The 
 Hornets 
 
 E-P-ROE
 
 The 
 lornet's Nest 
 
 A Story of Love and War 
 
 New York 
 Dodd, Mead and Company
 
 Copyright, 1886, 
 BY E. P. ROE. 
 
 Copyright 1887, 1892, 
 BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved.
 
 CONTENTS.. 
 
 CHAPTER. PACK. 
 
 I. A MIDNIGHT BATTLE, ... 7 
 
 II. AN HEROIC DEED, .... 31 
 
 III. HEADLONG FLIGHT, ... 53 
 
 IV. THE AMBUSCADE, .... 76 
 V. TORY ROBBERS, .... 96 
 
 VI. THE BATTLE OF THE BEES, - - 117 
 
 VII. PARTING BLOWS AND WEDDING BUGLES, 137 
 
 2137852
 
 THE HORNETS 1 NEST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 IT will be remembered that Charlotte is 
 the chief town of the " heady high- 
 minded " and famous county of Mecklen 
 burg, North Carolina, whose people vir 
 tually declared their independence of 
 England a year before Congress followed 
 their example and gave us our "glorious 
 Fourth of July." Lord Cornwallis, com 
 mander of the British army, on his retreat 
 from this village, halted at a plantation 
 and became the unwelcome guest of Mrs. 
 Robert Wilson, wife of the owner of the 
 estate. His lordship sought by flattering
 
 8 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 words to win this patriotic woman to roy 
 alistic views. 
 
 She replied, " I have seven sons, who 
 are now, or who have been, bearing arms ; 
 indeed, my seventh son, Zaccheus, who is 
 only fifteen years old, I yesterday assisted 
 to get ready to go and join his father and 
 brothers in Sumter's army. Now, sooner 
 than see one of my family turn back, I 
 would take these boys (pointing to three 
 small sons) and with them would myself 
 enlist and show my husband and sons 
 how to fight, and, if necessary, to die for 
 their country." 
 
 " Ah, ah, general," said the bloody- 
 handed Colonel Tarleton, at his elbow, 
 " I think you've got into a hornets' nest." 
 
 Either from this remark, or on account 
 of the unconquerable spirit and fighting 
 qualities of the people, the region, of 
 which the village of Charlotte was the 
 centre, became known during the Rev 
 olution as the " Hornets' Nest." Corn- 
 wallis always spoke of it under this title. 
 The following story, founded upon his 
 torical facts, may serve to show how active
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 9 
 
 were some of the boys, like young Zach 
 Wilson, in earning the epithet. In 1780 
 the British army was at Charlotte only 
 nineteen days, but a good deal happened 
 in that brief time. 
 
 The scene of my story opens at a plan 
 tation which gave evidence of thrift and 
 homely abundance. The house also was, 
 for that early day, roomy and comforta 
 ble. The family consisted of Mrs. Mcln- 
 tire, her daughter Ella, a blue-eyed lassie 
 of eighteen, her son Angus, nearly seven 
 teen, and two little girls. They were 
 just finishing their dinner when they were 
 hastily summoned to the veranda by thfr 
 distant clatter of a horse's hoofs. 
 
 " It's Burton Craige," cried Angus, 
 " and I reckon there's trouble from the 
 way he rides." 
 
 It was evident that Ella had recognized 
 the horseman also, for her color heightened 
 and her eyes were full of eager interest. 
 Although Burton Craige was but a year 
 older than herself, he was her acknowl 
 edged lover and her mother already loved 
 him as a son. The same terrible misfor-
 
 10 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 tune had drawn them together and ce 
 mented the ties of neighborly friendship. 
 Burton's father and Mrs. Mclntire's hus 
 band had both been killed in battle by the 
 troops commanded by the relentless 
 Tarleton. Young Craige's mother had 
 been feeble at the time and did not long 
 survive the shock of her husband's death. 
 Burton resided with a maiden aunt who, 
 from temperament, was able to do little 
 toward replacing those whom he had lost. 
 The orphan, therefore, had naturally 
 sought and found sympathy and com 
 panionship at the home to which he was 
 now so rapidly approaching. He was a 
 manly young fellow whom outdoor life 
 and sports had developed into fine and 
 vigorous proportions. The heavy down 
 on his upper lip and, his dark, full eyes 
 bespoke the early coming of manhood 
 and a fearless spirit. 
 
 "What is it?" cried Angus, running 
 forward to meet him. " Is the enemy 
 moving up?" 
 
 'Yes," replied the youth, hurriedly. 
 " Cornwallis is on the march and bloody
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. II 
 
 Tarleton is with him. Graham has sum 
 moned volunteers to Charlotte and I'm 
 on my way there, but reckoned I'd stop 
 and see if you wanted to go with me." 
 
 " Of course I do. Ho, there, Joe," 
 shouting to a negro at the barn, " saddle 
 my horse, quick. I'll get my rifle and be 
 ready in five minutes !" 
 
 " Oh, Angus, what are you going to 
 do?" cried his mother. "Burton, you 
 will not lead my son into danger ?" 
 
 The youth had now dismounted and 
 thrown the reins of his horse to a slave 
 who had hastened forward. He was 
 greeted as if already one of the family, 
 and answered with a grim sort of laugh, 
 " I reckon Angus is his father's son and 
 won't need much leading." Then he 
 added gravely and almost tenderly, 
 "Mother, dear" (the warm-hearted fellow 
 had already given her this title), "we must 
 look at things as they are. Gus and I 
 are your protectors now, and we can 
 sight a rifle as well as if we were twenty 
 years older. What would our fathers 
 say, could they speak, if we should skulk
 
 12 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 now that their murderer is coming? 
 What, indeed, would you and Ella think 
 of us?" 
 
 " But what can you two boys do ?" 
 
 " We can do as much as men ; or, if we 
 can't, we can learn. Gus and I can plant 
 a bullet where we want to at pretty long 
 range, and our bullets would do the busi 
 ness for Tarleton and his cut-throats as 
 thoroughly as if fired by a gray-beard. 
 What's more, I can use my sabre and 
 pistols, if much drill has been of any use. 
 We'll promise to be prudent, mother, but 
 we wouldn't deserve our names if we 
 hung back until the British came and 
 drove you and my Ella and the children 
 into the woods. The whole country-side, 
 young and old, will be arming and taking 
 a hand in this game, and you wouldn't 
 have us hang back ? " 
 
 " No, indeed, mother," cried Ella, al 
 though tears dimmed her eyes. " Bur 
 ton's right. He and Angus are doing as 
 I would do if I were a man. Young as 
 they are,they must act the part of men." 
 
 " And you, sweetheart, are acting the
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 13 
 
 part of a brave little woman. You're 
 the kind for a soldier's wife. Believe 
 me, mother, danger would soon find us if 
 we shunned it, and we take the best 
 chance of escaping by meeting it halfway. 
 To protect you we must drive our enemy 
 back or else make the country too hot for 
 them. Of course we are not going to run, 
 like a pair of fools, right into their clutches. 
 From behind trees, fences and all sorts of 
 cover, we, like our friends farther south, 
 must annoy them with well-aimed shots. 
 All we can do to-day is to ride down to 
 Charlotte to see what the prospects are, 
 and show that we, of all others, are not 
 backward." 
 
 Angus had joined them and now stood 
 with his right arm around his mother, 
 while he held his rifle in his left hand. 
 He had her blue eyes, but they were 
 quiet and resolute. His father's death 
 and the responsibility it had imposed had 
 sobered and developed him beyond his 
 years. The mother saw his expression 
 and knew its meaning. 
 
 " Yes, boys," she said very sadly. " I
 
 14 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 see how it is, and suppose you are taking 
 the right course, but you can't know how 
 a mother's heart shrinks from what may 
 
 happen. I've suffered too much " 
 
 Then kissing them both, she hastily 
 entered the house. 
 
 In a few moments they were gallop 
 ing swiftly away, presenting a fine con 
 trast as they sat their fleet horses with the 
 ease of Southern youth, who are almost 
 brought up in the saddle. They were 
 dressed in blue hunting shirts belted at 
 the waist and fringed around the bottom. 
 Close-fitting knee-breeches of blue home 
 spun jeans, and stockings of like color, 
 set off their lithe shapely limbs, while 
 moccasins that would give them a noise 
 less tread encased their feet. Their hats 
 were made of raccoon skins, with the tails 
 hanging jauntily towards the left shoulder. 
 Though scarcely more than boys, they 
 could prove formidable foes with their 
 thorough knowledge of the rough, wooded 
 country, and their celerity of movement. 
 Burton was the larger and stronger of 
 the two and inclined to be impetuous;
 
 A MIDNIGHT BA TTLE. 1 5 
 
 but Angus had the cool, wary courage of 
 his Scotch ancestry. A sense of the great 
 injury which he and his family had suf 
 fered was like a slow steady fire in his 
 veins, but he was not one to incur risks 
 from passionate, hasty action. Burton, 
 on the other hand, although he assumed 
 the leadership naturally his from age, 
 would often need restraining counsel. 
 
 They found the little village of Charlotte 
 seething with excitement, and many of the 
 women almost beside themselves with 
 terror. Cornwallis and the ruthless Tarle- 
 ton were said to be not many miles 
 away, and marching on the place. The 
 two friends soon fell in with their ac 
 quaintance, young George Graham, who 
 was one of those natural leaders that are 
 always developed in stormy times. Al 
 though scarcely a year the senior of Bur 
 ton, yet he had already gathered several 
 daring spirits about him. Angus and Bur 
 ton at once joined this group. George was 
 acting under the orders of his brother, 
 Major Joseph Graham, who had been sent 
 to Charlotte to take command of the vol-
 
 1 6 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 unteers there as soon as it was clear that 
 the British army was marching on the 
 place. This brave officer had enlisted in 
 the regular Continental army when but 
 nineteen, and had already seen much dan 
 gerous service. He was now but twenty- 
 one, yet to him looked both young and 
 old for the protection of their town and 
 their homes. All the men of the village 
 capable of bearing arms were under his 
 command, and in the terrible emergency 
 grandsires and grandsons mustered side 
 by side. From the surrounding country 
 motley groups of men and boys, clad in 
 homespun, came riding or trudging in and 
 reporting to the boy-like looking major, 
 who nevertheless was respected not only 
 for his character, but also for the reason 
 that he had often proven himself cool and 
 brave under the enemy's fire. Nothing 
 gave one greater prestige among raw 
 recruits than the reputation of having 
 smelt gunpowder before, and young Joe 
 Graham was looked upon as a regular 
 " fire-eater." He made good his fame 
 within the next twenty-four hours. Indeed,
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 1 7 
 
 he inspired confidence in his men at once 
 by carefully looking after their comfort 
 and effectiveness. Not a moment was 
 spent in idle vaporings or confused coun 
 sels. His orders were prompt and deci 
 sive, and the respite given before the ap 
 proach of the enemy was employed in 
 seeing that all had ammunition suited to 
 their weapons. But few of these old flint 
 lock rifles and shot-guns were alike, and 
 unless the powder-horns were full, and the 
 pouches supplied with bullets that would 
 fit the bore^of the barrel, they would be 
 but Quaker guns. The majority brought 
 their ammunition, but this at that day 
 was very scarce, and not a few were with 
 out any. Some had the single-barrel flint 
 lock pistols then in vogue, and others non 
 descript sabres made of saws ground to 
 an edge. But they were in the hands of 
 resolute men, who hoped to obtain better 
 weapons from their slain or captured ene 
 mies. 
 
 Graham was in frequent communica 
 tion with Colonel Davie, who, with his 
 force, was skirmishing in front of the
 
 1 8 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 British, and seeking to impede its march. 
 Late in the afternoon George Graham 
 was sent by his brother to Davie to ob 
 tain further information, and Burton and 
 Angus volunteered to accompany him. 
 By nightfall they met the vanguard of 
 the small force whose very audacity had 
 doubled their numbers in British estima 
 tion. Both the hostile forces halted in 
 the evening to rest and cook supper, and 
 the Whig soldiers, with quick hospitality, 
 shared their coarse, limited rations with 
 the three young men who had joined 
 them. About ten o'clock the moon rose, 
 and scouts came in with tidings that the 
 English army was again in [motion, 
 Graham and his followers took places in 
 the rear of the little column led by 
 Davie, who now contented himself with 
 keeping well in advance, that he might 
 carry out a plan that was forming in his 
 mind. His active scouts hovered in 
 front of the enemy, and, while doing 
 nothing to provoke a conflict, kept suffi 
 ciently near to note all movements. 
 Thus the two commands the little
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 19 
 
 handful of men with Davie and the 
 British army led by the world-renowned 
 nobleman and general, Cornwallis 
 moved steadily forward through the night 
 over the hilly country-road. Some 
 times the moon's rays glinted faintly 
 on rifle-barrels, bayonets and scabbards, 
 but more often men and horses marched 
 in dim outline beneath the shadowy 
 forest. 
 
 When it became evident that the enemy 
 proposed to enter the town that night, 
 George Graham and his two friends were 
 directed to ride forward rapidly and re 
 port the fact to Major Graham. There 
 had been no sleep in Charlotte, and when 
 the small Whig force under Davie arrived 
 at midnight, it received a warm welcome. 
 The tidings brought kindled the flames of 
 excitement seven times hotter. The 
 British army, the terrible Tarleton, was 
 but a mile away and coming directly on. 
 Some besought Davie's protection and 
 then regretted their request, for his effort 
 to comply would bring on a battle about 
 their very doors. But the policy of the
 
 20 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 resolute partisan officers was not to be 
 influenced by the conflicting views of the 
 villagers, who, like so many other residents 
 in war-trampled regions, must take their 
 chances like the soldiers. The majority 
 of the men, and indeed of the women of 
 Charlotte, were eager that at least one 
 blow should be struck before their hearths 
 were desecrated. We can have little idea 
 of the depth of feeling which then existed. 
 Cornwallis had ordered the hanging of 
 many patriots whom the people of this re 
 gion knew well. Tarleton's troopers had 
 not only fought the Whig soldiery with 
 fiery courage, but also had savagely butch 
 ered them after they had surrendered. 
 And now at the dread hour of midnight 
 these cruel officers and their red-handed 
 men were approaching defenceless homes. 
 Little wonder that there was either al 
 most mortal terror or desperate cour 
 age on every side, according to the 
 temper of those who faced the awful 
 emergency. 
 
 Colonel Davie's quick eye soon took 
 in the chances for defence. The forty
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 21 
 
 odd houses were built on streets that 
 intersected each other at right angles. In 
 front of the court-house was a stone wall 
 breast-high. Dismounting his cavalry he 
 placed them 'behind this partial cover. 
 Farther on down the street by which the 
 British would enter, and lining it on 
 either side, were fences and garden-shrub 
 bery. Behind these obstructions he 
 placed his infantry and the men of the 
 region who had volunteered under the 
 leadership of Major Graham. 
 
 Now that a battle seemed inevitable, 
 there was no thought of flinching on the 
 part of our two friends, Burton and 
 Angus. They, with others, rode rapidly 
 to the eastern side of the village and tied 
 their horses, leaving them in charge of 
 Zach Wilson, since he was the youngest 
 of the party. Then they hastened back 
 and took position under the orders of 
 Graham behind a garden fence nearest 
 to the advance of the enemy. 
 
 " I hate this skulking," said Burton, 
 whose eyes glowed like coals in the 
 moonlight. " If I were only on my good
 
 22 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 horse it would be glorious to ride straight 
 at 'em with a sharp sabre." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said Angus, quietly, 
 "you know it would be ridiculous instead 
 of glorious. What could you or all of us 
 do, riding straight at the whole British 
 army ? " 
 
 " Oh, I know Graham and Davie are 
 right," replied Burton, with his grim laugh, 
 " I was only saying how I'd like to do 
 things. Some day, before the scrimmage 
 is over, I hope to have a chance for a 
 charge in an open field. Then one 
 would feel like a soldier instead of a 
 skulking hunter." 
 
 " Father used to say that those were 
 the best soldiers who best obeyed orders 
 and carried out their officers' plans. I'm 
 content to be where I am, and I feel as if 
 I could almost die for the chance to draw 
 my bead on Tarleton. Oh ! see ; there 
 they are. They are forming on the com 
 mon. Let us hold our fire 'till we are 
 sure of our man." 
 
 The boy was quite as deeply stirred as 
 his older comrade, but in his case excite-
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 23 
 
 ment tended to steady his nerves and 
 banish the thought of fear. 
 
 By this time every house was closed 
 and doors and windows barred. Within 
 were trembling women and children, 
 some weeping, some praying for fathers, 
 husbands, brothers, and lovers. Without, 
 the moonlight revealed the dusky, mo 
 tionless forms of men, their white, stern 
 faces and gleaming rifle barrels. 
 
 After a brief halt upon the common, 
 spent by the British in reconnoitring the 
 position of their enemy, the stillness was 
 broken by the clangor of a trumpet 
 sounding a charge. With skirmish line 
 in front, the English infantry moved for 
 ward promptly on the flanks, while Tarle- 
 ton's cavalry followed slowly in the 
 centre. 
 
 The two friends saw them coming and 
 knew that they two would be among the 
 first engaged. 
 
 " Heavens ! how white you are, Angus," 
 Burton whispered. 
 
 The boy gave a quick gasp, his 
 mouth twitched for a moment, and then
 
 24 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 
 
 he faltered, " Burton, I never fired at a 
 man before. No matter how right and 
 just it is, it seems an awful thing to take 
 aim at a man." 
 
 " Drive away such thoughts, Gus. 
 They'll soon take aim at you and they 
 killed your father." 
 
 " Ah ! yes, they killed my father," and 
 the delicate mouth became firm, the face 
 that was almost girlish in the moonlight 
 stern and quiet with its purpose. 
 
 The warm-hearted Burton put his arm 
 about the boy's neck in the shadow of a 
 bush and kissed him. " Give that to 
 Ella if any thing happens to me," he said. 
 " How strangely you look like her at this 
 moment ! Ha ! the ball's begun." 
 
 There was a flash from a musket on 
 the skirmish line and a bullet whizzed by. 
 Then many other reports followed, the 
 British infantry closed up and sought to 
 dislodge Graham and his party from their 
 cover. 
 
 Burton, Angus, and George Graham 
 were on the left side of the street. The 
 young major commanding often appeared
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 2$ 
 
 with an encouraging word. Indeed, he 
 was so active that he seemed gifted with 
 the power of being in many places at 
 once, and his acquaintance with the men 
 enabled him to address them by name 
 and to say words of cheer and confidence 
 which steadied the aim of many a poor 
 fellow now for the first time under fire. 
 Our young friends did not belong to the 
 ordinary raw militia class, but were finely 
 nurtured youths and inspired by motives 
 of the strongest character. The "sing" 
 of the first bullet stung Angus like a cut 
 from a whip. In an instant he took aim 
 at a dark form on the enemy's line whence 
 a flash had proceeded, and fired ; then 
 saw, with a strange thrill, that there was 
 a gap in that line. For the next few 
 moments he, Burton and all about them 
 were loading and firing as rapidly as pos 
 sible. But the British infantry came 
 steadily forward on both flanks, creeping 
 along the sides of the street, breaking 
 through and leaping over garden fences 
 and other obstructions ; while moving 
 slowly up through the centre of the street
 
 26 A MIDNIGHT BA TTLE. 
 
 advanced a solid body of cavalry. Again 
 a trumpet resounded above the crash of 
 musketry, and, as if each horse had felt 
 the touch of a spur, they all sprung into 
 a gallop. Their riders, with sabres flash 
 ing in the pale light, and yells that, to 
 the poor women in the houses, sounded 
 like the cries of demons, dashed by. All 
 knew that Tarleton's ruthless cavalry was 
 charging, led, as it was then believed, by 
 Tarleton himself. 
 
 Burton and Angus, all unaccustomed 
 to the sights and sounds of battle, fairly 
 held their breath as the English troopers 
 thundered by but a few feet away. The 
 very ground appeared to tremble, and it 
 seemed to them that nothing could re 
 sist the headlong onset. Indeed, it was 
 almost a moment of panic, for the young 
 volunteers saw that their comrades on the 
 opposite side of the street were giving 
 way rapidly, pursued by the British flank 
 ing infantry. 
 
 But Major Graham's voice rang out 
 above the din, " Steady, boys. Don't 
 mind the cavalry; Davie will take care of
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 27 
 
 them. Look to the flankers here on your 
 left. They're your game. Aim as if you 
 were shooting squirrels out of tree-tops," 
 and snatching a rifle from a trembling 
 fellow he stepped out in advance of his 
 men and dropped a leading British soldier. 
 
 But the report of his weapon was 
 drowned by a roar of musketry at the 
 court-house, about eighty yards up the 
 street. The long stone wall behind which 
 Colonel Davie had posted his men seemed 
 lined with fire. The headlong charge of 
 the British troopers was checked ; the van 
 crumbled away ; a moment later they 
 came galloping wildly back, confused, 
 astounded, shattered. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Burton, and he 
 emptied a saddle of one flying form. His 
 cry of exultation was taken up and re 
 sounded up and down the line ; mean 
 while the volunteers continued loading 
 and firing with feverish eagerness. 
 
 Angus had reserved his fire until the 
 last moment as the cavalry retreated. 
 His hope was to single out a man whose 
 orders and air of authority might indicate
 
 28 A MIDNIGHT BA TTLE. 
 
 the hated Tarleton, for the boy did not 
 know then that Tarleton was ill and that 
 Major Hanger was in command. At last, 
 in the rear he saw an officer who was 
 endeavoring to check the flight of the 
 troopers. Angus covered him and fired ; 
 a horse rushed away riderless and the 
 panic near was redoubled. 
 
 The British flanking infantry, with the 
 steadiness of veterans, continued to ad 
 vance, paying no attention to the for 
 tunes of their cavalry. Graham's right, 
 on the opposite side of the street, had 
 been driven well back, and his left was in 
 peril of being surrounded. Davie saw 
 the danger, and sent orders that all the 
 volunteers should fall back and form lines 
 on both flanks with him at the court 
 house. This change was soon effected, 
 the men firing as they retreated. 
 
