THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 A 
 
 CAROLINA 
 CAVALIER
 
 " Good-bye, Sweetheart." 
 
 (See page too.)
 
 CAROLINA 
 
 A ROMANCE of the AMERICAN 
 REVOLUTION 
 
 By GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON 
 
 AUTHOR of 
 
 "A REBEL'S RECOLLECTIONS" 
 
 " SOUTHERN SOLDIER STORIES " 
 
 " THE LAST OF THE FLATBOATS" 
 
 ETC.. ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BV C. D. WILLIAMS 
 
 LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 BOSTON
 
 COPYRIGHT, 
 
 1901, 
 By 
 
 LOT H ROP 
 PUBLISHING 
 COMPANY. 
 
 3rd THOUSAND 
 March 1 
 
 6th THOUSAND 
 April 0, igoi 
 
 1 2th THOUSAND 
 May g, igoi
 
 TABLE <?/ CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I PAGI 
 
 Which goes to show that an introduction may be 
 dispensed with upon occasion . . . . 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 v> Two men in a boat . . . . . 29 
 
 H 
 
 ** CHAPTER III 
 
 > 
 
 ^ In which Roger Alton encounters an embarrassment 44 
 
 o- P. . _ 
 
 3 CHAPTER 17 
 
 In which destiny takes the helm . . 69 
 
 J CHAPTER 7 
 
 In which Helen tells a little story . . . 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 . " Good-by, sweetheart " .... 94 
 
 8 
 
 * CHAPTER VII 
 o 
 
 In which Roger Alton encounters the enemy . 104 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 5 Alton House . . . . . 125 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 Jack . . . . , . . 140 
 
 44810S
 
 TABLE <?/ CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER X PAG* 
 
 Men in council . . . . . .149 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A Jove and life perplexity . . . .168 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Tiger Bill 174 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Tiger Bill's letter 184 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A stirrup cup . . . . . .190 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 In which Roger Alton loses his temper . . 200 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Humphreys . . . . . . . 219 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 A first smell of powder . . . . .228 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A love letter ...... 238
 
 TABLE of CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIX PAGE 
 
 A battle in the dark < / , . . 243 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Which maidenly modesty makes very brief . 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 In which Captain Alton meets the enemy and a 
 
 friend . . ... . . . . 260 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Under the iron heel . * '. . . . 274 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 War's new birth ...... 286 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 In which an enthusiastic young gentleman saves a 
 hundred guineas . . . . . . . 305 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 Captain Jack's devicea . . . . .311 
 
 CHAPTER XX7I 
 
 In the hands of the enemy . . . . 326 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 " Tarleton's Quarter " . . . . . 338
 
 TABLE <?/ CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 111 PAGE 
 
 Humphreys' story . . . . -353 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 In which Alton House receives visitors . . 368 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 Marlborough brings news . . . .381 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 Captain Jack's defence . . . . .390 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 Fire and sword . . . . . .408 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 The papers in the case . . . . .421 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 The end of a complexity . . . 43 5 
 
 CHAPTER XXXT 
 
 In which Marlborough attains military command 441 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 Which brings the war and the story to an end . 445
 
 A LITTLE FOREWORD 
 
 /T is as a romance only that I offer this 
 book. In using the historic events 
 of a heroic time as a background, and 
 the sentiments of a heroic people as a set 
 ting for my story, I have endeavored to make 
 all my historical references accurate. Beyond 
 that I have attempted nothing of the histo 
 rian's task. I make no pretence of right to 
 invade the domain of that superb scholarship 
 which is just now writing our country's won 
 der-story anew and more worthily than has 
 ever been done before. 
 
 Patriotism, and an unflinching sense of hon 
 or love and heroic devotion these alone are 
 my themes. If I have succeeded in any wor 
 thy degree in illustrating these high virtues 
 and in reflecting the spirit and sentiment of the 
 people among whom this story is laid, I have 
 accomplished all that I set out to do. 
 
 GEORGE GARY EGGLESTON. 
 
 CULROSS-ON-LAKE-GEORGE, 
 September, 1900. 
 
 9
 
 I 
 
 WHICH goes to SHOW that an INTRODUCTION 
 MAY be DISPENSED WITH upon OCCASION 
 
 rHE sun was shining fervidly through 
 the pale, rose-colored haze, with list 
 less, sleepy sultriness, as if that were 
 altogether the easiest thing it could do, and 
 as if it felt itself quite unequal to the task 
 of doing anything more energetic or more 
 self-restrained on that soggy, moist, oppressive 
 January day, in the year of our Lord, 1779. 
 Not a breath of air from land or sea, was stir 
 ring in the little Bahama seaport town. The 
 hazy, tropical atmosphere, lay like a moist, hot 
 blanket over the land and upon the sea. The 
 people of the town were for the most part 
 swelteringly asleep upon hot couches, or dozing 
 
 1 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 away the hours somewhere in the shady re 
 cesses of their hovel-homes. 
 
 Along the rude and tumble-down wharves 
 the only activities were those of buzzing insects, 
 flying about with no other apparent purpose 
 than that of fanning themselves with weary 
 wings. 
 
 Three British ships of war lay like logs in 
 the harbor, with scorching decks and with sails 
 spread out in the listless air to dry, if that 
 might be, in an atmosphere saturated with va 
 por that just missed being steam. A dozen or 
 so small boats of varying shapes and charac 
 ters were drawn up on the blistering sands of 
 the beach and covered with tarpaulins as a pro 
 tection against the warping, seam-opening in 
 tensity of the vertical sunbeams. 
 
 Everything about the shore seemed in a co 
 matose state with a single exception. That 
 exception appeared in the person of a well- 
 dressed young man who came down to the wa 
 ter's edge in reckless disregard of the heat 
 and with a step whose elasticity marked him at 
 once as a stranger, not long enough sojourning 
 in the island to have fallen into the all-pervad 
 ing doze. He passed rapidly among the boats, 
 inspecting each of them in turn with minute 
 scrutiny, as if he were cross-questioning them 
 
 12
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 about matters concerning which he was might 
 ily interested to learn the uttermost detail of 
 fact. The eagerness of his scrutiny, and the 
 alertness with which he passed from one to an 
 other of the inverted boats, getting down upon 
 his hands and knees now and then to look un 
 der one of them, would have attracted atten 
 tion and excited curiosity if there had been any 
 body there sufficiently awake to observe his 
 actions. But the only other person within 
 sight a negro boy who pretended to be fishing 
 off the end of a decaying pier had fallen 
 asleep in the sun, and a blue-bottle fly was prac 
 ticing gymnastics around the tip of his nose un 
 molested. 
 
 Presently the young man, who from his 
 dress and manner would have been set down 
 as an Englishman of the upper middle class 
 off on his travels, finished his inspection of 
 the boats and walked rapidly to the cabin of the 
 old Spaniard who owned them. Entering the 
 open door without ceremony, he disturbed the 
 midday slumber of the worthy waterman and 
 presently discovered that he understood not 
 one word of English. Fortunately our young 
 gentleman spoke French and Italian with ease, 
 and the boatman had picked up enough of those 
 tongues, so closely akin to his own, to make 
 
 '3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 a negotiation possible though the progress of it 
 was lame and halting. 
 
 By dint of much reiteration and many substi 
 tutions of phrase, and frequent lapses from 
 French into Italian and from Italian into 
 French, the young man managed at last to 
 make the older one understand that he wished 
 to have one of his larger boats uncovered and 
 turned over for more careful examination, with 
 a view to her purchase. 
 
 " To-morrow," said the Spaniard, after the 
 procrastinating habit of his race. 
 
 " No ! " answered the youth. " To-day ! 
 Now ! Instantly ! Without delay ! " He 
 rang the changes on all the French and Italian 
 words that could convey the idea of instant ac 
 tion, but without effect upon the lassitude of 
 mind which held a spell over the boat owner. 
 In his impatience the youth stepped forward, 
 seized the man by the nape of the neck he 
 wore no collar and by sheer force lifted him 
 from the bench on which he was lolling and 
 marched him to the boat. 
 
 After much bargaining, during which the 
 Spaniard was not too sleepy to extort two or 
 three prices for everything suggested, it was 
 finally agreed that the waterman should 
 thoroughly caulk the boat, cover her bottom 
 
 4
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 with pitch, and, by building a half deck, con 
 vert her forward part into a waterproof locker 
 for provisions and other things. All this was 
 to be done within three days, with no " to-mor 
 rows " for excuse, and then the boat, with its 
 one mast and sail, was to become the property 
 of the young man upon the payment of twenty- 
 five golden guineas, five of which were paid in 
 advance as a guarantee of good faith. It was 
 an extortionate price for an open boat, less 
 than twenty feet long and fit only for fishing 
 use within a secure harbor, but the Spaniard, 
 however little he understood of any language 
 other than his own, quite perfectly understood 
 that his customer wanted the boat very much 
 and wanted it immediately. 
 
 The purchase concluded, our young gentle 
 man, still disregarding the heat, walked briskly 
 into the town. There he disturbed the slum 
 bers of two or three small dealers in various 
 wares, bought a considerable supply of such 
 provisions as might be eaten without further 
 cooking, a mariner's compass, some other in 
 struments of navigation, sundry fish nets, lines, 
 hooks and such other things as one bent upon 
 an extended fishing excursion would be apt 
 to need. All these articles were taken under 
 their purchaser's personal supervision, to the
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 waterman's hut and left there until needed. 
 So much business had not been transacted in 
 the town for a month and so much energetic 
 hurrying had probably never before been known 
 there; wherefore it is safe to assume that the 
 people whose slumbers the young Englishman 
 had disturbed would have been astonished if 
 astonishment had not been much too ac 
 tive an emotion for them to indulge in in 
 such weather. 
 
 The town had sunk back into listless silence 
 again, therefore, when the youth returned the 
 second time from the boatman's house; and as 
 he at least was in no mood for lounging or 
 drowsing, he walked away, at a pace that sug 
 gested a wager, into the country beyond, and 
 night was near at hand when he came back to 
 the wretched little inn in which he had taken 
 up his temporary abode. 
 
 The night was hot and close, as the day had 
 been, and despite the warning the landlord 
 had given him to beware of tropical dews, the 
 youth insisted upon having his dinner served in 
 the open air of the garden, under the stars and 
 with no roof even of the frailest tropical sort to 
 shelter him. He was much too robust a young 
 fellow, with his six feet one of height and his 
 hundred and seventy pounds of hardened 
 
 16
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 brawn, to fear the open air in any quarter of 
 the world. He had taken no harm from the 
 pestilential atmosphere of the Roman cam- 
 pagna, though he had slept many nights amid 
 those miasms. He had been born indeed, as 
 his father before him had been, on the coast of 
 South Carolina, and he deemed himself by in 
 heritance as well as by personal vigor of 
 health, immune to all the harm that might 
 lurk in the night air of a little seagirt Bahama 
 island. 
 
 His host, having slept well in his chair dur 
 ing the afternoon, was now sufficiently awake 
 to entertain a mildly intense feeling of disgust 
 when the guest declined to take a bottle of 
 sherry after his meal for in those days men 
 drank their wine not with their dinners but 
 after them and contented himself with a cigar 
 and coffee instead. 
 
 The moon came up, round and full, and the 
 young man still lingered in the garden, lost in 
 meditation and cigar smoke. 
 
 About ten o'clock a stranger approached and 
 accosted him. He was a man of about fifty, 
 tall, lean and of dark visage, with deep set and 
 very piercing eyes, which singularly enough 
 were not black but a light gray. He might 
 have been a Spaniard or a Frenchman or per- 
 
 '7
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 haps an American who had been much exposed 
 to sun and storm. He addressed the youth 
 politely and in English that had no trace of 
 accent in it. 
 
 " Pardon me," he said, " if you are at leisure 
 I should like to talk with you for half an hour 
 concerning matters that I think will interest 
 you." 
 
 " Pardon me in my turn," replied the young 
 man, " I do not wish to seem rude, but I can 
 not think there is any subject in which we are 
 likely to be mutually interested, and you are 
 a stranger." 
 
 " You are quite right," said the older man. 
 " It is unseemly in me to approach you in 
 this way, but I cannot very well help myself. 
 I recognize your right to resent the intrusion 
 the impertinence if you will but I beg you to 
 listen for a few minutes to what I have to say. 
 You do not know me, and naturally do not care 
 to talk to me. But I know you and I must 
 talk to you in private, here and now. Listen 
 and if, after hearing me, you do not pardon my 
 presumption, I shall never repeat it." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," answered the youth. 
 " I owe you an apology. I do not know you, 
 it is true, but I ought at least to have seen that 
 
 you are a gentleman, and " 
 
 18
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " No," broke in the other; " I am not a 
 gentleman. I have no right to claim that title 
 in any case, and least of all as a means of ap 
 proach to you. I cannot explain. I can only 
 ask you to let me talk to you, freely admitting 
 that I have no claim whatever upon your 
 attention." 
 
 There was a melancholy earnestness in the 
 man's voice and countenance, and a pathetic 
 appeal in his strange gray eyes, which fasci 
 nated his auditor. Motioning him to a seat 
 on the opposite side of the table for he had 
 continued standing the young man called for 
 a bottle of wine, but the elder, when it came, 
 excused himself from drinking and the glasses 
 remained untouched to the end. 
 
 When the landlord had set the wine upon 
 the table and departed, the stranger resumed 
 the conversation, speaking in a low voice that 
 could not be heard at any great distance. 
 
 " I said just now that I knew you," he be 
 gan, " and to verify that let me say that al 
 though you call yourself here by another name, 
 and profess to be a traveling Englishman, you 
 are really not an Englishman at all, but Mr. 
 Roger Alton of the colony or rather the state 
 of South Carolina " 
 
 " I beg your pardon," interrupted the young 
 
 1 9
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man, rising, and with some resentment in his 
 tone, " I " 
 
 " Oh, I grant it! I grant it! " resumed the 
 other quickly. " I don't ask you to admit the 
 truth of any statement I make, and you need 
 not be at the trouble to deny any. If I am 
 wrong no harm will be done. Pray hear me 
 out, and then decide whether you will order 
 me from your presence or will grant my re 
 quest for I have a request to make and it is 
 a very serious one to me. I mean no intrusion, 
 and I certainly mean no harm to you. Let me 
 tell you what I know and what I conjecture, 
 and what I want. When that is done we will 
 assume, if you wish it so, that I have been en 
 tirely mistaken and I will go away admitting 
 my error and saying nothing to anybody." 
 
 " Oh, very well," replied the youth. " I've 
 nothing better to do. So go on, but under 
 stand distinctly that if I say nothing in denial 
 of your extraordinary assertions, I do not by 
 my silence admit their truth." 
 
 " That is quite understood, sir. All I ask 
 is that you hear me. Now I take you to be 
 Mr. Roger Alton, the son of Col. Geoffrey Al 
 ton, of Alton House, South Carolina. You 
 went to England seven years ago, at the age of 
 fourteen, to be educated. You have passed 
 
 20
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 your summers in travel on the continent, and 
 the rest of the time at Eton first and Oxford af 
 terward. You have recently left the University, 
 though you were still an undergraduate, I 
 suppose. You did so, I think, with the purpose 
 of returning to America and taking part in 
 the war, on the patriot side. This last is only 
 a conjecture on my part." 
 
 " Wonder what I should call all the rest of 
 your singular statements then," broke in the 
 young man with an amused smile. " But go 
 on. I did not mean to interrupt." 
 
 " Well," resumed the other, " you probably 
 found it difficult to secure passage from Eng 
 land to any American port not occupied by the 
 British and so you came to these islands, hoping 
 to find here some little trading craft that would 
 take you across to the mainland. In this you 
 have been disappointed. You have found the 
 Bahamas pretty well cut off from communica 
 tion with America, by reason of the fact that 
 since the alliance between the Americans and 
 the French, a French fleet has been sent to the 
 West Indies, rendering the British tenure of 
 these islands very insecure, and completely 
 stopping trade relations with the American 
 coast." 
 
 " All this is exceedingly interesting/' said 
 
 21
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the youth. " To me it is even amusing. So 
 pray go on with the romance." 
 
 The other paused for half a minute as if 
 thinking how best to present the remain 
 der of what he had to say. Then he re 
 sumed : 
 
 " Finding all ordinary means denied you, 
 you have decided upon a hazardous attempt to 
 make the voyage alone in the open boat which 
 you bought to-day. You have ordered altera 
 tions made in her, which would not have been 
 needed or even desirable if you were only going 
 fishing. Moreover you have laid in provisions 
 for a much longer voyage than gentlemen usu 
 ally make when they go fishing out on the bar. 
 More significant still, you have provided your 
 self with instruments of navigation not needed 
 on a fishing excursion. My conjecture is that 
 you intend to make the pretended fishing trip 
 a cover under which to get away from the is 
 land and out to sea without attracting the at 
 tention or arousing the suspicion of the gentle 
 men on those warships down there in the bay. 
 To make the blind more effective you have en 
 gaged a quantity of bait. 
 
 " Now all this is my conjecture concerning 
 your purpose and your plans. I freely admit 
 that I am guilty of an impertinence in speculat- 
 
 22
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ing at all upon your identity or your affairs, or 
 anything else concerning you. My excuse is 
 that I, too, want to go to America for the pur 
 pose of taking part in the war against the 
 British, and I should long ago have set off in 
 an open boat if I had had the money necessary 
 to buy one. It was in trying to arrange a trip 
 of the sort for myself that my attention was 
 drawn to your preparations. I have sought 
 this conversation with no wish whatever to pry 
 into your affairs, but solely for the purpose of 
 inducing you to take me along with you. I 
 have followed the sea for some years now and 
 I am an expert navigator though I have no 
 captain's berth. You, I take it, know but little 
 of navigation, so rny skill may possibly be of 
 sufficient value to you to be taken in payment 
 for my passage. I have no money indeed I 
 rarely have much though I have good earning 
 capacity. There are reasons why I must not 
 keep what I earn. My service in sailing your 
 boat is all that I can offer. It will be par 
 ticularly valuable to you when you approach 
 the coast, as my knowledge of the creeks, in 
 lets and other entrances especially on the 
 Carolina coast is unusually minute." 
 
 He paused with an eager, questioning look 
 which the moon, shining full in his face, re- 
 
 2 3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 realed to his companion. He seemed to be 
 trying to read the young man's countenance, 
 to find out there what impression his words had 
 made. 
 
 The youth sat silent for a full minute or 
 more. Then he said : 
 
 " Let us suppose for a moment that your 
 singular impressions concerning me and my 
 purposes are correct. Let us suppose that I am 
 Roger what's his name? " 
 
 " Alton," interposed the other. 
 
 " Alton, was it ? Well, let us suppose that I 
 am Roger Alton, a young American cherishing 
 the treasonable purpose of going home to fight 
 against his king. What guarantee should I 
 have in that case, that you are not a person in 
 the employ of the British government and 
 bent upon entrapping me to my ruin? How 
 do I know that once aboard my boat, you will 
 not deliver me up to be hanged to the yard 
 arm of one of those ships out there in the 
 bay?" 
 
 " I have thought of that difficulty," said the 
 dark man, " and have provided a means of 
 meeting it, which I think you will regard as 
 adequate. Admit nothing to me now. Persist 
 in declaring that your intention is simply to go 
 fishing on the banks off the harbor, when your 
 
 24
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 boat is ready. Let me go with you. You 
 will be fully armed of course. As we enter 
 the boat I will hand you my pistols, and if you 
 discover at any time anything suspicious in my 
 conduct, you will only have to shoot me and 
 throw my body to the sharks. They abound 
 in these waters and their appetites are vora 
 cious. Thus I cannot possibly prove treacher 
 ous after we set sail, without paying for it with 
 my life, and meantime, while we are waiting 
 for the boat to be got ready, the worst that I 
 can do will be to publish my suspicions, and, 
 if I were so disposed, I could do that anyhow. 
 You will have admitted nothing whatever. 
 You are a traveling young Englishman with a 
 mind to go a-fishing in these waters. You 
 engage me, as an experienced seaman, to man 
 age your boat. On shore this is the extent of 
 our relations with each other. When we put 
 to sea you are absolute master both of the boat 
 and of the situation. I ask no confidences. I 
 inquire into no secret. I ask only an engage 
 ment to go with you on your fishing trip. On 
 your return to this town you can pay me a sail 
 or's wages for my services. There can be no 
 danger in effecting such an arrangement as 
 that, can there? " 
 
 "No, I think not," said the youth. "At
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 any rate as I only want to go fishing, and as I 
 shall need a sailor, I gladly engage you, if only 
 for the sake of the laugh I shall have when we 
 return and I pay you your wages. Meet me at 
 the boat on Thursday morning at the flood of 
 the tide." 
 
 With that the two separated, the elder man 
 disappearing down the narrow street and the 
 youth seeking his chamber on the second floor 
 of the inn. 
 
 The night was growing chill with the dew 
 which had begun to drip from the trees before 
 the conversation in the garden came to an end. 
 The young man, who seemingly had no present 
 purpose of going to bed, carefully closed the 
 solid wooden shutters of the unglazed windows 
 and wrapped his cloak around him before sit 
 ting down in front of his trunk. He then 
 proceeded to open and destroy a large packet 
 of letters, a tedious process as it was necessary, 
 for lack of a fireplace, to burn them one.by one 
 in the flame of a candle. He toiled at this task 
 with exemplary patience, carefully gathering 
 the ashes into a heap upon the little deal 
 table. 
 
 " I must look my linen over too," he said to 
 himself, " and burn all the pieces that have my 
 name upon them. The loss will not be serious, 
 
 26
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 as I couldn't take the trunk with me at any 
 rate." 
 
 The work of destruction, together with 
 pauses during which the shutters were thrown 
 open to let the smoke escape, occupied the en 
 tire night, and day was already breaking when 
 the young man gathered the ashes into a hand 
 kerchief and quitted the room. Making his 
 way to the pier he threw the package into the 
 sea, after weighting it carefully with shells and 
 rubbish to make sure of its sinking. 
 
 " Now," he said with a chuckle of relief, " I 
 fancy it will puzzle my dark visaged friend to 
 establish my identity if he wants to do that. I 
 wonder what his game is, and what he is, and 
 who? That reminds me, by the way, that I 
 quite forgot to inquire the fellow's name. He is 
 so much the modest gentleman in his manner 
 that I shrank from questioning him about him 
 self, in spite of his extraordinary impudence in 
 prying into my private affairs. Never mind. I 
 shall find out who he is pretty soon I suppose. 
 He will be around the inn to-day, doubtless, and 
 then I'll ask him, as my sailorman, who and 
 what he is. He will give me a false name, I 
 have no doubt, and perhaps invent an auto 
 biography which will serve his turn for the oc 
 casion. He speaks like an educated man and 
 
 27
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 he evidently knows what's proper in the way 
 of courtesy. Clearly he's a gentleman no, by 
 Jove, he twice distinctly declared that he was 
 not a gentleman. Wonder what he meant by 
 that?" 
 
 28
 
 II 
 
 TWO MEN in a BOAT 
 
 rHE man, whoever he was, did not 
 again make his appearance at the 
 inn, nor did the youth meet him 
 anywhere in the little town during the days 
 of waiting. On the morning appointed for 
 the fishing excursion, the young man found 
 him, clad in a sailor's working costume, stand 
 ing cap in hand at the bow of the newly 
 launched boat. After carefully examining 
 the supplies and instruments to see that 
 all were on board, the young man paid the re 
 mainder of the boat's purchase money to the 
 old waterman and that worthy strolled away 
 toward the town in search of rum, perhaps. 
 The sailor was as deferential in his manner as 
 any common seaman could have been toward 
 his captain. Yet he maintained a dignity that 
 suggested self-respect. He asked if he had not 
 better make an inspection of the rigging and, 
 receiving an order to that effect he rapidly but 
 closely questioned every line and block and 
 
 2 9
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 stay, trying the pulleys to see that they ran 
 freely, and now and then altering the rig in 
 slight particulars. In short he " keyed up " 
 the boat as it were, to fit her for her best per 
 formance. Finally he doffed his cap again and 
 said: 
 
 " Everything is ready, sir, whenever you 
 wish to step aboard." 
 
 The young man got into the boat and seated 
 himself in the stern sheets, indicating that he 
 intended to sail her himself, at least for the 
 present. Then the sailorman advanced and 
 laid his two pistols before the young captain, 
 without a word. 
 
 The young man looked intently into his eyes 
 for a moment and then said : "If we are to 
 be companions in this hazardous undertaking, 
 we must also be friends. Above all we must 
 trust each other implicitly. Keep your pistols. 
 I now tell you frankly that I am Roger Alton 
 and that your conjectures concerning my pur 
 poses were correct in all essential particulars. 
 If you know my father you know that his son 
 cannot well be a coward. I say again, keep 
 your pistols and give me your hand. Who 
 ever you are, let us be friends before we start." 
 
 " Thank you," said the man, with a sug 
 gestion of threatened tears in his voice. " I 
 
 3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 thank you heartily, Mr. Alton, for your gener 
 ous confidence. It is like your father whom 
 I do not know, however." He added the last 
 clause hastily. " I must not let you get the 
 impression that I am a friend of his. His 
 friends are gentleman. I am not a gentleman." 
 
 " You certainly seem to be one," said Roger, 
 as the sailor cast the boat loose and the wind 
 caught the sail, heeling her over a trifle. 
 " And pardon me but that reminds me that I do 
 not know how to call you. Your name has 
 not been mentioned between us, I think. I 
 have not the slightest idea who -or what you 
 are." 
 
 " I am called Thomas Humphreys, sir," re 
 sponded the man. But he did not go on to say 
 what as well as who he was. 
 
 " Another thing," he quickly added. " I 
 told you I had no money, and strictly speaking 
 I have none. That little chest sitting on the 
 locker there has money in it, and a good deal 
 of money too, for it is all in gold. But none of 
 it is mine. I hold it in trust for others. 
 Should I fall overboard or come to grief in any 
 other way on this voyage, please open the little 
 coffer and read some directions I have placed 
 in it. Meantime with your permission I'll stow 
 it in the locker for safety." 
 
 3 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger Alton was sorely puzzled. Here 
 was a man who professed to be a sailor and 
 who confidently declared his ability to navigate 
 a ship. But his manner and speech were those 
 of a man bred in a very different school from 
 that whence sailors come. The man was a 
 puzzle in every way, and his knowledge of 
 Roger's identity and all that pertained to him 
 was no whit stranger than a score of other 
 things that were observable. 
 
 Roger was a gentleman, however, if his 
 companion was not, and he therefore repressed 
 the impulse to ask personal questions. Nor 
 was there time for much questioning. It was 
 necessary to get out of the harbor without ex 
 citing suspicion on the part of the warships 
 lying at anchor there, and to compass that it 
 was necessary to resort to strategy. After 
 consultation, every article about the boat that 
 could suggest preparation for a prolonged voy 
 age was carefully bestowed in the locker. Then 
 sailing close in to the shore, the pair dropped 
 anchor and began fishing. Presently they 
 moved on, further down the bay and after one 
 or two more feints, dropped their anchor with 
 in easy speaking distance of one of the war 
 ships. After observing them for a little while 
 a ship's officer called out: 
 
 32
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " If you want to catch anything you'd better 
 drop down to the bar. There's no fishing here 
 of any account, and it's best outside on the 
 banks if you can make that cockle shell of yours 
 live in the seaway out there." 
 
 This was precisely what Roger Alton want 
 ed. It gave him entire liberty to pass out of 
 the harbor, and it indicated that the thought of 
 anybody putting to sea in so frail a craft had 
 not entered the officer's mind even as a pos 
 sibility. 
 
 " Thank you ! " cried Roger as Humphreys 
 drew up the anchor. " We'll try it, and if we 
 get back in safety I'll stop and leave you some 
 fish for your breakfast." 
 
 " That's courteous, and the mess will be glad 
 of the dainty," answered the officer. " But 
 mind your eye if you venture beyond the bar. 
 It's apt to be squally in these latitudes and that 
 shell of yours wouldn't last long in a heavy 
 sea." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," shouted Humphreys in the 
 tone of an old salt, " that's what the cap'n ship 
 ped me for. I'm on speakin' terms with salt 
 water, anyhow." 
 
 So they hoisted sail and bore away in a fresh 
 breeze toward the bar. There they dropped 
 anchor again and fished for a time. Then they 
 
 33
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 shifted their position, going half a mile farther 
 seawards. Later still they set sail and trolled 
 back and forth as if for surface-swimming fish, 
 going every time farther and farther from the 
 ships. They continued this until nightfall, 
 which, in latitudes so low, occurs almost im 
 mediately after sunset, and with next to no in 
 tervening twilight. 
 
 " May we not start now? " asked Roger, as 
 the ships faded away in the gathering gloom. 
 " They can't see us and clearly they don't sus 
 pect our purpose." 
 
 " You are master of the boat, sir," answered 
 the sailor. 
 
 " Very well then, we'll put to sea at once." 
 And with that he brought the boat about and 
 laid her course to the northwest, while Hum 
 phreys lighted the little firefly lamp in the 
 binnacle that made the compass card dimly 
 visible. 
 
 The sky had become overcast with the com 
 ing on of evening and the darkness was intense, 
 for the voyagers carried no lights. 
 
 " In the eyes of the law, we're pirates I sup 
 pose," said Roger. " We have put to sea with 
 out clearance papers, and are sailing under no 
 country's flag." 
 
 "Perhaps," answered Humphreys. 'The 
 
 34
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 boat is too small I think to require registry, but 
 as she is sailing from one country to another 
 I suppose we should be asked for our papers 
 if we were overhauled or if we put into a 
 recognized port. However all the smugglers 
 of the smaller sort, take the same risk." 
 
 Then in answer to Roger's questioning, he 
 explained that there had been for many years 
 a constant illicit trade between the West In 
 dies and other countries and the Carolina coast. 
 
 " You see our coast I should say the Caro 
 lina coast is laced all over with little creeks, 
 rivers and inlets that no revenue fleet in the 
 world could adequately guard. They are nar 
 row, crooked, and often run into each other, 
 while most of them are very deep. I know 
 some that are thirty feet deep even where they 
 are not more than thirty feet wide. Their 
 banks are generally dense woodlands, so that 
 when a smuggling craft makes its way into one 
 of them it is out of sight at the first turn of the 
 creek, and its cargo can be put ashore any 
 where." 
 
 " But how about disposing of the goods with 
 out detection? " asked Roger. 
 
 " Oh, that's easy enough. The British ship 
 ping laws and trade exactions are so oppressive 
 that very few of the colonists have ever felt 
 
 35
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 much compunction in buying smuggled goods. 
 In New England smuggling for years amount 
 ed almost to a regular commerce. There was 
 far less of it in the Southern colonies, but still 
 there was a good deal and it was easily man 
 aged. The British law prohibited the importa 
 tion of tea into the colonies from any country 
 but England, but a good deal of the tea used in 
 Carolina before independence was declared, 
 was bought for less money than it would have 
 cost in England. But the smuggling has been 
 mostly outward bound. There are better mar 
 kets than England affords for cotton, indigo 
 and tobacco, and as the British law prohibited 
 the shipment of such goods to any but British 
 ports, why, naturally the smugglers had not 
 much difficulty in finding outbound cargoes." * 
 
 * About 1750, in an official report, the Royal Governor 
 Glen said to the Lords Commissioners in England: 
 " There is no country in the world where there is less 
 illegal trade, at least so far as I can learn." Perhaps 
 Gov. Glen did not " learn " quite all that some others 
 knew on this subject. He added : " If there were any 
 it would be difficult to prevent by reason of the great 
 numbers of rivers and creeks and the small number of 
 officers of the revenue." Tradition tells us that during 
 the quarter of a century after Gov. Glen made his report, 
 the smugglers more and more availed themselves of 
 the geographical advantages to which he had directed 
 their attention. Author. 
 
 36
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger was not listening. He had relin 
 quished the helm to Humphreys, and taken his 
 station in the bow, forward of the mast. He 
 was excited. He neither saw nor heard, but 
 sat silent, as a supremely angry or a desperately 
 determined man might. He had planned this 
 voyage with a frequently sinking heart, in 
 ignorance of what might or might not be the 
 restrictions imposed upon persons leaving the 
 island, an ignorance all the more tormenting 
 because he dared not remove it by inquiry of 
 any sort. From the beginning he had been 
 painfully apprehensive that at the last moment 
 his flight would in some way be stopped and all 
 his hopes brought to naught. Now at last he 
 was free. He was out on a wilderness of 
 waves, in a frail open boat, it was true, but 
 there was now no official arm to restrain him 
 and nothing more unfriendly than the surging 
 waters of the Gulf Stream between him and 
 his native land in whose behalf he was hasten 
 ing to take up arms. The release from the 
 long tension was more than he could bear and 
 he sat there dumb in the bow of the boat, while 
 every pulse throbbed painfully with suppressed 
 emotion. 
 
 An hour passed and a ship's light appeared 
 immediately ahead. Suddenly the thought 
 
 37 
 
 448108
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 came to Roger's half-dazed mind that his com 
 panion had proved treacherous after all and in 
 stead of putting to sea had sailed again into the 
 harbor and was now approaching the warships 
 at anchor there. He sprang to his feet and 
 turned savagely upon the helmsman. 
 
 " What light is that, sir? " he cried. 
 
 " Stand off, sir/' called Humphreys. " Let 
 her come round or that ship will run us down 
 in five seconds." With that he " gibed " the 
 boom, bringing the boat about with a sudden 
 ness that wellnigh overturned her, Roger 
 dodging the swinging boom just in time to 
 save himself from being knocked overboard. 
 When the boat righted herself she was half full 
 of water. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Captain," the man re 
 sumed when the danger was past. " But I 
 was depending upon you to call lights. I can't 
 see them very well here abaft the sail. Still, it 
 was my business to see that ship's lights. She 
 was bearing right down upon us. You see as 
 we carry no light we must look out for our 
 selves." 
 
 Roger was heartily ashamed of having 
 doubted his companion, and he gave vent to 
 his emotion by grasping his friend's hand and 
 saying : 
 
 38
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " 1 know I ought to have called the light, but 
 I think I've been half beside myself since we 
 cleared the harbor. I have slept scarcely an 
 hour for a week past, and what with that and 
 the release of the strain, my nerves gave way I 
 think. I'm all right now, and I'll not be care 
 less again." 
 
 " I saw you were excited," responded 
 Humphreys. " Otherwise I should have asked 
 you sooner about our course and destination. 
 We'll talk it over if you please, as soon as I 
 bail this water out. If you'll take the helm 
 and hold her as she is for half an hour, I'll have 
 her dry again." 
 
 " No," said Roger, " I'm to blame for that 
 water and I'll bail it out," and with that he be 
 gan work vigorously, finding in active exer 
 tion a much-needed relief for his over-strained 
 nerves. 
 
 When the boat was free of water Roger sat 
 down by the mast and said : 
 
 " I'm quite myself again now, and ready to 
 hear what you have to suggest as to our course. 
 I suppose it is hardly necessary however for 
 me to discuss the matter. You know the way 
 to Charles Town better than I do, and that's 
 where we're bound." 
 
 " Very well, sir, if you say so." 
 
 39
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 11 1 don't catch your drift," said Roger in 
 quiringly. " Of what were you thinking? " 
 
 " Only that Charles Town is probably in the 
 hands of the British just now." 
 
 " What ! Charles Town ? When did you 
 hear?" 
 
 " I have heard nothing definite," answered 
 Humphreys; "but there was a rumor ashore 
 that an expedition has been sent from New 
 York to the South lately and that Savannah 
 was captured some time last month. Those 
 sleepy islanders may have dreamed the whole 
 thing, but it is worth while to take all precau 
 tions." 
 
 " Certainly. It would be a melancholy end 
 ing of our voyage to find ourselves cap 
 tives and forced to choose between British 
 protection and a British prison. What's your 
 idea? '' 
 
 " Well if they have taken Savannah it gives 
 them a base of operations, and that is what they 
 have taken it for. They mean to overrun 
 Georgia and the Carolinas, and I should think 
 their first point of attack after Savannah would 
 be Charles Town. It seems likely therefore 
 that if they have really taken Savannah, they 
 are by this time either in Charles Town or close 
 ly besieging it by land and sea. In either case 
 
 40
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that harbor isn't a desirable one for us to 
 make." 
 
 " Can we not make for Georgetown then? " 
 
 " It seems an unnecessary risk. We should 
 have to make a run of six or seven hundred 
 miles in all, and every additional mile brings 
 additional danger. We're not afraid of death, 
 of course, else we shouldn't be out here in a 
 boat that is hardly fit for navigating a creek; 
 but we don't want to fail, and the longer our 
 voyage is, the greater is our chance of failure." 
 
 " What do you advise? " asked Roger. 
 
 " We've three or four courses open to us," 
 said Humphreys, who had evidently thought 
 the problem out in his own mind. " From here 
 to the Florida coast the distance is small not 
 more than a hundred and fifty miles, or per 
 haps less. We might sail west, therefore, and 
 reach land by the day after to-morrow, but we 
 should then be about as far from our destina 
 tion in South Carolina as we are now, and a 
 British army would probably occupy the coun 
 try we'd have to travel through. My notion 
 is that we'd better take advantage of the Gulf 
 Stream, and sail northward till we reach the 
 latitude of Savannah, then make west till we 
 sight the coast. After that we can lay to till 
 night and then run up the coast and into some 
 
 41
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 inlet or other. If we can get into some little 
 stream like the Ashepoo, the Edisto, the Com- 
 babee, the Stono, the Coosawhatchie or the 
 Pocotaligo, we shall be safe even if the whole 
 country is overrun. We can stay in the woods 
 till we learn the position of affairs and how to 
 make our way up country. There's always 
 plenty of game and fish to eat along such 
 creeks." 
 
 " But how are we to find an entrance par 
 ticularly at night ? " 
 
 " I think I can manage that," said Humph 
 reys with a note of confidence in his voice. 
 
 " You know the coast well, then," said 
 Roger. " Your home is there perhaps." 
 
 " I have no home," said the other. " But I 
 do know the coast. As a seaman it is my busi 
 ness to know something of all coasts in this 
 quarter of the world, and besides I have had 
 particular occasion to learn a good deal about 
 that of the Carolinas." 
 
 " Let us sail for the Gulf Stream then," said 
 Roger. 
 
 " We're in it now, sir, and its current adds 
 several miles an hour to our sailing speed. If 
 the weather holds good and this wind lasts we 
 ought to make port in a week. But the wea 
 ther may not hold and if it should come on to 
 
 42
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 blow even a moderate gale, it will take both of 
 us night and day to handle the boat. So you'd 
 better get some sleep on the half deck while 
 you can. I'm fresh, and I'm good for this 
 night easily. You must have some sleep, or 
 you'll not be fit for work in case of a storm." 
 
 The soundness of this view was so clearly 
 manifest that Roger accepted it without demur. 
 He was soon sleeping soundly on the little half 
 deck with his head resting upon the gunwale. 
 The boat sped on through the waves as he slept, 
 carrying him every moment nearer to the home 
 land he had left seven years before. 
 
 43
 
 Ill 
 
 IN which ROGER ALTON encounters an EMBAR- 
 RASSMENT 
 
 /T was a night of storm and heavy seas on 
 which the two voyagers at last ap 
 proached the coast. They had sighted 
 Hilton Head early in the morning and all 
 day had run up the coast with the wind 
 blowing hard almost abeam. At ten o'clock at 
 night, with a black pall of cloud overhead, the 
 wind blowing directly on shore, the inky coast 
 line within sight, in spite of the darkness, and 
 the line of breakers so near on the boat's lee 
 that their roar made the hearing of speech al 
 most impossible, Humphreys calmly sat at the 
 helm and held his course northward. It was a 
 perilous thing to run so close to the breakers, 
 and on the part of one less familiar with the 
 coast than Humphreys was it would have been 
 an inexcusably reckless thing to do. 
 
 " I know this breaker line so well," he ex 
 plained to his companion, " that I can afford 
 to take risks, and I'm hugging it as close as 
 
 44
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 possible in order to make out the coast. You 
 see I've got to know exactly where I am, and 
 the night is so dark that I can't make out even 
 the coast line at any considerable distance. 
 There ! I know where we are now " staring 
 out into the blackness that to Roger's eyes was 
 wholly featureless. " Can you take the helm 
 now and hold her steady in this sea? I'll take 
 the lookout forward and see if we can't slip into 
 some inlet. It's so dark that I can hardly 
 make out the landmarks while bending over 
 this binnacle lamp. Dim as it is it spoils my 
 eyes for seeing in the dark." 
 
 Roger went to the helm and Humphreys took 
 his stand on the locker top, clinging to the mast 
 for support as the little craft bobbed about like 
 a cork upon the surging sea. From time to 
 time he called out directions to Roger for slight 
 changes in the course. Meantime the gale 
 steadily increased in fury until it seemed 
 scarcely possible for the boat to weather it 
 longer. Twice she shipped seas that wellnigh 
 swamped her, but the only heed Humphreys 
 gave was expressed in a steering direction, giv 
 en without a sign of excitement, though in a 
 voice loud enough to be heard above the howl 
 ing of the tempest. 
 
 " Port a little, sir steady starboard that 
 
 45
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 will do try and hold her so." Somehow 
 these slight changes in their course seemed so 
 well timed as to afford all needed relief, and 
 although Roger's feet were well under water, 
 no more billows broke over the gunwale after 
 Humphreys began directing the course with 
 reference to that danger. 
 
 After running thus for an hour perhaps, 
 Humphreys suddenly cried out, with the first 
 note of excitement that had sounded in his 
 voice : 
 
 " Hard a starboard, sir hard a starboard ! 
 Bring her around quick ! Never mind the sea ! 
 She'll stand it." Then as the boat came round, 
 head on to the black shore line, he shouted: 
 " Let out the sheet ! Let her run free ! Give 
 her every stitch of canvas straight before the 
 wind, and hold her so ! " 
 
 Roger supposed that for some reason 
 Humphreys had decided to beach the boat, and 
 was trying, by showing all sail and running 
 head on toward land, to send her as far as pos 
 sible through the surf and up on the sand reach 
 es. The young man quivered with excite 
 ment over the desperate chance, expecting with 
 each moment to feel the deadly thump of the 
 sand bars upon the keel of the boat. But the 
 little craft forged on toward the line of trees, 
 
 4 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 now plainly visible, great waves breaking 
 over her stern now and then, with the threat of 
 swamping her. 
 
 " Ease her up a little, sir, and port a little," 
 cried the man in a voice now cold and emotion 
 less, as he quitted his post and stepped down 
 from the half deck, with the air of one whose 
 difficult task is done. 
 
 As he did so, to Roger's astonishment, the 
 boat glided into still water overhung with trees. 
 She seemed to him to have cleft a niche for 
 herself in the rigid and threatening coast line. 
 In fact she had been dexterously sailed into the 
 mouth of a little stream which Humphreys had 
 seen clearly enough though his companion had 
 not been able to discern the smallest sug 
 gestion of a break in the frowning front of 
 the coast. 
 
 " Where are we? " he asked eagerly as the 
 boat drifted upon the smooth land-locked inlet, 
 and Humphreys set himself at work to relieve 
 her of the water she had shipped in the perilous 
 run ashore. 
 
 " We are in the mouth of a little creek that 
 runs into or out of the mouth of a sound," an 
 swered the other. " In fact, it runs both ways 
 sometimes one way and sometimes the other 
 according to the tide." 
 
 47
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " How on earth did you find it in the black 
 ness of such a night? " 
 
 " I was here five years ago on just such a 
 night, and I remembered the look of the coast 
 pretty well. I was running out then, and look 
 ing back. I had reason to look earnestly and 
 to fasten the scene upon my memory. Besides, 
 I've been about here many times since. We've 
 been inside the sound's mouth for some little 
 time but it is as rough as the sea outside, with 
 the storm beating straight into it, so I hunted 
 for the creek as a harbor. We must work up 
 the inlet a little way and camp for the night. 
 In the morning you can find out the situation 
 of affairs, so that you may know what to do. 
 There's a plantation house up here a little way, 
 where you can make inquiries." 
 
 Roger could not help observing that the man 
 said " you " and not " we," but he said noth 
 ing. Instead, he joined his companion in the 
 toilsome task of rowing the boat up the stream 
 with the two clumsy oars that were a part of her 
 equipment. Towards morning, at Humphreys's 
 suggestion, they halted and tied up their craft 
 in a part of the creek which was completely 
 screened from observation by a dense forest 
 growth and a denser thicket of cane and vine 
 in the surrounding swamp lands. 
 
 4 8
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Humphreys stretched himself upon the little 
 deck, as soon as the boat was made fast, but 
 Roger, with his young man's enthusiasm, de 
 clared his purpose to sleep that night upon the 
 soil of his native land, and,, leaping ashore, he 
 lay down upon the ground, wrapped only in his 
 cloak, and sank at once into the slumber of a 
 healthy man thoroughly exhausted with strenu 
 ous exertion and still more strenuous anxiety, 
 long continued but now at an end. 
 
 When he waked he found Humphreys busy 
 over a fire which he had kindled not far away. 
 The man had killed and dressed two squirrels 
 and was now broiling them for breakfast. 
 
 " Isn't it a trifle dangerous to kindle a fire 
 here?" asked Roger. "The country may be 
 full of British soldiers for aught we know to 
 the contrary." 
 
 "No," replied Humphreys; "they could 
 have no possible object in coming away down 
 here to the sea where there is no enemy to en 
 counter, and no position to defend. You may 
 depend upon it that there are no military forces 
 within twenty or thirty miles of us at the near 
 est, even if they have marched upon Charles 
 Town and are holding the low country. And 
 besides it is fully three miles to the nearest edge 
 of these woods. The only house near and 
 
 49
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that is four miles up the creek is the widow 
 Vargave's. She owns the plantation to 
 which these woods belong. After breakfast 
 you can go to her house if you will and find 
 out what the situation is. She is a patriot, you 
 may be sure, and she knows your father well." 
 
 "Do you mean Mrs. William Vargave?" 
 asked Roger. 
 
 " Yes, she owns the land we are camping 
 upon." 
 
 " Oh ! well, I knew her intimately, when I 
 was a boy. But you called her a widow. Is 
 Mr. Vargave dead ? " 
 
 " He is supposed to have been drowned out 
 there in the mouth of the sound five years ago. 
 His body was never recovered, I believe." 
 
 " Do you know Mrs. Vargave ? " 
 
 " No, oh no," answered the other quickly. 
 " I have no acquaintances in South Carolina." 
 
 " I'll introduce you then," said Roger. 
 " She will welcome any gentleman whom I 
 introduce as my friend." 
 
 " You forget," said the man moodily. " I 
 am not a gentleman, and the agreement be 
 tween you and me to be friends was limited to 
 our voyage together. I shall certainly cherish 
 feelings of friendship towards you so long as I 
 live, but I am not the sort of man whom you 
 
 50
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 should call friend. Above all I cannot permit 
 you to introduce me to any of your friends. 
 That reminds me that I have a very earnest 
 request to make of you. After you return 
 from Mrs. Vargave's house with the informa 
 tion needed you and I must part company. I 
 beg of you, if it is possible, to forget that you 
 ever knew me at all. Pray say as little as may 
 be in any event about the unknown sailor who 
 voyaged with you from the Bahamas. If you 
 ever meet me again as you easily may during 
 the war, for we have both come to Carolina to 
 fight please let our meeting be that of abso 
 lute strangers. If anybody introduces us to 
 each other, as somebody may, very well, you 
 can safely know me after that. But I beg of 
 you, say nothing of any previous acquaintance 
 between us." 
 
 " But my dear friend " began Roger 
 
 protestingly. 
 
 "I know," interrupted Humphreys, "all this 
 seems unnatural and ungrateful in me, but I 
 cannot help myself. Neither can I explain. 
 In making my requests I am terribly in earnest 
 and if you refuse to grant them you will do 
 me a much sharper hurt than you imagine. You 
 will in that case compel me to quit Carolina 
 again, even if I have to put to sea astride of a 
 
 5 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 log. Will you not promise what I ask, in mem 
 ory of the dangers we have shared together ? " 
 
 " Yes. In the memory of those dangers and 
 of the faithfulness of your friendship, I prom 
 ise what you ask, though I cannot understand 
 why you ask it," said Roger, grasping the man's 
 hand. " Whatever else you may or may not 
 be, you have been to me a faithful comrade 
 under circumstances that ought to bind any two 
 men together. I respect your desire for se 
 crecy concerning yourself. If we meet, we meet 
 as strangers and any subsequent acquaintance 
 between us will date from that hour." 
 
 " Thank you from the bottom of my heart! " 
 responded Humphreys with a warm hand- 
 grasp. 
 
 Breakfast over Roger set out to visit Mrs. 
 Vargave, having received from Humphreys 
 minute directions as to the way. 
 
 It was one of those brilliantly sunlit, all- 
 vivifying mornings which are of almost daily 
 occurrence on that sub-tropical coast in January 
 and February, but which people farther north 
 are glad to welcome as occasional visitors in 
 June. A young man afoot on such a morning 
 could hardly fail to be happy, and when we re 
 member that to other causes of rejoicing there 
 was added the circumstance that this young 
 
 52
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man had just landed from a perilous voyage, 
 and was again on his native shores after so 
 long an absence, there is no occasion to wonder 
 that his step was light and his spirits buoyant, 
 in spite of his weariness from the prolonged 
 struggle with the sea. 
 
 But he fell a-thinking, as he trudged onward 
 through the woodlands. His friend of the 
 boat was an enigma that troubled him. The 
 man was and was not what he professed to be. 
 Obviously he was a sailor. So much he had 
 proved by his masterly handling of the boat. 
 But who ever heard a sailor talk as he did? 
 His manner was that of a man bred in good 
 social surroundings, yet he had taken pains to 
 declare several times that he was not a gentle 
 man. He knew this coast with wonderful 
 minuteness and accuracy; he had even de 
 scribed to Roger the windings and the features 
 of the woodland footpath he was now follow 
 ing; and yet he had distinctly denied that he 
 lived in the Carolinas, and declared that he had 
 no acquaintances in the state. 
 
 It was exceedingly annoying to have con 
 jecture baffled in this way, but that was the 
 least disagreeable part of the matter. For as 
 he meditated upon the singular case an explana 
 tion of the mystery occurred to young Alton, 
 
 53
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 an explanation which seemed sufficiently to ac 
 count for all the puzzling circumstances of the 
 case. That explanation supposed a fact which 
 the young man found it very disagreeable to 
 contemplate. The man must have been a 
 pirate. Piracy in a small way was common 
 enough in those days, especially in the seas 
 which had cast this man upon Roger's ac 
 quaintance. He might have been once a gentle 
 man somewhere, which would account for his 
 speech and manner. If he had been a pirate 
 that fact would account for his seamanship and 
 for his extraordinary familiarity with details 
 concerning this coast, on which he might have 
 had frequent occasion to take refuge for pur 
 poses of concealment. Yet if this assumption 
 was correct why was the man now risking his 
 neck by boldly returning to the Carolinas to 
 enter the active military service? Surely, one 
 who knew the country so well would be recog 
 nized by some one, and piracy is an offence 
 never forgotten or forgiven. 
 
 Then Roger remembered the queer little 
 chest of gold. Where did that come from? 
 Why had the man with evident dejection and 
 humiliation protested that it did not belong to 
 him that he held it in trust for others and had 
 no right to use it as his own? Late coming 
 
 54
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 prickings of conscience might perhaps have 
 taught him this with respect to ill-gotten gains, 
 and he might now be bent upon devoting both 
 the money and his life to the cause of Ameri 
 can independence as a sort of atonement for 
 years of crime. And his extraordinary earn 
 estness in pledging Roger to silence as to their 
 association ! He feared, doubtless, that he 
 might be brought to justice after awhile and 
 was generously anxious to save Roger from 
 sharing his disgrace and punishment by con 
 cealing the fact that they had made a tech 
 nically piratical voyage together, without clear 
 ance papers, slipping out of a port without no 
 tice to the authorities, and landing surrepti 
 tiously where there was no port at all. 
 
 All these suggestions pressed themselves up 
 on the young man's mind and troubled him 
 sorely, for he had conceived a very strong lik 
 ing for the man who had shared the dangers of 
 his voyage and brought him safely home again. 
 It troubled him mightily to think ill of so tried 
 a friend; but when this theory of the man's 
 history had once suggested itself, there seemed 
 to him no escape from its extreme probability. 
 All that he knew of Humphreys seemed to 
 point directly to this conclusion. Every cir 
 cumstance tended to confirm the suspicion. 
 
 55
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Every act and attitude of the man was con 
 sonant with this theory and with no other that 
 Roger could frame. The young man tried 
 hard to dismiss his suspicions and retain his 
 faith in his friend, but without success. 
 
 When he reached the Vargave house he 
 found it a substantial brick structure, almost 
 square, with a broad veranda running all the 
 way around it, after a style that still obtains 
 somewhat in that region because of the need 
 of shade. There was a broad passageway, or 
 hall running through the house from front to 
 rear, with great double doors now thrown 
 wide open at either end. Roger had never 
 seen this house, which, with the surrounding 
 plantation, had come to Mrs. Vargave's daugh 
 ter by inheritance since his departure from the 
 country. It bore no marks of wealth, but there 
 was about it a delightful atmosphere of com 
 fortable repose. An avenue of live oaks, fes 
 tooned with long gray moss, led up to the outer 
 gate, while within the small house-grounds the 
 surface was covered thick with flowering shrub 
 bery, which in that region, where lawns cannot 
 grow, is a necessary sanitary protection of the 
 soil from the sun. 
 
 Roger walked between the two beds of cape 
 jessamine which bounded the immediate ap- 
 
 56
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 proach, and, crossing the broad piazza, was met 
 at the door, as he afterwards expressed it, by 
 an " embarrassment," which put his wits to 
 flight on the instant. This " embarrassment " 
 was in fact a radiantly beautiful young woman, 
 who happened to be crossing the hallway just 
 as Mr. Alton reached the front door. She 
 was engaged in putting the finishing touches 
 to the morning's housework, and held a broad 
 straw hat, filled with a disordered array of 
 flowers, in both her hands. Her hair had 
 " come down " during her stay in the garden, 
 and now hung loosely over her shoulders in 
 great, irregular brown masses, with a glint of 
 burnished copper in their waves. In short the 
 young woman was charmingly " unpresent 
 able " as to her toilet, wearing as she did a 
 girlish bib apron over her white morning gown. 
 When, with a snatch of song on her lips, she 
 suddenly found herself confronted by a good- 
 looking young man whose knee breeches, 
 brass-buttoned blue coat and jaunty cocked 
 hat for Roger had dressed himself in his best 
 before leaving the boat marked him at once 
 as a " fine gentleman," she paused in pictur 
 esque embarrassment. 
 
 Now Roger Alton had seen many pretty 
 girls, of many types in many lands. He had 
 
 57
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 been carefully instructed from his youth up in 
 the high art of bowing low and yet keeping the 
 blood out of his neck and forehead. But his 
 education failed him lamentably at the very 
 moment of sharpest need. He bowed, it is 
 true, but awkwardly and with a stare, and he 
 blushed scandalously. 
 
 The young woman was the first to recover 
 her self-possession. Young women always are 
 first to do that upon such occasions. With an 
 amused smile she swept a stately courtesy, and 
 greeted the guest with a cordial " good morn 
 ing, sir." 
 
 With many a stammer and a wholly unreas 
 onable amount of blood in his face, Roger man 
 aged at last to announce himself. 
 
 " I am Roger Alton, and I have taken the 
 liberty of calling to see Mrs. Vargave." 
 
 " And I, sir, am Helen Vargave. I am 
 very glad to see you, Mr. Alton, and mamma 
 will be delighted, I am sure. We had not heard 
 of your return to America." 
 
 With that she ushered the guest into the 
 drawing-room, holding his hand in hers, and 
 rang for a maid to announce his arrival to 
 her mother. Then, as if suddenly remember 
 ing her disordered appearance she had prob 
 ably been conscious of it all the while she said : 
 
 58
 
 " I am Roger Alton."
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I hope you do not remember me, Mr. Al 
 ton, else you'll think me incorrigible. When 
 you knew me I was a wild,,half-savage creature, 
 chiefly remarkable for a prejudice I cherished 
 against wearing my bonnet, and tying my 
 shoes or submitting my hair to the restraints 
 of civilization. Excuse me for five minutes 
 and I'll try to prove my reformation." 
 
 As she said this, Roger glanced at a pretty 
 little slippered foot which was just peeping out 
 from beneath her gown, and recovering his 
 gallantry with his self-possession, said: 
 
 " I'm sure I see nothing which I do not ad 
 mire about the shoes or the hair just now, and 
 I do remember very distinctly " 
 
 But the elusive young woman had already 
 courtesied herself out of the room true to the 
 instinct of a daughter of Eve, to put her fig 
 leaves in proper array for masculine inspection. 
 
 Mr. Roger Alton presently began doubting 
 the actuality of the vision he had seen. I am 
 wholly unable to explain his incredulity, as 
 there was certainly nothing at war with na 
 ture's order in the fact that the little girl of 
 seven or eight years ago was a grown young 
 woman now. But Roger was for the moment 
 unable to believe his senses, and before he had 
 done speculating upon the possibility that he 
 
 59
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 might be in a dream, Mrs. Vargave appeared 
 and greeted him cordially. 
 
 While he was explaining to her the sudden 
 ness of his arrival and the manner of his com 
 ing, Mistress Helen returned, announcing her 
 self as " dressed and in her right mind." 
 
 " Mr. Alton caught me in shocking disorder, 
 mamma," she said. " I really believe he was 
 frightened. He could scarcely speak at all." 
 
 " Say I was stunned, rather," he replied, 
 " and then pray tell me why it is that comely 
 young women always run out of sight when 
 anybody finds them really at their best in 
 the way of appearance? In trying to hide 
 your beautiful hair in a knot behind your head, 
 and laying off your becoming apron, you have 
 done all you could to spoil the exquisite picture 
 I saw framed in the doorway a little while ago. 
 It is no thanks to you that you could not quite 
 accomplish that fell purpose. Nature was ar 
 rayed against your rebellious will." 
 
 As Mr. Roger delivered this speech he looked 
 at the fair girl with a degree of admiration 
 which showed plainly enough that even combs 
 and conventionalities had not greatly marred 
 the comeliness that had so lately startled his 
 gaze. 
 
 The girl coquettishly arose and courtesied 
 
 60
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 profoundly, with a laughing mock dignity 
 which impressed him as exceedingly charm 
 ing. 
 
 Presently Roger remembered his mission and 
 asked concerning the state of public affairs. 
 He learned that the British had indeed taken 
 Savannah, and were overrunning Georgia, but 
 that as yet they had not crossed the Savannah 
 River into South Carolina. The impression 
 was general, however, Mrs. Vargave said, that 
 the South was hereafter to bear the brunt of 
 the conflict. The enemy had practically failed 
 at the North, the country there remaining un- 
 conquered, even when all the principal cities 
 were occupied by the British. The capture of 
 Savannah had already given impudent courage 
 to the tories at the South. It was apparently 
 the British purpose after overrunning Georgia, 
 to advance into Carolina, seize Charles Town, 
 and, leaving a small force of regulars with the 
 tories to keep the patriots in subjection, to push 
 on northward to the conquest of Virginia. 
 That accomplished, the northern states could 
 be attacked in the rear. 
 
 " The saddest part of it all, and the most 
 dangerous one," said the little gentlewoman, "is 
 that there are so many tories among us, and so 
 many more of our people whose concern for 
 
 61
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 their property and prosperity, will prompt them 
 to become tories the moment the British seem 
 to be masters here." 
 
 " Yes, the cowards ! " broke in the girl, with 
 an intensity of feeling that the well-bred and 
 carefully self-restrained young women of that 
 day never permitted themselves to manifest ex 
 cept under extraordinary stress of emotion. 
 
