hour for your visit, gentlemen," responded
the master of the house, who seemed in
no haste to comply. " Will not your busi-
ness wait till daylight?"
" It is of importance," said his compan-
270 MILLICENT HALFORD.
ion, " and we cannot run the hazard of
putting it off. Step down, Mr. Leeson;
we will not detain you but a few moments."
" I suppose you are armed, gentlemen,"
observed Mr. Leeson. " In these danger-
ous times, a man is compelled to be wary
of the character of his visitors. I hope
you will not consider me inhospitable if I
decline to admit you at this unseasonable
hour altogether. If you have business with
me, it must wait."
" Give us up Bonnet, Mr. Leeson," said
Captain Rodney, throvring off his first at-
tempt at concealment at this speech, ^' and
we will leave you in peace. We know he
is concealed here, and have him we must."
" Mr. Bennet is not on my premises, on
the word of a gentleman," said Frederick.
^' I know nothing of his whereabouts."
" That aint to be believed," said another
of the conspirators, stepping out from the
shadow of the pillar. '^ lie ran this way
last night. We know he's in tljis house,
somewhere, and have him out we will ! "
THE ATTACK. 271
" Submit to a search, Mr. Leeson/' said
the first speaker, addressing him again.
" We'll agree not to do any damage to
the furniture, or terrify the women."
" I have given you my word," said Mr.
Leeson, firmly ; " that is sufficient."
A light step was behind him; a wo-
man's figure had crossed the chamber and
glided up to his side.
"For God's sake, Millicent, stand back!''
he whispered ; '' they will see your face
in this light. Run down, if you can, and
see if they are about to try the windows.
Sam and Pete must be awake. I must
stay here a moment longer."
A hurried consultation seemed to be go-
ing on among the party outside ; one or
two had emerged into the light, others
began to follow. The first plan had failed ;
it Avas thought no longer necessary to keep
their numbers a secret.
" You had better let us in, Mr. Leeson,"
said Captain Rodney, directing his voice
to him again. "We shall make the search
27 li UlLLICENT HALFORD.
anyhow, and I can't answer for the con-
sequences if we have to try our own ways
of entrance. I advise you to take the
matter reasonably, as a friend."
A sudden bright • flash of light, the re-
port of a pistol, and the whizzing of a
ball, which swept past the captain's mouth
to bury itself in the brain of a compan-
ion who stood at his elbow, was the un-
expected answer. The wretched man, with-
out a groan or gasp, fell back, precipitating
two or three of his comrades from tlieir
balance, as his corpse sank with a dull,
heav}^ fiill on the greensward.
Another shot followed; the group parted
precipitately, falling back to cover to be
met by a startling volley from the low
windows opening on the veranda, which,
though discharged by unskilful hands, told
with terrible effect from their nearness.
Three forms lay stretched out at their
length on the smooth boards, and their
companions scattered, and took to their
heels in the shadows thrown by the out-
buildings.
THE ATTACK. 273
"We have routed them," said Frederick,
stepping down from the stairs. " Load
again, boys, and quick! they will be back.
The}^ will try to burn us out," he mut-
tered to himself, in a ■ whisper. " Thank
Heaven, the wind is to the west to-night !
If they fire the out-buildings, the flames
will not be blown this way."
Probably this aspect of the case pre-
sented itself to the attacking party, for
no such attempt was made ; but an ominous
stillness, broken only by the low groans
of the wounded lying outside, prevailed for
several moments.
Presently, from his post at one of the
windows, Frederick descried three or four
figures gliding out from the shadows of
the out-buildings over the grass.
" Run up-stairs, Millicent ! " he exclaimed,
"and see what you can discover from the
eastern windows ; this part of the house
is the weakest, and they will try it again.
Boys, bring your guns to a level; take
aim ! Here they come ! "
IS
214: MILLICENT HALFORD.
The last words were uttered in a sup-
pressed tone. At the instcint a volley of
balls rattled in through the windows, which
parted into fragments of broken glass.
One of the negroes in the act of pulling
the trigger dropped his musket, and fell
forward with a low groan. The rest fired
at the instant, and the attacking party
upon whom the shots, from their nearness,
evidently told, again fell back, and in-
stantly scattered. Frederick found his riglit
arm hanging helpless by his side, and shifted
his pistol to his left hand.
" I will leave one ball for myself," he
thought, as he clutched it more closely.
The wounded negro lay groaning upon
the floor, his comrades still grouped in
various attitudes beside him. The groans
of the dying outside came with a dismal
distinctness through the now open win-
dows.
Frederick sent one agonized thought to
his mother, another to his helpless young
sister and cousin, and whispering to his
THE ATTACK. 275
men to reload their guns, waited gloomily
the third attack which he had little doubt
would follow. He was happily disappointed,
however. The night murderers, disgusted
with their hot reception, and no doubt be-
lieving, on the second repulse, that Mr.
Leeson had collected an army of his friends
beside him, gave up the attack, and scat-
tered in retreat, leaving their dead and
wounded stretched upon the dewy grass.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE MORNING SCENE.
ALONG hour passed, its solemn still-
ness broken to Millicent on her watch
by the sobs and exclamations of the ter-
rified servants, whose voices reached her
from the head of the back staircase, where
they had crowded together, and to the
group below in the sitting-room by the
continued groans outside.
"They must have gone," thought Milli-
cent, turning at length from the window,
after sending a long, searching glance out-
side. She ran down the staircase, to come
into collision with another figure at the
foot, a slight, girlish form, which she at
once recognized as Adele's.
" Oh, Milhcent ! " she gasped, catching her
cousin's hands, "where is Frederick?"
276
THE MORNING SCENE. 277
" Go back to your mother, Ad^le/' said
Millicent, trying to speak bravely, while
her heart grew frightfully faint. " It will
not do to leave her alone."
Frederick, who had heard the short col-
loquy, stepped to the door.
^^ I think the worst is over," he said, in
a low voice. " They will not come back.
It cannot be far from day."
" Oh, you are safe, Fred. ! " said Adele,
with a burst of joy.
Millicent's emotion kept her silent.
"You had better go up-stairs again,"
said Mr. Leeson. " My mother must be in
a state of great alarm."
Millicent put her arm around her cousin,
and urged her gently up the stairs. Mrs.
Leeson was alone in her chamber, lying
back on her pillows, with an uneasy res-
piration. Her hands were clasped tightly
together; she seemed to be in the act of
prayer.
"Is Frederick safe?" she asked, opening
her eyes at Millicent's quick step.
278 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
'' Ho is safe, mother ! " said Addle, who
had followed close behind her. '^ He has
beaten the men off; they wont come back."
" Is this true ? " asked Mrs. Leeson, look-
ing anxiously at Millicent.
^' Yes, ma'am ; Mr. Frederick thinks they
have gone.'*
"I^want to see Frederick. Will you
send him up, Millicent?"
Her niece hesitated.
" I Avant to see him with my own eyes,"
persisted his mother, — '' to see that he ia
safe."
Millicent went down, groping her way
again over the dark staircase.
Frederick was standing near one of the
windows as she stepped into the sitting-
room. She noticed for the first time that
his right arm hung loosely by his side.
" You are wounded ! " she exclaimed, ter-
rified.
'^ Only a scratch. A ball has disabled my
arm ; that is all. I think we are safe for
to-night: they have got enough. Millicent,
THE MORNING SCENE. 279
can you get some bandages? This poor
fellow, I fear, is badly liurt.'^
Millicent went to her work-basket, which
she remembered contained two or three
strips of fine cloth precisely adapted to
this purpose. She lingered to see if she
could be of further service, quite forget-
ting, in her anxiety, her aunt's errand.
The man's wound proved to be in his
shoulder, a very severe one, which Fred-
erick saw, even in the imperfect light, Avas
quite beyond his handling. He could only
stanch the further flow of blood, and con-
sider the necessity of sending for the near-
est doctor as soon as the day-dawn would
permit. It was close at hand ; a glimmer-
ing of light had already begun to show in
the east, and the low voices of the birds
to twitter among the bushes of the garden.
Frederick drew aside the heavy bolt that
had barred the passage of his night visit-
ors an hour before, and stepped out on the
veranda. There was nothing now to fear.
The spot was tenanted only by two mo-
280 MILLICENT HALFORD.
tionless forms congealed in blood. The
third had crawled away, and lay with his
face downward in one of the odorous beds
of the garden, his hands clinched above
his head as he lay extended among the
crushed stalks of the flowers.
Frederick stooped over the first corpse,
and gently put back with his hand the
thick, matted hair from the temples. As
he did so, a low exclamation of horror es-
caped him. The dead face turned up in
the gray dawn, convulsed and ghastly white,
w^as no other than that of his friend, Mr.
Leavitt.
A low groan burst from the young man
as he lifted himself up. He could not but
see the righteous retribution which had been
so strangely dealt out. He recalled the
dead man's words to him but a little space
before, — "The only way to save a man's
life and property in these times is to go
with the strong party." Had it proved so?
He had acted against his conscience, and
here w^as the end.
THE MORNING SCENE. 281
The nearness of the attacking to the re-
pelling party had made most of the ill-
directed shots prove fatal. Four corpses
lay on the veranda and in the garden,
each stark and stiff, the last spark of vi-
tality gone out.
Frederick came in to attend to his own
wound, which proved, as he had antici-
pated, a trifling one, and to despatch one
of the negroes for a doctor for poor Sam,
who lay groaning upon the floor. MiUi-
cent gave him his mother's message, and
he went up to her chamber. Adele was
sitting by her bedside; both were in a
state of painful distress.
"How will this end?" asked his mother,
looking anxiously at him, after receiving
his assurance that his wound, which at
once attracted her attention, was slight, a
mere scratch. "Is any one killed? Have
you drawn blood?"
Frederick hesitated. "We had to beat
them back, mother. Nothing short of blood
would satisfy them. Poor Sam is badly
282 MILLICENT HALFORD.
wounded, I fear. The rest got off with-
out a scratcli. If it had been a full moon-
hght night, we should have fared worse."
'^ Tliey will come again," said Mrs. Lee-
son, with a shudder. "We must go from
here. Oh, Frederick, what have you done
to bring on this attack?''
" I have done nothing, mother," said Mr.
Leeson, quietly. " But these last three
hours have decided my politics. Henceforth
I stand no longer neutral, but espouse with
voice and hand the cause of the Union."
" Oh, my son ! " — Mrs. Leeson's hands
came together with a convulsive clasp, —
" do you know what you do ? You are
arming against James, — brother against
brother ! "
''I have no brother, madam," said Mr.
Leeson. " That relationship was broken
months ago."
"I fear so," said his mother, with a
groan ; " but oh, Frederick, he is still my
son ! "
'' Shall we stay here ? " asked Addle,
THE MORNING SCENE. 283
whose presence had been forgotten by
both. " How shall we get mamma away,
and where shall we go to ? "
'Tor the present we shall be compelled
to remain here," replied Frederick. " Af-
ter the repulse and loss they have had,
these men will not be in a hurry to return
to the attack.'^
"I don't know," said his mother; "their
passions will be quickened by revenge."
"At least we shall have time to think
over the matter," said Frederick, rising.
"I have some orders to give, and must
leave you. Try to be composed, my dear
mother ; all danger is over. We have
great reasons for thankfulness in our for-
tunate escape."
They had, indeed, reasons enough to draw
a prayer from the most irreverent heart.
Millicent was standing in the hall-door,
as Frederick went down, in the act of
stepping out. He put his hand upon her
arm, and drew her gently in.
" These sights outside are not for you,
284 MILLICENT HALFORD.
Millicent," he said, in a tone of grave
earnestness. " Those wretched men have
paid for their wanton violence with their
lives. I am about to send to their fami-
lies."
^' You know them ? " asked Millicent,
shuddering.
'' Two of them ; the one farther down in
the garden I am unable to recognize."
'' Ob, it is horrible ! " said Millicent, wring-
ing her hands. " What wretchedness it will
bring into their homes ! "
An inexplicable expression of pain passed
over Mr. Leeson's face. Millicent caught
it as she looked up ; but she did not
dream of its source, — that the friend who
had warned him, and through whose well-
meant caution he had warded off this night
attack, was lying there among those life-
less corpses.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE VILLAGE DOCTOR.
THE village doctor speedily obeyed Mr.
Leeson's summons, under the impression
that he was called upon to attend his late
patient, and found, much to his surprise, a
wounded negro anxiously watching for his
appearance. A few words explained the
events of the past night, and the worthy
doctor proceeded to call out his best skill
for the occasion. The traces of the deadly
affray were still visible in the corpses laid
out on the lawn, the trampled shrubbery,
and the scattered glass and wood-work of
the windows of the sitting-room, whose
walls and furniture were • marked in two
or three places by pistol-shots, as well as
in the alarm and excitement which yet
pervaded the household.
285
286 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
'* Tills will be no safe place for you,
!Mr. Leeson/' said the friendly doctor, on
taking his leave, after a kind inquiry for
Mrs. Leeson, who was quite unable to see
him. '' Your life is of very little conse-
quence in these parts after this ; you had
better take measures to get away."
" And leave my property to be wasted
by these villains?"
" No ; your family will protect it, as
they would be wholly unable to do under
the ban of your presence. The house and
most of the estate lie under a mortgage
to Leavitt, I have been told."
'^ They did." Mr. Leeson turned away
his face.
" It has been paid up then ? "
" No ; Mr. Leavitt was with the party
last night, — teas with them."
'' I understand. This is a horrible affiiir,
Mr. Leeson. But what have you done ?
I always thought you were a moderate man,
and rather on the safe side."
'^ Moderation goes for nothing in thes©
THE VILLAGE DOCTOR. 287
times," was the gloomy response. " My
last night's experience has brought me
over to the side of the Union."
" Every one must choose for himself,"
remarked the doctor. ''My profession al-
lows neutrality ; but I must be cautious
how I stretch my liberty, I don't know,
Mr. Leeson, as it will be prudent for me
to pay you a second visit."
" As you like. You think the poor fel-
low has a chance to recover ? "
''A small one. It is an ugly wound,
and there will be some infiamation."
"I will send to you for medicines unless
you interdict me," said his host, passing
with him down the walk. " The poor fel-
low has been wounded in defending me
and my family, and I shall do my best
by him."
" Oh, certainly ! Send by all means ; that
can be managed in a way to make no
trouble."
Tiie- sun was up; the glowing flowers
of one little plat in the garden shone with
288 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
human blood, where they lay thickly tram-
pled under foot.
Frederick turned from the unpleasant
sight ; the fresh air, the dewy fragrance
of the morning, sickened upon his senses
with the contrasts around him. He Avent
in to give orders to have the wounded
man carried by his comrades to a com-
fortable chamber, and to desire Millicent
to see that his immediate wants were at-
tended to. His own wound was beginning
to grow painful; he had declined to have
it examined by the surgeon, believing it
to be a mere flesh scratch ; but, on re-
moving the bandage, he found it to show
in the strong light of a more serious char-
acter than he had at first supposed; still,
it was not likely to prove a serious matter,
but one which his own skill could master.
Breakfast this morning was a sober meal;
it was gone through as usual. Millicent
and AdJle came to their places at the
table ; but very little was tasted. When
Frederick quitted the table, a message was
THE VILLAGE DOCTOR. 289
brought bim by Dinah, and he went up
again to his mother's chamber.
Left to herself, Mrs. Leeson's hvehest
apprehensions had returned, and she had
sent for her son to urge upon him the
necessity of his immediate flight.
" They have no enmity against us," she
urged ; ^' it is you they want. As James's
mother and sister, no insults would be of-
fered us. The very defencelessness of our
position alone would protect us. It is my
desire that you leave us, and provide for
your safety."
