As I stepped without, and closed the door behind me, I was at once startled by the rapid firing of shots from the rear of the house, and the next moment I encountered the young, red-faced officer hurrying along the hallway at the head of a squad of Federal cavalrymen.

Recognizing me in the gloom of the pa.s.sage he paused suddenly.

"I owe you a belated apology, Captain," he exclaimed cordially, "for having mistaken you for one of those miscreants, but really your appearance was not flattering."

"Having viewed myself since within a mirror," I replied, "I am prepared to acknowledge the mistake a most natural one. However, I am grateful to be out of the sc.r.a.pe, and can scarcely find fault with my rescuers.

Five minutes more would have witnessed the end."

"We rode hard," he said, "and were in saddle within fifteen minutes after the arrival of your courier. You evidently made a hard fight of it; the house bears testimony to a terrible struggle. We are rejoicing to learn that Lieutenant Caton was merely stunned; we believed him dead at first, and he is far too fine a fellow to go in that way."

"He is truly living, then?" I exclaimed, greatly relieved. "Miss Minor, to whom he is engaged, is sorrowing over his possible fate in the library yonder. Could not two of your men a.s.sist him to her? She would do more to hasten his recovery than any one."

"Certainly," was the instant response. "Haines, you and McDonald get the officer out of the front room; carry him in there where the ladies are, and then rejoin us."

His face darkened as the men designated departed on their errand.

"I really require all the force I possess," he said doubtfully. "It seems impossible to dislodge those rascals back yonder. What we need is a field howitzer."

"I have been wondering at the firing; pretty lively, isn't it? Have some of those fellows made a stand?"

"Yes; quite a crowd of them have succeeded in barricading themselves in the kitchen, and it is so arranged as to prove an exceedingly awkward place to attack. We have had three men hit already, in spite of every precaution, and I am seeking now to discover some means of forcing their position from the hall. Their leader appears to be a bullet- headed Dutchman about as easy to manage as a mule."

The words aroused me to a possibility.

"A Dutchman, you say? and in the kitchen? Have you had sight of the fellow?"

"Merely a glimpse, and that over a rifle-barrel. He has a round, dull face, with a big flat nose."

"That idiot is my sergeant, Lieutenant, and supposes he is still fighting guerillas."

The Lieutenant looked at me in surprise, then burst into a peal of laughter. "Well, if that is true," he cried, "I most sincerely hope you will call him off before he succeeds in cleaning out our entire troop."

I started down the hallway toward the point of firing. There was a sharp jog in the wall leading to the kitchen door, and as I approached it some soldiers stationed there warned me to be careful.

"They're perfect devils to shoot, sir," said one respectfully, "an' the Dutchman fetches his man every time."

"Oh, it will be all right, boys," I replied confidently. "He'll know me."

Before me as I stepped forth was a double door of oak, the upper half partially open.

"Sergeant," I cried, "come out; the fight is all over."

For answer a bullet whizzed past me, chugging into the wall at my back, and I skipped around the corner with a celerity of movement which caused the fellows watching me to grin with delight.

"Find me a white cloth of some kind," I demanded as soon as I reached cover, and now thoroughly angered. "We shall see if that wooden-headed old fool knows the meaning of a flag of truce."

They succeeded in securing me a torn pillow-slip from somewhere, and sheltering my body as best I might behind the wall angle I waved it violently in full view of the kitchen door. For a few moments it remained apparently unnoted, and then Ebers's round, placid countenance looked suspiciously through the slight aperture.

"Did you give op?" he questioned anxiously.

"Give up nothing," I retorted, my temper thoroughly exhausted. "Come out of that! You are firing on your own friends."

He put his fat fingers to his nose and wiggled them derisively.

"Dot is too thin," he said meaningly. "You d.i.n.k me von ol' fool, but I show you. By Chiminy, I want no friends--you shoot me der ear off, and I fights mit you good and blenty. Der is dings to eat in der bantry, and you be d.a.m.ned."

He drew back, leaving merely the black muzzle of his gun projecting across the top of the lower door.

"Ebers," I called out at the top of my voice, "unless you obey my orders I'LL have you strung up by your own men. Open that door!"

The fat, puzzled face peered once more cautiously over the menacing gun-barrel.

"Is dot you, Captain?"

"Yes, come out; the fight is all over."

"No, vos it?" and he flung open the lower half of the door. "Veil, I vos not sorry. Have ve vipped dem already?"

