Books: My Lady of the North
R >>
Randall Parrish >> My Lady of the North
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22
"Colonel Curran, of Major-General Halleck's staff."
"The hell you are! Curran had a full gray beard a month ago."
He took a step forward, and before I could recover from the first
numbing shock of surprise was peering intently into my face.
"Damn it!" he cried, tugging viciously at a revolver in his belt, "I
know that face! You are the measly Johnny Reb I brought in day before
yesterday."
I could mark the flash of the stars on the blue steel of his pistol
barrel, and knew from the eager ring of his voice he exulted in the
hope that I would give him excuse to fire. Yet I thought in that moment
of but one thing--the woman who had compromised her name to help me to
attain freedom. I would have died a thousand deaths if it might only be
with my hands at his throat, her story unknown. Yet even as I braced my
body for the leap, gazing straight into that deadly barrel, there came
a quick flutter of drapery at my side, and she, pressing me firmly
backward, faced him without a word.
The man's extended arm dropped to his side as though pierced by a
bullet, and he took one step backward, shrinking as if his startled
eyes beheld a ghost.
"Edith?" he cried, as though doubting his own vision, and the ring of
agony in his voice was almost piteous. "Edith! My God! You here, at
midnight, alone with this man?"
However the words, the tone, the gesture may have stung her, her face
remained proudly calm, her voice cold and clear.
"I certainly am, Major Brennan," she answered, her eyes never once
leaving his face. "And may I ask what reason you can have to object?"
"Reason?" His voice had grown hoarse with passion and surprise. "My
God, how can you ask? How can you even face me? Why do you not sink
down in shame? Alone here,"--he looked about him into the darkness,--
"at such an hour, in company with a Rebel, a sneaking, cowardly spy,
already condemned to be shot. By Heaven! he shall never live to boast
of it!"
He flung up his revolver barrel to prove the truth of his threat, but
she stepped directly between us, and shielded me with her form.
"Put down your pistol," she ordered coldly. "I assure you my reputation
is in no immediate danger unless you shoot me, and your bullet shall
certainly find my heart before it ever reaches Captain Wayne."
"Truly, you must indeed love him," he sneered.
So close to me was she standing that I could feel her form tremble at
this insult, yet her voice remained emotionless.
"Your uncalled-for words shame me, not my actions. In being here with
Captain Wayne to-night I am merely paying a simple debt of honor--a
double debt, indeed, considering that he was condemned to death by your
lie, while you deceived me by another."
"Did he tell you that?"
"He did not. Like the true gentleman he has ever shown himself to be,
he endeavored to disguise the facts, to withhold from me all knowledge
of your dastardly action. I know it by the infamous sentence pronounced
against him and by your falsehood to me."
"Edith, you mistake," he urged anxiously. "I--I was told that he had
been sent North."
She drew a deep breath, as though she could scarcely grasp the full
audacity of his pretence to ignorance.
"You appeared to be fully informed but now as to his death sentence."
"Yes, I heard of it while away, and intended telling you as soon as I
reached our quarters."
I could feel the scorn of his miserable deception as it curled her lip,
and her figure seemed to straighten between us.
"Then," she said slowly, "you will doubtless agree that I have done no
more than was right, and will therefore permit him this chance of
escape from so unmerited a fate; for you know as well as I do that he
has been wrongly condemned."
He stepped forward with a half-smothered oath, and rested one hand
heavily upon her shoulder.
"An exceedingly neat trap," he said, with a grim laugh, "a most
ingenious snare; yet hardly one I am likely to be caught in. I am not
quite so green, my lady. What! let that fellow go? become the laughing
stock of you and your Johnny Reb lover? I rather guess not, madam. Damn
him! I will hang him now higher than Haman, just to show Queen Esther
that it can be done. Out of the way, madam!"
Rendered desperate by her slight resistance and his own jealous hatred,
he thrust the woman aside so rudely that she fell forward upon one
knee. His revolver was yet in his right hand, gleaming in the
starlight, but before he could raise or fire it I had grasped the steel
barrel firmly, and the hammer came down noiselessly upon the flesh of
my thumb. The next instant we were locked close together in fierce
struggle for the mastery. He was the heavier, stronger man; I the
younger and quicker. From the first every effort on both sides was put
forth solely to gain command of the weapon,--his to fire, mine to
prevent, for I knew well at the sound of the discharge there would come
a rush of blue-coats to his rescue. My first fierce onset had put him
on the defensive, but as we tugged and strained his superiority in
weight began to tell, and slowly he bore me backward, desperately
contesting every inch I was thus compelled to yield.
