:-::^-.-f.; r5S9B mttHHti -t -** ^&^ ■ .:■ i%& ^ ■ ■a. *ff? KB — mmmm iwiwiimimiMHiMM— — ■■iwimii . " n ■iiiiHi HnwiWMtMn i lMwmnm i iirr i {Kfje Ht&rarp of tfje {Hnitoertfitp of JSortij Carolina Collection of i^ortf) Carolmiana C8I3 T4G f This book must not be taken from the Library building. MCROPLMEOBYTHEUNC LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE Form No. 471 She caught the long tin horn down from its peg". — Page 17 S. Brave Ibeart Series POLLY OF THE PINES A PATEIOT GIRL OF THE CAROLINAS BY ADELE E. THOMPSON Author of " Betty Seldon, Patriot," " Brave Heart Elizabeth," "A Lassie of the Isles," "Beck's Fortune" ILLUSTRATED BY HENRY ROTH BOSTON LOTHEOP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Published, August, 1906. Copyright, 1906, by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company. All Rights Reserved. Polly of the Pines. •Nnrfajonxi JlrMB Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass. U. S. A. CONTENTS. ft s WV CHAPTER PAGE I. A Fishing Company 7 II. News From Boston 20 III. A Double Face 30 IV. The Coming of Major MacDonald 44 V. A Dinner Party and its Consequences. . 56 VI. The Standard is Up 71 VII. The Standard is Out 83 VIII. A Night Ride 97 IX. The Standard is Down 109 X. Justice Gaston 123 XL At Cedar Shoaes 137 XII. A Ceouding Sky 152 XIII. A Binding Covenant 164 XIV. A Visit and its Resuet 175 XV. An Hour of Danger 186 XVI. Poeey Hears News 199 XVII. Hanging Rock 209 XVIII. Jamie 220 XIX. Cross Creek 234 XX. An Oed Friend 246 XXI. Uninvited Guests 255 XXII. Captain Seocum Makes a Short Visit Home 266 XXIII. What Poeey Overheard 278 XXIV. Poeey Carries a Warning 286 XXV. Speed the Parting Guests 296 XXVI. Days of Peace 307 5 ILLUSTRATIONS She caught the long tin horn down from its peg (page 178) Frontiap tece PAGK " Shame on you, Donald ! " 17 " See here, Esther, I have brought you a new sister." 141 " Jamie ! Jamie ! Can it be my Jamie ?" .... 225 " He is in the army of his country " 256 " Up, up, the British are coming " 290 POLLY OF THE PINES. CHAPTER I. A FISHING COMPANY. Out over the swift running water three slen- der willow poles bent, on the clear current three lines floated, and on the high and grassy- bank three young figures sat silent, watchful, and alert. The wind, that warm May afternoon of 1775, was sweet with the balsam breath of the wide pine forests, that in fadeless green, stretched across the Colony of North Carolina ; and the Creek, flecked with the shadow of bordering tree and shrub, ran strong with the force it had gathered among the red clay hills, down to its meeting with the Cape Fear River. Whenever an eye was lifted, through the screen of bushes the near-by houses of the town of Cross Creek (now Fayettville), could be easily seen ; while to the keen ears came sounds of its life, the rattle of a wagon, the barking of a dog, 7 8 POLLY OF THE PINES the beating of a blacksmith's hammer, together with the shouts of the men unloading a vessel at the wharf : for Cross Creek was at the head of navigation on the Cape Fear, and the river was the artery which linked all that region with the outer world. But these mingled sounds came softened by the mellow air; and so blended were they with the song of oriole and red bird, the murmur of flowing water, and rustle of leaves in the light breeze, that rather than disturbing they but added to the hushed calm and quiet of the Creek side. There was a twitch, a pull, at one of the lines; a pair of small firm hands carefully lifted the pole, and a girl in her early teens, with big brown eyes, and lurking dimples in her plump sun-browned cheeks, looked over the bank at her capture. Slowly she drew it up, detached the hook, and held it for a moment in her hand, its shining scales glistening in the sun; then with a sudden motion she let it slip back again into the water. " Live and grow, little fishy! I want no such small fry as you." Her companion on her right, a boy some- what older than herself, — a lad slender but well knit, with gray eyes that looked out frank and fearless, and a mouth that for all its boyish A FISHING COMPANY g curves already showed a resolute line, turned and laughed. " What a generous motive, Polly." She gave her brown curls a toss. " As long as fishy has his life and liberty it's little he'll care for the motive: besides I've about enough for this time; and any way I'm tired with sit- ting still so long and not saying a word. You needn't laugh, Duncan Campbell," with an ac- cent of reproof. " Why shouldn't I want to speak when I'm running over, glad just to be alive on an afternoon like this ; when the sky is so blue, the wind is so soft, the fish are bit- ing, and I'm having the better luck? " glancing at his catch. " Never mind," was his retort; " I had the best luck last time." " I'm talking of this time, not of some other." She dropped her pole and threw her- self lazily back on the soft short grass. " How delightful it all is. And do you know I'm wondering if I don't enjoy it the more because I'm sure Aunt Jean, when I get home, will chide me for leaving my stint of spinning un- done when I heard Duncan calling to me from the lane." " I thought, Polly, you said he whistled." There was a slight hesitation to the words as IO POLLY OF THE PINES her other companion, a boy, the largest and oldest of the three, glanced over his shoulder toward her. From the striking likeness of feature it was easy to guess the relationship be- tween the two, but the unlikeness was equally marked. Both had the same big brown eyes, but while one pair was sparkling and vivid, over the other a faint shadow seemed to lie, the same elusive shadow that touched the face and sounded in the voice. " Puir laddie," the kindly Scotch Highlanders — who made up the settlement of Cross Creek — were apt to say with a shake of the head, whenever Jamie Dun- ning's name was mentioned. And yet Jamie was no " natural," nor could any affirm that he was lacking in intelligence; it was this en- shrouding mist-like veil, so thin as to be almost impalpable, and yet so obscuring that through it every faculty slowly grouped, that marked him among his playmates. Neither had this always been so; but, as the blighting after- touch of an illness near to death itself, the change had come to the active merry boy. He might outgrow it, the doctors had said, or the shock of some unusual excitement might at any time break the spell. But time passed and he was still " Puir Jamie," with a timid hesi- tancy of both manner and thought, which ill- A FISHING COMPANY n fitted him for a share in the ruder, more active life of other boys ; and was a reason why he loved the quiet of the grassy bank, the murmur of the running water, the open sky, the quiet comradeship. Polly, younger in years, but care-taker as well as sister, understood this; and to give him pleasure was one secret of her avowed fondness for fishing. " I thought you said Duncan whistled," re- peated literal Jamie. " So he did, but when Duncan whistles three notes like this," and she gave the bird-like call, " that says ' Come fishing, Polly ; ' and when I hear him, I see the water running and the fish shining, and I'm pretty apt to forget every thing else and come." She paused and sighed deeply. " I do wish people didn't think that because a girl is thirteen she ought to give so much of her time to her spinning and her seam, and most of all in the spring-time days, when the wind and the birds and all out-doors is calling." " Tis a pity," consoled Duncan, " you should be a boy." " Oh, I like to be a girl well enough except for those things ; and when I'm older, eighteen perhaps, I expect I shall sit in the house and do tambour work, and fine stitching, and spin an 12 POLLY OF THE PINES even thread — mine does knot and break so now- 1 And keep your hair always in order," added Duncan, giving a sly pull to the blue rib- bon that was supposed to bind Polly's curling brown hair, but which was apt to be, as now, on the point of slipping off." " Yes, always in order, smooth as smooth," she answered, as she tied the ribbon in place again ; " but for one thing I shan't go fishing with you any more." " Then I hope you never will be eighteen." But her reference to their aunt's displeasure had fastened in Jamie's mind, and his face grew troubled. " Will Aunt Jean chide me that I came fishing? " he asked. Polly raised herself and laid her hand on his ; for seldom was she so far that her firm and reassuring touch could not reach and comfort him. " No, dearie, it was all right for you to come; you had done your weeding finely, no- body will chide you ; I am the idle one." " A' right," he answered, and turned again to his line. Not that Jamie was a skilful fisher- man, few and far between were the fish he caught; but there was always the expectation, and, if his catch was small or even nothing, Polly always shared hers with him and smiled, A FISHING COMPANY 13 as he walked through the streets, his head held high, and the fish swinging from his finger. Presently from the road beyond came the sound of horses' feet, and of voices. What was it they were saying?' she asked, as the horsemen passed on. " Something about Boston." " It must be dreadful to be shut up, as the people are there, since the port was closed." " Yes, I hope they have the supplies sent them from our Colony." For in those spring days of 1775, the eyes and sympathies of all the Colonies were turned toward Boston, and even the boys and girls talked glibly of the questions and issues they heard discussed so often. " I'm afraid Boston will see worse times yet," Duncan spoke gravely. "Uncle Farquhard and most of the gentlemen who come to our house, are afraid the trouble of the Colonies with England will end in war, and that it may even reach us." " War here ? That would be dreadful, wouldn't it?" " I'm not so sure," and there was a flash in Duncan's gray eyes ; " I'd like nothing better myself than to be a soldier." Jamie clapped his hands with sudden anima- 14 POLLY OF THE PINES tion. " I'd like to be a soldier too, wi' a dirk and broadsword ; and I'd wear the tartan, wi' a feathered bonnet, and a' the bagpipes would play; and we'd march out to fight for Prince Charlie, as the clans did in the Highlands when Uncle Davy was young." " Oh, no, Jamie," was Polly's hasty an- swer ; " you'll never want to be a soldier. Think of the battlefield of Culloden, where so many of the clans were killed : besides no one is fighting for Prince Charlie now. " Jamie never tires of stories of the clans fighting for Prince Charlie," she added turn- ing to Duncan; " but if war does really come which side will you fight for ? " For the Colonies," was the prompt answer. Uncle Farquhard is a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Assembly, so I'm sure he thinks the Colonies are in the right; and of course I would fight for the right." Polly sat for a moment looking thoughtfully at the water : " But the Laird of Kingsburg, and Lady Kingsburg, both say King George is a good king, and those who oppose him are rebels ; that is what Aunt Jean thinks too, and the most of the clans, and you and your uncle are Highlanders." Duncan Campbell's lip curled slightly. A FISHING COMPANY r e " Lady Kingsburg! Why don't you say Mrs. MacDonald?" " Because if she were in Skye she would be called Lady Kingsburg, and so I don't know why she shouldn't be called so here." " Oh yes, I've heard you tell before what great people in Skye the Kingsburgs were. I know that Allen MacDonald thinks every one around Cross Creek must take their opinions from him. And because his wife was the Flora MacDonald who helped Prince Charlie to es- cape, the Highlanders here have acted fair silly about her; balls in her honor, when she came last year, and all the clans out with the pipes to welcome her, as if she had been a queen." Polly's cheek flushed. " Your uncle doesn't like the Kingsburgs, but there are enough others who do," she retorted, with the stout loyalty which was a part of her nature. " And as for Flora MacDonald, it was a great thing for her to have saved the Prince ; and you know very well that all Scotland honors her for it, and England too : for I showed you in the book how the great Mr. Samuel Johnson visited her home in Skye and the fine things he wrote about her. Why shouldn't the Highlanders here honor her, when no one else so noted ever came? And more than that she's as good as 1 6 POLLY OF THE PINES she was brave, and as beautiful as she is good. I almost worship her for her beauty and her goodness both. I don't care who knows it; and I'm proud that I belong to the same clan." Polly paused a trifle breathless, her head held straight and high. " You needn't be so proud of the clan Mac- Donald," scoffed Duncan ; " for you're only half Scotch any way : you were born in Amer- ica and your father was an American. I was born in America, so was my mother, and I'm prouder of my American blood than I am of any clan, as everyone yet will be. You can choose as you please ; but as for me I am on the side of liberty and the Colonies every time." " You are, are you? " and with the question a head of red hair, topped by the blue seamless Highland cap or bonnet, suddenly came in sight around a sharp turn of the bank, followed by the body of a stout-built young man in tar- tan waistcoat and plaid. For though the High- land costume had been forbidden in Scotland it was at that time a commonly worn dress among the Highlanders of Cross Creek. " Fight wi' the rebels and against your law- ful king, will you ? ' His face was almost as ruddy as his hair, with wrath, his voice was ireful; and, as he put the question, if such it Shame on you, Donald ! " — Page 11. A FISHING COMPANY Y y was, with a sweep of his arm he whirled Dun- can's fishing-rod out of his hand and sent it spinning into the middle of the stream. " There, let me hear another word from you o' fighting against the mother country o' us all, and I'll fling you where your pole is ! ' Though Duncan was much the younger and smaller, in an instant he was on his feet, tear- ing off his jacket. " Then you'd best do it now, Donald MacDonald, for I'll say what I think and think what I choose ; ' and with clenched fists he stood before the other, whose sinewy strength showed in every line. At these signs of trouble, Jamie began to whimper, " Somebody'll be hurted ; " but Polly, her brown eyes ablaze, sprang up by the side of Duncan. " Shame on you, Donald ! " Her clear young voice was vibrant with scorn : " If you want to pick a quarrel find somebody of your own age, and as strong as you are. But as for Duncan and me, we are going to fight on the side we think is right, and you, or no- body else, shall hinder us." For a moment Donald MacDonald looked at Polly; then a twinkle came into his blue eyes, and, throwing back his head he began to laugh. " An' so, Polly, you are going to fight wi' Dun- can? Well if he's to have such a helper I'll IS POLLY OF THE PINES say no more; " and, jumping into the creek, he waded out to where the pole had caught against a rock, untangled the line, and, returning, tossed it at Duncan's feet. " There, take it; when you're older you'll know better how to talk." " You mean when I'm older I'll know better how to fight," Duncan answered a bit stiffly; for he had far rather be threatened by Donald than treated like a small boy. But Donald was as generous-hearted as he was fiery, and his gusts of temper were as quickly over as they were easily raised. How- ever he might rage, the twinkle was never far from his eye or the laugh from his lip. So now he gave a shrug : " I'm thinking, Dun- can, you will have a chance to do all the fight- ing you'll want." He laid a hand on Jamie's shoulder, where, with paling face, he had drawn a little apart. " Never mind, laddie, you see this war is over and nobody is hurt." Then with a glance at Polly's catch, " An you fight as well as you fish, Polly, you'll be a braw soldier. I'd like to have you on my side. But lend me your line; I see a big fellow by that riffle ; I must have a try at him." So peace was restored by the creekside. Donald proved his skill, and in return showed A FISHING COMPANY jg them a new way to cast for trout. Soon, warned by the lengthening shadows, they turned their faces toward the town, Jamie walking ahead, as he proudly swung Polly's string of fish, the others loitering in careless laugh and talk. CHAPTER II. NEWS FROM BOSTON. As they entered the street of the town, a stranger galloped past them, his horse covered with dust and foam. ' He must be a courier with news," exclaimed Polly. " There, he has stopped. See the people all gathering round him. Let's hurry and hear what it is." Quick- ening their steps, they were soon in the little crowd pressing within sound of the rider's voice. Polly listened with wide-growing eyes ; then, catching Jamie by the hand, she dragged him with her almost on a run, down the street, up a narrow flagged path, and in an open door- way. A sound of voices reached her, as she entered the straight hall dividing the house; and she turned into the room on her left. A long, low room it was, the brown beams show- ing overhead, the air and sunshine coming through the windows opening westward, the shadows of the sheltering pines dancing on the rush-strewn floor, and flecking the china 20 NEWS FROM BOSTON 21 and polished pewter on the high dresser. In the center of the room, a round table was spread with a snowy cloth and an array of good things, among which scones and oat- cakes bore a prominent part. For Aunt Jean MacDonald, with all the years she had lived in America, was no less proud of her Highland birth and blood than she was the day she left the Highlands, and as delighted now as then to show her skill in Highland cooking. Very erect behind the tea-urn, she sat, in a snowy cap with wide frilled border, and a snowy kerchief folded primly across her black silk gown, — the very picture of an opinion- ated, bustling, energetic Scotch gentlewoman. At her right hand, — the place of the honored guest, was another lady, smaller and slighter, but with a bearing of dignity and distinction; and though no longer young, very handsome. Her soft waving brown hair, partly covered by a cap of the finest, whitest lace, showed silver threads; but the fresh color was still in her cheeks, and her blue eyes sparkled with the same light and spirit as when, nearly thirty years before, as Flora MacDonald, the fair lassie of the Isles, she had risked her own life for the safety of Prince Charles Stuart. And if in Flora MacDonald one saw the 2.2 POLLY OF THE PINES ideal of a true Highland lady, equally was the ideal of a gallant Highland gentleman seated by her side, her husband, Allen MacDonald, the Laird of Kingsburg, as he was still com- monly called, for his estate in Scotland. Large and stately, his jet black hair was brushed back and tied behind, bringing out clearly a face, not only handsome, but full of the strength and sense and kindness which had made him a powerful influence, almost from the day he had come with his family to join his friends and kinsfolk, already part of the large High- land colony around Cross Creek. They all turned at Polly's breathless en- trance, Flora MacDonald with a smile, that showed her perfect teeth, and Aunt Jean with a contracting brow. " Do ye no ken that it's o'er late — " she had begun in a tone of reproof; when Polly cut across her words : " A rider's just in wi' news from Boston ! " " Fra Boston, did you say? " queried Kings- burg. " Aye, and sore news it is ! A little more than a month ago, as he was telling, when all around us was so fresh and sweet, a battle was being fought at Lexington, near Boston, be- tween the troops of General Gage and the NEWS FROM BOSTON 2 $ Minute-men o' the town, a battle where there were men killed and wounded ! " " Yes," cried a voice in the doorway; "but the Minute-men, farmer folk at that, sent back the British regulars without the powder they had come for, and harried them right well on the way. King George and his tyrant minis- ters will find out yet, to their cost, the stuff the Colonies are made of." 4 They all turned toward the speaker, a tall young man in a deer-skin hunting-shirt, fringed with the same material, the collar open at the throat, showing the strong white neck, his dark eyes flashing, and his face alive with kindling emotion. " Is it the King's tyranny ye are talking o' ? ' demanded Kingsburg, half starting up. " Ta my mind what is fitting ta consider now is the loyal duty we owe to His Majesty. It's na better than rebels are the men o' Boston, wi' flinging the tea overboard, and flouting the King's ain troops." " An they be rebels," was the retort ; " I'm thinking you'll see plenty more of the same sort." " Chut, chut, Ezekiel Slocumb," Aunt Jean's tone was tart. " This is a loyal house, I'll bide na sich talk from you or any ither." 24 POLLY OF THE PINES " I beg your pardon, Mrs. MacDonald," his tone changing to one of respectful courtesy; " in the excitement of the moment I quite for- got myself." " Well, well," quite mellowed by the manner of his apology, " you're an o'er hasty lad. But sit ye down, an' if you've ony more sich words on your tongue crawd them back wi' these hot scones." By this time Polly and Jamie were clinging each to a hand. He smiled across them. Thank you, Mrs. MacDonald, but I've a long ride and must be on my way home. I but called to pay my respects to you and ask after Jamie and Polly, as Mary charged me when I started. With your permission I will ask them to walk a little distance with me." " Tis an auld neighbor of the bairns, fra the Neuse," Aunt Jean explained, as they left the room. " He's a fine lad, though a wee hot- headed, and his wife is an unco friend o' Polly's." As they walked down the street, Jamie keep- ing hold of the young man's arm, and Polly walking close beside, the latter asked : " Why didn't you stay to supper? I would like you to eat some of Aunt Jean's oat-cakes." " For the reason that of my own free will NEWS FROM BOSTON 25 I'll break bread under no Tory roof, nor with any one who speaks of my countrymen as your Allen MacDonald did to-night." " But Aunt Jean says she swore to be loyal to the king, and Kingsburg is sure that if the Colonies have a grievance the king will heed their petition." Slocumb laughed, scornfully. " Never you believe that, Polly. The king will grant pow- der against us rather than rights for us. Kingsburg has a great influence among the Scotch, and his wife still greater, more's the pity; for they have not been among us long enough to understand the American spirit. I can have patience with such late-comers — though Kingsburg has the name of being too friendly with Governor Martin ; but more than one to-day, as they heard the story of the bat- tle, called the men of Boston rebels. It was because of their suffering under a king that most of the Highlanders are here. The Colo- nists have shown them constant kindness and helped them in every way; and this is their reward. The Highlanders must be beside themselves; and let me tell you, Polly, if they take up with the side of the king they may find another Culloden in America." 2 6 POLLY OF THE PINES " Culloden was a sad battle," and Jamie shook his head. " And do you think there really will be war? " asked Polly. " There is war," was his answer. " The first battle has been fought and God only knows when the last will be." " But Massachusetts Colony is so far away; if there is war there it may not came here," He shook his head. " No, Polly, whatever comes, the Colonies will stand together; be- sides the friction between North Carolina and Governor Martin grows sharper constantly and must soon end in an open rupture." Then, after a moment's pause, " Your father was one of the ' Regulators ' who rose against the in- justice of Governor Tryon and were defeated by his troops. Do you remember him ? ' " Remember my father ! Indeed I do, and how he was brought home with the wound from which he never fully recovered : and his death was what really killed my mother — " Polly's voice choked. " But Aunt Jean says that all the old Regulators are now for Gover- nor Martin." " He has won some by flattery and false promises, but he never could your father. He NEWS FROM BOSTON 2 y was one of those who first took up arms against tyranny, but he will not be the last. For let me tell you something : we are forming com- panies and drilling, like the Minute-men, of whom we have just heard; I am lieutenant in such a company myself." " And what does Mary say to that ? " The face of the boy-husband — for he had married at eighteen and was now not yet twenty — brightened : " Ah, Polly, there's a patriot for you. She says that if I am called out she will take care of the baby and manage the plantation." " You haven't told us anything yet about Mary and the baby." " Baby Jesse is the finest boy in the Caro- linas, and Mary the best wife. You and Jamie must come out and see us soon, Mary charged me to tell you that the last thing before I started." Before Polly could reply, a gentleman walk- ing rapidly had turned the corner, so suddenly, as almost to run into them. A portly man past middle age, his gray hair was tied back from a shrewd, strongly-marked face. Carefully dressed, his clothes were of the finest quality; the ruffles at his neck and wrists were edged with lace; his shoe and knee buckles were large 2 g POLLY OF THE PINES and shining; silk tassels swung from his gold- headed cane: in short he had the air, the dignity, that we associate with wealth, posi- tion, and influence; and all these belonged to Mr. Farquhard Campbell. Pausing he held out his hand to Ezekiel Slocumb ; for not only was he a young man of property and social standing, but of a recog- nized force of character beyond his years. " Sorrowfu' news, Mr. Slocumb, is this we hear ! " " True — and yet at the same time 'tis glori- ous news : that our friends of the Massachu- setts Colony have stood for their rights, and sent the enemy right about, as I hope we will if need ever be." " To be sure," the shifting pale blue eyes were half hidden by the wrinkled lids as he talked ; " I've been proud ta be a member o' the Royal Provincial Assembly o' North Carolina sa mony years, and I'm even mair proud ta be a member o' the Patriot Assembly, called by Congress; yet war with the mither country is a sore evil. I'm trusting it may be averted yet, but wha can foresee the outcome ? ' As he passed on, Polly looked after him. " I don't like Mr. Farquhard Campbell," she confided ; " and I don't know why. It's very NEWS FROM BOSTON 2 $ bad of me, but whenever I see him smile, I feel like making a face." " He seems to be a staunch friend of the Colonies, though I fancy he never loses sight of the interests of Farquhard Campbell : but I thought I saw you on the street with his nephew." " Oh. yes, Duncan is Jamie's and my best friend. He says what he thinks and looks you right in the eye every time. Oh, Duncan's not a bit like his uncle." CHAPTER III. A DOUBLE FACE. A narrow and ever narrowing thread, the brown road ran between the ranks of long- leaved pine, the warm July sun filtering through the green and leafy canopy above and quivering in long shafts of light among the tall brown trunks. Most quiet and without sign of life was it; for the roads across the sandy hills of the North Carolina Colony were at that date not apt to be overworn, and a tree, which in a recent storm had fallen across the way, lay unremoved if not undiscovered. So still in- deed was it that a red fox trotted out from the shadows, and, after drinking from a little marshy spring by the roadside, sprang up on the prostrate trunk and, stretching himself along it, his nose in his paws, settled for a nap. But it was not long till lifting an alert ear he raised himself and then skurried swiftly away ; for on the breath of the light wind he had caught a sound of voices and laughter, to- gether with the quick fall of horses' feet. Com- 30 A DOUBLE FACE ^l ing nearer, soon two riders, almost neck and neck, dashed into sight. Half an hour before, as Polly, on her little brown horse, Flyaway, was on her way home, after an errand for Aunt Jean to a kinswoman beyond the town, she had met Duncan Camp- bell, trying the speed of his young thorough- bred. " Isn't Fleetwing a beauty ? ' he had cried, drawing rein beside her. "And fast! there isn't a horse around Cross Creek but he can beat ! " " He can, eh ? " And Polly sat very straight in her saddle. "Don't be too sure of that; here's one he can't beat." " Come on, then, and we'll prove which is the fastest ! " Polly could not resist the challenge, especi- ally when Flyaway' s speed was in question. " All right," she answered. " Ready now," bringing her horse to a line with his. " One- two-three! " and away they went, turning into the winding wood road for its more level stretch. At first Duncan held the lead, but Polly gained on him, and was drawing close to his head, when they saw the fallen tree just ahead. Neither paused ; so quickly had they come upon it there was hardly time. Duncan's horse, 32 POLLY OF THE PINES with true hunter instinct, cleared it at a bound ; but a snapping limb startled Polly's, he swerved slightly, a projecting branch of the tree caught her skirt and drew her from the saddle ; she made a vain effort to save herself, and went down in a little heap just where the trickle of water had made a wet spot. Duncan had brought his horse to a stop and was on the ground almost as soon as she. Polly ! are you hurt ? " No, I guess not," as she scrambled to her feet and took a look at herself. " But I'm worse than hurt, though," with a rueful little laugh ; " for a hurt might heal and just look at this ! ' She held out her riding-skirt, mud be- spattered, and with a great tear across one side. " How can I ever go through Cross Creek in such a plight? And the minister and his wife were coming to Aunt Jean's to tea ! ' " Oh," with an accent of relief, " if it's only the gown, never mind." " But I do mind, though of course a boy can never understand the importance of a gown." " Well at any rate, if it is spoiled, it's not so bad as having your bones broken ; as I was afraid you had. And I'll tell you what we'll do. It's not far to Uncle Farquhard's. I'll take you there and have Mammy Lucy clean A DOUBLE FACE 33 and mend your dress. She's a master hand at mending, as I've proved often enough." Polly hesitated a moment. " I don't want to go home looking like this," she admitted, " it may be that is the best thing to do. But re- member," she added, as he lifted her again to the saddle, " if it hadn't been for my tumble I should have won the race." " We'll prove that some other day," was his retort; " but let's hurry, you've scratched your face; see, it's bleeding! " A few minutes' ride brought them to the long avenue, and the spacious house at its end. As Polly sprang to the ground she glanced at her- self again and hesitated : " What if your uncle should see me looking like this? Aunt Jean would never get over the shame of it." " Oh, you won't see him," was the easy an- swer. " He's always out on the plantation this time of day, and won't be back this two hours. And so reassured she followed him into the house. Mammy Lucy was full of sympathy. " Yo' sholy is in bad shape, honey," running her finger over the rent. " But nebber min', I'll fix it de best I kin. You just slip on somefin o' mine while I'm erbout it." This proved to be a striped homespun skirt 34 POLLY OF THE PINES of Mammy's, and a gay printed cotton short- gown or sacque, both a world too wide and too long for the slim girlish form. " Dere now/' surveying her critically, " dat ain't so bad." But Polly, catching sight of herself in a glass, began to laugh ; and, running out into the room where Duncan was waiting for her, he joined in the merriment. " Sho' now, Mars Duncan," was Mammy Lucy's comment, " I'se s'prised at you, laffin' at er lady. And now while I'se washin' de mud off dis skirt an' drawin' de tears togedder, you take Missey into de dinin' room and gib her some ob dat pound- cake in de sideboard." It was a fine large room to which Duncan led the way, and Polly had looked at the big table of polished dark wood, the high-backed chairs, the portrait of Mr. Farquhard Camp- bell in a gilt frame hanging on the wall, and was beginning to nibble her cake, when the heavy outer door opened and closed, and voices sounded in the hall. Instantly she started to her feet, her plate of cake pressed tightly to her with both hands. "It's your uncle with com- pany ! ' ' she gasped in an excited whisper ; ' I can't have them see me like this ! What shall I do? " With this she was turning from side to side, but the shutters to the high windows had A DOUBLE FACE 35 all been closed to keep out the sun and heat, no way of escape offered, and the voices were com- ing nearer. By his entrance through the great front door, as well as by the inflection of his uncle's tone, Duncan knew that it was not only com- pany, but company of especial distinction : and as he looked at Polly, a queer figure in the ill- fitting garments, with her hair about her face — her hair-ribbon having disappeared — and a scratch across her cheek, he realized that her appearance would be somewhat startling. " This way," he whispered, hastily pulling her into a little room, hardly bigger than a closet, opening beyond. " Here's where I study days, no one will come here." Polly drew a breath of relief. " Shut the door, shut it tight ! " she implored. But after a way doors often have in damp summer weather, this one refused to entirely close. " Hold it then," as he tried again and again; " anything so it doesn't come open." By this time footsteps were sounding in the room they had just left and Mr. Campbell was saying, " I count it indeed a great honor and pleasure. Governor Martin, to have the privi- lege o' welcoming you under my roof. I'm trusting too, you'll accept a little refreshment 36 POLLY OF THE PINES the noo." And to this followed the tinkle of glasses with the odor of spiced wine. But at his uncle's words, Duncan, who was looking through the crack of the door, had given a start. " Governor Martin ! " he re- peated under his breath. Nor was his surprise strange, for the feeling between the governor and the Colony had by this time reached a stage well nigh to open war- fare; so that it was not only matter for as- tonishment to find him a welcomed guest at almost any home, but especially at the home of one who, like Mr. Farquhard Campbell, was a delegate to the patriot Provincial Congress of North Carolina, and who, from the beginning of the trouble, had been numbered among the active liberty men. Then Polly heard another, a smooth bland voice in reply : " I also count myself honored, Mr. Campbell, to be under your roof, though circumstances have compelled me to make my visit a private, not to say secret, one; but as you well know in these days prudence and cau- tion are often necessary." " Verra true, but proud I am ta see you at ony time or in ony way. Though I'll own I was a wee surprised, not only that you cam on me alone and unattended, but because I had nae A DOUBLE FACE 37 thought that you were i' this part o' the coun- try." " Nor should I be here now were it not that I wished quietly to see and talk with some of the leading men of this section, and more par- ticularly yourself, in regard to the alarming state of the country. It's shameful," his face reddened and there was an angry emphasis to his very footsteps, as he walked back and forth across the room, his half-emptied wine-glass in his hand, " that a Royal Governor under His Majesty's warrant should have been treated as I have been by these rebellious Whigs." (In the South the patriots were commonly known as Whigs.) "As I suppose you know, be- cause of their threats and hostile attitude, I have been forced to leave the Government House at Wilmington, and take refuge first at Fort Johnson and then on a man-of-war." " Aye, I hae heard. It was shamefu', shamefu'. I canna weel tell the abhorrence I hae o' such violence. As Your Excellency knows, I hae been counted amang them dis- posed ta the cause o' the Colonies, but I can abide na sich lawlessness o' spirit." " I am pleased indeed, Mr. Campbell, to hear you so express yourself." The governor's tone was one of satisfaction. " In fact a large 38 POLLY OF THE PINES part of my errand was to learn somewhat of your disposition in case of matters coming to an extremity, as I confess, with the present condition of things, I fear they must." " Weel," his words slow and deliberate, " as ye ken I hae held for the rights o' the Colonies, but I'll own I hae come ta have that opinion o' the ill doings of the leaders in sedition here — wha are taking ta themselves power above ith- ers wha better deserve it, that I am about ready ta give my pledge ta the cause o' the Govern- ment." " Right glad I am to hear you say that, Mr. Campbell. From the letters which have passed between us, I had reason to believe you would ; but talking is always better than writing. Now I understand that you have large influence with your countrymen. I trust you will use it to induce them to stand loyal in their alle- giance to the Crown. For the high character of the Highlanders, their soldierly qualities, are well known; and we are anxious to array them on our side." When the two listeners had begun to realize the drift of the talk, which it was impossible to avoid hearing, Duncan had thrown himself against the door in a vain attempt to close it; and he now stood with his face pressed close A DOUBLE FACE 39 against the wood, the crimson that flushed it showing to the roots of his hair. Peeping over his shoulder, for all her in- dignation, Polly could but smile, as she caught a glimpse of the self-satisfaction on Farquhard Campbell's face, as he modestly answered, " It's true, I may hae a bit influence." Then as if stirred by a sudden impulse, " Your Ex- cellency may not know it, but that purse-poor laird, Allen MacDonald of Kingsburg, is try- ing to set himself up as the leader o' the High- landers, — he wha has but come, when I hae lived here the maist o' my life, and hae held sa mony positions o' trust and honor. But he'll find I shall na drop the grip o' my influence sa easily, and what I have be sure will a' be used for the King." " The King will make it for their interest who do so," was the significant answer. " In- deed I am authorized by His Majesty to hold out large inducements to his loyal subjects who will stand for the support of the Govern- ment." Polly had heard much of Governor Martin's affable ways with people, and she believed it all as she noted the blandness of his smile, and the suavity of his manner, as he leaned toward the other. " Of course," he added, " you will 4 POLLY OF THE PINES understand that what I am saying is in confi- dence and secrecy. I trust you will so keep it." "Aye, indeed," was the ready answer; "I will keep it sacred." " And you think I can depend on the High- landers? " Farquhard Campbell hesitated slightly : " I can only assure you o' my ain loyalty, which you will understand for the present canna be as open as I could wish, and that my country- men are well disposed toward the Government ; but I will tak counsel wi' the principal clans- men, wi'out whose concurrence I can promise naething, and acquaint you o' their determin- ation." " And you think that can be depended on ? ' " If Your Excellency will step this way I will show you some letters I hae received," and together they left the room. " Now, Duncan," Polly whispered, " let me get out." Without a word he led the way, and they tip- toed across the dining-room and through the long hall to the rear of the house, Polly still following, to the old garden whose hedges shut it safely away from sight. Then turning for the first time, she saw his face, white to the lips, " Polly, Polly! " the words were almost a A DOUBLE FACE 41 groan; then suddenly flinging- himself face down, on the grass, his shoulders shook with dry suppressed sobs. To Polly it seemed dreadful to see a boy cry. Save Jamie, in a small way, she never had seen it before; and, with a heart full of sympathy for Duncan, she could think of no single thing to do to express it but just to stroke his hair, as she often did Jamie's, and to murmur softly, " My poor Duncan ! " It may be this had its effect, for presently he sat up and dashed the tears away. " Polly, I never dreamed of this ! To think Uncle Farqu- hard, that I was so proud of, and trusted so, should play false to the Colonies." Then after a pause, and in a tone almost defiant : " But, Polly, he is my uncle ; he has been kind to me, an orphan boy. I love him ; whatever he does I shall love him." " Of course you will," was Polly's reassur- ing answer. " And it isn't such a dreadful thing to stand with Governor Martin ; a great many do, and Aunt Jean would say your uncle was right. You know we can't all think alike," she went on in the effort to cheer him. " There's Ezekiel Slocumb is heart and soul for the Colonies, and Kingsburg is the same for the King, and we respect them both." 42 POLLY OF THE PINES " Yes, I know. But you know all the time what they think and why they think it, but this," — his face flushing again, " this is — is different." Polly knew what he meant; that while Slo- cumb was a staunch patriot, and Kingsburg an ardent loyalist, you could respect both, for with both it was a matter of conscience: but Farquhard Campbell, for his own interest as was evident, was trying to keep in with both parties and so was true to neither ; and for such conduct there could be but contempt. " Polly, you will not — " he reddened once more and hesitated as he spoke. But she understood the unfinished sentence. " Of course I'll not tell, Duncan, not a single soul. I know just how you feel." And she put her hand in his with a firm pressure. This was not like girl's little secrets, amounting to nothing, such as she had often enjoyed: this was such a secret as men had and shared, one with another; and for all her heart was heavy for Duncan, at the same time it thrilled with pride in the trust. At the same time it was a very sober Polly who appeared at Mammy Lucy's side, for the mended skirt ; and the old woman, thinking it was due to the accident, made an effort at con- A DOUBLE FACE 43 solation. " It sholy might look worse," step- ping back for a critical inspection; " but it am shuly spotted. Ef 'twas only double-faced goods now that you might tuhn." " Thank you," said Polly, " you have made it look very nice, and I'm not sure that I care for anything double-faced." When she was in the saddle for her home- ward start, as Duncan handed her the bridle rein, he suddenly asked, " Polly, you believe the Colonies are right, don't you ? " " Oh, Duncan ! " she answered, " I don't know what to believe. I wish I did. My father died for the Colonies, and almost all of those I love best are for the King. Aunt Jean says I'm too young to understand these things, but how can I help thinking of what I hear talked all the time ? There must be a right and a wrong, and I'm nearly pulled in pieces be- tween the two." On the way home his question followed her, and what she had so lately witnessed gave it added emphasis; till at last, leaning down on Flyaway's neck, she breathed a little prayer: " Lord, when I do see the right, help me to be true to it." -+ CHAPTER IV. THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD. Allen MacDonald had come to America with the idea of becoming a planter; and by this time he had removed with his family, from their first residence in Cross Creek, to the fine plantation he had purchased at Mount Pleas- ant, some twenty miles distant, where a large number of the Highlanders were already set- tled. But as the friendship between Flora Mac- Donald and Aunt Jean dated back to their girl- hood days in Skye, the former was still a fre- quent guest at Aunt Jean's home. On one of these occasions, not long after Polly's eventful visit to the Campbell mansion, when return- ing home, she had carried both Polly and Jamie back to Mount Pleasant with her. * As Governor Martin had said, the English were most anxious to retain the allegiance of the Scotch in North Carolina. In consequence, through those summer days of 1775, there was much coming and going of a quiet nature among the Highlanders around Cross Creek. 