Frederick hesitated. He had listened a
few moments before to the same argu-
ment. It was his settled purpose to join
the Uuion army, a detachment of which,
as he had been for the last few days
aware, was now at Lexington, rapidly re-
ceiving enlistments. But how to abandon
his property, and, most of all, his unpro-
tected family, in the present state of af-
fairs, was a serious question.
" You involve us in your peril by re-
290 MILLICENT IIALFOHD.
moining here," persisted bis motlier. ''Af-
ter what has taken place, your life is in
danger at every hour. If you venture a
few rods from your own door, you may
be shot in broad daylight. The only safe-
ty for you lies in immediate flight."
It was not a pleasant picture ; but it
had the merit of truth. Frederick drew a
deep breath, as his mother's thin fingers
clasped upon his.
" This anxiety is killing me," she plead-
ed. " I have suspected your danger for
the last few da^^s."
If he could take her with him to a
place of safety ! Her son thought over
the matter anxiously. The recollection of
their relatives at Belmont occurred to him
as it had done to Adele ; but a second
glance at his mother's wan face upon the
pillow showed the hopelessness of this plan.
She had changed much in the last few
days ; he understood now that the secret
which he had hoped withheld from her
had been fully guessed by her anxious
fears.
THE VILLAGE DOCTOR. 291
" Once to know you in safety, I shall
be content/' she said. '' They will not
harm us ; we have done nothing to dis-
please them."
It was a hard struggle. On the one
hand, Frederick knew the ineffectual char-
acter of the resistance it might be in his
power to offer to a second and better-
sorted attack, which would be sure to be
brought against him, should he remain in
his hostile neighborhood ; on the other,
could he be sure that the avowed fact
of his absence would be a sufficient pro-
tection for his helpless family ?
CHAPTER XXXIV.
millicext's discovery.
MR. LEESOX'S decision was made upon
quitting his mother's cliamber. To
remain where he was would answer no
good purpose, beside involving his fam-
ily in his danger. Tie could discern that
the present state of aifairs was not by any
means a permanent one. He had little doubt
that an active Union feeling, smothered for
the present under the hand of mob rule,
pervaded the breasts of many, wanting
only a sufficient organization and protec-
tion to be called out. This step he was
about to take might enable him to furnish
the latter at no distant day.
There was little time to be lost. Fred-
erick proceeded to call his servant, and or-
292
millicent's discovery. 293
dered him to pack his vahse. Then he
turned his steps to the chamber occupied
by the wounded negro, where he had • Kt-
tle doubt he should find Milhcent. The
door stood ajar; she was bending over the
couch, with a cup of some coohng bever-
age in her hand.
Frederick's step caught her ear ; she
turned toward him, set down the cup, and
came out to meet him.
" He seems very sick," she said, in a
low voice, aUuding to her charge. '' When
will the doctor come again?"
" I have come to tell j^ou that I am
going away," said Frederick, without an-
swering her question. ^' I have just given
orders to Joe to pack my valise."
Millicent's face brightened a little of the
shadow which hung over it; she looked
relieved.
^' I am glad you are going," she said,
simply.
" I shall set out for Lexington," pursued
Mr. Leeson, " and join the army which is
294 MILLICENT HALFORD.
gatliering there. Millicent, I sliall be com-
pelled to leave the care of my mother, and
the interests of the family, in your hands
in my absence/'
"I will try to be faithful," said Milli-
cent, her suffused eyes and colorless face
showing how deeply she felt the trust.
"I sliall hear from you daily?" said
Frederick ; " you will not neglect to write
me? If a lengthened silence should fall on
your side, I shall return here at any haz-
ard. It is hard to leave my mother, but
absolutely impossible, in her present weak
condition, to remove her to a place of
safety."
Millicent knew that it was so.
" The doctor will not come again," ob-
served Frederick, dropping his voice, as
he glanced into the open chamber. '' He
has promised instructions ; you will have
to send for them."
Millicent understood the restriction.
'•' If any danger should come to your
knowledge, do not hesitate to write me
at once and fully."
millicent's discovery. 295
"Your valise be packed, mas'er/' called
Joe, from the foot of the stairs.
"Yery well, Joe; I will be down in a
moment."
Frederick took his cousin's hand. Its
pulses trembled with the quickness of a
fever heat as it lay in his. The excite-
ments of the past night had evidently
wrought upon her nerves.
'^Good-by, Milhcent/' he said, in a low
voice, not quite free from emotion upon
his own part, and, dropping her passive
fingers, stepped away.
He went on to take leave of his mother
and sister, while Millicent, after turning
back to attend to the wants of her pa-
tient, stole up to her own chamber to find
a few moments by herself. Her window
commanded a view of the bend of the
road which Frederick must pass; she
strained her eyes upon it through the
thick foliage to be rewarded in a few mo-
ments by a glimpse of two horsemen,—
the master and his servant riding rapidly
on.
296 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
Millicent drew a deep breatli as slio
turned away, and the next instant her
face dropped in her hands, while a burn-
ing glow sufifused her cheek. She had
made a discovery for herself an hour
ago which a more worldly-learned woman
would have made earlier. She could not
be thrown daily into the society of her
Cousin Frederick, and under such peculiar
circumstances as the last few weeks had
brought about, without experiencing the
attractions of his person and manners. A
deep and hopeless attachment had gradu-
ally grown up in her heart. If she had
but had a mother to warn her; if her
aunt had only taken that kind part; but
how should she dream of her presumption ?
" I must get the better of this," thought
Millicent. " It will never do. How I wish
he had not asked me to write to him ! "
She blushed again, this time at her disin-
gcnuousness, and stood up before the mir-
ror to arrange her disordered braids. It
was a pretty face which the oval glass
millicext's discovery. 297
gave back, quite changed from the wan,
sallow girl who had come to Rossenville
but a few months back. Health and ap-
preciation work wonders, — the first had
tinted the wan complexion with the fair-
ness of the hly; the last had given a
deeper light to the really lustrous dark
eyes, and changed the whole of that shy,
awkward exterior which is the worst en-
emy to grace. As far as beauty was con-
cerned, Millicent's timid eyes could not
deny to herself that she stood a fair
chance of winning Mr. Frederick Leeson's
heart. He had been kind to her too ; had
leaned upon her assistance in these hours
of peril, and, in his departure, had left to
her a most sacred charge ; but the dis-
parity of station, still to be got over, was
enough in itself to rebuke her ambitious
thoughts.
''What shall I do?" murmured the poor
girl, dropping her head again.
To quit this place, to begin the strug-
gle to forget him, to leave out of sight
298 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
all which could recall him by association,
her judgment told her would be the wisest
plan; but duty held her here, even if ne-
cessity had not. She could not leave her
aunt in her helpless condition, or her young
cousin. The unusual circumstances of the
last weeks had reversed her position, and
the relationship which on her coming had
been so coldly ignored stood forth now in
its full force.
'^I will do what is before me to do,''
was her sensible thought, " and leave the
issues to God."
She went down to her aunt's chamber
to receive what instructions Mrs. Leeson
might have for her. They were very few.
Her aunt seemed too deeply merged in her
grief at parting with her son to be capa-
ble of giving much attention to outward
things. She might rouse from this state
shortly; but Millicent saw that the direc-
tion of matters depended at present upon
herself. She did not think it best to ac-
quaint the servants with the very indefi-
millicent's discovery. 299
nite length of their master's absence, but
rather to place it at a short duration,
which would lessen materially the difficul-
ties to be expected in their management.
That some of them would seize upon the
opportunity now offered to obtain their lib-
erty she had little doubt; and should such
an emergency arise, she felt that her con-
science would allow her to throw very few
obstacles in their way. The wounded ne-
gro, she soon ascertained, held the part of
Mr. Leeson's overseer, to which his intel-
ligence, not less than his master's favor
had raised him above his comrades, and in
his sickness it was necessary for her to
make a new selection. Here she conde-
scended to ask Dinah's advice, greatly to
the satisfaction of that person.
Under the circumstances, she decided it
to be best for the negroes to return to
their old quarters. If another attack should
be menaced, no resistance could be offered,
and their presence in the house, coupled
with the events of the past night, would,
300 MILLICENT HALFORD.
in such an event, prove a serious cause
of irritation. A share of her attention was
due in the sick-chamber, where she in-
stalled Rose ; and late in the afternoon, as
the negro's symptoms continued to grow
steadil}" worse, she sent Jim to the doctor
for advice and medicine, writing down
carefully a detail of the unfavorable symp-
toms for his perusal. Perhaps he would
allow himself to be prevailed upon to come
and dress the wound — a service which
she shrank from taking upon herself, as
well from her woman's cowardice as igno-
rance — when the fact of Mr. Leeson's ab-
rupt departure should get abroad; but of
this she could entertain little hope.
CHAPTER XXXV.
A STOLEN VISIT.
ONE, two, three weeks went by. The
family at Wheatley Place began to dis-
miss their fears, and to fall back in secu-
rity upon very nearly the old tranquil
hfe. The wounded negro, under Millicent's
skilful nursing, grew better, and at the end
of July was able to take his place in the
field. Mrs. Leeson, relieved of a part of
her anxiety, revived sujSSciently to leave
her bed. Letters came often from Freder-
ick to his sister and cousin, with thoughtful
postscripts to his mother, each glowing with
the ardor of the soldier, and showing more
md more how fully he had thrown his
•leart into the cause which he had at this
late hour espoused.
301
302 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
" Frederick was designed for a soldier,"
observed his mother, laying down one of
these hastily-scrawled sheets ; " he has
found his vocation. God grant," she added,
inoiirnfully, " that he may be preserved
through these coming battles, and spared a
meeting with James."
"There will be a great battle soon," said
Adcle, to whom the news of the day had
begun to wear an absorbing interest. " Do
you know General Polk has taken Cohim-
bus? What if his army should advance this
way ! "
Millicent sat at tlie open window, holding
a letter which Jim had brought her with
Mrs. Leeson's. It was from her step-mother.
Her eldest son, James, had fallen in the
battle of Bethel. A mystery had rested
upon his fate for several weeks ; but at last
it had been mournfully solved, and placed
beyond a doubt. A tear fell from Millicent's
eye upon the sheet. She thought of the
kind-hearted boy who had grown up with
her, a frank, manly youth, whose future had
A STOLEN VISIT. 303
shown full of promise. To-day he was lying
in a soldier's bloody grave, the spot perhaps
unmarked.
" How many more such sacrifices will
God require for the sins of our nation?"
she pondered, forcing back her tears.
It would not do to disquiet her aunt with
her bad news. She put away her letter,
and in a few moments, seized an opportu-
nity of retiring by herself to her chamber.
" Be the Union army coming, Miss Hal-
ford?" asked Rose, that night, .as she lin-
gered a few moments in the kitchen. " Jim
says it is, and that it v/ill make us all free."
" Your master is in the Union army,
Rose," said Millicent, in a tone of grave
reproof.
The dream of liberty had entered into
even this thoughtless girl's mind; the hour
of fruition might be indeed at hand.
Millicent, with her Christian faith, saw
that events were thitherward tending ; but
her eyes, like ours, were sealed to the fright-
ful waste of blood and treasure which must
304 MILLICE^'T nALFORD.
briug this blessing. It was the old story of
Pharaoh, who would not let his bondmen
go-
The end of August brought a visit from
Frederick, a sudden and quite unexpected
event.
It was in the dusk of evening ; tea was
over. Mrs. Leeson, who had come down-
stairs on the previous day for the first time
in many weary weeks, sat in her easy-chair
by a window. Adele had stepped out into
the garden. Millicent was sitting not far
from her aunt, engaged in building one of
the quiet air-castles to which she was wont
now and then to surrender her silent hours.
A quick, firm step in the hull startled
them both from their reveries ; the door
was flung open, and ere Mrs. Leeson could
finish her short exclamation of alarm, she
found herself reassured by her son's well-
known voice, and the warm clasp of his
hand.
" My dear mother, this is indeed pleasant
to find you here."
A STOLEN VISIT. 305
^' Oh, Frederick, what ■ has led you to take
such a risk ? If you should be caught !
The neighborhood would be in arms against
you, if they should dream of your being
here.'^
" I have no intention of being caught,
mother. I came rapidly ; I have only three
days' furlough, one of which is used up.
Millicent, is that you ? ''
He might well ask. The darkness in the
room hid her face ; he could discern little
more than the outlines of a girlish figure.
She came forward to give him her hand.
She would not trust herself with a word
to add to Mrs. Leeson's already-quickened
fears ; but the knowledge of his danger
made her feel quite faint. She said some-
thing about a light, and stepped back to the
door opening on the passage which led to
the kitchen.
^'What ails you. Miss Halford? You
are as white as a sheet," said Lizzie, as she
went in.
'• Lizzie, can you keep a secret ? " asked
Millicent.
306 MILLICENT HALFORD.
" I tink I can, Miss Millicent. Is it 'bout
mas'er ? ''
" Yes ; he has come home ; but his life
wont be safe for an hour if the neighbor-
hood knows of it. We must keep his be-
ing here among ourselves ; it wont be for
long."
Lizzie entered upon the secrecy required
of her with zest ; she would answer for her
fellow-servants. Millicent ordered a fresh
supper to be got, and went back.-
Ad6\e was sitting on the sofa by her
brother as she came in, her arm around his
neck. Frederick looked handsome in his
fresh uniform.
'^ We have no visitors,'' his mother was
saying. '' I believe all show of neighbor-
hood toward us has been dropped since you
left."
A state of things to be expected. The
loyalty of James Leeson could preserve his
brother's roof over the heads of his helpless
mother and young sister when that roof
was well known to be under a heavy mort-
A STOLEN VISIT. 307
gage to the heirs of one of the late incen-
diary party ; but it could not protect them
farther from the excited state of feeling
which had followed upon Frederick's too
successful night resistance.
The tea-bell rang shortly, and Milhcent
preceded Frederick out to take her usual
place at the table, and preside at his meal.
"You have spoken for the silence of the
servants, Millicent ? '^ observed Frederick,
helping himself to the freshly-prepared toast
with the hearty appetite which his long day's
fast had engendered.
Millicent wondered how he had guessed
her immediate precaution as she answered
in the affirmative.
" I can count on their fidelity," he re-
marked, — " on the house servants, at least.
The field hands need not be told. I shall
have to keep close to-morrow, I suppose,
to escape the possibility of a glimpse from
prying eyes."
" You start on your way back to-morrow
night ? " queried Millicent.
308 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
" Yes, that is the length of my leave of
absence, — just a glimpse of you all to as-
sure myself that things are going on as
favorably as they are represented in your
letters. I did hope" — his voice fell to a
slightly-lowered tone — "to make arrange-
ments for my mother's removal, her journey
to follow upon mine by easy stages ; but I
see to-night that my plan cannot be carried
out for the present."
" I was wrong,'* said Millicent, with a pang
of self-reproach, " to write you so cheerfully
of her improved health; but I understood
all your anxieties."
" It has done no harm," returned Mr.
Leeson. " I dislike to break in upon my
mothers impressions of securit}' ; but I fear
that she is entirely deceived. I base my
opinion on some information received from
Miss Bennet, who joined her father at our
camp a few days ago."
Millicent looked surprised. She had heard
of Mrs. Bennet's death through Dinah, and
that the two young children had been sent
A STOLEN VISIT. 309
North in the charge of a relative ; but of
Miss Bennet's whereabouts she had no idea,
least of all that she had set out for Lexing-
ton.
'' What is to be apprehended ? " she asked,
anxiously, as Frederick continued silent.-
^' Certainly this band of wicked men will not
war upon helpless women?"
