So it was arranged that the Captain should remain to dinner, and it may be said that he spent a very pleasant time, after his long period of social isolation. "I shall call you Garnett, to begin with," said Sarah Clopton, as she shook his hand, "but you must not expect me to be very cordial to-day. It was only last night, you must remember, that some of the people you a.s.sociate with arrested and carried off a young man who is very dear to me."

"You may be very sure, Miss Clopton, that the officer who did that piece of work had no relish for it. He simply obeyed orders. He had no discretion in the matter whatever."

"Well, I shall be very glad to think that, Garnett, for your sake. But that fact doesn't restore our young men," she said with a sigh. "Oh, I wonder when we'll all be at peace and happy again?"

"In G.o.d's own time, and not before," declared Meriwether Clopton solemnly.

"Well, we'll try an' help that time to come," said Mr. Sanders, entering the room at that moment. He was followed by Cephas, who was one of Gabriel's favourites among the small boys. Cephas was bashful enough, but he always felt at ease at the Clopton Place, where everything moved along the lines of simplicity and perfect openness. The small boy had a sort of chilly feeling when he saw the officer, but he soon got over that.

"I went an' got my hoss," said Mr. Sanders, "an' he paid me back for my forgitfulness by purty nigh bitin' a piece out'n my arm; an' whilst I was a-rubbin' the place, up comes Cephas for to find out somethin' about the boys. When I got through makin' a few remarks sech as you don't hear at church, a kinder blind idee popped in my head, an' so I tuck Cephas up behind me, an' fetched him here."

"Sit on the sofa, Cephas. Have a chair, William, and tell us about your blind idea."

"Ef you'll promise not to laugh," Mr. Sanders stipulated. "You know Mrs.

Ab's sayin' that ef the old sow knowed she was swallerin' a tree ev'ry time she crunched an acorn, she'd grunt a heap louder'n she does: well, I know what I'm fixin' for to swaller, and you won't hear much loud gruntin' from me."

"Well, we are ready to hear from you," said Meriwether Clopton.

Whereupon, Mr. Sanders threw his head back and laughed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

_Mr. Sanders's Riddle_

"I tell you how it is," said Mr. Sanders: "The riddle is how to git a message to Gabriel; I could git the Captain thar to take it, but the Captain will have as much as he can attend to, an' for that matter, so have I. Wi' this riddle I'm overc.r.a.pped. Sence I left here, I've gone over the whole matter in my mind, ef you can call it a mind. I could go down thar myself, an' I'd be glad to, but could I git to have a private talk wi' Gabriel? I reckon not."

The remark was really interrogative, and was addressed to Captain Falconer, who made a prompt reply--"I hardly think the scheme would work. My impression is that orders have been issued from Atlanta for these young men to be isolated. If that is so they can hold communication with no one but the sentinel on duty, or the officer who has charge of them. They are to be treated as felons, though nothing has been proved against them. I am not sure, but I think that is the programme."

"That is about what I thought," said Mr. Sanders, "an' that's what I told Cephas here. When I was fetchin' my horse, Cephas, he comes up, an'

he says, 'Mr. Sanders, have you heard from Gabriel?' an' I says, 'No, Cephas, we ain't had time for to git a word from 'em.' An' then he went on to say, Cephas did, that he'd like mighty well to see Gabriel. I told him that maybe we could fix it up so as he could see Gabriel. You can't imagine how holp up the little chap was. To see him then, an' see him now, you'd think it was another boy."

Captain Falconer looked at Cephas, and could see no guile. On the contrary, he saw a freckled lad who appeared to be about ten years old; he was really nearly fourteen. Cephas was so ugly that he was ugly when he laughed, as he was doing now; but there was something about him that attracted the attention of those who were older. It was a fact much talked about that this freckled little boy never went with children of his own age, but was always to be found with those much older. He was Gabriel's chum when Gabriel wanted a chum; he went hunting with Francis Bethune; and he could often be found at the store in which Paul Tomlin was the chief clerk. He knew all the secrets of these young men, and kept them, and they frequently advised with him about the young ladies.

