TiiHllin! 
 
 iiiliiJiiiliiiiiiliiii 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 
 University of Nortii Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sweetrevengeromaOOmitc 
 
SWEET REVENGE 
 
 B IRomance ot tbe Civil TKlar 
 
 F. A. MITCHEL 
 
 CAPTAIN AND AIDE-DE-CAMP ON THE STAFF OF 
 MAJOR-GENEUAL O. M. MITCHEL 
 
 AUTHOR OP " CHATTANOOGA " " CHICKAMAUGA " ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
 
 1897 
 
Copyright, 1897, by Harper & Brothers. 
 
 All riglits reserved. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Bushwhacked 1 
 
 II. Incognito 13 
 
 III. A Definite Object 21 
 
 IV. Won Over 33 
 
 V. Arrest 44 
 
 VI. An Amatecr Soubrette 59 
 
 VII. IMlDNIGHT 72 
 
 VIII. On THE Plateau 83 
 
 IX. Fiends 93 
 
 X. A Dance for a Life ....;... 102 
 
 XI. Stealing the Guns Ill 
 
 XII. A Daylight Attack 121 
 
 XIII. Beleaguered 131 
 
 XIV. A Bonfire Defence 139 
 
 XV. Woman's Pluck 148 
 
 XVI. A Bugle-call 161 
 
 XVII. Flight ... 175 
 
 XVIII. Retaken 184 
 
 XIX. Buck's Indiscretion 194 
 
 XX. A Masquerade 203 
 
 XXI. A Stern-chase 214 
 
 XXII. Hunting Big Game. ........ 225 
 
 XXIII. The Union Saved 238 
 
 603141 
 
SWEET REVENGE 
 
 BUSHWHACKED 
 
 " Hands up !" 
 
 Why he shouted the words I don't know; 
 for in another moment he gave me one barrel, 
 and before I could raise a finger I heard a 
 click, admonishing me that I was about to get 
 the other. A thin film of smoke floating 
 above the fence to the right and two malig- 
 nant eyes peering at me from between the 
 rails betrayed his position. Like a flash I 
 whipped out my revolver, but before I could 
 raise it there was another report, and my 
 right arm dropped, benumbed by a charge of 
 buckshot. Seizing my weapon with my left 
 hand, I brought it to a level with the eyes 
 behind the fence and fired. There was a sound 
 
a SWEET REVENGE 
 
 of a body falling, and I knew that I had struck 
 home. 
 
 Spurring my horse to the side of the road, I 
 craned my neck over the fence, and there in 
 the ditch lay the bushwhacker. His hat had 
 fallen off, and left bare a head of red, shocky 
 hair. In his belt was his revolver, beside him 
 a shot-gun. His body, clad in "^ butternut," lay 
 on an incline, his feet in the water, which 
 flowed lazily past. The sun, shining through 
 budding branches, lighted up his face, and I 
 knew that I had seen him before; indeed, a 
 vivid scene in which he had borne a part came 
 up out of the past to fling over me a cloud of 
 gloom, like the wing of an Apollyon. 
 
 I drew an involuntary sigh. It was not 
 that I had taken a life — lives were cheap 
 enough in those days, and he had sought to 
 take mine ; it was not my narrow escape from 
 death ; but an overpowering consciousness that 
 the spirit of war lurked everywhere ; that the 
 beautiful face of Nature about me — trees, 
 fences, bushes, everything — best served to 
 cover assassins. 
 
 " Is he dead ?" 
 
 Startled at the sound of a voice, I glanced 
 aside. There, leaning against the fence, her 
 
 iMOt 
 
BUSHWHACKED 3 
 
 arras resting on the top rail, gazing at the 
 disao'reeable sis-ht on which I had been in- 
 tent, stood a young girl. 
 
 "Where did you come from?" I asked, lift- 
 ing my hat with my left hand. 
 
 " There." She turned her head and glanced 
 at a house on the other side of the road. 
 
 " You must have stepped lightly ; I didn't 
 hear you coming." 
 
 Without reply she continued gazing at the 
 body of the bushwhacker. I too looked again at 
 the upturned face, with its glassy, staring eyes. 
 
 " Why did you kill him f 
 
 " I will tell you." 
 
 But I did not tell her then, for as I spoke I 
 felt something warm trickling over the baqk 
 of ray hand, and, looking down, saw blood drip- 
 ping upon her dress. 
 
 " Corae into the house, quick j that's arterial 
 blood." 
 
 Seizing the reins, she led ray horse, I follow- 
 ing, to a side gate. This she opened, and we 
 went up to the veranda. Catching sight of a 
 colored bov, she called to him : 
 
 "Mount, 5'?^iWi;/y, and ride for the doctor! 
 Tell him a man has been shot, an artery cut, 
 and a life is in danirer." 
 
4 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 I had a dim image of the boy tearing down 
 the road, and, tottering into the house, I sat 
 down on a sofa in the library. I must have 
 fainted, for suddenly, without being conscious 
 of their coming, I found myself in the midst of 
 an excited throng. An old lady stood beside 
 me with a basin, from which she was sprinkling 
 my face. A white-haired old gentleman with 
 pink cheeks, a towel in one hand, a decanter in 
 the other, was bending over me. A boy of 
 twelve with a toy gun was staring at me, 
 while the girl who had brought me there 
 looked on with far more interest than I had 
 yet seen in her impassive face. Beyond all 
 was a dark background of house servants. 
 My coat had been removed, and a negro had a 
 tight grip on a bit of wood twisted in a hand- 
 kerchief tied around my arm just above the 
 wound. A long, thin man in a rusty suit of 
 black came hurrying in with a leather case in 
 his hand, and, whipping out his instruments, 
 began the work of picking up a partly severed 
 artery. He first took out a piece of my coat- 
 sleeve, which had retarded the hemorrhage and 
 doubtless saved my life, tiien a half-dozen shot, 
 did some stitching, then carefully bandaged 
 the wound. 
 
BUSHWHACKED 5 
 
 " There," he said, " if you move that arm 
 within forty-eight hours j^ou'll be in danger of 
 3'^our life ; keep quiet, and you'll come out all 
 right." 
 
 " I must go on at once, doctor." 
 
 " You'll go part way as a corpse if you do." 
 
 The old lady declared that I should not stir 
 out of the house till the doctor gave the word ; 
 the old gentleman bade me welcome as long- 
 as I needed to stay ; the young lady who had 
 brought me there said nothing; while the boy 
 looked as if to lose a subject so fruitful of in- 
 terest would break his heart. 
 
 " I'll send a young associate of mine," said 
 the doctor. " If tlie wound opens 3'^ou must 
 have attention at once." 
 
 " Thank you, doctor. There seems to be a 
 great deal of commotion about a very small 
 matter. I don't care to put so many people 
 to so much trouble." 
 
 No one paid any attention to my protest, all 
 busying themselves to make me comfortable. 
 Pillows were laid beneath my head, a silk 
 quilt was thrown over me, a stand with a 
 silver bell on it was placed beside me that I 
 might ring for anything I wanted. All be- 
 ing satisfactorily arranged, the doctor ordered 
 
b . SWKET REVENGE 
 
 everybody out of the room, and then departed 
 himself. 
 
 What a singular transition ! Half an hour 
 before I had left Iluntsville — beautiful Hunts- 
 ville, nestling among the hills that slope away 
 from the Cumberland plateau — and was work- 
 ing ray way northward, towards Fa3'etteville, 
 Tennessee. The plants in the yards beside the 
 road were putting forth their buds, the leaves 
 on the trees were opening, insects were awaken- 
 ing, birds singing — all revived by the rays of 
 the vernal sun. 
 
 I permitted my horse to drop into a walk, 
 A pleasant languor stole over me, replacing a 
 bitter mental turbulence which had been ever 
 present with me for months. Perhaps it was 
 the genial warmth, the balmy air ; perhaps an 
 absence of war scenes with which I had Ions: 
 been familiar; perhaps both. At any rate, 
 I watched the sun glisten on the dew-drops, 
 felt its rays warm my shoulders, and listened 
 to the singing of the birds with a consciousness 
 that, after all, sometimes it is pleasant to live. 
 
 Then came an unaccountable sinking. It 
 may have been something in the restfulness, 
 the security I had felt, incongruous with pesti- 
 lent war; just as amid the luxurious foliage of 
 
BUSHWHACKED 7 
 
 the tropics one feels that behind every leaf and 
 flower lurks invisible fever. Suddenly the 
 shots rang out ; then came my reply to the 
 girl standing beside me looking at the dead 
 bushwhacker ; then my entry into the house ; 
 and now I was lying on a comfortable lounge, 
 an object of tender solicitude on the part of 
 people who, from being strangers, had sud- 
 denly become very dear friends. 
 
 But suppose they knew me — that I was a 
 renegade, a traitor to the South. There was 
 no name harsh enough among Confederates 
 for those of their own people who were not 
 "with them, and all who were not with them 
 were against them ; and doubtless these new- 
 found friends were all Confederate sympa- 
 thizers. The bushwhacker could tell no tales ; 
 I was thankful for that, for he had known me 
 "well. The thought of him took me back to 
 that night of horrors. I was again at the 
 head of those Tennessee Unionists, endeavor- 
 ing to lead them to a haven of safety. We 
 were near the Cumberland Gap ; one more 
 day and we should be at Camp Dick Robin- 
 son, where "we should find Federal troops. 
 Then the attack. By the flashing of guns I 
 could see their faces, and here and there recog- 
 
8 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 nize a neighbor — men beside whom I had lived 
 for years, and whom civil war had converted 
 into fiends. One by one I saw my friends 
 shot down. There was one dearer to me than 
 all besides. Through the darkness, guided by 
 the flashes and the sound of my voice, sh^ 
 darted to me, and found refuge in my arms. 
 
 Then that sudden dash of Confederate cav- 
 alry, I felt the figure I held quiver and slip 
 through my arms. I moaned, and kissed the 
 white lips. Then like lightning the wild beast 
 jumped within me. I looked up to see who 
 had done this last, this crowning atrocity. A 
 Confederate officer sat on his horse staring at 
 me, in his hand a smoking pistol. A sudden 
 collapse, and I knew that I was hit. This is 
 all I remembered of the massacre. 
 
 Plow I gloated in my revenge! The homes 
 of men who had committed those murders 
 were burning, and I had applied the torch. 
 Their barns, grain — everything they possessed 
 passed away in black spark-spangled clouds, 
 which shot upward as if to carry vengeance 
 to the very heavens. These men had made 
 my life a waste — I had made theirs a hell. 
 
 There was one I had not yet punished, one 
 whose punishment I longed for more than all 
 
BUSHWHACKED 9 
 
 the rest — the Confederate officer with the smok- 
 ing pistoL I sought for him without success. 
 Then I tried to forget him ; but whenever I re- 
 membered that beloved figure fleeing to me for 
 protection, that tremor, that sinking away be- 
 fore the blight of death, I would start again 
 on my long hunt. I joined the army, thinking 
 that war's greater horrors might for a time 
 enable me to forget my feud. All went well 
 till I heard of him. He was at Hunts ville. I 
 burned to reach him. Our general was cast- 
 ing covetous eyes on Northern Alabama. I 
 beo-wd him to let me fi,o down and brino- back 
 a report of the country — the railroads, its roll- 
 ing-stock, machine-shops, bridges, everything 
 — a knowledge of which would assist in its 
 capture. 
 
 But this low cur who had tried to kill me. 
 He w\as at the massacre. With my own hand 
 I had applied fire to his miserable hut. How 
 had he known that I was in Alabama ? Had 
 he heard of me during my stay at Huntsville ? 
 It had been brief, for as soon as I reached the 
 town I learned that my enem}' was not there, 
 and, disappointed, turned my face northward. 
 Or had the bushwhacker met me by chance? 
 I did not know ; I do not know now. Of one 
 
10 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 thing I was certain : be was one of my old 
 enemies, and they would hunt me like a hare. 
 
 I lay for hours unwillingly turning over 
 these war horrors as if they were a wheel on 
 which I was obliged to tread. No one came 
 into the room and I called no one. Doubtless 
 they wished me to be quiet. I was weak and 
 tired — tired in mind, tired in body, tired of ex- 
 istence. If I could only find him the world 
 might vanish for all me. 
 
 I fell into a troubled slumber, and when I 
 awoke I saw standing in the doorway a girl 
 of eight or nine years — a frail, blue-eyed little 
 thing, with her hair cut square about her neck 
 and held by a semicircular comb. She was 
 gazing at me intently, as children in fairy tales 
 stand on tiptoe and look at the sleeping ogre 
 who is intending to eat them for supper. 
 
 "Come in," I said, encouragingly. 
 
 She shrank back. But though she seemed 
 to dread me, she could not keep away from 
 me. Without for a moment taking her eyes 
 off me she began to approach by slow, very 
 slow, steps. I felt as if I were a snake charm- 
 ing a bird. 
 
 " Don't be afraid of me," I said ; " I won't 
 hurt you." 
 
BUSHWHACKED 11 
 
 "You killed him.'' She pointed like an ac- 
 cusing angel to the opposite side of the road, 
 where I had left the body of my would - be 
 assassin. Her voice was soft, but her e3^es 
 were big with the enormity of my act. 
 
 " Sweetheart, don't look at me that way ; 
 come and kiss me." 
 
 I reached out for her hand. She shrank 
 away, but I gently pulled her to me Avith my 
 well arm, drew her down, and kissed her. As 
 I touched her pure young lips with mine the 
 crimes of which I had been thinkinir — vivid 
 as the day they were committed — seemed to 
 move far from me, like a retreating storm 
 muttering in the distance. And somehow, 
 with this bit of innocence in my arm, my 
 beard brushing her cheek, looking into her 
 mild eyes, it seemed as if there had come a 
 patch of blue sky ; and I wished — yes, strange- 
 ly^ enough, I wished — that it had not been nec- 
 essary for me to shoot a man that morning. 
 
II 
 
 INCOGNITO 
 
 These kind people with whom I was lodged 
 persisted in considering me always in danger. 
 A doctor must needs be at all times within 
 reach. A stripling of a medical graduate 
 must sleep in the same room with me. The 
 old gentleman was constantly coming into 
 the room to ask if I wanted anything, while 
 his wife was as tender and motherly as if I 
 had been her own son. Even the servants 
 vied with each other in waiting on me, and 
 when anything was ordered for me, with haste 
 unusual to the negro, scrambled to see which 
 one would bring it. Onl}'- the girl who had 
 brought me there came and went as though 
 I was an ordinary person with an ordinary 
 wound, to be treated in an ordinary manner. 
 
 All this attention and sympathy vexed me 
 beyond measure. What right had I to accept 
 it — I, a Tennesseean, in arms against the 
 
INCOGNITO 13 
 
 South, in search of a Confederate enemy ? 
 Yes, and more. Was I not the bearer of in- 
 formation that would enable the hated Yan- 
 kee to swoop down on this fair region and re- 
 claim it for the Union ? The least suspicion 
 of ray true character would turn the devotion 
 lavished upon me to contempt. My very life 
 would be in danger. Pooh ! what cared I for 
 my life, except that I dreaded to go to ray 
 long home detested b}^ those who had suc- 
 cored me. Besides, the information I pos- 
 sessed — information of vital importance to the 
 Union cause — must be carried northward. 
 
 A crisis carae soon enough. It was evening, 
 and I was reclining on ray sofa looking out 
 upon the beautiful hills lying to the eastward. 
 The girl with the cool head and impassive 
 face was standing by a table rearranging 
 books and bottles and what not which had 
 been in use during the day. Suddenly the 
 door opened and ray host entered. I saw at 
 once by his expression that something had oc- 
 curred to put him on his guard ; or perhaps 
 he had been thinking, wondering what kind of 
 person he was harboring. At any rate, he 
 came up, and, drawing a chair beside rae, began 
 to talk. It was plain that he wished to ask 
 
14 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 me questions, but lie was too kind, too gener- 
 ous to one in ray condition, too hospitable, to 
 ask them directly. 
 
 " The doctor tells me, Mr. — " he began. 
 " Upon my word, you have been with us three 
 days, sir, and we don't know even your name." 
 
 " Branderstane, John Branderstane. I am 
 equally ignorant to whom I am indebted for 
 all this attention." 
 
 " Our name is Stanforth, sir. This is my 
 daughter Helen, Mr. Branderstane." 
 
 Helen inclined her head sliglitly, and I raised 
 mine far enough from the pillows to do the 
 same. 
 
 '•Mr. Stanforth," I said — there was grati- 
 tude both in my voice and in my eyes—" who- 
 ever bears your name may hereafter call upon 
 me for any service. You have placed me un- 
 der an obligation which — " 
 
 " Tut, tut ! You know our Southern cus- 
 toms — we are nothing if not hospitable. You 
 are a Southern man, of course?" 
 
 " Of course." I spoke the words hesitat- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Your state ?" 
 
 " Tennessee." 
 
 " East, middle, or west ?" 
 
INCOGNITO 15 
 
 " East." 
 
 Mr. Stanforth paused. There was no in- 
 formation as to my sentiments in the fact that 
 I hailed from East Tennessee. More than 
 two-thirds of the people of that section were 
 with the Union. 
 
 " May I ask, sir," said m}'^ host, with an ev- 
 ident intention of ending all doubt in regard 
 to the side with which I affiliated, " are you 
 a Union or a Confederate sympathizer?" 
 
 I was about to declare myself an ardent 
 supporter of the Confederacy when ray little 
 friend Ethel, who had visited me on the day I 
 was shot, appeared in the doorway, her blue 
 eyes looking straight into mine. Had my in- 
 tended falsehood been rammed back into my 
 throat with the butt of a revolver it could not 
 have been more effectually stopped. Then 
 something impelled me to turn my glance to 
 Helen. She was about to pour a liquid from 
 a phial into a glass, and had paused, her eyes 
 fixed on me intently. 
 
 " Mr. Stanforth," I said, " you and your fam- 
 ily have been too kind for me to deceive you. 
 I Avill not do that, but it would not serve my 
 purpose to declare myself." 
 
 " You are an honorable man, sir, whoever 
 
16 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 and whatever you are !" exclaimed Mr. Stan- 
 forth, warmly. " It ma}"^ be sometimes neces- 
 sary to withhold confidence ; but never to lie, 
 sir. Keep your secret, I shall not trouble you 
 for it. I am merely a citizen, and take no part 
 in the national dispute." 
 
 " But I do, papa." 
 
 I looked at Helen. She was regarding me 
 earnestly. " If this gentleman is with us," 
 she said — " us of the South — he need not fear to 
 declare himself. If he is with the Yankees — " 
 
 " Helen !" 
 
 There was an uncomfortable silence, dur- 
 ino^ which Mr. Stanforth reo:arded his daughter 
 sternly. 
 
 " If there is one right in the South," he said, 
 " sacred above all others, it is the right of hos- 
 pitality. Mr. Branderstane cannot be forced 
 to divulge his opinions." 
 
 " But has he a right to conceal them, papa ?" 
 
 " While our guest, he has." 
 
 " Mr. Stanforth," I said, " j^our daughter is 
 riirht. l^o man should remain under the roof 
 of one who has succored him without reveal- 
 ing his identity when it is called for. May I 
 ask you to order my horse ?" 
 
 I started up. I Avas too preoccupied to 
 
INCOGNITO 17 
 
 notice the stand beside me covered with books, 
 with which I had vainly tried to alleviate ray 
 confinement, and struck my arm at the very 
 spot where I had been wounded. 
 
 A shiver passed over the father, the daughter 
 gave an involuntary start. My coat, which 
 had been thrown loosely over my shoulder, 
 had become disarranged, exposing the arm, 
 upon which every eye was turned. Both Mr. 
 Stanforth and Helen bent forward intently. 
 "We were congratulating ourselves that no 
 damage had been done when on the white 
 shirt-sleeve appeared a spot of bright red blood. 
 
 " Jackson ! — run ! — the doctor ! — quick ! 
 Tell him the wound has opened." 
 
 I sank back on the sofa ; Mr. Stanforth be- 
 gan running about wildl}'- ; Mrs. Stanforth en- 
 tered in wonder ; the servants flocked in with 
 open eyes and mouths. 
 
 " Papa, your handkerchief." 
 
 Helen Stanforth spoke the words as coolly 
 as if she had been an experienced surgeon. 
 "With her father's handkerchief she impro- 
 vised a tourniquet, and the bleeding stopped 
 at once. 
 
 " Now see here," said the doctor, when he 
 had arrived and repaired the damage, "j^ou've 
 
18 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 had a close call, sir. Perhaps you'll pay some 
 attention hereafter to what I tell you, sir." 
 
 " Next time, doctor," I said, feebly, " let me 
 go. My life is of little moment to me." 
 
 As I spoke, Helen, who had gone out of the 
 room for something, returned. 
 
 " Ah, Miss Stanforth," said the doctor, " I 
 will leave the patient in your care. You seem 
 to be always on hand when he needs you, and 
 to know exactly what to do. Let the others 
 keep away." 
 
 " I will relieve you, doctor," she said, quietly. 
 
 The doctor gathered up his belongings and 
 left the room, leaving Helen standing looking 
 at me with a certain curious earnestness that I 
 could not interpret. As she had been the in- 
 direct cause of my mishap I naturally expected 
 she would refer to it, perhaps express some re- 
 o^ret. She was thinkins: of an entirely differ- 
 ent matter. 
 
 " Why is your life of little moment to you?" 
 she asked. 
 
 " You overheard ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You have a right to require me to disclose 
 my affiliations in the great struggle in which 
 we are involved, but my private griefs — " 
 
INCOGNITO 19 
 
 " I ask your pardon.'' There was no regret 
 expressed ; it was simply a well-bred way of 
 noticing that she had failed to elicit the infor- 
 mation she desired. 
 
 " I should have got on well enough," I con- 
 tinued, " if that confounded stand had not been 
 in the way. I believe I could go now just as 
 well as not." I paused ; I was very weak. 
 "May I ask you to hand me that glass 'f I 
 added, looking at a tumbler containing brandy. 
 
 Without noticing the proof of my inability 
 to do as I asserted, she handed me the glass, 
 and, when I had taken a swallow, put it back 
 on the table. Her coolness was beffinning to 
 irritate me. 
 
 " I have a mind to get up and go on," I said. 
 " I don't believe there is any danger." 
 
 " What did the doctor say ?" 
 
 " He told me to keep quiet, as I valued my 
 life." 
 
 " You don't value your life, therefore you 
 will get up and go on — in other words, com- 
 mit suicide." 
 
 " You know veiy well that it galls me to 
 be obliged to impose upon a family that has 
 loaded me with kindness without declaring 
 my identity." 
 
20 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 " Then why not declare it ?" 
 
 " Because it doesn't suit my plans to do so." 
 
 I w^as acting ungraciously, recklessly, and 
 I knew it ; but I was in no condition to fence 
 with this cool creature. 
 
 " Shall I leave you ?"' she asked, without 
 appearing at all offended. 
 
 " I don't need your attention." 
 
 " You need some one's attention. I will 
 have Jackson sit in the hall, where he can 
 hear you if you ring." And she walked out 
 of the room. 
 
Ill 
 
 A DEFINITE OBJECT 
 
 "Will this unluck}^ wound never heal? 
 Time flies, and I, who should be up and doing, 
 am caged like a tiger walking back and forth 
 within the limits of its enclosure." 
 
 This was my complaint as I paced my room 
 one morning shortly after the accidental re- 
 opening of my wound. My impatience Avas 
 not without cause. I had gone South, as I 
 have said, with two objects : to find my ene- 
 my and to gather information. I had failed 
 in finding my enemy, but had gained a com- 
 plete knowledge of the points essential to the 
 capture of North Alabama, and was carrying 
 it to the general on the day I was shot. It 
 had occurred to me before setting out that, 
 after finishing my military mission, I might 
 still wish to continue my search for my en- 
 emy. Besides, there were other contingencies, 
 such as arrest or illness, which needed to be 
 
22 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 provided for. I had, therefore, arranged that 
 the general's favorite scout should be at Hunts- 
 ville on the morning of the 1st of April to re- 
 ceive any communication I might find it nec- 
 essary to transmit. If I were prevented from 
 meeting him I was to send a messenger, and 
 had devised a code of signals by which he 
 might be recognized. The appointed day was 
 drawing near; I was not able to keep my ap- 
 pointment, and there was no one at hand to 
 whom I could intrust the message. 
 
 I chafed till I had exhausted my small store 
 of strength, then threw myself on my couch. 
 Little Ethel came in, and, like a soft ray 
 of sunlight breakinrr throiiirh storm-clouds, 
 turned my thoughts into gentler channels. 
 She held in her hand a bouquet of flowers 
 which it was easy to see she intended for me, 
 but needed encouragement to offer. I final- 
 ly induced her to do so, and to admit that 
 she had been out a long while looking for 
 them for me especially. I tried to unloosen 
 her tongue, to induce her to confide in me, 
 but in spite of all I could do she remained 
 shy, and there was ever present that awe she 
 had shown before of one who had taken a 
 life. 
 
A DEFINITE OBJECT 23 
 
 " Why do 3^ou look at me in that way ?" I 
 asked. 
 
 She made no reply, casting down her eyes 
 at my brown hand, which held her dimpled 
 fingers. 
 
 " You mustn't dread me because I am 
 obliged to fight,'' I continued. " These are 
 war times ; there are a great many soldiers 
 in the land who think nothino: of killins: one 
 another." 
 
 "Don't they?" She raised her eyes wide 
 open with surprise. 
 
 " Of course war is cruel, but — but it calls 
 out much that is noble." 
 
 " \Yhen they kill each other ?" 
 
 What puzzling questions to come from such 
 untutored lips. I was casting about for some 
 explanatory reply when a sudden interruption 
 reliev^ed my embarrassment. A negro boy 
 dashed into the room, through it, and out of 
 another door. He Avas followed by the white 
 boy I had noticed on the day of my arrival, 
 who was screaming : 
 
 " Doggone yo', Zac, I'll break eveiy bone 
 in yo' consarned black body !" 
 
 The words were scarcely out when he shot 
 through the door by which the fugitive had 
 
24 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 vanished. Little Ethel looked after him with 
 frightened eyes, evidently dreading a catas- 
 trophe. 
 
 " Who's that ?" I asked. 
 
 " Buck." 
 
 " Your brother ?'' 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Don't be alarmed. That's only a boy's 
 passion ; it won't amount to anything." 
 
 " He says such dreadful words." 
 
 " That's habit ; he doesn't mean anything 
 by it ; but it's a habit that should be broken." 
 
 I soon got her quieted, and she prattled 
 about her dolls, her play-houses, some pet 
 rabbits, and a nook in the garden where she 
 kept them. How singular that war, which 
 absorbed all about her, should have no place 
 in her mind. Amid all the turmoil, the rum- 
 bling of cannon, the tramp of men and horses, 
 bushwhacking, skirmishing, battles, this inno- 
 cent little maid Avas strangely out of place. 
 Her mother came in presently and took her 
 away, fearing that she would anno}'^ me. I 
 was loath to part with her. No healing balm 
 had been applied to my wound so soothing, 
 so grateful, as was her prattle to my fevered 
 brain and chilled heart. 
 
A DEFINITE OBJECT 25 
 
 They had scarcely left me when Buck 
 stalked into the room, his boyish face as free 
 from passion as if he had never been ruffled. 
 He had made several attempts to visit me, 
 notwithstanding that he had been forbidden 
 the room. Seeing the coast clear, he slipped 
 in unannounced and began a fire of questions. 
 
 "Does it hurt?" 
 
 " My arm ? Yes, it hurts some." 
 
 "I'm glad yo' plunked him." 
 
 "Why do you s^niipathize with me instead 
 of the other? You have only seen me a few 
 times." 
 
 This was too much for him to explain. I 
 could see that he had conceived an admiration 
 for me, but he could not tell why. 
 
 "What did he try to kill you fo' ?" he asked. 
 
 " Well, perhaps it was because my existence 
 annoyed him." 
 
 " What did you want to kill him fo' ?" 
 
 " I found it inconvenient to have him shoot- 
 ing at me." 
 
 "/'r/ like to shoot a man. I shot a rabbit 
 once, but that's purty small game. Pop, he 
 won't let me have a gun yet. He says I may 
 have one when I'm sixteen." 
 
 " Buck !" called a voice from the haU. The 
 
36 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 boy dropped behind a sofa. An old negro 
 woman entered and looked around. 
 
 "Yo', Buck! yo' hidin' somewhar' ! Yo' 
 maw '11 spank yo' sho' ef she cotch y' hyar 
 troublin' the gemmlen. Come out o' dar ; I 
 knows whar y' air !" 
 
 I was about to interfere; but a natural dis- 
 taste at giving away a fellow-creature caused 
 me to desist. 
 
 "I tho't I hearn dat chile talken'." The 
 woman stood still a moment, but, hearing no 
 sound, lumbered out of the room. The boy 
 popped up from behind his hiding-place as 
 soon as she had gone. 
 
 " I like yoi^," were the first words he ut- 
 tered. '•'■You wouldn't tell on a feller, would 
 you ?" 
 
 "How could I when you are glad I 'plunked' 
 my enemy ? Is that your mamm}'- ?" 
 
 " Yes ; that's Lib." 
 
 " jS'ursed you from a baby ?" 
 
 " Yes ; 'n' she reckons she's goen to nurse 
 me all my life." 
 
 " Is your name Buckingham ?" 
 
 " Buckingham ! No, I 'aint' got any such 
 doggone name as that ; my name's Buckeye." 
 
 " How did 3^ou happen to get that name ?" 
 
A DEFINITE OBJECT 27 
 
 " 'Cause I was borned thar." 
 
 " Where ?" 
 
 " In Buckeye." 
 
 "In Ohio?" 
 
 " Reckon 'tis the same." 
 
 I contemplated Buck for a while without 
 hearing any of the questions he continued to 
 fire at me. Why not intrust him with the 
 message? There was every reason why I 
 should not do so, except that he was devoted 
 to me and I had no one else to send. While 
 I was deliberating Lib came in, surprised him, 
 dragged him out of the room, and shut the 
 door. 
 
 I heard footsteps on the veranda, then in 
 the hall, then ascending the staircase, as of 
 people carrying a burden. The door had evi- 
 dently been shut to prevent my seeing what 
 was being done. For a while there was a hur- 
 rving to and fro, and I knew that something 
 unusual had occurred. After all had been 
 quieted, Buck, who had meanwhile escaped 
 from his dusky captor, slipped back to forbid- 
 den ground. 
 
 It occurred to me that I could draw from 
 Buck the solution of the recent commotion ; 
 but what passed under the roof of my friends 
 
38 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 was no concern of mine, and I scorned to get 
 it from a mere boy. But I wished to test 
 Buck's power of reticence. Ten to one he had 
 been instructed not to talk to me about the 
 mysterious occurrence. 
 
 " Buck," I asked, " who came to the house 
 awhile ago V 
 
 "Wasn't anybody came to the house awhile 
 ago." 
 
 "A sick man, wasn't it?" 
 
 " No, he wasn't sick." 
 
 "I thought 3'ou said no one came?" 
 
 " No one did." 
 
 " Of course no one came ; he was carried." 
 
 " If yo' know so much about 't, Mr. Brandy- 
 stone, what's the use o' asken' me ?" 
 
 " You admit that whoever he was, he wasn't 
 sick?" 
 
 " Of course he wasu't sick. How could he 
 be sick if he wasn't anybody ?" 
 
 There was a sudden rustling in the hall, and 
 Helen swept into the room, her eyes flashing 
 fire. 
 
 "Buck, leave the room!" she commanded, in 
 no uncertain tone. Buck gave a glance at his 
 sister, which told him he had better obey, and 
 walked out reluctantly. 
 
A DEFINITE OBJECT 29 
 
 " You have been listening," I said, curtly. 
 
 " I have not. I was coming through the 
 hall and heard your last remark." 
 
 " And you infer that I was trying to get a 
 secret which does not at all concern me?" 
 
 " I most assuredly do." 
 
 "You are mistaken. I care no more for 
 what occurs in this house than for the color of 
 the dress you happen to wear. I had another 
 object in questioning your brother." 
 
 " I dare say you had." 
 
 " I wished to discover if he could keep a 
 secret." 
 
 " I dare say you did." 
 
 " I have intended nothing dishonorable." 
 
 " Fudge !" She snapped her fingers and her 
 eyes at the same time. 
 
 " You don't believe me. Very well ; I don't 
 believe that you were not eavesdropping." 
 
 " I was not eavesdropping !" she cried, hotly. 
 " You have the word of a Southern lady." 
 
 " And I was not trying to get your secret. 
 You have the word of a — " I stopped short. 
 I had run against a snag. She gave me a 
 glance of contempt and triumph. Her head 
 was up, a little to one side, her nostrils di- 
 lated, her breath slow and measured. 
 
30 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 "Miss Stanforth," I said — I was near be- 
 traying what demanded secrecy — '.' I will prove 
 to you before night — no, not before night, but 
 soon — that I had another object. I will no 
 longer remain in a house the inmates of 
 which—" I made a step towards the door. 
 
 " Mr. Branderstane !" 
 
 "Miss Stanforth!" 
 
 " In addition to sailing under false colors, you 
 are now going to endanger your life by — " 
 
 " Fudge ! What is my life to you ?" I 
 snapped my fingers. 
 
 " A good deal just now. It is unpleasant 
 to have a person die on one's hands." 
 
 I was in no condition for this encounter. A 
 buzzing was going on in my ears, a tingling 
 sensation in my limbs. My knees were giv^- 
 ing way, and I was obliged to sit down on the 
 sofa. I looked longingly at a bottle of brandy 
 that stood on the table, but was too proud to 
 ask for it. In a moment Helen had poured 
 some of the liquor into a tumbler and held it 
 to my lips. I drank a reviving draught ; she 
 put her hands on my shoulders and gently 
 forced me to lie down. 
 
 " This must not occur again," she said. 
 " You have no strength to go, and I have no 
 
A DEFINITE OBJECT 31 
 
 right to excite you while in your present con- 
 dition. I believe what you told me." She 
 put out her hand. 
 