 Stung by their repulse, and inspired by 
 the success of the infantry on their 
 flanks, the British cavalry were again led 
 *n a furious charge by Major Hanger. 
 Angus was now on the right of the line 
 near the court-house fence, and some-
 
 A MIDNIGHT BATTLE. 2 9 
 
 what in advance. He, with Burton, was 
 in a little garden enclosure embowered 
 in shrubbery ; and the two youths no 
 longer felt the half-paralyzing awe which 
 for a moment had impressed them at the 
 first charge. Indeed, the younger boy 
 was peering through a bush with the eye 
 of an eagle that he might detect the man 
 whom he regarded as the slayer of his 
 father. As the troop thundered nearer, 
 his attention was caught by a dragoon on 
 the right, who was waving his sabre and 
 looking back toward the rushing force. 
 Even to the boy's inexperienced eyes this 
 man seemed the leader, and he covered 
 him with his rifle, but waited until 
 greater nearness gave accuracy to his 
 aim. Then he fired, and saw this man 
 reel in his saddle. The next instant out 
 leaped again the line of fire along the 
 court-house fence, and the front lines 
 of the charging cavalry crumbled and 
 melted away as it smitten by a blast 
 from a furnace. Those in the rear still 
 pressed forward for a moment, but a sec 
 ond rank behind the fence poured in
 
 30 A MIDNIGHT BA TTLE. 
 
 another volley, and from rifles like those 
 of Burton and Angus on the flanks scat 
 tering but deadly shots were fired. 
 Tarleton's veteran cavalry again fled, 
 followed by a partly exultant and partly 
 jeering shout from the Whig soldiery. 
 
 The horse of a trooper who had been 
 wounded became unmanageable, and gal 
 loped towards our friends. When but a 
 short distance away the rider fell off and 
 lay helpless in the street, his sabre drop 
 ping from his nerveless grasp. Lightly 
 as a deer Burton bounded over the fence, 
 unbuckled the belt and scabbard from the 
 prostrate form, and, seizing the sabre, 
 rushed back, regaining shelter at the side 
 of Angus in safety, although grazed by 
 more than one bullet from the British 
 infantry. 
 
 " That was rash, Burton," said Angus, 
 reproachfully. 
 
 " Shut up, brother Gus, and stand still 
 while I buckle on this sabre," was the 
 laughing reply. " Now, we've only to 
 capture a pair of pistols, and you are as 
 well armed as I am."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 British infantry were not at all 
 1 discouraged by the second repulse 
 of the cavalry. Indeed, it was known by 
 all parties that the conflict was an utterly 
 unequal one, and must eventually end in 
 the retreat of the small Whig force before 
 the British army. It was a matter of 
 enraged surprise on one side and wonder 
 ing exultation on the other that the con 
 flict had been maintained so long and 
 with such unexpected results. The 
 English infantry determined to decide 
 the battle, which was so humiliating to 
 them, and made another forward rush on 
 Graham's men on the right. These again 
 gave way after fighting bravely ; and 
 Davie, at the court-house, found that he 
 was being flanked; a condition of affairs 
 which a good soldier never permits if he
 
 32 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 can help it. Therefore, above the rattle 
 of musketry, was heard a shrill bugle 
 sounding "retreat." 
 
 But retreat did not mean flight. It was 
 only a hasty rush of all the dismounted 
 men for their horses, while those who had 
 no mount followed more slowly, keeping 
 the enemy in check. Burton, Angus and 
 George Graham found both their horses 
 and young Zach Wilson equally impa 
 tient. The latter had been chafing at the 
 inactive duty assigned to him, but had 
 been faithful to this duty in spite of the 
 exciting and terrible sounds of battle. He 
 was speedily delighted to find that Da- 
 vie and Graham were preparing for an 
 other conflict rather than for a hasty 
 retirement. A line was formed on high 
 ground in partial shelter east of the village. 
 The dismounted Whigs were allowed 
 to pass through and seek cover in the 
 forest beyond, from which they made 
 their way to their homes, or to some place 
 of shelter and concealment. Their com 
 rades, now that they were in the saddle, 
 felt redoubled confidence in awaiting an-
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 33 
 
 other attack from the enemy. It soon 
 came. Cornwallis himself rode up to his 
 twice-defeated cavalry, and while he 
 chided them, he also inspired by remind 
 ing them of the reputation won on other 
 fields. Again they advanced to the 
 charge, but in this instance kept abreast 
 of the still advancing infantry. Davie's 
 and Graham's men coolly sat still on their 
 horses until the command " Fire ! " ran 
 down the line. Again the bullets sped 
 like a scorching, withering flame, and 
 the whole British line was thrown into a 
 confusion, which might have easily been 
 developed into a rout were it not for the 
 heavy supports which were now coming 
 up. 
 
 Colonel Davie's experienced eye saw 
 that the time for final retreat had now 
 come. Before the enemy could rally 
 from the stunning effects of this third re 
 pulse, he drew off his men and retired 
 rapidly by the great Salisbury Road. 
 Major Graham, whose small force was 
 made up chiefly from the neighborhood, 
 was ordered to cover this retreat as far as
 
 34 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 possible, and so began a running fight 
 which, with occasional respites, did not 
 end until the next day. 
 
 George Graham acted as his brother's 
 aid, and Burton and Angus aimed to keep 
 as near the major as they could during the 
 next eventful hours. The gallant young 
 officer had won their unbounded admira 
 tion, and they felt that under his immediate 
 eyes and direction they could do the most 
 effective service, while at the same time 
 learning a soldier's duty from a master. 
 Little was left for them during the re 
 mainder of the night beyond the tactics 
 of the Indians. They knew the by-paths, 
 the cross-roads, the positions of natural 
 strength, where one man was worth a 
 dozen in the hilly, wooded region through 
 which passed the main highway. Skirting 
 this, they kept in deep shadows, and from 
 behind tree, bush, and rock, their rifles 
 flashed out. If the enemy made a rush 
 toward the spot, they were not there. 
 Like swift shadows, they had sped on 
 through the dusky forest, found time to 
 load again, and choose some other cover
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 35 
 
 with a path of retreat leading from it. 
 Then as the stubborn enemy approached, 
 they would blaze away and be off. Thus 
 their British pursuers were harassed in 
 front and on both flanks, and their march 
 was impeded. Their cavalry made dashes 
 here and there, only to be entangled in 
 what seemed an empty wilderness. Fi 
 nally, there appeared to be no other re 
 source than for the infantry to advance as 
 rapidly as possible, with flankers in the 
 woods on each side of the road, and so to 
 drive the stinging, wasp-like partisans be 
 fore them. This from superiority in num 
 bers they could easily do, but only at a 
 constant loss and annoyance. 
 
 They had skirmished up a long hill to 
 its very brow, and then Major Graham 
 ordered his bugler to sound swift retreat. 
 George, with a small detachment, in 
 which were our friends, was posted here, 
 with orders to wait the near approach of 
 the enemy, to give them a volley, then to 
 strike directly into the woods and let his 
 men make their way singly or by twos 
 and threes to the brow of the next hill.
 
 36 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 The major, having given his instructions, 
 galloped away after the rest of his 
 force. 
 
 Angus and Burton determined to keep 
 together, and, after delivering their fire, 
 to escape by an obscure path which they 
 had discovered leading to the right from 
 the highway. 
 
 The British, hearing the bugle recall, 
 and respited from the dropping, galling 
 fire which had thus far attacked their 
 advance, came on rapidly. George Gra 
 ham held his dogs of war in leash too 
 ,long perhaps. They gave their volley 
 and it was effective, and at the same time 
 it revealed but a small and concentrated 
 force. So far from checking the deeply 
 incensed enemy, they came on with a rush, 
 in the hope of at last striking those who 
 had so long punished them. The Whig 
 partisans scattered, but pursuers were on 
 their heels. Angus led the way through 
 the path that had been decided upon, and 
 Burton and George Graham followed. 
 Although they tried to spur forward at 
 reckless speed, the roughness and obscur-
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 37 
 
 ity of the path enabled vindictive enemies 
 to gain upon them. 
 
 " Dismount, turn the horses loose and 
 switch them with a gad. We must take 
 to the bush on foot," said George rapidly, 
 setting the example by his own action. 
 The horses plunged forward down the 
 side of the hill ; the three friends had 
 scarcely time to creep into a thicket 
 before half a dozen British soldiers went 
 running and stumbling by. Then one of 
 them caught a glimpse of a horse and 
 fired. A neigh of pain showed that the 
 poor animal was hit, and the pursuit was 
 pressed more hotly. 
 
 A moment later George whispered, 
 " Creep, crawl, snake away. Now's our 
 chance. There'll be more here soon." 
 
 His words were true enough. The shot 
 Drought a dozen more down the path, but 
 the young partisans had been hunters 
 before they became soldiers, and now 
 they crept away almost from under the 
 feet of their enemies, who, intent upon 
 the pursuit of riderless horses, passed 
 noisily by. At last the boys ventured to
 
 38 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 stand erect and dodge from tree to tree 
 and bush, to bush until they felt sufficiently 
 secure to stop and reload their rifles. 
 
 " We're in a nice scrape now," said 
 Burton. " I feel a good deal like a 
 landed fish without my horse." 
 
 " We were in a worse scrape a few 
 minutes ago," replied George, coolly. 
 " We can't do any good by taking risks 
 here any longer. The major says, ' A 
 man's a fool who takes useless risks.' 
 Our course is to work far enough to the 
 right to make sure we are beyond those 
 fellows after our horses and see if there's 
 any chance of our catching 'em again. 
 If there isn't, we must not lose a minute 
 in reaching yonder hill-top, where the 
 major's going to set an ambush." 
 
 "George is right," said Angus. "If 
 we are cut off from the main body there 
 won't be much chance for us after day 
 light without our horses. Tired as we 
 already are, the enemy would soon run us 
 down if they caught sight of us." 
 
 In obedience to this view they had 
 struck out stealthily and rapidly on the
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 39 
 
 right of those that had followed them. 
 It had been discovered that the horses 
 were riderless, and the pursuers were 
 spreading out fan-fashion and beating 
 the woods in the hope of capturing the 
 dismounted men. 
 
 " We'd have been nabbed if we had 
 stayed in that thicket," George whis 
 pered. " How I'd like to give the villains 
 another shot ! It would do us more harm 
 than it would them, so let's push on." 
 
 This they did a few moments longer, 
 leaving, as they supposed, their enemies 
 behind them. Suddenly Burton, who was 
 now in advance, whispered, " Hush ! 
 " Down behind this rock." 
 
 Three of the British soldiers had been 
 lured on by the tired horses and had 
 eventually caught them. They were now 
 leading them almost directly towards their 
 actual masters. 
 
 " I take command," whispered George. 
 " You two follow me," and he crept a 
 little nearer the course of the approach 
 ing foes. 
 
 "Well," said the foremost man, "this
 
 40 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 be better luck than capturin' the blasted 
 rebels. When we get hout of this 'anged 
 woods we'll be'oss sogers for the whiles." 
 
 " Surrender ! Speak or move and you're 
 dead," threatened George, and the startled 
 Englishman found a rifle muzzle between 
 his eyes. 
 
 Burton and Angus had followed 
 George's example, and all three of the 
 enemy stood speechless and paralyzed. 
 George resumed in the same penetrating 
 whisper, " If you want to save your lives, 
 all three do as 1 order. First drop your 
 muskets." They obey. 
 
 " Now hold up your hands and range 
 yourselves close facing me. Angus, 
 you take the horses." The prisoners 
 complying, George continued, " Burton, 
 you search them for concealed weapons 
 and any thing useful to us. I, meanwhile, 
 will cover them with my rifle and shoot 
 the first man that moves." Burton was 
 expeditious, and then George gave his 
 final order, " Angus, mount and lead as 
 rapidly as possible. The prisoners will 
 follow at your horse's heels, and I will
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 4* 
 
 tread upon theirs, pistol in hand. Mark 
 you, fellows, if you try to get away or to 
 attract your friends, you get a bullet 
 instantly. Burton, you bring up the rear 
 with the spoils, which you can drop if we 
 have to fight. Forward, march ! " 
 
 As rapidly as the broken, wooded 
 region permitted, they made their way to 
 the brow of the next hill, keeping a wide 
 interval between themselves and the high 
 road. As they approached the hill-top 
 there was a loud crash of musketry, 
 which can readily be explained. Major 
 Graham knew of the natural facilities 
 afforded by the place for an ambuscade, 
 also of a wood-road near, which led to a 
 distant plantation. He had resolved to 
 make a sharp fight at this spot, and then 
 gallop away to the farm, which was owned 
 by a friend to the cause, and there give 
 his men and horses food and a little rest. 
 The Britwh. alter their last punishment, 
 had followed slowly and warily, fearing 
 a like experience again. When they had 
 marched almost a mile without being 
 molested, they had about concluded that
 
 42 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 their enemies had retired finally, in order 
 to reach some place of concealment before 
 daylight, which now was near. It was 
 argued that the small squad which had 
 fired upon them last had been left to 
 check their advance and give the rest 
 of the partisans time to get away ; there 
 fore, the British officers began to lead 
 their men more rapidly and carelessly, 
 hoping before long that they could cap 
 ture a breakfast, if not their enemies. 
 The road near the brow of the hill passed 
 through a narrow little ravine with steep 
 wooded banks which gave the flankers 
 scarcely any footing. As the place looked 
 suspicious, the English officer in com 
 mand ordered a few of the cavalry to go 
 forward and reconnoitre. They rode 
 through to the very brow of the hill, 
 returned and reported the place deserted. 
 So it was. with the exceDtion of three or 
 four scouts Tying prone on tfie ground 
 along the right of the ravine, within easy 
 rifle range of the road. When the Brit 
 ish moved forward and were under their 
 guns the scouts gave low whistles. A
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 43 
 
 line of men some distance in the rear, 
 rose, moved forward and fired a volley 
 into the crowded road. Yells, groans, 
 orders, futile shots were the reply, but the 
 immediate and temporary result was that 
 the British column fell back in confusion. 
 Graham and his followers in the mean 
 time darted off under the cover of the 
 smoke of their rifles to the spot where 
 their horses were held by men detailed 
 for the purpose, and were about to gallop 
 away, when George, Burton, and Angus 
 brought in their three prisoners on the 
 run. The cheers with which they were 
 greeted were speedily checked. The 
 boyish-looking major merely shook his 
 brother's hand, nodded and smiled at his 
 companions, then ordered, " Mount the 
 prisoners behind three of our men. 
 Forward, march ! " and away he went 
 down the wood-road at a gallop. In an 
 hour they reached the plantation ; a 
 sentence explained their need to the 
 owner; the horses were instantly unbit- 
 ted, fed and rubbed down. A beef was 
 killed, skinned, quartered, cut up, and
 
 44 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 placed over fires with a celerity of which 
 no one but a cavalryman can have 
 any idea. Fragrance from many coffee 
 pots was soon upon the breeze also, 
 while, at the house, all the appliances of 
 the kitchen were taxed to provide for the 
 officers. The men jested and laughed as 
 they flew about in their preparations, for 
 they were exultant over the events of 
 the night. Day, however, was breaking 
 broadly, and all knew that their respite 
 might be brief indeed. So it proved. 
 
 As they had approached the plantation 
 the major had said to his brother and his 
 companions, * I shall give you a soldier's 
 reward for your good behavior. Conceal 
 yourselves on this road, fire a shot if the 
 enemy approaches, and gallop in. I will 
 send you some breakfast as soon as it is 
 ready. I entrust myself and men to your 
 vigilance." 
 
 Again Burton laughed grimly when 
 they were left alone, and said, " A great 
 honor, surely, but it doesn't fill an empty 
 stomach. How do you like soldiering, 
 Gus ? "
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 45 
 
 *' It's not a question of like or dislike. 
 I reckon, though, that I never felt so 
 tired and hungry before. I fear mother'll 
 be half beside herself about us." 
 
 " I foresee," continued Burton, " that 
 our friends will have to get used to all 
 sorts of irregularity in our coming and 
 going. What we'll do and where we'll 
 be will depend more on the enemy than 
 upon ourselves." 
 
 " One thing is already certain," added 
 George, " we shall have to sleep as often 
 in the woods as in our beds. You two 
 stay here and I'll go a hundred yards 
 down the road nearer the enemy. My 
 horse is in the best condition, while yours, 
 Angus, has bled so much that you must 
 try to pick up another beast as soon as 
 you can. Ride him up and down before 
 me a bit." 
 
 Angus did so, and with every step the 
 blood oozed from a wound in one of the 
 poor animal's haunches. George wrote 
 a few lines in a little note-book, tore out 
 the sheet, and said, " Take that to my 
 brother."
 
 46 A A HEROIC D&ED. 
 
 " But, George," protested the boy, "the 
 major told me " 
 
 " Obey orders," said George, sternly. 
 " You are under my command now. The 
 line I've written will make every thing 
 right. Report to my brother as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 Angus yielded reluctantly. When he 
 had gone, Burton asked, " What did you 
 write?" 
 
 " I told Joe that Gus's horse was 
 wounded, and that if the enemy came 
 with a rush, as they probably will, we 
 might lose one of the finest and most 
 promising young fellows in the country. 
 He's younger than either of us, but we 
 shall have to look to ourselves or he'll 
 make the best soldier. Screen yourself 
 behind this low pine and be all eyes and 
 ears. I'll go back on the road as I said," 
 and they separated. 
 
 For nearly half an hour all remained 
 quiet, and then a man came galloping 
 down the road from the plantation with 
 a pot of coffee and some hoe-cake. Never 
 was meagre breakfast more welcome than
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 47 
 
 this slight repast to the young videttes, 
 who nevertheless did not relax their vig 
 ilance. Again they were left alone, and 
 for a time nothing disturbed the morning 
 quiet along the road except the barking 
 of squirrels in the hickories. Then the 
 sharp report of George's rifle awoke the 
 echoes far and near. A second later he 
 came galloping toward Burton, sheered 
 in behind the pine, and said, " Ride to the 
 major and say the enemy's coming, that 
 I've seen only infantry so far, and that 
 I'm going to strike into the woods and 
 reconnoitre further before I come in." 
 
 Burton obeyed instantly, and was 
 rejoiced to see that the partisan troop 
 was already saddling up as he approached. 
 Major Graham heard the report thought 
 fully and turned his eyes on his refreshed 
 and inspirited men, who, without waiting 
 for the bugle-call, were trotting sharply 
 forward to the open space in front of the 
 house. Turning to two or three of his 
 officers, he said, " George has seen only 
 infantry. If they have no cavalry with 
 them, I'd like to give 'em another brush.
 
 48 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 We could ride away from them when 
 pressed." 
 
 " Let us sting 'em a little, any way," 
 cried Colonel Frank Locke, who, waiving 
 his rank and the reputation won in a 
 former battle, was now a zealous volun 
 teer under Graham. 
 
 A low bugle-call hastened the fast as 
 sembling troopers, and another distant 
 shot was heard from the woods in the 
 direction of the enemy. Soon after a 
 horseman appeared and rode rapidly 
 across the fields. 
 
 " It's George," said the major, riding 
 forward to meet him. The brothers con 
 ferred a few moments, and then the 
 major, returning to his men, gave a few 
 rapid orders, and the whole troop trotted 
 off towards a valley, which could be fol 
 lowed back into the woods again. 
 
 Angus had been kindly received, and 
 the owner of the plantation, at the sug 
 gestion of the major, had furnished an 
 other horse, telling the boy that he could 
 pay when he could, if ever, adding, " If 
 you don't take him, the British will."
 
 AN' HEROIC DEED. 49 
 
 Therefore the lad was enabled to rejoin 
 his friends, and, with George and Bur 
 ton, rode near the major. 
 
 " Why haven't the Britishers come on 
 faster, George?" Burton asked. 
 
 " I played a trick on 'em. When I left 
 you and struck into the wood, I let the 
 enemy's advance pass by me for some 
 distance, and then fired a shot into their 
 flank. That brought them to a halt in 
 stantly. I've no doubt they thought the 
 woods were full of us, and so they soon 
 will be." 
 
 The command had now followed up 
 the ravine so far as to approach the for 
 est. "George," said the major, "pick 
 out a dozen active fellows, scout ahead of 
 us and locate the enemy's position. 
 Meanwhile, I'll move to the left along 
 the edge of the woods towards the road." 
 
 George delighted in such dangerous 
 and exciting service, and Burton and An 
 gus were among the first that he selected 
 to accompany him. Hastening forward 
 with his little band, he directed that 
 two should keep together, and that they
 
 50 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 should then spread out so as to cover a 
 wide area and yet keep within hailing dis 
 tance of each other. Thus, in their ad 
 vance, they were like feelers for the main 
 body, protecting it against surprise. The 
 eyes of every scout was another pair of 
 eyes to the major, for all that was seen 
 would be reported to him. Since Angus 
 was now mounted on afresh horse, George 
 kept the boy near him, to be employed as 
 a trusty messenger to his brother. He 
 had given to his men a few signals : One 
 whistle signified to continue advancing ; 
 two whistles to halt ; three for one man 
 to dismount and advance stealthily on 
 foot while his comrade held his horse ; 
 four ordered a retreat, and one long 
 whistle meant fire. 
 
 Away they went through the woods, 
 covering the van and right flank of Major 
 Graham's advance. They had not gone 
 very far before two whistles brought every 
 horse and rider to a halt. 
 
 " Hold my horse, Gus," said George, 
 leaping down. " I've caught a glimpse 
 of a red coat," and he darted forward from
 
 AN HEROIC DEED. 51 
 
 tree to tree with the swift yet cautious 
 movement of an Indian. He soon per 
 ceived that numbers of the enemy were 
 apparently returning from an unsuccess 
 ful beating of the woods, and, believing 
 that with the clue he had obtained, his 
 eyes would be worth more than a dozen, 
 he left his men standing where his last 
 order detained them, and continued to 
 creep toward his foes, who were rejoining 
 the main body in the road. And so he 
 disappeared from the vision of Angus, who, 
 nevertheless, was straining his eyes on 
 the spot where his young leader was last 
 seen, and concentrating all his faculties 
 to catch some indication of his return. 
 Before many moments passed the boy 
 was taught the lesson that, in such war 
 fare, a soldier's watchfulness can be too 
 concentrated. A voice said, almost in his 
 ear, " Surrender, and keep silent." Turn 
 ing with a violent start he saw a young 
 British ensign leveling a pistol at him, 
 while a burly red-coated infantryman 
 threatened him with his bayonet. 
 
