Books: My Lady of the North
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Randall Parrish >> My Lady of the North
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"They seem to be peckin' away pretty lively out in front," said the
corporal, interrupting my reverie.
"Yes," I admitted. "In my judgment that will prove the main point of
attack. How many men did the Major have there before we came?"
"Same as here, sir."
"And four of mine; that makes seven altogether, counting himself, and
two of these ought to be posted in the upper story. He's bound to need
more; that firing is very steady."
"He's got the women loadin' for him, and that helps some."
"The women?" I asked, staring at him in amazement, "Do you mean to say
Mrs. Brennan and Celia Minor are there in that front room?"
"Don't know who they are, sir--two mighty fine lookin' young ladies, an
old lady with white hair, an' a big, rough-lookin' female, sir. The
last one wus handlin' a gun to beat the band just afore you came."
"And he keeps them there, exposed to all this heavy fire? What can the
man mean? Why, Corporal, that constant shooting must have completely
shattered the windows. There could be no safety for any one except
lying flat upon the floor."
"Well, 't aint quite so bad as that, sir," he protested, seemingly
anxious to shield his officer from adverse criticism. "You see it's a
double parlor, with a wall an' foldin' doors atween, an' the women are
all in the rear room. Of course, it's almighty dark back there, an'
they has to lie pretty close, but blamed if I know of any better place
for them. This house hain't got no cellar."
It certainly was not my place to interfere. Her husband was the one who
should be most solicitous as to her safety, yet it worried me greatly
to think of Edith Brennan lying helpless in the dark, exposed to
constant danger, with the deadly rifles crackling all about her. Surely
somewhere in this great house there would be an interior apartment
where greater protection could be assured. Doubtless Brennan was
unwilling to have them away from him; possibly he even continued to
hold them where they were to prevent all possibility of their meeting
with me. It was this last thought, improbable as it surely was, which
put me on my mettle. If that was has little scheme, and to my suspicion
it looked like it, I was not unwilling to play a hand in the game. I
might not hold trumps, yet I could bluff as well as any one.
I had barely arrived at this point in my musing when opportunity for
action came. A man groped his way in from the lighted hall, but halted
close beside the door, unable to perceive us in the darkness.
"Is Captain Wayne here?" he asked.
"Yes; what is it?"
"Major Brennan has had two of his men hit, sir, and wishes you to spare
him three of yours, unless you are hotly pressed."
"All right; there 's nothing doing here," I answered, instantly
determining upon my course. "Corporal, I shall leave you in command of
this side for a few minutes. I believe I can be of more immediate value
elsewhere, Bungay, you and Elliott come with me."
The lower hall, having no windows in it, was the only safe place in the
building, and here a light had been kept burning. The door which, as I
judged, must lead into the back parlor, was closed, and fastened upon
the inside. At least it refused to yield to my hand when tried. Another
in front stood very slightly ajar.
"Report to Brennan," I whispered into Jed's ear, "and forget to mention
I am with you. I desire to investigate matters for myself a few
moments."
He nodded to intimate that he understood, and then we crept, one at a
time, into the front apartment, hugging the floor closely to keep
beneath the range of the bullets which swept every now and then through
the broken windows, and chugged into the wall behind us. I was the last
to wriggle in through the narrow opening, and rolling instantly out of
the tiny bar of light, I lay silent for a moment, endeavoring to get my
bearings. I was determined upon just one thing--to obtain speech with
the women, learn, if possible, their exact situation, and, if I found
it necessary, insist upon their better protection. An insane jealousy
of me should not continue to expose them to unnecessary peril.
Brennan was directly across the room from where I lay. I could hear his
voice issuing low, stern orders.
"If you'll only keep down you're safe enough," he said gruffly. "There
hasn't a shot come within a foot of the sill. The ground slopes out
yonder, and those fellows can't fire low. Put the new men at the
central window, and let them shoot at every flash they see. Bradley
will pass back their empty guns."
I wondered how long our supply of ammunition would hold out with such a
fusillade kept up, but ventured upon no protest, for I was already
groping my way through the darkness along the inner wall. Furniture lay
overturned in every direction, and I experienced considerable
difficulty in making progress through the debris without attracting
attention. A great square piano stood directly across the entrance to
the back parlor, left by the drawing nearly together of the sliding
doors. I waited until Bradley had crawled through with an armful of
loaded guns, and then entered also, creeping silently between the piano
legs. As I did so a bullet struck the case above me, and the whole
instrument trembled to the impact, giving forth a strange moan, as if
in pain.