 " Pardon," I said, humbly. " When calm 
 I would as soon think of accusing you of 
 eavesdropping as I would accuse Diana of un- 
 chastity. I have been ungallant, rude — rude 
 to a woman." 
 
 " Forget it. Lie still, and you will soon be 
 yourself again." She sat down by a table 
 and took up a book. " I will sit here and 
 read while you recover your strength." 
 
 She read for perhaps half an hour. I sup- 
 posed she was interested in the book, for she 
 turned one page after another and seemed to 
 have forgotten me. At last she put down the 
 volume, and by her first words convinced me 
 that instead of being interested in it she had 
 been thinking of my puzzling identity. 
 
 " I want to ask you one question." 
 
 '^ Ask it." 
 
 " Where did you come from the day the 
 shooting occurred ?" 
 
 " Huntsville." 
 
 She had asked the one question and had re- 
 ceived her reply. I knew by her expression 
 that she wanted to ask another. 
 
32 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 " I suppose you were there long enough to 
 become acquainted with the city. It's a 
 beautiful place." 
 
 " I was there a week." 
 
 The limit of one question having been over- 
 stepped in this indirect fashion, it was easier 
 for her to proceed. 
 
 "What were you doing there?" 
 
 " Looking for some one." 
 
 " A man ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What for ?" 
 
 I did not reply at once. I was thinking of 
 some plan by which to put an end to her cate- 
 chising. 
 
 " If I tell you," I said, presently, " will you 
 promise to ask me no more questions ?" 
 
 " If you prefer that I should not." 
 
 " You wish to know why I was seeking my 
 man at Huntsville ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " You will keep what I tell you a secret ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " To kill him." 
 
rv 
 
 WON OVER 
 
 Little Buck had stood my test as to his 
 reticence so well, and I was at such desperate 
 straits for a messenger, that I resolved to use 
 him. After breakfast I waited for a while, hop- 
 ing that he would come to ray room; but as 
 he did not, and I feared he was deterred by 
 the autocratic Lib, I called Jackson and told 
 him to tell the bo}^ I wished to see him. I 
 took a Confederate bill from ray pocket and 
 handed it to the darky, but he went off 
 grumblinof " that he didn't want no Yankee 
 money, and mas'r wouldn't hab no niggar o' 
 his'n taken' money from a stranger nohow." 
 He sent Buck to me, w^ho came in looking 
 somewhat astonished that I should take suflB.- 
 cient interest in him to call for him. 
 
 " Buck," I said, " I have something impor- 
 tant to say to you." 
 
 "What is it, Mr. Brandystone ?" 
 
34 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 " Branderstane. Please don't make that 
 mistake again." 
 
 " I won't, sho." 
 
 " Back, I'm thinking of sending you on an 
 errand ; but it's a great secret." 
 
 The boy's eyes grew as big as saucers. I 
 looked at him for a few moments to observe 
 the effect of my announcement, and then went 
 on. 
 
 ." If you should tell an}^ one, it might cost me 
 my life. You wouldn't tell, w^ould 3^ou ?" 
 
 " Tell ! Why, sooner 'n tell I'd— I'd— ruther 
 be a — a — a — dead rat out in the back yard." 
 
 '• I believe I'll trust you. Do you know the 
 road to Iluntsville?" 
 
 "I reckon so; I've been over it more 'n a 
 hundred times." 
 
 " Got a pony ?" 
 
 " Yes ; ' Pete.' Hel'n, she drives him in the 
 buggy. She calls him hern, but he isn't, he's 
 mine. I g-ot a bio; dog, too." 
 
 " Never mind the dog. Could you get out 
 your pony and ride into Iluntsville without 
 any one suspecting you were going on my ac- 
 count ?" 
 
 " Well, now, why don' y' give me somet'n 
 hard ?" 
 
WON OVER 35 
 
 " Go and get me a newspaper or an alma- 
 nac." 
 
 He was out of the room and back in a mo- 
 ment with a Huntsville paper of that morn- 
 ing's issue. I scanned its columns before look- 
 ing at the date, and noticed this item: 
 
 "The main body of the Yankees are marching from 
 Nashville to Columbia en route, it is supposed, to Pitts- 
 burgh Landing, where they will doubtless join the Fed- 
 eral General Grant." 
 
 Looking at the heading, I sa\A^ that the date 
 was the 1st of April. 
 
 "Now, Buck,'' I said, "get out your pony; 
 then come to me for instructions." 
 
 " Look a-hyar, Mr. Brandy— Brandj'stone — " 
 
 " Branderstane.'' 
 
 "Well, Mr. Brandinstane, if you got any 
 'structions I reckon yo' better give 'm to me 
 now. Mebbe if I come back hyar that dog- 
 gone ole Lib '11 come in 'n yank me out." 
 
 " You're right. Reach me that sheet of 
 note-paper and a book to write on — that thin 
 one ; now a pencil. All right. Don't say a 
 word till I have finished." 
 
 I wrote a message in as infinitesimal char- 
 acters as I was able, on a third of a sheet of 
 paper : 
 
36 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " Macliiiie-shops at Iluntsville in good order. Fifteen 
 to twenty locomotives. Nearly a hundred cars. No force 
 in the town. To tiie east, road runs parallel witli and 
 near the pike for several miles and is handy to cut. To 
 the west, parly to cut the road must pass round the city 
 on the north. Eueiny gathering all possible forces at 
 Piltsburgli Landing, but several thousand men at Chat- 
 tanooga." 
 
 I put neither address nor signature to it, as 
 none were necessary, and they would be con- 
 clusive evidence against me if the message 
 should fall into the wrong hands. 
 
 " Buck," I said, " mount your pony and ride 
 to Huntsville. A few minutes before twelve 
 o'clock go into the Huntsville Hotel; you 
 know — the big brick house on the square. Go 
 up-stairs and out on the front gallery. At 
 twelve o'clock a man with black eyes, long 
 hair, and a pointed beard will walk out on the 
 gallery. Don't say anything to him ; wait, 
 and after a while he'll say something to you." 
 
 " Will he V asked the boy, his eyes full of 
 wonder. " What '11 he say ?" , 
 
 " He'll say, ' It's a fine day.' " 
 
 " What ! If it's rainen' ?" 
 
 " Yes ; rain or shine, if he's the man 3'ou 
 want, he'll say, ' It's a fine day.' Then you 
 must sa}'^, 'Reckon you're weather-wise, 
 
"WON OVER 37 
 
 stranger.' To that he'll reply by asking you 
 what kind of weather it was the day of the 
 massacre." 
 
 " What massacre ? What's a massacre ?" 
 
 " Never mind that. Stick to the lesson I'm 
 teaching you. You must say, ' Black as night.' 
 Then he'll say, ' What's the word V and you 
 can hand him this note. Now, suppose I'm 
 the man with the pointed beard and you go 
 throuo;h the dialofi^ue with me." 
 
 I put him through his lesson till he had 
 learned it perfectly ; then I sent him away 
 with the injunction that in case anything 
 should go wrong with him, rather than part 
 Avith the paper he was to swallow it. I rolled 
 it into a ball and put it into the lining of his 
 hat. Giving his little hand a squeeze, I bade 
 him go, and he marched out as proudly as if 
 he had been appointed Military Governor of 
 Alabama. I had no doubt he would execute 
 his mission to the best of his ability, but he 
 was very young, and I feared he would make 
 some blunder. 
 
 " What a fool I am !" I exclaimed, as soon 
 as he was gone. " I should have failed to 
 communicate rather than intrust so impor- 
 tant a matter to a boy. However, I'll leave 
 
38 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 here to-morrow morning, and if my message 
 miscarries, by the time it's discovered I'll be 
 somewhere 'else." 
 
 Helen came in soon after Buck's departure 
 and began to set the room to rights. She at- 
 tended to her work silently, and did not even 
 look at me. I watched her as she moved 
 about, arranging a curtain here, moving a 
 chair there, or piling books on the table more 
 neatl3^ She was a true type of a Southern 
 woman — tall, willowy, a head set on her shoul- 
 ders in a way to make an artist involuntarily 
 reach for a brush. Her hair and eyes were as 
 black as night, while on her cheeks was a 
 bright color. There was something on her 
 mind, I could see that plainly. I fancied if I 
 gave her time it would come out. At last she 
 dropped her work and stood looking out of 
 the window. 
 
 " What are you thinking about ?"' I asked, 
 going at the subject with brusque directness. 
 
 " The man you came to Alabama to kill." 
 
 " You would shield him ?" 
 
 She kept her eyes on the road, watching a 
 wagon that lumbered by. " I don't know 
 whether I would or not." 
 
 " You want to know all about hhn ?" 
 
WON OVER 39 
 
 " I do." 
 
 "In the first place, you would like his 
 name?" 
 
 " It might be well to begin with that." 
 
 " Then I can't begin, for I don't know his 
 name." 
 
 "IS^ot know his name?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " What is he like ?" 
 
 " Tall, well built, square shoulders which 
 he throws back, like an officer in the regular 
 army of the United States." 
 
 I paused. She waited for me to continue. 
 
 "You would also like to know whether his 
 death would bereave any one : a father, moth- 
 er, sister — some woman who hangs upon every 
 word he says when he is with her, and dreams 
 of him constantly when he is away ?" I spoke 
 the words bitterl}'. I was thinkiug of my 
 loss. 
 
 " Yes, I would like to know that too." 
 
 " I can't satisfy you. I have seen him only 
 once, and then at a distance." 
 
 " Does he Avish to kill you ?" 
 
 " No ; I don't believe he is aware of my ex- 
 istence." 
 
 "Singular," she murmured, thoughtfully. 
 
40 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 Then she turned and looked me in the face. 
 " He has occasioned you some great sorrow — 
 done you some mighty wrong?" 
 
 "You promised to ask me no more ques- 
 tions." 
 
 " True. I beg your pardon." 
 
 Another woman would have pouted, coaxed, 
 done everything but asked openly to have her 
 curiosity gratified. Helen Stanforth was made 
 of sterner stuff. She stood looking out of the 
 window without another word. I waited till 
 I was satisfied that she was too proud to ask 
 for favor, then started in again with the pur- 
 pose of watching the development of some 
 other mood. 
 
 " You are heart and soul a Confederate ?" 
 
 " I am." 
 
 " And you will not excuse those Southern 
 men and Avomen who differ with you?" 
 
 " Yes, if they do it openly." 
 
 This was a cut at me which I did not care 
 to notice. " Have you ever seen," I asked, 
 " men forced at the point of the bayonet to 
 enter the Confederate army ? Have you ever 
 seen families, trying to leave the South to 
 join those with whom they affiliated, shot 
 down in their tracks ?" 
 
WON OVER 41 
 
 " You are a Union man, or you ^yould never 
 talk that way," she interrupted. 
 
 " I was born and bred in Tennessee." 
 
 " Yes, in East Tennessee." 
 
 " May I not have seen great wrong done, 
 and yet given my heart and soul to the South- 
 ern cause ?" 
 
 " You may, but have not." 
 
 She was getting too near the truth. I must 
 throw her off the trail. 
 
 " I will impart one more piece of informa- 
 tion with regard to myself. You have prom- 
 ised to ask no more questions and have kept 
 your promise ; you deserve a reward." 
 
 I took from my pocket a letter and held it 
 up to her. It was addressed to 
 
 MAJOR JOHN BRAXDEHSTAXE, 
 
 — th Tennessee Cavalry 
 
 Murfieeshoro, Tenn, 
 
 Her face lighted. She did not know there 
 were Tennessee regiments in the Union ser- 
 vice. "I knew you were a soldier, and now 
 I know you are a Confederate." She put out 
 her hand, but I did not take it. 
 
 " No, no," I said, " I will not take an unfair 
 advantage of you. That evidence is not con- 
 clusive. I have shown it to you to prove that 
 
42 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 I may be what I will. I could offer as good 
 proof that I am a Yankee." 
 
 " I don't care who you are, you are an hon- 
 orable man." 
 
 " I see no reason for you to assume that." 
 
 " You have said it would be easy for you to 
 prove to me that you are what I wish you to 
 be?" 
 
 " Granted." 
 
 " But you wuU not. You have reason to re- 
 main unknown. You have a great purpose. 
 You have been robbed of some one you love. 
 You have suffered from some of those outrages 
 in East Tennessee that papa has told us about. 
 There has been a cowardly murder. You will 
 be revenged. I know it; I feel it." 
 
 She w^as splendid in her indignation, her 
 sympathy. I protested against this burst of 
 confidence, but to no purpose. Were I the 
 veriest demon in Moloch's train no one could 
 convince her of it. I was not learned in the 
 ways of women, but I had gained an insight 
 into this girl's nature. Though it smouldered, 
 it was emotional. No light kindling could set 
 it aflame. There must be some strong underly- 
 ing impulse. The purpose that I had revealed 
 to her had taken hold of her imagination. 
 
WON OVER 43 
 
 But it troubled her that I should withhold 
 my secret from her. She gave me an appeal- 
 ing look. 
 
 " Why do you not trust me ?" 
 
 " I do trust you. Am I not at your mercy ? 
 Should you inform the authorities that you 
 have an unaccounted-for man under your roof 
 I sliould be arrested at once." 
 
 "I would never do that." 
 
 ''No; but will you aid me in remainine; in- 
 cognito ?" 
 
 She was silent. There was evidently a ques- 
 tion which she was trying to solve. '' Would 
 that be helping you to kill your man?" she 
 asked. 
 
 '' Suppose it would ?" 
 
 There was a dangerous glitter in her eye. 
 Perhaps she experienced a fascination in being 
 thus indirectly a party to my Avork of ven- 
 geance. 
 
 " You have not answered my question," I 
 said. 
 
 Still she was silent. The blood was cominof 
 and going Aurora-like on her neck and cheek. 
 Presently she drew her lips together tightly 
 as if she were striking an enemy — 
 
 " I will." 
 
V 
 ARREST 
 
 " Have you a man by the name of Brander- 
 stane stopping- with you V 
 
 I heard the words spoken at the front door 
 in a pleasant voice, in Avhich there was some- 
 thing languid. My heart began a vigorous 
 thumping. Looking out of the window I saw 
 a troop of Confederate cavalry at the gate, and 
 men darting in different directions. I knew 
 that the house was being surrounded. Helen 
 went out to meet the inquirer. 
 
 " Do you wish to see Mr. Branderstane ?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "I do." 
 
 Helen must have suspected that I was in 
 danger. There was a slight pause, in which I 
 fancied she was deliberating what to do. 
 
 " He is in a critical condition," she said. 
 " He was wounded recently. Is your business 
 with him important V 
 
AEKEST . 45 
 
 " Very important." 
 
 " Show the gentleman in, if you please, Miss 
 Stanforth," I called. I knew there was noth- 
 ing to be gained by attempting to put the man 
 off. I must appear unconcerned. 
 
 She led the way to where I was. A young 
 man m the uniform of a Confederate captain 
 entered. He was a handsome fellow, with an 
 mdolent, self - indulgent air, and evidently a 
 gentleman. He was extremely deferential to 
 Helen, carrying his hat in his hand and bear- 
 ing himself as if it pained hun to thus trespass 
 upon the household. 
 
 " Are yo' John Branderstane, sir V 
 
 " At your service. And 3'ou V 
 
 " Captain Beaumont, — th Geowgia Cavalry, 
 sir." 
 
 " What can I do for you, captain ?" 
 
 " I must trouble you to get up and come 
 with me." 
 
 " On what authority ?" 
 
 "My own, sir. It has been reported to me 
 that a Southern man working in the Yankee 
 ijiterest is here, and I have come to take him." 
 
 " Don't 3'ou think that an arbitrary way to 
 treat a citizen of Tennessee, captain ?" 
 
 "Not when he has Yankee affihations." 
 
46 SWEET KEYENGE 
 
 " By what right do you accuse me of Yan- 
 kee aiRliations?" 
 
 " You were watched all the time you were 
 at Iluntsville, sir. There was no evidence 
 against you, and you were allowed to leave the 
 city ; but after you had got away a man came 
 forward who claimed to have seen you in one 
 of the Yankee camps at Nashville." 
 
 " Indeed ? Did he explain his own presence 
 there ?" 
 
 This was a home-thrust. The captain hesi- 
 tated. 
 
 "It seems to me, captain," I added, follow- 
 ing up my advantage, " that you are hasty in 
 acting on such information." 
 
 Helen spoke up : " My father was at Nash- 
 Yille soon after the surrender. AYould you ar- 
 rest him V 
 
 " The information comes pretty straight. I 
 reckon you'll have to come along." 
 
 "His wound is liable to open," said Helen, 
 "and if it should there might be a fatal re- 
 
 Sillt." 
 
 She spoke with apparent indifference, but 
 she could not avoid betraying some interest. 
 The officer looked up at her with a pair of soft 
 brown eyes inquiringly. I saw at once that 
 
ARKEST 47 
 
 he suspected a tender relationship between us, 
 but he was too well-bred to tread upon so del- 
 icate a matter. 
 
 " lie can remain where he is until he is bet- 
 ter," he said, bowing to Helen, " if you will 
 give me your word — the word of a Southern 
 lady — that he shall not leave your house till 
 we call for him/' 
 
 Helen cast an inquiring look at me to know 
 if she should give the pledge. I saw that a 
 glance would enable me to remain where I 
 was, and if I chose, after the departure of the 
 troop, leave the house, with Helen to bear the 
 responsibility of my going. 
 
 "Konsense, man!" I said, rising, "Do you 
 suppose I'm going to permit a woman to stand 
 between you and me? You are a gentleman, 
 if you are taking it upon yourself to arrest 
 whom you please. And I'm enough of a gen- 
 tleman not to avail myself of your proffered 
 avenue of escape. If I must go, I must. 
 Where do you intend to take me, captain ?" 
 
 By this time several men who had followed 
 the officer pushed their way into the room. I 
 received no reply to my question, but was 
 ordered to get up and go with them. The 
 members of the familv, discovering that some- 
 
48 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 thing had gone wrong, flocked about, and it 
 was easy to see that though they did not un- 
 derstand why I was arrested, they were all in 
 sympathy with me. Mrs. Stanforth seemed 
 greatly distressed ; Mr. Stanforth attempted 
 to argue my case for me— of course to no pur- 
 pose ; the negroes were all indignant. AVhile 
 waitino' for mv horse I heard Lib deliverino: 
 herself in the back hall : 
 
 " Wha' fo' dat mis'able osifer wid he sleeves 
 covered all ober wid deni goP snakes goen' t' 
 'rest a fine South'n gemmlen like dat ? Dat wha' 
 yo' call freedom ? Colored folks got mo' free- 
 dom den dat. I hea'h mas'r talken' 'bout 'stu- 
 tional libe'y. Wha's de use o' 'stutional libe'y 
 when de oder man got he hand on yo' collar?" 
 
 I heard no more, for I was conducted out to 
 the gallery. Just as I started down the walk 
 Ethel appeared with curious eyes, and I paused 
 to take her up and give her a parting kiss. I 
 cast a glance at Helen. There was intense in- 
 terest in her face, but among so many emotions 
 I could not discover which predominated. I 
 went with the soldiers down to the gate, where 
 I found my horse, and, mounting, a cavalryman 
 on each side of me, rode away with the troop. 
 
 We proceeded up the pike for a short dis- 
 
ARKEST 49 
 
 tance, then, crossing the railroad track, struck 
 a road which bent to the east. 
 
 " Captain," I said, " I don't like the direc- 
 tion you are going. If your intentions were 
 not murderous you would take rae to Hunts- 
 ville and examine into the charge against me. 
 It appears that you are taking me into the 
 country to dispose of me." 
 
 "I am on m}'^ way to join my squadron near 
 Brownsborough, sir, where yo' will have an 
 opportunity to face you' accuser. If yo' are 
 innocent yo'll have no trouble; yo' can en- 
 list in my company." 
 
 " Thank you ; do I look like a man who 
 would go begging for a commission ?" 
 
 "I beg yo' pardon, sir;" and he lifted his 
 hat apologetically. 
 
 I had retained my coolness thus far, but I 
 confess I did not like the situation. As a 
 Southern man, used to Southern people, I felt 
 a certain confidence; yet if it were known 
 that I was a Union officer I would be put out 
 of the way without benefit of clergy. Who 
 was the man who had informed against me ? 
 What did he know ? The more I thought 
 about it the more intense became my anxiety. 
 Suddenly I looked up and saw whit-e tents. 
 
50 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 I knew at once by the looks of the camp that 
 it contained one or two companies of cavahy. 
 There was a raih^oad bridge near by, crossing 
 Avhat I knew to be Flint River, and I judged 
 that the cavalry was guarding this bridge. 
 
 I had forgotten my unlucky wound and 
 was intent on the camp, when, passing under 
 overhanging branches, a stiff bough scraped 
 my arm, and I felt at once that it had been 
 injured. I told the captain of my fears, and 
 we halted to make an examination. Taking 
 off my coat, there, as I expected, was a stain 
 of fresh blood on my shirt-sleeve. 
 
 " You needn't trouble yourself to murder 
 me," I remarked ; " that wound is a better en- 
 emy than all my others together." 
 
 The captain cast glances about him for a 
 house. He had no intention of murdering me 
 or. being a party indirectly to my death. 
 "While he was making a survey of the sur- 
 rounding countr}'^ I was twisting my handker- 
 chief above the wound. 
 
 " Can you get to that plantation T he 
 asked. 
 
 I looked up and saw a large manor-house 
 about half a mile distant, with its Hanking 
 rows of neii:ro huts. 
 
AKREST 51 
 
 " I can try it."" 
 
 We mounted and rode on, and in a few min- 
 utes passed into the gateway between impos- 
 ing stone posts, proceeding by a winding way 
 to tlie house. I was glad to dismount and get 
 inside the spacious hall out of the sun. There 
 I sat down on an old-fashioned, hair-cloth, ma- 
 hogany sofa. 
 
 A number of white and negro children, who 
 were playing together as contentedly as if 
 the pickaninnies were not the property of their 
 fair-skinned playmates, stood gaping at me. 
 A slim man with a determined mouth, at the 
 corners of which were marks of tobacco juice 
 — he turned out to be an overseer — an equally 
 thin elderly woman, whom I heard addressed 
 as Miss Pinkley, and a quadroon girl made up 
 the group. I was sitting with my head rest- 
 ing against the sofa-back, weak and despond- 
 ent. Suddenly down the great winding stair- 
 case came a young girl with a shapely petite 
 figure, a pretty oval face, and an olive com- 
 plexion, from which two almond-shaped eyes 
 flashed at me and the group about me with 
 the quintessence of astonishment. Running 
 her words together in a way peculiar to her- 
 self, she asked : 
 
52 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 "What's the matter?" 
 
 "The gentleman's bleeding from a wound 
 in the arm, Miss Jack," said the quadroon 
 girl. 
 
 " AVho is he? What is he? Is he ffoino- to 
 die?" She fired the words as if they were 
 bullets. 
 
 " Jaqueline," put in the elderl}^ hid}^ called 
 Miss Pinkley, " don't ask so many questions 
 at once." Then she went up- stairs, remark- 
 infi: that she would brini]: her smellino' salts. 
 
 " I don't think I'm going to die just yet," I 
 said, smiling encouragingly at the young gii'l, 
 whose interest I had excited. " I received a 
 Nvound a few days ago and have had very bad 
 luck with it. Anything that hits me never 
 fails to strike the tender spot." 
 
 "Why don't you He down? Cynthia, go 
 get pillows." 
 
 Cynthia, the quadroon girl, was engaged at 
 that moment trying to drive away the chil- 
 dren, and did not at once obey. 
 
 " Cynthia, go get pillows !" repeated Miss 
 Jaqueline, stamping her foot. 
 
 It occurred to me that this 3'oung girl pos- 
 sessed an unbridled disposition. Cynthia, who 
 was doubtless used to her mistress's way of 
 
ARREST 53 
 
 speaking, went for the pillows, and when they 
 arrived Miss Jack made me lie down, whether 
 I would or not, and covered me with a shawl, 
 sprinkling me all the while with such a warm 
 shower of devotion that, despite her irate or- 
 der to her maid, she quite Avon my heart. 
 
 Looking out through the hall door I saw a 
 fat man bestride a lean horse, with saddle- 
 bags, wiping the perspiration from his face 
 and riding up to the gallery. He dismounted 
 and entered, puffing for breath, and proved to 
 be a countrv doctor. Puttins: on a ffrave 
 face, he examined m}'^ wound critically, and 
 made great ado at dressing and bandaging it; 
 then delivered the usual admonition. He de- 
 parted, leaving me l3ing on the sofa. Miss 
 Jack beside me, ministering to wants that 
 were not wanted, devising schemes to meet 
 requirements that were not required. Sud- 
 denly the two guards attracted her attention. 
 They had been in the hall ever since my ar- 
 rival, but had not until this moment excited 
 her antagonism. 
 
 " What are you doing here ?" Though her 
 words were spoken sharply, her voice was 
 soft and musical. 
 
 " On guard," replied one of the men. 
 
54 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " This isn't your house. Go ' way from here." 
 
 " Hain't got no orders." 
 
 " I give you orders." Fire was beginning 
 to dart from her eyes. 
 
 I interfered. " They are only doing their 
 duty." 
 
 " They have no right in tliis house." 
 
 " But if you drive them out they will take 
 me with them." 
 
 " Will they?" Her manner changed. "Never 
 mind," she said to the guard, " please don't 
 leave us ; I wouldn't have you go for the 
 world. You're quite ornamental : one on one 
 side of the door, the other on the other side, 
 like statues; men-at-arms in castle halls." 
 
 The men looked at each other foolishly and 
 grinned. The girl went up to one of them 
 and asked him to let her examine his carbine. 
 He did not quite like to let it go, but she took 
 it Avithout saying " by your leave." 
 
 " What a funny gun I How short ! How 
 many times can you fire it off? I wonder 
 if I could shoot with it I" 
 
 She brought it up to her shoulder, and, after 
 pointing it to the wall, levelled it first at one 
 man, then at the other. They both looked a 
 trifle nervous, but said nothing. Then she 
 
ARREST 55 
 
 made a motion to cock it when the muzzle 
 was covering one of tlie men, and he protest- 
 ed. She burst into a merry laugh. 
 
 " What a brave man ! Can't stand being 
 pointed at by a girl ! Ever in a battle ? 
 What's it like ?" 
 
 The soldier made no reply, but reached for 
 his carbine, and seemed very much relieved 
 when she suffered him to take it. There was 
 no more play, for at that moment we heard 
 the sound of horses' hoofs, and, looking out 
 through the hall doorway, I saw two men 
 riding up to the house. The one was Captain 
 Beaumont, the other Tom Jaycox, the bitter- 
 est of all my Tennessee enemies, and upon 
 whom I had visited most summary punish- 
 ment for the part he had taken in the mas- 
 sacre. In another minute they had dismount- 
 ed and ascended the steps of the gallery, 
 then came rapidly through the hall. Captain 
 Beaumont's appearance denoted that there was 
 something on his mind of great moment. 
 His companion lumbered along beside him 
 with the appearance of one looking for some- 
 thing or some one of peculiar interest to him. 
 He was a short, thick-set man in corduroy 
 trousers, a double-breasted vest, open, no coat. 
 
56 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 and a broad-briniraed straw hat, the hue of 
 wliich indicated that it had served for several 
 summers. His nose had been broken, and he 
 had lost an eye. A coarse, stubby, brown-and- 
 gray beard grew on his chin. An uglier speci- 
 men of the poor wdiite of the South could 
 scarcely be imagined, and the moment I saw 
 him, knowing of his enmit37^ for me, I gave 
 myself up for lost. 
 
 " There he is," said Captain Beaumont. 
 
 " I reckoned so," replied the other ; "' he's 
 yo' man." 
 
 " Who is he ?" asked Miss Jack, quickly. 
 
 " A renegade from the South, an abolition 
 hound — one o' our East Tennessee dogs. What 
 he's doen' hyar I dun no, but I reckon he's on 
 some errant fo' the Yankee gineral at Mur- 
 freesboro." 
 
 Suddenly all the careless, indolent demeanor 
 of the captain deserted him. With true South- 
 ern impulse, without stopping to investigate 
 the charge, he was fired by the story that 
 he held in his hands one who, though a South- 
 erner, was hunting information for the detest- 
 ed Yankees. 
 
 " Guard !" he called. 
 
 The two men approached. 
 
ARREST 57 
 
 " Take him away and see that he doesn't 
 get back here. I don't want ever to see him 
 again." 
 
 I was stunned. I knew well what this or- 
 der meant. I had heard it given in case of 
 outlaws, and knew that it was the form in 
 which orders were given to take men out and 
 shoot them. Many a guerilla received his 
 sentence in those words. 
 
 "Captain," I cried, "if you shoot me you 
 will commit a murder ! That man " — pointing 
 to the brute beside him — " is the real mur- 
 derer. I know liim well. I saw him shoot- 
 ing down women and children. I saw him — " 
 I stopped short. There was an incredulous 
 look on the captain's face. I knew that my 
 accuser had his confidence. I realized that 
 denials and counter accusations were expected 
 from one in my position, and would have no 
 v;eight. 
 
 Jaqueline, though she could not have un- 
 derstood the captain's order, from my words • 
 and from my stricken appearance realized the 
 situation. She stood paralyzed, but only for 
 a moment. While the guards were advancinfj 
 towards me she stole up to the captain arid 
 slipped her arm through his. When he looked 
 
58 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 down at her she was gazing up into his face 
 with the perfection of coquetry. I watched 
 the effect eagerl}'-. His first expression was 
 one of surprise, then all severity died away; 
 an amused look followed, mingled with admi- 
 ration, and at last he broke into a pleasant 
 smile. 
 
VI 
 
 AN AMATEUR SOUBRETTE 
 
 I HAVE seen men disarmed in various ways: 
 by argument, fear, force ; but never have I 
 seen one so quickly vanquished as he who was 
 about to rush me off to execution. His in- 
 tended act was most unwarranted, and had he 
 been induced to refrain by logical arguments 
 I should not have been surprised. But Jaque- 
 line knew nothino; of loo;ic or the merits of the 
 case. She used no plea ; she conquered by a 
 look. 
 
 " What a queer man !" 
 
 " Who — I V The captain's smile broadened. 
 
 " Queerest man I ever saw. What do yo' 
 want to take him away fo' ? Don't y' know 
 he's wounded, and we just got him fixed upC" 
 
 " You don't mean it !" He spoke as defer- 
 entially as if the information were really a 
 surprise to him. 
 
 " Don't want ever to see him again ? What 
 
60 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 a grumpy thing you must be I Suppose I'd 
 say I wanted never to see you again ?" 
 
 " YouVl break my heart." 
 
 All this was not to the liking of the cap- 
 tain's companion. " Well, captain," he put in, 
 " what y' goen' ter do ? Goen' ter let him lay 
 thar to be coddled b}^ the fambly ?" 
 
 " Yo' hush !" cried Jaqueline, with suddenly 
 flashing eyes. The man started back. Pos- 
 sibly he was unused to such quick transitions. 
 " Yo' can't take him away till his arm gets 
 well. 'Spose he bleeds to death ? You'd have 
 his blood on yo' hands. Just think of that!" 
 
 Considering that tiiey had intended to take 
 me out and shoot me, the warning was, to say 
 the least, amusing. Every one burst into a 
 lauofh ; indeed, I could hardly refrain from 
 joining in it myself, notwithstanding my criti- 
 cal situation. 
 
 " You certainly don't want to commit a 
 gross blunder, captain," I remarked. " You 
 can at least give me some sort of a trial." 
 
 " Reckon I can refer the matter to head- 
 quarters," lie replied, fixing his eyes on Jaque- 
 line. 
 
 It was a delicate scale that balanced life 
 and death in war time, and often required only 
 
AN AMATEUR SOUBRETTE 61 
 
 a feather's weight to turn it. It had been turn- 
 ed, for the time, and turned effectually. The 
 guards were ordered back, and the captain 
 sauntered away with my accuser, who ex- 
 postulated as they passed out of the house 
 on to the galler3^ Pulling a cigar out of his 
 pocket, Captain Beaumont sat down in a rock- 
 ing-chair and began to smoke as tranquilly as 
 if nothing unusual had happened, listening 
 composedly to the ruffian who was trying to 
 s:et him to shoot me. But Beaumont was now 
 as difficult to move, as imperturbable, as he had 
 been before irate, and Jaycox at last went 
 away disappointed. He gave me a malignant 
 glance before going, which said, plainly, " I'll 
 fix you yet." 
 
 The captain continued sitting where he was, 
 his head resting on the back of the rocker, 
 looking dreamily up at the waving branches 
 of a large tree set against the blue sky. Sup- 
 per Avas announced, and Jaqueline, taking a 
 rose, went out, and, fixing it in a buttonhole 
 of his coat, led him into the dining-room. 
 Before passing out of sight she turned and 
 gave me a meaning glance, accompanied by a 
 wry face at her companion. As the captain's 
 back was turned, it was safe for me to indulge 
 
63 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 ill a smile. Indeed, I fear I could hardly have 
 refrained had his face been towards me. This 
 little Jaqueline was certainly unique. 
 
 While they were at supper I was deliberat- 
 ing upon the situation. It w^as evident that my 
 old enemies had either stumbled upon me or 
 had learned of my presence in Korth Alabama, 
 and were bent on my destruction. It was a 
 desperate case. I was an officer in the Union 
 army, within the enemy's lines, in citizen's 
 dress, and in that enemy's hands. I was 
 hounded by men who would not scruple to 
 use any means to get me into their power. If 
 I did not escape from the Confederates I 
 should hang; if I did escape I should be 
 murdered. 
 