 In the confused, awful moment that
 
 52 AN HEROIC DEED. 
 
 followed but one thing was clear he 
 must warn George and the others at every 
 cost to himself. He gasped the word 
 "mother," tumbled off his horse, away 
 from the bayonet point, and gave four 
 shrill whistles, which meant " retreat."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 THE course of Angus was unexpected 
 and significant, his signals revealing 
 to the British officer that others were near. 
 " Don't fire," he exclaimed to the soldier 
 with him. " Disarm the boy, bayonet 
 him if he resists, then mount and follow." 
 The infantryman, as we learned in a 
 previous chapter, had advanced the point 
 of his weapon to the throat of Angus, who 
 had thrown himself off his horse to escape 
 the thrust, and so gain time to give the 
 four whistles which would bring George 
 back and put him on his guard. Before 
 the boy could gather himself up from 
 his fall, the soldier was again almost 
 upon him with his gleaming bayonet, in 
 tending first to kill and then disarm him. 
 Spurred by the powerful instinct to shun 
 death, Angus darted under the horse's
 
 54 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 body, seizing in his half-conscious, des 
 perate effort for self-preservation the legs 
 of the officer, who was preparing to mount, 
 and jerking with such violence as to throw 
 their owner upon his back. Bouncing upon 
 him like a young panther, the boy drew 
 the officer's pistol from his belt, then 
 turned and fired almost into the face of 
 the pursuing soldier. The man dropped 
 dead across the body of the struggling 
 officer and bore him to the earth again. 
 Panting and actually crying from excite 
 ment and horror at the tragedy, Angus 
 nevertheless through all the terrible or 
 deal held fast to the principle of duty. 
 Snatching up the soldier's musket, he 
 shouted to the officer: "Lie still, or I'll 
 pin you to the ground ; " then sent out an 
 agonizing cry : " George ! Burton !" 
 
 All had taken place in far briefer time 
 than has been required in relating the 
 events. The shot had brought Burton 
 galloping back. He had been on the 
 right of the scouting line and not very 
 far off. In obedience to the signal he 
 had retreated slowly and reluctantly, but
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 55 
 
 after the report of the pistol fired by 
 Angus, he had no other thought than 
 that of reaching his leader and the boy 
 he loved. George had been startled and 
 perplexed at the four whistles given by 
 other lips than his own. Believing that 
 there must be good reason for them, he 
 began to retrace his steps cautiously, for 
 he had crept very near to the enemy. 
 The shot, however, which came an in 
 stant later, gave wings to his feet, and he 
 and Burton met at almost the same mo 
 ment. 
 
 They were too much astonished for a 
 moment to speak, as they witnessed the 
 scene before them the horses gone, a 
 British officer on his back with a dead 
 soldier lying across him, and Angus sob 
 bing, yet ready to use the bayonet should 
 there be need. 
 
 " What on earth does all this mean, 
 Gus?" cried George. 
 
 " Take the musket quick, I'm sick," 
 was the boy's reply. 
 
 Burton caught him as he almost fainted 
 in the violent reaction which followed a
 
 56 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 sense of security and the presence of 
 those for whom he had virtually offered 
 his life. 
 
 " Gus, dear Gus, are you wounded?" 
 Burton asked in tones of deep distress, 
 supporting the lad to a fallen tree. 
 
 " I don't know," gasped the boy ; 
 " reckon not ; I ain't used to such 
 things." 
 
 Others of the scouting force now came 
 galloping forward, and George shouted, 
 " Two catch our horses and the rest 
 cover our retreat. You, Zach Wilson, 
 stay and help us." He then tossed the 
 dead soldier to one side and said to the 
 officer : " Rise, if you can. You are a 
 prisoner." 
 
 " I suppose I must yield," said the en 
 sign, with a crimson face, " but I'd rather 
 you would shoot and leave me here. To 
 be captured as I've been " 
 
 " No matter, you are captured. Ha ! 
 there come your friends, who may soon 
 turn the tables. Forward here. Each 
 take a tree and drop the first red-coat 
 that shows himself. Retire obliquely to
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT^ 57 
 
 the left on the main body. Zach, take 
 the prisoner on a run to the major, who'll 
 have some questions to ask him. Mount, 
 Burton, I'll put Gus up behind you. Go 
 with Zach and the prisoner and report. 
 Take the ensign's sword and pistols with 
 you ; they belong to Gus. No time now 
 for explanations. Ah ! there comes my 
 horse. There's nothing for us now but 
 to retire skirmishing." 
 
 The British infantry advanced rapidly, 
 believing that they had at last found the 
 enemy whom they had been seeking. In 
 the dead soldier they recognized one of 
 their scouts sent out to beat the woods, 
 and the capture of the officer was readily 
 surmised. 
 
 Speedily satisfied that an overwhelm 
 ing force was approaching, George gave 
 in his turn four whistles, and with all his 
 men retreated rapidly to the main body. 
 
 Angus's horse had been intercepted, 
 so the boy, now mounted again and 
 deeply mortified at his emotion and faint- 
 ness, began telling the major what had 
 happened, in a shame-faced way. The
 
 58 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 captured officer, still more embarrassed, 
 stood near, while several smiling veterans 
 looked on and listened. Poor Angus 
 hoped for nothing better than a few re 
 assuring words to the effect that he would 
 eventually get over his qualms and obtain 
 steadier nerves, when to his unbounded 
 surprise Graham took him by the hand 
 and said warmly : 
 
 " I congratulate you, sir. You are but 
 a boy in years, but no man ever did a 
 braver thing than you did in giving those 
 signals. You have probably saved my 
 brother's life, and have certainly rendered 
 us all a great service. If George had been 
 captured, we might have been surprised. 
 I promote you on the spot to the rank of 
 the officer you captured, and guarantee 
 that the governor will confirm my action. 
 Act as my aid for the present. Ha ! 
 George, what's your report ? " 
 
 "The enemy are coming through the 
 woods, first a heavy skirmish line, and 
 then a force that we can't cope with." 
 
 " We'll give them a volley before we 
 retire. Judging by young Mclntire here,
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 5 9 
 
 each one of us is good for two. Gentle 
 men," to his officers, " lead your men for 
 ward into the woods a short distance ; keep 
 them in order as far as possible. Fire 
 deliberately, and retire rapidly when the 
 bugle sounds retreat." 
 
 These orders were carried out, but the 
 British, so far from being checked, rushed 
 forward savagely, and Graham saw that, 
 with his inadequate force, it was time he 
 retired to some place of safety, for both 
 his men and horses would soon be in 
 sore need of more extended rest and 
 refreshment. Accordingly, he led his 
 men rapidly towards the road, passing for 
 several miles over high ground which 
 would give views of the surrounding" 
 country. 
 
 Angus rejoiced in the fact that every 
 step taken brought him nearer home ; 
 and it must be admitted that by this time 
 he was homesick indeed. He knew that 
 his mother would hear exaggerated ac 
 counts of the fight at Charlotte the night 
 before, and that her anxiety would be 
 beyond description. While the major's
 
 60 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 words and his promotion had heartened 
 him not a little, he was almost mortally 
 weary and painfully oppressed by the 
 scenes he had passed through. His 
 nerves were becoming unstrung and him 
 self a prey to morbid fancies, which are 
 often hard to combat in times of great 
 physical depression. War was far more 
 terrible than he had ever imagined it to 
 be. He had not dreamt of passing 
 through such experiences when he had 
 ridden away in the sunny noon of the 
 previous day. Expecting merely to 
 gather the news, possibly to fire a few 
 shots at long range from behind good 
 cover, he had, on the contrary, found 
 himself drawn into a whirlpool of strife 
 and compelled to face emergencies calcu 
 lated to shake the nerves of a veteran. 
 He could not get over the terrible awe 
 inspired by the fact that he had faced 
 death himself, and, what was worse, that 
 he had inflicted death. 
 
 Burton was older and took things more 
 lightly than Angus. Perhaps, also, he 
 was not capable of receiving such deep
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 6 1 
 
 impressions as his young comrade, and, 
 moreover, his experience had not been so 
 tragic. He generously exaggerated all 
 the major's praise, and even made the boy 
 laugh, as they pursued their march, by a 
 comical picture of the scene. " Tell you 
 what 'tis, Gus, when you upset that British 
 officer, you stuck a taller feather in your 
 cap than any of the rest of us young fel 
 lows will ever obtain. How Ella will 
 crow over you and your trophies ! You 
 have a pair of pistols that any one might 
 be proud of, and the ensign's sword is 
 much more suited to your hand than the 
 big sabre I picked up for you last night." 
 " There'll be too much cooing when 
 you two meet to leave time for crowing," 
 said the boy. " I own up that the cavalry 
 sabre that you captured for me is too 
 heavy for my use yet ; but I shall never 
 forget the risk you took in getting it for 
 me. I say, Burton, please don't tell 'em 
 home how I cried like a baby and came 
 near fainting. I shall tell the major that 
 I'll try to act as his aid if he wants me to 
 after I've seen 'em all at home; but I
 
 62 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 won't be an officer, or take command of 
 men. Confound it ! something might 
 happen that would make me blubber be 
 fore them all. Only a man's fit to com 
 mand men." 
 
 " Don't you fret about being a man. 
 Your gristle will harden mighty fast the 
 next few weeks." 
 
 " Ah, Burton, I don't feel sure of seeing 
 the next few hours. See, there's a troop 
 of cavalry following us ! " 
 
 " Come, brother Gus, you're tired to 
 death, and, therefore, blue. All the rest 
 of us know that any one so plucky and 
 lucky is bound to live through every 
 thing and make a name. The ensign you 
 captured said that Major Hanger, who 
 commanded the cavalry, was wounded, 
 and I believe it was your shot that 
 knocked him over ; " and so he strove to 
 cheer and rally the boy into his usual 
 courage and hopefulness. 
 
 The pursuing force of the enemy's cav 
 alry being small, Graham was induced by 
 his officers to form his men in line on the 
 brow of a hill and await an attack. The
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 63 
 
 action was rather contrary to his judg 
 ment, for he believed that other and 
 larger bodies of troops must be in the 
 vicinity. The foe, perceiving his defen 
 sive attitude, approached so slowly and 
 warily, and began firing at such long 
 range, that he was soon led to suspect 
 that their attack was only a feint to 
 detain him, and he expressed his fears to 
 his officers, but they, for a time, over 
 ruled his desire to continue the retreat. 
 
 At last, but all too late, he resumed his 
 march. As his little force approached a 
 cross-road, they saw a large body of Eng 
 lish troops riding rapidly forward to 
 intercept them. Sharp and shrill the 
 bugle sounded, Forward, gallop ! and 
 away they went, receiving shots in the 
 flank and rear as they passed the fatal 
 point. 
 
 It now became a question of speed and 
 endurance on the part of the horses, for 
 the pursuing force so far outnumbered 
 the partisans as to render resistance 
 hopeless. Unfortunately, the vicinity 
 was open and the road bordered by high
 
 64 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 stone walls, therefore there was no chance 
 to distract the enemy by dispersing and 
 seeking concealment. 
 
 The intrepid Graham reined in his 
 horse and took his place at the rear of the 
 flying column, seeking, as was his custom, 
 the point nearest the enemy. His brother 
 George, Burton, and Angus followed his 
 example and kept near his side. The 
 face of the young major was pale and 
 stern, showing that this headlong flight 
 was galling in the extreme. His hand 
 was often on his sabre hilt, as if it were 
 hard for him to resist the impulse to turn 
 upon the enemy. Tears were again in 
 Angus's eyes ; and he believed he must 
 die, for he saw that the British troopers 
 were gaining upon them. With dogged 
 resolution, however, he kept his eyes on 
 the major, that he might obey the least 
 sign. Again the supreme thought of 
 duty, and his purpose to do it, no matter 
 how greatly he shrunk, and trembled, 
 stood him in good stead, keeping him at 
 the post of honor and danger. Burton 
 was in a rage, his hot blood chafing at the
 
 HEADL VG FLIGHT, 65 
 
 necessity of flight. His eyes, however, 
 were often and wistfully turned upon 
 Ella's brother. To cool George Graham 
 the affair was taking on the aspect of a 
 problem. His gray eyes from time to 
 time measured the distance that inter 
 vened between them and their pursuers, 
 and then searched the road in advance 
 for a piece of woods in which they could 
 scatter, but only flying forms were seen 
 obscurely through clouds of dust. 
 
 Nearer and nearer thundered the British 
 troopers, their hoarse shouts and yells 
 becoming every moment more distinct. 
 
 "Joe, they are gaining on us," said 
 George, quietly. 
 
 " I know it. I wouldn't mind it for my 
 self so much, but I can't endure to see my 
 men cut up. Save yourself any way you 
 can. Ah ! they are beginning to fire on 
 us." 
 
 " I say, Joe, Gus Mclntire has a fresher 
 horse than any of us. Send him forward 
 with orders for each man to save himself 
 as best he can. It will give the boy a 
 chance."
 
 66 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 " Glad you reminded me. Ensign 
 Mclntire, ride swiftly up the line and say, 
 in passing, each man for himself." 
 
 The boy spurred forward, shouting the 
 order in his terror, his fine fleet horse 
 carrying him eventually to the head of the 
 line. Hemmed in by fences as they were, 
 nothing yet was left for the hard pressed 
 partisans but to continue straight on. 
 
 The horses of the pursuers were in a 
 fresher and better condition than those of 
 the pursued, and now, after a keen run of 
 nearly two miles, the enemy gained 
 rapidly. Bullets began to fly in increas 
 ing numbers among the partisans, and now 
 and then a poor fellow went down. 
 
 " Ah ! " came from the major in invol 
 untary exclamation. 
 
 " Are you hit, Joe ? " asked George. 
 
 " Yes, twice. You and Craige save 
 yourselves if you can. It's up with me. 
 I can merely sell my life dearly when they 
 catch up," and he drew his sabre. 
 
 George's only reply was to draw his 
 also. At that moment Burton's horse on 
 the other side went down and the young
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 67 
 
 fellow was thrown violently into the ditch 
 by the roadside, where he lay motionless. 
 
 "Curse the red devils!" muttered 
 George, with a swift glance at his friend, 
 but he rode on, watchful of his brother. 
 
 He and the major were falling behind, 
 for the latter had ceased to spur his horse 
 and was confused from the shock of his 
 bullet wounds. The yells of the foremost 
 pursuers were in their very ears. But a 
 few more leaps of their horses would 
 bring them abreast. Great clouds of dust 
 rose up, through which George, looking 
 over his shoulder, saw obscure forms and 
 gleaming sabres. 
 
 " I'm hit again," cried the major. " Fly, 
 George, fly. I shall fight and die here," 
 and he partially turned his horse to carry 
 out his purpose. 
 
 At that instant a pistol bullet struck 
 George's horse, and, stung with the pain, 
 he leaped forward a dozen paces beyond 
 control. As the brave young fellow 
 turned with the impulse to fight and die 
 with his brother, he saw him go down 
 under what seemed many sabre strokes,
 
 68 HEADLONG FLIGH/. 
 
 and then the dust hid him from view. 
 With the celerity of light the thought 
 flashed through George's mind, " I can do 
 nothing," and in that moment of obscur 
 ity he flung himself from his horse, 
 crawled to the roadside and lay motion 
 less, face downward, as if dead. The 
 British troopers, shouting in their mad 
 exultation, swept past, and his ruse was 
 successful. 
 
 Although Angus had spurred his horse 
 almost frantically, it took him some little 
 time to reach the head of the column, for 
 all the partisans were pushing their jaded 
 steeds to the utmost. By the time he 
 caught up with the most advanced the 
 wall on the left of the road ended, and 
 there was open to the pursued a rough, 
 broken field with clumps of trees, .vhich 
 thickened until they formed a part of 
 an extended forest. Into this the par 
 tisans streamed, each one striking out for 
 himself and scattering as far as possible. 
 
 Angus hesitated a moment. What 
 should he do ? As the major's aid, was 
 it not his duty to return to him? He
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 69 
 
 felt that it was. He had merely been 
 sent forward to give an order, and noth 
 ing had been said about his future action. 
 He was not sure that the order was meant 
 to apply to him also, and he had the 
 impression that it was always the duty of 
 an aid to return to his chief. Moreover, 
 Burton and George were still with Gra 
 ham, as he believed, and it would be dis 
 graceful to ride away and leave them. 
 He felt that he must go back and share 
 the fate of those to whom he was bound 
 by every tie the battle-field permits ; but 
 God only knew what the effort cost him. 
 These thoughts passed through his mind 
 in one terrible moment. His brave, faith 
 ful will could again control his action, 
 but not his young, unburdened nature, 
 and, crying bitterly, he turned his horse 
 to report to the major, who now lay bleed 
 ing and helpless by the roadside. His 
 tears and the dust blinded him as he rode 
 slowly backward, every instant expecting 
 that Graham and his friends would appear 
 among flying partisans. Bullets were 
 whizzing about him. The yells of the
 
 70 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 British troopers sounded like the cries of 
 demons. Suddenly his horse was struck 
 by a furiously galloping steed coming 
 from the opposite direction. He had 
 only time to feel that his animal had lost 
 its footing on the ditch side and to take 
 his feet from the stirrups when he fell 
 and lost consciousness. His horse strug 
 gled- up again and galloped away without 
 him. His head had struck against a 
 stone, and had it not been for his coon- 
 skin cap the blow might have been fatal. 
 
 When at last he revived, the pursuit 
 had passed. He sat up and looked 
 around, greatly confused and bewildered. 
 Two men down the road were lifting a 
 body over the fence. They appeared 
 familiar. An instant later he sprang up 
 and ran toward them, crying, " Burton ! 
 George ! " 
 
 " By the blessed powers of heaven, if 
 there ain't Gus ! " said Burton. " Thank 
 God, we're together again and the major 
 isn't dead either, though he seems all cut 
 to pieces." 
 
 " Hasten ! Every second counts now,"
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 71 
 
 cried George. " The enemy may be on 
 us at any moment. See, there's a gully 
 yonder, leading down to a little thicket. 
 You carry our weapons, Gus, and scud 
 away, while we bring on the major. Our 
 only chance is to get to cover as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 They reached the gully unobserved, 
 and, working their way down it, soon 
 buried themselves in a dense thicket ; 
 then, panting and trembling from excite 
 ment, looked into each other's faces. 
 Before they could begin explanations the 
 major feebly gasped, " Water." 
 
 Fortunately, there was a little pool 
 near, which had been left from a recent 
 rain. Although it was hot and almost 
 stagnant, it was sweet to the parched lips 
 of the wounded man, and also quenched 
 the intolerable thirst of the others. 
 
 " Now, boys," George began, " we must 
 talk in whispers. We shall have to lie 
 close till dark. There ought to be a 
 house somewhere off here to the right, 
 beyond that piece of woods." 
 
 " There is," said Angus. " I know it
 
 72 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 well, and it isn't more'n four miles from 
 our place. Oh dear ! to think we're so 
 near home and yet can't get there ! " 
 
 " Well, Gus," remarked Burton, with a 
 grim laugh, "our chances are amazingly 
 better than they were a little while ago. 
 There was a time when I said good-by to 
 every one." 
 
 " How did you escape ? " asked the boy. 
 
 " Horse shot, thrown over his head and 
 stunned. That's all my story. As it has 
 ^turned out, the poor brute couldn't have 
 done me better service. The first one I 
 saw on his feet was George trying to lift 
 the major. Now for your yarn, George." 
 
 He explained what the reader already 
 knows, adding, " I played 'possum to such 
 good purpose that I was left for dead." 
 Meanwhile he was examining and bathing 
 his brother's wounds. "Good God!" he 
 exclaimed, " I believe we could save Joe 
 if we could only get him to a house." 
 
 " Do you think we could venture out 
 before dark ? " asked Angus, wistfully. 
 " I feel as if I could take almost any risk 
 to get away."
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 73 
 
 " The chances are that we wouldn't get 
 away," George began. 
 
 " No, boys," said the major, feebly. 
 "You must stay in cover. I'm in com 
 mand yet, and I order you to take not 
 one risk on my account." 
 
 " Shut up, Joe, and save your strength," 
 said his brother. "You may give all the 
 orders you please, but we shall do what 
 we believe is best for you. You're going 
 to get well and make the red-coats pay 
 for this day." 
 
 "As God wills," said the young officer, 
 quietly. 
 
 " Well," replied George, brusquely, " I 
 reckon God often wills what we do, if we 
 set our teeth and do our best. Come, 
 Gus, tell us how you appeared on the 
 scene so opportunely." 
 
 " I made a baby of myself again," be 
 gan the boy, hanging his head. " I 
 yelled out the major's orders all along 
 the line, and if any thing could have 
 made the fellows go faster, my terror- 
 stricken voice must have done so. By 
 the time I caught up with the leading
 
 74 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 
 
 ones there was a wide field on the left, 
 and our men scattered in that. Never in 
 my life was I so tempted to do any thing 
 as I was to ride after them, but I felt 
 that I ought to come back to the 
 major " 
 
 " Come back ! " exclaimed George, sus 
 pending his work to stare at the boy. 
 
 " Oughtn't an aid to come back after 
 giving an order ? " asked the boy. 
 
 "Well, yes, as a rule, but the order 
 applied to you as well as the rest." 
 
 " I didn't know that. I should have 
 been only too glad had I thought so 
 then. I'm glad now it's all turned out as 
 it has." 
 
 "Well, well, but how did you escape a 
 split crown ? " George asked. 
 
 Angus explained, and was surprised to 
 find the major's hand on his as he sat 
 near. 
 
 " Brave boy," whispered the wounded 
 man, his eyes eloquent with approval. 
 
 Burton put his arm around the lad's neck 
 and said, with a laugh, "Yes, Gus, you 
 made a baby of yourself just as you did
 
 HEADLONG FLIGHT. 75 
 
 before, when we found you blubbering 
 over one man killed and another cap 
 tured." 
 
 " Please don't praise me any more," 
 said Angus, irritably. "I've been fright 
 ened out of my wits twice to-day 
 already." 
 
 " I only wish," George began, " that I 
 had a regiment of such Ha ! silence." 
 
 A hoarse distant laugh was borne to 
 them on the breeze.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 enemy are returning," said 
 George, " and now comes the 
 critical moment Burton, crawl to the 
 i\lj;r ot ilu- thicket, whence you can see 
 the road. If they decide to search this 
 spot, we must take to our heels and lead 
 pursuit away from the major." 
 