44 THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD 45 Visitors all, to friends and relatives, they were represented to be : none the less it was an open secret that they were really secret agents of the Governor and Government, and many of them British officers in active service. Polly had not been many days at Mount Pleasant when a letter came for Flora MacDonald. " Bonny news, indeed," she cried joyfully as she read it. " Our ain Donald MacDonald, Major MacDonald, is coming, and will be here maist as soon as this. For you ken, Polly," she explained, " my father not only belonged to the Clanranald branch o' the MacDonalds, but was a near kinsman to Clanranald himself, Donald's father. Mony a happy day hae I spent at their hame, Ormaclade castle, on South Uist. There I made the disguise for Prince Charlie, the dress like an Irish peasant girl's, in which he escaped; and through all those days Lady Clanranald was my friend and helper." As Polly soon learned, Major MacDonald was not only a British officer, but had been sent direct from the army of General Gage in Bos- ton ; and soon another letter came, detailing his success in eluding the watchful eyes of the Committee of Safety at Wilmington, and nam- ing the day they might expect him. When 4 6 POLLY OF THE PINES this was known the Kingsburgs planned a great gathering of friends and kinsfolk to greet the honored guest. Quickly the day came, a soft warm August day. All the doors and windows of the spacious house were wide, and through them drifted the breath of the summer wind, sweet with faint piny fragrance from the depths of the great pine forest where it had wandered. From all around the Major's Highland friends had come, the bright hues of the different tar- tans giving color to the animated groups on the green and grassy lawn. For not only was Major MacDonald brother to the chief of the Clanranald; but what still more endeared him to the Highlanders, he had been out in the Rising for Prince Charles Stuart in 1745, when he headed many of his clan, numbers of whom, together with others, w r ere ready to give him a true Highland welcome, and, as it was proved later, to lend an open ear to his persua- sions. At last there came what they had waited for, — a stir at the entrance gates, then the music of the bagpipes, followed by ringing shouts; and Polly, inside the house, running out, was just in time to see a gentleman of striking presence alighting from his horse. THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD 47 For in spite of his sixty-five years Major Donald MacDonald was still a gallant figure, stately, erect, military : and though the lines of his face told plainly of the long years of fear- less service which had won his distinction, they but made stronger and more forceful the fea- tures. All this was well set off by his uniform, of the 78th British Regiment or Fraser's High- landers as it was commonly known. This was the full Highland dress : the coat heavily trimmed with silver; the sporran or purse of finest otter skin; the broadsword and dirk silver-hilted ; and the bonnet cocked on one side, with a slight bend inclining down to the right ear, over which hung a cluster of black plumes. Then Polly saw his cheek flush under its tan, " Flora, lass, the happiness this gives ! Kings- burg, ta see you again; Hector, Malcolm, Douglas," as they crowded round him, and he turned from one to another. " Ye dinna ken how it warms my bluid to be ance mair, even though it be far fra the Isles, amang my ain ! " And again the ringing cheers went up, to be faintly echoed from the green wall of the piny forests beyond. When the greetings were over and the first flush of feeling was past, there came the invita- tion to the tables set down the wide, long hall 4 8 POLLY OF THE PINES and spread with true Highland hospitality. The sight was something Polly had never seen before : she fancied it a scene in some old Scotch castle, and this commanding-looking man in the place of honor a feudal lord feasting his followers before he led them out to battle. Then when the banquet was well ended, the glasses were refilled, and the confusion of many voices fell into silence, as Kingsburg, the host, rose in his place. " I hae a toast to offer. Let us a' drink," holding up his glass as he spoke, " to our honored and welcome guest, Major Donald MacDonald ! " But almost before he had finished, the latter sprang to his feet. " Na, na, my friends," was his earnest protest. " The first toast we maun drink to-day is ta him we love and serve, George Third, our King." He paused and his glance swept the faces round. " I'm trusting that a' here can drink it. Too well I ken that there is sedition i' the Colonies, and that the hands o' lawless rebels as lifted against ta established Government. You hae heard o' their resistance at Bunker Hill, and how the Continental Congress — that unlaw fu' gathering o' the leaders o' strife — has appointed Colonel Washington, o' Virginia, to be Commander-i'-Chief o' the rebel army. 'Tis THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD 49 plain, my friends, the hour hae come when the King's loyal subjects i' America must stand tagither for ta rights o' the Crown and ta Gov- ernment. 'Tis true some may say it is a Gov- ernment at whose hands the Highlanders hae suffered much o' wrang; but ta grass o' mony a year is green over the graves o' Culloden, and the rains o' mony a year hae washed the stains o' bluid fra the scaffold i' the Grass- market i' Edinburg." A murmur as of assent followed his words. " I ken weel how we once sang o' the ' King that's over the water/ and of the time when we would ' fleg the German carlie.' And though I'll own it's no the mon o' Scotland's choice wha sits on the throne to-day, yet it's na Ger- man carlie, but a King, English born and bred, wha has at heart the welfare o' all his subjects. And while it is a pleasure greater than I can weel speak ta meet my kinsmen and country- men as I have to-day, yet the cause o' His Majesty is still mair ta me, and ta enlist you in his service is the real mission that has brought me amang you at this time." He paused and looked around, " Mony a face I see here wha ance followed me i' the days when the blue bonnets were over the bor- der. Friends, clansmen," his voice ringing 5Q POLLY OF THE PINES with bugle clearness, " it's time the blue bon- nets were out again. I come to ask you to fol- low me ance mair: it may be ta danger or ta death; but where is tha Highlander, the Mac- Donald, wha ever feared ta ane or shrank fra ta ither ? Mair still, I call on you ta remember the oath o' allegiance you hae all taken to the King. I am telled that some would hae you break that oath; and, true it is, mony these days count the breaking o' oaths a light matter : but ta a true Highlander his word, his oath, is sacred as his religion, aye, mair sacred than his life. " And so clansmen, MacDonald, MacLeod, MacLean, MacLachlan, whaever you may be, I call on you ane and all ta drink ta the King, and ta pledge ta the King your loyalty for life or death." Pleading, earnest, impassioned, was his ut- terance, his manner; and while it was evident that not all yielded assent to his words, yet the greater number of those present had caught the fervor of his enthusiasm. From where Polly was watching she could see the flash that kindled in Kingsburg's dark eyes, and the eager look on the faces of his young sons as they leaned forward toward the Major. Then Flora MacDonald stepped to his side and her THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD gj voice clear and sweet broke the moment's sil- ence : " Aye, Donald, we will drink ta the King. Are we not a' His Majesty's sub- jects? We canna be false ta him or ta our honor!" If she would have said more, Polly could not tell, for a confused murmur of voices rose, " The King, the King ! " Over this someone cried " Aye, Donald, we followed you ance, where you lead we'll follow you again!" With that a shout rang to the roof, on every side men were springing to their feet, dirks flashed from their sheaths; and she knew that on them, the most sacred form of oath a High- lander can take, more than one was in truth pledging himself. Nor did she greatly wonder, for Major Mac- Donald's fiery eloquence had swept her along as in a resistless current, and at the scene around her she felt her pulses quicken, and the swift leaping of the blood in her veins. In that moment all the ties that bound us to England, to the Mother-country, tightened about her, all the loyalty owned to kingship quickened into life ; and though she herself had taken no oath of allegiance the pressure of one seemed rest- ing on her conscience. Then she heard a voice beside her. It was Flora MacDonald holding 5 2 POLLY OF THE PINES out a glass of wine, " Will you no drink to the King, dearie? " As Polly had told Duncan her admiration for Flora, Lady Kingsburg as she was pleased to call her, after the Scotch custom, was indeed almost worship. Looking up, she met the blue eyes sparkling with strong emotion; at that moment the impelling charm of such an influ- ence was all that remained needful, and with a great wave of loyalty flooding her heart Polly put out her hand : " Yes, I will drink to my King." Polly drew a deep breath as the wine touched her lips, her troublesome doubts were now over, she had pledged herself to the King, she knew where she stood. At that point Jamie twitched her sleeve. " Sister," his words coming with unwonted quickness and animation, " I'm a King's man now. When they march wi' the pipes to fight for the King, I can march too." " Oh, no, Jamie," she answered hastily, " you must stay with Sister." Jamie evidently wavered. " But girls must bide at home," he said at last. " I know they must. And think, if any danger came what would Sister do if you were not here to protect her? " The idea of protecting sister was one that THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD 53 quite appealed to Jamie. " Well," and he drew himself up a little straighter, " it may be then I will stay, but," he added almost as if thinking aloud, " our father went to fight." With these words a sudden constriction gripped Polly's heart. Yes, her father had gone out to fight. There came to her mind what she had so often heard Ezekiel Slocumb say : " If ever a cause was righteous, if ever one was just, it is that of the Colonies." Her father had believed that, for the sake of justice to the Colonies he had risked and given his life. Polly sighed with a heart-sinking fear that she was indeed disloyal, as she realized that for all the King's health and the hour's emotion her mind had not found the rest of decision. But there was no time to think more about it now, for pressing Jamie's hand she anxiously noted how hot it was, and the flush on his face. " Come, Jamie," she urged, " it's so warm in here. Let us go out where the air is nice and fresh." And as he gave a wistful look behind him, where the company was breaking into excited groups, she added. " Look, the people are going out. You do not care for their talk now. Come with Sister, and we will walk down to the big pine trees, 54 POLLY OF THE PINES and sit on the soft grass, and hear the wind talk in the branches above us. In the morning, Jamie, we'll get on our horses, on Flyaway and Buttercup, and ride home to see Aunt Jean, she will be wearying for us will Aunt Jean." In August, the Provincial Assembly again met in Hillsboro, Mr. Farquhard Campbell ap- pearing as one of the delegates from Cumber- land County — which still largely favored the Colonies. It was not long after Polly's return from Mount Pleasant that, as she was having Aunt Jean's snuff-box refilled, a man entered the store whom she recognized as a Mr. Rowan, another of the delegates, and who, it seemed, had just come from Hillsboro. To the talk which followed his entrance she gave no heed till a name caught her attention. " If you will believe me," he was saying, " a letter recently came to the Assembly from Governor Martin's private secretary, asking it to give safe conduct to His Excellency's coach and horses to the house of Mr. Farquhard Camp- bell, in Cumberland." " And what did old Farquhard Campbell say to that ? " " He rose at once in his seat and declared he was amazed such a proposal had been made, that the request was without his knowledge or THE COMING OF MAJOR MACDONALD e* consent and implored the house not to grant it." " I'm thinking/' observed another, " that there's been talk of his having dealings with the Governor. But what did the Assembly do?" " As you say/' answered Mr. Rowan, " there has been a suspicion of Farquhard Campbell, for all he has taken the test oath ; and I'll own that for a moment this incident did renew it : but his prompt answer, together with informa- tion of certain base proposals the Governor had made to him, removed this doubt, and the As* sembly, by resolution, not only exonerated him from any improper conduct, but held that he had ' conducted himself as an honest member of Society and a friend to the American cause.' " Looking beyond the knot of talkers Polly saw Duncan Campbell standing in the door. For a moment their eyes met, and each knew what was in the mind of the other, though not since that July day of Governor Martin's visit had the subject been spoken of between them. CHAPTER V. A DINNER PARTY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Late Autumn had now come, the days had shortened, cold winds were coming down from the mountains, and only the fadeless pines stood brave in uplifted green. The Assembly at Hillsboro had ended, the delegates had re- turned to their homes, and with the changing season another change, so the rumor ran, had come over Farquhard Campbell. For whether his keen jealousy of Allen MacDonald had in- creased, or he had decided the time had come to throw off his own mask, or whether he had become aware that his double dealing with both sides could no longer be well carried out, whatever his motive, he now put himself openly on the British side. At this, the Tories and especially the loyalist Highlanders, were jub- ilant, and the Whigs, for all their lurking sus- picion of him were as bitterly chagrined. One November day a neighbor dropped in at Mrs. Jean MacDonald's for a gossip, and among other items she gave the latest bit: 56 A DINNER PARTY 57 " Farquhard Campbell's a King's mon sure enough now, for they're telling that he threw a glass o' wine i' Duncan's face the other night because he would na drink ta the King's health." " And served him right," was Aunt Jean's tart rejoinder, " when bairns set themselves up ta be wiser than those in authority over them, they hae need o' a lesson." Polly said nothing but her eyes flashed and her needles clicked the faster on the stocking for Jamie, which she was knitting. She could well imagine Duncan standing in his place, his shoulders squared, his face a little pale, his eyes steady. The act was only the weakness of a hot-tempered old man, a bit of petty per- secution; but she knew that the sturdy spirit under Duncan's slender frame would face much more without shrinking, and in her heart she was proud of him for it. The next morning Polly saw Duncan riding by, his face set straight ahead and not so much as a glance toward the house. In an instant she was out and hailing him : " Ho, Duncan, have you forgotten your friends that you never even look toward them ? " At that he could not but pause. " No, Polly, I've not so much forgotten my friends 5 8 POLLY OF THE PINES as that I'm fair shamed now to meet them. I suppose you've heard? " " That your uncle's a' for the King? " He nodded. " Yes, I've heard that, and I've heard too," Polly's eyes were twinkling now,* that there's health drinking to the King at your house and that you take the wine in a new fashion, on your cheeks instead of your lips." Duncan reddened. " It must be Malcolm MacLeod who told of that; I'd rather it had not been known; but I'm not a weather-vane, Polly, to shift with every wind. Uncle Farqu- hard himself first taught me to be on the side of the Colonies and the lesson has become a part of me. I cannot unlearn it now. Am I wrong ? " Quick the answer came. " No, Duncan, you are right. Mind I'm not saying which side is right, the King or the Colonies, some say one and some the other, and how can a lassie like me tell. But I know this that you were right to do just as you did, and I glory in you for it ! " A pleased look came into Duncan's face at her words : for although he could stand alone, it was pleasant to have Polly's approval, her sympathy. " I'm glad to have you say so," a A DINNER PARTY $g new life had come into his voice. " However it had ended I could not have done otherwise. But I must hurry on, Uncle Farquhard is going to entertain a party of his Highland friends and I have any number of errands." He spoke to the young negro who was following him. " Come on, Tom ! " and they clattered away. "Mary, Mary Dunning!" Aunt Jeans voice sounded sharp from the doorway ; " the spun sugar ye hae cooking i' the skillet is all running over into the fire." Polly flew up the walk and into the house. When the burning sugar had been rescued she turned. " Aunt Jean, my father called me Polly, and Polly I always mean to be." It was not the first time in the three years she had lived with Aunt Jean that they had differed over her name, but, as now, Polly al- ways stood firm for the form her father had used. " Ye're just like a' the impudent bairns now-a-days." Aunt Jean's cap border fairly fluttered in emphasis. " Ye'll be called this* and no that, ye'll think one way and no the other. F my time lassies were called what those wha had charge o' them chose they should be, and lads thought as they were bidden to." 60 POLLY OF THE PINES Polly was stirring her sugar hard. " I sup- pose, Aunt Jean, you mean Duncan Campbell, because he wouldn't turn his coat as his uncle has." " It's always better to turn fra the wrang to the right," was the short answer. " And I'll no have you idling away your time wi' Duncan, mind that now," and she went away muttering something about " feckless fules." Clearly Duncan was not in Aunt Jean's favor for the time. The day for Mr. Farquhard Campbell's dinner soon came. As the evening drew near, Polly saw more than one ride by on the way, as she well knew, to his house. Staunch Roy- alists all, none others were bidden, for it was whispered that this was to be a notable gather- ing, and that important measures were to be discussed around the table and over the wine. But this latter stage was destined not to be reached. A kinsman of Aunt Jean's, Uncle David MacDonald, had come to spend the winter with her; and young Donald Mac- Donald, who had been in to sit with him for an hour, had just opened the door to go, when they heard the swift clatter of horse's hoofs. " Hey, Hugh MacLean ! " Donald called, recognizing the rider as he drew near ; " you're A DINNER PARTY 6l a poor Highlander if you could na sit longer over old Farquhard's wine." " Sit langer!" in an excited half quaver. " I had gude reason to tak' to my saddle." " And why, has Campbell gone over to the Whigs again ? " A grim laugh sounded. " In one way, yes, but no preecisely o' his ain choice this time." Polly had her hand on the door to shut it after Donald, when their attention had first been arrested; and now Aunt Jean threw it wide, letting into the darkness a square of yel- low light which brought out in strong relief the figure of the horseman reined up beside the gate. " What's a' the fash? " she called. " The fash ? do ye say ? Fash enough ! Woman, if ye believe it, we were hardly set down to the table when wha should walk in but Lieutenant Colonel — as he calls himself — Ebenezer Folsom. Verra braw was he i' his new uniform, maist important that he had been appointed by the Whig Assembly one o' the field-officers o' Cumberland County, and wi' a hantel o' his soldiers at his heels. ' I'm sorry to be obliged to disturb such an enjoy- able party,' he says wi' a bow, and looking around on us a' wi' a glint o' the eye. ' The more so that I've not had the honor of an in- 62 POLLY OF THE PINES veetation. But I've pressing business wi' Mr. Campbell, which must be my excuse.' Wi' that he pulls out a bit paper, ' I hae here an order for your arrest, and wi' your pleasure I'll see you safely to Halifax jail, as I am directed. Perhaps,' and he looked fra ain to anither of us again, ' as you hae been sa free to tak' the oaths o' the Colony, some o' your friends here wad like to go wi' you to testify to your abhorrence o' the King and attachment to the Colonies, for such, I mak' no doubt is their sentiment also.' " And wi' that, and the looks o' the muskets i' the hands o' the soldiers, we all had some er- rand that ane by ane we slipped away fra the table ; and once awa' there seemed na gude rea- son why we should go back, and a mony ones why we should keep going. My nag was the fastest but the ithers are no far behind." Even as he spoke there came the sound of horses crossing the bridge below at a rapid trot. The rider at the gate listened a moment. " The Whigs, I hear, call their Lieutenant Colonel Folsom a daring officer, and I'm telled that he's winning a reputation for seizing and bringing ta trial a' those suspected o' enmity to the liberty cause. Eh ! ' his voice rising, " but what sort o' liberty is it, and what times A DINNER PARTY 63 are we fallen on when a mon canna be safe even under his ain roof ? " And without wait- ing for an answer he spurred on. " Did you ever hear the like of that? " cried Donald, turning back to the house. " It's all the work of the Committee of Safety ! They are no better than tyrants themselves to set Ebenezer Folsom and his soldiers to hunting men as though they were no more than bears and panthers : and a man like Mr. Farquhard Campbell at that, rich, respected, and who has lived in the Colony from childhood. It's an outrage ! " " That may be true." It was Uncle David's mild voice. " But you ken, Donald, for so Kingsburg said, that when Governor Martin was telled that it was largely through the in- fluence o' Farquhard Campbell that the High- landers had declared to keep neutral, he called him ' an ignorant old man.' And when he heard how Farquhard i' the Assembly had told all he had said ta him, he called it ' base treach- ery/ and that Campbell had been guilty o' falsehood when he declared he had refused his offers. I'm sorry for him, but whatever the trouble, he's brought it on himself. He's no been sure which side would win and so he's 64 POLLY OF THE PINES tried to stand in wi' both sides till he could mak' out which was the stronger." It was, however, to some one else that Polly's thought and sympathy was going. " Poor Duncan ! ' she exclaimed, " what will he do, left there all alone, and in such trouble ? " " Why, yes, there's Duncan," Aunt Jean's kindly nature remembered only his present condition. " Uncle David, i' the morning you must go out and have him come in to us." But the morning, to Polly's impatience, seemed a far future, and it was evident Uncle David shared her feeling, for he was already taking down his bonnet and plaid from the peg behind the door where they hung. " No, Jean, I'll no wait for morning, it's now i' the sair hour o' trouble that the young lad needs his friends." Donald had stepped forward. " Yes, this will be hard on Duncan, and if he is hot-tem- pered and wrong-headed, I like his spirit. I'll go with you." " And have Flyaway saddled for me, won't you?" urged Polly. " Yes, yes," as Uncle David hesitated, " do take me too. Duncan is my friend. I know more, I understand how he feels as nobody else can." A DINNER PARTY 65 " Oh, no, Polly," was Aunt Jean's protest, " you must no think o' going to-night." But Uncle David had been looking at Polly with his kind old eyes. " Let the lassie go, Jean," he said, " for she's aye right, young hearts can gie one another a sympathy and comfort that no ither can." Uncle David's word prevailed, and soon the three were riding through the starlight of a night already grown chill, and along a road so quiet, that but for their own horses' feet there was hardly a sound except the ripple of the creek as they crossed it, and the sighing of the night-wind in the tall pines that stood here and there along their way. For the inter- rupted banqueters had all hurried homeward, the soldiers and their prisoner were well on their way, the hour and scene were as peaceful as though nothing of the untoward had touched them ; and when, up the long avenue, the house came fully into view, its many lighted win- dows seemed to promise a gaily gathered company within. But this was only the outside, for the negro man who answered their knock came hesitat- ing, with a face which showed his fear as to the nature of their errand ; and once they had crossed the threshold the tragic ending of the 66 POLLY OF THE PINES evening was in evidence on every hand. Un- tended fires were dying to white ashes on the hearths, unsnuffed candles were burning dim with long and guttering wicks in the empty apartments; while in the great dining-room, as the center of festivity, the sign of wreck and desolation was most apparent. Here the tempting meal, much of it untasted, was still heaped on the table, as when the fleeing guests had left; while overturned chairs, and a long red stain on the white damask cloth, together with fragments of a broken wine-glass, told of the haste with which these same guests had departed. Duncan heard voices and came to meet the newcomers, and, with the first glance, it seemed to Polly that he had changed in the little while since she had last seen him. She was sure, too, that there was a new look on his pale face : and though she could not have defined it then, afterwards she knew what it meant; that through the crisis of the hour, as an answer to its demand, within the heart of the boy had awakened the spirit of the man. "And so you have heard?" were his first words. " 111 news travels fast." "Aye, lad," was old David MacDonald's A DINNER PARTY fy answer, " and sae does the foot of a friend i' the hour o' trouble." Duncan's set face softened. This is indeed an hour of trouble, and you were kind to come ; it is good to know one has friends left." " Why, Duncan ! ' cried Polly, almost re- proachfully; " did you not depend on us, did you not know we w T ould come to you ? " He shook his head. " I hadn't come to the point of expecting anything. It all came with such suddenness, and the company were so quickly away, that I could think of nothing but a pack of scampering rats. Then when I had come out of my daze and realized what had happened, I felt as if we had been storm- swept and I was a bit of wreckage left alone." For all his effort there was a quiver to his firm lip. Once Polly would have rumpled his hair as an expression of her sympathy; but there was a new dignity about her old comrade and she only touched his sleeve with her finger. " But you do not feel so now ? " " Oh, no," and he faintly smiled for the first time ; " how could I ? " " And how did it happen ? " asked Donald. Duncan repeated the story, which was in substance like the one they had heard. Old 68 POLLY OF THE PINES David looked at his big silver watch when he had finished. " The night is wearing awa', childer, and I came charged wi' a message fra Mrs. Jean MacDonald ta bring you home wi' us, Duncan/' " Oh, yes, Duncan, Aunt Jean wants you to come. You surely will," urged Polly, as she caught his expression of doubt. " Tell Mrs. MacDonald that I thank her for the thought, and I would be glad to go, for this house is not the most cheerful spot; " and he looked around the disordered room : " but I cannot go now, the negroes have been in a panic of fear that they would be carried off. I have only got them partly calm now, and if I went away and left them they would be sure it meant some fresh evil. Besides, while Uncle Farquhard is gone, my place and my duty are here." Uncle David laid his hand in approval on Duncan's shoulder. " You hae the right thought, lad, though I'm sorry to leave you alone." " Yes, you're right, at least in this," and bluff Donald's voice had its heartiest ring; " and because you are right I'll stay and keep you company. Here, Dan," to a negro lad who had been hovering near the door, as if he A DINNER PARTY fig were safe only in keeping close to the speakers, " bring some wood and start up this fire. You ought to have your black head wrung off for not taking better care of your young master." Dan gave a delighted grin at the mock threatening. " Yessur, yessur, I'll tend to de fire/' and he hurried away on his errand. As the others started to leave, Duncan fol- lowed them. " Do you think there is any danger for Uncle Farquhard ? ' ' he asked anx- iously. " You know the Royalists burned the house above Henry Pettus's head lately, and hanged James Fell over toward the Neuse last week ; and some of the soldiers hinted that they might retaliate on Uncle Farquhard for it." " Chut, chut, lad, no," was the reassuring answer. " He'll hae a bit stay in the jail at Halifax, a trial before the Committee, and then he's almaist sure to be hame again on parole. Hae na fear o' your uncle, — he'll look after his ain skin," he added under his breath. Duncan helped Polly to mount, and as he did so, he whispered : " Do you remember the last time you were here? " " Remember it ? Indeed I do. It's been in my mind all the time to-night." He sighed. " What a miserable business it all has been, and the end for none of us is yet." jO POLLY OF THE PINES Then, as he put the bridle in her hand : " It was good of you to come to-night, Polly; I had rather you had come than any one else." Flyaway, impatient of standing, was start- ing, and Polly had just time to answer. " Why, Duncan, I wanted to come, I couldn't have stayed away." CHAPTER VI. THE STANDARD IS UP. During these months, while the spirit of liberty in the colony was steadily increasing, the British, by the aid of Governor Martin and his agents, were also unceasingly active. Major MacDonald's secret mission among his countrymen had also so far succeeded that the Governor had written to England that a large force of Highlanders were ready to take up arms for the King whenever needed. Rely- ing on these assurances, a vigorous campaign had been planned for the near future. Sir Henry Clinton, with a fleet of ships and troops, was expected at the mouth of the Cape Fear River early in the year; where he was to be met by the Highlanders and all others who might join them. About the same time, a strong squadron, bearing Lord Cornwallis and a considerable force, was to sail for America and the South ; and with these combined it was confidently expected a blow could be struck 71 72 POLLY OF THE PINES which should secure not only North Carolina but all the Southern Colonies to the Royal cause. With Aunt Jean an ardent loyalist, and the Kingsburgs, and others of their faith, often coming and going at her home, Polly had heard frequent hints of all this. More still, she knew that the clans were quietly, but none the less actively, making ready for the sum- mons when it should come; that commissions were being issued; and that when the Royal standard was raised it was to be at Cross Creek. That it was something which was to affect her own life closely she had no thought. So the eventful year for the nation, 1776. came in. One by one the days of January slipped quietly away, with a surface calm, like that of the ice-locked streams, under which currents full and strong were rushing. The first of February dawned, clear with sunshine, bright with the frost sparkling white on leaf and twig. Cross Creek was early astir, a sub- dued excitement was in the very air, even Aunt Jean could hardly give attention to her morn- ing duties. Presently, through her partly opened window, Polly heard the sound of the bagpipes, the clamor of voices. Throwing the window wide, she leaned out to catch a sight THE STANDARD IS UP 73 of the tall flag-pole set in the center of the pub- lic square. Up this flag-pole something was slowly creeping ; higher, higher it went : then with the breath of a crisp breeze the long float- ing folds of a banner broke out against the blue and sunlit sky. The expected had come to pass, the Royal standard was raised. Quickly Polly ran down the stairs calling as she went : " It's up, the standard's up ! " But the others had heard the tumult of shout- ing voices and understood the cause. Aunt Jane, her plaid half adjusted, was already well down the street, and Uncle David, standing on the doorstep, was shaking his white head and sighing. Then she heard Donald MacDonald's voice in an old Scotch song of the Stuart days as he came hurrying along the street. " The standard on the braes of Mar, Is up and streaming rarely ; The gathering pipe on Loch-na-gar, Is sounding loud and sairly. The Highlandmen From hill and glen, In martial hue, In bonnets blue, With belted plaids And burnished blades, Are coming late and early." t( And is it not a bonnie sight ? " Donald 74 POLLY OF THE PINES called, suddenly breaking off his singing, and halting. " Why were you not there, Uncle Davy, to see the standard go up ? " " Aye, Donald," was the grave answer, " it's a bonnie sight. But I've seen standards raised before, and I mind that the one you are sing- ing o' met only wi' defeat ; and that set up by the Bonnie Prince himself went down on the field o' Culloden. 