Some one was groaning in the corner at my left, and supposing the
wounded to be lying there, I turned more toward the right, keeping as
close as possible to the wall, hopeful I might come in contact with one
of the women. I do not honestly know why I did this--really I had no
excuse, except my natural distrust of Brennan, coupled with an eager
desire to be of service to the woman of my heart. There was little to
guide me in the search, as the flame of the discharging rifles did not
penetrate here. Once I heard the rustle of a skirt, while a faint sound
of whispering reached me from the rear of the room. Then my hand,
groping blindly along the wall, touched the lower fold of a dress. It
felt like coarse calico to my fingers.
"Mrs. Bungay," I whispered cautiously, "is this you?"
The woman started at sound of my voice, but replied in the same low
tone: "Thet's my name; who mought ye be?"
"A friend of yours, and of your husband," I answered, for I doubted if
she would recall my name. "Did you know Jed was here?"
"My man? Hiven be praised! But I'll knock ther head off ther little
divil if ever I git my hand on him, I will thet. Whar's ther little imp
bin all ther time?"
"Hunting for you, and crying his eyes out," I answered, smiling to
myself in the darkness. "Where is Mrs. Brennan?"
"Jist beyond me, thar in ther corner."
As she spoke a bullet whizzed past us, having missed the obstruction of
the piano. I could feel the wind stirred by its passage, while its
peculiar hum told me it was a Minié ball.
"You are too far out from the wall," I protested. "You are in range."
"Can't help it if I be. I 'm yere ter take ther guns from ther sojer,
an' pass 'em back."
I crept slowly along beyond her, keeping close to the wall, but had
progressed hardly more than a couple of yards, when I felt a hand
lightly touch me.
"I recognize your voice," said a soft whisper, "and am so glad you are
here."
Who can guess the motives that inspire a woman? This was my welcome,
where I had anticipated coldness and repellant pride.
CHAPTER XXXI
A CONVERSATION IN THE DARK
In my extreme surprise at the intimate cordiality expressed by her
words and manner I failed in utterance. Anticipating coldness,
indifference, possibly even resentment at my presuming to approach her,
I was instead greeted by an unstudied warmth of welcome that made my
heart beat fiercely.
"Surely I am not mistaken," she questioned, rendered doubtful by my
silence. "Is not this Captain Wayne?"
"There is no mistake," I hastened to assure her, "but I had anticipated
from our last meeting a far less cordial greeting."
"Oh," she exclaimed, with a light laugh, "and is that all? Yet surely,
if I was to believe my own eyes I was perfectly justified in my actions
then. However, Captain, I have been forced to realize the truth of that
situation, and am now disposed to make up to you in kindness for all my
unjust suspicions."
"I am more than delighted to learn that cloud is no longer to
overshadow us. Miss Minor has made a full explanation, then?"
"You have been completely exonerated, and restored to my good graces."
As she spoke, I became aware that she was busily engaged upon some
task, and when she ended I felt the steel of a gun-barrel touch my
hand.
"Please pass this to Maria," she said calmly, "and hand me back the one
she has."
"You are loading, then?" I asked, as I complied with her request.
"We have all been busy. Isn't it terrible? I was so frightened at
first, but now they tell me that you and your men have come, there is
no longer danger of those horrible creatures getting in here."
"You knew, then, that I was in the house?"
"I was told some noble Confederates had accompanied Lieutenant Caton
back to aid us, but your name was not mentioned."
"Then my appearance must have proven a complete surprise?"
"Yes, and no," she answered frankly. "I was not sure it was you, of
course, and I did not venture to ask, but I knew you were in the
neighborhood, and that such an act would be in every way
characteristic. I was certain you would come if you knew, and I--I,
well really, I hoped it was."
In spite of a slight effort at restraint I groped in the darkness until
I touched her hand. For the moment she permitted me to retain it, as if
unconsciously, within my grasp.
"Why?" I questioned, scarcely relying upon my own voice.
"Oh, one always trusts friends more readily than strangers, and I have
seen you in danger before, and possess such confidence in your courage
and resource."