"Yes, it's all done with. Take your men out of there, and go into camp somewhere in the yard. Seek out our wounded and attend to them as soon as possible. Are your men hungry?"

"Veil, maybe dey vos not quite full, but dere is a ham in der bantry dot vould pe bretty good mit der stomach."

"Take it along with you; only hurry up, and attend at once to what I have told you."

I watched closely until they had all pa.s.sed out, and then turned to the highly amused Federal lieutenant.

"You surely have a character in that fellow," he said good-humoredly, "and I can bear witness he is a fighter when the time comes."

I left them, remembering then my own need. By using the back stairway I avoided unpleasant contact with the traces of conflict yet visible at the front of the house, and finally discovered a bathroom which afforded facilities for cleansing my flesh wounds and making my general appearance more presentable. I found I could do little to improve the condition of my clothing, but after making such changes for the better as were possible, soaking the clotted blood from out my hair, and washing the powder stains from my face, I felt I should no longer prove an object of aversion even to the critical eyes of the women, who would fully realize the cause for my torn and begrimed uniform.

A glance from the window told me the Federal cavalrymen were bearing out the dead and depositing them beyond view of the house in the deserted negro cabins. Ebers and one or two of my own men were standing near, carefully scanning the uncovered faces as they were borne past, while sc.r.a.ps of conversation overheard brought the information that the long dining-room where I had pa.s.sed the night on guard had been converted into a temporary hospital.

Irresolute as to my next action, I pa.s.sed out into the upper hall. It was deserted and strangely silent, seemingly far removed from all those terrible scenes so lately enacted in the rooms beneath. My head by this time throbbed with pain; I desired to be alone, to think, to map out my future course before proceeding down the stairs to meet the others.

With this in view I sank down in complete weariness upon a convenient settee. I could hear the sound of m.u.f.fled voices below, while an occasional order was spoken loud enough to reach me; but I was utterly alone, and my thoughts wandered, as though the strain of the past few hours had completely wrecked all my mental faculties. It was Edith Brennan--Edith Brennan--who remained constantly before me, and wherever my eyes wandered they beheld the same fail-face, which tantalized me by its presence and mocked me in every resolve I sought to form. There was no safety for me--and none for her, as I now verily believed--save in my immediate departure. We could be together no longer without my unlocking sealed lips and giving utterance to words she could not listen to, words she must never hear. I was yet struggling to force this decision into action when complete fatigue overcame me. My heavy head sank back upon the arm of the settee, and deep sleep closed my eyes.

CHAPTER x.x.xIV

THE WORDS OF LOVE

It was in my dreams I felt it first,--a light, moist touch upon my burning forehead,--and I imagined I was a child once more, back at the old home, caressed by the soft hand of my mother. But as consciousness slowly returned I began to realize dimly where I was, and that I was no longer alone. A gentle hand was stroking back the hair from off my temples, while the barest uplift of my eyelids revealed the folds of a dark blue skirt pressed close to my side. Instantly I realized who must be the wearer, and remained motionless until I could better control my first unwise impulse.

She spoke no word, and I cautiously opened my eyes and glanced up into her face. For a time she remained unaware of my awakening, and sat there silently stroking my forehead, her gaze fixed musingly upon the window at the farther end of the hall. Doubtless she had been sitting thus for some time, and had become absorbed in her own reflections, for I lay there drinking in her beauty for several moments before she chanced to glance downward and observe that I was awake. The evidences of past exposure and strain were not absent from her features, yet had not robbed her of that delicate charm which to my mind separated her so widely from all others,--her rounded cheek yet retained the fresh hue of perfect health, her clear, thoughtful eyes were soft and earnest, while the luxuriant hair, swept back from off the broad, low forehead, had been tastefully arranged and exhibited no signs of neglect. It was not a perfect face, for there was unmistakable pride in it, nor would I venture to term it faultless in contour or regularity of outline, but it was distinctly lovable, and the dearest face for ever in all this world to me. How regally was the proud head poised upon the round, swelling throat, and with what regularity her bosom rose and fell to her soft breathing. I think the very intensity of my gaze awakened her from reverie, for she turned almost with a start and looked down upon me. As our eyes met, a warm wave of color dyed her throat and cheeks crimson.

"Why," she exclaimed in momentary confusion, "I supposed I should know before you awoke, and have ample time to escape un.o.bserved."

"Possibly if you had been noting the symptoms of your patient with greater care, you would."