 Roger looked at her with a new admiration. 
 Here, he thought, ts a beautiful young woman 
 who has something in her that it is better worth 
 a man's while to love than mere beauty, however 
 radiant that may be. With the stately manners 
 of the time, he arose and bowed low, say 
 ing, 
 
 " I applaud your sentiment Mistress Helen, 
 and I share it to the utmost. A tory who is 
 such upon conviction, may perhaps be respect 
 ed; but a tory who betrays his country and his 
 neighbors for the sake of personal advantage 
 is despicable beyond the toleration of any hon 
 est mind. But as you say, Madam," turning 
 again to Mrs. Vargave, " our worst difficulty 
 lies in the existence of a tory sentiment, and 
 the cruellest feature of the war here will be 
 the conflict between neighbors who were once 
 friends, with all of treachery and distrust and 
 hatred that such a struggle must breed among 
 
 62
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIEP^ 
 
 the people. It will convert an armed conflict 
 between the soldiers of two nations into that 
 cruellest of all things a civil war. It will ar 
 ray neighbor against neighbor. It will bring 
 the torch into use where there ought to be noth 
 ing but legitimate arms employed. It will 
 substitute malice for soldierly devotion to duty 
 and it will give malice abundant opportunity to 
 wreak its revenges in ways that Mistress Helen 
 properly calls cowardly." 
 
 " Pray when did I become ' Mistress Helen ' 
 to you, sir ? You used to put no handle to my 
 name in the old days when I used to spend 
 delightful weeks at Alton House and the big 
 boy Roger made flutter mills and miniature 
 boats for the little girl's amusement. Your 
 stay abroad has grievously marred your man 
 ners sir, I think." 
 
 " Yes, I remember. But in those days the 
 little girl used to pay for the boats and reward 
 the making of the flutter mills by throwing her 
 arms about the big boy's neck and " 
 
 " Oh, never mind the details," broke in the 
 girl. " We can't quite renew the past, but 
 please call me just Helen. I shall not feel that 
 it is really you if you don't." 
 
 " Very well, Helen, if you'll call me just 
 Roger as you used to do." 
 
 63
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Oh but you're going into the army and 
 you're sure to become a major or something, 
 and then " 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 Obviously she didn't know what then. So 
 she changed the conversation, but after that it 
 was " just Helen " and " just Roger " between 
 these two playmates of the long gone past. 
 This was a dangerous beginning of renewed 
 comradeship perhaps. But young people are 
 apt to be reckless of danger in such cases. 
 
 Having learned that the Georgia country 
 south and west of the Savannah River was the 
 present scene of nominal military operations, 
 and that there was no fighting in immediate 
 prospect, Roger saw his way clear to pass some 
 time at his home, sixty or eighty miles distant, 
 before taking the field. And as he had dis 
 covered, since meeting Helen Vargave, that he 
 was excessively weary after his voyage, he 
 was easily persuaded to remain at the Var- 
 gaves', as a camp of repose, for a week or ten 
 days at least, before proceeding to Alton 
 House. 
 
 " I will send a servant down the creek," said 
 Mrs. Vargave, " to bring your boat up opposite 
 the house and remove your luggage, if you will 
 oblige me by ringing the bell, Roger." 
 
 6 4
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Pardon me," replied Roger, remembering 
 Humphreys and his dread of discovery, " but it 
 will be necessary for me to go down there first. 
 I have a queer sailor there, who is waiting for 
 his dismissal, and if I may have a horse I'll ride 
 down and see him. The servants can bring the 
 boat up later in the day and as for my luggage, 
 it is anything but extensive I assure you. My 
 trunk, I suppose, has been appropriated by this 
 time by my late landlord in the Bahamas. He 
 will cherish my linen doubtless as a souvenir 
 of his unfortunate guest who went fishing one 
 day and never came back. He will think of 
 me as drowned, and say ' poor fellow/ in Span 
 ish, and put on my shirts with rejoicing that I 
 paid my score before starting upon the fatal 
 excursion." 
 
 Half an hour later Roger was galloping 
 along the bank of the creek toward the boat's 
 mooring place. When he reached the spot, 
 Humphreys was nowhere to be seen, and after 
 calling him twice or thrice, Roger began in 
 specting the boat. Every article belonging to 
 himself was in its place, but all his companion's 
 belongings were gone, including of course the 
 queer little money chest. The man had dis 
 appeared utterly, leaving no trace behind, and 
 Roger, giving up the search, proceeded to in- 
 
 65
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 spect a pair of pistols and a rifle which he had 
 bought in England. That species of weapon, 
 the rifle, was not very common in those days, 
 especially rifles like this one with its grooves 
 winding spirally around the bore. Roger had 
 been captivated with the gun because of its 
 deadly accuracy of aim and its unusually long 
 range, and he had bought it at an extortionate 
 price, for use in his coming campaigns. 
 
 The salt water had rusted the piece some 
 what, and while rubbing it with a bit of sail 
 cloth, Roger opened the little chamber in the 
 breech designed to hold grease and spare flints. 
 He found there a scrap of paper a fragment 
 apparently of an old letter sheet, on which 
 Humphreys, with a pencil of actual lead for 
 plumbago pencils such as we now use were then 
 unknown had traced some sentences in print 
 ing letters, as if to disguise his handwriting. 
 The note was in these words : 
 
 " I find it necessary to leave before you re 
 turn. You will find all your things in the 
 locker. If you will rip up the false flooring of 
 the boat you will find the bilge filled with bars 
 of lead. I put the metal there without your 
 knowledge, during the night before we sailed, 
 partly to serve as necessary ballast, and partly 
 because I knew how useful it would be for bul- 
 
 66
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 lets. I said nothing to you about it, because its 
 importation was in fact a smuggling of contra 
 band goods, or would have been so regarded if 
 we had fallen into the hands of British authori 
 ties. I did not want you to share the responsi 
 bility of such an operation. Farewell. Re 
 member your promise. If we meet again we 
 do not know each other. If we meet no more 
 God bless you! I shall place this paper where 
 you are sure to find it when you return to the 
 boat." 
 
 To this there was no name signed. Roger 
 placed it in his pocket, and tore up a strip of the 
 boat's false flooring. There he found the lead, 
 closely packed and securely held in place by the 
 strongly-fastened floor boards. He estimated 
 its weight at about four hundred pounds, and 
 rejoiced in the opportunity of making so valu 
 able a contribution to the patriot cause. 
 
 " Poor Humphreys ! " he thought. " How 
 and where did he get it all? He had no 
 money with which to buy it, unless perhaps he 
 spent the last of his scant supply in this pur 
 chase, leaving himself penniless. Wonder 
 how he will manage to travel inland without a 
 copper in his pockets ? Well, at any rate he is 
 a man of fertile resource, and he'll take care of 
 himself, doubtless." 
 
 67
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 With that, Roger remounted and rode away, 
 his pistols in his belt and his rifle over his 
 shoulder. 
 
 68
 
 IV 
 
 IN which DESTINY takes the HELM 
 
 71 TOW that all the difficulties of his 
 / I/ home coming were surmounted and 
 -** he was actually in Carolina again, 
 
 Roger had time to reflect a little upon what 
 he had done. He had quitted the Univer 
 sity and come home without obtaining his 
 father's consent or even asking for it, and 
 in those stately old days young men were ex 
 pected to show the profoundest deference to 
 their fathers. It is true that Roger was now 
 a man of full age, legally free to do as he 
 pleased, but it was certainly not his pleas 
 ure or purpose to offend his father and least of 
 all to wound him, by any seeming of disrespect. 
 Now that he thought the matter over calmly 
 he felt a deal of doubt as to how his father 
 would receive the news of what he might easily 
 regard as unwarranted disobedience. 
 
 Roger held his father in exceedingly tender 
 affection, and the thought of wounding him
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 was very distressing to the young man. It 
 was all the more to Roger's credit that he felt 
 thus so keenly, inasmuch as he was in no ma 
 terial way dependent upon his father. He had 
 inherited from an uncle a comfortable fortune 
 of his own, and during his seven years' ab 
 sence from home his property had grown great 
 ly in value under the energetic and judicious 
 management of his sister Jacqueline. For not 
 even Mrs. Pinckney, who introduced indigo 
 culture into Carolina, and who, as Eliza Lucas 
 at the age of sixteen, managed three planta 
 tions with conspicuous success was a better 
 woman of business than Roger Alton's twin 
 sister Jacqueline. But the young man would 
 far rather have sacrificed his fortune than 
 suffer the least estrangement from his fa 
 ther. 
 
 It was with anxious care, therefore, that he 
 prepared a letter to be sent by a servant to Al 
 ton House announcing his arrival and asking 
 for his father's commands. The missive was 
 couched in stately phrases, as was customary 
 at a time when even young women writing to 
 their most intimate girl friends, subscribed their 
 missives : " Your most obedient, humble 
 servant " and signed their names in full. 
 Roger's letter read: 
 
 70
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 "LONSDALE, Feb. 3, 1779. 
 " HONORED SIR : 
 
 " I have the duty of announcing to you my return to 
 America. 
 
 " I gravely fear that in taking the course I have, with 
 out first securing your approval, I may seem to you to 
 have been somewhat wanting in that respect which I 
 have ever cherished and shall cherish till my dying day 
 for a father who has so greatly honored the name I am 
 proud to have inherited. Believe me, I have intended no 
 failure in affection or duty. 
 
 " When I came of full age, and realized the dangers 
 to which my country was exposed ; when I reflected 
 upon the hardships and privations which thousands of 
 my countrymen were willingly enduring in assertion of 
 our independence; and especially when I remembered 
 the honorable wounds you received in earlier wars for the 
 defence of Carolina, wounds that still pain and enfeeble 
 you; when I meditated upon all these things the convic 
 tion forced itself upon me that the time had come for 
 me to take up the duty of representing the house of 
 Alton and preserving the Alton name in that honor 
 which your courage and devotion to duty had won for 
 it. I could not rest in England which is now the en 
 emy's country while a foreign foe was overrunning my 
 native land and threatening to rob all of us of our 
 birthright as free men. In brief, my father, I had a 
 duty to do which I felt that I could neither neglect nor 
 postpone without proving myself unworthy of the herit 
 age of honor to which, thanks to you, sir, I was born. 
 
 " It would have taken months, to communicate with 
 you and receive your reply, if indeed it were possible 
 to communicate with you at all in these troubled times. 
 And let me be honest enough to say that my sense of 
 duty would have impelled me to return and bear my 
 share in my country's defence even had you forbidden 
 
 71
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 me to do so. It would have grieved me deeply to dis 
 obey you, but I must have done my duty even at such a 
 cost. One's manhood is the one thing of supreme worth 
 in this world. 
 
 " I spare you the details of my journey until such 
 time as I shall be permitted to relate them in person. It 
 is sufficient now to say that I crossed from the Bahamas 
 in an open boat, and although the eight or ten days' voy 
 age was a very boisterous one, a skillful sailor whom I 
 had in my service, managed to make a landing on the 
 night before last, on the lower edge of Mrs. Vargave's 
 plantation of Lonsdale. 
 
 " Finding that no active operations are just now in 
 progress, and that the enemy has not yet invaded our 
 state, I have accepted Mrs. Vargave's hospitable invita 
 tion to rest here from the fatigues of my voyage while 
 awaiting your commands in reply to this letter, which 
 will leave here to-morrow by the hands of a servant 
 and should reach you within three or four days' time. 
 
 " Pray oblige me by presenting my messages of de 
 voted affection to Jacqueline, and believe me, honored 
 sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient, humble servant and son, 
 
 " ROGER ALTON. 
 " To COL. GEOFFREY ALTON, 
 
 " Alton House." 
 
 This duty done, Roger had nothing to do 
 but wait for the answer to his letter. So un 
 certain was he of his father's probable attitude 
 that the waiting would have been a very anx 
 ious one but for the alleviating circumstance 
 that it was endured in the company and with 
 the sympathetic assistance of Helen Vargave. 
 
 72
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 There was no company at Lonsdale, during 
 Roger's stay. Mrs. Vargave rarely went be 
 yond the veranda, as she was by no means 
 robust, while to those two healthy young peo 
 ple Helen Vargave and Roger Alton the 
 great out of doors seemed the only possible 
 place in which to breathe with any comfort. 
 This was rather curious, inasmuch as the house 
 was provided lavishly with large windows that 
 were always wide open by day, and the veranda, 
 twenty feet in width, always had a breeze 
 sweeping through some one or more of its four 
 long reaches. Yet as I have said, our two young 
 people found existence impossible there, by day 
 light at least, and so, after the morning's joint 
 labors in cutting flowers in the garden, these 
 two would wander away on foot or horseback, 
 no one knew whither, returning only when the 
 sun grew fervent toward noonday. When it 
 declined in the afternoon and seemed more gen 
 tly disposed, they would again weary of the 
 house and sally forth in search of larger sup 
 plies of air. 
 
 They enjoyed most of all their early morn 
 ing rides on horseback. After the excellent 
 fashion of the young women of the South, 
 Helen was always below stairs as soon as the 
 dawn broadened into day. Had she not the 
 
 73
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 maids to direct in their work ? And was it not 
 necessary for her to " give out " the raw ma 
 terials for the breakfast she had planned over 
 night? But was there any real need for the 
 services of Mr. Roger in connection with these 
 purely feminine occupations ? If not, why was 
 it that he, too, although he had for years been 
 accustomed to a late rising hour, found it im 
 possible, there at Lonsdale, to sleep a wink after 
 six o'clock in the morning? Why was it 
 that about that hour every morning he descend 
 ed the stairs, fresh from his invigorating cold 
 bath, and had the good fortune always to find 
 Helen in the great hallway, or just coming into 
 it from the breakfast parlor? He attributed 
 his new-born love of early rising to the glorious 
 climate of the Carolina coast where February 
 fairly puts the Northern June and the English 
 May to shame. Perhaps that was it. It 
 would not be becoming in me to question the 
 accuracy of any statement made by a man who 
 was accustomed all his life to resent imputations 
 of that sort in ways that involved bodily peril 
 to the offender. 
 
 However that may be, it is certain that at 
 Lonsdale Roger Alton formed that habit of 
 very early rising which clung to him always 
 afterwards. And being up, and knowing that 
 
 74
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the tradition of the family, sternly supported 
 by the unyielding will of an ultra-conservative 
 negro cook, forbade the service of breakfast 
 before the hour of nine, what was more natural 
 than that these two energetic young people 
 should mount their horses and gallop away to 
 see how the fields and the woodlands looked 
 after their night's bath of dew, and to watch 
 the white mists arise from the marshes? 
 Sometimes they galloped, just to give the met 
 tlesome horses a share in their enjoyment. 
 Sometimes they curbed their steeds down to a 
 walk. That happened when the conversation 
 grew earnest for awhile. 
 
 How good, and wholesome it was and how 
 completely in accord with Mother Nature's in 
 tent! And how inevitable was the outcome 
 of it all, especially since these two had resumed 
 their childhood's practice of being just 
 " Roger " and " Helen " to each other! 
 
 One afternoon, the wind being fair, Roger 
 suggested a sail out into the sound in his Baha 
 ma boat, and Helen eagerly assented. Roger 
 persuaded himself that his purpose in this was 
 simply to see by daylight the mouth of the 
 creek and the waters beyond through which 
 Humphreys had so wonderfully navigated the 
 boat on that black night of tempest. Perhaps 
 
 75
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that was in fact his moving impulse, but this 
 chronicler of the young man's doings, takes the 
 liberty of doubting that he would have made 
 the little excursion if he had been quite alone. 
 
 After passing the mouth of the creek Roger 
 sailed some miles seaward before turning about. 
 When he did so the wind had fallen to a mere 
 breath, barely enough to give the boat steerage 
 way, or a trifle more, of speed. Roger thought 
 she would trim better if Helen would change 
 her place to one near the stern where he sat 
 to manage the helm and the sheet. " Besides, 
 the sail will shield you from the sun if you sit 
 here," he said, and Helen was quick to appre 
 ciate the advantage of such shelter. All this 
 seems a bit puzzling and inconsistent, as day 
 after day at this hour these two were accus 
 tomed to walk or ride in the full light of the de 
 clining sun, and it had never before occurred 
 to either of them that Helen had need of pro 
 tection against its rays. 
 
 As they sat there, the boat slowly drifting 
 shorewards, there was nothing for either to do 
 but talk, and so they talked, in low tones, as if 
 out of respect for the silence of the tranquil sea. 
 
 " I want to tell you, Roger, all about what 
 has happened to us since you went away, so 
 long ago," said the gentle girl with a note of 
 
 7 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 sadness in her voice. " It hasn't been all good 
 by any means, and much of it I have never 
 quite understood. I have not liked to question 
 mamma about it. She seems to shrink from 
 the subject so that the least mention of it dis 
 tresses her dreadfully." 
 
 " Tell me all that you know," said Roger, 
 tenderly. " I shall like to hear, and the telling 
 may relieve your own mind. When I went 
 away you were living on the Ashley River 
 above Charles Town. I remember the stately 
 mansion, and the splendid avenues of trees 
 each a mile long, I think that led from the 
 river on one side and the highway on the other, 
 up to the hospitable house. I was a very little 
 boy when I saw the place for the only time in 
 my life, but the impression of its grandeur has 
 always remained in my mind. I think I never 
 saw a more attractive country seat, even in 
 England." 
 
 " Yes, I know," said the girl, with a mist in 
 her eyes as she recalled the old home with all 
 its glories exaggerated in her mind, as things 
 remembered from childhood are apt to be. 
 Then she added: 
 
 " That's all gone now. A year or two after 
 you left Carolina, something happened I don't 
 know what. My father met with some terrible 
 
 77
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 misfortune, I think. He was fearfully excited. 
 He could not sleep or eat, but walked the piazza 
 floor all day and far into the night, saying 
 nothing and seeming not to hear when anybody 
 but mamma spoke to him. When that occur 
 red, he would touch her head caressingly or 
 perhaps kiss her forehead. I have seen people 
 kiss their dead in just the same way. One 
 evening when Maum Rachel had come for 
 me to go to bed, my father took me up in his 
 arms and hugged me close and kissed me 
 fervently. He uttered no word except 'My 
 little Helen,' but I remember that the look in 
 his eyes frightened me so that I dreamed of it 
 all night. The next morning he was gone and 
 a little later came news that he had been swept, 
 overboard from a boat's deck, out here in this 
 sound. His body was never recovered, and 
 my mother's grief for him was so great that 
 from that time to this nobody has ever men 
 tioned his name in her presence except under 
 some pressing necessity. 
 
 " Soon after his death we left the old house. 
 I have since learned that my father had mort 
 gaged it as heavily as he could a half year be 
 fore, to raise money for some enterprise which 
 he thought would make him very rich, but 
 which ended in disastrous failure. I suppose 
 
 78
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that when financial ruin overtook him, he decid 
 ed to go abroad in the hope of retrieving his 
 fortune. But I have always wondered, if that 
 were so, why he did not take ship at Charles 
 Town, instead of sailing on a little craft from 
 the creek down here. My grandfather 
 mother's father, you know lived here then, in 
 the house we now have, and perhaps my father 
 came down here to consult with him, and being 
 here took the only ship he could get. Perhaps 
 he went as a sailor, for he had been much at 
 sea and at one time was part owner and mas 
 ter's mate of a ship. All that is conjecture on 
 my part, however. 
 
 " We were very poor for a time, for my 
 grandfather had never forgiven my mother's 
 marriage, and at first he would do nothing for 
 us, except furnish a very little money on which 
 we managed somehow to live in a little house 
 in Charles Town. But your father, Col. Alton, 
 interested himself in our behalf. He visited my 
 grandfather and it is said they had a great 
 quarrel about us. My grandfather had a ter 
 rible temper you know, and I think Col. Alton 
 was the only man in Carolina who would have 
 dared, even as his oldest and dearest friend, 
 reprove him for anything he might do. After 
 that my grandfather sent for us and we came 
 
 79
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 here to live with him. I think the sight of my 
 mother's grief softened him, for in spite of his 
 imperious temper he was a man of tender affec 
 tion, and my mother was his only child. 
 Grandmamma had been dead for years, and 
 when we came down here mamma seemed to 
 creep back into her old place in his heart. A 
 little later he began making me his comrade 
 and confidante. He made one of the stable 
 boys dress himself in skirts and ride a splendid 
 young sorrel with a side saddle, until the ani 
 mal learned to tolerate a woman rider. Then 
 * he gave the horse to me and every morning 
 when he set out to ride over the plantations I 
 had to ride with him. I must have been a 
 queer figure, perched upon the back of a great 
 horse nearly seventeen hands high; but 
 grandpapa would not ride without me, even 
 when it rained, and as for ponies he held them 
 in contempt. He taught me to ride my horse 
 over fences and ditches and logs and to make 
 the powerful creature do my bidding. 
 
 " You will not wonder that I grew to love 
 the old gentleman with all possible tenderness, 
 while he seemed more and more to delight in 
 me. He would stand me up by the wall and 
 measure me to see if I were growing satisfacto 
 rily. He would push my hair back from my
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 forehead and study my features intently and 
 with manifest pleasure. In a thousand ways 
 he petted and spoiled me. 
 
 " One day my grandfather went away to 
 Charles Town, and was gone for a week. He 
 told me before starting that he had to go on 
 business; and bade me go each morning to the 
 stables and see to it that the horses were prop 
 erly groomed. ' You're fourteen years old 
 now, and getting to be a tall girl/ he said. 
 ' I'm training you to superintend the planta 
 tions, so that when the time comes for me to 
 quit, you'll know how to manage the estate 
 for yourself.' 
 
 " His words alarmed me for the moment, 
 but he laughed so cheerily that I took his talk 
 for banter, and bade him good-by with only a 
 tear or two. Yet after he had gone, I remem 
 bered how carefully he had been explaining 
 the plantation work to me for a year or more 
 past, and how he had been at pains to tell me 
 the reason for everything he had ordered done, 
 a thing that he never did with anybody else. 
 I remembered how once my governess had 
 complained of grandpapa for taking me away 
 from my books for so 'many hours every day. 
 ' I protest/ she said, ' that your grandfather is 
 educating you for an overseer, instead of let- 
 
 81
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ting me educate you for your proper position 
 as one of the fine ladies of the land.' She 
 said this with a tone that I instantly resented. 
 I flew into a passion and told her I would do 
 no more lessons for her, as she didn't know 
 how to speak to me of my grandfather, and 
 from that hour I held to my resolution. I 
 have never had a lesson since. I did not tell 
 grandpapa why I refused to be further in 
 structed by my governess, but the manifest in 
 tensity of my displeasure with her seemed to 
 delight him. Perhaps he saw something of 
 himself in my temper. At any rate he paid 
 the governess a year's extra salary and secured 
 a good employment for her with some friend of 
 his in the up country. 
 
 " When grandpapa returned from Charles 
 Town on the occasion I started to tell you 
 about, he seemed worried and not at all well. 
 I knew then that his business in Charles Town 
 had been to consult the doctors. He sent for 
 his lawyer and for two days was engaged with 
 him in the library. Then he resumed his old 
 ways, as if he had thrown a load off his mind. 
 We attended the stables together and rode to 
 gether as usual, and often he would ask my ad 
 vice quite seriously as to plantation affairs. 
 One day after we had ridden to the remotest 
 
 82
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 part of the estate to direct the work of open 
 ing a new plantation there and laying out 
 some drainage ditches, we rode slowly home 
 ward, like the two very tired people that we 
 were. Presently grandpapa said : 
 
 " ' Little girl ' he always addressed me so, 
 4 little girl, you'll do famously. You've 
 learned very rapidly, you decide quickly and 
 with judgment, and you know how to get 
 your orders obeyed. It is very well. You 
 know, little girl, that some day when I die all 
 this estate will be your very own.' 
 
 " Then in answer to my astonished ques 
 tioning he said: 
 
 " ' Listen to me, child. Once when I was 
 insanely angry, I swore a great oath that your 
 mother should never inherit a shilling or a 
 shilling's worth from me. Yes, I know it was 
 shockingly wicked/ he continued, as if in an 
 swer to something he read in my face, ' and 
 I have long been sorry for it. But I must keep 
 my oath and fortunately I can do so without 
 harming your mother. I have made my will 
 giving you everything I have in the world.. 
 I'm not afraid that you will ever forget to take 
 the tenderest care of your mother. So far as 
 she is concerned, it will be the same as if I had 
 left the estate to her.' 
 
 83
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " By this time I was crying silently. Final 
 ly I blurted out the thought that was in me : 
 
 " ' But why did you make a will, Grandpa 
 pa ? You are not going to die, are you ? ' 
 
 " ' Not if the doctors can prevent it, little 
 girl. They would miss their fees if I got rid 
 of my gout by dying.' 
 
 " His manner, more even than his words, re 
 assured me;, and as he turned the conversation 
 to lighter themes we were soon chatting as 
 merrily as ever." 
 
 Helen paused at this point in her story, and 
 as Roger looked at her, he saw the struggle 
 she was having to keep back her tears, as she 
 choked out the words : " Grandpapa died alone 
 in his sleep that night." 
 
 The crisis of Roger Alton's life had come. 
 As Helen gave way to her emotion and burst 
 into a torrent of tears but without a moan or 
 an audible sob, he made the great discovery 
 that comes to every true man as a surprise, 
 however clearly others may have foreseen its 
 coming. 
 
 He knew that he loved the woman by his 
 side, and that it was his to comfort her. 
 
 He passed his arm gently about her, drew 
 her to him with his strongman's strength, and 
 kissed her reverently but fervently. Just then 
 
 8 4
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 he discovered that the boat was disposed to run 
 her prow into the mud, for she was in the 
 mouth of the creek now, and it required quick 
 attention on his part to bring her back to her 
 course. As he did so, Helen looked at him, 
 smiling through her tears, as the sun breaks 
 through a cloud bank, and asked, timidly : 
 
 " Why did you do that, Roger ? Was it 
 right?" 
 
 " Yes certainly. 7 did it. That to you 
 means that it was right, and it always will 
 mean that to you when / do anything." 
 
 " But why? I don't understand." 
 
 " Yes you do. It was right for me to do 
 what I did because I love you, and you love 
 me." 
 
 Then he passed his arm around her again, 
 and again kissed her, this time without the 
 diamond setting of her tears. After a little 
 she asked timidly, 
 
 " How did you know that? " 
 
 " How did I know what? " 
 
 " What you just now told me? " 
 
 "What? That I love you?" 
 
 " No, the other." 
 
 " That you love me? " 
 
 " Yes, how did you know that? " 
 
 " How do I know when the wind blows or
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the sun shines ? How do I know never mind, 
 I know it. Besides you told me." 
 
 " I never did, sir ! " she answered with spirit. 
 
 " Yes you did. You didn't mean to do so, 
 but you told me, just the same." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " You let me comfort you with manifesta 
 tions of my love. You would never have per 
 mitted that if you had not loved me, and it 
 wouldn't have comforted you in that case, 
 either." 
 
 " Oh, then you didn't know all this until 
 until just now ? " 
 
 " No. You never gave me a hint of it until 
 ' just now.' ' 
 
 " I'm glad of that. It comforts me and 
 saves my pride. I thought you meant that you 
 knew it before. But how could you? I 
 couldn't have told you before, even uncon 
 sciously, because I never even dreamed of it 
 myself until just now. Indeed I don't think 
 I did love you until you just took it for grant 
 ed. Somehow you seemed to compel me, and 
 I like that in you." 
 
 86
 
 V 
 
 IN which HELEN tells a little STORY 
 
 ACCORDING to the social law of the 
 /-i time and country it was Roger Al- 
 -^ - ton's duty to seek out Mrs. Vargave 
 at once and tell her what had happened 
 no, not just that perhaps, but he was under 
 obligation to tell her that he had made suc 
 cessful love to her daughter, and to notify 
 the mother that at an early day he would ask 
 his father to call upon her and secure her per 
 mission for him to propose marriage. 
 
 It was not deemed proper in those days in 
 Carolina for a young man to propose marriage 
 in any definite fashion until these forms were 
 fulfilled. In many cases, indeed, marriages 
 were arranged by the parents without much 
 consultation of the young people concerned, 
 and without any love making at all except such 
 as might, perchance, follow betrothal. That 
 minutely and most accurately informed student 
 of Carolinian family papers, Mrs. Harriot 
 Horry Ravenel, in her fascinating sketch of 
 
 87
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Eliza Pinckney, tell us, that " In those 
 days marriage generally was a very practical 
 affair; not quite so bad as in France; but still 
 the phrase ' a marriage has been arranged ' 
 meant precisely what it said." 
 
 Yet " maidens chose " even then, as we 
 learn from this same Eliza's letter to her 
 father, quoted by Mrs. Ravenel, in reply to 
 his proposal of two eligible gentlemen, one or 
 the other of whom he wished her to accept as 
 her husband. She rejected both, apparently 
 because she was already, though unconscious 
 ly, in love with Charles Pinckney, a mar 
 ried man, whose wife was so greatly attached 
 to her that she " declared her willingness to 
 step down and let Eliza Lucas take her place." 
 
 She did " step down " presently, into her 
 grave, and a few months later, Eliza Lucas 
 became her successor as the wife of Charles 
 Pinckney, and afterwards the mother of the 
 two revolutionary heroes, Thomas and Charles 
 Cotesworth Pinckney. 
 
 All this happened years before Roger Al 
 ton's time. It is cited here as a bit of history 
 showing that maidens, even in that time, were 
 accustomed sometimes at least, to insist upon 
 having their own way in the matter of mar 
 riage, and that the observance of conventions
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 was often purely formal. Thus Roger had 
 wooed Helen without anybody's permission, 
 and Helen, as her own mistress, had consented 
 to his wooing. But until the forms were com 
 plied with there could be no definite engage 
 ment without affront to their parents and of 
 fense against the conventionalities of the soci 
 ety in which they lived. 
 
 But on that evening Roger had no opportu 
 nity to discharge this duty. When the young 
 lovers returned from their little but eventful 
 voyage, an east wind was blowing, with every 
 promise of a cold, gray southern rain. Mrs. 
 Vargave's maid reported that that lady had 
 gone to bed with a severe headache and de 
 sired not to be disturbed on any account. So 
 our two young people were left to pass the 
 evening together and without other company. 
 While they were at supper the rain began to 
 pour and the chill came which always comes 
 in that climate when the east wind brings in a 
 rain storm from the sea. The piazza, was un 
 inhabitable, and the lovers passed from the 
 supper room to the parlor, where the house 
 servants, trained to be mindful of comfort, had 
 lighted a fire of " fat " pine logs. 
 
 There Helen told Roger the rest of her story. 
 
 "I forgot the principal thing I set out to tell 
 
 8 9
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 you to-day," she said soon after they were 
 seated. '" You see I went off into a long chap 
 ter of reminiscences, and then well you in 
 terrupted me, you know." 
 
 " Yes, I think I remember. I" 
 " Never mind about that now," she quickly 
 rejoined, " I want to tell you what I forgot to 
 day. It concerns you, and mind you are not 
 to interrupt again till I finish." 
 " Very well, I'll wait that long." 
 " You know I didn't mean that " 
 " Oh, then I'll interrupt before you begin." 
 And he did. Yet after awhile she told her 
 story. 
 
 " Soon after my father went away in trouble 
 and was drowned as I told you, your father 
 was summoned to serve on the Grand Jury. 
 He flatly refused. When the judge told him 
 he must serve he said : 
 
 " 'I positively cannot. Every grand juror is 
 required to swear that he will reveal any evi 
 dence he may have of any offence against the 
 law committed within the last six months. It 
 happens that I know of a crime committed 
 within that time, a crime of which I alone am 
 the victim. For the protection of the inno 
 cent, and to save a name long honored in Car 
 olina from disgrace, I have decided never to 
 
 90
 
 Helen Vargave.
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tell of it. I deem silence an obligation of hon 
 or under the circumstances. I must therefore 
 decline to take the oath of a Grand Juror.' 
 
 ' The judge told him that what he had said, 
 made it more imperative than ever that he 
 should be compelled to serve. But Col. Al 
 ton still refused. The judge then said that it 
 was his duty to fine your father to the utmost 
 extent of his property, and to imprison him till 
 he should yield. Col. Alton calmly replied: 
 
 ' You, your honor, know best what your 
 duty is. But I must be sole judge of my own. 
 I cannot serve.' 
 
 ' But the mandate of the court absolves 
 you from your honorable obligation of silence/ 
 said the judge. 
 
 ' I cannot so regard the matter,' answered 
 Col. Alton, ' and with the profoundest respect 
 for the dignity of this court and for your hon 
 or personally, I must positively refuse to obey 
 the court's mandate in this case. My resolu 
 tion is irrevocable, because my honor compels 
 me to it.' 
 
 ' The judge was sorely troubled and after 
 awhile he ordered your father to be fined four 
 shillings, and imprisoned for one minute in 
 the county jail. But when the sheriff tried to 
 carry out the second part of the sentence, the 
 
 91
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 people, with my grandfather for their leader, 
 surrounded the jail with guns, axes and what 
 ever other weapons they could find, and de 
 clared that they would tear down the jail rath 
 er than permit your father's incarceration in 
 it even for one minute. Your father mounted 
 a box and made a speech, begging the people 
 to let the sheriff execute the court's order. 
 He explained to them that his imprisonment in 
 such a cause and for so brief a time, would 
 carry with it neither disgrace nor discomfort 
 to himself, while it would satisfy the require 
 ments of the law. But the people would not 
 listen. At my grandfather's suggestion they 
 unanimously passed a resolution to the effect 
 that Geoffrey Alton should never be imprison 
 ed in any jail they owned. The sheriff report 
 ed to the judge that he was prevented by force 
 from putting Col. Alton in jail, and the judge 
 decided that his detention in charge of the 
 sheriff amounted to imprisonment and satisfied 
 the law's requirement. So he discharged 
 Col. Alton and that was the end of the matter. 
 My grandfather used to tell me the story over 
 and over again till I remember almost his ex 
 act words. He seemed to want the facts fixed 
 in my mind. Indeed he told me just that one 
 day. He said : 
 
 92
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " ' I once had a great quarrel with Geoffrey 
 Alton, little girl, but he was right and he was 
 brave enough to tell me to my face how wrong 
 I was. Then this affair came up, and he show 
 ed himself the bravest, noblest man in the 
 world. I keep on telling you the story of his 
 heroism so that you may never forget any de 
 tail of it.' 
 
 " That is all, Roger. But isn't it a glorious 
 story? And how proud you must be that you 
 are the son of such a father ! " 
 
 " I am proud of it," he replied, " and you 
 will be proud with me in a little while. Thank 
 you for telling me." 
 
 93
 
 VI 
 
 -^, SWEETHEART" 
 
 ON the next morning the negro boy who 
 had borne Roger's letter to Alton 
 House returned. With him came one 
 of the Alton House serving-men leading a 
 horse of superb physical form and dimensions, 
 but manifestly of exceedingly irritable and en 
 ergetic temper. 
 
 The servant bore two missives, one from 
 Col. Alton, the other from Jacqueline. The 
 father wrote after the formal manner of the 
 
 time: 
 
 " ALTON HOUSE, Feb. 14, 1779. 
 " MY DEAR SON : 
 
 " I have detained your messenger a good many days 
 before sending an answer to your letter. I am getting 
 to be an old man and sometimes it causes me pain to 
 write. Please make my apologies to Mrs. Vargave for 
 having made her servant await my partial recovery 
 from an attack of gout. 
 
 "Jacqueline is sending you a horse which she thinks 
 you will like to ride. When you find yourself quite re 
 covered from the fatigues of your voyage, please come 
 to Alton House, where we may discuss the grave matters 
 that present themselves. 
 
 94
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Make my compliments, if you please, to Mrs. Var- 
 gave and to her charming daughter Helen." 
 
 That was all. The father had said no word 
 to indicate his attitude toward his son's dis 
 obedience. There was nothing to show wheth 
 er he felt aggrieved and affronted or not, 
 nothing to reassure the youth who had been 
 racked with anxiety for a week lest his father 
 be offended with him. 
 
 Jacqueline was less stately and formal. She 
 wrote : 
 
 " I kiss the hand of my brother and bid him welcome 
 home ! I am sending you a horse which I have bred for 
 you on your own plantation against your return. I call him 
 ' Bullet,' not so much on account of his speed, though 
 that is great, as because of his suddenness. Look out 
 for that when you mount him. He is as whimsical as a 
 woman but if you are anything like the cavalier you 
 were seven years ago when the stablemen used to nick 
 name you ' the little horsefly,' because of the way you 
 stuck to your horse, you will enjoy subduing this equine 
 demon for he is quite all of that. I have ridden him 
 twice, and I confess he put all my horsewomanship to 
 the proof. 
 
 " Come to Alton House as soon as may be, my brother. 
 You should receive this letter on the seventeenth of the 
 month. If you set out at once we may expect you about 
 the twentieth or twenty-first. So beginning on the nine 
 teenth I'll order evening and morning fires lighted in 
 your rooms every day, and even warmer than that of 
 the blazing logs will be your welcome from your loving 
 sister 
 
 "JACK. 
 
 95
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " P. S. I suppose it is dreadfully vulgar to sign my 
 self in that way, and my governess of a few years ago 
 would have cut off my supper for three nights in suc 
 cession for the offence. But 1 am not writing under that 
 precise lady's supervision now, and I like to remember 
 in my ears how cheery it used to sound to me when you 
 called me ' Jack.' I shall always be ' Jack ' to you. To 
 everybody else I am, humbly and obediently, 
 
 " JACQUELINE ALTON." 
 
 As I transcribe this letter from its original 
 manuscript, yellow with age, frayed at the 
 edges, and worn nearly through at the folds, I 
 am impressed with the thought that the young 
 woman who wrote it was not properly appre 
 ciative of that governess of whose prim preci 
 sion she wrote so lightly. For the letter shows 
 that she had at any rate taught Jacqueline Al 
 ton how to spell, an accomplishment very un 
 usual among the young women of Carolina, 
 in the eighteenth century, as everyone knows 
 who has read, as I have, many scores of their 
 old letters, reverently preserved in family ar 
 chives. If any reader feels curiosity to sound 
 all the possibilities of erratic spelling by a 
 young woman of unusually varied and thor 
 ough education in other things than orthogra 
 phy, he may satisfy himself by a perusal of the 
 charming letters of Eliza Lucas, preserved for 
 us by Mrs. Ravenel, in her book " Eliza Pinck- 
 ney." That gifted young woman was as ex-
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 pert in devising novel and original mis-spell 
 ings, as she was in conducting the affairs of 
 three plantations, managing a little fleet of 
 sloops, developing the culture and manufacture 
 of indigo, making herself a leader in the best 
 society of the time, and discussing grave polit 
 ical questions with acute intelligence. She so 
 conducted her life as maiden, wife and mother, 
 that a century and more after her death she is 
 everywhere held in honor as the best type of 
 the colonial dame, and a conspicuous example 
 of the revolutionary matron, sending her gal 
 lant sons forth to do battle for their country, 
 with a fortitude on her own part, even greater 
 than their manly courage could match. As we 
 read her letters, in which " hot " is spelled with 
 two " t "s, " suppose " is usually " sopose," 
 and other words are even more curiously 
 twisted out of their customary forms, our only 
 regret is that fire destroyed the greater part of 
 those epistles and that so few of them remain 
 to us. 
 
 But this is a digression. Roger Alton was 
 now under his father's commands, and must 
 proceed at once to Alton House. What wel 
 come he was to have at the hands of his father, 
 he could not even conjecture. But in any 
 event he felt that he had done only his duty as 
 
 97
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 a man, and he was content to take the conse 
 quences, whatever of distress they might in 
 volve for himself. In this attitude of mind he 
 found himself greatly strengthened by the sto 
 ry that Helen had told him of his father's res 
 olute disregard of personal consequences when 
 impelled by his convictions of honor to diso 
 bey the mandate of a court that had power to 
 punish. 
 
 " Surely," the young man said to himself, 
 " my father would not exact of me a disregard 
 of honorable obligation to which no power on 
 earth could compel him upon like occasion. 
 Obedience is not the highest of virtues; though 
 our religion is founded upon a theology which 
 holds disobedience to have been the supreme, 
 primal sin. Be it as it may, I have done only 
 what my manhood required at the hands of one 
 born to an honorable name such as I bear. I 
 will hold my head erect as an Alton should and 
 ask no man's pardon not even my father's 
 for doing right." 
 
 With that resolution he prepared for his 
 journey, which he decided to begin immediate 
 ly after luncheon, In the meantime he had 
 duly notified Mrs. Vargave of his love mak 
 ing to Helen and of that maiden's acquiescence. 
 Mrs. Vargave received the tidings with evi-
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 dent apprehension upon some account which 
 the young man could not even guess at. 
 
 " When your father asks Helen's hand for 
 you," she said, " she shall be yours with all 
 the blessings that a mother's love can bestow. 
 But he may see fit not to ask that, and I beg of 
 you, Roger, and shall beg of Helen, to be pre 
 pared for that contingency." 
 
 " But why do you anticipate such an 
 event?" asked the young man in displeasure. 
 " Surely there is no spinster in America better 
 fit than is your daughter to mate with the 
 best in all the land. No woman is fitter than 
 she to preserve in honor the traditions of Al 
 ton House. My father will be proud of his 
 mission when he comes to you to ask her hand 
 in marriage for his only son." 
 
 " Perhaps," said the lady, doubtingly, " I 
 earnestly hope so. At any rate, if he asks me, 
 I shall surrender my child to your keeping, 
 Roger, with the sure conviction that Provi 
 dence or Fate has come to her, bearing its best 
 gifts. But wait. Wait till you know what 
 your father's view of the matter is." 
 
 " He can have but one view the one I have 
 suggested. If by any possibility a thing ut 
 terly inconceivable to me he should enter 
 tain a different one, why, I am a man, full- 
 
 99
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 grown and able to order my own life. In such 
 a case I should marry Helen in face of all ob 
 jections. I am next in succession as the head 
 of the family, and I declare on my honor that I 
 will make Helen Vargave my wife and the 
 mother of all the Altons that are to come af 
 ter me, or, failing that for any reason, the Al 
 ton name shall cease to be, when I pass from 
 the stage." 
 
 There was nothing for the gentle lady to say 
 except " Thank you, Roger, and God pros 
 per your purpose." 
 
 With that delicate consideration which is the 
 dominant characteristic of all high-bred wo 
 men, Mrs. Vargave remembered her head 
 ache and went to her room, leaving the young 
 people to take their luncheon together without 
 other company and to take leave of each other 
 without matronly supervision. 
 
 Nevertheless it was with a sore spot in his 
 heart that Roger vaulted into his saddle for 
 the demoniacal animal at that moment decided 
 not to permit his master to mount him in any 
 orderly fashion and waved his last " good-by, 
 sweetheart " to the girl on the veranda. Mrs. 
 Vargave's manner more than her words, had 
 awakened in his mind an apprehension so 
 vague and intangible that he could no more 
 
 IOO
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 reason with it than he could dismiss it as a 
 foolish fear. He told himself, over and over 
 again, that there could be no possibility of his 
 father objecting to his marriage with Helen. 
 Her family, on both sides was as good even as 
 his own, and he knew that his father had al 
 ways cherished them in closest affection. Yet 
 Mrs. Vargave had seemed gravely to doubt 
 that Col. Alton would welcome an alliance with 
 them. What could it all mean ? Merely a sen 
 sitive gentlewoman's reserve in a matter so 
 closely concerning her daughter, he tried to ar 
 gue with himself. But the argument would 
 not fit itself to the circumstances. Why 
 should not Mrs. Vargave, if she knew no rea 
 son to anticipate his father's objection, have 
 said to him, as gentlewomen usually did to 
 suitors for their daughters' hands, " My an 
 swer will be ready when your father calls to 
 ask for it ? " That formula had from time im 
 memorial satisfied the pride of the stateliest 
 dames of the Carolinas. Why had Mrs. Var 
 gave sought out another? 
 
 Just as our young man had reached this 
 point in his perplexity, his horse, Bullet, de 
 cided that the light gallop at which they were 
 going was unworthy of his mettle and his ex 
 alted lineage for Bullet came from an equine 
 
 101
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 family as aristocratic in its way as Roger's 
 own. Were there not cups and trophies hung 
 upon the walls of Alton House, which had been 
 won by Bullet's parents and grandparents in 
 strenuous speed competitions with the bluest 
 blooded horses on the American continent? 
 
 So Bullet suddenly broke into a run as if for 
 stakes. His master enjoyed the exercise, and 
 when, at the end of a mile, Bullet decided to 
 dispense with a rider, and to that end began a 
 struggle to dislodge the man in the saddle, 
 Roger enjoyed that controversy also, the more 
 because he was confident of victory in it. His 
 saddle girth gave way, but he met that difficulty 
 by placing his bridle-hand upon the horse's 
 withers, raising himself by sheer strength, 
 slipping the saddle from under him, and set 
 tling himself in the bareback seat of his boy 
 hood. 
 
 Having accomplished this the young man 
 felt better in his mind,, and when at last Bul 
 let acknowledged him as master, the doubts 
 that had so vexed his soul were dissipated and 
 he was again in that optimistic mood which 
 most becomes healthful youth. His saddle 
 was in the ditch a quarter or half mile in rear, 
 but his servant would pick that up when he 
 came to it, and as for the rest he no longer felt 
 
 102
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 any serious forebodings concerning his father's 
 attitude and action. There is nothing in the 
 world like a victorious struggle with an ill-dis 
 posed horse,, to give a strong man faith in him 
 self and in the future. 
 
 It was with unperturbed spirits therefore 
 that the young man, about nightfall, rode up to 
 a little country inn, with a pendulous sign that 
 offered " Entertainment for man and Beast." 
 When his servant came up Roger went himself 
 to the stables to see to the bedding, feeding and 
 rubbing down of the horses, and not until their 
 coats were as sleek as satin did he consent to 
 have his own freed from the stains of travel. 
 
 103
 
 VII 
 
 IN which ROGER ALTON ENCOUNTERS thi 
 ENEMY 
 
 /j FTER a supper specially prepared for 
 /-i him for the meal hour was long 
 -^ -* past Roger sat in the room as 
 signed to him, with candles unlighted, but with 
 a blaze of " lightwood," as the fat, resin 
 ous pine of the South is called, to stimulate 
 his imagination. Now that he had resumed 
 his homeward journey in blank uncertainty 
 as to the reception that awaited him at 
 Alton House, and with the still more anxious 
 apprehension as to the outcome of his love 
 making with which Mrs. Vargave's words 
 had filled his mind, he was overtaken by a great 
 wave of anxiety to shorten the time of suspense 
 to the utmost. 
 
 " How far is it to Alton House ? " he asked 
 when his servant came in to take his final orders 
 for the night. 
 
 " I'm not sure that I rightly know, Mas' 
 Roger," answered the ebony hued young giant 
 
 104
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of nineteen or about that age, " but I judge it 
 to be about fifty miles." 
 
 " Where did you learn to talk in that way? " 
 asked the master, in surprise at the partial ab 
 sence of rude dialect forms from the serving 
 man's speech. 
 
 " Well, you see, sir, Mis' Jacqueline makes 
 all the black boys and girls go to school to her, 
 so's to learn to read and write, and when I was 
 learning that I tried to learn to talk like white 
 people." 
 
 " Your Mis' Jacqueline certainly had an apt 
 pupil in you." 
 
 " Well you see, Mas' Roger, she was mighty 
 good to me, and when she saw me trying to 
 learn and not just shirking like the rest, she 
 sort o' laid herself out to teach me. I don't 
 talk right yet, but anyway I aint like the no- 
 account rest of 'em. Mis' Jacqueline said she 
 wanted me to learn so's to surprise you when 
 you got home again." 
 
 " Oh, then I knew you as a chap before I 
 went away? What's your name?" 
 
 " Marlborough, sir. Don't you remember 
 you named me out of a history book? That 
 was when I was ten years old. Up to that 
 time my name was Jake." 
 
 Roger remembered perfectly, and his greet- 
 
 105
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ing of the plantation playfellow of his boyhood 
 was warm enough to fill young Marlborough 
 with joyous elation. The young master was 
 surprised at the progress his black boy had made 
 in learning, but he was in no way surprised to 
 learn of his sister's activity in teaching the 
 youthful negroes to read. That was the gen 
 eral custom of young mistresses in Carolina 
 then. The laws making it a penal offence to 
 teach negroes to read were enforced only when 
 the abolition of slavery became a subject of 
 political agitation, filling the people of the 
 South with apprehension of negro revolt and 
 the massacre of their families. Those laws 
 were regarded solely as self-defensive measures 
 in the face of a great danger. Until that 
 danger was threatened, it was deemed the high 
 duty and privilege of the white people to in 
 struct and civilize the blacks, many of whom, 
 in the Carolinas, were native African savages, 
 of recent importation. 
 
 The greeting over, Roger returned to the 
 matter he had in mind. 
 
 " We must do the whole distance to-morrow, 
 Marlborough. Have the horses ready at seven 
 o'clock. Now you'd better get to bed. Have 
 they given you a good place to sleep ? " 
 
 Marlborough declared himself satisfied with 
 
 1 06
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 his quarters, and bade his master good night. 
 But the master did not go at once to bed. His 
 mind was still filled with visions of the future, 
 with plans and purposes and a thousand ques 
 tions, when the low talking that had been going 
 on for some time in the next room,, began to 
 grow excited, so that the young man could not 
 help hearing most of it through the thin board 
 partition and the loosely-fitting door that sepa 
 rated the two apartments. 
 
 The men in the other room were playing at 
 cards. Or rather they had been playing, but 
 now they seemed to be neglecting their game in 
 the excitement of discussion. One of them 
 was volubly expounding to the others the pros 
 pects of a speedy British conquest of Carolina. 
 
 " I tell you," he said, " when Gen. Prevost 
 gets through with the Georgia rebels, he'll 
 quick enough cross into South Carolina and 
 give the rebels here their lesson. He'll take 
 Charles Town first, and the rest'll be easy. 
 There's nobody to stop him except Lincoln and 
 he can't do it with his ragged continentals and 
 Carolina militia. Just wait and you'll see 
 merry times here. We'll all get our chance 
 we loyalists and you take my advice and keep 
 mum till the redcoats come. Then we'll be 
 masters here." 
 
 107
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 The speaker was manifestly in his cups, and 
 as he went on his voice rose higher and higher. 
 The rest were less drunk or more discreet, but 
 Roger easily made out enough of their con 
 versation to understand that they belonged to 
 that despicable class that had been mentioned 
 by Mrs. Vargave men without convictions, 
 who were awaiting the turn of events before 
 committing themselves to either side in the war. 
 Prevost's presence at Savannah, his activity 
 and success in the work of overrunning the up 
 per Georgia country, and the manifest weak 
 ness of Lincoln's opposing force, had greatly 
 encouraged the disposition of such men in 
 South Carolina to become tories as soon as the 
 invasion of that state by the British should be 
 an accomplished fact, and in the meantime to 
 remain as completely uncommitted as possible. 
 
 " What will happen when the British get 
 control, think you ? " asked one of the listeners. 
 
 " What will happen? " asked the pot valiant 
 one in reply. " Why they'll hang the worst of 
 the rebels and confiscate the property of the 
 rest. Some of that will come to us loyalists as 
 a reward for our faithfulness to the cause of 
 our king." 
 
 " You're one of the loyal ones I suppose," 
 interjected another of the group. " Well, it 
 
 108
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 seems to me I remember that you served in the 
 patriot ranks as a militiaman, till the shooting 
 began, and then you ran away. What will the 
 British say to that ? " 
 
 " I couldn't help myself. I was forced " 
 
 " Forced to run away? " 
 
 ".No. I was forced to serve in the militia, 
 and I ran only because I was too loyal to stand 
 against the king's men." 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense ! " contemptuously re 
 plied the other. " You were hot for serving. 
 You tried to get me to serve. You even told 
 me that the patriots were sure of independence, 
 and threatened me with confiscation if I re 
 fused." 
 
 Obviously the braggart had met an adversary 
 with whom he did not care to dispute further. 
 So he changed the course of the conversa 
 tion. 
 
 " There's some that try to save themselves 
 by playing on both sides of the game. There's 
 old Geoffrey Alton for one. He has given the 
 governor a thousand pounds to buy ammuni 
 tion with, but he is keeping his only son in 
 England all the while. If the rebels win he'll 
 be the biggest one among 'em. If the British 
 conquer the colonies, and they are sure to do 
 that, he'll set his young son up as an English- 
 
 109
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man, and try to save his property that way. 
 But 
 
 At this juncture the door between the two 
 rooms was kicked off its hinges and a stalwart 
 young man without any coat on, stalked 
 through the space it had occupied. After one 
 look at the group as the men rose from their 
 chairs, he said in a voice of singular blandness : 
 
 " May I ask which of you was the last speak 
 er in the conversation I have felt myself called 
 upon to interrupt ? " 
 
 " It is none of your business," answered 
 one. 
 
 " Oh, thank you," said the youth. " I 
 recognize the voice. You were the speaker 
 then. I am Roger Alton, Geoffrey Alton's son, 
 and I have intruded here for the purpose of 
 slapping your face for the remarks you have 
 been pleased to make about my father." 
 
 The words were not out of his mouth when 
 he struck his antagonist two sharp blows with 
 his open palm, one upon either side of his head. 
 
 Then he stepped back, saying: 
 
 " My name, as I have already told you, is 
 Roger Alton. I am staying in this tavern, in 
 the room adjoining this one. If anyone here 
 desires to call my conduct in question, I shall 
 be easily found." 
 
 no
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 With that he returned to his own room while 
 the men whose conversation he had interrupted 
 stood for a moment speechless with astonish 
 ment. Then they ran to the hallway and 
 shouted for the landlord, while Roger was 
 futilely endeavoring to make the unhinged door 
 stand upright again. 
 
 The house was speedily roused and the 
 stables also, for among the first to arrive upon 
 the scene was Marlborough, carefully dressed 
 in his close-fitting groom's costume. Roger 
 had seated himself again before his fire when 
 Marlborough entered. He had donned his 
 coat and sat evidently awaiting results. 
 
 " Well, Marlborough, I see you respond 
 promptly to the call of duty. So did your 
 namesake, the duke. I did well in naming you." 
 
 Then, after a pause 
 
 " Do you know what gentlemen have planta 
 tions near by ? " 
 
 Marlborough evidently understood the situ 
 ation, for he answered: 
 
 " The only one I think of that you'd like to 
 have with you in a business like this is Mas' 
 Charles Barnegal. He lives about seven 
 miles away, sir." 
 
 " Charlie Barnegal ! Of course. Just the 
 man. Can you ride Bullet ? " 
 
 III
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Surely, Mas' Roger. You taught me to 
 ride," as if that settled it. 
 
 " Yes, I remember. I told you you must 
 be able to ride anything that happened to 
 possess a back. Very well, saddle Bullet, he's 
 faster than the horse you're riding, and give 
 him his head. I want you to take a note to 
 my friend." 
 
 As Maryborough disappeared through the 
 door, Roger caught sight of the landlord, 
 and called to him to enter. 
 
 " I am afraid I have damaged your door 
 somewhat," he said in a placid tone of voice. 
 " As I shall be leaving here in the morning, 
 I wish you would examine the thing and esti 
 mate the cost of repairs." 
 
 The landlord looked at the door with its 
 broken panels and wrenched-off hinges, and 
 shook his head, saying " I'm afraid a new 
 door will be necessary. It will cost me a 
 matter of five shillings I think." 
 
 " Is that all ? Here take a guinea and 
 we'll call the matter settled. I have a note 
 to write." 
 
 The thrifty Boniface pocketed the gold 
 with a chuckle, muttering to himself "It 
 will build the partition wall I've always 
 wanted between these rooms." 
 
 I 12
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger called to him as he descended the 
 stairs, and bade him send a dozen extra 
 candles, and bring his bill. Then the young 
 man hastily scribbled the note that Marlbor- 
 ough was to bear to his old-time boy friend. 
 
 " MY DEAR CHARLIE/' it ran, " I have had 
 to slap a fellow's ears for his insolence here, 
 and of course I shall hear from him before 
 morning. If you have anything of the old 
 spirit of our boyhood left in you, after all 
 these years, you will be glad to ride over and 
 act for me. I haven't seen you since we were 
 fourteen years old or so, but you know the 
 adage about the twig and the tree, and I 
 remember how ready you used to be for any 
 battle in any good cause. 
 
 " Ride over as quickly as you can, and for 
 ever oblige, 
 
 " Your old comrade, 
 
 " ROGER ALTON. 
 
 " TORRANCE'S TAVERN/' 
 
 Soon after Marlborough set off with this 
 missive, promising for Bullet and himself to 
 reach the Barnegal plantation within three 
 quarters of an hour, the landlord knocked at 
 Roger's door, and upon entering informed 
 the young man that three of the four men who 
 
 "3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 had occupied the next room now vacated 
 wished to speak with him " in quite a friendly 
 way." 
 
 Roger bade the landlord usher them into his 
 presence, and arose to receive them. One of 
 them announced their names, and said : 
 
 " Mr. Alton, we have come to make our 
 apologies for even listening to the words that 
 you have so properly resented. I beg you to 
 believe that we three were merely listeners, and 
 perhaps you could not help overhearing enough 
 of what was said to discover that we rather 
 ridiculed than accepted the boastful utterances 
 of our companion. At any rate we assure you 
 that such was the case gentlemen I speak for 
 all of us, do I not? and we have come, as 1 
 said before to beg your pardon, as gentlemen 
 should, upon such an occasion." 
 
 Roger paused half a minute before reply 
 ing. From the first he had been resolute to 
 keep his tongue in leash and his temper under 
 a tight rein, so that no indiscretion might mar 
 his conduct of the quarrel. After the pause he 
 said, with a very marked calmness of manner, 
 
 " I accept your apologies, gentlemen. I have 
 not had the honor of meeting any of you be 
 fore, and this meeting would be a pleasure to 
 me, except for my well let me say my regret 
 
 114
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 for the company you have been keeping. Let 
 us put that aside. Your apology in which I 
 understood that you all share?" he paused 
 till his implied question was answered affirma 
 tively by each " your apology leaves no 
 ground of offence between you and me." 
 
 The spokesman thanked him, and then 
 added 
 
 " The other man the one whose language 
 you so justly resented " 
 
 " And whose ears I slapped," interjected 
 Roger. 
 
 " Yes, whose ears you slapped," assented the 
 spokesman, " has been put to bed, drunk. Per 
 haps you will overlook his offence, in considera 
 tion of his intoxicated condition." 
 
 " Oh, as to that," said Roger still speaking 
 with the gentleness of a professor expounding 
 a principle to a female seminary class, " as to 
 that I conceive that it is his business to com 
 municate with me rather than mine to consider 
 him. I have slapped his jaws before witnesses, 
 as you remember. I have notified him of my 
 whereabouts and of my readiness to answer for 
 my conduct. Naturally I expect him to call 
 upon me to justify or atone for my acts. To 
 that end I have sent my servant for a friend to 
 represent me. If the person whose jaws I have
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 slapped, does not ask for reparation, I shall of 
 course post him in the tavern porch as a liar and 
 a coward, and proceed upon my way to Alton 
 House, where I had hoped to be by nightfall of 
 the coming day." 
 
 " But the man is hopelessly drunk," broke in 
 one of the others. 
 
 " That entails upon me the disagreeable ne 
 cessity of waiting here till he becomes sober 
 again," answered Roger. " I could not think 
 of depriving him of the opportunity of meeting 
 me." 
 
 " He will apologize of course," said the one 
 who had acted as spokesman. 
 
 " He can make no apology that I can accept. 
 He has insolently traduced my father. Even 
 his drunkenness cannot excuse that. I have 
 punished him by putting upon him in the pres 
 ence of others the worst affront that it is pos 
 sible for one man to put upon another. I have 
 publicly slapped his jaws. I now decline, very 
 peremptorily and finally, to accept any apology 
 at his hands. You tell me that he is at present 
 drunk, Very well, I will tarry here, as I said 
 before, till he gets sober. Gentlemen, I bid you 
 good night." 
 
 So he bowed them out. 
 