'Tis easy to raise the stan- dard, lad, but ta defend it, ta keep it up, that's another thing." " You're old and fearsome, Uncle David," was Donald's light answer. " It's better to be old and fearsome than young and feckless, and I fear me that for those who have done this there is sair work ahead." " Yes, there is, sore work for those who meet us." And with a toss of his bonnet in the air, Donald ran on, taking up his song again as he went and adapting it to the present moment. " Fy ! Donald, up and let's awa\ We canna longer parley, When George's back is at the wa\ The King we love sae dearly. We'll go — we'll go And meet the foe And fling the plaid, And swing the blade, THE STANDARD IS UP And forward dash, And hack and slash — And flog the rebels sairly.' " 75 Old David neither answered nor followed; and as he turned back into the house Polly heard him murmuring: " 'Tis the word, they that tak' the sword shall perish by the sword." But Polly was not old like Uncle David. Her heart was young, its every fiber vibrant to emotion, and now thrilling with the excite- ment of the hour. Jamie was lingering by the gate. " Come away and see the bonnie sight," he urged. Catching him by the hand she hur- ried with him along the street, out to the public square, where the bagpipes were still merrily playing. The standard floated in the center of the crowd gathered round, which numbered, among the others, a group of mounted men to whom Major, now General, MacDonald, a stately figure in his new gold-laced uniform, was giving copies of the Governor's proclam? tion. This was to be scattered among the more distant Highlanders, together with one of his own, which, in sounding phrases, invited all to repair to His Majesty's Royal Standard, and there join the King's army. Some one near Polly was reading this proclamation aloud; and, as she carelessly listened, even ye POLLY OF THE PINES while she was tingling with the enthusiasm of the moment, a vague wonder crossed her mind what Ezekiel Slocumb would say to it, and what the result would be when he and the men of the Neuse region heard of this event. But she had little time to think, for as if by magic Cross Creek had become a center of stir and action. It is true there had not been, as in the old days in the Highlands, the summons of the fiery cross sent out, its charred ends red with the blood that had quenched its flame; but none the less surely and quickly from one to another had the summons sped, and soon they began to appear in answer to it. From far and near they came streaming in, from the wide plantations on the river bottoms, and from the rude log cabins set in the depths of the lonely pine forests : old and young alike, with dirk and broadsword at their side, gay in the waving tartans of their clans, with feath- ered bonnets and belted plaids, keeping step to the shrill music of the bagpipes, as loud and clear they sounded the warlike airs beloved of Scotland. At this time the MacDonalds were so many in Cumberland County that the whole settle- ment was often spoken of as the Clan Donald ; and in large part owing to the leading influence THE STANDARD IS UP jj of Flora MacDonald and her husband together with that of Major MacDonald upon those of their name, this rising of 1776 is still com- monly known as the " Insurrection of the Clan Donald." So first in the order of numbers came the MacDonalds, with Clan MacLeod next, followed by lesser numbers of Clan Mac- Kenzie, Clan MacRae, Clan MacLean, Clan MacKay, Clan MacLachlin, and others, till some 1500 Highlanders were gathered at Cross Creek, a number which later additions swelled to about 3000. Not that all the Highlanders were in sym- pathy with the movement or answered the summons; for aside from the many already active patriots, there were numbers who would not engage in a cause they could not approve. Others, like Uncle David, urged their country- men to remain strictly neutral ; and those who were afraid of being forced into the ranks against their will had escaped and hidden in the swamps and woods. The morning was well along and Polly was again at home, where Aunt Jean was only mildly chiding her that she had, " no mind for her work ; " when a slight sound outside drew her notice, and she exclaimed : " Here is Flora MacDonald, herself.' , 78 POLLY OF THE PINES " Yes, here I am," she said as she came in smiling and glowing both with her ride in the clear air and the exhilaration of the hour. " And indeed I had to come, for when I saw Allen and the boys, and a' our friends starting I could na stay behind. Aye, it is a bonnie sight when the Highland bluid is up and the clans are out. I never thought to see a gather- ing o' them again. It minds me o' other days so that I maist forget the years that lie be- tween." " And the best o' it all is the cause," added Aunt Jean as she helped Flora off with her riding-cloak. Then as Uncle David's cane be- gan to tap the floor in his corner she turned toward him. " Croak, an you will, Uncle David, but wait till our Highlanders put the rebels to rout and we'll see wha will croak then." Later in the day when the assembled clans were drawn up for review Polly and Jamie were again among the onlookers. With the many other watchful eyes theirs were turned toward a little group, as, at the head of his captains, General MacDonald, in uniform re- splendent with gold lace, rode along the line. But he was not alone; by his side rode one whose influence had been hardly less than his THE STANDARD IS UP yg own. And at the sight of her Polly caught Jamie's arm. " Oh, Jamie, see how like a queen she looks." And queenly, other eyes, beside those of ad- miring Polly, might have thought Flora Mac- Donald's slender figure that day, as she sat erect and graceful on her white horse, her eyes shining, and the black plumes of her wide riding-hat falling against a cheek as flushed with pink as in her girlhood. As the clansmen saw her, there was a doffing of blue bonnets with a shout of greeting; for the heroine of Skye was also the idol of her countrymen in America. At this, a wave of strong emotion crossed her face : she leaned forward in her saddle; and Polly could hear her voice as she rode slowly along the line, its Gaelic accents — for many of the late come Highlanders could understand no other — falling soft and musical from her lips. Polly's life had been largely passed among English-speaking people, and she had but an imperfect knowledge of her mother's native tongue; but she understood that the speaker's words were of encouragement and exhortation to her countrymen to be faithful to the King and his cause. As Polly drew nearer now and then a sentence was clear : " Many of the 80 POLLY OF THE PINES broadswords I see here were once unsheathed to win the rights of a Prince, none the less are they needed now to defend the rights of a King." And again : " Highlanders ! 'tis a proud word, and well you know what it stands for; 'tis the faithful heart, faithful to the cause it makes its own." Heartfelt words were these as all knew, for of those she loved best her own husband, her son-in-law, and three of her sons were in the ranks before her. A ringing shout was the answer : she smiled and lifted her hand toward the great flag overhead. " There is the Royal Standard of the King to whom you have pledged yourselves. Never forget that oath, never be untrue to it. On many a battlefield the enemy have learned to their cost what the cry of ' Broadswords ' meant. Let them learn it again. Remember that you are Highland- ers, and to be a true Highlander is to be faith- ful, aye, to death itself." Perhaps little was needed that day to stir the clans to the highest pitch of warlike feeling and enthusiasm, but her appeal had accom- plished it. As she ended, there was a quick leaping of gleaming broadswords in the air; then a piper started the strain " God save the King." As bagpipe after bagpipe caught it THE STANDARD IS UP 8 1 up, a thousand voices joined in a cry which, rising on the still wintry air, echoed faintly back from the distant hills and woods : " God save King George ! God save the King ! " Jamie was swinging his cap with the others. " I'm a King's man too, Sister," when he could get his breath, " you mind I drank to the King." Now though Uncle David and Duncan, to whom she had confided the incident, had both assured Polly that so slight an action in a mo- ment of excitement was not of a binding na- ture, she felt a pressure on her conscience whenever she recalled it ; so that instead of set- tling the question it had but made it more com- plex. For all this she hastily answered. " Oh, no, Jamie, drinking the King's health did not bind you to him. You swear on the Bible when you take an oath, as these men have done." He looked around. " It would be fine to be a King's man." The pressure of her fingers closed on his. " Oh, Jamie, you are Sister's man, that is far better. Come away home, Aunt Jean has damson tarts for tea ; she will be wanting us to help, too." And with a wistful look around he followed her away. 82 POLLY OF THE PINES That night, as almost every night while the clans were gathered at Cross Creek, there was a military ball, where the pipes and violins played their merriest, light feet danced, and the bright hues of the many tartans made the scene vivid with life and color. For those in charge of the movement left nothing undone that could arouse the military spirit. With the admiration of bright eyes and the encour- agement of smiling lips, was it any wonder if, to the ardent young clansmen, the raising of the standard seemed almost a festal occasion? CHAPTER VII. THE STANDARD IS OUT. From the day the standard was unfurled, more and more Cross Creek took on the ap- pearance of a military encampment. On every side campfires were blazing, clans drill- ing, mounted officers in uniform clattering through the streets, the pipes, bugles, drums sounding, new recruits coming in, and the everyday life of both town and people wholly put one side. Aunt Jean not only approved the Rising, she had given herself to it with heart and hand. An additional negro woman was in the kitchen to aid the two maids, the big outside oven was kept constantly smoking, every room was filled, beds were made on the floor, and the whole house was alive with stir and bustle. As for Polly, she was simply swept on by the tide of excitement ; for the time being the cause itself had faded into the background : it was the glitter, the pageant, which dazzled and appealed to her warm imagination. For to her this was 83 84 POLLY OF THE PINES as the reality of those old days in the High- lands, of which she had again and again heard and read and fancied. The Royal standard floating against the wintry sky might well have been the standard of Bonnie Prince Charlie himself; and the clans, those who had gathered at his summons, eager to follow his fateful fortune : while more than once she caught her- self humming the air sung so often in his day. «"\\Y Highland bonnets on their heads, And claymores bright and clear, They came to fight for Scotland's right And the young Chevalier. Oh Charlie is my darling, My darling, my darling, Oh Charlie is my darling. The young Chevalier.' " She also thought it vastly becoming to him when Aunt Jean fitted Jamie out in a full High- land suit of the MacDonald tartan, and wore her own soft wool plaid with a proud con- sciousness of her kinship with so illustrious a clan. At the same time she lost no chance to impress on Jamie that it was all something he was to see and not to be a part of. " When the clans march out," she would say, " they will have no warm beds to sleep in and the ground will be bitter cold, and it may be they will not have enough to eat, and you know how THE STANDARD IS UP 85 hard it is to be hungry." And Jamie would assent as he usually did to what Polly said. Uncle David had been right in his forecast and Farquhard Campbell was home again on parole ; but he kept very quiet, not at all by day did Polly see him in Cross Creek, and only once in the evening did she catch sight of a figure through the murk that she fancied looked like his. Duncan also shunned the town. Once she met him and he reined in his horse. " Polly," he asked sharply, " are the clans wild ? Do they not know that the news of their action has gone far and wide and a strong force is gathering to crush them ? " " But the clans, the MacDonalds, are not easily crushed," urged Polly. " I know, you are so taken with the Mac- Donalds and the MacDonald pride these days that you'll not be knowing soon that there's anybody but the MacDonalds on the earth." " And reason I have to be proud of the Mac- Donalds." Polly's loyalty was up in arms. " Let me tell you this : " Duncan was frown- ing as he spoke ; " the time may come when every one will be so proud of being an Ameri- can that there will be no more heard of clans and tartans." And touching his horse he was out of hearing of Polly's parting retort. 86 POLLY OF THE PINES " If I was only a Campbell I'd have nothing to be proud of either ! " "What was Duncan vexed about?" ques- tioned Jamie, who had come up in time to hear part of the talk. " He's vexed with the clans for what they are doing." " I like the clans," and Jamie smoothed down his new kilts. " I'm a clansman now." " Yes," Polly spoke hastily and with that vague fear of she hardly knew what rising in her heart; "but when the clans march away there may be a battle — you have heard Uncle David tell of the field of Culloden and all the soldiers who were shot and killed. You would not want to be shot and killed ? " " Me ? Oh, no," and a tremor as of fear ran over his frame. " Then when they march away you must stay with Aunt Jean and me. You will be safe here with us, nobody will hurt you." " I don't want to be hurt," and he nodded emphatically. At last everything was ready and the little army took up its line of march toward Wil- mington. All the town was out to see them off, as with the great standard at their head, pipes playing, and tartans waving, they marched THE STANDARD IS UP 87 through the streets; two hundred of the old " Regulators," to which Polly's father had be- longed, being among the number. True she had heard it said that Governor Martin had won them over by artful promises; none the less their presence gave her the feeling that this could but be the side of the right. Then she caught sight of Donald MacDonald waving his cap to her, for Donald was especially jubilant those days in that he and General MacDonald bore the same name. And what with the mar- tial stir and life, the music, the cheering voices, Polly almost felt that if she had been a lad she would have belted a broadsword at her side and joined the ranks. Then with a sudden spring her thought went to Jamie and the realization that in the con- fusion she had hardly seen him since morning. With a fear, that she tried to assure herself was foolish, she turned at once to look for him. The clans had all gone, the last notes of the bagpipes were sounding in the distance, the streets seemed strangely empty, the people were turning back to their homes, and the afternoon was growing gray and chill. " Jamie ! Jamie! " she called, but there was no response. None of those she questioned could tell her anything, till a woman, hearing her, turned. 88 POLLY OF THE PINES " Is it Jamie Dunning you're asking for? Why Jamie has gone wi' the clans." " But I did not see him. He would not have gone without telling me." None the less some- thing tightened about Polly's heart as she spoke. " A' the same he has gone," was the positive answer. " I saw him among the company In charge o' the baggage." Polly hurried to the house. " Aunt Jean," bursting in, " did you know Jamie has gone with the clans ? " Aunt Jean was just laying off her hood. " Sa has mony another," was her answer. Polly's lips whitened. " Aunt Jean, did you tell him he could go ? " " No, but had he been my ain boy I should have bid him go." " But you knew that he was going? ' " I knew nothing o' the sort. He but asked me did the King need all the clansmen, and I told him yes. And here you're making a' this talk and Flora MacDonald has sent her hus- band and three lads and is no saying a word." She made a motion with her hand to where Flora, still in her riding-dress, was sitting be- fore the fire. " Oh, but you know, Aunt Jean, Jamie's not THE STANDARD IS UP 89 like the others. My mother charged me to look after Jamie, to take care of him, and to think that I forgot it to-day ! " Aunt Jean's face looked troubled. " Chut, chut, child,'' her voice softening; " the earth's na opened and swallowed him up. He's no so far awa' but he can come hame again." Polly's drooping form grew more erect. " I had not thought of that. I can go for him and bring him back." Flora rose from her chair. " We will both go, dearie," putting her arms around Polly. " We both hae sore hearts the day. I am going down ta stay the night wi' Allen at the camp; it will no be far ; and you shall go wi' me, and find the lad." " Dear Lady Kingsburg," pressing her lips against the soft cheek, " how good and full of comfort you always are." It was indeed but a short march the army made that day, only four miles, to its first en- campment on the Cape Fear River. For Col- onel Moore with a patriot force had taken possession of Rockfish bridge some eight miles below Cross Creek, and by scouts and spies suc- ceeded in cutting off all communication be- tween General MacDonald and Governor 9 POLLY OF THE PINES Martin; and the first duty of the clans was to disperse this force and open the way. The camp was a typical military one at which Flora and her young charge arrived in the early evening : sentinels were pacing their beats, tents were set up, wagons were drawn in line, camp-fires were burning on every side, the smell of cooking was in the air, and the High- landers were, as they would have said, in gay " fettle." For the short march, and the pros- pect of an encounter with the opposing force had kindled more enthusiasm, and the scene was one of picturesque life and activity. " Hae I seen your Jamie?' and Captain Allen MacDonald, who had come to meet them, repeated the question that Polly seized the first opportunity to put. " Na, lassie, I did not even ken he was wi' us." " Had he been like the other lads I would have said no word," she added earnestly; " but, oh, you know Jamie's no fit for here." Kingsburg understood and nodded. " I know, and had I seen Jamie, be sure I would have sent him home. But 'tis grown too dark and the camp is too scattering ta look for him to-night. Wait till morning and na doubt you can find him wi'out trouble." With the cheer of that assurance Polly went THE STANDARD IS UP 91 to sleep under the canvas tent walls with a lightened heart. Aunt Jean had been right : she had been foolish to be so frightened ; with the morning she would seek Jamie out and coax him home with her, and all would be well again. But with the morning she found her task harder than she had thought. The camp was one of bustle and confusion : some detachments had already been sent out; Jamie belonged to no company; his name was entered on no list; and though she met several who had seen him, no one could tell her where to find him. Dur- ing the day the army changed its position again, and that night encamped on the brow of the lofty hill Haymount, a dangerous position at best, the more so when it was learned that an American force was near. All day Polly had kept up her unavailing search, and with evening she stole from the tent and herself hardly noticed among the dusky shadows slipped from camp-fire to camp- fire, anxiously scanning the faces gathered about each. She had reached as she thought, an outer edge of the camp, when the gleam of another fire, through the trees before her, caught her eye. Working her way through the thick undergrowth, to her surprise she found g 2 POLLY OF THE PINES herself on the sharp brow of the hill. Then she discovered that the fire she had seen was on another rise beyond a deep ravine. Wondering that the camp should be so divided, yet with the hope of there finding her brother, she care- fully let herself down the steep side of the hill till she reached an open space where she could see clearly. Almost at the same time the fire, as if fed with fresh fuel, leaped up high and bright, throwing into relief the forms gathered round it. With a start Polly leaned forward. For it was not the Highland costume of kilt and plaid these men were wearing, but instead their dress was the deer-skin hunting shirt, the fringed leggins, the tall cap of fur with the tail hang- ing down the back. It was a dress she knew well, one she had many times seen her own father wear, and at once she realized that this was the American camp she had heard men- tioned. Standing there with intent eyes, for the first time Polly's heart sank for the High- landers. She could not well have put the rea- son into words, but dimly she felt that these were the men who had already met and over- come the foes of the wilderness ; men in whose hands the long muskets resting over their shoulders or by their sides had become weapons THE STANDARD IS UP g<, tried and trusted ; men of keen eyes and trained endurance as unafraid as the Highlanders themselves. On the still night air the sound of their voices came clearly across to her. There was no Scotch burr in these tones, clear and incis- ive English how familiar it sounded. As she listened Polly's heart thrilled : suddenly it came to her, as never before, that this was her coun- try, these her own people, as it had been her father's country and people. Her father had been her childhood's idol, his memory was her sacred treasure. With the thought of him now, how or why she could not have told, she felt a certainty that no matter what his old comrades might do, if her father were alive it was in that camp he would be found and on that side he would be. As she changed her position a dry branch snapped under her foot, and ears beyond heard the sound, a word of command was given, and the sharp click of musket hammers followed. Polly had no wish to be shot, but she smiled grimly at the close watchfulness against alarm or attack. Waiting till the long dark barrels had been lowered, she climbed with cautious steps up the hill, and back to the Highland camp. Her way lay close to the tents of the 94 POLLY OF THE PINES officers. Some one stood earnestly talking with General MacDonald. At the sound of his voice she paused, and, as he slightly turned, she caught a glimpse of his face. No, she had not been mistaken, it was Mr. Farquhard Campbell. Just outside their own tent Flora MacDon- ald was standing. " Allen and the boys have but gone and I was wondering where you might be," she said. Once inside Polly told her story, and as she ended she drew closer. " Dear Lady Kings- burg, you are so good and true, and I love you so, that I have wanted, have tried, to believe and think as you did. But I never can, I knew it when my heart grew warm as I looked across at that other camp to-night; for this is my country and these are my people, just as Scot- land is yours ; and my heart is with them. You understand, you do not blame me, do you? " and she laid her face against the other's cheek. The delicate hand smoothed the young girl's hair. " I understand, my dear," and there was a sad inflection to her voice ; " we canna all see eye to eye, I learned that long ago." Polly raised herself. " And something else came to me as I stood watching the American THE STANDARD IS UP camp: the Highlanders can never conquer them, never." Flora smiled. " You do not know the High- landers." " Nor you the Americans. Oh, Lady Kings- burg, it will be dreadful when they meet. The Highlanders defer so much to you, beg them to go back before it is too late." She shook her head. " It is too late, I could na ask it. And it is not in Highland bluid to turn back i' the face o' an enemy." The next day Kingsburg came to his wife. " We are to move again to-day, and sorry I am to tell you that you can go wi' us no longer." " Is it to attack Colonel Moore? " she asked. " I saw the clans paraded this morning and a fine sight they were." " No, we will not attack Moore at present. A friend last night brought General MacDon- ald word that Colonel Caswell wi' a force o' minute-men is marching to join Moore, and it has been thought best to slip awa', fall upon Caswell, and then mak' haste to unite wi' the Governor and our friends at Wilmington. So you must return to Cross Creek." "Oh, Allen," her eyes were full of tears; " how can I leave you ? The maist I have on earth, you and the lads are here. I canna part (t 9 5 POLLY OF THE PINES fra you. I'll not mind ony hardship if I may go with you," and she clung to him. Why, Flora, lass," his own voice shaken. I thought you was too auld a wife ta mind a bit parting. It is enough for my life ta be i' danger. Besides I look to you to care for our other bairns and a' my interests while I am away." She wiped her eyes. " You're right, Allen, I will go back." " And Jamie? " asked Polly anxiously. "A number, I'm shamed ta say, have al- ready deserted and gone home. I'm thinking you'll find Jamie safe at Cross Creek, a' the same I'll keep an eye out for him." When she was ready to leave, Flora Mac- Donald checked her horse, and leaning down, laid her hand on her husband's shoulder. " There are troublesome times ahead, I ween. God will keep the right. I hope a' my ain are in the right." And so she rode away, with a lingering look back at the husband and sons whom, though she little dreamed it, she was not to see again in America. CHAPTER VIII. A NIGHT RIDE. Cross Creek again but no Jamie, and Polly's heart sank afresh when she found he had not returned. Then a thought came to her : if the minute-men were being called out Lieutenant Slocumb and his company would go; if she could only see him she would beg that in case of a battle he would try to save Jamie. Aunt Jean quite approved of the idea, any- thing to keep Polly from what seemed to her needless fretting. Only, in the disturbed state of the country, she must not make the journey alone. Here Uncle David came to her aid : he had Scotch friends near the Neuse; he would take this time to visit them and so bear her company. It was late afternoon of a sunny February day when Polly, having parted with Uncle David, rode on alone. All her early life had been spent in this neighborhood and its every foot was familiar ground. Soon she came in 97 9 8 POLLY OF THE PINES sight of her destination and turned into the half-mile avenue which led from the main road to the house. This avenue was lined on one side with a thick hedge of forest trees which were later to play an important part in the history of the place. Along this way the crowded footprints plainly showed that a body of horse had lately passed, while nearer the house the turf was even more cut and marked with freshly trampled hoof marks. For all her troubled spirit, Polly glanced around with a sense of pleasure in the scene : a wintry still- ness brooded over the wide brown fields of the fine plantation ; the low sun shone with a mel- low light on the home, with its pillared veran- das, and the smoke curling softly up from its generous chimneys. So calm, so peaceful was it all, that it hardly seemed possible that armed men could be even then hastening to meet in the clash of battle. Mary Slocumb, her old-time friend, and, though a wife and mother, hardly more than a girl still, had seen Polly and ran to meet her, her face alight with the gay spirit that no trial could subdue for long. "O Polly I never was gladder to see you, for I am all alone with baby Jesse and the slaves." " Then your husband is gone ? " A NIGHT RIDE 99 " Yes, he and eighty men went from here this morning. The whole country is up en masse, hardly a man able to walk is left in the whole Neuse region. Polly, what are your Highlanders thinking of, are they wild? " Polly had followed her into the house and dropped wearily into a chair beside the hearth. " I was afraid Ezekiel had gone when I saw those tracks and I so wanted to see him. Mary, Jamie is out with the clans." "Jamie!" "Yes. He must have been urged into it or have acted on a sudden impulse at the last mo- ment. He never kept anything from me, of his own free will. I'm sure he would never have gone without telling me. But who was it went from here ? " " The men of the neighborhood, picked men every one. I looked at them well, and I could see that every man had mischief in him. I know a coward as soon as I set eyes on him, and there was no coward here." " And the Highlanders are no cowards." " Then when the clash comes it will be a sharp one, for I know the men they will have to meet. They all got off in high spirits, every man stepping high and light as if they were going to parade." IO o POLLY OF THE PINES Polly sighed as she stretched out her hands benumbed with long holding the bridle rein, to the blaze. " Mary, how did you feel to see your husband go ? " " Polly, dearly as I love my husband, never would I hold him back from duty. When he went, hating as I knew to leave me alone, I said : Go, and remember Liberty is the prize at the end, for you and those you leave at home." As she spoke she drew her slender form erect, her blue eyes kindling with a deeper light. From a child, Mary Slocumb's charm of manner, her high spirit, her fearlessness of danger, had won Polly's heart, and for all the difference in their years they had always been fast friends; but as she looked at her now a new feeling awakened. " Mary, you are a brave woman," she exclaimed, impulsively. " So are all the other women whose hus- bands and sons have gone. I am only one of the many." She checked herself. " But here I am talking when you are tired and hungry. And as soon as you have had something to eat you must see the baby ; he grows more cunning every day." The next morning Polly asked, " Did you sleep well last night, Mary? " A NIGHT RIDE IO i " Yes, quietly and soundly. I hope you did, too." Polly shook her head. " I kept thinking and thinking. Give me something to do, Mary, to keep me from thinking." " I can find enough for you to do," was the answer. And busy indeed was the day; for in her husband's absence the young wife had to take charge of the plantation, as well as the house- hold. Always putting energy into every task, she worked harder than ever that day, not knowing what sudden and unexpected demand, she might be called upon to meet ; while a rea- son still stronger was an effort to control the thoughts which would follow, with conjecture and questioning, those who had so lately gone away. Mary Slocumb and Polly knew what was in the mind of both even though it re- mained unspoken. That night was to Polly even more wakeful than the one before. After Mary Slocumb had told her that there would be a battle she could not doubt it, and Jamie, how would it fare with Jamie? The suspense was full of dread and only by an effort did she hold her- self quiet against the restlessness riot in her veins. She was just beginning to grow drowsy I0 2 POLLY OF THE PINES when a sharp cry from the adjoining room, where Mrs. Slocumb slept, startled her. That something was the matter with little Jesse was her first thought. Raising herself on her el- bow she looked through the partly open door between the rooms, and by the faint fire-light could see Mary sitting on the side of her bed; while the baby's motionless form and regular breathing told that he was not the cause of her alarm. The negro girl who slept in the room with her had also awakened and starting up asked the question that was already on Polly's lips, " What's de matter? " " Nothing, Lucy, nothing." But it is something, was Polly's thought. For several moments as she watched, Mary sat thinking. Then she said as if to herself. " I must go to him ! " and hastily began to dress. " Missus, Missus," urged the girl, " what is it, where yo' gwine ? " " I cannot sleep. I am going to ride down the road." " Don't go, Miss Mary," and her tone was full of alarm. " I'd be skeered to death to be lef alone." " Nothing will harm you, the quarters are not far. Lock the door behind me, and look A NIGHT RIDE I0 ^ after the baby till I come back. Take care not to wake Polly." Polly smiled at the caution, for her fingers were also busy. Action suited her mood and wherever Mary was going there too she was resolved to go. There was an outer door to her room, and wrapping her plaid about her, she softly slipped out into the darkness where she could wait, herself unseen. A few mo- ments and a shape which seemed hardly more than a shadow of the night glided from the house toward the stable. That Mary meant to arouse no help was evident, for she soon reap- peared, a larger bulk looming beside her. " Gently, Roan, gently," she was saying, and in a moment more she was on the back of her favorite horse and away down the road at full speed. Polly knew Flyaway's stall and the near-by peg on which hung her saddle and bridle, and to adjust both even in the dark was not diffi- cult. She had no wish to make too great haste, it was not her intention for the present to over- take Mary and, it might be, meet her protest. Slowly, therefore, she rode down the long ave- nue, keeping well in the shadow of the trees, her horse's hoofs making little sound on the grassy turf, the nightwind cool and refreshing I0 4 POLLY OF THE PINES on her hot face. Reaching the high road, Mary Slocumb turned, as from the first Polly had felt sure she would, in the direction the crowded hoof-prints led ; and drawing her own horse back Polly waited till the distance be- tween them was wide enough so that she could safely follow unobserved. And, as her eyes became used to the star-lighted gloom, more than once she saw Mary Slocumb pause as if she were almost on the point of turning back, then hasten on again. It was a solitary and strange night ride, one Polly never forgot, through a country where even the darkened houses were few and far. Sometimes the road was a mere opening through the lofty pines whose dense canopy almost met above; again it led up sandy hills or descended into swampy bottoms, crossing swollen bridgeless streams; but always on and on : and, as she rode, her eyes were steadily fixed on the solitary shadow ahead, which, to her fancy, at times seemed a spirit fleeing alone through a dark world. When daylight dawned chill and pale in the east they were thirty miles from the Neuse River; and Polly, feeling that now she could make her presence known, urged Flyaway forward. Mary Slocumb turned at the sound and with the first glance Polly saw . . a A NIGHT RIDE I0 $ that though her eyes were bright with resolute courage her face was drawn and pale. " Polly, you here ! ' was her surprised exclamation. " Yes, Mary, I guessed where you were go- ing and I had to come. But what have you heard ? " I have heard nothing." What is it then? I know by your looks something is the matter." She hesitated a moment. " I hardly know myself. Do not laugh at me, Polly, but after I went to bed I was still studying, as I had been all day, where the men were and what they were doing; when, as I lay, whether sleeping or waking I cannot tell, I had a dream — such a dreadful dream. I saw, as plainly as I see you, a body wrapped in my husband's body-cloak, stiff, blood-stained, dead, with others dead and wounded lying on the ground around him. With that I gave a cry and sprang to my feet ; and so vivid was the impression on my mind that I rushed toward the vision only to come up against the side of the house. The fire in the room gave a little light, and I looked in every direction for another glimpse of the scene. Everything was still and quiet, and the reality came back to me — Polly, if ever I felt fear it was at that moment. Sitting down, I thought I0 6 POLLY OF THE PINES a few minutes, and it rushed over me, I must go to him ! " " Yes, I heard you say it." " Then you know the rest. I started on an uncontrolled impulse; but the cool night air seemed after a mile to bring me thoughts : and I asked myself where I was going and for what purpose. Again and again I was tempted to turn back, but I was soon ten miles from home and my mind becoming more strongly fixed every moment. For, Polly, where it will be, I have no idea, but somewhere I shall surely find my husband dying or dead. I knew the route our little army was to take, and with that pic- ture before me how could I but follow ? " Polly felt a chill at her own heart as she listened, but she answered as cheerily as she could : "It was only a bad dream, Mary. You had been thinking of the men and a battle, it was not strange you should have dreamed it. Keep up good courage." " Never fear that," was the quiet answer. " I never felt my spirit stronger. As to its being only a dream, if I find my husband alive I shall know it was." As the sun was rising they came upon a group of women and children standing and sitting by the road-side, all of them showing A NIGHT RIDE lQ y the same anxiety of mind they themselves felt. Stopping a few moments, Mary Slocumb hastily inquired if the expected battle had been fought. They could tell her nothing, only that the two armies were very near each other, that a clash was imminent, and they were gath- ered on the road to catch any news which might come. Then Mary Slocumb, with Polly closely following, was skimming over the ground again, through a country thinly settled, poor and swampy, but now easily following the well-marked trail the troops had made, and, for all that had passed, neither her spirit nor that of the noble horse she rode failing in the least. The sun had now lifted a little way, and Polly looking toward it was on the point of saying that it must be about eight o'clock; when before them she heard a sound like thun- der. " What is that? " she asked. " I never heard it before," was the answer; " but I know what it must be — cannon ! ' They stopped, eagerly listening, and soon the heavy roar came again. With the sound Mary Slocumb' s face brightened. " How foolish I have been," and she laughed lightly; " my husband could not have been dead last night for the battle is only fighting now. Still 10 8 POLLY OF THE PINES as we are so near let us go and see how it ends." " Yes, yes," urged