 In the meantime he cut bushes and 
 stuck them in the ground about the 
 prostrate form of his brother, so thickly 
 that one could scarcely see him even a 
 few feet away. Burton, from the edge of 
 the thicket, saw the British troopers ad 
 vancing up the road, laughing, jesting, 
 and boasting of their achievements. Only 
 a small squad passed, and our young par 
 tisans at last concluded that the main 
 body of their foes had returned to Char 
 lotte by another road. The English sol-
 
 diers, satisfied that none of their 
 number had been woundec 
 the road, final!}' disappe^-- 
 dead and disabled foes to be event 
 caved for lay tlwr friends. At las 
 region that had -witnessed 
 tragksc^ seemed Btt 
 ** I begni to "rhfnl: ire 
 
 ^ 
 
 slrifcc oat for Ac 
 
 * f_ - - .^ , 
 
 ton. . ^ _____ . _ ~rL ~~ . . 
 
 oak yxmacn From its tup I 
 
 of the road 
 
 ..f -m -i- - _ 
 
 :: :..t ~ _ ~r : _ . i . j :_ :r ... 
 Eamisfacd and actually weak 
 from irant of food, "MOT I reckon ipon two 
 L r i . ~ i .'. ~ ~ " ~~ ~t i - - ^ '. ~. -. 
 
 "Wefl,go ahead,* said George, -bat 
 keep dose to the ground. We're m mo 
 
 r.:: :-.; ir.t r:ii :_: i;: 
 witiiin the range of his TISIOIIL Oil toe 
 strength of his report it was decided to 
 push for the farm-house at once. Making 
 a chair of their hands, and potting the 
 major's arms about each of their
 
 78 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 George and Burton bore him towards the 
 woods, Angus preceding them carrying 
 their rifles (his had been broken in his 
 fall). They were compelled to pause and 
 rest from time to time, but at last reached 
 the shelter of the belt of forest. Here 
 they lay down panting and exhausted, 
 while the poor major seemed scarcely 
 alive. 
 
 They had soon much cause to congrat 
 ulate themselves on their action. It now 
 became clear that the squad of the enemy 
 which had passed had probably been sent 
 back with information, for now the main 
 body appeared on the road with some 
 prisoners. The British had evidently 
 learned the partiality of the Whig militia 
 for cover when pressed, for two dragoons 
 leaped the fence and rode up to and into 
 the thicket a short distance. Then one of 
 them fired a pistol bullet into its recesses. 
 Apparently they were satisfied that no 
 one was concealed there, for they rejoined 
 their comrades on the road. 
 
 The boys looked at each other signifi 
 cantly and drew a deep breath of relief.
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 79 
 
 " Well," said George, with emphasis, " all 
 that looks very harmless at this distance, 
 but I tell you what it is, fellows, we 
 haven't had a nigher graze. If we had 
 been there we'd have run for it, and, used 
 up as we are, wouldn't have a ghost of 
 a chance. Let what we've seen teach 
 us a lesson. If like circumstances happen 
 again, our best course will be to lie close, 
 like a hunted deer in his bed. That 
 would have been our only chance in this 
 case, even though one of us had been hit 
 by that pistol-shot." 
 
 At this moment Angus caught a glimpse 
 of two or three negroes, who, some dis 
 tance away, were peering through the 
 trees at the passing dragoons. He made 
 a circuit with light, stealthy tread, and 
 came up behind them. At first they were 
 much startled, but soon recognized him 
 as "Young Marse Mclntire." 
 
 " Come with me," he said ; "keep well 
 back in the woods. I've got some work 
 for you to do." 
 
 The slaves had been brought thither 
 by curiosity to see the terrible British, of
 
 8o THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 whom they had heard so much, but who, 
 many secretly hoped, might become their 
 deliverers from bondage. This hope was 
 never confirmed by facts, for the English 
 invaders captured slaves as they would 
 horses, and either used or sold them. 
 
 Never were strong hands and backs 
 more welcome than on this occasion. The 
 negroes easily carried the major and 
 every weight of which the weary young 
 fellows could divest themselves, and, tak 
 ing the shortest path through the woods, 
 led the way to the farm-house. Its hos 
 pitable mistress was a strong, sensible 
 woman, and a good nurse. The major, 
 almost lifeless from loss of blood, was 
 revived by stimulants and milk, undressed 
 and put to bed. It was then discovered 
 that he had received " nine wounds," and 
 that in one instance his life had been 
 saved by a large buckle which had broken 
 the force of a sabre stroke. Since this 
 gallant young officer, but twenty-one 
 years of age, no longer appears in my 
 story, I may as well mention here that he 
 was tenderly carried to his mother's house
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 8 1 
 
 the next day, and thence, after some rest, 
 to a hospital. 
 
 Strange to relate he recovered, and 
 within a few brief months raised a com 
 pany of men and entered on a new career 
 of even greater hardihood. His brother 
 George remained with him until he was 
 safely placed in the hospital, and then 
 began a series of partisan operations on 
 his own account, as we shall soon learn. 
 
 Burton and Angus were greatly revived 
 by the refreshment freely given at the 
 farm-house, and as soon as they felt equal 
 to the journey, mounted borrowed horses 
 and rode homeward. Mrs. Mclntire and 
 Ella had been almost distracted by anxiety 
 and fear. Terrible stories and still more 
 awful rumors had been related to them, 
 and they dreaded the worst. When, after 
 nightfall, the dogs began to bark, they 
 knew not whether to fly to the woods with 
 the children or to wait in the hope that it 
 was the absent ones returning. Burton 
 gave a long peculiar whistle, a signal of 
 approach that Ella knew well. A moment 
 later mother and daughter were bestow-
 
 82 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 ing their welcome in embraces, kisses and 
 tears of joy. Supper had been saved in 
 the hope that the absent would return, 
 and now the fragrant coffee was placed 
 over the fire. Then the boys began a 
 story at which the cheeks of the listeners 
 often paled, and after a generous Southern 
 fashion, each of the young fellows vied 
 in praising the other. The mother be 
 came so overwhelmed and faint at the 
 thought of what her boy had passed 
 through, that Angus said, " We won't tell 
 any more to-night. Be content and thank 
 ful, mother, for here we both are, safe and 
 sound. Let us tumble into bed, for I feel 
 as if I could sleep a week." 
 
 Burton, holding Ella's hand, had been, 
 during the last few moments, the picture 
 of sleepy happiness. Suddenly he bowed 
 his head upon her shoulder and snored 
 audibly. A loud laugh from Angus and 
 the little girls so far awakened him that 
 he stumbled after the boy to their room, 
 and it was high noon the next day before 
 they shook off their lethargy. 
 
 After a substantial dinner they proved
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 83 
 
 how quickly young, healthful bodies can 
 recover from the severest strain and 
 fatigue. Fuller details of their experi 
 ence were given, but the present and 
 future were so replete with danger that 
 the past was almost forgotten in thoughts 
 of what might happen at any hour. Woe 
 ful tidings had been brought from Char 
 lotte and the farm-houses near the village. 
 Some dwellings had been taken posses 
 sion of and the inmates compelled to pro 
 vide for rough, brutal men who devoured 
 and appropriated every thing; others had 
 been sacked, and all valuables carried off, 
 while not a few had been burned. With 
 the dispersion of Major Graham's force, 
 all organized resistance had ceased, and 
 the whole region apparently was at the 
 mercy of the invaders. 
 
 As these facts became clear, Burton 
 and Angus decided that it was their duty 
 to remain at the house, and, by ceaseless 
 vigilance, either to beat off a small num 
 ber of marauders, or, if outnumbered, to 
 take the family to a place of shelter and 
 concealment in the woods. Burton rode
 
 84 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 over to his plantation and put the place 
 in charge of a trusty overseer, first send 
 ing his aunt to a safe refuge farther north. 
 He also brought for Angus a heavy fowl 
 ing piece, which, loaded with buckshot, 
 and at short range, would be quite as 
 effective as the rifle he had lost. The 
 handsome pistols and sword which had 
 belonged to the British ensign were much 
 admired, and a good supply of ammuni 
 tion was prepared for the former. One 
 of the pistols was given to Ella, who was 
 making good the brave words she had 
 spoken at the beginning of our story. 
 She caught the high, sanguine spirit of 
 her lover, and it would be difficult to say 
 whether she suffered more from fear, dur 
 ing the days which followed, or enjoyed 
 more from excitement and exultation at 
 the prowess and dauntless behavior of her 
 lover and brother. The stories they 
 heard made it but too sadly evident that 
 even she might be compelled to aid in the 
 defence of their home. 
 * The first paralyzing effect of fear soon 
 passed from the community, and the
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 85 
 
 people began to understand the conditions 
 under which they must live if the British 
 army remained at Charlotte. If they 
 would go to the village and give their 
 allegiance to the royal officers, they 
 would be unmolested and money would 
 be paid for the provisions they furnished. 
 If they held aloof or were hostile, they 
 would be secure from no wrong or out 
 rage. Yet the great majority of the men 
 not only refused to have dealings with 
 the British, but even began to fire on the 
 foraging parties that were sent out daily. 
 As the people found themselves threat 
 ened and insulted, as well as robbed, or 
 saw their families deserting their homes 
 and flying to the woods when the ma 
 rauding parties approached, hostility be 
 came hourly more bitter and aggressive. 
 Food for man and beast, for which the 
 country was scoured, was purchased with 
 blood. 
 
 The part taken by Burton and Angus 
 in the recent conflicts soon became known, 
 and other young fellows of the vicinity 
 began to ride in and concoct measures
 
 86 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 tending to some scheme of mutual help. 
 It was decided that on eminences near 
 their respective abodes piles of brush 
 should be heaped, so that smoke by day 
 and fire at night should become signals 
 of approaching danger, and the need of 
 assistance. 
 
 Meanwhile, at the Mclntire farm-house 
 some one was always vigilantly on the 
 watch. The dwelling stood near the 
 edge of a forest, which was bordered by 
 a thick growth of young pines. With 
 timely warning, therefore, the family 
 would have little difficulty in escaping 
 observation, and, having once gained the 
 woods, paths leading to its rugged re 
 cesses were well-known. But a very few 
 days elapsed before a British foraging 
 party moved up into the vicinity. Angus, 
 who was on the watch, saw the ominous 
 smoke which -was a summons to all the 
 armed men in the region. With a sad 
 heart, Mrs. Mclntire witnessed the hasty 
 preparations for departure, but believed 
 that no other course would be right under 
 the circumstances. The day when her
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 87 
 
 household would need assistance might 
 be near indeed. 
 
 As her son and Burton were about to 
 mount, who should ride up but George 
 Graham, and never did any one receive a 
 more honest welcome. "You are just in 
 time," they cried, breathlessly, telling him 
 the emergency. 
 
 " Mr. Graham, have you had any din 
 ner ?" asked thoughtful Mrs. Mclntire, 
 hastening out. 
 
 " No ; I can eat something as I go 
 along." 
 
 Angus hesitated, but Burton shook his 
 head. " There's no help for it, mother," 
 he urged. " Our honor's pledged to lose 
 not a moment. Give George a glass of 
 milk and some bread and meat. He must 
 go at once, for he's worth half a dozen of 
 us." 
 
 Laughingly protesting against this view, 
 George declared that Burton was right 
 and that he must dine in the saddle. In 
 a very few moments he was ready, and all 
 three rode away, the mother, Ella and the 
 little girls watching them as long as their
 
 88 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 forms were visible. How many, in those 
 troublous times, thus looked their last at 
 loved ones who never returned! 
 
 Rest had quieted and steadied Angus's 
 nerves ; the necessity for brave, warlike 
 action had become clearer each day. His 
 young, smooth face had often grown hot 
 with manly indignation at the wrongs of 
 which he heard wrongs which he was 
 now about to witness. Moreover, his 
 past experience was not without effect, 
 and the awful sense of novelty would be 
 absent from future scenes of strife. 
 
 The friends were joined on the way by 
 neighbors, across whose backs were slung 
 the rifles which the people of that day 
 knew so well how to use. By the time 
 they had reached the scene of the maraud, 
 these numbers had increased to a score of 
 men and boys, among whom, undaunted 
 by his recent narrow escape, was young 
 Zach Wilson. 
 
 They had to approach very warily, for 
 the British foraging party was far too 
 large to permit an open attack. From a 
 wooded knoll some distance from the
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 89 
 
 house they looked upon proceedings 
 which made their blood boil. All the 
 live-stock on the place was being slaugh 
 tered and loaded on wagons, and the barn 
 emptied of grain, hay and corn-leaf fodder. 
 Some of the more ruthless of the soldiery 
 were sacking the house, carrying out 
 every thing that took their fancy. An 
 old white-haired man expostulated and 
 received a blow on his mouth ; beneath a 
 tree were huddled a woman and some 
 little children, who \vere sobbing and 
 wringing their hands. The foragers paid 
 no heed to them, and the whole place 
 resounded with snatches of ribald songs, 
 laughter and oaths. 
 
 " I've marked the fellow that struck 
 the old man," said Burton, who had a 
 good field-glass. " I'm going to creep 
 up, and, if possible, get a shot at him. I 
 think I can do it through that cornfield 
 yonder." 
 
 " It's the only place where it will be 
 possible," assented George. " The ground 
 is unusually open near the house, and I 
 can see no gap in the line pickets. We
 
 90 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 can't strike to any advantage till they're 
 on the march." 
 
 "A shot may hasten them," resumed 
 Burton, " and my fingers fairly ache to 
 pull trigger on that fellow. I shall know 
 him by his big, bushy beard. Be ready, 
 boys, to give 'em a volley when I come in 
 on a run with a score or two after me." 
 
 " If some one will lend me a long-range 
 rifle, I'll go with you," spoke up Angus. 
 " I'd have to venture in too close with 
 this fowling-piece." 
 
 " No, Brother Gus, you can't go. I've 
 promised to try and keep you from all 
 extra risks." 
 
 "Stay with me, Gus," said George, 
 decidedly. "You shall have all the fight 
 ing you want before night. I know how 
 Burton feels about shooting the wretch 
 who struck the old man ; but, as a rule, 
 we shouldn't take too great risks." 
 
 The majority of those present were 
 ardent young fellows, who with difficulty 
 restrained their impatience under George's 
 words. The bold purpose of Burton, how 
 ever, was just suited to their fancy, and
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 91 
 
 they mounted and rode down through the 
 woods to the base of the hill, so as to be 
 in supporting distance when the youth 
 returned. He bounded away with the 
 fleetness of a deer, and gained the corn 
 field unperceived. 
 
 The videttes of the enemy were scat 
 tered along the side of this field next to 
 the house, and Burton soon became con 
 vinced that he would have to creep up to 
 its very edge to get within range of the 
 man he had selected as target. This he 
 could not do and retain a chance of 
 safety. While he could be very impetuous 
 under excitement, he was not one to do a 
 foolhardy thing in cool blood. He had 
 about decided to pick off one of the 
 videttes and then escape, when he saw 
 that the whole foraging party was about 
 to withdraw. It had been unmolested, 
 and the officer in command relaxed his 
 caution, called in his sentinels, and pre 
 pared to march back to Charlotte. As 
 the pickets retired from the edge of the 
 cornfield, Burton crept up closer and 
 closer, vigilantly alert to catch another
 
 92 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 glimpse of the man with the bushy beard. 
 After almost despairing of seeing him 
 again, he suddenly appeared, coming from 
 the house with an armful of bedding, 
 which he placed upon a wagon whose 
 driver yet lingered. The fellow then 
 clambered up to arrange the stolen 
 articles more securely. Burton, who by 
 this time had made his way to the last 
 row of corn, waited no longer, but took 
 deliberate aim and fired. He paused 
 only long enough to see the man start 
 violently, seek to catch hold of some 
 thing, and fall headlong to the ground, 
 then, crouching, ran toward his partisan 
 support. He had gone but a little way 
 before a dozen dragoons came galloping 
 towards the corn after him. But his 
 friends were equally prompt, and, under 
 George's advice, spread out after enter 
 ing the field, so as to give the impression 
 of a large force. Rustling and crashing 
 through the corn, their swift advance was 
 like the sound of a tempest, and the 
 British dragoons soon fled, carrying the 
 direful tidings that a multitude of Whigs
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 93 
 
 was upon them. The drivers of the 
 forage-wagons whipped up their horses, 
 and the heavily loaded vehicles rumbled, 
 groaned and bounced along the stony 
 road. One broke down and was aban 
 doned. The English officer drew his 
 men together into a compact body, and 
 began a rapid retreat. The partisans 
 would have pursued openly, but George 
 checked them, knowing that this course 
 would reveal the smallness of their 
 numbers. 
 
 " Follow me," he cried. " By making 
 a short circuit we can come upon them 
 about a mile from here in a piece of 
 woods, and then will have more or less 
 cover all the way to town. If they see 
 how few we are, they'll give us the chase, 
 and I've had enough of such chasing." 
 
 He seemed to be the natural leader, 
 and they all followed. In doing so they 
 caught up with another band of partisans, 
 in which were the owner of the place and 
 his two sons, all burning to avenge the 
 wrongs which they had thus far helplessly 
 witnessed. Away they went, like the
 
 94 THE AMBUSCADE. 
 
 wind, down a wood-road, until at last they 
 were in advance of the foraging party ; 
 then pushed directly into the forest, riding 
 through a dense growth that would have 
 greatly impeded others than the expert and 
 hardy natives of the region. They struck 
 the road at a point where it wound through 
 the heavy timber, rising from almost im 
 penetrable thickets. Here George set 
 his ambuscade, with orders that the first 
 volley should be directed against the 
 wagon-drivers and such officers as were 
 visible. 
 
 " It should be our object to increase 
 the enemy's fears," he said, " and so, if 
 possible, develop a first-class panic. Here's 
 an obscure wood-road, leading back into 
 the forest. With your permission, I'll 
 arrange you on the right of this, in three 
 squads ; the first to deliver their fire as I 
 have said, and then to gallop down the 
 road far enough to get a chance to reload. 
 Of course, they'll make a rush for us, 
 when the second squad will give them a 
 volley, and then be off in like manner. 
 When I say the word, give 'em the third
 
 THE AMBUSCADE. 95 
 
 volley. Thus they'll get the impression 
 that the woods are full of us, and will be 
 off, although they outnumber us three to 
 one. And now," he concluded, " silence 
 until my rifle gives the order to fire."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 FOR a few moments the silence was 
 unbroken on the densely shaded and 
 narrow highway. The startled squir 
 rels ceased their barking notes of surprise 
 and curiosity. Their keen eyes detected 
 the motionless forms, and, suspecting 
 danger, they sped stealthily away. Grouse 
 and partridges knew by instinct that those 
 who had caused their alarm still lurked in 
 cover like themselves. 
 
 Sounds from the approaching enemy 
 soon became audible, however ; first the 
 rumble of the wagons and then the tramp 
 of horses. A platoon of cavalry formed 
 the vanguard, and George let it ride past 
 unmolested. The wagons next appeared, 
 with infantrymen walking on each side of 
 them ; and these were followed by the 
 main body of infantry, another platoon of
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 97 
 
 cavalry acting as a rear-guard. The un 
 dergrowth was so thick in the damp, low 
 spot through which the foraging party 
 was passing, that it had been thought 
 almost impossible to throw out flankers, 
 and the officer commanding had deemed 
 it the best policy to hasten on to a more 
 open country before pursuers could over 
 take them. The many anxious glances 
 turned towards the dense woods on either 
 side, however, proved that the aspect of 
 the place was any thing but pleasing. 
 
 The partisans chafed under George's 
 delay in firing, and were fast losing their 
 self-restraint. Few had received even 
 the first lessons in discipline ; they were 
 a chance assemblage of wronged and 
 angry men, who had tacitly accepted a 
 young, untried leader within the last 
 hour ; and had he not given the signal 
 from his rifle, in time, his plans would 
 have been disconcerted. Being an un 
 usually good marksman, he fired upon 
 the officer leading the rear-guard of dra 
 goons and the man fell ; as also did sev 
 eral of the wagon-drivers and protecting
 
 98 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 infantry. There was a moment of con 
 sternation, and then the enemy fired a 
 volley into the woods. Bullets flew like 
 hail about the partisans, but the interven 
 ing brush prevented accuracy of aim. 
 The rear-guard troopers came galloping 
 forward, and those in the van also re 
 turned to the point of attack. The only 
 sound they heard was the receding rush 
 of steeds, as the first squad retired ac 
 cording to George's directions. The 
 other two squads had the courage and 
 steadiness to remain quiet at their leader's 
 warning gesture and command " Wait." 
 
 " The cowardly curs have made off," 
 shouted a British officer in the road. 
 " There's no use in trying to follow where 
 only swamp-foxes can run. Other drivers 
 take the reins and push out of this hole. 
 Forward ! " 
 
 As a response, equally clear, George's 
 voice rang out, " Half of second rank aim 
 at the leading horses on the wagons. 
 Fire ! " 
 
 Now, down went both horses and men, 
 and the wagons again came to a stand-
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 99 
 
 still. The officer who had characterized 
 the partisans as "cowardly curs" was on 
 the ground, riddled by buckshot from 
 Angus's fowling-piece. The British, of 
 course, again began firing in the woods, 
 and now that the location of their foes 
 was better localized, their ^im was surer, 
 and two or three of the partisans were 
 hit. 
 
 " Follow me, all," cried George, and 
 away they went, crashing through the 
 under-growth, towards the wood-road, with 
 bullets flying after them. 
 
 By this time the British troopers in 
 advance had found the obscure wood- 
 road at the point where it intersected the 
 highway, and a dozen brave fellows 
 spurred into it. They paid dearly, how 
 ever, for their temerity, for, crowded 
 together in the narrow passage, they 
 soon revealed to George his opportunity. 
 
 " Halt ! " he shouted. " To cover on 
 both sides of road. Now don't all aim 
 at the two or three in advance. Pick 
 out your man. Fire ! " 
 
 Again the irregular volley was so
 
 100 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 effective that the pursuit was checked, 
 but only for a moment or two. 
 
 " Follow me, all." again cried George, 
 and he led the way until the rear-squad 
 caught up with the others. " We must 
 change our tactics," he resumed. " Scat 
 ter. Each man take to the woods for 
 himself, but keep advancing toward Char 
 lotte. When you see a chance fora shot, 
 blaze away and move on. Keep within 
 sound of three whistles from me, which 
 will summon you together again. Away, 
 and each man be an Indian." 
 