" Their object is to run off my negroes
and waste my property/' said Frederick.
" Reasons which you may be at no loss to
guess have led them to hesitate in their
plans, and produced a divided state of feel-
ing among them. Without doubt, too, they
have counted upon an opportunity like the
present, and still hope that, lulled by a false
belief of security, I shall commit the impru-
dence of putting myself in their power."
Millicent shuddered.
" I shall use every precaution," he added,
glancing at her disturbed face. " If the se-
cret of my short stay here goes no farther
than my family and the house servants, there
is hardly a possibility of discovery."
310 MILLICENT IIALFORD.
'' It would be death to liis mother if he
sliould be taken," thought MilHcent, trying
to put awa}' the selfish picture of herself as
she rose to lead the way back to the sit-
ting-room.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
JIM.
R. LEESON would have entertained a
less happy confidence in his security,
could he have witnessed a little scene which
took place almost in the shadow of the
gray, irregular line of out-buildings an hour
later, while he sat talking with his sister
and Millicent, his mother having just re-
tired to her chamber under the care of
Dinah. The moon was at full^ and shed a
flood of silvery light over the short grass
of the lawn, the dew-sprinkled beds of the
garden, and the clump of slender sycamores
down the walk. Jim, the stable-boy, stood
leaning against a tree, in an attitude more
suggestive of comfort than of picturesque
effect, his eyes strained in the direction of
311
312 milltci:nt iialfodd.
tlie kitclien windows, in the evident expec-
tation of being joined by some one. Pres-
ently the door opposite to him unclosed ; a
light figure stepped out, and Rose tripped
lightly toward him.
" What does you tink, Jim ? " she ejacu-
lated, when the first greetings suited to the
occasion had passed. " Mas'er Frederick hab
got home, — come dis night ! "
A sudden gleam of interest flashed up
into Jim's bright eyes.
" You hab seen him, Rose ? "
" No, Lizzie told me. I saw Joe, too, in
de kitchen. Dey is not to hab it told ob
dat dey be here."
'^ De geramen would be arter Mas'er Fred-
erick if dey knew," said Jim, with a low
chuckle.
*' Tears like dey would ; but who's to tell
ob it?"
Jim glanced up at the out-buildings whose
shadow lay dark over the green grass. The
reverie into which he was falling made him
unconscious for the moment of his compan-
ion's presence.
JIM. 313
Kose pouted, and pulled coquettishly at
the bright-colored shawl which lay over her
shoulders.
" I must run back," she said ; '^ Dinah
will miss me. She said she had a lot ob
work for me to do when she came down
from missus' chamber."
Jim made no attempt to detain her, but
followed her graceful movements with his
eyes as she glided across, and disappeared
through the lighted door.
Jim had not forgotten his whipping, ad-
ministered first at the direction of his mis-
tress, and on the second occasion under the
orders of his master, Mr. Frederick Leeson.
The degradation of the lash had burned it-
self into his soul. Its first stroke upon his
bare shoulders had put to flight every sen-
timent of affection toward the family in
Avliicli he had been reared. Very likely he
would have seized upon the opportunity
afforded by his master's absence to attempt
a second plan of escape, this time w^ith
more sanguine hopes of success ; but a mag-
3U MILLICENT HALFORD.
net held him back, to whose attractions all
of us are more or less susceptible. He
could not leave Rose ; she timidly shrank
from becoming the companion of his flight,
and though the subject had been twice or
thrice broached between them, he had as
yet made little progress in overcoming her
fears. If overtaken and brought back, she
well knew that even her sex could not save
her under her mistress' hands from the
cruel punishment of the lash. She drew
many a wistful sigh over the golden-tinted
picture of liberty which Jim's eager tongue
painted ; but she, poor thing, had not the
courage to take the risk.
The demon of revenge wrestled for mas-
tery in Jim's breast as he stood unJer the
shadow of the tree, his eyes turned now
from the blazing kitchen windows to the
more tempered light which stole out throngli
a displaced curtain in the sitting-room be-
yond, glistening over the wet vines whicli
twined around the pillars of tlie veranda.
He saw in imagination the cheerful picture
JIM. 315
inside. What sympathy had he with it, a
slave ? He took a step forward, a heavy
frown darkening his face. A few paces be-
yond would take him within the range of
the window; he could satisfy his own
sight.
The vines lay thick around the white
pillars, the moonlight shimmering over their
glossy leaves. The low windows were
open, and voices stole outside. His quick
ear was at no loss to recognize his master's.
He crept closer, the soft turf burying his
steps.
Frederick had resumed his seat on the
sofa on his re-entrance from the dining-
room, and the full profile of his face con-
fronted the window. His young sister,
Adele, was beside him, her countenance
beaming with smiles. Miss Halford sat at
a little distance, her hands lying in her lap,
her face clouded with an anxious expression
whenever she looked up at Mr. Leeson.
Mrs. Leeson's vacant easy-chair showed that
she had retired.
316 JII LUCENT HALFOTJD.
A stern, cruel gleam sliot over tlie negro's
face as he crouched clown, peering stealthily
in. All his struggling purposes were con-
firmed at the sight of his master; he no
longer hesitated upon his course.
Creeping back witli tlic same stealthy
tread which had borne him up to tlie win-
dow, Jim stole down the edge of the car-
riage-path and stepped into the road. He
showed no hesitation as to his course, but
struck out directly for tlie house of a near
neighbor, whose strong political proclivities
he had on more than one occasion overheard
discussed by his master's guests. He had,
in fact, shared in the former unfortunate
night attack on Mr. Leeson's dwelling, and
came off with a slight wound on the occa-
sion, which fact, though he had at the time
taken some prudent pains to suppress it,
was the property of the neighborhood.
Thither Jim shaped his way, and gave a
modest knock at the door of the back en-
trance.
The woman who came tg the door rec-
jBi. 317
ognized him as one of the servants at
Wheatley Place, and regarded him witli
some surprise. Mr. Kawdon was in, she
said; but what was Jim's errand? Mas'er
wouldn't want to be disturbed for nothing.
Jim replied that his errand was of the
greatest importance, and that he must see
Mas'er Rawdon at once.
The woman went in and presently came
out saying that he had retired to bed sick,
and could not be seen for the night.
Here was a diflSculty for Jim to get over ;
but his genius proved equal to the emergen-
cy. He repeated that his errand was ^^ ob
de bery last importance,'' and he would
take upon hhnself dat Mas'er Rawdon would
not be displeased if he was shown up to
his chamber.
The woman went back, and presently re-
turned, telling Jim to follow her.
Mr. Rawdon lay in bed, groaning with a
severe headache, and in a state of mind
somewhat unpropitious for the reception of
his visitor.
318 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
''What brings you lierc, you black rascal?"
lie began. " Out with your errand, and bo
quick over it."
" Mas'er Frederick is home, sar," said Jim,
dropping his voice to a tone befitting the
importance of his communication.
"The devil he is!" exclaimed tlie sick
man, starting up on his elbow, — "and he
sent you over to tell me, did he ? "
"No, mas'er; I crept off. lie's just
come."
Mr. Rawdon lay back, and liegan to gather
the clothes over him, his lace working with
excitement. " How long is he going to
stay, Jim ? " he asked.
Jim, as the reader knows, had received
no information upon this point; but it did
not suit his dignity to appear ignorant.
" Two days, mas'er ; he can't get off for a
longer time dan dat."
''How unlucky!" muttered Rawdon, run-
ninfr over a sudden train of thoiiLiht. "Del-
ford is out of the way, so is Foucliard.
This cursed headache ties me hure. Jim,"
JIM. 319
lie added, spealdng aloud, " be you sure of
the length of your master's visit?"
" Sure as de gospel, master," responded
Jim, with an honest air of indignation at
beioir doubted.
"He's paying an old grudge, no doubt,
this nigger," soliloquized Mr. Rawdon from
under the bed-clothes. ^'This shows what
comes of Leeson's fooling his niggers."
Jim had finished his errand, and after
shuffling awkwardly with his feet in the
pause, turned toward the door. Mr. Rawdon
arrested him as he put his hand on the
latch. " We will pay your master a visit
before long," he said. " Couldn't you con-
trive to let us in, — say at a proper hour
to-morro^v night ? "
'^ I sleeps in de stable-loft, mas'er."
" That settles the question then ; but
couldn't you contrive to hide away in the
house ? "
" I darsri't risk it, naas'er. Old Dinah, she
be eberywhere."
Mr. Rawdon considered, holding his visitor
by an imperative gesture to the door.
320 MILLICENT HALFORD.
The pain iu his head had lulled for a
moment under the shock of the exciting
intelligence of Mr. Frederick Leeson's re-
turn, to resume its seat, as all such paroxysms
do, when the first start was over.
"If you could depend upon one of your
fellow-servants,'' he said. " Haven't you a
friend you could trust in the house ? "
Jim thought of Rose; but he was very
sure she would not be equal to the emer-
gency. " I'll do de best I can, nias'er,"
he ventured.
'^ Very well, and let us know. To-morrow
nicfht it is. We will be on hand at twelve.
I wouldn't mind giving you a handsome
present, my good fellow, if you Avill help us
to carry this out without risk."
Jim's eyes brightened, and his lips part-
ed, displaying two pearly rows of ivory.
Mr. Rawdon had his man, — at least, he
thought so ; but the wisest of us will fall
into mistakes. Money was not Jim's pas-
sion ; revenge and liberty were just now
the dearest matters in his consideration.
JIM.
321
He would have been incapable of selling his
master, slave as he was, for the thirty
pieces of silver, much less for promises
whose worthlessness his quick wit no doubt
detected. He bowed a respectful good-
night to Mr. Rawdon, and took himself out.
21
CHAPTER XXXVII.
jm AM) ROSE.
IT was a quiet walk home in the moon-
light. Jim quickened his steps, keep-
ing a stealthy eye on the open road as Ave 11
as the clumps of bushes which here and
there flowered along the highway, and had
the good fortune to turn into his master's
carriage-path without having encountered a
solitary pedestrian. He reached the shad-
ow of the stable buildings, and flung him-
self down lazily on the wet grass, surrender-
ing himself to a fit of profound reflection.
It was liis purpose to get away in the
confusion which would follow on to-morrow
night's attack. Eose, of course, would be
his companion. The consideration to follow
was how he should shape his course. He
322
JIM AND ROSE. 323
had little knowledge of the country. To
venture into a railroad train without a pass
would be certain destruction. He could
only do what other poor fugitives had done
before him, — keep on in whatever course
accident might open. In this instance there
would be no pursuit to fear, no harrying
with bloodhounds, or flaring advertisement
setting forth, with frightful distinctness, his
appearance, and offering a bounty to the
first man who would restore him, alive or
dead ; but all the danger lay in the curios-
ity of the people he might meet along his
route, and in the difficulty of gaining direc-
tion toward those friendly Northern cities
to which all his hopes culminated.
The light flickered and disappeared from
the sitting-room ; the family w^ere in the
act of retiring to their beds ; it was not far
from midnight. Jim roused himself from his
recumbent position, and betook himself to
his quarters in the stable. The tired-out
horses which had borne his master and his
fellow-servant on their perilous journey of
224 MILLICENT HALFORD.
return had been turned into a neighboring
pasture, after a liberal supply of grain, fur-
nished under the favorable darkness. As Jim
had anticipated, no tokens of Mr. Leeson's
arrival presented themselves in the out-
buildings.
Jim climbed up the ladder to his usual
quarters, and composed himself to sleep on
the soft hay. He must see Rose early in
the morning, the only part of the day in
which an uninterrupted interview could be
procured, and confide to her the personal
part of his plans ; with the whole he dared
not trust her. It would be easy to work
upon her fears by the intimation of anoth-
er sale, in which she might expect to be
included, and so to force her tardy consent
to flight. Jim turned over this last plan
very industriously in his mind, and fell
asleep just at the moment of its comple-
tion.
It was broad dayhght when Jim awoke ;
the sun was shining cheerily through the
chinks in the stable. His toilet was al-
JIM AND ROSE. 325
ready made ; be had only to hnrry down
the ladder, emerge from the open door, and
send his scrutinizing glance in the direction
of the kitchen.
The dew lay in a shower of brilliants over
the grass ; the air was fresh and sweet. A
female figure, early as was the hour, was
flitting about among the beds of the gar-
den, gathering a choice bouquet for the
breakfast-room. Of course, the kitchen was
astir. A thick smoke w^as ascending from
its slender chimney. Lizzie came to the
door for air, wdth a kettle in her hand.
Eose appeared at the window.
Jim sent a quick, magnetic gesture over
to her, and presently the young girl came
tripping out at the door and over the wet
grass toward him.
Jim purposely kept his place, to be out
of ear-shot of the house, and even drew
her a step or two back after him out of
sight of the garden.
'' Mas'er be going to sell us, Rose," he
said, in a low voice. " Dat's his errand
home.'^
326 MILLTCENT HALFORD.
The poor girl clasped her bands with a
faint cry, the smiles dying away from her
lips. " Be you sure, Jim ? " she asked,
breathlessly. "Who told you?"
" Somebody dat knew," said Jim, shak-
ing liis head. " Missus be going away, and
mas'er has bargained to sell us all off but
Dinah."
The story was plausible. It did not enter
into Rose's innocent faith to doubt it; sho
had caught snatches of her master's conver-
sation with MilHcent at the supper-table the
past night, which strengthened her belief.
Her mistress was about to be taken away,
and, of course, the household would be
broken up. A sale must follow. Her face
dropped in her hands with a bitter cry.
" Hush ! " said Jim, putting his hand on
her head. " It's no good taking on so ; be-
sides, I's got a plan. We'll run off."
Rose shuddered ; it was the last alterna-
tive, and to her timid spirit held very httle
hope.
" De driber wont be 'long 'fore to-mor-
JIM AND ROSE.
327
row morning," said Jim ; " we'll take de
road to-night. Maybe, if de gemmen knew
mas'er was in de neighborhood, dey would
pay him a visit; den he would hab enough
to do widout looking after us."
'^ Oh, I darsn't take de risk," said Rose,
sobbing; "we shall be caught."^
Jim drew himself up with a contemptuous
smile, " Rader go oif wid de driber ? Tell
you what. Rose, liberty is worth de risk ob
someting."
" But we shall be caught."
"That's jest like you. Rose. Susan got
off; why shouldn't we?"
Rose wiped her eyes. "I dunno," she
said. " Susan was white ; nobody would
^spect her."
" Rose, Rose I " called a voice from the
kitchen-door.
"Dat's Lizzie," said the girl, starting,
with a quick glance across. "I must run,
Jim; I'm wanted. Oh, what shall we do?
Missus will see I'm in trouble."
"Keep close, Rose; don't tell Lizzie j
mind what. I tells you."
328 MILLICENT HALFORD.
Rose was gone, and Jim turned leisurely
back to the stable to his morning work.
The field hands were going to their labors ;
the sun had been up an hour. Joe did not
make his appearance out of doors ; he had
been over to groom and fodder his horses
with the first gJimmer of daylight, and
was now keeping close in obedience to his
master's instructions.
Jim indulged himself in a low whistle as
he set about his work ; he had few doubts
of the success of his enterprise.
The day stole away heavil}^ indoors. It
held one or two golden hours for Millicent;
but for the most part a feverish anxiety
pressed upon her spirits. Mrs. Leeson
seemed to be lulled by the influence of her
son's presence into a strange lethargy of
security.