Polly, her eyes wide with excitement ; " let us go on ; I could not go back now." Away they went, faster than ever, and soon knew by the sound of guns that they were drawing near the fight. Again they stopped. " Mary, I can hear muskets, I can hear rifles ! " " And I can hear shouting," was the answer. Urging their already excited horses, they dashed on in the direction of the firing and the shouts, now constantly growing louder. There was a turn in the blind path they had been fol- lowing and suddenly they came out into the Wilmington road leading to Moore's Creek Bridge, a few hundred yards below the bridge. CHAPTER IX. THE STANDARD IS DOWN. By this time the firing had ceased save for scattered shots in the woods beyond, toward which many men were seen running; but all around them, scattered hats, caps, and gar- ments, broken swords, muskets, and powder- horns, with here and there a blood stain on the trampled ground, gave evidence of the fight. The tide of battle, it was evident, had swerved ; for the field here was clear, while at a little distance on both sides of the creek was a con- fused tangle of figures, the bright plaids of the clans mingled with the soberer colors of the Americans. And over all rose a tumult of sounds, shouts, orders, bugle calls, with now and then a wail as of pain or despair. Then as Polly turned her head, the sad re- sults of the battle met her eye ; for a little way from the road a number of dark forms were lying, that she knew at once were the killed or wounded. At the sight of them Mary Slocumb 109 IIO POLLY OF THE PINES gave a gasp and her face paled. " That is what I saw in my dream." Then as her eyes fixed on one spot : " And there it is, wrapped in the guard-cloak I know so well, my hus- band's body." As she spoke, she was out of her saddle kneeling beside him; and Polly, following, shrank back as she saw a face covered with blood from a wound across the temple. But Mary had put her hand to his face. " It is still warm," she murmured. With that the form stirred and a faint voice begged for water. At the sound she started, trembling ; for the voice was not only a faint but — or could it be only her fancy? — to her ears it seemed an unfa- miliar one. A small camp kettle was lying near and the creek ran close beside. Hurriedly she filled the kettle with water, poured some in the wounded man's mouth and tenderly washed his face. A joyful cry followed. " Thank God, it is not my husband after all. It is Frank Cogdell, another soldier from the Neuse." She was bathing the wound in the man's head, and by this time he had revived enough to speak. " Never mind that," he managed to say; " it's the wound in my leg that's killing me." Then for the first time, they noticed a THE STANDARD IS DOWN IIX pool of blood where he had been shot through the leg. " If I only had something for dressing." As Mary Slocumb spoke she looked around, a clump of heart leaves was growing near. " For want of anything better those will have to do. Gather me a handful, Polly," and with deft fingers she quickly bound them on, staunching the wound. By this time the color had come back to her cheek. " I am glad I came," and rising she looked around. " There is work for me here." Polly by an effort had rallied from the faint sickness of that first sight of blood. " Yes, Mary," her voice was not quite steady; " I'm glad we came. I might not know how to do much alone but I can help you." With that they turned to the other wounded, dressing their hurts and giving them every care pos- sible. A number of Highlanders were among these. " Never mind, my poor fellow," Mary had said, as she came to the first one ; " if you were well you might be an enemy, but all who suffer are alike my friends." So apart were they, and so fully occupied, that she had not yet in- quired for Lieutenant Slocumb; but while she was still busy with the wounded, a fine H2 POLLY OF THE PINES soldierly man came up. " Colonel Caswell," she said, rising and stepping forward to meet him. He paused a moment in astonishment at see- ing her, then lifted his hat. " Why, Mrs. Slocumb — " he began. But she interrupted him with the question, " Where is my hus- band ? " " Where he should be, Madam," was Cas- well's answer; "and where you would have him, in pursuit of the enemy." One of the wounded Highlanders groaned. " Are you in great pain ? " Polly asked, kneel- ing down beside him. " Na, na, it's no the pain; I can bear that; it's the thought that the clans are broken, de- feated." With her first view of the battlefield Polly had noticed that the pipes were silent, and that the royal standard was not floating. She had asked no questions, but as she thought of the Highland army, as she had first seen it, she felt a sinking of the heart to have her fear con- firmed. Then she heard Colonel Caswell again: " But pray how came you here? " With that Mary Slocumb laughed ; her heart had grown so light that it was easy to laugh THE STANDARD IS DOWN ri g now. " Oh, I thought you would need nurses as well as soldiers. See, I have already dressed many of these good fellows' wounds ; and here is one, Frank Cogdell," as she spoke, lifting him up with her arm under his head, that he might drink again ; " who would have died before any of your men could have helped him." " I believe you are right, you certainly came to us like an angel — " Colonel Caswell was a gentleman of the old school who believed ladies must be paid compliments ; but a joyful light leaped into her eyes, and he saw Lieutenant Slocumb coming up the slope toward them, covered with mud from a swamp he had but lately waded, and splashed with darker stains; for he had been in the thickest of the fight, in- deed it was the charge made under him that had decided the fortunes of the day. As he waved his cap, to which was fastened, in front, the sign of an officer of the Neuse region, a silver crescent bearing the words " Liberty or Death," his eye fell on his wife. "Why, Mary!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing, hugging Frank Cogdell, the great- est scamp in the army ! " " I don't care," she retorted as gaily, " Frank is a brave fellow and a good soldier." H4 POLLY OF THE PINES " True, true," assented Colonel Caswell. Mary bent toward Polly as the two men were talking. " I am not going to tell my hus- band what brought me here/' she whispered; " at least not now. I know he was surprised to see me, but I can see that he is not displeased, and, O Polly, I am so happy." Polly could not share her feeling; for the moment she could hardly be glad that the patri- ots had been victorious. The battle itself, the stained grass, the wounded men, and those other forms so still and rigid under the cover- ing cloaks and plaids, it all seemed so terri- ble; even without the defeat of the Highland- ers and all that might mean to many she loved. So it was into a sober, almost sorrowful face, that Lieutenant Slocumb looked, as he saw her for the first time. " Why, Polly, how came you here? " he asked. " I came with Mary," she answered simply. I'm looking for Jamie." Jamie ! " he repeated, " you don't mean to tell me that you let him go out with that army? " " I didn't let him," she wailed, " and I've been trying ever since to find him. I thought maybe you could save him." " I'll look after him if I see him. And don't THE STANDARD IS DOWN IX ^ worry," seeing the distress on her face. " I'll be sure to see him if he's here." With a breath of relief at his cheery words, Polly turned back to the wounded Highlander. " How did it all happen? " she asked. " I dinna rightly know mysel\ Three days we had marched over the red clay hills and through the swamps, and last night as we came i' sight o' Moore's Creek, only twenty miles fra Wilmington, where we hoped to have been to-day, — we saw lights ahead. Then a scout we sent out came back wi' the word that they were the camp-fires o' an American force o' about a thousand men, and that their camp by the bridge was on the same side wi' ourselves, wi' only the protection of slight entrenchment. Eh, mon, but that looked like an easy victory, and we decided to at once advance and attack." " But that was last night." " Aye, but it takes time to move an army. General MacDonald was confined to his tent by sickness, so he turned the command over to Major MacLeod who began the march at one o'clock, i' the morning; but we lost sae much time crossing a swamp that it was daylight before we came i' sight o' the bank o' the stream. A line o' battle was quickly formed, and to the beat o' the drums and the blare o* Il6 POLLY OF THE PINES a bugle, we made a rush for the camp whose fires we had watched a' the night, only to find the spot as still and empty as though no mon had ever been there." " Yes," and one of the wounded Americans raised himself on his elbow, " we had scouts too. When Colonel Caswell was told of your presence and intention he just left his camp- fires burning for your benefit and with his troops crossed over to the other side of the creek." " The light was dim but we soon saw the fresh entrenchments, on the opposite bank, and knew what had been done. It was an unex- pected change o' position, and we drew back to the shelter o' the woods again; but it was wi' no thought o' retreat — that was far from ony mind — only to form a new line o' battle. In this the rallying cry was to be ' King George and broadswords,' the signal for attack three cheers, the drums to beat and the pipes to play. It was a signal eagerly waited, for the High- land bluid was up, and when it sounded every man gripped his sword, belted his plaid the tighter and rushed forward. Not till we had a'most reached the bridge did we see that a* the planks had been taken up, and only the narrow log girders, over which na more than two THE STANDARD IS DOWN IT y could cross at a time were left. But there was na stopping then. Wi' a cry of ' King George and broadswords/ and his sword waving i' the air, Major MacLeod rushed forward and over, those o' us wha were nearest him following him as best we could. It's little more I can tell : there were muskets firing all around, like a rain o' fire, — I was struggling i' the water — and when I cam' ta myself the Highlanders were routed and flying." " I don't mind confessing, now we've beat you," remarked the soldier who had before spoken; " but when, just at daylight, we caught the strain of the bagpipes, and heard the bugles ring out so clear on the frosty air, knowing that they were calling nearly two thousand Tories to arms, I didn't feel so sure how it would end." " Nor I," added another who had been listen- ing. " With all the precautions that we had taken, I'll own that it was a terrible moment for our untried troops, never before under fire and so much less than the enemy in number ; when we heard that battle cry, and saw, rush- ing furiously toward us, a picked company of those famous broadswords men, who, as we knew, had so often broken the strongest lines of troops in Europe." 1X8 POLLY OF THE PINES Polly sighed and turned back to the Slo- cumbs. " Are there many prisoners ? ' she heard Mary ask. " Yes, with General MacDonald at the head ; for when we went into their camp there he was sitting alone on a stump near his tent, waving in the air the parchment scroll of his commis- sion. We also have most of the other officers, including Allen MacDonald of Kingsburg, who called the men of Boston rebels, — together with one of his sons, a captain at seventeen, besides hundreds of the clans." Polly pressed her hands together. " Oh poor Flora MacDonald, what news this will be for her. You can't understand them/' she urged, " but I have been one with them; they thought they were right." " That may be," Slocumb's voice was dry, " none the less they have had to pay a terrible price for the mistake they made in thinking so. But a new thought had come to Polly. " Will the prisoners be put to death ? " she asked. " Oh, no," Lieutenant Slocumb answered quickly. " We are not blood-thirsty like the English. Have no fears for them ; no cruelties will follow their American Culloden." THE STANDARD IS DOWN IIO , Her heart lightened a little with this assur- ance, and as a camp-fire had been kindled near she stepped toward its warmth ; when among the men gathered round it she caught sight of a familiar face. "Duncan Campbell!" she cried ; " how came you here? " " Didn't you know I was with the army? No, not the clans," as she looked toward them. " Polly," and he came closer, " the parting of the ways has come at last. Uncle Farquhard wanted to send me to General MacDonald to carry the news of Colonel Caswell's advance and how best to avoid him ; and when I refused — well I shall not go back there again, the door is shut on me. And that night I was one of the sixty men who joined Colonel Moore and proved that Cross Creek was not all Tory." And were you at the battle ? " No, Colonel Moore and his men reached here just as the battle was over. But the clans have had a crushing defeat." "Is it so bad?" " Yes, indeed. Why we have taken almost nine hundred prisoners, any quantity of arms, thirteen baggage wagons, and their strong box with seventy-five thousand dollars." "But how did it happen?" she questioned. a I2 o POLLY OF THE PINES " The Highlanders are brave, and they were nearly twice as many as the Americans." " For one thing they did not see till too late that the bridge was gone. Then when part had crossed, our men poured into them a deadly volley, and rushing forward, forded the creek, so forcing them back. The conflict that fol- lowed, they tell me, was a desperate hand-to- hand one; swords were clashing and guns crashing on every side; the shouting, the noise, we heard long before we were in sight." Polly nodded. " I know." " At this critical moment Lieutenant Slo- cumb, who, with a small detachment of his men had, unseen, forded a creek, and waded through a swamp, rushed out from the woods and fell upon the Highlanders' rear. For a mo- ment they had wavered, already thrown into confusion by the death of Major Macleod, and the mortal wounding of the next in command. At this unlooked-for attack they broke and fled in a wild panic, like frightened sheep. Some even broke down the wagons and rode away three on a horse; and for all the numbers made prisoners, I have no doubt that the woods and swamps are full of them hiding." Polly sighed, and the question that was ever in her mind seemed to speak itself. "And have you seen Jamie? " THE STANDARD IS DOWN I2 t " No, I heard he was with the clans and thought of him, but I'll try to find him." " At first I hoped he had escaped. I'd be glad now to have him a prisoner if I could only see him alive and safe." At night, though she had walked up and down among the dispirited and despondent Highlanders, in such striking contrast to their excited and rejoicing victors, questioning, searching, no Jamie could she find, nor any trace of him except that he had been there in the morning. One thing she did learn, that Lieutenant Slocumb had spoken truly, in that the victory was to be sullied by no violence: for while the officers and the Tories of the re- gion who had joined them, were held prisoners, a large part of the men, on taking oath that they would not again bear arms against the Colonies, or give aid or information to the enemy, were dismissed to their homes. Dusk was gathering when Polly came to Mrs. Slocumb. " Mary, a number of the men, with some of the wounded, are almost ready to start for Cross Creek; and I am going with them. Dark days are ahead for every one there and I must go. It may be, too, that Jamie will make his way home." Mary nodded approval. " I am going home I2 2 POLLY OF THE PINES to-night. Colonel Caswell and my husband want me to stay till morning, and they will send a party with me ; but no, I want to see my baby, and I tell them they can send no party who can keep up with me. What a happy ride I shall have back ! " A little later, and through the gray shadows Polly rode away from a field, that though little known, was for the numbers engaged not only one of the most bloody, but one of the most complete victories gained during the war. And not only was the defeat of the Highlanders and Royalists of vast importance to the Patriot cause in North Carolina and the South, but its effects were far reaching. So completely was the spirit of the Royalists broken that years were to pass before active trouble came from them again. The plans of Governor Martin had also failed; for when Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Cornwallis arrived in the Cape Fear river in May, instead of the organ- ized army on which they had counted, there awaited them the news of that army's defeat. Hastily they sailed away, and so ended the first British invasion of the South, which, had it proved successful, might have given a far different reading to some chapters of our Revo- lutionary history. CHAPTER X. JUSTICE GASTON. Polly had been right in thinking that there would be dark days ahead for the Highland settlements and Cross Creek, and darker days thev were than even she had dreamed. To their friends the defeat of the clans had come as an appalling surprise as well as a crushing blow; and beside the mourning for those who had been killed, the anxiety as to the fate of the prisoners, and the suspense for those who, like Jamie, were still missing, the most of the peo- ple were in a panic of fright, not knowing what evil might still befall them. Farquhard Camp- bell had again been arrested on the charge that when a prisoner under parole he had given in- formation to the enemy. Flora MacDonald had been summoned before the Committee of Safety; their minister, Mr. MacLeod, had been questioned as to disloyal utterances; and, re- membering what had happened to the defeated clans in Scotland, they could not but believe that some dire punishment was yet to come. 123 I2 4 POLLY OF THE PINES When or where it would strike no one could tell. So rumors were constant, and on every side there rested a cloud of gloom and fear and dread. Some two weeks had gone by since the bat- tle of Moore's Creek Bridge, and Polly had taken her knitting out on the door-step, not so much to enjoy the sunshine, which with its promise of spring fell warm, as to escape the lamentations of Aunt Jean inside. In the strong light Polly's once plump face showed thin and pale, and the blue circles under her eyes told how long and heavy the days had been in passing. From the look on her face it was easy to guess where her thoughts were then; though her needles clicked mechanically in her fingers, as her lips murmured, " One, two, seam ; one, two, seam." But suddenly she was recalled to herself by the hail of a voice, " Is Mrs. Jean MacDonald within?" In the soft sand, she had not heard the sound of horse's feet; but as she started up she saw, halted at the gate, a stranger on a tall gray horse, a stout-built old man, whose saddle-bags behind, holsters and pistols at the pommel of his saddle, and otter-skin shot-bag at his side, marked him as a traveler. For a moment she looked with puzzled eyes at the strong and JUSTICE GASTON 12 $ rugged, yet kindly face turned toward her ; then dropping her knitting, she ran down the narrow path. " Uncle John Gaston! Can it be you? " " Yes, and no other. And this is little Polly ? ' He dropped from his horse and put his hand under her chin. " How you have grown, child, though to be sure it's five years since I last saw you ; but you still have the look of your father. And so you have not forgotten your old Uncle Gaston? " " No, indeed. I've always kept the beads you brought me, and so did Jamie the knife." Then her trouble returning, her eyes filled with tears. " Oh, have you heard that Jamie is missing, ever since the battle, and we don't know if he is alive or not? " His face grew stern. " Yes, I was at brother Alexander's at Newbern, when I heard of it; and I came straight here. It passes me," and the dark eyes under the heavy brows kindled, " nobody but crack-brained Highlanders would ever have drawn a poor lad like Jamie into such danger. I'm told more than one has confessed that they were forced into it. But then nobody but a lot of crack-brained Highlanders would ever have gone into such a folly as this rising has been. They deserve to suffer for it." 126 POLLY OF THE PINES " But it's hard to see people suffer for what they thought was the right," urged Polly. " Right/' he repeated. " How can any man think it's right to set himself against his coun- try? But for you, Polly, I'd have set no foot in a Tory hole like Cross Creek. I have served the king faithfully; for twenty years was I justice of the peace under British rule, and always I strove to give righteous judgment. Fifteen years I was one of His Majesty's sur- veyors, and I challenge any man to bring aught against survey of mine : but when I came to this country I became an American; and never again do I serve a king that has played the tyrant to my people. And he will see his folly, too. Every week I send one of my boys to Camden for the South Carolina and American Gazette — thank God the only newspaper in the State is a patriot one. I've watched events, and though the end may be delayed, it is sure. But I'm not come to talk of this," with a sud- den check; " only the thought of the High- landers' folly stirs me all up. And so does the thought of Jamie too." Polly looked up at him with brimming eyes. " Oh, Uncle Gaston, if you had only been here Jamie might not have gone." " I take blame to myself for it," was his an- JUSTICE GASTON t2 y swer. " I was made guardian for you both when your father died, but your mother wanted to live and have her children grow up among her own people. It's quite a trip, too, from Fishing Creek to Cross Creek, and I'm not so young as I was. Then when your mother was gone your Aunt Jean seemed such a capable and business body that I thought you were well settled. But I've seen my error and will make amends. Why your father, the Northern-born lad, my Esther's nephew who came from Pennsylvania with us, would al- most rise in protest at the thought of his chil- dren under Tory influence." He stopped and looked in her face. " I hope they've not made one of you/' She shook her head. " No, but I was near it at the first." " Well, you won't be again, for I've come to take you home with me, where the Scotch are good Scotch-Irish, who love liberty and will fight for it." Polly gave a gasp. " But I couldn't go, there's Jamie." " I know, but I'll do my best to find Jamie. Besides, if I'm not mistaken he'll have no wish to come back here; and the home at Cedar I2 8 POLLY OF THE PINES Shoals is wide enough for you both with a warm welcome added." A few weeks before Polly would have stood aghast at the thought of leaving Cross Creek, but everything was so sadly changed never, as she suddenly realized, to be again the same. " Yes, I'll go with you an Aunt Jean be willing." " I have a word or two for Mrs. Jean Mac- Donald myself," was his answer, as he walked beside her toward the house. To Polly's great surprise Aunt Jean made but slight objection to her returning with Jus- tice Gaston. For one thing the events of the past few weeks, the disappointment and dis- may, had not been without its effect on her: her sturdy Scotch conscience, too, had pricked her more than once for the part she had borne in Jamie's going out with the clans. Polly's tear-stained, troubled face was thus a constant reproach, and for that reason fretted her the more. Aside from this she had a large meas- ure of respect for constituted authority, Justice Gaston's long tenure of office made him an object of regard, with the added fact that he could quote law phrases as easily as she could turn a seam in knitting. More than that, he was the legal guardian of both Polly and JUSTICE GASTON I2 g Jamie, and it was only under him she had held her trust, which he gave her to understand she had fulfilled to anything but his satisfaction. For on occasion Justice Gaston could speak with both dignity and decision; and that he had done so now was evident in that good woman's chastened manner. So she set her energy to the task of making Polly ready, and to such purpose that in two days her prepara- tions were all complete. At the last moment Polly's heart almost failed her. " Aunt Jean, I'm sorry to leave you," she murmured, clinging close to her. " What must be, must," answered Aunt Jean, closing her lips the more firmly that their tremble should not be seen. " One thing, it's a godly household, I'm telled, that you're going to. And mind all I've taught you of the spinning and your seams, and the knitting. I'd no hae Mrs. Gaston think you had been wi'out training." " Yes, I'll tell her how hard you tried to teach me. If Uncle David was only with you ! " " I'm thinking that sae lang as Uncle David is content wi' his friends at the Neuse we'll no see him soon. But I've sent word to Cousin Elspet, she's been sore distraught since her hus- 130 POLLY OF THE PINES band was killed, an' it's fitting that twa Widow MacDonalds should bide together." So Polly, her saddlebags strapped behind her, rode away from Cross Creek. As she passed near the old fishing-spot she looked wistfully toward it; but of the little group who had gathered there so often she was the only one left. Duncan was away, young Donald MacDonald she had not seen since the day of the battle, and Jamie, with that her eyes dimmed as they did whenever she thought of him. It was a pleasant journey for the promise of Spring was in the air; and though it was still early March the sunshine was more like late April in the North. The roads, too, were good, and fair vistas of landscape spread out before them. When they could they stayed at an inn, and where that was not possible the wayside cabin always opened its hospitable door, and though there might be a lack of glass in the windows, there were wooden shutters to close at night, and always great fires of light- wood pine blazing in the huge chimneys. On the third day they came upon a mid-day camp of troops, on their way, so the officer in charge told Justice Gaston, to join the force in Charleston. Polly drew her horse a little JUSTICE GASTON 1 ^i apart while they two were talking, but as she glanced idly around she started at the sight of a face which looked strangely familiar. Stout of build, red-haired, with Scotchman written in every line of his ruddy countenance, — no, it could not possibly be Donald MacDonald in the uniform of a Continental regular. At that moment the Scotchman looked up, and spring- ing to his feet, came quickly to her side. " Donald ! ' was all she could gasp in her amazement. " Yes, Donald," in his own big cheery voice. " But what does this mean ? " touching his uniform. He threw his head back. " It means that I've enlisted on the patriot side ! " " But how came you to ? I don't under- stand, you were a King's man." " Yes, I was, but I am no longer. I'll tell you how it was. After our misfortune at the Creek Bridge I fell to thinking what could be the cause of our defeat. " Then it struck me it must be owing to the ingratitude of our people. ' Here now/ I said to myself, ' is a parcel of people,' meaning - my poor father and his friends, ' who fled from the murderous swords of the English after 1^2 POLLY OF THE PINES the massacre at Culloden. Well they came to America, with hardly anything but their pov- erty and mournful looks : but among this friendly people that was enough. The Amer- icans showed us every kindness, and hospital- ity; they bid us eat, drink, and banish our sor- rows, because we were in a land of friends. And so indeed we found it. Whenever we told of the woful battle of Culloden, and how the English gave no quarter to our unfortu- nate countrymen, but butchered all they could overtake ; they would say, ' Oh, if we had only been there to help you with our rifles, more than one of those monsters should have bit the ground.' So they received us, shared with us their lands; and here among them we have prospered. And yet, after all this, as soon as the English came to America, then my father and friends, and I with them, forgetting all the Americans had done, went and joined with the British to help them cut the throats of our best friends, because they refused to be slaves to the British. " ' Now,' said I to myself, ' if ever there was a time for God to stand up to punish ingrati- tude this is the time.' And God did stand up; for he enabled the Americans to defeat us most completely. But instead of murdering the JUSTICE GASTON ^3 prisoners, as the English had done at Culloden, the Americans treated us with their usual gen- erosity. And now these are the people I love and will fight for, as long as I live ; and so will more than one of those who were at the Bridge." " I'm sure you're right, Donald," and then in a few words Polly told him of the change she was making." And oh, that dreadful bat- tle," she added, " not one word have I heard of Jamie since. Sometimes it seems I shall go wild with thinking of him." " Oh, I can give you a word at least. John MacKay saw Hector Lauchlan the day after the battle and Jamie was with him." " Then why hasn't Jamie been home? ' " They didn't know that they would be safe. They thought, as the most of us did, that the Americans would kill all they could find; so Hector was planning that he and Jamie would make their way to the coast, and from there seek a chance to cross over to the West Indies. I shouldn't wonder if they had done so before now." Donald did not tell her of Jamie's face, white and terror-drawn, as it had been described to him. " Poor girl, it would only make her worry the more," was his thought; " and they may be all right by this time." !34 POLLY OF THE PINES Polly drew a breath of relief. It was much, it was very much, to have even a word of him ; to know that he had escaped the battle, alive and unhurt. But those far-away islands, why they were almost like another world. " I've thought at times that I'd ask nothing more than to know that he was alive. But the West Indies, for Jamie, such a home-loving and home-keeping boy! Oh, Donald, if you had only found him." " Yes, I wish I had. And that idea of the West Indies is just like Hector, he was always having some crazy notion : ' but, he added to reassure her. " Hector has a kind heart ; he will take care of Jamie." Then Justice Gaston came up, and when Polly had told him who Donald was, and of his change of heart, the old man had for him a word of warm approval, adding " I'm o'er old myself for the heat and burden of warfare, but I've nine sons, and I've nourished in them that spirit of resistance to tyranny, till they are every one ready to take up arms for their country whenever needed. You may meet some of them yet; and bear in mind if ever you are near Cedar Shoals, the latch-string to the Gaston home on Fishing Creek is always out to the defenders of liberty." JUSTICE GASTON l ^ As for Jamie, he quite agreed with Polly that it was an unfortunate undertaking. " Yet it's something to know that he's with a friend, and Jamie's one of the Lord's little ones. He will have him in his keeping, never fear." So Polly rode on from her encounter with Donald, with her mind relieved of its worst fear, that her brother might be wounded, suf- fering, or dead, alone. With her heart light- ened, her interest in her journey increased. As though she had not seen them before, she noted the unfolding leaves, the fresh tints of the grassy hillsides, the gurgle of the overfull brooks, through which the riders often splashed. She listened with pleasure, as Un- cle John Gaston told her stories of his early years in Ireland, to which country his French Huguenot parents had been forced to flee for their faith, and of their emigrating to Amer- ica. He told of his first residence in Pennsyl- vania ; of his long journey, together with a company largly Scotch-Irish, to the upper dis- trict of South Carolina, where, making homes along the Catawba River, they had given to these new settlements the names Chester and Lancaster from the counties they had left. " But it's a far different country from what it was then," he would say. " You'd hardly be- I3 6 POLLY OF THE PINES lieve the change there has been in twenty-five years." Then perhaps would follow some tale of danger from Indians or wild beasts, or an in- stance of courage, as often displayed by a woman as a man. At last they had crossed the dividing line be- tween the two Carolinas, and passed through villages set with Pride of India trees, still in fruit, and with other trees strange to Polly which Justice Gaston told her were palmettoes. They crossed the Catawba River on a rocky bed and against a racing current ; and at last, one afternoon, after a ride over a broken and rocky country, they came in sight of another stream, with fringes of dark evergreens along its way, with a handful of houses clustered by the road as it led downward. " So there is another creek to cross." Polly spoke care- lessly, but there was a sudden light on Justice Gaston's face as he answered. " No, my child, not to cross. This is Fish- ing Creek, we are at Cedar Shoals, and the house you see at your right is my old, and your new home." CHAPTER XL AT CEDAR SHOALS. Polly's eyes followed the direction of his riding-whip. What she saw in that first glance, set against a background of mingled pines and cedars, was a long, gray, homelike house, stoutly built of hewn logs, with a wide overhanging porch running its whole length on the side toward the road. Rings of blue smoke were curling from one of the heavy stone chimneys and rising, cloud-like, against the dark green of the evergreens, which cov- ered a rocky hillside and stretched down into a shadowy ravine behind the house. Hardly had she noted this than it was apparent they also had been seen. There was a shrill barking of dogs, a series of whoops from a small negro lad in the yard, and a group of sinewy young men came in sight crowding the porch and hur- rying from the barns in the rear. Flyaway had half a mind to be afraid of the dogs which bounded down to act as their escort, but the other horse lowered his head and whinnied as 137 r o8 POLLY OF THE PINES to well-known friends. " Down, Barker ! Hush, Vixen! Be still, Toby! " Justice Gas- ton urged as they leaped around. But at the sound of his voice they only fell over each other the more, evidently the home-coming of the master was matter for rejoicing even for them. A tall lad was already holding open the gate, and by the time they had reached the house a smiling gray-haired woman was standing on the lower step, who Polly did not need to be told was Mrs. Gaston. Like her husband she was well past middle age; tall and strongly built, with eyes still keen and bright ; while the face under its shading cap border was alike resolute and kindly. " Well, mother," called her husband as he drew rein, " can you guess who this is I have brought with me? " I don't need to guess," was the answer. I know ; it's Polly Dunning ! " " Then you've had my letter? " " Yes, Joseph found it at Camden when he went after the newspaper, two days ago." " I thought it would be apt to come through, so many couriers are on the road now." The stalwart sons were now swarming around, cuffing the dogs, taking the horses, unfastening the saddle-bags, rendering what- AT CEDAR SHOALS 139 ever service they could to the travelers, and Justice Gaston, dismounting, lifted Polly down. His wife took a step forward and looked at her closely. " Yes, she has it in her face, she's James's own child," and with the words she put both arms about Polly. They were moth- erly arms that had cradled twelve children : by an intuition Polly realized the motherliness of their touch, and with a little restful sigh felt that in them she had found a strong and safe refuge. " You'll mind, father," she added, patting Polly's shoulder, " that here's where I always said she ought to be; and since I've read the ill-doings of the Highlanders, I have felt that I could never answer for it and she be left among them longer. But come in, dear, you look pale and tired, it's been a long stretch of a ride I know." It was a great room they entered, with bare rafters overhead, and the smoothly-hewn in- side of logs for the walls. But big as was the room it was well filled : a long table stood on one side, a wide fireplace filled the greater part of another; there was the usual furnishing of big and little wheels; a bed with curtains of blue and white homespun, to match those at the windows, stood in one corner ; while in another a dresser shone with the brightness of its pew- I4 POLLY OF THE PINES ter dishes. A rack over the high mantel was filled with guns, guns were suspended against the walls, and powder-horns and shot-bags hung from almost every peg; while, as proof of their skillful use, were the deer and bear skins scattered on the floor. As for seats, a high-backed settle stood near the chimney, and chairs and stools were on every hand : but withal there was no crowding, no disorder. Though Mrs. Gaston had lived so large a part of her life in South Carolina, she was still in all essentials a Pennsylvania housekeeper, with the same order and thrift and neatness she had brought from her far-away home. A young girl was busy hurrying dishes on the table, spread with the whitest of linen, and savory odors came from an array of skillets and stew-pans over the fire, — for, though ac- cording to Southern custom there was an out- side kitchen, most of the meals were prepared in the living-room, under the direct eye of the mistress. Mrs. Gaston saw her husband's glance toward the fireplace. " Yes, I knew what you would be wanting first of all, so I freshened the fire and started supper as soon as you were in sight. Robert killed a deer yesterday, so we have venison, and your favor- ite cut." " See here, Esther, I have brought you a new sister. 