 The pursuing force came up in time 
 only to hear receding sounds in every 
 direction, and to catch an occasional 
 glimpse of a retreating form here and 
 there. Some, who had not been suffi 
 ciently swift in obeying the order, had 
 narrow escapes, but they soon turned the 
 tables on the enemy, and, from places 
 of concealment, began a scattering fire, 
 which increased as opportunity was found 
 to reload. 
 
 The English troops soon learned that 
 it was useless to follow. A form, seen
 
 TORY ROBBERS. ioi 
 
 for a, moment, melted away ; vanished 
 only to indicate its presence in another 
 locality by a fatal shot. They quickly 
 retired, therefore, to the highway again, 
 where there were confused counsels and 
 almost panic. George's orders to fire on 
 the horses had delayed the British troops, 
 but they still clung to the hope of getting 
 off with their plunder. The poor dead 
 and wounded beasts were drawn aside, 
 two wagons abandoned, and, with the 
 rest, the party was again pushing for 
 ward. Men were reluctant to mount to 
 exposed positions in the driver's seat, 
 and the partisans soon increased this hes 
 itancy. 
 
 The conflict had now taken on a form 
 well suited to the hardy natives, every 
 one of whom had been a hunter. As the 
 troopers retired from the wood-road, they 
 followed and closed in upon their exas 
 perated but almost helpless victims. 
 George's force, however, was so con 
 cealed in the forest and so scattered that 
 it afforded no target, no point for defi 
 nite attack. To the British the woods
 
 102 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 appeared full of hornets whose stings 
 were felt, but whose bodies were invisi 
 ble. Drivers again began to tumble 
 from their seats, horses were again down, 
 and even non-commissioned officers, as 
 sergeants, who in the emergency had to 
 exercise command, were either hit, or 
 else found bullets whizzing near so often 
 as to show that they were singled out. 
 
 It was not long before the instinct of 
 self-preservation gained the mastery ; 
 traces were cut ; each horse mounted by 
 two of the infantrymen, and all the party 
 made a rapid push for the open country. 
 The partisans followed until satisfied 
 that nothing more was to be feared from 
 this ravaging band, and then returned 
 towards the scene of conflict. They 
 drew together in the road with flushed, 
 excited faces, and eyes in which still lin 
 gered fierce gleams of passion. 
 
 If they were no longer confronted by 
 the enemy, they certainly were compelled 
 to face grave, perplexing questions and 
 duties. Two of their number had been 
 slain outright, and four or five were
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 103 
 
 wounded. A score of their foes were scat 
 tered about, either disabled or dead. 
 There also were the wagons with the 
 plunder of two or three plantations heaped 
 upon them. 
 
 Now that the fight was over, all sem 
 blance of organization disappeared, and 
 George was but one of the thirty odd 
 neighbors whom the emergency had drawn 
 together. Recognizing the fact, he sat 
 quietly on his horse until his opinion was 
 asked. Some counselled one thing and 
 some another, while all agreed that the 
 British would send out a strong force in 
 the early morning to recover what had 
 been lost, and probably to take vengeance 
 on the families residing near. At last 
 young Zach Wilson piped with his boyish 
 voice, " What we need is some one to take 
 command of the whole kit of us. Gus 
 Mclntire is the only officer present. 
 Major Graham promoted him to be ensign 
 in one fight the other day. I heard him, 
 and so did others." 
 
 Blushing like a girl, Angus rode for 
 ward and cried, " I tell you flatly that I
 
 104 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 won't take any command at all, but there's 
 one here that I'll obey to the death, and 
 that's the major's brother, George Gra 
 ham. Who should now tell us what to 
 do better than he who led us so well in 
 the fight ? I move that we all put our 
 selves under George's orders, and set to 
 work, for we haven't much daylight left." 
 
 The boy's words found prompt and 
 general approval, although some of the 
 older farmers looked dubiously at the 
 young fellow named as leader during the 
 coming hours, which would require pru 
 dent action instead of fighting. Many 
 knew little about him, and feared rash, 
 immature counsel, while nearly all looked 
 wistfully at the loaded wagons and the 
 weapons of the enemy not yet appro 
 priated. 
 
 George, doffing his hat in natural 
 courtesy, rode forward and said, " I accept 
 command for the occasion, since this 
 seems to be the general wish ; also for 
 the reason suggested by Gus Mclntire 
 'We have little daylight left.' One head 
 is better than many, or no head at all. I
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 105 
 
 may seem very young, but I've seen ser 
 vice with my brother during the last year 
 or two, and perhaps experience will make 
 up in part for lacking age. In the first 
 place, we can't carry off these wagons, 
 their tracks would make too plain a trail, 
 but we can take away on our horses a 
 good part of their contents. You are all 
 friends and neighbors ; help the robbed 
 ones to hide what they can in the woods, 
 for the woods may become our best 
 refuge. I would advise that meat barrels 
 be secreted, and that as many as possible 
 of these slaughtered cattle go into them ; 
 well salted food, powder and lead will be 
 our chief needs. There is no doubt at 
 all but that the enemy will be upon us in 
 the morning, and most likely several 
 houses will be burned. Families and 
 valuables should be well hidden in the 
 early morning. I've ridden far to-day 
 and am tired, but I'll help you a good 
 part of the night. Then we must rest, 
 and every rifle be ready for use to-morrow, 
 for we shall have a hot day." 
 
 This speech commended itself to every
 
 106 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 one, and his leadership was confirmed by 
 acclamation. The young officer then 
 acted with great promptness and vigor. 
 
 " Gus Mclntire," he ordered, " you and 
 Zach Wilson go down the road on the 
 traces of the red-coats, and see that there 
 is no danger from that quarter. Don't 
 allow yourselves to be surprised. Burton 
 Craige, take half-a-dozen men and gather 
 up all the dead in one place, and the 
 wounded in another. Give the wounded 
 water, and leave them a supply for the 
 night. If you can find a good rifle, save 
 it for Gus, who has only a shot-gun. The 
 other weapons and ammunition of the 
 enemy should go to those who are poorly 
 supplied. Bring them together to old 
 Father Johnson here, and he'll give 'em 
 out to those who can make a good claim. 
 The rest help me unload and carry off the 
 contents of the wagons." 
 
 In a moment all were engaged in their 
 several duties, and men were coming and 
 going until late in the starlit night. 
 Laughing words and jests were not want 
 ing among the younger members of the
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 107 
 
 party, but the faces of those who had 
 families were anxious or stern. After 
 two hours Angus and Zach were recalled 
 and other patriots sent out. George told 
 the boys to go home, but they would not, 
 and, laughingly defying his authority, 
 declared that they would remain as his 
 body-guard. They were soon asleep 
 under a tree, however. 
 
 After Father Johnson had distributed 
 the weapons, he had been directed with 
 a few others to take the two slain parti 
 sans and the five who had been wounded 
 to their friends. Thus it happened that 
 by eleven at night but few of the party 
 of the afternoon remained. With the 
 help of these George broke up the 
 wagons, set fire to the debris, and piled 
 upon the burning heaps such articles as 
 had not been carried away. The supply 
 of water for the wounded was replenished. 
 Beyond this, and giving the forlorn group 
 some of the stolen food from the wagons, 
 nothing more was done, the partisans 
 rightly believing that their disabled ene 
 mies would be cared for by their friends
 
 108 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 in the morning. Then all dispersed, 
 George and Burton riding homeward 
 with Angus. In a few moments the scene 
 that had witnessed such tragic and varied 
 activity was left to weird, flickering 
 shadows, and to those who -must suffer 
 alone until relieved. 
 
 There had been no sleep for Mrs. 
 Mclntire and Ella. A ruddy fire blazed 
 on the hearth, and the table fairly groaned 
 with the supper which awaited the return 
 ing youths. They were too weary to do 
 justice to it, or to spend many moments 
 in explanation. Their few words were 
 reassuring, however, and their safety suf 
 ficient reason for heartfelt thanksgiving. 
 Ella summoned slaves to feed and care for 
 the horses, and established herself as 
 sentinel for the rest of the night. 
 
 As had been surmised, the early morn 
 ing found the British advancing in force. 
 Two or three Whigs who had been on the 
 watch near the village came riding out, 
 warning the inhabitants. Smoking beacon 
 fires were seen far and near, summoning 
 the people to arms. George and his
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 109 
 
 young friends were soon in the saddle, 
 hastening to the rendezvous. It is need 
 less to dwell upon the events which 
 followed, for in many of their aspects they 
 became of almost daily occurrence. The 
 enemy were too strong to permit any 
 thing like organized resistance, and were 
 also inclined to be savagely vindictive. 
 The houses and barns robbed on the pre 
 vious day were burned, and other planta 
 tions in the vicinity pillaged and left with 
 blackened ruins to show where once had 
 been prosperous homes. The partisans 
 could only hover around seeking oppor 
 tunities for a shot. And many, too, they 
 found, inflicting no little loss ; but the 
 enemy were out in such force that there 
 were plenty to fight while others plundered 
 and destroyed, with mutual, dogged persis 
 tence. It so happened that the raid swept 
 away from the Mclntire place, and so for 
 a time it escaped. The commander of 
 the British expedition carried out his pur 
 poses, and retired with loaded wagons, 
 after having both inflicted and sustained 
 much injury. At last night again settled
 
 HO TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 down on the distracted region in which 
 were the dead, the dying, the homeless 
 and impoverished. So far from being 
 cowed, the people were only the more bit 
 terly hostile, and bent upon driving the 
 invaders from the land. 
 
 During the next few days many de 
 serted their homes, taking their families 
 and all they could carry away farther west 
 and north. Angus entreated his mother to 
 follow this example, but she said : " No; 
 we shall stay and share your fortunes. 
 If any thing happens to you or Burton, 
 Ella and I shall be near to take care of 
 you." 
 
 Thus it happened that the Mclntire 
 plantation became a sort of headquarters 
 for George and the hardy band that 
 speedily gathered around him and Bur 
 ton. He and his followers did not cease 
 to help in punishing the foraging parties, 
 which were now so large that the enraged 
 inhabitants could do little else than annoy 
 them. These marauds in search of pro 
 visions were a necessity to the British 
 commander, and could not be prevented.
 
 TORY ROBBERS. Ill 
 
 Meanwhile, George and his troop hit 
 upon the most effectual way of injuring 
 the enemy. As a matter of course, Gen 
 eral Cornwallis must keep up his com 
 munications with his forces and officers 
 in South Carolina. Messengers and de 
 tachments were therefore constantly com 
 ing and going, bearing despatches. With a 
 vigilance hard to baffle or escape, George 
 and his band often pounced upon these 
 messengers and cowboys, capturing pa 
 pers of great importance. The British 
 commander was made to feel insecure in 
 his advanced position and uncertain in re 
 gard to what was occurring in his rear. 
 From the captured despatches and other 
 sources, the people of the region had 
 learned that he was expecting Colonel 
 Ferguson, with a large force, to join him 
 at Charlotte. It was well-known that this 
 force was composed chiefly of Tories of 
 the most ruthless and blood-thirsty char 
 acter men well versed in the tactics of 
 Indian warfare and at the same time 
 ready to commit every possible outrage. 
 They had even been known to destroy
 
 112 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 the entire families of those who had in 
 curred their hatred. What wonder then 
 that the inhabitants, already so hardly 
 pressed, felt that if this horde came in 
 upon them from the south-west, their 
 country would be made a desert and they 
 be driven to the mountain'fastnesses, where 
 winter and perhaps starvation awaited 
 them ? All hearts were oppressed with a 
 growing and terrible dread, and mothers 
 looked upon their children with the feeling 
 that it had been better if they had never 
 been born. In our days of happy security 
 it is impossible to realize the dangers and 
 awful fears which beset our forefathers. 
 
 One evening early in October, a dismal 
 rainstorm set in, hastening the gloom of 
 nightfall. George and Burton, with their 
 followers, were away on an expedition, and 
 it was uncertain when they would return. 
 Angus, exhausted and almost ill from a 
 previous foray, had remained at home and 
 had been sleeping all the afternoon. He 
 was awakened by hearing rough voices in 
 the apartment below. 
 
 Mrs. Mclntire and Ella, while prepar-
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 113 
 
 ing supper, were rudely interrupted. The 
 soft muddy ground had deadened the fall 
 of horses' feet and the entrance of three 
 armed men was the first intimation of 
 danger. Even the dogs, cowering from 
 the storm in their kennels, had not heard 
 the stealthy approach of the ill-boding 
 visitors. Mrs. Mclntire started and trem 
 bled as she recognized one of the men 
 a Tory wretch of the worst type, who 
 had lived near them, but who, of late, 
 was said to be with Ferguson's ruthless 
 horde. 
 
 " I reckon yer know me, mistress," be 
 gan the scoundrel, " and if yer do, yer 
 know I hain't one ter be fooled off with 
 words. Give us some supper mighty sud 
 den. Here, Lem and Bill " (to his com 
 panions) " take cheers by the fire and make 
 yerselves ter home. Therejs nothin' ter 
 be afeard on in this Whig roost. Tarle- 
 ton's troopers split old Mclntire's crown, 
 and there's n<? one left but the woman 
 and her brats. " Whar's yer boy ?" 
 
 " He is away," she replied, not hesitat 
 ing to deceive one who had so little to
 
 114 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 know the truth, and hoping for some 
 chance to warn her son to escape. 
 
 " So much the better for him. Come, 
 hurry up supper and be civil ef yer want 
 us ter be civil." 
 
 " O, God, keep Angus from waking 
 and hearing," prayed the mother, as she 
 tremblingly tried to do their bidding. 
 " Ella, go to your room," she added aloud, 
 " I can do all." 
 
 " No," interrupted the Tory, insolently, 
 " let her stay and help. We've got 
 nothin' agin havin' purty gals around or 
 takin' a kiss from 'em either. Hey ! 
 Lem, hain't I speakin' fer the meetin' ? " 
 
 " In course. We wouldn't mind a regi 
 ment of gals as long as their dads and 
 brothers kep' away. But don't pester the 
 woman, for I'm as hungryas a bear. We 
 kin do our kissen arter supper." 
 
 In the cupboard, from which Ella took 
 the dishes, was hidden the pistol which 
 had been given her, and the spirited girl 
 felt that she would use it before permit 
 ting the touch of their fpul lips. Then, 
 seeing how heavily they were armed, she
 
 TORY ROBBERS. 115 
 
 tried to slip out that she might warn 
 Angus and not have him rushing down 
 to his death. Before she could pass 
 through the door the Tory seized her 
 arm and dragged her back. " Yer don't 
 leave this room," he said, " ter go trol- 
 loping off ter some of yer Whig neigh 
 bors. Do as we say and yer safe enough. 
 You uns must give us a good supper and 
 all the money and silver-plate yer got and 
 we'll ride away in an hour. If yer play 
 us any tricks we'll burn yer roost over 
 yer heads." 
 
 The little girls, who had cowered in a 
 corner thus far, now began to sob aloud. 
 
 " Shut up ! " shouted the Tory. " Do 
 you uns think we want ter eat with sich 
 caterwaulin' in our ears. Come, fellers, 
 set to. A squar' meal is fust in order. 
 Stand thar, you gal, and keep away from 
 that door. Don't be sich a fool as to 
 think you kin git away." 
 
 Two of the men began to eat with the 
 voracity of beasts ; but the Tory con 
 tinued : 
 
 " Here, mistress, we want sump'n
 
 Il6 TORY ROBBERS. 
 
 stronger'n coffee to wash our supper 
 down. Bring out yer wine or rum or 
 whatever yer got." 
 
 " We haven't any spirits," faltered the 
 woman, justly fearing the brutal impulses 
 of such men when under the influence of 
 liquor. 
 
 " Yes, yer have. Get it, or we'll smash 
 every thing 'till we find it ourselves." 
 
 " I won't give you spirits," she said, 
 desperately. 
 
 " We'll soon find out " 
 
 At this moment one of their horses 
 began to kick and neigh furiously. 
 
 " Bill, go out and see what the devil is 
 the matter," the Tory ordered.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 disturbance- among the horses 
 JL had an adequate cause, as can 
 soon be explained. The first impulse 
 of Angus, after awakening, was to rush 
 down stairs, but before he carried it out, 
 wise second thoughts occurred to him. 
 He listened long enough to learn the 
 character of the visitors, then slipped on 
 his coat, put a pistol and a long hunting 
 knife in his belt, and, with his loaded 
 shot-gun, stole to the roof of the back 
 porch, whence descent to the ground was 
 easy. 
 
 The night was very dark, but familiarity 
 with the place enabled him to steal noise 
 lessly around in his stocking feet. He 
 was soon at one of the windows, saw 
 the group within, and listened a few 
 moments longer to what the ruffians said.
 
 Il8 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 Meanwhile he tried to think of some 
 plan of action. To shoot one would only 
 bring upon the family the worst forms of 
 vengeance from the other two. In some 
 way he must seek to deal with each one 
 separately, and, for a few moments, was 
 at a loss what to do. Then the light 
 from the window gave him a glimpse of 
 the horses tied to the low branches of a 
 neighboring tree, and he adopted the 
 only expedient of which he could think. 
 Securing a very heavy club he went to 
 the tree and leaned his gun against it. 
 Then he pricked a horse with his knife 
 in the hope that but one of the men 
 would come out to investigate. The 
 event, as we have seen, justified his 
 expectation, and, standing a little back 
 in the darkness, he waited with his 
 club. 
 
 The man called Bill came out, groping, 
 stumbling and swearing, towards the 
 horses. Angus, whose eyes were accus 
 tomed to the darkness, watched for a 
 favorable moment, then delivered the 
 blow with all his force. There was a
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. H9 
 
 heavy thud, the man fell like a log and 
 lay motionless. 
 
 The boy, however, had no idea of 
 trusting to the chances of his reviving, 
 and, with straps from a bridle, bound 
 him hand and foot. 
 
 The plan had worked so well that 
 Angus determined to try it again, and 
 soon another horse was plunging and 
 neighing from pain. Both the ruffians 
 now sprang from the table with loud 
 oaths, but the Tory said, " You go, Lem, 
 and help Bill, and I'll watch so this gal 
 can't steal off and bring a lot o' Whigs 
 down on us." 
 
 " What in thunder's the trouble, Bill ? " 
 shouted Lem from the door. 
 
 " Horse throwed himself and kicking 
 the others," replied Angus, trying to imi 
 tate the gruff voices of the enemies. 
 " Come and help." 
 
 " Satan must be to play to change yer 
 voice so 'mazingly." 
 
 " It's full o' bacon," mumbled Angus, 
 grasping his club. 
 
 The man approached warily, as if sus-
 
 120 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 picious, and Angus saw the gleam of a 
 knife in his right hand as he groped his 
 way with the left. " Hang it all, I'm 
 goin' ter git a light," he muttered. 
 
 As he turned, Angus stepped lightly 
 forward and struck him. The man heard 
 his step and the downward rush of the 
 bludgeon, but barely had time to put up 
 his arm instinctively to ward off the blow. 
 Although his arm was broken and his 
 head struck with such force as to fell him 
 to the earth, he had time to utter a loud 
 groan before the boy could strike him 
 again. 
 
 The Tory heard the groan, rushed to 
 the door and shouted, " Bill, Lem, what's 
 up?" 
 
 He only heard the sound of some one 
 moving swiftly. It was Angus getting 
 his gun. The boy was naturally wary, 
 and, under the teaching of hard experi 
 ence and the training of George, had 
 learned to take every precaution. Fear 
 ing that the priming might have been 
 dampened by the storm and that his gun 
 would miss fire, he continued his fleet
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 12 1 
 
 steps around to the back of the house 
 and slipped the collar from a large, sav 
 age dog, saying, " Back, Wolf, back. 
 Follow close." 
 
 The Tory had called to his confeder 
 ates again and again ; enraged and per 
 plexed at receiving no reply, he jumped 
 to the conclusion that the horses had been 
 turned loose, that his confederates were 
 following them, and that Lem had groaned 
 from striking something in the dark. 
 Men in their situation know that losing 
 their horses may easily cost them their 
 lives. In his fear and anger he turned on 
 Mrs. Mclntire, and with an oath ex 
 claimed, "There's some cursed treachery 
 goin' on." 
 
 "I don't know what you mean," she 
 faltered. 
 
 " Yer will in a minute," and whipping 
 out a long knife, he seized her by the 
 throat and demanded, " Who was out 
 there, runnin' off the hosses?" 
 
 Seeing the ruffian's grasp on her 
 mother's throat and his threatening knife, 
 Ella hesitated no longer. Snatching her
 
 122 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 pistol, she leveled it at his head and cried, 
 " Back ! take your hand from my mother, 
 or I'll fire." 
 
 At this instant Angus appeared at the 
 door. " Drop your weapons or you're a 
 dead man," he shouted. 
 
 The Tory was appalled for a moment, 
 but inured to danger and bloodshed, he 
 did not lose his hardihood. Thinking his 
 companions to be not far off, his one 
 object was to gain time. He now believed 
 that the boy had merely turned the horses 
 loose. That Angus had disabled two 
 strong men without a sound of a struggle 
 did not enter his mind. With a sullen 
 " Oho ! " he began, " So you're the imp 
 that's been playin' the mischief with the 
 hosses. Come, my young cockerel, don't 
 yergityerself and folks inter trouble with 
 that shootin'-iron. Yer'd better listen ter 
 reason and keep a house over yer " 
 
 " Drop your weapons or I'll shoot," the 
 boy again shouted. 
 
 Indeed he would have fired at once had 
 not the cunning villain stood in a line with 
 Mrs. Mclntire.
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 123 
 
 " Stand aside, mother," cried Angus. 
 
 Ella, now that her brother appeared, 
 was momentarily off her guard, and the 
 wary eye of the Tory observed the fact. 
 With a singularly quick movement he 
 struck her arm a blow which sent the 
 pistol flying from her hand, then threw 
 his arms around her and held her in front 
 of him before the boy's leveled weapon. 
 " Now shoot ef you dare, yer blasted 
 Whig brat, "he snarled, and then shouted, 
 11 Lem, Bill, here quick. Knock this boy 
 on the head. I'll put my knife inter yer 
 sister ef yer don't clar out with that gun." 
 
 Crouching behind Angus was the great 
 black dog, and now the boy stood aside 
 and said, " In and at him, Wolf." 
 