 A few minutes later there came a furious 
 
 116
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 clatter of hoofs in the road below, and before 
 Roger thought there was time for one to fling 
 himself from his horse, Charles Barnegal came 
 up the stairs three steps at a time, rushed into 
 the room, and clasped the comrade of his boy 
 hood in his stalwart arms. 
 
 " Welcome home, old fellow ! " he said. " So 
 you're at it already ? Fighting the enemy ? By 
 the way, who is the enemy ? " 
 
 After returning the greeting Roger said, 
 
 " I believe the man's name is Gilfoyle, or 
 something like that." 
 
 " Gilfoyle oh yes, I know him. He's 
 scarcely a gentleman. If he forced a quarrel 
 on you you might very well refuse to meet him, 
 as a man not in our class. But " 
 
 " But in this case I desire to meet him," said 
 Roger. " One doesn't exact that a cur shall 
 be a dog of gentlemanly demeanor before kick 
 ing him for snarling." 
 
 " Oh certainly not," said Barnegal. " I was 
 only thinking what a favor you will confer 
 upon this fellow by fighting him. You'll 
 actually set him up in the community by recog 
 nizing him as a man entitled to be confronted 
 by a gentleman at ten paces from a pistol's 
 mouth. By the way, where are your pistols? 
 I'll look them over while you stir up the land-
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 lord and the cook and order some breakfast. 
 No gentleman should fight on an empty 
 stomach. It unsteadies his nerves, and besides, 
 if he should happen to get a bullet lodged any 
 where in his anatomy, the doctors wouldn't let 
 him eat anything for oh, ever so long." 
 
 " You're the same old Charlie, I see," said 
 Roger grasping his hand. " You make a jest 
 of everything. But as I am distinctly hungry, 
 and as daylight must be near, I'll order break 
 fast at once." 
 
 He left the room for that purpose, and mean 
 time young Barnegal had possessed himself of 
 Roger's pistols and had set to work to put them 
 in perfect order, with newly fringed flints, and 
 barrels " as clean as a hound's tooth " in the 
 bore, as he said.* 
 
 The breakfast was ordered through Marl- 
 borough, and that ebony aristocrat not only 
 served it, but superintended its preparation. He 
 apologized for the coffee : 
 
 " The coffee ain't up to standard, Mas' 
 Roger, but that's because there ain't no ain't 
 any good coffee in the house. I stopped the 
 cook from making it in a pot full of old grounds 
 
 * Gov. Roosevelt did not invent that simile. I found 
 it thirty odd years ago in an old manuscript, used pre 
 cisely as it is here. Author. 
 
 118
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 anyhow. I'd have broken her neck for trying 
 that trick, if she'd been a man. As it was I only 
 kicked the coffee pot into kingdom come, so's 
 she had to make your coffee in a kettle. I had 
 to throw out three pans of poached eggs before 
 I got one that wasn't overdone. No gentleman 
 can pull a trigger right when he has a hard egg 
 in his stomach. As for the ham, I broiled that 
 myself on the point of a stick." 
 
 " The breakfast is quite satisfactory, Marl- 
 borough," said the master. " Indeed I count 
 your campaign in the kitchen as one of the best 
 you ever fought. By the way, do you belong 
 to me, or to my father, or to your Mis' Jac 
 queline ? " 
 
 " I am proud to belong to you, Mas' Roger," 
 answered the man. " My mother was your 
 Maumy, you know, and she was one of the peo 
 ple from your place." 
 
 " Oh yes I know. I remember Maumy and 
 when she died I shed the bitterest tears of my 
 life God rest her dear soul! Never mind 
 that now. I like you, Maryborough, and if you'll 
 hand me that pen, ink and paper over there, 
 I'll set you free, this instant, in case anything 
 should happen to me. You deserve it. You 
 have tried to make a man of yourself." 
 
 The negro relapsed instantly into the dialect
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of his race, as he always did when moved to 
 strong emotion. 
 
 " For Gawd's sake don't, Mas' Roger. I'se 
 Marlborough Alton now. If you sets me free, 
 I'll be jest Marlborough nothing or may be 
 jest Jake. For the Lawd's sake, my mastah 
 don't set me free, but jes' lem me be your own 
 pussonal servant as I is now. Lem' me go to 
 de wah wid you an', foh de Lawd, Marlborough 
 Alton '11 never disgrace de name he beahs ! " 
 
 And so this hereditary bondman remained, of 
 his own free choice, in a slavery that made him 
 a member of a distinguished family and held 
 him in close bonds of affection with its people. 
 
 I have no purpose, in recording this incident, 
 which is only one among thousands of like kind, 
 to say one word in favor of the institution of 
 slavery, now dead and done for, with all its 
 possibilities of evil. I desire only as a faithful 
 chronicler to show how the more strictly do 
 mestic and personally serving negroes regarded 
 the institution, how closely the ties of affection 
 were knitted between them and their kindly 
 masters, and how great the pride of servants 
 was in their dependence upon families of dis 
 tinction. Marlborough's case was historic in 
 the family to which he belonged, and I have 
 faithfully transcribed the tradition. I have in 
 
 I 2O
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 my own person known many others like it, one 
 of which at least, I have lovingly recorded in 
 literature.* 
 
 An hour passed, daylight came, and still no 
 word had been received from Roger's an 
 tagonist. Finally that young man lost patience 
 and sent Marlborough to summon the land 
 lord. When he entered, Roger asked plac 
 idly: 
 
 " Has the drunken gentleman got sober yet ? 
 Is he out of bed?" 
 
 The landlord hesitated, and the hesitation 
 was irritating. 
 
 " Why don't you answer ? Or must I ask 
 my friend to go and look the fellow up ? " 
 
 " Well sir," said Boniface at last, " I hope 
 you won't blame me. You'll remember that / 
 didn't tell you he had gone to bed. It was the 
 other gentlemen who said that." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Roger, de 
 livering his questions like pistol shots. " Where 
 is the fellow? What do you know? Answer, 
 
 man, or I'll pshaw! I didn't mean to lose 
 
 my temper with a tavern keeper. But answer 
 me." 
 
 * See the story "My Friend Phil.," in Southern 
 Soldier Stories." Author. 
 
 121
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 In that day, and for nearly a century after 
 wards, southern hospitality held country tavern 
 keeping in something like contempt. The tavern 
 keeper was a man who charged money for en 
 tertaining strangers, and no southern gentle 
 man would do that. So the tavern keeper was 
 held to be an inferior, and naturally he was so, 
 because only men of inferior character would 
 subject themselves to the discredit of engaging 
 in an occupation that was held in marked dis 
 repute, however honorable that occupation 
 might be in itself. 
 
 " Well you see, sir, I think Mr. Gilfoyle 
 was afraid to remain till morning. He said he 
 wasn't afraid of you sir though perhaps that 
 might have had something to do with it but 
 he has been talking a good deal in this part of 
 the country, and if anything well anything 
 emphatic happened about it, he might get 
 into trouble. So he went away about mid 
 night." 
 
 "Where did he go?" 
 
 " He didn't say, sir. But he took the main 
 road south, and I reckon he's gone to Georgia 
 for safety, sir." 
 
 Roger looked at Barnegal in bewilderment. 
 Barnegal tried to look serious, but failed. In 
 stead he burst out laughing. 
 
 122
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Gone to Georgia for safety, eh ? Well he 
 possesses the better part of valor anyhow. 
 Roger I'll never forgive you for breaking up 
 my night's sleep to deal with a fellow like that. 
 Still, before I completely break with you, and 
 just for the sake of hearing about your return 
 to America and all the rest of it, I'm going to 
 ride half way to Alton House with you to-day. 
 Perhaps I may even overlook the past and take 
 you into my favor again, if you'll promise to 
 select the right kind of men to quarrel with 
 hereafter. Call out an overseer, next time, or a 
 tavern keeper, or a sturdy beggar, but no more 
 Gilfoyles please." 
 
 Roger did not yet quite understand. " Why 
 has the fellow gone to Georgia? " he asked. 
 
 " Why, you ridiculous Englishman, don't 
 you understand that he is an emissary caught 
 in the act of stirring up sedition? He's an 
 agent of the British and he has fled to their 
 protection, to save his neck from a stretch- 
 ing." 
 
 " Oh well, I'll post him as a coward, 
 and" 
 
 " What use will there be in that? He'll never 
 come to this region again unless it is behind a 
 British regiment, and he won't mind what you 
 or any body else says or thinks about him. 
 
 123
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Save your paper and your temper, and let Marl- 
 borough bring us a second cup of coffee to ride 
 on. We'll be off by eight o'clock." 
 
 So ended Roger Alton's first conflict with the 
 enemy. 
 
 124
 
 VIII 
 
 ALTON HOUSE 
 
 /T was seven o'clock in the evening and 
 quite dark when Roger and his serving 
 man turned out of the highway, into 
 the mile long live-oak avenue that led up to 
 Alton House. The great gnarled branches 
 of the oaks arched completely over the drive 
 way meeting in the middle and forming a 
 canopy through which scarcely a star could 
 send a beam of light. The long gray moss, 
 hanging almost to the ground on the sides of 
 the road and festooned in the middle to the 
 level of a horseman's head, rendered the dark 
 ness almost tangible. 
 
 " There's nothing for it, Marlborough, but 
 to give the horses their heads," said Roger after 
 riding twice into the ditch, " and let them find 
 their own footing." 
 
 Just then the hoofbeats of horses were heard 
 in front, a thing that required attention in a 
 time of such disturbance and in a place so 
 
 125
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 lonely. For Alton House stood near the middle 
 of an estate of thirty thousand acres, nine-tenths 
 of which was a primeval woodland, an4 there 
 were highwaymen in the country side willing 
 enough to take advantage of the loneliness. 
 Roger knew that his coming had been heralded 
 from the tavern where his altercation with Gil- 
 foyle had occurred ; he was known to carry gold 
 on his person, the sum of which might easily 
 have been exaggerated in the minds of lawless 
 night-riders; and there was the added chance 
 of an encounter with vengeful tories, set on 
 perhaps by his skulking antagonist of the night 
 before, to take a satisfaction which Gilfoyle 
 had not dared seek in the open. That worthy 
 had taken the road south, or at least the land 
 lord had so reported. But the landlord might 
 have lied, or if he had told the truth, the man 
 might easily have changed his route. With six 
 or eight hours the start, nothing could be 
 easier than for him to reach the Alton House 
 estate in advance of its returning heir. And 
 what was likelier than that he, with a compan 
 ion or two, should select the darkness of the 
 live-oak avenue as a cover for his contemplated 
 crime ? 
 
 These thoughts occurred to Marlborough 
 as well as to his master^ and with a prudence 
 
 126
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that suggested the strategist, the young negro 
 said in a low tone : 
 
 " We'd better stop under the trees at the side 
 of the road, Mas' Roger, an' keep still till it's 
 time to shoot." 
 
 But Roger was quite otherwise minded. 
 
 " No," he said, almost in a whisper. " This is 
 Alton House property, and I've a right to ride 
 up this road without asking anybody's permis 
 sion. We'll keep right on in the open and if 
 anybody disputes our way we'll defend our 
 selves. Have your pistols ready," for the 
 trusted servant had been fully armed before 
 being sent on the long journey to Lonsdale in 
 charge of two valuable horses. 
 
 Then Roger transferred his own pistols from 
 his belt to his boot tops, for greater convenience 
 in use, unslung his rifle and laid that weapon 
 across the saddle in front of him. 
 
 Meantime the hoofbeats ahead, drew rapidly 
 nearer, and though they were muffled by the 
 sand of the road, Marlborough's practiced ear 
 was able to make out from their sound that the 
 approaching cavalcade numbered but two 
 riders. 
 
 " Very well," said Roger when Marlborough 
 informed him of the fact, " that's just one 
 apiece for us." 
 
 127
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Just then a glint of white appeared, and Marl- 
 borough recognized it. 
 
 '' Don't shoot, sir," he eagerly called out, 
 " it's Mis' Jack on her white filly." 
 
 A moment later the twin brother and sister 
 were clasped in each other's arms, though still 
 on horseback. Bullet objected, of course. Or 
 perhaps it was not so much objection on his 
 part as recognition of an opportunity. Here 
 was his chance to unhorse the young man who 
 had so gallantly mastered him less than two 
 days before, and he seized it. Roger had let his 
 bridle fall as he embraced his sister, whose 
 horse's head was turned in a direction opposite 
 Bullet's own. So Bullet broke instantly into a 
 run, thinking, doubtless, to throw both his 
 enemies to the ground. And but for Roger's 
 superb strength and quickness it would have 
 fared ill with Jacqueline, who had thrown her 
 foot from the stirrup, the better to embrace 
 her brother. Instantly seeing that to loose his 
 hold would be to let his sister fall, the stal 
 wart young athlete lifted the girl out of her 
 saddle, and swung her to a seat on Bullet's 
 withers with his right arm, while with the 
 other he regained possession of his bridle. The 
 beast, which ought to have been born a cen 
 tury later as a locomotive became infuriated 
 
 128
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 when he felt the unaccustomed weight on his 
 withers and on his neck. He ceased to run, and 
 began instead to rear and plunge in a way that 
 at times threatened a complete backward sum 
 mersault, and Roger, with but one hand free, 
 had the greatest difficulty in saving his sister, 
 who of course had no adequate seat forward 
 of the saddle, from falling under the maddened 
 animal's hoofs. 
 
 Marlborough and the groom who had accom 
 panied Jacqueline on her night ride, dismounted 
 and came up as quickly as possible, and in the 
 darkness tried to seize Bullet's bridle by the bit. 
 With one of his forehoofs the horse knocked 
 the groom down, nearly braining him. Marl- 
 borough had better fortune or a superior skill. 
 He caught the bridle in his left hand, and with a 
 dexterous reach seized the horse by the nostrils, 
 compressing them in a vise-like grip that com 
 pletely stopped the animal's breath, for a horse 
 breathes only through the nostrils. Twice the 
 negro was lifted into the air and violently 
 dashed to earth again, but with truly heroic de 
 termination, he held on, regardless of himself, 
 until the beast sank to his knees, exhausted by 
 his inability to breathe. Jacqueline quickly 
 slipped off and stepped well out of the way of 
 possible hoofblows. 
 
 129
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 "Is you safe, Mis' Jack?" asked Marlbor- 
 ough whose excitement was too great for gram 
 mar. Upon learning that she was quite safe the 
 negro released his hold, and after two or three 
 deep inspirations, Bullet regained strength 
 enough to stagger to his feet again with his 
 master still on his back, for Roger Alton was 
 much too learned in horse-lore not to know that 
 Bullet would interpret dismounting on his part 
 as surrender and take heart for future exploits 
 of demoniacal revolt against the mastery of man. 
 
 A few hurried inquiries revealed that Jacque 
 line was unhurt, that the groom, though 
 severely knocked about, was not dangerously 
 injured, and that Marlborough had come out 
 of the encounter with no worse results than a 
 few contusions which he declared did not 
 " even call for opodeldoc." 
 
 When Jacqueline had remounted her filly, and 
 Roger had recovered his rifle, dropped in the 
 course of the struggle, the brother and sister re 
 sumed the journey toward home, Bullet still 
 showing physical feebleness from the suffoca 
 tion that Marlborough had administered, but 
 still manifesting an unbroken spirit by violent 
 snortings and head shakings. He had had a 
 second lesson in subjection, and he did not 
 like it. 
 
 130
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Though you are not hurt, dear/' said 
 Roger as the servants fell to the rear, " your 
 nerves must be terribly shaken." 
 
 " Not a bit of it," answered the girl with -a 
 laugh. " My nerves are thoroughly well be 
 haved much more tractable indeed than their 
 owner is. Nothing ever unsettles them. They 
 are true Alton nerves, and a little escapade like 
 that rather titilates than shocks them. Don't 
 you think there was a mistake Roger? 
 Oughtn't I to have been your brother, instead 
 of your sister ? " 
 
 " Then I should have been the girl," an 
 swered- the stalwart youth with a smile in his 
 voice. 
 
 " Oh no ! no ! you'd be a monster as a woman ! 
 Think of a girl over six feet high and weighing 
 a hundred and ever so many pounds? That 
 would be dreadful! But if I had been a boy 
 too, maybe I'd have grown up a bit more. 
 Think of it Roger, I'm only a mite of a girl, 
 five feet high when I stretch a little and 
 don't tell anybody but I can run and jump 
 as high as that ! ' " 
 
 " How do you know that ? " 
 
 " Oh I've tried it, over a fence, and oh 
 Roger, cousin Jane caught me doing it, only 
 yesterday, and was terribly shocked. I'm glad
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 there's no trouble with her heart! She'd be 
 dead by this time, if there were. But she's 
 hard at work, I know, on a lecture to be de 
 livered for my sole edification, on ' The Duty 
 of a Well Bred Young Woman to Comport 
 Herself with Dignity and Modesty.' There's 
 a capital letter to every word in that phrase, and 
 she'll lay stress upon every single one of them." 
 
 " So you've been misbehaving, have you ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, I always do that. I'm dreadful ! 
 Cousin Jane will tell you so. You see I can 
 spell English correctly and I can't conjugate 
 French verbs half right. Isn't that fearful. 
 Now get a good rein on Bullet, for I'm going 
 to kiss you, Roger ! " 
 
 A moment later she resumed her rattling 
 chatter. 
 
 " But I haven't told you the worst. I can 
 swim like a duck, and I wear heels on my shoes ! 
 Isn't it awful? Cousin Jane says it's a dis 
 grace to the family, and she often says ' poor 
 motherless child, what will become of her ? ' 
 And then father laughs, and then cousin Jane 
 says, ' why Geoffrey, she's shamefully healthy ! 
 Shamefully, I tell you ! ' Now that you're 
 home again, Roger, maybe you'll reform me. 
 You see I can ride and shoot, and swim and 
 walk, and jump particularly with a pole, but 
 
 132
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 please don't tell cousin Jane about that and I 
 know how to graft trees and put bandages on 
 when anybody gets hurt; but Roger dear, I 
 don't know a note of my music, and I can't 
 embroider to save my life, and I have to get my 
 maid to do even my plain sewing, and worst 
 of all I forget to answer my letters ! I tell you 
 I ought to have been a boy ! They don't expect 
 anything from a boy except to be healthy and 
 polite to women and tell the truth, and fight. 
 I could do all that. I've got my pistols in my 
 saddle holsters now, for that matter, and even 
 cousin Jane says that in these troubled times, 
 if young women will persist in riding about 
 without an escort, they ought to have, weapons 
 of defence. And then she adds, ' but how a 
 well bred woman could ever shoot a pistol, 
 even at a man I simply cannot imagine.' ' 
 
 After a pause, Jacqueline resumed in a 
 soberer tone. 
 
 " I'm going to cry a little now Roger, just 
 for joy at your home-coming. I've tried to talk 
 it off, but I can't," and with that she opened 
 the flood gates. It was only for half a minute 
 however. Then she took Roger's hand tenderly 
 in her own and said : 
 
 " I've ordered your supper in my rooms, 
 brother, and we'll take the meal together. I 
 
 J 33
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ' cut ' supper to-night just so that we might 
 take this first home meal with each other. I 
 knew you'd be here this evening, and ever 
 since tea time I've been riding back and forth 
 here in the avenue, waiting for you. I was de 
 termined that nobody, not even a hostler or a 
 stable boy should be before me in greeting you 
 with a welcome." 
 
 " That was very loving and sisterly in you, 
 Jack, dear, and my home coming is the happier 
 because of it. But how is our father? " for he 
 would not ask how the father regarded his dis 
 obedience. 
 
 " He's better now than for a month past," re 
 plied the girl with great tenderness in her 
 voice. " Poor dear father, how he does suffer 
 sometimes! And how bravely and cheerfully 
 he bears it all! Roger, do you know I think 
 him the bravest, noblest man in all the world? 
 Anybody can face danger with a calm front if 
 he makes up his mind to do it. Pride helps 
 mightily in that. But only the very greatest 
 heroes can endure agonizing pain as father 
 does, without ever a murmur. Father never 
 utters a complaint. Better still, he never pities 
 himself, and I read in a wise old book once, 
 that ' self pity is the worst and yet the most 
 universal of human weaknesses.' Even when 
 
 134
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 father is suffering so terribly that I know it is 
 agony for him merely to exist, he never utters 
 a harsh word to a blundering servant whose 
 awkwardness gives him pain. 7 do all that 
 for him afterwards, when he isn't by to hear, 
 and little by little I've so arranged it that none 
 but the cleverest, gentlest, and deftest handed 
 of the servants ever goes into his presence." 
 
 " Good girl ! good girl ! " responded Roger. 
 " That's better than music or French, though 
 I'm going to teach you French not out of a 
 book, but out of my mouth and through your 
 ear but tell me, Jack, will not my father be 
 with us at supper? " 
 
 " No, dear, he cannot' He is entertaining 
 some gentlemen to-night, great men, some of 
 them ever so great, and you know how scrupu 
 lous he is in matters of hospitality. Of course 
 he would come to greet you on your arrival, if 
 he were informed of it, but I have charged the 
 servants not to tell him. So we'll ride up to 
 a side entrance, you will go to your rooms 
 and put on your best poor boy, you can't have 
 much in your valise and saddle bags, but I've 
 ordered a tailor to come early to-morrow 
 then we'll have supper, and after that you shall 
 descend to the parlor and meet father there, sur 
 rounded as he should be, by the greatest men in 
 
 '35
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the state, all of whom have come to Alton 
 House to ask his counsel." 
 
 At that moment Alton House, a blaze of 
 light, broke into view. It was a stately man 
 sion built in the best architectural manner of a 
 century before. Standing in a ten-acre grove 
 of sky-scraping forest pines, it rose only to the 
 height of two stories, with high pitched red 
 tile covered roofs giving opportunity for spa 
 cious attics above the sleeping rooms. It was 
 solidly built of English brick, with walls more 
 than two feet in thickness to the eaves, whence 
 extended a broad, almost flat, piazza, roof cover 
 ing at once the balconies of the second floor and 
 the piazza, beneath, full thirty feet wide, the 
 whole carrying with it suggested memories of 
 greetings between gallant lovers below and 
 maiden mistresses in the balconies above. It is 
 true, as Longfellow has written, that " All 
 houses wherein men have lived and died are 
 haunted houses " haunted by memories of 
 human life, of human joy and suffering, 
 and, better than all, of human and hu 
 manizing love. Old family dwellings are 
 not mere piles of bricks and mortar and 
 beams without, and exhibition galleries of dec 
 orative art within, as is the rich speculator's 
 new palace; they are human homes ivy-grown 
 
 136
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 with memories, moss-covered with traditions. 
 So it was with Alton House. Built in the very 
 earliest days of Carolina settlement, it had been 
 for generations not only the home of a dis 
 tinguished and cultivated family, but the seat 
 of a hospitality princely in its lavishness, and 
 very loving in its inspiration. The old house 
 had been the scene of many a revel, and better 
 still of many a gentle love-making. It had sent 
 out its sons to war, or to the cares of state, or to 
 other strenuous endeavor, and its daughters to 
 become the honored heads of other stately 
 homes, the wives of gallant gentlemen, the 
 mothers of sons deserving of all the honors that 
 life could bring to them. So large had been the 
 part played in Carolina by the men and women 
 of the Alton race, and so mingled had their 
 blood become with that of other Carolinian 
 families of repute, that it had grown into a 
 familiar saying that " It is only going home 
 when one goes to Alton House." 
 
 It was a mansion of generous proportions. 
 Its great rooms were oak wainscotted to the 
 ceiling, and wholly unspotted with paint. Its 
 floors of long-leaf yellow pine had grown glass- 
 like under the daily polishing of generations. 
 Its heavy mahogany furniture was built with a 
 solidity in keeping with the sturdy walls that
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 enclosed it, and it had grown nearly black with 
 age and jealous waxing. 
 
 The glory of the house was its great hallway, 
 with its two broad fireplaces and the noble stair 
 case with its midway landing so broad that min 
 uets had been danced upon it as a pretty spec 
 tacle for those below to contemplate. In the 
 drawing room there were wax candles in scon 
 ces, and a great central oil lamp of many branch 
 ing burners, but in the hall as in the dining- 
 room the illumination was by flaring, fatwood 
 torches, held in place by great wrought iron 
 sockets with swinging spark receivers below, 
 and ebony young negroes to attend them. The 
 dining room extended to the roof with heavy 
 carved timbers for its upper structure, and a 
 multitude of old portraits hung between and be 
 low the torch holders. These represented many 
 generations of Altons, at all ages from child 
 hood onward, and many of them had been 
 brought from England by the pioneer Alton 
 who had come out as a person of title and rank 
 and high authority under the absurd constitu 
 tions of Clarendon which John Locke wrought 
 out for the government of a wilderness con 
 cerning the conditions of which his ignorance 
 was almost picturesquely phenomenal. That 
 was more than a hundred years before the time 
 
 138
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 we are now considering and with each succeed 
 ing generation of Altons new honors had come 
 to the family name, honors of war, of peace, of 
 scholarship and of high endeavor in every un 
 dertaking. 
 
 '39
 
 IX 
 
 JACK 
 
 ~W~ yOW big and strong and handsome 
 i m you are ! " was Jacqueline's greet- 
 
 - -*- ing to her brother when he en 
 tered her rooms for the promised tete-a-tete 
 supper. The young man had donned his 
 brass buttoned blue coat, whose white satin 
 lining was a trifle the worse for wear, a 
 pair of close fitting knee breeches, long stock 
 ings, low shoes with silver buckles, and a cam 
 bric shirt ruffled at the bosom and wrists. Dis 
 daining the dandyism of eel-skin forelocks, he 
 had parted his hair in the middle for the fash 
 ion of side parting had not yet come into vogue 
 among gentlemen and brushed it back simply 
 over his ears, tying it at the back of his neck 
 with a bit of ribbon. 
 
 " You're superb. Roger, and you'll make a 
 splendid soldier ! " 
 
 " I hope so, dear," he replied ; " but when 
 your tailor comes to-morrow, he must subdue 
 
 140
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 his ideas sufficiently to dress me as a soldier and 
 not in fine gentleman's togs like these. I have 
 a mind for thick blue jeans, and stout leather 
 boots. Perhaps you won't like my appearance 
 so well when I get myself up as a real soldier." 
 
 " Oh yes I will. Mr. Snip, or whatever his 
 name is, can't trim off your great legs or 
 shorten your arms or do anything else to mar 
 your superb physical proportions, and if he 
 doesn't make your new garments fit you prop 
 erly, I'll awaken his conscience to a degree that 
 will astonish him. You don't know how I can 
 criticise and scold about clothes, Roger. I've 
 had seven years' practice on my seamstresses 
 since you went away, and of course I'm not 
 afraid of a tailor." 
 
 " The exercise of your talents in that direc 
 tion has certainly not been in vain," said Roger, 
 taking her by the elbows and holding her at 
 arm's length, the better to contemplate the 
 costume she had assumed while he had been 
 dressing. " You are a work of art, Jack, and 
 all the better because your gown is two years 
 behind the fashion. I saw just such gowns in 
 London two years ago, but never so charming 
 a woman in one of them." 
 
 " Is it truth you speak, Roger ? " asked the 
 girl with a note of real anxiety in her voice. 
 
 141
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " My name is Alton, Jack, I never tell lies, 
 even to please a woman." 
 
 " But you've seen countesses, Roger, in all 
 their glory ! " 
 
 " Yes, and duchesses, too, and some of them 
 are very fat and coarse and their gowns often 
 look as if they were made for somebody else, 
 with a shape quite other than their own. Re 
 member, Jack, that you're a little republican, 
 entitled to hold your head as high as any duch 
 ess or princess in the world. There are no 
 women in England to compare with our Caro 
 lina maids and matrons, in beauty, intelligence 
 or the charm of high breeding. You, or or 
 any Carolina girl of your class " Roger meant 
 Helen Vargave of course but he didn't say so 
 " need yield no hair's breadth to the charms of 
 any woman in all England." 
 
 " Then you haven't come home in love, 
 Roger? I'm gladder than I can tell you." 
 
 Roger blushed crimson, and Jack's eyes were 
 quick to discern such signal flags. 
 
 " Who is she, and what is she like, Roger ? " 
 she asked quickly. " Tell me all about her." 
 There was an almost pained eagerness in the 
 girl's voice, and a saddened look in her eyes as 
 she conjured up visions of some coming sister- 
 in-law whom she was predetermined to detest, 
 
 142
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 but who, she foresaw, would have the right as 
 well as the power to divide Roger's affection 
 and take to herself the greater share. She im 
 agined some English bride coming to Alton 
 House to rule there in her stead, and bringing 
 with her great trunkfuls of gowns two years 
 later in style than her own. The little woman 
 was instantly and almost insanely jealous. So 
 it was in a hard, metallic voice that she repeated 
 her demand " Tell me all about her ! " 
 
 Roger, being a man, was clumsy in his per 
 ceptions, as women reckon such things, yet 
 he perceived enough of what was in his sister's 
 thought to amuse him, and he had a mind to 
 tease her a little. 
 
 " Well, she's about your size, Jack, or per 
 haps in inch or so taller, and she knows how to 
 ride" 
 
 " Don't trifle, Roger, tell me," broke in the 
 girl, with hardness still in her tone. " When is 
 she coming here to turn me out of Alton 
 House?" 
 
 " Never, dear, never," said the young man, 
 at last realizing how much of suffering his 
 sister was enduring. " Helen Vargave will 
 never wish, even as my wife, to replace you 
 here until you abdicate of your own free will 
 to assume the high position of wife to some 
 
 "43
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man worthy of you and mistress of some man 
 sion that shall be even more your own than 
 Alton House has been for all these years." 
 
 The girl threw herself into her brother's 
 arms, in a torrent of glad tears. 
 
 " Oh, Roger! why didn't you say it was just 
 Helen? I thought, oh, such horrible things! 
 Oh, Roger, Roger, Roger ! I am so happy ! " 
 
 Just then a servant bearing the supper en 
 tered, and Jacqueline dried her tears. As they 
 sat at meat she said : 
 
 "When did it all happen, Roger? Why 
 don't you begin at the beginning and tell me 
 all about it? A man is so provoking." 
 
 " But, dear, how can I ' tell you all about 
 it ? ' Don't you think that that is Helen's privi 
 lege?" 
 
 " Yes, of course, but I don't like to wait. 
 When is it to be, Roger ? " 
 
 " I don't, know, Jack. Mrs. Vargave seems 
 to think it can never be at all." 
 
 "Never can be? But why not? Of all 
 marriages that could be suggested none could 
 be fitter. What do you mean, Roger ? " 
 
 " I don't know what I mean, Jack. But when 
 I spoke of this to Helen's mother she seemed 
 distressed, and she suggested that our father 
 might not approve. I thought at first that it 
 
 144
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 was only her way of manifesting proper re 
 serve, but it wasn't that, Jack, as I soon learned. 
 She really expects father to object, though 
 why, I cannot conjecture." 
 
 " Roger ! " said Jack, after a pause, " I be 
 lieve Mrs. Vargave is right. She isn't a woman 
 to imagine things. She knows something I 
 can't imagine what but she knows something 
 or she simply could not have suggested an ob 
 jection on father's part. I wonder what it can 
 be?" 
 
 Roger did not answer. He was wondering 
 also. Presently Jack laid down the spoon with 
 which she was taking some fruit, and looking 
 up with intense earnestness, said: 
 
 "Of course, you'll marry her anyhow, 
 Roger?" 
 
 " I'll marry her or nobody, and she alone can 
 make it nobody." 
 
 " That's right, brother ! That's the soldier in 
 you in other words it's the manhood. There 
 can be no earthly reason why you shouldn't 
 marry Helen. She is the noblest, worthiest, 
 dearest girl in the world. She's the only 
 woman alive that I would welcome here as 
 mistress and make into a real sister. If father 
 makes an objection well, I won't believe it. 
 But, anyhow, if you are half the man I take my
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 brother to be, you will marry the woman you 
 love if all the demons stand in the way. Roger 
 promise me ! " 
 
 " I have already said it, Jack." 
 
 " But say it again ! say it again ! I simply 
 will not have this thing left in doubt." 
 
 " It is in no doubt, Jack, dear. I say it again 
 to please you, though there is no necessity. 
 I not only say it, but I swear on my honor that 
 I will marry Helen Vargave or I will marry 
 no one so long as I live, and I swear that no 
 body's objection except her own shall ever 
 stand in my way." 
 
 After a minute he added : 
 
 " Don't let's indulge in heroics, Jack. No 
 one is going to interfere with an arrangement 
 so eminently right and fit. Father will feel it 
 the proudest moment of his life when he asks 
 Mrs. Vargave for Helen's hand as the wife 
 of his only son. He will welcome her as a 
 daughter as eagerly as you will greet her as 
 your sister. So let's dismiss the matter as 
 settled. And let's go now to the drawing- 
 room." 
 
 " Not till your arrival is announced, brother, 
 dear. You know father's sensitiveness as to 
 formalities. Most people are laying them aside 
 in thess revolutionary days, but that only makes 
 
 146
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 father the more insistent upon them. ' Imagine 
 anybody slapping General Washington on the 
 back,' he said one day. I'll summon a servant 
 to announce you." 
 
 " Let it be Marlborough then," said Roger. 
 " You've trained him superbly, Jack." 
 
 " That's what I had planned. He's waiting 
 at the foot of the stairs." Then going to the 
 door she called the man and he quickly re 
 sponded. He had meantime changed his attire 
 to that of a footman, with a velvet coat and a 
 sunburst of ruffled shirt front which blazed all 
 the whiter for the contrast with the polished 
 ebony of his face. He stood full six feet high, 
 with broad chest and brawny limbs, a man as 
 proud of his service as any soldier in his uni 
 form ever was. He did not feel himself a slave. 
 He was a stalwart, duty-loving, self-respect 
 ing man proud of his faithfulness to his clan, 
 devoted to the house to which he belonged, and 
 quite ready to prove himself worthy of its tra 
 ditions by any deed of humble service or gal 
 lant derring-do that fortune, good or bad, 
 might assign to him as his portion. 
 
 With head erect and shoulders thrown back, 
 and with his grammar well in hand, he preceded 
 the brother and sister down the stairs and 
 across the hall. Then, standing in the drawing- 
 
 '47
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 room door he announced his guests in a formula 
 of his own devising which he had spent an hour 
 in shaping to his fancy : 
 
 " Master, and gentlemen ! " he called, " I 
 have the honor of announcing the approach of 
 my mistress, Miss Alton, and of her brother, 
 Colonel Roger Alton, just returned from Eng 
 land." 
 
 When asked afterwards why he had bestowed 
 the title of Colonel upon Roger, Marlborough 
 was ready with the reply : 
 
 " Why, Mis' Jacqueline, he's big, he's strong, 
 he knows how to carry himself, and he's the 
 next heir to Alton House. Doesn't that make 
 him a Colonel ? " 
 
 148
 
 X 
 
 MEN in COUNCIL 
 
 T" TTPON entering the great drawing-room, 
 / / Roger's first care was to present him- 
 ^-/ self to his father, who sat in a large 
 cushioned armchair, with a bandaged foot rest 
 ing upon a stool in front and with unmistakable 
 lines of pain in his countenance. 
 
 " Welcome, my son," was the father's greet 
 ing. " Welcome and congratulations. You 
 have grown into a sturdy manhood and are 
 more than fit to take up the task of represent 
 ing our race in the difficult struggle that lies 
 before us." 
 
 " Then you do not condemn me, father, for 
 doing my duty without waiting for your per 
 mission? " 
 
 " I expected no less than that at your hands. 
 When you came to man's estate I was sure you 
 would do your man's part. It was not for me 
 to command or even to suggest. I wondered 
 how you would manage to get here, but I had at 
 no time any doubt that you would come.'* 
 
 149
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " You make me very happy, father, by your 
 approval. My only regret is that I find you 
 suffering so severely." 
 
 " It's a trifle, boy, except that it makes me 
 worthless when Carolina most needs me. But 
 enough of that; we have guests, to whom I 
 wish to present you." Then turning to the 
 gentlemen who had finished their obeisances to 
 Jacqueline, he said: 
 
 " Gentlemen, I beg to present to you my son, 
 Roger, who has just come home, as you have 
 already heard, to take up such duty to the 
 country as may fall to our house. Jacqueline, 
 dear, will you introduce your brother to the 
 gentlemen individually ? " 
 
 The company was indeed a distinguished 
 one, as Jacqueline had said. First of all was 
 John Rutledge, by universal consent, then and 
 afterwards, the foremost Carolinian alive. 
 Scarcely forty years of age, he had already had 
 a career of distinguished public service, and 
 was destined to be the inspiring genius of that 
 unconquerable resistance to superior force, 
 which kept the revolution alive in Carolina 
 throughout all the dark days during which the 
 state was. overrun by Cornwallis's merciless 
 hordes, scourged by the faith-breaking, treach 
 erous cutthroat Tarleton and his Region of 
 
 150
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 drilled and disciplined savages,* and subjected 
 to the torch of tory incendiaries. 
 
 Rutledge was a man born to patriotic serv 
 ice and wonderfully gifted in rendering it. He 
 was a mere youth of twenty-six when Carolina 
 sent him, at his own expense, as her representa 
 tive in the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, at 
 New York. At thirty-five he was a member 
 of the South Carolina Convention and a dele 
 gate to the Continental Congress at Philadel 
 phia. After two years more of continuous 
 public service he was made chairman of the 
 committee that prepared South Carolina's first 
 constitution as an independent state, and upon 
 the adoption of that constitution he was chosen 
 to be first president of the new government. It 
 
 * If this characterization of Tarleton and his men 
 seems extravagant to any reader, I commend him to a 
 study of the simple facts of history. Mastery of them 
 cannot leave in any honest mind other impression than 
 that even the blackness of British conquest has never 
 produced a leader so brutal, so treacherous, so utterly 
 regardless of the scant amenities of war as Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Bannistre Tarleton, whose betrayals of truces, 
 whose massacres of surrendered men, whose refusal of 
 quarter to enemies overcome, made his name a by-word 
 in the Carolinas and a stench in the nostrils of all brave 
 soldiers in every quarter of the world. There is no 
 blacker page in all history, savage or civilized, than that 
 which records the infamy of this royally commissioned 
 assassin. Author.
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 was he who overbore the counsels of Gen. 
 Charles Lee and ordered and mightily aided the 
 defence instead of the surrender of Fort Moul- 
 trie, with a result that is still reckoned among 
 the famous feats of American arms. And now, 
 at barely forty years of age, in view of the most 
 threatening situation that Carolina had ever 
 known, he had been chosen by unanimous con 
 sent to be, for the second time, governor of the 
 state, and the legislature had clothed him with 
 almost dictatorial powers, which it afterward 
 made absolute as a measure of commanding 
 necessity to the public safety. 
 
 John Rutledge was thus for years the auto 
 crat of South Carolina, made so for her salva 
 tion, by the universal voice of his countrymen. 
 Not even the confidence of Congress in Wash 
 ington, was more implicit than was that of 
 the Carolinians in John Rutledge. Nor was the 
 one confidence better deserved or more honored 
 in its outcome than the other. 
 
 Gov. Rutledge was a man of large frame, 
 great muscularity and perfect physical health. 
 His energy was inexhaustible, his wits keen, 
 his intellect almost preternaturally active, and 
 his courage absolutely dauntless. He talked 
 rapidly and with force. He thought clearly and 
 he had full confidence in the soundness of his 
 
 I 5 2
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 thinking, as had been shown when he sent 
 Moultrie 500 pounds of powder and ordered 
 him not to evacuate the fort under his command 
 in obedience to the commanding general's or 
 ders, but to hold it till he, Rutledge, should 
 give orders for its abandonment a course that 
 resulted not only in a notable victory but also 
 in the holding of the Carolinas during years 
 when their conquest would have been, perhaps, 
 the death knell of Washington's difficult de 
 fence at the north, and with it, in all prob 
 ability, the inglorious end of the struggle for 
 American independence. 
 
 But strong-willed, courageous and self-re 
 liant as Rutledge was, he was wise enough to 
 seek counsel wherever judicious counsel was to 
 be found. Hence his presence at Alton House. 
 For, physically unfit for service as Col. Geoffrey 
 Alton was by reason of his advancing age, his 
 gout, and, more than all, his wounds received 
 in the Indian wars, Gov. Rutledge knew and 
 trusted Col. Alton's wisdom as a soldier and a 
 statesman, and was eager, under his new and 
 fearful load of responsibility, to consult with one 
 so wise, so devoted, and so largely experi 
 enced. 
 
 He had come to Alton House upon this mis 
 sion, and he had summoned to meet him there 
 
 153
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 some others to whom he looked for active aid 
 in his difficult task of Carolina's defence. 
 
 Among these was Francis Marion, a man of 
 few words, but mighty in action and already 
 distinguished in war and in statesmanship. 
 Roger saw in him a man stockily built, with 
 legs much too short for his body and suggesting 
 anything but the cavalier that he afterwards 
 became, with a badly formed, aquiline nose, 
 but with a resolutely closed mouth, muscles of 
 obtrusive development, and eyes that might 
 melt into tenderness in converse with a woman, 
 or flame into danger signals in conflict with an 
 enemy. 
 
 Marion was still several years short of his 
 half century of age. Yet he seemed a man ac 
 customed to command, and, better still, to the 
 cheerful assumption of responsibility. As he 
 looked the silent man in the eyes, Roger re 
 membered that he had been a private soldier at 
 twenty-seven, in the Cherokee wars; that for 
 three years he had rendered notable service in 
 that humble capacity; that in the battle of Et- 
 choee he had volunteered to lead a forlorn hope 
 in an enterprise so desperate that scarcely any 
 one of the party but himself survived the as 
 sault; that after service in the provincial con 
 gress, he had been made a captain under Moul- 
 
 154
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 trie ; that he had been a leader in the force that 
 captured the British fort Johnson and turned 
 its guns upon the enemy's ships in the harbor 
 with such destructive effect as to drive every 
 one of them out to the inhospitable sea; that 
 one after another, important fortresses had 
 been placed under his command ; and that when 
 a powerful fleet had assailed the half-finished 
 fort on Sullivan's Island, it was this man Mar 
 ion whom Moultrie summoned to aid him in 
 that celebrated defence in which he utterly de 
 feated an enemy superior in every resource and 
 every appliance of war. Marion was now in 
 supreme command of Charles Town's chief de 
 fensive work, Fort Moultrie, and Rutledge held 
 him in esteem as the man of all others upon 
 whose fortitude and discretion and whose 
 " vast and varied fighting capacity," to use his 
 own words, he could confidently rely. 
 
 There was young Horry present also, a man 
 yet unknown to fame, but destined later to win 
 great renown in partisan war, for his daring 
 and his singular command of men. He was a 
 very bad horseman, and to the end he never 
 learned to ride, yet he chose the career of a cav 
 alier as his own, and, in spite of many tumbles 
 from the saddle in action, made his name fa 
 mous as a rough rider. 
 
 155
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 In like manner, Marion, who could not swim, 
 always avoided bridges and by forcing his 
 horses to swim rivers, accomplished many sur 
 prises that would otherwise have been imprac 
 ticable. 
 
 There were others in that company, too, but 
 Rutledge was the soul of it. Full of energy to 
 overflowing, inspired by an enthusiasm that 
 was irresistibly contagious, and possessed of 
 conversational gifts of the rarest attractiveness 
 an inheritance from his Irish ancestry he 
 talked much and so effectively as to draw from 
 each of his hearers all that was best and most 
 suggestive in his mind. 
 
 " Lincoln cannot long hold the British in 
 Georgia," he explained. " He is a brilliant 
 commander and a tireless one, but his army is 
 utterly inadequate to the task that has been 
 set for it. 
 
 " Prevost is constantly growing stronger by 
 reinforcements from Florida, and I look pres 
 ently to see heavy battalions brought to his as 
 sistance from the north. Within a month or 
 two at most, he will overrun our low country, 
 and knock at the gates of Charles Town. We 
 shall do our best to beat him off, and I think 
 we shall succeed, for Charles Town is admirably 
 situated for defence, and I shall use the extraor- 
 
 156
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 dinary powers entrusted to me, to put all the 
 available men in the state into service; but 
 sooner or later, in all probability this British 
 assault upon the south will succeed. Charles 
 Town will fall as Savannah has already done. 
 But we must not let that discourage us. We 
 must remember that our enemy has been master 
 of Boston before Washington drove him out 
 of New York, which he still holds, of Phila 
 delphia which he has been forced to evacuate, 
 of the Jerseys till Washington made that coun 
 try a British and Hessian graveyard, and of 
 pretty nearly every other point of strategic im 
 portance at the north, and yet to-day he is no 
 stronger there than when the war began. He 
 is weaker in fact. Burgoyne's magnificently 
 planned campaign for conquering the Hudson 
 river country and cutting New England off 
 from the rest of the republic, ended in the sur 
 render of the finest army that our enemy has 
 ever been able to put into the field against us. 
 After four years of war the north is as com 
 pletely unconquered now as it was when the 
 war began. The enemy is shut up in garrison 
 towns, and he turns now to the south in the 
 hope of finding here an easier task. In Vir 
 ginia all his campaigns have achieved nothing 
 more important than the robbery of some hen- 
 
 157
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 roosts and pig-pens and the burning of a few 
 barns. Here at the south we have yet to see 
 what he can do to repair his former failures at 
 Charles Town ; but he has taken Savannah as a 
 secure base of operations and now that his 
 efforts are manifestly to be concentrated here, 
 he will probably take all our cities just as he 
 has done at the north. It is for us to make their 
 capture as costly as possible to him, and when 
 they are captured, to teach him, as Washington 
 and Greene and Stark and Gates have taught 
 him at the north, that the war goes on without 
 regard to what they call strategic positions. 
 In a country like ours there are no strategic 
 positions, or none at any rate the control of 
 which can render an enemy our master, if we 
 are brave and resolute. Dogged determination 
 means more for us than regiments and bat 
 teries." 
 
 " Your idea then is that we can keep up the 
 war no matter how completely the coigns of 
 vantage may be in the enemy's hands, and no 
 matter how great an army he may bring against 
 us ? " said young Horry. 
 
 " Precisely. We can calculate how many 
 British troops it will require to capture arid to 
 hold Charles Town, and Camden and the rest. 
 But who can reckon how many it will take to 
 
 158
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 conquer the woods and swamps that lie be 
 tween ? These, and not the cities, are our strong 
 holds. If we are brave and determined and 
 active, the capture of our cities and towns will 
 mark only the beginning of war, and just as 
 the enemy imagines his task done he will find 
 out that its difficulties are only beginning. Mr. 
 Alton, the younger, is fresh from Oxford and 
 well up in his classics. He doubtless remem 
 bers the story I forget the names and the 
 details of that old backwoods King who had 
 a little talk with the Romans when they im 
 agined that they had conquered his country and 
 were ready to receive his submission. ' Bring 
 hither a dried bull's hide/ he said to his attend 
 ants. When the hide came he ordered one of 
 his men to stand on a certain spot. ' There ! ' 
 he cried. ' That spot is down. Now stand on 
 this other one where the hide is well up from 
 the ground. Now that is down, but you ob 
 serve that the other one popped up again as 
 soon as the fellow stepped off it to hold this new 
 place down. So it will be with my dominions. 
 You may trample any part of them to the earth, 
 but the moment you withdraw from the con 
 quered part to repress some other, the first will 
 spring up again as high as ever. If you ex 
 pect to hold us in subjection you must bring 
 
 '59
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 men enough to cover the whole bull's hide at 
 once, and you haven't got men enough for that.' 
 That old Dutchman's lesson is the one we've 
 got to teach the British. We'll defend Charles 
 Town as long as we can. We'll meet armies 
 with armies whenever it is possible to do so. 
 And when that ceases to be possible we'll begin 
 the war in earnest, making every tree a picket 
 post, every woodpile a masked battery, every 
 swamp a fortress and a seat of incessant of 
 fence." 
 
 " But what of the tories, Governor Rut- 
 ledge ? " asked Roger. 
 
 " Yes, I hear that you have already encount 
 ered one of them. I congratulate you. Such 
 young men as you may be trusted to keep them 
 in awe until the British swarm over the country. 
 Then they will be troublesome, of course. But 
 at any rate they must then declare themselves, 
 and we shall know how to deal with them. If 
 they turn out to fight us as soldiers, we shall 
 meet them and treat them as such. If they 
 skulk and hide and stab us in the back, and set 
 fire to our barns, why we'll simply hang them 
 as fast as we can catch them. Fortunately we 
 have the means of putting them to the proof. 
 Whenever the British make a serious advance 
 into South Carolina, I shall order out the entire 
 
 I 60
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 body of the militia under the authority con 
 ferred upon me for this emergency. Confisca 
 tion of property, personal arrest and yawning 
 jails await those who refuse to respond, while 
 acts of treason well, you know death by hang 
 ing is, all the world over, the punishment for 
 such crimes. At present we do not know who 
 is a friend or who an enemy ; who a patriot and 
 who a traitor to his native land. But when the 
 call comes for men to meet an invading enemy 
 we shall know. Then every man must take one 
 side or the other, or fall into the worst sort of 
 difficulties between the lines." 
 
 " It seems to me a special pity," said Col. 
 Alton, in his grave, deliberate way, " that we 
 cannot organize the militia now, in advance of 
 the need of embodying it. In my small expe 
 rience I have observed that the greatest source 
 of danger in confronting an enemy with raw 
 levies is the lack of a habit on the part of the 
 men, of waiting for orders and obeying them, 
 when they are given. More properly, perhaps, 
 I should say that militiamen, hastily embodied, 
 are too much disposed to take orders from per 
 sons not entitled to issue them, and all for lack 
 of the soldierly habit. The men are individually 
 brave,- but collectively they are apt to run 
 away if any timid one among them sets the 
 
 161
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 example. Have you not observed that, Col. 
 Marion ? " 
 
 " Often," answered the silent man, and he 
 added not another word to his answer. 
 
 "But what remedy is available?" asked 
 Rutledge, who was always on the alert^ for 
 helpful suggestions. " You know our militia 
 cannot be brought into camps or kept there 
 when no enemy threatens. They feel the neces 
 sity of being at home to cultivate and harvest 
 their crops, when not needed in actual service, 
 and in spite of all laws and orders to the con 
 trary they quit camp and go home the moment 
 the enemy retires or settles himself into in 
 activity. I know a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian 
 preacher up in the mountains who once said to 
 me ' I can put every man and boy in my con 
 gregation into the field whenever I suspend 
 services to tell them that the British are coming ; 
 but I can't keep a manjack of them there for 
 a single day after the menace has passed away. 
 They are ready enough to shoot and be shot, 
 but their instinct of industry revolts against the 
 idleness of camp life, and their love of home is 
 a passion.' I think the preacher was right," 
 continued the governor, " and a Catholic priest 
 in Georgetown said much the same thing to me, 
 wittily adding ' my lads are always ready to 
 
 162
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 fight soldiers for liberty but they don't want to 
 fight windmills for her. A battle, they under 
 stand ; but a sham battle seems to them foolish 
 ness.' " 
 
 " How would it do," suggested Roger with 
 much diffidence, " to institute very small and 
 compact local organizations of militia, not as 
 militia, but as patriots organizing and drilling 
 themselves in order that their service may be 
 the more effective when the need of it arises? " 
 
 " Would you mind explaining your idea 
 a little more fully? " asked Rutledge. " It im 
 presses me as one that may be worth trying." 
 
 " Well," said Roger, with some hesitation, 
 " my idea is simply the outcome of the think 
 ing I have done concerning my own service. I 
 could remain simply a militiaman, subject to your 
 call, Governor, but it has seemed to me that I 
 might render a much greater service by gather 
 ing together the overseers on the Alton planta 
 tions and their boys, and the carpenters and 
 wheelwrights and blacksmiths in the neighbor 
 hood, and the best of the negroes, and organ 
 izing and drilling them for service. Then there 
 would be a little company here as compact and 
 as well accustomed to obey orders as any that 
 a camp of instruction could turn out. If some 
 body in every neighborhood were encouraged 
 
 163
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to do the same thing, it has seemed to me that 
 we might make your militia, Gov. Rutledge, 
 as effective in a little while, as the Continentals 
 themselves. Only it would be necessary to 
 make the service of these volunteers a matter of 
 obligation, after they had once enlisted in it, 
 and to clothe their commanders with adequate 
 authority. I suppose that would require some 
 sort of legislation." 
 
 " I think not," answered Marion. " The 
 powers entrusted to Gov. Rutledge might en 
 able him to dispense with a statute." 
 
 " You are right, Col. Marion. I have ample 
 authority to authorize this sort of organization 
 wherever it is practicable, and to commission 
 commanders for the purpose. But unhappily 
 we have few men anywhere disposed to under 
 take such a task, as Mr. Roger Alton is let 
 me say Captain Roger Alton rather, as I pur 
 pose on my return to Charles Town, to issue to 
 you, Mr. Alton, a commission as captain for the 
 carrying out of your idea. Your commission 
 will date from to-day, and you may begin your 
 work of organization as soon as you please. 
 Your requisitions for uniforms, arms, ammuni 
 tion and all the rest of it, will be honored at 
 Charles Town, Captain." 
 
 " Pardon me, Governor, will you not add one 
 
 164
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 privilege to your generous gifts ? Will you not 
 let me carry out my full purpose, which is to 
 uniform, arm, equip and maintain my little 
 company at my own expense ? My good sister 
 here," turning to Jacqueline and lovingly tak 
 ing her hand, " has so wisely administered my 
 inheritance in my absence, that I have money 
 sufficient for this purpose, while, before our 
 liberties are secured, the state is likely to be sore 
 beset to meet the demands upon its treasury. 
 Will you not let me make the maintenance of 
 my little local company a personal charge upon 
 my own resources ? " 
 
 Gov. Rutledge rose from his chair and 
 grasped the young man's hand. He was almost 
 in tears, so intensely did he feel in every matter 
 that concerned his stupendous task of defence. 
 He looked Roger in the eyes for a moment, and 
 then said, " God bless you, boy! " 
 
 Then he turned to Jacqueline and almost 
 stared at her. Presently he said " and it is you, 
 my dear young lady, that have made this pos 
 sible ! " Then he leaned forward and kissed 
 her reverently on the forehead. 
 
 " In the name of South Carolina and of the 
 United States of America," he said, " in the 
 name of human liberty, girl, I lovingly salute 
 you!" 
 
 165
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 The Irish blood in his veins had mastered 
 him, but Jacqueline was equal to the occasion. 
 
 " I salute Carolina ! " she cried, with head 
 thrown back and eyes ablaze, " I salute the 
 United States! I salute liberty! Am I not 
 their daughter ? To you strong men it is given 
 to dare and to do! To us weak women it is 
 given only to inspire. Gentlemen, I bid you 
 good-night, and I say to you, for all the women 
 of Carolina we love you because you are 
 strong and brave and true, we honor you be 
 cause you are patriots. Good night, good gen 
 tlemen ! " 
 
 As she ended her speech she made a low 
 courtesy in the doorway, and an instant later 
 she had gone. 
 
 " Men and brethren ! " exclaimed young 
 Horry, " there spoke our noble womankind. 
 They love liberty with a passion greater than 
 any of which we are capable. If we are men 
 half worthy of them we shall all be in well- 
 earned graves before their hope for their native 
 land is disappointed." Then seizing the de 
 canter, he poured bumpers of Madeira for all 
 present, and offered the toast 
 
 " The women of Carolina to them we 
 pledge ourselves for Independence, if it be in 
 human power to achieve it, and if not, then for 
 
 166
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 honorable death to ourselves, and graves fit 
 for the watering of their tears ! " 
 
 Does it all sound overwrought and hysterical, 
 oh, safely-housed reader of to-day, to whom the 
 nationality that such men, inspired by such 
 women, won for you, is a commonplace? Re 
 member for what stakes they played ! Remem 
 ber how tremendous the issue was! Remem 
 ber how much you owe to the fact that they 
 were hot-blooded men and women, capable of 
 high enthusiasms and of such self-sacrifice as 
 our more calculating generation, to its sore dis 
 credit, scorns as romantic and absurd! And 
 read history a little for the enlightenment of 
 your mind and the illumination of your soul! 
 Learn from human records how great a force 
 enthusiasm is, how large a part romance has 
 played in working out humanity's most vital 
 problems! Learn to love and admire, where 
 now you coldly criticise in self-sufficient scorn. 
 Try to understand what stuff heroes and hero 
 ines are made of, and how much worthier that 
 stuff is than all the virtues of our commercial 
 age can ever be! 
 
 167
 
 XI 
 
 A love and life PERPLEXITY 
 
 ITFVT'HEN young Barnegal, at Tor- 
 t/i/ ranee's Tavern announced his 
 
 * ' purpose of riding half way to 
 
 Alton House with Roger, he had another rea 
 son for the intention besides his desire to be for 
 a time in company with his old schoolfellow. 
 On the way he confided that reason to his com 
 panion. 
 
 " You know, Roger," he said, " how fond 
 I was of Jacqueline and she of me when she 
 and you and I were playmates at Alton House. 
 You remember how, when you and I fell under 
 the displeasure of our tutor, she always came to 
 the rescue either by wheedling or by terrifying 
 the old fellow for the little maid was quite 
 equal to either undertaking with her winning 
 ways and her capacity for haughty imperious- 
 ness. Well, it was a sort of brother love I felt 
 for her then. But as we both grew older it 
 ripened into a much deeper passion, and now 
 
 1 68
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Jacqueline has consented to be my affianced 
 bride as soon as the necessary formalities be 
 tween the two families have been fulfilled." 
 
 Roger reined in his horse and grasped his 
 companion's hand. 
 
 " I am so glad, old fellow, so glad ! No 
 more joyous news could come to me than this, 
 to greet me on my return. But why not com 
 plete the formalities at once? Why not ride 
 with me to Alton House to-day, and ask my 
 father for the consent that he will be more than 
 ready to give? " 
 
 " You forget my uncle," answered Barnegal. 
 " Oh, Tiger Bill ? But you wrote me in 
 England that you and he were no longer on 
 terms that you had parted finally after a great 
 quarrel. Have you since become reconciled? " 
 " Not in the least. When I came of age 
 two years ago my uncle sent for me and closed 
 the guardianship he had so long exercised, by 
 turning over to me the estate left me by my 
 father, and almost flinging in my face the 
 documents that testified to the scrupulous fidel 
 ity to every legal requirement with which he 
 had discharged the trust. I felt a little tenderly 
 toward the lonely old man, and sought to make 
 the parting pleasant; but he would not have it 
 so. When I spoke of the fidelity of his guard- 
 
 169
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ianship and thanked him for it he fell into a 
 rage, shook his clenched fists at me and an 
 swered : ' So you expected it to be otherwise did 
 you? You thought me a thief who had been 
 robbing you all these years, and now that you 
 can pick no flaw in my accounts you are sur 
 prised to find that I have stolen nothing, and 
 you impudently tell me so to my face ! ' It 
 was useless to protest that my words bore no 
 such meaning. He was in one of his savage 
 tempers when to have said anything, even in 
 kindness, would only have excited him fur 
 ther. He was an old or at least an elderly 
 man and my nearest, indeed, my only kins 
 man, so far as I know, on earth. I could 
 not quarrel with him, so I turned on my 
 heel and left him. Since then we have held no 
 communication ; but to-day, when we reach the 
 entrance to his plantation, I am going to him to 
 demand that, as the head of our family, he 
 shall ask your father for Jacqueline's hand for 
 me." 
 
 "You are an idiot, Charlie!" exclaimed 
 Roger, lapsing into the familiarity of boy 
 hood. " You know your uncle will refuse." 
 
 " Of course he will. If I proposed that he 
 should ask for the hand of some woman who 
 would make life a torture to me he would do it 
 
 170
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 with a positively insane joy. But when I sug 
 gest Jacqueline to him he will fly into a rage 
 and probably order me out of his house." 
 