 Presently Jaqueline and the captain came 
 out from the supper-room, Jaqueline in ad- 
 vance, the captain's eyes fixed on the pretty 
 ligure before him. Jaqueline was very grace- 
 ful, very dainty. Her every motion was charm- 
 ing. She was so light on her feet that she 
 seemed scarcely to touch the ground. Though 
 she walked, she danced, while her eyes danced 
 with her body, her lips wearing a perpetual 
 smile. Once she took two or three steps, turn- 
 ing half around— a lYiere suspicion of a dance 
 
AN AMATEUR SOUBKETTE 63 
 
 — a delicious, tantalizing bit, like a sip of rare 
 wine. 
 
 '' I'd like to meet yo' in a ball-room," re- 
 marked the captain, languidly. 
 
 " Why so ?" 
 
 "Yo' would dance beautifully; yo'd make 
 a charming partner." 
 
 " I can sing." 
 
 " Can you ?" 
 
 " Yes, and play. One day I was playing 
 Ginger's banjo behind the barn. Papa called, 
 'Yo' Ginger, stop that infernal twanging!' 
 Wasn't it funny ?" 
 
 She laughed ; the captain laughed ; I 
 laughed. There was something very catching 
 about the little minx that neither of us could 
 resist. 
 
 She drew an arm-chair close beside the sofa 
 on which I was lying, and insisted on the cap- 
 tain seating himself in it. He demurred, but 
 Miss Jack would have it so, and the man, who 
 half an hour before had ordered me out to be 
 shot, was sitting by me as though we were ex- 
 cellent friends. Jaqueline seated herself in a 
 rocker directly in view of both myself and the 
 captain, and, rocking vigorousl}' all the while, 
 chatted like a magpie. The captain settled 
 
64 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 himself within his comfortable seat, asked per- 
 mission to smoke, and, finding tliat he had but 
 one cigar, insisted on my smoking it. Of 
 course I refused, but he was too innately well- 
 bred to smoke it himself without another for 
 me. Miss Jack solved the }3roblem by stand- 
 ing; before him with a lio'hted match till he 
 was forced to yield. 
 
 Then from without came the jingle of a 
 banjo. Jaqueline caught the sound and stood 
 listening, her head poised on one side, her eyes 
 sparkUng as though forgetful of ever^'thing 
 save the music. 
 
 "That's 'The Bonny Blue Flag'!" she ex- 
 claimed, and she hummed the words in a 
 sweet though bj'^ no means strong voice. As 
 she went on she sang rather than hummed, 
 becoming more and more animated, keeping 
 time by patting her foot on the floor. I 
 glanced at the captain. He was looking at her 
 admiringly, the charm enhanced at hearing a 
 war-song dear to every Confederate soldier, 
 given with so much spirit by such an attrac- 
 tive creature. 
 
 Suddenly the music stopped. 
 
 " Don't yo' like music ?" asked Jaqueline of 
 the captain, ^^/do — I love it." 
 
AN AMATEUK SOUBRETTE 65 
 
 "I like it when warbled by such attractive 
 lips," replied the officer. 
 
 Then the banjoist without played a Spanish 
 dance. Jaqueline's body began to vibrate. 
 But, though alive in every limb, she did not 
 dance. There was something tantalizing in a 
 promised treat that was not realized. 
 
 " Dance !" cried the captain, an expectant 
 look in his handsome eyes. 
 
 "Slialll?" 
 
 " Do, please," I put in. 
 
 As a bird that lias been soaring slowly sails 
 away in its expected course, Jaqueline passed 
 from comparative rest to motion. In another 
 moment she was moving about the hall with 
 improvised steps, as though dancing was, to 
 use a paradoxical expression, her normal con- 
 dition of rest. She floated, drooped, rose, rest- 
 ed, keeping time with her head, her arms, her 
 whole body. For a while I Avas so delighted 
 that I forgot all except the dance, and when I 
 bethought myself to look at the captain it 
 was easy to see that the thrall Jaqueline had 
 been weaving about him was complete. 
 
 " Jaqueline !" 
 
 Miss Pinkley had entered the hall and stood 
 looking at her severely. Jaqueline stopped as 
 
66 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 suddenly as if she had been moved by electric- 
 ity and the current had been turned off. 
 
 " I'm astonished at yo','' said the lady. 
 " Yo've made the acquaintance of these gen- 
 tlemen only this afternoon, and here yo' are 
 dancing befo' them as if yo' were a soubrette 
 in a theatre." 
 
 " My dear madam," I interposed, " you have 
 no idea of the pleasure she has given us. She 
 would be a grand success on any stage." 
 
 "Do yo' think so?" queried Jaqueline, 
 triumphantly. " I'd love to dance on the 
 stage." 
 
 "Jaqueline!" again cried Miss Pinkley. 
 
 "What's the harm, auntie? I'm not on the 
 stage." 
 
 " Yes, but you want to be. To think of a 
 Rutland on the stage ! Yo' pa would be mavv- 
 tified to death." 
 
 She passed up- stairs, and Jaqueline began 
 affain to rattle on in her singular wav. Sud- 
 denly it struck her that she w^anted Ginger's 
 banjo, and, calling Cynthia, she sent her for it. 
 Then, after testing the strings, she began to 
 play and sing. The music was light but sweet, 
 being composed chiefly of those unique negro 
 melodies, born under the slave system as deli- 
 
AN AMATEUR SOUBKETTE 67 
 
 cate plants sometimes spring up among poi- 
 sonous weeds. 
 
 Without warning she put the banjo down 
 and began to talk again, skipping from one 
 subject to another, astonishing us by her con- 
 fidences, sometimes asking questions but sel- 
 dom waiting for an answer. Presentl}^ I spoke 
 of my stay at the Stanforths. 
 
 " The Stanforths !" she cried. " Do you 
 know 'em ?" 
 
 " Yes ; do you ?" 
 
 " Ought to ; they're my cousins. Did you 
 see Minerva ?" 
 
 "No. Who's Minerva?" 
 
 "Her real name is Helen, We called her 
 Minerva at school. I went to school with her 
 two vears. She's older than I, though." 
 
 "I have met Miss Helen Stanforth." 
 
 " If you refer to the young lad}'^ we met to- 
 da}^," the captain remarked, " she's a ver}'- beau- 
 tiful and high-bred woman — much like our 
 Geowgia beauties." 
 
 " She knows ever3"thing," said Jaqueline ; 
 " theology, geology, biology, psychology. Any 
 more of 'em ?" 
 
 " That's quite enough," I admitted. 
 
 "Did vou see Buck?" 
 
68 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " Oh yes ; Buck and I became quite friendly." 
 
 " Friendly ! Buck was born to be hanged." 
 
 " What makes you think that ?" 
 
 " Most fiery, pestiferous little imp yo' ever 
 saw! Doesn't stop at anything." 
 
 "Mere flashes of a strong nature. When 
 he grows up he'll control it and be all the 
 stronger for it." 
 
 "Think so? If he was black and I owned 
 him, I'd have him whipped every day." 
 
 A colored woman came in and told the cap- 
 tain that Miss Pinkley presented her compli- 
 ments, and a room was ready for him when- 
 ever he chose to occupy it. She also informed 
 him that I could have a room. 
 
 " Captain," I said, " I have no reason to get 
 away from you. Indeed, I wouldn't leave 
 your guardianship just now for a plantation. 
 The man who has accused me is in league with 
 others who are interested in getting me out of 
 the wa}^ Now if you'll permit me to go to 
 bed without a guard I'll give you my word of 
 honor not to leave this house till after the 
 watch has been resumed to-morrow." 
 
 " Now, captain," put in Jaqueline, before the 
 officer could reply, "let the poo' man go to 
 bed." 
 
AN AMATEDR SOUBEETTE 69 
 
 " Fo' yo' sake ?" he asked, looking at her 
 with an expression half admiring, half comical. 
 
 " Fo' my sake, fo' 3^0' sake, fo' everybody's 
 sake." 
 
 She went up in front of him, and, putting 
 her little oval face within a few inches of his, 
 brought her snapping eyes to bear on him, and 
 stood waiting for liis decision. 
 
 " "Well, I reckon I must let yo' have yo' way. 
 Yo're too pretty to qua' el Avith." 
 
 She clapped her hands. " I knew it ! Love- 
 liest man I ever met ! Too sweet for any- 
 thing !" 
 
 The captain smiled that pleasant, indolent 
 smile of his, looking at me at the same time, as 
 much as to sa}^, " What a deliciously odd 
 creature," while Jaqueline disappeared as sud- 
 denly as an actress who had finished her part. 
 Ginger came in with a decanter and glasses, 
 which he placed on the table. The captain 
 sat down before the wine and invited me to 
 join him. 
 
 " Miss Rutland is ce'tainly a dainty little 
 thing," he said, as "he took the stopper from 
 the decanter and filled our glasses. 
 
 " She certainly is." 
 
 " Most charming creature I ever saw." 
 
70 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 " What a soubrette she would make !" 
 
 " Ravishing-. Fill yo' glass, sir ; ravishing. 
 Do yo' know, I never saw mo' graceful danc- 
 in o^ on the stage ?" 
 
 " Nor I." 
 
 " And what a sweet little voice !" 
 
 " The notes of a bird." 
 
 By this time I had made up my mind that it 
 would be impossible to get the captain on any 
 other subject than Jaqueline, and he talked 
 of iier the rest of the evening — indeed, till he 
 had finished the decanter. I could not but be 
 amused at the transition Jaqueline had wrought 
 in his treatment of me. It occurred to me to 
 test his good-nature still further. 
 
 "Captain," I remarked, "I'm caught away 
 from home with a thin pocket-book ; could you 
 let me have a hundred dollars till I can get to 
 where there is a bank ?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir, with pleasure ; no trouble at 
 all," and, pulling out a thick roll of Confeder- 
 ate bills, he tossed them over to me. 
 
 " Captain," I said, pushing back the bills, " I 
 don't need money. I only wanted to see if it 
 were possible for a man to order another out 
 to be shot in the afternoon and do him a favor 
 in the evening.'' 
 
AN AMATEUR SOUBEETTE 71 
 
 " My dear sir," he replied, " permit me to 
 apologize for my hasty action. I give yo' the 
 word of a Geowgia gentleman, that had not 
 that delightful little creature interposed I 
 should now deeply regret the execution of my 
 order." 
 
 " You mean my execution." 
 
 " Yo' very good health, sir, and that of the 
 little lady." 
 
 The decanter was empty. Ginger, the ma- 
 jordorao, appeared, assisted the captain up- 
 stairs to one of the main chambers in the cen- 
 tre of the house, then conducted me through a 
 hall to a wing, and ushered me into the apart- 
 ment intended for me. 
 
VII 
 MIDNIGHT 
 
 What faded splendor! All the furniture 
 was mahogany ; the bed, a huge four-poster, 
 canopied ; the bureau high and Avith brass 
 handles to its drawers ; the chairs straight- 
 backed ; from the centre of the ceilino^ huno^ a 
 chandelier of glass pendants. All this antique 
 magnificence was lighted by the single tallow 
 dip which also glistened upon the honest face 
 of Ginger. 
 
 " I hope yo' berry corafolem, sah," said Gin- 
 ger, setting down the candle and turning to 
 depart. 
 
 "No doubt of it. Wait a bit; I want you 
 to tell me to whom this plantation belongs." 
 
 " Gunnel Rutland, sah." 
 
 "Been in this family long?" 
 
 " A thousand years, sah." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " Don't know nothen' 'bout counten' ; spec 
 
MIDNIGHT 73 
 
 it's been in de fanvly mighty long time. Gun- 
 nel Rutland, be inigbty fine genTman, sab. 
 Gunnel Rutland, be own ten bundred t'ousand 
 acres — ^" 
 
 " How many ?" 
 
 " De biggest plantation in all Alabama, sab. 
 Gunnel Rutland be de biggest — " 
 
 " Wait a bit. Ginger. "Wbo is Miss Pink- 
 ley?" 
 
 "Missy Pinkley, sbe migbty fine lady, sab. 
 Missy Pinkley, sbe — " 
 
 " Wbat relation is sbe to Golonel Rutland ?" 
 
 '' Missy Pinkley, sbe war Missy Rutland's 
 sistab, sab. Missy Pinkley, sbe — " 
 
 " Wbere is Mrs. Rutland ?" 
 
 " Missy Rutland, she's daid." 
 
 " Who is Miss Jaqueline ?" 
 
 " Missy Jack, she's de fust 3'oung lady in de 
 Souf, sab. When Missy Jack go to de planters' 
 balls, and de city balls in Huntsville, she tak' 
 all de young men away from de udder young 
 ladies, an' mak' 'em all mad 'nuff to eat her up." 
 
 " Sbe is Golonel Rutland's daughter, I sup- 
 pose ?" 
 
 " Yes, sab. Missy Jack de apple ob Gunnel 
 Rutland's eye, sab. Gunnel Rutland don' care 
 nuffen 'bout nobody but Missy Jack." 
 
74 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " How about you colored people ?" 
 
 " What dat, sail V 
 
 " Do you like Miss Jaqueline ?" 
 
 " Like Missy Jack ! Reckon de culled peo- 
 ple do like Missy Jack. Culled people lub 
 Missy Jack like de angel ob — " 
 
 " Isn't she just a bit hot-tempered V 
 
 "Reckon Missy Jack is hot-tempered, sah. 
 Missy Jack, she got de hottest temper in de 
 whole Souf. Missy Jack, she — " 
 
 " Hold on ; explain why you all love Miss 
 Jack when she has a hot temper and speaks 
 to you so sharply." 
 
 " Laws-a-massy, she don' mean nuffen. Missy 
 Jack, she scol' wid de firebrand in de eye, but 
 she won' let nobody else scol', Yo' ought to 
 see dat gal when Mars'r Bingham — Mars'r 
 Bin^i^ham, he de oberseer — Mars'r Bingham 
 whip de niggers. One day Mars'r Bingham 
 he whip me. I yelled like a killed nigger. 
 Missy Jack, she run out wid her hair a-flying 
 and her eyes a-shinen', and she tak' de whip out 
 o' Mars'r Bingham's ban', an' — golly Moses ! 
 — how she lay it on dat oberseer!" 
 
 "Did he take it kindly?" 
 
 "i7<3 couldn't do nuffen; ef he tech Missy 
 Jack, Gunnel Rutland shoot him. Gunnel Rut- 
 
MIDNIGHT 75 
 
 land, he got de biggest temper, 'cept Missy 
 Jack — ain't nobody got temper lak Missy 
 Jack in — " 
 
 " Any more Rutlands V 
 
 " No, sah. Ain't dat 'nuff — all dem mighty 
 fine people ?" 
 
 " Quite enough. Now you may go, Gin- 
 ger." 
 
 Ginger departed with a frown that I should 
 have called for more such people as the Rut- 
 lands, and somewhat disappointed, I fancied, 
 at not being able to impress me with the mag- 
 nitude of the family temper. I closed the 
 door behind him and locked it. 
 
 " John Branderstane," I said, looking at the 
 dim reflection of my body in one of the great 
 mirrors, "had it not been for that little girl 
 down-stairs your being would now be no more 
 real than that image.' Never have you had 
 so close a call, and you'll never have another 
 so close without it being the last. But you've 
 no time to waste. Your situation will be more 
 critical with the rising sun than it is this min- 
 ute. Something must be done." 
 
 I went to a window. It was at the end of 
 the building. My room was on the second 
 story of tlie house, at no great height from 
 
76 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 the ground. I turned from the window to 
 another facing the rear ; they were all open, 
 for the weather was warm and sultr3^ At 
 this second window was something which at- 
 tracted my attention at once — a tree growing 
 so near that I could easily step into its 
 branches and descend to the ground. 
 
 "Thank Heaven, here is an avenue of es- 
 cape !" 
 
 But my pledge. 
 
 It is questionable if those moral heroes 
 who prefer death to dishonor would choose 
 the former if the alternative were presented 
 as it was to me. Death in the form it awaited 
 me certainlv looked very ugly. If I kept my 
 word and remained till morning my identity 
 was sure to come out. If fortune enabled me 
 to conceal it, if the captain permitted me to 
 go my way, I was sure to fall into the hands 
 of my enemies. By leaving in the night I 
 could give both the slip, and by morning be 
 far away or so disguised that I should not be 
 recognized if found. I might possibly reach 
 the Union lines. 
 
 I had never before broken a pledge ; but I 
 had never before seen certain death starino- 
 me in the face. In the ordinary affairs of life, 
 
MIDNIGHT 77 
 
 I reasoned, one should have a high standard, 
 but in a matter of life or death— Besides, 
 who ever heard of one carrying information 
 in war stopping at a lie or the violation of a 
 pledge ? 
 
 Placing my foot on the sill, I was reaching 
 for a branch of the tree without when I sud- 
 denly stepped back into the room, sat down 
 in a chair, and buried ni}'' face in my hands. 
 A vision of Ethel Stanforth, sweet, gentle, in- 
 nocent, stood before me. As a flash of lio^ht- 
 ning will clear a murky atmosphere, my 
 human reasoning vanished before a divine in- 
 tuition. I could not break my pledge. 
 
 Then I fell to thinking. How difficult it 
 is, after all, to look into the future ; who 
 knows but some new outlet may occur to- 
 morrow ? This captain is a singular man, and 
 no one can tell what whim may seize him 
 next. To-day he ordered me out to be shot ; 
 to-morrow he may send me away from my 
 enemies with an escort to protect me. Then 
 there is little Jaqueline. She has slipped a 
 noose about his neck that he will not easily 
 shake off. She may find a hiding-place for me, 
 or an avenue which will eventually lead to safe- 
 ty. I Avas so pleased with the probabilities I 
 
78 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 conjured up that I got up and walked back 
 and forth, rubbing ray hands with satisfac- 
 tion. 
 
 Fool ! stupid human fool ! The events fate 
 had in store for me were nothing, as my fore- 
 sight had painted. 
 
 I heard a tramp of horses' hoofs coming 
 through the gatewa}''. Going to a front win- 
 dow and looking out, I saw two figures on 
 horseback. It was too dark for me to distin- 
 guish them ; though one was very small, the 
 other seemed to be a woman, for I could see 
 her garments fluttering. They came canter- 
 ing down the roadway to the gallery, and must 
 have dismounted, for soon I heard a knocking. 
 Leaving the chamber, I went through the hall 
 on tiptoe and stood at the head of the great 
 staircase, listening. There were voices below, 
 but I could not tell whose they were. I waited 
 some time for more information, but those 
 who were talking went into another part of 
 the house, and I was obliged to return to my 
 room unsatisfied. I sat down again and re- 
 newed my musings — musings that were not of 
 the pleasantest. 
 
 I had not sat long when two men passed 
 -tmder the window. They were talking in a 
 
MIDNIGHT 79 
 
 low tone. The voice of one was that of a 
 white man, the other that of a negro. The 
 negro said something which was inaudible; 
 then the white man asked : 
 
 "Which wing?" 
 
 " Dar." 
 
 Is not that Jaycox's voice ? It is ; there is 
 no mistaking that harsh growl. AVhat can it 
 mean ? Ah ! I see it all. He expects that I 
 will elude this easy-going captain, and he Avill 
 spread a net for the bird before it flies. Fort- 
 unate ! If I had descended by the tree I 
 should have dropped into his embrace. 
 
 My anxiety was now more intense than 
 ever. The cords were surel}^ drawing about 
 me. 
 
 "Nonsense!" I said to mvself; "I'm losing; 
 my head. True, I'm in a tight place; but 
 tight places are interesting. Men who pos- 
 sess great presence of mind are best fitted to 
 escape great dangers. When the cards run 
 high the coolest wins. I propose to defeat 
 all these conv'^erging enemies by keeping my 
 head. I shall go to bed and get a good sleep. 
 Then on the moiTow I shall be in shape for the 
 fight." 
 
 My resolution, together with the fatigue of 
 
80 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 an eventful day, brought slumber sooner than 
 might have been expected. But I soon awoke, 
 and, having awakened, was wide awake. I sat 
 up in bed. I could look out of the window 
 into the tree which had invited me to descend 
 by its branches. I thought I saw a dark 
 object that did not belong there. The leaves 
 were not far enough advanced to conceal, nor 
 young enough to fully reveal any object hid- 
 den there. The night was not one of the 
 darkest, yet there was a little light — starlight, 
 and no moon. 
 
 " Imaginary terrors !" I muttered. " Go to 
 sleep." 
 
 I lay down, drew the sheet up, tucked it in 
 at the back of my neck, and obeyed the com- 
 mand I had given myself by passing back into 
 slumber. 
 
 I dreamed that I was standing under a great 
 glass receiver, and a man was working a pump 
 to exhaust the air. At every stroke I felt less 
 able to breathe, till at last I was suffocating. 
 I awoke, and was conscious of some one stuffing 
 a cloth into my mouth. I tried to cry out, 
 but could make no sound. Two men stood 
 beside me, one gagging me, while the other 
 began to tie my hands. This done, they 
 
MIDNIGHT 81 
 
 carried me, irapotently writhing, to the win- 
 dow. 
 
 " Bring them clothes, Pete," said one of the 
 men ; " he'll give us away without 'em." 
 
 It's Tom Jaycox ! I'm lost ! 
 
 The man called Pete snatched my clothes 
 and threw them out on the ground below. 
 Then the two began the work of getting me 
 through the window. Jaycox, who had the 
 strength of an ox, seizing my Avrists, while the 
 man behind pushed. They got me out into 
 the limbs of the tree, where, if I continued to 
 struggle, I was in danger, bound hand and 
 foot as I was, of pounding the earth below. I 
 made a virtue of necessity and permitted them 
 to lower me. Once on the ground they hus- 
 tled me to a clump of trees back of the house, 
 where I was unbound, and, covered by the 
 muzzles of two revolvers, forced to put on my 
 clothes. Then they rebound my wrists and 
 ran me behind the barn, where two horses 
 stood ready saddled. Jaycox took me in his 
 steel arms and tossed me on to one of them 
 with as much ease as if I had been a bag of 
 meal. The two men mounted the other horses 
 and we started off, circling around back of the 
 negro huts and under trees to a side gate 
 
 6 
 
82 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 opening on the pike. Once away from the 
 grounds we set off at a gallop. 
 
 Kidnapped ! Now I may save myself any 
 further worry. The inevitable is before me. 
 Before daylight I shall be a dead man. 
 
VIII 
 ON THE PLATEAU 
 
 On, on we sped, under starlight, over stony 
 pike, steel-shod hoofs striking fire on flinty 
 stones, snake fences writhing, trees dancing in 
 a semicircle about those beyond. We dashed 
 over wooden bridges ; we splashed through 
 shallow streams ; we dipped into hollows and 
 tilted over crests, while now and again some 
 startled bird stretched its wings and went 
 whirring into the forest. 
 
 On my right rode Tom Jaycox, holding my 
 bridle-rein, his ugly face turned always towards 
 me. Every crime-moulded feature — his cold, 
 steel eye, his knitted, overhanging brows, 
 spoke one word: " Vengeance !" On the other 
 side galloped a man, long, lean, hungry, grind- 
 ing uneasily on a quid. I did not know his 
 name, but memory brought me a picture of 
 that same face lighted by shot-guns flashing 
 in the night. 
 
84 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 Our breakneck speed lasted till we had put 
 some miles between us and the plantation, 
 then we slackened our pace and wallced our 
 panting horses till the}^ had partl}^ recovered 
 their wind, then struck a trot. It was imma- 
 terial to me at what gait we moved, I thought 
 only of my approaching end. Surely it could 
 not be far distant. Why did it not come 
 at once? A pistol-ball, a club — anything is 
 enough to take a life. Then I shuddered 
 as the thought struck me that I was to be 
 kept for a more lingering death. 
 
 We were passing between a range of hills 
 on our left and the Cumberland plateau on our 
 riofht when Javcox drew rein and we all came 
 to a halt. There was a sound of horses' hoofs 
 behind, coming at a brisk canter; but no soon- 
 er had we stopped than the sounds ceased. 
 Both the men listened until all was silent, then 
 Jay cox started on. 
 
 " All right, Pete," he said. " Whoever it is 
 has either stopped or left the road." 
 
 " Some un goen' home late, I reckon." 
 
 We proceeded on our way, but had gone 
 scarcely a quarter of a mile when we again 
 heard the hoof-beats in our rear. Again we 
 pulled up and listened. 
 
ON THE PLATEAU 85 
 
 " By gosh, Tom," said Pete, "thet beats me!" 
 
 "Shet up!" 
 
 Both listened, waiting to hear the sounds 
 renewed, but as they were not we started on. 
 For the second time the hoof-beats recom- 
 menced, and this time a little nearer. 
 
 " We must git outen this," said Jaycox. 
 "Let's take to the hills here instead o' furder 
 on." 
 
 Turning to the right Ave passed through tim- 
 ber, beginning a gradual ascent of the plateau. 
 Jaycox rode ahead, holding my bridle-rein, 
 while Pete followed, revolver in hand. 
 
 Who were on the road I knew no more than 
 my abductors, but as a drowning man will 
 catch at a straw I cast about for some method 
 of letting them know of our digression. Bend- 
 ing low in the saddle, I peered through the 
 gloom, watching for something with which to 
 produce sound, for my gag prevented my 
 shouting, and a shout would have brought 
 punishment. Coming upon a flat rock, by a 
 pressure of the knees I guided my horse over 
 it, but it was too firmly imbedded to be moved. 
 Soon after I encountered another, right on the 
 edge of the trail. Digging my heels into my 
 horse's flanks and throwing my body out of 
 
86 SWEET KEVEXGE 
 
 equilibrium I forced him to prance. A vigor- 
 ous pull on my bridle-rein by Jaycox saved 
 him from going over the inchne, carrying me 
 with him. But I had accomplished my pur- 
 pose, I heard the stone go crashing down the 
 mountain. 
 
 " You infernal dog," cried the man in the 
 rear, " ef yer do thet agin I'll run a knife 
 atwixt yer shoulders !" 
 
 " Ef he does 't agin yer needn't trouble yer- 
 self to stick him ; the fall ud finish him." 
 
 Higher, higher, we mounted, farther from 
 the dark plain below, upon which here and 
 there shone a lonely light ; nearer to the 
 patches of fleece in the heavens, and the stars 
 looking down from above. Then came a faint 
 light in the sky and a gray tinge over the 
 country below. Woods, streams, fields, houses, 
 barns, grew out of the darkness. The light 
 broadened, there were gilded clouds in the 
 east, the sun cast its first beams over the 
 heights and upon the landscape below. We 
 had reached the upper level ; w^e were on the 
 plateau. 
 
 Espying a log-house ahead, the men consult- 
 ed, and determined to try for some breakfast. 
 They took the gag out of my mouth, and as 
 
ON THE PLATEAU 
 
 soon as I was free to speak, anxious to be at 
 once put beyond suffering and the terrible sus- 
 pense of an impending murder, I cried : 
 
 "You dogs! you cowards! vou're ffoino^ 
 to kill me ! ^^^hy do you delay ?" 
 
 They looked at each other knowingly and 
 grinned — a horrible, soulless grin, 
 
 " D' y' reckon yer goen' to git ter heaven 
 without payen' fo' th' damage y' done?'' 
 snarled Jaycox, with an ugly light in his eye. 
 
 "Ah, that's your game !" 
 
 " We know you uns ter be as well fixed fo' 
 property as any young man in Tennessee. An' 
 we're goen' to hev a slice too. But yer needn't 
 reckon thet's goen' ter save y'. Yer got ter 
 shell out, 'n then — " His look told the rest. 
 
 " Give me one shot with mv back against a 
 tree, and I'll fight two such cowards as you." 
 
 " Shet up !" snapped Jaycox, showing his 
 teeth within a foot of my face, and with a 
 glance like that of an angry bulldog. Then, 
 riding up to the entrance of the hut, he shout- 
 ed : 
 
 " Hello thar !" 
 
 An old woman came to the door with an 
 iron spoon in her hand. 
 
 " Wall, what's wanted ?" 
 
88 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " Snack." 
 
 "Hain't got nothen' but pone." 
 
 " Got any cofiFee ?" 
 
 "Coffee? D' y' reckon Abe Lincoln's goen' 
 ter let us hev coffee away up in these moun- 
 tings, when they hain't got none down in th' 
 towns? I got a yarb '11 do purty wal, 
 though." 
 
 My captors dismounted, breakfasted, then 
 arranged for a short nap, one watching Avhile 
 the other slept. Jaycox first sprawled him- 
 self on the ground, and was asleep in a twink- 
 ling, while his comrade sat staring at me with, 
 his gun ready cocked. I knew that if I made 
 the slightest movement with a view to escape 
 he would shoot me. Occasionally he looked 
 impatiently at a handsome gold watch — doubt- 
 less taken in spoil — as if anxious for the expi- 
 ration of his hour of duty. Towards the last 
 he nodded. I was near some low bushes and 
 began to roll towards them. He awoke w4th 
 a start, and, quick as a flash, brought his gun 
 to his shoulder. 
 
 " Yo' hound !" 
 
 Jaycox opened his eyes, and, seeing a mur- 
 derous look in his companion's face, and a gun 
 right over his foot pointed at me, kicked the 
 
ON THE PLATEAU 89 
 
 weapon upward, discharging it, thus doubt- 
 less for the time saving ray life. 
 
 This finished the first watch, and Ja3"cox 
 took his turn, admonishing me that if I tried 
 the experiment again he would tie me up by 
 the thumbs. I dreaded this torture, and gave 
 him no cause to enforce it ; besides, he kept 
 awake during his entire watch. 
 
 The men having secured the needed rest, we 
 broke our bivouac, Ja3xox loosened the horses, 
 and his companion kept me covered with his 
 gun while I mounted. xVs I put my foot in the 
 stirrup I happened to glance aside and saw 
 two horsemen approaching. In a moment I 
 recoo:nized Buck Stanforth and Ginger. Ilow 
 they came to be there was a mystery. I only 
 knew they were there, and rejoiced. At seeing 
 me Buck was about to give a shout, when he 
 bethought himself that such a proceeding 
 might be fatal, and regained his composure 
 just as his presence was discovered. Ginger 
 showed no signs of recognition whatever. I 
 shot a quick glance at Jaycox, to see if he rec- 
 oirnized the negro. To mv relief he did not 
 appear to know either Buck or Ginger. 
 
 " Say, yo' men," called Back, " can we get 
 somepin to eat hyar ?*' 
 
90 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 " Ef thar's any vittels left," said Jaycox, 
 " What you uns doen' out this time o' day V 
 
 " Oh," said Buck — I trembled lest his wits 
 should desert him at a critical moment — " I'm 
 taken' this nigger to his new master. He's 
 sold." 
 
 " Yer a peart 'un ter deliver a nigger ; reck- 
 on he don't mind goen' witli yer." 
 
 Buck and Ginger dismounted as we depart- 
 ed, I was obliged to part with them without 
 being: able to utter a word or make a sign. 
 Still their presence gave me hope. Hope ! 
 What could a simple negro and a boy do to 
 rescue me from two stalwart brutes who were 
 watching me like cats? 
 
 All day we moved northward, the men rid- 
 ing close beside me, now and again turning 
 their ugly faces towards me with a grin of 
 satisfaction, or a scowl when I did or said 
 anything to displease them, often bending 
 close to me, sickening me with their rank to- 
 bacco-smelling: breaths or the worse odor of 
 their unwashed bodies. We met no one. The 
 only comfort I derived was from the natural 
 objects of the mountains. A red fox stole 
 away under cover, a chipmunk, fearless and 
 free, sat on a log, looking at us curiously as 
 
ON THE PLATEAU 91 
 
 we passed. A budding wild rose brushed 
 ray boot ; it was like the kiss of a loving 
 companion. Even the twittering birds seemed 
 to be offering sympathy. 
 
 Towards evening, as the sun stood just 
 above the horizon, a dull red ball, a shad- 
 ow resting on the lower landscape, one of 
 my captors gave a whoop. It Avas answered 
 by a man ahead, and in a moment a dozen 
 more started from about a camp-fire. 
 
 " Got him ?" yelled the foremost of the 
 group. 
 
 " Yo' bet !"' 
 
 With a cheer every man sprang for his gun. 
 
 " Hold on thar !" roared Jaycox, with his 
 bull's voice. " Don't yer be fo'gettin' we're 
 goen' ter be paid fo' our losses fust." 
 
 A man b}'^ no means as repulsive as the rest, 
 slenderly built, with a wxak mouth, long, 
 black hair, and a beard through which shone 
 a tinge of color on his cheek, stepped to 
 the front as with authority, and it was soon 
 evident that he w\as in command. He in- 
 quired about certain of the gang who were 
 lurking about Huntsville. Jaycox mentioned 
 the name " Ike," though I could not hear what 
 he said, w^iereupon the captain turned and 
 
92 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 glanced at me. I inferred that Ike was the 
 man who had tried to kill me, and whom I 
 had killed for his pains. Then the captain 
 and Jaycox went into a thicket near by, evi- 
 dently for consultation, and were followed by 
 the others, while I remained behind, still sit- 
 ting on my horse, and watched by Pete, who 
 stood on the ground, a great gaunt figure, one 
 hand holding the bridle-rein of his horse as 
 he nipped the grass, the other grasping a 
 cocked revolver. He was looking at me from 
 under his faded sombrero, his eyes peering 
 into mine malignantly, his jaws grinding on 
 his quid, the juice of which soiled the corners 
 of his mouth. I could not endure to look at 
 him, and turned towards the landscape below. 
 The sun had set ; it was the beginning of 
 night. Was it not the beginning for me of 
 the eternal night? 
 
IX 
 
 FIENDS 
 
 It was plain to me that I was in the hands 
 of that terrible war-time scourge of the South, 
 the guerrilla. This band had been made up 
 in East Tennessee, and had moved out of their 
 original stamping-ground to get away from 
 their old homes, and find a better field for 
 pillage. From the Cumberland plateau they 
 could swoop down towards Xashville, Mur- 
 freesborough, McMinnville, Shelbyville, Fay- 
 ette, or Huntsville, and, if chased, could easily 
 take to the mountains, where it was difficult 
 to follow them. On one of their forays Tom 
 Jaycox and Pete Halliday had got wind of 
 my whereabouts, and, with several of the gang, 
 including the man I had shot, had gone down 
 to look after rae. The country in and about 
 Huntsville was too civilized for open assassi- 
 nation, and Jaycox, after the failure of the 
 attempt on my life, had procured my arrest 
 
94 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 as a spy. Then followed the plan to kidnap 
 me and force me into a pa^'^ment of money 
 before the final revenge. 
 