Twilight came on. Mrs, Leeson, j^ielding
to fatigue, despite her first resolution to
sit up till the hour of her son's departure,
retired to her chamber, where Dinah had
preceded her. Her maid seemed in a state
JTM AND ROSE. 329
of imusual depressioD, and gave but brief
replies to her mistress' monosyllabic inqui-
ries touching household matters. Presently
she relieved her mind.
" Rose is taking on bad to-day, missus.
Jim says we servants are going to be sold.'^
" One of Jim's stories," said her mistress,
yawning. " Here, these pillows are all in
a heap. Can't you fix them properly, Dinah?
Wake me, if I should drop asleep, when
Frederick comes in."
Blind, Wind! How could her ear be so
dull to the warning?
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE ALAR^r.
THE hours were deepening toward mid-
night ; the clock wiis upon the stroke
of eleven ; a full moon was shining out of
doors. Joe had brought round the horses
to the winding carriage-path, where they
stood huddled in the friendly shade of the
growth of sycamores. Frederick stood iu
the hall holding his cousin's hand ; he liad
just come down from liis mother's chamber.
Adele had said her good-by, and was
crouched down at the foot of the staircase,
struggling bravely to keep back a few truant
tears.
Millicent could not trust her voice to
frame a word. Frederick tried to shake off
the spell of foreboding which hung over
330
THE ALARM. 331
him. He had reasons enough for sadness, —
his mother's feeble health, the unprotected
circumstances in which he was leaving these
helpless women, with the perils into which
he was himself hastening.
" Adieu," he said, dropping Millicent's
hand. " I shall write you by the first post.
God keep and preserve you all till we
meet again."
Was she wrong in believing, under her
downcast lashes, that his parting glance
sought hers, or that his fingers had trem-
bled an instant before as they loosed their
clasp? Trifles to build upon j but trifles
are everything in love.
The door closed noiselessly after him ;
he had passed out into the moonlight. Adele
ran into the sitting-room to catch a parting
glimpse from the veranda. Millicent mechan-
ically followed her, saw the horsemen mount,
caught at the distance a parting wave of
the hand from the taller of the two, whose
quick eye had distinguished the flutter of
their white garments among the vines
332 MILLICEXT HALFOnn.
around the porch, and saw them canter out
into the road.
All was still, — a deep, oppressive still-
ness. A bird disturbed in the bushes close
by sent up suddenly a low chirp. The two
women turned indoors. Milliccnt went up
straight to her chamber. Adele lingered at
the door of her mother's room, to see if she
were still waking.
Two minutes later Jim stole out from
the stable with a small bundle in his hand,
containing his little suit of worldly goods,
and made up to the veranda. The lights
were gone from the sitting-room ; he had
made sure of this from a chink in the stable.
Rose had promised to meet him as soon as
the family should have retired, and the
house settled to stillness. He crept up to
the first window, and laid his ear to the
sill. Eose was already there to meet him, a
little bundle in her hand, her face swollen
with weeping, her spirits at this last moment
very uneven and undecided. Jim drew her
out, purposely left the sash open after him.
THE ALARM. 333
and stepped into the shadow of the vines,
hesitating to cross the broad space which
spread before them in the full tide of moon-
light. Adele's chamber was situated at that
corner of the house. In the excitement at-
tending upon her brother's visit, the young''
girl miglit be wakeful and might not yet
have retired.
" Miss Adele be up in missus' room,"
whispered Rose, guessing at the cause of
her lover's hesitation. ^^ She be talking wid
missus as I crept by."
Jim brought out an impatient groan. It
was not worth while to run the risk of
detection in the outset; they had no choice
but to wait.
A full half-hour crept on ; they dared not
trust their voices above a whisper in the
close neighborhood of the house. Rose, in-
deed, was ill-inclined for conversation, and
Jim's anxieties on his part left little room
for speech. Just as he had made up his
mind that his young mistress must have re-
tired, leaving the way clear, and was in
o34 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
tlie act of arousing his companion, the muf-
fled tread of footfalls came distinctly to
liis ear. He turned his eyes witli a start in
tlie direction of the carriage-path, and saw
lialf a dozen figures stealthily gliding up
its outskirts in the direction of the house.
Tliese were his master's midnight visitors.
He put his hand over Rose's mouth, muf-
fling her cry of alarm, and directed her in
a whisper to find her way off the veranda.
All the inmates of the household must bo
wrapped in slumber at tliis weird hour.
She might cross under ej^e-shot of her mas-
ter's w^indow without much danger of dis-
covery, and get to the rear of the apple
orchard, where he would presently join
her.
Rose obeyed him, trembling with a new
terror, and by an instinctive movement,
rather than any act of conscious volition,
reached the designated spot.
Jim was about to follow, when a tall shadow
fell over the boards before him, and his
affrighted upward glance recognized Mr.
Raw don.
THE ALARM. 335
"So you are here, my good fellow," said
the gentleman, speaking in a whisper which
sounded frightfully distinct in the stillness.
'' Is the house open ? Have we got a friend
inside?"
Jim pointed to the window, and made a
quick gesture to move away.
^' Not so fast," said the visitor, laying his
hand heavily on his shoulder; "you must
pilot us in, and show us up to your mas-
ter's chamber."
" Oh, no, mas'er ! " said Jim, falling on
his knees ; " de way's straight 'nuff, — jest up
de staircase. I dunno mas'er's room ; b'heve
it's to de left or right."
" We will soon find out," said Rawdon,
roughly, giving him a shake. " Come, you
rascal, if there's any play about this, you'll
soon get daylight through your head. Here,
Delford, Jones, — this way; the nigger will
pilot us. Here, sir, get through the win-
dow."
Jim saw that there was no escape. With
a cold perspiration starting from every pore,
3oG MTLLICEXT HALFOIID.
and standing out in great drops on liis
forehead, lie crept in. Close behind him
came three or four men, their pistols in
their hnnds, a look of scowling malignity
on each of the rough faces.
Jim knew that his life was in the balance
with his fidelity, and setting his teeth close,
he made a cautious movement up the stair-
case. One by one they followed, and each
gained noiselessly the landing.
Here Jim stopped in some trepidation.
The door to the left was certainly his mas-
ter's. It w^as not locked, or close shut, but
stood slightly ajar. At tiiis pcant Jim's cour-
age failed him. With a low ejaculation of
'- Dis be Mas'er Frederick's room,*' he made
a bound back to the head of the staircase,
^vithout waiting to see what was to follow.
His sudden spring overtuined the hindmost
of the visitors, whose pistol w^ent off in
the confusion, while the three others rushed
into the chamber in the hope of still se-
curing their prey in the first moment of
surprise.
THE ALARM. 337
The room was empty ! The second glance
told the story that the bed had not been
slept in.
A smothered oath broke from the lips of
the foremost, repeated in a variety of voices
by the others.
" The nigger has made a mistake ! " burst
out Mr. Rawdon ; '' this is the wrong cliam-
ber. Quick, men, scatter ! We'll have him
yet; but he'll be roused up with this hub-
bub."
22
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR.
MRS. LEESOX, aroused from her first
sleep by the sharp report of a pistol,
started up on her elbow with a quick ex-
clamation to her maid, Dinali, already awake,
roused up from her recumbent position on
the strip of carpet at her mistress' bedside.
Both listened, and heard distinctly the foot-
stej^s and smothered voices in the passage.
A rude hand pushed open the door of tlie
dressing-room, and a face intruded u[»on
the two terrified women.
" This is one of the women's chambers,''
said the intruder, speaking to his comrade
behind him. " We can get some inibrm;i-
tion out of this negress. Here, you black
wench, wliich is Mr. Leeson's room ? ''
338
THE HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. 339
" My son is not here/' said Mrs. Leeson,
commanding her terror to speak. " What
do you want ? If plunder, here is my watch,
and all the money I have is in this secre-
tary.'^
"Money is not our object, madam,'' said
the man, who, in the uncertain light, had
failed to distinguish the figure on the bed,
and who seemed to be the head of the en-
terprise. "We want your son.''
"He is not here," returned Mrs. Leeson,
her voice hardly articulate from fright, and
driven by the pressure of terror into a false-
hood ; " he has not been here."
"Then that lying nigger shall swing for
it," muttered Mr. Rawdon, taking himself
out; "but we'll have a search and make
good your word for it first, madam."
A fruitless search it proved. His men
shortly issued from the upper regions bear-
ing three prisoners with them, — Milhcent,
Adele, and Lizzie. The first two ladies —
even Adele, child as she was — preserved
a dignified silence to the few short words
340 MILLICEXT HALFOKD.
of questioning put to them ; but tlie terri-
fied negro servant stood ready to confess
to anything and everything.
" Mas'er be jest gone," she said ; " he
habn't been gone clean 'bove an hour."
Millieent thiew at her a glance of troubled
reproach, which Lizzie, with her face bent
down upon her hands, and her whole body
shaking with alarm, failed to meet.
'' What road did he take ? " asked Raw-
don, breathlessly; but the woman was una-
ble to answer.
" We'll soon find a way to open your
mouths," said Hawdon, in a savage tone,
" or you shall see this old roof-tree burning
over your heads ! Come, here's your choice,
— put us on Mr. Leeson's track, or clear
out of the house what few movables you
can. We'll give you twenty minutes." lie
took out his watch.
Millieent turned pale; Adole wrung her
hands with a terrified gesture.
" I don't believe he's got off at all," con-
tinued one of ti;e men ; "■ he's liiding some-
where about in this house."
THE HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. 341
^' The flames will bring him out then,"
said their leader, shortly.
^' Mr. Leeson is not here," said Millicent,
struggling to speak. " He is out of your
reach ; you cannot do him any harm. Cer-
tainly, gentlemen, you will not w^ar upon
helpless women ! "
'* You waste time, ma'am," said one of
the men. " You'd better be about clearing
the house."
"Yes," said their leader, "we shall put
the torch at the end of the twenty minutes."
They scattered as by one impulse in pur-
suit of plunder, leaving the two girls at the
door of Mrs. Leeson's chamber. Lizzie had
crouched down upon the floor, and was sob-
bing helplessly in her terror.
" What will become of mamma ? " whis-
pered Adeie. " Poor mamma ! she will get
her death in this damp night."
At this instant, to their dismay, Mrs. Lee-
son appeared in the door, having been hur-
riedly dressed by Dinah. The excitement
of the hour had given her strength, and
342 MILLICENT HALFORD.
sbe had come out to join lier feeble petition
to tliat of tlie two trembling girls before
her that these midnight visitors would re-
spect the sanctity of her home.
They found Mr. Eawdon in an adjoining
chamber in the act of curiously inspecting
the closets, no doubt in tlic forlorn hope
of still discovering the object of his search.
The women surrounded him with passion-
ate entreaties to revoke his hasty order.
'^ It's no use/' he answered, savagely.
''You'd better stop your crying, and clear
the house. You are only wasting time."
It was plain that it was so. Mrs. Leeson
sunk down fainting in a chair. Adcle ran
to support her mother, wliile Millicent hur-
ried out for a glass of water.
"We must get out tlie carriage/' thought
the poor girl, " if I can only find Jim. What
is to be saved ? Where sliall we get shel-
ter ? '^
Slie aroused Lizzie, administered a hearty
shaking to awaken her from her fright, and
placing the glass of water in her hand,
THE HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. 343
bade her go to her mistress. She stopped
to see that, in her bewilderment, the girl
had not missed her way, and then proceed-
ed down the staircase. She had not far to
go in her search, but quickly discovered
Jim in the custody of the two men who
had been left to keep guard outside. They
were amusing themselves with their pris-
oner, with the utterance of various threats
to be carried out in the case of his mas-
ter's non-discovery, which came to an abrupt
pause at her appearance. Millicent hesitat-
ed, undecided what to do.
" You will let us take out the carriage ? '^
she said, addressing one of the men. " Mrs.
Leeson is hardly able to leave her cham-
ber; it will be sure death to her to be
turned out on foot in this damp night."
They looked at each other in uncertainty.
Mrs. Leeson was a sick, helpless old woman
who had done nothing to offend them. One
of her sons was in the Confederate army ;
she was not answerable for the other's
pohtics. Jim was set at liberty, and pro-
344 MILLICENT HALFORD.
ceeded with alacrity to turn out the two
carriage horses.
Millicent went back to give orders to
Dinah, and to gather up her own scanty
wearing apparel as rapidly as she might.
There was no time to get out the plate, or
many other valuable articles which must
be left to the flames, should they escape
the cupidity of the plunderers. She called
out Adele, leaving Mrs. Leeson to the care
of Lizzie, whose terror would have prevent-
ed her from proving of an}^ efficient help,
and ran up to her cliamber.
Ten, fifteen minutes flew by rapidly.
Rawdon's rough voice called from the foot
of the staircase, " Come, ladies, the twenty
minutes are up. We haven't any more time
to waste."
The trunks were pushed down with Dinah's
strong assistance. Mrs. Leeson followed,
leaning heavily on her daughter's arm,
whose agitation seemed to render her al-
most incapable of her own support. Lizzie,
with a small bundle hastily crowded togeth-
er, brought up the rear.
THE HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. 345
It was a sorrowful picture; but no pity-
ing moisture shone in the scowHug eyes
which watched it. They went out at the
hall-door and stood on the veranda, from
which Millicent and Adele had watched
Frederick's departure, and met his last
parting salutation, little more than an hour
before.
"Thank God! he is safe," whispered Mil-
licent, pressing her aunt's arm. "Let us
take courage."
Mrs. Leeson replied only by a groan.
Her eyes turned beseechingly to Mr. Raw-
don, who had followed the mournful com-
pany out, and w^aited to see them off. " Oh,
sir, have pity ! " she exclaimed. " You have
a mother. Think what it is to have an old
woman turned out of doors ! "
"It is a hard case, ma'am," said the gen-
tleman addressed. " Your son should have
had thought for you."
The carriage and horses appeared at the
opening of the carriage-path, but without
a driver. Jim had seized a favorable mo-
346 MILLICENT TIALFORD.
ment to skedaddle, and taken himself securely
out of sight and hearing. Here was a dilem-
ma. No one knew in what direction to go,
if the trunks could be got on, and the
horses started. Mrs. Leeson was quite past
giving directions. Millicent found again that
the weight of authority must rest upon her
hands. She recalled a log-house about a
mile distant, whose owner had received
several favors at her aunt's hands. She
might be persuaded to shelter them for the
present in their homeless condition. For
Mrs. Leeson to accomplish a journey of much
distance in her present state, not to consid-
er the damp air of midnight, which was
already sending a shiver through her slen-
der frame, was impossible.
The trunks were got on with the united
exertions of the little group, Mrs. Leeson
was helped in, and Millicent took the reins.
A backward glance showed the negro quar-
ters open and deserted. The negroes had
early taken the alarm, and scattered into
the fields.
THE HORRORS OP CIVIL WAR. 347
The horses started at an easy pace. Mrs.
Leeson dropped her head with a low, heart-
wrung sob. Adele leaned out of the car-
riage window for one last farewell look at
the old home which was soon to lie in a
heap of crumbhng cinders. "Oh, if Fred,
were here," she exclaimed, passionately,
" with his company of men ! Oh, mother, if
he could only have known of this ! "
" Thank God," repeated Millicent, gently,
turning her face, "that he is safe. We can
bear everything with that!"
CHAPTER XL.
THE NIGHT DRIVE.
I^HEY had proceeded about half a mile
. when a flaming light rose up in the
sky behind them, starting the horses from
their even pace, and calling out all Milli-
cent's care and skill in their management.
Broader and broader it grew till the whole
heavens were overspread, and the little party
distinctly heard the roaring of the flames
and the sharp crack of the parting timbers,
in the still night air. Dinah ground her
teeth with a smothered ejaculation, " The
debils are having their time." Adele's eyes
kindled, their light the next instant drenched
in a flood of tears. Mrs. Leeson crouched
back closer in her corner of the carriage.