"But Miss Minor took particular care to inform me you felt little or no
interest in me--that you never even spoke of me except as she compelled
you to do so."
For a moment she did not answer, and then with a light laugh said: "Did
she, really? How very kind of her, and how extremely intimate you must
have become to draw forth so frank a confession. However, Captain
Wayne, you must not give credence to all you hear about me, even from
Celia. You know one does not usually give public expression to one's
more secret thoughts, and I can assure you I have always been most
deeply interested whenever you were the subject of our conversations."
"Her words made me feel I might be an intruder on your privacy."
"You are never that. Cold as I appeared only a few hours ago, I was yet
thinking of you as I entered the arbor. Perhaps that was why the sight
meeting my eyes proved such a shock."
Possibly she felt our conversation growing dangerously intimate, for in
the silence which ensued she gently withdrew her hand. As she did so my
fingers chanced to touch the plain gold ring she wore. It was like a
dash of water in my face, and instantly brought back to me our common
danger.
"How constant the firing continues," she said at last, as I sat
struggling dumbly with temptation.
"A mere waste of powder, I fear," was my reply, given thoughtlessly.
"When the rush finally comes we are likely to be without sufficient
ammunition to repel it."
"When the rush comes?" she echoed in startled tone. "Do you expect an
assault?"
"I hardly expect those fellows out there will ever leave without a most
determined effort to carry the house by storm. They are here for
plunder, and will not be baffled easily, nor will the leaders hesitate
to sacrifice any number of lives to gain their end, especially now that
a desire for revenge has been added to the original lust for spoils. I
have been among them, you know, and learned enough of their power,
organization, and leadership to convince me they will never raise the
siege until they exhaust every resource. I have no doubt they are
simply drawing all this fire in the hope that our ammunition will thus
be uselessly expended. It is an old army trick, and one I am surprised
to see so experienced an officer as Major Brennan yield to. In my
judgment they will make an effort to rush us as soon as there is
sufficient light."
"But why not warn him?"
I smiled to myself at the naive question. Surely it could not be
possible she remained ignorant of the feud existing between us. She had
twice witnessed our hostile meetings, and certainly could not forget
how we had last parted.
"Major Brennan would scarcely welcome any interference on my part."
"But surely, as a soldier, he must value the advice of another
soldier?"
"Possibly you forget," I explained, striving to speak as lightly of it
as might be, "that there is a lack of friendship between Major Brennan
and myself."
"Still?" she asked. "Truly I thought that might all be over. Even if it
survived until now, this noble act of yours in coming to our defence
should have earned you his gratitude. He--he has never once mentioned
your name to me since that night."
"Not even when I came here with my troop, I believe?"
"No; yet I did not connect that fact with the other. I supposed it a
mere oversight, or that he believed the mention of your name would not
greatly interest me. Surely, Captain Wayne, you are not keeping open
this unhappy wound?"
"On my word, no; but I regret to confess it is very far from being
closed."
"He--Major Brennan does not know, then, that you are here now with me?"
She evidently hesitated to ask this question.
"Certainly not," in surprise at her apparent innocence. "You cannot
have supposed I had been sent here by him to talk with you?"
"I--I did not know. I do not think I realized," she stammered, vainly
seeking for words with which to make clear her bewilderment. "I
imagined you might have come at his suggestion to see that we were
amply protected. This is all so very strange. He does not even know you
are here with us?"
"No," I admitted reluctantly. "Perhaps I have no excuse even for being
here at all. My duty as a soldier is certainly elsewhere, but I could
not rest content until I knew you were in a position of safety. Believe
me, Mrs. Brennan, I have intended no indiscretion, but I was informed
by a soldier that you were being held here under fire. It would have
been useless for me to appeal to the Major for information, and I felt
I must know the truth. If I have erred in this I can only plead the
deep interest I have always had in your welfare."
Her hand touched mine impulsively, and it was warm and throbbing.
"I can merely thank you with all my heart, Captain Wayne, and assure
you I both understand and appreciate your purpose. But truly I do not
wish any trouble to occur again--you will go back to your post, will
you not? You can serve me best in that way, and retain the gratitude
and admiration I have ever felt for you."
There was a pathetic pleading in her voice, low as she spoke,
impossible to resist. It made me feel thoroughly ashamed of my
impulsive, ill-considered action.