 We bivouacked where we had met the band 
 on the plateau, under the trees that waved 
 above us, their sprouting leaves lighted up by 
 our camp-fire. I lay awake the greater part 
 of the night, watching for an opportunity to 
 escape, but one sentry after another was placed 
 over me, and morning came without my hav- 
 ing made the attempt. 
 
 At sunrise we moved northward as on the 
 day before, my captors still keeping a strict 
 watch over me. During the day Ja3'^cox 
 pushed on in advance ; why, 1 did not know, 
 but surmised that his going had something to 
 do with the plan to plunder me. 
 
 The mountains seemed deserted. Not a 
 human being did we see save two women 
 and a negro, all on horseback, travelling in 
 the same direction as ourselves. I caught 
 several glimpses of them, though always at 
 a distance, and wondered how it was that 
 " poor white trash," to which class they ap- 
 peared to belong, could afford the attendance 
 of a slave. 
 
 When we halted for the night, which we 
 
FIENDS 95 
 
 did about five o'clock in the afternoon, the 
 captain came up to me and told me they were 
 going to take me to a point near my old home, 
 Knoxville, where I would be required to sign 
 a check for a large amount — all they could 
 squeeze out of me ; but if there were not suffi- 
 cient funds to my credit in the bank, I must 
 execute papers that would enable him to con- 
 vert property into money. If I would do as 
 he wished he would set me free. This I knew" 
 to be a lie ; the gang would find a pretext to 
 murder me whether I signed the document or 
 not. 
 
 He left me sitting on the ground, leaning 
 against a log, contemplating the horrors of my 
 situation. If I did not pay my ransom I 
 should be murdered ; if I paid it I should be 
 murdered ; it was Hobson's choice. I made 
 up my mind that I would attempt to escape, 
 get shot, and thus end a situation that was in- 
 flicting on me a mental torture far greater 
 than any physical pain mortal ever endured. 
 
 Casting my eyes inadvertently towards the 
 road, I saw two women passing northward, 
 and in another moment recognized them as 
 those I had noticed on the march. To my sur- 
 prise, one of them turned and rode towards us ; 
 
96 SWEET REV^ENGE 
 
 the other hesitated, started on, turned, and 
 followed her companion. I noticed something 
 familiar about their figures. The coarse text- ' 
 ure of their jackets and gowns, and their un- 
 becoming sunbonnets were out of keeping 
 with their graceful carriage. " If these women 
 knew," I thought, "that they w^ere entering a 
 guerrilla camp they would be stricken with 
 terror.'' When they reached a point a dozen 
 yards distant they paused, the one in advance 
 calling, in a harsh voice : 
 
 " Can you uns tell us how fa' 'tis t' Tracy ?" 
 Then, beneath the homely check bonnet, 
 through the olive darkening of her complex- 
 ion, under the cheap calico, I recognized 
 Helen Stanforth. Her quadroon companion 
 was none other than my fascinating little 
 friend who had saved rae from the impetuous 
 wrath of Captain Beaumont — Jaqueline Rut- 
 land. 
 
 Had a pair of angels come down from 
 heaven and lit on my shoulders I could not 
 have been more astonished. I rubbed my 
 eyes, thinking that my vision deceived me ; but 
 when I looked again there was Helen sittino: 
 on her horse, chatting with the guerrillas as if 
 they were ordinary persons, making common- 
 
FIENDS 97 
 
 place remarks in excellent dialect, with which 
 a lonof residence near the mountains had made 
 her familiar. Jaqueline remained a short 
 distance behind her. For a while I feared 
 that Jaqueline would betray them both, 
 for I could see that she was trembling. But 
 presently all terror seemed to leave her. She 
 rode up beside Helen and began to chaff the 
 men, at once attracting the attention of the 
 whole band. 
 
 " Yo're a likely gal," said one of them. " Git 
 down offen that critter and stay awhile." 
 
 " Couldn't think on 't." 
 
 " Oh yes, y' kin." And he walked up and 
 took hold of her bridle-rein. 
 
 "Yo' Jim Canfield," cried the captain, "let 
 that gyrl alone !" 
 
 The captain advanced and invited the two 
 visitors to alight, promising that they should 
 be respected. Jaqueline gave him a grateful 
 look as he helped her off her horse with far 
 more gallantry than might have been expected 
 from the leader of this gang of ruffians. In- 
 deed, there was something in his bearing to 
 make me suspect that this bandit captain — 
 Ringold they called him, though I suspect the 
 name was assumed — was an unworthy mem- 
 
98 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 ber of some good Southern f;unil3^ who had 
 disgraced himself Avith his peers and become a 
 leader of those w^ho were, hke himself, devoid 
 of principle, but in other ways his inferiors. 
 Jaqueline must have divined as much, for no 
 sooner was she on terra firma than she slipped 
 her arm through his and clung to him confid- 
 ingly. Pete Halliday, who seemed to be the 
 next member of the band in importance after 
 the captain, awkwardly attempted to gain 
 some mark of her favor, but Jaqueline, with 
 woman's quick intuition, knew that if any one 
 was to be relied on it Avas Ringold, and de- 
 clined attention from any other. 
 
 " Who ar' yo' ? Whar did yo' come from ? 
 What yo' doen' hyar?" she asked, in her usual 
 quick way. " Hain't yo' goen' t' join our boys 
 'n' fight fo' th' ' Bonny Blue Flag'f 
 
 The captain looked a bit uncomfortable, and, 
 as she had asked several questions to which a 
 reply w^ould be in order, he replied to none. 
 
 "Can't yo' sing the 'Bonny Blue Flag' fo' 
 'em, Jack ?" asked Helen. " Reckon yo'd like 
 ter hear her," she added to the group ; " she's 
 right smart at singen'." 
 
 "Reckon," said Jack. "D' y' want ter 
 hear 't ?" 
 
FIENDS 99 
 
 The men were too stupid, or, rather, had not 
 the politeness, to say they did. They stood and 
 gaped. Jack, who I could easily see, under 
 her enforced gayety, was badly frightened, 
 made a desperate effort and began to sing, but 
 her voice was so thin and trembling that I 
 thought every moment slie would break down. 
 However, when she came to the last stanza she 
 had regained something of confidence, and. 
 ended the song pretty well. 
 
 She had scarcely finished when we heard a 
 picking of banjo strings. I looked up and saw 
 a boy and a negro advancing towards us. I 
 was not long in recognizing Buck and Ginger, 
 the latter thrumming the instrument as he 
 came on. 
 
 "AVhars a house fo' t' git supper?" called 
 the boy. 
 
 " Dunno ; hunt yer own supper," replied one 
 of the men. 
 
 " Hain't you uns got nothen' thar V spar' ?" 
 " Reckon ; but we hain't goen' ter spar' 't." 
 Buck started towards the camp, and Ginger 
 followed him. 
 
 " I'm a-taken'this nigger t' Spart}^; he's sold." 
 " Hain't y' got that nigger off en yo' hands 
 yit ?" called Pete Halliday. 
 
100 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 Buck looked at the speaker in assumed sur- 
 prise. " Wal, now, you uns mus' be tli' men we 
 met yistid'y Hain't yo' got yo' man offen yo' 
 iiands yit ?" 
 
 A grin passed over the faces of the men. 
 
 "Don't yer mind 'bout that man," replied 
 Pete Halliday, " er yer'll git inter trouble." 
 
 "Whar does the nigger b'long?" asked the 
 captain. 
 
 " I'm taken' him ter Sparty." 
 
 " Y' don't keep him under close watch," said 
 Pete. 
 
 " Oh, he hain't no runaway nigger. He's 
 got me in charge 's much 's I got him. He's 
 b'longed to the fambly since befo' I was 
 borned." 
 
 By this time the travellers had reached the 
 camp. Buck's intelligent face contrasting with 
 the stupid look which the negro was assum- 
 ing. 
 
 The man who cooked for the band was 
 busying himself preparing supper. With one 
 accord the two girls took hold to help him. 
 He at once dropped his implements and gave 
 way, while all stood gaping at the unusual 
 sight of two women who, unasked, were cook- 
 ing a meal for them. Helen occupied herself 
 
FIENDS 101 
 
 over the fire and managed an iron sicillet— the 
 only coolcing utensil in camp — as dexterously 
 as a chef. Jack took the tin dishes that com- 
 posed the kit and "set the table," an act hith- 
 erto unknown at guerrilla meals. Then, when 
 supper Avas read}-^, they insisted upon waiting 
 on the men. No one objected to this save the 
 captain, who, by his protest, a second time in- 
 dicated that he had seen better days and knew 
 something of deference to women. 
 
 The meal ended, the girls insisted on wash- 
 ing the dishes. When there was no more 
 work to do. Jack sang out : 
 
 " Clar th' way, you uus, 'n I'll give yo' a 
 dance !" 
 
X 
 A DANCE FOR A LIFE 
 
 The proposition was received with shouts 
 of approval. 
 
 " Yo' don't mean yo' kin dance ?" 
 
 "Keckon." 
 
 " Good gal ! Clar th' way fo' a dance !" 
 
 " Yo' nigger, tune that banjo ! 'T's lucky 
 fo' yo' y' got 't, strings 'n' all, er we'd 'a' made 
 strings outen yer hide." 
 
 The camp was on a circular piece of hard 
 ground so cut off from tlie sun by surrounding 
 trees and bushes that no grass grew. The few 
 scattered sprouts were soon cleared away ; 
 Ginger sat down on the log which lay near 
 by, twanged his banjo, tightening or loosening 
 a string, and then gave a preliminary flourish. 
 
 Jaqueline took off her sunbonnet, threw it 
 a few feet away, and stepped on to the clear- 
 ing. There was mingled fear and defiance in 
 her face that set mv heart to fluttering. 
 
A DANCE FOR A LIFE 103 
 
 Though I did not know she was carrying- out 
 a jDreconcerted plan, somehow it got into my 
 head that she was about to dance for my hberty 
 — in other Avords, for my life. The thought 
 maddened me. An impulse seized me to throw 
 off the mask and defy the whole band. Helen, 
 seeing the desperate resolve expressed in my 
 face, gave me a look, partly imploring, partl}^ 
 commanding, that recalled me to a sense of 
 my helplessness. 
 
 Jaqueline began sailing about, keeping 
 time to Ginger's music, moving hither and 
 thither with uncertain steps, as a bird will flit 
 back and forth before darting away in its 
 flight, or as a musician will sweep his fingers 
 over a harp before beginning his melody. 
 Gradually the music grew quicker, and Jack, 
 gathering confidence, forgot everything but 
 the dance. 
 
 Since the entry of the two girls into the 
 camp I had suffered one terror after another 
 in quick succession, and now it struck me 
 that in case Jack succeeded in fascinating this 
 lawless group, some of them, fired with a desire 
 of possession, would break through all restraint. 
 I had been wonder-struck that two defence- 
 less mrls should dare to come anions' them. 
 
104 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 and now I was stupefied that Jack should 
 dance before them and that Helen should per- 
 mit her to do so. But who shall measure the 
 strength of woman's Aveakness? Mother Nat- 
 ure had taught Jack and Helen their power, 
 and they went about their work with not a 
 tithe of the fright that possessed me. 
 
 Meanwhile Jaqueline had drifted into the 
 dance, and was whirling, bending, floating, ev- 
 ery muscle alive Avith its especial motion. At 
 times she would lull, poise herself for a mo- 
 ment, then, like a fitful wind, start again with 
 renewed fervor. At no time could there be 
 discovered aught but delicate refinement in 
 her movements, and now it Avas her pur- 
 pose to attract Avithout exciting her specta- 
 tors. Stimulated by frequent bursts of ap- 
 plause and by the rapt attention of the men 
 surrounding her, she found her main in- 
 centive in a far deeper, nobler motive — feeling, 
 as she did, the critical situation, the dread re- 
 sponsibility for a human life resting upon 
 her. 
 
 "What a singular scene? The ring of ugly 
 faces momentarily softened by the sight of 
 grace and beauty ; the captain, his sharp 
 face turninir with the dancer and following 
 
A DANCE FOK A LIFE 105 
 
 her wherever she goes ; Pete Halliday, stand- 
 ing with folded arms, lowering from under the 
 broad brim of his sombrero, grinding his quid ; 
 Ginger's black face gleaming with pride at 
 furnishing the music for his young mistress, 
 inspiring her with his own inspired melody; 
 little Buck, standing between two lank guer- 
 rillas in " butternut," staring at his cousin, 
 and forgetful of her danger in his interest in 
 her work ; Helen Stanforth, standing apart, her 
 strong face wearing the expression of a general 
 who watches a cavalry charge intended to turn 
 a position on which hangs the fate of the day. 
 The guerrillas, not one of whom would hes- 
 itate to slit a throat at the slightest prospect 
 of gain, were watching the little soubrette, 
 not only with admiration but with respect. 
 Once during her performance one of the men 
 applauded with a ribald remark. He was 
 standing by the captain, who stretched his 
 arm, brought it down with a backward stroke, 
 and sent the man sprawling. Jaqueline saw 
 the act and the approving looks of the out- 
 laws, who Avere in no mood to have their 
 sport interrupted. The color left her cheeks, 
 but she kept right on, and the episode passed 
 without farther consequences. 
 
106 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 At a moment when the attention of the 
 men had become riveted upon the dancer, 
 Plelen, who had been gradually working her 
 way from the group towards me, came and 
 sat down on the log behind Ginger, Avhere she 
 was partially screened by him. Watching her 
 opportunity, she deftly took a revolver from 
 her pocket and concealed it in the folds of 
 her dress. With her eyes fixed upon the 
 group about Jack, she waited for a burst of 
 applause, and Avhen it came, reaching back 
 she dropped the weapon behind the log at my 
 feet ; then, rising, rejoined the circle. I pushed 
 the revolver under the log with the toe of my 
 boot, then kicked dust and leaves over it. 
 This accomplished, I breathed the most com- 
 fortable sigh of relief I have ever drawn in 
 my life. The whole situation seemed changed 
 by that little dust-covered combination of bits 
 of metal. Stooping, I shpped it into the leg 
 of my boot, and felt that half the battle was 
 won. 
 
 At that moment the setting sun came out 
 from behind a cloud and shot lances of light 
 through the trees, covering the group — the 
 beautiful and the ugly, the good and the bad, 
 the refined and the vulgar — with gilded splen- 
 
A DANCE FOR A LIFE 107 
 
 dor. I saw but Jaqueline. The usual fitful- 
 ness of lier disposition, her natural expression 
 of careless indifference, had given place to a se- 
 rious intensity denoting a great purpose. Pois- 
 ing herself between two movements, the gild- 
 ing rays shone on her forehead. Then dart- 
 ing on her toes to another part of the ring, a 
 quick succession of lights and shades passed 
 over her brow — a glittering- diadem of sun- 
 flashes. Truly God is a wonderful artist, since 
 He can touch even a dance Avitli celestial pu- 
 rity. 
 
 Helen Stanforth turned to me. PulIinfT' her 
 
 c> 
 
 sunbonnet forward so as to conceal her face 
 from the others — though the}'" were too intent 
 on Jaqueline to notice her — she moved her 
 lips, and though no sound came I knew she 
 intended the word : 
 
 "Go!" 
 
 ISTear me was a tree ; not far from that 
 another ; underbrush, bushes — just the cover 
 through which to make a retreat. I could 
 easily get down behind the log,^ crawl into the 
 thicket, and awa3\ Now for the first time the 
 purpose of dear little Jaqueline was full}^ ap- 
 parent. 
 
 But how could I leave these friends who bad 
 
108 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 risked so much, accomplished so much, for me ? 
 I stood still and shook my head. 
 
 Ao:ain Helen looked an order for me to ofo. 
 
 " I^ot without the others," I whispered. 
 
 Sittino: down on the log- so as to be nearer 
 to me, she replied, in a low voice : 
 
 "We will leave here when you are safely 
 away. She will dance on to keep them from 
 knowing you have gone. We have planned 
 it so." 
 
 " They will know you connived at ray escape 
 and murder you." 
 
 "Why should they? Go at once, or I shall 
 consider you an ingrate." 
 
 She looked so anxious, they had all made 
 such a noble eifort in my behalf, that I could 
 not find it in my heart to disappoint them. 
 
 I slipped behind the tree, dropped to the 
 ground, and wriggled like a snake through the 
 underbrush ; then, rising, darted away. 
 
 A dozen yards — fifty — a hundred. The 
 music of Ginger's banjo dies as suddenly as the 
 clang of a bell on a passing engine. Will one 
 minute or five pass before I am missed ? A 
 distant burst of applause — God bless the dear 
 little dancer ! Before me is an open space, then 
 a dense clump of trees. If I can reach that 
 
A DANCPJ FOR A LIFE 109 
 
 thicket I can make a quick digression, and this 
 ma}^ throw my pursuers off my track. 
 
 A confusion of yells — a bullet whistling by 
 my ear. I reach the wood and push on through 
 it, not daring to lose distance by digression 
 with an enemy close behind me. My feet 
 becoming' entanoled in a vine, I stumble and 
 fall. A weight comes down on me, crushing 
 the breath out of me. It is all over. 
 
 Panting, bleeding, white as a ghost, I am 
 led back to the guerrilla camp. 
 
 " Shoot him !" 
 
 " Gimme a rope oifen that pack-mule!" 
 
 " Tie him on a critter *n' send him down the 
 mounting !" 
 
 A babel of brutal suggestions came from the 
 different members of the band, sounding to 
 me, stunned as I was, like final random shots 
 at the slaughter of a " forlorn hope." Amid 
 the clamor I saw but one sight — Helen and 
 Jack locked in each other's arms, paraWzed 
 with terror. 
 
 "Stand back, men!" cried the captain, push- 
 ing his way towards me. " Have y' forgot the 
 money ?" 
 
 " Stand back !" roared Halliday. " He be- 
 longs to me 'n' Tom Jaycox. We tuk him." 
 
.110 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 The captain's authorit}', thus supported, 
 saved me from immediate death. The men 
 who were crowding around me gave way, a 
 cord was brought, and my wrists and ankles 
 were securely bound. No one seemed to sus- 
 pect that Jack's dance had anything to do with 
 my flight, except that I had taken advantage 
 of the relaxed vigilance to make the attempt. 
 Having tied me, the}^ threw me to the ground, 
 Halliday giving me a parting kick ; a man Avas 
 deputed to watch me, and the band, accus- 
 tomed to such episodes, left me, to turn again 
 to what was far more interesting to them. 
 
STEALING THE GTJNS 
 
 Jaquelixe once more became an object 
 of undivided interest. The men crowded 
 about her, staring at her, uttering exclama- 
 tions of admiration, vainly seeking a way 
 to do her honor. Presently they cut sap- 
 linffs, out of which thev constructed a rude 
 chair, decorating it with twigs, and one ill- 
 favored bandit, to whom nature had impart- 
 ed a spark of art, gathered Avild flowers with 
 which to put on finishing touches. When the 
 seat was completed, the men looked awkward- 
 ly at Jack, and the captain, presenting the 
 tips of his fingers, led her to her improvised 
 throne. Helen, Avho at the first sign that I 
 was to be temporarily spared had recovered 
 her equanimit}" and had infused some of her 
 restored courage into Jack, saw at once the 
 advantage of keeping up her cousin's popu- 
 larity. Seizing some of the flowers, she Avove 
 
112 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 them on a framework of green twigs into a 
 circular garland, and insisted on crowning the 
 favorite — not Queen of May, for Ma}^ had not 
 yet come, but queen of a month far more ap- 
 propriate — April. 
 
 Bv this time night had come on, a roarino; 
 fire was lighted, and the guerrillas, forming a 
 ring of which Jack was the gem, threw them- 
 selves on the ground and listened to her chat, 
 her songs, her stories, their lirelighted faces 
 standing out of the gloom in grim contrast 
 with her refined beauty. The captain, with 
 his superior breeding, served as a link between 
 her and his men, keeping them in check and 
 stimulating their admiration by his own. If 
 Jack flagged for a moment between her stories 
 and her songs Helen was quick to suggest new 
 ones, and occasionally both were relieved by 
 little Buck, who Avould throw in some quaint 
 remark typical of that peculiar creature — the 
 American boy. 
 
 So long as the songs and stories lasted there 
 was nothing to precipitate trouble, but the en- 
 tertainment could not go on all night, and I 
 began to dread the moment when the girls 
 should attempt to take their departure. Pres- 
 ently Helen, in a firm voice, said : 
 
STEALING THE GUNS 113 
 
 " Come, it's time for us to go.'' 
 
 Shouts of "No!" "A dance!" "A song!" 
 greeted the proposition, and the guerrillas be- 
 gan to form in groups to resist an exit. Helen, 
 selecting the noisiest knot of men, drew a revol- 
 ver from her pocket, and, cocking it, moved 
 towards them with her eyes fixed upon them, 
 calm and stead\^ Whether it Avas that they 
 were cowed by the weapon, or admired this 
 evidence of woman's pluck, they opened a way. 
 The captain, seizing the opportunity, quick- 
 ly took Jack by the hand and led her after 
 her cousin. Once beyond the ring, he as- 
 sisted the girls to mount, then, mounting 
 himself, the three rode away, followed by a 
 cheer. As for me, I breathed one long sigh 
 of relief. 
 
 " "Well, Ginger," said Buck, " reckon ef we 
 uns 're gocn' to git to Sparty to-morrer we'll 
 have to travel all night." 
 
 " Is th' nigger taken' you to Sparty or air 
 you taken' the nigger?" asked one of the men. 
 
 " Dat ain't gwine to mak' no differ," said 
 Ginger. " Mars' Buck 'n' 1 don' never hab no 
 trouble. Mars' Buck, he's my mars' till I gits 
 to de new one." 
 
 Buck led his horse to the log and mounted, 
 
114 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 giving me a significant look, as much as to say, 
 " I won't desert you," then rode away, follow- 
 ed by Ginger, with the remark : 
 
 " Good-bye, yo' fellers; much 'bliged fo' the 
 good time." 
 
 The restraint of the girls' presence being no 
 longer felt, the men's behavior changed in a 
 twinkling. The captain's absence left Pete 
 Halliday — the worst man in the gang — free 
 to foment trouble, and he began to do so by 
 sneering at his chief for being brought, as 
 he expressed it, under petticoat government. 
 There appeared to be two factions in the band 
 — the one headed b}^ Halliday or Jaycox, the 
 other by Captain Ringold. Halliday set 
 about instigating the guerrillas, or, rather, his 
 adherents, to go after Helen and Jack, and 
 brinir them back for another dance. To make 
 matters worse, one of the men found some ap- 
 ple-jack, and it was not long before the gang 
 w^ere half drunk. Meanwhile the captain re- 
 turned, and received a hearty cursing from 
 Halliday and his adherents. Several of them 
 started to bring back the girls, but Ringold 
 drew upon them and threatened to shoot them 
 unless they returned. They staggered back, 
 grumbling, and the captain adroitly proposed 
 
STEALING THE GUNS 115 
 
 another pull at the apple-jack. This di- 
 verted them, and, after finishing the liquor, 
 one after another sank into a drunken slum- 
 ber. 
 
 It. was midnight. Every member of the 
 band was asleep, save the man who was de- 
 puted to guard me. He was sitting on a piece 
 of fire-wood, so placed that he could watch me 
 across the flame. I lay on my back looking 
 up at the stars and feather-like clouds that 
 now and again floated across the great blue 
 dome, — the only motion apparent, save the 
 tree-tops bending under an occasional breeze. 
 The fire flickered, the guard nodded, an owl 
 in the distance gave an occasional hoot. 
 
 I heard something stir in the underbrush. 
 Glancino: aside, I saw a small light disk over 
 a bush. It was the face of little Buck. 
 
 Now, in the name of all the gods, will those 
 devoted friends never oive over riskin"' tlieir 
 lives in these useless attempts i What is to 
 happen now ? I scowled an order to the boy 
 to go away, but he paid no attention to it. 
 Somethina: came slidins' alouii- the o^round and 
 lodged against me. The guard heard it, start- 
 ed, cast a quick glance at me, then about him, 
 but, seeing nothing, relapsed into his former 
 
116 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 quietude. I felt for what had struck me, and 
 clasped a jack-knife. 
 
 Meanwhile Buck disappeared, but, soon ap- 
 pearing again in his place, held up a carbine. 
 He had doubtless stolen it from one of the men 
 who slept on the edge of the circle about the 
 lire. Again he disappeared, and I watched 
 eagerly for his return. The guard was still 
 awake, though nodding, but had he been more 
 watchful he would not likely have discovered 
 Buck, for the underbrush, both where the boy 
 appeared to me and where it skirted the sleep- 
 ing guerrillas, was so thick that in passing 
 around the camp he was coraparativ^ely safe 
 from observation. Besides, for most of the 
 distance Buck traversed in his gun foray the 
 guard's back was towards him. 
 
 I Avatch the point where Buck's head ap- 
 peared, expecting to see it again, but in its 
 stead presently see two white points. Strain- 
 ing my eyes, 1 discern the whites of two e3'es, 
 then a black face. 
 
 It is Ginger. 
 
 A white hne appears directly below the 
 e3'es, and I know Ginger is showing his teeth 
 in a smile. He raises his arm, and, behold ! 
 another gun. Again a white line of teeth. 
 
STEALING THE GUNS 117 
 
 and he puts the weapon down. Five, ten, fif- 
 teen minutes elapse. Ginger holds his ground. 
 Has he gone to sleep? No. Another five 
 minutes, and he holds np another gun. Ah, I 
 see ;' little Buck, with cat-like tread, is gath- 
 ering^ in the arms. That's well ; he is far bet- 
 ter fitted for such delicate work than a stiff 
 old negro. 
 
 This little pantomime begins to take shape 
 in my mind, and brings anticipations of more 
 than a fight for my own life. If I can escape, 
 and Buck and Ginger secure sufficient arms, 
 it may be possible for all our party to get 
 together and make a defence. I must tell 
 Ginger to get some ammunition. But with a 
 guard looking straight at me it is no easy 
 task to convey an order by signs, and that to 
 a stupid negro. Catching sight of a small 
 stone beside me, 1 put out my hand, yawning 
 to conceal my intention, let it fall on the 
 stone, and soon have it between the knuckle 
 of my thumb and the point of my forefin- 
 ger, as a boy holds a marble. AYatching till 
 the guard's head is turned, looking meaningly 
 at Ginger, I fire the stone a short distance, 
 hoping he will understand the word " ammu- 
 nition." His face is a blank ; it is evident 
 
118 SWEET RliVENGE 
 
 that he does not know what I mean, and there 
 is no prospect of his getting it through his 
 thick skull. 
 
 Ginger turned away, and I knew that he 
 was speaking to his young master ; then 
 Buck's white face showed itself inquiringly 
 behind the negro's black one. I looked mean- 
 ingly at Buck, and repeated tiie motion of fir- 
 ing. He caught my meaning, and, taking up a 
 gun, made a motion as if ramming a cartridge, 
 looking at me inquiringly. I indicated that he 
 was right. He went awa\% and after a long 
 absence came back and held up four cartridge- 
 boxes, two in each hand. Then, putting down 
 the boxes, he held up three fingers, and I knew 
 that they had secured three guns. He next 
 held up four fingers of the other hand, point- 
 ing to the sleeping guerrillas, and I knew he 
 proposed to get one more gun. 
 
 Buck was a long while capturing the fourth 
 gun. One of the men awoke, j'^awned, sat up, 
 and looked into the fire ; yawned again, lay 
 down, and was soon snoring. Then the guard 
 got up from where he was sitting. There was 
 a slight sound in the bushes, and he listened 
 attentively. Then he put some wood on the 
 tire and sat down again. He had scarcely 
 
STEALING THE GUNS 119 
 
 seated himself before Ginger held up the 
 fourth gun. 
 
 I moved slightl}^, showing ray friends by 
 my manner that I was about to try to get 
 away. They appeared to understand and 
 gathered up the guns, Buck taking one and 
 Ginger three, doing all so silently that no 
 sound reached even me. I waited, watchino- 
 the guard intently till he should nod. I had 
 no expectation of his going to sleep ; I only 
 hoped to free myself from my thongs be- 
 fore he would discover my movement. He 
 nodded ; I moved ; he opened his eyes ; I 
 snored ; he nodded again ; I grasped the knife. 
 Thoughtful Buck ! he had opened the blade. 
 Drawing up my knees I cut the ropes that 
 bound my ankles, then felt in my boot-leg for 
 the revolver. I was about to cock it when I 
 remembered that the guard would hear the 
 click. I thought I would conceal the sound 
 by a sneeze, but a sneeze might disturb some 
 of the band. The owl, which had for some 
 time been silent, hooted. It usually gave 
 three hoots in succession. I counted — one, two, 
 and at the third cocked mv revolver. Throuo-h 
 my half-closed lids I cast a glance at the guard. 
 His eyes were shut. I looked significantly at 
 
120 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 Buck and Ginger to show them that I was 
 ready, then motioned them to go. Waiting 
 long enough for them to put a few hundred 
 yards between them and tlie camp, and no- 
 ticing that the guard's eyes were still shut, I 
 prepared to follow. 
 
 Rising slowly and silently, keeping my eyes 
 fixed on the man by the fire, raising my re- 
 volver, and taking as good an aim as possible 
 witli bound wrists, I stood on my feet. One 
 step backward; then another; a third, a fourth, 
 a fifth, a sixth. I had reached the bushes 
 where Buck and Ginger had been concealed, 
 and was about to take one more step which 
 would secure concealment when the guard 
 opened his eyes and looked straight at me. 
 
 Surprise Avas his last emotion, my figure 
 the last sight he ever saw. I shot him through 
 the head, and before the report had ceased to 
 reverberate was in the bushes. 
 
XII 
 A DAYLIGHT ATTACK 
 
 Despite the thickness of the surrounding 
 underbrush, I made quick progress. Jumping 
 clean over bushes, darting around trees and 
 under low limbs, after running some two hun- 
 dred yards from the guerrilla camp I came to 
 a comparatively open space. Seeing a figure 
 standins: within it, and surmisino: it to be one 
 of my friends, I was about to call, when a 
 woman's voice cried "Halt!" I knew that I 
 Avas covei'ed by a weapon, and stopped short. 
 
 "Are you — " 
 
 " Yes ; and you ?" 
 
 " Helen. This way." 
 
 She darted away like a deer. I soon over- 
 took her, and together we ran perhaps half a 
 mile, when she began to climb an ascent lead- 
 ing to the base of an overhanf!:ino- cliff. I saw 
 through the gloom a large and a small figure 
 climbing just ahead of us, and knew they were 
 
122 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 Ginger and Buck. Helen led the way up to a 
 recess in the cliff, and I saw at once a position 
 that we could hold against a dozen men so 
 long as we had food and ammunition. 
 
 " Hello !" It was Jack's cheery voice. 
 " Goody ! Ain't I glad to get out o' the wil- 
 derness !" 
 
 " 7'm glad enough," I said, as soon as I could 
 get breath to speak; "but you women — " 
 
 There was no time for words. We set about 
 rolling a big stone into a gap between two 
 others, and as soon as it was in position had a 
 continuous breastwork. The guerrillas were 
 callino- to each other in the woods below, but 
 they did not seem to know where we were. I 
 picked up one of the guns Ginger had thrown 
 down. Buck had one in his hands, Ginger kept 
 one, and Helen seized the remaining one. 
 
 "Where do /come in?" chirped Jack. 
 
 "Here." I handed her the revolver, in which 
 there were five loaded chambers, and told her 
 to hold on to it, as she would doubtless need 
 it. We all took position beliind our breast- 
 works ready to ropel an assault, at the same 
 time seeing to the condition of our pieces. 
 They were cavalry carbines, all loaded and 
 capped ready for use. 
 
A DAYLIGHT ATTACK 123 
 
 " Where are your horses ?" I asked. 
 
 " Picketed down there," Helen repHed, point- 
 ing westward, " in a thicket not far from the 
 road." 
 
 " Have you anything to eat ?" 
 
 She glanced at a parcel on the ground. " I 
 got that in a cabin. There's some corn-pone 
 and pork." 
 
 "Barely enough for one meal. Any 
 water?" 
 
 "There's some water trickling between the 
 rocks back there." 
 
 " That pone and pork means a chance, but 
 it's a slim one." 
 
 Helen set her lips ; Jack turned pale; Ginger 
 showed no emotion whatever; while Buck re- 
 marked that he'd be " darned if he didn't plunk 
 one of 'em, anyway." As for m3'self, I was 
 aghast at the terrible fate that threatened 
 those who had so nobl}' and so bravely risked 
 all in my behalf. 
 
 " What brought you here ?" I asked, impa- 
 tiently, of Helen. 
 
 " When 3'ou were taken from our house I 
 resolved to follow. Buck came in just as I 
 started, and insisted on joining me. We traced 
 you to Colonel Rutland's plantation — " 
 
124 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " I see ; it was you I heard coming in after 
 I went iip-stairs." 
 
 " Ginger took the horses to the stable, and 
 was returning to the house when he saw two 
 men chmb a tree near your window and enter 
 your room. He watched from a distance and 
 saw them bring you out, but lie could not tell 
 whether they were taking you away by force 
 or assisting you to escape. Coming into tlie 
 house, he told us what had happened. 
 
 "Jack started to awaken Captain Beaumont, 
 but I stopped her. If you had been assisted 
 to escape this would be fatal ; besides, from 
 what Jack had told me of the captain, I judged 
 he would have his night's rest before starting 
 in pursuit. I told Jack I would follow you 
 myself, and she was wild to come Avith me. 
 Ginger had seen you leave the plantation, and 
 knew the direction you had taken. We sent 
 him and Buck ahead, and they soon came near 
 enough to you to hear your horses' hoof -beats ; 
 then waited for us to come up. Soon after 
 we lost track of you, but hearing something 
 come crashing down the mountain—" 
 
 " A stone." 
 