But he was fonder of Gabriel than of all the rest, and he was also fond of Nan, who had been kind to him in many ways. Cephas was one of those ill-favoured little creatures, who astonish everybody by never forgetting a favour. Grat.i.tude ran riot in his small bosom, and he was ever ready to sacrifice himself for his friends.

Seeing that Captain Falconer continued to look at him, Cephas hung his head. He was only too conscious of his ugliness, and was very sensitive about it. He wanted to be large and strong and handsome like Gabriel, or dark and romantic-looking like Francis Bethune; and sometimes he was very miserable because of the unkindness of fate or Providence in this matter.

"And so you want to see your friends," said the Captain, very kindly.

Every feature of his face showed that his sympathies were keen. "They are very far away, or will be when they get to their journey's end--too far, I should think, for a little boy to travel."

"Maybe so," said Cephas, "but Gabriel had to go."

"I see," said the Captain; "wherever Gabriel goes, you are willing to go?"

"Yes, sir," replied Cephas very simply.

"I hope Gabriel appreciates it," remarked Sarah Clopton.

"Oh, he does!" exclaimed Cephas. "Gabriel knows. Why, one day----" Then, remembering the company he was in, he blushed, and refused to go on with what he intended to say.

Seeing his embarra.s.sment, Mr. Sanders came to his rescue. "What I want to know, Captain, is this: if that little chap comes down to Savannah, will you allow him to see Gabriel and talk to him?"

Again the Captain looked at the boy, and Cephas, catching a certain humourous gleam in the gentleman's eye, began to smile. "Now, then,"

said Captain Falconer, with an answering smile, "how would you like to go with me?"

"I think I would like it," replied Cephas, with a broad grin; "I think that would be fine."

"And what does Mr. Sanders think of it?" the Captain asked.

"Well, I hadn't looked at it from that p'int of view," said Mr. Sanders.

"I 'lowed maybe that the best an' cheapest plan would be for me to take the little chap down an' fetch him back."

"My opinion may not be worth much, Mr. Sanders," said Sarah Clopton, "but I think it would be a shame to take that child so far away from home. I don't believe his mother will allow him to go."

"That is a matter that was jest fixin' for to worry me," remarked Mr.

Sanders. "I could feel it kinder fermentin' in my mind, like mola.s.ses turnin' to vinegar, an' now that you've fetched it to the top, Sarah, we'll settle it before we go any furder. Come, Cephas; we'll go an' see your mammy, an' see ef we can't coax her into lettin' you go. You'll have to do your best, my son; I'll coax, an' you must wheedle."

As they went out, Cephas was laughing at Mr. Sanders's remark about wheedling. The youngster was an expert in that business. He was his mother's only child, and he had learned at a very early age just how to manage her.

"What troubles me, Cephas," said Mr. Sanders, "is how you can git a message to Gabriel wi'out lettin' the cat out'n the bag. He'll be surrounder'd in sech a way that you can't git a word wi' 'im wi'out tellin' the whole caboodle."

At that moment, Mr. Sanders heard a small voice cry out something like this: "Phazasee! Phazasee! arawa ooya ingagog?"

To which jabbering Cephas made prompt reply: "Iya ingagog ota annysavvy ota eesa gibbleable!"

"Ooya ibfa! Ooya ibfa!" jeered the small voice.

Mr. Sanders looked at Cephas in astonishment. "What kinder lingo is that?" he asked.

"It's the way we school-children talk when we don't want anybody to know what we are saying. Johnny asked me where I was going, and I told him I was going to Savannah to see Gabriel."

"Did he know what you said?"

"Why, he couldn't help but know, but he didn't believe it; he said it was a fib."

"Well, I'll be jigged!" exclaimed Mr. Sanders. "Call that boy over here."

Cephas turned around--they had pa.s.sed the house where the little boy lived--and called out: "Onnaja! Onnaja! Stermera Andersa antwasa ota eesa ooya."

The small boy came running, though there was a doubtful look on his face. He had frequently been the victim of Cephas's practical jokes.

Mr. Sanders questioned him closely, and he confirmed the interpretation of the lingo which Cephas had given to Mr. Sanders.

"Do you mean to tell me," said Mr. Sanders to Cephas when they had dismissed the small boy, "that this kinder thing has been goin' on right under my nose, an' I not knowin' a word about it? How'd you pick up the lingo?"