1 ' P) u !82 POLL 7 OF THE PINES That's the talk," cried an answering voice. Let the cowards go, the country will never lack defenders while we have such women as Katy Steele!" The men had chosen, as their captain, John McClure, who, though only twenty-two, had already commanded a troop of militia; and now as the bugle sounded again they formed in order under their leader and paraded before the door. No common men were these; tall, strong, and powerful; as active and resolute of body as of spirit; trained to daring and en- durance ; armed with the rifles with which they had followed the deer; dressed in hunting- shirts, and moccasins ; their heads covered with wool hats and deerskin caps; with otter-skin shot-bags, and long knives at their belts. Though the uniformed soldiers might have laughed at their appearance ; none the less were these foes not to be lightly reckoned with, and patriots ready for any undertaking in the cause of liberty. Justice Gaston ran them proudly over with his eye ; as he paused in the doorway, and then stepped out, a glass and flask in his hand. " Friends," he said, " the time has come when our resistance can be passive no longer. The British have ordered us to assemble to-day to A VISIT AND ITS RESULT I8 3 take the oath of allegiance to the King and re- ceive the Royal protection : but we have already taken an oath before high heaven, and by that we abide. You are going out now to engage in a struggle whose outcome will be as God wills. Were it not for the weight of years, I would be one with you ; but as that cannot be, before you go I pledge to your success." He filled the glass, and, beginning with the officers, offered it to each with a hearty hand- shake, a grasp that seemed to give something of his own faith and courage, as the red wine tingled in their veins. And it was needed : for with all their brave- heartedness they could not but feel the gloom cast by the desertion of those who had drawn back from them. Then, as they were on the point of starting, another group of eight men came in sight. " Why, they are from Sandy River," cried David Gaston. " Yes," was the answer ; " and we have trav- eled all night to join forces with you." " Hurrah ! ' and John McClure swung his deer-skin cap above his head. " This is a bright spot, it's like the sun coming out from under a cloud. Let those go who are afraid, we know that every man with us is a true man! I " !8 4 POLLY OF THE PINES With that each one threw his musket on his shoulder; and at the word of command they took their noiseless way along the old Indian trail which led down Fishing Creek toward the Old Field, chosen as the place of meeting. There, early as it was, many of the people, Tories and the faint-hearted, had already gathered. Justice Gaston leaning on his cane watched them out of sight. " Are they really going to attack the soldiers, Uncle John ? ' asked Polly who was standing at his elbow. " Polly, my girl, they are going to try to teach Colonel Houseman and his men that the protection we seek is the protection of liberty, and not of a tyrant." " Come, Polly," Mrs. Gaston had already turned from the doorway and was stirring up the fire ; " we have plenty of work before us. Let us hurry and get it done, so if there should be any extra demands on us we may be ready to meet them." Polly looked in the calm, strong face of the mother, who that morning had seen even the youngest of her nine sons go out to face danger. " Aunt Esther, will I ever be like you, I wonder? Here you are going about as if A VISIT AND ITS RESULT jgg nothing had happened, and I am nearly wild to know how the day will end." " I am many years older, Polly, and what- ever comes I know that the same strength which always sustained me will not fail me now. But tell Sammy to split some wood and start a fire in the big oven." CHAPTER XV. AN HOUR OF DANGER. An anxious day followed the departure of the men. Justice Gaston spent most of the hours in his great oak chair by the open door, his open Bible in his lap, but with his eyes fixed on the road by which the patriots had gone, more than on the printed page; while Mrs. Gaston and Polly, as they went about their work, paused to look out whenever they passed a door or window. At last, as the afternoon was wearing away, Polly gave a little cry. " See ! see ! there is some one coming up the trail. Yes, it is Joseph, and he is waving his cap. Surely he wouldn't do that if he were bringing ill-news." They had not long to wait, till he came springing up the steps. Joseph Gaston was only sixteen, and this was his first great ex- perience : his face was blackened with powder ; his coat was torn; there was a stain of blood across one hand; but he was unconscious of these things, in the import of his message. 186 AN HOUR OF DANGER ify "It's all right, Father," he shouted. " The Fishing Creek boys have done well to-day if they never do again. How did we do ? Why it was like this. We crept down the Indian trail by the edge of the creek till we had come to the Old Field, and there they were, soldiers, and Tories, and a lot of scare-faces, some two hundred in all. And there were less than thirty-five of us, but Captain McClure, — oh, John's a cool one, — never minded it at all. ' I must see if my rifle's all right, and my powder's all right,' he says ' and pick my flint. You, boys, must do the same/ And we did. We had come so still, that no one had seen us ; and Captain McClure told us to scatter, and slip among the little saplings out of sight all around the enemy. Then when he fired his rifle, as a signal, we all fired and gave the most fearful shout. It was like the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. The soldiers and the Tories, they were so surprised, they thought an army was on them. Why they fairly ran over one another ; and the soldiers, when once we'd got them going, they never stopped till they were in their quarters at Rocky Mount." His father's hands were trembling with his strong emotion. " It is better than I dared to hope." j88 POLLY OF THE PINES " And John McClure told me to tell you that the enemy were defeated, and that our well directed fire had saved some cowards from be- coming Tories, and taught Houseman that the strong log-houses of Rocky Mount were by far the safest places for his men." Justice Gaston rose to his feet. " What has been done to-day is the entering wedge for the recovery of South Carolina. If I were a younger man, my duty would be in the field; now it lies another way. For there is warm work ahead. Houseman will not accept defeat, and he will lay this at my door. It is not only for my own safety that I must go at once, but the safety my absence may bring to you ; for if I am away he surely will not wreak vengeance on the innocent. Joseph, will you see that my horse is saddled." " But you don't mean that you are going now," urged Polly. " Why it's almost eve- ning. Can't you wait till morning? " Aunt Esther shook her head. 'Tis hard parting, but John has judged and decided wisely. I marked the look in Houseman's eye when he left, and the sooner, John, you are be- yond the reach of his arm the better. But where will you go ? " To brother Alexander's in Newbern, that a AN HOUR OF DANGER T gg is the plan I have decided on. Polly," turning to her, " my way will take me through Cross Creek. We may see stormy days here; your safety is my charge. I will take you with me, for so many of the Highlanders are loyal to the king that whatever happens you will find a safe shelter there." Polly put a plump hand on each arm. " Why Uncle John Gaston. Of course I'd like to see my friends at Cross Creek, but did you for a moment think I'd go and leave Aunt Esther, the more so if there's a chance of her being in any danger." " But what if I should command you? " he asked, pinching her cheek. " You won't, for you know I wouldn't obey you if you did." " Well, mother, I shall have to leave this headstrong girl with you." Mrs. Gaston glanced up from the supper she was setting on the table. " I guess Polly and I can look after one another." As she spoke Joseph came in. " Well, father, your horse is saddled." " But I see two horses." " Oh, the other one is for me. I am going to bear you company, at least part of the way." His father hesitated, but his mother spoke IO/ o POLLY OF THE PINES quickly. " Joseph is right, it will make my mind easier to know he is with you." Hurriedly the saddle-bags were packed, the meal eaten, the goodbys said, and the old man had mounted his horse, with holster and pistols at the pommel of his saddle; while his rifle, doubly charged, lay across the horse before him, as did Joseph's also. " I think I will go by the Waxhaw church," he said, as he gath- ered up his reins. " I would like a glimpse of Martha and Esther. Besides, I want to carry to the poor fellows there the news that the boys have done something to avenge their in- juries." " And Joseph, be sure to tell Esther all that Alexander Walker did to-day," called Polly, as she fluttered her apron after them; though her own eyes were dim, and, turning, she saw that Aunt Esther's cheeks were wet. Justice Gaston had been right as to the feel- ings of Colonel Houseman when he learned, as he quickly did, who had been the animating spirit in the attack. " So it was old Gaston, was it ? ' he cried, his face purple with rage, as he strode up and down the cleared space be- fore the log houses which served as the Royal quarters at Rocky Mount. " Curse the old rebel! I wish I had my fingers on his throat AN HOUR OF DANGER IO/ i this minute. Gad but I'd choke the life out of him ! I might have known that he was at the bottom of it, and just when we had everything so well in hand, and the people were flocking to make submission. If he hadn't been eighty years old I suppose he would have been there with an old flint-lock himself. But he's done his last mischief, the old arch traitor : he must be taken dead or alive ! Who," and he turned to the soldiers near, " of the King's faithful subjects, will volunteer to do it? " " But, Colonel, it seems to me," ventured one of his lesser officers, " that a man eighty years old can't do very much harm, and won't live long anyway." " Harm ! " was the retort, " it's little you know about it. He had nine sons in the fight to-day, that's harm enough. He's the head and front of the resistance here, with more influ- ence than any other ten men ; and if he were a hundred he could use that tongue of his. I heard it yesterday, and the more fool was I that I didn't take him then." " Perhaps it wouldn't have been best," said the other. " That was what I thought. I never dreamed he would dare anything like this. Besides I'll own he has a way with him that ig 2 POLLY OF THE PINES does impress one: but it won't work with me again, and he shall pay dearly for this day's work. I'll kill the old snake and then scotch the young ones. Who will go for him, men? Here's a chance to get a little return for your defeat to-day ! " In answer to his call, before sunrise the next morning across the green and dewy fields, there was a glimmer of scarlet; for some twenty British soldiers were fording Rocky Creek, and taking their silent way along the Indian trail which led up to the Gaston home. The thirst for revenge was rankling in each breast, and their purpose was the arrest or mur- der, — dead or alive were their orders — of an old man whose crime was that he was a friend of his country, and had given nine sons to fight for liberty. Within the house they were nearing, there was no thought of alarm or danger : the doors and windows were open wide; the curtains were gently swaying in the morning breeze; and breakfast was simmering on the hearth. Mrs. Gaston was lifting the lid of the bake- kettle to see if the loaf within was done, when one of the negroes rushed into the house. " Run, run," he called breathlessly, " de red coats am almost here." AN HOUR OF DANGER ^ Glancing out of the window, she saw a gleam of scarlet down the creek side, and the reflected glitter from a musket. For an instant she looked around the room : the big family Bible lay on its stand, and gathering that in her arms, she quitted the house. Polly had started for the spring-house for a pitcher of cream. " Polly," she called, and her voice was as firm as her face was resolute, " the British soldiers are coming; they are almost here. Come quick. We have no time to lose." She led the wav toward the little ravine filled with bushes which lay back of the house. As Polly followed Mrs. Gaston she paused : a brown nose was thrust over the gate leading to the barn, for the dainty her coming so often brought. " Flyaway, I'll save you if I can," she an- swered, to his whinny. A rope halter hung on the gate-post. Throwing it over his neck, she unfastened the gate, and with a pull at the halter she hurried on into the ravine, where, hidden among the thick undergrowth, she tied Flyaway to a sapling. " They shan't have my horse if I can help it," she panted, as she joined Mrs. Gaston. The two were none too soon ; for a few mo- ments later the soldiers were seen hurrying up 194 POLLY OF THE PINES from the trail they had followed. They were in high spirits, for the smoking chimney, the open door, gave promise of a surprise; but when they rushed in to find only an empty house, and especially the one they were after gone, the frightful oaths which reached the ears of Mrs. Gaston and Polly in their hiding-place told of their disappointment. " Here's the chair the old rebel sat in when we were here," called the orderly in command. " We'll serve it as we would him if he were here ! ' Polly, bending her ear, could hear the heavy strokes of their broadswords, as they fell on the great oaken chair. " De'il take him ! ' another shouted with a harsh laugh ; " but I wish he were in it this minute." " This should split his old head open!' added still another ; and a great blow followed. Polly's blood was boiling; and though she was trembling, it was with throbbing indigna- tion rather than the thought of fear. Cau- tiously she had climbed up the steep side of the ravine. Parting the close-growing bushes, she was watching the soldiers passing about the yard, when she heard some one speaking below her, and looking down saw it was Mrs. Gaston who had knelt on the ground in prayer. In her AN HOUR OF DANGER 195 haste her cap had fallen back from her white hair, her face held its strong calm, and her eyes were lifted from the earth with its alarms to the untroubled blue above. " O Thou that hearest prayer, and unto whom shall all flesh come," she was saying, " I thank Thee that thy handmaidens have so es- caped the hand of the enemy. For my husband and children I pray that in this their hour of danger Thou wilt mercifully compass them about with Thy protection. And not only for mine own do I pray, but for the liberty of my beloved country. O God of battles, make bare Thy mighty arm and deliver us from the hand of evil and blood-thirsty men, who have neither the love of mankind in their hearts, nor the fear of their Creator before their eyes." In the fervor of her supplication she had for- gotten herself and the surrounding danger; and her voice swelled from a whisper till Polly was sure it might be heard as far as the house. Polly's first impulse had been to check her. Then as not even a head was turned their way, she said to herself: " It is not good fortune alone that the soldiers do not hear her, and have not discovered us; it is in truth, as Aunt Esther would say, that God's shield is before us." I9 6 POLLY OF THE PINES With the next look Polly's thoughts came quickly to earth, and a cry of protest almost came from her lips; for having failed to find the family the men had turned their attention to plundering the house. Laughing and swear- ing, they came staggering out, some with great bundles of Mrs. Gaston's carefully-kept bed- ding on their backs, or whatever plunder could be carried off ; while inside Polly could hear the crashing of dishes, and the blows of ax and sword. At the same time other redcoats were bringing the horses from the stables, and the cows from the pasture, all to be driven off. At last, when the last soldier was well away, and not till then, did Mrs. Gaston and Polly venture from the shelter of their hiding-place and re-enter the house. A sorrowful sight it presented : the rooms but a little while before so neat, so orderly, so full of comfort, now stripped of nearly everything, — a confused wreck ; for what they could not carry away the soldiers had destroyed. Feather beds had been ripped open, and the feathers, like white drifts, were blowing about the yard; curtains were slashed; books torn; furniture split. Every- thing they could cut to pieces was left useless. " It's shameful! shameful! " Polly cried as she looked around. AN HOUR OF DANGER 197 Aunt Esther hushed her. " Rather say, Polly, that we have great cause to be thankful : our lives are spared, the house is left, and at least I have saved the most precious of every- thing we had." She held up the big Bible which, through all, she had held clasped to her breast. For all this, it was with heavy hearts that the pair went from room to room. " One thing is certain," Mrs. Gaston said at last ; " we can- not stay here to-night. It may not even yet be safe. So come, and we will go over to Thomas Walker's." There was a sound of steps at the door. Mrs. Gaston looked round. " Why, Sammy, is that you ? Where have you been through it all?" " I was out hoeing corn, grandmother, and when I heard the noise of the soldiers I climbed up that steep bluff where I could see them but they couldn't see me for the cedars. My, but I was mad when they split up grandfather's chair ! And they've carried off the horses too. But I didn't see Flyaway." " Good reason why, he's tied up in the ravine." it And now, Sammy, we are going over to Mr. Walker's," said his grandmother. I9 8 POLLY OF THE PINES 1 I'm going to where Captain McClure and the men are. John went with them yesterday and I'm going to-day. It may be I can get a lick at some of those red-coats yet." CHAPTER XVI. POLLY HEARS NEWS. When Mrs. Gaston, with Polly and the rem- nant of her family, returned again to their home, events had so thickened around them that they had little time or thought to give to their own individual loss. As Justice Gaston had foreseen, the attack on the British at the Old Field had been the beginning of a bitter warfare; and while the Tories were flocking to the Royal post at Rocky Mount, the handful of young men who had marched from the Gaston home that morning, had become the rallying center of the patriots, not only for the upper districts of South Carolina, but for those of North Carolina as well. Joseph Gaston, after a few days' absence, was back again. He had gone with his father till the latter believed himself beyond danger of pursuit, and then had marched back with a de- tachment of men from Mecklinburg and joined his brothers in arms under the gallant John McClure. Esther was also home from the Waxhaws, 199 200 POLLY OF THE PINES never weary of telling of the heroism and won- derful courage of the wounded men she had helped nurse, and often referring to the bright- ness her father's coming had brought. " I wish you could have seen us when he came," she would say, " with the news of our boys' attack on the British. All the women were so glad that we gave one shout when we heard it ; and many of the wounded soldiers were so re- joiced that they said they knew it had lessened their sufferings." In these recurring encounters, between the opposing forces, not always was success with the Patriots, but however dark the prospect might seem never once did they lose hope. One day a few weeks later, Alexander Walker rode up to the house. " I thought, Esther, you would want to hear the news. General Sumpter with a force he has been gath- ering in North Carolina has joined us; from thirty-five our number has swelled to six hun- dred, and we are about to pay our respects to the British at Rocky Mount." "When will that be?" " At once. I am just ahead of the army which is beginning to advance and will pass by here. So when they come you will understand what it means." POLLY HEARS NEWS 2 0I Esther's thought ran on to what might be before both her brothers and lover. " Then there will be a battle? " " A battle, yes ; and please God a victory for our side." He rode closer to the porch where she was standing and held out his hand. With- out a word Esther placed hers in it : there was a long close clasp and then he rode away to his duty and Esther entered the house and took up the sewing she had laid down at his coming. Though watchful eyes were never far from the road, the afternoon was gone and darkness had well fallen, when the sound of horses' feet, the jingling of spurs, and the low words of command told that the little army was going by. Straining their eyes, the group at the win- dow could dimly see the darker forms of the men and horses against the night. When they were beyond hearing, Esther turned to her mother. " If there is a battle there will be wounded men to be cared for; I am going to do what I can." Polly put out her hand and her fingers closed on Esther's. " Let me go with you ; I'm sure I can be of some help." As Esther hesitated, her mother spoke. " Martha is not here, let Polly go with you ; then you will not be alone. You need have no 202 POLLY OF THE PINES fear for me, the Lord has delivered me once from my enemies and He will again if need be." " Then let us gain what sleep we can," said Esther, " for no one knows when we may have opportunity again." Their slumber was light, and the dawn of that July morning saw them making ready. Soon they were mounted and taking their w r ay at a quick gallop. As they reached the spot where the road from their house joined that to Rocky Mount, Esther pointed to a great white- oak tree which stood by the road-side. " See, there are Father's initials. I wonder some Tory has not cut them out before this." It was a favorite ride of Polly's, this down the picturesque banks of Fishing Creek; now on the ridge, again in the valley, then by a rough and broken road down to the banks of the Catawba, just below the Great Falls, where between rocky banks and bordering pines the foaming water tumbles down its bed in mingled rapids and cascades. To-day they hardly glanced at the wild and romantic spot. They were nearing the place of conflict. Yes, the battle was on, and soon the firing could be plainly heard. " But what does that mean ? " exclaimed Polly, seeing approaching horsemen. POLLY HEARS NEWS 203 They both halted in their surprise, for com- ing toward them at full speed were two men, their eyes wild, their faces pallid. As she looked at them, Polly drew a sharp breath. " Esther, brave men go toward a battle ; they must be cowards to come from it, and with no sign of hurt." Esther's only answer was to wheel her horse so as to bar the way. " Are you cowards ? ' she cried as they came near, " to set your faces from the field ? Shame on you ! Shame ! ' The men paused, reddening under her gaze. " Go back ! " she urged. " Go back ! To fight for your country is your duty. Surely you will not fail." For a moment they seemed to waver. " I do'no, as we want to be riddled with bullets," one answered, half-defiantly. " Oh, if I were only a man ! " Polly cried. Esther moved a step forward, and leaning from her saddle, seized the gun of one of the men, which he was loosely holding. The color flamed in her cheek, and her voice rang stern as she cried : " If you are afraid to fight, give us your guns, and we will stand in your places." " That we will," echoed Polly. The offer, the taunt, went deeper than the fears of the runaway soldiers; for a moment 204 POLLY OF THE PINES they stood in confused silence, then one of them gave an embarrassed laugh. " We was a bit scared, that's a fact : them bullets zip, zippin' around is worse'en any swarm o' bees you ever heard ; but I guess we can be as plucky as you girls." With that the men both wheeled their horses around and rode back toward the battle- field, as fast as a few moments before they had hurried from it. It was a spirited action, that at Rocky Mount, and lasted a large part of the day: but though they tried repeatedly the Americans w r ere unable to dislodge the British from their strong log-houses at the foot of the slope. Even the elements seemed against them ; for once, when they had succeeded in setting fire to the buildings, a shower of rain came down and put it out. Through the hours Esther and Polly were no idle onlookers, but were busy helping wherever they could, dressing the injuries of the wounded, carrying water for their thirst, trying in every way to make them comfortable, and at every chance encouraging the soldiers to persevere. Among the wounded was a Catawba Indian — for the Catawbas unlike the Cherokees, re- mained firm on the side of the Patriots. As Polly came to him, even with her slight experi- POLLY HEARS NEWS 205 ence she quickly saw that his wound was mor- tal; but kneeling by his side she staunched the flow of blood, bound up his side, brought him a drink, and moved him to an easier position. She was holding the cup of water to his lips when his eyes fell on her wrap; for with the cool of the early morning she had thrown around her a light plaid of the MacDonald tar- tan, that belonged to the old Cross Creek days, and as the afternoon grew showery she was wearing it again. Raising his hand, he touched it. " Many, many moons ago young white brother come to Gray Eagle's wigwam, wear, here, here," and he made a motion as showing the kilts, and the throwing of a plaid over his shoulder; " all same, red, blue, green," and he laid his finger on the colors. Polly's heart was throbbing. " Oh could it have been my brother ? How did he look ? ' His dark eyes scanned her face. " Like white sister, same nose, same eyes, same hair, scar here," and he lifted his own dark locks and pointed to his forehead. " Yes yes, it must have been my brother." Gray Eagle was fumbling inside his hunting- shirt and brought out an enbroidered purse, that Polly instantly recognized as one she had made for Jamie, with his initials worked on it. 2 o6 POLLY OF THE PINES It was Jamie," she cried. Where is he now?" .. Gone, not know where. Oh could you tell me about him? Did he come alone? " " No, other white man, go way, never come back. White Fawn say they in battle, much afraid, run far, far, feet sore, hungry, say ' Tired, sick, let me stay.' White Fawn sick Jong, long, think sometimes he never get well. Say over and over, ' Oh, see sister, Oh, see sis- ter/ Running Deer, go find sister." With that Polly at once recalled what Aunt Jean had written of a strange Indian asking for her. " Was it to Cross Creek he went ? " He nodded. " That place. Running Deer come back, sister gone, soldiers coming. White Fawn say, ' I stay with you, Gray Eagle, soldiers not find me here.' By and by grow better, get well, live in wigwam, fish, hunt, shoot with Gray Eagle, grow strong, hold head up, eye grow like hawk's eye, clear, bright. Much talk. Gray Eagle love white brothers, hope they win battles. One day white brother come Indian village, shake hands White Fawn, so glad, talk all day. Then he come say, ' Good-by, Gray Eagle, I wrong them, afraid no more go back, fight like patriot, give life if POLLY HEARS NEWS 2 0J needed.' I say ' Good, Gray Eagle fight too, give life if needed.' Gray Eagle give life," he added simply. " Oh, I hope not," she was holding his hand in both hers and the tears were running down her cheeks. " How can I thank you for all your kindness to Jamie? If I could only do something in return for you ! " He smiled. " Little white sister good to Gray Eagle, do up side, bring water, fix head lay easy. Gray Eagle not afraid to die, go to Great Spirit." As Polly looked up, Dr. Knox, the surgeon of his company was coming toward them under the trees. She raised a beckoning hand. " Can't you save him? " she begged. He leaned down, felt of the failing pulse, looked in the face already growing gray. " I wish I could," was his answer with a sorrow- ful shake of the head. The rifles of the sharpshooters were sound- ing at a little distance, but it was very quiet in the thick woods with only the soft patter of the rain on the leaves above. Then the strong form lifted slightly, the dimming eyes kindled again. " Gray Eagle warrior, warrior should die in battle. Hope — white — brothers — win." His voice grew faint, his eyes turned to Polly 208 POLLY OF THE PINES with a far-away look in their dark depths ; there was a quiver of the sturdy frame, and the spirit of Gray Eagle had gone out to the Great Spirit alike of the Indian and the white brother for whom he had died. As evening closed in, Sumpter drew off his men ; the wounded were removed ; those who had been killed were laid in their graves. With the retreat of the soldiers, Esther and Polly turned their faces homeward, in a heavily fall- ing rain, and through a night, so dark, that it would have been impossible to have told friend from foe. " How wonderful it is," said Polly, as they plodded along the wet roads, talking over the exciting event of the day, " that after all this long time news of Jamie should in such a strange way have come to me. My heart aches with the thought of Gray Eagle, so kind, so brave ; but oh, it is so light, to know that Jamie is alive and well." CHAPTER XVII. HANGING ROCK. A few days of comparative quiet followed the attack on Rocky Mount ; though even these were filled with constant rumors of depreda- tions by the British and Tories, murders, ar- rests, homes plundered, families mistreated. On one of these days, Polly rode a few miles down the creek to a girl friend's, Margaret Beard's. As she was starting for home, Mar- garet followed her out. " After what has hap- pened, Polly, aren't you afraid to go about alone? What if you should meet some of the British soldiers? " " I never have met any," answered Polly carelessly ; " and if I did I don't think they would molest me. Uncle John Gaston was so widely known, that it made a difference about this, no doubt." " You had better let me send one of the negroes with you." Polly laughed. " Oh no, our negroes are the 209 2io POLLY OF THE PINES first to run if there is any danger; besides it is such a little way." But she had hardly gone half the distance when she saw a red-coated horseman ahead, coining towards her. " I will not turn back," she said to herself; " for then he will think that I am running from him. I will just pass him quietly as I would any one." As he came nearer she saw that it was a young officer who had been with Colonel Houseman when the latter made his visit to Justice Gaston. That he also recognized her, she quickly learned. " Ah, my little American wild rose," he cried, checking his horse; "I have not forgotten those bright eyes. I was minded to ask you for a kiss the other morning only I was afraid all the rest would want to share; but you can give it to me now." Polly's eyes flashed. " I thought the Brit- ish soldiers were sent here to fight with men and not to insult women." He laughed. " Egad, do you call it an in- sult to ask a deuced pretty girl for a kiss ? " " Yes, I do. And let me tell you American girls are not in the habit of kissing strangers, or enemies of their country." He laughed again. " Very well, my charm- ing rebel, if you won't give the kiss I'll have HANGING ROCK 2 ll to take it ; " and he reined his horse closer and reached out his hand for her bridle. Polly smiled a queer little smile, though her heart was throbbing fast, and she was pale to her lips. " This is what I'll give you," and with the words she suddenly raised the riding- whip she carried, gave him a stinging blow across the face, struck his horse, and was off like the wind, so that before he could check and wheel his horse round she was beyond pursuit. " Why, Polly, what has happened ? why are you riding so fast?" asked Mrs. Gaston, as Polly, her hair flying behind her, raced to the door, and flung herself from her panting horse. " I guess if you'd been in my place you'd have rode fast, too." And she poured out her story, adding, " If I'd only had a gun I'd have shot him, and killed him, if it had cost me my life." " No, no, you did much better," exclaimed Margaret McCreary, the sister of Johnny and Sammy, who had also joined the Gaston house- hold. " A wound is something a man need not be ashamed of, but to be cut with a whip is a disgrace." Mrs. Gaston had listened with a troubled face, though she said little. When Polly had 212 POLLY OF THE PINES left the room she turned to Esther. " Your father was right, I see it now, Polly ought to go back to Cross Creek." " Perhaps she had, but I had rather suffer with Patriots than be safe among Tories, and it isn't Polly's nature to run from danger." After a week, in which to rest and rally, Sumpter and his little army, in which nearly every household on Fishing Creek was repre- sented, became again the center of absorbing interest. Mrs. Steele, from her home, had paddled up to Cedar Shoals with the word that another attack on the enemy had been planned, this time against Hanging Rock, two miles east of the Catawba. There had been estab- lished a post, garrisoned by the infantry of Tarleton's legion, and Tory militia; and hour by hour, in the Gaston home, they waited, al- most in a fever of suspense for news of the ex- pected battle. At last it came. In the late afternoon of Monday, August sixth, a foaming horse dashed up, and Alexander Gaston swung himself off. " Has the battle been fought ? " asked Polly, who was the first to reach the door. " Yes, we crossed the Catawba about sun- set last night, and began the attack soon after daylight this morning." HANGING ROCK 213 By this time he had entered the room, and as he did so they all looked at him in startled alarm. His face was pallid, his hands tremb- ling, his voice husky, and he seemed to be hold- ing himself in control by an effort. " What is it ? " asked Esther quickly. " Have you been defeated? " " No, no, but what we have won has been at an awful price! Mother! Mother!" stretching out his arms toward her, " I bring you heavy tidings ! " She made a little movement as if bracing herself for a burden. " I saw it in your face. What is it?" He drew a sobbing breath. " Joseph has had his cheek shot away, Robert and Ebenezer are killed, David was mortally wounded and died just before I left." " I grieve for their loss, but they could not have died in a better cause." Though her face had paled Mrs. Gaston spoke calmly, and for a moment stood firm and erect ; then she swayed slightly, and dropping into a chair hid her face in her arms, while a cry went up from her bleeding mother-heart. " O my sons, my sons, would that I had died for you." Esther had knelt beside her mother; Mar- garet was sobbing, a heap on the floor; Polly " t) 214 POLLY OF THE PINES stood as though stunned. Ebenezer, Robert, David, so strong, so full of life and vigor, as she had seen them last, it could not be possible. She turned and looked at Alexander : the sight of his haggard face roused her; and hastily putting some food on the table she touched his arm. " Alex, you have eaten nothing to- day." He lifted his heavy eyes to hers. " How can one eat who has seen what I have to-day ? " But you must," she urged ; " you need it. His mother heard her and rose. " Yes, my son, if ever we needed to be strong it is now." She sat by his side, till he had eaten, at first to please her, and then, to his surprise, because he was faint with hunger. " Tell us how it hap- pened," she said when he had finished. " Our first advance was on the camp of the Tory militia. We were in three divisions; John McClure led the first, and it was his com- mand that suffered the worst. It was terrible, the bullets poured like hail, men were falling on every hand : John McClure was wounded in the thigh." "What! is John wounded?" " More than once, and I fear badly. Alex- ander Walker has gone now to tell Aunt Mary. But he staunched that wound with gun-wad- HANGING ROCK 2 I$ ding and dashed on in front of his men; and above all the noise you could hear his voice urging them forward. When we reached the Tory camp there was a hand to hand fight and John fell again with several wounds. Some of his men ran to help him but he ordered them back to the fight ; and for all he could no longer lead himself you could still hear him urging his men after the Tories as they fled. It was there the boys — " his voice choked, and for a moment all were silent. " Ebenezer and Robert must have been killed at once : we found them fallen across each other. " But for all our loss it was a gallant fight we made, not only against the Tories but the British regulars, the Prince of Wales regiment at that. When we saw them marching toward us, their platoon firing and charge of bayonet was a new way of warfare to many of our men. But for all we were only militia with many who had never been in battle before, we stood and met them with a fire that would have done credit to any soldiers of the Revolution, and routed them too." Then it was a victory indeed." Yes, but we were not strong enough to hold the field. Some of our own men were mistaken for the enemy. With our prisoners, 2 i6 POLLY OF THE PINES we retreated to our first stand ; and just as I left the British had sent in a flag for a truce." " Was our loss large? " asked Esther. " Twelve killed and forty wounded, I was told. And Esther, James Knox sent word that he needs you. You can go back with me, for I shall start so as to be there by morning." "And how did John and Sammy fight?" asked Margaret. " Bravely ; and they were not the only boys. A little Andy Jackson, but thirteen, from the Waxhaws, was there, fighting with the best of the men." Soon there were more arrivals, Walker with Mrs. McClure, hastening to the side of her son; and before midnight the little party were on their way. It was morning, when, along rough by-roads, they came to the brow of a deep narrow valley, and in sight of Hanging Rock, a great conglomerate bowlder, studded with white pebbles ; as were the others scat- tered around it, poised on the verge of the steep bank, some hundred feet above the stream to which it had given name. " There," said Walker, who was riding beside Esther, and pointing with his hand, " is where we made the first attack, and yonder among the rocks the hottest of the battle was fought ! ' HANGING ROCK 2 iy Esther's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the place where her brothers had laid down their lives. " And you escaped unhurt," with a tremor of thankfulness in her tone. " Yes, but I did not think so at one time. As the Tory militia broke and ran for the Brit- ish camp, without stopping to think many of our men rushed pell-mell with them. I was pushing along and just going to fire on those ahead, when one of the men nearest to me caught my arm, crying, ' Those are on our side; ' and then as if struck by a sudden sus- picion he asked, ' What's that green leaf in your hat for ? ' " You see we had each taken the precau- tion to put a green leaf in our hat, as a token we might know one another by, before going into battle. As soon as I saw that all around me were Tories I pulled mine out as quick as I could. But it was too late; the discovery was already made; and quick as thought one of them seized my gun and another ran a bay- onet through my shirt." He lifted his arm to show the gaping rent. " I let the rifle go — later I found a better one, and started back toward our own men. It seemed that they fired fifty guns after me, and every jump I made I heard something fall on the leaves, — 2i8 POLLY OF THE PINES which I took for blood and I thought I must be badly wounded, and would soon fall ex- hausted. Then I thought of the thirst I had seen in those bleeding to death, and my mouth began to feel parched. By this time I had reached the little stream and stooped to drink : but on looking for my hurt I found that it was only my powder-horn which had been severely wounded, shot through with a rifle ball; and that the greater part of my powder had spilled out as I ran. I can laugh at it now it is over," he added ; " but it was very real then, and how I wish all the wounds could have been like that." As they neared the creek, from below them came the sound of falling water and the grind- ing of mill-stones; and turning a clump of trees they were beside the cabin of the miller, perched on the verge of the steep bank. At the sound of their horses' feet the black face of the negro-miller looked cautiously out; then seeing who it was he came to the door, his face broadening in a smile. Alexander Gaston checked his horse. " Well, Adam, it was a pretty sharp fight we had on the other side of the creek yesterday." " 'Deed, an' it was. An' my, how de red- coats did scamper when Massa Sumpter an' HANGING ROCK 2 IQ Jacky McCltire pitched into 'em, dey run just like deer." On the side toward the creek they could see the great bowlder, scooped out like a regular arch, so large that it would shelter a large number. Adam pointed across. " A heap o' red-coats sleep under dar de night be- fore de battle, and dere I hide las' night." Walker had rode on but now returned. " But, Adam, where are our men ? I see no signs of them ? " " No, dey's all gone. After de red-coats sent in de white flag, dey waited to make lit- ters for de wounded, an' den in de night dey started for de Waxhaws. You'll find 'em dar." For a moment they sat silent, looking across at the great rock lifted against the pink glow of the morning sky, — sorrowfully thinking- of those laid under the fresh earth. Then turn- ing their horses northward, in the wake of the little patriot army, they rode away from the spot where history says there had been one of the most spirited and best fought actions by raw militia — all volunteers — of the Revolu- tion. CHAPTER XVIII. JAMIE. It was three days later: with evening a cool wind had sprung up, a few drops of rain were falling, a handful of fire burned low on the hearth, its fitful light the only one in the room. Mrs. Gaston sat in a low chair before it, but her knitting lay in her lap; and though her face under the white frill of her cap still held its strong calm, it was as though touched with a sudden weight of years. It was easy to guess where her thoughts had turned. Not only to the new graves, but to Joseph, wounded, suffering, her sons and kinsfolk in daily dan- ger, and her husband, whose vacant chair, hacked and broken, was a mute witness to the British hatred he had incurred. Polly and Margaret McCreary sat near the fire, but the spell of silence was on them also : and save for the light falling of a red coal there was no sound ; when suddenly breaking the stillness came the tramping of a horse's feet at the door. The first thought was of the enemy. " Let us shut and fasten the door," whispered Polly. 