 " We followed the direction of the sound. 
 In the early morning Buck and Ginger came 
 
A DAYLIGHT ATTACK 125 
 
 upon \'ou unexpectedly. As soon as you had 
 gone the}^ rejoined us, we shadowed you, and 
 3'esterday afternoon laid a plan for your es- 
 cape." 
 
 "• A wild, impracticable scheme. One cir- 
 cumstance has led to another, each involvinsr 
 you more deeply. My God, what a load of 
 obligation ! We can't stay here ; we'll starve. 
 Buck, couldn't you slip out in the darkness and 
 find help ?" 
 
 " No, siree ; I'm not goen' out o' hyar. I'm 
 goen' t' stay 'n' fight with the rest." 
 
 " But you may save all our lives." 
 
 " Why don't you go, Mr. Brandystone ?" 
 
 " I ? I must stay with your sister and cous- 
 in. Besides, I'm big, and couldn't get through 
 as easily as you." 
 
 " Well, I ain't a-goen' to sneak away if I am 
 little." 
 
 " Buck}^" said Jack, "■ yo' needn't go ; I'll 
 go myself." 
 
 " You don' do nuffin like dat. Missy Jack," 
 cried Ginger ; " deni grillers shoot y' ! Wha' 
 mars' say ef I go back an' tell 'em de apple ob 
 he eye go down 'mong grillers fo' to git shot, 
 /gwine, mars'," he added to me. 
 
 But bv this time there was more callinef 
 
126 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 among the men below, a streak of light ap- 
 peared in the east, and I did not dare let any 
 one attempt to evade the enemy ; besides, I 
 could now see by the lay of the land that it 
 would be impossible. 
 
 Something must have given the guerrillas 
 an inkling of our whereabouts, for as soon as it 
 was light we could see them standing, looking 
 up at our position. I told every one to lie low, 
 hoping that some of the outlaws woidd climb 
 up to investigate, and we might pick them off. 
 For more than an hour we remained concealed, 
 onl}^ speaking in whispers ; then we saw the 
 knot of men below divide, three going to the 
 Avest, three to the east, while three began to 
 climb towards our fortress. One remained be- 
 low, and as the light increased I saw it was 
 the captain. 
 
 We four who were armed Avith carbines 
 knelt behind the rocks, I to the extreme left, 
 Helen next, then Buck behind the stone we 
 had moved to fill the gap, with Ginger bring- 
 ing up the right end of the line. I was an ex- 
 cellent shot — I had long been considered one 
 of the best in Tennessee — and it turned out 
 that Helen was not bad. (xingcr was no shot 
 at all. I selected the man in advance for my 
 
A DAYLIGHT ATTACK 127 
 
 especial object, designated the second for Hel- 
 en, and gave Buck the third. They were to 
 fire after me in the order named. Ginger was 
 to fire at any who might be left standing. 
 Jack had only a revolver, and I directed her to 
 keep back. She was trembling, and in order 
 to strengthen her bv concentrating her mind 
 on some duty, I told her to be ready to hand 
 us the ammunition after the first volley. 
 
 The guerrillas came on, every man holding 
 a carbine. When they had covered a third of 
 the distance I saw that Buck was about to 
 fire out of turn, and 1 was obliged to speak to 
 him somewhat sharply. I think the advanc- 
 ing men heard me, for they stopped and con- 
 sulted. The captain, standing below, called to 
 them to go on, and, separating so as to leave a 
 dozen yards between each man, skirmish-fash- 
 ion, they started again, watching eagerly for a 
 sight of something to fire at. As they were 
 all abreast, my order for firing would not 
 serve. 1 gave another. 
 
 '' ril take the left man, Miss Stanforth the 
 centre. Buck the right." 
 
 There was no response. All were too intent 
 on the work before us to speak. I permitted 
 the men to come within a hundred yards, 
 
128 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 when, taking deliberate aim with a rest, I 
 shot my man through the heart. In another 
 moment Helen's rifle cracked, and the centre 
 man dropped. Buck, who was excited, fired 
 wild, and missed altogether. Ginger lost his 
 head completely, and did not fire at all. As 
 Ginger's courage deserted him, Jack's came 
 to her all of a sudden. 
 
 " Why don't y' shoot. Ginger ?" she cried, 
 with flashing e3'es. Snatching his gun and 
 aiming it at the remaining man, who was rap- 
 idly getting down the declivity, she sent him 
 the rest of the way wath a limp. Two men 
 were put out of the fight and the third disabled. 
 
 " By golly !" cried Buck, " we licked 'em, 
 didn't we ?'' 
 
 I thought it best not to discourage him by 
 telling him that this was only a preliminary 
 skirmish, but asked Jack for the ammunition, 
 and we all reloaded. 
 
 The wounded man went back to the cap- 
 tain, who appeared greatly agitated over the 
 result. He was evidently surprised at the 
 reception of his searching-party. The men 
 who had gone to the flanks, hearing the firing, 
 rejoined their leader, and two men who had 
 been in the rear came forward. 
 
A DAYLIGHT ATTACK 129 
 
 Heaven preserve us ! The captain has start- 
 ed up the slope at the head of a stormhig- 
 party of eight men. 
 
 I was appalled. We had but four guns, and 
 after firing]: a vollev must reload before tirini^ 
 another. We could not expect to disable more 
 than four men at the first fire, then the re- 
 maining four Avould be upon us before we 
 could reload. In quick tones I gave the 
 order : 
 
 " All load ; I'll fire." 
 
 With that I let drive, and dropped a man. 
 Then, throwing down my gun, I took Helen's, 
 and dropped another. Buck handed me his, 
 and I dropped a third. 
 
 " By jirainy !" cried Buck, exposing his 
 head to see better, " ain't yo' a bully shot !'' 
 Ping! went a bullet within an inch of his ear, 
 and he ducked. 
 
 " Keep down !" I cried, as the lead rattled 
 against the rocks in front of us, and fired the 
 fourth gun, again hitting my man, though I 
 only " winged " him ; indeed, I believe he 
 dropped to evade the fire. By this time the 
 first gun had been reloaded, and I took aim at 
 the captain. I was sure I hit him, but he 
 came on. Taking the next gun now ready 
 
130 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 I fired at him again, but just as I did so one 
 of the men ste})ped in front of him and re- 
 ceived the shot. This finished the assault. 
 The men broke and tied, and before I could 
 get another shot were far back towards the 
 position from which they had started. 
 
XIII 
 BELEAGUERED 
 
 Strange that men will never learn the ter- 
 rible advantage of a force posted on an im- 
 pregnable position, protected by breastworks, 
 and able to pour shot down a steep hill at an 
 enemy. Two men, two girls, and a boy had 
 defeated the guerrillas and sent them back to 
 their camp. I did not fear another attack. 
 What I dreaded was starvation ; indeed, I 
 could see plainly that our enemies were pre- 
 paring to carr}^ out tlie starvation plan. Sev- 
 eral of them went in different directions, 
 doubtless for food. One of them passed quite 
 within range. 
 
 " Tm goen' t' plunk that one," said Buck. 
 
 I caught his arm and gave him a reproof 
 which for a while, at least, caused him to re- 
 member that I was in command. 
 
 " I wish they'd attack us again," said the 
 irrepressible boy. " I could 'a' hit that dog- 
 
132 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 gone ' butternut ' if somep'n hadn't joggled my 
 arm." 
 
 There had been nothing to joggle the boy's 
 arm, but I thought it best to let him keep up 
 his pride ; it would make him more serviceable ; 
 so I said nothing. 
 
 " I aimed right at the middle of his breast," 
 continued Buck, " but just then he jumped 
 over a stone and I missed him." 
 
 "I thought some one joggled your arm?" 
 
 " Some one did. Ginger, yo' consarned old 
 nigger, what d' yo' go joggle me fo', just as I 
 was goen' to plunk him ?" 
 
 "/didn't joggle yo', Mars' Buck." 
 
 " Was it you, Ilel'n ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Somebody did, or I'd 'a' hit him, sho !" 
 
 If ever a party needed breakfast it was ours. 
 Helen unrolled the little parcel of provisions. 
 I directed her to serve a half ration, or, rather, 
 half of what there was, and save the rest. 
 She did so, handing me my portion, which I 
 declined, but she argued that it was important 
 for all that I should keep up my strength, 
 and finally prevailed on me to eat my share. 
 Jaqueline and Buck ate theirs ravenously. 
 Each of us went to where the water was drip- 
 
BELEAGUERED 133 
 
 ping from the cleft and caught the drops in 
 our mouths. Buck, when he had finished his 
 breakfast, like Oliver Twist, asked for more. 
 It made my heart ache to refuse him, but 
 there was no alternative. 
 
 One danger was dwarfed by the greater 
 perils that surrounded us, yet it was no less 
 important. My wound was liable to put me 
 hors de combat at any moment. Fortunately, 
 until my dash from the guerrilla camp, I had 
 not been subject to any physical strain, and by 
 that time it had healed sufficiently to pre- 
 vent its opening — at an}" rate, it gave me no 
 trouble. The first thing Helen asked, after a 
 lull in the fighting, was about this wound. 
 She insisted on dressing it for me, and I per- 
 mitted her to do so. She wound around it a 
 fresh bandage torn from my shirt-sleeve and 
 was pinning it when, looking up at me, she 
 said : 
 
 "You're not the first one of our men I've 
 assisted with bandages." 
 
 Her remark cut me like a knife. It was 
 plain that she was making this effort, incur- 
 rins: this danger, believino' me to be a Confed- 
 erate. 
 
 " I can't understand all these troubles that 
 
134 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 surround you," she went on. "Why not ex- 
 plain ?" 
 
 " You know I'm charo;ed with beinfj in 
 league with the Yankees." 
 
 " Yes ; but your accusers are robbers and 
 murderers. If I thought that — " She broke 
 off with a frown, and turned away. 
 
 The guerrillas built a fire, and, after cook- 
 ing and eating breakfast, loitered about, some 
 chatting, some playing cards, while others de- 
 toted themselves to their wounded compan- 
 ions, making them as comfortable as possible 
 on beds of boughs covered with blankets. I 
 took advantage of their inaction to learn how 
 Buck had succeeded in delivering- his message 
 to the scout he was to meet at Huntsville. As 
 I could not question him before the others 
 without giving up my secret, I drew hnii into 
 the cleft behind us. 
 
 " Buck, did you find the man I sent you to 
 meet at Huntsville ?" 
 
 "Reckon I did." 
 
 " Tell me about it." 
 
 " All right. As soon as I got into town I went 
 right to the squar', 'n' stopped in front o' the 
 hotel. I hitched my pony to a post, 'n' went 
 inside. A man in the office said, ' Sonny, what 
 
BELEAGUERED 135 
 
 d' y' want V 'n' I said, ' I'm c^oen' up on the gal- 
 lery,' 'n' he said, ' What fo' T 'n' I said, ' Fo' t' 
 see the town.' Then I went up-stairs 'n' wait- 
 ed till I heard the clock striken', 'n' counted 
 thi'teen." 
 
 " Not thirteen, Buck. Clocks don't strike 
 thirteen." 
 
 " Well, don't y' see, that clock at Huntsville 
 's a different kind. It struck either thi'teen 
 or fo'teen, I couldn't tell which." 
 
 "Never mind the clock. You're inventing 
 all this. Go on." 
 
 " Well, just as the clock struck, a man he 
 came out on to the gallery. He had the dog- 
 gonest eyes I ever saw — just like the wolf's in 
 Red Riding-liood. At first he didn't take any 
 notice o' me, looken' 's if he was bothered 
 'cause I Avas thar, 'n' he expected somebody. 
 Then he Avatched me with those sharp eyes o' 
 his'n, 'n' at last he said, kind o' gruff, ' 'T's a 
 fine day, boy,' 'n' I said, said I — what was it I 
 Avas to say ?" 
 
 " ' Reckon you'i'e weather-wise, stranger.' " 
 
 " Oh 3'es, I know ; but I couldn't remember 
 'zactl}', 'n' I said, said I, ' Reckon yo're weather- 
 beaten, stranger.' He stood a looken' at me 
 kind o' quar, 'n' I heard him a grunten' 
 
136 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 somep'n like, ' Guess I am beat, somehow or 
 'nuther.' Then he asked me somep'n "bout 
 whether it was a rainen' at the time of the — 
 what was that one?'' 
 
 " ' The massacre." " 
 
 " Oh yes, I know. And I said — what was 
 it I said ?" 
 
 " ' Bkick as night.' " 
 
 "That's it; only I fo'got, 'n' said, 'Black 
 as a doggone nigger,' and he said, ' What's 
 the— " 
 
 " ' Word.' " 
 
 "'What's the word?' 'n' I took the spitball 
 out o' my mouth 'n' handed it to him. He took 
 it 'n' read it mighty quick. Then he looked at 
 me and said, ' I'll be goldarned if that ain't 
 the littlest messenger to carry such a big mes- 
 sage I ever saw in my life ! Like attacken' a 
 fortyfication with a how'tzer.' " 
 
 " What did he do then ?" 
 
 "I don' want t' tell that." 
 
 " Why not ?" 
 
 "Well, he must 'a' thought I was a baby.'' 
 
 " Come, out with it." 
 
 " He took me up and give me a kiss, rubben' 
 my face with that hairy beard o' his'n." 
 
 "Then what?" 
 
BELEAGUERED 137 
 
 "He went down -stairs in a hurry, and I 
 didn't see him any mo'." 
 
 " Good for 3'ou ! Have you kept it all a 
 secret ?" 
 
 " Haven't said a word to any one." 
 
 "That's right. You've done me a great 
 favor, and one good turn deserves another. 
 I'm going to tell you how to cure yourself of 
 that bad habit of using useless adjectives. H 
 you ever get out of this, get a note-book and 
 pencil, and every time you use one of them 
 note it down. This will show you how often 
 you offend, and at last you will break yourself 
 of a very bad habit." 
 
 " I'll do that, by golly !" 
 
 At noon we Avere again tantalized at seeing 
 the guerrillas eating their dinner. 
 
 "I wonder what they got?" said Buck. " I 
 reckon 't's nothen' but fat pork, anyway. Who 
 wants to eat fat pork ?" 
 
 " I wish I could get my clutches on the cap- 
 tain," said Jack, "I'd make him give me some." 
 
 "De Lord '11 feed His chil'n," remarked 
 Ginger. " Didn' He send de ravens to Elijah ?" 
 
 "Not in these mountains," put in Buck. 
 " Ravens couldn't find an3'thing up here to 
 feed anybody with." 
 
138 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 "Reckon dat raus' 'a' been in a land flowen' 
 wid milk 'n' honey," supplemented Ginger. 
 
 " Yo' ole fool," retorted Buck, " how could 
 a raven carrj^ milk ?" 
 
 " Don't be so smart, Buck," said Jack. " A 
 raven could take the handle of a tin bucket in 
 its mouth and fly with it, couldn't he?" 
 
 Then Jack and Buck fell to v^'ing with each 
 other which could invent the most remarkable 
 fabrications about the wherewithal to satisfy 
 their hunger. 
 
 " I see a darky coming," said Jack, " v»'ith 
 a white apron and cap, and a tra}' on his head 
 covered with good things to eat." 
 
 " That's nothen'," said Buck. " I see a roast- 
 ed goose waddlen' up the hill with the stuiBn' 
 tumblen' out of a hole in his breast." 
 
 "Yo' little fibber, yo' don't see any such 
 thing. I'll tell yo' what / see. I see a big 
 table down there among the guerrillas covered 
 with smoking beef and chicken and lamb with 
 mint sauce running all over it, and peas and 
 asparagus. Come, let's go and get some." 
 
 She was so earnest about it that I feared she 
 would; indeed,she started, but Helen caught and 
 drew her back. Throwing herself into Helen's 
 arms, she covered her face with her hands. 
 
XIV 
 A BONTIRE DEFENCE 
 
 Morning, noon, afternoon passed with no 
 change in the situation. All my command 
 slept during the day, and even I got two or 
 three hours of tired nature's sweet restorer, 
 though I Avould not close my eyes till Helen 
 had promised not to talce hers off the guerril- 
 las till I awoke. During the afternoon all be- 
 ofan to suffer from huncrer, but I would not 
 allow the scanty bit of food remaining to be 
 eaten. Buck got over the noon meal bravely, 
 but when supper-time came he clamored for 
 something to eat. 
 
 "Now, see hyar, Mr. Brand vstone," he ar- 
 gued, " you just give me my shar' 'n' I won't 
 want any mo' when the rest of yo' have 
 yo's." 
 
 " You must wait, Buck ; we shall have to 
 fast long enough, anyway. The longer be- 
 tween meals the lono:er we can hold out." 
 
140 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 " All right," he said, bravely, " I can hold 
 out as long as any of yo'." 
 
 As evenino: came on a horrible thous:ht 
 loomed up suddenly. If the night should be 
 dark, there was nothing to prevent the guer- 
 rillas stealing up on us unawares, and captur- 
 ing our strono-hold. 
 
 " Imust find a way out of this," I muttered, 
 and began an examination of the face of the 
 rock in our rear. The cleft where water drip- 
 ped slanted upward, a narrow opening little 
 wider than a man's body. I crawled into the 
 crevice, and, by using hands and feet, mount- 
 ed to the summit. I stood enchanted by 
 the splendid view. Northward and eastward 
 the Cumberland Mountains reared their heads, 
 a succession of wooded crests ; westward the 
 fair plain of Middle Tennessee ; southward. 
 Confederate territory cut off from us by war, 
 and setting aflame the imagination as to what 
 was taking place in the new-born nation. An 
 undulating horizon divided the black earth 
 from the scarlet sky left by the setting sun. 
 
 Scrambling over the uneven ground, climb- 
 ing rocks, fighting my way through thickets, 
 I explored every promise of outlet. There was 
 not a possible descent. I returned to the 
 
A BONFIRE DEFENCE 141 
 
 mouth of the crevice, intending to rejoin my 
 companions. I heard some one clambering up, 
 and, looking down, saw Helen Stanforth. Giv- 
 ing her my hand, I helped her to level ground. 
 
 " You and I," I said, " should not be absent 
 from the front at the same time." 
 
 " Tell me," she said, fixing her e3'es on me 
 intentl}'', " what I want to know. I have led 
 Jaqueline, Buck, and Ginger into this trap in 
 an attempt to save you. The least I can ex- 
 pect is your confidence. Who are you?" 
 
 Our lives depended on absolute devotion to 
 each other. If I should tell her that I was a 
 Southern man holding a commission in the 
 Yankee army, that I had sent information 
 North to enable a Union general to capture 
 the region about her home, I should sap our 
 main element of strength. On the other hand, 
 I was accepting all this devotion under false 
 pretences. The thought was maddening. Had 
 she not been looking at me Avith her big, hon- 
 est eyes, I believe I should have shed tears of 
 anguish. 
 
 " Miss Stanforth — Helen," I said, " who and 
 what I am can be of no moment now Avith 
 death staring us in the face. You and I have 
 a mutual purpose — to save those who have 
 
142 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 been led into this peril. There is no time for 
 explanations. I beg of you to banish for the 
 time this secret, and think only of the work 
 before us." 
 
 She turned her eyes out to the far-distant 
 horizon, but did not see it, intent on her own 
 thoughts. Then, looking again at me, she said, 
 with a burst of impulse : 
 
 " To know that you are unworthy would 
 kill me." 
 
 I bowed my head to escape her gaze. When 
 I looked again she had turned and was enter- 
 ing the crevice. 
 
 Having failed to find an outlet in our rear, 
 we had no choice but to face our enemies. I 
 cast my eyes over the only route open to a 
 night surprise. On our right, not far below, 
 w^as the bare face of a rock twenty feet hio^h, 
 around which was no path. To the left an- 
 other rock projected in such fashion that while 
 an enemy climbed over it his silhouette would 
 appear against the sky. Noticing an abun- 
 dance of fire-wood scattered about, I resolved 
 to build a bonfire, with a view to lighting up 
 our enemies should they attempt to steal upon 
 us in the night. As soon as it Avas dark 
 enough I sent Buck and Ginger out to gather 
 
A BONFIRE DEFENCE 143 
 
 wood, and, selecting a fiat rock midway be- 
 tween those on the flanks, scooped together 
 some light dry stuff for kindling, and as fast 
 as the wood was brought me put it on. When 
 all was ready we returned to our fortress. 
 
 But how light a flre^ There was not a 
 match in the party ; indeed, the only means of 
 ignition we possessed was a percussion-cap. I 
 sacrificed two cartridges, and poured the pow- 
 der they contained into a bit of paper, intend- 
 ing to explode it with percussion-powder. 
 
 Night attacks always occur just before dawn, 
 and I felt confident that we should hear from 
 the guerrillas, if at all, between two and three 
 o'clock in the mornin"-. At one I awoke the 
 command and issued our remaining ration. It 
 was eaten ravenously, and when the last mor- 
 sel had been consumed I told all to be ready 
 at the slightest sound. I was going down to 
 the unlighted fire, and in case they heard me 
 hammering the percussion-powder they would 
 know I had heard the enemy approaching. 
 Then, taking Jack's revolver, I sallied forth. 
 
 I passed down to my fire-wood, inspected it 
 to see that it was all right, then went on far- 
 ther, crawling on my stomach and listening. 
 Noticing what in the darkness I supposed to 
 
144 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 be a log, I resolved to crawl up behind it for 
 concealment. On reaching it I raised my 
 head and looked down into the face of a dead 
 man. It was the body of one of the guerrillas 
 we had shot during the day. This uncanny 
 object, encountered at dead of night, startled 
 me. There was the ghastly skin, the sunken 
 cheek, the open mouth, while the eyes were 
 staring up at the heavens as if they saw won- 
 ders hidden from the living. I drew back. A 
 consciousness of the horrors that awaited us 
 struck me like a gust of cold wind. Perhaps 
 before morning Helen Stanforth, or Jaque- 
 line, or little Buck, or all of us, would be Ij^ing 
 stiff and stark like that dead guerrilla. 
 
 Then a greater strength, a daring, a cun- 
 ning never before felt welled within me. I 
 crawled on till I came so near the guerrilla 
 camp that I could have thrown a stone into 
 it. They had no fire, and this in itself was 
 suspicious. I thought I heard a voice, but 
 it was doubtless some animal or a bird giving 
 a note of warning to its mate. I listened, 
 but could hear nothing which I knew to be 
 human. At last I sat down on a rock, and 
 began what to me seemed an endless vigil. 
 
 It was, perhaps, an hour after that I heard 
 
A BONFIRE DEFENCE 145 
 
 unmistakable sounds of the guerrillas. I could 
 see nothing, though I could hear voices, and 
 voices at that time of night meant mischief. 
 Darting back to my wood I set the paper of 
 gunpowder on the rock under the dry grass, 
 keeping a little in reserve, and got a stone 
 ready to use for a hammer, then listened for 
 a sign of advance. I had not long to wait. A 
 man must have stumbled ; at any rate, I heard 
 something which convinced me the enemy 
 was coming, and, laying on my percussion- 
 powder, I raised the stone and brought it 
 down. 
 
 Horror of horrors! The grass was blown 
 away without being kindled. The last chance 
 was gone! It was dark as pitch; not even a 
 ray of moonlight to protect us against the 
 coming cutthroats. 
 
 Wait a bit. There are several spears of 
 grass smouldering, a spark on the end of each. 
 I gather them, and put tiie ember ends into 
 the hollow of my hand, where I hold the re- 
 serve gunpowder. A flash — a mere bit of 
 flame no bigger than a pea ! I nurse it and 
 put more grass with it, shove it all under the 
 wood, and a beautiful bright flame shoots up 
 that gladdens my heart. A joyful shout from 
 
146 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 the fort sends a pleasant thrill through every 
 fibre in my body. 
 
 Ping! A bullet within an inch of my nose. 
 I dart away into the darkness, and in another 
 minute am in the fortress. 
 
 I had scarcely got behind the breastworks 
 when the glare of the burning wood showed 
 me half a dozen men dashing up to the fire, 
 and I knew they would try to scatter it. 
 
 "When I count three, fire into the crowd. 
 One ! two ! three !" 
 
 Four bullets flew at the little knot of men 
 below. We could not see who was hit, but 
 all turned and started down the declivity, 
 though one man dropped before he had gone 
 a dozen yards. We lost no time in reloading, 
 and had a new charge ready in every piece 
 before seeing any signs of their return. But 
 Buck, who took more time and made more 
 fuss about his work than all the rest together, 
 had scarcely rammed his charge home and 
 fixed the percussion - cap on the nipple when 
 three men made a dash at the fire. Two of 
 them reached it and began to kick vigorously. 
 I took deliberate aim at one of them and shot 
 him through the head. My gun had scarcely 
 cracked Avhen Helen let drive at the remain- 
 
A BONFIEE DEFENCE 147 
 
 ing man. He staggered, but kept on kicking 
 at the fire. I snatched Buck's gun and fin- 
 ished him, dropping him on the burning 
 brands. The third man, who had started for- 
 ward several times and each time turned back, 
 got out of sight as quickly as possible. 
 
 "Look a' dar!" cried Ginger, pointing to 
 the east. 
 
 I turned my head, and there above the hori- 
 zon was the faintest trace of dawn. 
 
XV 
 WOMAN'S PLUCK 
 
 After this second defeat we conld see the 
 guerrillas gathered in a knot, evidently dis- 
 cussing the situation. They talked so loud 
 that we could often catcli a word, and their 
 gesticulations were plain to us all. At last 
 the captain took a white handkerchief from 
 his pocket, fixed it to a stick, and, holding it 
 over his head, advanced towards us. 
 
 "A flag of truce!" we all exclaimed to- 
 gether. 
 
 " He's going to offer us something to eat I'' 
 cried Jack. '• I knew he Avouldn't let us starve." 
 
 I stepped over the breastworks to go and 
 meet the bearer of the flag. Buck called out : 
 
 " Tell him I'll take some fried chicken fo' 
 mine." 
 
 I met the captain at the spot Avhere we had 
 built our fire. His arm was in a sling and he 
 was very pale. Something told me that he 
 
WOMAN S PLUCK 149 
 
 did not relish the work ia which he was en- 
 gaged. 
 
 "I've come to tell you," he said, "that if 
 ycjll surrender, the rest of yo' people can go." 
 
 " What assurance have I that you will keep 
 the terms ?" 
 
 " The word of a — " He stopped. I saw 
 that habit had led him to use an expression 
 common among gentlemen in the South, but 
 the word had stuck in his throat. 
 
 " Captain," I said, " you are a better man 
 than the company you keep. Satisfy me that 
 the women, the boy, and the negro shall go 
 free, and you are welcome to ?«<?." 
 
 " The men are divided about the women," 
 he replied, lowering his voice. 
 
 " Which party holds the balance of power?" 
 
 " It's hard to tell." 
 
 " Then we have no assurance that if we 
 surrender you can keep your promise to let 
 them go unharmed ?" 
 
 " There's no telling. Befo' your escape and 
 the killing yo' all have been doing I could 
 have fixed it. But the men are exasperated 
 at the damage you've done." 
 
 " Can't you be blind, and let us out to- 
 night ?" 
 
150 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 "No; Fv^e lost more control of my men 
 within the last few days than all the time I've 
 commanded them. If they saw the slight- 
 est move on my part to let yo' slip, they'd 
 shoot me, and yo' would never get out alive, 
 either. I can't stand here talking any longer. 
 They'll suspect something. What's yo' an- 
 swer ?" 
 
 I turned the matter quickh'^ over in my mind. 
 
 " Captain," I said, " I will transmit your 
 proposition. If your terras are accepted, I 
 will go down to your camp and my friends 
 will follow. If they are not accepted, we will 
 wave to you. In this event you will know 
 that these noble girls, this brave boy, this 
 faithful negro, prefer to take their chances 
 with me." 
 
 Both of us turned without another word, 
 and in a few minutes the captain was with 
 his men, and I had joined my little half-starved 
 army. I was received with eager, question- 
 ing looks. 
 
 " He has made a proposition," I said. " I 
 will give it to you with the information that 
 goes with it. If we will surrender, he prom- 
 ises that all shall go free except me." 
 
 I paused a moment to watch the expression 
 
woman's pluck 151 
 
 of their faces. I saw at once that they were 
 all bitterly disappointed. 
 
 " I feel bound to state further that the cap- 
 tain lias informed me that he cannot surely 
 guarantee your safety, though he would if he 
 could. He tells me that the men are divided, 
 and he does not know himself which party is 
 the stronger. You are not sure of safety, 
 but you have a chance, whereas if we are 
 taken by force the chances are all against 
 you. Before giving my own views, I wish to 
 get an expression of opinion from each one of 
 you separately. Miss Stanforth, shall we ac- 
 cept the proposition or not ? Say yes or no." 
 
 She curled her lip. " I don't care to con- 
 sider such a proposition." 
 
 " Miss Rutland ?" 
 
 " No !" cried little Jack, with a snap in her 
 eye. 
 
 " Buck ?" 
 
 " Reckon I'd ruther stay whar I am awhile 
 longer, though, by golly, I'm mighty hungry." 
 He spoke the last words very ruefully. 
 
 "Ginger?" 
 
 "I ain't no traitor-man, mars', ef I air black. 
 Ginger hain't gwine t' talk 'bout gibben no- 
 body up t' save hisself." 
 
153 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 "My friends," I said, and I could not re- 
 press a tremor in my voice, though God knows 
 I tried, " I cannot accept your sacrifice. The 
 guerrillas, having secured me, will doubtless 
 quarrel about you, and the captain and those 
 who are with him may find an opportunity to 
 let you get away under cover of the night." 
 
 "No! no!" cried all. " AYe'U stand to- 
 gether." 
 
 "How were you to repl}^?" asked Helen. 
 
 " If the terms were accepted, we were to go 
 down ; if rejected, we w^ere to wave." 
 
 Helen took off her check bonnet, and, ty- 
 ing it to a carbine, stood up on the rocks and 
 waved it to the guerrillas, who were standing 
 below watching for our signal, while our little 
 command gave as lusty a cheer as their ex- 
 hausted condition would admit. 
 
 But the real heroism was yet to come. I 
 had seen evidence that the woman wing of my 
 army was not to be appalled at any propo- 
 sition, but it was impossible that I could be 
 prepared for what was to follows I have 
 sometimes wondered if it was not rather an 
 emanation of genius than heroism, but have 
 invariably concluded that it was the genius 
 of heroism. 
 
WOMAN S PLUCK 153 
 
 The first flush of excitement at the rejection 
 of the terms being over, Jack began to show 
 signs of irritation — a condition I attributed to 
 the gnawing pangs of hunger. She shook her 
 fist at the guerrillas, vowing that if she could 
 ever get her papa again he should scour the 
 country till he had captured every one of 
 them, and when captured she would herself 
 take inexpressible pleasure in making targets 
 of them for pistol-practice. Then she would 
 call to them for something to eat. They were 
 too far to hear her, and, of course, her request 
 would not have been granted if they had. 
 "Captain! good captain! dear captain!'' she 
 cried, " do let us out of this ; that's a dear 
 boy." Then she turned to JMiss Stanforth. 
 " Helen, what in the world did we come on 
 such an errand as this fo' ? Why didn't we 
 send the soldiers ?" 
 
 " Jack," said Helen, " I'm sorry you regret 
 it. /don't; I never regret." 
 
 " Yo're showen' the white feather/' said 
 Buck. 
 
 Jack's ej^es glistened with anger. 
 
 " The white feather ! What do yo' mean, yo' 
 little pest ? White feather ! I'm not afraid of 
 all the guerrillas in Christendom. They won't 
 
154 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 hurt 7ne. I'm going down there to ask 'em fo* 
 something to eat. I'll get 3^0' all off. White 
 feather! I'll show yo?^ .^" 
 
 She sprang upon the rampart, but I cauglit 
 her and dragged her back. 
 
 " Let me go !" she screamed. 
 
 " Didn' I tole yo' Missy Jack hab de 
 biggest temper in de Souf?" cried Ginger, 
 proudly. 
 
 " Let her go," said Helen, " and I'll go with 
 her. If those of the guerrillas Avho are dis- 
 posed to protect us can do so they will suc- 
 ceed as well without you as with you. In- 
 deed, your presence Avill only tend to irritate 
 them. Come, Jack, we'll try it." 
 
 I stood aghast at such a plan. I forbade it. 
 The girls were determined. I begged, order- 
 ed, stormed at them, declaring that for every 
 step they took towards that den of hell-hounds 
 I would take two. At last Helen laid her hand 
 on my sleeve and looked me calmly in the eye. 
 
 "Major Branderstane, I want you to let me 
 have my way in this matter. You owe it to 
 me. When you were wounded I took j^ou in 
 and succored you. Since we have been in 
 this place I have obeyed your every order. 
 Jack has flashed out unknowingly, uninten- 
 
WOMAN S PLUCK 155 
 
 tionally, a stroke of genius. Jack is a genius. 
 She has hit on our only chance. She fascinat- 
 ed the guerrillas once, and she'll do it again. 
 She will split them in halves, and set one-half 
 against the other. But she will need 7ne. 
 Give me that revolver." 
 
 All this was lost on me. I swore they 
 should not go. I planted mj^self between 
 them and the rampart. Helen stepped to one 
 side of me, Jack darted to the other. Ginger 
 put his hand on my arm. 
 
 " Don't stop Missy Jack, mars'. Missy Jack 
 can do eberyting Avid men-folks." He turned 
 ni}^ face to the cliff. " Look dat a way, an' yo' 
 won't see hit." 
 
 When I broke from the old man Helen and 
 Jack were beyond the rampart. 
 