"At once, Mrs. Brennan," I returned earnestly. "I realize I have done
wrong in ever coming here as I have. It is my first act of disobedience
to orders in all my military life. But tell me first that I have
forfeited neither your confidence nor your friendship?"
Her warm hand closed frankly over mine, and as I bent above it her hair
softly brushed my cheek.
"You have not," she answered, so soft and low I could barely catch the
words. "I appreciate your motive, and shall always respect and honor
you." She paused a moment, then added quickly, as though in sudden rush
of feeling: "No friend stands higher in my esteem than you--now please
go, Captain Wayne."
As I crept back through the darkness, passing beneath the piano into
the front room, which was filled with the choking fumes of powder, my
mind was a chaos of emotions impossible to analyze. The touch of her
soft hand was yet warm upon me, and her manner as well as her words
caused my blood to leap riotously in my veins. What did this woman
mean? Was it possible she loved me, and was fighting, even as I, to
conquer a passion that could never be realized? which had no right to
exist? Surely, young and fair as she was, she could be no vain and
shallow coquette, venturing upon flirtation for the mere excitement of
it? The calm self-possession of her nature, her marked pride and
strength of character, stamped this as impossible. Honesty and pure,
true womanhood were woven into her every word and act; that indefinable
something which all men feel and respect was about her like an
atmosphere; to doubt her for an instant was beyond my power. Yet she
had made me feel I was more to her than a mere friend. I longed to go
back, to pour forth those words I had struggled so hard not to speak,
to urge the high law of mutual love as final arbiter of our destiny--
but no! I simply could not. Honor chained me, and the depth of my
respect would never permit of her humiliation. If she had become weak,
all the more reason why I should remain strong. The very depth of love
which drew me to her operated now in restraint. God alone knows the
struggle in the darkness as I continued to move slowly away from her
and toward the door.
So deep indeed was my agitation, so intense my thought, that I scarcely
realized I was creeping along barely beneath the dead line of those
bullets which constantly swept the apartment. Their crashing into the
wall was almost meaningless, and I barely noted either the dense smoke
or the fitful flashes of flame as the little garrison returned shot for
shot. It was Brennan's voice--how hateful it sounded then--which
recalled my attention.
"Mapes," he said, with the sharp tone of wearied command, "take a crack
at that fellow over yonder by the big tree; he must be in range. You
men, I verily believe, shut your eyes when you shoot, for there hasn't
a man dropped out there in the last half hour."
I had reached the door by this time, but paused now, determined to
venture one word of expostulation at his recklessness.
"Major Brennan," I said, speaking sufficiently loud to be audible above
the uproar, "do you not think they will attempt to charge the house?"
"Not while we keep up this fire," he returned coldly, evidently
recognizing my voice.
"I grant that, at least while darkness lasts. But you have just
complained that your men were doing but small execution, and is there
not danger of exhausting our stock of ammunition by such a useless
fusillade?"
"It will last until our fellows get here--that is, if your man was ever
really sent for aid, as you say."
There was a thinly veiled sneer in the words as he spoke them, but I
curbed my temper.
"Well, in my judgment, sir,--and I tell it you because I deem it a
duty,--" I retorted plainly, "you are making a grave mistake which you
may realize when it becomes too late to rectify it. Possibly I have no
right to criticise one who is technically in command; yet I am serving
as a volunteer, and the conditions are peculiar. I not only remember
the scene witnessed by me in the lines out yonder, but also recall the
fact that we are here to fulfil a sacred duty--the defence of helpless
women from outrage. A fatal mistake upon our part would be horrible."
"Your deep interest in the welfare of the ladies is purely chivalric, I
presume?"
"It is merely the interest a true soldier must always feel," I
responded, determined not to be goaded into quarrel. "I have neither
wife nor sister, but I have a mother."
"Very well, sir,"--and his tone was rough and overbearing,--"then
kindly recall your soldierly instincts to another little matter. I
chance to command here by authority of rank, and hold myself
responsible for the proper defence of this portion of the house. I
believe you have already been assigned your duties; if you will attend
to them I shall be greatly obliged, and whenever I may desire your
valuable advice I shall take pleasure in sending for you."
I have often wondered since how I controlled myself; yet I did, biting
my lip till the blood came, a fair, reproachful face ever before my
eyes.