Lizzie's sobs broke out anew. The old
348
THE NIGHT DDIVE. 3-19
homestead was fast falling into a sheet of
red flame. The vines around the veranda,
the flowers in the little garden, — but yes-
terday morning so fresh, — were shrivelling
in the hot heat, and over it all demons, in
human shape, were gloating in the triumph
of revenge.
The horses were fast growing unmanage-
able. Millicent, whose thoughts had turned
from the burning buildings to centre around
the safety of her companions, began to be
sensible of an emotion of terror. A tall hill
rose at a short distance before her. If she
could slacken their pace up the ascent, all
would be well ; if not, she trembled at the
thought of the headlong plunge which might
threaten on the other side. Exerting all
her strength, she drew in the reins tightly,
and tried to curb the alarmed steeds with
her voice. The steady horses gradually
relaxed into a slackened run, and to her
great relief, allowed themselves to be
brought to an abrupt stop at the foot of
the ascent. It was an open country, with
350 MILLICENT HALFORD.
a wide margin of stubble land on each side
of the road, and a broad line of what ap-
peared to be thick woods spreading away
at a little distance to the right.
'^ Where shall we go, Millicent?" asked
Adele, clinging to her cousin's dress to
draw her attention. '' Mamma cannot go
much farther. See how ill she looks!"
Millicent did not need to turn her faco
to catch her aunt's woe-begone aspect. The
humble log-hut wliijh hiui first come to
her thoughts was but a few yards distant;
it would appear in sight on mounting the
hill. She whispered a few words to Adele,
and again started the horses, this time at
a slow pace.
The slope at the foot of the hill brought
her to her destination ; it was a small clear-
ing on the outskirts of the wood, occupied
by a rude log-house, a vegetable garden in
front, rudely fenced with rough pine boards.
Millicent got out, tethered her horses with
some difficulty to a tree, and proceeded to
arouse the inmates of the dwelling by a
THE NIGHT DRIVE. 351
vigorous succession of knocks bestowed with
the end of her whip.
Presently a night-capped head was thrust
out the window, the coarse cotton ruffle
surrounding a labor-seamed but honest wo-
man's face.
''And what be you after wanting at this
time o' night?" was her Hibernian saluta-
tion.
" You know us, Mrs. Brown/- said Mil-
licent, approaching the window. " Mrs. Lee-
son, of Wheatley Place, is in this carriage.
We have been turned out of our house,
and have come to beg of you a night's shel-
ter."
" Bless my soul ! " said the woman, look-
ing up at the sky, which presented a crim-
son glare overhead. " There's a great fire
somewhere, and it isn't far off either. The
regulators are to work again. Arrah, sorry
times these for some folks ! "
Two curly heads protruded out of the
window at the first sentence at their moth-
er's side, curiously taking in the flaming as-
O0'2 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
pect of the sky, and wandering from that to
the strange spectacle of the equipage halt-
ing a few paces from their door.
"Will you give us shelter?" repeated
Millicent, anxiously. " Mrs. Leeson is very
feeble ; I fear she cannot get much farther."
'' Yes, m}' dear. What am I thinking
of? It's the fire that's quite dazed me ; "
and Mrs. Brown hurried to the door, drew
out the creaking bolt, and opened it wide
for the admission of her visitors. '' It's your
own house thin that's burning ! *' she ejacu-
lated. " Sorry comforts I can offer to such
a lady ; but the best I have is for her,
and she's welcome."
Millicent did not stop to hear her cour-
tesies ; she was at the side of the carriage
whispering to Advjle to assist her mother
to alight. The young lady threw a discon-
tented glance at the poor place, and hesi-
tated to descend. " We can do no more,"
w^hispered Millicent ; " every other door
would be shut to us ; this poor woman
alone runs no danger."
THE NIGHT DRIVE.
353
Adele submitted with a sigh, and getting
out, prepared to assist her mother to de-
scend. Mrs. Leeson's nervous strength was
fast succumbing under exhaustion; she
reached the house with some exertion, and
sunk into the chair which her hostess hur-
ried to place for her. The inner part of
the log-house proved to consist of but one
room, partially divided by a curtain. Mrs.
Brown cheerfully gave up her bed to Mrs.
Leeson, and the little party set about mak-
ing themselves as comfortable as their pe-
culiar circumstances would admit.
"We have relatives at Belmont," said
Adele to her cousin, in a whisper, as they
sat together an hour after their arrival, —
Mrs. Brown had considerately withdrawn to
the opposite part of the house, leaving her
guests to themselves, — "if mamma could
only get there."
" She will die here," said Millicent, glanc-
ing with a shudder around the bare walls.
"The effort must certainly be made, even
if we are obliged to return with her."
23
I
CHAPTER XL I.
THE BATTLE OF BELMONT.
T was tbe night following the 9th of
November. The battle of Belmont was
over ; the victorious Union forces had taken
up a line of retreat to their gunboats, and
the friendly twilight was beginning to veil
the mournful scenes of death and suffering
which followed close upon tlie roar and
smoke of conflict. In an open field on the
outskirts of the village where the struggle
had raged tlie fiercest, lay a heap of man-
gled forms in which life seemed to be
utterly extinct, with one or two still
breathing figures stretched on the stubble
earth beside them. One of tliese wore the
uniform of a Confederate officer of some
rank, which was still discernible in the
354
THE BATTLE OF BELMONT. 355
dusk; the other, by his blue coat, was a
Union private, who most likely had been
left for dead in the hurried departure of
his comrades. Both were young, of such
materials as enter most into the mass of
armies, in the flower and vigor of life.
" Will no one come ? " groaned the offi-
cer, turning up a despairing look at the
sky. " It is horrible to think of lying hero
all night, within a few yards of friends,
and suffering, too, with this intolerable
thirst ! "
Even as he spoke a light footfall broke
the stillness near them, and two female
figures, their sex distinguishable by a mass
of light drapery, came with hesitating foot-
falls over the ground toward them. The
foremost, who was a few rods in advance
of her companion, stopped at the heap of
, corpses on the knoll, and, conquering her
trembling repugnance, began to bend over
them. A low, bitter cry instantly burst
from her lips. " Oh, Fanny, he is here !
I knew it would be so. O God ! " She
356 MILLICENT HALFORD.
sunk down upon tlie grass, wringing lier
hands, and rocking herself" to and fro with
a low succession of sobs. Her companion
went up to her and put her arm around
her neck, as if to draw her away.
" Come," she said, her voice showing that
she was shivering from head to foot, '^ we
"^vill go and get assistance to have him
carried to the house. Come, Jane, this is
a horrible spot, and it's not safe to linger
here ; it's growing dark."
The sobbing woman started up, and put
her hand upon her companion's arm.
" Ladies," said the wounded officer, as
they turned to move away, " will you give
me some water? I and this poor fellow
here are dying of thirst."
The women started at a voice near them.
Their first movement seemed to be to flee ;
but the woman who had knelt over the
dead body gently restrained her companion.
" We will send help to you," she said,
" and have you taken into a house. I
thought all the wounded had been carried
away."
TTTE BATTLE OF BELMONT. 357
She did not ask, true to Ler woman's
sympathies, to which side the wounded
man belonged, but quickened her steps to
a rapid walk in the direction of the houses.
Major James Leeson — for the wounded
officer was no other than this gentleman
— laid his head back again wearily on the
hard ground, and surrendered himself to
await with what patience he could the
amelioration of his condition. His comrade
beside him had relapsed into a second
faint, and lay quite unconscious of any-
thing around him, with the blood congealed
at his side from a hideous wound in his
breast. The stars were coming out thickly
in the blue sky overhead ; a reviving night
breeze blew over the fields ; the wounded
man struggled with, his feverish impatience.
By and by, after what seemed an age
of space, his ear caught distinctly the tread
of footsteps coming out of the distance,
and shortly tw^o men, bearing a rough litter,
hastily formed of two wooden slabs, and
preceded by a female figure, carrying a
lantern, halted beside him.
358 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
^'This is the spot," said a low voice,
wliicli sounded strangely familiar, .though
liis senses were beginning to grow weak
with the pain and loss of blood following
his wound.
"One. of them is quite gone," said one
of the men, bending over his blue-coated
comrade. " See ! his eyes are set."
James tried to lift his head, to assist his
bearers to raise him to the litter ; but the
exertion proved too much. A sudden faint-
ness came over him, and his eyes closed
just as the lantern slipped from the relax-
ing fingers of the guide with a low ejac-
ulation of his name.
When Mr. Leeson returned to conscious-
ness, he found himself lying on a bed in a
large, airy chamber. It was broad daylight;
the sun was shining cheerily through an
aperture in the displaced curtain, and the
wintry brandies of a naked tree drew his
attention outside. As he lay, thoughtful and
conscious, he became aware that a long
interval must have elapsed since the night
THE BATTLE OP BELMONT. 359
of his wound, and that he was now in-
debted to the charity of some kind friend,
who had nursed him through his dehrium,
instead of the chary attentions doled out
at a hospitaL Two or three figures who
had held no small share in his fever-col-
ored fancies flitted distinctly before his
memory. He was quite sure that a famil-
iar presence had more than once penetrated
to his bedside, and that he had heard his
name pronounced by the same lips which
had faltered it in the twilight when he
sunk down fainting — as he then thought
dying — on the cold ground.
^' You are awake, sir," observed a quiet
voice from the depths of the easy<-hair at
his bedside. " Will you take your medi-
cine now ? '' Mr. Leeson looked up to see
a wrinkled, kindly-looking face, in a close
widow's cap, with black bauds, bending
over him.
'^ Is it a narcotic, ma'am ? " he asked,
hesitating to swallow the contents of the
glass which was placed to his lips.
3G0 MILLICEXT HALFORD.
" I don't know, sir ; the ductor said it
was a sootliin*^ draught."
^' I should like to ask a question or two
first/' said the patient. ^' Where am I ?
and who has so kindly taken care of me
in mv sickness ? "
" You are still in the village of Belmont,
sir. The family you are with is named
Anson. You were brought here insensible
on the niglit of the battle."
"Ah, I remember.'' Mr. Leeson put his
hand feebly to his temples. " I think we
were masters of the field at the last?"
'' It was a drawn battle, sir," said the
old lady, discreetly steering between the
rival claims of the victory. *' The Union
forces drew off in good order, and your
side was left in possession of the field. But
the doctor said you were not to talk when
you should come to yourself Be pleased
to swallow yuur medicine."
" One more question, my good lady
How long have I been lying here ? "
" Close upon three weeks, sir."
THE BATTLE OF BELJIOXT. 361
Major Leeson repressed a groan. What
had become of his command? Did his
comrades believe him dead? Most likely
they did, since he had been passed over
by them in an obscnre spot upon the field.
" You had better try to sleep, and get
ugly thoughts out of your head, sir,'' said
his nurse, watching his face. " The doctor
said worrying would retard your getting
up."
Certainly some friendly care was near
him.' Mr. Leeson swallowed the nauseous
draught, laid his head back on his pillow,
and resigned himself to his situation.
Presently a deep, refreshing slumber stole
over him, and the old nurse, rising on tip-
toe, glided noiselessly out of the chamber.
CHAPTER XLII.
RETROSPECTION.
MAJOR LEESOX'S convalescence was
rapid. On the fourtli day he was able
to quit his bed for a lounge placed oppo-
site a window which commanded a ' v/ide
view of the surrounding country ; but with
his improvement in strength his docility as
a patient lapsed, and he began to press his
kind nurse with inquiries on a point wliich
deeply excited his curiosity. Was it the
illusion of a fever dream which painted, on
two or three occasions, a fjiir face batlied
in tears at his pillow, or which distinctly
treasured up the pressure of a hand, too
small and *soft to belonir to his witheicd
o
nurse, in more than one heated night of
delirium, upon his temples ?
362
RETROSPECTION. 363
" I have a distinct impression of hearing
a familiar voice on the night in which I
was taken up from the field/' he said to
his nurse. " Good Mrs. Anson, will you
not have pity upon my fever-clouded brain,
and set me right ? "
" The lady who found you was Miss Ben-
net," said Mrs. Anson, answering with re-
luctance. ^' She w^as in search of her
father's body ; he fell in the beginning of
the action. I believe they were old neigh-
bors of yours ? "
^^ Yes," said Mr. Leeson, turning away his
face. '^ But how came she here?" he
asked, after a pause. " The family are still
at Rossenville ? "
"Her mother is dead," said Mrs. Anson,
in a tone which betrayed surprise at the
very meagre extent of her questioner's
knowledge. '^ She got her death from the
exposure following upon her being turned
out of doors by a party of regulators, who
burned up her house."
" It was sad ! " Major Leeson could
3G4 MTLLICEXT HALFOCD.
afford to pympathize with tliis personal case,
— tlie misfortunes of his late lady-love.
" The children were sent Xortli," pursued
Mrs. Anson. "Miss Benuet has been stay-
ing here for the last few weeks."
Mr. Leeson closed his eyes, quite ex-
hausted by the shock of tlie information
he had just received. Jane Bonnet was an
orphan, suddenly left without friends or
means in the world. Of course, her father's
unlucky stand in politics had sequestered
his property. He, Mr. Leeson, owed his
life to her ; for no common care could
have carried him safely through these three
weeks of fever. A hot glow shot up to
his temples as he thought of it.
" Will you ask Miss Bennet to come in
and see me ? " he said, an hour later, as
his nurse rose to leave him alone. " We
are old friends ; and I should like, beside,
to express my sense of these obligations."
It would prove an embarrassing meeting
under any circumstances, but better carried
out in the weakness of this still languid
RETROSPECTION. 365
convalescence than at a later period of fuller
health. He lay back on the lounge, wait-
ing with an impatience which seemed
strange to himself the approach of the
well-remembered footstep. He waited in
vain, and presently the nurse reappeared,
saying that Miss Bennet would see him on
the morrow. " She leaves us in a few
days," she added. ^' I believe she has ap-
plied for a situation as assistant nurse in
some hospital."
Mr. Leeson turned his face languidly up-
on his pillow ; he was surprised at the
feeling of disappointment which oppressed
him. What were Jane Bennet's plans to
him ? Certainly nothing.
Another matter should have claimed a
share in Mr. Leeson's thoughts, and cer-
tainly did for the next few minutes. It
was his purpose to pen a note to Augusta
that evening, which note should have been
despatched already, to relieve her mind of
the distress which must have followed up-
on the premature announcement of his
366 MILLTCENT IIALFORD.
death. The last three months had wrought
a material change in Augusta's outward cir-
cumstances. Mr. Stuart, in his old age, had
taken a commission in the army. Tudor
Hall had been wasted and made a ruin
in the storm of war which had swept over
the fairest portions of Virginia ; the young
lady's own property had been swept away
by the same devastating influences, and she
was at present residing with Miss Stuart,
in one of the northern counties of Ken-
tucky, on the border-line between that
State and Virginia. Strange as it may
seem to the reader, when cou[)lcd with Mr.
James's previous generous declaration, the
loss of his bride's fortune had proved to
him a serious disappointment ; he had se-
cretly counted upon it to remove the cares
and straitnesses which always, more or less,
fall to the lot of the tyro in his early
years in his over-crowded profession ; for,
whatever may be his talents, he must first
make them known to be appreciated, and
to not one in a thousand does the rare
opportunity offer to do this in the outset.