 I have seen lifeboat-men pull out in a tem- 
 pestuous sea, breasting a howling wind and 
 madly tossing billows. I have seen men march 
 out to battle with almost a certainty of death 
 or mutilation, but I have never looked upon 
 any sight with the mingled terror and admira- 
 tion that thrilled me as I beheld these two 
 girls, without other weapon than woman's 
 loveliness, descend the rocky slope towards the 
 guerrilla camp. They moved, hand in hand, 
 
156 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 as I have seen graceful ships sail side by side. 
 Helen was the taller and the more command- 
 ing, but both walked erect ; Helen buoyed by 
 a native courage, Jaqueline confident in the 
 possession of a gift, a genius for bending men 
 to her Avill. 
 
 They had scarcely left us when the guer- 
 rillas caught sight of them and stood looking 
 up in stupid wonder. Ginger, Buck, and I 
 were staring down upon them. Ginger's eyes 
 starting out of his head, Buck leaning ex- 
 citedly over the rampart, I clutching my car- 
 bine. On went the girls, between the flank- 
 ing rocks, out upon a gentle swell, through a 
 slight depression, over stones, weeds, brambles, 
 till at last they came within fifty yards of tlie 
 guerrilla camp. Then came a cheer from the 
 bandits — I knew not whether of triumph or 
 welcome — and the girls entered the camp. 
 
 What they said, what was said to them, I 
 could not hear — I could only see. Captain 
 Ringoid raised his hat and stood Avitli it in his 
 hand. He was evidently speaking, for the 
 men gathered round, and all seemed to be in- 
 tent on him and the girls. Then I saw Helen 
 step a little to the front, and all faces were 
 turned to her. Occasionallv she made a g-est- 
 
woman's pluck 157 
 
 lire, now turning to our little fortress, now 
 pointing the finger of scorn at the guerrillas, 
 as though to shame them or to influence what- 
 ever of manliness there might be in them. She 
 Avas making them a long speech — at least, it 
 seemed so to me, who could see but not hear. 
 At last there was a cheer. The conference 
 was ended. 
 
 Then the little actress, Jaqueline, was evi- 
 dently using her art. She would whisk up to 
 one of the men, stand before him in a favorite 
 position of hers, bent slightly forward, and 
 shake her linger in his face. All the men stood 
 watching her. Occasionally there came a 
 burst of laughter, a yell of applause, a clap- 
 ping of hands, and I knew that Jack was car- 
 rying her audience. 
 
 Then I could see the fig-ures below beo;inninof 
 to busy themselves about preparations for sup- 
 per. Helen and Jack took hold as they had 
 done once before, the men permitting them to 
 do the work. 
 
 Buck, beside me, chuckled. 
 
 " What is it. Buck ?" 
 
 " That consarned Jack's goen' roun' thar 
 with the skillet in one han' and chawen' some- 
 p'n she's got in the other. Wish I was thar." 
 
158 ■ SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 When supper was served each man vied 
 with the others to provide for their guests. 
 Jack was seated on the ground, her back rest- 
 ing against a tree, a plate in her lap, a tin cup 
 at her side, evidently making a hearty supper, 
 keeping the men running back and forth from 
 the fire, filling her plate or her cup at every 
 trip. 
 
 After supper we could see that the confer- 
 ence was resumed between Helen and the 
 guerrillas. She Avas evidently arguing with 
 them to effect a purpose. The captain had a 
 good deal to say, but all were taking part in 
 the debate. Then the girls started for our 
 fort. One of the men approached the captain 
 and shook a fist in his face. The captain 
 knocked him down. Another started after 
 the retreating party, but was intercepted. A 
 general fight ensued, some of the men placing 
 themselves between the others and the girls, 
 who were now coming up the hill, quickening 
 their pace at every step. Cocking my car- 
 bine, I ran down to join the girls, meeting 
 them midway between the fort and the guer- 
 rilla camp. First Jack came dashing past me, 
 wild with terror, her cheeks blanched, her eyes 
 starino-. Helen came on more slowlv, turnino- 
 
WOMAN S PLUCK 159 
 
 occasionally with hot cheeks and flashing eye. 
 Below among the guerrillas was a babel — 
 swearing, howling, and shooting, the protect- 
 ing party being the stronger and keeping the 
 others at bay. I put my arm behind Helen, 
 and hurried her up the steep slope. When we 
 got to the fort Jack was already there, crouch- 
 ing behind the rampart, her head appearing 
 above it, her eyes as big as saucers. 
 
 " Goody gracious, what a fool I was to go 
 down there ! Wouldn't do it again fo' any- 
 thing." 
 
 Helen gave me a hurried account of the 
 visit. On entering the camp the captain had 
 complimented them upon their bravery, both 
 in the fig'hts that had occurred and in coming: 
 out unarmed, assuring them — lookinfj: omi- 
 nously at some of the more cutthroat of his 
 men — that if any man offered them the slight- 
 est indignity he would shoot him on the spot. 
 Helen had replied that whatever they were, 
 she believed they were brave, and above in- 
 juring a Avoman. Then she held up to them 
 the magnitude of their crimes, and bade them 
 go and enlist in the Confederate army. She 
 succeeded in getting an oifer of a free con- 
 duct to all save me; this they persistently re- 
 
160 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 fused. After much urging the captain agreed 
 that Ave should be let alone till the next morn- 
 ing — a promise on which I placed no reliance. 
 Helen begged to be permitted to carry me 
 provisions. This was also refused. 
 
 " I did all I could," she said, ruefully, "but 
 I couldn't move even the captain. They 
 wouldn't give me a morsel for you." 
 
 " Oh, Helen," said Jack, " I'm tired of hear- 
 ing yo' whine," and taking off her sunbonnet. 
 out rolled a liberal supply of corn-pone and 
 salt pork. 
 
 "You little thief!" cried Helen, and threw 
 her arms around her cousin. 
 
 A second time my life had been saved, at 
 least temporarily, by Jaqueline. 
 
XVI 
 
 A BUGLE-CALL 
 
 The night passed without an attack. I pre- 
 pared a fire as before, but it was not needed. 
 Day dawned, and we could see that the guer- 
 rillas had made themselves more comfortable, 
 having constructed a rude hut of boughs for 
 shelter, showing conclusivel}'' that they in- 
 tended to wait patiently for the starving proc- 
 ess to do its work. During the day the 
 remnant of the provisions Jack had purloined 
 was consumed, and the command Avas supper- 
 less. Again we entered upon a long, weary 
 night. All except myself were so worn that 
 they evinced little care for watching. They 
 were getting benumbed, a condition which 
 comes at last over one hunted for his life. 
 As for me, my position was harrowing. My 
 devoted friends who had made the attempt 
 to rescue me were starving, and, to crown 
 all, Helen Stanforth, who had instigated the 
 
162 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 attempt, planned it, and led the others into 
 it, was deceived as to my true character. I 
 brooded over the situation till I was well-nigh 
 insane. Then I made a resolve — a resolve 
 that might free the others, but would end in 
 my death. I would go down to the guerrillas 
 and give myself up. It was possible that my 
 case having been disposed of, Captain Kin- 
 gold and his adherents would be able to pro- 
 tect the girls, and. Buck and Ginger being of 
 no moment to the band, all might go in peace. 
 
 But there was an obstacle in the way that I 
 knew would not be easily overcome — the oppo- 
 sition of all my friends. It was hard for me 
 to go down to my death. How could I bring 
 myself to do so with all these beloved ones 
 endeavoring to prevent me ! There was one 
 way by which I might render them less averse 
 to the plan. By proclaiming the military mis- 
 sion which had taken me to Alabama I might 
 render myself an object of hatred and con- 
 tempt. Despite the pain this confession would 
 cost me, I resolved to make it. 
 
 At the moment I took my resolution I looked 
 up at Helen, who was always my first ob- 
 ject of thought before any important move. 
 She was leanino- over the battlement looking- 
 
A BUGLE-CALL 163 
 
 down upon the guerrillas. In her face was a 
 strength, an honesty such as I had never seen 
 before on that of any woman. My resolve 
 dwindled before that heroic countenance. I 
 could not turn her sublime faith in me to de- 
 testation. 
 
 However, my purpose to end the struggle 
 
 by my own surrender was unchanged. Rising, 
 
 I called out in a tone which at once attracted 
 
 attention and denoted that I had something of 
 
 ' importance to say, 
 
 " Dear friends I" 
 
 All looked at me inquiringly. 
 
 " I am going down there to give myself up; 
 then you can go free." 
 
 Helen's gaze bespoke not only her astonish- 
 ment but dismay. 
 
 " What yo' going to do that fo' ?" asked 
 Jack, quickly. 
 
 " Because I owe it to you all to do so." 
 
 " I'm goen' with yo'," said Buck. 
 
 " You will do no such thing ; you must stand 
 by your sister and cousin." 
 
 " What d' y' want to leave us in the lurch 
 fo' ?" said Jack, impatiently. 
 
 This imputed motive brought a fresh addi- 
 tion to my distress. Even with a perfect under- 
 
164 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 standing between me and the others my burden 
 was hard enough to bear ; Jack's taunt well- 
 nigh turned the scale. Bending to the cliff, I 
 buried my face in my hands. A soft hand 
 was laid on mine. Helen was endeavoring to 
 uncover my face. I turned and met her gaze 
 — strong, tender, sympathetic. 
 
 "Your life is not yours to surrender. You 
 must wait till it is forced from 3'^ou," 
 
 " I would be unworthy of your sublime de- 
 votion should I accept any further sacrifice, 
 especially since it can be of no avail." 
 
 " By giving up now you would turn all our 
 efforts to nothing. We shall have made a fail- 
 ure that will remain an eternal burden." 
 
 " It will be light compared with my self- 
 condemnation when I see you die with me." 
 
 By this time Jack had seized my other hand 
 with both of hers. 
 
 " Yo' can't go ; yo' mustn't think of it. What 
 would we do without yo' ?" 
 
 " Cease trying to make a coward of me," I 
 cried, " or, by God, I shall go mad." 
 
 I sprang towards the rampart. 
 
 " Stop !" cried Helen, imperatively. "' I own 
 your life to dispose of as I will — I and Jack. 
 Had it not been for me, you would have bled 
 
A BUGLE-CALL 165 
 
 to death when you received your wound. Had 
 it not been for Jack, you would have ah^eady 
 been murdered by the guerrillas." 
 
 " Yes, and I am not so base as to pull niy 
 benefactors down with me. Stand aside." 
 
 "Hark!" " 
 
 Jack spoke the word in her quick way, pois- 
 ing her head on one side to listen. She had 
 heard a low whistle. In another moment it 
 was repeated, seeming to come from below, 
 where we had built our bonfire. A figure 
 was advancing through the gloom, holding 
 aloft a white handkerchief. I jumped from 
 the rampart and ran down to meet this " flag," 
 which I soon saw was borne by Captain Rin- 
 gold. 
 
 " What do you want ?" 
 
 " Don't let your women come into our camp 
 again. Jaycox is back, and he and Halliday 
 have got the upper hand. I'm powerless." 
 
 " Will your men let the women go if I give 
 myself up ?" 
 
 "No; stay with them to the last." 
 
 " One word more." 
 
 " There's no time. I have stolen away, and 
 if I am missed and it's known where I have 
 been, I'll be a dead man." 
 
166 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 He was gone before the last word was spo- 
 ken. I returned to the fortress. 
 
 "What is itr' cried Jack, expectantl3\ 
 
 " He has lost the power to protect 3-011 ; he 
 advises me to stay with you to the last." 
 
 "Will your' 
 
 " Yes," I replied, with a sigh. 
 
 " Thank God !" exclaimed Helen. 
 
 Another nio-ht of horror ; a risiiiij: sun, flood- 
 ing the face of the rocks and our wan faces 
 with a ruddy glow. A more wretched lot of 
 beings could not be found among castaways at 
 sea. We had not slept during the night, for 
 whatever of rest had come to any of us had 
 been rather stupor than sleep. Our clieeks 
 were sunken ; our eyes, deep in their sockets, 
 were turned towards the red orb of day, which 
 to our fevered imaginations seemed to be ad- 
 vancing to strike the final blow. 
 
 A great change had come over us during 
 the night. Jack alternated between bursts 
 of passion and a devil-may-care spirit, sprin- 
 kled with humorous sallies between tears and 
 smiles, which served to lighten momentarily 
 the gloom for the others, but only rendered 
 me more wretched. Buck craved food more 
 
A BUGLE-CALL 167 
 
 than all the rest, and after a fe\y vain efforts 
 to appear unconcerned, took on a ghastly look 
 that cut me to the heart. Ginger spent a 
 great deal of his time in prayer. Helen seemed 
 calm, yet I noticed a strange look in her eye. 
 Up to this terrible morning she had been the 
 mainstay of the part3\ Under the strain that 
 smouldering fire which burned within her 
 flared ominously. Turning to me, she asked, 
 harshly : 
 
 " Are you a Confederate, or are you a — 
 Yankee?" 
 
 " What matters it now ?" 
 
 " I came to save you, understanding you to 
 be a Confederate." 
 
 "Would you abandon me now if 3^ou knew 
 me to be a Union man?" 
 
 She turned away, and I saw that she was 
 weeping. I put my arm about her and drew 
 her head down on my breast. There she wept 
 long and silently. Whether she was uncon- 
 scious of what she did, or whether her suffer- 
 ings made her careless, I did not know, but as 
 I felt her heart beatino^ as^ainst mine I was 
 conscious of the birth of a new love. 
 
 As the sun rose higher it beat down upon 
 us with all the enervatins- heat of an unseason- 
 
168 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 able day. The water dripping back of us alone 
 sustained and refreshed us. One b}^ one we 
 would go to the cleft, and, standing under the 
 cooling drops, receive them in our mouths. 
 We envied the birds the food they bore to 
 their nests, and the freedom of those soaring 
 far above in the limitless ocean of air. Why 
 could we not be given wings to fly from our 
 rocky prison? The wrecked are prone to 
 dwell on hallucinations ; so to us came sounds 
 denoting the approach of rescuers. One would 
 hear the tramp of armed men ; another would 
 see the white covers of a wagon-train. All 
 day we were tortured by these fancies, till at 
 last I ceased to pay any attention to them. 
 
 " I hear horse's hoofs," said Buck. 
 
 " Oh no, you don't, Buck," I said, laying my 
 hand on his head. 
 
 " I tell yo' I do." 
 
 ^' Listen," said Helen. 
 
 We all listened, but so far as I was concerned 
 there w^as no unusual sound. 
 
 " I hear them, too," said Jack. 
 
 It was singular that these two should 
 agree. I looked anxiously at Helen. My 
 hearing was not especially acute ; if Helen 
 had heard, I might have thought there was 
 
A BUGLE-CALL 169 
 
 something to hear. She hstened a long while, 
 but no sound came to her. 
 
 " It's gone," said Buck. 
 
 " So it is," said Jack. " I heard it; I know 
 I did." 
 
 I turned away. It was plain to me that 
 they had been tortured by another hallucina- 
 tion. Neither Buck nor Jack heard anything 
 more, and the incident was soon forgotten, at 
 least by Helen and by me, who had heard 
 nothing. AVe all relapsed into that dreadful 
 waitins: — waiting: for the time when the fear 
 of death would be overcome by the pangs of 
 starvation. Helen suddenly looked at me, that 
 dangerous light which I had seen before in 
 her eyes. 
 
 " Your enemy V she asked. 
 
 " What enemy ?" 
 
 " The one you came to Alabama to kill." 
 
 " I shall never kill him now." 
 
 " Do you mean that you abandon your 
 revenge ?" Slie spoke contemptuously. 
 
 " With death staring me, staring you and 
 the others in the face — you who have wrecked 
 3^ourselves in a vain attempt to save me — my 
 private griefs sink to nothingness." 
 
 " You must be revenged." She spoke as if it 
 
170 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 were she and not I who was to be the aven- 
 ger. 
 
 " I remember ; you were to help me." 
 
 " I will help you." 
 
 " There is no need ; we are doomed." 
 
 " We shall live ; and you will meet him." 
 
 " And then ?" 
 
 " You will kill him." 
 
 " My poor girl, think no more of that. Let 
 us fix our minds on gentler things ; let us hope 
 for some escape from this dreadful fate." 
 
 She sat down on the bare rock, I beside her. 
 "We both looked out upon the setting sun, tint- 
 ing the mountains with ominous blood-stains, 
 like those I had seen on the evening I reached 
 the guerrilla band. Jack was sitting holding 
 her knees, rocking back and forth ; Buck was 
 lying on his back with his eyes shut ; Ginger 
 had finished a prayer and was rising from his 
 knees. Suddenly the whole command started 
 up as if touched by a current of vitality. There 
 rang out on the still mountain air the clear 
 tones of a bugle. 
 
 There was no hallucination about this sound. 
 Each note cut the air with scimitar-like sharp- 
 ness. To our ears, whetted as they were for 
 some tidings of relief, it was like trumpet 
 
A BCGLE-CALL 171 
 
 tones from heaven. It echoed and re-echoed 
 through the mountains, each echo fainter than 
 the last, dying softly in the far distance. 
 
 Shading my eyes Avith my hand, peering 
 down towards tlie road, I saw through a small 
 opening in the trees liles of cavalry passing by 
 fours. They were too far for me to distinguish 
 whether they wore the blue or the gray; but 
 it made no difference; either side would, be 
 welcome. Seizing a carbine, I pointed it at the 
 sky and fired. 
 
 The bugle and my shot produced a magical 
 effect on the guerrillas. AVithout waiting to 
 gather anything but their arms, every man of 
 them darted away into the woods. They knew 
 well what would be their fate could we open 
 communication with the cavalry. 
 
 " 'Not a moment is to be lost," I cried to my 
 command; "that bugle -call was an order to 
 halt. We must catch the soldiers before they 
 start again." 
 
 Gathering the guns and putting half a 
 dozen cartridges that remained in my pocket, 
 we all left the fort that had served us so 
 well and started down the declivity. With- 
 out the inspiration of those bugle notes we 
 could scarcely have crawled away. Now we 
 
173 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 not only walked, but walked rapidly. Once 
 past the flanking rocks, we turned to the left, 
 skirted the base of the hill, and made straiorht 
 for the road. I led, and so great was my 
 anxiety to get the otliers forward that I Avas 
 constantly getting ahead of them. I saw that 
 Buck w^as lagging, and 1 was starting back to 
 help him when Helen stooped, took him up in 
 her arms, and threw him over her shoulder. 
 He kicked so vigorously at this indignity that 
 Helen put him down, and, his fury lending him 
 strength, he at once took the lead beside me. 
 "We hurried on, now" and again looking back to 
 make sure that we were not followed, climbing 
 over rocks, through ravines, around projecting 
 points, I directing the course towards the spot 
 Avhere I had seen the passing troopers. We 
 had traversed half the distance when there 
 came another bugle -call. It Avas the order 
 " Forward !" 
 
 I could not repress an exclamation of chagrin. 
 I knew the guerrillas heard all we heard, and 
 this last bugle order would probably arrest 
 their flight and bring them back after us. 
 " Come !" I cried, '' we are still in peril." 
 I dashed on for a short distance, then turned 
 and cast a Hance behind me. Helen was 
 
A BUGLE-CALL 173 
 
 marching firmh^; Jack was staggering. As I 
 looked she pitched forward and fell. Before I 
 could reach her Ginger had picked her up, and, 
 gathering her limp bod\" in his arms, her head 
 resting on his shoulder, carried her on. The 
 burden, so precious to the faithful old slave, 
 seemed to give him fresh courage, and he 
 pushed on, though with tottering steps. 
 
 " I'll relieve you presently, Ginger," I said, 
 " Hold out as long as you can." 
 
 We came to a depression, in the centre of 
 which ran a mountain stream ; the descent and 
 the ascent on the opposite side were both rocky, 
 and covered with a thick growth of low tim- 
 ber, and difficult to pass. I glanced hastily to 
 the ri":ht and to the left, but. seeing no better 
 passage, plunged down the declivity. Buck 
 was now sticking to me like a leech, Helen 
 was just behind, while a hundred yards back 
 Ginger staggered along with Jack. I waited 
 a moment for him to come up, and then led 
 the way into the ravine, intending to take his 
 burden from him when we had passed the 
 stream. Once at the creek, we waded across. 
 In the middle Ginger stumbled and dumped 
 his burden into the water. 
 
 The effect on Jack was marvellous. The 
 
174 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 cold water brought a reaction which, if not 
 pleasing, was at least beneficial. She flew 
 into a towering passion at Ginger for dropping 
 her, and when I attempted to take her up 
 gave me a box on the ear that made it tingle. 
 Dripping, she dashed up the rise in the ground, 
 storming as she went, and gained the summit 
 before the rest. 
 
 Pushing through a level wooded space, we 
 soon came to the road. A bugle ahead sound- 
 ed the order to trot. Scarcely had its echoes 
 died away Avhen, from the direction of the 
 outlaws' deserted camp came a shrill whistle. 
 
 " The guerrillas !" I cried. " It is now a 
 race between life and death." 
 
XVII 
 FLIGHT 
 
 I WAS at a loss to know what had brouHit 
 a bod}^ of cavalry up into the Cumberland 
 mountains. I learned afterwards that they 
 had come from Shelbyville and were on their 
 way to attack Bridgeport, where the Memphis 
 and Charleston railroad crossed the Tennessee, 
 with a view to burning the bridge. At Tracy 
 City they had heard of a Confederate force 
 moving on their flank to cut them off, and re- 
 traced their steps. Buck and Jaqueline had real- 
 1}^ heard them going southward early in the 
 afternoon. The bugle -calls we all heard so 
 distinctly were sounded on their way back. 
 
 " Where did you leave your horses ?" I asked, 
 quickly, of Helen as we hurried on. 
 
 " In a clump of trees near the road. There 
 it is now." She pointed to a thicket. 
 
 Great was my anxiety as I ran to the place 
 designated, to know if the horses were still 
 
176 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 there. I was doomed to disappointment ; 
 they were gone. There was no time for re- 
 pining over the loss. ■ I most think out the 
 problem of our immediate action, and that in- 
 stantly. Two courses were open to us. We 
 might follow the cavalry northward, or we 
 could strike out towards the south. Each plan 
 had its advantages. If we followed the cav- 
 alry we might succeed in coming up with 
 them, in which event we should be safe ; but 
 as they were mounted and we were not, there 
 was little hope of our overtaking them. Be- 
 sides, the guerrillas would expect us to follow 
 that course. If we pushed south we must 
 abandon all hope of falling in with the troop- 
 ers, but would doubtless mislead the guerrillas 
 and gain considerable time. We would also 
 be moving towards the homes of the others of 
 the party. I struck out southward. 
 
 "What are yo' going that way fo'?" cried 
 Jack. 
 
 '• It's the way to go." 
 
 " Well, go ahead ; I'm going after the sol- 
 diers." 
 
 She turned and started northward. I seized 
 her, and, taking her in my arms, carried her 
 along with the rest, she raining a shower of 
 
FLIGHT 177 
 
 blows from her little list upon m}' head. "We 
 pressed on without a word, till Jack, either 
 tired of the situation, or becoming sensible 
 of the absurdity of her action, promised that 
 if I would put her down she would go with 
 us peaceabh^ I set her on the ground in a 
 very disgruntled condition. 
 
 "I wisii Captain Kingold were here," she 
 muttered, angrily ; " he'd make you pay fo' 
 that." 
 
 The road was so winding that I did not fear 
 au}'^ one behind could see us from a distance, 
 while, should we leave it, our progress would 
 be very slow. I chose to take the risk of be- 
 ing seen, and put as great a distance as possible 
 between us and the outlaws, while they sup- 
 posed they were on our track in the direction 
 of the cavalry ; for I felt sure they would ex- 
 pect us to take that course. We had not gone 
 far before we met a lean countr3'man on horse- 
 back. In a few words I told him of our situa- 
 tion, and begged him if he met the guerrillas 
 to mislead them. When he learned of our 
 starving condition he pulled a small black bot- 
 tle containing whiskey out of his saddle-bag. 
 I forced every member of the party to drink, 
 and, tossing the empty bottle at the country- 
 
178 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 man, hurried on. I knew that the sthnulant 
 would avail us but a little while, then would 
 only make matters worse. Helen walked on, 
 showing no effect whatever from the potation, 
 Jack danced along as if she were at a picnic 
 party, while Buck suddenly became brave as 
 a lion. 
 
 "Don't yo' think, Mr. Brandystone," he 
 said, with difficulty getting breath enough to 
 articulate while walking so fast, " we'd better 
 stop 'n' fight 'em ?" 
 
 "I think you'd better stop talking and save 
 your breath for walking." 
 
 " Reckon we better stop," said Ginger, " 'n' 
 thank de Lawd fo' letten us out o' dat trap, 'n' 
 pray fo' dem g'rillas 't git los' in de wilder- 
 ness." 
 
 "We can do that while we're walking," said 
 Helen, " and not lose any time." 
 
 " 'Spec' de pra'rs on de knees is mo' effica- 
 cerous," replied Ginger, " but mebbe we don' 
 need 'em like we did a spell ago." 
 
 Still there was no sound in our rear. Helen 
 asked if I did not think that keeping the road 
 was pretty risky. I told her tliat I would 
 soon give the word to take to the woods. 
 Coming to a point where there was a turn, 
 
FLIGHT 179 
 
 leaving a straight piece of road back of us, I 
 told the rest to go on while I waited and 
 watched. I stood castino- o-lances back till inv 
 army reached another turn in advance, then, 
 pressing forward, caught up with them. In 
 this Avay I kept them in the road and main- 
 tained a rear watch at the same time for 
 nearly half an hour. Then the strength of 
 the party, which had thus far been supplied 
 by excitement, suddenly began to droop, and 
 I, feeling that I had used all the energy 
 there was in them, led the way off the road 
 into the heart of the forest. AVe had scarcely 
 got into the woods when we heard a clatter- 
 ing of hoofs on the road. "Whether they were 
 made by the guerrillas' horses or not I did not 
 know, but I felt very sure they were. AVe 
 waited till they were out of hearing; then 
 every one sank down on the ground. 
 
 "Now, Gringer," I said, "it is a good time 
 to giv^e thanks." 
 
 Getting on his knees. Ginger poured out the 
 thanks of the party in words that came as 
 smoothly and plentifully as the waters of a 
 running stream. I, being of that persuasion 
 which has for its motto, " Trust in God, but 
 keep your powder dry,'- and seeing that Gin- 
 
180 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 ger was disposed to prolong his thanksgiving 
 indefinitely, got up and started to find a con- 
 venient pLace to hide. I soon struck a little 
 pocket, formed by the coming together of 
 several declivities, and surrounded by thickets. 
 A little runnel passed through it, and, stooping 
 down, I quenched a thirst that was burning 
 me. Returning to the party, I led them to 
 the retreat I had found for tliem, then left 
 them to go in search of provisions. 
 
 It was now quite dark. I walked half a 
 mile, when I saw the Hghts of Tracy City. Go- 
 ing to the town and selecting a house standing 
 apart from the rest, I marched boldly up to it 
 and knocked at the door. It was opened by a 
 girl, the only occupant of the place, a wild-eyed 
 creature in dingy calico, unshod, her square-cut 
 locks tucked behind her ears. She appeared 
 to be in a chronic state of fright, and evident- 
 ly thought me one of those men who were go- 
 ing about taking advantage of the absence of 
 restraint induced by war to help themselves 
 to whatever they wanted. I asked her for some 
 food and a few cooking utensils, and when I 
 paid her for them she Avas struck dumb with 
 amazement. I returned to camp with provi- 
 sions, matches, a skillet, and a coffee-pot. 
 
FLIGHT 181 
 
 Gino;er and Buck had frathered a little wood 
 for the fire. At the inner extremity of the 
 pocket we occupied was a low ledge of over- 
 hanging rock. It projected but a few feet, 
 and was about the height of little Buck from 
 the ground. I hesitated for some time wheth- 
 er it would not be dangerous to light a fire 
 and thus guide our enemies to where we were, 
 but at last concluded to place the wood under 
 the ledge and cover the front with boughs. 
 Driving three stakes into the ground, I placed 
 the wood under them and lighted it. Then 
 filling my coffee-pot with water from the 
 stream, and putting in my coifee, a very pleas- 
 ant odor soon greeted our nostrils. 
 
 But all were too famished to Avait for a 
 cooked supper. Seizing upon some corn-pone 
 I had brought, the others devoured it eagerly, 
 I restraining my appetite long enough to put 
 some bacon into the skillet. One article of 
 food after another was devoured as it was got 
 ready, and our coffee without milk came in at 
 the end like the last course at a dinner. 
 
 As soon as we had finished our supper we 
 put out the fire, lay boughs where it had been, 
 and covered them with dry leaves, making a 
 bed for the two girls and Buck. Ginger was 
 
183 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 to bivouac wherever he liked, while I proposed 
 to watch. Leaving the others to get to bed, 
 I took a carbine and walked towards the road. 
 
 There was a light step behind me, and, turn- 
 ing, I saw Helen coming. 
 
 " Go back," I said, " and take your rest. 
 You need all you can get." 
 
 "I wish to take half your watch." 
 
 " You shall do no such thing." 
 
 " I am strong ; the supper has revived me." 
 
 " Helen," I said, quietly, at the same time 
 taking her hand, " I am in command ; as a good 
 soldier it is your duty to obey." 
 
 I led her back to the camp. As we passed, 
 hand in hand, over the dead leaves and crack- 
 ling twigs, ray heart was filled, even in our 
 peril, with a supreme happiness, yet a happiness 
 marred by the gulf between us. I longed to 
 tell her that I loved her — for her bravery, her 
 strength of character, her devotion, for her- 
 self — but I could not without confessing myself 
 an enemy to all she held dear. 
 
 When we reached the camp we stood face 
 to face in the moonlight. It seemed as impos- 
 sible to restrain the words I would utter as it 
 was impossible to utter them. I dropped her 
 hand and walked away to resume my watch. 
 
FLIGHT 183 
 
 From an eminence I turned and looked back. 
 She was still standing in the moonlight. I 
 knew that she was disapjDointed that I had 
 withheld an expression of my love. What 
 could I do? Turning again, I passed in among 
 the trees. 
 
 All through that long night I walked with a 
 soft tread, hearkening to the slightest sound, 
 straining my ears whenever a breeze rustled 
 the branches of tlie trees, or starting when I 
 heard some fur-coated creature prowling in 
 search of food. Yet during my watch one 
 picture was ever present before me. All night 
 I saw Helen standing in the moonlight, all 
 night I brooded over the barrier that separated 
 us. At dawn I felt that I must get some rest, 
 or I would not be able to lead the party farther. 
 Going to the little camp and awakening Ginger, 
 I led him out to where I had been watching-, 
 and told him to keep moving back and forth a 
 short distance from the road, and in case of 
 danger raise the alarm. Then, returning to 
 camp, I threw myself on the ground and fell 
 asleep. 
 
XVIII 
 RETAKEN 
 
 I WAS awakened by the kick of a heavy 
 boot, and, opening my eyes, looked into the 
 face of Tom Jaycox. The expression of fiend- 
 isli joy that shone through anxious caution 
 froze the very marrow of my bones. The 
 muzzle of his revolver was within a few inches 
 of my forehead, and his look told me that a 
 word of alarm or a motion for self-defence 
 would be a signal for a bullet to go crashing 
 through my brain. 
 
 " Git up," he whispered. 
 
 I stood on my feet. 
 
 " Move on." 
 
 It was the dawn of a beautiful spring morn- 
 ing. The perfume of young verdure, the twit- 
 ter of birds, an occasional cock-crow in the 
 distance, gave me the thought that it is de- 
 lightful to live. But they threw over me as 
 well a contrasting gloom, for it seemed certain 
 
BETAKEN 185 
 
 that this fair scene was the last of those pict- 
 ures drawn by the divinely artistic hand of 
 the Creator that I should ever look upon. My 
 companions were all wrapt in a heavy slumber, 
 induced by a long period of unrest. I bade a 
 mute farewell to each as I passed, breathing 
 a blessing on little Buck, whose arms were 
 clasped about his sister, his young face and 
 figure relaxed ; on Jaqueline, her white face 
 resting in a profusion of tumbled black hair; 
 on Helen, her features strong even in sleep. 
 There was a line between the lids of Helen's 
 eyes ; but I thought little of that, for it is not 
 unusual for people to show this line when 
 sleeping. I thanked God that my presence 
 would no longer be a menace to these dear 
 ones who had suffered so much for me. 
 
 Jaycox marched me out of the camp tow- 
 ards the road, across it, and into a w^ood on the 
 other side, where his horse was picketed to a 
 tree. He was constantly looking about and 
 listening, and I inferred this was for others of 
 the gang, who had doubtless separated in order 
 to cover more ground in their search for us. 
 Finally the brute stood still, and, pointing his 
 revolver straight at me, fired two shots in rapid 
 succession, the bullets singing close to my ears. 
 
186 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 He did not intend to kill me, though he was 
 indifferent whether he did or not ; he wished 
 to serve a double purpose of signalling the 
 band and intimidating me. Two similar shots 
 were fired far to the north, and then m^^ cap- 
 tor started off with me in that direction. 
 
 Entering the road we proceeded, Jaycox, 
 some ten yards behind me, amusing himself 
 by firing occasional shots at me, evidently try- 
 ing to see how near he could come to me with- 
 out hitting me. One of his bullets grazed my 
 ear, and I felt blood trickling on my collar, 
 good evidence that he had missed his imagi- 
 nary mark on the wrong side. He was doubt- 
 less firing for his double purpose of letting his 
 companions know of his whereabouts and of 
 torturing me. His signals and those of my 
 other enemies were drawing nearer and nearer 
 too:ether. I did not doubt tliat the o-uerrillas 
 would prevent any further opportunity for 
 escape by murdering me at once, though they 
 might delay long enough to force me to sign for 
 a ransom which would have no effect in saving: 
 me. I lost all care whether Ja3'cox hit me, or 
 whether I was spared for a more horrible 
 death by the gang. At last I was face to face 
 with the inevitable. 
 