We struggled voiceless, neither having breath for useless speech, and
each realizing that the end would probably mean death either to the one
or the other. Only our heavy breathing, the quick shuffling of feet on
the stony road, and an occasional rending of cloth, evinced the
desperation in which we strove. Once, as we turned partially in the
struggle, I caught a passing glimpse of the woman standing helpless,
her face buried in her hands, and the sight yielded me new strength and
determination. For her sake I must win! Even as this thought came, my
burly antagonist pressed me backward until all the weight of my body
rested upon my right leg. Then there occurred to me like a flash a
wrestler's trick taught me years before by an old negro on my father's
plantation. Instantly I appeared to yield to the force against which I
contended with simulated weakness, sinking lower and lower, until, I
doubt not, Brennan felt convinced I must go over backward. But as I
thus sank, my left foot found steady support farther back, while my
free hand sank slowly down his straining body until my groping fingers
grasped firmly the broad belt about his waist. I yielded yet another
inch, until he leaned so far over me as to be out of all balance, and
then, with sudden straightening of my left leg, at the same time
forcing my head beneath his chest in leverage, with one tremendous
effort I flung him, head under, crashing down upon the hard road.
Trembling like a reed from the exertion, I stood there looking down
upon the dark form lying huddled at my feet. He rested motionless, and
I bent over, placing my hand upon his heart, horrified at the mere
thought that he might be dead. But the heart beat, and with a prayer of
thankfulness I looked up. She stood beside me.
"Tell me, Captain Wayne," she exclaimed anxiously, "he is not--not
seriously hurt?"
The words thoroughly aroused me, and I recalled instantly her probable
relationship to this man, her delicate position now.
"I believe not," I answered soberly. "He is a heavy man, and fell hard,
yet his heart beats strong. He must have cut his head upon a stone,
however, for he is bleeding."
She knelt beside him, and I caught the whiteness of a handkerchief
within her hand.
"Believe me, Mrs. Brennan," I faltered lamely, "I regret this far more
than I can tell. Nothing has ever occurred to me to give greater pain
than the thought that I have brought you so much of sorrow and
trouble."
She held up her hand to me, and I took it humbly.
"It was in no way your fault; pray do not consider that I can ever
blame you for the outcome."
Her eyes were upon me; I could view her face in the starlight, and for
the moment I utterly forgot the man who rested there between us.
"If you could only know," I exclaimed eagerly, "how sincerely I long to
serve you,--to atone in some small way for all the difficulty I have
brought into your life; how my heart throbs to your presence as to that
of no other living woman--"
She hushed my impetuous words with the gesture of a queen, and rose to
her feet facing me. Under the stars our eyes looked into each other,
and her face was very white.
"You must not," she said firmly, and I thought she glanced down upon
the motionless figure at her feet. "I have trusted you; do not cause me
to regret it now."
I bowed, humiliated to the very depths of my soul.
"Your rebuke is perfectly just," I answered slowly. "God knows I shall
never be guilty again. You will have faith in me?"
"Always, everywhere--whether it ever be our fate to meet again or not.
But now you must go."
"Go? And leave you here alone? Are you not afraid?"
"Afraid?" she looked about her into the darkness. "Of what? Surely you
do not mean of Frank--of Major Brennan? And as to my being alone, our
quarters are within a scant hundred yards from here, and a single cry
will bring me aid in plenty. Hush! what was that?"
It was the shuffling tread of many feet, the sturdy tramp of a body of
infantry on the march.
"Go!" she cried hurriedly. "If you would truly serve me, if you care at
all for me, do not longer delay and be discovered here. It is the grand
rounds. I beg of you, go!"
I grasped her outstretched hand, pressed my lips hotly upon it, and
sped with noiseless footsteps down the black, deserted road.
CHAPTER XIX
THE CAVALRY OUTPOST
I LINGERED merely long enough to feel assured as to her safety,
creeping closer until I heard her simple story of the Major's fall from
his horse, and then watched through the night shadows while the little
squad bore his unconscious form over the crest of the low hill toward
their quarters. Then I turned my face eastward and tramped resolutely
on.