EETROSPECTION. 367
Mr. Leeson was too thoroughly practical to
despise the generous dower which he was
to receive with the hand of his affianced ;
and it may, after all, be questioned if this
property did not weigh at the time in his
rejection of Miss Bennet. True, the young
couple had quarrelled, ~ a lover's quarrel,
which chance might easily have reconciled,-
but Augusta, with her love and wealth,
came between them. James was nothing
loath to be won, as we saw, a few pages
back ; but his first -thought in the matter
was awakened by the evident partiality of
his cousin.
"I must write to Augusta," he thought,
"if my fingers are steady enough to hold a
pen. It is uncertain if the letter will reach
ber; but I shall at least have fulfilled my
part."
Unconsciously to himself, Mr. Leeson's
closing remark showed which way his
thoughts were drifting. It was not of his
betrothed's comfort and ease that he thought,
but of the duty devolving upon his side of
the matter. Could that high-spirited young
368 MILLICENT HALFORD.
lady have guessed at the wandering state of
mind from wliicli emanated the few irregu-
larly-traced lines which her lover now pro-
ceeded to pencil, with what blinding tears
of mortiflcation and anger would she have
flung the letter beneath her feet !
To one other James Leeson's thoughts
turned. Though not the most dutiful of
sons, he could but regret the shock which
this announcement of his demise must give
his mother. He had not heard from her
since the day on which he had left Bowl-
ing Green, and, of course, had no informa-
tion of the unpleasant circumstances which
had afterwards transpired. Little, indeed,
did he dream that she could be in the same
neighborhood with himself, breathing the
same air; or that, in the smoke and din of
that yesterday's battle, the officer who had
twice drawn his unstead}" aim, conspicuous
for the gallantry with which he led on
charge after charge, was his brother, Fred-
erick ! Could it be that a mother's prayer
in one of those houses hard by unnerved
his hand, and turned aside his bullet?
CHAPTER XLIII.
THE ESTRANGED LOYERS.
IT was a mutually-embarrassing meeting
which the morning held in store for the
alienated lovers. The gentleman reclining in
his easy-chair, still pale with the languor of
convalescence, presented an unusually inter-
esting appearance, as he rose and took the
hand of his visitor, with a few words of
thanks for her kindness, of which he could
not affect to be ignorajat. His usual flow
of words seemed quite to have deserted
him ; he fulfilled his part awkwardly, with
an embarrassment as new to himself as it
was secretly acceptable to the lady before
him. She knew nothing of his engagement
with his cousin. The story, thougli the
property of the servants in the family, had
24 369
370 MTLLICENT IIALFORD.
by some uncommon good fortune been con-
fined to the bounds of Wheatley Place, and
she saw in his agitation only the reflection of
her own, — the pleasure of meeting mingled
with the pain of the new circumstances
which environed them both. She had given
to him a sister's care in these weeks of help-
lessness, and had not hesitated to share
with his nurse in her vigils at his pillow ;
but to give back her old trust and the prom-
ise of her hand to a man who stood on the
side stained with her parents' blood, was, of
course, not to be thought of. She would
gladly have refused even this interview,
and the few more which might follow while
they should continue under the same roof;
but a voice whispered they might never
meet again. The next battle-field might re-
ceive the misguided young man as a victim
to the fate from which the care of friends
had now snatched him.
" You owe me no thanks, Mr. Leeson,"
she said, struggling to regain her compos-
ure, as she took her seat. ^' You were wound-
THE ESTRANGED LOVERS. 371
ed — dying, I at first thought — on that
lonely field. It was but an act of charity,
such as I hope would have been given to
a stranger, to take you in."
" You have met with a great loss," said
James. " Mrs. Anson told me."
" Yes ; my dear father. He fell a sacri-
fice for his country. After my mother's
dfeath, he felt that he had a debt to pay.
I little dreamed that he would fall in his
first battle."
" These are dark days," observed Major
Leeson, slightly at a loss how to ofi'er con-
solation. '^ Many homes are already broken
up, and the end does not look to me to be
very near."
Jane looked at him earnestly. Was ho
already wavering in his heart over the choice
he had taken ?
" The end will not come till the South re-
turns," she said. " Though all that I have
is gone, yet, for the sake of those who
must still suffer, I can pray that God will
speed that blessed time."
3i-2 MILLICEKT IIALFORD.
^'We shall never return," said Mr. Lee-
son; "it is a woman's thought to dream of
it."
'' You still believe that the purposes for
which this struggle was opened will be
carried out ? "
'^ I do ; I cannot doubt their success."
'^ God will not permit it," said Jane, fer-
vently. " No such beginnings as these are
prospered. You may not have seen, as I
have, the desolated homes, the smoking ruins,
the helpless families turned out to starve.
What had my father done ? Nothing ; yet
they burned his house, and turned my moth-
er out to her death in the chill night."
" The fruits of civil war," said Mr. Leeson,
gently. '* They are reproduced in the heat
and passion of such struggles in every coun-
try. Wait till you see some county or vil-
lage of our poor Kentucky fall under Union
rule, and you will see the same. Civil war
IS merciless I
f >'
" You began it," said Jane, sorrowfully.
" Where is the Union man who first put a
torch to his neighbor's house ? "
THE ESTRANGED LOVERS. 373
"You women feel rather than reason/'
said James, with a faint smile. '' But Avhat
can you tell me of my family, Miss Bennet?
I have not heard from my mother since I
took my commission."
" I do not know what to tell 'you/' said
the young lady, hesitating, and glancing at
his pallid face. " It is nearly eight weeks
since I left Rossenville."
"My mother was then in her usual
health?" asked James, startled at her hes-
itation.
" She was feeble, but not worse than she
had been for some time."
Miss Bennet was keeping back a secret.
Mr. Leeson noticed it with an uneasy per-
ception of the fact.
" You have some unpleasant news for
me," he said. " You need not hesitate. I
think I can bear it."
" The worst is better than suspense,"
said Miss Bennet, wisely concluding it best
to keep back a part.
" You are not aware that your brother,
374 inLLICEXT HALFORD.
Frederick, has taken a commission in tlio
Union army ? "
" I can scarcely say that I am surprised,"
said James, thoughtfully. " So that is your
news ? Can you tell me anything of his
present whereabouts ? "
" He was in the late battle."
James shuddered. " How fortunate we
were kept apart ! "
" I dare not stay longer," said Jane, ris-
ing. '' I see you are growing wearied. I
will come again to-morrow, if you like, or
send in a book. Are you able to read?"
Mr. Leeson was not sure that his head
would yet bear the application of steady
thought ; he made some demur to his visit-
or's departure ; but Jane promised another
visit, and hastily took her leave.
I
CHAPTER XLIV.
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
T was a delicate task to break to Mr.
Leeson the unsuspected fact of his
mother^s close proximity, and the more that
the circumstances of both mother and son
interposed to any immediate meeting. Mrs.
Leeson had been removed to Belmont by
easy stages, and had been taken to her
chamber on her arrival, with very little pros-
pect of again leaving it for any other change
than to that narrow bed which awaits us
each at some near or distant day. She Avas
herself fully aware of her dangerous condi-
tion, and among the unquiet thoughts which
pressed upon her mind came oftenest the
image of the young daughter about to be
left to the doubtful protection of her two
375
376 MILLICEXT HALFOIID.
brothers. Frederick, slie well knew, would
guard this charge as sacredly as his honor;
but bis part was now in the foremost rank
of peril; beside the unfitness of a man to
preside over the destinies of a young girl,
his daily life lay in camps. Was there no
one of her own sex to wliom she could com-
mit her ? If Frederick and Augusta had
married, Mrs. Leeson's dying pillow, despite
its still lingering thorns, must have been
crowned with content ; but the perverse
girl had cliosen to throw away from her a
true heart for one whose fickleness she
might yet know. Millicent was kind ; her
aunt had grown to lean upon her in these
long weeks of feebleness and suffering with
an affection little short of that with wliich
she regarded her own family ; but a poor
governess, setting aside the girl's still ex-
treme youth, could be no fit guardian for
Ad^le.
There was no friend left but Miss Stuart
to be consulted in this anxious hour, and,
quite ignorant of this lady's change of for-
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 377
tune in the long silence which had come
between them, Mrs. Leeson directed Milli-
cent to pen a short letter to Tudor Hall,
stating in a few words the circumstances
which had lately transpired, describing her
present feeble state, and expressing a fer-
vent desire to see her, as the last favor
which remained to be granted her in life.
Millicent dropped a tear upon it as she fold-
ed it. She knew that her aunt had grown
much worse since her journey; but she
hoped that with rest and quiet she might
again revive. Days went by, and the letter
received no answer. The battle of Belmont
took place. Mrs. Leeson passed through
the excitements of that terrible day alive,
and quite unconscious in its gray nightfall
that her son, for whom her prayers momen-
tarily ascended, was being borne past her
house to an adjacent dwelling. She knew
of Frederick's safety,— he had taken care to
send her a hasty message ; but, though she
feared, she had still no assurance of James's
presence upon the field. Miss Bennet, who
378 AfTLLICENT HALFORD.
had encountered Adele once or twice in
the village street, came twice or tlirice to
her sick-room ; but her visits gave her little
pleasure ; they brought painful associations
of the one event which might have turned
otherwise, and the girl's loneliness and or-
phanhood, strange as it may seem, brought,
up a painful picture of the future near at
hand for her child. Sick pilbws, where
the dying soul has yet much to learn of God,
are ever fruitful in morbid thoughts.
It was not until the morning after Major
Leeson had announced himself able to de-
scend from his chamber, and had actually
got down to the bleak, frost-stripped gar-
den to take in the strong, out-of-door air,
that Miss Bennet thought proper to com-
municate to him the unpleasant news which
had slumbered so long in her possession.
Wheatley Place, the home in which he had
been reared, and around which all his early
associations clung, was now a heap of black
ruins, and his mother, driven out on that
dark night for her life, was lying seriously
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 379
ill in one of these village houses, whose roofs
rose in distinct view of his window.
"It was scarcely kind to keep me in ig-
norance," observed Major Leeson, whoso
second thought was that these facts should
have been told before.
" It has spared you anxiety/^ said Jane,
" which has been everything in your weak
state."
Perhaps it had. He was feeling strong
now. Two days at farthest, he had secretly
decided, should see him on his way to re-
join his command. He would visit his moth-
er; she could not refuse to see him, how-
ever little of satisfaction the interview might
hold for either. Another reflection struck
him, perhaps connected with this by some
subtile train of association as he glanced at
his patient nurse. He had acted foolishly
in one important matter of his life, and he
distinctly saw it. His acceptance of his
cousin's preference had been unwise. It
was Jane, and Jane only, whom he had
really loved. Was there any possibility of re-
380 MILLICENT HALFORD.
tracing this step? Could Frederick be won
over to accept the dowerless hand which, in
the hour of prosperity, had been refused
him ? No, no ! He knew tliat all this mat-
ter was at an end ; he had made his elec-
tion, and it must remain. It is a hard
matter to accept an unloved wife. Mr.
James Leeson, in the presence of the ob-
ject of his secret choice, acknowledged
this fact.
" You are wearied," said Jane, arranging
the pillows of the lounge, and turning her
eyes as she did so from the sunset skies,
glowing with light clouds of crimson and
gold, to the face of the invalid. *' I fear my
news has affected you unpleasantly. Mrs.
Leeson is not by any means hopelessly ill ;
she has been much excited by the late bat-
tle, and a degree of weakness, of course,
follows ; but I think she will shortly rall3\"
"I was considering my ov;n plans," said
James, concisely. '' I expect to be able to
travel in a couple of days."
Jane's eyes dropped. The announcement
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 381
could not be said to take her by surprise ;
yet all unpleasant tidings are in their na-
ture sudden.
" There are many matters which I re-
gret/' said James, taking his companion's
hand, quite carried out of himself by the
sight of her emotion.
The door opened opposite ; a lady wear-
ing a travelling cloak, but otherwise hab-
ited in deep mourning, crossed the threshold,
Mr. Leeson, whose face turned toward her,
recognized Augusta. He dropped the hand
of the lady at his side, with a guilty glow
upon his face, and half rose to receive her.
Miss Bennet turned round, and, recovering
her self-possession with admirable quickness,
rose and went toward her.
Augusta stood like one who had received
a painful shock, her color wavering, her
eyes bright. She could not be blind to the
tableau her quick glance recalled. Her keen
jealously gave it a true interpretation.
" You did not get my note ? " she asked,
hurriedly, addressing Mr. Leeson.
382 MILLICENT HALFORD.
His eyes turned to tlie table upon wliich
it was lying unopened. It bad been taken
up by Mrs. Anson wliile be was below in
tlie garden, and bad escaped bis notice on
bis entrance.
CHAPTER XLV.
MEETING BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON.
MISS BENNET was quite unaware of
any cause for embarrassment in this
unexpected meeting. Augusta's first sen-
tence as she took the chair which the young
lady placed for her explained her sudden
appearance.
" We arrived an hour ago," she said.
^' Miss Stuart w^as too wearied with her jour-
ney to see you this evening. I left her in
your mother's chamber."
" Until a few moments ago," said Major
Leeson, "I had no suspicions of my moth-
er's close neighborhood. These kind friends
wbo have nursed me through my sickness
thouglit best to keep back the knowledge
until I should be able to leave my room."
383
384 MILLICEXT IIALFORD.
"You liave had a long confinement," ob-
served Augusta, bestowing a look upon his
nurse.
'' I had forgotten to inquire for Colonel
Stuart,*' said Major Leeson, glancing at her
mourning dress, which had attracted his at-
tention upon her appearance.
" You have not received our letters
then ? '' Augusta looked surprised. " You
are not aware of his death? He fell in a
late skirmish."
'' I was not aware of it," said Major Lee-
son, much shocked. " Your letters have all
missed me. I have not heard from you
directly since we parted."
Mrs. Anson knocked at the door. She
held a letter for Miss Bennet. Jane went
out.
An awkward pause fell between the two
who were left together. James felt the
wrong which he had been secretly doing his
betrothed in his thoughts. Augusta was ill-
pleased with the established presence of
her lover's old fiancee in his sick-chamber,
MEETING BETV7EEN MOTHER AND SON. 385
not to speak of graver anxieties which would
intrude upon her, strive as she might to
thrust them out.
" This visit is an unexpected pleasure,
Augusta," said Mr. Leeson, penetrating her
thoughts. '^I had httle hope of seeing you.
In a couple of days I look forward to set-
ting out to join my command.''
" A letter from your mother brought us
here/' returned Augusta. " She was anx-
ious to see Miss Stuart. I regret to tell
you she is very ill."
He had guessed as much, carefully guard-
ed as Jane's communication had been.
Augusta drew his attention to the gath-
ering twilight, and rose to leave him. Her
short call had proved unsatisfactory to both.
" When shall I see you again ? " he asked,
retaining her hand. She hesitated.
" I shall visit my mother to-morrow," he
said, — ''with her permission. May I ask
of you the favor to obtain it?"
" She is by this time aware of your pres-
ence here," replied Augusta. " No doubt
386 MILLICENT HALFORD.
Miss Stuart has told her. You need not
hesitate to present yourself."
. " I shall come in at an early hour/' said
James, dropping her hand. She said her
adieu quietly, and stepped out.
A nev/ subject had come up fof reflection
as Mr. James reclined back on his pillows
on the lounge. Augusta's lonely and or-
phaned condition required the fulfilment of
his engagement. Her guardian and protec-
tor gone, her fortune wasted, he could not
be blind to the only honorable course which
opened before him. A few rhonths before,
a feAV weeks even, how gladly would he
have taken upon himself these obligations !