220 JAMIE 2 2i But as she sprang to her feet to cross the room, the old dog lying on the hearth lifted his head, pricked up his ears, and sprang out with a joy- ful bark. There was an answering whinny, then, almost before there w r as time for thought, a familiar figure stood in the doorway, the white hair falling over the broad shoulders, the tall form slightly bent with years. "Grandfather!" "Uncle John!" called Margaret and Polly in one voice ; but his wife had laid a hand on either shoulder and kissed both cheeks. " John," and for all her forti- tude her voice was quivering; " in this time of sorrow I have longed for you, but you must not stay. I have lost my sons, if I lose my husband I am indeed bereft." He drew her closer to him. " Yes, Esther, I shall stay. I have come back to stay. Our brave boys have given the flower of their young lives : I have already lived beyond the allotted span; and it is at best but a few more days that can be taken by my foes. This is my home; I won it from the wilderness. Here I have spent the years that are past, and here, God willing, I shall spend those which remain." Mrs. Gaston sighed. " I had hoped, John, that you were safe with your brother at New- bern." 222 POLLY OF THE PINES " That was where I expected to be ; but as I found my way blocked up by the loyalists at Cross Creek, I turned back and remained a little time in Iredell and Mecklinburg Coun- ties. It was there I heard from a courier of the battle of Hanging Rock, and its terrible cost to us; and then and there I decided to re- turn to mv home to live or die." His wife pointed to his mutilated chair. " You can see by the vengeance spent on sense- less wood what the enemy may attempt. Par- son Simpson has been arrested and harshly treated for the crime of preaching patriot ser- mons ; Henry Martin has been shot on his way to church with his Bible in his hand. Look around at our wrecked home, stripped of every- thing. We are sleeping on some cow-skins that the enemy overlooked, for there has been no time to repair the loss ; and even if we should there is no knowing what hour we might be plundered again." A smile crossed his face. " Let us be thank- ful we have even cow-skins to sleep on." Then more gravely : " Do not urge me, Esther. We have shared gladness and danger and sorrow together these many years, and, please God we will till the end. But I shall not go unprepared." Throwing his coat open JAMIE 223 he showed a brace of horseman's pistols in his belt. " These and my trusty rifle, all well loaded and ready for use, shall be my com- panions by day and by night; for I am re- solved, in case of attack, to defend to the death, my house, my wife, and myself." Polly clapped her hands. " Uncle John, it does me good to hear you. If every man had your spirit Cornwallis would soon find that the task he had undertaken was more than he could accomplish." As she spoke, a step sounded on the porch; it was a neighbor, one of the soldiers in Mc- Clure's company. " No, I can't come in, I'm on my way home. I just stopped to say that Esther sent a message by me to Polly, to come to the Waxhaws, I shall return in the morn- ing, you can ride in my company." " Thank you," answered Polly. " I shall be glad to, and I will be ready." The church on Waxhaw Creek had again been filled with the wounded ; and as Polly en- tered, almost the first one her eyes fell on, was young Joseph Gaston, pale, exhausted from loss of blood, his face bandaged, but with a greeting smile in his eyes. " Oh, Joseph, how sorry I am that you have to be here," taking his hand. 224 POLLY OF THE PINES " Well, I'd rather be up and out myself/' speaking slowly and with difficulty ; " but after all it isn't much to lose a bit of your face when you think what it would be to have an arm or leg gone." " Oh Joseph's game," said John McClure, who lay near him. " After he was wounded they carried him to a little stream in the rear, and faint as he was from the loss of blood, when he heard the firing of the British regulars on the hill in an encounter with his regiment, instead of thinking of himself he was asking of everyone who came down what success our men were having. When some one told him that we were dropping the British like wild turkeys, why he seemed almost happy." " I didn't so much mind getting hit in the head myself," admitted Joseph, " when I knew we were giving it to them. But John can't say much ; he would hardly let a man stop fight- ing long enough to help him." Captain McClure gave a groan. " It's hard, I tell you, to be laid flat when you know there isn't a man to spare." " I'm glad that you are improving, John, for we certainly can't spare you," and Polly turned as she saw Esther coming toward her. " I wanted you," after a few brief questions as Jamie ! Jamie ! Can it be my Jamie ? " — P< tge 225. JAMIE 225 to those at home; "though most of the men are gaining, there is plenty to do. Will you take this cup of water to the soldier in that corner ? ' " Of course, to help is what I came for." At the first glance Polly had thought Esther's face pale and sorrowful, but as she spoke her eyes shone almost merry. Slowly Polly passed down the aisle, where, in the pews on each side, as well as on the floor, beds had been made for the wounded, — stopping, as she went, to speak with one and another she knew. The wounded man in the corner lay with his face turned away. " I wonder if he is asleep?' she thought, as he made no movement when she paused beside him. After waiting a moment she spoke half timidly : " Would you like a drink ? I have brought some water." At the sound of her voice he turned with a sudden effort to raise himself; and as Polly saw his face she started. Her hands trembled till the water spilled ; for an instant she stood motionless, her heart hardly beating : and then she dropped beside hirn. " Jamie ! Jamie ! Can it be my Jamie? " And Jamie it was ; but not the slender pale- faced lad she had known, was this broad-shoul- 22 6 POLLY OF THE PINES dered, well-grown young fellow. For the long strain of excitement, of terror, of hardship, with the fever following, had shattered and burnt away the intangible something which had so long bound him; and the months of simple healthful life in the wigwam and forest had brought healing and strength, both mental and physical. All this she did not realize till later. What she did see in that first glad look was that the elusive shadow was gone from his face, that the lips had taken firmer lines, that the eyes met hers with a gaze as clear and bright as her own, and that beneath all was still the warm and loving heart. " Oh Jamie," she repeated, winding her arms around his neck and laying her cheek to his ; " I have been hungry for you. It has seemed some- times that I should never see my brother again." " And I have wearied for my sister. You will never know how I have wanted you, Polly." "But are you badly hurt?" she asked anxiously. " No, it is only a flesh wound in the shoul- der. I shall soon be able to carry a rifle again." JAMIE 227 " And how long have you been near me, and I never knew it ? " " I came with some recruits from Charlotte. We only joined Sumpter the day before the battle." A step neared them; Jamie looked up. " Polly, I wonder if you will know who this is?" She rose to her feet and turned to find her- self facing a tall young soldier in uniform. For an instant onlv did she stand silent. " Why it's Duncan, Duncan Campbell! " hold- ing out both her hands. " But where have you been all this while? I have never once even heard of you since that day at Moore's Creek Bridge?" " That may be because I have been in so many places : in Virginia, to the North with dispatches, at Fort Moultrie, at Savannah, be- fore Charleston, in nearly every part of the Carolinas." A sudden thought came to Polly. " Was it with Duncan, Jamie, that you left the Indian village?" " Yes. But how did you know that I had been there? " In answer she told him of the wounded Cat- awba at the battle of Rocky Mount, and the 22 8 POLLY OF THE PINES story he had told her before his death. As Jamie heard her, his eyes grew wet. " Gray Eagle gone ! that is sad news. A nobler, truer friend no one ever had, to him and his old mother I owe my life the long weeks that I lay sick in his wigwam : and when Running Deer came back from Cross Creek and told me you were gone he could not learn where, and that the Highlanders were in a panic for fear of the soldiers coming, I felt that Gray Eagle was the only friend, and his wigwam the only refuge I had. If I had been a brother he could not have been kinder, and though he was an Indian I learned many things of him : together we made bows and arrows, together we tracked the deer, by signs that I should never have seen had he not taught me." — He paused abruptly, and then added, " Yet, as he said, he was a warrior, and he met death as a war- rior would wish." " But what I don't understand," said Polly, " is how you came there. Till I met him the only word I had ever had of you was through Donald MacDonald ; that you were with Hector Lauchlan, and that his plan was to go to the West Indies. I have always thought of you as there." " That was Hector's idea. After the defeat JAMIE 229 of the clans he and I came together in the woods. We both thought we would be killed if taken, and that we must escape as fast and far as we could : so we started for the coast, but we lost ourselves in the swamps ; we thought we were pursued, and finally we turned back and toward the high land of South Car- olina. Oh," putting out his hands, " It is like a nightmare to me yet when I think of those days. Going, going, always going, footsore and tired, often with nothing to eat but what roots we could dig, and every minute afraid for our lives. Polly, many times I remem- bered what you told me, that when the clans marched away they would have no warm beds to sleep in, and perhaps go hungry, and more than once I cried myself to sleep on the cold ground." " My poor Jamie," and Polly laid her hand on his in a pitying gesture. " But why did you go with the clans ? " " I didn't mean to, though I was dazzled with the music and all; but at the very last they almost forced me to. They said, too, that I would be a coward if I stayed back, and I didn't want to be a coward." " No one would have thought him a coward 230 POLLY OF THE PINES to have seen him at Hanging Rock," inter- rupted Duncan. Jamie smiled. " I suffered enough fear in the days I am telling you of — so far away and misty they seem now, to last me a life-time. So at last we came to the Indians' village; by that time I could go no farther, and Hector left me, saying he should try and get to the British army : and with them I stayed till one day Duncan came." Polly turned to Duncan : " Did you know he was there? " " No, I had missed my road as I was going to North Carolina with dispatches, and know- ing the Catawbas were friendly, stopped at this village for the night. You can guess my amazement at seeing Jamie, and how glad I was when he said he would go with me; and we have been together ever since." " How long ago w T as that? " " Not quite two years." " It was in the moon of falling leaves we left," and Jamie smiled. " Polly," asked Duncan, " do you mind how we used to talk about the war when we were down by the creek fishing? " " Yes, I have thought of it often." " How little we dreamed then what war was." JAMIE 231 " And do you remember, Duncan, the time Donald MacDonald threatened to throw you into the creek, because you said you would fight for the Colonies." He laughed. " Indeed I do, and you said you would help me. But I wouldn't mind so much being whipped by Donald now ; he is so famous in that line." " I have heard of his daring." " And I have seen it more than once. At Savannah when the retreat sounded and the fire was most deadly he rushed through it, tore the color of his regiment from the parapet where it had been planted, and carried it safely away. The British fear Donald and they have reason too." " But, Polly, you haven't told me where you have been? " questioned Jamie. " At Uncle John Gaston's." And she went on to tell of the home she had found there, of Justice Gaston and the stand he had taken, of the sons who had gone out to fight, and of their loss at Hanging Rock. Jamie's eyes brightened. " With men like those we need not be discouraged. Esther Gaston told me that we were cousins, but she never said a word about you." " She was keeping that as a surprise." 232 POLLY OF THE PINES " And the happiest surprise of my life." Polly smoothed his hair with a soft touch. " I can say that too. But Sumter and his army, are they still on the Waxhaw ? " " No," answered Duncan, " they have gone south again ; but it is the intention to move the wounded to Charlotte, and I have been detailed as one of the escort. I've been looking after Jamie and keeping him cheered up, but I don't suppose that will be needed any more." " Oh yes," and his voice was almost gay; " I shall want you both." It was not long till Polly was again by Esther's side. " I know now why you sent for me! But how did you know it was Jamie? " " In the first place I guessed it because he looked so much like you; and when I learned his name I was sure. Polly, I am so glad you have your brother." Polly caught the longing note in her voice and knew what she was thinking of. " Oh, Esther, if yours could only come back again." Esther dashed away the tears that filled her eyes. " This is my first great sorrow, per- haps that is why it is so hard; for sometimes it seems as if I could never bear it. But then, since I came here, my heart has been so JAMIE 233 wrung with the suffering I have seen, and of many whom I so well know as neighbors, that I have had little time or thought to give to my own grief." Her cousin, Dr. Knox, who was surgeon in charge, had come up, and heard her last words. " No, Esther has not let her own trouble keep her from any duty to the distressed or wounded. She has been my right hand, and has spared herself no fatigue or exertion to help me." " That is like Esther," was Polly's answer. " But is it true that the wounded are to be taken to Charlotte ? " " Yes, those from the other battles have been, and there they are farther removed from danger." CHAPTER XIX. CROSS CREEK. The next day the wounded were removed from Waxhaw church to Charlotte, Mrs. Mc- Clure, Esther, and Polly going with them. Here many of the disabled of Buford's com- mand still remained, together with those from Rocky Mount. In rude log-houses, the hastily constructed hospitals, their beds were boards covered with straw, — all suffering, some maimed for life, but all alike heroically cheer- ful, ready to treat their misfortunes with a laugh and jest. As Dr. Knox had said, one reason for the selection of Charlotte was its distance from the scene of trouble below, and the consequent be- lief in its greater safety. But hardly were the Hanging Rock wounded well settled and re- covered from the fatigue of the journey, when a courier spurred into the town with news of the complete defeat of General Gates and his army by Lord Cornwallis at Camden. For the two days following, men, including Gates him- 234 CROSS CREEK 235 self, flying from the field of disaster, were hurrying through Charlotte northward bound. Woful news was this to all, and to none more so than to Captain John McClure, who, in a fever of excitement and anxiety to be in the field again, disobeyed the surgeon, and insisted on rising. His deep-seated wound broke afresh, and in a few hours another gallant young life had been laid on the altar of liberty. The rumor had now spread that the British were coming: all who could were leaving, the streets were full of frightened, hurrying people, and carts heaped with household effects. Alarm and confusion reigned on every side. " We cannot wait to make your son a coffin," was the answer made to young McClure' s mother; " there is no time." But the blood of Justice Gaston was in her veins. " My son shall have a Christian burial," indignation and sorrow thrilling in her voice. " You need not fear ; the enemy, the servants of Satan, are bound like their master, and can only go the length of their chain." Duncan Campbell had entered in time to hear what had been said. " Mrs. McClure, I will stay with you ; and I know enough others who will also, and pay Captain McClure the last honors so brave a man deserves." 236 POLLY OF THE PINES The alarm proved a false one, but a day later a tall white horse dashed into Charlotte without a saddle and its rider without a hat. He was followed by a single trooper, also hatless, with a small boy holding a drum in his arms and mounted on the horse behind him. It was Sumpter who had hardly drawn rein since his surprise the day before, with one follower and a drummer boy. " Sumpter surprised and routed by Tarle- ton," cried Joseph Gaston, raising himself from his pillow ; for the news was indeed hard to be- lieve. " When was it ? where was it ? " he de- manded of the drummer boy, whom Esther had brought in and given a bowl of soup. " Yesterday, fifty miles below, near the mouth of Fishing Creek," he answered between his hungry mouthfuls. " Why that must have been near Katy Steele's," said another of the men, all of whom were eagerly listening. " Yes, close by." " I can't understand it, — Sumpter, who never seems to sleep, being surprised. How did it happen? " Esther had taken the bowl to refill it and the boy found his breath. " We had taken over forty loaded wagons and a hundred prisoners (I 11 CROSS CREEK 237 from the British and were on our way up coun- try, and had stopped for a little rest. You know how hot these August noons are : nobody dreamed that any enemy was near, the men's arms were stacked, their horses were grazing, and more than half the men were asleep under the trees ; when first we knew Tarleton and his cavalry was on us. You never saw anything like it, they grabbed the guns and horses, fired into the men, an' made an awful lot of 'em prisoners." Was John Steele hurt ? ' asked Joseph. No, I saw him get away, and he 'most threw Sumpter onto his horse; Sumpter was asleep and I guess if it hadn't been for Captain Steele he would have been killed or made pris- oner. Then Bill Logan took me up behind him and my, but we ran! I ain't got anything on but my shirt," looking down at his bare and sunburned legs; for I'd just come out of the creek, where I'd been in bathing, and I hadn't time to get dressed any more." Joseph Gaston groaned at the bad news ; and to those wounded men who had followed and fought under Sumpter it seemed that a black cloud blotted out the sunshine. Nor was it so with them alone. Coming together with the defeat of Gates, this rout and capture of two 238 POLLY OF THE PINES armies from which so much had been hoped, cast a gloom over the whole region ; while for the time the hopes of the patriots in the South were well nigh crushed. On the other hand Cornwallis believed that South Carolina was now conquered, and, confident of future victor- ies, he turned his steps toward the North State to establish roval rule there. The morning following Sumpter's arrival, as Polly went to the house where Jamie was quartered, she found him waiting for her at the door. " Oh, Jamie, ought you to do this ? ' she asked. " Dr. Knox said I might. My wound is al- most healed, and this is no time for a man to nurse a little hurt. As I knew he would, Sumpter has already begun to gather another force and Duncan and I are going to be of it. We cannot go into action at once and I shall be quite well by the time we move." Her first impulse was of protest. He had just been given back to her; how could she see him go out to danger again. Then there came the quick realization that this was no weak boy, but a young man grown strong and resolute; and though her heart cried out, she was glad and proud that it should be so. The struggle was over in a moment and for answer she put CROSS CREEK 239 a hand on either cheek. ' Jamie, through those long years that you have been from me, every day I prayed that God would keep you safe. I will pray so still." He bent and kissed her. " I will not forget that, Polly. And now what are you going to do ?" "If you join Sumpter I shall return to Cedar Shoals with Aunt Mary McClure. Esther will stay and help with the wounded till Joseph is able to go back, but she thinks I may be more needed there." In the months which followed, the struggle continued between the two forces and the vic- tories gained by the Americans re-animated again their hearts and hopes. Not long after the battle of the Cowpens Jamie paid a flying visit to Cedar Shoals, in high spirits at the late success. " I'm glad a new year has opened," said Uncle John Gaston, as they talked over the events of the war; " for 1780 has been one of gloom for the South, with the fall of Charleston, the shame of Camden, the surprise of Sumpter, almost within my hearing, and Tarleton's iron heel grinding down on the Carolinas. " Yes, but we have paid the British some debts, and taught them some lessons," Jamie's 240 POLLY OF THE PINES eyes were sparkling. " King's Mountain in October was a lesson I fancy they will not soon forget ; at the Blackstocks in November, Sump- ter's setting Tarleton and his men running for life and liberty might have taught him some- thing ; and now the Cowpens in January, when Morgan scattered Tarleton's dragoons like chaff, tells what the Americans can do and will do." " You are right, James," and the old man nodded. " Three decisive victories in four months is something to be proud of, aside from the blows Marion has constantly inflicted. I am too old to do anything except to pray for my country and encourage others to resist, but I am trusting that with this year brighter days are coming, and that even my dim eyes may yet see the liberty of which we have dreamed." Polly was leaning on the back of her broth- er's chair. " You have talked war and battle, Jamie, ever since you came : now tell me some- thing about yourself. You said your term of last enlistment had expired, are you going to stay here with us? " He looked up at her with a smile. " Not now, Polly, the time hasn't come yet to hang up the rifle. Morgan with his army has retreated into North Carolina, Cornwallis is following, CROSS CREEK 24 1 and some hot work in the North State is ahead. Duncan Campbell has already gone, and I but came here first. We are thinking of joining Captain Slocumb's company of light-horse on the Neuse." A sudden resolve came to Polly. " Then I am going to Cross Creek with you. Aunt Jean has been writing me to come, and I shall be that much nearer in case anything happens to you." Justice Gaston put out his hand : " I'm not sure that we can spare Polly." But Esther interposed : " She is right, I know what it is. How would I have felt if I had been so far from Joseph that I could not have gone to him when he was wounded." A few days later and they were on the road, the breath of early spring around them, as when Polly made her first journey to Cedar Shoals. All along the way men were preparing their fields for planting. Some of these Jamie knew, as they had but lately been part of Mor- gan's army. " Going to the North State?" asked one as he stopped his plow by the road- side. " I would have stayed with Morgan but I had to come home and get my land ready for the crops ; our families have it hard enough at best, and unless we look out for the harvest they will surely starve." 2^2 POLLY OF THE PINES " And I," said a neighbor who had come up, a bag of seed-oats on his horse behind him, " would not be lingering here if it were not for that order of Cornwallis and Tarleton, to burn the house of every Whig who is away from home. I'm willing to suffer myself, but it's hard to think of my wife and little children turned out homeless. " As they rode on, Jamie turned to Polly, " that's why a young man can better serve. Cornwallis and Tarleton know that they can- not strike a man more surely than through his home, and they lose no chance to do it." Aunt Jean gave Polly a warm welcome, in- deed she was in a rejoicing mood : " I've aye ben telling the folk that the King would come to his ain again, and now they'll see that I was right. See what has been done i' South Caro- lina ; it's as guid as a royal province ance mair, and noo Cornwallis is driving the rebels before him up through our ain colony." As for Jamie and the part he had taken, " It's just that Duncan Campbell," she would insist, " wha has led the puir laddie awa'. And na wonder after he had been sae sick, and living among the wild savages. You say they were kind to him. I'm no saying but they might have been i' their way, but do you sup- CROSS CREEK 243 pose while he was sick they took ony pains to keep him happed warm ? He says himself they let him have all the cold water he wanted, when every one kens you never should give ony in a fever, and he had nae calomel at all, just some bits of herb teas. It's nae wonder he was sick sae lang j> " But Aunt Jean," urged Polly, " see how well and strong he grew among them." " And thankful I am ta see it ; but w T ha knows that he would no have grown strong and well amang his ain people? " Running Deer and his errand to Cross Creek, she dismissed with as scant consider- ation. " How was I ta ken wha sent him ? Why did he no speak up like a man and say he cam fra James Dunning. If he had it would no have been mony hours till I would have had men on the way to bring the puir laddie hame, instead of giving a word that made him afraid to come. He says he wanted the Indian to bring you back wi' him, but if Jamie was sick I wonder he should have thought I would let you go off wi' a heathen savage ta be toma- hawked and scalped." " Where is Uncle Davy now ? " in answer to one of Polly's questions : " he's living wi' a granddaughter whose husband is out wi 1 the 244 POLLY OF THE PINES Whigs. An' I would na wonder but the time is coming when he will see the error o' his opin- ions. Aye, but I wish Flora MacDonald was here now. Those wha had the power thought it a fine thing ta confiscate her property ; but I'm thinking it will na be lang till there is prop- erty confiscated on the ither side, and that may be the Slocumbs will no always have their fine plantation." " There are sairer losses than land," sighed Mrs. Elspeth MacDonald, who was still living with Aunt Jean; " but an she loses her husband it will be nae mair than ithers have done." Polly soon found that Aunt Jean's senti- ments w r ere shared by a large part of Cross Creek, though few were as outspoken; and after the atmosphere of Cedar Shoals it jarred on her more than she had thought possible; though knowing that argument was worse than useless with Aunt Jean, she set her teeth that no word should escape. After she had heard, for several days in succession, the prophecy as to the confiscation of the Slocumb plantation, Polly said : " If there's danger of Mary Slo- comb losing her home, I think when Jamie comes back from Charlotte I'll ride over to the Neuse with him and make her a visit while she's still there." CROSS CREEK 245 " It might be a guid idea," admitted Aunt Jean, who regarded Polly's remark as almost an admission of the correctness of her views. " But you'll no stay lang, and at the first sign of ony trouble be sure and come back ; for here amang the friends o' the King you'll aye be safe." CHAPTER XX. AN OLD FRIEND. Though letters were rare and uncertain in those days, still Polly had at wide intervals heard from Mary Slocumb during their separ- ation ; and when she reached the Slocumb home her old friend received her with open arms. Very little of change had the years brought to Mrs. Slocumb; her slender form had gained something in matronly dignity, the long ex- perience in self-reliance had brought an added self-poise, and forgetfulness of self in a noble cause had touched her face with an unconscious nobility of expression. For the rest she was the same; high-spirited and gladsome, full as ever of life and energy. " Why, Polly," she cried, holding her off for a better view, " what have you been doing with yourself to grow so tall? I'm afraid I've quite lost my little Polly." " And don't you want to see the bigger Polly ? " To be sure I do. And I have a feeling 246 a AN OLD FRIEND 247 that when I get used to her I shall be as fond of her as I was of the other. There, when you smiled I saw the old dimples. Why — yes, it is the same Polly after all." " I thought you would find that it was." " And it's really quite a mercy for you to come; I'm alone so much of the time with only little Jesse and the servants." " Then, like the men on Fishing Creek, Cap- tain Slocumb is often away ? ' " Yes, more than often. His company of light-horse, all from our own neighborhood, belongs to the State line troops, but their gen- eral duty is to act as rangers; they scour the country for miles around, keep an eye out for the enemy, and punish the Tories when they get too bold in plundering or murder. They have been doing this for three years now, and often are away for weeks at a time." That has made it hard for you, hasn't it ? ' Well it has not always been easy, for I've had to be manager of the house and overseer of the plantation both in one. I tell my husband that in these years I've done all that a man ever did, except ' mauling ' rails ; and to take away that exception I went out one day and split a few ; " with a merry laugh at the remembrance. " And have you never been afraid ? ' a 248 POLLY OF THE PINES " Seldom if ever. I have proved the fidelity of our slaves and depend on them for protec- tion." Polly looked in her face. " And I think your greatest dependence has been on what Uncle John Gaston would call your own ' fear- less and intrepid spirit.' " " It's true that I've had to depend very largely on my own spirit whatever it was ; and I will say the greatest fright of my life was my dream the night before the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge. To think I haven't seen you since that day." " How far away it seems ; so much has hap- pened since. And yet it was something I shall never forget." " Nor I either. Some of the men whose wounds I dressed there have done good service since." And did you come home the night after the battle?" " Yes, and in the night. I couldn't wait till morning. I don't think I was ever so glad as I was to see home again, and baby Jesse running to meet me." 1 1 don't believe you know what fear is," and Polly gave a decided nod. Why really I'm too busy to have time to be .. AN OLD FRIEND 249 afraid; for besides looking after the house and superintending the plantation I have carded, spun, wove, cut, and made all the clothes my husband has worn in his active service, includ- ing his guard-cloak, besides a few things for myself.' ' Polly's eyes were full of what she felt. " I have always said that you were a wonderful woman, Mary Slocumb; for all you look so slim and fragile. I wonder what you would do if you were six feet tall and big in propor- tion ? " She flushed. " Nonsense, Polly, I have only done what came to my hand, as hundreds of other women have. Besides I like to be busy. They tell me there are ladies who are waited on all the time and never do anything. Why such a life would kill me. If there's anything I'm proud of it's that I can do things, and do them well ; it has always seemed to me that the more one had the more they needed to do." Polly laughed. " I'm afraid you never could be one of the fine ladies Flora MacDonald told me about that she saw in London." " I'm certain I would not; but now tell me about yourself and Jamie. I hear he's back again." She beamed with delight as Polly told of his 250 POLLY OF THE PINES recovered health, and that he had come to join Captain Slocumb's troop. " That's the best news I have heard in many a day. Jamie was the brightest little fellow before he had that sickness, and I always felt the effect it left must wear away. He's a Neuse lad too, and this is the very place for him, especially now that Cornwallis and Tarleton are coming this way. Ezekiel will be so glad to have him in the troop. But here comes Jesse, you haven't seen him yet," and she held out her arms, as the door opened and a rosy boy ran in. As the two friends sat together that evening, talking of the many things that had come into their lives, in the eventful times since they had met, among other incidents Polly told of the plundering of the Gaston home. " And with all the disturbance have you never been molested by the British ? " she asked. " Once only, as yet. Of course no one knows what may be in the future : ' Mrs. Slocumb paused and laughed ; " It really was quite amusing." " Amusing ! " Polly's accent was of aston- ishment. " Yes, in a way. It was one time when my husband was gone, a British captain, very fine in a brand new uniform, with lace and ruffles AN OLD FRIEND 25 1 and embroidery, and with some thirty men, rode up to the house. Our grand captain strode in as though everything belonged to him; and in the most insolent, threatening manner, demanded of me my keys, and all the money and plate I had in my possession. I told him I had but little money, only some three pounds and ten shillings, pointing to that secretary which stood unlocked; and as for plate I had only a small amount which was hid, but he might have it if he could find it. " At that he began to swear and curse more bitterly than ever, with threats of all sorts of personal injury and abuse, if I didn't bring it instantly. I let him think I was vastly fright- ened and then I told him it was in the cellar. My brave captain was highly elated. I sup- pose he thought here was another rich booty for him to carry off and enrich himself with; and down into the cellar he started without waiting for a light or to see if he needed one. You know how dark our cellar is when the windows are closed, as they w r ere then; and finding that he could see nothing he shouted back and ordered a light. I lit a candle, carried it down, and at his rough demand, pointed to the corner w T here I told him he would find the treasure; and off he hurried to grasp his prize. 