The excitement of the night, and especially the sharp, fierce struggle
with Brennan, had reawakened all my old military enthusiasm, and I felt
every nerve tingling anew as I breasted the long slope before me. Even
the depression naturally resulting from my unhappy parting with Edith
Brennan gave way for the time being to this sense of surrounding
danger, while the ardor of youth responded joyfully to the spirit of
adventure. I simply would not think of what I had lost; certainly would
not permit its memory to depress me. I was, first of all, a soldier,
and nothing short of death or capture should prevent me reaching Lee
with my message. Let what would happen, all else could wait!
The gleam of the stars fell upon the double row of buttons down the
breast of the coat I wore, and I stopped suddenly with an exclamation
of disgust. Nothing could be gained by longer masquerade, and I felt
inexpressible shame at being thus attired. Neither pass nor uniform
would suffice to get me safe through those outer picket lines, and if I
should fall in the attempt, or be again made prisoner, I vastly
preferred meeting my fate clad in the faded gray of my own regiment.
With odd sense of relief I hastily stripped off the gorgeous trappings,
flung them in the ditch beside the road, and pressed on, feeling like a
new man.
There was small need for caution here, and for more than an hour I
tramped steadily along, never meeting a person or being startled by a
suspicious sound. Then, as I rounded a low eminence I perceived before
me the dark outline of trees which marked the course of the White
Briar, while directly in my front, and half obscured by thick leaves of
the underbrush, blazed the red glare of a fire. I knew the stream well,
its steep banks of precipitate rock, its rapid, swirling current which,
I was well aware, I was not a sufficiently expert swimmer to cross.
Once upon the other bank I should be comparatively safe, but to pass
that picket post and attain the ford was certain to require all the
good fortune I could ever hope for.
But despair was never for long my comrade, and I had learned how
determination opens doors to the courageous--it is ever he who tries
that enters in. It took me ten minutes, possibly, creeping much of the
way like a wild animal over the rocks, but at the end of that time I
had attained a position well within the dense thicket, and could
observe clearly the ground before me and some of the obstacles to be
overcome.
As I supposed, it was a cavalry outpost; I could distinguish the
crossed sabres on the caps of the men, although it was some time before
I was able to determine positively where their horses were picketed.
There must have been all of twenty in the party, and I could
distinguish the lieutenant in command, a middle-aged man with light-
colored chin beard, seated by himself against the wall of a small
shanty of logs, a pipe in his mouth and an open book upon his knee. His
men were gathered close about the blazing fire, for the night air was
decidedly chill as it swept down the valley; a number were sleeping, a
few at cards, while a little group, sitting with their backs toward me.
yet almost within reach of my hand, were idly smoking and discussing
the floating rumors of the camp. I managed to make out dimly the figure
of a man on horseback beyond the range of flame, and apparently upon
the very bank of the stream, when some words spoken by an old gray-
bearded sergeant interested me.
"Bob," he said to the soldier lounging next him, "whut wus it thet
staff officer sed ter ther leftenant? I didn't just git ther straight
of it."
The man, a debonair young fellow, stroked his little black moustache
reflectively.
"Ther cove sed as how Cole's division wud be along here afore daylight,
an' thet our fellers wud likely be sent out ahead of 'em."
"Whar be they agoin'?"
"The leftenant asked him, an' the cove sed as it wus a gineral advance
to meet ol' Hancock at Minersville."
"Thet's good 'nough, lads," chimed in the sergeant, slapping his knee.
"It means a dance down the valley after Early. I'm a guessin' we'll
have a bang-up ol' fight 'fore three days more."
"Pervidin' allers thet ther Johnnies don't skedaddle fust," commented
another, tartly. "Whut in thunder is ther matter with them hosses?" he
asked suddenly, rising and peering over into the bushes beyond the hut,
where a noise of squealing and kicking had arisen.
"Oh, the bay filly is probably over the rope agin," returned the
sergeant, lazily. "Sit down, Sims, an' be easy; you're not on hoss
guard ternight."
"I know thet," growled the soldier, doubtfully, "but thet thar kid is
no good, an' I don't want my hoss all banged up jist as we 're goin' on
campaign 'tain't no sorter way ter hitch 'em anyhow, to a picket rope;
ruins more hosses than ther Rebs dew."