 " Then why in the name of common sense 
 do you go to him at all ? " 
 
 " Because I must. Jacqueline herself de 
 mands it. I proposed to ignore my uncle al 
 together, and go to your father as myself the 
 head of my own branch of the family. But 
 she vetoed that at once. ' Your uncle is a very 
 unlovely and unreasonable person/ she said, 
 ' and I understand that for some reason which 
 you know nothing about, he chooses to hate 
 you with extraordinary malice. But he is still 
 the head of the Barnegal house, and while he 
 lives, I cannot marry you without his consent. 
 It may break my heart, and yours too, worse 
 luck, but as a daughter of Alton House I will 
 never enter any family against the will of its 
 head.' So you see, Roger, I must go to my 
 uncle." 
 
 " I don't see anything of the kind. By his 
 evil temper your uncle has made himself an 
 Ishmael in Carolina. And you remember that 
 Ishmael was not recognized as the head of his 
 father's tribe. Your uncle has completely for 
 feited all claim to recognition. It is society that 
 assigns to a man the honor and authority of 
 
 I/I
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 family headship, and your uncle has affronted 
 and contemned society. What right has he to 
 claim rights and privileges at its hands? No, 
 Charlie, you owe him no deference, and as for 
 Jacqueline, I'll teach her the difference between 
 a woman's proper pride, and a nonsensical sac 
 rifice of her life and yours upon a whim like 
 this. Come along with me to Alton House, and 
 see how quickly I shall set things right." 
 
 " I must first fulfil her commands, Roger. 
 After that after my uncle shall have turned 
 me out of his house, perhaps with insults for 
 which I cannot call him to account as I should 
 were he any other man in the world after all 
 that is ended, I will consider what is to be 
 done." 
 
 " Very well. But promise me one thing. 
 Promise me that you will at any rate come to 
 Alton House within the week, and before you 
 do anything or accept anything as finally de 
 termined ! " 
 
 '* I promise that. I am none too eager to let 
 a man who hates me with unspeakable malice 
 work ruin to my life. After I shall have 
 honored him with a deference that he does not 
 deserve, I will go at once home for I haven't 
 so much as an extra pocket handkerchief with 
 me now and within a very few days I will 
 
 172
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 journey to Alton House. There I will go to 
 your father and claim the right to regard my 
 self as the head of my own family, entitled to 
 ask him for his daughter's hand. I shall thus 
 satisfy every possible demand of social custom, 
 and perhaps you will be able to persuade Jac 
 queline to see that I have done so. Her pride 
 is all that I fear now as an obstacle." 
 
 By this time the pair had reached the point 
 where their roads parted, and with warm adieus 
 they separated, Roger to proceed on his jour 
 ney, Barnegal to confront his evil tempered 
 relative. 
 
 '73
 
 XII 
 
 TIGER BILL 
 
 ALTHOUGH it was only a little past 
 /-i mid-winter, the day was a good deal 
 -* -4. more than comfortably warm, and 
 after his morning ride over his plantation, 
 " Tiger Bill " Barnegal, as he was always 
 called, passed through the low lying, broadly 
 built, one-storied house, and, seating him 
 self on the spacious veranda, rapped with his 
 riding whip upon a table that 'stood there 
 as if awaiting his command. To the servant 
 who appeared in answer to his rapping, he 
 spoke but the one word of command : 
 " Snack ! " The negro boy disappeared and 
 a few minutes later came out again bearing a 
 tray on which some cold dishes were arranged 
 around a decanter of brandy that stood in the 
 centre. Tiger Bill seized this latter the 
 moment the tray was placed upon the table, and 
 filling a small engraved wine glass with the 
 spirits, drained it at a draught. Then filling
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 it again he held it up to the light and lovingly 
 contemplated its rich amber sparkle before sip 
 ping it slowly and with relish. Not until he 
 had finished and filled it again did he seem to 
 have appetite for the dainty cold biscuits and 
 the paper-thin slices of ham . that constituted 
 his " snack." 
 
 He was clad from head to foot in spotless 
 white linen, as was his custom except in the 
 coldest weather that the southern coast country 
 knows. He was exquisitely groomed and 
 shaven so smoothly as to leave no faintest sug 
 gestion of beard upon his face. His hair, as 
 white even as his linen, was still thick upon his 
 head, and he wore it, after the fashion of the 
 time, brushed smoothly back without a part, 
 and done into a queue behind. 
 
 " Shoes ! " he said to the servant who stood 
 behind him, and that attentive person quickly 
 removed his master's riding boots and stock 
 ings, and setting a foot-tub of cold water before 
 him, proceeded to bathe his feet. When he had 
 carefully adjusted fresh hose to his master's 
 legs and placed a pair of low cut, silver-buckled 
 shoes upon his feet, the negro retired without 
 further orders and the planter resumed his 
 leisurely but close attention to the decanter. 
 The serving-man knew that he would sit there
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 sipping brandy till the four o'clock dinner hour, 
 if he were not interrupted, as was exceedingly 
 unlikely. 
 
 For Tiger Bill Barnegal had no white in 
 mate in his house, and it was not his custom to 
 receive visitors. This man, always of violent 
 temper, had quarrelled with the world a quarter 
 of a century before, and from that time to this 
 had held as little intercourse with his fellow- 
 men as the exigencies of his affairs would per 
 mit. Two or three times a year he wrote a 
 business letter to his factor in Charles Town. 
 He received in the veranda the sailormen who 
 managed his little fleet of coasting craft, when 
 they came up the creek to the plantation to 
 receive freight or orders. He went to court 
 four times a year to attend to affairs that might 
 be most conveniently arranged at that general 
 meeting-place of men, and still more to watch 
 the course of the multifarious litigation in 
 which he was constantly engaged. For he al 
 ways had lawsuits pending, most of them friv 
 olous in character and cantankerous in their 
 origin. In brief, he was a man at war with 
 humankind. He had well earned his sobriquet 
 of " Tiger Bill." 
 
 But he was destined on this afternoon to be 
 interrupted in that brandy sipping which, in- 
 
 176
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 dulged in daily for many years, had inflamed 
 his complexion as much as his temper. He 
 had scarcely settled himself comfortably, in 
 deed, before his nephew rode up and, dis 
 mounting, entered the high hung veranda. 
 
 Tiger Bill rose and advanced to meet the 
 younger Barnegal, but with no suggestion of 
 welcome in his mien. 
 
 " May I ask to what I am indebted for 
 this visit? I assure you it is quite unex 
 pected." 
 
 " I know that very well, uncle, and I have 
 not willingly intruded upon you. I come solely 
 upon a matter of imperative business. If you 
 will permit me I will state the matter as briefly 
 as possible, and will then relieve you of a 
 presence which I know to be unwelcome." 
 
 " Does the imperative business of which you 
 speak, concern me in any way ? " asked the elder 
 man, still putting a cynical sneer into every 
 word by the tone and manner in which he spoke 
 it. 
 
 " Yes, sir, it concerns you as the head of 
 our family. I have come to ask your approval 
 of a marriage that I have in contemplation." 
 
 " Ah ! indeed. Marriage is always an inter 
 esting subject. Most human follies are so. 
 But in order to give the matter the undivided 
 
 177
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 attention that its possibilities of good or evil 
 deserve, we need to discuss it calmly and in 
 comfortable postures. We will be seated, if 
 you please." 
 
 With that, he brought the stock of his riding- 
 whip down upon the table with a violence that 
 made the glasses jingle and warned the black 
 man in the neighboring dining-room not to 
 tarry long before answering the familiar sum 
 mons. The servitor appeared almost in 
 stantly and his master, waving his hand at the 
 porch chairs that stood everywhere about, bade 
 him " set out a chair for this gentleman's use." 
 
 There was so much of scorn and contempt in 
 the cynical courtesy that young Barnegal's first 
 impulse was to decline the proffered seat, turn 
 on his heel and quit the place at once. But 
 he thought better of that and seated himself 
 instead. 
 
 " Bring a glass for this gentleman's use," 
 was the next command. 
 
 Young Barnegal, like all the men of his time, 
 was accustomed to take a social glass upon 
 occasion, particularly after a long journey on 
 horseback. But so repugnant to him was the 
 thought of eating or drinking under his uncle's 
 roof that he sought to decline the hospitality; 
 but the elder man held to his purpose. 
 
 .78
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Surely you would not affront me by refus 
 ing to take a glass with me after your long 
 ride." 
 
 " I meant no affront sir, I assure you, 
 but" 
 
 " Very well then, fill your glass and permit 
 me to propose the young gentlewoman's 
 health, whoever she may be. You have not 
 yet favored me with her name," he added when 
 the glasses had been emptied. 
 
 " Her name is Jacqueline Alton," responded 
 the young man. " I think you will agree with 
 me that she is a gentlewoman worthy to be 
 come the wife of any man in Carolina." 
 
 " You mean of course, though you are too 
 polite to say so, that even so malignant an old 
 cynic as you take me to be, could find nothing 
 in Mistress Jacqueline Alton to criticise. Par 
 don me," seeing that his nephew was about to 
 interrupt, " do not protest, please. My temper 
 does not easily brook contradiction, even when 
 it is meant to be polite. I do not happen to 
 know the young gentlewoman you mention, in 
 any personal way at least, and, therefore, it 
 would be unreasonable presumption on my part 
 to find fault with her. I have no doubt that she 
 has all the virtues in the calendar, and quite all 
 the charms that you most admire in women. 
 
 179
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 But, as you know, it has been many years since 
 I visited Geoffrey Alton, and naturally I know 
 nothing of his daughter. Nevertheless, as I say, 
 I have no doubt that the young lady is quite all 
 that your imagination paints her. If so, I am 
 so much the more pleased with your tidings that 
 you are in love with her. I have from the first 
 intended that you should come to that state of 
 mind. It was to bring that about, far more 
 than to give you the advantage of instruction 
 at the hands of a notably accomplished tutor, 
 that I sent you as a boy to Alton House for 
 tuition. I wished you to grow up in that in 
 timate boy and girl association with this very 
 young lady, which so certainly leads to love 
 when both its victims pardon me, I mean 
 both parties to the arrangement grow up. 
 Understanding this, you will understand that 
 the tidings you bring me of the accomplish 
 ment of my long cherished purpose, gives me 
 the very greatest pleasure." 
 
 The young man was astonished to the verge 
 of speechlessness. But he managed to gasp out 
 his thanks and to say: 
 
 " Then, uncle, you will not object, as I feared 
 you might, to standing for me in this matter? 
 As the head of our family, you will ask Col. 
 Alton for Jacqueline's hand for me ? " 
 
 I 80
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I regret to see that you jump too readily 
 at conclusions. I have been at lifelong enmity 
 with Geoffrey Alton, and I cannot now go to 
 him, craving a favor. But I will this day 
 write him a letter. I will send it by a trusty 
 servant, so that he shall receive it to-night or, 
 early in the morning, it is only a matter of 
 twenty odd miles to Alton House. After to 
 morrow after to-morrow, mind you you 
 will be free, with my full permission to go to 
 him and yourself ask him for his daughter's 
 hand. Now, we will drink again to the young 
 gentlewoman, and then I must ask you to leave 
 me. You know I invite no one to dinner, 
 and besides, I have a letter to write in your 
 behalf." 
 
 He rilled the glasses, and, standing, proposed 
 the toast " To the young woman in the case ! " 
 But he added nothing of good wishes for her. 
 and the moment he set his glass down, he rap 
 ped violently for the servant and commanded : 
 " Bring this gentleman's horse to the door." 
 Then, by way of adieu, he seated himself at 
 the table, poured a glass of brandy for himself, 
 held it up to the light, and making a slight in 
 clination toward his nephew, said, " I drink to 
 your next visit to your always affectionate 
 uncle." 
 
 181
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 The young man mounted without recogniz 
 ing either the seeming courtesy or the insult 
 that it so thinly veiled. He rode away with 
 his brain in a whirl of bewilderment. He had 
 expected his uncle to fall into a rage at the 
 announcement of his wish to marry Jacqueline 
 Alton, and he had half unconsciously kept his 
 fist doubled, ready to knock the old reprobate 
 down the moment he should say any of the 
 insulting things about Jacqueline which he ex 
 pected him to say. But the older man had said 
 none of them. On the contrary, he had pro 
 fessed delight in the fact that his nephew had 
 fallen in love with the girl. And yet, and yet, 
 and yet. From beginning to end of the con 
 versation, the man's tone had been strongly 
 marked with a contempt that might mean any 
 conceivable or inconceivable malice. 
 
 " I wonder what he is going to put into that 
 letter ! " was the youth's final reflection as he 
 rode out of his uncle's domain and into the 
 public highway. " Well, at any rate he cannot 
 now claim the right to interfere with my affairs. 
 I have paid him the utmost tittle of my debt of 
 deference, and he has himself bidden me go to 
 Alton House on the day after to-morrow 
 and ask Col. Alton for Jacqueline's hand. Go 
 ing as I shall, with such a commission from the 
 
 182
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 head of my house, even Jacqueline's scruples 
 can find no occasion for objecting to our en 
 gagement. 
 
 " But I wonder what the old Tiger will put 
 into that letter ! " 
 
 '83
 
 XIII 
 
 TIGER BILL'S letter 
 
 THE moment Charles Barnegal took 
 his leave, Tiger Bill rapped for the 
 servant, and when he came, said to 
 him : 
 
 " Empty the brandy from that decanter. No, 
 no," seeing the servant entering the house, 
 " empty it on the ground. Now send the de 
 canter to be washed, and bring me another, 
 with a clean glass." With that he seized the 
 two glasses that .had been used, and dashed them 
 violently against the foot of an iron drain 
 pipe, breaking them to bits. Then he ordered 
 writing materials, and when they came he 
 set himself down to write the letter of his life. 
 
 This is what he wrote : 
 
 " THE LIVE OAKS, igth February, 1779. 
 
 " COL. GEOFFREY ALTON : 
 
 "Alton House, 
 " Sir: 
 
 " You may or may not be surprised at the receipt of 
 this letter from me, or you may be annoyed, or you 
 
 184
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 may be neither. I do not in the least care with what 
 emotion you receive it. It is at any rate with joy and 
 gladness that I am writing it. 
 
 " My nephew Charles Barnegal, this day announced 
 to me the fact that he loves your daughter. He came 
 to me to ask that I, as the head of what remains of the 
 Barnegal family, should go to you with a request for the 
 hand of your daughter as his wife. I have declined to 
 do so. I have told him, however, that I would write and 
 send this letter, and that after its delivery he might go 
 to you in his own proper person and prefer his suit. 
 He will do so at once, without doubt, and you will 
 understand that he does so with my full consent. So 
 far as he is concerned, I fully and finally abdicate all 
 right, title and interest in the headship of my family. 
 
 " But before you give your consent to this alliance, 
 perhaps you will hear a little history, which, ex 
 cept for this communication to you, I shall keep 
 to myself, as I have hitherto done, unless this mar 
 riage takes place. In that event I shall instantly make 
 it public, although it will bring a sore dishonor upon my 
 house and name. I have but a few years to live before 
 the inordinate brandy-drinking in which I habitually 
 indulge shall make an end of me, and, as you know, I 
 have no children to inherit my name. As for my 
 nephew, I would gladly leave to him and his descendants 
 a heritage of shame if I might do so without blackening 
 the reputation of my own house. As it is, I prefer to 
 keep to myself the facts that I am about to relate to you, 
 and I shall do so unless you compel me to make them 
 public by permitting your daughter to become the wife 
 of my nephew. In that event what I now write to you 
 will be published broadcast throughout South Carolina. 
 
 " More than a quarter of a century ago I loved a 
 woman with all that was best in my nature. You took 
 her away from me and made her your wife. You were 
 
 '85
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 a more attractive man than I was, in the eyes of women. 
 You were tall, strong and unusually handsome. I was 
 rather under the middle height and my hair was a brick 
 dust red. You had received your education abroad and 
 had traveled extensively in Europe a fact that made 
 you an interesting personage in every drawing room. I 
 had no education except such as a Carolina schoolmaster 
 could give me, and I had been nowhere out of the colony. 
 You were familiar with shelvesful of learned books of 
 which I did not know even the titles. More important 
 still, you had won special honor by your deeds of daring 
 in the Indian wars. In brief you had every advantage 
 of me in the wooing of a woman whom we both loved, 
 and you made full use of your advantage. When you mar 
 ried Jacqueline De Saussure, after whom I learn that 
 your daughter is named, I became your enemy. I hated 
 you with all the intensity of a nature which you doubt 
 less would call weak, but concerning which I entertain 
 an opposite opinion. I have so hated you ever since 
 and I still hate you with unabated fervor. I mention 
 this, lest you misconstrue my mood. 
 
 " But when the woman I loved became your wife, I 
 sought to forget her. I went abroad with my brother, a 
 chronic wanderer, and in France particularly I sought 
 forgetfulness in dissipations to which my brother intro 
 duced me. In Paris I met and instantly loved Marie 
 Gamier, the French woman who afterwards became my 
 brother's wife and the mother of my nephew Charles 
 Barnegal. My brother stole her from me by his superior 
 fascinations just as you had before stolen Jacqueline 
 De Saussure. To him French was as a mother tongue. 
 To me it was a blinder riddle than a problem in Euclid. 
 He was handsome as you were. He was glib of 
 tongue and possessed of a certain sparkling intelligence 
 that charmed men and women alike. He was full of 
 wit and self-possession, while I was awkward, easily 
 
 186
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 embarrassed and painfully self-conscious. What chance 
 had I against such a rival ? He asked for Marie Gar- 
 nier's hand and, highly connected as she was, his suit 
 was successful. He married her and brought her to 
 Carolina, the more to wound and affront me. Her for 
 tune was large, and with it he added to his estates until 
 mine shrank into insignificance in comparison. He and 
 the French woman became social leaders in the colony, 
 while I retired to my plantation and my brandy bottle. 
 I ought to have killed him, as I ought to have killed 
 you. But I did neither. It was weakness on my part. 
 
 " It was not until after the death of both my brother 
 and the French woman that I learned the facts I am 
 about to relate. Had I known them sooner, I should 
 have wreaked an exquisite revenge upon both by pub 
 lishing the fact that the French woman was never my 
 brother's wife. She lived and died in the belief that she 
 was a married woman, entitled to carry a high head in 
 Carolina. But that was only because I did not know 
 what I afterwards learned. For I hated that French 
 woman more even than I hate you. The fact to which 
 I refer, was that my brother was already married when 
 he took the French woman to be his wife. In the course 
 of his wanderings he had drifted to Madrid and there 
 married a woman immeasurably beneath him socially 
 and intellectually, a woman beautiful, but ignorant, 
 coarse and dissolute a woman who did not know who 
 her father was. After a brief time the woman left my 
 brother or he left her I do not know which and it does 
 not matter. He returned to Paris and there, a year 
 or two later married Marie Gamier as I have related. 
 
 " When I learned these facts after the death of my 
 brother and his French woman, I planned to make their 
 son, my nephew, the victim of an exquisite revenge 
 which now nears its completion. I secured an appoint 
 ment, as next of kin, to be guardian to the French worn- 
 
 187
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 an's baseborn child. I sent him to your house to be 
 tutored in company with your children, in order that he 
 might grow up in intimacy with them and at last fall in 
 love, as the phrase is, with your daughter. He has ful 
 filled his part of my purpose, and now my opportunity 
 has come. I have told you that he is a man born out 
 of wedlock. That is a crime that the society of Caro 
 lina never forgives. If I could do so without bringing 
 shame upon my own name, I should blast my nephew's 
 life once for all by making the truth everywhere known. 
 As it is I prefer simply to tell it to you. That will an 
 swer my purpose quite as well. Knowing the facts you 
 cannot permit your daughter to marry Charles Barnegal, 
 for then your grandchildren would be the sons and 
 daughters of a son of nobody, and the fact of their ille 
 gitimate origin would be perfectly known to every man 
 and woman in Carolina. I should take care of that. 
 But there will be no occasion for such activity on my 
 part. You are not the man willingly to add a bar sinis 
 ter to your family's escutcheon, and when you repulse 
 the young man's suit for such a cause, I shall be re 
 venged upon the dead in the person of their son. 
 
 " You will wonder perhaps that I did not assert the 
 young man's illegitimacy long ago in proceedings to 
 oust him from his inheritance ; or rather you will not 
 wonder, seeing that in that way I must have put a 
 stain upon my own name a thing that I have resolutely 
 refused to do and shall refuse unless the impossible 
 should come to pass in the marriage of your daughter to 
 the French woman's son. 
 
 "You are at full liberty sir, to exhibit this letter to 
 the young man as explaining your rejection of his suit, 
 if it pleases you to do so. I shall send this by a trusty 
 servant, in order that it may reach you to-night or early 
 to-morrow. But I have arranged that you shall have 
 full four and twenty hours in which to meditate upon
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the matter before meeting the young man who calls him 
 self Charles Barnegal. 
 " I am sir, with unabated dislike, 
 " Your enemv. 
 
 " WILLIAM BARNEGAL." 
 
 189
 
 XIV 
 
 A stirrup CUP 
 
 riGER BILL'S letter was delivered 
 into Colonel Alton's hands about 
 midnight while that gentleman was 
 preparing himself for bed. It naturally pro 
 duced a great deal of agitation in his mind. 
 His first thought was to send for Colonel 
 Marion and send a challenge to the writer of 
 the insulting missive ; but upon reading it over 
 and over again, he saw clearly that there 
 was nothing in it to which he could prop 
 erly take exception. There was to him per 
 sonally no insult, and no affront except that 
 Tiger Bill had declared a hatred for him of 
 which he was already fully aware. 
 
 After walking the floor for half the night, 
 his mind became clear as to his duty. He saw 
 that he must show the letter in its entirety to 
 young Barnegal whenever that young gentle 
 man should come to Alton House. Beyond 
 that he could do nothing. 
 
 190
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Col. Alton got very little sleep that night, and 
 in the morning he was unable to leave his bed. 
 He sent a message through his son, ex 
 cusing himself to his guests, and asking the 
 younger man to preside in his stead at break 
 fast. After her custom, Jacqueline attended 
 upon her father during the day so far as he 
 would permit. But otherwise, no member of 
 the family saw him until the following morn 
 ing. 
 
 About noon of that second day, young Bar- 
 negal appeared, and asked for an interview in 
 private with Colonel Alton. The two were 
 closeted for an hour or more in the library, and 
 when Barnegal reappeared, he was pale and 
 haggard like one who had gone through long 
 illness. He did not ask for Jacqueline, but 
 sought out Roger instead. To him he said : 
 
 " Roger, old comrade, I am going away. I 
 do not know when I shall return; indeed, I 
 don't know that I shall ever return. I have 
 first a duty to perform, however, in which, if 
 mine enemy were other than he is, I should 
 ask you to act for me." 
 
 " Your enemy is your uncle ? Against him I 
 will act for you with great cheerfulness. Will 
 you write to him now, or shall I join you at 
 your own house ? "
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I will write to him now, but not here 
 not from this house let us go to the nearest 
 tavern." 
 
 The young man spoke with difficulty, like 
 one choking with rage. He seemed to force out 
 his words, and he spoke as few of them as pos 
 sible, so that during the ride almost nothing 
 was said. 
 
 Arrived at the tavern young Barnegal sat 
 down and wrote as follows : 
 
 " To WILLIAM BARNEGAL, 
 
 " At The Live Oaks. 
 
 " SIR : In a letter to Colonel Alton, which that gen 
 tleman has shown to me in accordance with your per 
 mission, you have slandered the memory of my dead 
 mother. I need say nothing further to justify this note, 
 which is written to demand of you the satisfaction I have 
 a right to exact. 
 
 " My friend, Mr. Roger Alton, will bear this missive 
 for me, and if you will refer him to the person whom 
 you may select to act for you, the details of our meeting 
 can be arranged without loss of time. 
 
 " Awaiting your answer through Mr. Alton, I am, Sir, 
 
 " CHARLES BARNEGAL." 
 
 Roger took the note but before leaving, 
 turned to young Barnegal and said : 
 "Charlie, old boy, is this necessary?" 
 " Absolutely. No power on earth could 
 change my purpose. It could not be changed, 
 
 192
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 indeed, unless I were a coward and a sneak, 
 unworthy to bear the name I do, or any other 
 name that is respected among men. Go ! " 
 
 That was all. Roger mounted his horse and 
 rode away rapidly. Two hours later he rode up 
 to the piazza of The Live Oaks where the elder 
 Barnegal was sitting as before over his brandy 
 bottle. He did not arise to receive his guest or 
 even bid him dismount. He simply said: 
 
 " What do you want, sir ? " 
 
 Roger flushed at the discourtesy, but put it 
 aside in behalf of more serious matters. 
 
 " I bear this note to you, sir," he answered. 
 
 " From whom does it come, may I ask ? " 
 
 " From your nephew, sir." 
 
 " Nephew? I have no nephew. The young 
 man who claims to be such well, never mind. 
 I decline to recognize the existence of a 
 nephew." 
 
 " Very well, then," said Roger. " Have it 
 as you will. It comes from Charles Barnegal, 
 and I am instructed to deliver it into your 
 hands, or to any friend whom you may choose 
 to act for you. In brief, sir, it is a challenge to 
 mortal combat." 
 
 The old man, still without rising, rapped 
 with his riding whip upon the table, and upon 
 the servant's appearance bade him bring pen,
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ink and paper. Upon reflection he determined,, 
 however, not to write, but to emphasize the in 
 sulting character of his reply by sending it 
 verbally. 
 
 " You can say to the young man," he said to 
 Roger, " that I really cannot consent to recog 
 nize him as a gentleman by meeting him in per 
 sonal warfare. There are reasons with which 
 he is now familiar, and which he may possibly 
 choose to confide to you but which I must not, 
 there are reasons, I say, why I cannot regard 
 him as a gentleman, or a person in any way en 
 titled to address a gentleman. Say that, please, 
 and now good-morning." 
 
 Roger's strong impulse was to slap the old 
 fellow's jaws. He controlled himself, however, 
 and said : 
 
 " Whatever your opinion may be of Mr. 
 Charles Barnegal, or of his standing in the com 
 munity, I at least am known to you as a man en 
 titled to be treated with ordinary courtesy. I de 
 cline, sir, to carry a verbal message from you to 
 anybody. If you refuse to receive the note which 
 I bear, and to answer it in writing, I shall my 
 self take measures to avenge the insult you are 
 trying to put upon me, and I assure you, sir, 
 that in such case you will have to meet me 
 whether you wish to do so or not." 
 
 194
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 The menace was effective. The old man 
 turned to his writing materials and wrote sub 
 stantially what he had said verbally, addressed 
 it and handed it to Roger, having first opened 
 and spread out upon his table the challenge 
 which that young man had brought to him. 
 
 When young Barnegal opened his uncle's 
 note, he handed it to Roger to read. 
 
 " There ! " he said. " I cannot tell you, 
 though I perfectly know what he means when 
 he says that I am not entitled to rank as a gen 
 tleman, or to address a challenge to a gentle 
 man. I perfectly understand his excuse for re 
 fusing to meet me. I shall have no further use 
 for your services in this matter, Roger. My 
 uncle refuses to accept a challenge at my hands. 
 I have no need of a second in what I am going 
 to do." 
 
 Roger saw that there was no use in remon 
 strating. All that is demoniacal in human na 
 ture had been aroused in the young man's soul. 
 Roger did not need to ask questions in order to 
 learn what his friend's purpose was, but he de 
 termined instantly to ride with him. Young 
 Barnegal objected, saying " It will compromise 
 you, Roger. I am going to do something for 
 which I cannot offer to the public any excuse 
 whatever. Unfortunately, I cannot even state 
 
 195
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to any human being the nature of the affront 
 this man has put upon me. I cannot tell you 
 the wrong he has done to the mother who bore 
 me. I cannot tell you my reason for seeking 
 revenge, but revenge I will have if I have to 
 follow him to the ends of the earth. Go home, 
 Roger, let me go alone." 
 
 Roger said nothing in the way of remon 
 strance, but at any rate he adhered to his pur 
 pose of going with his friend. 
 
 He said : " I will go with you, Charlie, 
 whether you ask me or not. Whether you even 
 permit it or not I am going with you." 
 
 And so they set out in silence on the return 
 trip to The Live Oaks. They arrived there just 
 before sunset. Young Barnegal leapt off his 
 horse, and with his heavy riding whip in hand, 
 approached his uncle who still sat in the piazza. 
 Before the old man could even rise, he lashed 
 him as one might lash a disobedient hound. 
 Roger called to him presently. 
 
 " You have done enough, Charlie, you have 
 done enough! Control yourself." 
 
 The young man paused, while the elder 
 writhed in agony from the blows he had re 
 ceived across the face. 
 
 " I have not done enough until he goes down 
 upon his knees and begs my pardon for his 
 
 196
 
 The Inteiriew with Tiger BUI.
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 insults to my mother's memory. Down on 
 your knees, sir, down on your knees ! " And 
 with that he lashed him again and again. It 
 was only when Roger dragged the impassioned 
 youth away by force that he desisted. 
 
 The old man was by this time beyond the 
 power of kneeling or apologizing or retracting 
 or doing anything else. He had collapsed com 
 pletely and lost consciousness. Roger rapped 
 upon the table for the servant and said to 
 him: 
 
 " Attend to your master he is injured. 
 Come, Charlie." 
 
 They mounted their horses and rode away. 
 
 Roger took young Barnegal back with him to 
 Alton House, because he feared to leave him in 
 his present mood. It was after midnight when 
 they arrived there, and Roger succeeded in 
 getting his friend into bed. He was already in 
 a fever. 
 
 In the meantime, Colonel Alton had sent for 
 Jacqueline, and very tenderly and affectionately 
 had told her simply this much that Charles 
 Barnegal had come to him asking for her hand ; 
 that he had previously received a letter from 
 the young man's uncle, which, if its state 
 ments were true, rendered the marriage in ques 
 tion utterly impossible. He said to her further : 
 
 197
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I have Charles's permission to tell you the 
 facts that thus interfere with your life and his, 
 if you choose to hear them. My own prefer 
 ence would be that you should not know them 
 at all. Think it over, daughter, before you an 
 swer me, and I will do as you say in the 
 matter." 
 
 " I do not need to think it over, father. I 
 do not wish to hear any statement of the facts 
 whatever. I am Jacqueline Alton bear that in 
 mind and no daughter of Alton House has 
 ever yet entered a family without the consent 
 of its head. I will not be the first to violate 
 a tradition of our house. But please, father, let 
 no one speak to me of this. Let it end here. I 
 will bear myself bravely as your daughter 
 should." 
 
 She kissed him, and in a moment more was 
 gone. 
 
 It was a week before young Barnegal re 
 covered from his illness. As soon as he was 
 able to sit up he insisted upon leaving the 
 house. 
 
 " My presence here," he explained to Roger, 
 " must of necessity be distressing to Jacqueline. 
 If you will let Marlborough ride with me for 
 this one day I will go this morning." 
 
 Roger pleaded for the privilege of himself 
 
 108
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 accompanying his friend to his home, but the 
 young man stoutly and steadily refused. 
 
 " No," he said. " I am not going to remain 
 at home. I am going away. I am going to the 
 northward. There is fighting to be done there, 
 and enemies who do not refuse to meet one 
 who comes armed. We must say good-by to 
 day." 
 
 " Be it as you will, Charlie," said Roger, 
 " but first we will drink a stirrup cup." 
 
 He passed into the house, poured a rich gob 
 let full of richer wine, and, standing by the 
 side of Barnegal's horse, after he had mounted, 
 gave him to drink of it. Barnegal passed the 
 cup in turn to Roger, who, holding his friend's 
 stirrup, drained the goblet and dashed it upon 
 the stile shattering it to bits, in order that no 
 human lips might ever again touch it. 
 
 It was an old custom, long disused except 
 upon the occasion of partings that involved 
 more than ordinary emotion. 
 
 199
 
 XV 
 
 IN which ROGER ALTON LOSES his TEMPER 
 
 JT 7"^"HAT or how much Jacqueline Al- 
 t/l/ ton suffered in consequence of the 
 
 * ' events related in the preceding 
 
 chapters, her friends were left to guess for 
 themselves. That she should suffer severely 
 was inevitable. She was much too true a 
 woman to have given her love in a half-hearted 
 way to any man, and the blow which had so 
 stunned Barnegal must have been a terrible 
 one to her a woman without a man's resource 
 of participation in the troubled life of the 
 time. 
 
 But if she suffered she made no sign. Her 
 face grew grave as the old joyousness died out 
 of it. Her color, which had never been strong, 
 faded away altogether; but her step was still 
 elastic and her voice as cheerful as ever. She 
 devoted herself with her customary earnestness 
 to her varied duties. The blood of a proud 
 race flowed in her veins, and she bore herself as 
 
 200
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 a proud woman, the daughter of such a house, 
 should. 
 
 The servants saw nothing unusual in her ap 
 pearance or manner. Visitors marked no 
 change. Her very maid who had attended her 
 in the solitude of her own chamber all the days 
 of her life, guessed nothing of her mistress's 
 sorrow. Somewhat later she was puzzled over 
 the fact that "Miss Jack " began to lock her 
 door whenever she quitted her room. This 
 was a mystery to everyone, but it had no ap 
 parent connection with the events that preceded 
 its beginning. In brie, the young woman bore 
 herself in a most exemplary and gentlewomanly 
 way, which was precisely what those who knew 
 her had reason to expect at her hands. 
 
 Roger alone ever spoke to her on the subject 
 that so distressed her, and he did so but once. 
 It was several days after her interview with her 
 father that Roger said to her : 
 
 " Jack, dear, I have some messages for you 
 which I am charged to deliver, if you wish to 
 receive them. They are messages explanatory 
 in a way of what has occurred, yet they do not 
 fully explain." 
 
 His sister at this point interrupted him, 
 speaking quickly : 
 
 " Let's dismiss this whole subject, brother. 
 
 2OI
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 You can readily believe that it is not a pleasant 
 one to me. I need no explanations, and I want 
 none. I am content to trust the wisdom which 
 prompts my father and Charles to agree in this 
 matter. I do not wish to know the details. I 
 have but one favor to ask, and that is, that no 
 body shall know there ever was any engage 
 ment to break in the case. I do not need the 
 sympathy of people outside the house, and 
 Jacqueline Alton is not a person to be pitied by 
 anybody." 
 
 Roger kissed her brow tenderly by way of 
 reply, and the subject was henceforth a forbid 
 den one in the house. 
 
 Some weeks later, Roger sat in the library 
 discussing with his father matters connected 
 with the business of the great estate with which 
 Colonel Alton desired that his son should be 
 familiar, so that in the event of his own death 
 the young man might be prepared to succeed 
 him in the management of affairs. 
 
 It was now April, and Roger, who had been 
 busy since his return in organizing and drilling 
 the militia of his district, had just received the 
 following note from Governor Rutledge. 
 
 " CHARLES TOWN, April 8, 1779. 
 " MY DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I have private information of contemplated military 
 operations which in my judgment are likely to result in 
 
 202
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the immediate invasion of this state. I beg you, there 
 fore, to hasten the work of organization in your district, 
 if it be not already complete. I shall probably desire 
 your presence at my headquarters shortly, and will thank 
 you to hold yourself in readiness to join me at a mo 
 ment's warning. 
 
 " With much esteem, I beg to subscribe myself, Sir, 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "JOHN RUTLEDGE, 
 
 "Governor and Commander-in-Chief. 
 " To ROGER ALTON, Esq., 
 
 " Captain and A. D. C." 
 
 It was in view of Roger's probable departure 
 within a day or two that the present conversa 
 tion was held. The business had been finished 
 and Roger was re-arranging the papers, when 
 Jacqueline tapped at the library door and enter 
 ing, said: 
 
 " I have something to say to you, fatHer, if 
 you are at leisure to hear me." 
 
 " Certainly, my daughter," replied the old 
 gentleman, placing an easy chair for her use in 
 front of his own. 
 
 " Allow me to replace these papers," said 
 Roger, " and I will withdraw. It will occupy 
 only a minute or two." 
 
 " I think you need not go, brother," replied 
 Jacqueline. " I have no longer any secrets to 
 keep from you, and, as I was obliged to con 
 ceal this matter from you the other day when 
 
 203
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 you asked me about it, I am very anxious to 
 have you hear what I have to say now, though 
 indeed I do not understand it myself." 
 
 She said this with a puzzled, half-bewildered 
 look upon her face. Roger bantered her a lit 
 tle upon her new role of mystery-monger, at 
 which she smiled and replied : 
 
 " At least this mystery for it is a mystery 
 to me is not of my making or my seeking." 
 Then turning to her father she continued : 
 
 " About ten days ago, as I was returning 
 from my visit to the sick people at the lower 
 quarters * a man came out of the thicket and 
 met me at the big gate. I was not alarmed 
 when he accosted me, as the gate was shut 
 between us, and the quarters were so near 
 just out of sight behind the grove that Dolly 
 would have taken me there in half a minute, if 
 the man had seemed disposed to be rude. He 
 was very gentle and courteous, however, and I 
 think he chose that place for the meeting pur 
 posely, so that I might not be alarmed. He 
 
 * " Quarters " in Southern parlance, are negroes' 
 houses, and on the plantations these were commonly 
 built in two villages one near the " great house," and 
 the other at some distant point. The " lower quarters " 
 of which Jacqueline spoke, were evidently those consti 
 tuting the more distant group. 
 
 204
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 gave me no name, but said he had something of 
 very great importance to confide to my keep 
 ing, and that in giving it to me he would give 
 me written instructions concerning it. He 
 begged me to promise, however, that I would 
 strictly follow the directions, assuring me that 
 a failure to do so might bring serious trouble 
 upon him. He then withdrew his request for 
 a promise, saying: 
 
 " No, I have no right to exact that. But 
 I beg you to take what I shall give you to your 
 own room and there read the letter which is 
 addressed to you. After you have read it 
 you will not refuse, I am sure, to do what I 
 request of you.' 
 
 " With that he went into the bushes and 
 brought out a queer little chest and a letter, and 
 gave them to me, after which he touched his 
 hat, bowed, and walked away into the 
 swamp. The chest was singularly heavy for 
 its size, but, covering it with my riding habit, 
 I brought it home, and in my own room opened 
 and read the letter. It is a queer document, 
 and has puzzled me a good deal. If you will 
 allow me I will read it to you. Singularly 
 enough it is painfully wrought out in printing 
 letters." And with that, she read as fol 
 lows: 
 
 205
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Pray do not throw this sheet aside as an anonymous 
 letter because it has no name signed at the bottom. I 
 have no name to sign. I am a dead man, a man who 
 died years ago, and as a dead man am unable to do what 
 I am going to ask you to do for me. I died with a duty 
 unperformed, and I cannot rest until it shall be done. I 
 have toiled and suffered that I might rest a little, and 
 the completion of my task I am placing in your hands. 
 The little chest that I have given you holds that which 
 belongs to your father. It has cost me years of toil and 
 privation and suffering, but of that I have no right to 
 complain. I speak of it only to impress upon you the 
 necessity of guarding the chest carefully while it shall 
 remain in your possession. Keep it and keep it in secret 
 until the date carved upon its top shall come. Then 
 take it to Geoffrey Alton and give it to him. By that 
 time I shall be out of the neighborhood at least. If you 
 deliver it sooner a search may be made for me, and if I 
 be found, terrible suffering will ensue, not to me, for I 
 cannot suffer more than I do, but to others who are 
 innocent, as I am not. I enclose the key to the chest, in 
 this letter." 
 
 "Where is the chest, Jacqueline?" asked 
 Colonel Alton and Roger in a breath. 
 
 " In my room. I'll fetch it," she said. " The 
 date of delivery has come, and I shall be re 
 lieved to be rid of a secret." 
 
 When she returned with the box in her 
 hands, Roger sprang forward with a half- 
 stifled exclamation of surprise and inspected it 
 minutely. 
 
 "What's the matter, brother," asked Jac- 
 
 206
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 queline. " Did you ever see the chest be 
 fore?" 
 
 " If I did," replied he, turning away with a 
 puzzled look, " I am under a pledge of secrecy 
 regarding it. But I am not sure that I ever 
 saw this box before. I have seen one which it 
 closely resembles, and that under rather peculiar 
 circumstances, but I am not free to tell you 
 about it." 
 
 " You, too, cherishing a mysterious secret 
 about a mysterious chest," exclaimed Jacque 
 line. " Really this is provoking. Here is a 
 quiet, honest family suddenly thrown into a 
 fog of mystery which it can neither penetrate 
 nor dissipate, and that by no fault of its own, 
 either." 
 
 While this conversation was in progress, 
 Colonel Alton had opened the chest and now sat 
 staring at its contents. It held gold coin and 
 nothing else. On the inner surface of the lid 
 was scratched an interest calculation, and be 
 neath it were traced these words in printing 
 letters : 
 
 " Interest not paid annually compounds an 
 nually. Count the contents and know that the 
 debt is at last paid to the uttermost farthing. 
 But alas the crime remains." 
 
 Colonel Alton closed the box and placed it 
 
 207
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 upon his desk. Then, leaning his head upon 
 his hand, he ejaculated in tones of heartstricken 
 tenderness : 
 
 " My poor, dead friend ! " 
 
 Roger and Jacqueline noiselessly with 
 drew. 
 
 Colonel Alton evidently knew more than 
 either his son or his daughter could guess re 
 garding the source from which the chest of 
 money had come, but he made no reference 
 whatever to the subject, and they, of course, 
 did not question him. 
 
 Not many days later came a courier with 
 orders for Roger to join his chief immediately, 
 and the young man, before leaving, sought a 
 private conference with his father. 
 
 When closeted, Roger opened the conversa 
 tion with more of trepidation than he was ever 
 likely to feel in the presence of the enemy he 
 was so soon to meet in the field. 
 
 " I am afraid, father, that I have not acted 
 altogether as I should in postponing this inter 
 view so long. I have waited, however, in the 
 hope that I should be able to go to Lonsdale 
 again before telling you that which, in strict 
 propriety, I ought not to have been able to tell 
 you at all until after a second visit. But my 
 duties " 
 
 208
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 "My boy," said Colonel Alton, interrupting 
 him and speaking with evident emotion, " you 
 are not about to tell me that you have paid 
 your addresses to Helen Vargave. You do 
 not mean that, I trust ! " 
 
 There was that in the old gentleman's voice 
 which both puzzled and distressed his son. 
 His tone expressed surprise and sorrow, even 
 to wretchedness. 
 
 " I do not understand you, father," said 
 Roger, " and your tone pains me sorely. I 
 have addressed Helen Vargave, and she has in 
 effect promised to be my wife as soon as the 
 troubled condition of the country shall have 
 passed away. It remains only to secure your 
 consent." 
 
 A full minute or more elapsed before Colonel 
 Alton replied. 
 
 " I am deeply grieved, Roger," he said after 
 awhile, " more deeply grieved than you can im 
 agine. This is indeed a calamity. When I re 
 joiced in your return, and in the spirit of manli 
 ness which prompted it, I little thought that this 
 was to be the result, else I should have mourned 
 rather. You know very well that I have always 
 disapproved of unnecessary paternal interfer 
 ence in these matters. It cost me a struggle 
 to do my duty in Jacqueline's case a struggle 
 
 209
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 from which I have not yet quite recovered 
 and now I have a still more distressing necessity 
 upon me. In that case, I had only to lay cer 
 tain facts before Charles Barnegal which them 
 selves forbade the banns. In this I must inter 
 fere and forbid them without stating any facts 
 whatever. I cannot tell you why but you 
 can never marry Helen Vargave." 
 
 Roger was stunned. There was no other 
 woman in all Carolina, he had thought, who 
 was likely to prove so acceptable to Colonel 
 Alton as a daughter-in-law. He managed, in 
 spite of the astonishment which nearly took 
 away his breath, to ask: 
 
 " Why, father, what does this mean ? You 
 cannot mean to hint that Helen Vargave is un 
 worthy to be the wife of an Alton ? " 
 
 " No, no, no," returned the other with 
 vehemence. " She is the worthiest young wo 
 man I have any knowledge of, and that is what 
 distresses me most. If she were less worthy 
 if I felt less tenderly regardful of her than I 
 do, it would pain me less to interfere. In 
 that case I should care but little for the suffer 
 ing I must inflict on her, and as for the pain 
 given you why, you are a man and a gentle 
 man, able to bear life's burdens with straight 
 shoulders and head erect. It is for Helen, 
 
 2IO
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 whom I love as if she were my own daughter, 
 that I am most deeply concerned." 
 
 " But, father," Roger broke in, " if you think 
 so well of Helen, what earthly obstacle can 
 there be to this marriage, which is not to take 
 place in any case until the return of peace ? Are 
 not the Vargaves as good a family as our own 
 or any other in the land, and is not her mother 
 equally well connected?" 
 
 " Undoubtedly, and it was perfectly natural 
 that you should have thought the connection 
 altogether excellent. For any other young 
 man in South Carolina, Helen Vargave would 
 be a perfectly eligible bride because no other 
 young man's father knows what I know. I 
 cannot tell you what that is, I cannot show 
 you why you may not marry Helen Vargave 
 I can only tell you that you may not and must 
 not and shall not." 
 
 " Am I to be dealt with like a child? " cried 
 Roger, with an indignation which he could 
 neither suppress nor conceal. " Am I to be 
 set guessing a lot of riddles like a king's fool? 
 Am I to be put off with hints and innuendoes 
 and mysterious references to unexplained cir 
 cumstances, instead of plain facts which I can 
 comprehend and judge for myself? I will sub 
 mit to no such treatment. I am a full-grown 
 
 211
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man; more than that, I am a gentleman, able 
 both to hear and speak the truth. I will not be 
 treated as if I were a babe in pinafores who 
 must be wheedled into the surrender of un 
 wholesome sugar plums. Tell me the plain facts, 
 and trust me to conduct myself as an Alton 
 should. That name is mine as well as yours, 
 and I am as jealous of its honor as you are. 
 I would not bring a stain upon it to save my life 
 no, not even to save your life, my father 
 but I will not be juggled with in this matter. I 
 will have the whole truth, and will govern my 
 self accordingly. I have sought Helen Var- 
 gave's love, and she has given it to me. I 
 have pledged my honor to marry her. I have 
 yet to learn that any Alton has ever proved 
 recreant to such a pledge, and I am not going 
 to be the first to bring dishonor upon the 
 name." 
 
 Mr. Roger had wrought himself into a very 
 pretty rage, certainly. Indeed he was fairly 
 beside himself with passion, else he would never 
 have used such language or such a tone in ad 
 dressing his father. The young man expected 
 in a half -unconscious way to be ordered 
 out of the house the moment he ceased to speak ; 
 for the father gentle as he was, and tender 
 even to womanliness in his dealings with his 
 
 212
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 family, was of stern and imperious temper in 
 all that concerned his dignity, and the respect 
 due to him. 
 
 A transient flushing of the face, however, 
 was the only sign of annoyance he gave now, 
 as he sat there in absolute silence, while Roger 
 awaited his reply, and excitedly paced the floor. 
 The silence continued until it grew painful. 
 When at last the father broke it, his voice was 
 as gentle as a woman's. 
 
 " Come and sit down, my son," he said, 
 " and listen to me as calmly as you can. I 
 shall not rebuke your warmth, which under 
 the circumstances does you honor, in spite of 
 its impropriety when manifested by a son in 
 addressing his father." 
 
 Roger sat down abashed. He had been pre 
 pared for an outbreak of offended dignity, but 
 this gentle half-praise made him ashamed of 
 himself. His father continued speaking, how 
 ever, giving him no chance to apologize, 
 perhaps because he feared the high-spirited 
 young fellow might not avail himself of such 
 an opportunity. That would have made the 
 situation awkward. 
 
 " I am in honor bound, my son, to keep ab 
 solutely to myself, the knowledge upon which 
 my decision in this matter rests. I should be 
 
 213
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 glad to give you all the facts if I could, but I 
 may not give them to any human being without 
 violating what I conceive is a most imperative 
 obligation of honor. I may say this much to 
 you, however, by way of explanation. There 
 hangs a sword over Helen Vargave's head, and 
 it hangs only by the frail thread of a mono 
 maniac's will. The secret which I must keep 
 which I have kept sacredly, even when its 
 keeping threatened us all with ruin is not 
 mine exclusively. If I alone knew it, it should 
 die with me, and should be no bar to your 
 happiness. But one other man knows it, and 
 his hatred of the Vargaves, and of me and mine, 
 amounts to insanity. He cherishes two bits of 
 knowledge this and one other for the pur 
 pose of making them the ministers of his wrath. 
 If Charles Barnegal should marry Jacqueline, 
 this man would immediately publish one of 
 the facts and strike us to the earth. If you 
 should marry Helen Vargave, he would reveal 
 the other, and wreak vengeance upon every one 
 bearing the Vargave name. He may choose 
 to avenge himself upon the Vargaves in any 
 case. Against that, however, I have now a 
 defence. One of his secrets he desires to keep 
 because its publication would strike at the repu 
 tation of his own house. He has had to tell it 
 
 214
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to me, however, and should he threaten to re 
 veal the other for the destruction of the Var- 
 gaves, I should meet him with a counter-threat. 
 I would reveal the stain upon his own name if 
 he should dare lay a finger upon the fair fame 
 of my friends the Vargaves. Years ago he 
 threatened that, but his fear of some vengeance 
 at my hands restrained him. I did not then 
 know what he has since revealed to me, or I 
 should all these years have held him to silence 
 concerning the Vargaves by a securer bond than 
 I have hitherto been able to impose. But he 
 is my implacable enemy, and if he could at one 
 blow destroy the Vargaves and bring sorrow 
 to my family, he is desperate enough to accept 
 the ruin I should bring upon his own house. 
 
 " Now, bear one thing well in mind. There 
 is no stain upon the Alton name. There is 
 nothing that can be said to our injury. There 
 is no truth that we have any occasion to con 
 ceal. Our men have all been brave, and up 
 right, and truthful. Our women have all been 
 above reproach. You must not imagine that 
 this human tiger, that is the best epithet I can 
 apply to him can breathe aught to the shame 
 or even to the reproach of any Alton who ever 
 lived. But should Jacqueline marry young 
 Barnegal, this tiger would blight the fame of 
 
 215
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 her husband, and so throw a shadow upon that 
 of her children. If you marry Helen Vargave, 
 he will bring dishonor to her house, and the 
 Altons who shall come after you must bear 
 a reproach. It is your duty not merely to keep 
 the honor of your name untarnished by any 
 act of your own, but equally to hand it down to 
 your children free from inherited stains upon 
 their mother's side. It is this duty to one's 
 children, and this alone, which limits a man's 
 right in choosing a wife to please only himself. 
 He owes it to them to remember that in marry 
 ing he is appointing their mother, and not only 
 so, but their grandparents and great-grand 
 parents as well. But, as I have already inti 
 mated, it is for Helen's sake far more than your 
 own that I am concerned. It is my duty to pro 
 tect the wife and child of my dead friend by 
 every means in my power, and I tell you 
 solemnly that no worse ill can befall them than 
 for you to make Helen Vargave your wife. 
 Their enemy and mine would blight their name 
 and bring a sorrow upon them of wh'ch Helen, 
 at least, has never dreamed." 
 
 Roger was calm now, and able to speak re 
 spectfully, but he was by no means convinced. 
 
 "What you tell me, father, I am ready to 
 accept as a sufficient explanation of your re- 
 
 216
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 fusal to put me in possession of the facts; but 
 I must frankly own that it does not convince 
 me of my duty to break my engagement. Par 
 don me, but I think your anxiety leads you to 
 exaggerate the danger. The man your 
 enemy, whoever he may be, and I think I know 
 who he is is afraid of you, it seems, and has 
 been restrained for a long time by his coward 
 ice. It seems to me unlikely that he will now 
 invite at your hands a revelation that must 
 bring ruin upon his own family and shame to 
 his own name for the sake of wreaking a long 
 postponed vengeance. And moreover, I have 
 no valid excuse to offer for seeking a release 
 from my engagement, even if I desired it. My 
 first duty is to be true to my own obligations. 
 As I look at the matter, I cannot honorably seek 
 a release and I shall not consent to be the first 
 of my race recreant to the obligations of honor. 
 I tell you frankly that if you command me to 
 break this engagement, I shall disobey you." 
 
 " Very well, my son. You are right in do 
 ing your duty as you understand it, and I have 
 no wish that you shall do otherwise. I shall 
 therefore give you no command in this case. 
 Indeed, it is not necessary. The engagement 
 will be broken soon enough without that. I 
 have not told you these things to persuade you 
 
 217
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to anything, or to compel you to anything, but 
 simply to prepare you for the inevitable. I 
 have no fear that you will ever marry Helen, 
 and so I do not forbid it. I only warn you, in 
 advance, that you can never marry her, so that 
 you may be prepared. 
 
 " Now let's talk no more of this. You are 
 about to leave home, and the parting is sad 
 enough to me, at any rate. I wish I could 
 send you away with a lighter heart as I do 
 send you with my blessing. Hard money, as 
 you know, is extremely scarce, and the State 
 and Continental bills are well nigh worthless, 
 wherefore I have rilled a belt for you, with 
 coin, for use in emergencies. You will find it 
 in Jacqueline's charge, and must wear it al 
 ways upon your person." 
 
 And so the conversation was turned with a 
 firm hand to matters of detail connected with 
 Roger's departure, and the youth had no fur 
 ther chance to question his father's purposes. 
 An hour or two later, he rode away, attended 
 by his servant the stalwart young negro upon 
 whom he had bestowed the ducal name of Marl- 
 borough. 
 
 218
 
 XVI 
 
 HUMPHREYS 
 
 JUST as night fell, Captain Roger Al 
 ton dismounted at the door of the 
 Charles Town mansion occupied by 
 his chief as headquarters. Throwing 
 his rein to Marlborough, with instructions as to 
 the care of the hard-ridden horses, the young 
 staff officer touched his hat to the sentinel who 
 stood at the door with " presented " arms, and 
 passed without further formality into the gov 
 ernor's office-room. Governor Rutledge rose 
 as he entered, and held out his hand, saying : 
 
 " My dear boy, I am glad to see you, and 
 you've come none too soon. We're likely to 
 have work enough, shortly, and I shall need 
 you badly. Colonel Alton is well, I trust." 
 
 " Quite as well as usual, thank you," replied 
 the young aide-de-camp, " and as for myself, I 
 am ready for service of as hard a sort as you 
 have to offer, Governor Rutledge." 
 
 " That is well," replied his chief, " as I shall 
 
 219
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 have to put your readiness to the proof. You 
 are well mounted, I hope." 
 
 " Nobody better so, sir. I've a pair of picked 
 horses in admirable condition, and I have been 
 training them to all kinds of difficult work 
 under the saddle. But what's in the wind? 
 What news have you ? " 
 
 " Sh . You shall hear presently. But 
 
 you're hungry, and we'll take supper first. 
 Then you shall hear what this excellent scout 
 I beg your pardon but I've quite forgotten 
 your name," turning to a stranger who sat in 
 the shadow of the chimney. 
 
 " I am sometimes called Humphreys, sir. 
 You may call me Humphreys, if you please." 
 
 Roger started. The voice which came out of 
 the darkness was that of his companion, the 
 sailor, and he was on the very point of betray 
 ing his own acquaintance with the man, when 
 he remembered his promise and restrained him 
 self. 
 
 " Ah, yes, Humphreys," said Governor Rut- 
 ledge. " I had forgotten. Captain Alton, this 
 is Mr. Humphreys who has been engaged in 
 our secret service, and he brings me some im 
 portant information. After supper we will 
 hear in detail what he has to tell. You are 
 famished now, I know. Come," and with 
 
 220
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 that the governor led the way to the din 
 ing-room. 
 
 At the table the man Humphreys, or what 
 ever else his name was, acted his part in a way 
 that excited Roger's admiration in the highest 
 degree. He not only betrayed nothing of his 
 former acquaintance with the young man, 
 but asked him in the most natural way imagin 
 able, if he was a native of South Carolina, if he 
 had served before, in what district he lived, and 
 various other questions of the kind, which one 
 gentleman might ask another under such cir 
 cumstances. As for Roger, he had great dif 
 ficulty in preserving his gravity. 
 
 " Captain Alton has been in the country a 
 very few months," remarked Governor Rut- 
 ledge, during the meal. " And indeed, his 
 coming was a rather remarkable one, not to 
 say romantic, and even heroic. He was so full 
 of patriotism, that, failing to find a proper ship 
 coming to Charles Town, he actually crossed 
 from the Bahamas to Carolina in an open 
 boat!" 
 
 " Indeed ! " exclaimed Humphreys, with 
 perfectly simulated astonishment. " You must 
 have found the voyage a difficult, as well as a 
 perilous one, did you not ? " 
 
 " Somewhat so," replied Roger. " In fact, 
 
 221
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 I hardly think I should be here to discuss it but 
 for the skill of a companion I had with me, 
 a seaman who navigated my boat for me and 
 ran her into an obscure little inlet during the 
 blackest and stormiest night I ever knew." 
 
 " A good sailor he must have been," said the 
 imperturbable Humphreys. " I should like to 
 know him. The skill of such a man, and his 
 knowledge of the coast would be invaluable to 
 me, if I could persuade him to join me in some 
 of my expeditions. Do you happen to know 
 where he is at present? " 
 
 The cool assurance with which Humphreys 
 asked this question startled Roger into some 
 thing like resentment. " I wonder," he 
 thought, " if this man actually hopes to deceive 
 me as well as the governor, and to persuade 
 me that I am mistaken with regard to his own 
 identity ! " He glanced at the face of his ques 
 tioner, but could read nothing in the frank, in 
 nocent expression of the countenance, except 
 an apparently real wish to know more about 
 the matter of which they were talking. With 
 out removing his eyes from the face Roger re 
 plied : 
 
 " I have reason to think that he is a dead 
 man now." 
 
 " Ah," said the other, without a sign of emo- 
 
 222
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tion, " that is unlucky. Such a fellow might 
 have been extremely useful in the secret serv 
 ice." 
 
 " Not more so, I should say, than you your 
 self are," replied Roger, with some little hid 
 den malice. " I imagine you have special gifts 
 for secret service." 
 
 " Thank you," said the man, without appear 
 ing to see anything more in the remark than 
 any stranger might. " You do me honor. I 
 believe I have some qualifications, in the way 
 of a knowledge of the country and some other 
 things, for service of that kind. I have an 
 earnest desire to help on the common cause, at 
 any rate, and as for courage, life is not apt to 
 be especially precious to a man who has as lit 
 tle as I have to live for." 
 
 The meal over, the three retired to a private 
 room upstairs, first placing a sentinel upon the 
 landing of the stairs with orders to prevent 
 eavesdropping. 
 
 Here Humphreys told his story, of which 
 Rutledge had as yet heard only a synopsis. 
 
 " I have been in the British camp for a week 
 or more, and have found means of ascertaining 
 what Prevost's plans are. General Lincoln is 
 already moving up the Savannah River, intend 
 ing to invade Georgia, and the moment he gets 
 
 223
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 well away from Purysburg on the road to 
 Augusta, Prevost will cross the river in force, 
 and march upon Charles Town, which he hopes 
 to surprise and capture before Lincoln can come 
 to its relief. The only thing that stands in his 
 way is General Moultrie's small force near 
 Purysburg and that is not sufficient even to 
 check the British advance in any serious way. 
 If Prevost can prevent news of his movement 
 from reaching Lincoln or if Lincoln persists 
 in his campaign in spite of it, as he may do 
 or even in the event of Lincoln proving prudent 
 and falling back from Augusta to Charles 
 Town, it seemo almost certain that Prevost can 
 get here a day or two in advance. He hopes 
 to throw himself into the city before Lincoln 
 can arrive, fortify it, and await reinforcements 
 from New York. This is his plan. Of its 
 merits you, Governor Rutledge, can judge. 
 What measures should be taken to meet it of 
 course it is not for me to suggest; but if I can 
 be of any service as a courier or otherwise, 
 pray command me. If not, I will find a way to 
 make my rifle of some use until you need me 
 again." 
 
 " Wait one moment," said Rutledge. 
 " How did you learn of this ? I ask, you un 
 derstand, for the purpose of ascertaining how 
 
 224
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 trustworthy your source of information is, and 
 not at all because I doubt you. You have 
 proved your faithfulness too effectively for 
 that." 
 