Jane came back with a shadow of un-
usual thought upon her face. She took her
seat at a little distance from the sofa, where
the gathering dusk hid the gloom of her
face.
James remembered the application of
which Mrs. Anson had spoken, and guessed
at the cause of her silence. " I hope your
letter contains no ill news. Miss Bennet," he
said, rousing himself to speak.
MEETING BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON. 387
" On the contrary," said Jane, calmly.
" It is a favorable answer to my application
to be received as an assistant in a hospital.
I shall set out on my journey to-morrow."
'' So soon ! " Yet it was best ; he must
bring back his truant thoughts, and fix them
where his duty no less than his happiness
required that they should henceforth rest.
Major Leeson's visit to her mother took
place at an hour not far from noon on the
following day. Mrs. Leeson received him
in her chamber, which, indeed, she had not
left since the evening of her arrival. Pre-
pared as he was for a great change in her
appearance, the sight of her wan face and
silvered hair affected him unpleasantly; he
sat down by her bedside wholl}^ unable to
frame the words which had risen to his
lips at his entrance. Obedient to a sign
from her annt, Millicent had gone out.
Adele was not present. Miss Stuart and
Augusta purposely absented themselves from
this interview.
^^ You find me very ill, my son," said Mrs.
388 MILLTCENT IIALFORD.
Leeson, witlid rawing licr eyc3 with a sliucl-
der from tlie distinctive uniform which,
though stained and defaced on the field of
Belmont, James had been obliged to re-
sume in the absence of his servant with
his other wearing apparel. " I feel that the
close of these troublous days for mo is near
at hand."
''I trust you w^ill grow better with rest,''
said her son. " Low spirits are always an
accompaniment to a sick pillow\''
" I am anxious for Ad61e," resumed his
mother, without heeding his reply. *' Miss
Stuart has told me of her own impoverished
circumstances. I hoped to have given ray
daughter to her charge. The fortunes of
life are uncertain. Yours and Frederick's,
in these gloomy times, doubly so.''
" I will provide for her," said Major Lee-
son, speaking w^ith the earnestness of a prom-
ise in his voice. " Should the worst come,
ray dear mother, — which I cannot antici-
pate, — assure yourself tli^xt you are not
leaving her alone."
MEETING BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON. 389
" If jou and Frederick could be recon-
ciled/' said his mother, wistfully ; " but that
is impossible ! Oh, James, is it too late to
leave the unrighteous cause which you have
taken up, and which my dying eyes see can
never be prospered ? "
" I have no desire to quit it, mother."
Major Leeson's voice was softened, but firm.
^' You are about to marry Augusta ? "
Major Lees on drew back a little at the
abruptness of the question. " We are be-
trothed, mother," he answered.
'' You have done Frederick a grievous
wrong, James," said his mother. " Your
injustice will never be forgiven."
'' We are all the creatures of circum-
stance, more or less," returned Major. Lee-
son ; he did not add how heartily he wished
it in his power to recall his part in these
transactions.
" You have changed much, James," said
Mrs. Leeson, attentively regarding him.
" There are lines upon your forehead which
were not there when you left us, and the
old expression of your face is gone."
390 MILLTCENT IIALFORD.
" I have not been living a holiday life in
these last months, mother," answered Major
Leeson, trying to force a smile. ^' We sol-
diers in camps taste few of the comfuits of
civilized homes."
^' A poor evasion," said his mother, lan-
guidly returning- his smile. ^' You be,i:in to
feel, James, that tlie cause you have entered
upon is a perilous one."
" Far from it, mother ; but let us close
the subject if you please. I have chosen
my politics; Frederick has chosen his."
'^ I shall see you again?" she asked, as,
noticing the weariness whicli was creeping
over her, he shortly rose to go. He mur-
mured an assent, and went out.
CHAPTER XLVI.
MAJOR LEESON'S DEPARTURE.
/|-AJOR LEESON reached his own door
just ill time to hand Miss Bennet into
the carriage which was waiting to receive
her. It was better, this public parting, than
the more dangerous adieu of a sick-chamber.
Major Leeson involuntarily clasped the hand
he was about to relinquish, and forced back
the words which rose to his lips. He
thought of the long night-watches, of the
kind hours doled out to his weariness and
weakness, and memory went back to the
happy days at Rossenville, which were never
to come again.
" He has chosen,'^ thought Jane, glancing
at the uniform which must now always be
regarded by her with abhorrence. Regrets
391
392 MILLICENT HALFORD.
are too late fur us both, and with a fervent
" God bless you ! " in place of any colder
term of adieu, she settled herself in her
seat, and turned away her face.
Both were about to part for action, the
greatest blessing in such shadowed hours, —
the one for the field of strife and carnage,
f
where life lies at the mercy of the whistling
bullet and the whirring shell; the other,
for those after-scenes, which are scarcely
less mournful, and, unlike the field of battle,
unenlivened by strains of music, or the ex-
citement of triumphant charges.
An hour later Augusta came with Miss
Stuart to pay Mr. Leeson a morning visit
in his sick-chamber, and he was struck for
the first time with the change in her de-
portment toward him. Could it be that she
resented Miss Bonnet's attendance upon him
in these past weeks ? It was very evident
that she did. A glow of resentment flushed
his cheek at these unworthy suspicions ; he
forgot for the moment how fully he had
merited them.
MAJOR LEESON'S DEPARTURE. 393
The day but one following he had settled
upon for his departure. There was little
time to waste, and he seized upon the first
opportunity of opening his plans to his
betrothed.
Augusta listened to his proposals for their
immediate marriage in a silence which boded
ominously for their success. Perhaps she
saw the cold impulse of duty, rather than
of affection, which lay under it; certainly
her sight, quickened by jealousy, had caught
a distinct view of her lover's position. She
could not forget the glow of guilt upon his
face when she had surprised him after their
long separation in the act of holding Jane
Bennet's hand, and, tender and guarded as
was his deportment toward her in the few
hours which had passed since their meet-
ing, she missed out of it a life, a vitality,
which the old happy days had held.
Mr. James Leeson's fickle attachment to
herself had quite evaporated with the loss
of her fortune. It remained to be seen if
her pride could consent to give him up.
394 WILLICEXT HALFORD.
Strange tliat this same motive which liad
actuated Frederick's suit for her hand should
have secretly swayed his brother !
" I cannot consent to marry you at pres-
ent, James," she said, quietly settling the
subject. " So suddenly upon my guardian's
death, it is quite impossible."
Major Leeson remonstrated. " The pe-
culiar circumstances of the times, Augusta,"
he urged, " are a sufficient reason for this
step. I shall feel more at ease in the
dangers and exposures of the field to know
that you are my wife, and that in case I
should fall your future is provided for as
far as any earthly means of mine can pro-
vide for."
If he had kept out the closing sentence !
Augusta saw distinctly the cold lines of
duty.
"My mind is settled upon the matter,"
she answered, coldly. ^' I shall not marry
until I lay by my mourning for Mr. Stuart."
The subject was closed : Major Leeson said
no more. Early in the morning he took his
M^JOR LEESOX'S DEPARTUEE. 395
departure, after a sorrowful leave-taking of
his mother and sister.
Augusta was not present ; he met her in
the hall as he came down. She gave him
her hand. The icy coldness of her fingers
struck him through her glove. " You will
write to me ? " he said, in a low voice.
" Augusta, what has come between us ? "
Milhcent stepped into the hall from her
morning walk. Both started, discomposed
at sight of her. She held a letter in her
hand, her face radiant with pleasure as
she passed them.
^' Adieu, Major Leeson,'^ said Augusta,
drawing away her fingers. " I hope you
will be preserved safely through all that lies
before you.'' She moved away, the folds of
her light dress disappearing through the
opposite door.
He looked after her with a sigh, and
stepped out to mount his horse. He heard
a sash raised, and looked up to see a face
framed at the window. It should have "been
Augusta's. No, it was Adele's. Tears were
396 MILLICENT HALFORD.
pouring over the child's face as she waved
her farewell. Major Leeson returned it in
silence. A mournful foreboding pressed
upon him ; he felt that he might never re-
turn.
"I dare not look backward," he thought,
as he gave the rein to his horse. " For-
ward, forward, henceforth."
^' Frederick is coming, aunt," whispered
Millicent, bending over Mrs. Leeson's pil-
low. '^ He has a short furlough, and will
spend two days with us. From the date of
his letter, we may expect him to-morrow."
" You do indeed bring me good news,
Millicent," said Mrs. Leeson, turning her
languid face toward her with a reviving
gleam of joy. " Just now it is sorely need-
ed."
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS.
IT was the morning of the 19th of Janu-
ary, the day on which the disastrous
battle of Mill Springs befell the Confeder-
ates, and turned the tide of their power in
Kentucky. It was a dark morning, made
chill with showers of drizzling rain. The
contest opened at day-dawn, and was kept
up until the shadows of night closed around
the beaten army in their intrenchments.
Foremost among those who, with a bravery
worthy of a better cause, made stand after
stand against the victorious army pouring
upon them was Major James Leeson, rally-
ing his men in the face of death, and fight-
ing himself hand to hand — in many instances,
side by side — with several of his old neigh-
397
398 MILLICENT HALFORD.
bors. Close at his elbow, Captain Rawdon
levelled his musket at an officer not many
paces from them, whoso familiar figure his
quick hate had recognized, and just at that
instant a passing ball buried itself in his
brain, and sent him headlong to the eartli.
The struggle at this point now raged witli
the utmost fury; friend contended with
friend, neighl^or with neighbor ; old feuds
were remembered, and late bitternesses found
their hour of requital.
" If poor Bennet could have lived to join
in this day," murmured Frederick Leeson,
as, emerging for an instant from the smoke
and dust of battle, he mounted a rising
knoll from which he could plainly see the
far-retreating columns of tlie enemy pressed
sullenly back at the point of the bayonet,
" with what zest he would have repaid his
wrongs ! " Even as his lips framed the
words, a stray Minie ball from one of the
little group of stragglers still debating the
ground pierced his side, and he fell back,
with the warm blood gushing forth, just in
THE BxiTTLE OF MILL SPRINGS. 399
the edge of the wood. His comrades
pressed on. They had no time to give to
a wounded man, whose very fall was per-
haps unheeded, though he had been a mo-
ment before the most conspicuous among
them, such is the haste and excitement of
pursuit, and Frederick laid his head wearily
back on the wet ground, the drooping
branches and low shrubs almost touching
his forehead, while the tramp of steeds, the
ringing of footsteps, the confusion of shouts,
and the rattle of musketry died off in the
distance.
It was a cold bed to rest upon, with a
dozen stark forms lying around him, and
two or three, yet conscious, sending up dis-
mal groans as they lay parched with thirst,
and groaning in the agony of their wounds.
It could not be far from high noon, though
the sky was still overcast with the thick,
flying clouds, from which now and then a
fast pattering of drops descended on the
dry leaves beneath. Frederick made an
effort to draw out his watch; but his hand
400 MILLICENT HALFORD.
fell again nerveless by lils side. Would
tliey never come back? Must he die here,
surrounded by these ghastly sights, with
the chill rain dropping from overhead, and
no gentle ear at hand to catch his parting
words, to bear them to the dear ones whose
nearness to his heart he had never so fully
felt before? A hot heat and parching thirst
began to creep over him ; wild, fever-colored
fancies grew to aj^sume shapes in his brain ;
a drowsy, sinking sensation followed ; ho
raised himself feebly, struggled to his elbow
to send one last glance down through the
naked vista of woods, and fell back exhaust-
ed and fainting on the wet ground.
When Frederick Leeson revived, he found
himself lying on a bed in what seemed to
be a poor log-house, with two or three
figures flitting around him.
The nature of his wound, with the long
hours of exposure which had followed, had
brought on a severe attack of fever, and a
degree of light-headedness which made him
but partially conscious to surrounding ob-
THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS, 401
jects. He believed himself to be in some
out-of-the-way chamber at Wheatley Place
after the first bewildered stare around his
new quarters, and recognized one of the
women who appeared at his bedside as his
slave, Susan. He could not remember in
his clouded state that Wheatley Place ex-
isted now only as a mass of ruins, or that
his slave, Susan, had months before made
good her escape, with her infant babe, from
his ownership. By and by these misty fan-
cies cleared ; the dull pain ceased to girdle
his temple ; the burning heat which coursed
through his veins subsided, and a long, re-
freshing sleep stole over his tired frame,
from which he awoke in the full possession
of his senses.
In one point Frederick had certainly not
been deceived; . it was his former slave,
Susan, who watched at his bedside. The
girl betrayed no fear. It might be that she
knew her master's helpless condition to be for
the time her sufficient safeguard, or it might
be that in this lonely spot she knew it to
26
402 MTLLICENT HALFORD.
be out of his power to put into action any
immediate plans for her return into bond-
age.
Frederick was deeply surprised at the
meeting ; but it did not excite tlie emotions
which must have agitated him at an earlier
day. He knew that he owed his life to
the care of these kind people, and he was
not a man to overlook such an obligation,
though rendered in part by one of his own
fugitive slaves. He lay awake, considering
the matter with much attention, and be-
stowing more than one thouglitful glance
on the impassive face before him.
'^How long have I been lying here?''
was his first question.
'^ Nearly two weeks, sir," said tlie girl,
without raising her eyes from her lap, where
they seemed attentively riveted,
" So long ! Ah, yes, I remember. How
did the battle turn ? When I fell, the enemy
were in full retreat."
''It went on your side, sir. General Zol-
licoifer was killed, and many other officers.
It was a total rout for his army."
THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS. 403
" That is good news ! " Fre(3erick's face
lighted up with a glow of satisfaction. He
lay silent for a few minutes, and then turned
his attention again to the figure at his bed-
side.
" Are you not afraid, Susan, that I shall
claim you as my property, and take you
back to your old life ? "
A peculiar expression passed over the
girl's face, a look which grew settled and
hard.
'^I will not go back alive, sir/' she said,
firmly. " I have made up my mind that the
choice is easy between slavery and death."
" I will give you your liberty, Susan,"
said Mr. Leeson ; " it shall be my first act,
when my hand is strong enough to hold a
pen, to make out your papers. It will be
but a just return for the life which you
have certainly preserved to me."
Perhaps Mr. Leeson overrated his gift.
The girl had taken her freedom into her
own hands, and it is difficult to see how on
his sick-bed he could have effected her re-
404 MILLICENT HALFORD.
capture ; but his own view of tlie position
of things was no doubt quite difl'erent. Sho
was his property, liable at any moment to
be rendered back by the law.
'' I thank you, sir," said Susan, her low
voice too tremulous to betray the charac-
ter of her emotions. Ah, if this boon could
have come earlier, of what inestimable value
w^ould she once have regarded it I
CHAPTEE XLVIII.
MYSTERY OF SUSAN'S FLIGHT SOLVED.
ri'^HE long days of convalescence dragged
-1- away slowly to Mr. Leeson in his nar-
row quarters. He longed to be in the field
with his comrades in arms, and fretted at
the irksome restraints which bound him to
a sick-pillow. But the long, lonely days of
illness were not wasted; they were fruitful
in many thoughts which had never visited
tlie strong, vigorous days of health. He
had stood too near the confines of the spirit
land in the last few weeks not to feel its
refining and purifying influences breathing
around him. The mighty struggle into
which he had been thrust began to take
broader bounds ; he saw dimly a part of its
purposes, and his own past life of idleness
405
406 MTLUCENT RALFOT^D.
and leisure began to assume much of it3
true proportions. Not that his tlioughts
struck at the rotten groundw(jrk of slavery.