 The huge dog sprang forward with a 
 savage growl ; the Tory tried for one 
 bewildered moment to keep the girl in 
 front of him, but the dog seized him by 
 the arm and Ella broke away. Wolf then 
 leaped for his throat, but the Tory sprang 
 backward and was about to strike the 
 animal with his knife, when there was a 
 flash, a loud report, and the room was full
 
 124 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 of smoke. As it cleared a little they saw 
 the dog shaking the Tory's lifeless form. 
 
 Mrs. Mclntire rushed to her son's arms 
 and shrieked, " The other men will come 
 and kill you." 
 
 " No, mother," he said, grimly, " I've 
 settled with them, too, but must make 
 sure of it. Stop your screaming, chil 
 dren ; there's no more danger. Come, 
 Wolf." 
 
 There was a sound of galloping horses 
 in the lane, and Burton's whistle revived 
 Ella,, who was almost fainting. A mo 
 ment later she was sobbing in her lover's 
 arms. 
 
 " Merciful heaven ! Gus, what's hap 
 pened?" cried George, riding to the ve 
 randa steps and looking within. 
 
 " Well," said the boy, brokenly, and 
 sitting down, " I reckon you may well 
 speak of merciful heaven. If you hadn't 
 come I could have held out a little longer, 
 
 but you must give me time," and he 
 
 sank exhausted and faint on the steps. 
 
 Mrs. Mclntire was at his side in a 
 moment with a glass of wine. " Have
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 125 
 
 patience, George," she said. " There 
 were two other men. What Angus could* 
 have done to them " 
 
 " There, there," said the boy, " it'll pass 
 in a moment. Why the mischief do I 
 have to act like a baby at such times ! 
 Get a light and see what you'll find by 
 that tree yonder." 
 
 The two unconscious Tories were found 
 barely breathing, for the boy had brought 
 down the heavy club with all the strength 
 which terror inspires. Explanations were 
 soon given and the whole band gathered 
 around Angus with the heartiest plaudits. 
 
 " Oh ! shut up," said the boy irritably. 
 " I can't stand any more to-night. 
 Mother and the girls are safe and that's 
 enough." 
 
 " Here, George," cried Burton, " let us 
 pitch this carrion out," indicating the 
 Tory's body. " Why, it's Rufe Hackett, 
 one of the bloodiest Tories in the State." 
 
 "Hold on, Burton," said George, ex 
 citedly, " Hackett, did you say? Why, 
 he was with Ferguson. As I live, I be 
 lieve he was sent with despatches to
 
 126 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 Cornwallis, because he knew the country 
 so well. Here, two of you men, carry 
 him out on the veranda where Mrs. Mc- 
 Intire and the girls can't see him, for he 
 must be searched thoroughly." 
 
 George's surmise was correct. De 
 spatches of vital importance were found 
 stitched in the lining of his shirt. Fer 
 guson had written plainly of the hostile 
 forces closing upon him and of his urgent 
 need of help. It need not be said that 
 Cornwallis never received those de 
 spatches, and that the essential aid was 
 never sent. How the hardy moun 
 taineers smote the British and the Tory 
 horde and killed their leader is one of the 
 best known chapters of Southern history. 
 The British commander did hear of the 
 overwhelming disaster, and was not long 
 in deciding that he had better leave the 
 "hornets' nest" of Charlotte and its 
 vicinity as soon as possible. 
 
 Mrs. Mclntire, her household and her 
 brave partisan friends, quieted down in 
 time and obtained sorely needed rest. 
 The two prisoners whom Angus had dis-
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 12J 
 
 abled recovered eventually, and were 
 then tried by a rude, secret court-martial, 
 condemned and shot; George and oth 
 ers saying sternly, "We shall permit no 
 Tory outrages in this county." 
 
 Every day added to the embarrass 
 ment of the British commander at Char 
 lotte ; every ruthless maraud to procure 
 supplies increased the anger and hate of 
 the surrounding people. The country 
 had been ravaged far and near, and yet 
 the Mclntire plantation had as yet es 
 caped. It was not very accessible, but 
 eventually reports that a partisan band 
 had made it a sort of headquarters, drew 
 attention to the place, and to the hope of 
 plunder was added the desire to punish 
 those who had won the reputation of 
 making much trouble. George and his 
 followers had been very wary, and there 
 were few in that region who would in 
 form against them. The British author- 
 ites, therefore, had no clear idea of the 
 force which might be found in the region, 
 and deemed it prudent to send with the 
 forage wagons an escort of four hundred
 
 128 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 men. They started before light in the 
 morning and moved rapidly and quietly, 
 in the hope of effecting a surprise. 
 While they almost succeeded in this 
 respect, they were treated to several 
 rather surprising experiences themselves 
 before the day was over. 
 
 George and his men had returned the 
 night before from a long and fatiguing 
 ride, and were sleeping heavily well back 
 in their forest shelter. Angus had 
 watched at the farm-house until dawn be 
 gan to brighten and then had been joined 
 by Ella, who said that she and her mother 
 would be vigilant while getting break 
 fast. The tired boy was only too glad 
 to be relieved, and was soon in deep 
 slumber. The sun rose brightly, adding 
 to the golden hues of the autumnal foli 
 age. The morning was so quiet and 
 genial that it was hard to entertain 
 thoughts of danger, and Ella, whose 
 heart, in spite of its sorrows and fears, 
 would persist in being light, was singing 
 at her tasks. For a brief time she forgot 
 the need of watchfulness, then, recalling
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 129 
 
 her duty, stepped out on the veranda. 
 To her horror she saw a large British 
 force not far distant, rapidly approach 
 ing. The enemy, during the latter part 
 of the march, had been guided through a 
 wood-road, which had concealed the move 
 ment. 
 
 " O, mother ! " cried the terror-stricken 
 girl. " See ! What shall we do ? " 
 
 Mrs. Mclntire gave but one startled 
 glance, then said firmly, " Take the little 
 girls and fly to the woods to George 
 Graham and Burton. I will follow with 
 Angus. Leave every thing run." 
 
 Ella obeyed, while her mother almost 
 dragged Angus from his bed. Fortu 
 nately he was dressed, and but one swift 
 glance through the window convinced him 
 that he must yield to his mother. Snatch 
 ing his weapons, he had barely time to 
 escape with her through the rear door to 
 the shelter of the low pines, before the 
 British entered the yard about the 
 house. 
 
 With the fleet steps of fawns, Ella and 
 her little sisters sped deeper and deeper
 
 130 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 in the forest until challenged by a startled 
 and sleepy sentinel. 
 
 " Take me to Burton to George Gra 
 ham," she said breathlessly. " The house 
 is attacked." 
 
 Burton sprung from his leafy couch in 
 stantly at the sound of Ella's voice. In a 
 moment George and the others were on 
 their feet and around the girl. An in 
 stant later they were swiftly on the way 
 to rescue Angus and his mother, or to 
 cover their retreat. The speedy appear 
 ance, however, of the fugitives brought 
 immense relief, and then was held a hasty 
 council of war. The result of this was 
 that Mrs. Mclntire, Ella and the children 
 were sent deep into the forest to a secure 
 refuge, while George and his little band, 
 of which only eleven were present that 
 morning, were stealing with wary, noise 
 less approach upon the marauders. They 
 glided from tree to tree, thicket, and 
 copse, until at last, unperceived, they 
 were concealed among the low pjnes not 
 far from the house. 
 
 The British officer commanding had
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 13! 
 
 
 
 found the place deserted, for the negroes 
 also had fled. He concluded that if men 
 had been lurking about the place they 
 were either absent, or, frightened by the 
 largeness of his force, had fled with the 
 family. The low pines and immediate 
 forest were instantly searched, but with 
 out revealing either fugitives or concealed 
 enemies. The partisans had not yet 
 approached. Taught by harsh experi 
 ence, however, the British captain in 
 command resolved to load his wagons 
 and depart speedily, fearing that on his 
 return he would hear the familiar crack 
 of deadly rifles from foes who would not 
 be long in gathering. Ordering his men 
 to use despatch in sacking the house and 
 outbuildings, and in gathering up the 
 cattle, he coolly sat down, with some of 
 his subordinates, to the breakfast which 
 had not been prepared for them. 
 
 The British soldiers needed no urging, 
 for, while they were greedy for plunder, 
 they knew the price in blood usually paid 
 for it, and were anxious to return before the 
 people of the region had time to gather.
 
 13* THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 When, therefore, the partisans drew 
 sufficiently near to observe what was tak 
 ing place, the wagons were being rapidly 
 loaded and the place was dismantled. 
 ^George saw that the English force was 
 Jarge, compact, and alert, that the fire 
 from his small band could not prevent the 
 mischief, and might lead to the immediate 
 burning of the dwelling. So, in the hope 
 of saving this, he directed his men to 
 remain quiet until the marauding party 
 was well away from the place. 
 
 The fact that they were not interfered 
 with, and that no enemies were seen hov- 
 'ering in the distance, so far from creating 
 ^confidence, began to cause uneasiness in 
 the British force. It was feared that the 
 Whigs were preparing to strike a heavy 
 blow on the homeward march. Accord 
 ingly the crowded door-yard was full of 
 bustle and activity. Men were carrying 
 bedding, furniture and provisions from the 
 house, and forage and grain from the 
 barns. Cattle were bellowing, pigs squeal 
 ing, and chased chickens adding to the 
 Babel-like uproar. The men also, with the
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 133 
 
 recklessness of soldiers, did not scruple to 
 laugh, jest and chaff each other, although 
 aware that the light of another day might 
 never gladden their eyes. 
 
 Angus was white with rage and indig 
 nation as, peering through a thick pine, 
 he saw the havoc. He recognized every 
 familiar article that was carried to the 
 wagons, every animal that was slaugh 
 tered, and knew well how terribly impover 
 ished they all would be. Yet he suffered 
 the deepest pang when the faithful dog, 
 Wolf, was bayoneted, and involuntarily 
 his rifle was raised to shoot the man who 
 gave the thrust. George's hand upon his 
 arm restrained him. 
 
 " Be patient, Gus," said his friend. " I 
 know it's hard, but they shall pay for this. 
 Ah ! what's up now ? " 
 
 There seemed to be sudden and dire 
 confusion among the British soldiers, and 
 some of the horses began to kick and 
 plunge so violently as to be scarcely man 
 ageable. The confusion extended like a 
 contagion : men ran from a certain point, 
 covered their faces with their arms or
 
 134 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 hats, and danced around as if in sudden 
 pain. 
 
 " By all that's lucky ! " whispered Angus, 
 "they've upset a bee-hive." 
 
 " Oh, isn't that rich ! " said Burton, 
 shaking with suppressed laughter. 
 " George, George, the bees have begun 
 the battle; let us sting the robbers also." 
 
 " Wait, wait a moment," said George, 
 too anxious and eager even to smile in 
 his responsibility, but keenly observant. 
 " This is giving the affair a new aspect. 
 Perhaps we had better join our friends, 
 the bees." 
 
 But the enraged insects waited not for 
 help. Their excitement extended to the 
 neighboring hives, and increasing swarms 
 poured out, each armed with a poisoned 
 weapon. The British troops had ho 
 armor, no means of defence, and the antics 
 of those stung and of othe'rs seeking to 
 avoid their swiftly darting foes were so 
 very absurd that the partisans, with 
 difficulty, restrained a merriment which 
 would have revealed their presence. The 
 British captain stood in the doorway of
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 13$ 
 
 the house, endeavoring to give orders, 
 but was so convulsed wiui laughter at 
 the plight of his men that for a mo 
 ment he too was almost helpless. A 
 great, red-faced, burly sergeant who had 
 charge of the wagon train, had slipped 
 into the house, after his superiors had 
 breakfasted, for a cup of coffee. Catch 
 ing a glimpse, through the window, of 
 the disorder among his men and horses, 
 arid ignorant of the cause, he rushed out 
 in a towering rage with his heavy whip 
 into the very centre of the " busy bees." 
 They appeared to regard him as the au 
 thor of the whole disturbance, and acted 
 accordingly. His oaths and expostulations 
 were arrested abruptly. Three or four 
 stings pierced his coppery nose, and he 
 clapped his hands over it with something 
 like a howl. Then a perfect swarm at 
 tacked him in the rear, and again his 
 hands sought to protect the parts assailed, 
 while he yelled some incoherent order. 
 At this instant a headlong bee flew into 
 his open mouth and stung promiscuously. 
 The poor wretch, to the immense amuse-
 
 136 THE BATTLE OF THE BEES. 
 
 ment of those looking on from a safe dis 
 tance, fairly began to dance a hornpipe 
 in his anguish. Yet the situation grew 
 momently more serious. The British 
 troops in a widening circle were in disor 
 der, while the horses attached to the 
 wagons were plunging frantically. 
 
 At this critical moment orders from 
 George changed the scene from comedy 
 to tragedy. Passing along his little line, 
 he said in a low voice, " Take deliberate 
 aim ; pick out officers if possible. I shall 
 shoot the captain. Fire when I do." 
 
 A moment later there was a ringing 
 volley ; the captain dropped on the 
 veranda before his men ; nine others fell 
 and two horses went down.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PARTING BLOWS AND WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 THE effect of the fatal volley fired by 
 George and his followers astonished 
 the partisans beyond measure. They 
 fully expected that a rush would be made 
 for them, and, anticipating this, all retired 
 rapidly into the woods, that they might 
 have time to reload. Finding that they 
 were not followed, they cautiously re 
 turned, and soon discovered the British 
 troops in rapid retreat. The wagon con 
 taining most of the household articles was 
 abandoned, for the horses attached to it 
 had been shot. Detailing Angus, Burton 
 and two or three others to look after the 
 house and family, George and the rest 
 were soon mounted and following the for 
 aging party. 
 
 The stinging bees had caused much 
 disorder in the British force ; and when
 
 138 PARTING BLOWS WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 its commander, two of his subordinates, 
 and some of the men were slain, a feeling 
 of alarm, approaching to panic, ensued. 
 There had been an uneasy sense of dan 
 ger in the air, and George, by his tactics, 
 had unconsciously enhanced it. More 
 over, the vicinity of the dwelling had be 
 come unendurable. Honey-bees are capa 
 ble of becoming as " mad" as the " hornets" 
 with which the region became so famously 
 associated, and in this instance they ren 
 dered most valuable assistance. In fact 
 they bundled the British troops out of that 
 yard more quickly than a position was ever 
 evacuated before. The officer on whom 
 the command devolved gave directions 
 for a rapid retreat to Charlotte, and 
 never were orders obeyed with more 
 alacrity. After starting he remembered 
 that the house had not been burned, and 
 he sent back a few men to perform this 
 act of vengeance. The squad returned 
 very reluctantly. As they approached 
 the dwelling, the bees assailed them with 
 such concentrated fury, that they fled 
 without accomplishing their purpose.
 
 PA R TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 1 3 9 
 
 Meanwhile the news of the maraud 
 had spread, and the men and older boys 
 of the region, as usual, were flocking to 
 the line of march. George eventually 
 had a respectable force in hand, and", 
 following on flank and rear, he hounded 
 the British party almost to the suburbs of 
 Charlotte. 
 
 It was very evident that nothing more 
 was to be feared from the invaders that 
 day, and Angus and Burton soon posted 
 off to reassure Mrs. Mclntire and Ella, 
 and to conduct them, wkh the children, 
 back to their home. They were so 
 thankful to find it unburned, and its 
 defenders unharmed, that no time was 
 spent in regret over its wild disorder. 
 The abandoned wagon contained most of 
 the articles of which it had been despoiled, 
 and after the bees quieted down, Angus 
 and Burton restored them to their places. 
 That which had been carried off was a 
 trifling loss compared with the safety of 
 the dwelling itself, or any of its inmates. 
 
 Many of the chickens had escaped, and 
 so had a large proportion of the pigs,
 
 14 PAR TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 which, at that season, ran almost wild in 
 the woods. The horses and cattle about 
 the barn had been taken, but there were 
 others in distant fields, and the steed 
 which Angus rode was picketed with 
 others belonging to the band well back 
 in the forest. Therefore, while Mrs. 
 Mclntire had suffered serious loss, and 
 a severe shock from anxiety and alarm, 
 she had fared, thanks to the bees and her 
 partisan friends, far better than many of 
 her neighbors. With the aid of Angus 
 and Burton, Ella prepared another and a 
 famous breakfast, and when George and 
 his party returned they were feasted to 
 their heart's content. 
 
 First as rumor, then as glad certainty, 
 the news of the battle of King's Moun 
 tain, the death of Ferguson, and the cap 
 ture of his threatening force, spread 
 rapidly. There was general and heart 
 felt rejoicing among the the people, and 
 gloom and dismay in the British army. 
 Cornwallis found that the country would 
 no longer support his troops, and that 
 such provisions as were obtained must be
 
 PAR TING BLO WS WEDDING B UGLES. 1 4 1 
 
 paid for in an ever-increasing price of 
 blood. His communications with the 
 South were threatened, and only the 
 largest convoys of despatches and supplies 
 came through in safety. Seven days after 
 the battle, which turned the whole tide of 
 Southern warfare, he began in the night his 
 confused and hurried retreat. The people 
 were hoping, expecting, praying, for this 
 event. They did all in their power to 
 hasten it by their bitter and unrelenting 
 hostility, and when it took place they 
 acted. 
 
 George and his followers had deter 
 mined to take such a final leave of their 
 foes as would not be forgotten. He and 
 other partisan leaders in the vicinity were 
 in secret communication with Charlotte, 
 impatiently awaiting their opportunity. 
 On the evening of the fourteenth of Oc 
 tober one of his scouts came galloping in 
 with the joyful tidings that the British 
 were evidently preparing to decamp 
 that night. Angus and Burton instantly 
 darted off to an eminence not far from 
 the house, and soon two separate and dis-
 
 142 PAR TING BLO WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 tinct bonfires were blazing. Their torch 
 seemed to kindle numerous other beacons 
 as far as the eye could reach, until they 
 appeared no larger than stars on the hori 
 zon. By these fires the hopes of the 
 people throughout the region were kindled. 
 Possibly, on the morrow, those now hiding 
 in forests might return to such homes as 
 were left to them, and others begin to re 
 build from blackened ruins a new shelter 
 from wintry storms already near. 
 
 But the blazing beacons had a more 
 immediate significance. Every man and 
 boy who had a weapon and could use it 
 was expected to turn out now with the 
 stern purpose of giving the invaders one 
 more proof that the "Hornets' Nest" 
 was no place for marauding foreign sol 
 diery. The moonlight revealed groops 
 at every farmhouse door ; men were seen 
 saddling, mounting and saying farewell 
 in hot haste. Lonely roads echoed to 
 the swift tread of horses' feet. Singly, 
 in twos, threes and dozens the hard riders 
 concentrated towards Charlotte. Slung 
 across the back of each gleamed the long
 
 PAR TING BL IV S WEDDING B UGLES. 1 43 
 
 deadly rifle barrel. Those who had no 
 mount pursued short cuts through fields 
 and paths in forests to the same objec 
 tive point. 
 
 Cornwallis saw the ominous signs of 
 coming trouble and hastened his depart 
 ure. The movement was not a quiet 
 and orderly retirement, but a retreat be 
 gun and conducted in dire confusion. It 
 might have been a disastrous rout had 
 the hardy mountaineers who defeated 
 Ferguson hung upon his rear and flanks 
 that night. As it was, the unorganized 
 populace of the county inflicted serious 
 injury and gave his lordship such a dis 
 taste for the region that neither he nor 
 any other officer ever led a British force 
 thither again. 
 
 George with his followers, now number 
 ing nearly two score, hung close upon the 
 British rear, ready, like hawks, to swoop 
 upon their prey. His thoughts followed 
 a wagon train, carrying the baggage and 
 supplies of the army. It was heavily 
 guarded, and there was no use of making 
 any attempt upon it as long as the country
 
 1 44 PAR TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 remained somewhat open, and permitted 
 its escort to see its assailants. He knew, 
 however, that before very long it would 
 have to enter a timbered region traversed 
 by a narrow road, and he laid his plans 
 accordingly. Burton was directed to take 
 command of the main body of the parti 
 sans, to follow the rear-guard as closely 
 as he dared, to keep up a galling fire and 
 so increase the disposition of the British 
 troops, already strong, to get ahead as 
 fast as possible. If they showed any signs 
 of giving way, he was to charge them. 
 Then with Angus and a dozen others 
 George made a rapid detour, struck a 
 wood-road in the forest, and cautiously, 
 yet swiftly, approached the wagon train 
 somewhat in the rear of its centre. He 
 and his men were lost in the shadows of 
 the dense pines, which sighed mournfully 
 in the night wind, as if presaging the 
 bloody scenes soon to be enacted. While 
 the partisans were hidden, the lumbering 
 wagon train was seen passing on the road 
 in dim outline. 
 
 " Gus," he said, "you and Eph Tom-
 
 PA R TING BL O IV S WEDDING B UGLES. 1 45 
 
 kins shoot two of the horses and stop the 
 train. The rest of us will then act ac 
 cording to circumstances." 
 
 The drivers were urging the horses to 
 the utmost, feeling that every foot of 
 progress was so much gained in the race 
 for safety. A general sense of apprehen 
 sion, enhanced by the hurried night de 
 parture, pervaded every mind. The bea 
 con fires, the frequent rifle reports in the 
 distance, added also to the alarm of the 
 infantry who walked beside the wagons. 
 Therefore, when out of the deep gloom 
 of the adjoining forest, leaped two flashes 
 and horses fell, stopping two wagons, the 
 immediate escort, recalling much bitter 
 experience, began to fear the worst. 
 
 An officer rushed up and ordered a 
 charge in the direction of the shots. He 
 had scarcely spoken before he fell under 
 a bullet from George's rifle. Then a 
 brave sergeant sprang forward, crying, 
 " Follow me." Under his example many 
 rushed after him. 
 
 " Six steps forward and give 'em a 
 volley ; then all scatter," George ordered.
 
 146 PAR TING BLO WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 The sergeant and two or three of his 
 men went down. Then the woods rang 
 with a score of shots from the British 
 infantry, but the dusky, flying forms in 
 the distance presented no target. 
 