 " I got my information directly from Pre- 
 vost's own mouth, by what I should call lying, 
 if it were not done in the service of my country 
 against a very perfidious foe. I went to him 
 as a tory resident of South Carolina, and after 
 laying before him a minute account of some 
 persecutions I professed to have suffered at the 
 hands of the whigs, I was commanded by him 
 to return and encourage my fellow tories with 
 the promise of a speedy invasion, the plan for 
 which he gave me as I have given it to you. 
 His frankness in the matter astonished me, and 
 is the only thing that causes me doubt. I do 
 not at all know why he should thus indicate 
 his plans, even in hints and suggestions, for of 
 course he did not talk to me otherwise, but I am 
 perfectly satisfied that my understanding of 
 what he purposes is correct." 
 
 " Thank you," replied Rutledge. " Now I 
 leave your action to your own judgment. Re 
 member, I want trustworthy information. 
 Get it in whatever way you can and report to 
 me. You are supplied with money, I be 
 lieve?" 
 
 225
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 11 Yes, sir, and you shall hear from me. 
 When Prevost moves it will be desirable to 
 know his precise strength, I suppose ? " 
 
 " By all means, if you can learn it." 
 
 " I shall learn it, sir, and when he appears 
 on the Ashley River you shall know as well as 
 he the figures of his morning reports." 
 
 When Humphreys had left, Roger turned, 
 and looking Governor Rutledge straight in the 
 eyes asked. " What do you know of that man 
 that you trust him so implicitly? " 
 
 " I know the man and something of his his 
 tory," answered Rutledge. " I could easily 
 convince you of his trustworthiness, if I might 
 tell you some things which I may not. Pardon 
 me, I am not free to say more than this, but if 
 at any time you have occasion for a trusty, 
 verbal messenger, remember that you may re 
 pose as implicit confidence in that man's truth 
 fulness, intelligence, and patriotism as in my 
 own. It may be of advantage to you to know 
 this. Now to business. General Lincoln is 
 marching towards Augusta. It is absolutely 
 necessary that he should know of Prevost's 
 plans, and I do not care to risk a communica 
 tion in writing. I must send you personally at 
 daybreak to find him and tell him of what we 
 have just now learned. I shall go at once to 
 
 226
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Orangeburg, embody the militia there, and 
 march immediately to Charles Town. Leave 
 your servant and spare horse here. I will take 
 them with me to Orangeburg, and you can join 
 me there after finding Lincoln. Lose no time, 
 however, as every hour is precious. On your 
 journey, going and coming, if you find militia 
 organized anywhere, order them at once to 
 Orangeburg to join me. We must be prepared 
 to keep Prevost out of Charles Town until Lin 
 coln can get here. Can you be off by day 
 light?" 
 
 " I can leave at midnight, if you wish. My 
 horses are in good condition, and will have had 
 six hours' rest by that time." 
 
 " Good. But won't it tax your horse pretty 
 severely, and so delay you in the end ? " 
 
 " You don't know Bullet, Governor. He is 
 a demon and needs breaking down to tame him. 
 If this journey teaches him to behave like a 
 reasonable animal, it will accomplish more than 
 anything I've tried yet." 
 
 227
 
 XVII 
 
 A first SMELL of GUN-POWDER 
 
 XH'APTAIN ALTON was in no very en- 
 I . viable frame of mind when his un- 
 ^- * manageable horse leaped ashore from 
 the ferryboat, on the south side of the Ash 
 ley River, a little after midnight. It was 
 raining, for one thing, and the blinding glare 
 of the frequent lightning served to make 
 his progress somewhat difficult He was a 
 bold rider, however, and just now a rather des 
 perate young man, as well. Somehow, the 
 meeting with Humphreys and the additional 
 mystery the man had contrived to throw around 
 himself had the effect of irritating Roger far 
 more than he was accustomed to permit small 
 matters to do. 
 
 For reasons which he could not explain 
 to himself, he had come to feel that this man 
 Humphreys was in some fashion connected 
 with the secrets which his father was keeping 
 from him, and this reminded him of the con- 
 
 228
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 versation he had so lately held at Alton House, 
 which, the more he thought of it, became 
 more and more a source of almost unbearable 
 annoyance. It was provoking beyond endur 
 ance to be baffled in this way by mysteries at 
 every turn, to be met even by his father with 
 vague hints of inscrutable things, instead of 
 the frank confidence with which he had always 
 been treated; to be told that he must not and 
 could not marry Helen Vargave, and to be re 
 fused even a hint of a reason why; to discover 
 that the obstacle in the way was in some manner 
 connected with that which thwarted Charles 
 Barnegal's suit for Jacqueline's hand all these 
 things vexed and angered, while they depressed 
 him. 
 
 " I'll burst these bonds," he. exclaimed aloud 
 in his anger. " I will not be the sport of a lot 
 of fancies. I will refuse to govern myself by 
 hints and innuendoes. I will not listen to half 
 told tales, or suffer the secrets of other people 
 to bring ruin upon my life. Helen Vargave 
 is a gentlewoman, my equal, and she loves me. 
 I am a man of full age, able to take care of my 
 own honor, and to manage my own affairs. I 
 will go to Helen, tell her the truth so far as I 
 am graciously permitted to know it, and I will 
 marry her in spite of all the mysterious mono- 
 
 229
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 maniacs in the Carolinas. Then I shall have 
 a right to protect her good name as I do my 
 own, and if the human tiger of my father's 
 fears dares breathe aught to her disadvantage, 
 I will avenge her as a gentleman should, and I 
 will make the vengeance terrible enough to pre 
 vent any repetition of the wrong." 
 
 This was all very well as a resolution, but 
 there remained to depress him the unexplained 
 words with which Colonel Alton had closed the 
 conversation on this subject, 
 
 " I give you no command, the engagement 
 will be broken soon enough without that." 
 
 He wondered what that meant, and, imagin 
 ing all sorts of things, managed to work him 
 self into a very uncomfortable state of mind be 
 fore the morning broke. He breakfasted in 
 the woods upon the contents of his saddle-bags, 
 and pressed on until noon, when he halted to 
 give Bullet something to eat at a wayside hos 
 telry. Here he determined to remain during 
 the two or three hottest hours of the day, and 
 discover, if he could, something of General Lin 
 coln's whereabouts. That the army was al 
 ready in motion he knew, and if he could learn 
 precisely when it left Purysburg, he might save 
 some hours certainly and possibly some days in 
 his effort to come up with it. After seeing his 
 
 230
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 horse properly fed and groomed, therefore, he 
 sat down in the broad piazza of the tavern, and 
 bade the servant who brought him the ready- 
 mixed dram of the time and country seek the 
 landlord, and tell him a guest wished to speak 
 with him. 
 
 Boniface came out in his shirt sleeves with a 
 long-stemmed pipe in his mouth and welcomed 
 the traveler. Roger made his inquiries, and 
 having gathered such information as he could 
 with respect to roads and other matters of in 
 terest, began asking his host a variety of ques 
 tions on more general topics, in pursuance of a 
 purpose he had formed to learn as much as pos 
 sible of the country and people wherever he 
 should go, with an eye to the possible usefulness 
 of such information in future campaigning. 
 The landlord was garrulous, as it becomes all 
 rural landlords to be, and was not long in giv 
 ing Roger a brief outline of the history of every 
 family in the country for thirty or forty miles 
 around, including his own. 
 
 " If you'd got here an hour sooner'n you did, 
 stranger, you'd a met just a little the finest old 
 gentleman in South Carolina, as I count gentle 
 men," said the inn-keeper presently. 
 
 " Ah, then I am sorry I was so late in com 
 ing," said Roger. " But who was he, pray? " 
 
 231
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " It was Colonel Geoffrey Alton, of Alton 
 House, and a finer gentleman I don't believe 
 this country holds. He's none o' your paper 
 money, savin' sort. He travels in his car 
 riage, if he does travel by himself, and here's 
 the sort o' money he pays his way with." As 
 he said this, the enthusiastic landlord drew 
 from his pocket two gold pieces and displayed 
 them in his open palm. The host's enthusiasm 
 over the golden souvenirs of his late guest's 
 visit served to distract his attention from Rog 
 er's face, and that young gentleman had time 
 to suppress all manifestations of astonishment 
 before asking, with an assumed air of meagre 
 interest : 
 
 " Where was the colonel going? " 
 
 " Now look here, stranger," said Boniface, 
 with an injured tone, " do you take me for the 
 sort o' man that pries into gentlemen's private 
 affairs with impertinent questions? I answer 
 questions, but I don't ask them. If a gentle 
 man pays his bill I bid him God speed, without 
 wantin' to know which way he's goin'." 
 
 " Oh, certainly," said Roger, with assumed 
 indifference. " I quite understand the delicacy 
 of your position. I thought perhaps Colonel 
 Alton might have mentioned his destination of 
 his own accord. That was all. He is a friend 
 
 232
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of my own, and I should have been much 
 pleased to meet him here." 
 
 " Your friend, is he ? Well, if you want to 
 know where he's gone, I reckon I can find out. 
 Enoch ! Enoch ! Come here, do you heah ? " 
 This last to the negro hostler, who, without 
 answering, came to the steps in front of his 
 master. 
 
 " Did you pump Colonel Alton's driver as 
 I told you never to do and find out where he 
 was going? " 
 
 " I dun ax de drivah, sah, but he didn't right 
 ly know, hissef. He say his mastah little bit 
 crusty, an' he dussent ax him any questions, 
 but he say he spec' dey's gwine down to Lons- 
 dale, de widdah Vargave's place, an' dat's all 
 he know'd about it." 
 
 Mr. Roger did small justice to the landlord's 
 dinner after receiving this intelligence, and 
 when Bullet had eaten the oats and fodder given 
 him, the young man mounted and continued his 
 journey, with a depressed feeling of coming ill 
 upon him. He knew that his father's journey 
 to Lonsdale boded no good to him, and he now 
 began to understand the words over which he 
 had been puzzling all the morning. 
 
 His powerful horse was not yet reduced to 
 proper subjection, and with an impulse which 
 
 2 33
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 all horsemen who have ever ridden with a 
 burden of depression upon them will under 
 stand, he plunged spurs into the wild creature's 
 sides and gave free rein to his furious impetu 
 osity. Maddened by this application of the 
 armed heel the first he had ever known of it 
 the animal sprang forward with heedless, head 
 long fury, and the first awakening Roger had 
 from the half-trance into which he had fallen, 
 was produced by a sudden cry of " Halt 
 there ! " and the hiss of half a dozen bullets 
 around his head. Mechanically he drew his 
 sword without pausing to think of the odds 
 against him, and was on the point of charging 
 a little body of British regulars twenty yards 
 in front of him, when suddenly he heard 
 the familiar voice of Humphreys just behind 
 him. 
 
 " Don't charge, but run at your best speed 
 you have dispatches." 
 
 The words were spoken in the man's uni 
 formly quiet tone, without seeming emotion, 
 and equally without a sign of haste. But their 
 very quietude startled Roger into instant con 
 sciousness of his situation. Turning he fled, 
 with Humphreys at his side. 
 
 " Spur your horse, and lie down as low as 
 you can," said Humphreys, setting the example, 
 
 234
 
 " The tivo were soon in the midst of a vast swamp."
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and as the words left his lips the fire of the 
 whole advance guard whistled around them. 
 
 " Follow me," said Humphreys, plunging in 
 to the swamp at the side of the road, picking 
 his way through the dense underbrush and over 
 the treacherous bogs with a precision and cer 
 tainty which argued a minute acquaintance 
 with the place. The two were soon many miles 
 away from the road in the midst of a vast 
 swamp, and knowing themselves safe from 
 further pursuit, they slackened speed and rode 
 quietly until night approached. 
 
 " There's a little high ground, just ahead, on 
 which we'd better spend the night, I think," 
 said Humphreys. " In the morning I will 
 pilot you out of the swamp, and put you on the 
 road in pursuit of General Lincoln. You 
 must find him pretty quickly, however, to do 
 any good. You see the British are already 
 advancing in force, and will be before Charles 
 Town in two days. That was their extreme 
 left wing that you encountered. The main 
 body is moving by a road nearer the coast, and 
 the advance has halted at Pocotaligo, to wait 
 for the rest to come up. You can say to Gen 
 eral Lincoln, if you choose, that they are mov 
 ing in full force with all their baggage and am 
 munition trains." 
 
 235
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger readily guessed the man's desire to 
 avoid all discussion of personal matters, and 
 he respected it as a gentleman must. The two 
 were weary enough to sleep soundly, and in the 
 morning Humphreys guided Roger to the west 
 ern extremity of the swamp, where they sepa 
 rated. 
 
 Roger was not long in learning that Lincoln 
 had already been advised of Prevost's move 
 ment, and that after detaching a small body un 
 der Harris to re-enforce Moultrie, the Ameri 
 can general had crossed into Georgia, and was 
 now marching down the right bank of the river. 
 It was apparently General Lincoln's purpose to 
 threaten Savannah, in the hope that Prevost 
 might thus be compelled to beat a hasty retreat, 
 or failing in that, he thought it not impossible 
 that he might actually recapture Savannah, 
 while the British should be engaged in besieg 
 ing Charles Town. If he could do that, he 
 would march thence to Charles Town, and 
 place Prevost between two fires. 
 
 This movement of Lincoln's down the Sa 
 vannah River had brought him within about a 
 score or so of miles from the place at which 
 Roger had parted with Humphreys, and by al 
 lowing Bullet to push forward at a gait agree 
 able to that energetic animal, and consonant 
 
 236
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 with his rather exaggerated notions of what 
 constitutes a proper travelling speed, Roger 
 was able to eat a midday dinner with the com 
 mander of the American army. Here he 
 learned the nature and purpose of Lincoln's 
 movement, and after dinner was detained by 
 Lincoln till near nightfall, before he hastened 
 away in the direction of Orangeburg, with a 
 message from Lincoln to Rutledge. 
 
 " Tell Rutledge," said the general, " that if 
 Prevost does not retreat I shall attempt the cap 
 ture of Savannah, unless I find it impracticable. 
 If Prevost persists, however, I shall not waste 
 many days around Savannah. Whether I take 
 the city, or abandon the idea of trying, I shall 
 march upon Charles Town very shortly. 
 Moultrie with his Continentals, and Rutledge 
 with the militia, can surelv keep the British out 
 of the town for a week at least, and by that 
 time I shall fall upon the enemy's rear, and, be 
 tween the two, we should be able to grind him 
 to powder. Tell Rutledge he has only to make 
 a determined stand." 
 
 With this encouraging message in charge, 
 Roger dashed away on the long journey to 
 Orangeburg. 
 
 2 37
 
 XVIII 
 
 A LOVE LETTER 
 
 T" ^OWEVER pressing may be affairs 
 / / of state, especially to enthusiastic 
 - -* young men engaged in a war for 
 all that human nature holds dear, affairs of 
 a nearer and dearer kind insist sometimes upon 
 their superior claim to attention. When Roger 
 Alton reached General Lincoln's headquarters, 
 he found six or seven hours of comparative leis 
 ure at his command. 
 
 The young man employed the time of waiting 
 in writing a letter to nelen Vargave. Fortu 
 nately, for the purposes of this story, the mis 
 sive has been reverently preserved in family 
 archives, and I am permitted by those who now 
 control it to give it here. 
 
 " My father has said strange and inexplicable 
 things to me," he wrote. " He has told me that 
 you and I can never marry, but he has not told 
 me why. He has not even forbidden the banns. 
 He tells me there is no woman in Carolina 
 
 238
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 whom he would so gladly welcome as his 
 daughter, as he would you, no woman whom 
 he would so rejoice to see mistress of Alton 
 House. Yet he tells me our dear dream can 
 never be. He has intimated that you will your 
 self forbid, and I learned only to-day that he 
 has gone to Lonsdale to bring this horrible 
 thing, as I suppose, to your attention. I write, 
 therefore, to say the thought that is in me. I 
 know not what my father is at this moment 
 saying to you. But I know this, dear Helen, 
 that when I comforted you out there in the 
 boat and you gave me your love, you became 
 MY WIFE before God and all his angels. All 
 that is essential to marriage is mutual love, and 
 whether or not you are persuaded to say, as my 
 father expects, that you will never consent to 
 our formal and legal marriage, I at least, shall 
 hold myself loyal until death to the bond that 
 already exists between us. By all that is holy 
 in marriage, by all that is pure, by all that God 
 intended when he gave Eve to Adam, you are 
 my wife, and will always be so, not ' until death 
 us shall part ' as the formal service hath it, but 
 rather until death shall unite us more completely 
 in a higher life where the shallow convention 
 alities of this probationary time shall be swept 
 away. 
 
 239
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 "It is my resolution, dear, to seal the mar 
 riage of our souls by legal and churchly bonds 
 whenever you shall consent to do so, regardless 
 of any man's objections or any man's threats, 
 or any human being's consequential suffering; 
 and, if you forbid that, to hold myself yours 
 and you mine in a higher than formal union 
 a soul marriage of unselfish, unquestioning love, 
 that seeks no sanction and asks no reward. 
 
 " I do not ask you to reply to this letter. It 
 may be inconvenient for you to set down on 
 paper what you would say to me if I could be 
 by your side to hear. But at any rate I want 
 you to know what my attitude in this matter is 
 and what it must always be. A woman such as 
 you does not love except with all of soul that 
 she possesses. When you permitted me to 
 caress you as your lover, you became mine 
 my wife by a stronger and holier tie than 
 any that the law knows or any that the church 
 recognizes. And I, in my turn, when I sought 
 your love and secured it, bound myself beyond 
 all possibility all desire of recall. From a 
 love such as ours there is no withdrawal. In 
 such a love there is no reserve. To such a love 
 there is no end. 
 
 " As I have said, I do not exact an answer 
 to this letter. I well understand how your 
 
 240
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 maidenly reserve might shrink from the task 
 of writing a reply. I shall wait until I can 
 hear from your own lips what answer you have 
 to make, and meantime I shall know in my 
 heart what your answer is. For I have not 
 misjudged the soul of the woman I love. 
 
 " And now, adieu ! I have a long and hur 
 ried journey to make in behalf of our country's 
 cause. If you are moved at any time to write 
 me a line, send it to Alton House. I will send 
 thither from time to time for letters. I am in 
 the way of danger just now, of course, and per 
 haps a British bullet, or an ill-parried sabre- 
 stroke may settle for us all questions of the 
 forms of marriage. But the precious fact of 
 our marriage will remain to the ultimate end of 
 eternity itself. To such love as ours death is 
 a trifling, temporary incident. The love itself 
 is immortal." 
 
 By one of those coincidences that seemed al 
 ways to govern Humphrey s's appearances, that 
 person presented himself in answer to Roger's 
 request of General Lincoln for a trusty mes 
 senger by whom to send his letter to Helen. 
 When the man read the superscription he 
 seemed for a moment about to fall from his 
 horse, but, recovering himself, he said: 
 
 " My duties as a scout will not permit me 
 
 241
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to go in person to Lonsdale. But I will see to 
 it that one as trusty as I am shall deliver your 
 letter, Captain Alton. I make myself personally 
 responsible for that." 
 
 " Thank you ! " replied the young man. " I 
 trust you implicitly." 
 
 " Thank you for that, in my turn," said the 
 man, with a good deal more of emotion than the 
 occasion seemed to call for. " You will never 
 know," he added, " how much your confidence 
 means to me." 
 
 242
 
 XIX 
 
 A BATTLE in the DARK 
 
 rHE people of Charles Town were 
 naturally in a state of intense ex 
 citement when it became known 
 that the British were advancing upon their 
 city with serious intent. They quite well 
 understood that the only force opposing 
 Prevost's advance was a small body com 
 posed in part of Continentals, and in part of 
 untrained militiamen the whole numbering 
 very much less than one-half of Prevost's 
 drilled, disciplined, and war-hardened army. 
 The city was scarcely at all prepared to resist 
 an attack by land. All that had been done in 
 the way of constructing defensive works had 
 been done for the purpose of resisting an attack 
 by sea. On the land side the way was appar 
 ently open to any invader who might appear. 
 
 The city lay upon a narrow tongue of land 
 formed by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, 
 which, uniting at the lower point of the town, 
 
 243
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 formed the harbor. If Prevost had known his 
 own mind, and had acted with reasonable 
 promptitude after he began his march, he might 
 easily have made himself master of Carolina's 
 capital. Luckily for the Carolinians, the British 
 commander had that worst of vices in a mili 
 tary man a habit of indecision and hesitation. 
 About half way between Savannah and Charles 
 Town, at Pocotaligo, he halted ; and for three 
 days lay there, uncertain whether to advance 
 in accordance with his original purpose or re 
 treat in view of Lincoln's movement against 
 Savannah. So far Lincoln's strategy had 
 proved effective, for without doubt it was Pre- 
 vost's fear that the Americans might capture 
 Savannah, which led him thus to hesitate. 
 
 While he was waiting there, uncertain 
 whether to push on or to withdraw, the vigor 
 ous Carolinians were getting that which they 
 needed more than all else namely, time for 
 preparation and under inspiration of Rut- 
 ledge's tireless energy, they made most excellent 
 use of it. The houses in the suburbs above the 
 city were unhesitatingly burned away. Every 
 man who could handle a pick, or a shovel, or 
 any other implement with which fortifications 
 are made, was kept at work by night and by 
 day, and when, on the Qth of May, Prevost's 
 
 244
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 bayonets glistened in the sunlight south of 
 the Ashley, a strong line of redoubts stretched 
 across the neck of land between the two rivers, 
 and Charles Town was shut in. Only one 
 avenue of communication between the city and 
 the country without remained open, and that 
 was inaccessible to the enemy. It was a ferry 
 across the Cooper River, north of the city, while 
 the British were operating from the south. 
 
 But troops were needed as well as earth 
 works, and the delay which had given time for 
 the erection of fortifications, had served also to 
 bring defenders to the capital. Almost at the 
 moment of Prevost's appearance came Moultrie 
 with his little army, and Rutledge with the 
 militia from Orangeburg. The danger was 
 still great, however. Prevost's force outnum 
 bered the total garrison and consisted of British 
 regulars. 
 
 The Americans were unlucky enough to 
 have two chiefs dividing between them the au 
 thority which should have been exercised by 
 only one. As a commander in the Continental 
 army, Moultrie of course had control of all the 
 Continentals present, but Rutledge, who, as we 
 know, had been invested by the legislature with 
 almost dictatorial powers, asserted and main 
 tained his right to command the militia. This 
 
 2 45
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 situation was one tending strongly to confusion 
 and disaster. But the two men were equally 
 patriotic, and each was disposed to aid and co 
 operate with the other. They held an informal 
 consultation, and it was agreed that they should 
 act together in making resistance to the utmost, 
 in spite of the clamor of timid citizens who, 
 fearing a bombardment, and despairing of suc 
 cessful defence, pleaded with the governor to 
 surrender the town. It was at this time that 
 Roger Alton arrived with the message from 
 General Lincoln. 
 
 Now that they knew that Lincoln would 
 speedily march to the relief of Charles Town, 
 the problem set Moultrie and Rutledge was 
 simply that of keeping the British at bay until 
 the main army should arrive. Whether or not 
 this could be accomplished was a matter of 
 serious doubt. Prevost's hesitation at Poco- 
 taligo had given them opportunity, as we have 
 seen, to make preparation, but had he acted 
 promptly even now, he could have thrown him 
 self into Charles Town without much difficulty. 
 He again hesitated, however. He appeared on 
 the south bank of the Ashley on the ninth of 
 May, and lay there inactive until the eleventh 
 before crossing with his advance guard and de 
 manding the surrender of the town. He was 
 
 246
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 promptly and furiously attacked by Count 
 Pulaski, whom he repulsed with great slaughter. 
 It soon became apparent to both sides that the 
 British could carry the works by storm when 
 ever they should have stomach for that bloody 
 kind of work. This, with the additional fact 
 that the enemy's guns were near enough to 
 bombard the city with destructive effect, led to 
 negotiations for surrender. It was the cue of 
 the Americans to protract these negotiations 
 as much as possible in the hope that relief might 
 come in time to save the town, as in the event 
 it did. 
 
 News was brought during the night to the 
 timid Prevost that Lincoln was near at hand 
 with his army, and before morning the British 
 had abandoned their positions and retired to 
 the south of the Ashley River. Lincoln was 
 still south of them, however, and directly in the 
 line of their retreat towards Savannah. Not 
 daring to meet him on ground of his own choos 
 ing, Prevost made a flank movement to the Sea 
 Islands that skirt the coast. At Stono Ferry, 
 on John's Island, he strongly fortified himself, 
 and for more than a month the two armies con 
 fronted each other, neither caring to risk a 
 decisive action. 
 
 Roger Alton had remained with Rutledge 
 
 247
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 during the brief struggle before Charles Town, 
 but when the British retired to John's Island, he 
 asked and obtained his chief's permission to 
 join General Lincoln with such a force of 
 volunteers as he might be able to raise for that 
 purpose. Going among the militiamen who 
 were preparing to return to their homes 
 after the manner prevalent among militiamen 
 at that time he collected a band of about 
 twenty mounted men, volunteers, and with this 
 little command he reported the next day at 
 Stono Ferry. 
 
 His men were fellows of restless spirit, and 
 great daring; men far less valuable to a com 
 munity in time of peace than were the more 
 orderly militiamen who assembled upon occa 
 sion to meet and fight an enemy, but who re 
 turned to their ploughs the moment the imme 
 diate necessity of fighting was past. Roger's 
 men were young fellows who liked adventure, 
 and relished the excitement and uncertainty of 
 that partisan warfare which was just then be 
 ginning to develop itself, and which later, 
 under Marion and Sumter, achieved so much 
 as to write new chapters into military history, 
 and the books of tactics. With these rough 
 riders whom Roger had gathered about him, 
 there was no love for the idleness of camp life. 
 
 248
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Their whole idea of the war was that the enemy 
 had no business to be in their country, and 
 must be constantly annoyed so long as he 
 should remain there. This they felt ought to 
 be their task to attend to, and their leader was 
 distinctly like-minded with themselves. 
 
 Thus, weary of inactivity, even in prospect, 
 Roger despatched Marlborough to Alton House 
 with letters, and instantly applied to General 
 Lincoln for permission to act independently 
 against such straggling bodies of the enemy 
 as he might be able to find. General Lin 
 coln highly approved of this mode of warfare, 
 the more especially as the British were availing 
 themselves of the opportunity afforded by the 
 pause to pillage the Island plantations and to 
 commit depredations of every sort upon the de 
 fenceless inhabitants. Among such depreda 
 tions, the most damaging was that of invading 
 plantations and, besides carrying off such spoils 
 as might be found there, capturing the entire 
 force of negro slaves and taking them away. 
 This form of depredation was not committed 
 with even a pretence of humanity to excuse it. 
 It was no .part of the British purpose, then or 
 afterwards, during the long, dark days of the 
 struggle in Carolina, to carry any of the negro 
 slaves into freedom. They were sent instead to 
 
 249
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 British plantations and public works in the 
 West India Islands, and into a servitude more 
 cruel than any that the American mind at any 
 period in history has tolerated. 
 
 To interrupt these forays, to make the occu 
 pation of the Sea Islands as uncomfortable as 
 possible to the enemy, to capture his pickets 
 and scouting parties, and generally to keep up 
 that wearing, night and day annoyance which 
 organized troops dread far more than they do 
 systematic battle was the task that Roger Al 
 ton had undertaken. 
 
 Crossing from the mainland to the island 
 with his little force under cover of darkness, 
 young Alton put himself in communication with 
 such of the inhabitants as he could certainly 
 trust, and prepared to strike at every point 
 where striking promised results. As his men 
 were well mounted and accustomed all their 
 lives to hard riding, retreat was always open to 
 them, in the event of failure, and they were so 
 desperately in earnest as unpaid soldiers in 
 their own cause that their young chief trusted 
 confidently to their patriotism and courage as 
 full equivalents of the discipline and training 
 which they lacked. For nearly a month he 
 remained on the island and its insular neigh 
 bors, attacking small posts, capturing pickets 
 
 250
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and foraging parties, and keeping the enemy in 
 a state of perpetual uneasiness. His prisoners 
 were sent to the mainland as soon as taken, and 
 he was left free to continue his work unem 
 barrassed by their care. 
 
 The British commanders on the island made 
 more than one determined and well-planned 
 attempt to capture the " Mosquitoes " as they 
 called Roger's little handful of men, but by 
 constant vigilance and frequent changing of 
 position, the young partisan managed to baffle 
 them to the last. He moved cautiously and 
 quickly, and for the most part by night, hiding 
 away during the day in swamps and other 
 places where he was not likely to be found. 
 
 On one very dark night, about a month after 
 these operations had begun, as he was pushing 
 across the island to escape the attack of a strong 
 body sent out to capture him, he turned to the 
 man riding by his side whom he could not dis 
 tinguish in the darkness and said : 
 
 " There's the river ahead. We must cross 
 there if we can and wait for daylight Ride 
 on, and see if there are any British there and 
 report to me here." 
 
 " It is not necessary, sir," replied the man. 
 " I can report now." 
 
 " What, Humphreys ! you here ! Where have 
 
 251
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 you come from, and how have you found 
 me?" 
 
 " There's little time for talking now, sir. I 
 have been on the island frequently since you 
 came, and have seen you a dozen times. I have 
 news for you to-night, and I came to bring it. 
 Our people are going to attack the enemy in 
 force at the ferry to-morrow or next day. If 
 you want to be in the action, you must make 
 haste to get off the island, but you will find a 
 lot of trouble in doing it, I am afraid. They 
 have made up their minds to catch you this 
 time and have posted men everywhere for that 
 purpose. But there are two courses open to you. 
 There's a little piece of swamp not very strong 
 ly guarded just below the ferry which you may 
 possibly be able to slip through, and if not, you 
 can keep out of sight until the fight begins. 
 Then there will be a general rush for the battle 
 field, I take it." 
 
 " Is there any force on the river just ahead of 
 us here?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; a hundred men." 
 
 "Cavalry?" 
 
 "No, sir; on foot." 
 
 " They have warning of our presence or ap 
 proach ? " 
 
 " I think not, sir, but all the river guards 
 
 252
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 are under special orders to look out for 
 you." 
 
 " How are they posted? " 
 
 " I do not know, but if you will halt here 
 briefly, I will reconnoitre them." 
 
 " Very well. Do so, and report as soon as 
 may be, if you please." 
 
 With that Roger halted his band, and turn 
 ing to one of them said : " Take three men 
 with you, and ride back half a mile. Make a 
 little circuit, and return at once, as I shall be 
 ready to move by that time. We must halt 
 here fifteen minutes, and must not be surprised 
 from the rear. Reconnoitre in that direction 
 sharply." 
 
 In less than a quarter of an hour, Humph 
 reys returned, and Roger talked with him apart 
 in a low tone. 
 
 " Can we force our way past them, think 
 you, and make a crossing? " he asked eagerly. 
 
 " That is for you to say, sir. If you ask my 
 opinion, I should say not. They number at 
 least a hundred men, and are on the alert. They 
 have posted two lines of guards about a hun 
 dred yards apart, and the main body is resting 
 on its arms in line right across the road. We 
 could push past the guards, of course, but 
 they would fire in time to bring the rest to their 
 
 253
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 feet, and then we should have to fight them 
 on their own ground. That is the situation, 
 sir." 
 
 Just as he had finished speaking, the scouts 
 returned from the rear at a rapid gait. Roger 
 heard their report. It was to the effect that 
 a commanding force of the enemy was closing 
 in upon his little band from that direction. 
 
 " Resume your places in the ranks," Roger 
 said. Then approaching the line he quietly 
 gave the order to mount. " Attention, men," 
 he said. " I have something to say to you. 
 The enemy is making a determined effort to 
 catch us to-night, and has honored us by send 
 ing two or three hundred men after twenty vol 
 unteers. Just ahead of us not half a mile 
 away lies the stream, and the crossing is 
 guarded by about one hundred infantry men, 
 well posted, with two lines of guards out, the 
 main body sleeping on arms in line of battle, 
 ready to receive us. If we attempt to make the 
 crossing, we must fight them without a chance 
 of taking them by surprise, but it seems there 
 is now no help for it. Another and much larger 
 body, our scouts report, has cut off our retreat, 
 and is gradually advancing in a semi-circle in 
 our rear to hem us in on the river. We might 
 possibly escape as individuals by separating and 
 
 254
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 hiding, but I for one am not yet ready to play 
 the part of a hare. / am going to attack the 
 force on the bank, and if there's a man among 
 you who is not willing to follow me, he may 
 ride out of the ranks." 
 
 " We will follow you, Captain," said all in a 
 breath. 
 
 " Good ! and I thank you for it. I want the 
 two best mounted men among you first." Two 
 men rode out to receive orders. " Humphreys," 
 said Roger, " I want you to take these two men 
 with you. Ride around to the south there and 
 attack the pickets at that point. Crowd up as 
 close to them as you can, and give them half a 
 dozen shots, but scatter a little first, so that 
 they may not be able to locate you, or guess 
 your numbers. The moment you have de 
 livered your .shots, ride back here like the deuce 
 and join us. I will attack here as soon as their 
 attention is concentrated upon you, and before 
 they find out that you have left their front on 
 the south, we will be upon them like lightning 
 on the north. We may thus get the advantage 
 of a surprise after all. Now men, attention! 
 We cannot afford to take prisoners to-night. 
 The enemy outnumbers us five to one in our 
 front, and twenty or thirty to one in our rear. 
 We are making this attack to get out of a trap 
 
 255
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 not to take prisoners. We are going into a 
 desperate fight, and every man must fight des 
 perately. Fight always toward the river bank, 
 and remember that our object is to form a line 
 between the red coats and the river. Accom 
 plish that and I will take care of the rest. For 
 ward, march ! " 
 
 Silently they rode forward in the darkness, 
 Roger fifty yards in advance, until he dis 
 covered the first line of guards just ahead of 
 him. Then whirling, he retraced his steps a 
 little way, and halted his men to await the 
 proper moment of attack. A profounder silence 
 than that in which they sat in their saddles it 
 is not easy to imagine. Roger heard even the 
 ticking of his watch as he listened for Hum- 
 phreys's opening shots. 
 
 Minutes dragged with intolerable slowness 
 then, " Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang ! Pop-pop- 
 pop-pop-pop ! " rattled the guns to the south. 
 Humphreys had done his work well, and the 
 enemy was wasting whole volleys in the thicket 
 whence the first shots had come. As the scout 
 and his two companions came running their 
 horses to join the main body Roger called in a 
 hoarse whisper, " Now for it, boys ! " and the 
 next moment the little band rode over the 
 guards just in front, and through the inner 
 
 256
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 picket line, receiving a shot or two. They 
 fell upon the main body as the thunderbolt 
 falls. The night was pitchy dark, and the flash 
 of the British muskets, while it served to re 
 veal the position and strength of the enemy 
 to young Alton, only blinded the British to his 
 weakness. Right and left fell the sabre strokes, 
 the sturdy horses riding down every foeman 
 who stood in their way. After the first volley 
 was fired, the furious onset threw the British 
 line into confusion before the muskets could be 
 re-loaded. Half a minute later the young com 
 mander's voice rang out on the river bank : 
 
 " Attention ! Form line ! by twos, forward, 
 march ! " 
 
 A splashing in the water, then a scattering 
 fire from the astonished British, and the oppo 
 site shore was gained. The fight had not lasted 
 two minutes, but two of Roger's men were 
 missing, and wellnigh every sabre showed a 
 dark red stain when the light of morning broke 
 upon the little band. 
 
 Roger Alton had learned his trade as a par 
 tisan warrior. 
 
 257
 
 XX 
 
 WHICH maidenly MODESTY MAKES very BRIEF 
 
 T^ERHAPS something of spirit was lent 
 r^ to young Captain Alton's fight by the 
 -*- riverside, by a letter which Marl- 
 
 borough, returning from Alton House, had 
 brought to him that day. It was Helen's reply 
 to the missive he had sent from Gen. Lincoln's 
 headquarters in Georgia. 
 She wrote : 
 
 "Your letter, Roger, is dearer to me than I have 
 words to tell. You judge rightly when you excuse me 
 from replying, on the ground that maidenly reserve must 
 forbid me to write all that is in my mind and heart. Yet 
 I must tell you that Col. Alton's communications through 
 my mother to me, have indeed rendered impossible the 
 fulfilment, now or hereafter, of the dear dream in which 
 we have indulged. I cannot tell you why, until I can 
 tell you orally. Indeed I cannot fully tell you why, even 
 then, because I do not myself quite understand. But I 
 know enough to know what my duty is, and, sadly terri 
 ble as it is, I shall do it as bravely as you are doing yours 
 as a soldier. You would not love me if I failed in that! 
 
 258
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " But what you say to me in your letter is dearer to 
 me than life, dearer than any happiness. My soul re 
 sponds to every sentiment you have set down. I can 
 never take back the love I gave you that day in the boat 
 out there on the sunny sea. Fate decrees that I shall 
 never be yours in the contemplation of the world, but 
 love is superior to fate, and while consciousness en 
 dures, in time or in eternity, I shall always be yours 
 by the precious name that you have so lovingly given 
 me your wife. 
 
 " HELEN." 
 
 That was all. Is it any wonder that after 
 reading the note, Captain Alton was in a mood 
 for very hard fighting ? 
 
 259
 
 XXI 
 
 IN which CAPTAIN ALTON meets the ENEMY 
 and a FRIEND 
 
 /N the assault on the following day the 
 Americans had the advantage for an 
 hour, but during the remaining twenty 
 minutes of the fight the British succeeded 
 in so concentrating their forces as to drive 
 the Americans back. Nevertheless, the ad 
 vantage at the end of the day remained with 
 the Americans in this that the fight had dem 
 onstrated the fact that they were more than a 
 match for the force left on John's Island under 
 Colonel Maitland, for by this time, Prevost, 
 with the main body of his army had retired to 
 Savannah. The result of the action was one 
 which we should regard as curious in our day. 
 It ended on the one hand in the retirement of 
 the British from the position which they had 
 intended to hold, and on the other in the practi 
 cal dissolution of the American army; for the 
 moment that the British began their retreat 
 upon Savannah, the American militiamen who 
 
 260
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 constituted the bulk of Lincoln's army quitted 
 their posts and started home to look after their 
 farming operations. 
 
 This was a common difficulty in all parts of 
 the country throughout the Revolution. No 
 sooner had a general achieved a victory which, 
 if vigorously followed up might bring about 
 important results, than his men went home and 
 left him without an army capable of following 
 it up at all. Thus, a day or two after Lincoln 
 had demonstrated on John's Island his ability 
 to crush Colonel Maitland, he was left with a 
 mere handful of men about half a modern 
 regiment as the only army under his com 
 mand. Nevertheless, he ordered his cavalry to 
 push the rear guard of the retreating enemy as 
 closely as it might, to harass their bivouacs and 
 annoy their picket posts as ceaselessly as pos 
 sible. 
 
 In this work, Roger Alton's little command 
 proved unusually efficient. It had been trained 
 to wily work, and wiliness now counted for as 
 much as that high courage which these men 
 also had. All the way down the coast, while 
 the cavalry of the regular army moved with an 
 orderly precision which the enemy could reckon 
 upon and meet, the little band of partisans 
 dashed hither and thither in irregular fashion 
 
 261
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 appearing at unexpected places, striking un 
 locked for blows that told against superior 
 numbers, and disappearing again so quickly as 
 to suffer comparatively little harm in return. 
 Roger had received several recruits from among 
 the militia after the battle at Stono Inlet, yet 
 by the time that the enemy paused at Port 
 Royal, his force had been weakened by losses 
 in skirmish fighting until it now numbered only 
 fifteen men besides himself. 
 
 It was with this little force that he made a 
 final dash into the enemy's camp, after orders 
 had come from General Lincoln to cease the 
 pursuit. This last dash was inspired as much 
 by bravado as by patriotism. Young Alton 
 had so far accustomed himself to play a bold 
 game, and had met with so much success as the 
 result of his audacity that it pleased him now 
 and then to do things which strict military 
 science would characterize as utterly injudi 
 cious; doing them merely by way of demon 
 strating the fact that, with troopers such as his, 
 he could do pretty much as he pleased. 
 
 In this last instance, he had ridden around 
 on the enemy's flank which, being unthreatened 
 by any orderly force was left scantily guarded. 
 It was just after nightfall, and, after creeping 
 as close as possible to the half-guarded camp, 
 
 262
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger suddenly pushed through the thin picket 
 line, and at the head of his men dashed into 
 and entirely across the camp of a strong British 
 battalion. The thing was easily enough done, 
 but it was not easily undone. Having gone 
 through the camp our young cavalier must also 
 go back again, for in front of him lay the entire 
 body of the British army. Going back was 
 rendered difficult by the fact that the battalion 
 which he had taken unawares was now thor 
 oughly on the alert. Nevertheless, the return 
 charge had to be made, and Roger made it with 
 all the impetuosity that excited men, and hard- 
 spurred horses, could command. When he rode 
 at last into the safety of the woodlands near at 
 hand, five of his saddles were empty and Cap 
 tain Alton himself had a very uncomfortable 
 pain in his left shoulder. A hurried examina 
 tion of that part of his anatomy made in the 
 darkness of the night and woodland shadows 
 disclosed to him the fact that a half-ounce Brit 
 ish bullet had passed through the muscles from 
 in front and lodged painfully in the joint which 
 connected his arm with his body. 
 
 Retiring into the woodlands he met a small 
 body of Continentals who had bivouacked there 
 for the night. His request for permission to 
 join them around their camp fire was instantly 
 
 263
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 granted of course and he had himself scarcely 
 dismounted when there came out of the dark 
 ness into the glare of the fire the familiar form 
 and friendly face of young Charles Barnegal. 
 The meeting between the two friends was 
 eagerly gladsome, but Barnegal quickly saw 
 that cadaverous look in the face of his friend 
 which always comes as the instant consequence 
 of a painful bullet wound. 
 
 "You are hit," he said. "Where? Are 
 you much hurt? " 
 
 Roger replied that his shoulder ached, but 
 that he did not know the extent of the injury. 
 He added: " Have you a surgeon here? " 
 
 Unfortunately there was none, and even had 
 there been one, in that time and country his 
 skill would have been small, and his appliances 
 of a sort ruder than any that modern surgery 
 dreams of. A bullet-broken arm, in those days 
 meant amputation without ether or other an 
 aesthetic, and for antiseptic treatment of the 
 wound it meant the plunging of the lacerated 
 member into a bucket of almost boiling tar. 
 It was rough treatment, but, in its unconscious 
 way, good. If the patient did not die of shock 
 he was left in little danger of blood poisoning 
 from a wound which had been disinfected by 
 scalding pine tar. It is to be remembered to the 
 
 264
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 credit of those great-grandfathers of ours who 
 achieved independence for us, that in all their 
 fighting they risked not only the ordinary perils 
 of battle, but also extraordinary sufferings and 
 dangers, owing to the absence of anything like 
 what is now known as surgery. It requires far 
 less of courage to face the danger of death with 
 a cheerful mind than to brave the agony of 
 wounds which must be dressed without the aid 
 of palliating medicament of any kind. 
 
 Young Barnegal almost dragged his friend 
 to the fire for the sake of its light, and stripping 
 off his garments exposed the wound. He found 
 the bullet wedged into the shoulder joint in a 
 way to cause the most excruciating pain. Its 
 extraction was instantly necessary. And so 
 young Barnegal proceeded to extract it. With 
 a horse fleam he slightly enlarged the wound, 
 and with a pair of blacksmith's pincers he suc 
 ceeded, after several attempts, in withdrawing 
 the bullet and throwing his friend into a state 
 of collapsed unconsciousness. 
 
 A gourd full of cold water dashed into his 
 face and over his bosom quickly restored the 
 young man to himself. A stiff drink of brandy 
 soon gave him strength enough to enable him 
 to retire with his friend into the woods where 
 the latter had established a little bivouac of his 
 
 265
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 own. There Barnegal bound up his friend's 
 wound, and the two sat half -the night and 
 talked. 
 
 " But what brings you here, Charlie," said 
 Roger after a time. " I thought you had gone 
 to the northward to join Washington." 
 
 " I started to do so," answered his friend, 
 " but upon thinking the matter over I changed 
 my mind. I was going to the northward only 
 for the purpose of rinding righting to do, and 
 I found it more nearly at hand. I have been 
 serving, since I saw you, as a volunteer in the 
 command with which I am now marching. 
 Without going into the militia or enlisting 
 as a soldier I have been righting at my own 
 expense wherever there was fighting to do. I 
 was with Lincoln on his campaign toward 
 Augusta and have been with him ever since. I 
 changed my mind for a reason which the time 
 has come for me to tell you. You know a little 
 something you cannot help knowing a little 
 something with regard to the quarrel that I 
 had with my uncle. It is only due to you that 
 I should tell you somewhat more. My quarrel 
 with him is that in a letter to your father he 
 impugned the honor of my mother! Not that 
 he charged her with any conscious wrong-do 
 ing even he could not make such an accusa- 
 
 266
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tion as that but he asserted that at the time 
 she became my father's wife my father was 
 already a married man, that her marriage was 
 therefore void from the beginning and that I 
 was a child born out of wedlock. 
 
 " I do not believe this slander, and the more 
 I think of the matter, the more confident I be 
 come that there is somewhere in the story a 
 discoverable lie. I cannot imagine that a man 
 so lost as' he is to all concern for the good opin 
 ion of his fellowmen, and a man also so greedy 
 of gain as he, would have hesitated to proclaim 
 these facts if they were facts and to claim as 
 his own the inheritance I received from my fa 
 ther. If he could have proved the statements 
 he has now made to Colonel Alton, the courts 
 would instantly have awarded him all the prop 
 erty that I call my own. He holds the memory 
 of my mother and my father in the utmost de 
 testation, and as for myself, you know how 
 little love he bears me. I can conceive of no in 
 fluence that could have restrained him from the 
 course I have suggested if his statements were 
 in any respect true. 
 
 " And yet, I cannot disprove those state 
 ments. Whether they be true or false, the 
 papers relating to them must unquestionably 
 be in his possession if there are any papers. I 
 
 267
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 decided therefore to remain in Carolina, and to 
 do here whatever of fighting I might for my 
 country in the hope that his excessive brandy 
 drinking may presently bring him into the 
 valley of the shadow of death, and give me an 
 opportunity to vindicate my father's honor and 
 my mother's purity. 
 
 " That alone I live for now. All else is lost 
 to me in the world until that task shall be ac 
 complished. You see how it is, Roger. When 
 he dies if I am at hand to claim the adminis 
 tration as next of kin, there will be none to 
 dispute my right. Until the baseness of my 
 birth is established in a court, I stand before 
 the world not only as his next of kin, and there 
 fore his heir, but as the only kinsman he has 
 alive. As such I shall take possession of his 
 house and estate the moment that he dies. I 
 wish to go through his desks, his secretaries, 
 his private drawers and every secret receptacle 
 there may be at The Live Oaks. I wish to ex 
 plore every nook and corner until I find every 
 paper there that has ever been in his possession. 
 Among them I hope to find proof that he has 
 lied or at least to find out whether he has any 
 proof of the truth of his statements. Then I 
 shall publish both his lie and the refutation of 
 it or the fact that there is no proof of it, if the 
 
 268
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 refutation is not there. That is what I live 
 for now. That is why I have remained in 
 Carolina." 
 
 Roger expressed his sympathy with his 
 friend's grief and determination in that silent 
 way which strong men prefer to words. He 
 grasped young Barnegal's hand and pressed 
 it hard, saying nothing, but Barnegal quite un 
 derstood. These two, comrades in their child 
 hood, schoolmates and lifelong friends, had 
 now become brothers in the truest sense of the 
 word. 
 
 Their conversation drifted presently to 
 Roger's condition and what was to be done. 
 
 The order, as has been said, had already 
 come for the retirement of the little force which 
 now alone constituted Lincoln's army. In 
 other words, there was no further work of a 
 military sort to be done for the time. It was 
 necessary for Roger to find rest and medi 
 cal treatment. His first thought was to dis 
 band his little force and go to Alton House. 
 
 " But Alton House, my dear boy," said 
 Charlie, " is seventy miles away. You can 
 never stand so long a journey in your present 
 condition. Lonsdale is here, almost at hand, 
 less than ten miles distant at the farthest. I 
 shall take you there. I have a fancy that your 
 
 269
 
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 nursing there will be inspired by a love as true 
 and gentle as though you were in charge of 
 Jacqueline herself." 
 
 It was so arranged, and the pair at last bade 
 each other good-night, and stretched out their 
 limbs for such rest as might be possible to them. 
 To neither did sleep come, and after half an 
 hour of pretence, young Barnegal lifted himself 
 upon his elbow and said : 
 
 " By the way, Roger, have you any news 
 from Lonsdale to tell me ? " 
 
 " No," said the young man. " Nothing of a 
 definite nature at least. I know only that just 
 after I was summoned from home on this mili 
 tary duty, my father made a journey to Lons 
 dale and that he told Helen something that in 
 duces her to forbid our marriage. She has so 
 written to me, but at least she wrote lovingly. 
 It is doubly fortunate, therefore, that if I am 
 to be laid up in a hospital for a few days it is 
 to be at the home of the Vargaves." 
 
 Young Barnegal had this advantage over his 
 friend. While his friend must lie awake 
 throughout the night to conjecture what the 
 morrow might bring forth, he himself had no 
 morrow in prospect until that time when death 
 should bring him again an opportunity. For 
 that he must wait with what patience he could 
 
 270
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 command. He would gladly have hurried the 
 day by killing his enemy like a dog, if that 
 enemy could by any means have been provoked 
 to personal war. He could not kill him other 
 wise without becoming a murderer, and it was 
 no part of his purpose, his character or his his 
 tory to indulge in thoughts of killing other 
 wise than in open combat. He had challenged 
 his uncle, as we know and his uncle had insult 
 ingly refused even to receive his challenge. The 
 young man had put upon his adversary all of 
 affront that it is possible for one man to put 
 upon another, by horsewhipping him in the 
 presence of a witness, yet he had not succeeded 
 in provoking him to battle. 
 
 Roger was thinking of these things as he lay 
 there and they kept him awake. Barnegal had 
 thought them all out long before, and was 
 rapidly sinking into sleep when Roger spoke : 
 
 " What has your uncle ever done with re 
 gard to that horsewhipping you gave him ? " 
 
 " Nothing, damn him," answered young 
 Barnegal. " The fact has never been men 
 tioned. No white man in Carolina knows of it 
 except you and me. Tiger Bill has taken pains 
 that" no report of it should ever get beyond 
 the limits of his plantation, and I, of course, 
 cannot with honor speak of it. Your tongue 
 
 271
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 is equally tied. Who else was there to report 
 it to the community ? " 
 
 " I wonder that the negroes have never 
 tattled." 
 
 " They know better. His treatment of them 
 is severe enough at best, and they know well 
 enough what it would be should any whisper 
 of an affair like that escape beyond the boun 
 daries of the plantation without his permission. 
 He would not wait to ascertain through whom 
 the leakage of information had come. He 
 would bring an iron heel down upon every one 
 of them until their lives, already a burden, 
 should become unendurable. They know him 
 and they have kept silent." 
 
 Roger said nothing for a time, but after a 
 while he said, more to himself than to his com 
 panion, " It is a dreadful pity." 
 
 " What is? " asked Barnegal. 
 
 " That nobody should know of the disgrace 
 you have inflicted upon him. I have been turn 
 ing the matter over in my mind trying to find 
 a way by which I might with honor publish 
 the facts. I can think of none unless perhaps 
 I might relate them to some woman in strict 
 confidence. I suppose that would secure their 
 circulation. Still I cannot do even that. It is 
 a pity. It is a pity. The horsewhipping was 
 
 272
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 a severe punishment, but it was not enough. 
 Exposure should be added to it. Never mind, 
 old fellow, never mind. Wait, wait, wait. All 
 things come to him, you know, who waits, and 
 all things will come to you Jacqueline at the 
 head of them all." 
 
 And so the friends at last ceased talking and 
 got what they might of sleep. In the morning, 
 young Barnegal, who was under nobody's com 
 mand, took orders from nobody, and had not to 
 seek anybody's permission to do as he pleased, 
 departed from the camp with his friend in 
 charge. Marlborough, who had followed his 
 master at every step permitted to him, rode on 
 the other side and the two supported young 
 Alton between them for he was very faint from 
 pain and loss of blood. 
 
 Before their departure from the camp, Roger 
 had bidden his men good-by and sent them to 
 their homes, first taking in his memorandum 
 book the addresses of all of them, saying: 
 
 " I shall be well presently, boys, and I shall 
 need you again ; " to which one of them, speak 
 ing for all, sadly responded: 
 
 " We hope so, Cap'n, and when you need us 
 we will be there." 
 
 273
 
 XXII 
 
 UNDER the IRON HEEL 
 
 W" Tf HEN Roger arrived at Lonsdale, 
 t/j/ he was almost unconscious from 
 
 * * fever. Mrs. Vargave had him 
 
 put to bed at once and sent for a surgeon, 
 who found the wound in a state of danger 
 ous inflammation. It had been very im 
 perfectly cleansed and scarcely dressed at all, 
 and was now in a condition which the doctor 
 called " angry." Roger impatiently demanded 
 of him that he should restore him at once, or, 
 at the most, within a day or two, to full health 
 and vigor. 
 
 " A little scratch like that," he said, " ought 
 not to disable a perfectly healthy young man 
 like me. It is nonsense to talk of keeping me 
 here, as you do, for an indefinite period. Do 
 something, do something, do something ! " 
 
 Clearly, the young man was out of temper, 
 if not quite out of his mind. The surgeon 
 calmly shook his head and said: 
 
 274
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " You are lucky, Captain Alton, to be in 
 quarters so good as these, and with such nurses 
 as Mrs. Vargave and her daughter to attend 
 you. Permit me to congratulate you upon that, 
 and let me warn you not to be in too great haste 
 to get well. If you are prudent and cautious, 
 and especially if you sufficiently restrain your 
 impatience -of inaction, you may be strong 
 enough within three months or so to ride to 
 Alton House, but if you are not patient, if 
 you try to hurry things, if you overtax your 
 strength, I will not answer for the conse 
 quences." 
 
 With that he quitted the room without wait 
 ing for the angry reply which his patient was 
 moved to give him, and the anger, denied ex 
 pression in words, expended itself in an access 
 of fever which quickly rendered the young man 
 half deliriously unconscious. 
 
 The physician's prediction with regard to the 
 wound proved to be correct. Week after week 
 the young man lay in bed, or sat propped up 
 with pillows in an armchair, too weak to talk, 
 too weary to think, too dull in his mind even 
 to aspire. It was only as he began to grow 
 better that he began to worry. 
 
 He was eager to have a talk with Helen, but 
 that discreet young lady, more attentive than he 
 
 275
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to the commands of the physician, took meas 
 ures to prevent his indulgence in anything so 
 rash. She went many times a day to the 
 chamber that he occupied and gave minute and 
 loving attention to all the details of nursing, but 
 she went always accompanied by her maid, and 
 upon leaving, always left the maid behind with 
 duties enough to perform to keep her there 
 for some minutes at least after her own 
 departure. 
 
 Sometimes in his weakness, Roger, resented 
 all this, and showed his resentment upon 
 Helen's next coming by a certain querulousness 
 of voice which, as a strong man, had never been 
 habitual with him. Helen knew what his peev 
 ishness meant, and she knew for what he was 
 longing, but she knew also much better than he 
 did, what was good for him. And so when his 
 exasperation grew greater than usual over her 
 careful avoidance of private conversation, she 
 checked, and, in a sense rebuked it, by delaying 
 her next coming until he had had time to learn 
 better manners. 
 
 In the course of a few months, however, he 
 grew so far stronger as to contemplate an al 
 most immediate return to Alton House, whence 
 Jacqueline had made two visits to Lonsdale to 
 look after him. It was then that Helen de- 
 
 276
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 cided to let him have the conversation with 
 her for which she knew that he was so im 
 patiently longing. 
 
 It was a sad conversation, with little in it to 
 comfort either of them, except that it bore to 
 each precious assurances of love from the other. 
 Helen could tell Roger nothing with regard to 
 his father's visit to her mother, except that after 
 it was over, her mother had said things to her 
 which she now repeated to Roger thus : 
 
 " Roger, you remember what I told you 
 about my grandfather ? You remember that he 
 bade me always hearken to whatever advice 
 Colonel Alton might give me? You remember 
 how greatly he esteemed him. how earnestly 
 he used to say that Geoffrey Alton was the 
 ftoblest man in the world, the bravest, the 
 truest, the best? Well, Colonel Alton said to 
 my mother, ' Tell Helen this : that I love her 
 as I love my own daughter; that nothing in 
 all this world, nothing that fate could bring me, 
 would please me better than to have her the 
 wife of my only son, the mother of all the 
 Altons who are to come after me. If that 
 might be, I would make any sacrifice to ac 
 complish it, but, unhappily, it may not be. It 
 is not I upon whom the sacrifice in that case 
 would fall. It is true that if Roger married 
 
 277
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Helen, harm would come to all the Altons 
 succeeding me. But that I should brave and 
 endure if that were all. Unhappily it is not 
 all. If Roger and Helen contract a marriage, 
 hurt would come to the dearest dead you know. 
 For the sake of the dead, I ask Helen to forbid 
 this marriage which I myself have not the heart 
 to forbid.' 
 
 " That was all he said, Roger, at least it was 
 all that my mother reported to me. I think 
 she knows what he meant. I do not know, 
 but little things that she has dropped from time 
 to time in her grief over this matter, have sug 
 gested to me that somehow all this is connected 
 with my father's death or disappearance five 
 years ago, and with that trouble that your 
 father had with the court. It seems that my 
 father must somehow have been associated with 
 that that it was to protect my father's name 
 and memory that your father took the risks he 
 did on that occasion. I do not know, Roger. 
 These things are all blind to me. Only one 
 thing is clear, and that is, that it is my duty to 
 you, to Colonel Alton, to my mother, and to 
 my dead father, to say that I can never be 
 your wife, unless and until Colonel Alton shall 
 say that these things are past and dead and 
 buried. Let the matter rest here, Roger. It 
 
 278
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 pains me to talk about it. Do not interrupt me 
 now, please. You are not strong enough to 
 argue, and I have no wish to argue. I want 
 only to go to my bedchamber and weep. Good- 
 by, Roger, I shall not see you again before you 
 go. Spare me a farewell ! I love you, as your 
 wife." And with that she left the room, mani 
 festly broken-hearted. 
 
 The young man, now recovering some of 
 the eagerness of his youth and strength, would 
 have followed her, but that he knew the useless- 
 ness and the folly and the cruelty of it. He sat 
 in his chair instead, and sobbed as he had never 
 done before since he had put off the pinafores 
 of infancy. Life had brought him up to a 
 blind wall through which no opening appeared, 
 and over which no strength that he had could 
 vault. 
 
 It was in the early days of August that the 
 young man set out, accompanied by Marlbor- 
 ough, on his way to Alton House. He was 
 confident now of a speedy recovery, and of his 
 ability to take the field again early in the 
 autumn. His purpose was to find surcease 
 of sorrow in the very hardest fighting that 
 he could anywhere find to do. But on his 
 homeward journey, he learned that he was 
 much weaker still than he had imagined, and 
 
 279
 
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 on his arrival at Alton House he went immedi 
 ately to bed and into a fever. For month after 
 month he continued alternately ill and con 
 valescent. Summer ripened into autumn. Au 
 tumn dozed listlessly in a purple and golden 
 glory of soft, velvety weather ; Christmas came, 
 with its besom of frosts to sweep the haze of 
 Indian summer from the sunshine, and the Jan 
 uary spring-time came again, and Roger was a 
 prisoner still at Alton House, unfit for anything 
 more active than a brief morning ride on par 
 ticularly favorable days. 
 