RETAKEN 187 
 
 I was trudging on mechanically^ my eyes bent 
 on the ground, Jaycox close behind swearing 
 and shooting at me, when snddenlv a shot ransr 
 out from behind us both. I turned and saw 
 Jaycox tumble from the saddle. Running to 
 where he lay I bent over him, and knew at 
 once that I looked into the face of a dying 
 man. He gave me one malignant look, a shiv- 
 er passed over him, and his eyes were set in 
 death. 
 
 I looked up, and saw Helen standing in the 
 road a short distance back with a carbine in 
 her hands. There was something in the ex- 
 pression of her face, holding as she did the 
 weapon, a light smoke curling from its muzzle, 
 that brought vividly before me my enemy with 
 his smoking pistol on the night of the massacre. 
 A signal shot came from around the trees so 
 near that we knew the rest of the band would 
 soon be upon us. Quick as thought I sprang 
 into the saddle left vacant by Jaycox, and 
 spurred towards Helen, she darting into the 
 wood, I following, and, after i^enetrating far 
 enough, both hiding behind a rock covered 
 with brush. 
 
 A horseman came dashing down the road, 
 pulled up beside Jaycox's body, looked around 
 
188 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 anxiously as though fearing an ambush, then 
 hurried back wlience he carae. 
 
 With one impulse Helen and I sprang into 
 each other's arras. Oh, tlie rapture of that 
 embrace ! I essayed to speak to her, to utter 
 even a word, an exclamation expressive of 
 what I felt. I could only draw her cheek 
 down against mine and mutely hold it there. 
 Then I showered kisses on her lips, her cheeks, 
 her forehead, her eyes. For the moment I 
 forgot all but the reverence, the gratitude, 
 the burning passion, tliat thrilled me — a pas- 
 sion such as comes but once, if ever, in a life- 
 time. 
 
 Suddenly there came to Helen a remem- 
 brance of our danger. 
 
 " Mount ! quick ! All depends on })utting 
 space between you and those who will kill you 
 the moment they get their hands on you 
 again !" 
 
 " And leave you ? ISTot I." 
 
 " Oh, my God ! are you going to act that 
 way again ?" 
 
 " You have killed Jaj'cox and released mo a 
 second time. Do you suppose they will over- 
 look that V' 
 
 She became frantic at my opposition. 
 
RETAKEN 189 
 
 " You fool ! you ingrate ! to throw away 
 your life when I have twice saved it." 
 
 " We will go together. Here, put your foot 
 in my hand. Once in the saddle you can ride 
 away, while I can go as fast on foot as j^ou." 
 
 " Hark !" 
 
 There were sounds of horses' hoofs com- 
 ing leisurely from the south, and in another 
 moment a mounted man in Confederate uni- 
 form emerged from behind the trees, loitering 
 along, the picture of indolence. 
 
 "Look!" said Helen, her eyes fixed eagerly 
 on the advancing figure. " It's — " 
 
 "Captain Beaumont, as I live!" 
 
 .Never for a moment doubting that he was 
 followed by his troopers, and infinitely pre- 
 ferrino^ to fall into his hands rather than into 
 the guerrillas', 1 hailed him. He reined in, 
 stared at us, recognized us, and, after sitting 
 for a moment in mute astonishment, rode tow- 
 ards us. 
 
 " What in the name of — " 
 
 " Your men — where are they ?" gasped 
 Helen. 
 
 " I have no men, I sent them back yester- 
 day. We have hunted you fo' — " 
 
 " Tiien dismount, captain," I said-, " and be 
 
190 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 quick. There are guerrillas up there. They 
 may murder you as well as us." 
 
 " My dear man," he said, dismounting lei- 
 surely, " yo' are always in a hurry. By-the-bye, 
 where is tha^fascinating little creature — " 
 
 " Oh, captain," cried Helen, "a life — both 
 our lives are at stake !" 
 
 "What can I do fo' yo'?" asked the captain, 
 at last impressed with our excited appearance. 
 
 By this time the guerrillas had come up to 
 Jaycox's body, and stood alternately looking 
 at it and casting glances into the wood on 
 either side of the road. They raised him, felt 
 of his heart, knew that he was dead, and 
 dropped him. 
 
 " It's Jaycox," I whispered to the captain. 
 " He kidnapped me to - day a second time. 
 This brave girl followed and shot him. In a 
 few minutes they will scour the wood. We 
 have but one horse. It will never carry us 
 both swiftly enough for escape." 
 
 " I relinquish my horse with pleasure, of 
 co'se. May I assist — " 
 
 Helen's foot was in my hand and she in the 
 saddle before he could finish ; then I sprang 
 upon the other horse. 
 
 " Would you oblige me,'' the captain called 
 
RETAKEN 191 
 
 after us, as we hurried away, " b}^ informing 
 me where I can find that httle beauty — " 
 
 "Over there — in a pocket between knolls 
 — half a mile — • tell them we'll join them 
 later." 
 
 I can see him now, with his hand on his 
 heart, bowing profoundly, and, notwithstand- 
 ing a shudder at remembering the danger we 
 were in, cannot repress a smile at the comical 
 situation of this man who a few days before 
 had ordered me out to be shot, then had of- 
 fered to lend me money, and now, giving me 
 his horse to save my life, was about to start 
 off hunting for Jaqueline in the Cumberland 
 mountains. 
 
 Helen and I, riding side by side, dashed 
 through brush, between trees, over rocks, run- 
 nels, rotting trunks of trees, our only thought 
 to put space between us and our enemies. She 
 was riding on a man's saddle, sidewise, lucki- 
 ly supported b}^ a high pommel and holster, 
 keeping her balance as if bred to the " ring." 
 I reached out m}^ hand ; she gave me hers 
 to press, and a lover's look, intensified by our 
 danger, shot between us. It was only for an 
 instant, for so rough was the ground, so nu- 
 merous the obstructions, that we were oblit!:ed 
 
193 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 to keep oar eyes constantly fixed ahead. There 
 had been exciting moments since my first ab- 
 duction, but nothing like the wild exhilaration 
 that thrilled me now. I forgot tlie barrier 
 that was still between us, thinking only that 
 if this one ride were successful years of hap- 
 piness might be in store for us. 
 
 "Wondering if we were followed, I drew rein 
 and listened. We could distinctly hear the 
 brush breaking in our rear. Again we pushed 
 forward. 
 
 It occurred to me that we were <]:oinf]: direct- 
 ly from our camp, and that the greater chance 
 for safety, both immediate and ultimate, would 
 be in hiding, with a view to inducing the 
 guerrillas to pass us, thus affording an oppor- 
 tunity to return and join forces with our 
 friends. Approaching a clump of wood skirted 
 by open ground, a plan flashed through my 
 brain to utilize both in order to elude our pur- 
 suers. 
 
 " Your bonnet!" I cried to Helen. 
 
 She tossed it to me. 
 
 " Now ride straight for that thicket." 
 
 Spurring my horse to the utmost, I made a 
 circuit, dropping the bonnet, and, a trifle far- 
 ther on, my hat. He.len entered the wood, 
 
KETAKEN 193 
 
 and I, wheeling, dashed in on the farther side 
 and rejoined her. Jerking off my coat, I 
 wrapped it about my horse's ears and eyes to 
 prevent his neighing to those approaching, 
 and Helen, divining my intention, did the 
 same to her own mount with her jacket. Then 
 we stood waiting, not a sound escaping from 
 either us or our horses, even their panting 
 deadened b}'^ the covering. It was either life 
 or death, with the chances in favor of death, 
 We stood, hand in hand, looking straight into 
 each other's eyes. In that moment of supreme 
 suspense it was as if but one being waited for 
 the result. 
 
 An exclamation : they have seen the bon- 
 net ! A shout : they have come upon the hat ! 
 They clatter on. Wait. A man in the rear is 
 coming. He too passes, his horse's hoof-beats 
 dying in the distance. 
 
 Leaving the thicket, we made straight for 
 the camp, and in a few minutes dashed in u^Jon 
 our companions. 
 
XIX 
 BUCK'S INDISCRETION 
 
 Captain Beaumont had arrived but a few 
 minutes before us, and when we appeared was 
 attempting to reassure Jack, who had com- 
 pletel}'^ collapsed at finding that both Helen 
 and I had disappeared. He went to Helen 
 and politely offered to assist her to alight. 
 
 " We must move out of this at once," I said. 
 " All depends upon our getting down the 
 mountain and into some town, where these 
 villains will not dare follow iis. All stay here 
 ■while I reconnoitre." 
 
 I had not dismounted, and spurred my horse 
 a few hundred yards westward, where I paused 
 on the verge of the plateau. The sun Avas 
 rising at my back, and was pouring a flood of 
 light on the lowlands a thousand feet below, 
 1 swept my eye over the rolling fields and 
 woodland dotted with towns, villages, ham- 
 lets, and many a fair plantation with its manor- 
 house surrounded by the huts of the field- 
 
BUCK S INDISCRETION 195 
 
 hands. Far in the distance was a snakelike 
 line in the road, moving forward, it seemed, as 
 a reptile crawls — the cavalry that we had so 
 nearly caught the day before, now on their 
 way back to join the main force. I longed for 
 a speaking-trumpet sonorous enough to reach 
 them, but there was no hope for us now in 
 them, and I brushed away disappointment and 
 made a survey of the ground directly before 
 me. Nothing but steep incline, so thickly 
 wooded that the character of the ground was 
 completely hidden. On either hand Avas a 
 mountain spur, between Avhich ran a creek. I 
 hesitated between taking one of these spurs 
 and following the bed of the creek. On the 
 spurs we might be seen ; by the creek we would 
 be concealed under the trees. I decided in 
 favor of the latter. Eeturning to camp I in- 
 formed the party of my decision. 
 
 "Will you join us, Captain Beaumont?"! 
 asked. 
 
 " I've been hunting fo' yo' all fo' days," re- 
 plied the captain, looking at Jack. " Now I've 
 found yo' I'm not likely to part with yo'l 
 Together we can whip the guerrillas." 
 
 " Not a dozen of them. Besides, we've had 
 enough of that." 
 
196 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " What are you going to do with the horses ?" 
 asked Helen. 
 
 " Mount the ladies," suggested the captain. 
 
 "Thank yo','' observed Jack, "I don't care 
 to ride on a horse with his nose pointing to 
 China and his tail at the stars." 
 
 " No one could ride a horse over such a 
 route," said I. " I'll take care of the stock." 
 
 I tethered them in the little poclcet we were 
 leaving, knowing that they were less likely to 
 betray our whereabouts to our enemies there 
 than if I turned them loose. 
 
 " They'll starve," Jack remonstrated. 
 
 "I can't help it." 
 
 "They shall not!" 
 
 "Come, we have no time to lose." 
 
 But Jack set about collecting Avhat little 
 grass was to be had and piling it before them. 
 The captain, seeing her determination, was 
 soon on his knees gathering grass and throw- 
 ing it in her apron, 
 
 " I hope the delay will not cost us our lives," 
 I grumbled. " Now, Ginger, I Avant you to go 
 off to the right just as far as you can, and still 
 keep me in sight. Buck, you go to the left and 
 do the same, but keep close, for it won't do for 
 us to call to each other." 
 
buck's indiscretion 197 
 
 " Jack can make all sorts o' noises— cats, 'n' 
 owls, 'n' birds — so yo' can't tell 'em," Buck vol- 
 unteered. 
 
 " Good ! "We may have occasion to use her. 
 You girls keep behind about the same distance 
 as oar flankers. When we get to the creek 
 Ginger is to work down it on the right bank, 
 Buck on the left, while I keep as near the 
 creek as possible. Captain Beaumont, will you 
 act as rear-guard ?" 
 
 " With pleasure, sir." 
 
 '* He'll go to sleep," remarked Jack, " and 
 be left behind." 
 
 "Not with you in front," said the captain, 
 looking at her reproachfully. 
 
 I gave the order to move. Making as little 
 noise as possible, keeping each other in sight, 
 except occasionally when the trees and under- 
 brush were too thick, we proceeded to the 
 brow of the plateau. Descending, we soon 
 struck the creek, and under cover of the trees 
 proceeded downward in open order, walking 
 rapidly, keeping a sharp lookout ahead and on 
 the flanks. "We had not gone far before an 
 owl hooted behind me, and so natural was the 
 cry that, had I not been expecting it, I should 
 never have suspected it to have come from the 
 
198 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 throat of Jaqueline. Turning, I saw both girls 
 pointing upward. On the very edge of the 
 declivity, and not far from w^hei-e Ave had be- 
 gun our descent, a man was looking down 
 from the plateau. We were so protected that 
 he could not see us, for, besides being among 
 the trees, we were in comparative shadow, 
 while the man above stood out boldly in the 
 light. He did not look like a guerrilla, but we 
 hurried on. 
 
 Discovering a great advantage in Jack's 
 signals, I called in the flankers and the rear- 
 guard, and arranged with them that Jack was 
 to travel with me as trumpeter. The hoot of 
 an owl would mean "hide"; a woodpecker's 
 rapping, "rally on the centre"; the notes of a 
 thrush, " take a back track "; a hen's cackling, 
 " push forward in haste." These signals be- 
 ing perfectly understood, we opened again, and 
 advanced like a central sun and satellites. 
 
 We had made the principal part of the de- 
 scent, when, coming to a convenient spot, I 
 ordered a halt for rest, feeling a confidence 
 that I had not felt since my abduction — a con- 
 fidence I should not have yielded to, for we 
 were yet far from safety. The place of our 
 halt was a delightful angle in the stream Ave 
 
BUCK S INDISCKETION 199 
 
 Avere following. Jack strolled away in search 
 of wild flowers, and was soon joined by Cap- 
 tain Beaumont, whose infatuation prevented 
 him from thinkin"' of auo;ht else, even our 
 common danger. Buck stretched himself un- 
 der a short mountain oak, clasped his hands 
 under his head, threw one leg over the bent 
 knee of the other, and looked straight up into 
 the branches. Helen and I were thus left 
 alone. We sat down on the bank of the creek 
 in view of the bubbling stream. Takino; a 
 slender stick in her hand, Helen began to 
 thrash the Avater. I saw that she was trou- 
 bled, and I knew the cause. The barrier be- 
 tween us, which in a moment of intense excite- 
 ment had faded out of sight, now loomed up 
 again as ominously as ever. "We sat without 
 speaking. Jack and the captain were chatting 
 briskly, every now and again speaking loud 
 enough for us to hear some word that told of 
 the captain's enthralment. The silence be- 
 tween Helen and myself grew painful ; I could 
 say nothing to break the spell. I could but 
 mutely express what I felt. Beaching out, I 
 took her hand and drew her to me. 
 
 A shot ! 
 
 Looking upward to the plateau, I saw a 
 
300 SWEET EEVENOE 
 
 horseman (lashing off to the spur north of us, 
 whose ridge led to the level ground we were 
 approaching. It was plain that we had been 
 discovered, that the shot was a signal, and the 
 horseman was going to head us off. 
 
 The trouble had all come from Buck. I 
 have no doubt we should have given the guer- 
 rillas the slip had it not been for his folly. 
 There are certain idiosyncrasies in boys that 
 are as natural to them as for a duck to swim 
 or a robin to ^y. Unfortunately, at a critical 
 moment, Buck encountered an incident that 
 called out one of these idiosyncrasies. Gazing 
 into the branches of the tree under which he 
 lay, he espied a bird's-nest. Unluckily he no- 
 ticed that a rock which admitted of a gradual 
 ascent stood directly under the tree. Climb- 
 ing the rock, he made his way among the 
 branches, and, leaning far out where the briglit 
 sun could sliine directly on him, grasped for 
 the treasure. Our enemy, who was at the 
 time watching from the plateau, discovered 
 him. 
 
 Calling the party together, I gave the order 
 to push forward ; not that there seemed to be 
 any object in doing so, for we must expect to 
 meet our pursuers ; but. we could not go back, 
 
BUCK S INDISCRETION 201 
 
 and could not stay where we were. Besides, 
 motion would tend to pull together the facul- 
 ties of the party, every one of whom was ap- 
 palled at this relapse into the frightful dan- 
 gers they had so long endured ; though Captain 
 Beaumont showed only irritation at having his 
 tete-a-tete with Jack interrupted. 
 
 We had not gone far before we struck a path 
 running parallel with the creek, Avhich led us 
 to a hamlet on a road leading north and 
 south. There were but half a dozen houses 
 in the place, including a small country store 
 and a blacksmith-shop. Before entering the 
 town we consulted as to w^hat w^e should 
 do. 
 
 " Get horses," I proposed, " if there is time." 
 
 " Or a horse and wagon," said Helen. 
 
 " I reckon we better hide," was Buck's prop- 
 osition. 
 
 "• Let's get clothes," suggested Jack, " and 
 dress up like village people." 
 
 I looked at Helen. Jack's proposition ap- 
 peared to strike her with the same force it 
 struck me. Of all things the guerrillas would 
 expect us to do, disguising ourselves and going 
 about the town as if we belonged there would 
 be the last. 
 
202 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " Done !'' I said, as we entered the place. 
 " Scatter. Tell the people the guerrillas are 
 after us, and they'll help us. We'll have from 
 ten to fifteen minutes to prepare." 
 
XX 
 A MASQUERADE 
 
 What became of the others I did not at- 
 tempt to discover. I made straight for the 
 blacksmith-shop and found a smith at his 
 forge. 
 
 " My good man," I said, *' I'm followed by 
 guerrillas. They'll be in the town in a few 
 minutes. Can't you give me your clothes and 
 let me take your place at the forge ?" 
 
 He stood, with his hand on the handle of 
 the bellows looking at me, while what I said 
 was slowly making its way through his skull. 
 
 " Weel noo," he said, at last. 
 
 " Scotch— I knew it. I'll be taken before I 
 can make him understand." Then to him : 
 "Do you want to save me from death by 
 guerrillas ?" 
 
 " Certain, mon." 
 
 " Then take off that apron and give it to me 
 at once. Xot a moment to lose." 
 
204 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 At this juncture the desperate position I 
 was in entered his brain, and he worked quick- 
 ly enough once he reahzed what was wanted. I 
 saw a woollen shirt, well begrimed, hanging on 
 a nail, and, seizing it, put it on. Then I took 
 the smith's apron, rolled up my sleeves, smeared 
 my arms with cinders, and looked into a bit 
 of broken mirror resting against the wooden 
 wall to observe the effect. I was disappointed 
 to see that my face belied my calling. 
 
 " Your razor !" I exclaimed to the black- 
 smith. 
 
 He went through a door leading from the 
 shop to his dwelling and returned with a ra- 
 zor, soap, and hot water. In five minutes I 
 had shorn my beard, leaving a dark stubble, 
 then, seizing a handful of coke, rubbed out 
 every refined lineament. Taking another look 
 at myself I was pleased to see that my own 
 mother would not know me. Seizing the 
 handle of the bellows, I began to blow vigor- 
 ously. 
 
 '" Weel, weel," laughed the blacksmith, "ye 
 mak' a better-lo'ken smith than geentlemon." 
 
 " Play your own part well," I replied, "and 
 I have something nice for you at the end of 
 the performance." 
 
A MASQUERADE 205 
 
 It was fully fifteen minutes after we reached 
 the hamlet before there were any signs of the 
 guerrillas, and then three or four rode into 
 the town and asked for our party. Had they 
 seen us ? "Which way had we gone ? and other 
 questions, which the few people they met re- 
 sponded to with a grunt or a shake of the 
 head. I put ray head out to see, and. recog- 
 nizing one of them, drew back and began to 
 blow my bellows as if my life depended on it. 
 And it did. Presently one of the outlaws rode 
 up to the shop. 
 
 "Hello, thar!" he shouted. 
 
 " "Wall," I replied, still blowing and keeping 
 my face turned from him. 
 
 "Seen a man, two women, a bo}^, 'n' a nig- 
 ger go through the town ?" 
 
 " Hain't seen no one." 
 
 " Sho' V 
 
 " Sho' nuff." 
 
 He rode off, but I knew the storm had not 
 yet blown over. I went on working the bel- 
 lows, and it was well I did so, for presently 
 more of tlie band rode into town, and one of 
 the horses having lost a shoe, its rider dis- 
 mounted in front of the shop and told me to 
 put it on. 
 
206 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 This was something I had not counted on. 
 I knew no more about horseshoeing than 
 about knitting, but I put a bold face on the 
 matter and went to work. 
 
 " What the you doen' ?" yelled the man. 
 
 " Air y' goen"' ter put that shoe on with nary 
 trimmen' V 
 
 "Don't y' s'pose I know my business?" I 
 cried, bristling. " I was only fitten' it." 
 
 With that I seized a knife and began to cut. 
 But I was too excited to pare the hoof even if 
 I had been an expert, and in another moment 
 the man yelled again, " Ef yo' cut that critter's 
 hoof off I'll brain yo\" 
 
 " Here, Sand}^" I cried to the blacksmith 
 within, "come shoe this man's critter; he 
 thinks he knows more 'n I do about shoe'n'." 
 
 The blacksmith finished the job while I, pre- 
 tending to be greatly irritated, was glad to 
 escape into his dwelling-house. Going to a 
 front window and dropping a curtain so that 
 I could look into the road without being seen, 
 I took a view of the situation. The guerrillas 
 were scattered about the town, some riding 
 around the houses hunting for us, others sit- 
 ting on their horses, questioning the inhabi- 
 tants as to our whereabouts. Captain Ringold 
 
A MASQUERADE 207 
 
 was in command. A negro boy was playing 
 "hop-scotch" on the sidewalk. The captain 
 called to him : 
 
 " Yo' boy thar! Didn't yo' see anybod}^ go 
 this way a while ago ?" 
 
 " Two women 'n' a boy 'bout 's big 's me ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " 'N' a white man 'n' a colored man ?" 
 
 " Yes ; which way did they go ?" 
 
 "Dey's gwine right 'long dar;" and he 
 pointed to a path leading across the road 
 westward. 
 
 " Here, you," cried the captain to two men 
 who were watering their horses at a wooden 
 trough in front of the shop, " strike out on 
 that path." 
 
 The men darted away, leaving the captain 
 alone in the road. A little old woman came 
 out of a house opposite and began to guy him 
 in a cracked voice, poking fun at him for not 
 being able to catch a party of women. She 
 talked so familiarly with him that I besfan to 
 suspect she knew him. I trembled for fear 
 she would betray us. 
 
 " You uns ain't wo'th a persimmon," she 
 said ; " with them critters' legs under yer, y' 
 orter ketch wimmen folks easy." 
 
208 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 "We'll catch 'em easy enough; they've 
 gone along thar," pointing to the path his 
 men were just dashing into. 
 
 " Th' didn't go that a-way." 
 
 " They didn't ? Which way did they go ?" 
 
 " D' y' s'pose I give fac's fo' nothen' ?" 
 
 A cold chill ran down my back ; she was 
 going to tell for pay. 
 
 " What do yo' want ?" 
 
 " Gimme 'nuff fo' a caliker dress 'n* I'll put 
 yer on th' right track." 
 
 " Sho' ?" 
 
 "Sart'in." 
 
 "This '11 git it as easy." He drew a re- 
 volver and put it to her face. She drew back. 
 But this man, who was above his calling, never 
 could persist in ill-treating a woman, and, low- 
 ering his weapon, he put his hand in his pocket 
 and pulled out a bill. 
 
 " That's the stuff ter git fac's with," said the 
 woman. " Now you uns git right 'long thar," 
 and she pointed up the road northward. 
 
 " That won't do,'' said the captain ; " we just 
 came from up thar." 
 
 There was a pause, at the end of which I 
 heard the woman sav, in a low tone : 
 
 "Captain!" 
 
A MASQUERADE 209 
 
 The voice was familiar. I saw the man 
 start, then exclaim, " Great God !" 
 
 The old woman Avent over to him, and, tak- 
 ing hold of his bridle-rein, began to whisper to 
 him earnestly. Presently I heard the captain 
 say : 
 
 " I can't do it." 
 
 There was more whispering, and b}^ the wom- 
 an's attitude I knew she was pleading. Was 
 she pleading for us? If so, who could this 
 good friend be to take so much interest in us ? 
 
 " I'd do 't fo' yo' and yo' friend, but not the 
 other one." 
 
 She fumbled with the rein, she stroked his 
 horse's neck, she laid her hand on his, all the 
 while talking earnestly and looking up into his 
 eyes, I fancied beseechingly, though I could 
 not see her face, for her back was towards 
 me, while the man's head was drooping lower 
 and lower. Her bonnet fell back on her neck, 
 and I knew the old woman was Jaqueline. 
 
 "Can yo' refuse when / ask it?" she said, 
 loud enough for me to hear. 
 
 The man was silent. The struggle within 
 him was plain in every line of his face. At 
 last he said : 
 
 " Fo' yo' sake, little one, I'll do it." 
 
210 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 She took his rough brown hand in her little 
 white one and bent her head down upon it ; 
 then looking up through tears : " I can give 
 yo' only a trifle in reward, captain dear ; kiss 
 me." 
 
 Bending from his saddle, he reverently 
 touched his lips to her forehead. 
 
 Lost in wonder at the strange sight, I was 
 nevertheless congratulating myself that she 
 had secured the man's promise to draw off liis 
 force, when the whole advantage was spoiled 
 through the insane jealousy of Captain Beau- 
 mont. It seems that the captain had dis- 
 dained to hide Avith the rest ; indeed, he had 
 no occasion to hide. The guerrillas did not 
 know that he was with our party, and he was 
 in no more danger from them than any other 
 man would be. He had, however, yielded to 
 Jack's persuasion to go into a house and keep 
 out of sight. When the guerrillas rode into 
 town he was sitting by a window sipping a 
 glass of Tennessee whiskey, and at the moment 
 Ringold imprinted the kiss on Jack's forehead, 
 as ill-luck would have it, he happened to look 
 out of the window. In another moment he was 
 in the road, discharging his revolver at the guer- 
 rilla, who, drawing his own weapon, returned 
 
A MASQUERADE 311 
 
 the fire. A fusillade followed, Ringold re- 
 ceiving a wound that put him hors de combat. 
 Swaying in his saddle, he fell fainting to the 
 ground. 
 
 Jaqueline turned upon Beaumont like a fury. 
 I have seen little Jaclv in many a towering 
 passion, but never anything like this. Her 
 face was livid, her eyes flaming. She tried to 
 speak, but her ire choked her. At last, one 
 word expressive of her pent-up feelings came 
 out like a pistol-shot : 
 
 "Pier!" 
 
 Having thus relieved herself to Captain 
 Beaumont, she turned to the prostrate Rin- 
 gold, knelt beside him, crooning over him as 
 if he had been dearer to her than all the world 
 beside. 
 
 At this moment a guerrilhi, who had doubt- 
 less been attracted by the firing, dashed down 
 the road. Beaumont caught sight of him just 
 as Jack had hurled her opprobrious epithet. 
 With an expression indicating that he would 
 prefer death to another such word from the girl 
 v.dio had enthralled him, he started to meet tlie 
 invader. Shots were exchanged, and the guer- 
 rilla fell from the saddle. He was followed 
 by another who shared the same fate, while a 
 
212 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 third, perhaps fancying that he had struck a 
 troop of Confederate soldiers, turned and fled. 
 All this happened so quickly that no one but 
 Beaumont and tiie three bandits had an op- 
 portunity to take a hand in the fight. When 
 there were no more guerrillas for the captain 
 to kill, he went shyly back to Jack, Avho had wit- 
 nessed his feat, looking like a school-boy who 
 had done penance for a fault and wanted for- 
 giveness. But Jack turned her back on him. 
 
 When the firing began, with one bound, dis- 
 guised and begrimed as I was, I cleared my 
 window. When Ringold fell I was joined by 
 the other members of our ])arty from the 
 houses. Buck had blackened himself for a 
 negro, and it was he who had answered Bin- 
 gold's questions. Helen and Ginger had hid- 
 den without disguise. The peo])le of the town, 
 one man and eight women, besides children, 
 rushed into the road. I knew well that the 
 absence of the guerrillas Avas but temporar}^ — 
 that they would soon come down on us in a 
 body. 
 
 "We have no time to lose," I cried. "We 
 must get aw^ay at once." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "Anywhere." 
 
A MASQUERADE 213 
 
 Turning to the townspeople, I asked if they 
 could furnish a conveyance. 
 
 "I've a horse and wagon in ray shed," said 
 the smith. 
 
 " Out with it, quick !" 
 
 Every one of us took a hand in harnessing 
 the team, and in three minutes, by the clock, 
 we had finished. Then we all tumbled in ex- 
 cept Jack, who declared she would never leave 
 her friend Captain Ringold. There was no 
 time to bandy words, so I took her up and 
 tossed her into the wagon, where she fell in 
 a heap. Rising on her knees, she shook her 
 clinched fist at me, and cried to the wounded 
 guerrilla that she would come back to him as 
 soon as she could get away. Meanwhile the 
 blacksmith was driving us down the road, be- 
 laboring his horse with the stump of an old 
 whip. 
 
XXI 
 
 A STERN -CHASE 
 
 A STRAIGHT road lay before us to Decherd, a 
 few miles distant. The place was of too great 
 importance for the guerrillas to dare enter, 
 and if we could reach it before they could 
 catch us we should be safe. 
 
 " How much is 3'our horse worth ?" I asked 
 the blacksmith. 
 
 " A matter o' saxt}'^ dullars." 
 
 " If you kill him b}^ hard driving I'll give 
 you a hundred, and if you get us to Decherd 
 before the outlaws can catch us I'll make it a 
 hundred more." 
 
 "Weel, noo, I don't want to be hard on a 
 mon flyen for his life, and wimmen folk, too ; 
 I'll do the best I can, and ask no money." 
 
 With that he belabored the poor horse's 
 flanks with the stump of his whip, and sent 
 him galloping onward. There were no springs 
 to the wagon, but we valued our lives too well 
 
A STERN-CHASE 215 
 
 to draw rein at rut or stone. At one part of 
 the road I feared that if we did not check our 
 pace we would break a wheel, and be left with 
 no means to get on, save our legs. I cautioned 
 the driver to slacken his pace, but hearing, or 
 fancying he heard, the clattering of horses' 
 hoofs behind, without a word from me he ap- 
 plied the lash. Now we bounded into the air, 
 and now we were tossed together like dice in 
 a box. 
 
 " Git 'oop, ye critter !" cried the blacksmith, 
 mingling Scotch and Tennessee. "Don't ye 
 know ye're draggen' bonny leddies fly en' for 
 their lives?" and down came the butt of the 
 whip. It was harrowing to see a horse forced 
 to o^ive his life to save ours : but our situation 
 was too critical to warrant any slackening of 
 speed. Jack, who of all our force was usually 
 most frightened at danger ahead, and would 
 fight it most vigorously when face to face 
 with it, for once acted in reverse at seeing the 
 poor brute making leaps that were killing him. 
 
 " Stop beating that horse, you brute," she 
 cried, " or I'll beat you," and she sprang for- 
 ward to seize the whip. I caught her in my 
 arms. She looked up into my face, and burst 
 into tears. Whether it was wholly sympathy 
 
216 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 or overstrained nerves I did not know — proba- 
 bly both. At any rate, I protected her from 
 the jolting by keeping her in my arms, wliile 
 she hid her face so that she could not see the 
 suffering horse. 
 
 " Jack," said Buck, " you're nothing but a 
 baby.'' 
 
 " Shut up, yo' little nigger !" she cried. 
 
 I could not repress a smile at the retort, see- 
 ing which. Jack realized the absurdity of it 
 all, and broke into a laugh, while the tears con- 
 tinued to run down her cheeks, 
 
 " AYon't yo' let me support yo' against the 
 jolting?" asked Captain Beaumont, ruefully. 
 
 " Yo' ? Do yo' suppose I'd let you touch me? 
 Yo' shot my best friend." 
 
 ''Do yo' dislike me fo' shooting — a robber?" 
 asked her admirer, sadly. 
 
 "I hateyo'." 
 
 Beaumont settled down in a corner of the 
 wagon in despondency. After a while Jaclc 
 slid down beside him, Avhereupon he suddenly 
 lighted up and took as much interest in our 
 flight as any one of the party. 
 
 We were a wild-looking load to the few peo- 
 ple who passed us, "Whenever we saw a farm- 
 wagon coming or going we would shout to its 
 
A STEKN-CHASE 217 
 
 driver to get out of the way. They must have 
 supposed our horse to be a runaway, for every 
 one quickly turned aside. There are pictures 
 of that ride which I can see to-day, so vividly 
 were they stamped on my memory. An old 
 man with his hands on the handle of his plough 
 gaped through iron-rimmed spectacles ; a wom- 
 an in a check gown and sunbonnet stopped trim- 
 ming plants in her garden, and stood, with the 
 shears in her hand, to gape at us, as if Ave Avere 
 a party of witches who had lit on the earth 
 from the moon, and were making ready to 
 take to the sky again. Negroes, children, 
 country lads faced the road as Ave passed, and 
 stood Avonder-stricken till we were out of sioht. 
 
 Coming to a rise in the ground where Ave 
 could look to our rear for perhaps a mile, we 
 were terror-stricken to see a man shoot around 
 a bend in the road at a gallop. In a moment 
 another followed. We could not see if there 
 Avere any more, for we passed oA^er the summit. 
 Not far beloAv a mile-stone told us that it Avas 
 one mile to Decherd. 
 
 " One mile to their two. Can Ave not do it, 
 driver r' I asked, quickly. 
 
 The only answer Avas another " Git oop," 
 and renewed hammering on the horse's rump. 
 
218 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 The eyes of all were strained to the rear, 
 watching to see just Avhat chance there was, 
 from time to time, between life and death, 
 while I examined the carbines, which we had 
 taken care to bring with us, to discov^er if they 
 were in good condition. At every rise we 
 could see either one or more men coming like 
 the wind. They had evidently caught sight of 
 us, and were straining every nerve to catch us 
 before we reached Decherd. I told the black- 
 smith to lay it on hard, well know^ing that be- 
 tween us and our pursuers was only the life of 
 his horse. He was raising his whip when the 
 horse stumbled and fell, pitching most of us 
 out of the wagon, fortunately on soft ground. 
 Getting up and running to the prostrate ani- 
 mal I found him stone-dead. 
 