This gave me inspiration, and before the speaker's sullen growl had
wholly ceased I was again upon hands and knees, silently groping my way
along the bank toward the rear of the hut. It proved to be a tiny
structure, containing but a single room--probably a mere fisherman's
shack, without windows, but possessing a door at either end. Meeting no
opposition I crept within, where I felt somewhat safer from
observation, and then peered warily forth into the darkness extending
between it and the river. The picket-rope stretched from one corner of
the hut, where it seemed to be secured around the end of a projecting
log, out into the night, evidently finding its other terminus at a big
tree whose spreading top I could dimly perceive shadowed against the
sky. Along it were tethered the horses, a few impatiently champing
their bits and pounding with their hoofs on the trampled ground, but
the majority resting quietly, their heads hanging sleepily down. The
one nearest me appeared a finely proportioned animal of a dark color,
and was equipped with both saddle and bridle. Of the soldier in charge
I could distinguish nothing--doubtless he was lounging on his back,
half asleep upon some soft patch of grass.
My plan was conceived instantly. It was a desperate one, yet it alone
seemed in the least feasible. If by chance it succeeded it would place
me in saddle once more, and to a cavalryman that means everything;
while if it failed--ah, well, it was merely a toss-up of the coin. I
turned, impatient for the trial, when it suddenly occurred to me that
the deserted hut might contain something I could use to advantage,--a
firearm, perhaps, or even a stray box of matches. I felt about me
cautiously, creeping along the hard earthen floor until I had nearly
reached the opposite entrance. The light from the fire without leaped
up, and its glow revealed a saddle, with leather holster attached,
hanging to a nail just within the doorway. Moving noiselessly I managed
to extract a revolver, but could discover no cartridges.
I was yet fumbling in the holster pocket when the lieutenant rose from
his seat without, knocked the ashes from his pipe, yawned sleepily,
standing directly between me and the fire, and then, turning sharply,
walked slowly into the open door of the hut. I sprang to my feet, or he
would certainly have stepped upon me, and before he could realize the
situation I had him by the collar, with the cold muzzle of my stolen
revolver pressed hard against his cheek.
"A single word or sound, and I fire!" I said sternly.
I have no recollection of ever seeing any man more completely
astounded. He gasped like a fish newly landed, and I doubt if he could
have made utterance even had he dared.
"Come in a little farther," I commanded. "Now look here, Lieutenant,
you do exactly as I tell you and you will get out of this affair with a
whole skin; otherwise--well, I'm playing this game to the limit."
"Who in hell are you?" he gasped finally, recovering some slight power
of expression.
"Never mind, friend. I am simply a man with a gun at your head, and
sufficiently desperate to use it if necessary; that's enough for you to
know and reflect over. Now answer me: How many men have you mounted
this side the ford?"
He glared at me sullenly, and I drew back the hammer with an ominous
click, eying him fiercely.
"Well," I said shortly, "do you choose to answer, or die?"
"Two."
"On the other bank?"
"None."
Standing thus, covering him with the gun, and marking his slightest
movement, I thought quickly. Years of danger teach concentrated
thought, prompt decision, and I soon chose my course. To kill in battle
is soldierly, but, if possible to avoid it, there should be no killing
here.
"Lieutenant," I said, speaking low, but in a tone which left no doubt
as to my exact meaning, "I am an escaped prisoner, and shall not
hesitate to kill rather than be recaptured. It is your life or mine to-
night, and I naturally prefer my own; but I'll give you one chance, and
only one--obey my orders and I will leave you here unhurt: disobey, and
your life is not worth the snap of a finger. Move back now until you
face the door, and don't forget my pistol is within an inch of your
ear, and this is a hair trigger. What is your sergeant's name?"
"Handley."
"Order him to take ten men on foot one hundred yards west on the pike,
and wait further orders."
The lieutenant twisted his head about and looked at me, his eyes
stubborn with anger.
"If you have a wife up North, and care anything about seeing her
again," I said coolly, "you will do exactly as I say."
"Handley," he called out, his voice so choked with rage as to make me
fearful it might arouse suspicion, "take ten men on foot to the cross-
roads, and wait there until you hear from me."
I could plainly note the dark shadows of the fellows as they filed out
past the fire, but I never ventured to take eye or gun off the man I
watched.
"How many remain there now?"
"Seven."
"Any non-com, among them?"
"A corporal."
"Have him take them all south on the cross-roads."
The man squirmed like an eel, and I was soldier enough to sympathize
with him; yet every time he turned his head he looked death squarely in
the face, and I doubt not thought of some one he loved in that distant
North. I clicked the hammer suggestively.