 He had missed much of the fighting and ad- 
 Venture. The siege of Savannah by the com 
 bined American and French forces, and the 
 splendid assault in which Pulaski fell, a sac 
 rifice to his own heroic daring, were matters 
 of history now, and Roger had had no part in 
 making the events. But his strength was com 
 ing back, and the occasion for his resumption 
 of his work was drawing near. 
 
 With the spring came a menace of sharper 
 warfare than any the south had yet known. On 
 the eleventh of February, Arbuthnot and Clin 
 ton, the one commanding the British fleet and 
 the other the British army sent southward from 
 the north, appeared off Edisto Inlet. Making 
 a landing, they entrenched themselves on Wap- 
 
 280
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 poo Cut, a narrow inlet which connects Charles 
 ton Harbor with the Stono River, and separates 
 James Island from the mainland. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton was an abler man than 
 Prevost, and he commanded a much larger and 
 finer army. The force he had brought with 
 him from New York numbered five thousand 
 men, and, when to these were added the British 
 troops already on the coast, and large numbers 
 of tories, the force that threatened Charles 
 Town by land was a very formidable one in 
 deed. It was to operate in conjunction with 
 the fleet also, and against the combined attack. 
 'General Lincoln could oppose bjut fourteen 
 hundred men, and a little flotilla of boats wholly 
 incapable of making a stand against the heavily 
 armed cruisers of the British. 
 
 Obviously, Charles Town was doomed. Lin 
 coln's first thought was to evacuate the city, and 
 thus save his little army for future use in the 
 field. He thought it possible that, upon retir 
 ing to the upper country, he might collect a 
 sufficient army to return and drive the enemy 
 out of the capital. Whether he could have ac 
 complished this or not, is uncertain, but it is 
 evident now that evacuation would have been 
 the better course. Had Clinton pushed his at 
 tack with any degree of vigor, that course 
 
 281
 
 would have been adopted. But with all his ad 
 vantages, Clinton hesitated just as Prevost had 
 done. He remained a full month on the Wap- 
 poo within cannon shot, or almost that, of the 
 town, and when, on the twenty-eighth of 
 March he at last moved forward to besiege the 
 city, Lincoln had good reason to expect a speedy 
 and strong reinforcement, with some help from 
 the Spanish West Indies, wherefore he de 
 termined to remain and stand the siege. 
 
 Upon the approach of the enemy, the legisla 
 ture added still further to the enormous powers 
 it had already conferred upon Governor Rut- 
 ledge. When it was decided that resistance 
 should be made, it was not in the nature of 
 the gallant John Rutledge to resist feebly. Lin- 
 coin was military chief, of course, upon whom 
 the conduct of the defence would depend, but it 
 was for Rutledge to add as largely as possible 
 to his resources, and never was there a man 
 better fitted for the work than he. His power 
 was absolute over both men and materials. Not 
 property alone, but human life and human death 
 also were at his unchecked disposal. He pro 
 visioned the city, but in doing so took care not 
 to impoverish the country. He prepared the 
 militia, for effective service, and threw as large 
 a body of them into the Charles Town trenches 
 
 282
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 as could be effectively used there, but he exer 
 cised a wise discretion in refusing to denude 
 any part of the country of its young men to 
 such an extent as to leave it defenceless. No 
 man was ever clothed with more unlimited 
 power than he at this time possessed, and no 
 man ever used power more wisely or more 
 faithfully to the purpose for which it was given. 
 But in spite of all Charles Town fell. After 
 a gallant resistance, extending over many 
 weeks, General Lincoln was fairly forced to 
 surrender the city and with it his army. 
 
 Then came Carolina's night of blackness. 
 The British had never learned, and were not 
 now disposed to learn to regard the patriots as 
 armed foes, engaged in legitimate warfare. 
 They regarded them, instead, as the sheriff re 
 gards rioters, as the courts hold men who refuse 
 to obey their mandates, as the law regards the 
 law-breaker. It seems to have been impossible 
 for the British commanders in Carolina at that 
 time, and especially for Lord Cornwallis who 
 soon succeeded Clinton there to understand 
 that faith-keeping with the rebels was an obli 
 gation ; that promises made to them were prom 
 ises to be fulfilled ; that paroles exacted of them 
 and given by them, carried with them all the 
 rights and privileges promised in the offering 
 
 283
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of the parole. In the eyes of these British 
 commanders, the patriots were rebels to be pun 
 ished. They were criminals to be hunted 
 down, and to be dealt with by the high hand of 
 force. They were vermin to be exterminated. 
 
 Thus, when Charles Town fell, and its peo 
 ple, as well as its garrison, became prisoners 
 of war, it was stipulated that all the militia 
 men and all citizens who should give their 
 parole, might go to their homes and live there 
 in peace, so long as they did not violate their 
 promise not to serve against the king again. 
 Yet when this promise was accepted, and the 
 men making it were faithfully keeping it, the 
 British commanders added, one after another, 
 new conditions to it and enforced them by im 
 prisonment or deportation, until many of those 
 who had pledged themselves not again to serve, 
 were fairly forced to disregard their paroles, 
 and take the field, or go instead into hopeless 
 exile, or to a pestilential prison. 
 
 The republic in which we live owes much 
 indeed to this treachery and brutish insensi 
 bility to honor on the part of Lord Cornwallis 
 and his lieutenants, especially the butcher Tarle- 
 ton. Had they kept faith, there would still 
 have been a partisan war in the Carolinas ; but 
 it would have had far less of determination 
 
 284
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 in it than it had in fact. It would have been 
 waged with far less of relentless vigor, and 
 many of those who most actively and cour 
 ageously participated in it, with a price set upon 
 their heads, and, as it were, with nooses around 
 their necks, would have remained quietly at 
 home under a parole which they at least had 
 given in all sincerity, but from which they just 
 ly thought themselves released by the utter dis 
 regard of its terms on the part of their captors. 
 It is not the purpose of the present writer 
 to relate the history of that splendidly heroic 
 age. That task has fallen to abler pens than 
 his. The facts of history are here mentioned 
 only in so far as they gave rise to the incidents 
 recorded in this romance, and may serve to ex 
 plain its events.
 
 XXIII 
 
 WAR'S new BIRTH 
 
 /N surrendering Charles Town, Lincoln 
 was forced to surrender not only his 
 army, but all of the civilians likewise. 
 A very few escaped, for the lines had been 
 tightly drawn for weeks. Young Barnegal 
 had fought in the trenches as long as the 
 struggle lasted, and when it was over, and sur 
 render was agreed upon, he was wholly un 
 willing to become himself a part of the sac 
 rifice. He was prepared to face any danger, 
 and endure any hardship, rather than submit 
 to be a prisoner of war in the loathsome quar 
 ters which the British were then accustomed to 
 use as military prisons, and he had no faith 
 whatever that if he accepted a parole he would 
 be permitted to live unmolested under its terms. 
 He foresaw what afterward happened to 
 many in Carolina, as already related. He had 
 no stomach for imprisonment in any shape. 
 He resolved to escape at all hazards. 
 
 286
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Before undertaking this he wrote hurriedly 
 to a friend in Charles Town who had sought 
 to dissuade him. His note ran as follows : 
 
 " I have set out to fight for the privilege of 
 being a free man. I have risked my life as all 
 the rest of us have, in that behalf. And life 
 is not more precious to me now than it has been 
 all along. Why then should I not risk it again, 
 rather than surrender my freedom? More 
 over, even if I could trust the British parole, I 
 do not want its protection. I do not want to 
 live in secure idleness while my country is be 
 ing overrun and subjected to a foreign domina 
 tion. I will, therefore, make an effort to es 
 cape from this trap, and in that effort, only 
 death shall cause me to fail." 
 
 Quitting the ranks, he concealed himself in a 
 fisherman's hut on the Ashley River, which had 
 been abandoned since the bombardment had 
 begun. For two days and nights he lay there 
 without food, or even a chance to get water. 
 The British were swarming on the opposite 
 shore, and were patroling the shore on which 
 he lay, their lines having been extended into 
 and around the city. The little hut lay just 
 outside the outer line; and so, the young man 
 for two days escaped capture, or rather escaped 
 the necessity of making the desperate final bat- 
 
 287
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tie which he had determined upon as the alter 
 native to capture, and the only alternative he 
 would accept. 
 
 On the third night, the British seemed satis 
 fied that their work of occupation was complete, 
 and greatly relaxed their vigilance along the 
 shores. About midnight young Barnegal slip 
 ped out under cover of darkness, and aided by 
 a thick fog which lay over the harbor and the 
 city, managed to reach a little well which had 
 served the fisherman, and there slaked his 
 parching thirst. Then, taking off his shoes, he 
 crept quietly through the fog to the margin of 
 the river, and there still further lightened his 
 burden of clothing by removing his hat and 
 coat. Very quietly, and with as little splash 
 ing as possible, he let himself into the river, 
 thronged as it always is at that season of the 
 year with man-eating sharks and other enemies 
 which the boldest swimmers do not care to en 
 counter. 
 
 The river at that point is very wide, and the 
 enemy, as he knew, occupied its southern bank. 
 But Barnegal's plan was to meet one difficulty 
 at a time, and the river was the first difficulty. 
 Swimming as noiselessly as possible, he at last, 
 near morning, reached the southern shore. He 
 was chilled through to the bone, water-soaked, 
 
 288
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of course, bare-headed, bare-footed, and weary 
 beyond expression, for the swim he had made 
 was twice at least as great as any he had ever 
 undertaken before. The friendly darkness and 
 the still friendlier fog served him well. He went 
 into the tall marsh grass which grew thickly 
 along the shores, and, as the tide was out, he 
 threw himself down in the ooze for a little 
 needed rest. " The incoming tide will awake 
 me," he thought to himself, " if I fall asleep, 
 and it should be coming in before the morning 
 breaks." 
 
 When the rising water lapped his feet and 
 aroused him an hour or two later, he was at 
 first bewildered with faintness, hunger, and his 
 excessive weariness, but he presently gathered 
 together enough of his wits to know that he 
 must be up and doing if he hoped to complete 
 the work of escape. The enemy were now 
 posted almost entirely upon the main, and so 
 the young fugitive swam across Wappoo cut 
 to James Island. There, passing through the 
 woods, he at last reached Stono Inlet, and 
 crossed that to John's Island. He was sure 
 now that he was south of the enemy's position, 
 and as he was utterly exhausted by starvation, 
 he determined to recross to the mainland at a 
 point still farther south. Having secured food 
 
 289
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 at the hands of a friendly negro, he wrapped 
 his feet in the long gray moss that there 
 abounds, and proceeded on his journey. 
 
 It was in this plight that he at last reached 
 Alton House, bringing with him the first defi 
 nite news that had been received there of the 
 surrender of the city and army. After he had 
 been fed and clothed, Colonel Alton peremp 
 torily ordered him to bed and to absolute silence 
 until he should be recovered of his fatigue. 
 It was not until the following day that he re 
 appeared, dressed in Roger's garments, and told 
 fully the story of which he had given only the 
 briefest possible outline on the day before. 
 
 " The event is altogether the worst disaster 
 that has yet befallen the American cause," he 
 said by way of comment. " The fall of 
 Charles Town is the fall of South Carolina, if 
 not the fall of the entire South." 
 
 " How so," asked Roger, who had just been 
 discharged from the doctor's hands, as at last 
 well and ready to get strong. " I see no rea 
 son for surrendering South Carolina merely be 
 cause the British have taken our capital and 
 seaport." 
 
 " Why, Roger, we have no army left, and 
 the demoralization of the people is terrible. 
 The enemy is already spreading over the coun- 
 
 290
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 try, establishing posts. By dint of terrifying 
 some and cajoling others, they have made more 
 than half the people already swear allegiance to 
 the king. The state is prostrate and helpless, 
 and those of us who are not ready to choose be 
 tween taking the oath of allegiance and going 
 to a prison ship, must quit Carolina at once, as 
 I am going to do." 
 
 " You were in Charles Town at the time of 
 the surrender ? " asked Roger. 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " You got away, didn't you ? " 
 
 "Of course. What do you mean? How 
 else could I be here ? " 
 
 " I mean only this that a young man who 
 could escape from a long beleaguered and at 
 last surrendered city, across a bridgeless river, 
 and through lines which the British had spent 
 weeks in drawing tighter and tighter, might 
 manage, I think, to stay in South Carolina and 
 do some little righting here, in spite of all the 
 efforts of a scattered foe to catch him, or to 
 drive him away. If we, who are not ready 
 who never mean to be ready to swear allegi 
 ance to King George, quit the state, then is 
 Carolina indeed conquered, but I, for one, shall 
 stay here, and not only stay, but fight, too, till 
 I fall. It is no time to run away. Carolina 
 
 291
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 needs every one of us now, and moreover, if we 
 go away and leave the British in undisturbed 
 possession, they will first establish themselves 
 firmly here, and then march northward, crush 
 ing the patriots of the other colonies as between 
 two millstones. We shall then have nowhere 
 on earth to which we can flee." 
 
 " Roger," replied Charles, speaking in a low, 
 but very earnest tone, " have you forgotten 
 what I told you in the woods the night you 
 were wounded ? " 
 
 " No, Charles, I have not." 
 
 " You will understand me and believe me 
 then, when I say that no man can be more 
 anxious than I am to stay here in Carolina. 
 Now tell me frankly what you mean, and how 
 it can be done." 
 
 " I will tell you," said Roger, " and after that 
 I'll show you, too, if you'll join me. John's 
 Island is only a small spot on the map of Caro 
 lina, and yet I stayed there a month, with 
 twenty men, when the British army there had 
 nothing to do but catch me, and more than that, 
 my stay cost the British a good many men and 
 horses, to say nothing of lost time and ex 
 pended energies. The swamps of Carolina af 
 ford ' cover ' for a great deal of game which no 
 huntsman can drive out, and why shouldn't you 
 
 292
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and I and some hundreds of other bold young 
 fellows succeed as well, with our educated 
 intellects, as the poor deer do with their in 
 stincts, in eluding the vigilance of the pursuers ? 
 We must take to the swamps and live there, 
 with such fellows as we may be able to take 
 with us; and from the swamps we must sally 
 forth and strike wherever a point of weakness 
 invites a blow. As Marion once phrased it, 
 by the way, where is Marion ? He must be our 
 leader, if we can find him." 
 
 " Nobody knows," replied Barnegal. " He 
 was at home with a broken ankle when Charles 
 Town fell, but he has disappeared taken to the 
 swamps, people say. But if that be so, he must 
 have faithful friends with him, for he can 
 neither walk nor stand. Just before the siege 
 of Charles Town began, he was supping with a 
 party in the city, in an upper room. After the 
 bad fashion that exists among us, his host 
 locked the door, determined that none of his 
 guests should leave until all of them should be 
 too drunk to leave. Marion, you know, is very 
 abstemious, and he had no mind to be forced 
 into a debauch, so he quietly slipped through a 
 window and dropped to the ground, breaking 
 his ankle in doing so. He was at home nursing 
 the injured joint when Charles Town fell. 
 
 2 93
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 But come; I like your idea, and want no bet 
 ter leader than you, Roger. I have heard of 
 your exploits on the Island, and I fancy you 
 know this sort of partisan business quite as 
 well as another. But how are you to hide un 
 til you get well? The British are moving up 
 this way, and will be here to-morrow, I fear." 
 
 " I shall be ready, then. I have a friend or 
 two living not far away hrave fellows, who 
 were with me on the island. Let me send for 
 them to come here. Then we'll easily find 
 out just when the red coats approach, and 
 we'll take to the swamps together." 
 
 " My dear brother," said Jacqueline, enter 
 ing the room at the moment, " what are you 
 talking about? You are a sick man, my pa 
 tient, and I shall not allow you to think of go 
 ing anywhere until you are well again." 
 
 " Not even to prison ? " asked Roger. 
 
 " I do not understand," she replied. 
 
 " Why, that's the alternative. If I don't go 
 to the swamps, I must go to prison; for I will 
 never swear to be a loyal subject of Georgius 
 rex, my dear." 
 
 " But why can't you stay quietly at home? " 
 asked the young woman. 
 
 " For the reason, my dear sister, that His 
 Gracious Majesty's brave soldiers are afraid of 
 
 294
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 patriots, even when they are sick and at home. 
 Bring your portfolio, won't you, sister, and 
 write a note or two for me, and send for Marl- 
 borough to saddle a horse and report." 
 
 " Certainly, my lord general. ' Report ' is 
 essentially military, I think, and I'll issue your 
 ' general order No. i ', and then ' report in 
 person at these headquarters/ to act as your 
 what do you call it, adjutant, isn't it? " 
 
 And with that she playfully patted Roger's 
 cheek before quitting the room. 
 
 Marlborough delivered the notes, and just 
 at nightfall three sinewy fellows mounted on 
 little half-bred horses, and armed with holster 
 pistols, swords and long rifles,' rode up to Al 
 ton House. They were " common " people in 
 the parlance of the time and country; that is 
 to say they were plain, uneducated men, over 
 seers or small farmers perhaps, with no claims 
 to. social recognition at such a mansion as Al 
 ton House. But Roger received them cordial 
 ly as his friends and comrades, meeting them 
 in the porch and ushering them as guests into 
 the supper room where Jacqueline courtesied 
 in answer to the awkward bow of each quite as 
 if these had been the stateliest gentlemen in the 
 land. Jacqueline Alton was a lady, you see, 
 and she honored whomsoever might come as 
 
 295
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 an invited guest into the mansion of which she 
 was mistress. 
 
 The men shrank back at first, awed quite as 
 much perhaps by the dazzling beauty of the 
 richly dressed young hostess as by the novel 
 surroundings, but Roger came promptly to 
 their assistance. 
 
 " These are my friends, sister," he said by 
 way of introduction, " my comrades-in-arms. 
 Mr. Hadley, Mr. Burton, Mr. Frost my sis 
 ter, gentlemen. You are just in time for sup 
 per." 
 
 Mistress Jacqueline honored these men as 
 patriots and brave soldiers, of whose prowess 
 and faithfulness Roger had fully informed her. 
 She welcomed them also as his friends, and I 
 verily believe she took greater pleasure in en 
 tertaining them, plain fellows as they were, 
 than she would have felt had they been men of 
 the highest social rank. That fine gentlemen 
 should do battle for their country was to her 
 quite a matter of course they had family, 
 name, estates and reputation to maintain. But 
 these plain fellows had no such incentive, and 
 their courage in such a cause she deemed the 
 loftiest heroism as perhaps it was. 
 
 After supper Roger explained his plans to 
 the men. 
 
 296
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I must go back to the swamps not merely 
 as a precaution against arrest, but for the sake 
 of keeping up the struggle and annoying the 
 enemy as much as possible. I want to take 
 with me as many good men as I can especial 
 ly as many of my old Island volunteers as can 
 be found. I have sent for you, therefore, to 
 join me because I knew I could depend upon 
 you. Now, who else is there we can get ? " 
 
 The men entered heartily into the plans of 
 their captain, and before morning Roger Al 
 ton was again chief of a little band numbering 
 something more than a score of daring and de 
 termined men. Barnegal was his only lieuten 
 ant, and as it was desirable for Roger on ac 
 count of his health to remain at Alton House 
 as long as possible, Barnegal took two of the 
 men and rode away early in the morning to as 
 certain the movements of the enemy. Mean 
 time Roger kept the rest of his company to 
 gether to be ready for immediate marching. 
 
 About noon Barnegal reported the British 
 within five miles of Alton House, encamped, 
 and sending out " small bodies " of cavalry in 
 every direction. 
 
 " How small ? " said Roger, in the senten 
 tious and rather imperious manner which he 
 had unconsciously adopted in conversation on 
 
 297
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 military matters; for his whole soul was in 
 this war, and to him it was a personal affair 
 which stirred his anger and made of him not so 
 much a soldier with a duty to do as an insulted 
 gentleman bent upon resenting and resisting in 
 vindication of his personal right; and insulted 
 gentlemen are apt to speak shortly and sharply 
 even to their friends. " How small? " 
 
 " Well, some of the bodies number ten, some 
 twenty, and some more," replied Barnegal. 
 " They are ordinary scouting parties, sent out, 
 I fancy, to scour the country and pick up stray 
 patriots and poultry. (We had better betake 
 ourselves to the swamps at once if we don't in 
 tend to be caught." 
 
 " We are not foxes," said Roger, buckling 
 on his sword. " We can fight as well as run, 
 and the swamp is our base of operations not 
 merely a refuge from danger. Pardon me, 
 Charles, you have seen only regular, syste 
 matic war. I am a partisan an outlaw, the 
 British say and I will show you what the 
 books neglect to teach: that in such a country 
 as this, a little band of bold fellows may wage 
 little wars of their own without any very great 
 danger of capture. We will strike at one or 
 two of these scouting parties, if you please, by 
 way of intimating to their commanders that 
 
 298
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Carolina is not conquered yet as they imagine 
 that it is, and we will ride away to the 
 swamps when we must. Luckily, my men 
 know every by-path hereabout. Bid the men 
 mount, please." 
 
 A moment later the young cavalier was rid 
 ing at the head of his little company. Inquir 
 ing at every opportunity, and scanning the road 
 for tracks, he was not long in discovering that 
 a party of British, well mounted, had gone to 
 the neighboring plantation of Beverly bent up 
 on plunder perhaps. 
 
 " Examine the road, Burton," said Roger, to 
 a tall, gaunt, bullet-headed fellow, whose small 
 restless eyes were given to a minute study of 
 everything about him at once. " Examine the 
 road and tell me how many there are of those 
 fellows." 
 
 Without a word Burton discharged an ex 
 hausted quid of tobacco from further service, 
 and dismounting walked forward a dozen 
 yards or so scanning the confused hoof-marks 
 in the sand, of which a less skilled observer 
 could have made nothing whatever. Return 
 ing he said : 
 
 " They's twenty-eight or thirty uv 'em in all ; 
 hosses all big, an' five uv 'em's thoroughbreds, 
 or purty nigh it. They ain't lookin' fer no 
 
 299
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 soldiers, though, but huntin' plunder. If they 
 wuz expectin' fightin' men, they wouldn't ride 
 all over the road as they're adoin'." 
 
 " Very well," said Roger, " mount your 
 horse. Now men, attention. We are all 
 pretty well armed, but some of our horses are 
 scrubby, and one or two of you have no pistols. 
 This party ahead of us has good horses and 
 plenty of arms, and it will be our own fault if 
 we fail to supply ourselves abundantly at their 
 expense. Burton finds that they are riding 
 carelessly, irregularly, ' all over the road ' as 
 he puts it, and assumes very properly that they 
 do not expect to encounter anything more bel 
 ligerent than a hen-roost or a sideboard or a 
 sucking pig. At Beverly they will leave their 
 horses with one or two guards, or possibly no 
 guards at all, while they search the cellar and 
 chicken-coops. Half of them will leave their 
 pistols in their holsters. We must approach 
 through the grove and charge from the edge of 
 it. Then let every man who sees a better horse 
 than the one he is riding, capture it and mount 
 it. Turn the old ones loose as we cannot af 
 ford to lead horses. Let no man fire until we 
 are fired upon, but use your sabres instead. 
 The enemy outnumbers us, and everything de 
 pends upon the completeness of the surprise." 
 
 300
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 In obedience to a brief order or two, the lit 
 tle company filed off through the woods. Si 
 lently they rode over the sandy soil of the pine 
 barren for half an hour, then through a grove 
 of low hanging oaks, till they reached its edge, 
 when Roger in a low tone, scarcely louder than 
 a whisper, said : 
 
 " Forward. Keep line. Open order; draw 
 sabres ; gallop ; CHARGE ! " 
 
 The last word rang out at the top of the 
 young chief's voice, and ten seconds later he 
 and his men fell upon a group of dismounted 
 and terror-stricken cavalrymen who had been 
 left with the horses of the whole body. Their 
 sabre strokes fell fast and furious for a time. 
 Then Roger called out : " Provide yourselves 
 with arms and horses, men, and stampede all 
 the rest" 
 
 It was no sooner said than done. The half 
 dozen guardsmen had promptly thrown down 
 their arms, and it was the work of only a mo 
 ment, to send the released and frightened 
 horses helter skelter through the woodlands, a 
 task in which the British, pouring out of the 
 house, themselves unintentionally assisted by 
 delivering an otherwise ineffectual fire from 
 such arms as they had with them. 
 
 " These are light horse troops and have 
 
 301
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 no rifles," said Roger eagerly to his lieuten 
 ant. " They have emptied their pistols, and on 
 foot their swords are useless. We will make 
 absentees of them at roll-call to-night." And, 
 giving a few, rapid orders, he led his men 
 again to the charge. 
 
 The onset was furious, and the helpless dis 
 mounted men were speedily driven as their 
 horses had been to the neighboring woods, 
 leaving several of their comrades on the field, 
 stricken down by the whirling sabres quite 
 half of which, had been fashioned in a black 
 smith's shop, out of scythe blades. When the 
 melee ended, Roger formed his men in front of 
 the mansion whose mistress a neighbor, a pa 
 triot, and a friend of his own hastily brought 
 forth decanters and glasses. 
 
 " We must drink and away," said the young 
 chief. " Here's to Carolina, country and lib 
 erty. May we prove faithful to all three." 
 
 Crack ! went a rifle from the bushes near-by. 
 Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack ! 
 
 " Them's not red coats, them's tories," said 
 Burton the observer and oracle. " Red coats 
 don't shoot rifles, and they don't fight every 
 feller for hissef, nuther." 
 
 There was no time for discussion. The tory
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 company which had come up was much too 
 formidable for Roger's party in point of arms 
 and numbers, and it was clearly their purpose 
 to capture the little band of partisans. Seeing 
 the situation at a glance, Roger wheeled his 
 force about and attempted to gallop away; but 
 he had fallen into a trap. A deep, sluggish 
 stream lay in the rear of the house and the to- 
 ries had stretched themselves in a strong line 
 around the three other sides. There was no 
 escape except by swimming the stream. Well 
 aimed bullets whistled around the heads of the 
 patriots as they plunged into the water, but all 
 escaped to the opposite bank where they halted 
 to cheer. They did so too soon, however, for 
 as they shouted they were greeted with a show 
 er of musket balls from the timber on that side 
 of the river on which they stood. They had 
 crossed the stream only to fall into an ambus 
 cade. Tories or troops they could not at the 
 moment determine which were in the strip of 
 low ground through which Roger had been 
 confident of escape, and his party was com 
 pletely hemmed in. 
 
 " What are we going to do now," asked one 
 of the men, a new recruit who had seen nothing 
 of war. 
 
 33
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " We are going to die like men if we can't do 
 anything better," said Barnegal, who was now 
 thoroughly aroused ; " but we are going to fight 
 like devils first." 
 
 34
 
 XXIV 
 
 IN WHICH 
 
 an enthusiastic YOUNG GENTLEMAN saves a 
 
 HUNDRED GUINEAS 
 
 OGER ALTON was accustomed to 
 carry a perfectly cool head upon his 
 broad shoulders under all circum- 
 'stances. Being a not ve'ry imaginative 
 young man, and being possessed of an ex 
 cellent digestion, it was never his habit to 
 exaggerate dangers which must be encoun 
 tered unseen. He calculated probabilities and 
 weighed facts with the utmost precision, but 
 he added little to the probabilities and nothing 
 to the facts by excited conjecture. Half 
 a dozen musket balls coming from a thicket 
 meant to him half a dozen men certainly, 
 or perhaps a few more, as circumstances might 
 indicate. And by " men " in the military 
 sense he understood so many frightened fel 
 lows who fired at random quite half of the time 
 and usually too high to do any damage. He 
 knew, as every soldier does, that a bullet whose 
 
 35
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 whistling sounded in his ears was harmless, 
 having already passed him by, but unlike per 
 sons of less steady nerves he held this knowl 
 edge practically, and gave no heed whatever to 
 such escaped dangers. Better than all, he was 
 too manly a fellow to care particularly for 
 danger of death in so good a cause, and so he 
 gave himself no concern in peril, on his own 
 account at least. 
 
 War was to him a grand game in which 
 manhood and liberty were the stakes. He 
 played to win these,, recking little of the pawns 
 it might be necessary to sacrifice to the winning 
 of the game, even though one of those pawns 
 should chance to be named Roger Alton. But 
 he knew the value of the pawns, too, and he 
 took care to throw none away uselessly, where 
 fore he was careful so to dispose his men at 
 the present moment as to screen them pretty ef 
 fectually from the fire, a task rendered easier 
 by the oncoming of night. 
 
 " Halt the men here, Barnegal," said Roger, 
 " while I go forward and see how matters 
 stand. Let no man reply to the fire of the en 
 emy. Let us keep them in ignorance and per 
 haps in terror too. I will return presently." 
 Then tossing his bridle to a trooper, he walked 
 away. The musket flashes followed each other 
 
 306
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 in rapid and regular succession, wherefore 
 Roger assumed that his enemy on this side of 
 the river was a body of regulars, but by a care 
 ful noting of the points from which the shots 
 came, he speedily discovered that their num 
 bers were not very large, probably thirty or for 
 ty in all, and that their line was a thin one 
 stretched over a great deal more ground than 
 it could properly hold. The men were placed 
 in a semi-circle with flanks resting on the river. 
 To accomplish this they stood at intervals of 
 twenty or thirty feet, as Roger discovered by 
 observing their fire. 
 
 " They are attempting too much," he said to 
 his lieutenant on his return. " They are afraid 
 to charge us in the dark. Their line is a very 
 thin one and we will break through it. I will 
 take half the men, while you keep the rest here 
 in absolute silence. When I attack, the red 
 coats will thicken up their line over there on the 
 right and you can break through at the other 
 end. If I don't get through 1 will wheel about 
 and follow you." 
 
 The plan seemed the best one possible under 
 the circumstances, and after agreeing upon a 
 rendezvous Roger led half the men to the at 
 tack. When he was but a hundred yards from 
 the river bank, the enemy rapidly contracted 
 
 37
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 their line toward the point of his attack and 
 when he rode forward at a gallop received him 
 with a heavy fire which checked his advance 
 very decidedly. He might even yet have bro 
 ken through, however, if the distance between 
 him and the British had been great enough to 
 admit of his regaining speed for in charging 
 through infantry a body of horsemen must de 
 pend chiefly upon momentum. As it was he 
 quickly wheeled about in the direction of the 
 point where Barnegal had succeeded in break 
 ing through. 
 
 Unluckily, the commander of the British 
 force appears to have been a quick-witted fel 
 low. When Barnegal escaped on the left, 
 Roger's whole plan was revealed to his enemy, 
 and that enemy, rightly judging that Roger's 
 party alone remained within his toils, sharply 
 contracted his line all around, narrowing his 
 semi-circle to a quarter of its former length, 
 and so strengthening it at all points. 
 
 A heavy fire at short range greeted the par 
 tisans now from every side except from the riv 
 er in the rear. Our young man's case seemed 
 indeed desperate. Barnegal, observing the fact 
 that the fire increased instead of ceasing, 
 wheeled about and attempted to go to his 
 friend's rescue, by breaking into the semi-cir- 
 
 308
 
 cle out of which he had just succeeded in forc 
 ing his way, but he dared not use his rifles lest 
 Roger's party should suffer. He rode forward 
 and succeeded in drawing attention to himself 
 from that part of the line at which Roger's 
 first attack had been made. 
 
 " Come, boys, this is our opportunity ! " 
 cried Roger. " Barnegal will hold their atten 
 tion for a minute or two, long enough to let us 
 swim past. Follow me." 
 
 Bullet plunged into the stream. The rest 
 followed; and as horses swimming make no 
 noise after the first plunge, the point of dan 
 ger was passed without discovery. 
 
 Barnegal was still busy and the British were 
 still pouring a heavy fire into the empty thicket 
 whence the patriots had escaped down the river, 
 when Roger's party, having made land below, 
 galloped up and joined Barnegal's in safety. 
 
 " It is time to die like men," shouted Barne 
 gal. " I am going to break through that line 
 or lose every man trying. / have a hundred 
 golden guineas that belong to the man who first 
 shakes Roger Alton's hand! " 
 
 " Well, that man is Charles Barnegal," said 
 Roger, coming up and shaking hands with his 
 friend. " Attention men ! Follow me ! " 
 
 The command was untechnical, but five min- 
 
 39
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 utes' riding served to put the little band out of 
 danger in the depths of the great swamp. 
 Three or four of them carried British bullets in 
 their bodies, but not one had fallen from his 
 saddle, and not one was sufficiently hurt to re 
 quire more of attention than the rude, amateur 
 surgery of a partisan camp could furnish. 
 
 310
 
 XXV 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK'S DEVICES 
 
 rHE distressing situation which Mrs. 
 Vargave had foreshadowed when 
 Roger was first at Lonsdale had 
 now come upon the Carolinas. Systematic 
 war had been changed to that crudest 
 of all things known, a civil war, in which 
 neighbor was arrayed against neighbor, and 
 private vengeance sometimes played a larger 
 part than conviction of any sort in in 
 spiring action. Men of the baser sort every 
 where had sought security for themselves by 
 yielding allegiance to Great Britain. They had 
 hoped thus to make an end of war in the south, 
 and rest securely at their ease. In this hope 
 they were disappointed. 
 
 The patriots, as we have seen, were not yet 
 ready to give up the struggle. Soon after Rog 
 er Alton's band began its work of annoyance, 
 other such bodies were called into being in dif 
 ferent parts of the state. Among these was the 
 
 3 11
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 little force rallied by Sumter which under in 
 spiration of his repeated victories was soon 
 swelled into a strong brigade of six hundred 
 men or more. 
 
 The British too were completely disappoint 
 ed. When Sir Henry Clinton, having captured 
 Charles Town, sailed away north leaving 
 Cornwallis in command of four thousand 
 troops, it was his confident expectation that the 
 tories would speedily form a force in Carolina 
 sufficiently strong to keep that state in perma 
 nent subjection without the aid of regulars. 
 It was his plan when that should occur to have 
 Cornwallis push northwards to the conquest of 
 North Carolina and Virginia, but the parti 
 sans checked and delayed this movement seri 
 ously. And meantime, Washington soon sent 
 an army of Continentals and militia back into 
 the state which, under Gates, at first and later 
 under Greene, speedily revived the war there 
 upon regular lines. 
 
 All this while the tories were organizing 
 and marauding, partly for the purpose of over 
 awing the whigs, but in many cases with a 
 larger view to personal vengeance upon offend 
 ing neighbors, to the persecution of whigs, the 
 destruction of property, and in some cases, 
 plain unvarnished robbery. It is to the credit 
 
 312
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of the little bands of partisans that, although 
 the organized and fighting tories outnumber 
 ed them considerably, the patriot cause at no 
 time ceased to be the dominant one in status 
 and in achievement. Marion and Pickens soon 
 added their tremendous vigor to that of Sum- 
 ter and the smaller patriotic bands. 
 
 Thus the whole state was plunged into cease 
 less, merciless, cruel civil war. It was a fear 
 ful price to pay, but its reward of independ 
 ence amply made it good. For while Corn- 
 wallis was usually victorious in formal fights, 
 he was baffled and beaten on his road to Vir 
 ginia, and rested at last at Yorktown more in 
 the attitude of a commander seeking refuge 
 for his over-matched army than as a victor 
 whose purpose is accomplished. On the other 
 hand, he had left behind him in the Carolinas 
 a patriot force under Greene which,, within a 
 year or a little more soon practically reconquer 
 ed the state. And long before a treaty of peace 
 was made, the Carolinians had the joy of see 
 ing the British driven out of their capital, and 
 the authority of their state restored. 
 
 All this is a wonder-story of heroism, daring, 
 and almost inconceivable endurance. It is 
 told in history, in song and in story. It is no 
 part of the present writer's task to repeat it 
 
 3*3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 here beyond this meagre outline. But all this 
 came later than the present stage of our story. 
 At present all was blackness and night, and the 
 torch of liberty was kept dimly burning only 
 by such bands as that of Roger Alton. 
 
 Roger Alton's force fluctuated in numbers as 
 did all the little patriot bands of that time. 
 Men were killed and other men took their 
 places. Men were drawn off by one consider 
 ation or another for service elsewhere. Rog 
 er's force was sometimes depleted in this and 
 other ways until it scarcely amounted to a 
 squad. At other times it was swelled to pro 
 portions sufficient to enable him to fight consid 
 erable actions. 
 
 When he had first gone out in this way, 
 Marlborough had come to him with an earnest, 
 almost a tearful petition to go with him. 
 
 " Why, Marlborough, I shall be but a poor 
 hunted swamp fox, a soldier in arms, living as 
 best I can, and dispensing with all the luxu 
 ries of life. I cannot afford to go about with 
 a serving man like a fine gentleman ; for I am 
 no longer that; I'm only a plain, simple, hard- 
 living and hard-fighting soldier." 
 
 " But, Mas' Roger," broke in the negro, 
 " you want men and you can't get 'nuff of 'em. 
 I could be a soldier as well as your servant and 
 
 3H
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 I could be both at the same time. If you will let 
 me go with you, I'll promise you I will fight as 
 hard as anybody in the company. And when 
 the fightin's over, I will look after your hosses 
 and your boots, sir, and if you should get 
 wounded again, you would need me to see to it 
 that you didn't die o' neglect. The poor white 
 gentlemen that you's mostly got with you don't 
 know how to take care o' a gentleman when 
 he's sick or wounded. Thank the Lord, I've 
 been brought up to know. You'll let me go 
 with you, won't you, Mas' Roger ? " 
 
 Roger thought the matter over. He did in 
 deed need every extra man that he could get, 
 and here was Marlborough, strong, hardy, 
 willing, and certainly courageous. Why not 
 make a soldier of him? There was not only 
 nothing in the law of Carolina to forbid that, 
 but on the contrary, the statutes there had long 
 sought to encourage the enlistment of faithful 
 negroes as soldiers for the state's defence. It 
 had been enacted that men of color might be 
 enlisted in any company up to the limit of one- 
 half the company's total number. It had been 
 further provided by law that the master of any 
 slave who should refuse to permit his enlist 
 ment should be liable to criminal prosecution 
 and punishment. The ability of negro troops
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to " fight nobly " and their willingness to fight 
 for the country which they have always regard 
 ed as their own, is no new thing in the history 
 of this land. From the beginning indeed the 
 better men among the negroes have been will 
 ing volunteers in the country's defence when 
 ever permitted that privilege of manhood. An 
 drew Jackson fully realized this, and when at 
 New Orleans he was called upon to improvise 
 a ragamuffin army with which to repel the as 
 sault of 12,000 of Wellington's choicest troops 
 under command of no less a general than Sir 
 Edward Packenham, one of his first acts was 
 to issue a proclamation calling upon the ne 
 groes to volunteer in defence of the city. 
 
 Marlborough became Captain Alton's sol 
 dier-servant. 
 
 In such warfare as this in Carolina, where 
 one's neighbors chiefly constituted his enemies, 
 and where the movements of small bands 
 either of tories or of troops gave opportu 
 nity now and then for the delivery of a blow, 
 means of securing information, accurate, 
 prompt, and trustworthy, became a matter of 
 the first importance. To this part of the serv 
 ice Jacqueline devoted herself. She lovingly 
 said to her brother on the occasion of one of his 
 early visits to Alton House : 
 
 316
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I know you do not think me of any ac 
 count, Roger, because I am a woman, and a 
 woman cannot fight; or at least you think she 
 cannot. If you would let me, I would soon 
 show you how far you are wrong, but you 
 won't, so there's an end of that. But I can be 
 of the utmost service to you. I am going to be 
 your chief spy. I am going to know whatever 
 happens in this whole region of country, and I 
 am going to inform you of it with all possible 
 dispatch. I have been working out a system 
 by which I can communicate with you. Un 
 der cover of my plantation duties, which, now 
 that you have taken away all the overseers to 
 serve as soldiers, are greatly multiplied and di 
 versified, so that I have to go to distant black 
 smiths' shops and other places where men 
 gather and gab, I shall be able to pick up all the 
 information you want. The point is to be able 
 to communicate it to you without revealing 
 your whereabouts when you desire your where 
 abouts to remain unknown. I have been think 
 ing it over, Roger, for a long, long time, and I 
 think I have perfected a plan. If you will give 
 me an hour or so, we can work it out together." 
 
 Just then came one of Roger's men riding at 
 a furious pace to announce that a squad of 
 tories was plundering a plantation ten miles 
 
 3 1 7
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 away. There was no time to stop for the per 
 fection of Jacqueline's plan, but before riding 
 away in pursuit of the enemy, Roger said to 
 her: 
 
 " Go every night at ten o'clock to the little 
 lake in the swamp down yonder. I will meet 
 you there sooner or later as soon as I can. 
 Your idea is an excellent one. We must per 
 fect it and put it in operation. Until I see you 
 there, good-by, dear," and off he went at the 
 head of his handful of men. 
 
 It was two nights later when Jacqueline rode 
 into the little semi-circular opening down by the 
 lake in the swamp where Roger was broiling 
 some bacon on the end of a stick. He was 
 quite alone, having placed his camp at some 
 distance away as a measure of prudence, and 
 having come hither in the hope of meeting his 
 sister. The two sat down together by the fire, 
 and Jacqueline outlined her plan. 
 
 " First of all," she said, " I shall never sign 
 anything. You will understand that, and when 
 I have time to put a message into cipher, I'll 
 do it in this way." 
 
 Then followed an account of her simple 
 cipher device, which she had made as free as 
 possible from puzzling and time-wasting com 
 plexities. In a little while she had made her 
 
 3 ,8
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 brother as familiar as she herself was with the 
 methods to be employed in writing and reading 
 messages. 
 
 When she had done explaining the cipher, 
 she resumed. 
 
 " Sometimes I shall not have time to use 
 cipher. You see, my dear brother, you are 
 only my brother, not my lover. If you were 
 my lover, I, as a well brought up young wo 
 man should have all the time necessary to 
 make my letters to you as full and as nonsen 
 sical as possible. As you are only my brother, 
 I will always come straight to the point, and 
 spend as little time as possible in preparing my 
 missives. So there now. Do not imagine 
 that even my love for you puts you on the plane 
 of a sweetheart." 
 
 With that she mischievously kissed him and 
 Roger kissed her in return. " Now then, 
 dear," she said, " I have a lot more to explain, 
 and must not stop to make love. First of all I 
 want a little powder. Can you spare me some 
 for my pistols? Secondly, the next time you 
 make a foray, I want you to capture half a 
 dozen or a dozen guns for me. I want them in 
 the house? " 
 
 " But who's to use them, Jack? " 
 
 " Oh, my young negroes. I have organized 
 
 3*9
 
 - A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the most patriotic little band of pickaninnies 
 you ever saw in your life. There are a dozen 
 or twenty of them ranging in age from twelve 
 to fifteen years. I taught them all how to read 
 a while ago, and I have taught them many 
 other things. They are devoted to me, Roger. 
 You wouldn't think it, because I am a hard 
 mistress you know." Roger laughed at this. 
 " Yes I am ; I am very hard. I always insist 
 upon having everybody tell me the truth, and 
 you know the young negroes don't like to do 
 that, but I am very rigid, Roger, very rigid. 
 Still they like me, and they will do what I tell 
 them to. Best of all I have taught them to like 
 you. I have taught them that to render you 
 any service is to distinguish themselves and 
 win my highest favor. Now it seems to me 
 that in the course of your campaigning around 
 here you are making a good many rather bad 
 enemies, and some of these days they may 
 conclude to take vengeance in some way at Al 
 ton House " 
 
 " Just let them try that," said Roger. " If 
 they ever do,, I will give them cause to remem 
 ber it the longest day that a single man jack 
 of them lives. Be sure of that, dear." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I know," she answered, " but at 
 the same time an ounce of prevention is better 
 
 320
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 than a pound of cure, so I want the guns. I am 
 drilling my little squad every day with sticks. 
 When I get real guns for them and actual am 
 munition, I will train them to expect an assault 
 upon Alton House, and when it comes, they 
 will know exactly how to repel it. I have 
 studied out every point of vantage, from which 
 a fellow can shoot with the least possible danger 
 of getting shot, and I will show them just where 
 to go when the fighting comes. I will be there 
 to captain them, be sure of that. Don't you 
 think it's a good plan, Roger ? " 
 
 " A very excellent plan, Jack," he answered 
 meditatively, " and as for the guns, why I know 
 where to get them within the next twenty-four 
 hours. I was going after them anyhow, not 
 to get the guns for we have enough but 
 to stir up the fellows that have them. I will 
 have them brought away and delivered at Al 
 ton House. And now, dear,, go on with what 
 you had to say." 
 
 "Yes, Roger; you must not interrupt so 
 much. I have a lot of things to tell you. I 
 am going to establish a post office department. 
 There are a great many hollow trees in the 
 swamps and elsewhere, and every hollow tree is 
 my post office at least every one that I mark. 
 I have got a little hatchet here, and when I 
 
 321
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 mark three cuts on the smooth side of a tree 
 that has an opening on the other side, you will 
 recognize that as one of my post offices. So all 
 you have got to do is to look out for the three 
 little cuts like this, do you see? " and with her 
 hatchet she scored, much as a surveyor might 
 do with a witness tree. " You will find this 
 wherever you go. I will always have a post 
 office within reach, so wherever you are, you 
 can send one of your men or come yourself and 
 get one of my little billets doux." 
 
 " Where did you get the idea, Jack ? " asked 
 Roger, who was disposed to conversation. 
 
 " Oh, I got it out of a book. It was the story 
 of a lovelorn maiden who was baffled by wicked 
 aunts and uncles and fathers and all that sort of 
 thing, and not allowed to see her lover or to 
 communicate with him. She set up a little 
 post office of this kind and kept it up until she 
 was caught at it. Now maybe I will get caught 
 at it after a while, just as she was, but if I am 
 the penalty won't be the same that she suf 
 fered, because they sent her to a convent. 
 They won't send me to a convent. I wonder 
 what they would do to me. Never mind, I 
 won't be caught. If I am you will come for 
 me, won't you ? " 
 
 " Come for you ? To the ends of the earth, 
 
 322 

 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Jack," Roger replied with enthusiasm, " and I 
 will bring some fellows with me that would go 
 through fire and water and lightning and what 
 ever else you can think of, including a volcano, 
 to rescue my sister. But you mustn't get 
 caught Jack. Be very careful. When you 
 have time, put your missives always into print 
 ing letters. Nobody can recognize your writ 
 ing then for it will not be a hand writing but a 
 hand printing. And do not write except when 
 you must. Another thing; sometimes it will 
 be more convenient to meet me. I don't know 
 where I shall be, but you will generally know, 
 and I will let you know as often as I can. Let's 
 agree upon a way of doing that." 
 
 " Oh, you stupid," she said, " do you think 
 I have overlooked that ? Why I have got it all 
 down as fine as possible. I have worked it all 
 out. Now let me tell you about it. When 
 you are going along a road, and you find a twig 
 bent down on one of the overhanging trees, 
 look a little further along the road and see if 
 you find two more twigs bent down on two 
 other trees. You see anybody might accident 
 ally bend a twig down, and that might mislead 
 you ; but if three twigs are bent down not more 
 than three or four trees apart you will know 
 that Jack did it. And it means look out for 
 
 3 2 3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 me. Then if you are in this swamp, you are 
 to take your knife and cut a triangle out of a 
 big leaf. You are to stick that on one of the 
 trees whose twigs I have bent down. That will 
 mean to me : ' Meet me in the swamp.' And 
 I will come here. If you are not here I will 
 hunt for you." 
 
 So she went on with one detail after another 
 of a complete code of signaling and communica 
 tion. It is not necessary to record here her 
 further devices for rendering communication 
 easy between herself and her brother. It is 
 sufficient to say that the system was wrought 
 out with an ingenious simplicity which 
 prompted Roger to say : 
 
 " You are a wonder, Jack. You have a 
 positive genius for intrigue. I wonder where 
 you got it? " 
 
 " Well, genius was perhaps born in me, but 
 I got my ideas of intrigue pretty nearly all out 
 of my novels. I must 'fess up, Roger. I am 
 an awful reader of novels, and I like the bloody 
 ones best. I like those that have dark, under 
 ground chambers and passageways, and I have 
 been thinking whether I could not make a pas 
 sageway underground I would if it weren't 
 so damp between Alton House and the swamp 
 here. However, we will have an overground 
 
 3 2 4
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 communication quite as good. Never mind 
 that now, I have got to go back. No, you shall 
 not escort me. I know what you were going 
 to say," she added, as he rose with evident pur 
 pose to summon some of his band. " No, I can 
 go back alone. It is not proper for me to as 
 sociate with you. You are a rebel. You are 
 an outlaw. You have a price upon your head, 
 I suppose. At any rate there ought to be. 
 Your head would be cheap at any price. You 
 are a traitor to your king. It won't do at all 
 for a respectable young woman like me to be 
 seen in your company. I will communicate 
 with you only in secret. Good-night, Roger." 
 With that she sprang upon the black mare 
 which she usually rode at night and disappeared 
 in the thick undergrowth. 
 
 3 2 5
 
 XXVI 
 
 IN the HANDS of the ENEMY 
 
 rOUNG Barnegal had been for some 
 weeks absent from Roger's camp. 
 Roger had sent him early in the 
 summer to find Governor Rutledge, who was 
 on the borders of North Carolina, planning 
 ceaselessly night and day for stirring up as 
 much of resistance as possible in the state over 
 which he was dictator. Roger desired to re 
 ceive whatever of suggestion Governor Rut- 
 ledge might feel inclined to give him with re 
 gard to the conduct of his own little war in the 
 swamp country. He desired also to learn what 
 plans others were to carry out and in what 
 ways he could best co-operate. In the mean 
 time, Roger had continued his forays for 
 fifty miles or more round about his swamp 
 headquarters, meeting Jacqueline often, receiv 
 ing news from her upon which he based his 
 activities, and carrying out even more fully 
 than she had intended, her plan of arming Al 
 ton House. 
 
 326
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 The young lady had been many times stopped 
 and questioned by officers of Tarleton's legion, 
 out on foray duty, and still more frequently had 
 she been warned by tories of her own neighbor 
 hood that her movements were watched, and 
 that unless she ceased what they believed to be 
 her activity in the patriot cause, she was likely 
 to get herself into serious trouble. She par 
 ried all questions by frivolous answers. She 
 assumed the lightheartedness and lightheaded- 
 ness of a chattering young girl who has never 
 had a serious thought in her mind, and to a 
 considerable degree she managed in this way 
 to disarm suspicion. She said to Roger once 
 when she met him by appointment : 
 
 " You cannot imagine, Roger, what a silly 
 little chatterbox you have for a sister. Oh, 
 I have cultivated all the art of it. I have 
 studied up speeches out of my novels. I have 
 them pat and ready for use whenever anybody 
 questions me." 
 
 Nevertheless, Mistress Jacqueline Alton was 
 under serious suspicion, and this suspicion sud 
 denly began to manifest itself in new and rather 
 startling ways. For Tiger Bill, to whom hatred 
 was the one inspiring motive of action, had 
 by this time become a notorious loyalist. He 
 had scattered his money right and left as freely 
 
 3 2 7
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 almost as his cynicisms, and both had been em 
 ployed to discredit the patriot cause and to in 
 duce his neighbors of every degree but par 
 ticularly the lower degrees to take active 
 part in tory warfare. It was believed by those 
 who knew him best that Tiger Bill heartily 
 hated all mankind, but his special hatred was 
 against his reputable and patriotic neighbors, 
 and particularly against those of Alton House. 
 Had not Geoffrey Alton been his enemy 
 through life? Had not Roger Alton been the 
 bearer of young Barnegal's challenge to him? 
 Had he not been a witness of his humiliation 
 and horsewhipping at the hands of his nephew ? 
 Could there be a sweeter revenge to Tiger Bill 
 than that of persecuting these, his special ene 
 mies? 
 
 In this mood of mind, Tiger Bill had suc 
 ceeded at great expense to himself in setting on 
 foot a tory band whose duty it was to persecute 
 those against whom he cherished the bitterest 
 personal malice. He was shrewd enough to 
 discover the part that Jacqueline was playing, 
 and it seemed to him to offer an opportunity for 
 a most satisfactory revenge. If he could get 
 this young woman into limbo, and perhaps even 
 get her hanged as a spy, or failing that, incar 
 cerated in company with the lowest criminals 
 
 328
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 in some jail, he felt that his malice would be 
 gratified beyond anything that he had ever 
 known. 
 
 Jacqueline reported the situation to her 
 brother by letter and in person as fully as she 
 might. She desired not unduly to alarm him, 
 but it was necessary to explain to him the ex 
 traordinary precautions that she must now take 
 in communicating with him. Roger, with that 
 bluff determination which was his chief char 
 acteristic, made eager inquiry as to the band 
 organized under Tiger Bill's inspiration. " I 
 will find it," he said, " and crush it; and failing 
 that, I will go and hang Tiger Bill himself to 
 the biggest tree on his plantation. He is too 
 great a coward I suppose to take the field him 
 self. He is the sneak that sets the others on. 
 Perhaps the best way to discourage the activi 
 ties of his tories would be to hang him and thus 
 deprive them of his inspiration, and of the 
 devilish ingenuity of his suggestions. I will 
 do it, Jack." 
 
 " But you cannot, brother," she answered. 
 " He is not to be found. He has taken pains 
 as I have ascertained, to absent himself from his 
 plantation, and to hide himself securely against 
 possible vengeance." 
 
 " Still, I may be able to find him," said 
 
 3 2 9
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger. " I will try anyhow. Barnegal re 
 turned this afternoon. I will leave him in 
 charge of my party and go myself on a recon 
 naissance. While I am gone you may com 
 municate with Barnegal by the same means 
 that you use in sending messages to me. I 
 have explained the system to him, and he knows 
 it perfectly. In the event of any need, call up 
 on him. I think you know him well enough 
 to know how gladly he will respond, especially 
 if the need happens to be to protect you, my 
 sister, from danger." 
 
 So the two parted, and before morning Roger 
 was twenty-five miles away in search of in 
 formation as to Tiger Bill's whereabouts. He 
 had one piece of information at this time which 
 was of unusual value to him. He knew all 
 the men in the region round about who were 
 tories by profession, for one reason or another, 
 but were patriots at heart. He could go to 
 them and secure information which no avowed 
 patriot could give him. It was his mission 
 now to find out from them, and especially from 
 those of them who were members in name at 
 least of Tiger Bill's company, where that 
 gentleman might 'be hiding. 
 
 But while Roger was riding away in one di 
 rection, a squad of Tiger Bill's men was wait- 
 
 330
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ing for Jacqueline in another. That young 
 woman had ridden less than half an hour after 
 parting with her brother, before she was sud 
 denly halted and surrounded in the middle of 
 a road by thirty or forty as desperate fellows 
 as were ever engaged in an evil enterprise. 
 She was seized violently, a gag was thrust into 
 her mouth, her arms were pinioned, and her 
 feet tied together. She had no time even to 
 cry out. If she had cried there would have 
 been none to hear. 
 
 But as the party rode away with her, a lurk 
 ing figure rose from the underbrush near by, 
 darted quickly across the road and into the 
 swamp. For five miles he ran, scarring him 
 self in contact with cypress knees, tearing his 
 clothes from his person and his skin from his 
 flesh among the brambles, knocking himself 
 prostrate a dozen times in the darkness by con 
 tact with the tree branches and overhanging 
 vines which make those swamps so nearly im 
 penetrable. He swam across streams and 
 pushed through mires that a prudent man 
 would hardly attempt in the brightest daylight. 
 Obviously he knew the shortest way and he 
 took it. 
 
 In half an hour Marlborough for it was he 
 broke through the bushes and into Roger's 
 
 33 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 camp, bleeding, torn, disheveled and desperate 
 ly excited. Finding that Roger was no longer 
 there, he quickly communicated the facts to 
 young Barnegal. Unfortunately, the band 
 was, at that time, depleted in numbers only 
 six or seven men remaining, but with this 
 meager force, Barnegal set out at once in pur 
 suit. They soon discovered that Jacqueline's 
 captors were riding southward meaning appar 
 ently to pass by Pocotaglio, Coosawhatchie 
 and Grahamville and on through the swamp 
 country to and across the Savannah River. 
 
 Barnegal gave the hottest possible pursuit, 
 and about daylight overtook the enemy north 
 of the Combabee River. He gave battle at 
 once, but his efforts were futile. Every man 
 in the company except Barnegal himself and 
 the negro Marlborough fell from his saddle 
 with a bullet through his body, and only the 
 speediest possible retreat saved Barnegal and 
 Marlborough from capture in their turn. 
 Both of them would have stood there until 
 death released them from their duty, had there 
 been a chance in that way to rescue the young 
 woman. Seeing that there was none, it was 
 for her sake, not for their own, that they with 
 drew. 
 
 Fortunately Roger Alton had given Barne- 
 
 33 2
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 gal as accurate information as he could of his 
 own intended movements, and the first thing 
 now to do was to find him if possible, and at 
 any rate to gather together a force sufficient 
 to resume the pursuit. The white man and the 
 negro were equally in earnest. They rode with 
 discretion, the negro fortunately being able to 
 save some miles now and then by reason of his 
 knowledge of short cuts. As they were push 
 ing through a body of dense undergrowth a 
 man, who had been sleeping there suddenly 
 sprang up and recognized them. 
 
 It was Humphreys. It took them less than 
 a minute to tell him of what had happened, and 
 he was ready instantly with a plan. 
 
 " I know where Roger Alton is," he said. 
 " He is not half a mile away from this place. I 
 will give Marlborough directions how to find 
 him. Go to him, Marlborough, and bring him 
 here as quickly as possible." With that he 
 furnished the negro with all necessary informa 
 tion, and it seemed scarcely five minutes before 
 the young commander rode up mounted upon 
 his spare horse, Mad Bess, and almost crazed 
 with horror at the news that had been brought 
 to him. 
 
 Humphreys remained cool, as he always did. 
 " Calm your excitement, Captain Alton," he 
 
 333
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 said. " We will rescue your sister this side of 
 the Savannah River. I will answer for that. 
 Come with me." Then mounting his own 
 horse, which had been picketed in the under 
 brush, he led the way out of the swamp into a 
 public road. " We must follow this road," he 
 said, " a little way. Captain Alton, this is a 
 desperate case, and we must use desperate 
 means, if you don't mind." 
 
 " Mind, man ! " said Roger. " I will resort 
 to battle, murder, or sudden death, anything, 
 everything to rescue my sister." 
 
 " Very well," said Humphreys, " I am going 
 to lead you into very bad company. I am go 
 ing to employ in this enterprise means which 
 ordinarily you would scorn, men for whom 
 you cannot possibly have the smallest respect. 
 In doing so I am going to reveal myself to you 
 in a way which I had hoped might never be 
 necessary. You say you don't mind what 
 means I employ or what agents ? " 
 
 " No, no, no ! " answered Roger. " To 
 rescue Jacqueline I would join forces with 
 Satan himself, and make comrades and inti 
 mates of the most disreputable devils in hell." 
 
 " So would I " said Barnegal. " Come 
 on." 
 
 " Be quick, man," said Roger impatiently. 
 
 334
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I will be quick," said Humphreys. " Come 
 with me." And again they turned into the 
 swamp. Presently they came upon a little 
 glade where there were a dozen or twenty 
 ponies grazing about. " We must leave our 
 horses here," said Humphreys, " and ride these 
 marsh tackeys instead. We have some swamp 
 work to do where our horses would leave us in 
 the mire. As quickly as possible transfer your 
 saddles to the best of the tackeys." 
 
 The marsh-tackey played a large part in the 
 partisan war of the Revolution. He exists 
 only in the Carolina swamps. He is the de 
 scendant of thoroughbred horses that were 
 turned loose or escaped wellnigh a hundred 
 years before the Revolution, and bred wild in 
 the swamp land, picking up a precarious sub 
 sistence from such grass and soft cane tops as 
 they could find. The marsh-tackey is at home 
 in the swamps. He knows his way across 
 mires as no other horse ever did in the world. 
 He has a trick not only of recognizing a mire 
 where a less expert intelligence would fail to 
 see it, but of crossing it without miring. When 
 he comes to such a spot he suddenly changes 
 his gait, reducing his steps to six inches or so 
 in length and keeping no foot upon the ground 
 for more than a fraction of a second. In that 
 
 335
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 way he avoids sinking, and small as he is for 
 the largest of the tackeys are only ponies he 
 can carry the heaviest weight with ease, live 
 upon nearly nothing, and endure the longest 
 journey apparently without fatigue. 
 