252 POLLY OF THE PINES Well, you know one candle doesn't light a eel- lar very brightly, and so it wasn't strange that in about two seconds he went pitching head first down into a dry well, some twenty feet deep, which had been dug for the purpose of draining and drying the cellar." " I knew you had some object in sending him down cellar. If he had known you he never w T ould have gone; but it served him right." " That was what I thought. But down he went and for some minutes I didn't hear a sound not even a breath, though I listened closely; and I was unable to tell whether he had broken his neck, or was only stunned by the fall and insensible for a time. Still I lis- tened, and was on the point of going away when I heard a low feeble groan, followed by a faint whining, like a little puppy. Then I knew he was alive and very slowly and quietly I crept up the stairs and walked out into the yard where I had seen some of his men. " They were not there now, for they were all near the stables, chasing and trying to catch some fine young horses in the pasture, that were snorting and running, as if in defiance, back and forth across the field. I gave the alarm that their Captain had met with an acci- AN OLD FRIEND 253 dent ; and in a fright they all came running to the house, and rushed down into the cellar, dark as it was, shouting for their captain." " I'd have let him die in the well," declared Polly. " Oh, no, you wouldn't. But by this time he had revived and was shouting for help as loudly as any one could. When they saw what had happened, they brought a ladder as quickly as possible, from the hay-mow, let it down into the well, and the gallant Captain climbed this, calling out to them to carry him above as quickly as they could. So up he came, and when in the light he was a spectacle. There was no water in the well, and the soft bottom had kept him from harm; but he was covered with mud and slime and with blood from his nose. His fine uniform and laces, frills and flufYels were so smeared and soiled and spoiled, that you would never have known what they were; and but for his sword dangling at his side, there would have been no evidence that he was one of His gracious Majesty's ser- vants." " How did he feel ? " " He didn't stop to tell me, but I thought he was somewhat discomfited, for he shouted loud and long : ' To horse, — to horse ! ' As soon as 254 POLLY OF THE PINES they could mount, away they went, and I have never seen my Captain since." " But what if he had come again? " She straightened a little. " He would have had a warmer reception than the first time. My husband says I am as good a shot as he is : there are plenty of guns and bullets in the house; and if I can hit a running deer as I have many a time, I think if need be I could a British redcoat." As the days went on the already troubled atmosphere grew more disquieting. Corn- wallis and Tarleton had invaded the region, the Tories were gathering in armed com- panies, Captain Slocumb and his rangers were almost constantly in the saddle. " There is no knowing when he will be home now," Mrs. Slocumb had said. " You must stay and keep me company, Polly. Besides you can be near Jamie, and nobody knows what may happen. There's mischief in the air." And Polly had answered : " I would stay for you, Mary; and I'd stay for Jamie; and I cannot do more than stay for you both." CHAPTER XXL UNINVITED GUESTS. It was ten o'clock of a beautiful spring morning, a little later, and Mrs. Slocumb and Polly were sitting with their work on the front veranda. The sunshine was unclouded, the air was balmy, the trees were fair with new leaves, bird-songs were in the air, and the fields sweeping away from the house were freshly green. Life on such a day was a delight, and especially was it so to Mary Slocumb; for her husband was again in the vicinity, so near that he might be home at any hour. Little Jesse was playing about them, and a few of the house servants were also on the piazza, taking orders for the day; when one of them gave a low cry: " See, Missus, see! " Following her pointing finger, through the trees they caught an advancing glint of scar- let; and a few moments later a splendidly dressed officer, accompanied by two aids, and followed at a short distance by a guard of some twenty troopers, dashed up to the piazza. 255 . . .. 256 POLLY OF THE PINES Mrs. Slocumb rose to her feet; as she did so, the officer raised his cap, and bowing to his horse's neck, asked : " Have I the pleasure of seeing the mistress of this house and plantation? " " It belongs to my husband," she answered calmly. " Is he at home?" " He is not." Is he a rebel? " No, sir. He is in the army of his country, and fighting against our invaders : therefore not a rebel." " I fear, madam," replied the officer, " that we differ in opinion. A friend to his country, will be a friend to the King, our master." " It is only slaves who acknowledge a mas- ter in this country," was the quick reply. A deep flush crossed the florid face of Tar- leton, — for he it was ; and turning from her to one of his aids, he ordered him to pitch the tents, and form the encampment in the orchard and field on the right. To the other aid he gave orders to detach a quarter guard, and station pickets on each road leading to the house. Then, bowing very low again to Mrs. Slocumb, he added : " Madam, the service of his Majesty requires the temporary occupancy "He is in the army of his country." — Page 256. UNINVITED GUESTS 2 $J of your property ; and if it will not be too great an inconvenience, I will take up my quarters in your house." While his words were courteous, his tone was imperative, and it was to this latter that, as he came up the steps, she swept him a little courtesy and answered : " My family consists only of myself, and child, my friend, and a few negroes. We are your prisoners." As she spoke, the stately dignity of the slight figure, the unruffled calm of the voice, the quiet self-possession with which she gave him greet- ing, impressed even the not over impressible Tarleton; and he accepted the proffered seat with the reply : " I trust, madam, that our in- trusion will be as little unpleasant as is possi- ble." From the veranda where he had seated him- self, Tarleton commanded a view of the ground on which his troops were busy arrang- ing their camp. The mansion fronted the east ; and from it an avenue, a hundred and fifty feet wide, and about half a mile in length, led to the eastern side of the plantation, where the road ran, with open grounds beyond it, partly dry meadow and partly sand barren. This avenue was bordered on the south side by a high fence, and a thick hedgerow of forest 2-8 POLLY OF THE PINES trees : while along the opposite side extended a rail fence, seven or eight feet high, such as was usually seen on plantations in that region. As the encampment of the British troops was on that part of the plantation south of the ave- nue, it was completely screened by the fences and hedgerow, from the view of any who might approach from the other way. While the men were busy with their tents, the officers were also busy making reports to their commander and taking orders. Mrs. Slocumb was still within hearing, when she heard an order given, at which her face grew a shade paler, as she quietly turned away. Inside the house, Polly was waiting, and caught her by the arm. " And to think, Mary, that it is the terrible Tarleton himself! It makes my blood run cold the stories I have heard of him. What will you do ? " " I shall treat him and his officers as I would any guests, and give them the best the house affords. But did you recognize that Tory cap- tain of militia who just left the piazza? " " No," 11 1 did at once, for before he joined the royal army he lived some fifteen or twenty miles below. The order for him is to take his troop and scour the country for two or three miles around." UNINVITED GUESTS 259 Polly dropped her voice to a whisper : " And Captain Slocumb with his men may be near. What can be done?" " I will see that something is done, and will you call Jane and Dicey and see that the sleep- ing rooms are made ready? They may all be needed." Passing then through the house she called a little negro : " Run and tell Big George I want to see him out in the kitchen." She was giving directions to the cook when he answered her summons. " George, I want you to take a bag of corn to the mill. If your master comes to-day, that is the road he must take, and as it is four miles there you will be apt to meet him. If you do, tell him what has happened and warn him of the danger of com- ing near. Make haste now." " Yes, missus, I will sho." As Mrs. Slocumb was going back to the house, she found an officer waiting for her on the way. " Madam," there was harshness in both look and voice ; " I understood you to say that your husband was absent on duty ? " " You did." " Then will you tell me where he is likely to be found?" " I will not." 2 6o POLLY OF THE PINES " It may be for your advantage to tell." " It is my pleasure not to." He looked at her, with a scowl. " I have known of people who were compelled to give answers whether it pleased them or no. If I am not mistaken that may be the case with you." Her blue eyes looked full in his. " I have made you the one answer I shall. If I knew where my husband was this minute and you tore me limb from limb, I would not tell you." And she walked past him into the house. In an hour everything was quiet, and the plantation had become an encampment of some thousand or more of Cornwallis' choicest cavalry. Within the house, was a stir of preparation for the unexpected and uninvited guests; and when they were summoned to the dining-room they found awaiting them a dinner such as might have been served to guests instead of enemies. Generous abundance was then the rule : and on the whitely covered table smoked a boiled ham, flanked by dishes of vegetables ; a turkey opposite was supported by sweet po- tatoes. A great platter of boiled beef, another of sausage, and a third with a pair of roast chickens, formed a line across the center of the UNINVITED GUESTS 2 6l table; while a half dozen dishes of different kinds of pickles, with stewed pears and numer- ous preserves, plates of hot corn bread and flaky biscuit, filled up all the vacant places. At the head of the table, handsomely dressed, Mrs. Slocumb waited, with Polly beside her, to give a gracious dignified welcome to her unbidden company, and to preside as hostess at the meal, whose service was faultless. It was a dinner that met the warm approval of the royal officers ; the more so when the des- sert, as was the custom of that day, was accom- panied by some excellent peach brandy, made under Captain Slocumb's own supervision. This received the unqualified praise of all ; and as they sipped from their glasses its merits were freely discussed. " It's whiskey," said a Scotch officer ; " and never before drank I as gude out o' Scot- land." " Whiskey, indade it's not," insisted an- other, whose slight brogue told his country. " No Scotch drink yet was ever equal to it. To me mind," he added, " it tastes as yon orchard smells." Tarleton turned to Mrs. Slocumb: " As we do not agree, allow me, madam, to inquire where the spirit we are drinking is procured? " 262 POLLY OF THE PINES " From the orchard where your tents stand." He looked out of the open windows, at the drifted pink blossoms of the trees, whose fra- grance was wafted to them, with the blue of the sky above and the white of the tents beneath. " Madam, Lord Cornwallis rode in to see me a short time ago, and he was pleased to give a name to your plantation." " Indeed." " Yes, and it seemed most fitting, — Pleasant Green, for I do not know when I have seen a fairer sight." " Colonel," interrupted the Irish captain, as he held up his glass to have it refilled," when we conquer this country, is it not to be divided out amongst us ? " " The officers of this army," answered Tarleton, " will undoubtedly receive large possessions of the conquered American prov- inces." Mrs. Slocumb turned to Tarleton. " Allow me to observe and prophecy," with a bow and smile, " that the only land in the United States, which will ever remain in the possession of a British officer, will measure but six feet by two." " Excuse me, madam," was Tarleton's re- ply ; " for your sake, I regret to say this beau- UNINVITED GUESTS 263 tiful plantation will be the ducal seat of some of us." Her spirited retort came quick : " Don't trouble yourself about me. My husband is not a man who will ever allow a duke, or even a king, to have quiet possession of his ground." Tarleton had opened his lips to answer, when there was a sudden interruption, a rapid volley of fire-arms, which seemed to come from a wood, a short distance to the eastward. " It's only some straggling Whig scout, run- ning from the picket-guard," observed one of the aids, with a desire to continue longer in the company of the peach-brandy. But the experienced ear of Tarleton was not easily deceived. " No," he said after listening an instant ; " there are rifles and muskets as well as pistols, and too many to pass unno- ticed. Order boots and saddles at once, and you — captain, take your troop as quickly as possible in the direction of the firing." It was no time to linger : the officers rushed out to obey his orders; and Tarleton quickly walked out upon the piazza, closely followed by Mrs. Slocumb and Polly, in an agitation they dared not show, and a alarm which, save for a glance at each other, they could not speak. Since the demand of the officer and her prompt 264 POLLY OF THE PINES and repeated refusal to answer, no further in- quiry had been made of her as to the where- bouts of her husband; but what she feared now was that her warning had in some way- failed to reach him, that he had returned all unsuspecting, and might fall into the hands of the enemy before he was aware of their presence. As they stood watching and listening Tarle- ton turned to Mrs. Slocumb : " May I be al- lowed, madam, without offense, to inquire if any part of Washington's army is in this neighborhood ? ' The answer came without an instant's hesi- tation : " I presume it is known to you that the Marquis and Green are in the State." She paused slightly and added : " And you would not of course be surprised at a call from Lee, or your old friend Colonel Washington, who, although a perfect gentleman, it is said, shook your hand," glancing at a scar across it, " very rudely when you last met." For the story was told that at the battle of the Cowpens, in a close encounter between Tarleton and Colonel Washington, the former was wounded by a saber cut in the hand, and only by retreat saved himself. Tarleton not only understood the allusion and reddened UNINVITED GUESTS 265 under it, but the very fearlessness of the an- swer filled him with a feeling that the skirmish in the woods might be only the prelude to a planned attack on his camp. His only reply, if such it could be called, was a loud order to form the troops on the right: and springing down the steps and upon his waiting charger, he dashed down the avenue a few hundred feet, to a slight break in the thick hedgerow, leaped the fence, and in a moment was at the head of his regiment, which was already in line. CHAPTER XXII. CAPTAIN SLOCUMB MAKES A SHORT VISIT HOME. In the meantime, that same morning, Cap- tain Slocumb, with only some fifteen of his men, had been cautiously reconnoitering the encampment of Cornwallis at Springbank, where, he supposed, was his entire force. That done, with his little squad he had turned in the direction of his own home, little dream- ing that it was already in the possession of that dreaded scourge of the Southern patriots, Tarleton. For his wife's fear was correct, the warning she had sent by Big George had, through the fault of the messenger, never reached him. Not that the old fellow meant to be untrue to his trust; but with the indolence and curiosity so common to his race, he had remained loiter- ing around the premises, absorbed in the un- wonted excitement; and at the moment the firing was heard he was lurking under the 266 A SHORT VISIT HOME 2 6j hedgerow of trees, admiring the red coats, dashing plumes, and shining helmets of the British troops. What they, who were watching, first saw was in the open ground east of the plantation; where the Tory captain, who had been sent out with his troop to reconnoiter the country round, was engaged with a small American command. That the former were routed was soon evident; and in the running fight, in which rifles and broadswords both bore a part, and in the hot pursuit which followed, the foremost of the Americans, too busy with the Tories to notice anything else, dashed after them, as they entered the avenue. A moment later, and Mary Slocumb gave a cry of horror and consternation, as she recognized her hus- band, her brother Charley Hook, — a boy of only thirteen, Duncan Campbell, and Mr. Will- iams a neighbor, in chase of the Tory captain and four of his men, already half way down the avenue, and all unconscious that they were running into the midst of the enemy. About midway of the avenue one of the Tories fell ; then for the first time Big George saw who it was following them ; and with a sudden realization of what his negligence might mean to his brave but imprudent young master, 2 68 POLLY OF THE PINES he sprang in front of and checked his horse with the warning cry. " Hold on, Massa, de debble am here! Look yon! " A single glance to the left showed Slocumb and those who were with him their danger; that they were within pistol shot of a thou- sand men drawn up in order of battle. Wheel- ing round, they saw a troop, already leaping the fence into the avenue, to cut off their es- cape. Quick as thought they again turned their horses and dashed on down the avenue, directly towards the house ; where the quarter- guard with their guns stood ready to receive them. But that was not in the mind of any of the four ; and on reaching the garden fence, (made of a kind of lath and known as a wattled fence), headed by Captain Slocumb, they leaped that and the next, amid a shower of balls from the guard, cleared the canal be- yond at one tremendous leap; and speeding away across the open field to the northwest, were in the shelter of the protecting woods be- fore their pursuers were able to clear the fence of the inclosure. But before the little handful had even crossed the canal, the trumpets sounded the re- call of the pursuing platoon. The presence of mind and fearless words of Mrs. Slocumb had A SHORT VISIT HOME 269 convinced Tarleton that these men who had so impetuously dashed into his camp must be supported by a formidable force close at hand against whom he did not care to risk his men. While had the truth been known, and the chase been continued, with such unequal numbers, nothing could have saved either the four who fled, or the rest of the company on the east side of the plantation. As it was, Slocumb and his companions passed rapidly around the plantation and so re- turned to the ground where their first en- counter with the Tory militia had taken place, collecting, on the way, the stragglers of their troop, and hurried safely off. As Mrs. Slocumb and Polly, in breathless anxiety too deep for words, had seen this, Polly's first thought had been one of thankful- ness that Jamie was not of the number. Then as she watched them coming straight on to what seemed certain death, her gaze centered on Duncan Campbell, riding erect, with his face set in its dauntless look, by Captain Slocumb's side. Suddenly Polly found her hands pressed tight over her heart ; for all at once, out of that peril, a realization had come to her, so new and strange, that she could hardly comprehend it, and yet so strong that she felt it must always 270 POLLY OF THE PINES have been a part of her : that every dream and hope, all the gladness of her young life, as well as the closest fibers of her heart gath- ered about that one swift flying figure. For the moment it was a knowledge which brought only keenest pain. To stand there helpless and see his life in such awful danger, facing the fire, encompassed by enemies, — and how could he help but fall? Then as he, with the others, cleared the garden, and at the call of the trum- pets their pursuers turned back, she laid her trembling hand on the arm of her friend. " Oh, Mary," the tears were running down her face and her voice was choked ; " see ! he is safe ! " " Yes, thank God," answered Mrs. Slocumb, her thoughts only on her husband, and never thinking but Polly's were also; "for I was afraid once that he never would be safe again." And Polly smiled that Mary should fancy there was only one man in the world. By this time Tarleton had rode back to the front of the house, where, still sitting on his horse, he remained eagerly looking after the fugitives till they were lost to sight in the wood. He then called for the Tory captain; and when he came forward, questioned him about the attack, asked the names of the Amer- A SHORT VISIT HOME 2 Jl ican officers, and dismissed him to have his wounds dressed, and look after his men; for nearly one half of his troop had fallen on the ground long known as " Dead Men's Field." As Tarleton walked into the house he turned to Mrs. Slocumb. " Your husband made us a short visit, madam. I should have been happy to have made his acquaintance, and that of his friends." " I have little doubt," replied the wife, net- tled by his tone even more than by the words, that you will yet meet the gentlemen, and they will thank you for the polite manner in which you treat their friends." Tarleton hesitated, and then said, as by way of apology : " It is necessity that has com- pelled us to occupy your property; we have taken, and shall take, only such things as are necessary for our support, for which we are instructed to offer proper remuneration; and while we remain, everything shall be done to render our stay as little disagreeable as pos- sible." " You will allow me," and Mrs. Slocumb bowed, " to express my thanks for your kind- ness," with that she withdrew to her own room. Polly had already disappeared, while Tarleton and his officers returned to their 272 POLLY OF THE PINES peach brandy and coffee, and ended the day with a merry night. As they were doing this, the Tory captain was nursing his hurts and swearing vengeance on Captain Slocumb, not knowing the favor he had that day received from his hand. For as Slocumb was leaving the field, he saw the brother of the Tory captain, who, also the ob- ject of well-earned hatred, had been captured by some others of his men, and was hanging by a bridle rein from the top of a sapling bent down for that purpose, — struggling in the agonies of death. Hurrying to the spot, Slo- cumb cut the rein with his sword, and with much difficulty, not knowing what moment the enemy would be upon him, restored him to the freedom of life. Many years after, in that part of North Carolina there was still living an old man, whose protruding eyes and suffused countenance gave him the look of one half strangled. He it was who now owed both his life and liberty to the warm and hu- mane heart of a generous enemy, Captain Slocumb. The next morning Polly was walking across the lawn with little Jesse beside her, when as she turned a clump of shrubbery she found herself almost face to face with the same A SHORT VISIT HOME 273 young ensign of her adventure on the road by Fishing Creek : and for all the months which had passed since that summer day the recogni- tion was mutual. Indeed Polly felt that his face was indelibly stamped on her memory. Now she made a movement to pass on, but he stepped before her, lifting his cap. " My American wild rose, it is an unexpected pleas- ure to meet you again and here." Polly's cheek flushed. " I regret, sir, that I cannot return your compliment, for it is any- thing but a pleasure to me to meet you now or ever." " Do not say so," he urged. " Believe me no one can regret more than I do what hap- pened at our last encounter, and I would most humbly beg your pardon were it not that you won the advantage." He put his hand to his cheek as though he could feel the sting of her blow yet. Her mouth twitched in spite of herself at the recollection. He drew a step nearer. " Let us call a truce. See, I will wave the white flag." He drew out his handkerchief. " Why can we not be friends ? Surely there is no reason why we should be enemies." Polly stepped back and shook her head. No, if there was no other reason, I cannot a 274 POLLY OF THE PINES be friends with anyone who is an enemy of my country." " But I am not an enemy of your country. I am a soldier; to fight wherever I am sent is my duty." " I cannot understand such fine distinc- tions," she answered coldly. " All I know r or care to know is that it is against my friends, my country, that the British soldiers are making war." She had turned away; but caring nothing for her evident wish to avoid him, he kept be- side her, and with an effort to change the con- versation pointed to a bunch of camomile w r hich grew beside the path. " May I ask what this is, madam? " " The rebel flower." " And why, pray, is it called the rebel flower?" " Because it always flourishes most when tramped upon." His face reddened. " You have words as sharp as your whip." Polly paused and faced him. " Sir, you bring both upon yourself; it is not my nature to hurt with either. At our first meeting you were insulting; to force yourself on me as you are doing now is insolent. I have not sought A SHORT VISIT HOME 275 your notice or attentions. I do not desire them. I will not receive them. Come, Jesse," lifting him in her arms, " Mamma will be wanting us." She walked quickly towards the house, leaving the ensign with his bold eyes, for the time being, bent to the ground. Jesse was not pleased to have his walk cut short in this fashion; but as they neared the house he saw a splendid bay horse at the steps : and wriggling hastily from Polly's arms he ran forward, calling in his shrill little treble, " Cap'n, Cap'n, let me ride wif you? ' For whatever the feelings of the rest of the family, little Jesse was finding full enjoyment in the presence of the British at his home. Al- ready he had become a great pet with several of the officers who often gave him rides on their fine war chargers; so he felt safe in his present demand. The officer was already in the saddle, but at the call he paused, and with a smile leaned down. " Very well, then, come and be a dragoon. Give me your hands ; so, step on my foot ; there — up you come, now we will have a fine ride." And he set his horse to prancing and curveting, while Jesse clapped his hands and shouted with delight, holding himself as erect as the dragoon he was playing he was. 2 j6 POLLY OF THE PINES " My papa lets me ride his horse when he comes home," he said, as after a spirited gallop down the avenue they returned to the house. " And I have a little boy in England who loves to ride my horse when I am home," was the answ r er. Jesse looked up in his face. " Why didn't you bring him wif you?' was his childish question. The stern-looking captain sighed; and as he swung Jesse to the ground he looked up at Polly waiting on the veranda for him. " This little chap's father has the advantage of me, — he can see his boy sometimes, and I often won- der if I shall ever see mine again." " Oh, I hope you will," she answered, her eyes full of sympathy because of the longing in his tone. He raised his cap. " Thank you for the hope; may it prove a true one." As he rode away Polly stood looking thoughtfully after him. As if for the first time, it came to her that there was another side to these fierce, grim soldiers : that they were also husbands, fathers, brothers ; and that far away beyond the sea there were women w r eeping and praying, and little children look- ing for their coming. With this she under- A SHORT VISIT HOME 2 yy stood, as she had not before, the feeling this little American lad had awakened in those iron hearts ; and the tender memories of home and the home circle the touch of his small hands had recalled. CHAPTER XXIII. WHAT POLLY OVERHEARD. Not all the time of the soldiers during their stay on the Slocumb plantation was demanded by their duties; and late one afternoon, as Polly sat on the veranda rocking the somewhat sleepy Jesse, she caught herself idly listening to the talk of a group of the younger officers, who were lounging under the shade of a near- by tree. They were discussing the courage of dif- ferent American soldiers they had met; when, presently, one who with his troop had but just come from the neighborhood of Charleston, spoke : " Talk of men. You ought to see one who is with Marion, — a red-headed Scotch- man, who rides a big black horse, — I was told his name but I've forgotten it." From their first coming, Polly had kept her- self as much out of sight, and entered into conversation with the soldiers as little as possi- ble; the more so since her meeting with the ensign. But now, in her interest to know if 278 WHAT POLLY OVERHEARD 279 a she had guessed right, she parted the screen- ing jessamine, and leaning over the veranda railing, asked, " Was it Sergeant MacDon- ald?" The narrator looked up. Yes, that's the name. Do you know him ? " She nodded. " Very well indeed. He came from near here." " Well," emphatically, " wherever he came from, he isn't a man; he's a devil: and that horse of his " Selim," Polly added. That's another devil, they make a pair of 'em. Oh you needn't laugh," turning to the others; " If you had seen him as I have, you would think the same, and it may be that if you had you wouldn't be here to laugh now." Was he so bad as that," one asked. I should say he was. Why while we were at Georgetown, I was out with twenty-four men one day, when hearing that the rebel Gen- eral Horry, with a small troop, was at a plant- er's near, we made an attempt to surprise the party." " And did you succeed? " asked some one as he paused. " Oh, they were surprised enough, but they swarmed out like bees and were in their sad- a a 2 g POLLY OF THE PINES dies before the time it takes to tell it. Seeing we were outnumbered we started back toward the town and they after us. All were well mounted, but no horse was like this black Selim, Satan he ought to be called. He was last when the race begun ; but as I looked back I could see him, with his red nostrils wide open, his long neck stretched out, and his eye- balls glaring like fire, fairly flying past every- thing; till almost before we could realize it MacDonald himself was right on us : standing up in his stirrups, he swung his big broadsword over his head, and a dragoon went down with every blow he made. I know he had outrun the others, and for the time being it was twenty-five to one; but pistol shots had no effect, and we could no more stand against him than we could against an iron flail. Of the twenty-five they were not many who won through unhurt; and I only saved myself by striking off at right angles for a swamp which I gained, and so escaped. Frightened? If you don't believe I was, look at my hair : that morning it was a bright auburn, and before night it was as gray as you see it.' , He looked around. " Perhaps you don't think we showed much pluck," as if answering something in their faces. " You know Colonel WHAT POLLY OVERHEARD 2 8l Gainey? The very next clay he had an en- counter with Marion and Horry; and as he was drawing his men off, after a considerable loss, this same Sergeant MacDonald, on his black horse, took after him and kept after him. Gainey had a splendid charger, but it was no better than the black, and they had an almost neck to neck race of it. Finally as they went at full speed down the Black River road, this man-devil got so near Gainey that he plunged his bayonet in his back. By good fortune the steel parted from the gun, and with no time to get it out, Gainey rushed into Georgetown, that bayonet still sticking in his back, to show how close the chase and how narrow his escape had been." " I should think so. Was it a bad wound? n asked one. " Not very ; it was the way it came about that hurt him the worst, I guess. And this is just a sample of the things they tell of that trooper. But here's Tom, he knows of Ser- geant MacDonald too." The big dragoon grinned. " Yes, and I'm glad to know that I'm a good ways from him. Oh he'll take his odds with a dozen men any time, and when it comes to pure impudence I believe he can't be matched in the Colonies. 282 POLLY OF THE PINES I was with Colonel Watson when he pressed Marion so hard that part of his camp equipage fell into our hands; and among the rest, it seems, were Sergeant MacDonald's clothes. When he finds this out what does he do but send a messenger with a flag to Watson, say- ing that it was a point of honor with him to have his clothes, and demanding their return; together with the threat that in case they were not returned he would kill eight of his men.' , " Pretty cool, wasn't he? " " Well, Watson thought so. He had met some defeats and wasn't in the best of spirits, and he was simply furious at such an absurd and insolent demand. He had just ordered the messenger to be off, when some of his offi- cers who knew MacDonald went to him and begged that the clothes be returned; as he would be sure to keep his word if they were not. And when he had his clothes what do you think he did then ? He sent back word to Wat- son that now he would kill but four of his men. Did any one ever hear the equal in impudence to that?" The men had forgotten Polly, but behind the screening vines she had listened to them, with a glowing pride in the patriot's fearless cour- age, and a smile as she thought of the real WHAT POLLY OVERHEARD 283 Donald MacDonald, as modest as he was brave, and with a goodness of heart, as great as was his strength, — a smile that but a few weeks later was become tears to the memory of this brave young Scotchman, whose life story is part of the history of those years. The hour had grown later, the soldiers had gone away, little Jesse had fallen asleep and been carried to his bed, the dusky twilight was gathering fast, but Polly still sat in the shadow of the vines. Presently there was a clatter of hoofs, Tarleton rode up and dismounted, and Polly had just risen to go inside, when one of his aids hurried up. " A moment, Colonel, Bixby the scout has just come in." " And what report does he bring? " "You know Captain Slocumb's troop? " " Yes, indeed, and I know that these small commands are as dangerous as hornets : you never know when or where they are going to sting; besides they are constantly being joined by other malcontents. I wish I had the power to crush every one of them." The aid looked up at the house; there were lights in the rear but the front was dark and silent : for all this he dropped his voice so that Polly had to lean close to the viny screen and strain her ears to catch his words. " Then I 284 POLLY OF THE PINES think you will be pleased to hear Bixby's re- port, that though Slocumb is away his pestilent troop are encamped for the night at what is known as Clear Spring, some twenty miles from here." That is pleasant news, indeed; " and Polly fancied she could see the cruel light in Tarle- ton's eye. " Tell Potts and Martin as soon as they have had supper, to start with their com- mands for Clear Springs. Bixby can pilot them. We will give Captain Slocumb' s light- horse a little surprise before morning ; and one that they will not be likely to forget." Polly waited to hear no more. Gathering her skirts about her that they should make no rustle, she slipped softly back, close to the wall, till she came to an open window, and was out of sight in the house, when Tarleton and some of his captains came up on the veranda. Polly's forehead was moist and clammy, and for a moment she felt faint and weak: but it was no time to yield to the sick fear at her heart; and quietly she passed through to the dining-room, where Mrs. Slocumb was busy superintending the arranging of the sup- per table. " I want to see you a minute," and leading the way to another room Polly closed the door and glanced around to be sure no one WHAT POLLY OVERHEARD 285 was within hearing. " Mary, where did Cap- tain Slocumb write you his men were now ? ' Mrs. Slocumb drew out a letter which had come to her by a friendly hand, only that day, and held it up to catch the last gleams of west- ern light. " At Clear Spring ; I thought I was not mistaken, though he has gone to Guildford on some matter. But why do you ask, and what is the matter ? " catching sight for the first time of Polly's face. " Matter enough, Mary. A scout has just brought Tarleton word of this, and he has or- dered Potts and Martin to take their commands and surprise them. You know what that means? " Mrs. Slocumb gave a little gasp. " They must be warned, but who can take it? " CHAPTER XXIV. POLLY CARRIES A WARNING. " I am going to take it," answered Polly. " You ? Oh no ; let me send some one of the negroes ? " " He might fail you, as Big George did." " I think not, for the old fellow has felt so badly over that." " But he might get frightened and turn back. This is a matter of life and death. I cannot trust it to any one." " I know, and your brother there." Po!ly blushed, for she was thinking not only of Jamie but of another; and Mrs. Slocumb added, " I will go, you can trust me." " No, listen, Mary. I must start at once ; there is not a moment to lose. If you were not in your place at the table this evening every one would notice it; if it were known that you were away from home all night something would surely be suspected : while I will hardly be missed, and if I am you can make some ex- cuse for me, say I have a headache." 