 We were still a quarter of a mile from the 
 town, and the guerrillas would be on us in a 
 jiffy. Calling to the others to help, I turned 
 the wagon across the road and directed all to 
 take position behind it. Distributing the guns, 
 we waited the coming of the advance of our 
 enemies. Three men, pretty near together, 
 catching sight of us, drew rein and waited for 
 their comrades. Others soon came up, and I 
 counted seven men preparing to charge us. I 
 
A STERN-CHASE 219 
 
 was about to give an order as to the firing 
 when I heard an exclamation from Ginger: 
 
 "Bressde Lawd!" 
 
 Turning, I saw a troop of cavalry carrying 
 the Stars and Stripes riding leisurely from the 
 town. I fired a shot to attract their attention. 
 Suddenly they seemed to take in the situation; 
 I heard the sharp word of command, and saw 
 them coming at a gallop. Glancing at the 
 guerrillas, I saw them vanishing in the dis- 
 tance. 
 
 " Saved !" I cried. 
 
 " De bressed Lawd be t'anked !" shouted 
 Ginger. 
 
 "Gol darn it," said Buck, "ef I'd 'a' had a 
 shot I'd 'a' plunked one of "em." 
 
 " By Jove," remarked Beaumont, staring at 
 the approaching troopers, " I'm a prisoner !" 
 
 There was a puff of smoke among the re- 
 treating guerrillas, the crack of a carbine, and 
 Jack fell into Helen's arms. 
 
 Never was the pleasure of hard-earned suc- 
 cess more cruelly dashed at the moment of 
 triumph. We had fought these fiends off for 
 days ; we had escaped from them to a covet- 
 ed protection, and now, at the last moment, 
 they had struck us severely. Jaqueline lay on 
 
220 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 the grass, her head and shoulders resting on 
 Helen's arm, who stanched the blood which 
 flowed from a wound in her side. I bent over 
 her with a groan. Captain Beaumont for a 
 moment seemed fired to chase the man who 
 had shot her, then joined those about the 
 wounded girl, muttering imprecations on the 
 guerrillas, and incoherently begging us to save 
 his little Jaqueline. 
 
 " A surgeon !" I cried to the troopers, who 
 were sitting on their horses looking on. 
 "Some one go for a surgeon." 
 
 "Ride quick!'' said the captain in command, 
 turning to the man nearest him, "and bring 
 a doctor and a conveyance from the town. 
 Then to an officer : " Lieutenant, follow those 
 men, and don't come back till you have capt- 
 ured every one of them. Take twent}'' men 
 with the best horses. With fresh mounts you 
 can run them all down." 
 
 A man dashed off towards the town and 
 twenty more after the retreating guerrillas. 
 Jack lay with her head on Helen's shoulder, 
 her eyes closed, her face white as a cloth, we 
 all about her, dreading every moment that the 
 life-blood would run out. Presently she opened 
 her e^'es, looked about her, then fainted away. 
 
A STEEN-CHASE 221 
 
 " Oh, ray God !" cried Beaumont, " she's 
 gone." 
 
 " Keep off," cried Helen, " and give her air." 
 
 " Jack," cried Buck, terrified at her ghastly 
 appearance, " wake up !" 
 
 I, with a soldier's knowledge of the thirst of 
 a wounded person, dashed away in a hunt for 
 water. I found a well in a yard on the out- 
 skirts of the town, and drawing the staple to 
 the chain that held a tin cup, brought a plenti- 
 ful supply. Helen was still supporting her 
 cousin. Buck w^as striding about nervously, 
 ■with his hands thrust down into his pockets, 
 while Captain Beaumont was kneeling, his eyes 
 peering into Jack's as though by his gaze he 
 would hold the life that he dreaded was ebb- 
 ing away. I sprinkled water in her face, and 
 she opened her eyes, looking about her as if 
 unable to understand her surroundino^s. 
 
 CD 
 
 "What's the matter?" 
 
 Curiousl}'" enough, the words were the same 
 as those I had first heard her utter when, 
 wounded, I reclined on a sofa at her home. 
 
 " You're hurt. Jack," said Helen. 
 
 "Am I going to die V 
 
 " Oh no, dear, I hope not." 
 
 " Don't die," said Beaumont, in a broken 
 
222 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 voice. "Don't leave me; I couldn't bear 
 it." 
 
 She looked up into his face sadly. " I have 
 been a bad girl to you, captain. Forgive me." 
 
 "Forgive you? I love even your harsh 
 words." 
 
 " Oh, Helen," she said, " I hope I Avon't 
 die." 
 
 " You won't, surely, Jack." 
 
 " Because if I do, I can't dance any mo' fo' 
 the colored people. Who'll look out fo' 'em, 
 Helen? Papa's away, and no one else cares 
 fo' 'em as he and I do." 
 
 " They'll have you with them for many a 
 year. Jack." 
 
 An open wagon appeared in the road and 
 drove up beside us. A doctor with a satch- 
 el in his hand got down and approaclied 
 Jaqueline. Making a hasty examination of 
 the wound, he bandaged it, then told us to lift 
 her into the vehicle. The seats, except the 
 front one, had been removed, and their cush- 
 ions placed on the bottom. Some of the 
 cavalrymen tossed in their blankets, and I 
 smoothed them over the cushions, making a 
 comparatively comfortable bed. We placed 
 little Jack upon it; Helen got in with her, and 
 
A STERN-CHASE 223 
 
 the rest of us walking beside, the cavalry act- 
 ing: as escort, we bore her to the town and 
 lodged her in a room in the main hotel of the 
 place. 
 
 We found the town agog with news of the 
 first day's battle at Pittsburg Landing, and 
 I knew that my general would hold himself 
 ready to co-operate. I determined to join my 
 command at once. Having been assured that 
 Jack's wound would not prove fatal, I ar- 
 ranged for the transportation of the party as 
 soon as she could be moved, then gathered my 
 little force in her room and announced my 
 intended departure. 
 
 "^ I must now bid farewell," I said, " to my 
 little armv, every one of whom has become 
 dearer to me than life." 
 
 "Like General George Washington," said 
 Buck, "sayin' farewell to his ossifers. There 
 is a picture of it in my American school his- 
 tory." 
 
 " Good-bye, Buck ; remember to get a book 
 and pencil and break yourself of the habit of 
 saying bad words." 
 
 " I will, by thunder !" 
 
 " Good-bye, little girl," I said to Jack, bend- 
 ing down and kissing her on the forehead. 
 
234 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 " Where 3^0' going ?" 
 
 " I ? Oh, Tm going away." 
 
 Helen's eves were gleaming. " Where are 
 you going ?" she asked, repeating Jack's ques- 
 tion, though in a different tone. 
 
 I had managed to keep my connection with 
 the Union Army thus far a secret. Now I 
 knew there was no need to keep it longer. 
 
 " To the Federal Army, where I belong." 
 
 The mute agony on Helen's face told what 
 my disclosure had cost her. Extending my 
 arms, I cried one word : " Sweetheart !" 
 
 "Renegade!" she hissed. 
 
 " Helen — dear lov^e — hear me." 
 
 She turned her back upon me and swept 
 out of the roora^ 
 
 " / like yo', ef 3^0' are a Yankee," Jack 
 cried after me. 
 
 I left the hotel, my brain in a tumult. 
 Coming up the road was a little knot of 
 troopers surrounding the guerrillas whom 
 they had run down and captured. A few 
 hours ago I would have cried out with de- 
 light. Now they were no more to me than if 
 I saw them in a dream. 
 
XXII 
 HUNTING BIG GAME 
 
 It was the morning of the 11th of April, 
 1862. I was nearing the spot I occupied at 
 the opening of my story, where the bush- 
 whacker had sought to kill me ; though then 
 I was alone, while now I was with an ad- 
 vancing army. Five hundred cavalry, a di- 
 vision of infantr}', and several batteries of 
 artillerv were hurrying down the road tow- 
 ards the beautiful city of Huntsville, hnng, 
 tranquil and unsuspecting, a few miles below. 
 The upper edge of the sun was peering above 
 the horizon, gilding the crest of the foot-hills 
 of the plateau on tiie east, the tree-tops, and 
 the roofs of the neighboring houses. The 
 flowers, which a fortnight before were open- 
 ing, were now in full bloom. They looked 
 innocently from the gardens beside the road ; 
 they leaned lovingly against the pillars of the 
 verandas ; from vines trailing over casements 
 
226 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 they smiled at the rising sun; while the 
 breath of morning was laden with their per- 
 fume. 
 
 It was the general's purpose to surprise the 
 cit}^, capture the railroad machine-shops and 
 the rolling-stock concentrated there, then make 
 up trains laden with troops, seize a hundred 
 miles of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad 
 on either hand, thus opening communication 
 with the army at Pittsburg Landing on the 
 west, and paving the w^ay for future operations 
 in East Tennessee on the east. The enemy 
 must not be given time to move troops to pro- 
 tect the city, for even should we defeat them, 
 they would destroy the shops, and run off the 
 rolling-stock. All depended on celerity and 
 secrecy. 
 
 The evening before we had bivouacked ten 
 miles north of the city. Our scouts permitted 
 no one to go south of us, enfolding all they 
 met, in order that no news of our approach 
 could reach the place we hoped to surprise. 
 Two hours before dawn the command was 
 aroused — not by the life or the bugle, but 
 by whispering officers — and the march was 
 resumed with no sound save the tread of 
 men and horses and the rumble of artillery. 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 327 
 
 Within a fe^Y miles of the city detachments 
 of mounted men, armed with telegraph -cut- 
 ting and track-tearing implements, dashed to 
 the left and to the right, to prevent the enemy 
 from sending for troops or running off the 
 rolling-stock. To another detachment which 
 rode among the advance columns was assigned 
 the duty of seizing the telegraph-office. 
 
 Boom ! 
 
 Hark! a gun! It comes from the eastward, 
 not half a mile distant, where the railroad runs 
 parallel with the pike. Artillery is driving 
 back a locomotive. The iron monster shrieks 
 like some wild beast that has met its death- 
 wound. 
 
 Boom ! 
 
 More whistles all along the track, far down 
 to the south, varying in distinctness from a 
 near, loud cry to a distant, faint moan. This is 
 fine hunting — stalking locomotives with can- 
 non. Did any South African sportsman ever 
 strike such game, or hunt with such guns ? 
 
 Boom ! boom ! boom ! Far and near the 
 shotted guns speak — far and near the metal 
 monsters cry out in terror. 
 
 Boom ! 
 
 All are bagged, except one more daring than 
 
238 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 the rest, which runs the gantlet of artillery, 
 and with a round shot flying through its cab 
 speeds out of range. 
 
 Meanwhile sashes in the houses along the 
 road are being raised, shutters flung open, and 
 heads put out to learn the cause of the com- 
 motion. As guns boom, whistles shriek, and 
 cavalry clatter along the road, followed by 
 men rapidly marching and artillery horses 
 briskly dragging the guns, many a citizen, Avho 
 the night before had gone to sleep not dream- 
 ing of a foe, looks upon the passing armed 
 throng, listens to the sound of the cannon 
 and the shrieks of the engines, and wonders if 
 pandemonium has come. 
 
 I am drawing near the Stanforths'. There 
 is the house, with its broad verandas and its 
 peak roof. A knot of people are at the front 
 gate, but I am yet too far to see who they 
 are. Now I can distinguish the turbaned Lib. 
 There is a boy perched on one of the gate- 
 posts. It is Buck. That girl, tall and slender, 
 is surely Helen. As I draw nearer I can see 
 Gino^er, his broad mouth stretched in a crin of 
 pleasure at sight of Yankee troops. A figure is 
 sitting in a wicker chair on the veranda — dark 
 eyes flashing in a pale face. It is Jaqueline. 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 229 
 
 Riding np to the gate, I am out of my sad- 
 dle almost before my horse has stopped. Buck 
 gives a cry, and jumps into my arms. Ginger 
 grasps m}'' hand. 
 
 "By jingo! Mr. Brandystone," cried Buck, 
 " I'm mighty glad to see you. Since I got 
 back after fightin' g'rillas like — ■" 
 
 "Mars', 't's good fo' de e^^es t' see yo\" in- 
 terrupted Ginger, enthusiastically. 
 
 "After fio-btin' (j'rillas like a man — " 
 
 " What ! Mr. Branderstane, and in the uni- 
 form of a Federal officer !" 
 
 It was Mr. Stanforth. He looked at me 
 surprised — tlien put out his hand. But I al- 
 ways suspected the old man to be at heart a 
 Unionist. 
 
 Buck kept on. " After fightin' g'rillas like 
 a man, I come back^" 
 
 " Upon my word !'' 
 
 Another of the family was expressing sur- 
 prise to see a former guest with the Union 
 troops. Mrs. Stanforth looked pained, but she 
 had nursed me when I was suffering, and her 
 motherly feelings got the better of her preju- 
 dices. I took her hand, and she did not with- 
 draw it. 
 
 " I say, Mr. Brandystone," Buck now fairly 
 
330 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 shouted, " after fightin' g'rillas like a man, I 
 come back liyar to be follered roun' by that 
 dogTOne old Lib !" 
 
 It was out at last, and the boy looked re- 
 lieved. I broke away, and, advancing towards 
 Helen, put out my hand. 
 
 She turned away from me with contempt. 
 
 Fortunately at that moment I espied little 
 Ethel looking at me wistfully, and, taking 
 her up, hid my face and my anguish in her 
 tresses. Then looking up I saw that Jack was 
 waiting for me, and, going upon the veranda, I 
 took both her hands in mine. 
 
 " Yo're the only Yankee in the world I want 
 to see," she said, enthusiasticall3^ 
 
 " Golly !" cried Buck behind me. Turning, 
 I saw what had surprised him — the guerrillas 
 riding by as prisoners. They had been con- 
 ducted to Shelby ville by the company of cav- 
 alry which had captured them, and were now 
 a part of the procession of men and horses 
 hurrying by. Captain Ilingold looked up at 
 us with a melancholy stare. He cauo-]it sio-lit 
 of Jack, and T shall remember to ni}^ dying 
 day the sad look in his eyes as they rested for 
 a moment upon hers. 
 
 The advancing army moved rapidly on, and 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 231 
 
 was soon a mingled mass of guns and horses 
 in the distance. The sun - touched bayonets 
 and flags flashed for an instant, then were lost 
 in a turn in the road. The region which had 
 so suddenly been enlivened relapsed into the 
 quiet of the country. 
 
 Jaqueline begged me to go into the house. 
 I declined. Mr. Stanforth added his invita- 
 tion. 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. Stanforth, but I must re- 
 join my regiment at once. This is no time for 
 me to be absent." 
 
 " You shall come in long enough to drink 
 one glass of wine to show that you are our 
 friend." I saw that he would be not only 
 hurt, but, Avith his strong Southern impulse, 
 angered if I refused, and I reluctantly con- 
 sented to spare a few minutes to pledge my 
 former host. 
 
 I entered the house supporting Jack, and was 
 turning into the librar}", where I had passed 
 my time while wounded, when Jack guided 
 me into the parlor opposite. Helen left us 
 and went into the library. Lib came in bear- 
 ing a decanter and glasses. I drank to the 
 host and the assembled company, promising 
 that during the occupation by the Union forces 
 
233 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 I would use m}^ influence to gain tliem every 
 favor and protection. I had drained my glass 
 and, setting it down, was about to go out to 
 mount my horse when Helen came out of the 
 library and crossed the hall, hand in hand 
 with an officer in Confederate uniform. His 
 forehead was bound with a handkerchief, he 
 walked with difficulty, and I judged had been 
 severely wounded. Jack sprang forward and 
 seized the other hand. 
 
 " Major Branderstane," said Helen, " my 
 brother." 
 
 Great God I Before me stood — m}'^ enemy! 
 
 As at night by a flash of lightning one may 
 see for an instant a landscape distinct in all 
 its details, so I saw again the events of the 
 night of the massacre. There were the flash- 
 ing shot-guns, the soldiers coming down the 
 hill, a fio-ure with garments streamino' in the 
 wind running to me for protection. And now 
 before me stood the man with the smoking 
 pistol. Involuntarily I put my hand to my re- 
 volver. 
 
 " I am your prisoner, sir," he said, quickly ; 
 " you do not need your weapon." 
 
 Helen's eyes flashed. " Would 3'ou shpot an 
 unarmed man f ' 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 233 
 
 Jack, mute with terror, staggered to the 
 gray clad figure and clung to it, her expres- 
 sive eyes bent on me, a mingled flame of re- 
 proach and wrath. 
 
 M}^ hand rested on ray holster. I moved 
 not — spoke not — but stood staring at the group 
 that stared at me. This man, whom I had 
 been hunting to kill, whom Helen had stimu- 
 lated me to pursue, against whom she had 
 even voluntarily pledged herself to aid me in 
 my revenge, had now suddeidy appeared as her 
 brother, 
 
 " I was wounded," said the officer, " at Fort 
 Donaldson, and was brought here to my fa- 
 ther's house. I am unable to endure the fa- 
 tigue of flight, therefore I am compelled to 
 surrender." 
 
 "Captain Stanforth, I have been hunting 
 for you for months." 
 
 " Me ?" 
 
 " You." 
 
 " What for ?" 
 
 A hush came over all as if about to listen to 
 a sentence of death. 
 
 " To kill you." 
 
 There was a brief murmur among those 
 looking on, then they stood breathless, wait- 
 
234 SWEET liEVENGE 
 
 ing for the next scene in what promised to be 
 a tragedy. Only Helen knew what my words 
 meant. I saw a spasmodic quiver pass over 
 her as I had seen death touch a comrade who 
 had been shot in battle. Then, gathering her 
 forces, she stood still, her face denoting the 
 smothered fires of a volcano. 
 
 " May I ask, sir," said the officer, pale but 
 calm, " why you desire m}^ death ?" 
 
 " The wrong, the brutal wrong you did." 
 
 I know not wh}^ some demon of barbarism 
 should have come to me at this critical moment 
 when, of all others, I should have shown o-en- 
 tleness and mngnanimit3\ Here was an op])or- 
 tunity to make a graceful acknowledgment of 
 Helen Stanforth's service and sacrifice, per- 
 haps to heal the breach between us. I threw 
 it away. My abandoned purpose was rekin- 
 dled : I was crazed by Helen's treatment. I 
 drew my revolver and brought it to bear on 
 my unarmed enemy. 
 
 "Coward!" cried Helen. 
 
 I turned to her scornfully. " Who bade me 
 pursue this man to the bitter end V 
 
 U T •>■> 
 
 " AVho promised to aid me V 
 
 U T 55 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 235 
 
 " Who now begs for her brother's life at the 
 hands of a Southern renegade?'^ 
 
 " I ? Never." She sprang l)etween me and 
 her brother — " Fire !" 
 
 She stood glaring at me, beautiful in her 
 uncompromising fury. I Avas bewildered, en- 
 tangled in the meshes of her beauty, her re- 
 lentless will power. Then suddenly a cold 
 chill swept over me, as a blighting frost across 
 a land hot Avith the rays of a tropical sun. I 
 stood aghast at what I had done. I had re- 
 turned her inestimable service by a miserable 
 attempt to force her to beg for her brother's 
 life. I had lost what hope I had cherished of 
 a reconciliation — of winning her. I threw m}^ 
 weapon into a corner and was striding from 
 the room, when Captain Stanforth, freeing 
 himself from Jack, cried : 
 
 "In the name of God, what does all this 
 mean ?" 
 
 " It means. Captain Stanforth," I said, turn- 
 ing, "that on a certain night in East Tennes- 
 see a party of Unionists on their way north 
 were ambushed by citizens with shot-guns. A 
 body of Confederate cavalry came down to 
 their assistance. You, Captain — " 
 
 "It is false. I led my company to the 
 
236 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 scene you mention — not to attack, but to pro- 
 tect." 
 
 It was now ni}^ turn to stand stupefied. 
 Had I been all these months following an 
 error ? 
 
 " I came on the ground," Captain Stan- 
 forth continued, "just in time to witness the 
 most diabolical sight I ever saw in the South. 
 One incident of that terrible night I shall al- 
 ways remember — a murder that I punished with 
 my own hand. I saw a woman fl3'ing for protec- 
 tion to a man who stood near her. A cowardly 
 cur beside me fired, and she fell through her 
 protectors arms. I drew my revolver and 
 shot the murderer dead." 
 
 " You shot the murderer ?" 
 
 I had no tongue for other words. This man, 
 dear to Helen, dear to Jack, dear to all this 
 household, was not only innocent of the crime 
 I had imputed to him, but was my avenger. I 
 took one step forward and seized his hand. 
 
 " Thank God !" 
 
 "You have been mistaken?" 
 
 " So far mistaken that had it not been for 
 these two women I would have shot you down 
 where you stand." 
 
 I strode to the door, rushed down the path 
 
HUNTING BIG GAME 237 
 
 to the gate, mounted my horse, and, Avithout 
 once looking- back at the gaping crowd behind 
 me, galloped down the road after the advanc- 
 ing army. 
 
XXIII 
 THE UNION SAVED 
 
 I CAUGHT the troops just as they were enter- 
 ing the city. All that we could have wished 
 for was accomplished. The whole territory- 
 was surprised and defenceless, and a hundred 
 miles of railroad fell into our hands. Machine- 
 shops, rolling- -stock in abundance, telegraph, 
 and all other paraphernalia for operating the 
 line were among the trophies, and on the morn- 
 ing after the capture the men who had been 
 employed under the direction of the Confeder- 
 ate government went to work for the United 
 States. 
 
 And now followed a rest for three months, 
 a longer stay in one place than any I experi- 
 enced during the w^ar. It would have been the 
 most delightful had it not been for my es- 
 trano-ement from Helen Stanforth. Thoufjh 
 I was welcome at her father's house, though 
 the family apparently became attached to me, 
 
THE UNION SAVED 239 
 
 thouoh Jack and Buck loved me as I loved 
 them, Helen remained obdurate. In vain I 
 sought to soften her by those attentions with 
 which men seek to entrap a woman's heart. 
 She would not even treat me with indifference. 
 I was to her a renegade to the South, an un- 
 pardonable offender. 
 
 I reported the case of Captain Stanforth to 
 the general, and secured from him a parole, 
 which enabled him to divide his time between 
 his father's house and the Rutland plantation 
 with his fiancee Jaqueline, who soon nursed 
 him back to health. Captain Beaumont was 
 brought to Huntsviile under guard, and I 
 interested myself in securing for him an early 
 exchange, which, after hearing of Jack's en- 
 gagement, he was extremely anxious to obtain. 
 He was passed through the lines to Chatta- 
 nooga, vowino^ that he would give his life to 
 the Confederacy if he could find a Yankee 
 bullet to assist him. He was too manly and 
 chivalrous to cast the slightest blame on Jack 
 for his disappointment. 
 
 One morning I took my friends from Mr. 
 Stanforth's — excepting Helen — into head- 
 quarters and introduced them to the general. 
 He was aware of our coming, and had directed 
 
240 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 that the outlaws should be brought before him 
 at the same time. 
 
 " Are these the men ?" he asked. 
 
 " Yes, general," I replied. 
 
 To the officer of the guard, he said, " Take 
 them away. I clonH wish to see any more of 
 iJiemr 
 
 Jaqueline, who had heard these words once 
 before when the}'' were applied to me, and 
 consequently knew what they meant, turned 
 pale. She begged the general to spare them. 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Impossible. They are the crowning bar- 
 barity of war." 
 
 " But, general, that one," pointing to Cap- 
 tain Ringold — "he helped us." 
 
 " Ah ! I had forgotten that." Then turn- 
 ing to Ringold : 
 
 " If set at liberty, how long will you require 
 to get out of my lines V 
 
 " I will go at once." 
 
 " Go ; and if you are seen about here after 
 'tattoo' this evening you will follow your 
 men." 
 
 The reprieved man sprang towards Jaque- 
 line, seized her hand, and kissed it. " From 
 this moment I am a changed man," he said to 
 
THE UNION SAVED 241 
 
 her, "and your bright eyes and kind heart 
 have done it." In another moment he was 
 gone. 
 
 Captain Stanforth was soon exchanged, and 
 before leaving to join his regiment was united 
 to Jaqueline. The wedding took pkice at the 
 Rutland plantation. The groom did me the 
 honor to request me to act as his best man, 
 Jaqueline doubtless having influenced his 
 choice. I gladly accepted, lioping that, since 
 Helen Avas to serve as first bridesmaid, our 
 being thrown together might heal the breach 
 between us. Ten minutes before -the cere- 
 mony Jaqueline was strumming Ginger s ban- 
 jo, and ten minutes after she had become a 
 bride was standing on the rear gallery tossing 
 presents to a crowd of blaclc people below, 
 whose upturned faces indicated the adoration 
 in which they held their 3'oung mistress. 
 
 I was disappointed in my hope that the 
 festivities would thaw the obdurate heart of 
 the woman I loved. She remained cold, even 
 when her hand was laid on my arm before and 
 after the ceremony. Later, finding her apart 
 from the others, I approached her. 
 
 " Have you not one kind word for me ?" I 
 
 asked. 
 
 If) 
 
242 SWEET kp:venge 
 
 " Not one. I can respect a Northern sol- 
 dier, not a Southern man who wears the 
 blue." 
 
 " Be it as you wish." 
 
 Mounting my horse, I rode back to camp 
 with a heavy heart. 
 
 The advantages gained by our force at Shi- 
 loh, and our own bloodless conquest of North- 
 ern Alabama, were not vigorously followed up. 
 The enemy withdrew to Tupelo, Mississippi, 
 where he formed a new arm}^ which, early in 
 the fall, marched, under the Confederate gen- 
 eral Bragg, through Chattanooga into Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 One morning in September orders came 
 for us to break camp and march northward. 
 Bragg was advancing, marching on Cincinnati 
 or Louisville, thus compelling the abandonment 
 of the territory we had acquired in the spring, 
 and requiring us to hasten to the protection of 
 the threatened cities. After making my prep- 
 arations for the mov^e I left the command, in- 
 tending to join it on the march, and rode over 
 to the Stanforths' to take my leave. Jackson 
 announced me, and I sat down in the little 
 library I had occupied three months before, 
 while my wound was healing, to await the ap- 
 
THE UNION SAVED 243 
 
 pearance of my friends. I was startled by the 
 voice of Buck coming from above : 
 
 "Lib, doggone 't, whar's my swearen' book? 
 I've lost that 'swearen' book' what Major 
 Brandystone tole me to git." 
 
 A few minutes later he came into the room. 
 As he caught sight of me his face became 
 radiant, and, jumping into my arms, he hugged 
 me like a young bear. Tlie others soon entered. 
 Mr. Stanforth, who by this time had openly 
 avowed his affection for the Union, parted from 
 me witli regret, not unmixed with apprehension 
 lest upon the return of the Confederates he 
 might suffer for his attentions to our troops. 
 Mrs. Stanforth bade me adieu with motherly 
 affection. Little Ethel put her arms about ray 
 neck and wondered. Buck, for the moment, 
 in his affection for me, forgot that he was a 
 Confederate sympathizer, and insisted on go- 
 ing with me. Helen stood aloof, and at the 
 last moment seemed more bitter than ever. 
 There was a flush upon her cheek and a bright 
 spark in her e3'es. 
 
 " Good-bye," I said, putting out my hand to 
 her. 
 
 " Never to an enemy," she replied, turning 
 awav. 
 
244 SWEET EEVENGE 
 
 There was a murmur of disa}3probation at 
 lier act, but I did not listen to it. Turning on 
 my heel, I left the room and the house, and in 
 another moment was galloping away. 
 
 My regiment was moving on a road leading 
 northward and to the east of the main pike, 
 so I was obliged to ride across country to re- 
 join. Large armies necessarily move slowly, 
 and although in this instance we had entered 
 upon forced marches I knew that I had plen- 
 ty of time. I was riding leisurely through a 
 lonely road when I heard the sound of horse's 
 hoofs behind me. I had become so used to be- 
 ing hunted by my old enemies that I instinc- 
 tively drew rein and my revolver at the same 
 time, and, facing about, awaited the coming of 
 friend or foe. My pursuer turned a bend in 
 the road but a short distance from me and 
 suddenly came in sight. 
 
 " Helen Stanforth ! What in the Avorld 
 brings you here ?" 
 
 She drew rein and sat with flushed cheeks, 
 her eyes looking anywhere except on me. 
 Tier horse was restive, the two making a pict- 
 ure by no means quiescent. 
 
 " I am not satisfied." 
 
 "With what?" 
 
THE UNION SAVED 245 
 
 " The manner of your leaving the country." 
 
 "Do I take with me what does not belono- 
 to me ?" 
 
 " You are going with our enemies." 
 
 I was puzzled. She knew that I was a 
 Union officer, and that my duty lay with the 
 departing array. Besides, to remain in the 
 country after its reoccupation by Confeder- 
 ate troops would be as much as my life was 
 worth. I was more than puzzled, I was irri- 
 tated, smarting as I was under her recent 
 treatment. 
 
 '• This is not what dissatisfies you," I said. 
 
 " I spent my time rescuing a renegade." 
 
 " I see no occasion for you to come after 
 me to hurl that taunt anew. "We parted half 
 an hour ago, I supposed never to meet again. 
 Now you must needs — " 
 
 "Were you not in the Yankee service our 
 parting need not be — " 
 
 She paused and bit her lip. 
 
 I had often noticed a great show of picket- 
 firing on the part of an enemy just before 
 abandoning his lines. Somehow the thought 
 gave me an inkling of what was passing in 
 Helen's mind. I rode up close beside her, and 
 laying my hand on her horse's neck stroked it 
 
246 SWEET KEVENGE 
 
 for a moment till I had quieted him. Mean- 
 while my eyes were fixed on Helen's, that 
 were glancing about wildly, as if endeavoring 
 to find some means of retreat. Bending for- 
 ward, without a word, I put my arms about 
 her and drew her to me. Her head sank 
 slowly, at last resting on the embroidered 
 leaves that denoted my rank. 
 
 " Sweetheart, I love you, and I believe you 
 love me." 
 
 There was silence, save for the running 
 water of the creek and the chattering of the 
 birds in the trees beside the road. The touch- 
 ing of our lips, her heart beating against mine, 
 stray strands of her hair falling over my 
 wrist, the moisture in her eyes, bring a new 
 warmth to my heart even to-day. At last she 
 suddenly disengaged herself and, as though 
 ashamed of her snrrender, turned her horse to 
 move away. I caught her and held her long 
 enough for one more embrace, one long part- 
 ing kiss ; then I let her go. As she galloped 
 down the road I called after her : 
 
 "You forgive me for threatening your 
 brother — for trying to compel you to beg for 
 his lifer 
 
 "No." 
 
THE UNION SAVED 247 
 
 " I'll come when the Union is saved." 
 " When the Confederacy is acknowledged," 
 and she shot around the bend out of sight. 
 
 "I believe," I mused, as I rode on, " there is 
 no inconsistency, no incongruity, that does not 
 enter into the composition of woman." 
 
 "We met again a 3'ear later, shortly before 
 the battle of Chickamauofa, and aofain when 
 Hood was marching against Thomas at Xash- 
 ville, but it was not till after the surrender at 
 Appomattox that she consented to a union that 
 was to be simultaneous with the reunion of 
 the States. 
 
 One important fact has always remained a 
 secret between me and my wife. 1 have never 
 ventured to confess to her that during the war 
 I performed one act of secret service. In over- 
 hauling my papers she one day came upon a 
 document gotten up in red and black ink in 
 the form common in the army. 
 
 " What's all this about T she asked. '' ' Gal- 
 lant and meritorious services in the capture of 
 Huntsville, Decatur, and Stephenson Junction.' 
 I thought that when the Yankees surprised 
 Huntsville you were at our house." 
 
 "That?" I said, taking the paper and pre- 
 
248 SWEET REVENGE 
 
 tending to scrutinize it — "oh, that was for 
 capturing a rebel." 
 
 " What rebel ?" 
 
 I hesitated, then prevaricated. " Don't you 
 remember the scene in which your brother 
 bore an important part V 
 
 "Do you mean to call drawing your pistol 
 on an unarmed man a gallant and meritorious 
 act ?" 
 
 "Oh, they complimented everybod\^ for ev- 
 erything during the war. But I deserved the 
 encomium, for I captured another rebel more 
 rebellious than your brother " 
 
 "Who was that?" 
 
 I put my arras about her and kissed her. 
 
 "My sweetheart." 
 
 THE END 
 
By captain CHAKLES KING. 
 
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 uuconventionalitv, and eloquence, such rollicking humor and 
 
 tender pathos, and delightful play of every lively fancy, all 
 
 running so briskly in exquisite English, and with such vivid 
 
 <lramatic pictin'ing, that it is only comparable ... to the 
 
 freshness and beauty of a spring morning at the end of a 
 
 dragging winter. ... A thoroughly unique story. — JV. Y. Sun. 
 
 PETER IBBETSON. With an Introduction by his 
 
 Cousin, Lady " * * * ("Madge Plunket"). Edited 
 
 and Illustrated by George du Maurier. Post 8vo, 
 
 Clolh, Ornamental, $1 50; Three-qiuirter Calf, $3 25; 
 
 Three-quarter Crushed Levant, $4 25. 
 
 There are so many beauties, so many singularities, so much 
 
 that is fresh and original, in Mr. Du Maurier's story that it is 
 
 difficult to treat it at all adequately from the point of view of 
 
 criticism. That it is one of the most remarkable books that 
 
 have appeared for a long time is, however, indisputable. — 
 
 N. Y. Tribune. 
 
 Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. 
 
 J8@= T/ie above works are for sale b)/ all booksellers, or will be mailfd by 
 the publishers, postage prepaid, on receipt of the price. 
 
RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL 
 
 Wilmer 
 795 
 
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