 These tackeys, running wild in the swamps 
 are anybody's property who chooses to capture 
 and subdue them. The work of subduing 
 them is a difficult one, requiring all the skill 
 and determination of the most daring horse 
 man, but once subdued, the tackey is a servitor 
 whose faithfulness can be relied upon in all 
 emergencies, and whose endurance, as has been 
 indicated, is almost incredible. 
 
 Roger quite understood what Humphreys 
 meant when he proposed the exchange from 
 stout horses to the lean little marsh-tackeys. 
 Five minutes later the four men were threading 
 their way through swamp lands which only 
 the guidance of Humphreys, and the peculiar 
 gifts of the little animals they rode, could have 
 made passable or possible. Within an hour 
 they came upon a sentry a long, lean, grizzled 
 and desperate looking fellow who called to them 
 to halt. Humphreys said a word to him and 
 he withdrew his gun from his shoulder. 
 
 " How many men are there," Humphreys 
 asked. 
 
 33 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " Twenty or twenty-one in all," answered 
 the man. 
 
 " Very well," said Humphreys. " That is 
 quite enough." Then, turning to Roger he 
 said again : " Don't object now to the agents 
 I am going to employ in this business. They 
 are desperate men, outlaws, criminals, if you 
 please. They obey no man on earth but me. 
 Murder to them is a pastime. They fear no 
 God, no law,, no enemy. They will follow me 
 without question into any danger, and their 
 fighting I think will satisfy even your ideas of 
 what brave men may do. There is a price up 
 on the head of every one of them, but for that 
 matter, there is a price on your head and upon 
 mine also. We too in the eyes of the British 
 are criminals and outlaws. Let us not be too 
 choice of our companionships in a case of des 
 perate need like this." 
 
 He gave Roger no opportunity to reply be 
 yond a word or two ejaculated to signify his 
 readiness to employ any means available for the 
 present purpose. 
 
 337
 
 XXVII 
 
 "TARLETON'S QUARTER" 
 
 this time, South Carolina had become 
 a hornet's nest. All through the long 
 summer after the surrender of Charles 
 Town, the British had been quite unintention 
 ally nursing the patriotic sentiment of the peo 
 ple. They had everywhere disregarded the 
 terms of surrender which they themselves had 
 prescribed for Charles Town. They had every 
 where ruthlessly violated their part of that com 
 pact. They had wantonly seized upon citizens 
 to whom they had pledged safety and protec 
 tion under parole, had torn them away from 
 their homes and their families, and sent them 
 to prison in St. Augustine and elsewhere, de 
 nying them not only news of what was hap 
 pening at their homes, but even the privilege of 
 meeting together on Sundays to hold religious 
 services. They had thrown Henry Laurens 
 into the Tower of London without even the 
 accusation of anything worse than desiring 
 
 338
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 peace and reconciliation between the tories and 
 the patriots within the Colonies. They had 
 not yet hanged Colonel Hayne as they did a 
 year later, but they had in hundreds of other 
 cases disregarded the terms made by them 
 selves with surrendered prisoners and patriots, 
 and had thrown men to whom they had 
 pledged protection and safety in their homes 
 into prison. Tarleton had begun that system 
 of savage warfare the history of which has 
 made his name peculiarly infamous in history. 
 It was his custom to violate flags of truce, to 
 butcher men who had surrendered and thrown 
 down their arms, to waylay peaceful citizens, 
 and to make the war as brutal, as inhuman, and 
 as bloodthirsty in its savagery as any that the 
 Red Indian ever conceived. 
 
 In brief, the British had taught the Caro 
 linians that there was no safety for them except 
 that which they could secure by their own 
 strong right arms. They had taught them that 
 pledges and promises were of no avail; that 
 mercy was nowhere to be found ; that the war 
 fare of the patriots was held to be a lawless and 
 criminal resistance to constituted authority; 
 that belligerent rights were never to be ac 
 corded to them ; that peace for them lay only in 
 abject submission or in the grave. 
 
 339
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 With brave men, conditions such as these 
 could have but one outcome. They took their 
 scythes and their ploughshares to the black 
 smith shops to be beaten into swords and pike- 
 heads. They arose in revolt everywhere, and 
 made ceaseless though irregular war. Bands 
 like that which Roger Alton had raised multi 
 plied throughout the state. In every neighbor 
 hood there was such a force held together by 
 the bond of a common patriotism, and a com 
 mon danger, striking wherever a blow was pos 
 sible, and dispersing when resistance seemed 
 impracticable, but dispersing only to assemble 
 again the moment that opportunity came. 
 
 Under such circumstances, it was natural 
 that news of Jacqueline's capture should spread 
 like wildfire through the country, and that pur 
 suit in the hope of rescue should be extended 
 throughout the region concerned. A dozen lit 
 tle bands set out from a dozen different quar 
 ters to overtake and, if possible, to overcome 
 the force that had her in charge. Roger Al 
 ton and Barnegal knew of course that this 
 would be done, but they were not disposed to 
 trust anything to chance, or leave any effort un 
 made on their own account. The danger was 
 that these efforts at rescue would come too late 
 that the girl would be carried within the 
 
 34
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 strongly entrenched British lines at Savannah 
 before her rescue could be accomplished. 
 
 It required but a glance on their part to dis 
 cover the nature of the camp into which 
 Humphreys had led them. It was a camp of 
 smugglers; men who had for years been en 
 gaged in violating the revenue laws imposed 
 by the British. 
 
 They were a grizzly, greasy, unkempt lot of 
 desperadoes, but they thronged about their 
 leader with the loyalty of men who had learned 
 to know the value of leadership, and whose 
 respect for his authority had been strongly 
 stimulated upon many occasions by his manifest 
 readiness to shoot down any who might refuse 
 instant and entire obedience. The moment 
 Humphreys came among these his followers, his 
 manner underwent a marked change. He was 
 no longer the modest, shy, shrinking creature 
 that he had so often shown himself to be in his 
 intercourse with Roger Alton, but a chieftain 
 who gave orders that must be obeyed instantly 
 and without questioning. 
 
 " How many boats have you ? " he asked. 
 
 " Plenty of them, sir," replied one of the 
 men. " How many do you want? " 
 
 " Three will do. Arm them immediately, 
 and put six men into a boat. I will go in one, 
 
 341
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Captain Alton in another, and Lieutenant 
 Barnegal in the third. Send your other three 
 men to me quick." 
 
 When the three men appeared and doffed 
 their caps he said to them : " Mount the 
 freshest tackeys you have and ride at once 
 to Pocotaglio. Three of you can make a fight 
 there on the causeway across the marsh as long 
 as need be. If this gang attempts to cross 
 there, hold them in check until we come. 
 We'll come up from Coosawhatchie. Go quick, 
 and do as I tell you. I hold you respon 
 sible." Then turning to Roger he said : " I 
 do not think they will cross at Pocotaglio, but 
 by chance they may. They will probably go 
 higher up country and pass that way to 
 Coosawhatchie, six miles below. There at any 
 rate they must cross the river, and we will be 
 there to meet them. Into the boats, men, into 
 the boats quick ! " 
 
 His orders were delivered like pistol shots, 
 and obeyed without a question. As the men 
 dropped into the boats, Humphreys turned to 
 Roger and said : 
 
 " With your permission I will take my boat 
 first. One thing you can depend upon. My 
 men will stand until the last man of them dies. 
 Have no fear of that. If I find the enemy al- 
 
 342
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ready at the river I will engage him. You and 
 Mr. Barnegal must look out for the young lady. 
 Cut her out as quickly as possible and take her 
 to the rear. Then join us, for we shall be 
 greatly more than overmatched." 
 
 There was not much of military dignity in 
 this plan, but Roger saw instantly that it was a 
 good one. There was danger that upon the 
 first assault Jacqueline might be put to death or 
 carried away by some of her captors. The 
 party in charge of her outnumbered Humph- 
 reys's force quite two to one or more. The 
 rescue must come early in the action, if it was 
 to come at all. 
 
 The oars were already muffled carefully. 
 That seemed to be their habitual condition, for 
 Humphreys gave no order and made no inquiry 
 with regard to it. Obviously these men were 
 accustomed to keep their own counsel. They 
 bent to the oars with a will, and just at night 
 fall reached the rude bridge at Coosawhatchie. 
 Fortunately they were ahead of the enemy, as 
 they learned from one of the three who had 
 been sent to Pocotaglio, and who had galloped 
 thence to Coosawhatchie to report what had 
 there been learned with regard to the enemy's 
 advance. This simplified matters considerably. 
 It was certain now that Jacqueline's captors 
 
 343
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 were seeking to cross the Coosawhatchie River 
 during the night. Humphreys decided that it 
 was better to let them do so, than to meet them 
 on the bridge. Sending his boats back down 
 the river for half a mile, and hiding them there 
 securely, he brought his little force up and sta 
 tioned them according to his notion of what the 
 need might be. He threw Roger Alton with 
 six men across the stream to the north and 
 placed him there in a thicket. 
 
 " When the enemy attempt to cross," he 
 said, " I will engage them on the south side. 
 I will place Mr. Barnegal near the head of the 
 bridge while with my other men I will hold a 
 position two or three hundred yards south of 
 the bridge. Lieutenant Barnegal will remain 
 concealed until the enemy passes. When I en 
 gage them he will watch his opportunity and 
 fall upon their flank. You in the meantime 
 must rescue the young lady before she reaches 
 the bridge. I take it for granted that she will 
 be kept in the middle or rear of the cavalcade. 
 At any rate, bearing in mind that her rescue is 
 the main object to be accomplished, I leave you 
 to see to that in the best way you can, not caring 
 a hang how many of our lives it may cost. If 
 you need our assistance you will find us with 
 you promptly." 
 
 344
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger was astounded at the extraordinary 
 quietude with which these men seemed able to 
 break through brush or to move about in any 
 way that they pleased. Scarcely the red In 
 dian himself was more skilful than they in 
 maintaining silence while accomplishing their 
 purposes. 
 
 An hour passed after these dispositions were 
 made, and still no sign came of the approaching 
 enemy. To Roger and to Barnegal the min 
 utes seemed hours and the hours days. But 
 at last the roistering crew, who had secured 
 liquor on the road, and whose enthusiasm in 
 their evil work had been stimulated by deep 
 potations, came riding down the road, wholly 
 unsuspicious of the existence of any enemy in 
 front. They had apparently little fear of as 
 sault from that quarter. Yet they acted with 
 some caution. 
 
 The head of the column rode upon the bridge 
 and crossed it. The centre remained awhile, 
 apparently to let those in advance of themselves 
 discover what might be ahead. A rear guard 
 of ten men rode a quarter of a mile in the rear 
 while Jacqueline, surrounded by as many more, 
 rode upon a led horse in the middle. The 
 squad guarding her was the one that paused 
 before attempting to cross the bridge. 
 
 345
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger's first impulse upon seeing her was to 
 dash at once into the party with the six men 
 under his command and try conclusions then 
 and there, but he had learned enough in his 
 warlike experience to know the importance of 
 carrying out plans as nearly as possible as they 
 were laid, so he waited until he heard the rat 
 tle of Humphreys's rifles in front, and the re 
 sponse of the men he was attacking. Then he 
 made his own dash, and fortunately, young 
 Barnegal proved less patient and less obedient 
 to orders than he. Instead of falling upon the 
 flank of the men in front, as had been intended, 
 he left them to be dealt with by Humphreys, 
 and himself led his party across the bridge to 
 aid Roger in the rescue. 
 
 It was the work of a very few minutes to 
 snatch Jacqueline from the hands of her sur 
 prised and bewildered captors, to cut her bonds, 
 and bid her ride away into the cane and there 
 await events. That done, Roger and Barnegal 
 dashed across the bridge but in doing so re 
 ceived a heavy fire from the rear. The rear 
 guard had obviously come up. 
 
 Meantime, Humphreys was still struggling 
 with the men in front, outnumbered but bat 
 tling gallantly. Knowing that Jacqueline was 
 safe for the moment at least, Roger and Barne- 
 
 346
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 gal disregarded the foe in the rear, and pushed 
 on to assail the force in front. In a minute it 
 was crushed between them and Humphreys's 
 force, and its men threw down their arms. 
 Then Roger turned and led his men and Barne- 
 gal's back to the assault upon the now present 
 rear guard. To his surprise, Humphreys, 
 with four men all that he had left of the six 
 with whom he had struck the first blow 
 came up and joined in the melee. Even in that 
 moment of excitement, young Alton's curiosity 
 got the better of him. 
 
 " What have you done with your prison 
 ers ? " he asked. 
 
 " There are none," answered Humphreys. 
 " These fellows don't take prisoners." 
 
 And to his horror, Roger discovered that 
 such was the truth. The men who had thrown 
 down their arms had been quickly despatched, 
 in order that their captors might be free to con 
 tinue the fight upon their comrades, and when 
 these in turn offered surrender, one of the 
 smuggler men called out : " We will give you 
 Tarleton's quarter ! " What that meant a 
 road strewn with dead men quickly revealed. 
 
 " This is horrible," said Roger to Barnegal, 
 as Jacqueline emerged at their call from the 
 cane. 
 
 347
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I do not know," said Barnegal. " For my 
 self, I am savage enough to-night to rejoice in 
 it, and besides, it is a trick that the British 
 themselves have taught us. Those fellows did 
 not cry ' No quarter,' you remember. Their 
 cry was ' Tarleton's quarter.' It is a cry that 
 is going up all over this land. It is the cry of 
 desperate men forced into savagery by sav 
 agery. It is the recoil of an explosion. It is 
 the unbending of an overstrained bow. Let's 
 not be too sensitive about it. Jacqueline at 
 least is safe." 
 
 " But where is Humphreys? " 
 
 In the thick darkness nobody could see, and 
 a shout or two brought no response. Roger, 
 turning to that man among the smugglers who 
 had seemed to be Humphreys's most trusted 
 lieutenant, asked: " Where is your captain? " 
 
 " The last I saw of him, sir, was in the road 
 behind there in the middle of the fight. I will 
 go and look." 
 
 He went. And a few minutes later Humph 
 reys, shot through the body in half a dozen 
 places, was found lying in the sand which his 
 blood had drenched into a quagmire. 
 
 There was a little blacksmith's shop near. 
 Standing before it was a light wagon. Into 
 this Roger bid the men lift their chieftain, 
 
 348
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and, attaching four of the tackeys to it said: 
 " I will take the poor fellow to Alton House 
 Come, men, you will go with me as a body 
 guard." 
 
 " It is not necessary, Cap'n," said the one 
 whom he had recognized as lieutenant. " The 
 cap'n seems to be done for, and anyhow, he will 
 be well guarded in your hands. It is not our 
 way to go into the settled country. We will 
 go back to our camp. If you need us at any 
 time, you can find the way there, I suppose ; " 
 and with that, the scant remainder of Humph 
 reys' s forces, leaving their dead comrades on 
 the field, returned to their boats and were seen 
 no more. 
 
 Roger was unwilling to leave the spot 
 until he had ascertained that there were no 
 wounded men of the tories for they were 
 tories and not British to be cared for. But 
 he found not one. Humphreys' men were not 
 accustomed, apparently, to be satisfied with 
 wounding men. Their idea of battle was to 
 kill. 
 
 Roger's next care was to look after Humph- 
 reys's wounds. Procuring an axe from the lit 
 tle blacksmith's shop, he quickly blocked out of 
 one of the great pine trees growing there, some 
 large chips of that resinous wood which ignites 
 
 349
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 at the touch of fire and blazes like a blast fur 
 nace. Splitting this into bits, he brought out 
 his tinder box and quickly had a torch that en 
 abled him to see almost as by daylight. 
 
 He handed this to Marlborough, bidding him 
 mount into the wagon and hold it there while 
 he should inspect the poor fellow's hurts. 
 Marlborough, who was usually as nimble as a 
 cat, made several futile attempts to mount in 
 to the wagon, and finally fell prostrate into the 
 sand. Going to him, Roger discovered that 
 his faithful follower had received a severe hurt 
 in the action. He had in fact been cut down 
 by a sabre stroke which had partly scalped the 
 side of his head, and laid open his shoulder. 
 Uncomplainingly he had sought to conceal his 
 own wounds and to go on with the duty that 
 he loved in the care of his Mis' Jacqueline. 
 But weakness from loss of blood and from 
 shock had been at last too much for him, so that 
 now he lay there helpless. 
 
 Lifting him into the wagon, Roger and 
 Jacqueline, with Barnegal's assistance, did what 
 they could toward dressing the wounds of both 
 men. Marlborough was only faint, but 
 Humphreys had completely lost consciousness, 
 though so far as they could discover, the bul 
 lets that had passed through him had struck 
 
 35
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 no immediately vital part. This at least was 
 their hope. 
 
 The journey to Alton House was a long one, 
 but fortunately the roads of that country are 
 well adapted to the easy transportation of the 
 wounded in a wagon. There is no stone there 
 not even a pebble and the sand which con 
 stitutes the roads is soft and yielding enough to 
 render springs unnecessary even in an ambu 
 lance. Nor are there any hills to be climbed 
 or descended. And so, slowly, and as gently 
 as if in a barge, the two wounded men were 
 carried to Alton House, arriving there at dusk 
 of the next day. 
 
 When the morning dawned on the day after 
 that journey, Jacqueline, who was still at 
 tending Humphreys, turned to Roger and 
 said : 
 
 " Roger, this is the man who gave me the 
 money chest." 
 
 Roger responding said, " This is the man 
 who sailed with me from the Bahamas. I 
 have promised him never to mention the fact 
 to a human being, but to you I feel that I may 
 tell it now, in view of what he has done for us. 
 But keep the secret well, my dear, for his sake. 
 Until yesterday I did not know why he wished 
 me to remain silent on that subject. I know 
 
 35 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 now, but it can do no harm for you at least to 
 know that this is not the first time in which 
 I have been under obligations to his courage, 
 his daring, and his skill." 
 
 352
 
 XXVIII 
 
 HUMPHREYS'S story 
 
 T" TTON their arrival at Alton House, 
 / / Humphreys was put immediately to 
 V_>^ bed and a surgeon was sent for. He 
 shook his head before he had examined half the 
 wounds, and said: 
 
 " Poor fellow ! There is no hope. He may 
 become conscious to-night or to-morrow. I 
 would advise that, if he does so, some one ques 
 tion him as to any matters he may wish to ar 
 range before death, for that he will die of these 
 wounds is as certain as science itself." 
 
 Marlborough was found to be in much bet 
 ter case, and after dressing his wounds, the 
 doctor predicted that, with his superb physical 
 health and strength he would be on his feet 
 again within a day or two and quite well with 
 in a month. " But it was a narrow escape," 
 he said. " If that sabre had struck one-quar 
 ter of an inch farther to the left, his head would 
 have been split open like a watermelon." 
 
 353
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Roger watched all night by the bedside of 
 Humphreys, while Jacqueline attended poor 
 Marlborough, whom she had insisted upon 
 placing in her own bed upstairs. 
 
 The next day Humphreys's consciousness 
 returned as the physician had predicted that it 
 would, and Roger said to him : 
 
 " I am afraid you are very badly hurt, old 
 comrade, and I want to know, in case anything 
 should happen, if there is anything I can do for 
 you." 
 
 Humphreys looked at him for a moment out 
 of his resolute gray eyes and said, in a feeble 
 voice but without emotion or whimper: 
 
 " Of course I understand. There is no hope 
 for me. I am done for. And do you know, 
 I am rather glad of it. I have lived for years 
 hoping for a chance to make atonement. My 
 time of atonement has come. I had hoped 
 never again to associate myself with the des 
 peradoes who were our comrades in that fight. 
 I had hoped to begin a new life. I want to tell 
 you all about that, but I cannot tell it twice, 
 and I must tell it also to your father. Would 
 you mind sending for him, and in the mean 
 time, please give me a drink of brandy." 
 
 The brandy was furnished and Colonel Al 
 ton summoned. He was now so feeble from 
 
 354
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the effects of his wounds and his maladies that 
 he had on this occasion to be carried down 
 the stairs, across the hall and into the room of 
 his wounded guest. The moment he entered 
 and looked at Humphreys, there was recogni 
 tion in the faces of both. 
 
 "I see that you know me, Colonel Alton," 
 said Humphreys. 
 
 " My dear friend," said Colonel Alton, " I 
 do know you, and for what you have done for 
 me and mine I have come to thank you with 
 all the strength and sincerity that I can com 
 mand. Do not let us talk now. It will only 
 increase your suffering, and perhaps your 
 danger." 
 
 " I do not mind the suffering, and, as to the 
 danger, that cannot be increased. The hour 
 of my death has been appointed. It is very 
 near at hand. It makes little difference 
 whether I hasten it by an hour or two or not. 
 There are some things I must say before I die." 
 Then he added : " I would like to have your 
 daughter Jacqueline present. She too ought 
 to know the facts in this case. It will pain her 
 to know, but it is due to her that she should 
 know." 
 
 Accordingly, Jacqueline was summoned, for 
 it was clear that to resist the wish of the dying 
 
 355
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 man would only add to his agony. When all 
 were gathered together he said : 
 
 " Let me tell my story in my own way. It 
 is a story greatly to my shame, and yet I cannot 
 help thinking, as I stare death in the face, that 
 perhaps, perhaps well, never mind. It is for 
 you to judge me, not for me to be judge in my 
 own case. Much of the story you know, 
 Colonel Alton, but not all of it. Let me tell 
 the whole of it, and pardon me if I weary you 
 by recounting things that you already know. 
 My name is William Vargave." 
 
 At this both Jacqueline and Roger started. 
 
 " Yes, I knew," the wounded man continued, 
 " I knew that you would be shocked at hear 
 ing this, but I cannot help it. My name is 
 William Vargave. I was born to as honorable 
 a house as any in the Carolinas. I was reared 
 in all the pride and glory of our aristocracy, an 
 aristocracy founded not so much upon birth as 
 upon honorable achievement. My father, 
 Colonel Alton, served with your father in the 
 early Indian wars, before either you or I was 
 old enough to carry a gun. When our time 
 came, you and I served together in like manner 
 against the Cherokees. You were cruelly 
 wounded ; I escaped unhurt ; but we were com 
 rades then,, and you did not forget it. 
 
 35 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Throughout all my young manhood you were 
 the friend held most closely to my heart, and 
 you were always the most generous and help 
 ful of friends. I was cursed with a tempera 
 ment that you sought to correct. I was 
 cursed with a disposition to overweening con 
 fidence in myself, in fortune, and in the future. 
 I was a day-dreamer, an optimist, an enthusi 
 ast, call it what you will. I was always plan 
 ning great enterprises, and always failing in 
 them. My failures taught me nothing. You, 
 though you tried, could teach me no more than 
 they did. 
 
 " At last came the time when I dreamed a 
 dream of fortune such as no man from Croesus 
 down had ever dreamed before. I wrought 
 out its details in my mind, with such care that 
 I believed in it from the bottom of my soul. I 
 could see no chance or risk of failure in it. On 
 the contrary, it seemed to me that failure was 
 as utterly impossible as a failure of the sun to 
 rise in the morning. I invested in this scheme 
 every dollar that I could raise. I mortgaged 
 all my possessions to the utmost limit. I sold 
 everything I had that was susceptible of sale. 
 I still lacked a thousand pounds of enough to 
 make the enterprise a success. I went to you 
 and asked to borrow that money. You bade 
 
 357
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 me halt. You told me that my scheme was 
 visionary. You showed me if I had had the 
 sense to see that only failure and disaster 
 could come of it. You said to me : ' After 
 you have gone into this matter and failed, 
 when you have come out of it impoverished and 
 in need of money, come to me, and you shall 
 have it in whatever abundance I may be able 
 to supply, but I cannot and will not help you 
 into an enterprise of this kind by lending you 
 money to be invested in it.' That in substance 
 is what you said to me. You were wise. But 
 I was a fool. I was so sure, so certain, as I 
 thought, of a success that would startle this 
 continent, that I made up my mind to seize 
 upon the assistance that you refused to give 
 me I forged your endorsement upon a note 
 that I thought I knew I should be able to meet 
 and take up long before maturity. 
 
 " I see now as I saw long ago, how criminal 
 it was, but I did not see it when the thing was 
 done. I honestly believed that no possible 
 harm could come to you or anybody else from 
 my act. Had I believed that there was even 
 the remotest chance of my failure to discharge 
 that note before' its maturity, I would have 
 burned off my right hand in the fire rather than 
 write your name upon the back of that note. 
 
 358
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 I hope you believe me in this. I am a dying 
 man, telling only the truth." 
 
 Colonel Alton was sobbing, and for a time 
 he could not respond. Presently he said : 
 
 (< I do believe you, my dear friend, and I 
 have known from the first all that you now tell 
 me. I have understood you as you did not 
 understand yourself. But why bring up all 
 these things now ? " 
 
 " I must, I must, I must," said the dying 
 man. " I cannot go to my grave until I have 
 made full confession, as I have tried to make 
 full atonement. When I found that my crime 
 must be revealed, when I found that my friend 
 must be a sufferer at my hands, or must choose 
 between that and becoming the exposer of my 
 guilt, I fled. But I fled not as a coward flees; 
 I fled not to escape punishment that I would 
 willingly have taken upon myself and endured 
 as an atonement. I fled only to gain oppor 
 tunity in order that I might at least repair to 
 you the harm I had done to you. 
 
 " In my youth I had been a sailor. I had al 
 ways been interested in shipping ventures. I 
 had often gone to sea to learn something of 
 navigation, as you know. So I decided that 
 the only place where I might earn the money 
 that I owed you was at sea. 
 
 359
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " I went first to William Barnegal and laid 
 my case before him. I thought he might help 
 me, but he refused. In our boyhood he and I 
 had been comrades as you and I had, and I 
 thought that he still bore me some affection. I 
 told him the truth and I learned then how 
 soured and cynical he had become. He softened 
 nothing in his dealing with me. He taunted me 
 with the fact that I was a forger, and expressed 
 wonder that, with the consciousness of such a 
 crime on my mind, I should venture upon his 
 premises. He then went so far as to say to 
 me : 'If you could give me any proper se 
 curity, I might lend you money at interest for 
 the sake of the interest, but as I understand 
 you, you are a beggar as well as a criminal ; ' 
 and with that he bowed me out. 
 
 " I went next to my father-in-law. He was 
 a man, as you know, of imperious temper and 
 almost an exaggerated sense of honor if it is 
 possible to exaggerate that sentiment. He too 
 repulsed me, and bade me take myself out of 
 Carolina, saying : ' When you married my 
 daughter, it was without my consent. I see 
 now the wisdom that prompted me to withhold 
 such consent. Go anywhere out of the world 
 that I live in. As for your wife and daugh 
 ter, well, at least I will see that they do not 
 
 360
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 starve. I cannot promise you more than 
 this/ 
 
 " On that night I sailed in a little sloop out 
 of the creek down there where my father-in- 
 law lived. A man was swept overboard in the 
 gale. The crew had been recently shipped, 
 and the men were not known by name to 
 their officers. I instantly conceived the plan of 
 taking that poor fellow's name, and leaving it 
 to be supposed that it was William Vargave 
 who had been cast overboard and drowned. 
 Under my new name of Thomas Humphreys, 
 I followed the sea year in and year out. The 
 work was slow and toilsome, and at last I des 
 paired of ever accomplishing my purpose by 
 such means. 
 
 " I had in the meantime studied the com 
 mercial situation very carefully. The British 
 trade laws were oppressive and unjust beyond 
 endurance. They were so unjust indeed that 
 even had I still held myself to be a gentleman, 
 and a man of honor, I should have had no 
 scruple whatever in violating them, as other 
 gentlemen in Carolina and at the north had no 
 scruple in sharing the proceeds of their viola 
 tion. I saw the opportunity that our peculiar 
 coast interlaced as it is with inlets, sloughs, 
 bayous, creeks, and little rivers offered for 
 
 361
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 traffic of this kind in violation of the revenue 
 laws. I found men engaged in this business 
 who lacked the brains to conduct it skilfully, 
 and who, for lack of brains, achieved nothing 
 except now and then a term in jail, or, in ex 
 treme cases, a gibbet. I made myself the lead 
 er of these men. I organized them and became 
 their chieftain. I could furnish them the 
 brains they lacked, and the lack of which they 
 themselves felt keenly. 
 
 " I made myself their master. Such men 
 always need and want a master. I ruled them 
 with a high hand. I taught them that my 
 commands whatever they might be were 
 commands to be obeyed instantly and without 
 question upon pain of instant death at my 
 hands. I established a rendezvous here on the 
 coast hidden away where there was not the 
 slightest danger of any revenue officer ever 
 finding it, and where it would have been great 
 ly the worse for the revenue officer who did 
 venture to find it. 
 
 " In that traffic, which was legitimate en 
 ough in its way, I accumulated money. I dealt 
 fairly and honestly with my men, making that 
 division of profits which we had agreed upon, 
 and which was just. 
 
 " It had been their habit to make little, if any, 
 
 362
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 discrimination between smuggling and piracy. 
 Many of them had sailed under the black flag, 
 and at times they went into revolt against my 
 authority, because I resolutely refused to en 
 gage in enterprises of that sort. I held them 
 down to smuggling. I forbade all forms of 
 robbery, and on the whole, I think my associa 
 tion with them was rather for the good of the 
 community than to its hurt. We robbed the 
 king of England of revenues to which he had 
 no right, but we robbed nobody else. We de 
 fied laws made to convert the people of these 
 Colonies into tributaries of a greedy gang of 
 London speculators, and in doing so as I lie 
 here upon my death bed I feel that we did right. 
 We were earlier than the rest of our country 
 men in revolting against British oppression. 
 Beyond that I do not see that we were guilty of 
 any crime. When the British law forbade 
 Americans to buy tea elsewhere than from 
 British warehouses, we bought it in Spain or 
 wherever else we could buy it cheapest, and 
 we brought it into the Colonies and sold it 
 openly here. When unjust British laws for 
 bade the Colonists to export their products 
 otherwise than through extortionate British 
 merchants, we undertook their exportation 
 without the extortion. We were rebels a lit- 
 
 3 6 3
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tie in advance of our countrymen, but not other 
 wise, I sincerely think, were we sinners above 
 them. 
 
 " Nevertheless, I personally was a criminal. 
 I was a forger. That crime still lies to my 
 charge. Do not interrupt me please," he said 
 seeing that Colonel Alton was about to pro 
 test. " I know what you would say. You 
 would say that I have sent you back the money 
 I unjustly took from you. That is true,, but, 
 as I said then I say now, the crime remains. 
 
 " During all these years " here the man 
 broke down from feebleness, and it was neces 
 sary to administer restoratives before he could 
 go on, but no persuasion could induce him to 
 relinquish his purpose of continuing his story 
 as soon as he had recovered strength enough to 
 speak. To all entreaties to postpone it he re 
 plied, " There is no future time for me. I must 
 do now whatever I am to do. I must say now 
 all that I have to say." When he felt a little 
 stronger he began again: 
 
 " During all these years I was mainly at sea, 
 or in foreign lands, but I kept myself informed 
 minutely of everything that concerned me in 
 Carolina. I learned that for some reason 
 which I have not yet fathomed, but which I 
 took to be a cowardly fear of vengeance, Tiger 
 
 3 6 4
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Bill Barnegal had never revealed what I had 
 told him of my crime. I learned how you, 
 Colonel Alton, heroically sacrificed yourself 
 and took up the burden which I had laid upon 
 you. I learned how you defied even the power 
 of a court to impoverish and imprison you, 
 rather than expose my crime and bring my 
 helpless and innocent family into disgrace. 
 How I have honored you for your heroism! 
 How I have loved you in their behalf, though 
 to them I am a dead man, as you know. 
 
 " When I saw Carolina threatened with the 
 invasion that is now upon us, I could no longer 
 resist the impulse that had been strong upon 
 me from the first to join with my countrymen, 
 and do battle for my native land. I came 
 back to America in company with your son, but 
 without his knowledge of anything concerning 
 me. I separated myself from him almost at 
 the moment of our landing. I begged him then 
 to keep secret the fact of our having been as 
 sociated even in that way. I did this for his 
 sake, and in order that no revelation of my 
 guilt, should it come as it easily might 
 should involve him even indirectly in my shame. 
 
 " Through your daughter I returned to you 
 the money of which I had robbed you, and 
 through her peril I have at last been enabled to 
 
 3 6 5
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 make some small atonement, perhaps, for the 
 wrong I did you. It is all that I can now do. 
 My hours are numbered, and they are not 
 many. I beg of you to write up to my credit 
 at least the desire to serve you and yours, and 
 I beg of you, in the name and for the sake of 
 my innocent wife and daughter, who have 
 mourned and still mourn me as a dead man, 
 that the secret you have kept for so many years 
 may be kept still." 
 
 With that the dying man ceased. Colonel 
 Alton, sobbing between his words said : 
 
 " It shall surely be as you wish, my friend. 
 To me there is no past this side of the days of 
 our youth, when you and I were friends. All 
 else is blotted utterly out of my mind and soul. 
 We are living in new times. We are estab 
 lishing new institutions. We are beginning a 
 new life. We are putting the past behind us. 
 In this republic there is no history back of the 
 republic's birth. Concerning the man whose 
 record in this struggle for liberty is good as 
 yours is, there is no ante-dating evil to be re 
 membered. Liberty looks forward, not back 
 ward ; up and not down. God Himself accepts 
 atonement as a blotting out of sin. Shall we 
 poor mortals be more relentless than the Ar 
 biter of the universe? I am beginning to see
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 things in a new light the new light of liberty. 
 Your secret, my friend, shall never be made 
 public. That part of your past which you re 
 gret has been utterly blotted out by the atone 
 ment you have made at cost of your life." 
 
 He could speak no more. Rising with dif 
 ficulty to his feet, he hobbled out of the room, 
 leaving Jacqueline and Roger to close the eyes 
 of the friend of his youth, who sank almost in 
 stantly into his last sleep. 
 
 3 6 7
 
 XXIX 
 
 IN wbicb ALTON HOUSE receives VISITORS 
 
 y^FTER Colonel Alton had recovered 
 /-i himself from his passionate emotion, 
 -^ -*- he sent for his son to consult with 
 him. 
 
 " I have promised our dead friend," he said, 
 " that for the sake of his wife and daughter his 
 secret shall still be kept inviolate, and yet I can 
 not bear to think of burying him here without 
 their knowledge, leaving his grave forever 
 nameless. It seems to me that the wiser 
 course, and the one he himself would have us 
 pursue, is to send for his wife and daughter and 
 tell the wife at least the full truth. We may 
 tell her as little as possible with regard to her 
 loved one's sin, as much as possible with re 
 gard to his heroic atonement. As for the 
 daughter, I shall leave that to Mrs. Vargave 
 herself. She may do as she pleases. The 
 girl is a thorough-paced gentlewoman, proud, 
 strong, and able to bear such griefs as life may
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 bring to her. Perhaps it may be best to tell her 
 all, but from the rest of the world we will con 
 ceal all. I want you, if you will, to take some 
 of your men as outriders, and go at once to 
 Lonsdale to bring Mrs. Vargave and her daugh 
 ter hither. We will then quietly lay our friend 
 to rest. It is better that they should be here 
 now, at any rate." 
 
 " Yes," said Roger, " in the present dis 
 turbed state of the community, two women left 
 alone on a remote and isolated plantation with 
 out any white man, not even an overseer to call 
 upon for aid, are in a dangerous position. I 
 will go for them father, and, with your permis 
 sion, will myself tell Helen the whole truth. 
 She has given me her love, and it seems to me 
 she is entitled to hear from my lips, rather than 
 from another's even from yours the sad 
 story that must be told. I now clearly under 
 stand how it is you so peremptorily forbade my 
 marriage with Helen, and I understand how 
 hard it was upon you that you could not explain 
 to me the reasons for your course. But that is 
 all past now. Vargave has made atonement 
 with his life, sacrificed in the rescue of Jacque 
 line from a fate too horrible even to contem 
 plate. You have accepted the atonement in full, 
 and so have I. You have granted him absolu- 
 
 3 6 9
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tion for his sin against you, and the world 
 knows nothing of his crime. There is now no 
 obstacle, so far as I can see, to the execution of 
 my purpose of marrying Helen." 
 
 " Wait a minute, my son," broke in Colonel 
 Alton, " you forget. Tiger Bill Barnegal still 
 lives and hates, and still knows the facts in this 
 case. He has been baffled in the revenge he 
 sought by the seizure of Jacqueline for I am 
 persuaded that this crowning outrage was de 
 vised by him and committed under his direc 
 tion. When, my son, I refused my consent to 
 your marriage with Helen, I told you that my 
 objection was in no remotest way to her. You 
 understand now what I meant by that. I was 
 proud then, and saw things in the light of our 
 old traditions. I can now so far lay them 
 aside as to think of my dead friend as my friend 
 still, and to forget that he ever sinned. But 
 we now have a new duty to do, a duty to which 
 he with his dying breath has invoked us. My 
 duty, as I saw it before, was to protect the Al 
 ton name, to forbid a marriage which would 
 have made my grandchildren the grandchil 
 dren also of a forger. To-day the forgery is 
 a thing dead, done for, buried and forgotten. 
 So far as we are concerned it does not exist. 
 But Helen has still to be protected. We have 
 
 37
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 promised him to shield her name, and we must 
 do so at cost of all sacrifice, even though it be 
 the sacrifice of your happiness and hers, my son. 
 While Tiger Bill lives, you must not marry 
 Helen. Should you do so, he would instantly 
 see and seize his opportunity for vengeance. 
 He would publish to the whole world the facts 
 that the dead man in there has asked us to keep 
 sacredly secret for the protection of his wife 
 and daughter." 
 
 " You are right, father," said Roger. " I 
 see our duty clearly enough, and I see it as you 
 see it. Let it be so. I will go at once to Lons- 
 dale, but first I must make a few arrange 
 ments." 
 
 Leaving his father, Roger went first in 
 search of Jacqueline. To her he hurriedly gave 
 some instructions regarding her own safety. 
 
 " We have not seen the last of this affair," 
 he said, " but the terrible punishment which my 
 cutthroat allies gave to your captors down 
 there in the swamp at Coosawhatchie will teach 
 them to wait a while before resuming hos 
 tilities. In the end, however, it will also anger 
 them and prompt them to still more desperate 
 attempts hereafter. You must be protected. 
 I am going to Lonsdale. I shall ask Charlie 
 Barnegal to look up the survivors of my troop 
 
 37 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and recruit it so far as he can in my absence. 
 But the more I think of it, the more necessary 
 it seems to me that you should have protection 
 here at home always within reach. 
 
 " I like your idea of forming- a pickaninny 
 brigade. You already have a supply of arms. 
 I will ask Charlie to look a little to the instruc 
 tion of your little black soldiers, and to supply 
 you abundantly with ammunition. 
 
 " Organize and drill the little negroes as 
 thoroughly as you can, and let them learn from 
 the beginning these two things : first, that guns 
 are given to them to fight with, not to throw 
 down when the enemy comes. And, second, 
 that the way to fight successfully is instantly 
 to obey every order given to them by their 
 commander. You are their commander. 
 Good-by, dear, I must talk now with Charlie, 
 and I must be away." 
 
 " But are you going alone to Lonsdale ? Are 
 you going to bring Helen and Mrs. Vargave 
 here without protection on the road in the 
 present disturbed condition of the country? " 
 
 " No, no,," he answered, " I shall pick up 
 three or four trusty fellows whom I know on 
 the way, and we will make a sufficient guard. 
 If necessary, I know where our desperadoes 
 are."
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Then, seeking out Barnegal, Roger gave him 
 such instructions as he needed, and said to him 
 at parting : "I look to you, old fellow, to 
 have our force as strong when I return as it 
 was before those gallant fellows were killed 
 under your command, and in the present con 
 dition of the country I think you will find it easy 
 enough to make it so. The whole countryside 
 has been aroused and alarmed into activity by 
 this escapade. Every young man in the com 
 munity who has not sworn allegiance to King 
 George, feels that his own home and every 
 body's home is now in hourly danger. Every 
 one of them, I take it, is ready to fight under 
 the first leader that may summon him. Send 
 out for them, muster them in the swamp, and 
 have them ready against my return. Then you 
 and I will see what we can do toward re-estab 
 lishing order in this community. Good-by." 
 And with that he swung himself into the saddle 
 on the back of his trusty Bullet, and giving rein 
 to the animal he was gone. 
 
 He reached Lonsdale just after daylight the 
 next morning. He had ridden the whole 
 eighty miles in fifteen hours, and he patted Bul 
 let on the neck in praise of his superb devotion 
 and endurance; for all of that energy which 
 Bullet had formerly been disposed to expend in 
 
 373
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 resisting this master of his, was given now to 
 the splendid doing of that master's will. But 
 as Roger, followed by the four armed com 
 panions whom he had summoned to his side as 
 an escort, entered the avenue leading up to 
 Lonsdale, he was horrified to see instead of 
 the house, a shapeless and smoking ruin. 
 With an exclamation of horror he said to his 
 men: 
 
 " The devils have made war upon these two 
 defenceless women. God only knows what 
 they may have done." 
 
 With that he and his comrades plunged spurs 
 into their horses, instinctively felt of their rifle 
 flints, and with pistols drawn rode at a full run 
 up to what had been the beautiful home. 
 
 There was nobody there, not even an enemy, 
 and it required some little search through the 
 woodlands round about before they could dis 
 cover any one even of the house-serving 
 negroes. The one first found was the young 
 black man who had waited upon Roger during 
 his stay at Lonsdale the year before. How 
 eagerly he welcomed the coming of white men 
 whom he knew he could trust, his trembling 
 and eager manner made quickly manifest. 
 With a few hurried questions, Roger learned 
 from him what had happened. 
 
 374
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 " You see, sah," the negro said, " when the 
 damned tories pardon me, massa, I didn't 
 mean to swear " 
 
 " Oh, swear all you like at them. Go on ; 
 what about them ? " 
 
 " When de tories corned here you see I 
 seed 'em comin' an' I rushed into de house and 
 almost dragged the Missus and Missee Helen 
 to one of de quahtahs. Den I slipped back 
 over dere in de woods and den I saw a big 
 light, and I knows dey done set fire to de house. 
 Dey didn't get de Missus or Miss Helen. I 
 has got 'em hid away in de woods where I 
 don't think even a tory could find 'em. But 
 dey got most of de black people, and they done 
 took dem off in a ship. I don't tink more dan 
 one or two of 'em is left besides me, and I sup 
 pose de one or two, if dere is any, is hid away 
 somewhere out in de woods, and maybe dey 
 will come back again some day, I don't know. 
 That's all dere is to tell, Massa." 
 
 In the meantime, Roger's men had been beat 
 ing the bushes in every direction, hoping there 
 to find some one at least of the marauders. 
 They found none, but they saw that the looting 
 of the plantation had been complete. Every 
 thing that was portable and of value in the 
 house seemed to have been carried away be- 
 
 375
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 fore the building was set on fire. Here and 
 there a bit of silver or other valuable had been 
 dropped by the robbers in their flight, thus 
 marking their trail, and telling the story of 
 their evil deeds. There was nothing to be done 
 but to go with the young negro to the hiding 
 place in which he had bestowed his two mis 
 tresses. The poor women had been frightened, 
 of course, but, with the spirit of the high bred 
 race to which they belonged, they had recovered 
 their equanimity, and now indulged neither in 
 hysterics nor in tears not even in bewailing. 
 They welcomed Roger and declared them 
 selves ready to go with him at once to Alton 
 House. 
 
 " You see," said Helen, with still a touch of 
 playfulness in her manner, " we shan't detain 
 you as we women generally do while we deco 
 rate ourselves and pack useless baggage, for we 
 have no decorations left, and no baggage either, 
 and nothing to pack into it if we had. But 
 how are we to go? Those fellows carried off 
 every horse on the plantation, and as they 
 burned the barns the carriages of course are 
 gone too." 
 
 " You can ride, I think, Helen," said Roger. 
 " You haven't forgotten the lessons that your 
 grandfather taught you. Bullet here has never 
 
 37 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 been trained to pillion service, but you and 
 I together, I am sure, can ride him double. 
 I shall put you on my crupper, and for your 
 mother we will make an arrangement among 
 my men." 
 
 Mrs. Vargave declared her own ability to 
 ride a-pillion also if a quiet horse could be 
 found in the cavalcade. One of the men in 
 stantly responded, pledging his horse to good 
 behavior if Mrs. Vargave would honor him by 
 accepting a seat on the crupper. The horses 
 were jaded, of course, all but Bullet, but they 
 did their work well, and by stopping over night 
 at a roadside tavern, Roger managed to make 
 the long journey before the end of the next 
 day. 
 
 He was glad of the necessity of that over 
 night stop at the tavern. It gave him an op 
 portunity to inform Helen of the sad events 
 that had brought about this journey. He felt 
 that no other could tell her the story of her 
 father's shame and her father's death with so 
 much of tenderness as he could bring to bear, 
 and from no other lips could she receive it with 
 so little pain as from his. 
 
 She bore it very bravely indeed, but she re 
 jected Roger's suggestion that she should be 
 the bearer of this news to her mother. " That 
 
 377
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 belongs not to me nor to you, Roger, but to 
 Colonel Alton." 
 
 So it was arranged. Mrs. Vargave, still in 
 ignorance of what had occurred, rode on to Al 
 ton House with the feeling of an animal that 
 had been hunted but is nearing a refuge. 
 
 Very naturally, Roger avoided all direct 
 reference to their own affairs in his talks with 
 Helen as they jaunted along seated upon the 
 same horse, yet she was left in no doubt of the 
 tenderness of his love, or of his passionate de 
 votion to her, nor could she in her turn, avoid 
 letting him see how entirely he was master of 
 her mind, her soul, her life. She tried hard in 
 deed to avoid such a revelation, for now that it 
 was made additionally certain that no engage 
 ment could exist between her and Roger, all the 
 pride of her bringing up prompted her to reti 
 cence. Nevertheless, when these two reached 
 Alton House, there was a closer bond of sym 
 pathy between them than ever before, and a 
 clearer understanding on the part of each 
 that the tie between them was perfect for all 
 time, whatever their external relations might 
 be. 
 
 On the arrival at Alton House there was 
 much of agitation, of course. Mrs. Vargave 
 must learn the terrible story which Roger had 
 
 378
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 already told to Helen. Then there must be the 
 quiet funeral, and then the waiting. 
 
 Roger scarcely paused for supper before 
 mounting Mad Bess, which he had ordered to 
 be brought to the door, and pushing off into 
 the swamp to find his followers. He felt that 
 he had work to do and no time for delaying. 
 He had explained to Helen that he would not 
 attend the funeral, and she understood that this 
 determination was prompted by a delicate con 
 sideration for her mother. 
 
 " You are right, Roger," she said. " It will 
 be easier for mother if only a very few are pres 
 ent to see my poor erring father laid in his 
 grave." 
 
 " Don't say that, Helen," said Roger. 
 " Don't think of your father as a poor erring 
 man. All that, as I told you, is past. You are 
 to think now, henceforth and forever of your 
 father as a hero, as one who in life denied him 
 self every joy, risked every danger and endured 
 every hardship to atone for an error committed 
 without evil intent, one who met death at last 
 as only a few heroic souls of this world can 
 meet it. You wrong your father; you wrong 
 me; you wrong those children whom it is my 
 hope that you will some day bear to me, when 
 you hold your father otherwise than in honor. 
 
 379
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 It is a hero that you are about to bury, a noble 
 man, a gentleman. Teach yourself that les 
 son, dear, before I come, as I shall come when 
 the time is ripe, to claim you for my wife." 
 
 And with that he threw himself upon his 
 splendid mare and was gone. 
 
 380
 
 XXX 
 
 MARLBOROUGH brings NEWS 
 
 >^S he had expected, Roger found his 
 /-i band greatly increased in numbers. 
 -^ -*- Thanks to the awakened sense of all- 
 embracing danger in the community, he found 
 nearly forty men ready to answer his call. Not 
 all of them were assembled in the swamp of 
 course. It was part of his tactics indeed to keep 
 but a small body there, and to distribute the rest 
 about among their several homes where they 
 could do the work at once of pickets and scout 
 ing men. It was theirs to find out what was 
 going on, and to report it promptly to their 
 commander. It was theirs to answer his sum 
 mons, whenever their services were needed in 
 more active ways, which was now a thing of 
 very frequent occurrence. 
 
 In thus summoning them, Roger had adopt 
 ed and applied a good many of Jacqueline's 
 devices for silent communication. A litter of 
 leaves at a crossroads, the dead branch of a 
 
 381
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 tree thrown in apparent carelessness by the 
 roadside; a little dust heap piled as with child 
 ish hands; a diminutive bonfire built upon a 
 knoll these and a hundred other signals had 
 each its definite meaning for Roger Alton's 
 men. And so perfect became the system of 
 quick communication, that within less than an 
 hour at any time he could bring every man of 
 his band to his side. He had no one place of 
 rendezvous even in the swamp, but he had 
 means of indicating on each occasion of need 
 the point at which his men were expected to 
 join him for a foray. 
 
 Barnegal had already, as he put it, " equip 
 ped " Jacqueline's little army and established 
 her arsenal in one of the wine cellars of Alton 
 House. He went thither frequently on the 
 plea that it was necessary for some one to look 
 after the progress of her young soldiers in their 
 organization and drill, but somehow it usually 
 happened that when he reached Alton House 
 he found the soldierly operations in so good a 
 state of advancement, that he had nothing fur 
 ther to do than sit awhile in converse with 
 Jacqueline. Nevertheless, he refused to re 
 linquish his theory that his presence as a drill- 
 master was occasionally necessary. 
 
 It was a very busy time for the next few 
 
 382
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 v/eeks. The tories were reinforced presently 
 by a small body of British regulars, who had 
 been sent into that part of the country for the 
 purpose of keeping the loyalists in heart and 
 aiding them in their marauding enterprises. 
 The patriots had become almost ceaselessly 
 active in their endeavors to overawe the tory 
 bands. There were skirmish fights almost 
 daily. Now and then a miniature pitched bat 
 tle occurred. 
 
 The operations of Roger's band were no 
 longer confined by any means to the narrow 
 limits of the neighborhood. They made raids 
 sometimes a hundred miles away, and oftener 
 than not they were half that distance up or 
 down the country. They operated sometimes 
 in a single body, sometimes in detachments, ac 
 cording to the need. The one idea that in 
 spired all their activity was to make Carolina 
 too hot to hold the British and their tory allies. 
 Meantime General Marion was in the midst of 
 his splendid career in the upper country, and 
 Sumter was ceaselessly busy, wherever he could 
 find a foe to fight. The British had already 
 learned that their conquest of South Carolina, 
 so far from making an end of war there, 
 marked only its beginning. 
 
 There came news one day that a body of 
 
 383
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 British regulars supported by nearly a thou 
 sand armed tories, was making more than or 
 dinary trouble at a point near the mountains. 
 A message from Sumter invoked the aid of 
 Roger's band, and that young gentleman, 
 marshalling all his force, hurried to the scene 
 of conflict. 
 
 For several days the righting was almost 
 continuous, but each day, so far from diminish 
 ing, increased the numbers of the patriots in 
 the field. There were men by hundreds 
 throughout the country who were accustomed 
 to take up arms when fighting was on and to 
 lay them down the moment the fighting was 
 done. There was fighting enough now to call 
 these men to their duty, and to keep them at it 
 pretty continuously. 
 
 One night, after a day of hard riding and 
 hard fighting, Roger encamped his force now 
 numbering somewhat more than fifty men in 
 a little strip of woodland, and threw out his 
 pickets to guard the camp while his men slept 
 upon their arms. He was at supper when there 
 came to him a visitor. He was a man lean and 
 muscular in appearance, wearing a semi-cler 
 ical garb composed of long stockings, high 
 boots, knee breeches, and a tow linen coat that 
 reached half way down his legs, but was cleric- 
 
 384
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ally cut in the collar. He was a strange figure 
 one that the modern caricaturist would re 
 joice in, but there was a deep earnestness in his 
 face, and his soft blue eyes had a steely glint 
 in them that meant battle when battle was 
 necessary. 
 
 He introduced himself to Roger, saying: 
 " I am the pastor of a Presbyterian Church up 
 there in the hills. My parishioners are a God 
 fearing people, and they are always ready to do 
 God's service when their pastor points out to 
 them what it is. Last Sunday we met for 
 service, when the news came to me of this dis 
 turbance down here. I am an Irishman, as 
 you probably guess, and while I hope the divine 
 grace is always present with me, I still have a 
 touch of the old Adam in my soul, and I fear 
 that I was glad, when the devil, on whom it 
 is my business to wage war, came forward in 
 the form of these British and tories. It gives 
 me a chance, you see, to know where my blows 
 fall and when they tell. I did not preach last 
 Sunday. There wasn't much time for it. I 
 adjourned the meeting to the grove outside the 
 church, and told my people what God expected 
 of them. They are simple people, Captain Al 
 ton, but if they are plain Irishmen by descent, 
 they are enthusiastic Americans now. I told 
 
 385
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the women that they must work a little harder 
 on the farms because I was going to take all 
 the men away to fight, and the women waved 
 their bonnets and hurrahed. Women don't 
 say much in my congregation. We hold to 
 the Pauline doctrine that women should be 
 silent in church, but I knew what their bonnets 
 meant, and so I turned to the men. ' There/ 
 I said to them, ' You see what kind of patriots 
 these your womenkind are. So now go you 
 home as quick as you can, and meet me down 
 at the foot of the hill there, all of you armed, 
 every man bringing a little bit of bacon or what 
 ever you have got in your house to live on. 
 Bring it along. Let's have some cornmeal 
 too. And bring your guns, bring a lot of 
 powder, all you have got, do you mind ? ' It 
 wasn't a very formal sermon, or a very elo 
 quent one, and it had no gospel text, but it did 
 its work. And I am camping over here by 
 you, Captain, with one hundred and twenty 
 men, and every man knows how to shoot 
 straight and every man knows how to stand up 
 in God's service. I tell them every day it is 
 God's service they are doing." 
 
 By this time, in his excitement, the old man 
 had resumed the brogue of his boyhood out of
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 which he had so strenuously labored to drill his 
 tongue.* 
 
 It was in this sort of spirit that the war in 
 Carolina was fought, and the men who fought 
 it were of almost inconceivably different types. 
 There were young planters of aristocratic lin 
 eage like Roger Alton, and Charles Barnegal. 
 There were born soldiers like Marion. There 
 were the Scotch-Irish farmers of the moun 
 tains believing primarily in the doctrine of 
 predestination that held all events to be un 
 alterably determined " before ever the founda 
 tions of the world were laid," men who did 
 their duty with the inspiring sense that every 
 act of theirs was decreed by God himself. 
 There were young roisterers who were inspired 
 almost as much by the love of adventure and of 
 the wild woodland life of partisan service as by 
 sentiments of patriotism, though they held 
 these too, very strongly. And there were des 
 peradoes outlaws if you like like those whom 
 Vargave had summoned to Jacqueline's rescue. 
 It was a motley crowd, but heroic in all its 
 parts. 
 
 On the morning after Roger's meeting with 
 the queerly clad old preacher whom he nick- 
 
 * This is a historic fact. 
 
 387
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 named Joshua, in memory of that great com 
 mander whose authority extended even to the 
 sun in Gibeon and the moon over the vale of 
 Ajalon, the enemy was found to be dispersing. 
 The patriot force was much too strong for it 
 to meet in battle. The tories for the most part 
 disbanded and took to the woods. The British 
 regulars retreated as rapidly as they could, 
 battling as they went, with one patriot band 
 after another assaulting them. 
 
 It was just then that startling news came to 
 young Alton. It was brought by no less trust 
 worthy a messenger than Marlborough, whose 
 shoulder was still encased in bandages, and 
 whose head was bound until it looked like that 
 of a grand Turk in his turban. 
 
 " I couldn't wait to get well, Mas' Roger," 
 he said, " because somebody had to find you 
 quick, and I knew Marlborough could do it 
 quicker'n anybody else. Old Tiger Bill has 
 got his people togeder again, and dey have 
 burnt two barns on your plantation. We are 
 expecting them at Alton House every hour, so 
 I thought I would come and just tell you so that 
 you might go back there. Miss Jacqueline she 
 told me to say that if you had duty to do up 
 here she would try and hold the fort until you 
 
 3 88
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 got through, but to come as quick as you 
 could." 
 
 It was not a minute later before Roger had 
 his band in motion, and they rode furiously. 
 But the distance to Alton House was great, and 
 time had been lost of course during Marlbor- 
 ough's search for him. 
 
 When Roger told Barnegal of the news 
 brought to him by Marlborough, that young 
 man was quick to see the explanation. " The 
 old Tiger," he said, " like the coward that he 
 is, has seized his opportunity. He knows that 
 we are away, and he means if possible to reach 
 and loot Alton House plantations. Let us 
 hurry, Roger. Remember that Jacqueline and 
 Helen Vargave are in danger. What matter 
 if we ride half our horses to death and kill half 
 our men. We must get there in time to save 
 them." 
 
 In that spirit, and spurred by that impulse, 
 the two young warriors rode like the driving 
 of Jehu, and the faithful fellows in their ranks 
 followed them without murmur or complaint. 
 
 389
 
 XXXI 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK'S DEFENCE 
 
 rOUNG Barnegal had judged rightly. 
 Coward that he was, old Tiger Bill 
 deemed it safe now in the absence of 
 all the patriot bands from the lower country, to 
 indulge in the luxury of a perfect vengeance. 
 He believed it to be certain that no patriot with 
 a gun in his hand remained in the region round 
 about. He regarded Alton House as helpless 
 ly defenceless, and so, when he mustered his 
 men for its destruction, he for once placed him 
 self at their head, and took personal charge of 
 the enterprise. 
 
 He established the headquarters of his party 
 at the wheelwright's shop, and began at once 
 to spread terror throughout the neighborhood. 
 First of all, the outer barns of Alton House 
 plantation were burned by night; this apparent 
 ly for the sake of torturing the inmates of the 
 mansion with apprehension. Against this 
 method of procedure " Captain Jack " took no 
 
 39
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 measures whatever. It was obviously useless 
 to do so, and it would serve only to disclose the 
 fact which she wished to conceal, namely, that 
 she had an armed force at her command. 
 
 Colonel Alton was at this time hardly able 
 to sit in his chair, and his irritation at en 
 forced inaction was not good for the gout that 
 tortured him. 
 
 The negro wheelwright, who brought to 
 Alton House the first news of the band's ap 
 proach, was fleeing to the swamps for safety. 
 Nearly all the other negroes on the plantation 
 those of them at least who worked in the 
 fields were doing the same. Their terror of 
 being captured and deported to the West In 
 dies was limitless. They had somehow learned 
 of what happened to negroes who were thus de 
 ported to tropical islands. They had somehow 
 found out that slavery was quite a different 
 thing there, a much more horrible servitude 
 than any that existed in the American states; 
 that it was untempered by any touch of patriar 
 chal relations; that in those countries the 
 hireling overseer with his cruel whip stood al 
 ways between the slave and his master, and 
 that the one thought was to grind out of every 
 man or woman or child the utmost dollar of 
 earning with the minimum of food and shelter 
 
 39 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and with no clothing at all. It was a slavery 
 inspired solely by greed of gain, unsoftened by 
 sentiment, unrelieved by any sense of pity. It 
 was into such bondage as this that the British 
 sent every Carolina negro upon whom they 
 could lay their clutches. And from this peril 
 the negroes everywhere were accustomed to 
 flee into the recesses of the swamps, whenever 
 they saw signs of its coming. 
 