286 POLLY CARRIES A WARNING 287 " Yes, you are right," admitted Mrs. Slo- cumb, as Polly caught down a cloak and hat from the deer's horns near the door, and rolled them into a bundle. " And Mary, they are not to start till the men have eaten, the captains will be here ; burn something, break something, do anything to delay them as long as you can." " I will do my best. What horse will you take ? Shall not Tom or Peter go with you ? " " They would only be in the way. I shall take Flyaway, we understand each other. No, do not follow me to the door. I am just going out to the kitchen, you know." She ran down the steps, humming a little air, and into the kitchen, where, in the wide stone fireplace, things were baking, frying and boil- ing; spoke a few words to the bustling cook and her helpers; and slipping out by another door into the dusky shadows of the trees, made her way quickly but cautiously toward the stables. Flyaway was fastened under a shed outside, for the British had taken possession here also, and she could hear the voices of some of the negroes as, under orders, they helped the soldiers rub down the officers' horses. It was dark in the shed, but feeling around 2 88 POLLY OF THE PINES till she found the nail where it hung, she reached down a bridle and slipped it over Fly- away's head. Her saddle was in the other part of the stable where she dared not venture; but Polly did not stop for that : she could go bareback, or yes, here was a blanket and strap, that was better. Adjusting them, she carefully led the horse out. " Softly, softly, Flyaway," she whispered, as he threw up his head with an impatient movement, " you shall soon have all the chance to go you want." Leading him to a near-by fence she mounted, and holding a tight rein, guided him cautiously across the fields, that she might strike the road beyond danger of discovery by the British troops, gathered around their camp-fires, busy making ready and eating their evening meal. When once safely in the road, Polly loosened the rein. " Now, ' Flyaway," stroking his satin-smooth neck, " fly." He seemed to un- derstand her words, or perhaps it was the urgency of her voice ; and breaking into a long, swift gallop, they swept away into the dark- ness that hid them from view. It was a wild ride, over roads often rough and rutted, through bridgeless streams, scram- bling up steep hills, plunging into the dark heart of deep pine woods^ sweet with the POLLY CARRIES A WARNING 289 hyacinth-like fragrance of new leaves, speeding out past level fields and silent houses, where the people within, if they heard her, only snug- gled the more closely in their beds, — for in those days of danger and alarm swift hoof- beats often sounded through the night. Polly was thankful for two things, that her horse was strong and swift and that the moon- less darkness screened her well, for there were Tories as well as Patriots along her way. Of herself she hardly thought, her errand filled her mind : the picture of those she had come to save, wounded, dead, was constantly before her. Now and again she paused for a moment and bent her ear to hear, if she could, a sound of those who followed in her wake. But this she did only at long intervals, for every minute had its value. Then she would be speeding on afresh, sometimes with a sob in her throat but more often a prayer in her heart. At last, halting, she heard a sound, faint in the far distance, but loudly ominous to her anxious ear. " Haste ! Flyaway, haste ! " she urged her horse, and he quickened his pace at the word. The night had been only touched by star- light, and though a faint gleam, along the hor- izon's edge, told of the coming dawn, all 290 POLLY OF THE PINES around was still in deepest darkness, when, riding at full gallop, she came to the out-posted sentries of the camp, where, with no thought of danger, the little band were sleeping. But Polly's cry, breathless with haste and eager- ness, " Up, up, the British are coming,' , roused them all quickly. In hurried words she told her story of the force so much larger than their own even then almost upon them ? " Our Captain's gone, but what do you say, men," asked Duncan Campbell, " shall we fight or ru tt ? " If they want a surprise 'twould be a pity to spoil it," James Dunning' s voice answered grimly; and the click of muskets around seemed to echo the sentiment. There were a few brief orders, a slight stir for taking position, and all was still again : but soon the strained silence was broken, and this time it was by the sound of mounted men ad- vancing as quietly as possible for a charge. There was a low word of command from the officers, the click of sabers drawn, then, looming through the darkness, the enemy dashed at full speed into the American camp; to be met, not by the expected terror and confu- sion, but by a quick and steady fire. It was indeed a surprise, though certainly "Up, up, the British are coming." — Page 290. POLLY CARRIES A WARNING 2 o,I not of the kind anticipated ; and what with the vigor of the defense, the uncertain darkness, and their own amazement, the British troops were themselves thrown first into confusion, and then into the panic of utter rout. To Polly, sitting on a fallen tree, well out of the range of the bullets, with Flyaway crop- ping the grass around, it seemed that the en- gagement was hours long; but in reality it was a most brief one. When it was well over and the enemy flying down the road in hurried re- treat, she felt a touch on her shoulder, and Duncan Campbell's voice said : " You and Flyaway have done a good night's work. You have saved our lives. You have saved mine. Polly," with an undertone full of emotion, " I am glad to owe my life to you." Now that the strain and excitement were over, Polly was very near to tears : for a mo- ment she could not speak, and when she did it was with a little quaver. " Oh Duncan, I'm so glad you are safe." " Then you thought of me as you were com- ing?" Thought of him ? Was there a moment he had not been in her mind ? And knowing this, her simple " Yes," when it came, was soft and low. 2 g 2 POLLY OF THE PINES But it was a word that seemed wholly satis- fying, for he sat down on the tree trunk beside her, and laid his fingers lightly over her own. " Polly, dear, I have something to tell you. I had meant to wait till the war was over, but shall I say it now ? " She gave him a swift shy glance. " Better wait," she murmured. Dim as the light was, their eyes had met. The clasp of his fingers tightened on hers. " Polly, I think you know already what it is I would say." " Perhaps — I do," she admitted. Her eyes were on the ground but he bent till he could look into them again. " And can I guess what your answer would be?" " Possibly — you may. — But here comes Jamie," her voice suddenly grown clear and strong. She sprang forward to meet him, as with swift step he caught her, crying, " Polly, I'm proud of my sister, as well as the victory we owe to her." For a moment she clung to him laughing and sobbing ; but quickly she struggled back to self- command. " I'm glad I could do it, so glad. But now I must be off. Give me a fresh horse, and I will leave Flyaway here." POLLY CARRIES A WARNING 293 " Why you have had no breakfast, and no time to rest." " Never mind breakfast, and I can rest later ; for I must be back at Pleasant Green, — you see we have adopted the name Cornwallis gave it — by noon." Duncan looked over toward the way she had come. " Can you make it? " " I must, and I can go better now I can see " But why must you be there by noon ? asked her brother. " To be at the table at dinner. We are never together for breakfast, I was supposed to be in my room with a headache last evening, but if I am gone to-day it might lead to inquiry and possible discovery." " What if they do find out? " urged Jamie. " Why go back at all ? I don't like to think of you in the midst of all those soldiers. There are safer places all around." "And leave Mary alone? No, indeed. Be- sides if Tarleton knew he might make it un- pleasant for her." " But somebody may see and know you." She threw her long black cloak around her and tied on her broad-brimmed hat. " I think I am pretty well hidden. I will take the road below the one I came on, there is little danger 294 POLLY OF THE PINES of any British soldiers being on that ; and there are short cuts through the woods they do not know of." " But when they see you come back they will know you have been away," urged Jamie still unwilling for her return. " Let Polly alone." It was Duncan's voice, " after what she has done we can trust her." She gave him a grateful look. " I do not in- tend to ride up to the house. I shall leave my horse out of sight, and I'm sure I can manage someway to slip in and not attract attention." Duncan was looking at the face framed by the wide hat, with the curling brown hair blown loosely about it, the eyes bright, the smooth round cheek flushed, the red lips smil- ing. ; What ! a pretty girl among a thousand soldiers, and not attract attention? I'm sure we would not be so ungallant." " Oh as to that sort of attention I have only to walk very straight, say little, and keep my eyes down, so when they look at me I will not see it ; ' and suiting her expression to her words she stood before them with hands primly folded, so dignified, and unsmiling, and demure, that it set them both laughing. " But," turning her head, " here is the horse, and the farther I am on my way before people POLLY CARRIES A WARNING 295 are astir the better. Be sure and take good care of Flyaway," as Jamie lifted her on. " Never fear, I will see to Flyaway," prom- ised Duncan. She settled herself and drew up the rein. " Keep a sharp look out for danger. Jamie take care of yourself; and Duncan, I hope you and Ezekiel Slocumb won't try with four men to fight Tarleton's whole army again." " Then you saw us? " "Saw you?" her face reddening with the recollection. " Did you think you were invisi- ble?" " We didn't seem to be." " I should say not ; it was a pretty fright you gave us. Mary and I have wondered since that our hair had not turned white." He had stepped close to her horse. " Mrs. Slocumb had her husband and brother, but whom were you frightened for?" She bent down. " Do you really want to know ? " Very much." Charley Hook, I've adored him since he was a baby." And with a gay laugh she turned back toward the road, through the men whose lives she had saved, and who cheered her on her way. CHAPTER XXV. SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS. The sun was not yet to the noon mark on Mrs. Slocumb's gallery floor, when out from a wood, not far beyond the house, slowly saun- tered Polly; her trim round figure in its light dress showing clear against the green back- ground, her hands full of flowers, and her hat, swinging by its ribbon from her arm, heaped to the brim with them. As she stepped into the open meadow and glanced around, she saw one of the young British captains coming from a not distant en- campment. At the sight of her he quickened his steps, and as she loitered slightly, he was soon able to overtake her. " Fine morning,", was his somewhat breathless greeting; " just the morning for a walk." " So I thought." " And is your headache better ? Mrs. Slo- cumb said you had one." " Thank you, very much better, quite gone since I have taken the air." 296 SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS 2 gy " Headaches are a lady's complaint; my sis- ters are always having them : but we all quite missed you from the table last evening." And Polly, instead of looking down as she had said she did under such circumstances, lifted her eyes with a smiling glance. " Oh, Captain Brooks, you are flattering me. I dare say no one even noticed that I was away." " Ton honor, they did," he asserted : " quite a number inquired for you. And as for myself it took all my appetite away." Polly laughed. " Pray do not ask me to be- lieve that when Aunt Dicey had fried chicken and beat biscuit." " I know Mrs. Slocumb has a fine cook," he admitted ; " but one likes to have something to charm the eye as well as to have something good to eat." That's true," and Polly held up her hands. Are not these spring flowers lovely? Now I'm sure our dinner will taste all the better with the table adorned with these." " Very pretty;' with his eyes on her face instead of the blossoms : " but do vou know, you are the loveliest spring flower of them all." Polly bit her lip, and looked sweetly down. Oh, fie, what a sad flatterer you are." Pon honor, it's the truth." And then as a 298 POLLY OF THE PINES she made a motion as if her hat were heavy on her arm, he eagerly asked : " Shan't I carry it for you? I'd be delighted to." " If you will be very careful not to spill a single flower, for we must walk a little faster so I can have time to arrange them." A few moments later little Jesse turned from the window, out of which he was looking, and called : " Here come Polly, mama, see." And as Mrs. Slocumb to whom the last hours had been restlessly anxious ones, glanced out, she started with surprise; for there, coming across the lawn was Polly, her face bright, her hands flower-filled; smiling and listening to the red- coated captain who walked beside her, swing- ing her hat from his fingers, and elate with the idea that his fascinations had at last broken down the wall of fine reserve which had before held him at a distance. As she saw Mrs. Slocumb, Polly held up her flowers. " See, Mary, I found what I went for ; will they not make the table look nice ? " Mrs. Slocumb nodded ; for without the need of words she knew by the light in Polly's eyes that her errand had been successful. And when, a little after, she sat in her accustomed place by Mrs. Slocumb's side, in a fresh white dimity, its fine lace tucker crossed with pink SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS 299 ribbons that matched her cheeks, some of the flowers which dressed the table in her hair and belt, no one seeing her, a very picture of girl- ish artlessness, would have guessed the danger- ous quest from which she had just come. " My, but I'm sleepy," she yawned, when she was again in her own room, and Mrs. Slocumb had listened to her story. " Tell Peter to take care of my horse. I hope I wasn't wicked to let that little beast of a Cap- tain Brooks think I could endure him; but it covered my return so perfectly. He wanted to know if we couldn't take another walk; but I told him I was afraid not, there was so much to do that I was busy almost all the time." Mrs. Slocumb kissed her. " You told noth- ing there but the truth. Now, I am going to close the shutters and you go to sleep." Polly smiled happily and tucked one hand under her cheek, then she raised her head from the pillow. " Mary," she whispered, " have you heard anything of the men who went from here last night." " Not a word : I just saw the captains, so they are alive." And not a word did they hear, mention of such matters were not for outside ears. When, on their coming, Mrs. Slocumb had 3°o POLLY OF THE PINES said that she should give to Tarleton and his officers the same treatment and attention she would show any guests, her natural instinct led her to the wisest decision that worldly pru- dence could have made. For while her true dignity and independence of character, her gra- cious manner, her unfailing courtesy, as well as her fearless spirit, won for her the respect of them all, and protected her from the slight- est advance toward insolent familiarity; their appreciation of her generous and unstinted hospitality was shown by strict orders that no depredation should be committed on anything belonging to the house or plantation. None the less for her those were long and wearisome days, when the tents stood in rows under the blossoming peach orchard, and scar- let-coated soldiers dotted the green of the spring-time meadows, and the house echoed with the clank of spurred heels, and all the bus- tle of military headquarters. In the kitchen Aunt Dicey, the cook, as she beat her biscuit and ordered her numerous youthful helpers, was often heard to murmur : " O Lawd, how much longer, I wonda, dem red-coats gwine stay ? ' A plaint her mistress, with every nerve and resource taxed to the utmost, could well have made her own. SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS 301 But it was little longer that Tarleton and his force remained on the Slocumb plantation. Matters in the Carolinas were not going as Cornwallis had expected : disappointments were coming to him from every side. Even among the Loyalist Highlanders at Cross Creek, he had failed of the help and recruits he had an- ticipated. Sympathy had been freely extended, supplies more sparingly; but those who had once taken the oath of parole could seldom be induced to break it, and all had been so deeply impressed with the lesson learned at bitter cost, that few were the additions to his numbers. So with the news of reverses in South Carolina, and the independent companies around him growing constantly more numerous and troublesome, he resumed his northward march, or rather retreat, into Virginia. The day of his departure, when the tents were down, the baggage wagons loaded, the horses ready, and the men waiting the signal, Tarleton came up the steps to Mrs. Slocumb' s house for the last time, an orderly following. " Madam," he said to Mrs. Slocumb, who stepped forward to meet him, " we are at the point of starting and I must be at the head of my men; so I have ordered this sergeant to stand in the door till the last soldier has gone, 302 POLLY OF THE PINES in order to ensure my protection to a lady whose noble bearing has impressed myself and the members of my staff with the most pro- found respect. Should we ever meet again, may it be in happier days." Mrs. Slocumb gave him her hand. " I thank you, Colonel Tarleton, for your protection; should we ever meet again, I trust, indeed, it will be in happier days." He bowed and turned away, the bugles sounded " boots and saddles," Tarleton rode to the head of the line, and with a clash of drums, a waving of plumes, and glitter of hel- mets, the British army filed slowly away, the sergeant standing sentry-like in the doorway till the last soldier had taken his departure, when, springing on his own horse, he brought up the rear. Mrs. Slocumb, with Polly beside her, had been watching from an upper window. As the last man disappeared from view she turned, the tears running down her face. " Polly, these are the most joyful tears I ever shed, and my heart is full. It was not Tarleton alone, it was God who has so protected us. Let us thank him for it," and side by side they knelt in a glad prayer of thanksgiving. The next day another horseman, one quite SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS 303 lacking in bright colors and glittering equip- ment, rode up the avenue, looking from side to side at the evidence of the enemy's stay ; the littered ground, the blackened camp-fires, the British had left behind them. Little Jesse, playing about the house, was the first to see his coming, and ran toward him with a shrill and joyful cry, " Papa, papa." Captain Slocumb caught him up in his strong arms. " And this is the boy is it, who, while papa was away, has been making friends with the British officers, and riding on their horses? With their red coats and plumes, do you think they are finer than papa, and are their horses better than his ? " " I likes 'em, I likes to ride wif 'em," was the sturdy answer; " but they wasn't as nice as my own papa," and his small arms gave a most emphatic squeeze. By this time the Captain's wife had heard him, and came with open arms. " Oh, my dear, I thought I was almost too happy to live to see the British away, but to have you home again makes it wholly complete." He held her close. " Mary, you are a most wonderful little woman. When I think how Tarleton has treated others I marvel to see that he has done you no more harm." 3 4 POLLY OF THE PINES " You are right, though it is to Divine and not to human help we owe it. And cruel and inhuman as Tarleton has so often shown him- self, I think he really tried that no injury should be done me, or mine. But I guess mili- tary orders are not always strictly obeyed, for I find that more than one fine beef is miss- ing, and there is not a feather left on the place." " Oh, well, chickens and calves will grow. And I hear something else is missing; that you won Tarleton' s favor by treating him to my best peach brandy." She laughed merrily. " Perhaps I did, at any rate not a drop of it is left for you; but the peach orchard is still standing." " Yes," he added, " and more than all else my wife and boy are safe." By this time Polly had learned of his arrival and come to bid him welcome. " Ah, here's the girl who, I'm told, goes around nights, waking men out of their good sound sleep." " I don't, unless it's high time they should be awake," she retorted. " Well, I judge it was, at Clear Spring. Polly, I don't believe you'll ever do a better night's work than that." " Are the men all well ? " There seemed no SPEED THE PARTING GUESTS 305 reason why Polly should blush as she put the question. " Fine ; and recruits have come in till we number two hundred now." ''But how long can you stay at home?' questioned his wife. " That is what I want to know most." " Only till to-morrow." She sighed. " I know I love my country, but sometimes I wonder if we are ever to have a quiet home life again." " I trust so. For all we've been through, Mary, we're young yet, only twenty-five. Please, God, when the war is over, we can have a great many placid years together before w r e are old." " I hope so, but where are you going now? " " Well, Cornwallis seems to be in a hurry to get to Virginia, and so we are going to help him on the way what little we can." ' And when you get to Virginia what then?" " That will depend on conditions." She turned to Polly. " Take my advice : if you w r ant to know where your husband is, never marry a soldier." " But you know you wouldn't have him any- thing else. Would she, Ezekiel? " 306 POLLY OF THE PINES " No, indeed. And Polly, I suppose you are pretty lonesome now those fine young redcoats are all gone? " " Very lonesome, indeed." " We thought you might be, and a couple cf the men started with me; but one had an er- rand, and the other's horse lost a shoe, so I left them both on the way. But I caught a glimpse just now of a bay horse down the ave- nue, and Jamie rides a bay." Polly did not see the twinkle in his eye, as with face aglow she ran out and stood waiting at the head of the steps. For a moment the sun blinded her, then a horseman waving his hat dashed up; but the eyes she looked into instead of her brother's were those of Duncan Campbell. CHAPTER XXVI. DAYS OF PEACE. Another year and more has passed ; York- town and Cornwallis's surrender have made jubilant the nation : slowly but steadily, through conflict and struggle, the British have been driven from the Carolinas, and the last shadow of British rule in the South has forever ended. Autumn has laid its mellow touch on the land ; and down through the pines and over the rocky hills a little group of travelers have come in sight, at last, of the rocky banks of Fishing Creek, of the cedars showing darkly against the rosy flush of the sunset sky, of the big gray home at Cedar Shoals, and of a new house, also, almost opposite, across the creek. The latter was at first sight of absorbing interest, for it was because of this, which was to be Esther Gaston's home through long years of happy usefulness, that Polly, Jamie, and Dun- can Campbell were come. As on Polly's first arrival, rings of smoke 307 308 POLLY OF THE PINES were curling from the throat of the great stone chimney, and an air of homely comfort seemed to radiate with the sunshine. As on that other occasion, quick eyes saw them while yet at a little distance, and before they had reached the house Joseph Gaston had hurried to meet them: Mrs Gaston was waiting for them at the foot of the steps. " Dear me, Joseph," exclaimed Polly as he lifted her down, " how tall and broad-shoul- dered you have grown, and the scar on your cheek makes you look wonderfully like a sol- dier." He put up his hand to his face. " Yes, I'm immensely proud of that scar. When I get to be an old man and say I fought in the Revolu- tion; if any one doubts me, I can just point to it." " Joseph is looking a long way into the fu- ture," said his mother as she gathered Polly in a close embrace. " Here, mother, I want a bit of Polly," and Esther, with a happy light in her blue eyes, and Alexander Walker looking over her shoulder, swept Polly into the house. For a moment Polly glanced around, at the plump bed in the corner, the snowy curtains at the windows, the shining dishes on the dresser, DAYS OF PEACE ^ g the abundant comfort and well-ordered cheer. " It doesn't look much as it did that day when the British soldiers had just left." " No, this is the one reminder we have kept of that visit; " and Mrs. Gaston pointed to her husband's hacked and battered chair which still stood in a corner. Justice Gaston, himself, sat in a newer great chair before the fire. Thin and feeble had the old man grown, but his eye had not lost its light nor his voice its firmness. Polly bent over him. " Uncle Gaston, it seems you are still alive for all the Tories' threats." " Yes, the only thing they did was to cut my initials out of the white oak at the corner. But Polly, child," and he drew her down to him, " you have been long in coming." " I know I have, and it isn't because I haven't wanted to see you all, but Aunt Jean has been sick, and — so many things have hin- dered." " Yes, and I know what has hindered most of all ; " and Esther glanced out the door, where Duncan Campbell stood talking with Joseph and Henry Gaston. " But then I'm not surprised," she added ; " I guessed how it would be the very first time I saw you two together." 310 POLLY OF THE PINES " Why, Esther Gaston," and Polly turned to her a look of surprise ; " Duncan and I had been friends for years. I never even dreamed of such a thing." " I don't doubt he had." Esther caught Duncan's eye and made a beckoning motion. " When you and Polly met at Waxhaw church," she asked, " had you never dreamed of marrying her? " " To be sure I had," was the prompt re- sponse. " As long ago as when we used to go fishing together at Cross Creek, I had decided on two things : that when I grew up I should marry Polly, and have a house as fine as the Governor's palace at Wilmington. With years the palace dream faded away, but the other never did." Polly turned to him. " And how did you know that when I grew up I would marry you?" " I didn't, I simply hoped that." Polly's cheek reddened and she made haste to change the subject. " I was a little surprised, Esther, to be sent for, to your wedding now. I thought you wrote me that when John Steele and Margaret Beard were married in the spring, and you and Alexander were brides- maid and groomsman, he charged you two, DAYS OF PEACE 3H with terrible threats, not to marry till the war was over, and he finally came home." " The war is over," answered Alexander Walker ; " and if John Steele wants to stay till he has seen the British fleet away, and the last British soldier out of the land, he can; but we're not going to wait for him." " I don't see the need of staying so long away," said Duncan. " After Captain Slo- cumb's command had harrassed Cornwallis till he had crossed the Roanoke, we joined the army of Lafayette; but when we had seen Cornwallis surrender we started for home." " So did I," added Henry Gaston. " And how does your Aunt Jean feel about the war now ? " inquired Mrs. Gaston of Polly. " Oh, Aunt Jean is consistent : she will pray for King George as long as she has breath, and she has a memory which will last her lifetime; she entertained Cornwallis when he was at Cross Creek." Esther had Polly's hand. " Come up- stairs," she whispered. " There will be time to unpack your bag before supper." " I know," answered Polly, as they ran up to the familiar chamber under the roof, " you want to show me your things, and I want to see them." 3 i2 POLLY OF THE PINES " I wish so much," Esther spoke wistfully, as she turned over the piles of snowy linen, woven and fashioned by her own hand, " that you and Duncan were going to be married with us." " Oh, I'm not thinking of marrying yet, Jamie needs me now; and besides Duncan's Uncle Farquhard is very anxious for him to be a lawyer, and he has entered an office at Wil- mington." " Is that the Mr. Farquhard Campbell you used to tell us of? And which side is he on now? " Polly laughed. " Yes, the same one, and a most ardent patriot; he can hardly do enough for Duncan. And do you know the people have just elected him as a senator to the State Assembly ! " " And what has Jamie decided to do ? ' " He is going to buy a plantation on the Neuse, near our old home ; and there is a little girl he used to play with, I expect will be its mistress in the spring. I am very happy for Jamie. But they are calling us, we must go down." Supper over, they gathered around the wide hearth, for the evening held the autumn chill. As Jamie's glance went round the circle, he DAYS OF PEACE 3^ turned to Justice Gaston. " I was thinking of the battles and alarms around us when I was here last. Uncle Gaston, I am so glad you have been spared to see the days of peace." " And for nothing in my long years am I more grateful." The old man lifted his thin hand and looked at it. " Life for me is almost at its close, and it is well; for I can say with Simeon of old, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation/ " " And like all salvation it has been won at great cost," added Mrs. Gaston. " Yes, four of our sons, Robert, Ebenezer, David and Alexander, have given their lives; and in countless homes there are vacant chairs. But the sacrifice was not in vain; and as the grass is growing green above the graves, so will the scars of bitter feeling dim and fade." His eyes were looking as if far into the future : " Peace," and he smiled again. Looking out into the moonlight night, Polly could see the new house rising in its freshness. Slipping her arm around Esther's neck, she whispered, " And new home fires kindled on new hearths, Esther, Peace, and happiness." THE END. BRAVE HEART SERIES By ADELE E. THOMPSON Betty Seldon, Patriot Illustrated by Lilian Crawford True i2mo Cloth 300 pages $1.25 A BOOK that is at the same time fascinating and noble. Historical events are accurately traced leading up to the surrender of Corn- wallis at Yorktown, with reunion and happiness for all who deserve it. Betty is worth a thousand of the fickle coquette heroines of some latter day popular novels. BRAVE HEART ELIZABETH ADELE E.THOMPSON Brave Heart Elizabeth Illustrated by Lilian Crawford True i2mo Cloth $1.25 "T'HIS is a book for older girls, and in * strength ranks with the best fiction. It is a story of the making of the Ohio frontier, much of it taken from life, and the heroine one of the famous Zane family after which Zanesville, O., takes its name. As an accu- rate, pleasing, and yet at times intensely thrilling picture of the stirring period of border settlement, this book surpasses all recent writings of its kind. A Lassie of the Isles Illustrated by J. W. Kennedy i2mo Cloth $1.25 THE romantic story of Flora Macdonald, the lassie of Skye, who aided in the escape of Charles Stuart, otherwise known as the ** Young Pretender," for which she suffered arrest, but which led to signal honor through her sincerity and attractive personality, affords a notable theme for an author. Miss Thompson has made the most of her material and gives a book of genuine historical value, as well as of great interest. For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON JOY BELLS A Story of Quinnebasset By Sophie May Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill i2mo Cloth $1.25 " I ^"HE thousands of admirers of the "Quinne- » basset" books have had to wait along time for another, but this new story is well worth waiting for. All the delightful wit of the author is here and at its best, and "Persis," the heroine, is very near to being the most charming of all her gifted creations. The scene is laid in the fifties. There are thrilling incidents, and also mysteries and suspicions, but all these are finally unravelled and allayed by the persistent efforts of the heroine. PAULINE WYMAN By Sophie May Cloth Illustrated $1.25 TN "Pauline Wyman " the author has drawn a typical New England * girl whose strong and beautiful character is developed by her environ- ment. How she overcomes unfavorable surroundings, her experience in teaching school, the interesting circumstances in a young girl's life are all told with the same originality and freshness which have drawn a mul- titude of young people to the author's previous work. MADGE A GIRL IN EARNEST By S. Jennie Smith ney $1.25 i2mo Cloth Illustrated by James E. McBur- TV/TADGE is indeed "a girl in earnest." She scorns the patronage of * * an aristocratic relative and takes upon her strong young shoulders the problem of carrying along the family in an independent manner. Her bravely won success, in spite of the lions in her path, not the least of which was the fear of social disfavor felt by some of her family, forms an inspiring tale. An unusual amount of practical information is pre- sented in a thoroughly entertaining manner, and the character-drawjng is remarkably true and strong. For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON We Four Girls By Mary G. Darling i2mo Cloth Il- lustrated by Bertha G. Davidson $1.25 WE FOUR GIRLS " is a bright story of a summer vacation in the coun- try, where these girls were sent for study and recreation. The story has plenty of natural incidents; and a mild romance, in which they are all interested, and of which their teacher is the principal person, gives interest to the tale. They thought it the most delightful summer they ever passed. A Girl of this Century By Mary G. Darling Cloth Illustrated by Lilian Crawford True $1.25 THE same characters that appear in ' ' We Four Girls ' ' are retained in this story, the interest centering around " Marjorie," the natural leader of the four. She has a brilliant course at Radcliffe, and then comes the world. A romance, long resisted, but worthy in nature and of happy termination, crowns this singularly well- drawn life of the noblest of all princesses — a true American girl. Beck'S Fortune A Story of School and Seminary Life By Adele E. Thompson Cloth Illustrated $1.25 THE characters in this book seem to live, their remarks are bright and natural, and the incidental humor delightful. The account of Beck's narrow and cheerless early life, her sprightly independence, and unexpected competency that aids her to progress through the medium of seminary life to noble womanhood, is one that mothers can commend to their daughters unreservedly. For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON HELEN GRANT SERIES By AMANDA M. DOUGLAS Illustrated by Amy Brooks Cloth Price per volume $1.25 Helen Grant's Schooldays " TT tells of "the building of Helen Grant's life * by a benefactress who removes her from un- congenial surroundings and has her wisely trained for a broader life, and is in every way wholesome and attractive. The people are real, the account of boarding-school life thoroughly natural, and the whole atmosphere of the book clean and wholesome." — Christian Advocate. Helen Grant's Friends " IJELEN'S father, who is supposed to be dead, proves to have been ■*■ * only buried in study in the far East. Returning to his daughter, and finding her studious, thoughtful and dutiful, he seeks her assistance in some of his researches. She puts aside her ambitions and helps him earnestly until he dies, when she turns again to her plan of preparing for college. A good book for girls." — Universalist Leader, Boston. Helen Grant at Aldred House lt TJELEN returns to Aldred House, where * * she grows from girlhood to womanhood. When she is ready for college she comes to a point where she is compelled to choose between the career she has marked out for herself and the proffered love of several. Girl readers will be more than interested in this story and to find out just what decision Helen arrives at." — Providence News, HELEN GRANT AT ALDRED HOUSE AMANDA M DOUGLAS For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers, LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON The Quinnebasset Series By SOPHIE MAY Cloth Illustrated Price per Volume, $1.25 THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER M "THE Doctor's Daughter is a country story, bright as a sunbeam, natural as 1 life itself, unpretending as real goodness, and sanitary as the personal effect of pure spring water. Marian is a lovable heroine; and her girlhood story abounds in incidents full of fun, rich in tragic scenes, and didactic without a word of preaching. Characters finely touched mingle in the scenes where she. plavs the grand role, producing a book enjoyable to the reader and full of promise for the future success of the writer." — Boston Transcript. OUR HELEN " "THIS is a fresh, rare work, and well repays perusal. The characters are very I striking, and form a circle so pleasantthat the reader is loth to part with them by closing the volume. Our Helen, the heroine, is not made so remarkably perfect that the example of her noble record is lost." — Evening Wisconsin, Milwaukee. THE ASBURY TWINS " THE construction of the story is two sided, first one of the twins having a I chapter, then the other. They are beautiful girls, both, and we confess to having fallen in love with them, and there is likely to be a latent Mormon desire in the mind of a young man reader to marry both, one is so pleasant a complement to the other. For pure loveliness and natural captivation the story is an example not by any means common. All the characters are depicted with an ease and grace which make every chapter a delight." — Boston Traveler. "A ; QUINNEBASSET GIRLS S fresh and wholesome as a bright December morning is Sophie May's l Quinnebasset Girls. It is a real girl's book, good and true and honest, and full withal of such clever hints of New England character as oldsters might condescend to be interested in. Always natural, if imaginative, full of a bright humor, her books will be for long delightful in the anticipation and in the read- ing." — New Tork Tribune. JANET: A POOR HEIRESS " TTHE story itself is one to win upon you at every reading. We found the 1 precious half-hours running away as we began upon it for such knowledge of its character as would fit us to make passing note of its value. It is a domestic story of American life, and its forty chapters are each a feast of good reading. The illustrations are unusually fine and suggestive. The title of the book leads you into its drift, but a column would not suffice to characterize it descriptively." — Bal- timore Courant. IN OLD QUINNEBASSET " *T"0 those who were not satisfied with the results of their own imagination, let 1 us commend Sophie May's story, ' In Old Quinnebasset.' A more graceful and charming tale it would be hard to find. Here is old Quinnebasset with its associations and memories, its old houses and fireplaces, and here are the very people walking its streets, discussing the electoral votes in the same formal English as during Washington's time." — JVew Tork Tribune, For sale by all booksellers or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON THE RANDY BOOKS By AMY BROOKS i2mo Cloth Artistic Cover Design in Gold and Colors Illustrated by the Author Price $1.00 Each The progress of the " Randy Books " has been one continual triumph over the hearts of girls of all ages, for dear little fun-loving sister Prue is almost as much a central figure as Randy, growing to- ward womanhood with each book. The sterling good sense and simple natural- ness of Randy, and the total absence of slang and viciousness, make these books in the highest degree commendable, while abundant life is supplied by the doings of merry friends, and there is rich humor in the droll rural characters. No book is more anxiously awaited or eagerly called for long in advance than a promised new " Randy Book." Randy' s Summer Randy and Prue Randy's Winter Randy's Good Times Randy and Her Friends Randy's Luck •* The Randy Books are among the very choicest books for young people to make a beginning with." — Boston Courier. "The Randy Books of Amy Brooks have had a deserved popularity among young girls. They are wholesome and moral without being goody-goody." — Chicago Post. LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON irsrxci: : '■■^■iiii illlli r