"I shall obey your orders," I managed to say with calmness, so soon as
I could control my voice to speak at all, "but shall hold myself, and
my men, prepared for a call here at any moment."
"As you please," with an ill-suppressed sneer. "I have always found you
exceedingly anxious to be with the ladies. Indeed I have wondered if
you might not prove a modern illustration of that ancient worthy 'whose
best boast was but to wear a braid of his fair lady's hair.'"
I turned away in silence and strode back to my post, white with anger.
The dining-room remained as I had left it, and when I lay down in my
old position and peered out throught the broken blind, I could mark no
change in the appearance of our besiegers.
CHAPTER XXXII
HAND TO HAND
I have never been willing to believe I slept during the next hour.
Wearied as I have often been, duty has ever held my eyes wide open, and
I prefer to think I merely plunged so deep in reflection as to become
oblivious of all occurring about me. Surely I had sufficient excuse.
However this may be, when I once again aroused to observe my
surroundings, the faint gray light of early dawn rested upon the
outside world, and through the fleeting shadows of the mist I was able
to distinguish much which before had been shrouded by the black
curtain. In front of the window where I rested, the grass-covered lawn
sloped gradually downward until it terminated at a low picket fence,
thickly covered with vines. A great variety of shrubs, which during the
night had doubtless afforded shelter for sharpshooters, dotted this
grass plot, while beyond the fence boundary stood a double row of large
trees. To the far left of our position the burnt stable yet smouldered
dully, occasionally sending up a shower of sparks as a draught of air
fanned the embers, but there were few signs of life visible. For the
moment I even hoped our enemies might have grown discouraged and
withdrawn.
"What has become of the guerillas?" I asked in wonderment, turning as I
spoke to face the Federal corporal who lay on the other side of me. "Is
it possible they have given up?"
"I think not, Captain," he replied respectfully, saluting as he would
one of his own officers. "They were there just before the light came,
and I saw a dozen or more stealing along behind the fence not five
minutes ago. See, there is a squad of them now, huddled together back
of where the stable stood."
I noticed them as he spoke, and their movements instantly aroused my
suspicion.
"Screw your eye close to the corner of the pane," I ordered hurriedly,
"and see what you make out toward the front of the house."
He did as directed, and for a moment continued to gaze silently into
the gray dawn.
"Well?" I asked impatiently.
"There's men out there sure, plenty of 'em," he reported slowly. "It
looks to me mighty like the end of a line of battle, right there by
that big magnolia-tree. Anyhow, there must be all of twenty fellows
lying close together between there and where the corner of the house
shuts off my view. I don't see none this side anywhere, unless it's a
shooter or two hiding along the fence where the vines are thick."
"That's it, my lad," I exclaimed heartily, getting upon my feet as I
spoke. "We can stand up now, there's no danger here, but there will be
music for all of us presently. Those fellows are getting ready to
charge us front and rear."
There were five in the room. I could see them only indistinctly, as the
morning light was not yet sufficiently strong to penetrate clearly to
where we were, but I was able to note those present--the corporal and
his wounded companion, with Hollis and Call of my troop.
"Let the wounded man remain and guard these windows," I commanded. "He
would prove of small value in a hand to hand struggle, but can probably
do some shooting. The rest come with me."
I led them forth into the wide hallway, which extended the full length
of the house, with a broad flight of stairs just forward of the centre,
gradually curving and leading to the second story.
I was fully determined as to my duty--whether orders reached me or not,
the moment an assault was launched I should throw all the force I
commanded beside Brennan, and between our assailants and the imperilled
women. The suspended light was yet burning as we came out, but
flickered wildly as if in a strong draught of air, and I noticed that
the constant rain of bullets during the night had badly splintered an
upper panel of the door. Halfway down the broad hallway, and partially
obscured by the turn of the stairs, a door stood slightly ajar upon the
right hand. Conjecturing this might be where the defenders of the
eastern exposure were lying, I peered within. The blinds were tightly
drawn and I was able to perceive little of its interior, excepting that
the walls were lined with books.
"Ebers," I called, thinking he must be there, "are you in charge here?"
"I vos, Captain," came the instant reply, and he at once emerged from
the darkness, his honest face full of interest. "Is it der preakfast
vot is already?"
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