 At Alton House, only the house servants re 
 mained. The little company of pickaninnies, 
 dressed in white uniforms with flaming red and 
 yellow trimmings, all of which Jacqueline and 
 Helen had provided to make them proud of 
 themselves and their service, rallied round their 
 young mistress. They had a certain expert- 
 ness in the use of firearms, as every one had at 
 a time and in a country where the chase was 
 a daily occupation, and the use of gunpowder 
 was almost an instinct. 
 
 Upon hearing of the impending danger, Cap- 
 ain Jack's first thought was to provision the 
 fortress for she intended to make a fortress 
 of Alton House and to stand a siege there, cer 
 tain that if she could hold out long enough 
 strong arms would come to her aid and her 
 rescue. She had all the available pigs and 
 chickens driven into the cellars and near-by 
 
 39 2
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 out-houses, where they could be drawn upon in 
 case of need, as a food supply. This had been 
 originally Marlborough's suggestion. At his 
 instance also for he had seen something of 
 war by this time, and had learned some of its 
 arts she had her little negroes dig shallow 
 rifle pits in the grounds around the house, 
 throwing the earth to the front as a sort of 
 parapet. She had so located these pits that it 
 was possible to pass from one to another with 
 very little exposure, and in that way to retreat 
 to the house whenever retreat should become 
 necessary. Shots from these pits, coming ap 
 parently out of the earth would be naturally 
 more demoralizing to the approaching foe, es 
 pecially in the night, than shots emanating 
 from the source whence they might be ex 
 pected. 
 
 In all her preparations for defence, Helen 
 Vargave was Jacqueline's efficient lieutenant. 
 Full of suggestiveness, alert, and with a cour 
 age that nothing could daunt, Helen was en 
 thusiastic for the fray. " We are soldiers' 
 sweethearts," she said to Jacqueline one day, 
 " and that comes pretty nearly being soldiers, 
 doesn't it? And besides, I am a crack shot. 
 My grandfather taught me that among the 
 other unladylike accomplishments that he in- 
 
 393
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 stilled into me to the horror of my gover 
 ness." 
 
 It was at Helen's suggestion that an out 
 house built of thick planks and heavy timbers 
 was pulled down, and its materials erected into 
 a kind of parapet at the edge of the great piazza. 
 This defence was bullet-proof, and lying be 
 hind it, the little black soldiers could do a 
 maximum of damage with a minimum of 
 danger to themselves. 
 
 Most of the serving women in the household 
 were helpless from the first, but a few of them 
 remained calm enough to help. Two of these 
 constituted themselves picket guards. They 
 were strong young girls, clad in scant skirts 
 and accustomed to run like deer. Taking 
 turns they patrolled around the house and 
 through the grounds throughout the nights of 
 waiting. Each was armed, and each was in 
 structed to fire an alarm when the enemy ap 
 proached, if there were no other way of giving 
 notice to the garrison, but to run home in 
 silence instead, if there should be time for that. 
 
 The defenders of the fortress had not to wait 
 long for the assault. It came about midnight 
 when the moon had gone down, and a deadly 
 chill was in the air. Believing that the place 
 was defenceless, or at most, that Colonel Alton 
 
 394
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 might be able to fire only a single shot or so. 
 Tiger Bill pushed his men straight towards the 
 house by way of the main entrance, screening 
 himself behind them that he might not by any 
 chance receive the one stray shot anticipated. 
 
 The tories were ill drilled, or rather, not 
 drilled at all, and they came on slouchily, in a 
 loose line, numbering perhaps eighteen or 
 twenty men in all. As they approached the 
 dark and apparently sleeping house, they saw 
 a negro girl rise from the bushes near and 
 scurry away, as they thought, to shelter. A 
 moment later, " Crack-crack-crack-crack- 
 crack ! " came from the rifle pits, less than 
 twenty yards in front of them, and two of the 
 men fell riddled with bullets. The rest hastily 
 ran, and as they did so, trampled upon their 
 leader, Tiger Bill, who had received one of the 
 leaden messengers in his body. 
 
 " Good for you, boys," cried Jacqueline, in 
 low tones as she ran from one rifle pit to an 
 other. " Are any of you hurt ? " 
 
 " No missie," said little Dick, the smallest 
 and youngest of her juvenile soldiers. " Those 
 fellows didn't hurt nobody because they didn't 
 git time to fire." 
 
 The boys wanted to sally out and pursue the 
 enemy, as they knew white soldiers often did 
 
 395
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 when the enemy retreated under fire, but Jac 
 queline was too prudent for that. 
 
 " They will come back," she said, " and they 
 will fire next time. They are angry now." 
 
 With that, she took two or three of the boys 
 with her and going to the point where the to- 
 ries had received the fire, made a search for 
 wounded men. She found two dead ones 
 whom it was not worth while to waste time up 
 on. She found another evidently wounded, 
 crawling on hands and knees. Presenting her 
 gun at his head, she bade him halt, and called 
 for help from the house. Some strong young 
 arms seized upon the wounded man in the 
 darkness, and carried him bodily into the hall 
 way. It was too dark to see him, for every 
 light had been extinguished, and Jacqueline 
 had no notion of relighting any of the torches 
 while the danger should remain. So she di 
 rected those of the housemaids whose terror 
 permitted them to be of no other service, to 
 carry the man above stairs into a rear room, 
 and there to light candles. 
 
 " We must look a little to his wounds," she 
 said, " if they give us a minute for that." In 
 the meantime she returned to the piazza where 
 she found Colonel Alton. He had had himself 
 wheeled out in his armchair, and now sat with 
 
 396
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 his ammunition pockets slung from his shoul 
 ders as if for the hunt, and his shot gun at full 
 cock, lying across his knees. His gouty feet in 
 the meantime were snugly resting on a pillow 
 on top of the little board parapet before men 
 tioned. 
 
 "What are you doing here, father? Why 
 are you not in your room? It will kill you to 
 be exposed in this night air." 
 
 " Do you suppose, daughter, that an old sol 
 dier like me concerns himself much about 
 night air, and little things like that? I am a 
 bit helpless to get about without assistance, 
 but I can sit here and shoot the next time those 
 fellows come, and I have come here to do it. 
 You go on with your work, dear. But if I 
 were you, I would withdraw half your boys 
 from the rifle pits, leaving only one or two in 
 each. It is not well to expose your entire line 
 in front, with no reserve to fall back upon." 
 
 The girl acted at once upon the advice of the 
 old commander, who, in losing the use of his 
 legs, had not lost his skill in the art of war. 
 This new disposition had hardly been made, 
 when the tories appeared again, firing this 
 time into the darkness and wildly. Under Col 
 onel Alton's direction, the defenders in the pi 
 azza reserved their fire, the boys in the rifle 
 
 397
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 pits delivering theirs as rapidly as they might, 
 and then, under directions previously given 
 them, slipping back to the house. The tories 
 were apparently deceived as to the location of 
 the defence. They emptied their guns at the 
 points where the rifle pits were situated, be 
 cause from those points alone had come any re 
 sistance. The rifles of that day were flint-lock 
 ed, muzzle loaded affairs unprovided with car 
 tridges, and loaded only by the measuring out 
 and pouring in of powder, and then by a rather 
 difficult pushing home of a leaden ball sur 
 rounded by a bit of greasy cloth called a 
 " patching." A gun once emptied was inno 
 cent of harm until it could be reloaded, a mat 
 ter requiring from half a minute to two min 
 utes, according to the coolness or excitement of 
 the man handling the weapon. 
 
 At Helen's suggestion, Jacqueline had had 
 enough pikes made long spears of wood, shod 
 at the end with sharp-pointed steel to arm 
 all her force in case of the failure of ammuni 
 tion. 
 
 With the instinct of the old soldier strong in 
 him, Colonel Alton seized upon the moment 
 when the tories had emptied their guns, and 
 himself took command although he could not 
 rise. With quick, sharp orders to Jack he di- 
 
 398
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 reeled operations. The boys fired their guns at 
 short range into the already confused ranks of 
 the tories, and then seizing their pikes sallied 
 forth at a run, and dashed headlong upon the 
 enemy. 
 
 It was the work of but a moment, but it was 
 effective. Half a minute later not an un- 
 wounded tory remained in the Alton House 
 grounds. The boys returned, promptly reload 
 ed their guns, and stood ready for another as 
 sault. But no other came during that night, 
 nor did Colonel Alton think another would be 
 made for the present. He knew enough of the 
 moods that govern undisciplined men in fight 
 ing, to know that two such repulses as had been 
 given to this band would work a demoraliza 
 tion from which it would take time and effort 
 for them to recover. He suggested to Jacque 
 line, therefore, that she go at once to the 
 wounded man's bedside, and ascertain if any 
 thing could be done for him. 
 
 To her horror she discovered that the man 
 was none other than Tiger Bill himself! His 
 wounds were apparently not very serious, but 
 his habits of life were against him. Soaked 
 with brandy as he had been for years his nerv 
 ous system could endure but little of shock, 
 and by the time that Jacqueline reached his 
 
 399
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 bedside he was raving like a madman, in an at 
 tack of delirium tremens. It required two or 
 three pairs of strong arms to restrain him, but 
 these fortunately were furnished by negro wo 
 men unfit to serve as a part of the defensive 
 force. 
 
 When the facts were reported to Colonel Al 
 ton, he said to Jack : " They will not come 
 again to-night, my dear, and I doubt if they 
 come again at all. They have lost their leader, 
 and that, to a crowd of this kind, usually 
 means dispersion." 
 
 His conjecture was right so far as a renewal 
 of assault that night was concerned. Jack's 
 little negroes had proved themselves good 
 fighting men, but to save their lives they could 
 not conquer their racial disposition to fall into 
 profound slumber the moment they grew still. 
 They were good soldiers but bad sentinels, so 
 Captain Jack bade them sleep on their arms 
 where they were, and she and Helen alone 
 guarded the camp throughout the night. 
 
 The next day, scouts were sent out to learn 
 what the enemy might be doing, and if possi 
 ble to bring a surgeon to the house to attend 
 upon Tiger Bill. The surgeon came and 
 brought with him the information desired. 
 
 He was a little old man oddly dressed in a 
 
 400
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 fashion even then antiquated. In his disposi 
 tion, an uncontrollable irascibility and an in 
 stinctive gentleness were always at war with 
 each other for the mastery. He punctuated all 
 his sentences with " damns " and interlarded 
 them with gently caressing phrases. His atti 
 tude toward each human being was either one 
 of intense antagonism and disgusted contempt, 
 or one of exceeding tenderness and affection. 
 And just now the mingled manifestation of his 
 loathing for old Tiger Bill and his caressing 
 affection for Jacqueline and Helen was still 
 further complicated by his surgeon's instinct of 
 mercy to a patient. His words would scarcely 
 bear repetition here, but as he worked over the 
 old man's wounds a continual tide of pattering 
 vituperation flowed from his lips, interrupted 
 now and then by exclamations of pity. 
 
 " You deserve all you got, you damned old 
 Ah, poor fellow, that hurt you, didn't it? I 
 couldn't help it. After all I am glad I did it, 
 you old scoundrel There, dear," (turning to 
 Jacqueline) " don't stand so close to the bed. 
 It pains you I know I had to open that artery, 
 but I guess after all I must tie it up, or the 
 poor fellow will be dead in a few minutes, and 
 serve him right too, confound him Do, dear 
 young lady, leave the room and leave this old 
 
 401
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 villain to me. I will take care of him. No, 
 no, I don't mean I will do him any harm not 
 as a surgeon at least." And so he rattled on 
 and on and on. 
 
 When he was through, he turned to Jacque 
 line and said : " He will get well of his wounds 
 easy enough, if his jimjams do not return. Of 
 course I must take care of that. Have you any 
 opium in the house, my dear ? " 
 
 Overstrained as she was, suffering from 
 want of sleep, full of apprehension, and in 
 stinctively sympathizing with the old man in 
 his sufferings, Jacqueline nevertheless could 
 not restrain her laughter at the comical chatter 
 of the pudgy little old doctor. But in the end 
 her indignation conquered her other emotions, 
 as soon, at least, as the surgeon had reported 
 old Tiger Bill out of danger. 
 
 " I am glad of that of course," she said, to 
 Helen, "but I don't think I ought to be. 
 Think of it, Helen, that old beast coming here 
 like a coward at the head of armed ruffians to 
 make war upon a helpless invalid like my fa 
 ther, and a lot of women like us ! Thank God, 
 we have been able to beat him at that game 
 anyhow ! " Then turning to her maid, she 
 said : " Stay here, Molly, and if we are want- 
 
 402
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ed, any of us, call us. We must go and get 
 some sleep." 
 
 But first of all she inspected the defences of 
 the house. She saw to it that each of her 
 young soldiers received his proper meed of 
 praise, reinforced by a hearty breakfast and a 
 replenished bullet-pouch. Then throwing her 
 self upon a joggling board for she would not 
 leave the piazza, until the danger should be ut 
 terly past she fell into a profound slumber 
 as other military commanders have done in in 
 tervals between their periods of strenuous, sol 
 dierly work. 
 
 With the coming of night, the watchfulness 
 was resumed again. The boys were returned 
 about nine o'clock to their rifle pits, and each 
 of them was furnished with a great bowl of 
 strong, steaming coffee, in order that they 
 might remain awake during their tour of duty. 
 They had slept practically all day, and had they 
 been of a race other than their own, sleep 
 would now have been impossible to them even 
 without the caffeine stimulant. But Jacqueline 
 knew their tendency to somnolence when inac 
 tive, too well to trust them under such circum 
 stances. From time to time she went through 
 the rifle pits chatting a little in order to arouse 
 
 403
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 her soldiers, and replenishing their coffee 
 bowls. In this way she kept them on the 
 alert, resorting now and then to the little trick 
 of pretending to hear the enemy coming by way 
 of additionally stimulating wakefulness. 
 
 This time the night passed nearly away 
 without an alarm. It was almost daylight, 
 when from the fig orchard lying upon the east 
 erly side of the house, the tories suddenly ap 
 peared and made a furious dash to gain the 
 piazza. Had they accomplished this, their suc 
 cess in overcoming resistance would have been 
 almost certain. Only half the little force was 
 stationed behind the wooden parapet. The 
 rest, as we know, were in the rifle pits in front. 
 But Jacqueline had foreseen a situation of this 
 kind, and had carefully instructed her little ne 
 groes in anticipation of it. She blew a little 
 whistle twice. That, by preconcerted agree 
 ment, informed the young soldiers that the en 
 emy was coming from the east, and it ordered 
 them also to retire by way of the west from the 
 rifle pits to the porch. They came as a timely 
 reinforcement just after their comrades behind 
 the defences had emptied their guns; and their 
 second volley, coming unexpectedly to their 
 enemies after they had supposed all the defen- 
 
 404
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 sive rifles emptied, drove the tories back into 
 the fig orchard. 
 
 By this time the day was dawning, and Jac 
 queline could see that the force in the orchard 
 was much greater than that which she had suc 
 ceeded in repelling on the night before. She 
 had little hope now of making her resistance 
 long successful. For the men in the bushes 
 spread themselves out in open order and seized 
 upon every point from which they could fight 
 behind shelter. Hencoops, kitchen chimneys, 
 large trees, negro quarters, and even the curb 
 of the well became breastworks for the enemy. 
 From these they poured an irregular but most 
 annoying fire into the piazza, which of course 
 was open and exposed except for its low, plank 
 defence. Jack's little negroes stood their 
 ground most manfully. 
 
 " Poor fellows," she said to herself, " their 
 courage will cost them dear, but it is better that 
 they should die here fighting, than fall into the 
 hands of those men." 
 
 So she kept them at work loading as rapidly 
 as they could, and under her direction reserv 
 ing their fire until heads were exposed from be 
 hind the barriers occupied by the enemy. 
 
 " Do not waste your bullets," she presently 
 
 405
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 enjoined the boys. " Do not shoot until you 
 see something to hit." 
 
 Nevertheless, the enemy was steadily gain 
 ing an advantage. A squad of them would 
 now and then quit the shelter from behind 
 which they had been fighting, and hurriedly 
 gain another nearer at hand. In this way they 
 were slowly but surely encompassing the man 
 sion to its fall. 
 
 A fierce fusilade was now coming from be 
 hind a log building used as a kitchen, and 
 standing only thirty or forty feet distant from 
 the house. Between it and the house was a 
 smaller building where stores were kept. 
 Should the enemy gain this, further resistance 
 would be impossible, and Helen, seeing the sit 
 uation, said to Jack : 
 
 " I am going to burn them out of that kitch 
 en." With that she seized and lighted two of 
 the great pine torches in the dining room, and 
 crouching low to the ground, ran quickly to the 
 little storehouse. She waited within it for her 
 opportunity, and, passing through, she ran to 
 the kitchen building, climbed up the logs that 
 formed its walls, and thrusting the torches 
 through the window of the little upper sleep 
 ing-room, plunged them into the straw of the 
 cook's mattress. Dropping instantly to the 
 
 406
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 ground she retreated to the house under a 
 shower of bullets, but happily received no 
 harm. In half a minute the kitchen was wrap 
 ped in flames, and the men who had been hid 
 den behind it, scampered hastily to the shelter 
 of the big trees behind. 
 
 407
 
 XXXII 
 
 FIRE and SWORD 
 
 one problem set Roger Alton to 
 solve was to outride Time itself in his 
 dash homeward. As was his custom, 
 he kept silent for a time as the cavalcade thun 
 dered forward, and tried to think out all the 
 conditions that might cause delay, and all the 
 devices that might help haste. At the top of a 
 hill he halted his men to breathe their horses, 
 and during the brief wait he gave them some 
 hurried orders. 
 
 The news of what was happening at Alton 
 House had quickly spread among them from 
 those of them who had been present when 
 Marlborough delivered his message. They 
 knew what their mission was, and they were 
 eager to perform it well; for besides being sol 
 diers, earnest in their work, and Americans 
 full of implacable hatred to the tories and 
 especially to Tiger Bill they were devoted to 
 
 408
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 their young leader with a loyalty that knew no 
 bounds. Roger said to them : 
 
 " Men, we are going to ride night and day. 
 We have enough in our food-bags to keep us 
 from starving, but we are likely to ride our 
 horses to death. Let every man of you change 
 his horse for a fresher one whenever he has an 
 opportunity. Leave the old one in exchange, 
 and tell the owner of the new one that if he is 
 not satisfied with the trade, Roger Alton will 
 pay full price in gold for every horse taken. 
 Tell them to come to me when this dash is over, 
 and I will satisfy their utmost demands. But 
 take the horses anyhow." 
 
 " And say also," said young Barnegal, " that 
 Charles Barnegal goes Roger Alton's security 
 for every dollar. I pledge every acre of land 
 that I own, and every shilling I have on earth 
 in this behalf. But keep yourselves well 
 mounted, and keep together as well as you 
 can." With that they dashed forward again. 
 
 Night and day they rode without ceasing, 
 scarcely pausing even to give their horses 
 breath, and when one of them dropped out of 
 the ranks to get water, or to exchange his horse 
 for a better one, he was not long in rejoining 
 the band. 
 
 Fortunately, no enemy was encountered on 
 
 409
 
 A CAROLTNA CAVALIER 
 
 the way to delay them, and fortunately too they 
 had Maryborough for their guide. The young 
 negro had been a ceaseless night hunter since 
 his early boyhood. He had followed raccoons 
 and opossums through all the woods within 
 twenty miles of Alton House, and on the black 
 est night that ever came could thread his way 
 successfully through every swamp and wood 
 land. 
 
 Roger called him to his side as they reached 
 the region over which he knew that Marl- 
 borough's sporting proclivities had made him 
 master. He said to him : " Marlborough, we 
 want the shortest cuts. Never mind the roads 
 when you know a quicker way. The thing is 
 to get there." 
 
 " I can save ten miles at least," answered 
 Marlborough, " and between you and me, Mas' 
 Roger, my head aches so bad that I am in a 
 hurry to get to Alton House." 
 
 With that effort to disguise his emotion by 
 pretended levity, the black young giant burst 
 into tears and wept like a woman. For expla 
 nation, when he had conquered his emotion, he 
 said : " Mas' Roger, you must excuse me, but 
 I cannot help thinking what mought be hap- 
 penin' at Alton House. Can't we ride faster, 
 Mas' Roger?" 
 
 410
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Three o'clock on New Year's morning found 
 the band at the edge of a swamp ten miles from 
 Alton House, as the crow flies, fifteen at least 
 by way .of the nearest traveled road. Here 
 Marlborough said to his master : " Will you 
 blow de horses a bit, while I goes into de 
 bushes? I think mebbe I can find something." 
 
 Sure of the negro's loyalty and confident of 
 his sagacity, Roger bade him go on the pro 
 posed search. He dismounted and was gone 
 for perhaps ten minutes, until his master be 
 came impatient of the delay and was about to 
 move forward when he reappeared. 
 
 " I'se found it, sah, I thought it was here. I 
 can lead you now through de swamp. Dere's 
 a little ole hut down there that I built once for 
 some hunters. From there on for the next 
 five miles I can follow de bank of de creek, 
 though de water is a good deal out just now, 
 and you may have to ride up to your stirrups 
 now and then, or mebbe swim a little. It will 
 save five miles at least, and when we gets out 
 o* de swamp, we'll have hard open pine land 
 for de rest o' de way." 
 
 " Are you sure that you can find the way. 
 We don't want to get lost in the swamp." 
 
 " Suah, sah. I've tramped it many a time 
 when I had to wade up to my armpits. You 
 
 411
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 won't get lost if you foller me, and you won't 
 lose no time, nuther." 
 
 With that he mounted and led the way, the 
 men riding behind in single file, for after all it 
 was scarcely more than a squirrel path, broken 
 through dense cane and among the overhang 
 ing vines, that Marlborough was now thread 
 ing. With a precision that seemed almost mir 
 aculous, the negro picked his way in the in 
 tense darkness through a morass that few 
 white men would have been able to pass even 
 in the brightest day. Half an hour of struggle 
 with vines and cane, half an hour of flounder 
 ing in mires and pushing through water of 
 varying depths, brought the party at last to the 
 farther limit of the swamp and into the pine 
 land. There they renewed the gallop, and 
 pushing forward in a course as straight as the 
 flight of a bee, came in a little while longer into 
 the open fields of the Alton House plantation. 
 Here Roger was at home and needed no further 
 guidance. 
 
 Just as the day was breaking he heard the 
 sound of guns. His men heard it too, and like 
 madmen they dashed forward pell-mell wait 
 ing for no leadership, every man pushing his 
 horse to his utmost in his effort to gain the 
 front and save time. Now and then a horse 
 
 412
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 fell exhausted. His rider would throw him 
 self, arms and all, upon the crupper of a com 
 panion's steed. Still it was on, on, on, they 
 went, no man thinking of himself or of any 
 thing in the world except the rescue of the help 
 less women assailed by cowards at Alton 
 House. 
 
 As they approached nearer, a sudden burst 
 of flame greeted their eyes. 
 
 " They have fired the house," said Barnegal. 
 
 " Yes, and God knows," said Roger, " what 
 has happened first. I know that Jack has made 
 the stoutest resistance she could, but they have 
 beaten her and got possession." 
 
 The words were muttered between his teeth 
 with a note of intended vengeance in every 
 syllable. The men too were excited, and an 
 gry beyond their customary resource of swear 
 ing. They gritted their teeth and rode silent 
 ly, every man thinking of the vengeance he 
 meant to wreak as soon as his over-taxed ani 
 mal could bear him to the scene of action. 
 
 Without pausing to form in any regular or 
 der, Roger led his men through the garden 
 beds, over the glass of the cold frames, through 
 a fence which Bullet crushed with his chest as 
 he came upon it unawares, into the midst of 
 the tories in the fig orchard. 
 
 413
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 He saw in an instant that the enemy had not 
 in fact gained possession of the house, that Jac 
 queline was still holding out, and in order that 
 she might know that rescue was at hand, and 
 in order also that her young riflemen might not 
 pour a volley into his own band, he blew a blast 
 which he knew she would recognize, upon the 
 silver-mounted huntsman's horn that he always 
 carried slung over his shoulder, and used in 
 lieu of a bugle. 
 
 At that instant his men fell upon the tories 
 with a savagery and determination not less- 
 destructive in its purpose than that of the war 
 painted wild Indian. Such of the tories as 
 did not fall at the first onset, threw down 
 their arms, and threw up their hands begging 
 for quarter. 
 
 Roger and young Barnegal called to their 
 men that the enemy had surrendered, but Bur 
 ton the bullet-headed, turned to the men near 
 est him with the laconic remark: 
 
 " Surrender be damned ! " 
 
 The men understood him, and they shared 
 his impulse. In the fury of their excitement 
 and anger they were determined to leave no 
 man of all that tory band alive. Right and 
 left they dealt their sabre-strokes, and it was 
 only by placing himself between them and the 
 
 414
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 little squad which was all that remained of the 
 enemy, that Roger at last succeeded in stopping 
 the slaughter, and rescuing five of the men 
 alive as prisoners. 
 
 For weeks and months afterwards Burton 
 and the men who had been around him in the 
 melee used to wonder over their camp fires 
 " why on airth Cap'n Alton dun it. Why on 
 airth didn't he let us finish the job while we wuz 
 at it? Whoever hearn of giving quarter to 
 rattlesnakes, or takin' mad dogs prisoners ? " 
 
 " Waal," answered one of the men, " of 
 course I agree with you. I ain't got no use at 
 all fer lettin' a man live when he's a coward 
 and fights wimmin. But you know, the 
 Cap'n's more differenter. He's eddicated, an' 
 somehow eddication makes a fellow soft-like 
 in his insides." 
 
 " Who says Cap'n Alton's soft-like ? " spoke 
 up one of the men in obvious resentment. 
 
 " Oh, I didn't mean," responded the other, 
 " I didn't mean just what you think. He's got 
 grit, Cap'n Alton has. He's got sand in his 
 gizzard if ever a man had in this world I don't 
 mean that but when he's got the other fellow 
 down, he won't kick him, even if he knows him 
 to be a coward." 
 
 " Somehow, I can't help liking that in him," 
 
 415
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 said another one of the party, " though of 
 course we can't rise to it, as the lawyers say in 
 court. We can't quite understand it, but I 
 guess arter all, it's right. Them fellers had 
 give up, and you bet 'fore Cap'n Alton let 'em 
 go, they wusn't in any condition to fight 
 again." 
 
 " What did he do with 'em ? " asked another. 
 
 " He turned 'em over to some of Sumter's 
 men, and they took 'em off up country. I 
 reckon they's prisoners somewheres now. Any 
 how, they ain't in the business of fightin' 
 women no more, and I guess there won't be 
 much more of that sort of fightin' down in our 
 part of the country." 
 
 But this is getting ahead of our story. 
 
 The moment Roger had secured his prison 
 ers against harm, he directed Burton with a 
 squad of men to scour the grounds about the 
 house and the fields for a mile away. 
 
 " See that there's nobody left with a gun," 
 he said to his follower. 
 
 Burton, biting off a large mouthful of to 
 bacco responded with the quite unmilitary but 
 entirely characteristic remark : " You bet." 
 
 Then Roger and Barnegal hurried to the 
 house and met Jacqueline and Helen at the en 
 trance. Both were agitated after the terrible 
 
 416
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 experience they had been through, but both 
 were radiant with the sense of victory. Hur 
 ried greetings were followed by equally hurried 
 inquiries on the part of the two young men as 
 to the amount of damage done. 
 
 Two of the brave little black fellows who 
 had so stubbornly defended the mansion were 
 lying on improvised cots, and the little old doc 
 tor who had remained at the house after his 
 first summons, attended their wounds. None 
 had been killed, but the physician would not 
 answer yet for the results in the case of these 
 two. " Fortunately," he said, " they will have 
 good nursing, anyhow," and with that the old 
 man went off talking more to himself than to 
 anybody else, and talking mainly in terms of 
 profanity concerning the dastardly outrage 
 that had been committed. 
 
 " Damn it, Captain Alton," he said, sud 
 denly, " I am afraid I have saved the life of the 
 old miscreant that brought it all about. I have 
 done my best for old Tiger Bill, and damn him, 
 I believe he is going to get well." 
 
 At this moment a negro woman rushed into 
 the front room where this conversation was be 
 ing held, and announced that Alton House was 
 on fire. The flames which had served so well 
 in repelling the attack of the tories had been 
 
 417
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 caught by the wind and carried to the mansion 
 itself. 
 
 Roger's first care was to rescue the inmates 
 of the house, particularly the wounded. The 
 two stricken pickaninny soldiers were carried 
 by their comrades to a negro cabin, but it was a 
 much more difficult task to rescue Tiger Bill. 
 He had grown stout in his later years for one 
 thing, and at the first excitement of the fire he 
 had become hysterical. Yet after some diffi 
 culty he was sufficiently controlled to be carried 
 to a place of safety. The little old doctor ex 
 pressed the devout hope that perhaps some of 
 his wounds had been opened in the process, and 
 then went to bind them up in the event that that 
 should prove to be so. 
 
 All possible aid was summoned, including all 
 of Roger's men to extinguish the fire, but a 
 very few minutes' work showed clearly that 
 there was no hope of accomplishing that; at 
 tention was given instead to the saving of such 
 valuables as could be easily and quickly re 
 moved. 
 
 Before the traditional breakfast hour of Al 
 ton House had come, there was nothing left of 
 Alton House but the splendid thickness of its 
 massive walls. Jacqueline, who had borne up 
 bravely in danger gave way completely as 
 
 418
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 she saw the destruction wrought upon her 
 home. 
 
 When all was done that could be done, and 
 Colonel Alton had been comfortably installed 
 in his wheel-chair in an outhouse Roger called 
 his band to arms, and set out upon the work 
 that he now appointed to himself. 
 
 " I mean to clear this whole region of to- 
 ries," he said. " The fighting is growing vig 
 orous in the North and the British are drawing 
 away all of their regulars that have hitherto 
 been scattered about the country to encourage 
 and lead these tory raids. The tories, left to 
 themselves, will not accomplish much, I fancy. 
 At any rate, we will leave none of them here 
 with a gun in possession or within reach." 
 
 Leaving young Barnegal to comfort Jacque 
 line and to superintend such arrangements as 
 must now be made for the comfort of the house 
 hold, Roger took his departure without waiting 
 even for such breakfast as could be prepared. 
 
 Just before he went the old doctor came to 
 him, his eyes positively sparkling with delight. 
 
 " It has done for him, Captain Alton ; I am 
 sure it has done for him, damn him. I have 
 got his wounds all right, but this last fright 
 he's an awful coward isn't he? has brought 
 back his jimjams, and upon my word I don't 
 
 419
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 believe I shall be able to conquer them. At any 
 rate, if I do, I will give you notice somehow so 
 you can hold him prisoner." 
 
 Roger knew the necessity of holding the old 
 man prisoner. He knew how certainly the 
 men under his own command would have taken 
 him out and hanged him to the nearest tree if 
 they had been permitted to get at him. So he 
 was glad enough to draw off his force, and oc 
 cupy them in other and more legitimate ways. 
 
 420
 
 XXXIII 
 
 THE PAPERS in the CASE 
 
 THE doctor's prognosis proved correct. 
 Old Barnegal, in spite of all that 
 could be done for him, remained a 
 raving maniac for two days longer, and then 
 died in a spasm, the severity of which awakened 
 the pity even of the doctor himself. 
 
 For young Barnegal this event of course cre 
 ated a totally new situation. He sent a mes 
 senger to inform Roger of his plans, so that he 
 might be summoned to his commander's side 
 in the event of need, and then went at once to 
 the lawyer who had long had charge of his 
 uncle's affairs. He found him a man scrupu 
 lously exact in everything, from the tying of his 
 queue or the polishing of his finger nails, to the 
 indexing and classifying and digestion of docu 
 ments. 
 
 After Barnegal had told him of Tiger Bill's 
 death a bit of news which the old gentleman 
 received without the slightest sign of emotion 
 
 421
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 of any kind, the lawyer said to the young 
 man: 
 
 " You of course are the only heir. There are 
 no other relatives to divide the estate with you, 
 and certainly none to dispute your right to the 
 succession. I see no reason why you should 
 not go to The Live Oaks and take possession at 
 once. As for the legal formalities, if you de 
 sire me, Mr. Barnegal, to continue in my capa 
 city as counsel to the estate, I will arrange them 
 with very little trouble to you. I shall ask you 
 now and then for your signature that is all." 
 
 "But," said young Barnegal, "What if 
 there is a will? My uncle never intended to 
 die, leaving his estate to me, I know." 
 
 " I presume not," answered the lawyer. " In 
 fact, I have gathered that much from time to 
 time from his well, let us call it his conversa 
 tion if you will but still I tell you there is no 
 will. The fact is, that your uncle was a person 
 much under the domination of superstition, 
 He had an impression which I find common 
 enough among men of his temperament and 
 well let me say his habits that the making of 
 a will is apt to prove the precursor of an early 
 death. He often talked with me on the subject 
 and often declared his purpose presently to at 
 tend to that business. But I assure you, he 
 
 422
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 never did so. I have all his papers in charge 
 here in my office." And opening a case 
 marked "William Barnegal," he showed within 
 an orderly array of documents, each carefully 
 folded and endorsed, and all of them neatly 
 tied with red tape into bundles, each bundle 
 reposing in a carefully labeled pigeon-hole of 
 its own. 
 
 " By the way," said the man of law, taking 
 out one of these parcels, " Here are some docu 
 ments which it may be of interest to you to 
 examine at your earliest leisure. They belong 
 of right to you. They belonged to you of right 
 while your uncle lived, though I could never 
 persuade him to let me give them to you. He 
 always intended instead to destroy them in 
 order that they might never fall into your 
 hands. Fortunately, I have been able to pre 
 vent that. He has believed for many months 
 past that he had destroyed them. He was con 
 fident in his own mind that he had burned them 
 in the dining-room fire at the Live Oaks, 
 where he did in fact burn copies of them which 
 I had carefully made, and which, when he de 
 manded the documents at my hands for the 
 purpose of destroying them, I substituted for 
 the originals. You know the old gentleman's 
 well, let us say, um unfortunate habits in 
 
 423
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 life. On the day in question, I went to him on 
 a summons demanding that I bring these docu 
 ments to him. Foreseeing his purpose, and 
 realizing how unjust to you it would be to per 
 mit their destruction, I bound up copies in a 
 bundle precisely similar to this, labeled it as this 
 is labeled, and going to him, earnestly entreated 
 him not to destroy the papers. He grew angry 
 with me for indeed on that day he was rather 
 'more under um, let us say the influence of 
 stimulants than usual. As I argued, and 
 pleaded, withholding the papers, or seeming to 
 withhold them, he grew hotter and at last he 
 snatched the parcel from my hand, glanced at 
 the superscription, and tossed the whole into 
 the fire. Naturally, I did not tell him of the 
 mistake he had made, or of the substitution 
 which I had felt it my duty to practice. I, um 
 let us say simulated regret at the catastro 
 phe, and after a while I left him. Thus you 
 see the original documents which I know con 
 cern you in very vitally important ways, have 
 remained in my possession, and I have now the 
 pleasure of delivering them into your hands. 
 No, don't open them now, please," seeing that 
 Barnegal in his eagerness was about to cut the 
 red tape ligatures, " don't open them now, 
 please, but when you are quite calm. These 
 
 424
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 documents are partly in English and partly in 
 Spanish ; but mainly they are in French, a lan 
 guage which I believe you read with reasonable 
 ease." Barnegal signified that he did. " Sup 
 posing that your knowledge of Spanish was " 
 
 " I know nothing whatever of Spanish," said 
 Barnegal. 
 
 " Ah, so I feared," said the man of law, 
 " and, as I was about to say, anticipating that 
 difficulty, I have been at pains to make careful 
 translations of the Spanish documents into 
 English, placing them each with its original in 
 order that you might have no trouble in going 
 through the whole in consecutive order. Let 
 me urge upon you to read them only in that 
 way. It would produce confusion even in a 
 legally trained mind to examine them other 
 wise than in their proper order. You will go 
 at once to The Live Oaks, I presume ? " 
 
 Barnegal signified his intention of doing so. 
 
 " Very well. You will perhaps have need 
 to consult me now and then in order to learn 
 matters of business detail which it would be im 
 portant for you, as the new master of the estate, 
 to know. Pray call upon me whenever you 
 wish. Your uncle's papers at home if he left 
 any will afford you probably little if any as 
 sistance in elucidating his affairs. He was a 
 
 425
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 careless person in such matters, as I have had 
 frequent occasion to observe, and in view of 
 that fact I have for some years past in fact 
 ever since well, let us say, um, ever since 
 well, ever since his unfortunate appetites if I 
 may so characterize them got the better of 
 his discretion, I have made it a practice to pos 
 sess myself of every written document belong 
 ing to him which might at any time be needed 
 in the settlement of his affairs. No, no, you 
 mistake me, if you suppose I have done this 
 surreptitiously. I have in each case notified 
 him that I had taken the paper, and would hold 
 it subject to his examination at any time. I 
 did so conscientiously in the discharge of my 
 duties as his solicitor. It was with respect to 
 those documents that you have in your pocket 
 and which he wished to destroy it was with 
 respect to them alone that I was, that I ever 
 practised, well, let us say reserve in dealing 
 with him, and I felt myself justified in doing 
 so, as I have tried to explain to you, by my con 
 sciousness that the documents in question be 
 longed to you rather than to him, and that in 
 any case he had no right to destroy them. In 
 the absence of such a right, it was my duty to 
 prevent him from doing an act which, if not 
 quite criminal, would have bordered so nearly 
 
 426
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 upon crime as to be well, let us say at the 
 least regrettable. ' ' 
 
 And so, with a laborious precision which 
 amused while it annoyed the impatient young 
 man, the lawyer laid before him every fact and 
 consideration which he deemed it necessary 
 then to communicate, stating each with as mi 
 nute care, and as much exactitude of phrase as 
 if he had been writing documents to be pres 
 ently submitted to the scrutiny of a chancery 
 court. 
 
 When young Barnegal entered the mansion 
 of The Live Oaks, whose late master lay still 
 unburied at Alton House, he found among the 
 servants there no indication of sorrow at their 
 master's death. On the contrary, those who 
 had been his immediate servitors the house 
 hold people quickly gathered in the hall to 
 welcome their new master with faces that indi 
 cated only joy in the change. 
 
 When the young man had spoken a few 
 words to them, and sent them away about their 
 several businesses, he wandered for a little 
 while through the empty rooms, keenly feeling 
 their desolate loneliness, and after a time find 
 ing himself moved to some small degree at 
 least of pity for the man who had so long lived 
 there with no companionship but that of his 
 
 427
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 own evil temper, no associates but his own un 
 happy moods. 
 
 " What a life it must have been ! " he ex 
 claimed to himself. " For years this uncle of 
 mine has dwelt here with no family, no wife, 
 no children, no relatives, and even no visitors. 
 I doubt if any white man has crossed his 
 threshold in friendship for a dozen years at 
 least. What a life, what a life, what a life! 
 Tragedy would be light reading in comparison 
 with the story of it." 
 
 But it was now quite dark, and the young 
 man, finding no bell anywhere rapped upon the 
 table for one of the servants to come to him, 
 unconsciously using the signal to which the 
 dead man had so long accustomed those about 
 him. The negro boy was startled at first by 
 the thought that it was his late master's ghost 
 that had summoned him. He entered with 
 face and lips of that peculiar hue which in black 
 men takes the place of pallor. Young Barne- 
 gal ordered lights, and the servant announced 
 that supper was served in the dining-room. 
 The youth had fasted since early morning, and 
 had made a long journey on horseback, but 
 until now he had not thought of food, so that 
 he was surprised when he recognized his own 
 famished condition. 
 
 428
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Hastily despatching his supper, he bade the 
 servants clear away the table furniture, bring 
 abundant lights and leave him alone. " If 
 I want you I will call you," he said. Then he 
 sat himself down and opened the bundle which 
 he knew held his fate. 
 
 Taking up the first paper, he found it to be 
 in the lawyer's handwriting. It read as fol 
 lows in its introduction: 
 
 " There are nine papers in this parcel. They 
 are the property of Charles Barnegal, the 
 younger, the son and successor of the late 
 Charles Barnegal, and in the event of my death 
 they should be placed in his hands without ex 
 amination. These papers relate solely to the 
 question of the legitimacy of the said Charles 
 Barnegal, the younger. They are papers writ 
 ten long before that gentleman was born and 
 cherished for a time by the relatives of his 
 mother in France. Later they came into pos 
 session of William Barnegal, his uncle, who 
 claimed them on the occasion of a death in 
 France, and took possession of them in his 
 capacity as guardian for his nephew, the said 
 Charles Barnegal, the younger." 
 
 Then followed a precise schedule of the pa 
 pers in the bundle and a synopsis of each of 
 them in its turn, which Barnegal ran through 
 
 429
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 with constantly increasing excitement. Before 
 he had finished his perusal of this first docu 
 ment, his eyes were aflame and his tongue 
 parched. He looked up from his work in 
 search of water, and found instead a tray care 
 fully set out with a decanter of brandy and ac 
 companying glasses. The sight recalled him 
 to himself, and with an amused smile he mut 
 tered " Obviously the habits of the late owner 
 of The Live Oaks were well understood by his 
 servitors, and they do not know how completely 
 they have died with him." With that he rapped 
 upon the table, bade the boy remove the liquor 
 and bring fresh water in its stead. The young 
 negro in astonishment glanced at the decanter, 
 and saw that its contents were still untouched. 
 After he had served his master with the water 
 demanded, the boy hastened to the kitchen to 
 relate this wonderful news to the other serv 
 ants gathered there. 
 
 Barnegal proceeded to read the papers men 
 tioned in the schedule. The first was a letter 
 from Emile Gamier to Charles Barnegal. 
 " From my maternal grandfather," the young 
 man said to himself, " to my father." It was 
 in French and read as follows: 
 
 " My notary informs me of certain matters which it 
 will be necessary for you to explain to me before I 
 
 43
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 can proceed further with our negotiations for your mar 
 riage with my daughter. Information has been given 
 me from no less authoritative a source than your 
 brother, Mr. William Barnegal, to the effect that two 
 years and four months ago you were married in Madrid 
 to a woman whose name Mr. William Barnegal does 
 not know ; that she was a woman far beneath you in 
 social status, ignorant, and perhaps depraved; that after 
 a brief infatuation you quitted her or she quitted you, 
 and you came to France. There is no intimation from 
 your brother that this woman is dead. If not, she must 
 still be your wife, and you are not free to marry any 
 other woman. Permit me, sir, to hope that there is 
 some error in this information, for I am loath to believe 
 that you would be capable of asking for the hand of a 
 pure and highly-bred young woman, knowing yourself 
 to be already a married man." 
 
 There, with the usual formalities of signa 
 ture and address, the letter ended. 
 
 The next document was the reply to this let 
 ter. In it young Barnegal's father, then him 
 self a young man, had written briefly, saying : 
 
 " In answer to your inquiries, I beg to say that if you 
 will give me sufficient time, I will secure from Madrid 
 and lay before you quite satisfactory evidence of the 
 essential falsity of the information given to you concerning 
 me. I will show you that at the time of my supposed 
 marriage to a Spanish woman who called herself Maria 
 Ruiz, she was a person incapable of contracting mar 
 riage, being in fact the wife already of a Spanish mer 
 chant who had discarded her for her dissoluteness. I 
 may say by way of explanation that at the time I met 
 her she was posing as the maiden daughter of a widow, 
 
 43 1
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 and seemed rather well placed socially, though deeply in 
 need of money. An accident threw her into my way, 
 and both she and the woman who professed to be her 
 mother made the most of it. Their appeals to my sym 
 pathies and to a certain sense of chivalry were too much 
 for the not over strong head of a young man foot loose 
 in the world and possessed of ample fortune. I married 
 the young woman, as I supposed, only to learn very 
 shortly into what a trap I had been drawn. I found both 
 women to be adventuresses of the worst possible kind. 
 I learned also of the fact that the woman was already a 
 wife. Proof of these facts I will lay before you in such 
 shape as to satisfy you I am sure, and surely such facts 
 should be sufficient to acquit me of the charge brought 
 against me. But these are not all. I will show you 
 further by indisputable official evidence, that the woman 
 herself is dead. Otherwise, void as our marriage was 
 from the beginning, I should not now be a suitor for 
 the hand of a woman whom I esteem as I do your 
 daughter." 
 
 Then followed a mass of legal documents 
 written in Spanish, and attested by many Span 
 ish notarial seals. They told in effect the story 
 that Barnegal had promised to establish, and 
 they added to it the bit of information that the 
 woman in the case was very certainly dead, for 
 the reason that she had been garotted for crime 
 under the decree of a court. 
 
 Added to these were some letters from Emile 
 Gamier, warm, enthusiastic, loyal letters ad 
 dressed to the young man whom he had per 
 mitted scandal to wrong in his mind, and there 
 
 43 2
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 was one little letter, written under permission 
 evidently, and guarded in its phrases, as a 
 French maiden's letters to her affianced hus 
 band must always be, signed in the little femi 
 nine hand with which Charles had become fa 
 miliar as the handwriting of his mother many, 
 many years before. 
 
 Rising from the perusal of these documents, 
 the young man paced the floor until he came in 
 front of the portrait of his late uncle. It had 
 been painted before dissipation and evil tempers 
 had wrought their full havoc upon the visage 
 depicted in it, but the likeness was strong yet, 
 and the picture seemed to stare at him there in 
 the midnight with sinister eyes. 
 
 " What a devil you were ! " the youth ex 
 claimed, as he looked back into the eyes that 
 seemed to menace him from the canvas. 
 " What a traitor you were ! What an incon 
 ceivable liar and slanderer you were! " 
 
 Midnight as it was, and weary as the young 
 man ought to have been, but was not, he has 
 tily rapped upon the table, and the serving man, 
 who had been asleep in the corridor, as hastily 
 responded. 
 
 " Have my horse saddled and brought to the 
 door immediately," was his command. 
 
 433
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Fifteen minutes later young Barnegal was 
 pushing his horse at an almost cruel pace on the 
 way to Alton House. 
 
 434
 
 XXXIV 
 
 THE END of a COMPLEXITY 
 
 rOUNG BARNEGAL arrived at Alton 
 House just as Jacqueline and her 
 guests, the Vargaves, were sitting 
 down to breakfast in the negro cabin which had 
 served as their dining-room since the burning 
 of the mansion. He had ridden so hard and so 
 recklessly of mud, that his clothing was even 
 more dishevelled than it had been at the end of 
 the long march of rescue. His face was hag 
 gard with excitement and loss of sleep, and the 
 first impression his appearance produced upon 
 Jacqueline was one of alarm. 
 
 " Something has happened," she said to him 
 " something terrible. Tell me, Charlie, tell 
 me quickly what it is." 
 
 " Yes, dear, something has happened," he 
 replied, " but not something terrible some 
 thing glad, and glorious and good instead." 
 
 Then he hastily told her the substance of 
 what he had discovered, and the character of 
 
 435
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 the revelation made to him by the bundle of 
 papers. His first impulse was to ask an au 
 dience at once of Colonel Alton, whose suffer 
 ings did not permit him to join the family at 
 table, but for the first time in her life Jacqueline 
 fainted. The courage that had carried her 
 through trials which few women or few men 
 either could have borne so well, gave way in 
 the presence of the great good news. 
 
 When she was sufficiently recovered to be 
 left in the care of Mrs. Vargave and Helen, 
 young Barnegal reflected that the mission on 
 which he was about to go to Colonel Alton was 
 one closely touching Jacqueline. " And for 
 such a mission," he said, " a man should be at 
 his most presentable best." 
 
 Laughingly he said to Jacqueline, who was 
 now under self-control, " Impatient as I am, 
 I should wait to dress myself in silk attire for 
 such a purpose, if I had any silk attire lying 
 about anywhere. As it is, I can only submit 
 myself to the hands and brushes of one of your 
 servants, and let him make me as presentable as 
 may be under the circumstances." 
 
 A servant was summoned ; the young man's 
 clothes were brushed; his riding boots were 
 cleaned of the soil. After that, the youth se 
 cured razors and proceeded to shave himself, 
 
 43 6
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 arid put his hair in order. In the meantime, he 
 had so far recovered his self-possession, that he 
 felt equal to the task of " behaving like a 
 grown man and a soldier," as he put it, during 
 his interview with the old gentleman. 
 
 Going to him at last upon his invitation, 
 Barnegal drew the papers from the pocket into 
 which he had thrust them in a degree of dis 
 order which would have distressed the old so 
 licitor deeply. He laid them upon the table in 
 front of the older gentleman. 
 
 " Colonel Alton," he said, " I lay before you 
 complete, official, documentary proof of the 
 honor of my father and mother." 
 
 Then he hastily recounted the nature and 
 substance of the documents and added : 
 
 " I come to you now a man as well born as 
 yourself one entitled to ask any man in all 
 this land for the hand of his daughter. I come 
 to you too as the head of my own house, for 
 since the death of the man who so malignantly 
 schemed against my father first, and, for re 
 venge, against his memory and my mother's 
 afterward, I have not a relative to represent 
 the Barnegal name. If I were an Irishman, I 
 should be entitled to call myself ' The Bar 
 negal.' " 
 
 The old gentleman, with great difficulty and 
 
 437
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 greater dignity, rose to his feet and grasped the 
 younger man's hand. A few broken words of 
 affection were all that he could utter. Unable 
 to go on he closed the interview saying : 
 
 " Go now, my boy, and go with my blessing. 
 Tell Jacqueline all that has happened. When 
 you have done that," he added, recovering him 
 self, " I have a mission for you." 
 
 The young man asked eagerly what it was, 
 as eagerly promising to fulfill it on the in 
 stant. 
 
 " No," said the elder, " not until you have 
 seen Jacqueline and told her all. Here, take 
 these documents with you. I will keep this 
 schedule. It is quite all that I require. It is 
 due to Jacqueline that, after yourself, she should 
 be the first to read those papers. Take them to 
 her, and you and she read them together. After 
 that, go and find my son. Bid him, if it be pos 
 sible, come 'to me. If his duties forbid that 
 now, say to him for me that the last obstacle 
 which stood in the way of his love and the or 
 dering of his life as he had planned it, is gone. 
 You perhaps have not realized it, Charles, but 
 your uncle's death of which Roger is not yet 
 informed removes a danger that hung over 
 Helen's head until now. Say to Roger that I 
 am ready now, whenever he wishes, to go to 
 
 438
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Mrs. Vargave with the request he once asked 
 me to prefer to that lady." 
 
 Barnegal went to Jacqueline, as he had been 
 bidden, and told her all. Together they read all 
 the papers, line by line. When they had done, 
 Jack, always mindful of others, said : 
 
 " You must go now, Charles, on the mission 
 my father gave you. You must find Roger and 
 hasten his hour of rejoicing." 
 
 Singularly enough, the reading of those old, 
 time yellowed documents by Barnegal and his 
 sweetheart, had consumed the greater part of 
 the day, though it had taken Barnegal by him 
 self only an hour or two, during the preceding 
 night, to go carefully through every one of 
 them. 
 
 Barnegal had slept no wink now for thirty- 
 six hours, but no desire for sleep troubled him. 
 He was young, strong and a seasoned night- 
 rider ; but better still he was under the irresist 
 ible stimulus of a great joy. So without a 
 thought of weariness he swung himself upon 
 a fresh horse, furnished by little Jack especially 
 for this gladsome occasion, and set off at al 
 most breakneck speed to follow and find Roger. 
 
 The task of finding that young cavalier was 
 not a difficult one, though he was more than 
 twenty miles away. For, maddened by the 
 
 439,
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 dastardly assault upon Alton House and by the 
 destruction wrought there, Captain Alton was 
 making his presence terribly manifest, wher 
 ever he went, and he went everywhere where a 
 tory was likely to be found. 
 
 When told of the good news, he placed Bar- 
 negal in command of his force, which was now 
 rapidly increasing in strength, and himself 
 hastened home. 
 
 " I will join you again to-morrow or the 
 next day at latest, Charlie. Meantime con 
 tinue the work with all possible vigor. You 
 understand what it is. We must clear this 
 whole region of tories and make a final end of 
 their pestilent activity. Good-by! I'll be with 
 you to-morrow or next day ! " 
 
 440
 
 XXXV 
 
 IN which MARLBO ROUGH attains MILITARY 
 COMMAND 
 
 THE task that Roger Alton had set him 
 self was one requiring time and cease 
 less activity. Now that Tiger Bill 
 was dead the tories in that region were discour 
 aged by the loss of his financial support and the 
 stronger support of his matchless malignity, but 
 they had gained, on the other hand, the courage 
 of rats in a corner. Every man of them was 
 now known in his true character. Every man 
 of them expected that the success of the patriots 
 would mean more or less of outlawry for him 
 self and his family, and so they were impelled 
 by fear of consequences which might come 
 by means of a rope dangling from a tree to 
 fight desperately. 
 
 It was a fierce and bloody struggle, therefore, 
 that Captain Alton's band had to wage, but 
 little by little they achieved success. They 
 broke up one tory band after another, and as 
 they now manifested a determined purpose not 
 
 441
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 to be content with the dissolution of the organ 
 ized bands, but to drive every individual tory 
 utterly out of that part of the state, their foes 
 steadily decreased in numbers. Some of them 
 fled to the protection of the British at Charles 
 Town or Savannah. The bolder ones among 
 them made their way to the scene of regular 
 military operations in the northwestern part of 
 the state and in North Carolina, where they en 
 listed regularly in the British militia regiments 
 which Cornwallis had organized as an auxiliary 
 army. 
 
 The spring of 1781 was well advanced by the 
 time that Roger Alton and young Barnegal 
 began to recognize their work in the lower 
 country as practically accomplished, and by 
 that time a new dawn seemed at hand for South 
 Carolina. The partisans under Marion and 
 Sumter, and, in smaller bands like that which 
 Roger Alton had used so effectively, had com 
 pletely baffled the expectations of the British. 
 They had maintained an irregular but very 
 fierce and effective warfare, after all possibility 
 of war seemed to the British tacticians to be 
 past. They had made it harder to hold South 
 Carolina than it had been to overrun it. They 
 had taught their foes new and undreamed-of 
 lessons in the art of war. They had saved 
 
 442
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 South Carolina, and the time had now come to 
 reap the harvest they had sown. 
 
 General Nathaniel Greene had all this time 
 been conducting a campaign against Corn- 
 wallis, almost matchles-s in history, in the brill 
 iancy of its strategy and the tireless courage 
 and endurance with which it had been carried 
 out by a half-starved, ill-armed army of undis 
 ciplined patriots. 
 
 With an inferior force, this great general, 
 chosen by Washington himself for the tremen 
 dous task, had fought and manoeuvred Corn- 
 wallis out of South Carolina, across North 
 Carolina and into Virginia, where Washington 
 and LaFayette a few months later made him 
 bite the dust in humiliating surrender; and 
 when Greene saw him well on his way to his 
 doom, he himself ceased pursuit and turning 
 about, re-entered South Carolina to try con 
 clusions with the British forces there. 
 
 The story of his reconquest of the state reads 
 like romance in the pages of history. This is 
 not the place in which to recount it even in 
 outline. 
 
 It was to aid in this splendid campaign that 
 a messenger from Governor Rutledge now sum 
 moned Roger Alton and his band to the upper 
 part of the state. Before leaving, Roger placed 
 
 443
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 Marlborough in charge of the immediate de 
 fence of the Alton House plantations. There 
 was not much danger of tory activity in that 
 quarter now, but there was still enough to sug 
 gest precaution. Roger therefore instructed 
 his faithful serving man, who had by this time 
 shown himself to be also a brave and capable 
 soldier, to organize and arm all the able bodied 
 negroes on the estate as a home guard, and ex 
 plained to him that even without a white of 
 ficer in command, such a force would be fully 
 authorized in law as well as in morals, to do 
 soldierly work in the way of home defence. 
 His last charge to Marlborough was this : 
 
 " I am leaving all that I hold dear on earth in 
 your care, Marlborough. I expect you to keep 
 them in safety." 
 
 " If you don't find 'em safe when you come 
 back, Mas' Roger, you won't find any but a 
 dead Marlborough to blame for the failure ! " 
 
 With that the loyal black man held out his 
 hand and Roger grasped it warmly, saying : 
 
 " I know that, Marlborough. I know your 
 courage and your devotion. I trust you as I 
 would trust myself." 
 
 444
 
 T" T'ERY naturally Roger wanted to make 
 j/ Helen his wife before going away 
 V upon this new and arduous campaign, 
 
 as Barnegal had done with Jacqueline. 
 
 " I want to feel," Roger said, " that my 
 highest purpose in life is achieved, whatever 
 may be my fate with regard to the rest. I want 
 you to be my wife if anything should happen to 
 me. If you should be called upon to mourn me. 
 I want you to have the right to mourn me as a 
 husband dead on the field of honor, and not as 
 a lover merely, whom the artificialities of our 
 society would forbid you to mourn openly." 
 
 " What have we to do with artificialities, 
 Roger? " asked the girl with tear dimmed eyes. 
 " As I told you long ago, I count myself, in 
 my very soul, your wife, and should you fall 
 as the hero falls, be sure I shall assert all my 
 right as your wife to mourn my hero husband. 
 It is the other things that I do not wish to com- 
 
 445
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 plicate by the formalities of a marriage now 
 the property things you know. Should any 
 shilling's worth of your possessions come to 
 me as your widow, I should feel that the love 
 I bear you had been paid for with a price, and I 
 could not endure that. No, no, Roger! Let 
 us wait till independence is achieved for our 
 country. Let us wait till you have fulfilled the 
 last obligation to that Liberty that was your 
 mistress before you thought of loving me." 
 
 Then, in that lighter vein which she was cul 
 tivating for the sake of sending her lover forth 
 to battle with only cheerful memories, she 
 added : 
 
 " Besides you haven't yet fulfilled the con 
 dition I imposed upon you when we first agreed, 
 down there at Lonsdale, to call each other just 
 ' Roger ' and ' Helen.' You remember, I told 
 you you were going into the army and would 
 come to be a ' major ' or something else as 
 dignified as that. You are only a captain now. 
 When you come back to me as a major I will 
 marry you." 
 
 There was no use in arguing the matter, as 
 Roger saw clearly, and as his company was al 
 ready assembled, for the march which was to 
 begin within the hour, he had no further time 
 for parleying. 
 
 446 
 
 UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA 
 
 AT 
 TOQ
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 But while he was making his final disposi 
 tions Helen went on a little mission of her 
 own. From the storeroom she took an apronful 
 of sugar lumps, and, without attracting any 
 body's attention, fled with them to the stables. 
 There she fed them one by one to Bullet and 
 Mad Bess, saying to them as she did so : 
 
 " Carry your master well. Bring him back 
 to me in safety and I solemnly promise to feed 
 you all the sugar lumps that are good for you, 
 every day as long as you live." 
 
 And in the years that came afterwards she 
 kept her promise. Mad Bess, poor brute, was 
 killed under her master in the operations near 
 Ninety-six, and Bullet received a fearful bayo 
 net wound in the fierce fighting at Eutaw 
 Springs which in effect completed the redemp 
 tion of South Carolina and ended the war in 
 that part of the Union. But with the high 
 health that he had enjoyed from his earliest 
 colthood, he recovered, and it was upon his 
 back that some months later Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Roger Alton twice promoted for gallantry 
 rode from recovered Charles Town to Alton 
 House to claim his wife, and to begin, with her 
 aid and counsel, the joyous work of recon 
 structing the historic mansion in all the glory 
 of architectural adornment to which its sturdy 
 
 447
 
 A CAROLINA CAVALIER 
 
 walls invited its new master for Roger was 
 its master now, Col. Geoffrey Alton having 
 passed away, full of years and of honors. 
 
 Day by day, Helen went every morning to 
 Bullet's paddock for she would not have him 
 confined to a stall and paid him his pension 
 of sugar plums. And even when the coming of 
 a little Geoffrey Alton to be the future heir of 
 Alton House, held her prisoner for a time, she 
 did not forget, but sent the daily dole by trusty 
 hands, with loving messages which she firmly 
 believed the noble animal understood. Perhaps 
 he did, for who shall set a limit to understand 
 ing where love sends greetings ? 
 
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