 Pressed upon by Burton and his con 
 stantly increasing band, the rear cavalry 
 guard had, unconsciously, drawn nearer 
 and nearer the train. In the breast of 
 each man was a secret impulse to get 
 away from a region, so full of hostility 
 and danger, and this impulse had the 
 effect of quickening the retreat. When, 
 therefore, the firing caused by George 
 and his followers was heard, the com 
 manding officer found it easy to believe 
 that it was his duty to advance rapidly 
 to the point of attack. His order " Trot, 
 march ! " was gladly obeyed. 
 
 Other orders were given, however, on 
 which they had not counted. Burton, 
 keenly on the alert, also heard the firing 
 and saw the quick forward movement of 
 the dragoons before him. Instantly came 
 his shout, " Into the road, flankers. 
 Those who have sabres to the front.
 
 PAR TING BLO WS WEDDING B UGLES. 147 
 
 March four abreast. Yell like cata 
 mounts ; charge ! " 
 
 Away they went, his thirty odd men 
 making noise enough for a hundred, 
 The British dragoons were appalled at 
 this sudden and apparently organized 
 attack upon their rear. It did not indi 
 cate the helter-skelter pursuit of raw 
 recruits, but rather the action of trained 
 Continental cavalry of unknown numbers. 
 There was no chance, no time to investi 
 gate in the narrow road, and by such 
 light as was given by the moon. The 
 firing and confusion in front were also 
 increasing. After momentary hesitation 
 the rear-guard gave way to panic, which 
 spread like wildfire to the infantry escort. 
 One and all fled forward or dashed into 
 the forest to escape the furious onset of 
 the partisans. Some were cut down, 
 others surrendered. Still more escaped 
 through the woods, while the majority, 
 by dint of hoof and foot, reached the 
 heavy British support, which was sent 
 back to repel the attack. Burton, how 
 ever, had attained his wish, and enjoyed
 
 148 PAR TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 the wild excitement of riding "straight 
 at his enemies, sabre in hand." 
 
 It will be remembered that it had been 
 George's tactics to cut the wagon train in 
 two. At the point where the first two 
 horses had been shot, he and his followers 
 kept up such an effective fire that nothing 
 could be done. The partisans were on 
 foot, having left their steeds well back in 
 the forest. Dodging from tree to tree, 
 their locality was unknown except as 
 flashes from their rifles revealed it 
 momentarily and the effort to find and 
 dislodge them was soon abandoned. 
 Meanwhile the drivers beyond the break 
 in the train had urged forward their teams 
 on the run and so had escaped, for it was 
 George's policy to produce as wide a gap 
 as possible between the wagons he had 
 cut off and those permitted to pass on. 
 The desperate efforts made, for a brief 
 time, to get the delayed wagons forward 
 were frustrated. The moment any one 
 appeared prominent in giving useful 
 orders or effective service he was shot. 
 Then came the mad rush of the flying
 
 PA R TING BL W S- WEDDING B UGLES. 1 49 
 
 dragoons ; drivers abandoned their teams, 
 and, v/ith the infantry escort, joined the 
 forward stampede, the partisans following 
 until checked by the British support 
 already mentioned. They did not give 
 way before this, but taking to the woods, 
 began such an effective fire, that the 
 enemy again retreated, abandoning the 
 wagons finally. In order to make sure 
 of their prey, however, a place was 
 speedily found where the vehicles could 
 be turned, and soon twenty heavily laden 
 wagons were headed toward Charlotte 
 again, as they had been nineteen days 
 before. Now, however, the drivers and 
 escort were exultant Whigs, proud and 
 happy over their success, and feeling that 
 they had captured something that would 
 make good, in part, their terrible losses. 
 
 The haggard, careworn villagers, whose 
 lives had been made a burden by the 
 British occupation, greeted the cavalcade 
 in the dawn with shouts of rejoicing. 
 Friends and relatives, long parted, em 
 braced each other, and even wept for joy. 
 Indeed, never before, in the old North
 
 ISO PARTING BLOWS WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 State, had there been such a general 
 hand-shaking. 
 
 George Graham modestly declined to 
 receive any of the spoils himself. That 
 which would be of service to the cause 
 was stored for public use, and the rest 
 distributed among those who had suffered 
 the greatest losses. Except the dead, 
 the wounded, and a few prisoners, no 
 British soldiers remained in the region. 
 The first were buried and the others 
 treated with a humanity which they had 
 not always shown. 
 
 Early in the day, Angus and Burton 
 returned to those who had retained many 
 of their thoughts, even in the thick of 
 battle ; and never had they received a 
 gladder welcome. George, and a few of 
 his most intimate followers, joined them 
 in the evening, and, although all were 
 exceedingly wearied, they were too excited 
 and happy for immediate sleep. 
 
 " Well," said George, leaning back in 
 his chair, "such a supper as I've just 
 eaten ought to make one content with 
 his lot and at peace with all the world.
 
 PAR TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 1 5 1 
 
 That'll be my condition, I reckon, for the 
 next twelve hours. Then I shall put out 
 for a visit to Joe, since the news will do 
 him more good than medicine. But I 
 shall be back soon, and then, fellows, I'm 
 going to raise a troop for the regular 
 service. There shall be no sitting down 
 in the chimney corner for me until the 
 red-coats have been driven to their 
 ships." 
 
 There was not one present but wished 
 to serve under George. Some were so 
 young, however, that they felt they must 
 first consult their parents. 
 
 Burton now gave George a significant 
 glance, indicating that something should 
 be said which had been agreed upon 
 beforehand. " Oh," resumed George, 
 good-naturedly, " I know how it will be. 
 Some can ride with me to future exploits, 
 and some can not, and ought not to. I 
 reckon the duty and inclination of each 
 will soon be clear. But before we break 
 up our old relations I feel that something 
 should be done to celebrate our happy 
 escapes and general good fortune some-
 
 152 PARTING BLO WS WEDDING B UGLES. 
 
 thing that will complete our experiences 
 together and leave the pleasantest of 
 memories. In order to bring this about, 
 I shall have to appeal to our kind hostess 
 and her fair daughter. They both know 
 that I'd bite my tongue out before 
 I'd ask a favor which was not for their 
 good as well as for mine. Yet I am 
 going to ask something that will be a 
 great favor to me, and a far greater 
 one to my friend, Burton Craige, and 
 that is that we celebrate our successes 
 and relief from daily and hourly fear of 
 every kind of wrong by an old-fashioned 
 country wedding. Nay, good Mistress 
 Mclntire, do not start. I know you are 
 about to say that they are too young, and 
 all that ; but I can tell you that there's 
 many a graybeard in the country that is 
 not so much of a man as Burton. You 
 are left without a husband ; he without 
 father or mother, and the future is uncer 
 tain to us all. These are not ordinary, 
 peaceful times. We must secure what 
 we can while we can. What's more, when 
 Burton gives Ella his name, he endows
 
 PARTING BLOWS WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 >s! 
 
 her with a goodly property, and provides 
 for her future, as he wishes to do, no 
 matter what may happen to him." 
 
 "Yes, mother, dear," cried Burton, 
 " George knows how to talk and has ex 
 pressed my wishes my dearest hopes. 
 Before I ride away with him to new dan 
 gers I want to call Ella my wife, and 
 give her all I have in the world, with 
 myself." 
 
 "And we, Mistress Mclntyre," said the 
 other young men in chorus, "wouldn't 
 miss the chance of dancing at Burton's,, 
 wedding for all the pay we ever expect 
 from Congress." 
 
 " Well, well," said the good woman, 
 smiling, yet wiping tears from her eyes, 
 "how can I refuse any thing to such 
 friends as you have been to me and mine ! 
 If Burton so wishes it Angus, you have 
 done so much towards taking your father's 
 place, that you, after all, are the one to 
 speak." 
 
 "Oh, Burton's talked me over," replied 
 the boy, laughing, and his words found 
 an echo in a merry shout of exultation.
 
 154 PARTING BLOWS WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 Ella, meanwhile, had been standing a 
 little aloof, blushing like a Carolina rose 
 as she was. Now she tossed her head 
 indignantly, and said, " But I've not been 
 talked over. I reckon I've something to 
 say in the matter." 
 
 Every young trooper sprung from his 
 chair, overturning some in their eager 
 ness, and, led by Burton, knelt at her 
 feet. She tried to avert her face and 
 look aggrieved, but their comical posi 
 tion and outstretched hands upset her 
 gravity. Her mouth twitched, then out 
 chimed a mellow peal of laughter. In 
 stantly Burton seized her hand, carried it 
 to his lips, and, standing by her side, 
 declared that he was ready for the cer 
 emony at once. 
 
 It was eventually arranged that the 
 wedding should take place a week from 
 that day, and that the happy pair should 
 spend their honeymoon at Burton's plan 
 tation. The days passed swiftly in the 
 bustle of preparation. Burton's home 
 was put in order to receive its young 
 mistress, his aunt returning from her
 
 PAR TING BL WS WEDDING B UGLES. 1 5 5 
 
 Northern refuge to superintend arrange 
 ments, and to do honor to the occasion. 
 Invitations were sent out to relatives, 
 friends and neighbors; the woods and 
 plantations scoured for the materials of 
 the feast. 
 
 The sun of the twenty-second of Octo 
 ber sank below a cloudless horizon. 
 There was no chill in the soft Southern 
 air. As the shadows deepened, slaves 
 piled wood on the kindling fires in the 
 dooryard, and the assembling guests 
 hung lanterns in the trees. The good 
 Scotch Presbyterian pastor was present, 
 unbending his wonted gravity to smiles 
 and words in harmony with the occasion. 
 Neighbors trooped thither from far and 
 near, glad of a little natural mirth after 
 their sad experiences. The young Whig 
 troopers, with George at their head, were 
 ranged together, wearing their side-arms, 
 and with tassels of pine nodding in their 
 caps for plumes. 
 
 At last, leaning on the arm of Angus 
 and followed by her mother, little sisters 
 and relatives, Ella came down the veranda
 
 I5<3 PARTING BLOWS WEDDING BUGLES. 
 
 steps to the open, lighted space, where 
 Burton and his aunt awaited her, and 
 then, as was befitting the bride of a par 
 tisan soldier, was married on the green 
 sward, beneath the starlit sky. During 
 the service all hats were reverently re 
 moved ; at its conclusion the bugles 
 rang out loud and merrily. These were 
 the wedding-bells. Soon after the open 
 space between the fires was cleared, 
 the initial tuning of fiddlers was heard, 
 and Burton and Ella led a score of 
 couples down the green in the graceful 
 minuet. 
 
 With a parting glance at the picture, 
 with its fantastic lights and shadows, its 
 chance and varied groupings, its costumes, 
 now strange to our eyes, we take leave of 
 those whom we have- followed through 
 very different scenes. Among the many 
 faces, some distinct in the broad glare 
 and others dim in the dusky background, 
 there is none from which we turn so re 
 gretfully as that of Angus Mclntire. He 
 looks very boyish as he stands with parted, 
 smiling lips and quietly observant eyes,
 
 PARTING BLO WS WEDDING BUGLES. 15'; 
 
 but the manner in which his mother leans 
 Upon his arm proves that he has already 
 won the best possession of manhood 
 trusC
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 Christmas holidays had come, 
 1 and with tnem a welcome vacation 
 for Hedley Marstern. Although as yet 
 a briefless young lawyer, he had a case 
 in hand which absorbed many of his 
 thoughts, the conflicting claims of two 
 young women in his native village on the 
 Hudson. It must not be imagined that 
 the young women were pressing their 
 claims, except as they did so unconsciously, 
 by virtue of their sex and various charms. 
 Nevertheless, Marstern was not the first 
 lawyer who had clients over whom mid 
 night oil was burned, they remaining un 
 aware of the fact. 
 
 If not yet a constitutional attorney, he 
 was at least constitutionally one. Fall 
 ing helplessly in love with one girl sim 
 plifies matters. There are no distracting 
 pros and cons, nothing required but a 
 concentration of faculties to win the en- 
 159
 
 l6o A CttI5TXJ.S~rE. S\ 
 
 slaver, and so adkiere mastery. 
 did not appear aneBable to Ac 
 influences which bSnid tiie eyes anc 
 throne reason, iospariag its place an 
 overwhelaBBBg; poise to capture a for- 
 girl because (to a heated i 
 
 tion) she surpasses all her sex. 
 he was level-headed en 
 that he would never capture 
 girl; but he hoped to secure one who 
 promised to make as good a wife as be 
 would try to be a husband, and, witk a 
 fair amount of self-esteem, he was con 
 scious of imperfections. Therefore^ in 
 stead of fancying that any of his fair 
 acquaintances wer i e had deliber 
 
 ately and r as some r in a vciy 
 
 cold-blooded fashion, endeavored to 
 discover what they actually were. He had 
 observed that a good deal of prose fol 
 lowed the poetry of wooing and the EOB- 
 acy of the honeymoon ; and h 
 it might be well to criticise a little before 
 marriage as well as after 
 
 There were a number of 
 girls in tfae social circle of his
 
 A CffXfSrMAS-ETE SCIT. l6l 
 
 town ; and he had, during later years, 
 made himself quite impartially agreeable 
 to them. Indeed, without much effort 
 on his part he had become what is known 
 as a general favorite. He had been too 
 diligent a student to become a society 
 man, but was ready enough in vacation 
 periods to make the most of even- country 
 frolic, and even on great occasions to rush 
 up from the city and return at some un 
 earthly hour in the morning when his 
 partners in the dance were not half 
 through their dreams. While on these 
 occasions he had shared in the prevailing 
 hilarity, he nevertheless had the presenti 
 ment that some one of the laughing, 
 light-footed girls would one day pour his 
 coffee and send him to his office in either 
 a good or a bad mood to grapple with the 
 problems awaiting him there. He had 
 in a measure decided that when he 
 married it should be to a girl whom he 
 had played with in childhood and whom 
 he knew a good deal about, and not to a 
 chance acquaintance of the world at large. 
 So, beneath all his diversified gallantries
 
 162 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 he had maintained a quiet little policy of 
 observation, until his thoughts had gradu 
 ally gathered around two of his young 
 associates who, unconsciously to them 
 selves, as we have said, put in stronger 
 and stronger claims every time he saw 
 them. They asserted these claims in the 
 only way in which he would have recog 
 nized them, by being more charming, 
 agreeable, and, as he fancied, by being 
 better than the others. He had not 
 made them aware, even by manner, of 
 the distinction accorded to them ; and as 
 yet he was merely a friend. 
 
 But the time had come, he believed, 
 for definite action. While he weighed 
 and considered, some prompter fellows 
 might take the case out of his hands en 
 tirely ; therefore he welcomed this vaca 
 tion and the opportunities it afforded. 
 
 The festivities began with what is 
 termed in the country a " large* party"; 
 and Carrie Mitchell and Lottie Waldo 
 were both there, resplendent in new 
 gowns made for the occasion. Marstern 
 thought them both charming. They
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 163 
 
 danced equally well and talked nonsense 
 with much the same ease and vivacity. 
 He could not decide which was the pret 
 tier, nor did the eyes and attentions of 
 others afford him any aid. They were 
 general favorites, as well as himself, al 
 though it was evident that to some they 
 might become more, should they give 
 encouragement. But they were appar 
 ently in the heyday of their girlhood, and 
 thus far had preferred miscellaneous ad 
 miration to individual devotion. By the 
 time the evening was over Marstern felt 
 that if life consisted of large parties he 
 might as well settle the question by the 
 toss of a copper. 
 
 It must not be supposed that he was 
 such a conceited prig as to imagine that 
 such a fortuitous proceeding, or his best 
 efforts afterward, could settle the ques 
 tion as it related to the girls. It would 
 only decide his own procedure. He was 
 like an old marauding baron, in honest 
 doubt from which town he can carry off 
 the richest booty, that is, in case he can 
 capture any one of them. His overtures
 
 164 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 for capitulation might be met with the 
 "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," 
 and he be sent limping off the field. 
 Nevertheless, no man regrets that he 
 must take the initiative, and he would be 
 less than a man who would fear to do so. 
 When it came to this point in the affair, 
 Marstern shrugged his shoulders and 
 thought, " I must take my chances like 
 the rest." But he wished to be sure that 
 he had attained this point, and not lay 
 siege to one girl only to wish afterward 
 it had been the other. 
 
 His course that evening proved that 
 he not only had a legal cast of mind but 
 also a judicial one. He invited both 
 Miss Mitchell and Miss Waldo to take a 
 sleigh ride with him the following evening, 
 fancying that when sandwiched between 
 them in the cutter he could impartially 
 note his impressions. His unsuspecting 
 clients laughingly accepted, utterly un 
 aware of the momentous character of 
 the trial scene before them. 
 
 As Marstern smoked a cigar before re 
 tiring that night, he admitted to himself
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 165 
 
 that it was rather a remarkable court that 
 was about to be held. He was the only 
 advocate for the claims of each, and fin 
 ally he proposed to take a seat on the 
 bench and judge between them. Indeed, 
 before he slept he decided to take that 
 august position at once, and maintain a 
 judicial impartiality while noting his 
 impressions. 
 
 Christmas Eve happened to be a cold, 
 clear, star-lit night; and when Marstern 
 drove to Miss Waldo's door, he asked 
 himself, "Could a fellow ask for anything 
 daintier and finer" than the red-lipped, 
 dark-eyed girl revealed by the hall lamp 
 as she tripped lightly out, her anxious 
 mamma following her with words of un 
 heeded caution about not taking cold, 
 and coming home early. He had not 
 traversed the mile which intervened be 
 tween the residences of the two girls be 
 fore he almost wished he could continue 
 the drive under the present auspices, and 
 that, as in the old times, he could take 
 toll at every bridge, and encircle his com 
 panion with his arm as they bounced over
 
 1 66 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 the " thank-'ee mams." The frosty air 
 appeared to give keenness and piquancy 
 to Miss Lottie's wit, and the chime of 
 the bells was not merrier or more musi 
 cal than her voice. But when a little 
 later he saw blue-eyed Carrie Mitchell in 
 her furs and hood silhouetted in the 
 window, his old dilemma became as per 
 plexing as ever. Nevertheless, it was 
 the most delightful uncertainty that he 
 had ever experienced ; and he had a pre 
 sentiment that he had better make the 
 most of it, since it could not last much 
 longer. Meanwhile, he was hedged 
 about with blessings clearly not in dis 
 guise, and he gave utterance to this 
 truth as he drove away. 
 
 " Surely there never was so lucky 
 a fellow. Here I am kept warm 
 and happy by the two finest girls in 
 town." 
 
 "Yes," said Lottie; "and it's a shame 
 you can't sit on both sides of us." 
 
 " I assure you I wish it were possible. 
 It would double my pleasure." 
 
 " I'm very well content," remarked
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 167 
 
 Carrie quietly, " as long as I can keep on 
 the right side of people 
 
 " Well, you are not on the right side 
 to-night," interrupted Lottie. 
 
 "Good gracious!" thought Marstern, 
 " she's next to my heart. I wonder if 
 that will give her unfair advantage ; " 
 but Carrie explained: 
 
 " Of course I was speaking metaphor 
 ically." 
 
 " In that aspect of the case it would be 
 a shame to me if any side I have is not 
 right toward those who have so honored 
 me," he hastened to say. 
 
 " Oh, Carrie has all the advantage 
 she is next to your heart." 
 
 " Would you like to exchange places ?" 
 was the query flashed back by Carrie. 
 
 " Oh, no ! I'm quite as content as you 
 are." 
 
 " Why, then, since I am more than 
 content exultant, indeed, it appears 
 that we all start from excellent premises 
 to reach a happy conclusion of our 
 Christmas Eve," cried Marstern. 
 
 " Now you are talking shop, Mr,
 
 1 68 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 Lawyer Premises and Conclusions, in 
 deed ! " said Lottie ; " since you are such 
 a happy sandwich, you must be a tongue 
 sandwich, and be very entertaining." 
 
 He did his best, the two girls second 
 ing his efforts so genially that he found 
 himself, after driving five miles, psycho 
 logically just where he was physically 
 between them, as near to one in his 
 thoughts and preferences as to the other. 
 
 " Let us take the river road home," 
 suggested Lottie. 
 
 " As long as you agree," he answered, 
 " you both are sovereign potentates. If 
 you should express conflicting wishes, I 
 should have to stop here in the road till 
 one abdicated in favor of the other, or we 
 all froze." 
 
 " But you, sitting so snugly between 
 us, would not freeze," said Lottie. " If 
 we were obstinate we should have to as 
 sume our pleasantest expressions, and 
 then you could eventually take us home 
 as bits of sculpture. In fact, I'm getting 
 cold already." 
 
 "Are you also, Miss Carrie?"
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 169 
 
 " Oh, I'll thaw out before summer. 
 Don't mind me." 
 
 " Well, then, mind me," resumed Lottie. 
 " See how white and smooth the river 
 looks. Why can't we drive home on the 
 ice ? It will save miles I mean it looks 
 so inviting." 
 
 "Oh, dear!" cried Carrie, "I feel like 
 protesting now. The longest way round 
 may be both the shortest and safest way 
 home." 
 
 " You ladies shall decide. This morn 
 ing I drove over the route we would take 
 to-night, and I should not fear to take a 
 ton of coal over it." 
 
 " A comparison suggesting warmth and 
 a grate fire. I vote for the river," said 
 Lottie promptly. 
 
 " Oh, well, Mr. Marstern, if you've 
 been over the ice so recently I only 
 wish to feel reasonably safe." 
 
 " I declare ! " thought Marstern, " Lot 
 tie is the braver and more brilliant girl ; 
 and the fact that she is not inclined to 
 forego the comfort of the home fire for the 
 pleasure of my company, reveals the dif-
 
 17 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 ficulty of, and therefore incentive to, the 
 suit I may decide to enter upon before 
 New Year's." 
 
 Meanwhile, his heart on Carrie's side 
 began to grow warm and alert, as if re 
 cognizing an affinity to some object not 
 far off. Granting that she had not been 
 
 O 
 
 so brilliant as Lottie, she had been emi 
 nently companionable in a more quiet 
 way. If there had not been such bursts 
 of enthusiasm at the beginning of the 
 drive, her enjoyment appeared to have 
 more staying powers. He liked her none 
 the less that her eyes were often turned 
 toward the stars or the dark silhouettes 
 of the leafless trees against the snow. 
 She did not keep saying, " Ah, how 
 lovely ! What a fine bit that is ! " but he 
 had only to follow her eyes to see some 
 thing worth looking at. 
 