"Come, friend," I said meaningly, "time flies."
"Jones," he called out huskily.
"Yes, sir?"
"Take what men you have left a hundred yards south on the cross-road."
We could hear them crunching their way through the bushes, until the
sound finally died out in the distance.
"Now, Lieutenant, you come with me--softly, and keep your distance."
We moved back slowly, step by step, until we came to the rear door of
the shed. I reached out into the darkness, but without turning my face
away from him, and silently severed the picket-rope, retaining the
loosened end in my grasp. It was so intensely dark where we stood that
I slipped the pistol unobserved into my belt.
"Face to the rear," I said sternly.
As he turned to obey this order, with quick movement I tripped him,
sprang backward, and shut the door.
In a single bound I was upon the back of the black, and had flung the
severed rope's end at the flank of the next horse in line. There was a
rush of feet, a sharp snapping of cords, a wild scurrying through the
bushes, as twenty frightened horses stampeded up the bank, and then,
lying face down over the saddle pommel, I sent the startled black
crashing down into the shallows of the ford. The fellow on guard tried
his best to stop us, but we were past him like the wind. He did not
fire, and doubtless in the darkness saw merely a stray horse broken
from the picket-rope. The other fellow took one swift shot, but it went
wild, and I heard the voice of the enraged lieutenant damning in the
distance. Then with a rush we went up the steep bank on the eastern
shore, and I sat upright in the saddle and gave the black his rein.
CHAPTER XX
A DEMON ON HORSEBACK
I felt positively happy then. The thrill of successful achievement was
mine, and with the exultation of a soldier in having surmounted
obstacles and peril, I nearly forgot for the moment the heart tragedy
left behind. The swift impetus of the ride, the keen night air sweeping
past me, the fresh sense of freedom and power engendered by that
reckless dash through the darkness, all conspired to render me
neglectful of everything save the joy of present victory. The spirit of
wild adventure was in my blood.
A dozen spits of fire cleaved the intense blackness behind, and I knew
the widely scattered patrol were sending chance shots across the
stream. A clang of hoofs rang out upon the rocks, but I could
distinguish nothing indicating a large pursuing party--probably the two
who were mounted at the ford, with possibly others following when they
caught their strayed horses. I had little to fear from such half-
hearted pursuit as this was sure to be. The swift, powerful stride of
the animal I rode assured me that I was not ill mounted, and there was
small chance of contact with Federal outriders before I should reach
the protecting picket lines of our own army. I laughed grimly as I
leaned slightly back in saddle and listened; it was like a play, so
swift and exciting had been the passing events, so unexpected their
ending. I wondered what plausible story the discomfited lieutenant
would concoct to account for his predicament, and whether the others
had yet missed me back at the Mansion House.
The stars appeared to be paling somewhat down in the east, for the
coming day-dawn was already whitening the horizon. I glanced at my
watch, venturing to strike a match for the purpose, and found the hour
after three o'clock. Early, I knew, was at Sowder Church, and his
advance cavalry pickets ought to be as far west as the Warrentown road.
The distance between, by hard riding, might be covered in three hours.
My horse seemed fresh, his breath came naturally and without effort,
and I pressed him along rapidly, for my whole ambition now centred upon
bringing the information I possessed within our own lines. Bungay,
beyond doubt, had been recaptured long since, for my own experience
told me how extremely vigilant were the Federal guards. To one
unacquainted as he was with military customs it would prove impossible
to penetrate their lines; hence, everything must depend upon my getting
through in safety.
Then my thoughts drifted to the one I had left in such serious
predicament. If I had loved her before, I loved her doubly now, for she
had proven herself a woman among women in time of danger and trial. How
clearly her face, with those dark sweet eyes and the wealth of crowning
hair, rose before me, while word by word I reviewed all that had passed
between us, dwelling upon each look or accent that could evince her
possible interest in me. Then reason returned to my aid, and
resolutely, determinedly, inspired by every instinct of soldierly
honor, I resolved that I would put her from my thoughts for ever. She
was not mine either to love or possess, unless the uncertain fate of
war should chance to set her free. Even to dream of her, to cherish her
in memory while she remained the wife of another, was but an affront to
her purity and womanhood. I would prove myself a man entitled to her
respect, a soldier worthy my service and corps; if ever again my name
chanced to find mention in her presence it should be spoken with honor.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22