These convictions of the wickedness of press-
ing duwn human beings, with souls like our
own, as beasts of burden, were yet in the
future ; but the soil was prepared, and tho
work begun. One question which had often
perplexed him recurred now to his curiosi-
ty. By what means had Susan accomplished
her flight from Wheatley Place? Friendless
and alone, with her baby in her arms, she
could never have carried out her journey.
What secret friends, then, had aided her?
He put the inquiry in a languid but ear-
nest way.
^' It is a matter which has been several
times in my thoughts, Susan. I am anxious
to know who of my neighborhood dared to
give you assistance ? "
" No one, sir." The woman's head
dropped. " I walked on foot to the station.
My baby sickened and died afterwards of
her exposure in tliat cold, rainy night. I
MYSTERY OF SUSAN's FLIGHT SOLVED. 407
took tlie train. It was easy to pass myself
off as a poor white woman travelling a few
miles to see her friends."
Frederick was surprised. The railway
had never occurred to him at all.
"How did you get the means ? " he asked,
finding his voice. " Borrowed of your mis-
tress, I suppose ? '^
"No," said Susan, raising her head, a little
proudly. "I had worked enough for mis-
tress to deserve a trifle ; but she always
kept her money under lock and key."
" You had some friend, then, in my house-
hold?" observed Frederick.
Poor Susan's color changed; she had
quite forgotten the suspicions whic'i must
follow upon her hasty denial. " I had but
a trifle,'' she exclaimed, nervously ; " it was
not enough to carry me far. After I left
the cars, I wandered about till I came to
this lonely place, where I stopped to beg
some food. My baby was then very sick.
The woman took us in, and I have remained
here ever since."
408 MILLICENT HALFOnn.
It was Millicent who liad aided licr in
her fliglit. Frederick did not need to push
further inquiries. Well, Wheat ley Place was
gone ; the mortgage lay now upon the bare
lands. Susan's flight had dune him no
great harm.
" These people you are with," he said,
shortly, — "do they know your story?"
"I have kept it from them, sir; I dared
not trust tliem ; but I think they have sus-
pected tlie truth."
" You are not aware," remarked Freder-
ick, '' that your old home has been burned
up in the progress of this civil war, and
that your mistress is now a fugitive, and
lying ill at Belmont?"
'^ I was not, sir, indeed. Miss Adele and
Miss Millicent, are they with her?"
" They are, and old Dinah. The remain-
der of tlie servants, even Lizzie, have fol-
lowed on your track."
''I siioAild like to see the young ladies
again," said Sustin, thoughtfully, — "if I
could be of any use. You promised to make
out my papers, Mr. Frederick?"
MYSTERY OF SUSAN's FLIGHT SOLVED. 409
" I will do SO to-raorrow/' lie answered.
" Meanwhile, I have the impression that
there are letters lying for me at Dalton.
Can I induce Mr. Stedman to venture thith-
er for them? I will pay him liberally."
" I think so," said Susan, rising with
alacrity to step into the adjoining room.
" If he dares not face the risk," thought
she, as a picture of the woodside country
swarming with stragglers rose up before
her, " I will myself attempt it. I feel sure
I can get through."
CHAPTER XLIX.
PARTING WOEDS.
ME. LEESON'S letters brought liim ill
news. He tore the first open eagerly,
recognizing the familiar handwriting, to read
a few tremulously-traced lines from Mi Hi-
cent, announcing that his mother was grow-
ing rapidly worse, and requesting him, if
possible, to visit her. The note was evi-
dently penned in the hurry of a sick-room,
and the writer well-nigh exhausted by con-
stant watching and care. The second was
fiom Adele, and bore date a few days
prior to Millicent's. Tlieir mother was very
feeble, she wrote ; she seemed to be ra^)-
iJly sinking. V»^ould he come to see them?
She was sure it was possible for him to
get a furlough; she had just told Miliicent
410
PARTING WORDS. 411
that James ought to be sent for. Freder-
ick turned to the postmarks. Six days
since Millicent's letter had been mailed!
There was not an hour to lose. He must
get up from-»his sick-bed, if he would see
his mother once again in life.
His servant had made his appearance the
day before, with his horse and baggage,
through the instrumentality of Mr. Sted-
man, well satisfied to appearances to find
his master still among the living. Excite-
ment was beginning to supply the place
of strength. Frederick knew that he would
experience no difficulty in setting out. He
distributed liberal presents to his kind en-
tertainers, promised Susan an early mes-
sage from him, and set out in the gray
winter noon on his long ride to Belmont.
A broad space of country, in all probability
swarming with foes, was to be traversed.
He had taken the precaution to don a suit
of plain citizen's clothes, which his valise
afibrded.
Once before Frederick had set out on a
412 MILLICENT HALFORD.
similar dismal occasion to what he then
believed to be his mother's death-bed. The
wide contrast between these days, though
not very far removed in point of space,
pressed upon him as he went on. Could
it be but eight short months before that
the railway train had whirled him through
the peaceful valleys of Virginia, his hand
yet warm from the clasp of his Cousin Au-
gusta's, his betrothed wife, looking on to
years of idle affluence, with all that heart
could ask poured into his lap? To-day,
bound on the same mournful errand, he
found himself as another man ; the pros-
pective of wealth, the every-day circle of
home comforts, gone, his property ravaged
and in ruins, his brother false, his betrothed
wife his no longer, the land lying all be-
fore him in the smoke and waste of civil
war ; yet over all these elements a lighter
heart beat in his bosom than he had known
in the old idle days. His reason leaned
wonderingly to the truth that the soul is
greater tJian circumstances ^ and that sacri-
PARTING WORDS. 413
fice and trial are but the refining fires which
bring out true manhood. It was a long,
sad journey ; but he bore up under it with-
out rest or pause, and in the gray nightfall
rode into the little village, and halted before
the well-known house. His servant sprung
down to assist him from his horse ; for his
wearied limbs refused to obey him, and, re-
jecting his further aid, Frederick rung the
bell, and strained his eyes upward to catch
the light which flickered out from the cham-
ber above.
It was Augusta who faced him upon the
threshold, drawing back with a change of
color and clouded brow as she recognized
the visitor.
^' You are just in time, Mr. Leeson," she
said, recollecting herself, and giving him
her cold hand. " Your mother is living ;
she is conscious."
The words struck upon his heart. He
dropped her hand, which he had taken with
a movement scarcely less cold than her
own, and came in pale and silent.
414 MILLICENT HALFOP.D.
" You are ill, Mr. Leeson," said Millicent's
voice behind them ; her light step had
tripped unheard down the staircase. '' Your
mother is awake. I will tell her you have
come. But you must take some refresh-
ment." His ghastly look struck her. She
hurried out to get some wine.
Frederick took the glass from her hand.
Augusta disappeared into the opposite room.
" You have come from a sick-bed ? " she
said, stopping to speak to him. '' Only yes-
terday I saw your name in the list of the
wounded of the battle of Mill Springs."
'' There • is no hope ? " asked Frederick,
reverting to his mother.
Millicent shook her head. " I will go up
at once," she said. "She has been hourly
expecting you. Thank God you have
come ! "
It was a mournful scene which the death-
chamber presented, — a woman dying in
what should have been the prime and vigor
of her years.
A look of consciousness, of love, came
PARTING WORDS. 415
back in Mrs. Leeson's wan face as her favor-
ite son bent over her pillow. If anything
could have called her back to life, it would
have been his presence.
Adele crouched at the side of the bed,
her face buried in her hands. Augusta and
Miss Stuart were present. Milhcent made
a movement to withdraw. Frederick signed
her to remain.
The dying woman's eyes wandered over
the faces around her, passing from Augus-
ta's to her son's. With the approach of death,
her sight was beginning to grow strangely
luminous. She saw the telltale shadows
which rested on the young lady's face, and
read their source.
." There is one burden upon my peace,'^
she said, sending an earnest look toward
her. "Augusta, my love, it would rejoice
me to see you place your hand again in
Frederick's.. If I know his heart, I beheve
he stands ready to forgive the past."
" Not in that uniform," said Augusta,
burying her face in her hands, with a quick
416 MILLICENT HALFORD.
shudder. " My country's enemies can never
be friends of mine."
A scarcely-perceptible smile — shadowed
and sad, as befitted a death-room — crossed
Mr. Leeson's lips. His eyes wandered to
a figure which had withdrawn itself to
a distant window. He would not shock
his mother's prejudice in her dying hour
by telling her of his second and wiser choice.
She would soon know all.
" Frederick," said his mother, looking up
earnestly at him, " by the great love I have
borne you, I pray you to forgive your
brother. I cannot go in peace leaving you
enemies."
" I have forgiven him," said Frederick,
bending lower over her pillow. " I haVe
myself just risen from a sick-bed, and have
been close to the confines of that world
where all things show in a clearer light.
I forgave him then freely, as I hope my-
self to be forgiven, and taken to heaven,
should I fall on one of these bloody fields."
His mother faintly pressed his hand. Her
PARTING WORDS. 417
eyes wandered out to the distant window.
"Millicent," she said, — "she has been kind
to us. I wish I could make some provi-
sion for her ; she is alone in the world. Do
not forget it when I am gone."
Addle's sobs were distinct^ audible.
Frederick laid his disengaged hand gently
upon the child's head.
Mrs. Leeson's eyes closed softly, with-
out an effort; her hand lay passive in her
son's ; sight and hearing were gone ; she
was sinking away. Miss Stuart drew near
the bed.
" Let me take her," she said, reaching
out her arms for Adele. " Come, my love ;
this is no place for you. Let me take you
to your own chamber. See, your brother
wishes it I "
27
CHAPTER L.
CONCLUSION.
THE funeral was over. All that was
mortal of Mrs. Leeson had been laid
away in an obscure grave in the village
cemetery of Belmont ; the mourning group
had come back to the house. Milliccnt had
retired at once to her chamber. Her heart
was very sorrowful as she sat in the gray
winter twilight trying to make real the
great change which had come upcm her
lot. The cares and anxieties of the last long
months were at an end. She was now free,
alone, as she had been on the morning on
which she set out from her New England
home to take up this unseen burden of re-
sponsibihty and toil. Only one little year !
But she had lived years in these brief
months in those experiences which are pow-
erful to mature the heart and mind.
418
CONCLUSION. 419
" I must go back," she thought, forcing
down the sob from her lips. " It is hard
to part from them, — Adele and Frederick ;
but they need me no longer." She thought
of poor Susan's words after her husband's
sale, — "I wonder what God brought us
into the world for ! " The cry was upon
her lips. Certainly the path which lay be-
hind and before was rough and hard.
Some one knocked at the door. She
started up to open it, thankful that the gath-
ered twilight would conceal her tearful eyes
and flushed cheeks. It was Mrs. Ayres,
the lady of the house, who told her that
Mr. Leeson wished to speak with her in the
parlor. Doubtless it was upon the subject
of his plans ; his departure would take
place at day -dawn upon the morrow; he
had his excuse for intruding upon her grief.
'^ I will come down," she said, and going
to the mirror, she put back her disordered
hair, and bathed her flushed face.
Mr. Leeson was alone when she went
down. Miss Stuart and Augusta gave him
little of their countenance. They despised
420 MILLTCEXT HALFORD.
the renegade Kentuckian, as they consid-
ered him, and not even the softening in-
fluences of a mutual sorrow could bring them
outside the bounds of a civil courtesy.
Frederick led his cousin to a seat. Neither
of them spoke for the first moment.
" I wish to learn something of your plans,
Milliccnt," Frederick said, at length. " I
leave liere to-morrow, as you may bo aware. '^
" I shall return to New England," said
Millicent, almost inaudibly. " It only remains
for me to bid you and Adele good-by.'^
Frederick paused; he was standing at the
back of his cousin's chair, his face averted
from her observation. What he was about
to say seemed difficult of utterance.
" You know something of my history of
the last year, Millicent ? " he began. " You
knew of my engagement to my cousin?"
" I heard of it at the time from the ser-
vants." Millicent drew a short breath. Was
the afiair on the point of renewal ?
" A heart which has been rejected by one
woman," returned Frederick, with a little
bitterness in his tone, " may not be regarded
CONCLUSION. 421
as a fit offering by another. Millicent, if
the future holds anything to repay this past
to me, it must come from your hand."
She turned round toward him, her face
glowing with agitated surprise.
" Do I understand you, Mr. Leeson ? Can
you forget the disparity between us ? What
would your mother have said?"
" You are my cousin, Millicent, — my poor
mother's niece. If unacknowledged at first,
your kindness to us all has at last brought
home the relationship."
Was it a dream ? Millicent thought so as
she felt the warm clasp of his hand upon
hers, and his hps on her forehead. The next
words brought her back to recollection.
"Under the circumstances, it is best that
our marriage should take place without de-
lay. I wish to leave Ad^le in your charge."
So soon after the burial I Millicent's face
expressed disapproval. Frederick persisted.
It would be better under the circumstances,
and MiUicent yielded.
It remained now to maxe the disclosure
to Augusta and Miss Stuart. Frederick
4:22 MILLICENT HALFORD.
did SO with a certain secret satisfaction.
Both the ladies were surprised, Miss Stu-
art in a degree less than Augusta. She had
seen soraething of the progress of events
in the course of Frederick's former visits ;
but that his fancy for his sister's governess
would culminate in a marriage went rather
beyond her expectations. She ventured a
few words of disapproval, which were be-
comingly met, and quietly answered.
" A few months ago," she said, " this
step would have been far out of your
thoughts, and the possibility of it as haught-
ily disdained by you as it can now be by
us. This is one of the miserable conse-
quences of the false stand you have taken.
Oh, Frederick, if your father could have
lived to see this day I "
" You would have found him on the side
of the right," was Mr. Leesou's answer.
Miss Stuart had fulfilled her duty ; she
turned sadly away.
" I have a secret to tell you, Frederick,"
whispered Millicent, as she stole down to
his side an hour later, while he sat alone
CONCLUSION. 423
in the parlor, his mind busied with the
many thoughts of the future which might
well press upon it ; '^ it should have been
told you this evening; but I forgot to
speak;" and she went over hurriedly with
the particulars of Susan's flight, bringing
out her own co-operation.
Frederick smiled, — a smile which lin-
gered pleasantly in the depths of his sober
eyes and around his grave mouth, as he
drew her agitated and blushing face gently
round toward him. " I know all," he said,
" and have only to thank you for the pleas-
ure you have given me in your ingenuous
simplicity. But, my dear child," he added,
with a soberer brow, " were you not aware
that you were laying yourself open to heavy
penalties in aiding the flight of a slave ? "
" I did not pause to think," said Milli-
cent. " I saw only her distress, and the
terrible fate she was trying to escape."
" A woman's answer," said Frederick, im-
pressing a lover's kiss on the pure face.
And in his heart he thought a woman's
simple wisdom is sometimes the best.
424 MILLICENT HALFORD.
We have little more to add. We can
trace Frederick Leeson's path (under an-
other name) through the three years which
have passed since this record was closed;
but over the fate of the other personages
of our history a veil rests to us as well as
to the reader. Whether James Leeson saw
his error, and, like many of the misguided
sons of his gallant State, came back to the
old flag, and married Miss Bennet, or
whether Augusta tardily accepted the ful-
filment of his rashly-uttered vows, or wheth-
er, saddest of all suppositions, he fell on
one of those blood-red fields, where half
of the flower and chivalry of the South
went down in their mad charges, are mat-
ters only for conjecture. Out of the storms
of conflict and trial God brings peace, and so
we need not doubt that in his own time
and way he will make each individual expe-
rience of these bitter times fiiiitfuJ of bless-
ing, as well as raise our beloved country
through these bloody scenes of purification
to a higher estate than she has yet known.
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