 " A proof that Miss Carrie also is not 
 so preoccupied with the pleasure of my 
 company that she has no thoughts for 
 other things," cogitated Marstern. " It's 
 rather in her favor that she prefers nature 
 to a grate fire. They're about even yet."
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. I? I 
 
 Meanwhile the horse was speeding 
 along on the white, hard expanse of the 
 river, skirting the west shore. They now 
 had only about a mile to drive before 
 striking land again ; and the scene was 
 so beautiful with the great dim outlines 
 of the mountains before them that both 
 the girls suggested that they should go 
 leisurely for a time. 
 
 " We shouldn't hastily and carelessly 
 pass such a picture as that, anymore than 
 one would if a fine copy of it were hung 
 in a gallery," said Carrie. " The stars 
 are so brilliant along the brow of that 
 
 highland yonder that they form a dia 
 
 Oh, oh, what is the matter ? " and she 
 clung to Marstern's arm. 
 
 The horse was breaking through the 
 ice. 
 
 "Whoa!" said Marstern firmly. Even 
 as he spoke, Lottie was out of the sleigh 
 and running back on the ice, crying and 
 wringing her hands. 
 
 " We shall be drowned ! " she al 
 most screamed hysterically. " Mr. Mars- 
 tern, what shall we do ? Can't we
 
 172 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 turn around and go back the way we 
 came ? " 
 
 " Miss Carrie, will you do what I ask ? 
 Will you believe me when I say that I do 
 not think you are in any danger?" 
 
 " Yes, I'll do my best," she replied, 
 catching her breath. She grew calm 
 rapidly as he tried to reassure Lottie, 
 telling her that water from the rising of 
 the tide had overflowed the main ice and 
 that thin ice had formed over it, also that 
 the river at the most was only two or 
 three feet deep at that point. But all 
 was of no avail ; Lottie stood out upon 
 the ice in a panic, declaring that he never 
 should have brought them into such 
 danger, and that he must turn around at 
 once and go back as they came. 
 
 " But, Miss Waldo, the tide is rising, 
 and we may find wet places returning. 
 Besides, it would bring us home very 
 late. Now, Miss Carrie and I will drive 
 slowly across this place and then return 
 for you. After we have been across it 
 twice you surely won't fear." 
 
 " I won't be left alone ; suppose you
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 173 
 
 two should break through and disappear, 
 what would become of me ? " 
 
 " You would be better off than we," he 
 replied, laughing. 
 
 " I think it's horrid of you to laugh. 
 Oh, I'm so cold and frightened ! I feel 
 as if the ice were giving way under my 
 feet." 
 
 " Why, Miss Lottie, we just drove over 
 that spot where you stand. Here, Miss 
 Carrie shall stay with you while I drive 
 back and forth alone." 
 
 " Then if you were drowned we'd both 
 be left alone to freeze to death." 
 
 " I pledge you my word you shall be by 
 that grate fire within less than an hour if 
 you will trust me five minutes." 
 
 " Oh, well, if you will risk your life and 
 ours too ; but Carrie must stay with me." 
 
 " Will you trust me, Miss Carrie, and 
 help me out of this scrape ? " 
 
 Carrie was recovering from her panic, 
 and replied, " I have given you my 
 promise." 
 
 He was out of the sleigh instantly, and 
 the thin ice broke with him also. "I
 
 174 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 must carry you a short distance," he said. 
 " I cannot allow you to get your feet wet. 
 Put one arm around my neck, so ; now 
 please obey as you promised." 
 
 She did so without a word, and he bore 
 her beyond the water, inwardly exulting 
 and blessing that thin ice. His decision 
 was coming with the passing seconds ; 
 indeed it had come. Returning to the 
 sleigh he drove slowly forward, his horse 
 making a terrible crunching and splash 
 ing, Lottie meanwhile keeping up a stac 
 cato accompaniment of little shrieks. 
 
 " Ah, my charming creature," he 
 thought, "with you it was only, 'What 
 will become of me ? ' I might not have 
 found out until it was too late the relative 
 importance of 'me' in the universe had 
 we not struck this bad crossing ; and one 
 comes to plenty of bad places to cross in 
 a lifetime." 
 
 The area of thin ice was not very nar 
 row, and he was becoming but a dim and 
 shadowy outline to the girls. Lottie was 
 now screaming for his return. Having 
 crossed the overflowed space and abso-
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 1 75 
 
 lutely assured himself that there was no 
 danger, he returned more rapidly and 
 found Carrie trying to calm her com 
 panion. 
 
 " Oh," sobbed Lottie, " my feet are wet 
 and almost frozen. The ice underneath 
 may have borne you, but it won't bear all 
 three of us. Oh, dear, I wish I hadn't 
 I wish I was home ; and I feel as if I'd 
 never get there." 
 
 "Miss Lottie, I assure you that the ice 
 will hold a ton, but I'll tell you what 
 I'll do. I shall put you in the sleigh, and 
 Miss Carrie will drive you over. You 
 two together do not weigh much more 
 
 o c> 
 
 than I do. I'll walk just behind you 
 with my hands on the back of the sleigh, 
 and if I see the slightest danger I'll lift 
 you out of the sleigh first and carry you 
 to safety." 
 
 This proposition promised so well that 
 she hesitated, and he lifted her in 
 instantly before she could change her 
 mind, then helped Carrie in with a quiet 
 pressure of the hand, as much as to say, 
 " I shall depend on you."
 
 176 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 " But, Mr, Marstern, you'll get your 
 feet wet," protested Carrie. 
 
 " That doesn't matter," he replied 
 good-naturedly. '' I shall be no worse off 
 than Miss Lottie, and I'm determined to 
 convince her of safety. Now go straight 
 ahead as I direct." 
 
 Once the horse stumbled, and Lottie 
 thought he was going down head first. 
 " Oh, lift me out, quick, quick ! " she 
 cried. 
 
 " Yes, indeed I will, Miss Lottie, as 
 soon as we are opposite that grate fire of 
 yours." 
 
 They were soon safely over, and within 
 a half hour reached Lottie's home. It 
 was evident she was a little ashamed of 
 her behavior, and she made some effort 
 to retrieve herself. But she was cold 
 and miserable, vexed with herself, and 
 still more vexed with Marstern. That a 
 latent sense of justice forbade the latter 
 feeling only irritated her the more. : - In 
 dividuals as well as communities must 
 have scapegoats ; and it is not an unusual 
 impulse on the part of some to blame
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 1 77 
 
 and dislike those before whom they have 
 humiliated themselves. 
 
 She gave her companions a rather 
 formal invitation to come in and get 
 warm before proceeding farther; but 
 Marstern said very politely that he 
 thought it was too late, unless Miss 
 Carrie was cold. Carrie protested that 
 she was not so cold but that she could 
 easily wait till she reached her own fire 
 side. 
 
 " Well, good-night, then ! " And the 
 door was shut a trifle emphatically. 
 
 " Mr. Marstern," said Carrie sympa 
 thetically, " your feet must be very cold 
 and wet after splashing through all that 
 ice water." 
 
 "They are," he replied; "but I don't 
 mind it. Well, if I had tried for years I 
 could not have found such a test of char 
 acter as we had to-night." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Oh, well, you two girls did not be 
 have exactly alike. I liked the way you 
 behaved. You helped me out of a con 
 founded scrape."
 
 I7 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 " Would you have tried for years to 
 find a test?" she asked, concealing the 
 keenness of her query under a laugh. 
 
 " I should have been well rewarded if 
 I had, by such a fine contrast," he 
 replied. 
 
 Carrie's faculties had not so congealed 
 but that his words set her thinking. She 
 had entertained at times the impression 
 that she and Lottie were his favorites. 
 Had he taken them out that night 
 together in me hope of contrasts, of find 
 ing tests that would help his halting 
 decision ? He had ventured where the 
 intuitions of a girl like Carrie Mitchell 
 were almost equal to second sight ; and 
 she was alert for what would come next. 
 
 He accepted her invitation to come in 
 and warm his feet at the ^lowinor fi re j u 
 
 o o 
 
 the grate, which Carrie's father had made 
 before retiring. Mrs. Mitchell, feelini 
 that her daughter was with an old friend 
 and playmate, did not think the presence 
 of a chaperon essential, and left the 
 young people alone. Carrie bustle* 
 about, brought cake, and made hot
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 179 
 
 lemonade, while Marstern stretched his 
 feet to the grate with a luxurious sense 
 of comfort and complacency, thinking 
 how homelike it all was, and how paradisi 
 cal life would become if such a charming 
 little Hebe presided over his home. His 
 lemonade became nectar offered by such 
 hands. 
 
 She saw the different expression in his 
 eyes. It was now homage, decided 
 preference for one, and not mere gallantry 
 to two. Outwardly she was 1 demurely 
 oblivious and maintained simply her 
 wonted friendliness. Marstern, however, 
 was thawing in more senses than one, and 
 he was possessed by a strong impulse to 
 begin an open siege at once. 
 
 " I haven't had a single suit of any 
 kind yet, Carrie," he said, dropping the 
 prefix of " Miss," which had gradually 
 been adopted as they had grown up. 
 
 " Oh, well, that was the position of all 
 the great lawyers once," she replied, 
 laughing. Marstern's father was wealthy, 
 and all knew that he could afford to be 
 briefless for a time.
 
 l8o A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 " I may never be great, but I shall 
 work as hard as any of them," he con 
 tinued. " To tell you the honest truth, 
 however, this would be the happiest 
 Christmas Eve of my life if I had a down 
 right suit on my hands. Why can't I be 
 frank with you and say I'd like to begin 
 the chief suit of my life now and here, 
 a suit for this little hand? I'd plead 
 for it as no lawyer ever pleaded before. 
 I settled that much down on the 
 ice." 
 
 " And if I hadn't happened to behave 
 on the ice in a manner agreeable to your 
 lordship, you would have pleaded with 
 ,the other girl?" she remarked, with 
 drawing her hand and looking him 
 directly in the eyes. 
 
 "What makes you think so?" he 
 asked somewhat confusedly. 
 
 " You do." 
 
 He sprang up and paced the room a 
 few moments, then confronted her with 
 the words, " You shall have the whole 
 truth. Any woman that I would ask to 
 be my wife is entitled to that," and he
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. l8l 
 
 told her just what the attitude of his 
 mind had been from the first. 
 
 She laughed outright, then gave him 
 her hand as she said, "Your honesty 
 insures that we can be very good friends ; 
 but I don't wish to hear anything more 
 about suits which are close of kin to law 
 suits." 
 
 He looked very dejected, feeling that 
 he had blundered fatally in his precipita 
 tion. 
 
 " Come now, Hedley, be sensible," she 
 resumed, half laughing, half serious. 
 " As you say, we can be frank with each 
 other. Why, only the other day we 
 were boy and girl together coasting 
 down hill on the same sled. You are 
 applying your legal jargon to a deep 
 experience, to something sacred the re 
 sult, to my mind, of a divine instinct. 
 Neither you nor I have ever felt for 
 each other this instinctive preference, 
 this subtle gravitation of the heart. 
 Don't you see ? Your head has been 
 concerned about me, and only your head. 
 By a kindred process you would select
 
 l8? A CHRIS7WAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 one bale of merchandise in preference to 
 another. Good gracious ! I've faults 
 enough. You'll meet some other girl 
 that will stand some other test far better 
 than I. I want a little of what you call 
 silly romance in my courtship. See ; I 
 can talk about this suit as coolly and 
 fluently as you can. We'd make a nice 
 pair of lovers, about as frigid as the ice- 
 water you waded through so good- 
 naturedly "; and the girl's laugh rang out 
 merrily, awakening echoes in the old 
 house. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell might rest 
 securely when their daughter could laugh 
 like that. It was the mirth of a genuine 
 American girl whose self-protection was 
 better than the care of a thousand 
 duennas. 
 
 He looked at her with honest admira 
 tion in his eyes, then rose quietly and 
 said, "That's fine, Carrie. Your head's 
 worth two of mine, and you'd make the 
 better lawyer. You see through a case 
 from top to bottom. You were right I 
 wasn't in love with you ; I don't know 
 whether I'm in love with you now, and
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 183 
 
 you haven't an infinitesimal spark for me. 
 Nevertheless, I begin my suit here and 
 now, and I shall never withdraw it till 
 you are engaged to another fellow. So 
 there!" 
 
 Carrie looked rather blank at this re 
 sult of her reductio ad absurdum pro 
 cess; and he did not help her by adding, 
 " A fellow isn't always in love. There 
 must be a beginning ; and when I arrive 
 at this beginning under the guidance of 
 reason, judgment, and observation, I 
 don't see as I'm any more absurd than 
 the fellow who tumbles helplessly in love, 
 he doesn't know why. What becomes of 
 all these people who have divine gravita 
 tions ? You and I both know of some 
 who had satanic repulsions afterward. 
 They used their eyes and critical facul 
 ties after marriage instead of before. 
 The romance exhaled like a morning 
 mist ; and the facts came out distinctly. 
 They learned what kind of man and 
 woman they actually were, and two ideal 
 ized creatures were sent to limbo. Be 
 cause I don't blunder upon the woman I
 
 1 84 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 wish to marry, but pick her out, that's no 
 reason I can't and won't love her. Your 
 analysis and judgment were correct only 
 up to date. You have now to meet a 
 suit honestly, openly announced. This 
 may be bad policy on my part ; yet I 
 have so much faith in you and respect 
 for you that I don't believe you will 
 let my precipitation create a prejudice. 
 Give me a fair hearing ; that's all I ask." 
 
 " Well, well, I'll promise not to frown, 
 even though some finer paragon should 
 throw me completely in the shade." 
 
 " You don't believe in me yet," he 
 resumed, after a moment of thought. " I 
 felt that I had blundered awfully a while 
 ago ; but I doubt it. A girl of your per 
 ceptions would soon have seen it all. 
 I've not lost anything by being frank 
 from the start. Be just to me, however. 
 It wasn't policy that led me to speak, but 
 this homelike scene, and you appearing 
 like the good genius of a home." 
 
 He pulled out his watch, and gave a 
 low whistle as he held it toward her. 
 Then his manner suddenly became grave
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 185 
 
 and gentle. " Carrie," he said, " I wish 
 you, not a merry Christmas, but a happy 
 one, and many of them. It seems to me 
 it would be a great privilege for a man 
 to make a woman like you happy." 
 
 "Is this the beginning of the suit?" 
 she asked, with a laugh that was a little 
 forced. 
 
 " I don't know. Perhaps it is ; but I 
 spoke just as I felt. Good-night ! " 
 
 She would not admit of a trace of 
 sentiment on her part. "Good-night!" 
 she said. " Merry Christmas ! Go home 
 and hang up your stocking." 
 
 " Bless me ! " she thought, as she went 
 slowly up the stairs, " I thought I was 
 going to be through with him for good 
 and all, except as a friend ; but if he 
 goes on this way 
 
 The next morning a basket of superb 
 roses was left at her home. There was 
 no card, and mamma queried and sur 
 mised ; but the girl knew. They were 
 not displeasing to her, and somehow, 
 before the day was over, they found their 
 way to her room ; but she shook her
 
 1 86 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 head decidedly as she said, " He must be 
 careful not to send me other gifts, for I 
 will return them instantly. Flowers, in 
 moderation, never commit a girl." 
 
 But then came another gift a book 
 with pencilings here and there, not 
 against sentimental passages, but words 
 that made her think. It was his manner 
 in society, however, that at once an 
 noyed, perplexed, and pleased her. On 
 the first occasion they met in company 
 with others, he made it clear to everyone 
 that he was her suitor; yet he was not a 
 burr which she could not shake off. He 
 rather seconded all her efforts to have a 
 good time with any and every one she 
 chose. Nor did he, wallflower fashion, 
 mope in the meanwhile and look unut 
 terable things. He added to the plea 
 sure of a score of others, and even 
 conciliated Lottie, yet at the same time 
 surrounded the girl of his choice with 
 an atmosphere of unobtrusive devotion. 
 She was congratulated on her conquest 
 rather maliciously so by Lottie. Her 
 air of courteous indifference was well
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 187 
 
 maintained ; yet she was a woman, and 
 could not help being flattered. Certain 
 generous traits in her nature were 
 touched also by an homage which yielded 
 everything and exacted nothing. 
 
 The holidays soon passed, and he 
 returned to his work. She learned inci 
 dentally that he toiled faithfully, instead 
 of mooning around. At every coigne of 
 vantage she found him, or some token of 
 his ceaseless effort. She was compelled 
 to think of him, and to think well of him. 
 Though mamma and papa judiciously 
 said little, it was evident that they liked 
 the style of lover into which he was 
 developing. 
 
 Once during the summer she said, 
 " I don't think it's right to let you go on 
 in this way any longer." 
 
 " Are my attentions so very annoying? " 
 
 " No, indeed. A girl never had a more 
 agreeable or useful friend." 
 
 "Are you engaged to some other 
 fellow?" 
 
 " Of course not. You know better." 
 
 " There is no ' of course not ' about it.
 
 1 88 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 I couldn't and wouldn't lay a straw in 
 the way. You are not bound, but I." 
 
 "You bound?" 
 
 " Certainly. You remember what I 
 said." 
 
 " Then I must accept the first man 
 that asks me " 
 
 " I ask you." 
 
 "No; someone else, so as to unloose 
 your conscience and give you a happy 
 deliverance." 
 
 "You would leave me still bound and 
 hopeless in that case. I love you now, 
 Carrie Mitchell." 
 
 "Oh, dear! you are incorrigible. It's 
 just a lawyer's persistence in winning a 
 suit." 
 
 " You can still swear on the dictionary 
 that you don't love me at all ?" 
 
 " I might on the dictionary. There, 
 I won't talk about such things anymore," 
 and she resolutely changed the subject. 
 
 But she couldn't swear, even on the 
 dictionary. She didn't know where she 
 stood or how it would all end ; but 
 with increasing frequency the words, " I
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT 189 
 
 love you now," haunting her waking and 
 dreaming hours. 
 
 The holidays were near again, and then 
 came a letter from Marstern, asking her 
 to take another sleigh ride with him on 
 Christmas Eve. His concluding words 
 were, "There is no other woman in the 
 world that I want on the other side of 
 me." She kissed these words, then 
 looked around in a startled, shamefaced 
 manner, blushing even in the solitude of 
 her room. 
 
 Christmas Eve came, but with it a 
 wild storm of wind and sleet. She was 
 surprised at the depth of her disappoint 
 ment. Would he even come to call 
 through such a tempest ? 
 
 He did come, and come early ; and she 
 said demurely, " I did not expect you on 
 such a night as this." 
 
 He looked at her for a moment, half 
 humorously, half seriously, and her eyes 
 drooped before his. "You will know 
 better what to expect next time," was his 
 comment. 
 
 "When is next time?"
 
 19 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 " Any and every time which gives me 
 a chance to see you. Who should know 
 that better than you ?" 
 
 "Are you never going to give up?" 
 she asked with averted face. 
 
 " Not till you become engaged." 
 
 " Hush ! They are all in the parlor." 
 
 " Well, they ought to know as much, 
 by this time, also." 
 
 She thought it was astonishing how he 
 made himself at home in the family 
 circle. In half an hour there was 
 scarcely any restraint left because a 
 visitor was present. Yet, as if impelled 
 by some mysterious influence, one after 
 another slipped out ; and Carrie saw 
 with strange little thrills of dismay that 
 she would soon be alone with that 
 indomitable lawyer. She signaled to 
 her mother, but the old lady's eyes were 
 glued to her knitting. 
 
 At last they were alone, and she 
 expected a prompt and powerful appeal 
 from the plaintiff ; but Marstern drew 
 his chair to the opposite side of the 
 hearth and chatted so easily, naturally,
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 191 
 
 and kindly that her trepidation passed 
 utterly. It began to grow late, and a 
 heavier gust than usual shook the house. 
 It appeared to waken him to the dire 
 necessity of breasting the gale, and he 
 rose and said : 
 
 " I feel as if I could sit here forever, 
 Carrie. It's just the impression I had 
 a year ago to-night. You, sitting there 
 by the fire, gave then, and give now to 
 this place the irresistible charm of home. 
 I think I had then the decided beginning 
 of the divine gravitation, wasn't that 
 what you called it? which has been 
 growing so strong ever since. You 
 thought then that the ice water I had 
 waded through was in my veins. Do you 
 think so now? If you do I' shall have to 
 take another year to prove the contrary. 
 Neither am I convinced of the absurdity 
 of my course, as you put it then. I 
 studied you coolly and deliberately be 
 fore I began to love you, and reason and 
 judgment have had no chance to jeer at 
 my love." 
 
 "But, Hedley," she began with a slight
 
 I9 2 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 
 
 tremor in her tones, " you are idealizing 
 me as certainly as the blindest. I've 
 plenty of faults." 
 
 " I haven't denied that ; so have I 
 plenty of faults. What right have I to 
 demand a perfection I can't offer ? I 
 have known people to marry who 
 imagined each other perfect, and then 
 come to court for a separation on the 
 ground of incompatibility of tempera 
 ment. They learned the meaning of 
 that long word too late, and were 
 scarcely longer about it than the word 
 itself. Now, I'm satisfied that I could 
 cordially agree with you on some points, 
 and lovingly disagree with you on others. 
 Chief of all, it's your instinct to make a 
 home. You appear better at your own 
 fireside than when in full dress at a 
 reception. You 
 
 "See here, Hedley, you've got to give 
 up this suit at last. I'm engaged," and 
 she looked away as if she could not meet 
 his eyes. 
 
 "Engaged?" he said slowly, looking 
 at her with startled eyes.
 
 A CHRISTMAS-EVE SUIT. 193 
 
 " Well, about the same as engaged. 
 My heart has certainly gone from me 
 beyond recall." 
 
 He drew a long breath. " I was 
 foolish enough to begin to hope," he 
 faltered. 
 
 " You must dismiss hope to-night, 
 then," she said, her face still averted. 
 
 He was silent and she slowly turned 
 toward him. He had sunk into a chair 
 and buried his face in his hands, the 
 picture of dejected defeat. 
 
 There was a sudden flash of mirth 
 through tear-gemmed eyes, a glance at 
 the clock, then noiseless steps, and she 
 was on her knees beside him, her arm 
 about his neck, her blushing face near 
 his wondering eyes as she breathed : 
 
 "Happy Christmas, Hedley! How do 
 you like your first gift ; and what room 
 is there now for hope?"
 
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